GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design

(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1680

Use of Rigid Foundation System on Expansive Soils

Dafalla, M. A.1, Shamrani, M.A.2, Puppala, A.J.3 and Ali, H.E.4

1
Asst. Professor, 2 Professor, 3 Professor-Visiting, 4 Graduate Student
BRCES, Civil Engineering Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
mdafalla@ksu.edu.sa

ABSTRACT
Expansive soils pose a major maintenance nightmare for geotechnical
practicing engineers in the semi-arid and arid zones of the world. The introduction of
rigid substructure is a costly approach but can be made practical and financially
tolerable for soils where expansion is characterized within medium to low problematic
classes. This paper outlines justifications and design concepts for a rigid substructure
foundation of a two story concrete frame structure. The project was constructed in a
district in Saudi Arabia where many buildings experienced serious damage due to
expansive soil problems. Upheaval forces likely to act against the proposed structure
were determined and used in the finite element analysis and design of an appropriate
rigid substructure design. Plots of moments and forces were determined and critical
sections were pointed out. Methods and stages of construction were monitored and a
baseline vertical movement was established for future verifications. The advantages
and limitations of this system are also discussed.

INTRODUCTION

Saudi Arabia is a country located within a semi-arid region where drying and
wetting is common and frequent. Expansive soil problems became of great concern
following the introduction of concrete frame structures in residential buildings
following the oil boom in the late 1970s. The problems of expansive soils do not show
up immediately. Instead, cracks start to develop following rainy seasons and an
accumulation of leaking water from domestic use. Damages became common after a
few years. The foundations used to support the superstructure were generally flexible
consisting of isolated pads, short columns and ground beams. The walls were made of
concrete blocks. Upward movement due to expansive soils was found to twist the
flexible substructure foundation and cause serious damage to brick walls and some
concrete structural members such as ground beams and on grade slabs. The damage
mainly appeared in the form of severe diagonal cracks in brick walls and concrete
members. Examples of typical damage are shown in Fig 1 and Fig 2, respectively.

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(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1681

Fig 1: Distortion and twist caused by Fig 2: Foundation cracks caused by

expansive soils in Al Ghatt Region. expansive soils in Al Ghatt Region.

The practice to introduce a rigid massive foundation support in this region was
normally opposed due to the high cost of the foundation being unacceptable to local
home owners. This work is aimed at providing a rigid design support, which will
compensate for the expansive ground subsurface. The geotechnical parameters are
determined and integrated with structural analysis using a finite element program to
arrive at the minimum dimensions of the rigid slab support system. The proposed rigid
support foundation used for this analysis is an inverted T section strip foundation. The
system is similar in appearance to waffle slab design or hollow raft foundation. Fig (3)
shows a three-dimensional view of a typical building with a rigid substructure
foundation studied in this research.

Fig 3: 3D Model for a two storey building of 9 panels 6m x 6m spans

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GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design
(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1682

GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES

The rigid design approach given in this publication is suggested for the region
of Al Ghatt in Saudi Arabia. Al Ghatt is a populated town located 270 km to the
Northwest of Riyadh at latitude 26 32 42 N and longitude 43 45 42 E. The town
is situated within a large wadi with surrounding high hills.
The subsurface formation at Al Ghatt is generally overlain by quaternary silt,
sand and gravel layer followed by greyish brown to olive green silty to clayey shale.
The shale belongs to the Durma formation which is made of accumulation of mud
deposits (Dhowian et al., 1990). The thickness of the overburden layer is variable
across the town being very thin close to the hilly zone and increasing towards the wadi
center. The geotechnical properties of the silty shale and clayey shale have been
investigated by several researchers and geotechnical firms in Saudi Arabia.
Generalized soil profile for the area is shown in Fig. 1 and Table 1 tabulates results of
laboratory tests.

Table 1. Geotechnical properties of Al Ghatt clay

Property Site data General Area Ranges

LL 60 40-70
PL 28 15-35
PI 32 20-40
S.G. 2.79-2.8 2.7-2.8
Free swell 7.2 0.1-10
Swelling Pressure 273 kPa 40-1000
Swell Index Cs 0.098 0.01-0.2
Percent clay 50 30-60
After Dafalla, M. A. and AL-Shamrani, M.A.(2008).

The light structures including asphalt pavements, boundary walls are the most
affected by the distress caused by expansive subsoil. Single and two storey buildings
also suffered from the expansive subsoil to variable degrees. The main factors
contributing to the amount of damage include but are not limited to the following:
foundation depth, foundation type, stress level applied by the superstructure and
subsurface soil conditions.

The first author led a team from the King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia in February 2008 and conducted a general survey of residential dwelling
damages in the area. Failures due to expansive soil problems took many forms. Uplift
and twisting boundary walls for the residential structure is a very common problem.
This type of failure is reported frequently in Al Ghat and was also associated with
water leakage or waste water disposal within the foundation surroundings. Crack or
failure intensity was found mild to the east of the town, where the thickness of the
overburden top soil is in excess of 1-m and very severe to the west part where
foundations are placed right on the expansive shale formation. Failures due to
expansive soil are classified by the authors as in Table 2.

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GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design
(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1683

Table 2. Classification of Failures in Al Ghatt region

Class of
Description Occurrence
failure

Mild Distortion in the form of partial East of Al Ghatt

uplifting with minor cracks seen only
in close vicinity (1 to 2 mm)
Medium Diagonal cracks in the order of 2mm East of AlGhatt
to 5mm. Minor wall tilting
Severe Displacement and disintegration of West of Al Ghatt
structural units. Cracks in the order of
5mm to 10mm. Tilt observed.
Very severe Displacement and disintegration of West of Al Ghatt
structural units. Cracks in the order of
centimeters. Major tilt and mis-
alignment
After Dafalla and AL-Shamrani (2008)

FOUNDATION SYSTEM AND DIMENSIONS

Several methods were adopted in geotechnical practice to reduce or eliminate

the risk of heave in light structures and pavements. These include treatment of the near
foundation soil using lime and cement, use of soil replacement technique, use of piers
and piles with or without bottom enlargement and many other approaches. The
effectiveness of these methods is not necessary similar or applicable for different
geographical regions due to varying environmental conditions and mineral
composition.
Reviews on foundation and expansive soil made by Chen (1988), Nelson and
Miller (1997), Dhowian et al (1990) and Abduljawad (1991) provide useful
information that enables design engineers to reduce risk when supporting structures on
expansive soils. One of the approaches of handling this problem is to consider a rigid
substructure foundation system. The rigid foundation design can take different forms
from a massive thick raft to rigid frames or stiffened concrete members. In this
research study, an inverted T section with dimensions as shown in Fig 5 is selected.
The strip foundation grid supporting the superstructure is presented in Fig 4.

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GeoFlorida 2010: Advances in Analysis, Modeling & Design
(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1684

Fig 4: Rigid frame substructure foundation Fig 5: Foundation dimension selected

with swelling pressure loads assumed at the for the structure under study.
exterior corners

MODELING APPROACH FOLLOWED

The approach followed in the modeling the proposed type of rigid foundation is
based on assuming swelling pressure to act at the exterior parts of the structure as they
impose the minimum stress on the ground. Inundation is normally started at the edge
of the structure as water flowing from the neighborhood or leaking from the utilities is
close to the edges. Interior column loads impose higher loads and are unlikely to
produce critical bending or shear stresses even when the soil inundated is limited to
the central part of the structure. The design loads are based on the British Standards
CP 8110. Analysis and computations were carried out using a finite element program.
The case assuming dead and expansive load combination was found to give the
maximum bending moment and maximum shear force close to the first interior
support.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The geotechnical investigation for the site was carried out by a local
geotechnical consulting agency. The swelling pressure tests carried out on several
samples revealed values in the order of 200 kPa. This value is chosen as the design
swell pressure value for this project. It must be noted that swelling pressures obtained
in a one-dimensional oedometer apparatus can be three times higher than the actual
swell pressure in the field. Al-Shamrani and Dhowian (2003) suggested the use of
triaxial loading condition in test measurements to allow for the confinement effect or
lateral restraint. They found that the compressibility value determined from oedometer
measurements was about 3.6 times the value calculated from the field data, whereas
based on the results of triaxial swell tests, the ratio of the laboratory to the field value
was about 1.3.

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An example for computation analysis output shows the maximum bending

moment and shear force diagrams, which are presented for a 200 kPa swell pressure
case. It can be noticed that the section subjected to the highest moment is at the first
interior support, computed as 1224 kN-m. The section subjected to the maximum
shear force is also noted at the first interior support and computed as 707 kN.

Fig 6: Bending moment and shear force diagram for a 200 kPa swelling pressure.

The critical bending moments and shear forces were computed for a range of
swelling pressure values assumed for subsoil surrounding the rigid foundation system.
Table 3 presents these resulting values for each swelling pressure. A linear relation is
plotted for both bending moment and shear force. In the absence of swelling, it can be
seen that the bending moment at the critical section does not exceed 290 kN-m and the
shear force does not exceed 315 kN.

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Table 3: Values of Bending Moment and Shear Force at critical section due to
Swelling Pressure.

Critical Bending
Swelling Pressure Critical Shear Force
Moment
(kPa) (kN.m)
(kN.m)
100 757 511
200 1224 707
300 1691 903
400 2158 1099
500 2625 1295
600 3092 1490

Critical Bending Moment Versus Swell Pressure Critical Shear Force Versus Swell Pressure
3600 1600
.33
Critical Shear Force (kN)
3200 1400 315
Critical Moment (kN.m)

+
2800 58 6x
0 1200
y = 1.9
2400 + 29
7x 1000
2000 4.6
y= 800
1600
600
1200
400
800
200
400
0
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Swell Pressure (kPa) Swell Pressure (kPa)

Fig 7: Critical bending moment versus Fig 8: Critical shear force versus swell
swell pressure pressure.

DESIGN METHODOLOGY

Based on the computation carried out for the rigid T- inverted strip foundation a
section can be designed to withstand critical bending moment and shear force, both
generated as a result of the swelling pressure of the subsoil. It is suggested not to add
any further safety factor as the supplied value from the geotechnical practice is
normally based on conservative testing approach. It is always necessary to consult the
geotechnical engineer to verify the testing method used to obtain the swelling
pressure. The test result shall be reduced and corrected for confinement, if carried out
in a one dimensional oedometer. A reduction factor of 3 is reliable. This work is aimed
at establishing a design procedure to become a routine when dealing with areas known
of swelling problems. The rigid design methodology (RDM) for expansive soil
presented in this paper can be further developed to accommodate and refine several
variables that affect the design and assumptions made. The methodology followed for

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(GSP 199) 2010 ASCE 1687

design of foundation at this site assumed a T-section with constant width and steel
reinforcement but varying section height. The section height that satisfies the critical
bending moment and shear force requirements is selected for the design. The approach
can be followed for other sites of different swelling pressures and the appropriate
section height can be obtained based on the geotechnical input and subsurface soil
conditions. The grid of the structure can also be variable and in this case computations
need to be carried out following the same steps to arrive at the exact section required.

Table(4): Allowable Swell Pressure for Different Concrete Section depths.

H th B tb Area % Moment Shear Allowable Allowable
(m) (m) (m) (m) (m2) steel Capacity Capacity Swell Swell
(kN.m) (kN) Pressure Pressure due
due to to shear
moment capacity
capacity (kPa)
(kPa)
0.8 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.64 0.63 642 719.7 75 207
0.9 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.68 0.59 789 741.2 107 218
1 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.72 0.56 936 761.4 138 228
1.1 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.76 0.53 1083 780.5 170 238
1.2 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.8 0.50 1229 798.8 201 247
1.3 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.84 0.48 1376 816.4 233 256
1.4 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.88 0.46 1523 833.4 264 265
1.5 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.92 0.44 1670 849.8 296 273
1.6 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.96 0.42 1817 865.8 327 281
1.7 0.4 1.2 0.4 1 0.40 1964 881.3 358 289
1.8 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.04 0.39 2111 896.4 390 297
1.9 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.08 0.37 2258 911.2 421 304
2 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.12 0.36 2405 925.7 453 312
2.1 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.16 0.35 2552 939.9 484 319
2.2 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.2 0.34 2699 953.8 516 326
2.3 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.24 0.32 2846 967.5 547 333
Note: (fy & fyv=420N/mm2, fcu =25N/mm2, Steel used 2016(As=.00402m2) & 210@100
links (Asv= 0.001571m2))

From the Table 4, it can be mentioned that a section depth of 1.2 m will be
sufficient to resist both bending stresses and shear forces induced by a swelling
pressure of 200 kPa. As can be seen from the table above, the design can be suitable
for various swelling pressures but at high values the required design depth will involve
extra cost resulting from deep excavation and cost of construction material to fill up
the frame below finished grade level. Therefore this system is appropriate to areas
with low to medium swelling where swelling pressure is less than 300 kPa. The
additional costs in substructure is justified when compared to maintenance cost
involved in flexible designs such as isolated footings or flexible raft foundations used
in local practice in typical areas.

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CASE STUDY EXAMPLE

The design of the substructure foundation using the RDM method was utilized
for a site in a central region in Saudi Arabia. The court complex building at Alghatt
was constructed in the year 2007 by AL Artawiya Contracting Company (Saudi
Arabia based firm). The whole site was excavated to the required depth and structural
fill was used for a thickness of 1.5m carried out in layers of 20 cm compacted to a
density not less than 95% of maximum dry density of the modified proctor test. The
fill is recommended to reduce the intensity of swelling and increase the overburden
pressure on the swelling shale. Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 show the construction stages
of the project in which this rigid foundation system was used. Minor adjustments were
made to suit the project requirements with the design section remained unchanged. In
order to monitor the future state of the structure, it was the suggested by the authors to
have a base line measurements for the vertical movement at several points of the
structure and some reference points. This data will be presented in a future publication
on the performance of structures designed using this approach.

Fig 9: Site grading and backfilling Fig 10: Forms set for concrete pouring.

Fig 11: Steel reinforcement put in place. Fig 12: Bottom part of T-section casted.

CONCLUSION

The distortion is normally observed in the light structures due to the high
flexibility of the frames and substructure foundations. This is not tolerated by the brick
walls normally used to fill up the panels in concrete frame structures. Severe cracks

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can be shown when twist or movement takes place. Therefore the use of Rigid Design
Methodology approach is expected to give less flexible support and reduce the
chances of cracks and damage. The design approach given in this paper is easy to
apply and can be revised to consider variables not applicable in particular sites. The
rigid design given in this publication is recommended for sites indicating a swelling
pressure of less than 300 kPa. Further work is required to establish a system which
will allow for different concrete material properties and different reinforcement
arrangements. Current on-going research is exploring the potential use of the designed
system in the field conditions.

REFERENCES

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BS CP 8110 (1997)." Structural use of concrete :British Standards." Code of Practice
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Al Muhandis, Nizar Kurdi. Geotechnical report (2006). "Court Complext Building
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