Factors To Consider

In Foundation
Design
Notes These notes are prepared with the help of books
written by Braja M. Das, Craig, Joseph e. Bowles, Wayne
C. Teng, class notes and other relevant materials

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design

1. Footing Depth and Spacing
2. Location consideration for Spread footings
3. Displaced Soil Effect
4. Net versus Gross Soil Pressure
5. Erosion Problems for structures adjacent to flowing water
6. Corrosion Protections
7. Water Table fluctuation
8. Foundation Sand and Silt
9. Foundation on Clays and Clayey Silt
10.Foundations On Loess And Other Collapsible Soils
11.Foundations On Clays and Clayey Silts.

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design - Footing Depth and Spacing

1. Footing Depth and Spacing

The frost line

Zones of high volume change due to moisture fluctuations
Topsoil or organic material
Peat and muck
Unconsolidated material such as abandoned (or closed) garbage
dumps and similar filled in areas.

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design -Location consideration for Spread

footings

b) Location consideration for Spread footings

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design -Location consideration for Spread

footings

) Location consideration for Spread footings

If the new footing is lower than the existing footing
1 zf + q0 ---(01)
3= 0 = 1 K - 2c K ---(02)
= zf K+ q0 - 2c K --- (03)
Solving for excavation depth zf
(and using Safety Factor), we obtained
Zf = {2c / [(SF) K]} {q0 / (SF) }

--- (04)

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design -Location consideration for Spread

footings

the new footing is adjacent to the existing footing

Potential settlement or instability from loss of overburden pressure .

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design - Net

versus Gross Soil Pressure (Design soil pressures)
Net versus Gross Soil Pressure (Design soil pressures)

The bearing capacity equations are based on gross soil pressure

qult, which is everything above the foundation level. If the
allowable pressure is based on the bearing capacity equations,
the pressure is a gross pressure.
Settlements are caused only by net increase in pressure over
the existing overburden pressure. If the allowable pressure is
based on settlement consideration, it is a net pressure.
NOTE :- YOU CAN ADD DERIVATION OF NET / GROSS PRESSURES
B4 MIDTERM

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design -Erosion /

Scouring Problems for structures adjacent to flowing
water
Erosion / Scouring Problems for structures adjacent

to flowing water

Bridge piers, abutments, bases for retaining walls and footings for other
structures adjacent to or located in flowing water must be located at a depth
such that erosion or scour does not undercut the soil and cause a failure
An accurate prediction of scour depth is necessary so as to use the shortest
possible pile lengths

proaches to avoid Scouring

Scour is accelerated if the foundation creates channel obstruction; To
reduce scour the foundation should create a minimum obstruction to
normal stream flow patterns
Determine the foundation types
Estimate the probable depth of scour ,effects, etc.
Estimate the cost of foundations for normal and various scour
conditions
Determine the cost versus risk and revise the design accordingly

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design Corrosion

Protections

Corrosion Protections

In polluted ground areas such as old sanitary

landfills, shorelines, near sewer outfalls line from
older industrial plants, or backwater areas where
water stands over dead vegetation, there can be
corrosion problems with metal foundation members
as well as concrete. Concrete is normally resistant
to corrosion;

However, if sulfates are present, it may

necessary to use sulfate-resistant concrete.

It may occasionally be necessary to use airentrained concrete for foundation members.

Use of treated timber piling instead of metal piling

be

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design Water

Table Fluctuations

Water Table fluctuation

A lowered water table increases the effective pressure and may cause additional
settlements. A raised water table may create problems for the owner from the following;
Floating the structure ( making it unstable or tilting it)
Reducing the effective pressure (causing excessive settlement)
Creating a wet basement if the basement walls are not watertight.

proaches to Water Table Fluctuations

By introducing some type of drainage (water does not accumulate
around the building walls or produce hydrostatic uplift beneath the
basement).
Use of drain tile around the basement perimeter (common for residential
dwellings and some larger buildings).
A sloping basement excavation that is backfilled with granular materials
to the required horizontal level in combination with a well (called a sump
pit) at the low point that is fitted with a pump (a sump pump system) can

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design Sand and

Silt Deposits
Just Discussion. Details from the notes already
given
Bearing capacity.
Densification of loose deposits to control settlement.
Placing the footing at a sufficient depth that the soil beneath the footing is
confined. If silt or sand is not confined, it will roll out from the footing
perimeter with a loss of density and bearing capacity. Wind and water may
erode sand or silt from beneath a footing that is too near the ground
surface.
Uncontaminated glacial silt deposits can have a large capillary rise because
of the small particle sizes.

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design FOUNDATIONS

ON LOESS AND OTHER
COLLAPSIBLE SOILS
Just Discussion in Class . Details from the
notes given

Collapsible soils are generally wind-blown (aeolian) deposits of silts, dune sands, and
volcanic ash. Typically they are loose but stable, with contact points well-cemented with a
water soluble bonding agent, so that certain conditions of load + wetting produce a collapse
of the soil structure with a resulting large settlement.

Loess is the predominating collapsible soil that engineers are confronted with.

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design FOUNDATIONS

ON EXPANSIVE SOILS
Just Discussion in Class . Details from the
notes given
Expansive soils undergo volume changes upon wetting and drying.
In general, all clayey soils tend to shrink on drying and
expand when the degree of saturation S increases.
Usually, the lower the shrinkage limit and the wider
the range of the plasticity index Ip, the more likely is
volume change to occur

Factors To Consider In Foundation Design - Foundations

on Clays and Clayey Silts
Just Discussion in Class . Details from the
notes given
Clays and clayey silts may range from very soft, normally
consolidated, to very stiff, highly over-consolidated deposits.
Major problems are often associated with the very soft to
soft, deposits from both bearing-capacity considerations and
consolidation settlements.