TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS

SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS DEEP FONDATIONS

• WALL FOUNDATION • PILE FOUNDATIONS
• ISOLATED COLUMN • UNDER-REAMED PILE
FOUNDATION • WELL FOUNDATIONS
• COMBINED FOUNDATION
• MAT OR RAFT FOUNDATION
Well Foundations
• Deep foundations.
• Widely used in India as foundations for bridge piers and abutments
• Provides a solid and massive foundation for heavy loads, Being a
massive substructure, it is monolithic and relatively rigid in its
structural behaviour.
• Useful in situations where the large loads along with lateral forces,
have to be transferred to a soil stratum deep below (in case of bridge
foundations)
• Very famous example: TajMahal.
Components of Well Foundations
Cutting edge
• The lowermost portion
of the well curve is the
cutting edge
• It cuts into the soil
during the sinking.
Well Curb
• The lower wedge
shaped portion of
well steining is
called the well
curb.
• Facilitates the
process of sinking.
Steining
• It is the main body of
well which transfers load
to the subsoil
• Acts as a cofferdam
during sinking and
provides wait for
sinking.
Well Cap
• It is a RCC slab laid on top
of the well steining and is
usually cast
monolithically with the
steining.
• Transmits the load of
superstructure to the
steining.
Other Components
• Bottom plug
• After the well is sunk to the required depth the base of well is plugged
with concrete this is called bottom plug.
• Transmits the load to the subsoil.
• Dredge Hole
• The well is sunk by excavating Soil from within the well. The hole
formed due to the excavation of soil is called the dredge hole.
• It is later filled with Sand. This sand filling helps in distributing the load
of superstructure to the bottom plug.
• Top Plug
• It is a concrete plug covering the sand filling usually constructed on top.
• It provides contact between well cap and sand filling.
• Helps in transferring the load through the sand filling.
Types of well shapes
• The choice of a particular shape of well is dependent mainly on base dimensions
of Pier, abutment, the ease and cost of construction, tilt and shift during sinking
and the magnitude of force is to be resisted.
• Most commonly adopted section of a well is the circular one.
• Circular shape has the least perimeter for a given area of the base and hence is
the ideal section in terms of the effort needed during sinking.
• Further as the distance of cutting edge from the dredge hole is equal, sinking is
more uniform.
• A combination of independent wells is easy to handle but they have a tendency
to tilt towards each other during sinking.
• Tied wells of different shapes are preferred in order to avoid relative tilt between
Wells.
• In case of large oblong peirs, two or three independent, circular waves placed
very close to each other with a common well cap can be used
Types of well shapes (IS 3955- 1967)
• The code has laid down following requirements for the horizontal cross
section of well
• The dredge hole should be large enough to permit drainage.
• The steining thickness should be sufficient to transmit the load and also
provide necessary weight for sinking and adequate strength against forces
acting on steining, both during sinking of wells and service
• When a group or groups of wells are sunk, the minimum spacing between
them depends on the depth of well.
• However, for general guidance in design, a spacing about 1 m may be used
Types of well shapes
• Circular well
• Double – D well
• Double Octagonal well
• Rectangular well
• Double Rectangular well
• Dumb bell well
Different Shapes are
shown in plan view:
Circular Well
• Most common shape of well foundations preferably used everywhere is circular
wells.
• It is featured with very high structural strength and is convenient in sinking;
additionally the chances of tilting are exclusively minimum.
• These circular well foundations are perfectly suitable for piers of the single-line
railway bridges and the double-lane road bridges.
• But for excessively lengthier piers it turns out to be uneconomical. Thus, the
maximum diameter of circular well is principally limited to 9m.
Double D Wells
• These wells are usually employed on the piers and abutments of the bridges that
are excessively long to be accommodated on a circular well of 9m diameter.
• These wells can be sunk easily. But considerable bending moments are
introduced in the steining because of difference in pressure between outside and
inside of the well.
• Additionally the square corners at the partition well provide maximum resistance
to sinking.
Double-octagonal wells
• These wells are considered to be better than Double-D wells in numerous
aspects.
• Most preferably the square corners are eliminated such that bending stresses are
reduced considerably.
• Additionally these wells provide higher resistance against sinking than double-D
wells because of increased area.
Rectangular wells:
• Rectangular wells are principally employed on bridge foundations with depths up
to 7m-8m.
• In case of larger foundations double-rectangular wells can be used. The loading
stresses at the steining are very high in rectangular wells.
Twin- circular wells
• Two circular identical wells are sunk very close to one another such
that they are held with a common well-cap.
• These wells are sunk simultaneously, adjacently.
• These wells are preferable where the length of pier cannot be
accommodated on a double-D or double-octagonal well.
• These wells are found advantages where the depth of sinking is
smaller and the soil strata bearing capacity is greater.
Types of Well Foundations
• Open Caisson (well)
• Box Caisson (well)
• Pneumatic wells or pneumatic caisson.
Open Caisson
• Top and bottom of the question is open during construction.
• May have any shape in plan: circular, rectangular, oblong etc.
• It has a cutting edge which is fabricated at site and first segment of shaft is built
on it (prefabricated boxes can also be driven in).
• Soil inside the shaft is dredged by suitable means and another segment is added
to it.
• Process of sinking is continue till it reaches the required depth. Bottom is sealed
with concrete then. Shaft is filled with sand.
• It can be constructed upto any depth and cost of construction is relatively low.
• Disadvantages of open caisson Or well:
• Progress of construction in boulder deposits is very slow.
• The concrete filled under water is not effective
• The bottom cannot be inspected
Box Caisson
• Box caisson is first casted on land and then towed to the site
where it is sunk onto a previously levelled base foundation.
• Also called as floating caisson.
• Used where loads not very heavy and a bearing stratum is
available at a shallow depth
• Disadvantages of Box caisson:
• Foundation bed has to be prepared in advance.
• Bearing capacity of base has to be properly assessed.
• Care has to be taken to protect foundation from scouring action.
Pneumatic caisson
• Has a working chamber at the bottom of caisson which is kept dry by forcing out
water under pressure, thus permitting excavation under dry conditions.
• Air locks are provided at top.
• Caisson gradually sinks as excavation is made.
• On reaching the final depth, the working chamber is filled with concrete.
• This has an advantage of better control in sinking and supervision.
• The bottom of chamber can be sealed effectively with concrete as it is placed
under dry conditions.
• Obstructions during sinking, e.g., boulders etc., can be removed quite easily.
• Disadvantages of pneumatic caisson:
• Cost is very high.
• The limit on depth of penetration below water level ( about 35m equalent to a
pressure of about 3.5 kg/cm2) is very high.
• These higher pressures are beyond endurance of human body.
Depth of a well foundation

• Two important requirements that influences the depth of a well

foundation are
• Minimum grip length below the scour depth.
• Base pressure to be within permissible limits.
• The scour depth in a stream should be ascertained either by actual
soundings at or near the proposed site during or immediately after a
flood before the scour holes have had time to silt up or by theoretical
methods e.g., Lacey's formula. According to Lacey's formula.
• For natural streams in alluvial beds the normal depth of scour, d(m)
below high flood level (HFL) for regime conditions in a stable channel
is given by:
Lacey’s Formula for Scour Depth
1ൗ
𝑄 3
𝑑 = 0.473
𝑓
Where,
Q= design discharge in cumecs
f= Lacey's silt factor=1.76 (m)1/2
m= mean size of particle in mm
Values of silt factor f have been recommended by IS:3955-1967
Forces Acting on Well Foundation:
Dead loads:
• it includes weight of superstructure (pier/abutment) + self weight of well.
Live loads:
• Load caused due to tractive effect of vehicles on bridges and road, load due to human beings, furniture
floors &other materials
• For road bridges, the live loads may be specified via standard specifications and code of practice for road
bridges.
Impact loads:
• The impact loads is the result of live load and shall be considered only during the design of a pier cap and
the bridge seat on the abutment. However, for other components of the well this effect shall be neglected.
Wind loads:
• The wind loads shall be seen only on the exposed area in elevation and hence acts laterally on the bridge
• According to IS Code: 875 provision the wind on super structures, sub structure, live load situated above the
water level are calculate.d
Forces Acting on Well Foundation:
Water pressure:
• The water pressure due to water current is acted on the portions of substructure that lies
between the water level and the maximum scour level. In case of piers lying parallel to
the direction of water, the intensity of water shall be determined by,
P = KV2
P = intensity of pressure (KN/m2),
K = constant(that depend upon the shape of well)
Maximum value i.e. = 0.788 for square ended piers
Minimum value i.e. = 0.237 for piers having cut and ease/clam water
V- --Velocity of current/water flow (m/s)
• An assumption is made that V2 is maximum at free surface of water and zero at the
deepest scour level. The velocity at surface is assumed to be √2 times the average
velocity.
Surface velocity =√2 * average velocity
Forces Acting on Well Foundation:
Longitudinal forces:
• Longitudinal forces results from tractive and braking forces. The longitudinal forces
depend on the type of vehicles and bearing. These forces get transferred/transmitted
into the substructure via fixed bearings and friction in movable bearings.
Earth pressure:
• The Rainkines’s theory and Coulombs theory is utilized to calculate the earth pressure.
Seismic forces:
• Seismic forces are vital when the wells are constructed in seismic zones. The seismic
forces act on every members of the superstructure.
seismic forces =αw,
w= weight of component and
α = seismic coefficient which depends upon the type of
seismic zone and its value shall extracted from code.
Usually taken between 0.01-0.08.