DEPTH OF FOUNDATION

1. Minimum depth of foundation as per IS 1080-1982 is 500mm from

Ground Level.
2. As per Rankine’s theory
Minimum depth of foundation =p/w (1-sin Φ /1+sin Φ) 2
where p=gross bearing capacity w
=density of soil
Φ =angle of response of soil
3. But in practice, the foundation depth is kept at 0.90m or even more.
4. It is customary practice to place the foundation of a “simple footing”
at a minimum depth of 1.50m from GL or at least 1.50 times the
width of footing. In cold climates the depth is kept at a minimum of 1.50m
below surface because of possible frost action.
5. For building of six storeyed or more, it may be kept at 1.5m
to 2.0m. For tall isolated structures, like water towers,
the foundation depth may be at 3.0m also.
6. As per IS 1080-1982, depth of foundation as a thumb rule is 5 to
10% of total height of building (ie. 1/20 to 1/10 of height of
building). Subsequently after revision this clause was omitted from
this code.
7. As per IS16700-2017, the embedded depth of building shall be
at least 1/15 of height of building for raft foundation and 1/20 of
the height of building for pile and piled raft foundation (excluding
pile length). But, this requirement may be relaxed, (a) when the
foundation rest on hard rock ; or (b) when there is no uplift under
any portion of raft in any service load combination, and provided
the minimum competent founding strata requirement is fulfilled.
8. A few practical requirements also may have to be considered while deciding
the depth of foundation such as the existing foundation of nearby building,
the possible influence of future expansion etc. If the height of building is
more, the horizontal forces acting on the building such as wind force are
large. As a thumb rule, minimum depth of foundation may be selected as 5%
to 10% of the height of building.
9. Where the moisture content may vary and cause shrinkage, the depth
must be considered with the minimum moisture content variation(1.50m
to 2.0m).In case of black cotton soils of expansive nature, the zone of
movement may be as deep as 3.0m to 3.50m. This is why ,the under
reamed piles in expansive clays are taken to minimum depth of 3.50m.
Selection of suitable type of foundation:
1.Foundation should be placed at a depth where the required Safe bearing capacity
of soil is available.
2. When good higher bearing capacity of soil i.e Hard Gravelly soil, Course dense
sand, Soft disintegrated rock etc. are available Isolated footings shall be
adopted. In case of Soft Disintegrated rock (SDR),Soft Rock and Hard rock is
available within the ground level, the rock should be cut for 300mm to 500mm
 depth and benched and dowel rods to be drilled/anchored to required depth for
construction of multi storeyed buildings.
3. In case of medium bearing capacity of soil i.e Medium sand mixed with silty,
very stiff clay, Non-expansive type silty sand etc. Isolated footings or combined
strip footings may be adopted.
4. For soils, foundation should be excavated for a depth of 1.50m to 2.40m depth
and soil is strengthened by filling with quarry dust: Gravel 1:3 for 300mm to
900mm depth, in layers of 150mm and well consolidated and foundation should
be placed above the strengthened improved soil. Poor bearing capacity soils
i.e. Soft clay, Medium clay or any clay etc. under reamed pile foundation with
Pile caps connected grade beams may be adopted. When load coming on the
columns are higher say GF+5 floors and above, Bored cast in situ pile with pile
caps/ Raft foundation may be adopted.
In case of GF+2 , GF+3, silt+3Floors with foundation placed in clay soil under
reamed pile with group of 2/3/4 piles connected with grade beams may be
adopted.
If hard strata is found in 10m depth, End bearing bored cast in situ piles with
pile caps can be adopted. For Driven cast in situ piles through sandy soil and
resting on a firm cohesionless material, ‘N’ value shall be between 35 and 45. For
Bored cast in situ piles through sandy soil resting on a firm cohesionless material
‘N’ value shall be between 40 and 50. Driven piles are generally not desirable in
clay soil since the set values are false due to pore pressure resistance.
If hard strata is not available within 10m depth, Raft slab with beams is
best solution for adopting foundation. For GF+10 Floors with SBC 150 to

200KN/m2 , it is enough to adopt Raft foundation system.

Foundation in expansive clay soil:
1. In case of Expansive soil, spread footing with grade beam/ belt beam at ground
level and plinth beam at basement level and continuous lintel at lintel level are
provided, care should be taken to provide sufficient counter weight from super
structure (Minimum GF+First floor) to balance the uplift pressure due to swelling
of clay soil of expansive nature.
2. In expansive clay soil, for GF+2 floors Single under reamed pile foundation or
Inverted Tee strip foundation is the best suitable foundation.
3. For GF+4 Floors , Group of under reamed piles with 2, 3 & 4 nos. of piles with
pile cap connected grade beam or group of strip beam type combined footing
foundation system may be preferable.
4. If basement floor is provided with GF+4 Floors, Raft foundation with raft
beams connecting in two directions and slabs may be suitable for the above
soil.
5. In some of the areas like Anna Nagar, Velacherry located in and around
Chennai, some of the Engineers adopted under reamed piles and Stub column
foundation. In such expansive soils for construction of residential flats, it is best
to adopt under reamed pile foundation. In addition to above Inverted tee strip
foundation may also be suitable.
6. In clay soil under reamed pile foundation is best suitable.
Various Types of Foundation:
1. Isolated Foundation:
1) When separate footings are provided for each column, they are called Isolated
footings. Isolated footing is preferable for framed structure i.e. (1+3) ultimate

storeys, with good soil in nature i.e. SBC of soil greater than 150KN/m 2 on
consideration of cost and execution convenience subject to other design

consideration. If the soil is weak in strength, with SBC <150KN/m 2 , the

spreading area is required covering 60% of the soil area and closer spacing
between the footings will occur. For other conditions, Isolated footing is not
appropriate. Hence other type of foundations such as strip footing or Raft
foundation may be tried and adopted.
Raft Foundation:
Raft foundation are used for combining the footings of a group of columns or all
the columns of a building when columns carry heavy loads on weak soils. Also,
when the isolated footings occupy more than 75% of the plan area, raft
foundations are used.
Generally up to 3 to 4 floors (storeys), provision of raft foundation works out to
be economical when a medium bearing/ moderate bearing soil is available up to
a depth of 2 to 3m. However for structures having more than 4 storeys and a
hard strata is available only 10m depth below GL, then adoption of pile
foundation is the best in addition to be economical. A cost comparative study for
 a 12 storeyed building at Chennai shows that adoption of Pile foundation is
cheaper by 40% when compared to the provision of raft foundation with rib
beams in two directions. The raft foundation with slab and beam type is costlier
to under reamed piles and also to Pile foundation.
However for small or medium buildings, the adoption of raft foundation will
prove to be economical. Further use of raft foundation increases the bearing
capacity of the soil with increasing depth and width of foundation and
settlement decreases with the increasing depth of foundation.
It is advantages to have the building plan as a simple rectangular or square
where a raft foundation is adopted. The thickness of raft foundation as a
thumb rule is 80mm per storey. For a ten storeyed building if raft
foundation is provided, it is roughly 800mm thickness.

ISOLATED FOOTIGS:
In the case of framed buildings with columns located on reasonably firm soil, it is
generally sufficient to provide separate independent footings for each of the
columns. Such a footing is referred to as isolated footing. Isolated footings may
be of the shape square, rectangular, or circular in plan. Rectangular footings are
provided for rectangular columns. Square footings are used for square or
circular
columns. Circular footings are used for circular columns.
SELECTION OF ISOLATED FOOTINGS:

Isolated spread footing is preferable for framed structure i.e. (GF + 3) ultimate
storey, with good soil in nature i.e. SBC of soil greater than 150KN/m 2 on
consideration of cost and execution convenience subject to other design
consideration. In case of soils like compact gravelly soils, weathered
disintegrated soft rocks, rocks, broken rocks having good bearing capacity.
If the soil is weak in strength, with SBC < 150 KN /m2 ,the spreading area is
required covering 60% of the soil area and closer spacing between the
footings
will occur. For other conditions, isolated footing is not appropriate. Hence other
type of foundations such as strip footing or raft foundation may be tried and
adopted.
The type of foundations to be provided depends on the following factors:
(i) Bearing capacity of the soil
(ii) Type of Loads
(iii) Type of Structure
(iv) Economy
(v) Permissible differential settlement.
TYPES OF ISOLATED FOOTING:
The footing may be a Pad footing or a sloped footing or stepped footing. It
may be axially loaded or eccentrically loaded.
Pad Footings: When the depth of footing is not more than 300mm, Pad footings are
used. The quantity of concrete (about 25% to 45%) and steel required is much
more in pad footings than the sloped footings.
These footings are commonly used in practice for reasons of easy in design
and construction footing is that the labour required is less and the concreting can be
done easily.

Sloped Footings:
For footings of intermediate size, sloped footings with slope starting from D/2
away from the edge of column are quite suitable. This type is quite
economical giving concrete and steel quantities quite reasonable in
comparison with other types. This type is easy to design as well as to
execute. This type is recommended for most individual footings
encountered in buildings with overall depth greater than 300 mm. The
depth at free end of footing may be kept at 150 mm the specified
minimum given by the Code. The depth (D) of this type of footing is kept the
same as that for footings of uniform depth.
For large-sized footings, sloped footings with the slope starting from the edge
of column or stepped footings are preferred to other types, as these give the
least quantities for concrete and steel consumption.
Sloped footings are adopted when the overall depth of footing is more than
300mm. To facilitate construction footing is casted with a straight width of 50
to 75mm on all four sides of column for seating of formwork for column. The
depth of footing at free end shall be 150mm (minimum) (200mm is
preferable). Maximum depth of footing is provided near column face.
Maximum depth near column face: 500 to 1000 mm in multiples of 50 mm.
Depth of footing can be calculated using any one of the following
approximate methods.
(i)Thumb rule based on projection of footing .
Depth of footing D =650 x a where a= projection of footing from
face of column in metres and D is in mm.
(ii) Thumb rule based on side of the footing for Fe 415 / Fe 500 steel.
Net upward soil pressure in t / m2 D / A value
5 1/7.0
10 1/5.5
15 1/5.0
20 1/4.5
25 1/4.0
30 1/3.50

Note :

1) Increase 20% for sloped and stepped footing.

2) p = Net upward pressure in t / m2
D = Overall depth of footing in cm. A =
Average side of footing in cm.
Footing with column pedestal :
 .

In sloped footing a Pedestal is sometimes used to have economy in footing

design. The Pedestal has the following advantages:
(i) It reduces effective cantilever of footing and thus reduces the bending
moment and shear.
(ii) It gives larger width to resist the bending moment.
(iii) It gives larger perimeter while checking two way shear.

Pedestal is casted after casting the footing. Usually the concrete mix
used in footing is M25 grade. However the column may have higher grade of
concrete. The concrete mix of Pedestal shall be that used in column. To
facilitate casting of the Pedestal, 75 mm straight length at top of footing is
casted. While using Pedestal, width of resisting bending moment may be taken as
width of Pedestal + 150 mm.
Stepped footing:
 The stepped footings give the least steel quantity, while the sloped
footing give the least concrete quantity. The depth for these types of
footings works out to be about 20% more than that for footings of
uniform depth. Stepped footings are a little cumbersome in construction,
while the sloped footings are easier in execution, albeit a little more
labour-intensive than the footings of uniform depth.

The various types of isolated footings used in practice are:

(1) Square footing for square column

(2) Rectangular Isolated sloped footing for Rectangular column

(3) Sloped footing with pedestal for square footing

(4) Sloped footing with pedestal for Rectangular footing

(5)Isolated slab with central beam type footing

(6) Unsymmetrical pad footing (Axial Load with moment for varying

pressure)

(7) Cantilevered footing for Bus stop shelter

(8) circular Footing for circular column

(9) Isolated square footing for circular column

 (10) Eccentric Footing: (i) Footing for corner column

(ii) Footing for Edge or side column

(11) Footing for Portico column in a high rise building

(12) Footing for double cantilever canopy

(13) Isolated Footing interrupted by adjacent footing

DESIGN CONSIDERATION

Design of foundation involves two aspects, viz., soil design and structural
design.Soil design includes :
(1) Determination of depth of foundation D f which depends on some
practical criteria and soil strata.
(2) Determination of allowable bearing pressure of soil at the level

Df which depends on the properties of soil at and below that level.

(3) Determination of plan dimensions of the footing which depends on

geometry of the structure, the loads on the column and allowable
bearing pressure of soil. Only working load should be used for arriving
size of footing.
(4) Determination of upward soil pressure on the footing.

Structural design includes:

(1) The design of footing, i.e., concrete and reinforcements. Footings are
designed for flexure and shear (both one way and two way action),
bearing and bond, mainly due to the soil pressure from the soffit of the
slab. The design is more or less similar to that of beams and two way
slabs supported on columns. Additional design considerations being
the transfer of force from the column to the footing and also safety
against sliding and overturning when horizontal forces are
 acting on the structure. Since footings are buried below the ground level,
deflection control is not important but crack widths should be limited to
0.3 mm, with general detailing requirements and it is desirable to
provide a clear cover of 75 mm for protection of main
reinforcements especially under aggressive environment.
(2) The maximum pressure on the soil should not exceed the allowable soil
pressure i.e., SBC
(3) The settlement of footings shall be nearly uniform as possible. To
minimize the differential settlement, the footings are proportioned to get
equal soil pressure under each column. This is done by providing footing
area very near to the required area considering SBC of soil. If under one
column, the exact required area of footing is provided and for another
column in the same structure, a larger area than required is provided,
the soil pressure under both the columns is different which may lead
to differential settlement. This is usually avoided.
(4) The centre of gravity of loads and c.g. of footing should coincide (if they
do not coincide, a moment will be induced in footing)
(5) For calculating the base size of the footing, the loadings with partial
safety load factor γf ]=1.0 should be considered. (For arriving base
area working load should be considered). For calculating bending
moment ultimate should be considered after arriving the base area.

(6) When loads are being transferred from column to the footing below, the
face of the columns will be subjected to maximum bending
moment. Thus for calculation of moment, maximum moment at the face
of the column has to be considered. (7) When the footing is subjected
to one way bending, the footing will be sensitive to vertical shear and if
the when the footing is subjected to two way bending, the footing will be
sensitive to punching shear.
(8) Maximum vertical shear in a footing will be at a distance of effective

depth of the footing from face of the column .

(9) Maximum punching shear will occurs at around the column at a

perimeter half the effective depth away from face of the column.
(10) When the section of the footing suddenly changes, vertical planes at those
location will be critically stressed. At these locations care should be taken
to provide sufficient development length. In addition to these
locations, sufficient development length has to be provided at all planes
where the bending moment is critical.
(11) If the load transferred from the column to the foundation below is
tensile, the tensile stress will be resisted by the steel reinforcement
provided. If the compressive loads are transferred they will be
resisted by bearing between column and footing.

PRACTICAL DIMENSIONS:

(i) Size of footing : 1000 mm to 3000 mm in multiples of 250 mm.

(ii) Maximum depth near column face:
500 to 1000 mm in multiples of 50 mm.
 Depth of footing can be calculated using any one of the
following approximate methods.
(iii) Minimum Dia. of bar : 8 Φ RTS
Preferable : 10 Φ RTS
Thumb rule:
Up to 2.0 m width : use 10 Φ RTS
Up to 3.0 m width : use 12 Φ RTS
Above 3.0 m width : use 16 Φ RTS
(iv) Minimum reinforcement :

Not less than 0.15% of c.s area for mild steel &

0.12% when HYSD bars are used.

(v) Maximum spacing of bar : 200 mm

(180 mm for Tor 40 as per IS 456-2000)

(vi) Minimum depth of foundation: 500 mm from G.L.

( As per I.S. 1080-1962)
Minimum depth of foundation as per Rankine ‘ s theory d
= p / γ {1- sin Ø / 1+ sin Ø }2
Where p = gross bearing capacity (SBC )

γ = density of soil.

Ø= angle of repose of soil.

But in practice, the foundation depth is kept at 0.90m or even more.

It is customary practice to place the foundation of a “simple footing “ at a

minimum depth of 1.50 m from ground level or at least 1.50 times
the width of footing. In cold climates the depth is kept at a minimum of 1.50 m
below surface because of possible frost action.
For building of six storey or more, it may be kept at 1.5m to 2.0m. For tall

isolated Structures, like water towers, the foundation depth may be at

3.0m also.
 A few practical requirements also may have to be considered while
deciding the depth of foundation such as the existing foundation of nearby
 building, the possible influence of future expansion etc. If the height of
building is more, the horizontal forces acting on the building such as wind force
are large. As a thumb rule, minimum depth of foundation may be
selected as 5% to 10% of the height of building.
Where the moisture content may vary and cause shrinkage, the depth

must be considered with the minimum moisture content variation(1.50m and

movement may be as deep as 3.0m to 3.50m. This is why ,the
under reamed piles in expansive clays are taken to minimum depth of
3.50m.

Combined Footings:

1.When the distance between two columns is small and SBC of soil is lower and
if isolated footings provided are coincided with each other, combined footings
are adopted.
2. Combined Rectangular slab footing (Without rib beams):

When columns are closely spaced with equal loads and the load
intensities are also much higher and under such situations a combined
slab footing without beam can be provided. When the distance between
the columns is not considerable (say 6 times the thickness of footing) a
combined footing without beam is suggested. This type gives a smaller
overall depth. In this case provision of rib beam will not add any
advantage.

3. Combined Rectangular Slab cum beam footing (STRAP Footing): When

the distance between the columns is considerable (less than 6 times the
thickness of footing) a simple beam of uniform depth connecting two columns
and extending from one end of footing to the other, may be provided.
In this case, the size of footing may be so chosen as to make the design
moment in the span between the columns equal to the higher of the moments
due to two cantilevers. The slab and beam type foundation Induces a large
overall depth of beam. Usually the slab and beam type Combined footings
are economical and are frequently used. In this case the load from column is
transferred to longitudinal beam and then to the soil through the footing slab.
(a)Combined footing with rib beams of equal overhang:

When the columns are carrying equal loads and are placed apart and
under such circumstances combined footing will be correct choice w.r.t.
economy. In such cases the column pedestals can also be avoided.
(b) combined footing with columns carrying unequal load with unequal

projection on either side from face column.

4. STRAP Footing:

A strap footing is a spread footing of two columns connected by a strap beam.

The strap beam does not remain in contact with soil and thus does not transfer
any pressure to the soil. If the columns are situated at larger distance, the
design of beam will be uneconomical. In such cases, to get some economy,
area of footing is concentrated near the columns, and the area in central
portion is omitted. Strap footing is preferable for the following situations:
(i)The distance between the column is so large that a combined trapezoidal
footing becomes quite narrow, with high bending moments.
(ii) When a column is near or right next to a property limit, square or
rectangular footing eccentrically located under the column would extend
into the adjoining property.