SOIL, GEOTECHNICAL

ENGINEERING
AND
FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
 SOIL :
Natural aggregates of mineral grains, loose or
moderately cohesive inorganic or organic in nature
that have the capacity of being separated by means
of simple mechanical processes.

 Structures are built with soil

Dams , embankment
Structures are built in soil
Structural foundations – footings, piles, rafts,
tunnels
 Geotechnical engineering

A unique combination of science, experience, judgment and

a passion for understanding the uniqueness and variability
of ground conditions resulting from the forces of nature.

It is the art of determining the properties of unseen and

variable materials to provide a facility that perform as
expected at acceptable level of risk and at an optional cost.
 Geotechnical engineering involves investigation and
engineering evaluation of earth materials including soil,
rock, ground water and man-made materials and their
systems, structural foundations and other civil engineering
works.

 The practice involves applications of the principles of the

soil mechanics and knowledge of engineering principles,
formulas, construction techniques and performance
evaluation of civil engineering work influenced by earth
materials.

 The base up on which knowledge structure is built in

Geotechnical Engineering is a through comprehension of
the elements of geologic environment.
 Foundation Engineering

In a broad sense, foundation engineering is a art of selecting,

designing and constructing the elements that transfer the weight
of structure to the underlying soil or rock.
The role of engineer is to select the type of foundation, its design
and supervision of construction.

Before the engineer can design a foundation intelligently, he must

have a reasonably accurate conception of the physical properties
and the arrangement of the underlying materials. This requires
detailed soil explorations.
 General Observation

1. Soil does not posses a unique or linear stress-strain

relationship.
2. Soil behavior depends up on the pressure, time and
environment.
3. Soil at every location is essentially different
4. Nearly in all the cases, the mass of soil involved is
underground and cannot be seen entirely, but must be
evaluated on the basis of small size samples, obtained
from isolated locations.
5. Most soils are very sensitive to disturbance from
sampling and thus the behavior measured by a lab test
may be unlike that of in situ soil.
 The foundation engineer should posses the following
information
 Knowledge of soil mechanics and background of
theoretical analysis
 Composition of actual soil strata in the field.
 Necessary experience-precedents-what designs have
worked well under what designs have worked well under
what conditions-economic aspects
 Engineering judgment or intuition - to find solutions to the
problems.
 Definition of foundation

The lowest part of a structure is generally referred to as

foundation.
Function of foundation

To transfer load of the superstructure to the soil on which it is

resting.
Requirements (Functional)
A properly designed foundation is one that transfers the structura
load throughout the soil without overstressing of soil which can
result in either excessive settlement or shear failure,
both of which can damage the structure.
 Classification of Foundations

 Shallow foundations
 Deep Foundations

Shallow foundations located just below the lowest part of the

superstructure they support; deep foundations extend
considerably deeper in to earth.
 Shallow Foundations

Concentrated Load

PLAN PLAN
Distributed Load

ELEVATIO ELEVATIO
N Combined
N Rectangular
Footing
 Shallow Foundations

PLAN

ISOMETRIC VIEW
Combined Trapezoidal Footing

ELEVATION
Wall Footing
 Shallow Foundations

Raft Foundation
 Loads on foundation

Dead Load : Refers to the overall weight of the structure. Includes weight of the
materials permanently attached to the structure (such as flooring) and fixed
service equipment (such as air conditioning)

Live load : Refers to the weight of the applied bodied that are not permanent
parts of the structure. Applied to the structure during part of its useful life (e.g.
people, warehouse goods). Specified by code.

Wind loads : Acts on all exposed parts of the structure. Calculated using building
codes.

Earthquake Forces : Building code is consulted.

 Depth and location of foundation

Depth and location of foundation depends on

1. Zone of significant volume changes in soil.

2. Adjacent structures and property lines.

3. Ground water

4. Underground defects
 Depth and location of foundation

Zone of significant volume changes in soil :

Clays having high plasticity shrink and swell considerably up

on drying and wetting respectively.

Volume change is greatest near ground. Decreases with

increasing depth. Volume changes usually insignificant below
a depth from 1.5-3.0 m and does not occur below volume changes.
 Depth and location of foundation

Adjacent structures and property lines.

Structures may be damaged by the construction
of new foundations, as a result of vibrations,
undermining by excavation or lowering of the
water table. After new foundations have been
constructed, the (new) loads they place on the soil
Part extending may cause settlement of previously existing
Property line structures as a result of new stress pattern in the
property line
surrounding soil.
New
In general, deeper the foundations Footing
and closer to the old structure, 450 Existing
greater will be the potential for Limit for bottom Footing
damage to old structures. of deeper
Footing
 Depth and location of foundation

Ground water

Presence of water reduces soil bearing capacity, larger footing size more
cost. During construction pumping is necessary – adds to the cost of
construction.

Underground defects

Footing location affected by underground defects

Faults, caves, mines, sewer lines , underground cables and utilities.
 Bearing Capacity : Modes of Failure

Strip footing in Load q (kN/m2)

Settlement (mm)
dense soil

Sudden appearance of a clearly

defined distinct failure shape
General shear
Failure
 Bearing Capacity : Modes of Failure

Strip footing in
Load q (kN/m2)
Relatively loose soil

Settlement (mm)
qu (1)

qu (2)

Local shear Failure

When Load reaches qu(1) further settlement takes place with jerks
At q = qu(1) Not so distinct failure surface develops; does not reach
ground surface
At q = qu(2) Failure surface finally reaches ground surface; not distinct
Settlement are more in this case as compared to earlier.
2. FOUNDATIONS
2.1 FOUNDATIONS - OVERVIEW

• Loads and settlements of foundations - Safe foundations

• Types of soils that make up the foundation - Properties
• Properties of foundations: Strength, Stability, Drainage, etc. -
Estimating soil properties: Exploration and testing
• Construction of foundations - Type of soil layers at the top, excavation,
support for soil, soil strengthening, de-watering
• Types of foundations - Shallow and deep - Influence zone
• Precautions - Seismic base isolation; Underpinning during construction;
Retaining walls; Waterproofing, drainage, reinforcing & insulation; Frost
protection
• Foundation design for optimal cost
2.2 INTRODUCTION TO FOUNDATIONS

• Function of a foundation is to transfer the structural loads from a

building safely into the ground. A backyard tool shed may need only
wooden skids to spread its load across an area of ground surface,
whereas a house would need greater stability and consequently its
foundation should reach the underlying soil that is free of organic
matter and unreachable by the winter’s frost. A larger and heavier
building of masonry, steel, or concrete would require its foundations to
go deeper into earth such that the soil or the rock on which it is founded
is competent to carry its massive loads; on some sites, this means going
a hundred feet or more below the surface. Because of the variety of soil,
rock, and water conditions that are encountered below the surface of the
ground and the unique demands that many buildings make upon the
foundations, foundation design is a highly specialized field of
geotechnical engineering.
2.3 LOAD AND SETTLEMENTS OF FOUNDATIONS

• Types of loads on foundations: Dead, live, wind, inclined thrusts and

uplift, water table and earthquake forces
• Types of settlements: Uniform and differential - Differential
settlement must be minimized, depends on site soil conditions and
distribution of loads on columns supporting the building
• Requirements of a safe foundation: Structure-foundation system
safe against settlements that would lead to collapse - Foundation
settlement should not damage the structure - Foundation must be
technically and economically feasible
 Foundation Loads
 Dead Load
 Live Load
 Wind Load
 Horizontal Pressures Below Grade
 Structural Member Forces
 Uplift
 Earthquake
 SETTLEMENTS OF FOUNDATIONS

NO SETTLEMENT * TOTAL SETTLEMENT * DIFFERENTIAL

SETTLEMENT
Uniform settlement is usually of little consequence in a building, but differential
settlement can cause severe structural damage
2.4 TYPES OF SOILS AND CHARACTERISTICS
• Rocks and soils - Rocks: Broken into regular and irregular sizes by
joints - Soils (particulate earth material): Boulder (too large to be lifted
by hands), cobble (particle that can be lifted by a single hand), gravel
aggregates (course grained particle larger than 6.4mm) , sand
(frictional, size varies from 6.4 to 0.06mm), silts (frictional, low
surface-area to volume ratio, size varies from 0.06 mm to 0.002mm)
and clays (cohesive - fine grained - high surface-area to volume ratio,
size smaller than 0.002 mm) - Peat (soils not suitable for foundations) -
In USA classified according to Unified Soil Classification System
Porous Clays
(sandy)
2.5 PROPERTIES OF FOUNDATION

• Strength: Load bearing capacities: Crystalline rocks (very strong -

12,000 psf), sedimentary rocks (intermediate - 6,000 psf) and other
types of soils (relatively lower - 2,000 to 3,000 psf)
• Stable under loads (creep, shrinkage and swelling)
• Drainage characteristics: Porosity and permeability
• Soil property estimation: Subsurface exploration (test pits - less
than 8 ft in depth; borings - greater than 8 ft) - Estimate level of water
table - Testing of soil sample in laboratory for various properties:
Particle size distribution, Liquid limit, Plastic limit, Water content,
Permeability, Shrinkage/ swelling, Shear/compressive strength,
Consolidation (creep and settlement)
2.6 CONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATIONS
• Some amount of excavation required for every building - Top soil
consisting of organic matter is removed - Below the region of soil erosion
(by water and wind) & below the level of permafrost - To the required
depth at which the bearing capacity necessary for the building is met - A
variety of machines used for excavation - The sides of excavation too be
protected from caving in by benching, sheeting (soldier beams and lagging,
sheet piles, slurry walls, etc.) or bracing (cross-slot, rakers or tiebacks) -
De-watering using well-points & sumps, and watertight barriers -
Mixing the soil by rotating paddles
• Bulldozers * Shovel dozers * Back hoes
• Bucket loaders * Scrapers * Trenching machines
• Power shovels * Tractor-mounted rippers * Pneumatic hammers
• Drop balls * Hydraulic splitters * Blasting
DOZERS
Backhoe
 Unrestricted Site

Bench and/or Angle of Repose

Must have perimeter clearance
Considerations
Bank Erosion
Water Diversion
Safety
Storage of Backfill (& cost)
Most likely - least expensive
Benched Excavation
Solder Beam & Lagging
Sheet Pile Options
 Slurry Wall

Steps
Layout
Excavate the soil
Interject Slurry to
prevent Collapse as
Excavation Continues
Install Reinforcing
Place Concrete
(replaces the slurry mix)
 Tieback Installation

 Rotary Drill Hole

 Insert & Grout Tendons

 Tendons Stressed & Anchored

 Bracing

 Crosslot

 Rackers

 Tiebacks
Bank Requiring a Retention System
Retention System Depends On:

 Proximity to Buildings
 Type of Soil
 Water Table Level
 Temporary or Permanent
 Contractor Preference
 Cost - KEY Consideration
 Dewatering

 A process of removing Water and/or lowering the

Water Table within a construction site
 Purpose: To Provide a Dry working platform -
(typically required by Code and Specification)
 If the Water Table is above the working platform;
Options:
» Keep water out
» Let water in & remove it
» Combination
 Watertight Barrier Walls

 Keep Water Out

 Barrier must reach an
impervious strata
 Types
– Slurry Walls
– Sheeting w/ pumps
 Must resist hydrostatic
pressure
2.7 TYPES OF FOUNDATION
• A building consists of superstructure, substructure and the
foundations - Two types foundations : Shallow and Deep -
Depends on whether the load transfer is at deeper depths or
shallower depths - Need for these two types (soil strength, ground
water conditions, foundation loads, construction methods and impact
on adjacent property) -Shallow foundations (column footings
without or with tie/grade beams, individual or combined wall footing,
slab on grade, raft) - Deep foundations (caissons with or without
sockets, end bearing or friction piles, pile groups), zone of influence,
made of concrete (regular or site-cast) or steel or wood
 Major Building Parts

Superstructure

Substructure

Foundation
 Primary Factors Affecting
Foundation Choice

 Subsurface soil

 Ground water conditions

 Structural requirements
Secondary Factors Affecting Foundation
Choice
 Construction access, methods & site conditions
 Environmental factors
 Building Codes & Regulations
 Impact on surrounding structures
 Construction schedule
 Construction risks
 Shallow Foundations

 Requirements
– Suitable soil bearing capacity
– Undisturbed soil or engineered fill

 Basic types or configurations

– Column footings
– Wall or strip footings
Combination Spread & Strip Footing
 Shallow Foundations

Stepped strip
footings /// ///
\\\
\\\ /// \\\

Grade Beams
 Shallow
Foundations
 SOG with thickened edges

 Eccentrically loaded footings

 Mat foundation
 Floating (Mat) foundation
 Deep Foundations - Purpose
transfer building loads deep into the earth

Basic types
– Drilled (& poured)

– Driven
Caisson Installation Sequence

 Hole drilled with a large drill rig

 Casing installed (typically)
 Bell or Tip enlargement (optional)
 Bottom inspected and tested
 Reinforced
 Concrete placement (& casing removal)
 Driven Piles

Two basic types of Piles

– End bearing pile - point loading

– Friction pile - load transferred by

friction resistance between the pile
and the earth
 Pile material
 Steel; H- piles, Steel pipe
 Concrete; Site cast or Precast
 Wood; Timber
 Composite
 Driven Piles
The following photo sequence was taken at the site of the:
 Nashville Coliseum
– 67,000 seat sports coliseum in Nashville, TN
– The Facility had Deep Foundations:
» 3,500 Driven Piles; 12x53 H Piles w/ End Bearing
» Pile length varied from 25’-75’
» Used 3 Pile Drivers w/ Diesel Powered Hammers
» Driving rate: 20-25 piles/day/rig
» Driving tolerance: 3”-6”
Precast Concrete Plies
Site Cast Concrete Piles

Cased Piles Uncased Piles

2.8 PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN

• Seismic base isolation in seismic areas - Underpinning required

to carry out repairs to the existing building or to add some
changes in the foundations - Retaining walls to hold the soil back
from caving in: Types of failure such as overturning, sliding
and undermining should be avoided, non-reinforced or/and
reinforced cantilevered retaining walls, drainage behind the wall
to eliminate piping of water in soil - Water proofing (use
waterproof membranes, asphalt coating) and drainage
(perforated pipes) of foundations - Basement insulation
(polystyrene or glass fiber boards placed on the outside or inside
with drainage mats) - Frost protection through protective
coatings and plastic foam insulation - Back-filling with properly
draining soils
Seismic Base Isolation
Retaining walls
Types of wall failure
– Wall fracture
– Overturning
– Sliding
– Undermining
 Retaining walls
Design Elements to Prevent Failure
Relieve H2O pressure
(for all 3 types of failure)
– Crushed stone
– Weeps
Overturning
– Cantilevered Footing
– Reinforcing
Sliding
– Key
 Waterproofing

 Structures Below Ground subject to penetration of

ground water
 More extreme, if below H2O table
 Two basic approaches to Waterproofing
– Waterproof Membranes, or
– Drainage
– Generally - both used in tandem
Waterproofing Membranes

 Materials
– Liquid or Sheet (Plastic, asphaltic, synthetic rubber)
– Coatings (asphaltic)
– Cementitious Plasters & admixtures
– Bentonite clay
 Accessories
– Protection Board
– Waterstop
 Unit of Measure - SF, Mils (thickness)
 Drainage Methods
Stone & Perforated Pipe Drainage Mat & Perforated Pipe
Dampproofing
Typically, a liquid asphalt
applied with a
roller or sprayer
Not an effective barrier
for water under pressure.
BUT, will prevent ground
‘moisture’ from migrating
through a wall.
Typically used in conjunction
will drainage pipe.
2.9 FOUNDATION DESIGN FOR OPTIMAL COST
• Controlled by many factors: (i) Integrated decision-making and
functioning of architects, structural engineers and foundation
engineers; (ii) Building below the water table level is costly and
sometimes damaging to the building; (iii) Building close to an
existing structure to be avoided (any digging activity on either sites
will affect one another and can lead to costly repairs); (iv) Column
or wall load becoming more than that which can be supported by a
shallow foundation (deep foundations are expensive) ; (v)
Uncertainties can be avoided by using larger factors of safety in
design of foundations over soils
Foundation
 Foundation
• Introduction :
• A structure essentially consists of two parts, namely the super
structure which is above the plinth level and the substructure which is
below the plinth level.
• Substructure is otherwise known as the foundation and this forms the
base for any structure. Generally about 30% of the total construction
cost is spent on the foundation.
• The soil on which the foundation rests is called the “foundation soil”.

• Objectives of a foundation :
A foundation is provided for the following purposes:
• To distribute the total load coming on the structure on a larger
area.
• To support the structures.
• To give enough stability to the structures against various disturbing
forces, such as wind and rain.
• To prepare a level surface for concreting and masonry work.
 Foundation…
• Types of foundation : Types of Pile foundation :
• Friction pile
The two main types of foundation • Load bearing pile
are :
• Shallow foundation (spread
foundation) and
• Deep foundation
Note : Under-reamed piles is a
Types of Shallow foundation : type of load bearing pile
• Isolated footing (single footing,
Column footing)
• Combined footing
Types of Deep foundation :
• Pile foundation
• Pier foundation
 Foundation…
• Shallow foundation (spread
foundation):
• Depth of foundation is less than
or equal to its width.

• Isolated footing (single footing,

column footing):
• In framed structures where
several columns are to be
constructed, isolated footings
can be adopted.
• The columns involved can be • In case of masonry footing, the
provided with masonry or projection of each step must be ½
concrete footing. brick thick and each step is made
• If masonry footing is provided, of 1 or 2 bricks put together.
steps are given and the • Concrete can be moulded to any
foundation area is thus shape and hence a concrete
increased so that the stresses footing may be a sloping one to
developed at the base is within provide sufficient spread.
the limit.
 Foundation…
• Isolated footing (single footing, column footing)…
 Foundation…
• Isolated footing (single footing, column footing)…
 Foundation…
• Isolated footing (single footing, column footing)…
wall footing
 Foundation…
• Combined footing:

• This type of footing is

adopted when the space
between two columns is so
small that the foundation for
individual columns will
overlap.
Footing :
Footings are structural members
• Combined footings are
used to support columns and walls
proportioned in such a way
and to transmit and distribute their
that the centre of gravity of
loads to the soil in such a way that
the loads coincides with the
the load bearing capacity of the
centre of gravity of the
soil is not exceeded. Also
foundation. Hence these
excessive settlement, differential
footings have either a
settlement or rotation are
trapezoidal or a rectangular
prevented and adequate safety
shape.
against overturning or sliding is
maintained.
 Foundation…
• Pile :
• A slender, structural member
consisting steel or concrete or
timber.
• It is installed in the ground to
transfer the structural loads to
soils at some significant depth
below the base of the structure.
 Foundation…
Pile caps are thick slabs used
to tie a group of piles together
to support and transmit column
loads to the piles.
 Foundation…
• Deep foundation :
• Deep foundation consists of
pile and pier foundations.
• This consists in carrying down
through the soil a huge
masonry cylinder which may be
supported by the sides of soil
or may be supported on solid
rock (hard stratum).

• Pile foundation :
• Pile is an element of
construction used as
foundation. It may be driven in
the ground vertically or with
some inclination to transfer the
load safely.
 Foundation…
• Pile foundation…
• Loads are supported in two
ways.
• If the load is supported by the
effect of friction between the
soil and the pile skin, it is called
friction pile.
• Friction piles may be made of
cast iron, cement concrete,
timber, steel, wrought iron and
composite materials.
• If the load is supported by
resting the pile on a very hard
stratum, it is called load bearing
pile. • Piles may be cast-in-situ or
• Load bearing piles are steel precast.
sheet piles, concrete piles and • They may be cased or
timber piles. uncased.
 Load
Bearing Friction Piles
Pile
Load bearing Friction Pile
pile
 TYPES OF PILES
• Concrete Piles
i) Cast-In-Situ Concrete Piles
a) Cased cast-in-situ b) Uncased cast-in-situ
ii) Precast Concrete Piles

• Steel Piles
i) H-Piles ii) Cylindrical piles iii) Tapered piles

• Timber Piles

• Composite Piles
TYPES OF PILE CONSTRUCTION
1. Displacement Piles
It cause the soil to be displaced radially as well as vertically as pile
shaft is driven or jacked into the ground.
b) Non Displacement Piles (Replacement piles)
It cause the soil to be removed and the resulting hole filled with
concrete or a pre cast concrete pile is dropped into the hole and
grouted in.
Displacement Pile Non Displacement pile
 METHOD OF INSTALLATION
• Dropping Weight or Drop Hammers
- commonly used method of insertion of displacement piles

• Diesel Hammers
-Most suitable to drive pile in non cohesive granular soil

• Vibratory Hammers or vibratory method of pile driving

-very effective in driving piles through non cohesive granular soil

• Jacking Method Of Insertion

4 November 2010
Pile installation using Drop Hammer
Pile Driving Rig - temporarily support the pile that
being
driven and to support the pile hammer.
 Jacking Method Of Insertion
• Jacked Piles are most commonly used in underpinning structures
• By excavating underneath a structure short lengths of pile can be
inserted and jacked into the ground using the underside of the existing
structure as a reaction.