FOUNDATION

ENGINEERING
Introduction/ Definition
Lesson 1
• Foundation – is the part of an engineered system
which transmits to, and into, the underlying soil or
rock the loads supported by the foundation and its
self-weight.
• All engineered construction resting on the earth must be carried
by a foundation.
• Superstructure – is commonly used to describe the
engineered part of the system bringing load to the
foundation, or substructure.
• The term superstructure has particular significance for buildings
and bridges; however, foundations also may carry only machinery,
support industrial equipment (pipes, towers, tanks) ast as sign in bases,
and similar.
• It is better to describe foundation as that part of the engineered
system interfacing the load carrying components to the ground.
• It is evident on the basis of this definition of a foundation that it is
the most important part of the engineering sytem.
• Foundation Engineer – is the person who by
reason of training and experience is sufficiently
versed in scientific pricinples and engineering
judgment to design a foundation.
• The necessary scientific principles are acquired through
formal educational courses in geotechnical (soil mechanics,
geology, foundation engineering.) and structural (analysis, design in
reinforced concrete and steel, etc.)
• Steps in designing a foundation:
• 1. Locate the site and the position of the load.
• 2. Physically inspect the site for any geological, or other,
evidence of possible problems. Supplement this with any previously
obtained soil data.
• 3. Establish the field exploration program and on the basis
of discovery set up the necessary supplemental field testing
and the laboratory test program.
• 4. Determine the necessary soil design parameters based
on integration of test data, scientific principles, and
engineering judgment. Simple or complex computer analyses may be
involved. For complex problems, compare the recommended data with
published literatue or engage another geotechnical consultant to give an outside
perspective to the results.
• 5. Design the foundation using the soil parameters from step
4. The foundation should be economical and be able to to
be built by the vailable construction personnel. Take into account
practical construction tolerances and local construction practices. Interact
closely with all concerned (client, engineers, architect, contractor) so that the
substructure is not excessively overdesigned and risk is kept within acceptable
levels.
Classification of Foundation
1. Shallow Foundation – termed bases,
footings, spread footings, or mats. Where
depth is generally D/B < 1
Spread Footing- supports a single column.
Mat – is used to support several rows of
parallel columns and may underlie a portion, or the
entire building plan.
Bases – foundation supporting machineries.
2. Deep Foundations – piles, drilled piers,
or drilled caissons. D/B > 4.
• Pile – deep foundations are anlogous to
spread footings but distribute the load
vertically rather than horizontally. A
qualitative load distribution over depth for a
pile.
• Drilled Pier and Drilled Caisson – are for
the pile type member which is constructed
by drilling a hole 0.76m in diameter, adding
reinforcing, and backfilling the cavity with
concrete.
3. Retaining Structure – any structure used
to retain soil or other material; in a
geometric shape other than that naturally
occurring under the influences of gravity.
It may be constructed of a large number of
materials including wood and metal sheeting, plain or
reinforced concrete, reinforce earth, precast concrete
elements, closely spaced piling, inlocking wood or metal
elements (crib walls), and similar.
Sometimes it is permanent and in other cases it is
removed when no longer needed.
General Requirements in
Foundation Design:
• 1. Determining the building purpose, probable
service-life loading, type of framing, soil proflie,
construction methods and construction cost.
• 2. Determine the client/ owner’s needs.
• 3. Make the design but ensuring that it does not
excessively degrade the environment nand with
a margin of safety which produces a tolerable
risk level to all parties: the public; the owner; and
the designer
 Foundations: Additional Considerations
The previous section outlined in general terms
requirements to be met in designing a foundation in
terms of settlement and soil strength. We will now
outline number of additional considerations which
may have to be taken into account at specific sites.
1. Depth must be adequate to avoid lateral squeezing of
material from beneath the foundation for footings and mats.
Similarly excavation for the foundation must take into
account that this can happen to existing footings on
adjacent sites and protection may be required for adjacent
buildings.
2. Depth of foundation must be below the zone of seasonal
volume changes caused by freezing, thawing, and plant
growth. Most local building codes will contain minimum
depth requirements.
3. The foundation scheme may have to consider expansive
soil conditions. Here the building tends to capture soil
moisture in the interior zone and allow normal evaporation
around the perimeter. The soil in a distressingly large
number of geographic areas tends to swell in the presence
of substantial moisture and carry the foundation up with it.
4. In addition to compressive strength considerations, the
foundation system must be safe against overturning,
sliding, and any uplift (flotation}.
5. System must be safe against corrosion or deterioration
due to harmful materials present in the soil. This is a
particular concern in reclaming I reclaimingsanitary
landfills bdt has application where chemical agents
present can corrode metal piling,cause adverse reactions
with Portland cement in concrete footings or piles, etc.
6. Foundation system should be adequate to sustain some
later changes in site or construction geometry and be
easily modified should changes in the superstructure and
loadingbecome necessary.
7. The foundation should be buildable with
available construction personnel.
8. The foundation and site development must
meet local environmental standards.

• While not all of the above are applicable to a given

project, it is readily apparent that those that are
tend to imtroduce additional uncertainty into the
system making the application of engineering
judgement an even more important ingredient in
the design process.
FOUNDATIONS: SELECTION OF TYPE
FOUNDATION
ENGINEERING
SOIL EXPLORATION/
SAMPLING
Lesson 2
• Investigation of the underground
conditions at a site is prerequisite to the
economical design of the substructure
elements. It is also necessary to obtain
sufficient information for feasibility and
economic studies for a proposed project.
• Elimination of the site exploration, which
usually ranges from 0.5 to 1.0 percent of
total construction cost, only to find after
construction has started that the
foundation must be redesigned is certainly
false economy.
• The elements of a site investigation depend heavily on the
project but generally should provide:
1.Information to determine the type of foundation required
(shallow or deep).
2.Information to allow the geotechnical consultant to make a
recommendation on the allowable load capacity of the
foundation.
3. Sufficient data/ laboratory tests to make settlement
predictions.
4. Location of the groundwater table (or determination of
whether it is in the construction zone).
5. Information so that the identification and solution of
construction problems (sheeting and dewatering or rock
excavation) can be made.
6. Identification of potential problems (settlements, existing
damage, etc.) concerning adjacent property.
7. Identification of environmental problems and their solution.
• Methods of Exploration:
The most widely used method of subsurface
investigation for compact sites and most
extended sites is boring holes into the
ground from which samples may be
collected for either visual inspection or
laboratory testing.
• Soil Boring
• Geologic engineering tests to determine the capability of
the soil to support proposed improvements or to determine
the strength and properties of a required building
foundation.

• Exploratory holes into the soil may be made by hand tools, but
more commonly mounted power tools are used.

Hand Tools
The earliest method of obtaining a test hole was to excavate test
pit using a pick and shovel. Because of economics, the current
procedure is to use power-excavation equipment such as a
backhoe to excavate the pit and then to use hand tools to
remove a block sample or shape the site for in situ testing. This
is the best method at present for obtaining quality undisturbed
samples or samples for testing at other than vertical orientation.
Mounted Power Drills
• For numerous borings to greater depths and
to collect samples that are undisturbed, the
only practical method is to use power-driven
equipment.
1. Wash boring – a term used to describe one
of the more common methods of advancing
a hole into the ground. A hole is started by
driving a casing to a depth of 2 to 3.5m.
Casing is simply a pipe which supports the
hole, preventing it from caving in.
2. Rotary Drilling – is another method of
advancing test holes. This method uses
rotation of the drill bit, with the simultaneous
application of pressure to advance the hole.
Rotary drilling is the most rapid method of
advancing holes in rock unless it is badly
fissured; however, it can also be used for
any other type of soil.
3. Continuous-flight augers – with a rotary drill
are probably the most popular method of soil
exploration at present in North America and
Europe. The flights act as a screw conveyor
• Execution of soil borings
• General safety instructions
• Before performing any drilling it is important to make sure
that:

• No utilities are present in the selected drilling points.

Special attention must be paid to gas lines, electric wires
and steam or hot water pipes. Beware that clashing of such
lines may cause deaths. For this reason a utility survey
must be carried out at each drilling location using a pipe
locator and if necessary pre-drilling must be conducted.
• Personnel is familiar with these tasks and the equipment
used.
• Personnel is using appropriate protective equipment.
• Every person/organization that could be affected by the
drilling activities knows about them.
• In some cases, permits issued by appropriate authorities
might be required in order to perform drilling activities
• Types of soil borings
• When carrying out soil sampling very close to the
surface, borings may be replaced by excavations
with a trench digger. Only in rare cases digging
by hand will be advantageous. Excavating by
machine provides a good overview of the soil
layers and how the contamination varies along
the face of the excavation. Excavations are
particularly advantageous in cases where the
contamination is distributed unevenly, like for
example in landfills.
• Localization borings are shallow investigation
borings of up to 3-4 m in depth, which are made
in order to determine contamination in the upper
soil layers and in the aquifers close to the
surface.
• Investigation borings are borings of more
than 4-5 m depth, where contamination in
deeper soil layers and deeper groundwater
is described.
• Drilling tools and operation
• Soil borings can be completed by using
drilling rigs, portable motor-driven augers,
percussion gouge equipment or hand
augers, and they should be correctly
identified with a specific identification
number.
• Hand augers, portable motor-driven augers and
percussion gouge equipment. In connection with
shallow soil borings hand augers, portable motor-driven
augers and percussion gouge equipments are usually
used. Drilling can be performed up to a maximum of 3-4
m depth, but this will depend very much on the soil
consistency. These equipments are recommended rather
for loose soil and unpaved areas, because the rigs can’t
drill through asphalt and concrete.
•
• If asphalt or concrete is present, it has to be drilled
previously by means of a drill. If geological conditions
permit, the borings can be executed without the use of
casing, since this method can provide adequate level-
specific soil samples in connection with shallow borings.
Shallow localization soil borings can be filled back with
excavated material if the borings do not exceed a depth of
3-4 m.
• Drilling rigs. Normally rotary and auger drilling rigs are
used for drilling of environmental investigation borings:

• Auger rigs (equipped usually with augers of 62 - 135 mm

diameter). Drilling can be performed up to 5 - 30 m
depth.
• Rotary rigs. Drilling of boreholes by rotating a hollow
core barrel (76 - 151 mm diameter) for soil and water
sampling. Drilling depth is not limited.
•
One of the targets of investigation soil borings is to
ensure water sampling at specific depths through a
screen. For this reason, the dimensions of the borings
must be selected according to the desired screen size
and gravel pack. The following table shows typical
associations between borehole and screen diameters.
• Borings with this depth (> 4-5 m) should always be carried
out using casing in order to ensure representative soil
samples and in order to prevent cross contamination.
Usually the method of boring used is dry rotation soil
boring with casing, which will be removed during either
well development or borehole abandonment activities. For
drilling of deep soil borings, a double casing system will be
used. One larger diameter will be used to drill down to the
first layer. A smaller diameter casing will then be used
inside the first casing to drill down to the second layer.
This will prevent vertical cross contamination from the
shallow soil to the aquifer. At conclusion of each soil
boring, the hole will be filled with grout to ground surface
to prevent cross-contamination between stratigraphic
layers. Piezometers can be installed to investigate deeper
aquifers, to monitor and remediate groundwater.
• Furthermore, it is also important to decontaminate drilling
equipment which comes into contact with soil before each
drilling operation in order to avoid cross-contamination
between different drilling locations and to ensure that
collected samples are representative (see Chapter III
“Management of Investigation Derived Waste and
Equipment”).

Finally it is important to consider the following information,

which should be collected during drilling operations:

• Name or identification number of soil boring

• Start and end date of works
• Observed lithology
• Soil appearance and color
• Presence of humidity
• Water levels and non-aqueous phase liquid levels, if present. Once
drilling a soil boring is concluded, water level and possible presence
and depth of non-aqueous phase liquids shall be measured by
means of an interface probe.
• Drilling company
• Drill typology
• Boring depth
• Drilling device diameter
• Collected samples, with relative sampling depth and identification
code
• Stratigraphy, with possible visual exam notes
• Photo of soil boring
• All field works must be performed in accordance with the
corresponding procedures and security measures.
In case no groundwater is present in the study area, the best
scenario will be studied depending on each specific case: boreholes
might be abandoned, or drilling operation might be continued in
order to find groundwater at deeper depths, or in order to study
contamination in the soil.
Number and Depth of Borings
There is no clear-cut criteria to give directly
the number and depth of borings (or probings)
required on a project in advance of some
subsurface exploration. For buildings a
minimum of three borings where the surface
is level and the first two borings indicate
regular stratification may be adequate. Five
borings are generally preferable (at building
cornes and center), and especially if the site is
not level. On the other hand, a single boring
may be sufficient for an antenna or industrial
process tower base in a fixed location with the
hole made at the point.
 In practice, the exploration contract is
somewhat open as to the number of borings,.
The drilling program advances so that
sufficient borings are taken for that site to
allow the geotechnical engineer to make a
design recommendation with an adequate
margin of safety that is economically feasible
for the client.
 Borings should extend below the depth where the
stress increase from the foundation load is
significant.
Since footing sizes are seldom known in advance
of the borings a general rule-of-thumb is 2 x least
lateral plan dimensions of the building or 10 m
below lowest building elevation.
Where 2 x width is not practical as, say, for a
one-story warehouse or department store boring
depths of 6 to 15m may be adequate. On the other
hand, for important (or high rise) structures which
may have small plan dimensions, it is common to
extend some of the borings to bedrock or
competent (hard) soil regardless of depth. It is
axiomatic that borings for important structures do not
terminate in a soft stratum.
 Summarizing, there is no binding rules
on either number or depth of borings.
Each site must be carefully considered with
engineering judgment in combination with
site discovery to finalize the program and
with an adequate margin of safety.
BEARING CAPACITY OF
FOUNDATIONS
LESSON 3
 The soil must be capable of carrying the loads
from any engineered structure placed upon it without
a shear failure and with the resulting settlements
being tolerable for that structure.
Seldom has a structure collapsed or tilted over
from a base shear failure in recent times. Most
reported base failures have occurred under
embankments or similar structures where a low
factor of safety was deemed acceptable. Most
structural distress attributed to poor foundation
design is from excessive settlements. Even here,
however, structural collapse seldom occurs. This
may in part be due to settlements being time-
dependent so that when cracks or other evidence
first appears, there is sufficient time to take remedial
measures.
 It is necessary to investigate both base
shear resistance and settlements for any
structure. In many cases settlements criteria
will control the allowable bearing capacity;
however, there are also a number of cases
where base shear dictates the recommended
bearing capacity.
We should note that while primary focus
is on bearing capacity for framed structures
and equipment foundations, the same
principles apply to obtain the bearing
capacity for other structures such as tower,
bases dams and fills.
 A recommendation for the allowable
bearing capacity qa to be used for design is
based either on settlement considerations or
on the ultimate bearing capacity. The ultimate
bearing capacity is divided by a suitable safety
factor SF as:
qa = qult
SF

or qa = qult(RQD)2
SF
Bearing Capacity Equation by Terzaghi
qult = cNcsc + qNq + 0.5gBNgsg

where:
Nc = (Nq-1)cotf
Nq = ____a2______
2 cos2 (45 + f/2)
a = e(0.75p – f/2) tanf
Ng = tanf (Kpg/ cos2f – 1)
2
For: strip round square
sc = 1.0 1.3 1.3
sg = 1.0 0.6 0.8
• Example Prob 3-1:
Compute the allowable bearing pressure
using the Terzaghi Equation for the footing
and soil parameters given below. Use safety
factor of 3 to obtain qa.
g = 110 pcf
f = 250
c = 300psf
D = 4 ft (depth of footing from ground
surface)
B x L = 2 ft X 2 ft (footing size)
Req’d: qa
Sol’n:
qult = cNcsc + qNq + 0.5gBNgsg
From Terzaghi Table:
for f = 250
Nc = 25.1 Nq = 12.7 Ng = 9.7
for square footing:
sc = 1.3 sg = 0.8
therefore:
qult = (300)(25.1)(1.3) + 110(4)(12.7) + .5(110)(2)(9.7)(0.8)
qult = 16230.6 psf or 16.23 ksf
qa = qult/SF
qa = 16.23/3
qa = 5.41ksf
a = e(0.75p – f/2) tanf
a = e(0.75p – ((25)/2)*p/180) tan(25)
a = 2.7101
Nq = ____a2______
2 cos2 (45 + f/2)
Nq = ____(2.7101)2______
2 cos2 (45 + (25)/2)
Nq = 12.72
Nc = (Nq-1)cotf
Nc = (12.72-1)cot(25)
Nc = 25.13
Ng = tanf (Kpg/ cos2f – 1)
2
Ng = tan(25) ((35)/ cos2(25) – 1)
2
Ng = 9.70
• Effect of water table on Bearing Capacity
The effective unit weight of the soil is
used in the bearing capacity equations for
computing the ultimate capacity.
ge=(2H –dw)dw gwet + g’(H – dw)2
H2 H2
Where:
H = 0.5B tann(45 + f/2)
dw = depth to water table below base of
footing
gwet = wet unit weight of soil in depth dw
g’ = submerged unit weight below water
table = gsat - gw
• Example Prob 3-2:
A square footing vertically and concentrically loaded is
to be placed on a cohensionless soil as shown. The
soil and other data are as shown:

What is the allowable bearing capacity if gsat = 20.12

KN/m3 using the Terzaghi using SF = 2.0?
Solution:
a.) Solve for ge
ge=(2H –dw)dw gwet + g’(H – dw)2
H2 H2
Where:
H = 0.5B tan (45 + f/2)
H = 0.5B tan (45 + 35/2)
H = 2.40m
dw = 1.90 – 1.10 = 0.85m
gwet = g = 18.10 KN/m3
g’ = gsat - gwater
g’ = 20.12 - 9.81 = 10.31KN/m3
ge=(2x2.40 –0.85) 0.85x18.10 + (20.12-9.807)(2.4 – 0.85)2
2.42 2.42
ge= 14.85 KN/m3
 qult = cNcsc + qNq + 0.5gBNgsg
From Terzaghi Table:
for f = 350
Nc = 57.8 Nq = 41.4 Ng = 42.4
for square footing:
sc = 1.3 sg = 0.8
therefore:
qult = (0)(57.8)(1.3) + 18.10(1.1)(41.4) +
0.5(18.10)(2.5)(42.4)(0.8)
qult = 1591.714 kPa
qa = qult/SF
qa = 1591.714/2
qa = 795.857kPa
Bearing Capacity for Rocks:
With the exception of a few porous limestone and
volcanic rocks and some shales, the strength of
bedrock in situ will be greater than the compressive
strength of the foundation concrete. This may not be
true if the rock is in a badly fractured, loose state
where considerable relative slip between rock
fragments can occur. The major problem is to identify
the rock soundness, and on occasion take cores for
unconfined compression testing of the intact
fragments. On very important projects and where it is
economically feasible, one may make in situ strength
tests.
 qult = cNcsc + qNq + 0.5gBNgsg
where:
Nq = tan6 (45 + f/2)
Nc = 5tan4 (45 + f/2)
Ng = N q + 1
For: strip round square
sc = 1.0 1.3 1.3
sg = 1.0 0.6 0.8
q’ult = qult (RQD)2

qa = qult(RQD)2
SF
Example Prob. 3-3: We have a drilled pier
with a diameter = 3 ft to be founded at a
depth of 10 ft in a rock mass to get through
the surface irregularities and the weathered
zone as determined by coring to a depth of
25ft. From the cores the average RQD =
0.50 (or 50 percent) below the pier point.
Assume: f = 450, and c = 0.5 ksi, SF = 3.
Estimate the allowable bearing capacity for
the pier base.
• Req’d: qa
• Solution:
Nc = 5tan4 (45 + f/2)
Nc = 5tan4 (45 + 45/2)
Nc = 170
Nq = tan6 (45 + f/2)
Nq = tan6 (45 + 45/2)
Nq = 198
Ng = N q + 1
Ng = 199
For: round base/ footing
sc = 1.3
sg = 0.6
Since:
qult = cNcsc + qNq + 0.5gBNgsg
qult = 0.5(144)(170)(1.3) + (0.160)(10)198 +
0.5(0.160)(3)(199)(0.6)
qult = 16257 ksf
Therefore:
qa = qult(RQD)2
SF
qa = 16257(0.5) 2
3
qa = 1355 ksf
Assign:
Prob 1: What is the allowable bearing capacity
using Terzaghi methods for the assigned
problem in the following data set. Other data:
Use B = 5ft or 1.52m, D = 0.75B. The
average unit weight in the zone of interest is
110 pcf or 17.3 KN/m3 and water table is not
a problem.
a.) f = 200, c = 0.30 ksf (15kPa)
b.) f = 300, c = 0.10 ksf ( 5kPa)
c.) f = 380, c = 0.0
Prob 2:
A square footing vertically and concentrically loaded is
to be placed on a cohensionless soil as shown. The
soil and other data are as shown:

What is the allowable bearing capacity if the water

table is 1.5m instead of the 1.95m shown in the figure
and use the Terzaghi using SF = 2.0?
FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT

LESSON 4
THE SETTLEMENT PROBLEM
Foundation settlements must be
estimated with great care for buildings,
bridges, towers, power plants, and similar
high cost structures. The settlement for
structures such as fills, earth dams, levees,
braced sheeting, and retaining walls can
usually be estimated with a great margin of
error.
 Soil settlement computations are, except for
occasional happy coincidences, only best estimates
of the deformation to expect when the future load is
applied. During settlement we have the soil
transitioning from the current body (or self-weight)
stress state to a new one under the additional
applied load. The stress change Dq from this added
load produces a time dependent accumulation of
particle rolling, sliding, crushing, and elastic
distortions in a limited influence zone beneath the
loaded area. The statistical accumulation of
movements in the direction of interest is the
settlement. In the vertical direction the settlement
will be defined as DH.
 The principal components of DH are the
particle rolling and sliding which produces a change
in the void ratio, and crushing which alters the
material. Only a very small fraction of DH is from
elastic deformation of the soil grains. As a
consequence, if the applied stress were to be
removed, very little of the settlement DH would be
recovered. Even though DH has only a very small
elastic component it is convenient to treat the soil as
a pseudoelastic material with “elastic” parameters of
Es, G’, m and ks to estimate settlements. This would
appear reasonable since a stress change causes the
settlement and it is observed that larger changes
produce larger settlements.
Es = stress-strain modulus or modulus of
deformation of soil
G’ = shear stress-strain modulus of soil or
other material
m = Poisson’s ratio
= strain perpendicular to applied stress
strain in direction of applied stress
ks = modulus of subgrade reaction either
vertical or horizontal
 There are two major problems with soil
settlement analyses:
1. Obtaining reliable values of the “elastic”
parameters. Problems of recovering
“undisturbed” soil samples means laboratory
values are often in error by 50 percent or
more. There is now a greater tendency to
using in situ tests, but a major drawback is
they tend to obtain horizontal values. Since
anisotropy is a common occurrence the
vertical value (usually needed) is often
substantially different. Because of these
problems, correlations are commonly used
particularly for preliminary design studies.
2.Obtaining a reliable stress profile from the
applied load. We have both the problem of
numerical values and the effective depth of
the influence zone. Theory of elasticity
equations are usually used for the stress
computations with the influence depth H
below the loaded area taken from about 2B
to H - infinity.
The values from these two problem areas are then
used in some form of
H
DH = e dh
0
where e = strain = Dq/Es but Dq = f(H, load) and H as
previously noted is the estimated influence depth.
It is not uncommon for the ratio of measured versus
computed DH to range 0.5- to 2+. Most values are
in the 0.8 to 1.2 range, however . We might note,
too, that a small computed DH of, say, 10mm
where the measured value is 5 or 20mm has a
large “error” but most practical structures can
tolerate, either the predicted or measured value.
What we do not want is to estimate 25mm and
have the structure settle 100mm. If we err in
settlement computations it is preferable to have
computed values larger than the actual (or
measured) ones – but we must be careful that the
“large“ value is not so conservative that expensive
(but unneeded) remedial action is required.
Settlements are usually classified as:
1. Immediate, or those which take place as
the load is applied or within a time period of
about 7 days.
2. Consolidation, or those which are time-
dependent and taking months to years to
develop. The “Leaning Tower of Pisa” in
Italy has been settling unevenly (causing
the “lean”) for over 700 years . This,
however, is an extreme case with the
principal settlements for most projects
occuring in 1 to 5 years.
 Immediate settlement analyses are used
for all fine-grained soils including silts and
clays with a degree of saturation S < 90
percent (approximately) and for all coarse
grained soils with a large coefficient of
permeability.
Consolidation settlement analyses are
used for all saturated, or nearly saturated,
fine-grained soils where the consolidation
theory applies. This is because for these
soils we want estimates of both settlement
DH and how long it will take for the
settlement to occur.
Both types of settlement analyses are in the
form of

DH = eH = Dq H
Es
Stress in Soil Mass due to Footing Pressure

Dq = qv = ___Q____
(B + z)(L+z) or
Dq = qv = _Q___
(B + z)2
This method compares well with theoretical methods from z = B
to about 4B, but should not be used for qv in the depth z = 0
The BOUSSINESQ Method for Dq

Dq = qv = _3Q_ ___1____
2pz2 (1+ (r/z)2)5/2
Dq = qv = Q Ab
z2
Since the Ab term is a function of only the ratio
of r/z, it may be tabulated in several values as
follows:
• Example Prob 4-1:
What is the vertical stress beneath a point load
Q = 50kips at depths z = 0, 2ft, 4 ft and 10ft?
Example Prob 4-2:
What is the vertical stress qv at point A of
figure shown below for the two surface loads
Q1 and Q2?
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT COMPUTATIONS
The settlement of the corner of a rectangular base of
dimension B’ x L’ on the surface of a elastic half-space can
be computed from an equation from Theory of Elasticity as
follows:
DH = qoB’ [1-m2] 4IsIf
Es
where:
qo = intensity of contact pressure in units of Es
B’ = least lateral dimension of contributing base area in units
of DH
Ii = influence factors which depend on L’/B’, thickness of
stratum H, Poisson’s ratio m, and embedment depth D.
Es, m = elastic soil parameters
 Is = I1 + [1 – 2m] I2
1-m
The DH equation is strictly applicable to flexible bases on the
half-space. In practice, most foundations are flexible – even
very thick ones deflect when loaded by the superstructure
loads. Some theory indicates that if the base is rigid the
settlement will be uniform (but may tilt) and the settlement
will be about seven percent less. On this basis if your base
is “rigid” you should reduce the Is factor by about seven
percent (that is, Isr = 0.931 Is).
For best result, equation should be used as follows:
1. Make your best estimate of qo.
2. For round bases, convert to an equivalent square.
3. Determine the point where the settlement is to be computed
and divide the base so the point is at the corner or common
corner of the contributing rectangles.
4. Note that the stratum depth actually causing settlement is not at
H/B to infinity but is either:
a. Depth z = 5B (B= least total lateral dimension of base), or
b. Depth to where a hard stratum is encountered. Take “hard”
as that where Es in the hard layer is about 10Es of adjacent
layer.
5. Compute your H/B’ ratio. For a depth H = z = 5B and for the
center of the base we have H/B’ = 5B/0.5B = 10. For a corner
5B/B =5
6. Enter Table below and obtain I1 and I2 and with your best
estimate for m compute Is.
7. From the Figure estimate If.
8. Obtain the weighted average Es in the depth z = H. The
weighted average can be computed as
Es(ave) = H1Es1 + H2Es2 + …. HnEsn
H
Example Prob:
Estimate the settlement of the raft (or mat) foundation given the
data as follows:
qo = 134KPa; B x L = 33.5 x 39.5m;
Soil is layered clays with 1 sand seam from ground surface
to sandstone bedrock at -14; mat at -3m
Es from 3 to 6m = 42.5MPa; Es from 6 to 14m = 60MPa; Es
for sandstone >= 500MPa

Solution:
For clay estimate m = 0.35
Compute Es(ave) = 3x42.5 + 8x60 = 55MPa
11
H = 14 – 3 = 11m (from base to sandstone)
B’ = 33.5/2 = 16.375m (for center of mat)
H = 11__ = 0.66 (0.70) L = 39.5 = 1.18 (1.20)
B’ 16.75 B 33.5
Interpolating from the table:
I1 = 0.0815, I2 = 0.086
Is = I1 + [1 – 2m] I2
1-m
Is = 0.0815 + [1 – 2(0.35)] (0.0865) = 0.121
1-0.35
D/B = 3/33.5 = 0.09, from the figure If = 0.82
Therefore:
DH = qoB’ [1-m2] IsIf = 134(16.75) [1-(0.35)2] 4(0.121)(0.82)(1000)
Es 55(1000)
DH = 14.21mm
 Module 5
IMPROVING SITE SOIL FOR
FOUNDATION USE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
• Know the different soil improvement techniques.

OVERVIEW
The centuries-old problem of land scarcity in the vicinity of existing urban areas
often necessitates the use of sites with soils of marginal quality. In many cases
these sites can be utilized for the proposed project by using some kind of soil
improvement. This module will focus on several of the more widely used methods
of improving soils for bearing capacity
Of principal interest in this moduler is the identification of means to obtain
a significant increase in the bearing capacity of a soil. This can be achieved by
altering the soil properties of ∅, cohesion c, or density 𝜌. Usually an increase in
density (or unit weight 𝛾) is accompanied by an increase in either ∅ or c or both
(assuming the soil is cohesive). Particle packing (compaction) always increases
the density, with a resulting decrease in void ratio, and reduces long-term
settlements. Particle packing usually increases the stress-strain modulus so that
any "immediate" settlements are also reduced

COURSE MATERIALS
1.0 INTRODUCTION

When the site soil is marginal (e.g., not enough bearing capacity, excessive
settlement, or high permeability), soil improvement may be more economic than
other means.
Soil improvement refers to a technique to improve the engineering properties
of soil. It involves changing soil characteristics by physical action such as
compaction, vibration (to reduce void ratio) or by inclusion or mixing of
stronger material (injecting admixture) in the soil.

Aims of soil improvement:

• increase the load-bearing capacity and/or shear strength
• reduce both absolute and differential settlements or in certain cases,
accelerate them
• mitigate or remove the risk of liquefaction in the event of an earthquake or
major vibrations.

The scope of application of the various techniques depends mainly on the type
and grading of the soils that requires improving. (see Figure 1).
 Figure 1. Soil Improvement Techniques for Various Types and Grading of
Soil
Source: www.bachy-soletanche.com/SBF/sitev4_uk.nsf/technique/soil-
improvement13

2.0 SOIL IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES

A. Densification
a. Consolidation (Preloading and Vertical Drains)
b. Compaction
c. Deep Dynamic Compaction
d. Vibrocompaction (Vibroflotation)
e. Vibro-Replacement Method
f. Stone Columns
g. Compaction Grouting
h. Blasting

B. Adhesion
a. Chemical stabilization
b. Slurry grouting, jet grouting
c. Thermal stabilization

C. Reinforcement
a. Soil and rock anchors
b. Mini-piles
c. Soil nailing
d. Soil mixing

D. Physico-chemical alteration
a. Electro-osmosis
b. Lime columns
c. Vitrification
d. Soil mixing

E. Biological transformation
3. CONSOLIDATION: PRELOADING

It is a relatively inexpensive, effective method to improve poor foundation soils in

advance of construction of permanent facilities. As a rough estimation, it is about
only 10-20% as expensive as other methods, and with vertical drains it is about
20-40%. It can be applied using: earth fill, ponding (with geo-membrane if the
topsoil is pervious), water tanks, or lower ground water table. This method is
most effective on normally consolidated cohesive soil. If the deposits are thick
and do not have alternative, sand seams, sand, wick, or PV drains may be
necessary to reduce the consolidation time. Temporary surcharge is often used
for the same purpose.

1) Preloading Methods
a. Simply place a surcharge fill on top of the soil that requires
consolidation.
b. Once sufficient consolidation has taken place, the fill can be
removed and construction takes place.
c. Surcharge fills are typically 10-25 feet thick and generally produces
settlement of 1 to 3 feet.

2) Two major goals of Preloading:

a. Eliminate settlements before the permanent structure is completed
b. Densify the soil

3) Advantages of Preloading
a. Requires only conventional earthmoving equipment
b. Any grading contractor can perform the work
c. Long track record of success

4) Disadvantages of Preloading
a. Surcharge fill must extend horizontally at least 10 m beyond the
perimeter of the planned construction, which may not be possible at
confined sites
b. Transport of large quantities of soil required
c. Surcharge must remain in place for months or years, thus delaying
construction

4. CONSOLIDATION: VERTICAL DRAINS

Vertical drains are installed under a surcharge load to accelerate the drainage of
impervious soils and thus speed up consolidation. These drains provide a shorter
path for the water to flow through to get away from the soil. Time to drain clay
layers can be reduced from years to a couple of months.

1)Types of Vertical Drains

A. Sand Drain
In general, typical sand drains have a diameter from 20 to 45 cm and
spacing from 1.5 to 6 m. Sand drains can be installation with several
procedures: mandrel-driven pipes, driven pipes, rotary drill, or continuous-
flight hollow auger. The design is based on the time of preloading. Figure
2 shows a typical sand drain.
 Figure 2. Sand Drain Installation

B. Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) / Wick Drain

The technique consists in driving prefabricated drains vertically into the
ground, following a regular grid. Most are about 100 mm wide and 5 mm
thick. Geosynthetics are used as a substitute to sand columns

Method of Installation of PVD

1. The wick drains are installed with mobile crane or mast-equipped
rigs by using a needle-punching technique.
2. A long and thin mandrel is pushed into the ground.
3. An anchor keeps the drain in place and must attach to the wick
drain before the installation.
4. The wick drain attached at the tip of mandrel is pulled into the
ground as the mandrel advances.
5. At the desired depth, the fabric is cut.
6. The mandrel is withdrawn and the fabric remains in place.
7. The rate of installation can be on the order of 1 m per second.
8. Installation depths up to 30 m have been used.

As shown in Figure 3, (a) Pore water pressure flows laterally to the wick
drain s and is carried vertically up to the ground surface. (b) Without
inserting PVD, dissipation of excess pore pressure is a slow process. (c)
With PVD, the excess pore pressure dissipates quickly through shorter
drainage paths.

(a)

(b) (c)

Figure 3. PVD (Wick Drains) System

 Figure 4. Installed PVD or Wick Drains

Advantages of Using Wick Drains

a. ease of installation (does not require drilling),
b. Flexibility
c. Reliability
d. low cost (1/4 to 1/3 of the cost of sand drains)

• Wick drains have almost totally replaced conventional sand drains for a
majority of application.

5.0 COMPACTION

Compaction is one of the most economical methods in soil improvement. It is the

process by which the strength and stiffness of soil may be increased and
permeability may be decreased. Fill placement work often has specifications
requiring a specific degree of compaction, or alternatively, specific properties of
the compacted soil.

In-situ, soils can be compacted by:

a. excavation and recompaction
b. vibrocompaction
c. deep dynamic compaction
d. compaction grouting

6.0 EXCAVATION AND RECOMPACTION

Soil is excavated to a desired depth. Then it is filled with controlled lift thickness,
water content, and compaction effort. The backfill material can be modified by
mixed with an admixture (e.g. sand or gravel, cement, lime, or fly ash) or be
come from nearby borrow pit.

7.0 DEEP DYNAMIC COMPACTION

It is similar to Proctor Test Performed in the laboratory. A special crane lifts a

heavy tamper (5-30 tons) to a height of 40 to 100 feet and drops the tamper
several times onto the ground in a grid pattern. On clayey soils, stone is placed
across the site under the mass, making the dynamic replacement effective.
It is a very popular site improvement for land fill.

Figure 5. Deep Dynamic Compaction

8.0 VIBRO-COMPACTION (VIBROFLOTATION)

This is applied essentially to granular and non-coherent soils, such as sands and
gravels. The vibrations induce a temporary liquefaction of the soil around the
vibrator. In this case, the intergranular forces are temporarily nullified, and the
grains are rearranged in a more compact pattern offering better characteristics.
The induced vibration will reduce the void ratio and strengthen the soil.
This improvement method has been found useful to treat liquefiable soils.
This technique is often used on large works for the densification of hydraulic fills
for reclamation.

Figure 6. Vibro-Compaction (Vibroflotation)

Site suitability
The vibro-compaction system is one of the most economical and
effective methods of densifying deep deposits of granular soils when the
soils having a maximum of about 20% fines (preferable for 10% fines), of
which not more than 3 % are active clay. The increase of fineness and
plasticity of the soil decreases the feasibility of using the vibro-compaction
method. Table 1 shows the summary of relative effectiveness of the
methodology in various soil types.

Table 1. Expected Vibro-Compaction Results )after Hayward Baker

inc.)

9.0 VIBRO-REPLACEMENT METHOD

Vibro Replacement is a combination of

vibroflotation with a gravel backfill resulting
in stone columns, which not only increases
the amount of densificton, but provides a
degree of reinforcement and a potentially
effective means of drainage.

Method of Installation
1) First, the vibroflot penetrates the ground to the desired depth.
2) Granular material (sands or gravels) is then progressively introduced to
the hole, and the vibroflot is alternately raised and lowered to produce a
packed sand (stone) column.
3) This method works well when the soil contains a large amount of fine
contents.
 4) The excellent candidates are fine sands and silty sands.
5) Only marginal success is reported for silts and clays.
6) This method can be used to form stone columns.

10.0 FOUNDATION GROUTING

Grouting Methods
a. Intrusion grouting
- Consists of filling joints or fractures with grout
- Primary benefit is reduction in hydraulic conductivity
- Used to prepare foundation and abutments for dams
- Usually done using cementitious grouts

b. Permeation grouting
- Injection of thin grouts into the soil
- Once the soil cures, becomes a solid mass
- Done using chemical grouts
- Used for creating groundwater barriers or preparing ground before
tunneling

Figure 8. Grouting

c. Compaction grouting
- Used to repair structures that have excessive settlement and to
compact loose soil or to produce control displacement to lift
structure.
- When low-slump compaction grout is injected into granular soils,
grout bulbs are formed that displace and densify the surrounding
loose soils.
- Involves injection of low-slump (less than 2 inches) grout (soil-
cement mixture) which does not enter soil pores but remain in a
homogeneous mass.
- Grout material may consist of fine sand mixed with 12% cement
and water to produce stiff, mortar-like mixture.
- Grout pipe is installed to maximum treatment depth and grout is
injected at high pump pressure as the pipe is withdrawn
incrementally, forming a column of interconnected grout bulb
- Can be performed “stage down” or, more commonly, in a “stage up”
process, as follows:
▪ Advancing the grout pipe to the bottom of treatment depth
 ▪ Injecting the grout until refusal criteria is achieved, based on
injected grout volume, injection pressure, or ground heave
▪ Extracting the grout pipe to the next depth interval and
injecting the grout
▪ Repeat the process until reaching the upper limit of
treatment zone

d. Jet grouting
- It is developed in Japan.
- Uses a special pipe with horizontal jets that inject grout into the
ground at high pressures
- Jet grouting is an erosion/replacement system that creates an
engineered, in situsoil/cement product known as Soilcretesm.
- Effective across the widest range of soil types, and capable of
being performed around subsurface obstructions and in confined
spaces, jet grouting is a versatile and valuable tool for soft soil
stabilization, underpinning, excavation support and groundwater
control.

Figure 9. Grouting (Source: Hayward Baker)

11.0 STABILIZATION USING ADMIXTURES

The most common admixture is Portland Cement. When mixed with soil, forms
soil-cement which is comparable to a weak concrete. Other admixtures include
lime and asphalt. The objective of this method is to provide artificial cementation,
thus increasing strength and reducing both compressibility and hydraulic
conductivity. This method is also used to reduce expansion potential of clays and
in surface mixing applications.

1) Reinforcement

Soil is stronger in compression

than in tension, so to improve
strength in tension,
geosynthetics placed in soil for
soil reinforcement.

Figure 10. Reinforced Earthwall

Construction
2) Soil Nailing

The fundamental concept of soil

nailing consists of reinforcing
the ground by passive
inclusions, closely spaced, to
create in-situ a coherent gravity
structure and thereby to
increase the overall shear
strength of the in-situ soil and
restrain its displacements.
Figure 11. Soil Nailing

3) Inclusion

This technique is designed to

provide structural support on all
compressible soils. The process
permits settlement reduction
within acceptable limits. They
should display deformation and
stiffness characteristics
appropriate for the surrounding
ground and the structures to be
supported.
Inclusions are generally vertical and Figure 12. Inclusions
arranged in a regular grid. Different
methods can be used (drilling with or without displacement, driving, vibrating)
and different types of fill (ballast, gravel, soil-cement mixing and all types of
mortar or concrete) can be used for constructing a superficial foundation
system at minimal cost when compared to a deep foundations system.

4) Soil Mixing

The technique consists in

the construction of columns of
mixed in place soil with a
cementitious material, normally
cement. The in situ remoulding
and mixing of the soil is achieved
with rotary tools. The binder can
be introduced as powder or slurry.
The cement content can be varied
to obtain a wide range of strengths Figure 13. Soil Mixing
and more flexibility in the mix properties, appropriate to the project requirements.
REFERENCES

1. Chapter 1 Improving the Site Soils for Foundation Use.

http://geolab.unm.edu/Chapter %201%20.pdf
2. http://www.treadwellrollo.com/files/FileUpload/63/HJY%20%20SEAONC%
20Presentation%20-%20PowerPoint.pdf
3. http://www.bachy-soletanche.com/SBF/sitev4_uk.nsf/technique/soil-
improvement
4. http://www.ce.washington.edu/~liquefaction/html/how/soilimprovement.htm
l
5. Earthwork and Ground Technology. College of Engineering, University of
Washington. http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/mawad/wp-content/uploads/
soilimprov.pdf