MODULE 3 Prepared By,

Greeshma Raju
Assistant Professor-Adhoc
RIT Kottayam
SETTLEMENT ANALYSIS
• Soils consolidate under the application of loads from buildings.
• All foundations settle as the soil around and beneath the foundation
adjust to the loading.
• The vertical movement of the base of the structure is called
settlement and its effects upon the structure depends on its
magnitude, its uniformity, the length of the time over which it takes
place and the nature of the structure itself.
• Buildings with light loads or built on rock may experience negligible
settlement.
SETTLEMENT
• The total settlement may be considered to consist of the following
contributions:
(a) Initial settlement or elastic compression
(b) Consolidation settlement or primary compression
(c) Secondary settlement or secondary compression
Initial Settlement or Elastic Compression
• This is also referred to as the ‘distortion settlement’ or ‘contact
settlement’ and is usually taken to occur immediately on application
of the foundation load.
• Such immediate settlement in the case of partially saturated soils is
primarily due to the expulsion of gases and to the elastic compression
and rearrangement of particles.
Consolidation settlement or primary
compression
• The phenomenon of consolidation occurs in clays because the initial
excess pore water pressures cannot be dissipated immediately owing
to the low permeability.
• The theory of one-dimensional consolidation, advanced by Terzaghi,
can be applied to determine the total compression or settlement of a
clay layer as well as the time-rate of dissipation of excess pore
pressures.
• The settlement computed by this procedure is known as that due to
primary compression since the process of consolidation as being the
dissipation of excess pore pressures alone is considered.
Secondary Settlement or Secondary
Compression
• Settlement due to secondary compression is believed to occur during
and mostly after the completion of primary consolidation or complete
dissipation of excess pore pressure.
• It can be determined from the coefficient of secondary consolidation.
• Secondary consolidation settlement occurs at constant effective
stress, with volume change occurring due to rearrangement of soil
particles.
• This secondary consolidation settlement is insignificant in case of
inorganic clays and silty soils.
CAUSES OF SETTLEMENT
1. Weak Bearing Soils
• Some soils are simply not capable of supporting the weight or bearing
pressure exerted by a building's foundation. As a result, the footings press
or sink into the soft soils, similar in theory to how a person standing in the
mud sinks into soft, wet clay.
• In such cases, footings may be designed to spread the load over the
weak soils, thereby reducing potential foundation settlement. However,
the majority of settlement problems caused by weak bearing soils occur in
residential construction, where the footings are designed based upon
general guidelines and not site-specific soil information.
2. Poor Compaction
• Placement of fill soils is common practice in the development of both
commercial and residential subdivisions.
• In general, before a foundation can be constructed on a plot, hilltops
are cut down and valleys are filled in order to create buildable lots.
Properly placed and compacted fill soils can provide adequate support
for foundations.
• When fill soils are not adequately compacted, they can compress
under a foundation load resulting in settlement of the structure.
3. Changes in Moisture Content
• Extreme changes in moisture content within foundation soils can
result in damaging settlement.
• Soils with high clay contents also have a tendency to shrink with loss
of moisture. As clay soils dry out, they shrink or contract, resulting in a
general decrease in soil volume.
• Therefore, settlement damage is often observed in a structure
supported on dried-out soil.
4. Maturing Trees and Vegetation
• Maturing trees, bushes and other vegetation in close proximity to a
home or building are a common cause of settlement. As trees and
other vegetation mature, their demand for water also grows.
• The root systems continually expand and can draw moisture from the
soil beneath the foundation. Again, clay-rich soils shrink as they lose
moisture, resulting in settlement of overlying structures.
• Foundations closer to the surface are more often affected by soil
dehydration due to tree roots than are deep, basement level
foundations.
5. Soil Consolidation
• Consolidation occurs when the weight of a structure or newly-placed
fill soils compress lower, weak clayey soils. The applied load forces
water out of the clay soils, allowing the individual soil particles to
become more densely spaced.
• Consolidation results in downward movement or settlement of
overlying structures. Settlement caused by consolidation of foundation
soils may take weeks, months, or years to be considered "complete."
• As this occurs, the foundation will experience downward movement--
sometimes at an uneven rate. This leads to cracks and structural
damage.
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT- COHESIVE SOILS
• The linear theory of elasticity is used to determine the elastic
settlement of the footings on saturated clay.
• Schleicher (1926) gave the following formula for the vertical
settlement under a uniformly distributed flexible area.
where
q = uniformly distributed load,KN/m2
B = characteristic length of the loaded area
Es = modulus of elasticity of the soil,KN/m2
µ= Poisson's ratio (= 0.50 for saturated clay)
I = influence factor,depends on shape of loaded area,L/B ratio
• The value of the influence factor/ for a saturated clay layer of semi-
infinite extent can be obtained from Table .
• If the foundation is rigid, such as a heavy beam and slab raft, the
settlement is about 0.8 times the settlement at the centre of the
corresponding flexible foundation. It is approximately equal to the
average settlement.
• The above eqn is applicable for the footing located at surface.
• For the footings embedded in soil, the settlement would be less than
the computed values.
IMMEDIATE SETTLEMENT OF COHESIONLESS
SOILS
• As cohesionless soils do not follow Hooke's law, immediate
settlements are computed using semi-empirical approach proposed
by Schmertmann and Hartman (1978).
• The value of the strain-influence factor Iz varies linearly for a square
or circular foundation (Fig. 23.21)
• The value of Iz at depth z = 0, 0.5 B and 2B are respectively equal to
0.1, 0.5 and 0.0.
• For rectangular foundations, with L/B ratio equal to or greater than
10.0, the values at depth 0.0, B, and 4B are, respectively, 0.2, 0.5 and
0.0.
• For intermediate values of L/B ratio, between 1.0 and 10.0,
interpolation can be made.
Allowable settlement and Maximum
settlement
• The allowable settlement is defined as the acceptable amount of settlement
of the structure.
• The settlement of a foundation that is acceptable both structural and
aesthetic point of view is called allowable settlement which generally
includes a factor of safety.
• The allowable maximum settlement depends upon
1. The type of soil
2. Type of foundation
3. The structural framing system
4. Type of construction
5. Use of construction
• The maximum settlement ranging from 20mm to 300 mm is generally
permitted to various structures.
• Theoretically no damage is done to the superstructure if the soil
settles uniformly.
• However, settlements exceeding 150 mm may cause trouble in
utilities such as water pipeline, severs, telephone lines and also in
access from street.
• Even sufficient precautions are taken while designing such utilities
the maximum settlement of even up to 2m may be permitted in special
cases provided the structure settles uniformly.
• IS Code permits
Differential settlements
• Uneven settlement of the soil beneath the foundation of a structure
that may lead to “sinking” of different parts of the structure which
causes cracks and other structural problems
• Differential settlement limited to–
• 20mm in sandy soil
• 40mm in clayey soil
 • Maximum and differential settlements as per IS 1904-1978

L: Centre to centre distance between columns

Field Load Test/Plate load test
• The plate load test is a field test, which is performed to determine the
ultimate bearing capacity of the soil and the probable settlement under
a given load.
• This test is very popular for the selection and design of the shallow
foundation.
• For performing this test, the plate is placed at the desired depth, then
the load is applied gradually and the settlement for each increment of
the load is recorded. At one point a settlement occurs at a rapid rate, the
total load up to that point is calculated and divided by the area of the
plate to determine the ultimate bearing capacity of soil at that depth.
The ultimate bearing capacity is then divided by a safety factor (typically
2.5~3) to determine the safe bearing capacity.
PROCEDURE
1. Excavate test pit up to the desired depth. The pit size should be at least 5
times the size of the test plate (Bp).
2. At the centre of the pit, a small hole or depression is created. The size of
the hole is the same as the size of the steel plate. The bottom level of the
hole should correspond to the level of the actual foundation. The depth of
the hole is created such that the ratio of the depth to width of the hole is
equal to the ratio of the actual depth to the actual width of the foundation.
3. A mild steel plate is used as a load-bearing plate whose thickness should
be at least 25 mm thickness and size may vary from 300 mm to 750 mm.
The plate can be square or circular. Generally, a square plate is used for
square footing and a circular plate is used for circular footing.
4. A column is placed at the centre of the plate. The load is transferred
to the plate through the centrally placed column.
5. The load can be transferred to the column either by gravity loading
method or by truss method.
6. For gravity loading method a platform is constructed over the
column and load is applied to the platform by means of sandbags or
any other dead loads. The hydraulic jack is placed in between column
and loading platform for the application of gradual loading. This type of
loading is called reaction loading.
7. At least two dial gauges should be placed at diagonal corners of the
plate to record the settlement. The gauges are placed on a platform so
that it does not settle with the plate.
8. Apply seating load of 7KN/m2 and release before the actual loading
starts.
9. The initial readings are noted.
10. The load is then applied through the hydraulic jack and increased
gradually. The increment is generally one-fifth of the expected safe
bearing capacity or one-tenth of the ultimate bearing capacity or any
other smaller value. The applied load is noted from the pressure gauge.
11. The settlement is observed for each increment and from dial gauge.
After increasing the load settlement should be observed after 1, 4, 10,
20, 40, and 60 minutes and then at hourly intervals until the rate of
settlement is less than 0.02 mm per hour. The readings are noted in
tabular form.
12. After completing the collection of data for a particular loading, the
next load increment is applied and readings are noted under new load.
This increment and data collection is repeated until the maximum load
is applied. The maximum load is generally 1.5 times the expected
ultimate load or 3 times of the expected allowable bearing pressure.
Calculation of Bearing Capacity from Plate
Load Test
• After the collection of field data, the load-settlement curve is drawn.
• It is a logarithmic graph where the load applied is plotted on X-axis
and settlement on Y-axis.
• From the graph, the ultimate load for the plate is obtained which is
the corresponding load for settlement of one-fifth of the plate width.
• When the points are plotted on the graph, the curve is broken at one
point.
• The corresponding load to that breakpoint is considered to be the
ultimate load on the plate.
• The ultimate bearing capacity can be calculated from the ultimate
load from the plate.
• The ultimate bearing capacity is then divided by a suitable factor of
safety to determine the safe bearing capacity of soil from the
foundation.
Advantages of Plate Load Test
• Being able to understand the foundation behaviour under loading
conditions.
• Evaluation of bearing capacity of soil at a certain depth and prediction
of settlement for a certain load.
• Shallow foundation can be calculated considering the allowable
bearing capacity, which can be predicted from the plate load test.
• Time and cost-efficient.
• Easy to perform.
• Reliable.
LIMITATIONS
LIMITATIONS
LIMITATIONS
DESIGN OF STRIP/CONTINUOUS FOOTING
• P.C.C Strip footings- light loads and good soil
• R.C.C Strip footings- Heavy load and soil conditions are not favourable
DESIGN OF SPREAD FOOTING/INDIVIDUAL
FOOTING
• The area of the footing is given by;

A =
• Q=Column load, qna= allowable soil pressure
• If the area actually provided is more, actual pressure is given by;

q0=
• Critical section of BM
i]At the face of the column or pedestal monolithic with the footing
when no metal plate is used.
ii]Half-way between the face of the column or pedestal and the edge of
the metal plate on which the column or pedestal rests.
• The max BM for case i is ;
• For checking the diagonal shear F, the critical section is taken at a
distance equal to the effective depth (d) from the face of the column.

• For punching shear, the critical section is at a distance of d/2 from the
face of the column.
• Equation for calculating the overall depth of the footing;

q0=actual soil pressure, B=width of footing, b= width of square

column, σsp=safe punching shear
COMBINED FOOTING
ECCENTRICALLY LOADED FOUNDATIONS
• Foundations are sometimes subjected to moments in addition to the
loads .
• The distribution of footing pressure is not uniform in this case. It is a
case of bending combined with thrust, treated in the mechanics of
materials. The maximum and minimum presures are given by;
CONTD…
RAFT FOUNDATIONS- PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
• Calculation methods for mat foundation design shall be based on the
latest version of applicable codes.
• The depth of mat foundation must satisfy shear requirements.
• A uniform thickness can be used for raft foundation if columns are
equally spaced and the loads are not very heavy.
• A minimum cover of 50 mm is required for mat foundation. The
above reinforcement cover may be increased based on harmful
chemicals and minerals in the soil and fluctuations of water table
when it is very near to the foundation.
CONTD…
• Accurate estimations of all types of loads, moments, and forces are
needed for the present as well as for future expansion.
• Foundation structures should be able to sustain the applied loads,
moments, forces, and induced reactions without exceeding the safe
bearing capacity of the soil.
• The settlement of the structure should be as uniform as possible and
it should be within the tolerable limits.
• Mat foundation should provide adequate safety for maintaining the
stability of structure.
• The raft foundation should be economical.
Bearing capacity equations for raft on sand
(Teng’s equation based on SPT value)
• As per Teng (1962) the safe bearing capacity can be obtained from the
results of SPT test.
• From shear failure criteria, the net safe bearing capacity is given by:
CONTD…
• From settlement criteria of 25 mm the safe bearing pressure is,
Bearing capacity equations for raft on clay
(Skempton’s formula)
• In cohesive soil the net ultimate beating capacity on the basis of shear
failure criteria is determined by Skempton’s equation, which is:

Where, Nc is the bearing capacity factor for a strip footing at

surface and is taken as 5. Cu is the undrained shear strength, Df, B
and L are depth, width and length of footing respectively.
CONTD…
• The safe bearing capacity is given by:

• Where, F is the factor of safety. The factor of safety should neither be

less than 3 for normal loading condition and 2 for extreme loading
condition.
DESIGN OF RAFT FOUNDATION- PROCEDURE
• Step 1. Determine the line of action of all the loads acting on the raft.
• Step 2.Determine the contact pressure distribution
• a) If the resultant passes through the centre of the raft

• b)If the resultant has an eccentricity ex and ey in the X and Y direction.

• The maximum contact pressure is less than the allowable pressure.

CONTD…
• Step 3.Divide the slab into strips (bands: B1, B2, B3) in x and y
directions. Each strip is assumed to act as independent beam
subjected to the contact pressure and column loads.
CONTD…
• Step4. Determine the modified column loads.

• Step5. Modified average soil pressure

CONTD…
• Step6. The BMD and SF are drawn for the modified column loads and
the modified avg soil pressure.
• Step 7.The footing is designed for maximum SF and BM
FLOATING FOUNDATION
• A Floating Foundation, also known as Balancing Raft is a type of
foundation where the weight of the building is approximately equal to
the full weight of the soil and water removed from the site of the
building prior to construction.
Principle of Floating Foundation
• The main principle of floating foundation is to balance the weight of
removed soil by a structure of same weight which causes zero
settlement to the structure. So, this foundation is also called as
balancing raft foundation.
Suitability of Floating Foundations
• Floating foundations are desirable for the following types of soils:
• Soils which are having good shear strength but having a problem of
large settlements and differential settlements under heavy loads. In
which case, floating foundation can reduce the settlement values to
greater extent.
• Soils which are having low shear strength and there is no hard layer of
soil at reasonable depth. Here also, floating foundation helps to
reduce the shear stresses to satisfactory level and hence settlement is
prevented.