1

ENCE 461
Foundation Analysis and
Design
Shallow Foundations
General Considerations
2
Types of Shallow Foundations
Shallow foundations are usually placed within a
depth D beneath the ground surface less than the
minimum width B of the foundation
Shallow foundations consist of:
Spread and continuous footings
Square, Rectangular or Circular Footings
Continuous footings
Ring Foundations
Wall footings
Mats or Rafts
3
Footings
A spread footing
distributes column or
other loads from the
structure to the soil,
where B < W < 10B
A continuous footing
is a spread footing
where W > 10B.
A wall footing is a
long load bearing
footing
4
Footings
5
Strap Footing
6
Mat
Foundations
A mat is continuous in two directions capable of
supporting multiple columns, wall or floor loads.
It has dimensions from 20 to 80 ft or more for
houses and hundreds of feet for large structures
such as multi-story hospitals and some
warehouses
Ribbed mats, consisting of stiffening beams
placed below a flat slab are useful in unstable
soils such as expansive, collapsible or soft
materials where differential movements can be
significant (exceeding 0.5 inch).
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Dimension and Rubble Stone
Footings
Before 1800, most all
footings were
masonry, as shown
Dimension stone
footings
Rubble stone footings
Satisfactory for lighter
structures, they were
too heavy for the
larger structures of the
19
th
century
8
Steel Grillage Footings
Used first with the Montauk Block Building in Chicago
(1882). First foundation type specifically designed for flexure.
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Typical Concrete Footing
10
Methods of
Construction
of Concrete
Footings
Formed footing
Once form is made, before
concrete is poured either
anchor bolts or dowels are
placed to enable connection
of the foundation with the
building.
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Mat Foundations
12
Conditions for Mat Foundations
Structural loads require large area to spread the
load
Soil is erratic and prone to differential
settlements
Structural loads are erratic
Unevenly distributed lateral loads
Uplift loads are larger than spread footings can
accommodate; weight of the mat is a factor here
Mat foundations are easier to waterproof
13
Chase Tower, Houston
(Built on Mat Foundation)
Mat foundation is 3 metres thick
and bottomed at 19.2 m below
street level
14
Distribution of Bearing Pressure
Distribution of bearing pressure depends on
Eccentricity, if any, of applied load
Magnitude of the applied moment, if any
Structural rigidity of the foundation
Stress-strain properties of the soil
Roughness of the bottom of the foundation
Spread footings are nearly rigid; effects of
foundation/soil flexibility usually ignored
Mat foundations are more flexible; flexibility an
important factor
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Bearing Pressure Distribution
Concentric Loads
Flexible
foundation
on clay
Flexible
Foundation
on Sand
Rigid
foundation
on clay
Rigid
Foundation
on Sand
Simplified
Distribution
16
Bearing Pressure Distribution
Concentric Loads
Rigid
foundation
on clay
Rigid
Foundation
on Sand
Simplified
Distribution
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Computation of Bearing
Pressure
Bearing Pressure, Bottom of Shallow Foundation
q = bearing pressure
P = vertical column load
W
f
= weght of foundation, including weight of soil
above foundation, if any
A = base area of foundation
u
D
= pore water pressure at bottom of foundation
q=
P+W
f
A
-u
D
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Pressure for Continuous
Footings
Load is usually
expressed per unit
length
q=
P
b
+
W
f
b
B
-u
D
19
Example of Bearing Pressure
Calculation
Given
Foundation as shown,
square footing
Find
Bearing Pressure
Assumptions
Unit weight of concrete
= 150 pcf = 23.6 kN/m
3
Assume concrete fills
area above footing to
surface
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Bearing Pressure
Example
Compute weight of
foundation and soil
W
f
= (5)(5)(4)(150) =
15,000 lbs.
Compute Area
A = (5)(5) = 25 sq. ft.
q=
P+W
f
A
-u
D
q=
100+15
25
-.0624=4.538ksf
Compute pore water
pressure
u
D
= (62.4)(4-3) = 62.4
psf
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Floating Foundations
Type of mat foundation that relies partially or
entirely on the weight of the soil/water
combination it displaces to support the structure
above it
Although foundations can be made to float
entirely, it many not be advisable due to heave or
settlement due to changes in ground conditions
Very useful for structures with hollow
subterranean structures
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Floating Foundation Example
Given
Foundation as shown, 50 m wide by 70 m long
Sum of column and wall loads = 805 MN
Find
Average Bearing Pressure
Increase in stress due to addition of foundation
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Floating Foundation Example
Compute weight of bottom mat
W
f
= (23.6)(50)(70)(1.8) = 148.68 MN
Compute area of foundation
A = (50)(70) = 3500 m
2
Compute Average Bearing Pressure
q=
P+W
f
A
-u
D
u
D
=(9.8)(8.7-5)=36.26 kPa=0.03625 MPa
q=
805+148.68
3500
-0.03625 MPa=236.23 kPa
24
Floating Foundation Example
For increased pressure, use alternative method
based strictly on buoyancy
Compute weight of soil displaced by foundation
W
s
= (19)(50)(70)(8.7) = 578.55 MN
Compute total structure load on foundation
W
t
= 148.68 MN + 805 MN = 953.68 MN
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Floating Foundation Example
Compute difference in weight displaced to
structural load
AW = 953.68 MN - 578.55 MN = 375.13 MN
Compute change in soil stress under mat
Ac = 375.13MN/3500 m
2
= 107.18 kPa
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Floating Foundation Example
Compute stress change using effective stress
Compute effective stress at foundation depth before
construction
'
zD
= H u = (19)(8.7) (9.8)(8.7-5) = 129.04 kPa
Bearing Pressure after construction = 236.23 kPa
Bearing Pressure Change = 236.23 129 = 107.19
kPa, so OK
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Eccentric Loading
Load is away from the
centre of the
foundation in the B
direction only
Non-continuous
footings
Continuous Footings
(actually e
1
)
e=
Pe
1
( P+W
f
)
e=
( P/ b) e
1
P/ b+W
f
/ b
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Moment Loading
Load is away from the
centre of the
foundation in the B
direction only
Non-continuous
footings
Continuous Footings
e=
M
( P+W
f
)
e=
( M/ b)
P/ b+W
f
/ b
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Variables for Eccentric and
Moment Loading
e = eccentricity of bearing pressure distribution
P = applied vertical load
P/b = applied vertical load per unit length of
foundation
M = applied moment load
M/b = applied moment load per unit length of
foundation
e
1
= eccentricity of applied vertical load
W
f
= weight of foundation
W
f
/b = weight of unit length of foundation
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One-Way Loading
One-way loading is loading along one of the
centre axes of the foundation
Three cases to consider
e < B/6
e = B/6
e > B/6
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Case 1: e < B/6
Maximum and
Minimum Bearing
Pressures
q
min
=(
P+W
f
A
-u
D
)(1-
6e
B
)
q
max
=(
P+W
f
A
-u
D
)(1+
6e
B
)
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Case 2: e = B/6
Maximum and
Minimum Bearing
Pressures
q
min
=0
q
max
=(
P+W
f
A
-u
D
)(1+
6e
B
)
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Case 2: e > B/6
Since areas exist
where pressure is less
than zero, uplift will
occur
This case is not
satisfactory and
design must be altered
so that e < B/6
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Example of One Way
Eccentricity
Given
Continuous foundation
as shown
Groundwater table at
great depth
Find
Whether resultant force
acts in middle third
Minimum and
maximum bearing
pressures
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Example of One Way
Eccentricity
Compute Weight of Foundation
W
f
/b = (5)(1.5)(150) = 1125 lb/ft
Compute eccentricity

Thus, eccentricity is within the middle third of the

foundation and foundation can be analysed further
without enlargement at this point
e=
( M/ b)
P/ b+W
f
/ b
=
8000
12000+1125
=0.61 ft.
B
6
=
5
6
=0.833 ft.>0.61 ft.
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Example of One Way
Eccentricity
Compute minimum and maximum bearing
pressures
q
min
=(
P+W
f
A
-u
D
)(1-
6e
B
)
q
min
=(
12000+1125
5
-0)(1-
(6)(0.61)
5
)=703 psf
q
max
=(
P+W
f
A
-u
D
)(1+
6e
B
)
q
max
=(
12000+1125
5
-0)(1+
(6)(0.61)
5
)=4546 psf
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Two-Way Eccentricity
Eccentricity in both
L and B
directions produces a
planar distribution of
stress
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Kern of Stability
Foundation stable
against overturn only
if resultant falls in the
kern in the centre of
the foundation
Resultant in the kern
if
6e
B
B
+
6e
L
L
<1
e
B
, e
L
= eccentricity in B, L directions
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Bearing Pressure at Corners
Two-Way Eccentricity
q=(
P+W
f
a
-u
D
)(1!
6e
B
B
!
6e
L
L
)
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Two-Way Eccentricity Example
Given
Grain silo design as
shown
Each silo has empty
weight of 29 MN; can
hold up to 110 MN of
grain
Weight of mat = 60
MN
Silos can be loaded
independently of each
other
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Two-Way Eccentricity Example
Find
Whether or not
eccentricity will be met
with the various
loading conditions
possible
Eccentricity can be one-
way or two-way
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Two-Way Eccentricity Example
One-Way Eccentricity
Largest Loading: two
adjacent silos full and
the rest empty
P = (4)(29) + 2(110) =
336 MN
M = (2)(110)(12) =
2640 MN-m
e=
M
( P+W
f
)
e=
2640
(336+60)
e=6.67m
B
6
=
50
6
=8.33m>6.67m
Eccentricity OK
for one-way
eccentricity
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Two-Way Eccentricity Example
Two-Way Eccentricity
Largest Loading: one silo full
and the rest empty
P = (4)(29) + 110 = 226 MN
M
B
= M
L
= (110)(12) = 1320
MN-m
e
B
=e
L
=
M
P+W
f
=
1320
226+60
=4.62m
6e
B
B
+
6e
L
L
=2(
(6)(4.62)
50
)=1.11>1
Not acceptable
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Two-Way Eccentricity Example
Two-Way Eccentricity
Solution to Eccentricity
Problem: increase the size of
the mat
Necessary to also take other
considerations into account
(bearing failure, settlement,
etc.)
6e
B
B
+
6e
L
L
=2(
(6)(4.62)
B
)=1
B=L=55.4m
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Questions?