Understanding the civil

Foundation design
 Functioning of Foundation
• Distribution of loads
• Stability against sliding & overturning
• Minimize differential settlement
• Provide level surface
• Minimize distress against soil movement
 Classification
• Foundations can be classified as shallow and deep foundations, depending
on the depth of load-transfer from the structure to the ground.
• Deep foundations usually refer to piles installed at depths and are :
(a) pre-manufactured and inserted into the ground by driving, jacking or
other methods.
(b) cast-in-place in a shaft formed in the ground by boring or excavation.
• Rational design approaches require a greater geotechnical input including
properly planned site investigations, field and laboratory testing, together
with consideration of the method of construction.
 Foundation Philosophy
 Mounting Methodologies
• Ground Mounting
• Rooftop Mounting
 Type of Foundation Blocks
• Precasted Concrete Footings
• Cast in Place Footings
 Size of Foundation
 Depth / Height of Foundation
 List of Equipments or Tools

Spade Crow Bar Pick Line and Pins

Axe

Wedge Sledge Hammer

Basket
 Overview –Site Investigation
• Ground Conditions:- A thorough understanding on the ground conditions of
a site is a pre-requisite to the success of a foundation project. The overall objective
of a site investigation for foundation design is to determine the site constraints,
geological profile and the properties of the various strata.
• Details of adjacent Structure and existing foundations.
Due to the high density of developments, a detailed knowledge of existing
structures and their foundations, including tunnels, within and immediately
beyond the site boundaries is important because these may pose constraints to
the proposed foundation construction.
• Geological Studies :- A useful summary of the nature and occurrence of
rocks and soils.
• Ground Water :- Information on the groundwater regime is necessary for the
design and selection of foundation type and method of construction. Artesian
water pressures may adversely affect shaft stability for cast-in-place piles
 Types of Foundation
• RCC(Reinforce Cement Concrete)
• PCC( Plain Cement Concrete)
 RCC Foundation

RCC structures

RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) is a construction technology which evolved with

the evolution of different structural materials in the 18th century during the Industrial
Revolution.

Industrial Revolution brought in new technology which helped in the manufacture of

various materials. The Architect Le Corbusier used RCC for various constructions. He
believed that any shape and form was possible; if RCC is to be used.
What is RCC?
RCC means Reinforced Cement Concrete, i.e., cement concrete reinforced with steel
bars, steel plates, steel mesh etc to increase the tension withstanding capacity of the
structure.

Cement Concrete can take up immense compression but weak in tension whereas
steel is good in withstanding both tension and compression.
RCC Foundation

RCC structures

Here are some of the advantages of RCC construction:

 Materials used in RCC construction are easily available.

 It is durable and long lasting.

 It is fire resisting and not attacked by termites.

 It is economical in ultimate cost.

 The reinforced concrete member can be cast to any shape because of the fluidity of

concrete.
 Its monolithic character gives much rigidity to the structure.

Cost of maintenance is nil.

RCC Foundation Casting

Chipping Template and ring cage in

Marking caster

Sand, Aggregate, Nito Bond

Foundation Cement mixing (M20)
 Key Points – Site Selection
The most important issue is to determine if the roof structure / Civil foundation
is adequate to keep solar rooftop system, the foundation must be arranged to
ensure that loads from solar panels and structure (dead load and wind uplift)
are distributed evenly.

Important Features/Qualities of Foundation

 Loads and settlements of foundations - Safe foundations

 Types of soils / material 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
 Execution of Ground investigation
• The extent of a ground investigation is dependent on the complexity of the
ground and, to a certain degree, the form of the proposed development
and type of structures and the intended foundation types.
• Although no hard and fast rules can be laid down, a relatively close
borehole spacing of say 10 m to 30 m will often be appropriate for general
building structures.
• It is good practice to sink sufficient boreholes to confirm the general
geology of the site.
• For piles founded on rock, it is common practice to carry out pre-drilling,
prior to pile construction, to confirm the design assumption and
predetermine the founding level of the piles. For large-diameter bored
piles founded on rock, one borehole should be sunk at each pile position
to a depth of 5 m into the types of rock specified for the piles or the bases
of the rock sockets, whichever is deeper
 Soil and Rock Sampling
 It is always recommended practice to retrieve good quality soil samples and
continuous rock cores from boreholes for both geological logging and
laboratory testing.

 Samples that are not selected for laboratory tests should be split and
examined in detail. Detailed logging of the geological profile using such soil
samples can help to identify salient geological features
 Prerequisites for Designing
Drawings

 Top view civil diagram of site

 Centerline Drawing / Building Layout along with the column and beam
information
 Any Existing Column along with their heights
 Roof layout
 Available area for installation

Orientations, other civil documents and Approvals

 Thickness of the roof top (from Civil Engineer )

 Load carrying capacity of building (from Civil Engineer)
 Orientation of site
 Type of roof
 Piercing allowed or not
 Approach to the roof
 Designing Procedures
• Assessment of site conditions in the context of the site and
soil investigation report.
• Calculation of anticipated structural loading.
• Choosing the foundation type, should consider:
• Soil conditions
• Type of structure
• Structure loading
• Economics factor
• Sizing :- The chosen foundation in the context of loading,
ground bearing capacity & any likely future movement of the
building / structure
Major Classifications of
Land in India
 Methodology
Materials used for foundation
• Foundation must be constructed of a durable material of an adequate strength
• The most suitable material is concrete
• Concrete is a mixture of cement, aggregates & water in a controlled proportion

Mixing Methodology
This concrete mix expressed as a ratio, e.g.,
 1:1.5:3 (M20)/20mm, which means

 1 part of cement

 1.5 parts of sand

 3 parts of coarse aggregate

 20mm – maximum size of coarse aggregate for the mix

Fixing Methodology
Nito Bond is used as an adhesive to fix the foundation to the RCC roof, But if the roof is
of tiles or china mosaic different adhesives are available to cast foundations on them.
 Processes in Foundation Work
• The processes executed in the foundation works are given below.
• Excavation of earth work in trenches for foundation.
• Laying out cement concrete.
• Laying the footing in case of raft or column construction.
• Laying Anti termite treatment.
• Laying Brick work up to plinth level.
• Laying Damp proof course on the walls.
• Refilling of earth around the walls.
• Refilling of earth in the building portion up to the required height according to
plinth level
 Curing
• Curing can be described as keeping the concrete moist and
warm enough so that the hydration of cement can continue.
More elaborately, it can be described as the process of
maintaining a satisfactory moisture content and a favorable
temperature in concrete during the period immediately
following placement, so that hydration of cement may
continue until the desired properties are developed to a
sufficient degree to meet the requirement of service.
• If curing is neglected in the early period of hydration, the
quality of concrete will experience a sort of irreparable loss.
An efficient curing in the early period of hydration can be
compared to a good and wholesome feeding given to a new
born baby.
Gallery