that the results shown in this figure support, both qualitatively understanding of the consequences and risks o f such
o f such tech­
and quantitatively, prior experience, which has found that diffe r­
ent values of secant modulus must be applied to different foun­
dations on the same soil in order to match observed foundation
movements. The typical values quoted in item (3) above are rea­
sonably consistent with recommendations made in the literature.
Figure 8.4 also emphasizes the importance of selecting the se­
cant modulus for the appropriate applied load level.
9 FUTU RE DIRECTIO NS
Despite the fact that foundation engineering is a relatively ma­
ture aspect o f geotechnical engineering, there still remain a con­
siderable number of areas where uncertainty abounds. Among
these areas are the following:
1. More appropriate characterisation of the ground conditions,
both with respect to the geological aspects and the quantifi­
cation of the relevant engineering properties. This remains an
enduring challenge, not only in foundation engineering, but in
all aspects of geotechnics. The aspects which continue to de­
mand attention include:
- The delineation of the ground conditions below the site in
question, based on a limited number and extent of boreholes.
The continuing development of geophysical techniques de­
serves encouragement;
- The development of improved methods of in-situ assessment
of geotechnical parameters of the ground;
- The development of methods of laboratory testing, which can
be carried out efficiently, to examine details of ground be­
haviour which are difficult to obtain from in-situ tests;
- Continuing work to relate engineering deformation parame­
ters for routine design to small-strain soil parameters
2. M uch o f the research in foundation engineering has focussed
on the design and construction of new foundations. Increas­
ingly, engineers are being asked to assess the condition of
existing foundations and the extent to which such foundations
can be used to support additional loadings, for example, be­
cause of an extension or heightening of a structure, or be­
cause of a change in the usage of the structure. It would there­
fore be appropriate for some re-direction of research effort to
be made towards the better solution of such problems. Spe­
cific examples of relevant research topics include:
- The identification in-situ of the nature of an existing founda­
tion; this may involve the application of micro-geophysical
techniques to identify pile length, diameter and modulus,
- The assessment of the performance of an existing foundation
via in-situ testing. Such testing is usually complicated by the
difficulty of obtaining unobstructed access to the foundation
in order to apply load, and also by the fact that an in-service
foundation cannot be loaded to failure in order to assess its
existing ultimate capacity.
- The assessment o f the performance of an existing foundation
after it has been upgraded, for example, a large bored pile
which has been enhanced by the addition of additional piles
to increase the capacity and stiffness it can provide.
3. Consideration of interaction between the project being inves­
tigated and existing adjacent projects. For example, it is a
common practice to ignore activities on sites other than the
one being investigated, but such activities as dewatering, ex­
cavation, foundation constrflction, or the presence of another
adjacent heavily-loaded structure, can have a major impact on
the behaviour of the ground and the structure being con­
structed. In particular, the interaction among closely-spaced
buildings deserves close attention, as the consequent tilts and
differential settlements.
4. In-situ correction o f deficient foundations. The Pisa Tower
provides an outstanding example o f the application of funda­
mental soil mechanics and innovative technology to the cor­
rection of foundation tilting. Similar technicques can be de­
veloped for structures supported by piles, and a proper
2599
niques that can result from research.
10 CONCLUSIO NS
This paper has reviewed various aspects of foundation engi­
neering and has attempted to assess the capabilities of conven­
tional methods of analysis and design in the light of more mod­
em methods developed from research over the past two to three
decades. Based on this review, it has been suggested that the
conventional methods o f analysis and design should be adopted,
adapted or discarded. The results o f this assessment may be
summarized as follows:
(i) Methods which may be adopted -
- the effective width method, commonly used in the analysis of
the bearing capacity o f foundations subjected to eccentric
loading in the case o f undrained loading,
- relatively new solutions for bearing capacity for cases in­
volving the following:
- clays where the undrained shear strength increases linearly
with depth (Booker and Davis, 1973),
- two layers o f clay, M e rifie ld et al. (1999),
- a layer of sand overlying relatively soft clay (Okamura et
al., 1998),
- Failure loci for combined loading of shallow foundations,
such as those expressed by Equation (3.9),
- Schmertmann’s method for settlement of shallow footings on
sands,
- the elastic method for settlement of shallow footings on
sands,
- equivalent pier analysis for pile groups,
- analyses for rafts or piled rafts that treat the soil as an elastic
or elasto-plastic continuum,
- the use o f thin plate theory for rafts and piled rafts (except in
areas where very stiff structural elements exist, e.g., shear
walls), and
- active earth pressures on rigid retaining structures as sug­
gested by Coulomb and based on a simple wedge failure
mechanism.
(ii) Methods which should be adapted -
conventional bearing capacity theory, based on the original
approach suggested by Terzaghi and extended later by oth­
ers such as Vesic, to calculate the bearing capacity of a
foundation on homogeneous soil, with the proviso that the
use of the outdated and inaccurate information regarding
some o f the bearing capacity factors, particularly the factor
Ny, should be discontinued. The factors set out in Table 3.1
are considered to provide the best values available and their
use is therefore recommended,
- one-dimensional settlement analysis of shallow footings on
clay (make allowance for immediate settlement),
- one-dimensional rate of settlement analysis for shallow
footings (make allowance for three-dimensional geometry
and soil anisotropy),
- linear creep/secondary settlement versus log time relation­
ship (need to consider carefully when creep commences),
- strip analysis for rafts (allow for loaded areas outside the
strip section analyzed),
- simplified methods based on the Poulos-Davis-Randolph
method, may be used to obtain preliminary estimates of load-
settlement behaviour for piled raft foundations, and
- solutions proposed by Lee and Herrington (1972a, 1972b) for
the passive thrusts acting on rigid retaining structures. In
particular, the use of the Coulomb solution for this form of
ioading should be abandoned.
(iii) Methods which may need to be discarded -
- methods for shallow foundations based on subgrade reaction
concepts; while they may sometimes give satisfactory results
for isolated loadings, they can be misleading for uniform
loadings and may also create difficulties with the selection of