FOUNDATION

ENGINEERING

Department of Civil Engineering

School of Engineering & Technology
Lecture plan
No. of
Courses to be covered Unit to be covered
lectures
Role of civil engineers in selection, design and construction of Introduction & Site
2 foundation of civil engineering structures, Methods of soil Investigation
exploration, Sampling-disturbed and undisturbed sampling
Unit 1
Various penetration tests, Correlation between penetration Introduction & Site
3 resistance and soil design parameters, Selection of foundation Investigation
based on soil condition.
Active and Passive earth pressure, Earth pressure at rest, Earth Pressure
4 Rankine and Coulombs earth pressure theories
Unit 2
Earth pressure due to surcharge
1 Earth Pressure
Types of shallow foundations, mechanism of load transfer, Modes Shallow Foundations
2 of failure, Terzaghis bearing capacity theory
Computation of bearing capacity in soils, Influence of various
Shallow Foundations Unit 3
2 factors, Use of field test data in design of shallow foundations,
Stresses below the foundations
Settlement of footings and rafts, Allowable and maximum
Shallow Foundations
2 differential settlements of buildings, Codal provisions,
Proportioning of footings and rafts
 Types of pile and method of construction, Estimation of load carrying Pile Foundation
1 capacity of a pile
Static and dynamic formulae, Load carrying capacity and settlement of
group of piles, Piles subjected to uplift, Negative skin friction
Pile Foundation
3 Unit 4

Pile load tests and interpretation of test data, Proportioning of piles, Pile Foundation
2 Codal provisions

Methods of construction, Tilt and shift, Remedial measures during

Well Foundations
2 sinking of well foundation
Unit 5
Bearing capacity, Settlement and lateral stability of well foundation
2 Well Foundations
 Mode of failure mechanism, Stability analysis of infinite slopes Stability of Slopes
1
Unit 6
Method of slices, Bishops simplified method Stability of Slopes
2

Types of retaining walls-gravity, semi-gravity, cantilever and counter Retaining Walls

3 fort retaining walls
Unit 7
Stability analysis of retaining walls, Proportioning and design of
Retaining Walls
1 retaining walls

Concept of soil stabilization, Materials used, Methods of stabilization

Unit 8
2 Soil Stabilization
 Books and References:

Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Arora, K.R.

(Standard publishers and distributors, New Delhi, 1997)

Basic and applied soil mechanics Gopal Ranjan and Rao, A.S.R.
(Wiley Eastern Ltd., New Delhi (India), 1997)

Principles of Foundation Engineering Das, B.M. (PWS Publishing,

California, 1999)
Foundation Analysis and Design Bowles J.E. (McGraw Hill, 1994)

Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering B.C. Punmia (S

CHAND publishers)
 FOUNDATION ENGG - SYLLABUS

Lecture Session Tutorial Session

Lectures per week : 3 Tutorial per week : 1

 Lecture Contents

Syllabus and Introduction (2 hrs)

Site Investigation(3 hrs)
Earth Pressure(5 hrs)
Shallow Foundations(6 hrs)
Pile Foundation(6 hrs)
Well Foundations(4 hrs)
Stability of Slopes(3 hrs)
Retaining Walls(4 hrs)
Soil Stabilization (2 hrs)
 Introduction

Earth Pressure
The force which is on the retaining wall when the soil is
retained at a slope steeper than it can sustain by virtue of
its shearing strength.

The magnitude of earth pressure is a function of the

magnitude and nature of the absolute and relative
movements of the soil and the structure.
 LATERAL EARTH PRESSURES

Fig. Conditions in the case of Fig. 13.3 Conditions in the case of

active earth pressure passive earth resistance
Effect of Wall Movement on Earth Pressure
 Effect of Wall Movement on Earth
Pressure
The Earth Pressure At Rest
The earth pressure that the soil mass is in a state
of rest and there are no deformations and
displacements.
Earth Pressure At Rest
 Rankines Theory of Earth Pressure

Assumptions:
The backfill soil is isotropic, homogeneous and is cohesionless.
The soil is in a state of plastic equilibrium during active and passive
earth pressure conditions.
The rupture surface is a planar surface which is obtained by
considering the plastic equilibrium of the soil.
The backfill surface is horizontal.
The back of the wall is vertical.
The back of the wall is smooth.
Active Earth Pressure of Cohesion less Soil

Fig. Active earth pressure distribution Rankines theory

 Effect of Submergence
(i) Lateral earth pressure due to submerged unit weight of the backfill soil; and
(ii) Lateral pressure due to pore water.

Fig. Effect of submergence on lateral earth pressure

At a depth H below the surface, the lateral pressure, h, is given

by : h = Ka. H +w. H
 Effect of partial submergence

Fig. Effect of partial submergence on lateral earth pressure

The lateral pressure above the water table is due to the most
unit weight of soil, and that below the water table is the sum
of that due to the submerged unit weight of the soil and the
water pressure.
 where H1 = depth of submerged fill,
Ka = active earth pressure coefficient,
H2 = depth of fill above water table (taken to be moist),
= moist unit weight, and
= submerged or effective unit weight.

Lateral pressure at the base of

wall,
= KaH2 + KaH1 + wH1
 Effect of Uniform Surcharge

Fig. Effect of uniform surcharge on lateral pressure


The extra loading carried by a retaining structure is known as
surcharge. It may be a uniform load (from roadway, from
stacked goods, etc.), a line load (trains running parallel to the
structure), or an isolated load (say, a column footing).

In the case of a wall retaining a backfill with horizontal surface

level with the top of the wall and carrying a uniform
surcharge of intensity q per unit area, the vertical stress at
every elevation in the backfill is considered to increase by q.
As such, the lateral pressure has to increase by Ka.q.

Thus, at any depth z, h = Ka.z + Kaq

 Effect of Inclined SurchargeSloping Backfill

The total active thrust Pa per unit length of the wall acts at
(1/3)H above the base of the wall and is equal to 1/2 Ka.H2; it
acts parallel to the surface of the fill.
Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil

Fig. Active pressure distribution for a cohesive soil

For c- soil For pure clay, = 0

Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil

Fig. Passive pressure distribution for the cohesive soil

 Coulombs Theory of Earth Pressure
Assumptions;
The backfill is a dry, cohesionless, homogeneous, isotropic soil.
The backfill surface is planar and can be inclined.
The back of the wall can be inclined to the vertical.
The failure surface is a plane surface which passes through the heel of
the wall.
The position and the line of action of the earth pressure are known.
The sliding wedge is considered to be a rigid body and the earth
pressure is obtained by considering the limiting equilibrium of the
sliding wedge as a whole.
Coulombs Theory of Earth Pressure
Coulombs Theory of Earth Pressure
Coulomb Equations for c=0 Backfills
PROBLEMS
 What are the limiting values of the lateral earth
pressure at a depth of 3 meters in a uniform sand
fill with a unit weight of 20 KN/m3 and a friction
angle of 35? The ground surface is level. If a
retaining wall with a vertical back face is
interposed, determine the total active thrust and
the total passive resistance which will act on the
wall.
 A gravity retaining wall retains 12 m of a backfill,
= 17.7 KN/m3 = 25 with a uniform horizontal
surface. Assume the wall interface to be
vertical, determine the magnitude and point of
application of the total active pressure. If the
water table is a height of 6 m, how far do the
magnitude and the point of application of active
pressure changed?
 A smooth backed vertical wall is 6.3 m high and
retains a soil with a bulk unit weight of 18 KN/m3
and = 18. The top of the soil is level with the top
of the wall and is horizontal. If the soil surface
carries a uniformly distributed load of 4.5 KN/m2,
determine the total active thrust on the wall per
lineal meter of the wall and its point of application.
 A wall, 5.4 m high, retains sand. In the loose state
the sand has void ratio of 0.63 and = 27, while
in the dense state, the corresponding values of
void ratio and are 0.36 and 45 respectively.
Compare the ratio of active and passive earth
pressure in the two cases, assuming G = 2.64.
 A vertical wall with a smooth face is 7.2 m high
and retains soil with a uniform surcharge angle of
9. If the angle of internal friction of soil is 27,
compute the active earth pressure and passive
earth resistance assuming = 20 kN/m3
 A retaining wall 9 m high retains a cohesionless
soil, with an angle of internal friction 33. The
surface is level with the top of the wall. The unit
weight of the top 3 m of the fill is 21 kN/m3 and
that of the rest is 27 kN/m3. Find the magnitude
and point of application of the resultant active
thrust. It is assumed that = 33 for both the
strata of the backfill.
 A retaining wall, 7.5 m high, retains a cohsionless
backfill. The top 3 m of the fill has a unit weight of
18 kN/m3 and = 30 and the rest has unit
weight of 24 kN/m3 and = 20. Determine the
pressure distribution on the wall.
 A sandy loam backfill has a cohesion of 12 kN/m2
and = 20. The unit weight is 17.0 kN/m3. What
is the depth of the tension cracks ?
 A retaining wall with a smooth vertical back
retains a purely cohesive fill. Height of wall is 12
m. Unit weight of fill is 20 kN/m3. Cohesion is 1
N/cm2. What is the total active Rankine thrust on
the wall? At what depth is the intensity of pressure
zero and where does the resultant thrust act?
 A retaining wall with a smooth back is 12 m high
and retains a two layer sand backfill with following
properties:
0 6 m depth: = 280, = 16 KN/m3
below 6 m: = 320, = 21 KN/m3
Show the active earth pressure distribution,
assuming that the water table is well below the
base of the wall.
 For the retaining wall as shown below, assume
that wall can yield sufficiently to develop active
state. Determine the Rankine active force per unit
length of wall and the location of resultant line of
action.

=16 KN/m3
3m
1=30
C1=0
z
sat =19 KN/m3
3m
2=36
C2=0
Thank you.
Appendix
EARTH PRESSURE COEFFICIENTS