DEEP FOUNDATION

Deep Foundation
Deep foundation means a foundation unit that
provides support for a building by transferring loads either
by end-bearing to a soil or rock at considerable depth below
the building or by adhesion or friction, or both, in the soil or
rock in which it is placed. Piles are the most common type
of deep foundation.
Shallow Foundation

A shallow foundation is a type of building foundation that

transfers building loads to the earth very near to the surface, rather than
to a subsurface layer or a range of depths as does a deep foundation.
Shallow foundations include spread footing foundations, mat-slab
foundations, slab-on-grade foundations, pad foundations, rubble trench
foundations and earthbag foundations.
Types of Deep Foundation
The types of deep foundations in general use are as follows:

1. Basements
2. Buoyancy rafts (hollow box foundations)
3. Caissons
4. Cylinders
5. Shaft foundations
6. Pile foundations
Basement foundation

These are hollow substructures designed to provide working or storage

space below ground level. The structural design is governed by their
functional requirements rather than from considerations of the most efficient
method of resisting external earth and hydrostatic pressures. They are
constructed in place in open excavations.
Buoyancy Rafts (Hollow Box Foundations)

Buoyancy rafts are hollow substructures designed to provide a buoyant or semi-

buoyant substructure beneath which the net loading on the soil is reduced to the
desired low intensity. Buoyancy rafts can be designed to be sunk as caissons, they
can also be constructed in place in open excavations.
Caissons Foundations

Caissons are hollow substructures designed to be constructed on or

near the surface and then sunk as a single unit to their required level.
Cylinders
Cylinders are small single-cell caissons.
Drilled Shaft foundations

Shaft foundations are constructed within deep excavations supported by lining

constructed in place and subsequently filled with concrete or other pre-fabricated
load-bearing units. Read more on drilled shaft foundations.
Pile foundations

Pile foundations are relatively long and slender members

constructed by driving preformed units to the desired founding level,
or by driving or drilling-in tubes to the required depth – the tubes
being filled with concrete before or during withdrawal or by drilling
unlined or wholly or partly lined boreholes which are then filled with
concrete.
Driven Pile Foundations

Driven piles (precast piles) are prefabricated elements (timber, steel

or concrete), which are driven into the ground by percussion, pressing or
vibration, using proper machinery. The execution method used for this type
of piles is fast and does not depend on local conditions, presenting good
stability in soft soils. However, this type of piles is not suitable for soils
containing hard blocks (rocks).
BORED PILING
Bored piling is a method that involves boring a circular hole into the ground,
installing steel reinforcement and filling the bore hole with concrete to form a pile.
Boring is carried out to the required depth by means of either a crawler crane-
mounted rotary boring unit or a purpose-built hydraulic drilling machine. Bored pile
foundations are suitable for all types of soil conditions and compared with
conventional driven piling methods, bored piling activities generate less noise and
vibration.