Spread Footings:

Structural Design
Structural Design Process
for Reinforced Concrete foundation
o Selecting a concrete with an appropriate strength

o Selecting an appropriate grade of reinforcing steel

o Determining the required foundation thickness, T.

o Determine the size, number, and spacing of the
reinforcing bars

o Designing the connection between the
superstructure and the foundation
Cross section of spread footing showing
applied loads, reinforcing steel and
relevant dimensions.
2/52
Structural Design Process
for Reinforced Concrete foundation
o Selection of materials

o Basis for design methods

o Design loads

o Minimum cover requirement and standard
dimensions

o Square footings
Concrete Protection for Reinforcement
o NSCP specifies the minimum amount of
concrete cover that must be present around
all steel reinforcing bars

o this cover distance is measured from the
edge of the bars, not the centerlines.

o it provides proper anchorage of the bars
and corrosion protection

o It also allows for irregularities in the
excavation and accommodates possible
contamination of the lower portion of the
concrete.
In square spread footings, the effective depth is
the distance from the top of the concrete to the
contact point of the flexural steel.
d is the effective depth
t is the thickness of the footing
d
b
is the nominal diameter of the steel bars
= 75mm

Concrete Protection for Reinforcement
(NSCP 2010)
407.8.1 Cast-in-place concrete (non-prestressed)
Unless a greater cover is required by Section 407.8.6 or
407.8.8 specified cover for reinforcement shall not less
than the following:
1. Concrete cast against and permanently exposed to earth . . . 75 mm

2. Concrete exposed to earth or weather:
f20 mm bar through f36 mm bar

f16 mm bar, MW200 or MD200 wire, and smaller

50 mm

40 mm

Designing for Shear
o ACI defines two modes of shear
failure
one-way shear (also known as
beam shear or wide-beam
shear)

two-way shear (also known as
diagonal tension shear)
The two modes of shear failure: (a) one-way
shear, and (b) two-way shear.
Two-Way Shear
o Two-way shear is a measure of the
diagonal tension caused by the
effect of the column load on the
footing.

o Incline cracks may occur at a
distance d/2 from the face of the
column on all sides.

o The critical section is located at a
distance d from the face of column
Designing for Shear
The footing design is satisfactory for shear when it satisfies the
following condition on all critical shear surfaces:




The nominal shear load capacity, V
nc
, on the critical surface is:




For spread footings, V
S
is neglected.
where:
V
c
= nominal shear load capacity of concrete
V
nc
= nominal shear load capacity of reinforcing steel
where:
V
uc
= factored shear force on critical surface
V
nc
= nominal shear capacity on the critical surface
f = resistance factor for shear = 0.85
Two-Way Shear
The footing may be subjected
to P
u
, M
u
and V
u
all of which
produce shear forces on the
critical shear surfaces

To visualize the V
uc
, caused by
P
u
, divide the footing into two
blocks, one inside the shear
surface and one outside.
Two-Way Shear
o P
u
, applied to the top of the inner block, is
transferred to a uniform pressure acting on
the base of both blocks

o Some of this load is transferred to the soil
beneath the inner block, while the remainder
must pass through the critical shear surface
and enters the soil beneath the lower block

o Only the later portion produces a shear force on the critical surface

o The percentage of P
u
that produces shear along the critical surfaces is the
ratio of the base area of the outer block to the total base area.
Two-Way Shear
o if an applied moment load M
u
, is present, it
produces an additional shear force on two
opposing faces of the inner block

o The shear force on one of the faces acts in the
same direction as the shear force induced by the
normal load

o while the that on the other face acts in the
opposite direction

o The face with both forces acting in the same
direction has the greatest shear force, and thus
controls the design
Distribution of shear forces on the
critical shear surfaces for two-way
shear when the footing is subjected
to both normal and moment loads.
Two-Way Shear
The factored shear force on the critical vertical surfaces, V
uc
, is
as follows:
where:
V
uc
= factored shear force on most critical surface
B = footing width
c = column width or diameter or base plate width for steel columns
d = effective depth
P
u
= applied normal load
V
u
= applied shear load

Distribution of shear forces on the
critical shear surfaces for two-way
shear when the footing is subjected
to both normal and moment loads.
Two-Way Shear
o if an applied shear load V
u
, is present and it acts
in the same direction as the moment load, it
produces a shear force on the other two faces

o Assuming the applied shear force is evenly
divided between these two faces, the shear force
on each face is
Distribution of shear forces on the
critical shear surfaces for two-way
shear when the footing is subjected
to both normal and shear loads.

2
+

2

Two-Way Shear
o The factored shear force on the critical vertical surfaces, V
uc
, is
a follows:
where:
V
uc
= factored shear force on most critical surface
B = footing width
c = column width or diameter or base plate width for steel columns
d = effective depth
P
u
= applied normal load
V
u
= applied shear load

Two-Way Shear
o The nominal two-way shear capacity is





where:
V
nc
= nominal two-way shear capacity on the critical section
V
c
= nominal two-way shear capacity of concrete
b
o
= length of critical shear surface
c = column width
d = effective depth
f
c
= 28-day compressive strength of concrete

= 4
0

English system

Metric system

One-Way Shear
o Two-way shear governs the design of square
footings subjected only to vertical loads

o There is no need to check one-way shear in
such footings

o If applied shear and/or moment loads are
present, both kinds of shear need to be
checked

o The critical section is located at a distance d
from the face of column
One-Way Shear
o The factored shear force on the critical vertical
surfaces, V
uc
, is a follows:
where:
V
uc
= shear force on critical surface
B = footing width
c = column width
d = effective depth
P
u
= applied normal load
M
u
= applied moment load
V
u
= applied shear load

=
2

+
6

2
+

2

One-Way Shear
o The nominal one-way shear capacity is




where:
V
nc
= nominal one-way shear capacity on the critical section
V
c
= nominal one-way shear capacity of concrete
b
w
= length of critical shear surface = 2B
c = column width
d = effective depth
f
c
= 28-day compressive strength of concrete

= 2

English system

Metric system

Example Problem
(Metric Units)
A 0.6 m square reinforced concrete column carries a
vertical dead load of 1690 kN and a vertical live load of
1200 kN. It is to be supported on a square spread
footing that will be founded on a soil with an allowable
bearing pressure of 300 kPa.
The GWT is well below the bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width B, thickness T, and
effective depth d.
Use f
c
= 28 MPa and f
y
= 420 MPa. Design the
required flexural steel.

Example Problem
(English Units)
A 21-inch square reinforced concrete column carries
a vertical dead load of 380 k and a vertical live load of
270 k. It is to be supported on a square spread footing
that will be founded on a soil with an allowable bearing
pressure of 6500 psf.
The GWT is well below the bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width, B, thickness, T, and
effective depth, d. Use f
c
= 4000 psi and f
y
= 60 ksi.
Design the required flexural steel.

Designing for Flexure
Flexural Design Principles
o Nominal moment capacity of a RC flexural member

2

=

0.85

1.176

2.353

Designing for Flexure
Factored bending moment at the critical
section, M
uc
, is:




where:
M
uc
= factored moment at critical section for bending
P
u
= factored compressive load from column
M
u
= factored moment load from column
l = cantilever distance (from table)
B = footing width

2
2
+
2

(a) A spread footing is actually a two-way
slab, bending in both the north-south and
east-west directions; (b) for purposes of
analysis engineers assume that the footing is
a one-way slab that bends in one axis only.
Designing for Flexure
(a) with a concrete column; (b) with a masonry column; and
(c) with a steel column
Location of critical section for
bending
Type of column l
Concrete (B c)/2
Masonry (B c/2)/2
Steel (2B (c + c
p
))/4
Design cantilever distance for use in
designing reinforcement in spread
footings
Designing for Flexure
Reinforcing steel

o Grade 40 bars which have a yield strength f
y
, of
40 ksi (280 Mpa)

o Grade 60 bars which have a yield strength f
y
, of
60 ksi (420 Mpa)





Steel Reinforcement Information
(NSCP 2010)
ASTM Standard Philippine Standard
Nominal
Diameter, mm
Nominal
Area, mm
2
Nominal mass,
kg/mm
2
Bar Size
Designation
Nominal
Area, mm
2
Nominal mass,
kg/mm
2
9.5 71 0.560 10 79 0.618
12.7 129 0.994 12 113 0.890
15.9 199 1.552 16 201 1.580
19.1 284 2.235 20 3144 2.465
22.2 387 3.042 NA NA NA
25.4 510 3.973 25 491 3.851
28.7 645 5.060 28 616 4.831
32.3 819 6.404 32 804 6.310
35.8 1006 7.907 36 1019 7.986
43.0 1452 11.380 42 1385 10.870
57.3 2581 20.240 58 2642 20.729
Shrinkage and Temperature Reinforcement
407.13.2.1 Area of shrinkage and temperature reinforcement
shall provide at least the following ratios of reinforcement
area to gross concrete area, but not less than 0.0014:
o Slabs where Grade 280 and Grade 520 deformed bars are
used

o Slabs where Grade 415 deformed bars or welded wire
fabric (smooth or deformed) are used

o Slabs where reinforcement with yield stress exceeding
415 MPa measured at a yield strain of 0.35% is used

. 0.0020


. 0.0018


. 0.0018 x 415/f
y
Minimum Reinforcement
of Flexural Members
410.6.4 For structural slabs and footings of uniform thickness, the
minimum area of tensile reinforcement in the direction of the
span shall be the same as that required by Section 407.13.2.1.
Maximum spacing of this reinforcement shall not exceed the
lesser of three times the thickness, nor 450 mm.
Maximum steel ratio, r

f
y
(MPa)
f
c
(MPa)
20 25 30 35 40
300 r
b
0.0321 0.0401 0.0482 0.0536 0.0582
0.75r
b
0.0241 0.0301 0.0361 0.0402 0.0436
0.50r
b
0.0161 0.0201 0.0241 0.0268 0.0291
0.35r
b
0.0112 0.0140 0.0169 0.0187 0.0204
420 r
b
0.0202 0.0253 0.0304 0.0338 0.0367
0.75r
b
0.0152 0.0190 0.0228 0.0253 0.0275
0.50r
b
0.0101 0.0126 0.0152 0.0169 0.0183
0.35r
b
0.0071 0.0089 0.0106 0.0118 0.0128
Code Requirements
NSCP 407.7 Spacing limits
407.7.1 - the minimum clear spacing between parallel bars in a layer
shall be d
b
but not less than 25 mm.

403.4.2 nominal maximum size of coarse aggregate shall not be
larger than:
(a) 1/5 the narrowest dimension between sides of forms,
nor
(b) 1/3 the depth of slabs, nor
(c) the minimum clear spacing between individual
reinforcing bars or wires, bundles of bars, individual
tendons, bundled tendons, or ducts
Development of Deformed Bars
and Deformed Wires in Tension
NSCP 412.3.2 For deformed bars or
deformed wire, l
d
shall be





where


and

1.1

2.5

=
40

where:
A
tr
= total cross-sectional area of all transverse
reinforcement which is within the spacing s and
which crosses the potential plane of splitting
through the reinforcement being developed (may
conservatively be taken to be zero)
c
b
= spacing or cover dimension = the smaller of the
distance from the center of the bar to the nearest
concrete surface or one-half the center-to-center
spacing of the bars
d
b
= nominal diameter of bar
f
y
= specified yield strength of non-prestressed
reinforcement, MPa
f
c
= specified compressive strength of concrete, Mpa
k
tr
= transverse reinforcement index (for spread footings,
use K
tr
= 0 which is conservative)
l
d
= minimum required development length
s

= maximum center-to-center spacing of transverse
reinforcement within l
d
l = modification factor = 1.0
Development of Deformed Bars
and Deformed Wires in Tension

t
= reinforcement location factor
= 1.3 for horizontal reinforcement with more than 300 mm (12) of fresh
concrete below the bar
= 1.0 for all other cases

e
= reinforcement coating factor
= 1.5 for epoxy coated bars or wires with cover less than 3d
b
or clear
spacing less than 6d
b
= 1.2 for other epoxy coated bars or wires
= 1.0 for uncoated bars or wires

s
= reinforcement size factor
= 0.8 for #6 and smaller bars

= 1.0 for #7 and larger bars
Required Development Length
(a) with a concrete column; (b) with a masonry
column; and (c) with a steel column
o The development length is
measured from the critical
section for bending to the end
of the bars as shown below.

o Thus, the supplied
development length is:
where:
(l
d
)
supplied
= supplied development length
l = cantilever distance

= 75( 3")
Example Problem
(English Units)
A 21-inch square reinforced concrete column carries
a vertical dead load of 380 k and a vertical live load of
270 k. It is to be supported on a square spread footing
that will be founded on a soil with an allowable bearing
pressure of 6500 psf.
The GWT is well below the bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width, B, thickness, T, and
effective depth, d. Use f
c
= 4000 psi and f
y
= 60 ksi.
Design the required flexural steel.

Solution
A 21-inch square reinforced
concrete column carries a vertical dead
load of 380 k and a vertical live load of
270 k. It is to be supported on a square
spread footing that will be founded on a
soil with an allowable bearing pressure
of 6500 psf. The GWT is well below the
bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width, B,
thickness, T, and effective depth, d. Use
f
c
= 4000 psi and f
y
= 60 ksi.
Design the required flexural steel.
o determine l

o calculate M
uc

o calculate A
s


o check minimum steel requirement

o determine no. of bars

o check spacing

o Check l
d


Example Problem
(Metric Units)
A 0.6 m square reinforced concrete column carries a
vertical dead load of 1690 kN and a vertical live load of
1200 kN. It is to be supported on a square spread
footing that will be founded on a soil with an allowable
bearing pressure of 300 kPa.
The GWT is well below the bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width B, thickness T, and
effective depth d.
Use f
c
= 28 MPa and f
y
= 420 MPa. Design the
required flexural steel.

Solution
A 0.6 m square reinforced concrete
column carries a vertical dead load of
1690 kN and a vertical live load of 1200
kN. It is to be supported on a square
spread footing that will be founded on a
soil with an allowable bearing pressure
of 300 kPa. The GWT is well below the
bottom of the footing.
Determine the required width, B,
thickness, T, and effective depth, d. Use
f
c
= 28 Mpa and f
y
= 420 MPa.
Design the required flexural steel.
o determine l

o calculate M
uc

o calculate A
s


o check minimum steel requirement

o determine no. of bars

o check spacing

o Check l
d


Continuous Footings
(Designing for Shear)
The factored shear force acting on a unit
length of the critical shear surface is:




where:
P
uc
/b = factored shear force at critical surface per unit length
of footing
P
u
/b = factored applied compressive load per unit length of
footing
c = width of wall
b = unit length of footing (usually 1 ft or 1 m)
B = footing width
Location of idealized critical
shear surface for one-way shear
in a continuous footing.
Continuous Footings
(Designing for Shear)
The factored shear force acting on a unit length of the critical
shear surface is:





where:
b = unit length of footing (usually 1 ft or 1 m)
B = footing width
c = width of wall
d = effective depth
f
c
= 28-day compressive strength of concrete
P
u
/b = applied vertical load per unit length of footing
f = resistance factor = 0.85

English system

Metric system

Continuous Footings
o Place a nominal amount of longitudinal steel in
the footing
0.0018A
g
to 0.0020A
g


o If large differential heaves or settlements are
likely, use additional longitudinal reinforcement

o If the entire base is within a 45
o
frustum, there
is no need for transverse steel

o For wider footings, transverse steel is designed
to resist flexural stresses at the critical section.




zone of compression in lightly-
loaded footings
d
75 mm
75 mm
d
b
0.5d
bl
Continuous Footings
(Designing for Flexure)
The factored moment at the critical section is:





where:
M
uc
/b = factored moment at critical surface per unit length of footing
P
u
/b = factored applied compressive load per unit length of footing
M
u
/b = factored applied moment load perpendicular to wall per unit length of footing
b = unit length of footing (usually 1 ft or 1 m)
B = footing width
l = cantilever distance
Example Problem
A 200-mm wide concrete block wall carries a vertical
dead load of 120 kN/m and a vertical live load of 88
kN/m. It is to be supported on a continuous spread
footing that is to be founded at a depth of at least 500
mm below the ground surface.
The allowable bearing pressure of the soil beneath
the footing is 200 kPa and the GWT is at a depth of 10 m.
Develop a structural design for this footing using f
c
=
15 MPa and f
y
= 300 Mpa.
Rectangular Footings
Rectangular footings with width B and Length L that
support only one column are similar to square footings and
are designed as follows:

o Check both one-way shear and two-way shear as shown.
Determine the minimum required d and T to satisfy
both.

Rectangular Footings
o Design the long steel by
substituting L for B in the
previous equations

o Distribute this steel
evenly across the footing

Rectangular Footings
o Design the short steel

o Proportion the short steel
according to the formula below:




where:
E = portion of steel in center section
B = footing width
L = footing length
Other types of footings
Combined footings
o Footings that carry more than one column

o The loading and geometry is more complex, so a more
rigorous structural analysis is required

Lightly-loaded footings
o If P
u
< 400 kN (90k) or P
u
/b < 150 kN/m (10 k/ft), d
min

150 (6) controls
o Shear analysis is not required
Other types of footings
Lightly-loaded footings
o If P
u
< 130 kN (30k) or P
u
/b < 60 kN/m (4 k/ft), minimum
steel requirements (r
min
= 0.0018) governs

o flexural analysis is not required

o If entire base of the footing is within a 45
o
frustum, no
reinforcement is required.
Other types of footings
Square footings
o If bottom of footing is completely within the zone of
compression no reinforcement required

o If bottom of footing extends beyond the zone of
compression as determined by flexural analysis,
provide 12.7 mm dia. at 500 mm. o.c. each way)
Other types of footings
Continuous footings
o Longitudinal reinforcement
Minimum two 12.7 mm dia. bars
o Lateral reinforcement
If bottom of footing is completely within the zone of
compression no reinforcement required

If bottom of footing extends beyond the zone of compression
as determined by flexural analysis, provide 12.7 mm dia. at 500
mm. o.c. each way)

Minimum reinforcement helps accommodate unforeseen stresses,
temperature and shrinkage stresses, and other phenomena
Connections with the Superstructure
o Connections with columns
Concrete or Masonry columns

Steel Columns

Wood Columns

o Connection with walls
Bearing Strength
Bearing Strength
Check factored column load versus, nominal bearing
capacity




where:
P
u
= factored column load
P
nb
= nominal column bearing capacity
f
c
= 28-day compressive strength of concrete
s = (A
2
/A
1
)
0.5
if the frustum fits entirely
within the footing
s = 1 if the frustum does not fit entirely
within the footing

A
1
= cross-sectional area of the column = c
2

A
2
= (c + 4d)
2
c = column width or diameter
f = resistance factor = 0.7
Design for Moment Loads
If moment loads are present, then the dowels must
be embedded at least one development length into
the footing as shown.



english metric

where:
T = footing thickness (mm)
l
dh
= development length for 90
o
hooks (mm)
d
b
= bar diameter (mm)
f
c
= 28-day compressive strength of concrete (MPa)

=
100

=
1200

Design for Moment Loads
The development length computed from the previous
equation may be modified by the following factors:

o For standard reinforcing bars with yield strength other
than 60,000 psi: f
y
/ 60,000

o For a metric reinforcing bars with yield strength other
than 420 psi: f
y
/ 420

o If at least 50 mm (2) of cover is present beyond the
hook: 0.7
Design for Shear Loads
If the column imparts a shear load, V
u
, onto the footing, the
connection must be able to transmit this load. The minimum
required dowel steel area is:



where:
A
s
= minimum required dowel steel area
V
u
= applied factored shear load
f = resistance factor = 0.85
f
y
= yield strength of reinforcing steel
m = 0.6 if the cold join not intentionally roughened or 1.0 if the cold join is roughened by
heavy raking or grooving

Summary
o The plan dimensions and minimum embedment depth of a
spread footing are governed by geotechnical concerns, and
are determined using the unfactored loads.

o The thickness and reinforcement of a spread footing are
governed by structural concerns. Structural design is
governed by the NSCP code and therefore the analyses are
based on the factored load.

o The structural design of spread footings must consider both
shear and flexural failure modes.
Summary
o A shear failure consists of the column or wall punching
through the footing, while a flexural failure occurs when the
footing has insufficient cantilever strength

o Since stirrups (shear reinforcement) are not used, shear
analysis is conducted first and the effective depth d is
determined, so that the footing provides enough shear
resistance (concrete only) to resist shear forces induced by
the applied load.

o Shear strength of the flexural steel is ignored.
Summary
o Conduct flexural analysis to determine the amount of steel
required to provide flexural strength.

o For square footings, use the same flexural steel in both
directions.

o For continuous footings, the lateral steel is based on flexural
analysis

o Use nominal longitudinal steel for non-uniformities in the
load and inconsistencies in the soil bearing pressure
Summary
o Design rectangular footings similar to square footings,
but place a greater portion of the short steel near the
center.

o Check the following superstructure connections
bearing strength

dowel development length for moment and shear
loads