Chapter 3

TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS, FORCES AND DESIGN CRITERIA

A thorough geotechnical investigation will usually suggest
the ideal type of foundation to be used at a site. This implies
functionality, safety and cost effectiveness. Usually, the final
report will suggest the best two alternatives.
Typically, a building is primarily designed for function.
After that criteria is satisfied, then the two subsequent
criterions considered by its designer are its aesthetics and its
structural requirements. Finally, after all these are satisfied,
foundations are accommodated around the above constraints. arely
are foundations considered at the outset. !"ceptions are in
seismic severe areas, and in predominantly civil wor#s, such as
earth dams, deep e"cavations, etc. This has not always been so.
The influence of foundations on architecture has e"isted since
prehistoric times, and become notable in chaldean and egyptian
public wor#s. $n contrast, most gree# monuments, so influential
to modern architecture, ignored the fine foundation e"perience
developed by older builders, primarily because the %ree#s
benefited from their peninsula&s surficial roc#s.
The structural solution of a building must consider the
behavior of the soil over time. For e"ample, a reinforced
concrete building behaves poorly in consolidating clay, when
compared to a more fle"ible steel structure. Foundations must
therefore be visuali'ed as a natural connection between the
structure and the soil, minimi'ing poor connectivity by adding
fle"ibility to the structure.
For e"ample, the use of basements should be viewed both from
a geotechnical and a space requirement points of view. The
designer should answer these questions(
). $s the roc# shallow*+ does it require blasting*
,. $s the bearing stratum within - meters from the
surface* These - meters are easily reachable if you had planned
for a basement, but e"pensive otherwise. Also, a basement may
wipe out a good surficial stratum, forcing the use of deep
foundations.
3. $n very soft ground, use a floating or compensated
mat foundation. The economics of a compensated mat suggests the
use of one basement per each si" stories of building height.
.owever, two or three levels below the water table may require
the use of e"pensive cut/off walls.
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The average cost of a foundation for a multistory building
ranges from 3 to 78 of the construction cost. 9pecial structures,
however, or difficult soils may raise the cost to ,:8 or higher.
4ight structures, such as , or 3 story buildings can be supported
on ine"pensive shallow foundations. Taller buildings might
require more e"pensive solutions, such as mats or deep shafts to
minimi'e differential settlements between columns.
;ery tall buildings <s#yscrapers= e"perience large
hori'ontal forces from wind and seismic activity, and require
greater constraints, such as(
a= educe soil deformations to minimal magnitudes, if
necessary, via e"tensive soil improvement <for e"ample,
consolidation and grouting=+
b= Ta#e the building load to much deeper levels, in order
to reduce settlement+
c= Use a thic# mat foundations in order to #eep the tall
structure centered. For e"ample, for a s#yscraper of load 1, on a
circular mat of radius a, the critical height h
c
to avoid
overturning is,
$f the building&s height h is greater than h
c
, it will
require either an increase of mat radius a, or improvement the
soil&s !
s
d= >hen large wind and?or seismic forces are present,
deeper embedment to resist . @ A is necessary.
1refabrication of foundations has been attempted in large
repetitive proBects, such as mass housing, large warehouses and
shopping mall proBects, etc. For e"ample, Figure 3/) shows a
prefabricated footing placed in the e"cavation. A concrete or
2
3
s c
= 4 / 3P(1 )
h a E

steel column is placed and grouted+ the latter may be welded or
bolted before grouting.
The structure is assumed to be subBected to hori'ontal loads .
<from wind, or seisimic action=, moments A and vertical <normal=
loads 6. These are resisted by the footing reactions .
f
, 6
F
and
6
%
.
Figure 3/). Typical section of a prefabrication shallow
footings, walls or columns are placed and grouted. 9teel columns
may be bolted or welded before grouting.
!C262A$C FACT29
The foundation designer should always balance possible
savings against the ris# of loosing a superstructure worth C: to
,:: times more the foundation cost. Another false economy is
trying to save materials <eg. volume of concrete= versus higher
labor or time. For e"ample, a contractor is placing reinforcing
steel at the bottom of a deep pit to form and pour a pilar.
$nstead, the contractor could use a cyclopean concrete pour <also
less dangerous=. Alternatively, use short drilled shafts <D):m=
in lieu of formed deep shallow footings. 5eep shallow footing
costs rise as a cubic power of depth. >hen analy'ing cost, also
consider the ease of inspection and monitoring long/term
performance, etc.
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$n dense dowtown environments, the engineer may not have the
liberty of using some types of foundations, due to their negative
influence upon adBacent buildings, such as( a= 2ld buildingswith
wea# foundations. $n cases li#e these, the engineer may want to
use slurry trench walls <chapter 33= or underpin, etc.
b= Tall building on piles. The new structure&s loads
would impose a negative shaft friction upon the old piles and
possibly fail them.
4oads from both structure, the old and the new must be ta#en
to different strata <see Figure 3/, below=.


Figure G/,. 9ettlement in adBacent e"isting structures due to
tall buildings
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Aost structures are suported by simple shallow foundations.
.owever, for some structures the selection process may be
comple", especially if the ideal choice of foundations is
unavailable in the area. $n a recent maBor proBect in Aiami, for
e"ample, a Federal agency prohibited the use of augercast piles
for a mass transit par#ing garage Hbecause they are still
e"perimentalH. Augercast piles however, have been in use since
the early )IJ:&s. This decision forced the designer to choose a
much more e"pensive solution.
A possible flow chart of the selection process is shown in
Figure 3/3 below
Figure G/3. Flow 5iagram to choose a foundation system.
The different types of foundations are described below in
broad terms. The selection of optimal foundations will follow
from the careful analysis of all geotechnical data.
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9pread footings are usually the first choice of foundation,
due to their economy and simplicity. .uge buildings such as the
>orld Trade Center in Aanhattan, are two towers of )): stories
each, founded on HshallowH footings with an allowable bearing of
q
a
K - A6?m
,
<7: L9F= upon a Aanhattan schist bedroc#.
9pread footings for small buildings typically have these
common parameters(
a= !ach of the building&s
columns transfer the load
of ,Cm
,
of
building
area+
b= Typical loads are ): L6?m
,
<:., L9F= per floor+
c= Footings cover less than C:8 of the building is
base area+ and
d= The
contact
pressure
q
o
of the
footing
ranges
from )::
to 3::
L6?m
,
<, to J
L9F=.
>ith these common parameters, the ma"imum building heights 0
<where 0 K number of stories= can be found
within this range+ for e"ample, a small building
bearing on a relatively wea# soil, with q
a
K
,L9F, will have a ma"imum height 0 of,
q
a
K , L9F K M?A K <, L9F= ? <,C: 9F= K 0 <:.,:: L9F
?floor=<C:8=
0 K C stories
2ther limitations are, that spread footings are not used in
loose sands or in soft clays <where q
o
D , L9F=. 9pread footings
can only transfer medium loads when there are no wea# layers
within its pressure envelope, or adBacent foundations. $n areas
where the soil bearing is adequate but varies considerably
reinforced grade beams may be required to diminish the ris# of
differential settlements. The use of grade beams between
footings creates a rigid grid that enhances stability in
heterogeneous soils.
,= AAT F2U65AT$269
Aat foundations are choosen in lieu of a spread footing
when,
a= the spread footings cover over C:8 of the building&s
ground area+
b= the building requires several basement levels below the
water table+ and
c= there are poc#ets of very wea# soils
which need to use a Hcompensated
foundationH in order to reduce
the net load upon the soil.
Aats are typically used for buildings eight stories or
higher, and when bearings capacities of the soil are q
a
D 3 L9F.
$n loose sands, where q
a
is appro"imately ).C L9F, a mat may fail
from either general rupture, or from e"cessively large
settlements.
>hen using mats with different building si'es chec# for
compatibility of their deformations <see Figure G/,=. A solution
may be to use mats of different thic#ness, and a system of Boints
between buildings to minimi'e differential settlement. .owever,
most mats built today use a constant thic#ness in order to
minimi'e labor costs. Aats are comple" structures, and require
controlled steel, attempt large single pours, handle comple"
Boints, etc.= Aats are rarely used for buildings lower than G
stories, since they are typically e"pensive as a deep foundation.
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9emideep foundations are used when,
a= bearing is found Bust beyond a typical shallow footing
<5
f
K ).C m= but
not deep enough to Bustify a deep foundation <5
f
N 3 to
J m=+
b= the structure is too small to Bustify the cost of deep
foundation+
c= the structure has large
hori'ontal loads, that must
rely on the soil mass
to resist via
passive pressure.
Typical problems with pits include dewatering and shoring
safety for construction crews.
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These more e"pensive foundations are used when,
a= bearing is not attainable with
shallow footings or pits within 5
f
K 3 to J m.
b= the building settlement must be limited to very
low values.
c= the presence of a high water
table, and high soil
permeabilities rule
out the use of
shallow footings.
d= whenever there are very high and
concentrated loads <for e"ample,
tower buildings on very small
lots+=, and
e= 9everely constrained to avoid any effect
upon adBacent foundations, from
new loads or vibrations.
;ery large covered structures such as warehouses, factories,
convention centers or churches typically do not use deep
foundation since their cost would be uneconomical. $nstead, the
soil is improved through surcharging, vibroflotation, dynamic
consolidation, grouting, etc, in order to use shallow
foundations.
The selection of piles and shafts are made by,
a= nature of the soil strata and their shear strengths,
b= required length of piles and shafts,
c= loads <type=
d= number of piles and shafts,
e= special constraints <e".
urban/noise, vibrations,
hori'ontal loads, dynamic
loads, negative
loads, chemical aggresovity of
soil, etc.=
3ased on e"perience,
). 5on&t use friction piles in clays.
$f a pile suitable for end bearing
is too deep <N 3: m=, use
in/situ piles such as augercast.
,. Use precast prestressed concrete piles
<1C19= in loose sands, since they
compact the soil. Another good
alternative is the Fran#i type bulb
shaft.
3. Use shafts through garbage sanitary fills,
construction debris fills, boulders,
cemented layers coarse gravels, etc. that
would resist pile driving.
-. Use in/situ <cast/in/place= piles for
cohesive soils when the water table is
below their tip.
C. 9hafts can not be effectively
advanced in hard or cemented soils,
since the torque places on
the drilling auger would e"ceed
most machinery specifications.
J. 5on&t use e"tractable pile through
arti"an strata, since the piles may be
uplifted by the water
pressure.
G. 5on&t use in/situ shafts in highly
permeable ground flow <since the fresh
grout will be washed away=,
7. ;isuali'e end bearing piles or shafts as
columns. 5rive 191C N ,: m to
avoid splicing, out/of/plumbness,
deflections, etc.
I. Avoid use of patented system that
require large volumes of piles or shafts
in order to recover savings.
):. 5eep foundations become cheaper when
their number are reduced and
their capacity are increased.
5ept become more economical if their
capacities are at least,
For 191C ,:: T?each
$n/situ piles ,::/G:: T?each
4arge diameter shafts G:: T?each
)). Avoid driven piles <e". Fran#i, 191C= in
urban areas, due to noise and
vibrations, which cause
crac#ing, settlements, etc.
C= Alternative Foundations
/ Footpiles, which are short stubby piles with e"panded end
or HfootingH
/ Underreaming along shaft
/ 9oil nailing with )H to ,H galvani'ed pipes
/ Aats on friction piles
/ %rade beam grid with pit footings.
/ 9pread footing upon gravel columns
/ 5eep vibratory compaction with gravel
/ %routing <cement, resins, silica gels=.
/ 9uperficial dynamic compaction.