CHAPTER 4

TOPIC: FOUNDATION

4.1 BRIEF HISTORY

4.2 SOIL AS FOUNDATION

4.3 SPREAD FOOTING

4.4 MAT OR RAFT FOUNDATION

4.5 PILE AND PIER FOUNDATION

4.6 CAISSON

4.7 FLOATING FOUNDATION

REPORTER:

#7 CAMACHO, RAYMARK L.

DATE OF REPORTING
4.1 BRIEF HISTORY

A foundation (also called a groundsill) is a structure that transfers loads

to the earth. Its importance is numerous. Some of the primary reasons
structures require foundations are as follows. The foundation of a building is
designed to withstand the loads placed upon it. Without a foundation, a wall or
column supporting a concentrated load could actually crack the slab and sink
into the soil. Foundations also protect structures from frost heaving. A certain
clay soils heave a slab 2-3". Foundations and the footers that support
foundations should be poured below the frost line. Frost lines can range from
inches below the surface to several feet. It must be checked with the local
building officials to determine the frost line in the locality.

Foundations are one of the most important aspects of construction. This

is the part of the structure which interacts with the earth. At first blush, this
"interaction" may not appear to be significant. However, one must realize that
the surface of the earth is covered by many different materials (soils). These
materials (soils) have vastly different properties and react quite differently when
loads are placed upon them. The problem is further complicated when we
disturb these soils and move them from one location to another. This practice is
generally referred to as "cutting and filling."

Foundations are also structural members. They basically are nothing more
than giant beams. They carry loads, similar to structural steel I-beams.
Foundations can be constructed from a variety of materials. They can be made
from concrete, stone, concrete block, wood, steel, etc. Since they are difficult to
replace, it is a wise idea to construct foundations using strong, durable, water
resistant materials. The design criteria concerning foundations are very
technical.

Throughout the ages, builders realized the importance of building

structures on a strong foundation. The advanced knowledge brought about by
the science of Geology and soil mechanics confirmed the rock foundation bed to
be the most medium where to lay the footing of a structure. Different nations
and races realized this importance.
 The early builders of the Babylonian Empire constructed Raft or Mat
foundation from out of the sun-dried and burned bricks on top of a flat molded
earth that was filled up and raised from 1.50 to 4.50 meters high. The Greeks
has extensively used marble blocks as foundation tied together with metal band.
Likewise, the Chinese builders also used large stones carefully cut and
accurately fitted to each other without the use of mortar as evidently seen in the
magnificent construction of the Great Wall of China. The Roman builders
introduced various foundation types to suit the soil conditions. They further
developed the construction of built up foundation consisting of flat stone
bounded with cement. Unfortunately, this early use of concrete was forgotten
during the middle ages, in search for a light weight materials for foundation.
The introduction of the grillage footing in the year 1880 resolved the problem of
the foundation weight. The improved grillage footing made the steel rail
embedded in concrete was introduced in Chicago by John Root in the year 1891.
The advent of reinforced concrete in the early part of 1890 superseded all these
kinds of footing due to the advantages it offer in all aspect of building
construction.

4.2 SOIL AS FOUNDATION

The Earth underlying the building of man provides the ultimate support of
the structure against all elements of nature. Indeed, the soil which is a natural
body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable
thicknesses and where the building stands automatically becomes a material of
construction.

Physically, soil is a material weaker than other common materials of

construction such as steel, concrete, and wood. However, for this material to
carry load satisfactorily, a greater area of volume of soil is necessarily required.
Loads that are being carried by the steel, concrete, and wood had to be
transmitted to the ground, but it needs a transfer device called foundation.

Foundation has purposes or roles. (1) To transmit or transfer the

collective building load to the soil in such a way that the supporting soil will not
be over stressed (overloaded) and will not undergo deformation that may cause
serious building settlement. (2) Anchor building against wind and seismic load.
(3) Isolate building from frost heaving. (4) Isolate building from expansive soils.
(5) Holds building up from moisture. (6) Provide living spaces (basement,
storage). (7) And houses mechanical systems.

A structural foundation performs properly only if the supporting soils

behave properly. Building support is provided by a soil foundation system,
which is an inseparable combination. For a building to last, its foundation must
be designed for the worst conditions that may develop. Foundation design
always include: The effect of the nature’s dead load (permanent load) plus the
live load (probabilistic load), Load effects caused by the wind, heat, water, and
earthquakes and explosive blasts.

Foundation is grouped into two broad categories: (1) Shallow foundation is

a type of foundation which transfers building loads to the earth very near 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, rubble trench
foundations, and earthbag foundations and (2) Deep foundation is a type of
foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are
embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer
would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the
common reasons are very large design loads, a poor soil at shallow depth, or
site constraints (like property lines). There are different terms used to describe
different types of deep foundations including piles, drilled shafts, caissons
and piers. The naming conventions may vary between engineering disciplines
and firms. Deep foundations can be made out of timber, steel, reinforced
concrete and pre-tensioned concrete. Deep foundations can be installed by
either driving them into the ground or drilling a shaft and filling it with concrete,
mass or reinforced.

Foundation configurations are: (1) Slab-on-Grade is a structural

engineering practice whereby the concrete slab that is to serve as the
foundation for the structure is formed from a mold set into the ground. The
concrete is then placed into the mold, leaving no space between the ground and
the structure. This type of construction is most often seen in warmer climates,
where ground freezing and thawing is less of a concern and where there is no
need for heat ducting underneath the floor. The advantages of the slab
technique are that it is cheap and sturdy, and is considered less vulnerable to
termite infestation. It is commonly used in areas with expansive clay soil,
particularly in California and Texas. Elevated structural slabs are generally only
found on custom homes or homes with basements. (2) Crawl space (as the
name suggests) is a type of basement in which one cannot stand up — the
height may be as little as a foot, and the surface is often soil. They offer a
convenient access to pipes, substructures and a variety of other areas that may
be difficult or expensive to access otherwise. While a crawlspace cannot be used
as living space, it can be used as storage, often for infrequently used items.
And (3) Basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely
or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility
space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker
panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; so also are
amenities such as the electrical distribution system, and cable television
distribution point.

• SLAB-ON-GRADE

• CRAWL SPACE

• BASEMENT
4.3 SPREAD FOOTING

Spread Footing is typically a plain or reinforced concrete. Basically it is a

pad used to “spread out” building column and wall load over a sufficiently
large soil area. It is used for most buildings where the loads are light and / or
there are strong shallow soils. At columns, there are single spot square pads
where bearing walls have an elongation form. These are almost always
reinforced. These footing deliver the load directly to the supporting soils. It is
generally suitable for low rise buildings (1-4 Stories). These are most widely
used because they are most economical. These foundations are common in
residential construction that includes a basement, and in many commercial
structures. As the weight of the building increases in relation to the bearing
capacity or depth of good bearing soil, the footing needs to expand in size or
different systems need to be used. It is constructed as close to the ground
surface as the building design permits and as controlled by the local conditions
and building regulations. Embedment of spread footings is controlled by several
factors, including development of lateral capacity, penetration of soft near-
surface layers, and penetration through near-surface layers likely to change
volume due to frost heave or shrink-swell.

4.4 MAT OR RAFT FOUNDATION

Mat or Raft Foundation is used to distribute heavy column and wall loads
across the entire building area, to lower the contact pressure compared to
conventional spread footings. It is also reinforced concrete raft or mats can be
used for small light load buildings on very weak or expansive soils such as clays.
It can be constructed near the ground surface, or at the bottom of basements. In
high-rise buildings, it can be several meters thick, with extensive reinforcing to
ensure relatively uniform load transfer. They are often post tensioned concrete.
They allow the building to float on or in the soil like a raft. It can be used for
buildings that are 10-20 stories tall where it provides resistance against
overturning. It is used in lieu of driving piles because can be less expensive and
less obtrusive (i.e. less impact on surrounding areas). It usually used over
expansive clays, silts to let foundation settle without great differences. This
type of foundation is adopted as a means to reduce differential settlement
between adjacent areas. Thus, in order to function effectively, the structure was
designed much thicker and rigid enough than the spread type footing.

4.5 PILE AND PIER FOUNDATION

Pile and Pier Foundation is intended to transmit structural loads through

the upper zone of poor soil to a depth where the Earth is capable of providing
the desired support. Pile foundation is for expansive soils or soils that are
compressive with heavy loads where deep soils can not take the building load
and where soil of better capacity if found deep below. There are two types of
piles: (1) Friction piles – used where there is no reasonable bearing stratum and
they rely on resistance from skin of pile against the soil and (2) End bearing –
which transfer directly to soil of good bearing capacity. Pier foundation is a
technique used to build the foundations of a house quickly and cheaply. This
type of construction is characterized by lack of a perimeter foundation or
foundation pad. It is often employed in the tropics and in flood-prone regions,
for reasons which will become apparent shortly, and it is also commonly used in
low-cost construction. It is similar to a deck built several feet above the ground.
It is supported by pillars and posts or pilings. (The term posts are used to
describe installation with the large end down. Pilings describe installing the post
with the small end down.)

• PILE FOUNDATION
 • PIER FOUNDATION

4.6 CAISSON

Caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the

foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the
repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out,
keeping the working environment dry. When piers are to be built using an open
caisson and it is not practical to reach suitable soil, friction pilings may be driven
to form a suitable sub-foundation. These piles are connected by a foundation
pad upon which the column pier is erected. It is also a structural box or
chamber usually made of steel but sometimes of wood or reinforced concrete,
used in the construction of foundations or piers in or near a body of water, that
is sunk in place or built in place by excavating systematically below the bottom
of the unit that descends to the final depth. It is for expansive soils with low to
medium loads, or high loads with rock not too far down, drilled caissons (piers)
and grade beams can be used. It delivers the load to soil of stronger capacity
which is located not too far down. There are several types.

The open caisson is a cylinder or box, open at the top and bottom, of
size and shape to suit the projected foundation and with a cutting edge around
the bottom. It is sunk by its own weight and by excavation, and then filled with
concrete. They are suitable for use in soft clays (e.g. in some river-beds) but not
for where there may be large obstructions in the ground. Open caissons used in
soft grounds or high water tables, where open trench excavations are
impractical, can also be used to install deep manholes, pump stations and
reception/launch pits for micro tunneling, pipe jacking and other operations. The
open caissons may fill with water during sinking. The material is excavated by
clamshell excavator bucket on crane. The leading edge of the caisson or
"cutting shoe" is sloped out at a sharp angle (usually made of steel) to aid
sinking in a vertical manner. The shoe is generally wider than the caisson to
reduce friction and the leading edge may be supplied with pressurized bentonite
slurry (it swells in water to stabilize settlement or fill depressions/voids). The
water in the caisson (due to high water table) balances the up thrust forces of
the soft soils underneath. If dewatered, the base may "pipe" or "boil" and the
caisson sink. To combat this problem piles may be driven from the surface. H-
beam sections (typical column sections, due to resistance to bending in all axes)
may be driven at angles "raked" to rock or other firmer soils. The H-beams are
left extended above the base. A reinforced concrete plug is poured under the
water known as a "tremie pour". This will act as a pile cap and resist the upward
forces of subsoil once dewatered. The piles will act as bearing (transmitting load
to deeper soils or friction along their surface length) and anchorage (resist
floatation in the same manner).

Pneumatic caissons are usually employed in riverbed work or where

quicksand is present and which penetrate soft mud, are sealed at the top and
filled with compressed air to keep water and mud out at depth. An airlock allows
access to the chamber. Workers move mud and rock debris (called muck) from
the edge of the workspace to a water-filled pit, connected by a tube (called the
muck tube) to the surface. A crane at the surface removes the soil with a
clamshell bucket. The water pressure in the tube balances the air pressure, with
excess air escaping up the muck tube. The pressurized air flow must be
constant to ensure regular air changes for the workers and prevent excessive
inflow of mud or water at the base of the caisson.

The caisson will be brought down through soft mud until a suitable foundation
material is encountered. While bedrock is preferred, a stable, hard mud is
sometimes used when bedrock is too deep.

Caisson disease is so named since it appeared in construction workers when

they left the compressed atmosphere of the caisson and rapidly reentered
normal (decompressed) atmospheric conditions. It is caused by the same
processes as decompression sickness in divers.
 • Diagram of a Caisson

4.7 FLOATING FOUNDATION

Floating foundation is a special type of foundation applied in location

where deep deposits of compressible cohesive soil exist and the use of pile is
impractical. It is a foundation that does not use footings. The floating
foundation is a poured cement slab that has two deep edges going just below
the frost line in northern climates. The floating foundation actually does float on
the earth and moves as temperatures compact and expand the soil. The floating
foundation is very common in garage floors and mobile home slabs. In many
parts of the world, the floating foundation is simply referred to as a slab
foundation. In a typical floating foundation, the plumbing and electrical lines
are fastened to the slab by simply running them through the floor as it is
poured. This means that the plumbing, drainage and electrical lines must all be
completed prior to pouring the slab or foundation. This type of design can lead
to very expensive repair bills if the plumbing requires work in the future. In
many cases, it is a much more affordable method of building than using a
footing equipped foundation. It is recommended to a selected depth where the
total weight of the soil excavated for the rigid box is equal to the total weight of
the planned building.