FOUNDATION

- Lowest part of a structure

- To transfer load of structure to the soil
- Properly designed foundation transfers the load throughout the soil
without overstressing it

- diameter of drilled shaft is generally larger than that of a pile

Types of foundation
1) Shallow Foundation
- Transmits load to near surface soils
- Depth of embedment-to-width ratio of approximately less than 2.5
(Df/B < 2.5)
- 0.5 2m deep
a) Spread footing
- Enlargement of a load-bearing wall or column that makes it
possible to spread the load of the structure over a larger area of
the soil
b) Mat foundation
- Concrete pad where entire structure is constructed
- Used in soil with low load-bearing capacity in which the size of
the spread footing required is impractically large
- Used in soil with uneven bearing capacity to allow uniform
settlement
2) Deep Foundation
- Transmits most or all of the structural loads to deeper soils
- Depth of embedment-to-width ratio greater than 2.5 (Df/B > 2.5)
a) Pile Foundation
Friction Piles
structural load is resisted by the shear stresses generated along
the surface of the pile
End Bearing Piles
- the load carried by the pile is transmitted at its tip to a firm
stratum of soil
b) Drilled Shaft Foundation
- a shaft is drilled into the subsoil and is then filled with concrete

Figure 8. Common types of foundations:

a) Spread Footing
b) Mat Foundation
c) Pile Foundation
d) Drilled Shaft Foundation

SOIL BEARING CAPACITY FOR SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS

Bearing Capacity
- Ability of soil to support a load bearing on the surface of the soil or load
(caused by building, bridge, storage tank, or soil embankment)
embedded at depth below the surface
The ff. must be considered in designing foundation:
1) stability of foundation from strength and bearing capacity of soil
2) settlement of foundation is within tolerable limits

Note:
1) Buildings (factories, office blocks, homes, schools, hospitals)
- foundation design is often governed by very low settlement
tolerances than bearing capacity issue
- foundations are dimensioned to give low applied pressures to limit
settlement or piles may be used

Two Models of Bearing Capacity Failure

1) General Shear Failure

Consider the case of a long rectangular footing of width, B located at the
surface of a dense sand layer

2) Large storage tanks

- bearing capacity is the dominant consideration in the design since
storage tanks are typically made of steel that enables them to tolerate
large settlements especially between their perimeter wall and center
of steel floor
- often located close to port facilities that frequently consist soft
normally consolidated clays with low shear strength and high
compressibility
Figure 9. General Shear Failure of Soil
Ultimate Bearing Capacity for Shallow Foundation
- failure load of soil
- load per unit area of the foundation at which shear failure in soil occurs
- maximum load the foundation can support
- strength remaining when a material has been loaded and deformed
beyond its peak strength
- in estimating ultimate bearing capacity, it is assumed that soil is on the
point of failure, hence, shear strength is its peak or failure value (not
ultimate value)
Consider the case of a long rectangular footing of width, B located at the
surface of a dense sand layer (stiff soil).
- When a uniformly distributed load of q per unit area is applied to the
footing, it settles.
- When the value of q is increased, the settlement of the footing gradually
increases.
- When the value of q=qu is reached, bearing capacity failure occurs;
footing undergoes a very large settlement w/o any further increase of q
- The soil on one or both sides of the foundation bulges, and the slip
surface extends to the ground surface

- Common failure mode in dense sand with relative density greater than
70% (well-defined slip planes)
- Settling of foundation occurs upon application of the load, and a
triangular wedge-shape zone I is pushed downward
- These in turn presses zones II and III sideways and upward
Zone II radial shear zone (shape of shear planes to be logarithmic
spirals)
Zone III linear shear zone (soil shears along planar surfaces)
- Bulging on the ground surface adjacent to foundation
- At ultimate load qu,(ultimate bearing capacity), surface passes into a
state of plastic equilibrium and failure occurs by sliding
Features: Soil on both sides bulges out; slip surface extends to the
ground surface.

2) Local Shear Failure of Soil

Consider the case of a long rectangular footing of width B located at the
surface of a medium dense sand layer

1) cohesive strength of soils (c Nc)

2) depth of soil above the level of foundation base (q Nq)
3) self-weight of soil below the level of base of the foundation (
BN)
Hence, the general expression for bearing capacity of soil is given as:

= + +

where:

Figure 10. Local Shear Failure of Soil

- Common in loose sand (not well-defined slip planes)

- Significant settlement upon loading
- Settling of foundation pushes triangular wedge-shape zone I of soil
downwards, slip surfaces do not extend to the ground surface
- Failure surface first develops right below the foundation and then
slowly extends outwards with load increments
- Foundation movement shows sudden jerks first and then
after a considerable amount of movement the slip surface may
reach the ground.
- A small amount of bulging may occur next to the foundation

qu
c
q

=
=
=
=
=

=
B
=
Nc, Nq, N =
Nc
=
Nq
=
N
=

ultimate bearing capacity

cohesion
surcharge
overburden pressure
vertical effective stress at the level of the foundation
unit weight of soil
width of footing
bearing capacity factors
cohesion factor
surcharge factor
self-weight factor

Features: Outward bulging of soil is evident; slip surface does not

extend to the ground surface

TERZAGHIS ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY EQUATION

Terzaghi (1943) developed a general expression for bearing capacity of soil
attributed by three components:

Figure 11. Shallow strip footing used by Terzaghi for the bearing
capacity analysis of foundation

Local Shear Failure Mode

=

1) Square Footing:

2) Circular Footing:
3) Strip Footing:

tan =

qu = 1.3 cNc + qNq + 0.4 BN

qu = 1.3 cNc + qNq + 0.3 BN
qu = cNc + qNq + BN

Figure 12. Terzaghis bearing capacity analysis

Assumptions:
- No soil consolidation occurs
- Foundation is very rigid relative to the soil
- Soil above the foundation has no shear strength. Only a surcharge load
against the overturning load
- Applied load is compressive and applied vertically to the centroid of the
foundation
- No applied moments present
- Shallow foundation criterion: depth Df width B
- Weight of the soil above the base of the footing may be replaced by an
equivalent surcharge, q=Df

EFFECT OF GROUNDWATER TABLE

In developing the bearing capacity equations, it is assumed that the
groundwater table (GWT) is located at a depth much greater that the width
B of the footing.

Case I: Groundwater table is located at a distance D above the bottom of

the foundation

= ( ) +
MODIFIED TERZAGHIS ULTIMATE BEARING CAPACITY EQUATIONS
=
Failure mechanism is different based on shape of footing and alters the
value of ultimate bearing capacity. Hence, Terzaghi and Peck (1967) applied
shape factors resulting to the ff. equations below. These are widely used
and believed to be conservative:
where:

General Shear Failure Mode

1) Square Footing:
2) Circular Footing:
3) Strip Footing:

Figure 13. Diagram for Case I

qu = 1.3 cNc + qNq + 0.4 BN

qu = 1.3 cNc + qNq + 0.3 BN
qu = cNc + qNq + BN

q = equivalent surcharge
= vertical effective stress at the level of the foundation
= unit weight of soil

 = effective unit weight of soil

FACTOR OF SAFETY

Case II: Groundwater table coincides with the bottom of the foundation

FS is a function of:
1)
2)
3)
4)

=
=
Figure 14. Diagram for Case II

Case III: Groundwater table is at a depth D below the bottom of the

foundation

soil type
extent of site characterization
soil variability
structure type

usually 2.5 3.0 (to minimize settlements) while 3-5 (to calculate
allowable bearing capacity)
Tolerable settlement of foundations for safety of structure at ultimate
load:
Sandy soils: 5-25% of footing width
Clayey soils: 3-15% of footing width
With deep foundations, weight of soil itself becomes a component of
bearing capacity and has implications with respect to how the safety
factor should be defined and applied

=
ALLOWABLE BEARING CAPACITY OF SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS
for D B:
= =

for D > B:
=

[ + ( )]

Design bearing capacity

Where factor of safety is applied to ultimate value

a) Gross allowable bearing capacity

=

Figure 14. Diagram for Case III

Where
qu =
FS =
A =

ultimate bearing capacity

factor of safety
area of foundation

b) Net allowable bearing capacity

Where:
q = Df = vertical effective stress at the level of the foundation
qu net = ultimate net bearing capacity
= maximum pressure the soil can support above its current
overburden pressure

c) Gross allowable bearing capacity with a factor of safety with respect

to shear failure
= + +

1

2

Where:
Nc, Nq, N
d

=
=

bearing capacity factors for friction angle d

developed angle of friction of soil

tan d

cd

=
=
=

developed cohesion
c/FS
Factor of Safety

FS

Table 4. Terzaghis Bearing Capacity Factors NC, Nq, N (General Shear

Failure)

Table 5. Terzaghis Bearing Capacity Factors NC, Nq, N (Local Shear

Failure)

(deg)

NC

Nq

(deg)

NC

(deg)

NC

Nq

(deg)

NC

Nq

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

5.70
6.00
6.30
6.62
6.97
7.34
7.73
8.15
8.60
9.09
9.61
10.16
10.76
11.41
12.11
12.86
13.68
14.60
15.12
16.56
17.69
18.92
20.27
21.75
23.36
25.13

1.00
1.10
1.22
1.35
1.49
1.64
1.81
2.00
2.21
2.44
2.69
2.98
3.29
3.63
4.02
4.45
4.92
5.45
6.04
6.70
7.44
8.26
9.19
10.23
11.40
12.72

0.00
0.01
0.04
0.06
0.10
0.14
0.20
0.27
0.35
0.44
0.56
0.69
0.85
1.04
1.26
1.52
1.82
2.18
2.59
3.07
3.64
4.31
5.09
6.00
7.08
8.34

26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

27.09
29.24
31.61
34.24
37.16
40.41
44.04
48.09
52.64
57.75
63.53
70.01
77.50
85.97
95.66
106.81
119.67
134.58
151.95
172.78
196.22
224.55
258.28
298.71
347.50

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

5.70
5.90
6.10
6.30
6.51
6.74
6.97
7.22
7.47
7.74
8.02
8.32
8.63
8.96
9.31
9.67
10.06
10.47
10.90
11.36
11.85
12.37
12.92
13.51
14.14
14.80

1.00
1.07
1.14
1.22
1.30
1.39
1.49
1.59
1.70
1.82
1.94
2.08
2.22
2.38
2.55
2.73
2.92
3.13
3.36
3.61
3.88
4.17
4.48
4.82
5.20
5.60

0.00
0.005
0.02
0.04
0.055
0.074
0.10
0.128
0.16
0.20
0.24
0.30
0.35
0.42
0.48
0.57
0.67
0.76
0.88
1.03
1.12
1.35
1.55
1.75
1.97
2.25

26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

15.53
16.30
17.13
18.03
18.99
20.03
21.16
22.39
23.72
25.18
26.77
28.51
30.43
32.53
34.87
37.45
40.33
43.54
47.13
51.17
55.73
60.91
66.80
73.55
81.31

6.05
6.54
7.07
7.66
8.31
9.03
9.82
10.69
11.67
12.75
13.97
15.32
16.85
18.56
20.50
22.70
25.21
28.06
31.34
35.11
39.48
44.54
50.46
57.41
65.60

2.59
2.88
3.29
3.76
4.39
4.83
5.51
6.32
7.22
8.35
9.41
10.90
12.75
14.71
17.22
19.75
22.50
26.25
30.40
36.00
41.70
49.30
59.25
71.45
85.75

Nq

14.21
9.84
15.90
11.60
17.81
13.70
19.98
16.18
22.46
19.13
25.28
22.65
28.52
26.87
32.23
31.94
36.50
38.04
41.44
45.41
47.16
54.36
53.80
65.27
61.55
78.61
70.61
95.03
81.27 115.31
93.85 140.51
108.75 171.99
126.50 211.56
147.74 261.60
173.28 325.34
204.19 407.11
241.80 512.84
287.85 650.67
344.63 831.99
415.14 1072.80

Sample Problems
1) A continuous footing with cohesion = 19.15 Kpa is shown in the figure.
Use Terzaghis bearing capacity factors considering general shear failure
to determine:
a) Gross allowable load per unit area the footing can carry
b) Net allowable bearing capacity with factor of safety equal to four
c) Gross allowable bearing capacity with a factor of safety equal to
four with respect to shear failure

c) Allowable bearing capacity

3) A circular footing having a diameter of 1.2 m has its bottom at a depth

of 2.7 m from the ground surface. The water table is located at a depth
of 1.3 m below the ground. The soil has the following properties:
d = 18.10 KN/m3
c = 15.74 KPa
3
sat = 19.30 KN/m
= 20o
a) Assuming local shear failure, find the ultimate bearing pressure
using Terzaghis equation.
b) Determine the allowable bearing capacity using a factor of safety of
3.
c) Find the allowable load on the footing.

Practice Problem

2) A square footing carries an allowable load of 59,130 kg including its own

weight. The bottom of the footing is 1.0 m below the ground surface
and the water table coincide with the bottom of the footing. Assume
general shear failure.

A strip footing is to be placed 2m below the surface or soil having a

cohesion of 40 KPa, unit weight of 18.2 KN/m3, and angle of friction of 10o
NC = 9.61
NC = 8.02
Nq = 2.69
Nq = 1.94
N = 0.56
N = 0.24
a) Assuming local shear failure, compute the ultimate bearing capacity of
the footing if the width is 1.25 m.
Ans. 287.21 KPa
b) Considering a rectangular footing of 1.25m x 6m and a load factor of
2.5, determine the allowable bearing capacity under general shear
failure.

= (1 + 0.3 ) + + 0.5 (1 0.2 )

Ans. 204.97 KPa

a) Effective surcharge at the bottom of the footing

b) Size of the footing using factor of safety equal to three

c) Find the allowable load that the rectangular footing could carry
Ans. 1537.28 KN