Shallow Foundations, Retaining

Walls, & Pile/Pier Foundation

Flowcharts
Updated 3/10/2017
 Abbreviations

Shallow Foundations
B = footing width/diameter
= Depth to bottom of footing
c = cohesion
General Considerations: = angle of internal friction
• Spread footings – rectangular, square, or other shape supporting one column = Surface surcharge
• Continuous footings – AKA wall footing or strip footing. = Base modifier
• Combined footings – Footing carrying more than one column. = cohesion modifier
• Cantilever footings – combined footing supporting a column and exterior wall/column = surcharge & depth modifier
• Mat/Raft foundations – footing slab that covers the entire area under a building

Bearing Capacity:
• Allowable bearing capacity – net pressure in excess of overburden stress that will not cause failure or excessive settlement
• AKA net allowable bearing pressure or safe bearing pressure
• “Allowable” indicates that a safety factor has already been applied
• General Bearing Capacity Equation:
• Ultimate bearing capacity – Terzaghi-Meyerhof Equation for clay and sandy soils
• CERM 36-3
• Capacity Factors are from CERM Table 36.2 and dependent on angle of internal friction
• CERM Tables 36.4 (B/L factors for ) and 36.5 (Shape Factors for ) should be taken into account for
• is then modified by the overburden, which is the net pressure the soil can support beyond the overburden pressure.
•
• The safety factors are typically between 2 and 3 (based on ) for average conditions
 Abbreviations

Shallow Foundations
B = footing width/diameter
= Depth to bottom of footing
c = cohesion
= angle of internal friction
Bearing Capacity on Sand for a Spread Footing = Surface surcharge
= Base modifier
Given: Total Load, ρ, c=0 = cohesion modifier
= surcharge & depth modifier

Where: are from CERM Table 36.2 and is modified

by CERM Table 36.5
Another case includes SPT results and “N” values. So
• in tons/ft^2 (See CERM 36-7)
Assuming SF=2, =100 lbf/ft^3, & with B over 2-4 ft, N<50.

SF typically can be taken as “2” for sand.

Many Times
which can be used to size the footing
 Mat/Raft Foundations CERM 36-9
General Considerations:
• A mat/raft foundation should be used when individual footings would occupy over half of an area beneath a building
• Also used to combine foundations with basement floor slabs, to minimize differential settlement on compressible soils.
Mat/Raft on CLAY:
• Only method available to increase allowable loading is to increase
• Factor of safety available  which should be at least 3 (or 2 under temporary loading)
• See CERM 36-10 for example

Mat/Raft on SAND:
• Well protected against bearing capacity failure – Depth of potential failure zone is very large
• Differential settling is not a factor
• And allowable soil pressure may be DOUBLED
• For common applications, with the prerequisites described on CERM 36-7, and when SPT values are known,
•
• must be modified by CERM Table 36.6 (using value @ ) unless N is denoted as “true” or “compensated”
• Use “B” as the shorter of the mat dimensions
• N should be at least 5, after correction, otherwise sand should be compacted or pile/pier foundation should be used
• To calculate Safety Factors, the net bearing capacity should be compared to the actual bearing pressures

• The factor of 2 comes from the doubling in the allowable soil pressure mentioned for SAND
 At Rest Earth Pressure
Lateral Pressure and Retaining Structures Z

General Considerations: CERM 37 & Essentials-McCarthy (719)

• Earth Pressure Types
• AT REST: When homogenous isotropic soil, vertical principal stress is = to the overburden
• or
Rigid
• The horizontal pressure is related to vertical pressure by
• Where: is the effective stress angle of internal friction.
Wall
• This is valid for OCR = 1. For greater OCR use
• Pressure per unit length of wall =
Active & Passive
• When submerged, intergranular (effective) stress Earth Pressure
• ACTIVE: Wall and soil movement pushing the wall out (away from the soil mass)
• General Active horizontal earth pressure w/ level backfill:
• This potentially allows the cohesion to cause tension cracking at the top.
• General equation for see figure  for symbols
• This equation is modified by geometry, soil type, and friction theory (CERM 37-3)
• Common (for dry cohesionless Rankine (no friction ) soil
• Total Active Resultant per unit of wall length(acting at H/3 from bottom):
• DRY COHESIONLESS SOIL:
• INTERNAL FRICTION & COHESION: (essentials pg 726)
 At Rest Earth Pressure
Lateral Pressure and Retaining Structures Z

General Considerations: CERM 37 & Essentials-McCarthy (719)

• Earth Pressure Types
• Passive: Wall and soil movement pushing against the soil mass
• General PASSIVE horizontal pressure w/ level backfill:
Rigid
• General equation for see figure  for symbols
• This equation is modified by geometry, soil type, and friction theory (CERM 37-4)
Wall
• Common (for dry cohesionless Rankine (no friction soil
• Total Active Resultant per unit of wall length(acting at H/3 from bottom):
Active & Passive
• DRY COHESIONLESS SOIL: Earth Pressure
• INTERNAL FRICTION & COHESION: (essentials pg 726)

Keywords:
Level backfill 
Vertical Wall 
Rankine Theory  No wall friction (
Granular Soil/Sand 
Saturated Clay 
Good Visuals on pg 725 & 725 of Essentials McCarthy.
More movement/strain is required to achieve the PASSIVE state than the ACTIVE STATE
Active & Passive similar when top of wall is fixed. When the wall is going away from soil  Active state
Components of (See CERM 37-7)
 Lateral Pressure and Retaining Structures
Lateral Pressure w/ water table behind wall
Effects of Groundwater & Freezing Rigid
• Groundwater affects the way the soil particles react to the wall Wall
• The general equation for pressure is a combination of loads above and below water line
• Resulting Pressure per unit length
•
• Acting at a height of

Surcharge loading Cerm 37-8 & 752 essentials.

• Depends on load type. #
• For distributed load, apply an additional pressure
• Point loads require some equations.

Above Water Table

Pressure from Soil

Ground Water
Saturated Soil
Pressure from

Pressure from
• See CERM 37-8 & Essentials pg 752.

Design Considerations
• Overturning (CERM example pg 37-9)
• Sliding (CERM Example 37-9 & 37-11)
• Bearing Capacity check (CERM Example 37-9)
• General Sizing of Cantilever Retaining Walls (CERM 37-12)
• CONCRETE DESIGN (CERM 54)
 Piles and Deep Foundations
Piles General Information CERM 38 & Essentials McCarthy (538) SEE THE DESIGN EXAMPLES. METHODS CHANGE W/ SOIL
• Allowable/Design Static Bearing Capacity 
• Ultimate Static Bearing Capacity   Where:
• = effective surface area of pile in contact w/ soil along the embedded shaft length
• f = unit shearing strength of interface soil zone adjacent to pile shaft. Typically varies along length of the pile.
• = bearing pressure of soil at pile tip
• = pile tip bearing area
• has more complex methods and will be harder to calculate.
• Between CERM 38-3 and Essentials McCarthy (545), the method you use will depend on information given.

• For piles through multiple soil layers:

•  function of shaft material & soil type/condition
• For cohesive soils: can have a cohesion/adhesion component  (CERM 38-3)
• External friction values can be found in CERM Table 37.1.

• This is affected by soil type/condition (See CERM 38-2 & Essentials McCarthy 547)

Drilled/Bored Piles Can Be Different! (Essentials McCarthy 558 & 562)

Tensile Uplift Capacity? (CERM 38-5 & Essentials McCarthy 556)

 Do Example 38-2 Here
Piles and Deep Foundations In Reference problem book

Pile Groups (CERM 38-5 & Essentials McCarthy 565 & 566 Design Example)
• Common minimum spacing between piles is 3 to 3.5 pile diameters
• This ensures the highest design capacity for a particular grouping
• Design capacity is usually taken as the smaller of the following Capacities:
• Piles Activing Individually
• Sum of individual pile strengths
• Group Action
• Considers the effect of soil btw piles & the group perimeter is important
• See example pg 566 Essentials McCarthy
• In cohesionless soils, the group action will be greater than the sum of the individuals.
• So the sum of the individual capacities will govern the design
• In clays, it can go either way. See example pg 566 Essentials McCarthy

Settlement of piles & pile groups (CERM 38-6 & Essentials McCarthy 568)
• Function of compressive pile shortening & settlement in soil support the piles
• Sand (little settlement) is better than clay (large settlements from excess pore water
pressure dissipation neede).
• The estimation of settlement depends on bearing governance
• When soil friction governs  a larger area underneath is considered, up to 2/3 L
• When pile tip bearing governs  there isn’t going to be much settlement
 Excavations & Alternate Retaining Structures 758
Excavations (CERM 39-1 & Essentials McCarthy 768 & 773)
• Earth
Do Example 39-2 Here
In Reference problem book