Author: haroonkhan

The design and construction of deep foundations for transferring the weight of the super- structure through soft or weak soils, to deep load bearing strata is a challenging job for a civil engineer. Piles, piers and caissons are the most common types of deep foundations. For any system the mechanism of deriving support from the…

Shallow foundations are all suitable for building and are sub-divided into a number of types according to their size, shape and general configuration. They are discussed below. 1. Spread Footings These footings are the most common of all types of footings with minimum cost and complexity of construction (Fig. 15.1(a)). It necessarily provides the function…

Structural foundations may be grouped under two broad categories – shallow foundations and deep foundations. This classification indicates the depth of foundation installation. A shallow foundation is one which is placed on a firm soil near the ground, and beneath the lowest part of the super-structure. A deep foundation is one which is placed on…

Thus the foundation should satisfy the following requirements. 1. Depth of Foundation 2. Shear Failure of Foundation Foundation should be safe against breaking into the ground (i.e., against shear failure). In order to satisfy this requirement an adequate factor of safety on the bearing capacity of the soil is provided. 3. Settlement of Foundation Foundation…

Foundations sustain large wind forces and earthquake forces and also provide safety against scouring or undermining by flood water or burrowing animals. Distress or failure due to seasonal variations causing volume changes in soils are minimised by providing special type of foundations.

Settlement of a foundation may be classified as uniform (or total), tilt and non-uniform (or differential) settlement. Structures on rigid foundations undergo uniform settlement. When the entire structure rotates, the structure is said to be under uniform tilt. If foundations of different elements of a structure undergo varied settlements, the foundation is said to be…

Foundation imparts lateral stability to the super-structure by anchoring it to the ground. It also provides additional stability against sliding and overturning due to horizontal forces like wind, earthquake, etc.

Foundations are subjected to three types of loading, viz., dead load, live load and wind load. Dead load is the self-weight of the various components of a building which include the proposed future expansion. Live load is not a constant load but a varying load, viz., weight of persons using the building, weight of material…

A foundation by definition is that part of the structure which is in direct contact with the ground and transmits the load of the structure to the ground.

If unsuitable soil conditions are encountered at the foundation site of a proposed structure, one of the following three procedures may be adopted: Now-a-days various methods are available by which the characteristics of the construction site can be improved to facilitate construction operation, to allow increased bearing pressures or to reduce settlements. Soil improvement in…