FOUNDATIONS –

Substructure
Soils &
Foundations

ARCH. ANNIE CORPUZ-

PUGEDA
Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil
Subsurface investigation
done by borings
typical boring rig - tripod or frame
with a pulley and a small winch
test pits
 Boring Rig/Test Pits

boring rig: (tripod or frame with pulley,

small winch)
 Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil
A hammer is raised by the
winch and allowed to fall
free, driving a pipe casing
into the ground.
The number of blows
necessary to drive the
spoon 1 ft. gives important
information as to the
compactness of the soil
 Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil
❑Many codes as well as good engineering
practice dictate boring locations about 50
ft. (15 m) on center within the building
outline.
Abnormal ground conditions may require
closer spacing.
 Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil

Depth of borings are typically 15 to 20 ft. (4.5 to 6m)

below foundation level, with one or more borings
deeper to look for weak lower levels
 Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil
❑Test pits give an immediate idea of the soil
conditions [limited to a depth of about 10 ft. (3 m)]
Dug with a backhoe, they give a method of
economical and visually evident evaluation.
 Evaluating the Bearing Capacity of Soil
Where rock is near the surface, a rock profile is
obtained.
Once the type and degree of compactness of soil
has been established, its supporting ability must
be evaluated.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❖Spread footings and Wall footings - most common
types of footings; used where the soil bearing capacity
is adequate for the applied loads
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❖Wall Footings
 Selecting a Foundation Type
Spread Footings: for uniform bearing
on the soil; good bearing material occurs
directly under the building excavation
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❑Variations of spread
footings:
Eccentric Footings:
center of the
superimposed load
does not line up with
the resultant center of
the soil bearing
pressure
 Selecting a Foundation Type
Combined Footings:
two or more
columns must
share one footing
 Selecting a Foundation Type
Matt Footings:
the required
superimposed loads
require most of the
building’s footprint to
transfer the
accumulated loads to
relatively weak soil
bearing capacity.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❑Pile Foundations : required where poor surface and
near surface soils are weak and column like shafts
must be used to penetrate the weak soil and reach
acceptable supporting stratum and greater depths
below grade.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
Piles are tied together with pile caps upon
which the building’s columns or walls are
supported.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❑When large column
load exist, caissons
are used as
extensions to
columns.
Caissons typically
are larger in diameter
and longer. They rely
on end bearing
directly on earth with
very high bearing
capacity.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
❑Retaining Walls:
used where a grade
change occurs and
the upper levels must
be stabilized behind a
wall. The wall portion
of the foundation
extends vertically
cantilevered from a
substantial and
carefully designed
footing.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
The choice between walls and footings, piers and grade beams,
or piles and grade beams is determined by soil conditions, by the
requirements of the building’s structural system, and cost. The
requirement of many codes – that a pile be at least 10 ft. (3 m)
long in order to provide adequate lateral stability – often
determines the change over depth between piers and short piles.
 Selecting a Foundation Type
Mats can distribute loads to large areas, permitting
light soil bearing loads on weak material. Hydraulic
mats resist upward water pressure. Because of the
various possible arrangements and loads, each mat
becomes a specialized custom design.
 Foundations to Rock
Rock, having the highest bearing capacity, is often
the only acceptable foundation available for heavy
loads.
Piers carry the loads directly to rock. On hard rock, piers
require no footing, as the capacity of the rock is almost
that of concrete. Typical column and grade beam
construction is employed.
 Foundations to Rock
When rock occurs more than 10 to 15 ft. (3 to
4.5 m) below the grade beam soffits, piers
become too costly. Clusters of piles driven to
rock and encased in a pile cap can support
substantial loads. For heavier loads, caissons
are used. Caissons are big holes drilled through
the weak soil strata down to rock. The drilled
voids are then filled with concrete. Piles or
caissons may vary in length from 15 to over 100
ft. (4.5 to over 30 m).
 Piles
Piles carry loads to strata below the ground surface
either by end bearing, which are called bearing piles,
or by surface friction along their sides by which are
called friction piles. The soft material through which the
pile is driven provides lateral stability, but for structures
over water the piles must be designed as columns.
 Piles
Test load or driving resistance generally
establishes pile capacity. Load tests are
used to establish capacity. Driving resistance
measurements are used to ensure that all piles
are driven as hard as the test piles. Piles are
generally grouped in clusters connected by pile
caps.
 Piles
Borings are essential for proper pile
evaluation. Individual piles may test to a capacity
greater than their contribution to the capacity of a
cluster. A soft stratum underlying a hard one may
not be able to support the total load delivered
from the hard stratum even though the resistance
of the hard stratum may indicate satisfactory pile
support.
 Piles
❑Types I and II are cast-in-place concrete piles. A
light-gage steel shell, driven on a mandrel, which is
then withdrawn, is inspected and filled with concrete.
Care must be taken to avoid collapsing of the shell
with an adjacent pile is driven.
1. Centering 2. Starting drilling 3. Inserting stand pipe 4.Feeding bentonite 5.Drilling till the specified depth
6.Inserting belling bucket 7. Reaming bore hole bottom 8. Measuring depth 9.Setting up iron-reinforcement cage
10. Inserting tremie tube 11. Cleaning slime by an air-lift 12. 13 Concreting 14.Completing cast-in-place concrete
pile with belling bottom.
 Piles
❑Type III is similar to Types I and
II except that the shell gage is
heavier and no mandrel is
required.
 Piles
❑ Type IV is an open-end steel pipe. It is excavated, often by air
jet, as it is advanced, and then filled with concrete after refusal
has been reached. In lieu of reaching refusal, driving may stop
while a concrete plug is placed and then redriving will seat it.
The advantage is fewer disturbances to adjacent structures.
 Piles
❑Type V is a closed-end pipe. After driving, it is
filled with concrete. Often it is used inside
buildings with low headroom. Shorter lengths
are simply spliced with steel collars.
 Piles
❑Type VI is a precast concrete pile. It is good
in marine structures but requires heavy
handling equipment and accurate estimation of
tip elevation and it is difficult to cut off in the
field.
 Piles
❑Type VII is a wood
pile – the least
expensive. Where
the pile is partially
exposed permanently
above water level, it
must be treated with a
wood preservative.
 Piles
❑Type VIII, a composite wood and
concrete pile, is seldom used. The
timber is kept below groundwater and
a greater over-all length is achieved.
A closed-end pipe may be used in
place of the timber section.
 Piles
❑Type IX is a rolled steel H section. It is the
cheapest of the higher-capacity piles.
Protection must be provided when driving
through cinder fill or other rust-producing
material.
 Piles
❑Type X is a drilled-in
caisson. A 24-in. (60
cm) round pipe is
driven to rock and
cleaned, a steel H-
section core is set,
and the shell is filled
with concrete. This is
good for very heavy
loads.
 Piles
Piles almost always are installed in
groups of three or more. For heavier
column loads the architect is referred to a
structural engineer for analysis of specific
foundation requirements of the building(s)
under consideration.
 Piles
Pipes are located with a low degree of
precision. They can easily be 6 inches or
more from their desired location. If building
columns, which are located with much greater
precision, were to be located on single piles,
the centerlines would rarely coincide. The
resulting eccentric loads in both the column and
the pile would generate unwanted moments in
both members. A similar condition could exist
around one axis for a column supported by a
two-pile foundation.
 Piles
Groupings of three or more piles provide
a degree of safety and redundancy
should one pile be driven slightly out
of alignment. Lateral stability of the group
increases with three piles as compared to
fewer piles.