Foundation Engineering-I

SPECIAL FOOTINGS

Dr. Jahanzaib Israr

Department of Civil Engineering
UET Lahore
July 09, 2020
jisrar@uet.edu.pk
INTRODUCTION:
This chapter will take up the design of several of the more complicated
foundation members such as those required to support several columns in a
line or from industrial loadings. Chapter 10 will be concerned with multiple lines
of columns supported by mat or plate foundations.

When a footing supports a line of two or more columns, it is called a combined

footing. A combined footing may have either rectangular or trapezoidal shape
or be a series of pads connected by narrow rigid beams called a strap footing.
We will also briefly consider footings for industrial applications, in particular the
round (actually octagonal) footing widely used in the petrochemical industry.
These several footing types are illustrated in Fig. 9-1.

Combined footings similar to that shown in Fig. 9-1/are fairly common in

industrial applications using wide rectangular supports for horizontal tanks and
other equipment. In these cases, operational loads, differential temperatures,
cleaning operations, and the like can result in both vertical and horizontal loads.
The horizontal loads at the equipment level produce support moments that
must be resisted by the combined footing.

Both the conventional "rigid" and the beam-on-the-foundation method of

combined footing analysis will be presented. The latter method requires a
computer program for maximum design efficiency.
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RECTANGULAR COMBINED FOOTINGS
It may not be possible to place columns at the center of a spread footing if they
are near the property line, near mechanical equipment locations, or irregularly
spaced. Columns located off-center will usually result in a nonuniform soil
pressure. To avoid the nonuniform soil pressure, an alternative is to enlarge the
footing and place one or more of the adjacent columns in the same line on it
(Fig. 9-2). The footing geometry is made such that the resultant of the several
columns is in the center of the footing area. This footing and load geometry
allows the designer to assume a uniform soil pressure distribution. The footing
can be rectangular if the column that is eccentric with respect to a spread
footing carries a smaller load than the interior columns. Bridge piers are also
founded on very rigid combined rectangular footings.

The basic assumption for the design of a rectangular combined footing is that it
is a rigid member, so that the soil pressure is linear. The pressure will be
uniform if the location of the load resultant (including column moments)
coincides with the center of area. This assumption is approximately true if the
soil is homogeneous and the footing is rigid. In actual practice it is very difficult
to make a rigid footing, for the thickness would have to be great; nevertheless,
the assumption of a rigid member has been successfully used for many
foundation members. Success has probably resulted from a combination of soil3
creep, concrete stress transfer, and overdesign.
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In recognition of the overdesign using the conventional (or "rigid") method, current
practice tends to modify the design by a beam-on-elastic-foundation analysis. This
produces smaller design moments than those obtained by the rigid method, as will
be illustrated later.
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The conventional (or rigid) design of a rectangular combined footing consists in
determining the location of the center of footing area. Next the length and width can be
found. With these dimensions the footing is treated as a beam supported by the two or
more columns, and the shear and moment diagrams are drawn. The depth, based on
the more critical of two-way action or wide-beam shear, is computed. Critical sections for
two-way action and wide-beam shear are the same as for spread footings, i.e., at d/2
and d, respectively, from the column face. It is common practice not to use shear
reinforcement, both for economy and so that a larger footing thickness is required for
greater rigidity. The labor costs to bend and place the shear reinforcement are likely by
far to exceed the small savings in concrete that would result from its use.

With the depth selected, the flexural steel can be designed using the critical moments
from the moment diagram. Alternatively, the depth and loading can be used in a finite-
element analysis to obtain modified moments for the flexural steel. These beam-type
members usually have both positive and negative moments, resulting in reinforcing steel
in both the top and bottom of the footing. The minimum percentage of steel should be
taken as 1.4 fy since the footing is designed as a "beam" or flexural member. Footings
with negative (or top) steel are not economical, so oversized spread footings should be
used if possible.

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If we compute the short, or transverse, direction bending moments as for a rectangular
spread footing, they will be in substantial error. The reason is the soil pressure is larger
near the columns, from their stiffening effect on the footing, and lesser in the zone
between columns. That zone closest to, and approximately centered on, the column is
most effective and should be analyzed somewhat similarly to the ACI Code requirement
for rectangular footings. The Code does not directly specify this effective column zone
width, but based on inspection of a number of computer printouts using both the finite-
difference and finite element methods the author suggests that the effective zone should
be about as shown in Fig. 9-3. Note that as the width of this zone decreases its rigidity
increases from the additional reinforcing bars that are required. The increased rigidity
will tend to attract moment from the zone between columns but would be difficult to
predict since the moment of inertia based on Dc, rather than either the transformed
section or effective moment of inertia, is commonly used in finite-element/difference
analyses. Making the effective zone reasonably narrow should ensure adequate steel is
used to take care of any additional "attracted“ moment.

The conventional design method requires computing shears and moments at sufficient
locations that a shear and moment diagram can be drawn. It is also standard practice to
round computed dimensions to multiples of 75 mm or 0.25 ft. If this is done prior to
computing shear and moment diagrams there will be a closure error that depends on the
amount the length is changed; thus, it is recommended that footing dimensions be
rounded as the final design step.
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 The column loads are actually distributed over the column width as shown in Fig. 9-4
but should always be taken as point loads. This assumption greatly simplifies the shear
and moment computations, and the values at the critical locations are the same by either
method. It should be self-evident that combined footings are statically determinate for
any number of columns. With the column loads known and assuming a rigid footing, the
resulting soil pressure q = 2 P/A. The problem then becomes that of a uniformly loaded
continuous beam with all the reactions (the columns) known.

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DESIGN OF TRAPEZOID-SHAPED FOOTINGS
A combined footing will be trapezoid-shaped if the column that has too limited a
space for a spread footing carries the larger load. In this case the resultant of
the column loads (including moments) will be closer to the larger column load,
and doubling the centroid distance as done for the rectangular footing will not
provide sufficient length to reach the interior column. The footing geometry
necessary for a two-column trapezoid-shaped footing is illustrated in Fig. 9-5
from which we obtain

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DESIGN OF STRAP (OR CANTILEVER) FOOTINGS:
A strap footing is used to connect an eccentrically loaded column footing to an interior
column as shown in Fig. 9-6. The strap is used to transmit the moment caused from
eccentricity to the interior column footing so that a uniform soil pressure is computed
beneath both footings. The strap serves the same purpose as the interior portion of a
combined footing but is much narrower to save materials. Note again in Fig. 9-6 that the
resultant soil pressure is assumed at the centers of both footings so that uniform soil
pressure diagrams result. They may not be equal, however.

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The strap footing may be used in lieu of a combined rectangular or trapezoid footing if
the distance between columns is large and/or the allowable soil pressure is relatively
large so that the additional footing area is not needed. Three basic considerations for
strap footing
design are these:
1. Strap must be rigid—perhaps /strap/footing > 2 (based on work by the author). This
rigidity is necessary to control rotation of the exterior footing.
2. Footings should be proportioned for approximately equal soil pressures and
avoidance of large differences in B to reduce differential settlement.
3. Strap should be out of contact with soil so that there are no soil reactions to modify
the design assumptions shown on Fig. 9-6. It is common to neglect strap weight in
the design. Check depth to span (between footing edges) to see if it is a deep beam
(ACI Art. 10-7).

A strap footing should be considered only after a careful analysis shows that spread
footings—even if oversize—will not work. The extra labor and forming costs for this
type of footing make it one to use as a last resort. Again, it is not desirable to use
shear reinforcement in either the two footings or the strap so that base rigidity is
increased.

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The strap may have a number of configurations; however, that shown in Fig. 9-6
should produce the greatest rigidity with the width at least equal to the smallest
column width. If the depth is restricted, it may be necessary to increase the strap
width to obtain the necessary rigidity. The strap should be securely attached to the
column and footing by dowels so that the system acts as a unit.

The strap dimensions to provide adequate rigidity may be most conveniently

determined using a beam-on-elastic-foundation computer program such as your
diskette program B-5. One would input sufficient data to define the footing and strap
stiffness (EI/L) and the program should have an option for no soil reactions against
the strap. One then makes a solution and checks the displacement profiles of the two
footings. If they are nearly constant across the footing, the strap is sufficiently thick. If
there is a nearly linear variation of the displacements, the strap is not rigid enough
and is allowing the footing to rotate.

The equations shown in Fig. 9-6 are used to proportion the footing dimensions. The
length dimension of the eccentrically loaded footing is dependent upon the designer's
arbitrarily selected value of e, so a unique solution is not likely.

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FOOTINGS FOR INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT:
Footings for industrial applications are not directly covered by most existing
methods. On occasion local codes may include some guidance, and certain
industries may have recommended standards of practice, but often the engineer
has little guidance other than what in-house design experience may exist. These
gaps in practice are sometimes filled by handbooks or by professional committees.
(e.g. ACI Committee 351 is concerned with foundations for industrial equipment)..

Footings for industrial application are often one of a kind; the loadings are very
difficult to define and, as a consequence, the footing is conservatively designed so
that, one hopes, the worst possible load condition (or some loading not anticipated
at design time) is covered.

Footings in industrial applications often have large horizontal forces and

overturning moments in addition to vertical forces. These moments are primarily
from wind but may also be from an earthquake analysis or from use. The
geotechnical consultant would not know either the moment or horizontal force at
this preliminary stage, so that the allowable bearing capacity qa is not likely to be
based on footing eccentricity or any of the common methods. Rather the allowable
bearing capacity is very probably a routine determination using the SPT and/or qu
with some possible reduction to allow for loading uncertainties.
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It would be up to the structural designer to accept the recommended qa or discuss
with the consultant whether the value should be further reduced. The designer may
also wish to discuss whether an increase may be allowed for wind, and some
recommendation for the backfill should be obtained, since this is a substantial
contribution to overturning stability and might provide some sliding stability. Two
factors usually allow this procedure to work:
1. The critical loading (wind or earthquake) is transitory and represents an upper
bound in most cases.
2. The footings are usually embedded in the soil to a substantial depth so that the
increase in bearing capacity, which may not be accounted for, more than offsets any
reduction from eccentric loadings. If the center of footing area coincides with the
resultant (refer to Fig. 9-Ie) there would be no reduction for eccentricity.

Sliding stability is based on a combination of base adhesion, soil-to-concrete friction,

and possibly passive earth pressure. Friction resistance depends on the total weight
of the system above the base of the footing. Generally the friction factor is tanϕ but
the adhesion should be reduced, with values from 0.6 to 0.8c being commonly used.
If the designer includes passive pressure resistance to sliding, great care in
backfilling is required so that the perimeter zone soil can provide lateral resistance
to translation. A round base is more economical than other shapes for tall vessels,
process towers, and stacks because the direction of overturning from wind or
earthquake is not fixed. A pedestal is nearly always used to interface the metal
superstructure to the embedded footing. 16
The pedestal is often round to accommodate the base ring, or frame, of the
equipment but may be rectangular, hexagonal, or octagonal.

In practice, however, it is difficult to form a round footing member, so an octagon is

widely used since it closely fits a circle and can be formed easily. The geometry of
an octagon is given in Fig. 9-7 together with a number of section property equations
for design use.

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Generally the maximum eccentricity should be limited to about B/S so that the full
footing is effective for all but wind on the vessel during erection. If a turnover wind is
anticipated during erection, temporary guying can be used.

The design of an octagon-shaped foundation involves sizing the pedestal (diameter

and height) and the base. This sizing should take into account the following:

1. Empty condition with and without wind

2. Proof test condition with or without wind
3. Operating conditions with or without wind

The footing soil depth is then tentatively selected. The backfill over the footing has
a considerable stabilizing effect and should be included when checking for
overturning stability. The weights of the pedestal and footing slab are computed and
used in combination with the overturning from wind or earthquake to find the soil
pressures at the toe and heel for the several load cases. It is common but no longer
recommended by the author to use

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Actually, one should use the equivalent rectangle of Fig. 4-4b with a rectangular soil
pressure distribution and solve for the effective footing area by trial.

Wind and/or earthquake loads are obtained from local building codes, from the
client, or from one of the national building codes such as (in the United States) the
Uniform Building Code.

The footing is checked for wide-beam shear (most likely to control) and two-way
action and for bending with sections as in Fig. 9-8. Noting that two-way action is
very difficult to analyze unless one has available curves such as Brown (1968), one
can make a rapid approximation by checking for wide-beam and then computing
the resisting shear on the curved section, which is first converted into an equivalent
square (see step 5 of Example 9-4). If the resisting shear is greater than 90 percent
of the factored vertical loads, the depth is adequate. If the resisting shear is less, a
more refined analysis is required. At this point one must make a decision either to
increase the footing arbitrarily by 25 to 50 mm with some increase in material costs
or to refine the analysis with the resulting increase in engineering costs and a
possibility of still having to increase the depth. Also carefully note: Shear steel
should not be used, for the footing weight has a stabilizing effect on overturning.
Most importantly, the footing rigidity is needed to satisfy the linear soil-pressure
assumption used in the design.
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CONCLUDED

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