COURSE TITLE

Foundation Engineering I
• Prerequisites by courses:
• Knowledge in soil mechanics
• Working knowledge in mechanics of materials is essential. This
includes Statics and Strength of materials.

• Course Objectives:
Students will learn,
• how to apply the principles of soil mechanics to carry out a site
investigation for a foundation project.
• how to determine the bearing capacity of foundations
• how to design shallow, deep foundations and retaining walls.
• how to utilize the soil mechanics knowledge they acquired in the
Soil Mechanics course to perform various types of engineering
calculations.
• Learning Outcomes
• At the end of this course, students
should be able to:
• Prescribe a soil investigation program for any geotechnical
design
• Write a professional, geotechnical foundation report.
• Calculate the settlement of the shallow foundation
• Calculate bearing capacity of shallow foundations
• Design of shallow and deep foundations
• Design and analyze Retaining Structures
1. SOIL EXPLORATION
• PURPOSE OF EXPLORATION
• The purpose of soil exploration is to find out strength
characteristics of the sub-soil over which the structure has to be
built.

• The main purposes of soil exploration are: -

• Selection of alternative construction sites or the choice of the
most economical sites.

• Selection of alternative types or depth of foundation

• Selection of alternative methods of construction.

• Evaluation of the safety of existing structure.

• Location and selection of construction materials.

• The soil exploration should provide the following
data: -
• Soil parameters and properties of different layers (e.g. for
classification, bearing capacity or settlement calculation)

• Thickness of soil layers and depth to bedrock (stratification of

soil)

• Location of ground water level

 PLANNING AN EXPLORATION PROGRAM
• The planning of a program for soil exploration
depends upon

– The nature of sub-soil

– The type of structure
– The importance of structure

• The actual planning of a subsurface exploration

program includes some or all of the following
steps:

I. Assembly of all available information on type and use of the

structure, and also of the general topographic and
geological character of the site.
II. Reconnaissance of the area: - This involves
inspection of behavior of adjacent structures, rock
outcrops, cuts, etc.
III. A preliminary site investigation: -
This is usually in the form of a few borings or a test pit to
establish the types of materials, Stratification of the
soil, and possibly the location of the ground water
level.
• For small projects this step may be sufficient to
establish foundation criteria, in which case the
exploration program is finished.
IV. A detailed site investigation: -

– For complex projects or where the soil is of poor quality

and/or erratic, a more detailed investigation may be
undertaken this may involve sinking several boreholes,
taking soil samples for laboratory investigations,
conducting sounding and other field tests.
• METHODS OF EXPLORATION
Methods of determining the stratification and engineering
characteristics of sub-surface are
» Test pits
» Boring and sampling
» Field tests
» Geophysical methods
» Laboratory tests

• Test Pits
• The simplest and cheapest method of shallow soil exploration
is to sink test pit to depths of 3 to 4 m.
• Test pits enables the in-situ soil conditions to be examined
visually.
• It is relatively easy to obtain disturbed or undisturbed soil
samples:
• Soil Boring and Sampling
• Soil Boring

• This is the most widely used method.

• It provides samples from shallow to deeper depths for
visual inspection as well as laboratory tests.
• The most commonly used methods of boring are: -
» Auger boring
» Wash boring
» Percussion drilling
» Rotary drilling
• Auger boring: -
• Operated by hand or by power.
• Hand operated augers, = 15 to 20cm, are of two types.
• Post-hole and helical augers.

• This boring method provides highly disturbed soil samples.

• Power operated augers (helical) can be used to great depths,
even to 30m, and used in almost all types of soils above water
table.
Hand Augers a) helical and b) post hole
This image compares
solid-stem (left) and
hollow-stem (right)
augur flights.
•Wash boring: -
• Power operated.
•Hole is advanced by chopping, twisting action of a light chopping
bit and jetting action of drilling fluid, usually water, under pressure.
• Loosened soil particles rise as suspended particles through the
annular space between casing and drill rod.
•This method best suits in sandy and clayey soils and not in very
hard soil strata (i.e. boulders) and rocks.
• Depth of boring could be up to 60m or more.
•Changes in soil strata are indicated by changes in the rate of
progress of boring, examination of out coming slurry and cutting in
the slurry.
•Undisturbed samples whenever needed can be obtained by use of
proper samplers.
Wash boring
different drill bits
• Percussion drilling: -
• Power operated.
• Hole is advanced by repeated blows of a heavy chisel into
the bottom of the hole.
• The resulting slurry formed at bottom of borehole is
removed by bailer or sand pump.
• Because of the deep disturbance of the soil this method of
boring is not favored. Casing is generally required.
• Maximum depth of boring is 60m.
• Rotary drilling: -
• Power operated.
• Hole is advanced by a rapidly rotating bit
• This is the most rapid method for penetrating highly
resistant materials (e.g. bed rock).
• In this method undisturbed samples can be obtained at
desired depths by using suitable samplers.
• Maximum depth of drilling is 80 to 150m
• Soil Sampling

– Laboratory test results are mainly depend on the quality

of soil samples
– There are two main types of soil samples which can be
recovered from bore holes or trial pits.
» Disturbed and
» Undisturbed samples
Soil Sampling for Geostratification
• Disturbed Samples: - are samples where the
structure of the natural soil has been disturbed to a
considerable degree by the action of the boring tolls or
excavation equipment.

• However, these samples represent the composition and

the mineral content of the soil.

• Disturbed samples are satisfactory for performing

classification tests such as, sieve analysis, Atterberg limits
etc
• Undisturbed Samples: - are samples, which represent as
closely as is practicable, the true in-situ structure and water
content of the soil.

• Undisturbed samples are required for determining reliable

information on the shearing resistance and stress-
deformation characteristics of a deposit.

• It is virtually impossible to obtain totally undisturbed

samples. This is due to that:

The process of boring, driving the coring tool,

raising and withdrawing the coring tool and extruding
the sample from the coring tool, all conspire to cause
some disturbance.

In addition, samples taken from holes may tend

to swell as a result of stress relief.
• Samples should be taken only from a newly- drilled or newly
extended hole, with care being taken to avoid contact with
water.

• As soon as they are brought to the surface,

Core tubes ends should be sealed with wax and

capped to preserve the loss of moisture content
 Core tubes should properly be labeled to indicate
the number of bore holes and the depth at which
they are taken.
and then stored away from extremes of heat or
cold and vibration.
• Types of tube samplers
– Split Spoon Sample
– Thin-Walled Tube Sampler
– Piston Samplers
• FIELD [IN-SITU] TESTS

• These tests are valuable means of determining the

relative densities; shear strengths and bearing capacities
of soils directly without disturbing effects of boring and
sampling.

• The most commonly used field tests are: -

» Penetration or sounding tests
» Vane shear test
» Plate loading test
» Pile loading test
• Penetration Tests
• They are conducted mainly to get information on the
relative density of soils with little or no cohesion.

• The tests are based on the fact that the relative density of
a soil stratum is directly proportional to the resistance of
the soil against the penetration of the drive point.

• From this, correlations between values of penetration

resistance versus angle of internal friction (), bearing
pressure, density and modulus of compressibility have
been developed.

• Penetration tests are classified as:

– Static and dynamic penetration tests.
• Static Penetration Tests.
• 1) Swedish Weight Sounding Test: -

• This method of testing is widely used in Scandinavia and here

in Ethiopia.

• The depth of penetration is measured for each loading after

which the number of half-turns is counted by 100Kg.load; the
penetration depth is then measured after 25 half-turns.

• If the penetration after 25 half-turns is less than 5cm the rod

is unloaded and driven down by a 5 to 6kg hammer.
 HT/20cm penetration
50 25
100 75

Depth

Swedish weight sounding equipment, penetration

diagram
• The correlation between density of frictional soils and
consistency of cohesive soils and ht/m (half-turns per meter) are
as given below.
• Frictional Soils Density (kN/m3)
Very loose <50ht/m 11-16
Loose 50 -150ht/m 14.5 - 18.5
Medium 150 - 300ht/m 17.5 - 21
Dense 300 - 500ht/m 17.5 - 22.5
Very dense > 500ht/m 21 – 24

• Cohesive Soils Density (kN/m3)

Soft 0 ht/m 16 –19
Firm 0 – 100 ht/m 17.5 – 21
Stiff 100-200 ht/m
19 – 22.5
Very stiff 200 - 500 ht/m
Hard >500 ht/m
• 2. Static Cone Penetration Test (Dutch Cone Penetrometer
Test): -
• This method is widely used in Europe.
• The test consists of a cone (apex angle 600, overall diameter
35.7mm, end area 10cm2, rods (⅝” ), casing pipe ( ¾”).
• The rod is pushed hydraulically into the ground at a rate of
10mm/sec.
• The pressure exerted on the rod is measured with a proving
ring, manometer or a strain gauge.
• The cone is 1st pushed into the ground. The force
required to push the cone 20cm into the soil is recorded.
• The casing pipe is then advanced to join the cone. The
force required to push the pipe is also recorded.
• The readings thus taken are plotted against depth.
Correlation between Cone (Point) Resistance and
Relative Density of Frictional Soils
Point Resistance (kN/m2)
Relative Density
Very loose soil < 2500
Loose soil 2500 – 5000
Medium dense 5000 – 10,000
Dense 10,000 – 15,000
Very dense > 15,000

According to Meyerhof:
N = ¼ (Ckd)
where N = Standard penetration number
Ckd = Static Cone resistance (kg/cm2)
For sand, modulus of compressibility (Es) can be
estimated from cone resistance from the following
relationship.
ES =3/2( Ckd)
• Dynamic Penetration Tests
• 1) Standard Penetration Test (SPT): -

• This is the most common of the field tests and measures the
resistance of the soil to dynamic penetration by a 50mm
diameter split spoon sampler which is driven into the soil at
the bottom of a borehole (sometimes cased).

• The sampler is attached to drill rods and the dynamic driving

force is a 63.5kg mass falling through a height of 76cm onto
the top of the rods.

• The sampler is initially driven 15cm below the bottom of the

borehole. It is then further driven 30cm. The number of
blows required to drive the last 30cm is termed as the
standard penetration value denoted by N.
 Correlation between Number of blows (N), Angle of
Internal Friction and Relative Density of Frictional
Soils(Terzaghi and Peck).

N 0-4 4 -10 10-30 30 - 50 > 50

 <280 28 -300 30-360 35 - 400 >420
Relative Very Loose Medium Dense Very
Density loose dense
Correlation between Number of blows (N), Unconfined
Compressive Strength and Consistency of Cohesive
Soils. (Terzaghi and Peck).

N 0 -2 2-4 4-8 8 -15 15-30 >30

qu(kN/m2) 0 -25 25 -50 50 -100 100 -200 200-400 >400

Consistency Very soft Soft Medium Stiff Very stiff Hard

• The relationship between  and Dr may be expressed
approximately by the following equation (Meyerhof).
0=25+0.15Dr

• For granular soil, containing more than 5 percent fine

sand and silt.
0=30+0.15Dr

• For granular soil, containing less than 5 percent fine

sand and silt. In the equations Dr is expressed in
percent.
• Correction to be applied to measured values of SPT
• The N. values of SPT as measured in the field may need
to be corrected.

• When SPT is made in fine saturated sands, saturated silty

sands, or saturated silts, correction is usually made for
possible build up of pore water pressure. The SPT
values, greater than 15 are modified as follows

• N = 15 + ½ (N’ –15) Suggested by Terzaghi and peck

where N= corrected value

N’= Recorded value
• The other type of correction is known as correction for
overburden pressure. This correction is applied only to
cohesionless soils (dry, moist or wet). The correction
suggested by Gibbs and Holtz and widely used is as follows.
•
• N = 350N2N’,
' for o’  280 kN/m2
( o '70)
• o’ = effective overburden pressure in kN/m2
• 2) Dynamic Cone Penetration Test: -
• This is another useful test, which is normally used to
determine the relative resistance offered by the different
soil layers.

• The cone is fixed to the bottom of a rod by pushed fit. The

cone is driven into the ground in the same way as a SPT is
performed. The number of blows required to penetrate 30
cms depth is called as Nc value.

• In the case of dynamic cone penetration test no borehole

is used.

•
• Experiments carried out indicate that beyond about 6m depth,
frictional resistance on the rod increases which gives
erroneous results for Nc value. The maximum depth suggested
for this test is about 6 m.

• If the test has to be conducted beyond 6 m depth, one has to

use drilling mud (bentonite slurry) under pressure forced
through the pipe and the cone.

• The mud solution coming out of the cone rises above along the
drill rod eliminating thereby the frictional resistance offered by
the soil for penetration. The former method is called as dry
method and the latter wet method.
• To judge the consistency of soil from Nc values, the general
practice is to convert Nc to N values of SPT

Nc = N/C
• Where
N = blow count for SPT
Nc = blow count for dynamic cone
C = Constant, lies between 0.8 and 1.2 when bentonite is
used.
Nc= 1.5N for depths up to 3m
Nc= 1.75N for depths between 3m and 6m

– Nc Values need to be corrected for overburden pressure

in cohesionless soils like SPT
• Vane Shear Test

• It is used to determine the undrained shear strength of soft

clays soils.

• The apparatus consists of a vertical steel rod having four

thin stainless steel blades (vanes) fixed at its bottom ends.

• Vane head (torsion head), complete with pointer, stop pin,

circumferential graduated scale, calibrated torsion spring
• In most cases a hole is drilled to the desired depth, where
the vane shear test is planned to be performed and the
vane is carefully pushed into the soil.
• A torque necessary to shear the cylinder of soil defined by
the blades of the vane is applied by rotating the arm of the
apparatus with a constant speed of 0.5 degree/sec.

• The maximum torque is then measured from which the

shearing strength is determined.

• From the measured maximum torque one may estimate

the shearing resistance of the tested clay from the
following formula
 T
 Cu
=  2H D  3
 D  
 2 12 

where T = Torque

D = Diameter of Vane
H = Height
• Plate Loading Test
• In this test a gradually increasing static load is applied to the
soil through a steel plate, and readings of the settlement
and applied load are recorded, from which a relationship
between bearing pressure and settlement for the soil can be
obtained.
• The test procedure
1. Pit for the test must be at least 5 times the size of the plate.
2. The plate should be properly placed in the soil. In the case
of cohesionless soil (to prevent early displacement of soil
under the edges of the plate), the plate must be positioned
in cast in-situ concrete.
3. Loading platform should be properly erected.
Dead Weight Load
Loaded platform
Pressure gauge

Hydraulic jack
Short block

Settlement dial gauge

Bearing pressure (kPa)

Bp

Settlement, Sp
(cm)
4. Loading of the soil is conducted in steps (loading increment
is kept constant).
5. Once completion of the test, the plate is unloaded in the
same incremental steps (to draw the expansion curve).
 Bearing capacity of non-cohesive soil is determined from
settlement consideration.
• If the maximum permissible settlement, S, of a footing of
width Bf is given, the settlement, Sp, of a plate of width Bp
under the same intensity of loading is given by
•
Sp (2 Bf ) 2
S
(B f  B p ) 2
Using the value Sp, computed from the above equation,
the loading intensity under the footing could be read from
the load settlement curve.
• The settlement of footing in clay is normally determined from
principles of consolidation. However from plate load test, the
approximate settlement of footing of width B can be
determined using the following expression

Bf
S  Sp
Bp
• Limitation of Plate Loading Test
• Plate loading test is of short duration. Hence consolidation
settlement does not fully occur during the test.
• For settlement consideration, its use is restricted to sandy
soils, and to partially saturated or rather unsaturated clayey
soils.
• Plate loading test can give very misleading information of
the soil is not homogeneous within the effective depth
(depth of stress influence) of the prototype foundation.
• Plate loading test should not recommended in soils which
are not homogeneous at least to depth of 1½ to 2 times the
width of the prototype foundation
• Pile Loading Test:-

• This is the most reliable means for determining the load

carrying capacity of a pile.
• The load arrangement and testing procedure are more or
less similar to the plate-loading test.
• From the results of this test the allowable bearing
capacity and load- settlement relationship of a group of
friction piles can be estimated.
• GEOPHYSICAL METHODS:-

• These comprise the seismic and resistivity methods.

• Seismic Method:- In this method shock or seismic are created

by detonating small charges or by striking a rod or a plate near
the surface. The radiating waves are picked up and time of
travel from source recorded by detectors known as geophones
or seismometers.

• Seismic method is based on the fact that sound waves travel

faster through rocks than through soils.
•
• Electrical Resistivity :- In this method four metallic spikes
to serve as electrodes are driven in to the ground at equal
intervals along a line. A known potential is then applied
between the outermost electrodes and potential drop is
measured between the innermost electrodes

• The resistivity method makes use of the fact some soils

(e.g. soft clays) have low electrical resistivity than others
(e.g. sand or gravel).

• Seismic and resistivity methods are normally employed as

preliminary or supplementary to other methods of
exploration.
• LABORATORY TESTS
•
• The common laboratory tests that concern the foundation
engineers are
– Grain size analysis
– Atterberg limits
– Natural moisture content
– Unit weight
– Unconfined compression test
– Direct shear test
– Triaxial compression test
– Consolidation test
– Compaction test
– Chemical analysis
• GROUND WATER MEASUREMENT
• Ground water affects many elements of foundation design
and construction.
• Because of this its location should be determined in each
job with reasonable accuracy.
• The depth of water table is measured by lowering a chalk-
coated steel tape in the borehole.
• The depth can also be measured by lowering the leads of
an electrical circuit. As soon as the open ends of the leads
touch the water in the borehole, the circuit is completed. It
is indicated by glow of the indicator lamp.
• DEPTH AND NUMBER OF BORINGS.
1. Depth of Boring
• The depth to which boreholes should be sunk is governed
by the depth of soil affected by foundation bearing
pressures.
• According to Tomlinson the following depths of boreholes
for various foundation conditions may be used.

1. For widely spaced strip of pad foundations, boring depth

should be deeper than 1.5 times the width of the
foundation.

2. For raft foundations, boring depth deeper than 1.5 times

width of raft should be used.
3. For closely spaced strip or pad foundations where there is
overlapping of the zones of pressure, boring depth
deeper than 1.5 times width of building should be used.

4. For group of piled foundation on soil, boring depth should

be deeper than 1.5 times width of pile group, the depth
being measured from a depth of two- thirds of the length
of the piles.

5. For piled foundation on rock, boring depth should be

deeper than 3.0m inside bedrock.

• According to Teng, for high ways and airfields minimum

depth of boring is 1.5m, but should be extended below
organic soil, fill or compressible layers such as soft clays
and silts.
2. Number of Borings
• From experience Teng has suggested the following
guideline for preliminary exploration

Project Distance between boring (m) Minimum

number of
Horizontal stratification of
boring for each
soil
structure
Uniform Average Erratic

Multi-story building 45 30 15 4
One or two story 60 30 15 3
building
Bridge piers, - 30 75 1-2 for each
abutments, television foundation unit
towers, etc
Highways 300 150 30
• DATA PRESENTATION
• The results of borings, samplings, penetration tests and
laboratory tests of a site are usually plotted graphically on a
sheet of drawing paper.
• The graphical presentation should include.

a) A plot plan, showing the location of all boreholes, test pits,

etc and their identification number.
b) A separate plot, showing the soil profile as established from
the drillings or test pits records.
c) Soil profiles along given lines in the ground surface, showing
the boundaries between identifiable soil layers, variation of
thickness of firm bottom layer, thickness of soft clay layers
etc.
d. The penetration number, the unconfined compression
strength, Atterberg limits, natural moisture content, and
other appropriate laboratory data may be shown on each
boring on the soil profile.

e. The location of ground water table should also be shown on

the soil profile.
 Depth Legend Soil type N qu  L.L p.I
0.00
Top soil
1.00m
W.T
Sandy
Silt
4.00
Dense
sand
8.00
Gravel
12.00

Hard
15.00 rock
• SOIL EXPLORATION REPORT

• Most reports have the following contents.

1. Introduction: - Purpose of investigation, type of investigation

carried out.
2. General description of the site: - general configuration and
surface features of the site.
3. General geology of the area.
4. Description of soil conditions found in bore holes (and test
pits)
5. Laboratory test results.
6. Discussion of results of investigation in relation to foundation
design and constructions.
7. Conclusion: - recommendations on the type and depth of
foundations, allowable bearing pressure and methods of
construction.