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Wall Footing

Problem Statement:
A 12 in. thick concrete wall carries a service (unfactored) dead load of 10 kips per foot and a service live
load of 12.5 kips per foot. The allowable soil pressure, qa, is 5,000 psf at the level of the base of the
footing, which is 5 ft below the final ground surface. Design a wall footing using fc = 3000 psi and fy =
80,000 psi. The density of the soil is 120 lb/f3.

Size of Footing:
Consider a 1-ft strip of footing and wall. Allowable soil pressure = 5 ksf; allowable net soil pressure = 5
ksf weight / ft2 of the footing and the soil over the footing. Since the thickness of the footing is not
known at this stage, it is necessary to guess the thickness for a first trial. Generally, the thickness will be
1 to 1.5 times the wall thickness. Assume a 12-in.-thick footing. Therefore qn = 5 (1 x 0.15 + 4 x 0.12) =
4.37 ksf.

Area required =
= 5.15 ft2 per foot of length
Try a footing 5 ft 2
Factored net pressure, qnu =

= 6.82 ksf

Shear Check:
Check shear at d away from the face of the wall
d = 12 in. 3 in. cover - wire diameter

8.75

The tributary area for shear is shown shaded in Figure 1.

This example is to be used for educational purposes only.

1'
1'
5'-2"
d
1 ft strip
Tributary
area for
shear
Figure 1. Tributary Area for Shear
Vu = 6.82 ksf (16.5/12 x 1) ft2 = 9.38 kips/ft
Vc = 2

bw d =

= 9.78 kips/ft

Since Vu < Vc the footing depth is O.K. if Vu is larger or considerably smaller than
thickness and repeat steps 1 and 2. Use a 12-in.-thick footing, 5 ft 2 in. wide

Vc, choose a new

Reinforcement:
The critical section for moment is at the face of the wall .
Mu= 6.82

ft-kips/ft = 14.8 ft-kips/ft of length

Mu = Mn = Asfyjd
Footings are generally very lightly reinforced. Therefore, assume that j = 0.925. Therefore,
As =

= 0.305 in.2/ft

From ACI sections. 10.5.4 and 7.12.2


Minimum As = 0.0018 x 60/80 bh
= 0.0013 x 12 x 12
= 0.1944 in.2/ft < 0.305, therefore does not govern

This example is to be used for educational purposes only.

Maximum spacing of bars (ACI Sec. 7.6.5) = 3h or 18 in. Therefore, maximum = 18 in.
Try D 20 @ 8, As = 0.3 in.2/ft.
a=

= 0.784 in.

since a /d = 0.784 / 8.75 = 0.0896 is much less than a/d for the tension-controlled limit = 0.375 From Fig.
R9.3.2 from the ACI 318, the section is tension-controlled and = 0.90
Mn =

= 15.04 ft-kips > Mu

Temperature Reinforcement:
Select the temperature reinforcement. By ACI Sec. 7.12.2 shrinkage and temperature steel required is
As = 0.0018*60/80 bh = 0.00135 x 62 x 12

ACI Sec. 7.12.2

= 1.0044 in2
use D 20@12 in.

Reinforcement Details:
Figure 2. shows the reinforcement details and sheet size of the WWR.
(WWR1) details.

Figure 3. shows the sheet

1'
3"
843"

WWR1

5'-2"
Figure 2. Welded Wire Reinforcement Details

This example is to be used for educational purposes only.

D20@12"
D20@8"
4'-8"

WWR1
Figure 3. Sheet Details (WWR1)
Reinforcement Quantities:
The total steel weight for the footing per square foot = 1.57 lbs/ft2.
Design Using Grade 60 Rebar.
Figure 4. shows the reinforcement detail using Grade 60 Rebar.
The steel weight for the footer using Grade 60 Rebar per square foot = 2.17 lbs/ft2.
Conclusions:
The ratio between the steel weight per square foot using Grade 80 WWR to the steel weight per square
foot using Grade 60 Rebar = (1.57/2.17)*100 = 72 %.
Placement of WWR will be significantly faster than placement of the reinforcing bars, resulting in
additional overall saving.

1'
3"

3# 6

812"
#4@5.5"
5'-2"
Figure 4. Grade 60 Rebar Reinforcement Details
This example is to be used for educational purposes only.

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