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AN INTRODUCTION TO
BUILDING FOUNDATIONS AND
SOIL IMPROVEMENT METHODS
SEAONC 2008 Spring Seminar
San Francisco, 16 April 2008
Hadi J. Yap, PhD, PE, GE
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General Foundation Types
Shallow Foundations
Spread footings: isolated, continuous
grid or waffle
Post-Tensioned Slabs (PT Slabs)
Mats
Deep Foundations
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Factors to be Considered in Selecting
Foundation Type
Subsurface conditions
Column loads and spacing, basements
Site constraints
noise
vibrations
proximity to existing improvements, slope, channel
Economics
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Shallow Foundations
Suitable where underlying material is strong
Can be used in engineered fill if building load is
light to moderate
Mats can be used to span localized weak areas
Mats can be used on weaker soil for structure
with basements where net load (weight of
structure minus weight of soil removed) is low
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Sources of Settlement
Immediate Settlement (sand and clay)
Occurs as the load is applied
Consolidation (saturated clay)
A slow process of squeezing water out of the
pores in soft clay when loaded
Liquefaction (saturated sand)
Temporary loss of shear strength in loose sand
due to a rise in excess pore water pressure during
cyclic loading such as seismic
Seismic Densification (dry/moist sand)
Densification of loose sand above the groundwater
level due to ground shaking
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Total and Differential Settlement
Building can tolerate large total settlement if
the differential settlement is within tolerable
limits
Where the total settlement is large, flexible
connections should be provided to
underground utilities where they enter the
building
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Allowable Differential Settlement for
Buildings
Angular Distortion = Differential settlement/Distance
Angular Distortion Limits (Bjerrum, 1963):
1/500 safe limit where cracking is not permissible
1/300 limit where first cracking in panel walls is to
be expected
1/150 limit where structural damage to general
buildings is to be feared
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Design Parameters for
Spread Footings
Minimum width
Minimum embedment depth
Allowable bearing pressure
Allowable passive pressure
Allowable base friction coefficient
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Spread Footing Excavations
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When mat is to be considered
When total footprint area of spread footings
is more than, say, 50% of building footprint
To reduce total and differential settlement
To bridge areas of weak subgrade
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Design Parameters for Mat
Foundations
Minimum embedment depth
Allowable bearing pressures
Allowable passive pressure
Allowable base friction coefficient
Subgrade modulus
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Mat Subgrade and Mud Slab
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Mat Rebars
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Deep Foundation Types
Drilled Piers/Cast-In-situ-Drilled-Hole [CIDH]
Piles
Driven Piles (Concrete, Steel H)
Tubex Piles
Auger Cast Piles
Torque Down Piles
Micropiles
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Drilled Piers
Can use one large diameter pier in lieu of
several smaller, driven piles
Lengths can be adjusted in the field reduce
waste/build-up
Derive axial capacity mainly from skin friction
Need to use casing and/or drilling fluid if
groundwater and/or loose soil is present
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Drilled Pier Installation
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Driven Precast, Prestressed,
Concrete Piles
Economical in San Francisco Bay Area
Can be used where soft soil, non-engineered fill,
or high groundwater level, is present
Fabricated at yard good quality control
Moderately high capacity up to 344 kips for 14
square piles using 6,000 psi concrete
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Concrete and Steel Piles
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Driven Steel H-Piles
More expensive than driven concrete piles
Suitable where depth to bearing soil layer
varies; can conveniently be cut and spliced
Design must consider corrosion
Moderate to high capacity up to 456 kips
for HP14X89 using 50 ksi steel
Lateral resistance varies with load direction
relative to pile axis
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Soil Improvement
If poor soil conditions are encountered:
Bypass poor soil, use deep foundations
Remove poor soil, replace with engineered fill
Improve soil properties in place
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Factors to be Considered in Selecting
Soil Improvement Method
Soil type; fines content (silt- and clay-size)
Area and depth of treatment
Soil properties strength, compressibility
Proposed structure and settlement criteria
Availability of skills, equipment, materials
Adjacent improvements
Economics
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Primary objectives of soil
improvement
CLAY
Increase bearing capacity or slope stability
Reduce foundation settlement
SAND
- Reduce liquefaction potential
- Increase bearing capacity
- Reduce foundation settlement
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Mechanisms of Soil Improvement for Clay
Consolidation
- Preloading
Reinforcement
- Soil-Cement Columns
- Vibro-Replacement Stone Columns
- Geopiers and Vibro Piers
Mixing
- Soil-cement columns
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Mechanisms of Soil Improvement for Sand
By vibration
Impacts at surface: Dynamic compaction
Depth vibrator: Vibro-compaction
By vibration and displacement of backfill
- Vibro-replacement stone columns
- Vibro Piers
By displacement of backfill material
- Compaction grouting
By binding particles
- Permeation grouting (e.g. ultra-fine cement)
By mixing
Soil-cement columns
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Soil Improvement Methods
X Permeation Grouting
X Compaction Grouting
X X Geopiers and Vibro Piers
X X Stone Columns
X Vibro-Compaction
X X Soil-Cement Columns
X Dynamic Compaction
X Preloading
Sand Clay Method
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Preloading
Performed by placing fill over soft clay
Improve foundation soil for buildings,
embankments, runways, bridge abutments
Type of preloads: earth fill, water, vacuum
Use prefabricated vertical (wick) drains to
reduce preloading time
Wick drains: plastic core wrapped in
geotextile; generally 4 wide and 1/8 to 3/8
thick
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Wick Drain Installation
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Preloading (contd)
Typical wick drain spacing is 3 to 6 feet,
depending on soil permeability and time
available
Typical preloading period is 3 to 6 months,
depending on soil permeability and degree of
consolidation to be achieved
Construction monitoring: settlement
(settlement plates/probes), pore water
pressure (piezometers), lateral movement
(inclinometers)
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Source: ASCE, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 69, 1997
Preloading with Wick Drains and Instrumentation
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Dynamic Compaction
Involves repeated dropping of heavy weights
onto ground surface
Effective for sand, waste, and rubble fills
Pounders: concrete blocks, steel plates, or
thick steel shells filled with concrete/sand
Typical weight of pounders: 6 to 30 tons,
depending on the depth of soil to be
improved
Typical drop heights: 40 to 100 feet
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Dynamic Compaction
Source: Hayward Baker
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Dynamic Compaction (contd)
Most effective for soil with less than 25%
fines (silt- and clay-size particles; material
passing #200 sieve [0.075 mm opening])
Typical improvement depth is 10 to 30 feet
D 0.5 (WH)
where:
D = improvement depth in m
W = pounder weight in metric ton
H = drop height in m
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Dynamic Compaction (contd)
Ground Vibrations
< 0.5 inch/sec to prevent cracks in walls
< 2.0 inch/sec to prevent structural damage
Construction monitoring
Induced settlement
Ground vibration
Ground heave
Pore water pressure
Verification testing (SPT, CPT)
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Scaled Energy Factor versus Particle Velocity
Source: FHWA, Dynamic Compaction, 1995
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Soil-Cement Columns
Mixing in-situ soil with cementitious materials using
mixing shafts consisting of auger cutting heads,
auger flights, or mixing paddles
Produce soil-cement columns with higher strength,
lower compressibility, and lower permeability than
the native soil
Used to improve bearing capacity and slope stability,
and as shoring walls
Typical compressive strength of cylinders ranges
from 15 to 300 psi
Typical permeability of mix ranges from 10
-6
to 10
-7
cm/sec
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Soil-Cement Column
Installation
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Soil-Cement Shoring Wall
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Soil-Cement Wall Installation
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Steel Beam Installation
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Vibro-Compaction
Densifying granular soil by inserting a vibrating probe
into the ground
Probe spacing ranges from 6 to 14 feet
Suitable for sand with less than 15% fines (silt- and
clay-size particles)
Vibrator is a torpedo shaped horizontally vibrating
probe, 10 to 15 feet long, and weighs about 2 tons.
The probe penetrates to the design depth under its
own weight assisted by water jetting
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Vibrator and Water Jets
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Vibro-Compaction (contd)
The action of vibrator and water jetting reduce inter-
granular forces between soil particles allowing them
to become denser
The vibrator starts at the bottom of the hole and
raised to treat the next interval; the procedure is
repeated as backfill sand is added
If backfill is not added, craters with diameters of 10
to 15 feet can form around vibrator
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Vibro-Replacement Stone Columns
Extends the range of soil types that can be improved
to silt and clay
The probe is penetrated to design depth and
gravel/crushed rock is placed in the hole as the probe
is withdrawn in vertical increments of 2 to 5 feet
A stone column is formed with the stone laterally
compacted against the surrounding soil
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Vibro-Replacement Stone Columns (Contd)
Three primary methods
Wet, top feed method: hole is saturated with
jetting water
Dry, top feed method: hole formed by probe
remains open without water
Dry, bottom feed: stone backfill is fed through a
hopper and tube to the bottom of the hole
Construction Monitoring
Settlement and ground heave
Amount of stone backfill used
Verification testing (SPT, CPT)
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Wet Top Feed Method
Source: Bauer
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Dry Bottom Feed Method
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Geopiers (Rammed Aggregate Piers)
Locally installed by Farrell Design-Build Company
Typically 24 to 36 inches in diameter and 6 to 30 feet
deep, constructed by drilling and ramming crushed
rock in 12-inch lifts
The ramming equipment consists of excavators
equipped with 2,000 to 4,000 lbs hydraulic hammers
with beveled tampers
The ultimate bearing capacity of a pier ranges from
100 to 300 kips in compression and 100-150 kips in
uplift (with steel anchor).
Allowable bearing capacity range from 5 to 8 ksf
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Completed Geopiers
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Geopiers
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Vibro Piers
Installed using displacement and vibratory energy to
depths of 10 to 30 feet by Hayward Baker
Installation methods:
Dry top feed method: stone is placed in pre-
augered hole, densified in 6 to 12-inch lifts with a
vibrator
Dry bottom feed method: for high groundwater
level. The vibrator with tremie pipe attachment
are penetrated to the design depth to install and
densify the stone in place. Little or no waste
results from this method.
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Dry Top Feed Method
Source: Hayward Baker Inc.
Dry Bottom Feed
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Compaction Grouting
To compact loose soil or to produce control
displacement to lift structure
Involves injection of low-slump (less than 2 inches)
grout (soil-cement mixture) which does not enter soil
pores but remain in a homogeneous mass
Grout material may consist of fine sand mixed with
12% cement and water to produce stiff, mortar-like
mixture
Grout pipe is installed to maximum treatment depth
and grout is injected at high pump pressure as the
pipe is withdrawn incrementally, forming a column of
interconnected grout bulb
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Compaction Grouting
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Compaction Grouting (contd)
Can be performed stage down or, more
commonly, in a stage up process, as
follows:
Advancing the grout pipe to the bottom of
treatment depth
Injecting the grout until refusal criteria is
achieved, based on injected grout volume,
injection pressure, or ground heave
Extracting the grout pipe to the next depth
interval and injecting the grout
Repeat the process until reaching the upper limit
of treatment zone
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Compaction Grouting
Source: Hayward Baker
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Compaction Grouting (contd)
Construction monitoring:
Injected grout volume
Pressure loss/ground surface heave
Verification testing: pre- and post-grouting
SPT/CPT
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Ultra-Fine Cement Grouting
Uses micro-fine cement (particle size ranges
from 1 to 10 microns); can penetrate fine
sand
Used to increase bearing capacity of sand
under existing footings and/or reduce
potential settlement
Can be used to retain shallow excavation in
loose sand
Unconfined compressive strength can exceed
100 psi
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Ultra-Cement Grouting
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Elevator Pit Excavation