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Foundation(engineering)Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Foundation(engineering)
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Afoundation(or,morecommonly,foundations)formthelowest
partofanarchitecturalstructureandaregenerallyeithershallowor
deep.[1]Theyandtheirconstructionarealsosometimescalled
basework,[2]especiallyinthecontextoflargerstructures.

Contents
1Historicfoundationtypes
1.1Earthfastorpostingroundconstruction
1.2Padstones
1.3Stonefoundations
1.4Rubbletrenchfoundations
2Galleryofshallowfoundationtypes
3Modernfoundationtypes
3.1Shallowfoundations
3.2Deepfoundations
3.2.1Monopilefoundation
4Design
5References

Shallowfoundationsofahouse
versusthedeepfoundationsofa
skyscraper.

Historicfoundationtypes
Earthfastorpostingroundconstruction
Buildingsandstructureshavealonghistoryofbeingbuiltwith
woodincontactwiththeground.[3][4]Postingroundconstruction
maytechnicallyhavenofoundation.Timberpilingswereusedon
softorwetgroundevenbelowstoneormasonrywalls.[5]Inmarine
constructionandbridgebuildingacrisscrossoftimbersorsteel
beamsinconcreteiscalledgrillage.[6]

Padstones
Perhapsthesimplestfoundationisthepadstone,asinglestone
whichbothspreadstheweightonthegroundandraisesthetimber
offoftheground.[7]Staddlestonesareaspecifictypeofpadstone.

Thesimplestfoundation,apadstone.
LatvianEthnographicOpenAir
Museum

Stonefoundations
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Drystoneandstoneslaidinmortartobuildfoundationsarecommoninmanypartsoftheworld.Drylaid
stonefoundationsmayhavebeenpaintedwithmortarafterconstruction.Sometimesthetop,visiblecourse
ofstoneishewn,quarriedstones.[8]

Rubbletrenchfoundations
Rubbletrenchfoundationsareashallowtrenchfilledwithrubbleorstones.Thesefoundationsextend
belowthefrostlineandmayhaveadrainpipewhichhelpsgroundwaterdrainaway.Theyaresuitablefor
soilswithacapacityofmorethan10tonnes/m(2,000poundspersquarefoot)...

Galleryofshallowfoundationtypes

DrawingofPoteaux
enTerrepostin
groundtypeofwall
construction(this
exampletechnically
calledpallisade
construction)inthe
BeauvaisHouseinSte
Genevieve,Missouri,
U.S.A.

PSMV24D321A
primitivestilthousein
Switzerlandonwood
pilings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(engineering)

Agranaryonstaddle
stones,atypeof
padstone

BlackEagleDam
crosssectionof
constructionplansfor
1892structure

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DavisHousedrylaid
stonefoundationruin,
Gardiner,NY

Abasictypeofrubble
trenchfoundation

Typicalresidential
pouredconcrete
foundation,exceptfor
thelackofanchor
bolts.Theconcrete
wallsaresupportedon
continuousfootings.
Thereisalsoaconcrete
slabfloor.Notethe
standingwaterinthe
perimeterFrenchdrain
trenches.

Modernfoundationtypes
Shallowfoundations
Shallowfoundations,oftencalledfootings,areusuallyembedded
aboutametreorsointosoil.Onecommontypeisthespreadfooting
whichconsistsofstripsorpadsofconcrete(orothermaterials)
whichextendbelowthefrostlineandtransfertheweightfromwalls
andcolumnstothesoilorbedrock.
Anothercommontypeofshallowfoundationistheslabongrade
foundationwheretheweightofthebuildingistransferredtothesoil
throughaconcreteslabplacedatthesurface.Slabongrade
foundationscanbereinforcedmatslabs,whichrangefrom25cmto
severalmetersthick,dependingonthesizeofthebuilding,orpost
tensionedslabs,whicharetypicallyatleast20cmforhouses,and
thickerforheavierstructures.

Shallowfoundationconstruction
example

Deepfoundations
Adeepfoundationisusedtotransfertheloadofastructuredownthroughtheupperweaklayeroftopsoil
tothestrongerlayerofsubsoilbelow.Therearedifferenttypesofdeepfootingsincludingimpactdriven
piles,drilledshafts,caissons,helicalpiles,geopiersandearthstabilizedcolumns.Thenamingconventions
fordifferenttypesoffootingsvarybetweendifferentengineers.Historically,pileswerewood,latersteel,
reinforcedconcrete,andpretensionedconcrete.
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Monopilefoundation
Amonopilefoundationisatypeofdeepfoundationwhichusesasingle,generallylargediameter,
structuralelementembeddedintotheearthtosupportalltheloads(weight,wind,etc.)ofalargeabove
surfacestructure.
Alargenumberofmonopilefoundations[9]havebeenutilizedinrecentyearsforeconomicallyconstructing
fixedbottomoffshorewindfarmsinshallowwatersubsealocations.[10]Forexample,asinglewindfarm
offthecoastofEnglandwentonlinein2008withover100turbines,eachmountedona4.7meterdiameter
monopilefootinginoceandepthsupto18metresofwater.[11]

Design
Foundationsaredesignedtohaveanadequateloadcapacity
dependingonthetypeofsubsoilsupportingthefoundationbya
geotechnicalengineer,andthefootingitselfmaybedesigned
structurallybyastructuralengineer.Theprimarydesign
concernsaresettlementandbearingcapacity.When
consideringsettlement,totalsettlementanddifferential
settlementisnormallyconsidered.Differentialsettlementis
whenonepartofafoundationsettlesmorethananotherpart.
Thiscancauseproblemstothestructurewhichthefoundation
issupporting.Expansiveclaysoilscanalsocauseproblems.

References
1. Terzaghi,KarlPeck,RalphBrazeltonMesri,Gholamreza
(1996),Soilmechanicsinengineeringpractice
(http://books.google.it/books?

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Inadequatefoundationsinmuddysoils
belowsealevelcausedthesehousesinthe
Netherlandstosubside.
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"pediment"(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pediment)atdictionary.com(accessedNovember17,2014).
Crabtree,PamJ..Medievalarchaeology:anencyclopedia.NewYork:GarlandPub.,2001.113.
Edwards,JayDearborn,andNicolasVerton.ACreolelexiconarchitecture,landscape,people.BatonRouge:
LouisianaStateUniversityPress,2004.92.
Nicholson,Peter.PracticalMasonry,BricklayingandPlastering,BothPlainandOrnamental.ThomasKelly:
London.1838.3031.
Beohar,RakeshRanjan.BasicCivilEngineering.2005.90.ISBN8170087937
Darvill,Timothy.TheconciseOxforddictionaryofarchaeology.6thed.[i.e.2nded.Oxford,U.K.:Oxford
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Garvin,JamesL..AbuildinghistoryofnorthernNewEngland.Hanover:UniversityPressofNewEngland,
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OffshoreWindTurbineFoundations(http://offshorewind.net/Other_Pages/TurbineFoundations.html),200909
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LynnandInnerDowsingdescription(http://www.greenenergytalkdirectory.org/library/LynnandInner

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