Shallow Foundation Theory

A shallow foundation is a type of foundation which transfers building loads to the earth very near the
surface, rather than to a subsurface layer or a range of depths as does a deep foundation.
There are some types of shallow foundation:
- Continuous Footing
- Pad Footing
- Combined Footing
- Raft Footing
- Ring Footing
- Strap Footing
In analyzing shallow foundation, we have to mention:
- Bearing Capacity
- Settlement
- Differential Settlement

Requirement of Shallow Foundation:
- The load shall be less than the soil bearing capacity
- The settlement shall be less than the maximum allowable settlement
- Differential settlement shall be less than required
- Constructible
Settlement on Shallot Foundation depends on:
- Compressibility of soils
- Working stress
- Width of the foundation
- Depth of the foundation base

In geotechnical engineering, bearing capacity is the capacity of soil to support the loads applied to the
ground. The bearing capacity of soil is the maximum average contact pressure between the foundation
and the soil which should not produce shear failure in the soil. Ultimate bearing capacity is the
theoretical maximum pressure which can be supported without failure; allowable bearing capacity is the
ultimate bearing capacity divided by a factor of safety. Sometimes, on soft soil sites, large settlements
may occur under loaded foundations without actual shear failure occurring; in such cases, the allowable
bearing capacity is based on the maximum allowable settlement.

Analyses
a = 8 m


b = 4 m

h = 2.5 m

h1 = 5 m Df = 0.5 m

h2 = 3 m

1. Working Force = Billboard Force + Wind Force
= 13568 Kg

2. Foundation Base: 3 x 3 m
2

a. Terzaghi : Safety factor : 4 (OK!)
b. Meyerhof: Safety factor: 3.28 (OK!)
c. Brinch-Hansen: Safety Factor: 4 (OK!)

3. Settlement = Immediate Settlement + Consolidation
= 0.463 m

4. From the three methods, both Terzaghi and Brinch-Hansen give SF of 4 but Meyerhof gives
less; 3.28. I assume the foundation base is 3 x 3 m
2
, as it is the most economical dimension
which can have safety factor more than 3 in Meyerhof method. The settlement caused by
the billboard is 0.463 m.

Appendix
Calculate the Working Force:
Q = 4 x 8 x 300 = 9600 Kg
Qu = 9600 x 1.2 = 11520 Kg
H = 4 x 8 x 40 = 1280 Kg
Hu = 1.6 x 1280 = 2048
Qwork = Qu + Hu
= 11520 + 1280 = 13568 Kg
Mu = (0.5a + h + Df) x Hu
= (2 + 2.5 + 0.5) x 2048 = 10240 Kgm
Foundation Design
Assumption: Foundation Base: 3 x 3 m
2
Eccentricity:
Q
M
e = = 0.7547 >
6
B
= 0.5
B = B 2e
B

= 3 2 x 0.7547 = 1.49 m
L = L = 3 m
A = B x L = 4.47 m
2

1. Terzaghi
qu = 1.3 c Nc + q Nq + 0.4 B N

= 1.3 x 1500 x 5.7 + (1900 x 2) x 1 + 0
= 12065 Kg/m
2

Qu = qu x A = 53952.27 Kg
Qw
Qu
SF = = 4




2. Meyerhof
qu = c N
c
S
c
d
c
i
c
+ q N
q
S
q
d
q
i
q
+ 0.5 B N

d

i

= 0 + 3800 x 2.62 x 1 +0
= 9969.5 Kg/m
2

Qu = qu x A = 44583.95 Kg
Qw
Qu
SF = = 3.28

3. Brinch-Hansen
qu = 5.14 Su ( 1 + S
c
a
+ d
c
a
-

i
c
a
- b
c
a
- g
c
a
) + q
S
c
a
= 0.2 x
L
B
= 0.0994
d
c
a
= 0.4 x
B
D
= 0.0667
i
c
a
= 0.5 0.5
AxSu
Hu
1 = 0.083

b
c
a
= the base of the footing is level, so b factor is neglected
g
c
a
= = 0, so g is ignored

qu = 5.14 x 1500 x (1 + 0.0994 + 0.0667 - 0.083)+ (1900 x 0.5)
= 12148.13 Kg/m
2

Qu = qu x A = 54324.01 Kg
Qw
Qu
SF = = 4

Calculate the Settlement
Immediate Settlement

Ii Io Iw
E
qB
Si

=
2
) 1 ( u

=

0.88 x 1 x 0.2
= 6.41 x 10
-3
m




Consolidation
) )( ( z L z B
Q
q
+ +
=
Q = 13568 Kg
B = 3 m
L = 3 m
Z = 0.5 m, 1.5 m, 2.5 m, 3.5 m, 4.5 m
q
0.5
= 1107.59 Kg/m
2

q
1.5
= 670.02 Kg/m
2

q
2.5
= 448.53 Kg/m
2

q
3.5
= 321.14 Kg/m
2

q
4.5
= 241.21 Kg/m
2

)
'
'
log(
1
1
i Po
Pi i Po
Hi
eoi
Cci
Sc
n
i
A +

+
=

=

OCR = 1.9 = ' Po / P A
Sc =
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

|
.
|

\
|

+
|
.
|

\
|

+
+
|
.
|

\
|

+
|
.
|

\
|

+
+
|
.
|

\
|

+
21 . 241 9 . 1
21 . 241 21 . 214 9 . 1
log 5 . 4
14 . 321 9 . 1
14 . 321 14 . 321 9 . 1
log 5 . 3
53 . 448 9 . 1
53 . 448 53 . 448 9 . 1
log 5 . 2
02 . 670 9 . 1
02 . 670 02 . 670 9 . 1
log 5 . 1
59 . 1107 9 . 1
59 . 1107 59 . 1107 9 . 1
log 5 . 0
66 . 0 1
33 . 0

Sc

= 0.456 m
Settlement = Si + Sc
= 0.463 m


Discussion


I assumed the base of the foundation is 3 x 3 m
2
, which pass the minimum safety factor for 3, in
all 3 methods; Terzaghi, Meyerhof and Brinch-Hansen. The safety factor from Terzaghi and Brinch-
Hansen methods give almost same value of 4, but in Meyerhof method, I got the smaller safety factor of
3.28. The difference between Meyerhof and Brinch-Hansen method is that Brinch-Hansen took into
account the inclination of the base and ground. This relatively small difference, could be resulted a huge
difference in the end of the calculation.
The settlement in the above calculation is 0.463 m. The settlement is far exceeded the
maximum settlement of 7.5 cm. In my opinion, this gross settlement can be reduced by compacted the
soil, before the foundation is put there. Nevertheless, compaction will not be well discussed in this
assignment. The other option to reduce the settlement is that using caisson. Hopefully this option could
reduce the settlement.