Understanding the civil
Foundation design
Functioning of Foundation
• Distribution of loads
• Stability against sliding & overturning
• Minimize differential settlement
• Provide level surface
• Minimize distress against soil movement
Classification
• Foundations can be classified as shallow and deep foundations, depending
on the depth of load-transfer from the structure to the ground.
• Deep foundations usually refer to piles installed at depths and are :
(a) pre-manufactured and inserted into the ground by driving, jacking or
other methods.
(b) cast-in-place in a shaft formed in the ground by boring or excavation.
• Rational design approaches require a greater geotechnical input including
properly planned site investigations, field and laboratory testing, together
with consideration of the method of construction.
Foundation Philosophy
Mounting Methodologies
• Ground Mounting
• Rooftop Mounting
Type of Foundation Blocks
• Precasted Concrete Footings
• Cast in Place Footings
Size of Foundation
Depth / Height of Foundation
List of Equipments or Tools
Spade Crow Bar Pick Line and Pins
Axe
Wedge Sledge Hammer
Basket
Overview –Site Investigation
• Ground Conditions:- A thorough understanding on the ground conditions of
a site is a pre-requisite to the success of a foundation project. The overall objective
of a site investigation for foundation design is to determine the site constraints,
geological profile and the properties of the various strata.
• Details of adjacent Structure and existing foundations.
Due to the high density of developments, a detailed knowledge of existing
structures and their foundations, including tunnels, within and immediately
beyond the site boundaries is important because these may pose constraints to
the proposed foundation construction.
• Geological Studies :- A useful summary of the nature and occurrence of
rocks and soils.
• Ground Water :- Information on the groundwater regime is necessary for the
design and selection of foundation type and method of construction. Artesian
water pressures may adversely affect shaft stability for cast-in-place piles
Types of Foundation
• RCC(Reinforce Cement Concrete)
• PCC( Plain Cement Concrete)
RCC Foundation
RCC structures
RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) is a construction technology which evolved with
the evolution of different structural materials in the 18th century during the Industrial
Revolution.
Industrial Revolution brought in new technology which helped in the manufacture of
various materials. The Architect Le Corbusier used RCC for various constructions. He
believed that any shape and form was possible; if RCC is to be used.
What is RCC?
RCC means Reinforced Cement Concrete, i.e., cement concrete reinforced with steel
bars, steel plates, steel mesh etc to increase the tension withstanding capacity of the
structure.
Cement Concrete can take up immense compression but weak in tension whereas
steel is good in withstanding both tension and compression.
RCC Foundation
RCC structures
Here are some of the advantages of RCC construction:
Materials used in RCC construction are easily available.
It is durable and long lasting.
It is fire resisting and not attacked by termites.
It is economical in ultimate cost.
The reinforced concrete member can be cast to any shape because of the fluidity of
concrete.
Its monolithic character gives much rigidity to the structure.
Cost of maintenance is nil.
RCC Foundation Casting
Chipping Template and ring cage in
Marking caster
Sand, Aggregate, Nito Bond
Foundation Cement mixing (M20)
Key Points – Site Selection
The most important issue is to determine if the roof structure / Civil foundation
is adequate to keep solar rooftop system, the foundation must be arranged to
ensure that loads from solar panels and structure (dead load and wind uplift)
are distributed evenly.
Important Features/Qualities of Foundation
Loads and settlements of foundations - Safe foundations
Types of soils / material that make up the foundation - Properties
Properties of foundations: Strength, Stability, Drainage, etc. - Estimating soil
properties: Exploration and testing
Construction of foundations - Type of soil layers at the top,excavation,support
for soil, soil strengthening, de-watering
Types of foundations - Shallow and deep - Influence zone
Precautions - Seismic base isolation; Underpinning during construction;
Retaining walls; Waterproofing, drainage, reinforcing & insulation; Frost
protection
Foundation design for optimal cost
Execution of Ground investigation
• The extent of a ground investigation is dependent on the complexity of the
ground and, to a certain degree, the form of the proposed development
and type of structures and the intended foundation types.
• Although no hard and fast rules can be laid down, a relatively close
borehole spacing of say 10 m to 30 m will often be appropriate for general
building structures.
• It is good practice to sink sufficient boreholes to confirm the general
geology of the site.
• For piles founded on rock, it is common practice to carry out pre-drilling,
prior to pile construction, to confirm the design assumption and
predetermine the founding level of the piles. For large-diameter bored
piles founded on rock, one borehole should be sunk at each pile position
to a depth of 5 m into the types of rock specified for the piles or the bases
of the rock sockets, whichever is deeper
Soil and Rock Sampling
It is always recommended practice to retrieve good quality soil samples and
continuous rock cores from boreholes for both geological logging and
laboratory testing.
Samples that are not selected for laboratory tests should be split and
examined in detail. Detailed logging of the geological profile using such soil
samples can help to identify salient geological features
Prerequisites for Designing
Drawings
Top view civil diagram of site
Centerline Drawing / Building Layout along with the column and beam
information
Any Existing Column along with their heights
Roof layout
Available area for installation
Orientations, other civil documents and Approvals
Thickness of the roof top (from Civil Engineer )
Load carrying capacity of building (from Civil Engineer)
Orientation of site
Type of roof
Piercing allowed or not
Approach to the roof
Designing Procedures
• Assessment of site conditions in the context of the site and
soil investigation report.
• Calculation of anticipated structural loading.
• Choosing the foundation type, should consider:
• Soil conditions
• Type of structure
• Structure loading
• Economics factor
• Sizing :- The chosen foundation in the context of loading,
ground bearing capacity & any likely future movement of the
building / structure
Major Classifications of
Land in India
Methodology
Materials used for foundation
• Foundation must be constructed of a durable material of an adequate strength
• The most suitable material is concrete
• Concrete is a mixture of cement, aggregates & water in a controlled proportion
Mixing Methodology
This concrete mix expressed as a ratio, e.g.,
1:1.5:3 (M20)/20mm, which means
1 part of cement
1.5 parts of sand
3 parts of coarse aggregate
20mm – maximum size of coarse aggregate for the mix
Fixing Methodology
Nito Bond is used as an adhesive to fix the foundation to the RCC roof, But if the roof is
of tiles or china mosaic different adhesives are available to cast foundations on them.
Processes in Foundation Work
• The processes executed in the foundation works are given below.
• Excavation of earth work in trenches for foundation.
• Laying out cement concrete.
• Laying the footing in case of raft or column construction.
• Laying Anti termite treatment.
• Laying Brick work up to plinth level.
• Laying Damp proof course on the walls.
• Refilling of earth around the walls.
• Refilling of earth in the building portion up to the required height according to
plinth level
Curing
• Curing can be described as keeping the concrete moist and
warm enough so that the hydration of cement can continue.
More elaborately, it can be described as the process of
maintaining a satisfactory moisture content and a favorable
temperature in concrete during the period immediately
following placement, so that hydration of cement may
continue until the desired properties are developed to a
sufficient degree to meet the requirement of service.
• If curing is neglected in the early period of hydration, the
quality of concrete will experience a sort of irreparable loss.
An efficient curing in the early period of hydration can be
compared to a good and wholesome feeding given to a new
born baby.
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