Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering

SCE5331

Geotechnical and Foundation

Engineering
Dr. Hong Chengyu, Joey
Office: 301, Tel: 2176-1545
Email: cyhong@vtc.edu.hk

TOPICS & SYLLABUS:

Topic 1: Review of Soil Mechanics

Topic 2: Shallow Foundations

Topic 3: Lateral Earth Pressure and Retaining Walls

Topic 4: Pile Foundations

Topic 5: Subsoil Exploration
Topic 6: Slope Stability
Textbook:
Braja M. Das. (2007). Principles of Foundation
Engineering, 6th Edition, ISBN 0-495-08246-5.
Reference book:
Foundation Design and Construction (2006), GEO
Publication No. 1/2006, 376 p.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course introduces civil engineering students the fundamental
concepts of foundation analysis and design. Upon completion of this
course, students should be able to interpret field and laboratory data
to get design properties and able to design and analyze shallow
foundations, retaining walls and pile foundations.

PREREQUISITE:
SCE4231 - Engineering Geology and Soil Mechanics

ASSESSMENT METHOD:
Final Marks = 50% (Assignments + Quiz + Reports) +
50% (Final exam)

QUIZ and EXAMS:

Quiz and exams will consist of a mixture between discussion and
technical questions to evaluate your comprehension of the material.
The final exam will be closed book. However, formulas, design
charts, and similar materials will be given when needed. In addition,
you should bring a straight edge and calculator to the exams.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Prepare your homework in a professional manner and show

discussions and all steps of calculations in your assignments. Any
submission which is illegible or difficult to understand will
receive a reduced grade.

Students may consult with each other about homework

assignments. However, each student is responsible for preparing
their own homework and displaying their understanding of the
principles behind the homework solution.

REPORTS:
Prepare your Reports in a professional manner and show
discussions and all steps of your experimental processes (using
photos or ?). Prepare the lab report in a logical and clear
manner. All figures, tables and data should be clearly presented
and analyzed in your report.

ATTENDANCE:
Participation in the work of a course is a precondition for a
students achievement of credits in that course.

FOUNDATION DESIGN
The foundation of a structure is in direct contact with the
ground and transmits the load of the structure to the ground.
When designing foundations, two principal criteria must be
satisfied:

Bearing Capacity
There must be an
adequate factor of
safety against
collapse (plastic
yielding in the soil
and catastrophic
settlement or rotation
of the structure).

Settlement
Settlements at
working loads must
not cause damage,
nor adversely affect
the serviceability of
the structure

Other considerations
that may be relevant
to specific soils,
foundation types and
surface conditions.

Foundation Engineering
is an art!

Soil mechanics
Engineering geology
Proper judgment from
past experience

The most basic aspect of foundation

engineering deals with the selection of
the type of foundation. Foundations
are commonly divided into two
categories:
shallow and deep foundations.
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Foundation Types

Mat/Raft
foundation

Spread footings

Concrete footing

Wall footings

Battered Piles

Caissons

Shallow Foundations: D 3~4 B

The problems for

Regina homeowners
UNEVEN SETTLEMENT!!!

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(Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan, Canada.)

Regina
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Source of the problem:

glacial-lake clays

Many communities in
southern Saskatchewan
experience foundation
problems. All these
communities share one
thing in common - they are
built on clay sediments
deposited in ancient glacial
lakes.

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Looking for solutions?

Swelling and shrinking are limited to the uppermost part of the
ground, which gains and loses moisture through the year due to
changes in precipitation and vegetation growth.
Below this 'active zone', the ground is stable.

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One engineering solution

is to build foundations on piles
that extend through the active zone
to stable ground below.
Any other suggestions?

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Some Historical Cases for Foundation Engineering

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Leaning Tower of Pisa (unsuccessful)

Shallow foundation on deep soft deposits.

The axis of the tower is not straight.
Maximum inclination reached 5.5 in 1990s.
Using soil extraction to stabilize the tower in 1999.
Further info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Pi
sa

Eiffel Tower (successful)

Adjacent to the Seine River underlain by deep and
soft alluvium.
Two legs closest to the river were founded on 12m
below the ground surface.
Two legs furthest from the river were on shallow
but firm soils.
The tower has not experience excessive differential
settlement for over 100 years.
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Soft Soil Engineering Problems

Transcona ,191331m,23m,
8.8m,1.5m,27 degree38850T
,4m

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Tallest buildings in the world

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Ultima Tower, is it possible?

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3200 m high, more than 1 million residents, 500 floors


To reach a far-distance goal by starting here

All total buildings are founded on the ground

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Foundation Design

Geotechnical Properties of Soil

The Load that will be transmitted by the
superstructure to the foundation system
The requirements of the local building code

The behavior and stress-related deformability of

soils
The geological conditions of the soil

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Review of Soil Mechanics

Grain Size
Distribution

Weight-Volume
Relationships

Relative Density

Atterberg Limits

Standard
Compaction Test

Hydraulic
Conductivity of
Soil

Steady State
Seepage

Effective Stress

Consolidation

Consolidation
Settlement

Shear Strength

Unconfined
Compression Test
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Weight-Volume Relationships

23

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Atterberg Limits

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Standard Compaction Test

The optimum water content Wopt,

which results in the maximum dry
density rdmax for a given soil under
the same compaction energy

Ms
r
rd

V 1 w
Proof:
r

M /V
M /V
M

s rd
1 w 1 Mw / Ms Ms Mw
V
Ms

Too dry

Too wet

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The optimum water content Wopt, which is just right (water being
lubricate and soil having enough air voids) to achieve the maximum
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dry density rdmax

Effective Stress

Consider the fully saturated soil

(water and solids only, no air)
Consider vertical force equilibrium:

Without seepage
With seepage
Quick condition
(failure by heave)

P N

N ' uA

A
'
u

'

uA

Note: Particle contact areas are zero.

Thus, force due to u is uA
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Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil

o Laboratory tests
o Typical values
o Empirical equations

Steady State Seepage

2-dimension
3-dimension

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FLOW NET METHOD

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Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil

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The quick condition

vA (hw w z sat )
u w (h z )

hw

u A w (hA z A )

z z A

hA

w[hA (z hw )]
Effective stress at A:
v' v u
v' (hw w z sat ) w (hA z hw )
( sat w )z whA 0

sat w h A h A

icr
w
z
z

Effective stress =0 as critical

case or quicksand condition

sat w ' G s 1
icr

w
w 1 e
icr is the critical hydraulic gradient
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Consolidation
Pre-loading fill
Sand fill
Water Table

Marine Deposits

Bedrock or soil

Confined or 1-D Straining Consolidation

(or Oedometer) Condition:
Soil layers are horizontal and uniform
Loading is uniform
Deformation & water flow are in vertical only

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Consolidation

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Void ratio-effective stress relationship

From the e-log s curve, what parameters can be determined?

Preconsolidation pressure

e-log relationship

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Consolidation Settlement
Compression: for each layer Hj (thickness), if mv and are
constant with depth z, then (loading):

scj v H j mv ' H j
Compression: for normally consolidated clay, use Cc for loading:
ei ei 1
Cc
2'
C c
scj v H j
log ' H j
'
'
log(

1 e0
1
i 1
i)

2' 1' '

Recompression/Heave/Swelling: for normally consolidated clay, use
Cr or Ce for un-loading:

Ce
2'
scj v H j
log ' H j
1 e0
1

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1-D Terzaghi Consolidation Thoery

ue
2ue
cv 2
t
z
cv

k
mv w
Free-draining, double drainage

The initial value of excess pore water pressure (initial condition):

The boundary conditions of excess pore water pressure:

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U 50% Tv 0.196
U 90% Tv 0.848

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Determination of coefficient of consolidation

cv

k
mv w

cv t
Tv d 2
Tv 2 ; cv
t
d

(1) The log time method

(due to Casagrande)

0.196d
cv
t50

(2) The root time method (due to Taylor)

0.848d
cv
t90

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Correction for construction period

Previous solution/chart is for suddenly applied load
Common real load is ramp loading (construction loading)
linear increase and then constant
How to find a solution to this or make a correction?

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Shear Strength
Direct
shear test

Triaxial tests
CD Tests

CU Tests

UU Tests

Attention to:
Effective stress parameters

Total stress parameters

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Unconfined Compression Test

Sometimes conducted on
unsaturated soils

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