Introduction Foundation design is one of the required parameters in designing a structure.

Part of the foundation design is the design of footings. Footings and other foundation units transfer the loads from the structure to the soil or rock supporting the structure. Because the soil is generally weaker than the concrete columns and walls that must be supported, the contact area between the soil and the footing is much larger than that of the supported member. Concrete is the material most commonly used for footings because of its compressive strength, durability and economy. They are the lowest cost foundation solution, are the most widely used, and usually require no special equipment to build. Shallow foundation types can be classified as to their (1) function, or their (2) shape. Footings are designed to resist the full dead load delivered by the column. A footing carrying a single column is called a spread footing, since its function is to spread the column load laterally to the soil. This action will reduce the stress intensity to a value that the soil can safely carry. Spread footings are sometimes called single or isolated footings. They are square or rectangular pads which spread a column load over an area of soil that is large enough to support the column load. The soil pressure causes footings to deflect upward causing tension in two directions at the bottom. As a result, reinforcement is placed in both horizontal directions at the bottom. When designing the foundations, the soils bearing capacity and settlement should be taken into consideration. The allowable soil pressure for footing design is obtained as the worst case of bearing capacity and settlement. The bearing capacity is the load per unit area that the soil can withstand without shear failure. In order to have stable foundations, the bearing capacity provided by the soil cannot be exceeded by the load application from the foundation. The settlement of the foundation is caused by soil compression (vertical squeezing together of soil particles) and lateral yielding of the soils located under the loaded area.

Types of foundations[edit] Mat-slab foundations Mat-slab foundations are used to distribute heavy column and wall loads across the entire building area, to lower the contact pressure compared to conventional spread footings. Mat-slab foundations can be constructed near the ground surface, or at the bottom of basements. In high-rise buildings, mat-slab foundations can be several meters thick, with extensive reinforcing to ensure relatively uniform load transfer. [edit] Slab-on-grade foundation

Example of slab on grade foundation

Raft slab house foundation in cyclonic area, Northern Australia.

Raft slab house foundation in cyclonic area, Northern Australia. Slab-on-grade foundations are a structural engineering practice whereby the concrete slab that is to serve as the foundation for the structure is formed from a mold set into the ground. The concrete is then placed into the mold, leaving no space between the ground

and the structure. This type of construction is most often seen in warmer climates, where ground freezing and thawing is less of a concern and where there is no need for heat ducting underneath the floor. The advantages of the slab technique are that it is cheap and sturdy, and is considered less vulnerable to termite infestation because there are no hollow spaces or wood channels leading from the ground to the structure (assuming wood siding, etc., is not carried all the way to the ground on the outer walls). The disadvantages are the lack of access from below for utility lines, the potential for large heat losses where ground temperatures fall significantly below the interior temperature, and a very low elevation that exposes the building to flood damage in even moderate rains. Remodeling or extending such a structure may also be more difficult. Over the long term, ground settling (or subsidence) may be a problem, as a slab foundation cannot be readily jacked up to compensate; proper soil compaction prior to pour can minimize this. The slab can be decoupled from ground temperatures by insulation, with the concrete poured directly over insulation (for example, Styrofoam panels), or heating provisions (such as hydronic heating) can be built into the slab (an expensive installation, with associated running expenses). Slab-on-grade foundations are commonly used in areas with expansive clay soil, particularly in California and Texas. While elevated structural slabs actually perform better on expansive clays, it is generally accepted by the engineering community that slab-on-grade foundations offer the greatest cost-to-performance ratio for tract homes. Elevated structural slabs are generally only found on custom homes or homes with basements. Care must be taken with the provision of services through the slab. Copper piping, commonly used to carry natural gas and water, reacts with concrete over a long period, slowly degrading until the pipe fails. Copper pipes must be lagged (that is, insulated) or run through a conduit or plumbed into the building above the slab. Electrical conduits through the slab need to be water-tight, as they extend below ground level and can potentially expose the wiring to groundwater. [edit] Rubble Trench foundation

A cross section view of a rubble trench foundation The rubble trench foundation, a construction approach popularized by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is a type of foundation that uses loose stone or rubble to minimize the use of concrete and improve drainage. It is considered more environmentally friendly than other types of foundation because cement manufacturing requires the use of enormous amounts of energy. However, some soil environments (such as particularly expansive or poor loadbearing (< 1 ton/sf) soils) are not suitable for this kind of foundation. A foundation must bear the structural loads imposed upon it and allow proper drainage of ground water to prevent expansion or weakening of soils and frost heaving. While the far more common concrete foundation requires separate measures to ensure good soil drainage, the rubble trench foundation serves both foundation functions at once. To construct a rubble trench foundation a narrow trench is dug down below the frost line. The bottom of the trench would ideally be gently sloped to an outlet. Drainage tile, graded 1":8' to daylight, is then placed at the bottom of the trench in a bed of washed stone protected by filter fabric. The trench is then filled with either screened stone (typically 11/2") or recycled rubble. A steel-reinforced concrete grade beam is poured at the surface to provide ground clearance for the structure. If an insulated slab is to be poured inside the grade beam, then the outer surface of the grade beam and the rubble trench should be insulated with rigid XPS foam board, which must be protected above grade from mechanical and UV degradation. The rubble-trench foundation is a relatively simple, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly alternative to a conventional foundation, but may require an engineer's approval if building officials are not familiar with it. Frank Lloyd Wright used them successfully for more than 50 years in the first half of the 20th century, and there is a revival of this style of foundation with the increased interest in green building. [edit] Earthbag foundation The basic construction method begins by digging a trench down to undisturbed mineral subsoil. Rows of woven bags (or tubes) are filled with available material, placed into this trench, compacted with a pounder to around 1/3 thickness of pre-pounded thickness, and form a foundation. Each successive layer will have one or more strands of barbed wire placed on top. This digs into the bag's weave and prevents slippage of subsequent layers, and also resists any tendency for the outward expansion of walls. The next row of bags is offset by half a bag's width to form a staggered pattern. These are either pre-filled with material and delivered, or filled in place (often the case with Superadobe). The weight of this earth-filled bag pushes down on the barbed wire strands, locking the bag in place on the row below. The same process continues layer upon layer, forming walls. A roof can be formed by gradually sloping the walls inward to construct a dome. Traditional types of roof can also be made

Frost protected shallow foundations ( FPSF) are required on almost every construction in the Nordic area. Frost protected shallow foundations provide frost damage protection, reducing the need for deeper excavations and eliminating the excavation process below the frost line. A frost-protected shallow foundation depends on insulation placed around the building's foundation to raise the frost depth around it, allowing the foundation to be as shallow as 16 inches. The frost-protected insulation directs the heat loss from the building toward its foundation reducing the frost process of the building's footing. The insulation used in FPSF is commonly rigid expanded or extruded polystyrene foam suitable for below grade application, and it must be in compliance with ASTM C 578 Standard. Benefits of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundation Using the frost-protected shallow foundation will provide several benefits:

Cost-effective solution that will reduce about 4% of the cost of a conventional slab-ongrade home Insulation material will increase the energy efficiency of your project Frost-protected shallow foundations reduce excavation costs Frost-protected foundation reduces the amount of concrete and reinforcement used on your construction project Heating energy costs are reduced and better efficiency of heating equipment is achieved Insulation to create frost-protected shallow foundation can be easily placed Frost-protected shallow foundation is an excellent alternative for slab-on-grade buildings Frost-protected foundations are suitable for moderate to low sloping sites An excellent alternative to use of retro-fitting projects because they reduce site disturbance, excavation process and sites where several utilities are buried under the structure Their use reduces the multiple concrete steps when working with deeper foundations and speeds up the construction time Insulation below ground must meet ASTM C-578 requirements This type of foam should be carefully used on termite-prone areas. If termite conditions are foreseen, the area must be treated against termite decay

Frost-protected shallow foundation must be built on soil with sufficient bearing capacity Frost-protected shallow foundation can be safely attached to deep foundations following specific guidelines This type of foundation allows the ventilation of accumulated gases beneath the slab

Types of Protection for Insulation Used On Frost-Protected Foundations The insulation used for frost-protected shallow foundation must be properly protected to avoid detrimental effects in areas where the insulation will be on direct contact with outdoor conditions. There are several alternatives that you can use to protect the insulation.

Treated plywood (foundation grade) Layers of stucco applied over wire mesh Elastomeric stucco Elastomeric Coatings Vinyl Siding Cement siding or cement board Non-reinforced stucco

Environmental impact

Risk assessment

Benefits

CoThe choice of the foundation type is selected in consultation with the geotechnical engineer. The factors to be considered are the soil strength, the soil type, the variability of the soil over the area and with increasing depth, and the susceptibility of the soil and

the building to deflection. A spread footing is basically a foundation type that carries a single column. Spread footings are pads that distribute the column load to an area of soil around the column. These distribute the load into two directions. Sometimes spread footings have pedestals, are stepped, or are tapered to save materials. Nevertheless, the constant thickness spread footings are most commonly used because they are more economical. When an exterior column is so close to a property line that a spread footing cannot be used, a combined footing is often used to support an edge column and an interior column. Combined footing are used when it is necessary to support two columns on one footing; they transmit two or more columns to the soil. A spread footing might be square or rectangular in shape. Rectangular footings maybe used when there is inadequate clearance for a square footing. They are very often used because of space limitations. Also, where an overturned moment is present, they may be used to produce a more economical footing. The design of a rectangular footing is similar to that of a square footing. The shear will control the depth, except that in rectangular footing the wide-beam action will probably control if the L/B is much greater then 1 or when an overturning moment is present.nclusions

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