Unit 1 Answers

Foundation is the lowest part of the building or civil structure in direct contact with soil which transfers loads from
What is Foundation? the structure to the base soil
A shallow foundation is a type of building foundation that transfers structural load to the earth very near to the
What is shallow foundation? surface, rather than to a subsurface
Factors to Consider in Foundation Design
Footing Depth and Spacing. The foundation shall be designed in such a way that the bottom of the foundation is
located below the frost line. ...
Soil Settlement. ...
Soil Erosion. ...
Foundations in Sand and Silt. ...
What are the factors to be considered while designing the foundation? Foundations in Loess and Other Collapsible Soils.
the capacity of soil to support the loads applied to the ground, Ultimate bearing capacity is the theoretical maximum
Define Bearing capacity and Ultimate bearing capacity. pressure which can be supported without failure
this is the ultimate bearing capacity minus the weight of soil ( ) multiplied by the depth of the foundation (D). The
formula is q ᵤ = qᵤ - Df. the allowable bearing capacity (q ) is the net ultimate bearing capacity (q ᵤ) divided by a
Define Net ultimate bearing capacity and Net safe bearing capacity. factor a safety 𝝲
ₙ 𝝲 ₙₛ ₙ
the allowable bearing capacity (qₙₛ) is the net ultimate bearing capacity (qₙᵤ) divided by a factor a safety. the pressure
Define Safe bearing capacity and Allowable bearing pressure. at the base of a foundation in excess of the effective stress existing at the same level prior to construction operations.
Where the Raft or Mat Foundation would be used? Raft or mat foundation is used when the soil layer is unstable
settlement is defined as the downward vertical movement of the ground or soil due to changes in stresses within it,
Define Settlement. often caused by the settlement load on the surface.
Loads from the structure are transferred to the soil through the footing. As a reaction to it, soil exerts upward
Define contact pressure. pressure on the bottom surface of the footing which is termed as contact pressure

What is modulus of sub grade reaction The Modulus of Subgrade Reaction is the total applied structural load divided by the total resulting settlement

The bearing capacity of soil is influenced by many factors for instance soil strength, foundation width and depth, soil
weight and surcharge, and spacing between foundations. These factors are related to the loads exerted on the soil
and considerably affect the bearing capacity. For instance, earthquake and dynamic motion, frost action, subsurface
Write a note on factors affecting Bearing capacity. void, expansive and collapsible soil, potential heave, soil erosion and seepage, and soil reinforcement.
Types of shallow foundation
Wall footing.
Isolated footing.
Combined footing.
Strap footing.
State the types of shallow foundations. Mat foundation.
 The following briefly describes a few of the more common causes of foundation settlement:
1-Weak Bearing Soils.
2-Poor Compaction.
3-Changes in Moisture Content.
4-Maturing Trees and Vegetation.
5-Soil Consolidation.
Foundation Underpinning and Piering.
Foundation Push Piers.
What are the Causes for the settlement of foundation? Push Pier Advantages:
Types of Shear Failure of Foundation on Soils
General Shear Failure.
Local Shear Failure.
Explain in detail the various types of shear failure. Punching Shear Failure of foundation soils
General factors to be considered for determining depth of foundation are:
Load applied from structure to the foundation.
Bearing capacity of soil.
Depth of water level below the ground surface.
Types of soil and depth of layers in case of layered soil.
List the various factors that affect the depth of foundation. Depth of adjacent foundation.

Unit 2
The settlement which is caused by the elastic deformation of dry soil and of moist and saturated soils without any
What is immediate settlement? change in moisture content.
The settlement which results of volume change in the saturated cohesive soils because of expulsion of the water that
What is primary consolidation settlement? occupies the voids space.
What are the approximate methods of determination of vertical stress under loaded areas? Equivalent Point load method, Two to one load ditribution method, Sixty degree distribution method
Compression of solid particles and water in the voids, compression and expulsion of air in the voids, expulsion of
What are the reasons for compression of the soil? water in the voids.
What are the stages of consolidation? Initial, Primary and Secondary
What is a principal plane? Principal plane on which the shear stresses are Zero. These planes are known as principal planes.
It neglects the effect of the intermediate principal stress., It approximates the curved failure envelope by straight line
What are the limitations of coulomb’s theory? which may not give correct results
Effective stress equals the total stress minus the pore water pressure, or the total force in the soil grains divided by
Define effective stress. the gross cross-sectional area over which the force acts.
stresses in a point are represented by two (perhaps three) characteristic parameters and they are plotted in a
Define stress path. diagram. This diagram is called a stress path.
Stresses are induced in a soil mass due to weight of overlaying soil and due to the applied loads. These stresses are
required for the stability analysis of the soil mass, the settlement analysis of foundations and the determination of
Give the introduction about stresses in soil. the earth pressure
 The soil mass is an elastic continuum, having a constant value of modulus of elasticity i.e., he ratio between the stress
and strain is constant.  The soil is homogeneous, i.e., it has identical properties at different points.  The soil is
isotropic, i.e., it has identical properties in all directions.  The soil mass is semi – infinite.  The soil is weightless and
Write the assumptions made in the Boussinesq theoretical solutions. is free from residual stresses before the application of the load

The soil is homogeneous and isotropic  The soil is fully saturated.  The solid particles and water in the voids are
incompressible. The consolidation occurs due to expulsion of water from the voids.  The co efficient of permeability
of soil has the same value at all points, and it remains constant during the entire period of consolidation.  Darcy’s
law is valid throughout the consolidation process.  Soil is laterally confined, and the consolidation takes place only in
axial direction. Drainage of water occurs only in the vertical direction.  The time lag in consolidation is due entirely
to the low permeability of the soil.  There is a unique relationship between the void ration and the effective stress
Write notes with neat sketch on pressure distribution diagrams. and the relationship remains constant during the load increment

In Terzaghi's Theory of one dimensional consolidation, deformation of the soil is entirely due to change in volume.
Explain the method of Terzaghi’s one dimensional consolidation theory. The change in volume can occur due to the decrease in the voids ratio or the effective height of the solids.
The chart is constructed by drawing concentric circles. The circles are divided by equally spaced radial lines. The radii
of the circles are equal to the R/z values corresponding to F U K〖∆σ〗_z/q = 0, 0.1, 0.2,...,1. There are nine circles
Explain the method of construction of Newark’s Influence chart shown since when 〖∆σ〗_z/q = 0, R/z = 0 also.
Consolidation test is used to determine the rate and magnitude of soil consolidation when the soil is restrained
laterally and loaded axially. The Consolidation test is also referred to as Standard Oedometer test or One-dimensional
Explain the consolidation test in detail. compression test

Unit 3
(i) When the projection parallel to the length of the footing is restricted on both the sides. (ii) When the length of the
When trapezoidal combined footings are provided? footing is restricted.
When the distance between the two columns is so great, so that trapezoidal footing is very narrow and so it is
Under what circumstances, a strap footing is adopted? uneconomical. It transfers the heavy load of one column to other column.
It is a type of shallow foundation used to transmit the load of isolated column, or that of wall to sub soil. The base of
Define spread footing? footing is enlarged and spread to provide individual support for load.
The footing is rigid and rests on a homogenous soil to give rise to linear stress distribution on the bottom of the
footing. The resultant of the soil pressure coincides with the resultant of the loads, and then it is assumed to be
What are the assumptions made in combined footing? uniformly distributed.

1. To distribute and transmit the total load coming on the structure to a larger area of underlying support in such a
manner that the underlying material is not stressed beyond its safe bearing capacity. 2. To prevent excessive
settlement and differential settlement of the structure. 3. To provide stability to the structure against many disturbing
forces i.e., wind, rain, earthquake. 4. To resist earth pressure in the case of Basement floor. 5. To ensure safety in
What are various functions of foundation? future against adverse influence such as frost action, scour etc
It is defined as a foundation in which the weight of the building is approximatelyequal to the full weight of the soil
Define floating foundation? including water excavated from the site of thebuilding.
 Portioning of footing is defined as the arrangement of footing in the combined footing system, in which it is arranged
in such a way that, the centroid of the area in contact with the soil lies on the line of action of the resultant of the
What is mean by proportioning of footing? loads.
List the different types of raft foundation. 1.Flat plate 2. Flat plate thickened under column 3. Beam and slab construction 4.Box structures 5.Mat on piles
Raft foundation is used where settlement above highly compressible soils, by making the weight of the structure and
Under what circumstances, a raft footing is adopted? raft approximately equal to the weight of the soil excavated.
Differentiate shallow and deep foundation. Shallow foundation – Df < B  Deep foundation - Df > B
What are the methods of design for raft foundation? Conventional method  Elastic method or soil line method

Different types of mat foundation 1. Mat or Raft foundation 2. Ribbed Raft foundation 3. Cellular Raft foundation 4.
Floating Raft foundation For matrix of columns, flat slab flexible or rigid R.C.C raft may be provided some case flexible
steel raft for liquid containers like water tank or oil tank or gas tank may be used. This system is provided in low
intensity of contact pressure. For medium in intensity of contact pressure or bearing capacity, rib beams shall be
provided to reduce thickness of mat when it becomes uneconomical or columns are staged so that uneven contact
pressures may develop, then this rib may transfer the load from one column point to its neighbor column points and
also the loading is medium to high. This type of raft system is called raft or ribbed raft. When high flexural rigidity for
severe earthquake like forces, the thickness of rib also may become very abnormal and high rigidity to resist
earthquake motion also cannot be available in ribbed raft system, such case may require cellular raft which as both
top and bottom closed box raft. When the weight of the excavated soils equals to the weight of the building, the
building does not transfer any pressure to the underlying soil below raft. In this case the equation of bearing capacity
What are the different types of mat foundation? When are they preferred? Explain. does not arise, but the contact pressure on the raft exists. In this condition the raft is called floating raft.

Assumption: 1. Raft is rigid 2. Contact pressure is uniform or linear or planar as per super structure loading. 3. So the
centroid of the soil pressure coincides with the line of action of the resultant force of all the loads action on the mat
foundation. Design procedure 1. Compute the column loads (dead load, live load, wind load, earthquake load, snow
load etc. From super structure ) 2. Determine the line of action of all the loads 3. Calculate the contact pressure as per
the assumption and the conventional – empirical analysis design formula q =(Qt /A)± (Qt ex/Iy) ± (Qt ey / Ix)y Where
Qt = total load on mat A = total area of the mat X, Y = coordinates of any given points on the with respect to the x and
y axes passing through the centroid of the area of the mat. ex, ey = eccentricities of the resultant𝑥 forces. Ix , Iy =
moment of inertia of the mat with respect to the x and y axes respectively. 4. The mat is treated as strip in X and Y
direction for the analysis for shear force and bending moment 5. The design dimensions and reinforcement are
Explain the conventional method of design of raft foundation arrived in both the direction.
 1. The safe bearing capacity is determined. For small less important buildings or structures, these values can be taken
as presumptive values. 2. The footing is proportioned making use of safe bearing capacity determined. 3. The
maximum settlement of the footing is determined. An estimate of the differential settlement between various
footings is made. 4. Angular distortion is determined between various parts of the structure. 5. The maximum
settlement, differential settlement and the angular distortion obtained in step 3 and step 4 are compared with given
allowable values. 6. If the values are not within the allowable limits, the safe bearing capacity is revised and the
procedure is repeated. 7. The stability of the footing is checked against sliding and overturning. The factor of safety
for sliding less than or not equal to (a) 1.5 –D.L + L.L + Earth and wind load.
(b) 1.75 - D.L + L.L + Earth pressure
Explain the design steps of a footing. The factor of safety against overturning (a) = 1.5 and (b) = 2.0
Explain the effect of water-table on bearing capacity.

Unit 4
The vane shear test.
The bore hole shear test.
The direct shear test.
The triaxial test.
State the test to be conducted to find out the shear strength of a soil. The unconfined compression (UCC) test
Cohesionless soils.
Cohesive frictional soil.
Purely cohesive soils.
How can you divide the soil based on their shear strength? Elevated cohesion soil.

The advantages of the direct shear test over other shear tests are the simplicity of setup and equipment used, and the
State the merits of direct shear test. ability to test under differing saturation, drainage, and consolidation conditions

Define stress path. Stress path is used to represent the successive states of stress in a test specimen of soil during loading or unloading.
Define contact pressure. The contact pressure is the ratio of the normal load to the true contact area
What is modulus of sub grade reaction the total applied structural load divided by the total resulting settlement
Give the introduction about stresses in soil. Weight overlying and applied loads
Write the assumptions made in the Boussinesq theoretical solutions.
Differentiate shallow and deep foundation.
What are the methods of design for raft foundation?
Write a short note on shear strength of soil.
Briefly explain unconfined compressive strength test.
Explain bearing capacity of soil in detail.
Explain standard penetration test in detail.
What is differential settlement? Write the causes and its remedial actions.

Unit 5
 The ratio of resting capacity of a pile group to the sum of individual capacities of piles in
the group is termed as group efficiency.
Group efficiency , n = Qg
Np x Qp
Where, Qg - Group capacity
Qp – Pile load on single pile
Define group efficiency of pile. Np – Number of piles
End bearing piles are used to transfer load through water or soft soil to a suitable bearing
stratum. The end bearing pile is driven through poor soil strata and rests on a firm
incompressible stratum such as rock, developing the bearing pressure of its base and
What is End bearing pile ? passing it to that firm stratum.
 Timber pile,
 Concrete pile,
 Steel pile,
List out the type of pile based on material used?  Composite pile
The selection of the type, length and capacity is usually made from estimation based on the soil condition and
How is the selection of pile carried out? magnitude of the load.
The settlement of pile group is found to be many times that of a single pile. The ratio of
the settlement of the pile group to that of a single pile is known as the group settlement
What is mean by group settlement ratio? ratio
 The loads
 Time available for completion of the job
 Availability of equipment
 The ground water conditions
What are the factors consider while selecting the type of pile?  The characteristics of the soil strata involved
 Drop hammer,
 Diesel hammer,
 Double acting hammer,
 Single acting hammer,
What are the types of hammer used for pile driving?  Vibratory hammer
 Dynamic formulae
 static formula
 pile load test
What are methods to determine the load carrying capacity of a pile?  penetration test
 It is largely depend on the nature of the ground through which the pile was driven
to get down to finished level.
 It takes very little account of the effect of friction on sides of pile, and this friction
What are the limitations of dynamic pile load test? tends only to develop later.
Anchor piles are the type of the piles which provide anchorage edge against horizontal
What are anchor piles? pull from the sheet piling or other pulling forces
  Soil condition
 Type of structure or building
 Adjacent site condition
 Construction techniques availability
 Location of ground water table
What are the factors governing selection of pile?  Durability etc.
Briefly explain static and dynamic formulae of load carrying capacity of piles.
Precast concrete piles
Merits
1. Material of pile can be inspected before it goes into ground
2. Stable in squeezing ground
3. Not damaged by ground leave when driving adjacent piles
4. Can be readily carried above g.l. especially in marine structures.
Demerits
1. May break during hard driving causing delays and replacement charges
2. Noise and vibration during driving may cause delays and replacement charges
Describe precast concrete piles. Explain their merits and demerits. 3. Cannot be driven in very large diameters.
Under-reamed piles:
-are bored cast-in-situ concrete piles having one (or) more bulbs formed by enlarging the
bore hold for the pile stem by an under reaming tool
These piles find applications in widely varying situations in different types of soils where
foundations are required to be taken down to a certain depth to avoid the undesirable
effect of seasonal moisture changes as in expansive soils or to reach strata or to obtain
adequate capacity for download, upward and lateral loads or to take the foundations
below scour level and for moments
When the piles has only one bulb ,it is known as single under –reamed pile, while the pile
with more than one bulb is known as multi-under –reamed bulbs is kept equal to2.5 times
What do you understand by under-reamed piles and what situations dictate their use? the diameter of pile stem.
 PILE LOAD TESTS:-
The pile load test can be performed either on a working pile which form the foundation of the
structure or on a test pile. The test load is applied with the help of calibrated jack placed over
a rigid circular or square plate which in turn is placed on the head of the pile projecting above
ground level. The reaction of the borne by a truss or platform which have gravity loading or
alternatively, the truss can be anchored to the ground with the help of anchor pile. In the later
case, under-reamed piles or soil anchor may be used for anchoring the truss.
The load is applied in equal increments of about one-fifth of the estimated allowable load.
The settlements are recorded with the help of three dial gauge of sensitivity 0.02mm,
symmetrically arranged over the test plate, and fixed to an independent datum bar. A remote
controlled pumping unit may be used to hydraulic jack. Each load increment is kept for
sufficient time till the rate of settlement becomes less than 0.02mm per hour. The test pile
areloaded until ultimate load is reached. Ordinarily, the test load is increased to a value
2.5 mes the es mated allowable load or to a load which causes a se lement equal to one tenth of the pile
diameter, whichever occur earlier. The results are plotted in the form of load
settlement curve. The ultimate load is clearly indicated by load settlement curve approaching
Explain with neat sketch about pile load test method of determination of load carrying capacity vertical. If ultimate load cannot be obtained from the load settlement curve, the allowable
of piles. load taken as follows: