Shallow Foundations

Abstract

Civil structures such as bridges and buildings are placed on the ground. The particular segment of the structure which interfaces with the ground is called the foundation. In this chapter, we focus on a particular type of foundation called a shallow foundation. Shallow foundations are composed of footings which are plate-type elements placed on the ground. Their function is to transmit the loads in the columns and walls to the ground. In this chapter, we describe the various types of shallow footings and identify the conditions under which each type is deployed. Then, we develop an analytical procedure for establishing the soil pressure distribution under a footing due to an arbitrary column loading. Given the soil pressure distribution, one can generate the shear and moment distribution in the footing and establish the peak values required for design. Lastly, we describe how to determine these design values and also present various strategies for dimensioning shallow footings.