Foundation Design Steps

There should be proper design requirements for foundation structure to improve its functionality and fulfills its purpose.

As for example, it should have sufficient strength to reduce differential settlement as well as capability to provide strong support and transmit combination of different loads like dead load, live load, environmental load, and exceptional loads like strong earthquakes to the subsurface soil layer.

The settlement of foundation should be kept within allowable limit indicated by relevant standards to resist structural damage or dysfunction of the building. Besides, the foundation should be sufficiently deep to get rid of the detrimental ground movements like shrinking, swelling, and freezing. Besides, it should contain enough safety factors against forces which are likely to overturn and/or slide the foundation structure.

Furthermore, due to the fact that it is in direct contact with soil, the foundation should have the capability to resist the attacks of destructive agents in subsurface soil since the foundation gets in touch directly with the soil.

Finally, the foundation normally retains the structure up in order that it can’t sink in the supporting ground.

Foundation Design Requirements:

1. The foundation, along with the underlying soil and rock, should be protected from a structural failure that leads to collapse. As for instance, the foundation for a skyscraper should sustain the extreme weight of the building over on a comparatively narrow base devoid of the risk of overturning.

Also Read: Download spreadsheet for Shallow Foundation Design

2. Throughout the life span of the building, the foundation should not be set in a manner so that the structure or its functionality is damaged.

3. It should be sufficiently inflexible to reduce differential settlement particularly when superimposed loads are disbursed unequally.

4. The foundation should function well both technically and economically and the construction process should not provide any undesirable effects on adjoining property.

5. The foundation should have the capacity to securely support and transmit combined dead loads, live loads, horizontal loads like wind and earthquake to subsurface soil.

6. The foundation should be sufficiently deep to resist overturning, and safeguard the building from damage or distress resulting from swelling or shrinkage of the subsoil. Soil bearing strength should be good at sufficient depth.

7. Foundation structure should be properly designed to provide sufficient safety from extreme future loads like example earthquake and overloading.

8. It should protect chemicals attack in soil. Different types of damaging materials like sulfates may exist in groundwater and soil which can damage concrete foundation.

Normally, sulphate attack is offset with sulphate resisting cement, but still adequate protection should be taken while arranging the concrete, by vibrating and curing.