Geotechnical Engineering Series - Shallow Foundations

Yun Zhou, Ph.D., P.E.

Course Outline

In this course, you need to review Chapter 8 – Shallow Foundations from “Reference Manual Volume II, SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS”, Publication No. FHWA NHI-06-089, by Federal Highway Administration of U.S. Department of Transportation. 

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

Upon completion of this course, the student will gain the following specific knowledge: 

• General approach to foundation design;
• Foundation alternatives and cost evaluation;
• Loads and limit states for foundation design;
• Types of shallow foundations;
• Isolated spread footings;
• Continuous or strip footings;
• Spread footings with cantilevered stemwalls;
• Bridge abutments;
• Retaining structures;
• Combined footings;
• Mat foundations;
• Spread footing design concept and procedure;
• Assessments of bearing capacity and settlement;
• Failure mechanisms of bearing capacity;
• Bearing capacity equation formulation;
• Bearing capacity correction factors;
• Additional considerations regarding bearing capacity correction factors;
• Bearing capacity factors of safety;
• Practical aspects of bearing capacity formulations;
• Presumptive bearing capacities;
• Settlement of spreading footings;
• Immediate settlement;
• Obtaining limiting applied stress for a given settlement;
• Consolidation settlement;
• Spread footings on compacted embankment fills;
• Settlement of footings on structural fills;
• Footings on intermediate geomaterials (IGMs) and rock;
• Allowable Bearing Capacity Chart;
• Effects of deformation;
• Criteria for tolerable movements of bridges;
• Practical design approaches of Allowable Bearing Capacity Chart and Construction Point Concept;
• Spread footing load tests; and
• Construction monitoring and inspection.
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for geotechnical, civil, mining, structural, and environmental engineers, as well as design and construction personnel involved with the planning, design, and construction of earth slopes.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will be able to understand and deal with issues associated with design and construction of foundations.

Course Introduction

Foundations design and construction deal with both engineering and economics. The selection of the most cost-effective foundation requires cost and performance evaluations of both shallow and deep foundations.  Shallow foundations are usually more cost-effective than deep foundations for situations where they are appropriate for support of structural elements. Therefore, foundation design starts with shallow foundation assessments.

Course Content

The associated course materials are contained in an Adobe Acrobat pdf format of Chapter 8 – Shallow Foundations from “Reference Manual Volume II, SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS”, Publication No. FHWA NHI-06-089, by Federal Highway Administration of U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Chapter 8 – Shallow Foundations

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Course Summary

This course, as a part of Geotechnical Engineering Series, covers basic theories, engineering evaluations, design approaches, field load tests, and practical CQC (construction quality control) procedures for design and construction of shallow foundations.

Related Links

For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

PDHonline Course C538 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Slope Stability
PDHonline Course C540 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Deep Foundations
PDHonline Course C541 - Geotechnical Engineering Series – Earth Retaining Structures

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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