Introduction

to
Bridge Foundation
 Bridge Foundation

Part of bridge, which supports superstructure and

pier/abutment of bridge and transmits total bridge loads to soil

Foundation Type

Shallow
Foundation
Bridge
Foundation
Deep
Foundation

2
Shallow Foundation Normally shallow foundation is provided when soil
strata is good in upper layer and depth of
foundation does not exceed 6m (average).

Spread
Footing
Shallow Isolated
Foundation Footing

Combined
Footing
Shallow/Open
Foundation
Mat
Foundation
Deep Foundation
Normally deep foundation is Deep
provided when soil strata is not Foundation Pile Foundation
good in upper layer and depth of
foundation exceeds 6m (average) .

Well/Caisson Foundation

Pile Foundation
Well Foundation Foundation with piles
Foundation with well
Bridge Foundation
Isolated Footing Behaviour of isolated
footing under loads

P Tends to bend like a

M cantilever slab in
both direction

Column

Isolated Footing

Two Way Shear

Tends to slide along
the shear plane

One Way Shear

Reinforcement of
Isolated Footing B

Elevation

Bottom arrangement of reinforcing bars

(For square and rectangular footing)
Reinforcement of
Isolated Footing

Isolated footing with

shear reinforcement

Top arrangement of reinforcing bars

(For square and rectangular footing)

Shear reinforcement
Spread Foundation Behaviour of spread
foundation under loads
P
M

Wall
Tends to bend like a
cantilever slab
Spread Footing

Tends to slide along

the shear plane

One Way Shear

 Reinforcement of
Spread Foundation

Elevation

Bottom arrangement of
reinforcing bars
Reinforcement of
Spread Footing

Foundation with
shear reinforcement

Top arrangement of
reinforcing bars

Shear reinforcement
 Combined Footing
Behaviour of combined
P1 P2 footing under loads
M1 M2

d + side of
column

d + side of
column

SF Dia
BM Dia

BM Dia Footing acts as a transverse

beam in transverse direction

Footing acts as a longitudinal beam in longitudinal direction

Reinforcement of
Combined Footing

≥B ≥B

Bottom arrangement
B
of bars

Top arrangement of
bars

≥ Development length ≥ Development length

Raft Foundation P1 P2
M1 M2

Strip

Behaviour of raft
foundation under loads

SF Dia
Part of Footing (strip) along
longitudinal and transverse direction
acts as like a beam
BM Dia
Pile Foundation
(Refer IS2911)
Pile foundation
Foundation, which transmits loads to deep soil strata ,
to stronger soil base and to a larger area of soil
through skin friction and bearing area is pile
foundation

Use of Pile Foundation

• When the top layers of soil are weak
• When there is possibility of deep scour of river bed
• When lateral forces to the structure are considerably
prominent
• When structure needs to be anchored to the ground
Types of Pile Foundation

• Friction pile
• Bearing pile
• Bearing cum friction pile

• Vertical pile
• Rake pile

Rake pile Vertical pile

Bored pile
Driven pile
Positive Aspects of Driven Pile
 Always uphold fast construction, ensure good
quality works
Negative Aspects Driven Pile
 Create noise and vibration in construction
 Requires precision driving in piling
 Not suitable in boulders dominated soil
Elements of Pile
Pile Cushion (at the time of driving)
Pile Cap

Pile Cap

Stem

Pile

Shoe
Shoe
Driven Pile
Bored Pile
Types of Pile Shoe
Arrangement of Driven Pile
Geometrical Requirements of Pile

Standard Size of Driven Pile

≤10 m 250mm × 250mm

10 to 12 m 300mm × 300mm
12 to 15 m 350mm × 350mm
15 to 18 m 400mm × 400mm
≥ 18 m 450mm × 450mm

Normally driven piles are not used

when size requirements of pile
exceeds 450 mm
Design Consideration / Concept in the Design of Pile Foundation

Cast in situ pile

Longitudinal and transverse steel provided in piles should
enable the pile to
• Provide necessary structural capacity
• Allow free flow of concrete

Pre cast pile

Longitudinal and transverse steel provided in piles
should enable the pile to
• Withstand handling stresses
• Endure driving stresses
• Provide necessary structural capacity
• Allow free flow of concrete
 Pile Under Horizontal Load
and Failure Mechanism of Pile

Types of Piles
Short pile Free head pile
Pile
Long pile Fixed head pile

H
e
H

Behaves like a rigid

L pile. Pile rotates Behaves like a rigid
about a point of pile. Pile moves
L
rotation and fails horizontally and fails
due to soil failure due to soil failure

Free head short pile Fixed head short pile

H
e
H

L Behaves like a Behaves like a

flexible pile. Pile flexible pile. Pile
L
bends and fails due bends and fails due
to structural failure to structural failure

Free head long pile Fixed head long pile

 Short pile fails when passive resistance of soil is exceeded while in

rotation or in translation.

 Long pile fails when moment capacity of pile at the yield point
exceeded.
Reinforcement requirements of pile

Ast min Pref. Min. Spacing of

Type of Pile
% Ast% long. Bar ,mm
Cast in situ 0.4 - 100

Pre cast
L/D < 30 1.25
= 30-40 0.8 1.5
>40 2 100
Reinforcement of Driven Pile

D
Spiral tie

3D 0.6 D
%
A A

0.4 D Section A-A

%
3D
0.3
%

0.2
% Section B-B
0.2
%

0.3
%
3D
B B
0.4 x Shoe Details
%
1

0.6 X = 2 for clay

3D % = 3 for sand
= 4 for gravel

Shoe
Reinforcement of Bored Pile

Depth of Section at A-A

fixity

A A
 Requirements of concrete works
for pile foundation works

Slump Cover Required cement W/c Grade of

Type of Pile
mm mm content ,kg/m 3 ratio, max concrete
Driven cast in situ pile 100-150 50-70 400 0.5 M25
Water free concrete pouring
Bored pile 50-70 400
Concrete pouring under water
150-200 0.5 M25

Pre-cast driven pile - 40-50 330 0.5 M20

Prestressed pre-cast 40-50
- - - M40
pile
Well Foundation
Refer IS3955/IRC45
Well Foundation

 Large, thick, hollow cylindrical well sunk into the ground

to transmit loads from super and substructure of bridge
to the founding soil

 Suitable for very heavy vertical and lateral loadings as

well as large scour depths

 Commonly used and popular type of foundation in

alluvial plains in South Asian region

 Generally costly and ineffective in utilization of materials

in case of small loads and shallow depths.

 Not suitable for clays and soils containing large boulders

Merit/Demerit of Well Foundation

Merit
 It has a larger bearing area and section modulus as compared with
the cross sectional area of the main body of pier and abutment.
This provides better load distribution and good lateral resistance.
 Concrete is cast over ground and has better quality control, as well
as good depth control.
 Skilled man power and technology easily available

Demerit
 Obsolete technology in many parts of the world
 Uneconomic for smaller bridges
 Problems of tilt and shift
 Time consuming in construction
 Quality control problem in bottom plugging of well
Types of Well

Open Well Pneumatic Well Floating Box Well

Types of Well
Components of
Well Foundation Pier

Well Cap

Top Plug

Well
Steining

Dredge Hole
with Granular Filling

Well Curb

Cutting Edge

Bottom Plug
Components of Well Foundations and their Functions

Well Steining
Well steining is the main body of a well. It should be heavy enough to sink the whole well
without excessive kentledge. It should be strong enough so that it is not to get damaged
during sinking and from the earth pressure from outside of well.

Well Curb
Lowest part of well steining to transfer load through the cutting edge to the ground. It is
made of richer concrete and is heavily reinforced. It withstands the force from bottom plug
due to arch action. It is made with tapering side inside the well and the taper angle is
around 60 degrees with the horizontal plane. Sometimes the curb is lined with steel plate
through out its height inside and outside to protect from damages due to boulders if any.
Its top diameter(outer) is kept 5 to 15 cm higher than the outer dia. of the well steining to
facilitate sinking.

Cutting Edge
Sharp cutting edge is provided at the end of well curb, where boulders are not expected.
Where as stud nose cutting edge is provided, where boulders are mixed with soil.
Cutting edge should be strong enough to resist cutting pressure and rigidly fixed with well
curb.
Bottom Plug
Concrete layer at end of curb to stop the sinking of well, transfer load of well in wider
area and to control the movement of underground water. It should be strong enough to
withstand large pressure and preferably in the shape of a bulb to produce arch action
and increase the bearing area. The concrete should be richer and with about 15% more
cement content. It should be more workable with slump about 150 to 200 mm.

Top Plug
Sand filling in the well is covered with top plug. It is usually made from lean concrete of
300 mm to 500 mm thickness. Its function is to make a smoother base for well cap.

Well Cap
Well cap is a RC slab cast monolithically with the well steining and transfers load from
superstructure / substructure to the well steining. Its diameter can be made larger by up
to 1.0 m from the steining to accommodate the long abutment or pier. It should be
strong enough to withstand the pressure from above by slab action. The top level of well
cap is usually flushed with the lowest water level or at the river bed level.
Design of Well Foundation

Design of well foundation is carried out in the following steps.

1. Determine the depth of well foundation

2. Determine the shape and size of well foundation

3. Check the stability of well foundation

- Check stability at elastic state
- Check stability at ultimate state

4. Perform structural design of well foundation

- Design well cap
- Design well steining
- Design well curb
- Design of bottom plug
Depth of Well Foundation
 Shape and Size of Well Foundations

 Shape and size of well depends on the size of substructure ,load and type of
soil. Elongated shapes are used for long piers and abutments.

 Size of well is determined considering safe bearing capacity of soil at the

founding level of well.

 The size of the dredge hole shall not be less than 2 m to facilitate dredging .

 Top diameter(outer) of curb should be higher than the outer diameter of the
well steining to facilitate sinking. Usually curb offset is taken in the range of
50 to 150 mm

 Thickness of steining should be sufficient so that well can be sunk by its self
weight . Minimum thickness of steining shall be 500 mm.

 Circular wells are most preferred because they are relatively strong, simple in
construction , easy in sinking. Circular wells are not suitable for wide roads
with wide substructures.

 Double D and rectangular types are commonly used wells after circular wells.
 Tilt and shift of well

Soil stratum through which the wells are sunk are very rarely uniform and
therefore, the resistance offered by these layers to the sinking is different in
different parts of the wells due to which tilt and shift of well my occur. The
effect of tilt and shift is to cause extra foundation pressure and this pressure
shall be considered in design.

IRC 78-2000 Provision Translational shift

The well shall be shank Total shift
vertically without any tilt
and shifts.
Original C/L of Well
However a tilt of 1 in 80
and shift of 150 mm due Tilted C/L of Well
Shifted C/L of Well
to translation in a
direction which will cause
most severe effect shall
be considered in design of
Base of Well
well.
Reinforcement of Well
Well Cap

Well
Steining

Sectional Elevation
Well Curb

Sectional Plan
Reinforcement of Well Cap
Pier

Well Cap

Bottom Top
Reinforcement Reinforcement
Working Drawing 1 of Well

Working Drawing 2 of Well

Reinforcement Detailing of Well Curb