Civil Engineering Design of Concrete Structures Dr.

Suryamani Behera

Footing
Most of the structures built by us are made of reinforced concrete. Here, the part of the
structure above ground level is called as the superstructure, whereas the part of the
structure below the ground level is called as the substructure. Footings are located below
the ground level and are also referred as foundations. Foundation is that part of the
structure which is in direct contact with soil. The R.C. structures consist of various
structural components which act together to resist the applied loads and transfer them
safely to soil. In general, the loads applied on slabs in buildings are transferred to soil
through beams, columns and footings. Footings are that part of the structure which are
generally located below ground Level. They are also referred as foundations. Footings
transfer the vertical loads, Horizontal loads, Moments, and other forces to the soil.
The important purpose of foundation are as follows:
1. To transfer forces from superstructure to firm soil below.
2. To distribute stresses evenly on foundation soil such that foundation soil neither
fails nor experiences excessive settlement.
3. To develop an anchor for stability against overturning.
4. To provide an even surface for smooth construction of superstructure.
Due to the loads and soil pressure, footings develop Bending moments and Shear forces.
Calculations are made as per the guidelines suggested in Clause 34 of IS 456 2000 to resist
the internal forces.
Types of Foundations
Based on the position with respect to ground level, Footings are classified into two types;
1. Shallow Foundations: Shallow Foundations are provided when adequate SBC is
available at relatively short depth below ground level. Here, the ratio of D f/B < 1, where Df
is the depth of footing and B is the width of footing.
2. Deep Foundations: Deep Foundations are provided when adequate SBC is available at
large depth below ground level. Here the ratio of D f/B ≥ 1.
Types of Shallow Foundations
The different types of shallow foundations are as follows:
• Isolated Footing
• Combined footing
• Strap Footing
• Strip Footing
• Mat/Raft Foundation
• Wall footing
Some of the popular types of shallow foundations are discussed.
a) Isolated Column Footing: These are independent footings which are provided for each
column. This type of footing is chosen when
• SBC is generally high
• Columns are far apart
• Loads on footings are less
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The isolated footings can have different shapes in the plan. Generally, it depends on the
shape of the column cross-section. Some of the popular shapes of footings are:
• Square
• Rectangular
• Circular
The isolated footing essentially consists of bottom slabs. These bottom slabs can either be
flat/pad, stepped or sloping in nature. The bottom of the slab is reinforced with steel mesh
to resist the two internal forces namely bending moment and shear force.

Combined Column Footing

These are common footings which support the loads from 2 or more columns. Combined
footings are provided when
• SBC is generally less
• Columns are closely spaced
• Footings are heavily loaded
In the above situations, the area required to provide isolated footings for the columns
generally overlap. Hence, it is advantageous to provide a single combined footing. In some
cases, the columns are located on or close to the property line. In such cases, footings
cannot be extended on one side. Here, the footings of the exterior and interior columns are
connected by the combined footing.

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Strap Footing
An alternate way of providing combined footing located close to property line is the
strap footing. In strap footing, independent slabs below columns are provided which are
then connected by a strap beam. The strap beam does not remain in contact with the soil
and does not transfer any pressure to the soil. Generally, it is used to combine the
footing of the outer column to the adjacent one so that the footing does not extend in
the adjoining property.

Strip Footing
Strip footing is a continuous footing provided under columns or walls.

Mat Foundation
Mat foundation covers the whole plan area of structure. The detailing is similar to two
way reinforced solid floor slabs or flat slabs. It is a combined footing that covers the
entire area beneath a structure and supports all the walls and columns. It is normally
provided when
• Soil pressure is low
• Loads are very heavy
• Spread footings cover > 50% area

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Types of Deep Foundations

Deep foundations are provided when adequate SBC is available at a large depth below
GL. There are different types of deep foundations. Some of the common types of deep
foundations are listed below.
• Pile Foundation
• Pier Foundation
• Well Foundation

Bearing Capacity of Soil

The safe bearing capacity of soil is the safe extra load soil can withstand without
experiencing shear failure. The Safe Bearing Capacity (SBC) is considered unique at a
particular site. But it also depends on the following factors:
• Size of footing
• Shape of footing
• Inclination of footing
• Inclination of ground
• Type of load
• Depth of footing etc.
SBC alone is not sufficient for design. The allowable bearing capacity is taken as the
smaller of the following two criteria
• Limit states of shear failure criteria (SBC)
• Limit states of settlement criteria
Based on ultimate capacity, i.e., shear failure criteria, the SBC is calculated as
SBC = Total load / Area of footing
Usually the Allowable Bearing Pressure (ABP) varies in the range of 100 kN/m2 to
400 kN/m2.
Two terms are used for bearing capacity: Gross bearing capacity and net bearing
capacity.
Gross bearing capacity is the total safe bearing pressure at the bottom of the footing
including the load of super structure, weight of the footing and that of the earth lying
over the footing.
Net safe bearing capacity is the safe bearing pressure at the bottom of the footing
additional to the weight of the earth which existed at that level before the trench for
footing was dug. Thus, the net safe bearing capacity is the gross bearing capacity
minus the weight per unit area dug out of the trench. Typical values of net bearing
capacity for different types of soil are given in Table.

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 The area of the footing should be so arrived that the pressure distribution below
the footing should be less than the allowable/safe bearing pressure of the soil.
 Even for symmetrical Loading, the pressure distribution below the footing may
not be uniform. It depends on the Rigidity of the footing, Soil type and Conditions
of the soil. In the case of Cohesive soil and Cohesionless soil, the pressure
distribution varies in a nonlinear way. However, while designing the footings a
linear variation of pressure distribution from one edge of the footing to the other
edge is assumed.
 Once the pressure distribution is known, the bending moment and shear force can
be determined and the footing can be designed to safely resist these forces.

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Depth of Foundation

Design of Isolated Column Footing

The objective of design is to determine
 Area of footing
 Thickness of footing
 Reinforcement details of footing (satisfying moment and shear considerations)
 Check for bearing stresses and development length
 This is carried out considering the loads of footing, SBC of soil, Grade of concrete
and Grade of steel. The method of design is similar to the design of beams and
slabs.
 Since footings are buried, deflection control is not important. However, crack
widths should be less than 0.3 mm.
Design Steps
The steps followed in the design of footings are generally iterative. The important steps
in the design of footings are:
 Find the area of footing (due to service loads)
 Assume a suitable thickness of footing

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 Identify critical sections for flexure and shear

 Find the bending moment and shear forces at these critical sections (due to factored
loads)
 Check the adequacy of the assumed thickness
 Find the reinforcement details
 Check for development length
 Check for bearing stresses
Materials: The materials used in RC footings are concrete and steel. The minimum grade
of concrete to be used for footings is M20, which can be increased when the footings are
placed in an aggressive environment, or to resist higher stresses.
Cover: The minimum thickness of cover to main reinforcement shall not be less than
50 mm for surfaces in contact with earth face and not less than 40 mm for externally
exposed face. However, where the concrete is in direct contact with the soil the cover
should be 75 mm. In the case of raft foundation, the cover for reinforcement shall not be
less than 75 mm.
Minimum reinforcement and bar diameter: The minimum reinforcement according to
slab and beam elements as appropriate should be followed unless otherwise specified. The
diameter of the main reinforcing bars shall not be less than 10 mm. The grade of steel used
is either Fe 415 or Fe 500.

Specifications for Design of footings as per IS 456: 2000

The important guidelines given in IS 456: 2000 for the design of isolated footings are as
follows:
34.1 General
Footings shall be designed to sustain the applied loads, moments and forces and the
induced reactions and to ensure that any settlement which may occur shall be as nearly
uniform as possible, and the safe bearing capacity of the soil is not exceeded (see IS
1904).
34.1.1 In sloped or stepped footings the effective cross-section in compression shall be
limited by the area above the neutral plane, and the angle of slope or depth and location
of steps shall be such that the design requirements are satisfied at every section. Sloped
and stepped footings that are designed as a unit shall be constructed to assure action as a
unit.
34.1.2 Thickness at the Edge of Footing
In reinforced and plain concrete footings, the thickness at the edge shall be not less than
150 mm for footings on soils, nor less than 300 mm above the tops of piles for footings on
piles.
34.1.3 In the case of plain concrete pedestals, the angle between the plane passing
through the bottom edge of the pedestal and the corresponding junction edge of the
column with pedestal and the horizontal plane shall be governed by the expression:
tan   0.9  100q0 / f ck   1
where
q0 = calculated maximum bearing pressure at the base of the pedestal in N/mm2
ƒck = characteristic strength of concrete at 28 days in N/mm2.

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34.2 Moments and Forces

34.2.1 In the case of footings on piles, computation for moments and shears may be
based on the assumption that the reaction from any pile is concentrated at the centre of
the pile.
34.2.2 For the purpose of computing stresses in footings which support a round or
octagonal concrete column or pedestal, the face of the column or pedestal shall be taken
as the side of a square inscribed within the perimeter of the round or octagonal column or
pedestal.
34.2.3 Bending Moment
34.2.3.1 The bending moment at any section shall be determined by passing through the
section a vertical plane which extends completely across the footing, and computing the
moment of the forces acting over the entire area of the footing on one side of the said
plane.
34.2.3.2 The greatest bending moment to be used in the design of an isolated concrete
footing which supports a column, pedestal or wall, shall be the moment computed in the
manner prescribed in 34.2.3.1 at sections located as follows:
a) At the face of the column, pedestal or wall, for footings supporting a concrete column,
pedestal or wall;
b) Halfway between the centre line and the edge of the wall, for footings under masonry
walls; and
c) Halfway between the face of the column or pedestal and the edge of the gussetted
base, for footings under gussetted bases.

34.2.4 Shear and Bond

34.2.4.1 The shear strength of footings is governed by the more severe of the following
two conditions:
a) The footing acting essentially as a wide beam, with a potential diagonal crack
extending in a plane across the entire width; the critical section for this condition shall
be assumed as a vertical section located from the face of the column, pedestal or wall

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at a distance equal to the effective depth of footing for footings on piles.

One-way shear has to be checked across the full width of the base slab on a vertical section
located from the face of the column, pedestal or wall at a distance equal to
(i) effective depth of the footing slab in case of footing slab on soil, and
(ii) half the effective depth of the footing slab if the footing slab is on piles.
The design shear strength of concrete without shear reinforcement is given in Table 19 of
cl.40.2 of IS 456.
b) Two-way action of the footing, with potential diagonal cracking along the surface of
the truncated cone or pyramid around the concentrated load; in this case, the footing
shall be designed for shear in accordance with appropriate provisions specified in
Clause 31.6 of IS 456.
Two-way or punching shear shall be checked around the column on a perimeter half
theeffective depth of the footing slab away from the face of the column or pedestal.
The permissible shear stress, when shear reinforcement is not provided, shall not exceed
ksc
where ks = (0.5 + βc), but not greater than 1,
βc = the ratio of short side to long side of the column, and
c = 0.25(fck) in limit state method of design, as stipulated in cl.31.6.3.
Normally, the thickness of the base slab is governed by shear. Hence, the necessary thickness
of the slab has to be provided to avoid shear reinforcement.

34.2.4.2 In computing the external shear or any section through a footing supported on
piles, the entire reaction from any pile of diameter Dp whose centre is located DP/2 or
more outside the section shall be assumed as producing shear on the section; the reaction
from any pile whose centre is located DP/2 or more inside the section shall be assumed as
producing no shear on the section, For intermediate positions of the pile centre, the portion
of the pile reaction to be assumed as producing shear on the section shall be based on
straight line interpolation between full value at DP/2 outside the section and zero value at
DP/2 inside the section.
34.2.4.3 The critical section for checking the development length in a footing shall be

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assumed at the same planes as those described for the bending moment in 34.2.3 and also
at all other vertical planes where abrupt changes of section occur. If reinforcement is
curtailed, the anchorage requirements shall be checked in accordance with 26.2.3.
34.3 Tensile Reinforcement
The total tensile reinforcement at any section shall provide a moment of resistance at
least equal to the bending moment on the section calculated in accordance with 34.2.3.
34.3.1 Total tensile reinforcement shall be distributed across the corresponding resisting
section as given below:
a) In one-way reinforced footing, the reinforcement extending in each direction shall be
distributed uniformly across the full width of the footing;
b) In two-way reinforced square footing, the reinforcement extending in each direction
shall be distributed uniformly across the full width of the footing; and
c) In two-way reinforced rectangular footing, the reinforcement in the long direction
shall be distributed uniformly across the full width of the footing. For reinforcement in
the short direction, a central band equal to the width of the footing shall be marked
along the length of the footing and portion of the reinforcement determined in
accordance with the equation given below shall be uniformly distributed across the
central band:
Reinforcement in central band width 2

Total reinforcement in short direction   1
where β is the ratio of the long side to the short side of the footing. The remainder
of the reinforcement shall be uniformly distributed in the outer portions of the footing.

34.4 Transfer of Load at the Base of Column

The compressive stress in concrete at the base of a column or pedestal should be
considered as being transferred by bearing to the top of the supporting Pedestal or footing.
The bearing pressure on the loaded area shall not exceed the permissible bearing stress in
direct compression multiplied by a value equal to
A1
A2
but not greater than 2, where
A1 = supporting area for bearing of footing, which in sloped or stepped footing may be
taken as the area of the lower base of the largest frustum of a pyramid or cone contained

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wholly within the footing and having for its upper base, the area actually loaded and
having side slope of one vertical to two horizontal; and
A2 = loaded area at the column base.
34.4.1 Where the permissible bearing stress on the concrete in the supporting or supported
member would be exceeded, reinforcement shall be provided for developing the excess
force, either by extending the longitudinal bars into the supporting member, or by dowels
(see 34.4.3).
34.4.2 Where the transfer of force is accomplished by reinforcement, the development
length of the reinforcement shall be sufficient to transfer the compression or tension to
the supporting member in accordance with 26.2.
34.4.3 Extended longitudinal reinforcement or dowels of at least 0.5 per cent of the
cross-sectional area of the supported column or pedestal and a minimum of four bars
shall be provided. Where dowels are used, their diameter shall not exceed the diameter of
the column bars by more than 3 mm.
34.4.4 Column bars of diameters larger than 36 mm, in compression only can be
dowelled at the footings with bars of smaller size of the necessary area. The dowel shall
extend into the column, a distance equal to the development length of the column bar and
into the footing, a distance equal to the development length of the dowel.
34.5 Nominal Reinforcement
34.5.1 Minimum reinforcement and spacing shall be as per the requirements of solid slab.
34.5.2 The nominal reinforcement for concrete sections of thickness greater than 1 m
shall be 360 mm2 per meter length in each direction on each face. This provision does
not supersede the requirement of minimum tensile reinforcement based on the depth of
the section.
Design of Isolated Footing
The isolated footing may be axially loaded or eccentrically loaded. In practice, columns
invariably transmit axial load and moment to the footing. In such cases, the soil reaction
below the footing will not be uniform if the column is placed centrally on the footing as
shown in Figure below. The moment M may be replaced by an axial load P acting at an
eccentricity e=M/P. Hence a column may be placed at an eccentricity e so that the soil
pressure becomes uniform as shown in Figure below. Alternatively, the footing should be
designed for the actual soil pressure distribution which will depend on the amount of
eccentricity.

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Cases:
There are normally two cases for footings under uniaxial bending:
Case 1: Load eccentricity not greater than L/6 (M/P < L/6)
Case 2: Load eccentricity greater than L/6 (M/P > L/6)

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Design steps for Centrally loaded Isolated footings

The major steps in the design of column footing square or rectangular can be summarised as
follows.
Step-1: Determine the plan area from the allowable nearing capacity and service loads from
the column, assuming a reasonable (10% of loading) weight for the footing.
Step-2: Taking the factored dead and live loads, determine the ultimate soil reaction for the
factored design load.
Step-3: Determine the depth for one-way shear, assuming a design shear strength value τ c.
Theoretically, this value depends on the percentage of steel in the slab. However, for
preliminary design, a value of τc =0.35 N/mm2 corresponding to 0.25% steel may be assumed.
Step-4: Determine the Depth from bending Considerations.
Step-5: Check the depth adopted for safety against punching shear. If it is not sufficient
increase the depth so that the footing is safe in punching shear.
Step-6: Choose the largest depth required considering steps 3, 4, and 5 and provide the
necessary cover.

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Step-7: Calculate the reinforcement required in the X and Y directions from the bending
moment considerations.0+ The steel provided at the section for the maximum moment should
not be less than the minimum specified for slabs.
Step-8: Check the Development length required and choose the proper diameter of bars.
Step-9: Detail the steel as specified in IS.
Step-10: Provide the necessary cover to reinforcements and find the total depth of footing
required.
Numerical Problems
Design an isolated footing for an R.C. column of size 0.23m×0.23m which carries a
vertical load of 600 kN. The SBC of soil is 200 kN/m 2. M20 and Fe415.

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Question: Design an isolated footing of uniform thickness of a RC column bearing a vertical

load of 600 KN and having a base of size 500×500 mm. The safe bearing capacity of soil
may be taken as 120 KN/m2. Use M20 concrete and Fe 415 steel.

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