Significance of using isolated footing technique for residential construction on expansive soils

doi:10.1007/s11709-016-0372-8

Front. Struct. Civ. Eng.

2017, Vol. 11

Issue (1) : 123-129 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-016-0372-8

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Significance of using isolated footing technique for residential construction on expansive soils

Harry FAR(

),Deacon FLINT

Centre for Built Infrastructure Research, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia

Download: PDF(1057 KB) HTML
Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks

Abstract

Expansive soils cause problems with the founding of lightly loaded structures in many parts of the world. Foundation design for expansive soils is one of the most discussed and problematic issues in Australia as expansive soils were responsible for billions of dollars’ worth of damage to man-made structures such as buildings and roads. Several studies and reports indicate that one of the most common and least recognized problems causing severe structural damage to houses lies in expansive soils. In this study, a critical review has been carried out on the current Australian standards for building on expansive soils and they are compared with some techniques that are not included in the current Australian standards for residential slabs and footings. Based on the results of this review, the most effective and economical method has been proposed for construction of footings on all site classifications without restriction to 75mm of characteristic movement. In addition, it has become apparent that as design procedures for footings resting on sites with extreme characteristic movements are not included in the current Australian standards, there is a strong need for well-developed and simplified standard design procedures for characteristic soil movement of greater than 75mm to be included into the Australian Standards.

Keywords expansive soils residential slabs isolated footings Australian Standards

Corresponding Author(s): Harry FAR

Online First Date: 19 December 2016 Issue Date: 27 February 2017

Cite this article:

Harry FAR,Deacon FLINT. Significance of using isolated footing technique for residential construction on expansive soils[J]. Front. Struct. Civ. Eng., 2017, 11(1): 123-129.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fsce/EN/10.1007/s11709-016-0372-8
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fsce/EN/Y2017/V11/I1/123

Fig.1 Expansive soils affecting a young building project

Tab.1 Classification by characteristic surface movement [21]

Fig.2 Typical details of stiffened rafts

Fig.3 Footing slab details

Fig.4 Typical details of waffle rafts

Fig.5 Typical details of stiffened slabs with deep edge beams

Fig.6 Soil stabilization process

Fig.7 Isolated footings

1	Jones L D, Jefferson I. Expansive soils. ICE Manual of Geotechnical Engineering, 2012, 1: 413–441
2	Holland J E. The Design, Performance and Repair of Housing Foundations. Swinburne Institute of Technology, Victoria, Australia, 1981
3	Massumi A, Tabatabaiefar H R. Effects of soil-structure interaction on seismic behaviour of ductile reinforced concrete moment resisting frames. In: Proceedings of World Housing Congress on Affordable Quality Housing (WHC2007). Putra, Malaysia, 2007
4	Fatahi B, Tabatabaiefar H R, Samali B. Performance based assessment of dynamic soil-structure interaction effects on seismic response of building frame. In: Proceedings of Georisk 2011- Geotechnical Risk Assessment & Management (Geotechnical Special Publication No. 224). American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2011, 344–351
5	Samali B, Fatahi B, Tabatabaiefar H R. Seismic behaviour of Concrete Moment Resisting Buildings on soft soil considering soil-structure Interaction. In: Proceedings of the 21st Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM21), 2011, 407–412
6	Tabatabaiefar H R, Fatahi B, Samali B. Numerical and experimental investigations on seismic response of building frames under influence of soil-structure interaction. Advances in Structural Engineering, 2014, 17(1): 109–130
7	Tabatabaiefar H R, Fatahi B, Samali B. Idealisation of soil-structure system to determine inelastic seismic response of mid-rise building frames. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 2014, 66(11): 339–351
8	Tabatabaiefar H R, Mansoury B, Khadivi Zand M J, Potter D.Mechanical properties of sandwich panels constructed from polystyrene/cement mixed cores and thin cement sheet facings. Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials, Sage Publications, 2015
9	Tabatabaiefar H R. Development of synthetic soil mixture for experimental shaking table tests on building frames resting on soft soils. Geomechanics and Geoengineering: An International Journal, 2016 (in Press) https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2016.1153731
10	Tabatabaiefar H R. Detail design and construction procedure of laminar soil containers for experimental shaking table tests. International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2016, 10(4): 1–9
11	Tabatabaiefar H R, Mansoury B. Detail design, building and commissioning of tall building structural models for experimental shaking table tests. Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 2016, 25(8): 357–374
12	Cameron D A, Walsh P F. Damage to buildings on clay soils. Australian Council of National Trusts, Victoria, Australia, 1984
13	Tabatabaiefar H R, Clifton T. Significance of considering soil-structure interaction effects on seismic design of unbraced building frames resting on soft. Australian Geomechnics Journal, 2016, 51(1): 55–64
14	Mansoury B, Tabatabaiefar H R. Application of sustainable design principles to increase energy efficiency of existing buildings. Building Research Journal, 2016, 6(3): 167–178
15	Brown R. Failure of Houseing Due to Reactivity Can Be Minimised. Australian Structural Engineering Conference (ASEC). Melbourne, 2008
16	Richards B G, Peter P, Emerson W W. The effects of vegetation on the swelling and shrinking of soils in Australia. Geotechnique, 1983, 33(2): 127–139
17	Fityus S G, Smith D W, Allman M A. Expansive soil test site near Newcastle. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2004, 130(7): 686–695
18	Mc Andrew J. The geological Map of Victoria in Geology of Australia ore deposits. The Eighth Commonwealth Mining and Metallurgical Congress Australia and New Zealand, The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1965
19	Dahlhaus P G. Chapter 7: Engineering and Environmental Geology. The Geological Society of Australia Incorporated (Victorian Division), Melbourne, Australia, 1999
20	Archicentre Ltd. Cracking in Brickwork. Melbourne, 2000
21	AS2870. Residential Slabs and Footings. Standards Australia, NSW, Australia, 2011
22	Dafalla M, Al-Shamrani M, Puppala A, Ali H. Design guide for rigid foundation systems on expansive soils. International Journal of Geomechanics, 2012, 12(5): 528–536
23	Yang H, Lin L, Xiao J, Zhan W. Analysis of the Improvement Effect of Expansive Soil through the Soil-water Characteristic Curve. J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev, , 2012, 6: 36–41 https://doi.org/10.1061/JHTRCQ.0000006
24	Aitchison G D, Holmes J W. Aspects of swelling in the soil profile. Australian Journal of Applied Science, 1953, 4: 244
25	Cameron D A. Parameters for the design of residential slabs and strip footing. MEng, Victoria Institutes of Colleges (Swinburne College of Technology), 1977
26	Pitt W G. Correlation Between the Real Behaviour and the Theoretical Design of Residential Raft Slabs, MEng, Swinburne Institute of Technology, 1982
27	Aitchison G D. Soil Engineering in Australia, in Soils- An Australian Viewpoint. CSIRO, Melbourne, 1993
28	AS2870. Supp1- Residential Slabs and Footings Construction Commentary, Standards Australia, NSW, Australia, 1996
29	Cameron D A, Yttrup P J. Footings for light structure on the reactive soils of Melbourne. In: Proceedings of the seminar on engineering geology of Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia, 16 September, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1992, 345–354
30	Kropp A. Survey of residential foundation design practice on expansive soils in the San Francisco Bay. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 2011, 25(1): 24–30
31	Li J, Cameron D A, Ren G. Case study and back analysis of a residential building damaged by expansive soils. Computers and Geotechnics, 2013, 56: 89–99
32	Houston S L, Dye H B, Zapata C E, Walsh K D, Houston W N. Study of expansive soils and residential foundations on expansive soils in Arizona. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 2011, 25(1): 31–44
33	Brown B J, Goldsmith P R, Shorten J P M, Henderson L. Soil Expansively in Auckland Region. Study Report, No. 120, Building Research Levy, 2003
34	Seco A, Ramírez F, Miqueleiz L, García B. Stabilization of expansive soils for use in construction. Applied Clay Science, 2011, 51(3): 348–352
35	Jones M. NHBC Technical Extra, Issue 15, 2014
36	Chen F H. Foundations on Expansive Soils. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing Co, Ltd, 1979
37	Nelson J D, Miller D J. Expansive Soils: Problems and Practice in Foundation, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Wiley, New York, 1992
38	Standards NHBC. National House Building Council. Chapter 4, 2011
39	AS3600. Concrete Structures. Standards Australia, NSW, Australia, 2009
40	Cameron D A, Walsh P F. The Pile Experiment. CSRIO, Division of Building Research Report, 1983

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed