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ENCE 461
Foundation Analysis and
Design

Spread Footings: Structural Design, Flexural Design

Mat Foundations (Part I)

Reinforcing Steel for Flexural

Loads

Concrete's weakness in tension; thus, reinforcing

steel must be added when tension is anticipated,
which is virtually guaranteed with flexural
loading

Reinforcing steel in foundation almost inevitably

involves use of reinforcing bars (rebar); welded
wire fabric, needles, etc., are not generally used

Since flexural stresses are usually small, Grade 40 (Metric

Grade 300, fy = 40 ksi or 300 MPa) steel is usually adequate,
although unavailable for bars larger than #6, in which case
Grade 60 (Metric Grade 420, fy = 60 ksi or 420 MPa) steel
may have to be used

Principles for Flexural Design

Factored moment on the critical surface Muc

determines the necessary dimensions of the
member and the necessary size and location of
the reinforcing bars

This can be a complex process; however,

geotechnical considerations tend to simplify the
design process, as it dictates some of the options

Amount of the steel required flexure depends

upon the effective depth d

Principles for Flexural Design

Effective depth

Compression

Tension

Principles for Flexural Design

Nominal moment capacity of a flexural member

made of reinforced concrete with f'c < 30 MPa (4
a
ksi)

M n
A s f y d  
2
d f y
a

0.85 f' c
As


bd

Principles for Flexural Design

Setting Mu =
Mn (where Mu = factored moment

at the section being analysed), As can be solved
to

f' c b
2.353 M uc
2

As

d  d 
 f' c b
1.176 f y

Principles for Flexural Design

Variables for equation:

As = cross-sectional area of reinforcing steel

f'c = 28-day compressive strength of concrete

fy = yield strength of reinforcing steel

 = steel ratio

b = width of flexural member

d = effective depth

= 0.9 for flexure in reinforced concrete

Muc = factored moment at the section being analysed

2.353 M uc
f' c b
2
d  d 

A s

1.176 f y
 f' c b

Minimum and Maximum Steel

Minimum Steel Requirements (ACI 10.5.4 and

7.12.2

For Grade 40 (Metric Grade 300) Steel: As > 0.002 Ag

For Grade 60 (Metric Grade 420) Steel: As > 0.0018

Ag

Ag = Gross Cross-sectional area

 = As/Ag

Maximum Steel Requirements (ACI 10.3) never

govern the design of spread footings, but may be
of concern in combined footings and mats

Minimum and Maximum

Spacing

Selection of reinforcing bar size and spacing

must satisfy the following minimum and
maximum spacing requirements

Clear space between bars must be at least equal to db,

25 mm (1"), or 4/3 times the nominal aggregate size

Centre-to-centre spacing of the reinforcement must not

exceed 3T or 500 mm (18"), whichever is less

Development Length

Development length Id is the length rebars must

extend through the concrete in order to develop
proper anchorage

Assumptions for calculations of minimum

development length

Clear spacing between the bars is at least 2db

Concrete cover is at least db

Development Length

Development length Id
(English Units)

Development Length
Id (SI Units)

Id 3 f y 
Id 9 f y 

d b 40 f' c c K tr d b 10 f' c c K tr




db
db
Atr f yt
Atr f yt
K tr

K tr

1500 s n
10 s n
For spread footings use Ktr = 0, which is conservative

Development Length

Variables for development length variables

Id = minimum required development length (in., mm)

db = nominal rebar diameter (in, mm)

fy = yield strength of reinforcing steel (psi, MPa)

fyt = yield strength of transverse reinforcing steel (psi,

MPa)

f'c = 28-day compressive strenght of concrete (psi,

MPa)

Development Length

Variables for development length variables

 = reinforcement location factor



 
 
 


 







  


 
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Development Length

Variables for development length variables

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Development Length

Variables for development length variables

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Application to Spread Footings

a)

Footings in reality
bend in two
perpendicular
directions

b)

Footings are designed

as if they bend in only
one direction

Justification of One-Way Slab

Assumption

The full-scale load tests on which this analysis

method is based were interpreted this way

Foundations should be designed more

conservatively than the superstructure

Flexural stresses are low, so amount of steel

required is nominal and often governed by min

Additional construction cost due to this

simplified approach is minimal

Once footing is analysed one way, we place the

same steel area in the perpendicular direction

Steel Area

Usual procedure is to prepare a moment diagram

and select an appropriate amount of steel for each
portion of the member

For spread footings, we can simplify this by

identifying a critical section for bending and use
the moment determined there to design the steel
for the entire footing

Location of critical section for bending depends

upon the type of column being used

Critical Section for Bending

Moment at Critical Bending

Based on
Section
soil bearing

Factored
Assumes Pu acts
through centroid
of footing

bending moment
2

Pu l 2 M u l

M uc

2B
B

pressure with
assumed
eccentricity
of B/3

Muc = factored moment at critical section for bending

Pu = factored compressive load from column

Mu = factored moment load from column

l = cantilever distance

B = footing width

Design Cantilever Distances

Concrete Columns

l = (B c/2)/2

Steel Columns

Notes

Masonry Columns

l = (B-c)/2

l = (2B (c + cp))/4

Variables

B = footing width
c = column width
cp = base plate width

Treat timber columns in

same way as concrete
columns
If column has circular,
octagonal or other
similar shape, use a
square with equivalent
cross-sectional area
If column has a circular
or regular polygon crosssectional area, base the
analysis on an equivalent
square

Computation of Steel Area

Compute Muc

Find the steel area As and reinforcement ratio 

2.353 M uc
f' c b
2
d  d 

A s

1.176 f y
 f' c b

a
M n
A s f y d  
2
d f y
a

0.85 f' c
As


bd

: 7 .'  #<

=# "'

!
,

$


 

Computation of Development
Length

The development length is measured from the

critical section for bending to the end of the bars
(usually 70 mm (3") from the end of the footing,
even if loads don't require it)

Supplied development length

 I d supplied
l 70 mm 3 in

(Id)supplied = supplied development length

l = cantilever distance

This length must be greater than the required

development length. If not, best solution is to use
smaller rebars with shorter development lengths

Example of Flexure Design

Given

Find

Foundation design used in shear design example, T =

27"
Required steel area for flexure

Solution

Find Required Steel Area

Determine cantilever distance l

Bc 12621
l




52.5
2
2

Example of Flexure Design

Given

Find

Foundation design used in shear design example, T =

27"
Required steel area for flexure

Solution

Find Required Steel Area

Determine cantilever distance l

Bc 12621
l




52.5 inches
2
2

Example of Flexure Design

Find Required Steel Area

Determine factored bending moment at critical section

Pu l 2 M u l

M uc

2B
B
2
991,00052.5
0
M uc

2126
M uc
10,800,000 in-lbs

Example of Flexure Design

Find Required Steel Area

Determine steel area based on factored bending

moment at critical section

f' c b
2.353 M uc
2
A s

d  d 

 f' c b
1.176 f y
4000126
2.35310,800,000
As

23

1.17660,000
0.94000126
2
A s
8.94 in
For flexure in
reinforced concrete

Example of Flexure Design

Check computed steel area against minimum

steel requirements

For Grade 60 steel, As > 0.018 Ag = 0.018 B T

Minimum steel area = (0.018)(27)(126) = 6.12 in2

Since As = 8.94 sq.in. > 6.12 sq.in., OK

Use #8 (1") bars: Area of each bar = 0.79 sq. in.

Number of bars = 8.94/0.79 = 11.3 so use 12 bars

Space between bars = 126/12 = 8.7"

Minimum spacing = 18" or 3T = (3)(27) = 81" so OK

either way

Example of Flexure Design

Check development length

(Id)supplied = l 3 = 52.5 3 = 49.5"

Check required inequalities

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9%
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Example of Flexure Design

Check development length

Id 3 f y 

d b 40 f' c c K tr


db
I d 3 60000 1111


2.5
d b 40 4000
For 1" bars, I = 28"
Id
Since (I )
= 49.5,

28
development length is OK
db
d

d applied

Example of Flexure Design

Final Design

Mat Foundations

Reasons to Consider Raft or

Mat Foundations

Structural loads are so high and soil conditions

are so poor that spread footings would be
exceptionally large.

If spread footings are more that 1/3 of building

footprint area, a mat or a deep foundation would
probably be more economical

Soil is very erratic or prone to differential

settlements, or soils that are expansive or subject
to differential heaves

Structural loads are erratic; flexural strength of

the mat will absorb these irregularities

Reasons to Consider Raft or

Mat Foundations

Lateral loads are not uniformly distributed

through the structure and thus may cause
differential horizontal movements in spread
footings or pile caps.

Uplift loads are larger than spread footings can

accommodate.

Bottom of the structure is located below the

groundwater table, so waterproofing is an
important concern. Mats are monolithic, so
easier to waterproof. Weight of mat also resists
hydrostatic uplift forces.

Pile Supported Mats

Downdrag Problems

Transfer of Column Loads to

Mats

Methods of Designing Mat

Foundations

Rigid Methods

Considers the mat far more rigid than the surrounding

soils, so flexure of the mat does not affect distribution
of bearing pressure

Nonrigid Metods

Considers the flexibility of the mat relative to the soil

Rigid Methods

Magnitude and distribution of bearing pressure

only depend on the applied loads and the weight
of the mat

Distribution is either uniform or varies linearly across

the mat (same as spread footings)

Application of Rigid Methods

Although rigid methods are appropriate for

spread footings, it is not really applicable for mat
foundations

Portions of a mat beneath column and bearing

walls will settle more than portions with less
load, which increases bearing pressure beneath
heavily-loaded zones

This is especially true with foundations on stiff

soils and rock, but is true with all foundations

Simplified bearing pressure is in reality not

correct in any case; more important with large
mat

Distribution with Column Loads

Questions?