Foundation engineeringĀ is a branch ofĀ geotechnical engineeringĀ which applies soil mechanics, structural engineering, and projectĀ serviceabilityĀ requirements for design and construction of foundations for onshore, offshore, and in-land structures. Foundation engineering can be realized as an āartisticā approach rather than a routine procedure because well-designed and constructed foundations continue to perform efficiently during the lifetime of a project. The major task and goal of a foundation engineer is to create a technically sound, construction-feasible, and economical (avoiding costly and overdesign) design of the foundation system to support the superstructure.
Contents
FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
| MODULE | TOPIC COVERED | PDF LINK |
|---|---|---|
| CHAPTER 1: Soil Exploration | 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Boring of Holes 1.2.1 Auger Method 1.2.1.1 Hand Operated Augers 1.2.1.2 Power Driven Augers 1.2.1.3 Wash Boring 1.2.1.4 Rotary Drilling 1.2.1.5 Coring Bits 1.3 Sampling of soils 1.4 Disturbed Samples 1.4.1 Open Drive Sampler 1.5 Standard Penetration Test (SPT) 1.5.1 Drill Rod, Sampler and Borehole Corrections 1.5.2 Correction Factor for Overburden Pressure in Granular Soils 1.5.3Hammer Efficiency Correction 1.6 Cone Penetration Test (CPT) 1.7 Operation of Penetrometer 1.8 Correlation between SPT and CPT 1.9 Geophysical Exploration 1.9.1 Seismic Refraction Method 1.9.2 Electrical Resistivity Method Wenner Method 1.10 Soil Report 1.11 Borehole Log |
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| CHAPTER 2: Shallow Foundations | 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Requirements of a Good Foundation 2.1.2 Basic Definitions: 2.1.3 Design Loading and General Philosophy (Working Stress Approach) 2.2 Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Axially Loaded Continuous Footing 2.2.1 Determination of Ultimate Bearing Capacity 2.2.1.1 Prandtlās Analysis Assumptions made in Prandtlās Analysis The Limitations of Prandtlās Analysis are 2.2.1.2 Terzaghiās Analysis Assumptions made in Terzaghiās Analysis Limitations in Terzaghiās analysis Terzaghiās Bearing Capacity Factors Prediction of the Type of Failure Condition 2.2.1.2a Effect of Shape on Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Footing 2.2.1.2b Effect of Size on Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Footing 2.2.1.2c Effect of Water Table on Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Footing 2.2.1.2d Effect of Foundation Depth on Bearing Capacity 2.2.1.3 Meyerhofās Analysis 2.2.1.3.1 Brief Comparison between Meyerhofās Analysis and Terzaghiās Analysis 2.2.1.4 Hansenās Analysis 2.2.1.6 Upper Bound Solutions to the Bearing Capacity of a Footing on Saturated Clay 2.2.1.7 The Standard Penetration Test 2.3 Bearing capacity of footings on Layered Soils 2.4 Eccentric and Inclined loading 2.4.1 Eccentric Loading 2.4.1.1 Contact Pressure Distribution 2.4.1.2 Concept of Useful Width 2.4.2 Inclined Loading 2.4.3 Combined Eccentric and Inclined Loading 2.4.4 Settlement under Eccentric and Inclined Loading 2.5 Bearing Capacity of Footings on Slopes 2.6 Foundation Settlement 2.6.1 Calculation of Settlement: General comments 2.6.2 Permissible Settlement 2.6.3 Shallow Foundations on Clay: Settlement 2.6.4 Components of Total Settlement 2.6.5 Seat of Settlement 2.6.6 Settlement of Foundations on Cohesionless Soils 2.6.7 Settlement of Foundations on Saturated Cohesive Soil 2.8 Design of Axially Loaded Shallow Foundations on Sand 2.9 Types of Bearing Capacity Failure |
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| CHAPTER 3: COMBINED FOOTING AND RAFT FOUNDATION | 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 MAT FOUNDATION IN SAND 3.3 MAT FOUNDATION IN CLAY 3.4 RIGID AND ELASTIC FOUNDATION 3.5 SAFE BEARING PRESSURES FOR MAT FOUNDATIONS ON SAND AND CLAY 3.5.1 Mats on Sand 3.5.2 Mats on Clay 3.6 ECCENTRIC LOADING 3.6.1 PROPORTIONING OF CANTILEVER FOOTING 3.7 DESIGN OF COMBINED FOOTINGS BY RIGID METHOD (CONVENTIONAL METHOD) 3.8 DESIGN OF COMBINED FOOTINGS 3.9 DESIGN OF MAT FOUNDATION BY RIGID METHOD 3.10 DESIGN OF COMBINED FOOTINGS BY ELASTIC LINE METHOD 3.11 DESIGN OF MAT FOUNDATIONS BY ELASTIC PLATE METHOD 3.12 FLOATING FOUNDATION 3.12.1 General Consideration 3.12.2 Problems to be Considered in the Design of a Floating Foundation 3.13 APPROXIMATE DESIGN OF RAFT FOUNDATIONS 3.14 RECTANGULAR COMBINED FOOTINGS |
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| CHAPTER 4: EARTH PRESSURE | 4.1 INTRODUCTION 4.2 EARTH PRESSURE AT REST 4.3 RANKINE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE STATES OF PLASTIC EQUILIBRIUM 4.3.1 Active Earth Pressure of Cohesionless Soil by Rankineās Theory Case 1: Dry or moist backfill with no surcharge Case 2: Backfill with surcharge Case 3: Fully submerged backfill Case 4: Partially submerged backfill Case 5: Partially submerged backfill taking into account reduction in ā on submergence Case 6: Backfill with sloping surface Case 7: Wall with inclined back and backfill with horizontal surface Case 8: Wall with inclined back and backfill with sloping surface 4.3.2 Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil by Extension of Rankineās Theory 4.3.3 Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesionless Soil ā by Method Based on Rankineās Theory 4.3.4 Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soilā by Method Based on Rankineās Theory 4.4 COULOMBāS WEDGE THEORY 4.5 CONDITION FOR MAXIMUM PRESSURE FROM SLIDING WEDGE 4.6 REBHANNāS GRAPHICAL METHOD FOR ACTIVE EARTH PRESSURE OF COHESIONLESS SOIL 4.6.1 Analytical Expression for Coulombās Ka and hence Pa 4.7 CULMANNāS GRAPHICAL METHOD FOR ACTIVE EARTH PRESSURE OF COHESIONLESS SOIL 4.8 Design of Gravity Retaining Wall |
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| CHAPTER 5: SHEET PILE WALL | 5.1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 CANTILEVER SHEET PILE WALL Case 1: Cantilever sheet pile embedded in granular soil. Case 2: Cantilever sheet pile wall embedded in cohesive soil. 5.3 ANCHORED BULKHEAD 5.3.1 FreeāEarth Support Method Case 1: Anchored bulkhead driven into granular soil. Case 2:Anchored bulkhead embedded in cohesive soil 5.3.2 Fixed Earth Support Method 5.4 Lateral Earth Pressures on Braced Sheeting |
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| CHAPTER 6: BRACED CUTS | 6.1GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS INTRODUCTION 6.2LATERAL EARTH PRESSURE DISTRIBUTIONON BRACEDāCUTS 6.2.1 Apparent Pressure Diagrams 6.2.2 Deep Cuts in Sand 6.2.3 Cuts in Saturated Clay 6.2.4 Cuts in Stratified Soils 6.3 STABILITY OF BRACED CUTS IN SATURATED CLAY 6.3.1 Heaving in Clay Soil Case 1: Formation of Full Plastic Failure Zone Below the Bottom of Cut Case 2: When the formation of Full Plastic Zone is restricted by the presence of hard layer 6.4 DESIGN OF VARIOUS COMPONENTS 6.4.1 Struts 6.4.2 Sheet piles 6.4.3Wales |
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| CHAPTER 7: PILE FOUNDATION | 7.1 INTRODUCTION Classification based on materials or composition Classification based on the function Classification based on method of installation 7.3 LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM 7.4 LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY OF PILES 7.4.1 Static Formulae 7.4.2 Dynamic Formulae 7.4.2.2 Hileyās Modification of Wellingtonās formula 7.4.3 Load Carrying Capacity from Penetration Test Data 7.4.4 Load Tests on Piles Procedure for pile load test Allowable load from single pile load test data 7.5 NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION 7.6 UNDERāREAMED PILES 7.6.1 Procedure for Construction of UnderāReamed Piles 7.7 GROUP ACTION 7.7.1 Ultimate Load Carrying Capacity for the Pile Group 7.7.2 Efficiency of a Pile Group 7.7.3 Settlement of Pile Groups 7.7.4 MultiāLayered Deposits 7.8 ECCENTRIC AND INCLINED LOADS ON PILE GROUPS 7.9 LATERALLY LOADED PILES 7.10 Piles on a Rocky Bed |
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| CHAPTER 8: DRILLED PIERS AND CAISSONS | 8.1 INTRODUCTION 8.2 TYPES OF DRILLED PIERS 8.3 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DRILLED PIER FOUNDATIONS 8.3.1 Advantages 8.3.2 Disadvantages 8.4 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 8.5 LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM 8.6 VERTICAL BEARING CAPACITY OF DRILLED PIERS 8.7 EFFECTIVE LENGTH FOR COMPUTING SIDE RESISTANCE IN COHESIVE SOIL 8.8 BEARING CAPACITY EQUATION FOR THE BASE RESISTANCE 8.9 BEARING CAPACITY EQUATIONS FOR THE BASE IN COHESIVE SOIL 8.10 BEARING CAPACITY EQUATION FOR THE BASE IN GRANULAR SOIL 8.11 BEARING CAPACITY EQUATIONS FOR THE BASE IN COHESIVE IGM OR ROCK (OāNEILL AND REESE, 1999) 8.12 ESTIMATION OF SETTLEMENTS OF DRILLED PIERS AT WORKING LOADS 8.12.1 Normalized LoadāTransfer Methods 8.13 LATERAL BEARING CAPACITY OF DRILLED PIERS 8.13.1 Characteristic Load Method (Duncan et al., 1994) 8.14 TYPES OF CAISSONS 8.15 DIFFERENT SHAPES OF WELL 8.15.1 Construction of Well Foundation 8.1.2 Forces Acting on a Well Foundation 8.15.3 Depth of Well Foundation and Bearing Capacity 8.16 ANALYSIS OF WELL FOUNDATION 8.16.1 Design of well cap 8.16.2 Design of Well Steining 8.16.3 Design of Well Curb and Cutting Edge 8.16.4 Design of Curb for Sinking 8.16.5 Design of Curb Resting on the Bottom Plug |
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| CHAPTER 9: MACHINE FOUNDATIONS | 9.1 INTRODUCTION 9.2 BASIC DEFINITIONS 9.3 SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION 9.4 FUNDAMENTALS OF VIBRATION 9.5 MODES OF VIBRATION 9.6 FREE VIBRATIONS AND FORCED VIBRATIONS 9.6.1 Resonance 9.7 DAMPING 9.7.1 Negative Damping 9.7.2 Free Vibration with Damping 9.7.3 Forced Vibration without Damping 9.7.4 Free Vibrations with Damping 9.7.5 Forced Vibration with Damping 9.8 CONSTANT FORCEāAMPLITUDE EXCITATION 9.9 QUADRATIC EXCITATION 9.10 MACHINE FOUNDATIONSāSPECIAL FEATURES 9.10.1 Types of Machines and Machine Foundations 9.10.2 General Criteria for Design of Machine Foundations 9.10.3 Design Approach for Machine Foundation 9.10.4 Vibration Analysis of a Machine Foundation 9.11 ELASTIC HALF SPACE THEORY 9.12 MASSāSPRINGāDASHPOT MODEL 9.13 FOUNDATIONS FOR RECIPROCATING MACHINES 9.13.1 Design Criteria 9.13.2 Calculation of Unbalanced Inertial Forces 9.14 FOUNDATIONS FOR IMPACT MACHINES 9.14.1 Special Considerations 9.14.2 Design Data 9.14.3 Elastic Pad under the Anvil 9.14.4 Velocity of Anvil 9.14.5 Velocity of Tup and Anvil after Impact 9.14.6 Dynamic Analysis of Foundation for Impact Machines 9.15 DESIGN CRITERIA 9.15.1 Design Approach 9.15.2 Barkanās Empirical Procedure 9.15.3 Weight of Foundation 9.15.4 Base Area of the Foundation Block 9.15.5 Minimum Thickness of Foundation 9.16 VIBRATION ISOLATION 9.16.1 Types of IsolationāTransmissibility 9.16.2 Methods of Isolation 9.16.3 Properties of Isolating Materials 9.17 CONSTRUCTION ASPECTS OF MACHINE FOUNDATIONS 9.17.1 Concrete 9.17.2 Reinforcement 9.17.3 Expansion Joints 9.17.4 Connecting Elements 9.17.5 Spring Absorbers 9.18 Provision for Tuning |
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| CHAPTER 10: GEOTEXTILES REINFORCED EARTH AND GROUND ANCHORS | 10.1 INTRODUCTION 10.1.1 Geotextiles 10.1.2 Geogrids 10.1.3 Geonets 10.1.4 Geocomposites 10.1.5 Geomembranes 10.1.6 Geosynthetic Clay Liners 10.1.7 Geofoam 10.1.8 Geopipe 10.1.9 Turf Reinforcement Mats 10.1.10 Geocell 10.2 GEOTEXTILES 10.2.1 Geotextiles as Separators 10.2.2 Geotextiles as Reinforcement 10.2.3 Geotextiles in Filtration and Drainage 10.3 REINFORCED EARTH AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 10.4 BACKFILL AND REINFORCING MATERIALS 10.4.1 Backfill 10.4.2 Reinforcing Material 10.5 GEOGRID 10.6 CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 10.6.1 Design Consideration for a Reinforced Earth Wall 10.6.2 Design Method 10.6.2.1 Pressure due to Surcharge (a) of Limited Width, and (b) Uniformly Distributed 10.6.2.2 Vertical Pressure 10.6.2.3 Reinforcement and Distribution 10.6.2.4 Length of Reinforcement 10.6.2.5 Strip tensile Force at any Depth z 10.6.2.6 Frictional Resistance 10.6.2.7 Sectional Area of Metal Strips 10.6.2.8 Spacing of Geotextile layers 10.6.2.9 Frictional Resistance 10.7 DESIGN WITH GEOGRID LAYERS 10.8 EXTERNAL STABILITY 10.9 REINFORCED SOIL BEDS 10.9 DESIGN OF GEOCELL FOUNDATIONS |
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PILE FOUNDATION
| PILE FOUNDATION LECTURE [NPTEL] | PDF LINKS |
|---|---|
| 1.2 INTRODUCTION 1.3 TYPES OF PILES AND THEIR STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS ļ Steel Piles ļ Concrete Piles ļ Cased Pile ļ Uncased Pile ļ Timber Piles ļ Composite Piles ļ Comparison of Pile Types 1.4ESTIMATING PILE LENGTH ļ Point Bearing Piles ļ Friction Piles ļ Compaction Piles 1.5 INSTALLATION OF PILES |
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| 1.1 LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM 1.2 EQUATIONS FOR ESTIMATING PILE CAPACITY ļ Point Bearing Capacity, šøš ļ Frictional Resistance, šøš 1.3 MEYERHOFāS METHODS ESTIMATION OF šøš ļ Sand ļ Clay (š = š šondition) 1.4 VESICāS METHOD-ESTIMATION OF šøš 1.5 JANBUāS METHOD-ESTIMATION OF šøš 1.6 COYLE AND CASTELLOāS METHOD-ESTIMATION OF šøš IN SAND 1.7 FRICTIONAL RESISTANCE (šøš) IN SAND |
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| 1.1FRICTIONAL (SKIN) RESISTANCE IN CLAY 1.2POINT BEARING CAPACITY OF PILES RESTING ON ROCK 1.3PILE LOAD TESTS |
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| 1.1 COMPARISON OF THEORY WITH FIELD LOAD TEST RESULTS 1.2 SETTLEMENT OF PILES 1.3 PULLOUT RESISTANCE OF PILES ļ Piles in Clay ļ Piles in Sand 1.4 LATERALLY LOADED PILES ļ Elastic Solution ļ Ultimate Load Analysis-Bromās Method ļ Ultimate Load Analysis-Meyerhofās Method ļ Piles in Sand |
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| 1.1 PILE-DRIVING FORMULAS 1.2 NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION ļ Clay Fill over Granular Soil ļ Granular Soil Fill over Clay 1.3 GROUP PILES 1.4 GROUP EFFICIENCY |
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| 1.1 ULTIMATE CAPACITY OF GROUP 1.2 PILES IN SATURATED CLAY 1.3 PILES IN ROCK 1.4 CONSOLIDATION SETTLEMENT OF GROUP PILES 1.5 ELASTIC SETTLEMENT OF GROUP PILES 1.6 UPLIFT CAPACITY OF GROUP PILES |
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DRILLED-SHAFT AND CAISSON FOUNDATIONS & WELL FOUNDATION
| TOPIC | PDF LINK |
|---|---|
| 1.1 CAISSONS 1.2 TYPES OF CAISSONS 1.3 THICKNESS OF CONCRETE SEAL IN OPEN CAISSONS 1.4 EXAMPLES & SOLUTIONS ļ Check for Perimeter Shear ļ Check Against Buoyancy |
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| WELL FOUNDATION | CLICK HERE |
Here are several high-quality free PDF resources for Foundation Engineering, spanning textbooks and IES/GATE-level study materials:
š 1. Advanced & Handbook Textbooks
- Advanced Foundation Engineering ā a complete academic paperback covering soil behavior, design methods, pile foundations, etc. š Free PDF available.
- Foundation Engineering Handbook (2nd ed.) ā a detailed geotechnical reference covering principles and practical design. š Free PDF available.
- Intro. to Soil Mechanics & Foundations by P. Purushothama Raj ā a popular undergraduate textbook with foundation components. š Free PDF.
- Geotechnical Engineering: Principles & Practices by V. N. S. Murthy ā includes soil mechanics and foundation theory. š Free PDF.
š ļø 2. IES / GATE-level Study Materials (CivilEnggForAll)
- Foundation Engineering Study Material (for GATEāÆ2025 prep) ā includes site investigation, bearing capacity, slope stability, earth pressure, shallow & deep foundations. Provided by IES Master & ACE Academy. š Free PDF ā downloadable via CivilEnggForAll.
- IES Master Soil Mechanics ā closely linked to foundation concepts; foundational for deeper learning. š Free PDF via Scribd.
š 3. University Coursebook
- Sathyabama University Unit on Foundation Engineering ā concise 100+ page PDF with notes on retaining walls, earth pressures, etc.
š§© How to Use These PDFs Effectively
- Start with textbooks (Murthy, Purushothama Raj) for theoretical depth.
- Use compiled IES Master material for exam-focused topicsābearing capacity, piles, slopes.
- Check Sathyabama notes for structured university-style summaries.
- Practice: Solve end-of-chapter problems and past GATE/IES questions.
- Create quick-reference sheets with formulas (Terzaghi, Meyerhof, etc.) and design charts.
ā Ready to Proceed?
š Next Steps:
- Want a download link list (Google Drive/Mega URLs) for each PDF?
- Prefer specific topics, like pile design or slope stability?
- Need combined PDFs into one folder or index sheet?
Just let me know your preferencesāhappy to share direct access or organize them for your study flow!