17-11-2014

Geotechnical Investigation Reports

and
Foundation Recommendations
-Present status in India
-Examples

Prof. V.S.Raju

(Formerly: Director, IIT Delhi &

Professor and Dean, IIT Madras)
Email: rajuvs_b@yahoo.com
1
Prof. V.S. Raju

CHOICE OF APPROPRIATE FOUNDATION AND

EXECUTION

 Optimum foundation design should ensure: technical

adequacy, cost effectiveness and ease of execution.

 This is not easy, because of many variables including

insufficient and inaccurate information at the time of design.

 Variation in strata and changes in project requirement during

execution

Prof.V.S.Raju 2

1
 17-11-2014

TOPICS COVERED

 Inadequacy of the Investigations and Inappropriate

Foundation Recommendations with Illustrative Examples

1. Fertilizer Plant on the East Coast

2. Fertilizer Plant in Gangetic Belt

3. Office cum Residential Complex at Jodhpur

4. University Campus at Adilabad District

5. L&T Serene County (Residential Campus)

3
Prof.V.S.Raju

FERTILIZER PLANT ON THE EAST COAST

The average soil strata consists of :

 top layer of dense fine sand 4 to 8 m thick.

 followed by soft marine clay up to a depth of 14 to 18 m

below ground level.

 very stiff clay up to 30 to 40 m below ground level.

Prof.V.S.Raju 4

2
 17-11-2014

Prof.V.S.Raju 5

PROBLEMS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF SOFT CLAY LAYER

 For site grading, 1- 2 m fill is required

- results in a settlement of 12 cm of soft clay.
- Along with clay, sand layer also moves down.

 In case of pile foundation, large negative drag on piles

from soft clay and sand layer.

 Considerable reduction in pile capacity (upto 50%), and

hence increase in the number of piles.

 For structures like bulk storage with large area loads, the
stability of soft clay layer and lateral flow to be checked.

 Large settlements of floors and lateral forces on

neighbouring pile foundations.
6
Prof.V.S.Raju

3
 17-11-2014

FOUNDATIONS ADOPTED

 Precast driven piles were chosen, with bitumen coat

in the top layers to reduce the negative drag.

 All light structures, not sensitive to settlements, are

supported on shallow foundations.

 For structures having distributed loads over large

areas (silos, water storages), surcharge provided on
the periphery to achieve reduced shear stresses on
soft clay.

7
Prof.V.S.Raju

CHOICE OF THE PILE

The original recommendation was to go for bored piles, 45 cm in
diameter.
Two alternative pile types have been tested.

a) Precast driven piles 40 cm x 40 cm, 22 m long

(to be able to drive).
b) Bored cast in situ piles, 45cm dia, 22 m long

 Full scale tests for a final decision on the choice of the

pile type.

 6 test piles, 3 each of the 2 types, installed in 3 different

locations in close proximity.

 Bored cast in-situ piles were installed by bailer boring

method.
8
Prof.V.S.Raju

4
 17-11-2014

RESULTS OF PILE LOAD TESTS

9
Prof.V.S.Raju

Table 1: WORKING LOAD IN TONS AS PER IS 2911

Pile 2 / 3 of Load at 12 Half of Failure Working Load

Failure Load
No. mm settlement Load (smaller of 2 and 4)
(3)
(1) (2) (4) (5)

P1 73 160 80 73 (100)*
B2 55 108 54 54
P3 110 194 97 97
B4 32 54 27 27

P5 85 164 82 82

B6 65 120 60 60

 The pile length is 19.5 m, and failure load extrapolated for 22 m

length is 100 tons.

10
Prof.V.S.Raju

5
 17-11-2014

CONCLUSIONS
 Precast driven piles with design load of 70 to 100 tonnes
adopted for the following reasons :

 For comparable dimensions, the precast pile has 50 to

80% higher capacity than a bored pile.

 Precast pile offers better protection to reinforcement.

This is particularly important under the present saline
ground water conditions.

 The jetting of precast pile up to 12 m will reduce the

friction over this depth, and consequently the effects of
negative drag.

 In case of precast piles, the negative drag can be

reduced by applying a slip layer of bitumen.
11
Prof.V.S.Raju

Conclusions (Contd.)

 Bored piles not preferred for the following reasons:

 Lower Capacity

 Boring operations through stiff fissured clay will result

in softening of this layer, thereby limiting the load
carrying capacity of piles.

 There is no possibility of applying any slip layer and to

reduce the negative drag.

12
Prof.V.S.Raju

6
 17-11-2014

ANTICIPATED NEGATIVE DRAG

 40 tonnes based on theoretical consideration.
 Field load tests on
i) Short piles resting on soft clay,
ii) Instrumented piles, where the load distribution
with depth has been measured.

 Model tests for the proper choice of bitumen coating to

reduce negative drag.
i) Precast concrete 10 cm dia and 50 cm long piles
were used.
ii) Bitumen coatings using different grades of
bitumen were applied, and results showed 80 to
90% reduction in friction.
iii) Finally SAE 80 grade bitumen was adopted. 13
Prof.V.S.Raju

7
17-11-2014

8
17-11-2014

9
17-11-2014

10
17-11-2014

11
17-11-2014

12
17-11-2014

13
17-11-2014

14
 17-11-2014

FERTILIZER PLANT IN GANGETIC BELT

The Soil Strata:

 Silty sand with low N values (<10) upto 10 m depth,

 N > 20 beyond 20 m depth.

 N-values ranging between 10 to 20 for the layer between
10 to 20 m depth.

 High water table with possibility of liquefaction during

earthquake.

30
Prof.V.S.Raju

15
 17-11-2014

PHASE I : INITIAL FOUNDATION DESIGN

 RCC Piles, Driven Cast-in situ, 400 mm dia

 Sand Compaction Piles, 2-3 Rows Around RCC Piles,
 Pile capacities
 Vertical downward : 50 t, Tension : 5t, Lateral : 2.5t,
 Result – Total Requirement
 16,000 RCC Piles
 32,000 Compaction Piles
 Problem of execution on time

31
Prof.V.S.Raju

REVIEW AND FURTHER INVESTIGATION (Pile Load Tests)

 Revised Pile Capacities

 Vertical : 65t
 Tension : 25t
 Lateral : 3.5t
 Reduction in RCC Piles : 40%
 Increase in spacing of compaction piles from 3d to 4 d ;
reduction in Compaction Piles : 50%
 Saving in construction time : 6 months
 Substantial cost savings as well.
32
Prof.V.S.Raju

16
 17-11-2014

PHASE II OF THE PLANT

 No RCC Piles.
 900 mm dia Vibro-Stone Columns with varied spacing
(2d,2.25d and 2.5d) to suit the foundation requirement.
 Full scale field trials.
 Several Footing tests for confirmation.
 Substantial savings in time and cost.

33
Prof.V.S.Raju

LOAD kg / m2 x 103

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0

2
SETTLEMENT (mm)

8 7.5

10

12 11.77

LOAD SETTLEMENT CURVES FOR SINGLE COLUMN LOAD TEST

34
Prof.V.S.Raju

17
 17-11-2014

LOAD kg / m2 x 103
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0

4
Aonla (Compressor House)
SETTLEMENT

8 Single column Test

8.6
(mm)

10
10 10.5
12 Aonla (Benefield)
Aonla (Prill Tower)
Three Column Test

LOAD SETTLEMENT CURVES FOR SINGLE AND THREE COLUMN TEST

35
Prof.V.S.Raju
Prof.V.S.Raju

18
 17-11-2014

Office cum Residential Complex at Jodhpur

2 -3 Storeyed Buildings
Investigations Done

 8 Bore holes drilled to 6 m depth each.

 As per bore logs Rocky strata. Strata starts at Ground

level (GL) in all bore holes except in Bore hole 5, where it
starts at 1.5 m.

 BH 5 is at the extreme corner of the plot where nothing

is planned to be built.

 Bore logs do not give the core recovery, which is a

must to be given. 37
Prof.V.S.Raju

Recommendations by Investigation Agency

1. Open foundations (footings)

2. Unconfined compressive strength of rock
range given 650 to 850 t/m2
3. Calculated safe bearing capacity (SBC) 80 to
100 t/m2

38
Prof.V.S.Raju

19
 17-11-2014

FOUNDATION RECOMMENDATIONS (Contd…)

4. Recommended SBC is 40 t/m2 at 1m

below GL, except in BH 5; where SBC
is 10 t/m2 at 1.2 m depth and 40 t/m2
from 2 m depth onwards.

5. The SBC adopted in Design is not

known. It should have been written on
the drawings.
39
Prof.V.S.Raju

WHAT HAPPENED AT SITE

1. Foundation Depth adopted: 1.5m.

2. Foundation sizes 1.5m x 1.5m to 2.3m x 2.3m

3. For excavation Rock Blasting has been done

4. Instead of excavating / blasting individual pits

for each footing, the entire foot print of all the
buildings has been blasted and excavated. 40
Prof.V.S.Raju

20
 17-11-2014

What Happened at Site (Contd…)

5. This resulted in excavated rock material ranging

from huge boulders to rubble of volume of about
25,000 m3 (Actually needed ≈ 10% of this).

6. Additional issues:
(a) How to dispose of the excavated material.
(b) Huge quantity of soil material for plinth
filling needed.

41
Prof.V.S.Raju

Prof. V.S. Raju’s Investigation of the Situation

and Foundation Recommendations

Basis : Site visit

Inspection of the strata in the
excavated pits
Study of the soil report

1. The investigation is not as per the

relevant Indian Standards.
42
Prof.V.S.Raju

21
 17-11-2014

Prof. V.S. Raju’s Recommendations (Contd …)

2. The recommendations in the report are

wrong and are less by a Factor 3 to 4.

3. The correct SBC values are 150 t/m2 (on a

conservative side) with a minimum size of
footing as 0.8m x 0.8m.
Depth of footing 0.5m to 1m.

43
Prof.V.S.Raju

Prof. V.S. Raju’s Recommendations (Contd …)

4. There is absolutely no justification to stipulate

a foundation depth of 1.5m for the entire site.

5. There was no need at all to make the footing

sizes so big as given (1.5m x 1.5m to 2.3m x
2.3m)

6. There is no need to blast the strata over the

entire foot print of the building.

44
Prof.V.S.Raju

22
 17-11-2014

Prof. V.S. Raju’s Recommendations (Contd …)

7. No need to blast for the individual

footings also as the required likely sizes
are 0.8m x 0.8m to 1.2m x 1.2m, depth
0.5 m to 1.0m only.
Pavement breakers (jack hammers) will
do the job.

45
Prof.V.S.Raju

Photographs of Blasted Rocks

46
Prof.V.S.Raju

23
 17-11-2014

rap

Photographs of Blasted Rocks

47
Prof.V.S.Raju

University Campus at Adilabad District

 Total area ~ 300 acres

 For Phase I development, Only 7 boreholes

 Bore logs improper and inadequate. First SPT

at 10 m below GL.

 Pile Foundations recommended and executed, which are not at all

required.

 Pile safe capacity for 600 mm dia, 12 m length : 83 tons (Very low)
- Settlement of pile up to 10 % of pile diameter could not be attained
by 3 times the design load.

Prof. V.S. Raju 48

24
 17-11-2014

0.00 to 1.80 m Brown clay

1.80 mto 5.80 m yellow First SPT at 10m below G.L ,

clay & Murrum
Required every 1m to 1.5m
5.8 m to 25m
soft rock

Prof. V.S. Raju

Typical Bore Profile 49

Pile Load Tests:

Five Initial Load Tests

At 3 times the design load, settlements are only

2 mm to 27 mm as against permitted 45 mm to
60 mm.

Pile capacities are not revised.

Piles, which are not required in the first place

are grossly over designed.

Prof. V.S. Raju 50

25
 17-11-2014

L&T Serene County

• 30 Acres site

• Strata – Rocks and Boulders with local depressions,

highly uneven.

• 10 towers between 11 and 14 floors

• Recommended SBC by the soil Investigation
Agency 30 t/m2
- One value for the entire site?

51
Prof.V.S.Raju

L&T Serene County

Prof. V.S. Raju 52

26
 17-11-2014

Extreme Issue was with one of the 10 towers built

Tower Dimension : 75 m x 30 m

Highly variable strata at Founding Level.

75 m

Soft Clay
30 m

Hard Rock Hard Murrum

SBC 400 t/m2 80 t/m2 4 m thick
0 t/m2

Tower Foot Print

Prof. V.S. Raju 53

Important:

• These type of variations do occur in rocky and

bouldry strata

• The soft clay is due to a old pond, which

normally gets covered up during site grading.

54
Prof.V.S.Raju

27
 17-11-2014

All these examples reaffirm the

requirement of high quality Geotechnical
Investigation, Interpretation by a
qualified Foundation Engineer in close
collaboration with the Structural
Designer.

55
Prof.V.S.Raju

THANK YOU
JAI HIND

28