EECI 4271 Foundation
Engineering
Technical University of Kenya
Department of civil engineering
Dr. Eng. Alphonce A. Owayo.
Prerequisites
Soil mechanics IA & I B
Purpose
The aim of this course is to enable the student to;
1. analyse the various earth pressure conditions for walls
and sheetpiles for various conditions of backfill and anchorage
2. understand and analyze the various state of soil bearing
capacity
3. analysis and design of shallow foundations
Ja-April 2023 2
Expected Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, the student should be able to;
1. use limit analysis and limit equilibrium techniques to
determine the limiting lateral earth pressure acting on retaining
structures
2. determine in-situ lateral stresses based on fundamental soil
properties and understand how limiting earth pressure are
mobilized from these values by relative soil structure
movement
3. determine lateral stresses induced on retaining structures due to
external loads and construction procedures
4. design a gravity retaining structure within a limit –state design
framework
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5. understand the working principle behind shallow foundation
6. solve shallow foundation capacity using Terzaghi’s bearing
capacity equation and/or limit state analysis techniques
7. understand the behavior of soil during consolidation and
determine the mechanical properties which characterize this
behaviour from laboratory testing
8. compute ground settlement as a function of time due to
consolidation analytically
Ja-April 2023 4
Course Content
Earth pressures: lateral earth pressure, Rankine's theory (active and
passive pressures), Coulomb's theory (active and passive
pressures). Bearing capacity of shallow foundations: Limit analysis
(upper and lower bound solutions), Rankine solution, Terzaghi’s
analysis, Meyerhof equation, eccentrically loaded foundation, Field
correction. Settlement of shallow foundations: Elastic settlement,
consolidation process and settlement, short and long term
settlement. All related Laboratory and field tests.
Ja-April 2023 5
Methodology: Lectures, field and laboratory tests, and
design projects
Course Texts:
1. Craig’s soil mechanics 8th Edition. J.A. Knappett
and R.F. Craig. Publishers’ Spon press
2. Elements of soil mechanics 8th edition. G.N Smith &
Ian G.N Smith Publishers Blackwell science
3. Soil mechanics and Foundation Engineering. V.N.S.
Murthy. Publishers Dhanpat Rai & sons
4. Fundamentals of Geotechnical Analysis. I.S. Dunn,
L.R. Anderson, F.W Kiefer. Publishers John Wiley &
Sons
5. Basic and Applied Soil Mechanics. Ranjan Gopal,
Rao A.S.R
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6. Construction and geotechnical methods in foundation
engineering. Robert M. Koerner
Publisher: McGraw-hill inc.
7. Pile Foundation Analysis and Design. H.G. Poulos,
E.H Davis. PUBLISHER: John Wiley and Sons
Tools required; Calculator, notebook, Textbooks (if you
can get),
Recommended You Tube Channels (Alphonce Owayo
and Efficient engineer). Related software.
Ja-April 2023 7
Grading;
1. Assignments + Attendance 10%
2. CAT 20%
3. Exams 70%
4. Report (optional) 10% (in which case
CAT is 10%)
Total 100%
Pass mark 40% - D.
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