Estimation of Settlement under Shallow Foundation for Different Regions in Iraq Using SAFE Software

Foundation design must satisfy limited values of settlement. Settlement is an essential criterion in the design process of shallow foundations. To calculate the settlement under different types of shallow foundations, 79 samples were taken from twenty-three sites distributed in three regions: Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah in the northern, central and southern parts of Iraq. Field and laboratory tests were performed to obtain the strength parameters to calculate the bearing capacity. The results obtained for the bearing capacity were used in SAFE software. The software was used to design and analyze the foundation and to calculate the settlements under two types of foundations (raft and continuous) for the three regions. Average and minimum values of bearing capacity were used. The software used subgrade reaction modules values for the design and analysis. According to the results, the suitable, safe and economical type of foundation to be used in Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah regions for the average value of bearing capacity is the continuous type for the first two regions while the raft type is recommended for Basrah region. In case that the minimum bearing capacity values are used, raft foundation is recommended for Mosul and Baghdad. While deep foundation is the suitable type of foundation for Basrah region.