Shallow Foundations: Discussions and Problem Solving is written for civil engineers and all civil engineering students taking courses in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. It covers the analysis, design and application of shallow foundations, with a primary focus on the interface between the structural elements and underlying soil. Topics such as site investigation, foundation contact pressure and settlement, vertical stresses in soils due to foundation loads, settlements, and bearing capacity are all fully covered, and a chapter is devoted to the structural design of different types of shallow foundations. It provides essential data for the design of shallow foundations under normal circumstances, considering both the American (ACI) and the European (EN) Standard Building Code Requirements, with each chapter being a concise discussion of critical and practical aspects. Applications are highlighted through solving a relatively large number of realistic problems. A total of 180 problems, all with full solutions, consolidate understanding of the fundamental principles and illustrate the design and application of shallow foundations.

Tharwat M. Baban is a retired Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Salahaddin, Erbil, Iraq. He has a B.Sc. (Hon) degree from the University of Baghdad and an M.S. Degree in Geotechnical Engineering from California State University at Berkeley. Baban taught undergraduate and graduate classes on a range of civil engineering topics, especially soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering and was geotechnical consultant to the Department of Soil Investigation at the governmental Hawlair (Erbil) Construction Laboratory.