Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04079-z RESEARCH ARTICLE - CIVIL ENGINEERING Performance Evaluation of Pre‑fabricated Footing Using Cold‑Formed Steel of Lipped C‑Channel Section Mahmood Md. Tahir 1  · Hossein Mohammadhosseini 1  · Rayed Alyousef 2  · Wong Kah Leong 1  · Musab N. A. Salih 1 Received: 25 February 2019 / Accepted: 29 July 2019 © King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2019 Abstract Conventional pad footing with temporary formwork using plywood or timber is not environmentally friendly and does not contribute to the strength of the foundation. This paper proposed the use of cold-formed lipped channel sections in pre- fabricated pad footings to increase the load capacity and speed up the construction time in addition to the reduction in timber used as the formwork, which leads to eco-friendly construction. An experimental investigation on the proposed pad footing was carried out in this study. Twelve specimens were made and tested with the axial compression force applied to the footing through the column stump to investigate the failure criterion of the footing due to cracks, overall deformation, and load- carrying capacity. All notable failures on the footing specimens were carefully observed and reported. The findings from the experimental investigations revealed a reasonable agreement with the theoretical models calculated based on CEN-EC2. The pre-fabricated composite pad footing demonstrated significant increment in strength as the footing was strengthened using steel sections, instead of steel bar, in comparison with that of conventional pad footing. The study revealed that the proposed pad footing system has the potential to be used as a structural component in mid-rise light-framed steel structures. Keywords Pre-fabrication pad footing · Cold-formed steel · Permanent formwork · Experimental study · Composite structures 1 Introduction The concept of pre-fabrication is a conventional method in the construction field, as it is widely utilised as structural components, such as beams, columns, slabs and walls. The advantages of the pre-fabricated component include quality and precision assurance, fast construction time and lesser material consumption, as compared to fabrication on site. To date, several studies on pre-fabricated component have been carried out. However, there is limited literature on the pre-fabricated foundation system. Foundation is one of the essential sub-structures that transfer loads to the ground. As such, the foundation must be well designed and appropriately built to avoid the settlement of a structure. In general, the foundation can be classified into a shallow foundation and deep foundation, based on the depth of the member as well as the form of load transfer mechanism [1]. According to Das [2], the shallow foundation consists of rectangular foot- ings or individual square footings supporting the columns as well as the strip footings, which support the load-bearing walls. An example of a shallow foundation is pad footing, with a square or rectangular pad and a column locating in the middle part of the footing to develop a consistent pressure to the supporting soil underneath. Generally, pad footings are used for housing and light commercial structures. A conventional type of reinforced concrete pad footing using reinforcement bars is currently practised in Malay- sia. The fabrication of conventional pad footings usually involves temporary formwork using plywood or timber, which are not economical and environmentally friendly and does not contribute to the strength of the foundation. In addition, the corrosion of steel bars, particularly under- ground, due to the existence of sulphate particles in the soil is another problem of using conventional reinforced * Hossein Mohammadhosseini hofa2018@yahoo.com; mhossein@utm.my 1 Institute for Smart Infrastructure and Innovative Construction, School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia 2 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj 11942, Saudi Arabia