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Arctic Surface Foundation©
 
 The
Arctic Surface Foundation© is a foundation system
intended for small to moderate sized buildings in remote
arctic locations where seasonal and long-term ground
movements are possible, and other measures to obtain a
stable foundation system are less economic or practical. The
system may be placed directly upon arctic tundra, when
gravel is not available, with only minor leveling of
tussocks under each bearing pad.
The system is an integration of:
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Steel trusses
spanning one direction
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Torque tubes in
the opposing direction, to resist the effects of
differential ground settlement/heaving on
distorting the supporting top bearing-plane of the
foundation
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A means of load
adjustment of the individual foundation bearing
pads
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All components
are ordinarily assembled by
field-bolting.
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The uniqueness of the system lies in the use of large
diameter torque tubes to resist potential warping
deformations in the plane of the top of the foundation,
which is not addressed by other rectilinear framing
concepts. Further, the provision for adjustment of bearing
pads is made by a friction clamp and jacking arrangement
using light-weight portable jacking equipment, which may be
required periodically. This alleviates potential
difficulties overcoming the effects of corrosion on jacking
performed by means of large screws, and simplifies
utilization of the weight of the footing pads to resist
net-uplift. Footing pads may be designed from
pressure-treated timber, or precast concrete. Rigid
insulation may be added to the bottom of the pads to further
reduce heat transfer, and when timber footing pads are used,
to further retard decay due to wet conditions.
Wood nailers are normally bolted to the top surface of the
steel trusses, to receive a variety of timber framing
materials. The system is particularly suited for use with
insulated stress-skin panels (ISSP), but can accommodate
virtually any framing system.
The foundation system is designed case-by-case for
project-specific building and ground conditions. It can be
designed to accommodate a variety of contingency conditions,
involving various patterns of loss of ground support, or of
localized ground heaving. Varying levels of system
performance can be achieved, as limited by the constraints
of project economics. These contingency conditions arising
from non-uniform bearing support will ordinarily govern the
design, and as a result, the Arctic Surface Foundation©
system has a robust capacity for building code specified
loadings.
For a project-specific application for the Arctic Surface
Foundation©, contact Mark at mark@alaskaengineer.com
OWNERSHIP AND USE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Arctic Surface Foundation© 2003, with its
integration of features and details described herein is an
innovative foundation design concept, and as such, is the
intellectual property of Mark D. Anderson, consulting
engineer. Mark D. Anderson, consulting engineer
retains all common law, statutory, and other reserved
rights, including the copyright and the patent rights
thereto.
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