UNDER-GROUND/ FOUNDATION
INTRODUCTION
At Epicenter Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd., we provide specialized engineering solutions for a wide range of underground structures and foundation systems, tailored to meet the demands of industrial, commercial, and infrastructure projects. From designing an isolated footing for a warehouse to engineering a robust block foundation for a reciprocating compressor, our team has the expertise to handle foundations of any scale or complexity.
Our extensive experience covers driven and bored piles, flexible and rigid rafts, tank and stack foundations, retaining walls, underground pits, trenches, pipe sleepers, combined footings, strip footings, and isolated footings. Each design is developed in compliance with relevant codes and site-specific geotechnical conditions, ensuring safety, durability, and cost efficiency. By integrating structural integrity with constructability, we deliver underground solutions that perform reliably and support long-term operational success.
OUR OFFERINGS FOR THE RCC SECTOR
Architectural & Structural Design
- RCC design for residential buildings, commercial complexes, and institutional facilities
- Structural analysis and design of beams, slabs, columns, shear walls, and staircases
- Planning and detailing of water tanks, lift cores, ramps, and balconies
- Preparation of architectural layouts, working drawings, and municipal submission packages
Substructure & Foundation Engineering
- Shallow and deep foundation design (isolated, combined, raft, and pile foundations)
- Machine foundation design for equipment loads and dynamic behavior
- Design of retaining structures, basement walls, and diaphragm walls
- Structural detailing for waterproofing, dewatering pits, sumps, and trenches
Structural Modifications & Additions
- Retrofit and strengthening of existing RCC structures
- Engineering for vertical or lateral expansion of buildings
- Seismic checks, stability evaluations, and rehabilitation support
SPECIALIZATION
Foundation
From an isolated footing for a warehouse to block foundation for a reciprocating compressor, our engineers will handle any foundation for your project.
Our experience with foundations includes piles (driven & bored), flexible rafts, rigid rafts, tank foundations, stack foundations, retaining structures, u/g pits, trenches, pipe sleepers, combined footings, strip footings & isolated footings.
Our in-house ‘ECE Footing’ software designs the most economical spread footing, considering material costs of concrete and re-bars, with remarkable ease. Likewise, our in-house ‘ECE Pedestal’ software designs the most economical RCC pedestal. Our clients have benefitted greatly from the use of our customised design software that is unique to ECE.
Retaining Structures
We have been designing retaining structures such as cantilever retaining walls, culverts, trench walls, embankments, slope protection measures for reclaimed lands and wing walls as part of the project infrastructure for our clients.
Soil properties play an extremely important role in design of retaining structures. Anticipated loads such as design water table, active and passive soil pressures and surcharge load must be carefully looked into during the design phase.
U/G Pit
Our engineers have the skills and experience to design your u/g sump/ pit/ tank of any length, width and depth.
ECE engineers have designed pits as deep as 10.5m. We are familiar with requirements for storage of molten sulphur, amine sump, oily water, sewage water and potable water. Our experience with u/g pits includes those with open top, monolithic RCC slab, precast RCC slabs, gratings and chequered plates.
U/G Trench
We have the ‘know-how’ and experience to design your u/g trench of any width, depth, shape and slope.
We have designed trenches for a host of sectors for applications including storm water, oily water, electrical cables, instrumentation cables and process piping. Our experience with trenches includes those with open top, monolithic RCC slab, precast RCC slabs, gratings and chequered plates.
Shallow Foundation
Shallow foundations including spread footings, combined footings, and mat (raft) foundations are critical structural systems designed to transfer building loads directly to the ground near the surface. Structural design is central to ensuring stability, uniform load distribution, and resistance to settlement.
Spread footings are commonly used under individual columns where soil has adequate bearing capacity. Combined footings support two or more columns when they are closely spaced or near property lines. Mat foundations are suitable for heavy structural loads or weak soil conditions, distributing loads over a large area to minimize bearing pressure and differential settlement.
Each system is designed based on detailed geotechnical analysis, load combinations, and serviceability criteria. Our structural engineering approach ensures reliable, code-compliant shallow foundations tailored to site-specific soil profiles and performance requirements.
Deep Foundation
Deep foundations such as piles, pile caps, and piers are essential structural systems used when surface soils lack the strength to support building loads. Structural design is crucial for ensuring safe load transfer to deeper, stable strata, often located several meters below ground level.
Piles, whether cast-in-situ or driven precast, are selected based on load requirements, soil conditions, and project constraints. They resist both vertical and lateral loads and are typically grouped with pile caps that distribute superstructure loads uniformly.
Pile caps are heavily reinforced to handle concentrated forces and maintain structural integrity. Detailed structural analysis considers axial loads, bending, group effects, and settlement behavior.
Deep foundation systems are commonly used in high-rise buildings, industrial structures, and bridges where load intensity or soil limitations demand deeper support.
Our team designs robust, code-compliant deep foundations that ensure long-term stability, structural safety, and optimal performance in challenging ground conditions.
Shorting & Strutting
Effective shoring and strutting systems are engineered to temporarily retain soil and groundwater during deep excavations, ensuring adjacent structure stability and worker safety.
Key considerations begin with site-specific soil mechanics, analyzing cohesion, groundwater flow, and surcharge loads from nearby traffic or buildings. The design selects optimal wall types (sheet piles, secant walls, or soldier beams) and strategically spaces pre-stressed struts or ground anchors to resist lateral earth pressures while controlling deflection.
Real-time monitoring (inclinometers, strain gauges) validates performance, and rigorous sequencing installing supports incrementally as excavation progresses prevents soil relaxation.
Compliance with codes (BS 5975, EN 1997-1) enforces safety margins (FOS ≥1.5), making these temporary structures a critical fusion of geotechnical insight and precision structural engineering.
Dewatering
Effective dewatering systems are engineered to manage groundwater and pore pressure during excavations, ensuring stable soil conditions and safe construction.
Key design begins with site-specific hydrogeology viz. mapping aquifer depth, permeability (k-values), and recharge rates to select optimal methods: wellpoints for shallow sands, deep wells for confined aquifers, or vacuum-assisted systems for silts.
Precise pump sizing (based on inflow calculations) and filtered discharge (meeting EPA/ISO 14001 standards) prevent settlement or contamination. Real-time monitoring (piezometers, flow meters) validates drawdown targets while safeguarding adjacent structures.
Strategic implementation, phasing well installation with excavation, balances water table control with structural integrity, turning saturated ground into workable space through calculated water extraction.