Shallow Insulated Foundation at Galena, Alaska
A Case Study
LAWRENCE S. DANYLUK
INTRODUCTION
ings codes require footings to be placed below
2
the expected depth of frost. There is currently an
A 2000-ft addition to an aircraft control tower
effort to change the codes to allow for the use
was constructed at Galena, Alaska, during the
and implementation of SIFs.
summer of 1990. Because of limited resources, a
This report will first describe the design and
shallow insulated foundation (SIF) was specified
construction of an SIF in an extremely remote
instead of a traditional foundation (one in which
and harsh environment. It will then describe the
the bottom of the footing is placed lower than the
performance of the foundation during the fol-
anticipated depth of frost penetration). In this
lowing three winters.
case, a 20-in.-deep foundation was constructed
instead of one at 12 ft. An SIF design allows the
footing to be placed at a much shallower depth
SITE CHARACTERIZATIONS
by incorporating the use of strategically placed
Galena is a small village located in west cen-
insulation around the foundation. The insulation
tral Alaska. It is approximately 350 miles north-
utilizes heat from the building and surrounding
west of Anchorage and 275 miles west of Fair-
soil, redirects it to the area around the founda-
banks along the banks of the Yukon River (Fig. 1).
tion, and thus reduces the frost penetration.
Adjacent to the village is an airfield and associat-
The Scandinavian countries routinely use
ed support buildings used by the Air Force for
insulation around shallow foundations to pro-
aircraft out of Elmendorf AFB. The Air Force is
tect them from frost damage (Farouki 1992);
responsible for the operation and maintenance of
however, the use of the SIF system in this country
the airport and associated facilities. The only
is still new and somewhat limited. Most build-
68
Barrow
Arctic Circle
Galena
60
r
e
Riv
Fairbanks
Anchorage
Yuk
52
Statute Miles
0
250
0
300
Kilometers
180
140
Figure 1. Location map, Galena, Alaska.
160
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