Main functions of caisson foundation are given below.
- Caisson is used in building bridge piers as it stays in water almost all the time.
- Caisson is constructed in connection with excavation for the foundation of piers and abutments in rivers and lake, bridges breakwater dock structures for the point of view of shore protection, lamp house etc.
- It is also used for pump house which is subjected to huge vertical as well as horizontal forces.
- It is sometimes used for large and multi-storied buildings.
- Pneumatic caisson is used in railway bridges, garbage pits, water supply, sewage facilities etc.
- Caisson serves as an impervious core wall on earth dams when placed adjacent to each other.
- Caisson provides an access to the deep shaft or a tunnel.
- Caisson provides an enclosure below water level for installing machinery, pumps etc.
- Caissons have also been used in the installation of hydraulic elevators where a single stage ram is installed below the ground level.