6/19/2015

MatFoundationDesignw/STAADPROBentley:STAADproductsEngTips

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MatFoundationDesignw/STAADPRO

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All,
HasanyonedesignedamatfoundationwithSTAADPROandnotpaytheadditionalmoneyfortheirFoundationDesign
module?I'vebeenthroughtheexamples,butfeellikeIneedalittlemoreassistance(research)beforeItacklethe
design.
TIA
IhavedesignedseveralmatsusingStaadwithoutanyadditionalmodules.Ilayoutthematusingplateelementssetto
thethicknessofthemat.ThenIcreatespringsupportsusingtheplatematsupporttype,whichislocatedunderthe
foundationtab.Makesureyoudefinethespringsastensiononlyintheverticaldirection.Todefinethespring,youwill
needtheModulusofSubgradeReactionforthesoils.Thenitissimplyamatterofaddingloadsandrunningthe
analysis.
IhavefoundityieldssmootherresultsifIdivideuplargepointloads,sayfromacolumn,andplacethematthefour
cornersofthecolumn,orsomeothersimilararrangement,dependingongeomtry.
Ihaveusedthismethodformatswhichsupportaslittleastwoindividualcolumns,combinationsofcolumnsandshear
walls,andevenlargematswithmultiplecolumnsandverylargeupliftforces.
ThefirstfewtimesweusedStaad,weweresomewhatsceptical,soweranhandcalculationsusingstandardmat
analysismethodstocompareagainsttheStaadresults.Basedonthiscomparison,andourowngutsensefeelfor
whatitshouldbe,wewerequitesatisfiedwiththeresultsfromStaad.
Inthelast5yearsorso,Ihaveprobablydesigned12or15matsofvaryingsizeusingthisprocedureandhavenothad
anyproblemswithanyofthem.
Thatsaid,mymatsusuallyrangeinthe23footthickrange,andareloadedbyupto10storystructures.Muchthicker
thanthat,Icannotsayhowaccuratethismethodstays.IwouldlovetohearfromsomeonewhohascomparedStaad
toMat3D.
Ohya,forgottomention,sinceaboutStaad2003Ithink,youcanviewsoilpressuredistributioncurvesforthe
mat.Thiswayyoucandesignbothyoursoilbearingpressure,andconcretebendingstressesusingthesamemodel,
justneedtherightsetofloadcombinations.Ialwayscheckpunchingshearbyhand,asIdon'tknowofamethodof
doingthisinStaadusingplateelements.(Thefoundationdesignutilitydoescheckthisthough)
Ialsochecklateralloadsbyhandaswell,thoughIsupposeyoucouldsetuphorizontalspringstosimulatethepassive
resistanceofthesoils.
http://www.reiusa.com/Asp/Webhelp/Pro/Technical_Reference/Commands_and_Input_Instruction
s/Section_5.27.3.htm
1.Whenyousaytensiononlyinverticaldirectionareyousayingdefineat'DIRECTY',notas'DIRECTYONLY'?This
allowsthespringtoslack(liftoff)?
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6/19/2015

MatFoundationDesignw/STAADPROBentley:STAADproductsEngTips

2.WhichmatoptiondoyoupreferFooting,ElasticMatorPlateMat?
3.Doyouincludeyourconcretewallsasastiffelementtokeepbendingoutofyourmat?
4.I'musingasubgrademodulusof75pci.Myinputvalueconvertsto129.6ksf/ft.Stupidquestion,butIcannot
affordtomissthisone.
5.Areyoumodelingyourplates23ftthick?Andbywhatlength?Areyourplates3noded(triangular)or4noded
(quadrilateral)?
TIA

Well,letsseeifIcananswerallofthese:
1."DirectY"iswhatIuse,whichtellsitthatthespringsupportisintheYdirection.ThisthenpinsthefootingintheX
andZdirections."Yonly"literallyonlymeansYdirectiononly.Soifyouhaveanysheardefined,thematwillflyoffto
infinite,sotospeak.Iusethecommand"SpringTension"totellitthatthespringsaretensiononly.Thiswaythesoils
wontbemodeledascapableofholdingdownthemat.Withthetensiononlycommand,itwilliterateuntilit
converges.However,itmightnoteverconverge,whichwilltellyouyourmatisnotlargeenough.
2.IusePlateMat.OneofthetutorialsIbelieveitis,describestheuseofplatematvselasticmat.
3.Whetheryouincludethewallsforthestiffnessisuptoyou.Iwouldsayitdependsonthegeometry.Ihavedone
both,thoughnotonthesamemat,soIcan'tcomparetheeffect.
4.Youcanchangetheinputunitsforthatyouenteryourvalueof75pci,ratherthanconvertingtoKSF/ft.Thisiswhat
Ido,asIhaveafeelforpci,andnonefortheotherunits.
5.Yes,Ihavemodeledplatesthisthick.IthinkIhavegoneashighas4ft.LikeIsaid,wewerespecticalatfirst,but
afterrunningsomeverifications,wefeltsatisfiedwiththeresults.Istronglyencourageyoutodothesame.Atthe
veryleast,itcangiveyouanindicationthatyouhavemodeledthematandspringscorrectly.Iususallytrytokeepmy
elementsaboutthesamewidthasthedepth.THoughIdoaddmoreintrickyareas.Ihaveusedboth3and4noded,
againtogetafeelforit.Iusuallyuse3noded,asthatiswhattheautopmeshercreatesbydefaultusingthenew
parametricplatemodelingfunctionin2004.Thisfunctionisgreatasyoudefinethecornersofthemat,andany
internalnodesyouneedforloads,wallsetc.Thenitautomeshesforyou,includingalltheinternalpointsyoudefined.
Hopethishelpsclarifyabit.
Thanksabunch!!!Ireallyappreciateyourhelp.

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