PROCESS

READING POWER OPERATIONS

Design Guide No. PPSD-A-DG-024-SE-0129
SOIL-SUPPORTED MAT FOUNDATIONS USING STAAD.Pro
REVISION: 0

DATE: March 2007

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OWNER(S): STAAD Foundation Committee

Approved:

1.0

Rodney K. Simonetti

PURPOSE
To establish general recommendations for designing soil supported mat foundations using
STAAD.Pro finite element analysis (FEA).

2.0

ABSTRACT
Over the past several years the design of soil-supported mat foundations have been typically
designed using STAAD.Pro finite element analysis. However, during this time, a standard
method of design has never been implemented to ensure consistency across projects. This
design guide standardizes the methods of analysis for soil supported mat foundations and
ensures accurate results that are current with industry practices. Topics of discussion include
mesh size, plate element length to width ratio, vertical and lateral spring supports based on soil
subgrade modulus, proper command usage; rigid links for load transfer, and foundation models
with uplift. The recommendations in this Design Guide are based on the findings in PPSD-A-LI024-0008, Design of Soil-Supported Mat Foundation Using STAAD.Pro (Reference 1).

3.0

DESIGN
3.1

ELEMENT MESH SIZE

Plate element meshes should be rectangular with local axes oriented in the direction of
the primary reinforcing. The use of triangular (3 sided) meshes should be avoided.

Use STAAD Structure Wizard tools (Reference 2), quadrilateral mesh tool and
triangle mesh tool or department CBA STAAD Plate Element Generator Spreadsheet
to create required mesh.

Maximum mesh size should not exceed plate thickness.

Minimum mesh size should not be less than 12 inches.

Element aspect ratio should not be excessive. The ratio should be on the order of 1:1
and preferably less than 4:1.

When assigning nodes to an element using the STAAD Structure Wizard in the input
data, it is essential that the nodes be specified clockwise, with the starting node being
in the upper left-hand corner of the foundation. This insures that the analytical top
and bottom surfaces of the mat match the physical foundation.

When determining mesh size, be sure to consider factors that could impact the model
layout, such as applied loading, STAAD analysis time and post processing of data.

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3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

SUPPORT CONDITIONS

Use the PLATE MAT command for generating soil springs (See Section 3.4 below).

Do not use the ELASTIC MAT command.

LATERAL SOIL SPRINGS

Use soil lateral spring values as part of the PLATE MAT command (Reference 2).

If no lateral soil sub-grade modulus is provided in the geotechnical recommendations,

use 50% of the vertical soil sub-grade modulus for lateral spring generation.
(Reference 3)

Note that foundation lateral displacement results may not be realistic due to soil lateral
spring support assumptions. If lateral displacement is a concern the engineer should
consider the effects of embedment or other boundary conditions.

The Engineer should decide if in-plane membrane stresses should be evaluated and
considered for reinforcement design. In most cases this is not an issue and can be
ignored since values are usually insignificant.

PLATE MAT COMMAND (Reference 2)

Use STAAD.Pro Command:

Plate list PLATE MAT DIR ALL SUBGRADE f3 f4 f5 (PRINT) (COMP)
YR -0.1 0.1 PLATE MAT DIR ALL SUBGRADE f3 f4 f5 (PRINT) (COMP)
to generate soil spring support constants. Refer to the STAAD Technical Reference
Manual for additional information.

Consider special support conditions such as spring tension/compression, nonlinear

springs, dynamic load cases and inclined supports.

Do not use the SET Z UP command. (Global Y must be the vertical axis).

Use the PRINT command to include the node influence areas for each support in the
output file.

RIGID LINKS FOR LOAD INPUT

Rigid links may be used to simplify the application of loads to the mat and to account
for the eccentricity of the load relative to the centroid of the mat.

Use releases at the bottom of the links. Release MZ and MY.

The height of the angled portion of the link should equal the thickness of the
concrete slab. Do not provide a vertical link to the slab directly under the load (if
applicable).

The angle of the link will be determined by the plate mesh size and the thickness of the
slab. Varying angles will not affect the results.

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3.6

Try to use as many points of attachment to cover an area at least equal to the area of
the pier, column, etc (within reason) to allow for greater distribution of the load.

Adjust the member properties (AX, IX, IY, & IZ) of the rigid link to equal 10,000 (units
of feet). In general, this approach will work; however, care should be taken when
using these property values with short rigid links. The engineer should review on a
case-by-case basis that the results are reasonable. Rigid links should have a density
equal to zero.

Use the same modulus of elasticity for the rigid link as concrete.

Example of a typical rigid link used for application of a load on a mat:

The use of solid elements instead of rigid links is not recommended.

In general, it is not recommended to apply point or pressure loads directly to the plate
elements. It may be acceptable to apply relatively small loads as direct point loads or
direct pressures.

FOUNDATION MODELS WITH UPLIFT (See Figure 1)

If no uplift exists in the base pressures under the service level loading combinations, it
is acceptable to use linear tension/compression spring supports and generate factored
load combinations using superposition (STAAD Load Combination commands,
Reference 2).
o

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Ignore displacements, reactions, and bearing pressures results for factored load
combinations.

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4.0

If uplift exists in the base pressures under the service level loading combinations, a
non-linear analysis with compression-only spring supports is required (Reference 2).
o

Add SPRING COMPRESSION command to supporting nodes.

Use REPEAT LOAD command instead of LOAD COMB command.

Use CHANGE command for service loading combination cases to reset springs
for each loading.

Complete serviceability design, checking displacements and bearing pressures.

Use one conservative load factor (such as 1.6) based on the applicable code
and design criteria, applied outside the program to obtain the plate element
forces in strength level for concrete mat strength design. Instead of using one
conservative load factor for all combinations, it may be prudent to group
combinations according to an appropriate average load factor.

If only minimal uplift occurs in the bearing pressures under the service level loading
combinations use good engineering judgment to determine if a minimum amount of
uplift is acceptable and a non-linear analysis is not required.

REFERENCES
1. Design of Soil-Supported Mat Foundation Using STAAD.Pro, PPSD-A-LI-024-0008.doc
2. STAAD.Pro Technical Reference Manual
3. F.E.Richart, Jr., R.D.Woods and J.R.Hall, Jr., Vibration of Soils and Foundations p. 340343, 1969

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5.0

APPENDICES
Figure 1 - FLOW CHART FOR MAINTAINING STAAD MODEL STABILITY
Prepare Foundation Design Data
Prepare Loading Information
Input Primary Load Cases
Such as
"LOAD 1 SELF WEIGHT"
"LOAD 2 DEAD LOADS"
....
.
Service Level
"LOAD COMBINATION"

"PERFORM ANALYSIS"

Evaluate base
pressures or
support reactions
to determine if
there is any uplift
at the supports

Yes

No
Yes

Use good engineering

judgment to determine
if a minimum amount
of uplift is
acceptablehence,
will not affect mat
reinforcement design

Continue with serviceability

design, checking
displacements and base
pressures

Add strength level load

combinations using LOAD
COMB commands

Complete STAAD post

processing using Plate Centre
Stress results for
reinforcement design

No

Add SPRING
COMPRESSION & "node_list
KFY" commands to supporting
nodes

Use REPEAT LOAD

command ( not LOAD
COMB command)

Use service level load

combinations (unfactored) to
run "PERFORM ANALYSIS"

Use CHANGE command

after each service load
combination to reset support
springs for each load
combination

Complete serviceability design

It may be prudent to use more than one

conservative factor for all combinations and to
group combinations according to an average
factor for a particular combination

PPSD-A-DG-024-SE-0129

Complete strength level design

using serviceability
combinations with manually
applied load factors 1.2~1.6
according to applicable code for
reinforcement design