How to Design Matt Foundation: Answer
There are many methods out there for the design of matt or raft foundation.
- First of all you should have idea or an assessment of how much thicknesses and other dimensions are required.
- Designers usually rely on strip method i.e. take a strip of unit width along the length of the mat and analyze it as a combined footing.
- This method is not very accurate and uses many approximation. But this will give you good idea for initial estimation say for further analysis, quick check and cost estimation purposes.
- Finite element method may be best for detailed analysis because of readily available software for exact designs. There are some other methods also available e.g. ACI committee 336 proposed approximate flexible method, Finite difference method and finite grid method.
Optimum design of mat foundation thickness based on type of soil, maximum allowable settlement, differential settlement, soil bearing capacity and recommendation of American Concrete Institute "ACI" can be obtained by using developed curves and charts.
Softwares that may be used to Design Matt Foundation are:
- ADAPT-MAT Foundation Design Software
- Structure Point Matt Software
- RISA Foundation design Software
For more info:
Geotechnical & Foundation Engineering | Soil Mechanics | Geotechnical Books