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Description
STAAD has the ability to generate supports for structures like slabs
on grade, which also go by the name mat foundations. A mat
foundation is a large concrete slab sitting on soil. The support for
the structure is the soil itself. The resistance of the soil is
represented through a term called Modulus of Subgrade Reaction,
the definition of which may be found in many textbooks on
foundation analysis.
The general approach to solving such problems is to sub-divide the
slab into several plate elements. Each node of the meshed slab will
then have an influence area or a contributory area, which is to say
that soil within the area surrounding that node acts like a spring.
The influence area is then multiplied by the subgrade modulus to
arrive at the spring constant. Subgrade modulus has units of force
per length^3. So, the spring will have units of force/length.
The problem with using this method is that, for irregularly-shaped
or large slabs with many nodes, computing the influence area for
each node can become quite tedious and time-consuming. The
model below exemplifies the problem.
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This is where the Foundation type of support can be useful.
STAAD will calculate the influence areas of all the nodes by itself
and derive the spring constants for you. In STAAD, we refer to
facility as SPRING SUPPORT GENERATION.
STAAD has two options for such supports:
a) The ELASTIC MAT option
b) The PLATE MAT option
The ELASTIC MAT option :
When the spring support generation facility was first introduced in
STAAD, it was based on this method. In fact, this was the only
method available until and including STAAD.Pro 2002 Build 1004.
This method calculates the influence area of the various nodes
using the Delaunay triangle method.
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The distinguishing aspect of this method is that it uses the joint-
list that accompanies the ELASTIC MAT command to form a
closed surface. The area within this closed surface is then
determined and the share of this area for each node in the list is
then calculated.
Hence, while specifying the joint-list, one should make sure that
these joints make up a closed surface. Without a proper closed
surface, the area calculated for the region may be indeterminate
and the spring constant values may be erroneous. Consequently, the
list should have at a minimum, 3 nodes.
While forming the closed surface, namely, a polygon, the sides of
the polygon have to be assembled by lining up points along the
edges. The edge detection aspects of this method are very sensitive
to out-of-straightness, which may occur if the coordinates of the
nodes aren't precise to a significant number of digits.
Also, the internal angle formed by 2 adjacent lines connecting 3
consecutive nodes in the list should be less than 180 degrees,
which is to say that, the region should have the shape of a convex
polygon.
Failure to form straight edges and convex polygons can lead to
erroneous influence area values and consequently, erroneous spring
constants. This is the limitation of this feature.
The example below explains the method that may be used to get
around a situation where a convex polygon is not available.
For the model comprised of plate elements 100 to 102 in the figure
below, one wishes to generate the spring supports at nodes 1 to 8.
However, a single ELASTIC MAT command will not suffice
because the internal angle between the edges 1-8 and 8-7 at node 8
is 270 degrees, which violates the requirements of a convex
polygon.
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So, one should break it up into 2 commands:
1 2 3 8 ELASTIC MAT DIREC Y SUBG 200.
3 4 5 6 7 8 ELASTIC MAT DIREC Y SUBG 200.
Joints 3 and 8 will hence get the contribution from both of the
above commands.
Because this method uses nodes to generate contours, it may be
used whether the mat is defined using plates, or solids. This is the
advantage of this method.
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The PLATE MAT option :
If the foundation slab is modeled using plate elements, the
influence area can be calculated using the principles used in
determining the tributary area of the nodes from the finite element
modeling standpoint. In other words, the rules used by the program
in converting a uniform pressure load on an element into fixed end
actions at the nodes are used in calculating the influence area of the
node, which is then multiplied by the subgrade modulus to obtain
the spring constant. This feature has been available since
STAAD.Pro 2002 Build 1005.
The advantage of this method is that it overcomes one of the major
limitations of the Delaunay triangle method, which is that the
contour formed by the nodes of the mat must form a convex hull.
Example
SUPPORTS
17054 TO 17081 PLATE MAT DIR YONLY SUBGRADE 5000.0
PRINT
YR -.01 0.01 PLATE MAT DIR YONLY SUBGRADE 5000.0
The first of the above 2 commands instructs STAAD to internally
generate supports for the nodes at the corners of plate elements
17054 TO 17081.
The second example instructs STAAD to internally generate
supports for the nodes at the corners of plate elements which lie in
the global XZ plane bound by the YRANGE value of -0.01 and
+0.01 length units.
Another advantage of the PLATE MAT method is that it enables us
to view soil pressure contours beneath the base of the slab. After
the analysis, go to the post-processing mode, and click on the
Plates page. In the selection box for choosing the type of result to
plot, choose base pressures. This is not currently available with the
ELASTIC MAT method.
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Question : How do I tell STAAD that my soil spring is effective only in
COMPRESSION, and should not be considered when it goes into
tension?
Answer : This may be done by using the ELASTIC MAT or PLATE MAT
command in conjunction with the SPRING COMPRESSION
command. The program iteratively solves the problem so that the
final answer reflects the condition corresponding to actual contact
between slab & soil. Example problem 27 illustrates this.
Question : Is it possible to get a report which shows the influence area
generated by STAAD for each support node?
Answer : Yes. Use the PRINT option available with the ELASTIC MAT or
PLATE MAT commands. This will produce a report of the
influence areas. An example of such a report is shown below.
To get a report of the spring constants themselves, use the
command
PRINT SUPPORT INFORMATION
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Question : Is it possible to find out the base pressure at each node for each
load case?
Answer : Yes. In the post-processing mode, go to the Node Base pressure
page. A table will appear along the right side of the screen showing
these values. The Summary tab will show the maximum and
minimum pressure along with the associated node for each of the 3
global directions.
Question : How does subgrade modulus differ from soil bearing capacity?
Answer : A soil must be capable of carrying the loads it is subjected to,
without undergoing a shear failure, or excessive settlements. This
capacity is referred to as the soil bearing capacity.
The modulus of subgrade reaction is a measure of the stiffness of
soil if it were to behave like a spring. It is the relationship between
bearing pressure and soil deflection.
The modulus of subgrade reaction is the quantity by which the
influence area of a support node is multiplied by to get the
equivalent spring constant which can be used at the analysis stage.
One would provide this as an input item when one wishes STAAD
to generate spring supports using the ELASTIC MAT command, as
explained in section 5.27.3 of the STAAD.Pro Technical Reference
manual.
At the end of the mat foundation analysis, the maximum soil
pressure you get from STAADs soil pressure diagram should be
within the limits of the soils bearing capacity. If the actual
pressure exceeds the capacity, it is an indication of failure.
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Question : If you have the value for soil bearing pressure, how do you use
that to come up with the subgrade modulus that STAAD uses for
elastic mat definitions?
Answer : One doesn't use the bearing capacity of soil to determine the
subgrade modulus. Instead, it is a separate attribute of soil. If you
have a look at the text book "Foundation Analysis and Design" by
Joseph Bowles, you will find a few sections devoted to that topic,
with specific values listed for specific types of soil.
The basic difference between these 2 attributes is that, bearing
capacity (or bearing pressure) is the pressure at which the soil fails,
either in shear or compression. It hence has units of force per unit
area. Subgrade Modulus on the other hand is a measure of the
"spring constant" of soil. It is the distance that a unit area of soil
would deflect under a unit load.
Correlation between soil bearing capacity and modulus of subgrade reaction
Apurba Tribedi
Senior Product Manager
Bentley Systems Inc.
Yorba Linda, CA, US
apurba.tribedi@bentley.com
The author is a Senior Product Manager at Bentley. He has been involved in architecting
and coding structural software for more than 18 years. He is one of the core developers
of the STAAD.Pro program and currently manages the STAAD Foundation product. After
graduating from Calcutta University, he joined Research Engineers as a software
developer and has since worked in different areas including graphics, user interface,
database, analysis and design engine.
Abstract: Engineers increasingly using software to design mat as flexible foundation to
save concrete. Instead of soil bearing capacity these software programs often ask for a
property called modulus of subgrade reaction. Why this soil property is needed? Is
there any relationship between these two parameters? Can one parameter be estimated
from the other? This paper digs dip to explain the significance of these parameters and
how one parameter relates to the other.
Introduction
Probablythemostwidelyusedvalueinasoilreportissoilbearingcapacity.Theobviousreasonis
thebasicexamplesgiveninmosttextbooksalmostalwaysusebearingcapacitytocalculatethe
plan dimension of a footing. Because of simplicity and ease of use, that method is still the
fundamental soil parameter for foundation design. However, that simplicity assumes that the
footing will behave as a rigid body. That assumption works well in practice for small and single
column footings. But for large and multi column foundations, most engineers prefer flexible
analysis. Manual computation of flexible analysis could be challenging and in almost all cases
software programs such as STAAD, SAFE, GT STRUDL etc. are used. However, these computer
programsoftenaskforaninputcalledmodulusofsubgradereaction.Manyengineersarenot
familiar with this term and often try to compare it with bearing capacity. As more and more
engineers will use software to design foundations, it is more essential now than ever for
engineerstohaveafundamentalunderstandingofthissoilparameter.Isthereanyrelationship
betweenbearingcapacityandmodulusofsubgradereaction?Herewewilldiscusstheconcepts
andpossiblerelationship.
Modulusofsubgradereaction(Ks)
This term is measuredand expressed as load intensity per unit of displacement. For the English
unitsystemitisoftenexpressedinkip/in
2
/inandinSIsysteminkN/m
2
/m.Someoftenexpresses
thisterminkip/in
3
(orkN/m
3
)whichcouldbemisleading.Numericallykip/in
3
iscorrectbutdoes
notproperlyrepresentthephysicalsignificanceofthemeasuredvalueanditcouldbemistaken
asdensityunitoravolumetricmeasurement.
Mathematically,thecoefficientofsubgradereactionisexpressedas:
(1)
Ks =
p
s
cq. 1
wherep=contactpressureintensityands=soilsettlement
As Terzaghi mentioned,
(2)
proper estimation of contact pressure for a flexible foundation could
be very cumbersome, so it is assumed that Ks remains constant for the entire footing. In other
words, the ratio between pressure and settlement at all locations of a footing will remain
constant. So the displacement diagram of a footing with a load at center will have a dishing
effect. A point at the center of the footing will experience the highest displacement.
Displacementreducesasitmovesawayfromthecenter.Figure1a,showsasimpleslabongrade
foundation. It was modeled and analyzed in STAAD Foundation as Mat, which is a flexible
foundation,andthesoilwasdefinedusingcoefficientofsubgradereaction.Forthisexercise,the
software default value for the modulus of subgrade reaction was used. The displacement
diagramshowsadishingeffectasdiscussedearlier.Figure1bshowsthesoilpressurecontour.It
isalsoobviousthatthepressureintensityatthecenterismaximumandreducesastheelements
(ornodecoordinates)movesawayfromthecenter.So,itistoassumethattheratioofpressure
intensityandsettlementisconstant.
Figure1DeflectiondiagramandSoilpressurecontour
Let us investigate some of the numbers from the same example. Soil pressure, corresponding
displacementandtheratioislistedinTable1below.Thepointsarerepresentedonadiagonalto
illustratethevariationofpressureanddisplacementasthepointsmoveawayfromthecenterto
themostdistantpointinthecorneroftherectangularfooting.Figure2showsthepointsonthe
matslab.
Figure2:Selectedpointstocomparebasepressure,deflectionandratio
Table1:soilpressure,nodedisplacementandtheirratio
Nowthisishardlyasurpriseas,bydefinition,modulusofsubgradereaction(Ks)isaconstantfor
the entire footing and the programused Ks as its soil property. It is also important to note that
the software default Ks value (10858 kN/m
2
/m) was exactly the same as the constant ratio
calculatedintable1.
Base pressure was calculated from the support reaction. So, one might think that the ratio of
supportreactionandcorrespondingdisplacementwillalsobeaconstant.Letusexaminesomeof
the numbers as listed in table 2. Obviously the ratios are not constant for all but for most. This
bringsustoournexttopiconhowKsvalueisusedinsidetheprogramandthebasepressureis
calculated.
Table2:Supportreactionanddisplacement
Tributaryarea/influencesurfacearea
Oftenanassumptionismadetocalculatehowmuchareaofaplatecanbeattributedtoanode
or,inotherwords,theinfluenceofeachnodeonthesurfaceareaofaplate.Itdependsonthe
shape of the plate. For a perfect square or rectangular plate, each node will influence exactly
1/4
th
oftheplatesurfacearea(Figure3a).Butforageneralizedquadrilateral,thebestpractice
would be to calculate the center of the mass of the plate and then draw lines from that center
pointtothemiddlepointsofeachside.Theshadedarearepresentstheinfluencesurfaceareaof
thecorrespondingnode(Figure3b).
Figure3:Nodetributaryarea
Calculationofspringsupportconstant
Theabovedescribedtributaryareacalculationisthekeyprocedureusedinternallybythe
programtocalculatethelinearspringconstant.Theprogramfirstcalculatesthetributaryarea
foreachnodeofthefootingandthenmultipliesthemodulusofsubgradereactionbythe
correspondingtributaryareaforeachnodetogetthelinearspringconstantateachnode.
Ky
= Ks Io
cq. 2
where
Ky
isthespringconstantatithnode
Io
istheinfluenceareaofithnode
Ksisthemodulusofsubgradereaction
Foraconcretefoundationanalysis,thosespringshavetobedefinedascompressiononlyas
concreteisassumednottocarryanytensileforce.Thebasepressureiscalculatedateach
supportnodebydividingthesupportreactionwiththecorrespondingnodetributaryarea.Ifwe
lookattheaboveexample,node1hasamuchsmallertributaryareathantherestofthenodes.
ItcanalsobenotedthatallothernodeshavesametributaryareawhichexplainsTable2asit
showsratiofornode1isdifferentthanothernodes.Figure4showsthetributaryareafor
differentnodes.Node1hasatributaryareawhichis25%ofNode81.Table3isanextensionof
Table1andTable2whichshowshowconstantratioisachievedforallnodes.
Figure4:Influenceareaofselectednodes
Node
number
Support
Reaction(P)
Influence
area
BasePressure
(p)
Displacement() Ratio(p/)
(kN) (m
2
) (kN/m
2
) (mm) (kN/m
2
/m)
1(topleft
corner)
1.313609 .0225 58.38282 5.377 10858
41 5.575193 .09 61.94684 5.70524 10858
51 5.900749 .09 65.56358 6.03834 10858
61 6.227366 .09 69.19262 6.37257 10858
71 6.538362 .09 72.64874 6.69087 10858
81(middle) 6.778522 .09 75.31719 6.93664 10858
Table3:Reaction,basepressure,displacement,Ksconstant
BearingCapacitydependencyonallowablesettlement
Bearingcapacityisthemeasurementofthesoilpressurewhichsoilcansafelybear.Inother
words,bearingcapacityisthepressurewhichsoilcanwithstandbeforeitfails.Thetwomost
importantsoilfailurecriteriaare:
1) Shearfailure
2) Maximumallowablesettlement
Amongmanyfactors,foundationwidth(B)caninfluencefailurecriteria.Normally,shearfailure
governsforsmallerfoundationsandsettlementfailuregovernsbiggerfoundations.The
followingtableisatypicalexamplewhichshowstherelationshipamongdifferentfoundation
sizesandfailurecriteria.
Shape B
m
L
m
q
a
(kPa) Governing
Criteria
Square 1 1 113 Shear
2 2 117 Shear
3 3 111 Settlement
4 4 92 Settlement
6 6 75 Settlement
10 10 64 Settlement
Table 4: Final allowable bearing capacity for allowable settlement = 25 mm. and a given
embedmentdepth
Toestimatesettlementfailure,anallowablesettlementvalueisassumed(normally25mmor1
inch).Whensoilsettlesmorethanthatallowablevalue,thesoilfails.So,evenforabearing
capacitycalculation,anallowablesoilsettlementisusedandstructuralengineersshouldbe
awareofthatvaluewhiledesigningafooting.Theallowablesoilsettlementvalueistypicallyan
integralpartofanysoilreport.
Whyusethemodulusofsubgradereaction
Itwaspreviouslystatedthattodesignaflexiblematfoundation,themodulusofsubgrade
reactionisusedinsteadofbearingcapacityofsoil.Butwhyisitso?Theanswerliesinthe
underlyingassumptionsofhowafoundationmightbehave.
Foundationscanberigidorflexible.Bearingcapacityisusedtodesignrigidfoundationsbut
subgradereactionisusedforflexiblefoundations.Theveryassumptionofarigidfoundationis
thatthedistributionofthesubgradereactionpoverthebaseofthefoundationmustbeplanar,
becausearigidfoundationremainsplanewhenitsettles
(3)
.Letusconsiderasimplysupported
beamloadedatcenterasshowninthefigure5a.Bystatics,wecanobtainR1=P/2andR2=
P/2.Ifthesamebeamisloadedeccentrically,reactioncanbecalculatedasshownin5b.
Figure5:Reactionsforasimplysupportedbeam
Thesameconceptisextendedforrigidfoundationdesign.Butinsteadoftheendsupports,the
wholefoundationissupported.Itisalsoassumedthattherelativestiffnessoftheconcreteslab
ismuchhigherthanthesoilstiffness.So,theslabisassumedtoremainplanarevenafterthe
applicationofload.
Figure6ashowsafootingloadedatthecenter.Fromarigidwidebeamanalogy,P=RxL.
Similarlyforaneccentricallyloadedfootingthereactionwillvarylinearlyfromoneendtothe
P
R1
R2
P
R1
R2
L
a
R2 = P x a / L
P = R1 + R2
R2 = P R1
(a)
(b)
otherasshowninfigure6c.Equations3and4canbesolvedtofindendreactions.Butnoneof
theequationscontainmodulusofsubgradereaction(Ks).So,thedistributionofsubgrade
reactiononthebaseofarigidfootingisindependentofthedegreeofcompressibilityofthe
subgrade
(4)
itisrestingon.Asmanyauthorsconcluded,arigidfoundationcanbesafely
designedusingbearingcapacityasinmostcasesthismethodyieldsmoreconservativeresults.
P =
1
2
I(R
1
+ R
2
) cq. S
P o =
1
6
B
2
R
1
+
1
S
B
2
R
2
cq. 4
Figure6:Subgradereactionsforanisolatedfooting
Butamatfoundationisoftendesignedasaflexiblefoundationasitcanbelargeinsizeandthere
maybemanyloadapplicationpointsandothercomplexities,suchasholesandgradebeams.
WidespreadavailabilityofFEAsoftwarecontributestothistrend.Butaflexiblefoundation
cannothavelinearsubgradereactionunlikerigidfoundations.Rather,itdependsonthe
compressibilityofthefoundationaswellasthestructuralrigidity.Aflexiblefoundationwillbe
subjectedtointernalbendingandrelativedisplacementsbetweentwoslabpoints.Thegreater
thestructuralrigidityis,thelesstherelativedisplacement.Theauthortestedthecasewithvery
highelasticityoftheslabelementsanditresultedinanearlyplanarsurfaceaftertheapplication
oftheload.Similarly,thegreaterthemodulusofsubgradereactionis,thelessthepressure
distribution.InotherwordshigherKsvaluewillabsorbmorepressureattheloadapplication
point.Hence,themodulusofsubgradereactionwhichisthefunctionofsoilsettlementand
theexternalpressureisusedforflexiblefoundation.
P
R
P
R2
R1
(a)
(b)
(c)
Correlationbetweenbearingcapacityandmodulusofsubgradereaction
Themostcommonandprobablythesafestansweristhatthereisnocorrelation.Butthere
shouldbeone,asbotharethemeasurementsofsoilcapacitiesandanyofthesetwoparameters
canbeusedtodesignaregularfoundation.
LetuslookatthedefinitionofKsagain,whichisthepressureperunitsettlement.So,inother
words,soilcapacitytowithstandpressureforagivendisplacement.Fromearlierdiscussions,itis
alsoclearthatevenbearingcapacityhasanallowablesettlement.So,itistemptingtoconclude
thatmodulusofsubgradereactionisthebearingcapacityperunitsettlement.
ThisconclusionisverysimilartotheequationpresentedbyBowles.
(5)
SI: Ks = 4u(SF)q
u
kNm
3
FPS: Ks = 12(SF)q
u
kt
3
whereSF=Safetyfactorandq
a
istheallowablebearingcapacity.
Intheaboveequations,theallowablebearingcapacityisfirstconvertedtoultimatebearing
capacitybymultiplyingwithasafetyfactor.Theauthorassumedoneinchor25mmsettlement.
Thefinalequationisthenformulateddividingtheultimatebearingcapacitybytheassumed
settlement.
Themoregenericformoftheequationcanbewrittenas:
Ks =
Iq
u
o
strcssJisploccmcnt
where
I=Safetyfactor
q
a
istheallowablebearingcapacity
oistheallowablesoilsettlement
Fromaboveequations,itisevidentthattheappropriatesafetyfactormustbeusedandtheKs
valuecanbebettercomparedwithultimatebearingcapacityratherthantheallowablebearing
capacity.Thesafetyfactorcanvarydependingonprojectsandgeotechnicalengineers.Theother
importantfactoristheassumedallowablesettlementforthecalculatedbearingcapacity.
Howevertheabovementionedequationshaveitslimitations.Itcanbeappliedtothefootings
wheresettlementfailuregovernsbutcannotberelatedtothefootingswhereshearfailure
occursbeforereachingallowablesettlementlimit.So,Engineersmustexercisecautionbefore
usingtheseequations.
Conclusion
Thecorrelationbetweenbearingcapacityandmodulusofsubgradereactionisatbest
estimation.ItcanbeusedforestimationbutKsvaluedeterminedbyaplateloadtestshould
alwaysbeusedifavailableorshouldberequestedwheneverpossible.However,theabove
discussiongivesinsightintothesevaluesandhelpsengineerstounderstandthephysical
significanceofmodulusofsubgradereaction.
References:
(1),(2),(3),(4)
Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice (Third Edition) Terzaghi, Peck, Mesri
(5)
Foundation Analysis and Design (Fifth Edition) J oseph E. Bowles