Implementation of the discrete area method and its impact on the steel reinforcement of large mat foundations

Mat foundation design can pose important soil-structure interaction problems that are often oversimplified. According to Winkler’s hypothesis, the deformation of foundations under applied loads is confined to the loaded regions, but this is seldom accurate. In structural analysis, Winkler springs, d...

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Published in:Innovative infrastructure solutions : the official journal of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE) Vol. 10; no. 4; p. 131
Main Authors: Alzoaby, Hassan, Saad, Gaby, Abou-Jaoude, Grace
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2025
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Design
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Science and Engineering
Finite element method
Foundation design
Foundations
Geoengineering
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydraulics
Raft foundations
Reinforcement
Soil-structure interaction
Steel
Structural analysis
Subgrade reaction
Technical Paper
Soil-structure interaction
Steel reinforcement
Modulus of subgrade reaction
Discrete area method
ACI code
SAFE
Settle3
ISSN:2364-4176, 2364-4184
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Abstract Mat foundation design can pose important soil-structure interaction problems that are often oversimplified. According to Winkler’s hypothesis, the deformation of foundations under applied loads is confined to the loaded regions, but this is seldom accurate. In structural analysis, Winkler springs, defined by the coefficient of subgrade reaction (k s ), are mostly used to represent the ground. To simplify the modeling process even more, designers tend to consider a single value of k s . In 1995, the American Concrete Institute published a special review on the design and performance of mat foundations (SP-152) suggesting the iterative discrete area method (DAM), which accounts for variable k s values across the mat; however, this method is seldom used in practice. This study investigates the impact of the DAM on the steel reinforcement design of large mat foundations and compares it with the reinforcement that results from using a constant k s . Validation was performed using the finite element method. With the variable k s model, an optimized steel reinforcement distribution is generated. Most analysis show a reduction in top steel reinforcement and an increase in bottom steel reinforcement.
AbstractList Mat foundation design can pose important soil-structure interaction problems that are often oversimplified. According to Winkler’s hypothesis, the deformation of foundations under applied loads is confined to the loaded regions, but this is seldom accurate. In structural analysis, Winkler springs, defined by the coefficient of subgrade reaction (ks), are mostly used to represent the ground. To simplify the modeling process even more, designers tend to consider a single value of ks. In 1995, the American Concrete Institute published a special review on the design and performance of mat foundations (SP-152) suggesting the iterative discrete area method (DAM), which accounts for variable ks values across the mat; however, this method is seldom used in practice. This study investigates the impact of the DAM on the steel reinforcement design of large mat foundations and compares it with the reinforcement that results from using a constant ks. Validation was performed using the finite element method. With the variable ks model, an optimized steel reinforcement distribution is generated. Most analysis show a reduction in top steel reinforcement and an increase in bottom steel reinforcement.
Mat foundation design can pose important soil-structure interaction problems that are often oversimplified. According to Winkler’s hypothesis, the deformation of foundations under applied loads is confined to the loaded regions, but this is seldom accurate. In structural analysis, Winkler springs, defined by the coefficient of subgrade reaction (k s ), are mostly used to represent the ground. To simplify the modeling process even more, designers tend to consider a single value of k s . In 1995, the American Concrete Institute published a special review on the design and performance of mat foundations (SP-152) suggesting the iterative discrete area method (DAM), which accounts for variable k s values across the mat; however, this method is seldom used in practice. This study investigates the impact of the DAM on the steel reinforcement design of large mat foundations and compares it with the reinforcement that results from using a constant k s . Validation was performed using the finite element method. With the variable k s model, an optimized steel reinforcement distribution is generated. Most analysis show a reduction in top steel reinforcement and an increase in bottom steel reinforcement.
ArticleNumber 131
Author Saad, Gaby
Alzoaby, Hassan
Abou-Jaoude, Grace
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  email: grace.aboujaoude@lau.edu.lb
  organization: Department of Civil Engineering, Lebanese American University
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10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:12(1567)
10.1680/geot.1976.26.4.613
10.1007/BF01174308
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Copyright Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025 Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
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Keywords Soil-structure interaction
Steel reinforcement
Modulus of subgrade reaction
Discrete area method
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Snippet Mat foundation design can pose important soil-structure interaction problems that are often oversimplified. According to Winkler’s hypothesis, the deformation...
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StartPage 131
SubjectTerms Design
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Science and Engineering
Finite element method
Foundation design
Foundations
Geoengineering
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydraulics
Raft foundations
Reinforcement
Soil-structure interaction
Steel
Structural analysis
Subgrade reaction
Technical Paper
Title Implementation of the discrete area method and its impact on the steel reinforcement of large mat foundations
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