I was just trying to analyze a mat foundation with 5 pedestal on it. Some pedestals are square in shape and others are octogonal.
I modelled the mat using plate element with thinkness of 0.5m. (plate element with 4 nodes)
pedestals modelled as beam element with 2 nodes. I connected pedestal node to one of the plate element nodes.
Problem:
1. As i observed, the forces from pedestals are not transferring to the mat. Does staad can do this kind of analysis...??
I mean, is it possible to analyze this foundation with 2D and 3D elements together in this model..?
or
Foundation should be analyzed using only one type of elements, i.e., either beam elements or plate elements or solid elements etc.
Kindly propose your suggestions
Thank you.
Hi,
STAAD can analyze this type of structure. Make sure that the beam members have proper connectivity with the plate elements. Else the force from the beam members will not be trasferred properly to the plate elements. You can use "Check Beam Plate connectivity" option (Tools > Check Beam Plate connectivity) to check the connection.
You can specify the support type as elastic mat or plate mat support. You can go through example problem 27 for more details.