Hey I'm designing a mat foundation. I see two types of analyses zero-tension and linear. What is the basic difference between two? I read the manual but couldn't understand clearly. It would be great if anyone could explain it to me in layman language the basic difference ? And also which one to use?
If you have area springs then you need to run an iterative no-tension analysis to insure all the springs are in compression. Otherwise, with a linear analysis, some of the springs could be in compression while others are in tension.
Answer Verified By: Karthik Madhur
Seth,
To follow up on Karthik's question - if you have an elevated slab and no area springs, what is the difference between using two zero-tension load combinations (ex: D+0.7E, D-0.7E) versus using a single Linear analysis load combination with +0.7/-0.7 Loading Factors?
If you don't have any area springs, then there is no need to make the combinations zero-tension.
If you are asking what's the difference between two single combinations and a lateral group combination, then the answer is in the amount of results available. With individual combinations you can look at the standard results, say bending moments for a specific combination. With a lateral group the program saves the envelope of results only. Check these sections of the manual for more: "11.6 About group load combinations", "11.8 Summary of load combination types", and also "33.2.2 Max and Min context slab plot limitations"