International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp.

113-115

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Analysis of MAT Foundation using Finite Element Method

G. Srilakshmi
Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore 560 059, Email: gowri_srilakshmi@yahoo.com

B. Rekha
M.Tech Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore 560 059, Email: rekha_arun03@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Most of experimental studies have been carried out on MAT Foundation. But there is lacking of theoretical studies on the MAT foundation relatively. In addition to that, analysis of MAT foundation by conventional methods viz. rigid method and flexible method are cumbersome and time consuming. So to overcome these limitations the authors of this paper have tried to do the analysis of MAT foundation by Finite Element Method. FEM is very efficient method for complex boundaries and nonlinear material properties when compare with all other methods. In this work, analysis of MAT foundation has been studied by finite element software Ansys. The content of this paper is limited to 2-D axisymmetric non-linear analysis in medium sand with respect to the geometrical features which include the size and thickness of MAT foundation under compression. On the material side, while the MAT is treated as linear, soil and soil-mat interface are non-linear, where the Drucker-Prager constitutive model is used for soil. The nonlinear analysis is incremental iterative mixed method which yields to high accuracy. The results of analysis will be sustained interest to designers of MAT Foundation. KEY WORDS: MAT, Fem, Ansys, Sand, Drucker-Prager. INTRODUCTION Foundation is a mediator to transfer the load from superstructure to the soil effectively, without any failure for both the structure and the soil. MAT foundation is one of the effective types of shallow foundations, which carries the load to the soil without any differential settlement in the soil. A MAT foundation may be used where the base soil has a low bearing capacity and/or the columns loads are so large that more than 50 percent of the area is covered by conventional spread footings. There are various theories for the design of MAT foundation. Those are varying from conventional manual calculation methods to most modern computer based methods. Finite element method is one of the effective and economic numerical methods for analyzing these foundations. For MAT foundation, advanced numerical modelling techniques are utilized by dividing the MAT into grid elements and predicting the behaviour of the structure under loading for critical elements. The Finite element software Ansys has been extensively used in most of the previous studies for structural elements, foundations and in many other fields. In this work, variation of the load carrying capacity of mat foundation with size and thickness is considered. Finite element software Ansys is used for understanding the behaviour of MAT foundation under different parameters. Also as part of this paper, the effectiveness of the Ansys is validated with static formula as well as with the data existing in the literature. Here, due to symmetry of loading and geometry, both MAT and soil are considered as 2-D axisymmetric. Balasubramaniam et al (2008) have carried out the analysis of un-piled and piled raft foundations in sandy soil. Impact of parameters such as raft thicknesses, raft sizes was studied using Finite Element Method and PLAXSIS software. They concluded that the raft thickness affects the differential settlement and bending moments. Keskin et al. (2008) have studied the vertical stress under the centreline of uniformly loaded square footing experimentally and analytically by using Ansys software. In this paper, the impact of depths and loading on vertical stress was analyzed and compared with experimental results. They concluded that pressure beneath the centre line of the model plate decreases as depth increases. FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING Ansys is finite element software which is designed to analyze many engineering problems with the help of advanced computer facilities. The material of MAT is considered as a linear, soil as an elastoplastic constitutive Drucker-Prager model and the interface is considered as non linear. In this analysis, the horizontal and vertical extensions of soil are considered based on trial and error method. It has been observed that the values of V= B and H= 4B, where B is the width of the raft is giving reliable results when compared with static formula. These values are used for the parametric study. A loaded body or structure is free to experience unlimited rigid body motion, unless some support or kinematic constraint are imposed that will ensure the equilibrium of the system. These constraints are the boundary conditions. In this paper, nodes constituting bottom of the soil zone fixed against movement at both vertical and horizontal directions by assuming that the displacement is insignificant. The zone away from MAT, i.e., the vertical surface of soil at the boundary is restricted against horizontal movements. In this study, the numerical analysis of MAT Foundation carried out in two phases, viz; first phase consists of validation of ANSYS and second phase consists of parametric study. Here only the parametric studies are presented.

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G. Srilakshmi, B. Rekha

PARAMETRIC STUDY ANSYS software has given reliable results when compared with static formula. Then the authors have proceeded with parametric studies after completing the validation. The properties of materials are considered as mentioned in Table 1. Table 1 Material Properties (Bowles (1996) & Murthy (2008)) Properties MAT Soil Size of MAT 4m* 4m * 0.5m Modulus of 21*10 kPa 4*10 kPa elasticity ,Es Poissons ratio, 0.15 0.3 Density , 2500 Kg/m 1900Kg/m Cohesion ,C 10 kPa Friction angle , 35 Flow angle , 11 For the interface, coefficient of interface friction is needed which is the function of angle of internal frictional angle, .

Fig. 2 Influence of thickness on settlement It has been observed that there is no significant change in the settlement with the increase in thickness for the MAT of sizes 2m*2m, 3m*3m and 4m*4m, but settlement is decreasing with the increase in thickness for the MAT of sizes 5m*5m and 6m*6m.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The size and thickness of MAT is varied to measure settlement and ultimate load carrying capacity of MAT footing and it is presented as in the Table 2. Table 2. Ultimate load carrying capacity (kN/m2)

Size /Thickness (in m) 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.5

2*2 1850 1880 1900 1900 1900 1900

3*3 1830 1868 1895 1910 1940 1930

4*4 1790 1830 1850 1865 1880 1900

5*5 1765 1769 1795 1865 1900 1880

6*6 1760 1765 1793 1860 1900 1900

Fig. 3 Influence of size on load carrying capacity It is clear from the Fig. 3 that load carrying capacity is increasing up to 3m*3m and later it is decreasing and becoming constant with the increase in size.

Fig. 1 Influence of thickness on load carrying capacity It has been observed that there is an increase in load carrying capacity with the increase in thickness up to 1.25m and later it is becoming more or less constant.

Fig.4 Influence of size on settlement

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 113-115

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From the Fig. 4 it is clear that there is almost a linear increase in settlement with the increase in size. It can be concluded that beyond particular size of MAT i.e., 3m*3m, there is no significant increase in load carrying capacity and at the same time it is being subjected to higher settlements. So 3m*3m size with 1.25m thickness is relatively giving higher load carrying capacity of 1930 kN/m2 as shown in Fig.1 and settlement of 35mm which is within permissible limits according to IS code: 2950 as shown in Fig.2, which gives useful insight for the designers. The following figures are obtained from ANSYS which gives boundary conditions, displacement and stress contours for a MAT of size 4m*4m*0.5m which is practically very difficult to get from experimental studies. This can be added to one of the advantages of Fem. .

Fig.7 Principal Stress contours at ultimate load CONCLUSIONS The behaviour of MAT foundation was analysed for different sizes and thicknesses under compressive load by using finite element software Ansys, by assuming that the MAT-soil system as a 2-D axisymmetric. The software was validated with static formula and has been observed that it gives reliable results up to 90% of accuracy. With the increase in thickness of MAT foundation from 0.25m to 1m, the load carrying capacity increases from 2.7% to 5.6%. With the increase in size of MAT foundation from 2m x 2m to 6m x 6m, the load carrying capacity decreases by 4.5% up to 5m x 5m and later it became constant. MAT of 3m*3m size with 1.25m thickness is relatively giving higher load carrying capacity with permissible settlement. REFERENCES
[1] [2] Bowles, J.E. (1988). Foundation analysis and design. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc, 222-231 E. Y. N Oh, M. huang, C. Surarak, R.Adamec and A S Balasubramaniam (2008). Finite element modeling for piled raft foundation in sand. 11th East Asia-Pacific Conference Structural Engineering & Construction (EASEC-11), November 19-21, 2008, Taipei, Taiwan. Gupta, S. C (1997). Raft foundations design and analysis with a practical approach, New Age International Publications, 4-5. IS: 2950 (Part 1)-1981: Indian Standard Code of Practice for Design and Construction of Raft Foundation (Second Revision), Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. Kame, G.S, Ukarande, S.K, MGM College of Engineering & Technology, Navi Mumbai, K. Borgaonkar, V. A. Sawant, IIT Roorke; A parametric study on raft foundation. Keskin, Salih M, Laman, Mustafa Laman and Tarik Baran (2008). Experimental Determination and Numerical Analysis of Vertical Stresses under Square Footings resting on sand. 1263-1279. Murthy, V.N.S (2007), Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, CBS Publishers and Distributers Bangalore. Nainan P Kurian and Srilakshmi, G (2003). Studies on the behavior of under reamed piles in normal and expansive soils by finite element method. Doctoral Thesis, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, India.

Fig. 5 Fem model with Boundary Conditions

[3] [4] [5]

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Fig.6 Displacement contours in Y-direction at ultimate load

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International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 113-115