How can I find the maximum shear stress on my plate element model?

Since there are several types of shear stress results we can get from STAAD, the expression "maximum shear stress" needs to be clarified. So, let us first see what the choices are : SXY - For any given element, this is the in-plane shear stress on the element and acts along the plate local X-Y axes directions. TMAX - This is the maximum inplane shear stress on the element and is a composite of SXY and the stress resulting from torsion MXY. SQX - This is the out-of-plane shear stress on the X face at the centroid of the element. SQY - This is the out-of-plane shear stress on the Y face at the centroid of the element. All of these results can be obtained in a report form, with additional options like sorting done in ascending or descending order for a user-defined set of elements and a user-defined set of load cases. As an example, do the following for getting a report of TMAX sorted in the order from maximum to minimum for all plates for load cases 4 and 5. Go to the post-processing mode. Select all plates. From the Report menu, select Plate Results - Principal stresses. Select TMAX, and set the sorting order from High to Low. Switch on "Absolute values" also to perform sorting based on Absolute values. Click on the Loading tab, and select just cases 4 and 5. Click on OK. A report will be displayed. Click the right mouse button inside the table, and select Print.

The plate element results contain a term called TMAX. Is TMAX the best representation of the total stresses resulting from the torsion on the element?
Among the various stresses resulting from the torsional moment MXY, the only stress which is considered in TMAX is the shear stress. There are other stresses such as warping normal stresses which do not get represented in TMAX. TMAX is the maximum inplane shear stress on an element for a given load case. It represents inplane shear stresses only. It contains contributions from the direct inplane shear stress SXY as well as the shear stress caused by the torsional moment MXY. Example 18 in the examples manual shows the derivation of TMAX from SXY and MXY. While on the subject of shear stresses, one must note that the plate is also subjected to out-of-plane shear stresses SQX and SQY, which do not have any representation in TMAX.

In the post processing mode - Results menu - Plate Stress Contour, there are two options called Max Top and Max Bottom. Are these direct stresses or flexural stresses?

These are the principal stresses SMAX and SMIN. Principal stresses are a blend of axial stresses (also known as membrane stresses SX and SY), bending stresses (caused by MX and MY) and inplane shear stresses (SXY). Since the bending stresses have distinct signs for the top and bottom surfaces of the element, the principal stresses too are distinct for top and bottom. The derivation for principal stresses is shown in example 18 of the STAAD Examples manual.

Can STAAD be used in designing a mat foundation?

The answer to the question is Yes. The following are the major steps involved in the modelling and design of mat foundations using STAAD. 1) The mat foundation has to be modelled using finite elements. If the length and width of the mat are atleast 10 times larger than its thickness, plate elements can be used. If not, one may use 8 noded solid elements. The remainder of the structure involving the beams, columns and slabs also has to be modelled along with the mat. If beams share a common boundary with the mat and slabs, to ensure the proper transfer of load between the beams and the mat & slabs, the mat & slabs have to be divided into several elements, the beams have to be divided into several members, and the elements and members must share common nodes. 2) Generally, the supports for the mat are derived from the subgrade reaction of the soil. Using this attribute, and the influence area of each node of the mat, the spring constant for the supports may be derived. STAAD contains an automatic spring support generation facility for mat foundations. One may refer to Section 5.27.3 of the STAAD.Pro Technical Reference Manual for details on this type of support generation. 3) Soil spring supports generally tend to be effective against resisting compressive forces only. They are ineffective in resisting uplift. This type of a unidirectional support requires those springs to be assigned an attribute call SPRING COMPRESSION. 4) The loads on the mat and the rest of the model have to be specified. Then, the structure has to be analysed. This will generate the plate stresses and corner forces needed to design the mat. 5) You can then use the program's concrete design ability to design the individual elements which make up the mat. The only tedious aspect of this is that the program can presently design individual elements only. The task of taking the reinforcement values from each element and assembling the reinforcement picture of the overall mat has to be done by you manually. You may wish to look the information posted at the following links for details on the issues involved in designing individual elements. http://www.reiworld.com/Search.asp?id=SP-1549 http://www.reiworld.com/Search.asp?id=SP-1791 http://www.reiworld.com/Search.asp?id=SP-1792 We suggest you take a look at example problem number 27 in the STAAD.Pro examples manual for guidance on analysing mat foundations. In that example, the aspects explained in steps 1,2, 3 and 4 above are illustrated. Example problems 9 and 10 discuss concrete design of individual plate elements.

When modelling plate elements, should the individual elements satisfy any minimum requirements for the ratio of the length of their side to their thickness?
No, they do not have to. However, for the overall slab or wall, if the span in either direction is less than 10 times its thickness, then the slab or wall becomes more like a solid than like a plate; and thick plate theory may not be adequate. In that case, 8-noded solid elements may be necessary.