The program geo5 slab can be used for the design of mat foundations or slabs of any shape on elastic subsoil using the finite element method.
Mat footing foundation.
A mat foundation spreads out under the footprint of the building and declines the contact pressure compared to conventional strip or trench footing.
The concept of stress is very basic to civil engineering.
Mat footing furthermore mat footings are helping to reduce the varying settlements caused by construction on non homogenous soils or uneven load distribution on the footing.
Explanation of mat foundation.
A mat foundation is used when the subsoil is weak and column loads are so heavy that the conventional spread footings cover more than 50 of the building area.
A large thick usually reinforced concrete mat which transfers loads from a number of columns or columns and walls to the underlying rock or soil.
At those places we use mat foundations to distributes the whole loads of the structure to the soil when the area of the footing was increase than the soil load bearing capacity will also increase because this foundation reduces the stress on the soil at the same place.
A raft foundation is often used when the soil is weak as it distributes the weight of the building over the entire area of the building and not over smaller zones like individual footings or at individual points like pile foundations this reduces the stress on the soil.
Looking for mat foundation.
It is common to use mat foundation or deep basements to transfer the column loads to the underlying soil as well as provide floor slab for the basement.