Chapter 7

Chapter # 07
Mat
Foundations

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7.1.1 What is a Mat 7.1 Introduction
Foundation?
• A mat foundation is primarily
shallow foundation.
• It is an expanded continuous
footing.
• Also called Raft Foundation.
• A thick reinforced concrete
slab supporting
arrangements of columns or
walls in a row or rows and
transmitting the loads to the
soil is called a Mat
Foundation.
• It is one of the 4 major types
of combined footing (see fig).
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7.1.2 Where is it Needed?
• Structures like chimneys, silos, cooling towers, storage
tanks, industrial equipment, buildings with basements
where continuous water proofing is needed.
• For foundations where differential settlement can be a
major concern.
• For soft soils strata or site with pockets of weak soil.
• In situations where individual footings may touch or
overlap each other.
• Necessary when the soil is weaker and more
compressible.
• Since large area is needed from a spread footing, mat
foundation is more economic.
• When the subsoil is weak and column loads are so heavy
that the conventional spread footings cover more than
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50 % of the built-up area. 5
Normally Useful When-
• Structures have to resist heavy loads or
• when the soil condition is poor

Functions
• To control differential settlement and
• To transfer the loads not exceeding the bearing capacity of
the soil due to integral action of the raft foundation.
• This is a threshold situation for shallow footing beyond
which deep foundations have to be adopted.

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Advantages

– Spread the load in a larger area Increase bearing

pressure
– Provides more structural rigidity Reduce settlement
– Heavier More resistant to uplift
– Distributes loads more evenly

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 7.2 Common Types of Mat Foundation

• Flat plate mat

• Plate thickened under columns
• Two-way beam and slab
• Plate with pedestal
• Rigid frame mat
• Piled raft

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Flat Plate Mat/Plane
Slab Mat

• Used for fairly small and

uniform column spacing and
relatively light loads.

• Suitable when the soil is not

too compressible.

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Plate Thickened under
Columns

• For columns subjected to

very heavy loads usually the
flat plate is thickened under
columns to guard against
diagonal shear and negative
moments.

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Two-way Beam and
Slab /Waffle-slab

• Beams run both ways and the

columns are located at the
intersection of the beams.

• When the column spacing is

large and carries unequal
loads it would be more
economical

• Suitable when underlying soil

is too compressible.
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Plates with Pedestals

• For columns with heavy

loads which may require
large shear strength or
flexural strength of slab.

• In this mat pedestals are

provided at the base of the
columns.

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Rigid Frame Mat/
Slab with Basement
Wall

• Used when columns carry

extremely heavy loads.

• In such design, basement

walls act as ribs or deep
beam.

• When the depth of beam

exceeds 90 cm in simple
beam and slab mat, a rigid
frame mat is referred.

• Walls act as stiffeners for

the mat
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Piled Raft

• Supported on piles.

• Used where the soil is

highly compressible and the
water table is high.

• Reduces settlement and

control buoyancy.
• For heavy structures on soft
soils in order to share the
loads with piles.

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 7.3 BC and Settlement of Mat Foundations
7.3.1 BC of Mat Foundation
• When Mat on Cohesionless Soil
• In cohesionless soil, it does not fail in shear.
• BC of mat foundation in sands is governed by settlement.

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Teng (1962)
• From Shear Failure Criteria, Net Safe BC:
qns = 0.02N2BRW1 + 0.06(100 + B2)DfRW2

• From Settlement Criteria of 25 mm, Safe Bearing

Pressure:
qna = 1.75(N-3)RW1
Where,
B = smaller dimension of the footing
Df = Depth of foundation
N = corrected SPT Value
RW1, RW2 = WT correction factors
Where, qns and qna are in ton/m2
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Peck et al (1974)
• For 50 mm allowable settlement:
qna = 22RWN

• Applicable for 5 ≤ N ≤ 50

• If the N-value after correction < 5  Mat not be

Feasible. Either compact Sand or go to Deep
Foundation.

• For N - values > 50  Gives Conservative Results.

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• When Mat on Cohesive Soil
• Skempton’s equation Net UBC on the basis of shear failure
criteria.

Where,
• Nc = 5.14

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 7.3.2 Settlement of Mat Foundations
• When Mat on Cohesionless Soil

• Settlement is not a problem for mat on sands as allowable

bearing capacity is computed on the basis of settlement
criteria.

• For the same loading intensity and soil condition, the

differential settlement in a mat foundation is about 1/2 than
that of a spread foundation.

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When Mat on Cohesive Soils

• Settlement is of great concern when a mat rests on a deposit

of NC-clay.

• Net foundation pressure for computing settlement is taken as:

𝑸
𝒒𝒏𝒔 = - 𝜸𝑫𝒇
𝑨

• qns shall not cause settlement in excess of permissible value.

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• If settlement exceeds the permissible limits, the
foundation pressure should be reduced either:

1) by increasing the area under the structures or

2) by increasing the depth of raft or
3) by providing one or more basement.
• Base area of raft cannot be increased due to space
limitation and hence the only practical method to limit
the settlement in order to obtain a required factor of
safety is to lower the depth of the mat.
• If this procedure does not bring the settlement within
the permissible limits then go to a deep foundation.

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 7.4 Compensated Foundation
• If Q = total load imposed at the
base of the mat due to DL and
LL
𝑸
• Gross pressure at the base = 𝑨
Where,
A = the area of the mat.
• In terms of Net Bearing Capacity
the Gross Pressure,
𝑸
= qns + 𝜸𝑫𝒇
𝑨
Net allowable bearing pressure
𝑸
qns = - 𝜸𝑫𝒇
𝑨
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 Floating or Floatation or Buoyant Foundation

• If a mat is placed at depth Df such that the weight of

excavated soil becomes equal to the gross applied load, FOS
becomes infinite
𝑸
i.e. - 𝜸𝑫𝒇 = 0
𝑨

• The mat foundation is called a “Floating Foundation” also

called Fully Compensated Foundation, where the total load
at the base of the mat is fully compensated by the weight of
the soil excavated.
• In practice, it is not possible to obtain a fully compensated
mat possibly due to the uncertainties involved in the
estimation of the loads or in the action of surcharge.
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• For Fully Compensated Foundation

𝑸
qns = – 𝜸𝑫𝒇 = 0
𝑨
• Thus,
𝑸
Df =
𝑨𝜸
So, FOS = infinite

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For Partially Compensated Foundation
𝑸
Df < 𝑨𝜸
𝑸
qns = 𝑨 – 𝜸𝑫𝒇
For Saturated Clays,
• FOS against BC failure for partially compensated foundations
qnu
F= 𝑸
(𝑨 – 𝜸𝑫𝒇 )
As per Skempton’s, 1951 Equation:

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 7.5 Analysis of Mat Foundation
7.5.1 General Considerations:
• If the Mat rests on strong bedrock  transmits the load in a
relatively small area near columns. [See Fig.1(a)]
• If the Mat rests on stiff or compact soils, the mat distributes
the load to the subsoil in larger areas. [See Fig. 1(b)].
• If the mat rests on weak/soft soil the pressure distribution on
the mat tends to be uniform. [See Fig. 1(c)].

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 Methods of Analysis of Mat Foundation

• Objective of the Analysis: To find the bearing pressure

underneath the mat.
• This depends upon
 rigidity of the mat,
 rigidity of the superstructure and
 rigidity of the supporting soil.

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 Conventional Rigid Method
• Basic Assumptions:
a) Foundation is rigid relative to supporting soil and
compressible soil is relatively shallow.

b) Uniform bearing pressure such that centroid of the bearing

pressure coincides with the line of action of the resultant of all
forces acting on the foundation.

In case of mat foundation it is difficult to coincide the line of

action of resultant force with the line of action of the soil pressure
and there always exists some eccentricity.

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 Procedures: Conventional Rigid Method
1) Determine the line of action of all the loads acting on the
mat as shown in Fig.1.The self weight of raft is not
considered, as it is taken directly by the soil.

2) Determine pressure distribution.

3) In general, a mat foundation is subjected to eccentricity on

both x and y-axis, then a situation as shown in Fig. occurs and
in such case, the pressure, q is given by,

The maximum soil pressure as obtained from the above equation

should be less than the allowable soil pressure.
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Where,

ex = eccentricity along x-axis,

ey = eccentricity along y-axis,
Q = resultant of all the column loads,
Ixx = moment of inertia about y-axis and
Iyy = moment of inertia about x-axis and
x = distance of the point in x-axis from the neutral axis
y = distance of the point in y-axis from the neutral axis

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4) Divide the slab into strips in both x and y directions. Each strip is
assumed to act as independent beam subjected to constant soil
pressure and column loads.

5) Determine the modified column load as per the procedure

described below.

• Let us consider the strip carrying columns loads Q1, Q2 and Q3.

• Let B1 is the width of the strip. Let the average soil pressure on
the strip be qav.

• Then the average total load on the strip is given by:

Qav = ½(downward load + upward force)

6 Qav = ½(Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + qavB1B) 32

6) The column modification factor. F is given by:

7) Column loads are multiplied by F to obtain modified column

load.

8) The moment and shear force diagrams are drawn for the
modified column loads and the modified soil pressure.

9) Design the individual strips for the bending moment and shear
force as obtained in step 8.
The raft is designed as an inverted floor supported at
columns.
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10) As the resultant column loads and resultant soil pressure are
not equal, they do not have same line of action.

• The region is that the strip do not act independently as

assumed and there is some shear transfer between adjoining
strips.

• The analysis being approximate, the actual reinforcement

provided is twice the computed value.

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