Mat Foundation modeling wizard

Used to rapidly model rectangular mat foundations. The wizard generates a new mat foundation job, with a rectangle boundary and mesh. This skips many steps involved in Job Setup, creating a rectangular region, generating a mesh, and specifying slab properties.

Opens when the Rectangular Mat Wizard tool is selected from the Tools ribbon tab.

Job Setup

Setting	Description
Job Name	Used to uniquely identify each job. You can enter any string here.
Length Unit	Select a unit of length for all coordinates and lengths.
Default Unit Type	Used to setup default design parameters of the job. The program supports both FPS and SI unit systems. You can select any combination of design code and default unit type. In other words user can choose US design code with SI unit system.
Design Code	Used to define concrete code to be used. Current version supports 5 country codes which are US - ACI 318-05 Britain - BS 8110 Indian - IS 456-2000 Australian - AS 3600-2004 Canadian - CSA 23.3-04
Support Assignment	Used to assign supports to a job. There are three assignment methods Assign to All Supports - assigns all supports to new job. Assign to Selected Supports - assign all selected supports in the main view to the current job. Note: This selection must be made prior to opening the Mat Foundation Modeling wizard.

Meshing

Setting	Description
Meshing Type	Select a Quadrilateral or Triangle finite element shape.
Element Size	Specify a target element size, in the selected Length Unit.

Boundary Setup

Setting	Description
X / Z Coordinate at Top left corner	Specify coordinates for X₁,Z₁, in the selected Length Unit. This is the top-left corner of the rectangle when viewed in plan (View From Top in the Trans Rotate toolbar). This locates the rectangular region in plan.
Length / Width	Specify the length (rectangle dimension parallel to the X axis) and width (rectangle dimension parallel to the Z axis), in the selected Length Unit, to define the size of the rectangular region.
Y Level	Specify an elevation (Y coordinate for all points in the rectangular region), in the selected Length Unit.

Slab Property

Setting	Description
Analysis Thickness	Used for FEM analysis of mat foundation, in the selected Length Unit. Note: STAAD Foundation Advanced allows you to use different thickness for analysis and design.
Design Thickness	Used to design the mat slab, in the selected Length Unit.
Subgrade Modulus	Modulus of elasticity of soil supporting the mat foundation, in the selected units.
Create	Creates a new mat foundation job with the specified rectangular mesh region and slab properties.
Cancel	Closes the wizard without creating a new mat foundation job.