Design of Steel Structure

Column base (Refer IS:800-2007, clause-7.4 page no-46)

Foundation is necessary for a column to distribute the column load on sufficient area of the soil so that
the pressure on base should not exceed the bearing capacity of the soil. It is also important that the
column load should be applied on sufficient area of the concrete foundation so that the stress in concrete
should be within the bearing strength of the concrete. A steel plate is therefore used to distribute the
column load on sufficient area of concrete foundation.
Base plate may be used of the following types depending on the load on the column:
i. Slab base
ii. Gusseted base
Slab base (Refer IS:800-2007, clause-
7.4.3 page no-47)
For columns carrying small loads, slab
bases are used. It consists of a base plate
(placed underneath a machine column end)
and cleat angles. The machined column
end transfers the load to the slab base by
direct bearing. The column end is
connected to base plate by welding of by
means of bolted andiron cleats. No gusset
plates are required for connecting the slab
base.
The base plate is subjected to bending
in two principal directions under the action
of load exerted by the column on base
plate and upward pressure by the concrete.

Figure 1: Slab Base

Saurav, Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering

B.C.E,Bhagalpur
Page 1
Design of Steel Structure

Minimum thickness (Refer IS:800-2007, clause-7.4.3.1 page no-47)

Minimum thickness of rectangular slab bases
supporting columns under axial compression shall be
𝑡𝑠 = √2.5 𝑤 (𝑎2 − 0.3 𝑏 2 )𝛾𝑚𝑜 / 𝑓𝑦 > 𝑡𝑓
Where,
w = uniform pressure from below on the slab base
under the factored load axial compression;
a, b = larger and smaller projection, respectively of the
slab base beyond the rectangle circumscribing the
column; and
tf = flange thickness of compression member.

Figure 2: Projection from column faces

Sometimes, a base plate of dimension greater than the requirement may have been provided. In such
cases the Clause 7.4.1.1 IS: 800-2007, Page no 46 has made the following specifications.
If the size of the base plate is larger than that required to limit the bearing pressure on the base support,
an equal projection c of the base plate beyond the Pace of the column and gusset may be taken as
effective in transferring the column load as given in Fig. 3, such that bearing pressure on the effective
area does not exceed bearing capacity of concrete base.

Figure 3: Effective area of a base plate

Q 1. Design the base plate for a column made of ISHB 250 @ 51.10 kg/m to carry a compressive
load of 780 kN. The grade of concrete used is M 20. Assume Fe 410 grade steel.

Saurav, Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering

B.C.E,Bhagalpur
Page 2
Design of Steel Structure
Gusseted base (Refer IS:800-2007, clause-7.4.2 page no-46)
For columns carrying heavy loads, gusseted bases are used. The loads are transmitted to the base plate
through the gusset plates attached to the flanges of the column by means of angle iron cleats (also called
gusset angles). In addition to the gusset plates, cleat angles are used to connect the column to base plate.
The thickness of base plate in this case will be less than the thickness of the slab base for the same axial
load as the bearing area of the column on base plate increases by the gusset plate.
The base plate is anchored at the four corners to the foundation with bolts to check the lateral
movement. The foundation is generally of cement concrete and transmits the load over a larger area with
uniform distribution of pressure.

Figure 4: Gusset base

Saurav, Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering

B.C.E,Bhagalpur
Page 3
Design of Steel Structure
Design steps
1. Assume suitable grade of concrete if not given in numerical. Based on the characteristics strength
of concrete (fck), the bearing strength of concrete can be determined by 0.45 fck.
2. The area required of base plate is computed by
𝑃𝑢
A (plate). =
𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒
Where, 𝑃𝑢 = factored load on column
3. The size of plate is calculated from A (plate). The gusset plate should not be less than 16 mm in
thickness for bolted base plate.
The dimension of base plate parallel to the web can be calculated as,
L = depth of section (d) + 2 (thickness of gusset plate + leg length of angle + overhang) (for
bolted plate)
L = depth of section (d) + 2 thickness of gusset plate + overhang) (for welded plate)
The other dimension of plate B can be now calculated as
A (plate).
B. = 𝐿
4. The intensity of the bearing pressure w from the base concrete is calculated using expression
P.
Bearing pressure, w = 𝐴
1
Where, A1 = area of base plate provided, (B X L)
5. The thickness of base plate is computed by equating the moment at the critical section to the
moment of resistance of the gusset at that section
𝑡 = 𝐶1 √2.7 𝑤⁄𝑓
𝑦

Where,
C1 = the portion of the base plate acting as a cantilever in mm
Fy = yield strength of steel in N/mm2
𝑤 =intensity of pressure calculated in step (iv)
6. Bolted/welded connections are designed and increase the number of bolts so it can be provided in
regular pattern.
Q 2. Design a gusseted base for a column ISHB 350 @ 710 N/m with two plates 450 mm x 20 mm
carrying a factored load of 2500 kN. The column is to be supported on concrete pedestal with M 20
grade concrete.

Saurav, Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering

B.C.E,Bhagalpur
Page 4