RAMFoundation

RAM Foundation
RAM Structural System 2023
User Manual
Last Updated: February 06, 2023
Table of Contents
Disclaimer .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 9
Chapter 2: RAM Foundation Menus and Commands ............................................................... 10
2.1 Invoking the Foundation Module .................................................................................................................................. 10
2.2 Checking the Database Status ......................................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Foundation Status ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2.4 Minimum Information Required by RAM Foundation .......................................................................................... 11
2.5 The Toolbars ............................................................................................................................................................................12
2.5.1 File Toolbar ..................................................................................................................................................12
2.5.2 Assign Toolbar ............................................................................................................................................12
2.5.3 Load Combination Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 13
2.5.4 Process Toolbar ......................................................................................................................................... 13
2.5.5 View Toolbar ............................................................................................................................................... 13
2.6 Model Notes ............................................................................................................................................................................ 15
2.7 Criteria ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.7.1 Force Criteria .............................................................................................................................................. 15
2.7.2 Design Criteria ............................................................................................................................................. 15
2.7.3 Optimization Criteria ................................................................................................................................19
2.8 Assign .........................................................................................................................................................................................21
2.8.1 Soil ................................................................................................................................................................... 21
2.8.2 Base Plate Size ............................................................................................................................................ 21
2.8.3 Geometry .......................................................................................................................................................22
2.8.4 Surcharge ......................................................................................................................................................24
2.9 Load Combinations .............................................................................................................................................................. 24
2.9.1 Code Generated Combinations ............................................................................................................24
2.9.2 User Defined ................................................................................................................................................ 24
2.10 Process ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 25
2.10.1 Design All ...................................................................................................................................................... 25
2.10.2 View/Update ............................................................................................................................................... 25
2.10.3 Freeze Design ...............................................................................................................................................27
2.10.4 Clear Design .................................................................................................................................................28
2.10.5 Export to PROFIS Engineering ..............................................................................................................28
2.11 Reports ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
2.11.1 Report Destination ................................................................................................................................... 29
2.11.2 Reports ...........................................................................................................................................................29
2.12 View ............................................................................................................................................................................................29
2.12.1 Foundation Numbers ...............................................................................................................................30
2.12.2 Foundation Intersections .......................................................................................................................30
2.12.3 Grids ................................................................................................................................................................30
2.12.4 Scale Text ...................................................................................................................................................... 30
2.12.5 Pen Colors .....................................................................................................................................................30
2.12.6 Status Bar and Toolbar ........................................................................................................................... 31
2.13 Performance Issues in RAM Foundation .................................................................................................................... 31
RAM Foundation 2 User Manual

2.14 Using the Soil Wizard ..........................................................................................................................................................31
2.14.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 32
2.14.2 Creating a Table From a Formula: ..................................................................................................... 32
2.14.3 Creating a Table Based on an Existing Table ................................................................................ 33
2.14.4 Creating a Table Using an Empty Form ............................................................................................ 33
Chapter 3: Data Processing Within RAM Foundation ...............................................................34
3.1 Legal Framing Configurations in RAM Foundation ............................................................................................... 34
3.1.1 Spread and Pile Footings ........................................................................................................................34
3.1.2 Continuous Footings ................................................................................................................................ 34
3.1.3 Braces and Columns .................................................................................................................................36
3.2 Intersecting Members .........................................................................................................................................................36
3.3 Intersecting Foundations .................................................................................................................................................. 37
3.3.1 Case of Two Continuous Footings Intersecting ............................................................................37
3.3.2 Case of Spread Footing Intersecting Continuous Footing ....................................................... 38
3.4 Gravity Forces Used by RAM Foundation .................................................................................................................. 39
3.4.1 Forces from RAM Steel ............................................................................................................................39
3.4.2 Forces from RAM Concrete ................................................................................................................... 39
3.4.3 Force from Material Specific Source ................................................................................................. 40
3.4.4 Gravity Wall Loads ....................................................................................................................................40
3.5 Lateral Forces Used by RAM Foundation ...................................................................................................................41
3.6 Load Cases ................................................................................................................................................................................ 41
3.6.1 Gravity and Lateral in the Same Model ............................................................................................41
3.6.2 Adding Dummy Dead and Live Load .................................................................................................41
3.7 Load Combinations ............................................................................................................................................................... 41
3.7.1 Gravity Members Only on a Foundation ......................................................................................... 42
3.7.2 Lateral Members Only on a Foundation ..........................................................................................42
3.7.3 Gravity and Lateral Members on the Same Foundation ...........................................................42
3.8 Effect of RAM Modeler on RAM Foundation .............................................................................................................. 42
3.8.1 Gravity Loads .............................................................................................................................................. 42
3.8.2 Column Sizes ............................................................................................................................................... 42
3.8.3 Foundation on Floor Types used for Multiple Stories ...............................................................43
3.8.4 Stepped Foundations ...............................................................................................................................43
3.8.5 The Tolerance Factor for Contiguous Foundations ....................................................................43
3.9 Effect of RAM Steel on RAM Foundation ..................................................................................................................... 44
3.9.1 Column Sizes ............................................................................................................................................... 44
3.9.2 Base Plates ....................................................................................................................................................44
3.10 Effect of RAM Frame on RAM Foundation .................................................................................................................. 45
3.10.1 Coulmn Sizes ............................................................................................................................................... 45
3.10.2 Lateral Load Cases .................................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 4: Technical Notes: ACI 318 ........................................................................................46
4.1 Design Codes ...........................................................................................................................................................................46
4.2 Table of Symbols ...................................................................................................................................................................47
4.3 Sign Conventions .................................................................................................................................................................. 48
4.4 Soil Capacity and Stiffness ................................................................................................................................................ 48
4.5 Reduced Base Plate Dimension ...................................................................................................................................... 49
4.6 Concrete Modulus of Elasticity ....................................................................................................................................... 50
4.7 Analysis of Spread Footings for Soil Pressure ..........................................................................................................50
4.7.1 Soil Stress Calculation ............................................................................................................................. 50
4.7.2 Spread Footing Coordinate System .................................................................................................... 51

4.7.3 Self-Weight and Surcharge ....................................................................................................................52
4.7.4 Footing Eccentricities ..............................................................................................................................52
4.7.5 Forces Used in Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 53
4.8 Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure ................................................................................................ 53
4.8.1 Beam Element Properties ......................................................................................................................54
4.8.2 Soil Spring Properties ..............................................................................................................................55
4.8.3 Applied Loads ............................................................................................................................................. 55
4.8.4 Design Forces ..............................................................................................................................................55
4.9 Analysis of Spread Footings for Stability ................................................................................................................... 55
4.9.1 Overturning Moment ............................................................................................................................... 56
4.9.2 Net Uplift .......................................................................................................................................................56
4.10 Structural Design of Spread Footings .......................................................................................................................... 56
4.10.1 One-Way Shear in Spread Footings ...................................................................................................57
4.10.2 Two-Way Shear in Spread Footings ..................................................................................................58
4.10.3 Flexure in Spread Footings ................................................................................................................... 60
4.10.4 Flexural Reinforcement Capacity ....................................................................................................... 62
4.10.5 Spread Footing Design Example ......................................................................................................... 62
4.11 Structural Design of Continuous Footings .................................................................................................................67
4.11.1 One-Way Shear in Continuous Footings ..........................................................................................67
4.11.2 Two-Way Shear in Continuous Footings .........................................................................................68
4.11.3 Longitudinal Flexure in Continuous Footings .............................................................................. 69
4.11.4 Transverse Flexure in Continuous Footings ..................................................................................69
4.12 Spread Footing Optimization .......................................................................................................................................... 70
4.13 Continuous Footing Optimization ................................................................................................................................. 72
4.14 ACI 318-99 ................................................................................................................................................................................73
4.15 ACI 318-02 ................................................................................................................................................................................73
4.16 ACI 318-19 ................................................................................................................................................................................74
4.17 Analysis and Design of Pile Cap Foundations ...........................................................................................................75
4.17.1 Concrete Design Code ..............................................................................................................................76
4.17.2 Loading on Pile Cap .................................................................................................................................. 76
4.17.3 Initial Pile Cap Thickness .......................................................................................................................76
4.17.4 Pile Cap Analysis ........................................................................................................................................76
4.17.5 Pile Capacity Checks .................................................................................................................................77
4.17.6 Beam Shear .................................................................................................................................................. 78
4.17.7 Column Two-Way Shear .........................................................................................................................79
4.17.8 Single Pile Two-Way Shear ................................................................................................................... 79
4.17.9 Two-Pile Group Two-Way Shear ........................................................................................................ 80
4.17.10 Flexural Design ...........................................................................................................................................80
4.17.11 Designing Pile Caps for Pile Capacity ............................................................................................... 80
4.17.12 Triangular Pile Caps .................................................................................................................................82
4.17.13 Example Pile Cap Design Verification .............................................................................................. 82
4.18 References ............................................................................................................................................................................... 86
Chapter 5: Technical Notes: BS8110 ........................................................................................ 88
5.1 Building Codes ....................................................................................................................................................................... 88
5.2 Concrete Design Code ......................................................................................................................................................... 88
5.3 Table of Symbols ...................................................................................................................................................................89
5.4 Sign Conventions .................................................................................................................................................................. 90
5.5 Soil Capacity ............................................................................................................................................................................90
5.6 Reduced Base Plate Dimension ...................................................................................................................................... 90
5.7 Concrete Modulus of Elasticity ....................................................................................................................................... 90

5.8 Analysis of Spread Footings for Soil Pressure ..........................................................................................................91
5.9 Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure ................................................................................................ 91
5.10 Analysis of Spread Footing for Stability ......................................................................................................................91
5.11 Spread Footing Optimization ........................................................................................................................................... 91
5.11.1 Beam Shear Capacity ............................................................................................................................... 91
5.11.2 Two-Way Shear Capacity ....................................................................................................................... 92
5.11.3 Flexural Capacity ....................................................................................................................................... 93
5.11.4 Reinforcement Development Length ................................................................................................95
5.11.5 Flexural Reinforcement Capacity ....................................................................................................... 95
5.11.6 Reinforcement Distribution in Column Band ............................................................................... 95
5.12 Structual Design of Continuous Footings .................................................................................................................... 96
5.12.1 Beam Shear Capacity ............................................................................................................................... 96
5.12.2 Two-Way Shear Capacity ....................................................................................................................... 96
5.12.3 Flexure Capacity ........................................................................................................................................ 98
5.13 Spread Footing Optimization ........................................................................................................................................... 99
5.13.1 Optimization of Footing Dimensions ................................................................................................ 99
5.13.2 Optimization of Reinforcement ........................................................................................................ 100
5.14 Continuous Footing Optimization ................................................................................................................................101
5.14.1 Optimization of Footing Dimensions ............................................................................................. 101
5.14.2 Optimization of Reinforcement ........................................................................................................ 101
5.15 Analysis and Design of Pile Cap Foundations ........................................................................................................102
5.15.1 Concrete Design Code ........................................................................................................................... 102
5.15.2 Initial Pile Cap Thickness .................................................................................................................... 103
5.15.3 Beam Shear ................................................................................................................................................103
5.15.4 Column Two-Way Shear ...................................................................................................................... 104
5.15.5 Single and Double Pile Two-Way Shear ........................................................................................104
5.15.6 Flexural Design ........................................................................................................................................ 104
5.15.7 Example 1 Truss Theory - Pile Cap Design Verification ........................................................ 105
5.16 References .............................................................................................................................................................................107
Chapter 6: Technical Notes: CP 65 ...........................................................................................109
6.1 Differences between BS8110 and CP65 ....................................................................................................................109
Chapter 7: RAM Foundation Reports ...................................................................................... 110
7.1 Spread Footing Design Summary .................................................................................................................................111
7.2 Spread Footing Design ......................................................................................................................................................111
7.2.1 Footing Design ......................................................................................................................................... 111
7.2.2 Loads ............................................................................................................................................................112
7.2.3 Concrete Capacity ...................................................................................................................................112
7.2.4 Reinforcement ......................................................................................................................................... 112
7.2.5 Soil Capacity ..............................................................................................................................................112
7.3 Pile Load Combination Forces .......................................................................................................................................113
7.4 Pile Footing Design Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 113
7.5 Pile Footing Design .............................................................................................................................................................113
7.6 Material Take Off .................................................................................................................................................................113
7.6.1 Concrete ......................................................................................................................................................114
7.6.2 Reinforcement ......................................................................................................................................... 114
7.7 Load Combinations ............................................................................................................................................................ 114
7.8 Load Combination Forces ................................................................................................................................................114
7.9 Load Case Forces .................................................................................................................................................................114
7.10 General Comments on Reports ..................................................................................................................................... 115

7.11 Foundation Model Data ....................................................................................................................................................115
7.11.1 Spread Footing's Geometry/Continuous Footing's Geometry ............................................115
7.11.2 Spread Footing Material Properties / Continuous Footing Material Properties ........ 115
7.11.3 Spread Footing's Supported Members / Continuous Footing's Supported Members 116
7.12 Criteria .....................................................................................................................................................................................116
7.12.1 Code ..............................................................................................................................................................117
7.12.2 Design Method ......................................................................................................................................... 117
7.12.3 Soil Definition ...........................................................................................................................................117
7.13 Continuous Foundation Design Envelope ................................................................................................................ 117
7.14 Continuous Foundation Design .................................................................................................................................... 118
7.14.1 Footing Design ......................................................................................................................................... 118
7.14.2 Reinforcement Layout .......................................................................................................................... 118
7.14.3 Concrete Capacity ...................................................................................................................................119
7.14.4 Soil Capacity ..............................................................................................................................................119
Appendix A: RAM Foundation CONNECT Edition Help .............................................................121
A.1 RAM Foundation Help Contents .................................................................................................................................. 121
A.1.2 Foundation Member Color Coding ..................................................................................................121
A.2 File ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 122
A.2.1 Exit ................................................................................................................................................................ 123
A.2.2 File - Model Status .................................................................................................................................. 123
A.3 Criteria .....................................................................................................................................................................................123
A.3.1 Criteria - Forces .......................................................................................................................................123
A.3.2 Criteria - Design ...................................................................................................................................... 124
A.3.3 Criteria - Optimize ..................................................................................................................................128
A.4 Assign Menu .......................................................................................................................................................................... 130
A.4.1 Assign - Soil Properties ........................................................................................................................ 130
A.4.2 Assign - Base Plate ................................................................................................................................. 131
A.4.3 Assign - Geometry - Spread Footing ............................................................................................... 132
A.4.4 Assign - Continuous - Footing Geometry ......................................................................................132
A.4.5 Assign - Geometry Pile Cap .................................................................................................................133
A.4.6 Assign - Surcharge ..................................................................................................................................134
A.5 Combinations .......................................................................................................................................................................134
A.5.1 Load Combination Generator ............................................................................................................135
A.5.2 Custom Combinations .......................................................................................................................... 136
A.6 Process ....................................................................................................................................................................................136
A.6.1 Process - Design ...................................................................................................................................... 137
A.6.2 Process - View Update .......................................................................................................................... 137
A.6.3 Freeze Design ........................................................................................................................................... 142
A.6.4 Process - Clear Design .......................................................................................................................... 142
A.6.5 User Defined Setting ..............................................................................................................................142
A.7 Reports ................................................................................................................................................................................... 143
A.7.1 Printer ......................................................................................................................................................... 144
A.7.2 Screen .......................................................................................................................................................... 144
A.7.3 Text ............................................................................................................................................................... 144
A.7.4 Reports - Foundation Model Data ................................................................................................... 145
A.7.5 Reports - Criteria .................................................................................................................................... 145
A.7.6 Reports - Load Combinations ............................................................................................................145
A.7.7 Reports - Foundation Loads ...............................................................................................................145
A.7.8 Reports - Material Takeoff ..................................................................................................................145
A.7.9 Reports - Spread Footing Design ..................................................................................................... 146

A.7.10 Reports - Spread Footing Design Summary ................................................................................ 146
A.7.11 Reports - Pile Footing Design ............................................................................................................ 146
A.7.12 Reports - Pile Footing Design Summary .......................................................................................146
A.7.13 Reports - Pile Combination Forces ................................................................................................. 146
A.7.14 Reports - Continuous Foundation Design ....................................................................................146
A.7.15 Reports - Continuous Foundation Envelope ...............................................................................147
A.7.16 Reports - Print Screen .......................................................................................................................... 147
A.8 View ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 147
A.8.1 View - Zoom Fence .................................................................................................................................148
A.8.2 View - Zoom Full ..................................................................................................................................... 148
A.8.3 View - Zoom In .........................................................................................................................................148
A.8.4 View - Zoom Out ......................................................................................................................................148
A.8.5 View - Zoom Previous ...........................................................................................................................149
A.8.6 Assign - Geometry - Spread Footing ...............................................................................................149
A.8.7 Assign - Continuous - Footing Geometry ......................................................................................149
A.8.8 Assign - Base Plate ................................................................................................................................. 150
A.8.9 Assign - Surcharge ..................................................................................................................................150
A.8.10 Foundation Number .............................................................................................................................. 151
A.8.11 Foundation Intersection ....................................................................................................................... 151
A.8.12 Select Grid Systems ................................................................................................................................151
A.8.13 View - Scale Text ...................................................................................................................................... 151
A.8.14 View - Pen Colors ....................................................................................................................................152
A.8.15 View - Tool Bar ........................................................................................................................................ 152
A.8.16 View - Status Bar .....................................................................................................................................152
A.9 Technical Support ..............................................................................................................................................................153

Disclaimer
The software and related documentation, including this documentation, are protected by both United States copyright
law and international treaty provisions. Any unauthorized copying or reproduction is strictly prohibited and subject to
civil and criminal penalties. Please refer to the License Agreement (EULA) for authorization to make a backup copy of
the software. You may not sell this software or documentation or give copies of them to anyone else.
Except as expressly warranted in the License Agreement (EULA), Bentley Systems, Incorporated disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, with respect to the software, the accompanying written materials, and any accompanying hardware.
All results should be verified to the user's satisfaction. The contents of these written materials may include technical
inaccuracies or typographical errors and may be revised without prior notice.

Introduction
1
The RAM Foundation module is a powerful tool for analyzing and designing concrete spread, continuous, and
pile foundations. It is completely integrated into the RAM Structural System with all gravity and lateral loads as
well as column and base plate information automatically available for the footing design. Once the basic design
parameters have been entered, the analysis and design optimization can be performed on individual footings or
on the complete model. The final design reported includes footing dimensions as well as reinforcement
selections conforming to all specified code criteria.
Chapter 2 of this manual explores the basics of the RAM Foundation program. It provides information on
modifying defaults to suit the project criteria and engineer's preference, using the basic commands to enter data
and design foundations.
Chapter 3 looks at how data provided for foundation design will be used by RAM Foundation. Additionally, this
chapter explains how data entered in other modules of the RAM Structural System will impact the design
performed by RAM Foundation.
Chapter 4, Technical Notes: ACI 318, provides the engineer with information on how the foundations are
designed per ACI 318-95, ACI 318-99, ACI 318-02, ACI 318-05 and ACI 318-08. This includes explanations of
assumptions made by the program.
Chapter 5, Technical Notes: BS 8110, provides the engineer with information on how the foundations are
designed per BS 8110-97. This includes explanations of assumptions made by the program.
Chapter 6, Technical Notes: CP 65, addresses the differences between BS 8110 and CP 65.
Chapter 7 gives a detailed explanation of the reports available from the RAM Foundation program.
Note: The ability to lay out Mat Foundations is present in the RAM Modeler. While these foundations are drawn
in RAM Foundation, the foundation module does not act upon them. Likewise, they do not have an effect on the
design of single column footings or continuous foundations.

RAM Foundation Menus and Commands
2
RAM Foundation performs analysis and design of spread, continuous, and pile foundations.
This chapter is an overview of the RAM Foundation module along with a brief discussion of its use. More specific
information on each of the commands is available in the on-line help.
2.1 Invoking the Foundation Module

The Foundation module is invoked from RAM Manager by issuing the Design > RAM Foundation command or
by pressing the Foundation Design button.
2.2 Checking the Database Status

RAM Foundation makes use of the data from RAM Modeler, RAM Steel Column, RAM Concrete, and RAM Frame.
Therefore, changes in these modules that affect the status of the database also affect the Foundation module.
When RAM Foundation is invoked, the program makes two important inquiries:
1. Is the database valid or do the framing tables need to be built?
2. Have the lateral forces been analyzed?
If the database is not valid (i.e. data has changed that has invalidated the loads and thereby all designs), RAM
Foundation cannot proceed with the design procedure. Even so, some commands are available within the
module. Assignments can be made and load combinations can be generated.
If the database is valid, the possibility still exists that the lateral system has not been analyzed. In this case, any
foundations that support only gravity members will be available. Foundations that support lateral members or a
combination of lateral and gravity members will be drawn in white, indicating that they are not ready to be
designed.
The design status of the database is also indicated by a model status indicator light on the status bar at the
bottom of the screen. This indicates whether or not a design can be performed. The File - Model Status command
is also available for more detailed information. Refer to the Model Status Chapter of the RAM Manager manual
for more information.

Foundation Status
2.3 Foundation Status

The status of each foundation is indicated by the color with which the foundation is drawn on the screen. Upon
entering the foundation module for the first time, all foundations will be drawn in white, indicating that there is
inadequate information available for design. Once the data necessary to complete a design has been entered, the
foundation will be drawn in yellow. After a design, foundations that pass the specified design criteria are drawn
in green and those that fail are drawn in red.
The engineer has the option to “freeze” a design in one of two ways: by issuing the Update Database command
within the View/Update dialog box or by issuing the Process > Freeze Design command. Both commands
mark the foundation as user defined and no further modifications will be made to its size and reinforcement
until the user-defined flag is cleared. All user-defined foundations are drawn in blue with a yellow, green, or red
arrow to indicate the footing’s design status.
Pile caps that do not have piles assigned will be drawn with piles of a default diameter. Pile caps that do not have
a configuration assigned will default to a square 2x2 configuration as is done in the Modeler.
2.4 Minimum Information Required by RAM Foundation

The Foundation module is designed so that the engineer can enter a minimum amount of data and quickly arrive
at a design. Additionally, the option to use more advanced features under the criteria and assign menus to fine
tune the design always exists. This section explains the minimum steps necessary to achieve a foundation design.
Before the RAM Foundation program can be used to design spread, continuous, or pile foundations the following
steps are required:
1. The foundations must be laid out in RAM Modeler.
2. Gravity and/or lateral loads must be defined for the model using RAM Modeler and/or RAM Frame.
3. All columns must have sizes assigned to them. Gravity steel columns are sized by the RAM Steel Column
module. Steel columns may also be assigned sizes within RAM Modeler, and frame steel columns may be
assigned sizes within RAM Frame.
Gravity concrete columns may be assigned sizes within RAM Modeler, RAM Concrete Analysis, or RAM
Concrete Column. Frame concrete columns may also be assigned sizes within RAM Frame.
4. For footings supporting lateral members, the lateral analysis must be performed in RAM Frame. If the lateral
analysis has not been performed only footings supporting gravity members only will be available for design.
Once these four conditions are satisfied the engineer can invoke the RAM Foundation program and achieve a
foundation design.
Upon entering the foundation module, all foundations will be drawn in white. This indicates that not all
necessary information has been defined for a design to be completed. The user must provide three pieces of
information before a design can be completed.
1. Soil Properties: Use the Assign - Soil command to provide the program with information about the soil for a
given footing. Note that this assignment is not needed, nor possible, for pile footings.

The Toolbars
2. Base Plate Size: For steel columns, a base plate size must be defined using the Assign > Base Plate
command.
3. Load Combinations: Before a design can be run, at least one load combination for concrete and one load
combination for soil must be entered. This can be done either by having the program generate combinations
based on a specific building code (see Section 2.9 for more information) or by entering user-defined
combinations.
Once this information has been entered, the foundations will turn from white to yellow indicating that they are
ready to be designed. Foundations can be designed individually by issuing the View/Update command, or in
batch mode by using the Process-Design commands.
When the foundations have been designed, their color will change from yellow to either green, if the design was
successful, or red, if the design failed.
2.5 The Toolbars
2.5.1 File Toolbar
Icon Description
File - Save
Model Notes. See Section 2.6 for more information
2.5.2 Assign Toolbar
Icon Description
Assign Soil Properties
Assign Dimensions to Base Plates
Assign Spread Footing Geometry
Assign Pile Cap Footing Geometry
Assign Continuous Footing Geometry

The Toolbars
Icon Description
Assign Surcharge Loads to Footings
2.5.3 Load Combination Toolbar
Icon Description
Code Generated Concrete Load Combinations
User Defined Concrete Load Combinations
Code Generated Soil Load Combinations
User Defined Soil Load Combinations
2.5.4 Process Toolbar
Icon Description
View/Update
Design All Spread Footings
Design All Pile Footings
Design All Continuous Footings
2.5.5 View Toolbar
Icon Description
View Soil Assignment

The Toolbars
Icon Description
View Assigned Geometry
View Assigned Thickness
View Assigned Pile
View Assigned Baseplate Size
View Assigned Surcharge
View Foundation Numbers
View Foundation Intersections
View Select Visible Grids

3
Zoom Full
Zoom Fence
Zoom In
Zoom Out
Previous Zoom
.
Change Pen Colors
Scale Text
Scale Text - Up
Scale Text - Down
Print

Model Notes
Icon Description
About
2.6 Model Notes

Icon Description
The Model Notes command opens a text file that may be used for entering any notes the
user wishes to keep on the currently loaded model. The model notes file is stored in the
same directory as the model's files and will have the format 'modelname.txt'. Invoke the
Model Notes command from the File menu.
2.7 Criteria
There are a number of criteria items that the engineer can set to arrive at a design that is in line with the design
philosophy of the engineering firm. Defaults for these criteria are set using the Defaults Utility accessed through
the RAM Manager.
Criteria can be modified on a per project basis, using the Criteria command within RAM Foundation. Changing
any of the criteria after foundations have been designed will negate the current design.
2.7.1 Force Criteria

The forces on gravity members supported by foundations can be taken from one of three sources: RAM Steel,
RAM Concrete Analysis or a material specific source.
Use the option in the Criteria > Forces dialog box to indicate which program will be the source of the forces on
gravity members.
If the third option is selected, forces on steel and 'other' columns will come from RAM Steel. Forces on concrete
columns and all walls will come from RAM Concrete Analysis.
If there is a diaphragm in the model that has two-way slab action, the RAM Steel option will not be available.
Upon entering RAM Foundation, the Criteria - Forces option is changed to the third option: material specific.
See Sections 3.4 and 3.5 for a discussion of the effects of selecting each option.

Criteria
2.7.2 Design Criteria

The Criteria > Design command is used to define the criteria by which a foundation will be designed.
Code Tab
The Code tab is used to define the design code and optional code checks.
Code This is used to select the concrete building code.

Included This is used to select any code sections that may be optional or open to various interpretations.
Code Checks The options available vary by the selected Code.
ACI 318-95 through This section addresses the distribution of reinforcement in the
318-11 Sec 15.4.4.2 middle reinforcement strip perpendicular to the long direction of a
and ACI 318-14 Sec rectangular footing. If this option is selected, the reinforcement is
13.3.3.3(b) distributed as prescribed by this section. If this option is not
selected, the reinforcement is equally distributed across the
footing.
Design Tab
The Design Tab is divided into two sections. From the first section, a Design Method is selected. The second
section, Design Options, is used to further define design preferences.
Design Spread
Method Design When designing for applied forces, you optimize each footing or
Footings
group footings design as footings as groups.
group
based on
• Select optimum footing design for each column – This
applied
option designs each footing based on its loading. This method
forces
will give the most economical results but will also give the
largest number of unique results.
• For spread footings of equal dimensions, group footing
design based on controlling steel – This option will give the
same reinforcement for all footings with the same length,
width and depth dimensions. The program will design all the
footings then go through and find the controlling
reinforcement for each unique footing size. This method will
give less economical design results with the smallest number
of unique footing designs.
Design This option will check the soil capacity for each footing using the
footings provided soil load combinations, but will then assume that the
based on soil is fully stressed for the concrete design of the footing. This
soil method will be the least economical method with a reduced set of
capacity unique footing designs. This method is only performed if there is
no moment on the footing; otherwise the footing is designed using
the actual soil stress.

Criteria
Pile Cap • Design pile caps based on pile load – This option uses the pile forces for each
Footings load combination to check the pile cap design.
group
• Design pile caps based on pile capacity – This option designs pile caps based
on pile capacity. The beam shear, pile two-way shear, column two-way shear,
and flexural design are based on the factored pile capacity. The load factors are
calculated by taking the ratio of the factored and unfactored column axial force
(similar to spread footing design based on soil capacity).
Design The Design Options are used to select user preferences for the analysis and design of the footings.
Options
group Include Moment In footings supporting frame columns, the column shear induces an
Due to Shear in additional moment into the footing equal to the column shear times the
Column for footing thickness. In some cases this additional moment can be ignored in
the design of the footing if there is some other mechanism (such as a floor
slab) provided to take the shear.
This criterion gives the engineer the option to include or ignore the
moment due to the column shear when designing footings and can be
specified separately for Spread Footings, Continuous Footings, and Pile
Caps.
Note: This option does not cause the program to ignore the column
moments on the footing; it only causes the program to ignore the
additional moment resulting from the footing thickness.
Include Spread This criterion gives the engineer the option to include or ignore the spread
Footing Self- footing self-weight in the calculation of the soil stress. It is common to
Weight When have a soil report state that the given soil capacity accounts for the footing
Checking Soil self-weight. In this case it is not necessary to include the footing self-
Stress weight when checking the soil stress.
Keep Spread This criterion provides the opportunity to force spread footings to remain
Footing Square square during optimization. Selecting this option forces both plan
During dimensions to be increased equally if either of the plan dimensions need
Optimization to be increased to satisfy the code design checks. This is done until the
maximum dimension limit in either direction is reached.
Increase Spread When the program optimizes the sizes of spread footings, it will increase
Footing Size to the size of the footing, if necessary, so that there is no net uplift present in
Prevent Uplift in any of the Concrete Load Combinations (with a factor of safety against
Concrete Load uplift as explained in Net Uplift (on page 56)).
Combinations
When the option is deselected, the footing size is not increased to counter
the uplift from the column axial load in the concrete load combinations. In
this case, for a given concrete load combination that produces a net uplift
on the footing, the footing is designed only to resist the factored self-
weight and surcharge on the critical sections. Note that this will produce
flexural reinforcement in the top of the footing.
When moments are applied to the footing through the supported column,
the user's selection may be overridden by the program. If moment is
present at the base of the supported column, the footing will be upsized as

Criteria
described above even if the user has not selected the option to do so. This
is done so that the analysis conducted in RAM Foundation is consistent
with the forces obtained from RAM Frame or RAM Concrete, in which the
column base is always assumed fixed against translation in the vertical
direction.
Note: Consider a spread footing that is optimized with this option

selected. Any subsequent change made to the footing geometry within
the View/Update dialog that produces net uplift in any of the Concrete
Load Combinations will not produce a warning message.
Reinforcement Tab
The Reinforcement Tab is where bar sizes are selected for shear and flexural reinforcement.
This is also where the user can overwrite the default code specified parameters:
• Max/Min bar spacing for shear and flexure bars.
• Top, Bottom & Side bar clear cover.
• Max/Min Flexure reinforcement ratio.
In all cases if the Code option is selected the program will calculate the appropriate code specified value. If the
User option is selected the provided value will be used as long as they are within the code specified limits (when
applicable). If the user-specified values are not within the code limits the code limits will be used.
Reinforcement When the BS 8110-97 or CP 65 option is selected in the Code tab, an additional option
Ratio (flexure only) for Bar Type becomes available in the Reinforcement Tab. This option defines the
reinforcement bar type used in construction. This information is only used in calculating
the Value of Bond Coefficient for bars in tension from BS8110-97, Part 1, Table 3.26.
Bar Selection Tab

The Bar Selection Tab is where various parameters are defined to fine-tune the reinforcement selection.
Minimum Used to define the minimum acceptable number of bars in a layer. If 3 is entered, there will be
Number of at least three bars in the bottom of the footing parallel to the major and minor axis. If bars are
Bars in required in the top of the footing, there will also be at least three bars in footing parallel to the
Footing major and minor axis.
Bar Sizes The options in this section are used to set parameters by which bar sizes are selected.
group
Keep all bars in (Spread Footing and Pile Cap) Used to group the bars in a layer so they
layer the same are designed to be the same size. If this option is selected, one size will
size be selected for all of the top-layer bars, regardless of direction. The
same will be done for the bottom-layer bars. The design of one layer
does not impact the design of opposite layer.
Square Footings (Spread Footing and Pile Cap) For square spread footings the same
Use Same reinforcing will be used in both directions. For ease of construction it is
Quantity and Size sometimes desirable to call out the same quantity and size of
Bars for Both reinforcing bars in both directions, even if not required. If this option is

Criteria
Directions in selected the program will select the same reinforcing bars each way for
Layer the bottom layer based on the greater amount required in either
direction. If reinforcing is required in the top layer, the program will
likewise select the same reinforcing bars each way based on the greater
amount required in either direction in the top layer.
Adjacent bars (Continuous Footing) Used to control the change in bar size for bars in
may differ in size the same layer and direction. For example, if 1 is used, then only #4, #5
by and #6 bars can be placed in an adjacent span to a #5 bar.
Spacing Segment Value is used to help in defining design segment dimensions that are
group Spacing rounded off to typical dimensions that engineers would use. The segment
Increment spacing will not affect dimensions that are explicitly defined by code like
the locations used for checking shear and flexure along a continuous
footing.
Note: This value may produce longitudinal top reinforcement segments

that are not exactly under the columns. It is advisable to keep this value
between 3 and 12 in.
Shear Bar This value is used to define the shear reinforcement spacing increment so
Spacing that shear reinforcement spacing matches office and project standards.
Increment
Select bars This option is used in selecting the optimization criteria to use from all acceptable
based on… combinations of bar sizes and spacings. Selection by area will give the least bar area regardless
group of bar size. Select one of the following criteria:
• Minimum Bar Area
• Minimum Bar Spacing
• Maximum Bar Spacing
Pile/Pile Cap Tab

Maximum This value is used to account for construction tolerances when calculating the pile group
Construction resultant force distance from a critical section. Specifically, when calculating the moments
Tolerance acting in a pile cap for the structural design of the cap, the specified construction tolerance
is added to the individual moment arms of each pile relative to the critical section in
question. This will result in larger design moments.
Pile Embedment This is the distance the top of the pile protrudes into the underside of the pile cap. This
Depth thickness is added to the reinforcement depth and reinforcement cover to establish the
total pile cap thickness.
2.7.3 Optimization Criteria

The Criteria > Optimization command is used to define the criteria by which a foundation’s dimensions will be
optimized.

Criteria
Spread/Continuous Tab
Plan This area is used to define the footing's minimum plan dimensions during design
Dimensions optimization. In the case of continuous footings, the specified value "Plan dimension
Criteria increment for each side of column" applies only to the l1 and l2 dimensions. The w1 and w2
dimensions are not optimized and thereby must be defined by the user.
Thickness This is where the minimum footing thickness is defined. The thickness increment is also
defined for optimization of spread and continuous footings.
Uplift Safety This value defines the minimum safety factor for uplift and must be greater than or equal to
Factor 1.0. The uplift limit is checked for all spread and continuous footings for all of the Soil Load
Combinations. The footing size is optimized to produce an uplift safety factor larger than the
user defined value. The uplift safety factor and controlling soil load combination number for
all footings that have uplift are included in the Foundation Design report.
Pile/Pile Cap Tab

Spacing Spacing can be specified in two ways: edge of pile cap to center of pile, and center to center of piles.
Both options allow the user to specify the spacing as the maximum of the following: a factor
multiplied by the pile diameter, an absolute distance measured from the center of the pile, or as an
absolute distance measured from the edge of the pile. Any of the values may be zero, but there
must be at least one value that is not zero in each category.
Thickness This is where the minimum footing thickness is defined for pile cap footings. The thickness
increment here is used for the optimization of pile cap footings (the thickness for spread and
continuous footings is defined on the Spread/Continuous tab).
ACI 318 Design - Suggested Pile and Edge Spacing

Edge to Center of Pile E = 15" for P ≤ 120 kip
E = 21" for 120 < P ≤ 240
E = 27" for 240 < P ≤ 400
E = 30" for P > 400
Center to Center of Piles Minimum Pile center-to-center spacing = 3x pile diameter
Minimum Pile center-to-center spacing = 36"
Minimum Pile clear spacing = 24"
BS8110 Design - Suggested Pile and Edge Spacing

Cap Edge to Pile Edge 150 mm
Center to Center of Piles End bearing pile spacing = 3x pile diameter
Friction pile spacing = 2x pile diameter

Assign
2.8 Assign
The Assign command is used to make assignments to foundations in a model. All commands can be issued in one
of three modes:
Single – This allows individual footings to be selected using the target cursor. Only the selected footing will be
affected by the assign command.
Fence – This allows several footings in an area to be selected inside a fencing rectangle. Only the footings that
are entirely enclosed within the rectangle will be affected by the assign command.
All – If "All" is selected, all relevant footings will receive the assignment.
2.8.1 Soil
The Assign > Soil command is used to enter the soil capacity data for the given project. Entering a soil capacity
is necessary before any foundations can be designed.
The engineer is provided with two options for entering the soil capacity. The first option is to enter one soil
capacity value that will be used by foundations without regard to depth of footing or footing dimensions.
In case the engineer wants to enter more precise soil information, the Soil Wizard can be used to create a table of
soil capacities. For more information on the Soil Wizard, see the Online Help and Section 2.14 (on page 31).
Once the soil table is created, RAM Foundation automatically names the table and makes it available for
selection.
A View/Edit button is available for the inspection and modification of previously generated tables.
Note: There is no “Save As” command accessible through View/Edit. To modify a table and save it to a new
filename, use the Soil Wizard “Existing Table” option.
Soil Table In RAM Modeler the engineer has the option to raise or lower the top-of-footing elevation
Lookup on relative to the base of the structure (see the Section on Sloping Framing in the RAM Modeler
Modified manual for more information). In such cases, the ground under the structure is assumed to
Footing slope with the footing so the top of the footing is assumed to be at the surface of the ground.
Elevation When the soil capacity has been defined as a function of the soil depth using the Wizard in the
Assign > Soil command, the program will only consider the footing thickness as the soil depth;
it will not take into consideration the elevation of the footing relative to the structural datum.
Note: Pile Caps do not require a soil assignment.
2.8.2 Base Plate Size

RAM Foundation automatically imports from the RAM Steel Column Design module all the available base plate
data for gravity steel columns. The Assign > Base Plate command is used either to override these imported base

Assign
plate dimensions or to assign base plate dimensions to lateral steel columns. The Assign > Base Plate command
is the only assign command within RAM Foundation that works on a per column basis rather than a per
foundation basis.
The base plate plan dimensions and percent of overhang assumed rigid are used to find the effective area of the
column load as well as the location for calculating the dimensions used in checking the footing's flexure and
shear capacities.
Length Base plate dimension parallel to column local major direction

Width Base plate dimension parallel to column local minor direction
% Of Overhang to Most codes assume that only half the distance from the column perimeter to the base
Assume Rigid plate edge can be assumed as rigid, which would be a value of 50%. However, when
stiffeners or extra thick base plates are used, that value can be raised to a maximum of
100%.
The Assign > Base Plate command is also used to clear user-defined base plate sizes. Once a base plate size has
been marked as user-defined, its dimensions will not be reset even if it is redesigned in the RAM Steel Column
module. If, after assigning a base plate size, the user wants RAM Steel to redesign the base plate, the user-defined
size must first be cleared.
2.8.3 Geometry
For both the Spread and Continuous Footing Geometry assignment dialog boxes, the assignments are limited to
the categories that have the Assign option selected. If, for example, the Assign Thickness box is not selected, then
the assigned footing's thickness parameter will not change.
The Assign > Geometry – Spread command permits the user to apply dimensional information to foundations
on a single, fence or all basis. The engineer has the opportunity to indicate which dimensions will be optimized
and, for those dimensions, to enter a maximum dimension. Dimensions that will be optimized have a check mark
to the left and the “maximum” edit box is available. In Figure 11, all dimensions are being optimized.
The engineer can also use this command to indicate which dimensions will not be optimized. Removing the
check mark from the check box to the left indicates that the user's entered size will be used as the dimensional
value.
Assume All When reinforcing bars without hooks are specified, the footing dimensions must often be
Bars are oversized to provide sufficient development length for the bars. By hooking the bars a more
Hooked at economical footing may be possible. The option to consider all bars hooked at the end is assigned
Ends on a footing-by-footing basis. This option provides a way to cause the footing design to ignore
the development length checks for all reinforcement in spread footings. The program will not do
any calculations related to the hooks; it will simply skip the development length calculations and
checks.
Note: It is the engineer's responsibility to check if hooks are actually required when this option
is selected for a footing. When this option is selected it will be indicated in the design reports
and DXF output that hooks were assumed for the specified reinforcement.
If the BS 8110 code is selected, the engineer has the option to design spread footings as either reinforced or
unreinforced. Spread footings are specified as unreinforced by selecting the Design as Unreinforced Footing
option in the Assign > Geometry – Spread command and assigning it to the desired spread footings.

Assign
Continuous Footings
The Assign > Geometry – Continuous command works just like the corresponding command for spread
footings. The only difference being that the width cannot be optimized for continuous foundations. The user
must always enter the dimensional values or accept the default.
In addition to entering dimensional information, this dialog box is used to assign the number of shear
reinforcement legs. See Online Help for additional information.
Assume Transverse This option is similar to the one for spread footings but only applies to the
Bars are Hooked at transverse reinforcement. When this option is selected it will be indicated in the
Ends design reports and DXF output that hooks were assumed for the specified
reinforcement.
Pile Footings
The Assign > Geometry - Pile Caps command permits the user to assign pile cap dimensional information to
pile footings on a single, fence, or all basis. The engineer may specify to optimize spacing or thickness. In Figure
13, both spacing and thickness are set to be optimized.
Assign Piles Piles can be defined using the Edit Piles button in this dialog, or from the Assign > Edit
Piles menu option (see the Edit Piles section below for more information on pile
definitions). Once piles are defined, they can be assigned to pile caps. A pile cap cannot be
designed until a pile assignment has been made.
Assign Pile Pile Configurations can be defined using the Edit Configurations button in this dialog, or
Configurations from the Assign > Edit Pile Configurations menu option. Six pile configurations are
predefined: 2-Pile Group, 3-Pile Group, 5-Pile Group, 5-Pile Square Group, 7-Pile Group,
and 8-Pile Group. (See the Edit Pile Configurations section below for more information
on pile configurations.) A pile cap cannot be designed until a pile assignment has been
made.
Assign Spacing When Optimize Edge Spacing or Optimize Pile Spacing is checked, the spacing criteria
from the Optimization Criteria dialog will be used. The criteria that will be used are
specified in this dialog for reference. If either option is unchecked, the value specified next
to the Use label will be taken as an absolute spacing distance measured from the center of
the piles and the global spacing criteria for that option will be ignored.
Assign Thickness Thickness can either be optimized to a maximum thickness specified under Maximum, or
the engineer may assign a specific thickness for the pile footing.
Edit Piles
Piles are defined in the Edit Piles dialog and are assigned to pile caps using the Assign Pile Geometry command.
Pile definitions are given a label and effective diameter. For rectangular or other shaped piles the effective pile
diameter will need to be calculated. In addition, the engineer should specify the compression capacity, tension
capacity, and shear capacity for the piles. Tension and shear values can be set to zero. Piles are assumed to have
no flexural capacity. Piles that have been assigned to pile caps cannot be deleted.

Load Combinations
Edit Pile Configurations

Pile configurations are defined in the Edit Pile Configurations dialog and are assigned to pile caps using the
Assign Pile Geometry command.
Rectangular pile configurations can be defined using the Edit Pile Configurations command. Note that 2, 3, 5, 5
square, 7, and 8-pile groups are all predefined and available to assign using the Assign Pile Geometry
command.
2.8.4 Surcharge
The Assign > Surcharge command permits the user to assign a surcharge on a footing to account for dead and
live loads including the soil and slab loads that are not already accounted for in the model. A positive surcharge
indicates a load in the direction of gravity.
Note: The values entered are a load per unit area.
Dead The dead load is used to account for the soil, floor slab, and other dead load surcharge that the
Load footing may be supporting that are not already accounted for in the dead load on the structure.
Live Load The live load is used to account for any live load that may be supported by the footing (e.g., the live
load on a floor slab supported by the footing that is not already accounted for in the live load on
the structure.
Note: The Dead and Live surcharge loads are included with any other Dead and Live loads on the structure when
evaluating load combinations.
2.9 Load Combinations

The RAM Foundation program makes use of load combinations when designing foundations. At least one load
combination must be entered for both concrete and soil before a design can be acquired. Load combinations can
either be generated by the foundation module or be entered manually by the engineer.
2.9.1 Code Generated Combinations

Issuing the Combinations > Generate for Concrete … or the Combinations > Generate for Soil… command
brings up the Load Combination Generation dialog box. This dialog box provides the engineer with control over
the load combinations that are generated and used within the RAM Foundation program. For more information
about using the Load Combination Generator, refer to the Load Combination Generator manual.

Process
2.9.2 User Defined

Issuing the Combinations > Custom for Concrete… or the Combinations > Custom for Soil… command brings
up the Custom Load Combination dialog box. The Custom Load Combination works in a similar manner to the
dialog for generating combinations. One notable difference is that combinations can be hand entered and
modified. For more information about using the Load Combination Generator, refer to the Load Combination
Generator manual.
2.10 Process
2.10.1 Design All

A Progress Meter displays the progress during the Design > All Footings, Spread Footings, Pile Footings , or
Continuous Footings commands. The user may cancel the design process before completing all the designs. The
Cancel option will cancel the design after the current footing design is completed. It does not indicate the
progress of an individual footing design.
2.10.2 View/Update
The Process – View/Update command launches the View/Update dialog box; a powerful tool for investigating
the design of foundations on an individual basis. When the command is issued, the cursor changes from the
arrow cursor to the target cursor, allowing the engineer to select a foundation. A spread, continuous, or pile
foundation can be selected with the target cursor and the RAM Foundation program will determine which View/
Update dialog box to display.
If an un-designed foundation is selected, it will be designed before the dialog box is opened. If a foundation is
selected that has already been designed, the saved design will be displayed rather than a new design being
executed.
View/Update:Spread Footing
The View/Update Spread Footing dialog box is made-up of three tabs that display information and allow for
user input along with a display screen where a visual representation of the footing is drawn.
The first tab, Design, lists criteria used to create a design and gives a summary of the design. For foundations
that fail the design process, the dialog box opens with this tab on top. The reason for the design failure is
displayed in the "Results" section of the dialog box rather than a summary of the design.
The View Results button can be used to obtain a more detailed report of the design. This is the same report
available by issuing the Reports > Spread Footing Design command.

Process
The second tab, Results, provides the engineer with tools for modifying the dimensions or steel reinforcement
for the current design. Once a design has been modified, the Redesign button becomes available and the
stoplight turns to yellow, indicating that the information displayed in the dialog box does not yet reflect a valid
design. Clicking the Redesign button will reanalyze and design the footing.
The third tab, Material Properties, provides the engineer with a means for modifying material properties on the
foundation. As with the Results tab, any modification to data on this page will cause the Redesign button to
become available and the stoplight to turn yellow.
Once the engineer has arrived at an appropriate design, the Update Database button can be used to save the
current foundation. Update Database saves the dimensions, reinforcement, material properties, and the design.
Issuing the update database command marks the foundation as “User Defined”. Until the design is cleared using
the Process > Clear Design command, the Foundation program will not design the foundation again. Changes to
criteria will be checked but the design will not be over-ridden.
Clicking the Close button closes the dialog box. If changes have been made to the design but Update Database
has not been issued, the changes will be abandoned.
View/Update for Continuous Footing

The Continuous View/Update dialog box, like the Spread View/Update dialog box, is made-up of three tabs
that display information and allow for user input along with a display screen where a visual representation of
the footing is drawn.
The first tab, Design, lists the criteria used to create a design and gives a summary of the design. For foundations
that fail the design process, the dialog box opens with this tab on top. The reason for the design failure is
displayed in the "Results" section of the dialog box rather than a summary of the design.
The View Results button can be used to obtain a more detailed report of the design. This is the same report
available by issuing the Reports > Spread Footing Design command.
The View Envelope button on the Continuous Foundation View/Update dialog box is used to see the
Continuous Foundation Design Envelopes which reports the moment and shear envelopes on the footing. This is
the same report available by issuing the Reports > Continuous Foundation Design Envelopes command.
The second tab, Results, provides the engineer with tools for modifying the dimensions or steel reinforcement
for the current design. Once a design has been modified, the Redesign button becomes available and the
stoplight turns to yellow, indicating that the information displayed in the dialog box does not yet reflect a valid
design. Clicking the Redesign button will pass the input from the dialog box to the program for analysis and
design. See the Online Help for information on editing the reinforcement.
The third tab, Material Properties, provides the engineer with a means for modifying material properties on
the foundation. As with the Results tab, any modification to data on this page will cause the Redesign button to
become available and the stop-light to turn yellow.
Once the engineer has arrived at an appropriate design, the Update Database button can be used to save the
current foundation. Update Database saves the dimensions, the reinforcement, the material properties and the
design. Issuing the update database command marks the foundation as “User Defined”. Until the design is
cleared using the Process > Clear Design command, the Foundation program will not design the foundation
again. Changes to criteria will be checked but the design will not be over-ridden.
Clicking the Close button closes the dialog box. If changes have been made to the design but Update Database
has not been issued, the changes will be abandoned.

Process
Shear and Moment Diagrams

The Continuous Footing View/Update dialog includes the required and provided moment and shear diagrams
for the footing (see Figure 21, Figure 22, and Figure 23). This tool is provided to supplement the Envelopes
Report. The diagram is similar to those available in RAM Frame and RAM Concrete. The diagram and the
accompanying data to the right of it are changed based on the selected reinforcement type. The required and
provided reinforcement areas are reported for the slider location but they are not graphically represented in the
diagram. The slider can be moved either by entering a location in the provided text box or by left clicking on the
slider in the diagram and moving it.
View/Update for Pile caps

The Pile Cap View/Update dialog box is made up of four tabs that display information and allow for user input
along with a display screen with a visual representation of the footing.
If the pile cap is designed successfully, the View/Update dialog will open with the Results tab in front. If there
are any design errors or warnings, the Warnings tab will be in front.
Once an appropriate design has been achieved in the View/Update dialog, the Update Database button can be
used to save the current foundation design. Update Database saves the dimensions, the reinforcement, and
design. Issuing the Update Database command marks the foundation as "User Defined". Until the design is
cleared using the Process > Clear Design command, the Foundation program make no attempt to optimize the
foundation design. Rather, it will only check the existing design.
Clicking the Close button will dismiss the dialog. If any changes made to the design were not saved using the
Update Database command, they will be lost.
The Design tab is purely informational and requires no user input. It displays a summary of information for the
pile footing, including some of the criteria used in the design of the footing.
The Results tab provides the engineer with tools for modifying the geometric information or steel
reinforcement for the current design. Once a design has been modified, the Redesign button becomes available
and the stoplight turns to yellow, indicating that information displayed in the dialog box does not yet reflect a
valid design. Clicking the Redesign button will reanalyze and design the footing.
The View Results button invokes the Pile Cap Footing Design report which contains more detailed information
about the pile footing design.
The View Pile Forces button invokes the Pile Combination Forces report.
The Material Properties tab is identical to that in the Spread Footing View/Update dialog. Material properties
for the foundation can be viewed and modified. As with the Results tab, any modification to data on this tab will
cause the Redesign button to become available and the stoplight to turn yellow.
The Warnings tab lists any design warnings for the footing. If the footing design fails, this tab will be in front
when the dialog appears. If a redesign fails, this tab will come to the front. Whenever the stoplight on the View/
Update dialog is red, the Warnings tab will contain a list of design warnings that prevented a valid pile footing
design.

Process
2.10.3 Freeze Design

The Freeze Design command is equivalent to the Update Database command within View Update. It marks
foundation as “User Defined”, saves the current dimensions, material properties and design of the foundation. A
foundation that has been frozen will not be redesigned until the design is cleared.
2.10.4 Clear Design

The Clear Design command clears the user-defined flag from a foundation. Once a design is cleared, the
foundation is returned to a ready state. Subsequent design commands will affect the foundation.
2.10.5 Export to PROFIS Engineering

PROFIS Engineering is a web-based program and is accessed through a web browser.
Note: To use this feature, the engineer is required to have an account with Hilti. Standard accounts, which start
by signing up for a 30-day trial, are free with registry at PROFISEngineering.Hilti.com.
It is strongly recommended that the user register for an account before using this feature.
When using the export feature, you will switch between the RAM Foundation program on the desktop and the
PROFIS Engineering program in a browser. The recommended workflow is to have both programs open and be
logged onto the PROFIS Engineering website, during exports.
In RAM Foundation
The Process > Export to PROFIS Engineering > Connect and Export command initiates the export process.
This includes a Hilti login dialog within RAM Foundation. Because the connection is between a desktop product
and a web product, this process takes some time. A dialog is shown indicating that the connect and export
process is running. The dialog will close when the export process is complete. Once the data is exported, return
to PROFISEngineering.Hilti.com in the web browser to complete the baseplate and anchor design.
Once per session, selecting Process > Export to Profis Engineering > Connect and Export opens the Load
Combination Generator. From this dialog, select the steel design code PROFIS will use to design the baseplates
and anchors. Next, select a combination template and generate combinations. Clicking OK will close the dialog
and start the export.
Note: The standard (free) license is limited to importing 10 load combinations into PROFIS. These can be
selected within the Load Combo Generator or within PROFIS.
The Process > Export to PROFIS Engineering > Modify Code and Combos command is used to relaunch the
Load Combo Generator where the engineer can change the steel design code or selection of load combinations.

Reports
In PROFIS Engineering
Important: The setting to accept imports from RAM must be selected before files will be available. Select the RAM
box under Settings > Interfaces to structural calculation software and click Save to exit.
Imported files are listed on the right vertical navigation pane. Use the browser’s refresh button or F5 to refresh
the screen until an import message is given in the top center of the screen. After this is dismissed, the file will be
listed on the right. Select a file to begin the design.
Data Exported to PROFIS Engineering

Column: label, shape, rotation with respect to the foundation’s x-axis, section properties and material properties.
Foundation: dimensions and material properties
Load Combinations: steel design code, combination label, forces resulting from combination
2.11 Reports
2.11.1 Report Destination

The first four options under the Reports menu are used to control the destination of the selected report. A check
mark is placed beside the current selection. This selection is relevant to the current model in RAM Foundation
only. To change the report destination on a global level, use the Tools > Report Styles command located in RAM
Manager. For more information about the destination options, see the “Reports” help topic in RAM Foundation.
2.11.2 Reports
Various reports are available from the RAM Foundation module. These reports are used to gain information
about the model and its design. For more information about the individual reports, see Chapter 6.
2.12 View
The View commands control what information is shown on the screen. View > Soil Capacity, View – Geometry,
View – Thickness, View - Pile Type, View – Base Plate Size and View – Surcharge commands are used to
view the values assigned to foundations by the Assign commands. Below is a description of the remainder of the
View commands:

View
2.12.1 Foundation Numbers

Foundation numbers are used to uniquely identify the foundations. The number shown on the screen using the
View > Foundation Numbers command is the same number that appears on the reports.
Foundations are numbered in the RAM Modeler in the same sequence that they are modeled (i.e. the first
foundation modeled is given the number “1”…). If a foundation is deleted during the modeling phase, its number
is not reused unless the Renumber Member command is issued. This presents the possibility of foundation
numbers that are missing. When the Renumber Member command is issued, the original numbering of the
foundations is replaced with sequential numbering, starting in the bottom left corner moving upwards and to
the right. Once members have been renumbered, the original numbering cannot be recovered.
2.12.2 Foundation Intersections

Because the RAM Foundation module does not take into consideration more than one foundation at a time
during design, it is possible that foundations will be designed that intersect each other. No warning is given if
this should occur. It is the user’s responsibility to check for this condition. The View > Foundation Intersection
command will highlight on the screen all foundations that intersect each other.
2.12.3 Grids
The View > Grids command is used to select which grid systems will be displayed on the screen. For more
information about using multiple grid systems, see the “Select Grid Systems” help topic in RAM Foundation.
2.12.4 Scale Text

The View > Scale Text command is used to scale the text on the screen. When this command is issued, a dialog
box opens, allowing the user to input a scale factor. When the dialog box is close by clicking OK, the screen is re-
drawn showing the text in its new scale.
The toolbar has two additional scale text commands. The Scale Up command increases the size of the text by a
set factor. The Scale Down command decreases the size of the text by a set factor. These two commands provide
the user with a handy way of changing the text size quickly.
2.12.5 Pen Colors

The View > Pen Colors command is used to change the color of the structural elements of the model. Changes
made to the model via this command are global and will affect all other RAM Structural System modules.

Performance Issues in RAM Foundation
Changing the color of the foundations using this command will not affect how the foundations are color coded
for status within the RAM Foundation module. The foundation color referred to in this dialog box will affect the
color of the foundations in the RAM Modeler only.
2.12.6 Status Bar and Toolbar

View > Status Bar and View > Toolbar are used to show and hide the Status bar and Toolbar respectively.
2.13 Performance Issues in RAM Foundation

The RAM Foundation module has been designed to make the analysis and design processes fast and accurate. In
most cases, experience has shown that the design of all spread, continuous, or pile footings in a RAM Structural
System model of typical size takes only a few seconds. Listed below is the set of parameters that can affect the
speed of the foundation design.
Design Criteria The only parameter that can significantly affect the speed of design in this dialog box is the
list of reinforcement sections that are to be considered for shear and flexure design. The
smaller the list of bars specified the faster the design will be completed.
Optimization This dialog box defines the starting size for the footing and the increment size to use when
Criteria optimizing the footing size. The larger the difference between the minimum and maximum
footing dimensions the longer the design will take. The increment size also affects the
speed of design by increasing the number of footing sizes that will be checked between the
minimum and maximum footing dimensions.
Footing The footing geometry is used to define the maximum or absolute size of the footing. The
Geometry maximum size will affect the design speed as discussed in the Optimization Criteria section
above. Defining an absolute value can significantly increase performance as it circumvents
the dimensional optimization.
Load The RAM Foundation module performs an analysis and design check for every load
Combinations combination. There can be some significant gains in design speed by reducing the number
of load combinations used. However, the number of load cases used within the load
combinations has no affect on the performance of the program.
User Defined The user-defined option removes all the dimensional and reinforcement optimization
parameters for the given footing. This will reduce the required design time since the
footing will simply be checked and not optimized.
Footing Uplift The process of accounting for the no-tension behavior of soil is a computationally intensive
process and will reflect in longer design times for foundations in which some portion of
the footing plan area is not in contact with the soil.

Using the Soil Wizard
2.14 Using the Soil Wizard

The Soil Wizard is used to provide the RAM Foundation module with a more detailed soil profile. To activate the
Soil Wizard, select the Soil Wizard button from the Assign > Soil dialog box.
The Soil Table Definition dialog box is launched, proving three options for creating a soil table.
Create New Soil Table Based On...
• Formula
• Existing Table
• Empty Form
Note: If no tables have been created for this model, option 2 Existing Table will appear grayed out.
2.14.1 Overview
The soil tables are used to define soil capacities relative to the footing minimum plan dimension and depth. They
are also used to define the soil Modulus of Subgrade Reaction.
A fixed soil capacity and Modulus of Subgrade Reaction can be defined by selecting Empty Table from the Soil
Wizard and entering values for the Soil Capacity and Soil Modules with zeros for the depth and plan dimension.
If a break in soil capacity based on footing depth or minimum dimension needs to be modeled, it can be defined
by entering a small difference in the required dimension and the appropriate capacity. For example if the soil
capacity increases from 4 ksf to 5 ksf when the minimum plan dimension is larger then 5ft then the two entries
would be a capacity of 4 ksf at 4.9 ft and 5 ksf at 5.0 ft.
Information on the method used in interpolating the soil table is outlined in Section 4.4. Instructions on the use
of the Assign Soil Properties and Soil Wizard can be found in the RAM Foundation Help, which can be accessed
from the Help menu.
2.14.2 Creating a Table From a Formula:

Often soil reports obtained from the soil engineers will read something like… "Soil capacity is 3 ksf but may be
increased by 1 ksf for every foot of width greater than 4 feet". The Formula option for creating a soil table uses
this type of soil information to create the table.
Selecting Create New Soil Table based on… Formula and clicking Next>> brings up the formula dialog box.
The data from the soil report is entered in the first section of the dialog box.
The table that is generated by this formula tabulates the width of the footing by the depth of the footing and the
capacity at each set of dimensions. In the Increments for Generated Values section of the dialog box, the value
by which each of the dimensions will be incremented is entered. Smaller incrementation values will create a
larger more accurate soil definition, but may slow down design times.
The third section of this dialog box, Formula, displays the formula that was entered textually in the Bearing
Pressure section of the dialog box.

Using the Soil Wizard
Clicking the Save and Exit button will generate the table, save it to a file and return the engineer to the Assign >
Soil dialog box. Once there, the table can be selected and assigned to foundations. To View or Edit the table that
was generated, select the View/Edit button from the Assign > Soil dialog box.
Clicking the <<Back button return the user to the Soil Table Definition dialog box, abandoning any data
entered in the Formula dialog box.
The Cancel button cancels the Soil Wizard command and returns the user to the Assign > Soil dialog box with
no table having been generated.
2.14.3 Creating a Table Based on an Existing Table

If a table was created prior to entering the Soil Table Definition dialog box, the second option, Existing Table
will be available for use. From the drop down list, select a table that the new table will be based on and click
Next>>.
The View/Edit dialog box will open with the values from the selected table displayed. These values can then be
edited to created a new table.
Clicking the Save and Exit button will save the new table to a new file name and return the engineer to the
Assign > Soil dialog box. Once there, the table can be selected and assigned to foundations. To View or Edit the
table that was generated, select the View/Edit button from the Assign > Soil dialog box.
entered in the View/Edit dialog box.
The Exit button cancels the Soil Wizard command and returns the user to the Assign > Soil dialog box with no
table having been generated.
2.14.4 Creating a Table Using an Empty Form

The third option for creating a table using the soil wizard is to make a table using an empty form. This option
provides the engineer with an empty table within which values are entered.
Clicking the Save and Exit button will save the new table to a new filename which matches the Label entered and
return the engineer to the Assign – Soil dialog box. Once there, the table can be selected and assigned to
foundations. To View or Edit the table that was generated, select the View/Edit button from the Assign – Soil
dialog box.
entered in the View/Edit dialog box.
The Exit button cancels the Soil Wizard command and returns the user to the Assign > Soil dialog box with no
table having been generated.
Exiting the Foundation Program

The File > Close command is used to exit the foundation module.

Data Processing Within RAM Foundation
3
This chapter explains how data that is obtained from other RAM Structural System modules is prepared and
used by the RAM Foundation program. It also explains how changes in other modules affect the RAM Foundation
program.
3.1 Legal Framing Configurations in RAM Foundation

This section discusses framing configurations that RAM Foundation is able to process and for which designs can
be produced.
3.1.1 Spread and Pile Footings

A single spread or pile footing may support the following members and member configurations in RAM
Foundation:
• A single gravity or lateral column
• A single lateral column into which any number of braces frame (at any height along the column span)
• Multiple sloping columns that intersect at one location.
3.1.2 Continuous Footings

A continuous footing may support the following members and member configurations in RAM Foundation:
• Two or more gravity or lateral columns
• Two or more lateral columns into which any number of braces frame (at any height along the column span)
• A single or multiple gravity or lateral walls that lie in the same plane as the footing centerline, within the user
specified tolerance
• Any combination of the above configurations
A single continuous line of individual walls must be completely supported by a continuous footing, as shown in
first figure below. An assignment of a continuous footing to only a portion of the walls, as shown in Figure below,
is not allowed in RAM Modeler.

Legal Framing Configurations in RAM Foundation
Figure 1: Adjacent Walls 1 and 2 Supported by Continuous Footing
(a) Continuous Footing Supporting Wall 1 Only
(b) Continuous Footing Supporting Wall 2 Only at Story n+1
Figure 2: Continuous Footing Assignments Not Allowed by RAM Modeler
For the framing configuration of a wall with columns at each wall end, as shown in first figure below, a
continuous footing must be used to support the wall. If spread footings are assigned at each column without a
continuous footing assigned along the wall, as shown in Figure below, a warning will be delivered in RAM
Foundation and the spread footings will not be able to be designed.
Figure 3: Continuous Footing Supporting Wall and Wall End Columns
Figure 4: Spread Footings with no Continuous Footing Assignment

Intersecting Members
3.1.3 Braces and Columns

Braces and columns may not sit on multiple footings in RAM Foundation. A Data Check error will be delivered
within RAM Modeler if this is the case. See Section 3.3 for exceptions to this rule.
3.2 Intersecting Members

This section discusses the assumptions made within RAM Foundation for configurations in which multiple
members intersect at a single point on a foundation.
Figure 5: Columns at Ends of Walls
For a configuration in which a brace frames into the base of a column, the forces from the brace and the forces
from the column are combined and reported as one force (see Figure above).
Figure 6: Brace and Column Intersection

Intersecting Foundations
For a configuration in which a brace frames into the base of a wall end, the forces from the brace are reported
alone as if a column was there to frame into (see Figure above).
Figure 7: Brace Framing into a Wall
3.3 Intersecting Foundations

This section discusses the assumptions made within RAM Foundation for configurations in which multiple
foundations intersect at a single point.
When calculating structural foundation capacities (i.e., footing flexure, one-way shear, two-way shear, etc.), RAM
Foundation assumes no interaction occurs between intersecting footings. Thus, the procedure for the sizing of
the footing and reinforcing is the same whether or not a given footing intersects another. The question RAM
Foundation seeks to answer in such configurations is how the loads coming from the supported column or wall
should be divided among the supporting footings.
A Mat foundation assignment is available in RAM Modeler. However, foundations with this assignment must be
processed in RAM Concept and no design information will be available for Mat foundations within RAM
Foundation. The plan geometry of all mat foundations is drawn in RAM Foundation purely for reference.
Note: It is possible that an engineer will intentionally model intersecting foundations to simulate certain
building conditions that the RAM Structural System cannot model directly. It is important in these cases that the
engineer understands the assumptions outlined in this section.
3.3.1 Case of Two Continuous Footings Intersecting

In the case where a wall sits on the intersection of two continuous footings, as shown in the following figure,
100% of the load on the wall will be placed on the foundation that completely supports the wall. The intersecting
foundation receives no load from the wall.

Intersecting Foundations
Column A
Figure 8: Column Supported by Intersecting Continuous Footings
In the case where a wall sits on the intersection of two continuous footings, as shown in Figure below, 100% of
the load on the wall will be placed on the foundation that completely supports the wall. In order to determine
the load that gets applied to any other footing that intersects a wall end (the perpendicular footing in the case of
Figure below), the forces on the wall are resolved into two end reactions considering the wall as a simple beam.
The full value of the calculated end reaction will be applied to the off-wall footing at the point of intersection.
Supported Wall
Figure 9: Wall Supported by Intersecting Continuous Footings
3.3.2 Case of Spread Footing Intersecting Continuous Footing

In the case where a column occurs at one or both ends of a wall, a continuous footing is assigned below the wall,
and a spread footing is assigned at the column(s), all wall loads will be placed on the continuous footing while all
column loads will be placed on the respective supporting spread footing (see Figure below).

Gravity Forces Used by RAM Foundation
Figure 10: Continuous Footing Supporting Wall and Spread Footings Supporting Wall End Columns
3.4 Gravity Forces Used by RAM Foundation

The forces on gravity members supported by foundations can be taken from either RAM Concrete Analysis or
RAM Steel. Use the options in the Criteria - Gravity Forces dialog box to indicate which program will be the
source of the forces on gravity members.
To obtain forces from RAM Concrete, an analysis must be successfully completed in the RAM Concrete Analysis
module. If a license is not available for RAM Concrete, the option is still available in Criteria - Gravity Forces but
the gravity forces will not be available.
The current selection indicating where forces on gravity members originate is displayed in the status bar at the
bottom of the main window.
Note that irrespective of the selected option, gravity forces are NOT carried down brace members (which are
lateral members in RAM Structural System). All gravity forces on lateral members (walls, braces and columns)
are taken from the RAM Frame Analysis results and considered in the Foundation Design.
3.4.1 Forces from RAM Steel

In all RAM Structural System modules, the gravity surface loads applied in the RAM Modeler are automatically
distributed to the supporting beams and walls. All beams are assumed to be simple spans (no continuity
between adjacent beams). The reactions from the beams are carried down the supporting columns and walls
(through each level) and are available at the base of the structure to load the foundations. This gravity analysis
does not consider the continuity of any of the beams, gravity or lateral, steel or other material.
The live load gravity forces from RAM Steel are broken up into upward acting (negative) and downward acting
(positive) loads. For models where downward and upward acting live loads exist (from the back span of a
cantilever beam for example), there will be separate positive and negative live load cases, and hence separate
gravity reactions on the foundations. In RAM Frame, live loads are also broken into discrete negative and
positive loads for the analysis. Refer to the RAM Frame Technical Manual for more information.

Gravity Forces Used by RAM Foundation
3.4.2 Forces from RAM Concrete

In RAM Concrete, the user has the option of specifying fixity (continuity) conditions for all concrete and material
type 'other' beams. These fixity conditions, along with the assigned section properties, applied loads, and skip
load criteria, are used to calculate the gravity forces and reactions on all the supporting columns. The column
forces are accumulated down the structure and are available at the base of the structure to load the foundation.
Gravity wall axial loads are also transferred down the structure to the foundation in the Concrete Analysis. No
gravity wall moments or shears are transferred to the foundation (only the accumulated axial force) as the single
story analysis (performed in RAM Concrete) does not capture the lateral displacement in the wall through its full
height.
The upward and downward acting live loads applied to the structure are combined and considered to act
simultaneously in the Concrete Analysis module. In RAM Frame, however, discrete negative and positive live
loads are applied for the analysis and used in the foundation design for lateral members. Refer to the RAM
Frame Technical Manual for more information.
3.4.3 Force from Material Specific Source

If the third option is selected, forces on steel and 'other' columns will come from RAM Steel. See Section 3.4.1 for
more information.
Forces on concrete columns and all walls will come from RAM Concrete Analysis. See Section 3.4.2 for more
information.
It is important to note that, if there is a diaphragm in the model that has two-way slab action, the Criteria -
Forces option is automatically changed to this option and the option to get forces from RAM Steel is made
unavailable. This is because RAM Steel cannot distribute loads from a two-way deck.
In the rare case where a two-way deck is modeled on steel members, the foundations that support these steel
members are not designable. To design these foundations, gravity forces must be taken from RAM Concrete.
3.4.4 Gravity Wall Loads

The gravity forces applied to foundations from supported walls will vary depending on the user’s selection in the
Criteria > Forces menu.
If the user has selected Forces on Gravity Members From > RAM Steel , the gravity forces applied to the
footing will be those calculated from the gravity wall load takedown performed in RAM Steel Beam (for more
information on how the gravity wall load takedown is performed see the RAM Steel Technical Manual). The user
should note the following aspects of this feature:
• All point and line loads acting on the supported wall are taken directly down onto the foundation without any
"fanning" of the load.
• Point and line loads that act eccentric to the centerline of the wall contribute an applied moment to the
footing equal to the load magnitude multiplied by the resultant distance of the point or line load relative to
the wall centerline.

Lateral Forces Used by RAM Foundation
If the user has selected Forces on Gravity Members From > RAM Concrete , the gravity forces applied to the
footing will be those calculated by the RAM Concrete Analysis module at the bottom of the supported wall.
3.5 Lateral Forces Used by RAM Foundation

All lateral forces used in the load combinations in RAM Foundation are taken from the RAM Frame analysis
results. Thus, in order to consider lateral forces in RAM Foundation a RAM Frame analysis must have been
performed prior to entering the Foundation module.
3.6 Load Cases
3.6.1 Gravity and Lateral in the Same Model

The analyzed load cases on gravity members may not be the same as the analyzed load cases on lateral
members. Because foundation design can only consider one set of load cases, steps must be taken to synchronize
load cases before a design is performed.
When RAM Foundation is first launched, an inspection of the load cases is performed. If the gravity and lateral
load cases do not match, a merged superset of the two is created. The result of this is that a dummy load case
now exists for a particular member type that did not initially exist. In order for this to not affect the design of
foundations adversely, null member forces are added corresponding to the dummy load cases. For instance, if
the gravity system has positive live roof load but the lateral system has not analyzed that load case, the superset
of load cases will include the positive live roof load case. Whenever this load case is used in conjunction with
lateral members, zeros will be used as the member force.
3.6.2 Adding Dummy Dead and Live Load

The RAM Foundation module allows dead and live surcharges to be added on a foundation by foundation basis.
The possibility exists that neither the gravity nor the lateral system will have dead or live load before these
surcharges are added. For this reason, it is necessary that the dead and live load case always be present for
foundation design. In the rare case where dead and/or live are not already present in a model, the foundation
program adds these load cases. As with the dummy load cases mentioned above, corresponding null member
forces are used for design when surcharges do not exist.
The dead and live load cases added in the foundation program do not affect other RAM modules. They are not
saved as part of the load case data associated with the model.

Effect of RAM Modeler on RAM Foundation
3.7.1 Gravity Members Only on a Foundation

When gravity members are the only members sitting on a foundation, the foundation is considered to be a
gravity foundation. When load combinations are analyzed, only those with gravity load cases are looked at. Any
combinations including lateral load cases are skipped.
3.7.2 Lateral Members Only on a Foundation

Foundations that support only lateral members are considered to be lateral foundations. In this case, all load
combinations are evaluated.
3.7.3 Gravity and Lateral Members on the Same Foundation

When both gravity and lateral members sit on the same foundation, the foundation is considered to be a lateral
foundation. When load combinations are analyzed, all of the combinations must be analyzed for all members.
The load combinations containing lateral load cases have no meaning to gravity members so the load case values
are set to zero for gravity members.
3.8 Effect of RAM Modeler on RAM Foundation
3.8.1 Gravity Loads

Gravity loads are applied to the system in the RAM Modeler in the form of surface loads, line loads and point
loads. The loads are distributed to members via their tributary area during the building of the framing tables (for
more information on the framing tables see the "Building the Framing Tables" section of the RAM Steel Beam or
Column manuals). These distributed forces are referred to as member forces. These member forces are then
used in load combinations for the design of foundations.
Because the design of the foundations is dependent on the member forces, making a change to the gravity loads
in the member will invalidate all previous designs.

Effect of RAM Modeler on RAM Foundation
3.8.2 Column Sizes

Having sizes assigned to all columns that sit on foundations is a requirement that must be met before a
foundation can be designed. Lateral steel columns can either have sizes assigned in the RAM Modeler or initial
estimated sizes can be acquired from RAM Steel. Both gravity and lateral Concrete and Other columns must be
sized in the RAM Modeler.
Gravity steel columns must be sized by the RAM Steel Column Design program. If changes are made to the model
that require the framing tables to be rebuilt, it is necessary to run Column Design to resize gravity steel columns
before returning to RAM Foundation. If this step is skipped, any foundations that have gravity columns on them
cannot be designed.
3.8.3 Foundation on Floor Types used for Multiple Stories

When laying out a building in the RAM Modeler, it is common practice to use one floor type at multiple stories. It
is NOT necessary to create a separate floor type for the story that will have the foundations under it. If a floor
type that has foundations is used multiple times, the program recognizes that the foundations belong only to the
lowest occurrence of that layout type.
3.8.4 Stepped Foundations

Some buildings may have foundations at multiple levels due to a slope or other factors in the construction site.
Foundations should be modeled on the floor type on which they occur. When the story data is entered, the
foundation's elevation in the vertical z-axis is determined.
3.8.5 The Tolerance Factor for Contiguous Foundations

In the Layout > Foundations – Continuous – Add dialog box, there is a field to enter a tolerance for
determining what members will fall on this foundation. This tolerance value is always used to make this
determination and is not affected by the geometry that can be assigned within the RAM Foundation module or
by the optimization of the foundation size.
The tolerance is measured as the perpendicular distance from the centerline of the foundation to any potentially
supported column, wall or brace.

Effect of RAM Steel on RAM Foundation
Figure 11:
Even though the actual or minimum dimensions are used when drawing foundations on the screen, the tolerance
is used when determining the members that fall on a continuous foundation. In Figure below, for instance, Wall 1
falls within the tolerance assigned to this foundation. Wall 2 appears to be on the foundation but because it is
outside of the tolerance rectangle, it is not considered to be on the foundation for design purposes.
Figure 12:
3.9 Effect of RAM Steel on RAM Foundation
3.9.1 Column Sizes

As previously mentioned in this chapter, the column size is very closely linked to the design of the foundation.
For this reason, if a column size is changed in RAM Steel, it will invalidate the design of its associated foundation.
It will not, however, invalidate all foundation designs.
3.9.2 Base Plates

Base plates for gravity members are sized in RAM Steel Column Design. The engineer has the option to override
the designed sized in RAM Foundation. If the engineer chooses to use the sizes from RAM Steel, then any changes
in the base plate sizing that take place in RAM Steel will be reflected in RAM Foundation. If the engineer
overrides the base plate size, this will be considered to be a user-defined size and will not be changed by RAM
Steel until the user-defined flag is cleared using the Assign > Base Plate command. Once this flag has been
cleared, RAM Steel will again size the base plates.

Effect of RAM Frame on RAM Foundation
3.10 Effect of RAM Frame on RAM Foundation
3.10.1 Coulmn Sizes

Changing a column size in RAM Frame has the same effect on foundation design as changing a column size
anywhere else in the program. The design for the corresponding foundation is invalidated.
3.10.2 Lateral Load Cases

Any change to a lateral load case in RAM Frame will invalidate all of the foundation designs in RAM Foundation.
An analysis of the load cases must be performed before any foundations that have lateral columns on them can
be designed. If changes have been made and an analysis is not performed, a message to this effect is given upon
entering RAM Foundation.

Technical Notes: ACI 318
4
In the design of a structure a great number of decisions must be made. What is acceptable to one engineer may
not be acceptable to another. It is crucial that the user understands the decisions and assumptions being made
by the RAM Foundation module. If these are not appropriate for the specific conditions of a particular building,
the user should augment or replace the results from RAM Foundation with those of some other tool.
The purpose of the Technical Notes is to explain the assumptions and methodology of the RAM Foundation
module. Every effort has been made to include a discussion of significant decisions and assumptions made by the
program. Generally, if there is any question as to how the RAM Foundation module handles a particular
condition, a small model can be quickly created and analyzed, and the results verified with hand calculations.
The RAM Foundation module has been extensively tested and used. It is impossible, however, to anticipate every
possible configuration that could be encountered by the program. Ultimately the engineer is responsible for the
safety and adequacy of the design of the building's foundation.
4.1 Design Codes
4.1.1 Concrete Design Codes

RAM Foundation is based on the requirements of:
• American Concrete Institute, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-95, 99, 02, 05, 08,
11, 14, and 19)
The implementation of the sections of the code accounting for the design of concrete spread, continuous, and
pile footings are subjected to certain assumptions and limitations as outlined in this chapter.
4.1.2 Load Combinations

Automatic load combination generation within RAM Foundation currently supports the following building
codes:
• American Concrete Institute, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-95 through ACI
318-19)
• The BOCA National Building Code (1996 and 1999), Building Officials & Code Administrations International,
Inc. (BOCA)
• Standard Building Code (1999), Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBC)

Table of Symbols
• Uniform Building Code (1997), International Conference of Building Officials. (UBC)

• International Building Code (2000 through 2018), International Code Council, Inc. (ICC)
• Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE 7-10, ASCE 7-16),
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
4.2 Table of Symbols

The following includes a summary of the notation and symbols used within the RAM Foundation manual in
reference to the ACI 318 design codes.
Symbol Description
A Concrete footing plan area taken as the Width x Length of footing.
Ac Critical section shear area for 2-way shear
As Reinforcing steel area.
Av Shear Reinforcing steel area.
DLF Dead Load Factor
Imaj,Imin Footing moment of inertia about the major and minor axis respectively.
LLF Live Load Factor
Mmaj Moment along the footing major axis.
Mmin Moment along the Footing minor axis.
Mn Nominal moment capacity of concrete section
Mu Factored ultimate moment on section
P Total factored load on column for each load case. P includes column self weight. When
checking acceptable soil stress capacity the concrete footing's self weight is also
included.
V Shear force on footing.
Vs Shear reinforcement capacity.
Vc Concrete section shear capacity.
b Length of critical section
d Distance from the top of compression surface to center of the flexure reinforcement
perpendicular to that direction of the shear plane

Sign Conventions
Symbol Description
f'c Concrete compression stress capacity (psi units).
fct Average splitting tensile strength of lightweight aggregate concrete (psi units).
fy Reinforcement stress capacity (psi units).
h Total section thickness or depth
ks Modulus of Subgrade Reaction (lb/in3 units)
l1,l2 Overhang distance to the right and left of the column center line when the footing major
axis is parallel to the model x-axis
qs Calculated soil stress
qs1 ,qs2 Calculated soil stress at spread footing corner
qs3,qs4
ss Shear reinforcement spacing
w1 ,w2 Overhang distance to the bottom and top of the column when the footing major axis is
parallel to the model x-axis
Φs Concrete shear capacity reduction factor (0.85).
Φb Concrete flexure capacity reduction factor (0.90)
δc Actual Concrete Density used in footing
δcl Concrete Density used for calculating self weight of footing
4.3 Sign Conventions

The sign convention used in RAM Foundation is the same as that used by other RAM Structural System modules.
All shear forces and moments are taken to be positive when acting in the same direction as the corresponding
major and minor axis of the footing.
4.4 Soil Capacity and Stiffness

The soil capacity beneath a footing is calculated from the data that is defined by the user in the Foundation
module. If a spread footing is assigned a soil capacity explicitly (without the use of a soil table), this value will be
used for the design of the spread footing. In the case of a continuous footing, where the modulus of subgrade

Reduced Base Plate Dimension
reaction is required to calculate the stiffness of the springs supporting the footing, an approximate method
outlined below is used (J.E. Bowles Foundation Analysis and Design Fifth Edition):
ks = 12(SF)s Equation 4-1
Where SF is the safety factor taken as 2.
Table 1: Suggested Range of Modulus of Subgrade Reaction ks
Soil ksf/ft MPa/m
Loose sand 30-100 4.8-16
Medium density sand 60-510 9.6-80
Density sand 410-810 64-128
Clayey medium density sand 203-510 32-80
Silty medium dense sand 150-300 24-48
Clayey soil:
qa <= 30ksi , 200kPa 75-150 12-24
30ksi , 200kPa < qa <= 120ksi , 150-300 24-48

800kPa
qa > 120ksi , 800kPa >300 >48
In the case in which a soil table is assigned to the footing, the soil capacity is found by interpolating between the
actual footing minimum dimension/depth and the entries in the table to find the appropriate soil capacity. If the
footing dimensions are less than the smallest dimensions in the table then the entry in the table with the
smallest dimensions will be used. If the footing dimensions are larger than the largest dimensions in the table
then the entry in the table with the largest dimensions will be used.
If the Modulus is defined for the footing that value will be interpolated using the same factors as the soil
capacity. If there is no Modulus defined for the footing then the method above will be used to calculate the
Modulus after the soil capacity has been calculated.
Note: It is the engineer's responsibility to define enough values in the soil table to provide adequate data for
proper interpolation of the soil capacity for the footing depth and minimum dimension.
4.5 Reduced Base Plate Dimension

RAM Foundation assumes that steel columns are connected to the supporting footing through a base plate. Most
codes permit the base plate to be used to increase the column/footing contact area by a specified percentage of
the distance from the column face to the base plate edge. The resulting dimension using the increased contact
area is called the Reduced Base Plate Dimension.

Concrete Modulus of Elasticity
4.6 Concrete Modulus of Elasticity

The concrete modulus of elasticity is calculated using ACI 318-14 Section 19.2.2.1 for concrete weight between
90 and 160 pcf.
Ec = wc1.5 33 f ′ Equation 4-2

c
4.7 Analysis of Spread Footings for Soil Pressure

The soil pressure analysis of a spread footing is performed using a closed form solution as described in this
section. In all cases the following analysis features are performed:
• Factored supported column self-weight is included in analysis loading.
• Factored concrete footing self-weight is included when checking acceptable soil stress capacity. When
calculating soil stress for determining shear and flexural forces on footings the concrete footing self-weight is
not considered as it will be balanced by the soil directly.
• Independent analysis is performed to check the soil stress using the soil load combinations.
• Independent analysis is performed for the design and check of the shear and flexural capacity of the footing.
• If any part of the footing is under tension due to uplift, the footing self-weight and surcharge are used to
calculate the shear and flexure for the critical sections under uplift. Top bars for flexure will only be provided
for the footing if required due to uplift.
4.7.1 Soil Stress Calculation

The soil stress at any point beneath a spread footing is calculated according to the following equation:
ΣP ΣM majCmin ΣM min Cmaj Equation 4-3

q= A
± I min
± I max
which assumes that the footing is in contact with the soil at all points on the footing.

Analysis of Spread Footings for Soil Pressure
Figure 13: Soil Stress due to Eccentrically Located Column or Bi-axial moment on Column
For footings with possible biaxial moment from column moments and/or a column not centered on the footing,
an iterative analysis is used. The spread footing with biaxial moments is analyzed using a closed form analysis of
the soil stress under the footing. The method considers the region (if there is any) of the footing that is
experiencing uplift and accounts for it when calculating the soil stress. The tension area is then ignored when
calculating the soil equivalent resultant force and its location. The location of the resultant force and the total
force from the soil is checked against the location of the resultant force and the total force from the footing. If
either value is off by more than 1% a new iteration is performed with a modified soil pressure until the
magnitude and location of the resultant forces are within the tolerance.
The location of the resultant load on the footing from all the loads on the footing including the column moment is
calculated as follows (when there is no uplift on the footing):
ΣM maj ΣM min Equation 4-4
emaj = ΣP
and emin = ΣP
4.7.2 Spread Footing Coordinate System

A spread footing is analyzed and designed with respect to the footing’s local coordinate system. The origin of the
footing local axis will be at the centerline of the supported column. The major axis direction is designated by an
arrow on the spread footing. In the RAM Structural System the major moments are those in the direction of the
major axis and not about the major axis. Thus, for an I-section the major axis is parallel to the web.
The major axis of the footing is defined as follows:
• When the footing is not rotated with respect to the column the major axis is parallel to the column web. This
is the default footing orientation, which would match the column local axis orientation.
• The major direction of the footing is also denoted as the length, or l direction.
• The minor direction of the footing is also denoted as the width, or w direction.

Note: In the last two cases there is also the issue of the column dimensions to be used when checking the critical
sections for shear and flexure checks as the supported member (concrete column or base plate) sides will not be
parallel to the footing sides. In this case the supported member dimension is always taken as the actual
dimension. If the footing is rotated up to 45 degrees with respect to the column, the dimensions of the supported
member parallel to the member major axis will be used for the dimension parallel to the footing major axis. If the
rotation angle is between 45 and 90 degrees the supported member major and minor dimensions will be
switched.
When supported members (concrete column or base plate) are rotated with respect to the footing the following
convention is used to obtain their dimensions for flexure and shear checks of the footing:
If the footing is rotated up to 45 degrees with respect to the column, the dimensions of the supported
member parallel to the member major axis will be used for the dimension parallel to the footing major axis. If
the rotation angle is between 45 and 90 degrees the supported member major and minor dimensions will be
switched.
4.7.3 Self-Weight and Surcharge

SelfWeight = (l1 + l2)(w1 + w2) × Thickness × δc1 × DLF Equation 4-5
UniformSurcharge = (l1 + l2)(w1 + w2) × (DeadSurcharge × DLF +

LiveSurcharge × LLF
)
Note: Except for footings in uplift, footing self-weight and surcharge are not calculated for concrete load
combinations as the load is completely balanced by the soil when calculating moments and shears on the footing.
4.7.4 Footing Eccentricities

If the column is located eccentric to the footing centroid the self-weight and surcharge on the footing is moved to
the column location so that all the loads can be taken directly at the column. This shift in uniform load will
produce both an axial load and a pair of moments.
The footing center of gravity along major-axis measured from the column centerline is:
(l1 + l2) Equation 4-6
FootCG maj = 2
− l1
The footing center of gravity along minor-axis measured from the column centerline is:
(w1 + w2) Equation 4-7
FootCG min = 2
− w2
The moment required to keep equilibrium after shifting the surcharge and self-weight to the column center is:
M majCG = FootCG maj(SelfWeight + UniformSurcharge) Equation 4-8
M min CG = FootCG min (SelfWeight + UniformSurcharge)
In addition to the moment on the column, there will be moments induced on the footing from the shear at the
base of the footing, which is expressed as:

Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure
M majShear = V uColumn_maj × FootingThickness Equation 4-9

M minShear = V uColumn_min × FootingThickness
4.7.5 Forces Used in Analysis

The total moment used in the design of the spread footing is:
Mu maj = Mu majColumn + M majCG + M majShear Equation 4-10
Mu min = Mu min Column + M min CG + M min Shear
The total axial load used in the design of the spread footing is:
PuDesign = ( PuColumn + Footing SelfWeight +

Column SelfWeight + Uniform Surcharge
) Equation 4-11
Note: Spread footings are designed by first transferring all forces and moments to the center of the supported
column.
Figure 14: Spread Footing Sign Convention
4.8 Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure

The soil pressure analysis of a continuous footing is conducted in RAM Foundation by idealizing the footing as a
one-dimensional line of continuous beam elements with spring supports at each end of each beam element as
shown in Figure below. The beam element mesh is generated automatically by the program and requires no user
input. This section discusses the assumptions made within this finite element analysis.

Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure
Figure 15: Continuous Footing
Figure 16: Finite Element Model of Continuous Foundation
4.8.1 Beam Element Properties

The beam element dimensions used in the footing finite element model are the dimensions of the actual footing.
Where a column is supported by the footing, the beam element thickness for that extent of the footing that is
coincident with the column is taken as two times the actual footing thickness, which results in an 8-fold increase
in the footing stiffness at these locations. This is done to account for the stiffening effects of columns and walls
on the footing and is used to better model the change in stiffness between the portions of the footing supporting
vertical members and the remainder of the slab. This increase in stiffness also acts to reduce the stress
concentration under the supported members due to the supported member loads and moments.
Note: Only axial loads, shears, and moments along the footing’s major direction will be considered in the design
(the continuous footing major axis is defined parallel to the line drawn from the first column on the footing to
the last column on the footing). The one-dimensional model does not account for shear and moment in the minor
direction of the footing.
The effective moment of inertia of a given beam element, accounting for the effect of cracked sections, is
assumed by the program to be IE = 0.35 Ig, which is used under the guidance of ACI 318-14, Table 6.6.3.1.1 (a).

Analysis of Spread Footings for Stability
4.8.2 Soil Spring Properties

The meshed footing is supported on spring elements used to model the soil under the footing. The springs are
defined to account for the soil stiffness under the footing and the area tributary to each support spring. The
spring tributary area is calculated as half the length of the beam elements framing into a node multiplied by the
width of the footing.
The soil springs at the ends of the footing are assigned a stiffness twice that resulting from the tributary area
calculation. This method more accurately models the footing's deformation for cases in which the footing's
centroid deforms more than its edges (see References # 4 and # 9 in Section 4.17). The resulting spring forces at
the ends of the footing are then halved when converted to a soil stress.
4.8.3 Applied Loads

The axial load, moment, and shear force acting at the base of a column is applied to the continuous footing at the
centerline of the column.
The uniform surcharge loads on the footing are defined as uniform line loads on the finite beam elements. This
assumes that the supported columns and walls occupy a small portion of the total footing surface area.
4.8.4 Design Forces

Due to the no-tension (and thus nonlinear) nature of the finite element analysis conducted for continuous
footings, the analysis results for a given load combination cannot be expressed as an additive sum of a given
number of load cases. Rather, the analysis of each footing must be conducted for each specified load
combination.
Once the analysis has been performed the soil spring results for the soil load combinations are used to compute
the total stress and maximum stress on the soil. The results from the concrete load combinations are used to
compute the force under the footing for the structural design of the footing.
Note: Columns with lateral loads will have the lateral loads converted to the footing’s local axis.
4.9 Analysis of Spread Footings for Stability

There are two forms of stability investigated for a spread footing in RAM Foundation:
• Overturning moment
• Net uplift on the footing due only to column axial load without moment or eccentricity
A discussion of each follows.

Structural Design of Spread Footings
4.9.1 Overturning Moment

The Overturning Safety Factor (OSF) is taken as the ratio of the Resisting Moment /Overturning Moment. The
OSF is calculated for each soil load combination and the smallest value for the footing in the each of the major
and minor directions is reported with the corresponding load combination. During the optimization process the
footings are sized so that a minimum OSF of 1.0 is attained.
The Resisting Moment is the sum of the moments due to each of the following:
• Axial loads acting on the supported column
• Specified footing surcharge loads
• Footing self-weight
The Overturning Moment is taken as the sum of the moments on the column and any shear on the column
multiplied by the distance from the base of the column to the base of the footing. If there is uplift on the column
then the moment associated with that axial load is also considered in the Overturning Moment.
Note: Footing self-weight can play a significant role in resisting overturning moment. If the user has selected not
to consider footing self-weight during the analysis, or has set the footing concrete unit weight to zero, the
optimized spread footing size may be significantly larger than otherwise expected due to the absence of footing
weight in resisting overturning. This is particularly true for a footing supporting a column which, for a single
load combination, has a relatively small axial load and a relatively large base moment.
The OSF is, in some respects, a subjective calculation which may vary between engineering offices and even
between engineers. The OSF reported in RAM Foundation is calculated in such a way as to stay consistent with
the method used to analyze and optimize the footing.
4.9.2 Net Uplift

The size of spread footings is automatically increased so that the user specified minimum safety factor against
net uplift is met. This value is calculated as:
F L × (W f + Q f ) Equation 4-12
FS uplift = Ps
where
FL = Dead load factor for controlling soil load combination
Wf = Weight of the footing
Qf = Footing surcharge load
Ps = Controlling combined column load using soil load combinations
4.10 Structural Design of Spread Footings

RAM Foundation is capable of sizing or checking spread footing dimensions, as well as footing reinforcement, to
resist the required shear and flexural forces imparted to the footing by the supporting soil, footing self-weight,

and footing surcharge. The required design forces are established from the analysis described in Section 4.7.
This section describes the methods and assumptions made by RAM Foundation when conducting the structural
design of spread footings.
4.10.1 One-Way Shear in Spread Footings

The one-way shear, or beam shear, is evaluated at a distance, d, from the column face or the reduced base plate
edge. The value d is taken as the smaller of the reinforcement depth for the top and bottom flexure bars for the
given direction.
The shear capacity is calculated using:
V c = 2λ f ′ Equation ACI-14 22.5.5.1

c bd
In this case, d is calculated from the footing clear cover and provided reinforcement diameter. The flexure
reinforcement parallel to the footing's larger dimension is taken to be the closest to the footing bottom. If the
footing is a square then the reinforcement parallel to the major axis of the footing is considered to be the closest
to the footing bottom.
Note: The value fct/6.7 will be substituted for Vc in Vc where appropriate as specified by ACI 318-14, Section
19.2.4
The ultimate shear, Vu, on the section is the total soil stress under the footing for the shear section under
consideration. If any portion of the critical shear area is in tension, the program checks to see if the shear from
the uplift portion of the footing using the footing slab self weight and surcharge controls the value of Vu.
In the case of spread footings, the RAM Foundation module will not calculate shear reinforcement. Thus, for the
spread footing to be acceptable in beam shear, the following must be satisfied:
ϕs V c ≥ V u ACI 318-14 14.5.1.1(c)
Figure 17: Shear Check Critical Sections

4.10.2 Two-Way Shear in Spread Footings

Two-way shear, or punching shear, is calculated for a section that is a distance of d/2 from the edge of the
concrete column or modified base plate.
The shear capacity is calculated using the smaller of the values calculated according to ACI 318-14 Table
22.6.5.2:
V c = 4λ f ′ (a)
c
(
Vc = 2 +
4
βc )λ f ′
c
(b)
(
Vc = 2 +
αs d
bo ) λ f ′
c
(c)
where
βc = Ratio of the long side to the short side of the concrete column or modified
base plate.
αs = 40 for interior columns, 30 for edge columns, and 20 for corner columns.
Note: Currently all checks are made assuming interior columns.

λ = Modification factor to reflect the reduced mechanical properties of
lightweight concrete relative to normal weight concrete of the same
compressive strength.
Note: The program uses the value provided by ACI 318-14 section 19.2.4.2
of λ = 1 for normal weight concrete.
bo = Perimeter of critical section for two-way shear in footing.
In this case, d is calculated from the average reinforcement depth for the reinforcement parallel to the major and
minor axes of the footing.

Figure 19: Two-Way Shear Critical Section
The ultimate shear, Vu, on the critical section is calculated as follows:

Pu γvmajM umajCmaj γvminM umajCmin Equation 4-13
vu = Ac
+ J maj
+ J min
V u_2WayShear = vu bo d − Pu_Soil Equation 4-14
Note: Equation 4-14 is derived from the commentary for ACI 318-95 Section 11.12.6.2. Also see Figures below.
γv = 1 − γ f Equation ACI 318-14 8.4.4.2.2

1 Equation ACI 318-14 8.4.2.3.2
()
γ f maj =
b2
2
1+
3 b1
1 Equation ACI 318-14 8.4.2.3.2
()
γ f min =
b1
2
1+
3 b2
d (C L + d )3 (C L + d )d
3
d (C L + d )(CW + d )2 Equation 4-15
J maj = 6
+ 6
+ 2
d (CW + d )3 (CW + d )d
3
d (C L + d )(CW + d )2 Equation 4-16
J min = 6
+ 6
+ 2
where
Pu_Soil = Total soil force underneath critical area for two-way shear.
CL = Column dimension parallel to the footing local major axis.
CW = Column dimension parallel to the footing local minor axis.
b1 = Width of critical section measured in the direction of the span for
which moments are determined (in units).
b2 = Width of critical section defined in the direction perpendicular to .
Note: Equation 4-14 and Equation 4-13 are derived from the commentary for ACI 318-14 Section 8.4.4.2.3.

The footing is taken to be acceptable in two-way shear if ACI 318-14 14.5.1.1(c) is satisfied.
Note: Currently only the two-way shear using αs = 40 is used. If the supported column is close enough to the
footing edge or corner, the user will need to do supplemental checks to confirm that the footing capacity is
acceptable if the assumption for αs is not valid.
Figure 20: Two-Way Shear Critical Section Dimensions
Figure 21: Stress Distribution Around Critical Section
4.10.3 Flexure in Spread Footings

The flexural capacity of the footing is calculated for the section at the concrete column edge or modified base
plate edge and is expressed as:
(
M n = As f y d −
a
2
) Equation 4-17

As f y Equation 4-18
a=
0.85 f ′ c b
The top reinforcement ATsis only required to meet flexural capacity and bar spacing requirements. It is not
checked for minimum reinforcement area requirements per Section 7.12.2.1
The bottom reinforcement AsB is required to meet flexural capacity and bar spacing requirements as well as the
requirements of Section 7.12.2.1 as described below. When top reinforcement is required the minimum
reinforcement area takes into consideration both the top and bottom reinforcement in a given direction.
As,min = 0.002bh for fy = 40 ksi ACI 318-14 8.6.1.1
As,min = 0.0018bh for fy = 60 ksi ACI 318-14 8.6.1.1
0.0018 ( 60, 000 ) ACI 318-14 8.6.1.1
As,min = fy
for fy > 60 ksi
The reinforcement spacing is also limited to

Smax = 18 in ACI 318-14 7.12.7.2.2
Smax = 5 x Footing Thickness ACI 318-14 7.12.7.2.2
Note: ACI 318-14 24.3.2 is not implemented because it relates to crack width controls and may not have any
impact on corrosion so it is considered not to be applicable for foundations.
In calculating the required footing moment at the face of the column, RAM Foundation establishes an applied
stress prism bounded by the soil stress area. Note that this stress prism could reflect either a stress generated
from soil pressure (acting upward on the footing), a stress generated from the footing self-weight plus a uniform
surcharge (acting downward on the footing), or a combination of both. A unique stress prism is generated for
each concrete load combination used in the design.
The moment is calculated by treating the soil stress area as a cantilever beam supported at the column face. If
any portion of the soil stress area is in uplift (not in contact with the soil), a check is done to determine if the
uplift component of the loading produces a greater moment at the face of the column than the soil pressure
component of the loading. If it does, the required moment will be used to size/check top reinforcement for the
footing. Otherwise, the moment will be used to size/check bottom reinforcement.
The flexure capacity of the footing is considered to be acceptable when adequate reinforcement is provided in
the footing to satisfy Equation 4-19 on all sides of the column.
ϕbM n ≥ M u Equation 4-19

Figure 22: Flexure Critical Sections for Major Moment
Figure 23: Flexure Critical Sections for Minor Moment
4.10.4 Flexural Reinforcement Capacity

If the full development length of the reinforcement bars cannot be satisfied due to the footing's dimension the
bar capacity is reduced according to ACI 318-14, Section 25.4.10.1. The required reinforcement area is increased
to account for the reduction in capacity due to the reduced development length. The provided reinforcement
ratio is based on the reinforcement area before it is modified to account for the development length. The area of
reinforcement is increased regardless of whether it is required for temperature/shrinkage or to satisfy flexure
capacity requirements. The reinforcement area is only increased if the provided development length is larger
than ½ the required development length.

4.10.5 Spread Footing Design Example

This section provides a spread footing design example covering the topics discussed in Section 4.10. The
procedure shown here is intended to illustrate the methods used internally within RAM Foundation to arrive at a
final spread footing design.
Figure 24: Geometry for spread footing design example
Spread Footing Parameters:
Design Code: ACI 318-02

Design for Actual Footing Forces
qa = 4,000 psf
f 'c = 3,000 psi
rc = 150 pcf
fy = 60 ksi
Clear Cover = 3 " (all sides)
Flexural Bar Sizes Considered: #4 through #6

Applied Loads:
18 "x18 " Supported Column

PD = 250 k
PL = 125 k
ME = 1200 k-ft (major footing direction)

Note: The user has the option to select “Include Moment Due to Shear in Column” in the Design tab within the
Design Criteria menu. If this is done, the value ME shown above would include the column shear multiplied by
the footing thickness.
Load Combinations:
Soil Combo: 1.0D + 1.0L + E/1.4

Concrete Combo: 1.2D + 0.5L + 1.0E
Optimized Footing Dimensions:
Footing Width = 15 '-0 "

Footing Depth = 2 '-6 "
Soil Stress
In general,
Pt Mt
qs = Af
± Sf
For Soil Load Combination,
Wf = 150 pcf ∙ 15 ' ∙ 15 ' ∙ 2 '-6 " = 84.4 k

Pt = 1.0 ∙ (250 k + 84.4 k) + 1.0 ∙ 125 k = 459.4 k
Mt = 1200 k-ft/1.4 = 857.1 k-ft
Af = 15 ' ∙ 15 ' = 225 ft2
If = 154/12 = 4218.8 ft4
Sf = 4218.8 ft4 / 7.5 ft = 562.5 ft3
459.4 857.1
qs,max = 225
+ 562.5
= 3.57ksf
459.4 857.1
qs,min = 225
− 562.5
= 0.52ksf
Since qs,min is greater than zero, the entire footing is in contact with the soil and no uplift occurs.
For Concrete Load Combination,
Pu = 1.2 ∙ 250 k + 0.5 ∙ 125 k = 362.5 k
Mu = 1200 k-ft
362.5 1, 200
qs,max = 225
+ 562.5
= 3.74ksf
362.5 1, 200
qs,min = 225
- 562.5
= -0.52ksf
Since qs,min is less than zero, part of the footing is in uplift and we must use equilibrium rather than flexure
theory to determine soil stresses.
Sum moments at right edge of footing to find location of resultant footing reaction,
Pu ⋅ b f
2
− R ⋅ r − Mu = 0
From vertical equilibrium, R = Pu

362.5 ( 15 )
− 1, 200
2
r= 362.5
= 4.19ft from right edge of footing
The resulting soil pressure is assumed to vary linearly and take the form of a prism with centroid at r, thus,
2 Pu 2 ( 362.5 )
qmax = 3 ⋅ r ⋅ bf
= 3 ( 4.19 )( 15 )
= 3.85ksf 3.85 ksf (at right footing edge)
Zero stress line is at 3r = 3 · 4.19' = 12.57' from right footing edge
Overturning Safety Factor

Referring to Section 4.9.1,
FSOT = (459.4 k ∙ 7.5 ft) / (1200 k-ft / 1.4) = 4.0
Minimum Longitudinal Reinforcing

Per ACI 318, 10.5.4 & 7.12,
rmin = 0.0018 " As,min = 0.0018 ∙ 180 in ∙ 30 in = 9.72 in2
This will be enforced for both top and bottom bars together (rather than each separately) as explained in Section
4.10.3.
Longitudinal Reinforcing Spacing Limits

Per ACI 318, 10.5.4,
Smax = min(3tf, 18 in) = 18 in
180 " − 2 3 " + 0.5 ( 0.75 " )
Minimum number of bars to meet smax = 18 "
+ 1 = 11
This will be enforced for bottom bars, and also for top bars if they are required as explained in Section 4.10.3.
Design Forces
qu at right footing edge = 3.85 ksf
qu at right column edge = 3.85 ksf ∙ (12.57 - 7.50 + 0.75) / 12.57 = 1.78 ksf
qu at “d” from right column edge = 3.85 ksf ∙ (12.57 - 7.50 + 0.75 + 26.63/12) / 12.57 = 2.46 ksf

Figure 25: Soil pressure diagram for Concrete Load Combination for example spread footing
One-way shear,
Vu = 15 ∙ (7.50 - 0.75 - 26.63/12) ∙ (3.85 + 2.46) / 2 = 214.4 k
Positive flexure,
Mu = 3.79 ∙ (3.85 + 1.78) ∙ (7.50 - 0.75) ∙ 15 / 2 = 1080.2 k-ft
One-Way Shear Check

Per Section 4.10.1,
ϕV n = ϕ2 f ′c bd ≥ V u
ϕV n = 0.75(2) 3, 000(180)(26.63) = 393.8k > 214.4k

= 393.8 k > 214.4 k
Flexural Reinforcing
For bottom bars in major direction,
Mu = 1080.2 k-ft
ϕMn = ϕRbd2 ³ Mu
R ≥ Mu /ϕbd2 = (1080.2 k-ft ∙ 12 in/ft)/[0.9 ∙ (180 in) ∙ (26.63 in)2] = 112.8 psi
R =ρ⋅ fy 1−( 0.59 ⋅ ρ ⋅ f y

′
f c
)
ρ ≥ 0.001925
As ≥ 0.001925 · 180 in · 26.63 in = 9.23 in2 ∴ (21) #6 bottom required
With regard to the minimum steel requirement, as we will see below, (11) #4 top will be provided in major
direction, thus,
(21 ∙ 0.44 in2 + 11 ∙ 0.20 in2) = 11.44 in2 > As,min
For bottom bars in minor direction,
Mu = (3.85 ksf / 2) ∙ 12.57 ft ∙ 6.75 ft ∙ (6.75 ft / 2) = 551.2 k-ft

Structural Design of Continuous Footings
By inspection minimum reinforcing will control. Provide bottom bars such that minimum reinforcing limit is
met, including top bars.
From calculation below, (11) #4 top will be provided,
As > 9.72 in2 - (11 · 0.20 in2) = 7.52 in2
Required number of #6 bars = 7.52 in2 / 0.44 in2 = 18
(18) #6 bottom required
For top bars,
Uplift occurs for Concrete Load Combination thus top bars are required. However, by inspection negative
moment induced in footing is small and thus only minimum top bar requirements need be satisfied.
Use (11) #4 top each way to satisfy spacing requirements
Final Design
15 '-0 " x 15 '-0 " x 2 '-6 " dp
(21) #6 long maj & (18) #6 long min, bottom
(11) #4 long each way, top
4.11 Structural Design of Continuous Footings

RAM Foundation is capable of sizing or checking continuous footing dimensions, as well as footing
reinforcement, to resist the required shear and flexural forces imparted to the footing by the supporting soil,
footing self-weight, and footing surcharge. The required design forces are established from the finite element
analysis described in Section 4.8. In general, the spring forces determined from this analysis are converted to an
applied soil pressure, and this resulting pressure serves as the basis for the structural design. This section
describes the methods and assumptions made by RAM Foundation when conducting the structural design of
continuous footings.
4.11.1 One-Way Shear in Continuous Footings

One-way shear design is conducted for sections perpendicular to the continuous footing major direction. The
shear is checked at all span locations along the footing up to a distance of d/2 from either side of supported
columns or walls. The capacity calculation is performed according to the method outlined in Section 4.10.1.
Unlike spread footings, continuous footings can have shear reinforcement in RAM Foundation. The required
shear reinforcement is calculated as indicated in the following.
With reference to Equation ACI 318-14 14.5.1.1(c) the nominal shear capacity can be defined as:
Vu = Vc + Vs Equation ACI 318-14 22.5.1.1
Shear reinforcement is taken to be provided by reinforcement stirrups with a user defined number of vertical
legs. There are no minimum reinforcement limits enforced as footings are exempt from the limits in ACI 318-14
7.6.3.1.

Shear reinforcement capacity is calculated as:

Av f y d Equation ACI 318-14 22.5.10.5.3
Vs = s
Which is limited by:
V s,max = 8 f ′ ACI Section 11.5.6.8

c bd
Shear reinforcement spacing limits:

s ≤ d/2 and s ≤ 24 in. ACI 318-14 Section 10.7.6.5.2
′
If V s ≥ 4 f c bd , then must be reduced by one-half per ACI 318-14 Section 10.7.6.5.2.
4.11.2 Two-Way Shear in Continuous Footings

The calculation for two-way shear in continuous footings is similar to the calculation for spread footings
described in Section 4.10.2 and is performed for each column and/or wall on the footing. As with spread
footings, the continuous footing check is performed assuming that the column is at the center of the slab, thus
using the interior condition described in ACI 318-14 3.4.2.3. Edge and Corner two-way shear checks are not
currently performed. Unlike spread footings, the soil force acting within the assumed punching failure plane of
the continuous footing is not subtracted from the required punching shear capacity in RAM Foundation. This will
produce a slightly more conservative design for continuous footings as compared to spread footings.
Two-way shear checks are performed slightly differently for different supported elements. The special
conditions are handled as follows:
Columns at the End of Walls

Checks are made for the wall and end columns individually using each member's forces.
Brace and Column Forces

Columns with braces framing into them are checked as one member. The brace and column forces are combined
and the two-way shear check is performed using the column dimensions.
The two-way shear check is not performed for the case in which the brace is supported directly on the
foundation without a column at the same location. This is due to a lack of information regarding the connection
of the brace to the foundation.
Brace Framing into a Wall

In this case the wall dimensions are used considering only the wall forces. Even though the brace forces are used
for the analysis and design of the footing, the two-way shear check cannot be performed due to a lack of
information regarding the connection of the brace to the wall and size of the brace's effective area on the
foundation.
Columns at the End of Walls

In the case where a partial wall frames into a column the larger of the two members is used to define the
perimeter of member and the combined load of the partial wall and column are used for the two-way shear
check.

In the case where the partial wall does not frame into a column the two-way shear check that is performed will
be on the partial wall only.
In both cases it is possible that the two-way shear check will be un-conservative because the supported
members may be an edge member but it will only be checked as an internal member.
4.11.3 Longitudinal Flexure in Continuous Footings

The longitudinal footing flexure is evaluated at all stations between the faces of supported columns and/or walls
and footing ends. The required flexural capacity for a section perpendicular to the footing's major axis is
recovered from the finite element analysis described in Section 4.8. The provided flexural capacity is calculated
using the same method outlined in Section 4.10.3.
4.11.4 Transverse Flexure in Continuous Footings

The required flexural capacity for a section parallel to the footing's major axis is calculated by defining a width
effective to each column or wall as:
For columns away from the footing ends: w/2 + 3d/4 on either side of the column centerline
For columns at the ends of the footing: w/2 + c
The effective width is taken as the sum of the minimum values of the equations above for either side of the
column.
where
w = Column width parallel to footing local major direction
c = Distance from column face to footing end
d = Depth of footing from top surface to centerline of flexural reinforcement
parallel to the footing minor axis direction.

Spread Footing Optimization
Figure 26: Continuous Footing Segment Locations for Transverse Flexure Reinforcement
The width effective to each column and/or wall along the footing then serves as the basis for the sections for
which transverse flexure is evaluated along the footing. This is reflected in the RAM Foundation continuous
footing view/update dialogue as segment numbers (see Figure below).
Figure 27: Transverse reinforcement segments as viewed in RAM Foundation view/update dialogue.
The soil stress acting on each segment is recovered from the finite element analysis for each load combination.
The required moment capacity for a transverse segment is calculated as:
bc bc
′
Overhand Length: L = w1 − 2
&w2 − 2
TotalSpringForce
Total Force on Section: qult = B × SegmentLength
q
ult( L ′ )
2
Moment Capacity: M u = 2
The process is repeated for all columns and all the regions between columns.

4.12 Spread Footing Optimization
4.12.1 Optimization of Footing Dimensions

The footing dimensions are calculated using a heuristic approach. The first trial section is sized using the user
defined minimum footing dimension from the Optimization Criteria dialog box. If any of the dimensions are
defined as fixed dimension in the Assign > Geometry > Spread Footing dialog box then they are used. Once the
footing has been dimensioned it is checked for soil stress capacity, one-way shear capacity on all four sides of the
footing, two-way shear and flexure capacity on all four sides of the footing.
If any of the checks fail the appropriate dimensions of the footing are increased and the footing is rechecked. The
dimensions that can be increased according to the Assign > Geometry > Spread Footing dialog box are
increased using the increment values defined in the Optimization Criteria dialog box.
When the footing is found to pass all the checks mentioned above, a final check is performed using the optimized
reinforcement diameters to properly account for the reinforcement depth.
4.12.2 Optimization of Reinforcement

The reinforcement selection required to resist flexure in a footing is performed according to the user-defined
criteria on the Reinforcement Selection tab of the Criteria > Design dialog box. The final optimized
reinforcement selection will always adhere to all ACI code limits regarding reinforcement spacing,
reinforcement area ratios, and development length.
From the list of the acceptable flexure reinforcement sets (quantity and size of bars), the best-fit set is selected
given the users preference. In the selection of the best fit reinforcement set, the optimization method does make
provisions for sets that may have very similar optimization limits. For example, when optimizing for minimum
reinforcement area if the following two bar sets were found to be acceptable: (10) #6 (4.4 ) and (40) #3 (4.4 )
the (10) #6 would be selected as the optimum reinforcement over the (40) #3.
If the option Keep all bars in Layer the same is selected on the Reinforcement Selection tab of the Criteria >
Design dialog box, the reinforcement parallel to both the major and minor axis will be considered in finding the
optimum reinforcement. Note that a Layer contains both the Length and Width direction reinforcement for
flexure in a given direction. This is performed independently for the reinforcement at the bottom of the footing
and at the top of the footing.

Continuous Footing Optimization
Figure 28: Typical Spread Footing Reinforcement Layout
4.13 Continuous Footing Optimization

Continuous footings are currently optimized for the footing thickness and overhangs on either end of the footing,
parallel to the footing's major axis. The footing width parallel to the footing's minor axis is not currently
optimized. The dimension optimization is also heuristic and similar in concept to the spread footing.
Thickness is controlled by punching shear and beam shear only when adequate shear reinforcement cannot be
found. Footing plan dimensions are controlled by soil stress.
Note: It is the user's responsibility to check for overturning safety factor of continuous foundations as the value
is not calculated or reported.

Flexure The flexure reinforcement is selected using the same concepts as the spread footing.
Reinforcement However, due to the nature of continuous footing design transverse reinforcement is
permitted to be a different size than the longitudinal reinforcement. The longitudinal top
bar segments are taken between columns. The longitudinal bottom bar segments are taken
centered at the column and continuing to the center of each span as required. If a minimum
moment is found to be in the middle third of a span it will be used rather than the spans
midpoint. Transverse reinforcement segments are taken at column segments, which have
the width B ' indicated in Section 4.11.4. The center span transverse segments are taken
between column segments.

ACI 318-99
Shear For shear reinforcement the footing span between columns is divided into between 3 to 5
Reinforcement segments depending on the length of the segments. If two adjacent segments are found to
be too small to practically change the shear reinforcement, the sections are merged.
The cantilevers at either end of the footing are divided into a maximum of 3 segments.
Figure 29: Typical Continuous Footing Reinforcement Detailing
4.14 ACI 318-99

The only difference pertaining to foundation design between ACI 318-95 and ACI 318-99 is the change to Section
11.2.1, involving the use of f' c for lightweight concrete in the equations in Sections 11.5.4.3, 11.5.6.9, and
11.12.3.2.
4.15 ACI 318-02
4.15.1 Shear
Section 11.5.5.3 Equation for shear reinforcement area minimum limit has changed. It now includes the concrete
capacity, which it did not in ACI 318-99 code.
Equation ACI 11-13

ACI 318-19
4.15.2 Minimum Footing Thickness

Section 11.12.3 permits shear reinforcement only when the following minimum footing thickness limits are met:
d ≥ 6in.
d ≥ 16ds
where
ds = shear bar diameter
Minimum total flexural reinforcement in a given direction:
> Sec. 7.12.2.1
4.16 ACI 318-19

The ACI 318-19 design code implementation in RAM Foundation utilizes the majority of the design logic
contained in the ACI 318-14 code.
This section documents notable changes made for the implementation of ACI 318-19.
4.16.1 One-way Concrete Shear Strength

Equations to calculate the concrete shear capacity according to Table 22.5.5.1 have been implemented:
Criteria Vc ACI 318-19 Sec 22.5.5.1
Av≥ Av, min Nu (a)

2λ f' c + 6 Ag
bw d
Av< Av, min 1 Nu (c)

'
8λs λ ( ρw ) 3 f c+ 6 Ag
bw d
It is important to note that currently the λ modification factor considered by the program is always 1.00,
corresponding to normal weight concrete.
The value of Vc is limited to a maximum of 5λ f ' c bw d , according to Section 22.5.5.1.1, and is not taken less
than zero.
The value of Nu/6Ag is limited to a maximum of 0.05f’c, according to Section 22.5.5.1.2.
The size effect factor is not applied, as permitted in Section 13.2.6.2.
4.16.2 Strength reduction factor for moment, axial force or combined moment and
axial
The strength reduction factor, ϕ, is determined from Table 21.2.2 based on the net tensile strain, εty.

Analysis and Design of Pile Cap Foundations
4.16.3 Lightweight Concrete Factor

Lightweight concrete factors are not implemented in the determination of footing shear capacity. The design
considers normal weight concrete and uses λ = 1 in all cases.
4.16.4 Minimum Flexural Reinforcement

As specified in Section 8.6.1.1, minimum flexural reinforcement of 0.0018Ag is applied for all grades of
reinforcement.
The minimum reinforcement requirement for high punching shear given by Eq. (8.6.1.2) in Section 8.6.1.2 has
not been implemented.
4.16.5 Ductility Strain Limit

The requirement that two-way slabs be tension-controlled given in Section 8.3.3.1 has not been implemented.
4.16.6 Reinforcement Details, Modification Factor for Development of

Reinforcement
Table 25.4.2.5 provides new modification factors for the development of deformed bars in tension based on
reinforcement grade. These factors for Grade 80 and Grade 100 have not been implemented, a factor of 1.0 is
always used as for Grade 40 and Grade 60.
Table 25.4.3.2 provides new modification factor values for the development of hooked bars in tension. These
have not been implemented, the values given in Table 25.4.3.2 of ACI 318-14 are used.
4.16.7 Detailing Requirements for SDC D, E, or F

The detailing requirements for footings in Seismic Design Categories D, E, or F given in Section 18.13 have not be
implemented.
4.16.8 Reduced ϕ factor for Foundations Supporting Seismic Frames or Walls

The requirement given in Section 21.2.4.3 to use a ϕ factor not exceeding that used in the design of those frames
and walls has not been implemented.
4.17 Analysis and Design of Pile Cap Foundations

This section identifies the design methods that are unique to pile cap design. Where the design method for
spread and pile cap design are similar the corresponding section in this chapter will be referenced.

4.17.1 Concrete Design Code

The design method used for pile caps relies heavily on the ACI 318-95, 99, and 02 codes. In some cases the ACI
318 code does not provide adequate guidance on the design of very thick pile caps. In these cases the CRSI
Design Handbook 2002 is used:
"CRSI Design Handbook 2002" (CRSI-02), 2002, Concrete Reinforced Steel Institute, Schaumburg, Illinois
60173-4758
4.17.2 Loading on Pile Cap

The loading on the pile cap from the column, concrete self-weight, and surcharge are nearly identical to a spread
footing with the single exception that the column is always assumed to be centered on the pile cap. This
effectively means there is no additional induced moment on the pile cap due to column eccentricity. For an in-
depth discussion of the loading on a pile cap please refer to the Section 4.16.4.
4.17.3 Initial Pile Cap Thickness

In the interest of speed, the pile cap optimization starts by assuming a pile cap thickness equal to ½ pile spacing
+ pile embedment depth. This initial thickness will also help in making the footing thick enough to be considered
rigid.
4.17.4 Pile Cap Analysis

The axial and shear loads on each pile under the pile cap are calculated base d on the method described below
with the following assumptions:
• All piles are vertical.
• Load from the supported column (and braces if applicable) is applied at centroid of pile cap.
• The pile cap is thick enough to be considered rigid. Due to the shear requirements and minimum pile cap
thicknesses used in the program this assumption is valid in the majority of cases.
Note: It is the engineer’s responsibility to confirm that this analysis assumption is valid for the final footing
thickness.
• Piles are assumed to resist both tension and compression axial loads.
• Piles will be analyzed as if they can take tension loads larger than their maximum tension capacity.
Note: In all cases of shear and flexural design the pile cap self-weight and surcharge are removed from the pile
reaction when calculating the moment and shear on the critical sections.
The calculated forces on each pile are based on its distance from the pile cap centroid as shown below.

P M min x p M maj y p Equation 4-20

P pmax = N
+ 2
+ 2
Σx p Σyp
M min x p M maj y p
P
P pmin = N
− 2
− 2
Σx p Σyp
where
Vp = 2
V maj 2
+ V min Equation 4-21
V maj T
2
xp + yp
2 Equation 4-22
V pmaj = R
+ 2 2
sin(α )
Σx p + Σ y p
2 2
V min T xp + yp
V pmin = R
+ 2 2
cos (α )
Σx p + Σ y p
where
Pp = Force on a single pile
P = Column axial load, pile cap self-weight, and surcharge
Mmaj, Mmin = Total moment on pile cap due to column moment and shear in
major and minor direction, respectively
xp, yp = distance from each pile center to pile cap center parallel to
major and minor direction, respectively.
α = angle between column center and pile center, calculated
clockwise with an angle of zero being parallel to the local minor
axis.
Vp, Vpmaj, = Total shear in pile, pile shear in major direction and pile shear in
Vpmin minor direction, respectively.
If the total lateral force applied to the pile cap is larger than pile shear capacity, a warning message is given,
indicating the total shear that will need to be transferred out of the pile cap through other means. For example,
the additional shear can be resisted through a slab on grade or by soil bearing on the side of the pile cap.
Pile Capacity Check

For the pile capacity check the soil load combinations are used and the factored self-weight and surcharge on the
pile are considered.
Concrete Capacity Check

For the concrete capacity check (flexure, beam shear and 2-way shear) the concrete load combinations are used
without the factored self-weight and surcharge on the pile. When the option to design the pile cap based on the
pile capacity is selected, the factored self-weight and surcharge are subtracted from the pile force to calculate
the actual available pile capacity.
Note: When calculating the pile forces contributing to a critical area (for punching shear, beam shear and
flexure) the pile is considered to contribute only when its center is inside the critical area.

4.17.5 Pile Capacity Checks

For each soil load combination the following non-zero pile capacities are checked and if the capacity is not met a
design warning is generated:
• Compression or tension capacity
• Shear capacity
• Column shear that exceeds the sum of the pile capacities is reported to the user. A design warning is issued to
notify the user that there exists a shear force that must be resolved by some other transfer mechanism.
Note: It should be noted that in this situation, the pile foundation is not considered to have failed.
4.17.6 Beam Shear

For cases of footings whose thicknesses are small in relation to their plan dimensions, the critical section used to
calculate beam shear is taken at a distance, d, from the face of the column. The shear force is taken as the sum of
the forces acting in all piles that lie outside a critical perimeter d from the face of the column, for all load
combinations under consideration. For a detailed description of the calculation of the concrete shear capacity
please refer to Beam Shear Capacity (on page 96).
Due to the nature of pile caps, in many situations the critical section for beam shear is outside of all of the piles in
the pile cap. In this situation the guidelines outlined in CRSI page 13-21 are used.
When w/d ≥ 1.0
′ ′
V ud
′
ACI 318-14 Sec R22.5.5.1
vc = 1.9 f c + 0.1 f c M ≥2 f c
u
Mu V ud
When w/d < 1.0; Limit V ud
≤ 1.0 ; ∞ > Mu
≥ 1.0
vc = ( )
d
w
3.5 − 2.5 ( )
Mu
V ud
1.9 f ′
c + 0.1 f ′
V ud
c M
u
CRSI 02 Eq. 13-2
′
vc ≤ 10 f c
Concrete Capacity
Vc = vc(bd)
where
w = distance from face of column to center of closest pile in direction of critical
section.
V ud
′
Note: that vc = 2 f c (Sec 11.3.1.1) is an approximation of ACI Eq. 11-5 where Mu
= 1.0 and
′
2, 500ρw = 0.1 f c per ACI 318-14 Sec R22.5.5.1

Note: For the Beam shear calculation at face of column the moment used to calculate Mu is taken as the distance
from the centroid of the pile forces in the critical section + construction tolerance of the column.
4.17.7 Column Two-Way Shear

The factored two-way shear to be resisted by the pile cap is outlined in Two-Way Shear Capacity (on page 96).
For cases of footings whose thicknesses are small in relation to their plan dimensions, the critical section used to
calculate beam shear is taken as d/2 from face of column. The shear force is taken as the sum of the forces acting
in all piles that lie outside a critical perimeter d/2 from the face of the column, for all load combinations under
consideration. For a detailed description of the calculation of the concrete shear capacity please refer to Beam
Shear Capacity (on page 96).
When the punching shear critical section is outside of pile cap the punching shear will need to be checked using
the supported column perimeter as the critical section. In this situation the ACI 318 code does not provide any
guidance on calculating the concrete punching shear capacity so the CRSI 02 Design Handbook is used.
Concrete punching shear capacity per CRSI Eq 13-1:
When w = d/2
Vc =
d
w
(1 + dc )2 f ′
c (bo d ) CRSI 02 Eq 13-1
When w = 0
′
V c = 32 f c (bo d )
where
w = distance from column face to closest center of piles.
c = average column plan dimension
bo = column perimeter (critical section)
When 0 < w < d/2 use linear interpolation.
When w > d/2 the usual punching shear capacity can be calculated per Section 4.5.3
4.17.8 Single Pile Two-Way Shear

Similar to the column two-way shear the pile two-way shear is checked to make sure that the pile cap can resist
the forces that have been calculated in the pile.
The single pile two-way shear check is only performed when the pile spacing is larger than Pile diameter +
average reinforcement depth. Otherwise all the piles in the footing will act together which will force the beam
shear or the two-way column shear to control.
The critical section for the piles is taken at d/2 using calculated concrete capacity as outlined for the column
two-way shear. The critical section length assumes a circular pile cross section and is properly calculated
according to the location of the pile in the interior, edge or corner of the pile.

Figure 30: Pile Shear Critical Sections
4.17.9 Two-Pile Group Two-Way Shear

Two-way shear for adjacent pairs of piles is also calculated for interior, edge and corner piles. The calculation of
the critical section length and concrete capacity are analogues to those used for the single pile two-way shear.
4.17.10 Flexural Design

The design of the flexural reinforcement used to resist the moments in the pile cap are outlined in the Section
5.12.3. Due to the unique nature of pile caps they need to be checked using both the slab and beam
reinforcement limits.
The required reinforcement area is selected as follows: (From CRSI p13-18)
1. if As > 200/ fybd, Use As (Sec. 9.6.1.2)
2. if As > 200/ fybd < 4/3 As, use min (200 / fybd, 4/3 As) (Sec. 9.6.1.2)
3. if 0.0018bh < 4/3 As < 200/ fybd, Use 4/3 As (Sec. 24.4.3.2)
4. if 4/3 As < 0.0018bh < 200/ fybd, Use 0.0018bh (Sec. 24.4.3.2)
Note use 0.0020 instead of 0.0018 if fy< 60 ksi
The pile axial forces replace the soil stress (Section 5.12.3) when calculating the force inducing the moment at
the column face. The centroid of the force is calculated based on the effective centroid of the pile axial loads. The
moment is taken as the distance from the pile force centroid to the column face + the maximum construction
tolerance. This helps account for construction tolerances in the location of the piles or the column.
Top reinforcement is only provided if at least one pile is in tension.
In all cases the slab reinforcement criteria are used.
4.17.11 Designing Pile Caps for Pile Capacity

When the user has selected to design pile caps based on the capacity of the supporting piles, the design is
conducted in the same general manner as when designing for true pile loads, with the exceptions discussed
below.

In applying the user specified pile capacities to the pile cap as a load, a factor is used that acts to convert the pile
capacity to an ultimate level load. This factor is calculated on a column by column basis by taking the largest
single value of (Pu/Pt) for all concrete load combinations, where Pu is the factored load in the column for a given
concrete load combination, and Pt is the equivalent load using factors of 1.0 for each load case. The factor will
not be taken greater than the largest individual load factor within a given load combination.
For the flexural design of the pile cap in particular, in applying the pile capacities to the pile caps as loads, a
decision must be made whether to consider the compressive capacity or the tensile capacity of the piles. For a
given group of piles on one side of the supported column generating moment at the column face, the actual pile
loads for each load combination are investigated. If the actual pile loads create a net positive moment at the
column face (tension at bottom of footing), the compressive capacity of the piles are applied as an upward force
to the pile cap. If the actual pile loads create a net negative moment at the column face (tension at top of footing),
the tensile capacity of the piles are applied as a downward force to the pile cap (see Figures below).
Figure 31: Pile forces due to actual loads for a given load combination
Figure 32: Pile capacities applied as pile cap loads
The design of pile caps for one-way and two-way shear is done considering the pile compressive capacity,
regardless of the actual pile loads.

4.17.12 Triangular Pile Caps

The pile cap above a three pile group is expected to be triangular. The supported column is assumed to be
located at the centroid of an equilateral triangle defined by the three piles (see Figure below). As long as the pile
cap geometry meets the pile spacing and edge spacing requirements it can be considered acceptable.
Figure 33: Triangular Pile Cap Configuration
where
S = Pile center-to-center spacing
E = Pile edge spacing
4.17.13 Example Pile Cap Design Verification

This example was taken from CRSI Design Handbook 2002, pages 13-23, with some minor modifications.
Pile/Pile Cap Parameters

Pile Capacity, P = 50 tons = 100 kips
Pile Diameter, dp= 8"
Column Loads:
Pservice = 625 kips
Pu= 1000 kips

Mu min = 50 kip-ft
Mu maj= 25 kip-ft
Column Dimensions, a = 20", b = 16"
Concrete Strength, f'c= 3,000 psi
Reinforcing Steel Strength, fy= 60,000 psi
Pile Embedment into Cap = 6"
Concrete Clear Cover = 3"
Construction Tolerance = 3"
Figure 34: Pile Cap Configuration
Pile Spacing Requirements

Per CRSI 13-16, for dp≤ 12",
Minimum c/c Pile Spacing,
{ 3'-0"
L = max 3 × Pile Diameter = 2'-0" = 3'-0"
Clear Between Piles = 2'-8"
Per CRSI 13-18, for P ≤ 60 tons,
Minimum Distance Pile Cap Edge to Center of Piles, E = 1'-3"
Individual Pile Capacity Check

We must make an assumption regarding the pile cap depth before proceeding. We will use an estimated total
depth, D = d + dc = 57"

Total service load supported at underside of pile cap,

Pservice = Pservice + Pile Cap Weight
= 625 +
57(138)(102)
123
( 150
1, 000 ) = 695kips
P'u = 1.6 (695) = 1,111 kips
Load supported by single pile,
Pp = ( 695
12
) = 57.9kips (service)
Also, for these assumptions, d = 57 - 6 - 3 1.128 - 0.5(1.128) = 46.3" (47.4")
Loads Developed in Piles

′ M umin x p M umaj y p
P u
Pp = n
± n 2
± n 2
∑ xp ∑ yp
1 1
where
n = Total number of piles in group
xp, yp = x, y coordinates of pile under consideration
(Ipg)x = 2 x 4 x 362 = 10,368 in2
(Ipg)y = (36/2)2 x 6 + (1.5 x 36)2 x 6 = 19,440 in2
Maximum & Minimum Pile Forces

1, 111 (50 ⋅ 12)54 (25 ⋅ 12)36
P pmax = 12
+ 19, 440
+ 10, 368
= 95.3kips (ultimate)
1, 111 (50 ⋅ 12)54 (25 ⋅ 12)36

P pmax = 12
− 19, 440
− 10, 368
= 89.9kips (ultimate)
Pp max= 95.3 kips < 1.6P = 160 kips - pile is adequate
Design of Pile Cap for Flexure

Critical section for flexure is at face of column,
For moment in minor direction (about x-x axis),
Self Weight=
138(43)(57)
12 3
150
1, 000 ( ) = 29.4kips
36 + 3 − 0.5(16) 43 / 2
M u = 4(160) 12
− 0.9(29.4) 12
= 1, 606kip-ft
′ ′ 2 ′
1.7 f c bd 1 2.89( f c bd ) 6.8 f c M u
As = 2f y
− 2 2
− 2
fy fy
As = 0.51d − 0.26d 2 − 0.0189M u
( )
As = 0.51 46.3 − 0.26(46.3)2 − 0.0189 ( 1, 606 ⋅ 12
11.5
) 11.5 = 8.1in2
Check minimum required steel for slab per ACI 318-14 (Sec. 24.4.3.2),

As,min1 = (0.0018×60,000/60,000)bh = 0.0018×(12 × 11.5)×57 = 14.16 in2 Controls

As,min2 = 0.0014×bh = 0.0014×(12 × 11.5)×57 = 11.01 in2
Check minimum required steel for beam per ACI 318-14 (Sec.9.6.1.3),
4/3 As= 10.80 in2
200/fybd = 12×11.5×46.3×200 / 60,000 = 21.3 in2
Use 15 #9 bars
For moment in major direction (about y-y axis),
Self Weight=
102(59)(57)
12 3 (
150
1, 000 ) = 29.8kips
54 + 3 − 0.5(20) 18 + 3 − 0.5(20) 59 / 2
M u = 3(160) 12
− 12
− 0.9(29.8) 12
= 2, 258kip-ft
As = 0.51(47.4) − 0.26(47.4)2 − 0.0189 ( 2, 2588.5⋅ 12 ) 8.5 = 10.92in2

Check minimum required steel for slab,
As,min = 0.0018bh = 0.0018 (12 · 8.5)57 = 10.47 in2
Check minimum required steel for beam,
4/3 As= 15.56 in2 Controls
Controls
200/fybd = 12 · 8.5 · 47.4 · 200 / 60,000 = 16.12 in2
Use 15- #9 bars
Checking Column Punching Shear

Consider a perimeter d/2 from column face, where 10 of the 12 piles in the group lie outside this perimeter,
138(102) − (20 + 46.3)(16 + 46.3) 150
V u = 160(10) − 0.9 57 1, = 1, 556kips
123 000
ϕV n = ϕ4 f ′c bo d (ACI 318-14 Sec. 22.6.5.2)
where
bo = 2(c1 + c2 + 2d) = 2(20 + 16 + 2·46.3) = 257"
ϕV n = 0.75(4) 3, 000(257)(46.3) = 1, 955kips > 1, 556kips, OK
Check Pile Punching Shear

In General,
Vu = 160 kips
ϕV n = ϕ4 f ′c bo d
Single Corner Pile,

π
bo = 2E + 2
(d p + d)

References
π
ϕV n = 0.75(4) 3, 000 2(15) + 2
(8 + 46.3) (46.3) = 552kips, OK
Single Edge Pile,

ϕVn = 877 kips, OK
Single Interior Pile,
bo = π(d p + d )
ϕV n = 0.75(4) 3, 000π(8 + 46.3)(46.3) = 1, 298kips, OK
Two-Pile Corner Condition,

π
bo = 2e p + s p + 4
(d p + d)
π
ϕV n = 0.75(4) 3, 000 2(15) + 36 + 4
(8 + 46.3) (46.3) = 827kips, OK
Two-Pile Interior Condition,

bo = 2s p + π(d p + d)
ϕV n = 0.75(4) 3, 000 2(36) + π(8 + 46.3) (46.3) = 1, 846kips, OK
Check One-Way Deep Beam Shear

By inspection, the major direction of footing will be critical.
36 20
w= 2
− 2
+ 3 = 11"
Vu = 6(160) - 0.9(29.8) = 933 kips
M u = 160 3 54 + 3 − ( 20
2
) + 3(18 + 3 − 202 ) − 0.9(29.8) ( 592 ) = 28, 094kip-in = 2, 258kip-ft
w 11
d
= 47.4
= 0.24 < 1.0
Thus we use Eq. 13-2 of CRSI 13-16,
vc = ( )
d
w
3.5 − 2.5 ( )
Mu
V ud
1.9 f ′
c + 0.1 f ′
( )
V ud
c M
u
≤ 10 f ′
c
vc = min { ( 47.4
11
) 3.5 − 2.5( 93327,⋅094
47.4
) × 1.9 3, 000 + 0.1 3, 000
10 3, 000Controls
( 93327,⋅094
47.4
)
vc = 547.7 psi
ϕVn = 0.75(547.7)(102)(47.4) = 1,986 kips

References
4.18 References
1. American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 318, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI
318-95); and Commentary (ACE 318R-95). Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute, 1996.
6. American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 336. Suggested Analysis and Design Procedures for Combined
Footings and Mats. Detroit, MI: American Concrete Institute, 1988.
7. Beer, Ferdinand P. and E. Russell Johnson. Mechanics of Materials. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.
8. Bowles, Joseph E. Foundation Analysis and Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Fifth Edition
9. Nilson, Arthur H and George Winter. Design of Concrete Structures. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. Tenth
Edition
10. Ghosh, S. K., David Anthony. Fanella, and Basile G. Rabbat. Notes on ACI 318-95, building code requirements for
structural concrete: with design applications. Skokie, IL: Portland Cement Association. 1996.
11. Peck, Ralph B., Walter E. Hanson, and Thomas H. Thornburn. Foundation Engineering. New York, etc.: John
Wiley and Sons, 1974. Second Edition
12. Wang, Chu-Kia and Charles G. Salmon. Reinforced Concrete Design. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Fourth
Edition
13. Concrete Reinforced Steel Institute. CRSI Design Handbook, 2002: Based Upon the 1999 ACI Building Code.
Schaumburg, IL: Concrete Reinforced Steel Institute, 2002.

Technical Notes: BS8110
5
In the design of a structure a great number of decisions must be made. What is acceptable to one engineer may
not be acceptable to another. It is crucial that the user understands the decisions and assumptions being made
by the RAM Foundation module. If these are not appropriate for the specific conditions of a particular building,
the user should augment or replace the results from RAM Foundation with those of some other tool.
The purpose of the Technical Notes for BS8110 is to explain the assumptions and methodology of the RAM
Foundation module as they relate to foundation design per BS8110. This section will address the differences
between the ACI318 and BS8110 design. General topics related to the design will not be duplicated in this
section. Every effort has been made to include a discussion of significant decisions and assumptions made by the
program. Generally, if there is any question as to how the RAM Foundation module handles a particular
condition, a small model can be quickly created and analyzed, and the results verified with hand calculations.
The RAM Foundation module has been extensively tested and used. It is impossible, however, to anticipate every
possible configuration that could be encountered by the program. Ultimately the engineer is responsible for the
safety and adequacy of the design of the building's foundation.
5.1 Building Codes

The implementation of BS8110 incorporates relevant foundation design topics from BS8110 Part 1 & 2. Unless
otherwise noted, all references are to BS8110: Part 1: 1997. The BS8110 concrete load combinations have been
developed using BS8110: Part 1, Table 2.1. The soil load combinations have been developed using what is
considered to be standard practice in the UK.
5.2 Concrete Design Code

RAM Foundation is based on the requirements of the concrete design specifications published by the British
Standards Institute in BS8110: Part 1: 1997. The implementation of the sections of the code accounting for the
design of concrete spread and continuous footings are subjected to certain assumptions and limitations as
outlined in the Technical notes for BS8110.
Except as noted, the modeling, input and design process is the same as or similar to that implemented for the ACI
code. One significant change in the design process is that the flexure reinforcement is designed before the shear
capacity is checked. This takes advantage of the allowance in BS8110 to increase the concrete shear capacity
based on the provided flexural reinforcement.

Table of Symbols
5.3 Table of Symbols

The following table summarizes the notation and symbols used within the RAM Foundation manual in reference
to the BS8110 design code.
Symbol Description
As Area of tensile reinforcement.
Av Shear Reinforcing steel area.
Mn Nominal moment capacity of concrete section
Mu Factored ultimate moment on section
P Total factored load on column for each load case. P includes column self weight. When
checking acceptable soil stress capacity the concrete footing's self weight is also
included.
Vu Shear force on Footing (kN).
Vn Nominal shear capacity (kN).
Vs Shear reinforcement capacity (kN).
Vc Concrete section shear capacity (kN).
b Length of critical section
bo Perimeter length of critical section
d Distance from the top of compression surface to center of the flexure reinforcement
perpendicular to that direction of the shear plane
db Reinforcement bar diameter
fcu Characteristic cube strength of concrete at 28 days (N/mm2 ).
fct Average splitting tensile strength of lightweight aggregate concrete (psi units).
fy Characteristic yield strength of steel
h Total section thickness or depth
ld Reinforcement development length (This is specified in the Code as l)
β Reinforcement development length factor from BS8110: Part 1: 1997, Table 3.26
qs Calculated soil stress

Sign Conventions
Symbol Description
s Shear Reinforcement spacing
w1,w2 Overhang distance to the bottom and top of the column when the footing major axis is
parallel to the model x-axis
γm_s Ultimate Limit Safety factor from Table 2.2 (1.25).
δc Actual Concrete Density used in footing (kg/m3 )
hagg Aggregate maximum size - Fixed to 20mm
w Supported column width in direction of continuous footing
5.4 Sign Conventions

Please refer to the comparable Chapter 4 ACI section for a discussion of this topic.
5.5 Soil Capacity

5.6 Reduced Base Plate Dimension

5.7 Concrete Modulus of Elasticity

The Concrete Modulus of Elasticity is calculated using BS8110: Part 2, Section 7.2 for concrete weight between
2,160 and 2,480 kg/m 3.
Ec = 20 + 0.2 f cu (kN/mm2) Equation 5-1
For lightweight aggregate concrete Ec is multiplied by ( δC

2, 400
)2

5.8 Analysis of Spread Footings for Soil Pressure

5.9 Analysis of Continuous Footings for Soil Pressure

5.10 Analysis of Spread Footing for Stability

5.11.1 Beam Shear Capacity

Beam shear or one-way shear capacity is taken at a distance of from the column face or the reduced base plate
edge. The value d is taken as the smaller of the reinforcement depth for the top and bottom flexure bars for the
given direction.
The shear capacity is calculated using:
V c = 0.79 ( bd
) ( ) d ( )
100As 1/3 400 1/4 1
γm_s
f cu
25
bd
BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.8, Note 2
V c ≤ 0.8 f cu ≤ 5N/mm2
For light-weight concrete Vc is multiplied by 0.8 per BS8110: Part 2, Section 5.4. Also, the shear is checked at the
face of the column to see if it is less then the lower of 0.8 f cu or 5 N/mm2. If it is, the concrete shear capacity is
enhanced per BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.4.5.8 for the critical section at d( BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.4.5.10). The
shear is also checked at 2d to make sure it is less then Vc calculated from BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.8.
In this case d is calculated from the footing clear cover and provided reinforcement diameter to give the effective
depth. The flexure reinforcement parallel to the footing's larger dimension is taken to be the closest to the
footing bottom. If the footing is a square then the reinforcement parallel to the major axis of the footing column
is considered to be the closest to the footing bottom.

Due to the flexural reinforcement effect on the concrete shear capacity the shear check on the footing is
performed after the flexural steel has been designed.
The ultimate applied shear Vu on the section is the total soil stress under the footing for the shear section under
consideration. If there is any part of the critical shear area in tension, the program checks to see if the shear from
the uplift portion of the footing using the footing slab self weight and surcharge controls the value of Vu.
In the case of spread footings, the RAM Foundation module will not calculate shear reinforcement, so for the
spread footing to be acceptable in beam shear, the following must be satisfied:
Vc ≥ Vu BS8110: Part 1, Equation 3 (modified)

5.11.2 Two-Way Shear Capacity

Two-way shear, or punching shear, is taken for a section that is a distance of 1.5d (BS8110: Part 1, Section
3.7.7.6) from the edge of the concrete column (or modified base plate dimensions). It is also checked at the
column face to be the lesser of
{ }
0.8 f cu
and
5N/mm 2
bo d
The shear capacity is calculated using the same equation in BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.8, Note 2 with b substituted
for bo - the perimeter length of the critical section.
Figure 37: Two-Way Shear Critical Section
The ultimate applied shear Vu on the critical section is calculated as:
( )
P(Column Load) + Equation 5-2
Self Weight of Critical Section +
Vu =
Factored Surcharge on Critical Section +
Soil Stress Under Critical Section
Note: A two-way shear check is done assuming an “interior” column that is far from any slab edges. If the
supported column is close enough to the footing edge or corner, the user will need to do supplemental checks to
confirm that the footing capacity is acceptable.
5.11.3 Flexural Capacity

The Flexure or moment capacity of the footing is taken at column edge (or modified base plate edge. The
Flexural capacity of the footing is:

fy Equation 5-3
M n = As 1.05 z
where
z = d - 0.45x
0.111d ≤ x = 0.95 As f y d
0.444 f cu b0.9
≤ 2
Equation 5-4
The area of flexure reinforcement As is subject to the following limits:

As, min≥ 0.0024bh for fy = 250N/mm2 BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.25 Part c
As, min≥ 0.0013bh for fy = 460N/mm2 BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.25 Part c
As, min≥ 0.0013bh for all other values of fy
The reinforcement spacing is also limited to
Smax≤ 3d ≤ 750mm BS8110: Part 1, 3.12.11.2.7 limited by clause b
Smin> (hagg + 20)/dd+ dd BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.12.11.1
Note: hagg is taken as 20 mm. If the minimum reinforcement spacing needs to be larger to accommodate
constructability related issues then the user will need to set a larger minimum spacing in the Reinforcement tab
of the Design Criteria dialog box.
The ultimate moment on the footing is taken as the moment produced from the total soil stress on one side of
the column times the distance from the centroid of the soil stress to the critical section. If there is any part of the
critical shear area in tension, the program checks to see if the moment from the uplift portion of the footing
using the footing slab self weight and surcharge controls the value of Mu.
The flexure capacity of the footing is considered to be acceptable when adequate reinforcement is provided in
the footing to satisfy Equation 4-19 on all sides of the column.
Mn≥ Mu Equation 5-5
Figure 38: Flexure Critical Sections for Major Moment

Figure 39: Flexure Critical Sections for Minor Moment
5.11.4 Reinforcement Development Length

The reinforcement development length is calculated per 3.12.8.4:
fy BS8110: Part 1, Equation 48 and Table 3.27
ld ≥ db
4.2β f cu
For lightweight concrete the development length above is increased by 20% per BS8110 : Part 2, Section 5.9.
5.11.5 Flexural Reinforcement Capacity

If the full development length of the reinforcement bars cannot be satisfied due to the footing's dimension the
bar capacity is reduced by increasing the required flexure reinforcement area up to a maximum of 50%. The
increase is calculated as:
Required Development Length
Provided Development Length
≤ 1.50
The required reinforcement area is increased to account for the reduction in capacity due to the reduced
development length. The provided reinforcement ratio is based on the reinforcement area before it is modified
to account for the development length. The area of reinforcement is increased regardless of whether it is
required for temperature/shrinkage or to satisfy flexure capacity requirements. The reinforcement area is only
increased if the provided development length can be larger than ½ the required development length.
5.11.6 Reinforcement Distribution in Column Band

3w 9d
When lc > 4
+ 4
two-thirds of the required reinforcement will be concentrated within a column zone as
defined in BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.11.3.2.

Structual Design of Continuous Footings
5.12 Structual Design of Continuous Footings
5.12.1 Beam Shear Capacity

The footing beam shear capacity is only checked for beam shear perpendicular to the continuous footing major
direction. The shear is checked at all locations along the footing up to a distance of d from either side of the
supported column or wall. The shear is also checked at the column or wall face so the concrete shear capacity at
d can be properly calculated.
The shear on the footing is recovered from the Finite Element analysis on the beam elements.
The Section shear capacity is calculated using the method outlined in "Beam Shear Capacity" for Spread
Footings.
Unlike spread footings, continuous footings can have shear reinforcement. The required shear reinforcement is
calculated as indicated below:
The Nominal shear capacity is defined as:
Vn = Vc+ Vs
Shear reinforcement is taken to be provided by reinforcement stirrups with a user-defined number of vertical
legs. There are no minimum reinforcement limits enforced per BS8110.
Shear reinforcement capacity is calculated as:
Av f y d Section 6.3.1 in Reference #4
Vs = 1.05s
which is limited by:

V s ≤ 0.8 f cu ≤ 5 N/mm2 BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.4.5.2
Shear reinforcement spacing limits:

smax > (hagg + 20)/db + db BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.12.11.1
smax ≤ 3/4d BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.4.5.5
Where the required shear capacity is more then half the concrete shear capacity Vc shear reinforcement is
provided per BS8110: Part 1, Table 3.7.
5.12.2 Two-Way Shear Capacity

The calculation for two-way shear on continuous footings is similar to the calculations for spread footings and is
performed for each column and wall on the footing.
The calculation of the controlling design shear is calculated as follows:

(
V u_x = V t_x 1 +
1.5M umaj
V t_x Cmin ) BS8110: Part 1, Equation 25
(
V u_y = V t_y 1 +
1.5M umin
V t_y Cmaj )
Vu = min(Vu_x, Vu_y) BS8110: Part 1, Section 3.7.6.2, Note 2
where
Vt = Design Shear at column face
Mumaj = Design moment transferred from the slab to the column at the
connection in the major direction
Cmaj = Length of the side of the perimeter considered parallel to the axis of
bending. Major side for bending in minor direction
Mumin = Design moment transferred from the slab to the column at the
connection in the minor direction
Cmin = Length of the side of the perimeter considered parallel to the axis of
bending. Minor side for bending in major direction
Note: A two-way shear check is carried out assuming an “interior” column that is far from any slab edges. If the
supported column is close enough to the footing edge or corner, the user will need to do supplemental checks to
confirm that the footing capacity is acceptable.
The correction for the soil reaction below the column or wall is not performed for continuous footings. This will
produce a slightly more conservative design for continuous footings as compared to the spread footings. As with
spread footing, the continuous footing check is performed assuming that the column is in the center of the slab.
Edge and corner two-way shear checks are not currently performed.
Two-Way shear checks are performed slightly differently for different supported elements. The special
conditions are handled as follows:
Columns At The End Of Walls

Checks are made for the wall and end columns individually using each member's forces.
Braces And Column Forces

Columns with braces framing into them are checked as one member. As the brace and column forces are
combined the two-way shear check is performed using the column dimensions.
No two-way shear check is performed in the case where the brace is directly supported on the foundation
without a column at the same location. This is due to a lack of information regarding the connection of the brace
to the foundation.
Brace Framing Into A Wall

In this case only the shear wall is checked using only the shear wall forces. Even though the brace forces are used
for the analysis and design of the footing the two-way shear check cannot be performed due to a lack of
information regarding the connection of the brace to the wall and required size of the brace's effective area on
the foundation.

Partial Walls
In the case where a partial wall frames into a column the larger of the two members is used to define the
perimeter of member and the combined load of the partial wall and column are used for the two-way shear
check.
In the case where the partial wall does not frame into a column the two-way shear check that is performed will
be on the partial wall only.
In both cases it is possible that the two-way shear check will be un-conservative because the supported
members may be an edge member but it will only be checked as an internal member.
5.12.3 Flexure Capacity

The continuous footing flexure capacity is calculated in the same manner as the spread footing. The flexure
capacity of the footing is checked from face of column to face of adjacent column or edge of slab.
The required flexure capacity for a section perpendicular to the footing's major axis is recovered from the Finite
Element analysis on the beam elements.
The required flexure capacity for a section perpendicular to the footing's major axis is calculated by defining
effective transverse design strips. The column design strips are defined as follows:
For columns remote from the footing ends: The column strips are calculated as 3 w/4 + 9d/4on either side
of the column center line.
For columns at the ends of the footing another check needs to be considered: 3 w/4 + c
The effective width is taken as the sum of the minimum values of the equations above for either side of the
column.
where
w = Column Width parallel to footing local major direction
c = Distance from column face to footing end
d = Depth of footing from top surface to centerline of flexural reinforcement
parallel to the footing minor axis direction.

Figure 40: Continuous Footing Section Locations for Transverse Flexure Reinforcement
The total soil stress under the critical section B' is then recovered from the spring forces. The required moment
capacity for the column for transverse reinforcement is calculated as:
Moment arm: L' = w1 - w & w2 - w

Total Spring Force
Total Force on section: qult =
B × B′
q
ult( L ′ )
2
Moment Capacity: M u = 2
The process is repeated for all columns and all the regions between columns.
The continuous footing's provided flexure capacity is calculated using the same method outlined in “Flexure
Capacity” for Spread footings.
The same method is used for areas between adjacent column effective width areas. In both the column effective
width areas and the areas in between, if there is any part of the critical area in tension, the program checks to
see if the load on the uplift portion of the footing using the footing slab self weight and surcharge controls the
value of Mu.
Note: The footing is analyzed for moments in the columns producing moments along the continuous footing
major axis. The moments on the columns that produce moments along the continuous footing minor axis are not
considered in the analysis. If it is found by the engineer that the footing minor axis moments are significant, they
will need to be considered separately by the engineer for footing overturning stability and flexural capacity of
the transverse reinforcement.


The footing dimensions are calculated using a heuristic approach. The first trial section is sized using the user
defined minimum footing dimension from the Optimization Criteria dialog box. If any of the dimensions are
defined as fixed dimensions in the Assign Spread Footing Geometry dialog box then they are used. Once the
footing has been dimensioned it is checked for soil stress capacity, flexure capacity on all four sides of the
footing, one-way shear capacity on all four sides of the footing and two-way shear. The flexure reinforcement is
designed before the footing shear is checked so that the reinforcement area can be used in calculating the
section shear capacity.
If any of the checks fail, the appropriate dimensions of the footing are increased and the footing is rechecked.
The dimensions that can be increased according to the Assign Spread Footing Geometry dialog box are increased
using the increment values defined in the Optimization Criteria dialog box.
When the footing is found to pass all the checks mentioned above, a final check is performed using the optimized
reinforcement diameters to properly account for the reinforcement depth.

The reinforcement selection required to resist flexure in a footing is performed according to the user-defined
criteria on the Reinforcement Selection tab of the Design Criteria dialog box. The final optimized reinforcement
selection will always adhere to all BS8110 code and related document limits regarding reinforcement spacing,
reinforcement area ratios and development length.
From the list of the acceptable flexure reinforcement sets (quantity and size of bars) the best-fit set is selected
given the user's preference. In the selection of the best fit reinforcement set, the optimization method does make
provisions for sets that may have very similar optimization limits. For example when optimizing for minimum
reinforcement area if the following two bar sets, 10-T20's (3142 mm2) and 40-T10's (3140 mm2), were both
found to be acceptable, the 10-T20's would be selected as the optimum reinforcement over the 40-T10's (Using
notation from BS 8666:2000 Specification for scheduling, dimensioning, bending and cutting of steel
reinforcement for concrete).
If the option "Keep all bars in Layer the same" is selected on the Reinforcement Selection tab of the Design
Criteria dialog box, the reinforcement parallel to both the major and minor axis will be considered in finding the
optimum reinforcement. Note that a Layer contains both the Length and Width direction reinforcement for
flexure in a given direction. This is performed independently for the reinforcement at the bottom of the footing
and at the top of the footing.

Continuous Footing Optimization
Figure 41: Typical Spread Footing Reinforcement Layout
5.14 Continuous Footing Optimization

Continuous footings are currently optimized for the footing thickness and overhangs on either end of the footing,
parallel to the footing's major axis. The footing width parallel to the footing's minor axis is not currently
optimized. The dimension optimization is also heuristic and similar in concept to the spread footing.
Thickness is controlled by punching shear and beam shear only when adequate shear reinforcement cannot be
found. Footing plan dimensions are controlled by soil stress.
Note: It is the user's responsibility to check for overturning safety factor of continuous foundations as the value
is not calculated or reported.

Flexure The flexure reinforcement is selected using the same concepts as the spread footing.
Reinforcement However, due to the nature of continuous footing design, transverse reinforcement is
permitted to be a different size from the longitudinal reinforcement. The Longitudinal Top
bar segments are taken between columns. The Longitudinal Bottom bar segments are taken
centered at the column and continuing to the center of each span as required. If a minimum
moment is found to be in the middle third of a span it will be used rather then the span's
midpoint. Transverse reinforcement segments are taken at column segments, which have

the width B' indicated in Section 5.11.3, Flexure Capacity for Continuous Footings. The
center span transverse segments are taken between column segments.
Shear For shear reinforcement the footing span between columns is divided into between 3 to 5
Reinforcement segments depending on the length of the segments. If two adjacent segments are found to
be too small to practically change the shear reinforcement, the sections are merged.
The cantilevers at either end of the footing are divided into a maximum of 3 segments.
Figure 42: Typical Continuous Footing Reinforcement Detailing
5.15 Analysis and Design of Pile Cap Foundations

This chapter identifies the design methods that are unique to the pile cap design. Where the design method for
spread and pile cap design are similar the corresponding section in the RAM Foundation Technical Notes chapter
4 will be referenced.
Please refer to the Pile Cap Technical Notes for ACI 318 for the discussion on the Loading on Pile Cap, Pile Cap
Analysis and Pile Capacity Checks.
5.15.1 Concrete Design Code

The design method used for the pile caps relies heavily on the BS8110 97 code. In some cases the BS8110 97
code does not provide adequate guidance on the design of pile caps so in those cases the following sources were
used to supplement the design:
Ray, S.S. Reinforced Concrete Analysis and Design. Chapter 7, “Design of Piled Foundations”. Blackwell. 1995
Allen, A.H. Reinforced Concrete Design to BS 8110 Simply Explained. Spon Press Publication.

5.15.2 Initial Pile Cap Thickness

In the interest of speed the design starts by assuming a pile cap thickness.
This initial thickness is dependent on the pile cap configuration.
• For 3, 4 and 5 pile groups the thickness is equal to the ½ pile spacing + pile embedment depth.
• For all other pile configurations the initial thickness is equal to the pile spacing.
5.15.3 Beam Shear

Beam shear critical section is taken at dp/5 from inside edge of row of piles closest to column face. All piles
outside of this area are considered in calculating the required shear capacity. If the distance from face of column
to shear critical section is greater than 1.5d then shear enhancement is not permitted. Where shear
enhancement is allowed if the pile spacing is greater than 3dp, the shear enhancement is only applied to a strip
equal 3dp to centered on each pile. (Chapter 7 - Design of Pile Foundations p313)
ΣP pu
V = bd
≤ vc orvc1 if enhancement is applicable
where
ΣPpu = Sum of all pile reactions at ultimate loading on left of section
d = average effective depth of critical section
b = critical section width
Enhanced concrete capacity:
vc1 = vc ( ) ≤ 0.8
2d
av
f cu or5N/mm2
vc ≤ 0.8 f cu or5N/mm2
dp/5
av Critical Sect.
Figure 43: Shear Critical Section location

5.15.4 Column Two-Way Shear

A two-way shear check is performed on the supported column. The column two-way shear critical section is
taken a distance of dp/5 from the inside edge of the row of piles closest to the column face (See Figure 9). If the
pile spacing is 3dp or less then the check is not required.
5.15.5 Single and Double Pile Two-Way Shear

Please refer to sections 4.16.8 and 4.16.9 for a discussion on the two-way shear check performed on single and
double piles. The pile two-way shear critical section is taken at 1.5d + 6dp /10
The capacity check that is performed is:
v=
P
Ud
≤ vc min { 0.8 f cu
5N/mm2
where
U = Critical perimeter around the single or double piles.
5.15.6 Flexural Design

Beam Theory
When a pile cap on top of a group of 5 or more piles is designed, beam theory is used to calculate the flexural
moment and required reinforcement. The design of the flexural reinforcement used to resist the moments in the
pile cap is outlined in Section 5.12.3. The pile axial forces replace the soil stress when calculating the force
inducing the moment at the column face. The centroid of the force is calculated based on the effective centroid of
the pile axial loads. The moment is taken as the distance from the pile force centroid to the column face + the
maximum construction tolerance. This helps account for construction tolerances in the location of the piles or
the column.
Top reinforcement is only provided if at least one pile is in tension.
Note:
1. Reinforcement is considered hooked and therefore development length is not considered.
2. 3.11.3.2 of BS 8110: Part 1: 1997 - Distribution of Reinforcement is not implemented for pile caps.
Truss Theory
In the case of pile caps on 3, 4 and 5 pile groups it has been found that the pile cap behaves more like a truss than
a beam. This truss behavior produces a tension force at the bottom of the pile cap that must be resisted by the
reinforcement. Using the equations outlined in By A.H. Allen:

Piles in Group Tension force across pile cap with column size taken into account
3 Pu
(
T maj = 2 18ld 2l 2 − b 2 )
T min =
Pu
36ld
(4l 2
+ b 2 − 3a 2 )
4 Pu
(
T maj = 2 24ld 3l 2 − b 2 )
Pu
T min = 2 24ld (3l 2
−a )
2
5 Pu
(
T maj = 2 30ld 3l 2 − b 2 )
Pu
T min = 2 30ld (3l 2
−a )
2
T
The required tension reinforcement is calculated as As = 0.95 f y
In the case where there is moment and shear in addition to the column axial load, the value for Pu is calculated
as the largest axial load in a pile multiplied by the total number of piles under the pile cap.
Bar spacing for the truss method are similar to flexural reinforcement as outlined in the Technical Notes section
5.5.4.
Note: Reinforcement is considered hooked and therefore development length is not considered.
Side Reinforcement
Side reinforcement is provided as 25% of the main tension reinforcement area based on the larger area of the
bottom length and width directions during the optimization process. However, the provided side reinforcement
is not checked during the design check because guidelines for side reinforcement are not provided in BS8110.
Rather, the guidelines are adopted from page 191 of Reinforced Concrete Design to BS 8110 Simply Explained by
A.H. Allen.
5.15.7 Example 1 Truss Theory - Pile Cap Design Verification

This example is taken from Reinforced Concrete Design to BS 8110 Simply Explained page 189, Example 16.4.
Pile/Pile Cap Parameters

Pile Diameter, dp= 450mm
Column Loads:
Pservice = 1750 kN
Pu = 2800 kN
Column Dimensions, a = 500mm, b = 500mm

Concrete Strength, f'c= 35 N/mm2

Reinforcing Steel Strength, fy= 460 N/mm2
Pile Embedment into Cap = 35mm
Concrete Clear Cover = 40mm
Pile Spacing = 3dp = 1350mm
Pile Edge distance = 150 + dp/2 = 375mm
Assume total depth = Pile Spacing / 2 + Pile Embedment + Concrete Cover = 1350 / 2 + 35 + 40 = 750mm
Average Bar Depth d = 650mm
Figure 44: Pile Cap Configuration
Tension Reinforcement - Using Truss Theory

For a 4 pile - pile cap:
Pu
(
As = 2 24ld 3l 2 − b 2 ) 1
0.95 f y
2, 800(10)3 1
As = 2 24(1, 350)(650)
3(1, 350)2 − 5002 0.95(450)
= 2, 345mm2 in each direction
2-Way Column Shear Check

Vu = 2,800 kN
V c = 0.8 35(4)(500)(650) = 6, 152kN > V u , OK
Beam Shear
Vu = 2,800 / 2 = 1,400 kN
av = 675 - 250 - 225 + 460/5 = 292 mm

References
100As 100(3, 245)

bd
= 2, 100(650)
= 0.24
vc = 0.40(35/25)1/3 = 0.45 per BS8110-97 Table 3.8

Shear Enhancement = 2d/av = 1,300/290 = 4.48
Vc = 0.45(4.48)(2,100)(650) = 2,571 kN > Vu, OK
Alternative Design Using Beam Theory

If this footing had more than 5 piles, the following procedure would have been followed:
Flexure
Bending moment at column face = 1,400(675 - 250)/1,000 = 595 kN-m
M 595(10)6
2
= = 0.67
bd 2, 100(650)2
100As 100(2, 400)

bd
= 2, 100(650)
= 0.176
Try As = 2,400 mm2

Note that the required reinforcement is much less than with the truss theory.
Shear
Shear capacity based on flexural reinforcement based on truss theory.

100As 100(2, 400)
bd
= 2, 100(650)
= 0.176
vc = 0.35(35/25)1/3 = 0.39 per BS8110-97 Table 3.8

Vc = 0.39(4.48)(2,100)(650) = 2,385 kN > Vu, OK
Note the shear capacity is less due to the smaller flexural reinforcement when compared to the truss method
tension reinforcement.
5.16 References
1. British Standards Institute. Structural use of concrete: part 1: code of practice for design and construction.
London: BSI. 1997.
2. British Standards Institute. Structural use of concrete: part 2: code of practice for special circumstances.
London: BSI. 1997.
3. Reynolds, C. E., and J. C. Steedman. Reinforced Concrete Designers Handbook. New York: E. & F.N. Spon. Tenth
Edition. 1988
4. Reynolds, C. E., and J. C. Steedman. Examples of the Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings to BS8110. New
York: E. & F.N. Spon. Fourth Edition. 1992
5. Ray, S. S. Reinforced concrete: analysis and design. Oxford: Blackwell Science. 1995. Chapter 7, Design of Piled
Foundations
6. Beer, Ferdinand P. and E. Russell Johnson. Mechanics of Materials. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.

References
7. Bowles, Joseph E. Foundation Analysis and Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Fifth Edition
8. Nilson, Arthur H and George Winter. Design of Concrete Structures. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. Tenth
Edition
9. Peck, Ralph B., Walter E. Hanson, and Thomas H. Thornburn. Foundation Engineering. New York, etc.: John
Wiley and Sons, 1974. Second Edition
10. Wang, Chu-Kia and Charles G. Salmon. Reinforced Concrete Design. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Fourth
Edition
11. Allen, A.H. Reinforced Concrete Design to BS 8110: Simply Explained. London: E. & F.N. Spon. 2001.

Technical Notes: CP 65
6
The CP 65 implementation in RAM Foundation conforms to CP 65-1:1996 "Code of practice for structural use of
concrete - Part 1: Design and construction". This code is hereafter referred to simply as CP 65.
Given that the CP 65 design code is virtually identical to BS 8110-1:1997, with the exceptions of the differences
described in the following section, the implementation of CP 65 in RAM Foundation is identical to that of BS
8110 and the technical details related to BS 8110 can be taken to apply to CP 65.
6.1 Differences between BS8110 and CP65

The following are the technical differences between the implementation of CP 65 and BS 8110 in RAM
Foundation
1. In CP 65, the concrete shear capacity without shear reinforcement (vc) given in Table 3.9 differs from that in
BS 8110.
2. In CP 65, the minimum allowable concrete strength in structural concrete is 30N/mm² as opposed to
25N/mm² in BS 8110.
3. It should also be noted that the partial safety factor for reinforcement γm is 1.15 in CP 65 which is equal to
that used in BS 8110-1:1997 Amendment 3.

RAM Foundation Reports
7
There have been a number of additions and improvements to the foundation reports. The most significant is that
the spread footing report now includes the code section used to calculate the flexural and shear capacities of the
footing. Additionally, the Foundation Loads report has been renamed Load Case Forces and a Load Combination
Forces report has been added for all foundations.
Load Combination This report can be used to determine the exact values used in the analysis of the
Member Forces specific foundation type. It reports the evaluated load combination member forces for
all the members on a foundation. If the foundation has been designed the report will
also include the factored forces on the foundation for the concrete self-weight and
surcharge.
RAM Foundation output is designed to provide the engineer with all necessary data for
the review of calculations for spread and continuous foundation analysis and design.
The reports have been designed to duplicate the information provided in hand
calculations. The reports also provide the required information for detailing the
footings.
Below is a summary of the reports available in RAM Foundation module. A more
complete explanation of RAM Foundation output follows.
Foundation Model A list of all the model and user assigned information for each spread and continuous
Data footing in the model. This includes footing geometry, material properties and
supported column, brace and wall information.
Criteria A list of the currently specified foundation design criteria and soil definitions.
Load Combinations A list of all of the concrete, soil and user defined load combinations. Including the
parameters used for the generated load combinations.
Material Take Off A material take off of all the designed spread and continuous footings in the model.
Information includes concrete volume and reinforcement count and weight.
Spread Footing A one-page report showing all of the pertinent information used in and generated by
Design the spread footing design.
Spread Footing A list of the basic design information for all designed spread footings in the model. This
Design Summary report includes the information required to detail and do cost estimates for spread
footings.
Continuous A one or two page report showing all of the pertinent information used in and
Foundation Design generated by the continuous footing design.
Continuous A report of the required and provided capacities on the continuous footing for
Foundation Design moments and shears along the footing. The report includes required reinforcement at
Envelope

Spread Footing Design Summary
all report locations along the footing in both the longitudinal and transverse directions.
Punching shear is also reported for each supported member.
7.1 Spread Footing Design Summary

The purpose of the report is to provide a summary of the spread footing designs for detailing, scheduling on the
construction drawings and cost estimating.
Orientation Col / This is the Column and Footing orientation relative to the Global x-axis.
Footing
Length/Width If the distances from the column to the footing edges - l1, l2, and w1, w2 are the same
then the total dimension is displayed. Otherwise the total as well as the individual
dimensions are displayed.
f'c/fy The concrete compression stress capacity and the reinforcement steel stress capacity.
Reinforcement The required reinforcement Parallel to the given direction is reported. If Top
reinforcement is not required "None" is reported. If reinforcement is required in the
center strip for a rectangular footing, it is reported next to the total number of bars for
that direction. The bars reported in the strip indicate the number of bars from the total
that need to be located in the strip and are NOT the number of bars required in addition
to the reported total.
7.2 Spread Footing Design

The Design report is set up to produce the information required for provided design backup documentation as
well as the information required for detailing the footing.
7.2.1 Footing Design

This section is the design summary for the footing providing the footing dimensions, required reinforcement and
material properties.
Length/Width If the distances from the column to the footing edges - l1, l2, w1 and w2 are the same then
the total dimension is displayed. Otherwise the total as well as the individual dimensions
are displayed.
Overturning Refer to the Technical Chapter for an explanation of how the Overturning Safety Factors is
Safety Factors calculated. The number next to the Overturning Safety Factors is the controlling soil load
case that produces the factor.
Reinforcement If the footing is a rectangle and a concentration of reinforcement is required in the center
strip for bars perpendicular to the long direction of the footing, the number of bars in the
strip will be reported after the total number of bars in that direction. The bars reported in

Spread Footing Design
the strip indicate the number of bars from the total that need to be located in the strip and
are NOT the number of bars required in addition to the reported total.
7.2.2 Loads
The surcharge and column loads on the footing are reported for gravity columns. For Lateral columns, only the
surcharge loads are reported and the user is directed to the Foundation Loads Report for the load on the
supported column.
7.2.3 Concrete Capacity

The Required values are the factored forces that need to be resisted by the footing. The load case numbers are
the concrete load case numbers that produced the controlling Required force or moment.
The Provided values are the factored footing capacities.
7.2.4 Reinforcement
This section contains the pertinent information for the reinforcement in the footing. Top reinforcement is only
reported if required for the footing.
Required Steel/ The required steel may be controlled by either the moment at the critical section or the
Provided Steel minimum code required/user defined flexure reinforcement.
Bar Spacing This is the actual center to center bar spacing using the footing dimension minus the
cover on each side.
Bar Depth The bar depth is the depth of the bar centers from the compression face of the footing.
This value takes into account the bar diameter and concrete cover.
7.2.5 Soil Capacity

Allowable Soil Bearing The soil bearing capacity. If a soil table was assigned to the footing then the reported
Capacity value is the interpolated soil capacity given the footing minimum plan dimension
and depth.
Max Soil Bearing for The maximum soil bearing stress used in factored design. The load combo value is
Factored Design the concrete load combination that produced the given value.
Max Average Soil The maximum average soil bearing stress used in factored design. The value is total
Bearing for Factored stress on the soil divided buy the total area under the footing that is in compression.
Design The load combo value is the concrete load combination that produced the given
value.

Pile Load Combination Forces
Max Unfactored Soil The maximum soil bearing stress used for the soil capacity checks.
Bearing
Max Average The maximum average unfactored soil bearing stress. The value is total stress on the
Unfactored Soil soil divided buy the total area under the footing that is in compression. Note that the
Bearing Average value may be from a different load combination then the Max Unfactored
Soil Bearing.
7.3 Pile Load Combination Forces

This report provides the pile forces for all load combinations used in the design. It can be used to check the Pile
cap analysis and design.
The same H and V notation used to locate the piles in the Pile Cap Footing Design report is also used in this
report.
7.4 Pile Footing Design Summary

This report is also very similar to the spread footing report. For the BS8110 design the side reinforcement is not
included in this report.
7.5 Pile Footing Design

This report is similar to the spread footing design report with minor changes made to accommodate the specifics
of a pile cap design. The section on pile cap two-way shear is only included in the report if it was performed. In
most pile caps the thickness relative to the pile spacing is too large to require the pile two-way shear check.
Please see the Technical Notes below for additional information.
The notation used to locate the piles is H and V. This is the Horizontal and Vertical location of the piles from the
center of the supported column. The Horizontal direction is taken as the direction parallel to the pile cap major
direction (direction of pile cap arrow) and the Vertical direction is taken as the direction parallel to the pile cap
minor direction.
7.6 Material Take Off

The material take off report can be used in cost estimating and design comparisons. The material take off reports
are separated by footing size, material capacity and footing type. The totals for both spread and continuous
footings are reported at the end of the report.

Load Combinations
7.6.1 Concrete
Size This is the footing size reported as Length x Width x Thickness.
Volume The concrete volume is the gross volume of the footing neglecting the volume of concrete that is
displaced by the reinforcement in the footing.
Weight The weight is the total volume multiplied by the user-defined density for the concrete.
7.6.2 Reinforcement
Quantity The total number of bars used for the given grade and size of reinforcement.
Length The total length of all the bars used for the given grade and size of reinforcement. The bar length
includes the bar development length but dose not include the hook length for bars with hooks.
Weight The weight of the reinforcement is calculated using the area of the reinforcement defined in the
Reinforcement Table and the density of steel used by the rest of the RAM Structural System
modules.

The load combination report is used to check the parameter used in generating the Concrete and Soil reports as
well as the list of load combinations used in checking the model.
The report contains all the data used to generate the combinations for the given code. The number next to each
combination will match the numbers in the Design Reports and the Load Combination dialog boxes.
7.8 Load Combination Forces

This report can be used to find out the exact values used in the analysis of the specific foundation type. It reports
the evaluated load combination member forces for all the members on a foundation. If the foundation has been
designed the report will also include the factored forces on the foundation for the concrete self-weight and
surcharge.

General Comments on Reports
7.9 Load Case Forces

For each footing, this report is used to display the loads on the footing's supported members for all load case in
the model. If there is no Dead or Live loads in the model, they are automatically added to the model when
opened in RAM Foundation. This is to provide load factors for the Dead and Live surcharge loads. (The
automatically created dead and live loads will only be used in the RAM Foundation module. They will not be
active or used in any other module.)
All forces and moments are reported in relation to the footing's major and minor direction. So when checking
Foundation Load reports against RAM Frame and RAM Manager reports, it is important that the forces are
compared using a consistent coordinate system.
Torsion is not used in the RAM Foundation module and so it is not reported.
7.10 General Comments on Reports

The heading contains information about RAM Foundation and the model that the output represents. The Date
field is the time and date the report was generated.
All values that have unit dimensions have the units reported in brackets after the value description. The report
descriptions below are only provided where reports may require further description. Descriptions are not
provided for items that are self-explanatory.
7.11 Foundation Model Data

The Foundation Model report is the Data Echo for the Foundation Module. It provides all the assigned design
information for the Spread and Continuous footings.
7.11.1 Spread Footing's Geometry/Continuous Footing's Geometry

Angle Footing major axis angle in relation to the model global x-axis. An angle of 0.00 indicates that
the footing major axis is parallel to the global x-axis.
Length, These dimensions indicate the user defined upper limit on the footing dimension in the given
Width, direction. If (Max) is shown after the dimension, the value is the maximum permissible
Thickness dimension in the given direction. Therefore the footing can be optimized to any dimension
between the global minimum footing dimension and the Max dimension. If (Abs) is shown after
the dimension, the value is the fixed dimension in the given direction. The footing dimension
will not be optimized in the given direction.

Criteria
7.11.2 Spread Footing Material Properties / Continuous Footing Material

Properties
Concrete fct The cracked stress capacity of the concrete. If Normal Weight concrete was used or if no fct
value was defined then CODE will be displayed in this column indicating that fct was not
defined.
Density This is the concrete density that is used for both calculating the self-weight of the footing and
for selecting the proper design method in the concrete code.
Type NW indicates that the concrete was defined as Normal Weight.
LW indicates that the concrete was defined as Light Weight concrete.
Ec Concrete Modulus of Elasticity. CODE will be displayed if the user has selected to have the
RAM Foundation module calculate the value automatically otherwise the user defined value
will be displayed. See the Technical Notes chapter for more information on calculating the
Concrete Modulus of Elasticity - Ec.
Soil Cap or The Soil Compression Capacity will be reported if it was explicit defined for the footing
Table otherwise the name of the Soil Tables assigned to the footing will be reported.
7.11.3 Spread Footing's Supported Members / Continuous Footing's Supported

Members
Column Location This indicates the grid location of the column, if available. Otherwise, the column's
location is listed using the model global coordinate system.
Size If the supported member is a column its size will be reported, otherwise the type of
supported member is reported (e.g., brace, wall or partial wall).
Angle The angle of the supported member relative to the model coordinate system.
Base Plate The dimensions of the base plate under steel columns relative to the column major and
Dimensions minor directions. The Length is parallel to the major direction of the supported member.
Wall Location If the supported member is a wall its two end locations will be reported.
7.12 Criteria
The criteria report contains the parameters that were set in the Reinforcement Table, Design Criteria and
Optimization Criteria dialog boxes under the Criteria menu. Also reported are the defined Soil Types for the
model.

Continuous Foundation Design Envelope
7.12.1 Code
Code Used: User selected concrete design code. Also included are all of the optional code checks that the user
has requested to be included in the design.
7.12.2 Design Method

Clear Bar Spacing and If the user defines their own values instead of letting RAM Foundation use the code
Reinforcement Ratio: defined values, the values will only be used if they are also within the limits of the
code prescribed values. Code values will always be used as the design limits if the user
defined values that are not at least as stringent as the code prescribed values.
Clear Bar Cover: These dimensions are taken as the distance from the outside face of the flexure bars
or shear bars (if provided) to the concrete surface. The code values assume that the
concrete is exposed to soil and moisture.
7.12.3 Soil Definition

Fixed Capacities: A list of all of the fixed soil capacities that have been defined in the model.
Soil Tables: The list of all the user defined soil tables in the model. The list of Soil Tables may include
soil tables that have been defined in the model but have not been used.
Depth: The minimum depth used for the defined capacity and Soil Modulus of Subgrade Reaction
or Elastic Modulus.
Min Dimension: Only footings with minimum plan dimension greater then or equal to this value can use the
defined capacity and Elastic modulus.
Capacity: Maximum Soil compression capacity at the given Depth and Minimum Footing Dimension.
Elastic Modulus: The Soil Modulus of Subgrade Reaction or Elastic Modulus at the given Depth and Minimum
Footing Dimension.
7.13 Continuous Foundation Design Envelope

The report is configured to help in checking the continuous footing's design. The envelop information from the
analysis and design of the footing is shown for each report station along the footing in both the Longitudinal and
Transverse directions. The Positive Flexure force is resisted by top reinforcement and the Negative Flexure is
resisted by bottom reinforcement.

Continuous Foundation Design
The transverse moments are calculated using the spring forces for the given load combination and the width of
the footing on either side of the footing center line
The maximum stress at report stations are also provided with the load combination that produced the stress.
Location The locations are the reporting stations along the footing. Numbers in bold type are
locations under a supported member.
Mu The Required Factored Moment capacity at the station
Phi Mn The Provided Factored Moment capacity at the station.
As The Required Flexure or Shear reinforcement at the station
Vu The Required Factored Shear capacity at the station
Phi Vn The Provided Factored Shear capacity at the station.
Punching Shear Vu The Required Factored Punching Shear on the footing from the supported member.
Punching Shear Phi Vn The Provided Factored Punching Shear capacity of the footing under the supported
member
7.14 Continuous Foundation Design

The Design report is set up to provide the information required for provided design backup documentation as
well as the information required for detailing the footing. The moment and shear envelopes along the length of
the footing are reported in the Continuous Foundation Design Envelopes, due to the larger amount of
information required for continuous footing design.
7.14.1 Footing Design

Length/Width If the distances from the column to the footing edges - l1, l2, and w1, w2 are the same then
the total dimension is displayed. Otherwise the total as well as the individual dimensions
are displayed.
Footing The footing orientation in relation to the global x-axis. The angle is calculated between the
Orientation Global x-axis and a line from the first member on the footing to the last member assigned to
the footing by the user.
7.14.2 Reinforcement Layout

The continuous footing reinforcement layout is used to detail the footings. The Reinforcement Layout is
organized by Reinforcement Category (e.g. Top Longitudinal Flexure Reinforcement and Bottom Transverse
Flexure Reinforcement). The segments correspond to the segments shown in the Continuous Footing View/
Update dialog box. The Effective bar depths for all reinforcement categories are calculated using the maximum

actual bar diameters and the user defined cover. The depth dimensions are defined relative to the concrete
compression surface for the given reinforcement categories.
Longitudinal The Longitudinal bar segments are the reinforcement bars that are parallel to the length
Flexure of the continuous footing. The Start and Ends of the segments are reported without the
Reinforcement bars development length. The bars are assumed to have the center of their overlapped
Segment length (development length) at the Segment Start/End location. There for the actual bar
lengths are the segment lengths plus half the development length of the bar at the strait
ends of the bars. Note that the start of the first segment and the end of the last segment
are located at the start and end of the footing, this is done intentionally to permit the
engineer to define the location of the bars with proper consideration for the
construction method used.
Longitudinal The Bar End Condition for the Start and End of the bars are defined as "H" for Hooked
Flexure and "S" for Strait. The bar end conditions are defined by RAM Foundation, based on the
Reinforcement location of the bars in relation to the footing's ends.
Start/End
condition
Transverse Flexure The transverse reinforcement is the flexure reinforcement perpendicular to the
Reinforcement continuous footing length. If reinforcement is not required or not provided for a given
segment, the report will indicate a "Not Applicable" for that segment and Reinforcement
category. If there is no uplift on the continuous footing there will not be any Top
Transverse Reinforcement defined by RAM Foundation. It can however be defined by the
user and will consequently be reported.
Longitudinal Shear The Longitudinal Shear Reinforcement is the reinforcement required to resist "Beam
Reinforcement Shear" along the length of the footing. The only segments defined along the length are for
Segments locations where shear reinforcement may be required by code. There for, there are no
segments near the supported columns.
Cover The clear cover used for calculating the flexure reinforcement depth.
7.14.3 Concrete Capacity

The Concrete Capacity reports the required concrete capacities for the footing with the provided capacity from
the concrete and reinforcement. For each Concrete Capacity category the capacity value, corresponding concrete
load case and location of the controlling values are reported
7.14.4 Soil Capacity

Allowable Soil The soil bearing stress capacity. If a soil table was assigned to the footing then the
Bearing Capacity/ reported value is the interpolated soil capacity given the footing's minimum plan
Soil Modulus of dimension and depth. The Soil Modulus of Subgrade Reaction of Elasticity is used for
Elasticity defining the soil springs in the footing's finite element analysis model and it is calculated
in the same way as the soil bearing capacity.

Max. Unfactored This is the maximum stress on the soil. It is calculated by dividing the soil springs force by
Soil Bearing its corresponding tributary area. The soil load combination producing the maximum soil
stress is also reported.
Average The average soil bearing is calculated by taking the sum of all the soil spring compression
Unfactored Soil forces and dividing them by their corresponding tributary area. If a region of the footing is
Bearing in tension, the springs below it will have no force and their tributary areas will not be
included in the calculation. Note that the Average value may be from a different load
combination then the Max Unfactored Soil Bearing.

RAM Foundation CONNECT Edition Help
A
A RAM Structural System module.
A.1 RAM Foundation Help Contents

Help Contents Description
Using the RAM Explanations of each command in the RAM Foundation module
Foundation Module (on
page 121)
Foundation Member Color Explanations of each the color coding used for defining foundation members in the
Coding (on page 121) RAM Foundation module.
Technical Support (on Options that are available to you for further help
page 153)
A.1.1 Using the RAM Foundation Module
A.1.2 Foundation Member Color Coding

The foundation members are color coded to give a quick visual indication of their status.
Color Meaning
White The foundation member is missing some design information. Selecting the Process - View Update (on
page 137) option from the Process menu and clicking on the member will show the list of missing
information is a pop-up message box.
Yellow The foundation member is ready for design. Use the Design All or View/Update options from the
Process menu to design the foundation member.

File
Color Meaning
Green The foundation member has been designed and passes all design checks. To view the design select the
View/Update option from the Process menu and click on the member or select the Spread Footing
Design report from the Report menu.
Blue The foundation member is a Process - View Update (on page 137) member and has passes all the
design checks. To view the design select the View/Update option from the Process menu and click on
the member.
Red The foundation member has been designed and has failed. To view the design select the View/Update
option from the Process menu and click on the member. The error message in the Results area of the
Design tab will indicate the cause of the failure in design.
Indicator Lights on the Status Bar

Each of the RAM Structural System modules has an Indicator Light in lower right hand corner of the status bar.
As changes occur in the module, the status light is a visual indicator of state of the model. The status bar
indicator lights are synchronized with the lights on the RAM Manager screen.
Additionally, each module has a File > Model Status command that launches a dialog that provides more
detailed information on the status of the model.
A gray light indicates that module is not relevant for the open model. For example, the concrete modules will
have gray lights if a model consists entirely of steel members.
A light blue light indicates that additional data is needed before a design can be performed. For example, load
combinations need to be generated or bar patterns need to be assigned before concrete columns can be
designed.
A red light indicates either that an analysis or design has never been run or that an action occurred to invalidate
an existing analysis or design. Note that the red light has a white tick mark in it to distinguish it from the other
lights for those who may have difficulty distinguishing between colors.
A yellow light indicates that an action occurred that impacts the results. The results should now be considered
approximate and used with caution.
A green light indicates that the analysis or design is current and valid for all members.
A.2 File
File Menu Item Description Shortcut (If
Applicable)
Save To save the current database. <Ctrl+S>
Model Status To view the status of the Foundation designs.
Notes To view the status of the Foundation designs.
Exit To exit the RAM Foundation Module.

Criteria
A.2.1 Exit
Selecting the File > Exit command will terminate execution of the Foundation module and return control to the
RAM Manager.
A.2.2 File - Model Status

Because it is a fully integrated system, the RAM Structural System modules are dependent upon each other's
data and results. Often changes to in one module invalidate the results of one or more of the other modules.
Model Status tracks these dependencies and provides feedback on each module's current state.
The File > Model Status command brings up a dialog that displays the current modules state. If the module's
indicator light is anything other than green, the dialog contains an explanation of the state of the model.
In RAM Manager, the File > Model Status command will list the status of each of the modules. This dialog
provides a more in-depth explanation of the model’s status than that provided by the status indicator lights.
A.3 Criteria
The settings made from the Criteria menu are global and so apply to all of the spread and continuous footing
designs. Any parameters that are specific to only one are clearly indicated.
Criteria Menu Item Description
Forces To select the source of the gravity forces on gravity members.
Design To define the general parameters used in designing the foundations and producing
designs that account for user preferences.
Optimize To define the parameters used in optimizing the dimensions of the foundation.
A.3.1 Criteria - Forces

The forces on gravity members supported on foundations can be taken from either of the RAM Concrete
Analysis, the RAM Steel Analysis or from a material specific source.
Use the options in the Criteria > Gravity Forces dialog box to select the source from which the gravity member
forces will originate.
• RAM Steel
• RAM Concrete

Criteria
• Forces on Steel members from RAM Steel, Forces on Concrete members from RAM Concrete (i.e., material
specific)
Note: If there is a diaphragm in the model that has two-way action, the force selection is automatically changed
to the Material Specific Source and the RAM Steel is inactive.
The module selected as the origin of the gravity forces is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the main
RAM Foundation window.
Forces from RAM Steel Analysis

In all RAM Structural System modules, the gravity surface loads applied in the Modeler are automatically
distributed to the supporting beams and walls. All beams are assumed to be simple spans (not continuous
between adjacent spans). The reactions from the beams are carried down the supporting columns (through each
level) and are available at the base of the structure to load the foundations. This gravity analysis does not
consider the continuity of any of the beams, gravity or lateral, steel or other material. Also note that gravity wall
forces are not transferred down level to level.
Forces from RAM Concrete Analysis

In RAM Concrete the user has the option of specifying continuity conditions for all concrete and 'other' type
beams. These continuity conditions along with the assigned section properties and applied loads are used to
calculate the gravity forces and reactions on all the supporting columns. The column forces are accumulated
down the structure and are available at the base of the structure to load the foundation. Gravity wall axial loads
are also transferred down the structure to the foundation in the Concrete Analysis.
Forces from a Material Specific Source

When this option is selected, the source of the gravity forces on gravity members is determined by the material
type of the gravity member.
Forces on steel and 'other' columns come from the RAM Steel Analysis.
Forces on concrete columns and all walls comes from the RAM Concrete Analysis.
A.3.2 Criteria - Design

The design criteria dialog box is where the global parameters used in designing and optimizing the foundations
are defined.
Code
Design Method
Reinforcement
Rebar Selection
Pile/Pile Cap
Criteria - Design Criteria Code Tab

The Code tab is used to define the design code, building code, and optional code checks

Criteria
Code This is used to select the Concrete code and building code to be used. The currently implemented
concrete codes are: ACI 318-95, ACI 318-99, ACI 318-02, ACI 318-02-05, ACI 318-02-08, BS
8110-97, and CP 65.
Note: The only difference concerning foundation design between ACI 318-95 and ACI 318-99 are
the changes to section 11.2.1 which involve the use of f ′ c for light weight concrete for
equations in sections 11.5.4.3, 11.5.6.9, 11.12.3.2. The remaining sections are not required for
foundation design.
Note: There are a small number of differences between the ACI 318-99 and ACI 318-02 codes.
The design differences between the two codes are outlined in the RAM Foundation manual
technical section.
Included This is used to select any code sections that may be optional or open to various interpretations.
Code
Checks Note: BS 8110-97 and CP 65 have no optional code checks at this time.
ACI 318-XX This section addresses the distribution of reinforcement in the middle
Sec 15.4.4.2 reinforcement strip perpendicular to the long direction of a rectangular
footing. If this option is selected the reinforcement is distributed as prescribed
by this section. If this option is not selected the reinforcement is distributed
equally across the footing.
Criteria - Design Criteria Design Tab

Design Method Spread The design method is used to define the various methods that can be used
group Footings for defining the footing design.
• Design Footing based on applied forces
Select Optimum footing design for each column - This option

designs each footing based on its loading. This method will give the
most economical results but will also give the largest number of
unique results.
For footing of equal dimensions, select one footing design based

on controlling steel - This option will give the same Reinforcement
for all footings of similar dimension. The program will design all the
footings then go through and find the controlling reinforcement for
each unique footing size. This method will give less economical design
results with the smallest number of unique footing designs.
• Design footing based on soil capacity - This option will check the soil
capacity for each footing using the provided soil load combinations, but
will then assume that the footing is fully stressed for the design of the
concrete and reinforcement in the footing. This method will be the least
economical method with a reduced set of unique footing designs.
Pile Cap Select the method of pile cap design:

Footings

Criteria
• Design Pile Cap Based on Pile Load - This option uses the pile forces for
each load combination to check the pile cap design.
• Design Pile Cap Based on Pile Capacity - This option designs pile caps
based on pile capacity. The beam shear, pile two-way shear, column two-
way shear, and flexural design are based on the factored pile capacity.
The load factors are calculated by taking the ratio of the factored and
unfactored column axial force (similar to spread footing design based on
soil capacity).
Design Options The Design options are used to set global design parameters to better model the foundation.
group
Include Moment Spread, Continuous and Pile Cap footings - These options when
Due to Shear for unchecked, removes the shear in the columns, braces and walls
supported on the foundation. In certain cases the engineer has
provided another mechanism to resist the shear in the supported
members and therefor needs to remove it from the foundation
design. For Pile Caps ignoring the moment due to shear from the
column will also ignore the shear resisted by the piles.
Include Spread It is common to have soil reports state that the soil capacity
Footing Self- includes the footing self-weight, in which case the engineer may
Weight When want to deselect this option which will ignore the footing self-
Checking Soil weight when the program checks the soil stress. The engineer must
Stress understand that ignoring the footing self-weight for footings with
moments from the supported member will produce a less accurate
soil stress due to the missing self-weight that would normally
counter the moment. A better solution is to get the actual soil
capacity without regard for the footing self-weight.
Keep Spread This option is used to force spread footings to be optimized square
Footings Square plan dimensions as long as the maximum dimension is any
During direction is not reached.
Optimization
Increase Spread When the program optimizes on the size of Spread footings, it will increase the size of the
Footing Size to footing if necessary so that there is no net uplift when considering the Soil Load
Prevent Uplift in Combinations (with a factor of Safety against uplift as explained in Section 8.2). In previous
Concrete Load versions the program also increased the footing size if necessary to prevent uplift when
Combinations considering the Concrete Load Combinations; this has now been made an option.
When the option is selected the footing size is increased so that all the concrete load
combinations produce a net compressive force on the soil. In other words at least one part
of the footing is in contact with the soil for all load cases. This is consistent with the way the
model was analyzed in RAM Frame where columns are assumed to remain attached to the
base (i.e., they are assumed not to lift up from the ground in uplift).
When the option is deselected, the footing size is not increased to counter the uplift from
the column axial load in concrete load combinations as long as the supported column does
not have any moment on it. For a given concrete load combination that produce a net uplift
on the footing, the footing is then designed to only resist the factored self weight and
surcharge on the critical sections. This will produce flexural reinforcement in the top of the
footing. It is important, therefore, for the engineer to ensure that combinations that do not

Criteria
produce uplift are also considered, even when there are some combinations that induce
uplift.
Design (ACI 318 Design only) This option provides a way to design continuous footings as beams if
Continuous they meet the user defined footing width to depth ratio. The program will automatically
Footings as select the beam or footing design method during the optimization process. When the footing
Beams... is designed as a beam the transverse reinforcement for the footing will not be designed and
the ACI 318 beam flexure and shear criteria will be used for the design.
Criteria - Design Criteria Bar Selection Tab

This is the location where various parameters are defined to fine-tune the Reinforcement selection.
Minimum Used to define the minimum acceptable number of bars in a layer. If 3 is entered there will be at
Number of least 3 bars in the bottom of the footing parallel to the major and minor directions. If bars are
Bars in required in the top of the footing there will also be at least 3 bars in footing parallel to the
Footing major and minor directions.
Bar Sizes Keep all bars in layer (Spread Footings and Pile Caps) Used to force bars in the major
group the same size and minor direction for the top (negative flexure) and bottom
(positive flexure) of a footing to be the same size.
Square Footings use (Spread Footings and Pile Caps) This option forces square
same Quantity and Size footings to have the same quantity and size bars for the major
Bars for Both and minor direction in the bottom layer. The same will be done
Directions in Layer for the top layer when required.
Adjacent bars may (Continuous Footings) Used to control the change in bare size for
differ in size by # size bars in the same layer and direction. For example, if 1 is used
then only #4,#5 and #6 bars can be placed in an adjacent span to
a #5 bar.
Spacing Segment This value is used to help in defining design segment dimensions that are
group Spacing rounded off to typical dimensions that engineers would use. The segment
Increment spacing will not affect dimensions that are explicitly defined by code like
the locations used for checking shear and flexure along a continuous
footing.
Note: This value may produce Longitudinal Top Reinforcement Segments

that are not exactly under columns. It is advisable to keep this value
between 3 and 12 inches.
Shear Bar This value is used to define the shear reinforcement spacing increment so
Spacing that shear reinforcement spacing matches office and project standards.
Increment
Select bars Used in selecting the optimization criteria for selecting the best bar size and quantity
based on… combination from all the acceptable combination of bar sizes and quantities (e.g., Selection by
area will give the least bar area). The program will use these selection criteria to try and select
reasonable bar sizes. When a set of bar size and quantity combinations are acceptable, the
selected set will satisfy both the user defined criteria and internally defined selection criteria
that are used to give reasonable bar sets.

Criteria
• Minimum (Reinforcement) Bar Area

• Minimum Bar Spacing
• Maximum Bar Spacing
Criteria - Design Criteria Reinforcement Tab

This is the location where you can specify the bar sizes to be used for selection of shear reinforcement and
flexure reinforcement.
Clear Bar Spacing group Max/Min bar spacing for shear and flexure bars. This is the center to center
spacing of the bars.
Clear Bar Cover Top, Bottom & Side bar clear cover. This is the clear cover on the bars from face of
slab to outside surface of the reinforcement.
Bar Sizes to Consider for Only the reinforcement bar sizes that have check marks next to them will be used
Design in the optimizing reinforcement for Shear and Flexure. Reducing the number of
bars that are considered for optimization will increase the speed of the design.
Reinforcement Ratio Max/Min Flexure reinforcement ratio. This is the minimum flexure reinforcement
(flexure only) ratio.
Bar Type (BS8110-97 code only) This option is used to define the reinforcement bar type
used in construction. This information is used in calculating the Value of Bond
Coefficient assuming bars in tension from BS8110-97 Part 1 Table 3.26
In all cases if the Code option is selected the program will calculate the appropriate code specified value. If the
User option is selected the provided value will be used as long as they are within the code specified limits (when
applicable). If the code specified values control, they will be used rather then the user defined values.
Criteria - Design Criteria Pile Cap Tab

This tab is used to specify additional design criteria that apply only to pile cap footings.
Maximum This value is used to account for construction tolerances when calculating the pile
Construction group resultant force distance from a critical section
Tolerance
Pile Embedment This is the distance the top of the pile protrudes into the underside of the pile cap. This
Depth thickness is added to the reinforcement depth and reinforcement cover to establish the
total pile cap thickness.
A.3.3 Criteria - Optimize

Used to direct the how RAM Foundation optimized footing and pile cap geometry.
Optimization Criteria dialog Spread/Continuous tab

The Spread/Continuous tab is used to define the global optimization parameters for spread and continuous
footings.

Criteria
Plan Used to define the footing's minimum plan dimensions and dimension increment during
Dimensions design optimization. In the case of the continuous footing only the l1/l2, thickness and the
corresponding increment values are used; the w1/w2 values must be defined by the user and
are automatically defined as the Plan Dimension when the continuous footing is defined.
The minimum distance edge of base plate to edge of footing is checked to guarantee that the
assumptions used in the base plate design are met when performing the footing design.
The Plan Dimension Increment is used for incrementing the dimensions of the footing on each
side of the column, not for the overall dimension of the footing. This value is used to increment
each of the footing dimensions l1, l2, w1, and w2, starting with the greater of the Minimum
distances specified.
Thickness Used to define the minimum footing thickness. The thickness increment is also defined for
optimization of the footings.
Safety Factor Uplift Safety Factor – Used to define the minimum acceptable spread and continuous footing
uplift safety factor. When the check box is activated the uplift safety factor that is entered in
the text box will be used in the optimization of the footing. Footings that do not meet the
minimum safety factor will be increased in size till they meet the limit.
Optimization Criteria dialog Pile/Pile Cap tab

These options are used to define the criteria by which the pile cap dimensions will be optimized.
Spacing Spacing can be specified in two ways: edge of pile cap to center of pile, and center to center of
group piles. Both options allow you to specify the spacing as the maximum of the following: a factor
multiplied by the pile diameter, an absolute distance measured from the center of the pile, or as
an absolute distance measured from the edge of the pile. Any of the values may be zero, but
there must be at least one value that is not zero in each category.
Thickness This is where the minimum footing thickness is defined for pile cap footings. The thickness
group increment here is used for optimization of pile cap footings. (The thickness for spread and
continuous footings is defined on the Spread/Continuous tab.)
Suggested Pile and Edge Spacing Values for ACI 318 Design
Edge to Center of Pile
E = 15" for P ≤ 120 Kip

E = 21" for 120 < P ≤ 240
E = 27" for 240 < P ≤ 400
E = 30" for P > 400 Kip
Center to Center of Piles
Minimum pile center to center spacing = 3× pile diameter

Minimum pile center to center spacing = 36"
Minimum pile clear spacing = 24"
Suggested Pile and Edge Spacing for BS8110 Design

Cap Edge to Pile Edge = 150 mm

Assign Menu
Center to Center of Piles
End bearing pile spacing = 3× pile diameter

Friction pile spacing = 2× pile diameter
A.4 Assign Menu

The assign menu is used for assigning various properties to individual footings. Each dialog box accessed from
the Assign menu has three assignment options:
Single Pressing the Single button will close the dialog box and permit the user to assign the information
defined in the dialog box to individual footings.
Fence Pressing the Fence button will close the dialog box and permit the user to assign the information
defined in the dialog box to a set of footings that are found inside a fenced area drawn by the user.
All Pressing the All button closes the dialog box and assigns the contents of the dialog box to the entire
model.
The Cancel button will close the dialog box without providing the option to assign the information to any
footings.
Assing Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Assign Soil Properties To define and assign soil properties

to foundations.
Assign Base Plate To assign base plates sizes to steel

columns.
Assign - Geometry - Spread Footing To assign maximum and absolute

dimensions to foundations.
Assign - Geometry - Continuous To assign maximum and absolute

Footing dimensions to foundations.
Assign - Geometry - Pile Cap To assign pile cap dimensional

information to pile footings.
Assign Surcharge To assign Dead and Live surcharge

on Foundations.
A.4.1 Assign - Soil Properties

The Assign Soil Properties dialog box provides two ways to assign the soil properties that are below a footing.

Assign Menu
Allowable This option provides a quick and simple method to explicitly define the soil capacity under a
Bearing footing. With this method the soil elastic modulus is automatically calculated by the program
Capacity during footing design. For a description of the method used in calculating the soil elastic
modulus refer to the technical chapter of the RAM Foundation module documentation.
Soil Table The second method for defining soil properties is more detailed and provides you with a way
to define soil properties relative to the footing depth and minimum plan dimension. This gives
you a method of duplicating the geotechnical soil report in such a way that the proper soil
capacity can be defined as the footing is being optimized.
Using the Soil Wizard to define the soil table

1. To define a soil table press the Wizard button
2. From the Soil Wizard dialog box select the desired method for defining the Soil Table.
3. Selecting Formula and pressing the Next button displays a dialog box which provides a method for defining
the soil capacity relative to the depth and minimum plan dimension of the footing. The capacity, minimum
dimension and increment values entered are used to generate all the data values for the Soil table which is
automatically populated when the Save and Exit button is pressed.
4. Selecting Existing Table and pressing the Next button displays a copy of the selected Viewing and Editing a
Soil Table (on page 131) which can be edited and saved under a different name.
5. Empty Form provides a blank Viewing and Editing a Soil Table (on page 131) form that can be filled by the
user.
Viewing and Editing a Soil Table

To edit a soil table select the desired table from the list of defined Soil Tables dialog box and press the View/Edit
button.
• In the Soil Table dialog box check Enter Values to Calculate Spring Constants if the soil modulus is known.
• In each row enter a footing depth, minimum plan dimension, corresponding soil stress capacity, and soil
modulus in the respective fields.
If there is no entry provided in the Soil Table for a given combination of footing depth and minimum plan
dimension then RAM Foundation will iterate between the two closest entries. It is the users responsibility to
define enough information to make sure that a linear interpolation between definitions is reasonable. If the
footing is smaller then the smallest soil definition or larger then the largest definition, the closest soil definition
will be used without interpolation.
If a break in soil capacity based on footing depth or minimum dimension needs to be modeled, it can be defined
by entering a small difference in the required dimension and the appropriate capacity. For example if the soil
capacity increases from 4 ksf to 5ksf when the minimum plan dimension is larger then 5ft then the two entries
would be a capacity of 4ksf at 4.9ft and 5ksf at 5.0ft.
A.4.2 Assign - Base Plate

RAM Foundation automatically imports from the RAM Structural System all the available base plate data for
gravity columns. However, through the Assign Base Plate dialog box you can overwrite base plate dimensions

Assign Menu
as well as assign base plate dimensions for all steel columns that do not have them. Base plate for lateral steel
columns need to be assigned manual using this dialog box.
Base Plate The length is the base plate dimension parallel to the column major direction. If the angle
Length and between the column and footing major axes is between 0 and less then 45 degrees the base
Width plate length dimension is taken to be parallel to the footing major axis. Otherwise the base
plate width dimension is taken to be parallel to the footing major axis.
Percent of The value defines a reduction in the overhang distance between the column face and the edge
Overhang of the base plate. This value is used to account for the effective base plate dimension in
Assumed Rigid relation to the actual base plate dimension. Most codes assume that only half the distance
from the column perimeter to the base plate edge can be assumed as ridge, which would be a
value of 50%. However, when stiffeners or extra thick base plates are used that value can be
raised to a maximum of 100%.
A.4.3 Assign - Geometry - Spread Footing

The Assign - Spread Footing Geometry dialog box permits you to indicate which dimensions of the spread
footing need to be optimized by RAM Foundation and what the maximum dimension will be. If the Assign check
box above the corresponding category is selected then the parameters for that category will be assigned to the
footing, otherwise the current footing parameters for the given category are unchanged after the assignment.
Footing All dimensions that have a check to the left of them will be optimized by the program. The
Dimensions value provided in the Maximum Bound text box will be the maximum dimension that the
footing will be designed for. If the footing requires a dimension larger then the maximum
Bound in the given direction, it will be marked as failed. The user will then either need to
modify the given dimension in this dialog box or through the View/Update dialog box
found under the Process menu. If the Optimize option is not selected the user will need to
enter a fixed footing dimension under the Absolute Dimension text box (the Maximum
Bound will be grayed out if the Optimize option is not selected for a given dimension).
Assume All Bars When selected this option assumes that the engineer will specify hooks at all
are Hooked at reinforcement bar ends and therefore the design will ignores development length checks
Ends on reinforcement.
Design as This option is only available when BS8110-97 code is selected and is used to design the
Unreinforced spread footing without reinforcement. This option is not available for ACI 318 codes.
Footing
A.4.4 Assign - Continuous - Footing Geometry

The Assign - Continuous Footing Geometry dialog box permits you to indicate which dimensions of the
continuous footing need to be optimized by RAM Foundation and what the maximum dimension will be. If the
Assign check box above the corresponding category is selected then the parameters for that category will be
assigned to the footing, otherwise the current footing parameters for the given category are unchanged after the
assignment.

Assign Menu
Footing All dimensions that have a check to the left of them will be optimized by the program.
Dimensions The value provided in the Maximum Bound text box will be the maximum dimension
that the footing will be designed for. If the footing requires a dimension larger then the
maximum Bound in the given direction, it will be marked as failed. The user will then
either need to modify the given dimension in this dialog box or through the View/Update
dialog box found under the Process menu. If the Optimize option is not selected the user
will need to enter a fixed footing dimension under the Absolute Dimension text box (the
Maximum Bound will be grayed out if the Optimize option is not selected for a given
dimension).
Note: The Width dimensions can not be optimized at this point and so User Assigned
dimensions must be entered.
Number of Shear This indicates the number of vertical shear bar legs to use when optimizing and checking
reinforcement Legs the shear reinforcement for continuous footings. On wide footings this number may need
to be larger then the default value. It is the users responsibility to check for the spacing
of the vertical shear bars that are defined.
Assume When selected this option assumes that the engineer will specify hooks for all transverse
Transverse Bars reinforcement bar ends and therefore the design will ignores development length checks
are Hooked at Ends on transverse reinforcement.
A.4.5 Assign - Geometry Pile Cap

This command permits you to assign pile cap dimensional information to pile footings on a single, fence, or all
basis. The engineer may specify to optimize spacing or thickness. Both spacing and thickness are set to be
optimized.
Assign Piles Piles can be defined using the Edit Piles button in this dialog, or from the Assign > Edit
Piles menu option. (See the Edit Piles section below for more information on pile
definitions.) Once piles are defined, they can be assigned to pile caps. A pile cap cannot be
designed until a pile assignment has been made.
Assign Pile Pile Configurations can be defined using the Edit Configurations button in this dialog, or
Configurations from the Assign > Edit Pile Configurations menu option. Three pile configurations are
predefined: 3 Pile Group, 5 Pile Group, and 7 Pile Group. (See Edit Pile Configurations (on
page 134) for more information on pile configurations.) A pile cap cannot be designed
until a pile assignment has been made.
Assign Spacing When Optimize Edge Spacing or Optimize Pile Spacing is checked, the spacing criteria
from the Optimization Criteria dialog will be used. The criteria that will be used are
specified in this dialog for reference. If either option is unchecked, the value specified next
to the Use label will be taken as an absolute spacing distance measured from the center of
the piles and the global spacing criteria for that option will be ignored.
Assign Thickness Thickness can either be optimized to a maximum thickness specified under Maximum, or
the engineer may assign a specific thickness for the pile footing.

Combinations
Edit Piles
Piles are defined in the Edit Piles dialog and are assigned to pile caps using the Assign Pile Geometry command.
Pile definitions are given a label and effective diameter. For rectangular or other shaped piles the effective pile
diameter will need to be calculated. In addition, the engineer should specify the compression capacity, tension
capacity and shear capacity for the piles. Tension and shear values can be set to zero. Piles are assumed to have
no flexural capacity. Piles that have been assigned to pile caps cannot be deleted.
The Edit Piles dialog box opens when either:
Edit Piles is clicked in the Assign - Pile Footing Geometry dialog box, or
Assign > Edit Piles is selected.
Edit Pile Configurations

Pile configurations are defined in the Edit User Defined Pile Configurations dialog and are assigned to pile
caps using the Assign Pile Geometry command.
Rectangular pile configurations can be defined using the Edit Pile Configurations command. Note that 3, 5 and 7
pile groups are predefined and available to assign using the Assign Pile Geometry command.
The Edit User Defined Pile Configurations dialog box opens when either:
Edit Configurations is clicked in the Assign - Pile Footing Geometry dialog box, or
Assign > Edit Pile Configurations is selected.
A.4.6 Assign - Surcharge

The Assign - Surcharge dialog box permits you to assign a surcharge on a footing to account for dead and live
loads including the soil and slab loads that may be found on a footing. A positive surcharge indicates a load in the
direction of gravity.
Note: The that the values entered are a load per unit area.
Dead The Dead load is used to account for the soil, floor slab, and other dead load surcharge that the
Load footing may be supporting. The dead load is multiplied by the dead load factor in load
combinations.
Live Load The Live load is used to account for any live load that may be supported by the footing (e.g., the live
load on a floor slab supported by the footing). The live load is multiplied by the live load factor in
load combinations.

Combinations
A.5 Combinations
Combinations Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Generate for Concrete To generate load combinations

used in design of the concrete and
reinforcement in the foundation.
Generate for Soil To generate load combinations

used in checking of soil capacities.
Custom To define explicitly load

combinations that will be used for
concrete design and soil check
A.5.1 Load Combination Generator

Load Issuing the Combinations - Generate for Concrete or the Combinations > Generate for
Combination Soil command brings up the Load Combination Generation dialog box. This dialog box
Generator: provides the engineer with control over the load combinations that are generated and
used within the RAM Foundation program.
Upon entering this dialog for the first time, the engineer must select a building code or "Combo Code" that will be
used to provide the basic rules for generating combinations.
The Combo Codes available for concrete are:

ACI318-95
UBC 97
SBC 99
BOCA 96/99
The Combo Codes available for soil are:
UBC 97
SBC 99
BOCA 96/99
As each Combo Code comes with its own set of rules for generating combinations, each Combo Code also has its
own set of parameters that are used to modify the load cases with in the generated combinations. When a
Combo Code is selected, the dialog box will display the appropriate parameters and provide the engineer with
means to enter data for those parameters.
In addition to selecting the Combo Code and entering the associated parameters, giving the engineer the ability
to select and de-select the load cases that will be used in combination provides additional control over the
generated combinations. To select a load case to be used in combination, place a check in the checkbox that
appears beside the load case. To de-select it, remove the check.
Combinations are generated by clicking the Apply button. Once combinations have been generated, the Apply
button will become unavailable indicating that the load combinations reflect the data in the dialog. If changes are

Process
made to the selected load cases, the parameters or the selected Combo Code, the Apply button will again become
active, indicating that the combinations are our of synch with the data in the dialog and need to be re-generated.
Once generated, the combinations will appear in the grid at the bottom of the dialog. Because these are code
generated combinations, they may not be edited or deleted. They can, however, be selected and de-selected
using the check box beside each combination. Like the load cases, a check mark in the box indicates that the load
combination is selected for use. Removing the check mark means that the combination will not be used.
If the engineer would like to edit a code generated combination, it must first be copied to the Custom Load
Combination dialog . The copy tool bar button above the combination grid can be used for this purpose.
Highlight the combinations to copy and click the copy button. Exit the dialog and open the custom combination
dialog. Once there, click in the grid and click the past button from the toolbar located above the combination
grid.
Exit the dialog by clicking OK or Cancel. If OK is clicked and the combination data is not current, a message will
be given to the user asking if the changes should be abandoned or applied. If Cancel is selected, any changes
since the last time the user clicked Apply will be abandoned automatically without warning.
A.5.2 Custom Combinations

There are two options for entering user-defined load combinations. The engineer can either type in the designed
combination information or can copy and paste combinations from the load combination generator.
If information is typed in, the user must select either "Concrete" or "Soil" in the first cell of the grid to indicate
whether the load combination should be applied to the concrete or the soil. Factors are then typed in and a load
case is selected from the combination drop down.
Combinations can be selected or de-selected for use in the design of foundations by checking or un-checking the
checkbox beside a combination. A checkmark in the check box indicates that the combination will be used in
design.
Exit the dialog by clicking OK or Cancel. Clicking OK saves the combinations entered while clicking Cancel
abandons any changes made since the dialog was entered.
A.6 Process
Process Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Design All To automatically design all Spread

or Continuous footings that are
ready for design.
View/Update To view the design results and

interactively change and check
alternative foundation designs.

Process
Process Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Freeze Design To set the design as User Defined so

that the design will not change
during a Design All. This is similar
to pressing the Update Design
button in the View/Update dialog
box.
Clear Design To remove the User Defined setting

on foundations and reset the
footing.
A.6.1 Process - Design

The Design all option is used to automatically design all of the Spread, Pile or Continuous footings in the model.
The Status bar will display the number of the current footing that is being designed. If there is an error with the
design of a given footing it will also be displayed in the status bar. Footings that are not ready for design will be
skipped. Footings that have been set to User Defined Setting (on page 142) (Blue color) will be checked and not
optimized
• To Design all of the footings regardless of type select Design - All Footings from the Process menu.
• To Design all of the Spread Footings select Design - Spread Footings from the Process menu.
• To Design all of the Pile Footings select Design - Pile Footings from the Process menu.
• To Design all of the Continuous Footings select Design - Continuous Footings from the Process menu.
The Process > View/Update menu item is used to change the design of a foundation member.
Items on the Assign menu are used to assign and change the soil properties, base plates, and surcharge loads on
the foundation.
A.6.2 Process - View Update

The View/Update dialog box is used to check individual footing design results and redesign footings after
modifying the design parameters. These dialog boxes are non-modal so they do not need to be closed before
selecting to View/Update another footing. You can do so by simply clicking on another footing.
Note: The spread footing and continuous footing View/Update dialog boxes are similar but not identical.
Update Database This button is used to update the model database with the parameters in the view/update
button dialog box as well as to save the current design of the foundation. No optimization is
performed on footings that have had their database information updated. These footings
will only be checked until their design is cleared through the Process menu - Clear Design
Option.

Process
Close button Closes the View/Update dialog box without updating the design. If the foundation
information was saved using the Update Database button, this information will remain
saved but any changes since the command was issued will not be.
The View Results This button is used to display the detailed design information on the footing.
button
The View This button is used in the Continuous View/Update dialog box to display the moment and
Envelopes button shear envelops for the analysis of the footing.
Footing image The footing is displayed graphically in the dialog box with pertinent information relating
to footing size and reinforcement segments for continuous footings.
The Redesign This button is used to redesign a footing after changes have been made to the Results or
button Materials tab.
The traffic lights on the View/Update dialog box graphically indicate the status of the design. A green light
indicates the design is current and passes all checks. Yellow indicates the design is not current and a redesign is
required. Red indicates that the design did not passed and the footing design settings need to be modified. There
is a description of the reason why the footing did not pass on the Design tab.
View/Update for Spread Footings Design Tab

Results Tab
Material Tab
View/Update for Continuous Footings Design Tab
Results Tab
Material Tab
View/Update for Pile Footings Design Tab
Results Tab
Material Tab
Continuous Footing - Design Tab

The Design tab is used to summarize the design of the footing.
Criteria This area contains the basic design criteria used in designing the footing.
Material This area reports the basic Reinforcement, Concrete and Soil material properties used in
Properties the design.
Model Information This area contains the list of members supported by the footing including the member
size, location and base plate where applicable.
Results This area summarizes the designed footing dimensions. If there is no acceptable footing
design, the Results area will contain an error message indicating the cause of the failure.
Continuous Footing - Material Properties Tab

The Material Properties tab is used to redefine the material parameters for the current footing

Process
Steel This overwrites the reinforcement Stress capacity.

Concrete This provides the ability to overwrite the concrete stress capacity (f'c), the Tension stress capacity if
lightweight concrete is used (fct) , concrete weight density, and Concrete Elastic modules.
Changes to any property on this tab will invalidate the current design. The View Results and Update Database
buttons will gray and will not be available again until a ReDesign in done.
If the Update Database command is issued, the dimensional and reinforcement data from this tab will be saved
along with the design of this footing.
Continuous Footing - Results Tab

The Results tab is used to interactively change the footing's design and see the effect of those changes. When this
tab is selected it will be populated with the current design values of the footing dimensions and reinforcement.
By changing the values and pressing the Redesign button alternative designs can be checked.
Dimensions The Dimensions work similarly to that of the Assign Geometry dialog box. If the Optimize
check box is selected the footing is optimized in that direction using the minimum value
defined in the Optimization Criteria dialog box up to the maximum value defined in the
Assign Geometry dialog box. If the Optimize option is not selected, a text box becomes
available for entire of the fixed footing dimension in that direction. The w1 and w2
dimensions can not be optimized for continuous footings.
Reinforcement This area is used for studying the effects of modifying the reinforcement on the final design.
Select the desired reinforcement category from the drop down list box to view the provided
reinforcement. The picture of the footing will display the locations on the reinforcement
segments on the elevation drawing of the footing.
Optimize Checking this option indicates that the given reinforcement category will be optimized by
Reinforcement RAM Foundation. Unchecking this option permits the user to modify the optimized
reinforcement.
Editing The reinforcement in the given category can be edited if Optimize Reinforcement is
reinforcement unchecked for that category. Only the fields that are white can be edited. The reinforcement
size can be selected from the list of bars that have been assigned to flexure reinforcement
through the Criteria - Design Criteria Bar Selection Tab (on page 127). The number of bars
can be any number larger then or equal to zero. A value of zero indicates that there is no
reinforcement for the given segment. New segments can be added by completely filling in a
new line in the reinforcement category table. Only the Ends of reinforcement segments can
be edited for longitudinal and shear reinforcement. The start of the subsequent segment is
automatically filled in when the cell loses its focus. Segments can not be edited for
transverse reinforcement.
buttons will gray and will not be available again until a Redesign in done.
Spread Footing - Design Tab


Process
Model This area contains the story level below which the footing is located, the grid location of
Information the footing and the size of the column supported by the footing.
Material This area reports the basic Reinforcement, Concrete and Soil material properties used in
Properties the design.
Results This area summarizes the footing design including footing dimensions and required
reinforcement. If there is no acceptable footing design, the Results area will contain an
error message indicating the cause of the failure.
Spread Footing - Material Properties Tab

Steel This over rides the reinforcement Stress capacity.

Concrete This provides the ability to over ride the concrete stress capacity (f'c), the Tension stress capacity if
If the Update Database command is issued, the material properties from this tab will be saved along with the
design of this footing.
Spread Footing - Results Tab

By changing the values and pressing the Redesign button the user can try alternative designs.
defined in the Optimization Criteria dialog box up to the maximum value defined in the Assign
Geometry dialog box. If the Optimize option is not selected, an edit box becomes available for
entry of the fixed footing dimension in that direction.
Select the desired radio button for displaying the Bottom Reinforcement(footing under
compression) or the Top Reinforcement(footing under tension). If Top Steel is not required in
the design, this radio button will be grayed out. Select the Optimize Reinforcement check box
to have the program automatically select the reinforcement. To explicitly define the
reinforcement, deselect the Optimize Reinforcement option, then select the Bar Size from the
drop down list and enter the quantity of bars to use. Below you will see the required
reinforcement area for the last run analysis and the provided reinforcement for the values in
Bar Size and Quantity.

Process
Pile Cap - Design Tab

Model Information This area contains the story level below which the footing is located, the grid location of
the footing and the size of the column supported by the footing.
Material Properties This area reports the basic Reinforcement and Concrete material properties used in the
design.
Piles This area reports the basic Pile and Pile Configuration properties used in the design.
Pile Cap - Results Tab

By changing the values and pressing the Redesign button the user can try alternative designs.
defined in the Optimization Criteria dialog box up to the maximum value defined in the Assign
Geometry dialog box. If the Optimize option is not selected, an edit box becomes available for
entry of the fixed footing dimension in that direction.
Piles This area provides a way to change the Pile and Pile Configuration used in the design
Spacing This provides a way to override the pile center to center end edge spacing.
Select the desired radio button for displaying the Bottom Reinforcement (footing under
compression) or the Top Reinforcement (footing under tension). If Top Steel is not required
in the design, this radio button will be grayed out. Select the Optimize Reinforcement check
box to have the program automatically select the reinforcement. To explicitly define the
reinforcement, deselect the Optimize Reinforcement option, then select the Bar Size from the
drop down list and enter the quantity of bars to use. Below you will see the required
reinforcement area for the last run analysis and the provided reinforcement for the values in
Bar Size and Quantity.
Pile Cap - Material Properties Tab

Steel This over rides the reinforcement Stress capacity.

Concrete This provides the ability to over ride the concrete stress capacity (f'c), the Tension stress capacity if

Process
If the Update Database command is issued, the material properties from this tab will be saved along with the
design of this footing.
Pile Cap - Warnings Tab

The Warnings tab lists any design warnings for the footing. If the footing design fails, this tab will be in front
when the dialog appears. If a redesign fails, this tab will come to the front. Whenever the stoplight on the View/
Update dialog is red, the Warnings tab will contain a list of design warnings that prevented a valid pile footing
design.
A.6.3 Freeze Design

The Freeze Design option under the Process menu is used to set the footing to User Defined Setting (on page
142) This removes all of the optimize settings for the reinforcement and dimensions. The effect of this is that the
design is not changed when the column and wall loads are changed or when the soil, surcharge and base plate
parameters are changed. This option provides a means of checking if the footing dimensions and reinforcement
are still acceptable as the model is changed. This is equivalent to issuing Update Database in one of the View/
Update dialogs.
• To Freeze the design on a foundation member select the Single, Fence, or All under the Freeze Design option
in the Process menu.
A.6.4 Process - Clear Design

The Clear Design option under the Process menu is used to remove the footing User Defined Setting (on page
142). This reinstates all of the optimize settings for the reinforcement and dimensions. This permits the footing
to be optimized again after having previously been set to User Defined.
• To Clear the design on a foundation member select the Single, Fence, or All under the Clear Design option in
the Process menu.
A.6.5 User Defined Setting

The User Defined setting on a foundation member can be set from the Process - View Update (on page 137)
dialog boxes using the Update Database button or through the Freeze Design (on page 142) option. Foundations
that have the User Defined setting will be colored Blue when designed. The main purpose of this option is to
remove the optimization flags on a member so that its design is checked as column/wall loads, soil properties,
surcharge loads and base plates for the foundation are changed.
• To Freeze the design on a foundation member select the Single, Fence, or All under the Freeze Design option
in the Process menu.

Reports
A.7 Reports
Reports Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Printer To have the reports sent directly to

the printer
Screen To have the reports displayed on

screen
Text File To have the reports saved to a

comma delimited text file.
Foundation Model Data To list all the model and user

assigned information for each
spread and continuous footing in
the model.
Criteria To list the currently specified

foundation design criteria and soil
definitions.
Load Combinations To list all of the concrete, soil and

user defined load combinations.
Foundation Loads To list the forces and moments on a

footing from the supported
columns and walls.
Material Takeoff To generate a material take off of all

the designed spread and
continuous footings in the model.
Spread Footing Design To generate a concise report of the

pertinent information used in and
generated by the spread footing
design.
Spread Footing Design Summary To generate a report of the basic

design information for all spread
footings in the model.
Continuous Foundation Design To generate a concise report of the

pertinent information used in and
generated by the continuous
footing design.

Reports
Reports Menu Item Description Shortcut (If Applicable)
Continuous Foundation Envelope To generate a report of the

required and provided capacities
on the continuous footing for
moments and shears along the
footing.
Load Combination Member Forces Report exact values used in the

analysis of the specific foundation
type.
Pile Combination Forces Pile forces for all load combinations

used in the design.
Pile Footing Design Summary Pile footing design summary.
Note: For the BS8110 design the

side reinforcement is not included
in this report.
Pile Footing Design Detailed Pile Cap design results.
Print Screen To print the current model and data

that is displayed on screen.
A.7.1 Printer
Reports are sent directly to the printer without previewing.
A.7.2 Screen
Reports are previewed on the screen in a non-editable viewer. The viewer has toolbar buttons that allow
printing, zooming in and out, navigating through the pages of the report, and closing the preview.

Reports
A.7.3 Text
Report information is sent to a file. The user can choose between a simple text file (.txt) or a comma-separated
value files (.csv). This is the only option that does not use the other user selected report styles. One font is used
for all sections of the report and all formatting is removed. However, commas are in place to separate table
columns so that the file can be imported into a spreadsheet program.
A.7.4 Reports - Foundation Model Data

The Reports > Foundation Model Data command creates a report of all model and user assigned information
for each spread, pile and continuous footing in the model. This includes footing geometry, material properties
and supported column/wall information.
A.7.5 Reports - Criteria

The Reports > Criteria command creates a list of the currently specified foundation design criteria and soil
definitions.
A.7.6 Reports - Load Combinations

The Reports > Load Combinations command creates a report of the concrete, soil and user defined load
combinations. This report also includes the parameters used for the generated load combinations.
A.7.7 Reports - Foundation Loads

The Reports > Foundation Loads command creates a report of the forces and moments on a footing from the
supported columns and walls.
A sample output of this report is available on the RAM Structural System CD and a detailed description of the
report is available in the RAM Foundation manual.
A.7.8 Reports - Material Takeoff

The Reports > Material Takeoff command creates a report of the material take off of all the designed spread
and continuous footings in the model. The report includes information on concrete volume and reinforcement
count and weight.

Reports
A.7.9 Reports - Spread Footing Design

The Reports > Spread Footing Design command creates a one-page report showing all of the pertinent
information used in and generated by the spread footing design.
A.7.10 Reports - Spread Footing Design Summary

The Reports > Spread Footing Design Summary command generates a report of the basic design information
for all spread footings in the model. This report includes the information required to detail and to do cost
estimates for spread footings.
A.7.11 Reports - Pile Footing Design

This report is similar to the spread footing design report with minor changes made to accommodate the specifics
of a pile cap design. The section on pile cap 2-way shear is only included in the report if it was performed. In
most pile caps the thickness relative to the pile spacing is too large to require the pile 2-way shear check. Please
see the Technical Notes below for additional information.
The notation used to locate the piles is H and V. This is the Horizontal and Vertical location of the piles from the
center of the supported column. The Horizontal direction is taken as the direction parallel to the pile cap major
direction (direction of pile cap arrow) and the Vertical direction is taken as the direction parallel to the pile cap
minor direction.
A.7.12 Reports - Pile Footing Design Summary

This report is also very similar to the spread footing report. For the BS8110 design the side reinforcement is not
included in this report.
A.7.13 Reports - Pile Combination Forces

This report can be used to find out the exact values used in the analysis of the specific foundation type. It reports
the evaluated load combination member forces for all the members on a foundation. If the foundation has been
designed the report will also include the factored forces on the foundation for the concrete self-weight and
surcharge..

View
A.7.14 Reports - Continuous Foundation Design

The Reports > Continuous Foundation Design command generates a one or two page report showing all of the
pertinent information used in and generated by the continuous footing design.
A.7.15 Reports - Continuous Foundation Envelope

The Reports > Continuous Foundation Envelope command generates a report of the required and provided
capacities on the continuous footing for moments and shears along the footing. The report includes required
reinforcement at all report locations along the footing in both the longitudinal and transverse directions.
Punching shear is also reported for each supported member.
A.7.16 Reports - Print Screen

The Reports - Print Screen command causes the image on the screen to be sent to the printer. If you have color
printing capabilities, the model will be printed in the colors that appear on the screen.
A.8 View
View Menu Item Description
Soil Capacity To display on screen the soil capacity assigned to each

foundation. In the case of a Soil Table assigned to a
footing, the Soil Table name will be displayed.
Geometry To display the foundation total length and width

dimensions.
Geometry Continuous
Geometry Spread
Base Plate Size To display the base plate length and width dimensions
assigned to steel columns.
Surcharge To display the surcharge assigned to each foundation.
Foundation Number To display the foundation number used in all reports.

View
View Menu Item Description
Foundation Intersections To display the intersection of foundations. If a

foundation does not intersect any other foundation its
color will be gray otherwise it will become purple.
Grids To display the Select Grid Systems dialog box which

provides a way to set the visibility of all the grids
defined in a model.
Scale Text To change the scale of text that is displayed on screen.
Pen Colors To change the member colors that are used in

displaying the model on screen
Tool Bar To set the visibility of the Tool Bar.
Status Bar To set the visibility of the Status Bar.
A.8.1 View - Zoom Fence

Selecting the View - Fence - Zoom command causes the rectangle cursor to appear. To zoom in an area of the
model:
1. Move the mouse to one corner of the area to be zoomed in.
2. While holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse to the opposite corner of the desired area.
3. Release the mouse button.
The screen will redraw with the selected area enlarged so that the fenced area occupies the entire screen.
A.8.2 View - Zoom Full

Selecting the View - Zoom - Full command restores the screen to its original scale after a Zoom - Fence is
performed.
Note that the zoom functions do not effect the current mode of operation
A.8.3 View - Zoom In

Selecting the View - Zoom - In command increases the scale of the current view by approximately 5%.

View
A.8.4 View - Zoom Out

Selecting the View - Zoom - Out command decreases the scale of the current view by approximately 5%.
A.8.5 View - Zoom Previous

View - Previous Zoom command restores the view to the previous zoom scale.
A.8.6 Assign - Geometry - Spread Footing

The Spread footing geometry assignment dialog box permits the user to indicate which dimensions of the spread
footing need to be optimized by RAM Foundation and what the maximum dimension will be. If the Assign check
box above the corresponding category is selected then the parameters for that category will be assigned to the
footing, otherwise the current footing parameters for the given category are unchanged after the assignment.
Footing All dimensions that have a check to the left of them will be optimized by the program. The
Dimensions value provided in the Maximum Bound text box will be the maximum dimension that the
footing will be designed for. If the footing requires a dimension larger then the maximum
Bound in the given direction, it will be marked as failed. The user will then either need to
modify the given dimension in this dialog box or through the View/Update dialog box
found under the Process menu. If the Optimize option is not selected the user will need to
enter a fixed footing dimension under the Absolute Dimension text box (the Maximum
Bound will be grayed out if the Optimize option is not selected for a given dimension).
Assume All Bars When selected this option assumes that the engineer will specify hooks at all
are Hooked at reinforcement bar ends and therefore the design will ignores development length checks
Ends on reinforcement.
Design as This option is only available in v7.2 when BS8110-97 code is selected and is used to
Unreinforced design the spread footing without reinforcement. This option is not available for ACI318
Footing codes.
A.8.7 Assign - Continuous - Footing Geometry

The Continuous footing geometry assignment dialog box permits the user to indicate which dimensions of the
continuous footing need to be optimized by RAM Foundation and what the maximum dimension will be. If the
Assign check box above the corresponding category is selected then the parameters for that category will be
assigned to the footing, otherwise the current footing parameters for the given category are unchanged after the
assignment.
Footing All dimensions that have a check to the left of them will be optimized by the program. The value
Dimensions provided in the Maximum Bound text box will be the maximum dimension that the footing will
be designed for. If the footing requires a dimension larger then the maximum Bound in the

View
given direction, it will be marked as failed. The user will then either need to modify the given
dimension in this dialog box or through the View/Update dialog box found under the Process
menu. If the Optimize option is not selected the user will need to enter a fixed footing
dimension under the Absolute Dimension text box (the Maximum Bound will be grayed out if
the Optimize option is not selected for a given dimension).
The Width dimensions can not be optimized at this point and so User Assigned dimensions must be entered.
Number of Shear This indicates the number of vertical shear bar legs to use when optimizing and
reinforcement Legs checking the shear reinforcement for continuous footings. On wide footings this
number may need to be larger then the default value. It is the users responsibility
to check for the spacing of the vertical shear bars that are defined.
Assume Transverse When selected this option assumes that the engineer will specify hooks for all
Bars are Hooked at Ends transverse reinforcement bar ends and therefore the design will ignores
development length checks on transverse reinforcement.
A.8.8 Assign - Base Plate

RAM Foundation automatically imports from the RAM Structural System all the available base plate data for
gravity columns. However, through the Assign Base Plate dialog box the user can overwrite base plate
dimensions as well as assign base plate dimensions for all steel columns that do not have them. Base plate for
lateral steel columns need to be assigned manual using this dialog box.
Base Plate The length is the base plate dimension parallel to the column major direction. If the angle
Length and between the column and footing major axes is between 0 and less then 45 degrees the base
Width plate length dimension is taken to be parallel to the footing major axis. Otherwise the base
plate width dimension is taken to be parallel to the footing major axis.
Percent of The value defines a reduction in the overhang distance between the column face and the edge
Overhang of the base plate. This value is used to account for the effective base plate dimension in
Assumed Rigid relation to the actual base plate dimension. Most codes assume that only half the distance
from the column perimeter to the base plate edge can be assumed as ridge, which would be a
value of 50%. However, when stiffeners or extra thick base plates are used that value can be
raised to a maximum of 100%.
A.8.9 Assign - Surcharge

The Surcharge dialog box permits the user to assign a surcharge on a footing to account for dead and live loads
including the soil and slab loads that may be found on a footing. A positive surcharge indicates a load in the
direction of gravity.
Note: The that the values entered are a load per unit area.
Dead The Dead load is used to account for the soil, floor slab and other dead load surcharge that the
Load footing may be supporting. The dead load is multiplied by the dead load factor in load
combinations.

View
Live Load The Live load is used to account for any live load that may be supported by the footing. E.g. The live
load on a floor slab supported by the footing. The live load is multiplied by the live load factor in
load combinations.
A.8.10 Foundation Number

• The Foundation Number is a unique number assigned to each foundation member when it is laid out in RAM
Modeler. This number is used to reference the footing in all reports and in the Status Bar messages. If a
foundation member is deleted in RAM Modeler and the Options. Renumber Members command is not issued
its Foundation Number will NOT be used again in the model, so it is possible to have Foundation Numbers
that are missing. Issuing Options. Renumber Members in RAM Modeler will renumber all of the foundations
starting with 1 in the lower left hand corner of the model. The renumber of the foundations is for display and
report purposes only. To display the Foundation Number select foundation number from the View menu.
• To remove the Foundation Number re-select the option from the View menu.
A.8.11 Foundation Intersection

The Foundation Intersection option is used to graphically display the intersection of foundation members. All
foundations that intersect other foundations are colored purple. The foundations that have no intersections are
colored gray.
• To display the foundation intersections select View > Foundation Intersection.
• To remove the foundation intersections, re-select View > Foundation Intersection.
A.8.12 Select Grid Systems

This dialog box is used to set the visibility of all of the grid systems that have been defined for the given model.
By default the grid systems that are set to visible in RAM Modeler for the bottom story will also be set to visible
for the foundation collapsed plan view.
• To view the Select Grid System dialog box select View > Grids.
• To turn on the visibility of a grid system set the check box next to the grid system name.
• To tun off the visibility of a grid system clear the check box next to the grid system name.
• To accept the changes and close the dialog box, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel.
A.8.13 View - Scale Text

The View - Scale Text command is used to modify the size of the on-screen text so the text can be more easily
viewed. Selecting the View - Scale Text command will cause the Set Text Scale dialog box to appear.

View
When showing text on the screen, a default text scale factor of 1 is assigned. In some instances, this scale factor
can not be ideal for the given model. You can increase the text scale by making the scale factor larger or decrease
it by making the scale factor smaller.
Click the OK button for the new scale factor to take effect.
A.8.14 View - Pen Colors

The View > Pen Colors command allows you to change the color of the member types as they appear on the
screen. Color changes can be saved as the display default using the View > Options - Save Settings command.
Selecting View > Pen Colors will cause the Pen Colors dialog box to appear. Member types are listed with their
corresponding display color in a list box to the left. A sample line of the color is located in a box above the Other
button. When a member type is clicked, notice the sample line will change accordingly.
To change the color of a member type:
1. Click on the member type in the list box whose color you would like to change.
2. Choose a new color by selecting one of the color buttons or click the Other button which will cause another
color palette to appear. A new color can be chosen or created from there. (Not all colors can be created on all
machines. The number of colors available are dependent on your video card.)
To return to the default color of a member type:
1. Click on the member type in the list box.
2. Click the Restore to Default button.
To return to the default colors of all member types:
• Click the Restore All Defaults button.
Clicking OK will save the color changes made and return you to the RAM Frame program.
Clicking Cancel will abort changes and return you to the RAM Frame program.
A.8.15 View - Tool Bar

The View -Tool Bar command controls whether or not the Tool Bar will be displayed or not. When the menu
item appears with a check mark, the Tool Bar is displayed. No check mark means the Tool Bar is hidden. To
toggle the state of the Tool Bar, click the View -Tool Bar menu item.
A.8.16 View - Status Bar

The View -Status Bar command controls whether or not the Status Bar will be displayed or not. When the menu
item appears with a check mark, the Status Bar is displayed. No check mark means the Status Bar is hidden. To
toggle the state of the Status Bar, click the View - Status Bar menu item.

Technical Support
A.9 Technical Support

The Online Help is geared towards guiding you through the use of commands and to answer basic questions, but
occasionally you might find yourself with more in-depth questions. There are several avenues available to you
for seeking further assistance:
• The RAM Structural System manuals provide technical information on how the RAM Structural System
performs analysis and design as well as information on customizing your working environment, sample
outputs and more.
• The Tutorial Examples provide step-by-step instructions for using the features in the RAM Structural System.
• For information on contacting Bentley Technical Support please visit the Bentley support website.

Index
Numerics Assign Size 122 C
assigning
2-Way Shear Capacity 96–98 Cancel 130, 135, 136, 152
continuous footings 132
Cancel button 130
Capacity 48
A B capacity checks
Access 123, 130
Bar Size 140 pile 77
ACI 46
Bar Type 128 Cause 139, 147, 148, 152
ACI 318
Bars 128, 140 change 140
continuous footing as beam
Base Plate Length 147 Change 122–124, 135–138, 140,
125
Base Plate Size 21 142, 147, 152
nomenclature 47
base plates Change during 136
recommended pile spacing
assigning 131 Checkbox 135, 136
129
dimensions 131 Clear 128, 137
ACI 318-19 74, 75
Base Plates 21, 44, 49 Clear Design 28, 137
ACI 318-95 124
Baseplates assigned 122 Clear Design Option 137
ACI 318-95 Sec 15.4.4.2 124
beam element 54 clearing designs 142
ACI 318-99 124
beam shear Clicking 135, 136, 152
ACI318-95 135
ACI 318 78 Closes 130, 137, 144
Adding Dummy Dead and Live
Beam Shear 103 Code 124, 128, 135
Loads 41
beam shear capacity 57 Code Checks 124
All 122, 128, 130, 137, 144–147,
Beam Shear Capacity color coding 121
151, 152
BS 8110 96 Column Defaults 122
All formatting 144
Beams 122, 123 Column Sizes 42, 44
allowable bearing capacity 130,
biaxial moment 50 column two-way shear 79
131
BOCA 96/99 135 Column Two-Way Shear 104
analysis
Bond Coefficient 128 Column/wall 142, 145
pile cap 76, 77
Bottom Reinforcement 140 Combinations 122, 124, 128,
Analysis 50, 53, 75, 91, 122
Bracing 122 134–136, 145
Analyze 122
BS 8110 Combinations reflect 135
Applied Loads 55
concrete modulus of Combo Code 135
Apply 135, 136
elasticity 90 Comma-separated 144
Apply button 135
nomenclature 89 Concrete 122, 124, 134–136,
assign
BS 8110-97 138–140, 145
base plate 131
unreinforced spread Concrete - This provides 138,
Assign 21, 122, 124, 130, 140,
footings 132 140
145, 147, 151
BS8110 Concrete Design Code 75, 88
Assign commands 122
recommended pile spacing concrete design codes 46
Assign Dead 130
129 Concrete Elastic 138, 140
Assign Geometry dialog 124,
BS8110-97 128 Concrete Load 122
140
Building Codes 88 Concrete… 135
Assign Menu 130
contacting 153

Continuous 136–138, 145–147 Design 56, 67, 75, 91, 96, 102, factor of safety
Continuous Footing 26, 101, 118, 122–124, 128, 134, uplift 128
138, 146, 147 136–140, 142, 145, 146 Fct 138, 140
Continuous Footing - Material Design All 25, 122, 136 Fence 130, 148
Properties Tab 138 design codes 46 File 123, 144
Continuous Footing - Results Design Criteria 124, 138, 139, File - Model Status 123
Tab 138 145 File-Model Status 10, 11
continuous footings Design Criteria Code Tab 124 flexural capacity 60
bar size options 127 Design Envelope 117 flexural design
geometry 132 design forces 55 ACI 318 80
optimize 139 Design including 139 Flexural Design 104, 105
optimize dimensions 128 Design Modules 122 Flexure 128
results 139 design optimization flexure capacity
Continuous Footings 137, 138, continuous footings 72 BS 8110 98
145 spread footings 70, 71 Flexure Capacity
Continuous View/Update dialog Design Optimization 99–101 BS 8110 93
137 Design Summary 146 flexure reinforcement capacity
control 122, 123, 128, 135, 152 Design Tab 137–139 62
coordinate system 51 designing Footing 137
criteria clearing 142 Footing’s 140
designs 123 design all 137 footings
forces 123 freezing 142 spread 132
optimization 123 options 125 footings intersecting 37
Criteria 15, 116, 124, 128, Designing for Pile Capacity 80 forces
138–140, 145 development length analysis 53
Criteria - Design Criteria Code BS 8110 95 design 55
Tab 124 Dimensions 99, 101, 130, Forces 15
Criteria - Design Criteria Design 138–140, 147 foundation
124 Dimensions - The Dimensions interaction 151
Criteria - Design Criteria Rebar 140 Foundation 122–124, 130, 134,
Selection TabCriteria - display 136, 137, 142, 145, 151
Design Criteria Rebar text size 151 Foundation Construction
Selection Tab 128 displaying 140 Documents 142
Criteria-Design 124 Displaying 140, 147 foundation intersection 151
Csv 144 during 136 Foundation Intersection 29, 30
Currently ACI 318-95 124 During 136 Foundation Loads 114, 145
Custom Combinations 135, 136 Foundation Number 147, 151
Custom Combos 136 Foundation Numbers 29, 30
E Foundation Status 10, 11
eccentricities 52
Foundations starting 151
D Edit Piles 23, 24
Frame – Analysis 122
Database Status 10, 11 Exit 123, 135, 136
Frame – Drift Control 122
dead loads exiting 122
Frame – Steel 122
surcharge 134
Framing Configurations 34
Default button 152
deselect 140
F Freeze 142
F’c 124, 138, 140 freeze design 142
Factor 136 Freeze Design 27

G Load Combination Generator O
135
Generate 134, 135, 145–147 one-way shear
Load Combinations 24, 42, 114,
Generated 24 continuous footings 67
122, 135, 136, 145
Geometry 22 optimization 128
Load Combinations Mode 122
geotechnical soil report 130, Optimization Criteria 19
Load Pairs 122
131 Optimization Criteria dialog 140
Loading 75
Gravity and Lateral in the Same Optimize 124, 128, 140
loads
Model 41 Optimize Reinforcement 128,
surcharge 134
Gravity Forces 39 140
locking design 142
grid systems 151 Options 122, 124, 128, 130, 136,
Longitudinal Flexure 69
Grids 29, 30, 135, 136, 139 140, 142, 144, 151, 152
OSF 56
H M Other button 152
manuals 153 Other’s 123
help contents 121
Material Properties 138–140 overturning moment 56
Hilti 28, 29
Material Properties Tab 138, Overturning Moment 55
140 overturning safety factor 98
I Material Specific 40 Overturning Safety Factor 111
Included Code Checks 124 Material Take Off 113 Overturning Safety Footing 101
Indicator 122 Materials 137–140, 145
Indicator Light 122 Max/Min bar 128 P
Indicator Lights on the Status Max/Min Flexure reinforcement
Pen Colors 29, 30, 152
Bar 122 128
Pen Colors dialog 152
Initial Thickness 75, 103 menus
Performance Issues 31
Interpretations 124 File 122
Pile Cap 82
Intersecting Foundations 37 Minimum 128, 140
Pile cap Verification Example 82
Intersecting Members 36 Model Information 138, 139
pile caps
intersections Model Notes 15
assigning 133
footings 37 Model Status 123
bar size options 127
Introduction 110 Model Status dialog 123
design criteria 128
Issuing 151 Model’s 123
design method 125
Module’s 123
design results 141
modulus of elasticity
L ACI 318 50
optimizing 129
Lateral Forces 41 results 141
Modulus of Subgrade Reactions
Length and Width Dimensions warnings 142
48
19, 22, 23 Pile Caps 23
moments due to shear 125
Light 122–124, 137 Pile Configuration 23, 24
light indicates 137 Pile Design Summary 113
Live 130 N Pile Footing Design 113, 118
live loads Need 123, 135, 137, 142 pile spacing
surcharge 134 net uplift 56 recommended 129
Load Cases 41, 45 Net Uplift 55 piles
Load Cases Mode 122 Number 151, 152 adding 134
Load Combination Generation configurations, user defined
dialog 135 134
editing 134

embedment depth 128 Report showing 146 Side 128
Piles 27 Reports 29, 138, 139, 144–147, Sign Conventions 48
pressing 136, 140 151 Single 130
Previous Zoom 149 Reports - Continuous Single Pile One-Way Shear 79
Printer 144, 147 Foundation Design 146 soi stress 50
Process 25, 136, 137 Reports - Continuous Soil 21, 122, 130, 134–136, 138,
Process - View Update 137 Foundation Envelope 139, 142, 145, 147
Process Design All 137 147 Soil Load 122
PROFIS Engineering 28, 29 Reports - Criteria 145 soil modulus 131
Progress Meter 25 Reports - Foundation Loads 145 soil properties
punching shear 58 Reports - Foundation Model assigning 131
Data 145 Soil Table 147
Reports - Load Combinations soil tables
Q 145 using 131
Quantity 140
Reports - Material Takeoff 145 Soil Wizard
Reports - Print Screen 147 using 130, 131
R Reports - Spread Footing Design Soil… 135
RAM Concrete 39 146 Spread 136, 137, 139, 140, 145,
RAM Foundation 135, 145–147 Reports - Spread Footing Design 146
RAM Frame 122, 152 Summary 146 spread footing 25
RAM Manager 123 Restore 148, 149, 152 Spread Footing 99, 137, 139,
RAM Modeler 151 Restore All Defaults button 152 140, 146
RAM Steel 39, 122 results Spread Footing - Design Tab 139
RAM Steel Beam 122 color coding 121 Spread Footing - Material
RAM Steel Column 122 continuous footings 139 Properties Tab 140
RAM Steel Column Design 122 Results 122, 137–140 Spread Footing - Results Tab
RAM Structural System 122, Results obtained 122 140
123, 145–147 Results Tab 140 spread footing design 62
RAM Structural System CD Spread Footing Design 146
spread footings
145–147 S assigning geometry 132
Rebar Selection 128
Save 136–138, 140, 152
ReDesign 138, 140 bar size options 127
Save Settings 152
Redesign button 137, 140 design method 125
SBC 99 135
references keep square 125
Scale Text 29, 30
ACI 318 86 optimize dimensions 128
Screen 144, 147, 148, 152
BS 8110 107 Spread Footings 146
Seismic Provisions Mode 122
Reinforcement 100, 101, 124, spring constants
Select 140, 147
128, 134, 138 soil 131
Select Grid Systems dialog 147
reinforcement segments 137 Spring Properties 55
selecting 137
reinforcing bars Standard Provisions Mode 122
Selecting 123, 124, 135, 137,
design options 127 state 152
140, 147
minimum number 127 Status Bar 122, 123, 147, 151,
self weight
spacing 127 152
include option 125
Remove 135, 136, 142, 144, 151 Status bar and Toolbar 29, 31
Set 130, 135, 136, 142, 147
Renumber Members 151 Status Bar menu item 152
Shear 128, 137, 147
Report Destination 29 Steel beams 122
Shear envelops 137
Report includes 146 Steel Joists 122

Stepped Foundations 43 tutorials 153 V
Stiffness 48 Two Pile group Two-Way Shear
Value 128, 140, 144
Stress 138, 140 80
View 29, 122, 136, 138
surcharge two-way shear
View - Pen Colors 152
assigning 134 continuous footings 68
View - Status Bar 152
Surcharge 24 Two-Way Shear Capacity
View - Tool Bar 152
Systems dialog 147 BS 8110 92
View - Zoom Fence 148
Txt 144
View - Zoom Full 148
T View - Zoom In 148
Table From Empty Form 33 U View - Zoom Out 148
Table From Existing Table 33 UBC 97 135 View - Zoom Previous 149
Table From Formula 32 un-checking 136 View Envelopes button 137
Tables 128, 144 Update Database 122, 137, 138, View Results 138, 140
technical support 153 140, 142 View Results button 137
Tension 128, 138, 140 Update Database button 137, View Update 137
text 142 View/Update 25, 122, 136, 137
scaling 151 Update Database command 122 View/Update dialog 136, 137
Text 144, 147 Update Design button 136 Virtual Load Cases 122
The Dimensions 140 uplift
This option 128 size to prevent 125 W
Tolerance Factor for Continuous Uplift Safety Factor 19
Wall Loads 40
Foundations 43 used 123, 124, 128, 134–140,
Wall Loads with Braces 36
Tool Bar 135, 147, 152 142, 144–147, 151
Wall Loads with Columns 36
Toolbar 13, 29 Used 130
Width 147
Top Reinforcement 140 User 122, 123, 128, 130, 135,
Top Steel 140 136, 140, 142, 144, 145
Top, Bottom 128 User asking 135 Y
transverse flexure 69 User Defined 24, 136, 142 Young's Modulus 50
Triangular 82 User Defined Setting 142
Truss Theory 104, 105 User Defined Settings 142
Truss Theory-Pile Cap Design User’s 122
Z
Zoom 144, 148, 149
105–107

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RAM Foundation

RAM Structural System 2023

RAM Foundation 2 User Manual

RAM Foundation 3 User Manual

RAM Foundation 4 User Manual

RAM Foundation 5 User Manual

RAM Foundation 6 User Manual

RAM Foundation 7 User Manual

RAM Foundation 8 User Manual

RAM Foundation 9 User Manual

2.1 Invoking the Foundation Module

2.2 Checking the Database Status

RAM Foundation 10 User Manual

2.3 Foundation Status

2.4 Minimum Information Required by RAM Foundation

RAM Foundation 11 User Manual

2.5 The Toolbars

2.5.1 File Toolbar

Model Notes. See Section 2.6 for more information

2.5.2 Assign Toolbar

Assign Soil Properties

Assign Dimensions to Base Plates

Assign Spread Footing Geometry

Assign Pile Cap Footing Geometry

Assign Continuous Footing Geometry

RAM Foundation 12 User Manual

Assign Surcharge Loads to Footings

2.5.3 Load Combination Toolbar

Code Generated Concrete Load Combinations

User Defined Concrete Load Combinations

Code Generated Soil Load Combinations

User Defined Soil Load Combinations

2.5.4 Process Toolbar

Design All Spread Footings

Design All Pile Footings

Design All Continuous Footings

2.5.5 View Toolbar

View Soil Assignment

RAM Foundation 13 User Manual

View Assigned Geometry

View Assigned Thickness

View Assigned Pile

View Assigned Baseplate Size

View Assigned Surcharge

View Foundation Numbers

View Foundation Intersections

View Select Visible Grids

Change Pen Colors

Scale Text - Down

RAM Foundation 14 User Manual

2.6 Model Notes

2.7.1 Force Criteria

RAM Foundation 15 User Manual

2.7.2 Design Criteria

Code This is used to select the concrete building code.

RAM Foundation 16 User Manual

RAM Foundation 17 User Manual

Note: Consider a spread footing that is optimized with this option

Bar Selection Tab

RAM Foundation 18 User Manual

Note: This value may produce longitudinal top reinforcement segments

Pile/Pile Cap Tab

2.7.3 Optimization Criteria

RAM Foundation 19 User Manual