STAAD Foundation Advanced 2024 is the next generation software for modelling, analysis and design of foundation structures and their components. This represents a significant advancement and alteration over how its predecessor STAAD Foundation Advanced V9 handled foundation analysis and design. There also has been a significant enhancement in the analysis and design capabilities over the 2023 version. These releases of this new generation STAAD Foundation Advanced look significantly different from V9 and earlier releases. It has been developed with the intent of easing the modeling process, improving visualization and output, allowing greater control in the rebar design and detailing, and providing an overall, more productive experience for structural engineers.

STAAD Foundation Advanced 2024 (24.00.00) Release:

The scope of 2024 release is limited to mat / raft with or without piles, isolated and combined foundations. Other types of foundations including pile caps, vessel foundations etc., are not included in this version. This release offers the following functionality:

• Creation of a physical-based substructure model from scratch.
• Import data such as support reactions, column sizes and positions, etc. from one or multiple STAAD.Pro models.
• Import support reactions, column sizes and positions etc. from a STAAD Foundation Advanced V9 model.
• Import of DXF drawing templates for creating complex foundation model geometries and converting them to physical objects.
• Multiple ways for creating one or more mats, isolated and combined foundations beneath the columns and/or walls of imported STAAD.Pro model, or as standalone entities.
• Add pedestals beneath steel and concrete columns.
• Add thickened/sunken regions, openings, etc., to the mat foundation.
• Tools to modify, copy and/or replicate various types of foundations within the model.
• Facilities for annotating levels of foundation and superstructure.
• Import / Creation of load cases.
• Create various types of loads on the various foundations using the program's facilities or using DXF drawing templates.
• Import from STAAD.Pro models or manually create/generate (code-based - ACI, ASCE, IS 456) load combinations.
• Automatic calculation of overburden soil pressure on foundation structures along with or without the consideration of buoyant loads, as per user specification.
• Assignment of soil and/or pile supports(only for mats).
• Generation of finite element meshing from physical geometry for mats, isolated and combined foundations. Column reactions will be auto converted to equivalent plate loads on the FE model.
• Automatic generation of compression only type soil springs for FE model of a mat, isolated and combined foundation.
• Both rigid and FE based analysis can be performed for isolated and combined foundations.
• Command file-based model generation, analysis run and design operation.
• Analysis using the STAAD.Pro engine for FE based foundation models.
• Parallel generation of FE meshing for multiple foundation objects.
• Parallel analysis runs for multiple foundation objects and for simultaneously analyzing a foundation object with SLS and ULS soil properties.
• Display of finite element analysis results such as node displacements, bending moments, shear stresses, soil pressures, etc. in graphical and tabular form.
• Display of soil pressures for rigid analysis of isolated and combined foundations.
• View results for section cuts drawn through foundation objects analyzed by the finite element method.
• Post analysis and stability checks – soil pressures, sliding and overturning, loss of contact, soil settlements, pile capacities etc. are done for all foundation types.
• Automatic determination of optimum isolated and combined footing dimensions based on user specification. Convergence graph tracks the convergence of the footing dimensions with details of the failure in each intermediate iteration.
• Import mat foundations modelled & analyzed in STAAD.Pro. Perform flexure design of the imported mat with facilities to view results such as base pressures, plate stresses, moments, node displacements, design contours etc.
• Design for flexure for mats per ACI 318 2014 & 2019 and IS 456:2000 using the strip and design station method (Singly and doubly reinforced) for mat foundations. Display of results include reinforcement provided, moment capacities with detailed bar layout based on cutoff locations and calculated development lengths.
• Facilities to provide different bar arrangements for top and bottom surfaces of the mat and/or regions within the mat.
• Punching shear calculations for mats per ACI 318 2014 & 2019 and IS 456:2000 with visual aids to verify the punching boundary. Summary and detailed calculation reports included.
• One-way shear calculations for mats per ACI 318 2014 & 2019 and IS 456:2000 with visual aids to verify the one-way shear lines. Summary and detailed reports included.
• Design of pedestals for all foundation types to ACI 318 2014 & 2019 and IS 456:2000 as columns subjected to axial load, biaxial bending, and biaxial shear forces with visual aids to verify the interaction ratio, area of steel provided, steel percentage and the detailing of the provided reinforcements.
• Strip stresses plots of bending moments and shear forces at design station points for each design strip for FE analysis of all foundation types.
• Design of flexure, one-way shear and punching shear for isolated and combined foundations to ACI 318-14 & 19 and IS 456 2000 codes. Display of flexure results include reinforcement provided, moment capacities with detailed bar layout based on cutoff and calculated development lengths.
• One-way shear and punching shear visual aids to verify the shear lines and periphery respectively along with detailed and summary reports of design for isolated and combined footings.
• Reinforcement rationalization for mat foundations – tools to minimize the number of separate bar arrangements over the top and bottom surfaces of the mat for the two principal directions.
• Facility to create multiple design options for foundation types and compare the results between them.
• Calculations for bill of quantities for foundations with tools to compare BOQ results from various design options. Estimated cost of project based on BOQs and user defined rates.
• Extensive report generation facilities to document all the details of the project – foundation geometries, load calculations, post analysis checks, concrete design details, BOQs, etc.
• Drawing generation - General arrangement and sections, Plan drawing of reinforcement layout.
• Presentation of the entire model data in an easy-to-navigate project explorer tree.
• Availability of programmable APIs facilitating user created tools that can be consumed by the application.

A series of videos are available to teach the basics of this application and can be accessed here. Please direct any questions or input you have on this release to Ideas.