The self-weight of concrete foundations can be directly assigned to a load case.
To do this, activate the “Self-Weights for Concrete Foundations” option in the respective load case.
After activated, an additional tab Concrete Foundations appears.
In this tab, the components to be considered for the load case can be specifically activated:
- Active self-weight for foundation structure
- Active earth covering
- Active ground water
In this way, you can specify which foundation-related load components are to be considered in the respective load case.
The self-weight of the foundation structure acts parallel to the global Z-axis in the direction of gravity (downward).
Note on Load Case Structure
It is recommended to define self-weight, ground water, and earth covering in separate load cases.
The reason for this is that both ground water and earth covering can have favorable or unfavorable effects, depending on the design.
Since it cannot be guaranteed in all design situations that these actions will persist in the same form, they should be able to be specifically neglected when necessary.
By dividing them into separate load cases, the necessary flexibility is maintained to choose conservative approaches in the respective design checks.