Raft foundations design charts: Development and applications

Presented in this paper design charts for estimating effective depth of raft slabs on elastic foundation are developed in compliance with punching shear design procedures provided by Russian Design Code (SP) for reinforced concrete. Codes' formulas are generalized to include only independent parameters omitting unnecessary calculations of critical section geometry. Proposed approach considers raft slab effective depth as a function of cross section sizes of vertical members (walls, columns) only. In the conclusion reasonable range of raft slab thickness to column sizes ratios have been established for numerical tests and experiments included in fundamental studies of moderately thick plates and raft slabs resting on elastic foundations. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.