Software Development for Design of Shallow Foundations
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The most commonly used types of shallow foundations are isolated footings, strap footings and
combined footings. A team of expertise involving engineers, draftspersons, quantity surveyors,
and others frequently do the tasks of designing, drawing, and quantifying shallow foundations.
Design of shallow foundations is usually performed using spreadsheet programs. Quantity
surveyors are also aided by Microsoft Excel to quantify structures. Working drawing is most of
the time prepared by using the software AutoCAD.
Most of the times, information is transferred from engineers to drafts person by using sketches.
And quantity surveyors use the drawings developed to quantify structures.
AutoCAD can be manipulated programmatically by using macros. Macros which can produce
working drawings for isolated, strap, and combined footings can be developed. And the input
data for these macros can be in EXCEL format.
The purpose of this thesis is to develop EXCEL spreadsheet programs and AutoCAD macros
which aid the engineer, the draftsperson and the quantity surveyor design, draw and quantify
isolated or strap or combined footings.
Three spreadsheet programs named “Isolated.xls”, “Combined.xls” and “Strap.xls” are
developed to analyze and design shallow foundations. As a final product, brief design report can
be printed from these spreadsheets and take off sheet is automatically produced in a separate
sheet. Besides, three AutoCAD macros named “Isolated.dvb”, “Combined.dvb” and “Strap.dvb”
are developed to produce working drawings. The input data for the AutoCAD macro can be
simply copied from the Excel spreadsheet programs.
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Civil Engineering