What is the Raft Foundation 

Raft foundation is actually a thick concrete slab resting on a large area of soil reinforced with steel, supporting columns or walls and transfer loads from the structure to the soil. Usually, mat foundation is spread over the entire area of the structure it is supporting.

Raft foundation is generally used to support structures like residential or commercial buildings where soil condition is poor, storage tanks, silos, foundations for heavy industrial equipment etc.

Working Principle of Raft Foundation

To get a better idea about when to use raft foundation, it is important to understand how raft foundation works. Let’s get a quick review of its working principle.

Raft foundation transmits the total load from the building to the entire ground floor area. Stress distribution mechanism of raft foundation is very simple. Total weight of the structure and self-weight of the mat is calculated and is divided by the total area of the foundation it is covering to calculate the stress on the soil.

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