How to Model pile cap in Midas?

Question:

I am wondering if we can model a pile cap footing in MIDAS? If Yes, should we model the whole bridge or we can make a stand alone Footing model? Thank you for your time and consideration in advance.

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Answer:Hello,

For a pile cap footing, the general assumption dictates that forces need to be calculated considering the pile cap as a completely rigid body. However, when a pile cap is modeled using plate elements, it can't depict a completely rigid behavior. Hence, the general practice is to model the pile cap by means of rigid links in the complete bridge model and another model is created for pile cap alone, with the pile modeled as support to obtain the forces in pile cap.