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Question about the definition of transfer beams in a pile cap for a pedestrian bridge foundation

jcarlosamao

Civil/Environmental
Mar 19, 2025
1
Hello everyone,


I am working on the design of a foundation for a pedestrian bridge using SAP2000. My approach consists of defining the foundation through the Foundation Properties option, creating a pile group and a pile pier. With this setup, SAP2000 automatically generates the Pile Cap (as a shell-type element) and the associated transfer beams.


The issue I am facing is that the transfer beams are generated identically in both cases, whereas I actually need each one to have different dimensions and properties depending on whether it comes from the pile group or the pile pier. I have tried modifying the properties of these transfer beams, but I have not been able to achieve the expected behavior.


How should I interpret SAP2000 results to calculate the steel reinforcement in both directions (X and Y) of the Pile Cap?
Should the transfer beams have the same section as the Pile Cap (Shell), or should they be designed as independent elements?
How can I verify that the dimensions of the Pile Cap (width, length, thickness) are adequate for the applied loads?
 

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  • MODELO_PUENTE_6_MOD.zip
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