MACHINE FOUNDATION

BASICS OF MACHINE FOUNDATION

By Barjinder on Monday, May 22, 2017

Theory and Concepts

Foundation for reciprocating machines can be treated as spring supported

masses. Foundation and the machine being the mass and the ground being
the spring.Thats how basic analysis is done for the machine foundations.

The main concern of these foundations is that they have a natural period of
vibration.If the frequency of unbalanced inertia or other exciting force due to
machine is near to the natural frequency of foundation, resonance can
occur, producing excessive vibration.

Foundation of reciprocating machines differ from the foundation of buildings

or other similar structures since dynamic loads rather than static loads are
involved.

For dynamic loading, frequency of the forces and the danger of

resonance with excessive vibration must govern the foundation design.

Vibration not only causes personal discomfort when its adjacent to working
areas or offices, but can also result in failure of switches, gauges, controls
and cause cracks in flooring and walls.

1|Page
 The analysis and design of structure or foundation subjected to vibratory
loading is a complex problem as it involves interaction of three domains viz.
Structural Engineering, Geo-technical Engineering and Structural dynamics.

The equipment are usually supported on a concrete block or a concrete

frame and occasionally on steel frames.

Codes or Guidelines for Equipment Foundation Design

INDIAN STANDARDS

Till date , India has five codes to construct and design the machine foundation.Each
code covers different type of machine foundation.

1. IS 2974(Part 1)1982: Code of practice for design and construction of

machine foundations; Part 1 Foundation for reciprocating type machine
(hammer foundation).

2. IS 2974 (Part 2) 1980: Code of practice for design and construction of

machine foundations; Part 2 Foundation for impact type machine.

3. IS 2974 (Part 3) 1992: Code of practice for design and construction of

machine foundations; Part 3 Foundation for rotary type machine (medium
and high frequency).

4. IS 2974 (Part 4): Code of practice for design and construction of 1979
machine foundations; Part 4 Foundation for rotary type machine of low
frequency.

5. IS 2974 (Part 5) 1987: Code of practice for design and construction of

machine foundations; Part 5 Foundation for impact type machine other than
hammers (forging and stamping press, pig breakers, drop crusher and jolter).

6. IS 5249- 1992 : Method of test for determination of dynamic properties of soil

BRITISH STANDARD

BS CP 2012-1:1974 Code of practice for foundations for machinery foundations for

reciprocating machines

DIN STANDARD

1) DIN: 4024 (Part 1), 1988: Machine foundations Flexible structures that support
machines with rotating elements

2) DIN 4024-2:1991: Machine foundations; rigid foundations for machinery with

periodic excitation

2|Page
ACI STANDARD

1. ACI 351.3R (04): Foundations for Dynamic Equipment

SAUDI STANDARD

1) SAES-Q-007-Saudi Amarco Engineering Standard Foundation and supporting

structure for heavy machinery

Facts/Thumb rules to design machine foundation

Usually, you must had seen that experts often pick up their calculators to review the
machine foundation drawing. Dont worry, they follow some thumb rules which I am
going to share with you.These rules are not to design but to review the preliminary
sizing.
As a thumb rule, you can determine the allowable dynamic soil load by dividing
the static load by 4. As a preliminary check, add weight of the machine and
foundation block and divide by the dynamic soil load to determine the required
area for the bottom surface of the block. If this area is greater than the area shown
in the vendors drawing, then a mat will have to be added to support the block and
to distribute the mass over the larger area.
Block foundation resting on soil should have a mass of 2 or 3 times the supported
mass for centrifugal machines, and 3 to 5 times for reciprocating machines.
Top of the block foundation is usually kept 300 mm above the finished floor to
prevent damage from surface water runoff.
The thickness of the block foundation should not be less than 600 mm, or as
dictated by the length of the anchor bolts. In any case, the thickness of the block
shall not be less than 1/5 of the least dimension and 1/10 of the largest dimension of
the foundation in plan, whichever is greater.
The block foundation should be widened to increase damping in rocking mode.
The minimum width should be 1 to 1.5 times the vertical distance from the machine
base to the machine center line.
The plan dimensions shall be such that the block foundation extends at least 300
mm beyond the edge of machine for maintenance purposes.
The length and width of the block foundations shall be such that plan
view eccentricities between the center of gravity of combined machine-foundation
system and the center of resistance (center of stiffness) should be less than 5% of
plan dimensions of the foundation
If the dynamic analysis predict resonance with the machine frequency, the mass
of the block foundation shall be increased or decreased so that the modified
foundation is over-tuned or under-tuned for reciprocating and centrifugal machines
respectively.
The footing area shall be such that the soil bearing pressure under the combined

3|Page
dead load of the machine and foundation shall not exceed 50% of the allowable
value.
Combined static and dynamic loads shall not create a bearing pressure greater
than 75% of the allowable soil pressure given in the Geo-technical report. The
bottom of the block foundation should always be above the water table, wherever
possible. Block foundation should not rest on back filled soil or on soil sensitive to
vibration.

-In foundation thicker than 1.2m, the minimum reinforcing steel must be at least
provided. Minimum reinforcing steel of 50 kg/m3 or 0.64% for piers and 30
kg/m3 or 0.38% for foundation slabs must be provided.
For dynamic foundation, epoxy grout should be used.
Anchor bolts should be as long as possible so that the anchoring forces are
distributed lower in the foundation or ideally into concrete mat below the
foundation pier.
For compressor foundation, post-tension anchor bolts are used to prevent the
generation of crack. The embedded end is anchored by a nut with a diameter
twice the rod diameter and a thickness 1.5 times the rod diameter. Minimum anchor
bolt clamping force of 15% of the bolt yield strength is required.

4|Page