Understand every number PileCalc gives you
These docs explain the engineering behind each analysis in plain language — what every input means, why it matters, and the published method it comes from. The info button (i) next to any field in the app links straight to the matching section here.
Getting started
New here? Start with these three.
Introduction
What PileCalc is, the engine behind it, and the philosophy of transparent, validated deep-foundation analysis.
Quickstart
Run a laterally loaded pile end to end in two minutes, then learn how to read every number it returns.
Units & conventions
PileCalc is unit-agnostic — supply any self-consistent system. Here is how to stay consistent and what every sign means.
Analyses
A deep dive into every analysis — the method, each parameter, and how to read the output.
Lateral (p-y)
The COM624P p-y finite-difference method — pile inputs, every soil model and parameter, head conditions, and how to read the response.
Axial capacity
Side friction and end bearing for compression and uplift, the load–settlement curve, and the factors of safety that govern design.
Pile groups
Vertical block efficiency and group settlement, and lateral row-by-row p-multiplier shadowing for closely spaced piles.
Drilled shafts
FHWA-IF-99-025 capacity for bored piles: α / β / rock-socket side resistance, base bearing, and belled-base uplift.
Footings
The general bearing-capacity equation with every correction factor, elastic settlement, base sliding, and eccentric tilt.
Uplift
Shallow and deep breakout capacity for bearing plates and helices, plus grouted ground-anchor bond capacity.
Moment–curvature
Fiber-integrated M–φ and nonlinear flexural rigidity for solid-circular, pipe, and rectangular steel sections.
Slope stabilization
The stabilizing resistance a pile contributes against an imposed soil movement, as a function of the slip-surface depth.
Reference
Validation evidence, the HTTP API, and a glossary of symbols.
Validation
Every tool traces to a published source and is benchmarked against LPILE, RSPile, design-manual tables, and closed-form solutions — two to three citable cases each. Here is the evidence.
API reference
Every analysis in the app is a thin layer over a clean HTTP API. Run the engine from your own scripts, CI, or spreadsheets.
Glossary
A quick reference for the symbols, soil parameters, and geotechnical terms used throughout PileCalc.