PileCalc

Quickstart: your first analysis

Run a laterally loaded pile end to end in two minutes, then learn how to read every number it returns.

The fastest way to understand PileCalc is to run an analysis and poke at it. Every tool opens pre-loaded with a validated worked example and runs it automatically, so you see a real result the moment the page loads — nothing to set up first.

Open the tool

From the dashboard, choose Laterally loaded pile (the most common analysis). You'll see two columns: inputs on the left — the pile, a layered soil profile, and the loading — and results on the right — summary numbers and response charts. On a phone the results stack underneath.

No account needed to look around

The app ships with a demo mode, so you can explore every tool without signing in. Sign-in is only needed to save projects.

The worked example

The lateral tool loads with a textbook case you can trust:

  • A 0.6 m diameter, 12 m long pile with bending stiffness EI = 190,000 kN·m².
  • A two-layer profile: 4 m of soft clay over sand (API model), with the water table built into the unit weights.
  • A 150 kN horizontal load at the head, free to rotate (a free-head, shear + moment boundary condition).

Each field has an info button (i). Open the one next to Strain ε₅₀ or Subgrade modulus k — it explains the parameter and links to the full write-up in Laterally loaded piles.

Reading the results

The summary strip reports the four numbers most analyses turn on:

  • Head deflection — the lateral movement at the top of the pile, usually the serviceability check.
  • Max moment and the depth where it occurs — this sizes the section and reinforcement.
  • Max shear — checked against the section's shear capacity.
  • Equilibrium residual — the net unbalanced force. A converged solution balances to ≈ 0; a large residual is a red flag.

Below that, four response profiles plot deflection, bending moment, shear, and soil reaction against depth — the shapes engineers actually reason about. Switch to the Data tab to read the node-by-node table.

Why it ran by itself

Tools auto-run their example once on load so the page is never empty. After that, edit any input and press Run analysis to recompute.

Change something

Get a feel for the physics by changing one thing at a time:

  • Raise the head shear from 150 to 300 kN and re-run. Deflection more than doubles — the soil softens as it loads, so the response is nonlinear.
  • Switch the head condition to Fixed head — shear + slope with slope 0. Deflection drops sharply and the peak moment jumps to the pile head.
  • Change Load type from static to cyclic. Resistance degrades and both deflection and moment grow.

Next steps