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Pile Cap Design

Pile Cap Design

Pile Cap Design

(OP)
I am just curious what everyone uses to design pile caps.

Is there a certain program that is good for pile cap design?Does anyone still use quick and dirty hand methods?

I am refering to the structural design of the pile cap, not the distribution of forces to the individual piles.

RE: Pile Cap Design

Typical column ones - I just pick them out of the CRSI handbook.  Unusual ones, shearwall foundations, etc, I just design by hand using CRSI methods (deep beam shear etc).   

RE: Pile Cap Design

I use TG Pile. It is sold by Digital Canal. Before that, I used to do things by hand.

This links gives you technical specs:

http://www.digitalcanal.com/structural/pcspec.htm

You can also download a working trial copy.
 

Regards,
Lutfi
 

RE: Pile Cap Design

I also just use CRSI tables.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

RE: Pile Cap Design

Mat3d..
Staad..

RE: Pile Cap Design

this old crsi program.  or by hand.

RE: Pile Cap Design

What do you do when the geotech report requires spacing bigger than CRSI gives for its canned pile caps?

RE: Pile Cap Design

make the cap bigger?   

RE: Pile Cap Design

Use the old CRSI DOS programs

RE: Pile Cap Design

^^^^^ i love that program

i still have it on my computer at home

RE: Pile Cap Design

I use it sometime as well...HB Pilecap right?

RE: Pile Cap Design

My company uses Pile Cap Analysis and Design
website: structuraltools.com

RE: Pile Cap Design

structuraltools.com.....$1500 to design pile caps?????

Buy a CRSI manual with the caps already designed in the tables.

RE: Pile Cap Design

The Canadian code has taken to suggesting the use of Strut & Tie models for most typically proportioned pile caps.  This can be a LOT of work depending on the geometry involved .  The reinforcement demands end up being substantially more than you would get using quick and dirty sectional design techniques too which is a little bit concerting.  

I've also always wondered with S&T designed pile caps: is it best to concentrate all of the tie reinf over the piles or can it be distributed across the entire cap?  It seems to me that distribution would be desirable and possible, so long as you considered the impact on tie development length etc.

RE: Pile Cap Design

Yes, but how do you design them if your spacing or column size is not tabulated?  CRSI's program is fine for that but when piles are placed out of tolerance and the contractor needs an answer yesterday, checking and/or fixing them with CRSI's program was, at times, extremely time-consuming and at that point the tables cannot help.

RE: Pile Cap Design

How does one come by this CRSI program?

RE: Pile Cap Design

It's an old DOS program and I don't think it's offered any more.  My company had it when I got there.  But I would just call CRSI and ask them.

RE: Pile Cap Design

(OP)
What does that CRSI program do for irregular pile caps?

RE: Pile Cap Design

if not typical dimension so beam analysis is appropiriate and use a typical analysis program.  

RE: Pile Cap Design

for odd patterns, you'll just have to look at the cap in plan and pick some beam-shear/punch-shear failure planes based on engineering judgment.

don't make it too complicated. assume each pile beyond that failure plane (probable shear crack is a better term) has it's full capacity, apply those shears and moments to the cap.

RE: Pile Cap Design

For the CRSI program you have to enter each pile's coordinates.

Beam analysis with typical program?  You can't use a strictly beam analysis or you'll overlook punching shears. And, I'm not sure they do deep shear.

Some of the other general purpose programs can be used very successfully but for a quick check they can be a little cumbersome.  Also have to be careful with punching shear results when using the deep finite elements that they use.  Sometimes we get very strange results.

No, it does not have to be too complicated but after checking caps for a large project the hand calculations became tiresome.

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