Application guide
FastSheetPileCalc
Rapid preliminary sheet-pile and embedded-wall checks for straightforward temporary works assessments.
What this tool does
FastSheetPileCalc provides rapid preliminary checks for sheet piles and embedded walls in temporary works assessments. Review the selected method, soil inputs and stated limits before using any result.
Application version: v1.6.
Compare wall support arrangements
- Choose the method that matches the wall arrangement: cantilever Blum, single-prop free-earth support, single-prop fixed-earth support, or the multi-prop CIRIA method.
- Enter soil layers and strength/unit-weight data, groundwater, wall geometry, surcharge and support levels for the selected method.
- Review the pressure profile and calculation assumptions. Apply the method’s factor settings and check how they alter passive resistance or embedment.
- Run the calculation and review required embedment, prop reactions and the shear-force/bending-moment results shown for that method.
- Repeat for alternative geometry, support spacing or soil parameters to make a transparent preliminary comparison.
Methods at a glance
- Blum estimates cantilever embedment using moment equilibrium about a rotation point and locates maximum moment near the zero-shear depth.
- Free-earth support (FES) solves a single-propped wall by equilibrium about the prop; fixed-earth support (FixES) includes an equivalent beam response to embedded-soil restraint.
- The multi-prop method provides a simplified route for walls with several support levels. Method-specific factor treatment is shown in the in-app notes.
- Pressure and action diagrams are for comparison and preliminary design; the drawings are schematic and are not construction details.
Use as a preliminary check
Confirm groundwater levels, soil strata, pressure assumptions, surcharge extent, support stiffness and method applicability. Review both the pressure plot and the resulting actions; do not infer wall capacity from embedment alone.
The methods use simplified earth-pressure and wall-support assumptions. Independently check code factors, structural wall capacity, prop/anchor design, movement, basal stability, hydraulic failure and construction stages for the project.
Methods and information pop-ups
Cantilever — Blum
Cantilever embedded wall using Blum's simplified method.
Theoretical embedment is solved from moment equilibrium about the rotation point. Maximum moment is evaluated at the zero-shear depth and reported as an absolute design magnitude.
Design depth d = fd × theoretical rotation depth d₀. The diagram annotation is calculated from the entered factor.
Pressure and bending-moment plots scale automatically; not a construction detail.
Single Prop — FES
Single-propped wall using the free-earth-support method.
The app applies Fp by reducing passive earth-pressure coefficients: Kp,design = Kp / Fp. Other project standards may prescribe a different partial-factor format.
Pressure profiles and the BMD use independent horizontal scales. Click the legend to reduce clutter.
Single Prop — FixES
Single-propped wall using the fixed-earth-support equivalent-beam method with full-wall action recovery.
Unlike FES, FixES assumes rotational restraint from the embedded soil and normally gives a deeper wall but lower upper-wall bending moments.
Applied as Kp,design = Kp / Fp. Confirm the partial-factor format required by the project standard.
Applied to the theoretical lower length x below the equivalent hinge: d = z0 + fd·x. Default 1.20.
Moment diagram closes at the equivalent hinge and theoretical toe; the additional design embedment is shown as an allowance below the theoretical toe.
Multi-Prop — CIRIA
Two- or three-propped wall using a continuous-beam upper model and CIRIA hinge-at-lowest-prop equilibrium.
The lowest prop is treated as a zero-moment hinge. The method is a staged simplified design model; it is not a soil–structure interaction analysis.
Applied as Kp,design = Kp / Fp. Confirm the required project partial-factor format.
Multiplies the theoretical embedment below dredge after equilibrium is solved. The force and moment solution remains based on the theoretical toe.
Upper moments are recovered from FEM reactions by exact distributed-load integration. The lower moment curve closes at the lowest-prop hinge and theoretical toe.
Areas in the app
Use these sections to locate the inputs, checks and results shown in the app:
- Cantilever — Blum
- Single Prop — FES
- Single Prop — FixES
- Multi-Prop — CIRIA