DeepFND software is designed to handle a wide variety of pile types, making it versatile and efficient for deep foundation design and analysis. Within minutes, the software can perform both axial and lateral pile analysis, as well as structural design for different types of piles. Whether you're working with traditional or more specialized pile systems, DeepFND offers robust design capabilities.

One of DeepFND’s key features is its ability to recognize the material type of the pile and automatically apply the relevant structural code. These include major standards such as the International Building Code (IBC), AASHTO, ACI, Eurocode 2, Eurocode 3, NTC, AISC, Canadian standards, Australian codes, Chinese codes, and many more. This ensures that the software computes structural capacities accurately and performs all required structural checks in compliance with the selected code.

Pile Types Available in DeepFND

DeepFND provides users with a comprehensive range of pile types and configurations. These can be quickly defined using the model wizard, where you can specify wall section properties such as dimensions, reinforcement, and material characteristics. Below are the main pile types that DeepFND supports:

1. Helical Piles

• Supported shapes: Pipes, square solid, and square hollow sections.

• In DeepFND, helical piles can be customized with an unlimited number of helix configurations to meet your project requirements.

• Additional options: You can choose to grout the piles for improved capacity and apply external casing to the pile head to further enhance its lateral capacity.

2. Non-Helical Piles

• Types: DeepFND supports a variety of common piles, including drilled shafts, driven piles, CFA piles, caissons, and more.

• Shapes: These piles can be modeled in different geometric forms such as circular, square, hollow, and octagonal sections.

• Materials: You can simulate piles made from reinforced concrete, structural steel, or timber (wood).

• Special configurations: Non-helical piles can also be designed as belled piles for increased bearing capacity at the base. In addition, DeepFND allows for composite pile sections where the shape or material of the pile can change along its depth.

• For timber piles, the software can generate tapered sections to account for naturally varying dimensions.

3. Stone Columns

• Stone columns are another type of foundation that DeepFND can simulate, including configurations with mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) grids such as geotextiles and geogrids to reinforce the structure.

Full List of Supported Pile Types:

• Helical piles (pipes, square solid, or square hollow sections)

• Reinforced concrete piles (circular or square sections)

• Prestressed concrete piles, including those with GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) or CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) reinforcements

• Steel piles (H-piles, pipes, channel sections)

• Belled type piles

• Timber piles (tapered or straight wood piles)

• Steel core piles

• Composite piles (with varying sections along the depth)

• Stone columns with MSE grid reinforcement

DeepFND’s comprehensive suite of supported pile types and configurations ensures that it can meet the demands of any deep foundation project, providing the flexibility and precision needed for modern engineering designs. Whether you're designing simple or complex foundations, the software is equipped to handle your project with ease.

DeepFND and HelixPile software programs can design any common helical pile shape (pipes, square solid and square hollow sections). We can easily select the section shape and define the section parameters (dimensions, material properties etc). On each created pile section, we can fast generate several helix configurations, by defining the number of helixes, the helix plate diameter and thickness, and the plate spacing. All the generated helix configurations can be saved on a partial database, unique for each generated pile. Later, we can simply access and assign one of the generated helix configurations to the pile. We can select to use an external casing on any helical pile, in order to increase the lateral pile capacity. We simply need to define the casing section and the length from the pile top, where the casing is placed. The generated helical pile sections can be saved in a folder in any local device, and they can be loaded in any software file. Finally, any pile in DeepFND and HelixPile can be grouted. For grouted piles, we need to define the grout diameter, and the part of the pile which is grouted.

In DeepFND and HelixPile software, the user can add construction stages in any foundation pile section model. The stages in our foundation pile design programs work as loading stages, we can access and define tha axial tension and compression loads, as well as, the lateral loads and external moments for different stages and the software will calculate the pile capacities for all load combinations.

Figure: Pile Loading in different stages

In DeepFND and HelixPile software, we can add axial loads, lateral loads and external moments on both directions on each single pile head. In addition, we can add a distrubuted lateral load along the pile (user-defined elevations and magnitude). The following list summarizes the loads that can be applied on each axis.

- Axial Loads (Z Axis)

In DeepFND and HelixPile we can add axial loads on the pile head. A positive axial load magnitude is a compression load (downwards) and a negative magnitude is a tension load (uplift).

- Lateral Loads (X Axis)

The X-Axis is along the screen. A positive magnitude is a left-to-right load, and a negative magnitude is a right-to-left load.

- Lateral Loads (Y Axis)

The Y-Axis is on the perpendicular direction of the screen. A positive magnitude is an inwards load, and a negative magnitude is an outwards load (from the screen to the user).

- External Moments (X and Y Axis)

The external moments on each direction can be defined for each stage. A positive moment magnitude is a counter-clockwise moment, a negative value is a closkwize moment.

In DeepFND and in HelixPile, we can define several loads on a pile cap, as follows:

A. Single load at the pile cap centroid

This is the default option in the software Wizard. The user can automatically define the maximum axial load on the cap, the maximum lateral loads and external moments on each direction (X and Y axis), as well as the torsional moment that can be applied on the cap.

B. Point Loads on User-Defined Locations

This option allows the user to create load groups of point loads and define the load coordinates, as well as the magnitude of the axial load, and the lateral load and moment at every axis (X and Y).

C. Area Loads on the Pile Cap

This option allows the user to assign an area pressure load on the whole cap surface, or at user-defined locations.

D. Linear Loads on the Pile Cap

This option allows the user to assign linear loads between 2 user-defined points on the pile cap.

The maximum stress check result is the most critical of all structural and geotechnical checks. DeepFND calculates all and reports there the most critical one (biggest). In general, all checks in the program are (applied force/Capacity). So, Max Stress Check is the most critical of: 1. (Maximum Compression Load) / (Compression Capacity) (Geotechnical check) 2. (Maximum Tension Load) / (Tension Capacity) (Geotechnical check) 3. (Maximum plate reaction) / (Plate Ultimate Capacity) (Structural Check) 4. (Maximum Pile Moment) / (Pile Moment Capacity) (Structural Check)

The user can create the file in excel and then export it as tab delimited. The file can be of .txt or .cor format.

The files should follow a specific format - 1st row should be parameter names, second row should be the units, and then row by row (without the first column numbering), we need to include four specific columns as presented in the image below:

After the cpt log import, the user needs to press on the "Process Data" button, so the rest of the properties are estimated:

The software uses P-Y curves to simulate the soil, while an Euler-Bernoulli beam (elastic or inelastic pile behaviour with distributed plasticity along the pile) is used for the pile. A full FEM analysis engine is currently under development and will be implemented in the DeepFND/HelixPile 2021 versions.

For the lateral resistance contribution of the cap there are 2 mechanisms that need to be included, (a) the passive resistance and (b) the bottom/side friction resistance of the pilecap. We have incorporated an automatic calculation of all the lateral springs of a pile cap. The constitutive laws of the pilecap lateral springs used in the software are illustrated bellow:

The pile cap is modelled with quadrilateral shell finite elements. The user can post process stress resultants and displacement of the cap.

The user has a number of options available for the consideration of the group interaction factors. The automatic approach corresponds to the methodology proposed in [1], however an extension has been implemented where influence between piles with different dimensions is taken into account.

When the raft option is enabled the soil beneath the cap is considered through a non-linear Winkler base (either elastoplastic or exponential plastic formulation based on user selection). Influence of the raft on the soil is taken into account through the automatic configuration of the free length of the internal piles based on the intersection between the pile influence regions. The soil enclosed within the free length region is considered to be moving along with the cap and piles , thus shear resistance contribution along the perimeter of the piles within the free length region is considered to be zero.

The structural capacity is calculated in accordance to the standards selected by the user and the nature of the section (concrete, steel, timber, composite etc). The user can define the structural section (concrete piles with internal reinforcing cage, steel casing, drivel steel beams with or without concrete covers, timber piles and then the software uses the corresponding design codes.

In DeepFND we can view the interaction diagrams for each concrete section. We can also view Moment and shear along the pile, with the capacity indicated with the red lines left and right of the M and Q diagrams. All diagrams, including the interaction diagrams can be included in the exported reports.