đGeoengineering Master Class #1
- deepexcavation
- 18 hours ago
- 4 min read
Temporary Shoring Walls and Internal Permanent Basement Structures
Welcome to the Geoengineering Master Class
Welcome to the Geoengineering Master Class by Deep Excavation LLC â the team behind DeepEX, DeepFND, and SnailPlus software solutions.
This professional training series is designed to help you strengthen your geotechnical design skills and discover how modern analysis tools can simplify complex problems.Each lesson walks you through a real engineering scenario â not just theory, but practical modeling, analysis, and interpretation of results.
In this first episode, we create a complete staged excavation model in DeepEX. We show you how you can build and analyze a system that transitions from temporary shoring to a permanent basement structure, while understanding every key step in the process.
Watch our Master Class # 1 video here:
1. The Engineering Challenge
When designing deep excavations, youâre not only fighting against earth and water pressures â youâre also managing construction stages, internal forces, and evolving boundary conditions.
In this case study, we deal with a 35-foot-deep excavation, initially supported by sheet piles and two levels of struts. Later, the temporary system evolves into a permanent basement with internal diaphragm walls and concrete slabs.
Using DeepEX, we build and analyze this project stage-by-stage â just as it would be constructed in the field. This lets you visualize how internal forces, deflections, and safety factors evolve through each phase.
2. Building the Model in DeepEX
We start by generating the entire excavation using the DeepEX Model Wizard.
In just a few steps, we define:
The excavation geometry and depth,
Soil stratigraphy and water table, and
The two levels of struts supporting the sheet pile wall.
The wizard automatically creates all the construction stages, helping you save valuable time and maintain consistent modeling logic.
Within minutes, you have a complete staged model â ready to analyze and refine.
3. Reviewing the Temporary System â LEM Analysis
The first step is to review how the temporary system performs. We run a Limit Equilibrium (LEM)Â analysis in DeepEX to check:
Wall bending moments and shear forces,
Strut loads, and
Global safety ratios.
This gives you an initial understanding of whether the temporary shoring provides sufficient stability.With DeepEX, you can instantly visualize moment diagrams, deflection shapes, and safety margins at each stage â helping you quickly spot potential improvements.
4. Transitioning Toward the Permanent Basement
Once the temporary system is stable, we begin to model the transition to the permanent structure.
We add a base slab within DeepEX:
Adjusting slab thickness and reinforcement,
Including its self-weight in the vertical stress calculation, and
Assigning a small unbraced length to simulate the slabâs full interaction with the surrounding soil.
You can immediately see how the presence of the slab influences wall moments and soil reactions, providing a realistic picture of the evolving structure.
5. Adding Internal Diaphragm Walls
To simulate the permanent internal structure, we draw diaphragm wall elements from the base slab up to the bottom of the lowest strut.These elements are defined as slave walls, meaning they can later connect directly to internal slabs rather than external sheet piles.
This modeling approach mirrors real construction â where internal walls and slabs gradually replace temporary supports â and itâs easily managed within DeepEX.
6. Replacing Struts with Slabs
We then proceed through new construction stages:
We add an internal slab connected to the lower diaphragm walls, deactivating the bottom strut.
Next, we install upper diaphragm walls and connect them to another slab, removing the top strut.
Each stage change in DeepEX automatically updates the load redistribution and internal forces, allowing you to observe how your excavation evolves as it transitions from temporary to permanent stability.
This stage-by-stage control gives you a clear, realistic simulation of how your project will behave during construction.
đĄ Youâll see exactly how to build your own models, step by step, and understand how DeepEX helps you design smarter, safer excavations from start to finish.
7. Comparing LEM and Nonlinear Analyses
After completing the staged model, we compare two independent methods â Limit Equilibrium (LEM)Â and Nonlinear (NL)Â analyses.
We first review results with LEM, then duplicate the model and run a Nonlinear analysis that uses soil springs to directly calculate pressures and moments for every wall.
At first, the walls appear overstressed in NL, but thatâs because slabs are modeled as fully fixed supports by default. Once we adjust the slab connections to pinned, the NL results align closely with LEM.
This shows you how powerful it is to compare both methods: LEM for quick safety checks, and NL for realistic soil-structure interaction. It also demonstrates that DeepEX can validate your design through two totally independent analytical approaches â something few tools can offer in one platform.
8. Reviewing the Results
By the end of the analysis, you can:
Compare wall moments and deflections across stages,
Review how loads shift as slabs replace struts, and
Confirm the model performs safely under both LEM and NL assumptions.
This comprehensive workflow teaches you not just how to build the model, but how to interpret it and ensure your design behaves correctly throughout construction.
9. How DeepEX Helps You Succeed
As a geotechnical designer, you need to deliver safe, optimized solutions under tight deadlines.DeepEXÂ is built exactly for that purpose â giving you full control over staged construction, analysis type, and design code checks in one integrated tool.
With DeepEX, you can:
Build complete staged models in minutes,
Run both LEM and Nonlinear analyses with a single click,
Automatically check against leading international codes, and
Generate clear, professional drawings and reports ready for client review.
In this Master Class, we create the entire model so you can follow along and apply the same workflow to your own projects â saving hours of manual effort while increasing reliability and insight.
10. Whatâs Next â Master Class # 2
In the next Geoengineering Master Class, we take another practical step forward.Weâll show you how to predict realistic prestress forces for ground anchors using Limit Equilibrium analysis, and how to apply these values correctly when you move to Nonlinear or FEM analysis in DeepEX.
Youâll learn how to bridge the gap between simplified methods and advanced numerical modeling â ensuring your designs are both efficient and realistic.
Stay tuned for Geoengineering Master Class # 2, and continue mastering modern geotechnical design with Deep Excavation LLC.
Let us show you how to reduce your design time by up to 90%!
