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🧠 Smarter Retaining Wall Design: Introducing Pile Support in Version 1.8.3

Retaining walls remain a core element in geotechnical engineering, but their design has often relied on manual iterations, conservative estimates, and simplified base support assumptions. That changes with Version 1.8.3 of our AI-optimized cantilever wall platform, now enhanced with two-row pile support modeling—making it more powerful, accurate, and adaptable to real-world conditions like soft soil or limited bearing capacity.



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🆕 What’s New in Version 1.8.3?



💡 Two-Pile Support System with Equilibrium Constraints


This version replaces the traditional bearing pressure check with a force-based model using two piles:


  • R1 (at distance a from the toe)

  • R2 (at a + x8 from the toe)



The optimizer solves the following equilibrium conditions:


  1. Moment equilibrium: R1·a − R2·(a+x8) = Mdrive − Mresist − Wsum·x̄

  2. Vertical force balance: R1 + R2 = Wsum



It also enforces the geometric constraint:

a + x8 + a = toe + heel + stem_thick = x3 + x4 + x5



🎯 Objective-Driven Optimization



The JAYA algorithm searches for the best set of design variables:


  • x2: Base thickness

  • x3: Toe length

  • x4: Heel length

  • x5: Wall thickness at base

  • x6: Wall thickness at top



The optimizer minimizes:


  • Total concrete volume

  • Total steel weight

  • Or overall cost, depending on user choice




📐 Realistic Structural Checks with Pile Reactions



Unlike previous versions that estimated bending/shear using assumed bearing stress, v1.8.3 uses the actual pile reactions R1 and R2 to compute:


  • Bending moments at toe and heel (with load factor x1.6)

  • Shear forces along the wall stem (with load factor x1.6)

  • Shear checks using τ = Vu / (b·d) and compared to ACI318-19 shear strength requirements



This ensures the design reflects true support conditions, especially valuable for walls supported on soft clay or deep foundations.




🧱 Graphical Plot: From Abstract to Insight



The plot now includes:


  • Base, stem, soil zones

  • Pile positions with reaction values (R1, R2)

  • Fully labeled geometry

  • Real-time updates across iterations



🧾 Final Output Includes:



  • Optimal geometry and design variables

  • Concrete volume and steel weight (kg/m)

  • Pile reactions and spacing

  • Moment and force summaries

  • Plot and history graph of objective


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📘 Why It Matters



Traditional retaining wall design may fall short when:


  • Soil bearing capacity is too low

  • Structural load demands are high

  • Construction on soft, compressible strata is required



This update allows engineers to model real-world supports via piles and automatically find cost-effective geometries that satisfy all physical and safety constraints.



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