Retaining Wall Software 1

[mgst]

I would like to purchase retainig wall specific software. I would appreciate comments on the software used by other engineers. My crieteria in the order of importance are:

(1) Reliability (error free)
(2) Comprehensive ( should handle variety of wall conditions)
(3) Ease of use

 

[OlyEng]

My office uses RetainPro. It does cantilever & restrained walls with concrete & masonry. It is pretty user friendly and includes seismic loading as an option. We just got version 6, but the prior version would freeze up quite a bit, especially if you made a lot of changes. I think the same company makes another program - ENERCALC Structural engineering library, that is a full design software for components, including ret walls, wood beams, concrete, diaphragm rotational analysis, pole footings etc. I think it is pretty reasonably priced. We just got that, so I haven't really played with it.

 

[JAE]

http://www.retainpro.com

 

[RG88]

For segmental MSE walls, Keystone, Allen Block, and Rockwood offer free software for their specific products. Their software doesn't perform the seismic analysis, so factor that into your needs for your specific area.

Archon Engineering offers a R/C cantilevered retaining wall design program for about $40. Perform a search online for Archon and try their demo. I have found it to be useful and correct for my applications.

Depending on the size of your walls, these programs may work out for you, especially if you want to try the software approach without investing alot of money. I am wary of software until I double check it with hand calcs. Especially those that calculate point loads and seismic loads. Did the software calculate the reinforement for the point loaded area or did it just carry it through to the footing??? I have found this error in a package that I won't name here.

I have been most comfortable with writing my own spread sheets, that way I know how it calculates the output and I know what the limits are.