Pile design software

Describe the piles. Rischio lays them out, calculates them, and shows its work.

Single piles and pile groups, bored or driven, in layered clays and sands: shaft and toe capacity stratum by stratum, the group as one block, and the calculation report ready to hand in. Describe the piles to the agent, or enter them yourself.

Design piles, free How it calculates

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The same editor the agent works in. Pick a model, change a number and calculate: the engine answers right here.

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What it checks.

Every check with its rule and its limit, Rischio's defaults. In the studio, each result opens into its equation, with your numbers in it.

How it calculates, step by step

Check	Rule	Limit
Pile group The group's axial capacity, as piles or as one block $FS = \frac{Q_g}{Q}$	$FS = \frac{Q_g}{Q}$	$\ge 3.0$
Single pile One pile's axial capacity against its load, when there's only one $FS = \frac{Q_u}{Q}$	$FS = \frac{Q_u}{Q}$	$\ge 3.0$

Check

Limit

Pile group

The group's axial capacity, as piles or as one block

$FS = \frac{Q_g}{Q}$

\ge 3.0

Single pile

One pile's axial capacity against its load, when there's only one

$FS = \frac{Q_u}{Q}$

\ge 3.0

What you can model

Single piles and rectangular groups
Circular and square piles
Bored and driven
Layered clays and sands
Water table at any depth

How it's calculated

Shaft resistance stratum by stratum: the α method in clays, the β method in sands
Effective stress capped at the critical depth, 15 diameters
Toe resistance by Meyerhof, in clay and in sand
The group as piles and as one block: the smaller governs

The calculation report, ready to sign.

This is the one for the model the editor opens on, as the studio makes it. Read through it.

The checks' summary first, each with its margin
Every section with its equations and the values they take
The assumptions and warnings at the end, no small print

As PDF and Word, with your letterhead, in Professional.

Your engineering firmYour address · your license number

Calculation report

Model: Driven pile group in clay
Analysis: Piles
Date: 15 October 2026
Units: SI · kN, m, kPa

1Summary

The model satisfies its check.

Check	Value	Limit	Margin	Result
Pile group	3.46	≥ 3.00	+15 %	OK

Limits are Rischio's defaults.

2Model

Figure 1. Section of the model.

Piles

Driven pilePile · Circular · Driven

Shape	Circular
Diameter or side $d$	0.600 m

Length $L$	20.00 m
Installation	Driven

GroupGroup of 6 piles

Piles along x $n_x$	2.00
Piles along y $n_y$	3.00

Spacing

s

1.50 m

Soil

	Behavior	$t$ m	$\gamma$ kN/m³	$\gamma_\mathrm{sat}$ kN/m³	$c_\mathrm{u}$ kPa
Soft clay	Undrained	10.00	18.00	18.00	50.00
Stiff clay	Undrained	20.00	18.00	18.00	250.0

$t$ Thickness · $\gamma$ Unit weight · $\gamma_\mathrm{sat}$ Saturated unit weight · $c_\mathrm{u}$ Undrained shear strength

Water

Water tableWater table · depth below ground

Depth

z_\mathrm{w}

5.00 m

Loads

Pile cap loadLoad · on the group

Vertical load

V

5000.0 kN

3Shaft resistance

Figure 2. Unit shaft resistance along the pile, stratum by stratum.

Perimeter of the pile

$p$ = 1.88 m

Critical depth

\begin{aligned} z_c &= 15 D \\ &= 9.00\;\text{m} \end{aligned}

Shaft resistance stratum by stratum

Stratum	$L$ m	$\sigma'_v$ kPa	$\alpha$	$f_s$ kPa	$Q_{s,i}$ kN
Soft clay	10.00	90.00	0.680	34.00	640.9
Stiff clay	10.00	171.9	0.340	85.00	1602.2

$L$ Length · $\sigma'_v$ Effective stress at mid-length · $\alpha$ Adhesion factor · $f_s$ Unit shaft resistance · $Q_{s,i}$ Shaft resistance

$Q_s = f_s \, p \, L$ , with $f_s = \alpha \, c_u$ and $\alpha = f(c_u / p_a)$ .

Shaft resistance

\begin{aligned} Q_s &= \Sigma Q_{s,i} \\ &= 2243.1\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

where $Q_s$ in Soft clay = 640.9 kN, $Q_s$ in Stiff clay = 1602.2 kN

4Toe resistance

Area of the toe

$A_p$ = 0.283 m²

Unit toe resistance

\begin{aligned} q_p &= 9 \, c_u \quad \text{(Meyerhof)} \\ &= 2250.0\;\text{kPa} \end{aligned}

Toe resistance

\begin{aligned} Q_p &= q_p A_p \\ &= 636.2\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

where $q_p$ = 2250.0 kPa, $A_p$ = 0.283 m²

5Single pile

Ultimate capacity of a pile

\begin{aligned} Q_u &= Q_s + Q_p \\ &= 2879.3\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

where $Q_s$ = 2243.1 kN, $Q_p$ = 636.2 kN

6Pile group

Sum of the single piles

\begin{aligned} &n \, Q_u \\ &= 17275.6\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

where $Q_u$ = 2879.3 kN

Capacity of the group as a block

\begin{aligned} Q_{block} \text{ (the group as one pile, } \alpha &= 1, \delta = \phi, N^*_c \text{ by Skempton)} \\ &= 50028.8\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

Group efficiency

\begin{aligned} \eta &= Q_{block} / (n \, Q_u) \\ &= 2.90\;\text{} \end{aligned}

where $Q_{block}$ = 50028.8 kN, $n \, Q_u$ = 17275.6 kN

Capacity of the group

\begin{aligned} Q_g &= \min(\eta, 1) \, n \, Q_u \\ &= 17275.6\;\text{kN} \end{aligned}

where $\eta$ = 2.90 , $n \, Q_u$ = 17275.6 kN

Check · Pile group

\begin{aligned} FS &= \frac{Q_g}{Q} \\ &= 3.46\,\text{} \; \ge 3.00\,\text{} \end{aligned}

margin +15 %

where $Q_g$ = 17275.6 kN, $Q$ = 5000.0 kN

Validated against recognized references.

Rischio is checked against worked examples from recognized engineering references. The same inputs give the same answers, and where they differ, it says why.

Example	Reference	Rischio	Difference
Driven pile in sand →
Toe capacity	829 kN	829 kN	0.0 %

Driven pile in clay →
Toe capacity	132.9 kN	132.9 kN	0.0 %

α method, layered clay →
Shaft capacity	1 050 kN	1 050 kN	0.0 %

3 × 4 group in clay →
Group capacity	14 297 kN	14 297 kN	0.0 %

Learn more.

Questions, answered.

Which piles can it check?

Single piles and rectangular groups, circular or square, bored or driven, through layered soil: undrained clays with their undrained shear strength and drained sands with their φ′, with the water table at any depth.

Which safety factor does it use?

3.0 on the axial capacity, a single pile's or the group's. It's Rischio's default; the result shows its margin.

Which methods does it use?

The α method for the shaft in clay and the β method in sand, with the effective stress capped at 15 diameters; Meyerhof at the toe. A group is taken as its piles and as one block, and the smaller capacity governs.

Does it take lateral loads?

Not yet: it checks axial compression. Lateral loads, uplift and pile settlement are outside it.

What does the agent do, and what does the engine do?

The agent turns your words into a model and edits it. The engine, the same one behind the editor, does every calculation: no number comes from the agent. You review the model, open every equation and sign the report.

Is it free?

The Free plan has all four tools and up to 3 models. Professional, $49 a month, adds unlimited models, the report as PDF and Word with your letterhead, and your own agent through MCP. Every account starts with 14 days of Professional, no card needed.

What will you design today?

Describe it in a sentence. Rischio builds it, calculates it, and shows you every step.

›Check a bored pile, 0.8 m across, through 12 m of clay.

Start designing, free14 days of Professional, no card needed