Geotechnical engineering projects often require complex modeling and analysis to ensure safety and stability, and software tools like DeepEX, DeepFND, and SnailPlus have proven invaluable in assisting engineers to tackle these challenges. These programs offer a wealth of features to streamline project design, such as model wizards, analysis warnings, and structural checks. However, while these tools can significantly enhance efficiency and accuracy, no software can substitute a solid foundation in engineering knowledge, experience, and critical judgment. The quality of any analysis is only as good as the input data and the user’s interpretation of the results.
In this article, we’ll explore how the combination of advanced software and engineering expertise creates safer, more effective geotechnical designs, and discuss real-life examples that highlight the importance of engineering skills alongside software.
How Software Enhances Engineering Precision and Efficiency
DeepEX, DeepFND, and SnailPlus each offer a suite of tools that supports engineers in their shoring, deep foundation, and soil nail wall designs, respectively. These tools enable users to:
Access built-in structural checks and analysis warnings to catch common issues and ensure stability.
Evaluate soil and structural properties with built-in recommendations based on industry standards and common practices.
Follow intuitive workflows with sequential tabs in model wizards that ensure all key properties are defined.
Save time and effort with automatic model generation that maintains both accuracy and efficiency.
While these features are immensely helpful, the responsibility for project safety ultimately lies with the engineer. Input data must be accurate and realistic, and the results require critical interpretation.
Figure 1: Analysis warnings and recommendations in DeepEX software
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Why Engineering Expertise is Essential
The complex nature of geotechnical projects demands more than automated results. Engineering skills are crucial in several areas, including:
Soil Profile Evaluation: Our programs estimate soil properties through methods like SPT, CPT logs, scientific equations, and property databases based on soil type descriptions. However, engineers must validate these properties through experience, ensuring they accurately reflect site-specific conditions.
Results Assessment: DeepEX, DeepFND, and SnailPlus provide graphical and tabular results, structural check ratios, and warnings to help users understand model performance. Engineers must critically evaluate these results to confirm that the model behaves reliably under different scenarios and is suited for the real-life risk profile of the project.
Analysis Method Selection: Each project has unique needs, and our software supports a variety of methods, from traditional limit equilibrium to soil springs and 2D and 3D finite element methods. Engineers need a working knowledge of these methods to choose the most suitable approach and ensure that results align across multiple methods when necessary.
Local Adaptation of Structural Sections: The design of shoring systems, wall types, and supports often depends on local material availability and construction practices. Software can optimize structural sections and systems, but engineers must adapt these recommendations based on industry standards and material limitations in their region.
These skills are necessary for effective use of any geotechnical software, and the results hinge on proper application and judgment.
Real-Life Cases Illustrating the Need for Engineering Insight
Case 1: Soil Property Input and Wall Stability
A client contacted our technical support, frustrated that their shoring model appeared unstable in DeepEX, despite being based on an existing system. On closer inspection, our team discovered that the soil layer supporting the wall had been assigned properties of only 10 degrees for friction angle and 0 cohesion, characteristics resembling a liquid more than a solid soil. This oversight could have been prevented with a thorough understanding of appropriate soil properties for a 30-foot excavation, reinforcing the importance of engineering judgment in input validation.
Figure 2: Unstable Model and defined soil properties in DeepEX
Case 2: Slope Angle and Soil Stability
Another user faced issues with a non-converging model in DeepEX. They had set a slope angle of 45 degrees on a fill layer with only 30 degrees of friction angle and no cohesion, which is unstable for cohesionless soils. The program’s wedge analysis engine correctly flagged this as problematic, but understanding that slope angles should not exceed the soil friction angle would have helped the user avoid this issue. A simple slope stability check could have revealed this fundamental error before creating a complex model.
Figure 3: Unstable model with a steep slope angle in DeepEX
Figure 4: Slope stability analysis in DeepEX, proving the steep slope angle issue
Conclusion
Advanced software solutions like DeepEX, DeepFND, and SnailPlus bring significant benefits to geotechnical engineering projects, from efficient modeling and comprehensive analysis options to built-in warnings and design checks. However, software alone cannot replace the experience, knowledge, and common sense of a skilled engineer. Proper training, a solid engineering foundation, and ongoing critical evaluation are essential to achieve safe, reliable, and realistic design outcomes.
DeepEX and its companion programs empower engineers to make better-informed decisions, but these tools are most powerful in the hands of professionals who understand the fundamentals of geotechnical engineering and apply them alongside software insights to create safe and effective designs.
