PCX — Pile Cap X¶
Version 1.0.2 · Windows 64-bit
An evolution of PCO for more complex projects, including the design of flexible pile caps.
Project limits¶
What it adds to PCO¶
PCX is PCO with flexible pile caps enabled. Everything else is identical — same calculation core, same interface, same checks.
| Behaviour | PCO | PCX |
|---|---|---|
| Rigid Cap (Compression) | ● | ● |
| Rigid Cap (Uplift/Tension) | ● | ● |
| Flexible Cap (Compression) | ● | |
| Flexible Cap (Uplift/Tension) | ● |
Flexible pile caps: the formulation
Why this matters
The strut-and-tie model assumes that the strut forms. That requires the cap to be deep enough relative to the distance between the column face and the pile axis.
In a slender cap the strut does not form in a well-defined way, and the real behaviour is bending — the cap works as a beam. Designing it by Blévot in that case underestimates the reinforcement.
That is the range PCX covers.
Documentation¶
PCX shares PCO's calculation core, and the documentation follows the same logic: the PCO pages apply in full to PCX, and only the differences are documented here.
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What only PCX does: simply supported beam, cantilever beam, grillage analysis, bending reinforcement and stirrups.
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Interface, pile cap setup, design, detailing and report. Identical.
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Blévot, MBT, finite elements, load combinations and checks. Identical.
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The bibliography, shared by both.
When PCX is justified¶
PCO handles the ordinary building pile cap, which usually meets the rigidity condition comfortably. PCX becomes worthwhile when you have:
- A slender cap — small depth relative to the pile spacing.
- A cap on the boundary between rigid and flexible, where it is worth calculating both ways and adopting the larger result.
- A cap with a long span between piles, where bending governs.
On the boundary, calculate both ways
If the simple bending reinforcement turns out larger than the tie reinforcement, it is the one that should prevail — the difference measures how far the cap has stopped behaving as rigid.
Integration with the SP line¶
Like PCO, PCX communicates with SPO, SPX and SPX AI: it receives the geometry and the pile reactions instead of requiring them to be entered again.