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For Students · Retaining Structure Suite

Retaining Structure Suite for a wind-turbine tower

Built for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition. Simulate a wind-turbine tower live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.

Retaining Wall

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Retaining Wall (Rankine)Live

earth pressure & stability

Controls

Presets

Wall height H (m)

Soil friction angle φ (°)

Soil unit weight γ (kN/m³)

Base width (m)

Rankine theory gives the active earth pressure behind a wall from the coefficient Ka = tan²(45−φ/2). The soil pushes with a triangular pressure resultant Pa acting at one-third the height. The wall must resist overturning and sliding with adequate factors of safety. Educational tool, not a geotechnical design.

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Data Inspector

Ka0.333

Active thrust Pa48.0 kN/m

FS overturning1.82

FS sliding0.81

Governing equation

K_{a} = tan^{2} (45 - \frac{φ}{2}) = 0.333, P_{a} = \frac{1}{2} K_{a} γ H^{2} = 48.0 kN/m

Reading this result: Sliding FS is 0.81, under the ~1.5 target — the wall could slide out. A wider base or a shear key would help.

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Soil Bearing

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Soil Bearing Capacity (Terzaghi)Live

foundation design

Allowable bearing pressure

400kPa

Allowable load ≈ 801 kN per metre of footing

Controls

Presets

Cohesion c (kPa)

Friction angle φ (°)

Unit weight γ (kN/m³)

Footing width B (m)

Embedment depth (m)

Factor of safety

Terzaghi's equation predicts the ultimate bearing capacity of a shallow footing as the sum of cohesion, surcharge, and self-weight terms, each with a bearing-capacity factor that grows sharply with the soil friction angle. Dividing by a factor of safety gives the allowable pressure. Educational tool, not a geotechnical design.

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Data Inspector

Nc30.1

Nq18.4

Nγ22.4

Ultimate qult1201 kPa

Governing equation

q_{u} = c N_{c} + γ D_{f} N_{q} + \frac{1}{2} γ B N_{γ} = 10 (30.1) + 27 (18.4) + \frac{1}{2} (18) (2) (22.4) = 1201 kPa

Reading this result: Mixed c-φ soil: all three terms contribute — deeper embedment and a wider footing both push the ultimate capacity higher.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

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Groundwater

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Groundwater Well DrawdownLive

Thiem steady-state cone of depression

Controls

Presets

Pumping rate Q (m³/day)

Transmissivity T (m²/day)

Radius of influence R (m)

Pumping a well lowers the water table into a cone of depression. Under the Thiem steady-state solution the drawdown is s(r) = Q/(2πT)·ln(R/r): more pumping deepens the cone, higher transmissivity flattens it. Fundamental to well design, water supply, and contaminant capture.

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Data Inspector

Drawdown at well4.7 m

Drawdown at 50 m1.47 m

Radius of influence500 m

Governing equation

s (r) = \frac{Q}{2 π T} ln \frac{R}{r} = \frac{2000}{2 π \cdot 500} ln \frac{500}{r}

Reading this result: Drawdown is Q/(2πT)·ln(R/r): here it is about 4.7 m at the well and falls off logarithmically, so most of the depression sits in the first tens of metres.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this good for students?: Yes — this version of "Retaining Structure Suite for a wind-turbine tower" is framed for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition.
Do I need to install anything?: No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.