Apr 24, 20235 min read

The Ultimate Toolbox: 5 Free Civil Engineering Calculators for Every Builder

Whether you are working on concept design, temporary structures, or stress analyses, Civil engineering is a challenging profession that requires precise calculations and accurate measurements.

As a civil engineer, it is important to have access to reliable and efficient tools to help streamline the design and construction process. Fortunately, there are free online calculators available that can assist civil engineers in performing complex calculations quickly and accurately. In this article, we will discuss five of the best free civil engineering calculators that can help boost your productivity and save you time on your next project. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a student just starting out in the field, these calculators can be invaluable resources for any civil engineer looking to improve their efficiency and accuracy without the high price tag.

Beam Calculator

The civils.ai free beam calculator is a valuable tool for structural engineers involved in the design of beams. This calculator can be used to analyze various types of beams, including simply supported beams, cantilever beams, and continuous beams.

One of the key benefits of this calculator is that it can create bending moment diagrams, shear force diagrams, and measure deflection for an indeterminate beam span. This information is critical for assessing the strength and stability of a beam and can help engineers determine the appropriate beam size and material for a given project.

The calculator also allows engineers to specify the beam geometry and point loads or distributed loads, which enables them to accurately model real-world scenarios. By inputting the correct information, engineers can quickly obtain results for maximum bending moment, shear forces, reaction forces, and deflection using real steel section properties.

The ability to obtain accurate results quickly is particularly useful for engineers who need to make design decisions on tight deadlines. This calculator can save significant amounts of time and effort compared to manual calculations and reduces the risk of errors that can occur during manual calculations.

Steel Section Calculator

The free steel section calculator from civils.ai is an essential tool for civil engineers involved in the design of steel structures. This calculator is designed to help engineers quickly search through steel section tables of supplier steel sizes and steel properties to automate their steel design process.

One of the key benefits of this calculator is that it allows engineers to calculate bending moments, shear forces, and axial forces for different steel beam sizes, steel columns, or cantilevers, including steel hollow sections. This information is critical for assessing the strength and stability of steel structures and can help engineers determine the appropriate steel section size and material for a given project.

In addition, the calculator can provide engineers with detailed information on the properties of various steel sections, including their cross-sectional area, the moment of inertia, and section modulus. This information is important for accurately modeling and analyzing steel structures and can help engineers make informed design decisions.

The ability to automate the steel design process is particularly useful for engineers who need to make design decisions quickly and efficiently. By inputting the correct information, engineers can obtain results for different steel section sizes and properties, which can help them optimize their designs and reduce the risk of errors.

Bearing Capacity Calculator

The soil-bearing capacity calculator from Civils.ai is a highly useful tool for geotechnical engineers involved in the design of building foundations and footings. The calculator allows engineers to check the bearing capacity of soil using the Terzaghi bearing capacity equations in accordance with European construction regulations (Eurocode 7).

Bearing capacity is a fundamental calculation required for ensuring the safety and stability of building foundations and footings. It is the capacity of the soil to support a vertical load without excessive deformation or failure. The soil bearing capacity is determined by the soil type, its strength, and the depth of the soil layer.

The soil bearing capacity calculator takes into account a variety of factors, including soil type, soil strength, and load transfer into the ground. It uses empirical shape factors to determine the maximum allowable bearing pressure for a particular soil type and condition. This information is critical for ensuring the safety and stability of building foundations and footings, as well as for determining the appropriate type and size of foundation to be used.

Tunnel Settlement Calculator

The tunnel settlement calculator from Civils.ai is an important tool for Tunnel Engineers and Geotechnical Engineers involved in the design and construction of tunnels. This calculator is designed to predict the maximum short-term and long-term tunnel settlement and potential building damage, which are critical factors in ensuring the safety and stability of the tunnel and surrounding structures.

The calculator is based on the method put forward in the paper "Prediction of ground movements and assessment of the risk of building damage due to bored tunneling" by Burland et al (1977). This method takes into account a number of factors that can influence tunnel settlement, including the diameter and depth of the tunnel, the type of soil, the distance from the tunnel, and the nature of the ground surface.

By inputting the relevant parameters into the tunnel settlement calculator, engineers can quickly and accurately predict the maximum short-term and long-term settlement of the tunnel and surrounding structures. This information is essential for designing appropriate support systems for the tunnel, as well as for assessing the potential risk of damage to nearby buildings and other structures.

One of the key benefits of the tunnel settlement calculator is its ability to provide accurate predictions of settlement and potential building damage in a timely and efficient manner. This information is critical for ensuring the safety and stability of the tunnel and surrounding structures and can help to inform design decisions and mitigate potential risks.

Overall, the tunnel settlement calculator from Civils.ai is an essential tool for Tunnel Engineers and Geotechnical Engineers involved in the design and construction of tunnels. Its ability to predict maximum short-term and long-term tunnel settlement and potential building damage based on the method put forward by Burland et al (1977) makes it an invaluable resource for ensuring the safety and stability of tunnels and surrounding structures.

Retaining Wall Calculator

Retaining walls are structures that are commonly used in civil engineering to hold back soil and prevent it from sliding or collapsing. They are typically used in situations where there is a significant change in elevation, such as a steep slope or hillside. Retaining walls can be made from a variety of materials, including concrete, stone, brick, or timber.

A retaining wall calculator, such as the one offered by civils.ai, can be extremely useful for geotechnical engineers in designing and analyzing retaining walls. The calculator allows the engineer to input specific parameters such as soil properties, wall dimensions, and loading conditions to determine the stability of the wall.

The calculator uses the Eurocode 7 regulations, which are the European standards for geotechnical design. The engineer can calculate the overturning moment, sliding forces, and bearing capacity of the wall, based on the lateral earth forces acting on the wall. This allows the engineer to determine the most suitable wall design to withstand the specific loads and conditions.

The retaining wall calculator also considers long-term drained conditions and the groundwater level at the ground surface level, providing a more comprehensive design approach. The limit state approach used by the calculator ensures that the design is based on a predetermined level of safety, which is essential for ensuring the stability and durability of the retaining wall.

Free online calculators for civil engineers are highly valuable tools that can significantly enhance the efficiency and accuracy of civil engineering projects. With the availability of specialized calculators for various engineering tasks, from beam and steel section design to soil bearing capacity and retaining wall calculations, civil engineers can now perform complex and time-consuming calculations quickly and accurately. These calculators save engineers significant amounts of time and effort, enabling them to focus on other aspects of the design and construction process. Overall, the use of free online calculators for civil engineers is an excellent way to increase productivity, improve accuracy, and streamline the design and construction process.