Design Summary and Supporting Calculations for

Custom Pool Section Spreadsheet

Soil Properties and Loading Data:

Note:

Two main simplifying assumptions were made in the following calculations. Both these
assumptions assume worse case scenarios of 1) the pool is empty all of the time and 2) the pool
walls are infinitely long, which allows for a straight forward 2 dimensional design.

h (Section Depth, ft)

EFP (Equivalent Fluid Pressure)

Pa (resultant force on wall by soil)

Ms (moment induced on wall by soil) = Pa 1/3h

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 1 of 9
Resisting Forces of Pool Radius:

Pool shell section design forces are calculated at various depths using the following properties of area and
assumed shape of the pool shell. Pool Shells that are constructed thicker than the design will have a larger
resisting moment leading to a more conservative design.

Resisting Forces of Pool Wall and Radius (calculations):

R , radius = Given

d1 , depth to the beginning of the slice = Given

d2 , depth to the end of the slice = Given

ASlice , area of slice

x s , centroid of slice area

R2 d  d R2 d  d
ASlice  cos1  1   1 R 2  d12  cos1  2   2 R 2  d 22
2 R 2 2 R 2

d2 R y
2 2

R2  y 2
d2
xs ASlice   
d1 0
x dx dy  xs ASlice   2 dy
d1

d 2  d1 2 d13  d 23
xs ASlice  R 
2 6

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 2 of 9
Resisting Forces of Pool Radius (cont):

d, depth of section being considered in the design = Given

dR, depth to the start of the radius = Given

Ashell, area of shell section AShell  ASlice R ts   ASlice R 

Wt, weight of shell represented by Ashell per unit length wt  c Ashell

xs R ts  ASlice R ts   xs R  ASlice R 

xShell , centroid of shell section xShell 
AShell

xc, center of wall at depth considered

2
 t
xc   R     d  d r 
2
If d > h-R
 2
Otherwise
t
xc  R 
2

Mc, moment due to self weight about the center of radius M c  Ashell xshell

xc
Pr, axial compression in pool shell due to self weight Pr   wt
R  0.5tw

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 3 of 9
 max(d  R  h,0)
Vr, shear in pool shell due to self weight V f   wt
R  0.5tw

Mr, moment in pool shell due to self weight M f   M c  xc  wt

Resisting Forces Due to Soil Friction on Vertical Wall

Soil friction against the wall is used to supplement the resisting moment on the pool section. Conservatively,
only the vertical portion of the wall (distance dR) is considered as having a friction resistance contribution. The
following is a summary of the symbols and equations used to determine the design section forces due to wall
friction.

Cf, coefficient of friction against the wall

Fw, wall friction force per foot length of wall

d2
If d ≤ h-R then Fw  C f EFP
2
h  R
2

Otherwise, Fw  C f EFP
2

xc
Pf, axial compression in pool shell due to self weight Pf  Fw
R  0.5tw

max(d  R  h,0)
Vf, shear in pool shell due to self weight V f  Fw
R  0.5tw

 t 
Mf, moment in pool shell due to self weight M f  Fw  R   xc 
 2 

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 4 of 9
Retaining Forces in Pool Wall and Radius:

EFP 2
Pa, (lbs), force resultant of active pressure above section being considered, Pa  d
2
d
Ms (ft-lbs), moment due to Pa at the current section, M s  Pa
3

d  dR
Vs, (lbs), shear due to Pa at the current section, Vs  Pa
R
R2   d  dR 
2

Ps, (lbs.), axial compression due to Pa at the current section, Ps  Pa

R

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 5 of 9
Adjacent Parallel Footing Load:

The total force per unit length (P, lbs.) and the location of the resultant force (zave, ft.) due to the strip loading is
expressed as follows:

q
P  H  2  1   , in pounds
90 
1  b 
'
1  tan   , in degrees
H
 a '  b' 
2  tan 1   , in degrees
 H 
H 2 2  1    R  Q   57.30a' H
zave  , in feet
2H 2  1 
R   a '  b'   90  2 
2

Q  b'2  90  1 

Moment affecting pool wall:

R2   d  dR 
2

Psu, Axial load due to foundation surcharge Psur  P

R

d  dR
Vsu, Shear due to foundation surcharge Vsur  P
R

Msu, moment due to foundation surcharge M su  Pzave

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 6 of 9
Load Combinations For Pool Wall Design:

U  1.6H  0.9D

Pu  1.6Ps  0.9Pr

Vu  0.9Vr  1.6Vs *

M u  1.6M s  0.9M r

 Note: the worst case load combination for axial load and shear is 1.2D+1.6H. However, because the design of the
pool shell is flexure dominated and never shear controlled, the worst case set of load combinations for flexure
alone is considered. In order to perform a shear check using the flexure load combination v is conservatively
modified using a ratio of the dead load factors as shown below.

Pool Shell Capacities / Strength Method:

f’c (psi), minimum compressive strength of shotcrete = 2,500

fy (psi), yield strength of reinforcing steel = 40,000 (grade 40)

d (in.), effective depth = Given, (thickness of shotcrete minus 3" min. cover)

b (in.), unit width = 12

As (in2), cross sectional area of reinforcement = Given

f c'  87,000 
max. value = 0.75As,bal , As, bal = 0.851   bd
f y  87,000  f y 
1  0.85, when fc'  4000 psi
Therefore As, max = 0.278 d

Mn (ft-lbs), nominal flexural strength considering axial load =

1   Pu  As f y   t Pu  As f y  
Mn   As f y  d  '   Pu   
12   1.7bf c  2 1.7bf c'  

1dt
 b (flexural strength capacity reduction factor) b  0.366  (Unified Design)
5a
Where, 0.70  b  0.90

Vn (lbs.), nominal shear strength = 2 f c' bd

v (shear strength capacity reduction factor) , v  0.85 0.9  0.64

1.2

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 7 of 9
 (ACI 318.11.5.6.1: minimum shear reinforcing not required for concrete slabs or foundations where Vu  Vc )

Capacity Check:
Vu  vVn

M u  b M n

Note: Maximum Steel Ratio Specified in ACI 318 Appendix B.10.3.3 is intended to ensure that the concrete element will
not undergo a sudden failure due to an applied load. The load developed on a retaining wall will slowly increase over time
as the soil undergoes gradual movement. Movement in the wall will reduce the applied soil pressure. If a crack forms in a
wall due to soil load, the deformation will result in a reduction of applied load thereby avoiding the kind of sudden failure
that could be observed in an overhead application. ACI 318.10.5.3 specifies that where minimum steel is not met, only
75% of the actual steel may be considered in the design. We have adopted this same criteria and applied it to the maximum
steel ratio, this spreadsheet limits the design steel to 75% of the maximum from ACI 318.10.5.3. Note that the areas that
are over-reinforced are often the most lightly stressed components of the pool. The reinforcing required below is carried up
into these sections for design clarity and ease of construction only. These sections are often considerably stronger than
necessary.

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 8 of 9
Floor Thickness and Reinforcement:

h (ft.), depth of pool = Given

tf(in.), Thickness of pool floor slab

EFP, Equivalent Fluid Pressure = Given

Pu,0(lbs), section axial load at end of radius = Given from wall calculations

Vu,0(lbs), section shear load at end of radius = Given from wall calculations

Mu,0(ft-lbs), section moment at end of radius = Given from wall calculations

Mu,i (ft-lbs), resultant moment i feet from end of radius

 140t f  i
M u ,i  M u ,0  iVu ,0  0.9   , (shotcrete density is assumed 140 pcf)
 12  2

As, Standard floor reinforcement = Given

tr (in), pool shell thickness at the end of radius = Given

d (in), depth to reinforcing = tf - 3.25

Mn (ft-lbs), nominal flexural strength considering axial load =

1   Pu  As f y   t Pu  As f y 
Mn   As f y  d  '   Pu   
12   1.7bf c  2 1.7bf c'  

1dt
 b (flexural strength capacity reduction factor) b  0.366  (Unified Design)
5a
Where, 0.70  b  0.90

Pool Section Calculations

Date: January 1, 2008
Written By: Jon Mohle
Page 9 of 9