2D 1 Tutorial - 02

PLAXIS 2D
Tutorial Manual
2016
Build 8122
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
Settlement of a circular footing on sand

1.1
Geometry
1.2
Case A: Rigid footing
1.3
Case B: Flexible footing
7
7
8
23
Submerged construction of an excavation

2.1
Input
2.2
Mesh generation
2.3
Calculations
2.4
Results
31
32
37
38
42
Dry excavation using a tie back wall

3.1
Input
3.2
Mesh generation
3.3
Calculations
3.4
Results
47
47
52
52
58
Construction of a road embankment

4.1
Input
4.2
Mesh generation
4.3
Calculations
4.4
Results
4.5
Safety analysis
4.6
Using drains
4.7
Updated mesh + Updated water pressures analysis
61
61
65
65
69
71
76
77
Settlements due to tunnel construction

5.1
Input
5.2
Mesh generation
5.3
Calculations
5.4
Results
79
79
84
85
87
Excavation of an NATM tunnel

6.1
Input
6.2
Mesh generation
6.3
Calculations
6.4
Results
91
91
95
95
98
Stability of dam under rapid drawdown

7.1
Input
7.2
Mesh generation
7.3
Calculation
7.4
Results
101
101
102
103
111
Dry excavation using a tie back wall - ULS

8.1
Input
8.2
Calculations
8.3
Results
115
115
117
118
PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Flow through an embankment

9.1
Input
9.2
Mesh generation
9.3
Calculations
9.4
Results
121
121
122
123
127
10
Flow around a sheet pile wall

10.1 Input
10.2 Mesh generation
10.3 Calculations
10.4 Results
131
131
131
132
133
11
Potato field moisture content

11.1 Input
11.3 Calculations
11.4 Results
135
135
137
138
141
12
Dynamic analysis of a generator on an elastic foundation

12.1 Input
12.3 Calculations
12.4 Results
143
143
145
146
150
13
Pile driving
13.1 Input
13.3 Calculations
13.4 Results
153
153
156
157
159
14
Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building

14.1 Input
14.3 Calculations
14.4 Results
163
163
168
169
171
15
Thermal expansion of a navigable lock

15.1 Input
15.3 Calculations
15.4 Results
175
175
178
179
183
16
Freeze pipes in tunnel construction

16.1 Input
16.3 Calculations
16.4 Results
187
187
192
192
193
Appendix A - Menu tree
Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016
195
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
PLAXIS is a finite element package that has been developed specifically for the analysis
of deformation, stability and flow in geotechnical engineering projects. The simple
graphical input procedures enable a quick generation of complex finite element models,
and the enhanced output facilities provide a detailed presentation of computational
results. The calculation itself is fully automated and based on robust numerical
procedures. This concept enables new users to work with the package after only a few
hours of training.
Though the various tutorials deal with a wide range of interesting practical applications,
this Tutorial Manual is intended to help new users become familiar with PLAXIS 2D. The
tutorials should therefore not be used as a basis for practical projects.
Users are expected to have a basic understanding of soil mechanics and should be able
to work in a Windows environment. It is strongly recommended that the tutorials are
followed in the order that they appear in the manual. Please note that minor differences in
results maybe found, depending on hardware and software configuration.
The Tutorial Manual does not provide theoretical background information on the finite
element method, nor does it explain the details of the various soil models available in the
program. The latter can be found in the Material Models Manual, as included in the full
manual, and theoretical background is given in the Scientific Manual. For detailed
information on the available program features, the user is referred to the Reference
Manual. In addition to the full set of manuals, short courses are organised on a regular
basis at several places in the world to provide hands-on experience and background
information on the use of the program.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND
In this chapter a first application is considered, namely the settlement of a circular

foundation footing on sand. This is the first step in becoming familiar with the practical
use of PLAXIS 2D. The general procedures for the creation of a geometry model, the
generation of a finite element mesh, the execution of a finite element calculation and the
evaluation of the output results are described here in detail. The information provided in
this chapter will be utilised in the later tutorials. Therefore, it is important to complete this
first tutorial before attempting any further tutorial examples.
Objectives:
Starting a new project.
Creating an axisymmetric model
Creating soil stratigraphy using the Borehole feature.
Creating and assigning of material data sets for soil (Mohr-Coulomb model).
Defining prescribed displacements.
Creation of footing using the Plate feature.
Creating and assigning material data sets for plates.
Creating loads.
Generating the mesh.
Generating initial stresses using the K0 procedure.
Defining a Plastic calculation.
Activating and modifying the values of loads in calculation phases.
Viewing the calculation results.
Selecting points for curves.
Creating a 'Load - displacement' curve.
1.1
GEOMETRY
A circular footing with a radius of 1.0 m is placed on a sand layer of 4.0 m thickness as
shown in Figure 1.1. Under the sand layer there is a stiff rock layer that extends to a large
depth. The purpose of the exercise is to find the displacements and stresses in the soil
caused by the load applied to the footing. Calculations are performed for both rigid and
flexible footings. The geometry of the finite element model for these two situations is
similar. The rock layer is not included in the model; instead, an appropriate boundary
condition is applied at the bottom of the sand layer. To enable any possible mechanism in
the sand and to avoid any influence of the outer boundary, the model is extended in
horizontal direction to a total radius of 5.0 m.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
2.0 m
load
footing
y
sand
4.0 m
x
a
Figure 1.1 Geometry of a circular footing on a sand layer
1.2
CASE A: RIGID FOOTING
In the first calculation, the footing is considered to be very stiff and rough. In this
calculation the settlement of the footing is simulated by means of a uniform indentation at
the top of the sand layer instead of modelling the footing itself. This approach leads to a
very simple model and is therefore used as a first exercise, but it also has some
disadvantages. For example, it does not give any information about the structural forces
in the footing. The second part of this tutorial deals with an external load on a flexible
footing, which is a more advanced modelling approach.
1.2.1
GEOMETRY INPUT
Start PLAXIS 2D by double clicking the icon of the Input program. The Quick select
dialog box appears in which you can create a new project or select an existing one
(Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2 Quick select dialog box
Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears, consisting of
three tabsheets, Project, Model and Constants (Figure 1.3 and Figure 1.4).
Project properties
The first step in every analysis is to set the basic parameters of the finite element model.
This is done in the Project properties window. These settings include the description of
the problem, the type of model, the basic type of elements, the basic units and the size of
the draw area.
Figure 1.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window
To enter the appropriate settings for the footing calculation follow these steps:
In the Project tabsheet, enter "Lesson 1" in the Title box and type "Settlement of a
circular footing" in the Comments box.
Click the Next button below the tabsheets or click the Model tab.
In the Type group the type of the model (Model) and the basic element type
(Elements) are specified. Since this tutorial concerns a circular footing, select the
Axisymmetry and the 15-Noded options from the Model and the Elements
drop-down menus respectively.
In the Contour group set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0, xmax = 5.0, ymin = 0.0
and ymax = 4.0.
Keep the default units in the Constants tabsheet.
Figure 1.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Click OK button to confirm the settings.

Hint: In the case of a mistake or for any other reason that the project properties
need to be changed, you can access the Project properties window by
selecting the corresponding option from the File menu.
Definition of soil stratigraphy

When you click the OK button the Project properties window will close and the Soil mode
view will be shown where the soil stratigraphy can be defined.
Hint: The modelling process is completed in five modes. More information on
modes is available in the Section 3.4 of the Reference Manual.
Information on the soil layers is entered in boreholes. Boreholes are locations in the draw
area at which the information on the position of soil layers and the water table is given. If
multiple boreholes are defined, PLAXIS 2D will automatically interpolate between the
boreholes. The layer distribution beyond the boreholes is kept horizontal. In order to
construct the soil stratigraphy follow these steps:
Click the Create borehole button in the side (vertical) toolbar to start defining the soil
stratigraphy.
Click at x = 0 in the draw area to locate the borehole. The Modify soil layers window
will appear.
In the Modify soil layers window add a soil layer by clicking the Add button.
Set the top boundary of the soil layer at y = 4 and keep the bottom boundary at y = 0
m.
By default the Head value (groundwater head) in the borehole column is set to 0 m.
Set the Head to 2.0 m (Figure 1.5).
The creation of material data sets and their assignment to soil layers is described in the
following section.
Material data sets

In order to simulate the behaviour of the soil, a suitable soil model and appropriate
material parameters must be assigned to the geometry. In PLAXIS 2D, soil properties are
collected in material data sets and the various data sets are stored in a material
database. From the database, a data set can be assigned to one or more soil layers. For
structures (like walls, plates, anchors, geogrids, etc.) the system is similar, but different
types of structures have different parameters and therefore different types of material
data sets. PLAXIS 2D distinguishes between material data sets for Soil and interfaces,
Plates, Geogrids, Embedded beam rows and Anchors.
10
Figure 1.5 Modify soil layers window
To create a material set for the sand layer, follow these steps:
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Materials button in the Modify soil
layers window. The Material sets window pops up (Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6 Material sets window
Click the New button at the lower side of the Material sets window. A new window
will appear with six tabsheets: General, Parameters, Groundwater, Thermal,
11
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Interfaces and Initial.
In the Material set box of the General tabsheet, write "Sand" in the Identification box.
The default material model (Mohr-Coulomb) and drainage type (Drained) are valid
for this example.
Enter the proper values in the General properties box (Figure 1.7) according to the
material properties listed in Table 1.1. Keep parameters that are not mentioned in
the table at their default values.
Figure 1.7 The General tabsheet of the Soil window of the Soil and interfaces set type
Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the input of model
parameters. The parameters appearing on the Parameters tabsheet depend on the
selected material model (in this case the Mohr-Coulomb model).
Enter the model parameters of Table 1.1 in the corresponding edit boxes of the
Parameters tabsheet (Figure 1.8). A detailed description of different soil models and
their corresponding parameters can be found in the Material Models Manual.
Table 1.1 Material properties of the sand layer

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material model
Model
Mohr-Coulomb
Type of material behaviour
Type
Drained
Soil unit weight above phreatic level
unsat
sat
17.0
kN/m3
20.0
kN/m3
E'
'
c 'ref
'
1.3 104
kN/m2
0.3
1.0
kN/m2
30.0
0.0
General
Soil unit weight below phreatic level

Parameters
Young's modulus (constant)
Poisson's ratio
Cohesion (constant)
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
The soil material is drained, the geometry model does not include interfaces and the
default thermal and initial conditions are valid for this case, therefore the remaining
tabsheets can be skipped. Click OK to confirm the input of the current material data
set. Now the created data set will appear in the tree view of the Material sets
12
Figure 1.8 The Parameters tabsheet of the Soil window of the Soil and interfaces set type
window.
Drag the set Sand from the Material sets window (select it and hold down the left
mouse button while moving) to the graph of the soil column on the left hand side of
the Modify soil layers window and drop it there (release the left mouse button).
Click OK in the Material sets window to close the database.
Click OK to close the Modify soil layers window.

Hint: Existing data sets may be changed by opening the Material sets window,
selecting the data set to be changed from the tree view and clicking the Edit
button. As an alternative, the Material sets window can be opened by clicking
the corresponding button in the side toolbar.
PLAXIS 2D distinguishes between a project database and a global database
of material sets. Data sets may be exchanged from one project to another
using the global database. The global database can be shown in the Material
sets window by clicking the Show global button. The data sets of all tutorials
in the Tutorial Manual are stored in the global database during the installation
of the program.
The material assigned to a selected entity in the model can be changed in
the Material drop-down menu in the Selection explorer. Note that all the
material datasets assignable to the entity are listed in the drop-down menu.
However, only the materials listed under Project materials are listed, and not
the ones listed under Global materials.
The program performs a consistency check on the material parameters and
will give a warning message in the case of a detected inconsistency in the
data.
Visibility of a grid in the draw area can simplify the definition of geometry. The grid
13
TUTORIAL MANUAL
provides a matrix on the screen that can be used as reference. It may also be used for
snapping to regular points during the creation of the geometry. The grid can be activated
by clicking the corresponding button under the draw area. To define the size of the grid
cell and the snapping options:
Click the Snapping options button in the bottom toolbar. The Snapping window pops
up where the size of the grid cells and the snapping interval can be specified. The
spacing of snapping points can be further divided into smaller intervals by the
Number of snap intervals value. Use the default values in this example.
Definition of structural elements

The structural elements are created in the Structures mode of the program where a
uniform indentation will be created to model a very stiff and rough footing.
Click the Structures tab to proceed with the input of structural elements in the
Structures mode.
Click the Create prescribed displacement button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create line displacement option in the expanded menu (Figure 1.9).
Figure 1.9 The Create line displacement option in the Prescribed displacement menu
In the draw area move the cursor to point (0 4) and click the left mouse button
Move along the upper boundary of the soil to point (1 4) and click the left mouse
button again.
Click the right mouse button to stop drawing.
In the Selection explorer set the x-component of the prescribed displacement

(Displacementx ) to Fixed.
Specify a uniform prescribed displacement in the vertical direction by assigning a

value of -0.05 to uy,start,ref , signifying a downward displacement of 0.05 m (Figure
1.10).
The geometry of the model is complete.
Mesh generation
When the geometry model is complete, the finite element mesh can be generated.
PLAXIS 2D allows for a fully automatic mesh generation procedure, in which the
geometry is divided into elements of the basic element type and compatible structural
elements, if applicable.
The mesh generation takes full account of the position of points and lines in the model,
so that the exact position of layers, loads and structures is accounted for in the finite
element mesh. The generation process is based on a robust triangulation principle that
14
Figure 1.10 Prescribed displacement in the Selection explorer
searches for optimised triangles. In addition to the mesh generation itself, a

transformation of input data (properties, boundary conditions, material sets, etc.) from the
geometry model (points, lines and clusters) to the finite element mesh (elements, nodes
and stress points) is made.
In order to generate the mesh, follow these steps:
Proceed to the Mesh mode by clicking the corresponding tab.

Click the Generate mesh button in the side toolbar. The Mesh options window pops
up.
The Medium option is by default selected as element distribution.
Click OK to start the mesh generation.
Figure 1.11 The Mesh options window
As the mesh is generated, click the View mesh button. A new window is opened
displaying the generated mesh (Figure 1.12). Note that the mesh is automatically
refined under the footing.
Click on the Close tab to close the Output program and go back to the Mesh mode
of the Input program.
1.2.2
PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
Once the mesh has been generated, the finite element model is complete.
15
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: By default, the Element distribution is set to Medium. The Element

distribution setting can be changed in the Mesh options window. In addition,
options are available to refine the mesh globally or locally (Section 7.1 of
Reference Manual).
The finite element mesh has to be regenerated if the geometry is modified.
The automatically generated mesh may not be perfectly suitable for the
intended calculation. Therefore it is recommended that the user inspects the
mesh and makes refinements if necessary.
Figure 1.12 The generated mesh in the Output window
Initial conditions
The 'Initial phase' always involves the generation of initial conditions. In general, the initial
conditions comprise the initial geometry configuration and the initial stress state, i.e.
effective stresses, pore pressures and state parameters, if applicable.
Click the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of calculation phases.
The Flow conditions mode may be skipped. When a new project has been defined, a first
calculation phase named "Initial phase", is automatically created and selected in the
Phases explorer (Figure 1.13). All structural elements and loads that are present in the
geometry are initially automatically switched off; only the soil volumes are initially active.
In this tutorial lesson the properties of the Initial phase will be described. Below an
overview is given of the options to be defined even though the default values of the
parameters are used.
16
Figure 1.13 Phases explorer
The Phases window (Figure 1.14) is displayed by clicking the Edit phase button or
by double clicking on the phase in the Phases explorer.
Figure 1.14 The Phases window for Initial phase
By default the K0 procedure is selected as Calculation type in the General subtree

of the Phases window. This option will be used in this project to generate the initial
stresses.
The Staged construction option is available as Loading type.
The Phreatic option is selected by default as the Pore pressure calculation type.
The Ignore temperature option is selected by default as the Thermal calculation type.
The other default options in the Phases window will be used as well in this tutorial.
Click OK to close the Phases window.
Hint: The K0 procedure should be primarily used for horizontally layered
geometries with a horizontal ground surface and, if applicable, a horizontal
phreatic level. See Section 7.3 of the Reference Manual for more information
on the K0 procedure.
For deformation problems two types of boundary conditions exist: Prescribed

displacement and prescribed forces (loads). In principle, all boundaries must have one
boundary condition in each direction. That is to say, when no explicit boundary condition
is given to a certain boundary (a free boundary), the natural condition applies, which is a
prescribed force equal to zero and a free displacement.
17
TUTORIAL MANUAL
To avoid the situation where the displacements of the geometry are undetermined, some
points of the geometry must have prescribed displacements. The simplest form of a
prescribed displacement is a fixity (zero displacement), but non-zero prescribed
displacements may also be given.
In the Model explorer expand the Model conditions subtree.
Expand the Deformations subtree. Note that the box is checked by default. By
default, a full fixity is generated at the base of the geometry, whereas roller supports
are assigned to the vertical boundaries (BoundaryXMin and BoundaryXMax are
normally fixed, BoundaryYMin is fully fixed and BoundaryYMax is free).
Expand the Water subtree. The water level generated according to the Head value
assigned to boreholes in the Modify soil layers window (BoreholeWaterLevel_1) is
automatically assigned to GlobalWaterLevel (Figure 1.15).
Figure 1.15 The Deformations and Water subtrees in the Model explorer
The initial water level has been entered already in the Modify soil layers window.
The water level defined according to the Head specified for boreholes is displayed
(Figure 1.16). Note that only the global water level is displayed in both Phase
definition modes. All the water levels are displayed in the model only in the Flow
conditions mode.
Phase 1: Footing
In order to simulate the settlement of the footing in this analysis, a plastic calculation is
required. PLAXIS 2D has a convenient procedure for automatic load stepping, which is
called 'Load advancement'. This procedure can be used for most practical applications.
Within the plastic calculation, the prescribed displacements are activated to simulate the
indentation of the footing. In order to define the calculation phase follow these steps:
Click the Add phase button in the Phases explorer. A new phase, named Phase_1
18
Figure 1.16 Initial phase in the Staged construction mode
will be added in the Phases explorer.
Double-click Phase_1 to open the Phases window.
In the ID box of the General subtree, write (optionally) an appropriate name for the
new phase (for example "Indentation").
The current phase starts from the Initial phase, which contains the initial stress
state. The default options and values assigned are valid for this phase (Figure 1.17).
Figure 1.17 The Phases window for the Indentation phase
Click the Staged construction tab to enter the corresponding mode.
Right-click the prescribed displacement in the draw area and select the Activate
option in the appearing menu (Figure 1.18).
Hint: Calculation phases may be added, inserted or deleted using the Add, Insert
and Delete buttons in the Phases explorer or in the Phases window.
19
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.18 Activation of the prescribed displacement in the Staged construction mode
Execution of calculation
All calculation phases (two phases in this case) are marked for calculation (indicated by a
blue arrow). The execution order is controlled by the Start from phase parameter.
Click the Calculate button to start the calculation process. Ignore the warning that
no nodes and stress points have been selected for curves. During the execution of a
calculation, a window appears which gives information about the progress of the
actual calculation phase (Figure 1.19).
Figure 1.19 Active task window displaying the calculation progress
The information, which is continuously updated, shows the calculation progress, the
current step number, the global error in the current iteration and the number of plastic
points in the current calculation step. It will take a few seconds to perform the calculation.
When a calculation ends, the window is closed and focus is returned to the main window.
20
The phase list in the Phases explorer is updated. A successfully calculated phase is
indicated by a check mark inside a green circle.
Save the project before viewing results.
Viewing calculation results

Once the calculation has been completed, the results can be displayed in the Output
program. In the Output program, the displacement and stresses in the full two
dimensional model as well as in cross sections or structural elements can be viewed.
The computational results are also available in tabular form.
To check the applied load that results from the prescribed displacement of 0.05 m:
Open the Phases window.
For the current application the value of Force-Y in the Reached values subtree is
important. This value represents the total reaction force corresponding to the
applied prescribed vertical displacement, which corresponds to the total force under
1.0 radian of the footing (note that the analysis is axisymmetric). In order to obtain
the total footing force, the value of Force-Y should be multiplied by 2 (this gives a
value of about 588 kN).
The results can be evaluated in the Output program. In the Output window you can view
the displacements and stresses in the full geometry as well as in cross sections and in
structural elements, if applicable. The computational results are also available in
tabulated form. To view the results of the footing analysis, follow these steps:
Select the last calculation phase in the Phases explorer.

Click the View calculation results button in the side toolbar. As a result, the Output
program is started, showing the deformed mesh at the end of the selected
calculation phase (Figure 1.20). The deformed mesh is scaled to ensure that the
deformations are visible.
In the Deformations menu select the Total displacements |u| option. The plot
shows colour shadings of the total displacements. The colour distribution is
displayed in the legend at the right hand side of the plot.
Hint: The legend can be toggled on and off by clicking the corresponding option in
the View menu.
The total displacement distribution can be displayed in contours by clicking the
corresponding button in the toolbar. The plot shows contour lines of the total
displacements, which are labelled. An index is presented with the displacement
values corresponding to the labels.
Clicking the Arrows button, the plot shows the total displacements of all nodes as
arrows, with an indication of their relative magnitude.
In the Stresses menu point to the Principal effective stresses and select the
Effective principal stresses option from the appearing menu. The plot shows the
effective principal stresses at the stress points of each soil element with an
indication of their direction and their relative magnitude (Figure 1.21).
21
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.20 Deformed mesh
Hint: In addition to the total displacements, the Deformations menu allows for the
presentation of Incremental displacements. The incremental displacements
are the displacements that occurred within one calculation step (in this case
the final step). Incremental displacements may be helpful in visualising an
eventual failure mechanism.
The plots of stresses and displacements may be combined with geometrical
features, as available in the Geometry menu.
Click the Table button on the toolbar. A new window is opened in which a table is
presented, showing the values of the principal stresses and other stress measures
in each stress point of all elements.
22
Figure 1.21 Effective principal stresses
1.3
CASE B: FLEXIBLE FOOTING
The project is now modified so that the footing is modelled as a flexible plate. This
enables the calculation of structural forces in the footing. The geometry used in this
exercise is the same as the previous one, except that additional elements are used to
model the footing. The calculation itself is based on the application of load rather than
prescribed displacement. It is not necessary to create a new model; you can start from
the previous model, modify it and store it under a different name. To perform this, follow
these steps:
Modifying the geometry
In the Input program select the Save project as option of the File menu. Enter a
non-existing name for the current project file and click the Save button.
Go back to the Structures mode.

Right-click the prescribed displacement. In the right mouse button menu point to the
Line displacement option. In the expanded menu click on the Delete option (Figure
1.22).
In the model right-click the line at the location of the footing. Point on Create and
select the Plate option in the appearing menu (Figure 1.23). A plate is created which
simulates the flexible footing.
In the model right-click again the line at the location of the footing. Point on Create
and select the Line load option in the appearing menu (Figure 1.24).
23
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 1.22 Delete Prescribed displacement
Figure 1.23 Assignment of Plate to line
Figure 1.24 Assignment of Line load to line
In the Selection explorer the default input value of the distributed load is -1.0 kN/m2
24
in the y-direction. The input value will later be changed to the real value when the
load is activated.
Adding material properties for the footing

Click the Materials button in the side toolbar.
Select Plates from the Set type drop-down menu in the Material sets window.
Click the New button. A new window appears where the properties of the footing
can be entered.
Write "Footing" in the Identification box. The Elastic option is selected by default for
the material type. Keep this option for this example.
Enter the properties as listed in Table 1.2. Keep parameters that are not mentioned
in the table at their default values.
Click OK. The new data set now appears in the tree view of the Material sets
window.
Hint: The equivalent thickness is automatically calculated by PLAXIS from the
values of EA and EI . It cannot be defined manually.
Table 1.2 Material properties of the footing

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material type
Type
EA
EI
w
Elastic; Isotropic
5 106
8.5 103
kN/m
0.0
kN/m/m
0.0
Normal stiffness
Flexural rigidity
Weight
Poisson's ratio
kNm2 /m
Drag the set "Footing" to the draw area and drop it on the footing. Note that the
shape of the cursor changes to indicate that it is valid to drop the material set.
Hint: If the Material sets window is displayed over the footing and hides it, click on
its header and drag it to another position.
Close the database by clicking the OK button.
Generating the mesh
Proceed to the Mesh mode.

Create the mesh. Use the default option for the Element distribution parameter
(Medium).
View the mesh.
Click on the Close tab to close the Output program.
25
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: Regeneration of the mesh results in a redistribution of nodes and stress

points.
Calculations
Proceed to the Staged construction mode.
The initial phase is the same as in the previous case.
Double-click the following phase (Phase_1) and enter an appropriate name for the
phase ID. Keep Plastic as Calculation type and keep Staged construction as loading
type.
Close the Phases window.
In the Staged construction mode activate the load and plate. The model is shown in
Figure 1.25.
Figure 1.25 Active plate and load in the model
In the Selection explorer assign 188 kN/m2 to the vertical component of the line
load (Figure 1.26). Note that this gives a total load that is approximately equal to the
footing force that was obtained from the first part of this tutorial. (188 kN/m2 (1.0
m)2 590 kN).
No changes are required in the Flow conditions tabsheet.
The calculation definition is now complete. Before starting the calculation it is advisable
to select nodes or stress points for a later generation of load-displacement curves or
stress and strain diagrams. To do this, follow these steps:
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. As a result, all the nodes
and stress points are displayed in the model in the Output program. The points can
be selected either by directly clicking on them or by using the options available in the
Select points window.
In the Select points window enter (0.0 4.0) for the coordinates of the point of interest
and click Search closest. The nodes and stress points located near that specific
26
Figure 1.26 Definition of the load components in the Selection explorer
location are listed.
Select the node at exactly (0.0 4.0) by checking the box in front of it. The selected
node is indicated by A in the model when the Selection labels option is selected in
the Mesh menu.
Hint: Instead of selecting nodes or stress points for curves before starting the
calculation, points can also be selected after the calculation when viewing
the output results. However, the curves will be less accurate since only the
results of the saved calculation steps will be considered.
To select the desired nodes by clicking on them, it may be convenient to use
the Zoom in option on the toolbar to zoom into the area of interest.
Click the Update button to return to the Input program.
Check if both calculation phases are marked for calculation by a blue arrow. If this is
not the case click the symbol of the calculation phase or right-click and select Mark
for calculation from the pop-up menu.
Click the Calculate button to start the calculation.
Save the project after the calculation has finished.
Viewing the results

After the calculation the results of the final calculation step can be viewed by clicking
the View calculation results button. Select the plots that are of interest. The
displacements and stresses should be similar to those obtained from the first part of
the exercise.
Click the Select structures button in the side toolbar and double click the footing. A
new window opens in which either the displacements or the bending moments of the
footing may be plotted (depending on the type of plot in the first window).
Note that the menu has changed. Select the various options from the Forces menu
to view the forces in the footing.
27
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: Multiple (sub-)windows may be opened at the same time in the Output
program. All windows appear in the list of the Window menu. PLAXIS follows
the Windows standard for the presentation of sub-windows (Cascade, Tile,
Minimize, Maximize, etc).
Generating a load-displacement curve

In addition to the results of the final calculation step it is often useful to view a
load-displacement curve. In order to generate the load-displacement curve as given in
Figure 1.28, follow these steps:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar. The Curves manager window pops
up.
Figure 1.27 Curve generation window
In the Charts tabsheet, click New. The Curve generation window pops up (Figure
1.27).
For the xaxis, select point A (0.00 / 4.00) from the drop-down menu. Select the |u|
option for the Total displacements option of the Deformations.
For the y axis, select the Project option from the drop-down menu. Select the
Mstage option of the Multipliers. Mstage is the proportion of the specified
changes that has been applied. Hence the value will range from 0 to 1, which
means that 100% of the prescribed load has been applied and the prescribed
ultimate state has been fully reached.
Click OK to accept the input and generate the load-displacement curve. As a result
the curve of Figure 1.28 is plotted.
28
Hint: To re-enter the Settings window (in the case of a mistake, a desired
regeneration or modification) you can double click the chart in the legend at
the right of the chart. Alternatively, you may open the Settings window by
selecting the corresponding option from the Format menu.
The properties of the chart can be modified in the Chart tabsheet whereas
the properties curve can be modified in the corresponding tabsheet.
Figure 1.28 Load-displacement curve for the footing
29
TUTORIAL MANUAL
30
SUBMERGED CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXCAVATION
This tutorial illustrates the use of PLAXIS for the analysis of submerged construction of
an excavation. Most of the program features that were used in Tutorial 1 will be utilised
here again. In addition, some new features will be used, such as the use of interfaces
and anchor elements, the generation of water pressures and the use of multiple
calculation phases. The new features will be described in full detail, whereas the features
that were treated in Tutorial 1 will be described in less detail. Therefore it is suggested
that Tutorial 1 should be completed before attempting this exercise.
This tutorial concerns the construction of an excavation close to a river. The submerged
excavation is carried out in order to construct a tunnel by the installation of prefabricated
tunnel segments which are 'floated' into the excavation and 'sunk' onto the excavation
bottom. The excavation is 30 m wide and the final depth is 20 m. It extends in longitudinal
direction for a large distance, so that a plane strain model is applicable. The sides of the
excavation are supported by 30 m long diaphragm walls, which are braced by horizontal
struts at an interval of 5 m. Along the excavation a surface load is taken into account.
The load is applied from 2 m from the diaphragm wall up to 7 m from the wall and has a
magnitude of 5 kN/m2 /m (Figure 2.1).
The upper 20 m of the subsoil consists of soft soil layers, which are modelled as a single
homogeneous clay layer. Underneath this clay layer there is a stiffer sand layer, which
extends to a large depth. 30 m of the sand layer are considered in the model.
43 m
5m 2m
5
30 m
2m5m
kN/m2 /m
43 m
kN/m2 /m
Strut
1m
19 m
Clay
to be excavated
Clay
y
x
10 m
Diaphragm wall
20 m
Sand
Figure 2.1 Geometry model of the situation of a submerged excavation
Since the geometry is symmetric, only one half (the left side) is considered in the
analysis. The excavation process is simulated in three separate excavation stages. The
diaphragm wall is modelled by means of a plate, such as used for the footing in the
previous tutorial. The interaction between the wall and the soil is modelled at both sides
by means of interfaces. The interfaces allow for the specification of a reduced wall friction
compared to the friction in the soil. The strut is modelled as a spring element for which
the normal stiffness is a required input parameter.
31
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Objectives:
Modelling soil-structure interaction using the Interface feature.
Advanced soil models (Soft Soil model and Hardening Soil model).
Undrained (A) drainage type.
Defining Fixed-end-anchor.
Creating and assigning material data sets for anchors.
Simulation of excavation (cluster de-activation).
2.1
INPUT
To create the geometry model, follow these steps:
General settings
Start the Input program and select Start a new project from the Quick select dialog
box.
In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window, enter an appropriate title.
In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain), and
Elements (15-Node).
Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 65.0 m, ymin = -30.0 m and ymax =
20.0.
Keep the default values for units and constants and press OK to close the Project
properties window.

To define the soil stratigraphy:
Create a borehole at x = 0. The Modify soil layers window pops up.
Add the top soil layer and specify its height by setting the top level to 20 m and the
bottom level to 0 m.
Add the bottom soil layer and specify its height by keeping the top level at 0 m and
by setting the bottom level to -30 m.
Set the Head in the borehole to 18.0 m.
Two data sets need to be created; one for the clay layer and one for the sand layer. To
create the material data sets, follow these steps:
Click the Materials button in the Modify soil layers window. The Material sets window
pops up where the Soil and interfaces option is selected by default as the Set type.
Click the New button in the Material sets window to create a new data set.
For the clay layer, enter "Clay" for the Identification and select Soft soil as the
Material model. Set the Drainage type to Undrained (A).
Enter the properties of the clay layer, as listed in Table 2.1, in the General,
32
Table 2.1 Material properties of the sand and clay layer and the interfaces
Parameter
Name
Clay
Sand
Unit
Material model
Model
Soft soil
Hardening soil
Type
Undrained (A)
Drained
unsat
sat
einit
16
17
kN/m3
18
20
kN/m3
1.0
0.5
ref
E50
ref
Eoed
ref
Eur
m
cref '
'
ur '
K0nc
3.0 10-2
8.5 10-3
4.0 104
kN/m2
4.0 104
kN/m2
1.2 105
kN/m2
0.5
1.0
0.0
kN/m2
25
32
0.0
2.0
0.15
0.2
0.5774
0.4701
kx
ky
0.001
1.0
m/day
0.001
1.0
m/day
Rinter
Manual
Manual
0.5
0.67
OCR
POP
Automatic
Automatic
1.0
1.0
5.0
0.0
kN/m2
General

Initial void ratio
Parameters
Modified compression index
Modified swelling index
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading
Unloading / reloading stiffness
Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness
Cohesion (constant)
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
Poisson's ratio
K0 -value for normal consolidation

Groundwater
Permeability in horizontal direction
Permeability in vertical direction
Interfaces
Interface strength
Strength reduction factor inter.
Initial
K0 determination
Over-consolidation ratio
Pre-overburden pressure
Parameters and Flow parameters tabsheets.
Click the Interfaces tab. Select the Manual option in the Strength drop-down menu.
Enter a value of 0.5 for the parameter Rinter . This parameter relates the strength of
the soil to the strength in the interfaces, according to the equations:
tan interface = Rinter tan soil and cinter = Rinter csoil

where:
csoil = cref
(see Table 2.1)
Hence, using the entered Rinter -value gives a reduced interface friction (wall
frictions) and interface cohesion (adhesion) compared to the friction angle and the
cohesion in the adjacent soil.
In the Initial tabsheet keep the default option for the K0 determination and the
default value for the overconsolidation ratio (OCR). Set the pre-overburden pressure
(POP) value to 5.0.
For the sand layer, enter "Sand" for the Identification and select Hardening soil as
the Material model. The material type should be set to Drained.
Enter the properties of the sand layer, as listed in Table 2.1, in the corresponding
edit boxes of the General and Parameters tabsheet.
Click the Interfaces tab. In the Strength box, select the Manual option. Enter a value
33
TUTORIAL MANUAL
of 0.67 for the parameter Rinter . Close the data set.
Assign the material datasets to the corresponding soil layers.

Hint: When the Rigid option is selected in the Strength drop-down, the interface
has the same strength properties as the soil (Rinter = 1.0).
Note that a value of Rinter < 1.0, reduces the strength as well as the the
stiffness of the interface (Section 6.1.5 of the Reference Manual).
Instead of accepting the default data sets of interfaces, data sets can directly
be assigned to interfaces by selecting the proper data set in the Material
mode drop-down menu in the Object explorers.
2.1.1
DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
The creation of diaphragm walls, strut, surface load and excavation levels is described
below.
Structures mode.
To define the diaphragm wall:

Click the Create structure button in the side toolbar.
In the expanded menu select the Create plate option (Figure 2.2).
Figure 2.2 The Create plate option in the Create structures menu
In the draw area move the cursor to position (50.0 20.0) at the upper horizontal line
and click. Move 30 m down (50.0 -10.0) and click. Click the right mouse button to
finish the drawing.
Click the Show materials button in the side toolbar. Set the Set type parameter in
the Material sets window to Plates and click the New button. Enter "Diaphragm wall"
as an Identification of the data set and enter the properties as given in Table 2.2.
Click OK to close the data set.
Drag the Diaphragm wall data set to the wall in the geometry and drop it as soon as
the cursor indicates that dropping is possible.
Click OK to close the Material sets window.
To define interfaces:
34
Table 2.2 Material properties of the diaphragm wall (Plate)

Parameter
Name
Value
Type of behaviour
Material type
Elastic; Isotropic
Normal stiffness
EA
EI
w
7.5 106
kN/m
1.0 106
kNm2 /m
10.0
kN/m/m
0.0
Flexural rigidity
Unit weight
Poisson's ratio
Unit
Hint: In general, only one point can exist at a certain coordinate and only one line
can exist between two points. Coinciding points or lines will automatically be
reduced to single points or lines. More information is available in Section
5.2.4 of the Reference Manual.
Right-click the plate representing the diaphragm wall. Point to Create and click on
the Positive interface option in the appearing menu (Figure 2.3). In the same way
assign a negative interface as well.
Figure 2.3 Positive interface assignment to existing geometry
Hint: In order to identify interfaces at either side of a geometry line, a positive sign
() or negative sign ( ) is added. This sign has no physical relevance or
influence on the results.
A Virtual thickness factor can be defined for interfaces. This is a purely
numerical value, which can be used to optimise the numerical performance
of the interface. To define it, select the interface in the draw area and specify
the value to the Virtual thickness factor parameter in the Selection explorer.
Non-experienced users are advised not to change the default value. For
more information about interface properties see the Reference Manual.
35
TUTORIAL MANUAL
To define the excavation levels:

Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.
To define the first excavation stage move the cursor to position (50.0 18.0) at the
wall and click. Move the cursor 15 m to the right (65.0 18.0) and click again. Click
the right mouse button to finish drawing the first excavation stage.
To define the second excavation stage move the cursor to position (50.0 10.0) and
click. Move to (65.0 10.0) and click again. Click the right mouse button to finish
drawing the second excavation stage.
The third excavation stage is automatically defined as it corresponds to the

boundary between the soil layers (y = 0.0).
To define the strut:

Click the Create structure button in the side toolbar and select the Create fixed-end
anchor button in the expanded menu.
Move the cursor to (50.0 19.0) and click the left mouse button. A fixed-end anchor is
is added, being represented by a rotated T with a fixed size.
Click the Show materials button in the side toolbar. Set the Set type parameter in
the Material sets window to Anchor and click the New button. Enter "Strut" as an
Identification of the data set and enter the properties as given in Table 2.3. Click OK
to close the data set.
Click OK to close the Material sets window.
Table 2.3 Material properties of the strut (anchor)

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Type of behaviour
Material type
Elastic
Normal stiffness
EA
Lspacing
2106
kN
5.0
Spacing out of plane
Make sure that the fixed-end anchor is selected in the draw area.
In the Selection explorer assign the material data set to the strut by selecting the
corresponding option in the Material drop-down menu.
The anchor is oriented in the model according to the Directionx and Directiony
parameters in the Selection explorer. The default orientation is valid in this tutorial.
Enter an Equivalent length of 15 m corresponding to half the width of the excavation

(Figure 2.4).
Hint: The Equivalent length is the distance between the connection point and the
position in the direction of the anchor rod where the displacement is zero.
To define the distributed load:

Click the Create load button in the side toolbar
Select the Create line load option in the expanded menu to define a distributed load
(Figure 2.5).
36
Figure 2.4 Parameters for fixed-end anchors in the Selection explorer
Figure 2.5 The Create line load option in the Create load menu
Move the cursor to (43.0 20.0) and click. Move the cursor 5 m to the right to (48.0
20.0) and click again. Right-click to finish drawing.
In the Selection explorer assign a value of -5 kN/m/m to the y-component of the load
(qy,start,ref ) (Figure 2.6).
Figure 2.6 Components of the distributed load in the Selection explorer
2.2
MESH GENERATION

(Medium).
View the mesh. The resulting mesh is displayed in Figure 2.7.
37
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.7 The generated mesh
2.3
CALCULATIONS
In practice, the construction of an excavation is a process that can consist of several

phases. First, the wall is installed to the desired depth. Then some excavation is carried
out to create space to install an anchor or a strut. Then the soil is gradually removed to
the final depth of the excavation. Special measures are usually taken to keep the water
out of the excavation. Props may also be provided to support the retaining wall.
In PLAXIS, these processes can be simulated with the Staged construction loading type
available in the General subtree of the Phases window. It enables the activation or
deactivation of weight, stiffness and strength of selected components of the finite element
model. Note that modifications in the Staged construction mode of the program are
possible only for this type of loading. The current tutorial explains the use of this powerful
calculation option for the simulation of excavations.
Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of the calculation
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. Keep its calculation type as K0
procedure. Make sure all the soil volumes are active and all the structural elements
and load are inactive.
Phase 1: External load

In the Phases explorer click the Add phase button to introduce a new phase.
The default settings are valid for this phase. In the model the full geometry is active
except for the wall, interfaces, strut and load.
Click the Select multiple objects button in the side toolbar. In the appearing menu
point to Select line and click on the Select plates option (Figure 2.8).
In the draw area define a rectangle including all the plate elements (Figure 2.9).
Right-click the wall in the draw area and select the Activate option from the
appearing menu. The wall is now visible in the color that is specified in the material
dataset.
38
Figure 2.8 The Select plates option
Figure 2.9 Multi-selection of plates in the draw area
Right-click the distributed load to activate it and select the Activate option from the
appearing menu. The load has been defined in the Structures mode as 5 kN/m/m.
The value can be checked in the Selection explorer.
Make sure all the interfaces in the model are active.
Phase 2: First excavation stage

39
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: The selection of an interface is done by right-clicking the corresponding

geometry line and subsequently selecting the corresponding interface
(positive or negative) from the appearing menu.
A new calculation phase appears in the Phases explorer. Note that the program
automatically presumes that the current phase should start from the previous one
and that the same objects are active.
Hint: To copy the settings of the parent phase, select the phase in the Phases
explorer and then click the Add phase button. Note that the settings of the
parent phase are not copied when it is specified by selecting it in the Start
from phase drop-down menu in the Phases window.
The default settings are valid for this phase. In the Staged construction mode all the
structure elements except the fixed-end anchor are active.
In the draw area right-click the top right cluster and select the Deactivate option in
the appearing menu. Figure 2.10 displays the model for the first excavation phase.
Figure 2.10 Model view for the first excavation phase
Phase 3: Installation of strut

Add a new phase.
Activate the strut. The strut should turn black to indicate it is active.
Phase 4: Second (submerged) excavation stage

Add a new phase.
Deactivate the second cluster from the top on the right side of the mesh. It should
be the topmost active cluster (Figure 2.11).
40
Figure 2.11 Model view for the second excavation phase
Hint: Note that in PLAXIS the pore pressures are not automatically deactivated
when deactivating a soil cluster. Hence, in this case, the water remains in the
excavated area and a submerged excavation is simulated.
Phase 5: Third excavation stage

Add a new phase.
In the final calculation stage the excavation of the last clay layer inside the pit is
simulated. Deactivate the third cluster from the top on the right hand side of the
mesh (Figure 2.12).
Figure 2.12 Model view for the third excavation phase
The calculation definition is now complete. Before starting the calculation it is suggested
that you select nodes or stress points for a later generation of load-displacement curves
or stress and strain diagrams. To do this, follow the steps given below.
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. The connectivity plot is
41
TUTORIAL MANUAL
displayed in the Output program and the Select points window is activated.
Select some nodes on the wall at points where large deflections can be expected
(e.g. 50.0 10.0). The nodes located near that specific location are listed. Select the
convenient one by checking the box in front of it in the list. Close the Select points
window.
Click on the Update tab to close the Output program and go back to the Input
program.
Calculate the project.
During a Staged construction calculation phase, a multiplier called Mstage is increased

from 0.0 to 1.0. This parameter is displayed on the calculation info window. As soon as
Mstage has reached the value 1.0, the construction stage is completed and the
calculation phase is finished. If a Staged construction calculation finishes while Mstage
is smaller than 1.0, the program will give a warning message. The most likely reason for
not finishing a construction stage is that a failure mechanism has occurred, but there can
be other causes as well. See the Reference Manual for more information about Staged
construction.
2.4
RESULTS
In addition to the displacements and the stresses in the soil, the Output program can be
used to view the forces in structural objects. To examine the results of this project, follow
these steps:
Click the final calculation phase in the Calculations window.

Click the View calculation results button on the toolbar. As a result, the Output
program is started, showing the deformed mesh (scaled up) at the end of the
selected calculation phase, with an indication of the maximum displacement (Figure
2.13).
Figure 2.13 Deformed mesh after the third excavation stage
Select |u| from the side menu displayed as the mouse pointer is located on the
Incremental displacements option of the Deformations menu. The plot shows colour
shadings of the displacement increments, which indicates the forming of a
42
Hint: In the Output program, the display of the loads, fixities and prescribed
displacements applied in the model can be toggled on/off by clicking the
corresponding options in the Geometry menu.
'mechanism' of soil movement behind the wall.

Click the Arrows button in the toolbar. The plot shows the displacement increments
of all nodes as arrows. The length of the arrows indicates the relative magnitude.
In the Stresses menu point to the Principal effective stresses and select the
Effective principal stresses option from the appearing menu. The plot shows the
effective principal stresses at the three middle stress points of each soil element
with an indication of their direction and their relative magnitude. Note that the Center
principal stresses button is selected in the toolbar. The orientation of the principal
stresses indicates a large passive zone under the bottom of the excavation and a
small passive zone behind the strut (Figure 2.14).
Figure 2.14 Principal stresses after excavation
To plot the shear forces and bending moments in the wall follow the steps given below.
Double-click the wall. A new window is opened showing the axial force.
Select the bending moment M from the Forces menu. The bending moment in the
wall is displayed with an indication of the maximum moment (Figure 2.15).
Select Shear forces Q from the Forces menu. The plot now shows the shear forces
in the wall.
Hint: The Window menu may be used to switch between the window with the
forces in the wall and the stresses in the full geometry. This menu may also
be used to Tile or Cascade the two windows, which is a common option in a
Windows environment.
Select the first window (showing the effective stresses in the full geometry) from the
Window menu. Double-click the strut. The strut force (in kN) is shown in the
43
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.15 Bending moments in the wall
displayed table.
Click the Curves manager button on the toolbar. As a result, the Curves manager
window will pop up.
Click New to create a new chart. The Curve generation window pops up.
For the x-axis select the point A from the drop-down menu. In the tree select
Deformations - Total displacements - |u|.
For the y-axis keep the Project option in the drop-down menu. In the tree select
Multiplier - Mstage.
Click OK to accept the input and generate the load-displacement curve. As a result
the curve of Figure 2.16 is plotted.
Figure 2.16 Load-displacement curve of deflection of wall
The curve shows the construction stages. For each stage, the parameter Mstage
changes from 0.0 to 1.0. The decreasing slope of the curve in the last stage indicates
44
that the amount of plastic deformation is increasing. The results of the calculation
indicate, however, that the excavation remains stable at the end of construction.
45
TUTORIAL MANUAL
46
DRY EXCAVATION USING A TIE BACK WALL
This example involves the dry construction of an excavation. The excavation is supported
by concrete diaphragm walls. The walls are tied back by prestressed ground anchors.
10 m 2 m
20 m
10 kN/m2
3m
Silt
ground anchor
Sand
4m
3m
5m
Final excavation level
Loam
Figure 3.1 Excavation supported by tie back walls
PLAXIS allows for a detailed modelling of this type of problem. It is demonstrated in this
example how ground anchors are modelled and how prestressing is applied to the
anchors. Moreover, the dry excavation involves a groundwater flow calculation to
generate the new water pressure distribution. This aspect of the analysis is explained in
detail.
Objectives:
Modelling ground anchors.
Generating pore pressures by groundwater flow.
Displaying the contact stresses and resulting forces in the model.
Scaling the displayed results.
3.1
INPUT
The excavation is 20 m wide and 10 m deep. 16 m long concrete diaphragm walls of 0.35
m thickness are used to retain the surrounding soil. Two rows of ground anchors are
used at each wall to support the walls. The anchors have a total length of 14.5 m and an
inclination of 33.7 (2:3). On the left side of the excavation a surface load of 10 kN/m2 is
taken into account.
The relevant part of the soil consists of three distinct layers. From the ground surface to a
depth of 3 m there is a fill of relatively loose fine sandy soil. Underneath the fill, down to a
minimum depth of 15 m, there is a more or less homogeneous layer consisting of dense
well-graded sand. This layer is particular suitable for the installation of the ground
anchors. The underlying layer consists of loam and lies to a large depth. 15 m of this
layer is considered in the model. In the initial situation there is a horizontal phreatic level
at 3 m below the ground surface (i.e. at the base of the fill layer).
47
TUTORIAL MANUAL
General settings
box.
Elements (15-Node).
Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 100.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m, ymax = 30.0
m.
Keep the default values for units and the constants and press OK to close the
Project properties window.

Add three soil layers to the borehole. Locate the ground level at y = 30 m by
assigning 30 to the Top level of the uppermost layer. The bottom levels of the layers
are located at 27, 15 and 0 m, respectively.
Set the Head to 23 m. The layer stratigraphy is shown in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2 The Modify soil layers window
Define three data sets for soil and interfaces with the parameters given in Table 3.1.
Assign the material data sets to the corresponding soil layers (Figure 3.2).
48
Table 3.1 Soil and interface properties

Parameter
Name
Silt
Sand
Loam
Unit
Material model
Model
Hardening soil
Hardening soil
Hardening soil
Type
Drained
Drained
Drained
unsat
sat
16
17
17
kN/m3
20
20
19
kN/m3
Secant stiffness in standard drained

triaxial test
ref
E50
2.0 104
3.0 104
1.2 104
kN/m2
Tangent
stiffness
oedometer loading
ref
Eoed
2.0 104
3.0 104
8.0 103
kN/m2
ref
Eur
m
6.0 104
9.0 104
3.6 104
kN/m2
0.5
0.5
0.8
cref '
'
ur '
K0nc
1.0
0.0
5.0
kN/m2
30
34
29
0.0
4.0
0.0
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.5
0.4408
0.5152
Data set
USDA
USDA
USDA
Model
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Soil type
Silt
Sand
Loam
< 2m
2m 50m
50m 2mm
6.0
4.0
20.0
87.0
4.0
40.0
7.0
92.0
40.0
%
%
%
Set parameters to defaults
Yes
Yes
Yes
kx
ky
0.5996
7.128
0.2497
m/day
0.5996
7.128
0.2497
m/day
Rinter
Manual
Manual
Rigid
0.65
0.70
1.0
Yes
Yes
Yes
OCR
POP
Automatic
Automatic
Automatic
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
25.0
kN/m2
General

Parameters
for
primary

Power for stress-level dependency of
stiffness
Cohesion
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
Poisson's ratio
K0 -value for normal consolidation

Groundwater

Interfaces
Interface strength
Consider gap closure
Initial
K0 determination
3.1.1
In the Structures mode, model the diaphragm walls as plates passing through (40.0
30.0) - (40.0 14.0) and (60.0 30.0) - (60.0 14.0).
Multi-select the plates in the model.
In the Selection explorer click on Material. The view will change displaying a
drop-down menu and a plus button next to it (Figure 3.3).
Click the plus button. A new empty material set is created for plates.
Define the material data set for the diaphragm walls according to the properties are
listed in Table 3.2. The concrete has a Young's modulus of 35 GN/m2 and the wall is
0.35 m thick.
49
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 3.3 Material assignment in the Selection explorer

Table 3.2 Properties of the diaphragm wall (plate)
Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material type
Type
EA
EI
w
Elastic; Isotropic
Yes
1.2 107
1.2 105
kN/m
8.3
kN/m/m
0.15
End bearing
Normal stiffness
Flexural rigidity
Weight
Poisson's ratio
kNm2 /m
Assign positive and negative interfaces to the geometry lines created to represent
the diaphragm walls.
The soil is excavated in three stages. The first excavation layer corresponds to the bottom
of the silt layer and it is automatically created. To define the remaining excavation stages:
Define the second excavation phase by drawing a line through (40.0 23.0) and (60.0
23.0).
Define the third excavation phase by drawing a line through (40.0 20.0) and (60.0
20.0).
A ground anchor can be modelled by a combination of a node-to-node anchor and an
embedded beam. The embedded pile simulates the grouted part of the anchor whereas
the node-to-node anchor simulates the free length. In reality there is a complex
three-dimensional state of stress around the grout body which cannot be simulated in a
2D model.
Define the node-to-node anchors according to Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 Node to node anchor coordinates
Anchor location
Top
Bottom
First point
Second point
Left
(40.0 27.0)
(31.0 21.0)
Right
(60.0 27.0)
(69.0 21.0)
Left
(40.0 23.0)
(31.0 17.0)
Right
(60.0 23.0)
(69.0 17.0)
Create an Anchor material data set according to the parameters specified in Table
3.4.
Multi-select the anchors in the draw area. Assign the material data set by selecting
the corresponding option in the Material drop-down menu in the Selection explorer.
Define the grout body using the Embedded beam row button according to Table 3.5.
Create the Grout material data set according to the parameters specified in Table
3.6.
50
Table 3.4 Properties of the anchor rod (node-to-node anchor)

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material type
Type
Elastic
Normal stiffness
EA
Ls
5.0 105
kN
2.5
Table 3.5 Grout coordinates

Grout location
Top
Bottom
First point
Second point
Left
(31.0 21.0)
(28.0 19.0)
Right
(69.0 21.0)
(72.0 19.0)
Left
(31.0 17.0)
(28.0 15.0)
Right
(69.0 17.0)
(72.0 15.0)
Table 3.6 Properties of the grout body (embedded beam rows)

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Stiffness
7.07106
Unit weight
kN/m3
Pile type
Type
Predefined
Predefined pile type
Type
Massive circular pile
Diameter
0.3
Pile spacing
2.5
400
kN/m
400
kN/m
Base resistance
Lspacing
Tskin,start,max
Tskin,end,max
Fmax
kN/m
Interface stiffness factor
Default values
Skin resistance
Set the connection of the embedded beam rows to Free (Figure 3.4). This is needed
to set the top free from the underlying soil element. The connection with the anchor
will be automatically established.
Figure 3.4 Embedded beam rows in the Selection explorer
Multi-select (keep the <Ctrl> key pressed while selecting) the top node-to-node
anchors and embedded beams. Right-click and select the Group option in the
appearing menu.
In the Model explorer expand the Groups subtree. Note that a group is created
composed of the elements of the top ground anchors.
Click on Group_1 in the Model explorer and type a new name (e.g
'GroundAnchor_Top').
51
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Follow the same steps to create a group and to rename the bottom ground anchors.
Although the precise stress state and interaction with the soil cannot be modelled with
this 2D model, it is possible in this way to estimate the stress distribution, the
deformations and the stability of the structure on a global level, assuming that the grout
body does not slip relative to the soil. With this model it is certainly not possible to
evaluate the pullout force of the ground anchor.
Create a line load between (28.0 30.0) and (38.0 30.0).
3.2
MESH GENERATION

(Medium).
3.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculation of this project consists of six phases. In the initial phase (Phase 0), the
initial stresses are generated. In Phase 1, the walls are constructed and the surface
loads are activated. In Phase 2, the first 3 m of the pit is excavated without connection of
anchors to the wall. At this depth the excavation remains dry. In Phase 3, the first anchor
is installed and pre-stressed. Phase 4 involves further excavation to a depth of 7 m. At
this depth the excavation still remains dry. In Phase 5, the second anchor is installed and
pre-stressed. Phase 6 is a further excavation to the final depth of 10 m including the
dewatering of the excavation.
Before defining the calculation phases, the water levels to be considered in the
calculation can be defined in the Flow conditions mode. The water level is lowered in the
final excavation phase. At the side boundaries, the groundwater head remains at a level
of 23.0 m. The bottom boundary of the problem should be closed. The flow of
groundwater is triggered by the fact that the pit is pumped dry. At the bottom of the
excavation the water pressure is zero, which means that the groundwater head is equal to
the vertical level (head = 20.0 m). This condition can be met by drawing a new general
phreatic level and performing a groundwater flow calculation. Activating the interfaces
during the groundwater flow calculation prevents flow through the wall.
52
Initial phase:
The initial stress field is generated by means of the K0 procedure using the default
K0 -values in all clusters defined automatically by the program.
Initially, all structural components and loads are inactive. Hence, make sure that the
plates, the node-to-node anchors, the embedded beam rows and the surface loads
are deactivated.
In the Phases explorer double-click the initial phase. The default parameters for the
initial phase will be used. The Phreatic option is selected as Pore pressure
calculation type. Note that when the pore pressures are generated by phreatic level,
the full geometry of the defined phreatic level is used to generate the pore pressures.
Expand the Water subtree. The water level created according to the head value
specified in the borehole, (BoreholeWaterLevel_1), is automatically assigned to
GlobalWaterLevel (Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.6 Configuration of the initial phase
Phase 1
Add a new phase.
In the Staged constructions mode activate all walls and interfaces by clicking on the
checkbox in front of them in the Model explorer. The active elements in the project
are indicated by a green check mark.
Activate the distributed load.
After selecting the line load assign a value of -10 to qy,start,ref in the Selection
explorer (Figure 3.7).
Figure 3.7 Line load in the Selection explorer
53
TUTORIAL MANUAL
The model for the phase 1 in the Staged construction mode is displayed in Figure
3.8.
Figure 3.8 Configuration of Phase 1 in the Staged construction mode
Phase 2
Add a new phase.
In the Staged construction mode de-activate the upper cluster of the excavation
(Figure 3.9).
Phase 3
Add a new phase.
Activate the upper ground anchors by clicking on the checkbox in front of

GroundAnchors_Top under the Groups subtree in the Model explorer.
Multi-select the top node-to-node anchors.
In the Selection explorer set the Adjust prestress parameter to True and assign a
pre-stress force of 500 kN.
Hint: A pre-stress force is exactly matched at the end of a finished staged
construction calculation and turned into an anchor force. In successive
calculation phases the force is considered to be just an anchor force and can
therefore further increase or decrease, depending on the development of the
surrounding stresses and forces.
54
3.10.
Phase 4
Add a new phase.
Deactivate the second cluster of the excavation. The model for the phase 4 in the
Staged construction mode is displayed in Figure 3.11. Note that the anchors are not
pre-stressed anymore.
Phase 5
Add a new phase.
Activate the lower ground anchors.

Select the bottom node-to-node anchors.
In the Selection explorer set the Adjust prestress parameter to True and assign a
pre-stress force of 1000 kN.
3.12.
Phase 6
Add a new phase.
In the General subtree of the Phases window select the Steady state groundwater
flow option as Pore pressure calculation type. The default values of the remaining
parameters is valid.
55
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Deactivate the third cluster of the excavation.
Click the Flow conditions tab to display the corresponding mode.
In the Model explorer expand the Attributes library.
Expand the Water levels subtree.

Click the Create water level button in the side toolbar and draw a new phreatic level.
Start at (0.0 23.0) and draw the phreatic level through (40.0 20.0), (60.0 20.0) and
end in (100.0 23.0).
In the Model explorer expand the User water levels subtree. Click on
UserWaterLevel_1 and type 'LoweredWaterLevel' to rename the water level created
in the Flow conditions mode (Figure 3.13).
Figure 3.13 Water levels in the Model explorer
Expand the GroundwaterFlow subtree under the Model conditions in the Model
explorer. The default boundary conditions (Figure 3.14) are valid.
In the Water subtree assign the LoweredWaterLevel to GlobalWaterLevel. The

model and the defined water levels are displayed in Figure 3.15.
56
Figure 3.14 The GroundwaterFlow subtree under the Model conditions in the Model explorer
Figure 3.15 Configuration of Phase 6 in the Flow conditions mode
Hint: Note that for Groundwater flow (steady or transient) the intersection points of
the water level with the active model boundaries are important. The program
calculates flow boundary conditions in terms of a groundwater head
corresponding to the water level. The 'internal' part of the water level is not
used and will be replaced by the phreatic level resulting from the
groundwater flow calculation. Hence, the water level tool is just a convenient
tool to create boundary conditions for a flow calculation.
Select some characteristic points for curves (for example the connection points of
the ground anchors on the diaphragm wall, such as (40.0 27.0) and (40.0 23.0)).
Calculate the project by clicking the Calculate button in the Staged construction
mode.
57
TUTORIAL MANUAL
3.4
RESULTS
Figures 3.16 to 3.20 show the deformed meshes at the end of calculation phases 2 to 6.
Figure 3.16 Deformed mesh (scaled up 50.0 times) - Phase 2
Figure 3.21 shows the effective principal stresses in the final situation. The passive
stress state beneath the bottom of the excavation is clearly visible. It can also be seen
58
Figure 3.20 Deformed mesh (scaled up 50.0 times) - Final phase
that there are stress concentrations around the grout anchors.
Figure 3.21 Principal effective stresses (final stage)
Figure 3.22 shows the bending moments in the diaphragm walls in the final state. The
two dips in the line of moments are caused by the anchor forces.
Figure 3.22 Bending moments in the diaphragm walls in the final stage
The anchor force can be viewed by double clicking the anchor. When doing this for the
results of the third and the fifth calculation phase, it can be checked that the anchor force
is indeed equal to the specified pre-stress force in the calculation phase they are
activated. In the following phases this value might change due to the changes in the
model.
59
TUTORIAL MANUAL
60
CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD EMBANKMENT
The construction of an embankment on soft soil with a high groundwater level leads to an
increase in pore pressure. As a result of this undrained behaviour, the effective stress
remains low and intermediate consolidation periods have to be adopted in order to
construct the embankment safely. During consolidation the excess pore pressures
dissipate so that the soil can obtain the necessary shear strength to continue the
construction process.
This tutorial concerns the construction of a road embankment in which the mechanism
described above is analysed in detail. In the analysis three new calculation options are
introduced, namely a consolidation analysis, an updated mesh analysis and the
calculation of a safety factor by means of a safety analysis (phi/c-reduction).
12 m
16 m
12 m
road embankment
4m
peat
clay
3m
3m
dense sand
Figure 4.1 Situation of a road embankment on soft soil
Objectives:
Consolidation analysis
Modelling drains
Change of permeability during consolidation
Safety analysis (phi-c reduction)
Updated mesh analysis (large deformations)
4.1
INPUT
Figure 4.1 shows a cross section of a road embankment. The embankment is 16.0 m
wide and 4.0 m high. The slopes have an inclination of 1:3. The problem is symmetric, so
only one half is modelled (in this case the right half is chosen). The embankment itself is
composed of loose sandy soil. The subsoil consists of 6.0 m of soft soil. The upper 3.0 m
is peat and the lower 3.0 m is clay. The phreatic level is located 1 m below the original
ground surface. Under the soft soil layers there is a dense sand layer of which 4.0 m are
considered in the model.
General settings
box.
In the Model tabsheet make sure that Model is set to Plane strain and that Elements
is set to 15-Noded.
61
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Define the limits for the soil contour as xmin = 0.0, xmax = 60.0, ymin = 10.0 and
ymax = 4.0.

The sub-soil layers are defined using a borehole. The embankment layers are defined in
the Structures mode. To define the soil stratigraphy:
Define three soil layers as shown in Figure 4.2.
The water level is located at y = -1 m. In the borehole column specify a value of -1 to

Head.
Open the Material sets window.
Create soil material data sets according to Table 4.1 and assign them to the
corresponding layers in the borehole (Figure 4.2).
Close the Modify soil layers window and proceed to the Structures mode to define
the embankment and drains.
Figure 4.2 Soil layer distribution
Hint: The initial void ratio (einit ) and the change in permeability (ck ) should be
defined to enable the modelling of a change in the permeability in a
consolidation analysis due to compression of the soil. This option is
recommended when using advanced models.
62
Table 4.1 Material properties of the road embankment and subsoil

Parameter
Name
Embankment
Sand
Peat
Clay
Unit
Material model
Model
Hardening
soil
Hardening
soil
Soft soil
Soft soil
Type
Drained
Drained
Undrained
(A)
Undrained
(A)
Soil unit weight

phreatic level
above
unsat
16
17
15
kN/m3
Soil unit weight

phreatic level
below
sat
19
20
12
18
kN/m3
einit
0.5
0.5
2.0
1.0
Secant
stiffness
in
standard drained triaxial
test
ref
E50
2.5 104
3.5 104
kN/m2
Tangent
stiffness
for
primary oedometer loading
ref
Eoed
2.5 104
3.5 104
kN/m2
Unloading
stiffness
ref
Eur
7.5 104
1.05 105
kN/m2
Power for stress-level

dependency of stiffness
0.5
0.5
Modified
index
0.15
0.05
Modified swelling index
0.03
0.01
Cohesion
cref '
1.0
0.0
2.0
1.0
kN/m2
Friction angle
'
30
33
23
25
Dilatancy angle
0.0
3.0
Advanced: Set to default
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Data set
USDA
USDA
USDA
USDA
Model
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Soil type
Loamy sand
Sand
Clay
Clay
> 2m
6.0
4.0
70.0
70.0
2m 50m
11.0
4.0
13.0
13.0
50m 2mm
83.0
92.0
17.0
17.0
Set to default
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Horizontal permeability
kx
3.499
7.128
0.1
0.04752
m/day
Vertical permeability
ky
3.499
7.128
0.05
0.04752
m/day
Change in permeability
ck
1 1015
1 1015
1.0
0.2
Interface strength
Rigid
Rigid
Rigid
Rigid
Strength reduction factor
Rinter
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
K0 determination
Automatic
Automatic
Automatic
Automatic
OCR
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
POP
0.0
0.0
5.0
0.0
kN/m2
General
Initial void ratio

Parameters
reloading
compression
Groundwater
Interfaces
Initial
63
TUTORIAL MANUAL
4.1.1
DEFINITION OF EMBANKMENT AND DRAINS
The embankment and the drains are defined in the Structures mode. To define the
embankment layers:
Click the Create soil polygon button in the side toolbar and select the Create soil
polygon option in the appearing menu.
Define the embankment in the draw area by clicking on (0.0 0.0), (0.0 4.0), (8.0 4.0)
and (20.0 0.0).
Right-click the created polygon and assign the Embankment data set to the soil
polygon (Figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Assignment of a material dataset to a soil cluster in the draw area
To define the embankment construction level click the Cut polygon in the side
toolbar and define a cutting line by clicking on (0.0 2.0) and (14.0 2.0). The
embankment cluster is split into two sub-clusters.
In this project the effect of the drains on the consolidation time will be investigated by
comparing the results with a case without drains. Drains will only be active for the
calculation phases in the case with drains.
Click the Create hydraulic conditions button in the side toolbar and select the Create
drain option in the appearing menu (Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4 The Create drain option in the Create hydraulic conditions menu
Drains are defined in the soft layers (clay and peat; y = 0.0 to y = -6.0). The distance
between two consecutive drains is 2 m. Considering the symmetry, the first drain is
located at 1 m distance from the model boundary. 10 drains will be created in total
(Figure 4.5). The head is defined at 0.0 m.
64
Hint: The modelling of drains in a plane strain model actually involves the use of
an equivalent (lateral) permeability in the surrounding soil based on the drain
pattern. The latter has been omitted in this simplified example. More
information can be in found in literaturea .
a CUR (1997). Achtergronden bij numerieke modellering van geotechnische constructies, deel 2. CUR
191. Stichting CUR, Gouda
Indraratna, B.N., Redana, I.W., Salim, W. (2000), Predicted and observed behaviour of soft clay
foundations stabilised with vertical drains. Proc. GeoEng. 2000, Melbourne
Figure 4.5 Final geometry of the model
4.2
MESH GENERATION

Generate the mesh. Use the default option for the Element distribution parameter
(Medium).
View the generated mesh. The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 4.6.
4.3
CALCULATIONS
The embankment construction is divided into two phases. After the first construction
phase a consolidation period of 30 days is introduced to allow the excess pore pressures
to dissipate. After the second construction phase another consolidation period is
introduced from which the final settlements may be determined. Hence, a total of four
calculation phases have to be defined besides the initial phase.
65
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Initial phase: Initial conditions

In the initial situation the embankment is not present. In order to generate the initial
stresses therefore, the embankment must be deactivated first in the Staged construction
mode.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the two clusters that represent the
embankment, just like in a staged construction calculation. When the embankment
has been deactivated (the corresponding clusters should have the background
colour), the remaining active geometry is horizontal with horizontal layers, so the K0
procedure can be used to calculate the initial stresses (Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7 Configuration of the initial phase
The initial water pressures are fully hydrostatic and based on a general phreatic level
located at y = -1. Note that a phreatic level is automatically created at y = -1, according to
the value specified for Head in the borehole. In addition to the phreatic level, attention
must be paid to the boundary conditions for the consolidation analysis that will be
performed during the calculation process. Without giving any additional input, all
boundaries except for the bottom boundary are draining so that water can freely flow out
of these boundaries and excess pore pressures can dissipate. In the current situation,
however, the left vertical boundary must be closed because this is a line of symmetry, so
horizontal flow should not occur. The remaining boundaries are open because the excess
pore pressures can be dissipated through these boundaries. In order to define the
appropriate consolidation boundary conditions, follow these steps:
Expand the GroundwaterFlow subtree and set BoundaryXMin to Closed and

BoundaryYMin to Open (Figure 4.8).
Consolidation analysis
A consolidation analysis introduces the dimension of time in the calculations. In order to
correctly perform a consolidation analysis a proper time step must be selected. The use
of time steps that are smaller than a critical minimum value can result in stress
oscillations.
The consolidation option in PLAXIS allows for a fully automatic time stepping procedure
that takes this critical time step into account. Within this procedure there are three main
possibilities:
Consolidate for a predefined period, including the effects of changes to the active
geometry (Staged construction).
Consolidate until all excess pore pressures in the geometry have reduced to a
predefined minimum value (Minimum excess pore pressure).
66
Figure 4.8 The boundary conditions of the problem
Consolidate until a specified degree of saturation is reached (Degree of

consolidation).
The first two possibilities will be used in this exercise. To define the calculation phases,
follow these steps:
Phase 1: The first calculation stage is a Consolidation analysis, Staged construction.
Add a new phase.
In the Phases window select the Consolidation option from the Calculation type
drop-down menu in the General subtree.
Make sure that the Staged construction option is selected for the Loading type.
Enter a Time interval of 2 days. The default values of the remaining parameters will
be used.
In the Staged construction mode activate the first part of the embankment (Figure
4.9).
Figure 4.9 Configuration of the phase 1
Phase 2: The second phase is also a Consolidation analysis, Staged construction. In

this phase no changes to the geometry are made as only a consolidation analysis to
ultimate time is required.
Add a new phase.
67
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Enter a Time interval of 30 days. The default values of the remaining parameters will
be used.
Phase 3: The third phase is once again a Consolidation analysis, Staged construction.
Add a new phase.
Enter a Time interval of 1 day. The default values of the remaining parameters will
be used.
In the Staged construction mode activate the second part of the embankment
(Figure 4.10).
Figure 4.10 Configuration of the phase 3
Phase 4: The fourth phase is a Consolidation analysis to a minimum excess pore

pressure.
Add a new phase.
In the General subtree select the Consolidation as calculation type.
Select the Minimum excess pore pressure option in the Loading input drop-down
menu and accept the default value of 1 kN/m2 for the minimum pressure. The
default values of the remaining parameters will be used.
Before starting the calculation, click the Select points for curves button and select
the following points: As Point A, select the toe of the embankment. The second
point (Point B) will be used to plot the development (and decay) of excess pore pressures.
To this end, a point somewhere in the middle of the soft soil layers is needed, close to
(but not actually on) the left boundary. After selecting these points, start the calculation.
During a consolidation analysis the development of time can be viewed in the upper part
of the calculation info window (Figure 4.11).
In addition to the multipliers, a parameter Pexcess,max occurs, which indicates the current
maximum excess pore pressure. This parameter is of interest in the case of a Minimum
excess pore pressure consolidation analysis, where all pore pressures are specified to
reduce below a predefined value.
68
Figure 4.11 Calculation progress displayed in the Active tasks window
4.4
RESULTS
After the calculation has finished, select the third phase and click the View
calculation results button. The Output window now shows the deformed mesh after
the undrained construction of the final part of the embankment (Figure 4.12). Considering
the results of the third phase, the deformed mesh shows the uplift of the embankment toe
and hinterland due to the undrained behaviour.
Figure 4.12 Deformed mesh after undrained construction of embankment (Phase 3)
In the Deformations menu select the Incremental displacements |u|.

Select the Arrows option in the View menu or click the corresponding button in the
toolbar to display the results arrows.
On evaluating the total displacement increments, it can be seen that a failure mechanism
is developing (Figure 4.13).
Click <Ctrl> + <7> to display the developed excess pore pressures (see Appendix C
of Reference Manual for more shortcuts). They can be displayed by selecting the
corresponding option in the side menu displayed as the Pore pressures option is
selected in the Stresses menu.
69
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.13 Displacement increments after undrained construction of embankment
Click the Center principal directions. The principal directions of excess pressures
are displayed at the center of each soil element. The results are displayed in Figure
4.14. It is clear that the highest excess pore pressure occurs under the embankment
centre.
Figure 4.14 Excess pore pressures after undrained construction of embankment
Select Phase 4 in the drop down menu.

Click the Contour lines button in the toolbar to display the results as contours.
Use the Draw scanline button or the corresponding option in the View menu to
define the position of the contour line labels.
Figure 4.15 Excess pore pressure contours after consolidation to Pexcess < 1.0 kN/m2
It can be seen that the settlement of the original soil surface and the embankment
increases considerably during the fourth phase. This is due to the dissipation of the
excess pore pressures (= consolidation), which causes further settlement of the soil.
Figure 4.15 shows the remaining excess pore pressure distribution after consolidation.
Check that the maximum value is below 1.0 kN/m2 .
The Curves manager can be used to view the development, with time, of the excess pore
pressure under the embankment. In order to create such a curve, follow these steps:
Create a new curve.
70
For the x -axis, select the Project option from the drop-down menu and select Time
in the tree.
For the y -axis select the point in the middle of the soft soil layers (Point B) from the
drop-down menu. In the tree select Stresses Pore pressure pexcess .
Select the Invert sign option for y-axis. After clicking the OK button, a curve similar
to Figure 4.16 should appear.
Figure 4.16 Development of excess pore pressure under the embankment
Figure 4.16 clearly shows the four calculation phases. During the construction phases
the excess pore pressure increases with a small increase in time while during the
consolidation periods the excess pore pressure decreases with time. In fact,
consolidation already occurs during construction of the embankment, as this involves a
small time interval. From the curve it can be seen that more than 50 days are needed to
reach full consolidation.
Save the chart before closing the Output program.
4.5
SAFETY ANALYSIS
In the design of an embankment it is important to consider not only the final stability, but
also the stability during the construction. It is clear from the output results that a failure
mechanism starts to develop after the second construction phase.
It is interesting to evaluate a global safety factor at this stage of the problem, and also for
other stages of construction.
In structural engineering, the safety factor is usually defined as the ratio of the collapse
load to the working load. For soil structures, however, this definition is not always useful.
For embankments, for example, most of the loading is caused by soil weight and an
increase in soil weight would not necessarily lead to collapse. Indeed, a slope of purely
frictional soil will not fail in a test in which the self weight of the soil is increased (like in a
71
TUTORIAL MANUAL
centrifuge test). A more appropriate definition of the factor of safety is therefore:
Smaximum available
(4.1)
Sneeded for equilibrium
Where S represents the shear strength. The ratio of the true strength to the computed
minimum strength required for equilibrium is the safety factor that is conventionally used
in soil mechanics. By introducing the standard Coulomb condition, the safety factor is
obtained:
c n tan
(4.2)
Safety factor =
cr n tan r
Where c and are the input strength parameters and n is the actual normal stress
component. The parameters cr and r are reduced strength parameters that are just
large enough to maintain equilibrium. The principle described above is the basis of the
method of Safety that can be used in PLAXIS to calculate a global safety factor. In this
approach the cohesion and the tangent of the friction angle are reduced in the same
proportion:
c
tan
=
= Msf
(4.3)
cr
tan r
Safety factor =
The reduction of strength parameters is controlled by the total multiplier Msf . This
parameter is increased in a step-by-step procedure until failure occurs. The safety factor
is then defined as the value of Msf at failure, provided that at failure a more or less
constant value is obtained for a number of successive load steps.
The Safety calculation option is available in the Calculation type drop-down menu in the
General tabsheet. If the Safety option is selected the Loading input on the Parameters
tabsheet is automatically set to Incremental multipliers.
To calculate the global safety factor for the road embankment at different stages of
construction, follow these steps:
Select Phase 1 in the Phases explorer.

Add a new calculation phase.
Double-click on the new phase to open the Phases window.
In the Phases window the selected phase is automatically selected in the Start from
phase drop-down menu.
In the General subtree, select Safety as calculation type.
The Incremental multipliers option is already selected in the Loading input box. The
first increment of the multiplier that controls the strength reduction process, Msf, is
set to 0.1.
Note that the Use pressures from the previous phase option in the Pore pressure
calculation type drop-down menu is automatically selected and grayed out indicating
that this option cannot be changed
In order to exclude existing deformations from the resulting failure mechanism,

select the Reset displacements to zero option in the Deformation control parameters
subtree.
In the Numerical control parameters subtree deselect Use default iter parameters
and set the number of Max steps to 50. The first safety calculation has now been
defined.
72
Follow the same steps to create new calculation phases that analyse the stability at
the end of each consolidation phase.
Hint: The default value of Max steps in a Safety calculation is 100. In contrast to
an Staged construction calculation, the specified number of steps is always
fully executed. In most Safety calculations, 100 steps are sufficient to arrive
at a state of failure. If not, the number of steps can be increased to a
maximum of 1000.
For most Safety analyses Msf = 0.1 is an adequate first step to start up the
process. During the calculation process, the development of the total
multiplier for the strength reduction, Msf , is automatically controlled by the
load advancement procedure.
Figure 4.17 Phases explorer displaying the Safety calculation phases
Evaluation of results
Additional displacements are generated during a Safety calculation. The total
displacements do not have a physical meaning, but the incremental displacements in the
final step (at failure) give an indication of the likely failure mechanism.
In order to view the mechanisms in the three different stages of the embankment
construction:
Select one of these phases and click the View calculation results button.
From the Deformations menu select Incremental displacements |u|.

Change the presentation from Arrows to Shadings. The resulting plots give a good
impression of the failure mechanisms (Figure 4.18). The magnitude of the
displacement increments is not relevant.
The safety factor can be obtained from the Calculation info option of the Project menu.
The Multipliers tabsheet of the Calculation information window represents the actual
values of the load multipliers. The value of Msf represents the safety factor, provided
that this value is indeed more or less constant during the previous few steps.
The best way to evaluate the safety factor, however, is to plot a curve in which the
73
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.18 Shadings of the total displacement increments indicating the most applicable failure
mechanism of the embankment in the final stage
parameter Msf is plotted against the displacements of a certain node. Although the
displacements are not relevant, they indicate whether or not a failure mechanism has
developed.
In order to evaluate the safety factors for the three situations in this way, follow these
steps:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar.
Click New in the Charts tabsheet.
In the Curve generation window, select the embankment toe (Point A) for the x -axis.
Select Deformations Total displacements |u|.
For the y -axis, select Project and then select Multipliers Msf . The Safety
phases are considered in the chart.
Right-click on the chart and select the Settings option in the appearing menu. The
Settings window pops up.
In the tabsheet corresponding to the curve click the Phases button.
In the Select phases window select Phase 5 (Figure 4.19).
Figure 4.19 The Select phases window
Click OK to close the Select phases window.
In the Settings window change the titles of the curve in the corresponding tabsheet.
Click the Add curve button and select the Add from current project option in the
appearing menu. Define curves for phases 6, 7 and 8 by following the described
steps.
In the Settings window click the Chart tab to open the corresponding tabsheet.
74
In the Chart tabsheet specify the chart name.
Set the scaling of the x-axis to Manual and set the value of Maximum to 1 (Figure
4.20).
Figure 4.20 The Chart tabsheet in the Settings window
Click Apply to update the chart according to the changes made and click OK to
close the Settings window.
To modify the location of the legend right-click on the legend.
In the appearing menu point at View and select the Legend in chart option (Figure
4.21).
Figure 4.21 Enabling legend in chart
The legend can be relocated in the chart by dragging it. The plot is shown in Figure
4.22.
The maximum displacements plotted are not relevant. It can be seen that for all curves a
more or less constant value of Msf is obtained. Hovering the mouse cursor over a point
on the curves, a box showing the exact value of Msf can be obtained.
75
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.22 Evaluation of safety factor
4.6
USING DRAINS
In this section the effect of the drains in the project will be investigated. Four new phases
will be introduced having the same properties as the first four consolidation phases. The
first of these new phases should start from the initial phase. The differences in the new
phases are:
The drains should be active in all the new phases. Activate them in the Staged
construction mode.
The Time interval in the first three of the consolidation phases (9 to 11) is 1 day. The
last phase is set to Minimum excess pore pressure and a value of 1.0 kN/m2 is
assigned to the minimum pressure (|P-stop|).
After the calculation is finished save the project, select the last phase and click the
View calculation results button. The Output window now shows the deformed mesh
after the drained construction of the final part of the embankment. In order to compare
the effect of the drains, the excess pore pressure dissipation in node B can be used.
Open the Curves manager.
In the Chart tabsheet double click Chart 1 (pexcess of node B versus time). The chart
is displayed. Close the Curves manager.
Double-click the curve in the legend at the right of the chart. The Settings window
pops up.
Click the Add curve button and select the Add from current project option in the
appearing menu. The Curve generation window pops up.
Select the Invert sign option for y-axis and click OK to accept the selected options.
In the chart a new curve is added and a new tabsheet corresponding to it is opened
in the Settings window. Click the Phases button. From the displayed window select
the Initial phase and the last four phases (drains) and click OK.
In the Settings window change the titles of the curves in the corresponding
76
tabsheets.
In the Chart tabsheet specify the chart name.
Click Apply to preview the generated cure and click OK to close the Settings
window. The chart (Figure 4.23) gives a clear view of the effect of drains in the time
required for the excess pore pressures to dissipate.
Figure 4.23 Effect of drains
Hint: Instead of adding a new curve, the existing curve can be regenerated using
the corresponding button in the Curves settings window.
4.7
UPDATED MESH + UPDATED WATER PRESSURES ANALYSIS
As can be seen from the output of the Deformed mesh at the end of consolidation (stage
4), the embankment settles about one meter since the start of construction. Part of the
sand fill that was originally above the phreatic level will settle below the phreatic level.
As a result of buoyancy forces the effective weight of the soil that settles below the water
level will change, which leads to a reduction of the effective overburden in time. This
effect can be simulated in PLAXIS using the Updated mesh and Updated water pressures
options. For the road embankment the effect of using these options will be investigated.
Select the initial phase in the Phases explorer.

Define the new phase in the same way as Phase 1. In the Deformation control
parameters subtree check the Updated mesh and Updated water pressures options.
Define in the same way the other 3 phases.
When the calculation has finished, compare the settlements for the two different
77
TUTORIAL MANUAL
calculation methods.
In the Curve generation window select time for the x -axis and select the vertical
displacement (uy ) of the point in the middle of the soft soil layers (Point B) for the
y -axis.
In this curve the results for Initial phase and phases from 1 to 4 will be considered.
Add a new curve to the chart.
In this curve the results for Initial phase and phases from 13 to 16 will be
considered. The resulting chart is shown in Figure 4.24.
Figure 4.24 Effect of Updated mesh and water pressures analysis on resulting settlements
In Figure 4.24 it can be seen that the settlements are less when the Updated mesh and
Updated water pressures options are used (red curve). This is partly because the
Updated mesh procedure includes second order deformation effects by which changes of
the geometry are taken into account, and partly because the Updated water pressures
procedure results in smaller effective weights of the embankment. This last effect is
caused by the buoyancy of the soil settling below the (constant) phreatic level. The use of
these procedures allows for a realistic analysis of settlements, taking into account the
positive effects of large deformations.
78
SETTLEMENTS DUE TO TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION
In this tutorial the construction of a shield tunnel in medium soft soil and the influence on
a pile foundation is considered. A shield tunnel is constructed by excavating soil at the
front of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) and installing a tunnel lining behind it. In this
procedure the soil is generally over-excavated, which means that the cross sectional area
occupied by the final tunnel lining is always less than the excavated soil area. Although
measures are taken to fill up this gap, one cannot avoid stress re-distributions and
deformations in the soil as a result of the tunnel construction process. To avoid damage
to existing buildings or foundations on the soil above, it is necessary to predict these
effects and to take proper measures. Such an analysis can be performed by means of
the finite element method. This tutorial shows an example of such an analysis.
5m
10 m
20 m
+3 m
y
0m
piles
clay
-10 m
-12 m
sand
deep clay
-17 m
deep sand
-30 m
Figure 5.1 Geometry of the tunnel project with an indication of the soil layers
Objectives:
Modelling of the tunnel boring process
Modelling undrained behaviour using the Undrained (B) option
5.1
INPUT
The tunnel considered in this tutorial has a diameter of 5.0 m and is located at an average
depth of 20 m. To create the geometry model, follow these steps:
79
TUTORIAL MANUAL
General settings
box.
Elements (15-Noded).
3.0 m.
Keep the default values for units and constants and press OK to close the Project
properties window.

The soil profile indicates four distinct layers: The upper 13 m consists of soft clay type
soil with stiffness that increases approximately linearly with depth. Under the clay layer
there is a 2.0 m thick fine sand layer. This layer is used as a foundation layer for old
wooden piles on which traditional brickwork houses were built. The pile foundation of
such a building is modelled next to the tunnel. Displacements of these piles may cause
damage to the building, which is highly undesirable. Below the sand layer there is a 5.0 m
thick deep loamy clay layer.
Create the soil stratigraphy as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 The soil stratigraphy in the Modify soil layers window
Keep the Head in the borehole at 0.0 m.

Create data sets under the Soil and interfaces set type according to the information
80
given in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1 Material properties of soil in the tunnel project
Parameter
Name
Clay
Sand
Deep clay
Deep sand
Unit
Material model
Model
MohrCoulomb
Hardening
soil
MohrCoulomb
HS small
Drainage type
Type
Undrained
(B)
Drained
Undrained
(B)
Drained
Soil unit weight above p.l.
unsat
sat
15
16.5
16
17
kN/m3
18
20
18.5
21
kN/m3
Young's modulus at reference

level
E'
3.4103
9.0 103
kN/m2
Secant stiffness in standard

drained triaxial test
ref
E50
2.5 104
4.2 104
kN/m2
Tangent stiffness for primary

oedometer loading
ref
Eoed
2.5 104
4.2 104
kN/m2
ref
Eur
m
7.5 104
1.26 105
kN/m2
0.5
0.5
c 'ref
su,ref
kN/m2
40
kN/m2
'
0.7
31
35
1.0
1.310-4
Shear modulus at very small

strains
G0ref
1.1 105
kN/m2
Poisson's ratio
'
E 'inc
yref
su,inc
yref
0.33
0.3
0.33
0.3
400
600
kN/m3
3.0
-12
kN/m2
3.0
-12
kx
ky
110-4
1.0
110-2
0.5
m/day
110-4
1.0
110-2
0.5
m/day
Interface strength type
Type
Rigid
Rigid
Manual
Manual
Interface strength
Rinter
1.0
1.0
0.7
0.7
K0,x
Manual
Automatic
Manual
Automatic
0.60
0.485
0.60
0.4264
OCR
POP
1.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
General
Soil unit weight below p.l.

Parameters
Power
for
stress-level
dependency of stiffness
Cohesion
Undrained shear strength at
reference level
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
Shear strain at which Gs
0.722G0
Young's modulus inc.

Reference level
Undrained shear strength inc.
Reference level
Groundwater
Interfaces
Initial
K0 determination
Lateral
earth
coefficient
pressure
Pre-overburden ratio
For the upper clay layer the stiffness and shear strength increase with depth. Therefore
values for E 'inc and su,inc are entered in the Advanced subtree. The values of E 'ref and
su,ref become the reference values at the reference level yref . Below yref , the actual
values of E ' and su, increase with depth according to:
E '(y) = E 'ref + E 'inc (yref y )
su (y ) = su,ref + su,inc (yref y)

The data sets of the two lower soil layers include appropriate parameters for the tunnel
interfaces. In the other data sets the interface properties just remain at their default
81
TUTORIAL MANUAL
values. Enter four data sets with the properties as listed in Table 5.1 and assign them to
the corresponding clusters in the geometry model.
5.1.1
The tunnel considered here is the right half of a circular tunnel. After generating the basic
geometry, follow these steps to design the circular tunnel:
In the Structures mode click the Create tunnel button in the side toolbar and click at
(0.0 -17.0) in the draw area. The Tunnel designer window pops up displaying the
General tabsheet of the Cross section mode.
Select the Circular option in the Shape type drop-down menu.
Select the Define right half option in the Whole or half tunnel drop-down menu.
In the Offset to begin point group set Axis 2 to -2.5. No change is required for the
orientation axes.
Click the Segments tab to proceed to the corresponding tabsheet. A segment is

automatically created. A new box is shown under the segment list where the
properties of the segment can be defined.
In the Segment box set Radius to 2.5 m. The generated segment is shown in Figure
5.3.
Figure 5.3 The geometry of the tunnel segment
Click the Properties tab to proceed to the corresponding tabsheet.
Right-click the segment in the display area and select the Create plate option in the
appearing menu.
Create a new material dataset. Specify the material parameters for lining according
to Table 5.2.
82
Hint: In the tunnel as considered here the segments do not have a specific
meaning as the tunnel lining is homogeneous and the tunnel will be
constructed at once. In general, the meaning of segments becomes
significant when:
It is desired to excavate or construct the tunnel (lining) in different

stages.
Different tunnel segments have different lining properties.
One would consider hinge connections in the lining (hinges can be

added after the design of the tunnel in the general draw area).
The tunnel shape is composed of arcs with different radii (for example
NATM tunnels).
Table 5.2 Material properties of the plates

Parameter
Name
Lining
Building
Unit
Material type
Type
Elastic;
Isotropic
Elastic;
Isotropic
Normal stiffness
EA
EI
w
1.4107
11010
kN/m
1.43105
11010
kNm2 /m
8.4
25
kN/m/m
0.15
0.0
Flexural rigidity
Weight
Poisson's ratio
Hint: A tunnel lining consists of curved plates (shells). The lining properties can be
specified in the material database for plates. Similarly, a tunnel interface is
nothing more than a curved interface.
Right-click the segment in the display area and select the Create negative interface
option in the appearing menu.
Right-click the segment in the display area and select the Create line contraction
option in the appearing menu. In the polycurve box specify a value of 0.5% for Cref .
The tunnel model is shown in Figure 5.4.
Hint: A line contraction of the tunnel contour of 0.5% corresponds approximately to
a value loss of 1% of the tunnel volume.
Click on Generate to include the defined tunnel in the model.
Close the Tunnel designer window.
The building itself will be represented by a stiff plate founded on piles.

Draw a plate from (5.0 3.0) to (15.0 3.0), representing the building.
Create a material set for the building according to Table 5.2 and assign it to the plate.
Draw two piles (embedded beam rows) from (5.0 3.0) to (5.0 -11.0) and from (15.0
3.0) to (15.0 -11.0).
Create a material set for the foundation piles according to Table 5.3 and assign it to
83
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 5.4 Tunnel model in the Properties mode
the corresponding geometric entities in the model.

Table 5.3 Material properties of the piles
Parameter
Name
Foundation piles
Unit
Stiffness
1.0107
kN/m2
24.0
kN/m3
0.25
3.0
1.0
kN/m
100.0
kN/m
Base resistance
D
Lspacing
Tskin,start,max
Tskin,end,max
Fmax
100.0
kN
Interface stiffness factors
Default
kN
Unit weight
Diameter
Pile spacing
Skin resistance
Hint: In the Standard fixities option, a plate that extends to a geometry boundary
that is fixed in at least one direction obtains fixed rotations, whereas a plate
that extends to a free boundary obtains a free rotation.
5.2
MESH GENERATION
The default global coarseness parameter (Medium) can be accepted in this case. Note
that the structural elements (plate and embedded beams) are internally automatically
refined by a factor of 0.25.

(Medium).
View the mesh.
84
In the Output program click on the Fixities option in the Geometry menu to display
them in the model. The generated mesh is shown in (Figure 5.5).
5.3
CALCULATIONS
To simulate the construction of the tunnel it is clear that a staged construction calculation
is needed.
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. Keep its calculation type as K0
procedure. The water pressures can be generated on the basis of a general phreatic
level at a level of y = 0.0 m as already defined in the borehole. Make sure that the
building, foundation piles and tunnel lining are deactivated.
Phase 1: Building
The first calculation phase is used to activate the building.
In the Phases window rename the phase as 'Building'.
In the Deformation control parameters subtree select the Ignore undr. behaviour
(A,B) option. The default values of the remaining parameters are valid for this phase.
In the draw area activate the plate and the foundation piles.
85
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Simulation of the construction of the tunnel

A staged construction calculation is needed in which the tunnel lining is activated and the
soil clusters inside the tunnel are deactivated. Deactivating the soil inside the tunnel only
affects the soil stiffness and strength and the effective stresses. Without additional input
the water pressures remain. To remove the water pressure inside the tunnel the Water
conditions of the two soil clusters in the tunnels must be set to Dry in the Object
explorers. The calculation phases are Plastic analyses, Staged construction. To create
the input, follow these steps.
Phase 2: Tunnel
In the Phases window select the Reset displacements to zero option in the
Deformation control parameters subtree.
In Staged construction multi-select the clusters inside the tunnel. In the Selection
explorer deactivate the two soil clusters and set the Water conditions to Dry.
Activate the tunnel lining and the negative interfaces. Note that contraction is not
active in this phase.
Phase 3: Contraction
In addition to the installation of the tunnel lining, the excavation of the soil and the
dewatering of the tunnel, the volume loss is simulated by applying a contraction to the
tunnel lining. This contraction will be defined in a staged construction calculation phase:
Multi-select the plates. In the Selection explorer activate the contraction.

Hint: For a more realistic model, different properties should be defined for the
lining in this phase and in the final one.
The contraction of the tunnel lining by itself does not introduce forces in the
tunnel lining. Eventual changes in lining forces as a result of the contraction
procedure are due to stress redistributions in the surrounding soil or to
changing external forces.
Phase 4: Grouting
At the tail of the tunnel boring machine (TBM), grout is injected to fill up the gap between
the TBM and the final tunnel lining. The grouting process is simulated by applying a
pressure on the surrounding soil.
In the Phases window do NOT select the Reset displacements to zero option in the
Deformation control parameters subtree.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the tunnel lining (plates, negative
interfaces and contraction).
86
Multi-select the clusters inside the tunnel. In the Selection explorer activate
WaterConditions.
Select the User-defined option in the Condition drop-down menu and set pref to -230
kN/m2 . The pressure distribution in the tunnel is constant.
Phase 5: Final lining

In the Phases window, do NOT select the Reset displacements to zero option in the
Parameters subtree.
In the Staged construction set the clusters inside the tunnel to Dry.
Activate the tunnel lining (plates) and the negative interfaces in the tunnel.
Select some characteristic points for load-displacement curves (for example the
corner point at the ground surface above the tunnel and the corner points of the
building).
5.4
RESULTS
After the calculation, select the last calculation phase and click the View calculation
results button. The Output program is started, showing the deformed meshes at the end
of the calculation phases (Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.6 Deformed mesh after construction of the tunnel (Phase 5; scaled up 20.0 times)
As a result of the second calculation phase (removing soil and water out of the tunnel)
there is some settlement of the soil surface and the tunnel lining shows some
87
TUTORIAL MANUAL
deformation. In this phase the axial force in the lining is the maximum axial force that will
be reached. The lining forces can be viewed by double clicking the lining and selecting
force related options from the Force menu. The plots of the axial forces and bending
moment are scaled by factors of 510-3 and 0.02 respectively (Figure 5.7).
Figure 5.7 Axial forces and Bending moments in the lining after the second phase
The plot of effective stresses, Figure 5.8, shows that arching occurs around the tunnel.
This arching reduces the stresses acting on the tunnel lining. As a result, the axial force
in the final phase is lower than that after the second calculation phase.
Figure 5.8 Effective principal stresses after the construction of the tunnel
To display the tilt of the structure:

Click the Distance measurement in the side toolbar.
Click the node located at the left corner of the structure (5.0 3.0).
Click the node located at the right corner of the structure (15.0 3.0). The Distance
measurement information window is displayed where the resulting tilt of the structure
is given (Figure 5.9).
88
Figure 5.9 Distance measurement information window
89
TUTORIAL MANUAL
90
EXCAVATION OF AN NATM TUNNEL
This tutorial illustrates the use of PLAXIS for the analysis of the construction of a NATM
tunnel. The NATM is a technique in which ground exposed by excavation is stabilized
with shotcrete to form a temporary lining.
28 m
8m 7m
(-7 35)
7m
50 m
Top layer
(-14 30)
(-50 24)
6m
(-22 24)
Clay - Siltstone
(-50 11)
5m
Clay - Limestone
13 m
11 m
(-50 0)
Figure 6.1 Geometry of the project
Objectives:
Modelling the construction of an NATM tunnel ( -method).
Using Gravity loading to generate initial stresses.
6.1
INPUT
General settings
box.
In the Model tabsheet make sure that Model is set to Plane strain and that Elements
is set to 15-Noded.
Define the limits for the soil contour as xmin = 50.0, xmax = 50.0, ymin = 0.0 and
ymax = 35.0.

The basic stratigraphy will be created using the Borehole feature. In the model 11 m of
the Clay-limestone layer is considered. The bottom of this layer is considered as
reference in y direction (ymin = 0). To define the soil stratigraphy:
Create the first borehole x = -22.0.
In the Modify soil layers window create three soil layers. The layer number 1 has a
depth equal to zero in Borehole_1. Assign 24.00 to Top and Bottom of the layer 1.
The layer number 2 lies from Top = 24.00 to Bottom = 11.00. The layer number 3
lies from Top = 11.00 to Bottom = 0.00.
Click the Boreholes button at the bottom of the Modify soil layers window.
91
TUTORIAL MANUAL
In the appearing menu select the Add option. The Add borehole window pops up.
Specify the location of the second borehole (X = -14).
Note that the soil layers are available for Borehole_2. The layer number 1 has a
depth equal to zero in Borehole_2. However as the depth of layer 2 is higher assign
30.00 to Top and Bottom of the layer 1. The layer number 2 lies from Top = 30.00 to
Bottom = 11.00. The layer number 3 lies from Top = 11.00 to Bottom = 0.00.
Create a new borehole (Borehole_3) at X = -7.
In Borehole_3 the layer number 1 has a non-zero thicknesss and lies from Top =
35.00 to Bottom = 30.00. The layer number 2 lies from Top = 30.00 to Bottom =
11.00. The layer number 3 lies from Top = 11.00 to Bottom = 0.00.
In all the boreholes the water level is located at y = 0 m.
Specify the soil layer distribution as shown in Figure 6.2.
Create soil material data sets according to Table 6.1 and assign them to the
corresponding layers (Figure 6.2).
Close the Modify soil layers window and proceed to the Structures mode to define
the structural elements.
Table 6.1 Material properties of the soil layers

Parameter
Name
Top layer
Clay-siltstone
Clay-limestone
Unit
Material model
Model
Hardening soil
Hoek-Brown
Hoek-Brown
Type
Drained
Drained
Drained
unsat
sat
einit
20
25
24
kN/m3
22
25
24
kN/m3
0.5
0.5
0.5
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial

test
ref
E50
4.0104
kN/m2
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer

loading
ref
Eoed
4.0104
kN/m2
ref
Eur
m
1.2105
kN/m2
0.5
E'
'ur
ci
mi
GSI
D
c 'ref
'
max
1.0106
2.5106
kN/m2
0.2
0.25
0.25
2.5104
5.0104
kN/m2
4.0
10.0
40.0
55.0
0.2
0.0
10.0
kN/m2
30
30.0
35.0
400
1000
kN/m2
Rinter
Rigid
Manual
Rigid
1.0
0.5
1.0
General

Initial void ratio
Parameters
Power for
stiffness
stress-level
dependency
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Uniaxial compressive strength
Material constant for the intact rock
Geological Strength Index
Disturbance factor
Cohesion
Friction angle
Dilatancy parameter
Dilatancy parameter
of
Interfaces
Interface strength
Strength reduction factor
92
Figure 6.2 Soil layer distribution
6.1.1
DEFINITION OF TUNNEL
In the Structures mode click the Create tunnel button in the side toolbar and click on
(0.0 16.0) in the draw area to specify the location of the tunnel. The Tunnel designer
window pops up.
The default shape option (Free) will be used. The default values of the rest of the
parameters defining the location of the tunnel in the model are valid as well.
Click on the Segments tab.

Click the Add button in the side toolbar.
In the segment info box set the Segment type to Arc. Set Radius to 10.4 m and the
Segment angle to 22 . The default values of the remaining parameters are valid.
Add a new arc segment. Set Radius to 2.4 m and the Segment angle to 47 . The
default values of the remaining parameters are valid.
Add a new arc segment. Set Radius to 5.8 m and the Segment angle to 50 . The
default values of the remaining parameters are valid.
Click the Extend to symmetry axis option to complete the right half of the tunnel. A
new arc segment is automatically added closing the half of the tunnel.
Click the Symmetric close button to complete the tunnel. Four new arc segment are
automatically added closing the tunnel.
Click on the Subsections tab.

Add a new subsection. This subsection will be used to separate the top heading
(upper excavation cluster) from the invert (lower excavation cluster).
Set Offset 2 to 3 m. Select the Arc option from the Segment type drop-down menu.
Set Radius to 11 m and Segment angle to 360 .
93
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 6.3 Segments in the tunnel cross section
Select all the geometric entities in the slice.

Click the Intersect button.
Delete the part of the subsection outside of the slice by selecting it in the display
area and clicking the Delete button in the side toolbar.
Proceed to the Properties mode.
Multi-select the polycurves in the display area and select the Create plate option in
the appearing menu.
Press <Ctrl> + <M> to open the Material sets window. Create a new material
dataset for the created plates according to Table 6.2.
Multi-select the created plates and in the Selection explorer, assign the material
Lining to the selected plates.
Table 6.2 Material properties of the plates

Parameter
Name
Lining
Unit
Material type
Type
EA
EI
w
Elastic; Isotropic
kN/m
6.0106
kN/m
2.0104
kNm2 /m
5.0
kN/m/m
0.15
Normal stiffness
Flexural rigidity
Weight
Poisson's ratio
Assign negative interfaces to the lines defining the shape of the tunnel (not the
excavation levels). The final tunnel view in the Tunnel designer window is given in
Figure 6.4.
Click on Generate to update the tunnel in the model and press Close.
94
Figure 6.4 Final tunnel
6.2
MESH GENERATION
The default global coarseness parameter (Medium) can be accepted in this case.

(Medium).
View the mesh. The generated mesh is shown in Figure 6.5.
6.3
CALCULATIONS
To simulate the construction of the tunnel it is clear that a staged construction calculation
is needed.
95
TUTORIAL MANUAL
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. Note that the soil layers are not
horizontal. As a result, the K0 procedure cannot be used to generate the initial
effective stresses in this example. Instead Gravity loading should be used. This
option is available in the General subtree of the Phases window.
Water will not be considered in this example. The general phreatic level should
remain at the model base.
Make sure that the tunnel is inactive.
6.3.1
SIMULATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TUNNEL
A staged construction calculation is needed in which the tunnel lining is activated and the
soil clusters inside the tunnel are deactivated. Deactivating the soil inside the tunnel only
affects the soil stiffness and strength and the effective stresses. The calculation phases
are Plastic analyses, Staged construction. The three-dimensional arching effect is
emulated by using the so-called -method. The idea is that the initial stresses pk acting
around the location where the tunnel is to be constructed are divided into a part (1 )
pk that is applied to the unsupported tunnel and a part pk that is applied to the
supported tunnel. To apply this in PLAXIS one can use the staged construction option
with a reduced ultimate level of Mstage .
To define the calculation process follow these steps:
Phase 1
In the Phases window define a value of 0.6 for Mstage in the General subtree. This
corresponds to a -value of 1-Mstage = 0.4.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the upper cluster in the tunnel. Do NOT
activate the tunnel lining. The model for Phase 1 is displayed in Figure 6.6.
Figure 6.6 Configuration of Phase 1
Phase 2
In the Staged construction mode activate the lining and interfaces of the part of the
96
tunnel excavated in the previous phase (Figure 6.7).
Note that the value of Mstage is automatically reset to 1.0.
Phase 3
In the Phases window define a value of 0.6 for Mstage in the General subtree. This
corresponds to a -value of 1-Mstage = 0.4.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the lower cluster (invert) and the
temporary lining in the middle of the tunnel (Figure 6.8).
Phase 4
Activate the remaining lining and interfaces. All the plates and interfaces around the
full tunnel are active (Figure 6.9).
Note that the value of Mstage is automatically reset to 1.0.

Select a node at the slope crest point and the tunnel crest. These points might be of
interest to evaluate the deformation during the construction phases.
97
TUTORIAL MANUAL
6.4
RESULTS
After the calculation, select the last calculation phase and click the View calculation
results button. The Output program is started, showing the deformed mesh at the end of
the calculation phases (Figure 6.10).
Figure 6.10 The deformed mesh at the end of the the final calculation phase
To display the bending moments resulting in the tunnel:

To select the lining of all the tunnel sections, click the corresponding button in the
side toolbar and drag the mouse to define a rectangle where all the tunnel sections
are included. Select the Plate option in the appearing window (Figure 6.11) and
press View. Note that the tunnel lining is displayed in the Structures view.
Figure 6.11 Select structures window
From the Forces menu select the Bending moment M option. The result, scaled by a
factor of 0.5 is displayed in Figure 6.12.
98
Figure 6.12 Resulting bending moments in the NATM tunnel
99
TUTORIAL MANUAL
100 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016
STABILITY OF DAM UNDER RAPID DRAWDOWN
This example concerns the stability of a reservoir dam under conditions of drawdown.
Fast reduction of the reservoir level may lead to instability of the dam due to high pore
water pressures that remain inside the dam. To analyse such a situation using the finite
element method, a transient groundwater flow calculation is required. Pore pressures
resulting from the groundwater flow analysis are transferred to the deformation analysis
program and used in a stability analysis. This example demonstrates how deformation
analysis, transient groundwater flow and stability analysis can interactively be performed
in PLAXIS 2D.
The dam to be considered is 30 m high and the width is 172.5 m at the base and 5 m at
the top. The dam consists of a clay core with a well graded fill at both sides. The
geometry of the dam is depicted in Figure 7.1. The normal water level behind the dam is
25 m high. A situation is considered where the water level drops 20 m. The normal
phreatic level at the right hand side of the dam is 10 m below ground surface. The data of
the dam materials and the sub-soil are given in Table 1.
50 m
77.5 m
5m
37.5 m
90 m
25 m
Core
Fill
5m
30 m
Fill
x
Subsoil
30 m
120 m
20 m
120 m
Figure 7.1 Geometry of the dam
Objectives:
Defining time-dependent hydraulic conditions (Flow functions)
Defining transient flow conditions using water levels
7.1
INPUT
Start the Input program and select the Start a new project from the Quick select
dialog box.
In the Project properties window enter an appropriate title.
Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = -130.0,
xmax = 130.0, ymin = -30.0 and ymax = 30.0.
7.1.1
DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY
In order to define the underlying foundation soil, a borehole needs to be added and
material properties must be assigned. A layer of 30 m overconsolidated silty sand is
considered as sub-soil in the model.
PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual 101
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Add a soil layer extending from ground surface (y = 0.0) to a depth of 30 m (y =

-30.0).
Create data sets under Soil and interfaces set type according to the information
given in Table 7.1. Note that the Thermal, Interfaces and Initial tabsheets are not
relevant (no thermal properties, no interfaces or K0 procedure are used).
Assign the Subsoil material dataset to the soil layer in the borehole.
Table 7.1 Material properties of the dam and sub-soil

Parameter
Name
Core
Fill
Subsoil
Unit
Model
Type
unsat
sat
Mohr-Coulomb
Mohr-Coulomb
Mohr-Coulomb
Undrained (B)
Drained
Drained
16.0
16.0
17.0
kN/m3
18.0
20.0
21.0
kN/m3
E'
'
c 'ref
su,ref
'
E 'inc
yref
su,inc
yref
1.5103
2.0104
5.0104
kN/m2
0.35
0.33
0.3
5.0
1.0
kN/m2
5.0
kN/m2
31
35.0
1.0
5.0
300
kN/m2
30
3.0
kN/m2
30
Flow data set
Model
Hypres
Hypres
Hypres
Model
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Van
Genuchten
Soil
Subsoil
Subsoil
Subsoil
Soil coarseness
Very fine
Coarse
Coarse
kx
ky
1.010-4
1.00
0.01
m/day
1.010-4
1.00
0.01
m/day
General
Material model
Drainage type
Parameters
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Cohesion
Undrained shear strength
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
Reference level
Reference level
Groundwater
7.1.2
DEFINITION OF THE EMBANKMENT
The embankment will be defined in the Structures mode.

Define a polygon by specifying points located at (-80.0 0.0), (92.5 0.0), (2.5 30.0)
and (-2.5 30.0).
To create the sub-clusters in the embankment define two cutting lines from (-10.0
0.0) to (-2.5 30.0) and from (10.0 0.0) to (2.5 30.0).
Assign the corresponding material datasets to the soil clusters.
7.2
MESH GENERATION

Create the mesh. Use the Fine option for the Element distribution parameter.
View the generated mesh. The generated mesh is shown in Figure 7.2.
Figure 7.2 Finite element mesh
7.3
CALCULATION
The following cases will be considered:
long term situation with water level at 25 m.
water level drops quickly from 25 to 5 m.
water level drops slowly from 25 to 5 m.
long term situation with water level at 5 m.
In addition to Initial phase, the calculation consists of eight phases. In the initial phase,
initial stresses and initial pore water pressures of the dam under normal working
conditions are calculated using Gravity loading. For this situation the water pressure
distribution is calculated using a steady-state groundwater flow calculation. The first and
second phases both start from the initial phase (i.e. a dam with a reservoir level at 25 m)
and the water level is lowered to 5 m. A distinction is made in the time interval at which
this is done (i.e. different speeds of water level reduction; rapid drawdown and slow
drawdown). In both cases the water pressure distribution is calculated using a transient
groundwater flow calculation. The third calculation phase also starts from the initial phase
and considers the long-term behaviour of the dam at the low reservoir level of 5 m, which
involves a steady-state groundwater flow calculation to calculate the water pressure
distribution. Finally, for all the water pressure situations the safety factor of the dam is
calculated by means of phi-c reduction.
Note that only the water conditions will be defined for different calculation phases. The
model requires no changes in the geometry. Water levels can be defined in the Flow
conditions mode.
Proceed to the Flow conditions mode by clicking the corresponding tab.
Initial phase: Gravity loading

By default the initial phase is added in the Phases explorer.
In the Phases explorer double-click Initial phase.
In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. High reservoir).
Select the Gravity loading option as calculation type.
Select the Steady state groundwater flow option as Pore pressure calculation type
The Phases window is displayed (Figure 7.3). Click OK to close the Phases window.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 7.3 The Phases window
Hint: Note that by default Undrained behaviour (A) and (B) are ignored for a
Gravity loading calculation type. The corresponding option is available in the
Deformation control parameters subtree in the Phases window.
Define the water level corresponding to the level of water in the reservoir prior to the
drawdown. The water level consists of four points; starting at the very left side at a
level of 25 m above the ground surface (-132.0 25.0); the second point is just inside
the dam at a level of 25 m (-10.0 25.0); the third point is near the dam toe (93.0
-10.0) and the forth point just outside the right boundary at a level of 10 m below the
ground surface (132.0 -10.0). The defined water level is shown in Figure 7.4.
Right-click the created water level and select the Make global option in the
appearing menu. Note that the global water level can also be specified by selecting
the corresponding option in the GlobalWaterLevel menu in the Water subtree in the
Model conditions.
Hint: Straight lines can be defined by keeping the <Shift> key pressed while
defining the geometry.
Figure 7.4 High water level in the reservoir
In the Model explorer expand the Attributes library.
Expand the Water levels subtree. The levels created in the Flow conditions mode
are grouped under User water levels.
Expand the User water levels subtree. The created water level can be seen named
as 'UserWaterLevel_1'. The location of the water levels in Model explorer is shown
in Figure 7.5.
Figure 7.5 Water levels in Model explorer
Double-click on the created water level and rename it as 'FullReservoir_Steady'.

This is a distinctive name that satisfies the naming requirements (no invalid
characters).
Expand the Model conditions subtree.
Expand the GroundWaterFlow subtree. Note that by default the boundary at the
bottom of the model is set to Closed. This is relevant for this example (Figure 7.6).
Figure 7.6 GroundwaterFlow boundary conditions in Model explorer
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Phase 1: Rapid drawdown

In this phase rapid drawdown of the reservoir level is considered.
In Phases explorer double-click the newly added phase. The Phases window is
displayed.
In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. Rapid drawdown). Note
that the High reservoir phase is automatically selected in the Start from phase
drop-down menu.
Select the Fully coupled flow-deformation option as calculation type.
Assign a value of 5 days to the Time interval parameter.
Make sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Reset small strain options are
selected in the Deformation control parameters subtree.
Due to the global nature of the water levels, if an attribute is assigned to a water
level in the model it will affect it in all phases. The water level in this phase has the
same geometry with the one previously defined, however it is time dependent and a
function needs to be assigned to it. As a result, it is required to create a new water
level with the same geometry and different attributes. In Model explorer right-click
on FullReservoir_Steady and select the Duplicate option in the appearing menu
(Figure 7.7). A copy of the water level is created.
Figure 7.7 Copying water levels in Model explorer
Rename the newly created water level as 'FullReservoir_Rapid'.
The behaviour of the water levels can be described by specifying Flow functions. Note
that Flow functions are global entities and are available under the Attributes library in
Model explorer. To define the flow functions:
Right-click the Flow functions option in the Attributes library in the Model explorer
and select the Edit option in the appearing menu. The Flow functions window is
displayed.
In the Head functions tabsheet add a new function by clicking the corresponding
button. The new function is highlighted in the list and options to define the function
are displayed.
Specify a proper name to the function for the rapid drawdown (e.g. Rapid).
Select the Linear option from the Signal drop-down menu.
Specify a time interval of 5 days.
Assign a value of -20 m to Head, representing the amount of the head decrease.
A graph is displayed showing the defined function (Figure 7.8).
Figure 7.8 The flow function for the rapid drawdown case
Click OK to close the Flow functions window.
In the Model explorer right-click on FullReservoir_Rapid and select the Use as

global phreatic level option in the appearing menu.
Expand the FullReservoir_Rapid subtree. Note that the water level is composed of 3
water segments. Select the water segment in the upstream shoulder (left from the
dam, at the reservoir side).
Expand the subtree of the selected segment and select the Time dependent option
for the TimeDependency parameter.
Select the Rapid option for the HeadFunction parameter. Figure 7.9 shows the
TUTORIAL MANUAL
selected water segment in Model explorer.
Figure 7.9 Properties of the lowering water segment
In the Water subtree under the Model conditions in the Model explorer note that the
new water level (FullReservoir_Rapid) is assigned to GlobalWaterLevel.
The configuration of the phase is shown in Figure 7.10. Note that the shadow under the
water level segment in the upstream shoulder indicates the variation of the water level
during the phase.
Figure 7.10 Configuration of the rapid drawdown phase
Phase 2: Slow drawdown

In this phase the drawdown of the reservoir level is performed at a lower rate.
Select the High reservoir phase in the Phases explorer.

displayed.
In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. Slow drawdown). The
High reservoir phase is automatically selected for the Start from phase parameter.
Select the Fully coupled flow deformation option as calculation type.
Assign a value of 50 days to the Time interval parameter.
Make sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Reset small strain options are
Create a new duplicate of the high water level. The newly created water level will be
used as Global water level in the slow drawdown phase. Even though the water
level in this phase has the same geometry as the previously defined ones, the flow
function for the time dependency is different.
Rename the newly created water level as 'FullReservoir_Slow'.

Add a new flow function following the steps described for the previous phase.
Specify a proper name to the function for the slow drawdown (e.g. Slow).
Select the Linear option from the Signal drop-down menu.
Specify a time interval of 50 days.
Assign a value of -20 m to Head, representing the amount of the head decrease.
A graph is displayed showing the defined function (Figure 7.11).
Figure 7.11 The flow function for the slow drawdown case
In the Model explorer right-click on FullReservoir_Slow and select the Use as global
phreatic level option in the appearing menu.
Expand the FullReservoir_Slow subtree. Select the water segment in the upstream
TUTORIAL MANUAL
shoulder (left from the dam, at the reservoir side). The segment selected in Model
explorer is indicated by a red colour in the model.
Expand the subtree of the selected segment and select the Time dependent option
for the TimeDependency parameter.
Select the Slow option for the HeadFunction parameter.
In the Water subtree under the Model conditions in the Model explorer note that the
new water level (FullReservoir_Slow) is assigned to GlobalWaterLevel.
Phase 3: Low level

This phase considers the steady-state situation of a low reservoir level.
Select the High reservoir phase in the Phases explorer.

displayed.
In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. Low level). The High
reservoir phase is automatically selected for the Start from phase parameter.
Make sure that the Plastic option is selected as calculation type.
Make sure that the Steady state groundwater flow option is selected as Pore
pressure calculation type
In the Deformation control subtree, select Ignore und. behaviour (A,B) and make
sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Reset small strain options are

Define the water level corresponding to the level of water in the reservoir after the
drawdown. The water level consists of four points; starting at the very left side at a
level of 5 m above the ground the surface (-132.0 5.0); the second point is inside the
dam at a level of 5 m (-60.0 5.0); third point at (93.0 -10.0) and the fourth point just
outside the right boundary at a level of 10 m below the ground surface (132.0 -10.0).
Rename the newly created water level as 'LowLevel_Steady'.
In the Water subtree under the Model conditions in the Model explorer assign the
new water level (LowLevel_Steady) to GlobalWaterLevel. All the defined water
levels are shown in Figure 7.12.
Figure 7.12 Model for the low level case in the Flow conditions mode
Phase 4 to 7:
In Phases 4 to 7 stability calculations are defined for the previous phases.
Select the parent phase in the Phases explorer.

Add a new calculation phase and proceed to the Phases window.
Set Calculation type to Safety.
In the Deformation control subtree, select Reset displacements to zero.
In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max steps parameter to 30 for
Phase 4 and to 50 for phases 5 to 7. The final view of Phases explorer is given in
Figure 7.13.
Figure 7.13 The final view of Phases explorer

Select nodes located at the crest (-2.5 30.0) and at the toe of the dam (-80.0 0.0).
Start the calculation process by clicking the Calculate button in the Staged
construction mode.
7.4
RESULTS
The results of the four groundwater flow calculations in terms of pore pressure distribution
are shown in Figures 7.14 to 7.17. Four different situations were considered:
The steady-state situation with a high (standard) reservoir level (Figure 7.14).
The pore pressure distribution after rapid drawdown of the reservoir level (Figure
7.15).
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 7.14 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), for high reservoir level
Figure 7.15 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), after rapid drawdown
The pore pressure distribution after slow drawdown of the reservoir level (Figure
7.16).
Figure 7.16 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), after slow drawdown
The steady-state situation with a low reservoir level (Figure 7.17).
Figure 7.17 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), for low reservoir level
When the change of pore pressure is taken into account in a deformation analysis, some
additional deformation of the dam will occur. These deformations and the effective stress
distribution can be viewed on the basis of the results of the first four calculation phases.
Here, attention is focused on the variation of the safety factor of the dam for the different
situations. Therefore, the development of Msf is plotted for the phases 4 to 7 as a
function of the displacement of the dam crest point (see Figure 7.18).
Figure 7.18 Safety factors for different situations
Rapid drawdown of a reservoir level can reduce the stability of a dam significantly. Fully
coupled flow-deformation and stability analysis can be performed with PLAXIS 2D to
effectively analyze such situations
TUTORIAL MANUAL
DRY EXCAVATION USING A TIE BACK WALL - ULS
In this tutorial a Ultimate Limit State (ULS) calculation will be defined and performed for
the submerged construction of an excavation. The geometry model of Chapter 3 will be
used. The Design approaches feature is introduced in this example. This feature allows
for the use of partial factors for loads and model parameters after a serviceability
calculation has already been performed.
Objectives:
Using Design approaches
8.1
INPUT
In order to define a design approach:
Open the project created in Chapter 3 and save it under a different name.
Select the Design approaches option in the Soil or Structures menu. The
corresponding window is displayed.
Click the Add button. A new design approach is added in the list.
In this example the design approach 3 of the Eurocode 7 will be used. This design
approach involves partial factors for loads and partial factors for materials (strength).
Click the design approach in the list and specify a representative name (ex:
'Eurocode 7 - DA 3').
In the lower part of the window the partial factors can be defined for loads and
materials. Set the partial factor for Variable unfavourable 1.3.
Figure 8.1 Partial factors for loads
Click the Materials tab.
Assign a value of 1.25 to Effective friction angle and Effective cohesion.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 8.2 Partial factors for materials
Click the Materials button. The Material sets window pops up.
Open the Loam material data set. Note that the view has changed. In the current
view it is possible to assign factors to different soil parameters, as well as to see the
effect of these factors on the soil parameters.
Click the Parameters tab. In the Parameters tabsheet select the corresponding
labels for c 'ref and ' (Figure 8.3)
Do the same for the remaining soil data sets.
Close the Design approaches window.
Figure 8.3 Assignment of partial factors to material parameters
Hint: Note that a partial factor for and applies to the tangent of and
respectively.
8.2
CALCULATIONS
There are two main schemes to perform design calculations in relation to serviceability
calculations (Section 5.8 of the Reference Manual). The first approach is used in this
tutorial.
Click Phase_1 in the Phases explorer.

Add a new phase.
Double-click the newly added phase to open the Phases window.
In the General subtree of the Phases window select the defined design approach in
the corresponding drop-down menu.
In the Model explorer expand the Line loads and all the subtrees under it.
Select the Variable unfavourable option in the LoadFactorLabel drop-down menu of

the static component of the load (Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4 Assignment of factor label to loads in the Selection explorer
Follow the same steps to define ULS phases for all the remaining SLS phases.
Make sure that the Phase 7 starts from Phase 1, Phase 8 from Phase 2, Phase 9
from Phase 3 and so on.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Select some characteristic points for curves (for example the connection points of
the ground anchors on the diaphragm wall, such as (40.0 27.0) and (40.0 23.0)).
8.3
RESULTS
The results obtained for the design approach phases can be evaluated in Output. Figure
8.5 displays the Mstage - |u| plot for the node located at (40.0 27.0).
Figure 8.5 Mstage - |u| plot for the ULS phases
If the ULS calculations have successfully finished, the model complies with the
corresponding design approach. If there are doubts about this due to excessive
deformations, an additional Safety calculation may be considered using the same design
approach, which should then result in a stable Msf value larger than 1.0. Note that if
partial factors have been used it is not necessary that Msf also includes a safety margin.
Hence, in this case Msf just larger that 1.0 is enough. Figure 8.6 displays the Msf |u| plot for the Safety calculations of the Phase 6 and the corresponding ULS phase
(Phase 12). It can be concluded that the situation complies with the design requirements.
Figure 8.6 Msf - |u| plot for the last calculation phase and the corresponding ULS phase
TUTORIAL MANUAL
FLOW THROUGH AN EMBANKMENT
In this chapter the flow through an embankment will be considered. The crest of the
embankment has a width of 2.0 m. Initially the water in the river is 1.5 m deep. The
difference in water level between the river and the polder is 3.5 m.
Figure 9.1 shows the layout of the embankment problem where free surface groundwater
flow occurs. Flow takes place from the left side (river) to the right side (polder). As a
result seepage will take place at the right side of the embankment. The position of the
phreatic level depends on the river water level, which varies in time.
2m
6m
2m
10 m
3m
3m
5m
3m
y
1m
x
Figure 9.1 Geometry of the embankment
Objectives:
Performing Flow only analysis
Using cross section curves
9.1
INPUT
General settings
box.
Elements (15-Node).
Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 23.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m and ymax =
6.0 m.
Keep the default values for units, constants and the general parameters and press
OK to close the Project properties window.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Specify the head value as 4.5.
Add a soil layer in the borehole. Set the top level to 3. No change is required for the
bottom boundary of the layer.
Create the rest of the required boreholes according to the information given in Table
9.1.
Table 9.1 Information on the boreholes in the model

Borehole number
Location (x)
Head
Top
Bottom
2.0
4.5
3.0
0.0
8.0
4.5
6.0
0.0
10.0
4.0
6.0
0.0
20.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
Define the soil material according to the Table 9.2 and assign the material dataset to
the cluster. Skip the Interfaces and Initial tabsheets as these parameters are not
relevant.
Table 9.2 Properties of the embankment material (sand)
Parameter
Name
Sand
Unit
Material model
Model
Linear elastic
Type
Drained
Soil unit weight above phreatic

level
unsat
20
kN/m3
Soil unit weight below phreatic

level
sat
20
kN/m3
Stiffness
E'
1.0 104
kN/m2
Poisson's ratio
'
0.3
Data set
Standard
Soil type
Medium fine
Set permeability to default
Yes
kx
0.02272
m/day
ky
0.02272
m/day
General
Parameters
Groundwater
After assigning the material to the soil cluster close the Modify soil layers window.
9.2
MESH GENERATION

Refine the lines shown in Figure 9.2 by specifying a Coarseness factor of 0.5.
Click the Generate mesh button in order to generate the mesh. The Mesh options
window appears.
Select the Fine option in the Element distribution drop-down menu and generate the
mesh.
Figure 9.2 Indication of the local refinement of the mesh in the model
9.3
CALCULATIONS
In this project only the flow related behaviour will be analysed. The calculation process
consists of three phases that will be defined in the Staged construction mode. In the
initial phase, the groundwater flow in steady state is calculated for an average river level.
In Phase 1, the transient groundwater flow is calculated for a harmonic variation of the
water level. In Phase 2, the calculation is similar as in Phase 1, but the period is longer.
Click the Staged construction tab to proceed to the corresponding mode. A global
level is automatically created according to the head values specified for each
borehole (Table 9.1). The model in the Staged construction mode is shown in Figure
9.4.
Figure 9.4 The model in the Staged construction mode
Hint: Note that the 'internal' part of the global water level will be replaced by the
result of the groundwater flow calculation.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Initial phase
Double-click the initial phase in the Phases explorer.
In the General subtree select the Flow only option as the Calculation type.
The default values of the remaining parameters are valid for this phase. Click OK to
close the Phases window.
In the Model conditions expand the GroundwaterFlow subtree. The default

boundary conditions (Figure 9.5) are relevant for the initial phase. Check that only
the bottom boundary is closed.
Figure 9.5 The groundwater flow boundary conditions for the initial phase
In the Model explorer expand the Groundwater flow BCs subtree. The boundary
conditions at the extremities of the model are automatically created by the program
and listed under the GWFlowBaseBC.
Hint: Note that when the boundary conditions under the Groundwater flow BCs
subtree are active, the model conditions specified in the GroundwaterFlow
are ignored.
Phase 1
In the Phases explorer double-click the current phase.
In the General subtree select the Transient groundwater flow option as pore
pressure calculation type.
Set the Time interval to 1.0 day.
In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max number of steps stored
parameter to 50. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used.

Click the Select multiple objects button in the side toolbar.
Point to the Select lines option and click on the Select water boundaries option in
the appearing menu (Figure 9.6).
Figure 9.6 The Select water boundaries option in the Select multiple objects menu
Select the hydraulic boundaries as shown in Figure 9.7.
Right-click and select the Activate option in the appearing menu.
Figure 9.7 The time dependent boundaries in the model
In the Selection explorer set the Behaviour parameter to Head.
Set href to 4.5.
Select the Time dependent option in the Time dependency drop-down menu.
Click on the Head function parameter.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Add a new head function.
In the Flow functions window select the Harmonic option in the Signal drop-down
menu. Set the amplitude to 1.0 m, the phase angle to 0 and the period to 1.0 day
(Figure 9.8).
Figure 9.8 The flow function for the rapid case
Phase 2
In the Phases explorer double-click the current phase.
In the General subtree select the Initial phase in the Start from phase drop-down
menu.
Select the Transient groundwater flow option as pore pressure calculation type.
Set the Time interval to 10.0 day.
In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max number of steps stored
parameter to 50. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used.
In the Selection explorer click on the Head function parameter.

Add a new head function.
In the Flow functions window select the Harmonic option in the Signal drop-down
menu. Set the amplitude to 1.0 m, the phase angle to 0 and the period to 10.0 day
(Figure 9.9).
Figure 9.9 The flow function for the slow case
To select points to be considered in curves:

In the Staged construction mode click the Select point for curves button in the side
toolbar. The Connectivity plot is displayed in the Output program.
In the Select points window select nodes located nearest to (0.0 3.0) and (8.0 2.5) to
be considered in curves.
Click Update to close the output program.

9.4
RESULTS
In the Output program the Create animation tool can be used to animate the results
displayed in the Output program. To create the animation follow these steps:
In the Stresses menu select the Pore pressures Groundwater head.
Select the Create animation option in the File menu. The corresponding window
pops up.
Define the name of the animation file and the location where it will be stored. By
default the program names it according to the project and stores it in the project
folder. In the same way animations can be created to compare the development of
pore pressures or flow field.
Deselect the initial phase and Phase 2, such that only Phase 1 is included in the
animations and rename the animation accordingly. The Create animation window is
shown in Figure 9.10.
To view the results in a cross section:
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 9.10 Create animation window
Click the Cross section button in the side toolbar. The Cross section points window
pops up and the start and the end points of the cross section can be defined. Draw
a cross section through the points (2.0 3.0) and (20.0 1.0). The results in the cross
section are displayed in a new window.
In the Cross section view select Pore pressures pactive in the Stresses menu.
Select the Cross section curves option in the Tools menu. The Select steps for
curves window pops up.
Select Phase 1. The variation of the results in the cross section is displayed in a
new window.
Do the same for Phase 2. This may take about 30 seconds,
The variation of the results due to different time intervals in harmonic variation at a
specific cross section can be compared (Figure 9.11 and Figure 9.12).
It can be seen that the slower variation of the external water level has a more significant
influence on the pore pressures in the embankment and over a larger distance.
Figure 9.11 Active pore pressure variation in the cross section in Phase 1
Figure 9.12 Active pore pressure variation in the cross section in Phase 2
TUTORIAL MANUAL
FLOW AROUND A SHEET PILE WALL
10
In this tutorial the flow around a sheetpile wall will be analyzed. The geometry model of
Chapter 3 will be used. The Well feature is introduced in this example.
Objectives:
Using wells
10.1
INPUT
To create the geometry:
Open the project defined in Chapter 3.
Save the project under a different name (e.g. 'Flow around a sheet pile wall'). The
material parameters remain unchanged. The used groundwater parameters are
shown in Table 10.1.
Table 10.1 Flow parameters

Parameter
Name
Silt
Sand
Loam
Unit
Data set
USDA
USDA
USDA
Model
Van Genuchten
Van Genuchten
Van Genuchten
Soil type
Silt
Sand
Loam
> 2m
2m 50m
50m 2mm
6.0
4.0
20.0
87.0
4.0
40.0
7.0
92.0
40.0
%
%
%
Yes
Yes
Yes
kx
ky
0.5996
7.128
0.2497
m/day
0.5996
7.128
0.2497
m/day
Groundwater
In the Structures mode click the Create hydraulic conditions button in the side
toolbar.
Select the Create well option in the appearing menu.
Draw the first well by clicking on (42.0 23.0) and (42.0 20.0).
Draw the second well by clicking on (58.0 23.0) and (58.0 20.0).
10.2
MESH GENERATION
(Medium).
TUTORIAL MANUAL
10.3
CALCULATIONS
Proceed to the Staged construction mode. In this project only groundwater flow
analysis will be performed.
In the Phases explorer remove the existing phases (Phases 1 to 6).
Initial phase
In this phase the initial steady-state pore pressure distribution is considered. To define
the initial phase:
In the General subtree of the Phases window select the Flow only option in the
Calculation type drop-down menu.
The standard settings for the remaining parameters are valid for this phase.
The default groundwater flow boundary conditions are valid. Only the bottom
boundary of the model (BoundaryYMin) is Closed whereas the rest of the
boundaries are Open.
The water level created according to the head specified in the borehole is assigned
as GlobalWaterLevel.
Phase 1
In this phase the lowering of the phreatic level in the excavation down to y = 20 m. This
corresponds to the final excavation level in the project in Chapter 3.
Add a new phase.
In the Phases window the calculation type is by default defined as Flow only.
The default option (Steady state groundwater flow) will be used as Pore pressure
calculation type.
In the Staged construction mode activate the interface elements along the wall.
Multi-select the wells in the model and activate them.
In the Selection explorer the behaviour of the wells is by default set to Extraction.
Set the discharge value to 0.7 m3 /day/m.
Set the hmin value to 20.0m. This means that water will be extracted as long as the
groundwater head at the wall location is at least 20 m. Figure 10.2 shows the
parameters assigned to the wells in the Selection explorer.
Figure 10.2 Well properties
Hint: Total discharge in Phase 1 is similar to the total outflow at the final excavation
level as obtained from Chapter 3.
The definition of the calculation process is complete. Calculate the project.

10.4
RESULTS
To display the flow field:
Select the Phase 1 in the drop down menu.
From the Stresses menu select Groundwater flow |q|. A scaled representation of
the results (scale factor = 5.0 ) is shown in Figure 10.3.
Figure 10.3 The resulting flow field at the end of Phase 1
From the Stresses menu select Pore pressures pactive . Compare the results with the
ones of the Phase 6 of the project defined in Chapter 3.
In Figure 10.4 the resulting active pore pressures when the water level in the excavation
is at y = 20 m is displayed for both projects.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
a. Active pore pressures (Phase 6 in Chapter 3)
b. Active pore pressures (Phase 1 in the current project)
Figure 10.4 Comparison of the resulting active pore pressures.
POTATO FIELD MOISTURE CONTENT
11
This tutorial demonstrates the applicability of PLAXIS to agricultural problems. The

potato field tutorial involves a loam layer on top of a sandy base. The water level in the
ditches remains unchanged. The precipitation and evaporation may vary on a daily basis
due to weather conditions. The calculation aims to predict the variation of the water
content in the loam layer in time as a result of time-dependent boundary conditions.
0.75 m1.25 m 15 m
15 m
precipitation
0.75 m
0.50 m
0.75 m
precipitation
loam
sand
Figure 11.1 Potato field geometry
Objectives:
11.1
Defining precipitation
INPUT
Due to the symmetry of the problem, it is sufficient to simulate a strip with a width of
15.0 m, as indicated in Figure 11.1. The thickness of the loam layer is 2.0 m and the sand
layer is 3.0 m deep.
General settings
box.
Elements (15-Node).
Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 15.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m and ymax =
5.0 m.
Keep the default values for units, constants and the general parameters and press
OK to close the Project properties window.
TUTORIAL MANUAL

Due to the geometry of the model, the options for snapping should be changed.
Click the Snapping options button in the bottom toolbar.
In the appearing window set the Number of snap intervals to 100 (Figure 11.2).
Click OK to close the Snapping window.
Figure 11.2 Modification of the Number of snap intervals

Create two boreholes located at x = 0.75 and x = 2.00 respectively.
In the Modify soil layers window add two soil layers.
In the first borehole set Top = 3.75 and Bottom = 3.00 for the uppermost soil layer.
Set Bottom = 0 for the lowest soil layer.
In the second borehole set Top = 5.00 and Bottom = 3.0 for the uppermost soil layer.
Set Bottom = 0 for the lowest soil layer.
For both boreholes the Head is located at y = 4.25. Figure 11.3 shows the soil
stratigraphy defined in the Modify water levels window.
Figure 11.3 Soil stratigraphy in the Modify soil layers window
Create the material data sets according to Table 11.1.
Assign the material data set to the corresponding clusters in the model.
Table 11.1 Material properties for potato field

Parameter
Name
Loam
Sand
Unit
Material model
Linear elastic
Linear elastic
Type
Drained
Drained
unsat
sat
19
20
kN/m3
19
20
kN/m3
E'
'
1.0103
1.0104
kN/m2
0.3
0.3
Data set
Type
Staring
Staring
Model
Van Genuchten
Van Genuchten
Subsoil/Topsoil
Topsoil
Subsoil
Type
Clayey loam
Loamy sand
Set parameters to default
Yes
Yes
kx
ky
0.01538
0.1270
m/day
0.01538
0.1270
m/day
General

Parameters
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Groundwater
11.2
MESH GENERATION
Multi-select the line segments composing the upper boundary of the model (Figure
11.4).
Figure 11.4 The upper boundary of the model
In the Selection explorer set the Coarseness factor parameter to 0.5.

(Medium).
View the mesh. The resulting mesh is displayed in (Figure 11.5).
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 11.5 Potato field mesh
11.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculation process consists of two phases. In the initial phase, the groundwater flow
in steady state is calculated. In Phase 1, the transient groundwater flow is calculated.
Initial phase
Proceed to the Staged construction mode. In this project only groundwater flow
analysis will be performed.
In the Phases window select the Flow only option as the Calculation type in the
General subtree.
The default values of the remaining parameters are valid for this phase. Click OK to
close the Phases window.
Right-click the bottom boundary of the model and select the Activate option in the
appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer select the Head option in the Behaviour drop-down menu
and set href to 3.0 (Figure 11.6).
Figure 11.6 Boundary conditions at the bottom of the geometry model
Expand the GroundwaterFlow subtree. Set BoundaryXMin and BoundaryXMax to

Closed.
Expand the Water subtree. The borehole water level is assigned to

GlobalWaterLevel.
Transient phase
In the transient phase the time-dependent variation of precipitation is defined.
Hint: Note that the conditions explicitly assigned to groundwater flow boundaries
are taken into account. In this tutorial the specified Head will be considered
for the bottom boundary of the model, NOT the Closed condition specified in
the GroundwaterFlow subtree under the Model conditions.
In General subtree of the Phases window select the Transient groundwater flow as
Pore pressure calculation type.
Set the Time interval to 15 days.
In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max number of steps stored to
250. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used.
To define the precipitation data a discharge function should be defined.
In the Model explorer expand the Attributes library subtree.
Right-click on Flow functions and select the Edit option in the appearing menu. The
Flow functions window pops up.
In the Discharge functions tabsheet add a new function.
Specify a name for the function and select the Table option in the Signal drop-down
menu.
Click the Add row button to introduce a new row in the table. Complete the data
using the values given in the Table 11.2.
Table 11.2 Precipitation data

ID
Time [day]
Discharge [m3 /day/m]
110-2
310-2
-210-2
110-2
110-2
10
-210-2
11
10
-210-2
12
11
-210-2
13
12
-110-2
14
13
-110-2
15
14
16
15
Figure 11.7 shows the defined function for precipitation. Close the windows by
clicking OK.
In the Model explorer expand the Precipitation subtree under Model conditions and
activate it. The default values for discharge (q ) and condition parameters (min =
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 11.7 The Flow function window displaying the precipitation data and plot
-1.0 m and max = 0.1m) are valid.
For the precipitation select the Time dependent option in the corresponding
drop-down menu and assign the defined function (Figure 11.8).
Figure 11.8 Precipitation in the Model explorer
Hint: Negative values of precipitation indicate evaporation.
11.4
RESULTS
The calculation was focused on the time-dependent saturation of the potato field. To view
the results:
From the Stresses menu select Groundwater flow Saturation.
Double click the legend. The Legend settings window pops up. Define the settings
as shown in Figure 11.9.
Figure 11.9 Value for settings
Figure 11.10 shows the spatial distribution of the saturation for the last time step.
Figure 11.10 Saturation field at day 15
Create an animation of the the transient phase for a better visualisation of the
results.
It is also interesting to create a vertical cross section at x = 4 m and draw cross

section curves for pore pressure and saturation.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF A GENERATOR ON AN ELASTIC FOUNDATION
12
Using PLAXIS, it is possible to simulate dynamic soil-structure interaction. Here the

influence of a vibrating source on its surrounding soil is studied. The vibrating source is a
generator founded on a 0.2 m thick concrete footing of 1 m in diameter, see Figure 12.1.
Oscillations caused by the generator are transmitted through the footing into the subsoil.
generator
1m
sandy clay
Figure 12.1 Generator founded on elastic subsoil
The physical damping due to the viscous effects is taken into consideration via the
Rayleigh damping. Also, due to axisymmetry 'geometric damping' can be significant in
attenuating the vibration.
The modelling of the boundaries is one of the key points. In order to avoid spurious wave
reflections at the model boundaries (which do not exist in reality), special conditions have
to be applied in order to absorb waves reaching the boundaries.
Objectives:
Defining a Dynamic calculation.
Defining Dynamic loads.
Defining material damping by means of Rayleigh damping.
12.1
INPUT
General settings
box.
Due to the three dimensional nature of the problem, an axisymmetric model is used.
In the Model tabsheet select the Axisymmetric option for Model and keep the
default option for Elements (15-Noded).
Keep the default values for units and constants and set the model dimensions to
xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 20.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m, ymax = 20.0 m.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: The model boundaries should be sufficiently far from the region of interest, to
avoid disturbances due to possible reflections. Although special measures
are adopted in order to avoid spurious reflections (viscous boundaries), there
is always a small influence and it is still a good habit to put boundaries far
away. In a dynamic analysis, model boundaries are generally taken further
away than in a static analysis.
12.1.1
The subsoil consists of one layer with a depth of 10 m. The ground level is defined at y =
0. Note that water conditions are not considered in this example. To define the soil
stratigraphy:
Create a borehole at x = 0.
Create a soil layer extending from ground surface (y = 0.0) to a depth of 10 m (y =

-10.0).
Keep the Head in the borehole at 0.0 m.

The soil layer consists of sandy clay, which is assumed to be elastic. Create a data
set under the Soil and interfaces set type according to the information given in Table
12.1. The specified Young's modulus seems relatively high. This is because the
dynamic stiffness of the ground is generally considerably larger than the static
stiffness, since dynamic loadings are usually fast and cause very small strains. The
unit weight suggests that the soil is saturated; however the presence of the
groundwater is neglected.
Table 12.1 Material properties of the subsoil

Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material model
Model
Linear elastic
Type
Drained
unsat
20
kN/m3
sat
20
kN/m3
E'
5.0 104
kN/m2
Poisson's ratio
'
0.3
K0 determination
Manual
Lateral earth pressure coefficient
K0,x
0.50
General
Parameters
Initial
Hint: When using Mohr-Coulomb or linear elastic models the wave velocities Vp
and Vs are calculated from the elastic parameters and the soil weight. Vp
and Vs can also be entered as input; the elastic parameters are then
calculated automatically. See also Elastic parameters and the Wave Velocity
relationships in Section 6.1.2 of the Reference Manual.
12.1.2
The generator is defined in the Structures mode.

Create a plate extending from (0.0 0.0) to (0.5 0.0) to represent the footing.
Define a material data set for the footing according to the information given in Table
12.2. The footing is assumed to be elastic and has a weight of 5 kN/m2 .
Table 12.2 Material properties of the footing
Parameter
Name
Value
Unit
Material type
Type
Elastic; Isotropic
Normal stiffness
EA
7.6 106
kN/m
Flexural rigidity
EI
2.4 104
kNm2 /m
Weight
5.0
kN/m/m
Poisson's ratio
0.0
Apply a distributed load on the footing to model the weight of the generator as well
as the vibrations that it produces. The actual value of the load will be defined later.
The model is shown in Figure 12.2.
Figure 12.2 Model layout
12.2
MESH GENERATION
(Medium).
View the generated mesh. The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 12.3. Note that the
mesh is automatically refined under the footing.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
12.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculation consists of 4 phases and it will be defined in the Staged construction
mode.
Initial phase
Click the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of the calculation
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial
phase will be used in this tutorial.
Phase 1
Add a new calculation phase. The default settings of the added phase will be used
for this calculation phase.
Activate the footing.
Activate the static component of the distributed load. In the Selection explorer set
qy,start,ref value to -8 kN/m/m. Do not activate the dynamic component of the load
(Figure 12.4).
Figure 12.4 Specification of the static load component in the Selection explorer
Phase 2
In this phase, a vertical harmonic load, with a frequency of 10 Hz and amplitude of 10
kN/m2 , is applied to simulate the vibrations transmitted by the generator. Five cycles with
a total time interval of 0.5 sec are considered.

In the General subtree in the Phases window, select the Dynamic option as
calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 0.5 s.
In the Deformation control parameters subtree in the Phases window select the
Reset displacements to zero parameter. The default values of the remaining
parameters will be used for this calculation phase.
In the Model explorer expand the Attributes library subtree.
Right-click the Dynamic multipliers subtree and select the Edit option from the
appearing menu. The Multipliers window pops up.
Click the Load multipliers tab.

Click the Add button to introduce a multiplier for the loads.
Define a Harmonic signal with an Amplitude of 10, a Phase of 0 and a Frequency

of 10 Hz and as shown in Figure 12.5.
Figure 12.5 Definition of a Harmonic multiplier
In the Selection explorer, activate the dynamic component of the load

(DynLineLoad_1).
Specify the components of the load as (qx,start,ref , qy ,start,ref ) = (0.0, -1.0). Click
Multiplier _y in the dynamic load subtree and select the LoadMultiplier _1 option
from the drop-down menu (Figure 12.6).
Hint: The dynamic multipliers can be defined in the Geometry modes as well as in
the Calculation modes.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 12.6 Specification of the dynamic load component in the Selection explorer
Special boundary conditions have to be defined to account for the fact that in reality the
soil is a semi-infinite medium. Without these special boundary conditions the waves
would be reflected on the model boundaries, causing perturbations. To avoid these
spurious reflections, viscous boundaries are specified at Xmax and Ymin. The dynamic
boundaries can be specified in the Dynamics subtree located under the Model conditions
in the Model explorer (Figure 12.7).
Figure 12.7 Boundary conditions for Dynamic calculations
Phase 3
Add a new phase (Phase_3).
calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 0.5 s.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the dynamic component of the surface
load. Note that the static load is still active. The dynamic boundary conditions of this
phase should be the same as in the previous phase.
Select nodes located at the ground surface (ex: (1.4 0.0), (1.9 0.0), (3.6 0.0)) to
consider in curves.
Save the project.
12.3.1
ADDITIONAL CALCULATION WITH DAMPING
In a second calculation, material damping is introduced by means of Rayleigh damping.

Rayleigh damping can be entered in the material data set. The following steps are
necessary:
Save the project under another name.
Open the material data set of the soil.
In the General tabsheet click the box next to the Rayleigh parameter. Note that the
display of the General tabsheet has changed displaying the Single DOF equivalence
box.
In order to introduce 5% of material damping, set the value of the parameter to 5%

for both targets and set the frequency values to 1 and 10 for the Target 1 and Target
2 respectively.
Click on one of the definition cells of the Rayleigh parameters. The values of and
are automatically calculated by the program.
Click OK to close the data base.
Check whether the phases are properly defined (according to the information given
before) and start the calculation.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 12.8 Input of Rayleigh damping
12.4
RESULTS
The Curve generator feature is particularly useful for dynamic analysis. You can easily
display the actual loading versus time (input) and also displacements, velocities and
accelerations of the pre-selected points versus time. The evolution of the defined
multipliers with time can be plotted by assigning Dynamic time to the x-axis and uy to the
y-axis. Figure 12.9 shows the response of the pre-selected points at the surface of the
structure. It can be seen that even with no damping, the waves are dissipated which can
be attributed to the geometric damping.
The presence of damping is clear in Figure 12.10. It can be seen that the vibration is
totally seized when some time is elapsed after the removal of the force (at t = 0.5 s).
Also, the displacement amplitudes are lower. Compare Figure 12.10 (without damping)
with Figure 12.10 (with damping).
It is possible in the Output program to display displacements, velocities and accelerations
at a particular time, by choosing the appropriate option in the Deformations menu. Figure
12.11 shows the total accelerations in the soil at the end of phase 2 (t = 0.5 s).
Figure 12.9 Vertical displ.- time on the surface at different distances to the vibrating source (without
damping)
Figure 12.10 Vertical displ.- time on the surface at different distances to the vibrating source (with
damping)
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 12.11 Acceleration (|a|) in the soil at the end of phase 2 (with damping)
PILE DRIVING
13
PILE DRIVING
This example involves driving a concrete pile through an 11 m thick clay layer into a sand
layer, see Figure 13.1. The pile has a diameter of 0.4 m. Pile driving is a dynamic
process that causes vibrations in the surrounding soil. Moreover, excess pore pressures
are generated due to the quick stress increase around the pile.
In this example focus is placed on the irreversible deformations below the pile. In order to
simulate this process most realistically, the behaviour of the sand layer is modelled by
means of the HS small model.
clay
pile 0.4 m
sand
11 m
7m
Figure 13.1 Pile driving situation
13.1
INPUT
General settings
dialog box.
In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window enter an appropriate title.
In the Model tabsheet select the Axisymmetry option for Model and keep the default
option for Elements (15-Noded).
Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = 0, xmax
= 30, ymin = 0 and ymax = 18.
13.1.1
The subsoil is divided into an 11 m thick clay layer and a 7 m thick sand layer. The
phreatic level is assumed to be at the ground surface. Hydrostatic pore pressures are
generated in the whole geometry according to this phreatic line. To define the soil
TUTORIAL MANUAL
stratigraphy:
Create a borehole at x = 0.
Create two soil layers extending from y = 18.0 to y = 7.0 and from y = 7.0 to y = 0.0.
Set the Head in the borehole at 18.0 m.
The clay layer is modelled with the Mohr-Coulomb model. The behaviour is considered to
be Undrained (B). An interface strength reduction factor is used to simulate the reduced
friction along the pile shaft.
In order to model the non-linear deformations below the tip of the pile in a right way, the
sand layer is modelled by means of the HS small model. Because of the fast loading
process, the sand layer is also considered to behave undrained. The short interface in
the sand layer does not represent soil-structure interaction. As a result, the interface
strength reduction factor should be taken equal to unity (rigid).
Create the material data sets according to the information given in Table 13.1.
Table 13.1 Material properties of the subsoil and pile
Parameter
Symbol
Clay
Sand
Pile
Unit
Material model
Model
Mohr-Coulomb
HS small
Linear elastic
Type of behaviour
Type
Undrained (B)
Undrained (A)
Non-porous
Unit weight above phreatic line
unsat
sat
16
17
24
kN/m3
18
20
kN/m3
E'
ref
E50
5.0 103
3107
kN/m2
5.0 104
kN/m2
ref
Eoed
5.0 104
kN/m2
ref
Eur
m
1.5 105
kN/m2
0.5
'ur
c 'ref
su,ref
'
0.7
0.3
0.2
0.1
kN/m2
5.0
kN/m2
31.0
1.010-4

strains
G0ref
1.2105
kN/m2
E 'inc
yref
su,inc
yref
1.0103
kN/m2
18
kN/m2
18
Interface strength type
Type
Manual
Rigid
Rigid
Interface strength
Rinter
0.5
1.0
1.0
K0,x
Manual
Automatic
Automatic
0.5000
0.4850
1.0
General
Unit weight below phreatic line

Parameters
Secant stiffness in
Tangent stiffness
oedometer loading
standard
for
primary

Power for stress-level dependency
of stiffness
Poisson's ratio
Cohesion
Undrained shear strength
Friction angle
Dilatancy parameter
0.722G0
Reference level
Reference level
Interface
Initial
K0 determination
Lateral earth pressure coefficient
PILE DRIVING
13.1.2
The pile is defined as a column of 0.2 m width. The Interface elements are placed along
the pile to model the interaction between the pile and the soil. The interface should be
extended to about half a meter into the sand layer (see Figure 13.2). Note that the
interface should be defined only at the side of the soil. A proper modelling of the pile-soil
interaction is important to include the material damping caused by the sliding of the soil
along the pile during penetration and to allow for sufficient flexibility around the pile tip.
Hint: Use the Zoom in feature to create the pile and the interface.
Pile
Interface
Clay
(0.2, 7.0)
(0.0, 7.0)
Extended interface
(0.2, 6.6)
Sand
Figure 13.2 Extended interface
To define the concrete pile:
Structures mode.
Select the Create polygon feature in the side toolbar and click on (0.0 18.0), (0.2
18.0), (0.2 7.0) and (0.0 7.0).
Create a negative interface to model the interaction of the pile with the surrounding
soil by clicking on (0.2 6.6) and (0.2 18.0).
The pile is made of concrete, which is modelled by means of the linear elastic model
considering non-porous behaviour (Table 13.1). In the beginning, the pile is not present,
so initially the clay properties are also assigned to the pile cluster.
In order to model the driving force, a distributed unit load is created on top of the pile. To
create a dynamic load:
Define a distributed load by clicking on (0.0 18.0) and (0.2 18.0).
The load components will be defined in the Selection explorer. Note that the static
component of the load will not be used in this project. The program will neglect the
static components of the load if it (static load) is not activated.
Expand the Dynamic load subtree and specify a unit load in the gravity direction.
Click the Multiplier_y drop down menu and click on the appearing plus button. The
Multipliers window pops up and a new load multiplier is automatically added.
Define a Harmonic signal with an Amplitude of 5000, a Phase of 0 and a

Frequency of 50 Hz and as shown in Figure 13.3.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 13.3 Definition of a Harmonic multiplier
Hint: Note that dynamic multipliers can be defined by right-clicking the Dynamic
multipliers subtree under Attributes library in the Model explorer.
Note that dynamic multipliers are attributes and as such it is possible to
define them in all the program modes.
The final geometry model is shown in Figure 13.4.
Figure 13.4 The geometry model
13.2
MESH GENERATION
PILE DRIVING
(Medium).
13.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculation consists of 3 phases. In the Initial phase, the initial stress conditions are
generated. In the Phase 1 the pile is created. In the Phase 2 the pile is subjected to a
single stroke, which is simulated by activating half a harmonic cycle of load. In the Phase
3 the load is kept zero and the dynamic response of the pile and soil is analysed in time.
The last two phases involve dynamic calculations.
Initial phase
Initial effective stresses are generated by the K0 procedure, using the default values.
Note that in the initial situation the pile does not exist and that the clay properties should
be assigned to the corresponding cluster. The phreatic level is assumed to be at the
ground surface. Hydrostatic pore pressures are generated in the whole geometry
according to this phreatic line.
Phase 1
In the General subtree in the Phases window, the Plastic option is selected as
Calculation type.
The Staged construction option is by default selected as Loading type.
In the Staged construction mode assign the pile properties to the pile cluster.
Activate the interface in the Sand layer. The model for the Phase 1 in the Staged
TUTORIAL MANUAL
construction mode is displayed in Figure 13.6.
Phase 2
Calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval to 0.01 s.
In the Deformation control parameters subtree select Reset displacements to zero.
In the Staged construction mode activate the dynamic component of the distributed
load. The activated dynamic component of the load in Selection explorer is shown in
Figure 13.7.
Figure 13.7 The dynamic load component in the Selection explorer
PILE DRIVING
Expand the Dynamics subtree under Model conditions in the Model explorer.
Specify viscous boundaries at xmax and ymin (Figure 13.8).
The result of this phase is half a harmonic cycle of the external load. At the end of this
phase, the load is back to zero.
Phase 3
Calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval to 0.19 s.
In the Staged construction mode de-activate the dynamic load.

Select a node at the top of the pile for load displacement curves.
Save the project.
13.4
RESULTS
Figure 13.9 shows the settlement of the pile (top point) versus time. From this figure the
following observations can be made:
The maximum vertical settlement of the pile top due to this single stroke is about 13
mm. However, the final settlement is almost 10 mm.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Most of the settlement occurs in phase 3 after the stroke has ended. This is due to
the fact that the compression wave is still propagating downwards in the pile,
causing additional settlements.
Despite the absence of Rayleigh damping, the vibration of the pile is damped due to
soil plasticity and the fact that wave energy is absorbed at the model boundaries.
Figure 13.9 Pile settlement vs. time
When looking at the output of the second calculation phase (t = 0.01 s, i.e. just after the
stroke), it can be seen that large excess pore pressures occur very locally around the pile
tip. This reduces the shear strength of the soil and contributes to the penetration of the
pile into the sand layer. The excess pore pressures remain also in the third phase since
consolidation is not considered.
Figure 13.10 shows the shear stresses in the interface elements at t = 0.01 s. The plot
shows that the maximum shear stress is reached all along the pile, which indicates that
the soil is sliding along the pile.
Figure 13.10 Maximum shear stresses in the interface at t = 0.01 s.
PILE DRIVING
When looking at the deformed mesh of the last calculation phase (t = 0.2 s), it can also
be seen that the final settlement of the pile is about 10 mm. In order to see the whole
dynamic process it is suggested to use the option Create Animation to view a 'movie' of
the deformed mesh in time. You may notice that the first part of the animation is slower
than the second part.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
FREE VIBRATION AND EARTHQUAKE ANALYSIS OF A BUILDING
14
This example demonstrates the natural frequency of a five-storey building when

subjected to free vibration and earthquake loading.
The building consists of 5 floors and a basement. It is 10 m wide and 17 m high including
basement. The total height from the ground level is 5 x 3 m = 15 m and the basement is
2 m deep. A value of 5 kN/m2 is taken as the weight of the floors and the walls. The
building is constructed on a clay layer of 15 m depth underlayed by a deep sand layer. In
the model, 25 m of the sand layer will be considered.
14.1
INPUT
General settings
dialog box.
In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window enter an appropriate title.
In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain) and
Elements (15-Noded).
Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = -80.0,
xmax = 80.0, ymin = -40.0 and ymax = 15.0.
15 m
2m
15 m
25 m
75 m
10 m
75 m
Figure 14.1 Geometry of the project
14.1.1
The subsoil is divided into an 15 m thick clayey layer and a 25 m thick sandy layer. The
phreatic level is assumed to be at y = -15.0 m. Hydrostatic pore pressures are generated
in the whole geometry according to this phreatic line.
Add two soil layers extending from y = 0.0 to y = -15.0 and from y = -15.0 to y = -40.
Set the Head in the borehole at -15.0 m.
The upper layer consists of mostly clayey soil and the lower one is sandy. Both have HS
small model properties. The presence of the groundwater is neglected. The soil layers
TUTORIAL MANUAL
with HS small model properties have inherent hysteretic damping.

Create data sets under Soil and interfaces set type according to the information
given in Table 14.1.
Assign the material datasets to the corresponding soil layers in the borehole.
Table 14.1 Material properties of the subsoil layers

Parameter
Name
Upper
layer
clayey
Lower
layer
sandy
Unit
Material model
Model
HS small
HS small
Type
Drained
Drained

level
unsat
16
20
kN/m3

level
sat
20
20
kN/m3
ref
E50
2.0104
3.0104
kN/m2
ref
Eoed
2.561104
3.601104
kN/m2
ref
Eur
m
9.484104
1.108105
kN/m2
0.5
0.5
c 'ref
'
0.7
10
kN/m2
18
28
1.210-4
1.510-4

strains
G0ref
2.7105
1.0105
kN/m2
Poisson's ratio
'ur
0.2
0.2
General
Parameters
Secant stiffness in
Tangent stiffness
oedometer loading
for
standard
primary

Power for stress-level dependency
of stiffness
Cohesion
Friction angle
Dilatancy angle
0.722G0
When subjected to cyclic shear loading, the HS small model will show typical hysteretic
behaviour. Starting from the small-strain shear stiffness, G0ref , the actual stiffness will
decrease with increasing shear. Figures 14.2 and 14.3 display the Modulus reduction
curves, i.e. the decay of the shear modulus with strain. The upper curve shows the
secant shear modulus and the lower curve shows the tangent shear modulus.
In the HS small model, the tangent shear modulus is bounded by a lower limit, Gur .
Gur =
Eur
2(1 + ur )
ref
The values of Gur
for the Upper clayey layer and Lower sandy layer and the ratio to G0ref
are shown in Table 14.2. This ratio determines the maximum damping ratio that can be
obtained.
Table 14.2 Gur values and ratio to G0ref

Parameter
Unit
Upper
layer
clayey
Lower
layer
Gur
G0ref /Gur
kN/m2
39517
41167
6.75
2.5
sandy
Figures 14.4 and 14.5 show the damping ratio as a function of the shear strain for the
material used in the model. For a more detailed description and elaboration from the
250000
0.722G0
Shear modulus
200000
150000
100000
G used
50000
0.7
Gt
Gs
0
0.00001
0.0001
0.001
0.01
Shear strain
Figure 14.2 Modulus reduction curves for the upper clayey layer
100000
Shear modulus
80000
0.722G0
60000
G used
40000
20000
0.7
Gt
0.00001
0.0001
0.001
Gs
0.01
Shear strain
Figure 14.3 Modulus reduction curve for the lower sandy layer
modulus reduction curve to the damping curve can be found in the literature .
14.1.2
The structural elements of the model are defined in the Structures mode. To define the
structure:
Create the vertical walls of the building passing through (-5.0 0.0) to (-5.0 15.0) and
through (5.0 0.0) to (5.0 15.0).
Use the same feature to define the vertical walls of the basement passing through
(-5.0 -2.0) to (-5.0 0.0) and through (5.0 -2.0) to (5.0 0.0).
Define the floors and the basement of the building as plates passing through (-5.0
Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Kappert, M.H., Bonnier, P.G. (2007). Hysteretic damping in small-strain stiffness model. In
Proc. 10th Int. Conf. on Comp. Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. Rhodes, Greece, 737 742
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Damping ratio
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0.00001
0.0001
0.001
0.01
Cyclic shear strain
Figure 14.4 Damping curve for the upper clayey layer
Damping ratio
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.00001
0.0001
0.001
0.01
Cyclic shear strain
Figure 14.5 Damping curve for the lower sandy layer
-2.0) to (5.0 -2.0), (-5.0 0.0) to (5.0 0.0), (-5.0 3.0) to (5.0 3.0), (-5.0 6.0) to (5.0 6.0),
(-5.0 9.0) to (5.0 9.0), (-5.0 12.0) to (5.0 12.0) and (-5.0 15.0) to (5.0 15.0).
The plates, representing the walls and the floors in the building, are considered to be
linear elastic. Note that two different material datasets are used, one for the basement
and the other for the rest of the building. The physical damping in the building is
simulated by means of Rayleigh damping. A description of Rayleigh damping parameters
is given in Section 6.1.1 or the Reference Manual.
Define the material datasets for the structural elements in the building according to
Table 14.3.
Table 14.3 Material properties of the building (plate properties)
Parameter
Name
Rest of building
Basement
Unit
Material type
Type
Elastic; Isotropic
Elastic; Isotropic
Normal stiffness
EA
EI
w
9.0106
1.2107
kN/m
6.75104
1.6105
kNm2 /m
10
20
kN/m/m
0.0
0.0
0.2320
0.2320
8.010-3
8.010-3
Flexural rigidity
Weight
Poisson's ratio
Rayleigh damping
Assign the Basement material dataset to the vertical plates (2) and the lowest
horizontal plate (all under the ground level) in the model.
Assign the Rest of the building material dataset to the remaining plates in the model.
Use the Node-to-node anchor feature to define the column at the centre of the
building connecting consecutive floors, (0.0 -2.0) to (0.0 0.0), (0.0 0.0) to (0.0 3.0),
(0.0 3.0) to (0.0 6.0), (0.0 6.0) to (0.0 9.0), (0.0 9.0) to (0.0 12.0) and (0.0 12.0) to
(0.0 15.0).
Define the properties of the anchor according to Table 14.4 and assign the material
dataset to the anchors in the model.
Table 14.4 Material properties of the node-to-node anchor

Parameter
Name
Column
Unit
Material type
Type
EA
Lspacing
Elastic
2.5 106
kN
3.0
Normal stiffness
Define an interface to model the interaction between soil and building around the
basement floor.
Create a point load at the top left corner of the building.
Specify the components of the load as (10.0 0.0).
The earthquake is modelled by imposing a prescribed displacement at the bottom

boundary. To define the prescribed displacement:
Define a prescribed displacement at the bottom of the model, through (-80.0 -40.0)
and (80.0 -40.0).
Set the x-component of the prescribed displacement to Prescribed and assign a

value of 1.0. The y-component of the prescribed displacement is Fixed. The default
distribution (Uniform) is valid.
To define the dynamic multipliers for the prescribed displacement:
Expand the Dynamic displacement

Click the Multiplier_x drop down menu and click on the appearing plus button. The
Multipliers window pops up and a new displacement multiplier is automatically
added.
From the Signal drop-down menu select the Table option.
The file containing the earthquake data is available in the PLAXIS knowledge base
(http://kb.plaxis.nl/search/site/smc). Copy all the data to a text editor file (e.g.
Notepad) and save the file in your computer.
Open the page in the web browser and copy all the data.
In the Multipliers window click the Paste button. In the Import data window select the
Strong motion CD-ROM files option from the Parsing method drop-down menu and
press OK to close the window.
Select the Acceleration option in the Data type drop-down menu.
Select the Drift correction options and click OK to finalize the definition of the
multiplier. The defined multiplier is displayed (Figure 14.6).
The geometry of the model is shown in Figure 14.7.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 14.6 Dynamic multipliers window
Figure 14.7 Geometry of the model
14.2
MESH GENERATION
Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Fine.
14.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculation process consists of the initial conditions phase, simulation of the
construction of the building, loading, free vibration analysis and earthquake analysis.
Initial phase
Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with definition of the calculation
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial
phase will be used in this tutorial.
In the Staged construction mode check that the building and load are inactive
(Figure 14.9).
Figure 14.9 Initial phase
Phase 1
Add a new phase (Phase_1). The default settings of the added phase will be used
for this calculation phase.
In the Staged construction mode construct the building (activate all the plates, the
interfaces and the anchors) and deactivate the basement volume (Figure 14.10).
Phase 2
In the Phases window select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation
control parameters subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 14.10 Construction of the building
used in this calculation phase.
In the Staged construction mode activate the load. The value of the load is already
defined in the Structures mode.
Phase 3
In the Phases window select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 5 sec.
In the Staged construction mode deactivate the point load.
Expand the Dynamics subtree. Set BoundaryYMin to viscous (Figure 14.11).
Hint: For a better visualisation of the results, animations of the free vibration and
earthquake can be created. If animations are to be created, it is advised to
increase the number of the saved steps by assigning a proper value to the
Max steps saved parameter in the Parameters tabsheet of the Phases
window.
Phase 4
In the Phases window set the Start from phase option to Phase 1 (construction of
building).
Select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 20 sec.
Select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation control parameters

subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used in this
calculation phase.
In the Model explorer activate the Prescribed displacement and its dynamic
component. The Ymin boundary is NOT viscous in this phase.
Select a point at the top of the building for curves (0.0 15.0).
Save the project.
14.4
RESULTS
Figure 14.12 shows the deformed structure at the end of the Phase 2 (application of
horizontal load).
Figure 14.12 Deformed mesh of the system
Figure 14.13 shows the time history of displacements of the selected points A (0 15) for
the free vibration phase. It may be seen from the figure that the vibration slowly decays
with time due to damping in the soil and in the building.
In the Chart tabsheet of the Settings window select the Use frequency representation
(spectrum) and Standard frequency (Hz) options in the Dynamics box. The plot is shown
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 14.13 Time history of displacements at selected points
in Figure 14.14. From this figure it can be evaluated that the dominant building frequency
is around 1 Hz.
Figure 14.14 Frequency representation (spectrum)
Figure 14.15 shows the time history of the lateral acceleration of the selected points A (0
15) for the earthquake phase (dynamic analysis). For a better visualisation of the results
animations of the free vibration and earthquake can be created.
Figure 14.15 Variation of acceleration in dynamic time
TUTORIAL MANUAL
THERMAL EXPANSION OF A NAVIGABLE LOCK
15
5m
Excavation
10 m
16 m
6m
A navigable lock is temporarily 'empty' due to maintenance. After some time there is
significant increase of the air temperature, which causes thermal expansion of the inner
side of the lock, while the soil-side of the concrete block remains relatively cold. This
leads to backward bending of the wall and, consequently, to increased lateral stress in
the soil behind the wall and increased bending moments in the wall itself.
12 m
Concrete lock
Sand
50 m
Figure 15.1 Concrete lock
This example demonstrates the use of the Thermal module to analyse this kind of
situations.
Objectives:
Defining a thermal temperature function
Use of thermal expansion
Performing a fully coupled analysis for THM calculation
15.1
INPUT
General settings
Start the input program and select Start a new project from the Quick select dialog
box.
In the Model tabsheet, the default options for Model and Elements are used for this
project. Also the default options for the units are used in this tutorial.
0.0 m.
Click Ok to exit the Project properties window.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Create a single soil layer with top level at 0.0 m and bottom level at -16.0 m. Set the
head at -4.0 m.
Click the Materials button in the Modify soil layers window.
Two data sets need to be created; one for the sand layer and one for the concrete block.
Define a data set for the Sand layer with the parameters given in Table 15.1, for the
General, Parameters, Groundwater, Thermal and Initial tabsheets.
Create another dataset for Concrete according to the Table 15.1.
Assign the material dataset Sand to the borehole soil layer.
Table 15.1 Soil properties of the sand

Parameter
Name
Sand
Concrete
Unit
Material model
Model
HS small
Linear elastic
Type
Drained
Non-porous
unsat
sat
einit
20.0
24.0
kN/m3
20.0
kN/m3
0.5
0.5
Youngs modulus
E'
25106
kN/m2
Poissons ratio
ref
E50
ref
Eoed
ref
Eur
m
cref '
'
0.7
G0ref
0.15
40103
kN/m2
Data set
Model
General

Initial void ratio
Parameters
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test
kN/m2
1.2105
kN/m2
0.5
2.0
kN/m2
32.0
2.0
0.1103
8104
kN/m2
USDA
Van
Genuchten
Soil type
Sandy clay
Yes
cs
s
s
x
y
z
860
900
kJ/t/K
4.0103
1.0103
kW/m/K
2.6
2.5
t/m3
0.5106
0.1104
1/K
0.5106
0.1104
1/K
0.5106
0.1104
1/K
Interface strength
Rigid
Manual
Rinter
1.0
0.67
Automatic
Automatic
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading

Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness
Cohesion
Angle of internal friction
Dilatancy angle
Shear strain at which Gs = 0.722G0
Shear modulus at very small strains
4010
Groundwater
Thermal
Specific heat capacity
Thermal conductivity
Soil density
X-component of thermal expansion
Y-component of thermal expansion
Z-component of thermal expansion
Interfaces
Initial
K0 determination

The lock will be modelled as a concrete block during the staged construction.
Proceed to Structures mode.
Click the Create soil polygon button in the side toolbar and select the Create soil
polygon option in the appearing menu.
Define the lock in the draw area by clicking on (0.0 -5.0), (5.0 -5.0), (5.0 0.0), (5.5
0.0), (6.0 -6.0), (0.0 -6.0) and (0.0 -5.0).
Hint: The Snapping options can be selected, and the Spacing can be set to 0.5 to
easily create the polygon.
The Concrete material will be assigned later in the Staged construction.

Select the Create thermal flow bc option in the expanded menu (Figure 15.2).
Create thermal boundaries at vertical boundaries and the bottom boundary (Xmin ,
Xmax and Ymin ).
Figure 15.2 The Create thermal bc option in the Create line menu
The vertical boundaries have the default option of Closed for the Behaviour.
Select the bottom boundary, in the Selection explorer set the Behaviour to
Temperature.
Set the reference temperature, Tref to 283.4 K (Figure 15.3).
Figure 15.3 Thermal boundary condition in the Selection explorer
The geometry of the model is now complete (Figure 15.4).
TUTORIAL MANUAL
15.2
MESH GENERATION
Select the polygon representing the concrete block, and in the Selection explorer set
the Coarseness factor to 0.25.
Click the Generate mesh button. The default element distribution of Medium is used
for this example.
15.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculations for this tutorial is carried out in three phases. The concrete lock is
activated in a plastic calculation, after which the temperature increase is defined as a fully
coupled flow deformation analysis.
Initial phase
Proceed to Staged construction mode.
Double click on Initial phase in the Phases explorer.
The default options for Calculation type and Pore pressure calculation type are used
in this example.
Select Earth gradient for the Thermal calculation type option and close the Phases
window.
In the Staged construction activate the ThermalFlow under the Model conditions
subtree and set the value for Tref to 283 K. The default values for href and Earth
gradient are valid (Figure 15.6).
Figure 15.6 Thermal flow in the Selection explorer
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Phase 1
Double click on Phase_1 in the Phases explorer.

In the Phases window, enter an appropriate name for the phase ID and select
Steady state groundwater flow as Pore pressure calculation type.
Set the Steady state thermal flow for the Thermal calculation type.
Note that both Reset displacements to zero and Ignore suction are selected.
In the Staged construction mode, assign the Concrete dataset to the created
polygon which represents the navigable lock (Figure 15.8).
Figure 15.8 Assigning Concrete soil data set to the navigable lock
Right click the soil cluster which is cut-off by the polygon and select the option
Deactivate from the appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer, set the WaterConditions of this cluster to Dry.
Multi-select the vertical and bottom horizontal wall of the excavation.
In the Selection explorer, activate the Groundwater flow boundary condition.
Set the Behaviour to Head and the href to -5.0 m (Figure 15.9). This will simulate an
'empty' lock.
In the Model explorer, activate all the Thermal flow boundary conditions.
In the Model explorer, activate the Climate condition under the subtree Model
conditions.
Set the Air temperature to 283.0 K and the Surface transfer to 1.0 kW/m2 (Figure
15.10). This will define the thermal conditions at the ground surface and the inside
of the lock.
Deactivate the ThermalFlow option. This is because the thermal flow boundary
Figure 15.9 Groundwater flow boundary condition in the Selection explorer
conditions, including climate condition, are used in a steady state thermal flow
calculation, instead of the earth gradient option.
Figure 15.11 shows the model at the end of Phase_1.
Figure 15.10 Model conditions for Phase_1
Phase 2
Double click on Phase_2 in the Phases explorer.

Set the Calculation type to Fully coupled flow deformation.
The Thermal calculation type is set to Use temperatures from previous phase. This
is to indicate that temperature needs to be considered and that the initial
temperature is taken from the previous phase.
The Time interval is set to 10 days.
Reset displacements to zero and Ignore suction should be selected for this example.
A temperature function is defined for the Time dependency in Climate which is used for
this phase. Follow these steps to create a temperature function.
Right-click the Thermal functions option in the Attributes library in the Model
explorer and select Edit option in the appearing menu. The Thermal functions
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 15.11 The model at the end of Phase_1
window is displayed.
In the Temperature functions tabsheet add a new function by clicking on the
corresponding button. The new function is highlighted in the list and options to
define the function are displayed.
The default option of Harmonic is used for this signal.
Assign a value of 15.0 for the Amplitude and 40 days for the Period. A graph is
displayed showing the defined function (Figure 15.12). Since the time interval of the
phase is 10 days, only a quarter of a temperature cycle is considered in this phase,
which means that after 10 days the temperature has increased by 15 K.
Click OK to close the Thermal functions window.
Expand the subtree Model conditions in the Model explorer.
In the Climate option, set the Time dependency to Time dependent and assign the
the temperature function which was created (Figure 15.13).
that you select nodes or stress points for a later generation of curves.
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. Select some
characteristic points for curves (for example at the top of the excavation, (5.0, 0.0)).
mode.
Figure 15.12 The temperature function
Figure 15.13 Model conditions for Phase_2
15.4
RESULTS
In the Phases explorer, select the Initial phase and click the View calculation results
button on the toolbar. In the Output program, select Temperature from the Heat flow
option in the Stresses menu.
Figure 15.14 shows the initial temperature distribution, which is obtained from the
reference temperature at the ground surface and the earth gradient. This gives a
temperature of 283.0 K at the ground surface and 283.4 at the bottom of the model.
Figure 15.15 shows the temperature distribution obtained from Phase_1 using a
steady-state thermal flow calculation. In fact, the temperatures at the top and bottom are
equal to the temperatures as defined in the Initial phase; however, since the temperature
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 15.14 Initial temperature distribution
at the ground surface is now defined in terms of Climate conditions (air temperature), this
temperature is also applied at the inner side of the lock and affects the temperature
distribution in the ground.
Figure 15.15 Steady-state temperature distribution in Phase_1
The most interesting results are obtained in Phase_2 in which the air temperature in the
Climate condition increases gradually from 283 K to 298 K (defined by a quarter of a
harmonic cycle with an amplitude of 15K). Figure 15.16 shows the temperature at the
ground surface as a function of time.
Figure 15.16 Temperature distribution in Point A as a function of time
As a result of the short increase in temperature at the inside of the concrete block, while
the outer side (soil side) remains 'cold', the wall will bend towards the soil. Figure 15.17
shows the deformed mesh at the end of Phase_2. As a result of this backward bending,
the lateral stresses in the soil right behind the concrete block will increase, tending
towards a passive stress state (Figure 15.18). Note that the visualisation is different for
Figure 15.18, because it displays the stresses in the porous materials. This can be
changed in the Settings window under the tab Results (Section 8.5.2 of the Reference
Manual).
Figure 15.17 Deformed mesh at the end of Phase_2
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 15.18 Effective principal stresses at the end of Phase_2
FREEZE PIPES IN TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION
16
This tutorial illustrates change in coupling of groundwater flow and thermal flow as a
result of ground freezing. A tunnel is constructed with the use of freeze pipes. By first
installing freeze pipes in the soil, the soil freezes and becomes watertight so that tunnel
construction can take place. This method of construction requires a lot of energy for the
cooling of the soil, so by being able to model the cooling behaviour while groundwater
flow is present an optimal freezing system can be designed.
In this tutorial a tunnel with a radius of 3.0 m will be constructed in a 30 m deep soil layer
(Figure 16.1). A groundwater flow from left to right is present, influencing the thermal
behaviour of the soil. First the soil will be subjected to the low temperatures of the freeze
pipes, and once the soil has frozen sufficiently, tunnel construction can take place. The
latter is not included in this tutorial.
Because groundwater flow causes an asymmetric temperature distribution, the whole
geometry needs to be modelled, where in previous examples only half of the geometry
was sufficient.
Objectives:
Modelling soil freezing, coupling between thermal flow and groundwater flow
Modelling unfrozen water content.
Using the command line for structure definition.
Figure 16.1 Input geometry
16.1
INPUT
General settings
Start the input program and select Start a new project from the Quick select dialog
box.
In the Model tabsheet, the default options for Model and Elements are used for this
project. Also the default options for the units are used in this tutorial. Note that the
unit of Mass is set automatically to tonnes.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
0.0 m.
In the Constants tabsheet, set Twater and Tref to 283 K , other constants keep their
default values. A description of constants can be found in the Reference Manual.
Click Ok to exit the Project properties window.

Create a single soil layer with top level at 0.0 m and bottom level at -30.0 m. Set the
head at ground level (0.0 m).
Click the Materials button in the Modify soil layers window.
Define a data set for soil with the parameters given in Table 16.1, for the General,
Parameters and Groundwater tabsheets.
Table 16.1 Soil properties of the sand

Parameter
Name
Sand
Unit
Material model
Model
Mohr-Coulomb
Type
Drained
unsat
sat
einit
18.0
kN/m3
18.0
kN/m3
0.5
Youngs modulus
E'
1105
kN/m2
Poissons ratio
cref '
'
0.3
0.0
kN/m2
37.0
0.0
Data set
Standard
Type
Medium
kx
ky
ck
1.00
m/day
1.00
m/day
1.01015
860
kJ/t/K
4.0103
kW/m/K
2.6
t/m3
5.0106
1/K
5.0106
1/K
Z-component of thermal expansion
cs
s
s
x
y
z
5.0106
1/K
Unfrozen water content
Table 16.2
Interface strength
Rigid
Thermal resistance
m2 K/kW
Automatic
General

Initial void ratio
Parameters
Cohesion
Angle of internal friction
Dilatancy angle
Groundwater
Change of permeability
Thermal
Specific heat capacity
Thermal conductivity
Soil density
X-component of thermal expansion
Y-component of thermal expansion
Interfaces
Initial
K0 determination
To model the amount of (fluid) water available to flow through the soil at certain
temperatures, a curve for unfrozen water content needs to be determined by defining a
table with values for unfrozen water content at certain temperatures. The same curve can
be applied in other projects, hence the table can be saved and loaded into the soil
properties of other projects. For more information, refer Section 6.1.4 of the Reference
Manual.
Click the Thermal tab. Enter the values as given in the Table 16.1.
Click the checkbox for the option Unfrozen water content at the bottom of the
tabsheet.
Add rows to the table by clicking the Add row button to introduce a new row in the
table. Complete the data using the values given in the Table 16.2.
Enter the values for Interfaces and Initial tabsheets as given in Table 16.1.
Click OK to close the dataset.
Assign the material dataset to the soil layer.

Hint: The table can be saved by clicking the Save button in the table. The file must
be given an appropriate name. For convenience, save the file in the same
folder as the project is saved.
Table 16.2 Input for unfrozen water content curve for sand
#
Temperature [K]
Unfrozen water content [-]
273.0
1.00
272.0
0.99
271.6
0.96
271.4
0.90
271.3
0.81
271.0
0.38
270.8
0.15
270.6
0.06
270.2
0.02
10
269.5
0.00

The freeze pipes are modelled by defining lines with a length similar to the freeze pipe
diameter (10 cm), containing a convective boundary condition. For simplicity, in this
tutorial only 12 cooling elements are defined, while in reality more elements may be
implemented in order to achieve a sufficient share of frozen soil.
Proceed to Structures mode.

Click the command line and type "line 45.141 -13.475 45.228 -13.425". Press
<Enter> to create the first freezing pipe. For more information regarding command
line, see Section 3.6 of the Reference Manual.
Similarly create the remaining freeze pipes according to Table 16.3.

Multi select the created lines using the Select lines from the side toolbar.
Right click the selected lines and select Thermal flow BC to create the thermal flow
boundary conditions for the freeze pipes.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Hint: A file containing the commands for the definition of the lines, is available in
the PLAXIS knowledge
base(http://kb.plaxis.nl/search/site/LineCoordinatesCommands.txt). This can
be downloaded and copied in the Commands runner, to get the pipes.
For the selected freeze pipes, in the Selection explorer expand the subtree for the
ThermalFlowBC.
The Behaviour is set to Convection, the Tfluid to 250 K and the Transfer coefficient
to 1.0 kW/m2 /K.
Table 16.3 Coordinates of the end points of the freezing pipes, modelled as lines
Line number
Xpoint1
Ypoint1
Xpoint2
Ypoint2
45.141
-13.475
45.228
-13.425
44.025
-12.359
44.075
-12.272
42.500
-11.950
42.500
-11.850
40.975
-12.359
40.925
-12.272
39.859
-13.475
39.772
-13.425
39.450
-15.000
39.350
-15.000
39.859
-16.525
39.772
-16.575
40.975
-17.641
40.925
-17.728
42.500
-18.050
42.500
-18.150
10
44.025
-17.641
44.075
-17.728
11
45.141
-16.525
45.228
-16.575
12
45.550
-15.000
45.650
-15.000
Figure 16.2 The Create thermal and groundwater flow bc option in the Create line menu
Select the Create thermal flow BC option in the expanded menu. In the draw area
create a thermal boundary condition from (0.0 0.0) to (85.0 0.0) (Figure 16.2).
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar, select the Create groundwater flow
BC option in the expanded menu. In the draw area create a groundwater flow
boundary condition from (0.0 0.0) to (85.0 0.0) (Figure 16.2).
Similarly follow the above steps to create thermal and groundwater flow boundary
for the following lines (85.0 0.0) to (85.0 -30.0); (85.0 -30.0) to (0.0 -30.0) and finally
(0.0 -30.0) to (0.0 0.0).
PLAXIS allows different types of Thermal boundary conditions to be applied. In this

tutorial the freeze pipes will be modelled as convective boundary conditions.
Multi select the created boundaries.
For the ThermalFlowBC, set the Behaviour to Temperature and Tref to 283 K.
To assign the groundwater boundary conditions, the following steps are followed:
Multi select the top and bottom boundary.
For the GWFlowBC, set the Behaviour to Closed.
Select the left boundary, set the Behaviour to Inflow with a qref value of 0.1 m/day.
The right boundary has the default behaviour of Seepage.
The tunnel is created with the help of the Tunnel designer. Because deformations are not
considered in this calculation, there is no need to assign a plate material to the tunnel.
The generated tunnel will only be used for generating a more dense and homogeneous
mesh around the freezing pipes. The tunnel will not be activated during any calculation
phase, but PLAXIS will detect the line elements and will generate the mesh according to
these elements. Changing the coarseness factor of the pipe elements will cause a
denser, but not a more homogeneous mesh.
Click the Create tunnel button in the side toolbar and click on (42.5 -18) in the draw
area.
The option Circular is selected for Shape type. Note that the default option is Free.
The default option of Define whole tunnel is used in this example.
Proceed to the Segments tab and set Radius to 3.0 m to the two multi selected
segments.
Click on Generate to generate the defined tunnel in the model. Close the Tunnel
designer window.
The geometry of the model is shown in Figure 16.3.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
16.2
MESH GENERATION
Click the Generate mesh button. The default element distribution of Medium is used
for this example.
16.3
CALCULATIONS
The calculations for this tutorial are carried out in the Flow only mode.
Initial phase
Proceed to Staged construction mode.
Double click on Initial phase in the Phases explorer.
In the Phases window select the Flow only option from the Calculation type
drop-down menu.
Choose the Earth gradient option for the Thermal calculation type.
In the Staged construction activate the ThermalFlow under the Model conditions
subtree and set the value for Tref to 283 K, href to 0 m and 0 K/m for the Earth
gradient.
Phase 1
Add a new phase.
Double click the new phase in the Phases explorer.
In the Phases window, enter an appropriate name for the phase ID (For eg:
"Transient calculation").
Set Transient groundwater flow as the option for the Pore pressure calculation type.
Set Transient thermal flow as the option for the Thermal calculation type.
Set Time interval to 180 days and the Max number of steps stored to 100. This is to
be able to view intermediate time steps after the calculation.
In Staged construction mode, activate all the thermal boundary conditions by

clicking the check box for the Thermal flow BCs in the Model explorer.
In the Model explorer, activate the four groundwater flow boundary conditions
corresponding to the left, top, right and bottom boundary conditions in the
Groundwater flow BCs subtree.
In the Model explorer, deactivate the ThermalFlow condition under the Model
conditions subtree.
that you select nodes or stress points for a later generation of curves.
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. Select some
characteristic points for curves (for example between two freezing pipes).
mode.
16.4
RESULTS
Interesting results from this calculation can be the point in time when there is no
groundwater flow in between two freezing pipes, groundwater flow over the whole model
and temperature distribution for both steady state and transient calculations.
To view the results in the Output program:
Click the View calculation results button on the toolbar.
From the Stresses menu, select Heat flow Temperature.
Figure 16.6 shows the spatial distribution of the temperature for transient calculation
in the final step.
From the Stresses menu, select Groundwater flow |q|.

Select the Arrows option in the View menu or click the corresponding button in the
toolbar to display the results arrows.
In the Output program, it is possible to view the results for the intermediate saved steps.
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 16.6 Temperature distribution for transient phase
More information is available in Section 8.4.9 of the Reference Manual. It is possible to

view the progression of the freezing of the tunnel.
Figure 16.7 shows the distribution of the of groundwater flow field for an
intermediate step for the transient calculation (around 80 days).
Figure 16.8 shows the groundwater flow field for the last time step for the transient
flow calculation. Here it is clearly noticeable that the entire tunnel area is frozen and
no flow occurs.
Figure 16.7 Groundwater flow field for transient phase for an intermediate step (t 38 days)
Figure 16.8 Groundwater flow field after 180 days
Undo
Redo
Copy screen image
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
Select all
Deselect all
New project
Open project
Recent projects
Save project
Save project as
Pack project
Close project
Project properties
Print
Exit
Edit
Design approaches
Show materials
Import geometry
Modify soil layers
Soil
Design approaches
Show thermal functions
Show flow functions
Show dynamic multipliers
Show materials
Import geometry
Structures
Generate mesh
Mesh
Show flow functions
Show materials
Import water levels
Flow conditions
A.1
File
INPUT MENU 1
APPENDIX A - MENU TREE

INPUT MENU
Update licence
http://www.plaxis.nl
Run commands
Macro library
Configure remote scripting server
Sensitivity and parameter variation
View files
Show materials
Show dynamic multipliers
Show flow functions
About
Disclaimer
Request support
Instruction movies
Command reference
Manuals
Examine commands
Edit phases
Help
Expert
Phases
INPUT MENU 2
TUTORIAL MANUAL
Material information (current load cases)
Reset view
Save view
Show saved views
Scale
Legend settings
Scan line
Use result smoothing
Rulers
Title
Close active project
Close all projects
Work directory
Export to file
Report generator
Create animation
Print
(List of recent projects)
Exit
Step info
Structures per phase
Contour lines
Shadings
Node labels
Calculation info per phase
Calculation info per step
Arrows
Axes
Settings
General project information
Calculation information
Legend
Material information (all load cases)
Volume information
Applied volume strain
Virtual interface thickness
Prescribed displacement information
Water load information
Load information
Node fixities
Input nodes
Zoom out
Open project
Project
View
Filter
Fixities
Phreatic level
Geometry
Selection labels
Stress point numbers
Node numbers
Input points
Group numbering
Cluster numbers
Structure material set numbers
Material set numbers
Element numbers
Materials
Element deformation contours
Element contours
Cluster borders
Connectivity plot
Area table
Area
Quality table
Quality
Mesh
Incremental strains
Phase strains
Total strains
Incremental cartesian strains
Phase cartesian strains
Total cartesian strains
Incremental displacements
Phase displacements
Sum phase displacements
Total displacements
Deformed mesh |u|
Deformations
A.2
File
OUTPUT MENU (1)
TUTORIAL MANUAL
OUTPUT MENU
Shear forces
Bending moments
Table of forces
Cartesian effective stresses
Cartesian total stresses
Principal effective stresses
Relative shear rel
Shear N
Total N
Effective 'N
Groundwater head
pactive
pwater
psteady
pexcess
Suction
Suctioneff
Plastic points
Table of nodal values
State parameters
Pore pressures
Groundwater flow
Plastic points
Plastic point history
Fixed-end anchors
Node to node anchors
Wells
Drains
Maximum shear max
Axial forces
Cross section
Interface stresses
Principal total stresses
Forces
Stresses
OUTPUT MENU (2)
Remove annotations
Hint box
Structural forces in volumes
Forces view
Cross section curves
Cross section
Table
Curves manager
Mesh point selection
Select points for curves
Copy
Tools
(List of active views)
Tile horizontally
Tile vertically
Cascade
Close window
Duplicate model view
Project manager
Window
About
Disclaimer
http://www.plaxis.nl/
Instruction movies
Manuals
Help
TUTORIAL MANUAL

2D 1 Tutorial - 02

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2D 1 Tutorial - 02

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2D 1 Tutorial - 02

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PLAXIS 2D

Settlement of a circular footing on sand

Submerged construction of an excavation

Dry excavation using a tie back wall

Construction of a road embankment

Settlements due to tunnel construction

Excavation of an NATM tunnel

Stability of dam under rapid drawdown

Dry excavation using a tie back wall - ULS

PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual

Flow through an embankment

Flow around a sheet pile wall

Potato field moisture content

Dynamic analysis of a generator on an elastic foundation

Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building

Thermal expansion of a navigable lock

Freeze pipes in tunnel construction

Appendix A - Menu tree

Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016

PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual

Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016

SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

In this chapter a first application is considered, namely the settlement of a circular

Starting a new project.

Creating an axisymmetric model

Creating soil stratigraphy using the Borehole feature.

Defining prescribed displacements.

Creation of footing using the Plate feature.

Creating and assigning material data sets for plates.

Generating the mesh.

Generating initial stresses using the K0 procedure.

Defining a Plastic calculation.

Activating and modifying the values of loads in calculation phases.

Viewing the calculation results.

Selecting points for curves.

Creating a 'Load - displacement' curve.

PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual

Figure 1.1 Geometry of a circular footing on a sand layer

CASE A: RIGID FOOTING

Figure 1.2 Quick select dialog box

Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016

SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

Figure 1.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window

Keep the default units in the Constants tabsheet.

Figure 1.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window

PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual

Click OK button to confirm the settings.

Definition of soil stratigraphy

Material data sets

Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS 2D 2016

SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

Figure 1.5 Modify soil layers window

Figure 1.6 Material sets window

PLAXIS 2D 2016 | Tutorial Manual

Interfaces and Initial.

Table 1.1 Material properties of the sand layer

Type of material behaviour