PLAXIS 3D

Tutorial Manual

2012
Build 5559
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Foundation in overconsolidated clay 7

1.1 Case A: Rigid foundation 8
1.2 Case B: Raft foundation 20
1.3 Case C: Pile-Raft foundation 26

2 Excavation in sand 31
2.1 Geometry 32
2.2 Mesh generation 37
2.3 Performing calculations 37
2.4 Viewing the results 40

3 Loading of a suction pile 45

3.1 Geometry 45
3.2 Mesh generation 48
3.3 Performing calculations 49
3.4 Viewing the results 50

4 Construction of a road embankment 51

4.1 Geometry 51
4.2 Mesh generation 55
4.3 Performing calculations 56
4.4 Viewing the results 58
4.5 Safety analysis 61
4.6 Using drains 65

5 Phased excavation of a shield tunnel 67

5.1 Geometry 67
5.2 Mesh generation 76
5.3 Performing calculations 77
5.4 Viewing the results 84

6 Dynamic analysis of a generator on an elastic foundation 85

6.1 Geometry 85
6.2 Mesh generation 88
6.3 Performing calculations 89
6.4 Viewing the results 92

7 Free vibration and earthquake analysis of a building 95

7.1 Geometry 95
7.2 Mesh generation 100
7.3 Performing calculations 101
7.4 Viewing the results 103

Appendix A - Menu tree 107

Appendix B - Calculation scheme for initial stresses due to soil weight 111

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 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

PLAXIS is a finite element package that has been developed specifically for the analysis
of deformation and stability 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 3D. 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.
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.

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 FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY

1 FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY

In this chapter a first application of PLAXIS 3D is considered, namely the settlement of a

foundation in clay. This is the first step in becoming familiar with the practical use of the
program.
The general procedures for the creation of a geometry, 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 tutorial will be utilised in the
following tutorials. Therefore, it is important to complete this first tutorial before
attempting any further tutorial examples.

18.0 m

75.0 m

Building 75.0 m

z=0
z = -2

z 40.0 m
Clay

z = -40
x

Figure 1.1 Geometry of a square building on a raft foundation

GEOMETRY

This exercise deals with the construction and loading of a foundation of a square building
in a lightly overconsolidated lacustrine clay. Below the clay layer there is a stiff rock layer
that forms a natural boundary for the considered geometry. The rock layer is not included
in the geometry; instead an appropriate boundary condition is applied at the bottom of the
clay layer. The purpose of the exercise is to find the settlement of the foundation.
The building consists of a basement level and 5 floors above the ground level (Figure
1.1). To reduce calculation time, only one-quarter of the building is modelled, using
symmetry boundary conditions along the lines of symmetry. To enable any possible

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mechanism in the clay and to avoid any influence of the outer boundary, the model is
extended in both horizontal directions to a total width of 75 m.
The model is considered in three different cases:
Case A: The building is considered very stiff and rough. The basement is simulated by
means of non-porous linear elastic volume elements.
Case B: The structural forces are modelled as loads on a raft foundation.
Case C: Embedded piles are included in the model to reduce settlements.

1.1 CASE A: RIGID FOUNDATION

In this case, the building is considered to be very stiff. The basement is simulated by
terms of non-porous linear elastic volume elements. The total weight of the basement
corresponds to the total permanent and variable load of the building. This approach leads
to a very simple model and is therefore used as a first exercise, but it has some
disadvantages. For example it does not give any information about the structural forces in
the foundation.
Objectives:
• Starting a new project.
• Creation of soil stratigraphy using a single borehole.
• Creation of material data sets.
• Creation of volumes using Create surface and Extrude tools.
• Assigning material.
• Local mesh refinement.
• Generation of mesh.
• Generating initial stresses using the K0 procedure.
• Defining a Plastic calculation.

1.1.1 GEOMETRY INPUT

• Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which you
can select an existing project or create a new one (Figure 1.2).
• Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears, consisting of
Project and Model tabsheets.

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 properties include the description of
the problem, the basic units and the size of the draw area.

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 FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY

Figure 1.2 Quick select dialog box

To enter the appropriate properties for the foundation calculation follow these steps:
• In the Project tabsheet, enter "Tutorial 1" as the Title of the project and type
"Settlements of a foundation" in the Comments box (Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window

• Proceed to the Model tabsheet by clicking either the Next button or the Model tab
(Figure 1.4).
• Keep the default units in the Units box (Length = m; Force = kN; Time = day ).
• The General box indicates a fixed gravity of 1.0 G, in the vertical direction downward
(-z). The value of the acceleration of gravity (1.0 G) can be specified in the Earth
gravity box. This should be kept to the default value of 9.810 m/s2 for this exercise.
In the γwater box the unit weight of water can be defined. Keep this to the default
value of 10 kN/m3 .
• Define the limits for the soil contour as xmin = 0, xmax = 75, ymin = 0 and ymax = 75 in
the Contour group box.
• Click the OK button to confirm the settings.

Hint: In 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 in the File menu.

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Figure 1.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window

Definition of soil stratigraphy

When you click the OK button the Project properties window will close and the Soil mode
view will be shown. 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 3D will
automatically interpolate between the boreholes, and derive the position of the soil layers
from the borehole information.

Hint: PLAXIS 3D can also deal with layers that are discontinuous, i.e. only locally
present in the model area. See Section 4.2.2 of the Reference Manual for
more information.

In the current example, only one soil layer is present, and only a single borehole is
needed to define the soil stratigraphy. In order to define the borehole, follow these steps:
Click the Create borehole button in the side toolbar to start defining the soil
stratigraphy. Click on position (0; 0; 0) in the geometry. A borehole will be located at
(x, y) = (0; 0). The Modify soil layers window will appear.
• In the Modify soil layers window add a soil layer by clicking on the Add button. Keep
the top boundary of the soil layer at z = 0 and set the bottom boundary to z = −40
m.
• Set the Head value in the borehole column to −2 m (Figure 1.5). The creation of
material data sets and their assignment to soil layers is described in the following
section.

1.1.2 MATERIAL DATA SETS

In order to simulate the behaviour of the soil, a suitable material model and appropriate
material parameters must be assigned to the geometry. In PLAXIS 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 clusters. For
structures (like beams, plates, etc.) the system is similar, but different types of structures

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Figure 1.5 Modify soil layers window

have different parameters and therefore different types of data sets.

PLAXIS 3D distinguishes between material data sets for Soils and interfaces, Plates,
Geogrids, Beams, Embedded Piles and Anchors. Before the mesh can be generated
material data sets have to be assigned to all soil volumes and structures.
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Materials button.
• Click the New button on the lower side of the Material sets window. The Soil window
will appear. It contains five tabsheets: General, Parameters, Flow parameters,
Interfaces and Initial.
• In the Material set box of the General tabsheet (Figure 1.6), write "Lacustrine Clay"
in the Identification box.
• Select Mohr-Coulomb as the material model from the Material model drop-down
menu and Drained from the Drainage type drop-down menu.
• Enter the unit weights in the General properties box according to the material data
as listed in Table 1.1. Keep the unmentioned Advanced parameters as their default
values.
• 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). The Mohr-Coulomb
model involves only five basic parameters (E ', ν ', c ', ϕ', ψ '). See the Material Models
Manual for a detailed description of the different soil models and their corresponding
parameters.
• Enter the model parameters E ', ν ', c 'ref , ϕ' and ψ of Lacustrine clay according to
Table 1.1 in the corresponding boxes of the Parameters tabsheet (Figure 1.7).

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Figure 1.6 General tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window

Table 1.1 Material properties

Parameter Name Lacustrine clay Building Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Linear elastic −
Drainage type Type Drained Non-porous −
Unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 17.0 50 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic level γsat 18.0 − kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus (constant) E' 1 · 104 3 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 0.15 −
Cohesion (constant) c 'ref 10 − kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 30.0 −
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0 −
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic −
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0 0.5000 1.000 −

• No consolidation will be considered in this exercise. As a result, the permeability of

the soil will not influence the results and the Flow parameters window can be
skipped.
• Since the geometry model does not include interfaces, the Interfaces tab can be
skipped.
• Click the Initial tab and check that the K0 determination is set to Automatic. In that
case K0 is determined from Jaky's formula: K0 = 1 − sin ϕ.
• Click the OK button to confirm the input of the current material data set. The created
data set appears in the tree view of the Material sets window.
• Drag the set Lacustrine clay 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).

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Figure 1.7 Parameters tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window

Hint: Notice that the cursor changes shape to indicate whether or not it is possible
to drop the data set. Correct assignment of the data set to the soil layer is
indicated by a change in the colour of the layer.

The building is modelled by a linear elastic non-porous material. To define this data set,
follow these steps:
• Click the New button in the Material sets window.
• In the Material set box of the General tabsheet, write "Building" in the Identification
box.
• Select Linear elastic as the material model from the Material model drop-down
menu and Non-porous from the Drainage type drop-down menu.
• Enter the unit weight in the General properties box according to the material data set
as listed in Table 1.1. This unit weight corresponds to the total permanent and
variable load of the building.
• Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the input of the
model parameters. The linear elastic model involves only two basic parameters (E ',
ν ').
• Enter the model parameters of Table 1.1 in the corresponding edit boxes of the
Parameters tabsheet.
• Click the OK button to confirm the input of the current material data set. The created
data set will appear in the tree view of the Material sets window, but it is not directly
used.
• Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
• Click the OK button to close the Modify soil layers window.

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Hint: PLAXIS 3D 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.

1.1.3 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The structural elements are created in the Structures mode of the program. Click the
Structures button to proceed with the input of structural elements. To model the building:
Click the Create surface button. Position the cursor at the coordinate (0; 0; 0).
Check the cursor position displayed in the cursor position indicator. As you click, the
first surface point of the surface is defined.
• Define three other points with coordinates (0; 18; 0), (18; 18; 0), (18; 0; 0)
respectively. Press the right mouse button or <Esc> to finalize the definition of the
surface. Note that the created surface is still selected and displayed in red.
Click the Extrude object button to create a volume from the surface.
• Change the z value to -2 in the Extrude window (Figure 1.8). Click the Apply button
to close the window.

Figure 1.8 Extrude window

Click the Select button. Select the created surface using the right mouse button.
Select Delete from the appearing menu. This will delete the surface but the building
volume is retained.
The building volume, as well as the corresponding material data sets have now been
created.

1.1.4 MESH GENERATION

The model is complete. In order to proceed to the Mesh mode click the Mesh button.
PLAXIS 3D allows for a fully automatic mesh generation procedure, in which the
geometry is divided into volume elements and compatible structure elements, if
applicable. The mesh generation takes full account of the position of the geometry

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entities in the geometry model, so that the exact position of layers, loads and structures is
accounted for in the finite element mesh. A local refinement will be considered in the
building volume. To generate the mesh, follow these steps:
Click the Refine mesh button in the side toolbar and click the created building
volume to refine the mesh locally. It will colour green.
Click the Generate mesh button in the side toolbar or select the Generate mesh
option in the Mesh menu. Change the Element distribution to Coarse in the Mesh
options window (Figure 1.9) and click OK to start the mesh generation.

Figure 1.9 Mesh options window

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.

As the mesh is generated, click the View mesh button. A new window is opened
displaying the generated mesh (Figure 1.10).
Click the Close button to go back to the Mesh mode of the Input program.

1.1.5 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

Once the mesh has been generated, the finite element model is complete. Click Staged
construction to proceed with the definition of calculation phases.

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. The initial water
level has been entered already in the Modify soil layers window. This level is taken into
account to calculate the initial effective stress state. It is therefore not needed to enter the

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Figure 1.10 Generated mesh in the Output window

Water levels mode.

When a new project has been defined, a first calculation phase named "Initial phase", is
automatically created and selected in the Phases explorer (Figure 1.11). All structural
elements and loads that are present in the geometry are initially automatically switched
off; only the soil volumes are initially active.

Figure 1.11 Phases explorer

In this tutorial lesson the properties of the Initial phase will be described. This part of the
tutorial gives an overview of the options to be defined even though the default values of
the parameters are used.
The Phases window (Figure 1.12) is displayed by clicking the Edit phase button or
by double clicking on the phase in the Phases explorer.

Figure 1.12 The Phases window for Initial phase

In PLAXIS 3D two methods are available to generate the initial stresses: Gravity
loading and the K0 procedure. By default the K0 procedure is selected as

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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 selected as the Loading type. This is the only
option available for the K0 procedure.
The Phreatic option is selected by default as the Pore pressure calculation type.
This is the only option available for the K0 procedure. Note that the icon indicating
the loading type in the Phases explorer is grayed out indicating that the default
loading type should not be changed. The Global water level is the general water
level generated according to the head defined in the borehole. This option will be
used in this tutorial.
• The other default options in the Phases window will be used as well in this tutorial.
Click OK to close the Phases window.
• Make sure that all the soil volumes in the project are active and the material
assigned to them is Lacustrine clay.

Hint: The K0 procedure may only be 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.

Construction stage
After the definition of the initial conditions, the construction of the building can be
modelled. This will be done in a separate calculation phase, which needs to be added as
follows:
Click the Add button in the Phases explorer. A new phase, named Phase_1 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 " Building").
• The current phase starts from Initial phase, which contains the initial stress state.
The default options and values assigned are valid for this phase (Figure 1.13).
• Click OK to close the Phases window.
• Right-click the building volume as created in Section 1.1.3. From the Set material
option in the appearing menu select the Building option. The 'Building' data set has
now been assigned to the building volume.

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.

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Figure 1.13 The Phases window for Building phase

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 1.14).

Figure 1.14 Active task window displaying the calculation progress

The information, which is continuously updated, shows, amongst others, 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

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calculation. When a calculation ends, the window is closed and focus is returned to the
main window.
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 three
dimensional model as well as in cross sections or structural elements can be viewed.
The computational results are also available in tabular form. To view the current results,
follow these steps:
• Select the last calculation phase (Building) in the Phases explorer tree.
Click the View calculation results button in the side toolbar to open the Output
program. The Output program will, by default, show the three dimensional deformed
mesh at the end of the selected calculation phase. The deformations are scaled to
ensure that they are clearly visible.
• Select Total Displacements → |u| from the Deformations menu. The plot shows
colour shadings of the total displacements (Figure 1.15).

Figure 1.15 Shadings of Total displacements at the end of the last phase

• A legend is presented with the displacement values at the colour boundaries. When
the legend is not present, select the Legend option from the View menu to display it.
In the Output window click the Iso surfaces button to display the areas having the
same displacement.

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Hint: In addition to the Total displacements, the Deformations menu allows for the
presentation of Incremental displacements and Phase displacements.
» The incremental displacements are the displacements that occurred in one
calculation step (in this case the final step). Incremental displacements may
be helpful in visualising failure mechanisms.
» Phase displacements are the displacements that occurred in one calculation
phase (in this case the last phase). Phase displacements can be used to
inspect the impact of a single construction phase, without the need to reset
displacements to zero before starting the phase.

1.2 CASE B: RAFT FOUNDATION

In this case, the model is modified so that the basement consists of structural elements.
This allows for the calculation of structural forces in the foundation. The raft foundation
consists of a 50 cm thick concrete floor stiffened by concrete beams. The walls of the
basement consist of 30 cm thick concrete. The loads of the upper floors are transferred
to the floor slab by a column and by the basement walls. The column bears a load of
11650 kN and the walls carry a line load of 385 kN/m, as sketched in Figure 1.16.

385 kN/m 385 kN/m

11650 kN

5.3 kN/m2

12.0 m 12.0 m
6.0 m 6.0 m

Figure 1.16 Geometry of the basement

In addition, the floor slab is loaded by a distributed load of 5.3 kN/m2 . The properties of
the clay layer will be modified such that stiffness of the clay will increase with depth.
Objectives:
• Saving project under a different name.
• Modifying existing data sets.
• Defining a soil stiffness that increases with depth.
• Modelling of plates and defining material data set for plates.
• Modelling of beams and defining material data set for beams.
• Assigning point loads.
• Assigning line loads.
• Assigning distributed loads to surfaces.
• Deleting phases.

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• Activation and deactivation of soil volumes.

• Activation and deactivation of structural elements.
• Activation of loads.
• Zooming in Output.
• Drawing cross sections in Output.
• Viewing structural output.

Geometry input
The geometry used in this exercise is the same as the previous one, except that
additional elements are used to model the foundation. It is not necessary to create a new
model; you can start from the previous model, store it under a different name and modify
it. To perform this, follow these steps:
Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which the
project of case A should be selected.
• Select the Save project as option in the File menu to save the project under a
different name (e.g. "Tutorial 1b").
The material set for the clay layer has already been defined. To modify this material set to
take into account the stiffness of the soil increasing with depth, follow these steps:
• Go to the Soil mode.
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Show materials button.
• Make sure that the option Soil and interfaces is selected as Set type.
• Select the Lacustrine clay material set and click the Edit button.
• In the Parameters tabsheet, change the stiffness of the soil E ' to 5000 kN/m2 .
• Enter a value of 500 in the E 'inc box in the Advanced parameters. Keep the default
value of 0.0 m for zref . Now the stiffness of the soil is defined as 5000 kN/m2 at
z = 0.0 m and increases with 500 kN/m2 per meter depth.
• Click OK to close the Soil window.
• Click OK to close the Material sets window.

Definition of structural elements

Proceed to the Structures mode to define the structural elements that compose the
basement.
Click the Selection button.
• Right click the volume representing the building. Select the Decompose into
surfaces option from the appearing menu.
• Delete the top surface by selecting it and pressing the <Delete> key.
Select the volume representing the building. Click the visualisation toggle in the
Selection explorer to hide the volume.
• Right-click the bottom surface of the building. Select the Create plate option from

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the appearing menu.

• Assign plates to the two vertical basement surfaces that are inside the model.
Delete the remaining two vertical surfaces at the model boundaries.

Hint: Multiple entities can be selected by holding the <Ctrl> button pressed while
clicking on the entities.
» A feature can be assigned to multiple similar objects the same way as to a
single selection.

Figure 1.17 Location of plates in the project

Open the material data base and set the Set type to Plates.
• Create data sets for the basement floor and for the basement walls according to
Table 1.2.
• Drag and drop the data sets to the basement floor and the basement walls
accordingly. It may be needed to move the Material sets window by clicking at its
header and dragging it.
• Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
Table 1.2 Material properties of the basement floor and basement walls
Parameter Name Basement floor Basement wall Unit
Thickness d 0.5 0.3 m
Weight γ 15 15.5 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear, isotropic Linear, isotropic −
Young's modulus E1 3 · 107 3 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν12 0.15 0.15 −

Hint: When specifying a unit weight, please consider the fact that the element itself
does not occupy any volume and overlaps with the soil elements. Hence, it
might be considered to subtract the unit soil weight from the real unit weight
of the plate, beam or embedded pile material in order to compensate for the
overlap. For partially overlapping plates, beams or embedded piles the
reduction of the unit weight should be proportional.

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• Right-click the bottom of the surface of the building volume and select the Create
surface load option from the appearing menu. The actual value of the load can be
assigned in the Structures mode as well as when the calculation phases will be
defined (Phase definition mode). In this example, the value will be assigned in the
Phase definition mode.
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create line load option from the additional tools displayed.
• Click the command input area, type "0 18 0 18 18 0 18 0 0 " and press <Enter>.
Line loads will now be defined on the basement walls. The defined values are the
coordinates of the three points of the lines. Click the right mouse button to stop
drawing line loads.
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create beam option from the additional tools displayed.
• Click on (6; 6; 0) to create the first point of a vertical beam. Keep the <Shift> key
pressed and move the mouse cursor to (6; 6; -2). Note that while the <Shift> key is
pressed the cursor will move only vertically. As it can be seen in the cursor position
indicator, the z coordinate changes, while x and y coordinates will remain the same.
Click on (6; 6; -2) to define the second point of the beam. To stop drawing click the
right mouse button.
• Create horizontal beams from (0; 6; -2) to (18; 6; -2) and from (6; 0; -2) to (6; 18; -2).

Hint: By default, the cursor is located at z=0. To move in the vertical direction,
keep the <Shift> key pressed while moving the mouse.

Open the material data base and set the Set type to Beams.
• Create data sets for the horizontal and for the vertical beams according to Table 1.3.
Assign the data set to the corresponding beam elements by drag and drop.
Table 1.3 Material properties of the basement column and basement beams
Parameter Name Basement column Basement beam Unit
Cross section area A 0.49 0.7 m2
Volumetric weight γ 24.0 6.0 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear Linear −
Young's modulus E 3 · 107 3 · 107 kN/m2
Moment of Inertia I3 0.020 0.058 m4
I2 0.020 0.029 m4

Click the Create load button in the side toolbar.

Select the Create point load option from the additional tools displayed. Click at (6; 6;
0) to add a point load at the top of the vertical beam.
Proceed to the Mesh tabsheet to generate the mesh.

Mesh generation
• Click the Generate mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.

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• Inspect the generated mesh.

As the geometry has changed, all calculation phases have to be redefined.

1.2.1 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

Proceed to the Staged construction mode.

Initial conditions
As in the previous example, the K0 procedure will be used to generate the initial
conditions.
• All the structural elements should be inactive in the Initial Phase.
• No excavation is performed in the Initial Phase. So, the basement volume should be
active and the material assigned to it should be Lacustrine clay.

Construction stages
Instead of constructing the building in one calculation stage, separate calculation phases
will be used. In Phase 1, the construction of the walls and the excavation is modelled. In
Phase 2, the construction of the floor and beams is modelled. The activation of the loads
is modelled in the last phase (Phase 3).
The calculation type for the phases representing the construction stages is set by
default to Plastic.
• Rename the Phase_1 to "Excavation".
• Deactivate the soil volume located over the foundation by selecting it and by clicking
on the checkbox in front of it in the Selection explorer.
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the plates corresponding to the
basement walls to activate them.
In the Phases explorer click the Add phase button. A new phase (Phase_2) is
added. Double-click Phase_2. The Phases window pops up.
• Rename the phase by defining its ID as "Construction". Keep the default settings of
the phase and close the Phases window.
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the plate corresponding to the
basement floor to activate it.
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the beams to activate all the
beams in the project.
Add a new phase following the Construction phase. Rename it to "Loading".
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the Surface loads to activate the
surface load on the basement floor. Set the value of the z−component of the load to
−5.3. This indicates a load of 5.3 kN/m2 , acting in the negative z−direction.
• In the Model explorer, click the checkbox in front of the Line loads to activate the line
loads on the basement walls. Set the value of the z−component of each load to
−385. This indicates a load of 385 kN/m, acting in the negative z−direction.
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of the Point loads to activate the

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point load on the basement column. Set the value of the z−component of the load
to −11650. This indicates a load of 11650 kN, acting in the negative z−direction.
Click the Preview phase button to check the settings for each phase.
• As the calculation phases are completely defined, calculate the project. Ignore the
warning that no nodes and stress points have been selected for curves.
• Save the project after the calculation.

Viewing calculation results

• Select Construction in the Phases explorer.
Click the View calculation results button to open the Output program. The deformed
mesh at the end of this phase is shown.
• Select the last phase in the Displayed step drop-down menu to switch to the results
at the end of the last phase.
In order to evaluate stresses and deformations inside the geometry, select the
Vertical cross section tool. A top view of the geometry is presented and the Cross
section points window appears. As the largest displacements appear under the
column, a cross section here is most interesting. Enter (0.0; 6.0) and (75.0; 6.0) as
the coordinates of the first point (A) and the second point (A') respectively in the
Cross section points window. Click OK. A vertical cross section is presented. The
cross section can be rotated in the same way as a regular 3D view of the geometry.
• Select Total displacements → uz from the Deformations menu (Figure 1.18). The
maximum and minimum values of the vertical displacements are shown in the
caption. If the title is not visible, select this option from the View menu.

Figure 1.18 Cross section showing the total vertical displacement

• Press <CTRL><+> and <CTRL><−> to move the cross section.

• Return to the three dimensional view of the geometry by selecting this window from
the list in the Window menu.
• Double-click the floor. A separate window will appear showing the displacements of
the floor. To look at the bending moments in the floor, select M11 from the Forces

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menu.
Click the Shadings button. The plot in Figure 1.19 will be displayed.

Figure 1.19 Bending moments in the basement floor

To view the bending moments in tabulated form, click the Table option in the Tools
menu. A new window is opened in which a table is presented, showing the values of
bending moments in each node of the floor.

1.3 CASE C: PILE-RAFT FOUNDATION

As the displacements of the raft foundation are rather high, embedded piles will be used
to decrease these displacements. These embedded piles represent bored piles with a
length of 20 m and a diameter of 1.5 m.
Objectives:
• Using embedded piles.
• Defining material data set for embedded piles.
• Creating multiple copies of entities.

Geometry input
The geometry used in this exercise is the same as the previous one, except for the pile
foundation. It is not necessary to create a new model; you can start from the previous
model, store it under a different name and modify it. To perform this, follow these steps:
Start the PLAXIS 3D program. The Quick select dialog box will appear in which the
project of Case B should be selected.
• Select the Save project as option in the File menu to save the project under a

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different name (e.g. "Tutorial 1c").

Definition of embedded pile

• Proceed to the Structures mode.
Click the Create line button at the side tool bar and select the Create embedded pile
from the additional tools that appear.
• Define a pile from (6; 6; -2) to (6; 6; -22).
Open the material data base and set the Set type to Embedded piles.
• Create a data set for the embedded pile according to Table 1.4. The value for the
cross section area A and the moments of inertia I2 , I3 and I23 are automatically
calculated from the diameter of the massive circular pile. Confirm the input by
clicking OK.
Table 1.4 Material properties of embedded pile
Parameter Name Pile foundation Unit
Young's modulus E 3 · 107 kN/m2
Unit weight γ 6.0 kN/m3
Pile type - Predefined −
Predefined pile type - Massive circular pile −
Diameter Diameter 1.5 m
Skin resistance Type Linear −
Maximum traction allowed at the top of the Ttop,max 200 kN/m
embedded pile
Maximum traction allowed at the bottom of Tbot,max 500 kN/m
the embedded pile
Base resistance Fmax 1 · 104 kN

• Drag and drop the Pile data to the embedded pile in the draw area. The embedded
pile will change colour to indicate that the material set has been assigned
successfully.
• Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.

Hint: A material set can also be assigned to an embedded pile by right-clicking it

either in the draw area or in the Selection explorer and Model explorer and
selecting the material from the Set material option in the displayed menu.

Click the Select button and select the embedded pile.

Click the Create array button.
• In the Create array window, select the 2D, in xy plane option for shape.
• Keep the number of columns as 2. Set the distance between the columns to x = 12
and y = 0.
• Keep the number of rows as 2. Set the distance between the rows to x = 0 and
y = 12 (Figure 1.20).
• Press OK to create the array. A total of 2x2 = 4 piles will be created.

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Figure 1.20 Create array window

Mesh generation
As the geometry model is complete now, the mesh can be generated.
Create the mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.
View the mesh.
• Click the eye button in front of the Soil sub-tree in the Model explorer to hide the
soil. The embedded piles can be seen (Figure 1.21).
• Close the mesh preview.

Performing calculations
After generation of the mesh, all construction stages must be redefined. Even though in
practice the piles will be constructed in another construction stage than construction of
the walls, for simplicity both actions will be done in the same construction stage in this
tutorial. To redefine all construction stages, follow these steps:
• Switch to the Staged construction mode.
• Check if the K0 procedure is selected as Calculation type for the initial phase. Make
sure that all the structural elements are inactive and all soil volumes are active. The
material assigned to it is Lacustrine clay.
• Select the Excavation phase in the Phases explorer.
• Make sure that the basement soil is excavated and the basement walls are active.
• Activate all the embedded piles.

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Figure 1.21 Partial geometry of the model in the Output

• In the Phases explorer select the Construction phase. Make sure that all the
structural elements are active.
• In the Phases explorer select the Loading phase. Make sure that all the structural
elements and loads are active.
Calculate the project.
• Save the project after the calculation is finished.
• Select the Loading phase and view the calculation results.
• Double-click the basement floor. Select the M11 option from the Forces menu. The
results are shown in Figure 1.22.

Figure 1.22 Bending moments in the basement floor

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• Select the view corresponding to the deformed mesh in the Window menu.
Click the Hide soil button in the side toolbar.
• To view the embedded piles press <Shift> and keep it pressed while clicking on the
soil volume in order to hide it.
Click the Select structures button. To view all the embedded piles, press
<Ctrl>+<Shift> keys and double click on one of the piles.
• Select the option N in the Forces menu to view the axial loads in the embedded
piles. The plot is shown in Figure 1.23.

Figure 1.23 Resulting axial forces (N) in the embedded piles

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2 EXCAVATION IN SAND

This tutorial describes the construction of an excavation pit in soft clay and sand layers.
The pit is a relatively small excavation of 12 by 20 m, excavated to a depth of 6.5 m below
the surface. Struts, walings and ground anchors are used to prevent the pit to collapse.
After the full excavation, an additional surface load is added on one side of the pit.

5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m

(30; 32) (50; 32)

4.0 m
Strut

4.0 m Ground anchors

4.0 m
50.0 m
(30; 20) (50; 20)
(34; 19) (41; 19)

(34; 12) (41; 12)

80.0 m

Figure 2.1 Top view of the excavation pit

The proposed geometry for this exercise is 80 m wide and 50 m long, as shown in Figure
2.1. The excavation pit is placed in the center of the geometry. Figure 2.2 shows a cross
section of the excavation pit with the soil layers. The clay layer is considered to be
impermeable.
Objectives:
• Using the Hardening Soil model
• Modelling of ground anchors
• Using interface features
• Defining over-consolidation ratio (OCR)
• Prestressing a ground anchor
• Changing water conditions
• Selection of stress points to generate stress/strain curves
• Viewing plastic points

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z=0 Fill
z = -1
Sheet pile walls
z = -4 Sand

(18; 24; -9) (62; 24; -9)

z = -9.5 Soft clay
z = -11

Sand

z = -20

Figure 2.2 Cross section of the excavation pit with the soil layers

2.1 GEOMETRY

To create the geometry model, follow these steps:

Project properties
• Start a new project.
• Enter an appropriate title for the project.
• Define the limits for the soil contour as xmin = 0, xmax = 80, ymin = 0 and ymax = 50.

2.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

In order to define the soil layers, a borehole needs to be added and material properties
must be assigned. As all soil layers are horizontal, only a single borehole is needed.
Create a borehole at (0.0; 0.0). The Modify soil layers window pops up.
• Add 4 layers with bottom levels at -1, -9.5, -11, -20. Set the Head in the borehole
column to -4 m.
Open the Material sets window.
• Create a new data set under Soil and interfaces set type.
• Identify the new data set as "Fill".
• From the Material model drop-down menu, select Hardening Soil model. In contrast
with the Mohr-Coulomb model, the Hardening Soil model takes into account the
difference in stiffness between virgin-loading and unloading-reloading. For a
detailed description of the Hardening Soil model, see the Chapter 6 in the Material
Models Manual.
• Define the saturated and unsaturated unit weights according to Table 2.1.
• In the Parameters tabsheet, enter values for E50ref
, Eoed
ref
, Eur
ref
, m, c 'ref , ϕ'ref , ψ and
ν 'ur according to Table 2.1. Note that Poisson's ratio is an advanced parameter.
• As no consolidation will be considered in this exercise, the permeability of the soil
will not influence the results. Therefore, the default values can be kept in the Flow
parameters tabsheet.

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Table 2.1 Material properties for the soil layers

Parameter Name Fill Sand Soft Clay Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening Soil Hardening Soil Hardening Soil −
model model model
Drainage type Type Drained Drained Undrained A −
Unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 16.0 17.0 16.0 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20.0 20.0 17.0 kN/m3
Parameters
ref
Secant stiffness for CD triaxial E50 2.2 · 104 4.3 · 104 2.0 · 103 kN/m2
test
ref
Tangent oedometer stiffness Eoed 2.2 · 104 2.2 · 104 2.0 · 103 kN/m2
ref
Unloading/reloading stiffness Eur 6.6 · 104 1.29 · 105 1.0 · 104 kN/m2
Power for stress level m 0.5 0.5 1.0 −
dependency of stiffness
Cohesion c 'ref 1 1 5 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 30.0 34.0 25.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0 4.0 0.0
Poisson's ratio ν 'ur 0.2 0.2 0.2 −
Interfaces
Interface strength − Manual Manual Manual −
Interface reduction factor Rinter 0.65 0.7 0.5 −
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic Automatic −
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0 0.5000 0.4408 0.7411 −
Over-consolidation ratio OCR 1.0 1.0 1.5 −
Pre-overburden pressure POP 0.0 0.0 0.0 −

• In the Interfaces tabsheet, select Manual in the Strength box and enter a value of
0.65 for the parameter Rinter . This parameter relates the strength of the interfaces to
the strength of the soil, according to the equations:
ci = Rinter csoil and tanϕi = Rinter tanϕi ≤ tanϕsoil
Hence, using the entered Rinter -value gives a reduced interface friction and interface
cohesion (adhesion) compared to the friction angle and the cohesion in the adjacent
soil.

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 6.1.4 of the Reference Manual).

• In the Initial tabsheet, define the OCR -value according to Table 2.1.
• Click OK to close the window.
• In the same way, define the material properties of the "Sand" and "Soft Clay"
material as given by Table 2.1.
• After closing the Material sets window, click the OK button to close the Modify soil
layers window.
• In the Soil mode right click on the upper soil layer. In the appearing right hand

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mouse button menu, select the Fill option in the Set material menu.
• In the same way assign the Soft Clay material to the soil layer between y = −9.5 m
and y = −11.0 m.
• Assign the Sand material to the remaining two soil layers.
• Proceed to the Structures mode to define the structural elements.

Hint: The Tension cut-off option is activated by default at a value of 0 kN/m2 . This
option is found in the Advanced options on the Parameters tabsheet of the
Soil window. Here the Tension cut-off value can be changed or the option
can be deactivated entirely.

2.1.2 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The creation of sheet pile walls, walings, struts and surface loads and ground anchors is
described below.
Create a surface between (30; 20; 0), (30; 32; 0), (50; 32; 0) and (50; 20; 0).
Extrude the surface to z = −1, z = −6.5 and z = −11.
• Right-click on the deepest created volume (between z = 0 and z = −11) and select
the Decompose into surfaces option from the appearing menu.
• Delete the top surfaces (2 surfaces). An extra surface is created as the volume is
decomposed.
• Hide the excavation volumes (do not delete). The eye button in the Model explorer
and Selection explorer trees can be used to hide parts of the model and simplify the
view. A hidden project entity is indicated by a closed eye.
Click the Create structure button.
Create beams (walings) around the excavation circumference at level z = −1m.
Press the <Shift> key and keep it pressed while moving the mouse cursor in the −z
direction. Stop moving the mouse as the z− coordinate of the mouse cursor is −1
in the cursor position indicator. Note that as you release the <Shift> key, the z−
coordinate of the cursor location does not change. This is an indication that you can
draw only on the xy -plane located at z = −1.
• Click on (30; 20; -1), (30; 32; -1), (50; 32; -1), (50; 20; -1), (30; 20; -1) to draw the
walings. Click on the right mouse button to stop drawing walings.
Create a beam (strut) between (35; 20; -1) and (35; 32; -1). Press <Esc> to end
defining the strut.
Create data sets for the walings and strut according to Table 2.2 and assign the
materials accordingly.
Copy the strut into a total of three struts at x = 35 (existing), x = 40, and x = 45.

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Table 2.2 Material properties for the beams

Parameter Name Strut Waling Unit
Cross section area A 0.007367 0.008682 m2
Unit weight γ 78.5 78.5 kN/m3
Material behaviour Type Linear Linear −
Young's modulus E 2.1 · 108 2.1 · 108 kN/m2
Moment of Inertia I3 5.073 · 10−5 1.045 · 10−4 m4
I2 5.073 · 10−5 3.66 · 10−4 m4

Modelling ground anchors

In PLAXIS 3D ground anchors can be modelled using the Node-to-node anchor and the
Embedded pile options as described in the following:
First the ungrouted part of the anchor is created using the Node-to-node anchor
feature. Start creating a node-to-node anchor by selecting the corresponding button
in the options displayed as you click on the Create structure button.
• Click on the command line and type "30 24 -1 21 24 -7 " . Press <Enter> and <Esc>
to create the ungrouted part of the first ground anchor.
• Create a node-to-node anchor between the points (50; 24; -1) and (59; 24; -7).
The grouted part of the anchor is created using the Embedded pile option. Create
embedded piles between (21; 24; -7) and (18; 24; -9) and between (59; 24; -7) and
(62; 24; -9).
Create a data set for the embedded pile and a data set for the node-to-node anchor
according to Table 2.3 and Table 2.4 respectively. Assign the data sets to the
node-to-node anchors and to the embedded piles.
Table 2.3 Material properties for the node-to-node anchors
Parameter Name Node-to-node anchor Unit
Material type Type Elastic −
Axial stiffness EA 6.5·105 kN

Table 2.4 Material properties for the embedded piles (grout body)
Parameter Name Grout Unit
Young's modulus E 3 · 107 kN/m2
Unit weight γ 24 kN/m3
Pile type − Predefined −
Predefined pile type − Massive circular pile −
Diameter Diameter 0.14 m
Skin friction distribution Type Linear −
Skin resistance at the top of the Ttop,max 200 kN/m
embedded pile
Skin resistance at the bottom of the Tbot,max 0.0 kN/m
embedded pile
Base resistance Fmax 0.0 kN

Hint: The colour indicating the material set assigned to the entities in project can
be changed by clicking on the Colour box of the selected material set and
selecting a colour from the Colour part of the window.

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The remaining grouted anchors will be created by copying the defined grouted anchor.
Click on the Select button and click on all the elements composing both of the
ground anchors keeping the <Ctrl> key pressed.
Use the Create array function to copy both ground anchors (2 embedded piles + 2
node-to-node anchors) into a total of 4 complete ground anchors located at y = 24
and y = 28 by selection the 1D, in y direction option in the Shape drop-down menu
and define the Distance between columns as 4 m.
Multiselect all parts of the ground anchors (8 entities in total). While all parts are
selected and the <Ctrl> key is pressed, click the right mouse button and select the
Group from the appearing menu.
In the Model explorer tree, expand the Groups by clicking on the (+) in front of the
groups.
• Click the Group_1 and rename it to "GroundAnchors".

Hint: The name of the entities in the project should not contain any space or
special character except "_" .

To define the sheet pile walls and the corresponding interfaces, follow these steps:
Select all four vertical surfaces created as the volume was decomposed. Keeping
the <Ctrl> key pressed, click the right mouse button and select the Create plate
option from the appearing menu.
Create a data set for the sheet pile walls (plates) according to Table 2.5. Assign the
data sets to the four walls.
• As all the surfaces are selected, assign both positive and negative interfaces to
them using the options in the right mouse button menu.

Hint: The term 'positive' or 'negative' for interfaces has no physical meaning. It
only enables distinguishing between interfaces at each side of a surface.

Table 2.5 Material properties of the sheet pile walls

Parameter Name Sheet pile wall Unit
Thickness d 0.379 m
Weight γ 2.55 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear, non-isotropic −
Young's modulus E1 1.46 · 107 kN/m2
E2 7.3 · 105 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν 0.0 −
Shear modulus G12 7.3 · 105 kN/m2
G13 1.27 · 106 kN/m2
G23 3.82 · 105 kN/m2

Non-isotropic (different stiffnesses in two directions) sheet pile walls are defined. The
local axis should point in the correct direction (which defines which is the 'stiff'or the 'soft'
direction). As the vertical direction is generally the stiffest direction in sheet pile walls,

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local axis 1 shall point in the z−direction.

In the Model explorer tree expand the Surfaces subtree, set the AxisFunction to
Manual and set the Axis1z to −1. Do this for all the pile wall surfaces.
Create a surface load defined by the points: (34; 19; 0), (41; 19; 0), (41; 12; 0), (34;
12; 0). The geometry is now completely defined.

Hint: The first local axis is indicated by a red arrow, the second local axis is
indicated by a green arrow and the third axis is indicated by a blue arrow.
More information related to the local axes of plates is given in the Reference
Manual.

2.2 MESH GENERATION

• Proceed to the Mesh mode.

Create the mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.
View the mesh. Hide the soil in the model to view the embedded piles.

2.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The calculation consists of 6 phases. The initial phase consists of the generation of the
initial stresses using the K0 procedure. The next phase consists of the installation of the
sheet piles and a first excavation. Then the walings and struts will be installed. In phase
3, the ground anchors will be activated and prestressed. Further excavation will be
performed in the phase after that. The last phase will be the application of the additional
load next to the pit.
• Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with 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
are inactive.
Add a new phase (Phase_1). The default values of the parameters will be used for
this calculation phase.
• Deactivate the first excavation volume (from z = 0 to z = −1).
• In the Model explorer, activate all plates and interfaces by clicking on the checkbox
in front of them. The active elements in the project are indicated by a green check
mark in the Model explorer.
Add a new phase (Phase_2). The default values of the parameters will be used for
this calculation phase.
• In the Model explorer activate all the beams.
Add a new phase (Phase_3). The default values of the parameters will be used for

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this calculation phase.

• In the Model explorer activate the GroundAnchors group.
Select one of the node-to-node anchors.
In the Selection explorer expand the node-to node anchor features.
• Click the Adjust prestress and change this into True. Enter a prestress force of 200
kN (Figure 2.3).
• Do the same for all the other node-to-node anchors.

Figure 2.3 Node-to-node anchor in Selection explorer

Add another phase (Phase_4). The default values of the parameters will be used for
this calculation phase.
• Proceed to the Water levels mode.
Select the soil volume to be excavated in this phase (between z = −1 and
z = −6.5).
In the Selection explorer expand the soil entity and subsequently expand the
WaterConditions feature. Click on the Conditions and select Dry from the
drop-down menu.

Figure 2.4 Water conditions in Selection explorer

• Hide the soil around the excavation.

Select the soil volume below the excavation (between z = −6.5 and z = −9.5).
In the Selection explorer expand the soil entity and subsequently expand the
WaterConditions feature.
• Click Conditions and select Head from the drop-down menu. Enter zref = −6.5 m.
Select the soft clay volume below the excavation.
• Set the water conditions to Interpolate.
• Proceed to Staged construction mode.

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• Deactivate the volume to be excavated (between z = −1 and z = −6.5).

Preview this calculation phase.
Click the Vertical cross section button in the Preview window and define the cross
section by drawing a line across the excavation.
• Select the psteady with suction option from the Stresses menu.
Display the contour lines for steady pore pressure distribution. Make sure that the
Legend option is checked in View menu. The steady state pore pressure distribution
is displayed in Figure 2.5. Scroll the wheel button of the mouse to zoom in or out to
get a better view.

Figure 2.5 Preview of the steady state pore pressures in Phase_4 in a cross section

Return to the Input program.

Add another phase (Phase_5). The default values of the parameters will be used for
this calculation phase.
• Activate the surface load and set σz = −20kN/m2 .

Defining points for curves

Before starting the calculation process, some stress points next to the excavation pit and
loading are selected to plot a stress strain curve later on.
Click the Select points for curves button. The model and Select points window will
be displayed in the Output program. (Figure 2.6).
• Define (37.5; 19; -1.5) as Point-of-interest coordinates.
• Click the Search closest. The number of the closest node and stress point will be
displayed.
• Click the checkbox in front of the stress point to be selected. The selected stress
point will be shown in the list.
• Select also stress points near the coordinates (37.5; 19; -5), (37.5; 19; -6) and (37.5;
19; -7) and close the Select points window.
Close the Output program.
Start the calculation process.
Save the project when the calculation is finished.

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Figure 2.6 The Select points window

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 plot curves of structural forces, nodes can only be selected after the
calculation.
» Nodes or stress points can be selected by just clicking them. When moving
the mouse, the exact coordinates of the position are given in the cursor
location indicator bar at the bottom of the window.

2.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS

After the calculations, the results of the excavation can be viewed by selecting a
calculation phase from the Phases tree and pressing the View calculation results button.
Select the final calculation phase (Phase_5) and click the View calculation results
button. The Output program will open and will show the deformed mesh at the end
of the last phase.
• The stresses, deformations and three dimensional geometry can be viewed by
selecting the desired output from the corresponding menus. For example, choose
Plastic points from the Stresses menu to investigate the plastic points in the model.
• In the Plastic points window, Figure 2.7, select all the options except the Elastic
points and the Show only inaccurate points options. Figure 2.8 shows the plastic
points generated in the model at the end of the final calculation phase.
Start selecting structures. Click at a part of the wall to select it. Press <Ctrl + A>
simultaneously on the keyboard to select all wall elements. The selected wall
elements will colour red.
• While holding the <Ctrl> key or <Shift> key on the keyboard, double click at one of

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Figure 2.7 Plastic points window

Figure 2.8 Plastic points at the end of the final phase

the wall elements to see the deformations plane of the total displacements |u| in all
wall elements.
To generate a curve, select the Curves manager option from the Tools menu or click
the corresponding button in the toolbar.
• All pre-selected stress points are shown in the Curve points tabsheet of the Curves
manager window.
• Create a new chart.
• Select point K from the drop-down menu for x−axis of the graph. Select 1 under
Total strains.
• Select point K from the drop-down menu for y−axis of the graph. Select σ '1 under
Principal effective stresses (Figure 2.9).
• Invert the sign of both axis by checking the corresponding boxes.
• Click OK to confirm the input.
The graph will now show the major principal strain against the major principal stress.
Both values are zero at the beginning of the initial conditions. After generation of the
initial conditions, the principal strain is still zero whereas the principal stress is not zero
anymore. To plot the curves of all selected stress points in one graph, follow these steps:
• Select Add curve → From current project from right mouse button menu.

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Figure 2.9 Curve generation window

• Generate curves for point L, M and N in the same way.

The graph will now show the stress-strain curves of all four stress points (Figure 2.10). To
see information about the markers, make sure the Value indication option is selected
from the View menu and hold the mouse on a marker for a while. Information about the
coordinates in the graph, the number of the point in the graph, the number of the phase
and the number of the step is given. Especially the lower stress points show a
considerable increase in the stress when the load is applied in the last phase.

Figure 2.10 Stress - Strain curve

To create a stress path plot for stress point K follow these steps:
• Create a new chart.
• In the Curves generation window, select point K from the drop-down menu of the
x−axis of the graph and σ 'yy under Cartesian effective stresses.
• Select point K from the drop-down menu of the y −axis of the graph. Select σ 'zz

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Hint: To re-enter the Curve generation window (in the case of a mistake, a desired
regeneration or a modification), the Curve settings option from the Format
menu can be selected. As a result the Curves settings window appears, on
which the Regenerate button should be clicked.
» The Chart settings option in the Format menu may be used to modify the
settings of the chart.

under Cartesian effective stresses.

• Click OK to confirm the input (Figure 2.11).

Figure 2.11 Vertical effective stress (σ 'zz ) versus horizontal effective stress (σ 'yy ) at stress point K
located near (37.5; 19; -1.5)

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3 LOADING OF A SUCTION PILE

In this tutorial a suction pile in an off-shore foundation will be considered. A suction pile is
a hollow steel pile with a large diameter and a closed top, which is installed in the seabed
by pumping water from the inside. The resulting pressure difference between the outside
and the inside is the driving force behind this installation.
In this exercise, the length of the suction pile is 10 m and the diameter is 4.5 m. An
anchor line is attached on the side of the pile, 7 m from the top. To avoid local failure of
the pile, the thickness of the tube where the anchor line acts on the pile is increased. The
soil consists of silty sand. To model undrained behaviour, an undrained stress analysis
with undrained strength parameters will be performed (Section 6.2 of the Reference
Manual). This exercise will investigate the displacement of the suction pile under working
load. Four different angles of the working load will be considered. The installation
process itself will not be modelled. The geometry for the problem is sketched in Figure
3.1.
Objectives:
• Importing volumes
• Undrained effective stress analysis with undrained strength parameters
• Soil cohesion increases with depth
• Copying material data sets
• Changing settings in Output
• Selecting a node after calculation to generate a curve with structural forces

z = -6.5 m α
z = -7.0 m
z = -7.5 m

z = -10 m
4.5 m

Figure 3.1 Geometry of the suction pile

3.1 GEOMETRY

An area of 60 m wide and 60 m long surrounding the suction pile will be modelled. With
these dimensions the model is sufficiently large to avoid any influence from the model
boundaries.

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Project properties
To define the geometry for this exercise, follow these steps:
• Start the Input program and select New project from the Create/Open project dialog
box.
• Enter an appropriate title for the exercise.
• Keep the standard units and set the model dimensions to xmin = −30 m, xmax = 30
m, ymin = −30 m, ymax = 30 m.
• Click OK.

3.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

In the current example only one horizontal soil layer is present. A single borehole is
sufficient to define it.
Add a borehole to the geometry.
• In the Modify soil layers window add a soil layer with top boundary at z = 0 m and
bottom boundary at z = −30 m.
• The Head value is 50.0 m, which means 50 m depth above the soil.
Open the Material sets window and create the data sets given in Table 3.1. In the
Parameters tabsheet deselect the Tension cut-off option in the advanced
parameters for strength. In this exercise, the permeability of the soil will not
influence the results. Instead of using effective strength properties, the cohesion
parameter will be used in this example to model undrained shear strength.
Advanced parameters can be entered after expanding the Advanced data tree in the
Parameters tabsheet.

Hint: The Interface data set can be quickly created by copying the 'Sand' data set
and changing the Rinter value.

• Assign the 'Sand' material data set to the soil layer and close the Material sets
window.

3.1.2 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The suction pile is modelled in the Structures mode using predefined volumes. To model
a suction pile:
Import the standard cylinder. The standard cylinder is saved in the
<example_cylinder_vertical_D1h1_centered.3ds> file in the Importables folder of the
installation directory of PLAXIS 3D. The imported volume is edited in the Import
structure volumes window. Import solid is a PLAXIS VIP feature.
• Modify the scale such that the diameter is 4.5 m and the height is 10 m.
• Define the coordinates of the insertion point such that the top of the anchor is at the
sea bottom level (z = 0) and the bottom of the anchor is at z = −10 (Figure 3.2).

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Table 3.1 Material properties of the sand layer and its interface
Parameter Name Sand Interface Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb −
Type of material behaviour Type Undrained B Undrained B −
Soil weight γunsat , γsat 20 20 kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus E' 1000 1000 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.35 0.35 −
Shear strength su,ref 0.1 0.1 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕu 0.0 0.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0 0.0
Increase in stiffness E 'inc 1000 1000 kN/m2 /m
Reference level zref 0.0 0.0 m
Increase in cohesion su,inc 4.0 4.0 kN/m2 /m
Reference level zref 0.0 0.0 m
Interfaces
Interface strength − Manual Rigid −
Interface strength reduction Rinter 0.7 1.0 −
Initial
K0 determination − Manual Manual −
Lateral earth pressure coeff. K0,x , K0,y 0.5 0.5 −

Figure 3.2 Import structure volumes window

Hint: As an alternative for the import of a cylinder, the corresponding cylinder

command can be used to create the suction pile. Information about the
commands available in the program is displayed when the Command
reference option is selected in the Help menu.

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• Decompose the imported volume into surfaces by right-clicking it and selecting the
Decompose into surfaces option from the appearing menu.
• Make the cylinder mantle into a plate, positive interface and negative interface by
right clicking on it and selecting the corresponding options from the appearing menu.
Open the material data base. Select Plates as set type. Create three data sets
according to the information in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Material properties for the suction pile
Parameter Name Thin wall Thick wall Top Unit
Thickness d 0.05 0.15 0.05 m
Weight γ 58.5 58.5 68.5 kN/m3
Type of Type Linear, isotropic Linear, isotropic Linear, isotropic −
behaviour
Young's E 2.1 · 108 2.1 · 108 2.1 · 108 kN/m2
modulus
Poisson's ν 0.1 0.1 0.1 −
ratio
Shear G 9.545 · 107 9.545 · 107 9.545 · 107 kN/m2
modulus

• Assign Thin wall to the anchor tube and close the Material data set window.
• Hide the anchor tube and the original volume object using the Hide option in the
right mouse button menu. Note that the top and the bottom surfaces are visible.
Select the top surface and click on the Create array button in the side tool bar.
Select the 1D, in z direction option for Shape. Keep the number of columns as 2 and
define z as −6.5 for the Distance between columns.
• Repeat the previous step to create surfaces at z = −7.0 and z = −7.5.
• Make the top surface into a plate. Assign Top material data set to it.
• Make the bottom surface (z= -10 m) into a positive interface. Assign the 'Interface'
data set to the bottom interface.
• Right click on the surface located at z = −7.0 m and select the Decompose into
outlines option from the appearing menu.
• Right click on the point near (2.25; 0.0; -7.0) and select the Create point load option
from the appearing menu. The actual load values will be assigned when the
calculation phases are defined.
The geometry of the project is defined.

3.2 MESH GENERATION

In order to generate the mesh:

• The mesh is automatically refined near the plates and load. Select the point load by
clicking on it in the model. In the Selection explorer note that the FinenessFactor
value is 0.5 and it is displayed in a lighter shade of green in the model.
Generate the mesh. Set the element distribution to Coarse.
• Proceed to the Staged construction mode.

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3.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The calculation for this exercise will consist of 6 phases. These are the determination of
initial conditions, the installation of the suction pile and four different load conditions. The
effect of the change of the load direction while keeping the magnitude unchanged will be
analysed.
• Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of the calculation
phases. Keep the calculation type of the Initial phase to K0 procedure. Ensure that
all the structures and interfaces are switched off.
Add a new calculation phase (Phase_1).
• Activate all the plates and interfaces in the project. Assign the Thick wall material to
the plate sections just above and just below the point load. It may be necessary to
hide (NOT deactivate) the positive interface around the anchor. Load is not active.
Add a new phase (Phase_2). Open the Phases window and check the Reset
displacements to zero checkbox in the Deformation control parameters sub-tree.
• Activate the point load and set Fx = 3897 kN, Fz = 2250 kN.
• Define the remaining phases according to the information in Table 3.3. For each
phase check whether the Reset displacements to zero option is to be selected.
• Calculate and save the project.
Table 3.3 Load information
Phase Reference phase Fx Fz
Phase_2 Phase_1 3897 kN 2250 kN
Phase_3 Phase_1 3447 kN 2893 kN
Phase_4 Phase_1 2893 kN 3447 kN
Phase_5 Phase_1 2250 kN 3897 kN

The order of the phases is indicated in the Phases explorer (Figure 3.3). Calculation of
Phase_1 starts after the calculation of Initial phase is completed. The calculation of the
remaining phases starts after calculation of Initial phase is completed. In multiple core
processors more than one of these phases (Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5) can be calculated
simultaneously.

Figure 3.3 Phases explorer

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3.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS

To view the results:

• View the results of the last calculation phase. The deformed mesh of the whole
geometry will be shown. In particular, the displacements of the suction pile itself are
of interest.
• To make the suction pile visible deselect the Soil and Interfaces option in the Model
explorer.
Click on the Select structures button and select the pile wall. This will select only a
part of the wall. Press <Ctrl + A> to select all the wall elements of the suction pile.
• Keeping the <Ctrl> key pressed, double click the pile walls. The results for the wall
of the suction pile are displayed in a new window.
Select the shadings representation and rotate the model such that the x−axis is
perpendicular to the screen.
• If the axes are not visible, select this option from the View menu. It is quite clear that
the point force acting on the pile does not disturb the displacement field locally
indicating that the pile is sufficiently thick here.
• In the same manner, the total displacements of the suction pile under a different
direction of the load can be inspected by selecting the appropriate phase from the
drop-down menu. In particular, <Phase_2> is of interest, as in this phase the
horizontal part of the load will have the largest value (Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4 Total displacement of the suction pile at the end of Phase_2

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4 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 two new calculation options are
introduced, namely a consolidation analysis and the calculation of a safety factor by
means of a safety analysis (phi/c-reduction). It also involves the modelling of drains to
speed up the consolidation process.

12 m 16 m 12 m

road embankment 4m
peat 3m
clay 3m
dense sand

Figure 4.1 Situation of a road embankment on soft soil

Objectives:
• Modelling drains
• Consolidation analysis
• Change of permeability during consolidation
• Safety analysis (phi-c reduction)

4.1 GEOMETRY

Figure 4.1 shows a cross section of a road embankment. The embankment is 16 m wide.
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). A representative section of 2 m is
considered in the project. The embankment itself is composed of loose sandy soil. The
subsoil consists of 6 m of soft soil. The upper 3 m of this soft soil layer is modelled as a
peat layer and the lower 3 m as 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 m are
considered in the model.
• 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.
• Keep the default units and set the model dimensions to xmin = 0, xmax = 60, ymin = 0
and ymax = 2.

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4.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

The soil layers comprising the embankment foundation are defined using a borehole. The
embankment layers are defined in the Structures mode.
Create a borehole at (0; 0). The Modify soil layers window pops up.
• Define three soil layers as shown in Figure 4.2.
• The water level is located at z = -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 structural elements.

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 due to
compression of the soil. This option is recommended when using advanced
models.

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Table 4.1 Material properties of the road embankment and subsoil

Parameter Name Embankment Sand Peat Clay Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening soil Hardening soil Soft soil Soft soil -
Drainage type Type Drained Drained Undr. (A) Undr. (A) -
Soil unit weight above γunsat 16 17 8 15 kN/m3
phreatic level
Soil unit weight below γsat 19 20 12 18 kN/m3
phreatic level
Initial void ratio einit 0.5 0.5 2.0 1.0 -
Parameters
Secant stiffness in ref
E50 2.5· 104 3.5· 104 - - kN/m2
standard drained
triaxial test
Tangent stiffness for ref
Eoed 2.5· 104 3.5· 104 - - kN/m2
primary oedometer
loading
Unloading / reloading ref
Eur 7.5· 104 1.05· 105 - - kN/m2
stiffness
Power for stress-level m 0.5 0.5 - - -
dependency of stiffness
Modified compression λ∗ - - 0.15 0.05 -
index
Modified swelling index κ∗ - - 0.03 0.01 -
Cohesion cref ' 1.0 0.0 2.0 1.0 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 30.0 33.0 23.0 25.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.0
Advanced: Set to - Yes Yes Yes Yes -
default
Flow parameters
Data set - USDA USDA USDA USDA -
Model - Van Van Van Van -
Genuchten Genuchten Genuchten Genuchten
Soil type - Loamy sand Sand Clay Clay -
< 2µm - 6.0 4.0 70.0 70.0 %
2µm − 50µm - 11.0 4.0 13.0 13.0 %
50µm − 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
(x-direction)
Horizontal permeability ky 3.499 7.128 0.1 0.04752 m/day
(y-direction)
Vertical permeability kz 3.499 7.128 0.02 0.04752 m/day
Change in permeability ck 1· 1015 1· 1015 1.0 0.2 -
Interfaces
Interface strength − Rigid Rigid Rigid Rigid -
Strength reduction Rinter 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 -
factor
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic -
Over-consolidation ratio OCR 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 -
Pre-overburden ratio POP 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 -

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4.1.2 DEFINITION OF EMBANKMENT AND DRAINS

The embankment and the drains are defined in the Structures mode. To define the
embankment layers:
Reorientate the model such that the front view is displayed by clicking the
corresponding button in the toolbar.
Create a surface by defining points at (0; 0; 0), (0; 0; 4), (8; 0; 4) and (20; 0; 0).
Create a line passing through (0; 0; 2) and (14; 0; 2) to define the embankment
layers.
Select both the created line and surface by keeping the <Ctrl> key pressed while
clicking them in the model.
Click the Extrude object button.
• Assign a value of 2 to the y-component of the extrusion vector as shown in Figure
4.3 and click Apply.

Figure 4.3 Extrusion window

• Delete the surface and the line created before the extrusion.
• Right click the volume created by extrusion and point to the Soil_4 option in the
appearing menu.
• A new menu is displayed. Point to the Set material option and select Embankment.
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.
Drains are arranged in a square pattern, having a distance of 2 m between two
consecutive drains in a row (or column). Only one row of drains will be considered in this
tutorial. To create the drain pattern:
Click the Create hydraulic conditions button in the side toolbar.
Click the Create line drain button in the appearing menu. Define a line drain in the
model between points (1; 1; 0) and (1; 1; -6).
Click the Create array button to define the drain pattern.
• In the Create array window select the 1D, in x direction in the Shape drop-down
menu and specify the pattern as shown in Figure 4.4.

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Figure 4.4 Settings of the drain pattern

The model geometry is shown in Figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5 Model geometry

4.2 MESH GENERATION

• Proceed to the Mesh mode.

Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Coarse.
View the generated mesh. The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 4.6.

Figure 4.6 The generated mesh

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4.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The embankment construction process will be considered twice. In the first calculation
the drains will not be considered.

Initial phase
In the initial situation the embankment is not present. Therefore, the corresponding soil
volumes are deactivated in the initial phase. The K0 procedure can be used to calculate
the initial stresses. The initial water pressures are fully hydrostatic and based on a
general phreatic level defined by the Head value assigned to the boreholes. For the Initial
phase, the Phreatic option is selected for the pore pressure calculation type and the
Global water level is set to GeneratedWaterLevel_1 corresponding to the water level
defined by the heads specified for the boreholes.

4.3.1 CONSOLIDATION ANALYSIS

The definition of additional boundary conditions is required in a Consolidation analysis. In
the current situation the left vertical boundary (Xmin) must be closed because of
symmetry, so horizontal flow should not occur. The right vertical boundary (Xmax) should
also be closed because there is no free outflow at that boundary. The bottom is open
because the excess pore pressures can freely flow into the deep and permeable sand
layer. The upper boundary is obviously open as well. The view of the Flow boundary
conditions explorer after the definition is given in Figure 4.7.

Figure 4.7 Boundary conditions for groundwater flow

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 for the Loading type parameter:
1. Consolidate for a predefined period, including the effects of changes to the active
geometry (Staged construction).
2. Consolidate until all excess pore pressures in the geometry have reduced to a
predefined minimum value (Minimum pore pressure).
3. Consolidate until the soil has reached a specified degree of consolidation (Degree of
consolidation).

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Consolidation process - No drains

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.
To define the calculation phases, follow these steps:
Phase 1:
Click the Add phase button to introduce the first construction phase.
In the General sub-tree select the Consolidation option in the Calculation type
drop-down menu.
The Loading type is by default set to Staged construction. This option will be used
for this phase.
The Phreatic option is automatically selected for the pore pressure calculation type
and the Global water level is set to GeneratedWaterLevel_1 corresponding to the
water level defined by the heads specified for the boreholes options for Loading
type, Pore pressure calculation type and Global water level are used for this phase.
• Specify a value of 2 days to the Time interval and click OK to close the Phases
window.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the first part of the embankment.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
Phase 2: The second phase is also a Consolidation analysis. In this phase no changes
to the geometry are made as only a consolidation analysis to ultimate time is required.
Define the calculation type as Consolidation.
• Specify a value of 30 days to the Time interval. The default values of the other
parameters are used for this phase.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
Phase 3:
Define the calculation type as Consolidation.
• Specify a value of 1 day to the Time interval. The default values of the other
parameters are used.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the second part of the embankment.
Click the Add phase button to introduce the next calculation phase.
Phase 4: The fourth phase is a Consolidation analysis to a minimum pore pressure.
Define the calculation type as Consolidation.
Select the Minimum pore pressure option in the Loading type drop-down menu. The
default value for the the minimum pressure (|P-stop| = 1.0 kN/m2 ) as well as the
default values for other parameters are used.
The definition of the calculation phases is complete.

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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.
Start the calculation.
During a consolidation analysis the development of time can be viewed in the upper part
of the calculation info window (Figure 4.8). In addition to the multipliers, a parameter
Pmax occurs, which indicates the current maximum excess pore pressure. This
parameter is of interest in the case of a Minimum pore pressure consolidation analysis,
where all pore pressures are specified to reduce below a predefined value.

Figure 4.8 Calculation progress displayed in the Active tasks window

4.4 VIEWING THE 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 4.9). Considering
the results of the third phase, the deformed mesh shows the uplift of the embankment toe
and hinterland due to the undrained behaviour.
• 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 4.10).

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Figure 4.9 Deformed mesh after undrained construction of embankment (Phase 3, true scale)

Figure 4.10 Displacement increments after undrained construction of embankment

• 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.
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
4.11. It is clear that the highest excess pore pressure occurs under the embankment
centre.

Figure 4.11 Excess pore pressures after undrained construction of embankment

• Select Phase 4 in the drop down menu.

Define a vertical cross section passing through (0; 1) and (60; 1).

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Click the Contour lines button in the toolbar to display the results as contours.
• In the View menu select the Viewpoint option. The corresponding window pops up.
• In the Viewpoint window select the Front view option as shown in Figure 4.12.

Figure 4.12 Viewpoint window

Use the Draw scanline button or the corresponding option in the View menu to
define the position of the contour line labels.

Figure 4.13 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 4.13 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:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar. The corresponding window pops up.
• In the Charts tabsheet click New. The Curve generation window pops up
• 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.
• Click the Ok to generate the curve.
Click the Settings button in the toolbar. The Settings window will appear displaying
the tabsheet of the created curve.

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• Click the Phases button and select the phases 1 to 4 in the appearing window.
• Rename the curve by typing 'Phases 1 - 4' in the Curve title cell.
• Click Apply to update the plot.
Save the chart.

Hint: To display the legend inside the chart area right click on the name of the
chart, point to the View option and select the Legend in chart option in the
appearing menu.

Figure 4.14 Development of excess pore pressure under the embankment

Figure 4.14 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.

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
centrifuge test). A more appropriate definition of the factor of safety is therefore:

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Smaximum available
Safety factor = (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 − σn tan ϕ
Safety factor = (4.2)
cr − σn tan ϕr
Where c and ϕ are the input strength parameters and σn is the actual normal stress
component. The parameters cr and ϕr are reduced strength parameters that are just
large enough to maintain equilibrium. The principle described above is the basis of a
Safety analysis 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 ϕ
= = ΣMsf (4.3)
cr tan ϕr
The reduction of strength parameters is controlled by the total multiplier ΣMsf . This
parameter is increased in a step-by-step procedure until failure occurs. The safety factor
is then defined as the value of ΣMsf 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
Phases window.
To calculate the global safety factor for the road embankment at different stages of
construction, follow these steps:
• We first want to calculate the safety factor after the first construction stage. In the
Calculations program introduce a new calculation phase (Phase_5) and select
Phase 1 in the Start from phase drop-down menu.
In the General subtree, select Safety as calculation type.
The Loading type is automatically changed to Incremental multipliers. This is the
only option available for the Safety calculation type.
• The first increment of the multiplier that controls the strength reduction process, Msf,
is set automatically to 0.1. This value will be used in this tutorial.
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
sub-tree. The default values of all the remaining parameters will be used. The first
safety calculation has now been defined.
• Follow the same steps to create new calculation phases that analyse the stability at
the end of each consolidation phase. In addition to selecting Safety as calculation
type, select the corresponding consolidation phase as the Start from phase
parameter. The Phases explorer displaying the Safety calculation phases is shown
in Figure 4.15.

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Hint: The default value of Additional steps in a Safety calculation is 100. In

contrast to an Staged construction calculation, the number of additional 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 additional steps can be
increased to a maximum of 10000.
» 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, ΣMsf , is automatically controlled by the
load advancement procedure.

Figure 4.15 Phases explorer displaying the Safety calculation phases

The calculation process is now completely defined. Select the node nearest to the toe of
the embankment (20; 2; 0) the results at which will be used to evaluate the safety factor.
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.

4.5.1 EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS - SAFETY

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 the last Safety phase 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 4.16). The magnitude of the
displacement increments is not relevant.
The safety factor can be obtained from the Calculation info option of the Project menu.

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Figure 4.16 Shadings of the total displacement increments indicating the most applicable failure
mechanism of the embankment in the final stage

The value of ΣMsf 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
parameter ΣMsf 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 → ΣMsf . The Safety
phases are considered in the chart. As a result, the curve of Figure 4.17 appears.
The maximum displacements plotted are not relevant. It can be seen that for all curves a
more or less constant value of ΣMsf is obtained. Hovering the mouse cursor over a point
on the curves, a box showing the exact value of ΣMsf can be obtained.

Figure 4.17 Evaluation of safety factor

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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
differences in the new phases are:
• The drains should be active in all the new phases.
• The Time interval in the first three of the consolidation phases (1 to 3) is 1 day. The
last phase is set to Minimum pore pressure and a value of 1.0 kN/m2 is assigned to
the minimum pressure (|P-stop|).
After the calculation is finished, 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.
Click the Settings button in the toolbar. 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.
• Click OK to accept the selected options and close the Curve generation window.
• 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 click Apply to preview the generated curve.
• Click OK to close the Settings window. The chart (Figure 4.18) gives a clear view of
the effect of drains in the time required for the excess pore pressures to dissipate.

Hint: Instead of adding a new curve, the existing curve can be regenerated using
the corresponding button in the Curves settings window.

The plot gives a clear view of the effect of drains in the time required for the excess pore
pressures to dissipate.

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Figure 4.18 Effect of drains

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5 PHASED EXCAVATION OF A SHIELD TUNNEL

The lining of a shield tunnel is often constructed using prefabricated concrete ring
segments, which are bolted together within the tunnel boring machine to form the tunnel
lining. During the erection of the tunnel lining the tunnel boring machine (TBM) remains
stationary. Once a tunnel lining ring has been fully erected, excavation is resumed, until
enough soil has been excavated to erect the next lining ring. As a result, the construction
process can be divided in construction stages with a length of a tunnel ring, often about
1.5 m long. In each of these stages the same steps are repeated over and over again.
In order to model this, a geometry consisting of slices each 1.5 m long can be used. The
calculation consists of a number of Plastic phases, each of which models the same parts
of the excavation process: the support pressure at the tunnel face needed to prevent
active failure at the face, the conical shape of the TBM shield, the excavation of the soil
and pore water within the TBM, the installation of the tunnel lining and the grouting of the
gap between the soil and the newly installed lining. In each phase the input for the
calculation phase is identical, except for its location, which will be shifted by 1.5 m each
phase.

contraction of shield

final lining grout TBM

pressure

C = 0.5% Cref = 0.5%

Cinc,axial = −0.0667%

Figure 5.1 Construction stages of a shield tunnel model

5.1 GEOMETRY

In the model, only one symmetric half is included. The model is 20 m wide, it extends 80
m in the y direction and it is 20 m deep. These dimensions are sufficient to allow for any
possible collapse mechanism to develop and to avoid any influence from the model
boundaries.
When starting PLAXIS 3D set the proper model dimensions in the Project properties
window, that is xmin = -20, xmax = 0, ymin = 0 and ymax = 80.

5.1.1 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

The subsoil consists of three layers. The soft upper sand layer is 2 m deep and extends
from the ground surface to Mean Sea Level (MSL). Below the upper sand layer there is a
clay layer of 12 m thickness and this layer is underlain by a stiff sand layer that extends to
a large depth. Only 6 m of the stiff sand layer is included in the model. Hence, the bottom
of the model is 18 m below MSL. Soil layer is assumed to be horizontal throughout the

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model and so just one borehole is sufficient to describe the soil layers. The present
groundwater head corresponds to the MSL.
Press the Create borehole button and click at the origin of the system of axis to
create a borehole at (0; 0; 0). The Modify soil layers window will open.
• Define 3 layers: Upper sand with the top at 2 m and the bottom at 0 m, Clay with the
bottom at -12 m and Stiff sand with the bottom at -18 m.
Open the materials database by clicking the Materials button and create the data
sets for the soil layers and the final concrete lining in the tunnel as specified in Table
5.1.
• Assign the material data sets to the corresponding soil layers (Figure 5.2) and close
the Modify soil layers window. The concrete data set will be assigned later.
Table 5.1 Material properties for the soil layers
Parameter Name Upper sand Clay Stiff sand Concrete Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Linear elastic −
Drainage type Type Drained Drained Drained Non porous −
Unit weight above γunsat 17.0 16.0 17.0 27.0 kN/m3
phreatic level
Unit weight below γsat 20.0 18.0 20.0 − kN/m3
phreatic level
Parameters
Young'modulus E' 1.3 · 104 1.0 · 104 7.5 · 104 3.1 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 0.35 0.3 0.1 −
Cohesion c 'ref 1.0 5.0 1.0 − kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 31 25 31 −
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0 0 0 −
Interfaces
Interface strength − Rigid Rigid Rigid Rigid −
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic −

5.1.2 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The tunnel excavation is carried out by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) which is 9.0 m
long and 8.5 m in diameter.

Create tunnel surfaces

In Structures mode both the geometry of the tunnel and the TBM will be defined. This is
done by creating a polycurve contouring the outside of the tunnel at the inlet of the tunnel:
Click the Create polycurve button in the side toolbar.
• Click anywhere on the draw area to define the insertion point. The Shape designer
window pops up.
• In the General tabsheet the default option for shape, (Free) is valid for this
polycurve.
• Note that the coordinates of the insertion point can be defined in the General
tabsheet as well. Change the coordinates to (0; 0; -4.75).

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Figure 5.2 Soil layer distribution

• The polycurve is drawn in the xz-plane. Select the Z-axis option in the drop-down
menu for the Orientation axis 2 (Section 5.2.3 of Reference Manual). A screenshot
of the General tabsheet after the proper assignment is given in Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3 General tabsheet of the Shape designer

• Proceed to the Segments tabsheet.

• Click Add to introduce a new segment.
• Change the segment type by selecting the Arc option in the Segment type
drop-down menu.

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• Assign a value of 180◦ to the Relative start angle.

• Assign a value of 4.25 m to the Radius.
• Define a Segment angle of 180◦ .
• The Discretisation angle is by default set to 5◦ . This value will be used in this
tutorial. A screenshot of the Sections tabsheet after the proper assignment is given
in Figure 5.4.

Hint: An arc is discretized into line segments (cords). The angle subtended by
each cord along the discretized arc is called the Discretization angle.

• Click OK to complete the definition of the polycurve and close the Shape designer
window.

Figure 5.4 Sections tabsheet of the Shape designer

Hint: The coordinates of the insertion point of a polycurve and the orientation axes
defining the polycurve plane can be modified in the Selection explorer.

The next step is to create the contour representing the inner diameter of the final lining.
Taking into account the thickness of the final lining of 0.25 m, the insertion point will be at
z = -5 and the radius of the arc will be 4 m. To create the corresponding polycurve:
Click the Create polycurve button in the side toolbar.
• Click at (0; 0; -5) on the draw area to define the insertion point.
• In the General tabsheet the default option for shape is valid for this polycurve.

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• The polycurve is drawn in the xz-plane. Select the Z-axis option for the Orientation
axis 2.
• Proceed to the Segments tabsheet and add a new Arc section.
• Assign a value of 180◦ to the Relative start angle.
• Assign a value of 4 m to the Radius.
• Define a Segment angle of 180◦ .
• The Discretisation angle is by default set to 5◦ . This value will be used in this tutorial.
• Click OK to complete the definition of the polycurve and close the Shape designer
window. Figure 5.5 displays the defined polycurves in the model.

Figure 5.5 Polycurves in the model (front view)

To create the left half of the tunnel:

Multiple select the polycurves and click the Extrude object button in the side toolbar.
Assign a value of 41.5 to the y-direction. To have a preview of the extrusion click on
one of the input cells in the Extrude window (Figure 5.6). Click Apply to finish the
extrusion.
To create the tunnel volume the final intersection plane needs to be defined.
• Right click the inner polycurve and select the Create surface option from the
appearing menu.
• In the same way create a surface for the outer polycurve.
Reorientate the model by clicking the Front view button.
Click the Select rectangle button in the side toolbar.

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Figure 5.6 Preview of the extrusion

Select the Select surfaces option in the appearing menu. Select the surfaces
created from the polycurves (Figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7 Selection of the surfaces in the model

• Right click and select the Intersect option from the appearing menu. The created
surfaces will be referred to as A (inner surface) and B (outer surface), as shown in
Figure 5.8. Note that the outer surface B corresponds to the lining and the inner
surface A to the interior of the tunnel.
• Multiple select the surfaces created after the intersection.
Click the Create array button. In the Array window set the Shape to 1D, y-direction.
Keep the default number of columns (2) and set the Distance between the columns
option to y = 41.5.

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B A

Figure 5.8 Inner and outer surfaces

• Delete the initial surfaces at y = 0.

Creating excavation levels for the TBM advancement

Different levels of excavation are considered in order to model the advancement of the
TBM. In the calculation 5 phases will be simulated, these being the initial position of the
TBM and a forward movement of 4 x 1.5 meters. Therefore vertical planes representing
the initial position of the TBM and final tunnel lining as well as the front and back of the
TBM and final tunnel lining in the 4 phases where the TBM moves forward should be
defined. This gives a total of 12 planes varying from y = 25 to y = 41.5 with an
intermediate distance of 1.5 m.
• Multiple select the surfaces (A and B) at y = 41.5.
Click the Create array button. In the Array window set the Shape to 1D, y-direction.
Set the number of columns to 12 and the distance between the columns to y = -1.5.

Creating tunnel face pressures

The tunnel face pressure is a bentonite pressure that increases linearly with depth. For
the initial position of the TBM and the successive 4 positions when simulating the
advancement of the TBM a tunnel face pressure (bore front pressure) has to be defined.
• From the 12 surfaces inside the tunnel that were created before, select both the
parts A and B of the surfaces located at y = 35.5 to y = 41.5 (a total of 10) (Figure
5.9).
• Right-click on one of the selected surfaces and select the Create surface load
option from the appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of the SurfaceLoad to extend
the tree.
• Tunnel face pressure is a bentonite pressure that increases linearly with depth. Set
the Distribution of the load to Perpendicular, vertical increment. Assign a value of 90
kN/m2 σn,ref and 14 kN/m2 /m to σn,inc . Assign (0; 0; -4.75) to the coordinates of the
reference point of the load. Note that only the z-coordinate of the reference point is
of importance.

Creating jack forces

In order to move forward during the boring process, the TBM has to push himself against
the existing tunnel lining. This is done by hydraulic jacks. The force applied by the jacks

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Figure 5.9 Tunnel face pressures in the model

on the final tunnel lining has to be taken into account.

• Select all B parts (Figure 5.8) of the 5 rear most tunnel planes, located at y = 25 to y
= 31 as shown in Figure 5.10.
• Right-click on one of the selected surfaces and select the Create surface load
option in the appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of the SurfaceLoad to extend
the tree.
• Jack forces are a constant load, therefore set the Distribution to Perpendicular and
assign in a load of σn = −635.4 kN/m2 . Note that this load is negative as it is
directed backwards, in the opposite direction of the face pressure.

Figure 5.10 Selected surfaces for jack forces in the model

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Defining the TBM, contraction and grout pressure

After defining the geometry of the tunnel and the TBM, the plate element for the TBM
needs to be defined. To define the TBM:
• Right-click on the outer circular surface and select the Create plate option from the
appearing menu to assign a plate element to the surface representing the TBM.
Create a plate material dataset for the TBM according to the Table 5.2 and assign it
to the created plate. Note that only a total length of 9.0 m of plates will be active in
each phase to represent the TBM.
Table 5.2 Material properties of the plate representing the TBM
Parameter Name TBM Unit
Thickness d 0.35 m
Material weight γ 120 kN/m3
Material behaviour - Linear; Isotropic -
Young’s modulus E1 23.0·106 kN/m2
Poisson’s ratio ν12 0 -
Shear modulus G12 11.5·106 kN/m2

To define the contraction:

• Right-click the same surface and select the Create surface contraction option from
the appearing menu. The distribution type and value of the contraction will be
specified when the phases are defined.
The surface load representing the grout pressure will be constant during the building
process and therefore it is possible to define it in the Structures mode so that it is not
needed to change it when the construction phases are defined. In the specifications of
the tunnel boring process it is given that the grout pressure should be 100 kN/m2 at the
top of the tunnel (z = -4.75) and should increase with 20 kN/m2 /m depth. To define the
grout pressure:
• Similarly, right-click the same surface again and select the Create surface load to
add the surface load that will be used as grout pressure.
In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of the SurfaceLoad to extend
the tree.
• Select the Perpendicular, vertical increment option in the Distribution drop-down
menu.
• Set the σn,ref to 100 and σn,inc to 20.

Hint: When a perpendicular load is applied, the sign of the load depends on the
local perpendicular axis of the surface. A negative sign of the load indicates
a load applied in the direction opposite to the local perpendicular axis.

• Define (0; 0; -4.75) as reference point for the load by assigning the values to xref ,
yref and zref in the Selection explorer.
Finally, a soil-structure interaction has to be added on the outside of the tunnel.
• Right-click the outer circular surface once more and select the Create positive

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interface option from the appearing menu to add the interface.

Figure 5.11 TBM, contraction and grout pressure in the model

Hint: For drawing purposes it may be practical to hide the interface and the volume
representing the lining, so that it will not block the view on the tunnel. This
can be done in the Model explorer by clicking on the small "eye" in front of
the selection (interface of volume) to toggle between showing and hiding it.

This concludes the model creation in Structures mode.

5.2 MESH GENERATION

In the Mesh mode it is possible to specify global and local refinements and generate the
mesh. In order to generate more accurate results a refinement of the mesh around the
walls and floor should be applied. When entering the mesh mode the total geometry is
shown as dark grey.
Click the Generate mesh button in order to generate the mesh. The Mesh options
window appears.
• The default option (Medium) will be used to generate the mesh.
Click the View mesh button to inspect the generated mesh (Figure 5.12).
After inspecting the mesh the output window can be closed. Mesh generation has now
been finished and so creating all necessary input for defining the calculation phases has
been finished.

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Figure 5.12 The generated mesh

5.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The excavation of the soil and the construction of the tunnel lining will be modelled in the
Staged construction mode. Since water levels will remain constant the Water levels mode
can be skipped. It should be noted that due to the mesh generation the tunnel effectively
has been split in an upper part, located in the clay, and a lower part located in the stiff
sand. As a result, both the lower and the upper part of the tunnel should be considered.
The soil in front of the TBM will be excavated, a support pressure will be applied at the
tunnel face, the TBM shield will be activated and the conicity of the shield will be
modelled, at the back of the TBM the pressure due to the back fill grouting will be
modelled as well as the force the hydraulic jacks driving the TBM exert on the already
installed lining, and a new lining ring will be installed. The first phase differs from the
following phases, as in this phase the tunnel is activated for the first time. This phase will
model a tunnel that has already advanced 25 m into the soil. Subsequent phases will
model an advancement by 1.5 m each.

5.3.1 INITIAL PHASE

The initial phase consists of the generation of the initial stresses using the K0 procedure.
The default settings for the initial phase are valid.

5.3.2 FIRST PHASE - INITIAL POSITION OF THE TBM

In the first phase it is assumed that the TBM has already advanced 25 m. In order to
consider the conicity of the TBM in the first 25 m, the plates representing TBM are
activated and 0.5% contraction is applied. The final lining will be activated in the following
phase.
• Add the first calculation phase.
Select the right view to reorientate the model in order to obtain a clearer view of the
inside of the tunnel.
• In the draw area select the soil volumes corresponding to the inside of the tunnel
and the lining in the first 25 m (Figure 5.13). Note that in the figures representing the
model only the part of the model surrounding the tunnel is displayed.

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Figure 5.13 Selection of soil volumes (0 m - 25 m)

• In the Selection explorer deactivate the soil. The soil is switched off, but the
wireframe representing the deactivated soil is still coloured red as the deactivated
soil is still selected.
In the Selection explorer extend the Soil subtree and set the WaterConditions to Dry.

Hint: An object that is deactivated will automatically be hidden as a volume or

surface, but a wireframe representing the hidden object will remain. The
visibility of the object not active in a calculation phase can be defined in the
corresponding tabsheet of the Visualization settings window (Section 3.5.1 of
the Reference Manual).

To activate the interface, the plate and the contraction in the first 25 m of the tunnel:
Select the Select plates option in the appearing menu. Select the surfaces between
0 m and 25 m in the model to which plates are assigned (Figure 5.14).

Figure 5.14 Selection of plate (0 m - 25 m)

• In the Selection explorer activate the Positive interface, the Plate and the
Contraction.
In the Selection explorer extend the Contraction subtree.
• Define a uniform contraction of 0.5%.

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The section next to the first 25 m (section 25 m - 26.5 m), will represent the area directly
behind the TBM were grout is injected in the tail void. The soil inside the tunnel and the
lining will be deactivated whereas the surface load representing the grout pressure will be
activated.
• Select the volumes corresponding to the lining and the inside of the tunnel between
25 m and 26.5 m (Figure 5.15).
• In the Selection explorer deactivate the selected soil volumes and set the
WaterConditions to Dry.

Figure 5.15 Selection of soil volumes (25 m - 26.5 m)

In this section, the plate, the interface and the contraction will not be activated. In order to
differentiate among the surface loads defined in the model, the Select plate will be used
to select only the surfaces where plate, interface, contraction and grouting pressure is
assigned.
Select the surfaces between 25 m and 26.5 m in the model by defining a rectangle
as shown in Figure 5.16.
• In the Selection explorer activate the load corresponding to the grouting and the
positive interface. Note that the proper settings were already defined in the
Structures mode.

Figure 5.16 Selection of plates (25 m - 26.5 m)

In the next 6 sections (26.5 m - 35.5 m) the TBM will be modelled.

Select the soil volumes corresponding to the lining and the soil inside the tunnel for
the next 6 sections lying between y = 26.5 m and y = 35.5 m (Figure 5.17).

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• In the Selection explorer deactivate the soil and set the WaterConditions to Dry.

Figure 5.17 Selection of soil volumes (26.5 m - 35.5 m)

Select the surfaces between 26.5 m and 35.5 m in the model to which plates are
assigned.
• In the Selection explorer activate the Positive interface, the Plate and the
Contraction.
The TBM has a slight cone shape. Typically, the cross sectional area at the tail of the
TBM is about 0.5% smaller than the front of the TBM. The reduction of the diameter is
realized over the first 7.5 m length of the TBM (35.5 m to 28 m) while the last 1.5 m to the
tail (28 m to 26.5 m) has a constant diameter. This means that the section (28 m to 26.5
m) has a constant contraction of 0.5% and the remaining 5 sections have a linear
contraction with a reference value cref = 0.5%, and increment cinc,axial = -0.0667% and a
reference point with y -coordinate equal to 28.
Select the surfaces between 26.5 m and 28 m. Assign a Uniform contraction of
0.5%.
• Select the surfaces between 28 m and 35.5 m.
• In the Selection explorer select the Axial increment option for the contraction
distribution and define Cref = 0.5% and Cinc,axial = -0.0667%/m. The increment must
be a negative number, because the contraction decreases in the direction of the
positive local 1-axis. The reference location is (0; 28; 0).
The last part of this first calculation phase that has to be defined is the tunnel phase
pressure to keep the tunnel phase stable:
Select the surface load corresponding to the phase pressure at y = 35.5. An overall
view of the model and a local detail is shown in (Figure 5.18).
• In the Selection explorer activate the Surface load, its values have already been set
to Perpendicular, vertical increment and σn,ref = 90 and σn,inc = 14 in the Structures
mode when defining the geometry. The reference location is (0; 0; -4.75).
Click the Preview button to get a preview of everything that has been defined
(Figure 5.19). Make sure that both grout pressure and tunnel face pressure are
applied and that both increase from top to bottom.

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Figure 5.18 Tunnel phase pressure selection at y = 35.5

Figure 5.19 Preview of the Phase 1

5.3.3 SECOND PHASE - TBM ADVANCEMENT 1

In this phase the advancement of the TBM by 1.5 m will be modelled.
• Add a new phase.
• Hide the soil outside the tunnel, so that the TBM, lining, surface loads and
contraction can be accessed from both the outside and the inside of the tunnel.
Select the plates between 0 m and 25 m and deactivate the assigned plate and
contraction.
Select volumes corresponding to the tunnel lining between 0 m and 25 m.
In the Selection explorer extend the Soil subtree.
• Activate the soil.
• Click the material and select the Concrete option from the drop-down menu.
• Select the load assigned between 25 m and 26.5 m by directly clicking the model
and deactivate it.
Select volumes between 25 m and 26.5 m and follow the same steps as previous to
define the final lining.
Select the jack force at y = 26.5 m (Figure 5.20) and activate it.
As the TBM has advanced by 1.5 m, only grouting is applied to the section between y =
26.5 and y = 28. In this section the plate, the interface and the contraction will be
deactivated.
• Select the surfaces between 26.5 m and 28 m in the model and deactivate the
interface, the plate and the contraction.

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Figure 5.20 Jack force at y = 26.5 m

• Activate the load corresponding to the grouting.

The following 6 sections (35.5 m to 37 m) correspond to the TBM.
• The section between y = 28 m and y = 29.5 m, is the tail of the TBM. Select the two
parts of the plate element that form the TBM and modify the assigned contraction to
Constant and assign a value of Cref = 0.5%.
Deactivate the the tunnel pressure (y = 35.5 m) for Phase 1.
• The section between y = 35.5 m and y = 37 m is excavated in this phase. Deactivate
the soil in the volumes inside the tunnel and the ones corresponding to the tunnel
lining and set the WaterConditions to Dry.
• Activate the interfaces, plate and contraction in the section between y = 35.5 m and
y = 37 m.
• Select the surfaces corresponding to the TBM between y = 29.5 m and y = 37 m and
define the contraction as done in the Phase 1 for the contraction in the sections
between y = 28 m and y = 35.5 m.
• Activate the tunnel phase pressure at y = 37 m. This completes the definition of the
first step of TBM advance.

5.3.4 THIRD PHASE - TBM ADVANCEMENT 2

The third phase implies another advance of the TBM. Hence in principle the same actions
as done in the previous phase have to be applied, but one section further forward.
• Add a new phase.
• Section between 0 m and 25 m is the intact tunnel. No changes have to be done.
Section between 25 m and 26.5 m is intact tunnel as well, however the jack forces
on the side of this section have to be deactivated. Select the side of the section and
in the Selection explorer deactivate the surface load representing the jack forces at
y = 26.5 m.
• Deactivate the surface load between 26.5 m to 28 m that represents the grout
pressure and activate the interface.
• Select the volumes representing the final lining (between 26.5 m to 28 m). Assign
the Concrete material set to the final lining that was just activated.
• Select the surfaces representing the jack forces at y = 28 (Figure 5.21) and activate
them.
Section between y = 28 m to y = 29.5 m has to be changed from the tail of the TBM to
grout pressure.

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Figure 5.21 Jack forces to be activated at y = 28

• Select the two parts that represent the TBM and deactivate the plate representing
the TBM, the surface contraction and the interface while activating the surface load
representing the grout pressure.
• The section between y = 29.5 m and y = 31 m, is the tail of the TBM. Select the two
parts of the plate element that form the TBM and modify the assigned contraction to
Constant and assign a value of Cref = 0.5%.
Deactivate the the tunnel phase pressure (y = 37 m) for Phase 2.
• The section between y = 37 m and y = 38.5 m is excavated in this phase. Deactivate
the soil in the volumes inside the tunnel and the ones corresponding to the tunnel
lining and set the WaterConditions to Dry.
• Activate the interfaces, plate and contraction in the section between y = 37 m and y
= 38.5 m.
• Select the contraction between y = 31 m and y = 38.5 m and define the contraction
as done in the Phase 1 for the contraction in the section between y = 28 m and y =
35.5 m.
• Activate the tunnel phase pressure at y = 38.5 m.

5.3.5 FOURTH PHASE - TBM ADVANCEMENT 3

In this phase the TBM advances from y = 38.5 to y = 40. The same steps as for the third
phase will be followed, taking into account that sections 1 and 2 (y = 0 to y = 26.5) remain
unchanged, the jack forces at y = 28 should be removed, the section 4 (y = 28 to y =
29.5) should be changed from grout pressure to final tunnel lining and jack forces must
be applied, the section 5 (y = 29.5 to y = 31) should be changed from the tail of the TBM
to grout pressures etc. until the section between y = 38.5 to y = 40, which is the newly
excavated tunnel section.

5.3.6 FIFTH PHASE - TBM ADVANCEMENT 4

In this phase the final advancement of the TBM is modelled. The same steps as for the
third phase will be followed, taking into account that sections 1 to 3 (y = 0 to y = 28)
remain unchanged, the jack forces at y = 29.5 are removed, the section 5 (y = 29.5 to y =
31) should be changed from grout pressure to final tunnel lining and jack forces must be
applied, the section 6 should be changed from the tail of the TBM to grout pressures etc.
until the final section.
Press the Calculate button to start the calculation. Ignore the message "No nodes or
stress points selected for curves" as we will not draw any load-displacement curves in
this example, and continue the calculation.

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5.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS

Once the calculation has been completed, the results can be evaluated in the Output
program. In the Output program the displacement and stresses are shown in the full 3D
model, but the computational results are also available in tabular form. To view the
results for the current analysis, follow these steps:
• Select the last calculation phase (Phase 5) in the Phases explorer.
• Click on the Output button to open the Output program. The Output program will by
default show the 3D deformed mesh at the end of the selected calculation phase.
• From the Deformations menu, select Total displacements and then uz in order to
see the total vertical displacements in the model as a shaded plot (Figure 5.22).

Figure 5.22 Total vertical displacements after the final phase uz ≈ 3cm

In order to see the settlements at ground level make a horizontal cross section by
choosing the Horizontal cross section button. In the window that appears fill in a cross
section height of 1.95 m. The window with the cross section opens (Figure 5.23). The
maximum settlement at ground level is about 2 cm.

Figure 5.23 Settlement trough at ground level |u| ≈ 2cm

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6 DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF A GENERATOR ON AN ELASTIC FOUNDATION

In this tutorial the influence of a vibrating source on its surrounding soil is studied. To
reduce the calculation time, only one-quarter of the overall geometry is modelled, using
symmetry boundary conditions along the lines of symmetry. The physical damping due to
the viscous effects is taken into consideration via Rayleigh damping. Also, due to radial
wave propagation, 'geometric damping' can be significant in attenuating the vibration.
The modelling of the boundaries is one of the key points in the dynamic calculation. 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.

6.1 GEOMETRY

The vibrating source is a generator founded on a 0.2 m thick concrete footing of 1 m in

diameter, see Figure 6.1. Oscillations caused by the generator are transmitted through
the footing into the subsoil. These oscillations are simulated as a uniform harmonic
loading, with a frequency of 10 Hz and amplitude of 10 kN/m2 . In addition to the weight of
the footing, the weight of the generator is modelled as a uniformly distributed load of 8
kN/m2 .
0.5 m

20 m
z

Generator 20 m

z=0
x

10 m
sandy clay

z = -10

Figure 6.1 Generator founded on elastic subsoil

The model boundaries should be sufficiently far from the region of interest, to avoid
disturbances due to possible reflections. Although special measures (absorbent
boundaries) are adopted in order to avoid spurious reflections, 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.

6.1.1 GEOMETRY MODEL

• Start the Input program and select the Start a new project from the Quick select
dialog box.
• In the Project properties window enter a proper title.

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• Keep the default units and set the model dimensions to xmin = 0, xmax = 20, ymin = 0
and ymax = 20. The geometry model is shown in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2 Geometry of the model

6.1.2 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

The subsoil consists of one layer with a depth of 10 m. The ground level is defined at z =
0. Create the material dataset according to Table 6.1 and assign it to the soil layer. Note
that water conditions are not considered in this example and the hydraulic head is set at z
= -10.
Table 6.1 Material properties for the soil layers
Parameter Name Sandy clay Unit
General
Material model Model Linear elastic −
Drainage type Type Drained −
Unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 20.0 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20.0 kN/m3
Parameters
Young'modulus E' 5 · 104 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 −
Interfaces
Interface strength − Rigid −
Initial
K0 determination − Manual −
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0 0.5 −

6.1.3 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The generator is defined in the Structures mode. The Polycurve feature is used to define
the geometry.
Click the Create polycurve button in the side toolbar.
• The insertion point is located at (0; 0; 0). In the General tabsheet the default option
for shape (Free) and the default orientation axes (x-axis, y-axis) are valid for this
polycurve.

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• In the Segments tabsheet three segments are defined as given in Table 6.2.
Table 6.2 Segments composing the polycurve
Segment Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3
Segment type Line Arc Line
Relative start angle = 90◦
Relative start angle = 0◦ Radius = 0.5 m Relative start angle = 90◦
Segment properties
Length = 0.5 m Segment angle = 90◦ Length = 0.5 m
Discretization angle = 5◦

• Right click the polycurve and select the Create surface option from the appearing
menu.
• Right click the created surface and select the Create surface load option in the
appearing menu.
In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of the SurfaceLoad to extend
the tree.
• The Uniform distribution is valid. Assign (0; 0; -8) to the pressure components.

Definition of dynamic multipliers

Dynamic loads are defined on the basis of input values of loads or prescribed
displacements and corresponding time-dependent multipliers.
To create the multipliers of the dynamic load:
• In the Model explorer right click the Dynamic multipliers sub-tree and select the Edit
option from the appearing menu. The Multipliers window pops up.
• Click the Load multipliers tab.
Click Add button to introduce a multiplier for the loads.
• Define a Harmonic signal with an Amplitude of 10, a Frequency of 10 Hz and a
Phase of 0◦ as shown in Figure 6.3.

Figure 6.3 Definition of a Harmonic multiplier

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In the Selection explorer, click the plus sign (+) in front of the DynSurfaceLoad_1 to
extend the dynamic load sub-tree.
• Specify the components of the load as (0; 0; -1). Click Multiplier _z in the dynamic
load sub-tree and select the LoadMultiplier _1 option from the appearing menu.

Hint: The dynamic multipliers can be defined in the Geometry modes as well as in
the Calculation modes.

6.2 MESH GENERATION

• Proceed to the Mesh mode.

• Refine the surface corresponding to the generator by assigning a Fineness factor of
0.125.
Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Medium.
View the generated mesh.

Figure 6.4 Geometry and mesh

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Hint: In all dynamic calculations, the user should pay special attention to the
element size to decrease numerical dispersion of waves. It should be noted
that large elements are not able to transmit high frequencies. The
transmission of waves is governed by both wave speed and wave length. If
dynamic input contains high frequencies, either high frequencies should be
filtered out or a finer mesh should be used.

6.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

The calculation consists of 4 phases. The initial phase consists of the generation of the
initial stresses using the K0 procedure. The second phase is a Plastic calculation where
the static load is activated. The third phase is a Dynamic calculation where the effect of
the functioning generator is considered. The fourth and final phase is a Dynamic
calculation as well where the generator is turned off and the soil will vibrate freely.

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.

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 activate the static component of the surface load.
Do not activate the dynamic load (Figure 6.5).

Figure 6.5 Applied load in the Phase_1

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Phase 2
Add a new phase (Phase_2).
In the General subtree in the Phases window, select the Dynamic option as
calculation type.
• Set the Time interval parameter to 0.5 s.
• In the Deformation control parameters sub-tree in the Phases window select the
Reset displacement to zero parameter. The default values of the remaining
parameters will be used for this calculation phase.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the dynamic component of the surface
load. Note that the static component of the load is still active (Figure 6.6).

Figure 6.6 Applied load in the Phase_2

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, Ymax and Zmin. The
viscous boundaries can be activated Dynamic tab of the Boundary conditions explorer as
shown in Figure 6.7.

Figure 6.7 Boundary conditions for Dynamic calculations

Phase 3
Add a new phase (Phase_3).

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In the General sub-tree in the Phases window, select the Dynamic option as
calculation type.
• Set the 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. Figure 6.8 shows the Phases
explorer of this tutorial.
Select nodes located at the ground surface (ex: (1.4; 0; 0), (1.9; 0; 0), (3.6; 0; 0)) to
consider in curves.
Execute the calculation.
Save the project.

Figure 6.8 Phases explorer

6.3.1 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 α parameter. Note that the
display of the General tabsheet has changed displaying the Single DOF equivalence
box.
• Set the value of the ξ parameter to 5% for both targets.
• Set the frequency values to 9 and 11 for the Target 1 and Target 2 respectively.
• Click on one of the definition cells of the Rayleig parameters. The values of α and β
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.

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Figure 6.9 Input of Rayleigh damping

6.4 VIEWING THE 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 x-axis and uz to the
y-axis. Figure 6.10 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 6.11. 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 6.11 (without damping)
with Figure 6.11 (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
6.12 shows the total accelerations in the soil at the end of phase 2 (t = 0.5 s).

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Figure 6.10 Vertical displ.- time on the surface at different distances to the vibrating source (without
damping)

Figure 6.11 Vertical displ.- time (with damping)

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Figure 6.12 Total accelerations in the soil at the end of phase 2 (with damping)

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7 FREE VIBRATION AND EARTHQUAKE ANALYSIS OF A BUILDING

This example demonstrates the natural frequency of a long 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
the 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.

7.1 GEOMETRY

The length of the building is much larger than its width and the earthquake is supposed to
have a dominant effect across the width of the building. Taking these facts into
consideration, a representative section of 3 m will be considered in the model in order to
decrease the model size. The geometry of the model is shown in Figure 7.1.

7.1.1 GEOMETRY MODEL

• 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.
• Keep the default units and set the model dimensions to Xmin = −80, Xmax = 80, Ymin
= 0 and Ymax = 3.

3m

15 m

15 m

25 m

Figure 7.1 Geometry of the model

7.1.2 DEFINITION OF SOIL STRATIGRAPHY

The subsoil consists of two layers. The Upper clayey layer lies between the ground level
(z = 0) and z = -15. The underlying Lower sandy layer lies to z = -40. Define the phreatic
level by assigning a value of -15 to the Head in the borehole. Create the material dataset
according to Table 7.1 and assign it to the corresponding soil layers. The upper layer

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consists of mostly clayey soil and the lower one consists of sandy soil. The presence of
the groundwater is neglected.
Table 7.1 Material properties of the subsoil layers
Parameter Name Upper clayey layer Lower sandy layer Unit
General
Material model Model HS small HS small -
Drainage type Type Drained Drained -
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 16 20 kN/m3
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γsat 20 20 kN/m3
Parameters
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test E50ref
2.0·104 3.0·104 kN/m2
4 4
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading ref
Eoed 2.561·10 3.601·10 kN/m2
Unloading / reloading stiffness Eurref
9.484·104 1.108·105 kN/m2
Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness m 0.5 0.5 -
Cohesion c 'ref 10 5 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 18.0 28.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0 0.0
Shear strain at which Gs = 0.722G0 γ0.7 1.2·10-4 1.5·10-4 -
Shear modulus at very small strains G0ref 2.7·105 1.0·105 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν 'ur 0.2 0.2 -

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 7.2 and 7.3 display the Modulus reduction
curves, i.e. the decay of the shear modulus with strain.

250000

0.722G0
200000
Shear modulus

150000

100000

50000
G used
γ0.7
Gt Gs

0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Shear strain

Figure 7.2 Modulus reduction curves for the upper clayey layer

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100000

80000
0.722G0

Shear modulus
60000

G used
40000

20000

γ0.7 Gs
Gt

0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01

Shear strain

Figure 7.3 Modulus reduction curve for the lower sandy layer

In the HS small model, the tangent shear modulus is bounded by a lower limit, Gur .
Eur
Gur =
2(1 + νur )
The values of Gur
ref
for the Upper clayey layer and Lower sandy layer and the ratio to G0ref
are shown in Table 7.2. This ratio determines the maximum damping ratio that can be
obtained.
Table 7.2 Gur values and ratio to G0ref
Parameter Unit Upper clayey Lower sandy
layer layer
Gur kN/m2 39517 41167
G0ref /Gur - 6.75 2.5

Figures 7.4 and 7.5 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
modulus reduction curve to the damping curve can be found in the literature∗ .

0.2

0.15
Damping ratio

0.1

0.05

0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Cyclic shear strain

Figure 7.4 Damping curve for the upper clayey layer

∗ 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

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0.2

0.15

Damping ratio
0.1

0.05

0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Cyclic shear strain

Figure 7.5 Damping curve for the lower sandy layer

7.1.3 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The structural elements of the model are defined in the Structures mode. To define the
structure:
Define a surface passing through the points (-5; 0; -2), (5; 0; -2), (5; 3; -2) and (-5; 3;
-2).
Create a copy of the surface by defining an 1D array in z-direction. Set the number
of the columns to 2 and the distance between them to 2 m.
Select the created surface at z = 0 and define a 1D array in the z-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 6 and the distance between consecutive columns to 3 m.
Define a surface passing through the points (5; 0; -2), (5; 3; -2), (5; 3; 15) and (5; 0;
15).
Create a copy of the vertical surface by defining an 1D array in x-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 2 and the distance between them to -10 m.
• Multiselect the vertical surfaces and the horizontal surface located at z = 0.
• Right click on the selection and select the Intersect option from the appearing menu.
It is important to do the intersection in the Structures mode as different material data
sets are to be assigned to the basement and the rest of the building.
Select all the created surfaces representing the building (basement, floors and
walls), right click and select the Create plate option from the appearing menu.
• Define the material dataset for the plates representing the structure according to
Table 7.3. Note that two different material datasets are used for the basement and
the rest of the building respectively.
• Assign the Basement material dataset to the horizontal plate located at z = -2 and
the vertical plates located under the ground level.
• Assign the corresponding material dataset to the rest of the plates in the model.
In order to model the soil-structure intersection at the basement of the building assign
interfaces to the outer side of the basement. Note that depending on the local coordinate
system of the surfaces an interface either positive or negative is assigned.
The central column of the structure is modelled using the Node-to-node anchor feature.
To create the central column of the structure:

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Table 7.3 Material properties of the building (plate properties)

Parameter Name Rest of building Basement Unit
Thickness d 0.3 0.3 m
Material weight γ 33.33 50 kN/m3
Material behaviour - Linear; Isotropic Linear; Isotropic -
Young’s modulus E1 3·107 3·107 kN/m2
Poisson’s ratio ν12 0 0 -
α 0.2320 0.2320 -
Rayleigh damping
β 8·10-3 8·10-3 -

Create a Line through points (0; 1.5; -2) and (0; 1.5; 0) corresponding to the column
in the basement floor.
• Create a Line through points (0; 1.5; 0) and (0; 1.5; 3) corresponding to the column
in the first floor.
Create a copy of the last defined line by defining an 1D array in z-direction. Set the
number of the columns to 5 and the distance between them to 3 m.
Select the created lines, right click and select the Create node-to-node anchor
option from the appearing menu.
• Create the material dataset according to the Table 7.4 and assign it to the anchors.
Table 7.4 Material properties of the node-to-node anchor
Parameter Name Column Unit
Material type Type Elastic -
Normal stiffness EA 2.5· 106 kN

A static lateral force of 1 kN/m is applied laterally at the top left corner of the building. To
create the load:
Create a line load passing through (-5, 0; 15) and (-5; 3; 15).
• Specify the components of the load as (10; 0; 0).
The earthquake is modelled by imposing a prescribed displacement at the bottom
boundary. To define the prescribed displacement:
Create a surface prescribed displacement passing through (-80, 0; -40), (80; 0; -40),
(80; 3; -40) and (-80; 3; -40).
• Specify the x-component of the prescribed displacement as Prescribed and assign
a value of 0.01. The dynamic y and z components of the prescribed displacement
are Fixed. The default distribution (Uniform) is valid.
To define the dynamic multipliers for the prescribed displacement:
• In the Model explorer right click the Dynamic multipliers subtree and select the Edit
option form the appearing menu. The Dynamic multipliers window pops up where
the Displacement multipliers tabsheet is displayed.
To add a multiplier click the corresponding button in the Multipliers window.
• 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/sites/kb.plaxis.nl/files/kb-downloads/225a.smc). Open the page in
the web browser and copy all the data.

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In the Dynamic multipliers window click the Paste button. The Import data window
pops up. Select the Strong motion CD-ROM files option from the Parsing method
drop-down menu and press OK to close the window.
• In the Dynamic multipliers window the table and the plot of the data is displayed
(Figure 7.6).
• Select the Acceleration option in the Data type drop-down menu.
• Click OK to finalize the definition of the multiplier.
• In the Model explorer extend the Surface displacements subtree and assign the
Multiplier1 to the x- component by selecting the option in the drop-down menu.

Figure 7.6 Dynamic multipliers window

7.2 MESH GENERATION

• Proceed to the Mesh mode.

• Click the Generate mesh button. Set the element distribution to Fine.
• View the generated mesh (Figure 7.7).

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Figure 7.7 Geometry and mesh

7.3 PERFORMING 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.

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 7.8 Construction of the building

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Phase 2
Add a new phase (Phase_2).
• In the Phases window select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation
control parameters sub-tree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be
used in this calculation phase.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the line load. The value of the load is
already defined in the Structures mode.

Phase 3
Add a new phase (Phase_3).
In the Phases window select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
• Set the Time interval parameter to 5 sec.
• In the Staged construction mode deactivate the line load.
• In the Boundary conditions explorer click the Dynamic tab. By default the boundary
conditions in the x and y directions are set to viscous. Deselect the options for the
boundaries in the y direction. Set the boundary Zmin to viscous (Figure 7.9).

Figure 7.9 Boundary conditions for Dynamic calculations

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
Add a new phase (Phase_3).
• 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
sub-tree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used in this
calculation phase.

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• In the Model explorer activate the Surface displacement and its dynamic
component. The Zmin boundary is NOT viscous in this phase.
Select points for load displacement curves at the top of the building (0; 1.5; 15) and
at the basement (0; 1.5; -2). The calculation may now be started.

7.4 VIEWING THE RESULTS

Figure 7.10 shows the deformed structure at the end of the Phase 2 (application of
horizontal load).

Figure 7.10 Deformed mesh of the system

Figure 7.11 shows the time history of displacements of the selected points A (0; 1.5; 15),
B (0; 1.5; 6), C (0; 1.5; 3) and D (0; 1.5; -2) 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.

Figure 7.11 Time history of displacements (Free vibration)

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In the Chart tabsheet of the Settings window select the Use frequency representation
(spectrum) and Use standard frequency (Hz) options in the Dynamics box. The plot is
shown in Figure 7.12. From this figure it can be evaluated that the dominant building
frequency is around 1 Hz. For a better visualisation of the results animations of the free
vibration and earthquake can be created.

Figure 7.12 Frequency representation (spectrum - Free vibration)

Figure 7.13 shows the time history of displacements of the selected points A (0; 1.5; 15),
B (0; 1.5; 6), C (0; 1.5; 3) and D (0; 1.5; -2) for the earthquake 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.

Figure 7.13 Time history of displacements (Earthquake)

The time history signature of the earthquake has been transformed to normalized power
spectra through Fast Fourier transform and is plotted in Figure 7.14.

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Figure 7.14 Acceleration power spectra at (0; 1.5; 15)

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 INPUT MENU 1
File Edit View Soil Structures Mesh Phases A.1
New project Undo Pan camera Modify soil layers Import structures Generate mesh Edit phases
Open project Redo Rotate camera Import soil Import volume Show materials
Recent projects Copy screen image Zoom in Show material Import surface Show dynamic multipliers
Save project Delete Zoom out Show materials
INPUT MENU

Save project as Select all Reset zoom Show dynamic multipliers

Close project Deselect all Default views
APPENDIX A - MENU TREE

Project properties Explode

Print Implode
Exit

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APPENDIX A - MENU TREE
 INPUT MENU 2
Options Expert Help
Snap to grid Examine commands Manuals
Show grid and ruler Run commands Command reference
Show cursor location View files Instruction movies
Show local axis Macro library Request support
Visualisaton settings Update license
TUTORIAL MANUAL

http://www.plaxis.nl
Disclaimer
About

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 OUTPUT MENU (1)
A.2

File View Project Geometry Mesh

Open project Zoom out Node fixities Disabled structures Quality

Close active project Reset view Load information Phreatic level Quality table
OUTPUT MENU

Close all projects Viewpoint Water load information Loads Volume

Work directory Save view Prescribed displacement information Fixities Volume table
Export to file Show saved views Virtual interface thickness Prescribed displacements Connectivity plot
Report generation Scale Volume information Filter Element contours
Create animation Legend settings Material information (all load cases) Element deformation contours
Print Scan line Material information (current load cases) Materials
(List of recent projects) Title General project information Element numbers
Exit Legend Calculation information Material set numbers
Axes Calculation info per step Structure material set numbers
Shrink Step info Cluster numbers
Expand Structures per phase Nodes
Explode Stress points
Implode Node numbers
Move cross section forward Stress point numbers
Move cross section backward Selection labels
Settings

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APPENDIX A - MENU TREE
 OUTPUT MENU (2)

Deformations Stresses Forces Tools Window Help

Elevation Cross section Axial forces Copy Project manager Manuals

Deformed mesh |u| Cartesian effective stresses Shear forces Select points for curves Duplicate model view Instruction movies
Total displacements Cartesian total stresses Bending moments Mesh point selection Close window http://www.plaxis.nl/
TUTORIAL MANUAL

Phase displacements Principal effective stresses Table Curves manager Cascade Disclaimer
Incremental displacements Principal total stresses Table of stress points Table Tile vertically About
Velocities State parameters Vertical cross section Tile horizontally
Accelerations Total increments Horizontal cross section (List of active views)

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Total cartesian strain Pore pressures Free cross section
Accelerations (in 'g') Groundwater flow Line cross section
Phase cartesian strain Plastic points Hint box
Incremental cartesian strain Fixed-end anchors Distance measurement
Total strain Node to node anchor
Phase strain Wells
Incremental strains Drains
APPENDIX B - CALCULATION SCHEME FOR INITIAL STRESSES DUE TO SOIL WEIGHT

APPENDIX B - CALCULATION SCHEME FOR INITIAL STRESSES DUE TO SOIL

WEIGHT

Start

Yes Horizontal No
surface

K0 -Procedure Gravity loading

Gravity loading
Initial stresses Loading input:
P Total multipliers
P
-Mweight = 1 -Mweight = 1

Ready
calculation

Examples of non-horizontal surfaces, and non-horizontal weight stratifications are:

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