PLAXIS Introductory 2014 - Tutorial Manual 11

PLAXIS 2D - SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND
2 SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND
In this chapter a first application is considered, namely the settlement of a

circular foundation footing on sand. This is the first step in becoming familiar
with the practical use of PLAXIS 2D. The general procedures for the creation
of a geometry model, the generation of a finite element mesh, the execution
of a finite element calculation and the evaluation of the output results are
described here in detail. The information provided in this chapter will be
utilised in the later tutorials. Therefore, it is important to complete this first
tutorial before attempting any further tutorial examples.
Objectives:
• Starting a new project
• Creating an axisymmetric model
• Creating soil stratigraphy using the Borehole feature
• Creating and assigning of material data sets for soil (Mohr-Coulomb
model).
• Defining prescribed displacements
• Creation of footing using the Plate feature
• Creating and assigning material data sets for plates
• Creating loads
• Generating the mesh
• Generating initial stresses using the K0 procedure
• Defining a Plastic calculation
• Activating and modifying the values of loads in calculation phases
• Viewing the calculation results
• Selecting points for curves
• Creating a 'Load - displacement' curve
PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 11

TUTORIAL MANUAL
2.1 GEOMETRY
A circular footing with a radius of 1.0 m is placed on a sand layer of 4.0 m

thickness as shown in Figure 2.1. Under the sand layer there is a stiff rock
layer that extends to a large depth. The purpose of the exercise is to find the
displacements and stresses in the soil caused by the load applied to the
footing. Calculations are performed for both rigid and flexible footings. The
geometry of the finite element model for these two situations is similar. The
rock layer is not included in the model; instead, an appropriate boundary
condition is applied at the bottom of the sand layer. To enable any possible
mechanism in the sand and to avoid any influence of the outer boundary, the
model is extended in horizontal direction to a total radius of 5.0 m.
2.0 m
load
footing
y
sand 4.0 m
a
Figure 2.1 Geometry of a circular footing on a sand layer
2.2 CASE A: RIGID FOOTING
In the first calculation, the footing is considered to be very stiff and rough. In
this calculation the settlement of the footing is simulated by means of a
uniform indentation at the top of the sand layer instead of modelling the
footing itself. This approach leads to a very simple model and is therefore
used as a first exercise, but it also has some disadvantages. For example, it
does not give any information about the structural forces in the footing. The
12 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

second part of this tutorial deals with an external load on a flexible footing,
which is a more advanced modelling approach.
2.2.1 GEOMETRY INPUT

Start PLAXIS 2D by double clicking the icon of the Input program. The
Quick select dialog box appears in which you can create a new project
or select an existing one (Figure 2.2).
Figure 2.2 Quick select dialog box
• Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears,

consisting of two tabsheets, Project and Model (Figure 2.3 and Figure
2.4).
Project properties
The first step in every analysis is to set the basic parameters of the finite
element model. This is done in the Project properties window. These settings
include the description of the problem, the type of model, the basic type of
elements, the basic units and the size of the draw area.
To enter the appropriate settings for the footing calculation follow these steps:
• In the Project tabsheet, enter "Lesson 1" in the Title box and type
"Settlements of a circular footing" in the Comments box.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window
• Click the Next button below the tabsheets or click the Model tab.
• In the Type group the type of the model (Model) and the basic element
type (Elements) are specified. Since this tutorial concerns a circular
footing, select the Axisymmetry and the 15-Noded options from the
Model and the Elements drop-down menus respectively.
• Keep the default units in the Units group (Unit of Length = m; Unit of
Force = kN; Unit of Time = day).
• In the General group the unit weight of water (γwater ) is set to 10 kN/m3 .
• In the Contour group set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0, xmax = 5.0,
ymin = 0.0 and ymax = 4.0.
• Click OK button to confirm the settings.
Hint: In the case of a mistake or for any other reason that the project
properties need to be changed, you can access the Project
properties window by selecting the corresponding option from
the File menu.

Figure 2.4 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 where the soil stratigraphy can be defined.
Hint: The modelling process is completed in five modes.
Information on the soil layers is entered in boreholes. Boreholes are locations

in the draw area at which the information on the position of soil layers and the
water table is given. If multiple boreholes are defined, PLAXIS 2D will
automatically interpolate between the boreholes. The layer distribution
beyond the boreholes is kept horizontal. In order to construct the soil
stratigraphy follow these steps:
Click the Create borehole button in the side (vertical) toolbar to start
defining the soil stratigraphy.
• Click at x = 0 in the draw area to locate the borehole. The Modify soil
layers window will appear.
• In the Modify soil layers window add a soil layer by clicking the Add
button.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Set the top boundary of the soil layer at y = 4 and keep the bottom
boundary at y = 0 m.
• By default the Head value (groundwater head) in the borehole column is
set to 0 m. Set the Head to 2.0 m (Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5 Modify soil layers window
The creation of material data sets and their assignment to soil layers is
described in the following section.
Material data sets

In order to simulate the behaviour of the soil, a suitable soil model and
appropriate material parameters must be assigned to the geometry. In
PLAXIS 2D, soil properties are collected in material data sets and the various
data sets are stored in a material database. From the database, a data set
can be assigned to one or more soil layers. For structures (like walls, plates,

anchors, geogrids, etc.) the system is similar, but different types of structures
have different parameters and therefore different types of material data sets.
PLAXIS 2D distinguishes between material data sets for Soil and interfaces,
Plates, Geogrids, Embedded pile row and Anchors.
To create a material set for the sand layer, follow these steps:
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Materials button in the
Modify soil layers window. The Material sets window pops up (Figure
2.6).
Figure 2.6 Material sets window
• Click the New button at the lower side of the Material sets window. A
new window will appear with five tabsheets: General, Parameters, Flow
parameters, Interfaces and Initial.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• In the Material set box of the General tabsheet, write "Sand" in the
Identification box.
• The default material model (Mohr-Coulomb) and drainage type
(Drained) are valid for this example.
• Enter the proper values in the General properties box (Figure 2.7)
according to the material properties listed in Table 2.1. Keep parameters
that are not mentioned in the table at their default values.
Figure 2.7 The General tabsheet of the Soil window of the Soil and interfaces
set type
• Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the
input of model parameters. The parameters appearing on the
Parameters tabsheet depend on the selected material model (in this
case the Mohr-Coulomb model).
• Enter the model parameters of Table 2.1 in the corresponding edit boxes
of the Parameters tabsheet (Figure 2.8). A detailed description of
different soil models and their corresponding parameters can be found in
the Material Models Manual.

Figure 2.8 The Parameters tabsheet of the Soil window of the Soil and
interfaces set type
Table 2.1 Material properties of the sand layer

Parameter Name Value Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb -
Type of material behaviour Type Drained -
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 17.0 kN/m3
Soil unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20.0 kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus (constant) E' 1.3 · 104 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 -
Cohesion (constant) c 'ref 1.0 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 30.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 0.0
• The soil material is drained, the geometry model does not include
interfaces and the default initial conditions are valid for this case,
therefore the remaining tabsheets can be skipped. Click OK to confirm
the input of the current material data set. Now the created data set will
appear in the tree view of the Material sets window.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Drag the set Sand from the Material sets window (select it and hold
down the left mouse button while moving) to the graph of the soil column
on the left hand side of the Modify soil layers window and drop it there
(release the left mouse button).
• Click OK in the Material sets window to close the database.
• Click OK to close the Modify soil layers window.
Hint: Existing data sets may be changed by opening the Material sets
window, selecting the data set to be changed from the tree view
and clicking the Edit button. As an alternative, the Material sets
window can be opened by clicking the corresponding button in
the side toolbar.
» PLAXIS 2D distinguishes between a project database and a
global database of material sets. Data sets may be exchanged
from one project to another using the global database. The
global database can be shown in the Material sets window by
clicking the Show global button. The data sets of all tutorials in
the Tutorial Manual are stored in the global database during the
installation of the program.
» The material assigned to a selected entity in the model can be
changed in the Material drop-down menu in the Selection
explorer. Note that all the material datasets assignable to the
entity are listed in the drop-down menu. However, only the
materials listed under Project materials are listed, and not the
ones listed under Global materials.
» The program performs a consistency check on the material
parameters and will give a warning message in the case of a
detected inconsistency in the data.
Visibility of a grid in the draw area can simplify the definition of geometry. The
grid provides a matrix on the screen that can be used as reference. It may
also be used for snapping to regular points during the creation of the
geometry. The grid can be activated by clicking the corresponding button
under the draw area. To define the size of the grid cell and the snapping

options:
Click the Snapping options button in the side toolbar. The Snapping
window pops up where the size of the grid cells and the snapping
interval can be specified. The spacing of snapping points can be further
divided into smaller intervals by the Number of snap intervals value. Use
the default values in this example.
Definition of structural elements

The structural elements are created in the Structures mode of the program
where a uniform indentation will be created to model a very stiff and rough
footing.
• Click the Structures tab to proceed with the input of structural elements
in the Structures mode.
Click the Create prescribed displacement button in the side toolbar.
Select the Create line displacement option in the expanded menu
(Figure 2.9).
Figure 2.9 The Create line displacement option in the Prescribed

displacement menu
• In the draw area move the cursor to point (0 4) and click the left mouse
button
• Move along the upper boundary of the soil to point (1 4) and click the left
mouse button again.
• Click the right mouse button to stop drawing.
• In the Selection explorer set the x-component of the prescribed
displacement (Displacementx ) to Fixed.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Specify a uniform prescribed displacement in the vertical direction by

assigning a value of -0.05 to uy ,start,ref , signifying a downward
displacement of 0.05 m (Figure 2.10).
Figure 2.10 Prescribed displacement in the Selection explorer
The geometry of the model is complete.
Mesh generation
When the geometry model is complete, the finite element mesh can be
generated. PLAXIS 2D allows for a fully automatic mesh generation
procedure, in which the geometry is divided into elements of the basic
element type and compatible structural elements, if applicable.
The mesh generation takes full account of the position of points and lines in
the model, so that the exact position of layers, loads and structures is
accounted for in the finite element mesh. The generation process is based on
a robust triangulation principle that searches for optimised triangles. In
addition to the mesh generation itself, a transformation of input data
(properties, boundary conditions, material sets, etc.) from the geometry
model (points, lines and clusters) to the finite element mesh (elements, nodes
and stress points) is made.
In order to generate the mesh, follow these steps:
• Proceed to the Mesh mode by clicking the corresponding tab.

Click the Generate mesh button in the side toolbar. The Mesh options
window pops up.
• The Medium option is by default selected as element distribution.
• Click OK to start the mesh generation.
Figure 2.11 The Mesh options window
As the mesh is generated, click the View mesh button. A new window is
opened displaying the generated mesh (Figure 4.9). Note that the mesh
is automatically refined under the footing.
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.
» 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.
Click on the Close tab to close the Output program and go back to the
Mesh mode of the Input program.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.12 The generated mesh in the Output window
2.2.2 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

Once the mesh has been generated, the finite element model is complete.
Initial conditions
The 'Initial phase' always involves the generation of initial conditions. In
general, the initial conditions comprise the initial geometry configuration and
the initial stress state, i.e. effective stresses, pore pressures and state

parameters, if applicable.
Click the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of calculation
phases. The Water conditions mode may be skipped. When a new project
has been defined, a first calculation phase named "Initial phase", is
automatically created and selected in the Phases explorer (Figure 4.10). All
structural elements and loads that are present in the geometry are initially
automatically switched off; only the soil volumes are initially active.
Figure 2.13 Phases explorer
In this tutorial lesson the properties of the Initial phase will be described.
Below an overview is given of the options to be defined even though the
default values of the parameters are used.
The Phases window (Figure 4.11) is displayed by clicking the Edit phase
button or by double clicking on the phase in the Phases explorer.
By default the K0 procedure is selected as Calculation type in the
General subtree of the Phases window. This option will be used in this
project to generate the initial stresses.
The Staged construction option is available as Loading type.
The Phreatic option is selected by default as the Pore pressure
calculation type.
• The other default options in the Phases window will be used as well in
this tutorial. Click OK to close the Phases window.
For deformation problems two types of boundary conditions exist: Prescribed
displacement and prescribed forces (loads). In principle, all boundaries must
have one boundary condition in each direction. That is to say, when no

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.14 The Phases window for Initial phase
Hint: The K0 procedure should be primarily used for horizontally

layered geometries with a horizontal ground surface and, if
applicable, a horizontal phreatic level.
explicit boundary condition is given to a certain boundary (a free boundary),

the natural condition applies, which is a prescribed force equal to zero and a
free displacement.
To avoid the situation where the displacements of the geometry are
undetermined, some points of the geometry must have prescribed
displacements. The simplest form of a prescribed displacement is a fixity
(zero displacement), but non-zero prescribed displacements may also be
given.
• In the Model explorer expand the Model conditions subtree.
• Expand the Deformations subtree. Note that the Use default fixities box
is checked. By default, a full fixity is generated at the base of the
geometry, whereas roller supports are assigned to the vertical
boundaries (ux = 0; uy = free).
• Expand the Water subtree. The water level generated according to the
Head value assigned to boreholes in the Modify soil layers window

(BoreholeWaterLevel_1) is automatically assigned to GlobalWaterLevel

(Figure 2.15).
Figure 2.15 The Deformations and Water subtrees in the Model explorer
The initial water level has been entered already in the Modify soil layers
window.
• The water level defined according to the Head specified for boreholes is
displayed (Figure 2.16). Note that only the global water level is displayed
in both Phase definition modes. All the water levels are displayed in the
model only in the Water conditions mode.
Phase 1: Footing
In order to simulate the settlement of the footing in this analysis, a plastic
calculation is required. PLAXIS 2D has a convenient procedure for automatic
load stepping, which is called 'Load advancement'. This procedure can be
used for most practical applications. Within the plastic calculation, the
prescribed displacements are activated to simulate the indentation of the
footing. In order to define the calculation phase follow these steps:
Click the Add phase button in the Phases explorer. A new phase,
named Phase_1 will be added in the Phases explorer.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.16 Initial phase in the Staged construction mode
• Double-click Phase_1 to open the Phases window.

• In the ID box of the General subtree, write (optionally) an appropriate
name for the new phase (for example "Indentation").
• The current phase starts from the Initial phase, which contains the initial
stress state. The default options and values assigned are valid for this
phase (Figure 2.17).
• Click OK to close the Phases window.
• Right-click the prescribed displacement in the draw area and select the
Activate option in the appearing menu (Figure 2.18).

Figure 2.17 The Phases window for the Indentation phase
Figure 2.18 Activation of the prescribed displacement in the Staged

construction mode
Execution of calculation
All calculation phases (two phases in this case) are marked for calculation
(indicated by a blue arrow). The execution order is controlled by the Start

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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.
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
4.13).
Figure 2.19 Active task window displaying the calculation progress
The information, which is continuously updated, shows the calculation

progress, the current step number, the global error in the current iteration and

the number of plastic points in the current calculation step. It will take a few
seconds to perform the calculation. When a calculation ends, the window is
closed and focus is returned to the main window.
The phase list in the Phases explorer is updated. A successfully
calculated phase is indicated by a check mark inside a green circle.
Save the project before viewing results.
Viewing calculation results

Once the calculation has been completed, the results can be displayed in the
Output program. In the Output program, the displacement and stresses in the
full two dimensional model as well as in cross sections or structural elements
can be viewed. The computational results are also available in tabular form.
To check the applied load that results from the prescribed displacement of
0.05 m:
• Open the Phases window.
• For the current application the value of Force-Y in the Reached values
subtree is important. This value represents the total reaction force
corresponding to the applied prescribed vertical displacement, which
corresponds to the total force under 1.0 radian of the footing (note that
the analysis is axisymmetric). In order to obtain the total footing force,
the value of Force-Y should be multiplied by 2π (this gives a value of
about 588 kN).
The results can be evaluated in the Output program. In the Output window
you can view the displacements and stresses in the full geometry as well as
in cross sections and in structural elements, if applicable. The computational
results are also available in tabulated form. To view the results of the footing
analysis, follow these steps:
• Select the last calculation phase in the Phases explorer.
Click the View calculation results button in the side toolbar. As a result,
the Output program is started, showing the deformed mesh at the end of
the selected calculation phase (Figure 2.20). The deformed mesh is
scaled to ensure that the deformations are visible.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.20 Deformed mesh
• In the Deformations menu select the Total displacements → |u| option.

The plot shows colour shadings of the total displacements. The colour
distribution is displayed in the legend at the right hand side of the plot.
Hint: The legend can be toggled on and off by clicking the

corresponding option in the View menu.
The total displacement distribution can be displayed in contours by

clicking the corresponding button in the toolbar. The plot shows contour
lines of the total displacements, which are labelled. An index is
presented with the displacement values corresponding to the labels.
Clicking the Arrows button, the plot shows the total displacements of all
nodes as arrows, with an indication of their relative magnitude.
• In the Stresses menu point to the Principal effective stresses and select

Hint: In addition to the total displacements, the Deformations menu

allows for the presentation of Incremental displacements. The
incremental displacements are the displacements that occurred
within one calculation step (in this case the final step).
Incremental displacements may be helpful in visualising an
eventual failure mechanism.
» The plots of stresses and displacements may be combined with
geometrical features, as available in the Geometry menu.
the Effective principal stresses option from the appearing menu. The
plot shows the effective principal stresses at the stress points of each
soil element with an indication of their direction and their relative
magnitude (Figure 2.21).
Figure 2.21 Effective principal stresses
Click the Table button on the toolbar. A new window is opened in which
a table is presented, showing the values of the principal stresses and
other stress measures in each stress point of all elements.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
2.3 CASE B: FLEXIBLE FOOTING
The project is now modified so that the footing is modelled as a flexible plate.
This enables the calculation of structural forces in the footing. The geometry
used in this exercise is the same as the previous one, except that additional
elements are used to model the footing. The calculation itself is based on the
application of load rather than prescribed displacement. It is not necessary to
create a new model; you can start from the previous model, modify it and
store it under a different name. To perform this, follow these steps:
Modifying the geometry

• In the Input program select the Save project as option of the File menu.
Enter a non-existing name for the current project file and click the Save
button.
• Go back to the Structures mode.
Right-click the prescribed displacement. In the right mouse button menu
point to the Line displacement option. In the expanded menu click on
the Delete option (Figure 2.22).
Figure 2.22 Delete Prescribed displacement

• In the model right-click the line at the location of the footing. Point on
Create and select the Plate option in the appearing menu (Figure 2.23).
A plate is created which simulates the flexible footing.
Figure 2.23 Assignment of Plate to line
• In the model right-click again the line at the location of the footing. Point
on Create and select the Line load option in the appearing menu (Figure
2.24).
• In the Selection explorer the default input value of the distributed load is
-1.0 kN/m2 in the y-direction. The input value will later be changed to the
real value when the load is activated.
Adding material properties for the footing

Click the Materials button in the side toolbar.
• Select Plates from the Set type drop-down menu in the Material sets
window.
• Click the New button. A new window appears where the properties of
the footing can be entered.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 2.24 Assignment of Line load to line
• Write "Footing" in the Identification box. The Elastic option is selected by

default for the material type. Keep this option for this example.
• Enter the properties as listed in Table 2.2. Keep parameters that are not
mentioned in the table at their default values.
• Click OK. The new data set now appears in the tree view of the Material
sets window.
Hint: The equivalent thickness is automatically calculated by PLAXIS

from the values of EA and EI . It cannot be defined manually.
• Drag the set "Footing" to the draw area and drop it on the footing. Note
that the shape of the cursor changes to indicate that it is valid to drop the
material set.
• Close the database by clicking the OK button.

Table 2.2 Material properties of the footing

Material type Type Elastic; Isotropic -
Normal stiffness EA 5 · 106 kN/m
Flexural rigidity EI 8.5 · 103 kNm2 /m
Weight w 0.0 kN/m/m
Poisson's ratio ν 0.0 -
Hint: If the Material sets window is displayed over the footing and
hides it, click on its header and drag it to another position.
Generating the mesh

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

stress points.
Calculations
• Proceed to the Staged construction mode.
• The initial phase is the same as in the previous case.
• Double-click the following phase (Phase_1) and enter an appropriate
name for the phase ID. Keep Plastic as Calculation type and keep
Staged construction as loading type.
• Close the Phases window.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• In the Staged construction mode activate the load and plate. The model
is shown in Figure 2.25.
Figure 2.25 Active plate and load in the model
• In the Selection explorer assign −188 kN/m2 to the vertical component

of the line load (Figure 2.26). Note that this gives a total load that is
approximately equal to the footing force that was obtained from the first
part of this tutorial. (188 kN/m2 · π·(1.0 m)2 ≈ 590 kN).
• No changes are required in the Water conditions tabsheet.
The calculation definition is now complete. Before starting the calculation it is
advisable to select nodes or stress points for a later generation of
load-displacement curves or stress and strain diagrams. To do this, follow
these steps:
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. As a result,
all the nodes and stress points are displayed in the model in the Output
program. The points can be selected either by directly clicking on them
or by using the options available in the Select points window.
• In the Select points window enter (0.0 4.0) for the coordinates of the

Figure 2.26 Definition of the load components in the Selection explorer
point of interest and click Search closest. The nodes and stress points
located near that specific location are listed.
• Select the node at exactly (0.0 4.0) by checking the box in front of it. The
selected node is indicated by ’A’ in the model when the Selection labels
option is selected in the Mesh menu.
Hint: Instead of selecting nodes or stress points for curves before

starting the calculation, points can also be selected after the
calculation when viewing the output results. However, the curves
will be less accurate since only the results of the saved
calculation steps will be considered.
To select the desired nodes by clicking on them, it may be
convenient to use the Zoom in option on the toolbar to zoom into
the area of interest.
• Click the Update button to return to the Input program.

• Check if both calculation phases are marked for calculation by a blue
arrow. If this is not the case click the symbol of the calculation phase or

TUTORIAL MANUAL
right-click and select Mark for calculation from the pop-up menu.
Click the Calculate button to start the calculation.
Save the project after the calculation has finished.
Viewing the results

After the calculation the results of the final calculation step can be
viewed by clicking the View calculation results button. Select the plots
that are of interest. The displacements and stresses should be similar to
those obtained from the first part of the exercise.
Click the Select structures button in the side toolbar and double click the
footing. A new window opens in which either the displacements or the
bending moments of the footing may be plotted (depending on the type
of plot in the first window).
• Note that the menu has changed. Select the various options from the
Forces menu to view the forces in the footing.
Hint: Multiple (sub-)windows may be opened at the same time in the

Output program. All windows appear in the list of the Window
menu. PLAXIS follows the Windows standard for the
presentation of sub-windows (Cascade, Tile, Minimize,
Maximize, etc).
Generating a load-displacement curve

In addition to the results of the final calculation step it is often useful to view a
load-displacement curve. In order to generate the load-displacement curve
as given in Figure 2.28, follow these steps:
Click the Curves manager button in the toolbar. The Curves manager
window pops up.
• In the Charts tabsheet, click New. The Curve generation window pops
up (Figure 2.27).

Figure 2.27 Curve generation window
• For the x−axis, select point A (0.00 / 4.00) from the drop-down menu.
Select the |u| option for the Total displacements option of the
Deformations.
• For the y −axis, select the Project option from the drop-down menu.
Select the ΣMstage option of the Multipliers. ΣMstage is the proportion
of the specified changes that has been applied. Hence the value will
range from 0 to 1, which means that 100% of the prescribed load has
been applied and the prescribed ultimate state has been fully reached.
Hint: To re-enter the Settings window (in the case of a mistake, a

desired regeneration or modification) you can double click the
chart in the legend at the right of the chart. Alternatively, you
may open the Settings window by selecting the corresponding
option from the Format menu.
» The properties of the chart can be modified in the Chart
tabsheet whereas the properties curve can be modified in the
corresponding tabsheet.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Click OK to accept the input and generate the load-displacement curve.

As a result the curve of Figure 2.28 is plotted.
Figure 2.28 Load-displacement curve for the footing

PLAXIS 2D - SUBMERGED CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXCAVATION
3 SUBMERGED CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXCAVATION
This tutorial illustrates the use of PLAXIS for the analysis of submerged
construction of an excavation. Most of the program features that were used in
Tutorial 1 will be utilised here again. In addition, some new features will be
used, such as the use of interfaces and anchor elements, the generation of
water pressures and the use of multiple calculation phases. The new features
will be described in full detail, whereas the features that were treated in
Tutorial 1 will be described in less detail. Therefore it is suggested that
Tutorial 1 should be completed before attempting this exercise.
This tutorial concerns the construction of an excavation close to a river. The
submerged excavation is carried out in order to construct a tunnel by the
installation of prefabricated tunnel segments which are 'floated' into the
excavation and 'sunk' onto the excavation bottom. The excavation is 30 m
wide and the final depth is 20 m. It extends in longitudinal direction for a large
distance, so that a plane strain model is applicable. The sides of the
excavation are supported by 30 m long diaphragm walls, which are braced by
horizontal struts at an interval of 5 m. Along the excavation a surface load is
taken into account. The load is applied from 2 m from the diaphragm wall up
to 7 m from the wall and has a magnitude of 5 kN/m2 /m (Figure 3.1).
The subsoil consists of a stiff sand layer, which extends to a large depth. 50
m of this sand layer are considered in the model.
Since the geometry is symmetric, only one half (the left side) is considered in
the analysis. The excavation process is simulated in three separate
excavation stages. The diaphragm wall is modelled by means of a plate, such
as used for the footing in the previous tutorial. The interaction between the
wall and the soil is modelled at both sides by means of interfaces. The
interfaces allow for the specification of a reduced wall friction compared to the
friction in the soil. The strut is modelled as a spring element for which the
normal stiffness is a required input parameter.
Objectives:
• Modelling soil-structure interaction using the Interface feature
• Advanced soil model (Hardening Soil model)

TUTORIAL MANUAL
43 m 5m 2m 30 m 2m5m 43 m
5 kN/m2 /m 5 kN/m2 /m
Strut
1m
to be excavated Sand
19 m y
10 m
Diaphragm wall
20 m
Figure 3.1 Geometry model of the situation of a submerged excavation
• Defining Fixed-end-anchor
• Creating and assigning material data sets for anchors
• Simulation of excavation (cluster de-activation)
3.1 INPUT
To create the geometry model, follow these steps:
General settings
• Start the Input program and select Start a new project from the Quick
select dialog box.
• In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window, enter an
appropriate title.
• In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain),
and Elements (15-Node).

• Keep the default values for units and the general parameters.
• Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 65.0 m, ymin = -30.0 m,
ymax = 20.0 m and press OK to close the Project properties window.

To define the soil stratigraphy:
Create a borehole at x = 0. The Modify soil layers window pops up.
• Add the soil layer and specify its height by setting the top level to 20 m
and the bottom level to -30 m.
• Set the Head in the borehole to 18.0 m.
To create the material data set, for the sand layer follow these steps:
Click the Materials button in the Modify soil layers window. The Material
sets window pops up where the Soil and interfaces option is selected by
default as the Set type.
• Click the New button in the Material sets window to create a new data
set.
• For the sand layer, enter "Sand" for the Identification and select
Hardening soil as the Material model.
• Enter the properties of the sand layer, as listed in Table 3.1, in the
General, Parameters and Flow parameters tabsheets.
• Click the Interfaces tab. Select the Manual option in the Strength
drop-down menu. Enter a value of 0.67 for the parameter Rinter . This
parameter relates the strength of the soil to the strength in the interfaces,
according to the equations:
tan ϕinterface = Rinter tan ϕsoil and cinter = Rinter csoil
where:
csoil = cref (see Table 3.1)
Hence, using the entered Rinter -value gives a reduced interface friction
(wall frictions) and interface cohesion (adhesion) compared to the friction
angle and the cohesion in the adjacent soil.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Table 3.1 Material properties of the sand layer and the interfaces
Parameter Name Sand Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening soil -
Type of material behaviour Type Drained -
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 17 kN/m3
Soil unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20 kN/m3
Initial void ratio einit 0.5 -
Parameters
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test ref
E50 4.0· 104 kN/m2
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading ref
Eoed 4.0· 104 kN/m2
5
Unloading / reloading stiffness ref
Eur 1.2· 10 kN/m2
Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness m 0.5 -
Cohesion (constant) cref ' 0.0 kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 32
◦
Poisson's ratio νur ' 0.2 -
K0 -value for normal consolidation K0nc 0.4701 -
Flow parameters
Permeability in horizontal direction kx 1.0 m/day
Permeability in vertical direction ky 1.0 m/day
Interfaces
Interface strength − Manual -
Strength reduction factor inter. Rinter 0.67 -
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic -
Over-consolidation ratio OCR 1.0 -
Pre-overburden pressure POP 0.0 kN/m2

• In the Initial tabsheet keep the default option for the K0 determination
and the default value for the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) and
pre-overburden pressure (POP).
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.
» Instead of accepting the default data sets of interfaces, data sets
can directly be assigned to interfaces by selecting the proper
data set in the Material mode drop-down menu in the Object
explorers.
3.1.1 DEFINITION OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

The creation of diaphragm walls, strut, surface load and excavation levels is
described below.
• Click the Structures tab to proceed with the input of structural elements
in the Structures mode.
To define the diaphragm wall:
Click the Create structure button in the side toolbar.
In the expanded menu select the Create plate option (Figure 3.2).
• In the draw area move the cursor to position (50.0 20.0) at the upper
horizontal line and click. Move 30 m down (50.0 -10.0) and click. Click
the right mouse button to finish the drawing.
Click the Show materials button in the side toolbar. Set the Set type
parameter in the Material sets window to Plates and click the New
button. Enter "Diaphragm wall" as an Identification of the data set and
enter the properties as given in Table 3.2.
• Click OK to close the data set.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 3.2 The Create plate option in the Create structures menu
• Drag the Diaphragm wall data set to the wall in the geometry and drop it
as soon as the cursor indicates that dropping is possible.
• Click OK to close the Material sets window.
Table 3.2 Material properties of the diaphragm wall (Plate)
Type of behaviour Material type Elastic; Isotropic
Normal stiffness EA 7.5 · 106 kN/m
Flexural rigidity EI 1.0 · 106 kNm2 /m
Unit weight w 10.0 kN/m/m
Poisson's ratio ν 0.0 -
Hint: In general, only one point can exist at a certain coordinate and
only one line can exist between two points. Coinciding points or
lines will automatically be reduced to single points or lines.
To define interfaces:
• Right-click the plate representing the diaphragm wall. Point to Create
and click on the Positive interface option in the appearing menu (Figure
3.3). In the same way assign a negative interface as well.
To define the excavation levels:
Click the Create line button in the side toolbar.

Figure 3.3 Positive interface assignment to existing geometry
Hint: In order to identify interfaces at either side of a geometry line, a

positive sign (⊕) or negative sign ( ) is added. This sign has no
physical relevance or influence on the results.
» A Virtual thickness factor can be defined for interfaces. This is a
purely numerical value, which can be used to optimise the
numerical performance of the interface. To define it, select the
interface in the draw area and specify the value to the Virtual
thickness factor parameter in the Selection explorer.
Non-experienced users are advised not to change the default
value. For more information about interface properties see the
Reference Manual.
• To define the first excavation stage move the cursor to position (50.0
18.0) at the wall and click. Move the cursor 15 m to the right (65.0 18.0)
and click again. Click the right mouse button to finish drawing the first

TUTORIAL MANUAL
excavation stage.
• To define the second excavation stage move the cursor to position (50.0
10.0) and click. Move to (65.0 10.0) and click again. Click the right
mouse button to finish drawing the second excavation stage.
• To define the third excavation stage move the cursor to position (50.0
0.0) and click. Move to (65.0 0.0) and click again. Click the right mouse
button to finish drawing the third excavation stage.
To define the strut:
Click the Create structure button in the side toolbar and select the
Create fixed-end anchor button in the expanded menu.
• Move the cursor to (50.0 19.0) and click the left mouse button. A
fixed-end anchor is is added, being represented by a rotated T with a
fixed size.
Click the Show materials button in the side toolbar. Set the Set type
parameter in the Material sets window to Anchor and click the New
button. Enter "Strut" as an Identification of the data set and enter the
properties as given in Table 3.3. Click OK to close the data set.
Table 3.3 Material properties of the strut (anchor)
Type of behaviour Material type Elastic -
Normal stiffness EA 2·106 kN
Spacing out of plane Lspacing 5.0 m
• Make sure that the fixed-end anchor is selected in the draw area.
• In the Selection explorer assign the material data set to the strut by
selecting the corresponding option in the Material drop-down menu.
• The anchor is oriented in the model according to the Directionx and
Directiony parameters in the Selection explorer. The default orientation
is valid in this tutorial.
• Enter an Equivalent length of 15 m corresponding to half the width of the
excavation (Figure 3.4).

Hint: The Equivalent length is the distance between the connection

point and the position in the direction of the anchor rod where the
displacement is zero.
Figure 3.4 Parameters for fixed-end anchors in the Selection explorer
To define the distributed load:

Click the Create load button in the side toolbar
Select the Create line load option in the expanded menu to define a
distributed load (Figure 3.5).
Figure 3.5 The Create line load option in the Create load menu
• Move the cursor to (43.0 20.0) and click. Move the cursor 5 m to the
right to (48.0 20.0) and click again. Right-click to finish drawing.
• In the Selection explorer assign a value of -5 kN/m/m to the
y-component of the load (qy ,start,ref ) (Figure 3.6).

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 3.6 Components of the distributed load in the Selection explorer
3.2 MESH GENERATION

Create the mesh. Use the default option for the Element distribution
parameter (Medium).
View the mesh. The resulting mesh is displayed in Figure 3.7.
• Click on the Close tab to close the Output program.

Figure 3.7 The generated mesh
3.3 CALCULATIONS
In practice, the construction of an excavation is a process that can consist of

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

TUTORIAL MANUAL
structural elements and load are inactive.
Phase 1: External load

In the Phases explorer click the Add phase button to introduce a new
phase.
• The default settings are valid for this phase. In the model the full
geometry is active except for the wall, interfaces, strut and load.
Click the Select multiple objects button in the side toolbar. In the
appearing menu point to Select line and click on the Select plates option
(Figure 3.8).
Figure 3.8 The Select plates option

• In the draw area define a rectangle including all the plate elements
(Figure 3.9).
Figure 3.9 Multi-selection of plates in the draw area
• Right-click the wall in the draw area and select the Activate option from
the appearing menu. The wall is now visible in the color that is specified
in the material dataset.
• Right-click the distributed load to activate it and select the Activate
option from the appearing menu. The load has been defined in the
Structures mode as −5 kN/m/m. The value can be checked in the
Selection explorer.
• Make sure all the interfaces in the model are active.
Hint: The selection of an interface is done by right-clicking the

corresponding geometry line and subsequently selecting the
corresponding interface (positive or negative) from the appearing
menu.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Phase 2: First excavation stage

In the Phases explorer click the Add phase button to introduce a new
phase.
• A new calculation phase appears in the Phases explorer. Note that the
program automatically presumes that the current phase should start
from the previous one and that the same objects are active.
Hint: To copy the settings of the parent phase, select the phase in the
Phases explorer and then click the Add phase button. Note that
the settings of the parent phase are not copied when it is
specified by selecting it in the Start from phase drop-down menu
in the Phases window.
• The default settings are valid for this phase. In the Staged construction
mode all the structure elements except the fixed-end anchor are active.
• In the draw area right-click the top right cluster and select the Deactivate
option in the appearing menu. Figure 3.10 displays the model for the first
excavation phase.
Phase 3: Installation of strut

Add a new phase.
• Activate the strut. The strut should turn black to indicate it is active.
Phase 4: Submerged excavation stage

Add a new phase.
• Deactivate both the second and third cluster from the top on the right
side of the mesh (Figure 3.11).
The calculation definition is now complete. Before starting the calculation it is
suggested that you select nodes or stress points for a later generation of
load-displacement curves or stress and strain diagrams. To do this, follow the
steps given below.

Figure 3.10 Model view for the first excavation phase
Hint: Note that in PLAXIS the pore pressures are not automatically
deactivated when deactivating a soil cluster. Hence, in this case,
the water remains in the excavated area and a submerged
excavation is simulated.
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. The
connectivity plot is displayed in the Output program and the Select points
window is activated.
• Select some nodes on the wall at points where large deflections can be
expected (e.g. 50.0 10.0). The nodes located near that specific location
are listed. Select the convenient one by checking the box in front of it in
the list. Close the Select points window.
• Click on the Update tab to close the Output program and go back to the
Input program.
Calculate the project.
During a Staged construction calculation phase, a multiplier called ΣMstage

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 3.11 Model view for the submerged excavation phase
is increased from 0.0 to 1.0. This parameter is displayed on the calculation

info window. As soon as ΣMstage has reached the value 1.0, the
construction stage is completed and the calculation phase is finished. If a
Staged construction calculation finishes while ΣMstage is smaller than 1.0,
the program will give a warning message. The most likely reason for not
finishing a construction stage is that a failure mechanism has occurred, but
there can be other causes as well. See the Reference Manual for more
information about Staged construction.
3.4 RESULTS
In addition to the displacements and the stresses in the soil, the Output
program can be used to view the forces in structural objects. To examine the
results of this project, follow these steps:
• Click the final calculation phase in the Calculations window.
Click the View calculation results button on the toolbar. As a result, the
Output program is started, showing the deformed mesh (scaled up) at
the end of the selected calculation phase, with an indication of the

maximum displacement (Figure 3.12).
Figure 3.12 Deformed mesh after the third excavation stage
Hint: In the Output program, the display of the loads, fixities and
prescribed displacements applied in the model can be toggled
on/off by clicking the corresponding options in the Geometry
menu.
• Select |∆u| from the side menu displayed as the mouse pointer is
located on the Incremental displacements option of the Deformations
menu. The plot shows colour shadings of the displacement increments,
which indicates the forming of a 'mechanism' of soil movement behind
the wall.
Click the Arrows button in the toolbar. The plot shows the displacement
increments of all nodes as arrows. The length of the arrows indicates the
relative magnitude.
• In the Stresses menu point to the Principal effective stresses and select
the Effective principal stresses option from the appearing menu. The

TUTORIAL MANUAL
plot shows the effective principal stresses at the three middle stress
points of each soil element with an indication of their direction and their
relative magnitude. Note that the Central principal stresses button is
selected in the toolbar. The orientation of the principal stresses indicates
a large passive zone under the bottom of the excavation and a small
passive zone behind the strut (Figure 3.13).
Figure 3.13 Principal stresses after excavation
To plot the shear forces and bending moments in the wall follow the steps
given below.
• Double-click the wall. A new window is opened showing the axial force.
• Select the bending moment M from the Forces menu. The bending
moment in the wall is displayed with an indication of the maximum
moment (Figure 3.14).
• Select Shear forces Q from the Forces menu. The plot now shows the
shear forces in the wall.
• Select the first window (showing the effective stresses in the full
geometry) from the Window menu. Double-click the strut. The strut
force (in kN) is shown in the displayed table.

Figure 3.14 Bending moments in the wall
Hint: The Window menu may be used to switch between the window
with the forces in the wall and the stresses in the full geometry.
This menu may also be used to Tile or Cascade the two
windows, which is a common option in a Windows environment.
• Click the Curves manager button on the toolbar. As a result, the Curves
manager window will pop up.
• Click New to create a new chart. The Curve generation window pops up.
• For the x-axis select the point A from the drop-down menu. In the tree
select Deformations - Total displacements - |u|.
• For the y-axis keep the Project option in the drop-down menu. In the
tree select Multiplier - ΣMstage.
• Click OK to accept the input and generate the load-displacement curve.
As a result the curve of Figure 3.15 is plotted.
The curve shows the construction stages. For each stage, the parameter
ΣMstage changes from 0.0 to 1.0. The decreasing slope of the curve in the
last stage indicates that the amount of plastic deformation is increasing. The

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 3.15 Load-displacement curve of deflection of wall
results of the calculation indicate, however, that the excavation remains stable
at the end of construction.

PLAXIS 3D
PLAXIS 3D

TUTORIAL MANUAL

PLAXIS 3D - FOUNDATION IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY
4 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 PLAXIS 3D.
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 4.1 Geometry of a square building on a raft foundation

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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 4.1). 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 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 a stiff plate.
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.
Hint: In the Professional version, the building can be simulated by

linear elastic volume elements.
4.1 CASE A: RIGID FOUNDATION
In this case, the building is considered to be very stiff. The basement is

simulated by very stiff plate 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
• Assigning material
• Modelling of plates and defining material data set for plates
• Generation of mesh
• Generating initial stresses using the K0 procedure
• Defining a Plastic calculation
• Activation and deactivation of structural elements
4.1.1 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
4.2).
Figure 4.2 Quick select dialog box
• Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears,

consisting of Project and Model tabsheets.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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.
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 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window
• Proceed to the Model tabsheet by clicking either the Next button or the
Model tab (Figure 4.4).
• 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.
Figure 4.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window
• 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.

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

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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 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 4.5). The
creation of material data sets and their assignment to soil layers is
described in the following section.
4.1.2 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 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 a calculation
in Staged construction can be made, material data sets have to be assigned
to all soil volumes and structures.

Figure 4.5 Modify soil layers window
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 4.6), 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 4.1. Keep the unmentioned Advanced
parameters as their default values.
• Click the Next button or click the Parameters tab to proceed with the

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.6 General tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window
Table 4.1 Material properties

Parameter Name Lacustrine clay Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb −
Drainage type Type Drained −
Unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 17.0 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic level γsat 18.0 kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus (constant) E' 1 · 104 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 −
Cohesion (constant) c 'ref 10 kN/m2
◦
◦
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic −
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0 0.5000 −

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 4.1 in the corresponding boxes of the Parameters
tabsheet (Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7 Parameters tabsheet of the Soil and interfaces data set window
• 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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• 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). 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.
• Click the OK button to close the Material sets window.
• Click the OK button to close the Modify soil layers window.

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 structure button at the side tool bar.
Select the Create plate option from the additional tools displayed.
• 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.
Open the Material sets window by clicking the Show materials button
and set the Set type to Plates.
• Create a data set for the rigid foundation according to Table 4.2.

• Drag and drop the data sets to the plate indicating the rigid foundation.
• Close the Material sets window.
Table 4.2 Material properties of rigid foundation
Parameter Name Rigid foundation Unit
Thickness d 2 m
Weight γ 50 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear, isotropic −
Young's modulus E1 3 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν12 0.15 −
4.1.4 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 entities in the geometry model, so that the exact
position of layers, loads and structures is accounted for in the finite element
mesh. To generate the mesh, follow these steps:
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 4.8) and click
OK to start the mesh generation.
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.
» 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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.8 Mesh options window
As the mesh is generated, click the View mesh button. A new window is
opened displaying the generated mesh (Figure 4.9).
Figure 4.9 Generated mesh in the Output window
Click on the Close tab to close the Output program and go back to the


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 Water
conditions 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
4.10). All structural elements and loads that are present in the geometry are
initially automatically switched off; only the soil volumes are initially active.
Figure 4.10 Phases explorer
In PLAXIS 3D two methods are available to generate the initial stresses:

Gravity loading and K0 procedure. The K0 procedure is the default
calculation type for the Initial phase.
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 the Reference Manual for more
information on the K0 procedure.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
The Phases window (Figure 4.11) is displayed by clicking the Edit phase
button or by double clicking on the phase in the Phases explorer.
Figure 4.11 The General tabsheet in the Phases window for Initial phase
• Click OK to close the Phases window.

• Make sure that the plate is inactive.
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 General tabsheet, write (optionally) an appropriate name for the
new phase in the ID box (for example "Building") and select the phase
from which the current phase should start (in this case the calculation
phase can only start from Initial phase, which contains the initial stress
state).
• The default settings are valid for this Plastic phase calculation (Figure
4.12).
• The calculation parameters for phase Building have now been set. Click
OK to close the Phases window.

Figure 4.12 The Phases window for Building phase
• In the Model explorer click the square in front of the plate to activate the
plates.
Hint: Calculation phases may be added, inserted or deleted using the

Add, Insert and Delete buttons in Phases explorer or in the
Phases window.
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 4.13).
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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.13 Active task window displaying the calculation progress
It will take a few seconds to perform the calculation. When a calculation ends,
the window is closed and focus is returned to the main window.
• The phase list in the Phases explorer is updated, showing green tick
marks to indicate that the calculations were finished successfully. An
unsuccessful calculation would be indicated with a red cross.
Before viewing results, save the project.


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 4.14).
Figure 4.14 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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
In the Output window click the Iso surfaces button to display the areas
having the same displacement.
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 helpfull 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.

4.2 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 as well as the walls of the basement consist of 50 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 point load of
11650 kN and the walls carry a line load of 385 kN/m, as sketched in Figure
4.15. The column itself, however, will not be modelled.
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 4.15 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
• Moving structures
• Modelling of beams and defining material data set for beams
• Assigning point loads

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Assigning line loads

• Assigning distributed loads to surfaces
• Deleting phases
• 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:
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.
Definition of structural elements

Proceed to the Structures mode to model the building. First the plate has to
be moved 2 meters downwards:
Click the Selection button and select the plate at the top of the soil.
Click the Move button and while holding the <Shift> key pressed, move
the plate to z = −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.
Second step is the creation of the shape of the building:

Select the Create plate option from the tools displayed after clicking the
Create structure button.
• Position the cursor at the coordinate (0 18 0) and click to define the first
point of one of the basement walls.
• Move to position (18 18 0) and click to define the second point of this
basement wall.
• While holding the <Shift> key, move the cursor to coordinate (18 18 -2)
and click.
• Move to position (0 18 -2) and click. Press the right mouse button to
finalize the definition of this surface.
• In the same way, define the second basement wall as a plate with points
at (18 18 -2), (18 0 -2), (18 0 0) and (18 18 0).

TUTORIAL MANUAL
The shape of the building has now been created. Next step will be the
definition of the material data set for the basement walls and floor.
Figure 4.16 Location of plates in the project
Open the material data base and set the Set type to Plates.
• Select the Rigid foundation material and delete it by clicking the Delete
button.
• Create a data set for the basement slabs according to Table 4.3.
• Drag and drop the data set 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.
Table 4.3 Material properties of the basement slabs
Parameter Name Basement slabs Unit
Thickness d 0.5 m
Weight γ 15 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear, isotropic −
Young's modulus E1 3 · 107 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν12 0.15 −
Furthermore, the loads and beams have to be defined.

• 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 (Staged construction mode).

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.
In this example, the value will be assigned in the Staged consturction

modes.
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.
Select the Create beam option from the additional tools displayed.
• Click on (0 6 -2) to create the first point of the first horizontal beam. Click
on (18 6 -2) to define the second point of the beam. To stop drawing
click the right mouse button.
• Create the second horizontal beam 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 a data set for the horizontal beams according to Table 4.4.
Assign the data set to the corresponding beam elements by drag and

TUTORIAL MANUAL
drop.
Table 4.4 Material properties of the basement beams
Parameter Name Basement beam Unit
Cross section area A 0.7 m2
Volumetric weight γ 6.0 kN/m3
Type of behaviour Type Linear −
Young's modulus E 3 · 107 kN/m2
Moment of Inertia I3 0.058 m4
I2 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 -2) to add a point load indicating the load from the column.
Proceed to the Mesh tabsheet to generate the mesh.
Mesh generation
Click the Generate mesh. Keep the Element distribution as Coarse.
Inspect the generated mesh.
• Click on the Close tab to close the Output program and go back to the
As the geometry has changed, all calculation phases have to be redefined.

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.

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.
• In the Phases window rename Phase_1 to "Excavation".
• In the Staged construction mode 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 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

TUTORIAL MANUAL
negative z -direction.
• In the Model explorer click the checkbox in front of Point loads to
activate the point load corresponding to the one 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.

• Select Construction option 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 PLAXIS 3D view of the geometry.
• Select Total displacements → uz from the Deformations menu (Figure
4.17). 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.
• Press <CTRL><+> and <CTRL><−> to move the cross section.

Figure 4.17 Cross section showing the total vertical displacement
• 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 menu.
Click the Shadings button. The plot in Figure 4.18 will be displayed.
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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Figure 4.18 Bending moments in the basement floor
4.3 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 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 4.5. 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 4.5 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 Select button and select the embedded pile.
Click the Create array button.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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 the Model explorer and selecting the material from the Set
material option in the displayed menu.
• 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 4.19).
• Press OK to create the array. A total of 2x2 = 4 piles will be created.
Figure 4.19 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 subtree in the Model explorer to
hide the soil. The embedded piles can be seen (Figure 4.20).
Figure 4.20 Partial geometry of the model in the Output
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:

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
Click the View calculation results button to open the Output program.
• 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 4.21.
• 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 4.22.

Figure 4.21 Bending moments in the basement floor
Figure 4.22 Resulting axial forces (N) in the embedded piles

TUTORIAL MANUAL

PLAXIS 3D - EXCAVATION IN CLAY
5 EXCAVATION IN CLAY
This tutorial describes the construction of an excavation pit in soft clay. The
pit is a relatively small excavation of 12 by 20 m, excavated to a depth of 6.5
m below the surface. Struts and walings are used to prevent the pit to
collapse. After the full excavation, an additional surface load is added on one
side of the pit.
Hint: In the Professional version, ground anchors consisting of

embedded piles and node-to-node anchors will be used in
addition to prevent the pit to collapse.
5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m 5.0 m

(30 32)
(50 32)
4.0 m Strut
4.0 m
50.0 m 4.0 m
(30 20) (50 20)
(34 19) (41 19)
(34 12) (41 12)
80.0 m
Figure 5.1 Top view of the excavation pit
The proposed geometry for this exercise is 80 m wide and 50 m long, as

shown in Figure 5.1. The excavation pit is placed in the center of the
geometry. Figure 5.2 shows a cross section of the excavation pit with the soil
layers. The clay layer is considered to be impermeable.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Objectives:
• Using the Hardening Soil model
• Using interface features
• Defining over-consolidation ratio (OCR)
• Changing water conditions
• Selection of stress points to generate stress/strain curves
• Viewing plastic points
z=0 Soft clay

z = -1
Sheet pile walls
Soft clay
z = -6
z = -9.5
Soft clay
-9) z = -20
Figure 5.2 Cross section of the excavation pit with the soil layers
5.1 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.

5.1.1 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). The Modify soil layers window pops up.
• Add 3 layers with bottom levels at -1, -9.5 and -20. Set the Head in the
borehole column to -6 m.
Open the Material sets window.
• Create a new data set under Soil and interfaces set type.
• Identify the new data set as "Soft Clay".
• 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 Material Models Manual.
• Define the saturated and unsaturated unit weights according to Table
5.1.
ref ref ref
• In the Parameters tabsheet, enter values for E50 , Eoed , Eur , m, c 'ref ,
ϕ'ref , ψ and ν 'ur according to Table 5.1. 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.
• In the Interfaces tabsheet, select Manual in the Strength box and enter a
value of 0.5 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.
• In the Initial tabsheet, define the OCR -value according to Table 5.1.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Table 5.1 Material properties for the soil layers

Parameter Name Soft Clay Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening −
Soil model
Drainage type Type Undrained A −
Unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 16.0 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic level γsat 17.0 kN/m3
Parameters
ref
Secant stiffness for CD triaxial test E50 2.0 · 103 kN/m2
ref
Tangent oedometer stiffness Eoed 2.0 · 103 kN/m2
ref
Unloading/reloading stiffness Eur 1.0 · 104 kN/m2
Power for stress level dependency of m 1.0 −
stiffness
Cohesion c 'ref 5 kN/m2
◦
◦
Poisson's ratio ν 'ur 0.2 −
Interfaces
Interface strength − Manual −
Interface reduction factor Rinter 0.5 −
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic −
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0 0.7411 −
Over-consolidation ratio OCR 1.5 −
Pre-overburden pressure POP 0.0 −
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 stiffness of the interface.
• Click OK to close the window.

• 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 mouse button menu, select the Soft Clay option in the Set material
menu.
• In the same way assign the Soft Clay material to the other 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.

The creation of sheet pile walls, walings, struts and surface loads is described
below.
Hint: In the Professional version, the Extrude and Decompose tools

can be used to generate the shape of the building in a more
convenient way.
Click the Create structure button.

Create a plate between (30 20 0), (30 32 0), (30 32 -11) and (30 20 -11).
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 -11 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 = -11.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Create a second plate between (30 32 0), (50 32 0), (50 32 -11) and (30
32 -11), a third plate between (50 32 0), (50 20 0), (50 20 -11) and (50
32 -11) and a fourth plate between (50 20 0), (30 20 0), (30 20 -11) and
(50 20 -11).
• Create a data set for the sheet pile walls (plates) according to Table 5.2.
Assign the data sets to the four walls.
• Select all four vertical surfaces modelling the sheet pile walls and 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 5.2 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, 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.

Table 5.3 Material properties for the walings and struts

Parameter Name Waling and strut Unit
Cross section area A 0.008682 m2
Unit weight γ 78.5 kN/m3
Material behaviour Type Linear −
Young's modulus E 2.1 · 108 kN/m2
Moment of Inertia I3 1.045 · 10−4 m4
I2 3.66 · 10−4 m4
To define the bottom of the excavation pit with points at z=-6.5, follow next
steps:
Click the Create surface button.
• In the command line, type "30 20 -6.5 30 32 -6.5 50 32 -6.5 50 20 -6.5"
to define the bottom of the excavation pit.
Click the Create structure button.
Click the Create beam button from the additional tools displayed to
create beams (walings) around the circumference at level z = -1 m.
• 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 5.3 and
assign the materials accordingly.
Copy the strut into a total of three struts at x = 35 (existing), x = 40, and x
= 45.
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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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.
5.2 MESH GENERATION

Create the mesh. Set the Element distribution to Coarse.
View the mesh.
5.3 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS
The calculation consists of 5 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. 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
• In the Model explorer activate all the beams.
Add another phase (Phase_3). The default values of the parameters will
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 the Dry
option from the drop-down menu.
Figure 5.3 Water conditions in the Selection explorer
• Deactivate the volume to be excavated (between z = -1 and z = -6.5).

• Hide the soil and the plates around the excavation.
Select the soil volume below the excavation (between z = -6.5 and z =
-9.5).
In Selection explorer expand the soil entity and subsequently expand the
WaterConditions feature.
• Click Conditions and select Interpolate from the drop-down menu.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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 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 5.4. Scroll the wheel
button of the mouse to zoom in or out to get a better view.
Figure 5.4 Preview of the steady state pore pressures in Phase_3 in a cross
section
• Click on the Close button to return to the Input program.

Add another phase (Phase_4). The default values of the parameters will
• Activate the surface load and set σz = -20 kN/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.
• Define (37.5 19 -1.5) as Point-of-interest coordinates.

Figure 5.5 The Select points window
• Click the Search closest button. 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.
• Click the Update button to close the Output program.
Start the calculation process.
Save the project when the calculation is finished.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
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.
5.4 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_4) 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 5.6, select all the options except the
Elastic points and the Show only inaccurate points options. Figure 5.7
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.

Figure 5.6 Plastic points window
Figure 5.7 Plastic points at the end of the final phase
• While holding the <Ctrl> key or <Shift> key on the keyboard, double-click
at one of 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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
• Select point K from the drop-down menu for y−axis of the graph. Select
σ '1 under Principal effective stresses.
• Invert the sign of both axis by checking the corresponding boxes (Figure
5.8).
• Click OK to confirm the input.
Figure 5.8 Curve generation window
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.
• 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 5.9). 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 5.9 Stress - Strain curve
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.
To create a stress path plot for stress point L follow these steps:
• Create a new chart.
• In the Curves generation window, select point L 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.

TUTORIAL MANUAL
Select σ 'zz under Cartesian effective stresses.

• Click OK to confirm the input (Figure 5.10).
Figure 5.10 Vertical effective stress (σ 'zz ) versus horizontal effective stress
(σ 'yy ) at stress point L located near (37.5 19 -5)

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 - Tutorial Manual 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 - Tutorial Manual 11

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 - Tutorial Manual 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PLAXIS 2D - SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

2 SETTLEMENT OF A CIRCULAR FOOTING ON SAND

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

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 11

A circular footing with a radius of 1.0 m is placed on a sand layer of 4.0 m

2.2 CASE A: RIGID FOOTING

12 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

2.2.1 GEOMETRY INPUT

Figure 2.2 Quick select dialog box

• Click Start a new project. The Project properties window appears,

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 13

Figure 2.3 Project tabsheet of the Project properties window

14 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Figure 2.4 Model tabsheet of the Project properties window

Definition of soil stratigraphy

Hint: The modelling process is completed in five modes.

Information on the soil layers is entered in boreholes. Boreholes are locations

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 15

Figure 2.5 Modify soil layers window

Material data sets

16 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Figure 2.6 Material sets window

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 17

18 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Table 2.1 Material properties of the sand layer

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 19

20 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Definition of structural elements

Figure 2.9 The Create line displacement option in the Prescribed

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 21

• Specify a uniform prescribed displacement in the vertical direction by

Figure 2.10 Prescribed displacement in the Selection explorer

The geometry of the model is complete.

22 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Figure 2.11 The Mesh options window

Hint: By default, the Element distribution is set to Medium. The

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 23

Figure 2.12 The generated mesh in the Output window

2.2.2 PERFORMING CALCULATIONS

24 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Figure 2.13 Phases explorer

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 25

Figure 2.14 The Phases window for Initial phase

Hint: The K0 procedure should be primarily used for horizontally

explicit boundary condition is given to a certain boundary (a free boundary),

26 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

(BoreholeWaterLevel_1) is automatically assigned to GlobalWaterLevel

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 27

Figure 2.16 Initial phase in the Staged construction mode

• Double-click Phase_1 to open the Phases window.

28 Tutorial Manual | PLAXIS Introductory 2014

Figure 2.17 The Phases window for the Indentation phase

Figure 2.18 Activation of the prescribed displacement in the Staged

PLAXIS Introductory 2014 | Tutorial Manual 29

Hint: Calculation phases may be added, inserted or deleted using the

from phase parameter.

Figure 2.19 Active task window displaying the calculation progress

The information, which is continuously updated, shows the calculation