PLAXIS

INPUT

GENERAL SETTING

Model:
i. Plane Strain
 For geometries with a more or less uniform x-section
 Displacement & strains in z-direction are assumed to be zero.

ii. Axisymmetric
 For circular structures with a more or less uniform radial x-section
 Deformation and stress state are asummed to be equal in any radial direction.
Elements:
i. 15-node
 Contains 12 stress points.
 Provides accurate calculation of stresses & failure loads.
 Consume high memory and slower calculation & operation performance.

ii. 6-node
 Consists of 3 stress points.
 For a quick calculation of serviceability states.
GEOMETRY

Points / Lines
 Create geometry line and points.

Plates
 Example: walls, plates, shells or linings extending in z-direction.
 Bending stiffness (EI) & axial stiffness (EA)
 Equivalanet plate thickness deq is calculated from equation:

EI
deq = 12
EA
 Can be activated or de-activated in calculation phases.

Hinges & Rotation Springs

 Plate connection allows for a discontinuous rotation in the joint.

Geogrids
 With a normal stiffness but with no bending stiffness.

Interfaces (+ & - sign just for identification, no physical meaning & no

influence to the results)
 Virtual thickness to define the material properties of the interface.

Node to Node Anchors

 Springs that are used to model ties between two points.
 A 2-node elastic spring element with a constant spring stiffness and can be subjected
to tensile or compressive forces

Fixed End Anchors

 Springs that are used to model a tying of a single point (e.g. struts to sheet-pile wall).
 A 1-node lastic spring element with constant spring stiffness
 The other end of spring (defined by the equivalent length & direction) is fixed.
Tunnels
 Used to create circular & non-circular tunnel x-sections
 Composed of arcs, lines, with optional lining & interface.

LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Prescribed Displacements
 Impose on the model to control the displacement of certain points.

Standard Fixities
 PLAXIS automatically imposes a set of general boundary conditions to the geometry
model:
i. Lowest or highest x-coordinate for vertical geometry lines are set to
horizontal fixity (ux = 0)
ii. Lowest or highest y-coordinate for horizontal geometry lines are set to full
fixity (ux = uy = 0).

Distributed Loads
 2 load systems (A & B) for a combination of loads.
 Each load can be activated independently.
 kN/m2

Point Loads
 Line loads along the z-direction.
 2 load systems – A & B.
 kN/m.

Rotation Fixities
 To fix the rotational degree of freedom of a plate around the z-axis.
Drains
 To prescribe lines in the geometry model where excess pore pressures are set to zero.
 For consolidation analysis or groundwater flow calculations.

Wells
 To prescribe points in the model where discharge is subtracted from or added to the
soil.
 Can select to apply Extraction from the soil (+ve discharge) or Infiltration in the soil
(-ve discharge).

MATERIAL PROPERTIES

Material Models:

 Linear Elastic
 Represents Hooke’s law of isotropic linear elasticity.
 Very limited for the simulation of soil behavior.
 Primary use for stiff structures in the soil.
 Parameters: E, v

 Mohr Coulomb (P
 Well-known model used as a first approximation of soil behavior.
 Parameters: E, v, c, φ, ψ (for quartz sand: = φ – 30 , = 0 for φ < 30, = -ve
for extremely loose sand)

 Jointed Rock
 An anisotropic elastic-plastic model where plastic shearing can only occur in
a limited number of shearing directions.

 Hardening Soil
 An elastoplastic type of hyperbolic model.
 A second order model to simulate the behavior of sand, gravels, silts & clays.
  Soft Soil
 Cam-Clay type model to simulate the behavior of soft soils.
 Performs best in situations of primary compression.

 Soft Soil Creep

 Simulate the time-dependent behavior of soft soils.

 User-defined

Type of Material Behaviour:

 Drained
 No excess pore pressures are generated.
 Case for dry soil and full drainage due to high permeability or low loading
rate.
 Simulate long-term soil behavior without the need to model the precise
history of undrained loading & consolidation.

 Undrained
 For full development of excess pore pressures.
 Due to low permeability or high loading rate.

 Non-porous
 Apply to modeling of concrete or structural behavior.
 Can be applied to interfaces to block the flow through sheet pile walls or
other impervous structures.
 Saturated unit weight & permeability are not relevant.
MESH GENERATION

 Geometry model has to be fully defined.

 Material properties are assigned to all clusters and structural objects.
 Mesh coarseness.
 Global or local mesh refinement.

INITIAL CONDITIONS

 Initial stress state and initial configuration have to be specified:

i. Water Conditions (water pressure generation)

 Phreatic levels – quick and straight forward.
 Groundwater calculation – requires the input of boundary conditions
on the groundwater head & flow boundaries.

ii. Initial Geometry Conditions (initial stresses generation)

 Loads & geometry objects will be automatically de-activated.
 Generation by specifying K0 or using Gravity loading.
CALCULATION

CALCULATION TYPES

Plastic calculation
 To carry out an elastic-plastic deformation analysis
 Decay of excess pore pressures with time is not necessarily to be taken into
account.

Consolidation analysis
 To analyze the dissipation of excess pore pressure as a function of time.
 PLAXIS allows for true elastic-plastic consolidation analysis.
 Consolidation analysis without additional loading is performed after an
undrained plastic calculation.
 Possible to apply loads during a consolidation analysis.

Phi-c reduction (safety analysis)

 A safety analysis by reducing the strength parameters of the soil.
 Available as a separate type of calculation.
 To calculate a global safety factor for a particular situation.
 Can be performed after each individual calculation phase (e.g. each construction
stage).
 Cannot be used as a starting condition for another calculation phases as it ends
in a state of failure.
 No loads can be increased simultaneously and time increment is not relevant.

Update mesh analysis

 Each basic type of calculations can optionally perform update mesh analysis.
 Take into account the effects of large deformations.
 For most applications, the effects of large deformations negligible so it is not
necessary to select this advanced option.
 Typical applications: reinforced soil structures (tension stiffening effect),
analysis of collapse loads of large offshore footing.
OUTPUT

Deformations
 Deformed Mesh
 Total, Horizontal & Vertical Displacement
 Incremental Displacements
 Total Strains
 Cartesian Strains
 Incremental Stains
 Cartesian Strain Incements

Stresses
 Effective Stresses
 Total Stresses
 Cartesian Effective Stresses
 Cartesian Total Stresses
 OCR
 Plastic Points
 Actives Pore Pressures
 Excess Pore Pressures
 Groundwater Head
 Flow Field
 Degree of Saturation

Structures & Interfaces

 Plates
 Geogrids
 Interfaces
 Anchors

Sign convention for axial forces and hoop forces in plates, geogrid and anchors
Output Tables
 Table of diplacements
 Tablses of stresses and strains
 Table of nodes and stress points

CURVES

 Load-dispalcement curves
 Time-displacement curves
 Stress-strain diagrams
 Stress paths and strain paths