The study of groundwater is essential for geotechnical engineers who construct building foundations, tunnels, water conveyance channels, dams, mines, and other structures.
In this context, PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D are fully equipped with a complete set of tools to model changes of pore water pressure and, more specifically, dewatering, along with its influence on soil mechanical behavior.
Using PLAXIS facilitated highly accurate modeling and analysis that enabled SAIDEL Engineering to achieve approval of the project and get it back on track in just three months, after a lingering two-year hiatus.
The problem of analyzing and designing deep foundations is relevant to many civil engineering structures, because we are commonly and frequently constructing buildings on soft soils. Pile foundation is a popular type of deep foundation technique used to transfer superstructure load into subsoil and bearing layers. In this context, the accurate prediction of piles’ settlement and proper evaluation of pile bearing capacity is a fundamental aspect of deep foundation design. This could be a challenging task for the designer in the case of complex pile-soil interaction or in situations involving a consolidation process.
Soil-structure interaction is a crucial aspect for both geotechnical and structural fields. There is always an interaction between a structure and its foundation … and its proper investigation is an important design aspect which should not be neglected. PLAXIS offers extensive modeling features to model structures and the interaction between the structures and the soil.
Geotechnical engineers usually prefer to carry out 2D numerical analyses because FE models are simpler and faster to set up, plus, they are also quicker to run and post-process. On the other hand, 2D models will never fully reflect the true 3D reality of the problem at stake and might often lead to overly conservative results. However, 3D models are more accurate and realistic, but could represent a significantly larger time investment.
Geotechnical applications often involve structures and other objects that interact with the surrounding soil. Although soil behaviour is generally more critical and complex than that of embedded structures, it is important that structures are modelled with the same accuracy as the soil.
Although PLAXIS has its roots in soft soil, it is well equipped for finite element analyses in hard soils and rocks. In addition to dedicated facilities for the modelling of tunnels, rock bolts and field stress conditions, it includes the necessary constitutive models to simulate the behaviour of various types of rock. It is important to note that rock behaviour (even the same rock formation) can vary a lot from one place to another, because of local irregularities.
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering is a special discipline in our profession. It requires understanding of the terminology and methods that are necessary to safely design structures against earthquakes as well as understanding of the features of soil behaviour under dynamic and cyclic loading, including liquefaction.
Model parameters can be easily obtained from standard site investigation data. A finite element analysis using the Soft Soil model is more accurate and realistic than when using a simple model, at least when dealing with soft soils. And, more importantly, it provides a safe solution when stability is at stake.