2D 1 Tutorial (090 190)
2D 1 Tutorial (090 190)
2D 1 Tutorial (090 190)
This tutorial illustrates the use of PLAXIS for the analysis of the construction of a NATM
tunnel. The NATM is a technique in which ground exposed by excavation is stabilised
with shotcrete to form a temporary lining.
28 m 8m 7m 7m 50 m
(-7 35)
Top layer 5m
(-14 30)
6m
(-22 24)
(-50 24)
Clay - Siltstone
13 m
(-50 11)
y
Clay - Limestone
11 m
x
(-50 0)
Objectives:
• Modelling the construction of an NATM tunnel using the Deconfinement method.
• Using Gravity loading to generate initial stresses.
7.1 INPUT
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 make sure that Model is set to Plane strain and that Elements
is set to 15-Noded.
• Define the limits for the soil contour as xmin = −50.0, xmax = 50.0, ymin = 0.0 and
ymax = 35.0.
• In the appearing menu select the Add option. The Add borehole window pops up.
• Specify the location of the second borehole (X = -14).
• Note that the soil layers are available for Borehole_2. The layer number 1 has a
depth equal to zero in Borehole_2. However as the depth of layer 2 is higher assign
30.00 to Top and Bottom of the layer 1. The layer number 2 lies from Top = 30.00 to
Bottom = 11.00. The layer number 3 lies from Top = 11.00 to Bottom = 0.00.
• Create a new borehole (Borehole_3) at X = -7.
• In Borehole_3 the layer number 1 has a non-zero thicknesss and lies from Top =
35.00 to Bottom = 30.00. The layer number 2 lies from Top = 30.00 to Bottom =
11.00. The layer number 3 lies from Top = 11.00 to Bottom = 0.00.
• In all the boreholes the water level is located at y = 0 m.
• Specify the soil layer distribution as shown in Figure 7.2.
• Create soil material data sets according to Table 7.1 and assign them to the
corresponding layers (Figure 7.2).
• Close the Modify soil layers window and proceed to the Structures mode to define
the structural elements.
Note that the layering of the model left from the first borehole is based on Borehole_1 and
the layering right from the last borehole is based on Borehole_3. Hence, no borehole is
needed at x = −50 m or x = 50 m.
Table 7.1 Material properties of the soil layers
Parameter Name Top layer Clay-siltstone Clay-limestone Unit
General
Material model Model Hardening soil Hoek-Brown Hoek-Brown -
Type of material behaviour Type Drained Drained Drained -
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 20 25 24 kN/m3
Soil unit weight below phreatic level γsat 22 25 24 kN/m3
Initial void ratio einit 0.5 0.5 0.5 -
Parameters
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial ref
E50 4.0·104 - - kN/m2
test
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer ref
Eoed 4.0·104 - - kN/m2
loading
Unloading / reloading stiffness ref
Eur 1.2·105 - - kN/m2
Power for stress-level dependency of m 0.5 - - -
stiffness
Young's modulus E 'rm - 1.0·106 2.5·106 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν 'ur 0.2 0.25 0.25 -
Uniaxial compressive strength σci - 2.5·104 5.0·104 kN/m2
Material constant for the intact rock mi - 4.0 10.0 -
Geological Strength Index GSI - 40.0 55.0 -
Disturbance factor D - 0.2 0.0 -
Cohesion c 'ref 10.0 - - kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 30 - -
◦
Dilatancy parameter ψ max - 30.0 35.0
Dilatancy parameter σψ - 400 1000 kN/m2
Interfaces
Interface strength − Rigid Manual Rigid -
Strength reduction factor Rinter 1.0 0.5 1.0 -
• Assign negative interfaces to the lines defining the shape of the tunnel (not the
excavation levels). The final tunnel view in the Tunnel designer window is given in
Figure 7.4.
• Click on Generate to update the tunnel in the model and press Close.
The default global coarseness parameter (Medium) can be accepted in this case.
• Proceed to the Mesh mode.
Create the mesh. Use the default option for the Element distribution parameter
(Medium).
View the mesh. The generated mesh is shown in Figure 7.5.
• Click on the Close tab to close the Output program.
7.3 CALCULATIONS
To simulate the construction of the tunnel it is clear that a staged construction calculation
is needed.
• Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of the calculation
phases.
The initial phase has already been introduced. Note that the soil layers are not
horizontal. It is not recommended in this case to use the K0 procedure to generate
the initial effective stresses. Instead Gravity loading will be used. This option is
available in the General subtree of the Phases window.
• Water will not be considered in this example. The general phreatic level should
remain at the model base.
• Make sure that the tunnel is inactive.
7.4 RESULTS
After the calculation, select the last calculation phase and click the View calculation
results button. The Output program is started, showing the deformed mesh at the end of
the calculation phases (Figure 7.10).
Figure 7.10 The deformed mesh at the end of the final calculation phase
This tutorial illustrates how to calculate the vertical bearing capacity and vertical stiffness
of a circular stiff underwater footing (e.g. one of the footings of a jacket structure)
exposed to cyclic loading during a storm. The storm is idealised by a distribution of load
parcels with different magnitude. The cyclic accumulation tool is used to obtain soil
parameters for the UDCAM-S model. The example considers a circular concrete footing
with a radius of 11 m, placed on an over-consolidated clay layer.
The procedure for establishing non-linear stress-strain relationships and calculating
load-displacement curves of a foundation under a cyclic vertical load component is
presented. The analysis of the circular footing is performed with a 2D axisymmetric
model.
The soil profile consists of clay with an overconsolidation ratio, OCR, of 4, submerged
unit weight of 10 kN/m3 and an earth pressure coefficient, K0 , of 1.The (static) undrained
shear strength from anisotropically consolidated triaxial compression tests has a constant
value with a depth of suC = 130 kPa. The maximum shear modulus, Gmax , of the clay is
67275 kPa. The cyclic behaviour of the soil is based on contour diagrams for Drammen
clay (Andersen, Kleven & Heien, 1988) assuming that the behaviour is representative of
the actual clay. The soil properties and footing geometry are shown in Figure 8.1.
1m
D = 22 m
Objectives:
• Obtain the UDCAM-S model input parameters by running the cyclic accumulation
procedure, determining the stress-strain curves and optimising the material model
parameters.
• Calculate the total cyclic vertical bearing capacity.
• Calculate the vertical stiffness accounting for cyclic loading for both the total and the
cyclic component.
8.1 INPUT
The three steps of the cyclic accumulation and optimisation procedure are
represented by the three tab sheets (Cyclic accumulation, Stress-strain curves and
Parameter optimisation) in the window.
1. Cyclic accumulation
The purpose of this step is to determine the equivalent number of undrained
cycles of the peak load, Neq , for a given soil contour diagram and load
distribution.
• Select an appropriate contour diagram from Select contour diagram data in
the Cyclic accumulation tab. In this case, select Drammen clay, OCR = 4.
Hint: For more information about contour diagrams, see Andersen (2015) and
Section 6.1.4.
• The load ratios and number of cycles from the storm composition can be
entered in the empty table. The storm composition is given in Table 8.2
(Jostad, Torgersrud, Engin & Hofstede, 2015) as the cyclic vertical load
normalized with respect to the maximum cyclic vertical load (Load ratio)
and the number of cycles (N cycles). It is here assumed that the cyclic
shear stress history in the soil is proportional to the maximum cyclic
vertical load of the footing. The table should be entered such that the
smallest load ratio is at the top and the highest load ratio is at the bottom.
Table 8.2 Composition of cyclic vertical load for a 6-hour design storm
Hint: The design storm is a load history that is transformed into parcels of constant
cyclic load. Each parcel corresponds to a number of cycles at a constant
amplitude determined from the time record of the load component. See
Section 6.1.4 of the Reference Manual for more information.
When you’ve entered the load parcels in the table, the Load ratio vs N
cycles graph will show a graphic representation of the data. For the data
given here and the logarithmic scale turned on, it will look like Figure 8.5.
2. Stress-strain curves
The purpose of this tab is to obtain non-linear stress-strain curves for a given
(calculated) Neq and given cyclic over average shear stress ratio (here taken
equal to the ratio between cyclic and average vertical load during the storm).
• Go to the Stress-strain curves tab.
• For the Neq determination, keep the default option From cyclic
accumulation. The calculated equivalent number of cycles is adopted from
the previous tab.
• Keep the Soil behaviour as Anisotropic, and the Scaling factor, DSS and
Scaling factor, TX as 1.
Hint: Cyclic strength can be scaled based on available soil specific cyclic strength.
» If the plasticity index and/or water content of the soil is different from
Drammen clay, the cyclic strength can be scaled by applying a scaling factor
different from 1 (see Andersen (2015) for details).
• Set the cyclic to average shear stress ratio for DSS, triaxial compression
and triaxial extension, describing the inclination of the stress path, to
appropriate values. In this example, the following input values are selected
to obtain strain compatibility at failure, i.e. the same cyclic and average
shear strain for the different stress paths at failure.
DSS
• cyclic to average ratio for DSS (∆τcyc /∆τ ) = 1.1,
TXC
• triaxial compression (∆τcyc /∆τ ) = 1.3 and
TXE
• extension (∆τcyc /∆τ ) = −6.3
• Select the load type of interest, Total load case is selected for this first
material. DSS and triaxial contour diagrams are plotted together with
stress paths described by the cyclic to average ratios Figure 8.7. Notice
that the shear stresses are normalised with respect to the static undrained
shear strength in compression. The extracted stress-strain curves are
plotted below the contour diagrams.
• Press Calculate to produce the corresponding normalised stress-strain
curves below the contour diagrams.
3. Parameter optimisation
The purpose of the optimisation is to obtain a set of parameters for the
UDCAM-S model.
• Click the Parameter optimisation tab.
• Enter the parameters of the clay below Static properties. Set suC ref to 130.0
and K0 determination to Manual and set K0 to 1.0.
• Propose minimum and maximum values for the parameters listed below
Parameter ranges, see (Table 8.3) for values.
Hint: In the optimisation, set minimum and maximum values of τ C /SuC , τ DSS /SuC ,
and τ E /SuC close to the results from the strain interpolation if one wants to
keep these values. Calculate Gmax /τ C by dividing Gmax from soil properties
with results for (τ C /SuC ) ∗ SuC . Set the minimum and maximum values close
to this value.
• Click Calculate to obtain optimised parameters (Figure 8.8 and Table 8.4).
After a few seconds, the optimal values are shown in the corresponding
column in the Parameter ranges table. Based on these values, the
optimised parameters are calculated and listed in the right-hand table.
The resulting stress-strain curves from test simulations with the UDCAM-S
model using the optimised parameters are shown together with the target
points from the contour diagrams.
• Copy the optimised material parameters: Press the Copy parameters
button and go back to the Soil-UDCAM-S window describing the material.
Press the Paste material button, and the values in the Parameters tab are
replaced with the new values.
• Click OK to close the created material.
Create a new material for the second clay material.
• Enter "Clay - cyclic load" for the identification and select UDCAM-S as the
Material model.
• Repeat the procedure, but this time set load type to Cyclic.
• On the Parameter optimisation tab, set suC ref to 130.0 and K0 determination to
Automatic.
• Propose minimum and maximum values for the parameters listed below
Parameter ranges, see Table 8.5 for values and click Calculate.
The optimised parameters are shown in Figure 8.10 and listed in Table 8.6.
Create a new material for the concrete foundation.
• Enter "Concrete footing" for the Identification and select Linear elastic as the
Material model.
• Set the Drainage type to Non-porous.
• Enter the properties of the layer: a unit weight of 24kN/m3 , Young’s modulus
of 30E6kN/m2 and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.1.
• Click OK to close the created material.
Assign the "Clay - total load" material set to the soil layer in the borehole.
Click OK to close the Material sets window.
For the interface material extended into the soil, full soil strength is applied (Rinter =
1.0, as implicitly defined in the original clay material).
• In order to calculate the cyclic vertical capacity and stiffness, a vertical load is
applied at the top of the foundation.
Define a distributed load by selecting Create line load and click (0.0, 0.0) and (11.0,
0.0).
8.3 CALCULATIONS
8.4 RESULTS
Vertical stiffness
The vertical stiffness (accounting for cyclic loading) is calculated as ky = Fy /uy for both
the total and the cyclic component. The total vertical displacement includes accumulated
vertical displacements during the storm. Load versus stiffness is shown in Figure 8.16.
Figure 8.16 Vertical load versus stiffness for total and cyclic load components
This example concerns the stability of a reservoir dam under conditions of drawdown.
Fast reduction of the reservoir level may lead to instability of the dam due to high pore
water pressures that remain inside the dam. To analyse such a situation using the finite
element method, a fully coupled flow-deformation analysis is required. Time-dependent
pore pressure is coupled with deformations development and used in a stability analysis.
This example demonstrates how coupled analysis and stability analysis can interactively
be performed in PLAXIS 2D.
The dam to be considered is 30 m high and the width is 172.5 m at the base and 5 m at
the top. The dam consists of a clay core with a well graded fill at both sides. The
geometry of the dam is depicted in Figure 9.1. The normal water level behind the dam is
25 m high. A situation is considered where the water level drops 20 m. The normal
phreatic level at the right hand side of the dam is 10 m below ground surface. The data of
the dam materials and the sub-soil are given in Table 1.
50 m 77.5 m 5m 90 m 37.5 m
25 m
Core 30 m
Fill y
Fill
5m
x
Subsoil 30 m
120 m 20 m 120 m
Objectives:
• Defining time-dependent hydraulic conditions (Flow functions)
• Defining transient flow conditions using water levels
9.1 INPUT
• Start the Input program and select the Start a new project from the Quick select
dialog box.
• In the Project properties window enter an appropriate title.
• Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = -130.0,
xmax = 130.0, ymin = -30.0 and ymax = 30.0.
-30.0).
Open the Material sets window.
• Create data sets under Soil and interfaces set type according to the information
given in Table 9.1. Note that the Thermal, Interfaces and Initial tabsheets are not
relevant (no thermal properties, no interfaces or K0 procedure are used).
• Assign the Subsoil material dataset to the soil layer in the borehole.
Table 9.1 Material properties of the dam and sub-soil
Parameter Name Core Fill Subsoil Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb Mohr-Coulomb -
Drainage type Type Undrained (B) Drained Drained -
Soil unit weight above p.l. γunsat 16.0 16.0 17.0 kN/m3
Soil unit weight below p.l. γsat 18.0 20.0 21.0 kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus E' 1.5·103 2.0·104 5.0·104 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.35 0.33 0.3 -
Cohesion c 'ref - 5.0 1.0 kN/m2
Undrained shear strength su,ref 5.0 - - kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' - 31 35.0
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ - 1.0 5.0
Young's modulus inc. E 'inc 300 - - kN/m2 /m
Reference level yref 30 - - m
Undrained shear strength inc. su,inc 3.0 - - kN/m2
Reference level yref 30 - - m
Groundwater
Flow data set Model Hypres Hypres Hypres -
Model - Van Van Van -
Genuchten Genuchten Genuchten
Soil - Subsoil Subsoil Subsoil -
Soil coarseness - Very fine Coarse Coarse -
Horizontal permeability kx 1.0·10-4 1.00 0.01 m/day
Vertical permeability ky 1.0·10-4 1.00 0.01 m/day
9.3 CALCULATION
• Uncheck the Ignore suction option in the Deformation control parameters subtree.
• The Phases window is displayed (Figure 9.3). Click OK to close the Phases window.
Hint: Note that by default Undrained behaviour (A) and (B) are ignored for a
Gravity loading calculation type. The corresponding option is available in the
Deformation control parameters subtree in the Phases window.
Define the water level corresponding to the level of water in the reservoir prior to the
drawdown. The water level consists of four points; starting at the very left side at a
level of 25 m above the ground surface (-132.0 25.0); the second point is just inside
the dam at a level of 25 m (-10.0 25.0); the third point is near the dam toe (93.0
-10.0) and the forth point just outside the right boundary at a level of 10 m below the
ground surface (132.0 -10.0). The defined water level is shown in Figure 9.4.
• Right-click the created water level and select the Make global option in the
appearing menu. Note that the global water level can also be specified by selecting
the corresponding option in the GlobalWaterLevel menu in the Water subtree in the
Model conditions.
Hint: Straight lines can be defined by keeping the Shift key pressed while defining
the geometry.
Figure 9.8 The flow function for the rapid drawdown case
• In Phases explorer double-click the newly added phase. The Phases window is
displayed.
• In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. Slow drawdown). The
High reservoir phase is automatically selected for the Start from phase parameter.
Select the Fully coupled flow deformation option as calculation type.
Figure 9.11 The flow function for the slow drawdown case
• In Phases explorer double-click the newly added phase. The Phases window is
displayed.
• In the General subtree specify the name of the phase (e.g. Low level). The High
reservoir phase is automatically selected for the Start from phase parameter.
Make sure that the Plastic option is selected as calculation type.
Make sure that the Steady state groundwater flow option is selected as Pore
pressure calculation type
• In the Deformation control subtree, select Ignore und. behaviour (A,B) and make
sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Reset small strain options are
selected in the Deformation control parameters subtree.
• Uncheck the Ignore suction option in the Deformation control parameters subtree.
• Click OK to close the Phases window.
Define the water level corresponding to the level of water in the reservoir after the
drawdown. The water level consists of four points; starting at the very left side at a
level of 5 m above the ground the surface (-132.0 5.0); the second point is inside the
dam at a level of 5 m (-60.0 5.0); third point at (93.0 -10.0) and the fourth point just
outside the right boundary at a level of 10 m below the ground surface (132.0 -10.0).
• Rename the newly created water level as 'LowLevel_Steady'.
• In the Water subtree under the Model conditions in the Model explorer assign the
new water level (LowLevel_Steady) to GlobalWaterLevel. All the defined water
levels are shown in Figure 9.12.
Phase 4 to 7:
In Phases 4 to 7 stability calculations are defined for the previous phases.
Figure 9.12 Model for the low level case in the Flow conditions mode
Hint: Taking suction into account in a Safety phase gives a higher factor of safety,
hence ignoring suction in a Safety phase is more conservative. In the Safety
analysis of PLAXIS, any unbalance due to changing from suction to no
suction is first solved before the factor of safety is determined. As a result,
ΣMsf can decrease in the first part of the calculation.
9.4 RESULTS
The results of the four groundwater flow calculations in terms of pore pressure distribution
are shown in Figures 9.14 to 9.17. Four different situations were considered:
• The steady-state situation with a high (standard) reservoir level (Figure 9.14).
Figure 9.14 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), for high reservoir level
• The pore pressure distribution after rapid drawdown of the reservoir level (Figure
9.15).
• The pore pressure distribution after slow drawdown of the reservoir level (Figure
9.16).
Figure 9.17 Pore pressure distribution, (pactive ), for low reservoir level
Hint: The phreatic level can be smoother with a high refinement pf the mesh in the
core.
Rapid drawdown of a reservoir level can reduce the stability of a dam significantly. Fully
coupled flow-deformation and stability analysis can be performed with PLAXIS 2D to
effectively analyse such situations.
In this chapter the flow through an embankment will be considered. The crest of the
embankment has a width of 2.0 m. Initially the water in the river is 1.5 m deep. The
difference in water level between the river and the polder is 3.5 m.
Figure 10.1 shows the layout of the embankment problem where free surface
groundwater flow occurs. Flow takes place from the left side (river) to the right side
(polder). As a result seepage will take place at the right side of the embankment. The
position of the phreatic level depends on the river water level, which varies in time.
2m 6m 2m 10 m 3m
3m
5m
3m
y
1m
x
Objectives:
• Performing Flow only analysis
• Using cross section curves
10.1 INPUT
General settings
• Start the Input program and select Start a new project from the Quick select dialog
box.
• In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window, enter an appropriate title.
• In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain), and
Elements (15-Node).
• Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 23.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m and ymax =
6.0 m.
• Keep the default values for units, constants and the general parameters and press
OK to close the Project properties window.
Define the soil material according to the Table 10.2 and assign the material dataset
to the cluster. Skip the Interfaces and Initial tabsheets as these parameters are not
relevant.
Table 10.2 Properties of the embankment material (sand)
Parameter Name Sand Unit
General
Material model Model Linear elastic -
Type of material behaviour Type Drained -
Soil unit weight above phreatic γunsat 20 kN/m3
level
Soil unit weight below phreatic γsat 20 kN/m3
level
Parameters
Stiffness E' 1.0· 104 kN/m2
Poisson's ratio ν' 0.3 -
Groundwater
Data set - Standard -
Soil type - Medium fine -
Use defaults - From data set -
Horizontal permeability kx 0.02272 m/day
Vertical permeability ky 0.02272 m/day
• After assigning the material to the soil cluster close the Modify soil layers window.
Figure 10.2 Indication of the local refinement of the mesh in the model
10.3 CALCULATIONS
In this project only the flow related behaviour will be analysed. The calculation process
consists of three phases that will be defined in the Staged construction mode. In the
initial phase, the groundwater flow in steady state is calculated for an average river level.
In Phase 1, the transient groundwater flow is calculated for a harmonic variation of the
water level. In Phase 2, the calculation is similar as in Phase 1, but the period is longer.
• Click the Staged construction tab to proceed to the corresponding mode. A global
level is automatically created according to the head values specified for each
borehole (Table 10.1). The model in the Staged construction mode is shown in
Figure 10.4.
Hint: Note that the 'internal' part of the global water level will be replaced by the
result of the groundwater flow calculation.
Initial phase
• Double-click the initial phase in the Phases explorer.
• In the General subtree select the Flow only option as the Calculation type.
• The default values of the remaining parameters are valid for this phase. Click OK to
close the Phases window.
• In the Model explorer expand the Model conditions subtree.
• In the Model conditions expand the GroundwaterFlow subtree. The default
boundary conditions (Figure 10.5) are relevant for the initial phase. Check that only
the bottom boundary is closed.
Figure 10.5 The groundwater flow boundary conditions for the initial phase
• In the Model explorer expand the Groundwater flow BCs subtree. The boundary
conditions at the extremities of the model are automatically created by the program
and listed under the GWFlowBaseBC.
Hint: Note that when the boundary conditions under the Groundwater flow BCs
subtree are active, the model conditions specified in the GroundwaterFlow
are ignored.
Phase 1
Add a new calculation phase.
• In the Phases explorer double-click the current phase.
• In the General subtree select the Transient groundwater flow option as pore
pressure calculation type.
• Set the Time interval to 1.0 day.
• In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max number of steps stored
parameter to 50. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used.
• Click OK to close the Phases window.
Click the Select multiple objects button in the side toolbar.
Point to the Select lines option and click on the Select water boundaries option in
the appearing menu (Figure 10.6).
Figure 10.6 The Select water boundaries option in the Select multiple objects menu
Phase 2
Add a new calculation phase.
• In the Phases explorer double-click the current phase.
• In the General subtree select the Initial phase in the Start from phase drop-down
menu.
• Select the Transient groundwater flow option as pore pressure calculation type.
• Set the Time interval to 10.0 day.
• In the Numerical control parameters subtree set the Max number of steps stored
parameter to 50. The default values of the remaining parameters will be used.
• Click OK to close the Phases window.
• In the Selection explorer click on the Head function parameter.
Add a new head function.
• In the Flow functions window select the Harmonic option in the Signal drop-down
menu. Set the amplitude to 1.0 m, the phase angle to 0 ◦ and the period to 10.0 day
(Figure 10.9).
• Click OK to close the Flow functions window.
10.4 RESULTS
In the Output program the Create animation tool can be used to animate the results
displayed in the Output program. To create the animation follow these steps:
• In the Stresses menu select the Pore pressures → Groundwater head.
• Select the Create animation option in the File menu. The corresponding window
pops up.
• Define the name of the animation file and the location where it will be stored. By
default the program names it according to the project and stores it in the project
folder. In the same way animations can be created to compare the development of
pore pressures or flow field.
• Deselect the initial phase and Phase 2, such that only Phase 1 is included in the
animations and rename the animation accordingly. The Create animation window is
shown in Figure 10.10.
To view the results in a cross section:
Click the Cross section button in the side toolbar. The Cross section points window
pops up and the start and the end points of the cross section can be defined. Draw
a cross section through the points (2.0 3.0) and (20.0 1.0). The results in the cross
section are displayed in a new window.
• In the Cross section view select Pore pressures → pactive in the Stresses menu.
Select the Cross section curves option in the Tools menu. After the curves window
pops up select Individual steps from Selection style drop down menu.
• Select Phase 1. The variation of the results in the cross section is displayed in a
new window.
• Do the same for Phase 2. This may take about 30 seconds,
• The variation of the results due to different time intervals in harmonic variation at a
specific cross section can be compared (Figure 10.11 and Figure 10.12).
It can be seen that the slower variation of the external water level has a more significant
influence on the pore pressures in the embankment and over a larger distance.
Figure 10.11 Active pore pressure variation in the cross section in Phase 1
Figure 10.12 Active pore pressure variation in the cross section in Phase 2
In this tutorial the flow around a sheetpile wall will be analysed. The geometry model of
Chapter 3 will be used. The Well feature is introduced in this example.
Objectives:
• Using wells
11.1 INPUT
In the Structures mode click the Create hydraulic conditions button in the side
toolbar.
Select the Create well option in the appearing menu.
• Draw the first well by clicking on (42.0 23.0) and (42.0 20.0).
• Draw the second well by clicking on (58.0 23.0) and (58.0 20.0).
Figure 11.1 Indication of the local refinement of the mesh in the model
11.3 CALCULATIONS
• Proceed to the Staged construction mode. In this project only groundwater flow
analysis will be performed.
In the Phases explorer remove the existing phases (Phases 1 to 6).
Initial phase
In this phase the initial steady-state pore pressure distribution is considered. To define
the initial phase:
• In the General subtree of the Phases window select the Flow only option in the
Calculation type drop-down menu.
• The standard settings for the remaining parameters are valid for this phase.
• The default groundwater flow boundary conditions are valid. Only the bottom
boundary of the model (BoundaryYMin) is Closed whereas the rest of the
boundaries are Open.
• The water level created according to the head specified in the borehole is assigned
as GlobalWaterLevel.
Phase 1
In this phase the lowering of the phreatic level in the excavation down to y = 20 m. This
corresponds to the final excavation level in the project in Chapter 3.
Add a new phase.
• In the Phases window the calculation type is by default defined as Flow only.
• The default option (Steady state groundwater flow) will be used as Pore pressure
calculation type.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the interface elements along the wall.
• Multi-select the wells in the model and activate them.
• In the Selection explorer the behaviour of the wells is by default set to Extraction.
• Set the discharge value to 0.7 m3 /day/m.
• Set the hmin value to 20.0m. This means that water will be extracted as long as the
groundwater head at the wall location is at least 20 m. Figure 11.3 shows the
parameters assigned to the wells in the Selection explorer.
Hint: Total discharge in Phase 1 is similar to the total outflow at the final excavation
level as obtained from Chapter 3.
11.4 RESULTS
From the Stresses menu select Pore pressures → pactive . Compare the results with the
ones of the Phase 6 of the project defined in Chapter 3.
In Figure 11.5 the resulting active pore pressures when the water level in the excavation
is at y = 20 m is displayed for both projects.
precipitation precipitation
0.75 m
0.50 m
loam
0.75 m
sand
Objectives:
• Defining precipitation
12.1 INPUT
Due to the symmetry of the problem, it is sufficient to simulate a strip with a width of
15.0 m, as indicated in Figure 12.1. The thickness of the loam layer is 2.0 m and the sand
layer is 3.0 m deep.
To create the geometry model, follow these steps:
General settings
• Start the Input program and select Start a new project from the Quick select dialog
box.
• In the Project tabsheet of the Project properties window, enter an appropriate title.
• In the Model tabsheet keep the default options for Model (Plane strain), and
Elements (15-Node).
• Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 15.0 m, ymin = 0.0 m and ymax =
5.0 m.
• Keep the default values for units, constants and the general parameters and press
OK to close the Project properties window.
12.3 CALCULATIONS
The calculation process consists of two phases. In the initial phase, the groundwater flow
in steady state is calculated. In Phase 1, the transient groundwater flow is calculated.
Initial phase
• Proceed to the Staged construction mode. In this project only groundwater flow
analysis will be performed.
• In the Phases window select the Flow only option as the Calculation type in the
General subtree.
• The default values of the remaining parameters are valid for this phase. Click OK to
close the Phases window.
Right-click the bottom boundary of the model and select the Activate option in the
appearing menu.
• In the Selection explorer select the Head option in the Behaviour drop-down menu
and set href to 3.0 (Figure 12.6).
Transient phase
In the transient phase the time-dependent variation of precipitation is defined.
Hint: Note that the conditions explicitly assigned to groundwater flow boundaries
are taken into account. In this tutorial the specified Head will be considered
for the bottom boundary of the model, NOT the Closed condition specified in
the GroundwaterFlow subtree under the Model conditions.
• Figure 12.7 shows the defined function for precipitation. Close the windows by
clicking OK.
• In the Model explorer expand the Precipitation subtree under Model conditions and
activate it. The default values for discharge (q ) and condition parameters (ψmin =
Figure 12.7 The Flow function window displaying the precipitation data and plot
12.4 RESULTS
The calculation was focused on the time-dependent saturation of the potato field. To view
the results:
• From the Stresses menu select Groundwater flow → Saturation.
• Double click the legend. The Legend settings window pops up. Define the settings
as shown in Figure 12.9.
• Figure 12.10 shows the spatial distribution of the saturation for the last time step.
• Create an animation of the transient phase for a better visualisation of the results.
• It is also interesting to create a vertical cross section at x = 4 m and draw cross
section curves for pore pressure and saturation.
generator
1m
sandy clay
The physical damping due to the viscous effects is taken into consideration via the
Rayleigh damping. Also, due to axisymmetry 'geometric damping' can be significant in
attenuating the vibration.
The modelling of the boundaries is one of the key points. In order to avoid spurious wave
reflections at the model boundaries (which do not exist in reality), special conditions have
to be applied in order to absorb waves reaching the boundaries.
Objectives:
• Defining a Dynamic calculation
• Defining dynamic loads
• Defining dynamic boundary conditions (viscous)
• Defining material damping by means of Rayleigh damping
13.1 INPUT
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.
• Due to the three dimensional nature of the problem, an axisymmetric model is used.
In the Model tabsheet select the Axisymmetric option for Model and keep the
default option for Elements (15-Noded).
• Keep the default values for units and constants and set the model dimensions to
Hint: The model boundaries should be sufficiently far from the region of interest, to
avoid disturbances due to possible reflections. Although special measures
are adopted in order to avoid spurious reflections (viscous boundaries), there
is always a small influence and it is still a good habit to put boundaries far
away. In a dynamic analysis, model boundaries are generally taken further
away than in a static analysis.
Hint: When using Mohr-Coulomb or linear elastic models the wave velocities Vp
and Vs are calculated from the elastic parameters and the soil weight. Vp
and Vs can also be entered as input; the elastic parameters are then
calculated automatically. See also Elastic parameters and the Wave Velocity
relationships in Section 6.1.2 of the Reference Manual.
• Apply a distributed load on the footing to model the weight of the generator as well
as the vibrations that it produces. The actual value of the load will be defined later.
The model is shown in Figure 13.2.
13.3 CALCULATIONS
The calculation consists of 4 phases and it will be defined in the Staged construction
mode.
Initial phase
• Click the Staged construction tab to proceed with the definition of the calculation
phases.
• The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial
phase will be used in this tutorial.
Phase 1 - Footing
Add a new calculation phase. The default settings of the added phase will be used
for this calculation phase.
• Activate the footing.
• Activate the static component of the distributed load. In the Selection explorer set
qy,start,ref value to -8 kN/m/m. Do not activate the dynamic component of the load
(Figure 13.4).
Figure 13.4 Specification of the static load component in the Selection explorer
Figure 13.6 Specification of the dynamic load component in the Selection explorer
Hint: The dynamic multipliers can be defined in the Geometry modes as well as in
the Calculation modes.
spurious reflections, viscous boundaries are specified at Xmax and Ymin. The dynamic
boundaries can be specified in the Dynamics subtree located under the Model conditions
in the Model explorer (Figure 13.7).
13.4 RESULTS
The Curve generator feature is particularly useful for dynamic analysis. You can easily
display the actual loading versus time (input) and also displacements, velocities and
accelerations of the pre-selected points versus time. The evolution of the defined
multipliers with time can be plotted by assigning Dynamic time to the x-axis and uy to the
y-axis. Figure 13.9 shows the response of the pre-selected points at the surface of the
structure. It can be seen that even with no damping, the waves are dissipated which can
be attributed to the geometric damping.
Figure 13.9 Vertical displ.- time on the surface at different distances to the vibrating source (without
damping)
The presence of damping is clear in Figure 13.10. It can be seen that the vibration is
totally seized when some time is elapsed after the removal of the force (at t = 0.5 s).
Also, the displacement amplitudes are lower. Compare Figure 13.10 (without damping)
with Figure 13.10 (with damping).
It is possible in the Output program to display displacements, velocities and accelerations
at a particular time, by choosing the appropriate option in the Deformations menu. Figure
13.11 shows the total accelerations in the soil at the end of phase 2 (t = 0.5 s).
Figure 13.10 Vertical displ.- time on the surface at different distances to the vibrating source (with
damping)
Figure 13.11 Acceleration (|a|) in the soil at the end of phase 2 (with damping)
14 PILE DRIVING
This example involves driving a concrete pile through an 11 m thick clay layer into a sand
layer, see Figure 14.1. The pile has a diameter of 0.4 m. Pile driving is a dynamic
process that causes vibrations in the surrounding soil. Moreover, excess pore pressures
are generated due to the quick stress increase around the pile.
In this example focus is put on the irreversible deformations below the pile. In order to
simulate this process most realistically, the behaviour of the sand layer is modelled by
means of the HS small model.
sand 7m
14.1 INPUT
General settings
• Start the Input program and select the 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 select the Axisymmetry option for Model and keep the default
option for Elements (15-Noded).
• Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = 0, xmax
= 30, ymin = 0 and ymax = 18.
stratigraphy:
Create a borehole at x = 0.
• Create two soil layers extending from y = 18.0 to y = 7.0 and from y = 7.0 to y = 0.0.
• Set the Head in the borehole at 18.0 m.
The clay layer is modelled with the Mohr-Coulomb model. The behaviour is considered to
be Undrained (B). An interface strength reduction factor is used to simulate the reduced
friction along the pile shaft.
In order to model the non-linear deformations below the tip of the pile in a right way, the
sand layer is modelled by means of the HS small model. Because of the fast loading
process, the sand layer is also considered to behave undrained. The short interface in
the sand layer does not represent soil-structure interaction. As a result, the interface
strength reduction factor should be taken equal to unity (rigid).
Create the material data sets according to the information given in Table 14.1.
Table 14.1 Material properties of the subsoil and pile
Parameter Symbol Clay Sand Pile Unit
General
Material model Model Mohr-Coulomb HS small Linear elastic -
Type of behaviour Type Undrained (B) Undrained (A) Non-porous -
Unit weight above phreatic line γunsat 16 17 24 kN/m3
Unit weight below phreatic line γsat 18 20 - kN/m3
Parameters
Young's modulus (constant) E' 5.0· 103 - 3·107 kN/m2
Secant stiffness in standard ref
E50 - 5.0· 104 - kN/m2
drained triaxial test
Tangent stiffness for primary ref
Eoed - 5.0· 104 - kN/m2
oedometer loading
Unloading / reloading stiffness ref
Eur - 1.5· 105 - kN/m2
Power for stress-level dependency m - 0.5 - -
of stiffness
Poisson's ratio ν 'ur 0.3 0.2 0.1 -
Cohesion c 'ref - 0 - kN/m2
Undrained shear strength su,ref 5.0 - - kN/m2
◦
Friction angle ϕ' 0 31.0 -
◦
Dilatancy parameter ψ 0 0 -
Shear strain at which Gs = γ0.7 - 1.0·10-4 - -
0.722G0
Shear modulus at very small G0ref - 1.2·105 - kN/m2
strains
Young's modulus inc. E 'inc 1.0·103 - - kN/m2
Reference level yref 18 - - m
Undrained shear strength inc. su,inc 3 - - kN/m2
Reference level yref 18 - - m
Interface
Interface strength type Type Manual Rigid Rigid -
Interface strength Rinter 0.5 1.0 1.0 -
Initial
K0 determination − Automatic Automatic Automatic -
Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0,x 0.5000 0.4850 0.5000 -
Hint: Use the Zoom in feature to create the pile and the interface.
Pile
Interface
Clay
(0.2, 7.0)
(0.0, 7.0)
Extended interface
Hint: Note that dynamic multipliers can be defined by right-clicking the Dynamic
multipliers subtree under Attributes library in the Model explorer.
» Note that dynamic multipliers are attributes and as such it is possible to
define them in all the program's modes.
14.3 CALCULATIONS
The calculation consists of 3 phases. In the Initial phase, the initial stress conditions are
generated. In the Phase 1 the pile is created. In the Phase 2 the pile is subjected to a
single stroke, which is simulated by activating half a harmonic cycle of load. In the Phase
3 the load is kept zero and the dynamic response of the pile and soil is analysed in time.
The last two phases involve dynamic calculations.
Initial phase
Initial effective stresses are generated by the K0 procedure, using the default values.
Note that in the initial situation the pile does not exist and that the clay properties should
be assigned to the corresponding cluster. The phreatic level is assumed to be at the
ground surface. Hydrostatic pore pressures are generated in the whole geometry
according to this phreatic line.
Phase 3 - Fading
Add a new calculation phase.
• In the General subtree in the Phases window, select the Dynamic option as
Calculation type.
• Set the Dynamic time interval to 0.19 s.
14.4 RESULTS
Figure 14.9 shows the settlement of the pile (top point) versus time. From this figure the
following observations can be made:
• The maximum vertical settlement of the pile top due to this single stroke is about 13
mm. However, the final settlement is almost 10 mm.
• Most of the settlement occurs in phase 3 after the stroke has ended. This is due to
the fact that the compression wave is still propagating downwards in the pile,
causing additional settlements.
• Despite the absence of Rayleigh damping, the vibration of the pile is damped due to
soil plasticity and the fact that wave energy is absorbed at the model boundaries.
When looking at the output of the second calculation phase (t = 0.01 s, i.e. just after the
stroke), it can be seen that large excess pore pressures occur very locally around the pile
tip. This reduces the shear strength of the soil and contributes to the penetration of the
pile into the sand layer. The excess pore pressures remain also in the third phase since
consolidation is not considered.
Figure 14.10 shows the shear stresses in the interface elements at t = 0.01 s. The plot
shows that the maximum shear stress is reached all along the pile, which indicates that
the soil is sliding along the pile.
When looking at the deformed mesh of the last calculation phase (t = 0.2 s), it can also
be seen that the final settlement of the pile is about 10 mm. In order to see the whole
dynamic process it is suggested to use the option Create Animation to view a 'movie' of
the deformed mesh in time. You may notice that the first part of the animation is slower
than the second part.
15.1 INPUT
General settings
• Start the Input program and select the 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-Noded).
• Keep the default units and constants and set the model dimensions to xmin = -80.0,
xmax = 80.0, ymin = -40.0 and ymax = 15.0.
15 m y
2m x
15 m
25 m
75 m 10 m 75 m
When subjected to cyclic shear loading, the HS small model will show typical hysteretic
behaviour. Starting from the small-strain shear stiffness, G0ref , the actual stiffness will
decrease with increasing shear. Figures 15.2 and 15.3 display the Modulus reduction
curves, i.e. the decay of the shear modulus with strain. The upper curve shows the
secant shear modulus and the lower curve shows the tangent shear modulus.
250000
0.722G0
200000
100000
50000
G used
γ0.7
Gt Gs
0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Shear strain
Figure 15.2 Modulus reduction curves for the upper clayey layer
100000
80000
0.722G0
Shear modulus
60000
G used
40000
20000
γ0.7 Gs
Gt
Figure 15.3 Modulus reduction curve for the lower sandy layer
In the HS small model, the tangent shear modulus is bound by a lower limit, Gur .
Eur
Gur =
2(1 + νur )
The values of Gur
ref
for the Upper clay layer and Lower sand layer and the ratio to G0ref are
shown in Table 15.2. This ratio determines the maximum damping ratio that can be
obtained.
Table 15.2 Gur values and ratio to G0ref
Parameter Unit Upper clayey Lower sandy
layer layer
Gur kN/m2 39517 41167
G0ref /Gur - 6.75 2.5
Figures 15.4 and 15.5 show the damping ratio as a function of the shear strain for the
material used in the model. For a more detailed description and elaboration from the
modulus reduction curve to the damping curve can be found in the literature∗ .
0.2
0.15
Damping ratio
0.1
0.05
0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Cyclic shear strain
0.2
0.15
Damping ratio
0.1
0.05
0
0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01
Cyclic shear strain
Building
The building consists of 5 floors and a basement. It is 10 m wide and 17 m high including
the basement. A value of 5 kN/m2 is taken as the weight of the floors and the walls.The
total height from the ground level is 5 x 3 m = 15 m and the basement is 2 m deep. To
define the structure:
Create the vertical walls of the building passing through (-5.0 0.0) to (-5.0 15.0) and
through (5.0 0.0) to (5.0 15.0).
• Use the same feature to define the vertical walls of the basement passing through
(-5.0 -2.0) to (-5.0 0.0) and through (5.0 -2.0) to (5.0 0.0).
• Define the floors and the basement of the building as plates passing through (-5.0
-2.0) to (5.0 -2.0), (-5.0 0.0) to (5.0 0.0), (-5.0 3.0) to (5.0 3.0), (-5.0 6.0) to (5.0 6.0),
(-5.0 9.0) to (5.0 9.0), (-5.0 12.0) to (5.0 12.0) and (-5.0 15.0) to (5.0 15.0).
∗ Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Kappert, M.H., Bonnier, P.G. (2007). Hysteretic damping in small-strain stiffness model. In
Proc. 10th Int. Conf. on Comp. Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. Rhodes, Greece, 737 − 742
The plates, representing the walls and the floors in the building, are considered to be
linear elastic. Note that two different material datasets are used, one for the basement
and the other for the rest of the building. The physical damping in the building is
simulated by means of Rayleigh damping. A description of Rayleigh damping parameters
is given in Section 6.1.1 of the Reference Manual.
Define the material datasets for the structural elements in the building according to
Table 15.3.
Table 15.3 Material properties of the building (plate properties)
Parameter Name Rest of building Basement Unit
Material type Type Elastic; Isotropic Elastic; Isotropic -
Normal stiffness EA 9.0·106 1.2·107 kN/m
Flexural rigidity EI 6.75·104 1.6·105 kNm2 /m
Weight w 10 20 kN/m/m
Poisson's ratio ν 0.0 0.0 -
α 0.2320 0.2320 -
Rayleigh damping
β 8.0·10-3 8.0·10-3 -
• Assign the Basement material dataset to the vertical plates (2) and the lowest
horizontal plate (all under the ground level) in the model.
• Assign the Rest of the building material dataset to the remaining plates in the model.
Use the Node-to-node anchor feature to define the column at the centre of the
building connecting consecutive floors, (0.0 -2.0) to (0.0 0.0), (0.0 0.0) to (0.0 3.0),
(0.0 3.0) to (0.0 6.0), (0.0 6.0) to (0.0 9.0), (0.0 9.0) to (0.0 12.0) and (0.0 12.0) to
(0.0 15.0).
• Define the properties of the anchor according to Table 15.4 and assign the material
dataset to the anchors in the model.
Table 15.4 Material properties of the node-to-node anchor
Parameter Name Column Unit
Material type Type Elastic -
Normal stiffness EA 2.5· 106 kN
Spacing out-of-plane Lspacing 3.0 m
Loads
A static lateral force of 10 kN/m is applied laterally at the top left corner of the building. To
create the load:
Create a point load at the top left corner of the building.
• Specify the components of the load as (10.0 0.0).
The earthquake is modelled by imposing a prescribed displacement at the bottom
boundary. To define the prescribed displacement:
Define a prescribed displacement at the bottom of the model, through (-80.0 -40.0)
and (80.0 -40.0).
• Set the x-component of the prescribed displacement to Prescribed and assign a
value of 1.0. The y-component of the prescribed displacement is Fixed. The default
distribution (Uniform) is valid.
Click the Create interfaces on the boundary button to automatically generate the
interfaces at the boundary of the model.
The geometry of the model is shown in Figure 15.7.
15.3 CALCULATIONS
The calculation process consists of the initial conditions phase, simulation of the
construction of the building, loading, free vibration analysis and earthquake analysis.
Initial phase
• Click on the Staged construction tab to proceed with definition of the calculation
phases.
• The initial phase has already been introduced. The default settings of the initial
Phase 1 - Building
Add a new phase (Phase_1). The default settings of the added phase will be used
for this calculation phase.
• In the Staged construction mode construct the building (activate all the plates, the
interfaces and the anchors) and deactivate the basement volume (Figure 15.10).
Phase 2 - Excitation
Add a new phase (Phase_2).
• In the Phases window select the Reset displacement to zero in the Deformation
control parameters subtree. The default values of the remaining parameters will be
used in this calculation phase.
• In the Staged construction mode activate the load. The value of the load is already
defined in the Structures mode.
Hint: For a better visualisation of the results, animations of the free vibration and
earthquake can be created. If animations are to be created, it is advised to
increase the number of the saved steps by assigning a proper value to the
Max steps saved parameter in the Parameters tabsheet of the Phases
window.
Phase 4 - Earthquake
Add a new phase (Phase_4).
• In the Phases window set the Start from phase option to Phase 1 (construction of
building).
Select the Dynamic option as Calculation type.
• Set the Dynamic time interval parameter to 20 sec.
15.4 RESULTS
Figure 15.13 shows the deformed structure at the end of the Phase 2 (application of
horizontal load).
Figure 15.14 shows the time history of displacements of the selected points A (0 15) for
the free vibration phase. It may be seen from the figure that the vibration slowly decays
with time due to damping in the soil and in the building.
In the Fourier tabsheet of the Curve generation window select the Power (spectrum) and
click OK to create the plot. The plot is shown in Figure 15.15. From this figure it can be
evaluated that the dominant building frequency is around 1 Hz.
Figure 15.16 shows the time history of the lateral acceleration of the selected points A (0
15) for the earthquake phase (dynamic analysis). For a better visualisation of the results
animations of the free vibration and earthquake can be created.
A navigable lock is temporarily 'empty' due to maintenance. After some time there is
significant increase of the air temperature, which causes thermal expansion of the inner
side of the lock, while the soil-side of the concrete block remains relatively cold. This
leads to backward bending of the wall and, consequently, to increased lateral stress in
the soil behind the wall and increased bending moments in the wall itself.
Excavation
5m
6m
10 m
16 m
12 m
Concrete lock
Sand
50 m
This example demonstrates the use of the Thermal module to analyse this kind of
situations.
Objectives:
• Defining a thermal temperature function
• Use of thermal expansion
• Performing a fully coupled analysis for THM calculation
16.1 INPUT
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, the default options for Model and Elements are used for this
project. Also the default options for the units are used in this tutorial.
• Set the model dimensions to xmin = 0.0 m, xmax = 25.0 m, ymin = -16.0 m and ymax =
0.0 m.
• Click Ok to exit the Project properties window.
• Create a single soil layer with top level at 0.0 m and bottom level at -16.0 m. Set the
head at -4.0 m.
Click the Materials button in the Modify soil layers window.
Two data sets need to be created; one for the sand layer and one for the concrete block.
• Define a data set for the Sand layer with the parameters given in Table 16.1, for the
General, Parameters, Groundwater, Thermal and Initial tabsheets.
• Create another dataset for Concrete according to the Table 16.1.
• Assign the material dataset Sand to the borehole soil layer.
Table 16.1 Soil properties of the sand
Parameter Name Sand Concrete Unit
General
Material model Model HS small Linear elastic -
Type of material behaviour Type Drained Non-porous -
Soil unit weight above phreatic level γunsat 20.0 24.0 kN/m3
Soil unit weight below phreatic level γsat 20.0 - kN/m3
Initial void ratio einit 0.5 0.5 -
Parameters
Young’s modulus E' - 25·106 kN/m2
Poisson’s ratio ν - 0.15 -
ref
Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test E50 40·103 - kN/m2
ref 3
Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading Eoed 40·10 - kN/m2
ref
Unloading / reloading stiffness Eur 1.2·105 - kN/m2
Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness m 0.5 - -
Cohesion cref ' 2.0 - kN/m2
◦
Angle of internal friction φ' 32.0 -
◦
Dilatancy angle ψ 2.0 -
Shear strain at which Gs = 0.722G0 γ0.7 0.1·10−3 - -
Shear modulus at very small strains G0ref 8·104 - kN/m2
Groundwater
Data set - USDA - -
Model - Van - -
Genuchten
Soil type - Sandy clay - -
Use defaults - From data set - -
Thermal
Specific heat capacity cs 860 900 kJ/t/K
Thermal conductivity λs 4.0·10−3 1.0·10−3 kW/m/K
Solid thermal expansion - Linear Linear -
Soil density ρs 2.6 2.5 t/m3
X-component of thermal expansion αx 0.5·10−6 0.1·10−4 1/K
Y-component of thermal expansion αy 0.5·10−6 0.1·10−4 1/K
Z-component of thermal expansion αz 0.5·10−6 0.1·10−4 1/K
Interfaces
Interface strength - Rigid Manual -
Strength reduction factor inter. Rinter 1.0 0.67 -
Initial
K0 determination - Automatic Automatic
Hint: The Snapping options can be selected, and the Spacing can be set to 0.5 to
easily create the polygon.
Figure 16.2 The Create thermal bc option in the Create line menu
• The vertical boundaries have the default option of Closed for the Behaviour.
• Select the bottom boundary, in the Selection explorer set the Behaviour to
Temperature.
• Set the reference temperature, Tref to 283.4 K (Figure 16.3).
16.3 CALCULATIONS
The calculations for this tutorial is carried out in three phases. The concrete lock is
activated in a plastic calculation, after which the temperature increase is defined as a fully
coupled flow deformation analysis.
Initial phase
• Proceed to Staged construction mode.
• Double click on Initial phase in the Phases explorer.
• The default options for Calculation type and Pore pressure calculation type are used
in this example.
• Select Earth gradient for the Thermal calculation type option and close the Phases
window.
• In the Staged construction activate the ThermalFlow under the Model conditions
subtree and set the value for Tref to 283 K. The default values for href and Earth
gradient are valid (Figure 16.6).
Phase 1: Construction
Add a new phase (Phase_1).
• Double click on Phase_1 in the Phases explorer.
In the Phases window, enter an appropriate name for the phase ID and select
Steady state groundwater flow as Pore pressure calculation type.
Set the Steady state thermal flow for the Thermal calculation type.
• Make sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Ignore suction options are
selected.
• In the Staged construction mode, assign the Concrete dataset to the created
polygon which represents the navigable lock (Figure 16.8).
Figure 16.8 Assigning Concrete soil data set to the navigable lock
Right click the soil cluster which is cut-off by the polygon and select the option
Deactivate from the appearing menu.
• In the Selection explorer, set the WaterConditions of this cluster to Dry.
• Multi-select the vertical and bottom horizontal wall of the excavation.
• In the Selection explorer, activate the Groundwater flow boundary condition.
• Set the Behaviour to Head and the href to -5.0 m (Figure 16.9). This will simulate an
'empty' lock.
• In the Model explorer, activate all the Thermal flow boundary conditions.
• In the Model explorer, activate the Climate condition under the subtree Model
conditions.
• Set the Air temperature to 283.0 K and the Surface transfer to 1.0 kW/m2 /K (Figure
16.10). This will define the thermal conditions at the ground surface and the inside
of the lock.
• Deactivate the ThermalFlow option. This is because the thermal flow boundary
conditions, including climate condition, are used in a steady state thermal flow
calculation, instead of the earth gradient option.
• Figure 16.11 shows the model at the end of Phase_1.
Phase 2: Heating
Add a new phase (Phase_2).
• Double click on Phase_2 in the Phases explorer.
Set the Calculation type to Fully coupled flow deformation.
The Thermal calculation type is set to Use temperatures from previous phase. This
is to indicate that temperature needs to be considered and that the initial
temperature is taken from the previous phase.
• The Time interval is set to 10 days.
• Make sure that the Reset displacements to zero and Reset small strain options are
selected in the Deformation control parameters subtree. The Ignore suction option is
unchecked by default.
A temperature function is defined for the Time dependency in Climate which is used for
this phase. Follow these steps to create a temperature function.
• Right-click the Thermal functions option in the Attributes library in the Model
explorer and select Edit option in the appearing menu. The Thermal functions
window is displayed.
In the Temperature functions tabsheet add a new function by clicking on the
corresponding button. The new function is highlighted in the list and options to
define the function are displayed.
• The default option of Harmonic is used for this signal.
• Assign a value of 15.0 for the Amplitude and 40 days for the Period. A graph is
displayed showing the defined function (Figure 16.12). Since the time interval of the
phase is 10 days, only a quarter of a temperature cycle is considered in this phase,
which means that after 10 days the temperature has increased by 15 K.
• Click OK to close the Thermal functions window.
• Expand the subtree Model conditions in the Model explorer.
• In the Climate option, set the Time dependency to Time dependent and assign the
temperature function which was created (Figure 16.13).
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 curves.
Click the Select points for curves button in the side toolbar. Select some
characteristic points for curves (for example at the top of the excavation, (5.0, 0.0)).
Calculate the project by clicking the Calculate button and ignore the warnings
regarding different stress type used in the Fully coupled flow deformation analysis.
Save the project after the calculation has finished.
16.4 RESULTS
In the Phases explorer, select the Initial phase and click the View calculation results
button on the toolbar. In the Output program, select Temperature from the Heat flow
option in the Stresses menu.
Figure 16.14 shows the initial temperature distribution, which is obtained from the
reference temperature at the ground surface and the earth gradient. This gives a
temperature of 283.0 K at the ground surface and 283.4 at the bottom of the model.
Figure 16.15 shows the temperature distribution obtained from Phase_1 using a
steady-state thermal flow calculation. In fact, the temperatures at the top and bottom are
equal to the temperatures as defined in the Initial phase; however, since the temperature
at the ground surface is now defined in terms of Climate conditions (air temperature), this
temperature is also applied at the inner side of the lock and affects the temperature
distribution in the ground.
The most interesting results are obtained in Phase_2 in which the air temperature in the
Climate condition increases gradually from 283 K to 298 K (defined by a quarter of a
harmonic cycle with an amplitude of 15K). Figure 16.16 shows the temperature at the