Plaxis bulletin

Issue 26 / Autumn 2009

Identification of constitutive parameters of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay Local ice crushing analyses of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall by 3DFoundation Influence of a revetment geometry on liquefaction susceptibility

Table of contents
The Plaxis bulletin is the combined magazine of Plaxis bv and the Plaxis users association (NL). The bulletin focuses on the use of the finite element method in geotechnical engineering practise and includes articles on the practical application of the Plaxis programs, case studies and backgrounds on the models implemented in PLAXIS. The bulletin offers a platform where users of PLAXIS can share ideas and experiences with each other. The editors welcome submission of papers for the Plaxis bulletin that fall in any of these categories. The manuscript should preferably be submitted in plain unformatted text. It should include the title of the paper, the name(s) of the authors and contact information (preferably e-mail) for the corresponding author(s). The main body of the article should be divided into appropriate sections and, if necessary, subsections. If any references are used, they should be listed at the end of the article. The author should ensure that the article is written clearly for ease of reading. In case figures are used in the text, it should be indicated where they should be placed approximately in the text. The figures themselves have to be supplied separately from the text in a vector based format (eps,ai). If photographs or scanned figures are used the author should ensure that they have a resolution of at least 300 dpi or a minimum of 3 megapixels. The use of colour in figures and photographs is encouraged, as the Plaxis bulletin is printed in full-colour.

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Editorial New developments PLAXIS Expert Services assist in optimizing pile raft foundation design Identification of constitutive parameters of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay Local ice crushing analyses of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall by 3DFoundation Influence of a revetment geometry on liquefaction susceptibility Recent activities

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Colophon
The Plaxis bulletin is a publication of Plaxis bv and is distributed worldwide among Plaxis subscribers Editorial board: Wout Broere Ronald Brinkgreve Erwin Beernink Arny Lengkeek Design: Blemmodesign Any correspondence regarding the Plaxis bulletin can be sent by e-mail to: bulletin@plaxis.nl or by regular mail to: Plaxis Bulletin c/o Erwin Beernink PO Box 572 2600 AN Delft The Netherlands For information about Plaxis software contact your local agent or Plaxis main office: Plaxis bv P.O. Box 572 2600 AN Delft The Netherlands info@plaxis.nl www.plaxis.nl Tel: Fax: +31 (0)15 251 7720 +31 (0)15 257 3107

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Editorial

After the release of the previous bulletin we obtained several positive responses on the new Plaxis corporate identity. Recently, we have also launched the restyled Plaxis web site following the same identity. Herewith we present to you the second Bulletin in the new style, which contains again some interesting contributions from Plaxis users about geo-engineering projects they have been working on. The first contribution is a research project on automatic parameter identification using a population-based stochastic optimization method. Different material models were used to simulate the behaviour of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay. The corresponding model parameters were optimized by matching oedometer test data. Plaxis considers adopting this method in the soil test facility such that all users can benefit from this feature. Please let us know what you think about this by sending your e-mail to bulletin@plaxis.nl. The second contribution is the analysis of a patented wall structure against ice loads using 3DFoundation. Key issue was the development of failure criteria for the structure and to prove that it would not fail under extreme conditions. It turned out that soil improvement was needed in order to meet the requirements. Coloured plots nicely show the impact of the ice load on the structure. The third contribution demonstrates the use of PLAXIS to analyse the liquefaction potential of a revetment geometry using the cyclic stress approach. A comparison is made between the PLAXIS results and the results of a 1D program

that is generally used in geotechnical earthquake analysis. Considering the limitations of the 1D program, results seem consistent. Hence, despite the fact that a true liquefaction model is missing in PLAXIS, there are possibilities to analyse the liquefaction potential. In addition to the contributions by PLAXIS users, there is a joint presentation about a project where Plaxis has provided expert services to a client. Furthermore, there are the standard columns on new developments and recent activities, followed by the agenda of upcoming activities. We wish you an interesting reading experience and look forward to receive your comments on this 26th Bulletin. The Editors

www.plaxis.nl l Autumn issue 2009 l Plaxis bulletin

New developments
Author: Ronald Brinkgreve, Plaxis bv

In the previous bulletin (25) we made a suggestion to compose, with your help, predefined material data sets based on the HSsmall model. We invited all Plaxis users to submit data sets with some additional data, in return for which they would obtain a spreadsheet to estimate all HSsmall model parameters on the basis of a single property, namely the Relative Density (RD) for sands or the Plasticity Index (PI) for clays. Data sets from existing projects can still be submitted by using the SendMaterial tool, which is available in the download area on the Plaxis website. All this is meant to stimulate the use of advanced soil models and to make better predictions in geo-engineering applications. We are counting on your input!
In recent years, a considerable amount of resources in Plaxis development were spent on 3D modelling, and this will definitely continue after the upcoming release of PLAXIS 3D. For those who like to taste this completely new PLAXIS version with general 3D modelling facilities, we like to invite you to participate in the European Plaxis Users Meeting in Karlsruhe on November 11-13, 2009 (see agenda for more details). In addition to the major 3D developments, we are making considerable investments in new features and calculation options for PLAXIS 2D. By far the majority of world-wide PLAXIS calculations are (still) 2D, and we do like to satisfy new modelling requirements from this ever growing group of PLAXIS users. In this respect we would like to mention some of the features that we have worked on and that will become available in PLAXIS 2D in

the coming years: Fully coupled flow-deformation analysis and unsaturated soil behaviour (see Bulletin 24) New features in dynamic calculations (a.o. free vibration analysis, independent horizontal and vertical prescribed displacements or accelerations, liquefaction). Facilities to perform SLS and ULS calculations according to design codes (a.o. using partial factors for loads and model parameters). Hoek-Brown continuum model for rock behaviour and reinforcement elements. Advanced concrete models and non-linear plate elements for more realistic structural behaviour. Improved automatic mesh generation, resulting in high-quality meshes (Fig. 1). Visualisation of stresses and forces on selected (sub-)structures (Fig. 2), with facilities to enable equilibrium checks.

and several minor items that make your geoengineering work efficient and enjoyable. New technical / scientific features are first verified in collaboration with universities and research institutes, after which beta-testers will apply the new features in practical applications. In parallel; unit tests, application tests and finally a release test are defined and performed by our QA department. The production process is highly automated using a build / test server, to ensure constant high-quality software products. We welcome your comments and suggestions on new PLAXIS developments via info@plaxis.nl.

Figure 1: Comparison of generated meshes: Left: Using old mesh generator in PLAXIS 2D Right: Improved mesh using new mesh generator

Figure 2: Visualisation of stresses on sub-structures Left: Model detail with effective stresses (red), pore pressures (green) and equivalent forces Right: Deformed mesh of total model

Plaxis bulletin l Autumn issue 2009 l www.plaxis.nl

PLAXIS Expert Services assist in optimizing pile raft foundation design

Author: Ady Lehrer, Managing Director, Blank-Lehrer

Plaxis was asked by Blank-Lehrer to be assisted with an advanced consulting project requiring the construction of a 3D pile raft foundation finite element model. In the framework of PLAXIS Expert Services, a successful modeling partnership has enabled Blank-Lehrer to quickly achieve a reliable design.
Blank-Lehrer specializes in soil mechanics, foundation engineering and geotechnical risk management analysis. They provide geotechnical consulting services, including infrastructure investigation, geotechnical reviews, geophysical study coordination, foundation systems analysis, soil structure interaction analysis, geology services, construction guidelines and site supervision. Blank-Lehrer is one of the leaders in Israeli engineering in these fields with more than thirty years experience in Israel and abroad. Project Description The project deals with the design of a piled-raft foundation for a 300m high building. The concrete raft is 3.5 meters thick and will be cast at a depth of 15 meters below soil level. The high rise building will be founded on a on the soil substratum which is made of two sand layers (from +4m to -12m and from -12m to -30m) with respectively Eoed = 60000 kPa and Eoed = 100000 kPa. In order to reduce settlements 20m long piles will be placed under the raft. Each individual pile is expected to have a skin friction of 100 kN/m2 and an end-bearing capacity of 4000 kN/m2. The aim of the project is to design the piles in such a way that: between 60% and 70% of the load will be carried by the piles, under ultimate limit state, the load on each pile is not greater than 80% of the ultimate pile bearing capacity. PLAXIS Expert Services Added-Value PLAXIS has been assigned for providing an optimized FE model that will be used by BlankLehrer for further parametrical studies (pile number, pile properties, pile location, ..). In this context, a FE model of pile raft foundation has been set-up using 3DFoundation program. The model has been set-up based on best FE

practices (model size, geometrical modeling of constitutive members, material model) offering an optimized mesh (results accuracy and computational performance) and proper modeling of piles through embedded pile elements. A comprehensive memorandum has also been delivered highlighting all model assumptions and providing a clear description of defined calculation phases and main recommendations regarding further model changes to be done by the client along with result interpretation. Lastly, extensive user support has then be provided to Blank-Lehrer during their final design assessment with 3DFoundation.

Customer Quote Our office uses the PLAXIS 2D and the 3DFoundation softwares regularly. In spite of that, we have decided that in complex project such as the one we are facing, an expert advice should be used in the model assembly stage. The embedded piles dimensions were determined after testing the behavior of volume piles. The Plaxis expert advice assisted in building a flexible model which enables to test the sensitivity of the solution to different engineering parameters (i.e. number of piles and soil characteristics).There is no doubt that the solution reached, following the expertise is the most economical one.

www.plaxis.nl l Autumn issue 2009 l Plaxis bulletin

Ident fication of constitutive parameters Identification of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay
Authors: T. Knabe*, Graduiertenkolleg 1462, Bauhaus-Universitt Weimar and T. Schanz, Laboratory of Foundation Engineering, Soil and Rock Mechanics, Ruhr-Universitt Bochum * tina.knabe@uni-weimar.de

Parameters of constitutive models are generally obtained by comparing results of numerical forward simulations with measurement data. Often the parameter values are varied by trial-and error in order to reach an improved fit and to obtain plausible results. However, the description of complex soil behavior requires advanced constitutive models (e.g. [9]). The rising complexity of these models mainly increases the number of unknown constitutive parameters. Thus an efficient by hand identification becomes quite difficult for most practical problems.

In this article a back analysis approach is used to determine the parameters for several constitutive models for clays with different level of complexity. These models can be used with the help of PLAXIS 2D, to simulate the oedometric behavior of Pisa Clay. The simulation of the lab

experiments as numerical element tests are done in PLAXIS 2D. Based on this a population-based stochastic optimization method is applied to minimize the absolute error between experimental and numerical curves.

Constitutive models for clay Underneath, a selection of constitutive models and their parameters are briefly described. 1. Mohr-Coulomb model The Mohr-Coulomb model (MC) is introduced in PLAXIS (see more information in the PLAXIS 2D Material Manual [1]). For the Mohr-Coulomb model only five constitutive parameters (Youngs modulus E, Poissons ratio y, friction angle {, cohesion c and dilatancy angle } ) are needed to describe the soil behavior. These parameters can be determined from the results of standard geotechnical testing. 2. Soft Soil creep model The Soft Soil Creep model (SSC) is a standard model in PLAXIS (see more information in the PLAXIS 2D Material Manual [1]). The parameters of the SSC model (modified compression index m *, modified swell index l*, modified creep index *, coefficient of earth pressure at rest K 0 , nc , y , {, c and } ) can be determined from standard triaxial and oedometer tests with time measurement. 3. S-CLAY1S model The S-CLAY1S model can be used in PLAXIS as a user-defined model. It is an elastic-plastic model, which accounts for plastic anisotropy and destructuration of normally or lightly over consolidated clays [6]. Therefore, an intrinsic yield surface (IYS) is introduced (Figure 1). The IYS refers to equivalent unbounded soils having the same shape and orientation at the same void ratio within the yield surface. Using an initial inclination of the yield surface a0 anisotropy is considered for

Parameter

Comment

e0: Initial void ratio M: Value of the stress ratio h at critical state

Standard laboratory test Triaxial test

a0: Initial size and inclination of the

yield curve

Anisotropy: Estimated via

n : Absolute effectiveness of
rotational hardening

Anisotropy: typical values: 10 /

m - 20 / m {

b : Relative effectiveness of
rotational hardening x0: Initial bonding effect a: Absolute effectiveness of destructurational hardening b: Relative effectiveness of destructurational hardening

Anisotropy: Estimated via Destructuration: St - 1

Destructuration: typical values : 8 - 11

Destructuration: typical values : 0, 2-0, 3

Table 1: Model parameter for the S-CLAY1S model

Plaxis bulletin l Autumn issue 2009 l www.plaxis.nl

the plastic behavior. The additional constitutive parameters for anisotropy and destructuration for the S-CLAY1S models are summarized in Table 1. They cannot all be determined directly from standard laboratory tests. This means that some parameters have no real physical meaning and can only be obtained by estimation via other soil parameters or can only be identified by back calculation. 4. Multilaminate model for Structured Clay The Multilaminate Model (ML) for Structured Clay is a user-defined model in PLAXIS. The model was developed by Galavi 2007 [4] and is based on the Multilaminate framework [7]. Anisotropy, destructuration and softening can be taken into account. The deformation behavior of the soil is obtained by integrating the response of a particular number of differently oriented sampling planes (Figure 2). Each stress integration point is associated with a certain number of these planes at different orientations. The stress-strain relations are formulated locally at the microscopic level, except for the elastic part, which is calculated at the macroscopic level. The global strains are obtained by numerical integration of the inelastic contribution of each sampling plane and the global elastic contribution. Therefore, induced anisotropy can be considered without further material parameters. In order to include the inherent anisotropy, a so-called micro structure tensor is implemented. To take destructuration into account, it is assumed that destructuration starts at gross yield. It is related to the damage strain f di, where an increase leads to a decrease of structure and depends on the bonding parameter b and the volumetric rate of the destructuration hv. The additional constitutive parameters describing anisotropy and destructuration of the Multilaminate Model for Structured Clay are summarized in Table 2. Not all parameters can be determined by standard laboratory tests.

Figure 1: S-CLAY 1S model (principle stress space) according to [6]

Figure 2: Multilaminate model (integration planes) [4]

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pr c ice Identification of Foundation Ana ysis Plaxis Practice: Crane Monopile constitu ve par meters of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay

Laboratory testing and numerical modeling Drained oedometer tests on natural and reconstituted Pisa clay, a soft, marine clay from Italy, were chosen to calibrate the constitutive soil parameters [8]. High quality Laval samples were retrieved from the subsoil of the Tower of Pisa from a depth of 10 12 m (Upper Clay). Pisa Clay has a metastable structure and a high sensitivity. The over consolidation rate is about 1 2. The oedometer tests are simulated in PLAXIS 2D as plane strain element tests. Optimization 1. Parameter Identification Due to lack of knowledge of the constitutive parameters a back analysis in terms of direct or inverse approaches can be used to calibrate the material model parameters [3]. In this article the direct approach is used, which is based on an iterative procedures correcting the trial values of the unknown parameters by minimizing an objective function. Here the material parameters are the unknowns and the objective function consists of measured and simulated data. Additionally bound constraints are considered on the optimization variables x to ensure that the global minima lie within a restricted search space corresponding to the range of realistic constitutive parameter values

Parameter

Comment

Ad: Parameter for proportion of plastic strains

Destructuration and anisotropy: 0 -1

Ar: Anisotropy ratio

Anisotropy

b0: Size initial value of bonding

Destructuration:

v'vy -1 v' * vy

hv : Volumetric rate of destructuration

Destructuration: typical values 10 - 30

Table 2: Model parameter for the Multilaminate Model for Structured Clay

x min x x max
where x min and x max are the lower and upper bounds of x , respectively. Schematically this procedure is given in Figure 3. The objective function reads:

F=

f .w / / y
2 i n n 2 i=1 i=1

i meas

with fi = (yi,meas yi,calc) where wi are weighting factors, i = 1, , n is the counter of loading steps used in the optimization process. In this paper the Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO) is used to minimize the objective function. The PSO approach is based on a population of individuals [5]. Each particle represents a solution to the optimization problem. While searching for optima, each particle adjusts its trajectory according to its own previous best position and the best previous position attained by any member of its neighbors. 2. Start values For the identification process it is necessary to assume initial start values for each constitutive parameter. These values can be adopted by e.g. engineering experience or from literature. The assumed constitutive parameters for reconstituted Pisa Clay for the different models with their minima and maxima boundaries are summarized in Table 3. The cohesion c is assumed as 2.4 kN/m2 and the friction angle { as 25.6. Dilatancy is not taken into account } = 0). For the S-CLAY1S model the slope M of the Critical State Line supposed to be 1.0 [2,8]. The Poissons ratio is also adopted to be 0.2. These parameters are held constant in the

Figure 3: Identification procedure

Plaxis bulletin l Autumn issue 2009 l www.plaxis.nl

Plaxis practice: Identification of constitutive parameters Crane Monopile and natural Pisa clay laxis Practice: of reconstituted Founda ion Ana ysis

Constitutive parameter

Start value

Boundaries minimum

Boundaries maximum

Table 3: Constitutive parameters for reconstituted Pisa Clay from literature

m [-]
* i

0.15

0.08

0.25

* i

[-]

0.02

0.01

0.03

m [-]
i

0.23 [2]

0.15

0.35

[-]

0.035 [2]

0.025

0.045

Gref.i [kN/m2]
c [kN/m2]

1500

1000

2500

2.4 [8]

fixed in oedometric conditions

[o]

25.6 [8]

fixed in oedometric conditions

M [-]

0.984 [8]

fixed in oedometric conditions

[-] [-] [-]

0.54

0.20

0.60

n
b

30

20

50

0.94

0.85

1.05

Ar [-] Ad [-]

0.7

1.5

0 [4]

fixed in oedometric conditions

[-]

0.0001

fixed

e0,i [-]
Constitutive parameter

1.4 [10]

fixed

Start value

Boundaries minimum

Boundaries maximum

Table 4: (Additional) Constitutive parameters for natural Pisa Clay

Gref [kN/m2]

2500

1500

4000

m [-] l [-]
x0 [-]
b [-] a [-] hv [-] b0 [-] e0 [-]
*

0.2

0.1

0.3

0.025

0.015

0.035

10

20

0.3

0.2

0.4

10

15

10

20

1.72 [10]

fixed

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pr c ice Identification of Foundation Ana ysis Plaxis Practice: Crane Monopile constitu ve par meters of reconstituted and natural Pisa clay

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 10 measurement MC SSC S-CLAY1S ML 100 1000 10000

identification of the oedometer tests, because the sensitivity of these parameters is very low in oedometric conditions in comparison to the other parameters. The (additional) parameters for natural Pisa Clay are summarized in Table 4. 3. Results of parameter identification For the oedometer test on reconstituted Pisa Clay the results of the optimized simulation results compared with the measurement data are shown in Fig. 4. Due to its limitations it was not possible to improve the simulation of the MC model. The simulated stress-strain curves of the SSC, S-CLAY1S and ML models result in a good agreement with the measurements. The associated optimized parameter set can be seen in Table 5 (left). For the oedometer test on natural Pisa Clay the S-CLAY1S and the ML models can predict the behavior after gross yield best, as they can consider destructuration (Fig. 5). Because of this they can predict the metastable structure what results in an abrupt yield. The SSC model reaches the final measured strains at a stress of 3250 kPa. However, this model is not able to predict the correct destructuration behavior after yielding. The associated optimized parameter set for natural Pisa Clay can be seen in Table 5 (right). Cohesion c, friction angle { , Poissons ratio y are also held constant. Conclusions The description of complex behavior of clay requires advanced constitutive models with a large number of unknown parameters. Thus an efficient manual identification becomes quite difficult for most practical problems. Due to the complex problems a back analysis in terms of an inverse approache is used. For laboratory tests on reconstituted and natural Pisa Clay, it is possible to get good results of constitutive parameter sets. It was shown that the SSC, S-CLAY1S and ML models for reconstituted Pisa Clay are able to predict the correct soil behavior. The MC model is not able to simulate essential features of soil behavior because of limitations. Only the S-CLAY1S and ML models are able to predict the natural behavior of Pisa Clay because these models can consider destructuration. The next step would be the identification of the parameters on triaxial tests and finally on oedometer and triaxial tests simultaneously to obtain the best fit for all experiments. Acknowledgements The presented developments have been carried out within the frame of the DFG Research Training Group 1462 Model Validation in Structural Engineering. Special thanks go to the PLAXIS Company for allocating PLAXIS 2D/3D and Martin Zimmerer for providing his identification program VARo2PT. The authors are thankful to Luigi Callisto as well for the laboratory test results.

y [-]

y [kPa]
Figure 4: Observed and simulated vertical strain of an oedometer test on reconstituted Pisa Clay with optimized parameters (according to [8])

Figure 5: Observed and simulated vertical strain of an oedometer test on natural Pisa Clay with optimized parameters (according to [8])

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Plaxis bulletin l Autumn issue 2009 l www.plaxis.nl

Plaxis practice: Identification of constitutPlaxis Pract ce: Crane Monopile Foundation Pis clay ve parameters of reconstituted and natural Ana ysis

References
[1] R. B. J. Brinkgreve and P. A. Vermeer. PLAXIS Finite Element Code for Soil and Rock Analysis. Volume 8, Material Models Manual. Rotterdam: A.A Balkema. [2] L. Callisto and S. Rampello. An interpretation of structural degradation for three natural clays. Canadian Geotechnic Journal, 41:392-407, 2004. [3] A. L. Cividini, L. Jurina, and G. Gioda. Some aspects of characterization problems in geomechanics. Int. J. Rock. Mech. Min. Sci. and Geomech., 18:487-503, 1981. [4] V. Galavi. A Multilaminate Model for Structured Clay incorporating Inherent Anisotropy and Strain Softening. PhD thesis, Technische Universitt Graz, 2007. [5] J. Kennedy and R. Eberhard. Particle swarm optimization. In U. Publishing company Piscataway, NJ, editor, Proc. of IEEE Int. Conf. on Neural Networks, 1995. [6] M. Koskinen, M. Karstunen, and S. Wheeler. Modeling destructuration and anisotropy of a natural soft clay. In P. MEstat, editor, Proc. of the 5th European Conf. on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering, Paris. Press de lENPC/ LCPC, 1992. [7] G. N. Pande and K. G. Sharma. Multilaminate model of clays - a numerical evaluation of the influence of rotation of principal stress axes. Int. J. of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 7:397-418, 1983. [8] S. Rampello and L. Callisto. A study on the subsoil of the tower of pisa based on results from standard and high-quality samples. Canadian Geotechnic Journal, 35:1074.1092, 1998. [9] S. J. Wheeler, M. Cudny, H. P. Neher, and C. Wiltafsky. Some developments in constitutive modeling of soft clays. In International Workshop on Geotechnics of Soft Soils-Theory and Practice, 2003.

MC

End value

SCC

End value

SCLAY

End value

ML

End value

MC

End value

SCC

End value

SCLAY

End value

ML

End value

Gref i

1900

* mi * li

0.107 0.028 2.4 25.6 0.2 0.0001

mi li
M

0.19 0.027 1

mi li c {

0.27 0.035 2.4 25.6 0.2 1.3 0

Gref

2600

* m * l

0.127 0.013

mi l ao n b x0 a b

0.19 0.029 0.3 60 0.9 3.9 12 0.25

mi l
Ar Ad

0.27 0.039 1.3 0

c { y

2.4 25.6 0.2

c { y n

y a0 n b

0.2 0.28 60 0.94

y
Ar Ad

b0 hv

2.8 15

Table 5: Optimized parameter sets for reconstituted (left) and natural (right) Pisa Clay

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Local ice crushing analyses of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall by 3DFoundation
Authors: Kenton W. Braun, P.E., PND Engineers, Inc, Anchorage, Alaska USA, kbraun@pndengineers.com Feifei Bai, PND Engineers, Inc, Anchorage, Alaska USA Guang Li, EPT, BP, Houston, Texas USA

PLAXIS 3DFoundation was utilized in a recent analysis of ice loading to a vertical sheet pile wall. The analyzed retaining system consisted of an OPEN CELL SHEET PILE wall, which utilizes hoop tension in the steel to retain the soil behind, similar to a circular flat sheet pile cell. Since the flat sheet piles do not provide significant structural resistance to external loadings, the soil must provide the capacity. 3DFoundation provides the ideal means of numerically modeling the system.

The proposed retaining wall system must resist ice crushing against the vertical face with thawed soil behind the cells. Since the sheet pile wall was constructed of flat piles attached vertically to each other throughout the perimeter of the structure, the analysis examined whether the soil would deform under localized ice loads to such an extent that the sheet pile would come

apart along the vertical connection joints. In order to determine the capacity and potential improvements required for the system to resist localized ice loads, the author performed a series of finite element analyses with PLAXIS 3DFoundation v.2.1. Numerical analyses were utilized to predict deflections of the sheet pile wall and associated soil mass. These computed

deflections were then compared against measured ultimate deflections of the sheet pile knuckles to analyze system performance. Project description OPEN CELL SHEET PILE system The OPEN CELL SHEET PILE system was developed, tested and patented by PND Engineers, Inc. initially in support of Alaskas North Slope oil industry in the 1980s. Since then, over hundreds of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE structures have built throughout Alaska and the rest of the United States. International structures include a dock in Trinidad. The concept of this type of retaining wall is geometrically similar to the closed cell except that approximately one-fourth of the cell is removed, allowing access to the interior of the cell for fill and compaction operations. The tail walls anchor the face sheets and are buried within the fill. The idea is to use flat sheet piles as vertical soil friction anchors for a membrane wall system. Figure 1 shows the stability mechanism of the OPEN CELL SHEET PILE system. The system functions as a horizontally tied membrane relying solely on the vertical flat sheet pile tailwall to restrain the curved flat sheet pile arch face. The bulkhead becomes a series of U-shaped vertical member structures that does not need toe embedment for stability. These structures have significant advantages over cantilever, tied-back or reinforced earth abutment structures, particularly with regard to load resistance and ease of construction.

Figure 1. Mechanism of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall System

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Geometry and geotechnical Information The proposed OPEN CELL SHEET PILE retaining wall extends from an elevation of +12 feet above the mean sea level to elevation of natural seabed -40 feet. The assumed geotechnical profile consists of an assumed sandy gravel fill above elevation -40 feet. A layer of very stiff interbedded and sometimes intermixed clayey silt and fine silty sand was utilized for depths between -40 feet to -45 feet. Below the silt, sands with varying amounts of silt and fine gravel were assumed from elevations -45 to -50 feet. The sand layer was then underlain by well graded sandy gravel. The fill material was first assumed to be placed in a somewhat loose condition. However, subsequent analyses indicated that compaction of the soil behind the sheet piles would be necessary for wall stability and additional ice resistance. Figure 2 depicts the assumed geometry and soil profile. Soil parameters utilized in the analyses are listed in Table 1. Three-dimensional analyses PLAXIS 3D finite element modeling A soil model section with a dimension of 310 feet x 95 feet x107 feet (LxBxH) was developed in 3DFoundation. Horizontal displacements were fixed at the boundaries along the soil block perimeter. The length of 107 feet was chosen to enable modeling three cells of the OPEN CELL

SHEET PILE structure to appropriately evaluate the local ice crushing resistance of the system by loading the center cell. The face sheet piles of these structures are typically constructed with nineteen 19.69-inch-wide flat sheet piles arranged in the curvilinear pattern, which results in cell widths of approximately 30 feet width. For this analysis, the face sheet piles were connected structurally to tail wall sheets that extended about 45 feet into compacted granular fill. A plan layout of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE wall is shown in Figure 3. Varied mesh size were applied to soil blocks and OPEN CELL SHEET PILE structure to save computation time. A very fine mesh was assigned to the middle cell and the enclosed granular fill right behind it where the ice force was directly applied. The rest of the soil blocks, as well as the adjacent two cell structures, share a medium, fine mesh. The strategic mesh refinement led to a mesh of approximately 12,700 elements and approximately 63,000 nodes. The sensitivity studies indicate that deformation discrepancy of sheet pile wall system with very fine mesh and medium mesh is within an acceptable range of 5%. A fully meshed PLAXIS 3D model is presented in Figure 4. The elastic-plastic Mohr-Coulomb constitutive soil model for the soil layers in the drained conditions was applied. The most complex portion of modeling of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE wall for this project was to

Figure 2. OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall Geometry and Soil Profile

Parameter

Dry Unit Weight (kcf) 0.12 0.1 0.12 0.12

Elastic modulus (ksf) 3100 544 450 4000

Poissons ratio 0.3 0.35 0.33 0.3

Cohesion (ksf) 0.02 0.8 0.05 0.02

Friction Angle (deg) 34 25 33 34

Sandy Gravel Fill Clayey Silt Silty Sand Deep Sandy Gravel

Table 1. Soil Properties Used in PLAXIS 3D

Figure 3. Plan Layout of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall

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Local Coulomb paramete for modell ng SHEET ete structures Plaxis pr Practice: Mohr ice crushing analyses of OPEN CELL of conc PILE Wall by 3DFoundation

appropriately model the steel wall, especially the contiguous sheet piles vertically attached via interlocks. During an ice event, an interlock connection will first freely rotate around the vertical axis when an inward out-of-plane load is applied. Under an increasing load, the interlocks will first straighten, followed by continued inward deflection. Eventually, the pile interlocks will bind and begin to resist load until, ultimately, the interlock pries apart. The inappropriate application of isotropic steel properties could result in an extremely unconservative behavior whereby, in the most extreme condition of a solid steel plate, most of the ice loads could be carried by the OPEN CELL structure rather than the enclosed soil body. Consequently, a series of fully decoupled nonlinear force strain (i.e. axial force-axial strain) or moment-curvature (i.e. bending momentrotation curvature) relations were developed. A bilinear force-strain relation (large in-plane horizontal tension vs. small in-plane horizontal compression) was also applied to appropriately estimate the axial hoop tension in steel wall. The bending moment-rotation curvature to define a hinge property caused by interlock rotation was derived and applied to the model based on the destructive sheet pile testing performed by the author. Full sheet pile section properties have been assigned to the sides of model (boundary). Considering the large dimension between adjacent OPEN CELL structures and the local ice pressure that is only applied to the center of middle cell, the effects of the boundary cell (sides of the model) is neglected. Loading conditions The localized ice crushing force was set up as static ice pressure in Plaxis following the local pressure-area curves identified in Table 2. From elevation +2 feet to -10 feet, ISO 19906 criteria were utilized considering this area could be exposed to confined ice with large compressive pressure. Above elevation +2, the ice would typically be rubbled and ice pressure is therefore greatly reduced. Similarly, ice located below

elevation -10 would generally be weaker and would not experience the confinement necessary for large local loads. Therefore, lower compressive pressures were utilized for the upper and lower ice crushing zones. For modeling purposes, the ice load was applied at the highest elevation within each boundary considering that this location would have the minimum soil mass behind the sheet pile to resist the crushing force. Failure criteria Development of failure criteria for the analyzed structure presented a significant challenge to the project. Considering the extreme nature of the ice loads, plastic soil movement behind the sheet piles was acceptable, as long as the sheet piles did not come apart. The bilinear behavior of the interlock hinges (as well as modeling limitations) also made it difficult to utilize structural stresses within the steel as an evaluation method. Ultimately, it was determined that the best measure of structure limit state was to examine the amount of rotation at the interlocks. The angle between adjacent sheet piles right before failure was defined as ultimate deflection angle. This deflection angle was derived from destructive sheet pile testing which indicated a 20 degree relative angle (between adjacent sheet piles) could be utilized as the failure criteria when evaluating the Plaxis results. A depiction of this criteria and the associated angle is presented in Figure 5. It should be noted that there is likely much more reserve capacity in the sheet piles than that which was utilized in the modeling effort. The ultimate testing proved to be difficult in that plastic bending of the sheet piles generally occurred sooner than ultimate failure of the knuckles. Such results indicate that the sheet pile wall would likely bend and form plastic hinges prior to knuckle failure, which would allow for much greater deflections and load absorption/distribution than that utilized in this analysis.

Figure 5. Sheet Pile Failure Criteria Diagram

Figure 4. Meshed 3D PLAXIS Model

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Plaxis practice: Local ice crushing analyses of OPEN CELL SHEET PILE Wall by 3DFoundation

Initial Analyses Results The initial ice crushing analyses results are presented in Table 3. Results are organized corresponding to the varied ice contact areas and loading elevations defined in Table 2. The bold numbers indicate the relative deflection angle between adjacent sheet piles exceeds the ultimate deflection angle criteria of 20 degrees. Selected deformation contours of the enclosed gravel fill and OPEN CELL SHEET PILE wall are also shown in Figure 6. In Figure 7, the total incremental soil deflection contour (|u|) presents a very distinct failure surface in the soil block at the loaded area. The analyzed sheet pile deflections of the nineteen pile segments are presented in Figure 8. The deflection of sheet pile along various wall elevations are plotted separately. The vertical axis represents the X coordinates (unit in feet) to locate each sheet pile segment in PLAXIS 3D. The plots also indicate the maximum pile deflection occurs within the range of elevation +4 feet to elevation -6 feet, where 100 ft 2 crushing ice was loaded. Soil Reinforcement Initial numerical analysis (Table 3) indicated that thawed fill soil and sheet piles alone were not sufficient to resist the local ice pressure at the higher elevations. Thus, soil improvement was recommended within this zone and the preliminary design assumed jet grouting was utilized for this purpose. A revised Plaxis model was then developed assuming the grouted columns were installed from approximately 8 feet below grade to 23 feet below grade, stiffening approximately 15 feet of soil at the face of the sheet piles. The initial cohesion c and friction angle { for jet grouting was assumed to be 22 ksf and zero

Crushing Ice Contact Area

Crushing Load Elevation (feet) +4.5 to +2

Assumed Ice Crushing Pressure (psi) 400 3500 300 300 1130 200 200 225 100

Table 2. Ice Loading Conditions in Plaxis

2 ft2

+2 to -10 -10 to -39 +4.5 to +2

10 ft2

+2 to -10 -10 to -39 +4.5 to +2

100 ft

+2 to -10 -10 to -39

Calculation Case

Max Horizontal Def. of Soil (in) 0.5 31.0 0.3 16.0 57.0 0.5 48.0 32.0 1.0

Max Relative Rotation Angle (deg) 3.7 40.0 negligible 28.0 78.0 negligible 17.0 13.0 negligible

400 psi @ 2 ft2 3500 psi @ 2 ft2 300 psi @ 2 ft2 300 psi @ 10 ft2 Unfrozen Sandy Gravel 1130 psi @ 10 ft2 200 psi @ 10 ft
2

200 psi @ 100 ft2 225 psi @ 100 ft

2

100 psi @ 100 ft2 Table 3 Initial Ice Crushing Analyses Results Summary

Figure 6. Maximum Horizontal Deformation of Fill and OPEN CELL SHEET PILE at Failure (200 psi with 100 ft2 contact area @ Elevation +4.5 feet)

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xis Practice: Local ation of So l Nail Structures using PLAX S 2DPILE Wall by 3DFoundation Plax s p a Simu ice crushing analyses of OPEN CEL SHEET

Figure 7. Soil Failure Surface at Failure-Total Incremental Deformation (200 psi with 100 ft2 contact area @ Elevation +4.5 feet)

degrees, respectively. Results from this revised analysis are presented in Table 4 and indicated positive behavior. Figure 9 also depicts the total incremental soil deformation contours associated with the analysis. Discussion and conclusions PLAXIS 3DFoundation provides a very useful tool for analyzing the performance of an OPEN CELL SHEET PILE wall system under localized ice impact. The initial ice crushing analyses indicated that ice crushing loads on the sheet pile wall exceeded the strength capacity of the thawed granular fill soil and sheet piles alone. Subsequent analyses utilizing soil reinforcement was found to provide greater resistance and structural integrity within the failure zone and provided positive results. Shear strain analyses in Plaxis showed that the proposed jet grouting soilcrete could have some cracking develop under high crushing pressure between elevations +4.5 feet to -10 feet. Considering the frequency of any anticipated ice loading events and that the static ice crushing analyses in Plaxis is relatively conservative, the assumed width and depth of the jet grouting zone was believed to be adequate, but additional analyses may be required to further refine the design. For reinforced soil, the relative rotation angle of adjacent sheet piles was reduced significantly with the use of soil reinforcement, resulting in a maximum value of 6 degrees as compared to a 78 degree angle for the unreinforced case. The very low result for reinforced soil indicates that jet grouting or other similar means could have voids yet still provide sufficient resistance.

Calculation Case

Max Horizontal Def. of Soil (in) 0.4 1.8 0.1 1.3 1.7 0.3 1.6 1.2 0.8

Max Relative Rotation Angle (deg) 3.5 6.0 negligible 4.5 5.0 negligible 3.5 3.0 negligible

400 psi @ 2 ft2 3500 psi @ 2 ft2 300 psi @ 2 ft2 300 psi @ 10 ft2 Reinforced Soil 1130 psi @ 10 ft2 200 psi @ 10 ft
2

200 psi @ 100 ft2 225 psi @ 100 ft

2

100 psi @ 100 ft2 Table 4 Initial Ice Crushing Analyses Results Summary

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Plaxis practice: Local ice crushing analyses of OPEN on of So l Na PILE Wall by 3DFoundation axis Practice: S mulat CELL SHEET l Structure using PLAXIS 2D

Acknowledgement This project is supported by BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. Special thanks are also given to Plaxis bv, Hayward Baker, Inc and Geoengineers, Inc for providing technical support to the analyses. References Bowles J. Foundation Analysis and Design Fifth Edition, McGraw Hill (1996) ISO/DIS 19906 Draft Standard for Petroleum and natural gas industries Arctic Offshore structures (November 2008) Plaxis bv 3DFoundation User Manual (2007)

Figure 8. Perimeter Sheet Pile Deflection at Failure (200 psi with 100 ft2 contact area @ Elevation +4.5 feet)

Figure 9. Maximum Total Incremental Deformation of Reinforced Soil (200 psi with 100 ft2 contact area @ Elevation +4.5 feet)

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Influence of a revetment geometry on liquefaction susceptibility

Author: Sanne Brinkman, MSc Student, Delft University of Technology

Many coastal zones around the world are characterized by the presence of soft soil sediments, which are prone to erosion. The critical areas are therefore protected by engineering structures, like revetments and breakwaters. The structures and their foundations should be able to resist earthquake loads and deformations should remain within acceptable limits.

The cyclic loading during an earthquake causes pore pressure build-up in the subsurface that may lead to liquefaction. Liquefaction is a threat to the stability of the engineering structures, since it significantly reduces the strength of underlying soil. The cyclic behaviour of sands is best explained using the critical state soil mechanics framework. For cyclic loading, inducing excess pore pressures, two failure mechanisms have been recognised, namely by loss of cyclic stiffness and by cyclic mobility. For continuing cyclic loading around a non-zero mean mobilized effective stress level the mean shear strain can accumulate to very large magnitude (e.g. 20%), known as cyclic mobility. In this case critical state failure is defined in terms of the maximum accumulated shear strain causing the critical state of the structure. The engineer will aim at a design in which a state of cyclic shakedown is reached with smaller maximum shear strains. The other failure mechanism, involving the loss of cyclic stiffness, can occur for cyclic loading around a zero-mean effective stress level, inducing excessive cyclic shear strains (e.g. 10%). Consequently in this case critical state failure is due to excessive cyclic shear strains causing the critical state of the structure. However, in this research (and in engineering practice) the cyclic stress approach is followed to assess initiation of liquefaction. Hereby the earthquake-induced loading, expressed in terms of cyclic shear stress ratio, is compared to the liquefaction resistance of the soil, also expressed

in cyclic shear stress ratio. The cyclic shear stress ratio is defined as the ratio of the shear stress amplitude and the initial effective vertical stress. At locations where the loading exceeds the

resistance, liquefaction is expected to occur. Using this approach the pore pressures that cause liquefaction are linked to cyclic shear stresses.

Figure 1: 2D revetment geometry (top) and 1D approximation (bottom)

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Assessment of the liquefaction potential of sand supporting revetments is often performed by making a 1D analysis at several positions along the revetment (Figure 1). The earthquake-induced loading (CSR, Cyclic Stress Ratio) is commonly calculated using programs like SHAKE2000, which performs 1D calculations in the frequency domain. The liquefaction resistance (CRR, Cyclic Resistance Ratio) of a soil is assessed using empirical methods based on laboratory tests or field tests. This article focuses on the loading phase (CSR).

hysteretic stress-strain behaviour of cyclically loaded soils can be approximated by equivalent linear soil properties. A typical hysteresis loop during undrained symmetric cyclic loading as would be expected beneath a level ground surface far from adjacent structures, is shown in Figure 2. Hereby the equivalent linear shear modulus G is taken as the shear secant modulus to approximate the tangent modulus that varies along the hysteresis loop. The equivalent linear damping ratio p produces the same energy loss in a single cycle as the actual hysteresis loop. The hysteretic damping ratio is calculated as:

p =

WD AL = 4rWS 4rAT

calculates in the time domain and uses a viscous damping1 , more specifically Rayleigh damping, which is frequency dependent. The results of the two programs are compared using amplification functions. Consider a soil column with two points at different depths, for example at the top and the bottom. Applying a steady state harmonic horizontal motion with a certain circular frequency at the bottom leads to different horizontal maximum displacements at the two points. In other words: amplification takes place between the two points. A steady state harmonic motion with a different circular frequency leads to a different amplification. The amplification function is therefore the ratio of motion amplitudes between two points in a column as a function of frequency. In this research, the approach is to modify the damping parameters in PLAXIS until the resulting amplification function matches the outcome of SHAKE. Hereby the procedure described in the following is used. Thereafter the 2D simulation is performed in PLAXIS and the influence of the revetment geometry on the dynamic behaviour of the underlying sand is investigated. The hysteretic damping ratio, which is used in SHAKE, is defined as the ratio between the damping and the critical damping in the singledegree-of-freedom system: p = c c crit = 2 c km

Where: p = damping ratio [-] WD = dissipated energy [kNm] WS = maximum strain energy [kNm] AL = the area enclosed by the hysteresis loop [kPa] AT = the area of the shaded triangle in Figure 2 [kPa] The linear approach used in SHAKE requires that G and p are constant for each soil layer. Therefore the values that are consistent with the level of strain induced by the earthquake need to be determined for each layer. Since the computed strain level depends on the values of the equivalent linear properties, an iterative procedure is used in SHAKE to compute these strain-compatible properties (Schnabel et al., 1972). Approach The revetment geometry is divided into 4 zones that are approximated by 1D-situations (see Figure 1). The 4 1D shear columns are calculated with SHAKE2000 and PLAXIS, using the linear equivalent parameters G and p . However, the damping is defined differently in both computer programmes. SHAKE is performed in the frequency domain and uses the damping ratio p , which is frequency independent. PLAXIS on the other hand

Figure 2: Typical hysteresis loop during undrained symmetric cyclic loading

The 1D analyses imply assumptions and simplifications. For example, the 1D assessments are valid for half-spaces (i.e. horizontal ground level and a horizontal soil stratigraphy), where in practice more complex (trapezoidal) geometries exist. This leads to the main research objective: The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the revetment geometry on the susceptibility to liquefaction of the underlying sand layer. Equivalent linear model It is well known that soil behaviour is non-linear, e.g. the shear modulus and the damping ratio are non-linear functions of strain. The non-linear

Where: c = damping [N s/m] ccrit = critical damping [N s/m] k = stiffness [N/m] m = mass [kg]

1 Instead of viscous damping, hysteretic damping can be used in PLAXIS by applying the HSsmall model

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Plaxis pr c Influence of a revetmen uctures using PLAX S 2D Practice: Simulation of Soi Nail St geometry on liquefaction susceptibility

Replacing the damping by c = am + bk and leads to: using that

k/m = ~

p =

b~ a + 2~ 2

Where: a = Rayleigh damping parameter [-] b = Rayleigh damping parameter [-] ~= circular frequency [rad/s] The frequency dependency of Rayleigh damping is shown in Figure 3. If the range of important frequencies ( ~ 1 and ~ 2) for the dynamic analysis can be estimated, then the values of a and b can be chosen to give tolerably constant damping over this frequency range. Using that in the approximation p = p at ~ = ~ 1 and at ~ = ~ 2 , the following is derived:

The conventional approach is to choose the first natural frequency from the soil column as ~ 1 and predominant frequency of the input motion as ~ 2. However, Park and Hashash (2004) show that much better results can be obtained by choosing the frequencies independent of soil columns natural frequencies, with the aim of obtaining the best match with the frequency domain solution. In this method, first ~ 1 and ~ 2 are selected such that the frequencies in between comprise the most important part of the earthquake spectrum, with the highest amplitudes. Solving Equation 4 for each layer individually leads to the initial values of a and b for that particular layer in the PLAXIS calculation. After the dynamic calculation, the resulting amplification function from PLAXIS is compared to the amplification function produced by SHAKE. If the amplification functions are not in agreement, ~ 1 and ~ 2 are adjusted. This leads to a new a and b for each layer and thus to a new PLAXIS solution with corresponding amplification function. The frequencies are adjusted by trial and error, but one uses the fact that the contribution of mass in the damping is primarily at low frequencies and the contribution of stiffness in the damping is largest at higher frequencies (Figure 3). The frequencies are adjusted until the amplification

functions of PLAXIS and SHAKE coincide. Applying the above procedure for all zones provides the Rayleigh damping parameters for the entire geometry. Using these parameters the 2D-calculation is performed in PLAXIS. Results The cyclic shear stresses that result from the PLAXIS 2D calculation at various locations along the revetment geometry are compared to the 1D results of the corresponding zones (Figure 4 and Figure 5). It can be seen that the 1D approximations and the 2D results correspond well for zone 2, 3 and 4. The CSR values in these zones are low, indicating a low impact of the earthquake loading that will not lead to liquefaction. The low CSR values are caused by the overburden stress due to overlying material. Therefore it is concluded that the presence of the revetment geometry reduces the CSR in the underlying top few meters of sand. Zone 1 is the critical zone as the CSR values are significantly higher than in the other zones. Indeed sand near the surface that is not overlain by revetment material is subject to liquefaction at the design earthquake loading. From Figure 5

a =

2pc~1~2 ~ 1 + ~2 2pc ~1 + ~2

b =

Figure 3: Rayleigh damping and hysteretic damping ratio. From: Muir Wood (2004)

Figure 4: Geometry with locations of determined CSR values and zones with 1D approximations

Figure 5: Cyclic stress values (CSR) as a function of depth in the sand layer at various locations along the revetment geometry. Red values represent the 1D approximation for the zone, blue values the 2D calculations. Locations A through M and the zones with 1D approximations are shown in Figure 4.

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Plaxis practicePInfluence of a revetment geometry on liquefaction susceptibility ax s Practice Simulation of Soil Nail Structures using PLAXIS 2D

Figure 6: Geometry of revetment with possible deformation mechanism schematized in red. The 1D approximation leads to overestimation of the CSR in the zone indicated by + and underestimation in the zone indicated by -

it is seen that the 2D results at location A, B and D are in agreement with the 1D approximation of zone 1. At position E the 1D approximation gives higher values than the 2D analysis and therefore it is overestimating the CSR. The application of the 1D approximation will not lead to a dangerous situation for this location. However, at location C, just in front of the toe, the 1D approximation underestimates the CSR value considerably. The 2D analysis shows that the design earthquake will certainly lead to liquefaction at this location. The loss of strength in the liquefied area may in turn cause failure of the revetment (Figure 6). However, the revetment stability will not be significantly affected when the berm is constructed sufficiently wide, as liquefaction near the toe and subsequent deformation will occur solely in the berm. Conclusions and recommendations In this research the influence of the revetment geometry on the susceptibility to liquefaction of the underlying sand layer is investigated. The following procedure is used, in which the cyclic stress approach is followed to assess initiation of liquefaction. By separating the geometry into zones that are approximated by 1D shear columns, equivalent linear soil properties are obtained using the computer program SHAKE. This program uses an iterative procedure to obtain values for G and p of each soil layer that are consistent with the level of strain induced by the earthquake. The viscous damping parameters that are used as input for PLAXIS are determined from the strain equivalent damping ratios using an iterative method. Hereby the viscous damping parameters are adjusted until the amplification functions from both computer programs match. After the strain equivalent parameters are derived, a 2D-calculation is performed in PLAXIS to investigate the influence of the revetment geometry on the susceptibility to liquefaction of the underlying sand layer. For the investigated situation it is found that sand near the surface that is not overlain by revetment material is subject to liquefaction at the design earthquake loading. The presence of the revetment geometry reduces the CSR in the top few meters of underlying sand.

However, the CSR close to the toe on the sea side is higher due to the presence of the revetment geometry. The 1D-approximation does not show this as a location that will be liquefied, as the 1D-approximation largely underestimates CSR values on the sea side of the toe. The loss of strength in the liquefied area may in turn cause collapse of the revetment. This is avoided by making the berm sufficiently wide, so possible liquefaction under the toe and subsequent failure of the berm do not affect the revetment stability significantly. The influence of static shear stress and rotation of principal stress directions on the liquefaction resistance are not taken into account in this article. If further research shows that the influence is significant, it is recommended to use an advanced model that is able to predict pore pressure generation as a function of stress rotation and static shear stress. References Muir Wood, D. (2004), Geotechnical modelling. Spon Press, United Kingdom Park, D. and Hashash, Y.M.A. (2004), Soil damping formulation in nonlinear time domain site response analysis. Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol.8, No.2, pp.249-274 Schnabel, P.B., Lysmer, J. and Seed, H.B. (1972), SHAKE: A Computer Program for Earthquake Response Analysis of Horizontally Layered Sites. Report No. EERC 72-12, University of California, Berkeley

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Recent activities

New website In September we released our new website. With this website we finished the transition to our new Corporate Identity which started with the new look of the previous bulletin (spring issue 2009). Besides a fresh look and feel, this website is more transparent. Gradually we will also release a webshop, specific technical information, papers and new videos. Please check out our website on regular basis and give us your feedback.

PLAXIS 3D At the 17th International Conference for Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics in Alexandria, Egypt, Plaxis launched the new PLAXIS 3D Program. PLAXIS 3D is a finite element package intended for three-dimensional analysis of deformation and stability in geotechnical engineering. Geotechnical applications require advanced constitutive models for the simulation of the nonlinear, time-dependent and anisotropic behaviour

of soils and/or rock. In addition, since soil is a multi-phase material, special procedures are required to deal with hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic pore pressures in the soil. Although the modelling of the soil itself is an important issue, many tunnel projects involve the modelling of structures and the interaction between the structures and the soil. PLAXIS 3D is equipped with features to deal with various aspects of complex geotechnical structures.

Some features are: Arbitrary 3D geometry for soil and structures DXF or 3DS input of geometry (PLAXIS VIP) Terrain geometry input tools Multiple borehole wizard Real and easy 3D interaction Command line input Model replay function Advanced soil models User defined soil models (PLAXIS VIP) 64 bit calculation kernel (PLAXIS VIP) Convenient construction stage definition

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At our User Meeting from 11 till 13 November 2009 in Karlsruhe, Germany users and prospects will have the opportunity to get familiar with the new PLAXIS 3D program. Participants who bring their own laptop can install PLAXIS 3D and learn how easy one can operate this new flexible program. Participants will also get the possibility to take a time limited version of the program with them. Plaxis in China In China we noticed that there are an increasing number of large state-owned enterprises and private consultants using PLAXIS for their projects, as compared to one year ago, when only educational institutes used PLAXIS for their research projects. Companies like China Petroleum, China Airport Construction, China

Railway, CNPC Research Institute of Engineering Technology etc. are realising the importance of using Finite Element Method for the analysis of deformation, stability and groundwater flow for their day-to-day geotechnical engineering projects. The user friendliness, robust calculation procedures and continuous scientific research of the software are the key factors for the success in the Chinese market. Plaxis Asia courses The first PLAXIS 3 day standard course in China was successfully conducted in April 2009 in Beijing with participants from Guangdong, Tianjin, Hebei, Beijing and other nearby provinces. The course was organised by our Plaxis agent in China, Beijing Civil King Software Tech. Co. Ltd and the

renowned Qinghua University in Beijing, and was presented by Prof. Song Erxiang from (Tsinghua Unversity, vice Prof. Yang Jun from Tsinghua University and Dr. William Cheang from Plaxis Asia. Besides covering the preliminary principles of FEM for Geo-engineering, the methodology and the key parameters used in PLAXIS, the 3 day course also gave the participants hands-on experience and the chance to work on real projects using PLAXIS, followed by a Q&A session. The success of this course means that certainly more PLAXIS Courses shall be organised in China in the future.

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Activities 2009
September 29 October 2, 2009 Curso Avanzado de Geotecnia Computacional Quertaro, Mexico October 5 9, 2009 17th ISSMGE Alexandria, Egypt November 5, 2009 Geotechniekdag Rotterdam, The Netherlands November 5 6, 2009 PLAXIS Course Taipei, Taiwan November 11 13, 2009 16th European Plaxis User Meeting Karlsruhe, Germany November 19, 2009 Seminar Hong Kong November 24, 2009 3D Launch Seminar London, U.K. November 25 26, 2009 PLAXIS Course Hong Kong, China SAR November 25 27, 2009 Standard Course on Computational Geotechnics Paris, France November 30 December 4, 2009 Advanced Course on Computational Geotechnics Gold Coast, Australia December 1 3, 2009 STUVA09 Conference Hamburg, Germany

Activities 2010
January 19 22, 2010 Short Course on Computational Geotechnics & Soil models Washington DC, USA January 25 28, 2010 Standard Course on Computational Geotechnics Schiphol, The Netherlands February 15 17, 2010 Curso de Geotecnia Computacional Barcelona, Spain February 20 24, 2010 GeoFlorida West Palm Beach, U.S.A. February 22 24, 2010 Course Finite Elementen in der Geotechnik Stuttgart, Germany March 2010 Advanced Course on Computational Geotechnics Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 2 5, 2010 Curso de Geotecnia Computacional Bogot, Colombia March 15 18, 2010 Advanced Course on Computational Geotechnics Schiphol, The Netherlands May 10 13, 2010 17th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference Taipei, Taiwan May 14 20, 2010 36th World Tunnel Congress Vancouver, Canada May 26 28, 2010 11th DFI London, United Kingdom June 2 4, 2010 7th NUMGE Trondheim, Norway June 7, 2010 International Geotechnical Conference Moscow, Russia June 8 10, 2010 9th Intertunnel 2010 Turin, Italy

Plaxis bv Delftechpark 53 2628 XJ Delft

P.O. Box 572 2600 AN Delft The Netherlands

www.plaxis.nl Tel +31 (0)15 2517 720 Fax +31 (0)15 2573 107

Plaxis Asia Singapore Tel +65 6325 4191

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