Python material setproperties

Hi all,

I am diving into the creation of PLAXIS 2D models using Python. I have some experience with the scripting engine and have read and studied the material provided by the commands reference.

I am stuck creating soil materials in my Python script. For clarity I follow the syntax provided by the example on page 533 of Plaxis 2D reference manual:

SAND_PARAMETERS = [
('MaterialName', 'Sand'),
('Colour', 10676870),
('SoilModel', 3), # Hardening soil
('DrainageType', 'Drained'),
('gammaUnsat', 17),
('gammaSat', 20),
('E50ref', 43000),
.....

This is a very robust definition, for all values have their parameter names defined as labels and PLAXIS 2D is processing this syntax correctly!

I am stuck for I haven't found the full definition of the labels anywhere, and I have spend time guessing some of the labels, but that has not been successful, so I hope someone will be able to help me and supply the labels for these values:

  • flow parameter kx
  • flow parameter ky
  • advanced stiffness E'inc
  • advanced stiffness yref

Using ('SoilModel', 2), # Mohr-Coulomb

Thank you in advance!

Kind regards, G.J. Kiers

  • A Product Engineer of Bentley helped me with this question:

    A brief description of all material parameters can be found by opening the “Command Reference” from “Help” menu and searching for “SoilMat” from “input objects”. This includes:
    “perm_primary_horizontal_axis”: permeability of the soil along the primary horizontal axis;
    “perm_secondary_horizontal_axis”: permeability of the soil along the secondary horizontal axis (in 2D, regardless of axial symmetry or plane strain assumption, this is set to be equal to that along the primary axis);
    “perm_vertical_axis”: permeability of the soil along the vertical axis;
    “Ginc”: increment of the shear modulus;
    verticalref: Reference depth. (I had to correct this, it stated ReferenceDepth, but that one is not valid for a Mohr-Coulomb model

    Note that, while the increment of the Young modulus, Einc, is the parameter adopted in the Graphical User Interface (GUI), the increment of the shear modulus, Ginc, is used in scripting. Since the constitutive models for which this feature is available use isotropic elasticity, Ginc can be simply computed from Einc and Poisson’s ratio (please refer to Section 2.3 of the Material Models manual).