Hi,
I am trying to model a hypothetical case of stability of an embankment subject to river water level fluctuations. As can be seen in the picture attached, I had assigned an external water level (AB) approximately 2 m above the toe of the embankment. However, PLAXIS automatically considers the water level to be continuous to the far end in the right (BC), but this is not what I am looking at. Could you please suggest why PLAXIS considers the water level to be continuous (up to point C)? Is there a way to create a model with water level (AB) only?
Thank you in advance.
Best Regards,
Sam
Dear Sam,
I agree with Martin, that in the finite element world there is no guessing. It is not possible for the program to not have any configuration when it comes to the model boundaries, e.g. fixities, groundwater, etc..
That is why when drawing part of a water level, we automatically assume it goes all the way to the end. If no water level is considered PLAXIS would still, automatically configure open, seepage boundaries (bottom is by default set to closed) unless you choose otherwise. See Model explorer > Model conditions > GrounwaterFlow.
Of course, as Dennis mentions, if the purpose is to only include the external load in the analysis, you can replace that with a line load related to the physical water load you have.
Dear Martin, Dennis and Stefanos,
Many thanks for your response. I am going to try modelling external water level as a normally distributed load. This seems to be the only possible way. Thank you once again for your response. Really appreciate it.
Regards,