I am using Plaxis to model heave of a large cutting.
The cutting will be excavated over a period of several weeks. If I create a phase where I deactivate the material to be excavated and use the consolidation calculation type and set a time equivalent to the duration of excavation, how is this modelled in Plaxis?
- Does Plaxis assume it is all instantaneously removed and then held empty for the specified time? (Test calculation suggests no)
- Does Plaxis assume a constant rate of excavation during the specified time? (The speed of calculation suggests no)
- Something in between - e.g. all excavated at half time / quarter excavated every quarter time etc?
- Another method?
I expect this is detailed in the manual so would also be happy to be directed to the relevant section.
Thank you,
Rebecca
(P.S. Apologies for two question in a day!)
Dear Rebecca,
PLAXIS does not instantly activate loads (or remove them). In principle activating or deactivating a soil cluster is activating or deactivating a load.
This is controlled by the ΣΜStage and it is explained here: https://communities.bentley.com/products/geotech-analysis/w/plaxis-soilvision-wiki/45973/load-activation-in-time
This is explained in the Reference manual, too, when it comes to the ΣΜStage in the Calculation control parameters chapter.