Dear community, when modelling a shallow footing using the plate element in PLAXIS(2D or 3D), does the extrusion of the thin plate makes it actually embedded in the soil leading to an equivalent surcharge of q=gamma x Df as shown in Case (A) below? Or does it leave it perfectly shallow with Df = 0 while of course we should consider the weight effect of Wplate = Wsoil - 0.5xWconcrete as in Case (B)?
My worries are that in Case (A) the additional surcharge will lead to an increased Passive force Pp which increases the bearing capacity of the studied footing, even if this increase is relatively small.
Dear Mohamad,
A plate element in PLAXIS has no thickness, hence H = 0. Which implies there is no such thing as embedded or increased passive force.
With kind regards,
Dennis Waterman
Answer Verified By: Mohamad Raad