Can I import a geometry in PLAXIS 2D?

With a Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements [VIP] licence you can import geometries from:

• DXF: Interchange files
• TXT/CSV: text files (tab-separated values or comma-separated values)
• BRep: Open CASCADE BRep file format
• STEP/STP: Standard for the Exchange of Product model data files
• GEO/STI: Delft GeoSystems M-Series geometry files

Note: the DWG file format is no longer supported since PLAXIS 2D 2018.

DXF files

Since the release of PLAXIS 2D 2010, it is now possible to import geometry composed of points and straight lines (with AcdbLine property) from external sources in different formats like AutoCAD interchange (*.DXF) file formats. Lines as part of polylines(AcdbPolyLine) are not imported. In the cases where the imported geometry contains curved elements as well (like arcs), the geometry will be partly imported (only points and straight lines).

Note: Since PLAXIS 2D AE, PLAXIS will not automatically create clusters when lines enclose an area. For this, a polygon needs to be created. As of PLAXIS 2D AE, polygons stored in the import file will also be recognized: closed Polylines or LWPolylines are imported as a polygon.

Text files

It is possible to import tab-separated value (.txt) or comma-separated value (.csv) text files to import a geometry in PLAXIS. Such files need to include a table with the coordinates of the points (preceded by the command Points; each new line starting with a number which serves as the point's ID, followed by the point coordinates) and lines (preceded by the command Lines; each new line starting with a number, which serves as the line's ID, followed by the starting and ending point ID's).

Example of a comma-separated value (csv) file
    Points
0 , 0.0 , 0.0
1 , 20.0 , 0.0
2 , 20.0 , 10.0
3 , 0.0 , 10.0
Lines
0 , 0 , 1
1 , 1 , 2
2 , 2 , 3
3 , 3 , 0

Since PLAXIS 2D AE, it is also possible to import a polygon (a cluster). The command POLYGONS needs to be defined, and then per line one polygon can be defined: first the polygon ID should be set, followed by the ID of the points.

POLYGONS
0  0  1  2  3

Another option in PLAXIS 2D is the import of a phreatic line. This data can be imported in the Water Conditions mode. The structure of the file is similar (use TABs between values in a text file), and we need to define phreatic points specific for the phreatic line (PHREATICPOINTS), and the phreatic lines themselves (PHREATICLINES) with per line one phreatic line, starting with the ID of the phreatic line, followed by the phreatic point IDs:

PHREATICPOINTS
0   0.0      10.0
1   10.0    10.0
PHREATICLINES
0 0 1

For more points per phreatic line, make sure to add more points in the phreaticpoints section, and then also add these points to the phreaticlines definition:

PHREATICPOINTS
0   0.0   10.0
1   10.0   10.0
2   17.0   9.0
3   20.0   11.0
4   25   11.0
5   25   9.0
PHREATICLINES
0   0   1   2   3   4

Note that PLAXIS only supports the English notation of decimal numbers using a dot in these text files to avoid confusion with the csv-format.

M-Series geometry files

In earlier versions of PLAXIS 2D, V8 and V9, you could only import geometry files of the Delft GeoSystems M-Series software. This functionality is still available in PLAXIS 2D.
Please find two examples of the *.geo files below. These are geometry files created by Delft Geosystem's M-Serie software. You can view the content of the files with plain text readers (like notepad).

For more details about importing geometries, please read the PLAXIS 2D Reference Manual.

Restrictions

When using any of the above-mentioned import methods, the number of points and the number of lines is restricted to 500.

Starting PLAXIS 2D 2015, this limitation is raised to 20,000.

Command line

PLAXIS 2D Classic, 2D 2012 and earlier

Another way to quickly add points and lines in PLAXIS 2D Classic, PLAXIS 2D 2012 and earlier is by using the 'command' line. In the lower left part of the screen, you see the text Point number and coordinates. Here you can define coordinates by first specifying the X-coordinate followed by a space and the Y-coordinate. Make sure to activate a drawing tool first (e.g. lines, walls, interfaces).

PLAXIS 2D command line

Since PLAXIS 2D AE (this includes PLAXIS 2D 2015 and later), a more powerful command line is introduced, together with a commands runner. With the command runner, it is now easy to prepare a list of points or lines and then execute them via the command runner, available via the Expert menu.