Dear Scot, In PLAXIS 2D, we indeed model the averaged/smeared effect of the soil body + pile row in a plane strain model. For PLAXIS 3D, when looking at the normal stresses, I should point you to thiis publication: T.P.T. Dao, Validation of PLAXIS…

Hi Scot, You can find some background here for pseudo-static and full dynamic calculations dealing with water: https://www.plaxis.com/support/tips-and-tricks/how-does-plaxis-deal-with-water-pressures-during-dynamic-calculations/ As for your question…