PLAXIS 2016 - Validation & Verification 1

STRIP LOAD ON ELASTIC GIBSON SOIL
This document describes an example that is used to verify that the deformations on an
elastic Gibson soil under a strip load are correctly calculated in PLAXIS.
Used version:
• PLAXIS 2D - Version 2016.01
• PLAXIS 3D - Version 2016.01
Geometry: 'Gibson soil' is an elastic non-homogeneous half-space of an
incompressible medium, in which the shear modulus increases linearly with depth. Using
y to denote depth, the shear modulus G is assumed equal to zero at the soil surface (y =
0) and varies linearly with depth:
G(y ) = α· y
where α is selected equal to 100. To simulate an incompressible medium a Poisson's
ratio of 0.499 is used. Thus, the Young's modulus varies as:
E(y ) = 299.8·y
Due to the symmetry of the problem, it is sufficient to consider half model to save
calculation time, without compromising on accuracy. In PLAXIS 2D a Plane strain model
is used with 15-noded triangular elements. Figure 1 depicts the model geometry. Depth
equals 30 m and the right model boundary is placed 30 m away from the plane of
symmetry (left boundary). A vertical load with length equal to 1 m is applied to the soil
surface. Geometry lines are used for local mesh refinement in an area 2 m × 2 m, in the
vicinity of the load. As depicted in Figure 1, a point (A) is selected as a reference point for
the results.
Figure 2 illustrates the model geometry in PLAXIS 3D. The model is extended by 1 m in
the y-direction. In order to minimize the number of mesh elements, two mesh refinement
zones are created by using geometry surfaces. The point A is selected to be at y = 0.5 m.
Materials: Linear elastic soil material model is used with Undrained C option as
drainage type to model an incompressible medium. Zero unit weight γ is selected. The
variation of the shear modulus G with depth is achieved in PLAXIS by varying the
Young's modulus in the Material properties window. A very small value is selected as
reference value at the soil surface, i.e. 0.001 kN/m2 . The increment of Young's modulus
Einc per unit depth is set equal to 299.8 kN/m2 /m. The reference depth (yref in PLAXIS
2D and zref in PLAXIS 3D) is set at the soil surface (model's top boundary). The adopted
soil material properties are listed below.
Soil: Linear elastic (Undrained C) Eu =0.001 kN/m2 Einc =299.8 kN/m2 /m νu =0.499
Meshing: In PLAXIS 2D the Very fine option is used for the Element distribution. An
area 2 m × 2 m around the load is refined with a Coarseness factor of 0.03125.
In PLAXIS 3D the the Element distribution is set to Medium. To avoid generation of
excess number of mesh elements, three mesh zones are used. The Coarseness factor
for a volume 2 m × 2 m × 1 m around the load (first refinement zone in Figure 2) is set
equal to 0.05. A second refinement zone 15 m × 15 m × 1 m is defined, in which the
Coarseness factor equals 1.0. For the rest of the model a Coarseness factor of 8.0 is
used.
PLAXIS 2016 | Validation & Verification 1

VALIDATION & VERIFICATION
Figure 1 Model geometry (PLAXIS 2D)
Figure 2 Model geometry (PLAXIS 3D)
2 Validation & Verification | PLAXIS 2016

Calculations: In the Initial phase zero initial stresses are generated by using the K0
procedure (unit weight γ equals zero). The load is activated in Phase 1, in which a Plastic
analysis is performed.
Output: PLAXIS results indicate an almost uniform settlement of the soil surface
underneath the strip load as can be seen from the vertical displacements distribution
plots in Figures 3 and 4. The computed settlement at point A is 0.04965 m and 0.04950
m in PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D respectively.
Figure 3 Vertical displacements distribution (PLAXIS 2D)
Verification: An exact solution for this problem is only available for the case of a
Poisson's ratio equal to 0.5. In PLAXIS calculation a value of 0.499 is used for the
Poisson's ratio in order to approximate the incompressible condition. In addition, the
analytic solution is exact only for an infinite half-space, whereas the PLAXIS solution is
obtained for a medium of finite depth (30 m). However, the effect of a shear modulus that
increases linearly with depth is to localize the deformations near the surface. Thus, it is
expected that the finite soil thickness will have small effect on the results.
The exact solution for this particular problem is given by Gibson (1967) and results in a
uniform settlement δ beneath the load with magnitude equal to:
q
δ=
2α
In this case the exact solution gives a settlement of 0.05 m. The error is 0.7% and 1.0%
in PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D respectively. It is concluded that PLAXIS results are in
good agreement with the analytical solution.
PLAXIS 2016 | Validation & Verification 3

VALIDATION & VERIFICATION
Figure 4 Vertical displacements distribution (PLAXIS 3D)
REFERENCES
[1] Gibson, R.E. (1967). Some results concerning displacements and stresses in a
non-homogeneous elastic half-space. Géotechnique, 17, 58–64.
4 Validation & Verification | PLAXIS 2016

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STRIP LOAD ON ELASTIC GIBSON SOIL

STRIP LOAD ON ELASTIC GIBSON SOIL

PLAXIS 2016 | Validation & Verification 1

Figure 1 Model geometry (PLAXIS 2D)

Figure 2 Model geometry (PLAXIS 3D)

2 Validation & Verification | PLAXIS 2016

Figure 3 Vertical displacements distribution (PLAXIS 2D)

PLAXIS 2016 | Validation & Verification 3

Figure 4 Vertical displacements distribution (PLAXIS 3D)

4 Validation & Verification | PLAXIS 2016

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