SoilMat - PLAXIS 3D Input objects documentation
PLAXIS 3D Reference > Input objects > SoilMat

SoilMat

Material set that can be assigned to a soil.
Property Long name Unit Description
Name Name - Name of the soil material.
Comments Comments - Comments on the soil material.
MaterialName Identification - Identification of the soil material.
Colour Colour - Colour of the soil material.
MaterialNumber Identification number - Identification number of the soil material.
TypeName Type name - TypeName of the soil material.
UserFeatures UserFeatures - UserFeatures of the soil material object.
SoilModel Material model -
Linear Elastic
Use the Linear Elastic model. This model is generally too crude to capture essential features of soil and rock behaviour, but for modelling massive structural elements and bedrock layers it tends to be appropriate.
Mohr-Coulomb
Use the Mohr-Coulomb model. This model represents a 'first-order' approximation of soil or rock behaviour.
Hardening Soil
Use the Hardening Soil model. This model is an advanced model for the simulation of soil behaviour.
HS small
Use the Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffness. This model is the same as the Hardening Soil model, but also accounts for the increased stiffness of soils at small strains.
Soft Soil
Use the Soft Soil model. This model is a Cam-Clay type model especially meant for primary compression of near normally-consolidated clay-type soils.
Soft Soil Creep
Use the Soft Soil Creep model. This model is the same as the Soft Soil model, but also accounts for viscous effects, i.e. creep and stress relaxation.
Jointed Rock
Use the Jointed Rock model. This model is an anisotropic elastic-plastic model, especially meant to simulate the behaviour of rock layers involving a stratification and particular fault directions.
Modified Cam-Clay
Use the Modified Cam-Clay model. This model is meant primarily for the modelling of near normally-consolidated clay-type soils.
NGI-ADP
Use the NGI-ADP model.
Hoek-Brown
Use the Hoek-Brown model.
User-defined
Use User-defined soil models. A DLL file containing one or more user-defined soil models must be in the directory of PLAXIS 3D in order for this to work.
UserDefinedIndex UserDefinedIndex - Index number of the soil model from the DLL file that is currently used.
DrainageType Drainage type -
Drained
Drained or long-term material behaviour in which stiffness and strength are defined in terms of effective properties.
Undrained (A)
Undrained or short-term material behaviour in which stiffness and strength are defined in terms of effective properties.
Undrained (B)
Undrained or short-term material behaviour in which stiffness is defined in terms of effective properties and strength is defined as undrained shear strength.
Undrained (C)
Undrained or short-term material behaviour in which stiffness and strength are defined in terms of undrained properties.
Non-porous
Material behaviour in which pore pressures cannot occur.
DilatancyCutOff Dilatancy cut-off -
True
Enables the use of dilatancy cut-off.
False
Disables the use of dilatancy cut-off.
UndrainedBehaviour Undrained behaviour -
Standard
Undrained behaviour of the soil material is standard.
Manual
Undrained behaviour of the soil material is defined manually.
InterfaceStrength Strength -
Rigid
The value of Rinter is set to 1.0.
Manual
The value of Rinter can be determined manually.
K0PrimaryIsK0Secondary K0PrimaryIsK0Secondary -
True
Enables that K0 in the primary horizontal direction is equal to K0 in the secondary horizontal direction.
False
Disables that K0 in the primary horizontal direction is equal to K0 in the secondary horizontal direction.
K0Determination K0 determination -
Manual
K0 is defined manually.
Automatic
K0 is defined automatically.
Gref Gref Force/Length2 Reference value of the shear modulus.
cref cref Force/Length2 Reference value of the cohesion.
phi φ ° Friction angle of the soil material.
psi ψ ° Dilatancy angle of the soil material.
verticalref verticalref Length Reference coordinate on the vertical axis above which the Young'Time modulus is equal to the reference value.
cinc cincrement Force/Length2/Length Increment of cohesion.
K0 K0 - Coefficient of lateral earth pressure.
gammaUnsat γunsat Force/Length3 Unit soil weight above phreatic level.
gammaSat γsat Force/Length3 Unit soil weight below phreatic level.
Rinter Rinter - Strength reduction factor for interfaces.
perm_primary_horizontal_axis perm_primary_horizontal_axis Length/T Permeability of the soil along the primary horizontal axis.
perm_secondary_horizontal_axis perm_secondary_horizontal_axis Length/T Permeability of the soil along the secondary horizontal axis.
perm_vertical_axis perm_vertical_axis Length/T Permeability of the soil along the vertical axis.
TensileStrength Tensile strength Force/Length2 Allowable tensile strength in the soil.
UDPower UD-Power - Power in stress dependent stiffness rule of interfaces with a user defined soil model.
verticalinc verticalinc - Slope of reference plane.
Ginc Ginc Force/Length2/Length Increment of the shear modulus.
ninit ninit - Initial porosity.
nmin nmin - Minimum porosity.
nmax nmax - Maximum porosity.
gammaPore γpore Force/Length3 Weight of pore fluid.
RayleighAlpha Rayleigh α - Rayleigh damping parameter.
RayleighBeta Rayleigh β - Rayleigh damping parameter.
ck ck - Change of permeability.
nuu νu - Poisson'Time ratio for undrained behaviour.
UDPRef UD-Pref Force/Length2 User defined reference pressure.
einit einit - Initial void ratio.
emin emin - Minimum void ratio.
emax emax - Maximum void ratio.
Dinter δinter Length Real interface thickness.
SkemptonB Skempton-B - Skempton'Time B-parameter.
KwRefN Kw,ref/n Force/Length2 Reference bulk stiffness of the pore fluid.
K0Primary K0Primary - Coefficient of lateral earth pressure in the direction of the primary horizontal axis.
K0Secondary K0Secondary - Coefficient of lateral earth pressure in the direction of the secondary horizontal axis.
OCR OCR - Over-consolidation ratio.
POP POP Force/Length2 Pre overburden pressure, positive for (over)pressure.
nu ν - Poisson'Time ratio.
SoilRatioSmall < 2μLength % Percentage of the soil material that has a grain size smaller than 2 μLength.
SoilRatioMedium 2μLength - 50 μLength % Percentage of the soil material that has a grain size between 2 μLength and 50 μLength.
SoilRatioLarge 50 μLength - 2 mm % Percentage of the soil material that has a grain size between 50 μLength and 2 mm.
StaringSoilRatioSmall < 2μLength % Percentage of the Staring soil material that has a grain size smaller than 2 μLength.
StaringSoilRatioMedium 2μLength - 63 μLength % Percentage of the Staring soil material that has a grain size between 2 μLength and 63 μLength.
StaringSoilRatioLarge 63 μLength - 2 mm % Percentage of the Staring soil material that has a grain size between 63 μLength and 2 mm.
PsiUnsat ψunsat Length Limit of the head for the unsaturated zone.
VoidRatio einit - The ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solid particles.
Sres Sres - Residual saturation of the soil material.
Ssat Ssat - Saturation of the soil material.
Gn gn - Van Genuchten parameter.
Ga ga 1/Length Van Genuchten parameter.
Gl gl - Van Genuchten parameter.
PsiK Ψk Length Approximate Van Genuchten parameter.
PsiS ΨTime Length Approximate Van Genuchten parameter.
HydraulicModel HydraulicModel -
Van Genuchten
Sets the hydraulic model to 'Van Genuchten'.
Approx. Van Genuchten
Sets the hydraulic model to 'Approximate Van Genuchten'.
General Van Genuchten
Sets the hydraulic model to 'General Van Genuchten'.
Reserved
Reserved for research purposes.
Table
Define the hydraulic model by giving a table with values for the parameters.
Saturated
Sets the hydraulic model to 'Saturated'.
FlowDataModel FlowDataModel - Currently not in use.
DefaultValuesAdvanced Set to default values -
True
Enables the option to use default values for the advanced parameters.
False
The values of the advanced parameters should be defined manually.
DataSetFlow Data set -
Standard
Sets the soil data set to 'Standard'.
Hypres
Sets the soil data set to 'Hypres'.
USDA
Sets the soil data set to 'USDA'.
Staring
Sets the soil data set to 'Staring'.
User-defined
Sets the soil data set to 'User-defined'.
ModelFlow Model -
Van Genuchten
Sets the soil model to 'Van Genuchten'.
Approx. Van Genuchten
Sets the soil model to 'Approximate Van Genuchten'.
UDModelFlow Model -
Van Genuchten
Sets the user defined soil model to 'Van Genuchten'.
Spline
Sets the user defined soil model to 'Spline'.
Saturated
Sets the user defined soil model to 'Saturated'.
SoilTypeFlow Type -
Coarse
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Coarse'.
Medium
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Medium'.
Medium fine
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Medium fine'.
Fine
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Fine'.
Very fine
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Very fine'.
Organic
Sets the soil type to the predefined standard soil type 'Organic'.
LowerUpper Subsoil/Topsoil -
Subsoil
The soil is defined as a subsoil.
Topsoil
The soil is defined as a topsoil.
UsdaSoilType Type -
Sand
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Sand'.
Loamy sand
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Loamy sand'.
Sandy loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Sandy loam'.
Loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Loam'.
Silt
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Silt'.
Silt loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Silt loam'.
Sandy clay loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Sandy clay loam'.
Clayey loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Clayey loam'.
Silt clay loam
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Silt clay loam'.
Sandy clay
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Sandy clay'.
Silt clay
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Silt clay'.
Clay
Sets the soil type to the predefined USDA soil type 'Clay'.
StaringUpperSoilType Type -
Non-loamy sand (B1)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Non-loamy sand (B1)'.
Loamy sand (B2)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Loamy sand (B2)'.
Very loamy sand (B3)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Very loamy sand (B3)'.
Extremely loamy sand (B4)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Extremely loamy sand (B4)'.
Coarse sand (B5)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Coarse sand (B5)'.
Boulder clay (B6)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Boulder clay (B6)'.
Sandy loam (B7)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Sandy loam (B7)'.
Silt loam (B8)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Silt loam (B8)'.
Clayey loam (B9)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Clayey loam (B9)'.
Light clay (B10)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Light clay (B10)'.
Heavy clay (B11)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Heavy clay (B11)'.
Very heavy clay (B12)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Very heavy clay (B12)'.
Loam (B13)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Loam (B13)'.
Heavy loam (B14)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Heavy loam (B14)'.
Peaty sand (B15)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Peaty sand (B15)'.
Sandy peat (B16)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Sandy peat (B16)'.
Peaty clay (B17)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Peaty clay (B17)'.
Clayey peat (B18)
Sets the upper soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Clayey peat (B18)'.
StaringLowerSoilType Type -
Non-loamy sand (O1)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Non-loamy sand (O1)'.
Loamy sand (O2)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Loamy sand (O2)'.
Very loamy sand (O3)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Very loamy sand (O3)'.
Extremely loamy sand (O4)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Extremely loamy sand (O4)'.
Coarse sand (O5)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Coarse sand (O5)'.
Boulder clay (O6)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Boulder clay (O6)'.
River loam (O7)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'River loam (O7)'.
Sandy loam (O8)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Sandy loam (O8)'.
Silt loam (O9)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Silt loam (O9)'.
Clayey loam (O10)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Clayey loam (O10)'.
Light clay (O11)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Light clay (O11)'.
Heavy clay (O12)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Heavy clay (O12)'.
Very heavy clay (O13)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Very heavy clay (O13)'.
Loam (O14)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Loam (O14)'.
Heavy loam (O15)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Heavy loam (O15)'.
Oligotrophic peat (O16)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Oligotrophic peat (O16)'.
Eutrophic peat (O17)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Eutrophic peat (O17)'.
Peaty layer (O18)
Sets the lower soil type to the predefined Staring soil type 'Peaty layer (O18)'.
M50 M50 -
0 - 50
Sets the median of the sand fraction to 0 - 50 μLength.
50 - 150
Sets the median of the sand fraction to 50 - 150 μLength.
105 - 2000
Sets the median of the sand fraction to 105 - 2000 μLength.
DefaultValuesFlow Set to default values -
True
Enables the use of default values for the flow parameters.
False
Disables the use of default values for the flow parameters.
TablePsiPermSat TablePsiPermSat - Table defining the relation between Ψ, the permeability and the saturation of the soil.
SplinePsiPerm SplinePsiPerm - Table defining the relation between Ψ and the permeability of the soil.
SplinePsiSat SplinePsiSat - Table defining the relation between Ψ and the saturation of the soil.
TensionCutOff Tension cut-off -
True
Enables the use of the tension cut-off procedure.
False
Disables the use of the tension cut-off procedure.
Eref Eref Force/Length2 Reference Young'Time modulus.
Eoed Eeod Force/Length2 Oedometer modulus.
Vs VTime Length/T Shear wave velocity.
Vp Vp Length/T Compression wave velocity.
einc einc Force/Length2/Length Increment of the void ratio.
CVRef Cv,ref Length2/T Kinematic viscosity.
UseAlternatives Use alternatives -
True
Enables the option to define the stiffness of the soil material by giving the Cc, CTime and einit.
False
Disables the option to define the stiffness of the soil material by giving the Cc, CTime and einit.
E50ref E50ref Force/Length2 Secant stiffness in standard drained triaxial test.
EoedRef Eoedref Force/Length2 Tangent stiffness for primary oedometer loading.
EurRef Eurref Force/Length2 Unloading/reloading stiffness at engineering strains.
ErefOed50 Eoed,50ref Force/Length2 Interface oedometer modulus.
ErefUr50 ErefUr50 - Currently not in use.
powerm power (Length) - Power for stress-level dependency of stiffness.
Pref pref Force/Length2 Reference stress for stiffnesses.
Rf Rf - Failure ratio qf/qa.
M M - Tangent of the critical state line.
Kfac Kfac - Stiffness ratio for loading and unloading.
Gi0ref Gi0ref - Initial shear stiffness.
K0nc K0nc - Coefficient of lateral earth pressure for a normally consolidated stress state.
Cc Cc - Compression index.
Cs CTime - Swelling- or reloading index.
FailureCriterion FailureCriterion -
Mohr-Coulomb
Sets Mohr-Coulomb as the failure criterion for the soil material.
Matsuoka-Nakai
Sets Matsuoka-Nakai as the failure criterion for the soil material.
G0ref G0ref Force/Length2 Reference shear modulus.
gamma07 γ0.7 - Shear strain level where the secant shear modulus is reduced to 70% of G0.
lambdaModified λ* - Modified compression index.
kappaModified κ* - Modified swelling index.
LambdaKappa λ*/κ* - Ratio of the modified compression index to the modified swelling index.
MuModified μ* - Modified creep index or secondary compression index.
Ca Cα - Creep index for secondary compression.
TensionCutOff1 Tension cut-off -
True
Enables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 1.
False
Disables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 1.
TensionCutOff2 Tension cut-off -
True
Enables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 2.
False
Disables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 2.
TensionCutOff3 Tension cut-off -
True
Enables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 3.
False
Disables the use of the tension cut-off procedure for Plane 3.
Eref1 E1 Force/Length2 Young'Time modulus for rock as a continuum.
Gref1 G1 Force/Length2 Shear modulus for rock as a continuum.
nu1 ν1 - Poisson'Time ratio for rock as a continuum.
Eref2 E2 Force/Length2 Young'Time modulus perpendicular to 'Plane 1' direction.
nu2 ν2 - Poisson'Time ratio perpendicular to 'Plane 1' direction.
G2 G2 Force/Length2 Shear modulus perpendicular to 'Plane 1' direction.
NumberOfPlanesIndex Number of planes -
1 plane
Sets the number of planes to 1.
2 planes
Sets the number of planes to 2.
3 planes
Sets the number of planes to 3.
NumberOfPlanes NumberOfPlanes - Number of planes.
cref1 cref Force/Length2 Cohesion in Plane 1 direction.
phi1 φ ° Friction angle in Plane 1 direction.
psi1 ψ ° Dilatancy angle in Plane 1 direction.
alpha11 α1 ° Dip angle in Plane 1 direction.
alpha21 α2 ° Dip direction in Plane 1 direction.
TensileStrength1 Tensile strength Force/Length2 Tensile strength in Plane 1 direction.
cref2 cref Force/Length2 Cohesion in Plane 2 direction.
phi2 φ ° Friction angle in Plane 2 direction.
psi2 ψ ° Dilatancy angle in Plane 2 direction.
alpha12 α1 ° Dip angle in Plane 2 direction.
alpha22 α2 ° Dip direction in Plane 2 direction.
TensileStrength2 Tensile strength Force/Length2 Tensile strength in Plane 2 direction.
cref3 cref Force/Length2 Cohesion in Plane 3 direction.
phi3 φ ° Friction angle in Plane 3 direction.
psi3 ψ ° Dilatancy angle in Plane 3 direction.
alpha13 α1 ° Dip angle in Plane 3 direction.
alpha23 α2 ° Dip direction in Plane 3 direction.
TensileStrength3 Tensile strength Force/Length2 Tensile strength in Plane 3 direction.
lambda λ - Cam-Clay compression index.
kappa κ - Cam-Clay swelling index.
UnloadingShearStiffness Gur/TimeuA - Unloading shear stiffness.
RelativeTriaxialCompressiveShearStrength TimeuC,TX/SuA - Relative triaxial compressive shear strength.
ReferenceDepth yref Length Reference depth.
IncreaseOfShearStrengthWithDepth ΔTimeuA/Δy Force/Length2/Length Increase of the shear strength over the depth.
ReferenceShearStrength TimeuA,ref Force/Length2/Length Reference shear strength.
RelativeDirectShearStrength TimeuDSS/TimeuA - Relative direct shear strength.
RelativePassiveStrength TimeuP/TimeuA - Relative passive strength.
InitialMobilization τ0/TimeuA - Initial mobilization.
AxialFailureStrainTriaxialCompression ε1fC,TX % Axial failure strain in triaxial compression.
ShearFailureStrainDirectSimpleShear γfDSS % Shear failure strain in direct simple shear.
AxialFailureStrainTriaxialExtension ε1fE,TX % Axial failure strain in triaxial extension.
AdvancedParameterDivFailureStrainTriaxBiax a2 - Advanced parameter controlling difference in failure strain from triaxial and biaxial.
UnconfinedCompressiveStrength σci Force/Length2 Unconfined compressive strength.
HoekBrownParameter Lengthi - Hoek-Brown parameter.
GeologicalStrengthIndex GSI - Geological strength index.
DisturbanceFactor D - Disturbance factor.
MaximumDilitationAngle Ψmax ° Maximum dilitation angle.
MinorPrincipalStress σΨ Force/Length2 Minor principal stress.
InitialStiffnessAtSigma0 Gini Force/Length2 Initial stiffness at σ=0.
CrackClosureStress σcc Force/Length2 Crack closure stress.
FactorOfSafety FS - Factor of safety.
YieldSurfaceType xMod - Yield surface type.
PotentialFunction iPot - Potential function.
UserDLLName DLL file - Name of the DLL file containing the user defined models.
UserModel Model in DLL - Name of the soil model from the DLL file that is currently used.
User1 User1 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User2 User2 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User3 User3 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User4 User4 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User5 User5 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User6 User6 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User7 User7 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User8 User8 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User9 User9 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User10 User10 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User11 User11 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User12 User12 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User13 User13 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User14 User14 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User15 User15 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User16 User16 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User17 User17 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User18 User18 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User19 User19 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User20 User20 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User21 User21 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User22 User22 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User23 User23 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User24 User24 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User25 User25 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User26 User26 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User27 User27 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User28 User28 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User29 User29 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User30 User30 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User31 User31 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User32 User32 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User33 User33 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User34 User34 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User35 User35 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User36 User36 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User37 User37 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User38 User38 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User39 User39 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User40 User40 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User41 User41 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User42 User42 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User43 User43 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User44 User44 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User45 User45 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User46 User46 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User47 User47 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User48 User48 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User49 User49 - User-defined soil material parameter.
User50 User50 - User-defined soil material parameter.