Analysis of geotechnical problems using hardening soil model

Plaxis is becoming an increasingly popular tool for solving complex geotechnical problems. While it is a powerful tool intended for the two dimensional analysis of deformation and stability in geotechnical engineering, users need to be properly trained to develop the necessary skills for running and obtaining meaningful results when using the program. This report will discuss about two of the models being used by Plaxis – the Mohr-Coulomb model and the Hardening-Soil model. Background information, evaluation of parameters and recommendations will be provided. It will be shown how Mohr-Coulomb model is a good first-order model that requires few input parameters and is fast to calculate but over-predicts soil strength, and also how Hardening-Soil model requires more parameters and takes more time to calculate but produces better results. These pros and cons will be shown through calculations using hypothetical soil models using sand and clay, and with back-analysis of case records.Bachelor of Engineering (Civil