Mesh refinement is based on the relative error of the governing equation and therefore automatically locates critical zones. Mesh refinement may be specified to follow any particular variable in the problem. In a transient analysis a different mesh is generated for each time step.
Input stress or displacement boundary conditions as constants or free-form equations
Initial conditions may be imported from a previous analysis; the OCR of a previous analysis may be specified to determine the initial preconsolidation pressure of the current analysis, and any variable from a previous analysis may be specified as an initial condition for the next analysis
Finite element analysis by the Galerkin method - the solver uses advanced features such as preconditioning of the convergence matrix as well as staging and automatic mesh refinement to achieve solutions with greater stability than any other software currently available
Solver runs on Red Hat Linux or Windows, with support for hyper-threading and multiple processors
Anisotropic analysis at any angle in two or three dimensions
Axisymmetric analysis
Use of Skempton's A and B parameters to compute pore-water pressure build-up
MODEL DESIGN FEATURES
CAD style entry of geometry based on AutoCAD™
Grid, snapping, and object snapping features available
Zooming, panning features available
Model built as stacked surfaces; Each surface may be imported from Surfer or any XYZ data text file
Models stored in XML format for speed and easy data transfer
Each surface may have multiple regions defined - Regions are extruded between the surfaces on which they are placed
Automaticpinching out of intersecting soil layers or grids. Overlapping grids can also be handled by specifying which grid is the domainant grid. They can also be specified to allow a minimum thickness between grids.
Import AutoCAD™ .dxf geometry and incorporate it directly into the model - node points are automatically aligned with line segment end points
Graphically assigned boundary conditions
Free, fixed, displacement constant or expression, force constant or expression, or water boundary conditions may be specified; free form equations may be specified as a function of position (i.e. d=0.5+log(x)*0.1)
Problems may be entered in Metric or Imperial units
Initial water table may be graphically drawn on the problem or imported from an SVFlux™ analysis
Problem geometry may be imported from existing problems
Existing problems may be saved under a new name in the database to allow quick generation of multiple scenarios
Colors or patterns of soil regions may be specified
Manual entry of region coordinate points
Lines (extruded into walls) may be added to model to force mesh refinement along a linear object
Internal boundary conditions may be set or node density specified along internal line objects
Sketch text or lines may be added to the model design
Graphical model design may be exported as a WMF or DXF file and/or printed
Bitmap or DXF geometry may be imported and layered behind model geometry to simplify model creation
OUTPUT FEATURES
Color visualization of the result mesh is available via our powerful AcuMesh™ visualization software
Transparency allows visualization of three-dimensional internal mesh and/or isosurfaces
Cutaways allow user to view internal sections of the model
Color contour plots of any problem variable may be placed on any face of the model; custom color shadings may be specified
Color contour plots of all relevant variables
Isosurfaces may be plotted for three-dimensional models
Two- or three-dimensional vector plots of stress or deformation components are available
Plots may be zoomed to isolate any region of interest
Cross plots of stress or deformation components are available
Plots of Mohr's circle at any finite element node are available
Volume integrals may be computed over the entire problem or any particular region of interest
Mesh plots track mesh refinement
Plots of value versus time may be generated at any coordinate for all relevant variables
Surface plots of any two-dimensional variable over the problem region may be produced
Overlaying of plots may be performed - for example, vectors may be shown in Region 1 while contours of head may be shown in Region 2
Text and line art may be added to output
Graphical output may be exported to WMF, DXF, JPG, or BMP formats
