Plaxis: CONNECT Edition V22.00

PLAXIS
CONNECT Edition V22.00
Monopile Designer - Manual

Last Updated: December 14, 2021
Trademark
Warning:
PLAXIS Monopile Designer is a program for specific geotechnical/structural applications in which soil models
are used to simulate the soil behaviour. The PLAXIS Monopile Designer code and its soil models have been
developed with great care. Although a lot of testing and validation have been performed, it cannot be guaranteed
that the PLAXIS Monopile Designer code is free of errors. Moreover, the simulation of geotechnical problems
involves some inevitable numerical and modelling errors. The accuracy at which reality is approximated
depends highly on the expertise of the user regarding the modelling of the problem, the understanding of the soil
models and their limitations, the selection of model parameters, and the ability to judge the reliability of the
computational results. Hence, PLAXIS Monopile Designer may only be used by professionals that possess the
aforementioned expertise. The user must be aware of his/her responsibility when he/she uses the
computational results for geotechnical and structural design purposes. No warranty, expressed or implied, is
offered as to the accuracy of results from PLAXIS Monopile Designer, its documentation or its fitness for a
particular purpose. Plaxis bv nor its officers or employees can be held responsible or liable for design errors that
are based on PLAXIS Monopile Designer calculations or documentation.
Windows® is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.

PLAXIS is a registered trademark of the PLAXIS company (Plaxis bv).
Copyright PLAXIS program by:

Plaxis bv P.O. Box 572, 2600 AN DELFT, Netherlands
Fax: +31 (0)15 257 3107; Internet site: www.bentley.com
These manuals may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, by photo-copy or print or any other means, without
written permission from Plaxis bv.
ISBN-13: 978-90-76016-27-6
© 2021 Plaxis bv, Bentley Systems, Incorporated
Published in the Netherlands
PLAXIS 2 Monopile Designer - Manual

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: General Information ................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Preface ...........................................................................................................................................................................................6
1.2 PLAXIS product, licencing and services .........................................................................................................................8
1.3 Short overview of features ..................................................................................................................................................9
1.4 Manuals .....................................................................................................................................................................................10
1.5 First time installation ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2: Reference Manual ................................................................................................. 14
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................14
2.1.1 The PISA Project ........................................................................................................................................ 14
2.1.2 The design methodology ........................................................................................................................15
2.1.3 Interoperability with PLAXIS 3D ........................................................................................................16
2.1.4 The 1D FE Model ........................................................................................................................................16
2.1.5 The components of PLAXIS Monopile Designer ...........................................................................17
2.1.6 Graphical user interface ......................................................................................................................... 18
2.1.7 Useful terminology ................................................................................................................................... 19
2.2 General Information ............................................................................................................................................................ 20
2.2.1 Using PLAXIS Monopile Designer with and without PLAXIS 3D .......................................... 20
2.2.2 Program layout ...........................................................................................................................................20
2.2.3 New Project ..................................................................................................................................................22
2.2.4 Open Project ................................................................................................................................................ 23
2.2.5 Menus in the Menu bar ........................................................................................................................... 23
2.2.6 Units and sign convention ..................................................................................................................... 24
2.2.7 Automatic saving ....................................................................................................................................... 25
2.2.8 Help facilities ................................................................................................................................................26
2.3 Soil Mode ..................................................................................................................................................................................26
2.3.1 Soil mode layout ........................................................................................................................................ 27
2.3.2 Material types ............................................................................................................................................. 28
2.3.3 Creating soil layers ................................................................................................................................... 29
2.4 Calibration mode ................................................................................................................................................................... 30
2.4.2 Calibration mode layout .........................................................................................................................31
2.4.3 Geometry Datasets (GeoDS) ................................................................................................................. 32
2.4.4 Structural and material properties .....................................................................................................38
2.4.5 Results inspection pane ..........................................................................................................................39
2.4.6 Recommended workflow .......................................................................................................................51
2.5 Analysis mode ........................................................................................................................................................................ 51
2.5.1 Monopile geometry .................................................................................................................................. 52
2.5.2 Structural properties ............................................................................................................................... 53
2.5.3 Workload (monopile head) ...................................................................................................................54
2.5.4 Soil reaction curves .................................................................................................................................. 54
2.5.5 Soil Layers .................................................................................................................................................... 55
2.5.6 Thickness variation .................................................................................................................................. 55
2.5.7 Expert settings ............................................................................................................................................57
2.5.8 Calculate ........................................................................................................................................................ 59

2.5.9 3D Design Verification ............................................................................................................................ 60
2.5.10 Results inspection pane ..........................................................................................................................62
2.6 Results mode .......................................................................................................................................................................... 68
2.6.1 Workload and load factor ...................................................................................................................... 69
2.6.2 Graph tab ...................................................................................................................................................... 70
2.6.3 Table tab ........................................................................................................................................................72
2.6.4 Accuracy metrics η and ρ ........................................................................................................................ 73
2.7 Remote Scripting Interface ...............................................................................................................................................73
2.7.1 Anatomy of a command ..........................................................................................................................74
2.7.2 Creating scripts .......................................................................................................................................... 75
2.7.3 Running scripts .......................................................................................................................................... 75
Chapter 3: Tutorial 1 - Numerical Based Design .......................................................................76
3.1 Input ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 78
3.2 Verification of the calibration procedure ...................................................................................................................83
3.3 Final Design .............................................................................................................................................................................85
3.4 Verification of the final design ........................................................................................................................................ 87
Chapter 4: Tutorial 2 - Layered Soils ........................................................................................89
4.1 Rule based-design ................................................................................................................................................................ 90
4.1.1 Rule-based depth variation functions - Clay unit ........................................................................90
4.1.2 Rule-based depth variation functions – Sand unit ......................................................................94
4.1.3 Analysis - Layered profile ......................................................................................................................97
4.1.4 Design verification ................................................................................................................................. 100
4.2 Numerical-based design .................................................................................................................................................. 100
4.2.1 Calibration – Clay unit .......................................................................................................................... 101
4.2.2 Calibration – Sand unit .........................................................................................................................102
4.2.3 Analysis – Layered profile .................................................................................................................. 103
4.2.4 Design verification ................................................................................................................................. 104
4.3 Comparison between rule-based and numerical-based design .................................................................... 105
Chapter 5: Scientific Manual ................................................................................................. 107
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 107
5.2 Material Models .................................................................................................................................................................. 107
5.2.1 Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters ...............................................................................................107
5.2.2 Sand: HSsmall material Parameters ............................................................................................... 109
5.3 PLAXIS 3D Models ............................................................................................................................................................. 110
5.3.1 Generating 3D models .......................................................................................................................... 110
5.3.2 Soft beam properties .............................................................................................................................114
5.3.3 Soil reaction curves ............................................................................................................................... 114
5.3.4 Results inspection pane ....................................................................................................................... 115
5.4 Optimization Module ........................................................................................................................................................116
5.5 Rule based models .............................................................................................................................................................119
5.5.1 Plain text file format rules .................................................................................................................. 120
5.5.2 Conventional p-y curves ....................................................................................................................... 121
5.5.3 Depth Variation Functions ..................................................................................................................125
5.6 1D FE Model ......................................................................................................................................................................... 131
5.6.1 Formulation of the model 1D FE Model ........................................................................................131
5.6.2 Implementation aspects of the 1D FE model ..............................................................................136
5.7 Results Mode ........................................................................................................................................................................139
5.7.1 Realised H .................................................................................................................................................. 139

5.7.2 Realised M ..................................................................................................................................................139
5.7.3 Load factor .................................................................................................................................................140
5.7.4 Accuracy metrics η and ρ ..................................................................................................................... 140
5.7.5 H-v and M-θ ...............................................................................................................................................141
5.7.6 v(z) and θ(z) plots ................................................................................................................................... 142
5.7.7 Soil profile plots ...................................................................................................................................... 142
5.7.8 p(z) plot ...................................................................................................................................................... 142
5.7.9 SACS pile models .....................................................................................................................................142
Chapter 6: References ...........................................................................................................147
Appendices ....................................................................................................... 149

Appendix A: Warnings and errors ......................................................................................... 150
A.1 Calibration Mode - warning and errors ........................................................................................ 150
A.2 Analysis Mode .......................................................................................................................................... 155
Appendix B: Scripting Reference ........................................................................................... 157
B.1 Commands Reference ........................................................................................................................... 157
B.2 Object Reference ..................................................................................................................................... 157

General Information
1
1.1 Preface
PLAXIS Monopile Designer is a software program, developed for the analysis and design of monopiles used as
foundation elements for offshore wind turbines, under lateral loading conditions.
It is a part of the PLAXIS product range, a suite of finite element programs that is used worldwide for
geotechnical engineering and design.
PLAXIS Monopile Designer is based on the results of the Pile Soil Analysis (PISA) research project. The PISA
project is aimed at investigating and developing improved design methods for laterally loaded piles, specifically
tailored to the offshore wind sector. It is a joint industry project led by DONG Energy (nowadays named Ørsted)
and run through the Carbon Trust's Offshore Wind Accelerator programme.
The main aim of the PISA project is to develop a new design methodology for offshore wind turbine monopile
foundations, to overcome the shortcomings of the current methods. The project focuses on the use of numerical
finite element modelling to develop the new design method, which is validated through a campaign of large scale
field tests.
PLAXIS Monopile Designer can be used as a stand-alone tool for the rule-based design method and in connection
with PLAXIS 3D for the numerical-based design method, as defined in the PISA research project. The
development of PLAXIS Monopile Designer was performed by Plaxis bv, in collaboration with Oxford University
(Profs. Burd, Byrne, Houlsby, Martin, McAdam), Imperial College London (Profs. Jardine, Potts, Zdravkovic, and
Dr. Taborda) and University College Dublin (Prof. Gavin). Collaboration with Fugro, as a designer of offshore
foundations, is also acknowledged.
1.1.1 Goals and objectives

PLAXIS Monopile Designer is intended to provide a tool for practical analysis and design of monopiles to be used
by geotechnical engineers who are not necessarily numerical specialists. Quite often practising professional
engineers consider non-linear computations cumbersome and time-consuming. The PLAXIS research and
development team has addressed this issue by designing robust and theoretically sound computational
procedures, which are encapsulated in a logical and easy-to-use shell. As a result, many geotechnical engineers
world-wide have adopted the PLAXIS products and are using them for engineering and design purposes.

General Information
Preface
1.1.2 Scientific network

The development of the PLAXIS products would not be possible without worldwide research at universities and
research institutes. To ensure that the high technical standard of PLAXIS is maintained and that new technology
is adopted, the development team is in contact with a large network of researchers in the field of geo-
engineering and numerical methods.
Direct support is obtained from a series of research centres:
Name Organization (Country)
Prof. Michael Hicks, Prof. Bert Sluys Delft University of Technology, Mathematics &
Informatics (NL)
Prof. Kees Vuik Delft University of Technology, Mathematics &

Informatics (NL)
Mr. Mark Post, Dr. Cor Zwanenburg Deltares (NL)
Dr. Michael Heibaum, Mr. Oliver Stelzer BundesAnstalt für Wasserbau (DE)
Prof. Helmut Schweiger, Dr. Franz Tschuchnigg Technical University, Graz (AT)
Prof. Cino Viggiani Univ. of Grenoble, Laboratoire 3R (FR)
Prof. Harvey Burd, Prof. Byron Byrne, Prof. Ross University of Oxford (UK)
McAdam
Prof. Minna Karstunen, Dr. Mats Olsson, Dr. Anders Chalmers University of Technology (S)
Kullingsjö
Prof. Andrew Whittle Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
Prof. Juan Pestana University of California at Berkeley (USA)
Prof. Richard Finno Northwestern University (USA)
Prof. Youssef Hashash Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champain (USA)
Dr. Anoosh Shamsabadi California Department of Transportation (USA)
Prof. Steinar Nordal, Prof. Gustav Grimstad Norwegian Univ. of Science and Tech (NO)
Dr. Lars Andresen, Prof. Hans Petter Jostad, Dr. Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NO)
Nallathamby Sivasithamparam
Prof. Antonio Gens, Prof. Eduardo Alonso Technical University of Catalunya (ES)
Prof. Harry Tan National University of Singapore (SG)
Prof. Angelo Amorosi Sapienza University of Rome (IT)

General Information
PLAXIS product, licencing and services
Name Organization (Country)
Prof. Yasser El-Mossallamy Ain Shams University, Cairo (EG)
Prof. Ivo Herle Technical University, Dresden (DE)
Prof. David Mašin Charles University, Prague (CZ)
Prof. Tim Lansivaara University of Tampere (FI)
Prof. Tom Schanz y, Prof. Günther Meschke Ruhr University, Bochum (DE)
Prof. George Gazetas, Dr. Nikos Gerolymos National Technical University, Athens (GR)
Prof. Steven Kramer, Prof. Pedro Arduino University of Washington (USA)
Prof. Christophe Geuzaine University of Liege (BE)
Prof. Yves Renard INSA-Lyon (FR)
Prof. Mahdi Taiebat University of British Columbia (CA)
Prof. Daniela Boldini University of Bologna (IT)
This support is gratefully acknowledged.

The editors
1.2 PLAXIS product, licencing and services

Update versions and new releases of PLAXIS, containing various new features, are released frequently. In
addition, courses and user meetings are organised on a regular basis. Registered users receive detailed
information about new developments and other activities. Valuable user information is provided on the Bentley
website and Bentley Communities.
1.2.1 Products
In addition to PLAXIS Monopile Designer, PLAXIS offers powerful products for specific geotechnical analysis.
These software packages are listed below:
• PLAXIS 2D
• PLAXIS 3D
• PLAXIS 2D Output Viewer and PLAXIS 3D Output Viewer
• PLAXIS Designer
• PLAXIS 2D LE
• PLAXIS 3D LE

General Information
Short overview of features
Note:
1. For more information about PLAXIS products and the different geotechnical analysis that are possible please
visit the General Information Manual.
2. PLAXIS Monopile Designer can be used as a stand-alone tool for the rule-based design method and in
connection with PLAXIS 3D for the numerical-based design method, as defined in the PISA research project.
In the latter case, soil reaction curves, used in the one-dimensional finite element kernel of PLAXIS Monopile
Designer, are derived and calibrated from the results of a series of 3D finite element calculations performed
in PLAXIS 3D.
1.2.2 Licencing
PLAXIS products are offered under a particular licencing schemes. For detailed information consult the General
Information Manual.
In the case of PLAXIS Monopile Designer, currently, there is one comprehensive licence is necessary to apply the
rule-based design method; however, a PLAXIS 3D distribution and Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements (see
Services: Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements [GSE] (on page 9)) are required to access functionalities such as
autogeneration of 3D models and scripting.
1.2.3 Services: Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements [GSE]

Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements [GSE] is an additional subscription system on top of the professional software
licenses. Geotechnical SELECT subscribers benefit from the latest releases of their PLAXIS software maintenance,
support from PLAXIS technical experts and extended features. Functionalities part of Geotechnical SELECT
Entitlemets are mainly focused on interoperability with other Bentley Systems software (e.g., CAD or ISM
import), scripting and satellite tools based on scripting. Further information about [GSE] features can be checked
on the General Information Manual.
1.3 Short overview of features

PLAXIS Monopile Designer is a software package intended for the design of monopiles as foundation elements
for offshore wind turbines under lateral loading conditions. As a design tool, it includes a highly efficient one-
dimensional finite element calculation model based on the Timoshenko beam theory to model the monopile, and
non-linear soil reaction curves to model the soil response. PLAXIS Monopile Designer also facilitates the efficient
generation and calculation of a series of PLAXIS 3D models for the calibration of soil reaction curves and for
checking final monopile designs. The calibration process is fully automated. A brief summary of the important
features of PLAXIS Monopile Designer is given below.
1.3.1 Input of soil stratigraphy

Based on a preliminary selection of either clay-type or sand-type soils, PLAXIS Monopile Designer facilitates the
efficient input of basic soil properties in layers.

General Information
Manuals
1.3.2 Generation of PLAXIS 3D models

Monopiles can be defined by only a few geometric parameters. Based on geometric data sets, together with the
soil stratigraphy, PLAXIS 3D finite element models are automatically generated and calculated, with the purpose
to extract the soil response under lateral loading conditions. This requires the presence of a compatible PLAXIS
3D [GSE] subscription (see General Information Manual) .
1.3.3 Visualisation option

Convenient visualisation option is available to preview and check each generated model in PLAXIS 3D before
starting the calculation process.
1.3.4 Modification of generated models

Generated models can be modified in PLAXIS 3D, if desired, provided that the modified model represents the
same situation as originally created in PLAXIS Monopile Designer. It is possible to change the soil constitutive
models used in PLAXIS 3D. Any constitutive model can be used in place of the default selection, including user-
defined soil models.
1.3.5 Calibration of soil reaction curves

Soil reaction curves, used in PLAXIS Monopile Designer design calculations are automatically calibrated based on
the extracted soil response from the PLAXIS 3D models. In addition to conventional non-linear p-y curves for
lateral loading, PLAXIS Monopile Designer provides additional moment-rotation reactions along the pile shaft as
well as shear and moment reactions at the pile base, according to the PISA design methodology.
1.3.6 Efficient 1D design calculations

Using the calibrated (or user-defined) soil reaction curves, PLAXIS Monopile Designer enables a quick design
calculation and optimisation of monopile dimensions under lateral loading conditions; both for SLS and ULS
design. Calculations are based on Timoshenko beam theory, encapsulated in the built-in one-dimensional finite
element model. PLAXIS Monopile Designer can run as a stand-alone package to perform 1D design calculations
without the need to have other PLAXIS software installed.
1.3.7 Presentation of results

PLAXIS Monopile Designer facilitates the presentation of various results in both graphical and tabulated format.
Results can be copied to clipboard and printed.

General Information
First time installation
1.4 Manuals
To obtain a quick working knowledge of the main features of PLAXIS Monopile Designer, it is suggested that
users work through the example problem contained in the Tutorial Manual.
The Reference Manual (on page 14) is intended for users who want more detailed information about program
features. This manual covers topics that are not discussed exhaustively in the Tutorial Manual. It also contains
practical details on how to use PLAXIS Monopile Designer for the design of monopiles according to the PISA
method.
Also the Reference Manual (on page 14) is arranged according to the modes and their respective options as
listed in the corresponding modes and menus. This manual does not contain detailed information about the
constitutive models, the finite element formulations or the non-linear solution algorithms used in the program.
For detailed information on these and other related subjects, users are referred to the various chapters and
papers listed in the Scientific Manual (on page 107) or the corresponding sections of the PLAXIS 3D manuals.
1.5 First time installation

If you install PLAXIS Monopile Designer for the first time, download the installer from PLAXIS software
downloads at Bentley Communities. You will need to create an account and log in to access the download site.
1.5.1 Software and hardware requirements

Please visit System Requirements on Bentley Communities website to find the software and hardware
requirements.
1.5.2 Installation
During installation the following software is installed:
• PLAXIS Monopile Designer
• CONNECTION Client
• PLAXIS 3D
• PLAXIS Python distribution
• Manuals for PLAXIS Monopile Designer
To install PLAXIS Monopile Designer:
1. Go to the Installer executable that you have downloaded and double-click the file.
The PLAXIS Monopile Designer Installation Wizard opens.
2. (Optional) To change the location where PLAXIS Monopile Designer is installed, either:
• Type a path in the Installation Directory field or
• Click the Browse button (...) and browse to the folder you want to install PLAXIS Monopile Designer.

General Information
• Click Ok.
3. To select the installation language use the drop-down menu in Select product language.
4. To read the End-User License Agreement (EULA), click the License Agreement link.
The EULA opens in a web browser.
• After reading the license agreement, check the I accept the End User License Agreement box to
acknowledge that you understand and agree to the EULA.
This step is required to install the software.
• Click Next.
5. (Optional) Select the features which you want to install.
a. On PLAXIS Monopile Designer:

General Information
b. If the user wants to enhance the capabilities PLAXIS Monopile Designer and allow the autogeneration of
3D models the installation of PLAXIS 3D is suggested (please visit the General Information Manual for
more information).
6. Click Install to start the installation.
Note: The installation requires administrator rights. If Windows prompts you with a User Account Control
dialog, click Yes to proceed.
7. Once the installation has finished the Install Wizard will notify you.
>Installed PLAXIS CONNECT Edition V22.00
• Click Finish to close the Wizard.

Reference Manual
2
2.1 Introduction
PLAXIS Monopile Designer is a PLAXIS-based specific tool providing an enhanced design methodology for
monopile foundations under lateral loading. Monopile design can be performed efficiently by using one-
dimensional (1D) finite element (FE) analyses of a laterally loaded pile. The adopted design methodology is
based on the PIle Soil Analysis (PISA) joint industry research project.
The monopile is modelled by means of the Timoshenko beam theory whereas the soil reaction is modelled using
calibrated or user-defined soil reaction curves. The calibration of the soil reactions is based on three-
dimensional (3D) finite element calculations using PLAXIS 3D. In addition to the 1D design analysis, the design
tool facilitates the generation and calculation of the PLAXIS 3D models, and the derivation of the soil reactions
based on the calculation results. A real installation site can be represented with finite element models in PLAXIS
3D and a site-specific 1D model can be calibrated and used for the design of monopile foundations.
2.1.1 The PISA Project
The PISA project was a research study (2013-2016) on the development of new design procedures for monopile
foundations for offshore wind turbine applications. The project consisted of field testing, numerical modelling
and design model development. The research was conducted by an Academic Work Group drawn from the
University of Oxford, Imperial College London and University College Dublin and was conducted in collaboration
with a range of project partners. Ørsted (then DONG Energy) took the lead role for the partners. The broad scope
of the PISA study is summarised in conference publications (e.g. Byrne et al., 2018 (on page 147), Byrne et al.,
2017 (on page 147), Burd et al., 2017 (on page 147), Byrne et al., 2015a (on page 148), Byrne et al., 2015b (on
page 148), Zdravkovic et al., 2015 (on page 148)) and more recently in a themed issue of the journal
Géotechnique (Volume 70 Issue 11, editorial in Byrne, 2020 (on page 147)). One outcome of this study is a one-
dimensional (1D) design model, based on the use of Timoshenko beam theory, that overcomes certain
limitations of existing methods (Burd et al., 2020a, 2020b (on page 147), Byrne et al., 2020 (on page 147)).
PLAXIS Monopile Designer provides a means of implementing the PISA design method in a daily engineering
context, for the design of monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines including large diameter monopiles in
clay (Panagoulias et al., 2018a (on page 148), Panagoulias et al., 2018b (on page 148)), sand (Brinkgreve et al.,
2020 (on page 147), Panagoulias et al., 2020 (on page 148)), and layered soils (Panagoulias et al., 2019 (on page
148)).

Reference Manual
Einführung
2.1.2 The design methodology
The PISA project resulted in a new design methodology, which employs rapid, 1D design calculations, based on
the use of the Timoshenko beam theory to model the behaviour of an embedded monopile under lateral loading.
Additional components of soil reaction are integrated in the design model to enhance its performance. The pile
self weight and any additional vertical loads are not taken into account as primarily lateral loading and not
vertical loading is considered.
The proposed design method consists of two alternative design procedures (Byrne et al., 2017 (on page 147)),
both incorporated in the design tool. PLAXIS Monopile Designer can be used as a stand-alone tool for the rule-
based design method and in connection with PLAXIS 3D for the numerical-based design method.
Rule-based design
In the rule-based design approach, soil reaction is defined via mathematical functions, the parameters of which
are determined via standard soil investigation data. According to this design procedure, the 1D model
calibration data can be imported from previous numerical-based calibrations on other projects, from standard
publications or supplied by a consultant. It should be noted that, in this case, the soundness of the pile response
prediction depends on the difference in the soil profiles, the considered pile geometries and the loading
conditions between the original calibration case and the target design study. Thus, the rule-based design
approach is likely to be used for concept or preliminary design.
Numerical-based design
The numerical-based design approach involves 3D FE models for site-specific, and possibly more accurate,
calibration of the soil reaction. Detailed 3D FE calculations are employed along with high quality soil data,
potentially obtained via site investigation and laboratory/field testing for the calibration of the used soil
constitutive models. Subsequently, the 1D design model is calibrated based on the results of the 3D FE analyses.
In this way, the numerical-based design approach is likely to be used for detailed design.
Note that PLAXIS Monopile Designer deals with the calibration of the advanced soil constitutive models
employed in PLAXIS 3D, based on limited input soil data, via predefined empirical correlations. The user may
fine-tune the derived values of the material parameters if necessary. The reader may refer to Soil Mode (on page
26) and Material Models (on page 107) for more information.
Each 3D FE model represents a design scenario for the considered design study. It is suggested to choose the
variation on the monopile geometry configurations, and consequently the number of the employed calibration
3D FE models, such that an appropriate coverage of the calibration space is achieved. Based on experience
(Panagoulias et al., 2018a (on page 148), Panagoulias et al., 2018b (on page 148)) 8 to 10 calibration models are
generally sufficient to calibrate the soil reaction curves, although good results can be achieved with as few as 4
calibration models (Kaltekis et al., 2019 (on page 148)).
It is highly recommended that the results of the 1D FE model for the final design configuration are checked
against an equivalent 3D FE model to validate the soundness of the 1D analysis.
The numerical-based design philosophy provides a well-based means of continuous advancement of the soil
reaction curves, towards a global database of site-specific and calibration space-specific curves. The database
could be effectively extended as new site investigation data together with soil testing data are obtained from
specific offshore locations. In addition, improvements on the used numerical methods and/or the employed
constitutive models could be used to enrich the database and possibly enhance existing soil reaction data sets.

Reference Manual
Einführung
2.1.3 Interoperability with PLAXIS 3D
PLAXIS Monopile Designer reaches its full potential when used in connection with PLAXIS 3D. The latter offers a
complete, well proven and robust finite element solution for offshore or onshore structures. The coupling of the
two software packages facilitates the numerical-based design, via the automatic calibration of the soil reaction
curves for the specific design case.
The design tool provides automatic generation and calculation of 3D FE calibration models in PLAXIS 3D based
on specific soil input data and value ranges of the monopile geometry components (length, diameter, wall
thickness and height above the seabed where the load is applied). Soil reaction curves are extracted from the 3D
FE models and turned into parameterised functions based on the defined soil properties and geometrical
parameters.
2.1.4 The 1D FE Model
PLAXIS Monopile Designer facilitates the execution of rapid 1D design calculations. A 1D FE model is integrated
in the design tool, formulated by means of the Timoshenko beam theory. The adopted formulation embodies, in
an approximate way, the influence of the shear strains to the overall pile response. This influence is likely to
increase with decreasing length-to-diameter ratios (Byrne et al., 2015 (on page 148), Burd et al., 2017 (on page
147)).
If the rule-based design approach is followed, the 1D model makes direct use of the user-imported soil reaction
data. If the numerical-based design is employed, the calibration of the 1D model involves a limited set of 3D
numerical calculations, which span an assumed design space for the monopile foundation. Soil reaction curve
data are derived from the 3D models; they are then used in the 1D FE model. The latter is used to conduct a
range of (rapid) design calculations to optimise the monopile geometry, based on the assumed soil conditions at
the site and the monopile design space.
The main components of the 1D design model are depicted in Figure 1 (on page 17). Under a horizontal force H
and a moment M applied to the pile at a certain height above the ground level, four components of soil reaction
are acting on the embedded part of the pile:
• the distributed lateral load p
• the distributed moment m
• the base horizontal force HB
• the base moment MB
The distributed lateral load p acts along the pile shaft and it is consistent with the approach adopted by the
conventional p-y method. The additional component of the distributed moment m along the pile shaft results
from the vertical shear tractions induced at the soil-pile interface, due to local pile rotation. Besides, if the pile is
loaded close to failure, considerable shear tractions are likely to be developed on the passive side of the pile due
to the induced wedge-type failure mechanism (Burd et al., 2017 (on page 147)). Two separate soil reaction
components are acting on the base (toe) of the pile, namely the base shear force HB and the base moment MB.
The effect of the additional components on the pile response becomes more dominant as the length-to-diameter
ratio reduces (Burd et al., 2017 (on page 147)).

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Einführung
In line with the conventional p-y design method, all components of soil reaction are applied to the embedded
beam elements via the Winkler approach (Winkler, 1867 (on page 148)). This implies that the soil reaction
components mentioned above are linked to local pile displacements and rotations. Despite any limitations of this
approach, mainly related to the uncoupling between adjacent elements, it constitutes a direct and
computationally efficient formulation approach for the 1D design model.
M
H
z y
ground level
Timoshenko
� beam Lateral soil
finite element reaction
p(z,v)
Distributed
moment
m (z,θ)
Base shear
force HB (vB ) Base
moment
(MBθB)
Figure 1: Components of the 1D FE model (based on Byrne et al., 2015b)
2.1.5 The components of PLAXIS Monopile Designer
The tool consists of three main individual components, which communicate via the Graphical user interface
(GUI). Each component deals with different parts of the calculation process (Figure 2 (on page 18)).
Component 1: the 1D FE model

This component is based on the use of Timoshenko beam theory to model the behaviour of an embedded
monopile. The soil response is modelled via soil reaction curves, applied along the shaft and at the base of the
monopile.

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Einführung
START
Generate depth
YES
Soil data variation
functions?
3D FE models (PLAXIS 3D)

NO
Component 2
3D Model 1 3D Model 2 ... 3D Model n
raw soil reaction curves raw soil reaction curves raw soil reaction curves Import depth variation functions
(model 1) (model 2) (model n) & soil-structure data
Component 1
normalised raw normalised raw normalised raw
soil reaction curves soil reaction curves soil reaction curves
(model 2) 1D FE calculation kernel
(model 1) (model n)
Component 3
parameterised parameterised parameterised Results

soil reaction curves soil reaction curves soil reaction curves
(model 1) (model 2) (model n)
END
Depth variation functions
Figure 2: PLAXIS Monopile Designer workflow
Component 2: a set of 3D FE models

This component facilitates the automatic generation and calculation of a set of 3D FE calibration models in
PLAXIS 3D, to obtain sets of raw soil reaction curves.
Component 3: the Optimisation Module

This component deals with the parameterisation of the soil reaction curves derived from the PLAXIS 3D models,
i.e. the transformation of the raw soil reaction curves to mathematical functions which are subsequently used by
the 1D FE model.
2.1.6 Graphical user interface
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) deals with the exchange of data among the three main individual
components. Moreover, it presents the calculation results from the 3D (if employed) and the 1D FE analyses. The
GUI consists of four operational modes, namely the Soil mode, the Calibration mode, the Analysis mode and
the Results mode.

Reference Manual
Einführung
If the rule-based design is followed, only the last two modes of the design tool are used, i.e. the Analysis mode
and the Results mode. The soil reaction data are imported in the Analysis mode to run rapid 1D FE
calculations. The Results mode provides the results of the 1D analysis.
If the numerical-based design is adopted, all four modes of the tool are used sequentially. The Soil mode is used
to define the site-specific soil layers and soil data. In the Calibration mode the various monopile geometric
configurations are defined. The PLAXIS 3D models are generated and calculated based on the data coming from
the Soil mode and the Calibration mode. The extraction and parameterisation of the soil reaction curves is part
of the Calibration mode. Relevant results from the 3D FE analyses are presented in the Calibration mode as
well. The parameterised soil reaction curves are imported in the Analysis mode to run the 1D FE analysis,
whereas the Results mode provides the obtained results.
2.1.7 Useful terminology
Basic terminology adopted throughout the design tool and this manual, is presented below.
Design space
The design space (or calibration space/variation between models) defines the space covered by the variation of
the geometrical parameters assigned to the calibration set of the 3D FE models. The parameters that span the
design space are the embedded length, the diameter, the wall thickness of the pile, as well as the height above
the ground level where the excitation is applied.
Soil reaction curves

The raw soil reaction curves represent the functions which relate the non-linear soil reactions (force or
moment) to the local pile deformation (displacement or rotation). They are based on the data extracted directly
from the PLAXIS 3D models. Four types of raw soil reaction curves are considered to simulate the behaviour of
an embedded monopile under lateral loading, namely:
• Distributed lateral load p - lateral displacement v
• Distributed moment m - rotation θ.
• Base horizontal force HB - lateral displacement vB
• Base moment MB - base rotation θB
Parameterisation procedure
The parameterisation procedure is conducted in the Calibration mode, if the numerical-based design is
followed, by the Optimisation Module (Figure 2 (on page 18)). It consists of several sub-processes, including the
normalisation of the raw soil reaction curves, the calibration of the mathematical function which approximates
the non-linear soil reaction curves and the optimisation of the derived fitting parameters.

Each type of the non-linear soil reaction curves is approximated with a mathematical function during the
parameterisation procedure. The mathematical function itself constists of certain fitting parameters. The depth
variation functions define the variation of each one of the fitting parameters as a function of depth.

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General Information
dvf file
A file with a specific format used to define the parameterised soil reaction curves. It also includes relevant data
for the site-specific soil conditions and the design (calibration) space based on which the soil reaction curves
were generated. The file is used as input to the 1D design model to run the 1D FE analysis. It can either be user-
defined (rule-based design) or produced via the parameterisation procedure (numerical-based design) in the
Calibration mode.
Monopile head and toe

The term Monopile head refers to the level at distance h above the seabed level, at which either a prescribed
displacement (Calibration mode) or a lateral load H and/or a bending moment M (Analysis mode) are applied
to the monopile. Note that this level may not necessarily coincide with the actual monopile head. If h is zero, then
the supposed head meets the mudline. The term Monopile toe refers to the base of the monopile at distance L
below the seabed level.
2.2 General Information

Information in this chapter applies to all modes of the design tool.
2.2.1 Using PLAXIS Monopile Designer with and without PLAXIS 3D
Functionality without PLAXIS 3D [GSE]

Without PLAXIS 3D [GSE], the user can access the last two modes (Analysis and Results mode), which are
related to the 1D calculation. The functionality to generate, calculate, parameterise and visualise PLAXIS 3D
models (i.e. elaborated in Geometry Datasets (GeoDS) (on page 32)) is not available unless PLAXIS 3D [GSE] is
installed. Nevertheless, existing calibrated soil reaction curves can be used in the Analysis mode to perform
monopile design calculations.
For more information on PLAXIS [GSE], please communicate with our PLAXIS Sales Department at contact us.
Functionality with PLAXIS 3D [GSE]

If PLAXIS 3D [GSE] is present, the full functionality provided by the design tool is available.
2.2.2 Program layout
To carry out analysis and design calculations using PLAXIS Monopile Designer, the user has four modes to work
with: Soil mode, Calibration mode, Analysis mode, and Results mode. Each mode appears as a coloured
tabsheet in PLAXIS Monopile Designer.

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General Information
After starting the program, the user chooses whether to open an existing project or start a new one. A new
project (Figure 3 (on page 21)) must first be saved before being worked with.
Figure 3: Start Screen
The general layout of the program is shown in:

1. Title bar 2. Menu bar 3. Mode tabs
4. Parameters/data area 5. Graphs area
Figure 4: Layout of the program
The contents of the window differ for the different modes, all of which are described in their sections. The main
and common items are as follows:

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General Information
Title bar
The name of the program and the title of the project is displayed in the title bar. Unsaved or unelaborated
modifications in the project are indicated by an asterisk ('*') next to the project name.
Menu bar
It contains a File, Options, and Help menu.
Mode tabs
The mode tabs are used to separate different workflow steps. The following tabs are available:
Optional mode allowing users with access to PLAXIS 3D to define the soil
Soil
stratigraphy.
Optional mode for the users with access to PLAXIS 3D, to generate and calculate
Calibration 3D FE models, the soil reaction curves of which will be extracted and
parameterised.
Analysis To run the 1D FE Analysis.
Results To view the results of the 1D FE Analysis.
Note: After analysis in the Analysis and Results modes and then modifying the data in the Soil or Calibration
modes, the last two modes are marked by an asterisk. This is to indicate that the *.dvf file used in the analysis
might not be valid anymore.
Parameters area
Each mode has different fields and different parameters the user can set. In the data area, the user can add soil
layers, add geometric data sets (GeoDS), set structural properties, and much more.
Graphs/tables area
This area represents the results graphically. The graphs can be customised by changing axes and plot options.
They are available in Calibration, Analysis, and Results mode.
2.2.3 New Project
How to access:
• File > New project
• CTRL + N

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General Information
At the start of the program, the user sees the Soil mode with an empty data set. The user chooses whether to
open an existing project or start a new one. A new project (Figure 3 (on page 21)) must first be saved before
being worked with.
In the numerical-based design, the first step the user should take is to add soil layers and configure the material
data. For more information on the Soil Mode (on page 26).
In the rule-based design, the first step the user should take is to switch to Analysis mode and upload a *.dvf file
containing the soil reaction curves (either calibrated or user-defined). For more information on the Analysis
mode (on page 51).
2.2.4 Open Project
How to access:
• File > Open project
• CTRL+O
The user may open an existing project by searching for it in Windows® requester.
2.2.5 Menus in the Menu bar
The menu bar of the program contains drop-down menus covering most options for handling files and setting
options.
File menu
New project To start a new project.
Open project... To open an existing project.
Save project To save the current project under the existing name.
Save project as... To save the current project under a new name.
Exit To leave the program.
Option menu
Display numbers using:
4 significant digits To display numbers using 4 significant digits.

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General Information
Note: The default global number of significant digits is 4.
Expert menu
Run Python script To configure remote scripting server and open Python scripts to run them
Run Python tool To access and run stored and commonly used Python scripts
Help menu
Manuals To display the manuals.
Request support... To send a request for support.
Visit website To reach the PLAXIS Monopile Designer product page.
Disclaimer To display the complete disclaimer text.
About To display information about the program version and licence.
2.2.6 Units and sign convention
Standard units
PLAXIS Monopile Designer uses a consistent system of units. The basic units are:
• Length: m
• Force: kN
• Moment: kNm
• Stress: kN/m2
• Unit weight: kN/m3
All input data should conform to the adopted system of units, and the output data should be interpreted using
the same system. Every example used in the manual is defined using these standard units.
Sign convention used in PLAXIS 3D

The following applies to the PLAXIS 3D FE models generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer.
• Positive x-, y-, z-direction as displayed in Figure 5 (on page 25).
• Positive moment: right-handed coordinate system.
• Compressive stress: negative (solid mechanics convention).

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General Information
σzz
z σzy
σzx
y σxz σxy
σyx σxx
x
σyy
σyz
Figure 5: Coordinate system and the indication of positive stress components
Sign convention used in 1D model

The following applies to the 1D FE model.
• Positive y-, z-direction as displayed on Figure 1 (on page 17) positive lateral load p and moment m as
displayed in Figure 6 (on page 25).
M + dM
Q + dQ
dz p
m
Q Pile element
M
Figure 6: Sign convention in 1D FE model
With this sign convention the variables are related by:

dQ dM
p= − dz
m− dz
=Q Eq. [1]
where
Q = Pile shear force.
M = Pile bending moment.

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Soil Mode
2.2.7 Automatic saving
When creating a new project, the user needs to choose a name and location for the project. The project data can
become very large, so PLAXIS Monopile Designer performs automatic saving before certain actions. The program
lets the user know when the project is automatically saved by displaying warnings and the save icon on the
corresponding buttons of the UI.
Note:
The actions before which the project will be automatically saved are all encountered in the Calibration mode:
• Adding a new GeoDS
• Deleting a GeoDS
• Generating a model
• Calculating a model
2.2.8 Help facilities
PLAXIS Monopile Designer provides extensive help facilities for the users. In the Help menu ( Menus in the Menu
bar (on page 23)), there is a link to the Monopile designer manuals in PDF form.
Knowledge base
Additional information can be found on Bentley Communities.
Customer support [GSE]

Need Help? Tell us about your issue and find the best support option on Bentley Communities/support.
2.3 Soil Mode

The Soil mode is intended for users who want to follow the numerical-based design approach and use PLAXIS
3D to generate and run a set of 3D models, to extract the soil reaction curves, parameterise them and generate
(soil-type and design-space dependent) depth variation functions. The Soil mode should be used before the
Calibration and Analysis modes.
The Soil mode is used to define the soil stratigraphy for the PLAXIS 3D models that are generated to calibrate
soil reaction curves. Hence, the user must first choose which is the (dominant) material type in the subsoil for
the considered project. Depending on the material type (clay or sand), a different set of soil parameters needs to
be specified. These parameters are employed in the soil models that are used in the PLAXIS 3D model (see
section Material Models (on page 107)). Some parameters are also used to normalise the soil reaction curves.
Although only one particular soil type can be selected, the user may define as many sub-sections (Soil layers) as
necessary to accurately represent a measured stiffness profile (G0) or shear strength profile (Su) in depth.

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Soil Mode
Tip: Analysis of layered soils according to the PISA method is based on the hypothesis that soil reaction curves
calibrated using homogeneous soil profiles can be employed, directly, to conduct 1D analyses of monopiles
embedded in a layered soil (Burd et al., 2020b (on page 147)). The depth variation functions parameterised for
ideal homogeneous profiles in the Soil and Calibration modes can subsequently be used to configure layered
stratigraphies in the Analysis mode.
2.3.1 Soil mode layout
To define the soil stratigraphy, the user needs to choose a material type and determine the soil layers in Soil
mode.
Material 1. 2. Drainage 3. Reset soil 4. Soil layers

type type layers button area
5. Soil profile 6. Top & bottom 7. Material properties 8. Add, insert, and delete
soil boundaries
Figure 7: View of a project in the Soil mode
Reset button
When using the Reset button, the program shows a warning. If the user confirms the action, the Soil mode is
reverted to the default (initial) state:
• Default material type is Clay.
• Soil layers are deleted.

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Soil Mode
2.3.2 Material types
The user chooses between two available material types: Clay or Sand.
Note: When changing the soil material type after creating a soil layer, the layer boundaries (top and bottom) are
retained, but the rest of the parameters are reset.
Clay
The clayey soil material type is formulated using the NGI-ADP model (for more information, see Brinkgreve et
al., 2021 (on page 147)). The material behaviour (drainage type) is assumed to be undrained. To read more
about the parameters of this material model, see Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters (on page 107). The
following input parameters need to be defined per soil layer:
Parameter Definition Unit
γ' Submerged unit weight [kN/m3]
Small strain shear stiffness modulus in the middle of the

G0 [kN/m2]
soil layer
su,top Undrained shear strength at the top of the soil layer [kN/m2]
su,bottom Undrained shear strength at the bottom of the soil layer [kN/m2]
K0 Lateral earth pressure coefficient at rest [-]
Tip: The user may change the constitutive model or use a user-defined soil constitutive model via PLAXIS 3D.
Sand
The sandy soil material type is formulated using the HSsmall model (for more information, see Brinkgreve et al.,
2021 (on page 147)). The material behaviour (drainage type) is assumed to be drained. To read more about the
parameters of this material model, see Section Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters (on page 107). The following
input parameters need to be defined per soil layer:
γ' Submerged unit weight [kN/m3]
Small strain shear stiffness modulus in the middle of the

G0 [kN/m2]
soil layer
φ′ Effective angle of internal friction [°]
ψ Angle of dilatancy [°]

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Soil Mode
K0 Lateral earth pressure coefficient at rest [-]
Tip: The user may change the constitutive model or use a user-defined soil constitutive model via PLAXIS 3D.
2.3.3 Creating soil layers
The user creates soil layers using buttons above the soil layers area:
Add To add a new layer below the lowest layer in the model.
Insert To insert a new layer above the selected one.
Delete To remove the selected layer.
General rules for adding, inserting, and deleting soil layers

1. The thickness of a newly added layer is zero by default.
2. The top boundary of an underlying layer is defined by the lower boundary of the overlying layer.
3. To change the thickness of a layer, the user modifies the bottom boundary.
4. A newly added soil layer appears as the lowest soil layer.
5. A newly inserted soil layer is inserted right above a selected layer.
6. A layer's bottom boundary cannot be less than the underlying layer's bottom boundary.
7. When deleting a layer, a confirmation window pops up.
Soil profile
The user can inspect the soil profile not only by looking at layer boundaries in the table but also in the Soil
profile (Figure 8 (on page 30)), which is visible in the left panel of the Soil mode. It is a visual representation
of the inserted soil layers and their top and bottom boundaries.

Reference Manual
Calibration mode
Figure 8: Soil profile in the Soil mode
Tip: For easier reference and navigation, the selected soil layer is also highlighted in the Soil profile panel.
2.4 Calibration mode

The Calibration mode is intended for users who want to follow the numerical-based design approach and to
use in the numerical-based design. It makes use of PLAXIS 3D to generate and run a set of 3D models, to extract
the soil reaction curves, parameterise them and generate (soil-type and design space dependent) depth variation
functions. The Calibration mode should be used before the Analysis mode as its results constitute an input for
the Analysis mode.
The Calibration mode is used to define the monopile geometric dimensions for the PLAXIS 3D models that are
generated to calibrate soil reaction curves. The monopile geometry is defined by the height above the ground
level h at which a horizontal displacement is applied, the embedded length L, the diameter D and the wall
thickness t. For each geometric data set (GeoDS), the target displacement at the mudline is specified as a fraction
of the pile diameter (vg/Dout).
2.4.1 Calibration procedure

The procedure to calibrate soil reaction curves consists of three steps.

Reference Manual
Calibration mode
1. Generating PLAXIS 3D models based on the soil profile in the Soil mode and the GeoDS defined in the
Calibration mode. This step will not only create the geometry model in PLAXIS 3D but also the 3D finite
element mesh and the necessary calculation phases.
2. Calculating the selected finite element models in PLAXIS 3D. Note that this step can be quite time-consuming
since several 3D finite element calculations are performed. The result of this step is a set of raw soil reaction
curves obtained from each of the finite element model calculations.
3. The parameterisation of the raw soil reaction curves obtained from the 3D finite element calculations.
2.4.2 Calibration mode layout

Geometry data Structural
1. 2. 3. Results area
sets properties
4. Action buttons 5. Pile properties 6. View button
Figure 9: Layout of the Calibration mode
Geometry datasets
Tabular overview of the data sets. Used to add/delete sets via the corresponding buttons and edit data sets. Each
data set is identified by the name GeoDS_#, where # is the number of the data set. The name of each geometry
data set is assigned automatically and cannot be changed. Previously deleted numbers are not reused unless the
deleted numbers were the highest. The same name is used for the corresponding finite element model generated
in PLAXIS 3D. The selection here determines which structural, pile properties and results are shown. Multiple
data sets may be selected simultaneously. Actions are performed on all selected data sets.

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Calibration mode
Structural properties
Overview and editing of monopile material parameters.
Pile properties
Static schematic 3D model of a monopile and the calculated geometrical and mechanical properties (A, I, EA, EI
and GA, for more information, see Table 3 (on page 39)).
Results area
View of results after calculation/parameterisation.
Action buttons - Generate, Calculate, Parameterise

Executing the corresponding action on the data selected in the table of GeoDS. One or multiple datasets can be
selected.
View button
Visualisation of the 3D model that corresponds to the selected dataset in PLAXIS 3D, where the user is allowed to
modify the models manually. For example, the user can change default material parameters. Note that this
should be done with caution.
2.4.3 Geometry Datasets (GeoDS)
A geometry data set (GeoDS) corresponds to a particular PLAXIS 3D model. The soil stratigraphy in the model
comes from the Soil mode of PLAXIS Monopile Designer. The geometrical characteristics of the monopile come
from the input parameters of the Calibration mode for the specific data set GeoDS.
Add and delete GeoDS

The defined GeoDS are listed in a table, see Figure 10 (on page 32).
Figure 10: Geometry data sets (GeoDS)
To add a new GeoDS, click the Add button. A new data set is added to the table, below the last data set.

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Calibration mode
Note: Creation of a new GeoDS copies the properties assigned to the last created data set, and the associated
PLAXIS 3D project if it has been already generated, or generated and calculated. If a project was calculated, then
the calculated project is copied, including the results.
Select one or more data sets and click the Delete button to delete them. Any generated projects will be deleted as
well.
Tip: The user can select a single GeoDS by clicking anywhere in the row. More than one GeoDS may be selected
by using Shift+click (consecutive rows) or Ctrl+click (single rows).
Note: Adding or deleting a GeoDS performs an autosave. Any changes in the project are saved and cannot be
undone.
Parameters
Table 1: Geometry data sets parameters
Parameter Description Unit
Monopile height above mudline at which the prescribed

h [m]
lateral displacement is applied
L Monopile embedded length [m]
Dout Monopile outer diameter [m]
t Monopile wall thickness [m]
vg/Dout Target relative displacement at mudline [-]
All other parameters can be changed (within the max/min boundaries). To change a value click in the cell and
edit the value.
Tip: The length L is limited by the max soil depth minus 0.15·Dout . There is an error message displayed on the
screen if this condition is not met. See Warnings and errors (on page 150) for more information. If there are no
soil layers defined, the user is not able to fill in L.
State icons
GeoDSs have different states, depending on the actions that were carried out on the GeoDS and the success or
failure of these actions.
The following states exist and are represented by the corresponding icons.
The model is successfully generated, but not calculated yet.
The model is not successfully generated. An error occurred during generation or meshing.
The model is successfully generated and calculated.

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Calibration mode
The model is not successfully calculated (but it is already successfully generated). An error occurred during
calculation.
The model is partially calculated (but it is already successfully generated). Calculation stopped before target
displacement was reached, but partial data could still be recovered.
The model is successfully included in the parameterisation process.
The model was changed since it was last generated, calculated or parameterised.
Tip: In case the generation or calculation fails ( or ): The user should open PLAXIS 3D by using the View
button and check the error encountered during the generation or calculation of the model.
Generate
When the GeoDS have been added, you can generate the PLAXIS 3D models. To generate a model, PLAXIS
Monopile Designer will:
• Generate the soil layers (as specified in the Soil mode of PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Generate the soil materials and the model parameters based on the values specified in the Soil mode.
• Generate the structure (monopile and corresponding interfaces) based on the settings of GeoDS, from the
Calibration mode.
• Divide the pile into slices to extract the raw soil reactions at different depths.
Note: all the needed material parameters are calculated based on predetermined relationships. See Clay: NGI-
ADP material Parameters (on page 107) and Sand: HSsmall material Parameters (on page 109). Calculated
values can be manually modified via the Materials menu in PLAXIS 3D.
• Generate the plate material and assign structural properties specified in the Calibration mode.
• Generate the calculation phases and adjust the numerical settings to values suitable for accurate and fast
calculations (for the specific type of models generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Generate a finite element mesh and select precalculation curve points in Output.
Note: Adding or deleting a GeoDS performs an autosave. Any changes in the project are saved and cannot be
undone.
Note: The selected pre-calculation curve points may be used by the user to check additional results (in PLAXIS
3D Output) but they are not directly used by the PLAXIS Monopile Designer workflow and calculations.
Note: The calculation phases are always generated before the mesh. In case the mesh generation fails, the model
still contains properly defined calculation phases. The user can open the PLAXIS 3D model and try to generate
the mesh manually. Changes on the default mesh settings may be needed to mesh successfully. Afterwards, the
user should save the PLAXIS 3D project and close it. The calculation must be done via PLAXIS Monopile Designer.
Note that any manual changes to the model will be copied to the next one added in the GeoDS menu of the tool
(see Recommended workflow (on page 51)).
A user may modify a 3D model that is automatically generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer in PLAXIS 3D
However, the modified model must represent the same situation (i.e. soil profile and monopile geometry) that
has been defined in PLAXIS Monopile Designer. Open the corresponding model in PLAXIS 3D.

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Calibration mode
This should preferably be done for the first GeoDS that is defined in PLAXIS Monopile Designer since subsequent
models are based on the previously generated (and modified) 3D model. In this way, subsequent models can be
automatically generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer, taking into account the modifications of the first model.
The user remains responsible for a correct representation of the 3D finite element models when modifying these
models in PLAXIS 3D.
Initial generation
During generation, the following calculation phases are created:
• Initial phase: generation of initial stress state.
• Phase 1: pile wished-in-place.
• Phase 2: small displacements calculation.
• Phase 3: large displacements calculation.
The large displacements calculation is intended to capture the pile response in the large displacements region,
under which the lateral displacement at the mudline is about Dout/10. Note that this calculation is not a large
deformations calculation (updated mesh analysis).
Note that all these calculations are performed in the framework of small deformation theory.
To generate the model(s):
1. In the table, select one or several data sets for which the model is to be generated.
2. Click the Generate button.
Note: The model generation works only if there is no feedback (warning) or if the user chooses to ignore it. The
checks and feedback messages for the generate action are described in Generate (on page 150).
Regeneration
The regeneration of models is different than the initial generation. See Regenerate (on page 153) for more
information concerning the modification on the projects that each action triggers.
The purpose is to maintain as many as possible manual modifications that the user did on the PLAXIS 3D models
after the initial generation. The modifications that are allowed can be found in Table 30 (on page 153).
After one or more models have been calculated, it is possible to add new geometry configurations to PLAXIS
Monopile Designer, generate the corresponding models and perform the corresponding calculations.
Calculate
Model calculation includes the following:
• Calculation of all 4 phases (as described in Initial generation (on page 35)).
• Extraction of the raw soil reaction curves.
• Extraction of data to be displayed in the results area (monopile response, raw soil reaction curves).
To calculate the model(s):
1. In the table, select one or several data sets for which the model is to be calculated.
2. Click the Calculate button.
Note: The model calculation works only if there is no feedback (warning) or if the user chooses to ignore it.

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Calibration mode
During calculation, a window pops up showing the calculation progress, see Figure 11 (on page 36). To stop all
calculations, click the Stop button (x).
Figure 11: Model calculation progress dialog
Note: If multiple calculations are selected to be performed at once and one or more fail, the others continue.
Stopping a single calculation can only be done by stopping the calculation of the phases in PLAXIS 3D
(calculation progress dialogue). Then the project is saved, and the calculation of the following GeoDS starts. After
each calculation finishes, the project is automatically saved.
The checks and feedback messages for the calculate action are described in the Warnings and errors (on page
150).
Parameterise
The parameterisation process does the following:
• The normalisation of the raw soil reaction curves extracted from the 3D model.
• Fitting of a mathematical function (see Optimization Module (on page 116)) to each type of the raw soil
reaction curves, at the shaft (monopile slices) and at the base separately. The input raw data come from all
the selected geometry data sets.
• Derivation of the functions that describe the variation of the parameters of the mathematical function along
the shaft and at the base of the pile, these are called depth variation functions (dvf).
• Generation of data to be displayed at the results inspection pane (parameterised soil reaction curves, shaft
and base depth variation functions).
• Creation of the calibrated.dvf file containing the depth variation functions for the site-specific soil conditions
and design space. This file can then be saved under a different name and/or in a different location and
imported for future analysis without requiring a new calibration.
To parameterise the model(s):
1. In the table, select one or more successfully calculated GeoDS for which the model is to be parameterised.
2. Click the Parameterise button.
The checks and feedback messages for the parameterise action are described in Warnings and errors (on page
150).
The parameterised soil reaction curves are based on the selected models. It is possible to select only a subset of
the calculated models for parameterisation.
Note: Based on experience, the parameterisation works best when eight to ten 3D calibration models are used to
define the design space. However, a smaller or larger number can also be used.
The following further suggestions are provided here for a successful parameterisation:
• The models should reasonably cover the intended design space.
• The design space (i.e. the variations between the models) should not be extremely large.

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Calibration mode
• The reached displacement at mudline should be such that for each monopile geometry the failure mechanism
is completely developed.
Note: The parameterisation does not trigger automatic saving of the project. The user needs to save the project
manually if desired.
View button
This button is used to launch PLAXIS 3D and view or inspect the 3D model.
Note: Only one GeoDS can be selected and visualized at once. The model has to be generated before viewing it.
It is useful in the following situations:

• The user can inspect what went wrong, in case generation of the model fails.
• The user is always advised to inspect the generated models, even if the generation was successful.
• The user can inspect output results via PLAXIS Output, after successful calculation.
• The user can modify the model. The message shown in Figure 12 (on page 37) appears (unless switched off
by the user via the 'Do not show this message again' option).
Figure 12: Warning about manual changes
Note: After visualising the model, the user should close it directly from the PLAXIS 3D user interface by either
clicking on the Close (x) button or by selecting File -> Exit.
Model changes outside PLAXIS Monopile Designer

The user can open the model in PLAXIS 3D and modify it. However, PLAXIS Monopile Designer does not reflect
any manual changes applied inside PLAXIS 3D.
Warning: Carefully follow the rules explained below to avoid inconsistencies and problems with calculations.
The user may apply only the following safe modifications if needed:
• Change the constitutive model, and even use a user-defined soil model.
• Change the default soil material parameters.
• Change the default mesh settings and regenerate the mesh.
• Change the default numerical settings.
Note: After any modifications, the user should save the PLAXIS 3D model manually and close it afterwards.
The user should not perform any modifications that could interfere with the analysis, including but not limited
to:

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Calibration mode
• Delete the project manually (The project should only be edited via PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Modify the name of the project (it will not be recognised anymore by PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Modify the soil layers manually in PLAXIS 3D by adding/removing boreholes, adjusting the top and bottom
layer boundaries.
• Delete or modify the structure ('tunnels'). The structure (monopile geometry) is created by the PLAXIS 3D
Tunnel Designer.
• Modify the material parameters of the plate elements (this should be done via PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Delete or modify the interface elements around the structure (monopile modelled with plate elements) and
at its bottom.
• Add/remove calculation phases.
• Change the calculation type (e.g. to dynamic).
• Modify the boundary conditions.
• Perform calculations directly in PLAXIS 3D.
Calculations must always be performed in PLAXIS Monopile Designer since it immediately extracts the raw soil
reaction curves from the finite element results; this is not done if the user performs the calculations directly in
PLAXIS.
Warning: If the default soil parameters are modified manually in PLAXIS, the parameters displayed in the Soil
mode of PLAXIS Monopile Designer should be updated to reflect the new parameters in PLAXIS. This is very
important as it ensures that the parameterisation takes into account the correct values of the soil parameters.
2.4.4 Structural and material properties
The middle section of the Calibration mode view shows the structural and material properties and a schematic
of the monopile. The information corresponds to the GeoDS that is selected in the GeoDS table. Note that the
schematic is for general illustration purposes. The dimensions are not updated when selecting a geometry data
set.
Structural properties
In the structural properties area, the Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν of the steel can be modified. The
pile unit weight is set to zero by default and cannot be changed. For more information on the pile unit weight,
see Calibration mode (on page 30).
The structural properties are described in Table 2 (on page 38)
Table 2: Structural properties
Property Description Unit Default
γ pile unit weight [kN/m3] 0.000 (fixed)
E Young's modulus [kN/m2] 210 · 106
ν Poisson’s ratio [-] 0.300

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Calibration mode
Equivalent pile properties

Based on the values from the GeoDS and structural properties, the equivalent pile properties are calculated. The
pile properties are described in Table 3 (on page 39)
Table 3: Equivalent pile properties
Property Description Formula Unit
A cross section area

(
π Dout 2 − Din 2 ) [m2]
A= 4
I moment of inertia
(
π Dout 4 − Din 4 ) [m4 ]
I = 64
EA axial stiffness EA = E ⋅ A [kN]
EI bending stiffness EI = E ⋅ I [kNm2]
GA = 0.5κEA / ( 1 + ν )
GA shear stiffness [kN]
where κ = 0.5
Also, see Calibration mode (on page 30).
2.4.5 Results inspection pane
The results inspection pane is on the right side in the Calibration mode, and it may be used to quickly get an
insight into the calculated projects and to identify potential errors in the calculation or parameterisation.
The user can inspect in detail:
• the load-displacement curves at the ground level for both small and large displacements.
• the monopile lateral deflection at the ground level for both small and large displacements.
• the soil reaction curves (shaft and base) extracted from the 3D FE calculations (only for large displacements).
• the depth variation functions of the 16 fitting parameters for the shaft and the base.
The result tab include Monopile response, Soil reaction curves, Shaft depth variation functions and Base
depth variation functions.
The graphs have the following functionality:
• To show values at particular points of the curve, hover over the curve, see Figure 13 (on page 40)

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Calibration mode
Figure 13: Hover over curve to show values
• To zoom in/out, use the scroll-wheel or click-and-drag from top-left to bottom-right or click-and-drag from
bottom-right to top-left.
• To pan click and drag.
• For more options, right-click the graph to open the context menu (Figure 14 (on page 41)). This allows
users to adjust the appearance of the graph and to export it as an image or vector graphic.

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Calibration mode
Figure 14: Context menu for curves
Monopile response
The Monopile response tab displays the results for all 3D models that were successfully calculated and selected
on the GeoDS menu. See Figure 15 (on page 42).

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Calibration mode
Figure 15: Monopile response tab
The results shown are:

• the monopile lateral reaction force in relation to the monopile lateral displacement at the mudline (top)
• the depth z over the embedded monopile length L in relation to the monopile deflection below the mudline
(bottom).
The graphs are presented for small displacements (left) and large displacements (right).
Small displacements: the small displacement response at mudline is taken from the results of Phase 2 of the
PLAXIS 3D calculation. In this case, the maximum displacement is intended to be around D/10000.
Large displacements: the large displacement response at mudline is taken from the results of Phase 3 of the
PLAXIS 3D calculation. The maximum displacement in this case is intended to be around D/10.
Note: Charts are automatically updated after successful calculation of a selected model.
Double-clicking one of these graphs opens a separate window, which displays only a larger version of the graph
and a table with all the values from which the chart was generated. For information on this view, see Results
inspection pane (on page 39).

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Calibration mode

The Soil reaction curves tab displays the results for 3D models that were successfully calculated and selected
in the GeoDS table. The results are updated if a model is recalculated successfully. For more information on soil
reaction curves, see Soil reaction curves (on page 114).
Figure 16: Soil reaction curves tab
The results of only a single model are shown at a time. If more than one model is selected in the table, this will be
the data from the model that was selected first.
Note: Charts are automatically updated if the selection in the table changes or after successful calculation of a
selected model.
The results at different depths (z) are shown:

1. The ztarget is calculated based on the following pre-determined depths: {ztarget = 0.1L, 0.2L, 0.3L, 0.4L, 0.5L,
0.6L, 0.7L, 0.8L, 0.9L, 1.0L}.

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Calibration mode
Tip: Although the graph only displays the curves at 10 predefined depths, soil reaction curves are in general
computed at finer intervals. The full set of results are available in the Table tab.
2. The soil layer that the aimed depth (ztarget) corresponds to is found via the groundfile.dat file. If this is the
exact boundary of two soil layers, the bottom one is selected.
3. The ztarget is rounded to half a meter (up or down) assuring that it remains within the targeted soil layer, as
determined above.
4. If the rounded ztarget coincides with the boundary between two soil layers, then the soil properties are
updated considering the bottom one.
5. If the 1D data are available, the 1D data which correspond to the rounded ztarget are displayed.
6. If the 3D data are available, the correct monopile slice is selected, within the updated selected soil layer (from
step 4), based on the rounded ztarget and the top and bottom boundary of the slice (Figure 17 (on page 44)).
If the rounded ztarget corresponds to the exact boundary of two slices, the bottom slice is selected.
D
Soil layer 1 slices
Soil layer 2 L
Soil layer 3
Figure 17: Slices of a monopile
Tip: As a result of the process presented above, certain target depths (ztarget) may be selected more than once, for
example in case of short piles. In this case, the resulting plot lines could be less than 10 as coinciding lines are
not plotted.
The displayed soil reaction curves are the raw (not normalised, not parameterised) soil reaction curves.
The four types of soil reaction curves (p - ν , HB - νB , m - θB and MB - θB ) are displayed in four graphs.
• The top graphs show the p - ν and m - θB soil reaction curves along the monopile at the predefined depths
mentioned above.

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Calibration mode
• The bottom graphs show the HB- νB and MB - θB soil reaction curves at the base of the monopile (at depth L).
The displayed raw soil reaction curves (normalised or unnormalised) derived from the 3D calculations follow
the sign convention presented in Units and sign convention (on page 24).
The parameterised (normalised or unnormalised) soil reaction curves derived from the parameterisation
process have positive signs, irrespective of the adopted sign convention. This is related to the needed
preprocessing of the raw data before the parameterisation is executed.
Double-clicking on a graph pops up a new window, which displays this particular graph enlarged and a table
with the data. See Results inspection pane (on page 39) for more information.
The enlarged graph allows choosing to show the parameterised and/or normalised values. There are two
checkboxes for this purpose. Once the Parameterised box is checked, absolute values are shown. This is done to
compare the raw soil reaction curves with the parameterised soil reaction curves, either in normalised
(normalised checkbox checked) or unnormalised (normalised checkbox unchecked) format.
Note: The comparison might give the impression that the soil reaction curves do not match. This is expected as
the goal of the parameterisation procedure is to optimise the parameters of the fitting function and generate the
depth variation function for each one of those parameters. This procedure might lead to local inaccuracies in the
interest of the overall performance.

Once the parameterisation is completed, the depth variation functions per fitting parameter are automatically
generated or updated. The Shaft depth variation functions and Base depth variation functions show the variation
of the fitting parameters along the shaft and at the base of the monopile accordingly.
In addition, when a model that was used for the parameterisation is deleted, the graphs are cleaned up as they
are not valid anymore.
Note: The curve data is based on all models included in the preceding parameterisation.
• Shaft depth variation functions: Eight graphs (Figure 18 (on page 46)) illustrate the variation of the
fitting parameters along the shaft of the monopiles. The fitting parameters shown in the graphs are defined
as in Table 4 (on page 46). The vertical axis (z) is normalised. The normalisation context changes per graph.
For further detail on the normalisation, see Table 20 (on page 118). In case that the parameter is constant
over depth, then the outer diameter is used for the normalisation.

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Calibration mode
Figure 18: Shaft depth variation functions
Table 4: Shaft depth variables
Variable on x-axis Definition
v̄ pu normalised ultimate lateral displacement
p̄ u normalised ultimate lateral soil reaction
kp normalised initial stiffness of the lateral soil reaction
np normalised curvature of the lateral soil reaction

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Calibration mode
Variable on x-axis Definition
θ̄ mu normalised ultimate rotation
m̄ u normalised ultimate moment reaction
km normalised initial stiffness of the moment reaction
nm normalised curvature of the moment reaction
• Base depth variation functions: Eight graphs (Figure 19 (on page 48)) illustrate the variation of the
fitting parameters at the base of the monopiles. The fitting parameters shown in the graphs are defined in
Table 5 (on page 48), and originate from equations used in Table 20 (on page 118). Note that the vertical
axis (L/Dout ) is normalised.

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Calibration mode
Figure 19: Base depth variation functions
Table 5: Base fitting parameters
Fitting parameter Definition
v̄ Hu normalised ultimate lateral base displacement
¯ normalised ultimate lateral base soil reaction

H Bu
kH normalised initial stiffness of the lateral base soil reaction
nH normalised curvature of the lateral base soil reaction

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Calibration mode
Fitting parameter Definition
θ̄ Mu normalised ultimate base rotation
¯ normalised ultimate moment base reaction

M Bu
kM normalised initial stiffness of the base moment reaction
nM normalised curvature of the base moment reaction
Graph and table windows

When double-clicking a graph a separate window opens, which displays only this particular larger version of the
graph and a table with all the values from which the chart was generated.
For the soil reaction curves, the user can choose to show the normalised and parameterised curves. There are
checkboxes to control this behaviour. By default both boxes are unchecked. The displayed soil reaction curves
are the raw ones.
The Parameterised checkbox is available only if the parameterisation has been done and the selected model was
included in the parameterisation.
Switch to the Table tab to get a tabular overview of the values for the curve.
Figure 20: Table of curve values
To copy or save data:

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Calibration mode
• Select values by cell or complete row, if specific values are needed. To copy/save: Right-click > Copy All/
Save All or Right-click Copy/Save Selection, see Figure 21 (on page 50).
Figure 21: Context menu for the table of values
• To copy to the clipboard, use CTRL+C shortcut.
Export to SACS/OpenWindPower
Note: This feature is provided as a Technology Preview .
It is possible to export the geometry and soil reaction curves of any monopile analysed in PLAXIS Monopile
Designer to a SACS Pile Input file, which can be used as input for various analysis types in SACS and
OpenWindPower Fixed Foundation.
When a GeoDS is selected, the Export to SACS menu appears in the Soil reaction curves tab. Two options are
displayed, which will be active only if the corresponding results have been obtained:
• Numerical: exports 3D results, obtained directly from the calculated GeoDS in PLAXIS 3D.
• Parametric: exports 1D results, obtained from the depth variation functions for the Parameterised calibration
set.
Exporting with any of the options will open a 'Save as…' dialogue, where the destination folder and file name can
be specified. Selecting 'Save' automatically generates the SACS Pile Input file in the destination folder, which for
the selected GeoDS and curve type (Numerical or Parametric) includes:
1. Soil profile and monopile geometry.
2. All 4 sets of horizontal and rotational soil reaction curves (p-v, m-θ, HB-vB, and MB-θB), filtered to a small
number of points (fewer than 30) while preserving their global shape.
3. Vertical soil reaction curves (t-w, VB-wB) constructed according to the API standard (API, 2014 (on page
147)) and the parameters of the soil profile.
For more information on the format and usage of the SACS Pile Input file, refer to the SACS Pile-Structure
Interaction Manual (Bentley Systems, 2021).
Note: Use of distributed rotational soil reaction curves (m-θ) requires SACS CONNECT Edition V14.2 or higher;
use of pile base curves (HB-vB, MB-θB) requires SACS CONNECT Edition V14.3 or higher. It is still possible to use
the exported Pile Input file in previous versions of SACS by deleting the lines associated with the unsupported
soil curves.

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Analysis mode
2.4.6 Recommended workflow
The following workflow is recommended for the Calibration mode of this tool.
1. First add one GeoDS and generate it.
2. Visualise the GeoDS in PLAXIS 3D to ensure that the geometry, the material parameters and the mesh are as
expected. If needed, any modifications mentioned in Geometry Datasets (GeoDS) (on page 32) may be made.
3. Calculate it using the Calculate button in PLAXIS Monopile Designer and inspect the results in PLAXIS
Monopile Designer.
4. Visualise the calculated project in PLAXIS 3D to ensure that the calculation results are as expected.
5. Only after that add more data sets.
6. When adding a dataset, not only the values of the previous dataset are copied, but also the associated PLAXIS
3D project.
7. During the generation of an added dataset with different geometry configuration, PLAXIS Monopile Designer
modifies this copy to fit the changed geometry and/or prescribed displacement applied to the top of the
monopile, thereby keeping any modified material parameters, altered constitutive models, changed mesh
settings and/or numerical phase settings.
Tip: If the user needs to make modifications to the PLAXIS 3D models, the modification guidelines in
Geometry Datasets (GeoDS) (on page 32) have to be followed.
Tip: If generation of an added dataset fails, select the failed GeoDS and generate it again. In this second
attempt, PLAXIS Monopile Designer will start the dataset from an empty model and any user modifications
will need to be reapplied.
2.5 Analysis mode

The Analysis mode (Figure 22 (on page 52)) is used to run fast and robust 1D FE calculations to obtain the
monopile response under lateral monotonic loading. The monopile is modelled by means of the Timoshenko
beam theory whereas the soil reaction is modelled using calibrated or user-defined soil reaction curves (
Introduction (on page 14)).

Reference Manual Soil reaction curves
Analysis mode
1. Parameters Results inspection pane 2.
3. Analysis settings 4. Export to SACS Menu
Figure 22: Analysis mode layout
To obtain reliable results, the monopile geometrical and structural properties, as defined in this mode, should
fall within the 'design space' as considered by the 3D calibration models from which the soil reaction curves
were obtained.
In case that the numerical-based design approach has been followed via PLAXIS Monopile Designer this
information is included in the produced dvf file. If the rule-based design is adopted, then this information should
be specified by the user in the imported dvf file. In case that the selected monopile properties fall outside the
considered design space, the user is notified via a warning message that the calculation results may be invalid.
In contrast to the Calibration mode, the monopile may consist of different segments with different wall
thickness; thereby allowing for further optimisation of the geometry.
The results of each calculation may be inspected in the Results mode of PLAXIS Monopile Designer.
2.5.1 Monopile geometry
One Monopile geometry is used for each calculation. The available geometry parameters are the same as in the
Calibration mode.
The monopile geometry properties are shown in Table 6 (on page 53).

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Table 6: Monopile geometry parameters
height above mudline of the application of the resultant

h [m]
horizontal load
L monopile embedded depth [m]
Dout monopile outer diameter [m]
2.5.2 Structural properties
In the Structural properties (Figure 23 (on page 53)) panel it is possible to add/change values of the Young's
modulus E. The user cannot edit values of γ and ν. These are automatically set to zero by the software.
Figure 23: Structural properties - Analysis mode
The Structural properties are shown in Table 7 (on page 53).
Table 7: Structural properties
Property Description Unit
γ Pile distributed weight [m]
E Young's modulus [m]
ν Poisson's ratio [-]
Note: Poisson's ratio is fixed to 0. The reason being that it is modelled as a 1D beam. But in reality, it is a tube.
Hence even if there is a Poisson effect, it would be negligible on the whole. But if it were a solid beam, then there
would be a Poisson effect.

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Analysis mode
2.5.3 Workload (monopile head)
Figure 24: Workload - Analysis mode
A horizontal load H and a bending moment M may be applied to the monopile head, at height h above the ground
level. If h is zero, then the head coincides with the mudline. The equivalent bending moment at ground level Mg
is calculated based on the input values of H, M and h as follows:
Mg = H ⋅ h + M Eq. [2]
Table 8: Workload monopile head
H Horizontal force at monopile head [kN]
M Moment at monopile head [kNm]
Mg Bending moment at the ground level [kNm]
2.5.4 Soil reaction curves
The soil reaction curves that are used in the 1D calculation are defined via depth variation functions. These
functions can be derived from the Calibration mode, or they can be user-defined. The file format for importing
user-defined functions is *.dvf (a plain text file with the .dvf extension). Other supported formats are *.cpy and
*.spy for conventional p-y curves for clays and sands, respectively. For descriptions of the different file formats,
refer to Rule based models (on page 119).
If the Calibration mode has been used, then a numerical-based .dvf file will have been generated and saved in
the project folder’s location and it will also appear in this tab as ‘calibrated.dvf’. The user may import any other
user-defined dvf, cpy, or spy file as long as it complies with the required format. Once a file has been imported, it
is displayed in this tab as well.
Note: The ‘calibrated.dvf’ name is reserved for the file that is generated in the Calibration mode and it will be
overwritten each time the calibration set is Parameterised. To preserve the existing .dvf file, save a copy under a
different name before running the new parameterisation. To use a .dvf file generated in a different project,
rename it before importing.

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Analysis mode
Figure 25: Calibrated option for depth variation functions
2.5.5 Soil Layers
The Soil layers tab is used to specify the soil profile used in the 1D analysis and the 3D design verification.
The user creates soil layers using buttons above the soil layers area:
• Add: To add a new layer below the lowest layer in the model.
• Insert: To insert a new layer above the selected one.
• Delete: To remove the selected layer.
The soil reaction curve sets imported in the Soil reaction curves tab can be assigned to the different layers. Each
dvf file may contain one or more sub-layers with varying material parameters. The 1D analysis uses both the
profile depth variation function coefficients and the material parameters of each sub-layer to determine the
mechanical characteristics of the soil springs at different depths. The 3D design verification is generated using
only the material parameters.
The user can inspect the soil profile not only by looking at layer boundaries in the table but also in the Soil
profile, which is visible in the central panel of the Analysis mode. It is a visual representation of the inserted soil
layers and their top and bottom boundaries.
Figure 26: Soil layers - Analysis Mode

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Analysis mode
2.5.6 Thickness variation
Figure 27: Thickness variation tabsheet
In the Thickness variation tabsheet, which is shown in Figure 27 (on page 56), it is possible to insert and edit pile
segments. These are displayed in Figure 28 (on page 56) .
Soil layer 1
Soil layer 2 L
pile
segments
Soil layer 3
Figure 28: Schematic representation of the pile with two different segments (thickness variation) used in 1D model
The user can create/delete pile segments using the buttons on the Table 9 (on page 57)

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Analysis mode
Table 9: Segment creation buttons
Add To add a new segment below the lowest segment in the model.
Insert To insert a new segment above the selected one.
Delete To remove the selected segment.
Tip: After adding or inserting a segment, it becomes the current (selected) segment.
Adding, inserting, and deleting pile segments general rules:

1. The thickness of a newly added segment is zero by default.
2. The top boundary of an underlying segment is defined by the bottom boundary of the overlying segment.
3. To change the thickness of a segment, the user modifies the bottom boundary.
4. A newly added segment appears as the last segment.
5. A segment's bottom boundary cannot be lower than the next segment's bottom boundary.
6. When deleting a segment, a warning pops up.
Based on the values of the geometric parameters and structural properties, the cross-sectional area (A), moment
of inertia (I), axial stiffness (EA), flexural rigidity (EI) and shear stiffness (GA) are automatically calculated and
displayed.
2.5.7 Expert settings
The Expert settings tabsheet (Figure 29 (on page 57)) has parameters as described below.
Figure 29: Expert settings tabsheet
Table 10 (on page 57) gives the minimum, maximum and default values for the expert settings parameters.
Table 10: Minimum, maximum and default values for expert settings parameters
Property Min Max Default
Minimum monopile section length (m) - L 1.000
Max steps 1 10000 1000

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Property Min Max Default
Tolerated error 1 0.500 0.0001
Max load fraction per step - 1.000 0.01000
Max number of iterations 2 250 100
Max displacement over diameter ratio - - 0.1000
Minimum monopile section length

The minimum monopile section length (in metres) divides the monopile into N beam elements according to this
relation:
L
N = < Minimum monopile section length >
Note: This relation is used as a first approximation. The length of each beam element is automatically adjusted to
accommodate transitions between soil layers and monopile segments.
Max steps
This parameter specifies the maximum number of calculation steps (load steps) that are performed during the
1D calculation. The Max steps parameter should be set to an integer number representing the upper bound of the
required number of steps for a calculation.
Note: The user should make sure that the specified number of steps suffices to reach the applied load. If the
number of steps is not enough a warning is displayed after the calculation ( Analysis mode (on page 51)).
Tolerated error
Within each step, the calculation program continues to carry out iterations until the calculated errors are smaller
than the specified value. If the tolerated error is set to a high value, then the calculation is relatively quick but
may be inaccurate. If a low tolerated error is adopted, then computation time may increase.
numerical solution
load
exact solution
displacement
Figure 30: Computed solution versus exact solution

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Analysis mode
Max load fraction per step

This value controls the size of the load step during the calculation. Since this is a fraction, it determines what
maximum part of a calculation can be solved in one step. For instance, a value of 0.5 means that the applied load
or unbalance is solved at least in 1/0.5 = 2 steps. More steps are possible if convergence is slow, but not fewer.
The user might want to use small values (like 0.02 to force at least 50 steps) to observe the kinematics of the
deformation process or to prevent divergence in case of high nonlinearity.
Max number of iterations

This value represents the maximum allowable number of iterations within any individual calculation step. In
general, the solution procedure restricts the number of iterations that take place. This parameter is required
only to ensure that computation time does not become excessive due to errors in the specification of the
calculation.
If the maximum allowable number of iterations is reached in the final step of a calculation phase, then the final
result may be inaccurate. Such a situation occasionally occurs when the solution process does not converge.
Max displacement over diameter ratio

Max displacement over diameter ratio is used to end the analysis in case of diverging iterations. This is another
stopping criterion for the calculation apart from the input workload. Displacement refers to the lateral
displacement of the monopile at mudline.
2.5.8 Calculate
The user can click on the Calculate button to start the calculation process after specifying the monopile
geometry, loading, and importing the depth variation functions. For more information on importing depth
variation functions refer to Soil reaction curves (on page 54).
Calculation triggers the following two actions:
1. The generation of parameterised and normalised soil reaction curves per 0.5 m intervals, and generation of
shaft and base variation functions, based on the imported *.dvf file.
2. The calculation of the 1D model of the pile. The 1D calculation takes only a few seconds. The results are
presented in the Results mode.
After the calculation starts, a calculation window appears with a progress bar. Once the 1D calculation is
completed either a green checkmark or a red cross icon appear to indicate a successful or failed calculation
accordingly. A message is also displayed next to the icon to provide more information. The reader may refer to
Section B.2 for the complete list of the messages.
The graphs are automatically updated when the calculation is completed successfully.
Note: After calculation in the Analysis mode, the results presented in the Results mode are automatically
updated.
To zoom in/out, use the scroll or click-and-drag option from top-left to bottom-right or click-and-drag from
bottom-right to top-left.

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Analysis mode
2.5.9 3D Design Verification
The 3D design verification module makes use of PLAXIS 3D to generate and run a 3D model that replicates the
conditions of the 1D analysis. Both models are generated using the same input, which includes soil layers and
material parameters of each sub-layer, monopile geometry including thickness variation per segment, structural
properties, and workload. This enables comparing the results between the 3D model and 1D model.
State icons
3D design verification models have different states, depending on the actions that were carried out on the model
and the success or failure of these actions.
The following states exist and are represented by the corresponding icons:
The model is successfully generated, but not calculated yet.
The model is not successfully generated. An error occurred during generation or meshing.
The model is successfully generated and calculated.
The model is not successfully calculated (but it is already successfully generated). An error occurred during
calculation.
The model is partially calculated (but it is already successfully generated). Calculation stopped before target
displacement was reached, but partial data could still be recovered.
The model was changed since it was last generated, calculated or parameterised.
Generate
To generate a 3D design verification model, PLAXIS Monopile Designer will:
• Run or update the 1D analysis (as described in Calculate (on page 59)).
• Generate the soil layers and sub-layers (as specified in the Soil layers tab and the Soil reaction curves files).
Note:
All the needed material parameters are calculated based on predetermined relationships. See Clay: Clay: NGI-
ADP material Parameters (on page 107) and Sand: Sand: HSsmall material Parameters (on page 109).
Calculated values can be manually modified via the Materials menu in PLAXIS 3D.
• Generate the structure (monopile and corresponding interfaces) based on the settings of the Monopile
geometry and the pile segments defined in Thickness variation.
• Divide the pile into slices to extract the raw soil reactions at different depths.
• Generate the plate material and assign structural properties specified in the Structural properties.

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Analysis mode
• Generate the calculation phases and adjust the numerical settings to values suitable for accurate and fast
calculations (for the specific type of models generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer). The following
calculation phases are created, based on the settings of Workload (monopile head):
• Initial phase: generation of initial stress state.
• Phase 1: pile wished-in-place.
• Phase 2: workload.
• Generate a finite element mesh and select precalculation curve points in Output.
Note: The model generation works only if there is no feedback (warning) or if the user chooses to ignore it.
Note: Generating or calculating a 3D design verification model performs an autosave. Any changes in the project
are saved and cannot be undone.
Note: The selected pre-calculation curve points may be used by the user to check additional results (in PLAXIS
3D Output) but they are not directly used by the PLAXIS Monopile Designer workflow and calculations.
Note: Note that the calculation phases are always generated before the mesh. In case the mesh generation fails,
the model still contains properly defined calculation phases. The user can open the PLAXIS 3D model and try to
generate the mesh manually. Changes on the default mesh settings may be needed to mesh successfully.
Afterwards, the user should save the PLAXIS 3D project and close it. The calculation must be done via PLAXIS
Monopile Designer.
A user may modify a 3D model that is automatically generated by PLAXIS Monopile Designer in PLAXIS 3D.
However, the modified model must represent the same situation (i.e. soil profile and monopile geometry) that
has been defined in PLAXIS Monopile Designer. The user remains responsible for a correct representation of the
3D finite element models when modifying these models in PLAXIS 3D.
Calculate
Model calculation includes the following:
• Calculation of all 3 phases (as described in Generate (on page 60)).
• Extraction of the raw soil reaction curves.
• Extraction of data to be displayed in the Results mode.
Note: The model calculation works only if there is no feedback (warning) or if the user chooses to ignore it.
During calculation, a window pops up showing the calculation progress, see Figure 11 (on page 36). To stop
calculation, click the Stop button (x).
View button
This button is used to launch PLAXIS 3D and view or inspect the 3D model.
Note: The model has to be generated before viewing it.
It is useful in the following situations:

• The user can inspect what went wrong, in case generation of the model fails.
• The user is always advised to inspect the generated models, even if the generation was successful.
• The user can inspect output results via PLAXIS Output, after successful calculation.

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Analysis mode
• The user can modify the model. The message shown in Figure 12 (on page 37) appears (unless switched off
by the user via the 'Do not show this message again' option).
Note: After visualising the model, the user should close it directly from the PLAXIS 3D user interface by either
clicking on the Close (x) button or by selecting File -> Exit.
Model changes outside PLAXIS Monopile Designer

The user can open the model in PLAXIS 3D and modify it. However, PLAXIS Monopile Designer does not reflect
any manual changes applied inside PLAXIS 3D.
Warning: Carefully follow the rules explained below to avoid inconsistencies and problems with calculations.
The user may apply only the following safe modifications if needed:
• Change the constitutive model, and even use a user-defined soil model.
• Change the default soil material parameters.
• Change the default mesh settings and regenerate the mesh.
• Change the default numerical settings.
Note: After any modifications, the user should save the PLAXIS 3D model manually and close it afterwards.
The user should not perform any modifications that could interfere with the analysis, including but not limited
to:
• Delete the project manually.
• Modify the name of the project (it will not be recognised anymore by PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Modify the soil layers manually in PLAXIS 3D by adding/removing boreholes, adjusting the top and bottom
layer boundaries.
• Delete or modify the structure ('tunnels'). The structure (monopile geometry) is created by the PLAXIS 3D
Tunnel Designer.
• Modify the material parameters of the plate elements (this should be done via PLAXIS Monopile Designer).
• Delete or modify the interface elements around the structure (monopile modelled with plate elements) and
at its bottom.
• Add/remove calculation phases.
• Change the calculation type (e.g. to dynamic).
• Modify the boundary conditions.
• Perform calculations directly in PLAXIS 3D.
Warning: If the default soil parameters are modified manually in PLAXIS 3D, the parameters in the Soil reaction
curves file should be updated to reflect the new parameters in PLAXIS 3D.
The results inspection pane can be used to view and analyse data which have been obtained by processing the
imported dvf file. This is done as part of the 1D calculation procedure which is triggered via the Calculate button.
The three different tabsheets which are available for results are Soil reaction curves, Shaft depth variation
functions and Base depth variation functions.

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Analysis mode

The Soil reaction curves tab (Figure 31 (on page 63)) displays the parameterised soil reaction curves derived
from the processing of the imported *.dvf in the Analysis mode. The soil reaction curves are computed at 0.5 m
intervals.
The results at predefined depths are shown. The embedded length L is divided into 10 equal segments to define
the depths (0.1·L, 0.2·L, 0.3·L, 0.4·L, 0.5·L, 0.6·L, 0.7·L, 0.8·L, 0.9·L, 1.0·L). The selected depths are rounded to half a
meter (up or down). A legend at the left side of the panel indicates the various depths at which the Soil reaction
curves are displayed.
Figure 31: Soil reaction curves tabsheet
Tip: Charts are updated after a successful calculation.
The four types of soil reaction curves (p-ν, m-θ, HB-νB and MB-θB) are displayed in four graphs.
• The top graphs show the p-ν and m-θ soil reaction curves along the monopile at the predefined depths
• The bottom graphs show the HB-νB and MB-θB soil reaction curves at the base of the monopile (at depth L).

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Analysis mode
• Double-clicking on a graph pops up a new window, which displays a larger version of this graph and the
corresponding table with the results. See the Results inspection pane (on page 39) for more information.

The depth variation functions are automatically generated or updated each time a 1D calculation is performed.
The Shaft depth variation functions and Base depth variation functions show the variation of the fitting
parameters along the shaft of the monopile and at the base respectively.
Note: The depth variation functions displayed in the Analysis mode will be the same as in the Calibration
mode if identical monopile geometries are considered.
Note: The vertical (z) axis is not normalised, in contrast to the Calibration mode.
• Shaft depth variation functions:

There are eight graphs which illustrate the variation of fitting parameters along the shaft of the monopile.
The variables shown in the graphs are defined in Table 20 (on page 118).

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Analysis mode
Figure 32: Shaft depth variation tab
For more information on the shaft fitting parameters, see Table 4 (on page 46).
• Base depth variation functions:
There are eight graphs which illustrate the values of fitting parameters at the base of the monopiles. The
variables shown in the graphs are defined in Table 20 (on page 118). In these graphs, a single point is used
rather than an actual variation since the base corresponds to a certain depth which is equal to L.

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Analysis mode
Figure 33: Base depth variation tab
For more information on the base fitting parameters, see Table 5 (on page 48).
Double-clicking on a graph pops up a new window, which displays a larger version of this particular graph and a
table with the data. See Results inspection pane (on page 39) for more information.
An asterisk (*) is displayed on the tabsheet title when the import option for the dvf file is changed, the dvf file is
updated, the embedded length L and/or the outer diameter Dout of the monopile are modified. The graphs are
not valid anymore. Recalculation is required to update them.

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Analysis mode
Graph and table windows

When double-clicking a graph a separate window opens, which displays only this particular larger version of the
graph and a table with all the values from which the chart was generated.
For the soil reaction curves, the user can choose to show the normalised and parameterised curves. There are
checkboxes to control this behaviour. By default both boxes are unchecked. The displayed soil reaction curves
are the parametric ones.
The Numerical checkbox is available only if the 3D design verification model is Calculated.
Switch to the Table tab to get a tabular overview of the values for the curve.
Figure 34: Table of curve values (Default: parametric)
To copy or save data:

• Select values by cell or complete row, if specific values are needed. To copy/save, Right-click > Copy All/
Save All or right-click >Copy/Save Selection.

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Results mode
Figure 35: Context menu for the table of values

• To copy to the clipboard, use CTRL+C shortcut.
Export to SACS/OpenWindPower
Note: This feature is provided as a Technology Preview .
It is possible to export the geometry and soil reaction curves of any monopile analysed in PLAXIS Monopile
Designer to a SACS Pile Input file, which can be used as input for various analysis types in SACS and
OpenWindPower Fixed Foundation.
The Export to SACS menu is located in the Soil reaction curves tab. Two options are displayed, which will be
active only if results for the corresponding analysis have been obtained:
• Numerical: exports 3D results, obtained directly from the calculated GeoDS in PLAXIS 3D.
• Parametric: exports 1D results, obtained from the depth variation functions for the parameterised calibration
set.
Exporting with any of the options will open a 'Save as…' dialogue, where the destination folder and file name can
be specified. Selecting 'Save' automatically generates the SACS Pile Input file in the destination folder, which for
the selected GeoDS and curve type (Numerical or Parametric) includes:
1. Soil profile and monopile geometry.
2. All 4 sets of horizontal and rotational soil reaction curves (p-v, m-θ, HB-vB, and MB-θB), filtered to a small
number of points (fewer than 30) while preserving their global shape.
3. Vertical soil reaction curves (t-w, VB-wB) constructed according to the API RP 2A-WSD (API, 2014 (on page
147)) and the parameters of the soil profile.
For more information on the format and usage of the SACS Pile Input file, refer to the SACS Pile-Structure
Interaction Manual (Bentley Systems, 2021).
Note: Use of distributed rotational soil reaction curves (m-θ) requires SACS CONNECT Edition V14.2 or higher;
use of pile base curves (HB-vB, MB-θB) requires SACS CONNECT Edition V14.3 or higher. It is still possible to use
the exported Pile Input file in previous versions of SACS by deleting the lines associated with the unsupported
soil curves.
2.6 Results mode

This mode presents the results of the 1D calculation run in the Analysis mode. Additional results for a 3D
verification model may be presented as well for comparison between the 3D model and 1D model results. To

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Results mode
display the results from the 3D model activate the Design verification checkbox. This checkbox can only be
selected if the 3D verification model is generated and calculated.
The outcome of each analysed model and its calculated data is presented in graphs and tables. The user can
select which data to display.
Note: The results presented in this mode are updated only if the 1D calculation in the Analysis mode runs again.
This includes the data of the 3D verification model.
1. Workload (monopile head) 2. Load factor 3. Accuracy metric 4. Graph/table area
5. Design 6. Monopile and soil 7. Graph and table tabs Legend 8. Elevations 9.
verification data options
option
Figure 36: View of the Results mode
2.6.1 Workload and load factor
In the 1D model, the user-defined input load (H and M) are increased by a factor of 3. At the end of a successful
calculation the load factor is the ratio between the reached load and the user-defined load:
• A reached load factor higher than one indicates that the user-defined load can be applied successfully. It also
indicates the extra capacity (safety) of the structure.
• Conversely, a load factor less than one indicates that the input load is higher than the capacity of the
structure.

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Results mode
Independently of the calculated load factor, the workload always represents the input load specified by the user
in the Analysis mode. The displayed value is either equal to (load factor ≥ 1.0) or less (load factor < 1.0) than
the input value depending on the capacity of the structure.
All results presented in graphs and tables correspond to the applied workload.
2.6.2 Graph tab
The graph tab shows the graphical results of the 1D model. It can also show the results of the 3D verification
model to enable a comparison between the 1D and the 3D models.
The user can display the results of the 3D verification model using the Design verification checkbox. The
checkbox is available only if the 3D design verification model is calculated.
Note: To update the 3D results after any changes done in the 1D analysis, the user needs to regenerate and rerun
the 3D design verification model in the Analysis mode. No significant meaning can be derived from comparing
different geometries.
The user can select for which properties the graph is to be displayed. Nine Radio buttons control the data
displayed on the graphs and the associated tables. The data is represented in the graph and is labelled by the
legend.
For the first two plots (H-v and M-θ), the data on the horizontal axis is provided for three different elevations:
• head (z=h)
• mudline (z=0)
• base (z=-L)
Note: The plotted values of the lateral reaction force H and bending moment M are always at the mudline. The
plotted values of the lateral displacement and cross section rotation can be at head, mudline or base.
Note: The 3D data are only available at mudline for the H-v and M-θ plots.

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Results mode
Figure 37: Example of H-θ at mudline curve
Monopile results:
Lateral reaction force (kN) versus lateral displacement (m) at the mudline, base
H-v
or head.
Bending moment (kNm) versus monopile cross section rotation (rad) at the
M-θ
mudline, base or head.
v(z) Monopile deflection (m) over depth (m).
θ(z) Monopile cross section rotation (rad) over depth (m).
M(z) Monopile structural bending moment (kNm) over depth (m).
Q(z) Monopile structural shear force (kN) over depth (m).
Soil results:
σ'v0(z) Initial vertical effective stress (kN/m2) along depth (m).
G0(z) Small strain shear stiffness modulus (kN/m2) along depth (m).
su(z) Undrained shear strength (kN/m2) over depth (m).
c'(z) Effective cohesion (kN/m2) along depth (m).

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Results mode
φ'(z) Effective angle of internal friction (°) along depth (m).
ψ(z) Angle of dilatancy (°) along depth (m)
K0 Lateral earth pressure coefficient at rest (-) along depth (m).
Lateral soil reaction (kN/m) along depth (m) and base horizontal force (kN) at
p(z)
the toe of the monopile.
The symbol (z) indicates that the corresponding output quantity is plotted over the monopile's depth, where
max(|z|) = -L.
2.6.3 Table tab
Provides data displayed in the graph, including 3D data if selected and available ( Table tab (on page 72)).
Figure 38: Example of table of results

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Remote Scripting Interface
2.6.4 Accuracy metrics η and ρ
The accuracy metrics η and ρ(Figure 39 (on page 73)) are indicators of the goodness of fit between the results
of the 1D analysis and the selected 3D model. It is displayed only if a 3D model is selected and only for Lateral
load-displacements (H-v) at mudline result type. The value are shown in percentage (%) and are visible at the
top of the graph. The closer the η and ρ value is to unity, the closer the 1D analysis results are compared to the
3D model results. Desired η values are in the range of 90-100%. Desired ρ values are in the range of 90-110%.
Note: The user should use the accuracy metric η and ρ as a match indicator of the calculation results between
equivalent monopile geometries analysed under the same soil conditions. This can be used to check the
soundness of the calibration procedure and the validity of the chosen final design.
Figure 39: Example of accuracy metric η and ρ
2.7 Remote Scripting Interface

It is possible to run the 1D Analysis engine using Python scripting. This approach allows saving time when many
calculations are needed. Most functions of the Analysis and Results modes are available through the remote
scripting interface.

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2.7.1 Anatomy of a command
The structure of the PLAXIS Monopile Designer remote scripting commands mirrors that of PLAXIS 2D and 3D.
Each command has a name and a target. Some commands may also require a parameter.
Command name
A command represents the name of an action that is to be executed, and it is given as first word in the command
line as a global command (e.g. after g.) or as a specific target command (after some object) in the scripting. In
Python, each command corresponds to a method.
Python examples:
g.Analysis.calculate() # calculate is the command name
g.Analysis.SoilLayers[0].Bottom = -8.5 #the equal sign stands for the special command 'set'
g.getresults(g.ResultTypes.MonopileRespons #getresults is the command name

eDepthVariation, g.Models.Analysis1D)
Target
The target is the object for which the method is to be implemented. It can be an object (group of objects, list),
global object, etc.
Python examples:
g.Analysis.calculate() # the target is the analysis object
g.Analysis.SoilLayers[0].Bottom = -8.5 # the target is the first layer in the soil profile
g.getresults(g.ResultTypes.MonopileRespons # the target is the global environment object

eDepthVariation, g.Models.Analysis1D)
Parameter
Parameters represent the extra information passed to a command when it is called. In programming terms, they
are arguments to a method. In Python scripting, parameters are supplied between the parentheses after the
command's name. Some commands may not need a parameter, and some may require one or more parameters.
Python examples:
g.Analysis.calculate() #the calculate command is called without parameters
g.Analysis.SoilLayers[0].Bottom = -8.5 #the set command updates the value of the layer
bottom to the parameter -8.5
g.getresults(g.ResultTypes.MonopileRespons # the getresults command uses the ResultTypes and

eDepthVariation, g.Models.Analysis1D) Models objects as parameters

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2.7.2 Creating scripts
Python scripts can be written in any plain text editor or integrated development environment (IDE). This
documentation assumes that the SciTE editor will be used, which is included in the installation of PLAXIS 2D and
3D.
• In the SciTE editor create a new text file by going to File > New or by pressing Ctrl+N.
• First we must import the scripting library:
from plxmdt.easy import new_server
• Connect to the PLAXIS Monopile Designer application:
s, g = new_server
• After that, you can type the code.
• Save this script on your hard drive. Make sure it ends with .py so it can be correctly identified as a Python
script.
2.7.3 Running scripts
Scripts are run using the PLAXIS Python Internal environment. They can only be executed from the Expert menu
in PLAXIS Monopile Designer. Either choose Expert > Python > Run Python script > Open or save it in the
pytools folder and choose Expert > Python > Run Python tool.
Note: The current version of the Remote Scripting Interface does not support file operations, such as importing
new Soil reaction curve files. Import all necessary files before running your script.

Tutorial 1 - Numerical Based Design
3
This tutorial explains how to apply the Numerical-Based Design (NBD). The NBD is used for a detailed concept
design or a final design of a set of monopile geometries.
A typical clay soil profile encountered in the North Sea is assumed, with the following depth variation profiles for
the following characteristic:
• Submerged unit weight γ (Figure 40 (on page 76) (a)).
• Undrained shear strength su in triaxial compression (TXC) (Figure 40 (on page 76) (b)).
• Lateral earth pressure at rest K0 in terms of effective stresses (Figure 40 (on page 76) (c)).
• Small strain shear modulus G0 (Figure 40 (on page 76) (d)).
γ' (kN/m3) su (kN/m2)
7 8 9 10 11 0 50 100 150
0 0
-5 -5
-10 -10
-15 -15
-20 -20
z (m)
z (m)
-25 -25
-30 -30
-35 -35
-40 -40
-45 -45
-50 -50
(a) (b)
K 0(-) G0 (kN/m2 )
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 0.E+00 1.E+05 2.E+05
0 0
-5 -5
-10 -10
-15 -15
-20 -20
-25 -25
-30 -30
-35 -35
-40 -40
-45 -45
-50 -50
(c) (d)
Figure 40: Typical soil profile North Sea

Tip: In PLAXIS Monopile Designer the submerged unit weight (γ') of the soil is used to generate an effective
stress state without water in the PLAXIS 3D models.
A specific design space is also assumed. The design space consists of many monopile geometries (models) that
define an envelope in which the optimum monopile design is expected to lie.
For this tutorial, the design space is defined by eight calibration models. Each model corresponds to a PLAXIS 3D
project and is used for the calibration and parameterisation of the soil reaction curves. Figure 41 (on page 77)
illustrates the adopted design space. The geometric dimensions of the assumed final design case are also
presented in Figure 41 (on page 77).
The final design is done using a quick 1D design model and is considered to be the optimum design based on the
examined soil profile, the assumed design space and the adopted design criteria.
Figure 41: Adopted design space
The ultimate goal is to verify the results of the 1D model that represents the final design. This is done by
comparing the results of the 1D model against an equivalent 3D model.
Objectives:
• Form the clay soil profile.
• Define the design space by specifying the eight different monopile GeoDS to be considered.
• Generate and calculate the 3D models which correspond to each GeoDS.
• Calibrate the 1D model, based on the data retrieved from all eight 3D model results, through
parameterisation.
• Run a number of 1D analyses against some of the eight GeoDS to ensure that the 1D model is well calibrated.
• Run 1D analyses to determine the final monopile geometry, based on the required design criteria.
• Generate and calculate a new 3D design verification model with the presumed optimum monopile geometry.
• Compare the results between the 1D and 3D models with the optimum monopile geometry to verify the final
design.
For simplicity, only one design criterion is used in this tutorial, being the displacement at mudline (or seabed
surface) must be less than 0.1·D when the design load H is applied at height h above mudline.
Also, for simplicity, no thickness variation is considered in this tutorial for the final design. The user might select
to vary this parameter to achieve a further optimised final solution. The Analysis mode, in contrast to the
Calibration mode, does allow for thickness variations.

Input
3.1 Input
• Start PLAXIS Monopile Designer .
• In the Quick select dialogue (Figure 42 (on page 78)) choose Start a new project and save the project
with the name "Monopile Designer Tutorial" in the desired directory.
Figure 42: Quick select window
3.1.1 Soil mode - definition of the soil stratigraphy

First, the soil is defined by following these steps:
1. Make sure that the program is in the Soil mode.
2. Choose the option Clay (default) for material type, and generate the soil layers based on the assumed clay soil
profile. Add the needed layers by pressing the Add button.
The layer data are provided in Table 11 (on page 78).
Table 11: Soil layer data
su,bottom
# ztop [m] zbottom [m] γ' [kN/m3] G0 [kN/m2] su,top [kN/m2] K0 [-]
[kN/m2]
1 0 -10 7.5 75.00E3 50 70 1.0
2 -10 -25 8.0 100.00E3 80 95 1.0
3 -25 -40 9.0 120.0E3 110 115 0.9
4 -40 -50 10.0 140.0E3 120 140 0.8
On Figure 43 (on page 79) all layers added are displayed.

Input
Figure 43: Layers generated in Soil mode
Tip: The input value of the small strain shear stiffness modulus G0 corresponds to the mid-depth of each soil
layer (Figure 40 (on page 76)). The values of G0 at the top and bottom soil layer boundaries are calculated based
on the G0 over su (value at mid-depth of each layer) ratio. See Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters (on page 107)
for more information on the parameters.
3.1.2 Calibration mode - definition of the geometry data sets

The next part is to define some GeoDS by following these steps:
1. Proceed to Calibration mode.
2. Add all the needed GeoDS using the Add button, one by one. To fill geometrical characteristics use the data
presented in Table 12 (on page 79).
To get a calibration with good quality, a lateral ground displacement of about 0.2·D is needed. See Generating
3D models (on page 110) for more information on how to estimate the needed value of vg/Dout.
Table 12: Geometry data sets
# h [m] L [m] Dout [m] t [m] vg/Dout [-]
GeoDS_1 25.0 15.0 5.0 0.05 0.2
GeoDS_2 25.0 25.0 5.0 0.05 0.2
GeoDS_3 100.0 15.0 5.0 0.05 0.2
GeoDS_4 100.0 25.0 5.0 0.05 0.2

Input
# h [m] L [m] Dout [m] t [m] vg/Dout [-]
GeoDS_5 25.0 21.0 7.0 0.07 0.2
GeoDS_6 25.0 35.0 7.0 0.07 0.2
GeoDS_7 100.0 21.0 7.0 0.07 0.2
GeoDS_8 100.0 35.0 7.0 0.07 0.2
The definition of the parameters in Table 12 (on page 79) can be found in Geometry Datasets (GeoDS) (on
page 32).
Note: This action automatically saves the project each time a new GeoDS is added to the list.
The added GeoDS are shown in Figure 44 (on page 80).
Figure 44: GeoDS generated in Calibration mode
3. The default values are used for the Structural properties, i.e. the Young's modulus E and the Poisson's ratio ν
of the plate material are E = 210 ·106 kN/m2 and ν = 0.3.
4. Select the first GeoDS and generate the PLAXIS 3D model by clicking the Generate button.
Note: Note that this action automatically saves the project. The project is saved after each generation is
completed.

Input
Tip: When the Generate button is pressed, PLAXIS Monopile Designer automatically verifies the value of 0.2
for all selected GeoDS models. If a value is specified outside the recommended range, a warning will be
displayed suggesting appropriate values.
Tip: If users want to perform changes in the default settings of the PLAXIS 3D models, then they are advised
to first generate the first model (GeoDS_1), then make the needed changes within PLAXIS 3D and afterwards
add all the other GeoDS. The addition of a GeoDS copies the last project, including all the user-modified
parameters. To adjust the geometry of the newly added GeoDS, the Generate button should be used, which
triggers regeneration of all selected PLAXIS 3D models, based on the input geometrical characteristics.
Note that the regeneration process maintains all valid manual changes, as described in Geometry Datasets
(GeoDS) (on page 32). However, be aware that any manual modifications apart from the suggested ones,
might affect the calculation of the results and the validity of the parameterisation procedure.
5. Open the model in PLAXIS 3D by clicking the View button and ensure that the generated soil profile consists
of four soil layers with the correct top and bottom boundaries.
Additionally, the validity of the generated material properties may be checked against the formulations
provided in Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters (on page 107).
The geometry of the monopile and the parameters assigned to the plate material may be checked too for
consistency.
Check the structure and quality of the generated mesh in PLAXIS 3D Output by previewing Phase_1 ("Pile
wished in place"). This can be done via the mesh quality metrics available under the Mesh menu item.
Close PLAXIS 3D Output and Input after completing the checks suggested above. Note that there is no need to
save the PLAXIS 3D project as no modifications were done.
6. Multi-select all the remaining GeoDS (i.e. GeoDS_2 to GeoDS_8), and generate the PLAXIS 3D models by
clicking the Generate button.
7. Multi-select all eight GeoDS and press the Calculate button. The calculations are performed sequentially.
Note: Note that this action automatically saves the project after each calculation finishes.
Note: The calculations may take a long time (several hours) to finish.
8. The monopile response of all calculated GeoDS may be inspected in the right side panel, under the tab
Monopile Response. Selecting a specific GeoDS in the menu highlights the corresponding curves in the graphs.
9. Focus on the "lateral reaction force against lateral displacement at mudline" graphs (two top graphs, see
Figure 45 (on page 82)) for small and large displacements. Double-click the graph for "large displacements"
(the right graph) and inspect the values more accurately in the pop-up window. Select the Table tab to extract
(copy-paste) all data.

Input
Figure 45: Monopile results tab - displacement
Tip: Detailed 3D results can be inspected directly in PLAXIS 3D Output by selecting the calculated GeoDS and
pressing the View button.
10. Focus on the "deflection below mudline" graphs (two bottom graphs, see Figure 45 (on page 82)) for small
and large displacement to ensure that the lateral displacement at zero depth (at mudline, where z/L=0) is
about D/10000 and D/5 respectively.
Figure 46: Monopile results tab - deflection

Verification of the calibration procedure
11. Select all eight GeoDS and press the Parameterise button. The soil reaction curves from all selected models
are taken into account in the calibration process. This procedure results in the generation of the file
calibrated.dvf within the project's folder.
Note: The project has to be saved manually.
12. Inspect the variation of the soil reaction fitting parameters along the depth as presented in the tabs Shaft
depth variation functions and Base depth variation functions.
3.2 Verification of the calibration procedure

After all geometry sets have been generated, calculated and parameterised, the resulting depth variation
functions can be analysed.
3.2.1 Analysis mode

For the analysis do the following:
1. Make sure that the program is in the Analysis mode.
2. In the Depth variation functions section, the file calibrated.dvf that was created and saved during
calibration is selected by default. Leave this selection as it is.
3. In the Monopile geometry section, enter the values of the geometric parameters (h, L, Dout) which correspond
to GeoDS_1, see Table 12 (on page 79). Also you can inspect the table tab for data on the relation between
load and displacement at the mudline.
4. In the Workload (monopile head) section, enter a value for the horizontal force which is equal to or exceeds
the maximum reached lateral reaction force at mudline of the PLAXIS 3D model which corresponds to the
GeoDS_1 (see the Monopile response tab in the Calibration mode). For the 3D Model example, a value of
3200 kN should be used.
5. Add a pile segment by clicking the Add button on the Thickness variation tab. Enter the thickness value t that
corresponds to GeoDS_1, see Table 12 (on page 79).
6. Click on the Calculate button to start the 1D analysis.
Note: The 1D calculation takes only a few seconds.
Note: Next to the Thickness variation tab, there is an Expert settings tab. Use the default values, see Expert
settings (on page 57) .

Verification of the calibration procedure
Figure 47: Expert settings - default values
7. In the 3D design verification section, generate and calculate a verification model to compare 1D and 3D
results.
3.2.2 Results mode

To compare and verify the results, carry out the following steps:
1. Proceed to Results mode.
2. Select the Design verification checkbox.
3. Compare the results of the 1D and the selected 3D model by inspecting the H-v graph at mudline. See Figure
48 (on page 85).
The high value (97.82%) of the accuracy metric (η) indicates that the calibration of the 1D model was done
successfully via the parameterisation procedure.

Final Design
Figure 48: Comparison of 1D and 3D model results
Note: By default for the 1D analysis, the target lateral displacement at ground level equals 0.1·D (see Expert
settings tab of the Analysis mode). The accuracy metric η is calculated based on that value. See Accuracy
metrics η and ρ (on page 73) for more information on how the accuracy metric η is computed.
Tip: The user may also compare the response of the 1D and 3D models by inspecting the M-θ, v(z) and θ(z)
graphs. Note that the v(z) and θ(z) plots are comparable only if the maximum displacement over diameter ratio
parameter under the Expert settings tab (Analysis mode) is selected such that the achieved lateral displacement
at mudline is approximately equal to the one of the 3D model. In this case, the applied workload H should be high
enough in order to obtain the target displacement at ground level.
3.3 Final Design

In the present tutorial, a specific geometry is assumed to represent the final design, based on the defined design
criteria. The user is advised to try different geometries as well in order to get familiar with the design tool. Note
that only geometrical configurations that fall within the assumed design space are recommended to be analysed.

Final Design
3.3.1 Analysis mode

1. In the Analysis mode enter the following geometrical characteristics, which correspond to the assumed final
monopile design that meets the required design criteria. See Table 13 (on page 86).
Table 13: Values of the final monopile design
# h [m] L [m] Dout [m] t [m]
1 60.0 20.0 6.0 0.05
The assumed design load for this tutorial is 3000 kN. This load corresponds to a bending moment of 180.0 ·
103 kNm at ground level, assuming that the load is applied at height h above mudline, equal to 60.0 m.
Note: The final design may consist of more than one pile segment with different thicknesses. This can be done
by adding more thickness sections by clicking the Add button on the Thickness variation tab of the Analysis
mode.
2. In the Results mode, inspect the H-v graph (at mudline) to ensure that the displacement is less than 0.1·D
when the design load H is applied, see Figure 49 (on page 86).
The design criterion is met, and the selected monopile design is adopted as the final one for the specified soil
conditions and design space.
Figure 49: Check displacement at design load

Verification of the final design
3.4 Verification of the final design
3.4.1 Analysis mode

After determining the final monopile design, it is highly recommended that the results of the 1D analysis are
validated against the results of a 3D FE model with the same geometrical and mechanical characteristics.
1. In the Analysis mode, Generate a 3D design verification model. This will automatically create a PLAXIS 3D
model with the same monopile geometry, structural properties, thickness variation, workload, and soil layers
as specified for the 1D analysis.
2. Calculate the 3D design verification model.
3.4.2 Results mode

In the Results mode, select the Design verification checkbox and compare the results between the 1D model and
the PLAXIS 3D model. The user may also inspect all the graphs mentioned above. A very good match is achieved
between the 1D and 3D results indicating a successfully validated design procedure. See Figure 50 (on page
88) for the comparison in the H-v graph at mudline.
Notice the high value (96.44%) of the accuracy metric (η) for large displacement, which indicates a good match.
In the case of small displacement the value η obtained is 70.12%.

Verification of the final design
Figure 50: Compare 1D and 3D model results for final design

Tutorial 2 - Layered Soils
4
This tutorial is built in two parts:
• Rule based-design (on page 90) uses the published depth variation functions for the Cowden till model and
the general Dunkirk sand model .
• Numerical-based design (on page 100) calibrates site-specific depth variation functions from 3D FEM
analyses .
The soil profile, monopile geometry, and workload are the same in both parts. Thus, this tutorial will
demonstrate the differences between rule-based design (RBD) and numerical-based design (NBD) in layered
soil.
The location consists of two interbedded soil units, a stiff clay and a very dense sand (RD = 90%).
Table 14: Layered soil profile
Top(m) Bottom (m) Soil unit
0.0 -3.0 Clay
-3.0 -6.0 Sand
-6.0 -12.5 Clay
-12.5 -22.5 Sand
-22.5 -50.0 Clay
For simplicity, each of the soil units is modelled as a homogeneous single-layer profile, with the following depth
variation profiles for the small strain shear modulus, G0.

Rule based-design
Figure 51: Homogeneous and layered shear stiffness profiles
4.1 Rule based-design

In the first part of the tutorial, the layered soil profile will be modelled using the published rule-based models.
• The stiff clay is modelled with the Cowden till model (Byrne et al., 2020 (on page 147)).
• The dense sand is modelled with the general Dunkirk sand model, or GDSM (Burd et al., 2020a (on page
147)), particularised for a high value of the relative density, RD = 90%.
4.1.1 Rule-based depth variation functions - Clay unit
1. Start by preparing a new dvf file, containing the depth variation functions of the Cowden clay model. This is a
regular text file, with the ‘.dvf’ extension, which can be created in any plain text editor. This tutorial uses
SciTE, which is distributed together with PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D.
Tip: SciTE can be accessed:

• From the PLAXIS 2D or PLAXIS 3D user interface, under the Expert menu > Python > Editor…
• From the PLAXIS 2D or PLAXIS 3D installation folder, under …\tools\wscite\SciTE.exe
2. Create a new plain text file. Save it as 'rule-based Clay.dvf'

3. Add the file header. This lets PLAXIS Monopile Designer identify the contents of the file and the type of soil.

Rule based-design
#Depth variation functions flag

PLAXIS MONOPILE DESIGNER DEPTH VARIATION FUNCTIONS
#Version number
3
#Parameterisation function type
conic
#Material type
clay
#Drainage type
undrained
4. Specify the single soil layer and its parameters.
#Number of soil layers

1
# SoilLayer ztop(m) zbottom(m) gammasubmerged(kN/m3) G0(kN/m2) sutop(kN/m2)
subottom(kN/m2) K0
1 0.0 -50.0 8.0 150000.0 70.0 150.0 1.0
5. Add the geometries delimiting the design space. For the Cowden till model, this corresponds to the
calibration space defined in the PISA publications (Table 22 (on page 126)).
#Number of Geometry data sets

11
# h(m) L(m) Dout(m) t(m) E(kN/m2)
50 20 10 0.091 2.10E+08
150 20 10 0.091 2.10E+08
50 20 10 0.125 2.10E+08
50 60 10 0.091 2.10E+08
150 60 10 0.091 2.10E+08
25 10 5 0.045 2.10E+08
25 10 5 0.083 2.10E+08
25 30 5 0.045 2.10E+08
75 30 5 0.045 2.10E+08
37.5 15 7.5 0.068 2.10E+08
37.5 45 7.5 0.068 2.10E+08
6. Add the limits of the calibration.
# Max displacement reached at ground level (m)

1.50
# Max rotation reached at ground level (rad)
0.10
Note: Neither the geometries of the design space nor the limits of calibration have an influence on results.
They register the assumptions for each set of fitting parameters. PLAXIS Monopile Designer will issue a
warning if an analysis is performed outside of either the design space or the limits of calibration.
7. Add the DVF coefficients for Cowden till. These can be found in Table 23 (on page 126).
# Fitting parameters
241.4000000
10.6000000
-1.6500000
0.9390000
-0.0334500
10.7000000

Rule based-design
-7.1010000
-0.3085000
0.2041549
1.4200000
-0.0964300
0.0000000
0.2899000
-0.0477500
235.7000000
2.7170000
-0.3575000
0.8793000
-0.0315000
0.4038000
0.0481200
173.1000000
0.2146000
-0.0021320
1.0790000
-0.1087000
0.8192000
-0.0858800
8. Add the stiffness cut-off.
# kp_min
1.0

Rule based-design

Figure 52: Content of dvf file for clay unit
Rule based-design
9. Save and close the file.
4.1.2 Rule-based depth variation functions – Sand unit
Follow the same process for the sand unit:

1. Create a second plain text file. Save it as 'rule-based Sand RD90.dvf'
2. Add the file header. As the header contains the type of soil and drainage, it will be different than the one for
clay.
# Depth variation functions flag

PLAXIS MONOPILE DESIGNER DEPTH VARIATION FUNCTIONS
# Version number
3
# Parameterisation function type
conic
# Material type
sand
# Drainage type
drained
3. Specify the single soil layer and its parameters
# Number of soil layers

1
# SoilLayer ztop(m) zbottom(m) gammasubmerged(kN/m3) G0(kN/m2)
ceff(kN/m2) phieff(deg) psi(deg) K0
1 0.0 -50.0 10.0 191600.0 0.1 39.0 9.0 1.0
4. Add the geometries delimiting the design space. In the GDSM, these are the same as for the Cowden till model.
#Number of Geometry data sets

11
# h(m) L(m) Dout(m) t(m) E(kN/m2)
50 20 10 0.091 2.10E+08
150 20 10 0.091 2.10E+08
50 20 10 0.125 2.10E+08
50 60 10 0.091 2.10E+08
150 60 10 0.091 2.10E+08
25 10 5 0.045 2.10E+08
25 10 5 0.083 2.10E+08
25 30 5 0.045 2.10E+08
75 30 5 0.045 2.10E+08
37.5 15 7.5 0.068 2.10E+08
37.5 45 7.5 0.068 2.10E+08
5. Add the limits of the calibration.
# Max displacement reached at ground level (m)

1.50
# Max rotation reached at ground level (rad)
0.10

Rule based-design
Note: Neither the geometries of the design space nor the limits of calibration have an influence on results.
They register the assumptions for each set of fitting parameters. PLAXIS Monopile Designer will issue a
warning if an analysis is performed outside of either the design space or the limits of calibration.
6. Add the DVF coefficients for the GDSM for the appropriate value of relative density. The values of the
coefficients as a function of RD can be found in Table 24 (on page 128). Substituting for RD = 90%, we obtain:
# Fitting parameters
63.2010000
8.1026200
-0.9178000
0.9727370
23.6677000
-7.6725000
0.0153235
17.0000000
0.0000000
0.2605000
-0.0171900
3.1097000
-0.4621200
3.8185000
-0.3948790
0.8174400
-0.0580510
0.8191600
-0.1046600
44.8900000
0.3515000
0.7487400
0.4337100
-0.0613890
7. Add the stiffness cut-off.
# kp_min
1.0

Rule based-design
Figure 53: Content of dvf file for sand unit

Rule based-design
8. Save and close the file.
4.1.3 Analysis - Layered profile
Once the rule-based dvf files have been prepared, proceed with the analysis:
1. Start PLAXIS Monopile Designer
2. In the Quick select dialogue (Figure 42 (on page 78)) choose Start a new project and save it as ‘RBD
Layered.plxmdt’.
3. Advance to the Analysis mode.
4. In the Soil reaction curves tab, select Import… and navigate to the ‘rule-based Clay.dvf’ and ‘rule-based Sand
RD90.dvf’ files.
Tip: It is possible to multi-select when importing.
5. In the Soil layers tab, assign each dvf file to its corresponding layers, according to Table 15 (on page 97).
Table 15: DVF files for layers
Top [m] Bottom [m] Soil unit DVF file
0.0 -3.0 Clay rule-based Clay.dvf
rule-based Sand
-3.0 -6.0 Sand
RD90.dvf
-6.0 -12.5 Clay rule-based Clay.dvf
rule-based Sand
-12.5 -22.5 Sand
RD90.dvf
-22.5 -50.0 Clay rule-based Clay.dvf

Rule based-design
Figure 54: Soil layers for rule-based design
6. In Monopile geometry and Structural properties, define the geometry and material parameters of the final
design. Assumed:
Table 16: Geometry and structural properties
h [m] L [m] Dout [m] γ [kN/m3] E [kN/m2] v [-]
Final Design 56.0 21.5 7.0 0.0 210.0E6 0.0
7. In the Thickness variation section, input the thickness segments of the final design. A simple pattern is
assumed:
Table 17: Thickness variation
Top [m] Bottom [m] t [m]
56.0 5.0 0.06
5.0 -5.0 0.08
5.0 -18.0 0.07

Rule based-design
Top [m] Bottom [m] t [m]
-18.0 -22.0 0.08
Figure 55: Thickness variation segments
8. In Workload (monopile head), input the resultant horizontal load and moment. In this example, a single load
case is considered corresponding to a horizontal load H = 10 MN applied at an elevation h = 56 m.
9. Under 1D analysis, select Calculate.
10. Advance to the Results mode to inspect the output of the analysis.
Figure 56: Soil reaction curves from rule-based analysis

4.1.4 Design verification
1. Return to the Analysis mode.

2. Generate and calculate the 3D Design verification model.
3. In the Results mode, select the Design verification checkbox to compare the results between the rule-based
1D analysis and the 3D FEM model.
Figure 57: Comparison between 1D rule-based analysis and 3D model
The value of eta is acceptable (η = 90.47%); the value of rho is slightly beyond desirable (ρ = 113.90%). This
indicates the need to use the results of the rule-based method with caution.
4.2 Numerical-based design

In the numerical-based design, the depth variation coefficients are obtained from the calibration of the
homogeneous soil units in 3D FEM.
A narrower design space than that of RBD is assumed. The design space consists of many monopile geometries
(models) that define an envelope in which the optimum monopile design is expected to lie.

Table 18: Design space for numerical-based design
h [m] L [m] Dout [m] t [m]
GeoDS_1 20.0 20.0 5.0 0.050
GeoDS_2 75.0 25.0 5.0 0.050
GeoDS_3 75.0 25.0 8.0 0.080
GeoDS_4 35.0 35.0 8.0 0.080
GeoDS_5 60.0 20.0 5.0 0.050
GeoDS_6 25.0 25.0 5.0 0.050
GeoDS_7 25.0 25.0 8.0 0.080
GeoDS_8 105.0 35.0 8.0 0.080
The same design space will be used in the calibration of the clay and the sand units. The only difference is the
value of the target displacement, vg/Dout, which will be set to 0.20 for all clay models and to 0.15 for all sand
models.
4.2.1 Calibration – Clay unit
1. From the File menu, create a New project. Save it as ‘NBD Clay.plxmdt’.
2. Start in the Soil mode. Make sure that Soil type is set to Clay.
3. Add one Layer.
4. Input the layer material parameters.
su,top su,bottom
Layer Top [m] Bottom [m] γ' [kN/m3] G0 [kN/m2] K0 [-]
[kN/m2] [kN/m2]
1 0.00 -50.0 8.0 150.0E3 70.0 150.0 1.0
5. Advance to the Calibration mode.

6. Add the 8 GeoDS and input their properties according to Table 18 (on page 101). Set all values of vg/Dout =
0.20.
7. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Generate. This operation will take a few minutes.
8. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Calculate. This operation may take a long time.
9. Inspect the results of the calibration in the Results inspection pane.

Figure 58: Numerical-based calibration of clay unit
10. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Parameterise. This will automatically generate a ‘calibrated.dvf’ file on the
project folder and import it into the Analysis mode.
11. In the Windows File Explorer, make a copy of the 'calibrated.dvf' file and save it as 'calibrated Clay.dvf'.
4.2.2 Calibration – Sand unit
1. From the File menu, create a New project... Save it as ‘NBD Sand.plxmdt’.
2. Start in the Soil mode. Set the soil type to Sand.
3. Add one Layer.
4. Input the layer material parameters.
Layer Top [m] Bottom [m] γ' [kN/m3] G0 [kN/m2] φ [deg] ψ [deg] K0 [-]
1 0.00 -50.00 10.0 191.6E3 39.0 9.0 1.0
5. Advance to the Calibration mode.

6. Add the 8 GeoDS and input their properties according to Table 18 (on page 101). Set all values of vg/Dout =
0.15.
7. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Generate. This operation will take a few minutes.

8. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Calculate. This operation may take a long time.
9. Inspect the results of the calibration in the Results inspection pane.
Figure 59: Numerical-based calibration of sand unit
10. Multi-select all 8 GeoDS and press Parameterise. This will automatically generate a ‘calibrated.dvf’ file on the
project folder and import it into the Analysis mode.
11. In the Windows File Explorer, make a copy of the 'calibrated.dvf' file and save it as 'calibrated Sand.dvf'.
4.2.3 Analysis – Layered profile
1. From the File menu, create a New project... Save it as ‘NBD Layered.plxmdt’.
2. Advance to the Analysis mode.
3. In the Soil reaction curves tab, select Import… and navigate to the ‘calibrated Clay.dvf’ and ‘calibrated
Sand.dvf’ files.
Tip: It is possible to multi-select when importing.
4. In the Soil layers tab, assign each dvf file to its corresponding layers, according to Table H (on page 103).
0.0 -3.0 Clay calibrated Clay.dvf

-3.0 -6.0 Sand calibrated Sand.dvf
-6.0 -12.5 Clay calibrated Clay.dvf
-12.5 -22.5 Sand calibrated Sand.dvf
-22.5 -50.0 Clay calibrated Clay.dvf
5. In Monopile geometry and Structural properties , define the geometry and material parameters of the final
design. Assumed values are provided in Table 16 (on page 98).
6. In the Thickness variation section, input the thickness segments of the final design. A simple pattern is
assumed (Table 17 (on page 98)).
7. In Workload (monopile head), input the resultant horizontal load and moment. In this example, a single load
case is considered corresponding to a horizontal load H = 10 MN applied at an elevation h = 56 m.
8. Under 1D analysis, select Calculate.
9. Advance to the Results mode to inspect the output of the analysis.
4.2.4 Design verification
1. Return to the Analysis mode.

2. Under 3D Design verification, generate and calculate the design verification model.

Comparison between rule-based and numerical-based design
Figure 60: Comparison between 1D numerical-based analysis and 3D model
3. In the Results mode, select the Design verification checkbox to compare the results between the rule-based
1D analysis and the 3D FEM model.
The value of eta is much better than before (η = 96.34%), while the value of rho is now excellent (ρ = 98.22%).
These metrics indicate that a better approximation is achieved by the numerical-based method.
4.3 Comparison between rule-based and numerical-based design

To provide a clear comparison between the two methods, the predicted monopile behaviour curves are exported
and plotted in a spreadsheet together with the predictions of the 3D FEM:
1. On the 'NBD Layered.plxmdt' project, make sure you are in the Results mode and the Design verification
checkbox is selected.
2. Select the H-v plot and open the Table tab.
3. Right-click on the results table and select Copy All.
4. Paste the results table on a spreadsheet. Rename the 1D analysis cells to 'NBD' .
5. From the File menu, open 'RBD Layered.plxmdt' and advance to the Results mode.
6. Select the H-v plot and open the Table tab.
7. Right-click on the results table and select Copy All.

Comparison between rule-based and numerical-based design
Note: The design verification model does not depend on the input depth variation functions, but only on the
material parameters of each layer. Thus, design verification results from 'RBD Layered.plxmdt' and 'NBD
Layered.plxmdt' should match.
Tip: If the Design verification checkbox is unselected, Table will only display the results of the 1D analysis.
8. Paste the results table to the spreadsheet. Rename the 1D analysis cells to 'RBD'.
9. Plot all 3 series (RBD, NBD, and 3D analysis) on the same X-Y graph.
The differences between the predictions of the three methods are now apparent. A similar comparison can be
plotted for the M-θ curves.
Figure 61: Monopile behaviour predictions from rule-based, numerical-based, and 3D analysis

Scientific Manual
5
5.1 Introduction
This part of the manual describes the technical basis of PLAXIS Monopile Designer. The material models that are
used, the algorithm and modules, as well as assumptions and limitations, are explained here.
5.2 Material Models

The following predefined soil types may be used in PLAXIS Monopile Designer:
• Clay: modelled via the NGI-ADP constitutive soil model.
• Sand: modelled via the Hardening Soil small-strain (HSsmall) constitutive soil model.
The calculation of the material model parameters is explained in this chapter. For further detail on the material
models, please see Brinkgreve et al. (2021) (on page 147).
5.2.1 Clay: NGI-ADP material Parameters
The NGI-ADP model (Andresen & Jostad, 1999 (on page 147)) may be used for capacity, deformation and soil-
structure interaction analyses involving undrained loading of clay. The basis of the material model is:
• Input parameters for (undrained) shear strength for three different stress paths/ states (Active, Direct
Simple Shear, Passive).
• A yield criterion based on a translated approximated Tresca criterion.
• Elliptical interpolation functions for plastic failure strains and shear strengths in arbitrary stress paths.
• Isotropic elasticity, given by the unloading/reloading shear modulus, Gur .
The NGI-ADP model parameters are determined based on the user-defined values as follows:
• Drainage type: Undrained C1
• γunsat = γ ′ (input2) ) (kN/m3)

Scientific Manual
Material Models
• γsat = γunsat (kN/m3)

• einit = 0.500 (default)
• Gur = G0 , input at mid-depth of the layer (kN/m2)
• sA = s 2
u,ref u,top (kN/m )
ur / su = G0 /
• G A
( ( su,bottom + su,top) / 2 )
Note that, suA is the value of the active undrained shear strength at the mid-layer level. 3
/ ur / suA
• γ C = 60 ⋅ 100 G
f ( ) (%)
• 0.5% ≤ γ C ≤ 75%
f
• γ E = 2.0 ⋅ γ C (%)
f f
• 1.0% ≤ γ fE ≤ 150%
• γ DSS = 1.5 ⋅ γ C (%)
f f
• 0.75% ≤ γ DSS ≤ 100%
f
/ u
• s C ,TX s A = 0.99 ( − )
u
• zref = ztop (m) (negative value)
u,bottom − su,top) / ( ztop − zbottom) (kN/m /m)

• s A = (s 2
u,inc
u / u
• s P s A = 0.5 ( − )
0/ u v0 / su
• τ s A = − 0.5 ⋅ ( 1 − K ) ⋅ σ ′ A
0
′
where σν0 = initial vertical effective stress at the mid-layer level (kN/m2). Note that compression is negative.
Note: 0.0 ≤ τ0 / suA ≤ 0.95 (overconsolidated clays should be modelled with care)
u / u (
u / u
• s DSS s A = 1 + s P s A )/ 2 (−)
• ν = 0.495 ( − )
′
• Rinter = 1.0 ( − )
• K 0 = input ( − )
To allow tension cut-off, the Mohr-Coulomb (MC) model is assigned to the interfaces instead of the NGI-ADP. The
stiffness MC properties match the derived NGI-ADP parameters presented above. The stiffness properties of the
MC model, in terms of su and su,inc, are adjusted to 65% of the strength of the adjacent soil material (Palix et al.,
2011 (on page 148)).
1 For hydrostatic cases, the situations different from the Head are considered. If the phreatic level in hydrostatic
conditions is equal to Head, no extra water level will be generated. For more information on head and water
conditions, see Section Defining water conditions in the Reference Manual PLAXIS 3D.
2 By using γ' (Input value) as γsat and γunsat effective stresses are calculated without the need to calculate the
water pressures. The phreatic level is set at the bottom of the model and that is why γ' is used as γsat and γunsat.
(kN/m3)
3
A minimum value of Gur / suA equal to 10 is adopted for robustness.

Scientific Manual
Material Models
5.2.2 Sand: HSsmall material Parameters
The Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffness (Brinkgreve et al., 2021 (on page 147)) implemented in
PLAXIS is based on the Hardening Soil model and uses almost entirely the same parameters. In fact, only two
additional parameters are needed to describe the variation of stiffness with strain:
• The initial or very small-strain shear modulus G0.
• The shear strain level γ0.7 at which the secant shear modulus Gs is reduced to about 70% of G0.
The HSsmall model parameters are determined based on the user-defined values as follows, based on
Brinkgreve et al. (2010) (on page 147).
• Drainage type: Drained
• γ = γ ′ (input4, 5)
sat
• γunsat = γsat (kN/m3)
• einit = 0.500 ( − )
• G0 = input at mid-depth of the layer (kN/m2)
• σ′ = K ⋅ σ′ where σ1′ = σ ′ at the mid-layer level (kN/m2)
3 0 1 ν0
• G ref = G
0 0/ ( cref′ ⋅ cos φ ′ − sin φ ′) / ( cref′ ⋅ cos φ ′ + pref ⋅ sin φ ′)
′
σ3 ⋅ m
(kN/m2)
• RD = 100 ⋅ ( G0ref − 60000 ) / 68000 (%)
• ref
E50 = 60000 ⋅ RD / 100 (kN/m2)
• ref
Eoed ref
= E50 (kN/m2)
• ref
Eur ref
= 3 ⋅ E50 (kN/m2)
• m = 0.5 ( − )
• c ′ = 0.1 (kN/m2)
ref
• φ ′ = input ( ° )
• ψ = input ( ° )
• γ0.7 = (2 − RD / 100) ⋅ 1E − 4 ( − )
• ν ′ = 0.2 (−)
ur
• pref = 100.0 (kN/m2)
• K 0NC = 1 − sin φ ′ (−)
• ′
cinc = 0.0 (kN/m2)
• zref = 0.0 (m)
• R f = 1 − RD / 800 ( − )
4 By using γ' (input value) as γsat and γunsat effective stresses are calculated without the need to calculate the
water pressures.
5 Note that γ' is used as both γsat and γunsat because the phreatic level is set at the bottom of the model.

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PLAXIS 3D Models
• Tensile strength = 0.0 (kN/m2)

• Rinter = 1.0 ( − )
• K 0 = input ( − )
The allowed minimum and maximum Relative Density (RD), RDmin and RDmax, are not defined for G0ref, i.e. 100%
ref
may be exceeded, but a lower and an upper bound of 10% and 100% is applied to the calculation of E50 and
γ0.7 and Rf.
A separate interface material (HSsmall) is generated with the same properties but dilatancy ψ equal to 0.0 and
friction angle φ equal to 29.0 deg (Jardine et al., 2005 (on page 148)). This also allows the user to modify the
properties of the interfaces separately if needed.
5.3 PLAXIS 3D Models
5.3.1 Generating 3D models
The generation of 3D PLAXIS models is based on the model assumptions that are listed below.
Model geometry
• Only half of a symmetric model of the monopile is modelled via the Tunnel designer. This offers controllable
geometry (re)generation, based on user-defined parameters. The vertical plane at y = 0 is the plane of
symmetry.
• The model contour is based on input parameters:
• The bottom depth of the last soil layer is as specified in the Soil mode.
• The total model length in the x-direction is equal to 12 monopile outer diameters (Dout ) The distance
from the centre of the pile to the right and left model boundaries in the x-direction is 6·Dout.
• Total model length in the y-direction equal to 4 monopile outer diameters Dout The distance from the
plane of symmetry (front model boundary) to the rear model boundary in the y-direction is 4·Dout .
• Borehole at (0,0) from ztop = 0.0 to a user-defined depth.
Note: The water table is placed at the bottom of the model.

• Fully saturated soil conditions for offshore applications and effective stress approach.
• The user defines the number of soil layers in Soil mode.
• The basic soil parameter can be directly entered by the user (Soil mode), whereas secondary parameters are
automatically defined based on correlations.
• The user may change constitutive models and soil materials parameters in PLAXIS 3D .
Note: If the user changes the constitutive model or the material parameters in PLAXIS 3D, the parameters
defined in the Soil mode of PLAXIS Monopile Designer should match the updated values used in PLAXIS 3D.

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PLAXIS 3D Models
This is because the values that are used during parameterisation come from the Soil mode and not directly
from the PLAXIS 3D models.
• The soil layer thickness cannot be less than 0.5 m. This is to prevent bad quality meshes that lead to long
calculation time and possibly inaccurate results.
Monopiles
• The embedded part of the monopile is divided into slices of approximately 1.0 m depth during its generation
via the Tunnel designer. The slicing takes place within each soil layer, assuring that no monopile slice
intersects boundaries between soil layers. Note that if a soil layer is less than 1.0 m deep, then only one
monopile slice is generated within that soil layer.
• The number of monopile slices per soil layer is determined based on the following two hypotheses:
• The target thickness of a monopile slice is 1.0 m (fixed value).
• To determine the number of monopile slices per soil layer, the (user-defined) depth of that soil layer is
rounded up or down to the closest integer.
Tip: If the depth of the soil layer is 1.3 m, 1 monopile slice is created with a thickness of 1.3 m. On the
other hand, if the layer depth is 1.75 m, 2 monopile slices are created with a thickness of 0.875 m each.
• Linear-elastic isotropic plate elements (shells) are used to model the monopile structure.
• The input properties of the plate elements (shells): are Young's modulus E, Poisson's ratio ν and wall
thickness t.
• The top of the monopile is closed with a plate with rigid body properties, to apply a prescribed displacement.
• The bottom of the monopile remains open.
• The monopile is weightless, i.e. the pile unit weight w is set to zero. The weight is not taken into account
because lateral loading and not vertical loading is considered.
• The monopile is 'wished-in-place' (i.e. no installation effects is considered) and then loaded laterally.
• A prescribed displacement is applied to the top surface in the horizontal x-direction thereby introducing a
lateral force and bending moment at the ground level (the latter is valid if the prescribed displacement is
applied at a particular height h above seabed).
Note: The applied prescribed displacement is only valid for Calibration models. Verification models are force
controlled.
• Interfaces are used at the outer surface of the monopile to model the soil-structure interaction.
• Another (horizontal) interface is used at the monopile bottom to retrieve soil reactions at the base.
• Drainage type of interface elements is always set to drained, to prevent suction from developing at the active
soil side of the monopile. In this case a gap is formed between the monopile and the soil. Note that this
requires the generation of an extra (drained) material set for the interfaces.
• Based on the user-defined input values per PLAXIS 3D model and the structural parameters specified, the
following are calculated:
• Din = Dout - 2 · t
• cross section area: A = ϖ (Dout2 - Din2) / 4
• moment of inertia: I = ϖ (Dout4 - Din4) / 64
• axial stiffness: EA
• flexural rigidity: EI
• shear stiffness: GA = 0.5·k EA / (1+ν)
A constant value of k = 0.5 (independent of Poisson's ratio effects) is assumed to calculate the shear stiffness
GA.

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Note: The values of the parameters above, which are presented on the GUI once a GeoDS is selected, are
indicative based on the input diameter and thickness. The plate elements in PLAXIS 3D do not directly take
these quantities as input. For more information on the definition of the plate elements the reader may refer
to the PLAXIS 3D Reference and Scientific manuals.
• Two 'soft' beams ( Soft beam properties (on page 114)) are placed on both the front and back edges (sides)
of the monopile for post-processing purposes.
Mesh
• The embedded part of the monopile cross-section is divided into 9 arcs of 20 degrees each to force a
structured mesh at the circumference.
• A (refinement) zone around the monopile is generated to have structured mesh extended:
• 0.20·Dout at the monopile's circumference.
• 0.15·Dout below the monopile toe.
• The considered default mesh settings are:
• pile above ground level: coarseness factor = 1.0
• embedded pile: coarseness factor = 0.5
• bottom of the pile: coarseness factor = 0.07
• surrounding soil: coarseness factor = 1.0
• beams: coarseness factor = 1.0
• coarse mesh:
• mesh command used in PLAXIS 3D CE V22.00 : _mesh 0.075 256 True 2.2 0.0175 1.0
Calculation phases
• The considered calculation phases are:
• Initial phase: K0-procedure
• Phase 1: Monopile installation (wished-in-place), plastic calculation
• Phase 2: Applying prescribed lateral displacements equal to vg/Dout/1000, plastic calculation
• Phase 3: Applying prescribed lateral displacements (input value, vg/Dout), plastic calculation
• The considered default numerical settings are:
• Phase 2:
• Solver = Pardiso
• Max load fraction per step = 0.02
• Tolerated error = 0.001
• Phase 3:
• Solver = Pardiso
• Max load fraction per step = 0.5
• Tolerated error for Sand = 0.01
• Tolerated error for Clay = 0.001
• Max unloading steps = 50
• Max steps = 10000
• Max iterations = 90
• Desired min iterations = 4

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PLAXIS 3D Models
• Desired max iterations = 30
Tip: For more details, see the Reference Manual PLAXIS 3D
Suggested Values of vg/Dout

A common failure condition used in design is vg/Dout = 0.10 (i.e. the monopile is considered to fail when the
horizontal displacement at the mudline reaches 10% of the outer diameter). However, at this value of
displacement the failure mechanism is commonly not completely developed. Calibration requires the full
development of plasticity in most of the soil reaction curves, for which we generally need to allow a higher
relative displacement than the failure criterion. At the same time, too high values of vg/Dout will result in long
calculations that do not contribute additional information about the shape of the soil reaction curves
Suggested values for the relative target displacement at the mudline are:
• Minimum: vg/Dout = 0.15
• Maximum: vg/Dout = 0.30
Note: The DVF parameters resulting from Calibration will vary slightly depending on the reached displacement.
Note:
• Previous versions of PLAXIS Monopile Designer used the prescribed displacement at the monopile top,
vmax,z=h, as input a parameter instead of the relative target displacement at the mudline, vg/Dout. The
suggested values of vmax,z=h were estimated based on the assumption of a linearly deformed pile with a
rotation point a depth approximately equal to 2/3*L. This neglected the bending of the pile.
• When opening a project created with an older version, the input value of vmax,z=h will be automatically
converted to vg/Dout using the reached displacement at the mudline, vg, and the outer diameter, Dout (See
Figure 62 (on page 113)) .
Figure 62: Warning - update projects for the use of vg/Dout

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PLAXIS 3D Models
5.3.2 Soft beam properties
Two soft beams are attached to the monopile (at the front and back of the tube), to be used for post-processing
purposes. In the present version of PLAXIS Monopile Designer the post-processing merely concerns a manual
comparison between the deflected shape of the beams against the deflection of the monopile in the Calibration
mode of the tool. The stiffness of the soft beam is taken equal to Esteel/1000 (= 210 · 103 kPa) to avoid any
influence on the results.
5.3.3 Soil reaction curves
There are four types of soil reaction curves:

• Distributed lateral load vs. lateral displacement: (p, v).
• Distributed moment vs. pile rotation: (m, θ).
• Base horizontal force vs. lateral base displacement: (HB, vB).
• Base moment vs. base rotation: (MB, θB).
After every successful PLAXIS 3D calculation, data is obtained from the nodal reaction forces of the interface
elements. This information is turned into resultant forces, moments, average displacements and rotations along
the shaft (with corresponding depth) and at the base (with corresponding depth), to obtain the four types of raw
soil reaction curves. The following quantities are calculated:
• Monopile slices with thickness of about 1.0 m are considered. Note that the actual slice thickness depends on
the soil layering too (see Generating 3D models (on page 110)).
• Force values are multiplied by 2 since only one symmetric half is modelled.
• For every interface element, it is determined to which monopile slice it belongs.
• The slice forces are the summation of the forces from all the interfaces belonging to this
slice: pslice = Σ(Fxinterface).
• The base (toe) forces are the summation of the forces from the bottom interface: pbottom = Σ(Fxinterface, bottom).
• The slice displacement is the average value of the lateral displacement of the slice nodes vslice = u x, interface .
¯
• The base displacements: same as above, but considering only the bottom interface nodes at the pile
circumference.
• The slice moment is calculated as a summation of the vertical node forces Fz times the lateral distance from
the axis of symmetry dx mslice = Σ (Fz· dx).
• The base (toe) moment: same as above, considering the bottom interface.
• The slice rotation θslice is calculated using a least-squares linear fit to the vertical displacement of the nodes
on the cross-section.
• The base rotation: same as above, but considering only the bottom interface nodes at the pile circumference.
• The following quantities are calculated at mudline (ground level):
• Lateral displacement at the front and the back of the pile (based on single nodes), to check pile
ovalisation.
• Rotation as described above (least-squares linear fit).

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• Horizontal force H as the result of integration from all horizontal soil reactions along the monopile,
including the base. This corresponds to the structural (monopile) shear force at the mudline.
• Moment M as the result of the integration of all soil reaction contributions along the monopile, including
the base, considering both vertical and lateral arms. This corresponds to the structural (monopile)
bending moment at the mudline.
The normalised soil reaction curves are generated by the Optimisation Module, which takes as input the data
derived from the post-processor and the soil-structure data provided in PLAXIS Monopile Designer (Soil and
Calibration modes respectively). The normalisation process is based on local stiffness and soil strength
parameters. It is triggered by the Parameterise button.
The normalisation formulae for Sand and Clay are presented in Table 19 (on page 115):
Table 19: Normalisation formulae for Sand and Clay (Burd et al., 2020a, Byrne et al., 2020)
Component Clay normalisation Sand normalisation
/ (σ ν0 D)
′
Distributed load, p̄ p̄ = p / ( su D ) p̄ = p
ν̄ = ( vI R / D ) ⋅ ( pa/ σν0′ )
Lateral displacement, ν̄ ν̄ = vI R / D
= νG0 / ( σ ′ν0 D )
Distributed moment, m̄ (
m̄ = m/ su D 2 ) m̄ = m/ ( pD)
Pile cross section rotation, θ θ̄ = θI R θ̄ = θI s ⋅ ( pa/ σν0′ ) = θG0 / σ ′ν0

Base horizontal force, H̄ B (
H̄ B = H B / su D 2 ) H̄ B = H B / σν0
′
D2( )
Base moment, M̄ B (
M̄ B = M B / su D 3 ) M̄ B = M B / σν0
′
D3 ( )
The normalised curves depend on the undrained shear strength, su, or the initial vertical effective stress, σ'ν 0,
and therefore are depth-dependent (z); pa is the atmospheric pressure. The parameter IR is the rigidity index,
defined as IR = G0 / su, where G0 is the small-strain shear modulus and su the undrained shear strength in triaxial
compression. The parameter Is is a stiffness coefficient defined as: I s = G0 ( / pa) pa / σv0′ .
Monopile response of the 3D models

• The lateral reaction force at ground level is plotted against the lateral displacements at ground level. The
latter is a mean value of the displacements at the front and the back of the monopile.
• The pile deflection profile below mudline is plotted based on the average lateral displacements of the front
and back of the monopile for each monopile segment.

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Optimization Module

The following combinations may be plotted:
• Unchecked Normalised and unchecked Numerical checkboxes (default): the Parametric soil reaction curves
obtained from the depth variation functions are denormalised from the formulae presented in Table 19 (on
page 115) and plotted for the following predefined depths: 0.1·L, 0.2·L, 0.3·L, 0.4·L, 0.5·L, 0.6·L, 0.7·L, 0.8·L,
0.9·L, L (base).
• Checked Normalised and unchecked Numerical checkboxes: the Parametric soil reaction curves obtained
from the depth variation functions are plotted in non-dimensional space.
• Unchecked Normalised and checked Numerical checkboxes: the data of the raw soil reaction curves
(extracted from the 3D design verification model) are plotted together with the Parametric soil reaction
curves obtained from the depth variation functions and denormalised from the formulae presented in Table
19 (on page 115).
• Checked Normalised and checked Numerical checkboxes: the data of the soil reaction curves (extracted from
the 3D design verification model) are normalised from the formulae presented in Table 19 (on page 115) and
plotted together with the Parametric soil reaction curves obtained from the depth variation functions, in non-
dimensional space.
Tip: Although the graph only displays the curves at 10 predefined depths, soil reaction curves are in general
computed at finer intervals. The full set of results are available in the Table tab.
Depth variation functions: shaft and base

The plots are derived based on the .dvf files and the corresponding functions (Table 20 (on page 118)).
5.4 Optimization Module

At a first stage, the raw soil reaction curves (obtained from the 3D finite element calibration models) are
normalised (using the forms in Table 19 (on page 115)) and pre-processed to obtain purely monotonic curves.
These normalised soil reaction curve data are then represented with the 4-parameter conic function shown in
Eq. [3]:
−n⋅ ( ȳ
ȳ u
− )
x̄ 2
x̄ u
+ (1 − n) ⋅ ( ȳ
ȳ u
−
x̄ ⋅ k
ȳ u )⋅( ȳ
ȳ u )
−1 =0 Eq. [3]
where
x̄ = Normalised displacement (or rotation) variable
ȳ = The corresponding normalised soil reaction component.
The conic function is calibrated by the specification of four parameters (k, n, x̄ u , ȳ u ), each of which has a
straightforward interpretation.
where
k = Initial slope
ȳ u = Ultimate value of the normalised soil reaction
x̄ u = The normalized displacement (or rotation) at which this ultimate value of
soil reaction is reached
n = Curvature parameter (0<n<1)

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Optimization Module
This particular function was selected during the PISA project to represent the soil reaction curves in the 1D
design model (Burd et al., 2020a (on page 147); Byrne et al., 2020 (on page 147)). To an extent, however, the
choice of function is arbitrary and other possibilities exist for the choice of functional form of the soil reaction
curves.
The four parameters (k, n, x̄ u , ȳ u ) for each of the soil reaction components, and the way in which the parameters
vary with depth, are determined from the normalised raw soil reaction curves by the optimisation module. This
optimisation process incorporates data from the results of all user-selected PLAXIS 3D models in the
Calibration mode.
For numerical implementation purposes, the positive roots of ȳ are:
2c
ȳ = ȳ u ⋅ for x̄ ≤ x̄ u Eq. [4]
2
−b+ b − 4ac
ȳ = ȳ u for x̄ > x̄ u Eq. [5]
where:
a=1−2⋅n
b=2⋅n⋅
x̄
x̄ u
− (1 − n) ⋅ 1 + ( x̄ ⋅ k
ȳ u ) Eq. [6]
2
x̄ ⋅ k x̄
c= ȳ u
⋅ (1 − n) − n ⋅ 2
x̄ u
The shape of the conic function is strongly conditioned by the value of n, as illustrated in Figure 63 (on page
117). For n = 0 and n = 1, bi-linear forms are obtained. For intermediate values of n the function is curved.
Figure 63: Curves for different values of the n-parameter
The parameters corresponding to each soil reaction curve are:

• Distributed lateral load vs. lateral displacement: ( p̄, v̄) → ( p̄ u , v̄ pu , k p , n p ) .
• Distributed moment vs. pile rotation: (m̄, θ̄) → ( m̄ , θ̄ mu , k , n ) .
u m m
• Base horizontal force vs. lateral base displacement: ( H̄ B , v̄ B ) → ( H̄ Bu , v̄ Hu , k H , nH ) .
• Base moment vs. base rotation: ( M̄ , θ̄ B ) → ( M̄ , θ̄ Mu , k , n ) .
B Bu M M
The parameters needed to calibrate the soil reaction curves are determined by obtaining a best-fit (based on
least-squares) with the raw soil reaction curves. This process, conducted by the optimisation module, is
described in detail in Byrne et al., 2018 (on page 147). The procedure is summarised as follows.
Initially, values of the calibration parameters are determined for the distributed load and distributed moment at
depths where data are available, for all of the piles in the calibration set. Calibration parameters are also

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Optimization Module
determined for the base horizontal force and moment. The general approach that is employed by the
optimisation module to determine these parameters is summarised below.
1. Determine appropriate values of ultimate displacement ( v̄ , θ̄ mu , v̄ , θ̄ mu ) to match the form of the
pu Hu
numerical data.
2. Determine values of the ultimate values ( p̄ u , m̄ u , H̄ u , M̄ u ) .
3. Find values of initial stiffness ( k p , km, k H , kM ) to provide a match with the initial portions of the raw soil
reaction curves.
4. Determine the curvature parameters ( n p , nm, nH , nM ) to provide a fit with the data. At this stage the
curvature parameter for the distributed moment is set to zero (to produce a bi-linear form).
Once the calibration parameters have been determined for the calibration set piles on a point-wise basis, a
further model is developed (referred to as 'depth variation function') which represent the variation with depth
of the calibration parameters. The form of the depth variation functions is specified in Table 20 (on page 118).
Table 20: Depth variation functions
Clay depth variation Sand depth variation

Soil reaction component Fitting parameter
functions functions
Ultimate strain, v̄ pu c1 s1
Initial stiffness, k p c2 + c3 ⋅ ( z / Dout ) s2 + s3 ⋅ ( z / Dout )

Distributed lateral load, p̄
Curvature, n p c4 + c5 ⋅ ( z / Dout) s4
c8 ⋅ z / Dout
Ultimate reaction p̄ u c6 + c7 ⋅ e s5 + s6 ⋅ (z / L )
Ultimate rotation, θ̄ mu c9 s7
Initial stiffness, km c10 + c11 ⋅ ( z / Dout) s8

Distributed moment, m̄
Curvature, nm c12 s9
Ultimate moment, m̄ u c13 + c14 ⋅ ( z / Dout ) s10 + s11 ⋅ (z / L )
Ultimate strain, V̄ Hu c15 s12 + s13 ⋅ ( L / Dout )
Initial stiffness, k H c16 + c17 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s14 + s15 ⋅ ( L / Dout)

Base horizontal force, H̄ B
Curvature, nH c18 + c19 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s16 + s17 ⋅ ( L / Dout)
Ultimate reaction, H̄ Bu c20 + c21 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s18 + s19 ⋅ ( L / Dout)
Ultimate rotation, θ̄ Mu c22 s20

Base moment, M̄ B
Initial stiffness, kM c23 + c24 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s21

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Rule based models
Clay depth variation Sand depth variation

Soil reaction component Fitting parameter
functions functions
Curvature, nM c25 + c26 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s22
Ultimate reaction, M̄ Bu c27 + c28 ⋅ ( L / Dout) s23 + s24 ⋅ ( L / Dout )
Figure 64: Calibration workflow
5.5 Rule based models

The PISA rule-based method defines parametric, normalised depth variation functions (DVF) for several generic
soil types. Thus, it is possible to obtain semi-particularised soil reaction curves by de-normalising the rule-based
DVF according to the site-specific soil parameters. This approach necessarily provides a looser approximation to
the actual response of the soil, since it relies on a generic fitting of DVF instead of numerically calibrating them
from the actual soil units present on site. Conversely, it enables a faster time to results at the early stages of a
project, when site-specific information required for 3D FEM analyses may not yet be fully available.
The following rule-based design models have been published to date:
• Cowden till model (Byrne et al., 2020 (on page 147)) for stiff clays.

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Rule based models
• Bothkennar clay model (Burd et al., 2020b (on page 147)) for soft clays.
• General Dunkirk Sand Model (Burd et al., 2020a (on page 147)) for medium to dense sands (45% ≤ RD ≤
90%).
Rule-based models can be used in PLAXIS Monopile Designer by creating and importing .dvf files with coefficient
values corresponding to those in the published models.
Conventional p-y curves, codified in industry standards such as API RP 2A-WSD (API, 2014 (on page 147)), can
also be considered as a form of rule-based models. These can also be used in PLAXIS Monopile Designer,
importing a different file format (.spy for sand and .cpy for clay) for input.
5.5.1 Plain text file format rules
The general rules for all plain text file formats are:
• No particular units are needed for the data, assuming that a consistent set of units is used throughout the
tool. Information regarding units can be found in Units and sign convention (on page 24)
• Lines starting with # are regarded as comments (and skipped).
• Leading spaces and tabs are ignored, i.e. a line starting with " #" is still regarded as a comment.
• Tabular data columns are separated by single tabs (there is no intentional visual alignment of numbers).
• Floating point numbers are written in full-accuracy scientific notation floating point (i.e. ~ 16 digits such as
4.659996895060823E-19). The readers must not rely on this. They must check tab separators rather than
field length.
• The files are written in ASCII and must not contain any Unicode characters, nor single-byte characters
outside the allowed range (Char(9), Char(10), Char(13), Char(32)-Char(126)).
Note:
• User-defined dvf, cpy and spy files should comply with the rules presented above.
• To insure version compatibility of PLAXIS Monopile Designer with dvf, cpy and spy files, it is necessary that
users adapt the corresponding #Version number (e.g see sample in Format: Depth variation functions (on
page 129) ) according Table 21 (on page 120)
Table 21: Version compatibility for soil reaction curves files
Version compatibility
PLAXIS Monopile Designer dvf cpy spy
PLAXIS MoDeTo V1 1 - -
PLAXIS Monopile
2 1 1
Designer V20
PLAXIS Monopile
2 1 1
Designer V21

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Version compatibility
PLAXIS Monopile Designer dvf cpy spy
PLAXIS Monopile
3 2 2
Designer V22
5.5.2 Conventional p-y curves
Although not the primary usage of PLAXIS Monopile Designer, conventional horizontal soil reaction curves (‘p-y’
curves) can be specified for method comparison. Conventional p-y curves for both clay and sand are defined in
accordance with the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 2A-WSD, API RP 2A-WSD (API , 2014
(on page 147)). Since the PISA method only accounts for horizontal loading, conventional vertical soil reaction
curves (‘t-z’ and ‘Q-z’ curves) are not supported.
Note: Rotational soil reaction curves are not defined in conventional methods.
Soft and stiff clay

In accordance with the API Recommended Practice 2A-WSD (API, 2014) (on page 147)
puc = c1 su + γ ′ z + J su z / Dout for z < zR Eq. [7]
puc = c2 su for z ≥ zR Eq. [8]

where
puc = ultimate resistance of a clayey soil (kPa).
Dout = pile diameter (m).
su = undrained shear strength (undisturbed clay) (kPa).
γ′ = submerged soil unit weight (kN/m3).
c1 , c2 = dimensionless coefficients that, in the absence of more definitive
criteria, take the values suggested in (API, 2014) (on page 147):
c1 = 3 (suggested value).
c2 = 9 (suggested value; general variation: 8.0 - 12.0).
J = dimensionless empirical constant (general variation: 0.25 - 0.5).
z = depth below mudline (m).
zR = depth below mudline to the bottom of the reduced resistance zone
(m).
• In general zR ≥ 2.5D
• For a condition of constant strength with depth:
zR = 6D / ( γ ′ D / su + J )
• If strength varies with depth, zR is taken as the point of first
intersection between the values predicted by Eq.[7] and Eq. [8].

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Rule based models
Note: Note that the value of su to compute the default value of zR is taken as the value at mid-depth based on the
specified s and su, bottom : su,mid = su,top + ( zmid − ztop ) * ( s
u, top −s
u,bottom ) / (z
u,top − z ).
bottom top
Lateral soil resistance-deflection relationships for piles in soft clay are generally non-linear. The p-y curves for
the short-term static load case may be generated from the following table.
p/p uc y/y c
0 0
0.23 0.1
0.33 0.3
0.5 1
0.72 3
1 8
1 ∞
where
p = lateral resistance (kPa)
y = lateral deflection (m)
yc = 2.5 εc Dout (m)
εc = strain which occurs at one-half the max stress on laboratory undrained
compression test of undisturbed soil samples. The default value of εc is
determined based on the input su values, as given in the table below
su (kPa) εc
<48 0.020
48-96 0.010
96-192 0.005
>192 0.004
Sand
According to the API Recommended Practice 2A-WSD (API, 2014) (on page 147), at a given depth the equation
giving the smallest value of pu should be used as the ultimate bearing capacity:
pus,s = (s1 z + s2 Dout )γ ′ z Eq. [9]
pus,d = s3 zDout γ ′ z Eq. [10]
Thus, the bearing capacity of sand is obtained as:
pus,d = min { pus,s ( z ), pus,d ( z ) } Eq. [11]

Scientific Manual
Rule based models
where
pus,d = ultimate resistance (kN/m).
γ′ = submerged soil unit weight (kN/m3)
z = depth
Dout = pile diameter
s1, s2, s3 = dimensionless coefficients, obtained as function of the angle of
internal friction of sand, φ', from the following equations:
s1 = tan β { K p tan(α ) + K 0 tan(φ ′ )sin(β )(1 / cos(α ) + 1) − tan(α ) } Eq. [12]
s2 = K p − K A Eq. [13]
s3 = ( K p )2( K p + K 0 tan(φ )) − K A Eq. [14]

where :
K 0 = 0.4
(
K p = tan 45 deg +
φ ′
2
)2
tan(45 deg − 2 )
φ ′ 2
KA =
φ ′
α= 2
φ ′
β = 45 deg + 2
Figure 65: Dependency of coefficients s1, s2, s3 with the internal angle of friction
The lateral soil resistance-deflection (p-y) relationships for sand are also non-linear, reading:
p = A pus tanh kzy / ( A pus ) Eq. [15]
where
p = lateral resistance (kPa).
y = lateral deflection (m).

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Rule based models
A = factor to account for cyclic or static loading conditions, evaluated as:

• cyclic loading: A=0.9
• static loading: A=max{(3.0-0.8 z/D); 0.9}
k = initial modulus of subgrade reaction (kN/m3) -- determined as a function of
φ’ by the following equation for sand below the water table (adapted from
Thieken et al.,2015 (on page 148)), where φ’ in deg and k in kN/m3 .
k = 8.085 * (φ 2.45) − 26090 Eq. [16]
Note: Eq. [16] is valid for 29 deg < φ'< 45 deg. Outside of this range, a warning will be issued.
Format: Coventional p-y curves

The inputs for p-y curves are stored following a simple format in a text file readable as ASCII table by the tool.
The name can be user-defined, but the extension of the file should always be “.cpy” for clay and “.spy” for sand.
This file starts with a recognisable flag (see sample files further below) and contains:
• Version number.
Note: Before filling this data see Table 21 (on page 120) to ensure version compatibility of the file with your
current PLAXIS Monopile Designer instance.
• Soil material parameters, including soil type. These are the same parameters as in the dvf files.
• Default secondary parameters or input values.
• Default p-y curves or input table.
Note: Although some of the material parameters are not necessary to obtain the p-y curves according to the
conventional approach (API, 2014 (on page 147)), they are included for the purpose of generating the
corresponding 3D design verification model.
This is a sample file for conventional p-y curves for Clay:

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Rule based models
This is a sample file for conventional p-y curves for Sand:
5.5.3 Depth Variation Functions
The PISA rule-based models are defined in a common calibration space, so that the only factor that changes
between models is soil type. This rule-based calibration space is more extensive than those that would be used
in a typical numerical-based calibration, as it aims to cover a wide variety of geometries and design cases,
namely:
• 2 ≤ L/Dout ≤ 6
• 5 ≤ h/Dout ≤ 15
• 60 ≤ Dout/t ≤ 111

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Rule based models
Care should be taken when applying the PISA rule-based models outside of these ranges.
Table 22: Calibration space for PISA rule-based depth variation functions (Burd et al., 2020a, Byrne et al., 2020)
GeoDS_# L [m] h [m] t [m] D [m] E [kN/m2] h/D [-] L/D [-] D/t [-]
GeoDS_1 20 50 0.091 10 2.00E+08 5 2 110
GeoDS_2 20 150 0.091 10 2.00E+08 15 2 110
GeoDS_3 20 50 0.125 10 2.00E+08 5 2 80
GeoDS_4 60 50 0.091 10 2.00E+08 5 6 110
GeoDS_5 60 150 0.091 10 2.00E+08 15 6 110
GeoDS_6 10 25 0.045 5 2.00E+08 5 2 111
GeoDS_7 10 25 0.083 5 2.00E+08 5 2 60
GeoDS_8 30 25 0.045 5 2.00E+08 5 6 111
GeoDS_9 30 75 0.045 5 2.00E+08 15 6 111
GeoDS_10 15 37.5 0.068 7.5 2.00E+08 5 2 110
GeoDS_11 45 37.5 0.068 7.5 2.00E+08 5 6 110
Tip: For numerical-based design, a narrower calibration space may be defined by the project design envelope.
Cowden till and Bothkennar clay

The two PISA rule-based design models for clayey soils provide tabulated values for each of the 28 depth
variation function coefficients defined in Table 22 (on page 126) for two distinct clay types. The Cowden till
model (Byrne et al., 2020 (on page 147)) describes a stiff, overconsolidated glacial clay till with a typical North
Sea strength and stiffness profile, while the Bothkennar clay model (Burd et al., 2020b (on page 147)) defines a
well-known soft silty estuarine clay.
Table 23: DVF coefficients for Cowden till and Bothkennar clay models
Cowden till Bothkennar clay

Component Parameter Symbol DVF Coefficient (Byrne et al., 2020 (Burd et al., 2020b
(on page 147)) (on page 147))
Ultimate
vpu c1 241.4 173.8
displacement
Distributed
lateral load, p-v kp1 c2 10.6 12.05
Initial stiffness
kp2 c3 -1.65 -1.547

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Rule based models

np1 c4 0.939 0.7204

Curvature
np2 c5 -0.03345 -0.00268
pu1 c6 10.7 7.743

Ultimate
pu2 c7 -7.101 -3.945
reaction
pu3 c8 -0.3085 -0.08456
Ultimate
θmu c9 0.2042 0.2863
rotation
km1 c10 1.42 1.698

Initial stiffness
Distributed km2 c11 -0.09643 -0.1576
moment, m-θ
Curvature nm c12 0 0
mu1 c13 0.2899 0.4862

Ultimate
moment
mu2 c14 -0.04775 -0.05674
Ultimate
vHu1 c15 235.7 291.5
displacement
kH1 c16 2.717 3.008

Initial stiffness
kH2 c17 -0.3575 -0.2701
Base shear, HB-
vB nH1 c18 0.8793 0.3113
Curvature
n H2 c19 -0.0315 0.04263
H Bu1 c20 0.4038 0.5279

Ultimate
reaction
H Bu2 c21 0.04812 0.06864
Ultimate
θ Mu c22 173.1 187
rotation
k M1 c23 0.2146 0.3409

Base moment, Initial stiffness
MB-θB k M2 c24 -0.00213 -0.01995
n M1 c25 1.079 0.699

Curvature
n M2 c26 -0.1087 -0.1155

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Rule based models

M Bu1 c27 0.8192 0.8756

Ultimate
reaction
M Bu2 c28 -0.08588 -0.09195
General Dunkirk Sand Model (GDSM)

The General Dunkirk Sand Model (GDSM) provides tabulated values for each of the 24 depth variation function
coefficients defined in Table 22 (on page 126), accounting for linear dependencies on the relative density (RD).
The model was initially calibrated from the homogeneous dense sand (RD = 75%) at the Dunkirk test site and
generalised to arbitrary values of the relative density in the range 45% ≤ RD ≤ 90%.
Table 24: DVF coefficients as a function of Relative Density for General Dunkirk Sand Model; 45% ≤ RD ≤ 90%
GDSM (Burd et al., 2020a (on

Component Parameter Symbol DVF Coefficient
page 147))
Ultimate
v pu s1 146.1-92.11*RD
displacement
k p1 s2 8.731-0.6982*RD
Initial stiffness
Distributed lateral k p2 s3 -0.9178
load, p-y
Curvature np s4 0.917+0.06193*RD
p u1 s5 0.3667+25.89*RD
Ultimate reaction
p u2 s6 0.3375-8.900*RD
Ultimate rotation θ mu s7 0.01532
Initial stiffness km s8 17
Distributed moment,
Curvature nm s9 0
m-θ
m u1 s10 0.2605
Ultimate moment
m u2 s11 -0.1989+0.2019*RD
v Hu1 s12 0.5150+2.883*RD

Ultimate
displacement
v Hu2 s13 0.1695-0.7018*RD
Base shear, HB-vB
k H1 s14 6.505-2.985*RD
Initial stiffness
k H2 s15 -0.007969-0.4299*RD

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Rule based models
GDSM (Burd et al., 2020a (on

Component Parameter Symbol DVF Coefficient
page 147))
n H1 s16 0.09978+0.7974*RD
Curvature
nH2 s17 0.004994-0.07005*RD
H Bu1 s18 0.09952+0.7996*RD

Ultimate reaction
H Bu2 s19 0.03988-0.1606*RD
Ultimate rotation θMu s20 44.89
Initial stiffness kM s21 0.3515
Base moment, MB-θB Curvature nM s22 0.300+0.4986*RD
M Bu1 s23 0.09981+0.3710*RD

Ultimate reaction
M Bu2 s24 0.01998-0.09041*RD
Note: In the PISA models, the distributed rotational soil reaction curves are assumed linear elastic perfectly
plastic, with coefficient of curvature nm = 0. Thus, for any given depth the ultimate rotation, θmu(z), is uniquely
defined from the ultimate moment, mu(z), and the initial stiffness, km(z), and coefficient s7 is unnecessary. In
PLAXIS Monopile Designer, the value of coefficient s7 is only used for display purposes. The value of s7 in Table
[link] corresponds to the ultimate rotation at depth z = 0 and is obtained as s7 = s10/s8.
Format: Depth variation functions

The depth variation functions are stored following a simple format in a text file readable as ASCII table by the
tool. The name can be user-defined, but the extension of the file should always be ".dvf". The file produced from
the Optimisation Module in the Calibration mode, if the numerical-based design is followed, is named as
"calibrated.dvf". User-defined files of the same format can be created and imported in the tool via the Analysis
mode. This file starts with a recognisable flag (see sample files further below) and contains:
• Version number.
• Parameterisation function type, e.g. conic.
• Soil material parameters, including soil profile (Sand/Clay) and drainage type (drained/undrained) per soil
layer.
• The used geometry data sets during the calibration: L, h, t, Dout , E.
• The maximum reached displacement and rotation at ground level during the calibration.
• The fitting parameters.
In total 24 parameters are needed to define the depth variation functions for Sand, and 28 parameters for Clay
respectively. If the numerical-based design is followed, the values of the needed parameters are defined by the
Optimisation Module. If the rule-based design is followed the user needs to specify the values.
This is a sample file for depth variations functions for Clay:

Scientific Manual
Rule based models
This is a sample file for depth variations functions for Sand:

Scientific Manual
1D FE Model
The 16 fitting parameters used in the conic function are derived from the values of the 28 (or 24) parameters
presented above. They are used by the 1D FE model to conduct the 1D analysis and additionally to plot the depth
variation functions in the Calibration and Analysis modes (Results inspection pane).
5.6 1D FE Model
5.6.1 Formulation of the model 1D FE Model
The 1D finite element model employed to represent the monopile, and the soil-structure interaction behaviour,
is based on the use of Timoshenko beam elements combined with conforming finite elements for the soil. The
numerical approach is described in Burd et al. (2020a) (on page 147) , and Byrne et al. (2020) (on page 147) .
The implementation details provided below are based on a set of notes developed by Prof. H.J. Burd.
A 1D model of the monopile is shown in Figure 66 (on page 132). Plane sections of the cross-section stay plane,
although cross-sections orthogonal to the centroidal axis may not remain orthogonal according to Timoshenko
beam theory used to model the monopile.

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1D FE Model
M
H
z y
ground level
Timoshenko
beam Lateral soil
finite element reaction
p(z,v)
Distributed
moment
m(z, P )
Base horizontal
force H B (v B ) Base
moment
M B(P B )
Figure 66: 1D structural model of monopile foundation for a wind turbine (redrawn from Byrne et al., 2020)
Kinematics
Adopted kinematics are presented in Figure 67 (on page 133). Eq. [17] describes the axial and transverse
displacements in a pile in a case where the neutral axis coincides with the centroid of the pile.
w(y, z) = yθ(z) v(y, z) = v0(z) + f (y) Eq. [17]
where
θ = the clockwise rotation of the beam cross-section (assumed to remain
plane)
v0 = lateral displacement of the pile centroid
f(y) = function to represent the coupling between the axial and transverse
strains, which are defined by:
εzz =
∂w
∂z
= y dz
dθ
ε yy =
∂f
∂z
γ yz =
∂v
∂z
+
∂w
∂y
=ψ+θ (where ψ=
∂ν
∂z
) Eq. [18]

Scientific Manual
1D FE Model
z, w
y, v
Pile cross-section
Pile
Figure 67: Monopile foundation for a wind turbine support structure (redrawn from Byrne et al., 2018b)
Bending moment and shear force

The axial stress in the pile is σzz = Eεzz . The bending moment is:
dθ dθ
M = ∫σzz ydA = E ∫y 2dA dz
= EI dz
Eq. [19]
Note: A positive bending moment causes tension on the y-positive side of the pile.
The shear force is:

Q = ∫Gγ yz dA = GAκ(θ + ψ) Eq. [20]
where
G = The shear modulus
A = the cross-sectional area of the pile
κ = shear factor
Virtual work
At equilibrium the total virtual work is zero. The external virtual work is:
δW E = − H T δvT − M T δθT Eq. [21]
where
HT and MT = horizontal force and moment applied at the top of the pile (as in
Figure 67 (on page 133))
vT and θT = the lateral displacement and cross-section rotation at the top of
the pile.
The internal virtual work is:

Scientific Manual
1D FE Model
δW I = ∫pile M ( dδθ
dz
)
+ V (δψ + δθ) + p(z, v)δv + m(z, θ)δθ dz
Eq. [22]
+H B δv B + M B δθB
This may be expressed:
δW I = ∫pile ( dδθ
dz
EI dz + (δψ + δθ)GAκ(ψ + θ) + δvp(z, v) + δθm(z, θ))dz
dθ
Eq. [23]
+δvB H B + δθB M B
Finite element discretisation

The pile is discretised into 2-noded finite elements as shown in Figure 68 (on page 134). The lateral
displacement within each element is determined using Eq. [24]:
1 2
Figure 68: 2-noded beam element
v = N 1h V 1 + N 2h Θ1 + N 3h V 2 + N 4h Θ2 Eq. [24]
where N ih are set of Hermitian shape functions given by:
N 1h = 1 − 3α 2 + 2α 3 Eq. [25]
N 2h = α L e
(1 − 2α + α 2) Eq. [26]
N 3h = 3α 2 − 2α 3 Eq. [27]
N 4h = α L e
( − α + α 2) Eq. [28]
where α ( 0 < α < 1 ) is a parametric variable defined by the interpolation:
z = N 1′Z 1 + N 2′Z 2 Eq. [29]
and N il are the Langrangian interpolation functions:
N1 = 1 − α N2 = α Eq. [30]
According to Astley (1992) (on page 147) , within each element the shear strain is constant, γ0 and therefore
ψ = γ0 − θ. This gives:
v = N 1V 1 − N 2θ1 + ( N 2 + N 4)γ0 + N 3V 2 − N 4θ2 Eq. [31]
The first and second derivatives are defined as shown in Formulation of the model 1D FE Model (on page 131)
Finite element equations for the pile

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1D FE Model
1. Bending terms:
dθ
The bending moment in the pile is M = EI dz
. For the current beam element formulation:
d γ0 2
dθ dψ dψ d v
dz
= − dz
+ dz
= − dz
= − 2
Eq. [32]
dz
This may be expressed in matrix form:

dθ
dz
= B BV Eq. [33]
¯ ¯
where:
BB =
d
2
( N 1h ) d
2
( N 2h ) d
2
( N 2h + N 4h ) d
2
( N 3h ) d
2
( N 4h ) Eq. [34]
2
− 2 2 2
− 2
¯ dz dz dz dz dz
V T = V1 θ1 γ0 V2 θ2 Eq. [35]
¯
The terms BB are:
1
BB = 2
6 − 12α L e (6α − 4) L e (6 − 12α) 12α − 6 L e (6α − 2) Eq. [36]
¯ Le
The element force vector fB and the element stiffness matrix kB are:
f B = ∫element B TB Mdz k B = ∫element B TB E I B B dz Eq. [37]

¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
2. Shear terms:
The shear force within the pile element is:
γ0 = B S V Eq. [38]
¯ ¯
where:
BS = 0 0 1 0 0 Eq. [39]
¯
The corresponding element force and stiffness matrices are:
f S = ∫element B T
S Vdz k S = ∫element B T
S κGAB S dz Eq. [40]
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
Finite element equations for the soil

The lateral displacement v within the element is:
h
v = B V V where B V = N 1 − N 2
h
( N 2h + N 4h ) N 3h − N 4h Eq. [41]
¯ ¯
The element force and stiffness matrices are:
f DP = ∫element B V
¯ ¯
T
pdz k DP = ∫element B T
¯ ¯
V ( dp
dv
)B¯ V dz Eq. [42]
The cross-section pile rotation θ is:
θ = BθV
¯
where Bθ =
¯
d N 1h
dz
−
d N 2h
dz
( d N 2h
dz
+
d N 4h
dz
+1 ) d N 3h
dz
−
d N 4h
dz
Eq. [43]
The element force and stiffness matrices are:

Scientific Manual
1D FE Model
f θ = ∫element BθT mdz

¯
k θ = ∫element BVT
¯
( dm
dθ
)B¯ θdz Eq. [44]
Hermitian shape functions

N 1h = 1 − 3α 2 + 2α 3 Eq. [45]
N 2h = α L e
(1 − 2α + α 2) Eq. [46]
N 3h = 3α 2 − 2α 3 Eq. [47]
N 4h = α L e
( − α + α 2) Eq. [48]
The first derivatives are:

h
d N1 d N 1h
dα
= − 6α + 6α 2
dx
=
1
Le
( − 6α + 6α 2) Eq. [49]
d N 2h d N 2h
dα
=L (
e 1 − 4α + 3α
2)
dx
= 1 − 4α + 3α 2 Eq. [50]
d N 3h d N 3h
dα
= 6α − 6α 2
dx
=
1
L e
(6α − 6α 2) Eq. [51]
d N 4h d N 4h
dα
= L e ( − 2α + 3α 2) dx
= − 2α + 3α 2 Eq. [52]
The second derivatives are:

2 h 2
d N1 d N 1h 1
2
= 12α − 6 2
= 2
(12α − 6) Eq. [53]
dα dx Le
2 2
d N 2h d N 2h 1
2
= L e (6α − 4) 2
= Le
(6α − 4) Eq. [54]
dα dx
2 2
d N 3h d N 3h 1
2
= 6 − 12α 2
= 2
(6 − 12α) Eq. [55]
dα dx Le
2 2
d N 4h d N 4h 1
2
= L e (6α − 2) 2
= Le
(6α − 2) Eq. [56]
dα dx
5.6.2 Implementation aspects of the 1D FE model
Mesh
Pile height and embedded pile length mesh with the same element size. The maximum number of elements in
each part of the pile (height and embedded length) is set to 100. Therefore, the finest mesh does not exceed a
total number of 200 elements.

Scientific Manual
1D FE Model
It should also be noted that the finite element equations of both pile and soil reaction are assembled along the
same 2-noded elements of the mesh. In other words, there is no distinction between pile elements and soil
elements.
Solution control and arc-length method

In the 1D model, the pile structure is modelled by linear elastic beam elements whereas a series of non-linear
curves model soil reactions. This combination results in a non-linear problem which needs to be solved in a
series of steps. An iteration process is performed in each step, to reduce the equilibrium error to a relatively
small number. The pile-soil system might also fail at a certain level of external loads. Here, the failure is reached
when the soil-reaction springs reach their ultimate capacity. Therefore, the solution method should be able to
trace the post-failure response of such a system. In the current implementation of the 1D model, arc-length
control is used as the solution method. The main idea of the arc-length method is that the load increment Δλ is
considered as an additional unknown. Among the various types of the method, Riks' formulation (Riks, 1979 (on
page 148)) is implemented. The main equations are presented. For more details on the topic, see Borst et al.
(2012) (on page 147).
Δu i+1 = Δu i + du i+1 Eq. [57]

¯ ¯ ¯
du i+1 = du i+1
/ + Δλdu i+1
// Eq. [58]
¯ ¯ ¯
−1
du i+1
| = K elasticr Eq. [59]
¯ ¯ ¯
r = F iext − F iint Eq. [60]
¯ ¯ ¯
i+1 −1 ^
du // = K F Eq. [61]
¯ ¯ ¯
1 T i+1
Δu d u/
i+1 ¯ ¯
Δλ = Eq. [62]
1 T i+1
Δu d u //
¯ ¯
where
F iext = external applied load at iteration i
¯i
F int = internal forces at iteration i
¯
K elastic = elastic stiffness matrix
¯ i
Δu = cumulative vector of unknowns (displacements and rotation) at
¯ iteration i
Δλ = load factor
F^ = unit external load
¯
In the 1D model, the finite element equations of the pile-soil system need to be solved for different variables,
namely displacements and rotations. These displacements and rotations are used to compute internal forces
(shear and bending moments) which should be in equilibrium with external forces. The presence of different
units for forces and moments requires an accurate convergence checking. For this purpose, an energy norm is
used to check for equilibrium:
(F¯ iext )
− F iint ⋅ Δu i
¯ ¯
Error = −1
< tolerance Eq. [63]
F ext K elastic F ext
¯ ¯ ¯
Error checking using energy norms requires tighter tolerances compared to other methods such as residual or
displacement based methods. In the 1D FE calculation, a default value of 0.0001 (10-4)) is selected.

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1D FE Model
Automatic stepping procedure

In the 1D model, an automatic stepping scheme is adopted. The very first step size is set to the user-defined Max
load fraction per step parameter. At the end of each step, the size of the next step is predicted. This new step size
is a function of the total number of iterations required for the convergence of the current step.
If a step takes maximum 6 iterations to converge, then the next step size is twice the current one (up-scaling). On
the other hand, if a step does not converge within maximum 15 iterations, then the current step size is reduced
by a factor of 0.5 (down-scaling). For a certain step with a successive scale-down process, scaling-down is
stopped if the total number of iterations exceeds the user-defined Max number of iterations.
Numerical integration
All the integral equations are evaluated using 4 Gaussian integration points. Since all the shape functions and
their derivatives are functions of the parametric coordinate α , the following transformation is performed:
α = 0.5 ⋅ (1 + ξ) Eq. [64]
which transforms the standard Gaussian coordinates ξ ϵ [-1, 1] to the parametric coordinates α ϵ [0, 1].
Precalculation checks
The following precalculation checks are performed by the 1D FE model before the analysis is performed:
For the distributed lateral load:
1. If k p < k p,min → k p = c3 ⋅ (z / D) ⋅ k p,min/ ( k p,min − c2 ) , otherwise k p = c2 + c3 ⋅ (z / D)
2. If n p < 0 → n p = 0
3. If n p > 1 → n p = 1
4. If ¯v pu < p̄ u / k p → v̄ pu = p̄ u / k p
5. If p̄ u ≤ 0 or k p = 0 → the output of the conic function is set to zero: p̄ = 0 and
d p̄ / dv̄ p = 0
Note that kp,min is a minimum value of the initial stiffness parameter , determined during the parameterisation.
This is to prevent negative values of stiffness close to the ground level.
For the distributed moment:
1. If θ̄ mu < m̄ / k → θ̄ mu = m̄ / k
u m u m
2. If m̄ u ≤ 0 or k m ≤ 0 → the output of the conic function is set to zero: m̄ = 0 and dm̄ dθ̄ = 0
/ m
For the base horizontal force:
1. If nH < 0 → nH = 0
2. If nH > 1 → nH = 1
3. If V̄ Hu < H̄ Bu / k H → V̄ Hu = H̄ Bu / k H
4. If H̄ Bu ≤ 0 or k H ≤ 0 → the output of the conic function is set to zero: H̄ B = 0 and
d H̄ B / dv̄ H = 0
For the base moment:

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
1. If n M < 0 → nM = 0
2. If nM > 1 → nM = 1
3. If θ̄ Mu < M̄ / k → θ̄ Mu = M̄ / k
Bu M Bu M
4. If M̄ Bu ≤ 0 or kM ≤ 0 → the output of the conic function is set to zero: M̄ B = 0 and
d M̄ B / dθ̄ M = 0
Post-processing
The 1D model calculates the primary variables, i.e. displacements and rotations on the mesh nodes. The shear
forces and bending moments of each finite element are computed using the interpolated primary variables on
the Gauss points. These forces and moments are then extrapolated to the nodes. Finally, the values on the
common nodes of the neighbouring elements are averaged to ensure only one value per node.
5.7 Results Mode
5.7.1 Realised H
The realised horizontal force H applied to the monopile head is defined as a minimum of Hinput and the Hinput
multiplied by the Load factor:
H = min (H input; Load factor ⋅ H input) Eq. [65]
Note: The mentioned Hinput is referred to as H in the user interface (Analysis and Results modes).
The H-v plot is based on the realised load H.
5.7.2 Realised M
The realised moment M applied to the monopile head is defined as a minimum of Minput and the Minput multiplied
by the Load factor:
M = min (M input; Load factor ⋅ M input) Eq. [66]
Note: The mentioned Minput is referred to as M in the Analysis and Results modes.
The M-θ plot is based on the realised moment M.

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
5.7.3 Load factor
H max M max
Load factor = H input
= M input
Eq. [67]
Note: In the UI, H and M are indicated as Hinput and Minput
The Load factor is calculated based on the input horizontal load Hinput and moment Minput. The input horizontal
load and moment are multiplied by 3.0 to derive the values of Hmax and Mmax respectively. The horizontal load
and moment are applied incrementally. The increments dH and dM are determined per step until the maximum
applied load Hmax or moment Mmax are reached.
If Hmax and/or Mmax at the end of the calculation is less than Hinput and/or Minput then the load factor will be less
than 1.0 indicating that under the selected analysis settings the specified input load and/or moment cannot be
fully applied.
A load factor of 3.0 means that the input load and/or moment is at least 3.0 times less than the maximum load
and/or moment that can be applied to the pile, under the selected analysis settings.
5.7.4 Accuracy metrics η and ρ
An accuracy metrics, η and ρ, are computed to quantify the quality of the match between the 3D finite element
calibration analyses and the 1D model. The formulation and application of the accuracy metric is described in
Byrne et al. (2020) (on page 147).
The accuracy metrics η and ρ is displayed at the top of the graph of a selected 3D model of only the lateral load-
displacements (H-v) at mudline.
The accuracy metric η is calculated as follows:
( Aref − Adif)
η= Aref
≤ 1.0 Eq. [68]
where Aref is the area under the reference curve up to a specific lateral displacements threshold, i.e. the curve
that corresponds to the (selected) 3D results, and Adif is the area in between the curve of the 1D results and the
curve of the 3D results, up to the same lateral displacements threshold (Figure 69 (on page 141)a)). A perfect
match means the accuracy metric equals 1.0. The lateral displacements threshold is defined as the lower value of
the maximum displacement reached by the 1D model and the selected 3D model.
Note: Low values of the accuracy metric η (close to zero) should also be interpreted as a bad match. In all cases,
the user is advised to visually inspect the compared curves and not simply rely on the computed metric.
The second accuracy metric ρ is calculated as follows:

H 1D
ρ= H 3D
Eq. [69]

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
where H1D and H3D are, respectively, the horizontal forces predicted by the 1D model and the 3D model for a
constant value of the displacement at mudline.
A perfect match means the accuracy metric ρ equals 1.0. Values larger than 1.0 imply an over-prediction of
ultimate capacity by the 1D model, while values smaller than 1.0 imply an under-prediction (Figure 69 (on page
141)b).
3D 1D
Lateral reaction force at mudline (kN)

A ref
A dif
Lateral displacement (m)
Figure 69: Graphic representation of accuracy metrics η and ρ for large (a) and small displacements (b) (After Burd
et al., 2020a)
5.7.5 H-v and M-θ
The values of H and M that are plotted on the charts and provided in the tables are selected as follows:
• For the 1D analysis results the values of H and M are always retrieved from the values of H and M at the head
(Hhead, Mhead) from the 1D model results.
• The radio buttons in the chart influence only the displayed lateral displacements and do not have any control
over the displayed forces and moments:
• If head is selected → vhead and θhead are plotted
• If head is selected → vhead and θhead are plotted
• If mudline is selected → vmudline and θmudline are plotted
• If base is selected → vbase and θbase are plotted
• The table for the H-v graph contains all the information, no matter the selected radio button. The following
columns are provided:
• Model: 1D Analysis, GeoDS_#
• Hmudline [kN]
• vhead [m]
• vmudline [m]
• vbase [m]
• The table for the M-θ graph contains all the information, no matter the selected radio button. The following
columns are provided:

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
• Model: 1D Analysis, GeoDS_#

• Μmudline [kNm]
• θhead [rad]
• θmudline [rad]
• θbase [rad]
• The available data from a selected 3D model are plotted only in the case that the mudline radio button is
selected.
5.7.6 v(z) and θ(z) plots
The data from the last calculation step of the 1D analysis are plotted. For the plots of the data retrieved from 3D
models, average values are used per monopile slice for the deflection and the cross section rotation. Note that
the lateral load applied to the 1D model should be adjusted properly in order to obtain a legitimate comparison
between the 1D and the corresponding 3D model.
5.7.7 Soil profile plots
The data plot on the σv0′

()
z , G0 ( z ) , su ( z ) , c ′ ( z ) , φ ′ ( z ) , φ ( z ) , and K 0 ( z ) graphs are retrieved from the imported
dvf file in the Analysis mode.
5.7.8 p(z) plot
The retrieving of the data from the 1D FE model output results is done as follows:
• Shaft:
• Continuous line
• Only for the last calculation step, all depths from zero to L are used, and the corresponding lateral soil
reaction is plotted
• Base:
• Single point
• Only for the last calculation step, the base horizontal force data at depth L are plotted
5.7.9 SACS pile models
Note: This feature is provided as a Technology Preview

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
Exporting to SACS/OpenWindPower automatically creates a Pile Input file in the native format of SACS and
OpenWindPower (Bentley Systems, 2021), which contains information on the monopile geometry, soil
parameters, and Numerical or Parametric soil reaction curves. The different exported variables, their units, and
transformations are listed in this section. For each table, the ‘Transformation’ column contains the SACS variable
expressed in terms of PLAXIS variables.
Note: Transformations include changes of units. All files are exported using the 'MN - Metric units with forces in
kiloNewtons' unit setting.
Tip: Exported Pile Input files can be inspected and modified using SACS Datagen (Bentley Systems, 2021) or any
plain text editor.
Pile geometry
By default, it is assumed the pile-structure joint is located at the mudline. Thus, only the geometry below the
mudline is exported. Sections, or parts of sections, above z = 0 are ignored.
Table 25: Mapping of pile geometry parameters
Variable in PLAXIS Units Variable in SACS Units Transformation
Not modelled. It is assumed the

Load eccentricity (h) [m] Pile head height [m] pile-structure joint is located at the
mudline.
• For Calibration models (GeoDS),

a single pile segment is
generated, ranging from z = 0 to
Embedded length z = -L
[m] Pile segment length [m] • For 3D verification models, one
(L)
segment is generated per each
thickness section between z = 0
and z = -L, where Segment
length = | Bottom – Top |
Outside diameter
[m] Outside diameter [cm] Dout * 100
(Dout)
Thickness (t) [m] Wall thickness [cm] t * 100
Unit weight (γ = 0) [kN/m3] - - Not used
Elasticity modulus Elasticity modulus

[kN/m2] [MN/cm2] E * 10 -7
(E) (E)
Poisson's ratio (v) - - - Not used
- [kN/m2] Shear modulus (G) [MN/cm2] E / [2 * (1 + v)] * 10 -7
- [kN/m2] Yield stress (SY) [kN/cm2] 36.0 (Assumed)

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
Cross-section area Available end

[m2] [m2] A (Assuming unplugged behaviour)
(A) bearing area

Since the PISA method only accounts for horizontal loading, only horizontal and rotational soil reaction curves
are exported from PLAXIS Monopile Designer Vertical soil reaction curves are internally generated in SACS/
OpenWindPower from the soil parameter data in PLAXIS Monopile Designer.
Horizontal and rotational curves

For each monopile model, either the Numerical or the Parametric soil reaction curves can be exported.
• In Calibration mode:
• Numerical: exports the raw soil reaction curves from 3D FEM. Requires the GeoDS to be Calculated.
• Parametric: exports the parameterised soil reaction curves, obtained from the depth variation functions
and denormalised from the formulae presented in Table 19 (on page 115): Normalisation formulae for
Sand and Clay (Burd et al., 2020a (on page 147), Byrne al., 2020 (on page 147)). Requires the 1D analysis
to be Calculated.
• In Analysis mode:
• Numerical: exports the raw soil reaction curves from the 3D design verification model. Requires the 3D
verification model to be Calculated.
• o Parametric: exports the parameterised soil reaction curves, obtained from the depth variation functions
and denormalised from the formulae presented in Table 19 (on page 115): Normalisation formulae for
Sand and Clay (Burd et al., 2020a (on page 147), Byrne al., 2020 (on page 147)). Requires the 1D analysis
to be Calculated.
Before exporting, soil reaction curves are simplified to a maximum of 30 data points, while preserving their
general shape.
p [kN/m] P [kN/cm] p / 100
v [m] Y [cm] v * 100
m [kNm/m] M [kNm/cm] m / 100
θ [rad] T [rad] θ
HB [kN] BH [kN] HB
vB [m] V [cm] vB * 100
MB [kNm] BM [kNm] MB
θB [rad] BT [rad] θB

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
Vertical curves
Conventional vertical soil reaction curves ('t-z' and 'Q-z' curves) are automatically generated in SACS/
OpenWindPower from a series of basic input parameters, following the API RP 2A-WSD (API, 2014). These are
calculated from the Soil parameters in PLAXIS Monopile Designer via the following relations:
Sand parameters:
Slice top [m] Top of stratum [m] | Top |
Slice bottom [m] Bottom of stratum [m] | Bottom |
Earth gravity (g) [m/s2] - - Not used
- - Location - B - Below water table
Submerged unit weight

[kN/m3] Submerged density [t/m3] γ' / g
(γ')
Shear stiffness (G 0 ) [kN/m2] - - Not used
Friction angle between φ' * 0.9 (Liu et al., 2019 (on

[deg]
pile and soil (delta) page 148))
Effective internal friction • φ' < 22.5: SILT

[deg]
angle (φ') • 2.5 ≤ φ' < 27.5: SNSL
Soil type [-] • 27.5 ≤ φ' < 32.5: SLSN
• 32.5 ≤ φ' < 37.5: SAND
• 37.5 ≤ φ': GRAV
Dilation angle (psi) [deg] - - Not used
Coefficient of lateral
Coefficient of lateral earth 0.8 (Recommended value for
- earth pressure [at -
pressure at rest (K 0 ) unplugged piles)
failure] (K)
Limiting end bearing

- - [kN/cm2] Default: From soil type
cap.
- - Overburden pressure [kg/cm2] Default: Internal calculation
- - Limiting skin friction - Default: From soil type
Clay parameters:
Table 26: PLAXIS-SACS mapping of soil variables (clay)
Slice top [m] Top of stratum [m] | Top |

Scientific Manual
Results Mode
Slice bottom [m] Bottom of stratum [m] | Bottom |
Earth gravity (g) [m/s2] - - Not used
Submerged unit weight [kN/m3] Submerged density [t/m3] γ' / g

(γ')
Shear stiffness (G 0 ) [kN/m2] - - Not used
Undrained shear strength [kN/m2] Undrained shear [kN/cm2] (su,top + su,bottom ) / 2 * 10 -4

(su,top, su,bottom ) strength
Coefficient of lateral earth - - - Not used

pressure at rest (K 0 )
- - Soil type - CLAY
- - Overburden pressure [kg/cm2] Default: Internal calculation

References
6
1. API RP 2A-WSD 22nd Ed (2014). API Recommended Practice 2A-WSD. Planning, Designing, and Constructing
Fixed Offshore Platforms-Working Stress Design. 22nd Edition. American Petroleum Institute Publishing
Services. Washington, DC.
2. Andresen, L., Jostad, H.P. (1999). Application of an anisotropic hardening model for undrained response of
saturated clay. Proc. NUMOG VII, 581–585.
3. Astley, R. (1992). Finite elements in solids and structures. Chapman and Hall Publishers.
4. Bentley Systems (2020). SACS Pile-Soil Interaction Manual. SACS CONNECT Edition Version 15.1. Bentley
Systems, New Orleans, LA.
5. Borst, R.D., Crisfield, M.A., Remmers, J.J.C., Verhoosel, C.V. (2012). Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis of
Solids and Structures. Wiley Online Library, USA.
6. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Kumarswamy, S., Swolfs, W. (2021). PLAXIS 3D - Material Model Manual. PLAXIS CONNECT
Edition V22.00. Bentley Systems, The Netherlands.
7. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Lisi, D., Lahoz, M., Panagoulias, S. (2020). Validation and application of a new software tool
implementing the PISA design methodology. In J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(6), 457.
8. Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Engin, E., Engin, H.K. (2010). Validation of empirical formulas to derive model parameters
for sands. 7th NUMGE, Trondheim, Norway.
9. Burd, H.J., Taborda, D.M.G., Zdravkovic, L., Abadie, C.N., Byrne, B.W., Houlsby, G.T., Gavin, K., Igoe, D., Jardine,
R.J., Martin, C.M., McAdam, R.A., Pedro, A.M.G., Potts, D.M. (2020a). PISA Design Model for Monopiles for
Offshore Wind Turbines: Application to a Marine Sand. In Géotechnique 2020 70:11, 1048-1066.
10. Burd, H.J., Abadie, C.N., Byrne, B.W., Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.T., McAdam, R.A., Jardine, R.J., Pedro, A.M.G., Potts,
D.M., Taborda, D.M.G., Zdravkovic, L., Pacheco Andrade, M. (2020b). Application of the PISA design model to
monopiles embedded in layered soils. In Géotechnique 2020 70:11, 1067-1082.
11. Burd, H.J., Byrne, B.W., McAdam, R.A., Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.M., Beuckelaers, W.J.A.P., Zdravkovic, L.,
Taborda, D.M.G., Potts, D.M., Jardine, R.J., Gavin, K., Doherty, P., Igoe, D., Skov Gretlund, J., Pacheco Andrade,
M., Muir Wood, A. (2017). Design aspects for monopile foundations. In proceedings of TC209 Workshop -
Foundation Design of Offshore Wind Structures, At Seoul, Korea, 35–44.
12. Byrne, B.W., Houlsby, G.T., Burd, H.J., Gavin, K., Igoe, D., Jardine, R.J., Martin, C.M., McAdam, R.A., Potts, D.M.,
Taborda, D.M.G., Zdravkovic, L. (2020). PISA design model for monopiles for offshore wind turbines:
Application to a stiff glacial clay till. Géotechnique 2020 70:11, 1030-1047
13. Byrne, B.W. (2020). Editorial: geotechnical design for offshore wind turbine monopiles. In Géotechnique
2020 70:11, 943-944.
14. Byrne, B.W., Burd, H.J., Kenneth, G., Houlsby, G.T., Jardine, R.J., McAdam, R.A., Martin, C.M., Potts, D.M.,
Taborda, D.M.G., Zdravkovic, L. (2018). PISA: Recent Developments in Offshore Wind Turbine Monopile
Design. In Vietnam Symposium on Advances in Offshore Engineering.
15. Byrne, B.W., McAdam, R.A., Burd, H.J., Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.M., Beuckelaer, W.J.A.P., Taborda, L.Z.D.M.G.,
Jardine, R.J., Liu, E.U.T., Abadias, D., Gavin, K., Igoe, D., Doherty, P., Skov Gretlund, J., Pacheco Andrade, M., Muir
Wood, A., Schroeder, F.C., Turner, S., Plummer, M.A.L. (2017). PISA: new design methods for offshore wind

References
turbine monopiles. In proceedings of the Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics International
Conference (OSIG), 142–161.
16. Byrne, B.W., McAdam, R.A., Burd, H.J., Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.M., Gavin, K., Doherty, P., Igoe, D., Zdravkovic, L.,
Tabordo, D.M.G., Potts, D.M., Jardine, R.J., Sideri, M., Schroeder, F.C., Muir Wood, A., Kellehave, D., Skov
Gretlund, J. (2015a). Field testing of large diameter piles under lateral loading for offshore wind applications.
Third International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG 2015).
17. Byrne, B.W., McAdam, R.A., Burd, H.J., Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.M., Zdravkovic, L., Taborda, D.M.G., Potts, D.M.,
Jardine, R.J., Sideri, M., Schroeder, F.C., Gavin, K., Doherty, P., Igoe, D., Muir Wood, A., Kellahave, D., Skov
Gretlund, J. (2015b). New design methods for large diameter piles under lateral loading for offshore wind
applications. In proceedings of Third International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechics, volume 1,
705–7010.
18. Kaltekis, K., Panagoulias, S., van Dijk, B.F.J., Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Ramos da Silva, M. (2019). Comparative concept
design study of laterally loaded monopiles. In: Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2019; Vol. 1222, No. 1.
19. Jardine, R., Chow, F., Overy, R. (2005). ICP design methods for driven piles in sands and clays. Thomas
Telford, London.
20. Liu, J., Guo, Z., Han, B. (2019). Load transfer of offshore open-ended pipe piles considering the effect of soil
plugging. In J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7, 313.
21. Palix, E., Willems, T., Kay, S. (2011). Caisson capacity in clay: VHM resistance envelope - part 1: 3D FEM
numerical study. Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG), 753–758.
22. Panagoulias, S., Nernheim, A., Lisi, D., Lahoz, M., Brinkgreve, R.B.J. (2020). Concept design study of laterally
loaded monopiles in sand. In Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore
Geotechnics (ISFOG 2021), Austin, TX.
23. Panagoulias, S., Hosseini, S., Brinkgreve, R.B.J., Burd, H.J. (2019). Design of laterally-loaded monopiles in
layered soils. 2nd International Conference on Natural Hazards & Infrastructure (ICONHIC), Chania, Greece.
24. Panagoulias, S., Brinkgreve, R.B., Minga, E., Burd, H.J., McAdam, R.A. (2018a). Application of the PISA
framework to the design of offshore wind turbine monopile foundations. WindEurope 2018 Conference at
the Global Wind Summit, Hamburg, Germany.
25. Panagoulias, S., Hosseini, S., Brinkgreve, R. (2018b). An innovative design methodology for offshore wind
monopile foundations. 26th European Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference, Graz, Austria.
26. Riks, E. (1979). An incremental approach to the solution of snapping and buckling problems. International
Journal of Solids and Structures, 524–551.
27. Thieken K., Achmus, M., Lemke, K. (2015). A new static p-y approach for piles with arbitrary dimensions in
sand. In geotechnik 2015 38:4, 267-288.
28. Winkler, E. (1867). Die Lehre von Elasticität und Festigkeit. H. Dominicus, Prague.
29. Zdravkovic, L., Taborda, D., Potts, D., Jardine, R., Sideri, M., Schroeder, F.C., Byrne, B.W., Burd, R.A.M.H.J.,
Houlsby, G.T., Martin, C.M., Gavin, K., Doherty, P., Igoe, D., Muir Wood, A., Kellahave, D., Skov Gretlund, J.
(2015). Numerical modelling of large diameter piles under lateral loading for offshore wind applications. In
proceedings of Third International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG 2015), 1, 759–
764.

Appendices

Warnings and errors
A
A.1 Calibration Mode - warning and errors
In the Calibration mode, when the Generate, Calculate and Parameterise actions are performed, error or
warning messages could be displayed from the tool. The details are explained in the following sections.
Generate
Table 27: Checks and feedback for model generation
Condition Severity Message
Monopile embedded length L plus a

distance of 0.15 times the pile diameter In the following models, the selected
(Dout ) equals or exceeds the maximum embedded monopile length L is very close
Error
available length based on the specified to or meets the bottom soil boundary.
bottom depth of the last soil layer in the Please enter a proper value to continue
Soil mode
Invalid values for the depth parameters in

A check is performed for the thickness of
Error the Soil mode. Please correct them to
the layers. Zero thickness is not allowed
continue
A check is performed to prohibit the

following:
• L = 0.0 m Invalid values for the parameters in the
• h = 0.0 m Error Calibration mode. Please correct them to
• Dout = 0.0 m continue
• t = 0.0 m
• E = 0.0 kN/m2
There are no soil layers present in the Soil

No soil layers are present in the Soil mode Error mode. Please define at least one soil layer
to continue

Warnings and errors
The thickness of a single soil layer should

The thickness of a single soil layer cannot
not be less than 0.5 m. This is to prevent
Error be less than 0.5 m. Please use greater
ending up with bad mesh qualities and
thickness to continue
many mesh elements
The model is already successfully The following models will be regenerated.

generated and the input parameters are Error Any manual modifications to these models
altered (or not) may be completely or partially lost
The model is already successfully The following models will be regenerated.

generated and the input parameters are Warning Any manual modifications to these models
altered (or not) may be completely or partially lost
Monopile embedded length L exceeds the The recommended maximum pile length is
recommended max length based on the 70% of the soil depth, specified in the Soil
Warning
specified bottom depth of the last soil layer mode. In the following models, this value is
in the Soil mode exceeded. Results may be incorrect
The value assigned to the parameter vg/

Relative target displacement at the Warning Dout is zero. Assign a higher value for valid
mudline vg/Dout equals zero calculation results
A value lower than 0.3 (GeoDS_1), 0.3

A high value is assigned to the relative
(GeoDS_2), etc. is suggested to be used for
target displacement at the mudline vg/Dout,
the parameter vg/Dout. The currently
which exceeds the recommended value. Warning
assigned value may result in excessive
Refer to Suggested Values of vg/Dout (on
lateral displacement at ground level. This
page 113) for more information.
may lead to a long computation time
A value higher than 0.15(GeoDS_1),

(GeoDS_2), etc. is suggested to be used for
A low value is assigned to the prescribed
the parameter vg/Dout. The currently
displacement, probably not high enough to
Warning assigned value may result in insufficient
result in the required displacement at
lateral displacement at ground level. See
ground level
PLAXIS 3D Models (on page 110) for more
information.
The distance above the toe of the pile

(depth equal to L) and the closest layer The distance between the toe of the
boundary is less than 0.25 m or the monopile and the closest soil boundary is
Warning
distance below the toe of the pile (depth small. This might lead to bad mesh quality
equal to L), and the closest layer boundary and inaccuracy of results
is less than 0.2·Dout

Warnings and errors
Table 28: Checks and feedback for model generation for Sand
The ratio of the shear modulus over the

average active shear strength is too high,
Gur / suA > 2000 Error exceeding 2000. Please decrease the value
of the shear modulus or increase the value
of the shear strength
The ratio of the shear modulus over the

average active shear strength is less than
Gur / suA < 25 Error 25. Please increase the value of the shear
modulus or decrease the value of the shear
strength
su,top = 0 or su,bottom =0 Error The shear strength is zero
Table 29: Checks and feedback for model generation for Sand
φ′ =0 Error The friction angle is zero
The dilatancy angle exceeds the friction

ψ>φ′ Error
angle
The value of the small strain shear

modulus is too low. Please consider
G0ref < 66800 kN/m2 Warning
inspecting the material parameters after
generating the PLAXIS 3D model

modulus is too high. Please consider
G0ref > 128000 kN/m2 Warning
inspecting the material parameters after
generating the PLAXIS 3D model
G0ref
1< ref
< 20
Gur The value of the small strain shear
where : Error modulus is outside the allowable range.
Please use a different value
ref
Gur ref
= Eur / (2 ⋅ (1 + υur ))
G0ref or ϕ ′ too low kN/m2 Error modulus or of the friction angle is too low.
Please use higher values

Warnings and errors

G0ref or ϕ ′ too high kN/m2 Error modulus or of the friction angle is too high.
Please use lower values
Regenerate
Any changes since the model was last generated/calculated/parameterised are detected. The purpose of this
approach is to maintain most changes that the user might have done manually through PLAXIS 3D.
The model modifications during regeneration, following the user actions (per mode), are presented in Table B.4.
Table 30: Model regeneration
Mode User action PLAXIS 3D regeneration procedure
All existing soil and interface materials are deleted

and regenerated based on the new soil material
Change material type or soil
Soil type and the associated material parameters. The
parameters
new materials are assigned to the already existing
soil layers and interfaces
All the existing soil layers and the accompanying

Add/delete/insert soil layer or
soil and interface materials are deleted. New
Soil modify the top/bottom layer
layers and materials are generated based on the
boundaries
user input
The plate material assigned to the structure is

Change structure parameters (t,
Calibration modified, and the prescribed displacement applied
vmax , E, ν)
to the top of the pile is readjusted
The structure based on the modified parameter(s)

Change geometry parameters (L, is regenerated, without entirely deleting and
Calibration
Dout , h) recreating it. Note that a change in Dout also affects
the size of the soil contour
Calculate
Table 31: Checks and feedback for model calculation
The following models are not successfully

Model is not successfully generated Error generated and can therefore not be
calculated

Warnings and errors
Model is successfully generated or already The input parameters of the following

calculated and input parameters are Error models are modified. The models should be
altered regenerated before calculation
The following models have already been

calculated. Recalculating them is not
Model is already successfully calculated Warning
necessary unless manual modifications to
these models have been performed
Parameterise
Before parameterisation begins, PLAXIS Monopile Designer might give the following error and warning if the
corresponding condition is met:
Table 32: Checks and feedback before model parameterisation
The following models have not been

Model is not successfully calculated Error calculated successfully and can therefore
not be included in the parameterisation
The input parameters of the following

models have been modified since the
Model is successfully calculated and input
Error models were calculated. The models should
parameters are altered
be regenerated and recalculated before
trying to parameterise
During parameterisation, the Optimisation Module may give the following errors or warnings:
Table 33: Checks and feedback during model parameterisation
Severity Message
Error Unrecognised soil type. The depth variation functions cannot be derived
None of the data sets has advanced enough to be used for the definition of
Error
ultimate load values. The depth variation functions cannot be derived
The 1D calculation kernel did not run successfully in the background

under the applied default settings. The parameterised soil reaction
curves and the depth variation functions cannot be displayed. After the
Warning parameterisation is performed, the produced calibrated.dvf file can be
used in the Analysis mode to carry out the 1D numerical analysis. Note
that the default expert settings might need to be changed based on the
error messages that will be displayed

Warnings and errors
A.2 Analysis Mode
Table 34: Analysis mode errors, warnings and success messages
Severity Message
Error Unknown error
Error Unknown parameterisation function type
Error Unknown soil material type
Error The dvf file cannot be opened
Error The input file cannot be opened
Error The minimum element size should be less than the pile height
Error The minimum element size should be less than the pile length
Error The pile base defined in the thickness layers table should match the pile length
Error Please provide input and output paths as command line arguments
Error Invalid number of soil layers in the dvf file
Error Invalid number of GeoDS in the dvf file
Error Mismatch between the pile layers definition and specified pile length/height
Error The embedded part of the pile is outside the soil layers
Error The pile base is outside the soil layers
Error There is no thickness assigned to the pile
Error The pile length is zero. Please use a higher value
Error The pile outer diameter is zero. Please use a higher value
Error The pile thickness is zero. Please use a higher value
Error The workload is not defined correctly. Please use a value greater than zero
The Young's modulus is not defined correctly. Please use a value greater than
Error
zero
Warning Not enough load steps to reach the user specified load

Warnings and errors
Severity Message
Warning Not enough load steps for the calculation of the load factor
The mudline lateral displacement exceeds the maximum value obtained by

Warning
calibration
Warning The mudline rotation exceeds the maximum value obtained by calibration
The maximum ground level displacement is reached. The calculation is finished

Success
successfully
Success The maximum load factor is reached. The calculation is finished successfully

Scripting Reference
B
B.1 Commands Reference
• append( ): Adds a new layer or segment at the bottom of the list.

g.Analysis.SoilLayers.append(Bottom=-60.0, SoilReactionCurveFilename='Sand.dvf')
g.Analysis.Segments.append(t=0.05)
• calculate( ): Runs the 1D analysis. Returns the analysis feedback.
g.Analysis.calculate()
• del( ): Deletes an item in a list.
del g.Analysis.SoilLayers[5]
del g.Analysis.Segments[-1]
• insert( ): Inserts a new layer or segment at the specified position in the list.
g.Analysis.SoilLayers.insert(2, Bottom=-60.0, SoilReactionCurveFilename='Sand.dvf')
g.Analysis.Segments.insert(1, Bottom=10, t=0.05)
• getresults(ResultType, Model): Returns an object with the calculation results for the selected ResultType
and Model.
g.getresults(g.ResultTypes.MonopileResponseDepthVariation, g.Models.Analysis1D)
B.2 Object Reference
The global object (denoted g in this Manual) is used to view and change data in the project. It contains the
following objects:
• Analysis: Settings of the Analysis mode, including Monopile geometry, Structural properties, and Workload.
• Analysis.h: Height of application of the resultant horizontal load.
• Analysis.L: Embedded length.
• Analysis.Dout: Outer diameter.
• Analysis.E: Young's modulus.
• Analysis.H: Horizontal force at monopile head.
• Analysis.M: Moment at monopile head.

Scripting Reference
• Analysis.Mg: Moment at ground level [Read-only].
• Analysis.SoilLayers: List containing all soil layers defined on the analysis Soil profile.
• Analysis.SoilLayer: A specific soil layer.
• Analysis.SoilLayers[i].Top: Elevation of the layer’s upper boundary [Read-only].
• Analysis.SoilLayers[i].Bottom: Elevation of the layer's lower boundary.
• Analysis.SoilLayers[i].SoilReactionCurveFilename: Name of the soil reaction curve file assigned to
the soil layer. The file must be present in the project.
• Analysis.Segments: List containing all pile segments defining Thickness variation.

• Analysis.Segment: A specific pile segment.
• Analysis.Segments[i].Top: Elevation of the segment's upper boundary [Read-only].
• Analysis.Segments[i].Bottom: Elevation of the segment's lower boundary. The Bottom of the last
segment is read-only and equal to the embedded length (L).
• Analysis.Segments[i].t: Segment's wall thickness.
• Analysis.Segments[i].A: Segment’s cross-section area [Read-only].
• Analysis.Segments[i].I: Segment's moment of inertia [Read-only].
• Analysis.Segments[i].EA : Segment's axial stiffness [Read-only].
• Analysis.Segments[i].EI: Segment’s bending stiffness [Read-only].
• Analysis.Segments[i].GA: Segment’s shear stiffness [Read-only].
• ResultTypes: Results from the analysis, available in the Analysis and Results modes.
• ResultTypes.MonopileResponseCurves: Values of the H-v and M-q global response curves, per
calculation Step.
• Step
• BaseDisplacement
• BaseRotation
• HeadDisplacement
• HeadRotation
• MudlineDisplacement
• MudlineForce
• MudlineMoment
• MudlineRotation
• ResultTypes.MonopileResponseDepthVariation: Values of structural stresses, deformations, and forces

along the monopile, per elevation (z) and calculation Step.
• z
• Step
• AxialStress
• ShearForce
• BendingMoment
• LateralDisplacement
• PileCrossSectionRotation
• TangentialStress

Scripting Reference
• ResultTypes.SoilProfile: Discretised soil profile and variation of soil material parameters with elevation
(z).
• z
• Dilatancy Angle Variation
• EffectiveCohesionVariation
• FrictionAngleVariation
• InitialVerticalEffectiveStress
• LateralEarthPressureCoefficientVariation
• SmallStrainStiffnessVariation
• UndrainedShearStrength
• ResultTypes.ShaftSoilReactionCurves: Non-normalised values of the soil reaction curves along the shaft
of the pile (p-v, m-θ), per elevation (z) and calculation Step.
• z
• Step
• DistributedLateralLoad
• DistributedMoment
• ResultTypes.BaseSoilReactionCurves: Non-normalised values of the soil reaction curves at the pile base
(H-vB, M-θB), per calculation Step.
• z
• Step
• BaseMoment
• Base Rotation
• BaseShearLoad
• BaseLateralDisplacement
• ResultTypes.NormalisedShaftSoilReactionCurves: Normalised values of the soil reaction curves along

¯
the shaft of the pile ( p − v̄ , m̄ − θ̄ ), per elevation (z) and calculation Step.
• z
• Step
• DistributedLateralLoad
• DistributedMoment
• ResultTypes.NormalisedBaseSoilReactionCurves: Normalised values of the soil reaction curves along

¯ ¯
the shaft of the pile (H − v̄ B , M − θ̄ B ), per elevation (z) and calculation Step.
• z
• Step
• BaseMoment
• Base Rotation
• BaseShearLoad

Scripting Reference
• BaseLateralDisplacement
• ResultTypes.ShaftDepthVariationFunctions: Values of the DVF parameters determining the soil reaction

curves along the shaft of the pile, per elevation (z)
• z
• km
• kp
• nm
• np
• mu
• thetamu
• vpu
• ResultTypes.BaseDepthVariationFunctions: Values of the DVF parameters determining the soil reaction

curves at the pile base.
• z
• kM
• kH
• nM
• HBu
• MBu
• nH
• thetaMu
• vHu
• Models: The two models available in the Analysis mode, for which results can be calculated.
• Models.Analysis1D: The 1D finite element model (if calculated).
• Models.DesignVerification: The 3D design verification model (if generated and calculated).

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PLAXIS

CONNECT Edition V22.00

Monopile Designer - Manual

Windows® is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.

Copyright PLAXIS program by:

Published in the Netherlands

PLAXIS 2 Monopile Designer - Manual

PLAXIS 3 Monopile Designer - Manual

PLAXIS 4 Monopile Designer - Manual

Appendices ....................................................................................................... 149

PLAXIS 5 Monopile Designer - Manual

1.1.1 Goals and objectives

PLAXIS 6 Monopile Designer - Manual

1.1.2 Scientific network

Name Organization (Country)

Prof. Kees Vuik Delft University of Technology, Mathematics &

Mr. Mark Post, Dr. Cor Zwanenburg Deltares (NL)

Prof. Cino Viggiani Univ. of Grenoble, Laboratoire 3R (FR)

Prof. Andrew Whittle Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)

Prof. Juan Pestana University of California at Berkeley (USA)

Prof. Richard Finno Northwestern University (USA)

Prof. Youssef Hashash Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champain (USA)

Dr. Anoosh Shamsabadi California Department of Transportation (USA)

Prof. Harry Tan National University of Singapore (SG)

Prof. Angelo Amorosi Sapienza University of Rome (IT)

PLAXIS 7 Monopile Designer - Manual

Name Organization (Country)

Prof. Yasser El-Mossallamy Ain Shams University, Cairo (EG)

Prof. Ivo Herle Technical University, Dresden (DE)

Prof. David Mašin Charles University, Prague (CZ)

Prof. Tim Lansivaara University of Tampere (FI)

Prof. Steven Kramer, Prof. Pedro Arduino University of Washington (USA)

Prof. Christophe Geuzaine University of Liege (BE)

Prof. Yves Renard INSA-Lyon (FR)

Prof. Mahdi Taiebat University of British Columbia (CA)

Prof. Daniela Boldini University of Bologna (IT)

This support is gratefully acknowledged.

1.2 PLAXIS product, licencing and services

PLAXIS 8 Monopile Designer - Manual

1.2.3 Services: Geotechnical SELECT Entitlements [GSE]

1.3 Short overview of features

1.3.1 Input of soil stratigraphy

PLAXIS 9 Monopile Designer - Manual

1.3.2 Generation of PLAXIS 3D models

1.3.3 Visualisation option

1.3.4 Modification of generated models

1.3.5 Calibration of soil reaction curves

1.3.6 Efficient 1D design calculations

1.3.7 Presentation of results

PLAXIS 10 Monopile Designer - Manual

1.5 First time installation

1.5.1 Software and hardware requirements

PLAXIS 11 Monopile Designer - Manual

PLAXIS 12 Monopile Designer - Manual

PLAXIS 13 Monopile Designer - Manual

2.1.1 The PISA Project

PLAXIS 14 Monopile Designer - Manual

2.1.2 The design methodology

PLAXIS 15 Monopile Designer - Manual

2.1.3 Interoperability with PLAXIS 3D

2.1.4 The 1D FE Model

PLAXIS 16 Monopile Designer - Manual

Figure 1: Components of the 1D FE model (based on Byrne et al., 2015b)