Phase2 Model > Project Settings > General
The following options are available under the General tab in the Project Settings dialog.
Number of Stages
Phase2 allows multi-stage finite element analysis of excavations in up to 300 separate stages.
The default Number of Stages is one (i.e. a single stage model). Enter any number between 2 and 300 to allow multi-stage modeling and analysis. You should set the Number of Stages before you start to create your model, since several of the Model options operate differently depending on whether your model is single stage (Number of Stages = 1) or multi-stage (Number of Stages = 2 to 300).
Rename Stages
By default, the names of the stages, as displayed in the Stage tabs at the bottom of the view, are simply Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 etc. If desired, this default naming can be changed with the Rename Stages option. To do this, select the Rename Stages button in the Project Settings dialog, enter new name(s) for any desired stage(s), and select OK in the dialog. The user-defined stage names will then be displayed on the stage tabs, and also in other applicable locations such as Data Tips.
TIP: you can also right-click on a Stage tab and select Rename from the popup menu, to view the Rename Stages dialog and change or edit the stage names.
Analysis Type
There are two general types of models which can be created and analyzed in Phase2:
Plane Strain
In most cases your Phase2 model will represent a Plane Strain analysis. A Plane Strain model assumes that the excavations are of infinite length in the out-of-plane direction, and therefore the strain in the out-of-plane direction is zero.
Axisymmetric
An Axisymmetric analysis allows the user to analyze a 3-dimensional model which is rotationally symmetric about an axis (for example, the end of a circular tunnel). Although the input is 2-dimensional, the analysis results apply to the 3-dimensional problem.
For more information, see the Plane Strain and Axisymmetric Analysis topics.
Solver Type
This option determines how COMPUTE solves the matrix representing the system of equations defined by your model. Three methods are available:
Gaussian Elimination
Conjugate Gradient Iteration
Pre-Conditioned Conjugate Gradient Iteration
The default method is Gaussian Elimination, but note:
For solving large problems, you may have to use one of the Conjugate Gradient solution techniques, since disk swapping (swapping between disk and memory during the analysis) is enabled with the Conjugate Gradient methods. Disk swapping is NOT available with Gaussian Elimination.
If all your materials are Elastic, the solution time will be faster with the Conjugate Gradient techniques.
Measurement Units
A variety of metric and imperial measurement units are available in Phase2. The units used for a model are determined by selecting the desired unit of stress measurement in the Project Settings dialog. You may select one of the following options:
Metric units (stress) - MPa, kPa, tonnes/m2
Imperial units (stress) - ksf, psf, tons/ft2
All input parameters in the program (e.g. material properties, field stress) will correspond to the selected stress measurement unit. The units of length, force, stress and unit weight will be indicated in the Project Settings dialog, just below the Units drop-down list. A more complete listing of input parameters and the corresponding units, can be obtained by hovering the mouse over the listing of units in the dialog - you will see a popup tooltip with a more complete list of input parameters and units.