Settle3D > Program Overview
Settle3D is a 3-dimensional program for the analysis of vertical settlement and consolidation under surface loads such as foundations, embankments and surface excavations. Settle3D combines the simplicity of one-dimensional analysis with the power and visualization capabilities of more sophisticated three-dimensional programs.
You can quickly create complex soil profiles and loading conditions, and view results in 3-dimensions. Modeling can be staged, and time-dependent consolidation analysis can be performed including primary and secondary consolidation (creep) at user defined time intervals. Groundwater elevation can be staged and horizontal and vertical drainage conditions can be specified.
Circular, rectangular or polygonal load shapes can be defined with uniform or variable load magnitudes. Loading can be staged and applied at any depth (e.g. to simulate piles or raft foundations). Excavations can be defined and loads applied within excavated areas. A special embankment designer allows you to easily define multi-stage layered embankments. The 3-dimensional stress distribution due to loading is computed using the Boussinesq method.
Settlement, stress and pore pressure are computed throughout the 3-dimensional volume, and results can be contoured along any horizontal or vertical plane, or plotted along any line. Settlement deformation can be viewed in 3-dimensions, magnified by a user-defined scale factor. Data presentation is highly interactive, and contours and graphs are updated in real time as you change the data type, depth or location. Results can be exported to Excel with a single mouse click.
Program Assumptions
There are several important assumptions and limitations that must be considered when using Settle3D:
Settle3D calculates three-dimensional stresses due to surface loads. However, displacements (settlement) and pore pressures are computed in one-dimension, assuming only vertical displacements can occur. This is in keeping with general geotechnical engineering practice and material parameters are specified to reflect the one-dimensional nature of the analysis.
All soil layers are assumed to be horizontal and continuous. In this first version of Settle3D, it is not possible to specify non-horizontal soil layers or more generalized soil geometry. This will be considered for the next version of the program.
Applied loads are flexible, so that the stress at the surface directly below the load is constant, but the displacement is not. Rigid loads will be available in a future version.
The ground surface is at depth = 0, depth is positive downwards, and compressive stress is positive.