In this lesson, a first application is considered, namely the settlement of a circular foundation footing on sand. This is the first step in becoming familiar with the practical use of PLAXIS 2D. The general procedures for the creation of a geometry model, the generation of a finite element mesh, the execution of a finite element calculation and the evaluation of the output results are described here in detail. The information provided in this lesson will be utilised in the later lessons. Therefore, it is important to complete this first lesson before attempting any further tutorial examples.

A circular footing with a radius of 1.0 m is placed on a sand layer of 4.0 m thickness as shown in Figure 1.1. Under the sand layer, there is a stiff rock layer that extends to a large depth. The purpose of the exercise is to find the displacements and stresses in the soil caused by the load applied to the footing.