A 2-D static structural analysis is used to simulate soil behavior under active and passive lateral earth pressure . The mesh is created using global controls, setting Element Order to Linear with a fixed element size of 1 m as shown in the following figure.

Figure 48.2: Mesh Details

This element formulation is based on linear quadrilateral PLANE182 elements using an enhanced strain formulation under plane strain conditions (KEYOPT(1) = 2, KEYOPT(3) = 2).

Figure 48.3: CAD geometry

An initial at rest earth pressure is generated by applying a gravitational acceleration of on the soil, leading to undesirable vertical deformations. To mitigate the problem, an initial stress state is applied, resulting in a nearly deformation-free initial state for the gravitational load step. This can be obtained by applying three zero displacement boundary conditions and gravitational acceleration load as described in Boundary Conditions and Loading.