Optimizing Support of Excavation Design with PLAXIS
Practical Finite Element Modeling
With your registration, you will get access to PLAXIS project files and a step-by-step workflow.
If you work on deep excavations in urban or infrastructure settings, you know how quickly complexity builds – slurry walls, groundwater control, nearby structures, seismic demands.
This series is for professionals like you who need to model these conditions with precision, not assumptions.
We’ll walk through real-world workflows in PLAXIS—covering everything from retaining wall systems and dewatering to dynamic analysis and soil-structure interaction. You’ll also get access to downloadable project files and modeling summaries so you can apply what you see.
Whether you’re already using PLAXIS or looking for a better way to handle challenging ground conditions, this is practical, technical content designed for your day-to-day work.
Available On Demand
The Tangent and Secant pile systems are commonly used in geotechnical engineering to support excavations. However, the design process can be complex, often leading to the adoption of overly conservative analyses, which in turn increases cost.
PLAXIS, a powerful tool for a wide range of geotechnical analyses, ensures design optimization and cost savings.
Join our product expert Stefanos Papavasileio and Wystan Carswell from Haley & Aldrich for a live webinar. Wystan will present a case study on the use of PLAXIS 2D in the design of a support of excavation (SOE) system for the Lyrik Back Bay – Air Rights Parcel 12. This project is the first successful air rights development over the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate I-90) in 40 years. It features the innovative use of slurry walls and secant pile walls as key components of the excavation support design. The analysis also includes estimations of the movement of adjacent buildings, roadways, and railroad tracks. Discover how PLAXIS can help you save both time and money in your SOE analysis.
What you will learn:
- Efficient ways to set up slurry and secant pile wall designs using PLAXIS.
- How to fast-track your analysis by selecting the right constitutive models and input parameters.
- How to visualize and interpret the results of slurry and secant pile wall analysis in PLAXIS.
Available On Demand
Support of excavation (SOE) using sheet piles is a common and proven technique in geotechnical engineering. Yet, engineers today face increasing pressure to speed up design workflows while minimizing the size of sheeting and bracing systems to reduce material usage and overall costs. When dynamic forces, such as seismic loading, come into play, the analysis becomes more demanding and complex.
PLAXIS 2D provides a robust environment to streamline the design and analysis of sheet pile systems. With advanced modeling capabilities, it helps prevent overdesign, reduce construction costs, and deliver safer, more optimized support solutions.
In this live webinar, Richard Witasse will demonstrate how PLAXIS 2D can be used for efficient sheet pile analysis under both static and dynamic conditions. Learn how to enhance your SOE designs, save time, and reduce material costs—without compromising safety.
What you will learn:
- Accelerating sheet pile wall designs for static and dynamic analysis using PLAXIS
- Optimizing your analysis by choosing the appropriate modeling parameters
- Understanding the results of the sheet pile wall analysis in PLAXIS
Available On Demand
Soil anchors and shotcrete are widely used in geotechnical engineering to ensure the stability of construction, slopes, and excavations. However, the design process can be complex, frequently resulting in overly conservative analyses, which in turn drive up costs.
PLAXIS is a leading geotechnical analysis software, accessible to both small and large companies. With its well-established reputation in the industry, PLAXIS is a popular choice for achieving optimal design, saving time, and avoiding unnecessary costs.
Graeme Law from Thurber Engineering will present a case study demonstrating the use of PLAXIS 2D and 3D to optimize the remediation of an existing mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall with the use of soil anchors and reinforced shotcrete facing. Join us for a live webinar to discover how PLAXIS can effectively help you save time and money in geotechnical analysis.
What you will learn:
- Efficient approach to PLAXIS analysis for optimal design of anchors and shotcrete
- How to select the appropriate elements to accurately replicate real-life cases
- How PLAXIS’ visual features can help quickly interpret the results of anchor and shotcrete system analysis
Available On Demand
Anchors are commonly used to stabilize structures by resisting uplift, lateral, or overturning forces. Their performance depends on both their internal strength and the bond developed with the surrounding soil or rock. Accurately characterizing the interaction between the anchor and the ground is critical for determining load capacity and optimizing the number and placement of anchors required for effective stabilization.
PLAXIS is a powerful finite element software equipped with advanced tools for analyzing ground-anchor-structure interaction, which is essential for making informed decisions regarding stabilization methods and material quantities.
Join Dr. Don Dotson and Dr. Ahmed Mahgoub from Geo/Structural Services Group for a live webinar where they will present a case study demonstrating the use of PLAXIS to analyze anchor strength and anchor-ground bond for vertical stabilization. Learn how PLAXIS can help you save time, reduce material use, and cut costs in your geotechnical analysis.
What you will learn:
- How to use PLAXIS to model anchor tests.
- How to adapt soil test data to constitutive models.
- How to calibrate constitutive model to test results.
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Meet the Presenters
Antonio Soldo
Product Sales Engineer
Bentley Systems
Antonio holds a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Auburn University. He has four years of industry experience, working as a geotechnical engineer on projects ranging from simple warehouses to complex bridges and dams. His expertise includes geotechnical design, field investigation, and laboratory analysis. At Bentley Systems, Antonio helps clients identify optimal solutions to address challenges, enabling them to save time and money on their projects.
Wystan Carswell
Technical Expert, Geotechnical Engineering
Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Wystan holds a M.S. in civil (structural) Ph.D. in civil (structural and geotechnical) engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Funded by a National Science Foundation, she spent five months as a visiting researcher at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in Oslo, Norway focusing on offshore wind turbine foundation soil-structure interaction. With 10 years of industry experience, her expertise is in complex soil-structure interaction problems and excavation support systems. She is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Stefanos Papavasileiou
Senior Manager, Technical Support, Geotechnical Engineering
Seequent
Stefanos Papavasileiou is the Senior Manager leading the Technical Support team for the Geotechnical Analysis products at Seequent. He is based in The Netherlands since he joined PLAXIS in 2012. He has worked with the Quality Assurance team before being part of the Support and the User Success team. His main task is to lead the geotechnical and numerical support experts to help PLAXIS users advance their geotechnical analysis knowledge. Apart from user support, Stefanos is also involved in lecturing in courses, workshops, and online events about the application and backgrounds of geotechnical numerical modelling. He holds a Master of Science degree from National Technical University of Athens, Greece (NTUA) in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, and a second Master of Science degree in Design and Construction of Underground Works, also from NTUA.
Richard Witasse
Principal Application Engineer
Seequent, The Bentley Subsurface Company
Recognized as an expert in geotechnical analysis and engineering, Richard Witasse has more than 20 years of experience working with geotechnical digital tools and geotechnical finite element analysis software. After starting his career as a software engineer in the field of finite element analysis software for reinforced concrete structures, Richard became an application engineer and worked for the global leaders in geotechnical analysis software. Richard joined PLAXIS in 2008 and has always worked since then on geotechnical consulting, customer success and training for the many users of the most popular digital solutions for geotechnical engineering and analysis. Since 2022, Richard Witasse is Principal Application Engineer with Seequent.
Graeme Law
Geotechnical Engineer
Thurber Engineering Ltd.
Graeme holds a Master of Applied Science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. He has nine years of industry experience as a geotechnical engineer, working on a wide variety of projects, including commercial buildings, municipal projects, industrial projects, embankment design and slope stability assessments.
At Thurber, our purpose is clear: to make a difference for people. Whether it’s through geotechnical investigations, environmental remediation, or pavement assessment, our goal is to deliver solutions that enhance lives and strengthen communities. We are passionate about our work, committed to quality, and deeply care about what we do and the communities we serve. Collaboration is at the core of our approach – we work together with our teams, clients, and stakeholders to achieve meaningful results. Thurber has been proudly providing engineering expertise to build infrastructure across Canada since 1957.
Don Dotson
Partner Geostructural Engineer
Geo/Structural Services Group, LLC
Dr. Don Dotson is a partner with Geo/Structural Services Group, LLC. He is an engineer with over 45 years of multi-disciplinary engineering experience. His personal expertise is in dams, levees, tunnels, earth retention, foundations, and finite element and limit equilibrium analyses of geo-structures.
Ahmed Mahgoub
Principal Geostructural Engineer
Geo/Structural Services Group, LLC
Dr. Ahmed Mahgoub is a Principal Geostructural Engineer with over 16 years of international experience in geotechnical and structural engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Geostructural Engineering from Dalhousie University and has contributed to major infrastructure, tunneling, mining, and transportation projects across North America, the Middle East, and Africa. Dr. Mahgoub leads a multidisciplinary team delivering advanced, integrated design solutions for complex engineering challenges.
