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Plaxis BV

Company type	Private
Headquarters	Delft, the Netherlands
Products	Geotechnical engineering software
Website	www.plaxis.nl

Plaxis BV (sometimes stylised PLAXIS, originally an abbreviation of Plasticity Axi-Symmetry) is a private company seated in the Dutch city of Delft developing a series of programmes performing finite element analyses for a wide range of static and dynamic geotechnical problems. The programmes include Plaxis 2D and 3D, for two- and three-dimensional problems, respectively. The company maintains an office in Singapore (Plaxis-Asia), operates worldwide and has customers in most countries.

The company's software tools and knowledge-sharing programs are used by a variety of organisations and individuals. These range from engineering and construction companies, civil and geotechnical engineering consultants, educational and research institutes to governmental organizations. Plaxis is applied in sectors such as geotechnics, foundation engineering, geology, underground construction, tunnel construction, hydraulic engineering, offshore engineering, mining, renewable energy, hydrology, etc.

History

In the 1970's, research on the use of the finite element method and constitutive models for geotechnical design was carried out at University of Technology in the Dutch city of Delft. The immediate cause for this research was the question from the national Ministry of Public Works to find a solution to predict the possible movement of the famous Dutch Oosterschelde-dam protecting an important part of the Netherlands against flooding. This resulted in a software code that enabled elasto-plastic calculations for plane strain problems based on high-order elements. Later, the code was enriched and could deal with axi-symmetric problems too. It was in that time that the name Plaxis, short for Plasticity Axi-Symmetry, was used for the first time.

Over the years there has been a continuous flow of new developments added to the code, to which improvements were made by a variety of researchers. In 1986 a new phase started for Plaxis because the Dutch Ministry of Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) together with the Technical University of Delft started a program with the purpose to make the use of the Finite Element Method applicable to practicing geotechnical engineers. This turned out to be a crucial move and the code was adopted and used outside the University in various projects. This led in 1993 to the decision to spin-off the activities around Plaxis code from the University into a small company, Plaxis bv, and the founding of the Stichting Plaxis. The latter manages the IPR on behalf of the initial owners.

From 1993 onwards Plaxis BV has developed its software with the contribution of many individuals from outside Plaxis BV. Milestones in the 1990's include:

• The introduction of new hard and soft soil models including creep
• The migration from MS-DOS to Windows
• The incorporation of a dynamic module in Plaxis
• The expansion of the use of Plaxis outside the Netherlands
• In the years starting from 2000 Finite Element Method became really accepted in generic geotechnical engineering and the Plaxis customer base grew strongly. Since that time we have introduced amongst others:
• The first 3-dimensional version of PLAXIS (3D Tunnel)
• Transient groundwater flow by means of PlaxFlow
• 3DFoundation
• More advanced soil models

The software has since been further developed. With the developing technology the company itself has also changed, and grown considerably in number of people, disciplines, nationalities and customers.

Organisation

Plaxis BV includes the following functional groups:

• Research
• Development
• Quality Assurance
• Customer Support
• Marketing & Sales
• Courses
• Expert Services
• Finance & HR

The functional groups are bundled into the departments Research, Development, Marketing & Sales and General Support. The Plaxis management team consists of the managers of those four departments.

Network

Plaxis's inception was in the academia of the 1980's, and from this point Plaxis has fostered its ties with the academic world and increased its network. Many universities and individuals associated with universities have supported Plaxis over the years and still do with their knowledge and expertise. In return Plaxis offers a platform to showcase and share their innovations and experience. One of the results thereof is that Plaxis frequently participates in working groups, congresses and research teams that deal with the possibilities and limitations of the use of numerical methods in geo-engineering. To distribute its tools and services Plaxis has teamed up with partners in a distribution network that supports its customers locally or regionally. Plaxis-users have formed several networks of their own in many of which Plaxis participates. These networks, which are in many cases user-groups, are forums for knowledge exchange both amongst users and between users and Plaxis.

See also

• Geotechnical engineering
• Finite element method

External links

• Official website

Category:Geotechnical engineering software Category:Finite element software