Shear / Normal Strength Function

A Shear / Effective Normal Strength Function allows you to define an arbitrary, non-linear Mohr-Coulomb strength envelope for a material.

To define a Shear / Effective Normal Strength Function:

1. Set the Strength Type = Shear / Effective Normal Function in the Define Material Properties dialog.
2. Select the New button.
3. You will see the Define Shear / Effective Normal Strength Function dialog.
4. Enter a Function Name.
5. Enter the Effective Normal and Shear data pairs which define your Shear / Effective Normal Function. As the data is entered, it will appear in the graph area at the right of the dialog.
• You can use the buttons at the top of the data entry grid to help carry out the editing of the data (i.e. insert row, remove row, copy, paste etc)
• Data can be edited graphically, by clicking on a data point in the graph area and dragging the data to a new point. The data in the grid will be automatically updated
6. When all data points have been entered, select OK, and you will be returned to the Define Material Properties dialog. The Name of the function you have just defined will appear in the Shear / Normal function list. By selecting a Function Name from this list, you can now apply a Strength Function to any material in the model.

Import/Export Shear/Effective Normal Strength Functions

Shear / Effective Normal Functions can be Exported (saved) in a separate functions file, and Imported into other Slide2 files so that you do not have to re-define Shear / Normal Functions each time they are required in a model.

To Export (save) a Shear / Normal Function:

1. Select the Export button in the Define Shear / Normal Strength Function dialog.
2. In the Save As dialog, enter a filename, and save the file. Note: the default filename will use the Function Name, but this can be changed if required.

To Import a Shear / Normal Function:

1. Select the Import button in the Define Shear / Normal Strength Function dialog.
2. In the Open File dialog, open the Shear / Normal Function file that you wish to import, and it will be imported into the Define Shear / Normal Function dialog. Select OK to add this function to the list of currently defined Shear / Normal Strength Functions in the current model.