Pore Fluid Unit Weight

The Pore Fluid Unit Weight is entered on the Groundwater page of the Project Settings dialog. The Pore Fluid Unit weight is used to determine:

• The calculated pore pressure (depends on the chosen Groundwater Method)

• The unit weight of ponded water defined by a Water Table. See the Add Water Table topic.
• The unit weight of water used to calculate the hydrostatic force in a water-filled or partially water-filled Tension Crack. See the Define Tension Crack topic.

The calculated pore pressure at any given point is directly proportional to the Pore Fluid Unit Weight if the Groundwater Method is set to:

• Water Surfaces
• Grid (Total Head)
• Grid (Pressure Head)
• Steady State FEA

The Pore Fluid Unit Weight does NOT enter into the pore pressure calculations if the Groundwater Method is set to:

• Grid (Pore Pressure) (pore pressure determined directly from the grid data)
• Ru Coefficient (pore pressure determined from vertical earth pressure)

The default value of the Pore Fluid Unit Weight is determined by the Units of Measurement selected in Project Settings (9.81 kN/m3 for metric units, 62.4 lbs/ft3 for Imperial Units). However, the user may change this value, if necessary.