PLAXIS 2D is the industry-trusted geotechnical analysis software for excavations, embankments, foundations, and tunnels. By helping engineers rigorously analyse complex ground movements and soil-structure interaction, it minimises project risk and optimises design outcomes. Automated workflows streamline modelling, allowing engineers to make highly informed decisions and accelerate project timelines.
Explore how leading engineering firms use PLAXIS 2D to automate complex analysis and navigate difficult ground conditions. See how these teams deliver highly optimized, safe designs while keeping projects on schedule.
PLAXIS 2D is the industry-standard geotechnical finite element analysis software, designed to model complex soil-structure interactions using a comprehensive range of constitutive models for soil and rock behaviour, and groundwater flow. Powered by a robust calculation engine, it enables engineers to analyse and analysts to evaluate deformation, pore pressures, and safety across excavations, foundations, and tunnels. Explore the core capabilities below to see how PLAXIS 2D elevates your design confidence.
PLAXIS 2D offers comprehensive functionality for both everyday deformation and safety analysis of soil and rock, as well as the most challenging geotechnical projects. Here are some of the core capabilities that enable you to perform state-of-the-art geotechnical analysis with ease.
Product features include:
Get a personalised walkthrough to see how PLAXIS 2D simulations can accelerate your workflows while reducing your project's design risks
Read this solution brief to learn how advanced geotechnical analysis with PLAXIS 2D ensures safer designs and faster project timelines to protect your bottom line.
Whether you are getting started or developing more advanced skills, find the right place to learn and connect. Follow structured training in the Learning Centre, explore advanced workflows through Mastery Series webinars, or exchange knowledge in the Seequent Community.
Online learning paths for different skill levels
On-demand videos and practical exercises
Instructor-led courses with Seequent specialists
Ask questions and find practical answers
Learn from other users and Seequent specialists
Share knowledge in dedicated discussion groups
Unlock the power of the Seequent ecosystem. Elevate your project across the mining lifecycle with data interoperability, sophisticated compute power, and up-to-date, collaborative decision-making.
Get straight answers to the questions engineering teams ask most before adopting PLAXIS 2D, from its core capabilities to how quickly your team can get up to speed.
PLAXIS 2D handles the full range of 2D deformation and stability analysis: excavations, embankments, foundations, tunnels, and ground-structure interaction. It models groundwater flow, thermal flow, and earthquake or traffic-induced dynamics depending on your plan. With over 30 constitutive models covering soil, rock, and user-defined behavior, it’s built for both routine safety checks and highly specialised projects.
PLAXIS 2D is built on finite element methods refined over 30 years of industry and academic use, validated against real construction case histories worldwide. Advanced material models like Hardening Soil and NGI-ADP capture soil behavior more realistically than simplified methods. Staged construction modelling lets you simulate actual sequencing, so results reflect how the ground will really respond.
It comes down to project complexity. PLAXIS 2D covers everyday deformation and safety analysis. Advanced adds consolidation, creep, and steady-state groundwater or heat flow, plus a multicore solver for speed. Ultimate unlocks dynamics, transient flow, and time-dependent water level changes for the most demanding projects. See the full feature comparison above, or talk to us about your specific workflow.
Gentler than most FE software. PLAXIS 2D uses guided, geotechnical-specific workflows and CAD-like drawing tools instead of generic FE setup, so engineers build models the way they already think about a project. Every purchase includes training tokens redeemable for expert-led onboarding, and free on-demand webinars and tutorials help your team ramp up without slowing project timelines.
Yes. PLAXIS 2D supports Python scripting for input, output, and SoilTest through Python, so you can automate model creation, run batch analyses, and build custom applications on top of PLAXIS. Teams use this to standardizse recurring workflows, like ground improvement designs, cutting hours of manual setup on similar projects.
It’s built to fit in, not sit apart. PLAXIS 2D imports CPT logs, Leapfrog cross-sections from Seequent Central, and industry-standard CAD formats, and integrates directly with Bentley’s ProjectWise for saving and loading projects. An automatic converter also carries models between PLAXIS 2D and 3D, so switching dimensions mid-project doesn’t mean starting over.
Its post-processing turns raw output into visuals stakeholders can actually follow — deformation, stress, and safety results presented clearly rather than buried in numbers. Because models are quick to adjust, you can respond to design questions live in meetings, comparing scenarios on the spot instead of returning days later with a revised report.
Yes. Beyond standard soil models, PLAXIS 2D includes discontinuity and reinforcement elements purpose-built for rock mechanics, along with Jointed Rock and Hoek-Brown models. That means you can assess surface settlements or rock mass response to tunnelling, mining, or reservoir depletion with the same tool you use for soil-based projects.
RESOURCES
Accelerate your PLAXIS 2D usage with training courses, on-demand webinars, or support from our team of geotechnical experts.
Redeem tokens you get with your PLAXIS purchase for expert services and training that meets your onboarding and project needs.
Explore our on-demand webinars with general tips and tricks or specialised guides to take your workflows to the next level.
Get expert support from our global team of geo-engineering professionals when you submit a ticket on the customer portal.
