Manuals, DLLs, and Example Drivers

  • The following sections provide links for the manuals, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), and example driver files.

Version 1

  • Manual: Kippen, M.-P., Boulanger, R. W., and Ziotopoulou, K. (2026). “PM4Sand3D (Version 1): A sand plasticity model for earthquake engineering applications.”  Report No. UCD/CGM-26/01, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, May, 144pp. [PDF available here]
  • DLL: cmodelPM4Sand3D009.dll (ver 1.0 compiled May 2026). This code was compiled using Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 for use with FLAC3D 9.X. It will not work with earlier or later versions of FLAC. Place the dll in the /exe64/plugins/cmodel subdirectory of the folder where FLAC3D has been installed. [the dll can be downloaded here: zip file]
  • Calibration aids: A set of single-element simulation drivers are provided for assisting with model calibration. The project files (and corresponding fish files) listed below can be downloaded here (zip file).
    • Example driver #1: Monotonic loading in direct simple shear (drained or undrained)
    • Example driver #2: Uniform cyclic stress ratio loading in undrained direct simple shear
    • Example driver #3: Strain-controlled loading in direct simple shear to obtain G/Gmax and damping values (drained or undrained)
    • Example driver #4: Monotonic loading in triaxial compression (drained or undrained)
    • Example driver #5: Uniform cyclic stress ratio loading in undrained triaxial compression
    • Example driver #6: Monotonic loading in plane-strain compression or extension (drained or undrained)

Other Resources

  • In order to assist PM4Sand3D users with calibration, we have created Python scripts that produce multiple PM4Sand3D drivers for different loading paths, batch files for running them in FLAC3D/9.0, and post-processing codes for plotting all the figures in the manual. These can be useful for users who want to assess the sensitivity of responses to parameters more efficiently or assess the performance of the overall model as they change secondary parameters. These can be found here (or in general under https://github.com/katerinaziot), alongside with instructions and annotations. These files are intended for advanced users of Python and PM4Sand3D and should be used with caution.