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Excel sheet reference

The tables below specify the exact layout of every test sheet: the named header cells, the row on which the measured data begins, the meaning and units of each column, and the optional initial-state column. The reader works by cell position, so these positions matter, but you remain free to style the workbook around them.

Conventions used below

  • Row and column letters refer to spreadsheet positions (row 1 is the top row, column A the first column).
  • "column 0" is spreadsheet column A, "column 1" is B, and so on (the data columns are counted from zero, matching the reader).
  • Units: stresses in kPa throughout. Strains are in percent on the triaxial sheets and as a fraction on the oedometer / isotropic sheets, as stated per sheet.
  • Sheets are recognized by name (OED-1, CD-2, …); unrecognized sheets are ignored.

OED: Oedometric compression

Sheet name: OED-# · Reader list: oedometer · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
row 2 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 3)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) vertical stress kPa
1 (B) vertical strain \(\Delta h/h_0\) (fraction)
2 (C, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 3 columns

Warning

Strain is a fraction (e.g. 0.0235 = 2.35 %). Rows with stress < 1 kPa are ignored.


IC: Isotropic compression

Sheet name: IC-# · Reader list: isotropic_compression_test · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
row 2 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 3)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) mean effective stress \(p\) kPa
1 (B) volumetric strain (fraction)
2 (C, optional) initial-state string(s)

Warning

As for the oedometer sheet, strain is a fraction and stresses < 1 kPa are ignored.


CD: Drained triaxial

Sheet name: CD-# · Reader list: triax_CD · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
C1 test name (informational)
D1 constant-pressure flag: yes / no (empty = no); is read
row 2 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 3)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) axial strain \(\varepsilon_1\) (percent) %
1 (B) cell pressure \(\sigma_3\), or mean pressure \(p\) if D1 = yes kPa
2 (C) deviatoric stress \(q\) kPa
3 (D) volumetric strain \(\varepsilon_v\) (percent) %
4 (E, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 5 columns

Warning

Triaxial strains are in percent (the reader divides by 100). When D1 = yes, column 1 holds \(p\) instead of \(\sigma_3\).


CU: Undrained triaxial

Sheet name: CU-# · Reader list: triax_CU · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
row 2 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 3)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) axial strain \(\varepsilon_1\) (percent) %
1 (B) cell pressure \(\sigma_3\) kPa
2 (C) axial stress \(\sigma_1\) kPa
3 (D) mean effective stress \(p\) kPa
4 (E) deviatoric stress \(q\) kPa
5 (F, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 6 columns

Tip

\(p\) and \(q\) may be derived from \(\sigma_1\), \(\sigma_3\) and the pore pressure, but store the evaluated values (not live formulas) in the sheet.


CUCYC: Undrained cyclic triaxial

Sheet name: CUCYC-# · Reader list: triax_CUcyc · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
C1 test name (informational)
B2 deviatoric stress amplitude kPa
B3 consolidation axial stress \(\sigma_1\) kPa
B4 consolidation cell stress \(\sigma_3\) kPa
B5 pore-fluid bulk modulus \(K_w\) kPa
B6 number of cycles to simulate \(N_\text{sim}\)
rows 7–14 spacer (not read)
row 15 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 16)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) mean effective stress \(p\) kPa
1 (B) deviatoric stress \(q\) kPa
2 (C) axial strain \(\varepsilon_1\) (percent) %
3 (D) excess pore pressure \(p_w\) kPa
4 (E) cycle number \(N\)
12 (M, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 13 columns

HCA: High-cycle accumulation triaxial

Sheet names: CDCYC_HCA-# (drained), CUCYC_HCA-# (undrained) · Reader lists: triax_CDcyc_HCA, triax_CUcyc_HCA · test description

Both sheets share the same layout.

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
B2 deviatoric stress amplitude \(q^\text{ampl}\) kPa
B3 axial stress \(\sigma_1\) kPa
B4 cell stress \(\sigma_3\) kPa
B6 strain-amplitude mode (1 = constant, 2 = updated)
B7 strain-amplitude source (1 = user, 2 = from simulation)
B8 strain-amplitude parameter
B9 dry density \(\rho_d\)
B10 permeability
B11 pore-fluid bulk modulus \(K_w\) kPa
A12 test name (informational)

(Cell B5 is not read.)

Data columns (begin on row 22)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) number of cycles \(N_\text{acc}\)
1 (B) accumulated axial strain \(\varepsilon_1^\text{acc}\) (percent) %
2 (C) accumulated strain \(\varepsilon^\text{acc}\) %
3 (D) accumulated volumetric strain \(\varepsilon_v^\text{acc}\) %
4 (E) accumulated deviatoric strain \(\varepsilon_q^\text{acc}\) %
5 (F) accumulated pore pressure \(p_w^\text{acc}\) kPa
6 (G) strain amplitude \(\varepsilon^\text{ampl}\)
7 (H) void ratio (experimental)
8 (I, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 9 columns (read from row 20)

Note

In a drained HCA test the accumulated strains are the main response; in an undrained HCA test the accumulated pore pressure is. The column positions are identical for both sheet types.


USScyc: Undrained cyclic simple shear

Sheet name: USScyc-# · Reader list: USScyc · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
C1 test name (informational)
B2 shear-stress amplitude kPa
B3 initial normal stress \(\sigma_{n,0}\) kPa
B4 lateral earth-pressure coefficient \(K_0\)
B5 pore-fluid bulk modulus \(K_w\) kPa

Data columns (begin on row 16)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) time s
1 (B) shear strain (percent) %
2 (C) shear stress kPa
3 (D) normal stress kPa
4 (E) normal strain (percent) %
5 (F) stress ratio
6 (G) cycle number
7 (H) double-amplitude shear strain (percent) %
8 (I) accumulated stress ratio

DSS: Drained direct simple shear

Sheet name: DSS-# · Reader list: DSS · test description

Header cells

Cell Meaning Units
B1 initial void ratio \(e_0\)
C1 test name (optional; the sheet name is used if the cell is empty)
D1 lateral earth-pressure coefficient \(K_0\) (optional, default 0.5); is read
row 2 column headers (informational only)

Data columns (begin on row 3)

Column Meaning Units
0 (A) shear stress \(\tau\) kPa
1 (B) vertical (normal) stress \(\sigma_v\) kPa
2 (C) shear strain \(\gamma\) (percent) %
3 (D) volumetric strain \(\varepsilon_v\) (percent, compression positive) %
4 (E, optional) initial-state string(s), present if the sheet has 5 columns

Warning

Simple-shear strains are given in percent (the reader divides by 100), as on the triaxial sheets. Rows in which any of the four data columns is empty or non-numeric are dropped, so all four series stay synchronized.

What is taken from where

The simulation is run at the normal stress of the first data row and at the \(K_0\) from D1; it is sheared to the largest \(\gamma\) of the record. The \(\sigma_v\) column itself is not compared because it is a control quantity that the device holds constant. It is still exported to the result files.


Start from the template

Rather than building a workbook from scratch, download the template: it already contains a correctly positioned example sheet for every test type above, with the header cells filled in and the data columns labelled.