Learning

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Software Tutorials

Homogeneous Embankment Dam Analysis (Part 3 of 3)

This FLAC 8.1 tutorial demonstrates how to update the soil densities and the effective stresses in the embankment.

Using Python in Itasca Software

Python scripting is built into current versions of FLAC3D, 3DEC, and PFC. This video introduces users of Itasca software to working with Python and FLAC3D, 3DEC, and PFC types (zones, blocks, ball, structural elements, and so on). The Itasca Module, a comparison with FISH scripting, and object-oriented and array-oriented interfaces are reviewed and demonstrated.

Python and Pore Pressure Initialization

In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to map a random point cloud with pore pressure values onto the grid points of a FLAC3D model using Python.

Technical Papers

Flowback Test Analyses at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Site

Injection testing conducted in 2017 and 2019 at the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) site in Utah evaluated flowback as an alternative to prolonged shut-in periods to infer closure stress, formation compressibility, and formation permeability. Flowback analyses yielded lower inferred closure stresses than traditional shut-in methods and indicated high formation compressibility, suggesting an extensive fractured system. Numerical simulations showed rebound pressure is not necessarily the lower bound of minimum principal stress. Stiffness changes can be identified as depletion transitions from hydraulic to natural fractures. The advantage if flowback is reduced time to closure.

A DFN–DEM Multi‑scale Modeling Approach for Simulating Tunnel Excavation Response in Jointed Rock Masses

Based on the concept of the representative elementary volume (REV) and the synthetic rock mass (SRM) modeling technique, a DFN–DEM multi-scale modeling approach is proposed for modeling excavation responses in jointed rock masses. Based on the DFN models of various scales, equivalent rock mass properties are obtained using 3DEC SRM models. A tunnel excavation simulation using data from the Äspö TAS08 tunnel is conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed multi-scale modeling approach.

A Discrete Fracture Network Model With Stress-Driven Nucleation: Impact on Clustering, Connectivity, and Topology

The realism of Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models relies on the spatial organization of fractures, which is not issued by purely stochastic DFN models. In this study, we introduce correlations between fractures by enhancing the genetic model (UFM) of Davy et al. [1] based on simplified concepts of nucleation, growth and arrest with hierarchical rules.