Groundworks November 2005 HCItasca eNewsletter

November 2005

Having completed upgrades to five of our six major numerical modeling codes within the last year, we would like to remind our users that your feedback is always welcome. If you have comments, suggestions, or requests for features in our codes, we invite you to send them to us at software@itascacg.com.

—Roger Hart, Director, Software Services

Visit the Academy In July, Itasca's principal software creator, Peter Cundall, was elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering. Founded in 1976, The Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the UK and comprises Britain's most eminent engineers. Election to the Academy is by invitation only from existing fellows. We are pleased to offer our congratulations to Peter in recognition of this distinguished honor.

Itasca Consulting Canada Inc. is developing a 3D visualization package named GeoCad to address some significant challenges that face numerical modelers, including: replication of complex 3D geological geometry within numerical simulations; model validation through data fusion (e.g. using measured microseismic data and drill log information to validate numerical modeling results); and visualization and communication of time-based numerical simulation results to non-technical decision-makers. The code is being developed and used in-house; it will be available commercially in the future.

Mine Infrastructure, 3DEC stress contours
and ore body visualization. Enlarge... GeoCAD is used to view and manipulate any geometric model, integrate data sets, and assist in the presentation of results. Visualization capabilities include those found in Itasca software (failure envelope, contouring, tensor and vector representations), OpenGL-based functionality (rotate, zoom and move, as well as inquiry of coordinates and distances), as well as some CAD functionality (create cross-sections, draw polylines and assist in the generation of the data files used by PGEN).

These technologies enable Itasca engineers to first understand and then build complex models making use of valuable 3D data that already exists and to better validate and interpret numerical simulation results through the use of data integration techniques and accelerated 3D graphics. Last, scientific visualization serves as a vehicle to properly communicate complex results to clients, giving them maximum value from their large investment in data, while minimizing decision-based risk. Further information on GeoCad is available. To make use of these capabilities in existing projects, please contact hli@itasca.ca (GeoCAD) or icci@itasca.ca (General).

FLAC3D 3.0 was released in early November. Some of the new features in the code include:

Hysteretic Damping
Hoek-Brown Constitutive Model
Faster Calculation
Built-in Movie Feature

...and more. Visit our web site for complete information on what's new in Version 3.0....

Update Alert:

Current Versions
updated since
Sept. 15, 2005:

4th International FLAC Symposium

Registrations are now being accepted for the upcoming 4th International FLAC Symposium in Madrid, Spain, May 28-31, 2006. We received a very positive response to the Call for Papers with 85 abstract submissions. The Symposium will provide a very useful forum for the FLAC/FLAC3D community to exchange ideas and techniques. Registration details and additional information are available online.

Get the details!

The fall slate of software training courses in Minneapolis has been completed. The spring 2006 classes are now scheduled:

FLACApril 3, 4, 5
April 10, 11, 12 FLAC3D
April 17, 18, 19 3DShop
April 24, 25, 26 UDEC
May 1, 2, 3 3DEC
May 8, 9, 10, 11 PFC2D/PFC3D

Course outlines, registration forms, and further information are available online.

Visualization of ball charge movement in a tumbling mill simulated with PFC2D. The force exerted on a lifter bar by the mill load is measured with an embedded strain gauge sensor.

This model is part of a project that links computational results to experimental data obtained from an instrumented pilot ball mill. The goal of the project is optimization of mineral processing systems. The work was performed by Kent Tano and Johanna Alatalo of LKAB, Sweden, and is presented in Dr. Tano's Ph.D. thesis.

Publications since September 15, 2005:

Potyondy, D. O. "Formulation of a Bonded-Particle Model to Simulate Stress Corrosion in Rock," in CD Abstracts. 11th International Conference on Fracture, Turin, Italy, March 2005, Extended Abstract No. 3469. Turin: Politecnico di Torino, Department of Structural Engineering & Geotechnics, 2005.

Young, R. P., D. Collins, J. Hazzard, W. Pettitt, C. Baker, D. Billaux, P. Cundall, D. Potyondy, F. Dedecker and C. Svemar. "An Innovative 3-D Numerical Modelling Procedure for Simulating Repository-Scale Excavations in Rock - SAFETI," in Programme and Abstracts (EURADWASTE '04). Sixth European Commission Conference on the Management and Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Luxembourg, March-April 2004.


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