Lake Livingston Hydropower Plant (2015)
The project involves a cut-and-cover derivation tunnel that delivers water to the power house where the turbines are located. All the components of the plant (headrace, Intake, penstock, powerhouse, and tailrace) require earth retaining structures during construction.
Estimation of Fracture Shear Displacements due to Slot Excavation (2015)
The main objective of the project was the estimation, via numerical modelling, of the displacement induced in fractures by the excavation of destressing slots at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory.
Numerical dynamic analysis of the stability of a tailings dam and evaluation of liquefaction potential (2015)
The tailings dam “Benkovski 2” is located about 7 km away from the flotation plant in the village of Mirkovo, Sofia region. It occupies an area of about 4 km2, and consists of two main gullies with different names for the two main negative landforms, "Ai Dere" and "Suludja Dere“. A dynamic analysis of the tailings dam, considering the liquefaction potential, is essential for assessing the stability of the tailings dam.
Evaluating Multiple Mechanisms & Structural Forces in Slope Stabilization (2015)
Unlike slope stability analysis software based on the limit equilibrium method, Itasca’s numerical modeling software (FLAC, FLAC3D) is capable of predicting multiple interacting failure mechanisms and produces the structural forces in the stabilization features. These capabilities are critical to developing engineering judgment and in designing remedial measures.
Photogrammetric Joint Mapping for the Relocation of T.H. 53 (2015)
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) relocated a portion of T.H. 53 between Eveleth and Virginia, MN. The preferred alignment crosses the existing Rouchleau iron ore pit on a 1,100-foot bridge. Two abutments and one pier of the bridge will be founded on bedrock. Future iron ore mining adjacent to the alignment will create rock slopes up to 500 ft high. After mining, the new roadway will be atop a trapezoidal cross-section 300 ft wide at the top and with downslopes of about 53 degrees.
Gold Heap-Leach Modeling (2015)
Itasca developed a numerical model to estimate gold (Au) production from heapleach operations. The objective was to simulate Au heap leaching using a model based on fluid flow and mass-transport (hydrodynamic modeling) in a partially saturated pad, and quantitatively assess monthly production of gold-cyanide production (AuCN).
3D-Analysis of the Stockholm By-Pass Road Tunnel (2014)
A new motorway west of Stockholm linking the north and south side of Stockholm is under development – the so-called "Stockholm By-Pass" ("Förbifart Stockholm"). The new link is a 21 km long highway, of which 18 km is in tunnels. At the interchange of Lovön, four intake and exhaust air stations are planned, being in close proximity to the main tunnels and ramps. In this area, there is also a deformation zone going through the intake and exhaust air station.
Extraction of Crown Pillar in Kittilä (2014)
Extraction of the crown pillar separating the open pit from the underground mining was to be conducted as a part of the transition from open pit to underground mining at the Kittilä mine. Itasca carried out a study of crown pillar mining on the stability of the open pit and underground infrastructure.
Long term behavior of claystone and its interaction with steel casing (2014)
Study of potential damage in the claystone surrounding a HLW disposal cell for storage of high-level radioactive waste (HLW waste).
Solid segregation of limestone-coal mix discharged on a conoid system (2014)
SOLVAY S.A. wanted to assess the capability of the discrete-modeling approach to reproduce the behavior and the segregation of a mix of blocks (limestone + coal) discharged on a spreading system (conoid). A PFC3D model was developed to reproduce this complex system.
Extension of a tramway in Nice, France - 3D dynamic calculations (2014)
FLAC3D models are conducted with the aim to simulate the response of underground tramway structures in Nice, France, under earthquake loading.
Simulation of a tunnel excavation at shallow depth (Ohio River Bridge) (2014)
The behavior, during excavation, of a shallow tunnel cutting densely fractured limestones and dolomites raised concerns.
Rock Mechanics Support for the Dannemora Mine (2014)
The Dannemora mine has been in production since (at least) 1481 until its first closure in 1992. The fact that the mine is very old, but also has been closed for some time, has influenced the infrastructure and mine planning during the earlier era of mining.
Predictions of Groundwater Inflow to Sublevel Stope Mining (2013)
This project involved simulating the proposed open pits and underground mining of the Aurora Mine in Guyana, predicting potential inflow rates into the pits and underground workings, and providing pore‐pressure distributions to the geomechanical model.
El Teniente Fragmentation Study (2013)
Fragmentation is an important aspect of all block caving operations. The primary fragmentation can be difficult to assess, in particular in complex geological environments, and for rock masses subjected to varying stress as is normally the case in block caving.