Learning

Software Tutorials

Bonded Block Model undergoing Damage and Bulking during Simulated Relaxation

Continuum numerical modeling is inherently limited when the rock behavior involves mechanisms such as spalling and bulking. The Bonded Block Model (BBM) approach simulates the initiation of cracks that can coalesce and/or propagate leading to extension and shear fracturing, as well as the rock (e.g., intact, jointed, or veined) strength dependency on confinement.

Working with Building Blocks in FLAC3D 6 (Part 1)

This video demonstrates using a library set of Building Blocks as a starting point for creating a new model. In this example, cylindrical blocks are snapped together to represent a tunnel and intersected with other blocks representing a nearby wall.

Tunnel Pulse with Quiet Boundaries

A pressure pulse is being applied to the tunnel boundary with a frequency of 4 Hz over tens of milliseconds. Quiet (i.e., viscous) boundaries have been applied to all but the top of the model, which remains a free surface.

Technical Papers

Regional-scale numerical stress model of the Stockholm area

Analyze the initial stress state in the central and southern areas of Stockholm for the Metro to Nacka and Southern Stockholm.

GPR-inferred fracture aperture widening in response to a high-pressure tracer injection test at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden

We assess the performance of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method in fractured rock formations of very low transmissivity (e.g. T ≈ 10−9–10−10 m2/s for sub-mm apertures) and, more specifically, to image fracture widening induced by high-pressure injections. A field-scale experiment was conducted at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden) in a tunnel situated at 410 m depth. The tracer test was performed within the most transmissive sections of two boreholes separated by 4.2 m. The electrically resistive tracer solution composed of deionized water and Uranine was expected to lead to decreasing GPR reflections with respect to the saline in situ formation water.

Time-Dependent Behavior of Saint-Martin-La-Porte Exploratory Galleries: Field Data Processing and Numerical Modeling of Excavation in Squeezing Rock Conditions

Field monitoring programs (e.g., convergence measurements and stress measurements in the support system) play an important role in following the response of the ground and of the support system during and after excavation. They contribute to the adaptation of the excavation and support installation method and the prediction of the long-term behavior. In the context of the Lyon–Turin link project, an access gallery (SMP2) was excavated between 2003 and 2010, and a survey gallery (SMP4) has been excavated since 2017.

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