Explore IMAT’s latest upgrade, uniting open-pit and underground mining capabilities for faster, smarter, and more efficient modeling.
This course will lead participants in using FLAC2D and FLAC3D to conduct complex analyses of embankment dams and slopes. The training is composed of multiple presentations and step-by-step tutorials.
The transport and placement of proppant within fractures is modeled in 3DEC by representing the proppant and fracturing fluid as a mixture.
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.
A major use of DFN models for industrial applications is to evaluate permeability and flow structure in hardrock aquifers from geological observations of fracture networks. The relationship between the statistical fracture density distributions and permeability has been extensively studied, but there has been little interest in the spatial structure of DFN models, which is generally assumed to be spatially random (i.e., Poisson). In this paper, we compare the predictions of Poisson DFNs to new DFN models where fractures result from a growth process defined by simplified kinematic rules for nucleation, growth, and fracture arrest.
Identifying fractures in the subsurface is crucial for many geomechanical and hydrogeological applications. Here, we assess the ability of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method to image open fractures with sub-mm apertures in the context of future deep disposal of radioactive waste.
Surface waters at the site of a former Minnesota taconite mine were reported to have solute concentrations elevated with respect to water-quality standards.