Virtual Lab Assistant

Download the VLA

The PFC FISHTank provides a powerful set of functions and routines to generate, view and test a variety of standard material specimens. FISHTank can be challenging to use as it requires numerous properties and parameters to be defined over a number of driver, FISH, and data files. With this in mind, Itasca has developed a Microsoft Excel-based spreadsheet to provide a more user friendly interface for the FISHTank. This is ideal for users who want a fast and easy way to calibrate models or perform standard laboratory tests virtually.

The Virtual Lab Assistant (VLA) is available for PFC2D 4.0 and PFC3D 4.0. VLA allows the user to easily define all of the properties necessary to generate and test standard particle models by filling in a series of forms (Excel sheets) in a step-wise progression.

Once all necessary information has been completed, a simple press of a virtual button executes a series of Excel macros that build all of the necessary driver, FISH and data files required by the FISHTank under a single user-defined project folder. Since it is project oriented, multiple materials, specimens, and tests can be defined. In order to run these models, only a single “Do All” driver file has to be called from PFC which will execute the models automatically in sequential order. After all tests have been completed, another click of a button will retrieve your test results and compile them back into Excel for you to review and analyze. Since multiple specimens can be defined, generated and tested together as a single project, VLA is the perfect tool for both model calibration and parametric testing.

Itasca has used the Virtual Lab Assistant to build and test over 50,000 bonded particle models (BPM) for a single project. Using VLA, all of the files required by the FISHTank were created and organized into folders in a matter of minutes. Sub-projects were defined in order to run the models over many computers. Test results are being used to construct a neural-network to assist in the calibration of PFC micro-properties to achieve desired macro-properties. A trial run of over 3,100 BPMs has already shown excellent results.

Thank you for your interest in VLA. After you complete and submit the below form, you will be provided a link from which you can download the program.

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