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Software Tutorials

Fluid Flow through Jointed Rock

As well as flow through joints, 3DEC 5.2 is capable of simulating fluid flow through the blocks or the matrix (i.e., between the joints). It is assumed that the blocks represent a saturated, permeable solid, such as soil or fractured rock mass.

Proppant in Fluid Filled Joints

The transport and placement of proppant within fractures is modeled in 3DEC by representing the proppant and fracturing fluid as a mixture.

Bonded Block Model with Cable Ground Support

Cable elements in 3DEC may be assigned a tensile yield force limit and an axial rupture strain in order to simulate cable rupture. 3DEC can also simulate the shearing resistance along the cable length between the grout and either the cable or the host material.

Technical Papers

Numerical modelling and seismicity at the Kiirunavaara Mine

What’s happening at the Kiirunavaara Mine?

Blast Movement Simulation Through a Hybrid Approach of Continuum, Discontinuum, and Machine Learning Modeling

This work presents a hybrid modeling approach to efficiently estimate and optimize rock movement during blasting. A small-scale continuum model simulates early-stage, near-field blasting physics and generates synthetic data to train a machine learning (ML) model. Key parameters such as expanded hole diameter, burden velocity, and gas pressure are obtained through the ML model, which then inform a discontinuum model to predict far-field muckpile formation. The approach captures essential blast physics while significantly accelerating blast design optimization.

FLAC3D mesh and zone quality

Mesh quality is crucial for the stability, accuracy, and fast convergence of numerical simulations. However, given the geometrical complexity of some models and the tools available for mesh creation, it is often necessary to accept meshes that deviate significantly from the known ideal shape.