Geoscience software company Seequent has released a new version of GeoStudio Core, which is part of its geotechnical modelling and analysis offering.
The latest GeoStudio Core combines updated SLOPE/W (for stope stability analysis) and SEEP/W (to analyze groundwater flows) features with a new, completely reformulated SIGMA/W product (which models stress and deformation in rock, soils and structures).
These upgrades are expected to provide geotechnical engineers with a better understanding of the engineering challenges around infrastructure and mining projects – from dams and levees to tunnelling and through to cut stability in underground and open pit mines.
In a release, Paul Grunau, president of Seequent’s Geoslope unit, said GeoStudio Core 2021 is the most significant GeoStudio release in the past five years.
“SIGMA/W has been completely redeveloped from the ground up, delivering new levels of confidence and capability for geotechnical engineers needing to assess ground deformations and stability. The new Strength Reduction Stability analysis in SIGMA/W complements the industry-trusted solutions in SLOPE/W to provide a rigorous understanding of slope failure mechanisms, allowing the engineer to design effective stabilization measures. These products integrate with SEEP/W to include the impact of changing groundwater conditions, providing a comprehensive solution for stability problems.”
“GeoStudio 2021 can model a wide range of geotechnical problems encountered in practical projects that deal with stress and deformation of soil,” added professor Soon-Hoe Chew from the National University of Singapore’s department of civil and environmental engineering. “For example, the hardening soil models can be confidently used to model the soft clay in Singapore, especially for excavation-related problems.”
GeoStudio Core, with SIGMA/W’s expanded material model library and new analysis types, allows for comprehensive modelling of a wider range of soil and rock behaviour. For example, simulating the strain-softening of brittle clays allows for stability control of a tailings dam or roadway cut.
“The combined GeoStudio Core solution runs in a single integrated environment, speeding up the project workflow and easily scaling with the user’s needs. All project data and analyses can be combined into a single project file, enabling smooth data exchange and simpler data management,” Grunau concluded.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)