October 2020

• Numerical Modeling of Rock Fracturing Processes in Geomechanics by Omid Mahabadi, Ph.D., P.Eng., President and CEO, Geomechanica Inc., Canada

There are a number of important challenges involved with modelling the deformation and failure of rock masses. For instance, rock material is heterogeneous and is characterized by the presence of defects and microcracks at the micro-scale, and of joints and faults at the rock mass scale.

In addition, rocks undergo nonlinear stress-strain response due to initiation, growth and coalescence of microcracks. They also exhibit confinement-dependent behaviour, for example in the form of the brittle-to-ductile transition as the confining pressure increases.

In this presentation, Omid talks about the numerical analysis of the rock mass response and failure using the FDEM method.

• Deformability Modulus of Rock Mass: In-Situ Tests and Stress Dependency by Mahdi Zoorabadi, Ph.D., MAusIMM CP (Geotech), RPEQ, Principal Geotechnical Engineer at Golder, Australia

In this presentation Mahdi talks about the deformability modulus of the rock mass, and he provides a quick review of the in-situ testing and he talks about a very important behaviour of stress dependency of deformability modulus.