Consulting | Software | Training | Conferences | Recent Publications | |||||||||||||
Dear clients, We would like to wish you our best wishes for the New Year 2018. We greatly appreciate our relationships with all of our new friends and those with whom we have had the pleasure of working for many years. We hope that peace and success are your constant companions in the coming year.
|
Itasca Consultants S.A.S. was commissioned to study the thermal-mechanical interaction between a 50 m deep, 35 m radius natural gas storage well and the surrounding ground. | ||
Zoomed view of the geometry and mesh | ![]() Temperature field 30 years after commissioning | |
ITASCA simulated the well construction and commissioning phases, as well as the long-term behavior of the storage. The soil constitutive law accounted for variations of its mechanical properties with temperature and for the evolution of the creep rate according to its state of the stresses, its temperature, and time. A 2D axisymmetric model was used to model this circular well. The construction phases included pre-excavation reinforcement by a freezing technique, and then a staged excavation to a depth of 50m. The steel cladding is separated from the ground by an insulating material, as well as a concrete slab. Frictional interfaces are placed between the different materials. The service phase is then modeled by simulating well filling and emptying cycles. The temperature, and the pressure applied by the gas on the steel cladding vary periodically. The simulation is carried out over a period of 30 years. The study provided estimates of:
| ||
Axial force in the steel cladding after 30 years | ![]() Casing displacements 30 years after commissioning | |
| ||
Itasca Consultants GmbH has developped numerical calculations on the time and pressure dependent behavior of backfill in mining. Backfill is used to minimize the impact of mining on the surface and to avoid sinkholes. Stiffness and strength of the backfill develop over time and depend on the confining pressure. Numerical simulations allow estimation of stress redistributions and deformations due to excavation and backfill. On this basis, the best possible time mining scheme and time for the placement the backfill can be determined. In an example calculation with FLAC3D it was shown, that in a room-pillar-mining the mining losses can be minimized with the use of residual salt as backfill material. In addition, subsidence on the surface is minimized and the risk of sinkholes is reduced.
|
|
|
Current Updates:
|
Itasca will host introductory training courses in Europe:
Please visit www.itascacg.com/training for full details. For users who envisage the need for substantial amounts of assistance, consulting support or customized training course are available. |
Itasca and/or representatives will be attending the following conferences:
Conference |
Date |
Place |
---|---|---|
GDRI GeoMech Meeting on "Advanced modelling in particulate and cohesive materials"; | January 22-23, 2018 | Lyon, France |
SME Annual Conference | February 25-28, 2018 | Minneapolis, USA |
Bergmekanikdagen ("Swedish Rock Mechanics Day") | March 20, 2018 | Stockholm, Sweden |
18th Hellenic Concrete conference | March 29-31, 2018 | Athens, Greece |
Slope Stability 2018 |
April 11-13, 2018 | Seville, Spain |
Computational Methods in Water Resources XXII | June 3-7, 2018 | Saint-Malo, France |
Journées Nationales de Géotechnique et de Géologie de l’Ingenieur | June 13-15, 2018 | Champs-sur-Marne, France |
52nd US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium | June 17-20, 2018 | Seattle, USA |
DNFE 2018 Conference | June 20-22, 2018 | Seattle, USA |
Earthquake Thessaloniki Engineering | June 18-21, 2018 | Thessaloniki, Greece |
RocDyn-3 | June 25-29, 2018 | Trondheim, Norway |
Billaux D., Camusso M. et A. Rollet, 2017. "Stockage de Wittelsheim (France) : modèles numériques pour la prédiction de l’état d’endommagement actuel dans le sel et l’évaluation des flux potentiels de saumure contaminée à long terme". Congrès International de l’Aftes, 2017, Paris.
Perez-Rey, L.R. Alejano, and P. Velasco (October 2017) "Comparison of observational, empirical and 3D discrete numerical methodes to estimate subsidence over longwall coal faces" In AfriRock 2017 Rock Mechanics for Africa-Cape Town - The Southern African Institue of Mininh and Metallurgy , 2-7 October 2017, pp 809-822.
Akinshin, I.; Missal, C.; te Kamp, L.: "Simulation of Pressure and Time-Dependent Behavior of Backfill Material in Numerical Calculations – Simulation des druck- und zeitabhängigen Verhaltens von Versatzmaterial bei numerischen Berechnungen." In: Mining Report – Glückauf, Volume 153, Issue 2, p. 166-172. Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesllschaft mbH, Herne, 2017.
Changping, Y., J. Sjöberg & D. Johansson - (2017) "Numerical modelling for blast-induced fragmentation in sublevel caving mines". In Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 68, September 2017, pp. 167–173, Paper available on-line
Lope Álvarez, U. Lindfors, F. Perman, F. Johansson & B. Stille (2017) "Regional-scale numerical stress model of the Stockholm area" In: Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2017 – Surface challenges – Underground solutions. Bergen, Norway, June 2017.
Umar, S.B., J. Sjöberg & T. Savilahti - (2017) "Modelling of caving and deformation mechanisms of the hangingwall of the Printzsköld oreboby at Malmberget mine." In The Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 117, April 2017, pp. 351–360, Paper available on-line
Follow Itasca:
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please click here to unsubscribe.
Itasca Consultants S.A.S
64 Chemin des mouilles
FR-69134 Ecully Cedex
France
© 2017 Itasca Consultants S.A.S.