About event
Registration is now open!
Itasca is pleased to announce that the 6th Itasca Symposium on Applied Numerical Modeling will take place June 3 - 6, 2024, in Toronto, Canada.
The 6th International Itasca Symposium will bring together world-renowned experts in the fields of civil, energy, and mining engineering and sciences specializing in the application of Itasca's family of numerical modeling software. Attendees will present and discuss the most recent advances in these industries and will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field, share their own research findings, and network with international colleagues. The aim of the Symposium is to provide an opportunity to learn and exchange useful concepts, develop new collaborations, and explore solutions for the future of these industries.
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Sunday June 2 |
Monday June 3 |
Tuesday June 4 |
Wednesday June 5 |
Thursday June 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Breaker | Technical Session | Technical Session | Technical Session | Workshops |
| Banquet Dinner | IMAT Workshop | |||
Registration Fees
Normal period is available until May 23, 2024.
Visiting Canada
Visa Requirements and Letters of Invitation
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires most foreign nationals to obtain a temporary resident visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to visit Canada. To find out if you need a TRV or an eTA, see: Visit Canada. When applying for a visa, be sure to indicate that your purpose of travel is "For business reasons, like a meeting, conference, event, or training" and to tag your application with event code 24ITAS. For more information, download this IRCC document for conference attendees.
Request a Letter of Invitation to the Conference
If you require a letter of invitation, please send an email with the subject “Invitation letter request for 2024 ITASAC Symposium” containing the following information to symposium@itascainternational.com:
- Name (as stated on passport)
- Country of citizenship
- Address
- Birthday and place of birth (city, state/province, country)
- Passport number
- Planed arrival and departure dates
COVID-19: Travel, Testing, and Borders
Visit this Government of Canada website to see the latest COVID-19 visitor information.
Things to Do in Canada
Explore Toronto's food and nightlife, natural, and culture and entertainment offerings and Totonto's Desitination website.
There’s an ever-expanding world of unforgettable and unexpected things to see and do in Ontario. Rediscover iconic experiences and reignite your wanderlust with surprising sights, sounds, and flavors.
Explore all that Canada has to offer, where wide open spaces and friendly locals can be found from coast to coast. Check out this TIMES Travel article on some of the best experiences when visiting Canada, the world's second-largest country under, from sea to sky.
Hotels Near the Symposium Venue
Toronto Marriott City Centre |
InterContinental Toronto |
Novotel Toronto Centre |
Rental Residences/Dorms near Symposium Venue
Chestnut Residence - |
St. Lawrence Residence & Suites |
AirBNB Downtown Toronto |
Hostels Near the Symposium Venue
The Clarence Park |
Planet Traveler Hostel |
Samesun Toronto |
Local Transportation
Toronto Transit Commision (TTC) for trains, subways, and buses: Website
Lyft Toronto: Website
Beck Taxi Service: Website
Venue
The ITASCA Symposium will take place at the world famous CN Tower. The main theater and meeting rooms we will be using for the presentations, workshops, and coffee breaks will be at the base of the CN Tower.
At 114 stories above ground level, the Reception and Award Ceremony will be held on the Observation Level (cityside) prior to the Banquet Dinner within the 360 Restaurant. LEARN MORE about the CN Tower.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Peter Cundall
Associate, ITASCA Minneapolis
Dr. Mark Diederichs
Professor, Queen's University – Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
Dr. Charles Fairhurst
Associate, ITASCA Minneapolis; Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
Dr. Katerina Ziotopoulou
Associate Professor, University of California (Davis) – Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Sonia D'Ambra
Mining Rock Mechanics Engineer / Adjunct Professor
Peter A. Cundall Award Recipient
To Be Announced
Workshops
Four in-person workshops will be offered at the Symposium for the those interested in refreshing or expanding their abilities with ITASCA software. The workshops will be held, in parallel sessions, on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Each of these workshops has a participation fee of CND$180 (CND$90 for student registrants). For those interested in IMAT (ITASCA Mining Analysis Toolbox), a fifth workshop being held June 5-6, 2024 at the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel, the participation fee for this workshop is CND$200 + 13% GST. Note there is a separate registration link for the IMAT Workshop (see below).
June 6 - MORNING (8 am – 12 noon)
PYTHON AND ADVANCED FISH — Room A (TBD), Chris Thielsen and Jim Hazzard
Join us for an overview of Python and working with Python in ITASCA software for the first half of this workshop. Learn about the Python modules which are included with ITASCA software and how to add new modules. This workshop is suitable for those who have never used Python before or for advanced Python users interested in working with Python in ITASCA software.
For the second half of this workshop, advanced FISH capabilities will be reviewed; including working with lists, splitting, multithreading, and file read/write. The use of multithreaded FISH will greatly enhance the capability and performance of FISH scripting, especially for very large models and when using scripting during model cycling.
It is recommended that you bring your laptop, but not required. A two-week long trial version of the latest ITASCA software will be distributed as part of this workshop. All project and data files reviewed will be provided plus the slides (as PDFs).
LIQUEFACTION OF MINE TAILINGS — Room B (TBD), Zhāo Chéng
Join us for a review of numerical modeling static liquefaction of mine tailings using Itasca software FLAC2D or FLAC3D version 9. Static liquefaction has been in the spotlight as it has been associated with numerous recent failures of tailings storage facilities (e.g., the 2019 failure of Dam I at the Corrego de Feijao mine in Brumadinho, Brazil) and water reservoir dams (e.g., the 2020 failure of Edenville dam in Michigan).
This half-day workshop will discuss core concepts of static liquefaction based on the critical state soil mechanics framework and outline how to assess static liquefaction through numerical modeling. Goals for this workshop include:
- Reviewing the state-of-practice and state-of-the-art techniques to assess static liquefaction.
- Constitutive model (focusing on NorSand model) for static liquefaction.
- How to estimate material properties for static liquefaction assessment from laboratory (e.g., Triaxial tests) and in-situ (e.g., CPT) experimental data.
- Numerical modeling analyses for static liquefaction using FLAC2D or FLAC3D, including grid generation, staged construction simulation, fluid calculation, drained and undrained static liquefaction analysis.
A two-week long trial version of the latest ITASCA software will be distributed as part of this workshop and all slides will be made available as PDFs.
LUNCH (12 noon to 1 pm, on your own)
June 6 - AFTERNOON (1 pm – 5 pm)
MACHINE LEARNING FOR GEOENGINEERS — Room A (TBD), Chris Thielsen
Join us for a brief introduction to machine learning as it applies to geomechanics. The workshop starts with an introduction to machine learning and surrogate modeling. The workshop will discuss the advantages of each methodology and highlight the capability of numerical simulations to empower machine learning, finishing with a review of two real-world projects that involved the use of machine learning. The goal of this course is to demystify machine learning for those that still see it as a buzzword and demonstrate that machine learning should be part of the standard engineering problem-solving “toolbox”. A two-week long trial version of the latest ITASCA software will be distributed as part of this workshop and all slides will be made available as PDFs.
TUNNEL MODELING FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS — Room B (TBD), Marco Camusso and Jim Hazzard
Join us for an overview of modeling tunneling using ITASCA software. The workshop will describe recommended procedures for tunnel modeling including 2D versus 3D analysis, mesh generation tools, simulation of different support systems (including non-linear support), consideration of water, the latest constitutive models, and the post-processing of the model results. Instruction will be delivered mostly through the working of practical examples. Previous experience with ITASCA software is beneficial but not essential. A two-week long trial version of the latest ITASCA software will be distributed as part of this workshop and all slides will be made available as PDFs.
FULL TWO-DAY (June 5 - 6)
IMAT IMMERSIVE TRAINING — Raptor Room (Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel), Gys Basson
During the ITASCA Symposium, ITASCA is launching IMAT (Itasca's Mining Analysis Toolbox) our groundbreaking software tailored exclusively for underground and open pit mining applications.
What Sets IMAT Apart?
Modern & Intuitive Interface: No scripting required! IMAT boasts a sleek, user-friendly design that simplifies the process of building, solving, and post-processing large-scale mining problems.
Bridging the Gap: IMAT pioneers the fusion of advanced seismic data integration and numerical modeling. We've seamlessly combined the robust FLAC3D solver with a state-of-the-art seismic data analysis tool.
Everyday User-Friendly: Our software was meticulously designed with "simplicity" as the guiding principle. IMAT effortlessly introduces advanced geotechnical and seismological concepts, making it accessible to everyone.
Key Features at a Glance
Streamlined Interface: Say goodbye to complexity and hello to efficiency!
Powerful Integration: Witness the synergy between the FLAC3D solver and advanced seismic data analysis.
User-Centric Design: Unlock the potential of advanced concepts with ease.
Unlock the full potential of IMAT during our exclusive hands-on training workshop running parallel to the conference. Here's a sneak peek into what awaits you on each day:
Day 1: June 5 - Introduction to IMAT: Combining Seismology and Numerical Modeling
The integration of Seismology and Numerical Modelling presents a synergistic approach for acquiring a comprehensive understanding of subsurface geological conditions. Presently, mining operations frequently necessitate the expertise of external consultants to navigate the interface between these two disciplines. During this session, our objective is to dispel this prevailing misconception by elucidating seismological principles in a straightforward manner.
Agenda Highlights:
- Introduction to IMAT: Your gateway to revolutionary mining analysis.
- Seismic Systems Unveiled: Explore how they become your mining allies.
- Visualizing and Interpreting Seismic Data: Demystifying complexities.
- Local Magnitude vs Richter Magnitude: A simplified breakdown.
- Seismic Source Mechanisms: Mastering interpretation and calibration.
- Seismic Parameters for Rock Mass Insight: Mitigate risks with knowledge.
- Extracting Seismic Data from Numerical Models: Bridging theory with practice.
Day 2: June 6 - Using IMAT to Build and Post-process Mine Scale Models
Hands-on Experience
- CAD Magic: Transforming surveyed data into an automated mine scale model.
- MAP3D to FLAC3D Conversion: Streamlining the process for efficiency for existing users.
- Solving Models in FLAC3D through IMAT: Witness the power in action.
- Post-Processing Brilliance: Unveiling stress/strain results with ease.
- Post-Processing Large Mining Sequences: Generating Movies for Entire Mining Sequences.
Why Attend?
- Learn directly from experts.
- Hands-on application of IMAT concepts.
- Network with industry professionals.
- Stay at the forefront of mining technology.
Cundall Award
The Peter A. Cundall Award is presented to the best overall Extended Abstract at an Itasca Symposium. A certificate and award is presented to each author and they are invited to present one of the Symposium keynote addresses. Honorable mentions may also be recognized.
The winner is selected by a committee of Itascans, including Dr. Cundall, based on recommendations by the Symposium Technical Committee. Employees of Itasca International do not qualify.
Dr. Cundall was instrumental to the conceptualization and development of Itasca's FLAC, FLAC3D, UDEC, 3DEC and PFC software. Dr. Cundall performed his doctoral work at Imperial College, London, where, in 1971, he originated the Distinct Element Method for modeling jointed rock and granular material. In addition to being an independent consultant for several years, he worked for Dames and Moore for five years, was a faculty member at the University of Minnesota for seven years at which he is now Adjunct Professor. He was employed by Itasca for more than 20 years, and remains an Associate with Itasca. Dr. Cundall is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Committees
Organizing Committee
Itasca International
- Charles E. Fairhurst
Itasca Canada
- Kristine Hajek
- Tatyana Katsaga
- Annalisa Moore
- Joffre Sanftenberg
Itasca Minneapolis
- David DeGagné
- Jim Hazzard
- Michele Nelson
Technical Committee
- Rick Chalaturnyk (University of Alberta)
- Andy Corkum (Dalhousie University)
- Christine Detournay (Itasca Consulting Group)
- Erik Eberhardt (University of British Columbia)
- Roger Hart (formerly with Itasca Consulting Group)
- Jit Sharma (York University)
- Mirko van der Baan (University of Alberta)
- Katerina Ziotopoulou (University of California, Davis)
Papers
Caverns and Large Excavations
Numerical modeling of underground excavations at the SNOWY 2.0 Power Station Complex
Xuan-Son Nguyen , Rima Ghazal, Sami Khodr, and Ivan Ching
Assessment of creep at low deviatoric stress surrounding rock salt caverns with FLAC3D
Dirk Zapf, Bastian Leuger, Feline Koerner, and Lukas Baumgaertel
Dynamic reinforcement strategy and design for strainburst prone excavations in an underground mine
Eugie Kabwe
Constitutive Models
Comparison of P2PSand and NorSand constitutive models for assessing static liquefaction in a tailings dam
Pascale Rousé and Andrés Panes
Coupled and Time-Dependent Processes
New swelling constitutive model in FLAC3D
Othman Nasir and Mahsa Bajestani
Assessing the impact of gas generation rate on mechanical behavior of MSW: A T2LBM-FLAC3D coupling framework
Mohamed Hassan, Hamed Nasiri, Alborz Fathinezhad, and Navid Jafari
Estimating shear stress within a clay foundation using the Burgers-creep model
Mark Bancroft and Salina Yong
Numerical investigation of thermal compaction with application to the COx claystone
Mountaka Souley, Minh-Ngoc Vu, Carlos Plua, Gilles Armand, and Nathalie Conil
Damage Mechanics
A Subspring Network Breakable Voronoi model for rock: Grain-breakage scheme
David Potyondy and Matthew Purvance
Dams
Maxwell damping in FLAC3D: Verification and validation
Ethan Dawson and Zhao Cheng
Seismic performance assessment of dams on tailings foundation
Marjan Oboudi
Stability analysis of Taipinwan Dam and its fifth regular safety assessment
Yongjin Cheng
Dynamic / Seismic Analysis
Development of a numerical modeling approach in FLAC3D to estimate critical velocity for high-speed rail
Alberto Jaen-Toribio, Alice Duley, Jun Wang, Donald Anderson, and Paul Murphy
Evaluation of optimal ground motion intensity measure for estimating tailings dam displacements
Nestor Bellido Añanca, Carlos Sánchez Rodríguez, and Zenón Aguilar Bardales
Hydraulic Fracturing
Rigid Body Spring Network models of drilling-induced tensile fractures
Martin Schöpfer, Mario Habermüller, Nicola Levi, and Kurt Decker
Machine Learning
A surrogate model for real-time slope stability analysis in three dimensions
Cristian Castro
Using Itasca Software to train machine learning surrogate models
Jason Furtney and Chris Thielsen
MPAC - Material Point Analysis of Continua
Matthew Purvance and Corne Coetzee
Masonry
Pixels to discrete blocks: An approach to generate and analyze masonry walls
Peter Griesbach, Rhea Wilson, and Bora Pulatsu
Simulating masonry wall behavior via DEM-based computational modeling techniques
Bora Pulatsu, Jose Lemos, and Paulo Lourenço
Material Behavior
DEM analyses of particle scaling and shear stress uniformity in direct simple shear tests
Abouzar Sadrekarimi and Shayan Hashemi
Effect of geometric heterogeneity on macroscopic behavior and microcracking in granite using UDEC-BBM
Jia Liu and Chengguo Zhang
The micromechanics of the progressive fracturing process in hard and strong polycrystalline rocks using PFC2D
Fedilberto J. Gonzalez and Mark S. Diederichs
Numerical modeling the thermal-mechanical behaviors of rocks in post-wildfire environment
Yifei Ma and Fahd Mujahid
Numerical simulations of loose initially uniform specimens in drained triaxial compression
David Reid, Riccardo Fanni, and Andy Fourie
Nuclear Waste
Time-dependent modeling of drifts excavated in COx claystone using FLAC3D
Frederico Lara, Lina-María Guayacán-Carrillo, Jean Sulem, Jana Jaber, Jan Cornet, Gilles Armand, and Jad Zghondi
Numerical Techniques / Methods
The development of hydro-mechanical coupling method based on PFC3D with the Finite Volume Method
Jian Zhou and Jeoung Seok Yoon
Using site data and machine learning to improve numerical model parameterization
Chris Thielsen and Jason Furtney
Conditioning discrete fracture networks to field data
Benoît Pinier, Romain Le Goc, Quentin Courtois, Caroline Darcel, Philippe Davy, and Marco Camusso
A detailed view on the process of preparing numerical models using Griddle and FLAC3D: A case of large underground mine with intersecting geologic structures
Cinthia Maldonado and Andrey Pyatigorets
Handling the simulation of crack injection in FLAC3D: A return of experience
Emanuele Catalano and Guadalupe Gonzalez
Selection of input properties for improved layer in plane strain stabilized excavation problems
Azneb Abdul Salam, Subhadeep Banerjee, and R.G. Robinson
Explicit modeling of friction rock stabilizers
Fico Dio Agrensa, John Hadjigeorgiou, and Efstratios Karampinos
Investigating the strength and failure mechanism of hard rock pillars using Bonded Block Models
Farzaneh Hamediazad and Navid Bahrani
DEM simulation of long railway tracks through utilizing periodic boundaries
Alireza Ahmadi, Carl Wersäll, and Stefan Larsson
Troubleshooting the embedded modified Cam Clay Constitutive Model in FLAC3D for reproducibility and accuracy
Yongfeng Deng, Marsheal Fisonga, Yongtao Hu, Shijiex Han, and Rennie B. Kaunda
Rockfall / Debris Flow
Coupled numerical model CFD-DEM of debris flow impact on an obstacle using rigid blocks
Rime Chehade, Fabian Dedecker, Bastien Chevalier, and Pierre Breul
Slope Stability
Modeling slope failure from initiation to runout geometry with FLAC3D and PFC3D: A back analysis of the Leo Failure event
Fabian Dedecker, Sacha Emam, Tatyana Katsaga, Serdar Ergun, Chad Williams, and Julia Potter
Three-dimensional explicit structure representation in slope stability analysis
Annalisa Moore, Leonardo Ormazabal, Matt Purvance, and Tatyana Katsaga
Use of Itasca modeling tools and parametric models on slope stability analysis
Leonardo Ormazabal and Rodrigo Dockendorff
3D numerical stability analysis of a footwall slope at the McArthur River Mine
Ke He
Soil/Rock Structure Interaction
Estimation of displacements induced on neighboring structures by the construction of the Porte Maillot station in Paris based on observations and back-analysis of the first excavation phases
Marco Camusso, Huy Tran, and Benoit Bertrand
Modeling of massive soil improvement based on rigid inclusions in Mexico City
Francisco Flores and Ivan Zarate
Stochastic analysis of reinforced structures with anisotropic random soil properties
Reza Jamshidi Chenari and Richard Bathurst
Tunneling
Assessing the participation of temporary support measures in an underground excavation using 3DEC
Michail Karampasis and Ilias Bakasis
Modeling of an adit connection to a segmentally lined tunnel in FLAC3D
Robert Adams, Michael Dutton, Peter Kottke, and Dale Brunton
Application of the CWFS method in FLAC2D to model brittle failure around the Qirehatear Diversion tunnel
Luis Gomez de Alba, Andrew Corkum, and Navid Bahrani
Assessment of shaft stability using numerical modeling: the impact of tensile strength
Siavash Taghipoor
Underground Mining
Analyzing the effect of Continuous Miner parameters on fine particle generation: A case study in a salt mine
Behzad Mehrgini and Kamran Esmaeili
Geomechanical assessment of Tishinsky Underground Mine: Understanding deformation mechanisms and predicting future stability
Hao Li, Alex Turichshevor, Joffre Sanftenberg, and Tatyana Katsaga
Numerical simulation of gravity driven consolidation for backfill slurry in mine stope
Guangsheng Liu, Qinghai Ma, Lijie Guo, and Xiaocong Yang
Assessment of floor heave behavior in soft floor strata
Wanqi Zhang
3D modeling of destress excavations at two case study mines
Shahé Shnorhokian, Owen Mickevicius, Aidan O'Heany, and Samar Ahmed
3D modeling of destressed rock mass using RMR, Q', and damage factor D
Shahé Shnorhokian and Samar Ahmed
Stability assessment for an extended stope in a case study underground mine
Adrian Ivan Santos Chauca, Shahe Shnorhokian, and Mustafa Kumral
A DEM-DFN method to identify connected fracture networks above mined longwall panels
Mingwei Chen, Chengguo Zhang, Ismet Canbulat, and Serkan Saydam
Developing a hybrid strength model for a complex orebody in a deep hard rock mine
Pranay Yadav, Chris O'Connor, and Cinthia Maldonado
Use of numerical modeling and empirical approaches to optimize safety and coal recovery in an underground coal mine
Surajit Sarkar, Syed Shah Ghalib Askari, Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Indranil Saha, Piyush Srivastava, Manoj Kumar, Mayank Shekhar, Sanjay Rajoria, and Jay Aglawe
Criteria for evaluation of design and mining methods using mine-scale numerical modeling
Jonny Sjöberg, Joel Andersson, Ott Oisalu, Theofanis Rentzelos, Mattias Sjölander, Mikael Svartsjaern, Jessa Vatcher, and Tristan Jones
Defining a seismic response index from Continuum Modeling results
Cyrille Séguineau de Préval, Amélie Ouellet, and Patrick Andrieux
Numerical investigations on the impact of corrosion on the capacity of welded steel mesh
Efstratios Karampinos and John Hadjigeorgiou
