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Introduction
Additional affiliations
May 2014 - September 2014
Position
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Numerical simulation of rock support elements within FDEM
September 2009 - April 2014
September 2007 - September 2009
Publications
Publications (50)
• Graphical classification based on the UCS:BDS ratio. • Practical tool to estimate the strength ratio of rock in a variety of engineering construction projects. • Estimating material properties in the pre-feasibility stages of projects. • Database of over 500 pairs of UCS and BDS values.
The West Vaughan Sewer System (WVSS) tunnel, at the time of writing, is planned to be constructed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A geotechnical program was conducted to characterize the mechanical properties of the anisotropic bedrock, Georgian Bay shale, and was determined to exhibit weak rock strength properties, moderate to fair anisotropy, and ex...
Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes play a key role in a variety of geomechanical applications, including, enhanced oil recovery from unconventional reservoirs, deep geological disposal of heat-emitting nuclear waste, and enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). The research work presented herein introduces a novel fully-coupled, THM formula...
Rock bolt is a support system extensively utilized in Civil and Mining Engineering applications, especially for underground excavations projects. The main function of a rock bolt is to stabilize the rock mass around the opening of an excavation by fastening to further stable formations. Previous technical work developed pull-out testing in order to...
Rock bolt is a support system extensively utilized in Civil and Mining Engineering applications, especially for underground excavations projects. The main function of a rock bolt is to stabilize the rock mass around the opening of an excavation by fastening to further stable formations. Previous technical work developed pull-out testing in order to...
This paper presents a novel implementation of a hydro-mechanically coupled, finite-discrete element method (FDEM) optimized to exploit the computing parallelism of graphics processing units (GPUs). A co-processing approach is adopted with the control loop of FDEM executed serially on the CPU and compute-intensive tasks off-loaded to the GPU. A benc...
This paper presents a new, fully-coupled, hydro-mechanical (HM) formulation for a finite-discrete element method computer code. In the newly-developed, hydraulic solver, fluid flow is assumed to occur through the same triangular mesh used for the mechanical calculations. The flow of a viscous, compressible fluid is explicitly solved based on a cubi...
Standard laboratory testing of Georgian Bay shale and limestone was performed for an ongoing tunnel project in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The laboratory results were used as calibration targets to determine input parameters for numerical simulations using the Irazu simulation package based on the hybrid finite-discrete element method (FDEM). U...
This paper presents the development, verification and application of a new, fully-coupled, hydro-mechanical (HM) formulation for a finite-discrete element method (FDEM) software package called Irazu. FDEM is a general-purpose numerical approach which combines continuum mechanics principles with discrete element algorithms to simulate the mechanical...
The analysis and prediction of the rock mass disturbance around underground excavations are critical components of the performance and safety assessment of deep geological repositories for nuclear waste. In the short term, an excavation damaged zone (EDZ) tends to develop due to the redistribution of stresses around the underground openings. The ED...
This study aims at strengthening the understanding of the mechanical sealing process of the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) in Opalinus Clay, an indurated claystone currently being assessed as the host rock for a deep geological repository in Switzerland. To achieve this goal, hybrid finite-discrete element method (FDEM) simulations are applied to th...
While the shear behaviour of rock mass discontinuities has been extensively studied in the past, uncertainties regarding the mechanisms by which surface asperities deform and degrade under shear and how this degradation influences the aperture distribution remains. Although studies have attempted to investigate asperity failure mechanisms, they hav...
Fluid-pressure-driven (or hydraulic) fracturing of rocks is used in several applications including stimulation of
unconventional reservoirs, permeability enhancement of geothermal systems, and rock mass pre-conditioning in deep mining. In recent years, there has been a fast growing interest in the development and use of dvanced numerical methods to...
Discontinuities are prevalent in most rock masses and represent planes of preferential deformation and fluid flow.
Shear displacements can significantly alter the hydro-mechanical properties of discontinuities and, thus, the hydro-mechanical properties of the entire rock mass. The importance of the network of discontinuities in controlling rock mas...
In recent years, analyses based on the hybrid finite-discrete element method (FDEM) have been shown to provide a realistic representation of rock deformation and fracturing processes at laboratory and engineering scales. However, the ability to model linear rock reinforcement elements within FDEM has been largely limited. Through a collaborative re...
Numerical simulations are widely adopted in the design of several types of rock structures, including tunnels, caverns, rock cuts, and open pit and underground mines. In recent years, analyses based on the hybrid finite-discrete element method (FDEM) have been shown to provide a realistic representation of rock mass deformation and fracturing proce...
The goal of this paper is to present recent advances in the field of hydraulic fracturing modelling. In particular, a novel, fully 3D, hybrid finite-discrete element method (FDEM) approach was developed to numerically simulate fluid-pressure-driven fracturing. The effectiveness of the new approach is illustrated by simulating fracture nucleation an...
In recent years, Bonded-Discrete element methods (Bonded-DEM) and hybrid finite–discrete element methods (FDEM) have become widely employed to model brittle fracturing processing in geomaterials. These approaches possess the ability to explicitly simulate fracture and fragmentation, but necessitate a large number of input parameters to be specified...
This study investigates the influence of microscale heterogeneity and microcracks on the failure behavior and mechanical response of a crystalline rock. The thin section analysis for obtaining the microcrack density is presented. Using micro X-ray computed tomography (μCT) scanning of failed laboratory specimens, the influence of heterogeneity and,...
Rock mass discontinuities represent planes of relative weakness and enhanced hydraulic conductivity and, thus, have a substantial influence on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the overall rock mass. While the shearing of rock mass discontinuities has been extensively studied in the past, there remains uncertainty surrounding the mechanisms by whic...
A general method to obtain objective measurements of fracture aperture and oriented roughness from rock core through the digitization of fractures is described. In this method, the true orientation of the borehole and line of maximum dip for the true discontinuity on a lower hemispherical projection is plotted. The ATOS system was used to digitize...
![Table 2 ] 141](profile/Bryan-Tatone/publication/257445198/figure/tbl1/AS:614354638622734@1523484968429/141_Q320.jpg)
The influence of roughness on the hydro-mechanical behavior of rock discontinuities has long been recognized. As a result, several definitions and measures of roughness have been developed. According to the ISRM (Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 15(6):319–368, 1978), discontinuity roughness comprises large-scale (waviness) and small-scale (une...
The Opalinus Clay (OPA) is an argillaceous rock formation selected to host a deep geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste in Switzerland. It has been shown that the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) in this formation is heavily affected by the anisotropic mechanical response of the material related to the presence of bedding planes. In this co...
Discontinuities in brittle geomaterials, including concrete and rock, represent localized zones of weakness and enhanced hydraulic transmissivity that often control the hydromechanical behavior of the medium. The shearing of discontinuities and the resulting morphological changes can significantly alter this behavior. In this work, a procedure is d...
Pressure-driven fracturing, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process widely used for developing geothermal resources, extracting hydrocarbons from unconventional reservoirs such as tight sandstone and shale formations, as well as for preconditioning the rock-mass during deep mining operations. While the overall process of pressure-driven fr...
The revised ISRM suggested method for laboratory determination of the shear strength of rock joints intends to cover the requirements and laboratory procedures for performing direct shear strength tests of rock discontinuities using constant normal load and constant normal stiffness laboratory apparatuses. This SM is not intended to cover tests of...
In 2005, as a result of ongoing foundation seepage problems, Brookfield made the decision to replace the aging Shikwamkwa Dam. Construction of the Replacement Dam was accomplished following an aggressive fast-track design and construction schedule, which saw completion in the fall of 2006, five months ahead of schedule and millions under budget. (D...
The mechanical behavior of rough rock joints can vary as a function of scale. Characterization of this scale effect can be problematic due to the difficulties in performing shear tests on larger rock joint specimens. This paper investigates the use of the 2D Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method (FEM/DEM) as tool to perform numerical direct shear...
Opalinus Clay is an indurated over-consolidated argillaceous rock. The preferential orientation of clay platelets results in a strong anisotropy of its deformational and strength characteristics. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (i) to illustrate the new developments that have been introduced into the combined finite-discrete element method (...
We adopt a recently developed technique, dynamic semicircular bend testing, to measure the fracture initiation toughness, fracture propagation toughness, and fracture velocity of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). A modified split Hopkinson pressure bar system is used to apply the dynamic load. In this method, both the fracture initiation toughness and...
The present paper summarizes the work done on developing and validating the use of a hybrid Finite - Discrete Element (FEMDEM) code for modelling slope instability processes. The main advantages of the FEMDEM method are the ability (i) to analyze the slope failure without assuming any mode or mechanism a priori, and (ii) to explicitly model the pos...
Uncertainty and variability are inherent in the input parameters required for rock slope stability analyses. Since in the 1970s, probabilistic methods have been applied to slope stability analyses as a means of incorporating and evaluating the impact of uncertainty. Since then, methods of probabilistic analysis for planar and wedge sliding failures...
![Figure 1. (a) Polar plot of 3D roughness values (θ * max /[C+1]) for...](profile/Bryan-Tatone/publication/258405804/figure/fig1/AS:669386012631063@1536605470889/a-Polar-plot-of-3D-roughness-values-th-max-C-1-for-the-six-fracture-replicas_Q320.jpg)
This paper examines the relationship between roughness estima tes and the resolution of the surface measurements on which they are based. To do so, several fracture replicas are digitized with a stereo-topometric camera at three different resolutions. Subsequently, the variations in the calculated 3D roughness parameters are analyzed. Following dir...
Conventionally, the evaluation of fracture surface roughness in brittle geomaterials, such as concrete and rock, has been based on the measurement and analysis of two-dimensional profiles rather than three-dimensional (3D) surfaces. The primary reason for doing so was the lack of tools capable of making 3D measurements. However, in recent years, se...
This paper presents an experimental work aimed at assessing the correlation between fracture toughness (K
IC
) and fracture roughness for a series of Westerly granite specimens thermally treated up to 850°C. Mode I fracture toughness as a function of thermal treatment is determined using Cracked Chevron Notched Brazilian Disc specimens. The degree...
The surface roughness of unfilled rock discontinuities has a major influence on the hydromechanical behaviour of discontinuous rock masses. Although it is widely recognized that surface roughness is comprised of large-scale (waviness) and small-scale (unevenness) components, most investigations of surface roughness have been restricted to small fra...
As a result of ongoing foundation seepage problems, a decision was made to replace the aging Shikwamkwa Dam located near the town of Wawa in Northern Ontario. Construction of the new 35m high zoned embankment dam followed a challenging fast-track design and construction approach with the dam completed in the fall of 2005, five months ahead of sched...
The assessment of the stability against sliding, overturning, and shearing of a concrete dam, founded on a bedrock foundation is a fundamental component of ensuring the safety of a gravity dam. This paper illustrates the use of a new numerical tool, called the combined finite-discrete element method (FEM/DEM), to evaluate the stability of concrete...
Projects
Projects (3)
Ultimate goal of this project is to provide critical rock mechanics input into the safety analyses of a deep geological repository for nuclear waste by carrying out physics-based, numerical simulations of the expected EDZ creation and evolution.
This R&D project focuses on the development, implementation and validation of a 3D geomechanical simulation software based on the finite-discrete element method (FDEM). With this software, named Irazu, the parallel processing power of general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs) is leveraged to gain significant computational performance boosts compared to existing sequential FDEM codes.
