GeoStudio 2024.1 new release is here! Featured

GeoStudio 2024.1 continues to build on Seequent’s geotechnical analysis solution, adding new features to tackle complex problems involving rock slopes along with the capability to improve workflows and make analysis definition and results interpretation more intuitive. Moreover, this release also improves the 3D geometry building process through improved mesh handling upon import of geological model volumes and background meshes. Performance improvements affect meshing, solving, and visualisation, making for a better user experience and a more efficient modelling process.

Read more about GeoStudio 2024.1

New and improved features in GeoStudio 2024.1 

Anisotropic Surfaces in SLOPE/W & SLOPE3D

Easily capture the effects of non-planar geological discontinuities in your 2D and 3D stability analyses. Discontinuities are typically the result of bedding, schistosity, joints, foliation, cleavage, fractures, or faults. The strength anisotropy may occur ubiquitously in a geological unit (i.e., a discontinuity set) or as a single discontinuity. Anisotropic surfaces are defined using a polyline in 2D and a background mesh in 3D and associated with the appropriate material to define the strength of the discontinuity.

Weak Surfaces in SLOPE/W Weak

Surfaces are now available in SLOPE/W. A weak surface could be used to represent a single discontinuity, a shear zone at residual strength, or an interface along a geomembrane. It removes the need to use the impenetrable material model for translational modes of failure along the discontinuity. Weak surfaces are simply defined using a polyline in the same manner as a piezometric surface. Moreover, any material model can be associated with a weak surface, allowing maximum flexibility for defining the strength on the discontinuity. 

Slip Surface Optimization in SLOPE3D

Slip surface optimization has been added to SLOPE3D. Optimization is used to search for a modified slip surface shape that produces a lower factor of safety and a mode of failure that is in keeping with the physical system. The SLOPE3D methodology uses a nature-inspired optimization algorithm to quickly generate a slip surface that honours the controlling characteristics of the slope, ensuring that any analysis or design captures the physical reality.

Ponding Visualization in 3D

Customer feedback over many years has reinforced the importance of visualizing the presence of ponded water along the ground surface given that it results in an automatic surcharge load in slope stability analyses. This feature has now been implemented in GeoStudio 3D, ensuring consistency between 2D and 3D analysis visualization. In the case of SLOPE3D, automatic surcharge loads are applied under the ponded condition.

Fully Specified Slip Surface in SLOPE3D

The ability to fully specify three-dimensional slip surfaces in SLOPE3D provides a quick and easy workflow to focus attention on a specific mode of failure or simply learn the ins and outs of SLOPE3D.

3D Slip Surface Visualization in Results View

You can now see the three-dimensional ‘bowl’ used to generate a slip surface, creating better insight into the behaviour of the software, and helping to provide greater clarity for results visualization. 

New Reinforcement Results Display in SLOPE/W

Engineers need to quickly understand the load transfer into nails, anchors, and geosynthetics to make informed design decisions. Reinforcement loads can now be visualized in Results View, along with a new table enumerating the reinforcement data. This will not only lead to quicker interpretation but also better reporting.

Elevation Contouring of Geological Model Volumes

Elevation contours are critical to visualizing the topographic variability in a 3D stability analysis, and therefore informing the engineer on the most likely location for instability. Contours can now be visualized on geological models brought in directly from Leapfrog or by importing OBJ files. Moreover, improvements have been made to ensure that contours are not rendered outside the ground surface.

Latin Hypercube Sampling in SLOPE/W

Probabilistic analysis is critical for risk management in geotechnical engineering, but it is computationally demanding as thousands of trials are conducted on every slip surface. The addition of the Latin Hypercube technique to SLOPE/W provides a more efficient approach for sampling the key parameters, therefore accelerating solve times while providing accurate solutions.

SLOPE3D Performance Improvements

Three-dimensional slope stability analyses are computationally demanding due to the size of the domains, the number of columns within a slip surface, and most importantly, the number of iterations required to find the critical sliding direction. Many iterations are required to find the intercolumn force function weighting parameter for force and moment equilibrium and to handle the non-linear nature of the solution strategy. Moreover, the substantive amount of data puts additional strain on results visualization, including the ability to efficiently switch between Define and Results. This release improves solve times via optimizations in the GeoStudio-‘solver’, quicker responsiveness in the user interface for performing actions, faster rendering of objects, and much more.

GeoStudio Finite Element Solver Performance Improvements

Performance improvements to GeoStudio’s handling of large finite element meshes have made it approximately 2x faster to open, solve, and view results.

Improved Mesh Handling in GeoStudio 3D

Significant effort was dedicated towards better mesh handling within GeoStudio to improve the workflow for importing Leapfrog geological model volumes. Specifically, non-manifold structures and degenerate triangles are now handled. In addition, degenerate triangles associated with imported background mesh are also now handled. This substantially improves the success rate of imported geological models, further streamlining the construction of three-dimensional geometries for SLOPE3D analysis.

UI Improvement: Camera View Saved for Each 2D Geometry

The workflows for GeoStudio files with multiple 2D geometries are improved with the introduction of a saved camera view per geometry. Quickly navigate between analyses under different geometries without having to re-set the camera view. Changing the zoom or scale in one geometry no longer affects other geometries in the file.

Compound Strength Overlapping Joints

The compound strength material model in SLOPE/W and SLOPE3D has been improved over the last couple of years to handle multiple planar discontinuities within an intact material. This release sees an additional improvement to handle overlapping joints. Specifically, the selection of the closest discontinuity at the base of a slip surface now acknowledges the ‘A’ and ‘B’ angle ranges controlling the transition of strength from the weak material to the intact material. 

Contour Material Colour on Columns in SLOPE3D

Material colours, representing the material at the base of each column, can now be contoured on the column grid in a 3D stability analysis, making it easier to interpret the results.