Y-Geo: New Combined Finite-Discrete Element Numerical Code

for Geomechanical Applications

O. K. Mahabadi1; A. Lisjak2; A. Munjiza3; and G. Grasselli4

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present Y-Geo, a new numerical code for geomechanical applications based on the combined nite-
discrete element method (FDEM). FDEM is an innovative numerical technique that combines the advantages of continuum-based modeling
approaches and discrete element methods to overcome the inability of these methods to capture progressive damage and failure processes in
rock. In particular, FDEM offers the ability to explicitly model the transition from continuum to discontinuous behavior by fracture and frag-
mentation processes. Several algorithmic developments have been implemented in Y-Geo to specically address a broad range of rock mechan-
ics problems. These features include (1) a quasi-static friction law, (2) the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, (3) a rock joint shear strength
criterion, (4) a dissipative impact model, (5) an in situ stress initialization routine, (6) a material mapping function (for an exact representation
of heterogeneous models), and (7) a tool to incorporate material heterogeneity and transverse isotropy. Application of Y-Geo is illustrated with
two case studies that span the capabilities of the code, ranging from laboratory tests to complex engineering-scale problems. DOI: 10.1061/
(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000216. 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Finite element method; Discrete elements; Rock mechanics; Shear strength; Damage; Failures.
Author keywords: Combined nite/discrete element method; FEM/DEM; Rock mechanics; Shear strength; Heterogeneity; Rock fall;
FDEM.

Introduction In contrast, another set of rock mechanics problems aims to limit

Geomaterials including rock are discontinuous by nature at many
scales of observation. At the microscale (submillimeter), rocks
consist of different mineral grains, microcracks, pores, or other
material aws. At the engineering scale (tens to hundreds of meters),
rocks may be characterized by weak features such as bedding
planes, schistosity, and foliation. Finally, at the regional scale, geo-
logy can be highly variable, containing different rock types with
existing fracture networks and faults as a result of tectonic loading.
Considering the discontinuous nature of rock, there is a set of rock
engineering problems that aim to maximize the formation of new dis-
continuities. Examples of these problems include block caving and
blasting. In block caving mining, a realistic estimation of failure initia-
tion, subsequent fragmentation, and ow of ore through drawpoints
are crucial to the economical success of the operations. The con-
sequences of rock blasting, including fracturing of the rock and
fragment size distributions, should be predicted during the design
of mining operations.
1
Research Associate, Geomechanics Research Group, Lassonde Insti-
tute, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S
1A4.
2
Ph.D. Student, Geomechanics Research Group, Lassonde Institute,
Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A4.
3
Professor, Dept. of Engineering, Queen Mary Univ. of London, London
E1 4NS, U.K.
4
Assistant Professor, Geomechanics Research Group, Lassonde Insti-
tute, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S
1A4 (corresponding author). E-mail: giovanni.grasselli@utoronto.ca
Note. This manuscript was submitted on April 26, 2011; approved on
March 7, 2012; published online on March 12, 2012. Discussion period open
until May 1, 2013; separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. This paper is part of the International Journal of Geomechanics,
Vol. 12, No. 6, December 1, 2012. ASCE, ISSN 1532-3641/2012/6-
676e688/$25.00.
failure of rock and the formation of discontinuities. Examples of this
set include stability assessment of open pit and natural slopes, dams,
and the stability of underground openings [i.e., formation of ex-
cavation damaged zone (EDZ), spalling, structurally controlled
instability]. In these cases, the existing rock fabric and dis-
continuities should be considered as part of the stability assessment.
Modeling techniques have been used to investigate these
problems. The most commonly used techniques are continuum
approaches, including nite-difference methods (FDM), nite-
element methods (FEM), and boundary-element methods (BEM).
These methods have been successfully applied to the assessment
of global behavior of rock masses and the analysis of stress and
deformation. However, explicit representation of fractures and
fracture growth is not straightforward in these methods, mainly
because of their continuum assumptions. For instance, in FDM,
these assumptions require the functions to be continuous across
neighboring cells or grid points. For FEM, the continuum assump-
tions permit the elements to undergo only small strains. Therefore,
even when fracturing is allowed, for instance, through Goodman
joint elements (Goodman et al. 1968), large-scale opening, sliding,
or complete detachment of elements is not possible. Also, a large
number of fractures may cause the FEM stiffness matrix to be ill-
conditioned. Fracture analysis using BEM has also been limited to
isolated, noninteracting cracks (Jing 2003; Shen et al. 2011). Fur-
thermore, BEM is restricted in handling material heterogeneity and
nonlinearity (i.e., plasticity).
The limitations of continuum approaches motivated the de-
velopment of discrete element methods (DEMs) (Cundall 1971;
Cundall and Strack 1979; Lemos et al. 1985; Mustoe et al. 1989;
Williams and Mustoe 1993; Shi and Goodman 1988; Potyondy and
Cundall 2004). Although continuum models are based on consti-
tutive laws, DEMs are based on interaction laws. Also, unlike
continuum techniques, the contact patterns of the DEM system can
continuously change as the system deforms. Many DEM techniques

676 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

require an explicit representation of the in situ fracture geometry.
Because knowledge of the actual rock geometry and fracture net-
work is limited, this requirement poses uncertainty in the results.
Also, DEMs still have known issues, in particular, when dealing with
deformability and fracture of discrete elements: fracture initiation
and growth is generally not directly modeled but is implicitly ac-
counted for by means of elastoplastic material constitutive laws
assigned to the rock blocks. Explicit simulation of failure through
intact rock is possible only if a special joint network generator
(i.e., Voronoi tessellation) is used (e.g., Lan et al. 2010) or by the
application of the bonded particle modeling approach (Potyondy
and Cundall 2004).
Since deformability can be well described by nite elements, and
fractures can be explicitly represented by discrete elements, by
merging the two methods, Munjiza (1995; 2004) proposed a com-
bined nite-discrete element method (FDEM). By discretizing
discrete elements into nite elements, FDEM is able to model both
continuum and discontinuum behavior, thus capturing the whole
loading and failure path and the progressive damage process of
fractured rocks. A unique feature of FDEM is the ability to model
the transition from continuum to discontinuum by means of fracture
and fragmentation processes (Munjiza et al. 1999). The key pro-
cesses in FDEM include contact detection, interaction, and friction
between discrete elements, elastic deformation of nite elements,
and fracture of nite elements. Contact detection and interaction and
fracture are discussed further in the Combined Finite-Discrete El-
ement Method section. Deformability follows an approach similar to
that in any standard explicit nite-element analysis and is not dis-
cussed any further here.
Despite the great potential of Munjizas FDEM code (Munjiza
2004), known as Y-Code, preliminary studies by the authors
revealed a number of key limitations of the code when applied to
rock mechanics problems. These shortcomings include the
following:
Lack of an appropriate friction law that captured quasi-static
friction. As most rock engineering problems deal with quasi-
static friction, the lack of such a friction law resulted in inaccurate
rock behavior and failure.
Lack of a frictional component in the fracture model. The
internal shear strength of the material was modeled as constant
(i.e., purely cohesive model) without normal stress dependence.
Lack of a model for rock joint shear strength and strength
degradation to a residual value. The discontinuities could only
be assigned a constant frictional strength.
Lack of a mechanism to dissipate energy during impact. The only
contact interaction model available was based on the principle of
energy conservation, and therefore, was not suitable for highly
dissipative processes such as rock impact, which occurs during
rock fall.
Lack of appropriate boundary conditions to deal with nonphys-
ical stress wave reections at the model boundaries and conse-
quent energy trapping when performing dynamic analyses.
Lack of a graphical user interface (GUI), meaning that model
input les had to be built in an ASCII text le. Thus, setting up a
model with complex geometry, numerous materials, and various
initial/boundary conditions, was a cumbersome process. More-
over, it was very difcult to trace back errors or false input data
in such a le.
Lack of the ability to model heterogeneous and bedded rock
samples.
Lack of a routine to apply an initial in situ stress to the model
(Piovano et al. 2011). In any civil or mining project, there is an in
situ stress state in the ground, which affects the stress redistri-
bution after the excavation or construction is realized.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 677
To overcome the preceding limitations, the authors developed
a number of extensions to the code aimed at particular geomechanics
problems. With the new code, referred to as Y-Geo, many practical
rock mechanics problems can be modeled. These problems range
from microscale modeling of heterogeneous rock samples during
laboratory experiments (Mahabadi et al. 2009; Mahabadi et al.
2010a, c), to engineering-scale problems, including analysis of cliff
recession mechanisms, block caving operations, underground
excavations, and slope stability in simple to complex rock masses
(Tatone et al. 2010a; Lisjak et al. 2010).
The purpose of this paper is to describe the new algorithmic
developments inside the FDEM framework. Following a description
of FDEM and its key processes, the new algorithms are explained in
detail. These algorithms include (1) a quasi-static friction law, (2)
the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, (3) a rock joint shear strength
criterion, (4) a dissipative impact model, (5) an in situ stress ini-
tialization routine, (6) a material mapping function (for an exact
representation of heterogeneous models), and (7) a tool to in-
corporate material heterogeneity and transverse isotropy. The last
two algorithms are implemented in the GUI for the code (Y-GUI),
which is a standalone computer program (Mahabadi et al. 2010b).
Application of Y-Geo is illustrated with two case studies that cover
the capabilities of the code to model both microscale laboratory tests
and complex engineering-scale problems. Finally, a number of
concluding remarks and suggestions for future work are given. It
should be emphasized that the range of models that can be run
using Y-Geo could not be realized without the core of the original
Y-Code of Munjiza (2004). The Y-Geo FDEM code and its GUI,
Y-GUI, can be downloaded at http://www.geogroup.utoronto.ca.
Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method
In the combined FDEM, each discrete element is meshed into nite
elements. These meshes dene the shape and boundaries of discrete
elements and contact between them, and allow the discrete elements
to deform. Continuous deformations are modeled through nite
elements, whereas discontinuous behavior is analyzed by discrete
elements.
A combined FDEM simulation comprises a large number of
interacting bodies, each with a separate nite-element mesh. To
ensure that no bodies overlap at any time, an efcient treatment of
contact mechanics is required. From an algorithmic point of view,
contact is treated by two processes: contact detection and contact
interaction.
Contact Detection and Interaction
A contact detection algorithm has to detect all the couples that are
in contact and also remove couples that were previously in contact
and are now too far apart to be contacting. In the FDEM code,
a Munjiza-NBS (No Binary Search) contact detection algorithm
(Munjiza 2004; Munjiza and Andrews 1998) is implemented. The
NBS algorithm, as characterized by an On complexity, is one of
the most efcient contact detection algorithms developed to date.
The total CPU time needed to detect all contacting couples with
this algorithm varies linearly with the total number of discrete
elements.
Contact interaction has a fundamental importance in FDEM
because it denes the behavior of interacting distinct elements. As
soon as contacting couples are detected by the contact detection
algorithm, contact interaction is performed to calculate forces be-
tween discrete bodies. A potential function method is used for the
interaction algorithm. This method is based on the assumption that
contacting couples tend to penetrate into each other, generating 1999). In such a model, a typical stress-strain curve for rock (in direct
distributed contact forces. Using this concept, the contact function tension) is divided into two sections [Fig. 2(a)]: (1) strain hardening
is given as before reaching the peak deformation (t ), which is implemented in
FDEM through a constitutive law; and (2) strain softening, where the
1 stress decreases with an increase in strain. There are several issues
Uc prt 2 rc T rt 2 rc dG 1
2 related to the latter, including localization of strains, loss of ellip-
Gc ticity (or hyperbolicity) of the governing equations, and sensitivity to
mesh size and mesh orientation. Formulation of the strain-softening
in which p 5 penalty term; Gc 5 boundary of the contactor element; branch in terms of stress and displacements, as shown in Fig. 2(b),
and rt and ct 5 position vectors of the points falling on the target and helps overcome these problems. The area under the stress-
contactor elements, respectively. A distributed contact force is displacement curve corresponds to the fracture energy release
generated according to the shape and size of the overlap between the rate, Gf 5 2g, where g is the energy required for a crack surface
contactor and target elements. As the contactor penetrates an area dA expansion of unit area.
into the target (Fig. 1), an innitesimal contact force (df) is generated The softening stress-displacement relationship is modeled
through a single crack model, whereby a bonding stress proportional
df grad wc Pc 2 grad wt Pt  dA 2 to the separation of the fracture edges (i.e., crack opening and
sliding) is generated (Fig. 3). When the size of separation is zero
where Pc and Pt 5 overlapping points of the contactor and target, (d 5 dt 5 0), the bonding stress, s, is equal to the tensile strength ft ;
respectively; and w 5 corresponding potential function. thus, separation begins only after the tensile strength of the material
The potential function formulation shows that for the penetration is exceeded. As the separation increases (d . dt ), the bonding stress
of any point Pc of the contactor into the target specied by any decreases until d 5 dc , the critical opening distance at which point
endpoints A and B, the work done by contact force only depends on the bonding stress goes to zero. For dt , d , dc , the bonding stress is
the endpoints and is independent of the path taken. To preserve the expressed by a scaled tensile strength, as
energy during interaction
s zft 5
wt A wt B 3
where z 5 heuristic scaling function representing an approximation
wc A wc B 4 of the experimental stress-displacement curves obtained from lit-
erature (Evans and Marathe 1968) and is dened as
Therefore, if the potentials are chosen to be constant on the   
boundaries of both contactor and target elements, energy balance is a b21 a cb
z 12 exp D
preserved by the contact force of Eq. (1) independently of the ab a b1 2 a 2 b
penalty term, geometry and shape of elements, and magnitude of
 a1 2 D b1 2 Dc  6
penetration.

where the damage factor, D, is given by

Fracture Model 8
>
>
The transition from continua to discontinua is accomplished through >0
> if d # dt
<
fracture and fragmentation processes (i.e., by driving fractures
D 1 if d . dc 7
across the interface between adjacent triangular nite elements). >
> d 2 dt
>
> otherwise
Alteration, damage, yielding, or failure of microstructural elements : dc 2 dt
of material leads to fracture. Because of the presence of micro-
structural defects and stress concentrations, the stress and strain
elds should be modied. A strain-based cohesive crack model has and a, b, and c 5 parameters for tting the function to experimental
been implemented in the FDEM code (Munjiza 2004; Munjiza et al. stress-displacement curves.

Y-Geo

Y-Geo was designed to address the limitations of FDEM Y-Code.

The algorithmic developments to overcome these limitations are
discussed in the following subsections.

Quasi-Static Friction
Preliminary studies demonstrated that Y-Code has no mechanism
to distinguish between static and dynamic friction. In all cases,
friction in Y-Code is implemented as a function of normal stress
(i.e., stang 5 m 3 sN ). This formulation is unsuitable for quasi-static
rock engineering problems. Thus, a Coulomb-type friction law was
implemented in the interaction algorithm of Y-Geo based on sliding
distances of element edges
Fig. 1. Schematic of a contacting couple showing the innitesimal
contact force due to overlap (after Munjiza 2004) Dds Vrel Dt 8

678 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

Fig. 2. (a) Stress-strain curve divided into the hardening and softening branches; (b) strain softening dened in terms of displacements (after
Munjiza 2004)

where Dds 5 change in sliding distance; Vrel 5 relative velocity of

the two interacting edges; and Dt 5 time step size. The tangential
stress (stang ) is then calculated using tangential penalty (pT ), which is
generally assigned equal to the shear modulus as

stang Dds pT 9

If stang . m 3 sN where m is the friction coefcient and sN the

normal stress (i.e., the repulsive interaction stress calculated along
the edge), then the tangential stress and sliding distance are adjusted
 
m s N 
stang 
stang   10 Fig. 3. Representation of a cohesive crack model (after Munjiza 2004)
stang 

and  u  
B

2 9Asnst umax
max
C11
stang tp 1 e sn tan fb 12
0
Dds 11 C 1
pT

Eq. (10) preserves the sign of sT . Similar to the distributed normal
forces calculated in the interaction routine, tangential forces are
distributed between the elements nodes and reaction forces are
applied to the nodes of the other element. As an alternative to
the Coulomb friction law, the rock joint shear strength constitutive
law can be used for any discontinuities (either preexisting or newly
formed through the fracture model). This shear strength criterion is
explained in the next section.
Rock Joint Shear Strength Criterion
Beginning in the 1970s, researchers attempted to estimate the shear
strength of rock discontinuities. These efforts led to the derivation
of several empirical rock joint shear strength criteria based on the
where upmax 5 maximum apparent dip angle of the surface; C 5
dimensionless tting parameter; A0 5 normalized area of the surface
inclined toward the shear direction (i.e., the normalized surface
area steeper than zero in the analysis direction); sn 5 normal stress;
st 5 tensile strength of intact rock; fb 5 basic friction angle; and
B 5 second tting parameter that depends on the spatial resolution
of the surface digitization [i.e., 1.15 for 0.044-mm-points spacing
(Tatone et al. 2010b)]. The value of upmax =C 1 1 is the three-
dimensional roughness (average asperity angle) in the direction
of shearing. Further discussion of the modied criterion and the
measurement of the surface roughness parameters can be found in
Cottrell (2009) and Tatone and Grasselli (2009), respectively.
With continued displacement beyond the peak, the shear strength
decays toward a residual value, tr , given as
joint wall strength parameters and the geometry of the joint (i.e.,  
its roughness). Through the application of high-resolution, three- t r sn tan f9r 13
dimensional digitized rock joint surfaces, Grasselli and Egger
(2003) proposed an empirical shear strength criterion, denoted herein where f9r 5 residual friction angle, which is related to the basic
as the GG-shear strength criterion. Based on the surface measure- friction angle (fb ), as (Grasselli 2001)
ments, a number of statistical roughness parameters characterizing the
joint wall can be derived and used to obtain an estimate of the shear f9r fb b 14
strength.
where b characterizes the contribution of roughness to the residual
shear strength and falls in the 15e24 range (Grasselli 2001). The
Formulation transition from the peak to residual shear strength is described by
The original GG-shear strength criterion was developed from the a hyperbolic decay function as
empirical correlation of the roughness parameters with laboratory
testing data. Further testing by Cottrell (2009) led to an updated   up
t tr tp 2 tr 15
expression for the peak shear strength (t p ) as u

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 679

where u 5 horizontal shear displacement; and up 5 horizontal peak
shear displacement. In his experiments, Grasselli (2001) found up 5
0.27 0.65 mm. The GG-shear strength criterion and the postpeak
shear strength degradation are implemented in the contact in-
teraction algorithm of the Y-Geo FDEM code. Further details on the
implementation and the verication of the algorithm can be found in
Mahabadi and Grasselli (2010). Details on this interaction algorithm
can be found in Munjiza (2004). Eqs. (12)e(15) are used to modify
the shear stress (t) calculated within the interaction code. Instead of
a classic Coulomb friction law, the GG-shear strength constitutive
law can be used to account for the inuence of roughness on the
frictional behavior of any preexisting or newly driven discontinuities
in the model.
Verication Example
To demonstrate and verify the application of the GG-shear strength
criterion, a simple example is presented here. The model, as illus-
trated in Fig. 4(a), is a rectangle, 50 mm in width and 150 mm in
height prepared using Y-GUI (Mahabadi et al. 2010b). The model is
xed at the bottom and has a weak interface aligned at 45. The
parameters for the GG-shear strength criterion are summarized in
Table 1. When the simulation begins, the model fails along this weak
interface solely because of the application of gravity [Fig. 4(b)].
Fig. 4(c) portrays the normalized shear stress (t=sn ) versus shear
displacement (u) for the fracture formed along the weak interface.
Fig. 4(c) clearly shows the hyperbolic decay from the peak to re-
sidual shear strength.
Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion for the Intact Material
In the fracture model originally implemented in Y-Code, both the
tensile strength ft and the shear strength fs were assumed to be
material constants. Although this assumption is acceptable for
tensile failure, experimental evidence (Paterson and Wong 2005)
shows a strong dependence of shear strength of the material on the
acting connement. Thus, in Y-Geo, a Mohr-Coulomb failure cri-
terion with the tension cutoff dened by ft has been implemented
Fig. 4. (a) Schematic of the model showing the location of the weak interface; (b) model failed along the weak interface; (c) normalized shear stress
(t=sn ) versus shear displacement (u) (Mahabadi and Grasselli 2010)
680 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
fs c mi s if s $ ft
16
fs ft if s , ft
where c 5 internal material cohesion; mi 5 coefcient of internal
friction, and s 5 normal stress acting on the potential failure surface.
The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion accounts for changes in
strength of intact material as a function of conning pressure. Using
this criterion together with the static friction laws (Coulomb or GG)
along preexisting and newly developed fractures, rock failure in
uniaxial and biaxial compression can be accurately simulated, and
phenomena such as brittle-ductile transition can be captured as an
emerging property of the model (Mahabadi et al. 2010c).
Dissipative Impact Model
In the eld of rock fall numerical modeling, correctly simulating the
experimentally observed reduction in boulder velocity upon impact
is crucial for predicting the nal trajectory of falling blocks. Because
most of the energy dissipation occurs at the contact between col-
liding bodies (Dorren 2003), the impact model plays a key role in the
numerical simulation of the phenomenon. As explained previously,
the original Y-Code uses a potential function method to enforce
body impenetrability and calculate contact stresses based on the
principle of energy conservation. Such a model is unable to capture
inelastic processes such as rock crushing and plastic slope de-
formation that occur during rock impact. Hence, a new dissipative
contact model was implemented in the Y-Geo code aimed at
overcoming this major limitation.
Formulation
The newly implemented impact model is based on the one-
dimensional contact dissipative algorithm proposed and imple-
mented in Particle Flow Code (www.itascacg.com) by An and
Tannant (2007). In this model, the constitutive law relating contact
stress, sc , to the adimensional normalized contact overlapping area,
a, as dened by Munjiza and Andrews (2000), is varied between the
loading and unloading phase of the impact
 
pa loading curve damping coefcient value B, the amount of kinetic energy removed
sc 17 from the system can be adjusted, and it is therefore possible to
A aB unloading curve
numerically reproduce coefcients of restitution such as those
measured experimentally (Azzoni and de Freitas 1995). The de-
where p 5 compressive penalty term (in megapascals) of the boulder-
veloped contact model (Lisjak and Grasselli 2010) was also suc-
slope interface (i.e., stiffness); A 5 coefcient (in megapascals) au-
cessfully veried against experimental results and then employed by
tomatically determined by the algorithm such that the relation-
Lisjak et al. (2010) to simulate rock fall in situ tests.
ship goes back to the origin; and B 5 adimensional parameter that
controls the amount of energy dissipated. During loading, the
contact stress increases linearly with penetration, and during
unloading, potential energy is removed from the colliding block by
decreasing the contact stiffness according to a power law. As shown
in Fig. 5, only a fraction of the total potential energy stored is
returned to the block as kinetic energy, resulting in a block decrease
of velocity.

Verication Example
To prove the effectiveness of the impact algorithm, the simple
model shown in Fig. 6(a) was created. It consists of a circular
boulder with a radius of 0.1 m impacting vertically against a rigid
surface. Because the acceleration caused by gravity is neglected,
only inertial forces are considered. The density of the boulder is
2,700 kg/m3, and the kinetic energy of the boulder before impact
is 4.1 kJ. The normal penalty coefcient, p, of the rock-ground
interface is 40 MPa.
Because the boulder was not allowed to fracture, the effect of
varying the exponent B of the contact model can be evaluated.
Fig. 6(b) presents the kinetic energy of the boulder as a function of
time for B values equal to 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20. The velocity coefcients
of restitution, Ry , dened as the ratio of the block velocity after and
before the impact, are reported in Table 2, along with the energy
coefcients of restitution, RKE , dened as the ratio of the block
kinetic energy after and before the impact. By changing the power

Table 1. GG-Shear Strength Criterion Parameters for the Case Study

Parameter Value
A0 0.47
upmax 41.7
C 3.21
fb 30.0
st 1.45 MPa

Fig. 6. Verication example for the dissipative impact model; (a)

model geometry and boundary conditions; (b) kinetic energy of the
boulder as a function of the simulation time for different values of the
impact model exponent B (Lisjak and Grasselli 2010)

Table 2. Velocity and Energy Coefcients of Restitution, Ry and RKE ,

Respectively, for Different Values of the Contact Power Damping
Exponent, B
B Ry RKE
1 0.96 0.93
Fig. 5. Elastic-power damping contact constitutive law introduced to 2 0.76 0.58
simulate energy dissipation during rock impacts (Lisjak and Grasselli 5 0.53 0.28
2010); volumetric kinetic energy is dened as kinetic energy divided 10 0.40 0.16
by block volume 20 0.30 0.09

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 681

Absorbing Boundaries
The combined FDEM requires nite computational domains. Be-
cause most geomechanics problems involve a semiinnite medium
(i.e., the ground), the need for articial far-eld boundary conditions
arises. When performing pseudostatic stress-strain analysis, pins or
rollers are generally chosen to constrain boundary nodes of the
model. However, in dynamic problems, these boundary conditions
may cause unrealistic reections of outward propagating stress
waves. The simplest solution to this issue would be to extend the
domain boundaries far enough so that the region of interest would
not be inuenced by boundary effects. Unfortunately, because of the
high speed of elastic waves in rocks, this solution is often compu-
tationally impractical. A valid alternative is represented by absorb-
ing (or nonreective) boundary conditions. This special type of
boundary allows the necessary energy radiation required to perform
dynamic stress analysis in unbounded media. Among the different
absorbing boundary conditions available in the literature (Givoli
1991), the local solution, proposed by Lysmer and Kuhlemeyer
(1969), was implemented in Y-Geo because of its natural suitability for
the explicit mechanical solver of FDEM. With this approach, viscous
boundary tractions are used to numerically absorb kinetic energy of
incident waves. For a wave approaching a vertical boundary segment
with particle velocity yx and y y , these tractions are equal to
yx
fx 2 rcp
t 18
y y
fy 2 rcs
t Therefore, a new algorithm has been implemented in Y-GUI that
where cp and cs 5 material p- and s-wave speed, respectively, which
depend on the Lams constants, m and l, and density, r, through
l 2m
cp
r
19
2m
cs
r used. Further explanation and an example of the results obtained
In Situ Stresses
Prediction of the resulting nal state of stress, deformation, and
stability conditions in the proximity of an underground excavation
strongly depends on the preexisting in situ state of stress (Jaeger et al.
2007). In the original Y-Code, there was no provision to apply in situ
stress. To account for such a fundamental geomechanical parameter,
a specic routine has been implemented in Y-Geo.
By translating the specied stress state into nodal forces and
applying them to the elements nodes, the algorithm gradually
deforms the nite-element mesh. Upon reaching elastic steady-state
stress conditions, a function that restarts the model is used to save the
nodal coordinates corresponding to the system at rest (i.e., static
equilibrium). These nodal coordinates are then used as initial
conditions for the subsequent stage of the simulation. By xing the
displacement of the external boundaries, the in situ stress conditions
are maintained while allowing the model to fracture.
Two different options are available to initialize the in situ stresses
in a model. The rst option consists of specifying the components of
a uniform Cauchy stress tensor throughout the whole domain. This
method is usually adopted for deep underground excavations where
stress gradients and gravitational effects may be neglected. The
second option allows three vertical gradients for the three in-
dependent components of the Cauchy stress tensor to be specied.
Therefore, a gravitational stress eld that is required to model near-
surface excavations or rock slope stability problems can also be
incorporated into the simulation.
682 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
Graphical User Interface
As mentioned previously, a major limitation of Y-Code (Munjiza
2004) was the lack of a GUI. To overcome this issue, a GUI, known
as Y-GUI, was developed for Y-Code. Y-GUI (Mahabadi et al.
2010b) can be conveniently used to set up models graphically,
minimizing the possibility of erroneous input les. Conguration of
a model using Y-GUI, including tracing and correcting errors, takes
a fraction of the time versus using a text editor (i.e., when directly
working on the input le). Y-GUI not only simplies the use of
Y-Code, but also adds new functionalities to it, such as the possi-
bility to randomly assign material properties (accounting for ma-
terial heterogeneity), bedding planes, and material mapping. Further
details of Y-GUI can be found in Mahabadi et al. (2010b).
Material Mapping
Rocks are heterogeneous by nature. In many practical rock me-
chanics problems, it is essential to consider the existing heteroge-
neity of the material. For instance, to capture realistic failure
behavior of a Brazilian disc test on a heterogeneous granitic speci-
men, the actual mineral composition of the sample should be con-
sidered. In contrast, for larger, engineering-scale problems, the
geological map of the domain, including the location of different
rock types and rock blocks, should be considered. Although in-
corporating these intrinsic rock features and the consequent rock
heterogeneity are essential for a realistic modeling practice, there has
been no direct and straightforward procedure to incorporate them.
allows direct mapping of material properties to the mesh. To do so,
a gray-scale image of the domain is required. Based on the gray
values of the image, material assignment is performed (for instance,
the user can explicitly correspond gray values to certain material
property sets in Y-GUI). Each element is assigned a property set
based on the gray value at its centroid. To obtain an accurate rep-
resentation of the mapped sample, a sufciently ne mesh should be
using this algorithm is given in Fig. 7.
Material Heterogeneity and Transverse Isotropy
As mentioned previously, a major limitation of the original FDEM
Y-Code was the inability to model heterogeneous and transversely
isotropic materials [bedded, or otherwise layered rocks (i.e.,
schistose or gneissic rocks)]. Elements with different property
assignments were treated as separate discrete bodies with no co-
hesive strength at their interfaces. Therefore, one of the rst crucial
modications in the code focused on changing how internal meshing
was implemented. In the input le or using the GUI, the user can
now specify which element property sets are going to be meshed
together. In other words, the boundaries of discrete elements are
explicitly specied. Then, strength parameters between different
element property sets can be dened. To model heterogeneous
media, a new feature was implemented in Y-GUI to randomly as-
sign properties to mesh elements according to a given distribution. In
a similar manner, predened bedding planes can be assigned to
selected mesh elements. A practical example of this feature is given
in the case studies.
Application and Case Studies
The ability of Y-Geo to capture the main physical processes asso-
ciated with failure of geomaterials is demonstrated in two case
studies. One example deals with the micromechanical simulation
of a Brazilian disc test of heterogeneous granitic rocks, whereas
Fig. 7. Micromechanical modeling of a Brazilian disc sample of Stanstead granite showing the basic steps involved in extracting mineral de-
composition and assigning it to the mesh: (a) image of the untested sample; (b) image segmented using image analysis and segmentation tools; and
(c) segmentation mapped to the mesh

the other example corresponds to an engineering-scale model of a
failing rock cliff. These two cases cover the range of applicability of
Y-Geo FDEM code by modeling both microscale, laboratory tests,
and complex engineering-scale problems.
Brazilian Disc Test
The Brazilian disc test is a common method of indirectly measuring
the tensile strength of brittle materials, including rocks, concrete,
and ceramics. Simplistic models of Brazilian disc tests have been
studied previously by the authors (Mahabadi et al. 2010a; Mahabadi
et al. 2009). In this study, capabilities and features of Y-Geo are
presented via a micromechanical model of a Brazilian disc test. The
purpose of this simulation case study is to evaluate the inuence
of heterogeneity and contrast in mineral mechanical properties on
fracture trajectories.
The assumption of a homogeneous medium has long been used in
many geomechanics problems because of the complexity of dealing
with heterogeneous media. Even when heterogeneity has been
considered, simplistic assumptions have been made, such as simply
using statistical distributions of minerals (Tang et al. 2000; Zhu
2008; Wong et al. 2004). In this study, however, the actual mineral
composition of the rock is considered. This process involves several
steps, which are explained in the following.
First, an image of the sample to be tested must be acquired
[Fig. 7(a)]. Micro-computed tomography (CT) or other imaging
systems can be used for this purpose. Once a sufciently high-
resolution, gray-scale image is acquired, image analysis techniques
are used to segment the image based on its mineral composition. For
this study, a disc of Stanstead granite, which primarily consists of
feldspar, quartz, and biotite was used. Each of these minerals has
a different gray value in the image, which permits segmentation of

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 683

the image into three phases. The Trainable Segmentation plugin of
Fiji image processing package (http://pacic.mpi-cbg.de), based on
ImageJ version 1.44m (http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij) was used to per-
form the segmentation. The segmented image, as shown in Fig. 7(b),
was then used to map material properties to the mesh using the
material mapping function of the Y-GUI (Mahabadi et al. 2010b).
The result of this mineral mapping is shown in Fig. 7(c). This
distribution of minerals, based on the actual mineral composition of
the sample, was then used for the FDEM simulations. In other words,
the models used a one-to-one mapping of the actual rock specimen.
For an accurate mapping, a sufciently ne mesh should be used. For
this study, a mesh with approximately 13,000 elements was chosen.
The material properties for the different minerals of the granitic
rock sample are given in Table 3 [Mohr-Coulomb properties ap-
proximated from Goodman (1989), Youngs modulus of elasticity,
Poissons ratio, and density from Mavko et al. (2009), tensile
strength from Savanick and Johnson (1974), except for biotite,
which is approximated]. The interface between the minerals is as-
sumed to be weaker than the minerals: tensile strength between
quartz and feldspar 5 8 MPa (Savanick and Johnson 1974), whereas
the tensile strength between biotite and other minerals is approxi-
mated as 6 MPa. Because the fracture energy release rate is the area
under the stress-displacement curve, as demonstrated in Fig. 2, it is
proportional to tensile strength, and therefore, the following reduced
values were used: interface between quartz and feldspar 5 32 J/m2
and interface between biotite and other minerals 5 24 J/m2. Mohr-
Coulomb parameters were also reduced for these two interfaces to
22 MPa, 45, and 15 MPa, 39, respectively. The specic section of
the Stanstead granite sample used for this study [Fig. 7(a)] consists
of 12.5% quartz, 79.5% feldspar, and 8% biotite. Based on these
percentages, material properties for an equivalent homogeneous
sample are also given in Table 3. Equivalent strength parameters
(tensile strength, cohesion, internal friction angle, and specic
fracture energy) are calculated considering the preceding distribu-
tion and the approximated percentage of the interfaces between
different minerals. These values are later used to compare the results Fig. 8. Fracture pattern of the Brazilian disc: (a) sample failed in the
of a homogeneous model with the actual heterogeneous sample. laboratory; (b) simulation result
Fig. 8 demonstrates the fracture pattern of the Brazilian disc
tested in the laboratory [Fig. 8(a)] and the corresponding simulation
result [Fig. 8(b)]. As Fig. 8(a) shows, the sample experiences a major
tensile splitting along the loading axis because of excessive tensile
stresses at the center of the disc, and also crushing or shear failure
close to the loading points. This shear failure is mainly because of the
at loading platens that were used in the experiment (to avoid this
shear failure, the International Society for Rock Mechanics standard
suggests using curved platens instead). The simulated fractures, as
illustrated in Fig. 8(b), show good agreement with the experimental
ndings. The simulation results capture both the tensile splitting along
the loading axis and shear failure (crushing) close to loading platens.
Fracture trajectories of the simulation results are also similar to those

Table 3. Material Properties for the Different Minerals and Equivalent

Homogeneous Model of the Brazilian Disc Sample
Parameter Quartz Feldspar Biotite Homogeneous
Density (kg/m3) 2,600 2,600 2,800 2,616
Elastic modulus (GPa) 80 70 20 67.3
Poissons ratio 0.17 0.29 0.20 0.27
Tensile strength (MPa) 10 10 7 8.9
Cohesion (MPa) 25 25 25 22.9
Internal friction angle 50 50 50 47.4 Fig. 9. Fracture pattern comparison overlaid on the actual tested
Fracture energy release rate 40 40 28 35.5 specimen; thicker, blue lines correspond to the homogeneous model,
(J/m2) whereas thinner, red lines are related to the heterogeneous model

684 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

observed experimentally (see Fig. 9 for the comparison), with cracks breakage, sliding along discontinuities, and rigid body instability.
propagating through combination of intact grains and along grain- Through the following example, the effectiveness of the new FDEM
grain boundaries. Y-Geo code in capturing all the main cliff recession processes will
To emphasize the importance of using the existing heteroge- be illustrated; thus, the suitability of the approach to evaluate cliff
neity of the sample, an equivalent homogeneous model was also stability conditions demonstrated.
constructed (Table 3). As mentioned previously, the input param- A 20-m-high cliff conguration presented by Carter et al. (2009)
eters for this model are weighted averages based on the percentages was chosen for this example. A classic wave-cut cliff notch caused
of each mineral in the tested sample. Fig. 9 compares the crack by marine erosion was created by excavating the base of the cliff
patterns for the homogeneous model, the actual specimen, and face. Two different rock mass fabrics were considered: (1) a ho-
heterogeneous model. The heterogeneous model (in thin red lines) mogenous model of massive limestone [Fig. 10(a)], and (2) a blocky
and the homogeneous equivalent (thick blue lines) are superimposed model characterized by two joint sets inclined at 210 and 80
on the tested sample. As Fig. 9 shows, the homogeneous model fails measured counterclockwise from the horizontal axis and with
to capture the same fracture pattern: the tensile cracks are off-center, spacing of 8 and 5 m, respectively [Fig. 10(b)]. Undercut depths
whereas the heterogeneous model captures their location more were set to 9 and 3 m from the cliff face for the rst and second
accurately. Also, the homogeneous model predicts excessive shear model, respectively.
failure and crushing around the loading platens compared with the Rock mass properties from the case study published by Carter
tested specimen. The indirect tensile strength of the model was et al. (2009) were used and are reported in Table 4. The dissipative
estimated to be 7.6 MPa, in range with most of the tests performed on contact algorithm with a power damping coefcient B 5 3 was
the same material (6e7 MPa), but higher than the specic value applied in an attempt to realistically simulate energy dissipation
measured in the experiment that was modeled (4.07 MPa). For the processes occurring during rock fallout. The meshing program Cubit
numerical simulation, micromechanical average-strength parame-
ters obtained from the literature were used. However, this approach,
even if useful for this papers scope, did not provide the sample
specic micromechanical data necessary to quantitatively look at the
load displacement curve. As discussed in another publication by the
authors (Mahabadi et al. 2012), to obtain reliable quantitative results
when using the proposed micromechanical modeling approach, ac-
curate input parameters for the constituent phases of the rock obtained
at the single grain scale and presence of microcracks and other aws are
required. In terms of the mechanical response, the specimen exhibited
a linear elastic behavior until reaching the peak strength, after which the
brittle failure of the rock occurred. The brittle failure was accompanied
with a sudden strain softening response. This behavior corresponded
well with the experiment.
The results presented in this micromechanical modeling exercise
demonstrate that material heterogeneity disturbs the homogeneous
stress state of the sample, therefore creating zones of local tensile
stresses, especially at the boundaries between different phases. Also, as
observed in the laboratory, the interfaces between the phases are
usually weaker than the mineral itself. The combination of local tensile
stresses and weaker interfaces creates preferential crack growth paths.
This behavior is a close representation of the rock material, which has
intrinsic aws, microcracks, and weak interfaces at the grain-grain
boundaries. For these reasons, the heterogeneous model predicts
more realistic crack patterns compared with the equivalent homoge- Fig. 10. Geometry and mesh of the models adopted to simulate cliff
neous models. The models for this case study were realized using recession mechanisms: (a) homogenous model; (b) blocky model with
a number of key features of Y-Geo. First, quasi-static friction was two sets of preexisting discontinuities; different colors identify distinct
necessary for this modeling practice because the problem deals with rock blocks
small displacement rates. Second, the implementation of Mohr-
Coulomb failure criterion allowed correct estimates of rock shear
strength as a function of conning pressure. Note that without this
criterion, unrealistic shear failure close to the loading points would Table 4. Material Properties Assigned to the Cliff Models
occur. Finally, thanks to the tool implemented to incorporate material Parameter Homogenous model Blocky model
heterogeneity and the material mapping function, the actual mineral 3
Density (kg/m ) 2,344 2,344
composition of the rock sample was considered for this study.
Elastic modulus (GPa) 1 1
Poissons ratio 0.25 0.25
Cliff Recession Modeling Tensile strength (MPa) 0.3 0.3
Cohesion (MPa) 0.46 0.46
Analysis of cliff stability for setback assessment has always repre-
Internal friction angle (degrees) 47 47
sented a challenging problem in rock mechanics. Main difculties
Fracture energy release rate (J/m2) 10 10
have been associated with the inability of both conventional slope
Joint tensile strength (kPa) 46
stability analysis methods (e.g., limit equilibrium methods) and
Joint cohesion (kPa) 10
continuum numerical models to replicate the observed complex
Joint friction angle (degrees) 30
failure mechanism characterized by a combination of intact material

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 685

(http://cubit.sandia.gov) was used to create a graded triangular mesh
with average element size varying from 0.5 m close to the cliff face
to 2 m toward the domain boundaries. Models were imported in
Y-GUI where material properties and boundary conditions were
assigned. Because of the feature of Y-GUI for modeling bedding
planes, weaker discontinuities were introduced into the blocky
model. In a rst run, the gravitational stress eld was applied to the
elastic model by using the in situ stress initialization routine. After
reaching static equilibrium conditions, rollers were applied to the
lateral and bottom boundaries of the model, and the undercut was
excavated.
Fig. 11 illustrates the simulated failure sequence for the homo-
geneous model. Failure initiates with a surface tension crack de-
veloping at approximately 18 m from the cliff face. Consequently,
a major fracture plane propagates toward the undercut tip, triggering
a large-scale toppling failure of the cliff platform. Also, caving of
material from the undercut roof can be observed. Such a complex
failure mode is in excellent agreement with eld observations as
reported by Bird et al. (1979).
Fig. 11. Simulated failure sequence for the homogeneous cliff model:
(a) time = 0.18 s; (b) time = 1.30 s; (c) time = 1.66 s
686 / INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
The effect of the dissipative contact model on the model behavior
is clearly demonstrated by the comparison shown in Fig. 12 between
the elastic and damped model. By introducing energy dissipation at
contact (B 5 3), more realistic postfailure material distribution and
rockfall run-out distance can be simulated.
The numerical results for the blocky model are shown in Fig. 13.
Because of the presence of rock mass discontinuities, this model
exhibits a substantially different behavior. A combination of intact
material crushing at the undercut tip due to stress concentration,
together with shearing/opening along the weak interfaces, results in
a stair step fracturing mode similar to the one described by Halcrow
Ltd. (1998).
The results of the cliff recession process modeling highlight the
importance of some of the key features introduced in Y-Geo in
modeling complex failure kinematics without assuming the mode of
failure a priori. First, because of the implementation of the Mohr-
Coulomb fracture criterion, the effect of connement on rock
strength can be captured; therefore, the behavior of rock masses
mainly controlled by breakage of intact material is correctly mod-
eled. Second, because of the possibility of modeling bedding planes
and heterogeneous materials, simulating the crucial effect of pre-
existing weaker discontinuities has been made possible. Third, the
introduction of energy dissipation during rock impact allows for
a better match to eld observations in terms of fragmentation and
run-out distances of failed material.
Concluding Remarks
This paper presents Y-Geo, a new hybrid FDEM code, based on the
Y-Code of Munjiza (2004). The major limitations of Y-Code in
terms of its application to rock mechanics problems were identied.
These limitations led to the development of several new algorithms
to address rock engineering problems. After a discussion of the
principles of FDEM, the newly implemented algorithms were
Fig. 12. Effect of energy dissipation at contact on the failed material
distribution for the homogeneous cliff model: (a) elastic contact in-
teraction model; (b) dissipative contact interaction model with a power
damping coefcient B 5 3

Fig. 13. Simulated failure sequence for the blocky cliff model with pre-
existing discontinuities: (a) time = 0.58 s; (b) time = 1.44 s; (c) time = 3.20 s
introduced. These algorithms included (1) a quasi-static friction law,
(2) the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, (3) a rock joint shear
strength criterion, (4) a dissipative impact model, (5) an in situ stress
initialization routine, (6) a material mapping function (for an ex-
act representation of heterogeneous models), and (7) a tool to in-
corporate material heterogeneity and transverse isotropy.
The capability of the Y-Geo FDEM code to realistically address
rock mechanics problems was illustrated through two different case
studies. In the rst case, in which a microscale model of a hetero-
geneous Brazilian disc test was studied, Y-Geo proved to be capable
of accurately estimating crack trajectories and the failure mechanism
of the specimen. To do so, the existing heterogeneity and mineral
map of the sample had to be considered. For the second case study,
which modeled a cliff recession, the complex failure mechanism of
the failing cliff was captured. Failure of intact material, interaction
along preexisting discontinuities (e.g., joint sliding), and toppling
failure were realized without assuming the failure mode a priori.
These two cases demonstrated the capability of Y-Geo FDEM code
to reproduce complex engineering processes. Other potential prob-
lems that could be investigated include mass mining, underground
storage of nuclear waste, and rock slope stability. However, the
current limiting factor of Y-Geo is the computational demand for
solving large models with millions of elements and models with
a large temporal extent. The development of a parallelized version of
Y-Geo is expected to overcome this limitation and provide engineers
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMECHANICS ASCE / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 / 687
and researchers with a reliable predictive tool for complex engi-
neering and research problems.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by NSERC/Discovery Grant No. 341275
and NSERC/RTI Grant No. 345516, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship
in Science and Technology held by O. K. Mahabadi, and an Ontario
Graduate Scholarship held by A. Lisjak. The writers wish to thank
Tomas Lukas for his help during the code developments and Dr.
Fereidoun Rezanezhad for assistance with image processing. The
writers are also grateful to Bryan Tatone for reviewing, discussion,
and constructive comments on this paper.
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