block fill command

Syntax

block fill <keyword ...> <range>

Primary keywords:

block-group    boundary-contact-group    internal-contact-group

All excavated blocks within the range are filled (i.e., restored for calculation purposes). Use the keywords to assign the blocks, boundary contacts, or internal contacts to a group (and optionally a slot) when filled.

block-group s1 <slot s2 >

Assign filled blocks to the group s1.

boundary-contact-group s1 <slot s2 >

Assign boundary contacts of filled blocks to the group s1.

internal-contact-group s1 <slot s2 >

Assign internal contacts of filled blocks to the group s1.

Filled blocks (and contacts) do not have material or constitutive properties assigned to them. This should be done after the fill operation, using the group names supplied in the command.

Some Considerations with excavate and fill

The block excavate and block fill commands must be used with caution. The block excavate command retains all of the initial excavated block’s geometry in memory. The block fill command simply replaces the original block. If the excavation shape has changed significantly since the block was excavated, overlapping of the original block and its neighbors may occur, resulting in numerical instability. Because blocks are joined by the block excavate command, special procedures must be utilized if only a portion of the excavation is to be filled.

  1. Fill entire excavation.

  2. Unjoin blocks in fill volume.

  3. model cycle 0   to create sub-contacts between filled blocks and excavated blocks.

  4. Re-excavate blocks that are not to be filled at this step.

  5. Verify the results of this process, and check properties of zones and joints.