FLAC3D Theory and Background • Theoretical Background

FLAC Theory and Background

Note

Material in the sections here mostly refers to FLAC3D. However, the same or equivalent concepts, derivations, examples, and results are applied to FLAC2D (as it operates under the assumption of plane-strain which is a subset of full 3D analysis). Topics or descriptions specific to FLAC2D are explicitly stated where applicable.

This section contains background information and descriptions of the theoretical basis for the basic components of FLAC. It is composed of five major sections, described as follows.

The theoretical formulation for FLAC is described in the first section, Theoretical Background. This includes an overview of the explicit finite volume method and the numerical implementation in FLAC.

The next section, Interfaces, describes the FLAC interface logic. It includes several example applications. Interfaces represent planes on which sliding and separation can occur.

The following section, Zone Joints, describes the FLAC zone joint logic. Zone joints can be used as alternatives to interfaces, representing two-sided joints on which sliding and separation can occur.

The final section describes the implementation of Fluid-Mechanical Interaction in FLAC models, with illustrative examples.