In many instances it is necessary to calculate and test scenarios mathematically, in order to predict what will happen in a given situation.
NGI uses numerical modelling to calculate the stability of oil platforms in extreme weather, how a coastal area may be hit by a tsunami or how a landslide may be initiated and propagates over large areas.
NGI's state-of-the-art expertise
- combines a sound knowledge of selected simulation tools with an understanding of geomechanical processes and material behaviour
- development of numerical models of the mechanical behaviour of geomaterials
Services related to numerical modelling
NGI has used the finite element method to simulate the behaviour of foundations for offshore platforms since the early 1980s. We have also developed our own programs, tailor-made to simulate the dynamic behaviour of foundations and the capacity of suction anchors and skirt foundations in clay and sand.
Analytical tools are used to simulate a number of geomechanical processes that include:
- static and dynamic interaction between structures and the ground
- displacements and bearing capacity of foundations
- modelling of strutted excavations
- modelling of oil and gas reservoirs, landslides and snow avalanches, tsunamis and one- and two-phase flow in porous media
Research and development
The challenges and NGI's research in connection with numerical modelling include:
- contributions to the PLAXIS expert panel
- failure development in friction materials
- analysis tools for large deformations in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart
- geotechnical calculation software, GeoSuite, in collaboration with the dominant sector of the Norwegian and Swedish geotechnical community
- material model for the cyclical behaviour of clay
- computational model for progressive failure in sensitive clay
Relevant analytical software
Plaxis software package, ABAQUS, CFX, Itasca software package (FLAC, UDEC, PFC), Geoslope software package, Phase2, Comsol multi-physics modelling , BIFURC