Geomechanica is looking forward to teaching a short course on the application of the hybrid finite-discrete element method (FEMDEM) to simulate fracture processes in rocks at the 49th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium (ARMA 2015) to be held in San Francisco, California, USA on 28 June-1 July 2015. The one-day course , instructed by Dr. Bryan Tatone, will be held at the Westin St. Francis, San Francisco, California, on Saturday June 27, 2015 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Morning lectures will cover the theoretical principles and main algorithms of the numerical method, with particular emphasis on the role of fracture and fragmentation processes on the overall simulation results. These theoretical lectures will be followed by the presentation of several practical simulation case studies from mining, civil, and petroleum engineering applications. In the afternoon, the participants will learn how to build simple models using Geomechanica’s Irazu FEMDEM software , assign correct inputs, and post-process the results.

We encourage all petroleum, mining, geological and geotechnical engineers, graduate and post-graduate students with an interest in brittle rock behavior to attend this short course. The registration fee of $499 includes lunch/refreshments, course documentation (course slides and tutorial and verification manuals, and related references.