INTRODUCTION 1-1

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

FLAC is a two-dimensional explicit finite difference program for engineering mechanics compu-
tation. This program simulates the behavior of structures built of soil, rock or other materials
that may undergo plastic flow when their yield limits are reached. Materials are represented by
elements, or zones, which form a grid that is adjusted by the user to fit the shape of the object to
be modeled. Each element behaves according to a prescribed linear or nonlinear stress/strain law
in response to the applied forces or boundary restraints. The material can yield and flow, and the
grid can deform (in large-strain mode) and move with the material that is represented. The explicit,
Lagrangian calculation scheme and the mixed-discretization zoning technique used in FLAC en-
sure that plastic collapse and flow are modeled very accurately. Because no matrices are formed,
large two-dimensional calculations can be made without excessive memory requirements. The
drawbacks of the explicit formulation (i.e., small timestep limitation and the question of required
damping) are overcome to some extent by automatic inertia scaling and automatic damping that do
not influence the mode of failure.
Though FLAC was originally developed for geotechnical and mining engineers, the program offers
a wide range of capabilities to solve complex problems in mechanics. Several built-in constitu-
tive models that permit the simulation of highly nonlinear, irreversible response representative of
geologic, or similar, materials are available. In addition, FLAC contains many special features,
including
• interface elements to simulate distinct planes along which slip and/or separa-
tion can occur;
• plane-strain, plane-stress and axisymmetric geometry modes;
• groundwater and consolidation (fully coupled) models with automatic phreatic
surface calculation;
• structural element models to simulate structural support (e.g., tunnel liners,
rockbolts or foundation piles);
• automatic remeshing logic to generate a regular mesh, and prevent a badly
distorted grid, during the solution process in large strain simulations;
• “virtual-grid” generation tools available through a graphical-user interface to
facilitate model construction (e.g., boundaries can be sketched and converted
directly into a model grid);
• extensive facility for generating plots of virtually any problem variable;
• multithreaded calculations to speed up computations on multiple-processor
computers;
• optional dynamic analysis capability;

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• optional viscoelastic and viscoplastic (creep) models;

• optional thermal (and thermal coupling to mechanical stress and pore pressure)
modeling capability;
• optional two-phase flow model to simulate the flow of two immiscible fluids
(e.g., water and gas) through a porous medium; and
• optional facility to add new, user-defined constitutive models written in C++
and compiled as dynamic link libraries (DLLs) that can be loaded when needed.
FLAC also contains the powerful built-in programming language FISH (short for FLACish). With
FISH, you can write your own functions to extend FLAC ’s usefulness, and even implement your
own constitutive models if so desired. FISH offers a unique capability to FLAC users who wish
to tailor analyses to suit specific needs. You will soon see that, with all of these capabilities,
FLAC can be an indispensable analysis-and-design tool in a variety of fields in civil and mechanical
engineering.
FLAC can be operated as either a menu-driven or a command-driven computer program. The menu-
driven mode provides easy-to-use mouse access to FLAC operation by generating and applying all
of the input required for a FLAC simulation, in response to point-and-click operations. This mode
allows first-time or occasional users a simple means by which to begin solving problems with FLAC
immediately.
The command-driven mode requires knowledge of the word-command “language” used by FLAC,
which can be more difficult for new users to master than the menu-driven mode. However, it offers
several advantages when applied to engineering problems:
1. The input language is based upon recognizable word commands that allow you
to identify the application of each command easily and in a logical fashion (e.g.,
the APPLY command applies boundary conditions to the model).
2. Engineering simulations usually consist of a lengthy sequence of operations
(e.g., establish in-situ stress, apply loads, excavate tunnel, install support,
and so on). A series of input commands (from a file or from the keyboard)
corresponds closely with the physical sequence that it represents.
3. A FLAC data file can easily be modified with a text editor. Several data files
can be linked to run a number of FLAC analyses in sequence. This is ideal for
performing parameter sensitivity studies.
4. The word-oriented input files provide an excellent means of keeping a docu-
mented record of the analyses performed for an engineering study. Often, it is
convenient to include these files as an appendix to the engineering report for
the purpose of quality assurance.
5. The command-driven structure allows you to develop preprocessing and post-
processing programs to manipulate FLAC input/output as desired. For exam-
ple, you may wish to write a mesh-generation function to create a special grid

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shape for a series of FLAC simulations. This can readily be accomplished with
the FISH programming language, and incorporated directly in the input data
file.
When operated from the menu-driven mode, FLAC commands are created and applied automatically.
Also, a record of the commands is kept, and can be saved to provide a documented listing of the
commands used in the analysis. This command record can be used to drive FLAC in command-
driven mode.
Dr. Peter Cundall developed FLAC in 1986 specifically to perform engineering analyses on an
IBM-compatible microcomputer. The software is designed for high-speed computation of models
containing several thousand elements. With the advancements in floating-point operation speed and
the ability to install additional RAM at low cost, increasingly larger problems can be solved with
FLAC. For example, FLAC can solve a model containing up to 30,000 elements of Mohr-Coulomb
material on a microcomputer with 24 MB RAM. The solution speed for a model of this size is
roughly 140 calculation steps per second on a 2.67 GHz Intel i7-920 microcomputer.* The speed is
essentially a linear function of the number of elements; a model of 15,000 elements would require
half the runtime to process the same number of calculation steps.
For typical models consisting of 15,000 elements or fewer, the explicit solution scheme in FLAC
requires approximately 4000 to 6000 steps to reach a solved state.† Thus, a 15,000-element model
run on the Pentium described above would require roughly 17 seconds to perform 5000 calculation
steps. Consequently, typical engineering problems involving several thousand elements to model,
which once required access to a mainframe computer to solve, can be solved with FLAC on a
microcomputer in a matter of minutes.
A comparison of FLAC to other numerical methods, a description of general features and new
updates in FLAC Version 7.0, and a discussion of fields of application are provided in the following
sections. If you wish to try FLAC right away, the program installation instructions and simple
menu-driven and command-driven tutorials are provided in Section 2.

* See Section 5 for a comparison of FLAC runtimes on various computer systems.

† This can vary but, typically, a problem solution can be reached between 4000 and 6000 steps for
models containing up to 15,000 elements, regardless of material type. The explicit scheme is
explained in Section 1 in Theory and Background.

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1.2 Comparison with Other Methods

How does FLAC compare to the more common method of using finite elements for numerical
modeling? Both methods translate a set of differential equations into matrix equations for each
element, relating forces at nodes to displacements at nodes. Although FLAC ’s equations are derived
by the finite difference method, the resulting element matrices, for an elastic material, are identical
to those derived by using the finite element method (for constant strain triangles). However, FLAC
differs in several respects:
1. The “mixed discretization” scheme (Marti and Cundall 1982) is used for ac-
curate modeling of plastic collapse loads and plastic flow. This scheme is be-
lieved to be physically more justifiable than the “reduced integration” scheme
commonly used with finite elements.
2. The full dynamic equations of motion are used, even when modeling sys-
tems are essentially static. This enables FLAC to follow physically unstable
processes without numerical distress.
3. An “explicit” solution scheme is used (in contrast to the more usual implicit
methods). Explicit schemes can follow arbitrary nonlinearity in stress/strain
laws in almost the same computer time as linear laws, whereas implicit solu-
tions can take significantly longer to solve nonlinear problems. Furthermore,
it is not necessary to store any matrices, which means that (a) a large number
of elements may be modeled with a modest memory requirement; and (b) a
large-strain simulation is hardly more time-consuming than a small-strain run,
because there is no stiffness matrix to be updated.
4. FLAC is robust in the sense that it can handle any constitutive model with no
adjustment to the solution algorithm; many finite element codes need different
solution techniques for different constitutive models.
5. FLAC numbers its elements in a row-and-column fashion rather than in a
sequential fashion. For many problems, this method makes it easier to identify
elements when specifying properties and interpreting output.
These differences are mainly in FLAC ’s favor, but there are two disadvantages:
1. Linear simulations run more slowly with FLAC than with equivalent finite
element programs; FLAC is most effective when applied to nonlinear or large-
strain problems, or to situations in which physical instability may occur.
2. The solution time with FLAC is proportional to the ratio of the longest natural
period to the shortest natural period in the system being modeled. This point
is discussed in more detail in Section 1 in Theory and Background, but
certain problems are very inefficient to model (e.g., beams, represented by
solid elements rather than structural elements, or problems that contain large
disparities in elastic moduli or element sizes).

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1.3 General Features

1.3.1 Basic Features

FLAC is primarily intended for geotechnical engineering applications; the code embodies special
numerical representations for the mechanical response of geologic materials. FLAC has four-
teen built-in material models: the “null” model, which represents holes (excavations) in the grid;
the isotropic elastic model; the transversely isotropic elastic model; and eleven plasticity mod-
els (Drucker-Prager, Mohr-Coulomb, ubiquitous-joint, strain-hardening/softening, bilinear strain-
hardening/softening ubiquitous-joint, double-yield, Hoek-Brown, modified Hoek-Brown, modified
Cam-clay, cap-yield soil model and simplified cap-yield soil model). You can also create your own
constitutive models by using the FISH programming language. Each zone in a FLAC grid may
have a different material model or property, and a continuous gradient or statistical distribution of
any property may be specified.
Additionally, an interface, or slip-plane, model is available to represent distinct interfaces between
two or more portions of the grid. The interfaces are planes upon which slip and/or separation are
allowed, thereby simulating the presence of faults, joints or frictional boundaries.
The basic formulation for FLAC is for a two-dimensional plane-strain model. This condition is
associated with long structures or excavations with constant cross-section and acted on by loads in
the plane of the cross section. In addition, FLAC offers a plane-stress option for elastic and Mohr-
Coulomb plasticity analysis. In this condition, the stresses normal to the cross section are zero. This
is encountered, for example, in thin plates loaded only in their plane. Finally, there is also an option
to model axisymmetric geometry. In this case, cylindrical coordinates are used; x = 0 is the axis of
symmetry, the positive x-direction corresponds to the radial coordinate, the y-direction to the axial
coordinate, and the out-of-plane direction (the z-direction) to the circumferential coordinate. This
geometry applies, for example, to problems involving cylindrical test specimens or cylindrical and
spherical holes in a continuum. The out-of-plane stress, σzz , is calculated in FLAC for all three
solution conditions, and σzz is taken into account in plastic yield calculations for plane-strain and
axisymmetry conditions.
Either velocity (and displacement) boundary conditions or stress (and force) boundary conditions
may be specified at any boundary orientation. Initial stress conditions, including gravitational
loading, may be given, and a water table may be defined for effective stress calculations. All
conditions may be specified with gradients.
FLAC incorporates the facility to model groundwater flow and pore-pressure dissipation, and the full
coupling between a deformable porous solid and a viscous fluid flowing within the pore space. (The
coupled interaction is described further in Section 1.3.3.) The fluid may be assumed to obey either
the isotropic or anisotropic form of Darcy’s law, and is considered to be deformable. Nonsteady flow
is modeled, with steady flow treated as an asymptotic case. Fixed pore pressure and constant-flow
boundary conditions may be used, and sources and sinks (wells) may be modeled. The flow model
can also be run independent of the mechanical calculation, and both confined and unconfined flow
can be simulated, with automatic calculation of the phreatic surface. Various features to monitor
flow, including streamline plots and fluid-particle tracking, are available in FLAC.

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Structures such as tunnel liners, piles, sheet piles, cables, rockbolts, reinforcing strips or yielding
props that interact with the surrounding rock or soil may be modeled with the structural element
logic in FLAC. It is possible to examine the stabilizing effects of supported excavations or to
examine the effects of soil or rock instability on surface structures.
FLAC contains a powerful built-in programming language, FISH, that enables the user to define new
variables and functions. FISH is a compiler; programs entered via a FLAC data file are translated
into a list of instructions stored in FLAC ’s memory space; these are executed whenever a FISH
function is invoked. FISH was developed in response to requests from users who wanted to do
things with FLAC that were either difficult or impossible with the existing code. Users can write
their own functions to extend FLAC ’s usefulness. For example, FISH permits
• user-prescribed property variations in the grid (e.g., nonlinear in-
crease in modulus with depth);
• plotting and printing of user-defined variables (custom-designed
plots);
• implementation of special grid generators;
• servo-control of numerical tests;
• specification of unusual boundary conditions; variations in time and
space;
• automation of parameter studies; and
• specification of user-defined constitutive models.
An extensive plotting facility is built directly into FLAC. This allows the user to generate plots
(either on the screen or to a hardcopy device) of virtually any problem variable in the FLAC
model. Several variables can be plotted as overlays on a plot of the model, or histories of their
change as a function of calculation step can be plotted. The history plots are especially helpful in
ascertaining when an equilibrium or failure state has been reached, and for monitoring the change
in variables during transient calculations, such as groundwater flow, or dynamic calculations, such
as earthquake motion. As mentioned above, plots can be custom-designed via FISH to meet the
user’s need. Examples are given in Section 3 in the FISH volume.
The basic version of FLAC can be operated in menu-driven or command-driven mode, and the user
can easily switch back and forth between the two modes if desired. The menu-driven (graphical-user
interface) mode is easy to use with point-and-click mouse operation, and is designed to emulate
expected Windows features. This mode provides access to all commands and facilities available
in FLAC. There is also a “virtual-grid” generation mode in the graphical interface to facilitate the
creation of complex model shapes.

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1.3.2 Optional Features

Five optional features (for dynamic analysis, thermal analysis, two-phase flow analysis, modeling
creep material behavior, and adding new constitutive models as DLLs) are available as separate
modules that can be included in FLAC at an additional cost per module.
Dynamic analysis can be performed with FLAC, using the optional dynamic calculation module.
User-specified acceleration, velocity or stress waves can be input directly to the model either as
an exterior boundary condition or an interior excitation to the model. FLAC contains absorbing
and free-field boundary conditions to simulate the effect of an infinite elastic medium surrounding
the model. The dynamic calculation can be coupled to the groundwater flow model; the level of
coupling is discussed in Section 1.3.3.
There is a thermal analysis option available as a special module in FLAC. This model simulates the
transient flux of heat in materials, and the subsequent development of thermally induced stresses.
The thermal model can be run independently or coupled to the mechanical stress calculation or pore
pressure calculation, either in static or dynamic mode. (The coupling interactions are described in
Section 1.3.3.)
FLAC can perform fluid-flow and fully coupled simulations in which two immiscible fluids (with
optional capillary pressure) are present within a porous medium. This optional feature extends the
facility of the basic groundwater flow model; the components of the formulation are described in
Section 1.3.3.
There are six available optional material models that simulate viscoelastic and viscoplastic (creep)
behavior: the classical viscoelastic (Maxwell) model; a two-component power law; a reference
creep formulation (the WIPP model) implemented for nuclear waste isolation studies; a Burgers-
creep viscoplastic model; a WIPP-creep viscoplastic model; and a crushed-salt constitutive model.
All six models are available in the creep module. A FLAC grid can be configured for both a creep
calculation and a dynamic calculation. However, both modes cannot be active simultaneously
because of the widely different timesteps.
New constitutive models can be added to FLAC as DLLs that are written in C++ and compiled as sep-
arate files. The DLLs can be loaded in FLAC whenever needed, via the MODEL load command. Al-
ternatively, DLL files will be loaded automatically if they are placed in the “exe32\plugins\models”
folder. By implementing this optional feature, users can access new constitutive models from
Itasca’s web site. An advantage of these models is that they run at nearly the same speed as built-in
models, and noticeably faster than FISH constitutive models.

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1.3.3 Modeling Physical Processes and Interactions

The default calculation mode in FLAC is for static mechanical analysis. Alternatively, a groundwater
flow analysis or a heat transfer analysis can be performed by itself, independent of the mechanical
calculation. In addition, both the groundwater flow and thermal models may be coupled to the
mechanical stress model and to each other. Because the full equations of motion are used in FLAC,
the coupling interactions can be applied for dynamic analysis as well as static analysis.
The coupling mechanisms are divided into three types of interaction: mechanical and groundwater
flow; mechanical and thermal; and thermal and groundwater flow. The level of interaction modeled
in FLAC for each type is described below.
Mechanical-Groundwater Flow Coupling – Several types of fluid/solid interaction can be specified
in FLAC. One type of interaction is consolidation, in which the slow dissipation of pore pressure
causes displacements to occur in the solid (e.g., soil). Two mechanical effects are at work in this
case: (1) the fluid in a zone reacts to mechanical volume changes by a change in the pore pressure;
and (2) the pore pressure change causes changes in the effective stress that affect the response of
the solid (e.g., a reduction in effective stress may induce plastic yield).
FLAC can calculate pore pressure effects, with or without pore pressure dissipation, simply by
setting the flow calculation on or off. Also, dynamic pore pressure generation (e.g., related to
liquefaction) can be modeled by accounting for irreversible volume strain in the constitutive model.
This can be done with two different built-in constitutive models, the “Finn/Martin” model and the
“Finn/Byrne” model, provided with the dynamic option.
By default, porosity is assumed constant; however, porosity can be made a function of volumetric
strain as prescribed by a look-up table. Likewise, permeability is not adjusted by default, but can
also be made a table function of volumetric strain, for inclusion as a coupling mechanism. As a
consequence, two-way coupling of mechanical stress and groundwater flow can be modeled with
FLAC.
Two-phase flow processes and capillary effects can be modeled with the optional two-phase flow
model. With this model, the capillary pressure and relative permeability laws are built-in functions
of the van Genuchten form. The mechanical coupling uses Bishop’s effective stresses, and solid
grains are assumed to be incompressible, as in the basic groundwater formulation.
Other types of interaction, such as electrical or chemical forces between particles of a partially
saturated material, are not modeled directly by FLAC, but can also be included by writing a suitable
FISH function. Similarly, a FISH function may be used to vary the local fluid modulus as a function
of other quantities such as pressure or time.

Thermal-Mechanical Coupling – The thermal-mechanical coupling in FLAC is one-way: tem-

perature change may induce a mechanical stress change as a function of the thermal-expansion
coefficient. Mechanical changes in the body, however, do not result in temperature change or
changes to thermal properties.
Additionally, mechanical properties can be made a function of temperature change since FISH
permits access to both temperatures and properties.

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Thermal-Groundwater Flow Coupling – The thermal calculation may be coupled to the groundwater
flow calculation by making pore pressure a function of temperature change. Volumetric strain can
arise from thermal expansion of both the fluid and the grains within a saturated matrix. Pore
pressure change results from this volumetric strain, as well as from mechanical volumetric strain.
Groundwater flow can also influence heat transfer; an advection model that takes the transport of
heat by convection into account is provided. The advection model can also simulate temperature-
dependent fluid density and thermal advection in the fluid.
As with mechanical properties, groundwater properties can be made a function of temperature
change by accessing temperature and property values via FISH.

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1.4 Summary of Updates from Version 6.0

FLAC 7.0 contains several improvements; the new features are summarized in the following sections.
Existing data files created for Version 6.0 should still operate as before; new commands have been
added for the updates in Version 7.0. You should be aware, however, that FLAC 7.0 will not be able
to restore files saved by an earlier version of FLAC.

1.4.1 Speed Increase

The calculation of the equations of motion and constitutive relations are multithreaded in FLAC 7.0
to take advantage of multiple core processors of the latest personal computers. FLAC simulations
have run approximately three times faster with Version 7.0 operating on a 2.67 GHz Intel core
i7 multiprocessor computer. Note that the speed increase will vary from computer to computer,
based on factors including number of processors, processor architecture and available RAM. The
multithreading at present does not operate if a FISH constitutive model is assigned in the model.

1.4.2 New Mesh Generation Tools

Two new tools are now available to facilitate model creation in FLAC. A new sketch tool is provided
to draw, by mouse manipulation, external and internal boundaries of a problem geometry. Also,
CAD drawings can be imported into the sketch tool and applied directly, to define model boundaries.
A new geometry builder tool is available to facilitate creation of quadrilateral grids within boundaries
defined either from the sketch tool or from the general geometry shapes available in the virtual build
tools. See the FLAC-GIIC Reference, Section 1.2.1.5 for a description of the sketch tool, and
Section 1.2.1.6 for a description of the geometry builder tool.

1.4.3 New Constitutive Models

Two new constitutive models are developed in FLAC 7.0. mhoek, a modified version of the Hoek-
Brown model, is characterized by simple plastic flow rule choices given in terms of dilation angle.
A tensile yield criterion is also included. The modified Hoek-Brown model can also be run with
the strength reduction method to calculate safety factor using the SOLVE fos command. Chsoil is a
simplified version of Cysoil model. The specific features of this model include a built-in friction
hardening law that uses hyperbolic model parameters as direct input, a frictional Mohr-Coulomb
shear envelope, and two built-in dilation laws (one is based on Rowe stress dilatancy theory, and
the other is a user-defined dilation hardening/softening law). Chsoil may be used as an alternative
to the nonlinear elastic Duncan and Chang model, and does not have the drawbacks of that model.
The Constitutive Models volume contains further information, and examples using the mhoek
model (see Section 1.6.9 in Constitutive Models) and Chsoil (see Section 1.6.11 in Constitutive
Models).

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1.4.4 Improved Factor-of-Safety Calculation

The factor-of-safety calculation in FLAC 7.0 includes new options to help speed the SOLVE fos
calculation. An optional bracket can be specified by the user to limit the range for the strength-
reduction calculations. It is also possible to test whether a specified factor is above or below the
actual factor. A new Factor of Safety volume is provided with the FLAC 7.0 manual that contains
more guidelines and worked examples of safety factor calculations. Different approaches to using
the “strength reduction method” are also described, including the calculation of multiple local
minimum stability states within one FLAC run.

1.4.5 Improved Liner Element Logic

The liner element logic is improved to permit cracking to develop, which makes it possible to sim-
ulate the mechanical behavior of the unreinforced liner more realistically. A residual compressive
strength is added as a new liner property, and is used after the peak strength has been reached. A
parabolic shape of the failure envelope, which is often defined for the moment-thrust diagram in
unreinforced liner design, may be input in a lookup table. See Section 1.3 in Structural Elements
for details of the formulation, and examples.

1.4.6 Local Remeshing

Based on the observation that, in many cases, bad geometry usually occurs inside a local area, it can
be inefficient to always remesh the entire FLAC model. In FLAC 7.0, automatic remeshing logic
is improved to allow limiting the remeshing operation to a particular part of the model. In addition
to the improvement in efficiency, this also relaxes the requirement that only one constitutive model
can be used in the model when the entire model is remeshed. In the local remeshing logic, there is
no limitation on the number of constitutive models present in the model, as long as the local region
to be remeshed only contains one constitutive model. See Section 4 in Theory and Background
for a description of the rezoning procedure, and example applications.

1.4.7 FLAC Manual Restructuring

Two new volumes are provided with the FLAC 7.0 manual. The Constitutive Models volume
contains detailed descriptions and example exercises for all of the built-in constitutive models in
FLAC. The volume also includes the procedure to create and run user-defined constitutive models
written in C++. A new Factor of Safety volume provides an overview of the factor-of-safety
calculation based upon the strength reduction method that is used in FLAC. This volume includes
a detailed description of the implementation of this method in FLAC via the SOLVE fos command.
The volume also includes comparisons to other safety-factor calculation techniques, and several
example applications.
The FLAC-GIIC Reference volume is now only provided in electronic format. The volume will
be updated periodically, and updates can be downloaded from the Itasca web site.

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1.4.8 Additional Improvements

New keywords nd ex1 and nd ex2 are added to plot extra nodal offsets, and el ex1 and el ex2 are
added to plot extra structural element offsets. In the Cysoil model, cohesion and tension are now
included, and softening/hardening table may be specified for cohesion and tension in lookup tables
(i.e., ctable and ttable). A remove switch keyword is added to the ATTACH command to allow
removal of gridpoints from the attach list.

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1.5 Fields of Application

FLAC was developed primarily for geotechnical engineering applications. Section 6 contains a
bibliography of reports published since 1986 on the application of FLAC to geotechnical problems
in the fields of mining, underground engineering, rock mechanics and research. Some example
applications are summarized below.
The program has been used primarily for analysis and design in mining engineering and underground
construction. The explicit, time-marching solution of the full equations of motion (including inertial
terms) permits the analysis of progressive failure and collapse, which are important phenomena in
studies related to mine design.
The interface logic has been used to evaluate the influence of fault structures in mine design.
Structural elements have been employed to simulate various rock reinforcement systems, such as
grouted rockbolting and shotcrete. The creep model option in FLAC has been applied for studies
in salt and potash mine design. Through the use of the thermal model option, FLAC has been used
to study the performance of deep underground repositories for high-level radioactive waste.
FLAC has also been used extensively in research areas related to studies of the process of localization
and evolution of shear bands in frictional materials. The results of these studies have helped elucidate
the mechanisms involved in localization, and provide insight into phenomena such as the genesis
of fault systems and families of faults.
Additionally, FLAC has potential for application in a variety of fields in civil and mechanical
engineering. Several applications are described in the following paragraphs, and listed in the
bibliography in Section 6.
With the incorporation of groundwater flow logic and coupled mechanical-fluid flow (consolidation)
analysis, FLAC offers a robust capability for applications in soil mechanics. Potential applications
include analyses of earth-retaining structures and earthen slopes under drained and undrained load-
ing, and calculations of bearing capacity and settlement of foundations. With the axisymmetry
geometry in FLAC, design calculations can be made for cofferdams or caissons, including the ef-
fects of layered materials on lateral loading. The structure element logic in FLAC also permits the
simulation of soil reinforcement, such as tiebacks or soil nailing.
With the dynamic analysis option in FLAC, the code can be applied to various engineering dynamics
problems. Analyses can be performed in earthquake engineering (e.g., studies of dam stability, soil-
structure interaction and liquefaction). Calculations can also be made to evaluate effects of explosive
loading, such as underground blasting.
One drawback of early versions of FLAC was the inability to present results from FLAC in the
conventional format used in soil mechanics and foundation design. FISH overcomes this problem
because now the user can define the format desired. For example, a p-q diagram can be plotted
or factors of safety calculated for a specific design analysis; the factor may be defined by the user
in terms of the resistance of the structure to the applied load for the specified problem conditions.
These calculations now can be done directly in FLAC (see Section 3 in the FISH volume for
examples).

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It is possible for users to create their own constitutive models via FISH. Researchers can test their
assumptions of material behavior directly in the code, bypassing the effort of writing a separate
numerical program to test their theory. FISH provides the user with great flexibility in designing
models to represent complex material behavior.
In addition, analyses of highly deformable engineering materials can be made with the large-strain
logic in FLAC. For example, the problem of extrusion of a copper billet through a die has been
studied using FLAC (see the reference for Cundall and Board 1988, in Section 6).

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1.6 Guide to the FLAC Manual

The FLAC Version 7.0 manual consists of fifteen volumes. This volume, the User’s Guide, is the
main guide to using FLAC, and contains descriptions of the features and capabilities of the program,
along with recommendations on the best use of FLAC for problem solving. The remaining volumes
cover various aspects of FLAC, including theoretical background information, verification testing
and example applications. The complete manual is available in electronic format on the FLAC
CD-ROM (viewed with Acrobat Reader).
The organization of the fifteen volumes, and brief summaries of the contents of each section,
follows. Please note that if you are viewing the manual in the Acrobat Reader, by double-clicking
on a section number given below, you will immediately open that section for viewing.
User’s Guide
Section 1 Introduction
This section introduces you to FLAC and its capabilities and features. An overview
of the new features in the latest version of FLAC is also provided.
Section 2 Getting Started
If you are just beginning to use FLAC, or are only an occasional user, we recommend
that you read Section 2. This section provides instructions on installation and opera-
tion of the program, as well as simple tutorials on menu-driven and command-driven
operation to guide the new user through a FLAC analysis.
Section 3 Problem Solving with FLAC
Section 3 is a guide to practical problem solving. Turn to this section once you are
familiar with the program operation. Each step in a FLAC analysis is discussed in
detail, and advice is given on the most effective procedures to follow when creating,
solving and interpreting a FLAC model simulation.
Section 4 FISH Beginner’s Guide
Section 4 provides the new user with an introduction to the FISH programming
language in FLAC. This includes a tutorial on the use of the FISH language. FISH
is described in detail in Section 2 in the FISH volume.
Section 5 Miscellaneous
Various information is contained in Section 5, including the FLAC runtime bench-
mark, and procedures for reporting errors and requesting technical support. Descrip-
tions of utility files to assist with FLAC operation are also given.
Section 6 Bibliography
Section 6 contains a bibliography of published papers describing some uses of FLAC.

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Command Reference
Section 1 Command Reference
All of the commands that can be entered in the command-driven mode in FLAC are
described in Section 1 in the Command Reference.

FISH in FLAC
Section 1 FISH Beginner’s Guide
Section 1 in the FISH volume provides the new user with an introduction to the
FISH programming language in FLAC. This includes a tutorial on the use of the
FISH language.
Section 2 FISH Reference
Section 2 in the FISH volume contains a detailed reference to the FISH language.
All FISH statements, variables and functions are explained, and examples given.
Section 3 Library of FISH Functions
A library of common and general purpose FISH functions is given in Section 3 in
the FISH volume. These functions can assist with various aspects of FLAC model
generation and solution.
Section 4 Program Guide
Section 4 in the FISH volume contains a program guide to FLAC ’s linked-list data
structure. This is provided so that advanced users have more direct access to FLAC
variables.

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Theory and Background

Section 1 Background – The Explicit Finite Difference Method
The theoretical formulation for FLAC is described in detail in Section 1 in Theory
and Background. A FISH tutorial example of the components of the explicit finite
difference method is also given.
Section 2 Grid Generation
Section 2 in Theory and Background presents a general guide to the principles of
grid generation in FLAC. This includes procedures to adjust and grade the mesh and
to attach sub-grids to produce an accurate solution. Several examples are also given.
Section 3 Interfaces
The interface logic is described and example applications are demonstrated in Sec-
tion 3 in Theory and Background. A discussion on interface properties is also
provided.
Section 4 Automatic Rezoning
This section describes automatic rezoning features, provides input instructions, ex-
amples of use and accuracy assessment of the rezoning logic. See Section 4 in
Theory and Background.
Constitutive Models
Section 1 Constitutive Models: Theory and Implementation
The theoretical formulation and implementation of the various constitutive models
are described in Section 1 in Constitutive Models.
Section 2 Writing New Constitutive Models
Users can write their own constitutive models for incorporation into FLAC. The
models are written in C++ and compiled as a DLL file that can be loaded whenever
it is needed. The procedure to create new models is described in Section 2 in
Constitutive Models.
Factor of Safety
Section 1 Factor of Safety
Section 1 in Factor of Safety provides an overview and example applications of the
strength reduction method used in FLAC to calculate factor of safety.

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Fluid-Mechanical Interaction
Section 1 Fluid-Mechanical Interaction – Single Fluid Phase
The formulation for the groundwater flow model is described, and the various ways
to model groundwater flow, both with and without solid interaction, are illustrated
in Section 1 in Fluid-Mechanical Interaction.
Section 2 Two-Phase Flow
Section 2 in Fluid-Mechanical Interaction contains a description of the formulation
and example applications of the optional two-phase flow model.
Structural Elements
Section 1 Structural Elements
Section 1 in Structural Elements describes the various structural element models
available in FLAC.
Thermal Analysis
Section 1 Thermal Analysis
Section 1 in Thermal Analysis describes the thermal model option, and presents
several verification problems that illustrate its application, both with and without
interaction with mechanical stress and pore pressure.
Creep Material Models
Section 1 Creep Material Models
The different creep material models available as an option in FLAC are described,
and verification and example problems are provided, in Section 1 in Creep Material
Models.
Dynamic Analysis
Section 1 Dynamic Analysis
The dynamic analysis option is described, and considerations for running a dynamic
model are provided in Section 1 in Dynamic Analysis. Several verification examples
are also included in this section.
FLAC-GIIC Reference
Section 1 FLAC-GIIC Reference
All of the components of the GIIC (the graphical interface for FLAC) are described
(see Section 1 in the FLAC-GIIC Reference). This volume is only provided in
electronic format, and will be periodically updated on the Itasca web site.

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FLAC/Slope User’s Guide

Section 1 FLAC/Slope
This volume provides a user’s guide to FLAC/Slope, a mini-version of FLAC that
is designed specifically to perform factor-of-safety calculations for slope stability
analysis. See Section 1 in the FLAC/Slope User’s Guide.

Verification Problems
This volume contains a collection of FLAC verification problems. These are tests
in which a FLAC solution is compared directly to an analytical (i.e., closed-form)
solution. See Table 1 in the Verifications volume for a list of the verification
problems.

Example Applications
This volume contains example applications of FLAC that demonstrate the various
classes of problems to which FLAC may be applied. See Table 1 in the Examples
volume for a list of the example applications.

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1.7 Itasca Consulting Group Inc.

Itasca Consulting Group Inc. is more than a developer and distributor of engineering software.
Itasca is a consulting and research firm consisting of a specialized team of civil, geotechnical and
mining engineers with an established record in solving problems in many areas:
Civil Engineering
Mining Engineering and Energy Resource Recovery
Nuclear Waste Isolation and Underground Space
Defense Research
Software Engineering
Seismic Engineering
Groundwater Analysis and Dewatering
Petroleum Engineering

Itasca was established in 1981 to provide advanced rock mechanics services to the mining indus-
try. Today, Itasca is a multidisciplinary geotechnical firm with over 100 professionals in offices
worldwide. The corporate headquarters for Itasca is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. World-
wide offices of Itasca are: Itasca Denver Inc. (Denver, Colorado); Itasca Consultants AB (Luleå,
Sweden); Itasca Consultants S.A.S. (Ecully, France); Itasca Consultants GmbH (Gelsenkirchen,
Germany); Itasca Consultores S.L. (Llanera, Spain); Itasca S.A. (Santiago, Chile); Itasca Africa
Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa); Itasca Consulting Canada Inc. (Sudbury, Canada); Itasca Con-
sulting China Ltd. (Wuhan, China); Itasca Houston Inc. (Houston, Texas); Itasca Australia Pty.
Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia); ASC (Shrewsbury, United Kingdom); and Itasca India Consulting
Pvt. Ltd. (Nagpur, India).
Itasca’s staff members are internationally recognized for their accomplishments in geological, min-
ing, petroleum, seismology and civil engineering projects. Itasca staff consists of geological, min-
ing, hydrological, petroleum and civil engineers who provide a range of comprehensive services
such as (1) computational analysis in support of geo-engineering designs, (2) design and perfor-
mance of field experiments and demonstrations, (3) laboratory characterization of rock properties,
(4) data acquisition, analysis and system identification, (5) groundwater modeling, and (6) short
courses and instruction in the geomechanics application of computational methods. If you should
need assistance in any of these areas, we would be glad to offer our services.

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1.8 User Support

We believe that the support Itasca provides to code users is a major reason for the popularity of our
software. We encourage you to contact us when you have a modeling question. We will provide
a timely response via telephone, electronic mail or fax. General assistance in the installation of
FLAC on your computer, plus answers to questions concerning capabilities of the various features
of the code, are provided free of charge. Technical assistance for specific user-defined problems
can be purchased on an as-needed basis.
If you have a question, or desire technical support, please contact us:

Itasca Consulting Group Inc.

Mill Place
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 450
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 USA

Phone: (+1) 612-371-4711

Fax: (+1) 612·371·4717
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.itascacg.com

We also have a worldwide network of code agents who provide local technical support. Details
may be obtained from Itasca.

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1.9 Reference

Marti, J., and P. A. Cundall. “Mixed Discretization Procedure for Accurate Solution of Plasticity
Problems,” Int. J. Num. Methods and Anal. Methods in Geomech., 6, 129-139 (1982).

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