Direct Contact

Direct Contact is a monthly newsletter keeping you informed of events, sharing software and modeling tips, and making sure you know of new products or releases as soon as they are available.

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Current Issue: March 2012

Announcing GeoStudio 2012

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of GeoStudio 2012, as well as a new Annual Maintenance program.

Don't miss the announcement about the upcoming Europe 2012 Workshop in Zurich, only a couple of months away.

[read more...]

Previous Issues

2011

• October 2011: China and Banff Workshops We hold a workshop in Banff Canada in the fall, Zurich Switzerland in the spring, and one in China along with CnTech Co. Ltd.
• July 2011: Rapid Drawdown with Multi-Stage Approach Read about our analysis of the Walter Bouldin Dam and three other published examples, including Duncan, Wright and Wong (1990).
• May 2011: Panama Workshop Read about our recent adventures in Panama and sign up for the Banff Workshop.
• April 2011: GeoFrontiers Dallas Read how a group of students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used GeoStudio 2007 to win the National Student GeoChallenge at the ASCE Geo-Institute annual conference.
• March 2011: Seepage Exit Gradients Read our technical paper that discusses the background of how the exit gradient criterion was developed, and how to use it when interpreting 2D finite element seepage analyses.
• January 2011: Europe Workshop Plan on attending our next Geotechnical Modeling workshop in Zurich, Switzerland at the end of May, and check out our free online workshop videos.

2010

• December: 2010 Happy Holidays Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and how to perform a batch calculations with your own GeoStudio XML file.
• November: 2010 GeoStudio Self-Hosted Workshops Learn how to self-host your own geotechnical modeling workshop, either for a group of engineers, or for your individual training needs.
• October: 2010 Grid And Radius Learn how to use the grid and radius slip surface option to obtain a circular critical slip surface, and read about our workshops in Banff and Kuala Lumpur.
• August: 2010 Cut In London Clay Learn how the coupled formulation in SIGMA/W can be used to simulate the excavation process and find out how to follow us on Twitter.
• July: 2010 Sheet Pile Wall Learn how to model a sheet pile wall in SLOPE/W and discover how your network licenses can be borrowed to a laptop.
• June: 2010 Running Older Versions Learn how to run older versions of GeoStudio with your current license and read about the best way to model the stability of a partially submerged slope.
• May: 2010 GeoStudio Workshops in China Attend our annual GeoStudio Chinese Users Conference, visit us at the GeoShanghai Conference, and read about how a geo-fabric can be used to improve the overall stability of a slope.
• April: 2010 Banff Workshop Registration for the Banff 2010 Geotechnical Modeling Workshop is now open. Also, read the detailed example about composite-type slip surfaces translating on weak stratigraphic units, and what does "Solution out of date" mean?
• March: 2010 Eurocode 7. Find out how GeoStudio 2007 can be used in the context of Eurocode 7 and Limit States Design. Also, review the new book "Geotechnical Engineering: A Practical Problem Solving Approach", and register for the Europe 2010 workshop.
• February: 2010 Chinese Edition. Learn about the new Chinese language option for GeoStudio 2007. Also, read the detailed example about the Bangkok wickdrain study.
• January: 2010 Cutoff Interface. Learn about the use of an Interface Material Model. Also register for the Europe 2010 Geotechnical Modelling Workshop, and find out how to use templates in GeoStudio.

2009

• December 2009: Merry Christmas! GeoStudio Update Notification.
• November 2009: The role of insitu static stress state conditions in a liquefaction assessment. Banff Geotechnical Modeling Workshop.
• October 2009: Make the most of GeoStudio 2007 for specific solution areas. GeoStudio 7.15 Release.
• July 2009: Multiple Time Step Rapid Drawdown. GeoStudio 2007 compatible with Windows 7.
• May 2009: Water Ponding Visualisation. Water ponding for finite element products.
• April 2009: Modeling Relief Well Spacing. Working with long filenames.
• February 2009: Register for the Europe 2009 Geotechnical Modelling Workshop. Using SIGMA/W to simulate Volumetric Expansion due to Excavation.

2008

• December 2008: Merry Christmas! Dig It! The Secrets of Soil at The Smithsonian.
• November 2008: The Henry Saltwater Intrusion Problem. Compare the standard and modified Henry saltwater intrusion problems modeled in CTRAN/W.
• October 2008: Anisotropy in Seepage Analyses. Use SEEP/W to examine the issues that can affect anisotropy. Also read about the GeoStudio 2007 version 7.13 release.
• July 2008: Tie-Back Wall for a Deep Excavation. Read how SIGMA/W handles the challenges of the Berlin Tie-Back Wall.
• June 2008: New GeoStudio 2007 Release. Read about many exciting new features in the free GeoStudio 2007 update, from spatial functions to automatic water forces to thumbnails and more. Also learn how to search and download detailed examples online.
• May 2008: Permafrost Thawing and Deformation Study. Model thawing permafrost using an Add-In with TEMP/W and SIGMA/W. Also announcing the dates for the 2008 Banff Geotechnical Modeling Workshop.
• April 2008: Predicting Climate-Ground Interactions with VADOSE/W Basic. Catch the power of a 1D VADOSE/W Basic analysis by following along with this detailed example. Also announcing the 2008 UK Geotechnical Modelling Workshop.
• February 2008: The Difference Between Global and Analysis Specific Objects. Understand why some objects and properties are shared by all analyses in a file while others are specific to a single analysis.

2007

• December 2007: Pressure Plate Drying and Wetting. Read a detailed example illustrating pressure plate drying and wetting using AIR/W.
• October 2007: Function Estimation in SEEP/W 2007. Learn how to estimate material property functions using grain-size data or the sample function database. Also read about the Banff Geotechnical Modeling Workshop, the 7.03 service pack, and a new GeoStudio blog.
• September 2007: The San Fernando Earthquake. Learn the features and capabilities of GeoStudio 2007 in the context of a famous case history, the San Fernando Earthquake of 1971.
• August 2007: The New Interface Model in SIGMA/W 2007. Learn about SIGMA/W 2007's all-new interface feature by working through the "filling bucket" model.
• July 2007: Add-In Developer's Kit. Create your own Add-In to use in place of any internal function or SIGMA/W constitutive model. Also announcing that GeoStudio 2007 is Certified for Windows Vista, and GEO-SLOPE is selected as one of "Calgary's Best Places to Work."
• June 2007: Fall In Love with GeoStudio 2007. Introducing the next generation of the GeoStudio product line.
• April 2007: The Blue Line. Learn about what the blue line represents in both SEEP/W and SLOPE/W.
• February 2007: The GLE Formulation. Learn about how the GLE method can help you determine the appropriate method to use, read new "how-to" articles and find out about support for Windows Vista.
• January 2007: Convective Cooling of Surfaces. Learn about how TEMP/W can model convective heat transfer.

2006

• December 2006: Soil Strength in SLOPE/W. Learn about the connection between the shape of the slip surface and strength properties.
• November 2006: SLOPE/W Error Messages. Learn why checking error message in SLOPE/W is good modeling practice.
• October 2006: Lost In Translation.
• September 2006: Tips & Tricks, and Software Q&A. Watch a movie to learn about ways you can use pictures to enhance and improve your analysis. Find out how to remotely connect to a network license at your office while you are at home, or on the road.
• August 2006: The Summer Edition.
• July 2006: New Service Pack, and Tips & Tricks. Download the latest GeoStudio Service Pack and see our new Tips & Tricks section.
• June 2006: Boundary Conditions Simplified. Learn how certain boundary conditions are specified and used in the solution process for a finite element analysis.
• May 2006: Specifying An Initial Water Table. How to draw an initial water table interpret what you have drawn, and some potential drawbacks of using an initial water table.
• April 2006: Exit Angles in SLOPE/W 2004. Read a discussion on Slip Surface Exit Angles in a Limit Equilibrium Analysis. Do you have the latest GeoStudio Service Pack?
• March 2006: Modeling Soil-Climate Interaction. Learn about "surface regions", a specialized region type ideally suited for modeling seepage and thermal activity near the soil surface.
• February 2006: The Limitations of the Strength Reduction Approach. In this first-person opinion piece, Dr. John Krahn explains "why I don't like the strength-reduction approach for stability analysis".
• January 2006: Unit Gradient Boundary Conditions in Seepage Modeling. The boundary condition at the base of a seepage model is typically a "no flow" condition, but this is not true when modeling infiltration at the ground surface or through pond lines or soil covers. Learn how to use a unit gradient boundary condition when neither the pressure nor the flow rate is known.

2005

• December 2005: Establishing Insitu Stresses with SIGMA/W. One of the more important aspects of any stress-deformation analysis is establishing the insitu stresses. Learn how to do a "gravity turn-on" analysis with SIGMA/W. Also in this edition, we congratulate Dr. John Krahn on being awarded the R.F. Legget Medal, and we explain how we've made it easier to download your license files.
• November 2005: Sensitivity Analysis with SLOPE/W. Learn how a simple sensitivity analysis can be used to help obtain a better understanding of the influence of particular parameters in a slope stability analysis.
• October 2005: Display of Most Critical Slip Surfaces. In the early days, the only way to portray a summary of all the safety factors was to contour them on a grid of rotation centers. With today's sophisticated software, there are now other more convenient and meaningful ways which can help interpret slope stability results. Also in this issue, a review of the 5th Annual Calgary Geotechnical Modeling Workshop.
• September 2005: Reflections on Ethiopia. John Krahn reflects on his recent trip to Ethiopia to lead a modeling workshop. Also in this issue, watch a video to learn when and how to use function estimation in SEEP/W.
• August 2005: SLOPE/W Slip Surface Optimization. Learn how SLOPE/W can distort your slip surface to find the lowest factor of safety. Also in this issue, John Krahn travels to Ethiopia to provide engineering mentorship.
• July 2005: Demystifying a transient analysis. Some people panic when they hear the words "transient seepage analysis." However, if you feel your steady-state seepage results do not reflect what you believe to be happening in the ground, it is likely because you are trying to represent a transient condition with a steady-state solution.
• June 2005: Serving up new changes on the website... Significant changes are being made to the geo-slope.com website to better serve you. Read about some of the initiatives here, and how Microsoft is interested in what we're doing.
• May 2005: Read about the influence of water flow on ground freezing. Also in this issue, the 5th Annual Calgary Geotechnical Modeling Workshop is only a few months away--read the details and register early to save your spot.
• April 2005: The coastal landslides in California in the U.S. and British Columbia in Canada were in the news around the world in February. Why did they happen? This edition of Direct Contact uses SEEP/W and SLOPE/W to explain some of the factors.
• March 2005: GeoStudio's power lies in the integration between its products. Watch a video showing SEEP/W and SLOPE/W working together. Also learn about upcoming Geotechnical Modeling workshops in the UK and in Calgary. This edition congratulates our CEO, John Krahn, on being awarded an EIC Fellowship.
• February 2005: John Krahn describes how to analyze geofabrics with SLOPE/W.
• January 2005: A message from the CEO: Numerical Modelling - Prediction or Process? And visit us at Geo-Frontiers 2005 in Texas!

2004

• December 2004: Learn how to use GeoStudio 2004 with older data files. Watch movies showing the benefits of unstructured meshing and how GeoStudio 2004 saves you time and effort by ensuring mesh compatibility.
• November 2004: Watch a movie demonstrating the power of regions in SLOPE/W 2004, and learn about an important update to GeoStudio 2004.
• September 2004: Learn about the next generation of geotechnical software, GeoStudio 2004, and the very affordable Basic Edition.