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Export to Phase2 Tutorial

RocTopple is a simple to use analysis tool for evaluating block toppling in

rock slopes. It provides a preliminary analysis. The user is highly
encouraged to explore the slope failure mechanism through alternative
tools, such as a comprehensive finite element or discrete element
software.
In this tutorial, well be demonstrating RocTopples Export to Phase2
option and subsequently how to setup a block toppling model in Phase2.
Phase2 is a finite element stress analysis software. With joint network
implementation, Phase2 can also predict the failure mechanism and
shear strength reduction factor for jointed rock mass.
The finished product of this tutorial can be found in the Tutorial 04
Export to Phase2.rtop file. Tutorial files installed with RocTopple 1.0
can be accessed by selecting File > Recent Folders > Tutorials Folder from
the RocTopple main menu.
Topics Covered in this Tutorial

Export to Phase2

Model setup in Phase2

Initial Stresses

Boundary Conditions

Mesh Sensitivity and Custom Meshing

Material and Joint Properties

Shear Strength Reduction Factor

Model Interpretation in Phase2

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RocTopple Model
If you have not already done so, run the RocTopple program by doubleclicking on the RocTopple icon in your installation folder. Alternatively,
from the Start menu, select Programs Rocscience RocTopple 1.0
RocTopple.
When the program is started, a default model is automatically created.
Well be defining a different model for this tutorial.
Open the Project Settings dialog.

Select: Analysis Project Settings

Make sure you have the following settings:

Also make sure that under the Design Standard tab, the Design
Standard is set to None.
Click OK to exit.

Open the Input Data dialog.

Select: Analysis Input Data

Under the Geometry tab, enter the following data:

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Under the Strength tab, enter the following data:

Select OK to finalize the values and close the Input Data dialog.
The Factor of Safety is 0.924. At the point of failure, blocks 1-2 are
sliding, while all blocks above are toppling.

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Export to Phase2
Lets export this model to Phase2 from the File menu.

Select: File Export Export DXF File for Phase2

A Save As dialog appears. Save the DXF file anywhere youd like. This
DXF file is available in the Tutorials Folder. Select Save in the dialog.

Lets run Phase2. Open the Modeler.

Import the RocTopple DXF file from the Modeler.

Select: File Import Import DXF

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A DXF Options dialog should appear. You need to check the following
items in the dialog:

If your RocTopple model contained a phreatic surface, you may also

import it here by checking Piezo Lines.
Select Import in the dialog. An Open dialog should appear. You should
find the RocTopple DXF file youve previously saved, and open it through
the dialog.
The following model should appear in the Phase2 Modeler.

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Phase2 Model
The current model in Phase2 is not ready for compute. We still have to
excavate the model, mesh it, define boundary conditions and initial
loading conditions, and define the material and joint properties.

Units
To be consistent with the RocTopple model, lets work in Metric units,
using stress as kPa.

Select: Analysis Project Settings

Under the General tab in the Project Settings dialog, set the Units to
Metric, stress as kPa.

Select OK to close the dialog.

Excavation
To excavate the model, right-click on the purple area above the blocks.
Under Assign Material, select 0. Excavate.

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You should see the slope as follows.

Custom Meshing
Lets add a mesh to the slope. You can do this from the Mesh menu or
from the toolbar.

Select: Mesh Mesh Setup

Were going to use a custom mesh so that we will have more control over
the number of elements. This is highly recommended for models with
joint networks because slope stability problems with failure through
joints are highly sensitive to the mesh. For models where joints are
susceptible to failure, there should be several elements discretized along
each joint. Where the mesh is very coarse, the user should be wary of
incorrect results (wrong failure mechanism and incorrect factor of safety).
In the Mesh Setup dialog that appears, switch the Element Type to 6
Noded Triangles, and click on the Advanced button.
Make sure to check Use Advanced Mesh Regions.

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Click Add to add a custom mesh region. The cursor should have
changed to a cross. Use the cursor to left-click on the purple zone in the
toe block. The toe block should now be highlighted.

Back in the Mesh Setup dialog, lets add custom mesh regions for each
block. Click Add and left-click within each block.

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The Mesh Setup dialog should now have 6 custom mesh regions. Lets
change the Mesh Type for each region to Graded, and the Element
Length to 0.3.

Click Discretize. Once the model has been discretized, you can click
Mesh.
Select OK to close the Mesh Setup dialog.
Notice that the external boundaries are pinned (restrained in x and y)
after meshing.

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Boundary Conditions
Lets change the boundary conditions. We need to free the top, upper left
and upper right external boundaries. You can do so by right clicking on
the boundary, then selecting Free restraints, or using Free from the
Displacements Menu.

Select: Displacements Free

If you went to the Displacements menu, the cursor should have changed
to a square. Select the top, upper left and upper right external
boundaries, and hit Enter.
We need to also apply rollers to the remaining three boundaries. This
means restraining the x-direction for the bottom left and right
boundaries, and restraining the y-direction for the bottom boundary. Lets
use the right-click function.
Finally, we should pin the bottom left and bottom right corners. Rightclick on those corners, and select Restrain X,Y.

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The model should now look like the following figure.

Material Properties
We want a Phase2 model with material properties that are comparable to
the rigid body model in RocTopple. Lets go to the Define Material
Properties dialog.

Select: Properties Define Materials

Notice that the slope is light purple. This is because by default it has been
assigned Material 1 when the model was imported. Youll also see that
the current material property on display in the dialog is Material 1, so
lets edit this material.

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We have set the Initial Element Loading to Body Force Only because
the material weight is the most influential factor on the stresses in the
model. We have also changed the Youngs Modulus to 80,000,000 kPa
(80,000MPa). Lastly, weve specified an Elastic type because we want to
prevent failure through the material (rigid blocks).
Select OK to finalize the values and close the dialog.

Joint Properties
Similar to material properties, joints are assigned default properties
when imported. In this case, the property assigned for all joints is Joint
1 (you can hover the mouse over any joint or material to see the property
assigned; make sure youve turned on data tips at the bottom right
corner).
Remember that we have different joint properties for the base joints and
toppling joints. Thus, we need to define two joint properties. Lets go to
the Define Joint Properties dialog.

Select: Properties Define Joints

The current tab is for Joint 1. Lets change the name to Base Joints, and
make the following changes to the properties.

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Select Joint 2 from the list on the left. Lets change the name of this
joint property to Toppling Joints. Make changes as shown below.

Keep in mind that the two properties weve assigned for the joints are
perfectly plastic. This means that even when these joints fail, they will
maintain the peak shear strength values.
Click OK.

We need to change the property assigned for the toppling joints.

Select: Properties Assign Properties

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In the Assign dialog that appears, make sure you have the following
settings:

The cursor should have changed to a square. Left-click on all the toppling
joints, which will be highlighted if selected, and hit Enter.
Close the Assign dialog.
The model should look like the following:

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Shear Strength Reduction Factor

The last step is to setup the shear strength reduction factor search. We
want to find a shear strength reduction factor (SRF or factor of safety)
and the slope failure mechanism to compare with RocTopple results.
Lets go back to the Project Settings dialog.
Under the Stress Analysis tab, make the following changes:

Lets go to the Strength Reduction tab. Check on the Determine

Strength Reduction Factor and then change the Initial Estimate of
SRF to 0.5.
Keep in mind that the SRF search will produce a displacement versus
shear strength reduction factor graph. Since RocTopple estimated a factor
of safety of around 0.9, we want to start our Phase2 estimate below and
away from that value. This way we can generate a more comprehensive
graph that shows displacement values for a wider range of SRF.
Click the Advanced button on the Strength Reduction tab. In the
Advanced SSR Settings dialog, make sure you have the following
values:

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The values for Tolerance and Maximum Number of Iterations vary

with the model. The user is highly encouraged to try different number of
iterations and different tolerances depending on the needs of each model.
Click OK in the Advanced SSR Settings dialog, and then click OK
in the Project Settings dialog.
We are almost done. By default, SSR is not considered for joint shear
strength. Thus, we need to return to the Define Joint Properties dialog
and check on Apply SSR for both the Base Joints and the Toppling
Joints.

Click OK in the Define Joint Properties dialog.

Make sure to save the model.
Lets compute.

Select: Analysis Compute

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The analysis should be done in approximately 5 minutes. If you want to

skip ahead to the results section, you may use Phase2 Interpret to open
the computed file available from your Tutorial Folder.

SSR Results
Open Phase2 Interpret. Browse for the computed file and open it.
You should see the critical SRF is 0.85, and maximum shear strain
occurring at the bottom left corners of blocks.
Critical SRF: 0.85

Before looking at any other result, you should always check that the
Displacement versus SRF graph gives an acceptable inverted L shape.
This graph can be accessed from the Graph menu.

Select: Graph Graph Shear Strength Reduction

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Export to Phase2

Shear Strength Reduction

Critical SRF: 0.85 at Displacement: 1.034 m

1.3

1.2

1.1

Strength Reduction Factor

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

-2

-1

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Maximum Total Displacement [m]

This graph indicates that the maximum total displacement increases as

the SRF increases (joint shear strength decreases). Once failure occurs,
the displacement takes off.
Note that displacement values in Phase2 are reliable up until the point of
failure. Beyond failure, the displacement values generated depend upon
the number of iterations used.
Close the graph.
Lets look at the displacement contours. In the drop down list that
currently shows Maximum Shear Strain, change it to Total
Displacement.
You can also see the deformed shape by clicking on Display Deformation
Contours in the toolbar.

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The user is encouraged to further explore the results. A few

recommendations would be to see where joints have yielded, and the
normal and shear stresses in the joints.
We can see that RocTopple and Phase2 generated comparable results.
Phase2 predicted a slightly lower factor of safety, 0.85, compared to 0.92
from RocTopple. Both software predicted that at the point of failure,
blocks 1 and 2 are sliding critical, while blocks 3 to 6 are toppling critical.
This concludes the tutorial.

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