DHI Consultants Present: Transforming project outcomes using Leapfrog and FEFLOW simulation for groundwater flow models

With thirteen years’ experience as a hydrogeologist involved in a variety of hydrogeological, geotechnical and geothermal projects in Germany, Peru and Western Australia, Ferdinand will talk to us about why he chooses to use Leapfrog as the main geological modelling tool to couple with FEFLOW.

Ferdinand will explore how building the geological model first in Leapfrog has opened up great possibilities and created an efficient way to save time and cost on the projects he has worked on.

Overview

Video Transcript

[00:00:00.375](gentle piano music)

[00:00:10.670]<v Clare>Hi, so thanks everyone for joining us.</v>

[00:00:14.540]This is really exciting and it’s so good to see

[00:00:18.670]so many people interested in this webinar as well.

[00:00:23.229]To very quickly introduce myself, my name is Claire Baxter.

[00:00:28.243]I’m the technical sales advisor for energy at Seequent,

[00:00:33.480]I’m based in our UK office.

[00:00:36.379]However, for the past eight years

[00:00:39.720]that I’ve worked for Seequent,

[00:00:41.600]I guess I’ve also very much worked with Ferdinand Fletcher

[00:00:47.310]and it’s always brilliant to catch up with him,

[00:00:51.010]and share some tips and tricks, not only about Leapfrog,

[00:00:54.408]but also about his domain expertise

[00:00:57.610]from a hydrogeologist perspective.

[00:01:01.330]So to introduce him, Ferdinand’s had

[00:01:05.887]roughly 13 years experience as a hydro-geologist

[00:01:10.490]involved in a huge range of different areas,

[00:01:13.791]including diurnal hydrogeology do your technical

[00:01:19.790]geothermal projects in Germany, Peru and Western Australia,

[00:01:24.326]where we first met, working very much

[00:01:31.320]for looking at water within mines.

[00:01:37.316]So today, he’s going to talk about

[00:01:41.140]why he uses Leapfrog and FEFLOW, or Leapfrog and MIKE SHE,

[00:01:47.780]particularly within his role now working

[00:01:50.610]as a consultant for DHI in Munich.

[00:01:53.700]So, thanks very much Ferdinand for sharing your experience

[00:02:00.790]and your tips and tricks with us

[00:02:03.670]and with our customers as well.

[00:02:07.370]<v Ferdinand>Nah, perfect, thanks for the introduction.</v>

[00:02:11.390]Yeah, it has always been…

[00:02:13.070]We’ve met in Australia,

[00:02:14.167]and since then moved around the world, I guess, both of us,

[00:02:18.270]and it has been good to be in contact,

[00:02:20.430]and we are still using Leapfrog.

[00:02:24.260]And I’m allowed today to talk a little bit about

[00:02:30.010]what we have experienced, how it maybe has helped us make us

[00:02:33.820]a bit more efficient to use both Leapfrog,

[00:02:36.550]and FEFLOW and MIKE SHE in a combination.

[00:02:42.500]Before I start, so it’s not really a how-to guide

[00:02:48.522]to go click and how to use it,

[00:02:51.440]it’s more like just general experience that I or we had

[00:02:56.717]using those two software packages together.

[00:03:01.770]To start, and so all the main goal of a lot of projects

[00:03:09.100]from us, from the groundwater side is to create

[00:03:12.040]a good flow model that gives us the chance

[00:03:18.610]to make good decisions for different stakeholders.

[00:03:22.630]And for that as a base,

[00:03:30.650]you need a good geological model.

[00:03:32.990]A lot of times we saw that having a good geological model

[00:03:37.470]can make the calibration phase a bit more quicker,

[00:03:41.821]and I think that’s a very important step.

[00:03:45.900]And once you have your geological model,

[00:03:47.650]you then have to of course convert into your flow model.

[00:03:51.770]And this conversion a lot of times,

[00:03:53.640]and takes time as well,

[00:03:54.770]and anything that can help make it quicker is great.

[00:04:00.692]So, to start there’s of course,

[00:04:04.780]different geological modeling packages

[00:04:08.350]for different scenarios, different projects,

[00:04:10.860]different complexities.

[00:04:12.410]So on the left, a couple of things

[00:04:14.240]that maybe I’ve used during my time, for example,

[00:04:18.870]like for a simple, really simple kind of box models,

[00:04:24.364]yes, so sometimes I use Arc GIS or GS in general,

[00:04:28.380]and just interpolate and some points,

[00:04:30.640]and where the geology is very easy, that can be enough.

[00:04:35.930]But for a more complex scenarios, we in the Germany region,

[00:04:40.807]we started to use Leapfrog.

[00:04:44.160]I have been using Leapfrog worldwide.

[00:04:46.635]So that’s the part that I want to talk about today;

[00:04:51.850]some experiences, some tips and tricks,

[00:04:54.580]and how to use Leapfrog in combination

[00:04:58.680]with our flow modeling software.

[00:05:04.860]So, the flow modeling software itself.

[00:05:08.204]We have two packages that we use it for.

[00:05:11.390]So the classical and groundwater flow model FEFLOW,

[00:05:16.320]that’s a very known.

[00:05:18.400]And then, recently we’ve also used it

[00:05:22.110]in combination with MIKE SHE.

[00:05:26.120]MIKE SHE is a fully integrated hydrological model,

[00:05:30.570]which uses the MODFLOW kernel as like the base

[00:05:34.670]to model the groundwater path.

[00:05:40.796]And a lot of times in MIKE SHE is a bit tedious

[00:05:43.640]to implement in more complex geology.

[00:05:50.130]And so, we gave it a go with Leapfrog

[00:05:53.350]and then converted back into MIKE SHE,

[00:05:56.280]and was actually very successful,

[00:05:57.730]and we could try different scenarios very quickly

[00:06:00.290]after each other, so I am very excited that

[00:06:03.630]that works as well, not only with FEFLOW.

[00:06:10.080]So how do you use it,

[00:06:13.630]the combination of Leapfrog and and FEFLOW.

[00:06:17.520]So there’s two big scenarios to be cases.

[00:06:21.590]And so, first of all, pretty easy,

[00:06:24.310]if you have an existing FEFLOW model,

[00:06:26.750]we can import it into Leapfrog, and just have a look at it,

[00:06:32.220]and maybe also bring new geology

[00:06:33.940]in this already existing FEFLOW model.

[00:06:38.460]And here, a quick note that you see can see on the right.

[00:06:41.670]So the thing is with Leapfrog,

[00:06:43.610]you can only import femme files of FEFLOW files,

[00:06:48.980]and that are in the ASCII format.

[00:06:52.870]And normally, the femme files are saved as binary formats.

[00:06:57.350]So, pretty much, all you have to do is open FEFLOW,

[00:07:00.767]and then, file save as ASCII.

[00:07:04.580]And that way you can import it into Leapfrog,

[00:07:06.527]and the same for export, once you’ve exported it,

[00:07:10.170]we recommend to square it back into the binary format,

[00:07:14.640]it’s just a bit quicker and smaller as a package.

[00:07:18.858]For the loading part, like I said, we had maybe

[00:07:22.180]femme projects where we had to update an old model

[00:07:25.770]that’s maybe 10 years old, so there’s new borehole data,

[00:07:29.170]and new geological information.

[00:07:31.310]So we had to kind of take that model

[00:07:34.580]and put the new geology on top of it, and that was great.

[00:07:37.896]So we did the geological model in Leapfrog,

[00:07:40.160]and then got our already existing FEFLOW model,

[00:07:43.590]put that in, put the geology on top,

[00:07:45.350]and that way we could do some scenarios

[00:07:47.780]to see how that changed our outcomes, our resides.

[00:07:52.620]The second option with the viewer is just

[00:07:57.250]once a project is finished or on the way of finishing,

[00:08:01.440]we have our kind of completed FEFLOW model

[00:08:06.867]and we can also bring that back into the Leapfrog model,

[00:08:09.950]and then I just go through to check if the boreholes fit,

[00:08:13.930]if the cross sections fit.

[00:08:16.440]So just as a check and to also like present it

[00:08:19.050]maybe to the clients.

[00:08:21.630]And that has been very beneficial to just have a look around

[00:08:25.490]in 3D and have all the information in one place

[00:08:28.900]kind of as like a database.

[00:08:33.130]Then the second type is to create a completely new,

[00:08:38.970]first of all, geological model and then flow model.

[00:08:42.979]And that I will go through step by step in the next slide.

[00:08:50.420]Everything starts with the geological model.

[00:08:54.890]So the first thing for us while using Leapfrog,

[00:08:58.770]or 3D geological modeling software,

[00:09:00.720]is that we can have new techniques,

[00:09:04.680]how to model our 3D geology.

[00:09:09.292]Whereas in the past, maybe as you know,

[00:09:12.130]you’ve done some cross section,

[00:09:13.940]and some tracking of the lines,

[00:09:15.870]and then just interpolate them into 3D,

[00:09:19.980]into the surfaces, and you just have more capabilities,

[00:09:24.410]more abilities to use your geologic information

[00:09:28.600]and build a robust, hopefully,

[00:09:31.150]and geological modeling with Leapfrog.

[00:09:34.510]Number one option I like always is the refined models.

[00:09:38.260]So you have maybe a stratigraphy that you want to represent,

[00:09:42.910]and within that stratigraphy,

[00:09:44.760]you can then put your different difologies

[00:09:47.470]which are important then for you,

[00:09:50.909]hydrogeological, your flow model later on.

[00:09:54.640]So that’s a nice option to have, and like I said,

[00:09:56.790]it just gives you more capabilities to use the data.

[00:10:01.510]And to use the data, this next point is the capabilities

[00:10:05.123]of importing different formats from the clients,

[00:10:09.500]a lot of times you get a lot of different formats,

[00:10:14.990]and most of them can just be imported straight up

[00:10:17.570]into Leapfrog, and that’s really great,

[00:10:20.740]then you can use that as your geological information.

[00:10:25.750]A big thing is the borehole data,

[00:10:29.228]and as probably everyone knows that takes a lot of time

[00:10:32.610]to clean it, to get the errors gone, and within Leapfrog,

[00:10:38.510]I found that there is a good way to do it,

[00:10:41.720]and makes it a bit quicker.

[00:10:42.920]You can see the sequences that cut each other

[00:10:47.360]and overlap each other,

[00:10:49.010]and you can just clean it really good.

[00:10:51.810]Again, external surfaces that you get maybe

[00:10:54.510]from another geological modeling software,

[00:10:57.450]from your clients that you can just import, use it,

[00:11:01.688]the same with designs from AutoCAD or Bentley

[00:11:06.660]that are useful, but come also in different formats

[00:11:12.100]and coordinates and to put it all in one place

[00:11:14.860]is just a great benefit.

[00:11:18.003]A small thing that is good as well,

[00:11:20.940]and helps us be more efficient is in the cross sections,

[00:11:23.990]not just importing it to use it again, but also to export,

[00:11:28.290]to have these layouts and for the report

[00:11:31.430]that everyone has to do at the end,

[00:11:34.410]which can be time consuming to create nice cross sections

[00:11:38.790]that are all look the same, that helped us as well,

[00:11:42.440]it’s a small thing, but it always saves time.

[00:11:46.920]So once you have your geological model

[00:11:50.880]where that now you have more abilities,

[00:11:55.160]to present your sometimes complex,

[00:11:58.560]sometimes maybe easy geology, and what I’ve found lately

[00:12:04.250]with the more shallow geology in glacial areas,

[00:12:08.750]we have maybe sand above clay, above sand, above clay,

[00:12:12.700]and where within your boreholes

[00:12:14.220]is hard to get the right markers, that way with the lenses,

[00:12:19.627]for example, with the intrusion option in Leapfrog

[00:12:27.165]that helped us to represent that in a good way.

[00:12:32.630]So yeah, once you have your geological model,

[00:12:36.050]now you have to do your grid for FEFLOW and MODFLOW,

[00:12:40.850]there’s of course, capabilities in Leapfrog

[00:12:44.060]to do it directly there, and if it’s a simple model,

[00:12:47.680]we use it.

[00:12:49.065]You can load your polyline shape files,

[00:12:52.450]your point shape files,

[00:12:53.670]and create a little bit of a better mesh,

[00:12:56.690]but for the more complex model’s projects,

[00:13:01.120]we still use the FEFLOW software to create our 2D grids

[00:13:09.110]because there is a couple of more options,

[00:13:10.734]and a couple more checks that you can do.

[00:13:13.390]So once we have our 2D grid and made in FEFLOW,

[00:13:18.230]we bring that back into Leapfrog,

[00:13:21.430]and then extend it into 3D, and get our geology in there.

[00:13:26.110]For MIKE SHE, it’s pretty simple, in MIKE SHE,

[00:13:29.240]we have like a rectangular grids, like the MODFLOW grid.

[00:13:34.400]So what we do is you just bring in the base points

[00:13:38.940]and the spacing from your MIKE SHE grids,

[00:13:42.350]and create that way a MODFLOW, 2D grid.

[00:13:48.330]So now, we have our grids ready to go,

[00:13:53.030]and we want to bring it into 3D.

[00:13:58.260]And that is a very beneficial part

[00:14:02.300]to have that 2D to 3D conversion in Leapfrog.

[00:14:08.808]It’s pretty simple, here’s the set up how to do it.

[00:14:11.660]And so, you choose your grid, your geological model

[00:14:14.580]that you want to put on top of that grid kind of.

[00:14:18.896]And then, you can also select your aquitard once,

[00:14:22.760]so it should have three layers,

[00:14:24.670]or you want to split one layer into two,

[00:14:28.341]and here you minimum of thickness.

[00:14:31.222]So like I said, that’s very easy to see the same process

[00:14:33.550]for a MODFLOW as well, so for MIKE SHE.

[00:14:37.330]And for that, that has done some time-saving for us

[00:14:46.210]because what happens a lot of times is that you get

[00:14:48.880]some extra information, some extra borehole data information

[00:14:52.900]maybe later on in a project that you want to incorporate

[00:14:56.239]because it’s an important area.

[00:14:59.592]So pretty much what you can then do,

[00:15:01.527]you bring your information to Leapfrog,

[00:15:04.930]and then, Leapfrog automatically updates you your model

[00:15:07.600]and then, automatically updates your 3D flow model.

[00:15:11.480]And that, we have done a couple of times,

[00:15:14.342]and that has been great

[00:15:15.580]to just maybe try different geologies.

[00:15:17.560]And like I said, if data arrives a bit later,

[00:15:22.170]you can just incorporate it still, hence make it quick.

[00:15:32.930]So the next point is,

[00:15:33.870]once you have brought you flow model into 3D,

[00:15:40.020]you can do your parametrization within Leapfrog.

[00:15:45.227]You can do that directly, so assign your KX, KY values

[00:15:49.130]and so on, and with one number,

[00:15:51.470]or you can do some interpolations.

[00:15:54.418]What we tend to do is we do some geocoding.

[00:16:00.050]So we just give the alluvium a one, the aquifer a two,

[00:16:05.200]the basement a three.

[00:16:08.010]And then, by doing that for every geological layer

[00:16:11.920]has a specific number.

[00:16:14.320]And then, within FEFLOW, once we have it in FEFLOW,

[00:16:18.310]we then do selections; so KX time is one, is then alluvium,

[00:16:24.611]and then we have our selections within FEFLOW,

[00:16:28.270]so we can do our calibration later

[00:16:30.130]because during the calibration,

[00:16:31.600]you always change your KX and KY values anyway.

[00:16:34.640]So you need those selections

[00:16:36.210]for the different geological units.

[00:16:39.780]So, that was our workflow that we do.

[00:16:44.445]And then, once you’re finished with that,

[00:16:53.530]you of course want to export it,

[00:16:55.130]and then, actually use it in the FEFLOW, MIKE SHE itself.

[00:17:00.360]For FEFLOW there’s a direct export, as I said before,

[00:17:04.790]comes as an ASCII file, and so what do you just have to do

[00:17:08.330]is return it into a binary file, so that’s very quick.

[00:17:13.820]For unstructured models, there’s no direct export or import,

[00:17:19.250]and so you have to do it indirectly.

[00:17:22.260]So pretty much what you do is like

[00:17:23.720]you export your geological model as a LFM file,

[00:17:28.840]so Leapfrog file, and that you can import

[00:17:31.630]into FEFLOW itself, and create your unstructured mesh there.

[00:17:37.100]And for MIKE SHE,

[00:17:38.610]there’s also not really a direct export yet,

[00:17:43.790]but what we can do is we can export the layers,

[00:17:46.590]import them into MIKE SHE, and then create a MODFLOW file,

[00:17:51.570]where you have your zone file here,

[00:17:53.700]and that’s zone file we want to convert into ASCII files

[00:17:57.813]so there’s a little bit of scripting to get these,

[00:18:00.710]what is it, the seven rows into one row,

[00:18:03.600]and then converted into a DSS2 file,

[00:18:06.550]which is used by MIKE SHE, and then you can just import it.

[00:18:10.240]It’s a bit of extra work,

[00:18:12.990]but it’s still very quick and very useful to do.

[00:18:24.000]So, for what scenarios have you used it…

[00:18:27.530]For all kinds of different of project

[00:18:29.990]we’ve used it, for example, in the mining industry,

[00:18:33.900]where we had big regional temp file data,

[00:18:38.090]geophysical data for the salinity

[00:18:40.390]and we brought it into Leapfrog,

[00:18:42.460]and then combine it with the FEFLOW model, that was great.

[00:18:47.510]For the normal construction and tunneling projects

[00:18:52.490]that we have every day, where you can just check sometimes

[00:18:56.650]if the client asks, “Okay, we’re going to plan a new design

[00:19:00.060]of a building with a basement,

[00:19:02.070]and do we have to check some hydrogeology?”

[00:19:06.590]So you just put it in to Leapfrog,

[00:19:09.270]have a look if the basement goes maybe into the acuitard,

[00:19:12.427]and then, shuts off the aquifers, so you have some damming,

[00:19:15.750]or if it’s not, or if it’s below the water table.

[00:19:18.380]So just these quick checks

[00:19:21.270]to give the clients an information,

[00:19:23.290]and it has been beneficial.

[00:19:25.560]Like I said,

[00:19:26.510]to import all these different building design formats

[00:19:30.110]in DXF and whatnot, that is always good.

[00:19:36.530]And we’ve also used it in some low temperature,

[00:19:40.450]geothermal project to do the geology,

[00:19:44.150]and where it was a bit more complex.

[00:19:47.550]And just in general, to have everything in 3D space

[00:19:52.223]to have import functions, to have a database in 3D,

[00:19:58.487]and then have your flow model in there as well,

[00:20:01.530]and that has been just really beneficial,

[00:20:04.230]and to have a 3D geological modeling software

[00:20:08.470]rather than just clicking and tracking,

[00:20:13.050]maybe some cross-section,

[00:20:15.340]that has been really beneficial and has helped us.

[00:20:20.310]So with that, I say thank you, danke for listening,

[00:20:26.871]and it was a very quick, very short,

[00:20:31.540]but there’s enough time, I guess, for some questions now.

[00:20:34.400]And I try to answer them as best as I can.

[00:20:37.700]And maybe with the Leapfrog side, Clare can help me.

[00:20:41.180]So, thanks again for inviting me.

[00:20:46.730]<v Clare>Well, it’s a pleasure, thank you, once again,</v>

[00:20:48.156]Ferdinand for talking,

[00:20:50.200]I think it’s always really interesting to hear

[00:20:55.030]some of those benefits and to also have a look

[00:20:57.640]at how two completely separate softwares

[00:21:00.900]can integrate together as well.

[00:21:02.770]Now, are there any questions that have come through?

[00:21:05.800]<v Moderator>Okay, for MODFLOW conversions</v>

[00:21:08.540]on the fault only, MODFLOW 5 is used.

[00:21:11.951]Will MODFLOW 6, where unstructured grids be incorporated?

[00:21:19.140]<v Clare>So today, we’re very much just been focusing</v>

[00:21:21.920]on the integration between Leapfrog, and FEFLOW,

[00:21:27.230]and MIKE SHE.

[00:21:29.190]So in terms of MODFLOW, I know that at the moment,

[00:21:33.797]it is something that we are currently looking at

[00:21:37.250]from a bigger picture, but I cannot give you an answer

[00:21:42.200]on that, we’ll have to take your name and details

[00:21:44.600]and get back to you.

[00:21:47.710]I guess one question I have for you is,

[00:21:52.790]when you say Leapfrog does save you a bit of time,

[00:21:56.512]I know each project is always different,

[00:21:59.450]but is it something you can possibly quantify at all

[00:22:02.810]compared to what you had to do?

[00:22:06.307](Ferdinand exhales heavily)

[00:22:10.520]<v Ferdinand>Yeah, so definitely like the beginning</v>

[00:22:13.010]is always the geology, a lot of times.

[00:22:16.890]And the bigger…

[00:22:20.830]So we had one project with maybe 8,000 boreholes.

[00:22:25.710]So for that, definitely, I would say at least more than two,

[00:22:32.500]three days that has saved it, at least.

[00:22:37.660]And that always depends, and even like these, like I said,

[00:22:40.040]the cross sections that’s maybe 1/2 a day,

[00:22:44.260]and that all adds up in the end, and this conversion

[00:22:48.850]to maybe that you got new information from your client

[00:22:52.220]and that normally takes a long time.

[00:22:55.220]And by doing that more automatic, you just have a process

[00:22:59.840]that takes maybe three hours instead of two days.

[00:23:03.230]And that’s this kind of the quantity that I can give.

[00:23:11.320]<v Clare>Now, that’s why it’s good.</v>

[00:23:12.200]If you can gain a couple of hours back from your day,

[00:23:15.320]I know personally, that’s always a bit of a bonus

[00:23:19.694]to be able to get…

[00:23:20.700]Everyone’s always asking for more hours to do more stuff.

[00:23:26.440]Are there any other questions which have popped up?

[00:23:29.240]<v Moderator>Yeah, in fact, we have another one here,</v>

[00:23:32.047]“Is the hydrology package needed to combine FEFLOW,

[00:23:35.940]MIKE SHE with Leapfrog, as described by Ferdinand.”

[00:23:39.950]And that’s from Ariana.

[00:23:42.720]<v Clare>Yeah, so, if either of you are working</v>

[00:23:45.370]with Leapfrog works, or you’re working with Leapfrog deer,

[00:23:50.410]then you do need to have the hydrogeology module

[00:23:54.980]associated with those projects or with those products.

[00:24:00.226]What the hydro-geology module will give you is,

[00:24:03.924]all of this functionality that Ferdinand has talked about.

[00:24:08.770]So, the ability to create those grids, the FEFLOW grids,

[00:24:14.900]and also be able to import and export with the FIM files

[00:24:19.970]and evaluate the geological models onto those grids as well.

[00:24:27.153]For those of you who are working

[00:24:30.430]with Leapfrog works and Leapfrog deer,

[00:24:33.290]you do need to get the hydrogeology module.

[00:24:36.960]For those of you who are using Leapfrog Energy,

[00:24:39.720]then it is included as part of the package.

[00:24:44.650]<v Ferdinand>As for example, we will use Leapfrog works,</v>

[00:24:48.437]and so when we create our model,

[00:24:50.120]we don’t need the hydrogeology package,

[00:24:52.610]and because we don’t have to convert anything.

[00:24:55.300]And then, once we are ready,

[00:24:56.640]and we have the grid ready and everything,

[00:24:58.180]then we get the package for a day or two,

[00:25:01.080]and then do the conversion.

[00:25:03.410]Because the model itself, the flow model stays in Leapfrog,

[00:25:07.460]so you can still have a look at it,

[00:25:09.380]but it’s just the conversion stuff,

[00:25:11.570]to put the geology on top of the grid,

[00:25:13.476]and for that you need to package, yeah.

[00:25:17.490]<v Moderator>This is from Camille Craft,</v>

[00:25:19.367]“Thank you for your presentation.

[00:25:21.220]I tried to create a FEFLOW grid, 3D model,

[00:25:24.770]and the one wire frame was rather complex.

[00:25:27.570]The gridding ultimately created a jacket grid

[00:25:30.290]with no tagging far above the original wireframe.

[00:25:33.680]How can one avoid this?”

[00:25:35.956](Ferdinand exclaims)

[00:25:37.904]<v Ferdinand>Yeah, that’s a good question, Clare (laughs)?</v>

[00:25:44.090]<v Clare>So I know that the surfaces from Leapfrog,</v>

[00:25:49.170]when you’re taking the 3D model and bringing them

[00:25:51.230]into the 3D unstructured grids within FEFLOW,

[00:25:56.620]it can cause some challenges associated with it.

[00:26:03.690]It really depends on what it is.

[00:26:06.320]And if you are experiencing this, please feel free

[00:26:09.760]to reach out to our support, [email protected],

[00:26:15.940]or the support for DHI and Ferdy,

[00:26:18.510]you have to let everyone know what the email is for that.

[00:26:27.007]<v ->I don’t-</v>
<v ->Well, we have…</v>

[00:26:27.840]Oh, sorry, go ahead.

[00:26:29.260]<v Ferdinand>No, I can only think of, I dunno,</v>

[00:26:31.130]I’m just assuming you had a layout

[00:26:33.012]that was really complicated, maybe.

[00:26:37.790]And if you want that complicated, slice, kind of in FEFLOW,

[00:26:46.972]I think that’s already then making problems

[00:26:49.690]in FEFLOW itself, if you have very steep gradients.

[00:26:56.380]So for that, if it’s really steep like that,

[00:26:58.723]I think you maybe have to do a different…

[00:27:02.689]To do it unstructured, or to make it maybe just layered,

[00:27:07.030]and then put the geology on top of there,

[00:27:09.860]but this really steep surfaces, again, I think,

[00:27:15.960]they also make in FEFLOW the numerical problems.

[00:27:18.940]So maybe that’s a work around,

[00:27:23.520]that’s the only thing I can think of,

[00:27:24.780]I don’t know, even if I’m on the right track here.

[00:27:27.815]<v Clare>The other thing that we have also found</v>

[00:27:31.936]when dealing with the two and different kinds of areas,

[00:27:36.500]is sometimes something as simple as just changing the angle

[00:27:40.760]of the surface slightly, as Ferdinand was saying,

[00:27:44.639]if it’s very steep,

[00:27:46.040]that can cause some challenges within FEFLOW,

[00:27:48.860]whereas if it’s possible and it still matches

[00:27:51.990]your conceptualization,

[00:27:53.200]if you can make it slightly shallower,

[00:27:56.181]then that might be something that you could look at

[00:27:59.260]to try and in solving that challenge as well.

[00:28:03.410]<v Moderator>Okay, we’ve got quite a few coming in.</v>

[00:28:04.967]“Is it possible to integrate a design AutoCAD Leapfrog

[00:28:08.920]into the FEFLOW 3D grid?”

[00:28:10.700]That’s from Jill.

[00:28:14.850]<v Ferdinand>I have to think, don’t know,</v>

[00:28:21.020]I have to come back to you with that.

[00:28:23.940]<v Clare>If you can integrate the designs</v>

[00:28:26.200]into the geological model,

[00:28:27.503]then you can generate a lithology classification for it,

[00:28:31.810]or as part of the combined model,

[00:28:33.690]then you’ll be able to evaluate that onto the grid.

[00:28:38.010]So it’s kind of hard to say

[00:28:39.570]without understanding the situation a little bit more.

[00:28:42.270]But I remember when we were working in Western Australia,

[00:28:47.960]we would take, say the underground mine workings

[00:28:50.400]would bring those into the Leapfrog model,

[00:28:53.390]and then we’ll use it as the boundary,

[00:28:59.180]essentially to cut out within the Leapfrog geological model.

[00:29:03.360]And that gets overlaid onto the grid itself.

[00:29:05.649]So there are some ways of working through it,

[00:29:09.260]it depends on the scenario in such.

[00:29:13.630]I don’t know, can you add anything further, Ferdinand?

[00:29:16.230]<v Ferdinand>Yeah, it’s probably maybe like a basement</v>

[00:29:18.960]that you want to have in your,

[00:29:21.680]from whatever building that you wanted,

[00:29:24.010]and have as a slice in your FEFLOW model as well,

[00:29:27.280]I guess, that is the thing.

[00:29:29.542]Then, I think the direct to just use the DXF,

[00:29:33.601]or whatever you have, I think that’s not possible.

[00:29:37.960]You have to do the work around, like Clare said,

[00:29:40.150]that you make a intrusion or whatever in Leapfrog

[00:29:45.075]and of that building, and that way,

[00:29:48.030]if you have it in your geology as a surface,

[00:29:51.820]then it goes into the FEFLOW grid,

[00:29:55.875]but just directly now, I think with Leapfrog, not now.

[00:30:02.470]<v Moderator>Okay, hope that answers the question.</v>

[00:30:04.580]This is from Adam,

[00:30:05.413]“Do you have any advice for creating 3D grids,

[00:30:07.940]for narrow dipping geological structures faults?

[00:30:10.860]Because I’ve found that the layers typically caused

[00:30:13.260]the structures to be disjointed with that.”

[00:30:18.340]<v Ferdinand>Again, with faults,</v>

[00:30:20.186]that’s always a tricky part.

[00:30:27.430]And for that, we had that a FEFLOW 7 option,

[00:30:33.780]to have either pinching out layers,

[00:30:38.010]or completely unstructured layers,

[00:30:40.242]and you can do that in a 3D configurator in FEFLOW itself.

[00:30:46.260]Within Leapfrog, no I don’t, with defaults.

[00:30:54.282]So you can’t just put a faulted model

[00:30:57.570]where you have fault blocks,

[00:30:58.860]and create a 3D grid out of that,

[00:31:02.300]that’s not possible yet.

[00:31:04.350]For that as the work around to export that as an LFM,

[00:31:09.210]Leapfrog file, and then import that into FEFLOW,

[00:31:14.310]and in FEFLOW, you can use these 3D geological models

[00:31:19.900]to remesh them as unstructured models.

[00:31:24.220]So that’s the work around,

[00:31:25.770]or that’s for these more complex.

[00:31:28.890]For the normal layout models, it’s all possible,

[00:31:31.610]but for the more complex and the unstructured stuff,

[00:31:34.810]not yet.

[00:31:38.380]<v Moderator>Okay, great, thank you.</v>

[00:31:39.450]Is there an LMF format that would allow the formats

[00:31:43.010]to be exchanged between the packages?

[00:31:49.500]<v Clare>I know that Leapfrog accepts the LMF format.</v>

[00:31:53.900]Ferdinand I’m not too sure about FEFLOW, or MIKE SHE at all.

[00:31:58.341]<v Ferdinand>I have to check, I dunno, I dunno.</v>

[00:32:02.800]There’s a lot of formats that FEFLOW supports now,

[00:32:06.170]with the DXF as well and stuff, but I have to have a look.

[00:32:14.550]<v Moderator>Okay, we have another one, “A few years ago,</v>

[00:32:17.740]we had difficulty creating unstructured meshes

[00:32:21.770]from LFM files, I believe the issue was with volumes

[00:32:26.370]that potentially overlap, or were not precise enough

[00:32:29.530]for the unstructured mesh generator.

[00:32:32.930]Has there been improvements to that functionality

[00:32:35.640]in recent versions of Leapfrog.

[00:32:38.150]Last time, I personally created 3D unstructured meshes

[00:32:41.485]from LFM files.”

[00:32:43.270]And that’s from Paul.

[00:32:47.670]<v Ferdinand>So, I’ve recently had a try as well,</v>

[00:32:50.863]as you said, with self intersecting volumes

[00:32:59.358]there are still an issue,

[00:33:00.830]you have to try and eliminate that.

[00:33:03.940]So I would say, no, not yet, but Clare,

[00:33:09.540]I don’t know if you can answer that?

[00:33:13.840]<v Clare>So one of the things that we are going to see,</v>

[00:33:18.330]hopefully, come through on the next release of Leapfrog,

[00:33:23.960]more, I guess, obvious signs as to where these issues

[00:33:30.050]are occurring within the meshes

[00:33:32.980]in Leapfrog, whether they’re imported in,

[00:33:35.280]or whether they’re on the odd occasion

[00:33:37.200]they’re generated within the geological model.

[00:33:40.070]So there won’t necessarily be the tools within Leapfrog

[00:33:43.697]yet to be able to fix them, but there will be

[00:33:47.460]a lot more clarity coming in the near future

[00:33:51.230]in terms of where these issues,

[00:33:52.880]and what these issues are that are causing it.

[00:33:56.160]So you can hopefully look to, as you move them over,

[00:34:02.410]at least have that better understanding

[00:34:04.570]to where they’re placed.

[00:34:08.720]<v Moderator>Great, thanks.</v>

[00:34:10.240]“Are there any plans to expand the LFM file in Leapfrog?”

[00:34:15.220]That’s from Carlos.

[00:34:18.560]<v Clare>I’m not too sure what is mean</v>

[00:34:20.320]by expanding the LFM format.

[00:34:22.900]So if you’re possible to maybe send an email

[00:34:25.500]and just elaborate on that a little bit further,

[00:34:28.410]or get in contact with us,

[00:34:29.770]then someone will be able to help answer that for you.

[00:34:36.350]<v Moderator>I’ve got another one here from Jerry</v>

[00:34:37.937]“Could you discuss the workflow for transient flow problems?

[00:34:42.480]Is most of that work conducted in FEFLOW

[00:34:45.590]with multiple stages of import/export,

[00:34:48.730]or will most of the work be conducted within Leapfrog.”

[00:34:52.660]<v Ferdinand>Now, for transient that’s in FEFLOW only.</v>

[00:35:02.400]<v Moderator>Thank you, and one more here,</v>

[00:35:04.187]“Will we be given a certificate from MD?”

[00:35:10.280]<v Clare>So this webinar’s is very much</v>

[00:35:12.410]just about informing you around

[00:35:15.830]what some of the possibilities are,

[00:35:17.417]and to also share Ferdinand’s experience

[00:35:19.970]in the way in which he uses it.

[00:35:23.660]There are training both from DHI in the use of Leapfrog,

[00:35:28.709]sorry, in the use of FEFLOW,

[00:35:31.250]and we also have training within Seequent

[00:35:34.730]on the use of Leapfrog.

[00:35:37.130]So, if you would like to take it to the next step

[00:35:42.100]and understand a little bit further,

[00:35:44.330]please feel free to reach out to either Ferdinand,

[00:35:47.190]or myself personally,

[00:35:49.780]reach out either to the company websites,

[00:35:55.160]and on there, you’ll also find more information

[00:35:58.020]about training for the restrictive programs as well.

[00:36:02.900]<v Moderator>Great, thank you, one more from Vinishas.</v>

[00:36:05.997]“Excellent presentation Ferdinand.

[00:36:08.200]If I understand correct, we could create

[00:36:10.252]an unstructured mesh in FEFLOW,

[00:36:12.450]from the structured mesh already created and Leapfrog.

[00:36:15.700]It’s a type of work around, correct?”

[00:36:18.520]<v Ferdinand>Yeah, so that’s correct, for example,</v>

[00:36:22.230]so, I think FEFLOW now supports the GeoModeller,

[00:36:27.710]the Mine Site, Leapfrog, and GO KART.

[00:36:34.200]These are the four formats,

[00:36:35.950]so pretty much you just export it,

[00:36:38.060]put it into FEFLOW, and then in FEFLOW,

[00:36:41.700]you can make out of these models, however they look,

[00:36:46.000]you can then make a unstructured grid.

[00:36:49.200]But as I said before, to steer the issue is

[00:36:52.890]these intersecting volumes or intersecting slices.

[00:36:58.420]So your grid or your geological grid has to be really clean.

[00:37:05.290]I think our developers are working

[00:37:08.310]on that issue because it’s just finding out

[00:37:11.110]when this cuts this, and it’s just a geometrical problem,

[00:37:15.665]but it’s not that easy to solve,

[00:37:18.360]but I think the next step is kind of to improve that.

[00:37:22.070]So we can also import grids

[00:37:25.292]that do have these intersecting volumes,

[00:37:28.830]which a lot of times happen to be.

[00:37:32.020]So yeah, that’s the work from us to do,

[00:37:35.500]and from Leapfrog, like Clare said as well.

[00:37:39.840]There’s other little workarounds that it can use.

[00:37:43.310]For example, if you have faults,

[00:37:46.490]taking these faults layers, import them into FEFLOW,

[00:37:53.760]and then within the 3D configurator,

[00:37:56.750]you can just bring them in.

[00:37:59.210]And within there,

[00:38:00.080]you can also kind of build your geological model.

[00:38:03.320]and out of that, build your unstructured grid.

[00:38:05.640]So there’s a couple of different scenarios that you can use.

[00:38:08.940]And then, once you have your unstructured grid made

[00:38:11.140]in FEFLOW, you can explore the centroids,

[00:38:15.630]bring them into Leapfrog, and in Leapfrog

[00:38:18.210]you evaluate these decentralized,

[00:38:21.120]and bring them back as…

[00:38:21.953]There’s a couple of different scenarios,

[00:38:24.060]how to work around it, it’s not perfect yet,

[00:38:26.565]but it’s getting there.

[00:38:30.550]<v Clare>Perfect, thank you very much, Ferdinand,</v>

[00:38:33.620]once again, for sharing your knowledge and your experience

[00:38:37.510]of using both Leapfrog and in FEFLOW.

[00:38:41.110]I know every time we talk,

[00:38:42.510]I learn something new.
(Ferdinand laughs)

[00:38:45.063]<v ->Thanks.</v>
<v ->As I’m sure,</v>

[00:38:46.050]I hope everybody on the webinar

[00:38:48.390]has also learned something.

[00:38:50.980]So just to close off, if you do have any questions,

[00:38:54.500]please feel free to get in contact with Ferdinand.

[00:38:57.380]You’ll see his email below, or myself.

[00:39:01.310]Thank you very much everyone for attending,

[00:39:04.780]and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day,

[00:39:07.180]or the rest of your evening.

[00:39:09.880]<v Ferdinand>Yeah, thanks from me as well,</v>

[00:39:11.140]and happy to answer any further questions,

[00:39:13.570]and then we’ll get in contact with Claire,

[00:39:15.500]and yeah, thanks again for inviting me or us.