Services
A Research Institute for Modeling Natural and Engineered Geological Processes
GPM Research Institute develops and implements numerical simulations of natural and engineered geological processes: for petroleum reservoir geomechanics (e.g., hydraulic fracturing), geotechnical analysis of foundations, groundwater flow in fractured and unfractured systems, structural outcome of geological processes, and more.
GPM Research Institute conducts simulations using fracture-based continuum modeling (FBCM), an innovative modeling technology we developed to model geotechnical failure mechanisms explicitly in continuum analysis.
FBCM models potential mechanical damage of geologic materials by modeling explicitly the initiation and propagation of tensile and shear failure surfaces (also known as fractures), which are the natural mechanisms of mechanical damage in geologic media.
3D Geomechanics
We provide 3D numerical simulations of geomechanical behavior for petroleum, mining, or civil engineering applications, using FBCM implemented as CanFrac for mechanical modeling and CanFracEnv for hydrological. See EXAMPLES
Geotechnical Analysis of Foundations
We provide full-scale load test of the foundation, by 3D numerical simulation using FBCM. For example, see Foundation Analysis
Groundwater Flow
We provide 3D numerical simulations for hydrogeological characterization and evaluation of groundwater flow in fractured and unfractured geologic media, using FBCM
Structural Geology
We provide 3D numerical simulations of coupled geomechanical and hydrological behavior to predict the structural geologic effects of specified geological processes on a specified initial state, using FBCM
Portfolio
Established Record of Scholarly Publications
Several high-quality publications (mostly peer-reviewed journal articles) have been produced through research work at the Geological Processes Modeling Research Institute and contributor organization GNO Modeling Research LLC. The areas of publication include geotechnical analysis of foundations, hydraulic fracturing, concrete dam engineering, mechanical behavior of concrete, and rock mechanics.
We describe a few examples here but describe all publications under Publications menu item.
Hydraulic Fracturing
Ofoegbu GI (2024). Using fracture-based continuum modeling of coupled geomechanical-hydrological processes for numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 16(5):1582-1599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2023.07.009
This paper describes using FBCM for geomechanical and geohydrological modeling and coupling the analyses sequentially to simulate hydraulic fracturing of previously unfractured rock and rock with preexisting fractures at various orientations.
Geotechnical Analysis of Foundations
Ofoegbu, G.I.; Smart, K.J.; Dasgupta, B. Assessing the effects of induced tensile stress on geotechnical behavior of foundations using fracture-based continuum modeling. Processes 2025, 13, 3836.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13123836
This paper uses numerical simulations to make a case that the current conventional analysis of foundations based on using bearing capacity factors is inappropriate for foundations that induce tensile stress in the subsurface materials, such as foundations sited on sloping ground or subsurface materials with complex geometrical and material transitions.
Geological processes modeling (GPM) research Institute 