Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
September 22, 2026
ITASCA Launches MPoint: First Commercial MPM Geotechnical Software
TLDR
- ITASCA's MPoint2D and MPoint3D are the first commercial geotechnical software using Material Point Method, giving firms a simulation edge.
- MPoint uses Material Point Method to track material points through a fixed grid, avoiding mesh distortion and enabling large deformation simulations.
- MPoint helps engineers better predict dam, landslide, and tailings failures, supporting safer designs and protecting communities from disasters.
- MPoint's Material Point Method can simulate soil liquefaction, shear banding, and post-failure runout, offering new insights into ground behavior.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it represents a significant leap forward in geotechnical engineering, offering a tool that can simulate complex, large-deformation scenarios that were previously difficult or impossible to model accurately. By providing a commercial MPM solution, ITASCA empowers engineers to better understand failure mechanisms, assess risks, and make more informed decisions for critical infrastructure like dams, slopes, and tailings facilities. This can lead to improved safety, reduced environmental impact, and more efficient design in civil and mining projects, ultimately benefiting society by enhancing the resilience of essential structures and minimizing the consequences of geotechnical failures.
Summary
ITASCA Software has unveiled MPoint2D and MPoint3D, the first commercially available geotechnical software products built on the Material Point Method (MPM). Designed to simulate large deformation, material flow, instability, and post-failure behavior, MPoint overcomes the limitations of traditional mesh-based numerical methods that struggle with extreme deformation. The software provides a specialized MPM environment for evaluating geotechnical systems under realistic loading conditions, helping engineers move beyond simple stability assessments to understand how deformation develops, failure progresses, and what occurs after failure initiates.
Jim Hazzard, Product Manager, emphasized that many geotechnical problems involve significant movement, progressive failure, and material runout, and MPoint offers a practical way to apply MPM technology to real-world projects. Jibril B. Coulibaly, Computational Scientist, noted that while MPM has long been recognized for its ability to model large deformation and post-failure behavior, it has not been available in a commercial product designed specifically for geotechnical engineering until now. MPoint enables simulation of large deformation without mesh distortion, progressive failure and shear band development, liquefaction, slumping, material flow, breach initiation, and post-failure runout, as well as interactions between soil, rock, and water within a unified framework.
The software is particularly suited for civil engineering applications such as dam and embankment performance assessment and landslide and slope failure analysis, as well as mining applications including tailings storage facility analysis and waste rock and mine slope stability studies. MPoint can be used standalone or coupled with FLAC2D or FLAC3D, ITASCA products trusted by engineers for decades, combining MPM with Finite Volume methods for efficient analysis. Tryana Garza-Cruz, General Manager of ITASCA North America, stated that MPoint was developed to help engineers evaluate post-failure ground behavior with confidence. To learn more or schedule a discovery call, visit the ITASCA Software website or contact [email protected].
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, ITASCA Launches MPoint: First Commercial MPM Geotechnical Software
