Discontinuous deformation and displacement analysis: From continuous to discontinuous

Abstract

A discontinuous deformation and displacement (DDD) analysis method is proposed for modelling the rock failure process. This method combines the rock failure process analysis (RFPA) method (based on finite element method) and discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method. RFPA is used to simulate crack initiation, propagation and coalescence processes of rock during the small deformation state. The DDA method is used to simulate the movement of blocks created by the multiple cracks modelled by the RFPA. The newly developed DDD method is particularly suitable for modelling both crack propagation and block movement during the rock failure process because of the natural and convenient coupling of continuous and discontinuous deformation analyses. The proposed method has been used to simulate crack initiation, propagation and coalescence within a slope as well as the block movement during the landslide process. Numerical modelling results indicate that the proposed DDD method can automatically simulate crack propagation and block movement during the rock failure process without degrading accuracy.