Evaluation of the effect of vibrational wave propagation of different artificial discontinuous planes in rock samples

Abstract

Vibrational waves can progress far away from their sources. Therefore, such waves have the capacity to cause damage to human environments. Such waves originating from mining activities (especially rock blasting) should be studied to understand their propagation mechanism in fractured rock masses. To determine how the vibrational shock wave is distributed in fractured rock masses, laboratory tests were performed. Rock samples with different discontinuity geometry combinations were tested by applying exactly the same vibrational shock to the test samples. The cumulative effects of exposure to vibrational shock waves and the propagation of waves at discontinuities in the rock samples were observed from the other end of the sample using vibration seismographs. The measured data indicated which rock mass properties have the most effect on wave propagation. In this study, different discontinuity systems were used in the rock specimens. These discontinuity systems were referred to as the groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 models. Based on the results of the vibration tests, each group was determined to have behaved differently in terms of wave propagation.