Abstract
The strength and deformation of rock masses transected by persistent joints are controlled by the fracture network. In this work, bonded particle model modeled by particle flow code in three dimensions was used to study the effect of geometry parameters on the strength and behavior of jointed rock masses under uniaxial compression. The effect of the number of crossed joint sets, joint orientation, and joint spacing on the uniaxial compressive strength was investigated, and this article presents the results of the numerical simulations. Rigorous validation process had done before the numerical experiments. Four types of blocks (Series A, B, C, and D) with different numbers of joint sets were considered in this article. Then, a sensitivity study is undertaken to investigate the effects of joint set numbers and joint geometry configuration on the failure mode, unconfined compressive strength, and Young’s modulus of jointed rock mass. The interaction among the crossed joint sets was found to have marked effects on the mechanical properties and failure modes. A study about the effects of joint spacing on the failure modes, unconfined compressive strength, and Young’s modulus was also conducted. Joint spacing was found to have no significant effect on the failure modes of jointed rock masses in a certain range. It is also shown that the range and variance of unconfined compressive strength are affected principally by joint set numbers and decreased slightly with the decrease in joint spacing. The effect of crossed joint sets on the stress field was carried out. Stress concentration was found to be the reason for relatively lower strength of blocks with crossed joint sets compared to the block with the same weakest single joint set. The result in this article is of great help to reveal the mechanism of damage and fracture of jointed rocks under uniaxial compression.
Highlights
A common problem in rock mechanics is reliable estimation of mechanical properties of jointed rock masses that consist of intact rock and discontinuities
Bonded particle model (BPM) model using PFC3D is used to explore the effect of joint sets number and joint spacing on the mechanical behavior of a jointed rock mass under uniaxial compression
An extensive series of numerical experiments is undertaken to investigate the effect of joint set number and joint spacing on the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Young’s modulus, and failure modes
Summary
A common problem in rock mechanics is reliable estimation of mechanical properties of jointed rock masses that consist of intact rock and discontinuities. Structure cybernetics hold that deformation and failure caused by joints played an important role in the whole rock mass engineering.[1,2,3] The mechanical properties of jointed rock mass, such as the compression strength and Young’s modulus, often exhibit the features of nonlinearity, anisotropy, and size effect caused by the joints. Methods that can efficiently obtain the effects of variously distributed joint sets and their. Advances in Mechanical Engineering interactions can be beneficial. The present methods used to describe the effect of joints on the mechanical behavior of rock mass can be classified as follows
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