Numerical simulation of rock mass blasting using particle flow code and particle expansion loading algorithm

Abstract

Numerical simulation of limestone rock mass blasting was carried out using the two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D) within the discrete element modeling framework, and the explosion load was loaded using the particle expansion algorithm. A field experiment of rock blasting was also carried out from which the size of the blasting funnel and the maximum blasting vibration velocity were recorded. The simulation results were compared with the experimental results in two aspects: the blasting result and the post-explosion effect. From the comparison, it has been observed that the size of the blasting funnel obtained from the numerical simulation shows a good agreement with the field experiment. However, in the case of the post-explosion effect (the blasting vibration velocity), the results of the numerical simulation and the vibration velocity curve obtained from the field test show disagreement to a certain extent. This demonstrates that the particle expansion loading algorithm is reliable in simulating the rock blasting process. The results of this research serve as a reference for subsequent applications of the PFC method in the field of rock blasting.