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A softening block approach to simulate excavation in jointed rocks

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Abstract

The instability of rock masses as a result of excavation is one of the most important rock mechanics problems. This paper proposes a new “softening block” approach for the simulation of stage-wise sequential excavations in jointed rock masses. The concept of a softening block is presented and the corresponding algorithm developed and implemented into the original Discontinuous Deformation Analysis program proposed by Shi. The proposed softening block approach obviates the need to remove the excavated blocks from the calculation model, which further simplifies the work of pre-processing for sequential excavation simulations. Finally, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and capability of the proposed approach. The results indicate that it can be used to simulate the excavation in jointed rock mass efficiently and accurately.

Résumé

L’instabilité de masses rocheuses résultant de travaux d’excavation constitue l’un des plus importants problèmes de mécanique des roches. L’article propose une nouvelle approche de “bloc affaibli” pour la simulation de processus d’excavation progressive dans des masses rocheuses fissurées. Le concept du bloc affaibli est présenté, les algorithmes correspondants sont développés et implémentés dans le programme original d’analyse des déformations en milieu discontinu proposé par Shi. L’approche proposée évite d’avoir à enlever les blocs excavés du modèle de calcul, ce qui ensuite simplifie le travail de pré-traitement pour les simulations d’excavations successives. Finalement, deux exemples numériques sont présentés pour démontrer la validité et la capacité de l’approche proposée. Les résultats indiquent qu’elle peut être utilisée pour simuler l’excavation de masses rocheuses fissurées de manière efficace et précise.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Lanru Jing for his insightful suggestions in improving this present study. The work reported in this paper has received financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51179137) and from National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program No. 2010CB732005). This support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China

    Qinghui Jiang, Chuangbing Zhou & Dianqing Li

  2. Civil Engineering Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, USA

    Man-chu Ronald Yeung

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  1. Qinghui Jiang
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  2. Chuangbing Zhou
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  3. Dianqing Li
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  4. Man-chu Ronald Yeung
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Correspondence to Qinghui Jiang.

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Jiang, Q., Zhou, C., Li, D. et al. A softening block approach to simulate excavation in jointed rocks. Bull Eng Geol Environ 71, 747–759 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-012-0432-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-012-0432-9

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