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Experimental and Numerical Investigations into the Strength of Intact Veined Rock

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Abstract

In this paper, the authors report on a series of laboratory and numerical modelling experiments aiming to quantify the behaviour of intact veined rock. Five controlled triaxial compression experiments were conducted on intact veined specimens of mafic intrusive complex andesite (CMET) from the El Teniente mine. The experiments demonstrated that veins controlled the fracturing and resulting peak strengths of the specimens. High-quality experimental data made possible the development of numerical experiments using a 3D Particle Flow Code and the synthetic rock mass (SRM) methodology. The numerical experiments demonstrated that the SRM approach could be successful for modelling the behaviour of veined rock. Greater value was gained by coupling the results of high-quality laboratory tests to comprehensive numerical models.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the MMT2 project for sponsoring this research. Technical inputs of Drs. Andreas Brzovic (Codelco), Matthew Pierce (Itasca), Juan Reyes-Montes (ASC), Farzine Nasseri (University of Toronto), and manuscript reviewers are greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lassonde Institute of Mining, University of Toronto, 170 College Street, MB129, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E3, Canada

    Alexandr Turichshev & John Hadjigeorgiou

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  1. Alexandr Turichshev
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  2. John Hadjigeorgiou
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Correspondence to Alexandr Turichshev.

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Turichshev, A., Hadjigeorgiou, J. Experimental and Numerical Investigations into the Strength of Intact Veined Rock. Rock Mech Rock Eng 48, 1897–1912 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-014-0690-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-014-0690-x

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