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Influence of joint geometry and roughness on the multiscale shear behaviour of fractured rock mass using particle flow code

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Abstract

The geometry of natural discontinuities varies greatly, and the shear properties of joints are influenced by their geometry and roughness. The majority of the existing discrete fracture network (DFN) models simplify joints as flat (planar in 3D or linear in 2D) structures. Therefore, a rough discrete fracture network (RDFN) model that considers the variability in joint geometry and roughness was introduced here. Three types of RDFN models were established, and numerical shear testing was performed using a particle flow code (PFC). Then, the multiscale mechanical behaviours of RDFN models during shear testing was numerically simulated and compared with that of DFN models by using PFC2D code. The numerical results show that the proposed RDFN model can efficiently characterize the geometry of the rough joints. The peak shear strength of the RDFN model was improved over that of the DFN model. The magnitudes of the peak shear stresses of the RDFN models at various scales were higher than that of the DFN model. According to the comparison, the shear capacity of a fractured rock mass would be underestimated if joint roughness is ignored.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFE0101100), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51604017 and. 51774022), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (FRF-TP-18-026A2), and China Scholarship Council (No. 201806465002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Efficient Mining and Safety of Metal Mine, University of Science and Technology Bei**g, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Peitao Wang, Fenhua Ren & Meifeng Cai

  2. State Key Laboratory of Safety Technology of Metal Mines, Changsha Institute of Mining Research Co., Ltd, Changsha, 410012, Hunan, China

    Peitao Wang

  3. Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Peitao Wang

  4. Bei**g Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Space Engineering, USTB, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Peitao Wang, Fenhua Ren & Meifeng Cai

Authors
  1. Peitao Wang
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  2. Fenhua Ren
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  3. Meifeng Cai
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Correspondence to Peitao Wang.

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Responsible Editor: Murat Karakus

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Wang, P., Ren, F. & Cai, M. Influence of joint geometry and roughness on the multiscale shear behaviour of fractured rock mass using particle flow code. Arab J Geosci 13, 165 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-5187-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-5187-1

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