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Discrete element modeling of transversely isotropic rocks with non-continuous planar fabrics under Brazilian test

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Abstract

A new numerical approach based on the particle discrete element method (PDEM) is developed to investigate the mechanical behavior of transversely isotropic rocks with non-continuous planar fabrics. In this numerical model, micro-cracks and interactions between grains are represented as flat joint contact, and the contacts with certain dipping angles are assigned as smooth joint contacts to simulate the non-continuous fabrics. The following are studied using the numerical model: (1) the effects of the micro-structure of the rock matrix and the fabric micro-parameters on the tensile and shear strength and the fracture patterns of rocks under Brazilian tests, and (2) the model calibration process for determining the micro-parameters and the failure process of rocks influenced by the micro-structure of the rock matrix. The results show that: (1) based on the Brazilian test results of 20 kinds of transversely isotropic rocks with non-continuous planar fabrics, six patterns regarding the relationship between the normalized failure strength (NFS) and fabric-loading angles are obtained; and (2) the patterns of the NFS curves are slightly affected by the contact state of particles in the rock matrix, while greatly affected by the amount of preexisting micro-cracks in rock matrix, and the stiffness, strength and distributed region of the fabrics; (3) the calibrated results of six typical rocks with different patterns agreed well with the experimental results with regards to failure strength and fracture patterns; and (4) during the failure process, micro-cracks the in rock matrix are mainly formed as the tensile and shear breakage of preexisting cracks, and micro-cracks on fabrics appear mostly at the aggregated region of preexisting cracks.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under Grant No. 69A3551747118 and National key research and development program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC08022010). The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the Authors and not of the sponsors.

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  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    Guowen Xu & Marte Gutierrez

  2. Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, Sichuan, China

    Chuan He & Wei Meng

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  1. Guowen Xu
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Xu, G., Gutierrez, M., He, C. et al. Discrete element modeling of transversely isotropic rocks with non-continuous planar fabrics under Brazilian test. Acta Geotech. 15, 2277–2304 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-00919-7

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