V. Sarfarazi; H. Karimi Javid; K. Asgari
Abstract
The experimental and numerical methods were used to investigate the effects of joint number and joint angle on the failure behaviour of rock pillars under a uniaxial compressive test. The gypsum samples with dimensions of 200 mm × 200 mm × 50 mm were prepared. The compressive strength of ...
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The experimental and numerical methods were used to investigate the effects of joint number and joint angle on the failure behaviour of rock pillars under a uniaxial compressive test. The gypsum samples with dimensions of 200 mm × 200 mm × 50 mm were prepared. The compressive strength of the intact sample was 7.2 MPa. The imbeded joint was placed inside the specimen. The joint length was 6 cm in a constant joint length. There were several numbers of cracks including one, two, and three cracks. In the experimental tests, the angles of the diagonal plane with respect to the horizontal axis were 0, 30, 60, and 90 degrees. The axial load was applied to the model with a rate of 0.01 mm/s. In the fracture analysis code, the angles of the diagonal plane with respect to the horizontal axis were 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees. A constant axial load of 135 MPa was applied to the model. The results obtained showed that the failure process was mostly dependent on the angle and number of the non-persistent joint. The compressive strength of the samples was dependent on the fracture pattern and the failure mechanism of the discontinuities. It was shown that the tensile cracks were developed whithin the model. The strength of the specimens increased by increasing both the joint angle and joint number. The joint angle of 45° KI had the maximum quantity. The stress intensity factor was decreased by increasing the joint number. The failure pattern and failure strength were analogous in both methods, i.e. the experimental testing and the numerical simulation methods.
V. Sarfarazi
Abstract
In this work, the interaction between the semi-circular space and the neighboring joint with and without the presence of rock bolts was investigated using the particle flow code (PFC) approach. For this purpose, firstly, the calibration of PFC was performed using both the Brazilian experimental test ...
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In this work, the interaction between the semi-circular space and the neighboring joint with and without the presence of rock bolts was investigated using the particle flow code (PFC) approach. For this purpose, firstly, the calibration of PFC was performed using both the Brazilian experimental test and the uniaxial compression test. Secondly, a numerical model with the dimension of 100 mm * 100 mm was prepared. A semi-circular space with a radius of 25 mm was situated below the model. A joint with a length of 40 mm was situated above the space. The joint opening was 2 mm. The joint angles related to the horizontal direction were 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°. Totally, 6 different configurations of the semi-circular space and neighboring joint were prepared. These models were tested with and without the presence of vertical rock bolts by the biaxial test. The rock bolt length was 50 mm. The value of the lateral force was fixed at 2 MPa. An axial force was applied to the model till the final failure occurred. The results obtained showed that the presence of rock bolts changed the failure pattern of the numerical model. In the absence of rock bolts, two tensile wing cracks initiated from the joint tip and propagated diagonally till coalescence from the model boundary. Also several shear bands were initiated in the left and right sides of the tunnel. In the presence of rock bolts, several shear bands were initiated in the left and right sides of the tunnel. The compressive strength with the presence of rock bolts was more than that without the presence of rock bolts. The failure stress had a minimum value when the joint angle was 45°.
