Influence of 3D joint roughness on fracture behaviours of rock mass subjected to compression

Abstract

Jointed rock mass with internal rough structural planes have a significant influence on the mechanical behaviour and damage mode of the rock mass. Based on the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot (W-M) fractal function, a numerical model containing a single rough fracture was established. Multi-parameters sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the key parameters affecting the mechanical properties. By conducting experimental research on the single fracture inclination, fractal dimension, and surface precision of numerical model uniaxial compression, the influence laws of different parameters and the model cracking process were revealed. The results show that the cracks go through the process of sprouting from the single fracture and expanding to both sides, and the expansion of shear cracks in the structural plane reflects the roughness pattern of the structural plane. The higher the roughness was, the lower the peak uniaxial compression strength of the model was. The change of the parameters influenced the macroscopic cracking morphology of the model, and the model finally showed the destruction along the diagonal, the V-shaped destruction, the X-like destruction, and the X-type destruction. The results have an outstanding reference value for further researches on the application of three-dimensional rough discrete fracture networks.

Keywords

• Joint roughness
• rough fracture
• failure pattern
• numerical simulation
• distinct element method