Numerical Analysis of the Anisotropy and Scale Effects on the Strength Characteristics of Defected Rockmass

Abstract

Discontinuous defect in the rockmass is a key influential factor in controlling the strength behavior, and how to estimate the anisotropic strength and scale effect on the defected rockmass is the remaining challenging focus in engineering application. In the present study, intact tuff samples cored from the Xiabeishan tunnel engineering in situ are conducted by experiment tests (i.e., uniaxial compression test, triaxial compression test, and Brazilian tensile test) to obtain the corresponding mechanical parameters. Results from the numerical simulations using the particle flow code (PFC) by the flat-jointed model (FJM) are performed to match the macroparameters from experimental results. It is observed that numerical results have good agreement with the macroscopic mechanical parameters of intact samples including UCS, BTS, triaxial compression strength, and corresponding deformation parameters. Finally, a series of uniaxial and confining compression tests are conducted by using a synthetic rockmass (SRM) method which is coupled with the discrete element method (DEM) and discrete fracture network (DFN). Then, the anisotropy and scale effects on the strength characteristics of the defected rockmass are investigated. The results show that defects have a vital effect on the failure mode and strength behavior of the rockmass in the research region. The strength parameters are changed with the specimen size. The REV size of the considered defected rockmass is regarded as 5 × 10 m, and this size is also influenced by the confinement level. The anisotropy of macroscopic strength parameters is found in the considered defected rockmass, whose stress-strain curves and failure modes are also discussed.