In this work, the effect of rock bolt angle on the shear behavior of Rock Bridges is investigated using the particle flow code in two dimensions (PFC2D) for three different Rock Bridge lengths. Firstly, the calibration of PF2D is performed to reproduce the gypsum sample. Then the numerical models with the dimensions of 100 mm * 100 mm are prepared. The Rock Bridge is created in the middle of th...

One of the most conventional toppling instabilities is the block-flexural toppling failure that occurs in civil and mining engineering projects. In this kind of failure, some rock columns are broken due to tensile bending stresses, and the others are overturned due to their weights, and finally, all of the blocks topple together. A specific feature of spheroidal weathering is the rounding of th...

This paper demonstrates the ability of Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to model the scale effects of discontinuity networks on the stability and failure mechanisms of slopes in blocky rock masses. Through three examples, it shows how these mechanisms depend on joint network geometry and change with increasing slope height. Introduction Scale Effe...

The scale dependence of the strength of virtually homogeneous rock is usually considered to be insignificant but the spectrum of discontinuities plays a very important role for the strength of differently sized rock elements and also controls the rock creep strain. Large-scale load tests comprised recording of the creep strain rate that was found to be strongly retarded and negligible for stres...

The traditional slope stability analysis used the Factor of Safety (FS) from the Limit Equilibrium Theory as the determinant. If the FS was greater than 1, it was considered as “safe” and variables or parameters of uncertainty in the analysis model were not considered. The objective of research was to analyze the stability of natural slope, in consideration of characteristics of rock layers and...

A jointed rock mass presents a more complex design problem than the other rock masses. The complexity arises from the number (greater than two) of joint sets which define the degree of discontinuity of medium.  The condition that arises in these types of rock masses is the generation of discrete rock blocks, of various geometries. They defined by the natural fracture surfaces and the excavation...

Rectangular caverns are increasingly used in underground engineering projects, the failure mechanism of rectangular cavern wall rock is significantly different as a result of the cross-sectional shape and variations in wall stress distributions. However, the conventional computational method always results in a long-winded computational process and multiple displacement solutions of internal re...

In order to strengthen the prediction of rockburst and inquire the relationship between the rockburst proneness of rock and its surface fractal characteristic, the surface fractal of the rock was studied by fractal method and uniaxial compression test. The change rules of surface fractal of different types of rock were compared by calculating its fractal dimension of rock before experiment and ...

Based on the kinematic approach of limit analysis, a full set of upper bound solutions for the stability of homogeneous rock slopes subjected to tension cracks are obtained. The generalized Hoek-Brown failure criterion is employed to describe the non-linear strength envelope of rocks. In this paper, critical failure mechanisms are determined for cracks of known depth but unspecified location, c...