The applicability of Artificial Neural Networks for predicting the stress-strain response of jointed rocks at varied confining pressures, strength properties and joint properties (frequency, orientation and strength of joints) has been studied in the present paper. The database is formed from the triaxial compression tests on different jointed rocks with different confining pressures and differ...

This paper focuses on the application of a continuum-based method in the Shear Strength Reduction (SSR) analysis of the stability of jointed rock slopes. In order to take into account the jointed nature of the material, the Finite Element Method (FEM) is formulated based on Cosserat theory. Also, it is assumed that failure of the equivalent material can result from failure of the joints, failur...

The rock masses in a construction site of underground cavern are generally not continuous, due to the presence of discontinuities, such as bedding, joints, faults, and fractures. The performance of an underground cavern is principally ruled by the mechanical behaviors of the discontinuities in the vicinity of the cavern. During underground excavation, many surrounding rock failures have close r...

the rock masses in a construction site of underground cavern are generally not continuous, due to the presence of discontinuities, such as bedding, joints, faults, and fractures. the performance of an underground cavern is principally ruled by the mechanical behaviors of the discontinuities in the vicinity of the cavern. during underground excavation, many surrounding rock failures have close r...

A technique for modelling arbitrary discontinuities in nite elements is presented. Both discontinuities in the function and its derivatives are considered. Methods for intersecting and branching discontinuities are given. In all cases, the discontinuous approximation is constructed in terms of a signed distance functions, so level sets can be used to update the position of the discontinuities. ...