Brittle rock property and damage index assessment for predicting brittle failure in excavations

Kang Hyun Lee, In Mo Lee, Young Jin Shin

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    32 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The brittle rock properties for Korean Peninsula granite and gneiss were experimentally investigated. The brittle behavior of these rock types was numerically analyzed using the cohesion weakening frictional strengthening (CWFS) model. The monitored depth and the extent of brittle failure at the site were compared using numerical analyses and applying an elastic model, elasto-plastic model, elastic-brittle model and the CWFS model. The variations of axial and lateral strains with the applied axial stress were recorded during the test, with the volumetric strain and the crack volume strain calculated. Based on the rock properties determined from testing, numerical analyses were conducted on deep excavations to assess the cover depth of brittle failure. The results show that the modified method gives results closer to the numerical analysis than the original approach. The damage-controlled test shows that the intrinsic cohesion reduces while friction is mobilized during a rock damage occurrence, as shown by the cohesion weakening frictional strengthening (CWFS) model.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)251-257
    Number of pages7
    JournalRock Mechanics and Rock Engineering
    Volume45
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012 Mar

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by Korea University Research Grant 2011 entitled “Prediction of brittle failure and brittle rock property.”

    Keywords

    • Brittle failure
    • CWFS
    • Critical cover depth
    • Damage index
    • Excavations

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Civil and Structural Engineering
    • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
    • Geology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Brittle rock property and damage index assessment for predicting brittle failure in excavations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this