Numerical Modeling of Fractured Rock Masses

The inherent complexities in the mechanical behavior §of rock masses come from the discontinuous nature of §rock masses. The scale effects of jointed rock §masses, rock fracture propagation, and the effects §of groundwater are postulated to be paradigmatic §components of these complexities, and a proper §incorporation of these components into an analysis §is crucial to construction and design involving §jointed rock masses. In this book, the modeling of §scale effects was tackled by a proposed two-scale §approach through the use of the primary joint set §and the secondary joint set. The modeling of §fracture propagation was based on the theory of §linear elastic fracture mechanics. The stress §intensity factors were computed by both displacement-§based and energy-based methods. The maximum stress §criterion was employed for fracture propagation. §Furthermore, the modeling of the effects of §groundwater on joints was introduced by considering §water as pressure acting on the joint surface. §Application examples were provided to demonstrate §the applicability of the developed numerical §framework.