ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT:

The objective of the paper is to present the essential issues related to an effective computational implementation of a continuum/discontinuum formulation of rock masses under various loading conditions, including fluid interaction for two classes of problems; fluid flow through fracturing rock masses and rock blasting. The applicability of the methodology developed is illustrated through practical examples related to borehole breakout phenomena, hydraulic fracturing and the simulation of rock blasting operations.

1 INTRODUCTION

Significant progress has been made recently (see e.g. Owen et al. 2004) in the effective modeling of the failure and transition from continuum to discontinuum of rock masses in many rock engineering, mining and geo-mechanical applications. However, in several problems of industrial relevance, the presence of an additional phase, either gaseous, liquid or both, often controls the behaviour of multifracturing rock systems. Examples of such interaction include (i) Fracture induced in rock masses by the presence of fluid flow and (ii) Generation of gas pressure fields due to explosive detonation which drives the fracturing process in rock blasting. Although a generic modelling strategy can be developed for a broad range of such problems, nevertheless, some applications require an individual approach to solution. The main objective of the paper is to consider the essential issues related to an effective computational implementation of a continuum- discontinuum formulation of rock masses under various loading conditions, particularly involving fluid interaction for the above two classes of problems. Fluid flow through fracturing rock masses: Throughout the geomechanics community there is considerable interest in modelling groundwater flow through fracturing rock masses. Application areas include slope stability problems, the stability of underground workings/structures and hydraulic fracturing in the oil recovery industry. The essential features of such problems are the flow of water both through individual rock blocks and along joint systems.

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