In analyzing intact rock strength, an important factor is heterogeneity. At the grain-scale, intact crystalline rock consists of a variety of mineral grains of different sizes and shapes. These features give rise to the micro-scale heterogeneity. A three dimensional Grain Based universal distinct element Model (3D-GBM) was developed to generate a deformable polyhedral grain-like structure to simulate the microstructure of brittle intact rock. The geometric heterogeneity is introduced into 3D-GBM by capturing the mineral grain size distribution. A geometric sorting coefficient is used to account for the degree of geometric heterogeneity. A number of rock-like samples are generated using a 3D-GBM realization methodology with different sorting coefficients. The effect of micro-scale geometric heterogeneity on the rock strength is explored by investigating the relationship between micro-scale behaviors and macro-scale responses. The observed characteristics of stress distribution and cracking behaviors are discussed.
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47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
June 23–26, 2013
San Francisco, California
ISBN:
978-0-9894844-0-4
A 3D Grain Based Model for Characterizing the Geometric Heterogeneity of Brittle Rock
Hengxing Lan;
Hengxing Lan
University of Alberta - Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Tianbin Li
Tianbin Li
Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Paper presented at the 47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, San Francisco, California, June 2013.
Paper Number:
ARMA-2013-194
Published:
June 23 2013
Citation
Lan, Hengxing, Martin, C.D., Qi, Shengwen, and Tianbin Li. "A 3D Grain Based Model for Characterizing the Geometric Heterogeneity of Brittle Rock." Paper presented at the 47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, San Francisco, California, June 2013.
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