Open AccessDiscrete Element Modelling of Rock Creep in Deep Tunnels using Rate Process Theory
Author(s) -
J. G. Gutiérrez-Ch,
S. Senent,
Peng Zeng,
Rafael E. Jimenez
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/833/1/012103
Subject(s) - creep , joint (building) , geotechnical engineering , geology , work (physics) , discrete element method , process (computing) , materials science , mechanics , structural engineering , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , composite material , operating system
Rock creep behaviour is a key aspect of many engineering projects, such as deep tunnels in which squeezing problems could occur. Many theories have been published in the literature to reproduce rock creep behaviour; however, most of them are not able to capture the last phase of creep (i.e., tertiary creep, or the accelerating strains that occur prior to failure). In this work, the Distinct-Element Method (DEM) approach is employed, in conjunction with Rate Process Theory (RPT), to simulate the effect of rock creep in deep tunnels. To do that, the DEM models are constructed using particles, whose interactions are simulated with a hybrid mixture of the Flat Joint Contact Model (FJCM) and the Linear Model (LM) contact models; the RPT is implemented into DEM models using a Visual C++ function. Results show that the DEM plus RPT combination can suitably reproduce the tunnel convergences due to rock creep.