Rock Failure Process Analysis

Presentation

Rock Failure Process Analysis

A major difficulty in studying the fracture mechanisms for rock subjected to various loads is the fact that rock is a natural, composite material which is Discontinuous, Inhomogeneous, Anisotropic and Not Elastic (DIANE). It is not possible to analytically examine and evaluate the mechanical behavior of a DIANE rock exhibiting an unstable failure process. The problem becomes more intractable if gas or fluid, as in coal and gas outbursts, hydraulic fracturing, etc., is involved. In most of the cases, analytical models have to be simplified, ignoring important factors influencing the mechanical behavior of rock. Although much progress has been made and numerical models have provided techniques to solve fracture problems in rock, few approaches are capable of capturing fracture initiation, propagation and coalescence and hence of investigating fracture-induced progressive failure of rock in more realistic manner.

Numerical models that simulate the detailed fracturing sequence are thus useful for understanding rock failure mechanisms on both the small and large scales. In this short lecture, a numerical code, the Rock Failure Process Analysis (RFPA) model, is firstly introduced. Then, examples are presented in the lecture illustrating how the overall macroscopic response of a brittle rock under different loading conditions can be simulated by integration of the interactions between smaller-scale elements.

Speaker

Chunan Tang, PhD, Chair Professor
Dalian University of Technology

Dr. Tang, as a chair Professor (funded by Cheung Kong Scholar Programme from State Education Ministry), is the Director of the Center for Rock Instability and Seismisity Research (CRISR) and the Chair of Deep Underground Engineering Research Center of Dalian University of Technology. He was also the Vice President of the Chinese Society of Rock Mechanics. He got his Ph.D in 1988. In 1991, he continued his post-doctoral work in Imperial College, London, UK (worked with Prof. J.A.Hudson). Then, as an academic visitor, he had lots of experience working in Canada, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong. He leads several major research projects in rock mechanics and is the chief scientist for a National 973 program for fundamental research. So far, he has published more than 300 technical papers on rock failure mechanisms and civil engineering, and is the author of five Chinese books of rock mechanics and the principle author of “Rock Failure Mechanism” published by CRC.