Numerical Analysis of the Mechanical Behavior and Failure Mode of Jointed Rock under Uniaxial Tensile Loading

Abstract

In the field of rock engineering, tensile failure is one of the most significant failure modes due to the presence of joints/fractures. However, due to the limitations of current laboratory testing, it is difficult to carry out direct tensile tests on jointed rock specimens in the laboratory. To study the effect of joints on the mechanical behavior and failure mode of jointed rock specimens, a three-point modeling method that can consider arbitrarily arranged rock joints is deduced and applied to discrete element simulation. The effects of different joint angles (the inclination angle α, rotation angle β, and superimposed angle γ of α and β, where γ is the angle between the joint and horizontal plane), the density (n), and the rate of cutting area (RCA) of the specimen loading surface (LSS) on the tensile strength (σt), elastic modulus in tension (Et), and failure mode of the specimens were analyzed. The results show that the joint angle (considering α, β, and γ) and RCA have a significant effect on the resulting σt and failure mode, while n has a significant effect on Et. The failure mode of the specimen changes from tensile failure along the joint to direct tensile failure of the specimen as γ increases, and the mechanical behavior transitions from unstable to stable. In addition, the main influence of γ on the mechanical behavior of specimens is revealed, and the change process of the failure mode after the cutting of the LSS is analyzed. The present research can be utilized for multiple purposes, including the joint development of surrounding rock and failure dominated by tensile failure in underground engineering, especially for tunnels, roadways, chambers, and so forth.