Numerical Analysis on Displacement Law of Discontinuous Rock Mass in Broken Rock Zone for Deep Roadways

On the basis of the characteristics of broken rock zone, using the program of "discontinuous deformation analysis(DDA)", the changing law of influential factors of discontinuous rock mass in large broken rock zone was researched quantitatively for the first time. Based on the results of computation, the concept of "key part"of roadways and its stability criterion were brought forward, and it was pointed out that in inclined coal and rock seams the"key parts"of roadways are the upper side and the floor of surrounding rocks, especially the former.

Ant colony ATTA clustering algorithm of rock mass structural plane in groups

Based on structural surface normal vector spherical distance and the pole stereographic projection Euclidean distance,two distance functions were established.The cluster analysis of structure surface was conducted by the use of ATTA clustering methods based on ant colony piles,and Silhouette index was introduced to evaluate the clustering effect.The clustering analysis of the measured data of Sanshandao Gold Mine shows that ant colony ATTA-based clustering method does better than K-mean clustering analysis.Meanwhile,clustering results of ATTA method based on pole Euclidean distance and ATTA method based on normal vector spherical distance have a great consistence.The clustering results are most close to the pole isopycnic graph.It can efficiently realize grouping of structural plane and determination of the dominant structural surface direction.It is made up for the defects of subjectivity and inaccuracy in icon measurement approach and has great engineering value.

New method to identify optimal discontinuity set number of rock tunnel excavation face orientation based on Fisher mixed evaluation

Discontinuity is critical for strength,deformability,and permeability of rock mass.Set information is one of the essential discontinuity characteristics and is usually accessed by orientation grouping.Traditional methods of identifying optimal discontinuity set numbers are usually achieved by clustering validity indexes,which mainly relies on the aggregation and dispersion of clusters and leads to the inaccuracy and instability of evaluation.This paper proposes a new method of Fisher mixed evaluation(FME)to identify optimal group numbers of rock mass discontinuity orientation.In FME,orientation distribution is regarded as the superposition of Fisher mixed distributions.Optimal grouping results are identified by considering the fitting accuracy of Fisher mixed distributions,the probability monopoly and central location significance of independent Fisher centers.A Halley-Expectation-Maximization(EM)algorithm is derived to achieve an automatic fitting of Fisher mixed distribution.Three real rock discontinuity models combined with three orientation clustering algorithms are adopted for discontinuity grouping.Four clustering validity indexes are used to automatically identify optimal group numbers for comparison.The results show that FME is more accurate and robust than the other clustering validity indexes in optimal discontinuity group number identification for different rock models and orientation clustering algorithms.

Some Challenges of Deep Mining

An increased global supply of minerals is essential to meet the needs and expectations of a rapidly rising world population. This implies extraction from greater depths. Autonomous mining systems, developed through sustained R＆D by equipment suppliers, reduce miner exposure to hostile work environments and increase safety. This places increased focus on ＂ground control＂ and on rock mechanics to define the depth to which minerals may be extracted economically. Although significant efforts have been made since the end of World War II to apply mechanics to mine design, there have been both technological and organizational obstacles. Rock in situ is a more complex engineering material than is typically encountered in most other engineering disciplines. Mining engineering has relied heavily on empirical procedures in design for thousands of years. These are no longer adequate to address the challenges of the 21st century, as mines venture to increasingly greater depths. The development of the synthetic rock mass （SRM） in 2008 provides researchers with the ability to analyze the deformational behavior of rock masses that are anisotropic and discontinuous-attributes that were described as the defining characteristics of in situ rock by Leopold Mfiller, the president and founder of the International Society for Rock Mechanics （ISRM）, in 1966. Recent developments in the numerical modeling of large-scale mining operations （e.g., caving） using the SRM reveal unanticipated deformational behavior of the rock. The application of massive parallelization and cloud computational techniques offers major opportunities： for example, to assess uncertainties in numerical predictions： to establish the mechanics basis for the empirical rules now used in rock engineering and their validity for the prediction of rock mass behavior beyond current experience： and to use the discrete element method （DEM） in the optimization of deep mine design. For the first time, mining-and rock engineering-will have its own mechanics-based Ulaboratory.＂ This promises to be a major tool in future planning for effective mining at depth. The paper concludes with a discussion of an opportunity to demonstrate the application of DEM and SRM procedures as a laboratory, by back-analysis of mining methods used over the 80-year history of the Mount Lvell Copper Mine in Tasmania.

Study on Estimation Method of Rock Mass Discontinuity Shear Strength Based on Three-Dimensional Laser Scanning and Image Technique

The estimation of shear strength of rock mass discontinuity is always a focal, but difficult, problem in the field of geotechnical engineering. Considering the disadvantages and limitation of exist- ing estimation methods, a new approach based on the shadow area percentage （SAP） that can be used to quantify surface roughness is proposed in this article. Firstly, by the help of laser scanning technique, the three-dimensional model of the surface of rock discontinuity was established. Secondly, a light source was simulated, and there would be some shadows produced on the model surface. Thirdly, to obtain the value of SAP of each specimen, the shadow detection technique was introduced for use. Fourthly, compared with the result from direct shear testing and based on statistics, an empirical for- mula was found among SAP, normal stress, and shear strength. Data of Yujian （~ River were used as an example, and the following conclusions have been made. （1） In the case of equal normal stress, the peak shear stress is positively proportional to the SAP. （2） The formula for estimating was derived, and the predictions of peak-shear strength made with this equation well agreed with the experimental re- suits obtained in laboratory tests.

Strength test of 3D printed artificial rock mass with pre-existing fracture

Discontinuities or structural planes are widely distributed in natural rock masses and significantly influence their geo-mechanical and geometric properties.Herein,a batch of rock samples,each with a single structural plane,is created using a 3D printer equipped with two robotic manipulators.One of the manipulators is connected via a nozzle to a concrete pumping truck,which can extrude brittle rock-like material to form layered intact rock masses;the rock-like material is mainly composed of cement,silica fume,sand and water.The other manipulator features a knife,which can carve discontinuities onto each layer of the printed model.By means of this system,rock masses with discontinuous joints are formed,and the failure strengths of rock masses with different joints are demonstrated via uniaxial compression tests and direct shear tests.The results thereof obtained via digital image correlation technology show that discontinuities lower the strength of the rock mass models significantly.With the increase of the angle between the fracture and horizontal plane,the uniaxial compressive strength first decreases,and then increases.During shear testing,the shear strength of the rock mass models increases with the surface roughness of the preset joint.These test results indicate that the influence of artificial joints on the mechanical properties of the models is consistent with that of natural rock mass joints.Using digital modeling and 3D printing technology,cracks hidden in a rock mass can be reproduced.