Analytical study of subcritical crack growth under mode I loading to estimate the roof durability in underground excavation

The long-term stability of the roof is particularly important in designing underground rock structures.To estimate the durability of roof strata in underground excavation,a computation scheme of subcritical crack growth is proposed in this study.By adopting the proposed method,the potential collapse location of strata is derivable in accordance with a static model,the durability of roof strata can be estimated,a dynamic time step control strategy is achieved to balance the accuracy and speed of computing,and the initial crack size of rock can be estimated.In addition to the above,a mechanical model of underground excavation with non-uniformly distributed loads and partially yielded foundation is presented as the prototypical case.A set of case studies is carried out that showcase a power correlation between applied stress and roof durability.The allowable applied tensile stress for a 100-year life cycle is about 76%of the tensile strength.By using the proposed subcritical crack growth computation scheme,the roof stability in an underground excavation can be identified not only from the spatial view but also from the temporal perspective.

Time-dependent dilatancy for brittle rocks

This paper presents a theoretical study on time-dependent dilatancy behaviors for brittle rocks. The theory employs a well-accepted postulation that macroscopically observed dilatancy originates from the expansion of microcracks. The mechanism and dynamic process that microcracks initiate from local stress concentration and grow due to localized tensile stress are analyzed. Then, by generalizing the results from the analysis of single cracks, a parameter and associated equations for its evolution are developed to describe the behaviors of the microcracks. In this circumstance, the relationship between microcracking and dilatancy can be established, and the theoretical equations for characterizing the process of rock dilatancy behaviors are derived. Triaxial compression and creep tests are conducted to validate the developed theory. With properly chosen model parameters, the theory yields a satisfactory accuracy in comparison with the experimental results.

Seismicity acceleration model and its application to several earthquake regions in China

With the theory of subcritical crack growth, we can deduce the fundamental equation of regional seismicity acceleration model. Applying this model to intraplate earthquake regions, we select three earthquake subplates: North China Subplate, Chuan Dian Block and Xinjiang Subplate, and divide the three subplates into seven researched regions by the difference of seismicity and tectonic conditions. With the modified equation given by Sornette and Sammis (1995), we analysis the seismicity of each region. To those strong earthquakes already occurred in these region, the model can give close fitting of magnitude and occurrence time, and the result in this article indicates that the seismicity acceleration model can also be used for describing the seismicity of intraplate. In the article, we give the magnitude and occurrence time of possible strong earthquakes in Shanxi, Ordos, Bole Tuokexun, Ayinke Wuqia earthquake regions. In the same subplate or block, the earthquake periods for each earthquake region are similar in time interval. The constant α in model can be used to describe the intensity of regional seismicity, and for the Chinese Mainland, α is 0.4 generally. To the seismicity in Taiwan and other regions with complex tectonic conditions, the model does not fit well at present.