Reinforcement strength reduction in FEM for mechanically stabilized earth structures

The factor of safety of mechanically stabilized earth(MSE) structures can be analyzed either using limit equilibrium method(LEM) or strength reduction method(SRM) in finite element/difference method. In LEM, the strengths of the reinforcement members and soils are reduced with the same factor. While using the SRM, only soil strength is reduced during the calculation of the factor of safety. This causes inconsistence in calculating the factor of safety of the MSE structures. To overcome this, an iteration method is proposed to consider the strength reduction of the reinforcements in SRM. The method is demonstrated by using PLAXIS, a finite element software. The results show that the factor of safety converges after a few iterations. The reduction of strength has different effects on the factor of safety depending on the properties of the reinforcements and the soil, and failure modes.

Fluid–solid coupling analysis of rock pillar stability for concealed karst cave ahead of a roadway based on catastrophic theory

In order to study the mechanism of water inrush from a concealed, confined karst cave, we established a fluid–solid coupling model of water inrush from a concealed karst cave ahead of a roadway and a strength reduction method in a rock pillar for preventing water inrush based on catastrophic theory. Fluid–solid coupling effects and safety margins in a rock pillar were studied. Analysis shows that rock pillar instability, exerted by disturbance stress and seepage stress, is the process of rock pillar catastrophic destabilization induced by nonlinear extension of plastic zones in the rock pillar. Seepage flow emerges in the rock pillar for preventing water inrush, accompanied by mechanical instability of the rock pillar. Taking the accident of a confined karst cave water-inrush of Qiyi Mine as an example, by studying the safety factor of the rock pillar and the relationship between karst cave water pressure and thickness of the rock pillar,it is proposed that rock pillar thickness with a safety factor equal to 1.5 is regarded as the calculated safety thickness of the rock pillar, which should be equal to the sum of the blasthole depth, blasting disturbance depth and the calculated safety thickness of the rock pillar. The cause of the karst water inrush at Qiyi Mine is that the rock pillar was so small that it did not possess a safety margin. Combining fluid–solid coupling theory, catastrophic theory and strength reduction method to study the nonlinear mechanical response of complicated rock engineering, new avenues for quantitative analysis of rock engineering stability evaluation should be forthcoming.