Analysis of rockburst in tunnels subjected to static and dynamic loads

• Published in: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 1031 - 1040
• Main Authors: Manouchehrian, Amin, Cai, Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.12.2017; MIRARCO, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, P3E 2C6, Canada; MIRARCO, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, P3E 2C6, Canada%Bharti School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, P3E 2C6, Canada; Bharti School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, P3E 2C6, Canada; State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China; Elsevier
• Subjects: disturbance;Tunnel; Dynamic disturbance; Geological structure; increase;Dynamic; load; modeling;Geological; Numerical modeling; Rockburst; Rockburst;Numerical; Static load increase; structure;Static; Tunnel; Numerical modeling; Dynamic disturbance; Rockburst; Tunnel; Geological structure; Static load increase; Rockburst Numerical modeling
• ISSN: 1674-7755
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrmge.2017.07.001

The presence of geological structures such as faults, joints, and dykes has been observed near excavation boundaries in many rockburst case histories. In this paper, the role of discontinuities around tunnels in rockburst occurrence was studied. For this purpose, the Abaqus explicit code was used to simulate dynamic rock failure in deep tunnels. Material heterogeneity was considered using Python scripting in Abaqus. Rockbursts near fault regions in deep tunnels under static and dynamic loads were studied. Several tunnel models with and without faults were built and static and dynamic loads were used to simulate rock failure. The velocity and the released kinetic energy of failed rocks, the failure zone around the tunnel, and the deformed mesh were studied to identify stable and unstable rock failures. Compared with models without discontinuities, the results showed that the velocity and the released kinetic energy of failed rocks were higher, the failure zone around the tunnel was larger, and the mesh was more deformed in the models with discontinuities, indicating that rock failure in the models with discontinuities was more violent. The modeling results confirm that the presence of geological structures in the vicinity of deep excavations could be one of the major influence factors for the occurrence of rockburst. It can explain localized rockburst occurrence in civil tunnels and mining drifts. The presented methodology in this paper for rockburst analysis can be useful for rockburst anticipation and control during mining and tunneling in highly stressed ground.