Technical Papers
Jul 7, 2021

Influence of Spatial Variability on the Uniaxial Compressive Responses of Rock Pillar Based on 3D Random Field

Publication: ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 7, Issue 3

Abstract

Knowledge of the uniaxial compressive responses of rock mass is crucial for evaluating the stability of rock pillar in underground engineering. The inherent spatial variabilities of rock mass properties are generally ignored in the traditional stability evaluation of rock pillars. In this study, probabilistic analysis of rock pillar was carried out to investigate the compressive responses of spatially variable rock pillars with three-dimensional (3D) random fields. Three-dimensional random fields of rock mass properties were generated using the Cholesky decomposition method, which was implemented into the FLAC3D using the Fish code. The failure mechanism of spatially variable rock pillar and influence of spatial variability of rock mass properties on uniaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus were investigated on the basis of the Hoek–Brown criterion with Latin hypercube sampling (LHS). Results indicated that the spatial variability of rock mass properties significantly influences the uniaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus of rock pillar. The expansion of the plastic region has obvious directivity, which is closely related to the direction of the random field. The vertical scale of fluctuation has a greater effect on the mean value of the uniaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus of rock pillar than the horizontal scale of fluctuation.

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Data Availability Statement

Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The items are listed below:
1.
The calculation program to generate 3D random fields.
2.
The FLAC3D files to simulate the rock pillar.
3.
The data calculated by 3D random fields in the study.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Chongqing Construction Science and Technology Plan Project (2019–0045), the program of China Scholarships Council (No. 201906050026), as well as the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. KJZD–K201900102).

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Go to ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 7Issue 3September 2021

History

Received: Feb 19, 2021
Accepted: Apr 20, 2021
Published online: Jul 7, 2021
Published in print: Sep 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 7, 2021

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Fuyong Chen [email protected]
Ph.D. Candidate, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Univ., No. 83. Shabei St., Shapingba District, Chongqing 400045, China. Email: [email protected]
Wengang Zhang [email protected]
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Univ., No. 83. Shabei St., Shapingba District, Chongqing 400045, China (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]

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