Anisotropy of Surface Morphology Characteristics of Rock Discontinuity and Its Evaluation Method
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 12
Abstract
The mechanical and hydraulic properties of rock discontinuity are anisotropic, and the main reason resides in the anisotropy of surface morphology. This study delved systematically into the anisotropic characteristics of surface morphology and its evaluation method. Among hundreds of morphology parameters, the most representative one was selected utilizing mathematical statistics and correlation analysis. Through morphology analysis of eight discontinuity specimens, the maximum deviation of roughness in each direction was proposed as an anisotropy evaluation index, serving as a bridge to establish the relationship between the anisotropic characteristics of surface morphology and shear strength. In-depth research was conducted to discuss the distribution range of controlling factors of shear strength and explore the influence of anisotropy degree and controlling factors on the prediction deviation of shear strength. Based on the aforementioned results, an anisotropy evaluation method was put forth to divide the anisotropy degree of rock discontinuity into four levels, and the prediction deviation of shear strength at each level was described in a quantitative manner. The novelty of this study is listed as follows. The existing literature lacks research on quantitative evaluation methods of anisotropic characteristics, and this study would compensate for this deficiency; this method has a valid theoretical foundation and is capable of simultaneously determining the anisotropic characteristics of morphology and shear strength; the methods concerning how to simplify surface morphology as isotropy and embed discontinuity roughness into a numerical algorithm have been proposed, respectively. These findings would provide theoretical support for the deformation control and stability analysis of rock mass in engineering.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (212300410146), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Universities of Henan Province (NSFRF210327), and the Doctoral Fund of Henan Polytechnic University (Grant No. B2021-60).
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- CLA
- mean height;
- JCS
- discontinuity wall’s compressive strength;
- JRC
- joint roughness coefficient;
- JRC0
- JRC value on the standard scale;
- JRCact
- actual roughness;
- JRCave
- average roughness;
- JRCi
- roughness in the ith direction;
- JRCn
- JRC value on the real scale;
- L
- projected length;
- L0
- standard scale;
- Ln
- =real scale;
- N
- number of segments;
- R1
- ratio of the minimum to the maximum;
- R2
- standard deviation;
- R3
- maximum relative error;
- Rp
- ratio of the actual length to the projected length;
- RMS
- root mean square;
- Rz
- undulation amplitude;
- Z2
- root mean square of the first deviation of discontinuity profiles;
- Δx
- sampling interval;
- δ
- calculation deviation;
- prediction deviations;
- σc
- uniaxial compressive strength;
- σn
- normal stress;
- directional roughness metric;
- λ
- shrinkage proportion;
- τp
- peak shear strength; and
- φb
- basic friction angle.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 12 • December 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 11, 2022
Accepted: Jun 10, 2023
Published online: Sep 22, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 22, 2024
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