This thesis is about silence; about emptiness; about absence. "Should we be surprised by the fact that architectural form can be found in the plan of the city? Yes, if one considers the fact that there is no architectural intervention in the design of the plan. No, if one considers architecture as not just the practice of a specific form of "writing", but primarily as an art of "reading." It is the "reading subject," the principle that generates the architecture of the city by displacing its plan to 'another' realm. The realm of the urban text." M. Gandelsonas "The Unconscious of the City" / Master of Architecture

Le présent projet porte sur l’étude du comportement de deux excavations réalisées dans l’argile marine de l’est du Canada. Une tranchée à paroi verticale et une tranchée avec une pente de 32˚ ont été excavées sur le site expérimental du Ministère des Transports du Québec situé à Louiseville. Une revue de la littérature met en lumière l’aspect législatif et les règles directrices encadrant les travaux de fouille, le comportement théorique des excavations et plusieurs histoires de cas. Le projet contient une caractérisation géotechnique du sol basée sur des essais de laboratoire et des essais in situ. Une description détaillée du système d’acquisition, des capteurs, des branchements et du traitement des données est réalisée. Les mouvements de terrain observés, les variations de pressions interstitielles et les déformations ont fait l’objet d’une analyse pour rendre compte de leurs interactions. Les sols rencontrés lors de l’excavation sont un dépôt d’argile silteuse surmonté d’une croûte argileuse fissurée de 2 m d’épaisseur. Le dépôt est constitué d’une fraction argileuse de 80%, avec un indice de plasticité de 52% et un indice de liquidité de 1,1. La résistance mesurée au scissomètre varie 19 kPa à 2 m de profondeur à 60 kPa à 19,5 m. La sensibilité moyenne au cône tombant est de 20 et le ratio de surconsolidation, OCR, est de 4,3 à 2,2 m et décroit à 3,9 à 3,41 m de profondeur. La tranchée verticale a atteint une profondeur de 5 mètres avant la rupture, soit 5 heures 30 minutes après le début de l’excavation. La tranchée talutée a atteint une profondeur de 4,2 mètres et a été laissée ouverte 90 jours sans que des mouvements de sol soient observés. Un essai de chargement a été réalisé sur 3 jours afin de faire réagir le sol derrière la pente, mais la rupture n’a pas été atteinte.

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 18 mars 2024) / Cette thèse, intitulée « Excavations dans les argiles sensibles de la Mer Champlain : Comportement et modélisation », découle d'un projet de recherche initié par l'Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) en 2016, en collaboration avec des chercheurs de l'Université Laval. L'étude vise à répondre aux risques associés aux travaux d'excavation, notamment dans les dépôts d'argiles sensibles de la Mer Champlain, qui ont causé 48 décès et 17 accidents graves au Québec entre 1974 et 2013. Face à la complexité des comportements des excavations dans les dépôts d'argiles sensibles, la thèse souligne la nécessité de disposer de méthodes fiables pour prédire ces comportements. Une méthode numérique avec une loi de comportement avancé, intégrant le couplage hydromécanique et les calculs des coefficients de sécurité par la méthode de réduction des résistances, est présentée comme une solution potentielle. Cependant, jusqu'à présent, la potentialité de cette méthode n'a pas été suffisamment exploitée dans le cas de l'excavation dans les dépôts d'argiles sensibles de la Mer Champlain et le retour d'expérience en manque cruellement. Ainsi, cette thèse cherche à combler cette lacune, elle vise à contribuer à une meilleure compréhension et gestion des risques associés à ces travaux, en offrant des outils prédictifs plus robustes pour assurer la sécurité des travailleurs sur le terrain. La thèse a été structurée en 3 volets à savoir le volet « expérimentation en vraie grandeur sur terrain », le volet « étude en laboratoire » et le volet « modélisation numérique ». Le premier se focalise sur le mécanisme de rupture, l'évoluton des pressions interstitielles et des déplacements observés sur terrain. Le deuxième volet présente et discute les comportements en contrainte-déformation de l'argile de Louiseville sous différentes trajectoires des charges en laboratoire. Le troisième, la modélisation et la simulation numérique, cible 3 objectifs : (1) examiner les différentes méthodes de calcul des coefficients de sécurité d'excavations réalisées dans des matériaux fins post-glaciaires; (2) rendre opérationnel le modèle avec écrouissage HSS$_\textup{struct}$ pour les argiles sensibles (3) mettre en œuvre et de rendre opérationnel un modèle numérique avancé sur deux excavations instrumentées dans l'argile sensible. Les résultats de cette thèse démontrent que cette méthode numérique avancée a pu être rendue opérationnelle et a permis d'expliquer les comportements observés sur terrain qui sont ces surfaces ruptures verticales et successives pour la tranchée A1 et cette évolution des pressions interstitielles qui n'est pas conforme à la prédiction de Bishop et Bjerrum (1960) pour la tranchée A2. Un modèle constitutif baptisé HSS$_\textup{struct}$, prenant en compte la structuration des argiles sensibles, a été développé, et des recommandations ont été formulées sur la fiabilité des différentes méthodes de calcul examinées au chapitre 5. / This thesis titled "Excavations in the sensitive clays of the Champlain Sea: Behavior and modeling", stems from a research project initiated by the "Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST)" in 2016, in collaboration with researchers from Université Laval. The study aims to address the risks associated with excavation work, particularly in the deposits of sensitive clays of the Champlain Sea, which caused 48 deaths and 17 serious accidents in Quebec between 1974 and 2013. In the face of the complexity of the behaviors of excavations in sensitive clay deposits, the thesis accentuates the need for reliable methods to predict these behaviors. A numerical method with a complex model that describes theses behaviors, integrating hydromechanical coupling and the calculations of safety coefficients by the method of reduction of resistances, is presented as a potential solution. However, up to now, the potential of this method has not been sufficiently exploited regarding excavation in the sensitive clay deposits of the Champlain Sea, and the feedback is sorely lacking. Thus, this thesis seeks to fill this gap. It aims to contribute to a better understanding and management of the risks associated with these works, by offering more robust predictive tools to ensure the safety of workers on site. The thesis was structured in 3 parts namely the "full-scale field experimentation" part, the "laboratory study" part and the "numerical modeling" part. The first focuses on the rupture mechanism, the evolution of interstitial pressures and displacements observed on site. The second part presents and discusses the stress-strain behaviors of Louiseville clay under different load trajectories in the laboratory. The third, modeling and numerical simulation, targets 3 objectives: (1) examine the different methods of calculating safety coefficients for excavations performed in in fine post-glacial materials; (2) operationalize the model with HSS$_\textup{struct}$ hardening for sensitive clays (3) implement and operationalize an advanced numerical model on two instrumented excavations in sensitive clay. The results of this thesis demonstrate that this advanced numerical method could be made operational and was able to explain the behaviors observed on site which are these vertical and successive rupture surfaces for trench A1 and this evolution of interstitial pressures which is not consistent with the prediction of Bishop and Bjerrum (1960) for trench A2. A constitutive model named HSS$_\textup{struct}$, considering the structuring of sensitive clays was developed, and recommendations were made on the reliability of the different calculation methods examined in chapter 5.

Mémoire (M.Sc.T.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1993. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

L'instabilité des blocs situés à la surface des excavations souterraines est un problème courant dans les milieux rocheux fracturés. Comme les méthodes exactes prenant en compte tous les blocs et leurs interactions sont très lourdes, l'approche des Blocs Isolés est souvent adoptée. Elle consiste à étudier chaque bloc en considérant qu'il est rigide et que le reste de la masse rocheuse est rigide et fixe. Néanmoins, aucune des méthodes existantes adoptant cette approche ne prend en compte de façon rigoureuse les contraintes initiales et le comportement des joints. Dans cette thèse, on développe une nouvelle méthode qui apporte des améliorations importantes aux méthodes conventionnelles de Blocs Isolés. Connaissant les contraintes initiales, on rend compte du processus d'excavation par le déchargement de la face libre du bloc. Les efforts sur les faces du bloc en contact avec la roche sont alors modifiés en respectant l'équilibre des forces et des moments, la loi de comportement des joints et le mouvement de corps solide du bloc. On aboutit ainsi à un système linéaire où les seules inconnues sont les vecteurs translation et rotation du bloc. Deux modèles sont proposés : le premier considère un comportement linéaire élastique des joints et, par conséquent, la stabilité est évaluée a posteriori. Le deuxième modèle, plus pertinent, considère un comportement hyperbolique des joints dans la direction normale et élastoplastique dans la direction tangentielle avec prise en compte de la dilatance. La méthode numérique adoptée pour la résolution du problème non linéaire est une intégration explicite dans le temps cinématique avec des pas de déchargement constants. La technique d'intégration surfacique utilisée permet d'étudier toute forme géométrique de bloc. La méthode proposée a été validée puis comparée aux méthodes conventionnelles. Des études paramétriques ont montré l'influence des contraintes initiales et des propriétés mécaniques des joints sur la stabilité. Le soutènement a été aussi intégré dans le code développé. Finalement, la nouvelle méthode a été appliquée pour l'étude d'un assemblage de blocs autour d'une excavation souterraine et comparée à un modèle prenant en compte tous les blocs via la méthode des Éléments Distincts. Elle a été aussi utilisée pour restituer un cas réel de chute de blocs. / Failure of rock blocks located at the surface of underground excavations is a common problem in discontinuous rock masses. Since exact methods that take into account all blocks and their interactions are computationally hard, the Isolated Blocks method is usually adopted. It consists in studying each block considering it to be rigid and the surrounding rock mass to be rigid and fixed. Nevertheless, none of the existing methods based on this approach takes into account initial stresses and joints behavior rigorously. In this thesis, a new method providing significant improvements to conventional Isolated Blocks methods is developed. Considering that initial stresses are known, the excavation process is modeled by unloading the block's free face. Stresses acting on the faces in contact with the rock mass are then resolved by taking into account force and moment balance equations, joints behavior and rigid body movement. This leads to a linear system where the block's translation and rotation vectors are the only unknowns.Two models are proposed: the first one assumes linear elastic joint behavior, thus the stability is evaluated a posteriori. The second, more realistic model, assumes joint behavior to be hyperbolic in the normal direction and elastoplastic in the tangential direction, while also accounting for dilatancy. This non-linear problem is solved numerically by explicit integration in the kinematic time with constant deconfining steps. Also, thanks to the surface integration technique used, any block geometry can be studied. The method proposed is validated and compared to other conventional methods. Parametric studies show the influence of initial stresses and the joints' mechanical properties on the stability. Rock support modeling is also integrated into the code. Finally, the new method is applied to study an assemblage of blocks around an underground excavation and is compared to a model that takes into account all the blocks with the Distinct Element Method. It is also used to reproduce an actual block failure case.

Le phénomène de coup de terrain est une explosion violente de roche qui peut se produire dans les mines souterraines. Dans la présente recherche, nous avons essayé de démontrer les causes qui peuvent influer sur la prédisposition aux coups de terrain en utilisant la modélisation numérique. Cependant, avant tout, l'état de contrainte avant l'exploitation minière et les contraintes induites par les excavations environnantes doivent être étudiés avec précision. La mine de charbon de Provence, qui a subi un phénomène de coup de terrain au niveau de son puits vertical entouré de nombreux panneaux de longue taille, a été choisie comme cas d’étude. Un modèle numérique 3D à grande échelle a été construit pour inclure la zone du puits vertical avec ses piliers et galeries à petite échelle et les panneaux de longue taille à grande échelle avec leurs zones de foudroyage associées. Plusieurs problèmes ont été rencontrés lors du développement de ce modèle numérique à grande échelle. Le premier porte sur l'initialisation de l'état de contrainte à grande échelle, où les contraintes verticales mesurées divergent avec le poids des déblais et les contraintes in situ sont très anisotropes. Le deuxième porte sur la simulation de la zone de foudroyage associée aux panneaux de longue taille. Le troisième concerne l'évaluation de l’instabilité du pilier en fonction de son ratio résistance/contrainte moyenne et de son volume. Le quatrième concerne l'évaluation de la prédisposition aux coups de terrain au niveau du puits vertical en fonction de différents critères. Cinq méthodes ont été développées pour initialiser l’état de contrainte hétérogène dans le modèle numérique à grande échelle avant l’exploitation minière. Elles sont basées sur la méthode de corrélation Simplex, qui consiste à optimiser la différence entre les valeurs de contrainte mesurées in-situ et les valeurs numériques. Le but est de développer des gradients qui soient capables d'exprimer l'hétérogénéité de la contrainte et qui soient compatibles avec les mesures in-situ. La méthode basée sur l’initialisation de l'état de contrainte avec des gradients 3D s’est avérée plus efficace que celle traditionnelle basée sur les ratios de contrainte horizontale à verticale. Concernant la simulation du foudroyage, trois modèles ont été développés et intégrés dans le modèle numérique pour exprimer le comportement mécanique dans la zone de foudroyage au-dessus des panneaux de longue taille. Deux d’entre eux sont basés sur un comportement élastique alors que le troisième est basé sur un comportement elasto-plastique avec écrouissage un phénomène de consolidation. Il a été constaté que la zone de foudroyage au-dessus des panneaux de longue taille peut atteindre 32 fois l'épaisseur de la couche exploitée et que le module d'élasticité de la partie la plus endommagée de la zone foudroyée ne doit pas excéder 220 MPa pour satisfaire la convergence toit-mur. Mais, avec l'avancée de l'exploitation, ce matériau souple se compacte sous la pression des couches supérieures. Dans le cas d'une largeur critique et super-critique, la contrainte verticale dans la zone de foudroyage pourrait dépasser le poids des déblais et pourrait augmenter jusqu'à 4 fois ce poids sur les bords. La contrainte verticale a augmenté dans les piliers au niveau du puit vertical suite à l'exploitation des panneaux de longue taille à proximité. Il a été constaté que le volume du pilier joue un rôle important dans sa stabilité. Le rapport contrainte/résistance a été jugé insuffisant pour expliquer un coup de terrain. Plusieurs critères ont été intégrés au modèle numérique pour évaluer la prédisposition aux coups de terrain. Il a été constaté que les critères basés sur les contraintes et les déformations sont capables d'évaluer la prédisposition aux coups de terrain / Rockburst is a violent explosion of rock that can occur in underground mines. In the current research, the main objective is to demonstrate the causes that may influence the rockburst proneness by using the numerical modeling tool. However, firstly, the pre-mining stress state and the induced stresses due to surrounding excavations have to be studied precisely. The Provence coal mine, where a rockburst took place in its shaft station that is surrounded by many longwall caving panels, has been chosen as a case study. A large-scale 3D numerical model has been constructed to include the shaft station area with its small-scale pillars and galleries, and the large-scale longwall panels with their accompanying goaf area. Many problems appeared while developing such large-scale numerical model, the first problem was the initialization of stress state at a large-scale, where the measured vertical stresses are in disagreement with the overburden weight, and the in-situ stresses are highly anisotropic. The second problem was the simulation of the goaf area accompanying longwall panels. The third problem was the assessment of pillars instability in terms of its strength/average stress ratio, and its volume. The Fourth problem was the assessment of rockburst proneness in the shaft station based on different rockburst criteria. Five methods were developed to initialize the heterogeneous pre-mining stress in the large-scale numerical model. These methods are based on the Simplex Method, which is mainly based on optimizing the difference between the in-situ measured stress values and the numerical stress values to develop stress gradients able to express the stress heterogeneity and compatible with the in-situ measurements. The method that is based on initiating the stress state with 3D stress gradients was found to be more efficient than the traditional method that is based on the horizontal-to-vertical stress ratios. Regarding the goaf simulation, three models were developed and implemented in the numerical model to express the mechanical behavior within the goaf area above longwall panels. Two of these models are based on an elastic behavior, and the third one is based on the strain-hardening elasto-plastic behavior that takes the consolidation phenomenon into consideration. It was found that the goaf area above longwall panels could reach up to 32 times the seam thickness, and the elastic modulus of caved area (the first few meters in the goaf area) did not exceed 220 MPa to fulfill the roof-floor convergence. But, with advance of the exploitation, this soft material consolidated under the pressure of the overlying strata. In case of critical and super-critical width, the vertical stress in the goaf area exceeded the overburden weight, and it increased up to 4 times the overburden weight on the rib-sides. The vertical stress increased in the shaft station pillars as a result of exploiting the nearby longwall panels. It was found that the pillar volume plays an important role in its stability. And, the strength/stress ratio was found to be insufficient to quantify the rockburst proneness in underground mines. Many rockburst criteria were implemented in the numerical model to assess the rockburst proneness. It was found that the criteria that are based on stress and strain changes were able to assess the rockburst proneness

L'Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (Andra) a commencé en 2000 la construction du Laboratoire Souterrain de Meuse / Haute-Marne (LS-M/HM) avec l'objectif principal de démontrer la faisabilité d’un stockage géologique dans l’argilite du Callovo-Oxfordien. Un réseau de galeries expérimentales a été excavé, principalement en suivant les directions des contraintes horizontales (majeure et mineure), avec des variations sur : la méthode d'excavation, la géométrie de la structure et le soutènement. Chaque galerie a été instrumentée en différentes sections pour suivre le comportement hydromécanique de la roche face à l’excavation. Le suivi de la zone autour des galeries excavées au niveau principal (-490 m) a révélé le développement d'une zone fracturée (fractures en extension et en cisaillement) induite par l'excavation. La distribution de la zone fracturée dépend à la fois de l'orientation de la galerie et du champ de contraintes in-situ et a une influence importante sur la déformation des galeries. En effet, les mesures de convergence ont montré une fermeture anisotrope de la section de la galerie. De plus, il a été observé un champ de distribution anisotrope de la pression de pores ainsi que des surpressions autour des galeries.Afin d’analyser la réponse anisotrope du massif pendant l’excavation et après celle-ci, les travaux effectués dans le cadre de la thèse sont axés principalement sur une étude directe des mesures de convergence in-situ. Cette analyse s’effectue à l’aide de la loi semi-empirique proposée par Sulem et al. (1987) [Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 24: 145–154]. A cet égard, différentes galeries excavées dans le LS-M/HM ont été étudiées. Ces galeries présentent certaines différences dans leurs orientations et l’état initial des contraintes, dans la méthode et la vitesse d’excavation ainsi que dans les diamètres de la section et les types de soutènements installées. Cette analyse permet d’obtenir des prédictions fiables de la convergence à long-terme, ce qui peut servir pour le dimensionnement et la prévision de la performance du soutènement à long-terme.En outre, nous avons étudié la réponse anisotrope du champ de pression interstitielle observée in-situ. Cette analyse est basée sur une approche poroélastique anisotrope. L’objectif principal est de reproduire qualitativement l’évolution de la pression des pores autour des galeries avec une approche simple qui prend en compte l’anisotropie intrinsèque du matériau. Enfin, une analyse de l’apparition de la rupture montre le rôle clé que joue le couplage hydromécanique dans l’extension de la zone fracturée / The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) began in 2000 the construction of an Underground Research Laboratory (URL) with the main goal of demonstrating the feasibility of a geological repository in Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. Several research programs have taken place to improve the knowledge of the rock properties and its response to the excavation progress. A network of experimental drifts has been constructed with variations on: excavation method, structure geometry, supports system and orientations with respect to principal stresses’ directions. In each drift different sections have been instrumented to monitor the hydro-mechanical behavior of the rock mass formation. Continuous monitoring of the excavated zone around the drifts in the main level (-490 m) revealed the development of a fractured zone (extensional and shear fractures) induced by the excavation. The extent of this fractured zone depends on the drift orientation regarding the in-situ stress field. Accordingly, the convergence measurements showed an anisotropic closure which depends also on the drifts’ orientations. Moreover, marked overpressures and an anisotropic pore pressure field around the drifts have been also observed.The approach proposed in this work is mainly based on a direct analysis of the convergence measurements, for studying the anisotropic response of the rock formation during and after excavation. The convergence evolution is analyzed on the basis of the semi-empirical law proposed by Sulem et al. (1987) [Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 24: 145–154]. The monitoring and analysis of convergence data can provide a reliable approach of the interaction between rock mass and support. Therefore, the anisotropy and the variability of the closure are analyzed taking into account different field cases: drifts excavated in two different orientations (i.e. influence of the initial stress state), different methods, sizes and rates of excavation and different supports systems with different conditions of installation. This broad range of cases permits to refine the analysis for reliable predictions of the convergence evolution in the long term. This approach can thus be used for the design of various types of support and the evaluation of its performance in the long term.On the other hand, the pore pressure evolution induced by excavation of drifts as recorded in situ has been analyzed. The anisotropic response observed in-situ suggests that the intrinsic anisotropy of the material plays a key role in the response of the rock formation. To understand these phenomena, an anisotropic poroelastic analysis of the pore pressure evolution induced by the drift excavation is performed. The main goal is to simulate the main trends of the pore pressure evolution with a simple model taking into account the inherent anisotropy of the material. Finally, an analysis of the onset of failure shows the key role of the hydro-mechanical coupling on the extension of the failed zone around the drifts

The focus of this master thesis design static assessment of shotcrete lining belonging to underground gallery for water supply. This object is a part of larger project called „Uzel Plzeň, 3. stavba – přesmyk domažlické trati“. The gallery with length almost 100 m leads directly under two double-track lines with height traffic importance and two factory sidings. The thesis deals with the recommendation of a suitable technological procedure for excavation and excavation stability. It also includes design of both primary and secondary shotcrete lining. The assessment is based on the evaluation of the outputs of two characteristic cross-sections processed in Plaxis 2D. The outputs consist of information on internal forces, deformations and state of stress in the surrounding rock. Based on this information, a structural design is performed

After the excavation of a cut slope ongoing deformations on the slope surface can often be measured. These deformations can be induced due to various processes and can also be used as an indicator of slope stability. If the reasons for the deformations are known, selective stabilization methods can help to decelerate, or stop, the movements. The potential for the recognition of displacement patterns in excavated slopes is studied in this dissertation. In the laboratory, the analysis of displacement patterns due to various processes is difficult as identical initial test conditions can hardly be reproduced. Furthermore, measurements of displacements can only be conducted to a limited degree. Therefore, numerical calculations using the finite element method were applied to simulate excavation processes and analyse the displacements. In addition, a suitable mathematical model has to be used to represent the stress-strain behaviour during the unloading process. Three different advanced constitutive soil models were chosen to calculate an excavation process of an idealized slope assuming drained conditions: - elasto-plastic Modified-Cam-Clay model - rate-independent hypoplastic model according to Masin - rate-dependent visco-hypoplastic model according to Niemunis Before conducting the excavation simulation, the soil parameters of the constitutive models were calibrated by means of numerical element tests, depicting the stress paths of conventional laboratory tests. Within the literature, those conventional laboratory tests are recommended for the determination of parameters for the constitutive models. A parameter set for the visco-hypoplastic model was chosen from literature. The parameters were adapted for the remaining models. Thus, all three models predicted approximately the same stress-strain behaviour during conventional laboratory tests. Despite the correlations during the element tests, the constitutive models predicted different displacements during the calculation of the excavation of an idealized slope under drained conditions. Thereupon, load-controlled triaxial compression tests were conducted reproducing the characteristic stress paths during an excavation process. At the same time, numerical calculations were carried out to reproduce the triaxial compression tests, and the measured and calculated displacement behaviour was compared. Different processes such as pure unloading due to excavation, excavation in overconsolidated soil, excavation coupled with consolidation, excavation coupled with previous ground water lowering and consolidation as well as the influence of creep effects were considered in the analysis of the displacement patterns during an excavation. It can be stated that the evaluation of displacements and changes in displacements in a single point on the slope surface cannot provide sufficient information about a certain physical process. Only the combination of displacement paths at different survey points will lead to a reliable conclusion. Thus, representative displacement patterns for different processes are recognizable during and after the excavation, which can be used for the identification. During the numerical simulation of an in-situ model test, where a slope was brought to failure by excavation, the calculated displacements were analysed for identifiable displacement patterns. It can be stated that despite different slope systems, consistencies were found within characteristic survey points. These points can be used to identify patterns within the displacement contours.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering, 1988. / Mining induced fracturing and associated deformations can commonly be observed around deep gold mining excavations. As the rockmass behaviour and the stability of the excavations are directly influenced by these processes, a proper understanding of this influence would certainly improve current mining practices with respect to blasting, rock breaking, support design and mining lay-outs. The main subject of this thesis is the physics of failure and post failure behaviour of rock and similar materials. Failure is denned here as a state at which the material has been subjected to fracture and/or damage processes. The applicability of commonly used constitutive models in representing such failure and post failure processes has been investigated mainly by means of numerical simulations. Mechanisms which control fundamental fracture and damage processes have been analysed by comparing the results from relevant laboratory experiments with numerical models. Linear elastic fracture mechanics has been applied to explain and simulate the formation of large scale extension fractures which form in response to excessive tensile stresses. Using the flaw concept it is demonstrated that these fractures not only initiate and propagate from the surface of an opening in compressed rock, but that so called secondary fracturing can be initiated from within the solid rock as well. The effect of geological discontinuities such as bedding planes, faults and joints on the formation of (extension) fractures has also been investigated and it has been shown how the presence of such discontinuities can cause the formation o f additional fractures. Micro mechanical models have been, used to investigate the interaction and coalescence processes of micro fractures. It was found that the formation of large scale extension fracturing can be explained from such processes, but so called shear fractures could not directly be reproduced, although such a possibility has been claimed by previous researchers. The formation of shear fractures is of particular- interest as violent failure of rock, which is subjected to compressive stresses only, is often associated with such fractures. In an all compressive stress environment, only shear deformations would allow for the relief of excess stress and thus energy. The formation of shear fractures is associated with complex mechanisms and shear fractures can therefore not directly be represented by tingle cracks. In contrast to the propagation of tensile fractures, which can readily be explained by traditional fracture mechanics in terms of stress concentrations around the crack tip, the propagation of shear fractures requires a different explanation. In this thesis an attempt has nevertheless been made to reproduce shear fractures by direct application of fracture mechanics. This his been done by representing a shear fracture as a single crack and by assuming fracture growth criteria which are either based on critical excess shear stresses, or on a maximum energy release. Both criteria are completely empirical and require a value for the critical shear resistance in the same way as a critical tensile resistance is required to represent the formation of tensile fracture; , The determination of a critical tensile resistance ( Kk ) is relatively straight forward, as the formation of tensile fractures from a pre-existing flaw can be reproduced and observed in standard laboratory tests. The determination of a critical shear resistance is, however, not a common practice, as the formation of a shear fracture from a pre-existing flaw is very infrequently observed. The application of shear fracture growth criteria nevertheless resulted in plausible fracture patterns, which suggests that such criteria are realistic. It is argued here however that the formation of shear fractures cannot be associated with primary fracture growth, but rather with the localisation of failure and damage in an area which is subjected to plastic deformation. The application of fracture mechanics is therefore not correct from a fundamental point of view as these processes are not represented. For this reason plasticity theory has also been applied in order to simulate failure in general, and shear failure localisation in particular. It was in principle possible to reproduce the shear fractures with the use of this theory, but numerical restraints affected the results to such an extent that most of the simulations were not realistic. Plasticity theory can also be extended to include brittle behaviour by the use of so called strain softening models. The physical processes which lead to brittle failure are however not directly represented by such models and they may therefore not result in realistic failure patterns. It was in fact found that strain softening models could only produce realistic results if localisation of failure could be prevented. The effect of numerical restraints becomes even more obvious with a strain softening model in the case of failure localisation. While the plasticity models appear inappropriate in representing brittle failure, they demonstrated that plastic deformations can be associated with stress changes which may lead to subsequent brittle fracturing. Although only indirect attempts have been made to reproduce this effect, as appropriate numerical tools are not available, it is clear that many observations of extension fracturing could be explained by plastic deformations preceding the brittle fracturing processes. Many rocks are classified as brittle, but plastic deformation processes often occur during the damage processes as well. The sliding crack for instance, which is thought to represent many micro mechanical deformation processes in rock, directly induces plastic deformations when activated. A pure brittle rock, which may be defined as a rock in which absolutely no plastic deformation processes take place, may therefore only be of academic interest as it is inconceivable that such a rock materiel exists. Only in such an academic case would (linear) elastic fracture mechanics be directly applicable. As plastic deformation processes do play a role in real rock materials it is important to investigate their influence on subsequent brittle failure processes. The elastic stress distribution, which is often used to explain the onset of brittle fracturing, may be misleading as plastic deformations can substantially affect the stress distribution . -recediny fracture initiation. In an attempt to combine both plastic and brittle failure, use has been made of tessellation models, which in effect define potential fracture paths in a random mesh. The advantage of these models is that various failure criteria, with or without strain softening potential, can be used without the numerical restraints which are normally associated with the conventional continuum models. The results of these models are also not free from numerical artefacts, but they appear to be more realistic in general. One o f the m;ij, r conclusions based on these results is that shear failure does not occur in a localised fashion, but is associated with the uniform distribution and extension of damage. Shear failure, which can be related directly to plastic failure, can however induce brittle, tensile, failure due to stress redistribution. While the theories of fracture mechanics and plasticity are well established, their application to rock mechanical problems often leads to unrealistic results. Commonly observed firacture patterns in rock, loaded in compression, are most often not properly reproduced by numerical models for a combination of reasons. Either a model concentrates on the discrete fracturing processes, in which case the plastic deformation processes are ignored, or plasticity is represented, but brittle failure is pooxiy catered for. While theoretically a combination of these models might lead to better representations and simulations, numerical problems do affect all models to a certain extent and a practical solution is not immediately available. The results of numerical models can therefore only be analysed with caution and the underlying assumptions and numerical problems associated with a particular technique need to be appreciated before such results can be interpreted with any sense. Many of the problems are identified here and this may assist researchers in the interpretation of results from numerical simulations. Laboratory experiments, which have been chosen for analyses, involve specimens which have been subjected to compressive stresses and which contain openings from which failure and fracturing is initiated. Such specimens are less subjective to boundary influences and are far more representative of conditions around mining excavations than typical uni- and tri-axial tests. The uniform stress conditions in these latter tests allow boundary effects to dominate the stress concentrations, and thus failure initiation, in the specimens. The large stress gradients, which can be expected to occur around underground excavations, are not reproduced in such specimens. As a consequence failure is not u atained within a particular area, but spreads throughout the complete specimen in the uni- and tri-axial tests. Specimens containing openings are therefore far more likely to reproduce the fracture patterns which can be observed around deep level mining excavations. Numerical simulations of brittle, tensile fracturing around mining excavations resulted in consistent fracture patterns. Fracture patterns could however be strongly influenced by the presence of geological (pre-existing) discontinuities such as bedding planes. Although tensile stresses are often assumed to be absent around deej: <y vel excavations because typical hanging- and foot-walls are subjected to compressive horizontal strain and thus stress, the numerical models identified alternative locations o f Ix 'sile stress and also mechanisms which could induce secondary tensile stresses, A failure criterion has therefore been identified as the most likely cause of large scale fracturing while shear fracturing may only occur in the absence of such tensile stresses .and only as a consequence of failure localisation in damaged rock rather than fracture propagation (in solid rock). Geological discontinuities can easily induce tensile stresses vVher mobilised and may even replace the mining induced fractures by offering a more efficient meat s for energy release. The latter possibility is a true three dimensional issue which has not be en addressed any further in this study, but may be very relevant to jointed rock. Although dynamic failure has not directly been addressed, one of the micliamsms lor brittle, and thus stress relieving, failure under compressive strass conditi ons has been investigated in detail, namely shear fracturing. Shear fractures are effect vely the only discontinuities which allow for stress relief under such conditi ons', in the ibaence of preexisting, geological discontinuities, and are therefore quite rele vant to dynamic rock failure, such as rock bursts, in deep level mining conditions. Potential mechanisms for shear fracture formation and the numerical simulation of these features have been investigated and this may especially assist further research into rock bursts.