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Numerical Studies of Frictional Sliding Behavior and Influences of Confining Pressure on Accoustic Activities in Compression Tests Using FEM/DEM

The combined finite-discrete element method (FEM/DEM) has been used to simulate processes of brittle fracturing and associated seismicity. With the newly extended FEM/DEM algorithm, two topics involving rock mechanics and geophysics are investigated. In the first topic, a velocity-weakening law is implemented to investigate the initiation of frictional slip, and an innovative method that incorporates surface roughness with varying friction coefficients is introduced to examine the influences of surface roughness. Simulated results revealed detailed responses of stresses to the propagation of the slip front. In the second topic, acoustic activities induced in confined compression tests are simulated and quantitatively studied using the internal monitoring algorithm in FEM/DEM. It is shown that with increasing confinement, AE events are spatially more concentrated and temporally more separated, accompanied by a decreasing b-value. Moreover, interesting correlation between orientations of cracks and the mechanical behavior of the rock was observed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43361
Date11 December 2013
CreatorsZhao, Qi
ContributorsGrasselli, Giovanni, Liu, Qinya
Source SetsUniversity of Toronto
Languageen_ca
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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