A 2-D meshless model for jointed rock structures

✍ Scribed by Xiong Zhang; Mingwan Lu; J. L. Wegner

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 123 KB
• Volume: 47
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0029-5981
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0207(20000410)47:10<1649::aid-nme843>3.0.co;2-s

✦ Synopsis

According to the characteristic structural features of jointed rock structures, a meshless model is proposed for the mechanics analysis of jointed rock structures based on the moving least-squares interpolants. In this model, a jointed rock structure is regarded as a system of relatively intact rock blocks connected by joints or planes of discontinuity; these rock blocks are modelled by general shaped anisotropic blocks while these joints and planes of discontinuity are modelled by interfaces. The displacement ÿeld of each block is constructed by the moving least-squares interpolants with an array of points distributed in the block. To deal with the discontinuities of rock structures, the displacement ÿelds are constructed to be discontinuous between blocks. The displacement ÿelds and their gradients are continuous in each block, hence no post processing is required for the output of strains and stresses. The ÿnite element mesh is totally unnecessary, so the time-consuming mesh generation is avoided. The rate of convergence can exceed that of ÿnite elements signiÿcantly, and a high resolution of localized steep gradients can be achieved. Furthermore, the discontinuities of rock structures are also fully taken into consideration. The present method is developed for two-dimensional linear elastic analysis of jointed rock structures, and can be extended to three-dimensional and non-linear analysis.