A Study of the Failure Mechanism of Planar Non-Persistent Open Joints Using PFC2D

Particle flow code 2D (PFC2D) was adopted to simulate the shear behavior of rocklike material samples containing planar non-persistent joints. Direct shear loading was conducted to investigate the effect of joint separation on the failure behavior of rock bridges. Initially calibration of PFC was undertaken with respect to the data obtained from experimental laboratory tests to ensure the conformity of the simulated numerical models response. Furthermore, validation of the simulated models were cross checked with the results of direct shear tests performed on non-persistent jointed physical models. Through numerical direct shear tests, the failure process was visually observed, and the failure patterns were found reasonably similar to the experimentally observed trends. The discrete element simulations demonstrated that the macro-scale shear zone resulted from the progressive failure of the tension-induced micro-cracks. The failure pattern was mostly influenced by joint separation, while the shear strength was linked to the failure pattern and failure mechanism. Furthermore, it was observed that the failure zone is relatively narrow and has a symmetrical pattern when rock bridges occupy a low percentage of the total shear surface. This may be due to the high stress interactions between the subsequent joints separated by a rock bridge. In contrast, when rock bridges are occupying sufficient area prohibiting the stress interactions to occur then the rupture of surface is more complex and turns into a shear zone. This zone was observed to be relatively thick with an unsymmetrical pattern. The shear strength of rock bridges is reduced by increasing the joint length as a result of increasing both the stress concentration at tip of the joints and the stress interaction between the joints.