THE CHALLENGE
- Prediction of rock fracturing around underground excavations accounting for in-situ stress anisotropy, excavation geometry, and rock mass conditions.
- Discontinuous rock mass fabric characterized by joint sets.
- Complex interaction between excavation-induced stresses, rock mass discontinuities and rock support members.
- Determination of rock bolt pattern and spacing as well as loading capacity that would ensure stability of the underground excavation.
THE SOLUTION
- Irazu is equipped with novel modelling capabilities for modelling excavations and rock support:
- staged excavations and flexible activation of rock support elements;
- incorporation of discontinuity surfaces and heterogeneities; and
- a fracture model accounting for tensile, shear, and mixed failure modes.
- Irazu enables accurate computation of stresses, strains, and fracture without minimal simplifying assumptions regarding fracture shape and growth trajectory.
THE RESULTS
- Predict rock mass response to progressive excavation processes, including rock deformation, possible fracturing, and subsequent instabilities.
- Design support elements according to rock deformation and fracturing.
- GPU-accelerated implementation allows unprecedented computational speed for simulations with such a high level of physical realism.
