NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK FAILURE AND ASSOCIATED SEISMICITY

In this paper, a numerical approach to modeling progressive failure le ading to collapse in rock and associated seismicity is reported. In th e first part, a newly developed numerical code, RFPA(2D) (Rock Failure Process Analysis), is introduced. The program allows modeling of the observed evolution of damage and associated seismic events due to prog ressive failure leading to collapse in brittle rock. There ave three f eatures distinguishing the approach from conventional numerical method s such as FEM: (1) bq, introducing heterogeneity of rock parameters in to the model, RFPA(2D) can simulate non-linear behavior in rock using a linear method; (2) by introducing elastic modulus reduction for fail ed elements, RFPA(2D) can process discontinuum mechanics problems by a continuum mechanics method; and (3) by recording the event-rate of fa iled elements, the seismicities associated with the progressive failur e in rock can be simulated. In the second part of the paper, the appli cations of RFPA(2D) in simulating geological process and in solving mi ning design problems are illustrated. Numerical simulation of a fault initiation process indicates that some of the important phenomena, suc h as coalescence of microfracture, the nucleation and growth of crack clusters, fault initiation and development, elastic rebound, dilatatio n, uplift and seismic behavior, etc. can be simulated with this numeri cal code. The simulation of progressive failure leading to collapse in underground openings demonstrates the capacity of this code in solvin g mining design problems. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.