Blast‐induced rock fracture near a tunnel

Abstract

SUMMARY Damage in the form of cracks is predicted to assess the susceptibility of a tunnel to failure due to a blast. The material‐point method is used in conjunction with a decohesive failure model as the basis for the numerical simulations. The assumption of a cylindrical charge as the source for the blast allows the restriction of plane strain and two‐dimensional analyses. In the simulation, a further restriction of a single pressure pulse is used as the source of stress waves that are reflected and refracted after reaching the free surface of the tunnel wall. Three critical zones of significant cracking in the vicinity of a tunnel are identified as potential contributors to tunnel failure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.