A Novel Closed‐Form Solution for Circular Openings in Generalized Hoek‐Brown Media

Abstract

A novel closed‐form solution is presented in this paper for the estimation of displacements around circular openings in a brittle rock mass subject to a hydrostatic stress field. The rock mass is assumed to be elastic‐brittle‐plastic media governed by the generalized Hoek‐Brown yield criterion. The present closed‐form solution was validated by employing the existing analytical solutions. Results of several example cases are analyzed to show that, with the simplified assumption, a novel closed‐form solution is derived and found to be in an excellent agreement with those obtained by using the exact integration method with mathematical software. Parametric sensitivity analysis is carried out and the parameter a r tends to be the sensitive factor. As a closed‐form solution that does not require transformation technique and the use of any numerical method, this work can provide a better choice in the preliminary design for circular opening.