Numerical modelling of the cyclic behaviour of rock material in the context of underground pumped storage hydroelectricity

摘要

The use of old mines as a reservoir in the context of pumped storage hydroelectricity risesrnthe question of their stability especially upon cyclic loading due to filling and emptying the mines. This paperrnpresents the formulation of a newconstitutive lawable to represent the inherently cyclic behaviour of rocks at lowrnconfinement. The main features of the behaviour evidenced by experiments in the literature depict a progressiverndegradation and deformation of the material with the number of cycles. A constitutive law based on a boundaryrnsurface model is developed. It represents the brittle failure of the material aswell as its progressive degradation. Itrnalso encompasses a fatigue resistance underwhich no degradation of the material holds. Parameters are calibratedrnwith respect to laboratory experiments from the literature.A parametric study is carried out to highlight the rolernof different parameters.