Finite element modeling of underground openings in bedded rock

摘要

It is extremely difficult to develop a model that describes the behavior of naturally occurring rock types to a stage adequate for design purposes and yet is simple enough for stability analysis carried out at areasonable cost. In this paper, the authors adopted the mechanical model of rock joints suggested by Amadei & Goodman (1981a) and implemented it into an existing finite element code, performing 2-D linear elastic analysis. The code, called e-z tools, is designed to solve practical design problems involving a set of bedding planes. The code e-z tools for bedded rock mass was initially verified via a parametric study where the influence of bedding planes and scale effect on the stress and displacement distributions has been examined. A case study was then conducted on a tunneling project in the Swiss Alps.