Title: Development of a calibration procedure for rock testing in particle flow code simulations

Authors: Lapone Techapinyawat; S.J. Jung; A.M. Abu Abdo

Addresses: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 441022, Moscow, ID 83844-1022, USA ' Department of Civil Engineering, Liwa College, P.O. Box 41009, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abstract: The overall behaviour of rock mass is effectively controlled by the micro properties of its constituent particles and the bonds between the particles. Unfortunately, the micro-scale properties are challenging to measure with standard laboratory tests. This study investigated the influence of these micro-scale bonding properties on typical parameters. This research provided a parametric study of four bond parameters: 1) normal to shear stress ratio (kratio); 2) tensile strength (fj_ten); 3) effective modulus (emod); 4) cohesion (fj_coh). These selected parameters should be adjusted and calibrated first to match lab tests. The procedure for generating material for flat-joint models should start with adjusting the four bond parameters; 1) kratio to synchronise the material's Poisson's ratio; 2) fj_ten to synchronise the material's tensile strength; 3) emod to synchronise the material's Young's modulus; 4) fj_coh to synchronise the material's compressive strength. This procedure was most effective because the last parameter's calibration does not affect the previously calibrated parameters. Based on the results, a systematic procedure was developed to facilitate easy calibration of PFC2D models to match laboratory testing results.

Keywords: bond parameters; discrete element method; DEM; macro properties; micro properties; particle flow code; PFC; simulation; rock properties.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMME.2023.137302

International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, 2023 Vol.14 No.3, pp.223 - 246

Received: 21 Apr 2022
Accepted: 03 May 2023
Published online: 11 Mar 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article