Statistical Assessment of the Effects of Grain-Structure Representation and Micro-Properties on the Behavior of Bonded Block Models for Brittle Rock Damage Prediction

Details

• Personal Author:
  Contreras Inga CE ; Holley E ; Walton G
• Description:
  The ability to predict the mechanical behavior of brittle rocks using bonded block models (BBM) depends on the accuracy of the geometrical representation of the grain-structure and the applied micro-properties. This paper evaluates the capabilities of BBMs for predictive purposes using an approach that employs published micro-properties in combination with a Voronoi BBM that properly approximates the real rock grain-structure. The Wausau granite, with Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of 226 MPa and average grain diameter of 2 mm, is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the predictive approach. Four published sets of micro-properties calibrated for granites with similar mineralogy to the Wausau granite are used for the assessment. The effect of grain-structure representation in Voronoi BBMs is analyzed, considering grain shape, grain size and mineral arrangement. A unique contribution of this work is the explicit consideration of the effect of stochastic grain-structure generation on the obtained results. The study results show that the macro-properties of a rock can be closely replicated using the proposed approach. When using this approach, the micro-properties have a greater impact on the realism of the predictions than the specific grain-structure representation. The grain shape and grain size representations have a minor effect on the predictions for cases that do not deviate substantially from the real average grain geometry. However, the stochastic effect introduced by the use of randomly-generated Voronoi grain-structures can be significant, and this effect should be considered in future studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical Methods Author Keywords: Strength Prediction Bonded Block Models Brittle Rock Fracturing Geologic Models Geotechnical Engineering Grain-structure Representation Micro-properties Rock Mechanics Voronoi Tessellation

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• ISSN:
  2071-1050
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  14
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068065
• Citation:
  Sustainability 2021 Jul; 13(14):7889
• Contact Point Address:
  Carlos Efrain Contreras Inga, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1516 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401, USA
• Email:
  gwalton@mines.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado School of Mines, Golden
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160915
• Source Full Name:
  Sustainability
• End Date:
  20210914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:875d5a18821560a5edd49e63604a6a70e0e6406c78f5abf20ef2501edb6fb594c5e7ee5f2419324598c10d24e14648b4e5c7e261cfab33f39d4243527b775f1d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230284/cdc_230284_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.55 MB ]