Numerical investigation into the blasting-induced damage characteristics of rocks considering the role of in-situ stresses and discontinuity persistence

This paper presents a 3D coupled Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Finite Element Method (FEM) model, which was developed to investigate the extent of damage zone and fracture patterns in rock due to blasting. The RHT material model was used to simulate the blasting-induced damage in rock. The effects of discontinuity persistence and high in-situ stresses on the evolution of blasting-induced damage were investigated. Results of this study indicate that discontinuity persistence and spatial distribution of rock bridges have a significant influence on the evolution of blasting-induced damage. Furthermore, high in-situ stresses also have a significant influence on the propagation of blasting-induced fractures, as well as the patterns of fracture networks. It is also shown that the blasting-induced cracks are often induced along the direction of the applied high initial stresses. Moreover, additional cracks are normally generated at the edges of the rock bridges probably due to the relatively high stress concentration. � 2019 Elsevier Ltd