Considerations of the discontinuous deformation analysis on wave propagation problems

In rock engineering, the damage criteria of the rock mass under dynamic loads are generally governed by the threshold values of wave amplitudes, such as the peak particle velocity and the peak particle acceleration. Therefore, the prediction of wave attenuation across fractured rock mass is important on assessing the stability and damage of rock mass under dynamic loads. This paper aims to investigate the applications of the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) for modeling wave propagation problems in rock mass. Parametric studies are carried out to obtain an insight into the influencing factors on the accuracy of wave propagations, in terms of the block size, the boundary condition and the incident wave frequency. The reflected and transmitted waves from the interface between two materials are also numerically simulated. To study the tensile failure induced by the reflected wave, the spalling phenomena are modeled under various loading frequencies. The numerical results show that the DDA is capable of modeling the wave propagation in jointed rock mass with a good accuracy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.