Numerical Simulation of Rock Burst in Circular Tunnels Under Unloading Conditions

Rock burst in a circular tunnel under high in-situ stress conditions was investigated with a numerical method coupled the rock failure process theory (RFPA) and discontinuous deformation theory (DDA). Some numerical tests were carraied out to investigate the failuer patterns of circular tunnel under unloading conditions. Compared the results under loading conditions, the shapes of failure zones are more regular under the unloading conditions. The failure patterns in the same type of rock mass are clearly different because of non-homogeneity of the rock material. The extension of cracks shows some predictability with an increasing of in-situ stress. When the homogeneity index of rocks (m) is either relatively high or low and lateral pressure coefficients (λ) is high, the number of regular shear slide cracks decreases and the probability of a rock burst also becomes lower. Our numerical simulation results show that the stability of surface rock and the natural bedding stratification of rock material greatly affect rock bursts. Installing bolts with due diligence and suitably can effectively prevent rock bursts. However, it is not effective to control rock bursts by releasing the strain energy with normal pre-boreholes.