Cohesive zone modeling of failure in rocks: strong discontinuity modeling incorporating the effect of slip speed on frictional resistance (Instructional)

Principal Investigator: Ronaldo I. Borja
Project Sponsor: Sandia National Laboratories

Project Description

Modeling failure in geomaterials due to various loading and environmental conditions is a challenging problem requiring the latest in experimental, constitutive modeling, and computational solution methodologies. Current constitutive models and computational methods are incapable of predicting the transition from continuous to fragmented states in granular rocks. As one approach to modeling this transition, we propose to develop a physically-based cohesive zone model characterized by a constitutive law on the fractured zone that captures the effect of frictional interaction of two irregular surfaces sheared on their planes of contact. The friction law accounts for the increase in the effective angle of internal friction with slip speed, and is incorporated into a finite element model with embedded strong discontinuity. The project is instructional in nature and supports one Ph.D. graduate student.

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