Micromechanics and Rock Failure Process Analysis

A major challenge in rock mechanics has been the realistic modeling that can reveal the progressive accumulation of damage and shear localization in a brittle rock under compression. The Rock Failure Process Analysis code (RFPA^2D) is an efficient tool and realistic model to simulate such complexities. A key assumption of the code is that the heterogeneity of elastic moduli and failure strength are characterized by the Weibull distribution with two parameters (m and σ₀ ). However, these two parameters do automatically not relate to the microstructural parameters, such as grain size and microcrack statistics. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the micromechanical basis of these Weibull parameters, specifically how they depend on microstructural attributes such as grain size and crack statistics. Secondly, a methodology was developed to quantitatively determine the relevant micromechanical parameters for input into the RFPA^2D code. Finally, the methodology was implemented by quantifying the microcrack geometry and statistics of real rock and simulating its uniaxial compression and progressive failure behavior. The simulated result agrees well with the experimental study.