The specificities of deformations and failures of highly stressed hard rock massifs

¹ MI KSC RAS, Laboratory of Geomechanics, 184209 Fersman st., 24, Apatity, Russia
² MI FEB RAS, Laboratory of the digital methods research of natural and technical systems, 680000 Turgeneva st., 51, Khabarovsk, Russia

^* Corresponding author: nikavalon@mail.ru

Abstract

According to modern concepts, the state of highly stressed hard rock massifs is mostly caused by the effect of gravitational-tectonic stress fields. At that, a probability of brittle rock failure in a dynamic form is very high. Such failures are always accompanied by the significant energy release accumulated during the deformation process. Based on the experimental studies of deformation and failure processes in various types of rock samples from the Kola Peninsula deposits, we have proposed the criteria for classifying rocks as prone to rock bursts. The information for assessing the rock proneness to dynamic failures can be obtained by analysing the strain curve at the pre-peak section when tested on the ordinary presses and testing devices according to the standard methods. If we study the processes of rocks' deformation and energy accumulation under the triaxial loading mode, we can establish the parameters for the occurrence of dynamic failure of rocks. This, in turn, will allow identifying the conditions of such failure in the investigated rocks for a specific mining-engineering situation and, thereby, coming to a scientifically-based prediction of the rocks' proneness to dynamic rock pressure occurrences.