Effect of characteristic length in the finite element solution of elastic deformation of layered materials

This paper focuses on the performance of the finite element (FE) equivalent continuum approach in simulating the behaviour of layered rock. The effect of length scale, which is a function of the layer thickness or joint spacing and shear stiffness of the joints, is investigated through the elastic behaviour of the laminar continuum. The performance of the classical equivalent continuum approach based on a conventional transversely isotropic formulation is been compared with that of a Cosserat equivalent continuum approach, and the FE explicit joint model.