FAILURE OF A LINEAR VOUSSOIR ARCH - A LABORATORY AND NUMERICAL STUDY

The design of underground openings in horizontally layered strata on the basis of classical linear arching theory assumes the ultimate load capacity of the roof is limited by crushing or compressional failure at the centre of the arch or at the abutments. In this study, physical model tests on limestone, granite, and potash beams revealed a progressive failure mechanism dominated by discrete tensile fracturing, a quite different failure process to that assumed by classical theory. Subsequently, discrete crack propagation finite element analysis successfully simulated the failure mechanisms observed in the physical models.