The frequent or occasional impact loads pose serious threats to the service safety of conventional concrete structures in tunnel. In this paper, a novel three-dimensional mesoscopic model of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) is constructed by discrete element method. The model encompasses the concrete matrix, aggregate, interfacial transition zone and steel fibers, taking into account the random shape of the coarse aggregate and the stochastic distribution of steel fibers. It captures microscopic-level interactions among the coarse aggregate, steel fibers, and matrix. Subsequently, a comprehensive procedure is formulated to calibrate the microscopic parameters required by the model, and the reliability of the model is verified by comparing with the experimental results. Furthermore, a coupled finite difference method-discrete element method approach is used to construct the model of the split Hopkinson pressure bar. Compression tests are simulated on SFRC specimens with varying steel fiber contents under static and dynamic loading conditions. Finally, based on the advantages of DEM analysis at the mesoscopic level, this study analyzed mechanisms of enhancement and crack arrest in SFRC. It shed a light on the perspectives of interface failure process, microcrack propagation, contact force field evolution and energy analysis, offering valuable insights for related mining engineering applications.

In this study, we present a novel nodal integration-based particle finite element method (N-PFEM) designed for the dynamic analysis of saturated soils. Our approach incorporates the nodal integration technique into a generalised Hellinger-Reissner (HR) variational principle, creating an implicit PFEM formulation. To mitigate the volumetric locking issue in low-order elements, we employ a node-based strain smoothing technique. By discretising field variables at the centre of smoothing cells, we achieve nodal integration over cells, eliminating the need for sophisticated mapping operations after re-meshing in the PFEM. We express the discretised governing equations as a min-max optimisation problem, which is further reformulated as a standard second-order cone programming (SOCP) problem. Stresses, pore water pressure, and displacements are simultaneously determined using the advanced primal-dual interior point method. Consequently, our numerical model offers improved accuracy for stresses and pore water pressure compared to the displacement-based PFEM formulation. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the N-PFEM efficiently captures both transient and long-term hydro-mechanical behaviour of saturated soils with high accuracy, obviating the need for stabilisation or regularisation techniques commonly employed in other nodal integration-based PFEM approaches. This work holds significant implications for the development of robust and accurate numerical tools for studying saturated soil dynamics.

Landslides occurring in sensitive clay often result in widespread destruction, posing a significant risk to human lives and property due to the substantial decrease in undrained shear strength during deformation. Assessing the consequences of these landslides is challenging and necessitates robust numerical methods to comprehensively investigate their failure mechanisms. While studies have extensively explored upward progressive landslides in sensitive clays, understanding downward progressive cases remains limited. In this study, we utilised the nodal integration-based particle finite element method (N-PFEM) with a nonlinear strain-softening model to analyse downward progressive landslides in sensitive clay on elongated slopes, induced by surcharge loads near the crest. We focused on elucidating the underlying failure mechanisms and evaluating the effects of different soil parameters and strain-softening characteristics. The simulation results revealed the typical pattern for downward landslides, which typically start with a localised failure in proximity to the surcharge loads, followed by a combination of different types of failure mechanisms, including single flow slides, translational progressive landslides, progressive flow slides, and spread failures. Additionally, inclined shear bands occur within spread failures, often adopting distinctive ploughing patterns characterised by triangular shapes. The sensitive clay thickness at the base, the clay strength gradient, the sensitivity, and the softening rate significantly influence the failure mechanisms and the extent of diffused displacement. Remarkably, some of these effects mirror those observed in upward progressive landslides, underscoring the interconnectedness of these phenomena. This study contributes valuable insights into the complex dynamics of sensitive clay landslides, shedding light on the intricate interplay of factors governing their behaviour and progression.

An implicit Nodal integration based Particle Finite Element Method (N-PFEM) is developed to model soil flow problems. The governing equations are discretised using an implicit time integration scheme and the spatial integration is conducted over cells, rather than finite elements, using a nodal integration scheme. Compared with the conventional PFEM, the developed N-PFEM requires no variable information transferring from old to new integration points when modelling large deformation problems. Additionally, the nature of implicit time integration makes the method particularly suitable for handling soil dynamic problems of low to medium frequency which are the most likely scenarios in geotechnical engineering. The verification of the proposed method is achieved by reproducing two lab testings.

As a kind of non-coal pillar roadway support technique, gob-side entry retaining is of great significance to improve the production efficiency of a fully mechanized working face. However, the construction of the roadway is often subject to the surrounding rock conditions, the application is mainly concentrated in the nearly horizontal and gently inclined coal seam conditions, and the application in the steeply inclined coal seam conditions is relatively less. This paper is based on the gob-side entry retaining roadway construction of the 58# upper right 3# working face in the fifth district of Xinqiang Coal Mine, and describes the investigation in which we measured the advanced abutment stress, mining stress, and roof stress and analyzed the moving rule of roof. On this basis, in this work, we determined the filling parameters and process and investigated the filling effect from the perspective of the deformation of the filling body and the surrounding rock. The results show that the influence range of the advanced abutment stress in the working face is about 20~25 m, the stress in the upper part is intense, and stress in the middle and lower parts are relaxed. The setting load, the cycle-end resistance, and the time-weighted mean resistance at the upper end of working face along the direction of length are the largest, followed by the middle part, and the lower end is the minimum. When exploiting the steep inclined coal seam, the upper part of the working face is more active than the lower part, and the damaging range of overlaying strata is mainly in the upper part of the goaf. With this research, we established the filling mining process in steeply inclined coal seams and determined the relevant parameters. The gangue cement mortar filling can ensure the deformation of the filling body, the surrounding rock of the roadway is small in the process of roadway retention, and the stress of the filling body is also small, which ensure the successful retention of the roadway. This study verifies the possibility of repair-less exploitation and provides a reference for the popularization and application of the gob-side entry retaining technique in steep inclined coal seam. 

As one of the most common disasters in deep mine roadway, floor heave has caused serious obstacles to mine transportation and normal production activities. The third section winch roadway in the third mining area of Qitaihe Longhu coal mine has a serious floor heave due to the large buried depths of the roadway and the semicoal rock roadway, and the maximum floor heave is 750 mm. For the problem of floor stability, this paper establishes a mechanical model to analyze the stability of roadway floor heave by analogy with the basement heave of deep foundation pit. It provides a model reference for analyzing the problem of roadway floor heave. Aiming at the problem of roadway floor heave in Longhu coal mine, the roadway model is established by using FLAC3D, and the roadway model after support is established according to the on-site support measures. Through the analysis of the distribution of roadway plastic area, stress nephogram, and displacement field simulation results, the results show that the maximum displacement of roadway roof and floor after support is reduced by 15% and 23%, but the maximum floor heave is still 770 mm, which is close to the measured floor heave of roadway. In order to solve the problem of roadway floor heave and integrate economic factors, this paper puts forward three support optimization schemes, simulates the support effect of each scheme, and finally determines that scheme 3 is the best support optimization scheme. Compared with that under the original support, the amount of floor heave is reduced by 81%, and the final amount of floor heave is 150 mm, which can meet the requirements of roadway floor deformation. The results provide a scheme and guidance for roadway support optimization

With the increase in mining depth, the risk of ground pressure disasters in yellow gold mines is becoming more and more serious. This paper carries out a borehole test for the pressure behavior in a non-coal mining area with a mining depth of more than 800 m in the Jiaodong area. The test results show that under a depth of 1050 m, the increase in the vertical principal stress is the same as the increase in the minimum horizontal principal stress, which is about 3 MPa per 100 m. When the depth increases to 1350 m, the vertical principal stress increases by about 3% per 100 m, and the self-weight stress and the maximum horizontal principal stress maintain a steady growth rate of about 3 MPa per 100 m. In addition, based on the test results, the operation of the ground pressure monitoring system in each mine is investigated. The investigation results show that in some of the roadway and stope mines with depths of more than 800 m, varying degrees of rock mass instability have occurred, and a few mines have had sporadic slight rockbursts, accounting for about 5%. There was a stress concentration area in the lower part of the goaf formed in the early stage of mining, and slight rockburst phenomena such as rock mass ejection have occurred; meanwhile, the area stability for normal production and construction was good, and there was no obvious ground pressure. This paper compares the researched mines horizontally as well as to international high-level mines and puts forward some suggestions, including: carrying out ground pressure investigations and improving the level of intelligence, which would provide countermeasures to balance the safety risks of deep mining, reducing all kinds of safety production accidents and providing a solid basis for risk prevention and supervision.

A three-dimensional collapse mechanism that can consider a combined collapse of the tunnel roof and the side walls is proposed in this work. The three-dimensional upper bound support pressure is formulated with the power balance principal in the upper bound theorem. The nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is used to replace the commonly used linear MohrCoulomb failure criterion. The method has been validated by a series of examples, in which the three-dimensional collapse mechanism and support pressures are in a good agreement with the numerical results and solutions found in the literatures. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses of the geotechnical and geometrical parameters on the support pressure are conducted and the collapsing range is measured. The results show that a higher value of nonlinear failure coefficient, tensile strength, initial cohesion and tangential internal friction angle can increase tunnel stability, while tunnel stability is threatened by a higher value of burial depth, unit weight, tunnel width and height. The predicted collapse range increases noticeably with the increase of the nonlinear coefficient. This study is of great significance for predicting the three-dimensional safety support pressure and collapse mechanism of tunnel.

Cliff recession poses a significant threat to the built environment, transportation infrastructure and land use. In this paper, a novel computational framework called the Nodal-integration based Particle Finite Element Method (N-PFEM) is developed for modelling the cliff recession resulting from weathering-induced landslides. The N-PFEM combines the nodal-integration technique with the PFEM in second-order cone programming and thus requires no variable mapping operation, which is essential in the classical PFEM for modelling history-dependent materials, for modelling large deformation problems such as landslides in cliff recession processes. To verify the developed N-PFEM, a series of benchmarks have been simulated including the cliff recession under both the weathering-limited and transport-limited conditions. Simulation results from the N-PFEM are validated in detail to these from the limit analysis method, well established geomorphologic models and the discrete element method. Additionally, measures for preventing cliff recession such as the construction of retaining wall structures are also investigated using the N-PFEM.