Geomechanical Behavior of Rock Masses Under Dynamic Conditions

The geomechanical response of rock masses under dynamic loading encompasses how stress waves, seismic events, blasting operations and thermal transients interact with inherent rock heterogeneity and pre-existing discontinuities. When subjected to rapid stress changes, rock masses exhibit complex phenomena including excavation unloading effects, fracture initiation and propagation, transient stress redistribution and abrupt energy release manifesting as rockburst or strain burst. Advances in numerical simulation methods—such as coupled finite-element/discrete-element modelling—and controlled laboratory experiments under true-triaxial conditions have elucidated the influence of in situ stress, temperature history and structural planes on dynamic failure. This body of work underpins the design of safer deep mines, tunnels and geothermal reservoirs by guiding support schemes, destressing measures and real-time monitoring strategies. Practical applications extend to seismic hazard assessment, mitigation of mining-induced seismicity and optimisation of excavation sequences to minimise catastrophic rock failure.

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Geomechanical Behavior of Rock Masses Under Dynamic Conditions publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in geomechanical behavior of rock masses under dynamic conditions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Dynamic loading: Rapid application or removal of stress to a rock mass, often in the form of stress waves from seismicity or blasting.

Rockburst: Sudden, violent ejection of rock fragments due to rapid release of stored elastic strain energy following brittle failure.

Strain burst: Accelerated brittle failure under high confinement, characterised by energetic fragmentation and ejection of rock.

In situ stress: The pre-existing state of stress within the Earth’s crust before any engineering disturbance.

Structural plane: A discontinuity surface, such as a fault, joint or bedding plane, that governs fracture initiation and propagation under load.

References

1. Temperature effect of rockburst in granite caverns: insights from reduced-scale model true-triaxial test. Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources (2024).
2. A study on the energy sources and the role of the surrounding rock mass in strain burst. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences (2022).
3. Effects of external dynamic disturbances and structural plane on rock fracturing around deep underground cavern. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology (2022).