The brittleness of rock is known to be an important property that affects the fragmentation characteristics in mechanized cutting. As interaction between cutting tool and (i.e., cutter forces, efficiency, s/p ratio, abrasivity) during mechanical strongly influenced by fragmentation, tools disc pick cutter) experience different behaviors depending on brittleness. In this study, relationships abr...

Abstract. Rock avalanches produce exceptionally long run-outs that correlate with their rock volume. This relationship has been attributed to the size-dependent dynamic lowering of effective basal friction. However, it also observed similar volumes can span several orders magnitude, suggesting additional controlling factors. Here, we analyse analogue models avalanches, experiments designed test...

Fractures and faults riddle the Earth's crust on all scales, and the deformation associated with them is presumed to have had significant effects on its petrological and structural evolution. However, despite the abundance of directly observable earthquake activity, unequivocal evidence for seismic slip rates along ancient faults is rare and usually related to frictional melting and the formati...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of a combined finite-discrete element program, such as ELFEN, for the simulation and prediction of backfill stope failure risks due to blast loading effects in underground mines. A real size of a backfilled stope blasted in the nearby rock of the paste fill is modelled. The dynamic fracture propagation and fragmentation in rock and the...