This research will pursue developments in the boundary element method (BEM) for the analysis of stress and fracture mechanics problems dealing with anisotropic rock masses, including efficient techniques to model the role played by material anisotropy, rock fabric, and rock layering (heterogeneity) in rock engineering problems. Focus will be on 2-D and 3-D elastostatic problems where the medium is either a continuum, a continuum with one or several interfaces, or a continuum with potentially propagating discrete cracks. While the development will be generally applicable to any kind of body forces for which particular solutions can be derived, concentration will be on the body force of gravity. For fracture problems, focus will be on the 2-D problem, and laboratory tests on natural and artificial rocks will also be conducted to determine experimentally the stress field and crack growth path in anisotropic and layered systems. This research will provide new methods of engineering analysis that are currently lacking, providing a state-of-the-art methodology that can be easily implemented into computer codes and readily used by a wide range of engineers, designers, and researchers. Completion of this project will greatly enhance the range of applications of the BEM to rock mechanics and fracture problems involving anisotropic and layered systems including fault mechanics and earthquake-induced displacement and stresses, hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic jacking, borehole breakout, and in-situ stress determination, rock cutting and drilling, and the design and stability of underground excavation and rock slopes.
