DEM Modelling of Ice Filled Rock Joints

The research we present in this paper is part of a wider project about the modelling of climate change effects on the degradation of permafrost, with particular attention for the stability of rock masses. The presence of ice and/or mixtures of ice and granular materials in rock joints has a big impact on the shear resistance of joints and on the evolution of joint persistence. In previous research we modelled the mechanical behavior of ice and frozen soils with a Distinct Element model and compared the evolution of the resistance with ice content with experimental data available in the literature. In this paper, we are focusing on rock joints and we are modelling both fill material (ice and frozen soil mixtures) and rock as collections of Distinct Elements, taking advantage of the previous experience in terms of calibration of the parameters. In particular, in this preliminary study, we will focus on the shear resistance of joints as a function of the composition of the fill material. The purpose of this research is to study the mechanical behavior of joints and derive the corresponding force-displacement relationship to be assigned to the interfaces between blocks in a full scale model of rock masses.