Continuum modeling of discontinuous rock structures Homogenization of discrete particle assemblies

A continuum model for discontinuous rock masses is presented here. The discrete system is formed by three joint sets of arbitrary geometrical and mechanical properties. In the general case the joint blocks are parallelepipeds that interact through their interfaces transferring both forces and torques. For geometrical reasons the inertia tensor of the blocks is not isotropic and the bending at the interfaces is non-symmetric. The derived continuum is an anisotropic three dimensional Cosserat continuum, which approximates the discrete system for wavelengths five times bigger the characteristic length of the typical rock block.