Distribution of cracks in an anchored cavern under blast load based on cohesive elements

To explore the distribution of cracks in anchored caverns under the blast load, cohesive elements with zero thickness were employed to simulate crack propagation through numerical analysis based on a similar model test. Furthermore, the crack propagation process in anchored caverns under top explosion was analyzed. The crack propagation modes and distributions in anchored caverns with different dip angles fractures in the vault were thoroughly discussed. With the propagation of the explosive stress waves, cracks successively occur at the arch foot, the floor of the anchored caverns, and the boundary of the anchored zone of the vault. Tensile cracks are preliminarily found in rocks that surround the caverns. In the scenario of a pre-fabricated fracture in the upper part of the vault, the number of cracks at the boundary of the anchored zone of the vault first decreases then increases with the increasing dip angle of the pre-fabricated fracture. When the dip angle of the pre-fabricated fracture is 45°, the fewest cracks occur at the boundary of the anchored zone. The wing cracks deflected to the vault are formed at the tip of the pre-fabricated fracture, around which are synchronous formed tensile and shear cracks. Under top explosion, the peak displacement and the peak particle velocity in surrounding rocks of anchored caverns both reach their maximum values at the vault, successively followed by the sidewall and the floor. In addition, with the different dip angles of the pre-fabricated fracture, asymmetry could be found between the peak displacement and the peak particle velocity. The vault displacement of anchored caverns is mainly attributed to tensile cracks at the boundary of the anchored zone, which are generated due to the tensile waves reflected from the free face of the vault. When a fracture occurs in the vault, the peak displacement of the vault gradually decreases while the residual displacement increases.