Abstract
In this paper, the mechanical behaviours of jointed rock mass have been characterized by a damage mechanics approach which is based on the hypothesis of complementary energy equivalence. Besides its computational simplicity, the main advantage of this approach when compared with other ones is that the Poisson's effects of rock mass defomation due to anisotropic damage can be taken into account. In order to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach, a finite element analysis of a cavern excavation have been carried out. It is found that the predicted response of the surrounding rock mass of the cavern using this approach is in good agreement with the observed data.
