Burger’s Bonded Model for Distinct Element Simulation of the Multi-Factor Full Creep Process of Soft Rock

Pervasive, unavoidable and uncontrollable creep failure generated in soft-rock engineering occasionally happens and therefore attracts extensive attention recently. However, due to soft rock’s multi-factor creep mechanism, it is still difficult to simulate the full-stage creep with the Distinct Element Method (DEM). In this study, we proposed an improved simulation method based on the classical Burger’s model and the Parallel Bonded model in Particle Flow Code (PFC). We apply the abovementioned models together to simulate the full-stage creep process in soft rock. The proposed process has considered the mesoscopic mechanical characteristics of DEM carefully and finally resulted in a parallel physical model, which is called Burger’s Bonded model in this paper. The DEM simulation test using Burger’s Bonded model was designed to compare with experiments. The experiments include a normal creep test and a uniaxial loading test with prefabricated cracks. In contrast to experimental results, the numerical results show that the average error during the whole creep process is less than 3%; the stress–strain curves and crack development process show great agreement. It is also found that the wing crack coalescence in soft rock is independent of the prefabricated crack angle, propagating with a fixed dip angle. The results show that the numerical method proposed in this paper can simulate the multi-factor-caused full stage (attenuated, steady, accelerated) creep process of soft rock in DEM, which provides new insights for theoretical research and engineering design.