The effect of fracture patterns on penetration rate of TBM in fractured rock mass using probabilistic numerical approach

Existence of discontinuity features has a great influence on mechanical properties and cuttability of a rock mass. In the literature, the influence of geometrical properties of joint sets such as joint spacing and orientation on penetration rate (PR) of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) were investigated and reported. However, the actual fracture pattern in a rock mass is more likely a discrete fracture network. The numerical probabilistic distinct...