Effect of bolt configuration on the interface behaviour between a rock bolt and bond material: A comprehensive DDA investigation

Abstract The role of rock bolts has become more important for a tunnel/cavern construction because of the wide use of conventional tunnelling methods under severe conditions. However, there is a lack of understanding on the interface behaviour between a rock bolt and bond material, especially on the crack initiation and propagation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of bolt configurations on the bolt-grout interface behaviour by discontinuous deformation analysis. By assessing the impact of key parameters, we can better understand the recommended parameter values and their impacts on the failure mechanism.