A coupled numerical method to study the local stability of jointed rock slopes under long-distance bench blasting

In this work, a submodel coupling method has been developed to tackle this problem by coupling LS-DYNA and the four-dimensional lattice spring model (4D-LSM). LS-DYNA is used to simulate the detonation process of explosives, and the 4D-LSM with submodel method is used to simulate the local response of the jointed rock slope caused by bench blasting. The submodel coupling method is verified by a few numerical examples of blast wave propagation. The shock wave propagation of bench blasting in the open-pit mine is reproduced by the coupling method. Both the waveforms and peaks of monitoring points simulated by LS-DYNA and the coupling method are in good agreement with the field monitoring results. Following this, the coupled method and orthogonal experiment are used to study the effects of rock and joint parameters on the stability of jointed rock slopes under bench blasting. The numerical results show that the joint angle has the most significant influence on the instability of the slope, followed by the cohesion of rocks and joints. The developed coupling method has practical significance and application prospects in solving large-scale engineering modelling of jointed rock slopes under blasting.