Analytical Solution of a Circular Opening considering Nonuniform Pressure and Its Engineering Application

Based on the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, a new analytical solution of a circular opening under nonuniform pressure was presented, which considered rock dilatancy effect and elastic-brittle-plastic failure characteristics. In the plastic zone, the attenuation of Young’s modulus was considered using a radius-dependent model (RDM), and solution of the radius and radial displacement of plastic zone was obtained. The results show that many factors have important impact on the response of the surrounding rock, including lateral pressure coefficient, dilation coefficient, buried depth, and Young’s modulus attenuation. Under nonuniform pressure condition, the distribution of plastic zone and deformation around the opening show obvious nonuniform characteristic: with the increasing of lateral pressure coefficient, the range of plastic zone and deformation decrease gradually at side, while they increase at roof and floor, and the location of the maximum value of support and surrounding rock response curve transfers from side to roof. Based on the analytical results and engineering practice, an optimization method of support design was proposed for the circular opening under nonuniform pressure.

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