ABSTRACT
Actual laboratory rock cutting tests were numerically simulated using the discrete element method as implemented by the open-source framework Yade. The objective was to gain a better understanding of how the simulation setup influences the realism of the obtained results, thus providing the basis for developing useful numerical simulation models for solving actual rock engineering problems. The aim is twofold: On the one hand, to realistically simulate the rock medium by considering its inhomogeneous nature. This is achieved through the use of the interaction range coefficient in a model developed in 3D. On the other hand, to examine the combined effects of the microparameters’ values on the cutting force history, in terms of the force magnitude and the data series in the time domain and frequency spectrum. In this paper, a four-step calibration process for identifying the optimum set of microparameters’ values is presented. The process is based on the ‘Design of Experiment’ method and optimization techniques. The resulting models were evaluated against the actual laboratory test results both quantitatively and qualitatively. It was concluded that well calibrated numerical simulations of the rock cutting process can provide good approximations regarding the cutting force and energy requirements. Hence, they could be used for the performance prediction of actual rock cutting setups when it is not possible to obtain hard data.
