FDEM numerical simulation of size effect on mechanical properties of basalts with hidden microcracks.

As an important geological environment medium for engineering construction in southwest China, basalt generally contains hidden microcracks at a micro-scale, which leads to significant size effect on its mechanical properties, and relevant research is lacking and unsystematic. A synthetic rock mass model based on the combination of a micro-discrete fracture network method and a finite-discrete element method is used to systematically explore the size effect of the mechanical properties of basalt rock blocks with hidden microcracks. The results showed that: (1) the fracture angle is uniformly distributed, and the fracture length conforms to the logarithmic normal distribution, with an areal fracture intensity P20 of 0.