The rapid development of modern society has increased the demand for high-performance geo-materials. As an advanced cementitious composite, fiber-reinforced concrete has attracted much attention and has been widely applied to various buildings and civil infrastructure. A basalt fiber-reinforced concrete is proposed as an advanced geo-material and the mechanical and thermal properties were investigated in this study. The basalt fiber-reinforced concrete was compared with ordinary concrete to confirm its superiority by determination of the physical parameters, static compressive test, and dynamic compressive test. The static compressive test was performed using the YAW-2000C constant stress pressure experimental machine under different heating temperatures and cooling methods, while the dynamic compressive test was performed using the 75-mm split-Hopkinson pressure bar under different loading rates, heating temperatures, and cooling methods. For the basic physical parameters, it was found that the mass loss and wave velocity of concrete decrease with the increase of the temperature. In the static compressive test, the static compressive strength for both the ordinary concrete and the fiber-reinforced concrete decreased with the increase of the temperature, and greater strength was observed with the air-cooled compared to the water-cooled method. It was found that the strength of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete is greater than that of ordinary concrete. In the dynamic compressive test, the strength increased with an increasing loading rate and descended with an increasing temperature, while for the same heating temperature and loading rate, water cooling produced more irregular and smaller fragments than air cooling. The dynamic compressive strength of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete was bigger than that of ordinary concrete.

A combined finite‐discrete element method (FDEM) is proposed to model the dynamic fracture, fragmentation, and resultant muck‐piling process during mining production by blast in underground mine. The key component of the proposed method, that is, transition from continuum to discontinuum through fracture and fragmentation, is introduced in detail, which makes the proposed method superior to the continuum‐based finite element method and discontinuum‐based discrete element method. The FDEM is calibrated by modelling the crater formation process by blast. The FDEM has well modelled the stress and fracture propagation and resultant fragmentation process. In addition, the proposed method has well captured the crushed zone, cracked zone, and the radial long crack zone. After that, the FDEM is employed to model the dynamic fracture and resultant fragmentation process by blast during sublevel caving process in an underground mine. Then the FDEM has well modelled the stress propagation process, as well as the fracture initiation and fragmenting process. Finally, the effects of borehole spacing and initial gas pressure are discussed. It is concluded that the FDEM is a value numerical approach to study the dynamic rock fracture process by blast.

The stability of rock slopes is of significance, as even the slightest slope failure can result in damage to infrastructure and catastrophes for human beings. Thus, this article focuses on the review of the current techniques available for rock slope stability analysis. The rock slope stability techniques can be classified as conventional methods and numerical methods. The advantages and limitations of the conventional method are briefly reviewed. The numerical methods mainly included three types, i.e., continuum methods, discontinuum methods, and the combined/hybrid continuum–discontinuum methods. This article pays more attention to the last type. The combined/hybrid finite–discrete element method (FDEM), which might be the most widely used continuum–discontinuum method, is introduced and we illustrated its abilities in modelling the entire rock slope failure process. The fundamental principles of FDEM, i.e., the contact interaction of the discrete bodies and the transition from continuum to discontinuum, are introduced in detail. The abilities of the FDEM in modelling the rock slope failure process are calibrated by modelling the entire typical rock slope failure process. Then, the application of the FDEM in the analysis of slope stability is introduced and discussed. Finally, the authors give insight into the GPGUP-parallelized FDEM modelling of the high rock slope failure process by the implementation of the strength reduction method (SRM). It is concluded that the FDEM can effectively model the entire rock slope failure process, even without the implantation of any slope modes, and the GPGUP-parallelized FDEM is a promising tool in the study and application of rock slope stabilities.

A hybrid finite‐discrete element method (FDEM) is proposed to model rock fracture initiation and propagation during a three‐point bending test under quasistatic and dynamic loading conditions. Three fracture models have been implemented in the FDEM to model the transition from continuum to discontinuum through fracture and fragmentation. The loading rate effect on rock behaviour has been taken into account by the implementation of the relationship between the static and dynamic rock strengths derived from dynamic rock fracture experiments. The Brazilian tensile strength test has been modelled to calibrate the FDEM. The FDEM can well model the stress and fracture propagation and well show the stress distribution along the vertical diameter of the disc during the Brazilian tensile strength test. Then, FDEM is implemented to study the rock fracture process during three‐point bending tests under quasistatic and dynamic loading conditions. The FDEM has well modelled the stress and fracture propagation and can obtain reasonable fracture toughness. After that, the effects of the loading rate on the rock strength and rock fracture toughness are discussed, and the mesh size and mesh orientation on the fracture patterns are also discussed. It is concluded that the FDEM can well model the rock fracture process by the implementation of the three fracture models. The FDEM can capture the loading rate effect on rock strength and rock fracture toughness. The FDEM is a valuable tool for studying the rock behaviour on the dynamic loading although the proposed method is sensitive to the mesh size and mesh orientation.

A hybrid finite–discrete element method (FDEM) is proposed to investigate dynamic pure-mode-II fracture behaviors. The transition of continuum to discontinuum was applied to the FDEM through the use of three fracture modes, so that the whole fracture process could be modeled naturally. The FDEM was then employed to model the dynamic pure-mode-II fracture behavior of rock during a four-point bending test with a prefabricated notch. The results showed that the fracture initiated from the tip of the prefabricated notch under a relatively lower loading rate, i.e., 1 m/s and 5 m/s. However, when the loading rate reached higher levels, i.e., 10 m/s and 50 m/s, the prefabricated notch played a small role in the fracture patterns. Under these conditions, the fracture initiated from the center of the beam bottom or the stress concentration vicinity, instead of the tip of the prefabricated notch. Regardless of the loading rate, the obtained force-loading displacement curves showed a typical brittle material failure process. Additionally, by incorporating the empirical correlation between the static and dynamic strengths obtained from the dynamic rock fracture tests, the hybrid finite–discrete element method could effectively reflect the impact of the loading rate on the strength of the rock. To conclude, the hybrid finite–discrete element method is an effective instrument to investigate the fracture initiation and propagation of rock, since it can both naturally simulate the process of rock fracture and capture the effect of the loading rate on the rock behaviors.