Boundary setting method for the seismic dynamic response analysis of engineering rock mass structures using the discontinuous deformation analysis method

Large deformations and discontinuous problems can be calculated using the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method by solving time steps, and this method is suitable for simulating the seismic dynamic response of engineering rock mass structures. However, the boundary setting must be carefully analyzed. In this paper, four boundary settings for the DDA method are investigated. First, the contributions to the DDA equations for nonreflecting boundaries (including the viscous boundary and the viscoelastic boundary) are deduced based on the Newmark method. Second, a free-field boundary is introduced in the DDA method with boundary grid generation and coupling calculation algorithms to accurately simulate external source wave motion, such as earthquakes. Third, seismic input boundary treatments are intensively examined, and the force input method is introduced based on nonreflecting boundaries. Finally, the static-dynamic unified boundary is implemented to ensure consistent boundary transformation. The boundary setting method in the DDA method is discussed, and the suggested treatments are used to analyze the seismic dynamic response of underground caverns. Copyright (C) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.