Study on Rock Mass Stability Criterion Based on Catastrophe Theory

In rock mass engineering, the criterion of rock mass stability has complex nonlinear characteristics, so the process of instability for local rock mass system cannot be quantified by the traditional ways of displacement criterion and the criterion of development of plastic zones, which are strongly empirical. Based on the research about the criterion of rock mass stability, criterion of improved strain energy catastrophe is put forward by virtue of catastrophe theory in this paper. After regularizing potential function, the stability of the system can be determined by catastrophe characteristic values. Take a certain slope for example; the results show that the criterion can quantitatively reflect the behavioral process of instability for rock mass system, which is consistent with the engineering practice and possesses a certain engineering reference value.