Slab buckling rockburst is a common rockburst failure mode in high geostress areas. In view of the shortcomings of the existing mechanical models

such as neglecting the interaction between the split rock plates

a thin plate mechanical model of circular tunnel considering the horizontal stress between rock plates is established. The bending deflection of rock plate under load is calculated using the principle of the minimum potential energy

and compared with the ultimate deflection of tensile failure

thus the depth of rockburst failure is yielded. The research rationality is validated through the comparison between the calculation results of the new model and existing models by analyzing an engineering case. The results show that the rock plates around the tunnel are subjected to larger loads and smaller plates thickness. Moreover

the bending strain energy of rock plates is close to the work done by the longitudinal loads

and the buckling failure of the plates can be triggered by small inter-plate forces. With the increase of the distance from the tunnel wall

the thickness of rock plates increases and the stress decreases. The bending deflection of rock plate decreases faster than the ultimate deflection. After reaching a certain depth

the bending deflection becomes less than the ultimate deflection. As the buried depth increases

both the stress and bending deflection of each rock plate experience increase. The number of damaged rock plates also increases as well as the depth of rockburst.