The excavation broken zones (EBZ) of gateways is a significant factor in determining the stability of man-made opening. The EBZ of 55 gateways with variety geological conditions were measured using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The results found that the greatly depth of EBZ, the smallest is 1.5 m and the deepest is 3.5 m. Experimental investigations were carried out in the laboratory and in the coal mine fields for applying the combined arch support theory to large EBZ. The studies found that resin bolts with high tensile strength and good bond force could provide high pretension force with bolt extensible anchorage method in the field. Furthermore, the recently invented torque amplifier could greatly improve the bolt pretension force in poor lithology. The FLAC3D numerical simulation found that the main diffusion sphere of pretension force was only in the free segment zone of the surrounding rock. Further analysis found that the initial load-bearing zone thickness of the combined arch structure in large EBZ could be expressed by the free segment length of bolt. The using of high mechanical property bolts and steel with high pretension force will clearly putting forward the bolt length selection rule based on the combined arch support theory.

Gypsiferous soils classified as problematic soils due to the dissolution of gypsum. Presence of gypsum in the soils texture subjected to steady flow can cause serious damages for the buildings, roads and water transmission canals. Therefore, researchers have conducted a series of physical, mechanical and microstructural laboratory tests to study the effect of gypsum leaching on the geotechnical properties of a lean clay containing 0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15% raw gypsum. In addition, a combination of two nano-chemical stabilizers named Terrasil and Zycobond was used in equal proportions to stabilize the gypsiferous clayey samples. The results indicated that gypsum leaching considerably changed the physical and mechanical properties of gypsiferous soils. Further, adding the combination of Terrasil and Zycobond nano-polymeric stabilizers to the gypsiferous soil led to a remarkable reduction in the settlement drop, compressibility, and electrical conductivity (EC) of the water passing through the specimens, resulting in improving the engineering properties of the soil samples. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that stabilization by terrasil and zycobond causes formation of new peaks such as CSH and alteration of pure soil structure by adding raw gypsum. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show the denser texture of the soil samples due to chemical stabilization and decrease of Si/Al ratio which indicates by Energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) interpretation, proved the enhance of shear strength in stabilized samples.

This study aims to explore practical and useful equations for rapid evaluation of uniaxial compressive strength of concrete (UCS-C) during the preliminary design stage of aggregate selection. For this purpose, aggregates which were produced from eight different intact rocks were used in the production of concretes. Laboratory experiments involved the tests for uniaxial compressive strength (UCS-R), point load index (PLI-R), P wave velocity (UPV-R), apparent porosity (n-R), unit weight (UW-R) and aggregate impact value (AIV-R) of the rock samples. UCS-C, point load index (PLI-C) and P wave velocity (UPV-C) of concrete samples were also determined. Relationships between UCS-R-rock parameters and UCS-C-concrete parameters were developed by regression analyses. In the simple regression analyses, PLI-C, UPV-C, UCS-R, PLI-R, and UPV-R were found to be statistically significant independent variables to estimate the UCS-C. However, higher coefficients of determination (R²=0.97-1.0) were obtained by multiple regression analyses. The results of simple regression analysis were also compared to the limited number of previous studies. The strength conversion factor (k) values were found to be 14.3 and 14.7 for concrete and rock samples, respectively. It is concluded that the UCS-C can roughly be estimated from derived equations only for the specified rock types.

To study the reverse fault formation process and the stress evolution feature, a simulation test system of reverse fault formation is developed based on the analysis of reverse fault formation mechanism. The system mainly consists of simulation laboratory module, operation console and horizontal loading control system, and data monitoring system. It can represent the fault formation process, induce fault crack initiation and simulate faults of different throws. Simulation tests on reverse fault formation process are conducted by using the simulation test system: horizontal loading is added to one side of the model. the bottom rock layer cracks under the effect of the induction device. The crack dip angle is about 29°. A reverse fault is formed with the expansion of the crack dip angle towards the upper right along the fracture surface and the slippage of the hanging wall over the foot wall. Its formation process unfolds five stages: compressive deformation of rock, local crack initiation, reverse fault penetration, slippage of the hanging wall over the foot wall and compaction of fault plane. There is residual structural stress inside rock after fault formation. The study methods and results have guiding and referential significance for further study on reverse fault formation mechanism and rock stress evolution.

Piles are widely used in structural foundations of engineering projects. However, the deformation of the soil around the pile caused by driving process has an adverse effect on adjacent existing underground buildings. Many previous studies have addressed related problems in sand and saturated clay. Nevertheless, the failure mechanism of pile driving in unsaturated soil remains scarcely reported, and this issue needs to be studied. In this study, a modeling test system based on particle image velocimetry (PIV) was developed for studying deformation characteristics of pile driving in unsaturated silt with different water contents. Meanwhile, a series of direct shear tests and soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) tests also were conducted. The test results show that the displacement field shows an apparent squeezing effect under the pile end. The installation pressure and displacement field characteristics are sensitive to the water content. The installation pressure is the largest and the total displacement field is the smallest, for specimens compacted at water content of 11.5%. These observations can be reasonably interpreted according to the relevant unsaturated silt theory derived from SWCC tests and direct shear tests. The variation characteristics of the soil displacement field reflect the macroscopic mechanical properties of the soil around the pile.

Grouting method is an effective way of reinforcing cracked rock masses and plugging water gushing. Current grouting diffusion models are generally developed for horizontal cracks, which is contradictory to the fact that the crack generally occurs in rock masses with irregular spatial distribution characteristics in real underground environments. To solve this problem, this study selected a cement-sodium silicate slurry (C-S slurry) generally used in engineering as a fast-curing grouting material and regarded the C-S slurry as a Bingham fluid with time-varying viscosity for analysis. Based on the theory of fluid mechanics, and by simultaneously considering the deadweight of slurry and characteristics of non-uniform spatial distribution of viscosity of fast-curing grouts, a theoretical model of slurry diffusion in an oblique crack in rock masses at constant grouting rate was established. Moreover, the viscosity and pressure distribution equations in the slurry diffusion zone were deduced, thus quantifying the relationship between grouting pressure, grouting time, and slurry diffusion distance. On this basis, by using a 3-d finite element program in multi-field coupled software Comsol, the numerical simulation results were compared with theoretical calculation values, further verifying the effectiveness of the theoretical model. In addition, through the analysis of two engineering case studies, the theoretical calculations and measured slurry diffusion radius were compared, to evaluate the application effects of the model in engineering practice. Finally, by using the established theoretical model, the influence of cracking in rock masses on the diffusion characteristics of slurry was analysed. The results demonstrate that the inclination angle of the crack in rock masses and azimuth angle of slurry diffusion affect slurry diffusion characteristics. More attention should be paid to the actual grouting process. The results can provide references for determining grouting parameters of fast-curing grouts in engineering practice.

This paper investigates the effect of the jaw's curvature, also known by contact angle and jaw arc central angle (2α), of the Brazilian test apparatus on indirect tensile strength of various rock types. That's why, ten rock samples including limestone, marble, skarn, granite, diorite, and granodiorite were collected from some quarries in different provinces of Iran. Petrographic, mineralogical and textural investigations were performed using thin section analyses. Physical properties of the selected rock samples namely dry and saturated unit weights, porosity, water absorption, and specific gravity were determined for the rock samples. In addition, Brazilian tensile strength at different 2α angles (i.e., 2α = 0°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 45°, and 60°) were determined for the rocks in the laboratory. Results show that the parameter for the rocks is between 3.81 MPa at 2α=0° and 54.76 MPa at 2α=60°. This means that Brazilian tensile strength increased with increasing 2α angle from 0° to 60°. Also, it was found that the highest change rate of the Brazilian tensile strength occurs in range of 2α=15°-30° for most studied rock samples. In some tested samples, the parameter is decreased only at 2α = 60°. The values of Brazilian tensile strength of the rocks tested by flat and standard jaws are near to each other.

Freezing-thawing cycles have significant effect on soils engineering behavior in frozen areas. This effect is more considerable in fine-graded than coarse-grained soils. The objective of this study is improving soil durability and strength in continues freezing-thawing cycles. For getting this purpose mixture of Polyvinyl Acetate (PVAc) and Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether (EGBE) has been added to fine-grained soil and final prepared samples were tested at different freezing-thawing cycles. PVAc was mixed with 1%, 2% and 3% of soil weight. Half of PVAc weight was used as weight of EGBE. Freezing-Thawing cycles were exposed to samples and they were tested at different cycles. Results showed that adding mixture of PVAc+EGBE improved strength and durability of samples up to 10 freezing-thawing cycles. Unconfined compress strength tests were applied to samples and stress and strain of samples were tested on failure time. Behavior of samples was different at different percentages of mixture. Results showed that increasing amount of PVAc from 1% to 2% had more considerable effect on final stress than 2% to 3%. Using higher percentages of PVAc + EGBE mixture leaded to that samples carried more strain before collapsing. Another result gained from tests was that, freezing-thawing effect was more considerable after fourth cycles. It means differences between first and fourth cycles were more considerable than differences between fourth and tenth.