• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.119-131
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• 2019

Time dependent creep settlements are one of the most important causes of material deteriorations for the huge water structures such as concrete faced rockfill dams (CFRDs). For this reason, performing creep analyses of CFRDs is vital important for monitoring and evaluating of the future and safety of such dams. In this study, it is observed how changes viscoplastic behaviour of a CFR dam depending the time. Ilısu dam that is the longest concrete faced rockfill dam (1775 m) in the world is selected for the three dimensional (3D) analyses. 3D finite difference model of Ilısu dam is modelled using FLAC3D software based on the finite difference method. Two different special creep material models are considered in the numerical analyses. Wipp-creep viscoplastic material model and burger-creep viscoplastic material model were rarely used for the creep analyses of CFRDs in the last are taken into account for the concrete slab and rockfill materials-foundation, respectively. Moreover, interface elements are defined between the concrete slab-rockfill materials and rockfill materials-foundation to provide interaction condition for 3D model. Firstly, dam and foundation are collapsed under its self-weight and static behaviour of the dam is evaluated for the empty reservoir conditions. Then, reservoir water is modelled considering maximum water level of the dam and time-dependent creep analyses are performed for maximum reservoir condition. In this paper, maximum principal stresses, vertical-horizontal displacements and pore pressures that may occur on the dam body surface during 30 years (from 2017 to 2047) are evaluated in detail. According to numerical analyses, empty and maximum reservoir conditions of Ilısu dam are compared with each other in detail. 4 various nodal points are selected under the concrete slab to better seen viscoplastic behaviour changes of the dam and viscoplastic behaviour differences of these points during 30 years are graphically presented. It is clearly seen that horizontal-vertical displacements and principal stresses for maximum reservoir condition are more than the empty reservoir condition of the dam and significant pore pressures are observed during 30 years for maximum reservoir condition. In addition, horizontal-vertical displacements, principal stresses and pore pressures for 4 nodal points obviously increased until a certain time and changes decreased after this time.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.207-227
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• 2022

In general, the interaction conditions between the discrete stones are not taken into account by structural engineers during the modeling and analyzing of historical stone bridges. However, many structural damages in the stone bridges occur due to ignoring the interaction conditions between discrete stones. In this study, it is aimed to examine the seismic behavior of a historical stone bridge by considering the interaction stiffness parameters between stone elements. For this purpose, Tokatli historical stone arch bridge was built in 1179 in Karabük-Turkey, is chosen for three-dimensional (3D) seismic analyses. Firstly, the 3D finite-difference model of the Tokatli stone bridge is created using the FLAC3D software. During the modeling processes, the Burger-Creep material model which was not used to examine the seismic behavior of historical stone bridges in the past is utilized. Furthermore, the free-field and quiet non-reflecting boundary conditions are defined to the lateral and bottom boundaries of the bridge. Thanks to these boundary conditions, earthquake waves do not reflect in the 3D model. After each stone element is modeled separately, stiffness elements are defined between the stone elements. Three situations of the stiffness elements are considered in the seismic analyses; a) for only normal direction b) for only shear direction c) for both normal and shear directions. The earthquake analyses of the bridge are performed for these three different situations of the bridge. The far-fault and near-fault conditions of 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake are taken into account during the earthquake analyses. According to the seismic analysis results, the directions of the stiffness parameters seriously changed the earthquake behavior of the Tokatli bridge. Moreover, the most critical stiffness parameter is determined for seismic analyses of historical stone arch bridges.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.261-271
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• 2014

An almost permanent anchor (friction type) is resistant to ground deformation due to the friction between the soil and grout at a fixed length from the anchor body. The purpose of this study is to calculate the force of bearing resistance for a bearing anchor in enlarged boreholes. We conducted analytical and numerical analyses, along with laboratory testing, to find the quantities of bearing resistance prior to grouting in EBA (Enlarged Bearing Anchor) construction. The force of bearing resistance from the analytical method was defined as a function of general borehole diameter, expanded borehole diameter, and soil unconfined compressive strength. We also employed the Flac 3D finite difference numerical modeling code to analyze the bearing resistance of the soil conditions. We then created a laboratory experimental model to measure bearing resistance and carried out a pull-out test. The results of these three analyses are presented here, and a regression analysis was performed between bearing resistance and uniaxial compression strength. The laboratory results yield the strongest bearing resistance, with reinforcement 28.5 times greater than the uniaxial compression strength; the analytical and numerical analyses yielded values of 13.3 and 9.9, respectively. This results means that bearing resistance of laboratory test appears to be affected by skin friction resistance. To improve the reliability of these results, a comparison field study is needed to verify which results (analytical, numerical, or laboratory) best represent field observations.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.59-67
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• 2016

In this paper, we perform a numerical analysis to evaluate the potential of fault reactivation during gas production from hydrate bearing sediments and the moment magnitude of induced seismicity. For the numerical analysis, sequential coupling of TOUGH+Hydrate and FLAC3D was used and the change in effective stress and consequent geomechanical deformation including fault reactivation was simulated by assuming that Mohr-Coulomb shear resistance criterion is valid. From the test production simulation of 30 days, we showed that pore pressure reduction as well as effective stress change hardly induces the fault reactivation in the vicinity of a production well. We also investigated the influence of stress state conditions to a fault reactivation, and showed that normal fault stress regime, where vertical stress is relatively greater than horizontal, may have the largest potential for the reactivation. We tested one simulation that earthquake can be induced during gas production and calculated the moment magnitude of the seismicity. Our calculation presented that all the magnitudes from the calculation were negative values, which indicates that induced earthquakes can be grouped into micro-seismic and as small as hardly perceived by human beings. However, it should be noted that the current simulation was carried out using the highly simplified geometric model and assumptions such that the further simulations for a scheduled test production and commercial scale production considering complex geometric conditions may produce different results.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.221-242
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• 2021

A numerical study of the performance assesment of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes in improved Korean reference disposal system (KRS⁺) for high-level radioactive waste is conducted using TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator. Decay heat from high-level radioactive waste increases the temperature of the repository, and it decreases as decay heat is reduced. The maximum temperature of the repository is below a maximum temperature criterion of 100℃. Saturation of bentonite buffer adjacent to the canister is initially reduced due to pore water evaporation induced by temperature increase. Bentonite buffer is saturated 250 years after the disposal of high-level radioactive waste by inflow of groundwater from the surrounding rock mass. Initial saturation of rock mass decreases as groundwater in rock mass is moved to bentnonite buffer by suction, but rock mass is saturated after inflow of groundwater from the far-field area. Stress changes at rock mass are compared to the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion and the spalling strength in order to investigate the potential rock failure by thermal stress and swelling pressure. Additional simulations are conducted with the reduced spacing of deposition holes. The maximum temperature of bentonite buffer exceeds 100℃ as deposition hole spacing is smaller than 5.5 m. However, temperature of about 56.1% volume of bentonite buffer is below 90℃. The methodology of numerical modeling used in this study can be applied to the performance assessment of coupled THM processes for high-level radioactive waste repositories with various input parameters and geological conditions such as site-specific stress models and geothermal gradients.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6C
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• pp.385-393
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• 2006

Soil nailing is a reinforcement method used for stabilizing excavated walls or slopes. Due to its much advantages such as ease of construction and economical efficiency, use of soil nailing is increased. However, the soil nail has much disadvantages for use in urban area. The soil nail needs to be installed inevitably beyond private land boundary, which causes rent for use. For this reason, removable soil nailing system was developed. However, the removal rate of this system is just about 50￠¦70%. To resolve this problem, the Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) soil nailing system which does not need to be removed and allows for the installation beyond private land, is developed. In this paper, through theoretical and experimental studies in laboratory and field such as prototype tests, pullout tests, we evaluate the stability and behavior characteristics of the FRP soil nailing system. And, numerical analyses using FLAC2D were performed with respect to various soil conditions, where prototype test for excavation wall and pullout tests were carried out. As a result of this study, the FRP soil nailing systems show similar behavior characteristics with those of removable soil nailing system. Finally, considering the serviceability and mechanical stability of FRP soil nailing systems, it is enough to be used as a good alternative of general soil nailing system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.343-354
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• 2008

A new method is suggested herein to measure the virgin earth stresses by means of a borehole. This novel concept is basically a combination of borehole stress relieving and borehole fracturing techniques. The destressing of the borehole is achieved by means of inducing thermal tensile stresses at the borehole periphery by using a cryogenic fluid such as Liquid Nitrogen($LN_2$). The borehole wall eventually develops fractures when the induced thermal stresses exceed the existing compressive stresses at the borehole periphery in addition to the tensile strength of the rock. The above concept is theoretically analyzed for its potential applicability to interpret in situ stress levels from the tensile fracture stresses and the corresponding borehole wall temperatures. Coupled thermo-mechanical numerical simulations are also conducted using FLAC3D, with thermal option, to check the validity of the proposed techniques. From the preliminary theoretical and numerical analysis, the method suggested for the measurement of in situ stresses appears to be capable of accurate estimation of the virgin stresses by monitoring tensile crack formation at a borehole wall and recording the wall temperatures at the time of crack initiation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.115-129
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• 2018

This paper presents a set of results of plate load tests that imposed incremental cyclic loading to a sandy soil bed containing multiple layers of granulated rubber-soil mixture (RSM) at large model scale. Loading and unloading cycles were applied with amplitudes incrementally increasing from 140 to 700 kPa in five steps. A thickness of the RSM layer of approximately 0.4 times the footing diameter was found to deliver the minimum total and residual settlements, irrespective of the level of applied cyclic load. Both the total and residual settlements decrease with increase in the number of RSM layers, regardless of the level of applied cyclic load, but the rate of reduction in both settlements reduces with increase in the number of RSM layers. When the thickness of the RSM layer is smaller, or larger, settlements increase and, at large thicknesses may even exceed those of untreated soil. Layers of the RSM reduced the vertical stress transferred through the foundation depth by distributing the load over a wider area. With the inclusion of RSM layers, the coefficient of elastic uniform compression decreases by a factor of around 3-4. A softer response was obtained when more RSM layers were included beneath the footing damping capacity improves appreciably when the sand bed incorporates RSM layers. Numerical modeling using "FLAC-3D" confirms that multiple RSM layers will improve the performance of a foundation under heavy loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.275-291
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• 2019

In a super-large underground with "large span and high side wall", it is buried in mountains with uneven lithology, complicated geostress field and developed geological structure. These surrounding rocks are more susceptible to stability issues during the construction period. This paper takes the left bank of Baihetan hydropower station (span is 34m) as a case study example, wherein the deformation mechanism of surrounding rock appears prominent. Through analysis of geological, geophysical, construction and monitoring data, the deformation characteristics and factors are concluded. The failure mechanism, spatial distribution characteristics, and evolution mechanism are also discussed, where rock mechanics theory, $FLAC^{3D}$ numerical simulation, rock creep theory, and the theory of center point are combined. In general, huge underground cavern stability issues has arisen with respect to huge-scale and adverse geological conditions since settling these issues will have milestone significance based on the evolutionary pattern of the surrounding rock and the correlation analyses, the rational structure of the factors, and the method of nonlinear regression modeling with regard to the construction and development of hydropower engineering projects among the worldwide.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.293-312
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• 2022

Cantilever sheet pile walls having section thinner than masonry walls are generally adopted to retain moderate height of excavation. In practice, a surcharge in the form of strip load of finite width is generally present on the backfill. So, in the present study, influence of strip load on cantilever sheet pile walls is analyzed by varying the width of the strip load and distance from the cantilever sheet pile walls using finite difference based computer program in cohesionless soil modelled as Mohr-Coulomb model. The results of bending moment, earth pressure, deflection and settlement are presented in non-dimensional terms. A parametric study has been conducted for different friction angle of soil, embedded depth of sheet pile walls, different magnitudes and width of the strip load acting on the ground surface and at a depth below ground level. The result of present study is also validated with the available literature. From the results presented in this study, it can be inferred that optimum behavior of cantilever sheet pile walls is observed for strip load having width 2 m to 3 m on the ground surface. Further as the depth of strip load below the ground surface increases below the ground level to 0.75 times excavation height, the bending moment, settlement, net earth pressure and deflection decreases and then remains constant.