• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2009

This paper presents the numerical investigation for the hydraulic behavior of a fractured rock mass with a hydromechanical interaction which may be considered during the in-situ hydraulic injection test. These experiments consist in a series of flow meter injection tests for fractures existing along an open hole section installed in a borehole, and experimental results are applied for testing a numerical model developed to the analysis and prediction of such hydromechanical interactions. Field experimental results show that conductive fractures form a dynamic and interdependent network, that individual fractures cannot be adequately modeled as independent systems, that new fluid intaking zones generate when pore pressure exceeds the minimum principal stress magnitude in that borehole, and that pore pressures much larger than this minimum stress can be further supported by the circulated fractures. In this study, these characteristics are investigated numerically how to influence the morphology of the natural fracture network in a rock mass by using a discrete fracture ntework model.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.45-52
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• 2022

Because discontinuity in the rock mass and contact of soil-structure interaction exhibits coupled thermal-hydromechanical (THM) behavior, it is necessary to develop an interface element based on the full governing equations. In this study, we derive force equilibrium, fluid continuity, and energy equilibrium equations for the interface element. Additionally, we present a stiffness matrix of the elastoplastic mechanical model for the interface element. The developed interface element uses six nodes for displacement and four nodes for water pressure and temperature in a two-dimensional analysis. The fully coupled THM analysis for fluid injection into a fault can model the complicated evolution of injection pressure due to decreasing effective stress in the fault and thermal contraction of the surrounding rock mass. However, the result of hydromechanical analysis ignoring thermal phenomena overestimates hydromechanical variables.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.255-267
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• 2001

A comparison study is performed to understand the coupling behavior of the thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical interactions in the vicinity of an underground radwaste repository, assumed to be located at a depth of 500 m, within a granitic rock mass with a 58$^{\circ}$ dipping fault passing through the roof-wall intersection of the repository cavern. The two dimensional universal distinct element code, UDEC is used for the analysis. The model includes a granitic rock meas, a canister with PWR spent fuels surrounded by the compacted bentonite inside a deposition hole, and the mixed bentonite backfilled in the rest of the space within a repository cavern. The coupling behavior of hydromechanical, thermomechanical, and thermohydromechanical interaction has been studied and compared. The effect of the time-dependent decaying heat, from the radioactive materials in PWR spent fuels, on the repository and its surroundings has been studied. A steady state flow algorithm is used for the hydraulic analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.5-16
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• 2002

A hydrogeomechanical numerical model is presented to evaluate rainfall impacts on groundwater flow in slopes and slope stability. This numerical model is developed based on the fully coupled poroelastic governing equations for groundwater flow in deforming variably saturated geologic media and the Galerkin finite element method. A series of numerical experiments using the model developed are then applied to an unsaturated slope under various rainfall rates. The numerical simulation results show that the overall hydromechanical slope stability deteriorates, and the potential failure nay initiate from the slope toe and propagate toward the slope crest as the rainfall rate increases. From the viewpoint of hydrogeology, the pressure head and hence the total hydraulic head increase as the rainfall rate increases. As a result, the groundwater table rises, the unsaturated zone reduces, the seepage face expands from the slope toe toward the slope crest, and the groundwater flow velocity increases along the seepage face. From the viewpoint of geomechanics, the horizontal displacement increases, and the vertical displacement decreases toward the slope toe as the rainfall rate increases. This may result from the buoyancy effect associated with the groundwater table rise as the rainfall rate increases. As a result, the overall deformation intensifies toward the slope toe, and the unstable zone, in which the factor of safety against shear failure is less than 1, becomes thicker near the slope toe and propagates from the slope toe toward the slope crest. The numerical simulation results also suggest that the potential tension failure is likely to occur within the slope between the potential shear failure surface and the ground surface.