• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제18권6호
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• pp.627-638
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• 2019

Estimation of representative elementary volume (REV) of jointed rock masses is critical to predict the mechanical behavior of field-scale rock masses. The REV of jointed rock masses at site is strongly influenced by stress state. The paper proposed a method to systematically studied the influence of confining stress on the REV of jointed rock masses with various strengths (weak, medium and strong), which were sourced from the water inlet slope of Xiaowan Hydropower Station, China. A finite element method considering material heterogeneity was employed, a series of two-dimensional (2D) models was established based on the Monte-Carlo method and a lot of biaxial compressive tests were conducted. Numerical results showed that the REV of jointed rock masses presented a step-like reduction as the normalized confining stress increased. Confining stress weakened the size effect of jointed rock masses, indicating that the REV determined under uniaxial compression test can be reasonably taken as the REV of jointed rock masses under complexed in-situ stress environment.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.227-236
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• 2020

Non-destructive exploration using elastic waves has been widely used to characterize rock mass properties. Wave propagation in jointed rock masses is significantly governed by the characteristics and orientation of discontinuities. The relationship between spatial heterogeneity (i.e., joint spacing) and wavelength for elastic waves propagating through jointed rock masses have been investigated previously. Discontinuous rock masses can be considered as an equivalent continuum material when the wavelength of the propagating elastic wave exceeds the spatial heterogeneity. However, it is unclear how stress-dependent long-wavelength elastic waves propagate through a repetitive rock-joint system with multiple joints. A preliminary numerical simulation was performed in in this study to investigate long-wavelength elastic wave propagation in regularly jointed rock masses using the three-dimensional distinct element code program. First, experimental studies using the quasi-static resonant column (QSRC) testing device are performed on regularly jointed disc column specimens for three different materials (acetal, aluminum, and gneiss). The P- and S-wave velocities of the specimens are obtained under various normal stress levels. The normal and shear joint stiffness are calculated from the experimental results using an equivalent continuum model and used as input parameters for numerical analysis. The spatial and temporal sizes are carefully selected to guarantee a stable numerical simulation. Based on the calibrated jointed rock model, the numerical and experimental results are compared.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.281-291
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• 2022

Complex rock masses include various joint planes, bedding planes and other weak structural planes. The existence of these structural planes affects the mechanical properties, deformation rules and failure modes of jointed rock masses. To study the influence of the parameters of a nonpersistent joint network on the mechanical properties and failure modes of jointed rock masses, synthetic rock mass (SRM) technology based on discrete elements is introduced. The results show that as the size of the joints in the rock mass increases, the compressive strength and the discreteness of the rock mass first increase and then decrease. Among them, the joints that are characterized by "small but many" joints and "large and clustered" joints have the most significant impact on the strength of the rock mass. With the increase in joint density in the rock mass, the compressive strength of rock mass decreases monotonically, but the rate of decrease gradually decreases. With the increase in the joint dip angle in rock mass, the strength of the rock mass first decreases and then increases, forming a U-shaped change rule. In the analysis of the failure mode and deformation of a jointed rock mass, the type of plastic zone formed after rock mass failure is closely related to the macroscopic displacement deformation of the rock mass and the parameters of the joints, which generally shows that the location and density of the joints greatly affect the failure mode and displacement degree of the jointed rock mass. The instability mechanism of jointed surrounding rock is revealed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.449-460
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• 2022

Safe underground construction in a rock mass requires adequate ground investigation and effective determination of rock conditions. The estimation of rock mass behavior is difficult, because rock masses are innately anisotropic and heterogeneous at different scales and are affected by various environmental factors. Quantitative rock mass classification systems, such as the Q-system and rock mass rating, are widely used for characterization and engineering design. The measurement of rock classification parameters is subjective and can vary among observers, resulting in questionable accuracy. Geophysical investigation methods, such as seismic surveys, have also been used for ground characterization. Torsional shear wave propagation characteristics in cylindrical rods are equal to that in an infinite media. A probabilistic quantitative relationship between the Q-value and shear wave velocity is thus investigated considering long-wavelength wave propagation in equivalent continuum jointed rock masses. Individual Q-system parameters are correlated with stress-dependent shear wave velocities in jointed rocks using experimental and numerical methods. The relationship between the Q-value and the shear wave velocity is normalized using a defined reference condition. This relationship is further improved using probabilistic analysis to remove unrealistic data and to suggest a range of Q-values for a given wave velocity. The proposed probabilistic Q-value estimation is then compared with field measurements and cross-hole seismic test data to verify its applicability.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.117-133
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• 2022

Determination of the mechanical behaviour of jointed rock masses has been a challenge for rock engineers for decades. This problem is more pronounced for non-persistent jointed rock masses due to complicated interaction of rock bridges on the overall behaviour. This paper aims to study the effect of a non-persistent joint set configuration on the mechanical behaviour of rock materials under both uniaxial and biaxial compression tests using a discrete element code. The numerical simulation of biaxial compressive strength of rock masses has been challenging in the past due to shortcomings of bonded particle models in reproducing the failure envelope of rock materials. This problem was resolved in this study by employing the flat-joint contact model. The validity of the numerical model was investigated through a comprehensive comparative study against physical uniaxial and biaxial compression experiments. Good agreement was found between numerical and experimental tests in terms of the recorded peak strength and the failure mode in both loading conditions. Studies on the effect of joint orientation on the failure mode showed that four zones of intact, transition to block rotation, block rotation and transition to intact failure occurs when the joint dip angle varies from 0° to 90°. It was found that the applied confining stress can significantly alter the range of these zones. It was observed that the minimum strength occurs at the joint dip angle of around 45 degrees under different confining stresses. It was also found that the joint orientation can alter the post peak behaviour and the lowest brittleness was observed at the block rotation zone.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국지구물리탐사학회 2003년도 Proceedings of the international symposium on the fusion technology
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• pp.115-121
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• 2003

Discrete joint network approach has widely been used to investigate the hydraulic behavior of jointed rock masses. In general, joints will undergo deformation due to stress redistribution induced by construction of underground openings, hence joint aperture is often assumed to have a probability distribution rather than to be a constant value. In real situations, however, it is more reasonable to take into account the effect of stress change on aperture values by calculating joint deformation. In this report, a mechanical process has been developed to determine the joint opening or closure based on a statistically generated joint network model. By performing numerical analyses, some significant results on the hydro-mechanical behavior of jointed rock masses have been summarized.

• 한국지반환경공학회 논문집
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.13-21
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• 2018

The magnitude and distribution of earth pressure on the excavation wall in jointed rock mass were examined by considering different wall permeability conditions as well as rock types and joint inclination angles. The study was numerically extended based on a physical model test (Son & Park, 2014), considering rock-structure interactions with the discrete element method, which can consider various characteristics of rock joints. This study focused on the effect of the permeability condition of excavation wall on the earth pressure in jointed rock masses under a groundwater condition, which is important but has not been studied previously. The study results showed that the earth pressure was highly influenced by wall permeability as well as rock type and joint condition. Earth pressure resulted from the study was also compared with Peck's earth pressure in soil ground, and the comparison clearly showed that the earth pressure in jointed rock mass can be greatly different from that in soil ground.

• 터널과지하공간
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.119-128
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• 2005

절리 암반의 역학적 물성 및 거동 평가가 터널 및 지하구조물의 설계에 매우 중요하다 할지라도, 그것은 항상 매우 어려운 문제로 간주되어 왔다. 암반 거동을 모사하는데 있어서 어려움중의 하나는 적절한 구성 모델을 선정하는 것이다. 이러한 한계점은 PFC와 같이 사용자로 하여금 암반의 구성 모델을 요구하지 않는 개별요소 프로그램의 개발과 함께 극복되어질 것이다. 본 연구에서는 도로터널 현장의 30\;m\;\times\;30\;m\;\times\;30\;m 절리 암반블록을 대상으로, 시추 및 지표 지질조사를 통해 얻어진 절리의 기하학적 형태자료를 근거로 개별균열망이 작성되었다. 개별균열망 모델의 절리 형상을 근거로 절리가 없는 상태에서 점차적으로 절리군을 추가해가면서 2차원 PFC모델이 만들어졌다. 또한 각각의 PFC모델에 대한 수치모사를 통하여 각 모델의 응력-변형율 곡선이 얻어졌다. 응력-변형율 곡선으로부터 절리 암반의 역학적 물성이 결정되었다. 절리의 존재는 암반의 역학적 물성에 상당한 영향을 미쳤으며, 더욱 중요한 것은 PFC모델의 역학적 거동은 기존의 수치모델에서 요구되는 구성 모델에 의하여 결정되지 않는다는 것이다.

• 한국터널지하공간학회 논문집
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.349-360
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• 2003

본 연구에서는 절리를 포함한 터널주변 암반의 안전성 강화 및 지하수 유입 억제공으로 사용되는 침투그라우팅에 대한 모형화 기법을 제시하고 관련 매개변수 해석을 실시하였다. Bingham 모형을 적용한 시멘트 그라우팅재는 정상류 흐름으로 가정하여 해석의 편의를 도모하였으며 UDEC을 이용한 해석결과, 절리의 두께 및 주입압이 침투그라우팅에 의한 확산범위를 결정짓는 주요 변수임을 확인하였다. 침투그라우팅 모형을 근간으로 할렬그라우팅 해석을 위한 수치모형을 제안하였으며 암반의 인장강도와 점착력이 할렬의 주요변수임을 입증하였다. 한편, 주입후 지반보강효과를 정량적으로 검토하기 위하여 직교 이방성 물성을 계산할 수 있는 알고리즘을 제시하였으며 이 결과 주입후 약 3~4배 정도의 강성도 증진효과를 확인하였다. 향후 본 연구결과는 그라우팅재 주입에 의한 투수계수 저감효과 혹은 지하수 억제공법 등의 설계기법에 적용될 수 있으며 관련 실험도 수행될 예정이다.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.213-222
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• 2024

Determination of jointed rock mass properties plays a significant role in the design and construction of underground structures such as tunneling and mining. Rock mass classification systems such as Rock Mass Rating (RMR), Rock Mass Index (RMi), Rock Mass Quality (Q), and deformation modulus (Em) are determined from the jointed rock masses. However, parameters of jointed rock masses can be affected by the tunnel depth below the surface due to the effect of the in situ stresses. In addition, the geomechanical properties of rocks change due to the effect of metamorphism. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to apply correlation analysis to investigate the relationships between rock mass properties and some parameters related to the depth of the tunnel studied. For this purpose, the field work consisted of determining rock mass parameters in a tunnel alignment (~7.1 km) at varying depths from 21 m to 431 m below ground surface. At the same excavation depths, thirty-seven rock types were also sampled and tested in the laboratory. Correlations were made between vertical stress and depth, horizontal/vertical stress ratio (k) and depth, k and Em, k and RMi, k and point load index (PLI), k and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS), Em and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), UCS and PLI, UCS and BTS. Relationships were significant (significance level=0.000) at the confidence interval of 95% (r = 0.77-0.88) between the data pairs for the rocks taken from depths greater than 166 m where the ratio of horizontal to vertical stress is between 0.6 and 1.2. The in-situ stress parameters affected rock mass properties as well as metamorphism which affected the geomechanical properties of rock materials by affecting the behavior of minerals and textures within rocks. This study revealed that in-situ stress parameters and metamorphism should be reviewed when tunnel studies are carried out.