• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.265-272
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• 2003

In this study, the rock mass classification results from the face mapping and the resistivity inversion data are compared and analyzed for the reliability investigation of the determination of the rock support type based on the surface electrical survey. To get the quantitative correlation, rock engineering indices such as RCR(rock condition rating), N(Rock mass number), Q-system based on RMR(rock mass rating) are calculated. Kriging method as a post processing technique for global optimization is used to improve its resolution. The result of correlation analysis shows that the geological condition estimated from 2D electrical resistivity survey is coincident globally with the trend of rock type except for a few local areas. The correlation between the results of 3D electrical resistivity survey and the rock mass classification turns out to be very high. It can be concluded that 3D electrical resistivity survey is powerful to set up the reliable rock support type.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2016

This study examined the magnitude and distribution of earth pressure on the support system in a jointed rock mass due to the different joint spacing as well as varying the rock type and joint condition (joint shear strength and joint inclination angle). Based on a physical model test and its numerical simulation, a series of numerical parametric analyses were conducted using a discrete element method. The results showed that the magnitude and distribution of earth pressure were strongly affected by the different joint spacing as well as the rock type and joint condition. In addition, the study results were compared with Peck's earth pressure for soil ground, which indicated that the earth pressure in a jointed rock mass could be considerably different from that in soil ground. The study suggests that the joint spacing as well as the rock type and joint condition are important factors affecting the earth pressure in a jointed rock mass and they should be considered when designing a support system in a jointed rock mass.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.279-286
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• 2003

Many trials to set up the correlation between the rock mass classification and the earth resistivity have been carried out to design tunnel support type based on the interpreted electrical resistivity acquired by surface electrical survey. But it is hard to find reports on the comparison of the real rock support type determined during the excavation with the electrical resistivity by the inversion of the survey data acquired before the tunneling. In this study, the rock mass classification based on the face mapping data and the resistivity inversion data are investigated to see if it is possible to design reliably the rock support type based on the surface electrical survey. To get the quantitative correlation, rock engineering indices such as RCR(rock condition rating), N(Rock mass number), Q-system and RMR(rock mass rating) are calculated. Since resistivity data has low resolution, Kriging method as a post processing technique which minimizes the estimated variance is used to improve resolution. The result of correlation analysis shows that the 2D electrical resistivity survey is appropriate to see the general trend of the geology in the sense of rock type, though there might be some local area where these two factors do not coincide. But the correlation between the result of 3D survey and the rock mass classification turns out to be very high, and then 3D electrical resistivity survey can make it possible to set up more reliable rock support type.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.476-479
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• 2007

The selection of the support system is an important design parameter in design and construction of the tunnel using the new Australian tunnel method. It is a common practice to select the support based on the rock mass grade, in which the rock mass is classified into five rock groups. The method is applicable if the characteristics of the rock mass are uniform in the vertical direction. However, such case is seldom encountered in practice and not applicable when the properties vary along the vertical direction. This study performs comprehensive three dimensional finite difference analyses to investigate the ground deformation pattern for cases in which the rock mass properties change in the vertical direction of the tunnel axis. The numerically calculated displacements at the tunnel crown show that the displacement is highly dependent on the stiffness contrast of the rock masses. The results strongly indicate the need to select the support type $0.5{\sim}1.0D$(vertical direction) on the rock mass boundary. The paper proposes a new guideline for selecting the support type based the results of the analyses.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.33-43
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• 2015

This paper investigated the magnitude and distribution of earth pressure on the support system in jointed rock mass by considering different earth pressure coefficients, rock types and joint inclination angles. The study mainly focused on the effect of the earth pressure coefficients on the earth pressure. Based on a physical model test (Son & Park, 2014), extended studies were conducted considering rock-structure interactions based on the discrete element method, which can consider the joints characteristics of rock mass. The results showed that the earth pressure was highly influenced by the earth pressure coefficients as well as the rock type and joint inclination angles. The effects of the earth pressure coefficients increased when the rock suffered more weathering and has no joint slide. The test results were also compared with Peck's earth pressure for soil ground, and clearly showed that the earth pressure in jointed rock mass can be greatly different from that in soil ground. This study indicated the earth pressure coefficients considering the rock types and joint inclination angles are important parameters influencing the magnitude and distribution of earth pressure, which should be considered when designing the support systems in jointed rock mass.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.2
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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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2020

The traditional formulations for estimation of bearing capacity in rock mechanics assume a homogeneous and isotropic rock mass. However, it is common that the rock mass consists of different layers of different rock properties or of the same rock matrix with distinct geotechnical quality levels. The bearing capacity of a heterogeneous rock is estimated traditionally through the weighted average. In this paper, the solution of the weighted average is compared to the finite difference method applied to a bilayer rock mass. The influence of different parameters such as the thickness of the layers, the rock type, the uniaxial compressive strength and the overall geotechnical quality of the rock mass on the bearing capacity of a bilayer rock mass is analyzed. A parametric study by finite difference method is carried out to develop a bearing capacity factor in function of the layer thickness and the rock mass quality expressed in terms of the geological strength index, which is presented in a form of a chart. Therefore, this correlation factor allows estimating the bearing capacity of a rock mass that is formed by two layers with distinct GSI, depending on the bearing capacity of the rock mass formed only by the upper layer and considered by that way as homogenous and isotropic rock mass.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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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.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.521-528
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• 2005

The evaluation process of rock mass properties intrinsically contains some uncertainty due to the inhomogeneity of rock mass and the measurement error. Although various empirical methods for the determination of rock mass properties were suggested, there is no way of integrating various information on rock mass properties except averaging. For these reasons, this research introduces evidence theory which can model epistemic uncertainty and yield reasonable rock mass properties through combining various information such as empirical equations, in-situ test results, and so on. Through the application of evidence theory to the real site investigation and in situ experiment results, an interval of deformation modulus, cohesion and friction angle of rock mass were obtained. The ratios between lower and upper bound of those properties ranges from 1.6 to 3.6. Numerical analyses of circular hole using the properties for TYPE-2 rock mass were carried out. The magnitude or size of plastic region and radial displacement in case of lower bound properties is about 4 times larger than that of upper bound properties.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.375-378
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• 2007

The selection of the support system is an important design parameter in design and construction of the tunnel using the new Australian tunnel method. It is a common practice to select the support based on the rock mass grade, in which the rock mass is classified into five rock groups. The method is applicable if the characteristics of the rock mass are uniform in the direction of tunnel excavation. However, such case is seldom encountered in practice and not applicable when the properties vary along the longitudinal direction. This study performs comprehensive three dimensional finite difference analyses to investigate the ground deformation pattern for cases in which the rock mass properties change in the direction of the tunnel axis. The numerically calculated displacements at the tunnel crown show that the displacement is highly dependent on the stiffness contrast of the rock masses. The results strongly indicate the need to select the support type $0.5\sim1.0D$ before the rock mass boundary. The paper proposes a new guideline for selecting the support type based the results of the analyses.