• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.609-619
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• 2018

This study was carried out at a local limestone mine to analyze the ventilation efficiency of the shaft equipped with a main fan. The results show that its ventilation efficiency is clearly verified for the natural as well as the mechanical ventilation. The airflow rate of $11.7m^3/s$ was induced by the natural ventilation force and the maximum quantity is almost same as the airflow rate estimated by monitoring the average temperatures in the upcast and downcast air columns. Meanwhile, the airflow rate exhausted by the main fan through the shaft was $20.3{\sim}24.8m^3/s$; variation of the quantity was caused by the upward shift of the mine ventilation characteristic curve due to the frequent movement of the equipment. This indicates efforts are required to reduce the ventilation resistance and raise the quantity supplied by the main fan. The turbulent diffusion coefficients along the 1912 m long airway from the portal to the shaft bottom was estimated to be $15m^2/s$ and $18m^2/s$. Since these higher coefficients imply that contaminants will be dispersed at a faster velocity than the airflow, prompt exhaust method should be planned for the effective air quality control. The ventilation shaft and main fan are definitely what local limestone mines inevitably need for better working environment and sustainable development.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.528-546
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• 2018

Cases of TBM tunnelling have been consistently increasing worldwide. In many recent subsea and urban tunnelling projects, TBM excavation has been preferably considered due to its advantages over drill and blast tunnelling. Difficult ground conditions are highly probable to appear in subsea and urban tunnels because of the shallow working depth and alluvial characteristics. Under the difficult ground conditions, ground reinforcement measures should be considered including grouting, while it is of great importance to select the optimal grout material and injection method to cope with the ground condition. The benefits from TBM excavation, such as fast excavation, increased safety, and reduced environmental impact, can be achieved by applying appropriate ground reinforcement with the minimum overrun of cost and time. In this report, various grouting methods were reviewed so that they can be applied in difficult ground conditions. In addition, domestic and international cases of successful ground reinforcement for difficult grounds were introduced for future reference.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.262-279
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• 2019

In the engineering barriers of high-level radioactive waste disposal, gases could be generated through a number of processes. If the gas production rate exceeds the gas diffusion rate, the pressure of the gas increases and gases could migrate through the bentonite buffer. Because people and the environment can be exposed to radioactivity, it is very important to clarify gas migration in terms of long-term integrity of the engineered barrier system. In particular, it is necessary to identify the hydro-mechanical mechanism for the dilation flow, which is a very important gas flow phenomenon only in medium containing large amounts of clay materials such as bentonite buffer, and to develop and validate new numerical approach for the quantitative evaluation of the gas migration phenomenon. Therefore, in this study, we developed a two-phase flow model considering the mechanical damage model in order to simulate the gas migration in the engineered barrier system, and validated with 1D gas flow modelling through saturated bentonite under constant volume boundary conditions. As a result of numerical analysis, the rapid increase in pore water pressure, stress, and gas outflow could be simulated when the dilation flow was occurred.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.333-359
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• 2021

Gases such as hydrogen and radon can be generated around the canister in high-level radioactive waste disposal systems due to several reasons including the corrosion of metal materials. When the gas generation rate exceeds the gas diffusion rate in the low-permeability bentonite buffer, the gas phase will form and accumulate in the engineered barrier system. If the gas pressure exceeds the gas entry pressure, gas can migrate into the bentonite buffer, resulting in pathway dilation flow and advective flow. Because a sudden occurrence of dilation flow can cause radionuclide leakage out of the engineered barrier of the radioactive waste disposal system, it is necessary to understand the gas migration behavior in the bentonite buffer to quantitatively evaluate the long-term safety of the engineered barrier. Experimental research investigating the characteristics of gas migration in saturated bentonite and research developing numerical models capable of simulating such behaviors are being actively conducted worldwide. In this technical note, previous gas injection experiments and the numerical models proposed to verify such behaviors are introduced, and the future challenges necessary for the investigation of gas migration are summarized.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.52-65
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• 2021

In this study, authors analyzed the vapor cloud explosion induced by propane leak at the PEMIX Terminal, which is the propane storage facility outside of Mexico City. TNT equivalence mass for the leaked 4750 kg propane was estimated to be 9398 kg. Blast parameters such as peak overpressure, positive phase duration, and impact at 40-400 (m) away from the center of the explosion were calculated by applying TNT Equivalency Method and Multi-Energy Method. The probability of damage due to lung damage, eardrum rupture, head impact, and whole-body displacement impact by applying the probit function obtained using blast parameters was evaluated. The peak overpressure obtained using Multi-Energy Method was found to be greater than the peak overpressure obtained by applying the TNT Equivalency Method at all distances considered, but it was evaluated that there was no significant difference from the points above 200 m. The peak overpressure obtained by Multi-Energy Method was computed to assess the extent of damage to the structure, and it was shown that structures within 100 m of the explosion center would collapse completely, and that the glasses of the structures 400 m away would be almost broken. The probability of death due to lung damage was shown to vary depending on a human body's position located in the propagating direction of shock wave, and if there is a reflecting surface in the immediate surroundings of a human body, the probability of death was estimated to be the greatest. The impact of shock wave on lung damage, eardrum rupture, head impact, and whole-body displacement impact was evaluated and found to affect whole-body impact < lung damage < eardrum rupture

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.509-518
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• 2020

This study constructed a new simulation platform, including mesh generation process, numerical simulation, and post-processing for results analysis based on exploration data to perform real-scale numerical analysis considering the actual geological structure efficiently. To build the simulation platform, we applied for open-source programs. The source code is open to be available for code modification according to the researcher's needs and compatibility with various numerical simulation programs. First, a three-dimensional model(3D) is acquired based on the exploration data obtained using a drone. Then, the domain's mesh density was adjusted to an interpretable level using Blender, the free and open-source 3D creation suite. The next step is to create a 3D numerical model by creating a tetrahedral volume mesh inside the domain using Gmsh, a finite element mesh generation program. To use the mesh information obtained through Gmsh in a numerical simulation program, a converting process to conform to the program's mesh creation protocol is required. We applied a Python code for the procedure. After we completed the stability analysis, we have created various visualization of the study using ParaView, another open-source visualization and data analysis program. We successfully performed a preliminary stability analysis on the full-scale Dokdo model based on drone-acquired data to confirm the usefulness of the proposed platform. The proposed simulation platform in this study can be of various analysis processes in future research.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.540-550
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• 2020

Machine learning has been actively used in the field of automation due to the development and establishment of AI technology. The important thing in utilizing machine learning is that appropriate algorithms exist depending on data characteristics, and it is needed to analysis the datasets for applying machine learning techniques. In this study, advance rate is predicted using geotechnical and machine data of TBM tunnel section passing through the soil ground below the stream. Although there were no problems of application of statistical technology in the linear regression model, the coefficient of determination was 0.76. While, the ensemble model and support vector machine showed the predicted performance of 0.88 or higher. it is indicating that the model suitable for predicting advance rate of the EPB Shield TBM was the support vector machine in the analyzed dataset. As a result, it is judged that the suitability of the prediction model using data including mechanical data and ground information is high. In addition, research is needed to increase the diversity of ground conditions and the amount of data.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.160-172
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• 2022

The design regulations for simple explosive storage in Korea only stipulate standards for the materials and thickness of the wall of the structure because the amount of explosives that can be stored is small. There is concern about secondary damage during an internal explosion in a simple storage facility, and it is necessary to reexamine the current standards. The numerical analysis for the TNT 15 kg explosion inside the simple storage was carried out by setting the factors using the robust experimental design method. The displacement of the structure generated under the same time condition was analyzed, and the contribution was evaluated. The contribution of concrete thickness was the highest, and the contribution of concrete strength and rebar arrangement was lower than that of concrete thickness. The reinforcement diameter contributed extremely little to the displacement. The structural standards of the simple storage that are currently applied are insufficient on blast resistance, and it is necessary to present new design standards. Therefore, the design factor to be applied later analysis and actual experiments were taken into consideration. For the design variables, the thickness of the concrete was 15 cm considering the displacement, the concrete strength was selected as general concrete considering the inlet discharge pressure, the factor with the lowest average displacement was selected for the reinforcement arrangement and the diameter of the reinforcement, the factor with the smallest level was selected in consideration of economic feasibility because the difference in displacement was low.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.78-92
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• 2022

In this study, we proposed a diagnostics and assessment model for mining sites that can evaluate the smart mining technology level in a systematic and structured way. For this, the maturity of the smart mining was defined, and detailed assessment items of the diagnostics and assessment model for smart mining were derived by considering the smart factory diagnostics and assessment model (KS X 9001-3) used in the manufacturing industry. While maintaining the existing system, the existing 46 detailed assessment items were modified to be suitable for mining. As a result, a total of 29 detailed assessment items were derived in the areas of promotion strategy, process, information system and automation, and performance. Based on this, a questionnaire was designed to diagnose the level of smart mining technology, and assessment was performed by applying it to domestic iron mines. The level of smart mining technology in the study area was found to be level 2, and it could be inferred that it was about 40% lower than the average smart level of the general manufacturing industry. In addition, by using the developed model, it was possible to recognize the weak points of the mine at each stage of the introduction, operation, and advancement of smart mining, and to suggest investment and improvement directions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.120-130
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• 2022

In this study, the applicability of the microseismic monitoring system based on the underground mine communication system has been verified by operation test in the domestic underground mine. The microseismic data consists of wavelet data and meta-data for mine safety management, and both data should be transferred, stored, analyzed and managed with proper method according to the purpose and size of each data. In order to select the optimal communication system for the microseismic monitoring system considering the underground environment as well as properties of data, various types of communication system have been tested and compared during operation test after installing the optical cable communication system, 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz wireless communication system through the underground mine tunnel and overground area of the test site. The integrated microseismic monitoring software, which was developed to secure the stability of data management and ease of use, has been updated according to findings from operation test. Through the operation test of the microseismic monitoring system including the communication system and the monitoring software, the technical basis was established corresponding to various requirements of the domestic mine for adoption of the microseismic monitoring system.