• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2018

Many laboratory experiments on crack propagation under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading have been conducted in the past using transparent materials such as resin, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), etc. However, propagation behaviors of three-dimensional (3D) cracks in rock or rock-like materials under tri-axial loading are often considerably different. In this study, a series of true tri-axial loading tests on the rock-like material with two semi-ellipse pre-existing cracks were performed in laboratory to investigate the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics and propagation characteristics of 3D crack groups influenced by intermediate principal stress. Compared with previous experiments under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading, the tests under true tri-axial loading showed that shear cracks, anti-wing cracks and secondary cracks were the main failure mechanisms, and the initiation and propagation of tensile cracks were limited. Shear cracks propagated in the direction parallel to pre-existing crack plane. With the increase of intermediate principal stress, the critical stress of crack initiation increased gradually, and secondary shear cracks may no longer coalesce in the rock bridge. Crack aperture decreased with the increase of intermediate principal stress, and the failure is dominated by shear fracturing. There are two stages of fracture development: stable propagation stage and unstable failure stage. The AE events occurred in a zone parallel to pre-existing crack plane, and the AE zone increased gradually with the increase of intermediate principal stress, eventually forming obvious shear rupture planes. This shows that shear cracks initiated and propagated in the pre-existing crack direction, forming a shear rupture plane inside the specimens. The paths of fracturing inside the specimens were observed using the Computerized Tomography (CT) scanning and reconstruction.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2018

In this paper, the creep behavior of bolted rock was analyzed by using the unconfined creep tests and the numerical results. Based on the test results, the Bolted Burgers creep model (B-B model) was proposed to clarify the creep mechanism of rock mass due to rock bolts. As to the simulation of the creep behaviour of bolted rock, a new user-defined incremental iterative format of the B-B model was established and the open-source $FLAC^{3D}$ code was written by using the object-oriented language (C++). To check the reliability of the present B-B creep constitutive model program, a numerical model of a tunnel with buried depth of 1000 m was established to analyze the creep response of the tunnel with the B-B model support, the non-support and the bolt element support. The simulation results show that the present B-B model is consistent with the calculated results of the inherent bolt element in $FLAC^{3D}$, and the convergence deformation can be more effectively controlled when the proposed B-B model is used in the $FLAC^{3D}$ software. The big advantage of the present B-B creep model secondarily developed in the $FLAC^{3D}$ software is the high computational efficiency.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.357-369
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• 2020

Different from the conventional planar fracture and simplified Newton model, for power-law slurries with a lower water-cement ratio commonly used in grouting engineering, flow model in geological rough fractures is built based on ten standard profiles from Barton (1977) in this study. The numerical algorithm is validated by experimental results. The flow mechanism, grout superiority, and water plugging of pseudo plastic slurry are revealed. The representations of hydraulic grouting properties for JRCs are obtained. The results show that effective plugging is based on the mechanical mechanisms of the fluctuant structural surface and higher viscosity at the middle of the fissure. The formulas of grouting parameters are always variable with the roughness and shear movement, which play a key role in grouting. The roughness can only be neglected after reaching a threshold. Grouting pressure increases with increasing roughness and has variable responses for different apertures within standard profiles. The whole process can be divided into three stationary zones and three transition zones, and there is a mutation region (10 < JRCs < 14) in smaller geological fractures. The fitting equations of different JRCs are obtained of power-law models satisfying the condition of -2 < coefficient < 0. The effects of small apertures and moderate to larger roughness (JRCs > 10.8) on the permeability of surfaces cannot be underestimated. The determination of grouting parameters depends on the slurry groutability in terms of its weakest link with discontinuous streamlines. For grouting water plugging, the water-cement ratio, grouting pressure and grouting additives should be determined by combining the flow conditions and the apparent widths of the main fracture and rough surface. This study provides a calculation method of grouting parameters for variable cement-based slurries. And the findings can help for better understanding of fluid flow and diffusion in geological fractures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.49-60
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• 2019

Crack instability propagation during coal and rock mass failure is the main reason for electromagnetic radiation (EMR) generation. However, original cracks on coal and rock mass are hard to study, making it complex to reveal EMR laws and mechanisms. In this paper, we prefabricated cracks of different inclinations in coal and rock samples as the analogues of the native cracks, carried out uniaxial compression experiments using these coal and rock samples, explored, the effects of the prefabricated cracks on EMR laws, and verified these laws by measuring the surface potential signals. The results show that prefabricated cracks are the main factor leading to the failure of coal and rock samples. When the inclination between the prefabricated crack and axial stress is smaller, the wing cracks occur first from the two tips of the prefabricated crack and expand to shear cracks or coplanar secondary cracks whose advance directions are coplanar or nearly coplanar with the prefabricated crack's direction. The sample failure is mainly due to the composited tensile and shear destructions of the wing cracks. When the inclination becomes bigger, the wing cracks appear at the early stage, extend to the direction of the maximum principal stress, and eventually run through both ends of the sample, resulting in the sample's tensile failure. The effect of prefabricated cracks of different inclinations on electromagnetic (EM) signals is different. For samples with prefabricated cracks of smaller inclination, EMR is mainly generated due to the variable motion of free charges generated due to crushing, friction, and slippage between the crack walls. For samples with larger inclination, EMR is generated due to friction and slippage in between the crack walls as well as the charge separation caused by tensile extension at the cracks' tips before sample failure. These conclusions are further verified by the surface potential distribution during the loading process.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.179-191
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• 2021

In this study, the strength and failure mechanism of red sandstones with combined defects were investigated by uniaxial compression tests on red sandstones with different crack angles using two-dimensional particle flow code numerical software, and their mechanical parameters and failure process were studied and analyzed. The results showed that the mechanical characteristics such as peak strength, peak strain, and elastic modulus of the samples with prefabricated combined defects were significantly inferior than those of the intact samples. With increasing crack angle from 15° to 60°, the weakening area of cracks increased, elastic modulus, peak strength, and peak strain gradually reduced, the total number of cracks increased, and more strain energy was released. In addition, the samples underwent initial brittle failure to plastic failure stage, and the failure form was more significant, leading to peeling phenomenon. However, with increasing crack angle from 75° to 90°, the crack-hole combination shared the stress concentration at the tip of the crack-crack combination, resulted in a gradual increase in elastic modulus, peak strain and peak strength, but a decrease in the number of total cracks, the release of strain energy reduced, the plastic failure state weakened, and the spalling phenomenon slowed down. On this basis, the samples with 30° and 45° crack-crack combination were selected for further experimental investigation. Through comparative analysis between the experimental and simulation results, the failure strength and final failure mode with cracks propagation of samples were found to be relatively similar.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2022

Complex geological conditions have a great influence on the mining of coalbed methane (CBM), which affects the extraction efficiency of CBM. This investigation analyzed the complicated geological conditions in the Liujia CBM block of Fuxin. A geological model of heterogeneities CBM reservoirs was established to study the influence of strike direction of igneous rocks and fault structures on horizontal well layout. Subsequently, the dual-porosity and dual-permeability mathematical model was established, which considers the dynamic changes of porosity and permeability caused by gas adsorption, desorption, pressure change. The results show that the production curve is in good agreement with the actual by considering gas seepage in matrix pores in the model. Complicated geological structures affect the pressure expansion of horizontal wells, especially, the closer to the fault structure, the more significant the effect, the slower the pressure drop, and the smaller the desorption area. When the wellbore extends to the fault, the pressure expansion is blocked by the fault and the productivity is reduced. In the study area, the optimal distance to the fault is 70 m. When the horizontal wellbore is perpendicular to the direction of coal seam igneous rock, the productivity is higher than that of parallel igneous rock, and the horizontal well bore should be perpendicular to the cleat direction. However, the well length is limited due to the dense distribution of igneous rocks in the Liujia CBM block. Therefore, the horizontal well pumping in the study area should be arranged along the direction of igneous rock and parallel plane cleats. It is found that the larger the area surrounded by igneous rock, the more favorable the productivity. In summary, the reasonable layout of horizontal wells should make full use of the advantages of igneous rock, faults and other complex geological conditions to achieve the goal of high and stable production.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.245-254
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• 2023

Through qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, the contradictory conclusions about the stability of the settled goaf with two-layer coal seams subject to building load were obtained. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the additional stress method and numerical simulation to further analyze the foundation stability. Through borehole analysis and empirical formula analogy, the height of water-conducting fracture zone in No.4 coal and No.9 coal were obtained, providing the calculation range of water-conducting fracture zone for numerical simulation. To ensure the accuracy of the elastic modulus of broken gangue, the stress-strain curve were obtained by broken gangue compression test in dried state of No.4 coal seam and in soaking state of No.9 coal seam. To ensure the rationality of the numerical simulation results, the actual measured subsidence data were retrieved by numerical simulation. FISH language was used to analyze the maximum building load on the surface and determine the influence depth of building load on the foundation. The critical building load was 0.16 MPa of No.4 settled goaf and was 1.6 MPa of No.9 settled goaf. The additional stress affected the water-conducting fracture zone obviously, resulted in the subsidence of water-conducting fracture zone was greater than that of bending subsidence zone. In this paper, the additional stress method was analyzed by numerical simulation method, which can provide a new analysis method for the treatment and utilization of the settled goaf.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.377-390
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• 2022

The stability of the roof rock-coal pillar-floor rock composite structure is of great significance to coal mine safety production. The cracks existing in the composite structure seriously affect the stability of the roof rock-coal pillar-floor rock composite structure. The numerical simulation tests of rock-coal-rock composite structures with different crack characteristics were carried out to reveal the composite structures' mechanical properties and failure mechanisms. The test results show that the rock-coal-rock composite structure's peak stress and elastic modulus are directly proportional to the crack angle and inversely proportional to the crack length. The smaller the crack angle, the more branch cracks produced near the main control crack in the rock-coal-rock composite structure, and the larger the angle between the main control crack and the crack. The smaller the crack length, the larger the width of the crack zone. The impact energy index of the rock-coal-rock composite structure decreases first and then increases with the increase of crack length and increases with the increase of crack angle. The functional relationships between the different crack characteristics, peak stress, and impact energy index are determined based on the sensitivity analysis. The determination of the functional relationship can fully grasp the influence of the crack angle and the crack length on the peak stress and impact energy index of the coal-rock composite structure. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and guidance for preventing the instability and failure of the coal pillar-roof composite structure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.205-215
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• 2024

Manually mapping fractures in construction stone mines is challenging, time-consuming, and hazardous. In this method, there is no physical access to all points. In contrast, digital image processing offers a safe, cost-effective, and fast alternative, with the capability to map all joints. In this study, two methods of detecting the trace of discontinuities using image processing in construction stone mines are presented. To achieve this, we employ two modified Hough transform algorithms and the degree of neighborhood technique. Initially, we introduced a method for selecting the best edge detector and smoothing algorithms. Subsequently, the Canny detector and median smoother were identified as the most efficient tools. To trace discontinuities using the mentioned methods, common preprocessing steps were initially applied to the image. Following this, each of the two algorithms followed a distinct approach. The Hough transform algorithm was first applied to the image, and the traces were represented through line drawings. Subsequently, the Hough transform results were refined using fuzzy clustering and reduced clustering algorithms, along with a novel algorithm known as the farthest points' algorithm. Additionally, we developed another algorithm, the degree of neighborhood, tailored for detecting discontinuity traces in construction stones. After completing the common preprocessing steps, the thinning operation was performed on the target image, and the degree of neighborhood for lineament pixels was determined. Subsequently, short lines were removed, and the discontinuities were determined based on the degree of neighborhood. In the final step, we connected lines that were previously separated using the method to be described. The comparison of results demonstrates that image processing is a suitable tool for identifying rock mass discontinuity traces. Finally, a comparison of two images from different construction stone mines presented at the end of this study reveals that in images with fewer traces of discontinuities and a softer texture, both algorithms effectively detect the discontinuity traces.