• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2014

Multiple thermal energy storage (TES) caverns can be used for storing thermal energy on a large scale and for a high-aspect-ratio heat storage design to provide good thermal performance. It may also be necessary to consider the use of multiple caverns with a reduced length when a single, long tunnel-shaped cavern is not suitable for connection to aboveground heat production and injection equipments. When using multiple TES caverns, the separation distance between the caverns is one of the significant factors that should be considered in the design of storage space, and the optimal separation distance should be determined based on a quantitative stability criterion. In this paper, we described a numerical approach for determining the optimal separation distance between multiple caverns for large-scale TES utilization. For reliable stability evaluation of multiple caverns, we employed a probabilistic method which can quantitatively take into account the uncertainty of input parameters by probability distributions, unlike conventional deterministic approaches. The present approach was applied to the design of a conceptual TES model to store hot water for district heating. The probabilistic stability results of this application demonstrated that the approach in our work can be effectively used as a decision-making tool to determine the optimal separation distance between multiple caverns. In addition, the probabilistic results were compared to those obtained through a deterministic analysis, and the comparison results suggested that care should taken in selecting the acceptable level of stability when using deterministic approaches.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.457-471
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• 2015

A domestic cutterhead with the diameter of 3.6 m was designed and manufactured in this study. Then, it was attached to an existing earth-pressure balanced shield TBM to excavate a cable tunnel with the length of 1,275 m. Especially, the procedures for TBM cutterhead design and its corresponding performance prediction were also summarized. From field data analyses of the refurbished shield TBM, its maximum advance rate was recorded as 14.4 m/day. Penetration depths of disc cutters were found to be approximately 4 mm/rev, which is equal to the maximum penetration depth designed for the strongest rock strength condition in the target tunnel. Every TBM operating thrust and cutter normal force during TBM driving was much smaller than their corresponding maximum capacities. When cutter acting forces recorded in the field were analyzed, their prediction errors by the CSM model were very high for weak rock conditions. In addition, rock strength showed very close relationships with cutter normal force and penetration depth.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.411-427
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• 2007

Reliability in tunnel analysis is necessary to accomplish technically sound design and economical construction. For this, a thorough understanding of the construction procedure including the ground-support interaction has to be obtained. This paper describes a proper modelling technique to simulate the behavior of the steel fiber reinforced shotcrete (SFRS) which maintain the supporting capability in post-failure regime. The additional supporting effect of the steel support was also verified by 3-D analyses and a new load distribution factor were proposed. The use of the plastic moment limit (PML) alone can eliminate the occurrence of the awkwardly high tensile stress in the shotcrete and can successfully model the post-peak ductile behavior of the SFRS. But with this method, moment is limited whenever the stress caused by moment reaches tensile strength of the shotcrete irrespective of the stress by axial force. Therefore, it was necessary to find a more comprehensive method which can reflect the influence of the moment and axial force. This can be accomplished by the proper use of "liner element" which is the built-in model in FLAC. In this model, the peak and residual strength as well as the uniaxial compressive strength of the SFRS can be specified. Analyses were conducted with these two models on the 2-lane road tunnels excavated in class IV and V rock mass and results were compared with the conventional elastic beam model. Results showed that both models can reflect the fracture toughness of the SFRS which could not be accomplished by the elastic beam model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.372-382
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• 2013

Thermal-hydro-mechanical (THM) modeling is a critical R&D issue in the performance and safety assessment of a high-level waste repository. With an $\ddot{A}$sp$\ddot{o}$ prototype repository, its thermal behavior was analyzed and then compared with in-situ experimental data for its validation. A model simulation was used to calculate the temperature distributions in the deposition holes, deposition tunnel, and surrounding host rock. A comparison of the simulation results with the experimental data was made for deposition hole DH-6, which showed that there was a temperature difference of $2{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ depending on the location of the measuring points, but there was a similar trend in the evolution curves of temperature as a function of time. It was expected that the coupled modeling of the thermal behavior with the hydro-mechanical behavior in the buffer and backfill of the $\ddot{A}$sp$\ddot{o}$ prototype repository would give a better agreement between the experimental and model calculation results.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.5C
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• pp.199-210
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• 2012

The effects of tunnelling in weak weathered rock on the behaviour of a pre-existing single pile and pile groups ($3{\times}3$ and $5{\times}5$ pile groups) above a tunnel have been studied by carrying out three-dimensional (3D) elasto-plastic numerical analyses. Numerical modelling of such effects considers the response of the single pile and pile groups in terms of tunnelling-induced ground and pile settlement as well as changes of the shear transfer mechanism at the pile-soil interface due to tunnelling. Due to changes in the relative shear displacement between the pile and the soil at the pile-soil interface with tunnel advancement, the shear stresses and axial pile force distributions along the pile change drastically. Based on the computed results, upward shear stresses are induced up to about Z/L=0.775 from the pile top, while downward shear stresses are mobilised below Z/L=0.775, resulting in a reduction in the axial pile force distribution with depth equivalent to a net increase in the tensile force on the pile. A maximum tensile force of about $0.36P_a$ developed on the single pile solely due to tunnelling, where $P_a$ is the service axial pile loading prior to tunnelling. The degree of interface shear strength mobilisation at the pile-soil interface was found to be a key factor governing pile-soil-tunnelling interaction. Overall it has been found that the larger the number of piles, the greater is the effect of tunnelling on the piles in terms of pile settlement, while changes of the axial pile forces for the piles in the groups are smaller than for a single pile due to the shielding effect. The reduction of apparent allowable pile capacity due to tunnelling-induced pile head settlement was significant, in particular for piles inside the groups.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.3 s.68
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• pp.203-215
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• 2007

Stability and mechanical deformation behavior of rock masses are highly dependent on the mechanical characteristics of contained discontinuities. Therefore, mechanical characteristics of the discontinuities should be considered in the design of tunnel and underground structures. In this study, direct shear tests for rough granite joints were carried out under constant normal stiffness conditions. Effects of initial normal stress, shear velocity, and surface roughness on the characteristics of shear strength and deformation behaviors were examined. Results of shear testing under constant normal stiffness conditions reveal that shear behaviors could be classified into two categories, based on the amount of decrease in shear stress at the Int peak shear stress. With initial normal stiffness increasing, it turned out that shear displacement at peak stress and the first peak shear stress increased, however friction angle and friction coefficient showed decrease. In case of shear stiffness and average friction coefficient, it turned out that they are not dependent on the initial normal stress. Minor effects of shear velocity on rough joints were observed in several shear quantities. However, the effects of shear velocity were insignificant regardless of the normal stress increase. Change of shear strength and deformation characteristics on joint roughness were examined, however, it turned out that the variations were attributed to deviation of shear test specimens.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-77
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• 2022

Currently, the design reference temperature of the buffer material for disposing of high-level radioactive waste is less than 100℃, so if the heat dissipation capacity of the buffer material is improved, the spacings of the disposal tunnel and the deposition hole in the repository can be reduced. First of all, this study tries to analyze the criteria for thermal-hydraulic-mechanical performance of the buffer materials and to investigate the researches regarding the enhanced buffer materials with improved thermal conductivity. First, the thermal conductivity should be as high as possible and is affected by dry density, water content, temperature, mineral composition, and bentonite type. the organic content of the buffer material can have a significant effect on the corrosion performance of a canister, so the organic content should be low. In addition, hydraulic conductivity of the buffer material should be less than that of near-field rock and swelling pressure should be appropriate for buffer materials to function properly. For the development of enhanced buffer materials, additives such as sand, graphite, and graphite oxide are typically used, and a thermal conductivity can be greatly improved with a very small amount of graphite addition compared to sand.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.518-529
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• 2022

In Task C of the DECOVALEX-2023 project, nine institutes from six nations are developing their numerical codes to simulate thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled behavior for the FE experiment performed at Mont Terri underground rock laboratory, Switzerland. Currently, Step 1 for comparing the simulation results to field data is the ongoing stage, and we used the OGS-FLAC simulator for a series of numerical simulations. As a result, temperature increase depending on the heating hysteresis was well simulated, and saturation variation in the bentonite depending on phase change was observed. However, due to the suction overestimation, relative humidity and temperature change in the bentonite and the pressure variation in the Opalinus clay showed a difference compared to the field data. From the observation, it is confirmed that the effect of the bentonite capillary pressure is dominant to the flow analysis in the disposal system. We further plan to draw improved results considering tunnel support material and accurate initial water pressure distribution. Additionally, the thermal, hydrological, and mechanical anisotropy of the Opalinus clay was well simulated. From the simulation results, we confirmed the applicability of the OGS-FLAC simulator in the disposal system analysis.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.306-314
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• 1999

In underground spaces including nuclear waste repository, prediction of air quantity, temperature/humidity and pollutant concentration is utmost important for space construction and management during the normal state as well as for determining the measures in emergency cases such as underground fires. This study aims at developing a model for underground space environment which has capabilities to take into account the effects of autocompression for the natural ventilation head calculation, to find the optimal location and size of fans and regulators, to predict the temperature and humidity by calculating the convective heat transfer coefficient and the sensible and latent heat transfer rates, and to estimate the pollutant levels throughout the network. The temperature/humidity prediction model was applied to a military storage underground space and the relative differences of dry and wet temperatures were 1.5 ~ 2.9% and 0.6 ~ 6.1%, respectively. The convection-based pollutant transport model was applied to two different vehicle tunnels. Coefficients of turbulent diffusion due to the atmospheric turbulence were found to be 9.78 and 17.35$m^2$/s, but measurements of smoke and CO concentrations in a tunnel with high traffic density and under operation of ventilation equipment showed relative differences of 5.88 and 6.62% compared with estimates from the convection-based model. These findings indicate convection is the governing mechanism for pollutant diffusion in most of the tunnel-type spaces.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.170-185
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• 2018

The effect of fault on the stability of the closely-spaced twin tunnels located in fault zones was investigated by numerical analyses and scaled model tests on condition of varying widths, inclinations and material properties of fault. When obtaining the strength/stress ratios of pillar between twin tunnels, three different stresses were used which were measured at the middle point of pillar, calculated to whole average along the pillar section and measured at the left/right edges of pillar. Among them, the method by use of the left/right edges turned out to be the most conservative stability estimation regardless of the presence of fault and reflected the excavating procedures of tunnel in real time. It was also found that the strength/stress ratios of pillar were decreased as the widths and inclinations of fault were increased and as the material properties of fault were decreased on condition using the stresses measured at the left/right edges of pillar. As a result of scaled model tests, it was found that the model with fault showed less crack initiating pressure than the model without fault. As the width of fault was larger, tunnel stability was decreased. The fault had also a great influence on the failure behavior of tunnels, such as the model without fault showed failure cracks generated horizontally at the left/right edges of pillar and at the sidewalls of twin tunnels, whereas the model with fault showed failure cracks directionally generated at the center of pillar located in the fault zone.