• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.53-67
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• 2003

In this paper, a new systematic method will be introduced, in which a Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS) predicts the geological conditions and rock mass movements before tunnel excavation and the appropriate counter-measures are taken in the expected weak zones during tunnel construction. The Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS) consists of the LIM, a horizontal con drilling and a seismic exploration method (TSP/HSP). In the Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS), the seismic exploration method (TSP/HSP) gives information on the locations of the weak zones such as major faults and voids in wide-range, and the horizontal core drillings are utilized to find exact location and widths of the faults or voids near the weak zones which was predicted by the seismic exploration method (TSP/HSP). The LIM is used to find the hardness of the rock mass and small weak zones near the excavation face. The Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS) was successfully applied to the Sol-An Tunnel and the effectiveness of the system was verified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.13-30
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• 2003

In this paper, a new systematic method will be introduced, in which a Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS) predicts the geological conditions and rock mass movements before tunnel excavation and the appropriate counter-measures are taken in the expected weak zones during tunnel construction. The Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS) consists of the LIM, a horizontal core drilling and a seismic exploration method(TSP/HSP). In the Rock-mass Prediction System(RPS), the seismic exploration method (TSP/HSP) gives information on the locations of the weak zones such as major faults and voids in wide-range, and the horizontal core drillings are utilized to find exact location and widths of the faults or voids near the weak zones which was predicted by the seismic exploration method (TSP/HSP). The LIM is used to find the hardness of the rock mass and small weak zones near the excavation face. The Rock-mass Prediction System (RPS) was successfully applied to the Sol-An Tunnel and the effectiveness of the system was verified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.939-948
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• 2006

The structural anisotropy and heterogeneity of rock mass, caused by discontinuities and weak zones, have a great influence on the deformation behavior of tunnel. Tunnel construction in these complex ground conditions is very difficult. No matter how excellent a geological investigation is, local uncertainties of rock mass conditions still remain. Under these uncertain circumstances, an accurate forecast of the ground conditions ahead of the advancing tunnel face is indispensable to safe and economic tunnel construction. This paper presents the effect of anisotropy and heterogeneity of the rock masses to be excavated by numerical analysis. The influences of distance from weak zone, the size or dimension, the different stiffness and the orientation of weak zones are analysedby 2-D and 3-D finite element analysis. By analysing these numerical results, the tunnel behavior due to excavation can be well understood and the prediction of rock mass condition ahead of tunnel face can be possible.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2003

The classification of weak rocks is normally connected with the rippability classifications. The excavation of rock is frequently carried out by blasting. A classification of the weak rocks by test blasting with small quantity of explosives was attempted in the present study. The crater ratio and blasting constant that resoled from test blasting were used as a e parameter of the classification. The seismic velocity of rock mass and Protodyakonov's index were also applied for the also rock classification.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.115-128
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• 2006

The structural anisotropy and heterogeneity of rock mass, caused by discontinuities and weak zones, have a great influence on the deformation behavior of a tunnel. A tunnel construction in these complex ground conditions is very difficult. No matter how excellent a geological investigation is, local uncertainties of rock mass conditions still remain. Under these uncertain circumstances, an accurate forecast of the ground conditions ahead of the advancing tunnel face is indispensable to a safe and economic tunnel construction. This paper presents the effect of anisotropy and heterogeneity of the rock masses to be excavated by numerical analysis. The influences of distance from weak zone, the size or dimension, the different stiffness and the orientation of weak zones are analysed by 3-D finite element analysis. By analysing these numerical results, the tunnel behavior due to excavation can be well understood and the prediction of rock mass condition ahead of the tunnel face can be possible.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.132-141
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• 1993

Laboratory and field tests were performed to find out the effectiveness of ground improvement by grouting for an urban subway tunnel that was excavated in weak rock by the NATM. Field measurements were carried out to monitor the behavior of rock mass around the tunnel and to ensure the validity of the current design of the distance form the measuring points to the tunnel face. The final converged displacement and the peroid were predicted using the gamma function. It was found that the ground improvement in terms of reduced permeability and increased stength in the self-supportability of the excavation face enabled the NATM applied in poor gorund. As the result of applying the gamma function to the predicting of displacement, the final displacement including the preceding one and the converged period could be approximately predicted at the early excavation stage.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.255-261
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• 2003

Tunnelling in poor and heterogeneous ground is a difficult task. Even with a good geological investigation, uncertainties with respect to the local rock mass structure will remain. Especially for such conditions, a reliable short-term prediction of the conditions ahead and outside the tunnel profile are of paramount importance for the choice of appropriate excavation and support methods. The information contained in the absolute displacement monitoring data allows a comprehensive evaluation of the displacements and the determination of the behaviour and influence of an anisotropic rock mass. Case histories and with numerical simulations show, that changes in the displacement vector orientation can indicate changing rock mass conditions ahead of the tunnel face (Schubert & Budil 1995, Steindorfer & Schubert 1997). Further research has been conducted to quantify the influence of weak zones on stresses and displacements (Grossauer 2001). Sellner (2000) developed software, which allows predicting displacements (GeoFit$\circledR$). The function parameters describe the time and advance dependent deformation of a tunnel. Routinely applying this method at each measuring section allows determining trends of those parameters. It shows, that the trends of parameter sets indicate changes in the stiffness of the rock mass outside the tunnel in a similar way, as the displacement vector orientation does. Three-dimensional Finite Element simulations of different weakness zone properties, thicknesses, and orientations relative to the tunnel axis were carried out and the function parameters evaluated from the results. The results are compared to monitoring results from alpine tunnels in heterogeneous rock. The good qualitative correlation between trends observed on site and numerical results gives hope that by a routine determination of the function parameters during excavation the prediction of rock mass conditions ahead of the tunnel face can be improved. Implementing the rules developed from experience and simulations into the monitoring data evaluation program allows to automatically issuing information on the expected rock mass quality ahead of the tunnel.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.327-343
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• 2004

During tunnel construction, ground failures often occur due to existence of weak zones, such as faults, joints, and cavities, ahead of tunnel face. It is hard to detect effectively weak zones, which can lead underground structure to fail after excavation and before supporting, by using conventional characterization methods. In this study, an enhanced analytical method of predicting weak zones ahead of tunnel face is developed to overcome some problems in the conventional geophysical exploration methods. The analytical method is based on Coulomb's and Gauss' laws with considering the characteristics of electric fields subjected to rock mass. Using the developed method, closed form solutions are obtained to detect a spherical shaped zone and an oriented fault ahead of tunnel face respectively. The analytical results suggest that the presence of weak zones and their sizes, location, and states can be accurately predicted by combining a proper inversion process with resistance measured from several electrodes on the tunnel face. It appears that the skin depth or resistivity in rock mass is affected by the diameter of tunnel face, natural electric potential and noises induced by experimental measurement and spatial distribution of uncertain properties. The developed analytical solution is verified through experimental tests. About 1800 concrete blocks of 5cm by 5cm by 5cm in size are prepared and used to model a joint rock mass around tunnel face. Weak zones are simulated ahead of tunnel face with a material which has relatively higher conductivity than concrete blocks. Experimental results on the model test show a good agreement with analytical results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.529-543
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• 2022

The lattice-spring-based synthetic rock mass model (LS-SRM) technique has been extensively employed in large open-pit mining and underground projects in the last decade. Since the LS-SRM requires a complex and time-consuming calibration process, a robust approach was developed using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to optimize the calibration procedure. For this purpose, numerical models were designed using the Box-Behnken Design technique, and numerical simulations were performed under uniaxial and triaxial stress states. The model input parameters represented the models' micro-mechanical (lattice) properties and the macro-scale properties, including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus, cohesion, and friction angle constitute the output parameters of the model. The results from RSM models indicate that the lattice UCS and lattice friction angle are the most influential parameters on the macro-scale UCS of the specimen. Moreover, lattice UCS and elastic modulus mainly control macro-scale cohesion. Lattice friction angle (flat joint fiction angle) and lattice elastic modulus affect the macro-scale friction angle. Model validation was performed using physical laboratory experiment results, ranging from weak to hard rock. The results indicated that the RSM model could be employed to calibrate LS-SRM numerical models without a trial-and-error process.