• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.184-193
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• 1998

In order to dispose radioactive wastes safely, it is needed to understand the mechanical, thermal, fluid behavior of rockmass and physico-chemical interactions between rockmass and water. Also, the knowledge about mechanical and hydraulic properties of rocks is required to predict and to model many conditions of geological structure, underground in-situ stress, folding, hot water interaction, intrusion of magma, plate tectonics etc. This study is based on researches about rock mechanics issues associated with a waste disposal in deep rockmass. This paper includes the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of rocks in varying temperature conditions, thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling analysis in rock mass and deformation behavior of discontinuous rocks. The mechanical properties were measured with Interaken rock mechanics testing systems and hydraulic properties were measured with transient pulse permeability measuring systems. In all results, rock properties were sensitive to temperature variation.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-29
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• 2019

Permeability and its change due to a fluid injection in jointed rock mass is an important factor to be well identified for a safe and successful implementation of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects which may accompany injection-induced hydromechanical deformation of the rock mass. In this technical report, we first reviewed important issues in evaluating initial permeability using borehole hydraulic tests and numierical approaches for understanding coupled hydromechanical properties of rock mass. Recent SIMFIP testing device to measure these hydromechanical properties directly through in-situ borehole experiments was also reviewed. The technical significance and usefulness of the device for further applications was discussed as well.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.91-104
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• 2008

In tunnels, safety factor concept has been suggested to estimate their stability quantitatively. It is merely limited in the framework of mechanical analysis. However safety factor concept has not been applied in hydro-mechanical coupled analyses due to their modelling complexity. Recently studies on this topic are being actively made. In this study, induced drainage modelling methods for hydro-mechanical coupled analyses are compared and analyzed to estimate safety factor of a subsea tunnel exactly. To this end, methods both controlling hydraulic characteristic of shotcrete and using a drainage well are considered. Sensitivity analysis were carried out on rock class, thickness of shotcrete, and hydraulic properties of rock mass. As the results of this study, it turned out that the induced drainage modelling using a drainage well would give more reliable results than that of controlling hydraulic characteristic of shotcrete in estimating tunnel stability in hydro-mechanical coupled analyses.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.309-332
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• 2021

Natural barrier systems surrounding the geological repository for the high-level radioactive waste should guarantee the hydraulic performance for preventing or delaying the leakage of radionuclide. In the case of the behavior of a crystalline rock, the hydraulic performance tends to be decided by the existence of discontinuities, so the coupled hydro-mechanical(HM) processes on the discontinuities should be characterized. The discontinuum modelling can describe the complicated behavior of discontinuities including creation, propagation, deformation and slip, so it is appropriate to model the behavior of a crystalline rock. This paper investigated the coupled HM processes in discontinuum modelling such as UDEC, 3DEC, PFC, DDA, FRACOD and TOUGH-UDEC. Block-based discontinuum methods tend to describe the HM processes based on the fluid flow through the discontinuities, and some methods are combined with another numerical tool specialized in hydraulic analysis. Particle-based discontinuum modelling describes the overall HM processes based on the fluid flow among the particles. The discontinuum methods that are currently available have limitations: exclusive simulations for two-dimension, low hydraulic simulation efficiency, fracture-dominated fluid flow and simplified hydraulic analysis, so it could be improper to the modelling the geological repository. Based on the concepts of various discontinuum modelling compiled in this paper, the advanced numerical tools for describing the accurate coupled HM processes of the deep geological repository should be developed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.264-273
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• 2011

Bentonite buffer is one of the major components of an engineered barrier for an HLW (High-Level Waste) repository. The bentonite buffer is significantly exposed to the decay heat from radioactive wastes, the inflow of groundwater from the surrounding rock of the repository, and the high swelling pressure of densely-compacted bentonite that comes in contact with the groundwater. Therefore, it is essential to understand the THM (Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical) behavior of the bentonite buffer and to acquire the input data of its related constitutive models for the performance and safety assessment of an HLW repository. This paper analyzed the THM properties which have been obtained by conducting laboratory tests with a candidate buffer material for a Korean HLW repository. Moreover the formulation recipe of the reference bentonite buffer was defined on the basis of functional criteria, thus suggesting the THM properties which correspond to the formulation recipe of the reference bentonite buffer.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.2 s.67
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• pp.109-118
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• 2007

The excavation damaged zone (EDZ) is an area around an excavation where in situ rock mass properties, stress condition. displacement. groundwater flow conditions have been altered due to the excavation. Various studies have been carried out on EDZ, but most studies have been focused on the mechanical bahavior of EDZ by in situ experiment. Even though the EDZ could potentially form a high permeable pathway of groundwater flow, only a few studies were performed on the analysis of groundwater flow in EDZ. In this study, the' hydraulic EDZ' was defined as the rock Lone adjacent to the excavation where the hydraulic aperture has been changed due to the excavation. And hydraulic EDZ (hydraulic aperture changed zone) estimated by two-dimensional DEM program was considered in three-dimensional DFN model. From this approach the groundwater flow characteristics corresponding to hydraulic aperture change were examined. Together. a parametric study was performed to examine the boundary conditions that frequently used in DFN analysis such as constant head or constant flux condition. According to the numerical analysis, hydraulic aperture change induced by the hydraulic-mechanical interaction becomes one of the most important factors Influencing the hydraulic behavior of jointed rock masses. And also from this study, we suggest the proper boundary condition in three-dimensional DFN model.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.1706-1710
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• 2006

횡유입에 의한 합류부에서는 통상 하천에 비해 수위, 유속 등의 수리학적으로 불안정한 수리특성이 나타난다. 이로 인한 합류부의 배수효과는 합류점뿐만 아니라 합류점 상류의 본류와 지류의 수위 및 유속 변화로 홍수나 태풍에 영향을 가중시켜 더 큰 피해를 가져온다. 따라서 합류부의 특성을 정확히 파악하여 하천의 안정적 기능을 유지하여야 한다. 본 논문은 2차원 동수역학 해석모형인 SMS(1999)의 RMA-2를 이용하여 합류부의 특성을 분석하였다. 합류부의 특성을 파악하기 위한 모형수로 실험을 한 박용섭(2003)의 실험자료를 이용하여 같은 조건으로 RMA-2 해석에 적용하였다. 이에 따른 횡유입의 분리구역 현상을 RMA-2의 분석결과로 확인 할 수 있으며 박용섭(2003)의 실험자료와 비교분석 하였다.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2007

The excavation damaged zone (EDZ) is an area around an excavation where in situ rock mass properties, stress condition, displacement, groundwater flow conditions have been altered due to the processes induced by the excavation. Various studies have been carried out on EDZ, but most studies have focused on the mechanical bahavior of EDZ by in situ experiment. Even though the EDZ could potentially form a high permeable pathway of groundwater flow, only a few studies were performed on the analysis of groundwater flow in EDZ. In this study, the 'hydraulic EDZ' was defined as the rock zone adjacent to the excavation where the hydraulic aperture has been changed due to the excavation by using H-M coupling analysis. Fundamental principles of distinct element method (DEM) were used in the analysis. In the same groundwater level, the behavior of hydraulic aperture near the cavern was analyzed for different stress ratios, initial apertures, fracture angles and fracture spacings by using a two-dimensional DEM program. We evaluate the excavation induced hydraulic aperture change. Using the results of the study, hydraulic EDZ was defined as an elliptical shape model perpendicular to the joint.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2000.09a
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• pp.117-128
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• 2000

The development of proper joint model, which can describe real phenomena exactly and still can be used easily, is one of the most important element for the analysis of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of discontinuous rock mass. In this study, an elasto-plastic constitutive model of joint behavior considering asperity degradation was extended with the concept of first and second order asperities. The proposed model was implemented to numerical code with discrete finite joint element. The parametric study with the various asperity angles and degradation coefficients showed that the model can reproduce the shear behavior of typical rough joints well. Results of laboratory monotonic and cyclic shear tests were compared with those of numerical tests to validate the model. The hydraulic model considering the relations between gouge production and aperture was introduced to the mechanical model. In an attempt to examine the performance of the model, comparative numerical test was conducted. Permeability between joint surfaces increased rapidly at the first stage, but became nearly constant with increasing shear displacement due to gouge production and uniform variation of aperture distribution.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.366-377
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• 2000

The development of proper joint model, which can describe real phenomena exactly and still can be used easily, is one of the most important element for the analysis of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of discontinuous rock mass. In this study, an elasto-plastic constitutive model of joint behavior considering asperity degradation was extended with the concept of first and second order asperities. The proposed model was implemented to numerical code with discrete finite joint element. The parametric study with the various asperity angles and degradation coefficients showed that the model can reproduce the shear behavior of typical rough joints well. Results of laboratory monotonic and cyclic shear tests were compared with those of numerical tests to validate the model. The hydraulic model considering the relations between gouge production and aperture was introduced to the mechanical mode1. In an attempt to examine the performance of the model, comparative numerical test was conducted. Permeability between joint surfaces increased rapidly at the first stage, but became nearly constant with increasing shear displacement due to gouge production and uniform variation of aperture distribution.