• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.101-117
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• 2004

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.171-191
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• 2003

The objective of this present study is to understand long term(500 years) thermohydromechanical interaction behavior on joints adjacent to a repository cavern, when high level radioactive wastes are disposed of within discontinuous granitic rock masses, and then, to contribute this understanding to the development of a disposal concept. The model includes a saturated discontinuous granitic rock mass, PWR spent nuclear fuels in a disposal canister surrounded with compacted bentonite inside a deposition hole, and mixed bentonite backfilled in the rest of the space within a repository cavern. It is assumed that two joint sets exist within a model. Joint set 1 includes joints of $56^{\circ}$ dip angle, spaced 20m apart, and joint set 2 is in the perpendicular direction to joint set 1 and includes joints of $34^{\circ}$ dip angle, spaced 20m apart. The two dimensional distinct element code, UDEC is used for the analysis. To understand the joint behavior adjacent to the repository cavern, Barton-Bandis joint model is used. Effect of the decay heat from PWR spent fuels on the repository model has been analyzed, and a steady state flow algorithm is used for the hydraulic analysis.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.153-168
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• 2003

The objective of this present study is to understand long term(500 years) thermohydromechanical interaction behavior in the vicinity of a repository cavern on the joint location and repository depth variations. The model includes a saturated discontinuous granitic rock mass, PWR spent nuclear fuel in a disposal canister surrounded with compacted bentonite inside a deposition hole, and mixed bentonite backfilled in the rest of the space within a repository cavern. It is assumed that two joint sets exist within the model. Joint set 1 includes joints of 56$^{\circ}$ dip angle, spaced at 20 m, and joint set 2 is in the perpendicular direction to joint set 1 and includes joints of 34$^{\circ}$ dip angle, spaced at 20 m. In order to understand the behavior change on the joint location variations, 5 different models of 500m in depth are analyzed, and additional 3 different models of 1000 m in depth are analyzed to understand the effect of depth variation.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.643-648
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• 2014

Understanding of fracture networks and rock mass properties during tunnel construction is extremely important for the prediction of dangers during excavation, and for deciding on appropriate excavation techniques and support. However, rapid construction process do not allow sufficient time for surveys and interpretations for spatial distributions of fractures and rock mass properties. This study introduces a new statistical approach for predicting joint distributions at foreside of current excavation face during the excavation process. The proposed methodology is based on a cumulative space diagram for joint sets. The diagram displays the cumulative spacing between adjacent joints on the vertical axis and the sequential position of each joint plotted at equally spaced intervals on the horizontal axis. According to the diagram, the degree of linearity of points representing the regularity of joint spacing; a linear trend of the points indicates that the joints are evenly spaced, with the slope of the line being directly related to the spacing. The linear points which are stepped indicates that the fracture set show clustered distribution. A clustered pattern within the linear group of points indicates a clustered joint distribution. Fractures surveyed from an excavated space can be plotted on this diagram, and the diagram can then be extended further according to the plotted diagram pattern. The extension of the diagram allows predictions about joint spacing in areas that have not yet been excavated. To test the model, we collected and analyzed data during excavation of a 10-m-long tunnel. Fractures in a 3-m zone behind the excavation face were predicted during the excavation, and the predictions were compared with observations. The methodology yielded reasonably good predictions of joint locations.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.292-304
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• 2019

Limestone joint surfaces with smooth roughness were experimented by means of both the individual direct shear tests based on the KSRM standard test method and the multi-stage direct shear test to apply the stepwise vertical stresses. Changes in the roughness of the joint surfaces before and after the shear tests were examined and the difference between the two kinds of tests mentioned above was analyzed. In both tests, the shear resistance increased as the joint roughness increased and the maximum shear stress required for shearing the joint surface increased as the vertical stress increased. The peak friction angle obtained by the multi-stage direct shear tests was only 63% of that obtained by the individual direct shear tests. In the multi-stage direct shear test, the initial engagement of the concave-convex parts changes frequently during stepwise shearing process, which deforms the original roughness of a joint surface. Accordingly, the individual direct shear test is thought to be more effective when obtaining the friction angle of the rock joint surfaces. Limestone joint surfaces with smooth roughness of JRC value 4~8 were found to have peak friction angle of $47^{\circ}$, residual friction angle of $38^{\circ}$ and cohesion of 37 kPa.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.350-363
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• 1999

The precision cyclic shear test system was established to investigate the mechanical characteristics of rough rock joints under cyclic loading conditions. Laboratory cyclic shear tests were conducted for saw-cut joints and artificial rough rock joints using Hwangdeung granite and Yeosan marble. Surface roughness and aperture characteristics of specimens were examined by measuring surface topography using the laser profilometer. Peak shear strength, phase difference during loading and unloading, and anisotropic shear behavior were investigated throughout the cyclic shear test results. These features and their subsequent variations in each loading cycle are significantly dependent upon the second order asperities and the strength of intact rock. It was observed that degradation of asperities for rough rock joints under cyclic shear loading followed the exponential degradation laws of asperity angle and that the mechanism for asperity degradation would be different depending upon the normal stress level, roughness of joint surface and the loading stage.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.5-12
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• 2023

This study investigates the existing models for estimating the shear strength of rock joints, presents related problems, and introduces a newly proposed model to overcome the problems. The results of many experimental tests show that the shear strength of a rock joint depends on many complex factors, including asperity angle, compressive strength, applied normal stress, friction angle, asperity cohesive strength, and progressive damage of asperities. However, the existing models do not account for these factors enough. To overcome these problems, Son (2020) developed a new model to estimate the shear strength of rock joints and confirmed its reliability by comparing with experimental results and existing models. In this paper, the developed model was used to investigate the various factors that affect the joint shear strength, and the results were compared and analyzed. Through this study, the factors that affect the shear strength of the rock joint could be identified in more detail.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.295-306
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• 2010

Contrary to an intact rock, the jointed rock mass shows strain-dependent deformation characteristics (elastic modulus and damping ratio). The maximum elastic modulus of a rock mass can be obtained from an elastic wave-based exploration in a small strain level and applied to seismic analyses. However, the assessment and application of the non-linear characteristics of rock masses in a small to medium strain level ($10^{-4}{\sim}0.5%$) have not been carried out yet. A non-linear dynamic analysis module is newly developed for FLAC3D to simulate strain-dependent shear modulus degradation and damping ratio amplification characteristics. The developed module is verified by analyzing the change of the Ricker wave propagation. Strain-dependent non-linear characteristics are obtained from disks of cored samples using a rock mass dynamic testing apparatus which can evaluate wave propagation characteristics in a jointed rock column. Using the experimental results and the developed non-linear dynamic module, seismic analyses are performed for the intersection of a shaft and an inclined tunnel. The numerical results show that vertical and horizontal displacements of non-linear analyses are larger than those of linear analyses. Also, non-linear analyses induce bigger bending compressive stresses acting on the lining. The bending compressive stress concentrates at the intersection part. The fundamental understanding of a strain-dependent jointed rock mass behavior is achieved in this study and the analytical procedure suggested can be effectively applied to field designs and analyses.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.167-178
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• 2002

Properties of discontinuity for Seoul Granite in northeastern part of Seoul City were analyzed by dividing structural domains into Surak and Bulam Mtn. areas. Important parameters measured among several engineering properties of a rock during tunnel excavation and road construction are as follows: 1) Orientation of joint, 2) joint spacing, 3) joint density, and 4) uniaxial compressive strength. Orientation, spacing, and density of joints can be directly measured during field investigation using scanline survey, circle-inventory method, and window survey. Uniaxial compressive strength of the rock was calculated by a simple correlation equation although it is originally necessary to prepare core samples in measuring it. Major orientations of joints measured from both areas are 3 sets of joints with different orientations. In other words, they are 2 sets of orthogonal joint and 1 set of sheet joint that is dipping at low angle, and have very similar orientations in both areas. Joint densities in both areas range from 0.039 and 0.066/cm, and average joint length are between 1.30 and 4.52m. Average joint spacing also has values from 10.3cm up to 59.6cm, and shows significant difference along specific orientation of scanlines measured. Values of uniaxial compressive strength calculated on the basis of Schmidt hammer rebound values range from 217 to 335 MPa, which indicates very strong rock type by classification of wall strength.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.357-366
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• 2021

Shear behavior dependent on the shape and roughness of rock joints can greatly influence the stability of the ground and rock structures. The efficient design of rock structures requires understanding of the shear behavior due to joints and accurate calculation of the shear strength. This work reports numerical shear tests using PFC2D on No. 1 (JCR-1), with smooth joints, and No. 7 (JRC-7) and No. 9 (JRC-9), with relatively rough joints, for the 10 shapes of standard joint profiles proposed by Barton and Choubey (1977). The aim was to investigate the shear behavior of rock joints with respect to their roughness. The results show the maximum shear stress to be about 3.2 to 5.0 times greater in the rougher JRC-7 and JRC-9 joints than in smoother JRC-1. The maximum shear displacement was approximately 4.1 to 5.8 times greater at the first normal stress than at the second. The rougher joints showed friction angles of the rock joints that were approximately 1.8 to 3.9 times greater than that in the smooth joint. Overall, increasing the rock joint roughness increased the maximum shear stress and friction angle.