• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.117-127
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of in-situ rock stresses on the deformability and permeability of fractured rocks. Geological data were taken from the site investigation at Forsmark, Sweden, conducted by Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Man-agement Company (SKB). A set of numerical experiments was conducted to determine the equivalent mechanical properties (essentially, elastic moduli and Poisson's ratio) and permeability, using a Discrete Fracture Network-Discrete Element Method (DFN-DEM) approach. The results show that both mechanical properties and permeability are highly dependent on stress because of the hyperbolic nature of the stiffness of fractures, different closure behavior of fractures, and change of fluid pathways caused by deformation. This study shows that proper characterization and consideration of in-situ stress are important not only for boundary conditions of a selected site but also for the understanding of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of fractured rocks.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.457-465
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• 2013

We integrated and correlated datasets from surface and subsurface geophysics, drilling cores, and engineering geology to identify geological interfaces and characterize the joints and fracture zones within the rock mass. The regional geometry of a geologically weak zone was investigated via a fence projection of electrical resistivity data and a borehole image-processing system. Subsurface discontinuities and intensive fracture zones within the rock mass are delineated by cross-hole seismic tomography and analyses of dip directions in rose diagrams. The dynamic elastic modulus is studied in terms of the P-wave velocity and Poisson's ratio. Subsurface discontinuities, which are conventionally identified using the N value and from core samples, can now be identified from anomalous reflection coefficients (i.e., acoustic impedance contrast) calculated using a pair of well logs, comprising seismic velocity from suspension-PS logging and density from logging. Intensive fracture zones identified in the synthetic seismogram are matched to core loss zones in the drilling core data and to a high concentration of joints in the borehole imaging system. The upper boundaries of fracture zones are correlated to strongly negative amplitude in the synthetic trace, which is constructed by convolution of the optimal Ricker wavelet with a reflection coefficient. The standard deviations of dynamic elastic moduli are higher for fracture zones than for acompact rock mass, due to the wide range of velocities resulting from the large numbers of joints and fractures within the zone.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.20-32
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• 2003

To understand the behavior of migration of contaminants in a fractured porous medium is a key to assure the overall safety of a potential radwaste repository. The feasible retention mechanism of contaminant transport in a tinctured medium are sorption of contaminants on solid surface and matrix diffusion of contaminants from a fracture into an adjacent porous medium. The acceleration mechanisms are the migration of contaminants in the form of pseudo-colloids and the limit of a volume f3r matrix diffusion. In this paper, the effects of these two acceleration mechanisms are studied mathematically, then semi-analytically computed by the application of the Talbot theorem and verified. Results indicate that the acceleration processes cannot be neglected in the modeling of contaminant transport in a fractured porous medium.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.32-44
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• 2005

314 pumping test data of the National Groundwater Monitoring Wells (NGMWs) are analyzed to present statistical properties of fractured-rock and alluvial aquifers of Korea such as distribution of hydraulic conductivity, empirical relations between transmissivity and specific capacity, and time-drawdown patterns of pumping and recovery test. The mean hydraulic conductivity of alluvial aquifers (1.26 m/day) is 17 times greater than that of fractured-rock aquifers (0.076 m/day). Hydraulic conductivity of fracture-rock aquifers ranges in value over 4 orders of magnitude which coincide with representative values of fractured crystalline rocks and shows distinctive differences among rock types with the lowest values for metamorphic rocks and the highest values for sedimentary rocks. In consideration of the estimated transmissivity with some simplifying assumptions, it Is likely that $32\%$ of groundwater flow for NGMWs would occur through fractured-rock aquifers and $68\%$ through alluvial aquifers. Based on 314 pairs of data, empirical relations between transmissivity and specific capacity are presented for both fractured-rock and alluvial aquifers. Depending on time-drawdown patterns during pumping and recovery test, NGMWs are classified into $4\~5$ types. Most of NCMWs $(83.7\%)$ exhibit the recharge boundary type, which call be attributed to sources of water supply such as streams adjacent to the pumping well, the vertical groundwater flux between fractured-rock and the alluvial aquifers, and the delayed yield associated with gravity drainage occurring in unconfined aquifers.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.2 s.67
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• pp.128-138
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• 2007

At low in-situ stress, the continuity and distribution of natural fractures in rock mass predominantly control the failure processes. However at high in-situ stress, the failure process are affected and eventually dominated by stress-induced fractures preferentially growing parallel to the excavation boundary. This fracturing is often observed in brittle type of failure such as slabbing or spatting. Recent studies on the stress- or excavation-induced damage of rock revealed its importance especially in a highly stressed regime. In order to evaluate the brittle failure around a deep underground opening, physical model experiments were carried out. For the experiments a new tue triaxial testing system was made. According to visual observation and acoustic emission detection, brittle failure grades were classified under three categories. The test results indicate that where higher horizontal stress, acting perpendicular $(S_{H2})$ and parallel $(S_{H1})$ to the axis of the tunnel respectively, were applied, the failure grade at a constant vertical stress level (Sy) was lowered. The failure initiation stress was also increased with the increasing $S_{H1}\;and\;S_{H2}$. From the multi-variable regression on failure initiation stress and true triaxial stress conditions, $f(S_v,\;S_{H1},\;S_{H2})$ was proposed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.121-134
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• 2003

본 연구대상은 $\bigcirc$$\bigcirc$우회도로 Sta.3＋300~600 구간에 형성된 높이 약 50m의 대절토 암반사면으로 대부분 절취가 완료된 상태에서, 1차로 사면 좌측부의 발파암과 풍화암의 경계부를 따라 인장균열이 소규모로 형성되면서 Slip 등 사면파괴활동이 시작되었으며, 2차로 활동높이 35m, 활동폭 40m, 활동깊이 약 l0m 규모로 붕괴되었고, 주변에도 인장균열의 발생이 확인되는 등 추가 붕괴의 징후가 있어 사면의 안정성을 검토하였다. Rock Cleavages가 발달한 천매암으로 구성된 파괴활동사면을 대상으로 지표지질조사, 추가시추조사, 전기비저항탐사, 시추공 영상촬영(BIPS)을 실시하여 사면붕괴의 원인과 추후에 예상되는 붕괴의 양상을 파악하고, 연구지역에 가장 적합한 보강대책을 수립하고자 하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.229-232
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• 2003

본 연구는 울산지역 지하수오염 저감기술의 개발에 필요한 대수층의 공간적 분포특성을 파악하는 데 목적이 있다. 울산 공업도시의 대수층에서 공간적 분포특성을 파악하기 위하여 시추조사가 많이 필요 하지만 비용 및 시간 관계상 어려움이 있기 때문에, 지질조사 보고서나 논문 등에서 지하수자료와 시추 자료를 획득하여 지구통계기법을 이용한 울산지역 대수층의 공간적 분포를 모사하였다. 그리고 인구가 밀집되어 있는 남구와 중구를 중심으로 대수층 단면 분포를 모사하였다. 이와 같은 분석결과는 표토층 하부경계부와 풍화대 하부경계부에서 유사한 분포심도로 나타났으며, 지하수 수위는 표토층 하부경계와 암반층 상부경계부인 풍화대에 분포하는 것으로 나타났다.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.351-359
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• 2007

Multi-axial compression tests have been frequently conducted to evaluate the in situ properties of rock masses and the mechanical behaviors of rock strata through the model tests. Without the proper boundary condition for the model tests, the mechanical behavior of rock mass would deviate, as can be expected, from the in situ conditions. The boundary condition will affect the internal stress distribution of the specimens and cause some distortion on the measurement. In this study, a design process regarding the steel brush, which has been employed for multi-axial compression test to reduce the frictional restraint along the specimen/loading platen interface, is introduced. The individual brushes are regarded as a simple column and beam to calculate the cross-sectional size and length of the brushes in consideration of the buckling capacity and the allowable deflection.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.45-52
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• 2022

Because discontinuity in the rock mass and contact of soil-structure interaction exhibits coupled thermal-hydromechanical (THM) behavior, it is necessary to develop an interface element based on the full governing equations. In this study, we derive force equilibrium, fluid continuity, and energy equilibrium equations for the interface element. Additionally, we present a stiffness matrix of the elastoplastic mechanical model for the interface element. The developed interface element uses six nodes for displacement and four nodes for water pressure and temperature in a two-dimensional analysis. The fully coupled THM analysis for fluid injection into a fault can model the complicated evolution of injection pressure due to decreasing effective stress in the fault and thermal contraction of the surrounding rock mass. However, the result of hydromechanical analysis ignoring thermal phenomena overestimates hydromechanical variables.

• Journal of the Korea Construction Safety Engineering Association
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• s.45
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• pp.60-70
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• 2008

Mechanized tunnelling by TBMs has been extensively adopted for last two decades. Nevertheless, only few case histories have been reported. Unlike NATM tunnels, the case histories of the weak zone have been seldom reported for the mechanized tunnelling, even in the other countries. In this study, a collapse of TBM tunnel occurred in the severely altered weak rock zones between volcaniclastic rocks and granitic rocks was briefly described. A systematic geotechnical investigation, which was performed to examine the cause of the collapse, was carried out at the site and then characteristics of the rocks in the zones were evaluated. Moreover, This study propose a guide line of estimateing the possibility of collapse in TBM tunnels through comparing experimental results with surveying results of general rocks.