• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2022

The mechanical and thermal properties of the rock masses can affect the performance associated with both the isolating and retarding capacities of radioactive materials within the deep geological disposal system for High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW). In this study, the essential parameters for the site descriptive model (SDM) related to the rock mechanics and thermal properties of the HLW disposal facilities site were reviewed, and the technical background was explored through the cases of the preceding site descriptive models developed by SKB (Swedish Nuclear and Fuel Management Company), Sweden and Posiva, Finland. SKB and Posiva studied parameters essential for the investigation and evaluation of mechanical and thermal properties, and derived a rock mechanics site descriptive model for safety evaluation and construction of the HLW disposal facilities. The rock mechanics SDM includes the results obtained from investigation and evaluation of the strength and deformability of intact rocks, fractures, and fractured rock masses, as well as the geometry of large-scaled deformation zones, the small-scaled fracture network system, thermal properties of rocks, and the in situ stress distribution of the disposal site. In addition, the site descriptive model should provide the sensitivity analysis results for the input parameters, and present the results obtained from evaluation of uncertainty.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.93-105
• /
• 2012

This paper compares the two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) approaches for the numerical determination of the equivalent mechanical properties of fractured rock masses. Both orthogonally-fractured model and discrete fracture networks (DFN) were used for the geometry and 2D models were cut in various directions from 3D model to compare their mechanical properties. Geological data were loosely based on the data available from Sellafield, UK. Analytical method based on compliance tensor transformation was used for investigation in orthogonally fractured rock and numerical experiments were conducted on fractured rock mass with DFN geometry. It is shown that 2D approach always overestimates the elastic modulus of fractured rock masses by a factor of up to around two because fractures are assumed to be perpendicular to the model plane in 2D problems. Poisson ratios tend to have larger values in 2D analysis while there is opposite trend in some sections. The study quantitatively demonstrates the limitation of the 2D approach that uses the simplified model from true 3D geometry.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.247-260
• /
• 2014

Rock masses at the site for the $2^{nd}$ step construction of the KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT) are divided into six units to establish a rock mechanics model that is dependent on the geological characteristics and degree of joint development. The site primarily consists of three granitic units (G1, G2, and G3), two dykes (D1 and D3), and a fault zone of poor rock mass quality (F3). The F3 unit crosses the tunnel at the beginning of the site of $2^{nd}$ step construction. The rock masses of each unit are classified by RMR (Rock Mass Rating), Q-system, and RMi (Rock Mass Index), all based on borehole logging data. The deformation modulus, rock mass strength, cohesion, and friction angle for each unit are calculated using established empirical relationships. The representative rock mass classification and geotechnical parameters for the rock mass units are established, and a rock mechanics model for the site is proposed, which will be useful in the design and stability analysis of the $2^{nd}$ step construction of KURT.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.15 no.2 s.55
• /
• pp.119-128
• /
• 2005

Although the evaluation of the mechanical properties and behavior of jointed rock masses is very important for the design of tunnel and underground openings, it has always been considered the most difficult problem. One of the difficulties in describing the rock mass behavior is the selection of the appropriate constitutive model. This limitation may be overcome with the progress in discrete element software such as PFC, which does not need the user to prescribe a constitutive model for rock mass. In this paper, a 30\;m\;\times\;30\;m\;\times\;30\;m m jointed rock mass of road tunnel site was analyzed. h discrete fracture network was developed from the joint geometry obtained from core logging and surface survey. Using the discontinuities geometry from the DFN model, PFC simulations were carried out, starting with the intact rock and systematically adding the joints and the stress-strain response was recorded for each case. With the stress-strain response curves, the mechanical properties of jointed rock masses were determined. As expected, the presence of joints had a pronounced effect on mechanical properties of the rock mass. More importantly, getting the mechanical response of the PFC model doesn't require a user specified constitutive model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.66-81
• /
• 2011

In this study, it was aimed to develop a thermal-hydraulic-mechanical coupled fracture mechanics code that models a fracture initiation, propagation and failure of underground rock mass due to thermal and hydraulic loadings. The development was based on a 2D FRACOD (Shen & Stephasson, 1993), and newly developed T-M and H-M coupled analysis modules were implemented into it. T-M coupling in FRACOD employed a fictitious heat source and time-marching method, and explicit iteration method was used in H-M coupling. The validity of developed coupled modules was verified by the comparison with the analytical result, and its applicability to the fracture initiation and propagation behavior due to temperature changes and hydraulic fracturing was confirmed by test simulations.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.36 no.12
• /
• pp.125-132
• /
• 2020

Embedded joints in the rock mass are a major constituent influencing its mechanical behavior. Numerical analysis requires a rigorous modeling methodology for the rock mass with detailed information regarding joint properties, orientation, spacing, and persistence. This paper provides a mechanical model for a jointed rock mass based on the implicit joint-continuum approach. Stiffness tensors for rock mass are evaluated for an assemblage of intact rock separated by sets of joint planes. It is a linear summation of compliance of each joint sets and intact rock in the serial stiffness system. In the application example, kinematic analysis for a planar failure of rock slope is comparable with empirical daylight envelope and its lateral limits. Since the developed implicit joint-continuity model is formulated on a continuum basis, it will be a major tool for the numerical simulations adopting published plenteous thermal-hydro-chemical experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
• /
• 1996.03a
• /
• pp.83-94
• /
• 1996

지하 암반구조물의 안정적 설계 및 효율적 시공을 위해서는 공동설계 및 거동예측에 필요한 지질공학적 자료의 획득이 가장 중요하다. 현재 절리 등의 불연속면을 포함한 현장암반의 역학적 특성계수 및 응력 상태에 대한 조사기법들이 다양하게 개발되어 신뢰성 있는 분석결과를 제공하고 있다. (중략)

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.335-358
• /
• 2020

We present a numerical model to simulate coupled hydro-mechanical behavior of fault using TOUGH-FLAC simulator. This study aims to develop a numerical method to estimate fluid injection-induced fault reactivation in low permeability rock and to access the relevant hydro-mechanical stability in rock as part of DECOVALEX-2019 Task B. A coupled fluid flow and mechanical interface model to explicitly represent a fault was suggested and validated from the applications to benchmark simulations and the field experiment at Mont Terri underground laboratory in Switzerland. The pressure build-up, hydraulic aperture evolution, displacement, and stress responses matched those obtained at the site, which indicates the capability of the model to appropriately capture the hydro-mechanical processes in rock fault.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
• /
• 2000.09a
• /
• pp.105-115
• /
• 2000

As large underground projects such as radioactive waste disposal, hot water and heat storage, and geothermal energy become influential, the study, which consider all aspects of thermics, hydraulics and mechanics would be needed. Thermo Hydro-Mechanical coupling analysis is one of the most complex numerical technique because it should be implemented with the combined three governing equations to analyze the behavior of rock mass. In this study, finite element code, which is based on Biot's consolidation theory, was developed to analyze the thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling in continuum rock mass. To verify the implemented program, one-dimensional consolidation model under the isothermal and non-isothermal conditions was analyzed and was compared with the analytic solution. The parametric study on two-dimensional consolidation was also performed and the effects of several factors such as poisson's ratio and hydraulic anisotropy on rock mass behavior were investigated. In the future, this program would be revised to be used for analysis of general discontinuous media with incorporating discrete joint model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.306-319
• /
• 2020

Characterizations of Excavation Damage Zone (EDZ), which is hydro-mechanical degrading the host rock, are the important issues on the geological repository for the spent nuclear fuel. In the DECOVALEX 2019 project, Task G aimed to model the fractured rock numerically, describe the hydro-mechanical behavior of EDZ, and predict the change of the hydraulic factor during the lifetime of the geological repository. Task G prepared two-dimensional fractured rock model to compare the characteristics of each simulation tools in Work Package 1, validated the extended three-dimensional model using the TAS04 in-situ interference tests from Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Work Package 2, and applied the thermal and glacial loads to monitor the long-term hydro-mechanical response on the fractured rock in Work Package 3. Each modelling team adopted both Finite Element Method (FEM) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) to simulate the hydro-mechanical behavior of the fracture rock, and added the various approaches to describe the EDZ and fracture geometry which are appropriate to each simulation method. Therefore, this research can introduce a variety of numerical approaches and considerations to model the geological repository for the spent nuclear fuel in the crystalline fractured rock.