• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.214-225
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• 2020

Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock is one of the important factors to determine the advance speed during shield TBM tunnel excavation. UCS can be obtained through the Geotechnical Data Report (GDR), and it is difficult to measure UCS for all tunneling alignment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to predict UCS by utilizing TBM machine driving data and machine learning technique. Several machine learning techniques were compared to predict UCS, and it was confirmed the stacking model has the most successful prediction performance. TBM machine data and UCS used in the analysis were obtained from the excavation of rock strata with slurry shield TBMs. The data were divided into 8:2 for training and test and pre-processed including feature selection, scaling, and outlier removal. After completing the hyper-parameter tuning, the stacking model was evaluated with the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and the determination coefficient (R²), and it was found to be 5.556 and 0.943, respectively. Based on the results, the sacking models are considered useful in predicting rock strength with TBM excavation data.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.215-225
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• 2008

In order to investigate the influence factors to compressive and tensile strength of basalt in Cheju Island, rock samples of Pyosenri basalt, trachy-basalt and scoria were taken from Seoguipo-Si Seongsan-Eup area, and a series of uniaxial compressive strength test and Brazilian test were carried out. Especially, these tests were performed in consideration of the loading speed, the moisture content in rock sample, and the anisotropy of rock strength. The uniaxial compressive strength was increased gradually as the loading speed rose. The increasing quantity of uniaxial compressive strength had a difference in each rock types. Also, the strength was decreased with increasing the moisture contents in rock sample by pore water. As the result of test considering the anisotropy of rock strength, the compressive strength in condition of failure occurred parallel to stratified layer is decreased about 12-26% more than that in condition of failure occurred inclined to stratified layer.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.417-431
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• 2020

In this study, a fundamental investigation was made on how to use LiDAR technology to determine the degree of weathering and alteration of rock mass. The purpose of the study was to identify the affecting parameters to LiDAR intensity and to quantitatively assess the relations among them through laboratory-scale experiment. A few potential affecting parameters were selected including scanning distance, incidence angle, surface roughness, surface color, mineral composition, and water saturation. In the experiment, FARO LiDAR unit was used for twelve different types of specimen. It was observed that the intensity was affected by, in the order of importance, surface color, incidence angle, scanning distance, property of rock, water condition, and surface roughness.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2020

In the development of geodynamic structures such as subduction and rift zones, a weakening mechanism is essential for localized weak zone formation in the lithosphere. Shear heating, a weakening mechanism, generates short-wavelength temperature elevation in the lithosphere; the increased temperature can reduce lithospheric strength and promote its breakup. A two-dimensional elastoplastic extensional basin model was used to conduct benchmarking based on previous numerical simulation studies to quantitatively analyze shear heating. The amount of shear heating was investigated by controlling the yield strength, extensional velocity, and strain- and temperature-dependent weakening. In the absence of the weakening mechanism, the higher yield strength and extensional velocity led to more vigorous shear heating. The reference model with a 100-MPa yield strength and 2-cm/year extension showed a temperature increase of ~ 50 K when the bulk extension was 20 km (i.e., 0.025 strain). However, in the yield-strength weakening mechanism, depending on the plastic strain and temperature, more efficient weakening induced stronger shear heating, which indicates positive feedback between the weakening mechanism and the shear heating. The rate of shear heating rapidly increased at the initial stage of deformation, and the rate decreased by 80% as the lithosphere weakened. This suggests that shear heating with the weakening mechanism can significantly influence the strength of relatively undamaged lithosphere.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.174-183
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• 2004

The knowledge of rock strength is important in assessing wellbore stability problems, effective sanding, and the estimation of in situ stress field. Numerous empirical equations that relate unconfined compressive strength of sedimentary rocks (sandstone, shale, and limestone, and dolomite) to physical properties (such as velocity, elastic modulus, and porosity) are collected and reviewed. These equations can be used to estimate rock strength from parameters measurable with geophysical well logs. Their ability to fit laboratory-measured strength and physical property data that were compiled from the literature is reviewed. While some equations work reasonably well (for example, some strength-porosity relationships for sandstone and shale), rock strength variations with individual physical property measurements scatter considerably, indicating that most of the empirical equations are not sufficiently generic to fit all the data published on rock strength and physical properties. This emphasizes the importance of local calibration before one utilizes any of the empirical relationships presented. Nonetheless, some reasonable correlations can be found between geophysical properties and rock strength that can be useful for applications related to wellhole stability where haying a lower bound estimate of in situ rock strength is especially useful.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2004

In designing a tunnel, RMR has been widely used to classify rock mass and to decide the support pattern according to the class of rock mass. However, this RMS system can't help relying on the empirical judgment of engineers who use variables which can be obtained only through consideration of the site conditions. In actuality, it is impossible to consider all the rating factors of RMS when using RMR system at the stage of designing. Therefore, in order to confirm possibility of RMR by use of only the quantitative factors for designing, this paper has done discriminant analysis. Rock strength or RQD has high coefficient of correlation with RMR value, and in consideration of the existing standards for rock mass classification, rock intensity and RQD are important factors for classification of rock mass. Through rock mass classification by the existing RMR system and rock mass classification by the discriminant analysis which has considered two variables only, the discriminant analysis using the rock intensity as an independent variable has shown 74.8% accuracy while the discriminant analysis using RQD as an independent variable has shown 74.3% accuracy. In case of the discriminant analysis which has considered both rock intensity and RQD, it has shown 82.5% accuracy. The existing cases have shown 40.3% accuracy at the stage of designing in which all the RMR factors are considered. It means that at the stage of designing, RMR system can work only with the rock intensity and RQD.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.243-252
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• 2017

Since the failure behavior of transversely isotropic rocks is significantly different from that of isotropic rocks, it is necessary to develop a transversely isotropic rock failure function in order to evaluate the stability of rock structures constructed in transversely isotropic rock masses. In this study, a spatial distribution function for strength parameters of transversely isotropic rocks is proposed, which is based on the Cassini oval curve proposed by 17th century astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini to model the orbit of the Sun around the Earth. The proposed distribution function consists of two model parameters which could be identified through triaxial compression tests on transversely isotropic rock samples. The original Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) failure function is extended to a three-dimensional transversely isotropic M-C failure function by employing the proposed strength parameter distribution function for the spatial distributions of the friction angle and cohesion. In order to verify the suitability of the transversely isotropic M-C failure function, both the conventional triaxial compression and true triaxial compression tests of transversely isotropic rock samples are simulated. The predicted results from the numerical experiments are consistent with the failure behavior of transversely isotropic rocks observed in the actual laboratory tests. In addition, the simulated result of true triaxial compression tests hints that the dependence of rock strength on intermediate principal stress may be closely related to the distribution of the microstructures included in the rock samples.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.29-42
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• 2018

Shale and mudstone in Daegu-Gyungbuk area have low strength and resistance to weathering compared to other rocks. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate their strength depending on the degree of saturation and crack development. In this study, shales and mudstones were collected from several construction sites in Daegu-Gyungbuk area. Their basic material properties such as porosity, SEM, chemical component, and durability were tested. A porosity (absorptivity) of mudstone was 31% (25%), which was 6 (8) times higher than that of shale. Some mudstone was easily disintegrated with water and it consisted of highly-active clay mineral such as smectite type. These rocks were prepared by small cube specimens for unconfined compression test. An unconfined compressive strength of dry rock was compared with saturated one. Microwave oven was operated step by step to stimulate void water within a saturated rock, which resulted into high temperature and micro crack initiation within rocks. A strength of microwaved rocks was compared with operation time and crack initiation. As a result, the average unconfined compressive strength of dry and saturated shale was 62 and 33 MPa, respectively. The strength of mudstone for each condition was 11 and 4 MPa. When a rock became saturated, its strength decreased by 47% and 64% for shale and mudstone at average. In addition to saturation, a rock was in the microwave for 15 secs, its strength decreased into 49% for shale and 52% for mudstone. When a microwave oven operated up to 20 sec, a rock was crushed into several pieces and its temperature was approximately 200 degrees.

• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.450-462
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• 2009

To analyze the behavioral characteristics of rocks on indirect tests and uniaxial compressive strength, researchers have investigated 1417 pieces of rock block, which include igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks in Korea. The same behavioral characteristics have been shown in every type of sedimentary rock and in the same species of rock in the case of Brazilian strength application. This suggests that correlations of rocks for geological considerations can lead to high reliability of the experimental results in case of an indirect method.