• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.119-129
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• 2009

In relation to slope stability analysis, geologic characteristics and engineering properties of the discontinuities in three slopes selected are compared and analyzed by both square-inventory method and scanline survey. The aim of the study is in evaluating which method is applied better in slope stability analysis by comparing results of the two methods with those of direct observation on outcrop of slope failures generated. In each slope, results of comparative analysis among geologic and engineering properties are analyzed similarly one another. However, results of orientation analysis in slope 2 are different each other, which indicates orientation of joints in slope 2 depends on persistency and frequency of each joint and also indicates appearance of new joint set with different orientation. Probability density distribution and spacing in slope 3 are high in comparison to those in slope 2 and 3. The reasons are that distribution of psammitic rocks and development of minor folds in slope 3 unlike slope 2 and 3 are closely associated with development of joints. The research data indicate that the square-inventory method predicts more precise failure aspects and is more effective way than scanline survey in analyzing slope stability of the study area.

• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.106-119
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• 2012

Roughness of rock joint has generally been characterized based upon geometrical aspects of a two-dimensional surface profile. The appropriate description of joint roughness, however, should consider the features of roughness mobilization at contact areas under normal and shear loads. In this study, direct shear tests were conducted on the replicas of tensile fractured gneiss joints and the influence of the shear direction on the shear behavior and effective roughness was examined. In this procedure, a joint surface was represented as a group of triangular planes, and the steepness of each plane was characterized using the concepts of the active and inactive micro-slope angles. The contact areas at peak strength which were estimated by a numerical method showed that the locations of the contact areas were mainly dependent on the distribution of the micro-slope angle and the shear behavior of joint was dominated by only the fractions with active micro-slope angles. Therefore, a three-dimensional coefficient for the quantification of rock joint roughness is proposed based on the distribution of active micro-slope angle: active roughness coefficient, $C_r$. Comparison of the active roughness coefficient and the peak shear strength obtained from the experiment suggests that the active roughness coefficient is the effective parameter to quantify the surface roughness and estimate the shear behavior of rock joint.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.41-57
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• 2022

A workflow is presented to estimate the size of a representative elementary volume and 3-D hydraulic conductivity tensor based on fluid flow analysis for a discrete fracture network (DFN). A case study is considered for a Cretaceous granitic rock mass at Gijang in Busan, Korea. The intensity and size of joints were calibrated using the first invariant of the fracture tensor for the 2-D DFN of the study area. Effective hydraulic apertures were obtained by analyzing the results of field packer tests. The representative elementary volume of the 2-D DFN was determined to be 20 m square by investigating the variations in the directional hydraulic conductivity for blocks of different sizes. The directional hydraulic conductivities calculated from the 2-D DFN exhibited strong anisotropy related to the hydraulic behavior of the study area. The 3-D hydraulic conductivity tensor for the fractured rock mass of the study area was estimated from the directional block conductivities of the 2-D DFN blocks generated for various directions in 3-D. The orientations of the principal components of the 3-D hydraulic conductivity tensor were found to be identical to those of delineated joint sets in the study area.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.17-27
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• 2001

지하 굴착공동의 천장면에 형성되는 잠재적 키블록의 존재성과 운동학적 거동 양상 및 안정성을 해석적으로 분석할 수 있는 시스템을 개발하였다. 천장에서 측정된 절리들의 상대적인 위치와 방향성 자료를 이용하여 데이타베이스를 구축하였으며, 굴착설계도와 연계된 전산절리도를 작성하였다. 잠재적 키블록의 존재성과 거동양상은 사면체로 가정된 블록 옆면의 3차원 공간에서의 평면식을 절리의 방향성에 의거하여 구성하며 대수학적으로 분석되었다. 블록의 안정성 분석은 자중에 의해 미끄러짐이 발생되는 블록면의 공간 기하학적 특성을 고려하여 수행하였다. 개발된 분석시스템의 현장활용성을 검증하기 위하여 언양 자수정동굴에서 키블록 형성 및 거동양상을 조사하여 분석결과와 비교하였다.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.147-164
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• 1997

This study has the assumption that scale effects in rock mass properties are atrributed to the discontinuous and inhomogeneous nature of rock masses. In order to escape the general equivalent material approach applied to the concept of representative volume element, this study presents the new method considering irregular i oink geometry and arbitrary numbers of i oink and arbitrary joint orientations. Based on the theoretical approach, this theory is applied to a real engineering project. Showing the property variations with size of rock mass element, various numerical experiments about scale effect are conducted. Particularly, to prove the adequacy of the verification process in scale effect with nomerical method, and to investigate the detailed source of scale effect, 4 models with increas ins number of joints are tested. On the basis of the experimental results, the test results of scale effects in 3-D rock mass are presented. From these experiments the effects of the mechanical properties of rock joints on the scale effects in rock mass strength and elastic constants are discussed. To verify the mechanism of scale effects in jointed rock mass, two models with different j oink geometries are studied.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.503-512
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• 1995

Groundwater flow in fracture networks is simulated using a discrete fracture (DF) model which assume that groundwater flows only through the fracture network. This assumption is available if the permeability of rock matrix is very low. It is almost impossible to describe fracture networks perfectly, so a stochastic approach is used. The stochastic approach assumes that the characteristic parameters in fracture network have special distribution patterns. The stochastic model generates fracture networks with some characteristic parameters. The finite element method is used to compute fracture flows. One-dimensional line element is the element type of the finite elements. The simulation results are shown by dominant flow paths in the fracture network. The dominant flow path can be found from the simulated groundwater flow field. The model developed in this study provides the tool to estimate the influences of characteristic parameters on groundwater flow in fracture networks. The influences of some characteristic parameters on the frcture flow are estimated by the Monte Carlo simulation based on 30 realizations.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.41-55
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• 2014

In performing seismic analysis of tunnels, it is a common practice to ignore the rock joints and to assume that the rock mass surrounding the tunnel is continuous. The applicability of this assumption has not yet been validated in detail. This study performs a series of pseudo-static discrete element analyses to evaluate the effect of rock joint on the seismic response of tunnels. The parameters considered are joint intersection location, joint spacing, joint stiffness, joint dip, and interface stiffness. The results show that the joint stiffness has the most critical influence on the tunnel response. The tunnel response increases with the spacing, resulting in localized concentration of moment and shear stress. The response of the tunnel is the lowest for joints dipping at $45^{\circ}$. This is because large shear stresses result in rotation of the principal planes by $45^{\circ}$. In summary, the weathered and smooth, vertical or horizontal, and widely spaced joint set will significantly increase the tunnel response under seismic loading. The tunnel linings are shown to be most susceptible to damage due to induced shear stress, and therefore should be checked in the seismic design.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.332-345
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• 2019

Maximum dip vector of individual joint plane, which can be uniquely defined on the hemispherical projection plane, has been established by considering its dip and dip direction. A new stereographic projection method for the rock slope analysis which employs the maximum dip vector can intuitively predict the failure modes of rock slope. Since the maximum dip vector is uniquely projected on the maximum dip point of the great circle, the sliding direction of discontinuity plane can be recognized directly. By utilizing the maximum dip vector of discontinuity both the plane sliding and toppling directions of corresponding blocks can be discerned intuitively. Especially, by allocating the area of high dip maximum dip vector which can form the flanks of sliding block the potentiality for the formation of virtual sliding block has been estimated. Also, the potentiality of forming the triangular-sectioned sliding block has been determined by considering the dip angle of joint plane the dip direction of which is nearly opposite to that of the slope face. Safety factors of the different-shaped blocks of triangular section has been estimated and compared to the safety factor of the most hazardous block of rectangular section. For the wedge analysis the direction of crossline of two intersecting joint planes, which has same attribute of the maximum dip vector, is used so that wedge failures zone can be superimposed on the stereographic projection surface in which plane and toppling failure areas are already lineated. In addition the maximum dip vector zone of wedge top face has been delineated to extract the wedge top face-forming joint planes the orientation of which provides the vital information for the analysis of mechanical behavior of wedge block.