• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.559-572
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• 2020

This paper performs laboratory experiments for borehole stability considering temperature and true triaxial stress condition, and observes a thermo-mechanical behavior of the rock under stress and temperature conditions of deep underground. China yellow sandstone and Hwangdeung granite specimens were used to perform a true triaxial compression test. Mechanical tests were carried out under nine confining pressure conditions, and thermo-mechanical tests using granite samples were carried out under six confining pressure conditions at 60-100℃. In the mechanical tests, maximum principal stress at borehole breakout was proportional to intermediate principal stress. In the thermo-mechanical tests, it was confirmed that thermal stress is added to the stress field of the borehole with the increase in temperature, resulting in additional breakout progress. To analyze the results of the laboratory experiment, Mogi-Coulomb failure criterion was used. The results of traditional triaxial compression test on cylindrical specimens and borehole breakout under true triaxial compressions matched well with Mogi-Coulomb failure criterion.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2012

Although the Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown failure criteria have been adopted widely in rock mechanics, they neglect the ${\sigma}_2$ effect. The result of true triaxial tests on rock samples, however, reveals that the ${\sigma}_2$ effect on strength of rocks is considerable, so that rock failure criteria taking into account the influence of ${\sigma}_2$ are necessary for the precise stability evaluation of rock structures. In this study, a new nonlinear 3-D failure criterion has been suggested by combining the Hoek-Brown criterion with the smooth octahedral shape function taken from Jiang & Pietruszczak (1988). The performance of the new criterion was assessed by comparing the strength predictions from both the suggested criterion and the corresponding linear 3-D criterion. The resulting fit of the new criterion to the true triaxial test data for six rock types taken from the literature shows that the criterion fits the experimental data very well. Furthermore, for the data sets having data taken in the low ${\sigma}_3$ range, the nonlinear failure criterion works better than the linear criterion.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.597-610
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• 2022

Knowledge of the failure behavior of friction materials considering their intermediate principal stress is related to an understanding of situations where these materials might be used: for example, the stability of deep-seated boreholes and fault slip analysis. This study designed equipment for physically implementing true triaxial compression and used it to assess specimens of plaster, a friction material. The material's mechanical behaviors are discussed based on the results. The applicability of the 3D failure criteria are also reviewed. The tested specimens were molded cuboids of width, length, and height 52, 52, and 104 mm, respectively. A total of 24 true triaxial compression tests were performed under various combinations of 𝜎₃ and 𝜎₂ conditions. Conventional uniaxial and triaxial compression tests were employed to estimate the mechanical properties of the plaster for use as parameters for 3D failure criteria. Examining the stress-strain relations of the plaster materials showed that a large difference between the intermediate principal stress and the minimum principal stress indicated strong brittle behavior. The mechanical behavior of the plaster used here reflects the change of intermediate principal stress. Nonlinear multiple regression analysis on the test data in the principal space showed that the modified Wiebols-Cook failure criterion and the modified Lade failure criterion were the most suitable 3D failure criteria for the tested plaster.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.93-102
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• 2011

In spite of being unable to take into the effect of intermediate principal stress, Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown criteria are very popular as rock failure criteria. The recent researches reveal that the influence of intermediate principal stress on the failure strength of rock is substantial, so that 3-D failure criteria in which the intermediate principal stress could be considered is necessary for the safe design of the important rock structures. In this study, the likely application of the 3-D failure criterion proposed by Jiang & Pietruszczak (1988) to the prediction of the true triaxial strength of rock materials is discussed. The failure condition is linear in the meridian plane of principal stress space and it is represented by the smooth surface contacting the corners of the Mohr-Coulomb surface. The performance of the Jiang & Pietruszczak's criterion is demonstrated by simulating the actual true triaxial tests on the rock samples of three different rock types.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.573-586
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• 2023

Joints or weak planes can induce anisotropy in the strength and deformability of fractured rock masses. Comprehending this anisotropic behavior is crucial to engineering geology. This study used plaster as a friction material to mold specimens with a single joint. The strength and deformability of the specimens were measured in true triaxial compression tests. The measured results were compared with three-dimensional numerical analysis based on the distinct element method, conducted under identical conditions, to assess the reliability of the modeled values. The numerical results highlight that the principal stress conditions in the field, in conjunction with joint orientations, are crucial factors to the study of the strength and deformability of fractured rock masses. The strength of a transversely isotropic rock mass derived numerically considering changes in the dip angle of the joint notably increases as the intermediate principal stress increases. This increment varies depending on the dip of the joint. Moreover, the interplay between the dip direction of the joint and the two horizontal principal stress directions dictates the strength of the transversely isotropic rock mass. For a rock mass with two joint sets, the set with the steeper dip angle governs the overall strength. If a rock bridge effect occurs owing to the limited continuity of one of the joint sets, the orientation of the set with longer continuity dominates the strength of the entire rock mass. Although conventional three-dimensional failure criteria for fractured rock masses have limited applicability in the field, supplementing them with numerical analysis proves highly beneficial.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.311-321
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• 2007

Failure of underground structures in hard rocks is a function of the in-situ stress, the intact rock strength and the distribution of fractures in the rock mass. At highly stressed regime, brittle failure is often observed due to excavation-induced stress. The characteristics of brittle failure are classified as failure grade, failure initiation stress, extent of failure and depth of failure. For safety construction of underground structures, these characteristics of brittle failure with stress conditions should be understood. In this study we evaluated the relationship between the extent and depth of failure with stress conditions for failure happened model specimens through true triaxial model experiments. The extent and depth of failure were determined using visual observation and computed tomography (CT). The results indicate that the depth of failure was affected by differential stress perpendicular to the axis of tunnel. However the extent of failure was irrelevant to the stress conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.383-391
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• 2013

A number of true triaxial tests on rock samples have been conducted since the late 1960 and their results strongly suggest that the intermediate principal stress has a considerable effect on rock strength. Based on these experimental evidence, various 3-D rock failure criteria accounting for the effect of the intermediate principal stress have been proposed. Most of the 3-D failure criteria, however, are focused on the phenomenological description of the rock strength from the true triaxial tests, so that the associated strength parameters have little physical meaning. In order to confirm the likelihood that the intermediate principal stress dependency of rock strength is related to the presence of weak planes and their distribution to the preferred orientation, true triaxial tests are simulated with the transversely isotropic rock model. The conventional Mohr-Coulomb criterion is extended to its anisotropic version by incorporating the concept of microstructure tensor. With the anisotropic Mohr-Coulomb criterion, the critical plane approach is applied to calculate the strength of the transversely isotropic rock model and the orientation of the fracture plane. This investigation hints that the spatial distribution of microstructural planes with respect to the principal stress triad is closely related to the intermediate principal stress dependency of rock strength.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.526-535
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• 2011

A new failure criterion for concrete, which takes into account the effect of the intermediate principal stress, is proposed. The new criterion, which takes the advantages from both the Mohr-Coulomb and the Willam-Warnke criteria, is linear in the meridian section, while its octahedral section is always smooth and convex. Fitting the triaxial compression data with the proposed criterion shows the high performance of the new criterion. A new formula for the factor of safety of concrete is defined based on the new failure criterion and it is employed in the stability analysis of the concrete plugs installed in the pilot plant. The new formula for the factor of safety measures the degree of closeness of a stress state to the failure surface in the octahedral plane. Finally, 3-D finite element analyses of pilot plant were carried out to obtain the stress distributions in the plugs. Then, the stress distributions are converted to those of factor of safety by use of the proposed formula. Based on the distribution of factor of safety in the concrete plugs, the stability of the tapered and wedge-shaped plugs is evaluated.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.233-244
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• 2017

We conducted hydraulic fracturing experiments on cement samples to investigate the dependency of fracture propagation on the viscosity of injection fluid and the in situ stress state. Ten cubic samples (20 cm side length) were produced using cement that was cured in water for more than one month. Samples were placed in a tri-axial compression apparatus with three independent principal stresses. An injection hole was drilled and the sample was hydraulically fractured under a constant injection rate. We measured injection pressures and acoustic emissions (AE) during the experiments, and investigated the fracture patterns produced by hydraulic fracturing. Breakdown pressures increased exponentially with increasing viscosity of the injection fluid. Fracture patterns were dependent on differential stress (i.e., the difference between the major and minor principal stresses). At low differential stress, multiple fractures oriented sub-parallel to the major principal stress axis propagated from the injection hole, and in some samples the fracture orientation changed during propagation. However, at high differential stress, a single fracture propagated parallel to the major principal stress axis. AE results show similar patterns. At low differential stress, AE source locations were more widespread than at high differential stress, consistent with the fracture pattern results. Our study suggests that hydraulic fracturing during shale gas extraction should be performed parallel to the orientation of minimum differential stress.