• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.511-525
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• 2021

In the design of underground excavation, the shear strength (SS) is a key characteristic. It describes the way the rock material resists the shear stress-induced deformations. In general, the measurement of the parameters related to rock shear strength is done through laboratory experiments, which are costly, damaging, and time-consuming. Add to this the difficulty of preparing core samples of acceptable quality, particularly in case of highly weathered and fractured rock. This study applies rock index test to the indirect measurement of the SS parameters of shale. For this aim, two efficient artificial intelligence methods, namely (1) adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) implemented by subtractive clustering method (SCM) and (2) support vector regression (SVR) optimized by Harmony Search (HS) algorithm, are proposed. Note that, it is the first work that predicts the SS parameters of shale through ANFIS-SCM and SVR-HS hybrid models. In modeling processes of ANFIS-SCM and SVR-HS, the results obtained from the rock index tests were set as inputs, while the SS parameters were set as outputs. By reviewing the obtained results, it was found that both ANFIS-SCM and SVR-HS models can provide acceptable predictions for interlocking and friction angle parameters, however, ANFIS-SCM showed a better generalization capability.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.213-225
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• 2009

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of chemical weathering on the granite and orthogneiss in Wonju area based on accelerated artificial chemical weathering. The rock samples were scrutinized the variation of index properties and ion exchanges caused by artificial chemical weathering which was implemented with leaching test for 170 days using double soxhlet extractor. The differential weathering and decrease of p wave velocity were obtained by weathering process without significant changes of porosity. In case of granite samples, the uniaxial compression strength was reduced by 20% and 16% for the F-grade and SW-grade, respectively. For MW-grade granite, however, was not able to examine the effect of strength reduction due to lack of sample number. Also, for orthogneiss, it is difficult to compare the values of uniaxial compressive strength between before and after the test because of its strong anisotropy.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.305-313
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• 2020

The use of cable tunnels for electric power transmission as well as their construction in difficult conditions such as in subsea terrains and large overburden areas has increased. So, in order to efficiently operate the small diameter shield TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), the estimation of advance rate and development of a design model is necessary. However, due to limited scope of survey and face mapping, it is very difficult to match the rock mass characteristics and TBM operational data in order to achieve their mutual relationships and to develop an advance rate model. Also, the working mechanism of previously utilized linear cutting machine is slightly different than the real excavation mechanism owing to the penetration of a number of disc cutters taking place at the same time in the rock mass in conjunction with rotation of the cutterhead. So, in order to suggest the advance rate and machine design models for small diameter TBMs, an EPB (Earth Pressure Balance) shield TBM having 3.54 m diameter cutterhead was manufactured and 19 cases of full-scale tunneling tests were performed each in 87.5 ㎥ volume of artificial rock mass. The relationships between advance rate and machine data were effectively analyzed by performing the tests in homogeneous rock mass with 70 MPa uniaxial compressive strength according to the TBM operational parameters such as thrust force and RPM of cutterhead. The utilization of the recorded penetration depth and torque values in the development of models is more accurate and realistic since they were derived through real excavation mechanism. The relationships between normal force on single disc cutter and penetration depth as well as between normal force and rolling force were suggested in this study. The prediction of advance rate and design of TBM can be performed in rock mass having 70 MPa strength using these relationships. An effort was made to improve the application of the developed model by applying the FPI (Field Penetration Index) concept which can overcome the limitation of 100% RQD (Rock Quality Designation) in artificial rock mass.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.301-310
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• 2007

The prediction of temperature in the workings for the propriety examination for the development of a deep coal bed and the ventilation design is fairly important. It is quite demanding to obtain precise thermal conductivity of rock due to the variety and the complexity of the rock types contiguous to the coal bed. Therefore, to estimate the thermal conductivity corresponding to this geological situation and complex gallery conditions, a computing program which is TemPredict, is developed in this study. It employs Artificial Neural Network and calculates the climatic conditions in galleries. This advanced neural network is based upon the Back-Propagation Algorithm and composed of the input layers that are acceptant of the physical and geological factors of the coal bed and the hidden layers each of which has the 5 and 3 neurons. To verify TemPredict, the calculated result is compared with the measured one at the entrance of -300 ML 9X of Jang-sung production department, Jang-sung Coal Mine. The difference between the results calculated by TemPredict ($25.65^{\circ}C$) and measured ($25.7^{\circ}C$) is only $0.05^{\circ}C$, which is less than the allowable error 5%. The result has more than 95% of very high reliability. The temperature prediction for the main carriage gallery 9X in -425 ML under construction when it is completed is made. Its result is $28.2^{\circ}C$. In the future, it would contribute to the ventilation design for the mine and the underground structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.65-77
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• 2022

Determination of strength properties of intact rock using artificial cores has been considered in recent years. In this study, some relationships for estimating the static properties of dolomudstone cores of the Asmari reservoir were presented using artificial cores prepared from cuttings of two wells, southwest of Iran. For this purpose, first natural cuttings (NC) and 33 cores including dolomite limestone (dolomudstone), anhydrite and anhydrite dolomite were prepared between depths of 1714 and 2208 meters. Petrographic, physical, mechanical and dynamic tests were performed on cores, NC and artificial cuttings (AC) which was prepared from the residuals of dolomudstone cores. For preparing the artificial cores, the average porosity of the dolomudstone cores was considered and determined using four methods. Artificial and natural cuttings were classified as dolomite limestone and dolomite limestone to calcareous dolomite, respectively. Using ordinary Portland cement (OPC), water, AC and NC artificial cores were prepared. Results of evaluating the proposed relationships using statistical criteria showed that the static properties of the artificial cores can be used to predict the static properties of the dolomudstone cores.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2009

This study proposes a new methodology for quantitative rock classification in unsampled rock zone, which occupies the most of tunnel design area. This methodology is to train an ANN (artificial neural network) by using results from a drilling investigation combined with electric resistivity survey in sampled zone, and then apply the trained ANN to making a prediction of grade of rock classification in unsampled zone. The prediction is made at the center point of a shifting window by using a number of electric resistivity values within the window as input reference information. The ANN training in this study was carried out by the RPROP (Resilient backpropagation) training algorithm and Early-Stopping method for achieving a generalized training. The proposed methodology is then applied to generate a rock grade distribution on a real tunnel site where drilling investigation and resistivity survey were undertaken. The result from the ANN based prediction is compared with one from a conventional kriging method. In the comparison, the proposed ANN method shows a better agreement with the electric resistivity distribution obtained by field survey. And it is also seen that the proposed method produces a more realistic and more understandable rock grade distribution.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.205-217
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• 2006

Rock and discontinuities are main factors consisting of a rock mass and the physical properties of each factor have direct effects on the mechanical stability of artificial structures in the rock mass. Because physical properties of the rock and discontinuities change a lot according to the size of test materials, a close attention is needed when the physical properties, obtained from laboratory tests, are used for the design of field structures. In this study, change of physical properties of intact materials due to the change of their size are studied. Six kinds of artificial materials including crystal, instead of an intact rock, are adopted for the study to guarantee the homogeneity of specimen materials even with relatively large size. Uniaxial strength and Young's modulus of each artificial material are checked out for a size effect and compared with the predicted values by Buckingham's theorem - dimensional analysis. A numerical analysis using PFC (Particle Flow Code) is also applied and primary factors influencing on the size effect are investigated.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2021

Tunnel collapse often occurs during deep underground tunneling (> 40 m depth) in South Korea. Natural cavities as well as water supply pipes, sewer pipes, electric power cables, artificial cavities created by subway construction are complexly distributed in the artificial ground in the shallow depths of the urban area. For deep tunnel excavation, it is necessary to understand the properties of the ground which is characterized by porous elements and various geological structures, and their influence on the stability of the ground. This study analyzed geological factors for risk assessment in deep excavation in South Korea based on domestic and overseas case study. As a result, a total of 7 categories and 38 factors were derived. Factors with high weights were fault and fault clay, differential stress, rock type, groundwater and mud inrush, uniaxial compressive strength, cross-sectional area of tunnel, overburden thickness, karst and valley terrain, fold, limestone alternation, fluctuation of groundwater table, tunnel depth, dyke, RQD, joint characteristics, anisotropy, rockburst and so forth.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.143-154
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• 1999

In this study, the load transfer mechanism of tendon-grout interface of rock anchors has been examined through a series of static pull-out tests conducted on the model rock anchors constructed in the natural and artificial rock masses of granite and concrete, respectively. Several rock masses with horizontal discontinuities have been prepared to study the effects of weak planes on the shear stress distribution in tendon-grout interface. As a result, for the rock anchors constructed in the rock mass without discontinuities, stress concentration occurs on the upper part of the tendon-grout interface. On the contrary, as the frequency or the number of discontinuities increases, the shear stress distribution along the depth tends to be uniform. Also, an experimental equation about shear stress distribution between tendon-grout interface can be made by the regression of test results. The shear stresses computed from the experimental results between the rock surface and the depth of 2~3 times the tendon diameter are smaller than those from theory. Below the depth, the reverse can be observed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 1997

Reference concepts for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and the current status of underground rock laboratory were studied. An analysis to simulate the deep disposal of spent nuclear fuel in saturated rock mass was conducted. Main input parameters for numerical study were determined based on the KBS-3 concept. A series of results showed that the temperature distribution around a cavern reached the maximum value at about 10 years after the emplacement of spent fuel. The maximum temperature at the surface of canister was more than about 12$0^{\circ}C$ at about 4 years. This temperature was not much higher than the temperature criteria to meet the performance criteria of an artificial barrier in the KBS-3 concept. The maximum upward displacement due to the heat generation of spent fuel was about 0.9cm at about 10 years after the emplacement of spent fuel. It turned out that the vertical displacement became smaller with the decrease in heat generation of a canister. The quantity of groundwater inflow into a disposal tunnel increased by about 1.6 times at 20 years after the emplacement of spent fuel with the increase of pore pressure around a cavern.