• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.107-118
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• 2022

The social need for stable hydrogen storage technologies that respond to the increasing demand for hydrogen energy is increasing. Among them, underground hydrogen storage is recognized as the most economical and reasonable storage method because of its vast hydrogen storage capacity. In Korea, low-depth hydrogen storage using artificial protective structures is being considered. Further, establishing corresponding safety standards and ground stability evaluation is becoming essential. This study evaluated the hydro-mechanical behavior of the ground during a hydrogen gas leak from a low-depth underground hydrogen storage facility through the HM coupled analysis model. The predictive reliability of the simulation model was verified through benchmark experiments. A parameter study was performed using a metamodel to analyze the sensitivity of factors affecting the surface uplift caused by the upward infiltration of high-pressure hydrogen gas. Accordingly, it was confirmed that the elastic modulus of the ground was the largest. The simulation results are considered to be valuable primary data for evaluating the complex analysis of hydrogen gas explosions as well as hydrogen gas leaks in the future.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.363-373
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• 2018

The evaluation of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) coupling behavior is important for the development of underground space for various purposes. For a high-level radioactive waste repository excavated in a deep underground rock mass, the accurate prediction of the complex THM behavior is essential for the long-term safety and stability assessment. In order to develop reliable THM analysis techniques effectively, an international cooperation project, Development of Coupled models and their Validation against Experiments (DECOVALEX), was carried out. In DECOVALEX-2015 Task B2, the in situ THM experiment that was conducted at Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory(URL) by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), was modeled by the research teams from the participating countries. In this study, a THM coupling technique that combined TOUGH2 and FLAC3D was developed and applied to the THM analysis for the in situ experiment, in which rock, buffer, backfill, sand, and heater were installed. With the assistance of an artificial neural network, the boundary conditions for the experiment could be adequately implemented in the modeling. The thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical results from the modeling were compared with the measurements from the in situ THM experiment. The predicted buffer temperature from the THM modelling was about $10^{\circ}C$ higher than measurement near by the overpack. At the other locations far from the overpack, modelling predicted slightly lower temperature than measurement. Even though the magnitude of pressure from the modeling was different from the measurements, the general trends of the variation with time were found to be similar.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.197-213
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• 2019

We simulated the fault reactivation experiment conducted at 'Main Fault' intersecting the low permeability clay formations of Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory in Switzerland using TOUGH-FLAC simulator. The fluid flow along a fault was modelled with solid elements and governed by Darcy's law with the cubic law in TOUGH2, whereas the mechanical behavior of a single fault was represented by creating interface elements between two separating rock blocks in FLAC3D. We formulate the hydro-mechanical coupling relation of hydraulic aperture to consider the elastic fracture opening and failure-induced dilation for reproducing the abrupt changes in injection flow rate and monitoring pressure at fracture opening pressure. A parametric study was conducted to examine the effects of in-situ stress condition and fault deformation and strength parameters and to find the optimal parameter set to reproduce the field observations. In the best matching simulation, the fracture opening pressure and variations of injection flow rate and monitoring pressure showed good agreement with field experiment results, which suggests the capability of the numerical model to reasonably capture the fracture opening and propagation process. The model overestimated the fault displacement in shear direction and the range of reactivated zone, which was attributed to the progressive shear failures along the fault at high injection pressure. In the field experiment results, however, fracture tensile opening seems the dominant mechanism affecting the hydraulic aperture increase.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.289-308
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• 2021

This study conducts coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical numerical modeling to investigate the maximum temperature and conditions for securing mechanical stability of the high-level radioactive waste repository when temperature criteria of bentonite buffer are 100℃ and 125℃, respectively. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 100℃, the maximum temperatures at the interface between canister and buffer are calculated to be 99.4℃ and 99.8℃, respectively for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 40 m and deposition hole spacing of 5.5 m and for the other case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 6.5 m. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 125℃, spacings of disposal tunnel and deposition hole could be decreased to 30 m and 4.5 m, respectively, which reduces the disposal area up to 55% compared to the disposal area of KRS⁺. According to analysis of mechanical stability for various disposal spacings, RMR of rock mass for KRS⁺ should be larger than 72.4 which belongs to good rock in RMR classification to prevent failure of rock mass. As disposal spacing is decreased, required RMR of rock mass is increased. In order to prevent failure of rock mass for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 4.5 m, RMR larger than 87.3 is needed. However, mechanical stability of the repository is secured for all cases with RMR over 75 considering the enhancement of rock strength due to confining stress induced by swelling of the bentonite buffer and backfill.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.359-381
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• 2020

Within the framework of DECOVALEX-2019 Task D, full-scale engineered barriers experiment (FEBEX) at Grimsel Test Site was numerically simulated to investigate an applicability of implemented Barcelona basic model (BBM) into TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator, which was developed for the prediction of the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite buffer. And the calculated heater power, temperature, relative humidity, total stress, saturation, water content and dry density were compared with in situ data monitored in the various sections. In general, the calculated heater power and temperature provided a fairly good agreement with experimental observations, however, the difference between power of heater #1 and that of heater #2 could not captured in the numerical analysis. It is necessary to consider lamprophyre with low thermal conductivity around heater #1 and non-simplified installation progresses of bentonite blocks in the tunnel for better modeling results. The evolutions and distributions of relative humidity were well reproduced, but hydraulic model needs to be modified because the re-saturation process was relatively fast near the heaters. In case of stress evolutions due to the thermal and hydraulic expansions, the computed stress was in good agreement with the data. But, the stress is slightly higher than the measured in situ data at the early stage of the operation, because gap between rock mass and bentonite blocks have not been considered in the numerical simulations. The calculated distribution of saturation, water content, and dry density along the radial distance showed good agreement with the observations after the first and final dismantling. The calculated dry density near the center of the FEBEX tunnel and heaters were overestimated compared with the observations. As a result, the saturation and water content were underestimated with the measurements. Therefore, numerical model of permeability is needed to modify for the production of better numerical results. It will be possible to produce the better analysis results and more realistically predict the coupled THM behavior in the bentonite blocks by performing the additional studies and modifying the numerical model based on the results of this study.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.29-34
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• 2024

Frost heave is one of the significant engineering characteristics of frozen ground and causes severe damages on geo-structures. Although thermo-hydro coupled analyses have been developed to predict frost heave behavior, these analyses involve excessive input parameters and have primarily been validated for frost heave in clayey soils. Frost heave mainly occurs in silty soils, which have relatively higher permeability compared to clayey soils, necessitating careful attention. This study introduces empirical models and verifies their reliability for silty soils. By using the validated model, the correlation of key input parameters is derived, which is expected to enhance the applicability of thermal-mechanical analysis for geo-structures on frozen ground in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.69-78
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• 2012

Conventional numerical analysis for rainfall-induced slope stability has been estimated by separating seepage and stress-strain behavior, respectively. Many researchers' models from commercial softwares and literatures define that partially saturated permeability is the only function of degree of saturation (or matrix suction) and then they do not consider hydraulic-mechanical characteristics for the analysis. However, in practice, the water flow processes in a deformable soil are influenced by soil skeleton movement and the pore water pressure changed due to seepage will lead to changes in stress and to deformation of a soil. The relationship between seepage and soil behavior causes a change of partially saturated permeability as well as saturated permeability with the lapse of time. Instability of partially saturated soil slopes due to infiltration would be analyzed from reduction of negative pore water pressure calculating the process of water flow based on predicted partially saturated permeability. Therefore, partially saturated permeability should be defined by the function of degree of saturation (or matric suction) and porosity. The paper presents the comparison between staggered and monolithic coupled analysis regarding seepage and stress deformation problems. As a result, the decrease in matric suction on soil slope from monolithic analysis is slower than that from staggered analysis.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.382-393
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• 2020

The engineered barrier system of high-level radioactive waste disposal must maintain its performance in the long term, because it must play a role in slowing the rate of leakage to the surrounding rock mass even if a radionuclide leak occurs from the canister. In particular, it is very important to clarify gas dilation flow phenomenon clearly, that occurs only in a medium containing a large amount of clay material such as a bentonite buffer, which can affect the long-term performance of the bentonite buffer. Accordingly, DECOVALEX-2019 Task A was conducted to identify the hydraulic-mechanical mechanism for the dilation flow, and to develop and verify a new numerical analysis technique for quantitative evaluation of gas migration phenomena. In this study, based on the conventional two-phase flow and mechanical behavior with effective stresses in the porous medium, the hydraulic-mechanical model was developed considering the concept of damage to simulate the formation of micro-cracks and expansion of the medium and the corresponding change in the hydraulic properties. Model verification and validation were conducted through comparison with the results of 1D and 3D gas injection tests. As a result of the numerical analysis, it was possible to model the sudden increase in pore water pressure, stress, gas inflow and outflow rate due to the dilation flow induced by gas pressure, however, the influence of the hydraulic-mechanical interaction was underestimated. Nevertheless, this study can provide a preliminary model for the dilation flow and a basis for developing an advanced model. It is believed that it can be used not only for analyzing data from laboratory and field tests, but also for long-term performance evaluation of the high-level radioactive waste disposal system.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.265-281
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• 2017

For shallow tunnel constructions, settlement of the ground surface is a main issue. Recent technical developments in shield TBM tunneling technique have enabled a decrease in such settlements based on tunneling with ground deformation controls. For this objective, the tail void grouting is a common practice. Generally surface settlements in a soil of low permeability occur during a tunnel construction but also during a long period after completion of the tunnel. The long-term settlements occur mainly due to consolidation around the tunnel. The consolidation process is caused and determined by the tail void grouting which leads to an excess pore water pressure in the vicinity of the tunnel. Because of this, the grouting pressure has a strong effect on the long-term settlements in the shield tunneling. In order to investigate this effect, a series of coupled hydro-mechanical 3D finite element simulations have been performed. The results show that an increase in grouting pressure reduces the short-term settlements, but in many cases, it doesn't lead to a reduction of the final settlements after the completion of consolidation. Thereby, the existence of a critical grouting pressure is identified, at which the minimal settlements are expected.