• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.389-410
• /
• 2007

For moderately jointed to massive rock masses, the failure and deformation behaviors around an excavated opening are absolutely influenced by the initial rock stress and strength of in-situ rock mass. The localized and progressive brittle failure around an opening does not mean whole collapse of an excavated opening. But, for many cases, it may induce temporary stopping of excavation works and reexamination of the current supporting system, which can result in delay of the entire construction works and additional construction cost. In this paper, the characteristics of the brittle failure around an opening with stress level and tunnel shape was studied by the biaxial compressive test using scaled specimen and by the numerical simulation with $PFC^{2D}$. The biaxial test results were well coincided with the stress induced failure patterns around the excavated openings observed and monitored in the in-situ condition. For the circular part of the opening wall, the stress induced cracks initially occurred at the wall surface in the direction of the minimum principal stress and contributed to the localized notch shaped failure region having a certain range of angle. But for the corner and straight part of the opening wall, the cracks initiated at sharp corners were connected and coalesced each other and with existing micro cracks. Further they resulted in a big notch shaped failure region connecting two sharp corners.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.15 no.4 s.57
• /
• pp.250-263
• /
• 2005

Progressive and localized brittle failures around an excavated opening by the overstressed condition can act as a serious obstacle to ensure the stability and the economical efficiency of construction work. In this paper, the characteristics of the brittle failure around an circular opening with stress level was studied by the biaxial compressive test using sealed specimen and by the numerical simulation with $PFC^{2D}$, one of the discrete element codes. The occurring pattern and shape of the brittle failure around a circular opening monitored during the biaxial loading were well coincided with those of the stress induced failures around the excavated openings observed in the brittle rock masses. The crack development stages with stress level were evaluated by the detailed analysis on the acoustic emission event properties. The microcrack development process around a circular opening was successfully visualized by the particle flow analysis. It indicated that the scaled test had a good feasibility in understanding the mechanism of the brittle failure around an opening with a high reliability.