• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.226-241
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• 2020

The stability of underground mine cavity is closely related with pillar strength. The vulnerability of pillars can be judged and reinforced if the pillar strength is known. The pillar strength is affected by characteristics of discontinuities and shape of a pillar. The change of pillar strength due to a discontinuity passing through the center of a pillar, width-to-height ratio of a pillar and small joints existing within a pillar was analyzed using PFC 3D. The result showed that the pillar strength is influenced by dip angle of a discontinuity and it increases as width-to-height ratio of a pillar increases. The pillar strength decreases as the number of contained joints increases. The relationship between total trace length observable from the pillar surface and the pillar strength was regressed with exponential function. The correlation coefficient of the regression was high enough so that pillar strength can be predicted using total trace length if a joint set exists in a pillar. Lastly, the method to estimate the strength of a pillar that includes two joint sets was proposed if the joint dip angles are 60°, 30°. The method also need total trace lengths of two joint sets.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.443-453
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• 2013

This study aims to evaluate the mechanical behaviors of unsupported rock pillars in a room-and-pillar underground structure by a series of numerical analyses. In addition, rock pillar strengths estimated by a few empirical equations proposed for underground mines are compared with those from numerical analyses. Based on the results from the numerical analysis, the ratio of pillar strength to rock mass strength increases as the ratio of the width of a pillar to its height becomes bigger. It means that higher ratio of pillar width to its height is much more favorable for stabilizing a room-and-pillar underground structure. Especially, unsupported pillar strengths estimated from numerical analyses are higher than rock mass strength when the ratio of pillar width to height is approximately over 1.5. It is also found that the choice of an empirical equation appropriate for a given geometric condition of a pillar is important for its feasible application to the stability analysis of a pillar in the room-and-pillar method.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-131
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• 2011

Recently, considering the aspects of disaster prevention and environmental damage, the construction of a twin tunnel is increasing. When constructing a twin tunnel, the stresses are concentrated at the pillar so that stability of the tunnel is decreased. Since the previous studies on the behavior of a twin tunnel pillar are mainly restricted to the estimation of the tunnel behavior and the analysis of surface settlement, there is a limit to a quantitative stability estimation of the pillar. Therefore, it was quantitatively investigated how the pillar width of a twin tunnel affects its stability. To ensure this end, global tunnel safety factors obtained numerically using shear strength reduction technique, local safety factors of a pillar using the equation that Matsuda et al. suggested, and strength/stress ratios of the pillar were estimated and their results were analyzed for two sections with different rock covers. For a reasonable design of a twin tunnel pillar, it was turned out that strength/stress ratio, the local pillar safety factor, and global tunnel safety factor should be used interrelatedly rather than independently.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2017

A lot of twin tunnels were modelled with different pillar widths, rock mass classes and stress ratios in order to consider various site conditions, and the stabilities of the pillars were estimated by numerical analyses and scaled model tests. The strength-stress ratios of the pillar were obtained from three different methods which were using the stresses appeared at the middle point, the whole average and the left/right edges of the pillar. The strength-stress ratio of the pillar edges showed relatively conservative values among them, and it was also practically consistent with the tunnel excavating steps comprising the construction sequence analyses which included the partial excavation and the support system. Scaled model tests were also performed to investigate the tunnel stability, where it was found that cracks were progressively generated from the pillar edges toward the middle point of the pillar. Therefore, in order to both prevent the local damage of pillar and conservatively estimate the tunnel stability, it was thought to be an appropriate method using the strength-stress ratio obtained from the left/right edges of the pillar.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2017

Center pillar, which is installed in the center of flank of car body, supports roof and door and ensures the safety of driver by reducing the damage of car body caused by impact. Recently, high-strength steel is widely used to manufacture the center pillar due to high stiffness and fuel efficiency. In this study, material properties of the high-strength steel, whose tensile strength is more than 780MPa, were obtained to produce the center pillar. Stamping was performed by considering the design parameters (blank holder force, press stroke, blank size and pad pressure) used in the actual filed. The drawbeads were included in the stamping process to reduce the amounts of wrinkling and spring back. Using the commercial software, Autoform R5.2 and Minitab, effects of design parameters of the stamping process upon spring back were analyzed and applied to the design process. The restriking process meets the target of under 0.5mm in the amount of spring back.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.423-434
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• 2015

Scaled model tests were performed to investigate the influence of pillar width, rock strength and isotropy/anisotropy on the stability of twin tunnels. Test models had respectively different pillar widths, uniaxial compressive strengths of modelling materials and model types, where both the deformation behaviors around tunnels and the biaxial pressure data at a time of pillar cracking were analysed. The cracking pressures of the higher strength models were higher than the lower strength models, whereas the percentage of cracking pressure to uniaxial compressive strength of modelling materials showed an opposite tendency. The cracking pressures of the shallower pillar width models were lower than the thicker models, moreover the percentage of that showed a same tendency. It has been found that the pillar width was one of the main factors influencing on the stability of twin tunnels. Model types such as isotropy/anisotropy also influenced on the stability of twin tunnels. The anisotropic models showed lower values of both cracking pressures and the percentage of that than the isotropic models, where the pillar cracks of anisotropic models were generated with regard to the pre-existing joint planes.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.387-401
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• 2007

Recently, because of the restriction of land for construction and interference of adjacent structure, parallel tunnels with small clearance have been planned and constructed in many sites. In this case, the stability of pillar at center part is very important factor to satisfy the stability of tunnel structure under the construction. In this paper, numerical analyses for the asymmetry parallel tunnels with a narrow width of pillar have been carried out to search for the optimum reinforcement measure for rock pillar and verify the stability of tunnel. Rock pillar between each single tunnel is supposed to be under heavy load by rock mass. The analysis of stress state at rock pillar at various cases for construction conditions is required to investigate the structural behaviour of tunnels and stability of the pillar. Strength-stress ratio is calculated based on the failure theory of rock and the safety factor of tunnel is computed with strength reduction technique. Through these numerical results, reasonable reinforcement measures for rock pillar at parallel tunnel were established and recommended.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2018

The constrained conditions of roof and floor for the coal pillar affect the strength of coal pillar very seriously. To analyze the influence of rock mass for the roof and floor on the stability of coal pillar comprehensively, one method based on the mechanical method for the composite rock mass was proposed. In this method, the three rock layers of roof, floor and coal pillar are taken as the bedded composite rock mass. And the influence of rock mass for the roof and floor on the elastic core of coal pillar has been analyzed. This method can obtain not only the derived stress by the cohesive constraining forces for the coal pillar, but also the derived stress for the rock mass of the roof and floor. Moreover, the effect of different mechanical parameters for the roof and floor on the stability of coal pillar have been analyzed systematically. This method can not only analyze the stability of strip coal pillar, but also analyze the stability of other mining pillars whose stress distribution is similar with that of the strip coal pillar.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.156-164
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• 1999

The body structure of a bus is generally assembled by using various spot welded box sectional members. The shape of window pillar joint is ordinarily built up by T-type member. It has been shown that T-type member has problems like high stress concentrations, low fatigue strength and low structural rigidity. In this study, to solve these problems a new approach to optimize the design of the bus window pillar joint was tried by FEM analysis and experiments. To describe the shape of the gusset connecting the vertical and horizontal members of the T-type window pillar joint B-spline curve was adopted and this curve was optimized . It was found that the new model developed could effectively improve fatigue durability an structural rigidity.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.112-119
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• 2006

This paper is concerned with the light-weight design of a center-pillar assembly for the high-speed side impact of vehicle using advanced high strength steels(AHSS). Steel industries continuously promote the ULSAB-AVC project for applying AHSS to structural parts as an alternative way to improve the crashworthiness and the fuel efficiency because it has the superior strength compared to the conventional steel. In order to simulate deformation behavior of the center-pillar assembly, a simplified center-pillar model is developed and parts of that are subdivided employing tailor-welded blanks(TWB) in order to control the deformation shape of the center-pillar assembly. The thickness of each part which constitutes the simplified model is selected as a design parameter. Factorial design is carried out aiming at the application and configuration of AHSS to simplified side-impact analysis because it needs tremendous computing time to consider all combinations of parts. In optimization of the center-pillar, S-shaped deformation is targeted to guarantee the reduction of the injury level of a driver dummy in the crash test. The objective function is constructed so as to minimize the weight and lead to S-shape deformation mode. Optimization also includes the weight reduction comparing with the case using conventional steels. The result shows that the AHSS can be utilized effectively for minimization of the vehicle weight and induction of S-shaped deformation.