• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.521-528
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• 2005

The evaluation process of rock mass properties intrinsically contains some uncertainty due to the inhomogeneity of rock mass and the measurement error. Although various empirical methods for the determination of rock mass properties were suggested, there is no way of integrating various information on rock mass properties except averaging. For these reasons, this research introduces evidence theory which can model epistemic uncertainty and yield reasonable rock mass properties through combining various information such as empirical equations, in-situ test results, and so on. Through the application of evidence theory to the real site investigation and in situ experiment results, an interval of deformation modulus, cohesion and friction angle of rock mass were obtained. The ratios between lower and upper bound of those properties ranges from 1.6 to 3.6. Numerical analyses of circular hole using the properties for TYPE-2 rock mass were carried out. The magnitude or size of plastic region and radial displacement in case of lower bound properties is about 4 times larger than that of upper bound properties.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.313-324
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• 2022

Rock properties are important in the design of mines and civil engineering excavations to prevent the imminent failure of slopes and collapse of underground excavations. However, the time, cost, and expertise required to perform experiments to determine those properties are high. Therefore, empirical models have been developed for estimating the mechanical properties of rock that are difficult to determine experimentally from properties that are less difficult to measure. However, the inherent variability in rock properties makes the accurate performance of the empirical models unrealistic and therefore necessitate the use of soft computing models. In this study, Gaussian process regression (GPR), artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface method (RSM) have been proposed to predict the static and dynamic rock properties from the P-wave and rock density. The outcome of the study showed that GPR produced more accurate results than the ANN and RSM models. GPR gave the correlation coefficient of above 99% for all the three properties predicted and RMSE of less than 5. The detailed sensitivity analysis is also conducted using the RSM and the P-wave velocity is found to be the most influencing parameter in the rock mechanical properties predictions. The proposed models can give reasonable predictions of important mechanical properties of sedimentary rock.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1484-1489
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• 2005

An inhomogeneous and anisotropic rock has different properties at different location. Thus, this refers to any of the properties which we may be measuring. There are two concepts of rock mass, namely, CHILE(Continuous, Homogeneous, Isotropic, Linear Elastic) material and DIANE(Discontinuous, Inhomogeneous, Anisotropic, Non-linear Elastic) rock. The former is essentially the properties of intact rock, the latter is essentially the properties governed by the structure of rock. In geotechnical aspect, the most important parameter is strength of rock or rock mass. In particular, characteristics of strength of rock mass depend upon the orientation of discontinuities And this orientation of discontinuities has different properties at different direction of excavation. Therefore, it needs for characterization of different properties of discontinuity orientation against different direction of excavation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2020

The synthetic rock mass (SRM) were used to investigate the influence of specimen size on the mechanical properties of jointed rock mass. The SRM were established based on parallel bond model (PBM) and smooth joint model (SJM) and the scaled rock specimens were sampled in two SRMs considering three sampling locations. The research results show that the smaller the initial fracture density is, the greater the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus (E) is when compared with the same sampling location. The mechanical properties of rock specimens obtained by different sampling methods in different SRMs have different scale effects. The strength of rock specimens with more new cracks is not necessarily less than that of rock specimens with fewer new cracks and the failure of rock is caused by the formation of macro-fracture surface.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.533-551
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• 2015

The rock fracturing during waterjet cutting is very complicated because rock is inhomogeneous and anisotropic, compared with artificial materials (e.g., metal or glass). Thus, it is very important to verify the effects of rock properties on waterjet rock cutting performance. Properties affecting the rock cutting efficiency have been variously described in the literature, depending on the experimental conditions (e.g., water pressure, abrasive feed rate, or standoff distance) and rock-types studied. In this study, a rock-property-related literature review was performed to determine the key properties important for waterjet rock cutting. Porosity, uniaxial compressive strength, and hardness of the rock were determined to be the key properties affecting waterjet rock cutting. The results of this analysis can provide the basic knowledge to determine the cutting efficiency of waterjet rock cutting technology for rock excavation-related construction.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.557-560
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• 2003

Some well-known artificial weathering tests such as freezing-thawing, acid immersion, and salt crystallization are adopted to examine the change of rock properties during the processes of artificial weathering. Granites and other rock types of limestone, marble and basalt collected from different quarries in south Korea were sampled for this study. All tests were performed up to 30 cycles and physical properties were measured after experiencing every ten cycles of artificial weathering tests. During the tests, the variation trends of rock properties were too variable to draw generalized variation patterns but it can be concluded that weathering agents have different effect on rock properties depending on weathering circumstance and time. Even in short terms of salt crystallization tests, some rocks were severely deformed and then burst, and in the early stages of salt weathering, recrystallized salts filling pores and cracks in rocks could be a important factor affecting rock properties.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2020

In structures excavated in rock mass, load progressively increases to a level and remains constant during the construction. Rocks display different elastic properties such as E_i and ʋ under different loading conditions and this requires to use the true values of elastic properties for the design of safe structures in rock. Also, rocks will undergo horizontal and vertical deformations depending on the amount of load applied. However, under constant loads, values of E_i and ʋ will vary in time and induce variations in the behavior of the rock mass. In some empirical equations in which deformation modulus of the rock mass is taken into consideration, elastic parameters of intact rock become functions in the equation. Hence, the use of time dependent elastic properties determined under constant loading will yield more reliable results than when only constant elastic properties are used. As well known, rock material will play an important role in the deformation mechanism since the discontinuities will be closed due to the load. In this study, E_i and ʋ values of intact rocks were investigated under different constant loads for certain rocks with high deformation capabilities. The results indicated significant time dependent variations in elastic properties under constant loading conditions. E_i value obtained from deformability test was found to be higher than the E_i value obtained from the constant loading test. This implies that when static values of elastic properties are used, the material is defined as more elastic than the rock material itself. In fact, E_i and ʋ values embedded in empirical equations are not static. Hence, this workattempts to emerge a new understanding in designing of safer structures in rock mass by numerical methods. The use of time-dependent values of E_i and ʋ under different constant loads will yield more accurate results in numerical modeling analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.103-111
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• 1994

Recently, rock slope in large scale is often accompanied with the construction of mountain roads and power plants. Rock in nature has a number of discontinuities such as bedding plane, joints, fracture zones and others. In order to improve rock slope stability, it is necessary to research shear properties of rock joint. In this paper shear properties of rock joint were studied by tilting test. Relations between properties of roughness and shear behavior of rock joint are investigated experimentally. The roughness are examined by compared with shear strength. Consequently, it becomes clear that the engineering properties and failure state modes of slope is different by JRC, and the peak friction angle is different by percent of filling.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.102-118
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• 1994

Thermomechanical analysis is conducted on the radioactive repository in deep rock mass considering the in-situ stress, excavation and thermal loading of a radioactive waste. Thermomechanical properties of a discontinuous rock mass are estimated by a theoretical method so called sequential analysis. Using the estimated properties as input for finite element analysis, the influence on temperature distribution and thermal stress is analyzed within the scope of 2-dimensional steady state and transient heat transfer and coupled thermal elastic plastic behaviour. Granitic rock mass is taken for this analysis. The analysis is done for two different rock mass conditions, i.e. continuous-homogeneous and highly jointed conditions, for the purpose of comparison. In the case of steady state, the extent of disturbed zone around the storage tunnel due to the heat production of the spent-fuel canister varies depending on the thermomechanical properties of the rock mass. In the case of transient analyses, the response of the jointed rock mass to the thermal loading after radioactive waste disposal varies significantly with time, resulting in dramatic changes in the both size and location of disturbed zone.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.23-41
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• 2023

Coupled thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) processes are essential for the long-term performance of deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In this study, a numerical sensitivity analysis was performed to analyze the effect of rock properties on THM responses after the execution of the heater test at the Kamaishi mine in Japan. The TOUGH-FLAC simulator was applied for the numerical simulation assuming a continuum model for coupled THM analysis. The rock properties included in the sensitivity study were the Young's modulus, permeability, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion coefficients of crystalline rock, rock salt, and clay. The responses, i.e., temperature, water content, displacement, and stress, were measured at monitoring points in the buffer and near-field rock mass during the simulations. The thermal conductivity had an overarching impact on THM responses. The influence of Young's modulus was evident in the mechanical behavior, whereas that of permeability was noticed through the change in the temperature and water content. The difference in the THM responses of the three rock type models implies the importance of the appropriate characterization of rock mass properties with regard to the performance assessment of the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.