• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.363-371
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• 2019

In this study, the load carrying behavior of piled rafts installed in inclined bearing rock layer was investigated for rock-mounted and -socketed conditions. It was found that settlements induced for an inclined bearing rock layer are larger than for a horizontal layer condition. The load capacity of piled rafts for the rock-mounted condition decreased as rock-layer inclination angle (${\theta}$) increased, while vice versa for the rock-socketed condition. The load capacities of raft and piles both decreased with increasing ${\theta}$ for the rock-mounted condition. When bearing rock layer was inclined, loads carried by uphill-side piles were greater than those by downhill-side piles. The values of differential settlements of rock-mounted and -socketed conditions were not significantly different whereas slightly higher for the rock-socketed condition. The values of load sharing ratio (${\alpha}_p$) and its variation with settlement were not markedly changed by the inclination of bedrock. It was shown that ${\alpha}_p$ for piled rafts installed in rock layer was not affected by ${\theta}$ whereas actual loads carried by raft and piles may vary depending on the pile installation and rock-layer inclination conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.375-401
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• 2014

It is generally accepted that material heterogeneity has a great influence on the deformation, strength, damage and failure modes of rock. This paper presents numerical simulation on rock failure process based on the characterization of rock heterogeneity by using a digital image processing (DIP) technique. The actual heterogeneity of rock at mesoscopic scale (characterized as minerals) is retrieved by using a vectorization transformation method based on the digital image of rock surface, and it is imported into a well-established numerical code Rock Failure Process Analysis (RFPA), in order to examine the effect of rock heterogeneity on the rock failure process. In this regard, the numerical model of rock could be built based on the actual characterization of the heterogeneity of rock at the meso-scale. Then, the images of granite are taken as an example to illustrate the implementation of DIP technique in simulating the rock failure process. Three numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the impact of actual rock heterogeneity due to spatial distribution of constituent mineral grains (e.g., feldspar, quartz and mica) on the macro-scale mechanical response, and the associated rock failure mechanism at the meso-scale level is clarified. The numerical results indicate that the shape and distribution of constituent mineral grains have a pronounced impact on stress distribution and concentration, which may further control the failure process of granite. The proposed method provides an efficient tool for studying the mechanical behaviors of heterogeneous rock and rock-like materials whose failure processes are strongly influenced by material heterogeneity.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.281-291
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• 2022

Complex rock masses include various joint planes, bedding planes and other weak structural planes. The existence of these structural planes affects the mechanical properties, deformation rules and failure modes of jointed rock masses. To study the influence of the parameters of a nonpersistent joint network on the mechanical properties and failure modes of jointed rock masses, synthetic rock mass (SRM) technology based on discrete elements is introduced. The results show that as the size of the joints in the rock mass increases, the compressive strength and the discreteness of the rock mass first increase and then decrease. Among them, the joints that are characterized by "small but many" joints and "large and clustered" joints have the most significant impact on the strength of the rock mass. With the increase in joint density in the rock mass, the compressive strength of rock mass decreases monotonically, but the rate of decrease gradually decreases. With the increase in the joint dip angle in rock mass, the strength of the rock mass first decreases and then increases, forming a U-shaped change rule. In the analysis of the failure mode and deformation of a jointed rock mass, the type of plastic zone formed after rock mass failure is closely related to the macroscopic displacement deformation of the rock mass and the parameters of the joints, which generally shows that the location and density of the joints greatly affect the failure mode and displacement degree of the jointed rock mass. The instability mechanism of jointed surrounding rock is revealed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.1 s.60
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• pp.1-10
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• 2006

Rock masses in nature include various rock discontinuities such as faults, joints, bedding planes, fractures, cracks, schistosities, and cleavages. The behavior of rock structures, therefore, is mainly controlled by various rock discontinuities. In many tunnels, enormous cost and time are consumed to cope with the failing or sliding of rock blocks, which cannot be predicted because of the complexity of rock discontinuities. It is difficult to estimate the properties of rock masses before the rock excavation. The observational design and construction method of tunnels in rock masses is becoming important recently. In this paper, a new observational design and construction method for rock block evaluation of tunnels in discontinuous rock masses is proposed, and then applied to the tunnel based on actual rock discontinuity information observed in the field. It is possible to detect key blocks all along the tunnel exactly by using the numerical analysis program developed far the new observational design and construction method. This computer simulation method with user-friendly interfaces can calculate not only the stability of rock blocks but also the design of supplementary supports. The effectiveness of the proposed observational design and construction method has been verified by the confirmation of key block during the enlargement excavation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.515-520
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• 2005

The behavior of jointed rock mass is much different from that of intact rock due to the presence of joints. Similarly, the characteristics of elastic wave propagation in jointed rock are considerably different from those of intact rock. The propagation of elastic waves in jointed rock is greatly dependent on the state of stress. The roughness, filling materials, and spacing of joints also affect wave propagation in jointed rock. If the wavelength of elastic waves is much larger than the spacing between joints, wave propagation in jointed rock mass can be considered as wave propagation in equivalent continuum. A rock resonant column testing apparatus is made to measure elastic waves propagating through jointed rock in the state of equivalent continuum. Three types of wave, i.e, torsional, longitudinal and flexural waves are monitored during rock resonant column tests. Various roughness and filling materials are applied to joints, and rock columns with various spacings are used to understand how these factors affect wave propagation under a small strain condition. The experimental results suggest that the characteristics of wave propagation in jointed rock mass are governed by the state of stress and influenced by roughness, filling materials and joint spacings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.603-610
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• 2005

The end bearing behavior of piles socketed in weathered/soft rock is generally dependent upon the mass conditions of rock with fractures rather than the strength of intact rock. However, there are few available data and little guidance in the prediction of the end bearing capacity of drilled shafts socketed in weathered/soft rock, considering rock mass weathering. Therefore, a database of 13 load tests was constructed first, and new empirical relationships between the base reaction modulus of piles in rock and rock mass properties were developed. No correlation was found between the compressive strengths of intact rock and the base reaction modulus of weathered/soft rock. The ground investigation data regarding the rock mass conditions(e.g. Em, Eur, RMR, RQD) was found to be highly correlated with the base reaction modulus, showing the coefficients of correlation greather than 0.7 in most cases. Additionally, the applicability of existing methods for the end bearing capacity of piles in rock was verified by comparison with the field test data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2000.09a
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• pp.211-222
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• 2000

The design values of rock socketed pile related with properties of rock mass are not clearly established. However, the drilled shafts socketed in rock are widely used as the foundation of large scaled structure. In this study, the characteristics of behavior of rock socketed pile is researched, and the properties of interface between pile and rock considering soil-structure interaction are evaluated for numerical modeling of rock socketed pile based on the previous researches. Based on the properties of interface and rock mass, the behaviors of rock socketed piles are numerically modeled and compared with field measurement. To verify the numerical analysis, a micro pile socketed in rock is modeled and the results of numerical analysis are compared with field measurement. The numerical results show a good agreement with field measured data, especially in terms of load transfer characteristics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.265-272
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• 2003

In this study, the rock mass classification results from the face mapping and the resistivity inversion data are compared and analyzed for the reliability investigation of the determination of the rock support type based on the surface electrical survey. To get the quantitative correlation, rock engineering indices such as RCR(rock condition rating), N(Rock mass number), Q-system based on RMR(rock mass rating) are calculated. Kriging method as a post processing technique for global optimization is used to improve its resolution. The result of correlation analysis shows that the geological condition estimated from 2D electrical resistivity survey is coincident globally with the trend of rock type except for a few local areas. The correlation between the results of 3D electrical resistivity survey and the rock mass classification turns out to be very high. It can be concluded that 3D electrical resistivity survey is powerful to set up the reliable rock support type.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.13-21
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• 2018

The magnitude and distribution of earth pressure on the excavation wall in jointed rock mass were examined by considering different wall permeability conditions as well as rock types and joint inclination angles. The study was numerically extended based on a physical model test (Son & Park, 2014), considering rock-structure interactions with the discrete element method, which can consider various characteristics of rock joints. This study focused on the effect of the permeability condition of excavation wall on the earth pressure in jointed rock masses under a groundwater condition, which is important but has not been studied previously. The study results showed that the earth pressure was highly influenced by wall permeability as well as rock type and joint condition. Earth pressure resulted from the study was also compared with Peck's earth pressure in soil ground, and the comparison clearly showed that the earth pressure in jointed rock mass can be greatly different from that in soil ground.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2011.09a
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• pp.3-21
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• 2011

Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using Particle Flow Code (PFC2D) were performed to study the effects of joint separation and joint overlapping on the full failure behavior of rock bridges under direct shear loading. Through numerical direct shear tests, the failure process is visually observed and the failure patterns are achieved with reasonable conformity with the experimental results. The simulation results clearly showed that cracks developed during the test were predominantly tension cracks. It was deduced that the failure pattern was mostly influenced by both of the joint separation and joint overlapping while the shear strength is closely related to the failure pattern and its failure mechanism. The studies revealed that shear strength of rock bridges are increased with increasing in the joint separation. Also, it was observed that for a fixed cross sectional area of rock bridges, shear strength of overlapped joints are less than the shear strength of non-overlapped joints.