• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.571-582
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• 2020

Aiming at the mechanical and structural characteristics of the contact zone composite rock, the uniaxial compression tests and numerical studies were carried out. The interaction forms and formation mechanisms at the contact interfaces of different materials were analyzed to reveal the effect of interaction on the mechanical behavior of composite samples. The research demonstrated that there are three types of interactions between the two materials at the contact interface: constraint parallel to the interface, squeezing perpendicular to the interface, and shear stress on the interface. The interaction is mainly affected by the differences in Poisson's ratio and elastic modulus of the two materials, stronger interface adhesion, and larger interface inclination. The interaction weakens the strength and stiffness of the composite sample, and the magnitude of weakening is positively correlated with the degree of difference in the mechanical properties of the materials. The tensile-shear stress derived from the interaction results in the axial tensile fracture perpendicular to the interface and the interfacial shear facture. Tensile cracks in stronger material will propagation into the weaker material through the bonded interface. The larger inclination angle of the interface enhances the effect of composite tensile/shear failure on the overall sample.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2015

Induced seismicity has been observed in the relation with lots of anthropogenic influence and at variety of geological conditions over the last several decades. This paper reviews those induced earthquakes and compares with each other as well as with natural tectonic earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing is commonly used to enhance the permeability through new cracks in the rock formation. The process triggers the induced seismicity, which can give crucial information on the fracture network and oil/gas migration. In the similar way, unintentionally induced events during the production procedure of the field, dam reservoir, minig activity, or wastewater injection can be used to give insight into various hydrodynamic processes and changes of reservoir properties at a various scales. The general conclusion summarizes the uncertainty or limitations of knowledge up to date and presents some issues to be dealt with in the future research.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.171-178
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• 2003

Wing and secondary cracks are unique types of cracks observed in rock masses subjected to uniaxial and biaxial compressive loading conditions. In this study, morphological features of wing and secondary cracks developed in gypsum specimens are investigated in the macro and micro scales. Along the path of wing crack, microtensile cracks are observed. Microtensile cracks coalesce with pores and show branch phenomenon. From the onset of the wing crack, multiple initiations of microtensile cracks are observed. Microtensile cracks show tortuous propagation paths and relatively constant aperture of the cracks during the propagation. It is shown that microtensile cracks propagate by splitting failure. At the micro scale, microfsults are observed in the path of the secondary cracks. Along the path of the secondary cracks, separation of grains and conglomerate grains, oblique microfaults, and irregular aperture of microfault are observed. These features show that the secondary cracks are produced in shear mode. The measured sizes of fracture process zone across the propagation direction near the tip of wing and secondary cracks range from 10$\mu{m}$ to 20$\mu{m}$ far wing cracks and from 100$\mu{m}$ to 200$\mu{m}$ for secondary cracks, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.45-55
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• 2020

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is very useful for the quantitative evaluation of internal structures, particularly defects in rock samples, such as pores and fractures. In situ CT allows 3D imaging of a sample subjected to various external treatments such as loading and therefore enables observation of changes that occur during the loading process. We reviewed state-of-the-art of in situ CT applications for geomaterials. Two triaxial cells made using relatively low density but high strength materials were developed aimed at in situ CT scanning during hydro-mechanical laboratory testing of rocks. Preliminary results for in situ CT imaging of granite and sandstone samples with diameters ranging from 25 mm to 50 mm show a resolution range of 34~105 ㎛ per pixel pitch, indicating the feasibility of in situ CT observations for internal structural changes in rocks at the micrometer scale. Potassium iodide solution was found to improve the image contrast, and can be used as an injection fluid for hydro-mechanical testing combined with in situ CT scanning.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.535-541
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• 2019

Combining the radial well drilling and hydraulic fracturing technique, the production capacity of the reservoirs with low-permeability can be improved effectively. Due to the existence of radial holes, the stress around the well is redistributed, and the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures are different with those in traditional hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, it is necessary to study the influences of radial horizontal wells on hydraulic fracturing. The laboratory experiment was conducted to simulate the hydraulic fracturing on the physical model with radial holes. The experimental results showed that, compared with the borehole without radial holes, the sample with radial hole in the direction of maximum horizontal stress was fractured with significantly lower pressure. As the angle between direction of the horizontal hole and the maximum horizontal stress increased, the breakdown pressure grew. While when the radial hole was drilled towards the direction of the minimum horizontal stress, the breakdown pressure increased to that needed in the borehole without radial holes. When the angle between the radial hole and the maximum horizontal stress increase, the pressure required to propagate the fractures grew apparently, and the fracture become complex. Meanwhile, the deeper the radial hole drilled, the less the pressure was needed for fracturing.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.675-687
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• 2018

In the previous studies on the porous rock strength the effect of pore number and its diameter is not explicitly defined. In this paper crack initiation, propagation and coalescence in Brazilian model disc containing a single cylindrical hole and or multiple holes have been studied numerically using PFC3D. In model with internal hole, the ratio of hole diameter to model diameter was varied between 0.03, 0.17, 0.25, 0.33, and 0.42. In model with multiple hole number of holes was different in various model, i.e., one hole, two holes, three holes, four holes, five holes, six holes, seven holes, eight holes and nine holes. Diameter of these holes was 5 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm. The pre-holed Brazilian discs are numerically tested under Brazilian test. The breakage load in the ring type disc specimens containing an internal hole with varying diameters is measured. The mechanism of cracks propagation in the wall of the ring type specimens is also studied. In the case of multi-hole Brazilian disc, the cracks propagation and b cracks coalescence are also investigated. The results shows that breaking of the pre-holed disc specimens is due to the propagation of radially induced tensile cracks initiated from the surface of the central hole and propagating toward the direction of diametrical loading. In the case of disc specimens with multiple holes, the cracks propagation and cracks coalescence may occur simultaneously in the breaking process of model under diametrical compressive loading. Finally the results shows that the failure stress and crack initiation stress decreases by increasing the hole diameter. Also, the failure stress decreases by increasing the number of hole which mobilized in failure. The results of these simulations were comprised with other experimental and numerical test results. It has been shown that the numerical and experimental results are in good agreement with each other.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.221-230
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• 2019

In this paper, shear behavior of non-persistent joint surrounded in concrete and gypsum layers has been investigated using experimental test and numerical simulation. Two types of mixture were prepared for this study. The first type consists of water and gypsum that were mixed with a ratio of water/gypsum of 0.6. The second type of mixture, water, sand and cement were mixed with a ratio of 27%, 33% and 40% by weight. Shear behavior of a non-persistent joint embedded in these specimens is studied. Physical models consisting of two edge concrete layers with dimensions of 160 mm by 130 mm by 60 mm and one internal gypsum layer with the dimension of 16 mm by 13 mm by 6 mm were made. Two horizontal edge joints were embedded in concrete beams and one angled joint was created in gypsum layer. Several analyses with joints with angles of $0^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, and $60^{\circ}$ degree were conducted. The central fault places in 3 different positions. Along the edge joints, 1.5 cm vertically far from the edge joint face and 3 cm vertically far from the edge joint face. All samples were tested in compression using a universal loading machine and the shear load was induced because of the specimen geometry. Concurrent with the experiments, the extended finite element method (XFEM) was employed to analyze the fracture processes occurring in a non-persistent joint embedded in concrete and gypsum layers using Abaqus, a finite element software platform. The failure pattern of non-persistent cracks (faults) was found to be affected mostly by the central crack and its configuration and the shear strength was found to be related to the failure pattern. Comparison between experimental and corresponding numerical results showed a great agreement. XFEM was found as a capable tool for investigating the fracturing mechanism of rock specimens with non-persistent joint.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.257-267
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• 2021

Constraints on the structure and composition of the active layer are important for understanding permafrost evolution. Soil convection owing to repeated moisture-induced freeze-thaw cycles within the active layer promotes the formation of self-organized patterned ground. Here we present the results of ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys across a selected sorted circle near King Sejong Station, Antarctica, to better delineate the active layer and its relation to the observed patterned ground structure. We acquire GPR data in both bistatic mode (common mid-points) for precise velocity constraints and monostatic mode (common-offset) for subsurface imaging. Reflections are derived from the active layer-permafrost boundary, organic layer-weathered soil boundary within the active layer, and frozen rock-fracture-filled ice boundary within the permafrost. The base of the imaged sorted circle possesses a convex-down shape in the central silty zone, which is typical for the pattern associated with convection-like soil motion within the active layer. The boundary between the central fine-silty domain and coarse-grained stone border is effectively identified in a radar amplitude contour at the assumed active layer depth, and is further examined in the frequency spectra of the near- and far-offset traces. The far-offset traces and the traces from the lower frequency components dominant on the far-offset traces would be associated with rapid absorption of higher frequency radiowave due to the voids in gravel-rich zone. The presented correlation strategies for analyzing very shallow, thin-layered GPR reflection data can potentially be applied to the various types of patterned ground, particularly for acquiring time-lapse imaging, when electric resistivity tomography is incorporated into the analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.41-53
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• 2006

The brittle materials like rocks show complicated strain-softening behavior after the peak which is hard to model using the classical constitutive models based on the relation between strain and stress tensors. A kinematically constrained three-dimensional microplane constitutive model is developed for granite. The model is verified by fitting the experimented data of Westerly granite and Bonnet granite. The triaxial behavior of granite is well reproduced by the model as well as the uniaxial behavior. We studied the development of the fracture zone in granite during blasting impact using the model with the standard finite element method. All the results obtained from the microplane model developed are compared to those from the linear elasticity model which is commonly used in many researches and practices. It is found that the nonlinearity of rocks sigificantly affects the results of analysis.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.487-495
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• 2017

A granite rock body, called 'Bukbawi', located on a mountaineering trail at Mt. Palgong Provincial Park is popular among the public because it resembles a percussion instrument. If someone hits the specific surface area of this rock body, people can hear drum-like sound. Such phenomenon may be geologically associated with exfoliation process of the granite body or miarolitic cavity developed after gasses escaped during formation of granite. To understand better the inner structure causing drum-like sound, we carried out a non-destructive ground-penetrating radar survey. In this study, as our primary target is very close to the surface, we utilized 1 GHz antennas to produce high-resolution near-surface images. In order to construct 3-D internal images, the measurements were conducted along a pre-defined grid. The processed radargrams revealed that the locations associated with 'drum' sound coincide with strong reflections. In addition, both reflection patterns of fracture and cavity were observed. To further quantify the observed reflections, we simulated GPR scans from a synthetic fracture in a granite body, filled with different materials. The simulated results suggest that both exfoliation process and miarolitic cavity may have contributed to the 'drum' phenomena. Furthermore, the radargrams showed a well-developed cavity signature where two major reflection planes were crossed. Thus, our study is an example of non-destructive geophysical studies that can promote Earth Science in the broader community by examining geological structures attracting the public.