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

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.675-687
• /
• 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
• /
• v.69 no.2
• /
• pp.221-230
• /
• 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.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.151-165
• /
• 2021

Grouting, which is applied for the increase of ground strength and the decrease of permeability, is complex process because of several reasons, so the process needs to be elaborated. Injection process in consideration of ground condition and optimization of grouting sequence is essential. In this study, GIN (Grouting Intensity Number), multiple of injected grout volume and pressure, is revised to consider injection pressure reduction and joint opening during grouting process. A revised GIN process is evaluated through a field test. A revised GIN, considering ground condition, injection pressure, follows GIN envelope and produces rational grouting process. The result of a revised GIN reduces permeability of the ground in the order of 10^-1~10^-2 cm/sec.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.519-529
• /
• 2021

In coal mining activities, the abutment stress of the coal has to undergo cyclic loading and unloading, affecting the strength and seepage characteristics of coal; additionally, it can cause dynamic disasters, posing a major challenge for the safety of coal mine production. To improve the understanding of the dynamic disaster mechanism of gas outburst and rock burst coupling, triaxial devices are applied to axial pressure cyclic loading-unloading tests under different axial stress peaks and different pore pressures. The existing empirical formula is use to perform a non-linear regression fitting on the relationship between stress and permeability, and the damage rate of permeability is introduced to analyze the change in permeability. The results show that the permeability curve obtained had "memory", and the peak stress was lower than the conventional loading path. The permeability curve and the volume strain curve show a clear symmetrical relationship, being the former in the form of a negative power function. Owing to the influence of irreversible deformation, the permeability difference and the damage of permeability mainly occur in the initial stage of loading-unloading, and both decrease as the number of cycles of loading-unloading increase. At the end of the first cycle and the second cycle, the permeability decreased in the range of 5.777 - 8.421 % and 4.311-8.713 %, respectively. The permeability decreases with an increase in the axial stress peak, and the damage rate shows the opposite trend. Under the same conditions, the permeability of methane is always lower than that of helium, and it shows a V-shape change trend with increasing methane pressures, and the permeability of the specimen was 3 MPa > 1 MPa > 2 MPa.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.233-243
• /
• 2021

Rib spalling is a major issue affecting the safety of steeply inclined coal seam. And the failure coal face and support system can be affected with each other to generate a vicious cycle along with inducing large-scale collapse of surrounding rock in steeply inclined coal seam. In order to analyze failure mechanism and propose the corresponding prominent control measures of steeply inclined coal working face, mechanical model based on coal face-support-roof system and mechanical model of coal face failure was established to reveal the disaster mechanism of rib spalling and the sensitive analysis of related factors was performed. Furthermore, taking 3402 working face of Chen-man-zhuang coal mine as engineering background, numerical model by using FLAC3D was built to illustrate the propagation of displacement and stress fields in steeply inclined coal seam and verify the theory analysis as mentioned in this study. The results show that the coal face slide body in steeply inclined working face can be observed as the failure height of upper layer smaller than that of lower layer exhibiting with an irregular quadrilateral pyramid shape. Moreover, the cracks were originated from the upper layer of sliding body and gradually developed to the lower layer causing the final rib spalling. The influence factors on the stability of coal face can be ranked as overlying strata pressure (P) > mechanical parameters of coal body (e.g., cohesion (c), internal fraction angle (φ)) > support strength (F) > the support force of protecting piece (F') > the false angle of working face (Θ). Moreover, the corresponding control measures to maintain the stability of the coal face in the steeply inclined working face were proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.12
• /
• pp.4527-4542
• /
• 2023

The present microbial reinforcement of rock and soil exhibits limitations, such as uneven reinforcement effectiveness and low calcium carbonate generation rate, resulting in limited solidification strength. This study introduces electroosmosis as a standard microbial grouting reinforcement technique and investigates its solidification effects on microbial-reinforced uranium tailings. The most effective electroosmosis effect on uranium tailings occurs under a potential gradient of 1.25 V/cm. The findings indicate that a weak electric field can effectively promote microbial growth and biological activity and accelerate bacterial metabolism. The largest calcium carbonate production occurred under the gradient of 0.5 V/cm, featuring a good crystal combination and the best cementation effect. Staged electroosmosis and electrode conversion efficiently drive the migration of anions and cations. Under electroosmosis, the cohesion of uranium tailings reinforced by microorganisms increased by 37.3% and 64.8% compared to those reinforced by common microorganisms and undisturbed uranium tailings, respectively. The internal friction angle is also improved, significantly enhancing the uniformity of reinforcement and a denser and stronger microscopic structure. This research demonstrates that MICP technology enhances the solidification effects and uniformity of uranium tailings, providing a novel approach to maintaining the safety and stability of uranium tailings dams.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.489-509
• /
• 2024

Slope stability analysis and prediction are of critical importance to geotechnical engineers, given the severe consequences associated with slope failure. This research endeavors to forecast the factor of safety (FOS) for slopes through the implementation of six distinct ML techniques, including back propagation neural networks (BPNN), feed-forward neural networks (FFNN), Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system (TSF), gene expression programming (GEP), and least-square support vector machine (Ls-SVM). 344 slope cases were analyzed, incorporating a variety of geometric and shear strength parameters measured through the PLAXIS software alongside several loss functions to assess the models' performance. The findings demonstrated that all models produced satisfactory results, with BPNN and GEP models proving to be the most precise, achieving an R² of 0.86 each and MAE and MAPE rates of 0.00012 and 0.00002 and 0.005 and 0.004, respectively. A Pearson correlation and residuals statistical analysis were carried out to examine the importance of each factor in the prediction, revealing that all considered geomechanical features are significantly relevant to slope stability. However, the parameters of friction angle and slope height were found to be the most and least significant, respectively. In addition, to aid in the FOS computation for engineering challenges, a graphical user interface (GUI) for the ML-based techniques was created.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.99-111
• /
• 2018

In this study three target radionuclides ($^{60}Co$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{125}Sb$) were reacted with solid samples collected from the nuclear facility sites to investigate their sorption and mobility behaviors for preparing unexpected nuclear accidents. The highest sorption distribution coefficients ($K_{ds}$) of target radionuclides ($^{60}Co=947mL/g$, $^{137}Cs=2105mL/g$, $^{125}Sb=81.3mL/g$) were found in topsoil layer under groundwater condition, and the $K_d$ values of three radionuclides decreased in the order of fractured rock and bedrock samples under the same groundwater condition. High $K_d$ values of $^{60}Co$ in topsoil layer and fracture rock resulted from the clay minerals present, and the $K_d$ values decreased 58-69 % under seawater condition due to high ionic strength. $^{137}Cs$ sorption was controlled by the ion exchange reaction with $K^+$ on flayed edge sites (FES) of mica. The $^{137}Cs$ sorption was the most affected by seawater (89-97 % decrease), while $^{125}Sb$ sorption was not much affected by seawater. As the results of column and batch experiments, the retardation factors (R) of $^{137}Cs$, $^{60}Co$, and $^{125}Sb$ were determined about 5400-7400, 2000-2500, and 250-415, respectively, indicating no significant transport for these radionuclides even in fractured zone with groundwater. These results suggest that even in the case of severe nuclear accident at the nuclear facilities the mobility of released radionuclides ($^{60}Co$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{125}Sb$) can be significantly retarded by the topsoil layer and fractured rock. In addition, the results of this study will be used for the safety and environmental performance assessment of nuclear facilities.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.250-259
• /
• 2018

We investigated the petrological features of the stone materials used in the Jeolla Usuyeong rampart and estimated their provenance through the geological survey. The Jeolla Usuyeong was designated as a historic site (No. 535) on 2016. Since the remaining rampart is less than 15%, it is necessary to make conservation on it. In this study, we discriminated the stone materials used for the rampart according to their petrographic characteristics and estimated the volume proportion of each stone by the rock type. Also, we measured the whole-rock magnetic susceptibility. The petrographic features of the stones in the rampart were compared with those in the vicinity by their mineral composition and texture. The stone materials of the rampart mainly consist of the tuff, lapilli tuff, and lapilli stone. Among these three kinds of rocks, lapilli tuff is quantitatively the most abundant (60.3%), the next is tuff (34.7%), and lapilli stone (2.5%) shows the least amount. The whole-rock magnetic susceptibility of the tuffaceous rocks can be divided by the value of $1.0{\times}10^{-3}$ SI unit. Also, the compressive strength of tuff exhibits about 156 MPa, which is adequate to reuse for the repairing work. Petrological comparisons between stone materials and outcrop rocks distributed around the Hwawon peninsula leads to a conclusion that the stone materials of the rampart are likely to have been delivered from the Dongoeri and Sindeok-ri. Judging from the results of the comparison on the frequency of use and physical properties among the tuffaceous rocks, tuff is considered to suitable for restoring the rampart.