• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

In this study, the characteristics of a new rock cracking method using steam pressure are briefly presented. The rock cracking method was originally developed as a means to decrease the ground vibrations from underground rock excavations. The validation tests were also conducted by applying the method to an actual rock tunnel under construction. The ground vibrations were measured in the vicinity of the test site. The measured vibration results were compared with the values predicted by an attenuation equation, which had been proposed by a company in Japan. Also, a simple cost assessment for the method was conducted to demonstrate its cost effectiveness in underground tunnel excavations.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 1998

Considering the mechanical cracking in the concrete lining of tunnels occurring in relatively short period of time after the construction, there is a need for the study on the mechanical behavior and the cracking characteristics of double lining support system(shotcrete and concrete lining). For the proposed study, downscaled lining models of Kyung-Bu High Speed Railway tunnels were tested. Most longitudinal cracks at about 93 percentage developed within 30 arch degree from the vault. Cracking load was about 30 percentage of the failure load and the deflection under the cracking load was 10 percentage of the deflection under the failure load. The overbreak around the vault contributed to the reduction of the capacity for cracking and failure by the percentage greater than the reduced effective depth. Of several rock block types considered in this research, the triangular block was the most critical, and the right triangular block under eccentric load was secondly critical for the stability of the tunnel lining system. The dimensionless support reaction curves were derived from the experimental results for single and double lining. The general equation to compute the designed flexural moment was modified.

• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.22-40
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• 1995

Thermomechanical characteristics of rocks such as thermal shock, thermal expansion, thermal cracking were experimentally investigaed using Iksan granite, Cheonan tonalite and Chung-ju dolomite to obtain the basic data for proper design and Chung-ju dolomite to obtain the basic data for proper design and stability analysis of underground structures subjected to temperature changes. The effect of thermal shock did not appear when the heating speed was under 3$^{\circ}C$/min. and there existed little difference between multi-staged cyclic heating and single-cycled heating. Thermal expansion of rocks was affected by mineral composition, crack porosity and the degree of thermal craking. In quartz-beraring multimineralic rocks such as Iksan granite and Cheonan tonalite, the thermal expansion coefficient increaseed continuously with temperature rise, but that of Chung-ju dolomite which was a monomineralic rock showed a constant value for the temperature above 250$^{\circ}C$, Chung-ju dolomite yielded the lowest critical threshold temperature(Tc) of 100$^{\circ}C$ and unstable thermal cracking was initiated above the new threshold temperature(Tc')of 300$^{\circ}C$. Above Tc' thermal cracks grew but they were not interconnected. Iksan granite showed closing of microcracks to the temperature of 100$^{\circ}C$, then expanded linearly to Tc of 200$^{\circ}C$. Above Tc, thermal cracking was initiated and progressed rapidly and almost all the grain boundaries were cracked at 600$^{\circ}C$. Cheonan tonalite also showed similar behavior to iksan granite except that Tc was 350$^{\circ}C$ and that thermal cracks propagated more rapidly. Thermal expansions calculated by Turner's equation were found to be valid in predicting the thermal expansion and cracking behavior of rocks.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1047-1059
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• 2018

This paper focuses on the cracking and fragmentation process in rock materials containing a pair of non-parallel flaws, which are through the specimen thickness, under vertical compression. Several numerical experiments are conducted with varying flaw arrangements that affect the initiation and tensile wing cracks, shear crack growth, and crack coalescing behaviors. To obtain realistic numerical results, a parallelized peridynamics formulation coupled with a finite element method, which is able to capture arbitrarily occurring cracks, is employed. From previous studies, crack initiation and propagation of tensile wing cracks, horsetail cracks, and anti-wing cracks are well understood along with the coalescence between two parallel flaws. In this study, the coalescence behaviors, their fragmentation sequences, and the role of an x-shaped shear band in rock material containing two non-parallel flaws are discussed in detail on the basis of simulation results strongly correlated with previous experimental results. Firstly, crack initiation and propagation of tensile wing cracks and shear cracks between non-parallel flaws are investigated in time-history and then sequential coalescing behavior is analyzed. Secondly, under the effect of varying inclination angles of two non-parallel flaws and overlapping ratios between a pair of non-parallel flaws, the cracking patterns including crack coalescence, fragmentation, and x-shaped shear band are investigated. These numerical results, which are in good agreement with reported physical test results, are expected to provide insightful information of the fracture mechanism of rock with non-parallel flaws.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.33-40
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• 2001

In this research, the cracking of tunnel concrete lining was investigated and analyzed through long-term measurement and nonlinear numerical analysis. For one year after the casting of lining, the stresses and strains were measured by the sensors installed in hard rock tunnel lining. The measurements showed that only small stresses which were less than cracking stress occurred in every survey sections regardless of sensor directions. It could be induced that the external load applied to the lining was small or ignorable. Also, it was carried out short-term numerical analysis based on such site condition as ambient temperature, the- degree of overbreak and mold staying period. Long-term numerical analysis based on creep & shrinkage and nonlinear cracking was carried out. The output showed that construction condition and ambient environments could make the lining concrete crack without external loads. The cracks formed in this process does not indicate the structural instability of the tunnel.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.146-156
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• 1998

Nemerical algorithms were developed to analyze the behavior of the double lining as well as ground mass separately or simultaneously. A lining interface element was especially developed, verified and applied to the study on the coupled interaction of shotcrete and the concrete lining. It could be known fro parameter studys on double lining support systems that as the contact surface between shotcrete and concrete lining was rougher, the more decreased bearing capacity against the cracking of the system. If the thickness of the shotcrete increased, the bearing capacity of the double lining also increased linearly with the thickness. If the thickness of the concrete lining increased, the bearing capacity of the double lining had the relationship of the characteristic S-shape of a sigmoid function with the thickness. When the thickness increased over a given value, it was not useful to increase more the thickness because bearing capacity had no remarkable change. It could be concluded that the behavior of the shotcrete and concrete lining was generally reversed before and after the ratio of horizontal to vertical earth preassure of 1.0 and 0.5 respectively. Therefore, we could guess that the movement which two shotcrete and concrete lining deflect toward each other around the crown caused a friction between two linings and thus this disadvantageous effect could contribute to reducing the bearing capacity against the cracking.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.535-547
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• 2022

Failure patterns of rock specimens represent valuable information about the mechanical properties and crack evolution mechanism of rock. Several kinds of research have been conducted regarding the failure mechanism of brittle material, however; the influence of brittleness on the failure mechanism of rock specimens has not been precisely considered. In the present study, experimental and numerical examinations have been made to evaluate the physical and mechanical phenomena associated with rock failure mechanisms through the uniaxial compression test. In the experimental part, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests equipped with Acoustic Emission (AE) have been conducted on rock samples with three different brittleness. Then, the numerical models have been calibrated based on experimental test results for further investigation and comparing the micro-cracking process in experimental and numerical models. It can be perceived that the failure mode of specimens with high brittleness is tensile axial splitting, based on the experimental evidence of rock specimens with different brittleness. Also, the crack growth mechanism of the rock specimens with various brittleness using discrete element modeling in the numerical part suggested that the specimens with more brittleness contain more tensile fracture during the loading sequences.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1452-1461
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• 1997

The hot press apparatus to obtain the solidified rocks with 60mm of diameter against rock waste was developed, and the optimum conditions for solidification were founded out, of which were 300.deg. C of temperature and 1hr of holding time. The solidified rocks reinforced with the fibers (carbon, steel) were made by means of a hydrothermal hot press method. Fracture toughness of those was obtained using the round compact tension(RCT) specimens. Load and displacement behaviours of the solidified rocks reinforced with the fibers were dependent upon the fiber volume fraction and kind of the fibers. Strength and fracture energy of the solidified rocks with steel were much larger than those of the solidified ones with carbon because of the Bridge's effect, multiple cracking and crack branching phenomena.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.349-365
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• 2018

The strain and acoustic emission (AE) signals of Pocheon granite were measured during uniaxial compression tests to investigate microcrack formation and damage. Crack closure, initiation, and damage stresses of each sample were determined through an analysis of the crack volumetric strain and stiffness. The samples experienced four damage stages according to stress levels: stage 1 = crack closure stage; stage 2 = elastic stage; stage 3 = crack initiation stage; stage 4 = crack damage stage. At least 75% of all AE signals occurred in stages 3 and 4, and different AE parameters were detected in the four stress stages. Rise time, count, energy, and duration clearly showed a tendency to gradually increase with the damage stress stage. In particular, the rise time, energy, and duration increased by at least 95% in stage 4 as compared with stage 1. However, the maximum amplitude showed a smaller increase, and the average frequency decreased slightly at higher stages. These results indicate that as the degree of rock damage increases, the crack size grows larger. The crack types corresponding to the AE signals were determined using the relationship between RA (Rise time / Amplitude) values and average frequencies. Tension cracking was dominant in all stress stages. Shear cracking was rare in stages 1 and 2, but increased in stages 3 and 4. These results are consistent with previous studies that reported cracking begins after samples have already been damaged. Our study shows that the state of rock damage can be investigated solely through an analysis of AE parameters when rocks are under compressive stress. As such, this methodology is suitable for understanding and monitoring the stress state of bedrock.