• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.363-373
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• 2018

The evaluation of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) coupling behavior is important for the development of underground space for various purposes. For a high-level radioactive waste repository excavated in a deep underground rock mass, the accurate prediction of the complex THM behavior is essential for the long-term safety and stability assessment. In order to develop reliable THM analysis techniques effectively, an international cooperation project, Development of Coupled models and their Validation against Experiments (DECOVALEX), was carried out. In DECOVALEX-2015 Task B2, the in situ THM experiment that was conducted at Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory(URL) by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), was modeled by the research teams from the participating countries. In this study, a THM coupling technique that combined TOUGH2 and FLAC3D was developed and applied to the THM analysis for the in situ experiment, in which rock, buffer, backfill, sand, and heater were installed. With the assistance of an artificial neural network, the boundary conditions for the experiment could be adequately implemented in the modeling. The thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical results from the modeling were compared with the measurements from the in situ THM experiment. The predicted buffer temperature from the THM modelling was about $10^{\circ}C$ higher than measurement near by the overpack. At the other locations far from the overpack, modelling predicted slightly lower temperature than measurement. Even though the magnitude of pressure from the modeling was different from the measurements, the general trends of the variation with time were found to be similar.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.938-945
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• 2005

The microstructure evolution in hot forging process is composed of dynamic recrystallization during deformation as well as grain growth during dwell time. Therefore, the control of forging parameters such as strain, strain rate. temperature and holding time is important because the microstructure change in hot working affects the mechanical properties. Modeling equations are developed to represent the flow curve. grain size. recrystallized volume fraction and grain growth phenomena by various tests. The developed modeling equations were combined with thermo-viscoplastic finite element modeling to predict the microstructure change evolution during hot forging process. The large exhaust valve spindle (head diameter of 512mm) was simulated by closed die forging with hydraulic press and cooled in air after forging. The preform was heated to each 1080 and 1150$^{\circ}C$. Numerical calculation was performed by DEFORM-2D. a commercial finite element code. Heat transfer can be coupled with the deformation analysis in a non-isothermal deformation analysis. In order to obtain the fine and homogeneous microstructure and good mechanical properties in forging. the FEM would become a useful tool in the simulation of the microstructure development. In forging, appropriate temperature, strain and strain rate and rapid cooling are required to obtain the fine grain microstructure The optimal forging temperature and effective strain range of Nimonic 80A for large exhaust valve spindle are about 1080$\∼$l120$^{\circ}C$ and 150$\∼$200$\%$.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

This paper presents finite element (FE) analyses to clarify the effects of external pressure on the residual stresses in a girth-welded steel pipe. At first, FE simulation of the girth welding process is carried out to obtain the weld-induced residual stresses employing sequentially coupled three-dimensional (3-D) thermo-mechanical FE formulation. Then, 3-D elastic-plastic FE analyses incorporating the residual stresses and plastic strains obtained from the preceding FE simulation are performed to investigate the residual stress behavior in the girth-welded pipe under external pressure. The FE analysis results show that the hoop compressive stresses induced by the external pressure significantly alter the hoop residual stresses in the course of the mechanical loading.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.289-308
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• 2021

This study conducts coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical numerical modeling to investigate the maximum temperature and conditions for securing mechanical stability of the high-level radioactive waste repository when temperature criteria of bentonite buffer are 100℃ and 125℃, respectively. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 100℃, the maximum temperatures at the interface between canister and buffer are calculated to be 99.4℃ and 99.8℃, respectively for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 40 m and deposition hole spacing of 5.5 m and for the other case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 6.5 m. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 125℃, spacings of disposal tunnel and deposition hole could be decreased to 30 m and 4.5 m, respectively, which reduces the disposal area up to 55% compared to the disposal area of KRS⁺. According to analysis of mechanical stability for various disposal spacings, RMR of rock mass for KRS⁺ should be larger than 72.4 which belongs to good rock in RMR classification to prevent failure of rock mass. As disposal spacing is decreased, required RMR of rock mass is increased. In order to prevent failure of rock mass for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 4.5 m, RMR larger than 87.3 is needed. However, mechanical stability of the repository is secured for all cases with RMR over 75 considering the enhancement of rock strength due to confining stress induced by swelling of the bentonite buffer and backfill.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.359-381
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• 2020

Within the framework of DECOVALEX-2019 Task D, full-scale engineered barriers experiment (FEBEX) at Grimsel Test Site was numerically simulated to investigate an applicability of implemented Barcelona basic model (BBM) into TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator, which was developed for the prediction of the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite buffer. And the calculated heater power, temperature, relative humidity, total stress, saturation, water content and dry density were compared with in situ data monitored in the various sections. In general, the calculated heater power and temperature provided a fairly good agreement with experimental observations, however, the difference between power of heater #1 and that of heater #2 could not captured in the numerical analysis. It is necessary to consider lamprophyre with low thermal conductivity around heater #1 and non-simplified installation progresses of bentonite blocks in the tunnel for better modeling results. The evolutions and distributions of relative humidity were well reproduced, but hydraulic model needs to be modified because the re-saturation process was relatively fast near the heaters. In case of stress evolutions due to the thermal and hydraulic expansions, the computed stress was in good agreement with the data. But, the stress is slightly higher than the measured in situ data at the early stage of the operation, because gap between rock mass and bentonite blocks have not been considered in the numerical simulations. The calculated distribution of saturation, water content, and dry density along the radial distance showed good agreement with the observations after the first and final dismantling. The calculated dry density near the center of the FEBEX tunnel and heaters were overestimated compared with the observations. As a result, the saturation and water content were underestimated with the measurements. Therefore, numerical model of permeability is needed to modify for the production of better numerical results. It will be possible to produce the better analysis results and more realistically predict the coupled THM behavior in the bentonite blocks by performing the additional studies and modifying the numerical model based on the results of this study.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.65-73
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• 2013

Ground-coupled heat pump system has attracted attention as a promising renewable energy technology due to its improving energy efficiency and eco-friendly mechanism for space cooling and heating. Pipes buried in the ground play a role of direct thermal interaction between circulating fluid inside the pipe and surrounding soils in the geothermal exchange system. However, both complexities of turbulent flow coupling thermal-hydraulic phenomena and very long aspect ratio of the pipe make it difficult to model the heat exchange system directly. Energy balance for fluid flow inside the pipe was derived to model thermal-hydraulic phenomena, and one-dimensional pipe element was proposed through Galerkin formation and time integration of the equation. Developed element is combined to pre-developed FEM code for THM phenomena in porous media. Numerical results of Thermal Response Test showed that line-source model overestimates equivalent thermal conductivity of surrounding soils due to thermal interaction between adjacent pipes and finite length of the pipe. Thus, inverse analysis for the TRT simulation was conducted to present optimal transformation matrix with utmost convergence.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.343-354
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• 2008

A new method is suggested herein to measure the virgin earth stresses by means of a borehole. This novel concept is basically a combination of borehole stress relieving and borehole fracturing techniques. The destressing of the borehole is achieved by means of inducing thermal tensile stresses at the borehole periphery by using a cryogenic fluid such as Liquid Nitrogen($LN_2$). The borehole wall eventually develops fractures when the induced thermal stresses exceed the existing compressive stresses at the borehole periphery in addition to the tensile strength of the rock. The above concept is theoretically analyzed for its potential applicability to interpret in situ stress levels from the tensile fracture stresses and the corresponding borehole wall temperatures. Coupled thermo-mechanical numerical simulations are also conducted using FLAC3D, with thermal option, to check the validity of the proposed techniques. From the preliminary theoretical and numerical analysis, the method suggested for the measurement of in situ stresses appears to be capable of accurate estimation of the virgin stresses by monitoring tensile crack formation at a borehole wall and recording the wall temperatures at the time of crack initiation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.51-63
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• 2023

Numerical analysis was conducted to determine the effect of soil behavior by thawing and freezing of seasonal frozen soil on pile foundations. The analysis was performed using the finite element method (FEM) to simulate soil-pile interaction based on the atmosphere temperature change. Thermomechanical coupled modeling using FEM was applied with the temperature-dependent nonlinear properties of the frozen soil. The analysis model cases were applied to the MCR and HDP models to simulate the elastoplastic behavior of soil. The numerical analysis results were analyzed and compared with various conditions having different length and width sizes of the pile. The results of the numerical analysis showed t hat t he HDP model was relat ively passive, and t he aspect and magnit ude of t he bearing capacit y and displacement of the pile head were similar depending on the length and width of the pile conditions. The vertical displacement of the pile head by thawing and freezing of the ground showed a large variation in displacement for shorter length conditions. In the MCR model, the vertical displacement appeared in the maximum thaw settlement and frost heaving of 0.0387 and 0.0277 m, respectively. In the HDP model, the vertical displacement appeared in the maximum thaw settlement and frost heaving of 0.0367 and 0.0264 m, respectively. The results of the pile bearing capacity for the two elastoplastic models showed a larger difference in the width condition than the length condition of the pile, with a maximum of about 14.7% for the width L condition, a maximum of about 5.4% for M condition, and a maximum of about 5.3% for S condition. The significance of the effect on the displacement of the pile head and the bearing capacity depended on the pile-soil contact area, and the difference depended on the presence or absence of an active layer in the soil and its thickness.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.189-207
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• 2023

In the present study, the thermoshearing experiment on a rough rock fracture were modeled using a three-dimensional grain-based distinct element model (GBDEM). The experiment was conducted by the Korea Institute of Construction Technology to investigate the progressive shear failure of fracture under the influence of thermal stress in a critical stress state. The numerical model employs an assembly of multiple polyhedral grains and their interfaces to represent the rock sample, and calculates the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of the grains (blocks) and the interfaces (contacts) using 3DEC, a DEM code. The primary focus was on simulating the temperature evolution, generation of thermal stress, and shear and normal displacements of the fracture. Two fracture models, namely the mated fracture model and the unmated fracture model, were constructed based on the degree of surface matedness, and their respective behaviors were compared and analyzed. By leveraging the advantage of the DEM, the contact area between the fracture surfaces was continuously monitored during the simulation, enabling an examination of its influence on shear behavior. The numerical results demonstrated distinct differences depending on the degree of the surface matedness at the initial stage. In the mated fracture model, where the surfaces were in almost full contact, the characteristic stages of peak stress and residual stress commonly observed in shear behavior of natural rock joints were reasonably replicated, despite exhibiting discrepancies with the experimental results. The analysis of contact area variation over time confirmed that our numerical model effectively simulated the abrupt normal dilation and shear slip, stress softening phenomenon, and transition to the residual state that occur during the peak stress stage. The unmated fracture model, which closely resembled the experimental specimen, showed qualitative agreement with the experimental observations, including heat transfer characteristics, the progressive shear failure process induced by heating, and the increase in thermal stress. However, there were some mismatches between the numerical and experimental results regarding the onset of fracture slip and the magnitudes of fracture stress and displacement. This research was conducted as part of DECOVALEX-2023 Task G, and we expect the numerical model to be enhanced through continued collaboration with other research teams and validated in further studies.