• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.52-63
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• 2003

Discontinuities such as faults, fractures and joints in rock mass play the dominant role in the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the rock mass. The key factors that influence on the flow of groundwater are hydraulic and geometric characteristics of discontinuities and their connectivity. In this study, a program that analyzes groundwater flow in the 3D discontinuity network was developed on the assumption that the discontinuity characteristics such as density, trace length, orientation and aperture have particular distribution functions. This program generates discontinuities in a three-dimensional space and analyzes their connectivity and groundwater flow. Due to the limited computing capacity In this study, REV was not exactly determined, but it was inferred to be greater than 25$\times$25$\times$25 ㎥. By calculating the extent of aperture that influences on the groundwater flow, it was found that the discontinuities with the aperture smaller than 30% of the mean aperture had little influence on the groundwater flow. In addition, there was little difference in the equivalent hydraulic conductivity for the the two cases when considering and not considering the boundary effect. It was because the groundwater flow was mostly influenced by the discontinuities with large aperture. Among the parameters considered in this study, the length, aperture, and orientation of discontinuities had the greatest influence on the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of rock mass in their order. In case of existence of a fault in rock mass, elements of the equivalent hydraulic conductivity tensor parallel to the fault fairly increased in their magnitude but those perpendicular to the fault were increased in a very small amount at the first stage and then converged.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.400-425
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• 2018

This study presents the research results and current status of the DECOVALEX-2019 project Task B. Task B named 'Fault slip modelling' is aiming at developing a numerical method to simulate the coupled hydro-mechanical behavior of fault, including slip or reactivation, induced by water injection. The first research step of Task B is a benchmark simulation which is designed for the modelling teams to familiarize themselves with the problem and to set up their own codes to reproduce the hydro-mechanical coupling between the fault hydraulic transmissivity and the mechanically-induced displacement. We reproduced the coupled hydro-mechanical process of fault slip using TOUGH-FLAC simulator. The fluid flow along a fault was modelled with solid elements and governed by Darcy's law with the cubic law in TOUGH2, whereas the mechanical behavior of a single fault was represented by creating interface elements between two separating rock blocks in FLAC3D. A methodology to formulate the hydro-mechanical coupling relations of two different hydraulic aperture models and link the solid element of TOUGH2 and the interface element of FLAC3D was suggested. In addition, we developed a coupling module to update the changes in geometric features (mesh) and hydrological properties of fault caused by water injection at every calculation step for TOUGH-FLAC simulator. Then, the transient responses of the fault, including elastic deformation, reactivation, progressive evolutions of pathway, pressure distribution and water injection rate, to stepwise pressurization were examined during the simulations. The results of the simulations suggest that the developed model can provide a reasonable prediction of the hydro-mechanical behavior related to fault reactivation. The numerical model will be enhanced by continuing collaboration and interaction with other research teams of DECOLVAEX-2019 Task B and validated using the field data from fault activation experiments in a further study.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.430-440
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• 2000

A series of studies such as geological logging data analysis, detailed geological survey, rock mass evaluation, in-situ and laboratory tests, rock strength and mechanical properties of the rock were concerned. The stability of the slope were carried out inorder to design the pit slope and individual benches using the stereographic projection analysis and numerical methods in Roto Pit of Pasir coal field. The bedding plane was one of the major discontinuities in the Roto Pit and the dip of which is about 60$^{\circ}$ in the northern part and 83$^{\circ}$ in the southern part. The dip of bedding becomes steeper from north to south. The plane and toppling failures are presented in many slopes. In laboratory test the average uniaxial compressive strength of mudstone was 9MPa and that of weak sandstone was 10MPa. In-situ test showed that the rocks of Roto north mining area are mostly weak enough to be classified in grade from R2(weak) to R3(medium strong weak) and the coal is classified in grades from R1(Very weak) to R2(Weak). The detailed stability analysis were carried out on 4 areas of Roto north (east, west, south and north), and 2 areas of Roto south(east and west). In this paper, the minimum factor of safety was set to 1.2 which is a general criterion for open pit mines. Using the stereographic projection analysis and the limit equilibrium method, slope angles were calculated as 30∼36$^{\circ}$ for a factor of safety greater than 1.2. Then these results were re-evaluated by numerical analysis using FLAC. The final slope angles were determined by rational described above. A final slope of 34 degrees can guarantee the stability for the eastern part of the Roto north area, 33 degrees for the western part, 35 degrees for the northern part and 35 degrees for the southern part. For the Roto south area, 36 degrees was suggested for both sides of the pit. Once the pit slope is designed based on the stability analysis and the safety measures, the stability of slope should be checked periodically during the mining operations. Because the slope face will be exposed long time to the rain fall, a study such aspreventive measures against weathering and erosion is highly recommended to be implemented.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.447-456
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• 2000

Rock bridge in rock masses can be considered as one of several types of opening-mode fractures, and also it has been known to have a great influence on the stability of structures in rock mass. In the beginning of researching a rock bridge it used to be studied only in characteristics of its behavior, as considering resistance of material itself. However the distribution pattern of rock bridges, which can affect the stability of rock structures, is currently researched with a fracture mechanical approach in numerical studies. For investigating the effect of rock bridges on the development pattern of hydraulic fractures, the author analyzed numerically the stress state transition in rock bridges and their phenomena with a different pattern of the rock bridge distributions. From the numerical studies, a two-crack configuration could be defined to be representative of the most critical conditions for rock bridges, only when cracks are systematic and same in their length and angle. Moreover, coalescence stresses and onset of propagation stresses could be known to increase with decreasing s/L ratio or increasing d/L ratio. The effect of pre-existing crack on hydraulic fracturing was studied also in numerical models. Different to the simple hydraulic fracturing modeling in which the fractures propagated exactly parallel to the maximum remote stress, the hydraulic fractures with pre-existing cracks did not propagate parallel to the maximum remote stress direction. These are representative of the tendency to change the hydraulic fractures direction because of the existence of pre-existing crack. Therefore s/L, d/L ratios will be identical as a function effective on hydraulic fractures propagation, that is, the K$_1$ value increase with decreasing s/L ratio or increasing d/L ratio and its magnification from onset to propagation increases with decreasing s/L ratio. The scanline is a commonly used method to estimate the fracture distribution on outcrops. The data obtained from the scanline method can be applied to the evaluation of stress field in rock mass.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.471-479
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• 2011

The velocity horizontal response spectra using the observed ground motions from the recent 5 macro earthquakes, equal to or larger than 4.8 in magnitude, around Korean Peninsula were analysed and then were compared to the acceleration horizontal response spectra, seismic design response spectra (Reg Guide 1.60), applied to the domestic nuclear power plants, and finally the Korean Standard Design Response Spectrum for general structures and buildings. 102 velocity horizontal ground motions, including NS and EW components, were used for velocity horizontal response spectra and then normalized with respect to the peak velocity value of each ground motion. First, the results showed that velocity horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of medium natural period, but acceleration horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of short natural periods. Secondly, the results also showed that velocity horizontal response spectra exceed Reg. Guide 1.60 for longer natural periods bands less than 6-7 Hz. Finally, the results were also compared to the Korean Standard Response Spectrum for the 3 different soil types(SC, SD, and SE soil type) and showed that velocity horizontal response spectra revealed much higher values for the frequency bands below 1.5(SC), 2.0(SD), and 3.0(SE) seconds, respectively, than the Korean Standard Response Spectrum. The results suggest that the fact that acceleration, velocity, and displacement horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of short, medium, and long natural periods, respectively, can be applied consistently to those form domestic ground motion, especially, the velocity ground motion. Information on response spectrum at such medium range periods can be very important since the domestic design of buildings and structures emphasizes recently medium and long natural periods than short one due to increased super high-rise buildings.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.256-269
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• 2020

The objective of this study is to evaluate the stress thresholds in crack development and the corrected fracture toughness of KURT granite under dry and saturated conditions. The stress thresholds were identified by calculation of inelastic volumetric strain from an uniaxial compression test. The corrected fracture toughness was estimated by using the Level II method (Chevron Bend specimen), suggested by ISRM (1988), in which non-linear behaviors of rock was taken into account. Average crack initiation stress(σ_ci) and crack damage stress(σ_cd) under a dry condition were 91.1 MPa and 128.7 MPa. While, average crack initiation stress(σ_ci) and crack damage stress(σ_cd) under a saturated condition were 58.2 MPa and 68.2 MPa. The crack initiation stress and crack damage stress of saturated ones decreased 36% and 47% respectively compared to those of dry specimens. A decrease in crack damage stress is relatively larger than that of crack initiation stress under a saturated condition. This indicates that the unstable crack growth can be more easily generated because of the saturation effect of water compared to the dry condition. The average corrected fracture toughness of KURT granite was 0.811 MPa·m^0.5. While, the fracture toughness of saturated KURT granite(K_CB) was 0.620 MPa·m^0.5. The corrected fracture toughness of rock in saturated condition decreases by 23.5% compared to that in dry condition. It is found that the resistance to crack propagation decreases under the saturated geological condition.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.382-393
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• 2020

The engineered barrier system of high-level radioactive waste disposal must maintain its performance in the long term, because it must play a role in slowing the rate of leakage to the surrounding rock mass even if a radionuclide leak occurs from the canister. In particular, it is very important to clarify gas dilation flow phenomenon clearly, that occurs only in a medium containing a large amount of clay material such as a bentonite buffer, which can affect the long-term performance of the bentonite buffer. Accordingly, DECOVALEX-2019 Task A was conducted to identify the hydraulic-mechanical mechanism for the dilation flow, and to develop and verify a new numerical analysis technique for quantitative evaluation of gas migration phenomena. In this study, based on the conventional two-phase flow and mechanical behavior with effective stresses in the porous medium, the hydraulic-mechanical model was developed considering the concept of damage to simulate the formation of micro-cracks and expansion of the medium and the corresponding change in the hydraulic properties. Model verification and validation were conducted through comparison with the results of 1D and 3D gas injection tests. As a result of the numerical analysis, it was possible to model the sudden increase in pore water pressure, stress, gas inflow and outflow rate due to the dilation flow induced by gas pressure, however, the influence of the hydraulic-mechanical interaction was underestimated. Nevertheless, this study can provide a preliminary model for the dilation flow and a basis for developing an advanced model. It is believed that it can be used not only for analyzing data from laboratory and field tests, but also for long-term performance evaluation of the high-level radioactive waste disposal system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.320-334
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• 2020

This study presents an application of hydro-mechanical coupled Particle Flow Code 3D (PFC3D) to simulation of fluid injection induced fault slip experiment conducted in Mont Terri Switzerland as a part of a task in an international research project DECOVALEX-2019. We also aimed as identifying the current limitations of the modelling method and issues for further development. A fluid flow algorithm was developed and implemented in a 3D pore-pipe network model in a 3D bonded particle assembly using PFC3D v5, and was applied to Mont Terri Step 2 minor fault activation experiment. The simulated results showed that the injected fluid migrates through the permeable fault zone and induces fault deformation, demonstrating a full hydro-mechanical coupled behavior. The simulated results were, however, partially matching with the field measurement. The simulated pressure build-up at the monitoring location showed linear and progressive increase, whereas the field measurement showed an abrupt increase associated with the fault slip We conclude that such difference between the modelling and the field test is due to the structure of the fault in the model which was represented as a combination of damage zone and core fractures. The modelled fault is likely larger in size than the real fault in Mont Terri site. Therefore, the modelled fault allows several path ways of fluid flow from the injection location to the pressure monitoring location, leading to smooth pressure build-up at the monitoring location while the injection pressure increases, and an early start of pressure decay even before the injection pressure reaches the maximum. We also conclude that the clay filling in the real fault could have acted as a fluid barrier which may have resulted in formation of fluid over-pressurization locally in the fault. Unlike the pressure result, the simulated fault deformations were matching with the field measurements. A better way of modelling a heterogeneous clay-filled fault structure with a narrow zone should be studied further to improve the applicability of the modelling method to fluid injection induced fault activation.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.380-394
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• 2015

This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2014. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) The research works on the thermal and fluid engineering have been reviewed as groups of heat and mass transfer, cooling and heating, and air-conditioning, the flow inside building rooms, and smoke control on fire. Research issues dealing with duct and pipe were reduced, but flows inside building rooms, and smoke controls were newly added in thermal and fluid engineering research area. (2) Research works on heat transfer area have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, pool boiling and condensing heat transfer and industrial heat exchangers. Researches on heat transfer characteristics included the results for thermal contact resistance measurement of metal interface, a fan coil with an oval-type heat exchanger, fouling characteristics of plate heat exchangers, effect of rib pitch in a two wall divergent channel, semi-empirical analysis in vertical mesoscale tubes, an integrated drying machine, microscale surface wrinkles, brazed plate heat exchangers, numerical analysis in printed circuit heat exchanger. In the area of pool boiling and condensing, non-uniform air flow, PCM applied thermal storage wall system, a new wavy cylindrical shape capsule, and HFC32/HFC152a mixtures on enhanced tubes, were actively studied. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, researches on solar water storage tank, effective design on the inserting part of refrigerator door gasket, impact of different boundary conditions in generating g-function, various construction of SCW type ground heat exchanger and a heat pump for closed cooling water heat recovery were performed. (3) In the field of refrigeration, various studies were carried out in the categories of refrigeration cycle, alternative refrigeration and modelling and controls including energy recoveries from industrial boilers and vehicles, improvement of dehumidification systems, novel defrost systems, fault diagnosis and optimum controls for heat pump systems. It is particularly notable that a substantial number of studies were dedicated for the development of air-conditioning and power recovery systems for electric vehicles in this year. (4) In building mechanical system research fields, seventeen studies were reported for achieving effective design of the mechanical systems, and also for maximizing the energy efficiency of buildings. The topics of the studies included energy performance, HVAC system, ventilation, and renewable energies, piping in the buildings. Proposed designs, performance performance tests using numerical methods and experiments provide useful information and key data which can improve the energy efficiency of the buildings. (5) The field of architectural environment was mostly focused on indoor environment and building energy. The main researches of indoor environment were related to the evaluation of work noise in tunnel construction and the simulation and development of a light-shelf system. The subjects of building energy were worked on the energy saving of office building applied with window blind and phase change material(PCM), a method of existing building energy simulation using energy audit data, the estimation of thermal consumption unit of apartment building and its case studies, dynamic window performance, a writing method of energy consumption report and energy estimation of apartment building using district heating system. The remained studies were related to the improvement of architectural engineering education system for plant engineering industry, estimating cooling and heating degree days for variable base temperature, a prediction method of underground temperature, the comfort control algorithm of car air conditioner, the smoke control performance evaluation of high-rise building, evaluation of thermal energy systems of bio safety laboratory and a development of measuring device of solar heat gain coefficient of fenestration system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.266-275
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• 2012

In this study, a method is devised to implement a supercritical $CO_2$ ($scCO_2$) injection environment on a laboratory scale and to investigate the effects of $scCO_2$ on the properties of rock specimens. Specimens of shale and sandstone normally constituting the cap rock and reservoir rock, respectively, were kept in a laboratory reactor chamber with $scCO_2$ for two weeks. From this stage, a chemical reaction between rock surface and the $scCO_2$ was induced. The effect of saline water was also investigated by comparing three conditions ($scCO_2$-rock, $scCO_2-H_2O$-rock and $scCO_2$-brine(1M)-rock). Finally, we checked the changes in the properties before and after the reaction by destructive and nondestructive testing procedures. The swelling of shale was a main concern in this case. The experimental results suggested that $scCO_2$ has a greater effect on the swelling of the shale than pure water and brine. It was also observed that the largest swelling displacement of shale occurred after a reaction with the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution. The results of a series of the destructive and nondestructive tests indicate that although each of the property changes of the rock differed depending on the reaction conditions, the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution had the greatest effect. In this study, shale was highly sensitive to the reaction conditions. These results provide fundamental information pertaining to the stability of $CO_2$ storage sites due to physical and chemical reactions between the rocks in these sites and $scCO_2$.