• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.421-434
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• 2022

In the present study, reference samples were prepared using ore preparation facility tailings taken from the copper mine (Kure, Kastamonu), Portland cement (PC) in certain proportions (3 wt%, 5 wt%, 7 wt%, 9wt% and 11 wt%), and water. Then natural zeolite taken from the Bigadic Region was mixed in certain proportions (10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt% and 40 wt%) for each cement ratio, instead of the PC, to prepare zeolite-substituted CPB samples. Thus, the effect of using Zeolite instead of PC on CPB's strength was investigated. The obtained CPB samples were kept in the curing cabinet at a temperature of 25℃ and at least 80% humidity, and they were subjected to the Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) test at the end of the curing periods of 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 90 days. Except for the 3 wt% cement ratio, zeolite substitution was observed to increase the compressive strength in all mixtures. Also, the liquefaction risk limit for paste backfill was achieved for all mixtures, and the desired strength limit value (0.7 MPa) was achieved for all mixtures with 28 days of curing time and 7 wt%, 9 wt%, 11 wt% cement ratios and 5% cement - 10% zeolite substituted mixture. Moreover, the limit value (4 MPa) required for use as roof support was obtained only for mixtures with 11% cement - 10% and 20% zeolite content. Generally, zeolite substitution seems to be more effective in early strength (up to 28th day). It has been determined that the long-term strength losses of zeolite-substituted paste backfill mixtures were caused by the reaction of sulfate and hydration products to form secondary gypsum, ettringite, and iron sulfate.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.529-543
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• 2022

The lattice-spring-based synthetic rock mass model (LS-SRM) technique has been extensively employed in large open-pit mining and underground projects in the last decade. Since the LS-SRM requires a complex and time-consuming calibration process, a robust approach was developed using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to optimize the calibration procedure. For this purpose, numerical models were designed using the Box-Behnken Design technique, and numerical simulations were performed under uniaxial and triaxial stress states. The model input parameters represented the models' micro-mechanical (lattice) properties and the macro-scale properties, including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus, cohesion, and friction angle constitute the output parameters of the model. The results from RSM models indicate that the lattice UCS and lattice friction angle are the most influential parameters on the macro-scale UCS of the specimen. Moreover, lattice UCS and elastic modulus mainly control macro-scale cohesion. Lattice friction angle (flat joint fiction angle) and lattice elastic modulus affect the macro-scale friction angle. Model validation was performed using physical laboratory experiment results, ranging from weak to hard rock. The results indicated that the RSM model could be employed to calibrate LS-SRM numerical models without a trial-and-error process.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.371-384
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• 2017

Physical and mechanical properties of rocks are of interest in many fields, including materials science, petrophysics, geophysics and geotechnical engineering. Uniaxial compressive strength UCS is one of the key mechanical properties, while density and porosity are important physical parameters for the characterization of rocks. The economic interest of carbonate rocks is very important in chemical or biological procedures and in the field of construction. Carbonate rocks exploitation depends on their quality and their physical, chemical and geotechnical characteristics. A fast, economic and reliable technique would be an evolutionary advance in the exploration of carbonate rocks. This paper discusses the ability of ultrasonic wave velocity to evaluate some mechanical and physical parameters within carbonate rocks (collected from different regions within Tunisia). The ultrasonic technique was used to establish empirical correlations allowing the estimation of UCS values, the density and the porosity of carbonate rocks. The results illustrated the behavior of ultrasonic pulse velocity as a function of the applied stress. The main output of the work is the confirmation that ultrasonic velocity can be effectively used as a simple and economical non-destructive method for a preliminary prediction of mechanical behavior and physical properties of rocks.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.199-209
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• 2015

The rebound hardness test using the SilverSchmidt hammer was performed for diorite, granodiorite, and andesite exposed around the King Sejong Station, Barton peninsula. Then, the R-value and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of these rocks were estimated from the Q-values which were obtained from the SilverSchmidt hammer. The Q-value of diorite was distributed in the range from 67.0 to 89.5, granodiorite of the range from 57.5 to 89.0, and andesite of the range from 58.0 to 76.5. The average Q-values of diorite, granodiorite, and andesite were 76.0, 72.0, and 67.0, respectively. The converted UCS of diorite was distributed in the range from 118 to 195 MPa, granodiorite of the range from 91 to 193 MPa, and andesite of the range from 92 to 148 MPa. The average UCS of diorite, granodiorite, and andesite were 147, 136, and 117 MPa, respectively. The converted R-value of diorite was distributed in the range from 53.0 to 72.2, granodiorite of the range from 45.4 to 71.8, and andesite of the range from 45.8 to 60.9. The average Q-values of diorite, granodiorite, and andesite were 60.0, 58.0, and 53.0, respectively. The R-value was represented approximately 20% lower than the Q-value. In conclusion, it will be possibile that the R-value and UCS of rocks under the extreme area from the SilverSchmidt Q-value are evaluated.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.214-225
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• 2020

Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock is one of the important factors to determine the advance speed during shield TBM tunnel excavation. UCS can be obtained through the Geotechnical Data Report (GDR), and it is difficult to measure UCS for all tunneling alignment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to predict UCS by utilizing TBM machine driving data and machine learning technique. Several machine learning techniques were compared to predict UCS, and it was confirmed the stacking model has the most successful prediction performance. TBM machine data and UCS used in the analysis were obtained from the excavation of rock strata with slurry shield TBMs. The data were divided into 8:2 for training and test and pre-processed including feature selection, scaling, and outlier removal. After completing the hyper-parameter tuning, the stacking model was evaluated with the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and the determination coefficient (R²), and it was found to be 5.556 and 0.943, respectively. Based on the results, the sacking models are considered useful in predicting rock strength with TBM excavation data.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.10
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• pp.21-31
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• 2020

In this study, Hoek-Brown constants (m_i) were calculated through nonlinear regression analyses using the results of the triaxial compression tests for the basaltic intact rocks in Jeju Island. The relationships of the m_i with the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) and UCS/BTS of the Jeju basalts were investigated, respectively. In addition, a method that can be used in determining Hoek-Brown failure envelopes including the tensile and compressive failures of the Jeju basalts has been proposed. As results, the m_i values had no clear correlations with the UCS, BTS and UCS/BTS of the Jeju basalts, but there were two strong correlations between UCS and m_i/UCS, and between BTS and m_i/BTS of the Jeju basalts. In addition, it was found that the tensile strengths calculated by the Hoek-Brown failure criterion underestimate the tensile strengths of the Jeju basalts through the relationship between the m_i and UCS/BTS of the Jeju basalts. The method presented in this study is considered to be useful in determining the Hoek-Brown failure envelope for the tensile and compressive failures of the Jeju basalts.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.523-529
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• 2023

Cemented uranium tailings backfill created from alkali-activated slag (CUTB) is an effective method of disposing of uranium tailings. Using some environmental functional minerals with ion exchange, adsorption, and solidification abilities as backfill modified materials may improve the leaching resistance of the CUTB. Natural zeolite, which has good ion exchange and adsorption characteristics, is selected as the backfill modified material, and it is added to the backfill materials with cementitious material proportions of 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16% to prepare CUTB mixtures with environmental functional minerals. After the addition of natural zeolite, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the CUTB decreases, but the leaching resistance of the CUTB increases. When the natural zeolite content is 12%, the UCS reaches the minimum value of 8.95 MPa, and the concentration of uranium in the leaching solution is 0.28-8.07 mg/L, the leaching rate R₄₂ is 9.61×10^-7 cm/d, and cumulative leaching fraction P₄₂ is 8.53×10^-4 cm, which shows that the alkali-activated slag cementitious material has a good curing effect on the CUTB, and the addition of environmental functional minerals helps to further improve the leaching resistance of the CUTB, but it reduces the UCS to an extent.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.505-516
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• 2018

In this paper, the effects of particle size and model scale of concrete has been investigated on the failure mechanism of PFC2D numerical models under uniaxial compressive test. For this purpose, rectangular models with same particle sizes and different model dimensions, i.e., $3mm{\times}6mm$, $6mm{\times}12mm$, $12mm{\times}24mm$, $25mm{\times}50mm$ and $54mm{\times}108mm$, were prepared. Also rectangular models with dimension of $54mm{\times}108mm$ and different particle sizes, i.e., 0.27 mm, 0.47 mm, 0.67 mm, 0.87 mm, 1.07 mm, 1.87 mm and 2.27 mm were simulated using PFC2D and tested under uniaxial compressive test. Concurrent with uniaxial test, direct shear test was performed on the numerical models. Dimension of the models were $75{\times}100mm$. Two narrow bands of particles with dimension of $37.5mm{\times}20mm$ were removed from upper and lower of the model to supply the shear test condition. The particle sizes in the models were 0.47 mm, 0.57 mm, 0.67 mm and 0.77 mm. The result shows that failure pattern was affected by model scale and particle size. The uniaxial compressive strength and shear strength were increased by increasing the model scale and particle size.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.327-339
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• 2023

The expansion capacity and strength of expansive grout have a significant influence on the stress state of a supported rock mass and the strength of a grout-rock mass structure. The expansion and strength characteristics are vital in grouting preparation and application. To analyze the expansion performance and mechanical properties of expansive grout, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests, expansion ratio tests, XRD, SEM, and microscopic scanning tests (MSTs) of expansive grout under different curing pressure conditions were conducted. The microevolution was analyzed by combining the failure characteristics, XRD patterns, SEM images, and surface morphologies of the specimens. The experimental results show that: (1) The final expansion ratio of the expansive grout was linear with increasing expansion agent content and nonlinear with increasing curing pressure. (2) The strength of the expansive grout was positively correlated with curing pressure and negatively correlated with expansion agent content. (3) The expansion of expansive grout was related mainly to the development of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) crystals. With an increase in expansion agent content, the final expansion ratio increased, but the expansion rate decreased. With an increase in the curing pressure, the grout expansion effect decreased significantly. (4) The proportion of the concave surfaces at the centre of the specimen cross-section reflected the specimen's porosity to a certain extent, which was linear with increasing expansion agent content and curing pressure.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.643-662
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• 2018

One of the methods for investigation of mechanical behavior of materials is numerical simulation. For simulation, its need to model behavior is close to real condition. PFC is one of the rock mechanics software that needs calibration for models simulation. The calibration was performed based on simulation of unconfined compression test and Brazilian test. Indeed the micro parameter of models change so that the UCS and Brazilian test results in numerical simulation be close to experimental one. In this paper, the effect of four micro parameters has been investigated on the uniaxial compression test and Brazilian test. These micro parameters are friction angle, Accumulation factor, expansion coefficient and disc distance. The results show that these micro parameters affect the failure pattern in UCS and Brazilian test. Also compressive strength and tensile strength are controlled by failure pattern.