• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.757-767
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• 2015

Rock mass is an important engineering material. In hydropower engineering, rock mass of bank slope controlled the stability of an arch dam. However, mechanical characteristics of the rock mass are not only affected by lithology, but also joints. On the basis of field geological survey, this paper built rock mass material containing parallel concentrated joints with different dip angle, different number under different stress conditions by PFC (Particle Flow Code) numerical simulation. Next, we analyzed mechanical property and fracture features of this rock mass. The following achievements have been obtained through this research. (1) When dip angle of joints is $15^{\circ}$ and $30^{\circ}$, with the increase of joints number, peak strength of rock mass has not changed much. But when dip angle increase to $45^{\circ}$, especially increase to $60^{\circ}$ and $75^{\circ}$, peak strength of rock mass decreased obviously with the increase of joints number. (2) With the increase of confining stress, peak strengths of all rock mass have different degree of improvement, especially the rock mass with dip angle of $75^{\circ}$. (3) Under the condition of no confining stress, dip angle of joints is low and joint number is small, existence of joints has little influence on fracture mode of rock mass, but when joints number increase to 5, tensile deformation firstly happened at joints zone and further resulted in tension fracture of the whole rock mass. When dip angle of joints increases to $45^{\circ}$, fracture presented as shear along joints, and with increase of joints number, strength of rock mass is weakened caused by shear-tension fracture zone along joints. When dip angle of joints increases to $60^{\circ}$ and $75^{\circ}$, deformation and fracture model presented as tension fracture zone along concentrated joints. (4) Influence of increase of confining stress on fracture modes is to weaken joints' control function and to reduce the width of fracture zone. Furthermore, increase of confining stress translated deformation mode from tension to shear.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.859-872
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• 2015

Pebble matrix filtration (PMF) is a water treatment technology that can remove suspended solids in highly turbid surface water during heavy storms. PMF typically uses sand and natural pebbles as filter media. Hand-made clay pebbles (balls) can be used as alternatives to natural pebbles in PMF treatment plants, where natural pebbles are not readily available. Since the high turbidity is a seasonal problem that occurs during heavy rains, the use of newly developed composite clay balls instead of pure clay balls have the advantage of removing other pollutants such as natural organic matter (NOM) during other times. Only the strength properties of composite clay balls are described here as the pollutant removal is beyond the scope of this paper. These new composite clay balls must be able to withstand dead and live loads under dry and saturated conditions in a filter assembly. Absence of a standard ball preparation process and expected strength properties of composite clay balls were the main reasons behind the present study. Five different raw materials from industry wastes: Red Mud (RM), Water Treatment Alum Sludge (S), Shredded Paper (SP), Saw Dust (SD), and Sugar Mulch (SM) were added to common clay brick mix (BM) in different proportions. In an effort to minimize costs, in this study clay balls were fired to $1100^{\circ}C$ at a local brick factory together with their bricks. A comprehensive experimental program was performed to evaluate crushing strength of composite hand-made clay balls, using uniaxial compression test to establish the best material combination on the basis of strength properties for designing sustainable filter media for water treatment plants. Performance at both construction and operating stages were considered by analyzing both strength properties under fully dry conditions and strength degradation after saturation in a water bath. The BM-75% as the main component produced optimum combination in terms of workability and strength. With the material combination of BM-75% and additives-25%, the use of Red Mud and water treatment sludge as additives produced the highest and lowest strength of composite clay balls, with a failure load of 5.4 kN and 1.4 kN respectively. However, this lower value of 1.4 kN is much higher than the effective load on each clay ball of 0.04 kN in a typical filter assembly (safety factor of 35), therefore, can still be used as a suitable filter material for enhanced pollutant removal.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2015

The permeability behavior of Ariake clays has been investigated by constant rate of strain (CRS) consolidation tests with vertical or radial drainage. Three types of Ariake clays, namely undisturbed Ariake clay samples from the Saga plain, Japan (aged Ariake clay), clay deposit in shallow seabed of the Ariake Sea (young Ariake clay) and reconstituted Ariake clay samples using the soil sampled from the Saga plain, were tested. The test results indicate that the deduced permeability in the horizontal direction ($k_h$) is generally larger than that in the vertical direction ($k_v$). Under odometer condition, the permeability ratio ($k_h/k_v$) increases with the vertical strain. It is also found that the development of the permeability anisotropy is influenced by the inter-particle bonds and clay content of the sample. The aged Ariake clay has stronger initial inter-particle bonds than the young and reconstituted Ariake clays, resulting in slower increase of $k_h/k_v$ with the vertical strain. The young Ariake clay has higher clay content than the reconstituted Ariake clay, resulting in higher values of $k_h/k_v$. The microstructure of the samples before and after the consolidation test has been examined qualitatively by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image and semi-quantitatively by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests. The SEM images indicate that there are more cut edges of platy clay particles on a vertical plane (with respect to the deposition direction) and there are more faces of platy clay particles on a horizontal plane. This tendency increases with the increase of one-dimensional (1D) deformation. MIP test results show that using a sample with a larger vertical surface area has a larger cumulative intruded pore volume, i.e., mercury can be intruded into the sample more easily from the horizontal direction (vertical plane) under the same pressure. Therefore, the permeability anisotropy of Ariake clays is the result of the anisotropic microstructure of the clay samples.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.657-673
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• 2017

Preventing water seepage and inrush into mines where close multiple-seam longwall mining is practiced is a challenging issue in the coal-rich Ordos region, China. To better protect surface (or ground) water and safely extract coal from seams beneath an aquifer, it is necessary to determine the height of the mining-induced fractured zone in the overburden strata. In situ investigations were carried out in panels 20107 (seam No. $2-2^{upper}$) and 20307 (seam No. $2-2^{middle}$) in the Gaojialiang colliery, Shendong Coalfield, China. Longwall mining-induced strata movement and overburden failure were monitored in boreholes using digital panoramic imaging and a deep hole multi-position extensometer. Our results indicate that after mining of the 20107 working face, the overburden of the failure zone can be divided into seven rock groups. The first group lies above the immediate roof (12.9 m above the top of the coal seam), and falls into the gob after the mining. The strata of the second group to the fifth group form the fractured zone (12.9-102.04 m above the coal seam) and the continuous deformation zone extends from the fifth group to the ground surface. After mining Panel 20307, a gap forms between the fifth rock group and the continuous deformation zone, widening rapidly. Then, the lower portion of the continuous deformation zone cracks and collapses into the fractured zone, extending the height of the failure zone to 87.1 m. Based on field data, a statistical formula for predicting the maximum height of overburden failure induced by close multiple seam mining is presented.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.195-215
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• 2017

This paper proposes gob-side entry retaining by roof break and filling in thick-layer soft rock conditions based on the thick-layer soft rock roof strata migration law and the demand for non-pillar gob-side entry retaining projects. The functional expressions of main roof subsidence are derived for three break roof direction conditions: lateral deflection toward the roadway, lateral deflection toward the gob and vertically to the roof. These are derived according to the load-bearing boundary conditions of the main roadway roof stratum. It is concluded that the break roof angle is an important factor influencing the stability of gob-side entry retaining surrounding rock. This paper studies the stress distribution characteristics and plastic damage scope of gob-side entry retaining integrated coal seams, as well as the roof strata migration law and the supporting stability of caving structure filled on the break roof layer at the break roof angles of $-5^{\circ}$, $0^{\circ}$, $5^{\circ}$, $10^{\circ}$ and $15^{\circ}$ are studied. The simulation results of numerical analysis indicate that, the stress concentration and plastic damage scope to the sides of gob-side entry retaining integrated coal at the break roof angle of $5^{\circ}$ are reduced and shearing stress concentration of the caving filling body has been eliminated. The disturbance of coal mining to the roadway roof and loss of carrying capacity are mitigated. Field tests have been carried out on air-return roadway 5203 with the break roof angle of $5^{\circ}$. The monitoring indicates that the break roof filling section and compaction section are located at 0-45 m and 45-75 m behind the working face, respectively. The section from 75-100 m tends to be stable.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.333-352
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• 2017

A comparison study is made between the dynamic properties of an argillaceous siltstone and its grouting-reinforced body. The purpose is to investigate how grout injection can help repair broken soft rocks. A slightly weathered argillaceous siltstone is selected, and part of the siltstone is mechanically crushed and cemented with Portland cement to simulate the grouting-reinforced body. Core specimens with the size of $50mm{\times}38mm$ are prepared from the original rock and the grouting-reinforced body. Impact tests on these samples are then carried out using a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) apparatus. Failure patterns are analyzed and geotechnical parameters of the specimens are estimated. Based on the experimental results, for the grouting-reinforced body, its shock resistance is poorer than that of the original rock, and most cracks happen in the cementation boundaries between the cement mortar and the original rock particles. It was observed that the grouting-reinforced body ends up with more fragmented residues, most of them have larger fractal dimensions, and its dynamic strength is generally lower. The mass ratio of broken rocks to cement has a significant effect on its dynamic properties and there is an optimal ratio that the maximum dynamic peak strength can be achieved. The dynamic strain-softening behavior of the grouting-reinforced body is more significant compared with that of the original rock. Both the time dependent damage model and the modified overstress damage model are equally applicable to the original rock, but the former performs much better compared with the latter for the grouting-reinforced body. In addition, it was also shown that water content and impact velocity both have significant effect on dynamic properties of the original rock and its grouting-reinforced body. Higher water content leads to more small broken rock pieces, larger fractal dimensions, lower dynamic peak strength and smaller elastic modulus. However, the water content plays a minor role in fractal dimensions when the impact velocity is beyond a certain value. Higher impact loading rate leads to higher degree of fragmentation and larger fractal dimensions both in argillaceous siltstone and its grouting-reinforced body. These results provide a sound basis for the quantitative evaluation on how cement grouting can contribute to the repair of broken soft rocks.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1017-1027
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• 2018

To explore the influence of coal thickness on the mechanical behavior and the failure characteristics of rock-coal-rock (RCR) mass, the experimental investigation of uniaxial compressive tests was conducted first and then a systematic numerical simulation by particle flow code (PFC2D) was performed to deeply analyze the failure mechanical behavior of RCR specimens with different coal thicknesses in conventional compression tests. The overall elastic modulus and peak stress of RCR specimens lie between the rock and the coal. Inter-particle properties were calibrated to match the physical sample strength and the stiffness response. Numerical simulation results show that the deformation and strength behaviors of RCR specimens depend not only on the coal thickness, but also on the confining pressure. Under low confining pressures, the overall failure mechanism of RCR specimen is the serious damage of coal section when the coal thickness is smaller than 30 mm, but it is shear failure of coal section when the coal thickness is larger than 30 mm. Whereas under high confining pressures, obvious shear bands exist in both the coal section and the rock section when the coal thickness is larger than 30 mm, but when the coal thickness is smaller than 30mm, the failure mechanism is serious damage of coal section and shear failure of rock section.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.5-16
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• 2002

A hydrogeomechanical numerical model is presented to evaluate rainfall impacts on groundwater flow in slopes and slope stability. This numerical model is developed based on the fully coupled poroelastic governing equations for groundwater flow in deforming variably saturated geologic media and the Galerkin finite element method. A series of numerical experiments using the model developed are then applied to an unsaturated slope under various rainfall rates. The numerical simulation results show that the overall hydromechanical slope stability deteriorates, and the potential failure nay initiate from the slope toe and propagate toward the slope crest as the rainfall rate increases. From the viewpoint of hydrogeology, the pressure head and hence the total hydraulic head increase as the rainfall rate increases. As a result, the groundwater table rises, the unsaturated zone reduces, the seepage face expands from the slope toe toward the slope crest, and the groundwater flow velocity increases along the seepage face. From the viewpoint of geomechanics, the horizontal displacement increases, and the vertical displacement decreases toward the slope toe as the rainfall rate increases. This may result from the buoyancy effect associated with the groundwater table rise as the rainfall rate increases. As a result, the overall deformation intensifies toward the slope toe, and the unstable zone, in which the factor of safety against shear failure is less than 1, becomes thicker near the slope toe and propagates from the slope toe toward the slope crest. The numerical simulation results also suggest that the potential tension failure is likely to occur within the slope between the potential shear failure surface and the ground surface.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2018

Soil stabilization can make the soils becoming more stable by using an admixture to the soil. Lime stabilization enhances the engineering properties of soil, which includes reducing soil plasticity, increasing optimum moisture content, decreasing maximum dry density and improving soil compaction. Silica fume is utilized as a pozzolanic material in the application of soil stabilization. Silica fume was once considered non-environmental friendly. In this paper, the materials required are kaolin grade S300, lime and silica fume. The focus of the study is on the determination of the physical properties of the soils tested and the consolidation of kaolin mixed with 6% silica fume and different percentages (3%, 5%, 7% and 9%) of lime. Consolidation test is carried out on the kaolin and the mixtures of soil-lime-silica fume to investigate the effect of lime stabilization with silica fume additives on the consolidation of the mixtures. Based on the results obtained, all soil samples are indicated as soils with medium plasticity. For mixtures with 0% to 9% of lime with 6% SF, the decrease in the maximum dry density is about 15.9% and the increase in the optimum moisture content is about 23.5%. Decreases in the coefficient of permeability of the mixtures occur if compared to the coefficient of permeability of kaolin soft clay itself reduce the compression index (Cc) more than L-SF soil mix due to pozzolanic reaction between lime and silica fume and the optimum percent of lime-silica fume was found to be (5%+6%) mix. The average coefficient of volume compressibility decreases with increasing the stabilizer content due to pozzolanic reaction happening within the soil which results in changes in the soil matrix. Lime content +6% silica fume mix can reduce the coefficient of consolidation from at 3%L+6%SF, thereafter there is an increase from 9%L+6%SF mix. The optimal percentage of lime silica fume combination is attained at 5.0% lime and 6.0% silica fume in order to improve the shear strength of kaolin soft clay. Microstructural development took place in the stabilized soil due to increase in lime content of tertiary clay stabilized with 7% lime and 4% silica fume together.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.537-546
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• 2020

Oil and natural gas reserves have been recognised abundantly in clayey rich rock formations in deep costal reservoirs. It is necessary to understand the sedimentary history of those reservoir rocks to well explore these natural resources. This work designs a group of laboratory experiments to mimic the physical process of the sedimentary clay-rich rock formation. It presents characterisation results of the physical properties of the artificial clayey rocks synthesized from illite clay, quartz sand and brine water by high-pressure consolidation tests. Special focus is given on the effects of illite clay content and high-stress consolidation on the physical properties. Multi-step loaded consolidation experiments were carried out with stress up to 35 MPa on mixtures constituting of the illite clay, quartz sand and brine water with five initial illite clay contents (w=85%, 70%, 55%, 40% and 25%). Compressibility and void ratio were characterised throughout the physical compaction process of the mixtures constituting of five illite clay contents and their water permeability was measured as well. Results show that the applied stress induces a great reduction of clayey rock void ratio. Illite clay contents has a significant influence on the compressibility, void ratio and the permeability of the physically synthesized clayey rocks. There is a critical illite clay content w=70% that induces the minimum void ratio in the physically synthesised clayey rocks. The SEM study indicates, in the high-pressure synthesised clayey rocks with high illite clay contents, the illite clay minerals are located in layers and serve as the material matrix, and the quartz minerals fill in the inter-mineral pores or are embedded in the illite clay matrix. The arrangements of the minerals in microscale originate the structural anisotropy of the high-pressure synthesised clayey rock. The test findings can give an intuitive physical understanding of the deep-buried clayey rock basins in energy reservoirs.