• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.16 no.3 s.62
• /
• pp.251-258
• /
• 2006

In this paper, the applicability to the Korean rock condition of using the deformation moduli based on Rock Mass Rating (RMR) and Pressuremeter Test (PMT) is evaluated. The correlations among deformation moduli and various rock properties were also analyzed. It appears that the existing correlations using RMR overestimate the deformation moduli and wide variation was found between predicted moduli using these correlations and measured values. As for the correlations among the deformation moduli and various rock properties, Rock Quality Designation (RQD) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) were found to correlate to deformation moduli reasonably well, but joint spacing and joint conditions appear to correlate poorly to RQD and UCS. Additionally, groundwater can not be correlated with the modulus values. While the depth has very little contribution to deformation modulus, it should be factored in the simple regression analyses with various rock mass properties, especially with the correlations made with UCS, RQD etc. With the deficiencies of these correlations, more in depth analysis techniques such as multivariate correlations may be to reliably estimate deformation modulus of rock mass.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.125-140
• /
• 2010

Slope stability analysis of the right abutment of a railway bridge proposed at about 350 m above the ground level, crossing a river and connecting two huge hillocks in the Himalayas, India is presented in this paper. The site is located in a highly active seismic zone. The rock slopes are intensely jointed and the joint spacing and orientation are varying at different locations. Static slope stability of the rock slope is studied using equivalent continuum approach through the most commonly used commercial numerical tools like FLAC and SLOPE/W of GEOSTUDIO. The factor of safety for the slope under static conditions was 1.88 and it was reduced by 46% with the application of earthquake loads in pseudo-static analysis. The results obtained from the slope stability analyses confirmed the global stability of the slope. However, it is very likely that there could be possibility of wedge failures at some of the pier locations. This paper also presents the results from kinematics of right abutment slope for the wedge failure analysis based on stereographic projections. Based on the kinematics, it is recommended to flatten the slope from 50o to 43o to avoid wedge failures at all pier locations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.481-495
• /
• 2015

Many hydropower stations in southwest China are located in regions of brittle rock mass with high geo-stresses. Under these conditions deep fractured zones often occur in the sidewalls of the underground caverns of a power station. The theory and methods of fracture and damage mechanics are therefore adopted to study the phenomena. First a flexibility matrix is developed to describe initial geometric imperfections of a jointed rock mass. This model takes into account the area and orientation of the fractured surfaces of multiple joint sets, as well as spacing and density of joints. Using the assumption of the equivalent strain principle, a damage constitutive model is established based on the brittle fracture criterion. In addition the theory of fracture mechanics is applied to analyze the occurrence of secondary cracks during a cavern excavation. The failure criterion, for rock bridge coalescence and the damage evolution equation, has been derived and a new sub-program integrated into the FLAC-3D software. The model has then been applied to the stability analysis of an underground cavern group of a hydropower station in Sichuan province, China. The results of this method are compared with those obtained by using a conventional elasto-plastic model and splitting depth calculated by the splitting failure criterion proposed in a previous study. The results are also compared with the depth of the relaxation and fracture zone in the surrounding rock measured by field monitoring. The distribution of the splitting zone obtained both by the proposed model and by the field monitoring measurements are consistent to the validity of the theory developed herein.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.84-92
• /
• 2010

This paper presents the influence of the underground structure (such as cavern and tunnels) behavior according to the rock joint orientation and underground cavern size. In order to perform this research, numerical and experimental studies are carried out. Stress aspect was assessed by quantitative according two kind of factor. In the experimental study, the laboratory model tests are performed in the several ground conditions with different underground cavern size. The results obtained from the model tests are also verified and evaluated using the numerical analysis. Due to the underground cavern, it is found from this study that the stresses developed in archcrown, side wall of underground are increased with increasing the underground cavern size. It is also investigated that the rock joint direction is one of main influence factor as risk factor, to maintain the underground cavern stability. It may be expected that this research will provide the very useful information to evaluate the underground cavern stability.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.5-15
• /
• 2017

Three-hinge failure occurs in a jointed rock slope with a joint set parallel with slope and a conjugate joint set. Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) and Finite Element Method (FEM) which are commonly used for slope design, are not suitable for evaluating stability against three-hinge failure, and this study performed parametric study to analyze the failure mechanism and to find influence factors causing three-hinge failure using UDEC which is a commercial two-dimensional DEM based numerical program. Numerical analyses were performed for various joint structural conditions and joint properties as well as ground water conditions. It was found that pore water pressure is the main factor triggering the three-hinge failure and the mode of failure depends on friction angle of basal joint and bedding joint set. The results obtained from this study can be used for adequate and economic footwall slope reinforcement design and construction.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.19 no.12
• /
• pp.25-32
• /
• 2018

This paper investigates the effect of rock discontinuities on a shear stress wave that is induced by earthquake or blasting and provides the result of numerical parametric studies. The numerical tests of different conditions of rock and discontinuity have been carried out after confirming that the numerical approach is valid throughout a verification analysis from which the test results were compared with a theoretical solution. In-situ stress condition was considered as a rock condition and internal friction angle and cohesive value, which are the shear strength parameters, were considered as discontinuities condition. The joint inclination angle was also taken into account as a parameter. With the various conditions of different parameters, the test results showed that a shear stress wave propagating through a mass is highly influenced by the shear strength of discontinuities and the condition of joint inclination angle as well as in-situ stress. The study results indicate that when earthquake or blasting-induced dynamic loading propagates through a jointed rock mass or a stratified soil ground the effect of in-situ stress and discontinuities including a stratum boundary should be taken into account when evaluating the dynamic effect on nearby facilities and structures.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.574-593
• /
• 2023

In this study, the effectiveness and applicability of a newly designed Compact CNS shear box for conducting direct shear tests on jointed rock specimens were investigated. CNS joint shear tests were conducted on jointed rocks with Artificially generated roughness while varying the fracture surface roughness coefficient and initial normal stress conditions. In addition, displacement data were validated by Digital image correlation analysis, fracture patterns were observed, and comparative analysis was conducted with previously studied shear behavior prediction models. Furthermore, the accuracy of the displacement data was confirmed through DIC analysis, the fracture patterns were observed, and the shear properties obtained from the tests were compared with existing models that predict shear behavior. The findings exhibited a strong correlation with specific established empirical models for predicting shear behavior. Furthermore, the potential linkage between the characteristics of shear behavior and fracture patterns was deliberated. In conclusion, the CNS shear box was shown to be applicable and effective in providing data on the shear characteristics of the joint.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
• /
• 2000.09a
• /
• pp.105-115
• /
• 2000

As large underground projects such as radioactive waste disposal, hot water and heat storage, and geothermal energy become influential, the study, which consider all aspects of thermics, hydraulics and mechanics would be needed. Thermo Hydro-Mechanical coupling analysis is one of the most complex numerical technique because it should be implemented with the combined three governing equations to analyze the behavior of rock mass. In this study, finite element code, which is based on Biot's consolidation theory, was developed to analyze the thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling in continuum rock mass. To verify the implemented program, one-dimensional consolidation model under the isothermal and non-isothermal conditions was analyzed and was compared with the analytic solution. The parametric study on two-dimensional consolidation was also performed and the effects of several factors such as poisson's ratio and hydraulic anisotropy on rock mass behavior were investigated. In the future, this program would be revised to be used for analysis of general discontinuous media with incorporating discrete joint model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.203-214
• /
• 2004

For total system performance of a potential radwaste repository, a hypothetical site is assumed with feasible boundary conditions. Assuming a coastal repository, the sensitivity of the depth and the location of a repository along with the distance to a joint on groundwater transport pathways is studied. Results from Connectflow analysis could be used as input of the MASCOT-t the probabilistic safety assessment code.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.155-167
• /
• 2010

In analysis of slope stability, deterministic analysis which yields a factor of safety has been used until recently. However, probability of failure is considered as a more efficient method because it deals with the uncertainty and variability of rock mass. In both methods, a factor of safety or a probability of failure is calculated for a slope although characteristics of rock mass, such as characteristics of joints, weathering degree of rock and so on, are not uniform throughout the slope. In this paper, we divided a model slope into several zones depending on conditions of rock mass and joints, and probabilities of failure in each zone are calculated and compared with that calculated in whole slope. The persistence of joint was also used as a parameter in calculation of probability of failure. A rock slope located in Hongcheon, Gangwondo was selected and the probability of failure using zoning and persistence as parameter was calculated to confirm the applicability of model analysis.