• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.363-373
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• 1994

The Cretaceous granitic rocks show differences in rock types and chemical compositions according to metallogenic provinces of copper, lead zinc and molybdenum in the Gyeongsang basin. Jindong granites are of granodiorite~quartz diorite~diorite in Cu-province; Makeunsan/Yucheon-Eonyang granites, granodiorite~granite in Pb Zn-province; Onjeongri-Yeonghae granites, granodiorite~quartz diorite in Mo-province, and there is a trend that productive masses are less differenciated than barren masses in Cu and Pb-Zn provinces whereas productive masses are more differenciated than barren masses in Mo province. Metallogenic provinces are distinguishable by variations of major and trace elements. The Cretaceous granitic rocks are highest in the content of Ca, Mg and other basic major elements and lowest in the content of K and Na in Cu provicne; the variation trends are vice versa in Pb-Zn province. Trace elements such as Rb and Sr show variations related to K and Ca, and metallogenic provinces are also distinguishable by their ratios. The granitic rocks of Mo province have intermediate content of major and trace elements, but are clearly distinguishable from Jindong granites and partly overlapped by Yucheon-Eonyang granites. Chlorine content in biotites is higher in a productive mass than in a barren mass in Cu province. Therefore, the mineralogical and chemical compositions are applicable as geochemical index to distinguish the types of mineralizaion, and productive and barren masses of the Cretaceous granitic rocks in the Gyeongsang basin.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.6 s.65
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• pp.495-505
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• 2006

Calculating the distribution of stresses and displacements around a circular tunnel excavated in infinite isotropic rock mass subjected to hydrostatic stress condition is one of the basic problems in rock engineering. While closed-form solutions for the distribution are known if rock masses are considered as elastic, perfectly plastic, or brittle-plastic media, a few numerically approximated solutions based on various simplifying assumptions have been reported for strain-softening rock mass. In this study, a simple numerical method is introduced for the analysis of strain-softening behavior of the circular tunnel in Mohr-Coulomb rock mass. The method can also applied to the analysis of the tunnel in brittle-plastic or perfectly plastic media. For the brittle-plastic case where closed-formsolution exists, the performance of the present method is verified by showing an excellent agreement between two solutions. In order to demonstrate the strain-softening behaviors predicted by the proposed method. a parameter study for a softening index is given and the construction of ground reaction curves is carried out. The importance of defining the characteristics of dilation in plastic analysis is discussed through analyzing the displacements near the surface of tunnel.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.217-228
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• 1999

The three methods of analysis (i) REV(representative elemental volume), (ii) non-REV and (iii) joint network analysis are introduced in this paper to analyze the groundwater flow in jointed rock mass and the inflow into underground excavations. The results from those methods are compared one another to reveal their characteristics by varying the number of joints and the diameter of the opening. The pre-processor, the so-called sequential analysis, is introduced to predict the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of a jointed rock mass having a number of intersecting joints. Using the finite element mesh, joint map and sequential analysis, the equivalent hydraulic conductivities are calculated for all 445 elements. The hydraulic inhomogeneity and the determination of the representative properties of jointed rock masses are discussed. In the REV analysis where the entire rock mass is homogenized through the representative properties, the inflow is increased regularly and consistently by increasing the joint density, the opening size and the conductivity contrast value. Though the non-REV analysis showed irregular variation of the inflow due to the local inhomogeneity allowed to individual elements, the inflow approached the REV results as the characteristic length increases. The joint network analysis showed the most sensitive reaction to the joint density, the opening size and the presence of the network crossing the opening. The reliability of the network analysis depends on the geometric data of individual joints. In view of the limited field data on joint geometry and possible uncertainty the REV and non-REV methods are considered more practical and rational than the joint network analysis.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.13-26
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• 2012

The deformation modulus of rock masses is a very important design factor for the computation of stability of tunnels and their support systems. Several empirical formulas to estimate the deformation modulus using simple rock classification methods such as RQD or RMR are widely used because field tests to evaluate the deformation modulus are very expensive and time consuming work. However, these formulas can be depended on experiences from the characteristics of local sites in each country. So it is possible that there might be limitations to estimate appropriate deformation modulus in South Korea using the empirical formulas. Therefore, in this study, the applicability of empirical formulas was analyzed by comparing estimated value with the measured value from eight sites in South Korea. The results show that the estimated value based on the empirical formulas partially have tendency to overestimate. Especially, in case of sedimentary rocks, it was too difficult to apply to the empirical formulas because there was no relation ship between estimated value and measured value. For these reasons, additional data from many tests and accurate analyses are necessary to evaluate the estimation method for the deformation modulus considering the local characteristics of rock masses.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.619-629
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• 2015

Influenced by various mining activities, fractures in rock masses have different densities, set numbers and lengths, which induce different mechanical properties and failure modes of rock masses. Therefore, precisely expressing the failure criterion of the fractured rock influenced by coal mining is significant for the support design, safety assessment and disaster prevention of underground mining engineering subjected to multiple mining activities. By adopting PFC2D particle flow simulation software, this study investigated the propagation and fractal evolution laws of the micro cracks occurring in two typical kinds of rocks under uniaxial compressive condition. Furthermore, it calculated compressive strengths of the rocks with different confining pressures and box-counting dimensions. Moreover, the quantitative relation between the box-counting dimension of the rocks and the empirical parameters m and s in Hoek-Brown strength criterion was established. Results showed that with the increase of the strain, the box-counting dimension of the rocks first increased slowly at the beginning and then exhibited an exponential increase approximately. In the case of small strains of same value, the box-counting dimensions of hard rocks were smaller than those of weak rocks, while the former increased rapidly and were larger than the latter under large strain. The results also presented that there was a negative correlation between the parameters m and s in Hoek-Brown strength criterion and the box-counting dimension of the rocks suffering from variable mining activities. In other words, as the box-counting dimensions increased, the parameters m and s decreased linearly, and their relationship could be described using first order polynomial function.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.147-164
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• 1997

This study has the assumption that scale effects in rock mass properties are atrributed to the discontinuous and inhomogeneous nature of rock masses. In order to escape the general equivalent material approach applied to the concept of representative volume element, this study presents the new method considering irregular i oink geometry and arbitrary numbers of i oink and arbitrary joint orientations. Based on the theoretical approach, this theory is applied to a real engineering project. Showing the property variations with size of rock mass element, various numerical experiments about scale effect are conducted. Particularly, to prove the adequacy of the verification process in scale effect with nomerical method, and to investigate the detailed source of scale effect, 4 models with increas ins number of joints are tested. On the basis of the experimental results, the test results of scale effects in 3-D rock mass are presented. From these experiments the effects of the mechanical properties of rock joints on the scale effects in rock mass strength and elastic constants are discussed. To verify the mechanism of scale effects in jointed rock mass, two models with different j oink geometries are studied.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.529-540
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• 2020

Water inrush is a major hazard for mining and excavation in deep coal seams or rock masses. It can be attributed to the coalescence of rock fractures in rock mass due to the interaction of fractures, hydraulic flow and stress field. One of the key technical challenges is to understand the course and mechanism of fluid flows in rock joint networks and fracture propagation and hence to take measures to prevent the formation of water inrush channels caused by possible rock fracturing. Several case observations of fluid flowing in rock joint networks and coupled fracture propagation in underground coal roadways are shown in this paper. A number of numerical simulations were done using the recently developed flow coupling function in FRACOD which simulates explicitly the fracture initiation and propagation process. The study has demonstrated that the shortest path between the inlet and outlet in joint networks will become a larger fluid flow channel and those fractures nearest to the water source and the working faces become the main channel of water inrush. The fractures deeper into the rib are mostly caused by shearing, and slipping fractures coalesce with the joint, which connects the water source and eventually forming a water inrush channel.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.17-26
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• 2017

Tunnel excavation in jointed rock mass induces a displacement along tunnel excavation line and its assessment is very important to ensure the stability of tunnel and a demanded space. Tunnel displacement is directly related to the deformation modulus of ground and therefore it is essential to know the value of the parameter. However, most rock masses where tunnels are constructed are generally jointed and it is difficult to find out the deformation modulus of jointed rock mass simply based on an homogeneous isotropic elastic medium because the deformation modulus is highly affected by joint condition as well as rock type. Accordingly, this study carried out extensive numerical parametric studies to examine the variation of deformation modulus in different joint conditions and rock types under the condition of tunnel excavation. The study results were compared with existing empirical relationships and also shown in the chart of deformation modulus variation in different jointed rock mass conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2001

Rock masses are usually discontinuous in nature due to various geological processes and contain rock joints and bridges. Crack propagation and coalescence processes in rock bridge mainly cause rock failures in slopes, foundations, and tunnels. In this study, we focused on the crack initiation, propagation and coalescence process of rock materials containing two pre-existing open cracks arranged in different geometries. Specimens of 120${\times}$60${\times}$25 mm in size, which were made of Yeoman Marble, were prepared. In the specimens, two artificial cracks were cut with pre-existing crack angle ${\alpha}$, bridge angle ${\beta}$, pre-existing crack length 2c and bridge length 2b. Wing crack initiation stress, wing crack propagation angle, and crack coalescence stress were measured and crack initiation, propagation and coalescence processes were observed during uniaxial compression. Crack coalescence types were classified and analytical study using Ashby and Hallam model (1986) was performed to be compared with the experimental results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.571-584
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• 2017

Slope mass rating (SMR) is commonly used for the geomechanical classification of rock masses in an attempt to evaluate the stability of slopes. SMR is calculated from the $RMR_{89-basic}$ (basic rock mass rating) and from the characteristic features of discontinuities, and may be applied to slope stability analysis as well as to slope support recommendations. This study attempts to utilize the SMR classification system for slope stability analysis and to investigate the engineering geological conditions of the slopes and the slope stability analysis of the Gas Flare site in phases 6, 7 and 8 of the South Pars Gas Complex in Assalouyeh, south of Iran. After studying a total of twelve slopes, the results of the SMR classification system indicated that three slope failure modes, namely, wedge, plane and mass failure were possible along the slopes. In addition, the stability analyses conducted by a number of computer programs indicated that three of the slopes were stable, three of the slopes were unstable and the remaining six slopes were categorized as 'needs attention'classes.