• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.189-207
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• 2023

In the present study, the thermoshearing experiment on a rough rock fracture were modeled using a three-dimensional grain-based distinct element model (GBDEM). The experiment was conducted by the Korea Institute of Construction Technology to investigate the progressive shear failure of fracture under the influence of thermal stress in a critical stress state. The numerical model employs an assembly of multiple polyhedral grains and their interfaces to represent the rock sample, and calculates the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of the grains (blocks) and the interfaces (contacts) using 3DEC, a DEM code. The primary focus was on simulating the temperature evolution, generation of thermal stress, and shear and normal displacements of the fracture. Two fracture models, namely the mated fracture model and the unmated fracture model, were constructed based on the degree of surface matedness, and their respective behaviors were compared and analyzed. By leveraging the advantage of the DEM, the contact area between the fracture surfaces was continuously monitored during the simulation, enabling an examination of its influence on shear behavior. The numerical results demonstrated distinct differences depending on the degree of the surface matedness at the initial stage. In the mated fracture model, where the surfaces were in almost full contact, the characteristic stages of peak stress and residual stress commonly observed in shear behavior of natural rock joints were reasonably replicated, despite exhibiting discrepancies with the experimental results. The analysis of contact area variation over time confirmed that our numerical model effectively simulated the abrupt normal dilation and shear slip, stress softening phenomenon, and transition to the residual state that occur during the peak stress stage. The unmated fracture model, which closely resembled the experimental specimen, showed qualitative agreement with the experimental observations, including heat transfer characteristics, the progressive shear failure process induced by heating, and the increase in thermal stress. However, there were some mismatches between the numerical and experimental results regarding the onset of fracture slip and the magnitudes of fracture stress and displacement. This research was conducted as part of DECOVALEX-2023 Task G, and we expect the numerical model to be enhanced through continued collaboration with other research teams and validated in further studies.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.31-42
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• 2005

In this study, a rockfill-dam material was investigated on its shear strength and compressibility by performing large-scaled triaxial and oedometer tests. The rockfill material was compacted at two different compaction levels and sheared in triaxial compression at three different confining stresses. Also, rockfill samples were prepared to have three different grain size distributions but the same dry density. Each sample with a given grain size distribution was then compressed one-dimensionally in a large-scaled oedometer cell with and without soaking. The rockfill samples exhibited slightly different shear behaviors with the varying compaction and confining stress levels. The increase in the compaction level changed the behavior from contractive to dilative. Dilation decreased gradually with increasing confining stress, resulting in reduction in the peak shear strength. The large-scaled oedometer test results showed that particle breakages increased with increasing average particle sizes of the samples. Comparing the samples with different gradations, a relatively well-graded sample exhibited lower compressibility. For saturated samples, slightly higher deformations were observed, compared to dry samples. The values of tangent constrained modulis for the dry samples were larger by about 10 to 20$\%$, on the average, than those for the saturated samples.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.355-366
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• 2024

The original elastoplastic Hardening Soil model is formulated actually partly under hexagonal pyramidal Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, and can be only used in specific stress paths. It must be completely generalized under Mohr-Coulomb criterion before its usage in engineering practice. A set of generalized constitutive equations under this criterion, including shear and volumetric yield surfaces and hardening laws, is proposed for Hardening Soil model in principal stress space. On the other hand, a Mohr-Coulumb type yield surface in principal stress space comprises six corners and an apex that make singularity for the normal integration approach of constitutive equations. With respect to the isotropic nature of the material, a technique for processing these singularities by means of Koiter's rule, along with a transforming approach between both stress spaces for both stress tensor and consistent stiffness matrix based on spectral decomposition method, is introduced to provide such an approach for developing generalized Hardening Soil model in finite element analysis code ABAQUS. The implemented model is verified in comparison with the results after the original simulations of oedometer and triaxial tests by means of this model, for volumetric and shear hardenings respectively. Results from the simulation of oedometer test show similar shape of primary loading curve to the original one, while maximum vertical strain is a little overestimated for about 0.5% probably due to the selection of relationships for cap parameters. In simulation of triaxial test, the stress-strain and dilation curves are both in very good agreement with the original curves as well as test data.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2003

Changes of the hydraulic conductivity resulting from the redistribution of stresses by underground excavation are examined using the strain-dependent hydraulic conductivity modification relation, where the modulus reduction ratio and induced strain are the major parameters. The modulus reduction ratio is defined in terms of RMR(Rock Mass Rating) to represent the full gamut of rock mass condition. Though shear dilation has the effect on the modification of hydraulic conductivity, the extent of it depends on RMR When the extensional strain is applied to a fracture, the hydraulic conductivity increases with the decrease of RMR Loading configuration has the effect on the modification of hydraulic conductivity, where the differential stress mode with a magnitude of the minimum principal stress $($\sigma$_x)$ fixed and a magnitude of the maximum principal stress $($\sigma$_y)$ varied is found to exert the greatest effect on the change of hydraulic conductivity.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 2010

In this study, a newly modified 3-dimensional strain-dependent hydraulic conductivity modification relation which incorporates the influences of normal deformation and shear dilation is suggested. Since rock mass is simulated as a orthogonally jointed medium, an anisotropic hydraulic conductivity field can be evaluated using that relation. The empirical relationship on the basis of GSI and disturbance factor has been used to estimate the value of a modulus reduction ratio (ratio of rock mass deformation modulus to rock matrix elastic modulus). Principal hydraulic conductivity directions is not generally coincident with the global coordinate due to the inclining of joint and the influence of joint inclination is evaluated under strain rotation. Result shows that change of hydraulic conductivity does decreases with the increase of GSI and disturbance factor has much effects on the hydraulic conductivity of rock mass getting GSI value above 50. It is found that the inclination of joint impacts on the variation of hydraulic conductivity.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2021

Hydraulic-mechanical (H-M) coupled numerical modeling was used to evaluate the evolution of hydrogeological properties in response to the installation and expansion of a borehole. A domain with a discrete fracture network was adopted for discontinuum modeling to simulate changes in fracture apertures. Comparison with real hydraulic test data shows that the effects of principal stress direction and expansion of borehole diameter were reasonably simulated by H-M coupled numerical modeling. The modeling confirmed that aperture changes depended on the principal stress direction, with an increase in aperture size due to vertical displacement being the dominant effect. A concentration of shear dilation around the borehole had an additional, subsidiary, effect on the hydrogeological evolution. These results show that the permeability of fractured rock can be increased by changing the hydraulic properties of a fracture through stress redistribution caused by the installation and expansion of a borehole.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.17-26
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• 1996

The undrained behavior of Asan marine soil was investigated by using an automated triaxial testing device. The stress-strain behavior at the preand postfailure state of marine soil under undrained compression and eatension conditions was compared with the behavior of pure silt, pure clay and the overall behavior of Asan marine soil was predicted with the modified Camflay model and the bounding surface model. The marine soil sampled in Asan bay area was clayey silts with 70oA silt-30% clay content and the testing samples were prepared in both undisturbed and remolded conditions. All samples are normally consolidated with 400 kPa of effective mean confining pressure and each sample is unloaded to 200, 100, 67 kPa, respectively. And then the shear test was performed with different confining pressure. According to experimental results, there exists an unique failure line whose slope is lower than silt's and higher than clay's. It is identified that the undrained shear strength of normally consolidated samples increases after crossing the phase transformation line because of volume dilation tendency which is not seen in clay. Overconsolidated samples show different soil behavior compared with pure silt due to its tendency of change in volume. It is also found that the overall behavior of Asan marine soil cannot be predicted precisely with the modified Cam-clay model and the bounding surface model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.197-213
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• 2019

We simulated the fault reactivation experiment conducted at 'Main Fault' intersecting the low permeability clay formations of Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory in Switzerland 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. We formulate the hydro-mechanical coupling relation of hydraulic aperture to consider the elastic fracture opening and failure-induced dilation for reproducing the abrupt changes in injection flow rate and monitoring pressure at fracture opening pressure. A parametric study was conducted to examine the effects of in-situ stress condition and fault deformation and strength parameters and to find the optimal parameter set to reproduce the field observations. In the best matching simulation, the fracture opening pressure and variations of injection flow rate and monitoring pressure showed good agreement with field experiment results, which suggests the capability of the numerical model to reasonably capture the fracture opening and propagation process. The model overestimated the fault displacement in shear direction and the range of reactivated zone, which was attributed to the progressive shear failures along the fault at high injection pressure. In the field experiment results, however, fracture tensile opening seems the dominant mechanism affecting the hydraulic aperture increase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.35-81
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• 1998

Distinct Element Method(DEM) has a great advantage to model the discontinuous behaviour of jointed rock masses such as rotation, sliding, and separation of rock blocks. Geometrical data of joints by a field monitoring is not enough to model the jointed rock mass though the results of DE analysis for the jointed rock mass is most sensitive to the distributional properties of joints. Also, it is important to use a properly joint law in evaluating the stability of a jointed rock mass because the joint is considered as the contact between blocks in DEM. In this study, a stochastic modelling technique is developed and the dilatant rock joint is numerically modelled in order to consider th geometrical and mechanical properties of joints in DE analysis. The stochastic modelling technique provides a assemblage of rock blocks by reproducing the joint distribution from insufficient joint data. Numerical Modelling of joint dilatancy in a edge-edge contact of DEM enable to consider not only mechanical properties but also various boundary conditions of joint. Preprocess Procedure for a stochastic DE model is composed of a statistical process of raw data of joints, a joint generation, and a block boundary generation. This stochastic DE model is used to analyze the effect of deviations of geometrical joint parameters on .the behaviour of jointed rock masses. This modelling method may be one tool for the consistency of DE analysis because it keeps the objectivity of the numerical model. In the joint constitutive law with a dilatancy, the normal and shear behaviour of a joint are fully coupled due to dilatation. It is easy to quantify the input Parameters used in the joint law from laboratory tests. The boundary effect on the behaviour of a joint is verified from shear tests under CNL and CNS using the numerical model of a single joint. The numerical model developed is applied to jointed rock masses to evaluate the effect of joint dilation on tunnel stability.