• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.35-47
• /
• 2018

This paper investigates the mechanisms of tunnel spalling and massive tunnel failures using fracture mechanics principles. The study starts with examining the fracture propagation due to tensile and shear failure mechanisms. It was found that, fundamentally, in rock masses with high compressive stresses, tensile fracture propagation is often a stable process which leads to a gradual failure. Shear fracture propagation tends to be an unstable process. Several real case observations of spalling failures and massive shear failures in boreholes, tunnels and underground roadways are shown in the paper. A number of numerical models were used to investigate the fracture mechanisms and extents in the roof/wall of a deep tunnel and in an underground coal mine roadway. The modelling was done using a unique fracture mechanics code FRACOD which simulates explicitly the fracture initiation and propagation process. The study has demonstrated that both tensile and shear fracturing may occur in the vicinity of an underground opening. Shallow spalling in the tunnel wall is believed to be caused by tensile fracturing from extensional strain although no tensile stress exists there. Massive large scale failure however is most likely to be caused by shear fracturing under high compressive stresses. The observation that tunnel spalling often starts when the hoop stress reaches $0.4^*UCS$ has been explained in this paper by using the extension strain criterion. At this uniaxial compressive stress level, the lateral extensional strain is equivalent to the critical strain under uniaxial tension. Scale effect on UCS commonly believed by many is unlikely the dominant factor in this phenomenon.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 1994.03b
• /
• pp.3-12
• /
• 1994

Based on the shear failure mechanism, hydraulic fracturing criteria are extended to three dimensional stress state. According to the situation of the directions of borehole and major principal stress axes, three equations can be derived for three dimensional hydraulic fracturing problems. By comparing these equations, a single criterion is selected for hydraulic fracturing pressure in cohesive soils. The criterion is a function of maximum principal stress, minimum principal stress and soil parameters in UU conditions. The equation indicates that with any increase in maximim principal stress, hydraulic fracturing pressure decreases. In order to prove the integrity of the criteria, laboratory tests are performed on compacted cubical specimens using true a triaxial apparatus. The shape and direction of fractures are determined by injecting colored water after fracture initiation. It is found that the direction of fractures are perpendicular to the o1 plane.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.470-479
• /
• 2013

Hydraulic fracturing is used as a method for promoting the fluid flow in the rock and, in the energy field such as geothermal development and the development of sales gas, many studies has been actively conducted. In many cases, hydraulic fracturing is not performed in isotropic rock and especially in the case of sedimentary rocks, hydraulic fracturing is conducted in the transverse isotropic rock. The direction of the crack growth on hydraulic fracturing does not necessarily coincides with the direction of maximum principal stress in the transverse isotropic rock. Therefore, in this study, bonded particle model with hydro-mechanical coupling analysis was adopted for analyzing the characteristics of hydraulic fracturing in transverse isotropic rock. In addition, experiments of hydraulic fracturing were conducted in laboratory-scale to verify the validity of numerical analysis. In this study, the crack growth and crack patterns showed significant differences depending on the viscosity of injection fluid, the angle of bedding plane and the influence of anisotropy. In the case of transverse isotropic model, the shear crack growth due to hydraulic fracturing appeared prominently.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.389-400
• /
• 2016

The study area, which is located in the southeastern part of the Jirisan province of the Yeongnam massif, Korea, consists mainly of the Precambrian Sancheong anorthosite complex and the Jirisan metamorphic rock complex, the Mesozoic granitoids which intruded them. Several fracture sets with various geometric indicators, which determine their relative timing and shear sense, are well observed in the Sancheong anorthosite complex. The aim of this study is to determine the development sequence of extension fractures, the movement sense and development sequence of shear fractures in the Sancheong anorthosite complex on the basis of detailed analysis of their geometric indicators. This study suggests fracture system of the Sancheong anorthosite complex was formed at least through five different fracturing events, named as Dn to Post-Dn+3 phases. (1) Dn phase: extension fracturing event of NNW trend. The fracture set experienced the reactivations of dextral ${\rightarrow}$ sinistral shearing with the change of stress field afterward. (2) Dn+1 phase: extension fracturing event of (N)NE trend. The fracture set experienced the reactivations of sinistral ${\rightarrow}$ sinistral ${\rightarrow}$ dextral. (3) Dn+2 phase: extension fracturing event of NW trend. The fracture set experienced the activated of dextral shearing. (4) Dn+3 phase: extension fracturing event of N-S trend. (5) Post-Dn+3 phase: extension fracturing event of (E)NE trend. Dn deformation formed during the early Songnim orogeny. Dn+1 deformation formed during the late Songnim orogeny. Dn+2 deformation formed during the Daebo orogeny. Dn+3 deformation formed during the Bulguksa orogeny.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.244-251
• /
• 2003

A two-dimensional BEM code, $FRACOD^{2D}$, was applied to simulate fracture initiation and propagation processes in a rock pillar during an in situ heater test of a rock pillar planned at the $\"{A}sp\"{o}$ Underground Rock laboratory of SKB, in Southern Sweden. To take the advantage of conventional BEM for simulating fracturing processes, but without efforts for domain integral transformation, a hybrid approach is developed to simulate the fracturing processes in rock pillar under coupled thermo-mechanical loading. The code FRACOD was used for simulating the fracture initiation and propagation processes with its boundary tractions reflecting the effects of the initial and redistributed thermomechanical stresses in the domain of interest at multiple excavation and heating steps were produced by a special algorithm of stress inversion, based on resultant thermo-mechanical stress fields at each excavation and heat loading step by a FEM code without considering fracturing processes. This hybrid approach can take the advantages of both types of numerical methods and avoids their shortcomings for fracturing process simulation and domain effects, respectively. In this paper, we present the hybrid approach for the stress, displacements, and fracturing processes at sequential excavation and heating steps of the in situ heater test as a predictive modelling, the formulation of the fracturing models and the predictive results. Two sections of borehole depth, 0.5 m and 1.5 m below the tunnel floor are considered. The pillar area is modelled with the FRACOD and the stress field produced by excavation and heating is transferred with corresponding boundary stresses. From the modelling results, the degree of fracturing and damage are evaluated for 120 days of heating. Dominated shear fracturing in the vicinity of the central pillar was observed from the models at both sections, but spalled area appears to be limited. Based on the modelling results, a sensitivity study for the effect of pre-existing fractures in the vicinity of the holes is also conducted, and the initiation and evolution of EDZ around the deposition holes are investigated using this particular numerical technique.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 2009

Hydraulic fracturing technology has been widely applied in the industry for the recovery of the natural resources such as gas, oil and geothermal heat from hot dry rock. During hydraulic fracturing stimulation, multiple cracks are created resulting in mechanical interaction between cracks. Such an interaction influences obtaining hydraulic fracturing key parameters (crack opening, length, and borehole net pressure). The boundary collocation method (BCM) has been proved to be very effective in considering mechanical interaction. However, for better confidence, it needs to be verified by comparison with analytical solutions such as stress intensity factors. In this paper, three cases, single fracture in remote uniaxial tension, single fracture in remote shear stress field and two arbitrary segments in an infinite plane loaded at infinity are considered. As a result, the BCM is proved to be valid technique to consider mechanical interaction between cracks and can be used to estimate the hydraulic fracturing parameters such as opening of the fracture, and so on.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.195-202
• /
• 2018

Many laboratory experiments on crack propagation under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading have been conducted in the past using transparent materials such as resin, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), etc. However, propagation behaviors of three-dimensional (3D) cracks in rock or rock-like materials under tri-axial loading are often considerably different. In this study, a series of true tri-axial loading tests on the rock-like material with two semi-ellipse pre-existing cracks were performed in laboratory to investigate the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics and propagation characteristics of 3D crack groups influenced by intermediate principal stress. Compared with previous experiments under uniaxial loading and biaxial loading, the tests under true tri-axial loading showed that shear cracks, anti-wing cracks and secondary cracks were the main failure mechanisms, and the initiation and propagation of tensile cracks were limited. Shear cracks propagated in the direction parallel to pre-existing crack plane. With the increase of intermediate principal stress, the critical stress of crack initiation increased gradually, and secondary shear cracks may no longer coalesce in the rock bridge. Crack aperture decreased with the increase of intermediate principal stress, and the failure is dominated by shear fracturing. There are two stages of fracture development: stable propagation stage and unstable failure stage. The AE events occurred in a zone parallel to pre-existing crack plane, and the AE zone increased gradually with the increase of intermediate principal stress, eventually forming obvious shear rupture planes. This shows that shear cracks initiated and propagated in the pre-existing crack direction, forming a shear rupture plane inside the specimens. The paths of fracturing inside the specimens were observed using the Computerized Tomography (CT) scanning and reconstruction.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.431-442
• /
• 2013

Most of previous studies have insufficiently investigated the shear behavior and fracturing characteristics, experimentally in respect to the change of size of tooth-shaped surface asperity such as length and slope angle in a broad range. This study investigates the influence of the length and slope angle of a tooth-shaped surface asperity on the fracturing characteristics and the interface shear strength by using direct shear test apparatus. A total of 36 interface direct shear tests were conducted by changing the three types of slope angle of surface asperity, four type of length, and three types of normal stress. The shape of fractured surface after the test was quantified by using a three-dimensional surface roughness measurement apparatus. Through the experimental test results, the characteristics of fractured shape of surface asperity according to the normal stress were investigated. In addition, fractured length and height were quantified at each slope angle of surface asperity under a certain normal stress condition.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.142-151
• /
• 1993

In this study, the deformation characteristics of atrtificially fractured joints of granite under normal and shear loading were investigated. To obtain the characteristics of joint deformation, compression and shear tests were performed in the laboratory on three different sizes of rock specimens. The rock used in the experimens was Iksan granite. Joints were produced artificially by fracturing using the apparatus for generating extension-joint. Joint normal deformability was studied by conducting cyclic loading tests on the joints. Joint closure varied non-linearly with normal stress through cyclic loadings. As normal stress increased, the joints gradually reached a state of maximum joint closure. The relation between normal stress and joint closure for mated and unmated joints was well described by the hyperbolic and exponential function, respectively. Joint shear deformability was studied by performing direct shear tests under normal stresses on the joints. it was shown that the behaviour in the prepeak range was non-linear and joint shear stiffness depended on the size of specimen and the normal stress.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.605-623
• /
• 2015

A coupled experimental and numerical study of shear fracture in the edge-notched beam specimens of quasi-brittle materials (concrete-like materials) are carried out using four point bending flexural tests. The crack initiation, propagation and breaking process of beam specimens are experimentally studied by producing the double inclined edge notches with different ligament angles in beams under four point bending. The effects of ligament angles on the shear fracturing path in the bridge areas of the double edge-notched beam specimens are studied. Moreover, the influence of the inclined edge notches on the shear-fracture behavior of double edge-notched beam specimens which represents a practical crack orientation is investigated. The same specimens are numerically simulated by an indirect boundary element method known as displacement discontinuity method. These numerical results are compared with the performed experimental results proving the accuracy and validity of the proposed study.