• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.430-440
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• 2000

A series of studies such as geological logging data analysis, detailed geological survey, rock mass evaluation, in-situ and laboratory tests, rock strength and mechanical properties of the rock were concerned. The stability of the slope were carried out inorder to design the pit slope and individual benches using the stereographic projection analysis and numerical methods in Roto Pit of Pasir coal field. The bedding plane was one of the major discontinuities in the Roto Pit and the dip of which is about 60$^{\circ}$ in the northern part and 83$^{\circ}$ in the southern part. The dip of bedding becomes steeper from north to south. The plane and toppling failures are presented in many slopes. In laboratory test the average uniaxial compressive strength of mudstone was 9MPa and that of weak sandstone was 10MPa. In-situ test showed that the rocks of Roto north mining area are mostly weak enough to be classified in grade from R2(weak) to R3(medium strong weak) and the coal is classified in grades from R1(Very weak) to R2(Weak). The detailed stability analysis were carried out on 4 areas of Roto north (east, west, south and north), and 2 areas of Roto south(east and west). In this paper, the minimum factor of safety was set to 1.2 which is a general criterion for open pit mines. Using the stereographic projection analysis and the limit equilibrium method, slope angles were calculated as 30∼36$^{\circ}$ for a factor of safety greater than 1.2. Then these results were re-evaluated by numerical analysis using FLAC. The final slope angles were determined by rational described above. A final slope of 34 degrees can guarantee the stability for the eastern part of the Roto north area, 33 degrees for the western part, 35 degrees for the northern part and 35 degrees for the southern part. For the Roto south area, 36 degrees was suggested for both sides of the pit. Once the pit slope is designed based on the stability analysis and the safety measures, the stability of slope should be checked periodically during the mining operations. Because the slope face will be exposed long time to the rain fall, a study such aspreventive measures against weathering and erosion is highly recommended to be implemented.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.447-456
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• 2000

Rock bridge in rock masses can be considered as one of several types of opening-mode fractures, and also it has been known to have a great influence on the stability of structures in rock mass. In the beginning of researching a rock bridge it used to be studied only in characteristics of its behavior, as considering resistance of material itself. However the distribution pattern of rock bridges, which can affect the stability of rock structures, is currently researched with a fracture mechanical approach in numerical studies. For investigating the effect of rock bridges on the development pattern of hydraulic fractures, the author analyzed numerically the stress state transition in rock bridges and their phenomena with a different pattern of the rock bridge distributions. From the numerical studies, a two-crack configuration could be defined to be representative of the most critical conditions for rock bridges, only when cracks are systematic and same in their length and angle. Moreover, coalescence stresses and onset of propagation stresses could be known to increase with decreasing s/L ratio or increasing d/L ratio. The effect of pre-existing crack on hydraulic fracturing was studied also in numerical models. Different to the simple hydraulic fracturing modeling in which the fractures propagated exactly parallel to the maximum remote stress, the hydraulic fractures with pre-existing cracks did not propagate parallel to the maximum remote stress direction. These are representative of the tendency to change the hydraulic fractures direction because of the existence of pre-existing crack. Therefore s/L, d/L ratios will be identical as a function effective on hydraulic fractures propagation, that is, the K$_1$ value increase with decreasing s/L ratio or increasing d/L ratio and its magnification from onset to propagation increases with decreasing s/L ratio. The scanline is a commonly used method to estimate the fracture distribution on outcrops. The data obtained from the scanline method can be applied to the evaluation of stress field in rock mass.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.5-11
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• 2014

Recently, there have been various lifeline installations constructed in the underground space of urban area due to the effective use of land. For newly installed lifelines or the management of the installed lifelines, many construction activities of excavation and backfilling are observed. Around these area, there are possibilities of collapse or excessive settlement due to the leaking of the pipe or unsatisfactory compaction of backfill material. Besides, construction costs can be saved since the on-site soils are used. The application of this liquidity filling material is not only to the lifeline installation but also to underpin the foundation under the vibrating machinery. On the evaluation of the applicability of this method to this circumstance, the strength should be investigated against the static load from the machine load as well as the vibration load from the activation of the machine. In this study, the applicability of the liquidity fill material on the foundation under the vibrating machinery is assessed via uniaxial compression and resonant column tests. The liquidity filling material consisting of the on-site soils with loess and kaolinite are tested to investigate the static and dynamic characteristics. Furthermore, the applicability of the reclaimed ash categorized as an industrial waste is evaluated for the recycle of the waste to the construction materials. The experimental results show that the shear modulus and 7 day uniaxial strength of the liquidity filling material mixed with reclaimed ash show higher than those with the on-site soils. However, the damping ratio does not show any tendency on the mixed materials.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.471-479
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• 2011

The velocity horizontal response spectra using the observed ground motions from the recent 5 macro earthquakes, equal to or larger than 4.8 in magnitude, around Korean Peninsula were analysed and then were compared to the acceleration horizontal response spectra, seismic design response spectra (Reg Guide 1.60), applied to the domestic nuclear power plants, and finally the Korean Standard Design Response Spectrum for general structures and buildings. 102 velocity horizontal ground motions, including NS and EW components, were used for velocity horizontal response spectra and then normalized with respect to the peak velocity value of each ground motion. First, the results showed that velocity horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of medium natural period, but acceleration horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of short natural periods. Secondly, the results also showed that velocity horizontal response spectra exceed Reg. Guide 1.60 for longer natural periods bands less than 6-7 Hz. Finally, the results were also compared to the Korean Standard Response Spectrum for the 3 different soil types(SC, SD, and SE soil type) and showed that velocity horizontal response spectra revealed much higher values for the frequency bands below 1.5(SC), 2.0(SD), and 3.0(SE) seconds, respectively, than the Korean Standard Response Spectrum. The results suggest that the fact that acceleration, velocity, and displacement horizontal response spectra have larger values at the range of short, medium, and long natural periods, respectively, can be applied consistently to those form domestic ground motion, especially, the velocity ground motion. Information on response spectrum at such medium range periods can be very important since the domestic design of buildings and structures emphasizes recently medium and long natural periods than short one due to increased super high-rise buildings.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.256-269
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• 2020

The objective of this study is to evaluate the stress thresholds in crack development and the corrected fracture toughness of KURT granite under dry and saturated conditions. The stress thresholds were identified by calculation of inelastic volumetric strain from an uniaxial compression test. The corrected fracture toughness was estimated by using the Level II method (Chevron Bend specimen), suggested by ISRM (1988), in which non-linear behaviors of rock was taken into account. Average crack initiation stress(σ_ci) and crack damage stress(σ_cd) under a dry condition were 91.1 MPa and 128.7 MPa. While, average crack initiation stress(σ_ci) and crack damage stress(σ_cd) under a saturated condition were 58.2 MPa and 68.2 MPa. The crack initiation stress and crack damage stress of saturated ones decreased 36% and 47% respectively compared to those of dry specimens. A decrease in crack damage stress is relatively larger than that of crack initiation stress under a saturated condition. This indicates that the unstable crack growth can be more easily generated because of the saturation effect of water compared to the dry condition. The average corrected fracture toughness of KURT granite was 0.811 MPa·m^0.5. While, the fracture toughness of saturated KURT granite(K_CB) was 0.620 MPa·m^0.5. The corrected fracture toughness of rock in saturated condition decreases by 23.5% compared to that in dry condition. It is found that the resistance to crack propagation decreases under the saturated geological condition.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.382-393
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• 2020

The engineered barrier system of high-level radioactive waste disposal must maintain its performance in the long term, because it must play a role in slowing the rate of leakage to the surrounding rock mass even if a radionuclide leak occurs from the canister. In particular, it is very important to clarify gas dilation flow phenomenon clearly, that occurs only in a medium containing a large amount of clay material such as a bentonite buffer, which can affect the long-term performance of the bentonite buffer. Accordingly, DECOVALEX-2019 Task A was conducted to identify the hydraulic-mechanical mechanism for the dilation flow, and to develop and verify a new numerical analysis technique for quantitative evaluation of gas migration phenomena. In this study, based on the conventional two-phase flow and mechanical behavior with effective stresses in the porous medium, the hydraulic-mechanical model was developed considering the concept of damage to simulate the formation of micro-cracks and expansion of the medium and the corresponding change in the hydraulic properties. Model verification and validation were conducted through comparison with the results of 1D and 3D gas injection tests. As a result of the numerical analysis, it was possible to model the sudden increase in pore water pressure, stress, gas inflow and outflow rate due to the dilation flow induced by gas pressure, however, the influence of the hydraulic-mechanical interaction was underestimated. Nevertheless, this study can provide a preliminary model for the dilation flow and a basis for developing an advanced model. It is believed that it can be used not only for analyzing data from laboratory and field tests, but also for long-term performance evaluation of the high-level radioactive waste disposal system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.320-334
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• 2020

This study presents an application of hydro-mechanical coupled Particle Flow Code 3D (PFC3D) to simulation of fluid injection induced fault slip experiment conducted in Mont Terri Switzerland as a part of a task in an international research project DECOVALEX-2019. We also aimed as identifying the current limitations of the modelling method and issues for further development. A fluid flow algorithm was developed and implemented in a 3D pore-pipe network model in a 3D bonded particle assembly using PFC3D v5, and was applied to Mont Terri Step 2 minor fault activation experiment. The simulated results showed that the injected fluid migrates through the permeable fault zone and induces fault deformation, demonstrating a full hydro-mechanical coupled behavior. The simulated results were, however, partially matching with the field measurement. The simulated pressure build-up at the monitoring location showed linear and progressive increase, whereas the field measurement showed an abrupt increase associated with the fault slip We conclude that such difference between the modelling and the field test is due to the structure of the fault in the model which was represented as a combination of damage zone and core fractures. The modelled fault is likely larger in size than the real fault in Mont Terri site. Therefore, the modelled fault allows several path ways of fluid flow from the injection location to the pressure monitoring location, leading to smooth pressure build-up at the monitoring location while the injection pressure increases, and an early start of pressure decay even before the injection pressure reaches the maximum. We also conclude that the clay filling in the real fault could have acted as a fluid barrier which may have resulted in formation of fluid over-pressurization locally in the fault. Unlike the pressure result, the simulated fault deformations were matching with the field measurements. A better way of modelling a heterogeneous clay-filled fault structure with a narrow zone should be studied further to improve the applicability of the modelling method to fluid injection induced fault activation.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.359-381
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• 2020

Within the framework of DECOVALEX-2019 Task D, full-scale engineered barriers experiment (FEBEX) at Grimsel Test Site was numerically simulated to investigate an applicability of implemented Barcelona basic model (BBM) into TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator, which was developed for the prediction of the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite buffer. And the calculated heater power, temperature, relative humidity, total stress, saturation, water content and dry density were compared with in situ data monitored in the various sections. In general, the calculated heater power and temperature provided a fairly good agreement with experimental observations, however, the difference between power of heater #1 and that of heater #2 could not captured in the numerical analysis. It is necessary to consider lamprophyre with low thermal conductivity around heater #1 and non-simplified installation progresses of bentonite blocks in the tunnel for better modeling results. The evolutions and distributions of relative humidity were well reproduced, but hydraulic model needs to be modified because the re-saturation process was relatively fast near the heaters. In case of stress evolutions due to the thermal and hydraulic expansions, the computed stress was in good agreement with the data. But, the stress is slightly higher than the measured in situ data at the early stage of the operation, because gap between rock mass and bentonite blocks have not been considered in the numerical simulations. The calculated distribution of saturation, water content, and dry density along the radial distance showed good agreement with the observations after the first and final dismantling. The calculated dry density near the center of the FEBEX tunnel and heaters were overestimated compared with the observations. As a result, the saturation and water content were underestimated with the measurements. Therefore, numerical model of permeability is needed to modify for the production of better numerical results. It will be possible to produce the better analysis results and more realistically predict the coupled THM behavior in the bentonite blocks by performing the additional studies and modifying the numerical model based on the results of this study.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2018

This study reviews three eco-friendly energy towns with hybrid thermal energy supply systems and borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) in Canada and Denmark. The district heating and cooling systems were designed by using multi-source energy for the higher efficiency and reliability as well as environment. ADEU (Alexandra District Energy Utility) located at the developing area in the city of Richmond, Canada was designed to supply district energy with the installation of 726 borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) and a backup boiler using natural gas. DLSC (Drake Landing Solar Community) located in the town of Okotoks, Canada is a district system to store solar thermal energy underground during the summer season by seasonal BTES with 144 BHEs. Brædstrup Solpark district heating system located in Denmark has been conducted energy supply from multiple energy sources of solar thermal, heat pump, boiler plants and seasonal BTES with 48 BHEs. These systems are designed based on social and economic benefits as well as nature-friendly living space according to the city based energy perspective. Each system has the energy center which distribute the stored thermal energy to each house for heating during the winter season. The BHE depth and ground thermal storage volume are designed by the heating and cooling load as well as the condition of ground water flow and thermophysical properties of the ground. These systems have been proved the reliance and economic benefits by providing consistent energy supply with competitive energy price for many years. In addition, the several expansions of the service area in ADEU and Brædstrup Solpark have been processed based on energy supply master plan. In order to implement this kind of project in our country, the regulation and policy support of government or related federal organization are required. As well as the government have to make a energy management agency associated with long-term supply energy plan.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.266-275
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• 2012

In this study, a method is devised to implement a supercritical $CO_2$ ($scCO_2$) injection environment on a laboratory scale and to investigate the effects of $scCO_2$ on the properties of rock specimens. Specimens of shale and sandstone normally constituting the cap rock and reservoir rock, respectively, were kept in a laboratory reactor chamber with $scCO_2$ for two weeks. From this stage, a chemical reaction between rock surface and the $scCO_2$ was induced. The effect of saline water was also investigated by comparing three conditions ($scCO_2$-rock, $scCO_2-H_2O$-rock and $scCO_2$-brine(1M)-rock). Finally, we checked the changes in the properties before and after the reaction by destructive and nondestructive testing procedures. The swelling of shale was a main concern in this case. The experimental results suggested that $scCO_2$ has a greater effect on the swelling of the shale than pure water and brine. It was also observed that the largest swelling displacement of shale occurred after a reaction with the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution. The results of a series of the destructive and nondestructive tests indicate that although each of the property changes of the rock differed depending on the reaction conditions, the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution had the greatest effect. In this study, shale was highly sensitive to the reaction conditions. These results provide fundamental information pertaining to the stability of $CO_2$ storage sites due to physical and chemical reactions between the rocks in these sites and $scCO_2$.