Engineering geological studies and tunnel support design at Sulakyurt dam site, Turkey

This paper presents the results of engineering geological investigations and tunnel support design studies, carried out at the Sulakyurt dam site, northeast of Ankara, Turkey. The Sulakyurt dam will be used for flow control and water storage for irrigation projects. Studies were carried out both in the field and the laboratory. Field studies include engineering geological mapping, intensive discontinuity surveying, core drilling and sampling for laboratory testing. The diversion tunnel will be driven in rock mass, consisting of granite and diorite. Empirical, analytical and numerical methods were combined for safe tunnel design. Rock mass rating (RMR), Rock mass quality (Q) and Geological strength index (GSI) systems were used for empirical rock mass quality determination, site characterization and support design. The convergence–confinement method was used as analytical method and software called Phase², a 2D finite element program, was utilized as numerical method. According to the results acquired from the empirical, analytical and numerical methods, tunnel stability problems were expected in both granite and diorite rock masses. The support system, suggested by empirical methods, was applied and the performance of suggested support system was evaluated by means of numerical modelling. It was concluded that the suggested support systems were adequate, since after applying the suggested support system to granite and diorite, tunnel deformation and the yielded elements around the tunnel decreased significantly. Thus, it is suggested that for more reliable support design empirical, numerical and analytical methods should be combined.     

Analysis of support requirements for a shallow diversion tunnel at Guledar dam site, Turkey

Engineering geological properties and support design of a planned diversion tunnel at Guledar dam site, which was located at the North of Ankara, Turkey were studied in this article. The main purpose of the construction of the planned tunnel is to regulate, drainage and to provide water for irrigation purposes. The diversion tunnel runs mainly through formations of limestone, sandstone and diabase. Rock masses at the site were characterized using Rock Mass Rating (RMR), Rock Mass Quality (Q), Rock Mass Index (RMi) and Geological Strength Index (GSI). RMR, Q, RMi and GSI were determined by using field data and mechanical properties of intact rock samples, measured in the laboratory. Support requirements for the planned diversion tunnel were determined accordingly in terms of the rock mass classification systems. Recommended support systems by empirical methods were also analyzed using 2D Finite Element method. Calculated parameters based on empirical methods were used as input parameters in the finite element models. The results from both methods were compared with each other. This comparison suggests that more reliable support design could be achieved by using the finite element method together with the empirical methods.     

Engineering geological studies of the diversion tunnel, focusing on stabilization analysis and support design, Iran

In this paper a detailed engineering geological assessment of rock masses and support design studies at Garmi Chay dam site, has been carried out. This project is located in the northwest of Iran and will be used for flow control and water storage. The diversion tunnel of the dam has a diameter of 5.5 m and a length of 420 m and will be driven in slightly to highly weathered micaschist and trachy andesite rock units. The geological studies include field and laboratory investigations that based on the results; for more exact investigation, tunnel alignment was divided into three geotechnical zones. These zones consist mainly of highly weathered gray micaschists, dark red trachy andesites and slightly weathered gray micaschists, respectively. Then, for every zone, support capacity of rock masses was evaluated by means of empirical and numerical methods. The rock mass classification systems (RMR, Q, GSI, RSR, SRC and RMi), the convergence–confinement method and a 2D finite element computer software, Phase² were used for empirical and numerical method, respectively. According to the results acquired from these methods some stability problems were expected in the tunnel especially in highly weathered micaschist zone, so that in practice two big collapses occurred. Because of high weathering, low constants of rock masses and their soil-like behavior, the stability analysis by analytical method does not give illogical results in lightly weathered micaschist zone. The support system, suggested by empirical method, was applied and its performance was evaluated by means of numerical modeling. After installation the support suggested by Phase² program, the thickness of plastic zone and deformations around the tunnel decreased significantly. Consequently the agreement of these methods with each other was resulted and using combination of them was recommended for more reliable support design.     

Tectonic evolution of the Intra-Pontide suture zone in the Armutlu Peninsula, NW Turkey

The Armutlu Peninsula and adjacent areas in NW Turkey play a critical role in tectonic reconstructions of the southern margin of Eurasia in NW Turkey. This region includes an inferred Intra-Pontide oceanic basin that rifted from Eurasia in Early Mesozoic time and closed by Late Cretaceous time. The Armutlu Peninsula is divisible into two metamorphic units. The first, the Armutlu Metamorphics, comprises a ?Precambrian high-grade metamorphic basement, unconformably overlain by a ?Palaeozoic low-grade, mixed siliciclastic/carbonate/volcanogenic succession, including bimodal volcanics of inferred extensional origin, with a possibly inherited subduction signature. The second unit, the low-grade znik Metamorphics, is interpreted as a Triassic rift infilled with terrigenous, calcareous and volcanogenic lithologies, including basalts of within-plate type. The Triassic rift was unconformably overlain by a subsiding Jurassic–Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) passive margin including siliciclastic/carbonate turbidites, radiolarian cherts and manganese deposits. The margin later collapsed to form a flexural foredeep associated with the emplacement of ophiolitic rocks in Turonian time. Geochemical evidence from meta-basalt blocks within ophiolite-derived melange suggests a supra-subduction zone origin for the ophiolite. The above major tectonic units of the Armutlu Peninsula were sealed by a Maastrichtian unconformity. Comparative evidence comes from the separate Almacık Flake further east.Considering alternatives, it is concluded that a Mesozoic Intra-Pontide oceanic basin separated Eurasia from a Sakarya microcontinent, with a wider Northern Neotethys to the south. Lateral displacement of exotic terranes along the south-Eurasian continental margin probably also played a role, e.g. during Late Cretaceous suturing, in addition to overthrusting.     

Petrogenesis of collision-related plutonics in Central Anatolia, Turkey

Central Anatolia exhibits good examples of calc-alkaline and alkaline magmatism of similar age in a collision-related tectonic setting (continent–island arc collision). In the Central Anatolia region, late Cretaceous post-collisional plutonic rocks intrude Palaeozoic–Mesozoic metamorphic rocks overthrust by Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic units to make up the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex.

In the complex, three different intrusive rock types may be recognised based on their geochemical characteristics: (i) calc-alkaline (Behrekdag, Cefalikdag, and Celebi); (ii) subalkaline-transitional (Baranadag); and (ii) alkaline (Hamit). The calc-alkaline and subalkaline plutonic rocks are metaluminous I-type plutons ranging from monzodiorite to granite. The alkaline plutonic rocks are metaluminous to peralkaline plutons, predominantly A-type, ranging from nepheline monzosyenite to quartz syenite.

All intrusive rocks show enrichment in LILE and LREE relative to HFSE, and have high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios. These characteristics indicate an enriched mantle source region(s) carrying a subduction component inherited from pre-collision subduction events. The tectonic discrimination diagram of Rb vs. (Y+Nb) suggests that the calc-alkaline, subalkaline, and alkaline plutonic rocks have been affected by crustal assimilation combined with fractional crystallisation processes.

The coexistence of calc-alkaline and alkaline magmatism in the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex may be attributed to mantle source heterogeneity before collision. The former carries a smaller intraplate component and pre-subduction enrichment compared to the latter. Either thermal perturbation of the metasomatised lithosphere by delamination of the thermal boundary layer (TBL), or removal of a subducted plate (slab breakoff) is the likely mechanism for the initiation of the post-collisional magmatism in the Complex.     

Active faulting and natural hazards in Armenia, eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran

Active fault zones of Armenia, SE Turkey and NW Iran present a diverse set of interrelated natural hazards. Three regional case studies in this cross-border zone are examined to show how earthquakes interact with other hazards to increase the risk of natural disaster. In northern Armenia, a combination of several natural and man-made phenomena (earthquakes, landslides and unstable dams with toxic wastes) along the Pambak-Sevan-Sunik fault (PSSF) zone lowers from 0.4 to 0.2–0.3g the maximum permissible level (MPL) of seismic hazard that may induce disastrous destruction and loss of life in the adjacent Vanadzor depression.

In the Ararat depression, a large active fault-bounded pull-apart basin at the junction of borders of Armenia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan, an earthquake in 1840 was accompanied by an eruption of Ararat Volcano, lahars, landslides, floods, soil subsidence and liquefaction. The case study demonstrates that natural hazards that are secondary with respect to earthquakes may considerably increase the damage and the casualties and increase the risk associated with the seismic impact.

The North Tabriz–Gailatu fault system poses a high seismic hazard to the border areas of NW Iran, eastern Turkey, Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan) and southern Armenia. Right-lateral strike–slip motions along the North Tabriz fault have given rise to strong earthquakes, which threaten the city of Tabriz with its population of 1.2 million.

The examples illustrate how the concentration of natural hazards in active fault zones increases the risk associated with strong earthquakes in Armenia, eastern Turkey and NW Iran. This generally occurs across the junctions of international borders. Hence, the transboundary character of active faults requires transboundary cooperation in the study and mitigation of the natural risk.     

Late Cenozoic stress evolution along the Karasu Valley, SE Turkey

This study defines the Mio-Pliocene to present-day stress regime acting at the northeastern corner of the eastern Mediterranean region along the Karasu Valley (i.e., the Amanos Range), taking in the Antakya, Osmaniye and Kahramanmaras provinces. The inversion slip vectors measured on fault planes and chronologies between striations indicate that the stress regime varied from transpressional initially to transtensional, having consistent NW- and NE-trending σ_Hmax (σ₁) and σ_Hmin (σ₃) axes, respectively; there are significantly different mean stress-ratio (R_m) values however. The older mean stress state is characterized by N151±11°E-trending σ₁ and N59±12°E-trending σ₃ axes, and by a mean arithmetic R_m value of 0.76, indicating that the regional stress regime is transpressional. The younger stress regime is characterized by N154±8°E-trending σ₁ and N243±8°E-trending σ₃ axes, and by a mean arithmetic R_m value of 0.17, indicating a transtensional character for this regional stress regime. The low R values of the stress deviators related to the recent stress state reflect normal-component slips. The earthquake focal mechanism inversions confirm that the younger stress regime continues into the Recent. The inversion identifies a transtensional stress regime representing strike-slip and an extensional stress state with a consistent NE-trending σ_Hmin (σ₃) axis. These stress states are characterized by N66°E and N249°E-trending σ₃ axes, respectively. Both significant regional stress regimes induce left-lateral displacement along the southern part of the East Anatolian Fault (EAF, or Amanos Fault). The temporal change, probably in Quaternary time, within the regional stress regime—from transpression to transtension—resulted from the coeval influences of subduction processes in the west–southwest (i.e., along the Cyprus arc), continental collision in the east, and westward escape of the Anatolian block.     

A Triassic large igneous province in the Pontides, northern Turkey: geochemical data for its tectonic setting

A strongly deformed and metamorphosed Triassic oceanic seamount(s) and plateau succession extends as an east–west belt for 1100 km along the Pontides of northern Turkey. This succession, known widely as the Nilüfer unit, consists mainly of metabasic lava and tuff–marble–phyllite association including tectonic slices of ultramafic rock and gabbro. According to the conodont findings the unit formed during the Early to Mid-Triassic, and the isotopic age data indicate that it underwent high-pressure greenschist facies metamorphism during the latest Triassic period. The metavolcanic rocks form over 80% of the sequence. The Nilüfer unit covers an area of 120,000 km², with the volume of mafic lava estimated as 2×10⁵ km³. Such a huge volcanic pile has erupted rapidly in a relatively short period during the Early to Mid-Triassic (approx. 10 Ma). Hypotheses for the origin of the Nilüfer unit include a ‘seamount’, ‘intra-arc and/or fore-arc basin’, ‘oceanic plateau’, and ‘Early Triassic rift’. The geochemistry of metabasites and that of relict magmatic clinopyroxenes indicate that there are two main mafic rock groups in the Nilüfer unit displaying tholeiitic and alkaline affinities. No metabasite and clinopyroxene sample display typical orogenic basalt affinity or a subduction signature. Geochemical data obtained in this study are consistent with the derivation of the metabasites from the topmost extrusive layers of an oceanic plateau (LIP) together with the volcanic rocks of seamount(s).     

Aluminous granulites from the Pulur complex, NE Turkey: a case of partial melting, efficient melt extraction and crystallisation

In the Pulur complex, NE Turkey, a heterogeneous rock sequence ranging from quartz-rich mesocratic gneisses to silica- and alkali-deficient, Fe-, Mg- and Al-rich melanocratic rocks is characterized by granulite-facies assemblages involving garnet, cordierite, sillimanite, ilmenite, ±spinel, ±plagioclase, ±quartz, ±biotite, ±corundum, rutile and monazite. Textural evidence for partial melting in the aluminous granulites, particularly leucosomes, is largely absent or strongly obliterated by a late-stage hydrothermal overprint. However, inclusion relations, high peak P–T conditions, the refractory modes, bulk and biotite compositions of the melanocratic rocks strongly support a model of partial melting. The melt was almost completely removed from the melanocratic rocks and crystallised within the adjacent mesocratic gneisses which are silica-rich, bear evidence of former feldspar and show a large range in major element concentrations as well as a negative correlation of most elements with SiO₂. Peak conditions are estimated to be ≥800 °C and 0.7–0.8 GPa. Subsequent near-isothermal decompression to 0.4–0.5 GPa at 800–730 °C is suggested by the formation of cordierite coronas and cordierite–spinel symplectites around garnet and in the matrix. Sm–Nd, Rb–Sr and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotope data indicate peak conditions at 330 Ma and cooling below 300 °C at 310 Ma.     

Active faults and paleoseismicity in Fennoscandia, especially Sweden. Primary structures and secondary effects

Fennoscandia, today a region of low to moderately low seismicity, was, at the time of deglaciation, with rates of uplift on the order of tens of centimetres per year, a region of very high seismicity and active tectonics. This is evident both from primary fault structures and from secondary sedimentary and hard rock effects in the region around the epicentral areas. The map of active faults in Fennoscandia includes numerous structures previously not recognised. Despite this, the recording of active faults and paleoseismic events is still in its initial phase. Much more data will surely accumulate in the near future.     

Preliminary study on the occurrence of geothermal systems in the tectonic compressional regions: an example from the Derman geothermal field in the Biga Peninsula, Turkey

There are numerous hot springs with temperatures ranging from 30 to 100 °C in Biga peninsula and they occur throughout the peninsula. The result of this study shows that the region is under a tectonic compressional regime. The investigation of the faults and fractures in the region indicates that the region has been affected first by N–S and then E–W compression since the Middle Miocene. Opening fractures and antithetic and synthetic faults due to the compressional movements provide paths for the deep circulation of water. In addition, the tectonic movements, granitic intrusion and volcanic activity have also played important roles as heat sources for the geothermal systems.     

黄土隧洞支护结构设计方法探讨

采用ANSYS软件,对宝兰铁路二线码头隧道的双层模筑复合式衬砌试验断面进行建模分析,应用有限元强度折减法,求得隧洞的围岩的安全系数,应用有限元法按土体与结构共同作用原理求衬砌的安全系数。黄土隧洞设计须满足的两个要求：初步建议初期支护后土体围岩的安全系数不小于1.15～1.2,初期支护安全系数不小于1.3;二次支护后衬砌结构的安全系数大于2.0～2.4,确保工程施工与运行安全。对求得的围岩和衬砌安全系数进行评价分析,形成黄土隧洞支护结构设计的定量方法。     

Empirical and numerical analyses of support requirements for a diversion tunnel at the Boztepe dam site, eastern Turkey

This paper presents the engineering geological properties and support design of a planned diversion tunnel at the Boztepe dam site that contains units of basalt and tuffites. Empirical, theoretical and numerical approaches were used and compared in this study focusing on tunnel design safety. Rock masses at the site were characterized using three empirical methods, namely rock mass rating (RMR), rock mass quality (Q) and geological strength index (GSI). The RMR, Q and GSI ratings were determined by using field data and the mechanical properties of intact rock samples were evaluated in the laboratory. Support requirements were proposed accordingly in terms of different rock mass classification systems. The convergence–confinement method was used as the theoretical approach. Support systems were also analyzed using a commercial software based on the finite element method (FEM). The parameters calculated by empirical methods were used as input parameters for the FEM analysis. The results from the two methods were compared with each other. This comparison suggests that a more reliable and safe design could be achieved by using a combination of empirical, analytical and numerical approaches.     

Comment on “Microtremor observations of deep sediment resonance in metropolitan Memphis, Tennessee” by Paul Bodin, Kevin Smith, Steve Horton and Howard Hwang

Bodin et al. [Eng. Geol. 62 (2001) 159] reported three sets of maxima in observed H/V particle-motion spectra, where the longest-period set of peaks provided clear mapping information on the thickness of post-Cretaceous sediments in the Mississippi embayment, but the remaining peaks remained largely unexplained. A review of microtremor array studies for similar sites and similar frequencies suggests that the microtremor field is best interpreted in terms of Rayleigh-wave energy. Use of this approach, with modeling of particle-motion H/V ratios for realistic models of the Mississippi embayment, shows that the [Eng. Geol. 62 (2001) 159] second set of spectral maxima can be associated with higher-mode Rayleigh-wave energy, and may contain information on a possible velocity inversion in the shear-velocity profile of the site. A third spectral maximum appears to be associated with soft soils (loess) and may be able to be used for mapping the near-surface thickness (order 15 m) of this unit.     

马蹄形隧洞考虑支护滞后过程的应力分析

基于平面弹性复变函数中的保角变换方法,推导出带有衬砌的非圆形隧洞在原始地应力作用下的应力解析解。根据衬砌内边界的应力边界条件及围岩衬砌接触面上的应力和位移连续条件,获得求解围岩和衬砌解析函数的基本方程,计算了围岩和衬砌中的应力和位移。在求解过程中,考虑了支护滞后于开挖的力学过程,并认为围岩和衬砌之间紧密接触,不会相互分开和相对滑动。以马蹄形隧洞为例,获得了围岩开挖边界和衬砌内外边界的切向应力及围岩与衬砌接触面上的接触应力分布规律,并与ANSYS数值方法结果对比,算例表明两种方法的计算结果吻合很好。     

Three-dimensional stability analysis of a longitudinally inclined shallow tunnel face

The tunnel inclination angle (δ) generally exists in urban and cross-river (sea) tunnels; hence, its effect should be considered in the stability analysis of a tunnel face. However, the influence of this tunnel inclination angle is rarely studied. In this paper, considering the effects of the tunnel inclination angle and the tunneling length (L), the optimal upper-bound solutions of the active and passive failure pressures were obtained using sequential quadratic programming (SQP) based on the upper-bound limit analysis. The effects of the dimensionless parameters on the pressures and failure modes were investigated. The results show that the tunnel inclination angle δ and the dimensionless parameter L/D (D is the section diameter of the tunnel) significantly affect active and passive stabilities. The difference in the results between δ = −10° and δ = 10° is mostly greater than 10% and reaches 80% when the internal friction angle (φ) is large. When the value of δ is zero, L/D does not affect on the result. The maximum difference in the results between L/D = 0 and L/D = 5 are 92.5% (passive failure) and 36.3% (active failure). For the active failure mode, with increasing of φ, the curves, which have δ values of −10°, 0° and 10°, intersect at a particular point when φ reaches a specific value.     

Active tectonics of the Yizre'el valley, Israel, using high-resolution seismic reflection data

We present a series of high-resolution seismic reflection lines across the Yizre'el valley, which is the largest active depression in Israel, off the main trend of the Dead Sea rift. The new seismic reflection data is of excellent quality and shows that the valley is dissected into numerous small blocks, separated by active faults. The Yizre'el valley is found to consist of a series of half grabens, rather than a single half graben, or a symmetrical graben. The faults are generally vertical and appear to have a dominant strike-slip component, but some dip-slip is also evident. A marked zone of compression near Megido is associated with the intersection of the two largest faults in the valley, the Carmel fault and the Gideon fault. Variable trend of the faults reflects the complexity of the local geology along the boundary between the wide NW–SE trending Farah–Carmel fault zone and the E–W trending basins and ranges in the Lower Galilee. This tectonic complexity is likely to result from a highly variable stress pattern, modified by the structures inside it. Normal faulting in the valley occurred at an early stage of its development as a tectonic depression. However, strike-slip motion on the Carmel fault, and possibly also on some of the other faults, appears to have started together with the onset of normal faulting. Earthquake hazard in the area appears to be uniform as faults are distributed throughout the Yizre'el valley.     

Evaluation of coalbed gas potential of the Seelyville Coal Member, Indiana, USA

The Seelyville Coal Member of the Linton Formation in Indiana potentially contains 0.03 trillion m³ (1.1 TCF) of coalbed gas. The gas content determined by canister desorption technique ranges from 0.5 to 5.7 cm³/g on dry ash free basis (15.4 to 182.2 scf/ton). The controls on gas content distribution are complex, and cannot be explained by the coal rank alone. Ash content and the lithology of the overlying strata, among other factors, may influence this distribution.     

深部软岩巷道锚网索耦合支护非线性设计方法研究

由于深部软岩巷道工程岩体介质已进入到塑性大变形阶段,其破坏主要是由于支护体与围岩之间的不耦合造成的,因此提出了锚网索耦合支护非线性设计方法。与传统的线性参数设计不同,该方法在变形设计的基础上,针对最佳耦合过程进行强度设计,提出锚网索耦合支护参数,并在施工过程中通过反馈设计进行修正。与新奥法不同,采用该设计方法进行锚网索耦合支护既能充分发挥锚网主动支护浅部围岩的能力,又能通过锚索调动深部围岩强度的支护能力,从而可以实现软岩巷道支护体与围岩在强度上、刚度上和结构上的耦合,保证软岩巷道围岩的稳定性。     

Changes in geochemistry and mineralogy of thermally altered coal, Upper Hunter Valley, Australia

Igneous intrusions thermally and geochemically alter coal, commonly causing economic and safety problems for many coal mines. The effects of two dykes on the inorganic content of the Late Permian bituminous Upper Wynn seam were determined from analyses of 44 samples that were collected along transects approaching the intrusions. Petrographic and XRD data were used to determine sample mineralogy, and INAA and XRF spectrometry were utilised to determine the contents of 57 elements. The mineralogy of the unaltered coal, altered coal and dyke is dominated by carbonates, particularly dawsonite, which formed by epigenetic precipitation at a late stage, after thermal alteration. Ankerite and siderite are the products of thermal alteration and are restricted to the altered coal and dykes.Principal component analysis, correlations and compositional trends approaching the intrusions were used to subdivide the elements into groups and to identify the mineralogical affinity of each group. Geochemical data are more sensitive than mineralogy for defining the size of the alteration halo, and three zones ranging from unaltered coal, through altered coal to highly coked coal are recognised as each intrusion is approached.The alteration halos differ in extent (9.5 and 56 m wide), but their size is not a multiple of the size of the causative intrusion. At the contact between coal and intrusion, concentrations of elements with affinities to some aluminosilicates, oxides, carbonates, sulphides and organic components are enriched, while other aluminosilicate-related elements are depleted. In the altered coal towards the edge of the alteration halo, some aluminosilicate elements are enriched and oxide elements are depleted.