Quantification of Aperture and Relations Between Aperture,Normal Stress and Fluid Flow for Natural Single Rock Fractures

Accurate quantification of rock fracture aperture is important in investigating hydro-mechanical properties of rock fractures. Liquefied wood’s metal was used successfully to determine the spatial distribution of aperture with normal stress for natural single rock fractures. A modified 3D box counting method is developed and applied to quantify the spatial variation of rock fracture aperture with normal stress. New functional relations are developed for the following list: (a) Aperture fractal dimension versus effective normal stress; (b) Aperture fractal dimension versus mean aperture; (c) Fluid flow rate per unit hydraulic gradient per unit width versus mean aperture; (d) Fluid flow rate per unit hydraulic gradient per unit width versus aperture fractal dimension. The aperture fractal dimension was found to be a better parameter than mean aperture to correlate to fluid flow rate of natural single rock fractures. A highly refined variogram technique is used to investigate possible existence of aperture anisotropy. It was observed that the scale dependent fractal parameter, K _v, plays a more prominent role than the fractal dimension, D _a1d, on determining the anisotropy pattern of aperture data. A combined factor that represents both D _a1d and K _v, D _a1d × K _v, is suggested to capture the aperture anisotropy.     

Time-Dependent Behavior of Diabase and a Nonlinear Creep Model

Triaxial creep tests were performed on diabase specimens from the dam foundation of the Dagangshan hydropower station, and the typical characteristics of creep curves were analyzed. Based on the test results under different stress levels, a new nonlinear visco-elasto-plastic creep model with creep threshold and long-term strength was proposed by connecting an instantaneous elastic Hooke body, a visco-elasto-plastic Schiffman body, and a nonlinear visco-plastic body in series mode. By introducing the nonlinear visco-plastic component, this creep model can describe the typical creep behavior, which includes the primary creep stage, the secondary creep stage, and the tertiary creep stage. Three-dimensional creep equations under constant stress conditions were deduced. The yield approach index (YAI) was used as the criterion for the piecewise creep function to resolve the difficulty in determining the creep threshold value and the long-term strength. The expression of the visco-plastic component was derived in detail and the three-dimensional central difference form was given. An example was used to verify the credibility of the model. The creep parameters were identified, and the calculated curves were in good agreement with the experimental curves, indicating that the model is capable of replicating the physical processes.     

Strength and Deformational Behaviour of a Jointed Rock Mass

Summary An assessment of the strength and deformational response of jointed rock masses is an essential requirement in the site selection, design and successful execution of Civil and Mining Engineering projects. A quick estimate of these properties for preliminary evaluation of alternate sites, will reduce considerable expenditures for field tests. An attempt has been made in the present study to develop a link between strength and deformability of jointed block masses with the properties of intact specimens, obtained from simple laboratory tests, taking into account the influence of the properties of the joints. Extensive experimentation has been carried out on large specimens of jointed block masses under uniaxial compression. The model material represents a low strength rock. Various joint configurations were introduced to achieve the most common modes of failure occurring in nature. A coefficient called Joint Factor has been used to account for the weakness brought into the intact rock by jointing. Methods of computing the Joint Factor for various modes of failure of a jointed mass in an unconfined state have been established. The effect of Joint Factor on strength and tangent modulus of the mass has been studied and the values have been correlated with those of intact rock. Guidelines for assessing probable modes of failure of a jointed mass will enable one to estimate the relevant strength and tangent modulus of the mass.     

Dynamic response of a circular lined tunnel with an imperfect interface subjected to cylindrical P-waves

The analytic solutions for the dynamic response of a circular lined tunnel with an imperfect interface subjected to cylindrical P-waves are presented in the paper. The wave function expansion method was used and the imperfect interface was modeled with a spring model. The interface separating the liner from the surrounding rock was considered to be homogeneous imperfect. The dynamic stress concentration factors (DSCF) of the rock and liner were evaluated and discussed. The effects of incident wave’s frequency, bonding conditions and distance between the wave source and the tunnel were examined. The results showed that the low-frequency incident wave leads to a higher DSCF than the high-frequency incident wave. The bonding conditions have a great effect on the dynamic response of the lined tunnel. When the bond is extremely weak, the resonance scattering phenomenon can be observed. When the distance between the wave source and the tunnel, depending on frequency of the incident wave, is considered as large, the cylindrical wave can be treated as a plane wave. Limiting cases were considered and good agreement with the solutions available in the literature was obtained.     

软土考虑K0固结非线性弹性模型的研究及其应用

通过研究软土各向等压固结不排水三轴试验和K0固结不排水三轴试验的应力-应变关系的归一化性状,建立一个软土考虑K0固结非线性弹性模型,并结合工程实例,检验其适用性.     

Combined Scaling of Fluid Flow and Seismic Stiffness in Single Fractures

The connection between fluid flow and seismic stiffness in single fractures is governed by the geometry of the fracture through the size and spatial distributions of the void and contact areas. Flow and stiffness each exhibit scaling behavior as the scale of observation shifts from local to global sample sizes. The purpose of this study was to explore the joint scaling of both properties using numerical models. Finite-size scaling methods are used to extract critical thresholds and power laws for fluid flow through weakly correlated fractures under increasing load. An important element in the numerical fracture deformation is the use of extended boundary conditions that simulate differences between laboratory cores relative to in situ field studies. The simulated field conditions enable joint scaling of flow and stiffness to emerge with the potential to extrapolate from small laboratory samples to behavior on the field scale.     

Effects of Scale and Normal Stress on Shear Behavior of a Soft Fracture Replica

The effects of the fracture scale (size) and normal stress on the shear behavior of a fracture were investigated in direct shear rig using mortar fracture replicas of different sizes (100–200 mm), which were reproduced from a tensile fracture created in granite. Monotonic shear loading was applied at normal stresses of 0.3 and 1 MPa for shear displacements of 2 and 20 mm. The change in surface topography was measured by using a profile measurement system with a laser profilometer to determine the changes in surface damage and the aperture during shear. Additionally, the effect of gouge material on the non-linearity of the closure curve during shear was investigated. The results show that the standard deviation of the initial aperture during shear increases not only with scale but also with the normal stress, since the matedness decreases due to the fact that asperities are more damaged with normal stress, and accordingly, the non-linearity in the closure curve during shear increases with normal stress. The results also show that the non-linearity of the closure curve during shear increases with the presence of gouge material/debris that is produced in the shearing process. This is mainly because gouge is soft and easily deforms under the application of normal stress. Moreover, gouge material is distributed non-uniformly around the contact areas. Thus, the normal stiffness during shear decreases not only with a decrease in the matedness between the surfaces, but also with the presence of gouge material.     

Hydraulic Characteristics of Rough Fractures in Linear Flow under Normal and Shear Load

Summary A hydro-mechanical testing system, which is capable of measuring both the flow rates and the normal and shear displacement of a rock fracture, was built to investigate the hydraulic behaviour of rough tension fractures. Laboratory hydraulic tests in linear flow were conducted on rough rock fractures, artificially created using a splitter under various normal and shear loading. Prior to the tests, aperture distributions were determined by measuring the topography of upper and lower fracture surfaces using a laser profilometer. Experimental variograms of the initial aperture distributions were classified into four groups of geostatistical model, though the overall experimental variograms could be well fitted to the exponential model. The permeability of the rough rock fractures decayed exponentially with respect to the normal stress increase up to 5 MPa. Hydraulic behaviours during monotonic shear loading were significantly affected by the dilation occurring until the shear stress reached the peak strength. With the further dilation, the permeability of the rough fracture specimens increased more. However, beyond shear displacement of about 7 to 8 mm, permeability gradually reached a maximum threshold value. The combined effects of both asperity degradation and gouge production, which prohibited the subsequent enlargement of mean fracture aperture, mainly caused this phenomenon. Permeability changes during cyclic shear loading showed somewhat irregular variations, especially after the first shear loading cycle, due to the complex interaction from asperity degradations and production of gouge materials. The relation between hydraulic and mechanical apertures was analyzed to investigate the valid range of mechanical apertures to be applied to the cubic law. Received June 12, 2001; accepted February 26, 2002 Published online September 2, 2002     

桩基础非线性工作性状的室内模型试验分析

通过对单桩、带承台单桩和不同桩距群桩的模型试验结果分析 ,并与群桩试验的数值计算结果对比 ,总结了群桩中桩体的荷载传递规律 ;描述了板底土体反力和板下土体附加应力分布特性 ;比较了不同桩距群桩的荷载分担状况。通过试验结果的分析 ,得出桩的遮拦作用提高了承台下土体极限承载力的结论 ,为理论研究提供了试验依据 ;同时对桩的非线性工作状况进行分析 ,得出大桩距群桩受荷时桩先进入非线性然后承台下土体再进入非线性的结论。试验结果即验证了复合桩基非线性理论的若干假定 ,又为进一步研究提供了试验依据。     

连续屈服节理模型对剪切地震波传播的影响

地震波在跨越岩体中节理时的透反射特性是岩石地下工程抗震分析问题中的重要基础,目前开展的研究工作中尚未有针对连续屈服（CY）非线性节理模型透反射特性的研究报导。在前人提出的非线性节理透反射系数时域递归法解答的基础上,将这一方法拓展至CY模型。并采用3DEC离散元软件,对比了CY模型的时域递归解与数值模拟结果的差异。在此基础上以时域递归解为手段,辅以离散元数值模拟,开展了CY模型的参数影响研究。最终比较了库仑（MC）模型与CY模型在正弦脉冲激励和真实地震动激励下表现的差异。结果表明：CY模型的时域递归解与3DEC数值模拟结果显示了良好的一致性,证明了时域递归解用以进行后续参数研究的合理性。法向应力、入射波幅值、节理初始刚度、节理间距等参数对CY模型具有显著影响。相比库仑模型,连续屈服模型可以更好地反映地震波穿越节理时发生的复杂力学现象,如切向刚度退化、抗剪强度劣化、法向应力依赖性、滞回现象等。研究成果可为岩石地下工程的抗震设计与分析工作提供一定参考。     

岩体粗糙单裂隙渗流及溶质运移研究

与多孔介质相比,裂隙介质中的渗流、溶质运移要复杂得多,许多学者在这方面进行了深入的研究,他们在模型的建立、求解、验证等方面都取得很大突破,但仍有许多难点没有解决。着眼于粗糙单裂隙开度变化的实质特性,将原有裂隙介质渗流、溶质运移方程进行修改,建立粗糙单裂隙渗流、溶质运移数学模型,并进行数值模拟。     

Dynamic Model of Fracture Normal Behaviour and Application to Prediction of Stress Wave Attenuation Across Fractures

Summary.  The purpose of this paper is to establish a dynamic constitutive model of fracture normal behaviour, based on laboratory tests of artificial fractures cast by cement mortar. A series of tests are systematically carried out under quasi-static (10⁻¹ MPa/s) up to highly dynamic (10³ MPa/s) monotonic loading conditions. The normal stress-fracture closure response is measured at different loading rates. Based on the measured curves, a nonlinear (hyperbolic) dynamic model of fracture normal behaviour, termed as dynamic BB model, is proposed. The dynamic model is modified from the existing BB model of static normal behaviour of fractures by taking into account the loading-rate effect. Two important dynamic parameters of fractures, FSC _d (dynamic fracture stiffness constant, which describes the incremental ratio of dynamic initial stiffness) and FCC _d (dynamic fracture closure constant, which describes the decremental ratio of dynamic maximum allowable closure), are identified. They indicate the quantitative degree of loading-rate effect on fracture normal behaviour subjected to dynamic loads. For practical application, the new model is incorporated into the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) and subsequently, UDEC modelling of normally incident P-wave transmission across single fractures with the dynamic BB model is conducted. Wave transmission coefficient is obtained for various combinations of fracture dynamic parameters, as well as different wave amplitudes and frequencies. The numerical results show that wave transmission coefficient for a fracture with the dynamic BB model is greater than that for a fracture with the static BB model. In addition, a fracture with higher values of FSC _d and FCC _d leads to higher transmission (lower attenuation). Author’s address: J. Zhao, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rock Mechanics Laboratory, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland     

Experimental Evidence of Truly Elastic Behavior of Artificial Sandstone Inside the Cementation Yield Surface

Hollow cylinder specimens of cemented sand, i.e., artificial sandstone, were produced and tested by applying normal stresses and shear stresses such as to form closed stress loops to investigate the elastic behavior of the artificial sandstone. The entire process of fabrication of the hollow cylinder specimens, measurement techniques, measurements and analyses are presented to show that the artificial sandstone can be characterized as an elastic material inside the initial cementation yield surface. By applying closed stress loops in which the points of initiation of loading and the final points are identical, it has been shown that the artificially cemented sandstone behaves as a truly elastic material inside the initial cementation yield surface, because no residual energy was generated or dissipated. Furthermore, the isotropic elastic parameters have been determined for the artificially cemented sandstone.     

饱和土半空间中圆柱形孔洞对平面P波的散射

在 Biot饱和多孔介质动力学理论的基础上,首次建立了求解饱和土半空间中圆柱形孔洞对平面 P 波散射问题的波函数展开法。首先。分析了具有圆柱形孔洞的饱和土半空间场地在平面 P 波入射下产生散射波系,并将入射波和散射波的波函数在圆柱坐标下展开。然后,引入边界条件,求出散射波函数的待定系数,从而,得到饱和土半空间中圆柱形孔洞对平面P波的散射问题的解析解。根据所得的波函数的解,可求解区域内的位移、应力的值,同时,分析了入射波频率、入射角对柱面上的应力集中因子的影响。     

Elastic consolidation around a point sink embedded in a half-space with anisotropic permeability

The complete solution is presented for the transient effects of pumping fluid from a point sink embedded in a saturated, porous elastic half-space. It is assumed that the medium is homogeneous and isotropic with respect to its elastic properties and homogeneous but anisotropic with respect to the flow of pore fluid. The soil skeleton is modelled as a linear elastic material obeying Hooke's law, while the pore fluid is assumed to be incompressible with its flow governed by Darcy's law. The solution has been evaluated for a particular value of Poisson's ratio of the solid skeleton, i.e. 0.25, and the results have been presented graphically in the form of isochrones of excess pore pressure and surface profile for the half-space. The solutions presented may have application in practical problems such as dewatering operations in compressible soil and rock masses.     

Modelling Transport of Linearly Sorbing Solutes in a Single Fracture: Asymptotic Behavior of Solute Velocity and Dispersivity

The asymptotic behavior of the solute velocity and dispersivity for a system of parallel fractures with matrix diffusion is made using numerical modeling and theoretical analyses. The study is limited to linearly sorbing solutes with a constant continuous source boundary condition. Expressions are provided for solute velocity and effective dispersivity in terms of fracture porosity during asymptotic stage using spatial moment analyses. The importance of matrix porosity and fracture porosity on solute velocity as well as the relationship governing effective dispersivity and fracture porosity is discussed for both non-reactive and linearly sorbing solutes. By using a dimensionless effective dispersivity parameter it is shown that the relationship between the fracture porosity and dimensionless effective dispersivity is linear for non-reactive solutes. It is also shown that this holds true for the linearly sorbing solutes with the same proportionality constant.     

Nonlinear Response of Single Piles in Sand Subjected to Lateral Loads using k hmax Approach

This paper presents results of analysis of full-scale pile load test data of 14 piles embedded in either loose or medium dense sands. The analysis was performed using two methods, p–y curve approach and a more recently developed k_hmax approach. Comparison of the results obtained using both the methods is also presented. A step-by-step analysis procedure is presented for predicting lateral load deflection response of single piles in sand using the k_hmax approach. The results presented show that the k_hmax approach has promise over the p–y curve approach because of its simplicity and the fact that it provides upper- and lower-bound curves, which are valuable guides to making engineering decisions. For loose sands, a new range of k_hmax values is recommended to better predict the lateral load–deflection response of single piles.