Analysis of Äspö Pillar Stability Experiment: Continuous thermo-mechanical model development and calibration

Abstract

The paper describes an analysis of thermo-mechanical (TM) processes appearing during the Äspö Pillar Stability Experiment (APSE). This analysis is based on finite elements with elasticity, plasticity and damage mechanics models of rock behaviour and some least squares calibration techniques. The main aim is to examine the capability of continuous mechanics models to predict brittle damage behaviour of granite rocks. The performed simulations use an in-house finite element software GEM and self-developed experimental continuum damage MATLAB code. The main contributions are twofold. First, it is an inverse analysis, which is used for (1) verification of an initial stress measurement by back analysis of convergence measurement during construction of the access tunnel and (2) identification of heat transfer rock mass properties by an inverse method based on the known heat sources and temperature measurements. Second, three different hierarchically built models are used to estimate the pillar damage zones, i.e. elastic model with Drucker–Prager strength criterion, elasto-plastic model with the same yield limit and a combination of elasto-plasticity with continuum damage mechanics. The damage mechanics model is also used to simulate uniaxial and triaxial compressive strength tests on the Äspö granite.