The behavior of mass migration and loss in fractured rock during seepage

Abstract

Mass migration and loss in fractured rock during seepage processes are considered to cause seepage instabilities, which can lead to seepage catastrophes. In this study, the migration and loss of fine particles in fractured rock during seepage are theoretically and experimentally investigated. We analyze the characteristics of lost and migrated mass obtained from the experiments over time, as well as the effect of initial compression. A linear relationship is found to best describe the difference of migrated versus lost mass and Talbot power exponent (TPE), with the slope and intercept related to initial compression. The lost and migrated mass are described mathematically based on the TPE and initial compression. We quantify the behavior of mass migration and loss, which allows calculation of the possibility of seepage instability and water inrush. A seepage instability occurs if the lost mass ratio is greater than 4.90%. The results presented here provide important insight into the water inrush mechanism in geotechnical engineering applications.