Safety Of Underground Engineering Research Articles

Study on the Protective Effect of Viscous Buffering Device under Explosive Load

In recent years, with the complex and changeable international situation, local wars and conflicts abroad have occurred frequently, which seriously threaten the safety of human life and property. Against this background, high-precision and high-intensity strikes against key targets such as enemy command posts and ordnance reserves have become the norm in modern warfare. As the undercard of national security, the security and protection capabilities of underground military facilities are of great importance. Underground structures not only play the role of emergency evacuation of personnel to avoid air and missile attacks, but also the core of the combat command system, where key facilities such as military underground factories and warehouses are located. The security of these facilities has a direct bearing on the outcome of a war and even the fate of a country. In view of this, taking effective measures to improve the explosion resistance, durability and survivability of underground protective structures has become an important research topic in the field of military engineering in various countries. Under the action of the explosion of conventional weapons at a certain distance, the underground protective structures can be damaged due to insufficient resistance. The powerful shock wave generated by the explosion, with its huge kinetic energy and impact force, will cause a large vibration acceleration ring inside the structure, which is very easy to cause casualties and equipment damage within the structure, thus posing a serious threat to the safety of underground engineering. In order to improve the anti-explosion performance of the protective structure under the action of blast impact load, the underground protection engineering structure has been continuously upgraded and optimized, among which the layered protective structure has been widely used because of its relatively excellent protection effect. The layered protective structure realizes a relatively effective protection system through a well-designed camouflage layer, a bullet shielding layer, a dispersed layer and a main structure. However, although significant progress has been made in the optimization of three-layer materials, the defects such as the unstable state of the dispersed layer and the possibility of reducing the overall protection performance with time or external conditions are still an urgent problem to be solved. This system is designed to replace or partially replace the traditional dispersed layer, which is not only designed to effectively absorb and dissipate the blast wave energy transmitted by the bomb shielding layer, but also fundamentally solve the problem of the reduction of protection effect caused by the change of the state of the dispersed layer. In this study, the simulation technology will be used to deeply explore the structural dynamic response of the protective structure after the addition of buffer energy dissipation device under the blast impact load, and the key factors affecting the protection effect will be systematically analyzed, the simulation parameters will be accurately set, and the protection effect under different parameter combinations will be simulated, so as to find an optimal parameter configuration scheme. This study not only helps to deepen the understanding of the anti-explosion performance of underground protection structures, but also provides valuable theoretical basis and practical guidance for the design and construction of underground protection projects in the future.

Study of Water–Sand Inrush through a Vertical Karst Conduit Uncovered through Tunnel Excavation

The existence of karst compromises the safety of underground engineering, especially during tunnel excavations. Karst conduits are uncovered through tunnel excavations, which may lead to a water–sand inrush disaster. Taking a vertical karst conduit as an example, the process of water–sand inrush through a karst conduit could be viewed as being similar to the process whereby a water–sand mixture flows through the discharge opening of a storage bin. In this study, based on force analysis of a non-aqueous sand body above a karst conduit, the limiting diameter of the karst conduit under force equilibrium was obtained. Considering the effect of water on aqueous sand bodies, the criterion of water–sand inrush was established. We aimed to study water–sand migration and inrush through vertical karst conduits in order to obtain the distribution of the water pressure near a vertical karst conduit, and to explore the relationship between the conduit size, water pressure, and water–sand flow rate; therefore, a simulated testing system for analyzing water–sand inrush through a vertical karst conduit was developed. When the water pressure in the testing chamber was close to the critical head pressure of the water–sand inrush, the water–sand inrush exhibited a pattern of instability—migration—deposition—stability. When the water pressure in the testing chamber exceeded the critical head pressure, the water–sand flow increased first and then stabilized over time. With the increase in the set values of the water pressure and conduit size, the steady flow of the water–sand mixture increased gradually. When the karst conduit was opened suddenly, the actual water pressure in the testing chamber decreased significantly, due to the water–sand mixture flowing out of the testing chamber and the water supply lagging behind. With the stabilization of the water–sand flow, the actual water pressure gradually tended towards stability, but it was still lower than the initial set water pressure. When the karst conduit was opened, the values of the water pressure monitored by the pore pressure gauges all clearly decreased. With the stabilization of the water–sand flow, the water pressure gradually became stable. With the increase in the distance between the pore pressure sensor and the karst conduit, the water pressure values all increased gradually. These test results are significant for further studies of the formation mechanisms of water–sand inrush through vertical karst conduits.

Macro and meso crack evolution of granite specimens with non-straight fissures: A comparison between two bond models

Various flaws in rock mass can weaken mechanical properties of the rock and pose a risk to the safety of underground engineering, with significant implications for design, construction and maintenance. A study of the strength and failure modes of rocks with non-straight fissures can provide a better understanding of fracture mechanisms of rocks. In this study, uniaxial compression tests were carried out on granite specimens with three types of fissures, including straight and arc fissures. The experiments showed that the stress–strain curves and failure modes of the granite specimens were influenced by pre-existing fissures. Compared to straight fissures, arc fissures had less influence on mechanical parameters of the specimens. In order to further investigate the effects of arc fissures, PFC models were constructed, based on calibrated PBM and FJM parameters. Stress–strain curves, mechanical parameters and failure modes of specimens with pre-existing fissures were simulated. The initial cracks around the arc fissure were shifted from the tip of the fissure to the highest point of the arc fissure. Finally, the dip angle of cracks, the stress distribution in the specimens and the local stress evolution around the fissures were further discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of the two contact models were summarized.

Experimental Study on the Influence of Different Loading Rates on Fatigue Mechanical Properties of Sandstone

Underground rock engineering often encounters long-term cyclic loading and unloading. Under the influence of this effect, the mechanical characteristics of rocks will inevitably change, which will affect the stability and safety of underground engineering. Therefore, it is necessary to study the fatigue characteristics of rocks under a certain period of action. With an RDL series electronic creep relaxation testing machine, fatigue loading and unloading tests of sandstone at different loading rates were carried out, followed by uniaxial compression on the samples. The study shows that the stress–strain curves of the uniaxial compression specimens have three stages: a compaction pore fracture stage, an elastic deformation stage, and an unstable fracture developing to failure stage. The stress–strain curves of the samples with a certain number of cycles of loading and unloading give the thinning and dense phenomenon, and the axial upper limit strain and axial cumulative residual strain gradually decrease as the loading rate increases. With the increase, the uniaxial compressive strength of the reloaded samples increases gradually, which is higher than the ordinary uniaxial compressive strength. In the process of cyclic loading and unloading, the internal particles of the sample present fracture and reorganization of the fragile structure and, at the same time, compaction stability.

Improved Combination Weighted Prediction Model of Aquifer Water Abundance Based on a Cloud Model.

The sandstone aquifer is an important underground water storage space, and the study of its water abundance is of great significance to ensure the safety of underground engineering and to explore the occurrence mechanism of groundwater sources. Based on the correlation between geological characteristics and aquifer water abundance, this paper proposed an aquifer water abundance prediction model based on a cloud model that improved combination weighting. The model took the roof sandstone aquifer of the Qingshuiying Coalfield as an example and selected five basic geological indicators that are closely related to the water-rich influence degree of the aquifer as evaluation indicators. The model was based on the idea of game theory, combined the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the entropy weight method, and introduced the cloud model evaluation method. The establishment of the model was based on the idea of game theory, combining the AHP and the entropy weight method and introducing the cloud model evaluation method. The results show that most of the study areas are located in weak or relatively weak water abundance areas; relatively strong water abundance areas are mainly distributed in the central, western, and southeastern parts of the study; strong water abundance areas are scattered in parts of the northeast, southwest, and southeast. The unit water inflow data of the actual pumping test is consistent with the water-rich prediction partition, which proves the accuracy and scientificity of the method. The model provides a new idea for the study of groundwater geology and a new method for predicting the water abundance of the roof aquifer in coal mines.

Experiment and Mechanism Investigation on Freezing-Thawing of Sandstone with Different Water Contents

Freezing-thawing cycles seriously affect the safety of underground engineering in cold regions. At present, most research studies focus on the effect of number and freezing temperature on freezing-thawing cycles. As another important factor, the mechanism of rock mass water content affecting freezing-thawing is less studied. This paper studied the influence of the water content on mechanical property, microstructure, and acoustic emission characteristics of sandstone. The results indicated that the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and elastic modulus (E) of sandstone after 20 freezing-thawing cycles decreased as the water content increased. However, the decreasing rate of UCS gradually decreased, while the decreasing rate of E gradually increased. Furthermore, the empirical formulas of UCS and E about water content were obtained. The porosity and plasticity of sandstone after 20 freezing-thawing cycles increased as the water content increased. The empirical formulas of UCS and E about water content were obtained. The porosity and plasticity of sandstone after 20 freezing-thawing cycles increased as the water content increased. The decreasing trend of UCS with porosity was the same as that of UCS with water content. The failure form of sandstone gradually changed from splitting failure to shear failure. The results of the acoustic emission test showed that the stress-strain curves combined with acoustic emission ring counting could reveal the damage evolution process of sandstone during loading.

Experimental Study on Creep Behavior and Crack Evolution of Stratified Structural Sandstone under Segmental Constant Load

The hazards induced by stratified rock mass creep are still one of the major problems that threaten the safety of underground engineering. This paper takes safe construction of underground roadway in Urumqi mining area as the research background. In this study, we mainly adopted rock mechanics experiments to accomplish the research on creep behavior and crack evolution of stratified structural sandstone. Creep deformation characteristics of stratified structural sandstone under different load were revealed; also, we analyzed the reason why a part of rock samples failed but others were not under the same load. Creep behavior and crack evolution of rock samples without stratified structure have significant randomness. The crack evolution and failure characteristics of stratified structural rock samples were mainly manifested as failure along and cutting through structural plane and their combined forms. Creep strain, creep duration, and creep rate of rock samples with stratified structure had a nonlinear relationship with applied load, such as exponential function or logarithmic function. Understanding the evolutionary relationship between the above parameters and load provides a basis for obtaining the creep behavior of stratified rock mass under different load conditions.

Investigation of the influence of intermediate principal stress on the dynamic responses of rocks subjected to true triaxial stress state

Precisely understanding the dynamic mechanical properties and failure modes of rocks subjected to true triaxial stress state (σ1 > σ2 > σ3, where σ1, σ2, and σ3 are the major principal stress, intermediate principal stress, and minor principal stress, respectively) is essential to the safety of underground engineering. However, in the laboratory, it is difficult to maintain the constant true triaxial stress state of rocks during the dynamic testing process. Herein, a numerical servo triaxial Hopkinson bar (NSTHB) was developed to study the dynamic responses of rocks confronted with a true triaxial stress state, in which lateral stresses can maintain constant. The results indicate that the dynamic strength and elastic modulus of rocks increase with the rise of intermediate principal stress σ2, while the dynamic elastic modulus is independent of the dynamic strain rate. Simulated acoustic emission distributions indicate that the intermediate principal stress σ2 dramatically affects dynamic failure modes of triaxial confined rocks. As σ2 increases, the failure pattern switches from a single diagonal shear zone into two parallel shear zones with a small slant. Moreover, a recent triaxial Hopkinson bar experimental system using three bar pairs is also numerically established, and the measuring discrepancies are identified between the two numerical bar systems. The proposed NSTHB system provides a controllable tool for studying the dynamic triaxial behavior of rocks.

Research and microscopic analysis of seepage characteristics of sandstone under low-frequency cyclic loading

The change of rock permeability properties under cyclic load is of great significance to the safety of underground engineering. However, there are few studies on triaxial seepage tests under different cyclic loads, and most of them have not carried out microscopic mechanism analysis. Therefore, in this paper, the seepage test of intact sandstone under different cyclic loads was carried out under low confining pressure. The test used sine waves to simulate low-frequency seismic waves, highlighting the permeability of underground water-bearing engineering rock mass with vibration frequency and amplitude under low-frequency source disturbance Variations and test results show that in the sandstone triaxial stress-strain curve, from the compacted section, the elastic section to the expansion section, the permeability of the rock gradually increases, and the sensitivity to cyclic load also increases. At the same time, the damage threshold of the rock gradually decreases, and the rock will break even in the elastic section. Under low confining pressure, the loading amplitude has a greater impact on rock permeability than the loading frequency under low-frequency cyclic loading. The loading frequency and loading amplitude can be comprehensively characterized by the average loading rate. Then, using nuclear magnetic imaging technology to change the microstructure of the rock sample before and after the test, the analysis shows that the effect of different cyclic load parameters on the permeability of the rock sample is actually obtained through the effect of force on pores and cracks. For dense rocks, The increase in permeability caused by cracks is even greater.

A two-step comprehensive evaluation model for rockburst prediction based on multiple empirical criteria

Rockburst hazards are generally recognized as one of the main types of geological hazards that affect the construction safety of underground engineering in areas with high ground stress. As such, rockburst prediction has become a common challenge for engineers worldwide. This paper presents a pioneering rockburst prediction method, referred to as the two-step comprehensive evaluation model, based on multiple empirical criteria. Five empirical criteria – the elastic energy index criterion, the Russenes criterion, the Tao criterion, the rock brittleness coefficient criterion, and the rock mass intact coefficient criterion were adopted to construct the primary evaluation model. The weight coefficients were subsequently assigned to the five empirical criteria according to the rough set theory. Finally, the two-step comprehensive evaluation model was constructed using the obtained weight coefficient and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). Twenty rockburst samples were collected to assess the validity of the two-step model. The results indicated that the lowest error rate decreased significantly from 45% (calculated with the primary evaluation model) to 25% (derived from the two-step model). The two-step model was compared with existing artificial intelligence methods and the results showed that the two-step model had better prediction performance in this study of rockburst cases. Thus, the presented model offers guidance for predicting underground rockburst hazards.

The evolution of sandstone microstructure and mechanical properties with thermal damage

AbstractThe physical and mechanical properties of rocks at high temperatures change considerably with geothermal exploitation, underground coal gasification, and nuclear engineering construction, posing a threat to the safety of underground engineering. To investigate the effect of temperature on micro‐ and macroscale damage of sandstone, a series of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted using an MTS 815 mechanical testing system. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were also employed. Macroscopically, it was found that the physical and mechanical properties of sandstone change with treatment temperature, but these changes do not follow a monotonic trend. In addition, the brittle‐ductile transition occurs at approximately 600°C, which is further confirmed by AE monitoring. Regarding the microstructural evolution of sandstone, the percentage of micropores shows a monotonically decreasing trend with increasing treatment temperature. The change in mesopores decreases slightly first, then shows a gradual increase, and finally decreases. The macropores first decrease and subsequently increase with increasing temperature. The decreasing trend of the meso‐ and macropores is attributed to thermal expansion at a relatively low temperature. However, the decrease in mesopores is due to their coalescence into macropores at higher temperatures. Furthermore, the integral value of the NMR spectrum first decreases and then increases with increasing treatment temperature, corresponding to the decrease in porosity from 25°C to 200°C, and then increases with temperature to 900°C. Finally, a constitutive model for the deformation and fracture of sandstone is established based on the effective medium theory and AE energy. The present study is helpful for improving the understanding of the process of thermal damage sandstone from both micro‐ and macroscale perspectives.

Predicting the Mechanical Properties of Bimrocks with High Rock Block Proportions Based on Resonance Testing Technology and Damage Theory

Block-in-matrix-rocks (bimrocks) are very complicated geological masses that cause many challenging problems during the design and construction of engineering projects, such as parameter determination and landsliding. Successful engineering design and construction depends on a suitable constitutive model and reliable design parameters for geological masses. In this paper, the vibration attenuation signal of welded bimrocks was obtained and studied using resonance test technology. Combined with a uniaxial compression test, a constitutive model was proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of welded bimrocks. On this basis, the relations between the dynamic elastic modulus and the physical parameters of bimrocks were established, which included macroscopic mechanical parameters and damage constitutive parameters. Consequently, a new technological process was proposed to provide quick identification of the mechanical properties of welded bimrocks. The results indicate that the dynamic elastic modulus is highly correlated with the rock block proportion (RBP) and uniaxial compression strength (UCS). It is an effective parameter to predict the strength of the bimrocks with high RBPs. Additionally, the proposed constitutive model, which is based on damage theory, can accurately simulate the strain softening behavior of the bimrocks. Combining the resonant frequency technology and the proposed constitutive model, the complete stress strain curve can be obtained in a rapid and accurate manner, which provides a further guarantee of the stability and safety of underground engineering.

Hydraulic properties and energy dissipation of deep hard rock under H-M coupling and cycling loads

The permeability of deep rock is closely related to the stability and safety of underground engineering. The rocks in deep stratum are mostly with high stress and high osmotic pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the coupling effect between porewater pressure and in situ stress on rock mass. A series of triaxial cyclic loading and unloading experiments under hydraulic-mechanics coupling conditions are carried out to studied the mechanical and hydraulic properties of granite in the depth of 1300 m to 1500 m. Especially, the effect of the disturbance on the permeability of fractured rocks are investigated by unloaded the confining pressure. Tests results presented that the stress-strain curves of deep granite showed typical brittle characteristics. The principal stress of granite exhibited a linear relationship under the high confining pressure of 34-40 MPa and high osmotic pressure of 13-15 MPa. Dissipated energy of the rock decreased to a relatively low level after 2-3 loading cycles and then slowly increased. Permeability showed a decreasing trend as the loading and unloading cycles increase. Finally, acoustic emission technology was used to monitor the fracture evolution in rocks, the acoustic emission signal released as the fractures develop and energy dissipated. The results would provide basic data for the exploitation and excavation in the deep galleries.

Experimental study on non-destructive testing of rock bolts based on pseudo-random signal

The quality of rock bolt anchoring is closely related to the stability and safety of underground engineering and slope protection. In this paper, non-destructive testing of rock bolts is proposed based on pseudo-random signal, owing to the deficiencies of the conventional detecting method of stress wave reflection. The characteristics of pseudo-random signal for non-destructive testing of rock bolts are introduced. And the rock bolts are tested in the experiment, the time of reflection wave is identified and the length of rock bolts is calculated through cross correlation analysis between the extracted wavelet signal and the test signal. It is proved that the testing results of non-destructive testing methods based on pseudo-random signal are of low deviation. The experiment has shown that non-destructive testing of rock bolts based on pseudo-random signal is feasible with high precision.

Experimental Study on Elastic-Plastic Behavior of a Sandstone under Ground Temperature

The mechanical properties of rock under high temperature and high geostress are the basic and important information to assess the safety of underground engineering. Based on the environmental conditions of the west route of south-to-north water transfer project in western China, experiments are conducted for a sandstone. The experiments are conducted in stress path of hydrostate, pure shear, and conventional triaxial compression at the temperature of 25°C, 50°C and 70°C. The change of strength and average moduli of the rock with temperatures are studied. By cycle loading and unloading tests, elastic and plastic deformation of the rock are decomposed, it is shown that the plastic deformations of the rock are clearly changed with temperature, while the elastic deformation of the rock seems to be unaffected by the temperature. Moreover, based on the associated plastic flow rule, a constitutive law considering temperature is proposed for the sandstone.

Experimental Study on Mechanical Property of Thermo-Mechanical and Hydro-Mechanical Coupling Condition for a Sandstone

The mechanical properties of rock under high temperature, high geostress and high pore pressure are the basic and important information to assess the safety of underground engineering in west China. Based on the environmental conditions of the west route of south-to-north water transfer project in west China, a series of triaxial tests at confining pressures (0 to 60MPa) and temperatures (25°C to 70°C) as well as pore pressure (0 to 10MPa) have been conducted for a sandstone. It is reported that under the temperatures varying from 25°C to 70°C, the strength of the rock increases with the increment of confining pressure, while the deformation modulus of the rock doesn’t change distinctly with the increment of confining pressures. It is also indicated under the temperatures condition in the experiments, when the confining pressure is lower than 40MPa, the strength of the rock increases with the increment of temperature, whereas when the confining pressure is higher than 40MPa, the strength of rock tend to decrease with increment of temperature. It is further shown that the strength decreases with increasing pore pressure, and the decreasing rates tend to decrease with the increment of confining pressures.