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Experimental Investigation on Failure Mechanism and Rockburst Process of Tunnels Under Different Span-Ratios and Existing Structural Planes

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Abstract

The failure mechanism of surrounding rock and the formation of rockburst in deep rockmass are influenced by various factors such as in-situ stress, geological conditions and excavation methods. In this paper, to investigate the impact of cross-sectional shape, principal stress direction and existing structural planes on the failure mechanism and rockburst process of tunnels, granite samples with horseshoe-shaped holes under different span-ratios and prefabricated cracks are made from the Longmen Mountain Tunnel, corresponding compression tests are carried out in different loading directions. According to the test results, adding the inverted arch and appropriately increasing the span-ratio are beneficial for improving the overall load-bearing performance of the tunnel. However, continuously increasing the flattening rate will lead to an increase in the excavation cross-sectional area, thereby reducing the overall strength of the rock mass. Gradually increasing the flatness of the hard-rock tunnel can effectively improve the stress concentration inside the surrounding rock, significantly reducing the frequency and intensity of rockburst occurrence. For a horseshoe-shaped tunnel with horizontal principal stress direction, the rockburst intensity will intensify, and the location of the occurrence shifts towards the arch bottom and vault. The deformation and failure of deep hard-rock tunnels are often the result of the combined action of tectonic stress and rock mass structural planes, and the existing cracks largely affect and control the fracture evolution process. The effect of prefabricated cracks parallel to compressive stress on granite samples is relatively small, while diagonal-arranged cracks have a significant impact on the failure mechanism of rock mass. If the prefabricated cracks are placed vertically at the haunches with concentrated compressive stress, these planes not only seriously reduce the bearing capacity of the rockmass, but also greatly weaken the strong rockburst disasters. The inclined structural planes lead to significant asymmetry in the failure mechanism and rockburst process of tunnels. Although the intensity of rockburst occurrence has decreased, the frequency of dynamic instability of the surrounding rock may even increase, and the risk of collapse in the upper rock mass will be enhanced.

Highlights

  • The impact of tunnel span-ratio on the overall bearing performance and failure mechanism of rockmass with hole-opening is systematically studied.

  • The rockburst process of surrounding rock under different flattening ratios and principal stress directions is deeply analyzed.

  • The influence of structural planes on the mechanical behavior, failure mechanism and rockburst process of tunnels is revealed.

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Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52378415 and 52008351), the Sichuan Transportation Science and Technology Program (No. 2021-B-01) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2682023KJ002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, Sichuan, China

    Ziquan Chen, Chuan He, Bo Wang, Quanyou Yuan, Changwei Jiang & Song Yuan

  2. Sichuan Communication Surveying and Design Institute Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610017, Sichuan, China

    Song Yuan & Xibao Wang

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  1. Ziquan Chen
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  2. Chuan He
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  3. Bo Wang
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  5. Changwei Jiang
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  7. Xibao Wang
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Correspondence to Bo Wang.

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Chen, Z., He, C., Wang, B. et al. Experimental Investigation on Failure Mechanism and Rockburst Process of Tunnels Under Different Span-Ratios and Existing Structural Planes. Rock Mech Rock Eng 57, 3727–3749 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03767-z

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