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Experimental Study on Rockburst and Spalling Failure in Circular Openings for Deep Underground Engineering

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Abstract

This study aims to simulate the process of rockburst and spalling failure of roadway surrounding rock under three-dimensional stress in deep rock engineering. Utilizing an independently developed true triaxial rockburst experimental setup, the failure process of a circular tunnel under initial in-situ stress at a depth of 500 m was investigated using red sandstone with prefabricated holes. A miniature camera device and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system were used to monitor and record the experimental process in real time. Using the collected data, the process of rockburst and spalling failure of the circular tunnel was reproduced. Finally, the difference between rockburst and spalling failure was analyzed and compared based on four aspects of stress characteristics, acoustic emission characteristics, fragment characteristics, and V-shaped notch morphology characteristics. The experimental results show that the failure of surrounding rock was more likely to occur under dynamic disturbance load, resulting in particle ejection. The spalling failure was found to be a slow and gradual static failure process. The mechanism of rockburst was more complex involving tension-shear coupling failure, whereas, the mechanism of spalling failure was simple involving a tensile failure. Compared with spalling failure, rockburst was more intense, producing more debris, and the V-shaped notch was narrow and deep.

Highlights

  • Failure process of rockburst and spalling is reproduced in a laboratory.

  • The stress characteristics of rockburst and spalling failure are calculated based on elastic theory.

  • Frequency-amplitude characteristics and crack types based on acoustic emission are analyzed.

  • The failure intensity of rockburst and spalling is investigated based on the rock fragments and morphology of V-shaped notch.

  • The failure process of rockburst and spalling is discussed along with strain energy.

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Data availability

The datasets used or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

σ H, σ h, and σ v :

Two horizontal and a vertical in-situ stresses

γ :

Bulk density

H :

Burial depth

p and q :

Vertical and average horizontal stresses

σ θ max :

Maximum tangential stress

σ zi :

Initial sidewall failure stress

AF:

Average frequency

RA:

The ratio of rise time to amplitude

k :

Slope of a boundary line

L eq :

Equivalent side length

L eqmax :

Maximum equivalent side length

N :

The number of fragments whose equivalent side length is greater than Leq

N 0 :

The number of fragments whose equivalent side length is Leqmax

D :

Fractal dimension

w and l :

Width and length of fragments

d :

The depth of V-shaped notch

β :

The angle of V-shaped notch

σ θ 1, σ θ 2, and σ θ 3 :

Tangential stresses at different stages

Δ1 and Δ2:

Increments of tangential stress

W :

Strain energy

F X, F Y, and F Z :

Forces in the direction of X, Y, and Z

L X, L Y, and L Z :

Displacements in the direction of X, Y, and Z

V :

Rock specimen volume

V ε :

Strain energy density

ΔE :

Excess energy

E 0 :

Required energy for rock failure under the uniaxial compression test

\(E_1^{\prime}\) and \(E_2^{\prime}\) :

Stored strain energy during the quiet period of rockburst and spalling failure

\(E_1^{\prime\prime}\) and \(E_2^{\prime\prime}\) :

Stored strain energy of rockburst and spalling failure when the initial failure occurred

\(E_1\) and \(E_2\) :

Stored strain energy when the rockburst or spalling failure occurs

\(\Delta E_1\) and \(\Delta E_2\) :

Excess energy of spalling failure and rockburst

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52074299 and 41941018), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2021JCCXSB03) and the Fundamental Science Foundation of Institute of Geomechanics (No. DZLXJK202210).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, 100083, China

    Kai Ling, Dongqiao Liu, Yunpeng Guo, Zheng Zhou, Lulu Zhang & Manchao He

  2. School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, 100083, China

    Kai Ling, Yunpeng Guo, Zheng Zhou & Lulu Zhang

  3. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yang Wang

  4. Key Laboratory of Active Tectonics and Geological Safety, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yang Wang

  5. Research Center of Neotectonism and Crustal Stability, China Geological Survey, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yang Wang

Authors
  1. Kai Ling
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  2. Yang Wang
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  3. Dongqiao Liu
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  4. Yunpeng Guo
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  7. Manchao He
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Kai Ling, Yang Wang, Zheng Zhou, Lulu Zhang and Yunpeng Guo. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Kai Ling, Yang Wang, Dongqiao Liu and Manchao He, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yang Wang or Dongqiao Liu.

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Ling, K., Wang, Y., Liu, D. et al. Experimental Study on Rockburst and Spalling Failure in Circular Openings for Deep Underground Engineering. Rock Mech Rock Eng 56, 2607–2631 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-022-03203-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-022-03203-0

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