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Estimating the strength and deformation of columnar jointed rock mass based on physical model test

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Abstract

The complex structure of the columnar jointed rock mass (CJRM) brings difficulty in determining its field mechanical parameters, and a reliable estimation of the strength and deformation of CJRM is crucial for engineering safety. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on artificial CJRM specimens with columnar structures of quadrangular, pentagonal and hexagonal prisms to model the mechanical behaviour of the CJRM. The strength and deformation anisotropy were compared and analyzed on the basis of the results by combining the structural features of the three models. The failure modes and mechanisms were summarized in accordance with the failure processes and final appearances of artificial specimens. The empirical relations of predicting the field mechanical parameters were derived on the basis of the joint factor approach, the empirical gradient method and the rock quality designation (RQD). For the CJRM of the Baihetan Project, the proposed empirical correlations were used to estimate the field unaxial compression strength and elastic modulus, and the predicted values were compared with those obtained from the field tests and other empirical methods. Results revealed that the estimated values calculated by the proposed empirical equations are in good agreement with the field test results, and the three empirical relations can predict the mechanical parameters of the Baihetan CJRM effectively. The empirical relation based on RQD is extremely valuable when RQD is the only available information about discontinuities in site investigations.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41831278, 51878249 and 51579081).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangcheng Que, Zhende Zhu, Zihao Niu & Wenbin Lu

  2. Jiangsu Research Center for Geotechnical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangcheng Que, Zhende Zhu, Zihao Niu & Wenbin Lu

Authors
  1. Xiangcheng Que
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  2. Zhende Zhu
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  3. Zihao Niu
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  4. Wenbin Lu
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Contributions

Xiangcheng Que., Zhende Zhu and Zihao Niu contributed to the study conception and design. Xiangcheng Que., Zihao Niu and Wenbin Lu performed the experiments. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xiangcheng Que. and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiangcheng Que.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Appendix: Empirical relations for estimating the field mechanical parameters

Appendix: Empirical relations for estimating the field mechanical parameters

See Table 11.

Table 11 Empirical relations for estimating the field mechanical parameters
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Que, X., Zhu, Z., Niu, Z. et al. Estimating the strength and deformation of columnar jointed rock mass based on physical model test. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 1557–1570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01974-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01974-w

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