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Prediction of fracture frequency and RQD for the fractured rock mass using drilling logging data

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Abstract

Fractures in rock mass provide the dominant role in its mechanical properties. In this paper, an in situ experiment is carried out to investigate the specific energy of rock mass, from which the response of the specific energy on the open and in-filled fractures is analysed. The effect of the intact core and the open and in-filled fractures on the specific energy is studied, presenting the link between the fracture frequency and the specific energy. The result shows that the relationship between the fracture frequency and the specific energy is proposed for evaluating the fracture frequency and rock quality designation (RQD). A standard deviation of 0.18 for the specific energy can be used as a critical point to distinguish between the segment of the intact core and the fracture segment. A new prediction method is proposed to determinate the fracture frequency and RQD of rock mass, and its utilization for RQD prediction can overcome the limitations of the original RQD. This method is applied in the water conservancy project and demonstrated to be reliable and accurate by comparative studies with previous work, thus providing a low-cost and simple approach for rock quality evaluation.

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Abbreviations

M :

torque (N·m)

w :

rotation speed (rpd)

F :

drilling force (N)

e :

specific energy (N/mm2)

v :

Penetration rate (mm/min)

A :

excavation area (mm2)

f :

standard deviation of the specific energy

s min :

minimum value of the standard deviation

s max :

maximum value of the standard deviation

λ :

Fracture frequency

N :

fracture sets number

λ i :

fracture frequency normal to set i

θ i :

fracture orientation

t :

selected threshold value

ζ :

fitting parameter of relationship curve between the fracture frequency and the standard deviation of specific energy

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Funding

This study is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 11902249 and 11872301), Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (Shaanxi Province Natural Science Foundation) (Grant No. 2019JQ395), and Education Bureau of Shaanxi Province | Scientific Research Plan Projects of Shaanxi Education Department in China (Grant No. 20JS093).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Mingming He & Ning Li

  2. Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Zhiqiang Zhang & Ning Li

  3. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Loess Mechanics and Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Ning Li

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  1. Mingming He
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Correspondence to Mingming He.

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Reprints and permission information are available. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.M. He (hemingming@xaut. edu.cn).

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He, M., Zhang, Z. & Li, N. Prediction of fracture frequency and RQD for the fractured rock mass using drilling logging data. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 4547–4557 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02240-3

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