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Numerical Modeling of Stability of Fractured Reservoir Bank Slopes Subjected to Water–Rock Interactions

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Abstract

The effect of water on the shear behavior of joints in rocks is critical for determining the global stability of fractured rock slopes subjected to changes in water levels, because the joint peak shear strength can be significantly lowered owing to wetting. The roles of the mechanical and the combined physical and chemical water–rock interactions in the deformation of reservoir bank slopes are studied using discrete element method. The numerical results showed that the joints that are subparallel to the slope surface mainly determine the displacements of rock blocks and that water–rock interaction-induced deterioration of joint shear stiffness and strength plays a critical role in the stability of reservoir bank slopes. The weakening of rock fractures induced by interactions between water and fracture walls can explain the monitored valley contraction during the impoundment of high dams.

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Abbreviations

E :

Young’s modulus (GPa)

\(\nu\) :

Poisson’s ratio

\(a\) :

Fracture hydraulic aperture (m)

\(a_{\text{o}}\) :

Fracture hydraulic aperture at zero normal stress (m)

\(a_{\text{res}}\) :

Minimum (or residual) aperture value (m)

\(k_{\text{j}}\) :

Fracture permeability factor (Pa−1 s−1)

\(k_{\text{n}}\) :

Fracture normal stiffness (Pa m−1)

\(k_{\text{s}}\) :

Fracture shear stiffness (Pa m−1)

\(l\) :

Fracture length (m)

\(p\) :

Water pressure (Pa)

\(\Delta p\) :

Fluid pressure difference (Pa)

q :

Fluid flow rate (m2 s−1)

\(u_{\text{n}}\) :

Normal displacement (m)

\(\Delta u_{\text{n}}\) :

Normal displacement increment (m)

\(\sigma^{\prime}_{\text{n}}\) :

Effective normal stress (Pa)

\(\Delta \sigma^{\prime}_{n}\) :

Effective normal stress increment (Pa)

\(\Delta \tau_{\text{s}}\) :

Shear stress increment (Pa)

\(\Delta u_{\text{s}}^{\text{e}}\) :

Elastic component of incremental shear displacement (m)

\(\tau\) :

Fracture shear strength (Pa)

\(c\) :

Fracture cohesion strength (Pa)

\(\varphi\) :

Fracture friction angle (°)

\(\mu\) :

Dynamic viscosity of the fluid (Pa s)

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Acknowledgements

The study was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51509138, 51779123, 51739006), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (8152020), the Recruitment Program of Beijing Youth Experts (2014000020124G115) and the Open-end Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science (No. 2014SGG04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Zhihong Zhao, Tiecheng Guo & Zihao Dou

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, College of Water Resources and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Feng Dai

  3. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Zeyu Ning & Qiang Yang

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  1. Zhihong Zhao
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  2. Tiecheng Guo
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  3. Zeyu Ning
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  4. Zihao Dou
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  5. Feng Dai
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  6. Qiang Yang
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Correspondence to Zhihong Zhao or Feng Dai.

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Zhao, Z., Guo, T., Ning, Z. et al. Numerical Modeling of Stability of Fractured Reservoir Bank Slopes Subjected to Water–Rock Interactions. Rock Mech Rock Eng 51, 2517–2531 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-017-1360-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-017-1360-6

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