Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Identification of homogeneous region boundaries of fractured rock masses in candidate sites for Chinese HLW repository

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Identification of homogeneous region boundaries in a fractured rock mass is the basis of statistics and modeling of discontinuities. In engineering practice, an objective division can be obtained by adopting the major influential factors as indicators and the optimal approach as a tool. For discontinuities in Beishan, a main candidate site for Chinese high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository, pretreatment techniques (e.g., sampling window truncation, sampling bias correction and block-net variation correction) were used to deal with field data. Programming was then applied to realize homogeneous region division via several methods (e.g., the improved Miller’s method, Mahtab and Yegulalp’s method, and correlation coefficient method). This study preliminarily examined these methods’ distinguishing capability, applicability, and limitations. Results showed that the applicability of the correlation coefficient method as well as the Mahtab and Yegulalp’s method was weak; the improved Miller’s method appeared most satisfactory, especially with a large-area strategy (34 blocks). Finally, two statistical homogeneous regions were obtained by applying the optimal approach to the Jijicao block. Findings can offer guidance for subsequent research on discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling and seepage path simulation, which is important for the prediction and evaluation of radionuclide migration in rock masses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available by contacting the corresponding author at Liang Guo (e-mail: glxzw@swpu.edu.cn).

Abbreviations

e ij :

is the expected frequency of poles in unit ij

f ij :

is the observation frequency of poles in unit ij

Xi (i = 1, 2, 3, n):

is the observation frequency in blocks of region 1

Yi (i = 1, 2, 3, n):

is the observation frequency in blocks of region 2

R i :

is the total number of poles observed in row i

C j :

is the total number of poles observed in column j

N :

is the total number of poles observed

D :

is the random density

TCF :

is the correction coefficient used in the sampling line

c :

is the fractional area of a block versus the upper-hemisphere

k :

is the minimum integer

m :

is the average pole number of one block in the sample, m = qc

n :

is the number of blocks selected for use on the lower-hemisphere, and the value in the correlation coefficient method is 100

p :

is the probability of random density D

q :

is the total number of poles in the sample

α :

is an assigned low probability

γ :

is the Pearson correlation coefficient

δ :

is the acute angle between the sampling line and the fractures normal

αn and βn :

are the trend and plunge of the fracture’s normal vector, respectively

αs and βs :

are the trend and plunge of the sample line, respectively

References

Download references

Acknowledgments

The field geological survey of this work has been strongly supported by the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, and I sincerely thank them for the great support.

Funding

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41602290, No.41702340), the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection (Chengdu University of Technology, No. SKLGP2017K012), Sichuan Science and Technology Project (No.2019YJ0349), and Research project of Sichuan Mineral Resources Research Center (No. SCKCZY2019-YB001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geoscience and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu District, Xindu Road No. 8, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China

    Liang Guo, Junwei Zhang, Mingwei Liao & Youjun Ji

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, China

    Liang Guo & Lizhou Wu

  3. Sichuan Mineral Resources Research Center, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, China

    Liang Guo

Authors
  1. Liang Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lizhou Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Junwei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mingwei Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Youjun Ji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liang Guo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Guo, L., Wu, L., Zhang, J. et al. Identification of homogeneous region boundaries of fractured rock masses in candidate sites for Chinese HLW repository. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79, 4221–4243 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01837-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01837-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation