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Study of Unloading Relaxation for Excavation Based on Unbalanced Force and Its Application in Baihetan Arch Dam

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Abstract

Unloading relaxation of rock masses in an excavated interface is unfavorable to the performance of the dam foundation system. To evaluate its effects better, a new evaluation method for unloading relaxation is presented in which the unbalanced force beyond the yield surface is proposed as the quantitative criterion of unloading relaxation. It is used for the Baihetan arch dam to analyze the unloading relaxation characteristics and its effects on the displacement, stress, fracture and global stability of the dam. The results show that the unbalanced force is mainly located on the surface of the slope where faults are exposed, which agrees well with the observations. Unloading relaxation has a limited impact on the displacement, stress, fracture and global stability of the dam and LS331 should be paid more attention. The optimization of dam shape is also discussed, the result of which is that it is better to have a smooth dam shape and the slope of the scarp should be lowered.

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Abbreviations

\(\Delta {\varvec{U}}\) :

Unbalanced force

\(\Delta E\) :

Plastic complementary energy

\({\varvec{B}}\) :

Displacement gradient matrix

\({\varvec{C}}\) :

Elastic compliance tensor

\({\varvec{\sigma}^{eq}}\) :

Elastic stress field

\({\varvec{\sigma}^{{\text{yc}}}}\) :

Final stress field

\(\dot {\varvec{\varepsilon}}\) :

Total strain rate

\({\dot {\varvec{\varepsilon}}^{\text{e}}}\) :

Elastic strain rate

\({\dot {\varvec{\varepsilon}}^{{\text{vp}}}}\) :

Viscoplastic strain rate

\(\dot {\varvec{\sigma}}\) :

Stress rate

\(\varvec{\sigma}\) :

Normal stress

\(\overline {\varvec{\sigma}}\) :

Average stress

\(\mu\) :

Viscous coefficient

\(\alpha ,{\text{ }}k\) :

Strength parameters for the Drucker–Prager criterion

\({I_1}\) :

First invariant of total stress

\({J_2}\) :

Second invariant of deviator stress

\({\varvec{F}}\) :

Nodal force vector

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Acknowledgements

The work reported here was supported by the National Science Foundation of China with Grant nos. 51479097 and 51739006, as well as the State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering of Hydroscience with Grant no. 2016-KY-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Daning Zhong, Yaoru Liu, Qiang Yang & Yulong Chen

  2. Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, Hydrochina Corporation, Beijing, 100120, China

    Li Cheng

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  1. Daning Zhong
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  2. Yaoru Liu
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  3. Li Cheng
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  5. Yulong Chen
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Correspondence to Yaoru Liu.

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Zhong, D., Liu, Y., Cheng, L. et al. Study of Unloading Relaxation for Excavation Based on Unbalanced Force and Its Application in Baihetan Arch Dam. Rock Mech Rock Eng 52, 1819–1833 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-018-1653-4

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