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Evaluation of the structural similarity of fractured rock masses based on multiple fracture parameters

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Abstract

Evaluation of the structural similarity or structural domains is a fundamental step for characterizing fractured rock masses. In this research, the division of rock masses into structural domains is treated as a multi-parameter clustering problem. The fuzzy spectral clustering method is used and proved to be an effective approach for measuring the structural similarity of jointed rock masses, in which six fracture parameters (i.e., orientation, aperture, roughness, fracture intensity P20, filling, and groundwater condition) are selected. The results suggest that the study area, located at the Songta dam site of China, could be grouped into three structural domains based on over 1300 fractures collected from 6 adjacent exploration tunnels. The results of the proposed method are validated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test through quantifying the degree of similarity between fracture parameters collected from different areas. The results show that the fuzzy spectral clustering could provide reliable results which agree well with those obtained by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Moreover, compared with the K-means algorithm, the new method could perform better in identifying structural domains.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (No. 2019QZKK0904), the National Key Research and Development Project of China (No. 2018YFC1505001), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 41602327).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Shale Gas and Geoengineering, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Lihui Li

  2. Faculty of Urban Construction, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yanyan Li

  3. College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130026, China

    Jianping Chen

Authors
  1. Lihui Li
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  2. Yanyan Li
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  3. Jianping Chen
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Correspondence to Yanyan Li.

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Li, L., Li, Y. & Chen, J. Evaluation of the structural similarity of fractured rock masses based on multiple fracture parameters. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 2189–2198 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-02063-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-02063-8

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