Human activities, such as blasting excavation, bolting, grouting and impounding of reservoirs, will lead to disturbances to rock masses and variations in their structural features and material properties. These engineering disturbances are important factors that would alter the natural evolutionary processes or change the multi-field interactions in the rock masses from their initial equilibrium states. The concept of generalized multi-field couplings was proposed by placing particular emphasis on the role of engineering disturbances in traditional multi-field couplings in rock masses. A mathematical model was then developed, in which the effects of engineering disturbances on the coupling-processes were described with changes in boundary conditions and evolutions in thermo-hydro-mechanical （THM） properties of the rocks. A parameter, d, which is similar to damage variables but has a broader physical meaning, was conceptually introduced to represent the degree of engineering disturbances and the couplings among the material properties. The effects of blasting excavation, bolting and grouting in rock engineering were illustrated with various field observations or theoretical results, on which the degree of disturbances and the variations in elastic moduli and permeabilities were particularly focused. The influences of excavation and groundwater drainage on the seepage flow and stability of the slopes were demonstrated with numerical simulations. The proposed approach was further employed to investigate the coupled hydro-mechanical responses of a high rock slope to excavation, bolting and impounding of the reservoir in the dam left abutment of Jinping I hydropower station. The impacts of engineering disturbances on the deformation and stability of the slope during construction and operation were demonstrated.
The load compensation equipment for anchor cable named low retraction prestressed anchorage system with twice-tension(referred to as twice-tension anchorage system) is proposed in the paper. Calculation results of loop anchorage prestressing loss(PL) values of inner lining(IL)in Yellow River-crossing tunnel under two anchorage systems,including twice- tension anchorage system and HM(Chinese transliteration is huanmao)anchorage system,are introduced. The software ANSYS is selected to realize the three-dimensional(3D) finite element modeling to accomplish simulation and calculation works under the two anchorage systems,respectively. Stress processes of IL under the two working conditions,of which one is completed cable tensioning(CCT) and the other is water in the tunnel with the designed water pressure(DWP),are contrasted and analyzed. Impacts of prestressing forces of anchor cables on structural safety under the two anchorage systems are contrasted. The calculation results show that the twice-tension anchorage system can reduce PL effectively and then increase prestresses of wall concrete(WC). Meanwhile,the anchorage system has the advantages of improving security and stability of tunnel structure,reducing project costs and saving steel consumption. The research work is available to related design and construction of anchor cable,and is worthy of promotion and application.
Seepage flow through soils,rocks and geotechnical structures has a great influence on their stabilities and performances,and seepage control is a critical technological issue in engineering practices.The physical mechanisms associated with various engineering measures for seepage control are investigated from a new perspective within the framework of continuum mechanics;and an equation-based classification of seepage control mechanisms is proposed according to their roles in the mathematical models for seepage flow,including control mechanisms by coupled processes,initial states,boundary conditions and hydraulic properties.The effects of each mechanism on seepage control are illustrated with examples in hydroelectric engineering and radioactive waste disposal,and hence the reasonability of classification is demonstrated.Advice on performance assessment and optimization design of the seepage control systems in geotechnical engineering is provided,and the suggested procedure would serve as a useful guidance for cost-effective control of seepage flow in various engineering practices.
