Role of hydro-mechanical coupling in excavation-induced damage propagation, fracture deformation and microseismicity evolution in naturally fractured rocks

We present a numerical study of spatio-temporal damage evolution and fracture displacements around underground excavation in fractured rock masses. We conduct a comparative analysis of this problem based on a mechanical (M) model by assuming an invariant pore pressure and a hydro-mechanical (HM) model by solving the coupling between the fluid and solid fields. In both models, an elasto-brittle constitutive law is employed to mimic the deformational and failure behavior of intact rocks, while a non-linear stress-displacement relationship is used to account for the normal compression and shear dislocation of natural fractures. In the HM model, we simulate excavation-induced transient groundwater flow in fractured porous rocks based on Darcy's law. The hydraulic and mechanical fields are linked based on the coupling mechanisms of poroelasticity (direct HM coupling) and stress-dependent material properties (indirect HM coupling). Many important HM phenomena such as stress perturbation, pore pressure fluctuation, damage evolution and fracture deformation are realistically captured in our simulation. We find that both direct and indirect couplings play important roles, and the excavation-induced disturbance in rock varies with the coupling degree characterized by the Biot coefficient. One interesting observation is that excavation-induced stress redistribution around the tunnel instantly causes perturbed pore pressure in low-permeability matrix, which gradually becomes dissipated during the post-excavation drainage. We also highlight the role of natural fractures in the tunnel inflow process and elucidate the consequences of spatial and temporal pressure variations. In addition, we analyze the microseismicity occurrence during and after the excavation to gain insights into excavation and drainage-induced responses in the fractured rock. The results of our simulation and analysis have important implications for underground excavation involved in many geoengineering applications such as civil infrastructure, nuclear waste repository and oil/gas/geothermal wellbore systems.

Automated summary

This study numerically investigates the spatio-temporal damage evolution and fracture displacements around underground excavation in fractured rock masses. The results show the important roles of both direct and indirect couplings in rock disturbance induced by excavation. The findings have implications for various geoengineering applications involving underground excavation.