Impact of Shear Zone on Rockburst in the Deep Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Tunnel: A Numerical Modeling Approach

Abdul Muntaqim Naji, Hafeezur Rehman, Muhammad Zaka Emad and Hankyu Yoo
Additional contact information
Abdul Muntaqim Naji: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 15588, Korea
Hafeezur Rehman: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 15588, Korea
Muhammad Zaka Emad: Department of Mining Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Hankyu Yoo: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 15588, Korea

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: Rockburst is a hazardous phenomenon in deep tunnels influenced by geological structural planes like faults, joints, and shear planes. Small-scale shear-plane-like structures have damaging impact on the boundaries of the tunnel, which act as barrier and accumulate high stresses. A shear plane combined with high stress conditions is very dangerous in deep excavations. Such a shear plane exposed in the side wall of the right headrace tunnel in the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project. This project is constructed in the tectonically active Himalayas under high stress conditions. The influence of a shear zone on rockburst occurrence near the tunnel is studied. The FLAC 3D explicit code simulated the shear zone in the right tunnel, revealing that the stresses are concentrated near the shear zone, while no such stress concentration is present in the left tunnel. The Rock mass got displaced near this shear zone. Modeling results confirm that the presence of shear zone in side wall of the right tunnel has a major influence on rockburst occurrence. A shear slip along this plane released huge amounts of accumulated energy, causing human fatalities and property damage. A comparison of numerical simulation with empirical rockburst criteria validates the actual conditions and help us to understand the phenomenon of stress concentration near the shear zone and its impact during deep tunneling.

Keywords: deep tunnel; high stresses; shear zone; rockburst; energy released (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/8/1935/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/8/1935/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:8:p:1935-:d:159850

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().