The Evaluation of Rock Mass Characteristics against Seepage for Sustainable Infrastructure Development

Muhammad Nasir Khurshid (), Ammad Hassan Khan, Zia ur Rehman and Tahir Sultan Chaudhary
Additional contact information
Muhammad Nasir Khurshid: Department of Transportation Engineering and Management (DTEM), University of Engineering and Technology (UET), G.T. Road, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Ammad Hassan Khan: Department of Transportation Engineering and Management (DTEM), University of Engineering and Technology (UET), G.T. Road, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Zia ur Rehman: Department of Transportation Engineering and Management (DTEM), University of Engineering and Technology (UET), G.T. Road, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Tahir Sultan Chaudhary: Department of Civil Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan 60800, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: The determination of rock seepage characteristics is a complex phenomenon due to the variability, discontinuities, and formation age of rocks. The available literature on rock mechanics covers empirical relationships and approaches for the estimation of seepage characteristics from the rock mass parameters. In this study, an area comprising of infrastructure such as a water reservoir, embankments, roads, etc., constructed on mix rock mass formations was selected. The field and laboratory tests’ geo-mechanical data for the study area were evaluated. The data obtained from the field geo-mechanical engineering tests like Rock Quality Designation (RQD), Rock Core Recovery, Lugeon, etc., were analyzed. The data retrieved from the geological and geotechnical laboratory tests such as petrography, uniaxial compression, Hoek shear, elastic modulus, etc., were also evaluated. Rock mass was characterized based on petrographic and RQD, and was found in the hybrid formation of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary deposits. Seepage analysis in the study area was also carried out based on adit and piezometric data (installed in accordance with the mining technology guidelines), using Seep W Finite Element Method (FEM). The seepage observed in adits were compared with seepage calculated from Seep W. The trend of simulated flux was also presented against K ratio. Seepage quantities for different ranges of K ratio were plotted to evaluate interdependency between seepage and K ratio. Correlations of RQD were developed with hydraulic conductivity “k” for igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks for quick assessment of seepage characteristics of rock mass by RQD. These correlations and seepage related evaluations will be beneficial for the characterization of rock mass in relation to seepage for sustainable infrastructure development.

Keywords: rock mass; hydraulic conductivity; sustainability; rock mechanics; geotechnical engineering; geomechanical engineering; mining technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/10109/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/10109/ (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:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:10109-:d:888747

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

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