Research on the stability analysis and safety evaluation method of the surrounding rock of the cross-fault hydraulic tunnel

For the cross-fault hydraulic tunnel, rationally simulating the surrounding rock and rock-fault interface, revealing its destabilization risk areas, and evaluating its safety degree are of great significance for its engineering design and construction. Based on the Zienkiewicz-Panda yield criterion and the Drucker-Prager plastic potential function, an elastic-plastic damage constitutive model of the surrounding rock was established, and its rationality was proved. The failure modes of the rock-fault interface were divided into normal disengagement damage, abrasion damage, and snip damage. The peak shear strengths of the structural surface under different shear failure modes were deduced, which were combined with the Desai thin-layer contact element model to form the numerical simulation method of the rock-fault interface. Finally, an evaluation index called the element dangerous coefficient (EDC) was proposed, which is capable of evaluating the element's safety degree in the whole deformation and damage process. The proposed methods were applied to a cross-fault hydraulic tunnel, and some conclusions were obtained as follows. (1) The value of the EDC gradually decreases from the excavation surface to the interior rock mass, which indicates that the danger degree of the rock mass is gradually decreasing. (2) The rock-fault interface is the weak area, and the contact surface near the excavation surface is disengaged after the excavation, and the EDC value reaches 2.0. (3) The EDC index is capable of quantitatively evaluating the element's hazard level in the elastic and plastic zones at the same time and giving the element's hazard coefficient.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2025-11-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23163-z
Primary Topic
Rock Mechanics and Modeling
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Research on the stability analysis and safety evaluation method of the surrounding rock of the cross-fault hydraulic tunnel

Ci Kong, X. Wang, Ming Xiao, Ting Yang et al.
Scientific Reports
Rock Mechanics and Modeling
article

Research on the stability analysis and safety evaluation method of the surrounding rock of the cross-fault hydraulic tunnel

Ci Kong, X. Wang, Ming Xiao, Ting Yang, Kaixin Zhu
article en

Abstract

For the cross-fault hydraulic tunnel, rationally simulating the surrounding rock and rock-fault interface, revealing its destabilization risk areas, and evaluating its safety degree are of great significance for its engineering design and construction. Based on the Zienkiewicz-Panda yield criterion and the Drucker-Prager plastic potential function, an elastic-plastic damage constitutive model of the surrounding rock was established, and its rationality was proved. The failure modes of the rock-fault interface were divided into normal disengagement damage, abrasion damage, and snip damage. The peak shear strengths of the structural surface under different shear failure modes were deduced, which were combined with the Desai thin-layer contact element model to form the numerical simulation method of the rock-fault interface. Finally, an evaluation index called the element dangerous coefficient (EDC) was proposed, which is capable of evaluating the element's safety degree in the whole deformation and damage process. The proposed methods were applied to a cross-fault hydraulic tunnel, and some conclusions were obtained as follows. (1) The value of the EDC gradually decreases from the excavation surface to the interior rock mass, which indicates that the danger degree of the rock mass is gradually decreasing. (2) The rock-fault interface is the weak area, and the contact surface near the excavation surface is disengaged after the excavation, and the EDC value reaches 2.0. (3) The EDC index is capable of quantitatively evaluating the element's hazard level in the elastic and plastic zones at the same time and giving the element's hazard coefficient.

Scientific ReportsVol. 15(1)
Wuhan University (CN), Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research (CN), Hubei Provincial Water Resources and Hydropower Planning Survey and Design Institute (CN), Hubei University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 61%
Rock Mechanics and Modeling
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.