To explore the mechanical behaviors and energy evolution characteristics of rock materials with hole defects, eight types of red sandstone specimens with different hole numbers and arrangements were subjected to a series of single-cycle loading-unloading uniaxial compression tests. The experimental result revealed that the mechanical behaviors and energy evolution characteristics of the red sandstone

Fractures in frozen soils are strongly associated with thermal gradient–dependent heterogeneity and significantly affect frost heaving and thaw subsidence in permafrost by altering the soil structure and the moisture migration path. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the quantitative relationship between fracture behavior and stress-induced heterogeneity of frozen soils with a thermal

Water inflow caused by tunneling can have severe impacts on the springs’ discharge rate. If these impacts have not been predicted beforehand, technical, economic, and environmental challenges could occur. While there are a few methods for evaluating the risk of water drawdown, their shortcomings create the need to develop a new one. First, in this research, five main tunneling projects in Iran were

Extensive models used in debris flow runout simulations are two-dimensional with many limitations. Considering these limitations, a new three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code based on the finite difference method (FDM) was introduced to simulate debris flow runouts. The unique fractional area-volume obstacle representation (FAVOR), true-volume of fluid (Tru-VOF), and the renormalized

Peat is an exceptionally problematic soil for construction purposes and is often stabilized by traditional stabilizers (like cement), which emits 0.95-ton carbon dioxide (CO2) per ton of cement during their production. Alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) with its low carbon dioxide (approximately 0.07-ton CO2) emissions and higher strength gain provides a promising substitute

Achieving crack propagation and rapid deterioration of high-temperature rock masses by using cooling shocks is important for improving the efficiency of low-permeability oil and gas production, geothermal well pumping, and other engineering facilities. In this study, the temperatures of four groups of granite samples with holes were set as 150, 350, 550, and 750 °C. To study the crack propagation in

Landslide failure time prediction is considered a challenging issue in landslide research. A significant goal of landslide research is to provide scientific and accurate prediction methods. In this paper, the short-term forecasting of landslides (STFL) model is proposed by analyzing landslide deformation characteristics in a known evolution process. The landslides on the southern slope of the West

A comprehensive understanding of deformation characteristics and control measures for large-scale foundation pits in soft soil regions is of increasing importance to their risk assessment, design, and construction. In this study, the influences of the thickness of soft soil on the deformation of foundation pits are discussed based on statistical data from 24 foundation pits in floodplain areas of Nanjing

Slope stability analysis is a popular area of interest in geotechnical engineering and is significant to landslide prevention and other geohazards. Owing to the success of the combined numerical methods of Lagrange and Euler, the material point method (MPM) has been developed. The benefit of MPM for the study of the evolution process for the slope is its application to efficiently simulate small- to

Bentonite has been considered as a potential buffer/backfill material for construction of engineering barriers in deep geological repository for disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Anisotropy will be inevitably generated during static compaction during preparation of bentonite blocks, leading to induce possible influences on buffering function formation of the engineering barrier system and even

Although soil-lime treatment has been successfully used for a long time, the mechanisms behind the clay soil-lime reaction remain insufficiently understood until today. Improvements provoked by lime addition are observed immediately on the soil texture that passes from a plastic state to a coarser state. Strength gain, which corresponds to the advancement of the pozzolanic reaction, develops as a long-time

The strength recovery (healing) of the shear zone soil of a landslide during the dormant phase after the sliding affects the reactivation of the landslide, and may play a key role in determining the stability of the landslide. In this paper, we report the laboratory measurements of frictional strengthening characteristics of a red-bed landslide soil. Slide-hold-slide (SHS) experiments and ultrasonic

The accuracy of the established discrete fracture networks (DFNs) has a significant impact on the effectiveness of solving engineering problems, while the accuracy is affected by the selection of the model. Concerning the natural fracture facets, the existing method based on the Accuracy Representation Index (ARI) to select the circular or elliptical disc models is relatively complex, costly and time-consuming

Mining activities carried out above an aquifer, especially in the hanging wall of normal faults, generally involve the risk of water inrush. For a better understanding of the mechanism inducing groundwater outburst through fault floor, the analytical and numerical simulation methods were applied to investigate the process of fault activation driven by mining and hydraulic loads. The influences of the

Strong earthquakes in mountainous regions can trigger massive landslides, and not just during the period of shaking. This study uses a time series of remote images to better understand the distribution of landslides near the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake. We use multi-year high-resolution satellite images to interpret landslides and establish landslide inventories spanning from 2008

Landslide susceptibility assessment (LSA) is a method used to reduce landslide vulnerability defined as landslide spatial prediction with the help of associative factors. The goal of the analysis is to forecast potential (2040, 2060, 2080, and 2100 AC) rainfall and land use and land cover (LULC) with the aid of the CSIRO-MK3.6.0 General circulation models (GCMs) climatic model and the dynamic conversion

The coseismic landslide is one of the important hazard phenomena in the hilly and seismically active mountainous region. It is, therefore, essential to map the areas susceptible to coseismic landslides, especially for the seismically active region. In the present work, the probabilistic assessment of coseismic landslides has been carried out for Goriganga valley located in the Kumaun Himalaya, India

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02204-7

Rainfall and earthquakes are two significant triggering factors of mass movement. Since the Gyeongju earthquake on 12 September 2016, which took place near the Wolsong nuclear power plant, many concerns have been raised about the threat posed by landslides during intense rainfall. In this study, we developed a new methodological approach to assess the stability of hillslopes at the catchment scale

Currently, there is a strong need for urban tunnels to relieve traffic. Hence, the possibility of tunnels crossing complicated geological conditions is also increasing. The study proposes a new grouting reinforcement countermeasure for loess stratum by means of data investigation, experimental study, and field application. The Yuhan Road underground tunnel is a typical shallow buried loess tunnel with

Geopolymers offer a number of benefits, including high sorption capacity, sufficient durability, and substantial mechanical strength as well as low CO2 emission and limited drying shrinkage, which may make them sustainable candidates to be utilized as landfill liner materials. Hence, this research is aimed at evaluating how a clay-fly ash geopolymer can meet the requirements proposed for mineral liners

Landslide deformation characterized with step-like curves often presents periodicity implicitly. This paper proposed a novel data-driven approach that adopted periodic neural network (PNN) and variational mode decomposition (VMD) to conduct displacement prediction based on the intrinsic seasonality of step-like landslide displacement. PNN was a novel neural network designed for capturing the seasonality

Earthquakes are one of the most significant external factors that induce the failure of anti-dip bedding rock slopes (ABRSs). The pseudo-static method is currently (and is likely to remain in the near future) the most effective and popular method used to evaluate the stability and design of such slopes under the action of earthquakes. In this work, based on the limit equilibrium method and genetic

The formation and storage of fresh groundwater in coral reefs is affected by many factors. The permeability of porous media in island and reef formation is one of the main controlling factors. Coral sand is the only medium for the formation of coral reefs. Its permeability characteristics are very different from the permeability characteristics of quartz sand from land sources. In this study, a series

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a ground improvement method often driven by ureolytic bacteria to precipitate calcite in a soil mass. While in previous studies MICP was often accomplished by the injection of exogenous bacterial solutions, this study utilizes the soil’s native ureolytic microorganisms. The roles of yeast extract, molasses, and biochar as different sources of carbon

The cyclic wetting-drying (W-D) phenomenon, which is a part of weathering processes, plays a vitally important role in affecting rock materials’ properties. In this paper, the gypsum breccia, an environmentally sensitive rock, was taken as the research object, which has the characteristics of high solubility. The deterioration behavior of gypsum breccia under W-D cycles with different flow rates was

This paper presents a case study of a large cross-section high-speed railway tunnel overlaid by a Q2 soft-plastic loess layer. Due to poor engineering properties of the soft-plastic loess, two unexpected collapses occurred. This indicates that there is great difficulty and risk during tunneling. In this paper, the deformation control methods are studied by carrying out a series of numerical simulations

Soft rock masses represent a significant percentage of rock material on the earth’s crust. The engineering properties of these rocks are related to their composition, geological history, and degree of weathering. Mudrocks (claystone, mudstone, argillite), marl, shale, sandstone, and conglomerates with weak cementing material are the most common example of these rocks which can be subjected to a wide

Bio-cementation is currently applied to solidify sandy soils, but only few studies use it to cement loess soil particles. In this study, the microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) method was used to solidify loess soils. In addition, loess is widely distributed in the regions of northwest of China, where repeated seasonal freeze-thaw results in the structural damages in loess. Therefore

The strength reduction method (SRM) is one of the main methods for evaluating slope stability and its key step is to select failure criteria reasonably and correctly. At present, non-convergence of numerical iteration, penetration of plastic zone, and the catastrophe of characteristic points displacement are usually used as slope failure criteria. To avoid the randomness of selecting characteristic

A clay is prone to shrinkage and cracking under evaporation, which can cause vast hazards in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering. Knowledge of the coupled behavior of dynamic cracking and moisture-heat evolution is helpful for better understanding the mechanical performance of a clay under evaporation. An evaporation experiment was conducted on a clayey soil specimen in this study, accompanied

Fractured reservoirs are important hydrocarbon resources. However, the production of hydrocarbon makes fractures to be sealed which in turn decreases the production rate. A better understanding of permeability, porosity, and compressibility of fractures would be useful in optimizing the production rate. This research paper explored stress-dependent permeability, porosity, and compressibility of fractured

The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the performances of 5 machine learning (ML) techniques for predicting the spatial probability of landslide at Atsuma, Japan, and Mt. Umyeon, Korea. 5 ML models used are Naïve Bayes (NB), ensemble learning (random forest (RF) and adaboost (AB)), and deep learning (multilayer perceptron (MLP) and convolutional neural network (CNN)) models. Real landslide

The massive mechanized and irrational coal mining has generated many goafs (i.e., mined-out areas) in China. To manage these goafs effectively, grouting technique has been commonly used to fill the fractures in the overburden strata. However, little is known about the development and distribution of fractures in the overburden strata above the goaf. The lab-scale simulation of fracture development

This study experimentally investigates the coupled effects of initial water content and swelling history (i.e., free swelling, no swelling, and confined swelling) on compression behaviors of bentonite via two suites of swelling tests and four sets of one-dimensional compression tests. The initial water content has an influence on the swelling behavior of bentonite in both free swelling and confined

Due to the lack of knowledge concerning their construction and their history (breaks and repairs, extensions…), fluvial levees are often badly characterized. Breaks of work are likely to lead to disastrous consequences such as loss of lives and economic disasters. In order to prevent the risk of breakage, special supervision of the protection levee is required. Recognized methodologies for the assessment

Water-bearing porous rocks can be greatly strengthened by freezing; its microscopic mechanisms lie in how subzero temperature modifies pore structure but have not yet been clearly defined. In this study, we link the mechanical properties of frozen sandstone to phase composition of pore water (i.e., relative amount of unfrozen water and ice). Both the strength (uniaxial compressive strength and tensile

Tool wear and tool life are very important issues for soft ground tunnel boring machines (TBMs) as they are directly related to the time and cost of tunneling. These issues may even become more important in planning costly interventions. In this regard, there are a few methods available to assess the tool life; however, the need for a thorough discussion and the development of new models is still highly

Rock mass classification systems are used to categorize and estimate the role of the most significant parameters influencing rock mass behavior to represent an equivalent continuum. Generally, in these methods, the impact of the related parameters is considered uniform in all directions. Hence, these systems describe the rock mass as an isotropic medium. In some cases, in particular, for layered strata

Cracked pillars have limited capabilities for the bearing of dynamic and static loads, consequently threatening the stability of entire goafs. In the current study, we establish a structural mechanical model for cracked strip pillars and determine a mathematical formula for the total energy based on an underground bauxite mine in Shanxi, China. Furthermore, the instability criterion is employed to

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02152-2

Understanding the mechanical behavior of calcareous sand under repeated loading-unloading is important to engineering design for island-reef underground caverns and pile foundation projects. In this study, we conducted conventional consolidated-drained triaxial shear tests on calcareous sand collected from the South China Sea under different effective confining pressures, and then, we performed multiple

Disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is one of the most challenging subjects across the world. And it is reported that China intends to build an HLW repository in granite strata in Beishan, Gansu Province. In this research, to explore hydraulic properties of Beishan granite considering thermal damage, specimens were heated up to 300, 400, and 500 °C, respectively. Then, hydro-mechanical (HM)

In cold regions, recurrent freeze–thaw action and loading conditions are important factors affecting the long-term durability of natural rocks in engineering systems. This study explores the effects of freeze-thaw action and strain rate on the mechanical behavior of the sandstone retrieved from Urumqi areas of western China. In addition, a decay function model was built for predicting the mechanical

In situ stress and underground water are known to significantly influence the deformation and stability of deep underground caverns. These factors should be considered in the design of excavation and supporting schemes. However, the rock failure mechanism and permeability characteristics under the coupling condition remain largely unexplained. Based on the Xianglushan diversion tunnel in Central-Yunnan

Unexpected water inrush to tunnels is one of the most hazardous events, especially in karst terrains that could take place during mechanized shield tunneling mostly due to inappropriate site investigations. When water inrushes to tunnel front, actions like pumping out the water or grouting, for impeding or reducing the inrush and alleviating related damages, are often time-consuming, uneconomical,

In slope engineering, the allowable safety factor design (ASFD) is widely used. However, it includes all sources of uncertainties and does not truly account for risk. Therefore, a more robust design method is required. This study compares the actual reliability levels that ASFD, PFD (partial factor design), and BTD (baseline technique design) provide. The results indicate BTD provides the most stable

The aim of this study is to determine the extent of deterioration of the limestone on which the İvriz rock monument is engraved. This monument is near Aydınkent (İvriz) village and located 12 km from the Ereğli district of Konya. The height of the İvriz Hittite monument is 4.20 m and its width is 2.40 m. It dates back to the second-half of the eighth century BC. The rocks on which the reliefs are engraved

Estimating and preventing loess collapsibility are important for the design and construction of the Xi’an North–Airport Intercity Railway. Laboratory tests and large-scale in situ immersion experiments were carried out to assess the collapsibility characteristics, seepage field, and deformation properties of loess at sites located on the third terrace of the Wei River (Bai Qi Zhai village) and the

Occurrence of toppling failure has been prominent due to the increasing of infrastructure construction, such as road slopes, dams, and hydroelectric stations. Many scholars have done research on the toppling failure characteristics, but paid less attention to the comparison of numerical simulations and physical models in order to propose reasonable and effective stability control methods. Based on

On August 20, 2019, many catastrophic debris flows broke out in meizoseismal area of Wenchuan M s 8.0 earthquake in China under the influence of continuous heavy rainfall. This paper takes the Chutou gully debris flow event occurred on August 20, 2019 as an example. The 3-D numerical simulation software, RAMMS, is used to back calculate the event and predict the future hazard. Coulomb and viscous turbulent

On Oct. 10 and Nov. 3, 2018, two landslides, i.e., the “10.10” and “11.3” rockslides, occurred successively at Baige Village, Jiangda County, Tibetan Autonomous Region, P. R. China. The two landslides are located in the upper reaches of the Jinsha River and both dammed the river. Immediately since the slides, the authors have been working on the slides and help disaster reduction. Based on the data

The article presents the results of qualitative and quantitative microstructural analysis, and the basic properties of clay soils subjected to long-term contamination by liquid petroleum fuels (LPF). Comparative study of undisturbed, contaminated in situ clay soil (CS) and reference uncontaminated soil (US) was performed. Soil contamination by these compounds causes transformation of microstructure

The tunnel crossing active fault is severely damaged under the action of fault dislocation. Considering the “economic and safety” principle in engineering design, the tunnel damage should be effectively reduced. In this work, a two-level design method for fault dislocation was proposed and the Urumqi subway tunnel in China was chosen as a typical model to deeply investigate its application feasibility

The correlation of coseismic landslides with the seismic and morphological parameters has been investigated in detail by many researchers, mainly after the devastating 2008 M8.0 Wenchuan, China earthquake. One of the goals of such studies is to examine the spatial distribution of the earthquake-induced landslides in order to establish a pattern depending on the type of the seismic fault. This research

Piles are an effective measure for landslide protection under various loading conditions. However, the pile reinforcement mechanism of slopes has not been systematically investigated in previous studies under drawdown conditions. A series of centrifuge model tests were conducted on slopes with various pile reinforcement layouts under drawdown conditions to study the progressive slope failure process

With the rapid development of urban underground space, the depth of working shaft has been gradually becoming deeper to accommodate the underground construction needs. The existing studies for earth pressure distribution of shafts are mainly focused on sandy soils within 30 m. There is a strong need to investigate the earth pressure distribution on deep shafts (more than 30 m) in complicated soil conditions

The hydraulic conductivity is a key parameter in geotechnical engineering. It is closely associated to soil microstructure. In practice, consolidation stress, dry density, and natural structure of soil can affect pore diameter and distribution of soil. Thus, to investigate soil hydraulic conductivity, their effects on microstructure and the corresponding hydraulic conductivity were analyzed. The undisturbed

The severity and harmfulness of a rockburst event are significantly correlated with the scale of rock mass ejection, especially when the rock mass are not supported. This paper presents a microseismicity-based method for the early estimation of rockburst occurrence and its potential scale, which is graded according to the volume of the rockburst pit (Rv). The establishment of the estimation method

The earth’s crustal stress determination is a crucial item in civil, petroleum, and mining engineering and also in energy development fields. The hydraulic fracturing (HF) is one of the standard methods for estimating in situ stress, which is often analyzed with classical approach for stress estimations. The classical approach neglects the presence of pre-existing cracks in rock mass; however, the