Rockburst: Mechanisms, Monitoring, Warning, and Mitigation

China

Part I

Characteristics of Rockbursts

Chapter 1

Description and Engineering Phenomenon of Rockbursts

Subchapter 1.1

Description of Rockbursts in Tunnels

Xia-Ting Feng*; Bing-Rui Chen*; Guangliang Feng*; Zhouneng Zhao*,†; Hong Zheng*    * Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China

† School of Environmental Engineering and Resources, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China

Abstract

Rockbursts in tunnels are a dynamic hazard induced by tunneling. The key characteristics of rockburst in tunnels include location and time of occurrence, influence of geological structures, and difference of rockburst induced by tunneling boring machine and drilling and blasting tunneling. Rockbursts at tunnels could occur locally at any zone of tunnels but not the whole project. This depends on level of in situ stresses, rockmass properties, geological structures, excavation method and advance rate, etc. According to the occurrence time of rockburst after excavation of tunnels, two types of rockbursts are often observed: immediate and time delayed. Most rockbursts in deep tunnels are influenced by geological structural planes. Such rockbursts occur in the hard rock mass with sporadic structural planes. The locations, intensities, and damage pit shapes of rockbursts are generally controlled by stiff structural planes.

Keywords

Rockburst; Tunnel; Planes; Structural

1.1.1 Introduction

Rockbursts are a dynamic hazard induced by tunneling (Fig. 1.1.1). Many rockbursts have occurred in highway tunnels: in Norway (Myrvang & Grimstad, 1983); the Kanetsu tunnel in Japan (Saito, Tsukada, Inami, Inoma, & Ito, 1983); the Karisaki tunnel in Japan (Katusyama, 1994); tunnels in China (Tjong Kie, 1988); a waterway tunnel in Korea (Lee, Park, & Lee, 2004); the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, where the deepest point has a rock layer of 2450 m (Hagedorn & Stadelmann, 2008); tunnels at Tianshengqiao II Hydropower Station in China (Zebin, 1994); headrace tunnels at Taipinyi Hydropower Station in China (Wang & Hong, 1995); Qamchiq tunnel in Uzbekistan (Deng, Liu, Li, & Guo, 2016); and headrace tunnels at Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric Project in Pakistan (Chen & Chen, 2016). A total of 10,686 rockbursts occurred in a 13 km length of the Trans-Andean Olmos tunnel (with maximum overburden 2000 m) in Peru (Joe, Willis, Carollo, & Askilsrud, 2008; Antonio, Handa, Tong, Montenegro, & Tassi, 2011). There were more than 1000 rockbursts that occurred during the construction of Jinping auxiliary tunnels, drainage tunnels, and headrace tunnels in China. A tunnel can be destroyed by intense rockbursts, as seen in Fig. 1.1.1.

Fig. 1.1.1 Photos of tunnels destroyed by intense rockbursts.

The construction of deep tunnels can also induce earthquakes. For example, a series of 112 earthquakes was recorded between October 2005 and August 2007 during the excavation of the MFS Faido, the southernmost access point of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland (Stephan, Kissling, & von Deschwanden, 2012).

The key characteristics of rockbursts in tunnels, including the location and time of occurrence, the influence of geological structures, and the differences between rockbursts induced by a tunneling boring machine (TBM) and drilling and blasting (D&B) tunneling will be given in the following subsections.

1.1.2 Location of Rockbursts in Tunnels

Rockbursts can occur locally in any zone of the tunnels, but not the whole project; see Fig. 1.1.2 and Tables 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 as examples. The nature of the rockburst depends on the level of in situ stresses, rockmass properties, geological structures, excavation methods, advance rate, etc.

Fig. 1.1.2 Distribution of rockburst zones along with tunnels at Jinping II Hydropower Station, China; (A) at chainage K5+097–K6+085 of No. 4 headrace tunnel excavated by drilling and blasting (D&B); (B) at chainage K10+050–K11+165 of No. 3 headrace tunnel, excavated by D&B; (C) at chainage K10+050–K11+165 of No. 3 headrace tunnel, excavated by tunneling boring machine (TBM). ◇-Slight rockburst, ☆-moderate rockburst, ⋆-intense rockburst. Modified from Feng, X.-T., Chen, B.R., Zhang, C.Q., & Li, S.J. (2013). Mechanism, warning and dynamic control of rockburst development processes. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).

Table 1.1.1

Statistics of Rockbursts at Partial TBM Excavation Zone of No. 1 Headrace Tunnel

Table 1.1.2

Statistics of Rockbursts at Partial D&B Excavation Zone of No. 2 Headrace Tunnel

Rockbursts can occur at any location of the cross section in a tunnel, including the vault, spandrel, sidewall, working face, and/or floor of the tunnel; see Fig. 1.1.3 as an example.

Fig. 1.1.3 Location of a rockburst occurrence at the cross section of tunnels. For example, at (A) vault, (B) left spandrel (facing the tunnel face), (C) side wall in the right (facing the tunnel face), (D) side wall in the right (facing the tunnel face), (E) side wall and crown, (F) working face, (G) cracking and heave at floor of tunnel, (H) cracking at floor of tunnel, and (I) heave of floor at tunnel.

The shapes of the rockburst pit in tunnels include a V shape controlled by a main geological structure plane, a shallow nest shape without influence of any macroscopic structural plane, a rugged shape with influence of some stiff structural plane, and big cracks and/or heave at floor of the tunnels. The first three are shown in Fig. 1.1.4 as examples. The last one is shown in Fig. 1.1.3F–H.

Fig. 1.1.4 Shapes of rockburst damage pit at tunnels. (A) V shape, (B) shallow nest shape, and (C) rugged shape.

1.1.3 Time of Rockbursts Occurring in Tunnels

According to the time of the rockburst after excavation of tunnels, two types of rockbursts are often observed: one is the immediate rockbursts and the other is time-delayed rockbursts. The rockbursts that occur before reaching balance are instantaneous ones, while those that occur after the realization of the balance are time-delayed ones. For the immediate rockbursts, that means that the rockburst occurred immediately after excavation of the tunnels. For example, there is one deeply buried tunnel where 75% of the rockbursts occurred in the first 3 h after the blasting excavation (Fig. 1.1.5).

Fig. 1.1.5 The frequency of rockbursts in a deep tunnel in Summer 2004 (in min). From the people who worked at the project.

After the stress adjustment of the surrounding rocks caused by the excavation in tunnels reaches a balance, the rockbursts caused by additional external disturbances from the excavation of the lower bench, from blasting of adjacent tunnels, or from the impact wave of a rockmass failure was defined as time-delayed rockburst. Time-delayed rockbursts can be divided into two types: temporal and spatial-delayed type and temporal-delayed type. In general the temporal and spatial-delayed types occur out of the influencing range of excavation of the current tunnel face, where the stress adjustment of surrounding rocks has been basically completed. In addition, it usually delays a certain distance of the tunnel faces in the space and a period of time after the excavation of rockburst areas in the time. The temporal-delayed type is mainly found outside the influencing range of excavation in current tunnel faces. However, the rockburst areas reach a new stress balance state, as the stress adjustment of surrounding rocks resulting from the excavation in the current tunnel face has been completed in a period of time after the excavation stops.

While judging the time-delayed rockbursts, the following two problems need to be considered. The first is the range of the stress adjustment of surrounding rocks induced by excavation in the current tunnel faces, namely space criterion. The second is the time when the stress adjustment of the surrounding rocks reaches balance in the current tunnel faces; that is, time criterion. Finally, the time-delayed rockburst is comprehensively judged according to these two criteria. In the zone showing a distance of three times the tunnel span to the tunnel face in the deep tunnel, the stress adjustment of the surrounding rocks caused by excavation has been basically completed to form a new stress balance state. As for the space, time-delayed rockbursts therefore occur in the area more than three times that of the tunnel span in the rear of the tunnel face. In other words, the space criterion of time-delayed rockbursts is that the areas of rockbursts are more than three times the tunnel span in the rear of the tunnel faces. After the excavation unloading, the balance of the original stress of the rock masses is broken, resulting in the redistribution of the stress, then the deformation and even the destruction of the rock masses, which commonly shows a strong temporal characteristic.

Time-delayed rockbursts occurring more than 6 days after the excavation of four headrace tunnels and drainage tunnels with a total length of 8.2 km and an overburden of 1900–2500 m in the Jinping II hydropower station were studied. By the end of August 2011, 38 time-delayed rockbursts occurred. As shown in Fig. 1.1.6, nearly 80% of the time-delayed rockbursts occurred 6–30 days after the excavation and within 80 m of the tunnel face in the space. At present the latest time-delayed rockbursts happened 163 days after the excavation, with the longest distance from the tunnel face being about 384 m. Under normal working conditions, the occurrence of time-delayed rockbursts delays in time and space at the same time. They generally happen 6 days after the excavation, with a distance from the tunnel face more than three times of the tunnel span. Under special circumstances, time-delayed rockbursts merely present a time delay; that is, the rockburst occurs more than 6 days after the excavation, but within three times of the tunnel span to the tunnel face. This type of temporal-delayed rockburst occur mainly in slow constructions or when the construction is stopped a period of time after the excavation, as shown in Fig. 1.1.6.

Fig. 1.1.6 Spatial and temporal delay characteristics of time-delayed rockbursts in deep tunnels ( Chen et al., 2012).

According to the geological and supporting conditions of time-delayed rockbursts, the analysis shows that most time-delayed rockbursts occur in the zone with rich original structural planes, such as joints, fractures, interlayers, etc. It is mainly supported by shotcrete layers of steel fiber, reinforced concrete, or the combination of the shotcrete layers and random water-swelling anchors. As shown in Fig. 1.1.7, the structural planes can be divided into two categories: type I mainly contains the implicit structural planes exhibiting a small angle with the tunnel axis. Fig. 1.1.7B shows that such structural planes are flesh and therefore present good energy storage capability. When rockbursts occur, rocks are basically burst to flaked or thin wedged fragments with a thickness of 0.2–0.5 m, and damages generally extend along the expansion of the structural planes or the fracture of the end part of the structural plane. One end of structural planes of type II is exposed, while the other end extends to deeper surrounding rocks. As shown in Fig. 1.1.7C, this type of structural planes generally presents a larger angle with the tunnel axis. If a region only has this type of structural planes, it shows stability surrounding the rocks; however, if there are other structural planes that extend and cut each other, the time-delayed rockbursts of high intensity are more likely to occur. Moreover, large wedged rocks are mainly burst with the thickness, mainly varying from 0.4 to 0.8 m and seldom thicker than 1 m. Under these conditions, damages generally grow along the extension and slip of structural planes.

Fig. 1.1.7 Geological and supporting conditions associated with the damages of rockburst, (A) Structural planes and support system, (B) rockburst dominated by implicit structural planes with a small angle with the tunnel axis, and (C) rockburst dominated by combined structural planes ( Chen et al., 2012).

1.1.4 Influence of Geological Structures on Rockbursting at Tunnels

Most rockbursts at deep tunnels are influenced by geological structural planes. Such rockbursts occur in the hard rock mass with sporadic structural planes (i.e., generally one or more stiff structural planes or bedding planes). The closed stiff structural planes (or bedding planes) control the bottom or lateral boundary of the rockburst damage pits. In addition, the structural planes make the lateral boundary of rockburst damage pits show steep ridges and structural planes that are also likely to pass through the central part of the rockburst damage pits. Compared with the rockbursts that are not influenced by geological structural planes, the rockbursts that are affected by geological structural planes generally exhibit higher intensities of rockbursts and produce a larger damage pit and more severe disasters (Zhao, 2013).

1.1.4.1 Rockburst With One Stiff Structural Plane or a Set of Stiff Structural Planes

The typical rockbursts located at the locations where develops one or a set of structural planes as shown in Fig. 1.1.8. According to the Fig. 1.1.8, the following conclusions can be given:

Fig. 1.1.8 Typical rockbursts with a development of one or a set of structural planes in the tunnels of the Jinping II hydropower station. (A) Intense rockburst at chainage 0+077–0+122 of a tunnel (D&B method), (B) strong rockburst at chainage K8+237–K8+220 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (C) moderate rockburst at deep underground laboratory tunnel (D&B method), (D) slight rockburst witnessed at chainage K7+915 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (E) moderate rockburst at chainage K9+721–K9+710 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (F) intense rockburst at chainage K8+950–K8+990 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (G) intense rockburst at chainage K11+040–K11+054 of headrace tunnel (TBM tunneling), (H) moderate rockburst at chainage BK9+512.8 of auxiliary tunnel B (D&B method), (I) intense rockburst at chainage K11+045–K11+054 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (J) moderate rockburst at chainage K6+081–K6+100 of headrace tunnel (D&B method), (K) moderate rockburst at chainage SK5+138–SK5+143 (D&B method), (L) intense rockburst at chainage K10+150–320 of headrace tunnel (TBM tunneling), (M) extremely intense rockburst occurred at SK9+283−9+322 (TBM tunneling). Modified from Feng, X.-T., Chen, B.R., Zhang, C.Q., & Li, S.J. (2013). Mechanism, warning and dynamic control of rockburst development processes. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).

(1) The stiff structural planes are located in the spandrel or near to the vault of the tunnel. The stiff structural planes show large angles with the axis of tunnels and the maximum tangential stress. When the rockbursts occur at the footwall of the stiff structural planes, deep damage pits are generated with high intensities. Meanwhile, the upper boundaries of the damage pits are controlled by the stiff structural planes while the rest boundaries are multistepped surfaces (Fig. 1.1.8A and B).

(2) The stiff structural planes are located on the sidewall of the tunnel and present a large angle with the axis of the tunnel along with a small angle with the maximum tangential stress. In these cases, after the occurrence of rockbursts, the stiff structural planes that are located basically at the centers of the damage pits and both sides of the rock mass fall off, resulting in steep scarps. Moreover, the damage pits show moderate depth. The rockbursts are mainly slight and moderate (Fig. 1.1.8C and D).

(3) The stiff structural planes are found on the sidewall of the tunnel and form smaller angles both with the tunnel axis and the maximum tangential stress. In these cases, after the occurrence of rockbursts, the edges of the damage pits are stepped scarps. In addition, the stiff structural planes cut through the damage pits and lead to deeper damage pits and higher intensities of rockbursts (Fig. 1.1.8E–G).

(4) The stiff structural planes are located on the working face, and the boundary of the damage pit is controlled by the stiff structural planes (Fig. 1.1.8H).

(5) A set of stiff structural planes has developed which are approximately parallel, the boundaries of rockburst damage pits parallel to the stiff structural planes are also controlled by those planes. The newly generated damage surfaces are arranged directionally and steps are found in the pits, while the rock masses vertical to the stiff structural planes are broken with steep ridges. The damage pits are deeper and have higher intensities of rockbursts. (Fig. 1.1.8I–L).

(6) When the stiff structural planes presenting a small angle with a tunnel axis cut through the vicinity of a tunnel, especially through the bottom, the stiff structural planes are exposed to form the boundaries of the damage pits after the occurrence of rockbursts. The damage pits are deep and cause damage of a large range which high intensities of rockbursts, for example, extremely intense rockbursts (Fig. 1.1.8M).

From the perspective of macroscopic fracture surfaces, there are visible scratches on fracture surfaces generated in the rockbursts. Meanwhile, some stepped scarps are in angular shapes, while the other parts are less angular. Most of the rockbursts form the fragments and a few blocks. Moreover, scratches are found on some of the blocks. It shows that, apart from the high stress, rockburst occurrence is affected by the stiff structural planes as well.

The above analysis shows that the locations, intensities, and shapes of rockbursts are controlled by stiff structural planes. Firstly, the intensities and shapes of the rockbursts are closely related to the quantity and occurrence of stiff structural planes, as well as their spatial relationship with tunnels. In general, rockbursts controlled by structural planes located in the spandrel or vault of tunnels, showing large angles with the tunnel axis and the maximum tangential stress are more intensive, as well as those in the sidewall presenting small angles with the two factors. This is compared with those controlled by stiff structural planes in tunnel sidewalls presenting large angles with the tunnel axis and small angles with the maximum tangential stress. In addition, when stiff structural planes forming small angles with the tunnel axis cut through the vicinity of tunnels, rockbursts of high intensities affecting deep areas and causing wide ranges of damage are likely to be induced. Secondly, rockbursts controlled by a set of joints impact a larger range and show a higher intensity than those controlled by a joint. Thirdly, the edges of damage pits generally exhibit stepped surfaces, which form scarps. When there are stiff structural planes, most of the surfaces are shown to be inclined planes or bedding joint surfaces.

1.1.4.2 Rockbursts With Two Stiff Structural Planes With Different Azimuths or Two Sets of Stiff Structural Planes

The rockbursts affected by two stiff structural planes having different azimuths or two sets of structural planes are shown in Fig. 1.1.9. Rockbursts basically occurred at the intersection of two sets of stiff structural planes.

Fig. 1.1.9 Typical rockbursts governed by two structural planes with different azimuths or two sets of structural planes in the headrace tunnels of Jinping II hydropower station. (A) Slight rockburst at chainage K7+463–K7+469 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (B) intense rockburst happening at chainage K8+875 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (C) moderate rockburst taking place at chainage K6+786 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (D) moderate rockburst at chainage K8+050–K8+060 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (E) slight rockburst at 7+350–7+365 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (F) intense rockburst at chainage K8+812–K8+833 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (G) intense rockburst at chainage K8+700–K8+728 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (H) extremely intense rockburst at chainage K11+023–K11+060 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method), (I) moderate rockburst at chainage K8+625–K8+628 of the headrace tunnel (D&B method). Modified from Feng, X.-T., Chen, B.R., Zhang, C.Q., & Li, S.J. (2013). Mechanism, warning and dynamic control of rockburst development processes. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).

When the two stiff structural planes are nearly orthogonal, the boundary of the damage pits is controlled by a structural plane, and the rockburst generate a shallow area (see Fig. 1.1.9A). However, when two sets of stiff structural planes are nearly orthogonal, rock masses are broken at the stiff structural planes to form stepped scarps from the inside to the outside of rock masses (Fig. 1.1.9B).

With two sets of stiff structural planes with an obtuse angle, rockbursts inflict damage in a wide and deep range of rock mass. Thereinto, one set of the stiff structural planes controls the boundary of damage pits while the other group forms steep scarps (Fig. 1.1.9C); or the two sets of stiff structural planes are destroyed to form apparent stepped scarps (Fig. 1.1.9D). In addition, if there developed two sets of stiff structural planes with an acute angle, the damage range of rockbursts is relatively small when accompanying the shallow damage pits (Fig. 1.1.9E).

In the case of two stiff structural planes with an obtuse angle, the damage pit is deep and in a V-shape formation (Fig. 1.1.9F and G).

If the two stiff structural planes are in a V-shape formation, then the boundary of damage pits is governed by the stiff structural planes and the whole damage pit is also V-shaped (Fig. 1.1.9H).

When one tip of a joint is revealed while another tip extends to the insides of surrounding rocks showing a large angle with the tunnel axis, rockbursts damage a small range of rock mass if there is no explicit structural plane (Fig. 1.1.9C and D). Otherwise, the damage range of rockbursts is large (Fig. 1.1.9I).

In terms of the macroscopic fracture surface, obvious scratches can be found on the fracture surface of rockbursts with some angular stepped scarps. Most of rockbursts are fragments, along with a few blocks. In addition, scratches can be observed on the surfaces of some blocks. All the phenomena indicate that the generation of rockbursts is not only affected by the high stress, but also by the control of stiff structural planes.

By comparing Figs. 1.1.8 and 1.1.9, it can be seen that most of the stiff structural planes in the rockburst areas are commonly closed without filling materials and water and are endowed with poor extensibility.

From the analysis above, it can be concluded that the locations, intensities, and damage pit shapes of rockbursts are generally controlled by stiff structural planes. It can be explained as follows:

(1) Rockbursts are more likely to occur at the intersection of structural planes.

(2) The rockbursts controlled by two sets of stiff structural planes caused a larger range with higher intensity than those controlled by two stiff structural planes with different azimuths.

(3) The spatial organization of structural planes is closely related to the intensities of the rockbursts.

(4) When a tunnel passes through the vicinity, especially the tip of stiff structural planes, the rockbursts shows a high intensity and impacts a large range.

1.1.4.3 Influence of Angle of Geological Structure Planes on Rockbursts

If the angle between the strike of stiff geological structural planes with an axis of tunnel is less than 30 degrees, the structural planes have big influence on rockburst; see Fig. 1.1.10 and Table 1.1.3. It is also seen from Fig. 1.1.10A that when excavation is forwarded from the hanging wall of fault B, rockbursts at the footwall of fault B are more severe than at the hanging wall.

Fig.1.1.10 Relationship between engineering geological condition, events, and rockbursts at chainage SK8+200–SK8+800 in drainage tunnel. (A) Rockbursts associated with geological structures along with tunnels. (B) Rockbursts associated with the monitored microseismicity along with tunnel. (C) Influence of fault B on rockbursts associated with the monitored microseismicity.

Table 1.1.3

Relationship Between Geological Structural Planes and Rockburst Occurring at Chainage SK8+200–K8+800 in a Drainage Tunnel

Note: α is the angle between the strike of structural plane and the axis of tunnel, β is the angle between the maximum tangent stress of the tunnel and the strike of the structural plane, γ is the dip angle of the structural plane.

1.1.5 Differences Between Rockbursts in D&B Tunnels and TBM Tunneling

There are major differences between rockbursts that occur during TBM tunneling and D&B tunneling including the number, intensity, and frequency of rockbursts.

It can be seen from Tables 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 that there have been more rockbursts during TBM excavation than D&B excavation by comparing the chainage K14+096–K15+048 in TBM tunnel and the chainage K14+105–K15+041 in D&B tunnel (i.e., two parallel tunnels having the same overburden and similar geological conditions, the spacing of two tunnel central lines is 60 m, 12.4 m in diameter for TBM tunnel, and 13 m in diameter for D&B tunnel, which was excavated by two benches and 8.7 m height for the upper bench). It has 17 rockbursts in TBM tunneling, but only seven in D&B tunneling.

In order to further compare the differences of rockburst risks during TBM tunneling and D&B tunneling, the zones having similar geological conditions, overburden, and rockmass (marble), but different excavation method have been selected in Fig. 1.1.11. The selected zones for comparing are D&B tunneling for the working face 3-3-W at chainage K5+765–K6+200 of No. 3 headrace tunnel, the working face 3-4-W at chainage K5+405–K6+085 of No. 4 headrace tunnel and TBM tunneling for chainage K10+050–K11+165 of No.3 headrace tunnel at Jinping II Hydropower Station, China. Both lengths are 1115 m; the former overburden is 1852–2132 m, and the latter overburden is 1864–2230 m. It can be seen from Fig. 1.1.12 that rockburst events are more active during TBM tunneling than D&B tunneling. The reason for that is the distribution peak value of microseismic events having larger local magnitude (Fig. 1.1.13A), larger rupture scale (Fig. 1.1.13B), higher energy (Fig. 1.1.13C), and occurring at an earlier time (Fig. 1.1.13D) during TBM tunneling than during D&B tunneling. It can also be seen that a higher concentration of microseismic events has greater energy during the TBM tunneling than during D&B tunneling (Fig. 1.1.14).

Fig. 1.1.11 Comparison of TBM tunneling zone and D&B tunneling zones (A) in plane graph and (B) geological cross section.

Fig. 1.1.12 Rockbursts associated with distribution of microseismic events. (A) D&B tunneling and (B) TBM tunneling.

Fig. 1.1.13 Comparison of microseismicity during TBM tunneling and D&B tunneling. (A) Magnitude distributions of microseismic events. (B) Distribution of rupture scale of a microseismic source. (C) Energy distribution of microseismic events. (D) Interval between microseismic events that occurred in succession. The ratio of microseismic events generated within 12 h of the total microseismic events is 81.7% in TBM and 80.2% in D&B, respectively.

Fig. 1.1.14 Comparison of the spatial distribution of microseismic events during (A) TBM tunneling and (B) D&B tunneling.

Usually, there are several lower intensities of rockbursts before an intense rockburst or an extremely intense rockburt during TBM tunneling, but it doesn't have lower intensities of rockbursts before a main rockburst in D&B tunneling; see Fig. 1.1.15.

Fig. 1.1.15 Characteristics of rockbursts at D&B and TBM tunneling. (A) There are several lower intensities of rockbursts before an intense or an extremely intense rockburst in TBM tunneling. (B) There are usually no lower intensities of rockbursts before a main rockburst in D&B tunneling. ◇; Slight rockburst, ☆; moderate rockburst, and ⋆; intense rockburst.

Usually, most rockbursts occurred at and near the working face in TBM tunneling. However, rockbursts can occur at the working face of the tunnel or a certain distance from working face of tunnel; see Fig. 1.1.16.

Fig. 1.1.16 Chainage difference between locations of rockbursts and working face in tunnel excavated by different construction methods: (A) TBM and (B) D&B. Note: The chainage of rockburst locations means the chainage of the center of the rockburst zone here. The chainage difference is zero if the rockburst occurred at the working face. The zones for statistics have similar geological conditions, overburden, and length.

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Subchapter 1.2

Description of Rockbursts in Mines

Marwan Al Heib    Institut national de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Nancy, France

Abstract

Rockburst in mines is a brutal event associated with damage, ranging from slight to severe with fatalities. This is the main difference between rockbursts and induced seismic events (induced seismicity). A rockburst is associated with the depth of the mine, its tectonic structures and the faults, the in situ stresses, and the realized energy. In addition, the chapter focuses on the description of the rockburst phenomenon and its classifications based on different criteria. The volume, energy, magnitude, and origin are the different criteria are currently used to determine the levels of the rockburst.

Keywords

Brutal; Damage; Energy; Magnitude; Fault; Pillar

1.2.1 What is a Rockburst?

Different nature-induced hazards can affect mine activities during and after its closure. One of them is seismic hazard. With the increase of mining depth, rockbursts are one of the most serious disasters that threaten the safety of mine operators and the stability of the surface.

Since the first record of rockburst occurred at a tin mine in Britain in 1738, rockbursts have occurred frequently in various places, including hydroelastic powerhouses, mining tunnels, road and railway tunnels, and nuclear power stations, etc. Rockbursts, or explosion-like fractures followed by the collapse of rock, have been known since the first half of the 18th century. We can find the general term dynamic phenomena in mines, the term of shock-bursts and pressure-bursts, outburst, etc.

A rockburst is a combination of the seismic event and the behavior of the rock mass and discontinuities. The confusion may arise between engineers, populations, and administrators concerning the definition of a rockburst. This confusion is due to the widespread use of many different terms to describe a rockburst, including seismic event, pillar burst, crush burst, strain burst, fault burst, etc.

In this chapter, we will try to clarify the meaning and the definition of a rockburst. The international literature gives different definitions depending on the role and the background of the scan test and expert.

Lenhardt (1992) considers rockburst as a general term, relating to seismic events generated in a mining environment, especially in connotation with violent rock failure. Due to different causes of the rockburst, several source mechanisms can be observed, and they lead to complex seismicrecording patterns. This becomes intriguing apparent in deep mining environments.

Rockburst is related to rock mechanics and geophysics. Rockburst is the result of the induced seismicity. It should be enough clear, though, that the induced seismicity in mines is not equal to a rockburst hazard.

McGarr and Simpson (1997) classified seismicity accompanying mining exploitation as induced seismicity, which is expected to occur in response to stress changes that are comparable to typical earthquake stress drops; the stress drops when it is over the bearing capacity of the rock mass (shear or tensile) or the discontinuity (i.e., faults).

The induced seismicity is characterized by seismic events. A seismic event is a transient dynamic stress wave caused by failure or fracturing in a rockmass. Effectively, a seismic event is the sound (vibration) of rock slipping or rock breaking. Seismic events are the normal response of a rockmass to the stress changes caused by the creation of excavations (e.g., tunnels, mines, etc.). Monitoring seismicity (geophones, accelerometers) allow us to record the seismic events in underground excavations.

Certain excavations, mainly underground, may induce a significant seismicity; they present a level of seismic hazard. A seismic hazard is generally defined as the likelihood of events of certain magnitude occurring. There is no widely accepted measure used to quantify a seismic hazard. If the likelihood of large seismic events is high, then the seismic hazard or rockburst is considered high. If the likelihood of large seismic events is low, then the seismic hazard is considered low. The reliable assessment of locations of high and low seismic hazards is often the goal of seismic monitoring in mines.

1.2.2 Description of the Rockburst

The description of rockburst is based on its definition; some definitions describe the consequences of the rockburst:

A sudden and violent failure of a large volume of overstressed rock, resulting in the instantaneous release of large amounts of accumulated energy (Mine Safety & Health Administration, 1984).

A rockburst is associated with energy and is interplayed between the elastic energy stored in the rock and the rock's brittleness. This is a particular problem in very deep mines where there is hard, brittle, and very strong rock (e.g., some gold and zinc mines, coal mines). They are caused by the sudden release of excessive rock stress that has built up over time.

We can distinguish between:

The "rockbursts" category, which includes those dynamic phenomena where source is the energy accumulated in the disintegrating element of the rock mass and the energy accumulated in the surrounding rock. Rockbursts occur in sections of the rock mass that are in a state of ultimate stress, under conditions where the rate of change of this state exceeds the rate of stress relaxation.

The "rock tectonics phenomena" category includes dynamic phenomena, which, in addition to the types of energy mentioned above, are also caused by the energy of seismic waves released as a result of shock deformation of the rock mass. It is precisely this additional potential energy that induces the loss of rock mass stability in hazardous sections and gives rise to a rockburst or an outburst. The seismic wave adds considerably more energy to the system than is consumed by the disintegrated element. Hence, a tectonic shock is more likely to lead to a disaster than a normal rockburst not induced by a shock wave. From feedback and observations, a tectonic shock is more intensive and usually manifests itself simultaneously in a number of workings of a single mine or in several adjacent mines. The nature of the destruction of mine workings (or pillars) and the damage caused by the phenomenon are the same as with ordinary rockbursts, though they may be more intensive.

In coal mines the term "coal bumps is used, which corresponds to the sudden, violent expulsion of coal from a rib or active coal face into an adjacent entry or entries. Also in the coal mine, the outburst of gas category is due to sudden release of gas through fissures, cavities and/or tectonic faults by the phenomena that produced them, such as areas uncovered by a borehole or mine work. The category outbursts of coal (or rock) and gas" includes dynamic phenomena whose source is the elastic energy of coal, rock, and gas. This means that the layer-by-layer disintegration of rock occurs as a result of the combined effect of rock and gas pressures, and the disintegrated material is thrown out by the energy of the expanding gas.

The main difference between the seismic event and the rockburst is the consequences. The rockburst is associated with damages, mainly that sustained by rock, machineries, persons, reinforcement, etc. The seismic events and rockburst may induce vibrations and disorders in the surface installations. Rockburst is a seismic event that causes damage to underground workings (Van Der Merwe and Madden, 2002).

Rockburst is considered a dynamic instability phenomenon of surrounding rock mass of underground space in high geostatic stress and caused by violent release of strain energy stored in rock mass (Chen, Li, Nie, & Shang, 2003). Rockburst occurs during excavating underground space in the form of a stripe of rock slices or rock fall or the throwing of rock fragments, sometimes accompanied by a cracking sound. Because it occurs suddenly and intensely, rockburst usually causes worker injury or death, damage to equipment, and possibly substantial disruption and economic loss of underground space excavation.

1.2.3 Type of Rockbursts at Mines

The different types of rockburst can be observed in underground mines. One can distinguish between two principal rockbursts: strain burst and fault burst (Fig. 1.2.1 and Fig. 1.2.2).

Fig. 1.2.1 Example of pillar rockburst - Provence coalmine (France).

Fig. 1.2.2 Different rockburst may effect large pillars. (A) Crush, (B) shear, (C) punch, and (D) simultaneous shear.

1.2.3.1 Strain Burst

The strain burst is a rockburst at the lower end of the spectrum of violent events occurring essentially at the surface of an excavation. Strain bursts are the most common form of rockburst in mines, and the amount of energy released is usually limited. The strain burst of pillar, or pillar burst, can be much more violent. Isolated pillar burst is due to a sudden failure of an isolated pillar in room and pillar mines. This type of rockburst relies greatly on the stress distribution around the excavation. The characteristic of strain bursts and pillar bursts is that the damage is likely to occur at the same location as the failure. According to Ortlepp (1997), this type of rockburst only happens in the neighborhood of openings (immediate roof and floor). The loss of support from a pillar causes stresses to be redistributed to nearby pillars, which in turn may fail violently, depending on how close they are to failure, source, the localization of the damage, the volume of the rejected/damage rock.

A domino effect may result and lead to a collapse, combined with an important release of energy (i.e., Coalbrook mining disaster, South Africa). The main characteristics of the strain burst are:

• Smaller size seismic event

• Cause the majority of incidents for personal and mine equipment

• Location of the rockburst:

○ Crown pillar bursts in overhand cut-and-fill. Different types of pillar damages to a rockburst can be observed: crush, shear surface, punch and simultaneous shear (for different pillars).

○ Face bursts at development headings at depth; these occur frequently and therefore constitute a persistent hazard in deep mines. The magnitude usually does not exceed a value of 2.5. The damage is limited to one or two panels. The problem seems a high stress concentration due to the presence of a hard patch or a zone of weakness (e.g., dyke contact, fault, joints).

○ Floor bursts in deep shaft sinking (Fig. 1.2.3).

Fig. 1.2.3 Floor damage of an underground tunnel due to strain burst rockburst.

The fault burst, or fault slip burst, is the second major type of burst. The fault burst is due to the movement along a fault or major discontinuity. Fault slip is the name of another type of rockburst, which is used to describe slip on a geological structure that can happens in much larger scales. The occurrence and magnitude of a fault slip are dependent on a variety of factors. It does occur once major changes of the principal stresses (normal or shear stresses) are taking place. Certain discontinuities, such as dyke contacts, behave similar to faults. The general movement is directed into the stope or the free surface. Depending on the geometry (i.e., inclination of the stope versus the dip-angle of the faults or the major discontinuities), footwall uplifts have also been observed (Driad, Josien, & Al Heib, 2003). Before fault slip takes place, the physical properties of faults, such as friction angle, joint roughness coefficient, cohesion, and clamping normal stress acting on the faults determine the shear strength of fault (e.g., Barton, 1976, Ladanyi & Archambault, 1970). As shear stress acting on a fault exceeds the shear strength, sliding initiates along the fault. Once sliding occurs, friction laws representing dynamic friction are required to be considered, as fault slip brings the surface of the fault physical changes resulting from asperity degradation and thermochemical reactions of materials that exist in the fault (Bizzarri, 2009). Stress drop (i.e., the stresses over failure criterion), which is directly associated with the magnitude of fault slip, is determined by the friction laws (e.g., Mohr-Coulomb criterion). The main characteristics of the fault slip burst are:

• Larger seismic events

• Occur when the applied normal (clamping) stress on a fault decreases (due to mining)

• Sudden movement

• Damage that extends to far areas in the mine through seismic waves (shakedown)

In special configuration a combination of the two types of rockburst can be observed: the fault slip causes overstress in other areas (pillar and wall face areas), causing a combined mechanism (Fig. 1.2.4).

Fig. 1.2.4 Fault slip due to induced stress and rockburst.

Table 1.2.1 presents the characterization of the seismic event, which may produce failure or rockburst in underground excavations. The mechanisms of rockburst will be discussed in Chapter 2. The Canadian rockburst support handbook 5 (Kaiser, McCreat, & Tannant, 1996) indicated the damage mechanism (bulking, ejection and rockfall),

Table 1.2.1

Description of Fault Slip Rockburst Function of the Magnitude (Hudyma, 2004)

From Ortlepp, W. D. (1992). Invited Lecture: The design of support for the containment of rockburst damage in tunnels – An engineering approach. In: Kaiser, P. K. and McCreath, D. R. (Eds.) Proceedings of rock support and underground construction, p. 593-609. Rotterdam: Balkema.

Fig. 1.2.5 Mechanisms of the seismic event (1–5) and related underground damages (moment tensor and single force solutions). (A) Vertical single forces representing the force equivalent of the collapse of the mined-out area, (B) vertical pressure dipole for a pillar burst, (C) horizontal tensional dipole for a tensional fault, (D), (E) and (F): seismic event due to a fault near the opening and shear displacement along the fault. The mechanisms in 3-D display of the P-radiation of the complete MT: lobes—compression/dilatations ( Horner and Hasegawa, 1978).

damage severity (minor, moderate and major) and cause of rockburst damage (Fig. 1.2.6) (e.g., highly stressed rock, seismic energy transferred to jointed rock and/or broken rock, inadequate strength, and forces increased by seismic acceleration).

Fig. 1.2.6 Damages on deep main galleries in underground Lorraine coalmine ( Al Heib, 1993, France).

1.2.4 Consequences of the Rockburst at Mines

The literature proposes different descriptions of the phenomenon of rockburst:

A sudden and violent failure of a large volume of overstressed rock, resulting in the instantaneous release of large amounts of accumulated energy (Mine Safety & Health Administration, 1984).

An instantaneous failure of rock causing an expulsion of material at the surface of an opening or a seismic disturbance to a surface or underground mine. (Ontario Ministry of Labor, 1983).

A rockburst occurs when a volume of rock is strained beyond the elastic limit, and the accompanying failure is of such a nature that accumulated energy is released instantaneously (Fig. 1.2.7) (US Bureau of Mines, 1968, in Black and Hadely, 2001).

Fig. 1.2.7 Stress displacement for the combinations of stiff-soft sidewall rock and soft ore-stiff sidewall rock, respectively ( Zipf, 1999). σ1: principal stress, Wk: kinetic energy.

A rockburst is damage to an excavation that occurs in a sudden or violent manner and is associated with a seismic event. Rockburst damage occurs in a violent manner and is associated with a seismic energy release. The origin of induced seismicity is the brutal relaxation of the stored elastic energy in the rock mass. The failure induces elastic waves.

Rockburst is a catastrophic phenomenon triggered by a progressive failure process of rocks, which has extremely complex mechanical mechanisms (Tang, Wang, & Zhang, 2010). The consequences in the ground surface of the induced seismicity may be comparable to natural seismicity, mainly low to moderate seismicity.

The level of damage can be measured by the number of fatalities and the volume of the rejected rocks. Mainly, the volume of the rejected volume of rockmass present an excellent indicator. In Poland, the rockburst corresponds to a volume <10 tons of blocks (5 M³). The depth of the rejected zone is limited to 1–3 m; Kaiser et al. (1996) consider an event as a major rockburst when the depth of the rejected rock is bigger than 1.5 m. The size of rejected blocks is generally important except in the case of outburst, when the brutal heave of the immediate floor can be observed. The magnitude of the heave depends on the geology of the floor, which could be very important when the floor layers are deformable (soft) and very thin. The rockbursts are sometimes as large as hundreds of tonnes.

The scale of damage induced seismicity and rockburst can be classified by five levels, ranging from no seismicity and no damage to severe and serious damage (Hudyma, 2004):

• No seismicity. Mine seismicity is generally not an issue.

• Nuisance seismicity. There is an increase in the amount of mine seismicity with the occasional large event or minor rockburst. The seismicity poses few or no serious operational planning and planning issues.

• Significant seismicity, but only minor damage. There are regular occurrences of large seismic events, but very little rockburst damage has been experienced. Seismicity related operational and planning problems might be evident.

• Significant seismicity and significant damage. Large seismic events are a regular occurrence, and there have been enough rockbursts so that mine operations and production are affected by the problem. Workforce safety and reserves are threatened.

• Severe seismicity and severe damage. Mine seismicity and rockburst dominate the operation and planning of the mine, often requiring fundamental mine sequence and mine design changes. The problem potentially threatens mine viability.

Kaiser et al. (1996) consider that a rockburst may not result in the ejection of rock into an excavation, especially if the excavation is well supported. However, a rockburst will cause sudden fracturing (damage) in the rock around the excavation and can clearly damage the support system.

1.2.5 Rockmass Behavior and Energy Consideration

A rockburst occurs when a volume of rock is strained beyond the elastic limit, and the accompanying failure is of such a nature that accumulated energy is released instantaneously (US Bureau of Mines, 1968, in Black and Hedely, 2001).

In order for a violent collapse to occur, the rock mass needs to be stiff, strong, and brittle. Firstly, for the same amount of deformation, a stiff rock will accumulate more strain energy. Secondly, once failure occurs, a more brittle rock will tend to release more rapidly and to a greater extent of the strain energy it had accumulated. Thirdly, the high strength that usually accompanies the high stiffness and the high brittleness increases the level of elastic strain energy accumulated in the material prior to failure. This, in turn, increases the energy that can potentially be released at failure.

Linkov (1994) consider that a mine rockburst is associated with rockmass behavior, as a plastic rock may rarely induce a brutal failure and rockburst. Cook (1965) was the first to use the results of the rock postfailure tests to obtain a quantitative relation that described a rockburst in term of loss of stability. The essence of the advance was the experimental determination of the postfailure behavior of the rock (obtained using a stiff machine). This provided the required measure of the brittleness, which we will refer to as the drop modulus. Once the strength of the pillar is exceeded, the pillar will fail according to the shape of the postpeak portion of its stress-strain curve. The violence of the failure is governed by the stiffness of the surrounding mine environment (Zipf, 1999). If the local mine stiffness (KmS) is high compared to the postpeak stiffness of the pillar (Kp), then the failure will be nonviolent, as the available energy is fully absorbed in the fracturing process. However, if the local mine stiffness is low, less than that of the pillar, then the failure will be violent as more energy is put into the failing pillar than is absorbed by the fracturing process. Thus in this case, there is excess energy that promotes violent failure (Fig. 1.2.7).

References

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Black and Hadely, (2001). Rockburst Cases Histories for North American Hardrock Mines. Report for Camiro. 73 Pages. Availbale through Camiro. www.camiro.org.

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Cook N.G.W. A note on rockbursts considered as a problem of stability. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 1965;65:437–446.

Driad, L., Josien, J.P., Al Heib, & M. Noirel, J.F. (2003). Seismic back analysis of the 21 June 2001 Rockburst in a French Coalmine ISBM, New Dehli, India, 1–5 November.

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Chapter 2

Case Histories of Rockburst at Tunnels

Subchapter 2.1

Rockbursts in Tunnels in China

Xia-Ting Feng*; Zhouneng Zhao*,†    * Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China

† School of Environmental Engineering and Resources, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China

Abstract

Rockbursts have occurred in some typical deep tunnels in China, mainly including railway tunnels, highway tunnels and the headrace tunnels of hydroelectric stations. Rockburst hazards occurring in typical deep tunnels in China and the proportions of rockbursts in different intensities are listed, along with the characteristics of rockbursts occurring in the typical deep tunnels. Five case histories of rockbursts in tunnels in China are discussed in this chapter. These include extremely intense rockburst occurrences at a deep water drainage tunnel excavated by TBM, rockbursts of headrace tunnels, and a moderate rockburst in the north sidewall of a