ROCK STRESS AND EARTHQUAKES

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON IN-SITU ROCK STRESS,

BEIJING, CHINA, 25–27 AUGUST 2010

Rock Stress and Earthquakes

Edited by
Furen Xie
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration,
Beijing, China
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Table of Contents

Preface XIII
Organization XV

Keynote presentation
Variability of in situ rock stress 3
J.A. Hudson & X.T. Feng
The effect of lithology, inhomogeneity, topography, and faults, on in situ stress measurements
by hydraulic fracturing, and the importance of correct data interpretation and independent
evidence in support of results 11
B.C. Haimson
How to generate the Final Rock Stress Model (FRSM) at a site or an area 15
O. Stephansson & A. Zang
Tunnel stability and in-situ rock stress 27
M. Lu, E. Grøv, K.H. Holmøy, N.Q. Trinh & T.E. Larsen
The recent tectonic stress districts and strong earthquakes in China 35
F.R. Xie, H.Y. Zhang & Y. Du

Difficulties with hydraulic fracturing stress measurements and ways to

overcome them
Deep rock stress measurement by hydraulic fracturing method taking account of system
compliance effect 43
T. Ito, T. Satoh & H. Kato
A hybrid method for constraining the in situ stress regime in deep vertical holes 51
B.C. Haimson
Modelling the effect of injection system compressibility and viscous fluid flow on hydraulic
fracture breakdown pressure 59
A.P. Bunger, A. Lakirouhani & E. Detournay
Utilizing observations of borehole failure in deviated wellbores to constrain the full stress
tensor in deep wells and mines: Application to two complex case studies 69
M.D. Zoback, P. Paul & A. Lucier
Determining the complete natural stress tensor from hydraulic tests: A case history in
sedimentary rocks from the French Paris Basin 77
F.H. Cornet
Complete stress field determination in an inclined borehole at the Olkiluoto site,
Finland: Joint inversion of hydraulic and en echelon data 85
D. Ask, F. Fontbonne & C. Brunet
Development of borehole-jack fracturing technique and in situ measurements 93
T. Yokoyama, K. Ogawa, O. Sano, A. Hirata & Y. Mizuta
Downhole microseismic monitoring of hydraulic fracturing: A full-waveform approach for
complete moment tensor inversion and stress estimation 101
F. Song, M.N. Toksöz & J. Li

V
Method and theory of in-situ stress measurement
Application of a downward compact conical-ended borehole overcoring technique to
orthotropic rock 111
K. Sakaguchi, J. Usami & K. Matsuki
A critical laboratory investigation on validity evaluation of undercoring method for in situ
stress determination 119
M. Moosavi & N. Ghavami

Estimation of minimum insitu stress by hydrojacking method case study of

Siah bisheh power plant 125
M.R. Shahverdiloo

Cross-sectional Borehole Deformation Method (CBDM) for measurement of

rock stress change 129
Y. Obara, T. Shin, T. Yoshinaga, K. Sugawara & S.S. Kang
New development of in-situ stress measurement in Chinese mines 135
M. Cai, L. Qiao, C. Li, H. Ji, Z. Tan, F. Ren & H. Peng
New method to detect the induced hydraulic fractures 143
J. Mao & C. Wang

In-situ stress measurements in underground coal mines and study on stress fields 149
H. Kang, L. Si & X. Zhang

Accuracy assessment and reliability analysis in the intelligent data analysis system for the
piezomagnetic stress meter 155
L. Jia, C. Wang, Q. Chen & Z. Jiang
Impact of epoxy glue curing time on the quality of overcoring stress measurements in
low-temperature environments 161
F. Lahaie, Y. Gunzburger, A. Ben Ouanas, J.D. Barnichon, P. Bigarré & J.P. Piguet

The hydraulic fracture opening pressure multiple test for the stress state measurement in
permeable rock 167
V.A. Pavlov, P.A. Martynuk & S.V. Serdyukov
Stress measurement and rock excavation at Skaland mine, Norway 173
N.Q. Trinh, T. Larsen, S.N. Sand & A. Myrvang

Correlation between the stability of surrounding rocks and ratio of rock breakdown pressure
to geostress 179
H. Li, Q.M. An, L.L. Fan, H.Z. Wang, F.Q. Liu & J.Y. Dong

Strength and failure of rock due to hydraulic fracture 185

M.Q. You

Acoustic emission signature of different oriented sandstone specimens 189

W. Nie, M.C. He & Z.Y. Zhao

In-situ stress measurement based on acoustic emission in combination with core

orientation techniques 195
Y. Li, L. Qiao & Z.L. Sui

Applications of anelastic strain measurements in scientific ocean deep drillings 199

W.R. Lin, T.B. Byrne, A. Tsutsumi, Y. Yamamoto, A. Sakaguchi,
Y. Yamamoto & C.D. Chang

Experimental study on load/unload response ratio and Kaiser effect when rocks
under cycling load 205
J.P. Liu, Y.J. Yang & Y.H. Li

VI
A comparison of rock stresses measured by WASM AE with results from other techniques that
measure the complete rock stress tensor 211
C.R. Windsor, E. Villaescusa & L.A. Machuca

In-situ stress measurements using oriented core – A comparison of uniaxial vs triaxial

Acoustic Emission results 217
E. Villaescusa, L. Machuca, X. Lei & T. Funatsu
An estimation of the absolute stress value for the Landers earthquake source region 223
Y.G. Wan, S.Z. Sheng, T.L. Lin & Y.M. Wu
Stress inversion from focal mechanism solution of Bam earthquake aftershocks (Iran, 2003) 229
V. Fattahpour & M. Moosavi
A review of the new understanding of fluid-rock deformation in the crack-critical earth 235
S. Crampin & Y. Gao
The influence of rock anisotropy on the stress-induced velocity anisotropy around a borehole 241
J.Y. Tian, H.Q. Wang & Y.B. Zhao
The volume borehole deformation observation in China 245
H.L. Li
Relationship between rock stress and failure of underground cavern’s wall rock at river valley
with ‘V’ shape 249
Q. Jiang, X.T. Feng, D.P. Xu & C.P. Shi
Static vertical pendulum – apparatus for in-situ relative stress measurement 255
L. Neumann & P. Kalenda
Calculating tectonic stress coefficient of formation with rock mechanics parameters and
fracturing work data 263
L. Ren, J.Z. Zhao, Y.Q. Hu & W.C. Zhang
Inversion analysis of initial stress field based on modified particle swarm optimization 267
Y.F. Cao, F.L. He, K.Q. Li, H.Q. Han, S.R. Xie & H. Yan
A mechanism and characteristic analysis of rock core discing in the in-situ stress survey on
deep coalmine 271
Y.D. Jiang, T. Wang, L.H. Hu & S.P. Tian
Comparison of two complimentary measurements: Sonic Fast-Shear Azimuth and
breakout directions for stress estimation 275
R. Prioul & H.T. Sun
Quality assurance system for borehole strain observation 283
Z.S. Zhang, H.Y. Lu, Z.Y. Yang, Z.P. Wang, Z.R. Gui & L. Cai
Analysis of in-situ stress field by using a visual BP neural network 287
Y.S. Li, K. Ai & Y.K. Liu
Study on characteristics of in-situ stress affected by faults 291
J.M. Yin, X.F. Guo & Y.F. Liu

Engineering application of in-situ stress

Modeling of landslides hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake using ground
motion parameters 297
X.Y. Wang & Z.L. Han
Natural stress tensor field at the Porce III hydroelectric project, Colombia-South America 305
L.O. Suárez-Burgoa, A.P. Assis, A.J. Castro-Caicedo & A.A. Navarro-Montoya
Research on production increasing mechanism by slotting in low permeability oilfield 311
Y.L. Zhang & Y.L. Ma

VII
Simulation research on in-situ rock stress of mining coal in gently-dipping close-range
low coal seam 315
T. Tian, Y.L. Zhang & Y.L. Ma
Features of in situ stress in a crystallized batholith and its influence on the rockbursts
of tunnels 321
J.Q. Ma
Inversion of marine in-situ stress of northeast Sichuan and its influence on horizontal well
completion optimization 327
K. Lan, M.G. Liu, Y.M. Xiong & K.X. Liu
Numerical simulation on in-situ rock stress of exploitation process through injection of heat
into low permeability coal seam 333
Y. Cheng & Y.L. Zhang & Y.L. Ma
Cable truss support on a large span set-up coal entry based on ground stress measurement 339
X.K. Zhang, F.L. He, H.Z. Yang, S.R. Xie, H.B. Li & K.Q. Li
Estimation of in-situ stress state at the maximum depth of the Jinping tunnels, China 345
C.Q. Zhang, X.T. Feng, H. Zhou, C.S. Zhang & S.Y. Wu
In-situ stress measurement and rockburst possibility in deep tunnel at a hydro-power station 351
L. Bao & S. Zhao
Segment pre-blasting application on 52 m sublevel caving of steep and thick coal seam under
complex conditions 355
S.J. Miao & X.P. Lai
Failure mechanism and supporting strategy of deep rock roadway under high ground stress 361
Z.J. Li & G. Qi
Studies for rockburst prediction in the Carrara Marble (Italy) 367
M. Coli, E. Livi, P. Berry, A. Bandini & X.N. Jia
The in situ stress state of Kailuan mining area 375
J. Han, P.T. Zhang, X.G. Tian, S. Sun, H.W. Zhang & T.W. Lan
Floor heaving failure mechanism and stability controlling on the deep large-span tunnel 381
G.G. Qiao & Z.Z. Li
Mechanism and support measures of floor heave mainly caused by horizontal extrusion stress in
soft rock roadway 387
X.J. Yang, F.Q. Wang, Z.B. Guo, Q.Y. Han, Z. Zhang & L.P. Han
Analysis of rock burst and crustal stress measurement in a hydropower’s traffic tunnel at
ganzi prefecture, Sichuan Province 395
L. Ding
Analysis on landslide catastrophe mechanism and landslip forecasting for open-pit coal mine 401
Y.B. Zhang, Z.J. Li & Z.Q. Kang
In-situ stress measurement and acoustic emission instrumentation for rock burst control in a
deep tunnel 407
B. Liu, C.J. Song, N. Tian, H. Zhong & B. Cao
Measurements and research of in-situ stress near the fault structure filed 413
C.H. Zhou, J.M. Yin & G.Q. Xiao
Investigation on the mechanism of water inrush in deep mining by in-situ stress measurement 419
Y.D. Jiang, Y.K. Lv, Y.X. Zhao & L.L. Zhu
Numerical stimulation of minimum permitted operating pressure of natural gas storage in bedded salt 425
T.T. Wang, X.Z. Yan, X.J. Yang & H.L. Yang
A pseudo-3D model with 2D flow of hydraulic fracture propagation in thin interbedded
sandstone reservoir 429
X.J. Yang, T.T. Wang, X.Z. Yan & X. Wang

VIII
Sectional optimization research of water flooding with horizontal wells in heterogeneous
reservoir based on logging information 435
T.T. Jiang, X.Z. Yan & X.J. Yang
A method to determine the negative pressure difference and the drilling fluid density in
coal-bed methane underbalanced drilling 441
Q.Y. Wen, X.J. Yang, X.Z. Yan & G.S. Li
Classification method study of joint coal fracture based on Hoek-Brown criterion 447
L.S. Zhang, X.Z. Yan & X.J. Yang
In-situ stress field inverse analysis technology study of low permeability reservoir based on
multi-well constraint 453
X.Z. Yan & X.J. Yang
Borehole stability study of coal seam based on orthotropic coal cleats model 457
B.H. Wang, X.Z. Yan, X.J. Yang & H.L. Yang
The function and significance of in-situ stress measurement in the research of strong
earthquake prediction 463
Q. Guo, L. Ding, C. Wang & Y. Zhang
Key technologies research of natural gas storage construction in salt rock formation 469
Z.L. Tian, T.T. Wang & G. Zhang
Study on relationship between deformation failure of surrounding rock and in-situ stress in
deep-buried tunnel 475
F. Jing, J.M. Yinn & H. Chen
Measurement and numerical simulation of the stress relaxation zone on the roadway face
in coal mine 481
B.S. Nie, S.R. Zhai, R.M. Zhang, C. Jia & J.F. Zhang
Measurements and application of in-situ stress and related rock mechanics parameters at a
new type of diversion hydroelectric project in Southwest China 485
S.X. Yang, C.H. Wang, R. Yao & Q. Mi
Study on the relationship between in-situ stress and the rupture of mine shaft 493
R.H. Sun & W.P. Li
Application of a new stress measurement device in underground marble quarrying, a case study 499
G. Iabichino & M. Cravero
Room-and-pillar mine workings design in high level horizontal stress conditions.
Case of study from the Polish underground copper mines 505
W. Pytel
Hydraulic jacking tests in crystalline rocks for hydroelectric projects in Quebec, Canada 513
M. Quirion & J.-P. Tournier

Numerical modeling
Development of method for evaluation of three dimensional distribution of in situ
stress state and preliminary estimation of applicability 521
T. Tanno, T. Hirano & H. Matsui
Dynamic mechanisms of the 2008 MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China: New insights from
numerical simulation by Finite Element Methods 527
S.B. Zhu
The study on shield support system in longwall mining 535
M.M. Hosseini & N. Hosseini
Numerical stability analysis of tectonically disturbed and lithologically varied rock
masses of collapsed pressure shaft slope in Siah Bishe Dam, North Iran 539
H. Hassani, M. Farokhnia, H. Sarkheil & M. Rahimi Dizaji

IX
Back regression analysis on initial geostress field of Wendeng Pumped storage power station 545
N. Liu & C.S. Zhang
Comparative analysis on mining-induced stress between in-situ observation and
numerical simulation in deep mining 549
K. Yang, G.X. Xie & J.C. Chang
Relationship between instantaneous strength in laboratory and creep strength by
numerical simulation of soft rock in deep site 555
C.X. Liu, J.D. He, J.W. Zhang & H.Y. Tian

Research on the energy dissipation and stress distribution characteristics of the

excavated circular tunnel under high stress conditions 561
S.R. Wang, H.Q Zhang, P.P. Liu & H.H. Jia

Numerical simulation research on seismic activity in Yunnan area 567

Y.J. Li, L.W. Chen, J.Y. Ye & Z.M. Zhan

Modeling of shallow spallation of rock slope under dynamic loading 573

T. Xu, J. Zhao, G.F. Zhao, L.Yuan & P. Liu

Analysis of influencing factors in response spectrum of underground structures using

numerical method 579
M. Serati & M. Moosavi

Stability analysis of slope under mining for resident ore body outside the open-pit 585
Y.B. Zhang, D.Q. Gan & C. Chen

Brittle failure due to excavation induced stress change – a case study of

Jinping II Hydropower Station 589
C. Cheng & X.M. Sun
Numerical simulation of the effect of geostress on large deformations of deep soft
rock tunnels 595
M.C. He, H.Y. Guo, X. Chen, P.Y. Liu & S.Z. Xi
Design of barrier pillars in Tabas underground Coal Mine (Iran) using 3D numerical modeling 601
M. Goodarzi, F.S. Rassouli & M. Yavari
Influences on in-situ stress distribution and surrounding rock mass stability of
underground cavern groups under different slope inclinations 607
L.G. Wang, W.S. Zhu, K. Zhou & X.L. Xin
Research on in-situ stress field simulation of coal and gas outburst mining area with
3D finite element method 611
J. Xu, S.J. Peng, H.W. Yang, D.D. Zhang & D. Liu
Three-dimensional stability analysis of stratified rock mass tunnel based on
anisotropic theory 617
Y. Wang, J.M. Yin & G.Q. Xiao

Coupled hydromechanical behavior of jointed rocks in the study of HTPF tests 623
N. Valinezhad & H. Ghasemzadeh
Application of a global interpretation model for assessment of the stress field for
engineering purposes 631
L.N. Lamas, J. Muralha & B. Figueiredo
Second fine inversion of regional in-situ stress field considering the excavation
disturbance effects of pilot tunnel 637
G.Q. Chen, G.S. Su, T.B. Li & H.M. Ma
Study on the coupling system of high prestress cable truss and surrounding rock on a
coal roadway 643
F.L. He, D.P. Ying, H. Yan, H.Q. Han & K.Q. Li

X
Detecting non elastic behavior from strain recovery curves 647
R. Corthésy & M.H. Leite
3-D Modeling of bedding slip for coal-seam with outburst proneness 653
X.B. Deng, G. Xu, P. Liang, X.T. Li & Y.Q. Ma
Comparison of the 1999 Chi-Chi Mw 7.6 Earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan MS 8.0 Earthquake 659
Y. Liu & S.B. Zhu
The method of bound regression analyse of the initial geostress field and its application 665
S.X. Yang, Z.Y. Xu, M.Z. Bai & R. Yao
Prediction of the time dependent in-situ pressure of soft rock using multiple regression
approach, artificial neural network, and adaptive network-fuzzy inference system 673
R. Doostmohammadi & M. Moosavi
Feasible study of the application of stress measurement in mining engineering to seismic
monitoring system 679
E.R. Xue, J.H. Guo, Y.C. Wang & H.J. Wang

Active tectonics and crustal dynamics

Characteristics of tectonic stress in the east of Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring
region inferred from in-situ stress measurement 687
R. Yao, S.X. Yang, Y.Z. Lu, X.F. Cui, Q.C. Chen & Q. Mi
Recent tectonic stress field zoning in Tienshan area and its dynamic genesis 695
H.Y. Zhang, F.R. Xie, X.F. Cui, L.M. Hu & D. Su
Present-day stress state in southeast Korea with an emphasis on effects of regional-scale faults 701
C. Chang & T.S. Kang
Background stress state estimated from 2008 Wenchuan earthquake sequence 707
Y.Q. Zhang, F.R. Xie & Susanna J. Gross
The new-born fault in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan, China: A case in Qingping town 713
J.J. Ren, C.W. Mao, S.M. Zhang, G.H. Chen & X.W. Xu
Active model, deformation characteristics and dynamic mechanism of the Yingxiu – Nanba
segment in the MS 8.0 seismic fault 719
H.F. Lu, S.M. Zhang, B.Q. Ma, Z.H. Hou, Z.T. He, J.X. Zhao & J.Y. Wang
The research of the cumulative vertical slip of the faults which caused the
MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake 727
L. Wang, Q.J. Tian, K. Hao, B.Q. Ma, S.M. Zhang & J.Q. Yu
Numerical simulation of earthquake mechanism based on stick-slip behavior of faults 735
M. Sasani & M. Yazdani
3D Mohr diagram to explain reactivation of pre-existing planes due to changes in applied stresses 739
S.-S. Xu, A.F. Nieto-Samaniego & S.A. Alaniz-Álvarez
InSAR measurement of fault activity in Red River Fault Zone 747
L.Y. Hu, J.F. Zhang, X.Q. Shang, H.F. Zhou, C.L. Li & J.P. Muller
Lithospheric thermo-mechanical strength map of China 751
Y. Wang & S. Cheng

Stress-strain observation and earthquake prediction

In-situ stress measurement is an important approach to realize earthquake
prediction – developing J.S. Lee’s scientific ideas on earthquake prediction 757
F. Li
Features and mechanism of coseismic surface ruptures by Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 761
Z.Q. Yue

XI
Yielding in intact rock at different scales 769
H. Masoumi, K.J. Douglas & S.M. Seyed Alizadeh
The design of strain measuring sensor of geophysical observations in deep boreholes 777
H.L. Li
Development of Real-Time Soil Deformation Monitoring System (RSDMS) 781
M.A. Mohd Din & L. Kang Wei
Experimental study of the temperature-pressure effect on gas transport in peridotite
sample from Sudbury Basin, Canada 785
C.G. Wang, X.H. Zhang & H.J. Zhang
The design of 3-component volume borehole strainmeter of type TJ-3 789
X.B. Ma, H.L. Li, J.J. Ma & K.Z. Su
Static vertical pendulum – observations of anomalous tilt before earthquakes (case study) 795
P. Kalenda & L. Neumann
Strains recorded by using seismic acquisition unit 805
X.H. Yang, S.X. Yang, Y. Wang, G.H. Zhang, F.S. Liu & Y.Z. Liu
A new type of multi-component borehole instrument for continuous monitoring of
crustal deformation 809
Z.X. Ouyang
Using fiber Bragg grating in geothermal monitoring 815
K. Li, Z.A. Zhou, A.C. Liu, X.P. Ye, H.X. Li & D.Q. Cheng
PS InSAR time-series analysis for monitoring ground subsidence 819
B. Liu, Y. Luo, J.F. Zhang, L.X. Gong & W.L. Jiang
Application of sand layer strain based on granule medium to earthquake prediction 823
A.X. Wu
Confined well water level: An approach to measure seismic induced strain changes on site 829
F.Q. Huang, Y. Zhang, G.J. Lai & R. Yan
Rock failure and the evolution of pre-failure signals 833
F.T. Freund, R.P. Dahlgren & J.J. Chu
Softening rocks with stress-activated electric current 839
F.T. Freund, S.A. Hoenig, A. Braun, R.P. Dahlgren, M. Momayez & J.J. Chu
Measuring relative ground stress variations using piezomagnetic stressometers 845
X.N. Huang, L.J. Wang & L.M. Ge
Three-dimensional measurement of a deep-seated RZB-type integrated wideband
deformation observing system 851
Z. Chen, T. Li, Z.X. Ouyang, L.H. Wu, Y.J. Li & J.Y. Ning
RZB-type capacitive borehole inclinometer 857
L.H. Wu, Z. Chen, T. Li & Z.X. Ouyang
Incoherent hydro-frac results & its implications in design of crude oil storage caverns 863
M.R. Saharan, A. Sinha, K. Srinivasan, V.V. Nagada, S. Panda, H.S. Mitri, F. Rummel & U. Weber
Influence of high horizontal stress regime on the shape of LPG caverns – A case study 869
M.R. Saharan, A. Sinha & H.S. Mitri

Author index 875

XII
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Preface

The fifth International Symposium on In-situ Rock Stress (ISRSV) has been sponsored by the International
Society for Rock Mechanics to encourage discussion about advanced measuring techniques, numerical modeling,
and geophysical methods of rock stress. It was held in Beijing, China, organized by Institute of Crustal Dynamics
from China Earthquake Administration (ICD, CEA), Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering
(CSRME), Seismological Society of China (SSC).
The evaluation of in-situ rock stress is not only important in the exploration and engineering involving
rock masses for mining, hydropower, tunneling, oil and gas production, and stone quarrying, but also in the
geodynamics and earthquake prediction. The methods of determining these stresses for shallow crust in the
engineering practice, including hydraulic fracture method, stress relief method, and acoustic emission method,
have not developed substantially to satisfy the increasing utilization of rock masses. The geophysical methods
for stresses determination of deep crust only determine the stress fields of deep crust qualitatively. Contributed
by a group of leading experts from engineering and geophysical community, this symposium addresses new
developments in numerical modeling and advanced measuring techniques in engineering practices, and build
new connections between traditional and geophysical methods, which will both benefit earthquake prediction
based on the concept of the crustal stresses.
I would like to acknowledge the partial financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
41010304002) and China Earthquake Administration for the keynote speakers, including Prof. Hudson, Prof.
Haimson, Prof. Stephansson, Prof. Lu, Prof. Shi, Prof. Ito, Prof. Zoback, and Prof. Cornet. I would also like
to thank the sponsors for providing such generous support and thereby contributing to a rewarding conference
experience for the delegates.
Furen Xie
The General Secretary of ISRSV and Editor

XIII
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Organization

Sponsored by
International Society for Rock Mechanics

Organized by
Institute of Crustal Dynamics (ICD), China Earthquake Administration (CEA)
Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME)
Seismological Society of China (SSC)

Co-organized by
SINTEF Rock Engineering, Norway
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Institute of Rock and Soil
Mechanics, CAS)
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (IG, CAGS)
Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute (YRSRI)
China Coal Research Institute (CCRI)
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
State Key Laboratory for GeoMechancis and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining &
Technology in Beijing
Committee of Chinese Continental Dynamics, Chinese Geophysical Society
Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CJRME)

Advisory committee
President
Yaolin Shi (China)

Vice President
Qihu Qian (China), Rong Chen (China)

Members
Guoyu Ding (China), Zhongjin Ma (China), Zhenqi Song (China), Yuntai Chen (China), Tingdong Li (China),
Shijing Wang (China), Xiurun Ge (China), Zhiqin Xu (China), Jin Ma (China), Jiwen Teng (China), Wenjin Zhao
(China), Qidong Deng (China), Lizhou Pan (China), Weiyuan Zhou (China), Xinlian Chen (China), Zhonghuai
Xu (China), Shunliang Liang (China), Meifeng Cai (China), Chunting Liao (China), Yunfang Liu (China),
Lianjie Wang (China), Rongyu Tang (China), Ronghui Wu (China), Guangxun Liu (China), Kaizhi Su (China),
Fangquan Li (China), Zuxi Ouyang (China), Yuanzhong Lu (China), Enfu Wang (China), Zhonxian Huang
(China), Xiangning Huang (China), P. Molnar (USA), P.Tapponnier (France), B.C. Burchfiel (USA), L.H. Royden
(USA)

Organizing committee
President
LIU Yuchen, Deputy Director General, CEA

Vice President
Xiating Feng (China), Guomin Zhang (China), ShengYu (China), Changxing Long (China), Mancao He (China),
Hongpu Kang (China), Zhijun Niu (China), Ke Li (China), Chunfeng Hu (China), Ming Zhao (China), Ming Li
(China)

XV
Members
Faquan Wu (China), Jichuan Hao (China), Ming Lu (China), Hong Chen (China), Qian Sheng (China), Jianmin
Yin (China), Qunche Chen (China), Dongning Zhang (China), Shigang Yu (China), Yaowei Liu (China), Shimin
Zhang (China), Shoubiao Zhu (China), Zehua Qiu (China)
Secretary General
Furen Xie (China)
Vice Secretary General
ShunxinYang (China), Hong Li (China), Qiliang Guo (China), Zhizhong Xu (China), Liu Tian (China), Shuming
Yu (China)
Secretary
Jiayong Tian (China), Li Liu (China), Yuejun Zheng (China), Baohong Zhang (China), Chenghu Wang (China),
Xiaogang Cai (China)

Scientific committee
President
Furen Xie (China)
Vice President
Xiating Feng (China)
John Hudson (UK)
Members
Ming Lu (Norway), Bezalel Haimson (USA), Katsuhiko Sugawara (Japan), F.H. Cornet (France), Ove
Stephansson (Germany), Derek. Martin (Canada), M.D. Zoback (USA), K. Shin (Japan), Hiroshi ISHII (Japan),
Rolf Christiansson (Sweden), Kern Shin Yoon (Korea), Peter Molnar (USA), Paul Tapponnier (France), B. Clark
Burchfiel (USA), Leigh H. Royden (USA), M.K. Clark (USA), Tom Parsons (USA), Judith Hubbard (USA),
Shuwen Dong (China), Zhongliang Wu (China), Shengli Ma (China), Yun Wu (China), Kelin Wang (China),
Dapeng Zhao (China), An Yin (China), Mian Liu (China), Aiming Lin (China), Zhongqi Yue (China), Zaisheng
Jiang (China), Qingliang Wang (China), Zhenkang Shen (China), Yongen Cai (China), Xiaofei Chen (China),
Sidao Ni (China), Yongge Wan (China), Ye Zhao (China), Ju Wang (China), Aiqing Wu (China), Baoping Shi
(China), Hua Peng (China)

Acknowledgements
The full paper publications of keynote presentations, Prof. Ito, Prof. Haimson, Prof. Zoback, and Prof. Cornet
are supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41010304002).

XVI
Keynote presentation
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Variability of in situ rock stress

J.A. Hudson
Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College of Science,
Technology and Medicine, London, UK

X.T. Feng
Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiaohongshan,
Wuchang, Wuhan, P. R. China

ABSTRACT: The variability of in situ rock stress is discussed in relation to different scales: the tectonic/regional
scale, site scale, excavation scale, borehole/measurement scale, and microscopic scale. The factors causing the
stress variability are rock inhomogeneity, rock anisotropy, discontinuities and free faces. A computer simulation
of inhomogeneity-induced stress variation is included. The variation of stress with depth is made clearer through
the use of the first stress invariant. Rock discing in boreholes at the JinPing II site is illustrated. Computer
modeling of the rock mass is recommended as an enhancement to stress measurements.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 GEOLOGICAL HETEROGENEITY AND THE

The magnitude and orientation of the in situ rock stress
components are required for the design of underground
rock engineering projects. In recent years, there has
been a move to use numerical modeling/simulation
methods in conjunction with rock mass classification
as the main support for rock engineering design. All
these numerical methods require information concern-
ing the in situ stress at the project site as boundary
condition information. Thus, there has also been an
increased requirement to establish the local site stress
conditions during the site investigation process.
However, many in situ stress estimation campaigns
encounter problems—not only in the actual measure-
ment procedures but because the in situ stress can
vary significantly within and between boreholes at the
same site. This then raises questions about the stress
measurement techniques and indeed which values to
assume for the in situ stress field parameters for the
numerical modeling.
In this paper, we discuss the reasons for such
in situ stress variability in relation to the tec-
tonic/regional scale, site scale, excavation scale, bore-
hole/measurement scale, and microscopic scale and
and we review the factors causing the variability: rock
inhomogeneity, rock anisotropy, discontinuities and
free faces. This will lead to a recommended approach
to the subject through an understanding of the host
geology and associated numerical modeling, providing
guidance on the degree of stress variation that would be
expected at a particular site and hence how to approach
a stress estimation campaign.
PROBLEM OF SCALE
The fundamental problem associated with the esti-
mation of the in situ principal stress magnitudes and
directions is that the stress, being a point property,
is not uniform throughout a rock mass because of
the perturbations introduced by the geological hetero-
geneities on a variety of scales.
The origin of in situ rock stress is the movement of
the Earth’s tectonic plates and the presence of any over-
burden. There can be additional causes of stress, such
as water pressure and heat. Perturbations to the in situ
stress are induced by a variety of factors, especially the
pre-existing discontinuities in the rock mass and fac-
tors such as inhomogeneity, anisotropy and inelasticity.
These perturbations can occur on different scales, so
it is necessary to consider the spectrum of scales, e.g.
the tectonic scale, regional scale, site scale, excavation
scale, measurement scale and microscopic scale.
3 DIFFERENT SCALES
3.1 Tectonic scale and regional stresses
In most cases, the main factor in generating an in situ
stress state in rock masses is the movement of the
Earth’s tectonic plates. This will result in the applica-
tion of a stress field across large areas of a particular
land mass and hence create a regional stress. Studies of
the World Stress Map (Heidbach et al., 2008) confirm
the association between the tectonic plate movement

3
and the directions of the major horizontal in situ
principal stress.

3.2 Site scale

The scale of interest for rock engineering purposes, i.e.
the effective site volume, will depend on the purpose
of the engineering facility. For example, a rail tunnel
through a rock mass will generally have a relatively
low volume of interest in terms of its cross-section, i.e.
the rock mass immediately surrounding the tunnel. In
special cases, this volume may be larger, as in the case
of a tunnel in rock below the sea where there is the
potential for water inflow.
A cavern for storing compressed air will have a
larger local volume of interest, not only because of
its larger cross-sectional dimensions, but also because
of the potential for air leakage through fractures in the
rock mass.
An underground repository for storing radioactive Figure 1. The probability density distribution, f(x) as a func-
tion of x for different values of the shape parameter, m, in the
waste will have a large rock mass volume of interest Weibull statistical distribution (from Tang & Hudson, 2010).
because the facility itself may be kilometres in extent
and because of the over-riding safety criterion: that
unacceptable quantities of radionuclides should not
escape to the biosphere.

3.3 Excavation scale

Even though the project itself may occupy a large rock
mass, as in the case of a hydro-electric scheme or
a radioactive waste repository, the local in situ rock
stress around each separate excavation has to be con-
sidered. Thus, the stress state in the rock surrounding
the individual excavations needs to be assessed—and
this can vary across the site.

3.4 Borehole/measurement scale

The majority of in situ stress measurements are under-
taken using overcoring or hydraulic methods in bore-
holes. Thus, we also have to consider the variability of
the in situ stress on scales of the order of 0.1 m. Are
there significant perturbations to the regional stress
on the borehole scale? If so, we need some method
of understanding these and being able to upscale the
values to the excavation and site scale, as required.
3.5 Microscopic scale
In the overcoring method of stress measurement, strain
gauges are used which are of the order of one cen-
timetre long. Thus, we also need to understand the
perturbations of rock stress on the microscopic, or at
least grain size, scale in order to interpret any anoma-
lies in the strain gauge readings as the overcoring is
undertaken.
4 STRESS PERTURBATION FACTORS
4.1 Rock inhomogeneity
On all the scales highlighted in the previous Sec-
tion, the rock mass can be inhomogeneous. Hence,
Figure 2a. Numerical simulation model of an inhomoge-
neous rock block—with the grayscale indicating the variation
in elastic moduli of the individual elements following the
Weibull distribution shown in Figure 1.
in order to understand in situ stress variation, we have
to consider how rock stress is transmitted through an
inhomogeneous medium.
In Figure 1, the Weibull probability density distri-
bution is illustrated. This is used here to characterize
inhomogeneity for numerical modeling purposes, as
in Figure 2.
The statistical distribution shown in Figure 1 is used
to characterize the elastic modulus of the elements in
the RFPA finite element model. As the homogene-
ity index, m, decreases, so the inhomgeneity of the
elemental moduli increases.
In Figure 2a, a biaxially loaded 2-D inhomoge-
neous rock block is shown with 40,000 elements. In
Figure 2b, the variability in the consequential mag-
nitudes and directions of the principal stresses is
indicated through the grayscale shading. In Figure 2c,

4

Figure 2b. Variation in the major principal stress through the
simulated inhomogeneous loaded block shown in Figure 2a.
Figure 2c. Shear stress fluctuations along the
cross-sectional line AA
shown in Figure 2a.
the normalized shear stress is plotted across the section
AA
shown in Figure 2a.
These Figures, 2a–c, which are from Tang and Hud-
son (2010) and are independent of absolute scale,
illustrate the type of natural variation of stress which
will occur within an inhomogeneous loaded rock mass.
Considering that the overcoring method of stress mea-
surement is based on the output of small strain gauges,
it is not surprising that there can be a large variation in
the in situ stress measurement results in, for example,
a granitic rock with crystal sizes commensurate with
the strain gauge dimensions.
4.2 Rock anisotropy
In a similar way to the variation in the stress as a func-
tion of inhomogeneity, the stress will also vary with
the rock anisotropy—which may be coherent, as in the
case of a set of regular rock strata, or more difficult
to characterize when combined with large and small
inhomogeneities.
5
Figure 3. Anisotropy in chalk strata composed of alternating
hard and soft layers (Lower chalk, Isle of Wight, UK).
Figure 4. Illustration of stress variation on the small scale.
(a) Simulation of a specific granite micro-structure with
crystals of feldspar, mica and quartz (with uniform prop-
erties within each grain). (b) Shear stresses developed in
the micro-structure during failure when loaded in the ver-
tical direction (higher stresses are a lighter grayscale). From
Tang & Hudson (2010).
The rock strata in Figure 3 are from the Lower chalk
formation in the south of England and comprised of
alternating hard and soft chalk, the harder layers (the
whiter ones in Figure 3) being able to sustain a greater
shear stress than the softer layers.
4.3 Rock discontinuities
The other main cause of in situ stress variation is the
presence of natural, pre-existing discontinuities in the
rock mass. These occur on all scales, from the micro-
scopic flaws in rock grains to the brittle deformation
zones that can be kilometres in length.
In Figure 4, a numerical simulation using the
RFPA code indicates how the shear stress can vary
in a granitic micro-structure when it is subjected to
uniaxial stress.
 Figure 6. Principal stresses are parallel and perpendicular
to open fractures and excavation surfaces.
Figure 5. Portion of a numerical modeling (3DEC) output
indicating the directions and magnitudes of the major princi-
pal stress for a horizontal section of a rock mass in Sweden at
450 m depth. The through-going lines are brittle deformation
zones (faults) which have been incorporated in the model-
ing. The overall horizontal direction of the principal stress
is NW-SE in line with the northern European regional ten-
dency. The shading indicates the magnitudes of the major
principal stress, ranging from 18–27 MPa for the light shad-
ing to 52–60 MPa for the dark shading. (From Eva Hakami,
Itasca, Sweden).

At the other end of the size scale, in Figure 5, there

is an illustration of how the stresses can vary across
a site several kilometres long containing a variety of
extensive brittle deformation zones. This computer
modeling example using 3DEC indicates how the pres-
ence of major faults in the rock mass can cause a large
variation in the local principal stresses and hence why
the collations of in situ stress measurement data can
often show a large spread.
Such numerical modeling is helpful in explaining
the trends and the types of variations that can occur.
For example, from the modeling one can create a his-
togram of the magnitudes of the principal stresses
occurring in a rock mass. To set up the numerical
model, however, requires characterization of the rock
mass, requiring in particular the mechanical properties
of the rock and major discontinuities: the deforma-
tional elastic modulus, E; the Poisson’s ratio, ν; the
normal stiffness, kn ; the shear stiffness, ks ; the cohe-
sion, c; and the angle of friction, φ. There are six
main methods (Hudson et al., 2008) to estimate the
mechanical properties of such zones, most of which
are directed towards estimation of E and ν.
4.4 The influence of a free surface
A key aspect for rock engineering is the influence of
a free surface on the in situ stress state, as shown in
Figure 6.
On a free surface, whether natural or engineered,
there can be no shear stresses; hence, by definition,
the free surface is then a principal stress plane. This
means that one principal stress is perpendicular to the
free surface (assumed to be σ3 in Figure 6) with a
zero value and the other two principal stresses must
Figure 7. Example of significant surface topography (in
Switzerland) where the near-surface in situ stress will be
affected by the mountains and valleys.
be parallel to the free surface. Thus, the orientations
and magnitudes of the three principal stresses will be
different to those of the regional stress field.
The Earth’s surface is one example of a free surface,
so the stress state must be as in Figure 6 with a zero
value principal stress acting perpendicular to the sur-
face and the other two principal stresses being parallel
to the surface. If the Earth’s surface is locally non-
planar (e.g. as in Figure 7) there will be an associated
perturbation in the near surface rock mass because a)
the vertical stress (being generated by the weight of
rock above) will vary from place to place, and b) the
transmission of the horizontal stress will occur at a
deeper level.
In the case of an engineered free surface, e.g. the
unsupported periphery of a tunnel or cavern, this redis-
tribution of the pre-existing rock stress state occurs in
conjunction with two other main effects: displacement
of the periphery; and the creation of a sink for water
inflow.
The result is an Excavation Disturbed Zone (EDZ).
There is an inevitable disturbance as the result of
removing part of the rock mass and creating the free
surface. Such excavation not only removes the rock but

6
reduces the mechanical and hydrogeological resistance
of the region to effectively zero. The additional dis-
turbance is any extra disturbance above this inevitable
threshold disturbance caused by the particular mode
of excavation, blasting or TBM. But the main effect
is the significant alteration of the in situ stress state
in the vicinity of the excavation periphery (Hudson et
al., 2009).

5 EVIDENCE OF IN SITU STRESS

VARIABILITY

The evidence of in situ stress variability comes not

only from the variability encountered during individ-
ual stress measurement campaigns but also from the
measured principal stresses compilations made over
the years. Chief among these is the World Stress Map
which contains the data from inferred stress states and
direct stress measurements (Heidbach et al., 2008), i.e.
from
• earthquake focal mechanisms,
• wellbore breakouts and drilling-induced fractures,
• in situ stress measurements (overcoring, hydraulic
fracturing, borehole slotter), and
• young geologic data (from fault-slip analysis and
volcanic vent alignments). Figure 8a. Variation of principal stress magnitudes plotted
against depth for the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (from
It is possible to custom create one’s own stress map for Lee at al., 2006).
any given area of the Earth’s surface from this database.

5.1 Stress vs. depth compilations

In terms of the variation of stress components with
depth, these vary from the early Hoek & Brown (1980)
compilation to the more recent ones of Lee et al.,
(2006).
A problem with such compilations for the rock engi-
neering designer is that the scatter of the data is too
high for accurate specification of the stress state at any
particular depth and location. Indeed, at first sight, one
might conclude that many such compilations do not
have any utility for rock engineering design because
the scatter in the data is far too high, e.g. see Figure 8a.
There is a large scatter of points in Figure 8a for all
three of the principal stresses—both for the horizontal
and vertical directions. In other words, there is no clear
stress state at any given depth level and only a general
trend of the principal stresses increasing with depth.

5.2 Stress vs. I1 compilations

However, an interesting approach aimed at reducing
the scatter in the data was proposed by Lee et al. (2006)
whereby the values of the principal stresses are plot-
ted against the first stress invariant, I1 = σ1 + σ2 + σ3 ,
rather than against depth, as in Figure 8b. Figure 8b. Variation of principal stress magnitudes plotted
It appears from Figure 8b that in fact the measure- against the first stress invariant for the Yilgarn Craton, West-
ment data as a stress–I1 plot do appear more reliable ern Australia, for the same data as in Figure 8a (from Lee
than expected from the Figure 8a plot. Additionally, et al., 2006).

7
Table 1. Summary of principal stress mean ratios.
σ1 /σ2 σ2 /σ3 σ1 /σ3
Australia 1.5 1.5 2.3
Chile 1.6 1.6 2.6
Finland 1.7 1.7 3.0
U.K. 1.6 1.4 2.4
Figure 9a. The complex sedimentary geology at the JinPing
II site with folding and faulting. The seven tunnels, each 17
km long, are being excavated through the mountain range
from one part of the Yalong river to another.
the ratios between the principal stresses are now evi-
dent: σ1 /σ2 = 1.5; σ2 /σ3 = 1.5; σ1 /σ3 = 2.3. Lee et al.
(2006) also collated the data for Eastern Australia and
found the same principal stress ratios.
The existence of these ratios stimulated Harrison et
al. (2007) to plot stress measurement data from the
UK, Chile and Finland the same way and to establish
the principal stress ratios—shown in Table 1.
There is a remarkable consistency in the values in
Table 1, given that they are from different countries
and geological environments, indicating that the rock
stresses are in fact more constrained than is indicated
just by plots of the principal stresses versus depth. The
reason for this (which is not that the ratios arise sim-
ply because the principal stresses are ordered triples)
is that fractured rock masses can only sustain certain
principal stress ratios. The mechanical basis for this is
explored in Harrison et al., (2007).
6 A CASE EXAMPLE OF HIGH ROCK
STRESSES AND THEIR VARIABILITY AT
THE JINPING II HYDRO- ELECTRIC
PROJECT SITE IN CHINA
6.1 JinPing II project background and the in situ
rock stress
As a general rule, the higher the rock stress compo-
nents, the more difficulty will be experienced dur-
ing rock engineering construction work. Such high
stresses may be caused by high tectonic stresses, e.g.
near a subduction zone, or by a large overburden. In
the case of the JinPing II site in China, there is a sig-
nificant overburden above the seven tunnels which are
being driven below a mountain range with a maximum
overburden of 2500 m, Figure 9a.
If we assume that 1 MPa is generated for every
40 m of overburden, this means that there is poten-
tially over 60 MPa vertical stress at its highest value—a
value which is then concentrated around the access and
headrace tunnels
8
Figure 10. The mountains above the JinPing II headrace
tunnels are not symmetrical and the tunnels are offset from
the highest portions, thus inclining the principal stresses.
In fact, estimation of the in situ stress state at the
JinPing II site suffers from all the factors mentioned
earlier in the paper:
• rock inhomogeneity because of the different sedi-
mentary strata;
• rock anisotropy, again because of the different
strata;
• rock discontinuities, because of the bedding planes
and faults;
• highly variable surface topography; and
• free surfaces, because of the tunnel excavation.
In addition, there is some asymmetry in the vertical
load, see Figure 10.
Another factor associated with the bedding planes
and faults in the sedimentary strata is the presence of
considerable quantities of water.
In the western region where stress measurements
have been made, the maximum principal stress has a
trend of S46◦ E or N46◦W, nearly parallel to the axis
of tunnel, which is N58◦W. The mean plunge is 56◦ .
6.2 The occurrence of spalling and rockbursts
Because of the high stresses at the site, spalling and a
series of rockbursts have occurred during the exca-
vation of the tunnels. In addition to the overlying
topography, the factors contributing to the rockbursts
are the strength of the intact rock relative to the con-
centrated stress around the sub-circular tunnels, the
brittleness of the intact rock (mainly marble), changes
in the rock type (bedding plane separations), joint-
ing, folding of the rock strata, faulting, and the drill
and blast and tunnel boring machine operations in the
different tunnels.
6.3 Rock discing
In order to provide additional data on the rock stresses
at the site, a series of 12 cored experimental boreholes
(see Figure 11a & b) were driven near the location of
the highest overburden stress.
From the core discing observed in Figures 12a–d,
it is apparent that several factors are affecting the core

Figure 11a. Plan view of the experimental boreholes drilled
to investigate core discing and the in situ stress at the JinPing
II site in China.
Figure 11b. Cross-sectional view of the experimental hori-
zontal boreholes drilled to investigate core discing and the in
situ stress at the Jin Ping II site in China.
Figure 12a. Core discing in Borehole A01 from the access
tunnel surface to 5.10 m.
Figure 12b. Core discing in Borehole A01 from 5.10 m to
11.53 m.
9
Figure 12c. Core discing in Borehole A01 from 11.53 m to
16.04 m.
Figure 12d. Core discing in Borehole A01 from 16.04 m to
21.00 m.
discing. Firstly, in Figure 12a, the discing is not so
intense in the first metre of the borehole, probably
caused by a slightly de-stressed zone in the excavation
disturbed/damaged region (EDZ). From then on, 1 m
to 12 m, the discing is intense and uniform. However,
from 12 m onwards, there are discing regions where
the thicknesses of the discs vary considerably.
This variation demonstrates the complex interplay
of effects, including the high in situ stress concentra-
tion around the tunnel, the variability of the rock stress
and the variability of the marble. Analysis of the disc-
ing in this borehole and the other boreholes is on-going
as this paper is being written.
7 CONCLUSIONS AND THE WAYS AHEAD
The understanding of the variability of in situ rock
stress can be accomplished by the interaction of
two approaches: computer modeling incorporating the
geology and enhanced measurement techniques.
7.1 Computer modeling
Examples of computer modeling of rock stress have
been shown in Figures 2a, b, c, 4 and 5. It is the authors’
opinion that such modeling is the key to understanding
rock stress variability in rock masses.
 There is currently considerable effort being allo-
cated to the development of extended numerical codes
which are able to incorporate more variables and more
couplings, e.g. thermo-hydro-mechanical- chemical
codes (Environmental Geology, 2009); and, for the
case of non-1:1 mapping methods in design, a sim-
ilar initiative is being directed at extended systems
approaches using the internet for virtual laboratories,
etc. All the current approaches to rock engineering
design require a knowledge of the in situ rock stress—
but the estimation of the rock stress can itself be
supported by computer simulation.
In the type of numerical modeling illustrated in
Figure 5, it is possible to obtain a histogram of the
complete principal stress variation across the site,
to incorporate the stress perturbation factors of rock
inhomogeneity, anisotropy, the presence of major and
minor discontinuities, to introduce free surfaces, and
to explore the effect of variations in these factors, i.e.
the sensitivity of the simulation of a particular site to
the input variables. Moreover, virtual boreholes can
be driven in the numerical models to compare with
experimental data and even to calibrate the numerical
model.
7.2 In situ rock stress measurement
The key to successful rock stress measurement and
estimation lies in the understanding of the nature of
rock stress and careful application of quality assur-
ance procedures. This is why the four ISRM Suggested
Methods for rock stress measurement (Ulusay & Hud-
son, 2007) begin with considerations relating to the
strategy for rock stress estimation and are concluded
by recommendations for quality control.
Following the Part 2 and Part 3 Suggested Meth-
ods on overcoring and hydraulic methods, the Part 4
Suggested Method contains sets of tables relating to
quality assurance and technical auditing.
Needless to say, the measurement of in situ rock
stress is not an easy task but the values will be
more reliable if the guidance provided by these ISRM
Suggested Methods is followed.
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amadei, B. & Stephansson, O. 1997. Rock Stress and Its
Measurement. Chapman & Hall. London.
10
Diederichs, M.S., Kaiser, P.K. & Eberhardt, E. 2004. Damage
initiation and propagation in hard rock during tunnelling
and the influence of near-face stress rotation. Int. J. Rock
Mech. Min. Sci. 41: 785–812.
Environmental Geology, 2009. Special Issue: The
DECOVALEX-THMC Project: Safety assessment of
nuclear waste repositories, pp. 1217–1390.
Harrison, J.P. & Hudson J.A., 2009. Incorporating parameter
variability in rock mechanics analyses: fuzzy mathematics
applied to underground rock spalling. Rock Mech. Rock
Eng. (in press).
Harrison, J.P., Hudson J.A., Carter J.N.C. 2007. Is there a
relation between the in situ principal stress magnitudes
in rock masses? Proc. 1st CanadianUS Rock Mechanics
Symposium, Vancouver, Canada.
Heidbach, O., Tingay, M., Barth, A., Reinecker, J., Kurfeß, D.,
and Müller, B. 2008. The Release 2008 of the World Stress
Map (available online at www.world-stress-map.org).
Hoek, E. & Brown, E.T. 1980. Underground Excavations in
Rock. Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London.
Hudson, J.A., Bäckström, A., Rutqvist, J., Jing, L., Backers,
T., Chijimatsu, M., Christiansson, R., Feng, X-T.,
Kobayashi, A., Koyama, T., Lee, H-S., Neretnieks, I., Pan,
P. Z., Rinne, M. & Shen, B. T. 2009. Characterising and
modelling the excavation damaged zone in crystalline rock
in the context of radioactive waste disposal. Environ. Geol.
57: 1275–1297.
Hudson, J.A., Cosgrove, J.W. & Johansson, E. 2008. Esti-
mating the mechanical properties of the brittle deforma-
tion zones at Olkiluoto, Finland. Posiva Working Report
2008-67, download available from www.posiva.fi.
Lee, M.F., Mollison, L.J., Mikula, P., Pascoe M. 2006. In situ
rock stress measurements in Western Australia’s Yilgarn
Craton. In Lu, M., Li, C.C., Kjørholt, H. & Dahle, H.
(eds.), In situ Rock Stress. Proc. Int. Symp. Trondheim,
Norway, 19–21 June 2006. London: Taylor and Francis.
pp. 35–38.
Martin, C.D. & Chandler, N.A. 1993. Stress heterogeneity
and geological structures. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
Geomech. Abstr. 30(7), 993–999.
Martin, C.D. & Christiansson, R. 2009. Estimating the poten-
tial for spalling around a deep nuclear waste repository in
crystalline rock. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 46: 219–228.
Price, N.J. & Cosgrove, J.W. 1990. Analysis of Geological
Structures. Cambridge University Press.
Tang, C.A. & Hudson, J.A. 2010. Rock Failure Mechanisms—
Explained and Illustrated. Taylor and Francis, London (in
press).
Ulusay, R. & Hudson, J.A. 2007. The Complete ISRM Sug-
gested Methods for Rock Characterisation, Testing and
Monitoring: 1974–2006. ISRM, Portugal.
Zhang, A. & Stephansson, O. 2010. Stress Field of the Earth’s
Crust. Netherlands: Springer, 322p.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The effect of lithology, inhomogeneity, topography, and faults,

on in situ stress measurements by hydraulic fracturing, and the
importance of correct data interpretation and independent evidence
in support of results

B.C. Haimson
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

ABSTRACT: This is not a scientific paper in the normal sense. It is more like a lecture in which I try to point
out that in conducting in situ stress measurements by hydraulic fracturing the exception is often the rule. Results
of measurements can often be bewildering, requiring thorough investigation of the reasons for the unexpected
stress conditions. I focus on effects of lithology, inhomogeneity, topography, and fault zones on stress regimes,
and emphasize the importance of field experience and correct interpretation of test data.

1 INTRODUCTION with the minimum and maximum horizontal stresses

This keynote is a collection of briefly described
hydraulic fracturing case histories with which I have
been personally involved in the last 40 or so years.They
are all related to in situ stress measurements conducted
on different continents and for different purposes, from
purely scientific, like understanding crustal stress and
the causes of man-made earthquakes, to practical, such
as assisting in the design of stable underground caverns
for hydro-electric plants or mine openings.
The purpose of the talk is to highlight some of the
many causes that interfere with a neatly uniform stress
regime that varies linearly with depth, and possesses
consistent principal stress directions. I selected simple
cases histories, which are easy to follow even from a
very cursory description. Each of them relates to one
of the major factors affecting the state of stress: topog-
raphy, lithology, rock inhomogeneity, and existence of
a fault.
I also emphasize through a case history the impor-
tance of field experience in the proper interpretation
of hydraulic fracturing stress measurements. Finally
I recommend that whenever available, independent
supporting evidence of hydraulic fracturing results be
sought and used to enhance the confidence in the
measured stress field.
2 STRESS DECOUPLING CAUSED BY
CHANGES IN LITHOLOGY
At Darlington, Ontario (Haimson & Lee, 1980)
hydraulic fracturing (HF) measurements in a 300 m-
deep borehole yielded consistent results within the
Ordovician limestone between 50 and 220 m depth,
(σh and σH ) and the σH direction averaging 9 MPa,
13.5 MPa, and N70◦ E, respectively. However in the
deeper 80 m of the hole, 4 tests run in Precambrian
gneiss revealed a dramatic change of stress regime
with σh and σH averaging 11 MPa and 18 MPa, respec-
tively, and σH direction shifting to N23◦ E. It is apparent
that the genesis of each formation tested, and the
mechanical properties of each rock, contribute to such
decoupling.
Another example was encountered at Niagara Falls,
Ontario (Haimson et al, 1986) where minor differ-
ences in stress magnitudes but substantial rotations in
stress directions were discovered from HF tests in \the
Whirlpool sandstone and the underlying Queenston
shale, within the shallow depth range of 90 to 125 m.
From sandstone to shale σh changed from 4 MPa to
5 MPa, σH from 9.5 MPa to 8 MPa, not spectacularly
different, but the σH direction rotated significantly
from N58◦ E to N32◦ E.
A similar condition in which the principal hori-
zontal stresses were less differential in shale than in
sandstone, reflecting perhaps the ductility of the for-
mer, was found in central Arkansas, where the two
horizontal principal stresses in the Hartshorne sand-
stone at a depth of 55 m were 5 MPa and 8 MPa, while
in theAtoka shale at 118–131 m they were 3.5 MPa and
5.5 MPa. In this case stress directions were relatively
unchanged between the two formations.
3 STRESS DECOUPLING CAUSED
BY A FAULT ZONE
A different type of stress decoupling was found in
the Underground Research Laboratory near Pinawa,

11
Manitoba (Haimson, 1999) where six HF stress
measurement campaigns were conducted in the Lac-
du-Bonnet granite above and below a gently dipping
fracture zone (also referred to as a reverse fault) at
about 275 m depth. Here the relatively uniform lin-
ear increase in principal stresses with depth between
50 and 275 m came to an abrupt stop in the fault
zone, below which both the stress magnitudes and their
increase with depth differed. Moreover, the average σH
direction rotated dramatically from N66◦ E above the
zone to N66◦W below it.
4 SIGNIFICANT DEVIATIONS FROM
MEASURED STRESS REGIME CAUSED
BY TOPOGRAPHIC RELIEF
This first case history in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
of the United States illustrates the need to care-
fully design stress measurements prior to excavation,
especially in mountainous terrain. The pre-excavation
site investigation of this high-head pumped storage
project, which was to be built totally underground,
except for the reservoirs, included a series of hydraulic
fracturing stress measurements in a vertical hole pen-
etrating the future powerhouse, about 300 m below the
mountain side. The results indicated that the princi-
pal stresses were moderate as compared to the high
strength of the rock, and no stability problem was
foreseen for the powerhouse and its vicinity.
The stress results were also interpreted by project
managers to imply that no leak-off was to be expected
in the unlined pressure tunnel, which extended up
to 1 km from the powerhouse, since the hydraulic
pressure would be comfortably lower than the mini-
mum overall stress which was also the least horizontal
stress σh . However, this interpretation was based on
the expectation that the measured stresses near the
machine hall prevail throughout the project territory.
This assumption proved to be erroneous. The steep
and variable topographic relief along the pressure tun-
nel greatly affected local stress condition. During the
excavation of the pressure tunnel, several hundred
meters away from the powerhouse, numerous unex-
pected open joints were intersected. Their existence
and orientation alluded to a possible change in stress
regime, one that would require steel lining. A sec-
ond series of hydraulic fracturing measurements near
the discovered open joints was then undertaken. The
results showed a rotation of some 40◦ counterclock-
wise for the stress directions and a decrease by some
50% in the horizontal stress magnitudes. The weaker
σh explained the existence of open fractures; the local
stress direction was in accord with the vertical open
joint orientation.
The second set of measurements helped explain the
existence of the unexpected open joints and pointed
to the danger of profuse leak-off upon tunnel filling.
What these measurements did not do was to prevent the
need to make drastic design changes, such as switching
from no reinforcement to steel lining, a very expensive
12
and time consuming undertaking. The major lesson
emerging from this case history is the importance of
carefully studying the entire area of the project and its
topography-geology, and selecting critical points were
stresses should be determined. In flat terrain one set
of tests is probably all is needed in most cases, but
under highly irregular topographic relief a case can be
made in favor of several sets of measurements in order
to determine the complete state of in situ stress in the
rock mass of interest.
A second case in point is the pre-excavation site
investigation of a hydro project in a mountainous ter-
rain in Brazil (Haimson, 2004). Here the average depth
of major underground caverns was set at 100 m, and
the uneven topographic relief in addition to the lateral
extent of the facilities necessitated the drilling of two
dedicated test holes, about 100,m apart, for hydraulic
fracturing stress measurements. One of he holes was
closer to the machine hall-surge chamber complex; the
other was nearer the penstocks.
The results of these two series of tests provide a
good illustration of the importance of multiple test
holes in large underground projects, and in particular
those underlying mountainous terrain.The magnitudes
of the measured principal stresses did not differ sig-
nificantly from one hole to the other. With respect to
directions, however, the situation was quite different.
The maximum horizontal stress σH rotated continu-
ously in the top 40 m or so, although the type of rotation
was different in the two holes. This phenomenon has
been observed elsewhere, and is commonly interpreted
as a result of surface effects such as topographic relief,
diurnal temperature changes, and erosion. The contin-
uous change in the direction of σH points to one major
conclusion: stress measurements in short holes, near
the surface, and the extrapolation of their results to
grater depths is a questionable practice without some
independent evidence that this is permissible.
Perhaps the most stunning outcome of the two series
of measurements was the definite and consistent dif-
ference in the average σH direction below the rotation
depth, and at the elevations relevant to the project
(320–380 m) between test hole no. 1 (N15◦W) and test
hole no.2 (N45◦W). Such a solid 30◦ rotation in σH
within a horizontal distance of only 100 m could not
have been anticipated. The causes of such variation
in direction can be related mainly to the topographic
relief in the area.
5 THE EFFECT OF INHOMOGENEITY ON
STRESS-DEPTH PROFILE IN VOLCANIC
ROCK
A strange stress-depth profile was registered at
Reydarfjordur, Iceland (Haimson & Rumel, 1982).
Here HF stress measurements conducted indepen-
dently by two well experienced groups in the top
600 m of a scientific borehole in a sequence of
thin lava flows and basalt dykes, showed consis-
tent linearly increasing principal stresses with depth
between 50 and 300 m, indicating a reverse fault-
ing regime. Between 300 m and 400 m, however,
the two horizontal stresses increased with depth at
a much faster rate, followed by an equally rapid
decrease between 400 m and 500 m such that below
that depth the stress regime became one favoring
normal faulting. This surprising stress-depth behav-
ior has never been explained satisfactorily, but it
appears to be a consequence of the inhomogeneity of
the rock.
6 THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT DATA
INTERPRETATION
Unfortunately, measuring in situ stress by any method
is not just a matter of following guidelines and employ-
ing the prescribed analysis. It is also a matter of
experience. That is perhaps the most important fac-
tor in obtaining correct stress estimates. In some
instances hydraulic fracturing stress measurements are
conducted by well trained personnel, who, however,
lack sufficient experience with the method. That may
contribute to erroneous in situ stress interpretations.
One such case was a series of hydraulic fracturing
tests conducted in the vicinity of an active thrust fault
that had undergone seismic slip several years prior to
the measurements. For unknown reasons the series of
tests were incomplete in that they were not followed
by any of the existing techniques of establishing the
inclination and direction of the induced hydraulic frac-
tures, an integral part of the method. The tests were
conducted by a commercial entity, of which little is
known outside of the region in which it operates. The
party for which the tests were performed was made
up of known scientists who, however, had little experi-
ence with HF. From the pressure-time test records they
concluded (or assumed a priori) that the fractures were
vertical, as is often the case, despite the fact that in an
area of active thrust faulting the expected least prin-
cipal stress is vertical, which implies that hydraulic
fractures may well have been horizontal.
A look by an experienced practitioner at the
pressure-time signature recorded during testing gave
a different picture of the correct shut-in pressures and
the indicated fracture inclination. The recorded data
showed that immediately after reaching peak pressure
(signaling fracture initiation in the first pressure cycle,
or fracture reopening in the following cycles) the pres-
sure dropped precipitously, as expected, and settled
at a lower level, remaining constant until depressur-
ized by the operator. Experienced practitioners would
immediately recognize this as a very strong indica-
tion that the induced fracture was horizontal. This was
also supported by the magnitude of the shut-in pres-
sure, which is taken as equivalent in magnitude to the
principal stress acting normal to fracture plane. That
pressure was only about 5% lower than the estimated
vertical stress based on the weight of the superincum-
bent strata, and within the error margin. In a deeper
13
test the shut-in pressure was less than 1% lower than
the vertical stress.
By selecting instead pressures in the pressure-time
record, which appear to the experienced eye to be more
the result of leakage past the packers, much lower shut-
in values were reported, which justified the assertion
that induced fractures were vertical. This wrong inter-
pretation of the real shut-in pressures resulted in an
entirely erroneous assessment of the state of stress, i.e.
one favoring strike-slip over the one most probable in
that area. i.e. favoring thrust faulting.
7 THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT
EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF STRESS
MEASUREMENT RESULTS
In the oil field at Rangely, Colorado, USA, (Haimson,
1973) unprecedented small magnitude earthquakes
were recorded following ‘water flooding’ operations
that raised the pore pressure in producing zones. That
was needed to increase production out of a rather
tight Weber sandstone formation. HF tests revealed
a stress regime favoring strike-slip motion along an
existing fault traversing the oil field. Together with the
independently determined slip criterion for the fault,
HF results were used to compute the threshold pore
pressure necessary to induce fault movement. That
pressure was surprisingly close to the one monitored
during earthquake activity, confirming the reliability
of the tests.
At Darlington, Ontario, Canada, HF tests revealed a
uniform and highly compressive stress regime within
300 m below the planned foundation of a nuclear power
generating station. The calculated stress magnitudes
and directions were independently supported by over-
coring measurements in the top 100 m that showed
practically identical results (Haimson & Lee, 1980).
In Korea, measurements in 13 boreholes at five
locations from North Seoul to the southern coast indi-
cated a consistent stress regime oriented practically
E-W and reflecting strike-slip conditions at depths
greater than 500 m. Focal mechanisms in and around
the Peninsula confirmed both the directions and the
relative magnitudes of the stresses (Haimson et al.,
2003).
8 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Presently there is no way to prove that what we mea-
sure in the field are the actual crustal stresses. Only
by verification through different stress measurement
methods, stress indicators, or geological observations,
can we gain confidence in the test results. The above
examples are meant to illustrate the importance of
understanding the local structural geology, and lithol-
ogy of the site selected for in situ stress measurements.
Above all, experience is crucial to successful mea-
surements and interpretation. Supporting measured
stresses with independent evidence as a means of
accepting them is recommended for enhanced confi-
dence in the results obtained.
REFERENCES
Haimson, B. C. 1973. Earthquake related stresses at Rangely,
Colorado, in New Horizons in Rock Mechanics, (eds.)
H. R. Hardy and R. Stefanko, Am. Soc. of Civil Engr.,
689–708.
Haimson, B.C. 1999. Six hydraulic fracturing campaigns
at the URL, Manitoba, in Proceedings of the 9th Intl.
Congress on Rock Mech., Eds.: G. Vouille and P. Berest,
Balkema, Rotterdam, vol. 2, p. 1143–1147.
Haimson, B. 2004. Hydraulic fracturing and rock characteri-
zation, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. vol. 41, No. 3, p. 391
and CD-ROM, © 2004 Elsevier.
14
Haimson, B. C. and Lee, C. F. 1980. Hydrofracturing stress
determination at Darlington, Ontario, in Underground
Rock Engineering (13th Canadian Rock Mechanics Sym-
posium), CIM Special Volume 22, The Canadian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy, 42–50.
Haimson, B. C., C. F. Lee and J. H. S. Huang. 1986. High
horizontal stresses at Niagara Falls, their measurement,
and the design of a new hydroelectric plant, in Rock Stress,
Ed. O. Stephannson, CENTEK Publishers, Lulea, Sweden,
pp. 615–624.
Haimson, B. C. & F. Rumel. 1982. Hydrofracturing stress
measurements in the IRDP drill hole at Reydarfjordur,
Iceland, J. Geophys. Res., vol. 87, no. B8, 6631–6649.
Haimson, B.C., M.Y. Lee and I. Song. 2003. Shallow
hydraulic fracturing measurements in Korea support tec-
tonic and seismic indicators of regional stress, Intl. J. Rock
Mech. and Mining Sci., 40 1243–1256.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

How to generate the Final Rock Stress Model (FRSM)

at a site or an area

O. Stephansson & A. Zang

GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany

ABSTRACT: A strategy and a flow sheet for establishing the Final Rock Stress Model (FRSM) is proposed and
described, see Figure 1. The development of FRSM consists of four major steps. In the first step one is defining
the classes of rock stress and extracting existing data from databases. Together with geological and morphological
information and borehole and drillcore data one establish the Best Estimate Stress Model (BESM). In the next
step, called Stress Measurement Methods (SSM), new stress data from borehole methods and core-based methods
are recorded and evaluated. Thereafter, data from direct and indirect stress measurements are combined in an
Integrated Stress Determination (ISD) with or without support from numerical stress modeling. The combination
of available information will generate the Final Rock Stress Model at a site or an area. Examples include the
European stress map, stress decoupling in the North German Basin, stress perturbation from faults in Sweden
of importance for radioactive waste disposal.

1 INTRODUCTION of a site or an area it is worth the efforts to try to ascer-

An exact prediction of the in-situ state of rock stress
and its spatial and temporal variation is very difficult
and for practical purpose impossible since the current
state of stress at a site or an area is the end prod-
uct of an often long series of past geological events.
In an area of interest for stress determination, the
rock mass has experienced several phases or cycles of
physiochemical, thermal and tectonic processes which
have all contributed to the current state of stress.
Each of the processes can act individually but usu-
ally they are coupled and act simultaneously in space
and time.
Since rock masses are rarely homogeneous,
isotropic and continuous, stresses are also expected to
vary spatially in the rock mass. An obvious situation in
which stresses are discontinuous is at contacts between
rock masses of different lithology and where rocks
are intersected by one or several sets of joints, faults
and other structural features. Stresses not only vary
in space but also with time. Geological processes like
erosion, sedimentation, mountain building and other
tectonic events act over millions of years. The stress
related to each of the processes will adjust in space
and time or continue to change with time in order to
maintain equilibrium in the Earth’s crust.
The aim of a site or an area characterization for
rock stresses is to produce a three-dimensional model
containing information about topography, soil cover,
rock mass lithology, structural geology, and hydroge-
ology. Such geological model is needed in analyzing
the cause and effect on stresses from faults and fracture
zones intersecting the model. Although it is impossi-
ble to know all the details of the geological evolution
tain the stress state from the bulk knowledge of the
site morphology, topography and geology and if pos-
sible to verify these information with additional data
from boreholes and drillcores. Sometimes numerical
models can be of assistance in estimating the effect of
geological parameter variations in the established 3-D
stress model for a site.
In this contribution a strategy and flow chart is
presented to establish the Final Rock Stress Model
(FRSM) from a combination of available stress data
from the Best Estimated Stress Model (BESM), new
stress data from stress measurement methods on site
(SMM) and integrated stress determination (ISD)
using previous data plus numerical modeling.
2 DERIVE THE FINAL ROCK STRESS
MODEL
Figure 1 presents the way forward in establishing
a Best Estimate Rock Stress Model (BERSM) and
together with stress measurement methods (SMM) and
Integrated Stress Determination Method (ISD) derive
a Final Rock Stress Model (FRSM) for a site or an
area.
BESEM is established by collecting existing infor-
mation from databases and analyzing field information
about morphology, topography, geology and borehole
and drillcore information. Prior to any in situ stress
measurements, development of the BERSM of the
site or area is recommended. The established stress
model should be used in selecting the appropriate
stress measurement technique and assist in planning
the measurements. After BERSM is established and

15

Figure 1. Generation of the Final Rock Stress Model
(FRSM) by combination of the Best Estimate Stress Model
(BESM), new stress data from Stress Measurement Methods
(SMM) and Integrated Stress Determination (ISD). After
Zang and Stephansson (2010).
stress measurement conducted, an Integrated Stress
Determination (ISD) is recommended. In that step data
from different stress source (focal mechanism, fault
slip analysis, borehole breakouts) information from
BERSM and results from different stress measurement
methods are merged. Numerical stress models can be
of great help in predicting and validating the virgin
stress field and together with the results of the stress
measurements and ISD it supports the establishment
of the Final Rock Stress Model (FRSM) as presented
in Fig. 1.
3 BEST-ESTIMATE STRESS MODEL
The data collection for establishing the Best Estimate
Rock Stress Model (BESM) can be divided into three
main groups:
• Data Extraction
• Morphological/Geological Data
• Borehole and Drillcore Data
The items listed in the left column of boxes can serve as
a checklist in performing the first step in a stress anal-
ysis for a site or an area. After collecting the data and
performing the mapping and analysis, the BESM can
be established and the model should result in the best
estimate of stress orientation and magnitude versus
depth. Prior to any in-situ stress measurements at a site
or an area, establishment of BESM is recommended.
16
Figure 2. Rock stress scheme and terminology at three hier-
archical levels. Level 1 separates solid (AC) from excavated
rock mass (BD). Level 2 separates in-situ stress according to
their origin forces. Level 3 separates tectonic stresses accord-
ing to their coherent domains. After Zang & Stephansson
(2010).
3.1 Data extraction – classes of stress
As the first step in establishing the BESM one has
to decide about the type of stresses that can exist
at the site or in an area. There is no internation-
ally agreed terminology and scheme for the different
type of stresses existing in the Earth’s crust. Recently,
Zang & Stephansson (2010) presented a rock stress
classification and terminology as shown in Figure 2.
The first level of stresses distinguish between in-situ
and perturbed in-situ stresses and for anisotropic or
heterogeneous rock material the term structural or
perturbed structural stress has to be used. The four
second-level force contributors (A1-A4) to the in-situ
stress tensor are originating from different forces in
the Earth’s crust. On the third hierarchical level, active
tectonic stresses due to present state straining of the
Earth’s crust are divided into first order (plate scale),
second order (mountain range) and third order (fault
scale) stresses.
The different order tectonic stresses are scaled
according to their coherent domain in the region in
which a stress component is supposed to be uniform,
both in magnitude and orientation. Figure 3 illustrates
the broad-scale and local active forces responsible for
the stresses of first- and second order tectonic stresses
in the context of modern plate tectonics.
Stress patterns at third order in Fig. 2 (Heidbach
et al. 2007) are explained by faults, seismic induced
stress changes due to large earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions, as well as local density contrast, e.g. from
salt diapers or detachment horizons.
For applied rock mechanics and rock engineering
purposes gravitational and tectonic stresses are by far
the most important.

Figure 3. Sources of tectonic stresses in a plate tectonic
context. After Zoback et al. 1989.
3.2 Data extraction – data and world stress map
Many authors have collected and summarized data on
rock stresses and proposed expressions for the varia-
tion of the magnitude of the vertical and horizontal
stresses with depth at specific sites and/or regions
of the world. A summary of more than twenty refer-
ences to publications of horizontal and vertical stresses
versus depth is presented by Amadei & Stephansson
(1997). In the recent text-book by Zang & Stephans-
son (2010) they present and discuss in-situ stress
data in terms of magnitude-depth profiles and stress
orientation maps.
When estimating the state of stress at any depth
in the rock mass we make the assumption, that the
state of stress can be described by three components:
a vertical component due to the weight of the over-
burden at that depth and two horizontal components
which are larger or smaller than the vertical stress. For
the variation of vertical stress with depth, there has
been a long series of in-situ stress measurements con-
ducted and several data compilations done (Herget,
1974, Brown & Hoek 1978, Amadei & Stephansson,
1997 and recently Zang & Stephansson, 2010) that
proofs that, in most cases, the magnitude of the verti-
cal stress can be explained by the overburden weight
only. Deviation from this rule exist and in particular in
areas of young tectonics and volcanism and adjacent
to major discontinuities in the rock mass. Relation-
ship between vertical and horizontal stress for simple
elastic homogeneous Earth stress models, and rock
masses with transversely and orthotropic anisotropy
are presented by Zang & Stephansson (2010).
Amadei & Stephansson (1997) and later Zang &
Stephansson (2010) have pointed out that the generic,
often linearly increasing stress magnitude versus depth
relationships presented should be used with caution,
as they are usually associated with scatter. The stresses
at a site can vary locally due to topography, geological
unconformities, stratification, geological structures
such as faults, dikes, veins joints, folds etc. Therefore,
in estimating the state of stress at a site or a region
these local perturbations need to be considered as
they cause deviation from the often-assumed linearity
of stress changes with depth. Measured variations of
17
stress with depth have also demonstrated ‘stress decou-
pling’ (Haimson, 1980; Stephansson, 1993; Martin &
Chandler, 1993; Roth & Fleckenstein, 2001; Ask &
Stephansson, 2003 and Heidbach et al., 2007) where
stresses at shallow depth might be entirely different
from stresses at great depth. Stress decoupling is valid
for both stress magnitude and orientation.
The World Stress Map (WSM) is the global database
for contemporary tectonic stress data from the Earth’s
crust. It was originally compiled by a research group
headed by Mary Lou Zoback as part of the Inter-
national Lithosphere Programme; see Zoback et al.
(1989). During the time period 1995–2008 the WSM
Project was a research project of the Heidelberg
Academy of Science and Humanities, Germany and
run by the Institute of Geophysics at Karlsruhe Uni-
versity (Reinecker et al., 2003). Since 2009 the World
Stress Map Project is located at GFZ German Research
Center for Geosciences, Potsdam.
Various academic and industrial institutions work-
ing in different disciplines of Earth sciences such
as geodynamics, hydrocarbon exploitations and rock
engineering use the World Stress Map. The main
operational areas for stress in application are:
• Basin modeling
• Tectonic modeling
• Reservoir management
• Stability of mines, tunnels and boreholes
• Fault slip tendency
• Seismic risk assessment
The uniformity and quality of the WSM is guaran-
teed through a) quality ranking of the data according to
international standards, b) standardized regime assign-
ment and c) guidelines for borehole breakout analysis
and other methods.
To determine the tectonic stress orientation, differ-
ent types of stress indicators are used in the World
Stress Map. The 2008 release of WSM contains 21,750
data points and they are grouped into four major
categories with the following percentage:
– Earthquake focal mechanisms (72%)
– Wellbore breakouts and drilling induced fractures
(20%)
– In-situ stress measurements (overcoring, hydraulic
fracturing, borehole slotter (4%)
– Young geologic data (from fault slip analysis and
volcanic vent alignments (4%).
The seismologists and their analysis of the focal
plane mechanisms related to large earthquakes provide
the majority of data to the WSM. The relatively small
percentage of in-situ stress measurements is due to the
demanding quality ranking and the fact that many of
the data are company owned.
At the very first stage of estimating the state of stress
at a site or a region or at the planning of a stress mea-
surement campaign, consultation of the World Stress
Map is appropriate and often worth wile. A detail map
of the area of interest can be provided free by WSM.
The delivered map contains a legend of the most likely

Figure 4. Smoothed maximum horizontal stress direction
map of Western Europe (short bars) based on stress 1721
entries from the World Stress Map. Thin grey lines show the
relative plate motion trajectories of the African plate with
respect to the Eurasian plate. Modified from Heidbach et al.
2007 and after Zang & Stephansson (2010).
type of stress regime (normal, strike-slip and thrust
faulting regime) in the area. Data can also be extracted
from different depth interval and for different stress
recording methods. If there is enough stress data from
a region a map of smoothed direction of maximum
horizontal stress can be ordered. Figure 4 shows an
example of a smoothed maximum horizontal stress
direction map of Western Europe.
3.3 Morphology and geology
The issue of morphology and topography on esti-
mating in situ stress is of particular interest when
conducting rock engineering projects and related stress
estimation and measurements in mountainous area,
near valley slopes and at the top of high moun-
tains and for mining projects e.g., at the slopes of
open pit mines. The slopes and valley sides can cre-
ate unbalanced stress concentrations of underground
excavations located at the toe of the slopes and valleys
and cause rock burst and spalling and other types of
rock failure.
It is a difficult task to determine analytically the
in situ stress field in a rock mass or a region with an
irregular surface using the theory of linear elasticity.
Bipolar coordinate transformation, exact conformal
mapping and perturbation method are three differ-
ent analytical methods that have been applied to
study the effect of topography on the stress state
for a site. or a region. The methods have limitations
18
and cannot solve the stress state for more compli-
cated topography. Amadei and coworkers (e.g. Pan &
Amadei, 1994) developed a new analytical technique
to determine the stress field in homogeneous, general
anisotropic and elastic half-spaces subjected to dif-
ferent loadings and boundary conditions. The stresses
are expressed in terms of three analytical functions
that can be determined from conformal mapping and
integral equations. A summary of the developments
and their application to different topography and grav-
ity and tectonic loadings and rock mass anisotropy is
presented in Amadei & Stephansson (1997). All the
derived analytical expressions predict tensile stress in
the valley bottom and this is supported by the obser-
vations from the field in terms of a zone of fractured
and loose rock masses and tendencies of up-warping
phenomena in the bottom of valleys.
In steep mountainous areas the gravity loading
alone cause high stress concentrations parallel with the
surface of the slope. In rock engineering, these slopes
have a tendency to cause spalling in the walls of a tun-
nel (Myrvang 1993). Spalling is common phenomena
in valley tunnels across the fjords in Norway and in val-
leys of young mountainous areas where topography is
steep and rough.
The simplifying assumption that the principal rock
stresses are vertical and horizontal with depth and that
the vertical stress is equal to the weight of the over-
burden is not valid for areas with gentle to strong
topography.The influence of morphology and topogra-
phy has to be included in establishing the best-estimate
stress model, BESM.
Glacial effects, uplift and subsidence very often
cause a more intense fracturing and faulting in the
uppermost parts of the Earth’s crust. This disturbs the
stress field so that for example in glaciated terrains
like Scandinavia and Canada one often finds an excess
of horizontal stresses and thrust faulting conditions in
the uppermost couple of hundred meters of the rock
(Stephansson, 1993).
3.4 Geological data
Understanding the geological history of a site or an
area is very useful as it can be used to determine
the evolution of the stress regime in which the site
or area of interest is located. Such an approach has
been applied to the area at Äspö Hard Rock Labo-
ratory in Sweden (Hakami et al., 2002). A methodo-
logy for building a stress model has been suggested
that involves different steps, starting with preliminary
stress estimation, followed by steps for interpreting
site-specific information. Factors that might influence
the regional stresses and the in situ stresses at the site
are listed. Since the Fennoscandian Shield, where Äspö
is located, is a part of the Eurasian plate its geological
history is presented in the context of plate tecton-
ics. The role of current plate motion for the present
day state of stress in the NW European sub-plate is
highlighted, see also Fig. 4. The report is one of the
very first attempts ever made to present a plan for a
complete stress model of a specific site and where
the tectonics and structure geology play an impor-
tant part. With respect to determination the magnitude
of the stresses with reasonable certainty, the authors
advocate that in-situ stress measurements should
be used.
Estimating in situ stresses requires a detail char-
acterization of the site geology like lithology and
lithological boundaries, its tectonic history, critical
structures, erosion, uplift, influence of glaciation,
hydro-geology, neotectonic and others. In the follow-
ing sections a few of the most important geological
factors to rock stress estimation are dealt with.
3.5 Lithology and lithological boundaries
In-situ stresses might vary significantly from one
lithological unit to the next depending on the rela-
tive stiffness and strength between the individual rock
masses. Abrupt changes are likely to appear at the con-
tacts between different lithological units. Therefore, it
is of utmost importance to perform a correct geological
mapping and characterization.
The influence of lithology on the distribution of
horizontal stress at depth has been demonstrated by
a large number of stress measurements conducted in
sedimentary and volcanic rocks. A list of references is
presented by Amadei & Stephansson (1997). In gen-
eral, one expects to find larger stress magnitudes in the
more competent strata as stresses tend to concentrate
in hard rocks surrounded by less competent and sub-
jected to the same far-field stress field. However, there
has been reported (Warpinski & Teufel, 1991) results
from hydraulic stress measurements where instanta-
neous shut-in pressure was found to be lower in layers
with high Young’s modulus and low Poisson’s ratio
and higher in layers with low Young’s modulus and
high Poisson’s ratio. Similar results have also been
reported for sedimentary rocks in relaxed-state basins.
However, these are exceptions and in general, higher
modulus rock types are more likely to carry higher
than average stresses.
Amadei et al. (1988) proposed an analytical solu-
tion to the problem of horizontal stresses versus depth
for horizontally layered strata under the boundary
condition of zero lateral displacement, i.e. a situa-
tion common for many sedimentary basins. The state
of stress in each strata and the whole rock mass
is dependent upon the anisotropic character of the
deformability of the individual strata. Jumps in the
magnitude of the horizontal stresses will occur at
the contacts between individual strata. The theory can
also be expanded to consider the state of stress versus
depth for a geological formation with regular hori-
zontal joints and thereby the stress distribution versus
depth becomes similar to those observed by Brown &
Hoek (1978).
The existing analytical expressions for determin-
ing the limit of intact rock strength with depth and
the effect of planes of weakness, stratification and
anisotropy on the stress state (Amadei & Stephansson,
19
Figure 5. Homogeneous (a), anisotropic (b), and hetero-
geneous (c) material effect principal stress orientation and
magnitude. After Zang & Stephansson (2010).
1997) should be applied in estimating the virgin state
of stress for a site or a region.
The term structural stress was introduced by Jaeger
and Cook (1979). Structural stresses are caused by
anisotropy and heterogeneity of rock mass and are
depicted from Zang and Stephansson (2010) with and
without externally applied loads in Figure 5. Princi-
pal stress orientation in selected points are oriented
parallel to the applied load for the homogeneous mate-
rial (Fig. 5a,d). In case of anisotropic material the
applied far-field stress is perturbed by the planes of
anisotropy and principal stress orientation in the mate-
rial are rotated towards the orientation of the rock
anisotropy (Fig. 5b, e). In case of heterogeneous mate-
rial (Fig. 5c, f) orientation and magnitude of stresses
are perturbed in the vicinity of the defect. As a rule of
thumb far-field stresses can be treated as undisturbed
at distances of about three times the diameter of the
defect.
3.6 Stress decoupling
From results of stress measurements in vertical bore-
holes, it has been reviled that the type of stress regime
at shallow depth may be entirely different from the
stress regime at great depth. A recent example is
demonstrated from the stress measurements for the
Björkö geothermal project in the vicinity of Stock-
holm (Ask & Stephansson, 2003) where the stresses in
the uppermost 400–500 m are characterized by thrust
faulting stress state where the vertical stress is the min-
imum principal stress. Below 500 m depth the stress
state corresponds to a strike slip stress regime where
the vertical stress is the intermediate principal stress.
The stress measurements were conducted in the cen-
ter of the Björkö meteoritic impact with an estimated
diameter of 10 km. The granitic rocks are severely
fractured due to the impact. Another of the Swedish
meteoritic impacts, Siljan impact structure in central-
north Sweden shows a similar stress change with depth
(Lund & Zoback 1999). Both impact structures indi-
cate somewhat lower stress magnitudes compared to
the general situation in Fennoscandia. A similar stress
change with depth as that at Siljan and Björkö in

Figure 6. Decoupling of stress in the eastern part of the
North German Basin. a Stress data entries from World Stress
Map, b Smoothed maximum horizontal stress orientations,
c, Block diagram of geology and far-field stress orientation
in the reservoir rock and decoupled stress in the overbur-
den. After Heidbach et al. 2007 and modified by Zang &
Stephansson 2010.
Sweden has been observed among others for the site
investigations of the geothermal project in the Carn-
menellis granite, Cornwall, UK (Cooling et al., 1988).
These types of different stress regimes with depth are
referred to stress decoupling and can have different
reasons, e.g. a marked hiatus in the stratigraphy like a
basement-cover situation, different lithology in a rock
sequence, non-persistent far-field boundary stresses,
post-glacial lithosphere flexure and major disconti-
nuities intersecting the area. Post-glacial lithosphere
flexure of the glaciated terrains is the most likely
explanation for the stress change with depth for the
mentioned three sites.
Roth & Fleckenstein (2001) published an interest-
ing study related to stress decoupling in the Perm-
Triassic rocks of eastern part of North German Basin
(ENGB). From data collected in the World Stress Map
project it has been known that Central West-Europe
is dominated by a NW-SE to NNW-SSE orientation
of the maximum horizontal compressive stress (cf.
Fig. 4) by ridge push from the North Atlantic and
the northward drift of Africa (Müller et al., 1992).
From new analysis of fourarm-dipmeter data and tele-
viewer loggings at interval from 1500 to 6700 m in
deep borehole and comparison with hydraulic fractur-
ing stress measurements from the region, the substrata
below the more than 1000 m thick Zechstein salt
formation is dominated by a NNE-SSW striking ori-
entation of the maximum horizontal stress. The 45
to 90 degrees difference in stress orientation above
and below the detachment of the Zechstein salt for-
mation is explained by decoupling of stresses, Fig. 6.
Roth & Fleckenstein (op.cit.) have suggested three
hypothesis for this decoupling: a) influence of the large
20
ancient suture zones, Trans-European Fault Zone and
Elbe Fault System, with a NW-SE strike and border-
ing the basin; b) dominance of local stresses due to
postglacial lithosphere flexure where the compressive
stresses outside the edge of the Weichselian and earlier
Fennoscandian ice sheets might have caused the reori-
entation of the stress field in the subsaline formations;
c) a strong lithosphere barrier below the Northern mar-
gin of basin, derived from rheol-ogy/depths profiling
and modeling, which proofs that stresses are attracted
and reoriented to the observed N-S orientation.
In conclusion, as there is no indication for stress
differences from the plate boundaries the stress decou-
pling in ENGB is likely to be due to contrast in
competence (rigidity) between North German Basin
and Fennoscandia.
3.7 Stress perturbation from fault
Geological structures such as faults, folds, dikes,
veins, sills, fault striation or slickensides have long
been used by structural geologists to indicate the pale-
ostress, i.e. the state of stress prevailing at the time of
genesis of the structure. Since the stresses that cre-
ated the structure may have been modified due to
later tectonic events, erosion, uplift, and glaciation
etc. the structure and petrographic fabric might not
be correlated at all with the current stress field.
In order to determine the contemporary stress field
one has to seek out the most recent geological struc-
tures and use as stress orientation indicators. As an
example different volcanic vent alignments and inver-
sion of fault-slip data are used for stress orientation in
the World Stress Map database (Zoback, 1992). Fault-
slip analysis as develop by Angelier (1989) and others
for stress analysis of recent geological formations or
inversion of data from slickensides on fracture surfaces
in oriented drillcore samples (Hayashi & Masuoka,
1995) are powerful tools in stress determination.
The existence of geological structures and hetero-
geneities will effect the distribution and magnitude of
in situ stresses and make the local stress field different
from the regional stress field. When a regional stress
field is approaching a major discontinuity the stress
transfer across the stress perturbation from the dis-
continuity is very much dependent upon the material
property of the discontinuity. If it happens to be open
structure the stresses cannot transect. If the structure
has the same properties as the surrounding rocks the
stresses are unaffected. If the material in the disconti-
nuity is more rigid than the surrounding rock mass the
maximum principal stress is diverted perpendicular to
the discontinuity and if it is less rigid the maximum
stress will tend to divert parallel with the discontin-
uity. The classical example of the second situation is
the stress field in the surrounding of the San Andreas
Fault system (Zoback et al. 1987) often referred to as a
weak fault in a strong crust (Hickman & Zoback 2004).
The ongoing San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth
(SAFOD) project in the central part of the fault is moti-
vated by the need to answer fundamental questions

Figure 7. Hydraulic stress measurements adjacent to the
Landsjärv neotectonic fault, Northern Sweden. Average
hydrofracturing stress data from Fennoscandia (solid lines)
are shown to illustrate the stress anomaly at the fault. After
Bjarnason et al 1989, modified by Zang & Stephansson 2010.
about the physical processes, including rock stresses,
controlling faulting and earthquake generation within
a major plate-bounding fault.
At a somewhat smaller scale Sugawara & Obara
(1993) demonstrated the stress state in the vicinity of
the Atotsugawa fault in Japan where overcoring stress
measurements reviled a stress state where the least
principal stress acted perpendicular to the fault plane in
an area where otherwise thrust faulting is dominated.
Stress relieve from neotectonic faulting in the
Northern parts of the Fennoscandian Shield has been
reported by Bjarnason et al. (1989), and Amadei &
Stephansson (1997). Measured stresses with hydraulic
fracturing method in a borehole adjacent to the neo-
tectonic Landsjärv fault show a marked stress anomaly
compared to the average state of stress in Fennoscan-
dia. Magnitude of both minimum and maximum hori-
zontal stress is reduced to half the expected value close
to the fault at about 500 m depth (Fig. 7).
Faults, fracture zones and dikes intersecting the
rock mass at a site or region cause perturbation of
the regional stress state. The amount of perturbation is
very much governed by the strength and deformability
of the discontinuity. Here we are faced with the prob-
lem of lack of strength and stiffness data about large
structures and sometimes the difficulty delineate their
orientation in space. Sometimes the application of sim-
ple numerical models of generic type can be of great
value in analyzing the stress perturbation from planar
structures.
3.8 Borehole and drillcore data
Information from borehole and drillcore data is
important for the establishment of BESM. Borehole
21
instabilities and breakouts and fault slip developed in
the wall of the borehole give information about orien-
tation of stresses. Sometimes the magnitude of stresses
can be estimated from the shape of the breakout
in combination with numerical modeling. Observa-
tion of geometry of core disking and fault slip on
drillcores provides data about magnitude and orien-
tation of the stresses in the plane perpendicular to the
drillcore axis.
Borehole breakout is now an established method
to estimate the orientation of maximum and mini-
mum principal stress in the plane perpendicular to the
borehole axis. The breakouts are enlargements of the
borehole wall caused by stress-induced failure of wells
occurring 180◦ apart. In vertical wells, the diametri-
cally faced zones of broken or fall-out rock material
occur at the azimuth of minimum horizontal compres-
sive stress and typically have a consistent orientation in
a given well or field. The shape and depth of the break-
outs depend on the type of rock and the magnitude of in
situ stress. Hard rocks and high stresses tend to gener-
ate deep breakouts with relative small breakout angle.
Breakouts can have a length of between centimeters
up to several hundred meters.
Borehole breakouts in a well can be visualized
using optical (camera), mechanical (caliper) or elec-
trical resistivity (formation microscanner) and ultra-
sonic image (borehole televiewer) tools. A summary
of theories of breakout formation, laboratory stud-
ies, techniques, equipment and evaluation procedures
are presented by Amadei & Stephansson (1997) and
recently by Zang and Stephansson (2010). If data of
borehole breakouts exist from a site the information is
of great value for delineation the stress orientation of
the BESM.
Once drillcores are available from a site or an area
the search for and analysis of core disking should be
included in the stress estimation program. Core disking
is often an indication of high horizontal stresses and the
geometry of the disks and the orientation of the disk
saddle are indicators of stress orientation. The core
breaks up into disks that are usually curved with the
center of curvature oriented towards the bottom of the
borehole. The orientation of the crest line of the curved
disk surface tends to coincide with the direction of the
maximum principal stress. Laboratory testing and later
numerical modeling has shown that once the radial
stress in the core trunk during drilling exceeds the
compressive strength of the rock core, disking starts
to develop. Haimson & Lee (1995) in their study on
core disking proposed that thinner disks are indicative
of higher horizontal stresses and that the trough axis
of saddle-shaped core disks often is aligned with the
orientation of the maximum horizontal virgin stress.
Less regular core disking might also develop due to
existing discontinuities or fabrics in the rock mass.
Application of high thrust during the drilling opera-
tion can generate too high horizontal tensile stress at
the root of the drill core so that extensile micro-cracks
are formed and coalescence to generate core disking
(Kutter, 1993).
4 STRESS MEASUREMENT METHODS
In our opinion rock stress measurements should be
performed after the establishment of best-estimate
rock stress model. Data and information collected for
BESM can also be used in selecting the best suited
method for in-situ stress measurement(s) and/or core-
based stress measurement(s). Amadei & Stephansson
(1997) and more recently Ljunggren et al (2003) and
Zang & Stephansson (2010) have presented overviews
of the most important stress measurement methods.
Rock stress measurements in the Earth’s crust can
be classified according to their underlying physical
principle, or according to the rock volume involved
in the measurement technique. Zang and Stephans-
son (Tables 7.1, 7.2, 2010) have grouped crustal stress
technique into 5 different categories according to phys-
ical mechanism, experimental technique and ultimate
borehole depth. In addition the rock volume involved
for each of the techniques is presented. Category (1)
mechanism is related to rock fracture as applied to
boreholes. The most important method of this cate-
gory is hydraulic fracturing (HF). One modification
of HF is Hydraulic Tests on Pre-existing Fractures,
HTPF (Cornet and Valette 1984). The fluid pressure
in HTPF balances exactly the normal stress across
the pre-existing fracture. By combining pressure data
from six and more fractures along the length of the
borehole the 3D state of stress can be determined.
As compared to HF, HTPF has the advantage of
less limitation as regards geologic structures and the
method does not require the determination of rock ten-
sile strength. Sleeve fracturing (Stephansson 1983),
drilling-induced tensile fractures and borehole break-
outs also belong to category 1 in the classification
scheme by Zang and Stephansson 2010.
Category (2) mechanisms are related to elastic
strain relief due to coring. The technique can be fur-
ther subdivided to surface relief methods, borehole
relief methods and techniques that that involve re2lief
of large rock volumes with subsequent analysis of re-
equilibrium deformation. Borehole relief methods can
be further sub-classified according to the type of strain
analysis at the borehole wall (see Zang and Stephans-
son 2010). Strains can be measured diametral, at the
flat end of the borehole, and at the surface of a conical
or hemispherical end of a borehole. The Borre probe,
the CSIR and CSIRO hollow inclusion cell are the most
common tools applied in relief stress measurements.
Relief methods are the most widely used techniques in
the engineering application of stress measurements.
Category (3) mechanism in the classification by
Zang and Stephansson 2010 is related to crack-induced
strain relief in drillcores. Microcracking is generated
in stress relief when the rock is cut from the virgin
stress field at the bottom or the wall of a borehole.
Core-based methods can be further subdivided into
the analysis of strain data like anelastic strain recovery
(ASR), differential strain rate analysis (DRA), differ-
ential strain analysis (DSA); analysis of wave velocity
data like differential wave-velocity analysis (DWVA)
22
and wave velocity analysis (WVA). Cracking phenom-
ena in drillcores and monitoring of related acoustic
emissions by means of the Kaiser effect also belongs
to this category.
Category (4) mechanisms, also called borehole
seismic logging or indirect methods, combine the
variation of physical rock properties with stress. Shear-
wave polarization, shear wave splitting and analysis
of Stonely waves are examples of wave propagation
methods for stress analysis.
Finally, Category (5) for stress estimates is con-
cerned with physical properties of pre-existing fault
zones in the Earth’s crust and related earthquakes. The
end members are fault plane solutions (FPS). Focal
mechanisms of earthquakes provide the orientation
of principal stresses and this information dominates
the overall entries of stress data in the World Stress
Map described in Section 3.2. Stress inversion from
focal mechanisms can be separated into natural seis-
micity (NS) and induced seismicity (IS). In contrast to
NS, the term IS refers to typically minor earthquakes
and tremors that are caused by human activities that
perturb the crustal stress field. Zang and Stephansson
2010 refine IS into mining-induced seismicity (MIS)
and fluid-induced seismicity (FIS). MIS includes seis-
mic events and related rock bursts arising from stress
changes associated with mining activities. FIS are
caused by injection of fluids in liquid waste disposal or
fracturing of hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs.
Impoundment of large water reservoirs can generate
FIS.
Stress inversions from induced seismic events,
together with stress inversions from background nat-
ural seismicity, are useful tools to identify stress
perturbations triggered by human activity.
5 INTEGRATED STRESS DETERMINATION
METHOD (ISD)
The method of integrating the results of various stress
measurement data obtained from applying different
techniques to obtain a more reliable assessment of the
virgin state of stress was introduced in the mid 1980s
and is still under development. The integration method
is based on a least square criterion (Tarantola &Valette,
1982) where all measurements are assumed to obey a
Gaussian distribution
In 1993, F. Cornet (Cornet, 1993) presented the
HTPF stress determination method together with the
Integrated Stress Determination Method. Data from
hydraulic fracturing (HF) and hydraulic testing on pre-
existing fractures (HTPF) were integrated in order to
obtain a better indication of the regional stress field.
Ask et al., (2001) integrated hydraulic fracturing (HF)
and HTPF for the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Cornet
(1993) did the same for two sites in southern France
and Ask & Stephansson (2003) integrated hydraulic
fracturing data and HTPF data for the geothermal
project on Björkö, Sweden. Further, Ask (2001) and
Ask et al., (2001) made integrated stress analysis of assumed to follow normal distribution, i.e. they may be
hydraulic and overcoring rock stress data from Äspö described by their expected value, variance and covari-
region and Ask et al. (2003) performed an integration ance with other measurements. The analyses of the
of the CSIR and CSIRO type of overcoring stress data hydraulic fracturing and overcoring data thus require
at the ZEDEX test site in Äspö HRL.
At the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Fig. 8), about
100 hydraulic fracturing and 140 overcoring stress
measurements have been conducted over the years. 28
hydraulic fracturing and 50 overcoring tests were used
by Ask (2006) for determining the integrated stress
model where fracture zone NE-2 was predicted to
influences the stress field at the site.The NE-2 Fracture
Zone is interpreted as a strongly undulating, north-
east striking fracture zone (21◦ N) dipping about 77◦
towards SE.
The new developments of the method involve a 12-
parameter description of the stress field in the rock
mass, which corresponds to the full stress tensor and
its variation with depth, Fig. 9. All measurements are

Figure 8. Location of the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory

(HRL), Sweden, marked in the European World Stress Map
in the lower left corner. The detailed map of Äspö HRL
displays boreholes in which overcoring (dashed lines) and
hydraulic fracturing (solid lines) measurements have been
conducted and the NE-2 Fracture Zone at tunnel intersection Figure 9. Inversion results expressed as principal stress
depth. Boreholes included in this study are marked with * magnitude of maximum (A), intermediate (B), minimum
and bold font. Vertical boreholes are marked with circles and (C) and orientation of maximum principal stress (D) for
sub-vertical boreholes with circles and a solid/dashed line in the domain located NW and SE of the NE-2 Fracture Zone,
the borehole direction. After Ask 2006. respectively. After Ask (2006).

23
estimation of the standard deviation (SD) of the mea-
sured parameters. The inversion is performed using
a method developed by Cornet (1993), based on the
least squares criterion by Tarantola & Valette (1982).
In this method, a priori knowledge of the unknown
model parameters is assumed to exist, which can be
formulated in terms of expected value, variance and
covariance. Before the stress calculations were made,
existing data were sub-divided with respect to the NE-2
Fracture Zone into the Northwest and Southeast
domains (Fig. 8). The depth interval considered was
between 220 and 480 m depth. Figure 10. Distinct element stress modeling of faulted rock
The results of the case study at the Äspö HRL in 2D. a, block geometry and boundary condition; b, reori-
entation of principal stresses near the fault. After Su &
show that the overcoring and hydraulic fracturing
Stephansson 1999 and modified by Zang and Stephansson
applications of the ISDM significantly improved the 2010.
knowledge of the prevailing stress field. The resolu-
tion of the unknown model parameters is in general
satisfactory and the results thus reliable. It is estimated
that the SDs of the calculated stress magnitudes and
orientations for the overcoring and combined solu-
tions generally are less than 2 MPa and 10 degrees,
respectively, for the investigated depth intervals. The
application to stress data at the Äspö HRL points to
that the NE-2 Fracture Zone influences the regional
stress field, and divides the available data into a NW
and a SE stress domain. Close to the NE-2 Fracture
Zone, the stresses are rotated so that the orientation of
σ1 is nearly perpendicular to, and the orientation of σ2
and σ3 are approximately parallel to the strike of the
zone. The principal stress magnitudes are fairly lin-
ear with depth, and appear little affected by the NE-2
Fracture Zone.

5.1 Numerical modeling

Numerical analyses with a variety of numerical tech-
niques (FEM, BEM, DEM etc.) have been used in an
attempt to predict or explain the in-situ stress field
and in illustrating the effect of topography (Sturgul
et al., 1976), stress distribution in a blocky rock mass
subjected to a 2-D stress field (Stephansson et al,
1991) (see Fig. 10), influence of changes of tectonic
history over time for a coal mining district in South-
ern France, estimation of regional stress, separation of
gravitational and tectonic and comparison with stress
measurement results (Te Kamp et al., 1999) and 3DEC
modeling of the influence of large scale structures on
the in situ stress (Stephansson et al 1991). Figure 10
shows a distinct element modeling of faulted rock in
2D. Notice the orientation of principal stresses near the
fault. The range of reorientation of stresses diminishes
with the increase of the friction angle of the fault.
Inside and in the vicinity of faults and major frac-
tures zones, both the magnitude and stress orientation
will vary from point to point. Stress prediction in these
areas is more uncertain and the variations of stresses
will be larger, if it is ever possible to perform any stress
measurements in these areas due to poor rock quality.
The numerical stress modeling shall help in obtain-
ing an overall understanding of the state of stress
between measurements. The modeling results shall
Figure 11. Numerical stress modeling with distinct element
code 3DEC. a) The model shows the orientation of the major
fracture zones and orientation of the maximum NW-SE hor-
izontal stress at the Forsmark site, Sweden. b) Overview of
stresses at the site. c) Principal stresses above and below a
major shallow inclined deformation zone overlaying the rock
mass for a future repository. After H. Hakami 2006.
also contribute to the estimation of the variability sup-
port in predicting the stresses in points or regions and
uncertainty in presenting the final rock stress model.
An example of stress modeling from the completed
site investigations for the final repository of spent
nuclear fuel at Forsmark, Sweden is illustrated in Fig-
ure 11 (Hakami 2006). The 3DEC model consists of
blocks with the same rock properties within a block
surrounded by major deformation zones (faults). The
regional NW-SE oriented maximum horizontal stress
is indicated Fig. 11a. When equilibrium is obtained in
the 3DEC model the stress distribution is presented
as a result, Figure 11b. A detail of the orientation and
magnitude of the maximum and minimum principal
stresses for a region at a slightly inclined major defor-
mation zone, called ZFMA2, is presented in Fig. 11c.
Notice the rotation of the principal stresses in the
hanging wall of the deformation zone.

24
6 CONCLUSION
In order to reach the Final Rock Stress Model, FRSM
at the site or area in question, see Fig. 1, we have to
proceed in steps. (1) Define classes of likely stresses
and collect all available stress data of the location and
its surroundings. (2) Include topography, lithology and
faults as well as borehole and drillcore stress data. (3)
Measure stresses at the site and determine vertical and
horizontal stresses versus depth. (4) Combine avail-
able and measured in situ stress data with earthquake
and fault related stresses and perform an integrated
stress analysis (5). To validate the results of the inte-
grated stress analysis generate a 3D stress model with
rock parameters measured, appropriate boundary con-
ditions and solve the resulting momentum equations
with appropriate numerical techniques and software.
Perform a sensitivity analysis (6) and calibrate the
model and finally rate your final near-field rock stress
model in context to the far-field stress pattern.
Present the stress model as principal or horizontal
stresses versus depth (7) with clear indications of vari-
ability and uncertainty in magnitude and orientation.
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© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Tunnel stability and in-situ rock stress

M. Lu, E. Grøv, K.H. Holmøy, N.Q. Trinh & T.E. Larsen

SINTEF Rock Engineering, Trondheim, Norway

ABSTRACT: Stability and potential failure mode of tunnels and underground rock caverns is directly related
to the magnitude and orientation of the in-situ rock stress. In some cases, the high horizontal in-situ stress is
essential in maintaining cavern stability, whilst in other cases the high rock stress may bring forth additional
difficulties in rock support design. It is crucial to take into account the in-situ rock stress in designing of the shape
and orientation of underground works and selecting of excavation methods and rock support. With a number of
examples of real projects the paper describes the impact of the in-situ rock stress on the tunnel/cavern stability
and corresponding rock support design. The hazardous effects resulting from spalling and rock burst associated
with very high in-situ rock stress are addressed with an example of the world longest road tunnel – the Lærdal
tunnel.

1 INTRODUCTION the most stable orientation is obtained when the length

Stress-induced instability is one of major concerns
for the safe construction and operation of tunnels and
caverns. This is true for both soft rocks and jointed
hard rocks. Jointing controlled rock falls are also con-
trolled by the stress condition in addition to the jointing
geometry since the sufficiently high normal stress will
prevent the rock block from falling even the geometry
is not favourable.
In some situations the high horizontal stress plays
a crucial role in maintaining stability of tunnels and
caverns, which is particularly true for underground
openings situated close to the ground surface. The
Gjøvik Mountain hall, which is 61 m wide, 25 m high
and 95 m long with the lowest rock cover of only 25 m,
is an excellent example of using in-situ rock stress
to ensure the cavern stability. Numerical analysis has
demonstrated that it is the high horizontal stress that
makes it possible to excavate such a large span cavern
at such a shallow depth.
In some situations the in-situ rock stresses may
also bring forth additional difficulties in the tun-
nelling working environment and the rock support
design. This is particularly relevant to the deeply
seated openings. The high in-situ stress resulting from
high overburden may cause extremely high stresses
at cavern/tunnel roof and/or in the pillar that may
considerably exceed the rock strength leading to rock
failure and tunnel collapse. Heavy rock support might
be needed in such situations. In addition such high
rock stress may also cause rock burst and spalling
threatening the safety of the personnel working on site.
It is important to orient the longitudinal axis of large
caverns with consideration of the orientation of the
major principal in-situ stress as well as the major joint
set. In areas with high and anisotropic in-situ stresses
axis of the underground opening makes an angle of
15◦ –30◦ to the horizontal projection of the major prin-
cipal stress (Nilsen & Thidemann, 1993). Potential
failure mode of rock caverns is directly related to
the magnitude of the major and minor principal rock
stresses. For instance, for the power house cavern of
a hydropower project, which has usually very high
walls, a large horizontal stress component may cause
instability of the walls rather than the roof.
Rock support, in particular the rock bolts may
act differently under high or low stress conditions
due to different potential failure modes. Different
types of rock bolts may be used to meet the function
requirements for the different stress conditions.
In general the in-situ rock stress increases with
depth resulting from gravity, however, a high horizon-
tal stress may well occur close to the ground surface
due to the historical tectonic processes. The gravity
components can be computed, but the tectonic com-
ponents have to be measured, one way or another. It
is therefore crucially important to measure the in-situ
rock stress, both magnitude and orientation, before any
underground construction starts.
2 SHALLOWLY SEATED UNDERGROUND
WORKS
2.1 Tunnel and large span caverns
A reasonably high horizontal in-situ stress is in some
situations essential to maintain a stable arch for large
caverns. This is particularly the case for the shallowly
seated large caverns. Without the help from the high
horizontal stress the arching effect is hardly formed
and consequently the instability becomes a problem for

27

Figure 1. Cross section of the Gjøvik cavern and sketch of
the excavation sequence and in-situ rock stress.
Table 1. Mechanical properties of intact rock and rock mass
and rock mass classification indexes.
Parameter Value
E-modulus of intact rock 50–55 GPa
Uniaxial compressive strength 70–77 MPa
of intact rock
RQD 70 (mean)
Q-value 1–30 mean 12
GSI index 45–75 mean 66
the roof safety. The Gjøvik cavern in southern Norway
is a typical example. The cavern was constructed in
1992–1993 for the ice-hockey matches of the Winter
Olympic Games in 1994. The cavern is 61 m wide,
25 m high and 95 m long, by far the largest man-made
rock cavern in the world for public use. Figure 1 shows
the cross section of the cavern. It is constructed in
jointed red or grey granitic gneiss of Precambrian age.
The joints are generally rough and well interlocked and
have rather irregular orientations. The joint spacing
varies from tens centimeters (a frequency of several
joints per meter) for non-persistent joints to several
meters for persistent ones. In short, the host rock is
well jointed rock mass containing rough and randomly
situated joints. Compared to the cavern scale, the rock
mass can be categorized as ’closely jointed’. On the
other hand, it is unlikely that the block failure involving
large deformation would take place. Shearing along
massive small joints may be the dominating potential
failure mode. Many laboratory tests and field mapping
were undertaken in order to gain the rock mechanics
properties of the intact rock and the rock mass. Evalu-
ation of the rock mass classification indexes was also
made. The rock properties are summarized in Table 1.
As can be seen from the table, the Q-value ranges from
1 to 30 corresponding to “Poor” to “Good” classes.
In addition to the large span it is amazing that such
a huge cavern can be constructed only 25–55 m below
the ground surface, i.e. the overburden is much less
than the cavern span. Then the question is: what makes
it possible? The commonly accepted answer is the suf-
ficiently high horizontal in-situ stress, which ensures
28
Figure 2. Yielding of modelling result for high horizontal
stress.
the establishment of the arching effect and makes the
roof basically a self-standing arch structure without
the need of heavy rock supports (Grøv 2006; Myrvang
2006). Having realized the crucial importance of the
horizontal in-situ stress a measurement program by
the 3-D overcoring technique was followed at the early
stage of the site investigation. The measurements were
carried out in an existing tunnel on the site. The mea-
surements showed dominating horizontal stresses in
the range 3–5 MPa at a depth of 25–50 m, and the ver-
tical stress is less than 1 MPa, which coincides with the
gravity stress. The horizontal stress pattern was later
confirmed by the hydraulic fracturing tests performed
in vertical boreholes drilled from the surface above
the proposed location. Based on these findings it was
decided to go ahead for the 61 m span cavern.
Numerical modelling with both continuum analy-
sis (FEM) and discontinuum analysis (DEM) was then
carried out for studying the stability and the rock sup-
port requirements. It was finally concluded with given
rock quality and favourable in-situ stress condition
it was feasible to construct the proposed huge cav-
ern at such a shallow depth without a need for heavy
rock support. Figure 2 shows the yielding area and
deformed geometry of the result of a FEM modelling
in which the in-situ rock stress estimated based on the
measurements is used, i.e. the horizontal stress is about
3 times of the vertical stress. As shown in the figure the
rock almost remains in the elastic state after the final
excavation without application of any rock support.
The maximum roof subsidence is about 1 mm. Under
the extreme case when the tectonic component of the
horizontal in-situ stress is omitted, i.e. only the grav-
ity stress field is considered the computation simply
could not convergent and the large yielding takes place
above the roof and below the floor. The computed roof
subsidence is 2 cm, which is obviously underestimated
due to the divergence of the computation, as shown in
Figure 3. This clearly demonstrates the necessity for
the relatively high horizontal stress in maintaining the
cavern roof stability. However, a high horizontal stress
result in high differential stress σ1 –σ3 at the cavern roof
leading to the instability in the form of slip of joints in
the unfavourable orientations. Further modelling with
Figure 3. Yielding of modelling result for extremely low
horizontal stress.
Figure 4. Yielding of modelling result for moderate hori-
zontal stress.
a moderate horizontal stress, σh = σv , shows no yield-
ing around the cavern and more uniform distribution
of the displacement of the cavern periphery. The actual
measured cavern roof subsidence is about 8 mm.
2.2 Silo and high wall caverns
Different from the large span caverns where the roof
stability is the major concern the shallowly seated silos
and caverns of high walls may have the essential failure
potential located at the walls. This occurs very often
when the tectonic component of the in-situ horizontal
stress exists and the jointing orients unfavourably. For
most storage silos this is not a so critical issue since
the circular cross section is favourable in many cases
in the stress redistribution after excavation. However,
for the power house of the hydropower project where
the walls are often very high the magnitude of the hori-
zontal stress then plays an important role in instability
of the cavern walls.
The Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project is con-
structed in the middle reach of theYellow River, China,
with an installed capacity of 1800 MW. The power-
house cavern is 22.3 m wide and 61.5 m high, and
located in sedimentary rocks of fair to good quality
(Q = 8∼12, RMR = 59∼66) with overburden of 85 to
115 m. The horizontal to vertical in-situ stress ratio
is about 0.8. However, some clay intercalations are
oriented parallel with the almost horizontal bedding
29
Figure 5. Cross section of the Xiaolangdi power house
cavern and rock support design.
Figure 6. Plastic zones in the rock mass of the powerhouse
complex.
planes in the powerhouse area. The existence of these
clay intercalations became a major concern for the
stability of the cavern crown. This lead to the deci-
sion to install a total of 345 pieces 1500 kN tensioned
25 m long cable anchors with a spacing of 4.5 m × 6 m
(circumferential × longitudinal) in the powerhouse
cavern roof. This came in addition to 8-12 m long rock
bolts installed in a pattern of 1.5 m × 1.5 m, and 20 cm
wire mesh reinforced shotcrete, which was the origi-
nal design (Huang et al. 2004). Both cable and bolts
are also used in the rock support for the cavern walls.
Figure 5 shows the cross section of the power house
and transformer caverns with rock support design.
Huang (Huang et al. 2004) performed numerical
simulations by using software DIANA and UDEC
respectively. The analysis result indicates the displace-
ments in the walls are greater than that in the roof and
plastic zones extend to a maximum depth of about 20 m
in the walls, whilst there is only a very limited plastic
zone in the cavern roof, as shown in Figure 6. Huang
also conducted a sensitivity study with the horizontal
to vertical in-situ stress ratio varying from 0.4 to 1.0
and found the high horizontal stress helps roof arch
forming, but results in larger deformation of the walls.
In this situation the walls are more critical than the
roof in terms of the cavern stability, and a too high
horizontal in-situ stress is not favourable to reach sta-
ble cavern walls. The optimized rock support design
may be reached when a moderate in-situ stress regime
exists.
3 GEO-HAZARD ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH
ROCK STRESS
3.1 Spalling and rock burst
Normally in-situ rock stress increases with depth. In
the common range of engineering the in-situ rock
stress may reach up to 40–50 MPa at an overburden
of 1500–2000 m. However, high rock stress may also
occur as the tangential stress close to valley-sides, or
even at low cover depending on the tectonic condi-
tions. Especially in the mountainous fjord landscape
of western and northern Norway, such conditions are
common. When the high stress is released by, for
instance excavation of a tunnel, it may cause rock
spalling or rock burst as violent fracturing. This results
in dangerous working conditions during excavation,
manual scaling may become impossible to perform
safely and mechanical scaling by a hydraulic hammer
has to be taken. In worst situation the working face has
to be supported by rock bolts and sprayed concrete in
order to drill the charge holes. According to Wikipedia
every year roughly 20 miners are killed by rock burst
solely in South Africa.
The more intense spalling and rock bursts may be
accompanied by crackling or gun-shot sounds, provid-
ing a dramatic effect and sometimes acting as warning
signals. However, moderately high rock stresses may
also be very dangerous, as there could be a lack of the
warning signals that may follow the high rock stresses.
Fatal accidents have occurred in circumstances where
rock stress problems are not intense, providing a false
feeling of safety. The effect could also be delayed; in
the less brittle rocks the deformations may go on for
a long time (weeks, months) and could cause poten-
tially dangerous situations further out in the tunnel
(Blindheim 2004).
The high rock stress is included in a list of geo-
hazards presented by Blindheim (2004) as given in
Table 2. In addition to the bolting and sprayed con-
crete he mentioned drilling of stress release holes as
a preventive action. Wang et al. (2008) studied the
mechanism of rock burst and proposed the preven-
tion by means of rock softening by water injection. It
is unknown to the authors of this paper if this mea-
sure has been successfully utilized in any tunnelling
project.
3.2 Stress consideration in rock mass classification
In-situ rock stress has been taken into account in the
Q-system for rock mass classification (NGI 1997).
30
The parameter SRF is Eqn (1) is the Stress Reduc-
tion Factor, describing in general the relation between
stress and the rock strength around a cavern/tunnel.
According to NGI (1997) for the competent rock with
stress problems that “with very high stresses spalling
and rock burst may occur in a tunnel, and SRF-value up
to 400 may be used in some situations”. This implies
that a rock mass categorized as “very good” with a
stress-free Q’-value of 50 may fall into the category
“very poor” simply due to the high in-situ rock stress.
The magnitude of the reduction may be discussed, but
anyhow this is a clear demonstration of the importance
of the in-situ rock stress.
3.3 Experience from the Lærdal tunnel
The 24.5 km long Lærdal tunnel in Norway is the
world longest road tunnel. With the high rock cover
up to 1450 m the in-situ rock stress is high, and the
gravity stress resulting from the overburden is esti-
mated to be approximately 40 MPa. The dominating
rock type is banded or veined gneisses. Jointing is
moderate, but some weakness and fault zones exist.
Figure 7 shows the longitudinal cross section of the
site geology. Due to the extensive experience of the
similar projects in the region the pre-construction
site investigations were basically geological survey
and rock mass classifications based on the Q-system.
No core drilling and in-situ stress measurement were
performed (Blindheim 2003).
Tremendous difficulties were encountered from
the beginning of the excavation due to stress-related
problems. Moderately intense spalling and slabbing,
which occurred immediately behind the work face and
extended 30–100 cm inside the walls, accompanied
with sound from cracking to gun shot occurred fre-
quently. In the worse situation rock flakes could fly
up to 20 m away from the rock surface, and spalling
occurred at the work face during explosive charge.
The work face had to be supported with rock bolts
and sprayed concrete. Other stress-related problems
include: large overbreak in blocky rock mass; drilling
jumbo jumped due to spalling in the floor; drilling rods
got stuck during blast and probe hole drilling due to
crushing and cracking in the holes; increased spalling
during rock surface washing before spraying of con-
crete and so on (Grimstad & Bhasin 1997, Blindheim
2003).
As a result the anticipated progress of 60 m per week
was not maintained. Then stress measurements was
conducted at two locations indicating a sub-horizontal
in-situ stress of 30–33 MPa and the rock deforma-
tion was monitored at two locations with multipoint
extensometers. In order to identify the depth of the
stress release crack in the surrounding rock the endo-
scope measurements were performed in more than 100
boreholes.
A revised work procedure and rock support was
then worked out including the use of mechanical scal-
ing before application of sprayed concrete in roof and
abutment after mucking out half of the much pile; rock
Table 2. List of geohazards (Blindheim 2004).

Crushed or
Water under Un-consolidated High rock Poor blocky rock
Hazard pressure zones stress confinement mass Gas, methane

Effects or • Flooding • Immediate • Rock • Block falls • Block falls • Explosion

potential • Cave-in cave-in spalling • Cave-in • Delay of
consequences • Dangerous • Cannot be or bursting work
drill rod controlled • Slab or block activities
changing at face falls
Warning • Water in probe • Water, mud, • Drilling • Drilling • Drilling • Bubbles in
signals or blast holes sand in probe problems in problems in problems in seepage
• Inflow through or blast holes stress release open joints crushed rock water
joints in the face cracks • Drizzling • Rotten
• Karstic • Noises; continues smell of
features crackling with time associated
‘shots’ gas
• Visible
deformations
Preventive • Probe drill • As for ‘Water • Scaling, • Pre-bolting • For intact • Probe drill
actions to localise under bolting, ‘spiling’ contour: • Increased
potential inflow pressure’ sprayed • Scaling, sprayed ventilation
• Pre-grouting • Ground concrete bolting, concrete for dilution
and/or drainage Freezing • Drill stress sprayed and bolting and
• Do not blast ahead of face release holes concrete ribs • For lost circulation
until treatment contour, • Measurements
is done water and
present: monitoring
cast-in-place
concrete
lining

Figure 7. Geological cross section of the Lærdal tunnel.

bolting through fresh sprayed concrete with the plates
outside the concrete; the heavy use of end-anchored
rock bolts and fibre-reinforced concrete. The expe-
rience indicates the end-anchored rock bolts behave
better than the fully grouted bolts in high-stressed
rock condition due to the larger allowable deformation.
Great attention was also paid to bolting the lower part
of the walls to fix the lowermost border of the sprayed
concrete to the rock in order to prevent further spalling.
The tunnel was open to traffic after 5-year construction
and has been operated normally (Grimstad & Bhasin
1997, Blindheim 2003).
The experience gained from the Lærdal tunnel may
be summarized as (1) the use of the mechanical scal-
ing instead of the manual scaling, (2) applying of
sprayed concrete and followed by bolting through fresh

31
concrete, (3) the use of the end-anchored bolts instead
of the fully grouted bolts and (4) bolting the lower part
of the walls.
4 ROCK SUPPORT
4.1 Rock support for tunnels under high stress
The Qinling Zhongnanshan tunnel, Shaanxi, China,
consists of four tunnels: two railway tunnels and two
road tunnels. With a length of 18.02 km the road tun-
nel is currently the longest double tube road tunnel in
the world. The gross cross section of the road tunnels
is 12.8 × 10.5 m, accommodating three driving lanes.
The tunnels were open to traffic in January 2007. For
special lighting and driving safety purpose six caverns
are designed in the road tunnels, see Figure 8. The
idea is when a person drives in such a long tunnel he
or she may feel monotony and anxiety, and loses con-
centration. As a result the potential of traffic accidents
increases. Special and bright lighting is designed in
the caverns such that the driver will be woke-up and
has a perception of being outside the tunnel. In this
way, the driving safety is increased.
The tunnels penetrate the Qinling Mountain Range,
where the major rock type is mainly granitic gneiss of
good quality and the maximum rock cover along the
tunnel route is about 1800 m. Rock bursts and spalling
were frequently encountered during tunnel excavation.
With a strong anticipation of high in-situ rock stress
and reorganization of its significant impact on the
cavern stability, a field stress measurement program
by overcoring technique was carried out in two bore-
holes close to the cavern sites. The overburden for the
boreholes is 400 and 1600 m, respectively. The mea-
surement at the low overburden hole was successful,
whilst great difficulties were encountered in the high
overburden hole. Severe core disking was observed
(Figure 9). Finally, the 3D overcoring was replaced by
Figure 8. Illustration of location of measurement boreholes
and caverns.
Figure 9. Illustration of core disking: 23 disks observed in
a 27 cm long core.
32
doorstopper (2D overcoring). The measurement result
indicates the highest major principal stress may be as
high as 45 MPa (Lu et al. 2006).
The rock support was designed with empirical
means and verified by 2-D and 3-D numerical analy-
ses, and the experience gained from the Lærdal tunnel
was referenced. Having realized the restrictions by the
very high rock stress and the small pillar width in com-
parison to the cavern size (the minimum pillar width is
8 m and the cavern span is 22 m) the design was very
cautious.
The designed rock support system consists of rock
bolts and fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete, a clearly
defined construction sequence and a monitoring sys-
tem. For the caverns under extremely high stresses a
flexible support is proposed which is composed of tem-
porary support and permanent support. The idea is to
allow rock deformation to partially take place before
the permanent reinforcement is applied, such avoid-
ing failure of the support elements. The use of the
end-anchored rock bolts with polyurethane cartridge
is particularly specified. The length of the bolts was
such designed that the anchorage ends must be located
at the competent rock, in other words, the bolts must be
anchored in the non-yielding rock, which was ensured
by the numerical analyses. Figure 10 shows the details
of the modelling of the construction sequence for the
caverns at relatively low stress conditions.
Figure 11 shows the dimensions and distance of the
existing emergency parking zone and tunnel and the
cavern to be excavated under the high stress locations.
Figure 10. Numerical simulation of the complete construc-
tion sequence.
Figure 11. Excavation order for caverns E2 and W2.
The details of the support design and construction rock failure occurs. This may be in the form of time-
sequence is given below. dependent deformation (creeping) in weak and soft
rocks, or in the form of dynamic (rock burst) or quasi-
Slashing of the left hand side of the tunnel to reach
dynamic (slabbing) ejection in hard rocks. The failure
full height and full width of the cavern constituting
mode of rock has a direct impact on the design of
approximately half the full size of the cavern, as
ground support systems.
shown in Figure 11 with step 1.
Li carefully studied the field observations in deep
Before mucking out after the last blasting 3 m long
cut-and-fill mines in Sweden, Canada and Australia.
holes shall be drilled in a 2x2 m pattern in the
In this mining method stopes are mined in 3–5 m high
final wall and roof areas as described in point (i)
slices and afterwards backfilled with waste rock and
above. The holes shall be equipped with protection
tailing. The roof rock of the previous slice cut will
to prevent sprayed concrete to clog the holes.
be exposed on the advance face of the current slice
The newly excavated surface of the wall shall be
cut such providing a unique opportunity to observe
manually scaled to remove loose rock before being
the interaction between bolts and the rock in situ. Fig-
sprayed with an initial layer of fibre-reinforced
ure 12 (a) and (b) show the failure of rock bolts in a
shotcrete, building up a layer of 60 mm.
creeping rock mass, Sweden, and failed split sets in a
End-anchored rock bolts with length of 3 m
weak rock mass, Australia, respectively. Both failures
(polyester cartridges shall be used for anchoring)
took place in a short distance 0.3–0.4 m from the face
shall be inserted in the pre-drilled holes and the steel
plate. Figure 13 shows the responses of the rock bolts
plates shall be mounted outside the wet shotcrete.
in a collapsed roof after a rock burst event occurred
The nuts shall be tightened only loosely, so that the
in a Canadian metal mine at a depth of 1650 m. As
bolts are not pre-stressed.
The muck from the last blast round is removed and
points (iii) and (iv) above are repeated. It is impor-
tant that the rock bolts and shotcrete are installed
all the way to the floor level.
Excavation of the right hand side of the tunnel to the
full height and width of the caverns, blast rounds
shall be parallel to the tunnel axis.
Installation of permanent rock support in the
remaining part of the tunnel, i.e. the wall and roof
on the right hand side as was the last part to be exca-
vated. The installation of rock support shall follow
the same procedure as described above in points
(ii), (iii) and (iv).
When the sprayed concrete has cured for 3–4 days Figure 12. Rock bolt failure in creeping rock.
the installation of permanent rock support may
start. 10 m long steel bars shall be installed in
a pattern of 2 × 2 m to fill in between the exist-
ing rock bolts. Use end-anchored rock bolts with
polyurethane cartridge or other device which has a
documented similar performance.
Apply fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete to build up
the permanent shotcrete layer. The thickness of the
shotcrete layer shall be 300 mm totally.
The C35 shotcrete shall be reinforced with at least
50 kg Dramix ZP305 steel fibre per cubic meter, and
the bolts should meet the Ørstra quality, i.e. elongation
3%, yielding and failure capacity 120 and 150 kN.

4.2 Behaviour of rock bolts under different stress

conditions
Charlie Li described the different functions of rock
bolts for shallow and deep openings due to different
conditions in in-situ rock stress (Li 2009). For the
shallow tunnels bolts function as hanging elements
to fasten loose blocks. For the deep tunnels, how-
ever, the in-situ stress is high and loose blocks seldom
exist following excavations, but rather stress-induced Figure 13. Rock bolt responses to rock burst.

33
can be seen from the figure the rebar bolts are failed
whilst the cone bolts survived even though they did
not prohibit the roof rock from falling. This is resulted
from the capacity of the cone bolts in accommodat-
ing large deformations. The observation indicates that
fully bounded rebar bolts are also too stiff to accom-
modate the static deformation and to respond to the
burst-induced dynamic loading.
Based on analysis of the field observations Li found
that in high stress rock conditions rock bolts should
not only have a high load-bearing capacity, but also
should be able to accommodate large rock dilations.
In other words, they should be able to absorb a large
amount of energy prior to failure. The major shortcom-
ing of the conventional fully bonded rebar bolt is its
small deformation capacity.A small amount of fracture
opening would result in premature failure of the bolt
because the deformation capacity of the bolt material
is mobilized only in a small bolt segment overriding
the fracture. An attempt to developing a new type of
rock bolts is being undertaken in order to overcome
the shortcomings.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The importance of the in-situ rock stress for the under-
ground tunnels and caverns has been recognized in
Norway since a long time ago. Reasonably high hor-
izontal stress plays a crucial role in maintaining the
roof stability of shallowly seated large caverns by arch
forming mechanism. However, for the silos and cav-
erns with high walls a high horizontal in-situ stress
may have negative effect on the stability of the walls.
It is generally accepted a moderate stress regime is
preferred for most underground works.
High rock stresses may appear in great depth or can
be caused by the tectonic process, which may become
hazardous to the environment of underground con-
struction with potential for spalling and rock burst.
In particular the rock burst with its violent nature
threatens the safety of the personnel working at the
site. Special engineering measures have to be taken in
preventing, reducing and/or handling the rock burst.
Great caution is needed in rock support in high
stress rock. In general attempt to prevent rock defor-
mation by using of heavy and stiff support should
34
be avoided. A certain level of deformation should be
allowed and flexible support such as end-anchored
rock bolts should be used. New type of rock bolts
that fit the specific requirements for the high stress
condition may need to be developed.
REFERENCES
Blindheim, O.T. 2003. Learning from the Lærdal Tunnel.
Tunnels & Tunnelling International October 2003: 24–26
Blindheim, O.T. 2004. Geological hazards – causes, effects
and prevention. In Publication No 13 Norwegian Tun-
nelling Society.
Grimstad, E. & Bhasin, R. 1997. Rock support in hard
rock tunnels under high stress. In Einar Broch etc (eds),
Proc. Int. Symp. On Rock Support – Applied Solutions
for Underground Structures, Lillehammer, 25–27 June
1997.
Grøv, E. 2006. The importance of in-situ rock stress in design
and construction of sub-surface opening. In M.E.Abdel
Salam (ed), Proc. Int. Symp. On utilization of under-
ground space in urban areas, Sharm El-Sheikh, 6–7 Nov.
2006.
Huang, Z.P., Broch, E. & Lu, M. 2004. Stability study of the
Xiaolangdi powerhouse cavern by UDEC and DIANA. In
Heinz Konietzky (ed.), Numerical Modeling of Discrete
Materials; Proc.1st Int. UDEC/3DEC Symp., Bochum, 29
Sep. – 1 Oct. 2004. Leiden: Balkema.
Li, C.C. 2009. Field observations of rock bolts in high stress
rock masses. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering
Lu, M., Dahle, H., Grøv, E., Qiao, H.Y., Zhao, Q.L. &
Wen, B.H. 2006. Design of rock caverns in high in-situ
stress rock mass. In C.F. Leung & Y.X. Zhou (eds) Rock
Mechanics in Underground Construction; Proc. 4th Asian
Rock Mechanics Symposium, Singapore, 8–10 Nov. 2006.
Singapore: World Scientific.
Myrvang, A.M. 2006. Rock stress measurements as a prac-
tical rock engineering tool. In Ming Lu etc (eds), In-situ
Rock Stress – Measurement, interpretation and applica-
tion; Proc. Int.Symp. on In-situ Rock Stress, Trondheim,
19–21 June 2006. London: Balkema.
NGI. 1997. Practical use of the Q-system. NGI report, No.
592046-4.
Nilsen, B. & Thidemann, A. 1993. Rock Engineering.
Hydropower Development Vol. 9 Published by Norwegian
Institute of Technology.
Wang, M.L, Li, J.B & Zhang, H. 2008. Discussion on
Mechism of Rockburst and Prevatiom Based on Energy
Principles. China Sciencepaper Online. http://www.
paper.edu.cn/en/pa per.php?serial_number=200812-949
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The recent tectonic stress districts and strong earthquakes in China

Furen Xie, Hongyan Zhang∗ & Yi Du

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: According to the stress state and force source character, the recent tectonic stress field of China is
preliminary divided into four classes. Among them, there are two first order districts, four second order districts,
five third order districts and twenty-six fourth order districts. By analyzing those tectonic stress districts and
strong earthquakes, the close relation between them is mainly summarized as follows: (1) The boundary of stress
districts especially the first or second order boundary controlled by the interaction of tectonic plates has strong
earthquakes very easily and frequently. (2) Stress districts with stress direction, regime type and stress value
transformation are concentrative zones of strong earthquakes. (3) Stress districts with local stress differentiation
but in the homogeneous stress background are the places where strong earthquakes are relatively concentrated.
On the basis of these research work, we discuss the present dynamic environment in China from force source
and plates movement.

1 INTRODUCTION Studying the relation between modern tectonic stress

The The research of lithosphere stress is a very impor-
tant branch of earth science. In the late 1980s, inter-
national lithosphere plan leaded by Mary Lou Zoback
(1992) began the plan of compling the world stress
map and this project attracted many scientists from
different countries. They collected various kinds of
stress data, analyzed related results of recent tectonic
stress, established the database of global tectonic stress
and compiled the global stress map. The map reflects
the global and regional characteristics of lithospheric
stress field and explains the situation of force action
in the lithosphere. One of the important results is that
tectonic stress field has the uniform characteristics
in a large scale inside some plates. It shows that the
large scale force source of tectonic movement exists
on the Earth. The other important result is to recog-
nize that there are first order and second order stress
fields inside the plate and the first order stress field
is related to plate movement but second order stress
field is only a regional stress field influenced by hor-
izontal difference density in the lithosphere or local
thermal activity. Recent years, Chinese researchers
also have done a lot of research work about tectonic
stress field and get a great deal of achievement in the
related research fields, especially in regionalizing tec-
tonic stress field (Deng Q.D. et al. 1979, Xu Z.H. et al.
1989, Kan R.J. et al. 1977, Xue H.Y. et al. 1984, Wang
S.Y. et al. 1991, 1993, Xie F.R. et al. 1993, 1999, 2003,
Cui X.F. et al. 1999, Xu Z.H. 2001). Besides that, large
quantities of researches indicate that crustal stress state
has a very close relation to the earthquake activities.
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 10 62846726. E-mail
address: zhy0720@126.com.
field and strong earthquakes has a vital theoretical and
practical significance for cognizing seismic process
and developing seismic regionalization work. On the
basis of compiling the “Basic database of crustal stress
environment in China”, we summarize the basic char-
acteristics of recent tectonic stress field in China (Xie
F.R. et al. 2003), divide the tectonic stress districts and
preliminarily analyze the relationship between recent
tectonic stress field and strong earthquakes. We find
that these is a distinct correspondence between strong
earthquake activities and tectonic stress background in
China and its adjacent regions and that the boundary
of different order of stress districts is correspond to the
different grade of earthquake activities.
2 RECENT TECTONIC STRESS DISTRICT
IN CHINA
2.1 The principle and process of tectonic stress
zoning
In order to reflect the fine texture and heterogeneous
characteristics of tectonic stress field in China and
its adjacent area, the research of tectonic stress zon-
ing is quite necessary and important. Based on the
mechanical property and deformation behavior of tec-
tonic stress and its force sources, particularly make the
principle of tectonic stress zoning as follows: First,
the direction of principal compressive stress in one
tectonic stress district must be consistent. Second, the
stress regime in one tectonic stress district must be
similar. Third, the stress intensity in the same tectonic
stress district should be basically equal. Fourth, the
tectonic deformation and the failure mode of fault in
one stress district should be uniform. And last, the

35
dynamic force source of different stress districts with
the same order in one tectonic stress district should be
identical.
According to the above principle of tectonic stress
zoning, we preliminary divide the tectonic stress dis-
tricts in China. And then we use “Step by Step Conver-
gence Method (SSCM)” (Cui X.F. et al. 1999) to screen
each focal mechanism solution according to two crite-
ria. One is the angle between the fault slip vector and
the direction of shear stress due to the deviatonic stress
tensor acting on the seismic fault plane is less than or
equal to 30◦ . The other is that the ratio of shear stress
of deviatonic stress tensor acting on the fault plane
to the stress on the same fault plane must be greater
Figure 1. Recent tectonic stress districts in China.
Table 1. Recent tectonic stress districts in China.
First order Second order Third order
East China (A) Northeast-north China (A1) Northeast China (A11)
North China (A12)
South China (A2)
West China (B) Xinjiang (B1)
Tibet (B2) North and east Tibet (B21)
South Tibet (B22)
Himalayas (B23)
36
than or eaqual to 0.51. Thus, we can determine which
earthquakes are controlled by one homogeneous tec-
tonic stress field and at last we decide the boundary of
each tectonic stress district. This method is especially
useful in the tectonic stress districts with ambiguous
boundary.
2.2 Recent tectonic stress districts in China
Using above method and process, we get 2 first order
districts, 4 second order districts, 5 third order districts
and 26 fourth order districts (Fig. 1, Tab. 1). From
Figure 1 and Table 1, we can see clearly that the East
China district and the West China district – the two
first order districts are divided by North-South Seis-
mic Zone. In the East China district, there are 2 second
order stress districts named Northeast-north China and
South China respectively. They are divided by Qin-
ling Fault Zone. And the Northeast-north China stress
district contains two third order stress districts, the
boundary of which is Yinshan-Yanshan-Bohai Fault
Zone. In total, there are 13 fourth order stress districts
in the East China district and they are divided by dif-
ferent faults (zones). In the West China district, there
are also 2 second order stress districts named Xin-
jiang and Tibet respectively. The boundary of them is
Xikunlun-Aerjin-Qilianshan Fault Zone, which meets
with North-South Seismic Zone at its east end. In
Tibet stress district, it consists of Himalayas, South
Tibet and North and east Tibet 3 stress districts. And
the boundary of these 3 stress districts is Lazhulong-
Jinshajiang-Honghe Fault Zone and Yaluzangbujiang
Forth order
North China plain (A121)
Fen-wei rift (A122)
Ordos (A123)
Hetao-yinchuan rift (A124)
Yuwan-subei (A125)
South China (A201)
Southeast coastal-Taiwan (A202)
Nanhai-Beibuwan (A203)
Talimu (B101)
Tianshan (B102)
Zhungeer (B103)
Aertai (B104)
Alashan (B105)
Pamier (B211)
North Tibet (B212)
Chaidamu (B213)
Qilian-Hexi (B214)
Haiyuan-Liupan (B215)
West Qinling (B216)
Bayangela (B217)
Longmen-songpan (B218)
Chuan-Dian (B219)
South Tibet (B221)
Motuo-changdu (B222)
Southwest Dian (B223)
Himalayas(B231)
Figure 2. The distribution of strong earthquakes and tec-
tonic stress districts in China and its adjacent area.
Fault Zone respectively. But there is no third order
stress district in Xinjiang. There are 18 fourth order
stress districts in the west China district in all.
3 THE RELATION BETWEEN TECTONIC
STRESS DISTRICTS AND STRONG
EARTHQUAKES IN CHINA
Regions where have intense tectonic stress action and
complex stress distribution are the areas where strong
earthquakes happen frequently. These regions such as
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau andTaiwan where have the most
intense plate collision and the strongest compression
have the earthquake activities of the largest intensity
and the highest frequency. And in North China and
Xinjiang regions, stress distribution is complex and
strong earthquakes happen more frequently.
According to the new compiled earthquake catalog
(Department of Seismic Hazard Prevention and Mit-
igation, China Earthquake Administration, 1999) and
the statistic data of earthquake distribution in China
(Fig. 2), it is discovered that more than 70% earth-
quakes with magnitude greater than 4.0 are in Qinghai-
Tibet Plateau and Taiwan stress districts, more than
20% is in north China and Xinjiang districts, and
in south China and northeast stress districts the per-
centage is only about 6%. Among them, more than
75% earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.0 are
in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Taiwan stress districts,
about 20% is in north China and in Xinjiang districts,
and in south China and northeast stress districts is less
than 5%. Thus it can be seen that earthquake activities
and tectonic stress background have a very close rela-
tionship. Area with intense tectonic stress action and
complex stress distribution types is the main location
where earthquakes happen easily and frequently.
3.1 The boundary of stress districts is the zone
where strong earthquakes happen frequently
Because of the intense tectonic action and complex
stress distribution, the boundary of stress districts
is the place where strong earthquakes happen most
37
Figure 3. Inversion result from fault Slip data in Longmen-
shan fault.
easily and frequently. In mainland China, the two first-
order stress districts controlled by the dynamic action
of plates is eastern China stress district and western
China stress district, and the boundary of them is north
south seismotectonic belt (Fig. 2). On 12th May 2008,
Wenchuan earthquake shocked all the world happened
on Longmenshan fault belonged to the north south
seismotectonic belt which is the first-order boundary
of stress districts. Figure 3 is the inversion result from
fault slip data in Longmenshan fault after Wenchuan
earthquake. We can see clearly from figure 3 that the
principal compressional stress in this region is about
in east-west direction and the stress regime is reverse
slip. From the point of view of force source, the source
of eastern China stress district comes mainly from the
united action produced by Pacific plate subduction
beneath Eurasia continent towards west and Philippine
plate subduction beneath Eurasia continent towards
northwest. And the source of western China stress
district comes mainly from the India plate colliding
with Eurasia continent towards north. Therefore, at the
united action of above three plates, the primary charac-
teristic of recent tectonic stress field in Longmenshan
region is in nearly east-west direction.
Another good example is Yushu earthquake. On
14th April 2010, Qinghai Yushu earthquake happened
on Ganzi-Yushu fault which is one of the branches
of Jinshajiang-xianshuihe fault zone. From the view
of global plate movement, this earthquake happened
at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau formed by the India
plate pushing Eurasia continent towards north. The
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gradually becomes shortening
under the action of pushing and at the same time
the interior blocks begin to slip in the lateral direc-
tion along some important faults at the boundary of
stress districts, it makes the main block of Qinghai-
Tibet Plateau move towards east and some strike-slip
fault system and extrusion blocks of different scale
form inside or at the edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
From the point of view of fault zone,Yushu earthquake
happened on Jinshajiang-xianshuihe fault zone which
Figure 4. Recent tectonic stress field and strong earthquake
distribution in Yushu, Qinghai area.
is the third-order boundary of stress districts. The
average Holocene horizontal slip rate of Jinshajiang-
xianshuihe fault zone is 5–7 mm/a and the average hor-
izontal slip rate of Kalakunlun-jiali fault zone located
in the north of Bayankala block arrives at 10–11 mm/a.
Both the fault zones are in east-west direction and
gradually push towards east, and it makes Shichuan-
Yunnan region stopped by the Yangtze block generate
complex fault deformation and blocks rotation. It may
be one of the reasons that Kunlunshan earthquake,
Wenchuan earthquake (with the magnitude 8.1 and 8.0,
respectively) and several large earthquakes (with the
magnitude equal or greater than 7) happened.
Because of the united action controlled by different
plates, the recent tectonic movements of the bound-
ary of different stress districts in China, especially the
north south seismotectonic belt, are very strong and
active. From north to south, there are series of active
tectonic zones, such as the west edge of Ordos fault
zone, Haiyuan-Liupanshan fault zone, the east Qinling
fault zone, Minjiang fault zone, Longmenshan fault
zone, and Xianshuihe-zemuhe-xiaojiang fault zone.
These boundary zones have the strongest earthquake
activities in China.
3.2 Stress districts with stress direction, regime type
and stress value transformation are the places
where strong earthquakes happen frequently
The whole China continent is divided into 23 seismic
zones (Huan W.L. et al. 1998). Among them, more
than 90% of destructive earthquakes in China hap-
pen in these seismic zones, and it reflects that the
heterogeneity of earthquake activities in space distri-
bution in China. The present seismic zones not only
have obvious geologic structure characteristics, but
also have apparent variation characteristics in tectonic
stress direction, stress regime and stress value. Thus it
can be seen that the seismic zones are closely related
to the variation of the tectonic stress field. Among 23
seismic zones, there are 12 zones where tectonic prin-
cipal stress direction change and its percentage is 52%,
10 zones where stress regime vary and the percent-
age is 43%, and 21 zones where tectonic deformation
intensity alter and its percentage is 87%.
Take the periphery of Sichuan-Yunnan active
block in southwest China for example, the principal
38
Figure 5. Recent tectonic stress field and strong earthquake
distribution in Sichuan-Yunnan active block and its periphery.
compressional stress direction and the stress regime of
recent tectonic stress field have apparent differences
(Fig. 5). For Sichuan-Yunnan active block itself, its
main tectonic principal stress direction is in NNW-
SSE direction and the stress regime is strike slip.
However, in Songpan-Longmenshan region at the
northeast of Sichuan-Yunnan active block, the tec-
tonic principal stress direction is NEE-SWW and
its stress regime is reverse slip. In the south China
block which is at the east of Sichuan-Yunnan block,
its tectonic principal stress direction is in SSE-
NWW, and the stress regime is strike slip (Xie F.R.
et al. 1993, 1999). Xianshuihe fault zone located
between Sichuan-Yunnan active block and Songpan-
Longmenshan region and Anninghe-xiaojiang fault
zone located between Sichuan-Yunnan active block
and south China block, are the sectors where strong
earthquakes focus (Figure 5). Besides, Tienshan seis-
mic zone locates in the transition zone where the
tectonic deformation is from weak to strong or from
strong to weak. It is the typical example that earth-
quakes happen at the place where tectonic stress
intensity transforms. In addition, there are more earth-
quakes happen in the areas having higher stress value
but with the same tectonic background and stress field
surroundings. Such as the region in the northwest of
Yunnan, the stress value at the depth of 320-450m is
23.4MPa, 22.9MPa and 30.2MPa in Lijiang, Jianchuan
and Xiaguan, respectively. But at the same depth the
stress value is just 15MPa at Yongping measuring
point. Actually, Lijiang, Jianchuan and Xiaguan are the
places where strong earthquakes happen frequently.
3.3 Stress districts with local differentiation but in
the homogeneous stress background are the
places where strong earthquakes happen
frequently
Stress districts with local differentiation in the even
stress background have more strong earthquakes. For
Figure 6. Recent tectonic stress field and strong earthquake
distribution in north China.
Figure 7. Recent tectonic stress field and strong earthquake
distribution in Tienshan region.
example, the primary characteristic of tectonic stress
field in north China is that its principal compressional
stress direction is in NEE-SWW direction and most
of the stress regime is strike slip (Fig. 6). However,
the tectonic stress in Fen-Wei fault zone located in the
middle of north China is tensile, and the stress direc-
tion and stress regime are apparently different from the
total north China region (Xie F.R. et al. 2003).
Another good case is Tienshan stress district. From
figure 7, it can be seen that the main direction of the
maximum compressional stress in Tienshan area is
about in N-S direction and the stress regime are almost
strike slip and reverse slip. However, besides the main
group of stress direction in Pamirs and Jiashi region,
another group of stress direction mainly in NNE-SSW
exists. The change of stress state can cause the hetero-
geneous distribution of stress accumulation and in that
case it can make strong earthquakes concentrated on
a place to happen.
4 DYNAMIC DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The pattern of recent tectonic stress districts in China is
obviously controlled by the dynamic action of periph-
eral plates. Obviously, the collision between India plate
and Eurasia continent is the primary dynamic factor
that helps establish the basic pattern of recent tectonic
39
Figure 8. Dynamic force sources from adjacent plates acted
on the Eurasian Plate.
stress field in China (Fig. 8). India plate collides with
Eurasia continent towards north at the speed of 50mm
every year (Ding G.Y. et al. 1988), and the southern
part of Tibet Plateau is greatly pressed at first. In that
case it uplifts quickly and forms a horizontal stretch-
ing on the upper crust of the plateau. At the northeast
edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the crustal material
blocked by Tarim-Tienshan and Alasan blocks moves
towards east or southeast and forms the tectonic envi-
ronment with the characteristic of shear stress action.
Number of famous strike-slip fault zones formed, such
as Altun fault zone, East Kunlun fault zone, Xian-
shuihe fault zone, and so on. The shear-tensile tectonic
environment in north China is resulted from the co-
action of the northward pushing of Indian Plate and
the westward subduction of Pacific Plate (Fig. 8).
Under this action northeast-trending faults are
dextral with a normal component, while westnorth-
trending faults are sinistral with a normal component
too. Northeast China mainly affected by the east sub-
duction of Pacific Plate, results in shear-compression
tectonic environment.And in this region, the northeast-
trending faults are dextral or dextral with a reverse
component, but the northwest-trending faults are sinis-
tral or sinistral with a reverse component. South
China mainly affected by the northward pushing of
Philippine Plate forms shear-compression tectonic
environment (Fig. 8). Under this tectonic action, the
northwest-trending faults are dextral and the northeast-
trending faults are sinistral or sinistral with a reverse
component.
According to the stress state and force source
character, the recent tectonic stress field in China
is preliminary divided into four classes. By analyz-
ing the relationship between tectonic stress districts
and strong earthquakes, the close relation is mainly
summarized as follows: (1) The boundary of stress
districts especially the first or second order bound-
ary controlled by the interaction of tectonic plates
has more strong earthquakes. (2) Stress districts with
stress direction, regime type and stress value transfor-
mation are concentrative zones of strong earthquakes.
(3) Stress districts with local stress differentiation but
in the homogeneous stress background are the places
where have strong earthquakes relatively concentrated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was partially supported by a grant from
the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(40904024) and the special item of professional
fund for basic scientific research of Chinese central-
level public-welfare college/institute from Institute of
Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration
(ZDJ2009-17) to H. ZHANG as well as a grant from
the special item of professional fund for basic scien-
tific research of Chinese central-level public-welfare
college/institute from Institute of Crustal Dynam-
ics, China Earthquake Administration (ZDJ2007-1) to
F. XIE.
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Difficulties with hydraulic fracturing stress
measurements and ways to overcome them
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Deep rock stress measurement by hydraulic fracturing method taking

account of system compliance effect

T. Ito
Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, Japan

T. Satoh
National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan

H. Kato
Akema Boring Co. Ltd., Japan

ABSTRACT: For the effective measurement of the reopening pressure in hydraulic fracturing, it is necessary
to use the testing equipment with sufficiently small compliance. If not, there is no way to estimate the maximum
stress in a plane perpendicular to a borehole, i.e. the maximum horizontal stress assuming a vertical borehole,
from the reopening pressure. It may be very hard to reduce the system compliance drastically by just replacing
any components of the hydraulic fracturing system. If the flow meter is emplaced as close as possible to a
test section of a borehole isolated by straddle packers, the system compliance can be reduced drastically. To
accomplish this idea, we have been developing a testing system with a downhole flow meter. We demonstrated
the developed system in a field test successfully. Furthermore, we presented a new method which will allow us
to do stress measurement at depths greater than a few km.

1 INTRODUCTION borehole wall, i.e. the reopening pressure Pr , has been

A typical setup for hydraulic fracturing test is shown
in Fig. 1. A short test interval in a borehole is sealed
off by use of two inflatable packers. The test interval is
pressurized by fluid injection from a pump located on
the surface to generate a tensile circumferential stress
around the borehole. When the tensile stress exceeds
the strength of a rock and the stress concentration by
the borehole, fracture initiation occurs on the bore-
hole wall. Assuming a vertical borehole which is free
from pre-existing/natural fractures, the vertical frac-
tures will be induced to be normal to the minimum
horizontal stress Sh (parallel to the maximum horizon-
tal stress SH ). Further fluid injection drives fracture
propagation away from the borehole. The stress con-
centration by the borehole is a function both of Sh
and SH , and it affects the fracture behavior. However,
the borehole effect on fracture weakens rapidly with
fracture length and finally the fracture propagation is
governed by just a remote stress normal to the frac-
ture, i.e. the minimum horizontal stress Sh . On these
bases, a borehole pressure such as the shut-in pressure
Ps observed at fracture propagating sufficiently away
from the borehole has been used as an indicator of Sh .
Contrary to this, the maximum horizontal stress SH
should be estimated from the borehole pressure while
the fracture length is shorter as much as possible than
the borehole size. To realize this, the borehole pres-
sure at which the induced fracture begins to open at the
applied for estimating SH . Thus in the conventional
method of hydraulic fracturing, the two unknown val-
ues of Sh and SH are to be determined from the two
measured pressures of Ps and Pr based on the fol-
lowing two equations which define the relationships
between the stresses and the pressures;
Pp is pore pressure inside the fracture before opening.
Nevertheless the data of field tests so far indicate
that the measured reopening pressure lies close to the
shut-in pressure, i.e. Pr = Ps , are far more numerous
than can reasonably be expected (e.g., Evans et al.
1989; Lee & Haimson 1989). Considering here that
the interpretation of Eq. (2) for the shut-in pressure
Ps is supported by various experimental and theoret-
ical works, we should recognize that the measured
reopening pressure does not actually coincide with the
interpretation of Eq. (1) but is basically the same as Ps .
If it is true, we could estimate with hydraulic fractur-
ing only the minimum horizontal stress Sh but not the
maximum horizontal stress SH . We examined such a
paradox in our previous works based on the theoretical
and experimental approaches (Ito et al. 1999, 2005,
2006). We found that (i) independently of the stress
state, the induced vertical fractures actually open at

43

Figure 1. Illustration of a typical hydraulic fracturing sys-
tem showing the volume, Veff , between a flow meter and
fracture mouths which gives rise to wellbore storage both
through fluid compressibility and volume change. The frac-
ture volume is denoted as Vc .
a borehole pressure of Pr0 to be smaller than Sh in
other words Ps , and (ii) due to the effect of hydraulic
compliance of fracturing systems, C, the measured
reopening pressure becomes larger than Pr0 and close
to Ps . However, if the system compliance C can be
reduced small enough, then the measured reopening
pressure approaches Pr0 . The true reopening pressure
Pr0 has relation theoretically to SH and Sh , which is
given by not Eq. (1) but the following equation.
Based on these findings, we came up with a strategy
to estimate SH improving the conventional method.
Namely, we will modify the test equipment as the
system compliance C is so small that its effect on
measurement of Pr becomes negligible, and then we
will estimate SH from the measured value of Pr and
Eq. (3) on condition that Sh can be estimated in the
conventional way.
In this paper, we report our studies carried out to
verify the strategy described above. First, we summa-
rize our interpretation on the discrepancy between the
measured reopening pressure and the true reopening
pressure Pr0 , which is affected by the system com-
pliance C. Next, we present a practical way how to
modify the conventional test equipment appropriately
for the measurement of Pr0 . This modification could
be applied to stress measurement at depths up to 1 km.
We report a field application of the modified test
equipment. Furthermore, we present a new method
which will allow us to do stress measurement at depths
greater than a few km based on the strategy described
above.
44
2 INTERPRETATION FOR PARADOX IN
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
As described in the introduction, incidences where the
measured reopening pressure in field tests lies close to
the shut-in pressure, i.e. Pr = Ps , are far more numer-
ous than can reasonably be expected (e.g., Evans et al.
1989, Lee & Haimson 1989). Based on the theoretical
and experimental approaches (Ito et al. 1999, 2005,
2006), we concluded that in order to explain such a
paradox, we have to take into account of (i) the residual
aperture of the fracture and (ii) the hydraulic compli-
ance of fracturing systems C which corresponds to an
amount of fluid required for raising the fluid pressure
in a test system by a unit magnitude. Both of those fac-
tors were entirely ignored in the conventional theory.
The residual fracture aperture causes pressure penetra-
tion into the fracture prior to its opening. The pressure
penetration is almost wholly transmitted to the fracture
surface since the net area of contact of the two surfaces
is usually a small fraction of their nominal area. Con-
sequently, the third component in Eq. (1) should be
borehole pressure rather than Pp . The borehole pres-
sure at the fracture opening is defined as Pr , and so
substituting Pp with Pr in Eq. (1) yields finally the
expression of Eq. (3) for the true reopening pressure
Pr0 . Thus the effect of including pressure penetration
into the fracture prior to its opening is that it reduces
the reopening pressure by a factor of almost two from
the value expected when using the conventional the-
ory. Note that as can be seen from Eq. (3), Pr0 does
not exceed Ps (=Sh ) regardless of the SH value.
On the other hand, the system compliance C is gen-
erally known as wellbore storage and it is the sum of
three components, C1 , C2 and C3 which are the com-
pliance associated with (i) deformation of flow tubes,
tube connectors and packers etc, (ii) borehole defor-
mation and (iii) fluid compressibility, respectively. The
latter two of C2 and C3 can be expressed as follows;
where R is borehole radius, H is height of test inter-
val, β is fluid compressibility and V is fluid volume
between the flow meter and fracture mouths. This
compliance leads to a noticeable error in detection
of fracture opening. The reopening pressure is usu-
ally detected as the borehole pressure P at which the
P-t curve is seen to deviate from linearity (Fig. 2).
Assuming negligible fluid leakage into a surrounding
rock and negligible pressure gradient in the fracture,
the effect of the fracture opening on the borehole pres-
sure variation can be expressed as follows (Ito et al.
1999):
where dVc is the change in pressurized fluid volume
due to the fracture opening. Since the flow rate Q and

Figure 2. Effect of the system compliance C and fracture
opening on borehole pressure variation.
the system compliance C are constant, Eq. (5) indi-
cates that deviations of the P-t curve from linearity
are governed by changes in the value of dVc /dP and
its relative value with respect to C. That is, prior to
the fracture opening, dVc /dP is zero and the bore-
hole pressure P increases linearly with t. After the
fracture opening, dVc /dP becomes greater than zero,
and the P-t curve will deviate from linearity to some
degree. However, the system compliance C of typical
hydraulic fracturing systems is hundreds of cc/MPa
or more, and that value is far larger than the value
of dVc /dP at the initial stage of fracture opening. As
a result, at the early stage of the fracture opening,
no detectable change occurs on the P-t curve and
P increases continuously as is schematically shown
in Fig. 2. When P finally reaches a level of Sh , the
stress acting normally to the fracture surface becomes
almost equal to or less than the value of Sh anywhere.
Such a balanced stress condition leads to the critical
state where the fracture aperture increases abruptly
with small increment of borehole pressure, where the
detailed discussion on fracture opening behavior can
be found in Ito et al. (1999, 2006). As a result, dVc /
dP becomes considerably large compared with C, and
finally the P-t curve begins to deviate from the initial
linear trend. The same process occurs regardless of
the SH value. This explains why incidences where the
measured (or apparent) reopening pressure coincides
with Ps in other words the minimum stress Sh are so
common as described above. We will denote hereafter
(a)
the apparent reopening pressure as Pr .
3 IMPROVEMENT FOR THE MAXIMUM
STRESS MEASUREMENT
The above explanation on the discrepancy between
(a)
Pr and Pr0 also suggests that if the system compli-
(a)
ance can be small enough, then Pr may approach the
45
Figure 3. Variation of the difference between the apparent
(a)
reopening pressure Pr and the true reopening pressure Pr0
with flow rate as predicted from the simulations (Ito et al.
1999).
true reopening pressure Pr0 , and thereby allowing us
to obtain useful estimates of Pr0 . We evaluated this
possibility using a numerical simulator first (Ito et al.
1999). Figure 3 summarizes variation of the discrep-
(a)
ancy between Pr and Pr0 with flow rate Q and system
compliance C, which was predicted from the numer-
ical simulations assuming a pair of 1 m high vertical
fractures with 2 µm residual hydraulic aperture in a
100 mm-diameter borehole (Ito et al. 1999). The flow
(a)
rate affects Pr only when system compliance is rel-
atively large, and system compliance is obviously the
(a)
primary factor for the discrepancy between Pr and
Pr0 , and the discrepancy declines with reduced system
compliance as expected. However, it may be very hard
to reduce the system compliance C drastically by just
replacing any components of the hydraulic fracturing
system, e.g., replacing a hydraulic tube connecting a
pump and test interval of a straddle packer. We should
remember here that the system compliance C of con-
cern corresponds to an amount of fluid required for
raising the fluid pressure in a fracturing system by
a unit magnitude, and it is associated with the fluid
volume located between the flow meter and the frac-
ture mouth. These facts imply that, if the flow meter
is emplaced as close as possible to a test section of
a borehole isolated by straddle packers, the system
compliance can be reduced drastically. In this case,
it is not a matter of course what kind of tubing, i.e.
drill pipe, flexible tube or steel pipe with small ID,
is used to convey fracturing fluid downhole from a
pump on the surface. To demonstrate this idea, we have
been developing a testing system with a downhole flow
meter.
The latest version of the developed downhole tool is
shown in Figs. 4a and b, which was designed assuming
a borehole of 101 mm and the maximum measurement
depth of about 1 km. The tool length is 4.5 m in total.
The tool consists of a measurement module and a strad-
dle packer module with two inflatable rubber packers
of 880 mm in length spaced apart a distance of 510 mm
Figure 4. (a) The developed downhole tool and (b) its structure. A flow meter is installed in the measurement module.
so that the length of the test interval is 510 mm. A
pump on the ground surface and the tool at downhole
are connected with two flexible hydraulic tubes which
are commonly used for a hydraulic fracturing system
of the wireline type. Each one of those tubes is used
for water injection to pressurize the packer and the test
interval respectively. Pressure and injection flow rates
are measured at downhole by the transducers installed
in the measurement module. Then the measured values
are transmitted through a wireline to a data acquisition
system placed on the ground surface. A digital com-
munication system based on RS-422 is adopted for
transmitting digital data on real time at a sampling
rate of 5 Hz.
We demonstrated the developed system in a field
test. We used a vertical borehole of about 210 m in
depth and 101 mm in diameter, which was drilled from
the ground surface at Tsu, Mie in Japan. The bore-
hole penetrated into granite at the top and bottom of
borehole and diorite at the intermediate depth between
them. We carried out the hydraulic fracturing tests
according to the following procedure. The tool was
lowered on the wireline to a depth, and the two packers
were inflated to isolate a test interval. Packer pressure
was set to be above 20 MPa. The test interval was pres-
surized by water injection from a pump on the ground
surface to induce a pair of vertical fractures, where
the injection rate was kept constant to be about 1200
cc/min at the outlet of the pump. Fracture-reopening
cycles were conducted a few times at the same flow
rate. After the test, the tool was retrieved, and then an
46
orientated impression packer survey was run to detect
geometry and orientation of the induced fracture. As a
result, we succeeded to induce a pair of vertical frac-
tures on the borehole wall at a depth of 132 m as can be
seen from the impression packer record of Fig. 5. Fig-
ures 6a and b show the pressure and injection flow rate
vs. time records at pressurization cycles for the frac-
ture initiation and the subsequent fracture reopening
respectively. In those figures, we plotted the injection
flow rate measured by the downhole meter and also
measured separately by a flow meter placed at the out-
let of the pump on the ground surface. Note that in the
conventional manner of the hydraulic fracturing test,
the injection flow rate is measured only at the pump
outlet.
The flow rate measurement at downhole lets us to
find some strange phenomena which have not been
expected generally so far. As can be seen from Fig. 6a,
the continuous injection was started at 66 seconds, and
tens seconds behind, the downhole pressure began to
increase from hydrostatic level of about 1.2 MPa. How-
ever, the water flow was detected first at 162 seconds
by the downhole flow meter, and at that time, the down-
hole pressure had already reached about 6.1 MPa. This
result suggests that (i) new fractures were created at
6.1 MPa and (ii) the compliance associated with the
fluid volume in the downstream of the flow meter is so
small for the test interval pressure to increase steeply
with a flow rate which is smaller than the lower limit
of measuring range of the transducer, i.e. 28 cc/min.
Furthermore, when the pressure reached peak, the

Figure 5. Impression packer record showing the trace of the
induced vertical fractures on the borehole wall.
Figure 6. Pressure and injection flow rate vs. time records
at pressurization cycles for (a) the fracture initiation and (b)
the subsequent fracture reopening respectively.
pumping was terminated and the pressure decayed
gradually afterwards. Then the flow rate at downhole
decayed not steeply but gradually until venting. Such
a phenomenon suggests that since the pressure within
47
the tubing was higher than the formation pressure, i.e.
1.2 MPa in this case, the water in the tubing flew out
to the test interval and permeated into the surround-
ing formation from the borehole wall and the fracture
surfaces. Similar phenomena appeared at the fracture
reopening cycle as shown in Fig. 6b. The water flow
was detected by the downhole flow meter at 50 seconds
after starting water injection. In order to examine how
the compliance does change with location of the flow
meter, we plotted pressure P vs. accumulated volume
of injection, Vacc , which are estimated from the flow
rate measured by the flow meter placed at the pump
outlet and downhole respectively. The obtained P-Vacc
curves are summarized in Figs. 7a and b. Note that
each figure is plotted with the identical ordinate scale
but that the abscissa scale of Fig. 7a is ten times larger
than that of Fig. 7b. Thus those curves are obviously
different in shape. The compliance can be estimated
as the inverse of the initial slope of P-Vacc curve.
We then found that the compliances are 280 cc/MPa
and 15 cc/MPa for the cases placing the flow meter
at the pump outlet and at downhole respectively. The
improvement to move the flow meter closer to the test
interval allowed us to reduce the compliance by one
19 th in this case. From those two curves of Figs. 7a
(a)
and b, the apparent reopening pressures Pr can be
determined as 5.5 MPa and 3.6 MPa, respectively, and
there is obvious difference between those values. On
the other hand, the shut-in pressure Ps was detected
as 6.4 MPa from the pressure decay curve after stop
pumping by using the dt/dP – P method (Hayashi &
(a)
Haimson 1991). If we assume that the Pr of 3.6 MPa
determined from Fig. 7b represents the true reopening
pressure Pr0 , the maximum and minimum horizontal
stresses of SH and Sh can be estimated as SH = 12 MPa
and Sh = 6.4 MPa using Eqs. (2) and (3).
4 A NEW CONCEPT APPLICABLE FOR
STRESS MEASUREMENT AT DEEP DEPTH
In order to achieve a stress measurement deeper than
1 km, such a modification described above is still not
sufficient, and therefore the following factors need to
be addressed.
(i) The stress measurement at deep depths cannot
be done of course without deep boreholes. Deep
boreholes generally have a large diameter, and
accordingly the fracturing system is large as well.
The large size of the fracturing system generally
leads to an increase in the system compliance.
(ii) For monitoring and recording both the flow
rate and pressure during tests by the transducer
installed at the top of the straddle packers, the
transducers should be connected with a data acqui-
sition system placed on the surface by wires. To
do this, it is appropriate to convey the fracturing
system via boreholes on a wireline. The use of the
wireline is also effective to save the time for the
tool running in boreholes. However, as the depth

Figure 7. Plots of pressure vs accumulated volume of injec-
tion Vacc for the fracture reopening cycle of Fig. 6b. The Vacc
is estimated from flow rate measured by (a) the flow meter at
the pump outlet and (b) that at downhole.
of a stress measurement increases, a risk of the
tool getting stuck in the boreholes becomes higher
steeply. From the view point of cost, such a risk
weighs heavily on the cost benefit of using the
wireline. Consequently, in the case of deep mea-
surement, it has been limited to use wireline tools
in open hole sections just beneath casing shoes,
or the straddle packers have been conveyed on a
drill pipe. However, the use of the drill pipe makes
it hard to arrange the wires connecting the down-
hole transducers and the surface data acquisition
system.
Taking those points into account, we proposed a new
method as schematically shown in Fig. 8 (Ito et al.,
2006, 2007). We call this method the Baby Borehole
Hydrofracturing or BABHY for short. In this method,
it is assumed that the drill string containing a wireline
retrievable core barrel assembly has been set in the
borehole. There should be two assemblies which are
(i) a wireline-retrievable coring system with a thin-
kerf core bit driven by a mud motor, and (ii) a wireline
tool containing straddle packers, an impression packer,
two pumps used for fracturing and inflating packers
48
respectively, two tanks of fluid for pumping, a compass
for detecting tool orientation and a thermometer. The
assemblies (i) and (ii) are referred to as the mud motor
coring system and the Deep Rock StressTester (DRST)
respectively. Each of them is conveyed through a drill
string on a wireline, while the outer barrel remains
at the bottom of the borehole. The mud motor coring
system is used to drill an additional hole of several
tens of a millimeter in diameter and a few meters in
length at the bottom of the original borehole, and the
in-situ test of hydraulic fracturing is carried out in the
additional hole by using the DRST.
The procedure for the BABHY method is more
complicated than the conventional test for hydraulic
fracturing, and it may not be an effective applica-
tion for shallow depths in general cases. Nevertheless,
using a drill string as a pathway for conveying and
protecting tools will contribute greatly to avoiding the
risk of trouble occurring in the boreholes such as the
tools getting stuck. This will be beneficial for applica-
tion at deep depths and/or in relatively unstable open
holes. Less risk of trouble in the boreholes allows us
to reduce the annular area between the packers and the
boreholes in the tool design, and then the smaller annu-
lar area allows us to reduce more easily the effect of the
packer on the system compliance C, which occupies a
considerable ratio of C. Furthermore, it can be easily
determined after inspecting the core of the baby hole
that the test section is free from pre-existing fractures.
Then the packer tool can be adjusted as the pressurized
interval is used to locate the optimal test section.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The measured reopening pressure in field tests lies
close to the shut-in pressure are far more numerous
than can reasonably be expected. In order to explain
this phenomenon, we have to take into account of (i) the
residual aperture of the fracture and (ii) the hydraulic
compliance of fracturing systems which corresponds
to an amount of fluid required for raising the fluid pres-
sure in a test system by a unit magnitude. Both of those
factors were entirely ignored in the conventional the-
ory. The effect of including pressure penetration into
the fracture prior to its opening due to the residual aper-
ture is that it reduces the reopening pressure by a factor
of almost two from the value expected when using the
conventional theory. If the system compliance can be
small enough, then the apparent reopening pressure
(a)
Pr may approach the true reopening pressure Pr0 , and
thereby allowing us to obtain useful estimates of Pr0 .
Then, if the flow meter is emplaced as close as possible
to a test section of a borehole isolated by straddle pack-
ers, the system compliance can be reduced drastically.
In this case, it is not a matter of course what kind of tub-
ing, i.e. drill pipe, flexible tube or steel pipe with small
ID, is used to convey fracturing fluid downhole from a
pump on the surface. To demonstrate this idea, we have
been developing a testing system with a downhole flow
meter. The latest version of the developed downhole
Figure 8. The proposed new strategy, BABHY, to achieve stress measurements by hydraulic fracturing at depths more than
1 km, and its procedures. The procedure consists of three parts as follows; (i–iv): drilling the baby hole, (v–viii): in-situ test
of hydraulic fracturing, and (ix): extending the mother hole to get the big core and retrieving.
tool was designed assuming a borehole of 101 mm
and the maximum measurement depth of about 1 km.
The tool length is 4.5 m in total. We demonstrated the
developed system in a field test successfully. Finally,
we presented a new method which will allow us to do
stress measurement at depths greater than a few km.
This method will contribute toward avoiding the risk
of trouble occurring in a borehole such as the tool get-
ting stuck. This will be beneficial for application at
deep depths and/or in relatively unstable open holes.
REFERENCES
Evans, K.F., Engelder, T. & Plumb, R.A. 1989. Appalachian
stress study 1. A detailed description of in-situ stress vari-
ations in Devonian shales of the Appalachian plateau.
J. Geophys. Res. 94: 7129–7154.
Hayashi, K. & Haimson, B.C. 1991. Characteristics of shut-
in curves in hydraulic fracturing stress measurements
and determination from hydraulic injection test data.
J. Geophys Res. 96: 18311–18321.
Ito, T., Evans, K., Kawai, K. & Hayashi, K. 1999. Hydraulic
fracture reopening pressure and the estimation of max-
imum horizontal stress. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. &
Geomech. Abstr. 36: 811–826.
49
Ito, T., Igarashi, A., Ito, H. & Sano, O. 2005. Problem for the
,maximum stress estimation by hydrofracturing method
and its potential solution. Proc. US Rock Mech. Symp.,
Anchorage: ARMA/USRMS 05-862 (CD-ROM).
Ito, T., Igarashi, A., Ito, H. & Sano, O. 2006. Crucial effect
of system compliance on the maximum stress estima-
tion in hydrofracturing method: Theoretical consideration
and field test verification. Earth Planet and Space 58:
963–971.
Ito, T., Omura, K. & Ito, H. 2007. BABHY – A new strategy of
hydrofracturing for deep stress measurements. Scientific
Drilling, Special Issue No.1: 113–116.
Ito, T., Omura, K.,Yamamoto, K., Ito, H., Tanaka, H., Harumi,
K. & Karino, Y. 2008. A new strategy of hydrofracturing
for deep stress measurements, BABHY, and its application
to a field test. Proc. of the 42nd US Rock Mech. Symp.,
San Francisco: ARMA 08-294 (CD-ROM).
Lee, M.Y. & Haimson, B.C. 1989. Statistical evaluation of
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A hybrid method for constraining the in situ stress regime

in deep vertical holes

B.C. Haimson
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Geological Engineering Program,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

ABSTRACT: A hybrid method for constraining all three principal in situ stresses and their directions around
vertical boreholes at great depths is described. It involves hydraulic fracturing tests for estimating the minimum
horizontal stress and its direction. The vertical stress is computed from the weight of the overlying strata. In order
to estimate the maximum horizontal stress additional field and laboratory efforts are employed. Geophysical
logging using such tools as the Borehole Televiewer or the Formation Micro Imager captures oriented images of
borehole breakouts, from which breakout span as it varies with depth is obtained. Laboratory tests of core samples
in a polyaxial cell render the true triaxial strength criterion of the rock. Using the condition of limit equilibrium
between the local state of stress at the edges of breakout-borehole wall intersections and the strength criterion, a
non linear equation emerges from which the maximum horizontal principal stress is derived, thus completing the
estimation of the prevailing state of stress. Two field case histories are described in which the hybrid method was
used: the KTB, Germany scientific ultra deep hole, and the Taiwan Chelungpu Fault Drilling Project (TCDP).

1 INTRODUCTION 2 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is the most common method
of estimating the state of in situ stress around verti-
cal holes at great depths. In such holes HF typically
induces vertical fractures. Correct analysis of pressure
vs. time records and of any of the available frac-
ture delineation logging techniques leads to reliable
estimations of the least horizontal stress σh and its
direction (Haimson & Fairhurst, 1970, Haimson &
Cornet, 2003).
However, there is considerable controversy regard-
ing the accuracy of the maximum horizontal stress
σH as derived from the classical interpretation of HF
recorded data, especially where tests are conducted at
great depths (Rutqvist et al, 2000, Ito et al, 1997).
An alternative approach to estimating σH was origi-
nally proposed by Vernik & Zoback (1992). It involved
borehole breakout span and a theoretical true triax-
ial strength criterion (Wiebols & Cook, 1968), which
required some rational guesses of needed material
parameters.
At the University of Wisconsin, we designed and
fabricated a true triaxial apparatus, which enables us
to amend the Vernik & Zoback method by replacing
the theoretical strength criterion with an experiment-
based one (Haimson and Chang, 2002). In this paper
we describe the hybrid method for deriving σH in
some detail, and report on two case histories related to
stress estimation around deep scientific boreholes. In
each case the complete state of stress was constrained
using a combination of hydraulic fracturing, borehole
breakout logging, and true triaxial testing.
It is reasonable to assume, based on Newton’s law of
universal gravitation, that the state of stress at depth
normally consists of one vertical principal stress (σv )
and two horizontal principal stresses (σh and σH ).
This is especially true if the measurement is done at
depths unaffected by topographic relief and at loca-
tions undisturbed by geological structures such as
igneous intrusions, or mineral veins.
The vertical stress component, owing to gravity, can
be estimated as:
where ρ is the average mass density of the superin-
cumbent rock, g is gravitational acceleration, and D is
the depth of the measurement in meters.
The principal horizontal stress components, how-
ever, can only be reliably estimated through testing.
The most common method for depths exceed-
ing several tens of meters is hydraulic fracturing
(Haimson & Fairhurst, 1970, Haimson & Cornet,
2003). Haimson & Cornet describe in detail the HF
test procedure, and will not be repeated here. The HF
test yields two critical pressures: breakdown (Pb ) and
shut-in (Ps ). The first relates to the critical pressure
when the fracture is induced. The fracture is tensile,
and provided the rock is approximately isotropic, will
initiate and extend along a path of least resistance, i.e.
perpendicular to the minimum horizontal in situ stress
(σh ) direction. The shut-in pressure is that recorded
upon the closure of the hydraulic fracture. The shut-in

51
pressure is taken as that necessary to just counteract
the stress component normal to the vertical hydraulic
fracture (σh ):

Thus, if the orientation of the hydraulic fracture

can be determined (typically by oriented impression
packer or by one of available borehole geophysical
logs), hydraulic fracturing provides a reliable estimate
of the least horizontal principal stress and its direction.
The vertical stress can be computed using eq. (1), so
the only unknown left to complete the solution for the
entire in situ stress state is the maximum horizontal
stress (σH ).
If the induced hydraulic fracture is horizontal, the
shut in pressure will then be equal to σv , provid- Figure 1. Borehole cross section showing a breakout and its
ing independent verification of eq. (1), but supplying angular span (2θb ).
only a qualitative evaluation of the principal horizontal
stresses, namely that both are larger than σv . principal stresses at θ = θb are typically (Haimson &
Proceeding with the more common case, in which Chang, 2002):
the induced fracture is vertical, and avoiding the con-
troversy regarding the ability of the HF method, as
commonly used, to assess reliably the magnitude of
The state of stress given by eq. 3 is expected to
the maximum horizontal principal stress (see Introduc-
be equal to the rock compressive strength. Vernik &
tion above), a hybrid method was devised, originally by
Zoback (1992) showed, however, that using the ubiq-
Vernik & Zoback (1992) and modified by Haimson &
uitous Mohr-Coulomb criterion leads to unreasonable
Chang (2002). The method is described in the next
results. This criterion is obtained from conventional
section.
axisymmetric triaxial tests in which the intermediate
and least principal stresses are equal (σ2 = σ3 ). The
state of stress at points B or B’ is highly differential,
3 THE HYBRID METHOD
i.e. σ2 is typically substantially greater than σ3 . Hence,
Mohr-Coulomb is not a good representative of the
The alternative method for evaluating the magnitude of
stress condition, and a true triaxial strength criterion
σH is based on the rational assumption that breakouts
is required.
are failed zones resulting from excessive tangential
At the University of Wisconsin a true triaxial test-
compressive stress concentration around the borehole
ing apparatus was fabricated that enables prismatic
along two diametrically opposed zones perpendicu-
rectangular rock samples to be tested to failure when
lar to the in situ maximum horizontal stress direction
subjected to a wide range of unequal three principal
(Figure 1). Points B or B’ on a cross section of the
stresses (Haimson & Chang, 2000). In order to sim-
borehole wall (Figure 1) are at the boundary between
ulate field conditions in which the borehole wall is
solid rock on the outside of the breakout and failed
subjected to σ3 in the form of Pw (eq. 4), the least
rock inside. Hence, the boundary is in a state of limit
principal stress is applied by fluid pressure directly to
equilibrium between the local stress condition and the
the respective exposed faces of the rock sample. One
criterion of compressive failure.
best fitting criterion of strength based on extensive
The state of stress at the points B or B’ on the bore-
tests covering a wide range of σ3 and σ2 magnitudes
hole wall, where θ = θb , in terms of the far-field in
is expressed as a monotonically rising function in the
situ stresses is given by the Kirsch solution amended
domain first suggested by Nadai (1950; also Haimson
to include the effect of fluid pressure Pw in the borehole
& Chang, 2002, Haimson et al, 2010):
(Haimson and Chang, 2002):

where σθ , σz , and σr are the tangential, vertical and

radial stresses, respectively, at θ = θb expressed in
polar coordinates. (Note that eqs. 3 are identical for
either total stresses or for effective stresses σeff , where In defining τoct and σoct the principal stresses were
σeff = σi – pore pressure). The relative magnitudes of converted to those at point B or B’. The function f1 has

52
been found to commonly be a power function that can
often be linearized with little loss of accuracy.
The solution for the only unknown variable, σH , is
derived by substituting σθ , σr , and σz in eq. 5 with their
expressions from eqs. 3 and θ = θb . This leads to the
relationship:

whereγ = −2(σh − σH ) cos 2θb , and 2θb is the break-

out angular span on the borehole wall (Figure 1). The
angle 2θb is obtained from geophysical logs (Brudy
et al, 1997); the Poisson’s ratio ν comes from labora-
tory index tests. The magnitude of σH can be computed
as it varies throughout the range of depths in the
borehole where breakouts are detected and logged.
In some cases an even better fitting strength cri-
terion is obtained by modifying Nadai’s to (Mogi,
1971):

Figure 2. Breakout orientation and angular span averaged

every 50 m throughout the KTB amphibolite section (after
Brudy et al., 1997).

Again, a power function f2 appears to best fit the 4 THE KTB ULTRA DEEP BOREHOLE
experimental data, but often a linear function is also
acceptable. In this case the criterion in terms of expres- The German Continental Deep Drilling Program
sions for its variables taken from eq. 3 leads to the (KTB) was initiated in 1987 near the town of Windis-
following relationship from which σH is derived: cheschenbach, Bavaria, in order to study the structure
and evolution of the Mid-European Variscan crust
(Hirschmann, 1994). The Program included drilling
a 4000 m pilot hole and a 9100 m main hole, fol-
lowed by extensive logging and testing. It was found
that the lithology consisted of three major units: foli-
ated paragneisses from surface to 3200 m, massive
amphibolite from 3200 m to 7800 m, and variegated
sequences of gneisses and amphibolites from 7800 m
The relationships 6 and 8 are non-linear in terms
to the final depth of 9100 m (Hirschmann, 1994). The
of σH , the only unknown. Newton’s numerical method
initial measurement of the in situ stress was carried out
(Hoffman, 1992, p. 97–101) can be used to compute
using hydraulic fracturing at depths between 800 and
σH from either of the two equations.
3000 m in the pilot hole (Baumgärtner et al., 1990).
Equations 1, 2, and 6 (or 8) yield the three in situ
In the main hole, only two hydraulic fracturing tests
principal stresses magnitudes as they vary with depth.
were performed, at 6000 and 9000 m depth (Engeser
The directions of the principal horizontal stresses are
et al., 1993; Zoback and Harjes, 1997). Difficulties
estimated from the azimuth of the induced hydraulic
related to the great depth, temperature, and borehole
fracture or that of the logged borehole breakouts. A
diameter, enabled only the estimation of the minimum
variety of available tools, such as oriented impression
horizontal in situ stress σh .
packers (Haimson, 1978), borehole televiewer (Brudy
The magnitude of σh as it varies with depth within
et al, 1997), or formation micro imager (Lin et al, 2010)
the amphibolite zone, based on the hydraulic fracturing
can be employed to capture the position and orientation
tests, was estimated at:
of such features on the borehole wall. The maximum
horizontal stress direction is aligned with the plane of
the induced fracture, and perpendicular to the bore-
hole diameter connecting the centers of the opposed
breakouts. where D is depth (in meters).

53
Figure 3. True triaxial strength criterion of unjacketed KTB
amphibolite in terms of octahedral shear and normal stresses.
The in situ vertical stress σv was computed from the
average density of the overburden:
Borehole fluid pressure Pw was calculated from the
density of the drilling mud used in the hole:
In addition, breakout angular spans at the borehole
wall (2θb in Figure 1) were logged between 3200 and
6800 m depth in the amphibolite (Figure 2). They
were found to average 40◦ (±7◦ ) between 3200 m and
6000 m, but increased considerably (53◦ –93◦ ) in the
6000–6800 m range (Brudy et al., 1997). The orien-
tation of the logged breakouts (corresponding to σh
direction) was found to be uniform at N10◦W–N30◦W.
The strength criterion for the amphibolite was found
to be best represented by a Nadai-type criterion (eq. 5)
expressed as a linear function (Figure 3; Haimson and
Chang, 2002):
Inserting the amphibolite strength criterion in eq. 6
leads to:
Substituting in eq. 13 the values of σh , σv , Pw ,
and 2θb (every 50 m) from eqs. 9–11 and Figure 2,
a non linear relationship was obtained in terms of
one unknown: σH . The solution shows that within the
depth range of 3200 to 6000 m σH increases with depth
approximately linearly (Figure 4):
54
Figure 4. Variation of the computed σH with depth within
the amphibolite section of the KTB hole, using the hybrid
method.
As displayed in that Figure the computed maxi-
mum horizontal stress indicates a strike-slip regime
throughout the amphibolite region, and supports pre-
vious findings by Brudy et al (1997). In the interval
6000-6800 m the breakout spans were very large giv-
ing rise to large σH magnitudes, probably a result of
borehole wall partial collapse.
5 THE TCDP HOLE
The Taiwan Chelungpu-fault Drilling Project (TCDP)
was undertaken in order to conduct extensive stud-
ies of the thrust fault zone that hosted the disastrous
1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Two vertical boreholes were
drilled during 2004–2005 (holes A and B) in west-
central Taiwan, north of the epicenter of the earth-
quake, and in an area where up to 10 m surface slip
had occurred. The two holes, 40 m apart and con-
tinuously cored, penetrated the fault at approximately
1111 m in hole A, and at 1136 m in hole B, and reached
final depths of 2003 m and 1350 m, respectively. A
major objective of the TCDP was to determine the
post-earthquake state of stress across the fault.
The vertical stress was calculated from the average
density of the overlying rock (Hung et al, 2007):
The least horizontal stress (σh ), was estimated from
hydraulic fracturing tests conducted in hole B in which
fracture orientation was not determined (Hung et al,
Figure 5. True triaxial strength criterion of unjacketed
TCDP siltstone in terms of octahedral shear stress as a
function of the mean normal stress acting on the plane of
failure.
2007). Four tests were carried out but only two were
considered successful, at 1085 and 1279 m depth, both
in the Chinshui Formation and straddling the sub-
horizontal fault at 1136 m (Haimson et al, 2010). The
signature of the pressure-time records for these two
tests were typical of those corresponding to horizontal
hydraulic fractures. Such fractures are expected when
the least principal stress is vertical, as in the case of
the Chelungpu thrust fault. The actual shut-in pressure
magnitudes were estimated at:
These pressures were only 9% and 2%, respectively,
lower than the calculated vertical stresses at the cor-
responding depths. Since fracture attitudes were not
known, it was assumed that they were vertical; despite
the strong suspicion that in fact they could be hori-
zontal (the above percentages are probably within the
error margin of the measurements). Thus, eqs. 16 were
taken as representing σh . Assuming a linear increase
with depth between 1085 and 1279, σh can be rep-
resented within that depth range by (Haimson et al,
2010):
The borehole fluid pressure Pw at the borehole wall
varies with depth (Hung et al, 2007) as:
Principal stress directions were determined from
breakout orientation (Lin et al, 2007):
55
Figure 6. Breakout angular span averaged every 1 m
throughout the siltstone in hole B, TCDP.
which is in accord with regional tectonic stress direc-
tions (Heidbach et al, 2008).
The only unknown stress component was the max-
imum in situ horizontal stress (σH ). As in the case of
KTB, the hybrid method relating the stress condition
at the extremities of the logged breakout to the true
triaxial strength criterion was employed in order to
constrain σH .
True triaxial compressive tests simulating stress
conditions at the borehole wall on core made available
from 1251.3–1252.5 m in hole A, were conducted in
the University of Wisconsin polyaxial cell. The emerg-
ing criterion of failure was represented in the Nadai
domain as:
with a correlation coefficient R = 0.872, reflecting
some scatter.
In the modified Nadai domain (Mogi, 1971), the
criterion reads:
with a correlation coefficient R of 0.974, indicating
considerably less scatter than eq. 20 (Fig 5). This cri-
terion was selected as representing the siltstone true
triaxial strength.

Figure 7. Variation of the computed σH with depth between
1085 and 1312 m, TCDP, using the hybrid method. Also
shown are the two shut-in pressures assumed equal to σh
(filled black circles).
Assuming that the state of stress at the breakout-
borehole intersection point B or B’ is at the failure
initiation level, it is equal to the siltstone true triaxial
strength criterion. The stress condition at θ = θb on
the borehole perimeter in terms of the far-field in situ
stresses is given in eqs. 3, and it remains unchanged
whether total or effective stresses are involved. Thus,
by substituting σθ , σz , and σr in eq. 21 with their expres-
sions in eqs. 3, a relationship is derived in terms of the
far-field principal stresses in which the only unknown
is σH :
The magnitudes of σv , σh , and Pw are known from
eqs. 15, 17, and 18, respectively. The logged borehole-
breakout angular span, 2θb , as measured on an FMI
log are plotted in Figure 6. The Poisson’s ratio (ν) of
the siltstone was determined in the laboratory from
uniaxial compression tests to be 0.20.
Substituting the values of σh , σv , Pw , ν and 2θb
at any given depth into eq. 22, a non-linear relation-
ship was obtained from which σH was derived using
56
the Newton’s numerical method (Hoffman, 1992,
p. 97–101). The procedure was repeated at every 1.0-m
depth where the breakout span was logged.
The solution for σH as it varies with depth is
obtained from the linear regression of individual mag-
nitudes at the levels where breakouts were logged
(1085 and 1279 m):
Figure 7 presents the state of in situ stress along hole
B between 1085 and 1310 m post Chi-Chi earthquake.
Although the correlation coefficient (R) is poor (0.43)
because of the wide scatter in the breakout angular in
the shallower zone, but the trend is unmistakable.
The uncertainty in the computed σH magnitude is
estimated at ± 10% owing to inaccuracies in mea-
suring the breakout span in the FMI logs, and in
interpolating individual σh magnitudes from the two
shut-in pressures recorded in the field tests. Neverthe-
less, σH is by far the maximum principal in situ stress,
while the two other principal stresses are nearly equal,
suggesting a strike-slip regime bordering on a thrust
fault regime.
6 DISCUSSION
The hybrid method of in situ stress measurements
described here is an alternative to relying solely on
hydraulic fracturing and the unresolved quandary
regarding the reliability of the σH determination. The
hybrid method is relatively cumbersome in that it
involves the conditions that breakouts develop in the
test hole, that they are not affected by excessively
heavy drill mud, that they are successfully logged,
that hydraulic fracturing or its oil-field equivalent
“leak-off” tests are conducted to yield σh and fracture
orientation, and that core segments are tested for their
true triaxial strength in the laboratory. Nevertheless the
hybrid method is essential when independent estimate
of σH is required and funding for field and laboratory
testing is available. The method has been used so far
only in international scientific projects, such as KTB
and TCDP. Because of costs and effort involved, this
method is not recommended for routine stress mea-
surements, like the ones conducted in relation to the
design of underground caverns. The method is suitable
for major scientific projects, where deep vertical holes
are carefully logged, and access to true triaxial testing
machines is readily available.
7 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper a hybrid method for estimating the state
of in situ stress in vertical boreholes is described.
It involves conducting hydraulic fracturing tests for
establishing the minimum horizontal stress and its
direction, logging of borehole breakout span, and
determining the true triaxial strength of the core, all
for the purpose of estimating the maximum hori-
zontal stress. The method is recommended for major
scientific deep-drilling projects, where an alternative
way of determining the maximum horizontal stress is
required.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The development of the true triaxial cell and of the
hybrid method of in situ stress measurements was sup-
ported by a National Science Foundation grant no.
EAR-9418738. Graduate students Chandong Chang
and Haruyuki Oku performed the laboratory experi-
ments reported here.
REFERENCES
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depth in the KTB pilot hole Vb, Ktb Rep. 90-6a,
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ner, J..1997. Estimation of the complete stress tensor to 8
km depth in the KTB scientific drill holes: implications
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muth, L. 1993. The 6000 m hydrofrac test in the KTB
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Modelling the effect of injection system compressibility and viscous fluid

flow on hydraulic fracture breakdown pressure

A.P. Bunger
CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering, Melbourne, Australia

A. Lakirouhani
Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran

E. Detournay
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

ABSTRACT: Estimating the maximum stress in a rock mass based on hydraulic fracturing data typically
depends on identification of the breakdown and/or secondary breakdown (“reopening”) pressure. Errors in this
estimate can be attributed to injection system compressibility, coupled viscous fluid flow in the hydraulic fracture,
and crack growth through the varying stress field surrounding a wellbore. The role of these mechanisms has not
been well-quantified. Here, a coupled numerical model that includes the compressibility of the injection system
and the flow of a viscous fluid in a plane-strain hydraulic fracture extending from a wellbore in the presence of a
non-isotropic in situ stress field provides a basic tool for estimating the order of the error associated with analysis
of the breakdown pressure under non-ideal conditions. The result is model-based guidelines on the values of
relevant dimensionless parameter groups to ensure sufficient accuracy, and when these guidelines cannot be
met under field conditions, the model can be further applied to obtain first order corrections that account for
compressibility, viscosity, and near-wellbore effects.

1 INTRODUCTION

Hydraulic fracturing from a vertical wellbore is a

widely-used method for determining in situ stress
(Haimson & Fairhurst 1970; Zoback & Haimson
1982; Haimson 1989; Sano et al., 2005). The mini-
mum horizontal stress σh is typically determined from
an estimate of the wellbore pressure at which the
hydraulic fracture is taken to close under shut-in or
flowback conditions. It is broadly considered the more
accurately-determined of the stress components when
hydraulic fracturing is used. Determining the maxi-
mum horizontal stress σH , on the other hand, requires
one to reopen pre-existing fractures with different
orientations, the HTPF test (Cornet 1993), or when
the HTPF is not practical, analysis of the breakdown
and/or reopening pressure is required. In this latter case
a multitude of ambiguities arise to the point that analy-
sis of breakdown pressure for in situ stress estimation
is often considered unreliable.
Two classical equations for analyzing breakdown
pressure pb in impermeable rocks are due to Hubbert &
Willis (1957) (H-W),
and Haimson & Fairhurst (1967) (H-F)
where σt is the tensile strength,
The first apparent ambiguity, the factor of 2 differ-
ence between the H-W criterion and the H-F criterion,
was resolved through the introduction of a finite-
length flaw from which fracture growth initiated (Ito &
Hayashi 1991; Detournay & Cheng 1992; Garagash &
Detournay 1997). In this way it was clarified that the
H-W and H-F criteria represent the end member cases
of fast pressurization (no fluid penetration) and slow
pressurization (full fluid penetration and uniformly
pressurized flaw), respectively. The introduction of a
finite flaw extending from the wellbore makes explicit
what is implicit in a tensile strength based criterion in
rocks: flaws exist in the material. Here we extend this
approach, considering hydraulic fracture growth from
the initial state of a small crack emanating from the
wellbore that is filled with fluid that is just above the
minimum in situ stress σh . Hydraulic fracture growth
is simulated using a coupled model that includes the
injection system compressibility and viscous fluid
flow to track hydraulic fracture growth after initial
crack extension.
The same approach can naturally be used to analyze
situations characterized by multiple cycles of injection

59
and shut-in, as each new injection corresponds to
a new longer “initial” crack length. In that context,
the question arises on whether a “breakdown” can be
observed on subsequent injection phases and what is
the meaning of the observed “breakdown" pressure.
Furthermore, the issue of interpreting the reopening
pressure pr , operationally defined as the magnitude
of the borehole pressure at which the pressure-time
record departs from linearity, has also been the sub-
ject of much debate. Bredehoeft et al. (1976) proposed
to use Equation 1 with σt = 0 as the reopening cri-
terion (with the assumption that σH < 3σh , as the
fracture would otherwise be already open before injec- Figure 1. Sketch of the problem.
tion begins). On the other hand, Ito et al. (1999) argue
that Equation 2 with σt = 0 is the appropriate criterion a in an impermeable linear elastic rock characterized
on account that a fracture has a residual aperture when by Young’s modulus E, Poisson’s ratio ν, and frac-
closed, which allows the crack to be uniformly pressur- ture toughness KIc (Fig. 1). This follows the problem
ized before it reopens, provided that the injection rate considered by Lakirouhani et al. (2010). Because of
is small enough. However, the dependance on the sys- symmetry, the equations are formulated for the right
tem parameters of this threshold injection rate, below hand crack only, i.e. on a ≤ x ≤ (t) + a, for fracture
which Equation 2 with σt = 0 is the relevant reopen- length (t). Solving the problem entails determining
ing criterion, has not been fully investigated. Finally, (t), as well as the opening w(x, t), the fluid pres-
as pointed out by Ito et al. (1999), the reopening pres- sure distribution in the fracture pf (x, t), and the fluid
sure is influenced by the hydraulic compliance of the flux q(x, t). These quantities are firstly related by the
injection system. elasticity equation
A final aim is to clarify another significant point of
ambiguity in interpretation of breakdown pressure pb ,
that is, the fact that pb is, in general, greater than the
pressure at which crack growth initiates pi . Detour-
nay & Carbonell (1997) predict that pb ≥ pi based
on analysis of the limit-equilibrium curves, which is
essentially the variation of the stress intensity factor,
for a plane strain crack emanating from a circular well-
bore. This prediction was confirmed experimentally where the elasticity kernel H(x, s, a) implicitly
by Zhao et al. (1996), who show consistency of their accounts for the borehole (Dundurs & Mura 1964).
results with the prediction that pb = pi for σh = σH Also, E
= E/(1−ν2 ) is the plane strain elastic mod-
and pb > pi for σh < σH . Ito et al. (1997) also pre- ulus, and pw (t) = pf (0, t) is the fluid pressure in the
dict pb > pi , but for a different reason, which is the wellbore.
compressibility of the injection system. A third con- The second relation among q, pf , w, and is
tributing factor to the pb > pi issue, as was shown by provided by consideration of laminar flow of an
Lakirouhani et al. (2008), is the coupling of the com- incompressible Newtonian fluid in the fracture so that
pressible system with the viscous fluid flow. While all the fluid flux q is given according to the Poiseuille
of these mechanisms have been predicted to play a role, equation
their effect on interpretation of breakdown pressure in
the context of hydraulic fracture stress measurement
has not be quantified. Hence, the present contribu-
tion makes use of the algorithm briefly presented by
Lakirouhani et al. (2008) and detailed by Lakirouhani where µ
= 12µ for dynamic viscosity µ. Note that the
et al. (2010) to model hydraulic fracture initiation and injection system is compressible, as described below,
breakdown with the purpose of quantifying the role but we consider that the compressibility of the fluid
of the near wellbore stress field, the compressibility of does not contribute to Equation 4 nor to the third
the injection system, and viscous fluid flow on both governing equation, the local continuity equation
the breakdown and reopening pressure.

2 MATHEMATICAL MODEL Fourthly, we need a moving boundary equation

governing (t), given here from linear elastic frac-
2.1 Problem description and governing equations ture mechanics (LEFM) under the requirement that
We consider the plane strain propagation of two sym- KI = KIc , where KI is the mode I stress intensity fac-
metrical fractures transverse to a wellbore with radius tor and KIc is the mode I fracture toughness. The

60
LEFM propagation condition can be expressed as the
asymptotic condition on the crack tip opening
√
where K
= KIc 32/π.
Two boundary conditions are given by homoge-
neous conditions on the opening and fluid flux at the
crack tip
A third boundary condition involves, on account of
the compressibility of the injection system, a linear
relationship between the influx of fluid into the crack
and the rate of change of the borehole pressure,
dimensionless parameters (-Theorem, e.g. Baren-
blatt (1996)). Here we choose a particular scaling of
the problem that is convenient for the numerical solu-
tion method. In particular, we look for a scaling with
a fixed spatial coordinate, as opposed to a moving or
stretching coordinate system, i.e. a stretching coordi-
nate system would result if x were to be scaled by
(t). We also seek to put time dependence in a single
dimensionless evolution parameter. Finally, it is best
if this scaling has some properties that intuitively aid
interpretation of the results.
To this end, let L be a characteristic length, i.e.
γ = /L for dimensionless length γ. We choose it as
the length at which the volume of the crack Vcrack is
similar to the volume of fluid stored in the compress-
ible injection system Vcomp . For a crack with a uniform
net pressure pw − σh , Vcrack ∼ (pw − σh )L2 /E
. As dis-
cussed in Section 2.1, Vcomp = (pw − σh )U . Equating
the two we find

where H (t) is the Heaviside unit step function. Here we

see that net fluid injected (per unit fracture height along
the wellbore axis) is comprised of the fluid that is being
injected at a constant rate Qo minus the portion of this
fluid that is stored in the compressible injection sys-
tem U ∂pw /∂t, where U is the volumetric compliance
of the injection system per unit height of the fracture
along the wellbore axis. If most of the injection system
compressibility is considered to be due to compression
of the volume of fluid in the system prior to injection
commencing, then U ≈ Cf Vo , where Cf is the fluid
compressibility and Vo is the injection system volume
per unit height of the fracture along the wellbore axis.
Note that the factor 1/2 in Equation 8 reflects the fact
that only the right half of the problem is considered.
The problem formulation is completed by the initial
conditions
Alternatively, because of the linearity of the system,
this characteristic length could be understood as the
length of the crack at which the crack compressibility
is similar to that of the injection system. It is then
straightforward to show that the approximate time to
reach characteristic length L under injection at rate
Qo is
If the pressure in the crack is approximated w − σh ,
by p√
√
LEFM predicts pw − σh ∼ K
/ L and w ∼ K
L/E
.
A sensible scaling for numerical modelling is thus
given by

for initial notch length o . Here ps is a small initial

net pressure assumed to initially be in the fracture.
Algorithmically it is necessary because the solution
must start with some small initial opening. Physically
it is a small overpressure relative to the minimum stress
σh that is assumed to have existed for long enough to
have penetrated the initial notch.

2.2 Scaling which are related by the scaled governing equations

Application of scaling methods to produce a dimen-
sionless form of the governing equations allows one to
reduce the dimensionality of the problem’s parametric
space by considering only independent dimensionless
parameter groups. In this problem, assuming that the
initial small pressure ps does not affect the results
provided that is it sufficiently small, we have 3 inde-
pendent dimensions (i.e. Force, Length, Time) and 10
independent variables (x, t, a, U , K
, µ
, E
, σd , σh , o ).
Hence we need consider at most 7 independent

61
with initial/boundary conditions

and where

Note that in the following calculations the initial

conditions are taken with initial pressure s = 0.01.
Hence, the solution {γ, ,
, } is a function of ξ, τ,
three numbers {A, M, D}, and the initial notch length Figure 2. Evolution of dimensionless crack length γ (top)
γo . In this scaling, when γ and τ are small, L and
therefore compressibility effects are strong. The effect
of compressibility then vanishes as γ and τ go to infin-
ity. The parameter D embodies the importance of the
deviatoric stress, which, as shown by Lakirouhani et al.
(2010), diminishes with time and vanishes as γ and τ
go to infinity. The parameter M is a dimensionless
viscosity that determines the relative importance of
viscous flow throughout the propagation of the crack.
Finally, A compares the size of the wellbore radius
to the characteristic length L. Hence, A 1 ⇔ a L
and therefore in this case the wellbore radius is much
smaller than the characteristic crack length associated
with the diminishing of compressibility effects asso-
ciated with the injection system. In other words, for
A 1, the effects of the injection system compliance
continue long after the effect of the near wellbore stress
concentration becomes negligible.
2.3 Numerical solution
The numerical solution is calculated using an algo-
and wellbore pressure w (bottom) with τ. Here D = 0,
A = 0.4, and the dashed line gives the zero viscosity solution
of Lakirouhani et al. (2010).
but the time. The advantage of this approach is that it
does not require special logic to deal with the crack tip
falling between elements. Detailled information about
this algorithm and validation with analytical solutions
is presented in Lakirouhani et al. (2010).
3 HYDRAULIC FRACTURE INITIATION
AND GROWTH
3.1 Evolution of fracture length and wellbore
pressure
When injection commences at τ = 0, the wellbore pres-
sure increases and fluid flows into the crack for some
time before the propagation criterion is satisfied and
propagation commences. Figure 2 shows the evolu-
tion in τ of the dimensionless length γ and wellbore
rithm based on the displacement discontinuity (DD)
method (Crouch & Starfield 1983) for discretizing the
elasticity equation and on an implicit finite difference
method for solving the lubrication equation. The algo-
rithm uses a fixed grid with constant discretization
size ξ and is based on DD elements with uniform
displacement jumps. At each step, the length of the
fracture is increased by a fixed increment of size ξ
corresponding to an initially unknown time step τ.
Therefore, the unknown is not the length of the crack,
62
pressure w . As one would expect, when the initial
notch size γo is smaller, the pre-initiation injection
stage has a longer duration as the pressure builds
up to a higher value. Once propagation begins, γ
increases rapidly as the volume stored in the injec-
tion system is released. Figure 2 shows the numerical
results along with a solution for an inviscid fluid
(Lakirouhani et al. 2008; Lakirouhani et al. 2010),
which follows the solution considered by Lhomme
et al. (2005) for a penny-shaped crack. When M ≡ 0
Figure 3. Evolution of dimensionless crack length γ (top) Figure 4. Evolution of dimensionless crack length γ (top)
and wellbore pressure w (bottom) with τ for different val- and wellbore pressure w (bottom) with τ for different val-
ues of the dimensionless wellbore radius A. Here D = 0, ues of the dimensionless deviatoric stress D. Here A = 0.4,
γo = 0.08 and the dashed line gives the zero viscosity solution γo = 0.08 and the dashed line gives the zero viscosity solution
of Lakirouhani et al. (2010). of Lakirouhani et al. (2010).

the crack length grows instantaneously upon initia- dimensionless initiation wellbore pressure i is less
tion as γ jumps from the lower to the upper branch of
this solution. Figure 2 shows cases with M = 0.001
and M = 0.1. For M = 0.001, γ does indeed increase
nearly instantaneously upon initiation while the well-
bore pressure drops nearly instantaneously. In contrast,
when M = 0.1 the increase in γ is much more gradual,
as is the decrease in the wellbore pressure.
Figures 3–4 show a similar story of initial pressur-
ization, crack initiation, and an initial tendency for the
crack length to instantaneously increase that is miti-
than the breakdown wellbore pressure b . For clarity,
these quantities are marked in Figure 4. This differ-
ence is depends significantly on γo , D and A, with the
difference vanishing when D and A are small enough.
Figure 5(a), which considers the zero-viscosity limit
M ≡ 0, shows this to be the case. Arguably the most
interesting parametric dependence, shown clearly by
Figure 5(a), is the variation of the breakdown/initiation
difference with the ratio of the initial flaw length to
the compressibility length scale, that is γo . The error
gated by the viscosity M. In these cases, results for
different values of the dimensionless wellbore radius
A and deviatoric stress D are shown, and it is clear
that increasing the value of either of these parameters
has the effect of decreasing the time to initiation and
that would be associated with assuming i = b when
interpreting data is shown here to be associated with an
intermediate range of γo ; it vanishes when γo is either
small enough or large enough. Over the intermediate
values of γo , the errors stemming from the assumption
the initiation wellbore pressure for a fixed value of the
initial notch length γo .
3.2 Initiation and breakdown pressure
i = b can be profound. Hence, from the perspec-
tive of data interpretation, injection tool design, and
operational protocol, we can see that there is a clear
region of the parametric space that must be carefully
avoided if interpretation is to be accurate.
It has previously been predicted (Detournay & The difference between i and b also increases
Carbonell 1997) and experimentally demonstrated with the dimensionless viscosity M. Figure 5(b) illus-
(Zhao et al. 1996) that the breakdown pressure, trates this dependence. The effect is two-fold. Firstly,
defined as the peak or maximum pressure, can in cases where i = b for M = 0, which are all
exceed the initiation pressure at which crack growth but one of the cases shown in Figure 5(b), it is clear
first occurs. Figures 2–4 all show cases where the that i < b for M = 0.1. Secondly, in cases where

63
 Figure 6. Initial flaw length at which the solution transitions
from the stable to unstable curve, γ∗ .

sometimes referred to as secondary breakdown pres-

sure and sometimes as reopening pressure, has a
different meaning as illustrated by the following hypo-
thetical example. Consider the situation illustrated in
Figure 2, where γo = 0.08, M = 0.001 and A = 0.4.
At breakdown, corresponding to   0.35, the crack
quasi-instantaneously propagates to γ  0.25 with the
pressure w dropping to about 0.24. Assume now
that this first injection phase proceeds until the crack
reaches a length γ = 0.32 corresponding to w  0.22,
when a flow back is instantaneously established that
causes depressurization of the crack without further
propagation. Upon return to equilibrium (  0), a
Figure 5. Difference between breakdown b and initiation
wellbore pressure i as a function of the initial flaw length new injection is then initiated.The associated pressure-
γo for M = 0 (a) and M = 0.1 (b) with different values of D time record is characterized by a quasilinear variation
and A. of w with τ until   0.22 when crack propagation
following the stable branch resumes.
i < b for M = 0, when M > 0 the difference is
larger and apparently does not vanish for large γo .
3.3 Secondary breakdown pressure and reopening
pressure
The breakdown pressure observed on the initial injec-
tion phase reflects a situation where the initial flaw
becomes strongly unstable. If the viscosity M 1,
the crack length jumps quasi-instantaneously from its
initial value γo to a new value given by the unstable
branch of the inviscid fluid solution, see Figure 2. As
discussed earlier, the transition from the unstable to the
stable branch of the solution becomes more gradual
with increasing viscosity. The breakdown instability
takes place, however, only if γo is smaller than γ∗ ,
the critical flaw length at which both branches of the
inviscid solution merge (γ∗ corresponds to the vertical
tangent of the inviscid solution shown in Figure 2, for
example). The critical flaw length γ∗ depends essen-
tially on A and D, as the unstable branch of the solution
is only weakly influenced by M. Variation of γ∗ with
D, for A = 0.2, 0.4 is shown in Figure 6.
Following the initial injection/shut-in cycle, any
new injection that leads to further crack propaga-
tion is, in principle, characterized by a peak in the
pressure-time record. However, the peak pressure,
64
Two implications are worth closer examination.
Firstly, the peak pressure observed in this example is
not associated with a jump of the solution from the
unstable to the stable branch, as in the first injec-
tion phase. In fact, it is apparent from Figure 2 that
the pressure peak becomes progressively blurry with
increasing “initial” crack length, due to the combined
effect of an increase in the hydraulic compliance of
the system and a decrease of the propagation net
pressure with γ. Hence, the existence of an easily
distinguishable, sharp peak in the pressure time for
a secondary injection phase depends strongly on the
length the crack has reached at the conclusion of
the initial pressurization/depressurization cycle. Fur-
thermore, the ability to distinguish a peak in the
experimental pressure-time record will further lessen
with increasing compliance U of the injection system,
as the real time axis stretches the dimensionless time
τ axis, by a factor proportional to U 3/4 .
Secondly, the model predicts that the reopening
pressure will be nearly the same as the shut-in pressure.
In the case of reopening, with initial crack length γo
expected to be significantly larger than for breakdown,
we expect differences arise only due to the difference
between the initiation and breakdown pressure and to
vanish as M → 0, as discussed above and illustrated
previously by Figure 5. The near equivalence of the
shut-in and reopening pressure is a property of the
solution that is due to the fact that we take reopen-
ing to occur then hydraulic fracture extension resumes,
beginning at the length it attained at shut-in. Other con-
cepts of the mechanism of reopening exist, namely that
it is essentially like the initial breakdown but with a
zero-toughness, or zero tensile strength, condition due
to the fact that the rock is already fractured (Haimson
1989). However, the compilation of a wide range of
field test data presented by Sano et al. (2005) demon-
strates an empirical near equivalence of the reopening
and shut-in pressures that would appear to support the
model of reopening presented here.
This view of reopening has an important practical
implication. It is clear that the influence of σH on
fracture initiation and breakdown is associated with Figure 7. Functions f1 (β) and f2 (β), for β = o /a.
near-well effects, i.e. σH is irrelevant in the case of a
Griffith crack without a wellbore. Hence, if one wishes finite flaw subjected to uniform tensile stress σt and
to obtain information relevant to determining σH from letting KI = KIc for crack propagation
the reopening pressure, then our results suggest that it
is imperative that the fracture length is not so long at
the end of the initial injection stage that the near well-
bore effects vanish. That is to say, the likelihood of
retrieving reliable information about σH during sec- where δ = 1.1215 for the edge crack (Tada et al.
ondary injection diminishes with the duration of the 2000). Substituting this relation and the scaling from
initial injection phase. Moreover, as is immediately Equation 12, Equation 2 becomes
apparent upon examination of Figure 2, smaller initial
flaw length corresponds to larger crack length when
the stable propagation resumes. Thus it is less likely
that the secondary pressure/reopening pressure can be
decoded in terms of σH when γo for the initial injection Two sources of potential disagreement between the
is very small. coupled numerical model and the H-F criterion of
Equation 22 are apparent. One is related to the pre-
viously discussed issue that the breakdown pressure
4 COMPARISON WITH BREAKDOWN can sometimes be significantly larger than the initia-
PRESSURE MODELS tion pressure. However, before examining this issue,
let us first consider the discrepancy that can arise due
The model results can be used to evaluate the condi- to the finite notch length o . Considering the case of
tions under which a classical, tensile strength based a zero-viscosity fluid, M ≡ 0, we have pf = constant
model, such as Equations 1 or 2, is expected to give a and pw = pf . Letting p = pf − σh , the mode I stress
good estimate of the breakdown pressure. Of course, intensity factor is given by (Lakirouhani et al. 2008;
these are the conditions under which evaluation of the Lakirouhani et al. 2010)
measured breakdown pressure in a field application
is expected to yield an accurate estimate of σH . The
model deals with conditions where the fluid pene-
trates the initial notch, with complete penetration and where β = o /a and the numerically-determined f1 and
uniform pressure corresponding to the zero viscosity f2 are shown in Figure 7. Letting KI = KIc , solving for
case, M ≡ 0. Because we are limited to consideration p, and putting into the scaling from Equation 12 gives
of M
0.1 on account of the propagation condition the breakdown criterion for an inviscid fluid
that is used, as discussed by Lakirouhani et al. (2010),
the comparison will focus on the full penetration H-F
criterion (Equation 2).
First, the tensile strength σt must be related to the
fracture toughness KIc and the initial flaw length o . As
pointed out by Garagash & Detournay (1997), when Examining f1 and f2 one finds the limiting behavior
o /a 1 the notched wellbore can be approximated
by an edge crack. The tensile strength breakdown pres-
sure models take σt as the presumed-uniform tensile
effective stress acting across an infinitesimally small
flaw at the moment that flaw begins to grow. Hence, Hence Equation 24 reduces to Equation 22 in the limit
from a fracture mechanics perspective, considering a β → 0. When β is finite, an error is introduced. Using

65

Figure 8. Initiation and breakdown pressure as a function of
deviatoric stress D for different values of M, where γo = 0.08
and A = 0.4.
Equation 21, β can be estimated in terms of KIc , σt ,
and a as
where δ has been taken as 1 in this case because it is
assumed σt is independently measured in a configu-
ration where the flaw size is better estimated from the
equation for a crack in an infinite medium rather than
the edge crack. If a practical tolerance for error is set at
5%, this corresponds, based on examination of f1 and
f2 , to β
0.02. If the error tolerance is relaxed to 10%,
then the criterion for using the tensile strength crite-
ria is also relaxed somewhat to β
0.05. If, for the
sake of argument, one considers KIc /σt ≈ 1/8 m1/2 ,
then β ≈ 5mm/a. Hence the effect of the finite-sized
initial flaw could be important unless the wellbore
radius exceeds 100 mm. At the laboratory scale the
effect is likely to be profound, and is a likely cause
of the fact that Haimson & Fairhurst (1969) measure
tensile strength through pressurization of a jacketed
wellbore to be between 1.3 and 2.4 times larger than
the Brazilian indirect tensile strength for each of the
various rock types used in their study. Hence, whether
at field or laboratory scale, a practical approach is to
estimate β using Equation 26 in order to compute a
corrected breakdown criterion based on Equation 24.
The potential for error in estimating σH using Equa-
tion 2 goes beyond the issue of the finite flaw size. The
second possible discrepancy comes from the fact that
the breakdown pressure often exceeds the crack initi-
ation pressure, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 8 shows
the initiation and breakdown pressure as a function of
D for different values of M, as illustrated by the case
values of γo can be considered a proxy for lower values
of the tensile strength σt .
5 CONCLUSIONS
Applying the standard tensile-strength based equations
for evaluation of hydraulic fracture breakdown pres-
sure in order to estimate the maximum component of
the in situ stress relies critically on the assumptions
that the initial flaw or notch from which hydraulic
fracture growth initiates is very small relative to the
wellbore radius, and that the breakdown pressure coin-
cides with the crack initiation pressure. Both of these
assumptions are likely to be violated under realistic
field and laboratory conditions. Ideally, measurements
would be performed such that viscous fluid flow, injec-
tion system wellbore compressibility, near wellbore
stress effects, and the length of the initial notch can
all be neglected. The conditions under which these
mechanisms can indeed be neglected, in particular, the
ranges of certain dimensionless groups of parameters
required, has been clarified using a coupled hydraulic
fracturing model. Furthermore, because it is not likely
that it will always be practical to attain the appropri-
ate range of parameter values, the model has been
shown as a useful tool for quantifying and correcting
for the expected errors that would be introduced when
stress testing is carried out under non-ideal conditions.
Finally, secondary injection has been examined and it
has been shown that the ability to reliably determine σH
based on the so-called reopening pressure diminishes
if the initial injection stage is of sufficient duration
that the near-wellbore effects vanish.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Rob Jeffrey and Xi Zhang
for their helpful discussions. The numerical model was
developed by AL during an extended visit to CSIRO
as a part of his PhD research. Financial support from
the CSIRO is gratefully acknowledged.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Utilizing observations of borehole failure in deviated wellbores

to constrain the full stress tensor in deep wells and mines: Application
to two complex case studies

Mark D. Zoback
Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Pijush Paul
Conoco-Phillips, Houston, Texas

Amie Lucier
Shell International Exploration and Production, Houston, Texas

ABSTRACT: Over the past fifteen years, my colleagues and I have developed a suite of techniques for determi-
nation of the full stress tensor in arbitrarily-oriented wells and boreholes utilizing observations of non-catastrophic
failures of the wellbore wall - compressive failures, drilling-induced tensile fractures and stress perturbations
associated with slip on faults cutting through the wellbore. While these techniques have had extensive application
in the petroleum industry, they have also been used in core holes drilled from excavations in mines to yield infor-
mation about the state of stress within, and beyond, the area affected by the stress concentration surrounding the
excavation. When possible, hydraulic fracturing is used to provide independent information about the magnitude
of the least principal stress, but is not used to estimate the maximum horizontal principal stress. In this paper we
review both the conceptual elements of this methodology and two challenging case studies. The first involves
determination of the state of stress following the drilling of the first phase of the SAFOD project, a scientific
borehole drilled through the San Andreas Fault in central California. The second involves determination of the
state of stress in the crust surrounding a very deep mine is South Africa. These case studies document how obser-
vations of wellbore failure in deviated wells yield consistent stress orientations and magnitudes over appreciable
depth ranges.

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
While a number of papers had been written about
compressive and tensile failures in deviated wells,
(Peska & Zoback, 1995) published the first system-
atic investigation of the tendency (and orientation) of
wellbore failures in arbitrarily-deviated wellbores in
normal, strike-slip and reverse faulting stress regimes.
The principles outlined in that paper have proven to
be quite useful for determination of the complete
stress tensor in arbitrarily-oriented wells and bore-
holes, especially when combined with independent
measurements of the magnitude of the least principal
stress from hydraulic fracturing.
In this paper, we briefly review the fundamental
basis for this stress measurement methodology and
discuss two particularly challenging case studies. First,
we consider the state of stress immediately adjacent
to the San Andreas Fault in central California, where
an extremely strong gradient in stress magnitudes
occurs in the crustal volume being drilled through
that is adjacent to the fault. Second, we discuss stress
determination in the crust surrounding a deep mine
in South Africa where the challenge was to estimate
the state of stress in the crust sufficiently far from the
mine that it is unaffected by the stress perturbation
associated with the extensive excavations.
As a brief review of this methodology, Figure 1
illustrates the fact that in an arbitrarily-deviated well
the position of drilling induced tensile wall fractures
(posTF) as well as the inclination of the tensile frac-
tures with respect to the wellbore axis (incTF) are
three key observables in wellbore image logs. Unlike
the case of a vertical well in which the position of
wellbore breakouts (BO’s) and tensile wall fractures
(TF’s) only depend on the orientation of the horizon-
tal principal stresses, SHmax and Shmin (assuming one
principal stress is vertical), in the case of a deviated
well, the position of wellbore failures around the hole
also depends on the magnitudes of the three princi-
pal stresses as well as the orientation of the wellbores
with respect to the stress field (Peska & Zoback,
1995). To implement this technology it is essential
to have available good quality wellbore image logs.
These could be electrical or ultrasonic image logs, now

69
Figure 1. Illustration of the orientation of drilling-induced
tensile fractures in an arbitrarily-deviated wellbore. Modified
from (Peska & Zoback, 1995).

common in the oil and gas industry, or optical image

logs in core holes drilled from tunnels.
The calculations shown in Figure 2 (modified from
(Zoback, 2007) are for a nominal depth of 3 km
and assumes near-hydrostatic pore pressure. The fig-
ure shows the tendency for breakout formation to
occur (expressed as the rock strength required to
inhibit breakout formation) for boreholes of differ-
ent orientation in hypothetical normal (top), strike-slip
(middle) and reverse faulting (bottom) stress regimes.
Red colors indicate borehole orientations for which
breakouts are relatively likely to initiate whereas blue
indicates relatively stable borehole orientations. The
vertical stress, pore pressure and orientation of prin-
cipal stresses are the same in all three cases and the
mud weight is assumed to be equal to the pore pres-
sure. Note that the tendency for breakout formation Figure 2. Illustration of the tendency of breakout formation
depends strongly on borehole orientation and stress as a function of hole orientation for a normal (top), strike-slip
state. For a given stress state, there are some azimuths (middle) and reverse faulting (bottom) stress regime (mod-
where the likelihood of breakout formation increases ified from (Zoback, 2007). Each stress state uses the same
with hole deviation, whereas in others it decreases. orientations of SHmax and Shmin (as shown) and the same val-
Because compressive stress magnitudes are larger in a ues of the vertical stress, Sv (70 MPa) and pore pressure, Pp
strike-slip stress field than in a normal faulting stress (32 MPa). The values of SHmax |Shmin in the three figures are
field , breakouts are more likely to occur (larger values 55|45, 105|55 and 145|125 MPa, respectively.
of rock strength are required to inhibit value). For the
same reason, breakouts are still more likely to occur in
a reverse faulting regime than in a strike-slip faulting One example of how the principles illustrated in
regime. Figure 3 were utilized to constrain stress magnitudes
Figure 3 (modified from (Zoback, 2007) presents a is presented by (Wiprut et al., 2000). As illustrated in
complementary set of calculations for the initiation of Figure 4, a well was being drilling in the Visund field
drilling-induced tensile fractures.All of the parameters of the northern North Sea with increasing deviation
are the same as in Figure 2 except for this case a tensile in a direction nearly parallel to the SHmax direction
of strength of zero was assumed and the colors indi- (as determined in the vertical section of the well and
cate the borehole pressure at which tensile fractures in nearby wells). At a deviation of about 35 degrees,
would form in the borehole wall. Note that in some the drilling-induced tensile fractures, visible in FMI
cases, the borehole pressure at which tensile fractures logs, completely disappeared even though drilling
are expected to form exceeds the magnitude of the least conditions had not changed (Wiprut et al., 2000).
principal stress implying that such fractures should The stress state at Visund is strike-slip. Thus, the
not be observable in the boreholes because such high tendency for tensile fractures to form during drilling is
pressures cannot be sustained in the borehole because somewhat similar to that shown in the middle figure of
circulation would be lost due to hydraulic fracturing. Figure 3. Although the exact mud weight used during

70

Figure 3. Illustration of the tendency for tensile fractures
to form as a function of hole orientation and stress state
(Zoback, 2007). The figures use the same stress orientations
and magnitudes as those shown in Figure 2.
drilling as well as the thermoelastic stresses caused
by the cooling of the wellbore wall need to be taken
into account (see (Wiprut et al., 2000) and (Zoback,
2007). It Figure 3 it can be seen that in near-vertical
wells, drilling-induced tensile fractures are expected to
form at borehole pressures only slightly greater than
the pore pressure in a strike-slip faulting environment.
However, in boreholes with higher deviations, TF’s
will only form at correspondingly higher mud weights.
As shown in Figure 5 (modified from (Wiprut et al.,
2000) for the Visund well, this turning off of the TF’s
at 35 degrees deviation is exactly what is expected for
the mud weight used during drilling which was 6 MPa
above the ambient pore pressure. This turning off of
the tensile fractures allowed (Wiprut et al., 2000) to
further confirm the magnitude of SHmax from the anal-
ysis of tensile fractures and breakouts in the deviated
wells of the Visund field.
71
Figure 4. (Left) Cross-section of a well in the Visund field
in the northern North Sea in which the occurrence of drilling
induced tensile fractures ended abruptly at a measured depth
of 2860 m as indicated by the color of the line changing from
red from green. (Right) The deviation of the well as a function
of true vertical depth illustrates that the TF’s stop abruptly
when the well reached a deviation of 35 degrees (modified
from Wiprut et al., 2000).
Figure 5. Required excess mud weight to initiate TF’s in the
Visund well. The dot indicates the orientation of the well at
the point where the TF’s disappear (modified from (Wiprut
et al., 2000).
1.2 Constraining stress magnitudes
An important constraint can be placed on estimates
of stress magnitudes from observations of wellbore
failures comes from recognition of the fact that the
state of stress in the crust is limited by its frictional
strength. In other words, at any given depth and pore
pressure, only a finite range of stress magnitudes are
possible which are easy to characterize graphically
in terms of a stress polygon (Zoback et al., 1987).
When combined with observations of wellbore fail-
ure, such polygons help one constrain possible stress
magnitudes at depth (Moos & Zoback 1990).
In the case of the Visund study (Figure 6, mod-
ified from (Wiprut et al., 2000), knowledge of the

Figure 6. In the Visund study (Wiprut et al., 2000) it was
possible to constrain the magnitude of SHmax by both the
occurrence of breakouts with a prescribed width and knowl-
edge of the rock strength as well as the occurrence of
drilling-induced tensile fractures. The magnitude of Shmin is
known from extended leak-off (hydrofrac) tests.
magnitude of Shmin was obtained from extended leak-
off (hydrofrac) tests. Rock strength measurements
were available from core studies. This allowed obser-
vations of breakout width (45 degrees, in this case) and
drilling-induced tensile fractures to constrain SHmax to
be between 72 and 75 MPa. Note that the higher value
is consistent with the upper bound of allowable stress
stated for a strike-slip faulting regime (i.e., the value
is at the periphery of the stress polygon) indicating
that the state of stress in the crust surrounding the
wellbore is in equilibrium with its frictional strength.
Moreover, it would have been possible to constrain
the upper bound of SHmax from the frictional strength
of the crust and the lower bound from the occurrence
of drilling-induced tensile fractures. Hence, the infor-
mation provided by the analysis of breakouts was not
needed in the analysis, but do provide additional con-
firmation of the limits on SHmax yielded by the analysis
of the tensile fractures. Had knowledge of Shmin not
been available from hydraulic fracturing, the occur-
rence of both breakouts and tensile fractures in this
well would have permitted estimation of both Shmin
and SHmax .
1.3 A few final comments about methodology
The Visund example discussed briefly above is used
as a relatively simple illustration of a general method-
ology that is more fully explained by (Zoback et al.,
2003) and (Zoback, 2007). As mentioned above, this
methodology has proven to be extremely robust in deep
wells drilled in the petroleum industry in a wide variety
of stress regimes and geologic environments around
the world. In fact, in commercial application, these
72
techniques have been at sites around the world over a
thousand times.
The advantages of this general methodology are
three fold. First, it can be employed using observations
that can be routinely made in the petroleum industry –
namely, electrical and acoustic image logs (available
from each of the major oil field service companies) and
extended leak-off tests. In mines, optical cameras are
quite useful for imaging breakouts and tensile fractures
(as shown below) and hydraulic fracturing can be done
to measure the magnitude of the least principal stress.
Because of this, the second advantage of these tech-
niques is that they are relatively robust with respect to
the many difficulties, appreciable risks and high costs
encountered in making measurements in deep wells.
Finally, the measurement techniques outlined above
are employed over long distances along a well path,
depending on the availability of image logs, leak-off
tests, etc. This concept of stress profiling is quite valu-
able because it enables observations of the borehole
wall to be scaled up to the volume of the crust pen-
etrated by the wellbore. In cases of relatively simple
stress fields, there is the opportunity for redundancy
along the length of a borehole to provide confirmation
for the stress state through repeated measurements. In
more complicated regions, localized variations of the
stress orientation and magnitude resulting from slip on
faults (Barton & Zoback, 1994), can be mapped (and
modeled) in detail, as shown below.
The real power of good quality and detailed obser-
vations of wellbore wall failure is that one can even
use the absence of breakouts and/or tensile fractures
to put an upper bound on stress magnitudes. In other
words, every well that is drilled is like a rock mechan-
ics experiment in which stress is applied to rock. In this
case, the rock surrounding the borehole is subject to
highly amplified tectonic stresses. In fact, the variation
of hoop stress surrounding a vertical well amplifies the
difference in magnitude by SHmax and Shmin by a fac-
tor of 4. If we know something about the compressive
strength of the rock, the absence of breakouts puts an
upper bound on the magnitude of SHmax , assuming that
Shmin is known from hydraulic fracturing. Similarly, if
Shmin is known, one can place an upper bound on SHmax
when no drilling-induced tensile fractures are present.
2 CASE STUDIES
2.1 Scientific drilling into the San Andreas Fault
The SAFOD project is a scientific research borehole
that was drilled into the San Andreas Fault zone in cen-
tral California (Zoback et al., 2010). The project was
carried out in three distinct phases with Phase 1 end-
ing in the Arkosic sandstones and conglomerates, just
prior to penetrating the active fault zone (Figure 7). As
drilling through the San Andreas Fault had never been
done before, there was considerable concern about
wellbore stability while drilling in the fault zone.
The opportunity to analyze observations of wellbore
failure in the highly deviated Phase 1 borehole enabled
Figure 7. Geologic cross-section of the SAFOD project
which penetrated the San Andreas Fault in central Califor-
nia, at a site where fault slip occurs through a combination
of aseismic creep and repeating small earthquakes (modified
from Zoback et al., 2010).

(Paul & Zoback, 2008) to determine stress magnitudes

with sufficient accuracy that the required mud weight
needed to successfully drill through the fault zone
could be estimated. Additional information available
to (Paul & Zoback, 2008) was a profile of stress magni-
tude measurements in the SAFOD pilot hole reported
by (Hickman & Zoback, 2004) and a lower-bound esti-
mate of Shmin from a leak-off test at the bottom of the
Phase 1 borehole. A very unusual aspect of the state
Figure 8. Maximum and minimum caliper diameters in
of stress in the vicinity of the San Andreas revealed
the Phase 1 SAFOD borehole indicates that the borehole is
by modeling is that the magnitude of the principal enlarged about 10 degrees counter-clockwise of the top and
stresses are expected to increase markedly as the fault bottom of the hole (from Paul & Zoback, 2008).
is approached (Rice 1992). In fact, the 3-D model of
(Chery et al., 2004) predicts that immediately within
the active shear zone, all three principal stresses are
approximately equal (i.e., there are very low shear
stresses in the fault zone) but have a mean value of
approximately twice the overburden stress.
The direction of maximum horizontal compression
was determined along the length of the Phase 1 well-
bore by (Boness & Zoback, 2006) that utilized an
innovative analysis of shear velocity anisotropy in dip-
ping strata utilizing observations from cross-dipole
sonic logging data. This made determination of the
magnitudes of Shmin and SHmax the principal unknown
in the analysis.
The key observation utilized in the SAFOD stress
determination was the orientation of breakouts through
Figure 9. Modeling of breakout orientation for boreholes
the section of granodiorite, arkosic sandstone and con-
of variation orientation for the modeled values of Shmin and
glomerate (Figure 8). As shown, the wellbore was sys- SHmax (after (Paul & Zoback 2008).
tematically enlarged in the upper-left and lower-right
sections of the borehole, approximately 10 degrees
from the top and bottom of the hole. (Paul & Zoback well as the orientation of the borehole with respect to
2008) describe at length why the observations of bore- the stress field. Therefore (Paul & Zoback, 2008) were
hole enlargement are, in fact, wellbore breakouts and able to constrain the magnitudes of Shmin and SHmax
not key seats, mechanical erosions of the top and bot- (being able to independently estimate the magnitude
tom of the borehole wall due to drilling and tripping of Sv and the orientation of SHmax ). Figure 9 shows
the pipe. that how, for specific values of Shmin and SHmax , the
As mentioned above, the position of wellbore fail- modeled breakout position matches that observed for
ures in a deviated well depends on stress magnitudes as the specific trajectory of the borehole.

73
 Figure 11. Optical camera data from short vertical bore-
Figure 10. Locations of the boreholes in which observations holes at sites 10 (left) and 13 (right) illustrate tensile fractures,
of breakouts and drilling-induced tensile fractures were used breakouts and incipient breakouts (from Lucier et al., 2009).
to constrain the stress field. Holes 2, 3, 7 V, 10 and 13 are
vertical boreholes. Those at the DAF and 7N,S are deviated.
The observations in LIC 118 hole is 418 m long (from (Lucier
et al., 2009).

2.2 State of stress surrounding the TauTona mine

(Lucier et al., 2009) describe modeling of observa-
tions of compressive and tensile failures in a series
of boreholes drilled from tunnels in the TauTona gold
mine in South Africa. The TauTona mine is part of the
Western Deep Levels of the Witwatersrand Basin of
South Africa and is one of the deepest operating mines
in the world. The great majority of the measurements
described were made in tunnels at an approximate
depth of 3650 m.
The purpose of the modeling was to determine the
stress field surrounding the mine that is unaffected by
the stress perturbations caused by the mining activi-
ties. The purpose of the stress measurement program
was to be able to better predict how the stress concen-
trations caused by mining-induced slip on pre-existing
faults in an effort to help mitigate the threat of induced
earthquakes which represent a major threat to workers
and facilities.
Figure 10 shows the distribution of a number
of the relatively short borehole used for observing
compressive and tensile borehole failures. Figure 12. Representation of breakouts observed in hole
Because nearly all the observations were made in LIC 118 (left) and comparison between observed breakout
orientations with those predicted by the stress model (Lucier
boreholes that were within the region affected by min- et al., 2009).
ing activities, it was necessary to combine modeling of
borehole failures (as described above) with boundary-
element modeling of the stress perturbation caused
by the mine in an iterative manner. Of particular note Through a five-step process, (Lucier et al., 2009)
are the observations in hole LIC 118 which extended were able to build a model of the far-field stresses sur-
sub-horizontally to the east for 418 m. rounding the TauTona mine. First, the wellbore failures
Figure 11 show some of the optical camera data were analyzed. Second, a boundary element model
utilized in the analysis from short boreholes at sites 10 was built that represents the mine geometry, mate-
and 13. In the hole at site 10 (left), there are drilling rial properties, etc. Third, an initial stress state was
induced tensile fractures and incipient breakouts. Only used to calculate stresses around the mine. Fourth, the
breakouts are present in the borehole at site 13. As the borehole failures were modeled. Fifth, if the modeled
two boreholes extend only a few meters from a tunnel, borehole failures did not match the operations a new
the stress state responsible for the borehole failures far-field stress state was examined.
is obviously affected by mining operations. Breakout As shown on the right side of Figure 12, the stress
orientations in hole LIC 118 are shown in Figure 12 model summarized in Figure 13 did a good job of
(left). matching breakouts observed in LIC 118 as well as the

74
Figure 13. Orientation and magnitude of the stress state sur-
rounding the TauTona mine. Note that this is a normal faulting
stress field (Lucier et al., 2009).
Figure 14. Boundary element modeling of the initial
far-field stress model in an east-west cross section at depth
of the LIC 118 borehole (Lucier et al., 2009).
majority of the other boreholes (see Table 1 in (Lucier
et al., 2009)).
Figure 14 shows how the variability of the three
principal stresses in the vicinity of the mine and along
the LIC 118 borehole. Of course, it is these types of
stress concentrations that lead to reactivation of slip
on appropriately-oriented faults .(Lucier et al., 2009).
Because there were no hydraulic fracturing measure-
ments to constrain the magnitude of the least principal
stress, it would not have been possible constrain the
stress magnitudes from the breakout observations in
LIC 118 without the modeling of the borehole failures
in the other boreholes.
The stress state determined for the TauTona mine is
one in which well-oriented normal faults are expected
to be active, even in the absence of the stress concen-
tration caused by the mine. This may seem unusual
for an intraplate area but it is, in fact, characteristic of
such regions (Zoback et al., 2002).
An additional observation and modeling exercise
that confirms the stress state determined by the analy-
sis described above is modeling of stress perturbations
associated with slip on natural faults encountered in
75
Figure 15. Variations of breakout orientations in the vicinity
of an active normal fault encountered in the LIC118 borehole.
The optical camera log (with interpretation) is shown on the
left. A comparison with model results is shown on the right
(after (Lucier et al., 2009)).
LIC118, outside the area affected by the stress pertur-
bation caused by the mine. Following the procedure
outlined by (Barton & Zoback 1994), (Lucier et al.,
2009) were able to replicate the perturbation associated
with slip on this fault (Figure 15). Thus, well-oriented
normal faults are slipping in the vicinity of the mine.
The perturbation of the stress field caused by slip on
the fault, when superimposed on the stress field shown
in Figure 13, does an excellent job of replicating the
variation of breakout orientations in the vicinity of the
fault (Figure 15). This provides additional affirmation
of the stress magnitudes determined by modeling the
observed borehole failures.
3 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The techniques described above have many practical
advantages, especially in deep wells and in boreholes
drilled in directions that are not aligned with principal
stresses. The fundamental requirements to utilize these
techniques are to have good quality image logs and ide-
ally, hydraulic fracturing data to provide independent
information on the magnitude of the least principal
stress.
The SAFOD case study is instructive because it rep-
resents a case study where measurement had to be
made in a highly deviated borehole, limited hydraulic
fracturing data were available and the expectation from
crustal modeling was that the stress field was chang-
ing rapidly as the fault was approached. In the TauTona
case, there were no hydraulic fracturing measurements
and the great majority of borehole failure observations
were in the region affected by the mine excavation.
In this case, having observations of borehole failures
in multiple boreholes, when combined with modeling
of the stresses induced by the mine workings, were
essential in determination of the far-field stress state.
REFERENCES
Barton, C. A. and M. D. Zoback (1994). “Stress perturba-
tions associated with active faults penetrated by bore-
holes: Possible evidence for near-complete stress drop
and a new technique for stress magnitude measurements.”
J. Geophys. Res 99: 9373–9390.
Boness, N. and M. D. Zoback (2006). “A multi-scale study of
the mechanisms controlling shear velocity anisotropy in
the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth.” Geophysics
7(5): F131–F146.
Chery, J., M. D. Zoback, et al. (2004). “A mechanical model
of the San Andreas fault and SAFOD pilot hole stress
measurements.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 31(15): L15S13.
Hickman, S. and M. D. Zoback (2004). “Stress measurements
in the SAFOD pilot hole: Implications for the frictional
strength of the San Andreas fault.” Geophysical Research
Letters 31: L15S12.
Lucier, A. M., M. D. Zoback, et al. (2009). “Constraining
the far-field in situ stress state near a deep South African
gold mine.” International Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Mining Science 46: 555–567.
Moos, D. and M. D. Zoback (1990). “Utilization of Observa-
tions of Well Bore Failure to Constrain the Orientation and
Magnitude of Crustal Stresses: Application to Continen-
tal Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program
Boreholes.” J. Geophys. Res. 95: 9305–9325.
Paul, P. and M. D. Zoback (2008). “Wellbore-stability study
for the SAFOD borehole through the San Andreas Fault,
SPE 192781.” SPE Drilling and Completion (Dec.):
394–408.
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Peska, P. and M. D. Zoback (1995). “Compressive and ten-
sile failure of inclined wellbores and determination of
in situ stress and rock strength.” Journal of Geophysical
Research 100(B7): 12791–12811.
Rice, J. R., Ed. (1992). Fault stress states, pore pressure distri-
butions, and the weakness of the San Andreas fault. Fault
Mechanics and Transport Properties of Rocks. San Diego,
Calif., Academic.
Wiprut, D., M. Zoback, et al. (2000). “Constraining the full
stress tensor from observations of drilling-induced tensile
fractures and leak-off tests: Application to borehole sta-
bility and sand production on the Norwegian margin.” Int.
J. Rock Mech. & Min. Sci 37: 317–336.
Zoback, M. D. (2007). Reservoir Geomechanics. Cambridge,
England, Cambridge University.
Zoback, M. D., C. B. Barton, et al. (2003). “Determination
of stress orientation and magnitude in deep wells.” Inter-
national Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
40: 1049–1076.
Zoback, M. D., S. H. Hickman, et al. (2010). “Scientific
drilling into the San Andreas Fault zone.” EOS, Trans.
Amer. Geophys. Union: in press.
Zoback, M. D., L. Mastin, et al. (1987). In situ stress mea-
surements in deep boreholes using hydraulic fracturing,
wellbore breakouts and Stonely wave polarization. In
Rock Stress and Rock Stress Measurements,, Stockholm,
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Determining the complete natural stress tensor from hydraulic tests:

A case history in sedimentary rocks from the French Paris Basin

F.H. Cornet
Institut de Physique du Globe Strasbourg, CNRS, France

ABSTRACT: Hydraulic Fracturing, Hydraulic Tests on Pre-existing Fractures, sleeve reopening tests and the
analysis of en echelon fractures developed in wells inclined to the principal stress directions, have helped
determine the vertical profile of the complete stress tensor in a sedimentary formation of the eastern Paris Basin.
This stress profile outlines the relaxation of shear stress in a 190 m thick clayey formation that results in a
strongly non linear stress variation with depth. It demonstrates that today’s stress field at this location does not
depend on tectonic stresses but on active deformation processes that likely involve fluid-rock interactions.

1 INTRODUCTION the direction of this axial fracture is perpendicular

If continuum mechanics is the paradigm applied for
solving a geomechanical problem, then the concept
of stress is of central importance. With this paradigm
the so-called natural stress field, i.e. the stress field
that exists before applying the perturbation of con-
cern, must be evaluated and interpretation of borehole
hydraulic tests has revealed very efficient for such
evaluations. But overtime, the practice has progres-
sively evolved from simple Hydraulic Fracturing tests
(Hubbert and Willis, 1957, Kehle, 1964, Haimson,
1978) to integrated methods that rely on geophysical
borehole imaging (Cornet 1993, Peska and Zoback,
1995) or on data obtained with different techniques
(e.g. flat jacks, Cornet, 1996, or overcoringAsk, 2006).
In this paper, hydraulic methods for evaluating
the six components of the complete stress field are
first briefly recalled. Then their application to the
Meuse/Haute-Marne underground research laboratory
(France) is discussed. It is shown how hydraulic tests
results help constrain the six components of the stress
field. Results are validated by comparison with bore-
hole failure images. They raise the question on the
origin of stresses in sedimentary formations and on
spatial stress variations. Finally, consequences for
integrating data collected at different depths in sed-
imentary formations are briefly discussed.
2 CONSTRAINING THE PRINCIPAL STRESS
DIRECTIONS
When a sufficiently large pressure is applied in a bore-
hole, the axis of which is approximately perpendicular
to the natural minimum principal stress direction, an
axial fracture is generated. It is well established that
in the absence of any default in the rock matrix,
to that of the minimum principal stress. This basic
principle of the classical Hydraulic Fracturing (HF)
method has been applied successfully over the years
for determining natural stresses at depth (Haimson,
1993).
However, as pointed out by many an author (e.g.
Daneshi, 1971, Kuriyagawa et al, 1989, Baumgartner
et al., 1989), when the borehole is deviated some-
what (more than 25◦ ) from a principal stress direction,
en echelon fractures are formed (see figure 1) when
all principal stress magnitudes are different from one
another. Hence the observation of an axial fracture
during a hydraulic fracturing test provides a good
constrain on all principal stress orientations, (dip and
azimuth of one principal stress sub-parallel to the bore-
hole axis; orientation of the minimum principal stress
parallel to the normal to the axial fracture), provided
all three principal stress components are not sub-equal
to one another.
When en echelon fractures are observed, they
demonstrate that the borehole direction is not within
25◦ of a principal stress direction and that the three
principal stress values are all different from one
another. The relative orientation of fractures with
respect to the borehole axis may be taken to advantage
for constraining the stress field.
Different constrains may be derived from these ori-
entations, whether it is assumed that the fractures
occurred in tension or in shear. In the later case, again
different equations may be proposed depending on
the failure criterion taken into consideration (see next
section).
The development of borehole imaging techniques,
whether ultrasonic (Zemanec et al., 1970) or electri-
cal (Mosnier, 1982; Pezard and Luthi, 1988), have
improved considerably the understanding of standard
straddle packer hydraulic tests (Cornet et al., 2003), as

77

Figure 1. Examples of axial hydraulic fracture (left) and
en-echelon hydraulic fractures (right). The en-echelon frac-
tures indicate that the borehole is inclined with respect to
any of the principal stress direction and that principal stress
components have different magnitudes (after Meng et al.,
2010).
Figure 2. Electrical image in EST210 inclined well taken
before (left) and after (right) a hydraulic fracturing straddle
packer test (Wileveau et al., 2007). Two inclined fractures are
clearly seen on the postfrac image. They correspond to en
echelon fractures generated below the packers. The pressur-
ized straddled interval extended from 821.8 m to 822.4 m so
as to test a preexisting weakness plane.
well as that of borehole failure processes (Zoback et
al., 1985; Zoback et al., 2003).
For example, a typical electrical image taken before
and after a hydraulic fracturing test conducted in a
deviated well with a straddle packer is presented on
figure 2. It clearly shows that fractures have developed
under the packers.
These imaging techniques have provided means
to identify fractures along borehole intervals much
78
longer than the straddled pressurized interval, a fea-
ture essential for a more accurate interpretation of
interval pressure records produced by hydraulic frac-
turing tests. Further, geophysical borehole imaging
prevents any risk of creating new fractures as opposed
to impressions taken after hydraulic tests, in particular
for tests run at shallow depths.
However, it should be kept in mind that borehole
imaging offers little, if no, depth penetration. Hence
some uncertainty still remains about fracture orienta-
tions away from the well when they are inclined to the
borehole axis.
Today, techniques exist for mapping in situ
hydraulic fractures away from the wells by locating
microseismic events induced by the fracturing process
(e.g. Philips et al., 1998; Rutledge et al., 2004, Syleny
et al., 2009). But these have been applied only to large
scale fracturing jobs (injected volumes in the 10 m3
to 1000 m3 range) and no solution exists yet for small
scale hydraulic tests run for stress determination.
3 CONSTRAINING THE PRINCIPAL STRESS
MAGNITUDES
3.1 Limitations of the standard HF testing
procedure
With standard HF tests (e.g. Haimson and Cornet,
2003), portion of a borehole in intact rock is isolated
with a straddle packer and the straddled interval is
pressurized till failure occurs at the so called break-
down pressure Pb . Then injection continues till the
Hydraulic Fracture reaches a domain where the natural
stress controls fracture extension. At this point, injec-
tion is stopped and the subsequent pressure variation
with time helps identify the so-called Instantaneous
Shut-In pressure PISP, i.e. the pressure required to bal-
ance exactly the stress normal to the fracture plane.
For a true HF, the fracture is normal to the minimum
principal stress (σh ) direction and therefore PISP yields
the σh magnitude.
When a borehole is sub parallel to a principal stress
direction (here the vertical direction), the tangential
stress σθθ at the borehole wall is given by (Berard and
Cornet, 2003) :
where θ is the angular coordinate with respect to the
maximum horizontal principal stress (σH ) direction,
P0 is the pore pressure where the hydraulic fracture
initiates, E and ν are the elastic constants of the mate-
rial, α is the bulk rock thermal expansion coefficient,
T is the difference between the temperature of the
fluid in the borehole and that of the rock away from
the hole, f and f’are functions that express respectively
the influence of pore pressure and contrasts in thermal
expansion for rock constituents at the borehole wall
(compressions are reckoned positive).
 In many situations, pore pressure and temperature
effects are neglected so that the borehole pressure for
which a hydraulic fracture is generated at the borehole
wall is assumed to be given by :
where σ T is the so called “tensile strength” of the rock
Many papers have discussed how to determine the
σh magnitude from the Instantaneous Shut-In Pressure
or from the slow flow rate reopening pressure (e.g.
Monterey Wokshop, Haimson and Zoback, 1983, Min-
neapolis workshop, Haimson, 1989, Madison work-
shop, Haimson, 1993). Today, a large consensus exists
on the excellent reliability of such σh estimates.
But, because of the many uncertainties that affect
the tensile strength determination and the pore pres-
sure correction, as well as the thermal correction for
tests in hot formations, the uncertainty associated with
the σH estimate is much larger. These difficulties are
compounded with stiffness effects that render the pick-
ing of breakdown pressure a difficult matter (Ito et al.,
1999).
In addition to these numerous difficulties, the devel-
opment of geophysical methods for mapping fractures
created during hydraulic tests have revealed that very
often fracture initiates at the packer level so that the
exact stress at the fracture initiation location is not
known precisely (see sect. 4).
Hence, complementary methods have been pro-
posed for improving the accuracy of σH magnitude
evaluation.
3.2 Sleeve fracturing
In order to remove uncertainty with the rock ten-
sile strength determination, Bredehoeft et al., (1976)
proposed to exploit equation (2) with σ T = 0 for the
pressure required to reopen a hydraulic fracture after
it had closed back and the interstitial pressure had
returned to its original value. For impervious rocks,
the pore pressure value is simply subtracted from the
tangential stress.
However many authors have shown that this proce-
dure is not reliable, either because of fluid penetration
into the fracture before its reopening (Cornet and
Valette, 1984) or because of the low stiffness of the
testing system (Ito et al., 1999). In fact it is most often
observed that the reopening pressure is very close to
the shut-in pressure and its use is not recommended.
Only when very viscous fluid with high flow rate
are pumped with a very stiff system may reopening
pressure be measured effectively, and this leaves unre-
solved the difficulty raised by the fact that fractures
may intersect one of the packers.
In order to avoid questions with fluid penetra-
tion, Stephansson (1983) proposed to conduct sleeve
fracturing tests, namely to fracture the rock directly
with a packer. For such tests, Desroches and Kurkjian
(1999) proposed to interpret the reopening pressure
79
Pr measured in very low permeability rocks with the
classical effective stress concept:
which is precisely the value derived from the reopen-
ing pressure as proposed by Bredehoeft et al. for
impervious rocks.
3.3 The HTPF method
In order to avoid altogether difficulties with borehole
and pore pressure effects, Cornet and Valette (1984)
have proposed to use hydraulic tests for measuring
the normal stress supported by preexisting fractures
inclined with respect to the natural principal stress
directions.
The method runs in three steps:
1. identify dip and azimuth of preexisting fractures
properly located (one fracture per tested interval),
2. position a standard straddle packer system precisely
on the selected fractures to be tested and run so
called HTPF tests,
3. after hydraulic testing, image the complete tested
interval including the zone where packers have been
located in order to confirm that the preselected
fracture is indeed the only one that has been tested.
The so called HTPF hydraulic procedure requires
the progressive opening of the preexisting fracture and
injection rate must be adapted to the hydraulic trans-
mitivity of the fracture. Indeed, it is assumed that, at
the end of injection test, pressure is uniform within the
fracture at distances larger than the domain influenced
by the borehole.
When the pressure is equal to the normal stress, the
fracture opens and the normal to the fracture surface
becomes a principal stress direction. Hence the com-
plete natural stress field is perturbed by the fracture
opening except for the normal stress magnitude which
is precisely the object of the measurement.
For the measurement to be correct, the fracture must
be planar and must remain planar away from the well.
Cornet et al. (2003) have shown that, for fractures
inclined to the borehole axis, the slow flow rate open-
ing pressure is not equal to the natural normal stress.
Hence, only shut-in pressures may be used for a proper
normal stress measurement, not quasi-static reopening
tests. However, when the fracture is subparallel to the
borehole axis, both quasistatic reopening and shut-in
pressure are equal.
When only HTPF results are available, it takes at
least six different fracture orientations to solve for the
complete stress field. But a common situation is that
in which true HF tests have been run in vertical bore-
holes so that HTPF tests are used only to determine
the maximum horizontal principal stress magnitude or
both the vertical and the maximum horizontal principal
stress magnitudes (Haimson and Cornet, 2003). Inte-
gration of HF and HTPF data assumes continuity of
the stress field within the volume where measurements
have been conducted.
3.4 Interpretation of en-echelon fractures
As shown on figure 1, when a hydraulic fracture test
is run in a borehole inclined to all the principal stress
directions and when all principal stress components
are quite different from one another, the fracturing
process creates en echelon fractures. The geometry of
such en echelon fractures may be taken to advantage
for determining the magnitude of one of the principal
stress when all other components of the stress tensor
are known. Indeed, for an isotropic elastic rock with
uniform natural stress field σij ; i,j = 1,2,3, the stress at
the load free wall of a borehole with radius r and axis
z inclined to all principal stress directions is given by
(e.g. Jaeger and Cook, 1979):
where ρ and θ are the radial and angular coordinates.
When in addition, a pressure Pw is applied to the bore-
hole wall, the quantity Pw r2 /ρ2 is to be added to the
σρρ component and subtracted to the σθθ component.
When the σθz component is not zero, the two non
radial principal stress components σnr (with nr = m for
the minimum non radial principal stress and nr = M
for the maximum non radial principal stress) at the
borehole wall are (Daneshi, 1971),
So that the minimum principal stress σm at the bore-
hole wall makes the angle γ with the borehole axis
direction:
The σnr values vary with the angular θ coordinate
and reach extrema that may be determined by differen-
tiating equation (5) with respect to θ. Hence both the
angular coordinate of en echelon fractures and their
inclination to the borehole axis may help determine
the magnitude of σH , when all other stress components
are known at the location where en echelon fractures
are observed.
For doing so, it is generally considered that the en
echelon fracture is a tensile fracture so that the local
minimum principal stress is normal to the echelon
plane. In some instances however (see Ask, this ses-
sion), en echelon fractures seem to develop in shear
below the packer, so that their geometry may be inter-
preted with a Coulomb failure criterion. In absence
of a clear criterion for identifying with certainty the
failure criterion, it seems only safe to consider both
80
Figure 3. Ultrasonic image of “En echelon” breakout
observed in well EST211, inclined 69◦ from the vertical
direction, in the N 51◦ E direction (Wileveau et al., 2007).
solutions and then analyse them in the context of the
local geology, or of other measurements.
On the hypothesis that En echelon fractures corre-
spond to tensile fractures, Peska and Zoback (1995)
have proposed to integrate these data with breakouts
observations, i.e. ruptures in compression, for con-
straining the stress field at great depth. And this raises
the question on how to characterize stress variation
along the borehole axis.
Similarly, in wells inclined to the principal stress
directions, when all principal stress components are
different, some en echelon breakouts may develop
when failure conditions in compression are reached
(figure 3). The geometry of these breakouts depends
on all far field natural stress components (magnitude
and orientation) and their analysis may be used to con-
strain some of the stress components, if the other ones
are known (Peska and Zoback, 1995).
3.5 Integrating data collected at various
locations
In many crystalline rocks, the natural stress has been
shown to vary linearly within relatively large domains
(Cornet and Burlet, 1992; Brudy et al., 1997). How-
ever, dense sets of data collected above 800 m depths
(Ask, 2006) have clearly outlined the limits of large
scale continuum modeling for shallow crystalline
rocks of northern Europe, possibly because of the post
glacial rebound effect.
Similarly, in sedimentary rocks, Evans (1989) and
Cornet and Burlet (1992) outlined the influence of rock
rheology on stress profiles so that integration of data
collected at various locations becomes more problem-
atic. This is precisely the point illustrated by results
Figure 4. HF test in the callovo-oxfordian clay at 467 m.
Horizontal axis is time in minutes. Both the packer pressure
(upper curve in MPa) and the interval pressure are shown,
together with the injected flow rate (lower curve in l/m).
obtained in the French Paris Basin as discussed here
after.
4 A CASE EXAMPLE FROM THE FRENCH
SEDIMENTARY PARIS BASIN
ANDRA, the French radioactive waste management
agency, is presently investigating the possibility of
developing a long term repository in the eastern Paris
Basin, near the small village of Bure (Haute Marne).
The targeted 196 m thick Callovo-Oxfordian clayey
layer is interbedded between the 224 m thick Dogger
limestone (below) and the 212 m thick Oxfordian lime-
stone (above), all of which are sub-horizontal. Design
of this repository requires an accurate determination
of the complete natural stress field in the clayey for-
mation and its surrounding. For this purpose various
hydraulic tests campaigns have been undertaken, both
in vertical and inclined wells (Wileveau et al., 2007).
A first Hydraulic Fracturing campaign was under-
taken with tests in both the Oxfordian limestone and
the Callovo-Oxfordian formation from a vertical well
(EST205). It was based on classical HF only and the
magnitude of the maximum horizontal principal stress
was derived from fracture reopening pressures.
A typical record for tests run in the clayey layer is
shown on figure 4. The reopening pressure is seen to
be nearly equal to the shut in pressure (12 MPa).
If the reopening pressure is interpreted according
to equation (3), the maximum horizontal principal
stress is found equal to 19.3 MPa and to 24 MPa if
pore pressure is neglected altogether. Interestingly,
both values correspond to larger differential stress
(σ1 –σ3 ) than for the stiffer Oxfordian limestone, just
above the formation. This raised serious doubts on the
validity of this interpretation, given the creep behav-
ior for the claystone as determined in the laboratory.
Indeed, creep was found to develop for differential
stress as low as 2 MPa in the most clay rich part of
the Callovo-Oxfordian formation.
Thus, a new stress determination campaign was
undertaken in order to constrain better the maximum
horizontal principal stress magnitude.
81
Figure 5. Geometry of wells used for constraining the σH
magnitude.
4.1 Constraining σH magnitude with hydraulic tests
Hydraulic tests were run in inclined wells that had to
be drilled in two different azimuths for reconnaissance
purpose (figure 5). Azimuths were selected so as to
satisfy stress measurements requirements. The initial
objective was to run HTPF tests, but no preexisting
fractures were encountered, except for subhorizontal
structures at sedimentary bed interfaces.
Some of these horizontal joints were reopened by
the HTPF technique in order to evaluate directly the
weight of overburden at this location. At the same time,
the pressure in the packers was raised so as to create
en echelon fractures.
An image of such fractures is shown on figure 2. It
corresponds to a test in the Dogger limestone. Inter-
pretation of the observed fracture geometry involved
first the angular coordinate at which the en echelon
fractures intersect a cross section of the borehole and
second the inclination of the fractures with respect to
the borehole axis. It is assumed that these fractures are
tensile fractures so that the observed fracture planes
support no shear.
A computer code helped determine values for σnr at
regularly spaced angular coordinates for a large range
of σH values, with all the other parameters (orientation
of principal stress directions, magnitude of σh and σv )
provided by HF and HTPF tests run at the same depth.
For a 5◦ uncertainty on angles, and a 0.5 MPa uncer-
tainty on the minimum horizontal and the vertical
principal stress components (95% confidence limit),
the domain of uncertainty for σH was found equal
to 2 MPa. Hence, at a depth of 653 m in the Dogger
limestone, the minimum, maximum and vertical prin-
cipal stress components were found to be respectively
8.3 MPa, 14 MPa and 16.0 MPa, with the maximum
horizontal principal stress oriented North 154◦ E.
Interestingly, three tests were conducted for evaluat-
ing the tensile strength of the material and results range
from 3.5 MPa to 7.5 MPa. This yields a 4 MPa uncer-
tainty on the σH magnitude evaluation, if the classical
breakdown pressure equation is considered. Given an
uncertainty of 6.5 MPa on the role of pore pressure,
it is found that the range of possible values derived

Figure 6. Vertical profile of principal stress magnitudes as
determined from hydraulic tests. Results for the maximum
horizontal principal stress in the Oxfordian limestone have
been derived from the classical HF method (equation 2) after
subtracting the pore pressure magnitude.
by the classical HF technique for the σH magnitude is
11.3 MPa to 18.3 MPa.
While en echelon fractures developed in the Dogger
limestone, only tensile fractures normal to the bore-
hole axis were generated by this procedure, within the
Callovo-Oxfordian clayey formation. So, in order to
obtain a satisfactory constrain on the σH magnitude,
sleeve fracturing tests were run in a horizontal well
drilled sub-parallel to the minimum principal stress
direction. Tests were run in three steps. First, an axial
fracture was generated by a single packer. Then the
fracture was straddled by two inflatable packers and
the fracture was hydraulically extended. Finally, the
fracture was reopened with a single packer.
A horizontal fracture was generated. The shut in
pressure provided a direct measurement of the ver-
tical component while the sleeve reopening pressure
provided a measurement of the maximum horizontal
principal stress magnitude according to equation (3).
This test demonstrated that, at this location, the ver-
tical stress component was the intermediate principal
stress component (12.7 MPa). Further the magnitude
of the maximum horizontal principal stress was found
to be within the 12.7–14.8 MPa interval.
This result proved that the standard interpretation of
the reopening pressure used previously for interpreting
hydraulic tests in the vertical borehole was erroneous.
In order to confirm this conclusion, attention turned
to Borehole Breakouts analysis.
All results derived from hydraulic injection tests are
presented on figure 6.
4.2 Integrating results from hydraulic tests
with borehole breakout observations
As shown by equation (1), in vertical boreholes when
the vertical direction is a principal stress direction the
tangential stress σθθ reaches its maximum value in the
82
direction of the minimum horizontal principal stress.
When this tangential stress reaches a critical value,
rupture develops (Bell and Gough, 1979).
The development of borehole imaging by acoustic
methods has provided efficient means for mapping the
shape of borehole walls so that detection and analy-
sis of borehole breakouts has become routine (Zoback
et al., 2003). In particular the width of breakouts is fre-
quently used for determining the maximum horizontal
principal stress magnitude when that of the minimum
horizontal principal stress is known. This determina-
tion relies on an accurate description of the failure
process.
But in Bure, while borehole breakouts developed
in vertical wells drilled with water based mud, they
were not observed in wells drilled with oil based
mud. Laboratory tests revealed that the mean uniaxial
compressive strength of Callovo-Oxfordian claystone
was about 35 MPa (with a 10 MPa standard deviation)
when cores were collected in wells drilled with oil
based mud. It was only 23 MPa (with an 8 MPa stan-
dard deviation) when cores were collected in wells
drilled with water based mud. Further, significant
degradation of cores was observed when they were
placed in contact with fresh water. So, it became
apparent that interpretation of the width of borehole
breakouts was not an accurate means for measuring
the maximum horizontal principal stress magnitude,
because of the ill characterization of the water – rock
physico-chemical interaction.
However, the absence of breakouts in wells drilled
with oil based mud provided a means to place an upper
bound on the maximum horizontal principal stress.
Hence it was concluded that the maximum horizon-
tal principal stress did not reach 20 MPa anywhere in
the Callovo-Oxfordian formation.
Also, as mentioned in paragraph 3.4, breakouts may
develop “en echelon” in deviated wells and the loca-
tion of these en echelon failure processes depend on the
magnitude and orientation of all principal stress com-
ponents. When five of the stress tensor components are
known (three angles and two magnitudes), the missing
principal stress magnitude may be determined.
For well EST 211, which is deviated 69◦ from
the vertical direction in the N 51◦ E direction, i.e.
about 10◦ off the minimum horizontal principal stress
direction, en echelon breakouts were observed. Their
analysis gave a value for the σH magnitude in the
12.7–15.4 MPa range, quite in agreement with values
derived from hydraulic tests.
5 ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF SHEAR
STRESS DECOUPLING
The vertical stress profile shown on figure 6 illustrates
the role of soft material in sedimentary formation.
Because the clayey Callovo-Oxfordian cannot sustain
shear stress for long periods of time, the shear stress
in the horizontal plane is relaxed within this forma-
tion.As a consequence, both horizontal principal stress
components are subequal and their magnitude is close
to that of the vertical component.
Clearly, in such materials, the vertical stress profile
is strongly influenced by the material rheological char-
acteristics rather than by friction on properly oriented
preexisting planes.
This non linear stress variation with depth cre-
ates difficulty for integrating data gathered at various
depths. In the here above example, all stress com-
ponents required for interpreting either en echelon
fracture or en echelon breakouts were measured within
the same layers.
But more interestingly, these results outline the
fact that, in sedimentary formation, the horizontal
stress components may not be correlated to plate scale
tectonics. Rather, they reflect local deformation pro-
cesses associated possibly with active diagenesis, i.e.
physico-chemical processes that involve fluid-solid
interactions not described by the continuum mechan-
ics paradigm. An important such process is pressure
solution, in which solid is locally dissolved by fluid at
points of high stress concentration and precipitates in
pores. Another such process may be simply dissolution
associated with large scale fluid circulation.
In the eastern Paris Basin, continuous GPS monitor-
ing conducted over the last 10 years has not detected
any significant horizontal motion, i.e. any displace-
ment larger than the error bars. Yet a significant
deviatoric stress is measured above the soft callovo-
oxfordian. This deviatoric stress is associated with
a presently active deformation process, given the
creeping properties of the Callovo-Oxfordian clayey
formation, but its mechanisms is still to be precised.
The effect of such shear stress decoupling has been
previously documented in the northern Germany sed-
imentary basin by Röckel and Klemp (2003). They
noted that borehole breakout orientations observed
below the Permian and Triasic evaporitic formations
(i.e. below 4 km) are northerly oriented, while those
observed above these evaporitic formations are much
more randomly oriented. Clearly, the stress field
within the upper 3 km of the northern German basin
is mostly governed by local deformation process not
related to plate scale tectonics.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The combination of hydraulic tests in boreholes and
geophysical imaging logs provides efficient ways to
determine the complete stress profile at depth. When
preexisting fractures are not available, analysis of
sleeve fracturing, en echelon fractures in inclined wells
and HF tests in vertical wells provide reliable complete
stress evaluations.
Results from the eastern Paris Basin have demon-
strated efficiency of the method and its consistency
with borehole beakouts in vertical and inclined wells.
They demonstrate that the stress field in sedi-
mentary formation does not vary linearly with depth
but is controlled by the rheological properties of the
83
formation. Because soft layers provide shear stress
decoupling, stress fields in sedimentary formations
that encompass clay or salt are not related to plate
scale tectonics in a simple manner.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
I express here my sincere gratitude to ANDRA for
letting me use these excellent results.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Complete stress field determination in an inclined borehole at the Olkiluoto

site, Finland: Joint inversion of hydraulic and en echelon data

D. Ask
Vattenfall Power Consultant AB, Luleå, Sweden

F. Fontbonne
Géo-Énergies, Clermont-Ferrand, France

C. Brunet
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France

ABSTRACT: Stress measurements were undertaken in a significantly inclined borehole (denominated

OL-KR40) at the Olkiluoto site, Finland, resulting in en echelon fracturing of the borehole wall. The failure
to successfully stimulate pre-existing fractures using the HTPF-technique, which was the core in the testing
strategy, rendered us to use the information from the en echelon features in order to derive the state of stress.
This study indicates that the en echelon features do not support failure by tension, except possibly at shallow
depth, as this would imply unrealistic stress gradient at the site. Instead, we demonstrate borehole wall failure
by shear. By employing the Coulomb criterion, a probable stress distribution with depth is derived.

1 INTRODUCTION

The hydraulic fracturing methodology has had a vast

application worldwide since it was first introduced in
the 1960-ies (e.g. Scheidegger 1962).The primary lim-
itation with the methodology is the requirement that
the investigated borehole should be aligned with a
principal stress direction. If this is not satisfied within
some 20◦ , en echelon fracturing appears, making the
analysis more complex. Of this reason, the amount of
hydraulic stress measurements in inclined boreholes
is indeed sparse. The nuclear waste repository sites
in Finland (this paper, Ask et al. 2010), Sweden (Ask
et al. 2007), and France (Wileveau et al. 2007) are a
few exceptions.
The failure criterion for en echelon fractures has,
similar to hydraulic fractures, generally been consid-
ered a result of tensile failure.Yet, several authors have
expressed that this may not always be true (e.g. Pauld-
ing 1968, Lockner & Byerlee 1977, Solberg et al. 1977,
Roegiers & Detournay 1988) and fracturing could be
a result of shearing.
In this paper, the results from the most recent
hydraulic stress measurements at the Olkiluoto site, Figure 1. Map of the Olkiluoto site, showing the under-
ground lab Onkalo in the center and the location of borehole
Finland (Fig. 1), are presented. The stress measure-
OL-KR40 in the lower right corner.
ments were undertaken in a significantly inclined
borehole, at surface dipping about 20◦ (with respect will demonstrate that it is indeed possible to derive
to the vertical) and flattening out towards the bottom the state of stress. In addition, we will show that the
to a final dip of 56◦ . Testing was very problematic and above-mentioned authors were correct; failure initia-
yielded large amounts of en echelon failures. Yet, we tion may be a result of shear.

85
2 EQUIPMENT

The measurements involved a cooperation between

Vattenfall Power Consultant AB, supplying all surface
equipment, and Institut de Physique du Globe de
Strasbourgh, supplying the downhole equipment. In
addition, the 2nd and 4th authors participated in the
field.
The surface equipment used involved a self-
supporting wire-line unit, and the downhole equip-
ment consisted of a wire-line activated straddle-
packer. Below the straddle-packer, a HTPF or Mosnier
tool (Mosnier 1982, Mosnier & Cornet 1989) is fixed,
thus providing electrical imaging. During measure-
ment, an alternating electric voltage is applied between
a distant electrode (armor of the cable) and a number
of electrodes set in various azimuths on a ring placed
at the center of the tool. The electrical current emitted
(or received) by each of the electrodes on the central
ring is proportional to the conductance of that part
of the borehole wall facing the electrode (Figs. 2–4).
In addition, the intensity of the injected current can be
adapted, to either highlight tiny fractures or to work on
very conductive features. Hence, it provides a dynamic
view not accessible on direct core examination.
The Mosnier tool involves two tiltmeters and three
magnetometers, which when considering the repeata-
bility between different logs, generally provide a
fracture orientation within half a degree for dip and
5 degrees for azimuth.

3 TESTING METHODOLOGY

The testing can be divided into a few different stages:

1. Mobilization
2. Reconnaissance logging
3. Selection of test sections
4. Injection testing
5. Post-logging after each completed injection test,
including packer positions.
In total, 25 tests were undertaken of which 12 aimed
at stimulating pre-existing fractures (HTPF, Cornet
1993) and 13 were hydraulic fracturing tests. The ini-
tial plan involved only a handful of HF tests, but the
number of suitable HTPF test sections was quite few
given the length of the well, and was subsequently
increased. In addition, when several HTPF tests failed,
the number of HF tests was increased once more to
ascertain that the stress field could indeed be derived.
4 RESULTS
4.1 Injection testing
Early on in the testing, it became clear that the pre-
existing fractures do not easily open because of a
relatively strong fracture sealing combined with the
stress situation in relation to the “strength” of the rock.
With strength, we refer to the special loading condi-
tion that prevails when exposing the borehole wall to
Figure 2. Result from HTPF test at 440 m vertical depth
(Test 16). Instead or stimulating the chosen pre-existing frac-
ture, visualized in the reconnaissance log prior to injection
(upper image), a new fracture was induced, as shown in the
post-log after complete injection (lower image).
radial compression as a result of inflating the pack-
ers and pressurization of the section between them.
Subsequently, the borehole wall failed prior to re-
opening of the chosen pre-existing fracture (Fig. 2). In
addition, two HTPF sections failed as a result of short-
circuiting around the packers, and two tests involve too
large uncertainties in fracture orientation to be useful,
reducing the number of data to 21 (Table 1).
The failure to execute several of the HTPF tests
also implies another difficulty; namely that two frac-
tures exist in the test section. Hence, the test cannot
be judged unambiguous as it may involve simultane-
ous pumping in two non-parallel fractures, giving an
erroneous normal stress estimate.
In addition to these problems, several of the HF tests
display slightly varying shut-in or normal stress values
for a series of cycles, implying that the fracture trace
observed at the borehole wall may not persist away
from the borehole. This is a result of that the principal

86
Figure 3. Result from HF test at 205 m vertical depth (Test 4)
showing en echelon fracturing.The reconnaissance log (upper
image) indicates a homogeneous borehole section without
fractures and the post-log display multiple en echelon traces,
both propagated and non-propagated. Note the mismatch
when trying to fit the en echelon traces with the sinusoidal.
stresses are inclined at the borehole wall as a result of
the stress perturbation caused by the borehole.
Finally, many of the tests involve unusually large
uncertainties in fracture orientation. This is partly
a result of the fracturing process, which will be
described in the next section, and partly a result of
that the fractures are sub-horizontal, giving reduced
precision in fracture azimuth.
4.2 En echelon fracturing
Initially, the en echelon traces are relatively short
and only develop in the two diametrically opposed
regions around the borehole circumferential where a
failure condition is satisfied. However, when appear-
ing in the test section, the traces are subjected to
fluid percolation and propagate to form longer traces
that may eventually develop into a complete fracture
87
Figure 4. Propagation of en echelon fracture traces within
the test section (Tests 14 and 17 in the upper and lower
images, respectively). The diametrically opposite traces are
not located on the exact same level with respect to the bore-
hole axis, thereby causing a mismatch when trying to fit with
a sinusoidal.
plane. However, because the traces on the diametri-
cally opposed sides are not always on the same level
with respect to the axis of the borehole, there may be
a slight mismatch (Figs. 3–4). Hence, fracture planes
resulting from propagated en echelon traces are, com-
pared to planar pre-existing fractures, associated with
larger uncertainties in orientation. Indeed, this is one
of the problems associated with the collected data in
borehole OL-KR40 (Fig. 3).
5 STRESS DETERMINATION
As a result of the difficulties in the testing, only
three HTPF tests were judged completely unambigu-
ous for use in stress inversion. The remainder are
either partly unambiguous, generally meaning that
more than one fracture exist in the test section, or
Table 1. Data collected in borehole OL-KR40, Olkiluoto, depth, plus their orientation. No rotation of the hori-
Finland, including three unambiguous HTPF tests and 20 zontal stresses is assumed to take place throughout the
potential en echelon features (E). For these tests, the well investigated volume and the vertical stress was set to
pressure at initiation instead of normal stress is presented. correspond to density measures on cores. Hence, the
Two tests are excluded as a result of by-pass around the pack-
ers (Tests 5 and 11) and two tests as a result of very large
model involves 5 unknown parameters.
uncertainty in fracture orientation (Tests 15 and 18). The normal stress for the mth measurement point
can be described as:
Test Type Vert. depth σn /Pw Azimuth Inclination
◦ ◦
no – m MPa N Horiz.

1 E 138.2 16.0 58.5 42.0

2 E 121.7 19.0 229.0 38.5
3 E 145.8 17.0 130.5 43.0
4 E 205.1 17.0 160.0 47.0 where σn = normal stress; φm = azimuth of the nor-
E 122.5 48.5 mal of the mth fracture plane; ϕm = inclination of
E 134.0 28.0
6 E 192.6 16.5 96.5 28.0
the normal of the mth fracture plane with respect
7 E 280.5 20.0 27.0 21.5 to the vertical direction; z m = vertical depth of the
8 HTPF 264.9 12.9 14.5 57.0 mth test; Si = maximum and minimum horizontal
HTPF 344.0 55.5 stresses; αi = stress gradients with respect to the ver-
HTPF 7.5 59.5 tical direction for horizontal and vertical stresses; and
9 HTPF 321.7 11.9 330.5 58.0 λ = orientation of maximum horizontal stress (S1 ).
10 HTPF 336.4 12.8 162.0 68.0 The solution of the inverse problem is defined by the
12 E 384.7 20.5 115.0 27.0 minimum of:
13 E 422.3 23.5 42.0 39.0
14 E 399.6 20.2 26.0 37.5
E 53.0 35.5
16 E 440.4 17.0 163.5 35.5
17 E 453.4 21.1 144.0 34.5 where πi = is a priori and a posteriori vectors includ-
19 E 480.5 20.0 140.5 18.0 ing data and model parameters; and Co = is the a priori
21 E 493.7 23.0 162.0 31.0
covariance matrix.
22 E 501.7 19.9 90.0 23.0
23 E 645.6 23.5 172.5 12.5 The problem is a conditional least square, i.e. the
24 E 648.5 22.5 167.5 20.5 minimum of equation (2) is sought as to satisfy the con-
25 E 800.0 27.7 116.5 16.0 dition f (π) = 0 (Eq. (1)). Tarantola & Valette (1982)
demonstrated that this could be solved using the
iterative algorithm based on the fixed-point method:

ambiguous. With respect to conventional stress inver-

sion, all en echelon fractures are judged ambiguous.
Note that, when using the approach described hereafter
where F is a matrix of partial derivatives of f (π) valued
in Sections 5.2 to 5.4, en echelon data are generally
at point π. Further details are outlined in e.g. Cornet
completely unambiguous.
(1993) and Ask (2006).
The number and distribution of completely unam-
In order to derive a solution, unambiguous and
biguous data implies that the stress field cannot be
ambiguous data had to be included, giving the solution
reliably determined, even if model parameters are kept
a degree of uncertainty. The best solution for the depth
at a minimum. Hence, we are forced to include partly
interval 140–480 m vertical depth can be expressed as
unambiguous and ambiguous data to derive a solu-
follows at 300 m vertical depth (Fig. 5):
tion. However, given that this may yield a solution
with considerable errors, the calculations were made
in a few steps: (1) conventional inversion; (2) attempts σH = 20.7 + 0.0676 (z-300) MPa
to verify the solution using en echelon theory look- σh = 11.9 + 0.0360 (z-300) MPa
ing at individual tests; and (3) joint inversion of all σv = 8.0 + 0.0265 (z-300) MPa (assumed)
unambiguous normal stress data and all interpreted en
echelon features. λ = 78◦ N

This solution involves quite significant uncertain-

5.1 Conventional inversion of hydraulic data
The inversion was made using a methodology devel-
oped by Cornet (1993), which is based on the least-
squares criterion (Tarantola & Valette 1982). In this
method, a priori knowledge of the unknown param-
eters is assumed to exist, in this case assumed to
equal two horizontal stresses and their variation with
ties, in addition to those arising with the use of not
only completely unambiguous data. Firstly, the con-
fidence intervals at smaller depths overlap. Secondly,
the uncertainties of the magnitudes at the lower part of
the interval are large. Finally, stress gradients are unre-
alistic, especially for the maximum horizontal stress.
Hence, this result is regarded as crude at this stage.

88
5.2 Brief en echelon theory
En echelon fracturing was first discussed by Daneshy
(1973) and since then, the geometry of en echelon
fractures has been considered for constraining the far
field stress state (e.g. Brudy & Zoback 1993, Peska &
Zoback 1995). In this section, attempts to validate the
above crude solution are undertaken based on en ech-
elon theory. Prior to this, we first briefly outline the
theory.
When a well is inclined by more than 20◦ from any
principal stress direction, only the radial stress com-
ponent is principal at the borehole wall (and equal to
the applied pressure). The other two principal stresses
are inclined with respect to the tangential and axial
directions. The stress field around the well is given
by:
where σii = far field stress components; ν = Poisson’s
ratio; θ = angular coordinate; r = borehole radius; and
ρ = radial distance taken from the centre of the bore-
hole. Stresses at the borehole wall are obtained by
setting ρ = r. Hence, when a pressure is applied in
the borehole, this results in “en echelon” cracking
(Figs. 3–4).
The en echelon theory basically involves investiga-
tion of normal and shear stresses at the borehole wall,
enabling determination of the angular coordinate for
which a failure criterion is satisfied.
A Monte Carlo code was developed that investi-
gates the resulting maximum and minimum principal
stresses, the shear and normal stresses, and maximum
effective shear stress at the borehole wall. The code
thus enables determination of the angular coordinate
for which both tensile and shear failure criteria are
satisfied. Tensile failure occurs at the location where
the minimum principal stress and the normal stresses
reach their minimum value, simultaneously as the
shear stress is close to zero. If the failure is induced by
shear, the failure is expected to occur at the location
where the effective shear reaches its maximum value.
If this location coincides with the condition that the
shear stress exceeds the Coulomb shear strength, the
failure is interpreted as shear.
89
Figure 5. Summary of calculations; conventional inversion,
tensile analysis of en echelon features (E-T), and finally,
the joint solution involving both HTPF data and en echelon
shear data (E-S). When employing 15◦ and 30◦ error between
position of satisfied shear failure condition and position of
expected failure, 10 and 17 observed fractures, respectively,
fit the joint solution. Note that tensile solutions suggest unre-
alistic stress gradients and a large scatter in the orientation of
σH = 78+/−51◦ N.
5.3 Application of en echelon tensile criterion
We will in this section demonstrate the stress con-
dition at the borehole wall for a few cases, starting
with the very clear en echelon fractures in Test 4,
depicted in Figure 3. For all calculations, the vertical
stress was assumed equal to density measurements on
cores (0.0265 MPa/m) and tensile strength was set to
equal result from direct tensile measurements on cores
(7 MPa). A solution was sought with +/−30 MPa for
horizontal stress magnitudes and +/−80◦ for orienta-
tion of maximum horizontal stress with respect to the
inversion solution.
For Test 4, there are three orientation alterna-
tives (Table 1) and the expected failure is at an
angular coordinates equal to 149◦ , 122◦ , and 120◦ ,
in the borehole frame of reference. The stress sit-
uation at this depth based on the inversion result
entails that σh = 8.5 MPa, σH = 14.3 MPa, and σH is
oriented 78◦ N (σv = 5.4 MPa). When calculating the
various stresses at the borehole wall, it is clear that
we are fairly close to tensile failure, but the con-
ditions are not completely satisfied (Fig. 6, upper
image). A tentative solution for tensile failure is
given in Figure 6 (lower image), involving a rela-
tively large increase in stress levels: σh = 13 MPa,
σH = 32 MPa, and a slight rotation of σH (69◦ N). For
fracture alternatives two and three, the tentative solu-
tions involved σh = 10 MPa, σH = 18 MPa, orientation
σH = 32◦ N and σh = 14 MPa, σH = 28 MPa, orienta-
tion σH = 45◦ N, respectively. Test 3, some 50 m above

Figure 6. Resulting stresses in the borehole frame of refer-
ence for Test 4 (fracture alternative 1) using inversion solution
(upper image) and using tentative solution satisfying tensile
failure (lower image). Smin is minimum principal stress, Sn
and Tau are the normal and shear stress acting on the frac-
ture plane, respectively, and angular coordinate represents the
location of expected failure.
Test 4, yielded σh = 10 MPa, σH = 17 MPa, and σH is
oriented 44◦ .
Also for the deeper tests, the inversion solution
indicates that we are fairly close to satisfying the cri-
terion for tensile failure. However, as opposed to the
shallower tests, truly significant increases in stress
magnitudes are required to satisfy it completely.
For example, for Test 17, a tentative solution indi-
cates that σh = 24 MPa and σH = 49 MPa, which cor-
respond to 6.6 and 18 MPa increase compared with
the inversion solution. Similar to the shallow tests,
90
σH is oriented more NE than ENE (39◦ ). In addi-
tion, there is considerable inconsistency for the data
set as a whole. The overall results of the tensile anal-
ysis suggest that the stress gradients are even larger
than the inversion solution and of the order 0.04 and
0.10 MPa/m for σh and σH , respectively (Fig. 5), and
the orientation of σH 78+/−51◦ N, i.e. with a pro-
nounced scatter. Hence, given the unrealistic stress
gradients, and inconsistency within the results, it is
concluded that the observed en echelon traces are not
a result of tensile failure.
5.4 Application of en echelon shear criterion
For the shear analysis, each individual test was ana-
lyzed for model parameters in the vicinity of the
inversion solution; +/−15 MPa for horizontal stress
magnitudes and +/−40◦ for orientation of maximum
horizontal stress. Again, we use Test 4 to illustrate the
results, and it is observed that the shear failure cri-
terion is also nearly satisfied with the inversion result
(Fig. 7, upper image). However, the correction to fulfill
requirements is much smaller compared to the ten-
sile case; for this tentative solution 1 MPa reduction of
σh -magnitude and 15 degrees clockwise rotation of σH
(from 78 to 60◦ N, Fig. 7, lower image).
Also for more deeply located tests, the inversion
solution seems relatively fair, and most importantly,
the corresponding stress gradients for the evaluated
tests are realistic (of the order 0.02–0.03 MPa/m for
both σh and σH ). Hence, shear failure of the borehole
wall seems to be the most likely criterion, and by that
conclusion, we proceed with the global inversion.
5.5 Joint inversion of hydraulic and en
echelon data
Also for the joint inversion, a Monte Carlo scheme was
developed that simultaneously evaluates the hydraulic
data and the en echelon data. The model with the maxi-
mum amount of fitting tests according to a few criteria
was thus determined:
1. Maximum effective shear stress must be located
within 15◦ of the expected angular coordinate for
failure.
2. The shear strength must be larger than the Coulomb
shear strength, and this occurs within 15◦ of the
expected angular coordinate for failure.
3. The location of maximum shear stress and the loca-
tion where shear stress exceeds the shear strength
must not be located more than 15◦ apart.
4. Hydraulic data are accepted if the deviation
between calculated and observed normal stress is
less than three standard deviations.
In addition to this, the following assumptions
were made: (i) one principal stress is vertical and
corresponding to density measurements on cores
(0.0265 MPa/m); (ii) no rotation is taking place within
the investigated rock volume; (iii) the Coulomb crite-
rion is a suitable shear failure criterion; (iv) Poisson’s

Figure 7. Resulting stresses in the borehole frame of ref-
erence for inversion solution (upper image) and tentative
solution satisfying shear failure (lower image). Tau’ is the
effective shear stress, Coulomb’ is the effective Coulomb
strength, and angular coordinate represents the location of
expected failure.
ration equals 0.22; (v) intrinsic friction angle equals
0.9; (vi) anisotropy is negligible; and (vii) packer
effects are negligible (see further discussion).
The best solution, involving 10 en echelon fractures
and all three 3 unambiguous HTPF tests, corresponds
to the following at 300 m vertical depth:
σH = 20.3 + 0.0225 (z-300) MPa
σh = 14.3 + 0.0225 (z-300) MPa
σv = 8.0 + 0.0265 (z-300) MPa (assumed)
λ = 80◦ N
91
As previously stated, the precision of the fracture
orientations is not optimal and to investigate this,
calculations were also made with a relaxed angular
condition (criteria 1–3 above). When allowing 22 and
30◦ offset, 13 and 17 en echelon fractures, respectively,
fit the solution (Fig. 5).
It is observed that tensile and shear results are
very similar at shallow depth (above 150 m vertical
depth, Fig. 5), suggesting that both conditions could
potentially be satisfied.
6 DISCUSSION
Stress field determinations using hydraulic methods in
homogeneous rock masses are fairly straight-forward,
given that hydraulic fracturing can be applied. Primar-
ily, this is because each single and successful fracturing
test immediately resolved four of six unknown param-
eters of the stress tensor; namely the orientations and
one normal stress (that of σh in a vertical borehole).
In addition, an estimate of σH may be derived if the
pore pressure effect and tensile strength of the rock
is known. Hence, only the vertical stress remains
unresolved. In boreholes deviating from a principal
stress direction, testing must rely on stimulation of
pre-existing fractures, which in addition must be avail-
able with a diversity of fracture orientations for proper
stress field determination.
In the inclined borehole OL-KR40, the distribution
of pre-existing fractures was indeed quite favourable,
but as visualized in this paper, most of them could not
be stimulated. Instead, we have established a method-
ology for stress field determination taking advantage
of the very issue creating the problem with the injec-
tion testing; the borehole wall failures. In order to
accomplish this, an extension of the en echelon the-
ory was required that considers both tensile and shear
criteria.
The results indicate borehole failure by shear, but it
cannot be discarded that tensile and/or both conditions
are satisfied above 150 m vertical depth in borehole
OL-KR40. The presented stress profile is the most
likely stress distribution, but we emphasize that that it
rests on multiple assumptions: (i) one principal stress
is vertical and corresponding to density measurements
on cores (0.0265 MPa/m). This may be questioned as
a slight inclination (a few degrees) has been observed
with other stress measuring methods (e.g. Ask 2010);
(ii) no rotation is taking place within the investigated
rock volume. Only new testing may verify this assump-
tion; (iii) the Coulomb criterion is a suitable shear
failure criterion, although the rock mechanical liter-
ature is rich in different failure criteria; (iv) Poisson’s
ratio equals 0.22; (v) intrinsic friction angle equals
0.9; (vi) anisotropy is negligible, which may not be
the case in the prevailing magmatic and foliated mice
gneiss; and (vii) packer effects are negligible, although
en echelon fracturing often initiate at the boundary
between the packer element and the test section. These
assumptions render a discussion of precision of the
joint solution meaningless.
However, given the many parameters involved in the
analysis, and the consistency of the data with respect
to satisfied shear failure criterion at expected angular
positions, the validity of the methodology has been
demonstrated.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusion from this study is that en echelon
features are not always a result of tensile failure and
might, under certain conditions, be a result of shearing.
This is, as stated in the introduction, not a revolutionary
result, but it is, to our knowledge, the first time field
data are presented for which the en echelon traces have
been induced by shear. Stress determinations based on
en echelon features should as a result be undertaken
with care and involve evaluation of both normal and
shear stresses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Finnish Nuclear Fuel
and Waste Managemen Co., Posiva. Review com-
ments from Francois Cornet, Kimmo Kemppainen,
Matti Hakala, Maria Ask, and Lennart Ekman are
acknowledged.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Development of borehole-jack fracturing technique and in situ measurements

T. Yokoyama & K. Ogawa

OYO Corporation, Saitama, Japan

O. Sano
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

A. Hirata & Y. Mizuta

Sojo University, Kumamoto, Japan

ABSTRACT: For the practical measurement of crustal stresses at great depths more than 1,000 m from the
ground surface, we have been promoting research and development of borehole-jack fracturing technique.
The principle of this technique is described with the relations between jack pressure and stress-state around
the borehole. Specifically, when a borehole wall is loaded by a borehole-jack, a pair of new fractures will be
induced oppositely in parallel to the borehole axis. After unloading, if the same place on the borehole wall is
loaded again by a jack, the pair of fractures will be opened again. Two principal stresses and the orientation of
crustal stress in the plane perpendicular to the borehole axis are determined by the re-opening pressures and
the orientation of the fractures respectively. This technique is similar to hydraulic fracturing from the viewpoint
of analyzing principle. Hence, there is no theoretical limit to the depth of measurement. The features of this
technique are that it is possible to produce a pair of axial fractures in arbitrarily direction, possible to measure
a displacement of the fracture opening, and, as a result, it is possible to determine the re-opening pressure
accurately. On this field tests, the fractures induced with hydraulic fracturing method were re-opened by the
borehole-jack in the range of pressure value similar to hydraulic fracturing. This paper describes our results of
numerical analyses, laboratory experiments, and field tests.

1 INTRODUCTION (3.4%). Among these methods, focal mechanism solu-

In the earth science field, the distribution of the stress
in the wide area at great depth more than 1,000 m is
required in order to determine the crustal stress around
the epicentral area. On the other hand, the distribution
of initial stress near by the structure shallower than
1,000 m is required for civil engineering purpose. Both
applications require high resolution measurement, of
course. However, for the earthquake prediction pur-
pose, stress distribution information in only horizontal
two dimensions is still quite important for evaluation
of crustal stress. Instead, information of three dimen-
sional stress distributions is very important for reliable
underground structural designing, even though the
information is only for narrow limited area.
In the fields of both engineering and Earth sci-
ences, several stress measurement methods have been
proposed. The World Stress Map, WMS that com-
piled data of crustal stress measurement all over the
world as of 1992 is appeared in the special issue
of Journal of Geophysical Research (Zobac, 1992).
After Zoback, (1992), stress data can be derived from
focal mechanism solutions (54%), borehole breakouts
(28%), fault-slip (5.5%), hydraulic fracturing (4.5%),
volcanic alignment (4.1%), and stress relief method
tions provide us an orientation of principal stress
and a variation of stress associated with earthquake.
Fault-slip and volcanic alignments can provide us only
an orientation of principal stress. These data do not
include any information related to the absolute value
of crustal stress. Borehole breakouts associated with
drilling provide us magnitude of stress as well as its
orientation. The percentages of stress relief method
and hydro fracturing method that are assumed to be
more accurate for measuring an orientation of princi-
pal stress and its absolute value are unexpectedly low.
Stress relief method is applied more at the depth less
than 50 m and hydro fracturing method is dominated
in deeper zone. However, no other method but break-
outs is an only method to provide us information of
the area deeper than 3 km. These methods to utilize
borehole are quite useful since they can derive abso-
lute value of principal stress that cannot be provided
by other methods.
Non-linearity of stress-strain relationship, anisotropy,
and heterogeneity are common characteristics in
almost of all kind of rocks. Since current stress analysis
equation is based on the assumption of homogeneous
isotropic elastic body, the final calculation result has
more error if the nature of test rock is farther from an

93
ideal body. This is an essential problem that affect to an
accuracy of calculation result directly. Also, an appli-
cable depth of current stress relief technique is 50 m or
less from ground surface. This is a problem related to
the measurement technique, and, development of new
technique is required such as a device for higher water
pressure, a technique to install a device in deep drill
hole, and an over-coring technique with wire line drill
hole.
One of the techniques to overcome these problems
will be a hydraulic fracturing. Since the theory of the
stress relief technique is based on the measurement
of strain due to stress relief, conversion from strain to
stress is necessary. On the other hand, the hydraulic
fracturing method can measure crustal stress directly
since this method is based on the balance of force.
However, this method has two critical problems that
have not been solved completely as of today (Ito et al.,
1999, Ito et al., 2005); Figure 1. Conceptual schematic (Sano et al. 2005) of
borehole-jack fracturing probe. Forming fractures in any
• if water pressure affect to the inside of fracture when three directions and measure re-opening pressure. Unknown
it re-open, factors are two principal stresses and its direction.
• if the pressure calculated from the inflection point
of non-linearity on pressure-time curve is not re-
opening pressure but shut-in pressure. a conceptual schematic (Sano et al. 2005) of borehole-
These problems may not only raise a question about jack fracturing technique. This figure indicates unique
accuracy of measurement, but raise a quite important pressure plate, pressure shell, which can overcome an
essential question to the basic equation of hydraulic above mentioned drawback. The pressure is applied
fracturing method itself. This problem lies on a basic to the borehole with a special pressure shell which
principle of the method that uses fluid as pressure has teeth shape surface, instead of direct applica-
medium. Although using low compliance or high stiff- tion of pressure with solid pressure plate. The width
ness system, the re-opening pressure is useless if a ratio of fracture opening is measured directly with a dis-
of principal stress is more than 3. We have been con- placement sensor applied to the borehole wall surface
ducting our study on borehole-jack fracturing method through observation window. Figure 2 is a picture of
for overcoming these problems (Mizuta et al., 2004). borehole-jack fracturing probe.
With this technique, it is considered that the fracture
will re-open when pressure shell start to apply pres-
2 BOREHOLE-JACK FRACTURING
sure to the borehole wall and tangential stress reaches
TECHNIQUE
zero. The condition of re-opening of fracture will be
explained with following equation.
The principle of borehole-jack fracturing technique
is that using metal plate to apply pressure against
borehole wall, and observe the relationship between
re-opening of vertical fractures and stress distribution
around borehole wall. It is similar to hydraulic fractur-
ing technique. The merit of this technique is that we Where,
can form vertical fractures to desired direction, and k : Sensitivity coefficient by the probe design
can measure the behavior of the re-opened fracture Pj : Pressure of hydraulic jack
with displacement gauge accurately. This technique Sh : Minimum horizontal stress
can eliminate problems derived from water as a pres- SH : Maximum horizontal stress
sure source. On the other hand, higher pressure system θ : Direction of fracture on a given coordinates
is required in order to propagate fractures, since α : Direction of principal stress on a given coordinates
hydraulic pressure does not affect to inside of fractures. P0 : Pore pressure around fracture
This technique was proposed in order to form ver- SH , Sh , and α are unknown. However, the equa-
tical fractures on borehole wall by borehole-jack for tion will be solved if Pj of fracture re-opening for at
determining young’s modulus of rocks (De la Cruz, least three directions are obtained. The advantage of
1977, Yokoyama and Nakanishi, 1997). The technique borehole-jack fracturing technique is that the equation
can provide maximum horizontal stress SH , minimum is applicable even though the ratio of principal stress
horizontal stress Sh , and direction of principal stress. is more than 3 since fracture can be induced in any
But, there was a drawback that forms fractures to direction. Also, it is applicable for measuring rotated
undesired direction due to the subtle difference of cur- principal stress since the device can re-open a same
vature of pressure shell and borehole wall. Figure 1 is fracture.

94
 Table 1. Assumption of numerical analysis.

Analysis code FLAC (Finite difference method)

Analysis model Homogeneous isotropic elastic body
(1/4 axial symmetry)
Young’s modulus 210 GPa (Borehole-jack fracturing
probe), 80 GPa (Rock)
Poisson’s ratio 0.25
Boundary conditions 60 cm cubic, free end

Figure 2. Prototype of borehole-jack fracturing probe for

HQ borehole. a. Whole body of probe, b. head portion,
c. middle portion with displacement gauge. The gap between
pressure plate and pressure shell makes good contact of
pressure shell to borehole wall.

3 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS Figure 3. An example of the analyzed result. Tensile strain is

concentrated at open edge of pressure plate with the condition
Numerical analyses are conducted if fractures can of horizontal strain, free end.
be formed to desired direction. The analysis code is
FLAC. Major conditions are shown in Table 1. The
analysis model is assumed as an axial symmetry of
homogeneous isotropic elastic body. It is a square
shape model which has 98 mm diameter hole at the
center. It has free end (partially fixed in some case),
and plane strain state (partially plane stress in some
case). An example of the result of analysis is shown in
Figure 3.
A sensitivity coefficient k in Eq. (1) will be affected
by a coupling condition of a probe and rock. Figure 4
shows an analyzed result of the relationship between
a sensitivity coefficient k and coupling condition of Figure 4. Relationship between sensitivity coefficient k and
angle of coupling area derived from numerical analysis.
pressure shell and borehole wall. A vertical axis is a
sensitivity coefficient, and a horizontal axis is cou-
pling area in angle from a center of pressure shell. The Figure 5 indicates distributions of tangential strain
angles of coupling area are 24◦ , 39◦ , 45◦ , 60◦ , 70◦ , in a borehole wall (2 mm from borehole wall surface)
80◦ , and 81◦ from a top of the shell. derived with numerical analyses. The coupling areas
Figure 4 indicates that sensitivity coefficient k is of pressure shell are 45◦ , 60◦ , 75◦ , and 80◦ in this
almost no change if an angle of coupling area is less case. Tensile strain gets larger with coupling area gets
than 60◦ . It means that determined sensitivity coef- wider. On an actual probe, a sensitivity coefficient will
ficient k will not be critically affected by coupling become larger and make fracturing easier with more
area even though it is little different from desired cou- coupling area or less open edge gaps since tensile strain
pling area as long as it is less than 60◦ . Accordingly, it will be concentrated more to open edge area.
indicates the reliability of evaluated re-opening pres- The tangential strain is almost constant and max-
sure. This result indicates that the measurement of imum value is 44 × 10−6 up to ±30◦ of coupling
re-opening pressure with different contact area from area. On the other hand, the strain at open gap
original fracturing will also be an effective way. area is 168 × 10−6 which is 3.8 times of tangential

95
Figure 5. Distributions of tangential strain derived from
numerical analyses (Figure 3). The strain concentrates at
open edge more narrowly and strongly with coupling area Figure 6. Mini-jack for laboratory experiment. a Whole
widening. body of mini-jack, b Decomposed parts of mini-jack.

strain. Also, as explained before, tensile strain is

approximately 100 × 10−6 at open area if coupling
area is less than 60 degrees. But, it forms two peaks
with increasing of coupling area. We assume that the
cause of such phenomenon is due to the concentration
of stress at the edge of coupling area (open area). These
are strain at 2 mm from borehole surface. However, the
sharp peak of 432 × 10−6 is observed at the borehole
wall surface at open area, and we presume that new
fracturing start from this point.

4 LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
We could determine the relationship between pres-
sure shell, coupling coefficient, and distribution of
tangential strain with numerical analysis. Then, we
studied a strain distribution around a borehole on
the model under loading with an actual borehole-jack
probe. There are three purposes for this experiment as
follows;
• to verify an influences of a difference of diame-
ters between a pressure shell and borehole on strain
distribution,
• to verify sensitivity coefficient,
• to observe a development of strain at fracturing and
re-opening moment.
The rock specimen for experiment is a 600 mm ×
600 mm × 64 mm fine-grained gabbro which has a
borehole at the center of it. Three of them were pre-
pared with borehole diameter of 96.7 mm (small),
97.2 mm (medium), and 97.7 mm (large). The diame-
ter of borehole-jack is 97.2 mm, and we expected to be
able to observe a difference of strain distribution with a
difference of contact condition between pressure shell
and borehole wall.
Figure 7. Mini-jack and rock specimen with strain gauges.
The new probe was prepared for this experiment,
and is different from the one showed in Figure 2.
The probe is 120 mm in total length, with 86 mm long
and 97.2 mm diameter pressure cell. This experimen-
tal probe shown in Figure 6 is named “mini-jack”. The
angle of contact area of mini-jack against borehole
wall is 81◦ . The pressurizing capability of mini-jack
is 2.3 times higher than a prototype probe showed in
Figure 2 with increasing of an efficiency of cylinders
by three pistons. Figure 7 is a picture of mini-jack
installed in the borehole of the rock specimen. Figure 8
indicates the position of strain gauges set on the rock
specimen. The efficient length of strain gauge is 5 mm.
4.1 An influences of a difference of diameters
between a pressure shell and borehole
on strain distribution
Typical tangential strain distributions with borehole
diameters of 96.7 mm (small) are shown in Figure 9.
With 96.7 mm borehole , distinguished peak of tensile
strain (200∼250 × 10−6 ) is observed at open edge

96
Figure 8. Position of strain gauges. They are installed in
tangential direction and radius direction. Few of them are
installed on the other side of rock specimen too.
Figure 9. Typical example of tangential strain distribution
by mini-jack loading in the rock specimen with 96.7 mm
(small) borehole size.
area. It seems that open edge area has large tensile
strain because of stronger contact of the edge of pres-
sure shell to the borehole wall due to the smaller
diameter of borehole than one of the pressure shell
by 0.5 mm.
In case of 97.2 mm (medium) borehole, relatively
larger tensile strain (100∼140 × 10−6 ) is observed
at open area comparing the smaller tensile strain
(10∼20 × 10−6 ) at the center of pressure shell. This
test condition is very close to the numerical analysis
model explained previously, and the result of value as
well as tendency is also closer to the result of numerical
analysis than others. However, we could not observe
two peaks of strain concentration at the edge of pres-
sure shells that was derived from numerical model
analysis. The result is even closer to the one of the
numerical model of 96.7 mm (small). These two peaks
suppose to be appeared when the stress is concentrated
at the edges. We presume that the contact of edges is
slightly weaker with 97.2 mm (medium) model.
In case of 97.7 mm (large) borehole, we can
observe compressed strain (−3∼85 × 10−6 ) at center
of pressure shell area, and constant tensile strain
97
Figure 10. The rock specimen installed in the uni-axial
loading device. The mini-jack will load to up-down direction.
(approx. 100 × 10−6 ) in wide area (slightly less than
90◦ ) around open edges. The reason of this is that the
pressure at the center area is higher than open edge
area because the diameter of the hole is slightly bigger
than the diameter of the pressure shell, and the hole is
deformed to the oval shape. From this phenomenon,
we can learn that a subtle difference between bore-
hole diameter and pressure shell diameter affects to
the sensitivity coefficient very much.
4.2 Verification of sensitivity coefficient
Sensitivity coefficient is quite important for evalu-
ating re-opening pressure of fractures, and it must
be determined experimentally. Sensitivity coefficient
cannot be decided only from numerical analysis since
it is very sensitive to the contact condition between
pressure shell and borehole wall. In order to derive
a sensitivity coefficient experimentally, we conducted
loading test with a mini-jack to the same rock spec-
imen as above, under constant uni-axial loading to a
cross direction of an axis of borehole. We observed
the transition of tangential strain at the wall surface of
borehole from starting of uni-axial loading to borehole
lack loading, and evaluated the sensitivity coefficient.
The tangential strain on the direction of loading will be
compressed at first on the surface of borehole wall with
uni-axial loading. Then it reaches zero with mini-jack
loading at a certain pressure. The sensitivity coeffi-
cient k will be described as follows. Where Pj is an
inside pressure of a hydraulic jack, and σθ0 is tangential
strain at surface of borehole wall.
Figure 10 shows a uni-axial loading device provided
for this experiment. Uni-axial loading system contains
of two sets of 10 ton hydraulic lack. Strain will be
measured with one each strain gauge installed at the
center of borehole wall surface with vertical direction

Figure 11. Relationship between pressure and strain with
fracture occuring and re-opening. Phenomenon of tangen-
tial strain on the borehole wall around a fracture under no
uni-axial loading.
on both side, in addition to the strain gauges shown in
Figure 8.
The sensitivity coefficient was determined as fol-
lows. At first, the uni-axial stress with hydraulic
jack is 3.5 MPa. Here, vertical stress at wall sur-
face of borehole must be three times of uni-axial
stress. Then, σθ0 = 10.5 MPa. Next, the pressure
of mini-jack was 15.0 MPa when tangential strain
reached zero. Accordingly, the sensitivity coefficient
is; k = σθ0 /Pj = 10.5/15.0 = 0.7. Then, compensated
sensitivity coefficient will be 0.7 × 64/75 = 0.6 since
the thickness of the test piece is only 64 mm comparing
to 75 mm of the effective length of mini-jack.
4.3 Observation of development of strain
at fracturing and re-opening moment
(i) Forming of fractures and re-opening of them under
no loading.
We observed the initial fracturing and re-opening of
fractures by loading of mini-jack with strain gauges.
The phenomenon of fracturing and re-opening shown
in Figure 11 is the result under no uni-axial loading test
explained in Figure 7. This result is measured at the
point correspond to the “96.7 mm (small) model” of
Figure 9 which is the peak of tensile strain (10 ch). The
inflection point of stress-strain curve corresponds to
approximately 17 MPa of mini-jack. This means that
approximately 10.2 MPa tensile stress occurs at the
surface of borehole wall if we take account of sen-
sitivity coefficient of 0.6 (17 MPa × 0.6). We could
conclude that this is a tensile fracture since tensile
strength of the rock is around 10.2 MPa. We could con-
firm visually the actual fracturing moment. The most
important aspect of the phenomenon of strain at frac-
turing moment is that tangential strain near fracture
(9 ch, 8 ch) starts being compressed and tensile strain
gets smaller. It appears that the phenomenon is due
to the release of tensile strain across the fracture at
the moment of fracturing when the stress gets over the
limit of strength of the rock specimen.
Next, on the second loading, the stress-strain curve
has sharp inflection around 7 MPa of the hydraulic
98
Table 2. Relationship between tangential stress σθ0 and
pressure of mini-jack Pj under uni-axial stress
Pressure of mini-jack
Uni-axial Tangential stress calculated from sensitivity
stress at borehole wall coefficient at re-opening
(MPa) σθ0 (MPa) Pj (MPa)
0.35 1.05 1.75
0.70 2.10 3.50
1.05 3.15 5.25
1.40 4.20 7.00
2.10 6.30 10.50
2.80 8.40 14.00
pressure of mini-jack. We presume that this is the
re-opening pressure of the fracture. The fracture
should re-open immediately as soon as mini-jack starts
reloading if uni-axial loading is not applied. However,
we think that the end of initial fracture reaches at
certain depth from surface, and it needs some more
pressure to reach at deeper point.
(ii) Relationship between re-opening of fracture and
sensitivity coefficient under uni-axial loading.
We conducted re-opening test of fracture under
uni-axial loading in order to verify the relation-
ship between sensitivity and re-opening pressure
of mini-jack. For this test, additional strain gauges
were installed across the fracture after small fracture
occurred in order to determine strain at re-opening.
Since uni-axial stress on the rock specimen is known,
we intended to verify if the re-opening pressure calcu-
lated from sensitivity coefficient 0.6 of previous test
can be determined by the change of strain with using
of uni-axial stress as a parameter.
Table 2 shows relationship between uni-axial stress,
tangential stress calculated from uni-axial stress, and
pressure of mini-jack calculated from sensitivity coef-
ficient. Figure 12 indicates relationship between mini-
jack pressure and tensile strain measured with two
strain gauges installed across the fracture at tangen-
tial direction, under six different stages of uni-axial
loading of Table 2. In Figure 12, arrows indicate
re-opening pressure calculated from sensitivity coef-
ficient of Table 2. The inflection points are not so clear
on each curve, but, we can recognize them around
expected pressure.
5 IN SITU EXPERIMENT
In order to verify the borehole-jack designed for in situ
test, we conducted in situ tests about re-opening of
fractures that are induced with hydraulic fracturing.
The site is located 1.1 km North-North-East from
Atotsugawa Entrance of Kamioka Mining Site. It is
1 km from Atotsugawa fault, and 0.6 km from ground
surface. The borehole is drilled in a sub-tunnel that
was excavated to West from Atotsugawa tunnel. The
borehole is 20 m in depth with 98 mm in diameter.
Figure 12. Evaluation of re-opening pressure with consid-
eration of sensitivity coefficient. Phenomenon of fractures
measured by two strain gauges installed on both side of the
rock specimen across the fracture. Figure 13. Site of in situ measuring at Atotsu tunnel of
Kamioka Mine. Picture in the right downside is a image of
loading in the borehole by borehole-jack probe.
Table 3. Result of hydraulic fracturing test.

Pb Pr Ps Azimuth
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) of fracture

Break down 13.1 – 7.6 TN25◦ W

Re-open 1st. – 2.05 7.1 –
Re-open 2nd. – 2.37 7.2 –
Re-open 3rd. – 2.39 7.3 –

Pb : Break down pressure, Pr : Re-opening pressure

Ps : Shut-in pressure

Hydraulic fracturing was applied at 12 m deep fol-

lowing core sample checking and visual observation of
borehole wall surface with borehole scope to ensure no
existence of natural fractures. The impression packer
test was carried out for casting borehole surface prior
to the hydraulic fracturing. Then, few times of re-
opening test was conducted. Table 3 shows result of
repeated hydraulic fracturing test.
After forming fracture with hydraulic pressure, the
re-opening test was conducted with a borehole-jack
probe shown in Figure 2. As described previously, sen-
sitivity coefficient will be stable if a coupling area
between pressure shell of probe and borehole wall is
less than ±60◦ . Figure 13 is a picture of borehole-
jack probe just before installation. The displacement
measurement gauge named “TSS” is set at the center
of probe for measuring the displacement between two
Figure 14. Relation between displacement of open fracture
and jack pressure of borehole-jack probe on re-opening of
fracture by borehole-jack. These fractures are already formed
with hydraulic fracturing in table 3. Cyclic loading curve indi-
cates inflection at 20MPa, and it is determined as re-opening
pressure.
points across the fracture. “TSS” measures displace-
ment across the fracture.
Figure 14 shows a sample of result obtained by a
borehole fracturing jack probe. These curves repre-
sent the relationship between a borehole-jack pressure
and displacement across a fracture. Inflection point is
observed at around 20 MPa on all three curves. The
pressure at these inflection points is determined as a

99
jack pressure Pj of re-opening of fracture. For this test,
the sensitivity coefficient k of the probe is calculated as
0.45 × 0.56 = 0.25. Here, 0.45 is an average sensitiv-
ity coefficient under ±60◦ of contact area in Figure 4,
and 0.56 is an effective cross section of the jack cylin-
der. Accordingly, re-opening pressure is calculated as
20 MPa × 0.25 = 5.0 MPa.
Currently, the equation used for hydraulic fracturing
technique is shown as follows;
Where,
Pr : Reopening pressure
Sh : Horizontal minimum compressed stress
SH : Horizontal maximum compressed stress
Pr in equation (3) is re-opening pressure mea-
sured with hydraulic fracturing. And, the re-opening
pressure of same fracture with borehole-jack frac-
turing corresponds to (3Sh − SH ). It means that the
re-opening pressure determined with borehole-jack
fracturing is twice of Pr measured with hydraulic frac-
turing. Another saying, 5.0 MPa determined with the
borehole-jack fracturing corresponds to Pr = 2.5 MPa
of hydraulic fracturing. Here, we would like to take
a look at Table 3 again. The re-opening pressure
is around 2.05∼2.39 MPa, and these are close to
Pr = 2.5 MPa of re-opening pressure with borehole-
jack fracturing.
6 CONCLUSION
As described at the beginning, it is not possible to eval-
uate the crustal stress by hydraulic fracturing method
if the ratio of principal stresses in a two dimensional
plane is more than 3. We have been working on the
development of borehole-jack fracturing technique in
order to solve this problem. One of the significant fac-
tors of the borehole-jack fracturing method is that the
method can measure reopening pressure, the tangen-
tial stress at the borehole wall, accurately. The results
of numerical analysis, laboratory and in situ tests, and
the remained assignments are as follows.
6.1 Numerical analysis
In numerical analysis, the phenomenon was described
with the variation of the length of pressure shell in tan-
gential direction as a parameter, in order to confirm the
effect of the pressure shell. The numerical analysis was
carried out with the assumption that the pressure shell
is rigidly coupled with borehole wall, and no slipping
action between them. The sensitivity coefficient that
indicates an efficiency of the borehole-jack to form
fractures was approximately 0.45 and constant as long
as the rigid coupling area is less than 60◦ in both direc-
tions from the loading axis. Sensitivity coefficient
grows drastically if coupling area is increased more
than 60◦ . It will be 0.68 with coupling area of 80◦ .
Therefore, the longer pressure shells in a tangential
direction will be more effective for forming fractures,
100
and the shorter pressure shells will be more convenient
for the evaluation of reopening pressure only.
6.2 Laboratory experiment
The strain distribution on a model experiment in a
laboratory indicated that a pressure shell forms frac-
tures more effectively when its diameter is larger than
borehole diameter by 1.3 mm. In order to determine
the sensitivity coefficient of the newly designed mini-
jack, the loading test was carried out in a borehole
on a test specimen which is held under hydraulic jack
with constant uni-axial loading. Sensitivity coefficient
k = 0.6 is determined from the relationship between
the pressure applied to mini-jack and the tangential
strain around the opening of mini-jack.
Occurrence of the first fractures and their reopening
are confirmed from the inflection points of pressure-
strain curve with this loading test. Also, the reopening
test was conducted in order to determine the rela-
tionship between reopening pressure and sensitivity
coefficient under uni-axial loading. The relationship
between pressure-strain curve and reopening pressure
calculated from stepping uni-axial loading confirmed
relevance of sensitivity coefficient of the mini-jack.
6.3 In situ experiment
Reopening test of newly designed borehole-jack
shown in Figure 2 has been conducted on the frac-
tures induced with hydraulic fracturing method. The
rigid coupling area of the pressure shells of borehole-
jack against a borehole wall is controlled at 60◦ in
order to assure constant sensitivity coefficient. As a
result, it is confirmed that the reopening pressures
with borehole-jack are almost equal to the ones with
hydraulic fracturing. The result of experiment supports
the mechanism described in Ito et al. (1999) on the con-
tinuously discussed problems of reopening pressure
and its experimental equation.
REFERENCES
De la Cruz, R.V. 1977. Jack fracturing technique of stress
measurement. Rock Mech. 9: 27–42.
Ito, T., Evans, K., Kawai, K., and Hayashi, K. 1999. Hydraulic
fracture reopening pressure and the estimation of max-
imum horizontal stress. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
Geomech. Abstr. 36: 811–826.
Ito, T., Igarashi, A., Ito, H., and Sano, O. 2005. Problem for
the maximum stress estimation by hydrofracturing method
and its potential solution. Proc. US Rock Mech. Symp.,
Anchorage: ARMA/USRMS 05-862 (CD-ROM).
Mizuta, Y., Sano, O., Ishida, T., and Li, G. 2004. A prototy-
pal probe newly developed for stress measurement in the
Earth’s crust. Chikyu Monthly. 26. 2. 97–102. (in Japanese)
Sano, O., Ito, H., Hirata, A., and Mizuta, Y. 2005. Review
of methods of measuring stress and its variations. Bull.
Earthq. Res. Inst. Univ. Tokyo. Vol. 80: 87–103.
Yokoyama, T., and Nakanishi, A. 1997. A proposal of geo-
stress measurement technique by plate fracturing. Proc.
Int. Symp. Rock Stress, Kumamoto. 143–148.
Zoback, M.L., 1992, First- and second-order patterns of
stress in the lithosphere: the world stress map project,
J. Geophys. Res., 97, 11, 703–11, 728.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Downhole microseismic monitoring of hydraulic fracturing: A full-waveform

approach for complete moment tensor inversion and stress estimation

F. Song, M.N. Toksöz & J. Li

Earth Resources Laboratory, MIT, Cambridge, USA

ABSTRACT: Downhole microseismics has gained in popularity in recent years as a way to characterize
hydraulic fracturing sources and to estimate in-situ stress state. Conventional approaches only utilize part of
the information contained in the microseismic waveforms such as the P/S amplitude ratio and/or P first motion
polarity to determine the microearthquake focal mechanisms and infer stress state. Thus, additional constraints
like double-couple assumption must be made to stabilize the inversion for conventional methods. The situation
becomes even worse for downhole monitoring where only limited azimuthal coverage is available. In this study,
we have developed a full-waveform based approach to invert for complete moment tensor. We use the discrete
wavenumber integration approach as the fast forward modeling tool to calculate the synthetic waveforms for
one-dimensional layered velocity models. By matching full three-component waveforms across the array, a stable
moment tensor solution can be obtained without imposing additional constraints. We also derive the source radius
from the far-field displacement spectrum with the Madariaga’s model and determine the stress drop afterwards.
We test our method on a downhole microseismic dataset from hydraulic fracturing treatments in East Texas.
The result indicates the existence of the isotropic component in some events. A clear difference is observed that
non-double-couple events tend to have smaller stress drops, which is consistent with other studies. The derived
fracture plane direction also agrees with that derived from multiple event location.

1 INTRODUCTION In this paper, we propose a full-waveform approach

Microseismic downhole monitoring is a valuable tool
for mapping the fractures and evaluating the effec-
tiveness of hydraulic fracturing. The locations of
microseismic events, with sufficient resolution, pro-
vide information on fracture geometry and properties
(Warpinski et al. 1998, Phillips et al. 2002).
However, additional information besides location is
contained in the microseismic waveforms. For exam-
ple, seismic moment tensor has gained more and more
interests recently in terms of understanding the micro-
seismic source mechanisms and stress state (Nolen-
Hoeksema & Ruff 2001, Baig & Urbancic 2010).
Although moment tensor inversion has been applied
in downhole hydraulic fracturing monitoring, most of
them rely only on P- and S-wave amplitudes and/or P-
wave first motion polarities. Due to the limited usage
of waveform information, these approaches normally
either require multiple monitoring wells from different
azimuths or make double-couple source assumptions
in order to stabilize the inversion (Vavrycuk 2007,
Baig & Urbancic 2010). In most cases of hydraulic
fracturing, data are available from only one monitor-
ing well. Given this limitation, the following questions
arise: 1) can we invert complete moment tensor with
data from one single well? 2) how can we stabi-
lize the inversion without making the assumption of
double-couple sources?
for moment tensor inversion with one single monitor-
ing well. It uses the discrete wavenumber integration
method to calculate the full elastic wavefield in the
layered medium. By matching full waveforms across
the geophone array, we show that the moment ten-
sor inversion can be stabilized so that the complete
moment tensor solution can be retrieved from an array
of three-component geophones in a single borehole. In
this paper, we begin by introducing the full-waveform
based moment tensor inversion approach and test-
ing the method with synthetic data to extract seismic
moment, fracture orientation, and the isotropic com-
ponent part of the moment tensor. Then we describe
the application to a field dataset from East Texas. We
invert the full seismic moment tensor and derive stress
drop from the far-field displacement spectrum based
on Madariaga’s model (Madariaga 1976).
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Full waveform based moment tensor inversion
The moment tensor of microseismic events can be rep-
resented by a 3 by 3 symmetric matrix mjk (Aki &
Richards 2002). To improve the inversion with a single
borehole coverage, we use all phases that are embed-
ded in the full waveform data. Our approach starts

101
from full elastic waveform modeling in the layered Finally A is a 6*6 matrix with elements:
medium with discrete wavenumber integration method
(DWN; Bouchon 2003). The i-th component (North,
East, Down) of the observed waveform at geophone n
is modeled as:

Once we obtain the full moment tensor matrix mjk ,

we can obtain seismic moment as:


where Gij,k xrn , xs , t is the i-th component of the
Green’s function at geophone xrn from a point moment
tensor source mjk at xs , s(t) is the source time function. where λi is the eigenvalue of moment tensor matrix.
In this study, a smooth ramp function is used as s(t). The moment magnitude is defined as:
The misfit function for inverting moment tensor
matrix mjk is defined by:

where M0 is the seismic moment in N*m. The full

moment tensor matrix is further decomposed into three
parts: isotropic (ISO) component, compensated linear

 vector dipole (CLVD) component and double-couple
where di xrn , xs , t is the observed data, while (DC) component (Vavrycuk 2001). The fracture strike

n 
vi xr , xs , t is the synthetic data as described in Equa- is then derived from the DC component (Jost &
tion 1. Tn is the duration of observed waveforms at Hermann 1989). The ISO percentage is obtained by:
geophone n. In this study we choose Tn to include
both P and S wave trains and is constant for all geo-
phones. Time 0 is the origin time, which is obtained
by grid-search around its initial estimate within the
dominant signal period. The initial estimate of the
origin time can be found by cross-correlating the syn- 2.2 Stress drop estimation
thetic and observed waveforms. To further stabilize
the inversion, we band-pass filter both synthetic data According to (Madariaga 1976), the radius of a circular
and observed data to the signal frequency band, which source can be estimated from:
we select [200, 900] Hz in this study. The moment
tensor is solved by minimizing the misfit function in
Equation 2 as:

where fc is the corner frequency derived from S-wave

displacement spectrum. Stress drop, defined as the
average difference between the initial and final stress
Here Mi is the i-th component of six indepen- levels over the fault plane, is obtained from:
dent moment tensor elements: M1 = m11 , M2 = m22 ,
M3 = m33 , M4 = m12 , M5 = m13 , M6 = m23 , while Dj
has six independent elements:

where M0 is the seismic moment determined by full

moment tensor inversion as shown in Equation 10.

where j = 1, 2, 3… 6 and gkj corresponds to one of the

six elementary seismograms and each is defined by: 3 SYNTHETIC STUDY

3.1 Full waveform fitting and seismic moment

tensor inversion
For the synthetic study, we use DWN to generate clean
data. We add 10% Gaussian noise to form the synthetic
data. Figure 1 shows the 1D velocity model used for
the synthetic study, which is identical to the following
field study.
The red curve in Figure 2 shows the synthetic
three-component data for a double-couple source

102
Figure 1. One-dimensional P- and S-wave velocity model
for both synthetic study and field study, which is derived from
well logging data.

(strike: 85 degrees, dip: 75 degrees, rake: 0 degree) at

a vertical depth of 3975.3 m and 64.8 m north, 77.3 m
west away from the six-geophone array in the verti-
cal monitoring well. The inverted data is shown in
blue for each plot. We see a pretty good agreement
between synthetic data and inverted data. Besides fit-
ting the P- and S-wave, we also see a good fit for P & S
converted wave. This additional waveform informa-
tion helps constrain the inversion and lower the con-
dition number of the matrix A. This is also the reason
why we can invert for full moment tensor from one ver-
tical geophone array without making additional source
assumptions. The inverted moment tensor gives a frac-
ture plane with strike of 84.9 degrees, dip of 74.5
degrees, and rake of -0.6 degrees, which is pretty
close to the true value especially the strike value.
This shows the validity of our approach in extracting
fracture geometry information, among which strike
information is the most interesting.

3.2 Seismic moment estimate

To evaluate the accuracy of the seismic moment esti-
mated by our method, we conduct the Monte-Carlo
simulation. In this experiment, we fix the source loca-
tion at (N,E,D) = (64.8, 77.3, 3975.3) m and a source
mechanism of (strike, dip, rake) = (85, 75, 0) degrees.
We vary the seismic moment from 103 N·m to 108 N·m.
For different seismic moment values, different realiza-
tions of 10% Gaussian noise are added to the synthetic
Figure 2. Three-component velocity waveform fitting:
data to study the statistical properties of the seismic a) zNorth component, b) East component, c) Down com-
moment estimator. For each seismic moment value, a ponent. The red curve shows the synthetic data with 10%
full-waveform moment tensor inversion as described Gaussian noise, while the blue curve gives the fitted data
above is performed to retrieve the seismic moment. from moment tensor inversion.
Figure 3 gives the comparison between true seis-
mic moment used to generate synthetic data and the
estimated seismic moment by full moment tensor under additive Gaussian noise, which is consistent with
inversion. The estimated seismic moment values agree previous study (Patton & Aki 1979). The non-zero bias
well with the true seismic moment values. The mean comes from two parts: 1) the errors propagated into the
error is around 3.9%, while the standard deviation is moment tensor inversion solution due to the additive
about 5.2%. This means that the true values of M0 data noise, which is well bounded by the illness of
are within the confidence region of the estimated M0 matrix A; 2) the numerical errors from the eigenvalue

103

Figure 3. Comparison of true seismic moment and esti-
mated seismic moment.
Figure 4. Comparison of true strike and estimated strike
(pure DC source).
decomposition as described in Equation 10. In sum-
mary, for a broad range of seismic moment values, our
method gives a good estimate.
3.3 Strike estimate
A similar Monte-Carlo simulation has been conducted
to assess the performance of strike estimator. For this
test, we test two source mechanisms. One is the pure
double-couple mechanism while the other is a 60%
double-couple component with a 40% isotropic com-
ponent. For both scenarios, the dip and rake value is
set to be 75 and 0 degrees. We also fix the source loca-
tion same as in Section 3.2 and use a constant seismic
moment of 5*104 N·m. The strike value is changed
from 0 to 360 degrees. For each strike value, a forward
modeling with 10% additive Gaussian noise is con-
ducted and a full-waveform moment tensor inversion
is performed afterwards to invert for the full moment
tensor and retrieve the strike.
The estimated strike value is plotted against the
the true strike value for both cases in Figures 4 and
104
Figure 5. Comparison of true strike and estimated strike
(source: 60% DC component + 40% ISO component).
Figure 6. Comparison of true isotropic percentage and
estimated isotropic percentage.
5. The estimated strike is in good agreement with
the true strike. The estimated strike has a mean error
of −0.1 degrees from the true strike for the pure
DC source, while the mean error increases to 0.3
degrees for the isotropic plus double-couple source.
The increased error in strike is due to the decreased
deviatoric part of the seismic moment tensor, from
which the strike is defined.
3.4 Isotropic component percentage estimate
The isotropic component percentage defined in Equa-
tion 12 provides a good indicator of fracture volumetric
strain. It gives some idea about fracture opening and
closure. As discussed in Section 3.3, it also indicates
the uncertainty of strike estimates to some degree. The
higher the isotropic component percentage is, the less
accurate the strike estimate is.
In this simulation, we change the relative percent-
age between DC component and the ISO component
and fix the seismic moment to be 5*104 N·m. All
other parameters are kept the same as Section 3.2. Fig-
ure 6 represents the comparison between true isotropic
Figure 7. Horizontal plane view of selected microseismic
events.
percentage and the estimated isotropic percentage.
The estimated ISO percentage generally agrees well
with the true ISO percentage. There is some scat-
tering for the estimates due to 10% Gaussian noise.
The mean error is around −0.2%, while the stan-
dard deviation approaches 2.6%. This means the true
isotropic percentage value falls into the confidence
region of the estimated isotropic percentage, although
the maximum absolute error is close to 8%.
4 FIELD STUDY
4.1 Field setup
A microseismic survey was conducted during the
hydraulic fracturing treatment of the Bonner sands in
the Bossier play at a depth approximately from 3956 m
(12980 ft) to 3981 m (13060 ft). The microseismic data
was collected using a twelve-level, three-component
geophone array deployed in the vertical monitoring
well at a depth from 3874 m (12710 ft) to 3944 m
(12940 ft). The treatment well is approximately 151 m
(495 ft) away from the monitoring well. The recorded
data was analyzed and located for hydraulic fractur-
ing mapping as outlined by Griffin et al. (2003), and
Sharma et al. (2004). The velocity model used for
location is shown in Figure 1. In this study, we test
our method on several located microseismic events to
invert for the complete moment tensor and estimate the
stress drop from the full waveforms. The microseis-
mic data from the lower six geophones at a depth from
3912 m (12835 ft) to 3944 m (12940 ft) are selected
due to their higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Figure 7 shows the horizontal plane view of the
monitoring well at the origin and seven selected micro-
seismic events, which shows a fracture plane mostly
along W-E direction. This has been demonstrated in
the paper by Sharma et al. (2004).
105
Figure 8. Comparison between synthetic data and observed
data for event 1: a) North component, b) East component.
In next section, we will show the results from full
waveform moment tensor inversion and stress drop
estimation. We will use one event, named event 1, to
demonstrate our procedure. Then we will present and
discuss the results for all seven chosen events.
4.2 Seismic moment tensor inversion and stress
drop estimation
As described in section 2, we firstly invert for complete
moment tensor from full waveforms and extract three
important parameters: 1) seismic moment, 2) strike,
and 3) isotropic component percentage. Figures 8 a)
and b) give the waveform fitting of event 1 between
synthetic data and observed data for the north and east
component separately. Here only two horizontal com-
ponents are used in the inversion, because the vertical
component has a much poorer SNR due to the poor
clamping to the formation. A good agreement of dom-
inant P and S wave trains is seen in both Figures 8
a) and b). The un-modeled wave packages are prob-
ably due to the scattering from un-modeled lateral
heterogeneity.
The estimated seismic moment, strike and the
isotropic percentage for event 1 are listed inTable 1. We
Table 1. Results of source parameter determinations.

Strike
M0
Event 104 N·m Mw Degrees (East of North)

1* 6.1 −2.87 102 12

2* 2.1 −3.17 80 207
3* 8.1 −2.79 73 196
4* 45 −2.29 139 39
5 5.3 −2.91 75 197
6 7.5 −2.81 95 211
7 4.4 −2.96 82 203

fc r0 σ ISO percentage
Event Mw Hz m Kpa %

1* −2.87 481 1.2 14.9 −26

2* −3.17 561 1.0 8.3 29 Figure 9. S-wave displacement spectrum: observed (blue)
3* −2.79 547 1.1 29.2 31 and model fitted (red).
4* −2.29 564 1.0 178.0 30
5 −2.91 714 0.8 42.7 11 the S-wave velocity and the source-receiver distance
6 −2.81 736 0.8 65.8 −10 separately. A simple nonlinear-least square inversion
7 −2.96 744 0.8 39.6 −4
is deployed to estimate corner frequency fc (Talebi &
Boone 1998). Source radius r0 is then derived from fc
according to Equation 13. The stress drop is finally
determined from previously obtained source radius
see a negative isotropic component for event 1, which
and seismic moment by Equation 14. The stress drop
implies a contribution from implosion. This possibly
values for all seven events are listed in Table 1. A
corresponds to some degree of fracture closure. The
clear difference is observed between estimates of stress
seismic moment for event 1 is around 6.1*104 N·m,
release parameters for the two types of events as those
suggesting a moment magnitude around −2.87. The
events having a significant isotropic component per-
strike estimated from the deviatoric component gives
centage (marked as * in Table 1) tend to have smaller
the values for the fracture plane and the auxiliary plane.
stress drops compared to deviatoric type events of
It is hard to tell the fracture plane from one single
a similar magnitude range. This is consistent with
event. The strike values determined from moment ten-
previous studies of injection-induced microseismic-
sor inversion for all seven events are listed in Table 1.
ity in oil fields (Talebi & Boone 1998). The possible
Compared to the fracture orientation reported in the
explanation is that the source areas associated with
paper by Sharma et al. (2004), the first set of strike val-
events having significant isotropic components are
ues agrees well with their result of N870 E derived from
more likely to have weaker shear strengths, and thus
multiple event location and gives the fracture plane
smaller stress drops.
strike. The scattering around N870 E possibly comes
from three factors: 1) velocity model inaccuracy,
2) location errors, and 3) noise contamination as shown
in Section 3.3. 5 CONCLUSIONS
To estimate the stress drop, Madariaga’s (1976)
model is adopted to estimate the source radius from the In this paper, we developed a full-waveform based
S-wave corner frequency. The recorded voltage data is moment tensor inversion approach for hydraulic frac-
converted to displacement considering the geophone turing monitoring using one single monitoring well.
response (Warpinski 2009). The spectral analysis is By exploring full waveform information in a one-
then applied to the converted S-wave displacement dimensional layered medium instead of using only
data. For event 1, Figure 9 shows the S-wave dis- P/S amplitude ratio and/or P first motion polarity, we
placement spectrum and the best-fit curve determined have demonstrated that the complete moment tensor
from the kinematic model defined by the following inversion can be stabilized without making additional
equation: double-couple source assumptions. By synthetic and
field test, we have shown that the strike, isotropic com-
ponent and stress drop can be reliably derived from
this full waveform analysis approach assuming a cer-
tain source model. Synthetic tests also indicate that
additive Gaussian noises do not pose difficulties for
recovering reliable estimates of the moment tensor.
where R is the source-receiver distance, Qs = 100 is Field data examples show the existence of both devi-
the S-wave quality factor. In the present case of event 1, atoric type events and isotropic type events. In both
average values of 2605 m/s and 112 m are accepted for cases, the derived strike values are in good agreement

106
with the fracture azimuth determined from multiple
event locations. However, stress drop studies indicate
that isotropic type microseismic events tend to have
smaller stress drops compared to deviatoric type events
of a similar magnitude range. Errors in source parame-
ter estimates may come from the inaccuracies in source
locations and velocity models. Future work includes
further refinement over source locations and veloc-
ity models. This full-waveform approach has a great
potential to improve the source properties study in
the situations where only a single monitoring well is
available.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Pinnacle – A Hallibur-
ton Service for providing the data and for funding this
research. We are grateful to Dr. Norm Warpinski, Dr.
Jing Du, Dr. Erkan Ay and Dr. Qinggang Ma from
Halliburton Energy Services Company, Dr. Michael
Fehler and Dr. William Rodi from MIT for their help-
ful suggestions. We thank Halliburton Energy Services
Company and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for
permission to publish this work.
REFERENCES
Baig, A. & Urbancic, T. 2010. Microseismic moment tensors:
A path to understanding frac growth. The Leading Edge
29(3): 320–324.
Bouchon, M. 2003. A review of the discrete wavenumber
method. Pure and Applied Geophysics 160: 445–465.
Griffin, L.G., Sullivan, R.B., Wolhart, S.L., Waltman, C.K.,
Wright, C.A., Weijers, L. & Warpinski, N.R. 2003.
Hydraulic Fracture Mapping of the High-Temperature,
High-Pressure Bossier Sands in East Texas. SPE Annual
107
Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 5–8 Octo-
ber 2003: Paper 84489.
Jost, M.L. & Herrmann, R.B. 1989. A student’s guide to and
review of moment tensors. Seismological Research Letters
60(2):37–57.
Madariaga R. 1976. Dynamics of an Expanding Circular
Fault. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
66:639–666.
Nolen-Hoeksema, R.C. & Ruff, L.J. 2001. Moment ten-
sor inversion of microseisms from the B-sand propped
hydrofracture, M-site, Colorado. Tectonophysics 336
(1–4): 163–181.
Patton, H. & Aki, K. 1979. Bias in the estimate of seismic
moment tensor by the linear inversion method. Geophys-
ical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 59(3):
479–495.
Phillips, W., Rutledge, J. & House, L. 2002. Induced
microearthquake patterns in hydrocarbon and geothermal
reservoirs: six case studies. Pure and Applied Geophysics
159: 345–369.
Sharma, M.M., Gadde, P.B., Sullivan, R., Sigal, R., Fielder,
R., Copeland, D., Griffin, L., and Weijers, L. 2004. Slick
Water and Hybrid Fracs in the Bossier: Some Lessons
Learnt. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Houston, 26–29 September 2004: Paper 89876.
Talebi, S. & Boone, T.J. 1998. Source parameters of injection-
induced microseismicity. Pure and Applied Geophysics
153:113–130.
Vavrycuk, V. 2007. On the retrieval of moment tensors from
borehole data. Geophysical Prospecting 55:381–391.
Vavrycuk, V. 2001. Inversion for parameters of ten-
sile earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research
106(B8):16339–16355.
Warpinski, N.R 2009. Microseismic monitoring: inside and
out. Journal of Petroleum Technology 61: 80–85.
Warpinski, N.R., Branagan, P.T., Wolhart, S.L. & Uhl, J.E.
1998. Mapping hydraulic fracture growth and geometry
using microseismic events detected by a wireline retriev-
able accelerometer array. SPE Gas Tech. Symp., Calgary,
15–18 March 1998: Paper 40014.
Method and theory of in-situ stress measurement
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Application of a downward compact conical-ended borehole overcoring

technique to orthotropic rock

K. Sakaguchi, J. Usami & K. Matsuki

Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University

ABSTRACT: The Downward Compact Conical-ended Borehole Overcoring (DCCBO) technique is one of the
overcoring methods. In this study, a measurement theory for application of the DCCBO technique to orthotropic
rock is proposed. Numerical experiments with the use of a 3D-FEM analysis were conducted to confirm the
applicability and efficiency of the proposed measurement theory. The results showed that the measurement
includes a non-negligible error if we do not consider the anisotropy of rock when such anisotropy is strong.
On the other hand, this measurement is both applicable and efficient if we consider the anisotropy of rock.
Finally, laboratory experiments for four kinds of orthotropic rocks using a true-triaxial compressive apparatus
were carried out to verify the efficiency of the proposed measurement theory. These experiments also verified
that the proposed method is suitable for use in orthotropic rock.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 THEORY OF MEASUREMENT

The Downward Compact Conical-ended Borehole Here, we propose a measurement theory for appli-
Overcoring technique (Sakaguchi et al., 2003(a), cation of the DCCBO technique to orthotropic rock
2003(b), 2004, 2006) is a stress-measurement method following Amadei (1983).
based on the Compact Conical-ended Borehole Over- As shown in Fig. 1, we defined a global co-ordinate
coring (CCBO) technique (Sakaguchi et al., 1994; system (X , Y , Z), a co-ordinate system attached to
Sugawara & Obara, 1999). This stress-measurement
technique can be applied to a water-filled ver-
tical borehole to measure in-situ stress at great
depth.
Stress-measurement methods based on the overcor-
ing method assume that the rock mass is linearly elas-
tic, isotropic, continuous, and homogeneous. However,
a rock mass is actually anisotropic to some degree.
Amadei (1996) noted that the anisotropy of rock must
be considered in stress measurement when it reaches
a certain level.
In this study, we carried out theoretical, numeri-
cal and experimental studies to apply the DCCBO
technique to an orthotropic rock. First, we proposed
a theory of measurement to apply the DCCBO tech-
nique to orthotropic rock. Second, a numerical exper-
iment was carried out to confirm the effectiveness of
the proposed measurement theory. Finally, a labo-
ratory experiment was carried out with four kinds
orthotropic rocks to verify the applicability of the pro-
posed measurement method. In this study, we assume
that the subject rock is linearly elastic, continuous, and Figure 1. Definition of co-ordinate system and strain
homogeneous. measurement.

111
a borehole (x, y, z), a co-ordinate system attached to In matrix (5), li , mi and ni are the direction cosines of
rectilinear anisotropy (x
, y
, z
) and a spherical co- the unit vectors in the x
, y
and z
directions, and are
ordinate system attached to the bottom of the borehole given by the following quantities:
(ρ, θ, φ). Thus, the stress tensor σij and strain tensor εij
in each of the co-ordinate systems can be represented
as follows:

Similarly {ε
}x
y
z
and {ε}XYZ are related by the

equation

[Tε
] is a transformation matrix for strains with the

properties

By substituting equations (4) and (7) into equation

The constitutive relation of anisotropic rock in the (2) and making use of equation (8), we obtain the
(x
, y
, z
) co-ordinate system can be expressed as constitutive relation of the material in the (X , Y , Z)
follows: co-ordinate system as follows:

Next, we consider the co-ordinate system attached

where [H
] is a matrix of compliances with 9 distinct to the borehole (x, y, z). {σ}xyz and {σ}XYZ are related
components as by the equation

where [Tσ ] is a transformation matrix defined as

In matrix (11), li , mi and ni are the direction cosines

where Ei =Young’s moduli, Gij = shear moduli, and of the unit vectors in the x, y and z directions, and are
νij = Poisson’s ratios. given by the following quantities:

where [Tσ
] is a transformation matrix defined as Similarly, {ε}xyz and {ε}XYZ are related by the
equation

[Tε ] is a transformation matrix for strains with the

properties

112
 By substituting equations (10) and (13) into equa-
tion (9) and making use of equation (14), we obtain
the constitutive relation of the material in the (x, y, z)
co-ordinate system as follows:
or
with
By substituting equation (16) into equation (10), we
obtain a constitutive equation that gives the relation of
strain around the borehole induced by a far-field stress
of {σ}XYZ .
Here, the strain, {ε}ρθφ , of the conical-shaped
borehole bottom in the spherical co-ordinate system
attached to the bottom of the borehole and {ε}xyz are
related by the equation
where [Tρθφ ] is a transformation matrix defined as
In the matrix (20), li , mi and ni are the direction cosines
of the unit vectors in the ρ, θ and φ directions, and are
given by the following quantities:
With the DCCBO technique, φ = 30◦ and the strain
components measured are the radial strain ερ and
the tangential strain εθ , as shown in Fig. 1(d). Thus,
equation (20) can be rewritten as follows:
By substituting equation (18) into equation (19)
and considering a stress concentration regarding the
113
shape of the bottom of the borehole, we obtain the
observation equation:
where [C] is a matrix of the stress concentration
factors and is a function of the station for measur-
ing strain and the mechanical properties of the rock.
The strains are measured at eight specified points at
the bottom of a conical borehole with a diameter of
76 mm, as shown in Fig. 1(d). The strain-measuring
points are axisymmetrically arranged along a circle
of radius 19 mm, at intervals of 45◦ . In the mea-
surement by the 16-element method, the radial strain
ερ and the tangential strain εθ are measured at each
of the strain-measuring points. Thus, the matrix [C]
has 8 patterns ([C]θ=0◦ , [C]θ=45◦ , [C]θ=90◦ , [C]θ=135◦ ,
[C]θ=180◦ , [C]θ=225◦ , [C]θ=270◦ and [C]θ=315◦ ), and we
obtain 16 observation equations:
The stress concentration factors have to be evaluated by
numerical analysis since there is no analytical solution.
The 16 observation equations are solved by the
least-squares method, and the most probable stress
{σ}XYZ is determined. Thus, we can rewrite equa-
tion (23) as
The most probable stress {σ}XYZ is
where
3 NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT
In the case of the 16-element method using an HQ-
size borehole with a diameter of 98 mm, the stress
concentration factors of an orthotropic rock were com-
puted by the three-dimensional finite element method
(3D-FEM). In this orthotropic rock model, the co-
ordinate system attached to the rectilinear anisotropy
(x
, y
, z
) and that attached to the borehole (x, y, z)
coincide with the global co-ordinate system (X , Y , Z).
Here, we defined Young’s moduli as Ex
= 1.0 GPa,
Ey
= 2.0 GPa and Ez
= 1.5 GPa, and the Poisson’s
 Table 1. Results of stress estimations.

Orthotropic assumption Isotropic assumption

Applied Estimated error Estimated error

stress stress (%) stress (%)

σX 2.000 1.996 0.2 2.483 24.2

σY 5.000 4.998 0.0 4.173 16.5
σZ 1.000 1.008 0.8 0.915 8.5
τYZ 0.000 0.000 0.0 0.000 0.0
τZX 0.000 0.000 0.0 0.000 0.0
Figure 2. 3D-FEM model for numerical experiment. τXY −1.000 −1.000 0.0 −1.109 10.9
ratios as νy
z
= νz
x
= νx
y
= 0.2. Although there is
a maximum 2-fold difference in the anisotropy of
Young’s modulus, we consider that this condition is
not completely different from reality, since several
researchers have reported cases in which there is a
greater than 2-fold difference in the anisotropy of
Young’s modulus as estimated by a loading test or
sound velocity test with a core specimen (Shin, 2004).
Figure 2 shows the 3D-FEM model. Figure 2(a)
shows an external view of the model and Fig. 2(b)
shows the interior of the model. The 3D-FEM model
measures 4000 mm × 4000 mm × 4000 mm, and the
bottom of the borehole is located at the center of
the model. The numbers of elements and nodal
points in the 3D-FEM model are 11,152 and 47,601
respectively. Figure 3. Comparison of the directions of the principal
The numerical experiment was conducted as fol- stresses (lower hemisphere).
lows. Sixteen strains (ερ × 8 and εθ × 8) at each of
the measuring points at the bottom of the borehole
orthotropic, the error is less than 0.8%. In addition,
are computed when a three-dimensional stress state
the dip angle and dip azimuth of the principal stresses
(σX = 2 MPa, σY = 5 MPa, σZ = 1 MPa, τYZ = τZX =
estimated under the orthotropic assumption almost
0 MPa, τXY = −1 MPa) is applied to the orthotropic
coincide with those of the applied stresses. On the
3D-FEM model (Ex
= 1.0 GPa, Ey
= 2.0 GPa, Ez
=
other hand, the dip azimuths of the principal stresses
1.5 GPa, and νy
z
= νz
x
= νx
y
= 0.2). We then esti-
estimated under the isotropic assumption are rotated
mated stress according to two assumptions regarding
13 degrees counterclockwise. Therefore, if we do not
computed strains:
consider the anisotropy of rock when the anisotropy
1) The rock is mechanically isotropic. Thus, stress is is strong, a non-negligible estimated error of stress
estimated by the conventional method (Sakaguchi occurs in the measurement results. Moreover, we con-
et al., 1994; Obara & Sugawara, 1999) using a mean firmed the applicability and efficiency of the proposed
Young’s modulus of 1.5 GPa. measurement theory for orthotropic rock.
2) The rock is mechanically orthotropic. Thus, stress
is estimated by the method proposed in this study.
We consider the applicability of the proposed 4 LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
method by comparing the results of the two assump-
tions. To compare the results of stress estimated by 4.1 Specimens
these two assumptions, we defined the error as To verify the applicability of the proposed mea-
surement theory, we conducted a laboratory exper-
iment with four kinds of rocks that were more or
less orthotropic. The rocks used in the laboratory
experiment were Inada granite (quarried at Kasama
where σ est is the estimated stress and σ app is the city, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan), Aji granite (quarried
stress applied to the 3D-FEM model. Table 1 and at Takamatsu city, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan) and
Fig. 3 show the results of the numerical experiment. Oshima granite (quarried at Imabari city, Ehime Pre-
Figure 3 shows the directions of the principal stresses fecture, Japan). The Oshima granite consisted of two
estimated according to the two assumptions. When types: a fine-grain type and a coarse-grain type.Table 2
we assumed that rock is isotropic, the largest error shows Young’s moduli as estimated by a uniaxial com-
for an estimated stress component is 24.2% of σX . pressive test for each granite. Eh is Young’s modulus
On the other hand, when we assumed that rock is for the direction perpendicular to the hardway plane

114
Table 2. Young’s moduli for each type of granite. (GPa)

Eh Eg Er Ea

Inada 46.6 42.1 37.8 42.1

Aji 64.0 58.9 53.3 58.7
Oshima (coarse) 43.6 38.6 33.7 38.6
Oshima (fine) 48.8 40.1 29.8 39.6

Table 3. Degree of anisotropy for each granite (%). The Figure 4. A cubic specimen and 3D-FEM model for the
h-axis is perpendicular to the hardway plane, the g-axis is per- laboratory experiment.
pendicular to the grain plane, and the r-axis is perpendicular
to the rift plane.
the relieved strains when the applied stresses had been
h-axis g-axis r-axis unloaded, and estimated the stress with these relieved
strains. The stress was estimated by the following two
Inada 10.5 0.2 10.3 methods:
Aji 8.9 0.3 9.2
Oshima (coarse) 12.9 0.1 12.8 1) Stress was estimated by a conventional method
Oshima (fine) 17.7 1.3 24.7 using the mean Young’s modulus and mean Pois-
son’s ratio. (Isotropic assumption method)
2) Stress was estimated by the proposed method
using Young’s moduli and Poisson’s ratios for
of granite. Eg is Young’s modulus for the direction each principal direction of anisotropy. (Orthotropic
perpendicular to the grain plane of granite, and Er is assumption method)
Young’s modulus for the direction perpendicular to the In the orthotropic assumption method, the stress
rift plane of granite. Ea is the mean Young’s modu- concentration factors in Eq. (23) for each of the spec-
lus. The Poisson’s ratios of Inada granite are 0.14 to imens were computed by an orthotropic 3D-FEM
0.21 (mean; 0.17), those of Aji granite are 0.20 to 0.28 analysis. Figure 4 (c) shows the 3D-FEM model for
(mean; 0.24), those of coarse-grain Oshima granite computing the stress concentration factors for each of
are 0.06 to 0.15 (mean; 0.12) and those of fine-grain the specimens. In this experiment, the axis of the bore-
Oshima granite are 0.09 to 0.19 (mean; 0.14). hole coincides with the z-axis. Additionally, for Inada
To consider the affect of the degree of anisotropy, we granite, the axis of the borehole is perpendicular to the
defined a degree of anisotropy DEGaniso for a principal hardway plane. For the other granites, the axis of the
axis of anisotropy as follows: borehole is perpendicular to the grain plane.

4.3 Results and discussion

where Ei (i = h, g, r) is Young’s modulus for the direc- Tables 4, 5, 6 and 7 show examples of the results
tion of each of the principal axes of anisotropy. Table 3 of experiments when the direction of the maximum
shows the degree of anisotropy for each of the rocks. applied stress is perpendicular to the rift plane. The
The maximum values for the degree of anisotropy are error was estimated as
Inada granite 10.5%, Aji granite 9.2%, coarse-grain
Oshima granite 12.9% and fine-grain Oshima granite
24.7%.

where σ meas is the measurement stress, σ app is the

4.2 Experimental method and estimation of stress
A cubic specimen that measured 300 mm × 300 mm ×
300 mm was used, and an HQ-size borehole bottom
that was drilled in the center of the specimen was
formed into a conical shape, as shown in Fig. 4 (a)
and (b). A 16-element strain cell was then attached
to the conical bottom of the borehole with an adhe-
sive. Three-dimensional stresses (σx , σy and σz ) were
applied up to a set magnitude of each stress indepen-
dently through the use of a flat-jack-type true-triaxial
compressive test apparatus, and the applied stress was
then unloaded to the zero-stress state. We measured
applied stress, and σ app-max is the maximum applied
stress in each case.
In the case of Inada granite, the degree of anisotropy
in the direction of the maximum applied stress
(x-axis = the axis perpendicular to the rift plane) is
10.3%. Moreover, the error of the estimation of stress is
14.2% of the maximum applied stress in the isotropic
assumption method. On the other hand, the error is less
than 5% in the orthotropic assumption method.
In the case of Aji granite, the degree of anisotropy
in the direction of the maximum applied stress is 9.2%.
Moreover, the error of the estimation of stress is 4.9%

115
Table 4. Results for Inada granite. applied stress is 12.8%. Moreover, the error of the esti-
(x = r-axis, y = g-axis, z = h-axis) mation of stress is 11.9% of the maximum applied
stress in the isotropic assumption method. On the
Isotropic assumption Orthotropic assumption other hand, the error is less than 3% in the orthotropic
σapp σmeas error (%) σmeas error (%)
assumption method.
In the case of fine-grain Oshima granite, the degree
σx 10.6 12.1 14.2 11.1 4.7 of anisotropy in the direction of the maximum applied
σy 4.9 5.0 0.9 4.7 1.9 stress is 24.7%. Moreover, the error of the estimation
σz 2.6 2.5 0.9 2.4 1.9 of stress is 27.2% of the maximum applied stress in
τyz 0.0 −0.4 3.8 −0.4 3.8 the isotropic assumption method. On the other hand,
τzx 0.0 −0.3 2.8 −0.3 2.8 with the orthotropic assumption method the error is
τxy 0.0 −0.1 0.9 −0.1 0.9 less than 1%.
The error of the estimation of stress in the
orthotropic assumption method is clearly less than
Table 5. Results for Aji granite. that in the isotropic assumption method. Additionally,
(x = r-axis, y = h-axis, z = g-axis) the error-depends on the degree of anisotropy in the
direction of the maximum applied stress. Thus, the iso-
Isotropic assumption Orthotropic assumption tropic assumption method gives an error of more than
10% in the estimation of stress when the degree of
σapp σmeas error (%) σmeas error (%)
anisotropy in the direction of the maximum applied
σx 10.2 10.7 4.9 10.0 2.0 stress exceeds 10%. Moreover, the isotropic assump-
σy 5.6 5.4 2.0 5.3 2.9 tion method gives an error of more than 20% in the
σz 2.9 3.1 2.0 2.7 2.0 estimation of stress when the degree of anisotropy in
τyz 0.0 −0.3 2.9 −0.3 2.9 the direction of the maximum applied stress exceeds
τzx 0.0 −0.4 3.9 −0.4 3.9 20%. However, when the degree of anisotropy is less
τxy 0.0 0.2 2.0 0.2 2.0 than 10%, the error with the isotropic assumption
method is several percent.
The directions of stress as estimated by the two
Table 6. Results for Oshima granite (coarse). methods and those of the applied stress are almost the
(x = r-axis, y = h-axis, z = g-axis) same. On the other hand, in the numerical experiment,
a non-negligible error occurs in the measurement if we
Isotropic assumption Orthotropic assumption do not consider the anisotropy of the rock when such
anisotropy is strong. The discrepancy in the direction
σapp σmeas error (%) σmeas error (%)
of stress occurs because there was greater anisotropy in
σx 10.1 11.3 11.9 10.4 3.0
the numerical experiment than in the laboratory exper-
σy 5.2 5.1 1.0 5.2 0.0 iment. Additionally, the fact that shear stress was not
σz 2.0 2.4 4.0 2.6 5.9 applied in the laboratory experiment may have affected
τyz 0.0 −0.0 0.0 −0.0 0.0 this result.
τzx 0.0 0.3 3.0 0.3 3.0
τxy 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

5 CONCLUSIONS
Table 7. Results for Oshima granite (fine).
(x = r-axis, y = h-axis, z = g-axis) The results can be summarized as follows:

Isotropic assumption Orthotropic assumption (1) A measurement theory for applying the DCCBO
technique to an orthotropic rock was suggested.
σapp σmeas error (%) σmeas error (%) (2) Both a numerical experiment and a labora-
tory experiment were conducted to confirm the
σx 10.3 13.1 27.2 10.2 1.0 applicability and efficiency of the proposed mea-
σy 5.8 6.5 6.8 6.3 4.9 surement theory. The results showed that a non-
σz 2.6 2.6 0.0 2.4 1.9 negligible error occurs in the measurement if we
τyz 0.0 −0.3 2.9 −0.3 2.9 do not consider the anisotropy of the rock when
τzx 0.0 −0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0
such anisotropy is strong. On the other hand,
τxy 0.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0
if we consider the anisotropy of the rock, this
measurement theory is effective.
(3) In a laboratory experiment, the error of the esti-
of the maximum applied stress in the isotropic assump- mation of stress with the orthotropic assumption
tion method. On the other hand, the error is less than method is less than that with the isotropic assump-
2% in the orthotropic assumption method. tion method. In addition, the error depends on
In the case of coarse-grain Oshima granite, the the degree of anisotropy of the direction of the
degree of anisotropy in the direction of the maximum maximum applied stress.

116
REFERENCES
Amadei, B. 1983. Rock Anisotropy and the Theory of Stress
Measurements. Lecture Notes in Engineering Series.
New York: Springer.
Amadei, B. 1996. Importance of anisotropy when estimating
and measuring in situ stresses in rock. Int. J. Rock Mech.
Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr, 33, 293–325.
Sakaguchi, K., Takehara, T., Obara, Y., Nakayama, T. and
Sugawara, K. 1994. Rock stress measurement by means
of the Compact Overcoring Method. J. of MMIJ, 110,
331–336.
Sakaguchi, K., Yoshida, H., Minami, M., Suzuki, Y. and
Matsuki, K. 2003(a). Development of Downward Com-
pact Conical-ended Borehole Overcoring technique for
rock stress measurement at great depth. Proc. 10th Cong.
of the ISRM., South Africa, 8–12 September 2003, 2,
1007–1010.
Sakaguchi, K.,Yoshida, H., Minami, M., Suzuki,Y., Hara, M.
and Matsuki, K. 2003(b). Development of Downward
Compact Conical-ended Borehole Overcoring technique
for rock stress measurement. Proc. 3rd. intern. symp.,
Kumamoto, Japan, 4–6 November 2003., 211–216.
117
Sakaguchi, K.,Yoshida, H., Minami, M., Suzuki,Y., Hara, M.
and Matsuki, K. 2004. Downward Compact Conical-
ended Borehole Overcoring Technique for rock stress
measurement at great depth and its application. Proc.
the ISRM intern. symp. 3rd. ARMS., Kyoto, Japan, 30
November–2 December 2004., 2, 1129–1134.
Sakaguchi, K., Takeda, H., Matsuki, K., Minami, M.,
Hara, M. and Suzuki,Y. 2006. Development of Downward
Compact Conical-ended Borehole Overcoring technique
for in situ rock stress determination in deep borehole
and its application examples. Proc. intern. symp. on In-
situ Rock Stress., Trondheim, Norway, 19–21 June 2006.,
87–93.
Shin, K. 2004. Development of Overcoring Measurement
Method based on borehole deformation taking into
account the anisotropy and the error by assuming isotropy.
J. of MMIJ. 120, 79–84.
Sugawara, K. and Obara, Y. 1999. Draft ISRM suggested
method for in situ stress measurement using the Compact
Conical-ended Borehole Overcoring (CCBO) technique.
Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 36, 307–322.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A critical laboratory investigation on validity evaluation of undercoring

method for in situ stress determination

M. Moosavi & N. Ghavami

School of Mining Engineering, The University of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: In situ stress determination has always been a difficult problem to solve in rock engineering
projects. Several methods have been developed for this purpose with advantages and drawbacks for each. Under-
coring technique, which is a method classified under stress relief technique, has not been used extensively due
to some of its limitations. However, in certain situations it has its own merits and can be used easily with very
low cost.
The present paper describes a laboratory investigation in which a concrete block is stressed with a
material testing system (MTS) and undercoring technique has been utilized to determine the stresses and to
compare the theoretical calculations with the actual applied stresses. In this research, a sensitivity analysis
is performed and the analytical formulations are also developed for probable deviations in performing the test
compared with the theoretical procedure and the sensitivity of the obtained results to this deviation is determined.

1 INTRODUCTION 6 inch hole is drilled at the center of this arrangement.

Knowledge about in situ stress field in most of rock
engineering projects is critical information which can
have considerable influence on a safe and economical
design. Therefore a lot of research has been spent on
stress measurement methods one of which is known as
“Under Coring Method”. This is based on the “Stress
Relief ” technique and is performed at surface of the
rock mass under study.
For the first time, Duvall in 1974 proposed this
method which can be used to determine 2D stress
field on a flat surface. At the location of interest, three
sets of pins are located around a circle with 10 inch
diameter along three 60 degree diagonals and the dis-
tance between pins on one diagonal is measured with
one micron accuracy (Figure 1). At the next stage a
Due to this hole, radial stresses are released and rock
displacement occurs along the diagonals. The new pin
distances are then measured and compared with the
original distances (Goodman 1989 & Amadei et al.
1997).
According to the theory of an infinite elastic plane,
with knowing the properties of the material, the origi-
nal stresses causing such displacements can be deter-
mined. The imposed radial displacement of a point
located at distance r and angle θ from the center of the
hole can be determined from:

Figure 1. Duvall’s experiment (Barreto 2006 & Goodman

1989).

119
 In which a is the radius of the drilled hole, E and v
are the elastic modulus and poison’s ratio of the rock.
Measuring Ur in three directions of θ1 , θ2 , θ3 returns
the following equation:

where after inverting the matrix it can produce the

original three components of in situ stresses field
(Goodman 1989 & Amadei et al. 1997).
There are other stress measuring techniques based
on stress relief method which lies in “Over Coring” cat-
egory and there are numerous experiments based on
those but limited research has been done on under cor- Figure 2. Loading concrete block in the MTS frame.
ing technique. The simplicity of UC method and lack
of complicated tools required for performing it were
incentives for the authors to make an effort to carry out
a laboratory study to simulate this operation in order
to examine the critical points and conditions that can
guarantee reliable results and also to pin point condi-
tions which can affect accuracy of the results. Also a
sensitivity study is performed for the results as a func-
tion of changes in parameters which are not performed
quite precisely during test operations compared to the
theoretical basic assumptions.

2 LABORATORY TEST SETUP

Figure 3. Concrete block model.
The aim was to make a concrete block and load it with
a known amount by a loading machine and to read the
resulting diametric changes between pins. The avail-
able loading machine (MTS 815) could accommodate
a 45 × 45 × 30 cm block (Figure 2). The machine
could apply up to 4500 kN axial load but it was noted
to increase the axial load to an extend not causing the
material to enter into a plastic behavior (since all of
the equations are based on linear elastic behavior for
the materials).
While pouring the concrete in the mould, a 63 mm
central hole was cast in it by putting a steel pipe inside Figure 4. Digital gauge and pins for measurement.
the mould. It should be noted that in the field, the hole
is drilled into the material during test but difficulties
in doing such in the lab dictated casting the hole at
pouring stage. The presence of the hole in the con-
crete block was properly accounted for in the equations For measuring displacements a digital gauge
which will be presented. (Mitutoyo 2007) with 1 micron accuracy was used
One of the main aims in this study was to deter- (Figure 4). This was equipped with two sets of pointed
mine the possibility of finding the best arrangement male pins which would match with the same shape
for setting up the diagonals which might cause more female pins casted in the concrete block. Few pin
accurate results. For this, 6 diagonals were selected (12 shapes were made and checked to determine the best
pins altogether) in a 0,30,60,90,120 and 150 degrees shape for it so that it returns repeatable readings while
arrangement (Figure 3). removing and putting back the gauge in the pins.
With this arrangement, each diagonal is 30 degrees For putting the pins right at their theoretical loca-
apart from the next one. Due to the fact that each three tions around the 119 mm circle, a fixture was made
sets of readings is enough to put in the equations and which can hold the pins in their right locations (and
obtain stress results, combination of 6 diagonals can alignments) while gluing the pins in their holes in the
return 20 stress states. concrete block (Figure 5).

120
Figure 5. Fixture for properly locating the pins.

Figure 7. Testing the gauge accuracy.

Figure 6. Laboratory test on concrete samples.

Table 1. Mechanical properties of the block.

E (MPa) v UCS (MPa)

Mechanical properties 10700 0.11 44.3

of the block

3 MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND RELATED

EQUATIONS

While pouring the concrete in the mould, some cylin-

drical samples were taken from the mix and cured for
28 days. Uniaxial loading was performed on the sam-
ples to determine the ultimate strength as well as elastic
properties of the poured concrete. Figure 6 shows the
result of such tests. Average of the test results are
presented in table 1.
In actual field test, the hole is drilled into a media
which is already stressed and the resultant displace-
ments are only due to the free surfaces of the hole.
However in the present laboratory experiment, the pins
were installed on the concrete block before it under-
goes load, therefore part of the recorded deformations
are due to material compaction. To account for this, the
complete form of equations for displacements around
a circular hole in a loaded media (including mate-
rial compaction) is used according to the followings
(Duvall et al. 1967):
This equation is different from the Duvall’s equation
in the first part which addresses the compaction of the
materials.
4 TESTING PROCEDURE
To make sure about the accuracy of the gauge assembly
and its measurements, a high accuracy MTS external
extensometer was attached to a cylindrical steel sam-
ple while the assembled gauge was used to measure the
displacements at the same location as the extensometer
(reference gauge). The sample was loaded axially and
two readings (from extensometer and the new gauge)
were done simultaneously. The results show an accu-
rate match and it proved that the assembled gauge
readings are reliable (Figure 7).
Loading was uniaxial (in vertical direction and on
a surface with 45 × 30 cm dimensions) and no lateral
load was applied to the block. This was due to the fact
that the block was filling the whole internal space of
the MTS frame and no jack was possible to be placed
for lateral load application.
Making sure all about the required equations for
data analysis and the measurement equipments, the

121
Figure 8. The results for σ3 , σ1 and the difference between its angle with vertical direction.

122
Table 2. Calculated stresses at different loading stages.

Estimated stresses based on

Loading conditions average of all the diagonals
θ = 90, σ3 = 0
σ1 σ1 σ3 θ σ1 + σ3

0.72 0.75 0.19 82 0.94

1.08 1.03 0.35 73 1.38
1.47 1.27 0.38 80 1.65
1.82 1.64 0.54 82 2.18
2.22 2.07 0.46 83 2.53
2.59 2.46 0.67 84 3.13
3.08 3.07 0.47 85 3.54
3.64 3.59 0.37 87 3.96 Figure 9. Performance errors in undercoring technique.
4.23 4.22 0.58 85 4.80
4.80 4.70 0.30 86 5.00
5.43 5.20 0.38 88 5.58 in here. The summary of the results are also included
6.07 6.23 0.32 88 6.55 in Table 2. There are a number of facts clear from these
results:
1. The individual results are different from each other
but they are all dispersed around the actual value
load on the concrete block was increased to a min-
so the average of the results for different diagonals
imum level to make sure the contact is set between
fits closely to the actual value. Some of the differ-
the steel platens and the sample. At this moment, zero
ences between the readings are due to the fact that
readings were performed for all six diagonals. Then
the material is assumed homogenous, isotropic lin-
load on the block was increased stepwise. After each
ear elastic but all of these conditions never exist in
load step, the load was kept constant for about 15 min-
concrete completely.
utes before making a set of readings. This time was
2. The dispersion of the results is more at lower load
required to make sure the load has applied completely
levels. This is due to the fact that at lower loads,
and the block has had enough time to respond to the
lower recorded displacements are more affected by
new loading condition and all of the corresponding
the accuracy of the gauge and unwanted errors will
displacements have been occurred.
influence more on the results.
For each diagonal, three sets of readings were
3. Although there are differences between the indi-
performed and the repeatability of the readings was
vidual estimations of σ1 and σ3 , but σ3 + σ1 is very
checked. It is worth recalling that the measurements
close to the theoretical values.
are done on the surface of the block with 45 × 45 cm
dimensions. After three consecutive compatible read-
ings were obtained, the measurements were recorded
and averaged for that diagonal. The same was done for 5 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
all six diagonals and a new loading stage was attained
and the same procedure was followed. During test procedure, there might happen imperfect
To obtain absolute displacements of pins as a func- installations which results in deviations with basic test
tion of stress relief from the gauge readings, there assumptions.This usually includes 1) inaccuracy in pin
are two corrections required. Firstly, the displacement installation which includes installing pins out of the
part associated with compaction of materials had to be defined perimeter or installation on the perimeter but
taken out from the readings. Secondly, the analytical not quite at the defined angle 2) eccentric drilling of
formulations used for this analysis assumes infinite the borehole compared to the measuring circle (Tsur-
space while the block was limited in dimensions. To Lavie et al. 1974). The above situations are depicted
find the amount of this type of correction a numerical in figure 9.
model was performed with a finite difference software If the center of the drilled hole is displaced (O
for the loaded block and it was compared with the ana- to O
) and the pins are installed out of their prede-
lytical results for infinite body. The difference of these fined perimeter, the new location of the pins can be
two results was then obtained and the second required defined as:
correction was done accordingly.
For each loading stage, based on the combination of
diagonals selected, three stress components (σx ,σy ,τxy )
were calculated and principle stresses and its direc-
tions were determined. In Figure 8, the results for σ3 ,
σ1 and the difference between its angle with vertical
direction are shown. The invariant of σ3 + σ1 is also
shown on the same diagram but on the lower axis (to Based on the above new locations, the equations
save space), therefore the negative sign has no meaning can be corrected according to the following modified

123
form:
in which
It is worth noting that maximum errors are asso-
ciated with minimum displacements (which are not
necessarily in the same direction as σ3 , rather it is
depended on the σh /σv stress ratio. this fact is depicted
in figure 10.
124
Figure 10. Sensitivity of the displacements to the direction
with different stress ratios.
6 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSIONS
The present laboratory program showed that undercor-
ing method can be an economical 2D method for stress
measurement if performed with enough care.
Using proper pins and gauge assembly and appro-
priate reading, good repeatability of the results from
displacement measurements can be obtained making
way for a proper stress measurement.
Using 6 diagonals for under coring test is believed to
be better than only 3 measurements and it can increase
the accuracy of the results and produce redundant
measurements in case of any faulty reading.
With 1 micron gauges (which are the best simply
available ones in the market) one can obtain low dis-
persed results when the level of load on the media
is more than 3 MPa. This roughly corresponds to the
depths of just more than 100 meters of any under-
ground structure. For shallower cases, the in situ
stresses might not be high enough to return repeatable
results.
A series of modifications were made to the original
undercoring formulas so that it can account for imper-
fect installation problems including off center coring
or misplaced pin installations.
REFERENCES
Amadei, B., Stephansson, O., 1997, Rock stress and Its
measurement, Chapman & Hall, New York.
Barreto, T., 2006, Shotcrete for underground support differ-
ent approaches for applications, international seminar on
tunnels and underground works, Animateur of Ita working
group on shotcrete use, Brazil.
Duvall, W., Obert, L., 1967, Rock mechanics and the design
of structures in rock, John wiley & sons inc, New York.
Goodman, R.E., 1989, Introduction to rock mechanics,
John Wiley & Sons, New York, Toronto.
Mitutoyo catalog, 2007, Small tool instrument and data
management, pp. 1–77(f ).
Tsur-Lavie, Y., Van Ham, F., 1974, Accuracy of strain mea-
surements by the undercoring method, in int. soc. for rock
mech. congress (3:1974), department of energy, mines and
resources, Ottawa, 23 p.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Estimation of minimum insitu stress by hydrojacking method case

study of Siah bisheh power plant

M.R. Shahverdiloo
Moshanir power engineering consultant, head of underground supervision at Siah Bisheh
pumped-storage power plant

ABSTRACT: In situ stress is important parameter in rock engineering. Lining type of water way system in
power plants is depended to minimum in situ stress which determined with several methods such as hydrojacking.
Siah Bisheh power plant was the first pumped storage project in Iran which experienced hydrojacking tests. In
order to precise steel lining limit at water way system some hydrojacking and hydrofracturing tests have done
by Solexpert Company. This paper explains preliminary work sequence in the hydrojacking and hydrofracturing
tests and presents the results of and conclusion of hydrojacking tests in Siah Bisheh project.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the important point in water way system lin-

ing is minimum in-situ rock stress which depend
to overburden and geotechnical stress. When min-
imum in-situ rock stress is less than inner water
way pressure, steel lining is proposal for prevent
water injection to surrounding rock mass. One of
the convenience borehole methods for in-situ stress
measurement is hydrofracturing. Hydrojacking is the
simplified approach for minimum in situ stress which
is important method for precise steel and concrete lin-
ing boundary. Hydraulic testing of preexisting fracture
(HTPF) has similarity with hydrofracturing test but
they are different. The hydrofracturing test (HF) is
done in rock mass without discontinuity but HTPF is
done in more discontinuity rock mass. In HF test direc-
tion of minimum stress can be measured by impression
packer. HTPF and HF were done in Siah Bisheh Hydro
electrical power plant at the north of Iran. Figure 1. Test borehole location.

2 HYDROJACKING TEST
Several HF and HTPF test were done in water way
system. Minimum in-situ stress at test zone of right
headrace tunnel with 66 m length and surge cham-
ber with 55 m shown that permeability are very high.
HTPF is widely accepted field method for depths
greater than 50 m. the advantage of HTPF is that it
is applied in over a few square meters. Minimum
hydraulic pressures which cause opening previous
crack are measured in HTPT. The minimum in-situ
is perpendicular of opened crack which impression
packer can show the direction of stress tensor. HTPF
is applicable for different borehole diameter.
2.1 Test location
Steel lining boundary at tender document was throttle
shaft area. In order to precise steel lining boundary
four test borehole was indicated according topogra-
phy, ground situation and geometry of underground
opening, Figure 1.
Boreholes specifications are presented in Table 1.
The test set was belonging to Solexpert Co. That
set has a saddle type packer with minimum long of
1 meter. Packer is sent to foreseen position with special
high pressure rod with 1.5 meter.
Length which transfer to final location with winch
and system, Figure 2-a and b. These rod transfer clean

125
Table 1. Test borehole specification.

Borehole Test Ver. /

Location Depth(m) d.(mm) Number Hor. Rockmass situation

Connection right and 30 88 4 V From 0 to11.8 collapse material from

left headrace gallery-NPS18 11.8 to 28.8 good rock borehole top
Ele. 2310.34
Right wall-surge chamber- 30.2 88 2 H From 3.5 to 6.5 good rock mass.
change-azimut:267-NPS16 Borehole top Ele. 2329.8
Right headrace-invert 30.2 88 4 V From 8.8 to 19.9 good rock mass.
change 44-NPS17 Borehole top Eel. 2306.4
Right headrace wall-change 30.8 88 8 H From 8.7 to 30.8 m good rock mass.
23-azimut 267-NPS15 Borehole top Ele. 2310.5

Table 2. Test set specification.

1 Maximum applied water pressure (bar) 20

2 Maximum water injection (lit./min.) 115
3 Water tank adjacent set (lit.) 500
4 Electricity 3 phase

test are done according ISRM proposal which pre-

Figure 2. a) Test set over borehole test b) Control panel.
water to test location. Steel pipes transfer water pres-
sure to packer. Pressure and water flow rate are shown
on adjacent laptop.
Main character of test set is shown in the Table 2.
2.2 Test method
Hydrofracturing test done with ASTM approach
(ASTM D4845-87) reapproved 1992 and hydrojacking
sented in international journal of rock mechanics and
mining science, vol.40, No.8-7 year 2003 pp:1011–
1020. Main base of hydrojacking test is similar with
hydrofracturing test. In hydrofracturing test hydraulic
pressure cause fracturing intact rock mass this called
breakdown or critical pressure. Minimum pressure
after stop water pumping in order to hold opening
fracture called shut in pressure. Kehle (1964) propose
that shut in pressure is equal with minimum in situ
stress.
Rock mass in hydrojacking location test is much
fractured thus shut in pressure for previous fracture is
critical subject. During test until reach water pump-
ing pressure to normal pressure act on natural crack,
crack was need to more water injection to remain open
crack. Crack reopening depend to normal stiffness
of crack and effectiveness stress on fracture near to
borehole. If duration between natural stress on crack
and minimum in- situ stress is less than 10 degree,
they can be equal [SOLEXPERT report]. Distance
between packers must be more than 6 time of borehole
diameter.
The important assumptions in hydrofraturing are
linear elastic rock mass, homogeny, and isotrop Poros-
ity, natural fracture and adjacent opening, local stress
deviation. Usually one technician and two expert work-
ers done hydro fracturing test. After core investigation,
test depth precise and length of packers regulated
and send to its location. During test all necessary
data was monitored with ultrasonic system (SOLO).
Packer pressure, test area pressure, flow rate instan-
taneously show on the monitor. Borehole core of
NPS17 is shown in Figure 3 from 10.5 to 15.4 m and

126

Figure 3. Nps17 core box-3 from 10.5 to 15.4 m depth.
Figure 4. a) pressure-time b) flow-pressure, c) pres-
sure-time for shut-in time curves for NPS17 from 10.6 m to
12.6 m.
hydrojacking test curve for area from 10.6 to 12.6 m
are shown in Figure 4.
All tests result from 17 hydro jacking, hydro frac-
turing and permeability test from 12 Feb. to 22 Feb. 07
are summarized in table 3.
127
3 DATA ANALYSIS
Following results according all hydrojacking test
data permeability and hydrojacking test are
mentioned:
I. Maximum water pressure in headrace tun-
nel according maximum water level in upper
dam, test locations elevation, 30% over design
for dynamic pressure is about 1.33 Mpa
[Shahverdiloo]. On the other hand average mini-
mum rock stress recorded on the test locations are
2.2 Mpa. Therefore natural cracks will not open
by effect of water pressure in test location area.
II. High permeability of rock mass in test location
(15.6 to 4370 lugeon) and free drainage phenom-
ena especially in horizontal borehole in direction
of Siah Bishe village and old siah bishe landslide
is important subject which affect to modification
of tender steel lining limit in headraces and surge
chambers (Fig. 5).
III. Impression packer did not reach to site test there-
fore minimum stress direction cannot recognize.
IV. If flow rate unlimited until 115 lit./min. it can be
possible to finalist some tests which need more
flow for shut in pressure or constant open fracture
according standard method.
V. In some hydrojacking tests neer hydro fractur-
ing occurred but test did not done according
hydrofracturing test phenomena and did not
inference some fractures which in expected from
hydrofracturing test.
VI. If packer position isn’t correct, like bottom test
at Nps17, packer is damage and test hasn’t any
useful result.
VII. One of the limitation of test is stability of bore-
hole wall this mater at 10 m of Nps15 hasn’t
done (unstable borehole) and any test done and
installed steel pipe casing.
VIII. Any delay between borehole drilling and test
time may cause instability on the borehole wall.
This matter at borehole Nps16 caused to stop
test from depth over 6.5 m. Internal time between
drilling and testing in Nps15 was more than 5
month.
4 CONCLUSION
According test results and with attention to other
technical parameter:
I. Steel lining didn’t need to extent from tender limit
but more permeability of rock mass around head-
race tunnel at tests zone show a potential for
activated Siah Bisheh land slide. Thus, steel lin-
ing limit extend in headrace tunnels and surge
chambers totally about 200 m.
II. Extension of steel lining affected curtain grout
location and situation in headrace tunnels and surge
chambers.
Table 3. Hydrojacking test results.

Test Shut in Max. Permeability

Borehole Test depth(m) length pressure(bar) pressure(bar) (lugeon) description

Nps17 17.9–19.9 2 26 34.5 15.53 Mudstone-18 to 23 bar close pressure

16.4–18.4 3 25.5 37.2 16 Mudstone-22.5 bar close pressure
10.3–8.8 1.5 25 32.87 22.81 Coal shale-impossible measuring
close pressure
10.6–12.6 2 25 26.37 21.07 Sandstone-18 to 20 bar close pressure
Nps18 29-30.8 1.8 Permeability test done
29.13–27.13 2 Permeability test done
26.4–28.4 2 Permeability test done
8.7–9.7 1 Free drain
11.1–12.1 1 Free drain
14.25–13.25 1 Free drain
14.4–13.8 1.6 25 30 Shut in pressure=23 bar
Nps15 12.8–11.8 1 break down pressure:54 bar- shut in
pressure:12 to 18 bar in several cycles
25.8–24.8 1 break down pressure:100 bar-shut in
pressure:20 bar-flow not constant
26.8–25.8 1 22 Closed pressure:20 bar
28.8–27.8 1 break down pressure:54 to 90 bar-
shut in pressure:20 to 28 bar-
Nps16 3.5–4.5 1 8.72 128.4 Permeability test at sandstone
4.5–6.5 2 12.24 45.21 Permeability test at sandstone

REFERENCES
ASTM D 4845-87 (reapproved 1992), Standard Test Method
for Determination of the In-Situ Stress in Rock Using the
Hydraulic Fracturing Method.
SOLEXPERT Report A-1676, 12 sep. 2006, Siah Bishe
Pumped Storage Hydrojacking Tests.
Shahverdiloo M.R. 2007, rock engineering with special view
to water power plant, sec. 10-3-2, Moshanir Co.

Figure 5. Steel lining in headrace tunnel.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I very much like to acknowledgment from Mr. mosod

daian and Mrs Zahra shahrokhi for their guidance to
paper preparation.

128
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Cross-sectional Borehole Deformation Method (CBDM) for measurement

of rock stress change

Y. Obara, T. Shin, T. Yoshinaga & K. Sugawara

Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

S.S. Kang
Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea

ABSTRACT: A method for measurement of stress change is developed to monitor rock stress using a borehole.
Two dimensional state of stress change within rock mass in a plane perpendicular to a borehole axis can be
measured by this method, which is named the Cross-sectional Borehole Deformation Method (CBDM). In this
paper, the theory of the CBDM is described, as well as the prototype instrument with the laser displacement
sensor. Analyzing influence factors on measurement result theoretically, it makes clear that stress change within
rock mass can be estimated by the CBDM.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF CBDM

Knowledge of rock stress is one of fundamental impor- 2.1 Concept of CBDM

tance for designing and constructing rock structure,
such as underground openings, since the mechanical
behavior of rock mass around it is affected by initial
stress. Furthermore, the induced stress measurement is
performed to estimate the stability of a rock structure
under construction and confirm the design of it.
In order to measure initial stress, many methods
have been suggested. On the other hand, there are
a few methods for stress change around an opening
under construction. For example, the stress change of
an underground power house has been measured by a
vibrating wire strain gauge in Japan (Kudo et al. 1998).
However, using this gauge, only stress in one direc-
tion in a plane perpendicular to a borehole axis can
be measured. Furthermore, this gauge has a rigidity
which affects on measured results.
In this paper, a method for measurement of stress
change is developed to monitor rock stress using
a borehole. Two dimensional state of stress change
within rock mass in a plane perpendicular to a bore-
hole axis can be measured by this method. This method
was named the Cross-sectional Borehole Deforma-
tion Method (CBDM) by Tanguchi et al. (2003) and
Obara et al. (2004). Firstly, the theory of the CBDM
is described, and the required specification of instru-
ment for measurement is clarified by using theory
of elasticity. Secondly, the prototype instrument with
the laser displacement sensor is developed, based on
the analysis of the required specification. Further-
more, the influence factors on measurement result are
analyzed theoretically. As a result, it makes clear that
stress change within rock mass can be estimated by the
CBDM, using the instrument with a laser displacement
sensor.
The CBDM has a possibility to measure two types of
rock stress; (a) Initial stress, (b) Stress change.
(a) Initial stress: When a borehole is drilled within
rock mass, the rock mass around the borehole
is elastically deformed corresponding to initial
stress, in the case without failure of surround-
ing rock mass of a borehole. Assuming that the
cross-sectional shape of a borehole drilled under
the state without initial stress is a true round, initial
stress can be determined by the deformed cross-
sectional shape of a borehole after completion of
boring under initial stress, using the theory of
elasticity.
(b) Stress change: The state of stress is changed with
progress of construction of rock structures, such
as underground openings. Firstly, a borehole is
drilled within rock mass, and the cross sectional
shape of a borehole is measured at early stage of
the excavation of an opening. Secondly, the shape
at the same section of a borehole is measured again
at an arbitrary stage during excavation. Then, the
stress change is determined by the difference of
the rock stress determined at early and later stages
of excavation, according to the theory of elastic-
ity. Thus, the stress change due to elapsed time
or excavation can be estimated by measuring the
cross-sectional shape at the same section of one
borehole repeatedly.
For these measurements, the cross-sectional bore-
hole deformation is necessary to be measured with
a high accuracy. It is desired that a sensor for mea-
surement is non-contact type, since the rigidity of

129

Figure 1. Schematic view of cross section of a borehole
drilled within rock mass, which is assumed to be infinity and
elasticity.
sensor influences the state of deformation of borehole.
Then, it is also desired that the sensor is inserted into
a borehole and rotated round the borehole axis and
that many displacement measuring points are spaced
on the circumference of the borehole wall because of
requirement of high reliable measurement.
2.2 Theory of CBDM
The schematic view of a cross-section in a plane per-
pendicular to the borehole axis is shown in Figure 1.
The borehole having a cross-section of true round is
drilled within rock mass. Its radius is defined by R. The
rock mass is assumed to be infinity and elasticity. The
initial principal stress subjected at infinity is defined
in the x-y coordinate system:
The axes in the coordinate system coincide with the
principal directions.
The radial displacement UR is the sum of displace-
y
ment URx and UR , which are generated corresponding
to each principal stress. The displacement due to σx is
as follows (Jaerger & Cook 1979):
The displacement by σy is as follows:
Accordingly, the radial displacement UR is written as
follows:
130
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of measured results and
approximated ellipse by a least square method. X and Y axis
are defined at a borehole, then x and y axes coincide with
principal direction.
where H = −R(1 − ν2 )/E, E is Young’s modulus and
ν is Poisson’s ratio, then θ is rotation angle with the
positive x axis. The radius RR after deformation is
represented:
In a measurement, the displacements and measured
radii, number of n, are denoted by:
The coordinates of the measuring point i on the bore-
hole wall are written in the X -Y coordinate system
defined on a borehole as follows:
Figure 2 schematically shows the measured results.
The X -Y and x-y coordinate systems are defined on
a borehole and their origins coincide with the axis of
the borehole. The former is general coordinate sys-
tem and latter is principal direction coordinate system.
The x axis makes an angle φ with the positive X axis.
The plots represent measurement values, and the solid
curve is approximately expressed by an ellipse with a
center of (b
, d
) in x-y and (b, d) in X -Y coordinate
system. The length of major and minor axes of the
ellipse is 2a and 2c, respectively. In general, the center
of ellipse does not coincide with that of the borehole
as shown in the figure. In the case that the distance
between origins of each center is small, the equation
of the ellipse in the x-y coordinate system is written as:
Then using the coordinate transformation law from the
X -Y to x-y coordinate system,
Consequently, the following observation equation is Table 1. Examples of initial stress state measured by
obtained: overcoring method in Japan.

Young’s Prtincipal stress, MPa

modulus
No E, GPa σy σx Reference

1 18 6.4 0 Kanagawa et al. 1986

2 0.8 1.08 1.07
The unknown parameters are a, c, b, d and φ in eq(10). 3 5 0.66 0.46
The most probable parameters of an ellipse are deter- 4 7 4.8 4.7
mined by applying a non-linear least square method to 5 27 8.5 7.6
observation equations for measured values, number of 6 16 6.2 4.6
n, which are obtained by substituting eq(7) into eq(10). 7 10 4.3 1.7
8 20 5.9 3
The displacements on major and minor axes of the 9 11 7.9 5.5
determined ellipse are:
10 56.5 4.5 3.9 Ishiguro et al. 2001
11 30 12.1 5.7 Obara et al. 2000
12 30 9.1 8.4
13 30 19.4 6
Accordingly, most probable principal stresses can be
obtained from eq(11), then the stress components in
the X -Y coordinate system are calculated by the stress
transformation law. The procedure from eq(6) to (11)
is to determine initial stress.
On the other hand, the stress change is estimated as
follows: at the first stage, the stress state {σ I } = {σXI ,
σYI , τXY
I
} is estimated. The stress {σ II } = {σXII , σYII , τXY
II
}
at second stage is also estimated by measuring the
cross sectional shape at the same cross-section of the
borehole. The stress change {σ} can be estimated by
the following equation:

3 INSTRUMENT FOR MEASUREMENT

3.1 Required specification

The measurement principle is adopted in the CBDM
as follows; an instrument is inserted into a borehole
directly, then a cross-sectional shape of the borehole
is measured by rotating a sensor around the axis of
instrument without contact. Therefore, the rigidity of
the instrument is zero.
The borehole radius R is defined as 38 mm. We
already developed the Compact Conical-ended Bore-
hole Overcoring (CCBO) technique for initial stress
measurement (Sugawara and Obara 1999, Obara et al.
2000). The radius in the CBDM is the same in the
CCBO. The CBDM is applied to the borehole used to
measure initial stress by the CCBO.
The resolution of displacement sensor is very
important to estimate stress state. The minimum radial
displacements of borehole under the stress states mea-
sured by overcoring method as shown in Table 1 are
calculated by the theory of elasticity in the case of
R = 38 mm, as shown in Figure 3. The measured mini-
mum displacement is 18 µm. Therefore, the resolution
of the sensor is enough to be 0.1 µm for measurement
of most rock stress states.
Figure 3. Minimum radial displacement of borehole wall
calculated under initial stress states in Table 1.
3.2 Prototype instrument
In order to measure radial displacement of wall in a
cross-section of a borehole, a compact and accurate
laser displacement sensor (Keyence Co. Ltd., LK-010)
is used. The main specification is shown in Table 2.
The dimensions are 43 mm × 40 mm × 18 mm, and the
resolution is 0.1 µm.
For rotation of the laser displacement sensor, a small
stepping motor (Oriental Motor Co. Ltd., PMU33,
AH-MG7.2) is adopted. The main specification of the
motor is shown in Table 3. The motor is controllable
by a computer, and the minimum angle of rotation step
is 0.1 degrees.
The prototype instrument for measurement and
schematic view are shown in Figure 4. The tube of
the instrument of 70 mm in diameter and 670 mm in

131
length is aluminum. The instrument is fixed in a bore-
hole using two air pistons. The laser displacement
sensor is located near small windows, and rotated by
the stepping motor set in a head of the instrument.
Table 2. Main specification of the laser displacement
sensor.
The motor is controlled by a computer through a con-
troller and a driver. On the other hand, the output
from the laser displacement sensor is stored in a com-
puter through an amplifier unit and a data logger.
These are assembled into a control box as shown in
Figure 5(a).

Reference distance 10 mm
Measuring range ±1 mm 4 THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCE
Resolution 0.1 µm FACTORE ON MEASUREMENT RESULT
Light source Visible red
semiconductor laser According to parameter H in eq(4), the estimated
Spot diameter Approx. 20 µm stress can be influenced by borehole radius andYoung’s
Linearity ±0.25% of F.S.
modulus of rock.
Sampling cycle 128 µsec
Ambient temperature range 0 to 50◦ C
Relative humidity 35 to 85%
Weight 85 g 4.1 Borehole radius
Size 43 mm × 40 mm × 18 mm The three stages of principal stress state are assumed
under condition of R = 38 mm, E = 30 GPa and
Table 3. Main specification of the stepping motor. ν = 0.2, as follows; I) {σ I } = {σxI , σyI } = {5, 10}, II)
{σ II } = {5, 15}, III) {σ III } = {5, 30} (unit: MPa).
Basic step angle 0.1 degree The distribution of displacements of borehole wall is
Permissible torque 0.16 Nm shown in Figure 6(a), in the case that the axis of bore-
Permissible load of overhang 15 N
hole coincides with that of the instrument. Assuming
Ambient temperature range −10 to 50◦ C
Weight 160 g that the displacements in the case of R = 38 mm are
Size 61 mm × 28 mm × 28 mm also induced at a fixed distribution for every radius, the
measured radius is calculated in the case of arbitrary

Figure 4. Schematic view of prototype instrument.

Figure 5. Devices for control of instrument and collect of data; (a) control box, (b) PC and display, (c) example of display of
program.

132
radius. Then the displacement in the case of arbitrary angle φ is 15 degrees, R = 38 mm, E = 30 GPa and
radius is calculated, assuming R = 38 mm. Therefore, ν = 0.2. In this case, the axis of the instrument coin-
all distributions have a period of π and same amplitude. cides with that of the borehole. On the other hand,
However, each magnitude is different one another. the displacement is distributed as the plots in the case
Using these displacements, the most probable stress that the origin of X -Y coordinate system is located
is estimated by the non-linear least square method. at X = −0.8 mm, Y = 0.4 mm. The distribution of
Figure 6(b) shows estimated stress σy with various displacement becomes to have a period of 2π, and is
radii. The stress increases with increasing radius. If different from that in the case of coincident of both
the radius can be measured with a high accuracy, the axes.
initial stress is determined. However, it is impossible
to measure borehole radius precisely. Consequently,
initial stress can not be estimated by the CBDM.
Considering the stress change of stage I) to II), II) to
III) and I) to III), the stress change σy are 5, 10 and
20 MPa theoretically. The estimated stress change is
shown in Figure 6(c) with various radii. It is clear that
the stress change is independent of borehole radius.
The estimated stress state on each stage is a tempo-
rary stress state, and the stress change is real stress.
Accordingly, the CBDM is available for estimating
stress change.

4.2 Young’s modulus

The CBDM is based on the theory of elasticity. There-
fore the stress change is dependent onYoung’s modulus
of rock. The influence of theYoung’s modulus on mea-
surement result in stress change is almost the same in
conventional methods based on the theory of elasticity.

4.3 Location of axes of borehole and instrument

In the measurement, the instrument is inserted into
a borehole. The axis of the instrument does not usu-
ally coincide with that of the borehole. Figure 7(a)
shows the distributions of displacement of borehole
wall in the case that the axis of instrument is located
at X = 0, ±0.04 and ±0.1 mm with Y = 0 mm
in Figure 7(b) under the condition of R = 38 mm,
E = 30 GPa and ν = 0.2. When the distance of both
axes is small, the most probable stress may be esti-
mated by the non-linear least square method. However,
the distribution becomes to have a period of 2π with
increasing distance. Therefore, it is impossible to esti-
mate the most probable stress by only non-linear least
square method using eq(10).
In order to resolve this problem, a non-linear pro-
gramming for optimization is introduced into this
method. The error between the estimated displace-
ments by the non-linear least square method and
measured ones is calculated. Then this error is min-
imized by the non-linear programming, moving the
origin of X -Y coordinate system. After the calcula-
tion, we can obtain the temporary stress components
on the X -Y and x-y coordinate system, as well as (X ,
Y ).
As an example, the theoretical distribution of dis-
placements of borehole wall on X
-Y
coordinate Figure 6. Influence of borehole radius on estimation of ini-
system, which is defined in the instrument, is shown tial stress and stress change; (a) distribution of displace-ment
in Figure 8 as solid line under the condition that of borehole wall, (b) estimated initial stress, (c) esti-mated
{σ} = {σx , σy } = {5, 15} (unit: MPa), the rotation stress change.

133
Figure 7. Measured distribution of displacement with different coordinate of axis of instrument; (a) distribution of
displacement, (b) definition of coordinate system.
Figure 8. Distributions of theoretical and measured dis-
placement.
Assuming that the distribution of displacements
represented by the plots are measured ones, the most
probable stress state is calculated on X -Y and x-y
coordinate system, using the developed no-linear pro-
gramming with the non-linear least square method.
The results are summarized in Table 4. The calcu-
lated results are good agreement with the input data.
Accordingly, it is concluded that the temporary stress
state can be measured by the developed programming,
and that stress change can be estimated by the CBDM.
5 CONCLUSION
A new measurement method for rock stress change,
which is named the Cross-sectional Borehole Defor-
mation Method (CBDM), was developed.
The theory of the CBDM was firstly shown, then the
instrument for measurement with a laser displacement
sensor and a stepping motor was described. Secondly,
the influence factors on measurement result were ana-
lyzed theoretically. As a result, it made clear that the
rock stress change in a plane perpendicular to the
borehole axis can be measured by the CBDM.
REFERENCES
Ishiguro, Y., Obara, Y. and Sugawara, K. 2001. Rock stress
measurement using CCBO technique, Proc. of Int. Symp.
134
Table 4. Calculated results by non-linear programming
Geometry of ellipse in mm
X Y
−0.800 0.400
a c b, d
38.000 37.951 1 × 10−5
Principal stress in MPa and direction
σx σy φ(deg)
4.99 14.97 15.04
on Modern Tunneling Science and Technology, Kyoto,
pp. 297–302.
Jaeger, J. C. and Cook, N. G. W. 1979. Fundamentals of rock
mechanics, 3rd ed., Chapman & Hall, London, Chapter
10.
Kanagawa, T., Hibino, S., Ishida, T., Hayashi, M. and Kita-
hara, Y. 1986. In situ stress measurements in the Japanese
island, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr.,
23: 29–39.
Kudo, K., Koyama, T. and Suzuki, Y. 1998. Application of
numerical analysis to design of supporting for large-scale
underground cavern, J. of Construction Management &
Eng., JSCE, 588, VI-38: 37–49.
Obara, Y., Nakamura, N., Kang, S. S. and Kaneko, K. 2000.
Measurement of local stress and estimation of regional
stress associated with stability assessment of an open-pit
rock slope, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 37: 1211–1221.
Obara, Y., and Suagawara, K. 2003. Overcoring case study:
Updating case study using the CCBO cell in Japan. In: Int.
J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 40: 1189–1203.
Obara,Y., Matsuyama, T., Taniguchi, D. and Kang, S. S. 2004.
Cross-sectional borehole deformation method (CBDM)
for rock stress measurement, Proc. of 3rd ARMS, 2:1141–
1146.
Sugawara, K. and Obara, Y. 1999. Draft ISRM suggested
method for in situ stress measurement using the compact
conical-ended borehole overcoring (CCBO) technique.
In: Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 36: 307–322.
Taniguchi, D., Yoshinaga, T. and Obara, Y. 2003. Method of
rock stress measurement based on cross sectional borehole
deformation scanned by a laser displacement sensor. Proc.
of 3rd Int. Symp. on Rock Stress, 283–288.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

New development of in-situ stress measurement in Chinese mines

M. Cai, L. Qiao, C. Li, H. Ji, Z. Tan & F. Ren

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

H. Peng
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The correct knowledge of in-situ stress state is necessary for mining design, construction and
excavation, especially in 6 aspects. Stress relief by overcoring technique with hollow inclusion strain cell is
mainly used for in-situ stress measurement in Chinese mines, during which a series of new improving techniques
have been developed for increasing reliability and accuracy of the measurement. The results and applications
of in situ stress measurement in 6 metal mines are introduced. Hydraulic fracturing technique is used for stress
measurement in the early exploration stage of the mines. To solve problems caused by great measuring depth
and complicated geological condition of the mines, some improvements on hydraulic fracturing equipment have
been made and successfully used at more than 1000 m depth.

1 INTRODUCTION (Cai, M & Thomas L J 1993, Cai M 1995, Cai M,

In-situ stress is the basic natural force to cause defor-
mation and failure of mining engineering. Correct
information of in-situ stress state is necessary for reli-
able and safe mine construction and mining excavation
(Cai M 2001, Kang et al. 2007). In every stage and
every aspect of mining design and operation, infor-
mation of in-situ stress state plays important guiding
role.
During the last 20 years, the authors have completed
in-situ stress measurement in about 30 engineering
projects within China, including 20 mines in which
12 are metal mines, such as Xincheng gold mine and
Linglong gold mine in Shandong Province, Shuichang
iron mine in Hebei Province, Ekou iron mine in Shanxi
Province, Meishan iron mine in Jiangsu Province and
Jinchuan nickel mine in Gansu Province (Cai M,
Qiao & Li 2000a). The Shuichang iron mine and
Ekou iron mine are open pit mines and the other
four above mentioned are underground. The other
8 mines are coal mines which include Wanfu coal
mine in Shandong Province, Laohutai coal mine in
Liaoning Province, Pingdingshan No.8 coal mine in
Henan Province, Lingxin coal mine in Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region, etc.
Stress relief by overcoring technique was used for
in-situ stress measurement in most of the 30 projects.
To improve reliability and accuracy of the measur-
ing results, a series of new techniques, including
full temperature compensation technique, improved
hollow inclusion strain measurement technique and
interpretation method of rock stress state from the
measurement strain values considering the practical
behaviour of rock mass, have been developed and used
Qiao & Yu 1995, Cai M, Qiao & Li 1997)
Hydraulic fracturing technique is commonly used
in open-pit mines because there is nearly no way to
access the underground measuring points if using over-
coring techniques. However, to ensure reliability of the
measuring results, both overcoring and hydraulic frac-
turing techniques were used in Shuichang iron mine
and Ekou iron mine (Cai M, Yu & Qiao 1997, Cai M,
Qiao & Li 2004)
To solve problems for stress measurement with
hydraulic fracturing technique at great depth more
than 1000 meters, several improved techniques have
been developed. With the improved hydraulic fractur-
ing equipment, in-situ stress measurement has been
successfully completed in Wanfu coal mine which is
located in north-west of Shandong Province. In the
mine, the overlaid soil is more than 700 thick and the
most boreholes for hydraulic fracturing stress mea-
surement are more than 1100m deep (Cai M, Chen &
Peng 2006).
2 GUIDING ROLES OF IN-SITU STRESS
INFORMATION FOR MINING DESIGN
AND EXCAVATION
Rock stress is a kind of natural stresses which exists
in the surrounding rock mass of the mining engineer-
ing prior and during the whole procedure of the mining
operation. It is the basic force to cause deformation and
failure of the mining engineering. Therefore, under-
standing of in-situ stress state is necessary for guiding
the mining design and operation, especially in the
following 6 aspects.

135
2.1 Overall layout of the mining engineering
In primary stage of mining design, clearly understand-
ing of in-situ stress condition is a prerequisite for
design of the overall layout of the mining engineer-
ing. In the design, the important mining facilities, such
as shafts, transport roadways should keep away the
high stressed areas. The orientation of roadways and
stopes is best to coincide with the direction of the major
principal stress, because in such layout, there are two
smaller principal stresses in the vertical section of the
roadways and stopes, which is favorable for stability
of the roadways and mining excavations.
2.2 Selection of the optimal shape of underground
roadways and stopes
According to the elastic theory, to minimize stress con-
centration around the roadways and stopes, their ideal
sectional shape is an ellipse in which the ratio of hor-
izontal to vertical axes is best equal to the ratio of
horizontal to vertical principal stress in the section.
In such condition, the boundary of the roadway and
stope will be in an even-compressed stress state, which
means the values of the tangential compressive stress
at every points of the boundary are equal. It is also
a favorable factor for stability of the roadways and
mining excavations.
2.3 Selection of most suitable mining method and
optimization of mining design
Mining is a complicated excavation procedure. Dif-
ferent mining methods, different stoping orders and
different excavation steps will cause different mechan-
ical effect, i.e. the different stability status of the
mining engineering. Because the structural shapes
and excavation steps of the mining engineering are
very complicated, it is impossible to make mining
design, including selection of mining methods and
arrangement of excavation steps by quantitative the-
oretical calculation. Therefore, the traditional mining
design mainly relies on the man’s experience and is
less reasonable and reliable. The rapid development
of computing technology with computers and numeri-
cal modeling methods provides efficient and powerful
tools for quantitative calculation and optimal design of
the mining excavations. All the calculation and design
should be performed in a condition of known stress
state in the mining engineering.
2.4 Selection of reliable support and reinforcement
of mining structures
Reliable support is a key link to ensure safe and high-
efficient mining production. It is an important basis
for support design to calculate and analyze the stress-
strain state and joint function of support-surrounding
rock using numerical modeling and the other methods.
Through the calculation and analysis, an optimized
support design can be made which will fully utilize
136
loading ability of rock itself and make full play of
the support. All the calculation and analysis also need
correct information of in situ stress state.
2.5 Prediction of rock burst, mining seismicity and
other dynamic disasters induced by mining
Rock burst, mining seismicity and other dynamic
disasters induced by mining excavations are closely
related to rock stress state. They are all dynamic
process of energy accumulation and release during
the mining excavations. To quantitatively calculate
magnitude and distribution of underground energy
accumulation as well as their evolving process based
on clear understanding of in situ stress state is the
only way to make ‘time-space-strength’ prediction of
dynamic disasters induced by mining excavations.
2.6 Optimal design of high and steep slope
in deep-concave open-pit mines
Traditional method for slope design in open-pit mines
is ‘limit equilibrium analysis’ method. This method
is based on the gravity equilibrium principle, which
neglects the influence of horizontal tectonic stresses,
rock mass characters, faults, etc. However, just these
influential factors play key roles to control stability
of the slope in deep-concave open-pit mines because
in these mines the mining slopes are stretched down
much below the surface. For reliable and optimal
design of the slopes in deep-concave open-pit mines,
comprehensive stability analyses by numerical mod-
eling methods are necessary and correct information
of in-situ stress state is indispensable.
3 IN SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT WITH
OVERCORING TECHNIQUE AND ITS
APPLICATION AT 6 METAL MINES
As mentioned above, stress relief by overcoring tech-
nique was used for in-situ stress measurement in the
6 Chinese metal mines: Xincheng gold mine, Ling-
long gold mine, Shuichang iron mine, Ekou iron mine,
Meishan iron mine and Jinchuan nickel mine during
the last 20 years. To improve reliability and accuracy
of the measuring results, a series of new techniques
have been developed and used.
3.1 Improvement of the measuring techniques
3.1.1 Full temperature compensation
The hollow inclusion strain cell uses strain gauge as the
sensing element. The sensed strain changes are trans-
mitted to resistance changes in a Whetstone bridge
and the output voltage values of the bridge are finally
used for stress calculation. Because the strain gages
are susceptive to temperature changes, correct tem-
perature compensation is critical for reliability and
accuracy of calculated results of the measurement.
Traditional temperature compensation method uses
dummy gauges as compensation elements, which is not
effective for devices, such as hollow inclusion cells,
which are bonded to rock during the measurement. To
solve this problem, a full temperature compensation
technique has been developed by Cai (Cai M 1995),
which consists following 4 main points:
(1) Resistance elements in the Wheatstone bridge are
all of low temperature coefficient except the strain
gauge from the in-situ measuring device, which
ensures no considerable additional voltage output
produced due to temperature change.
(2) Temperature changes at the measuring point are
continuously recorded by a thermistor during
ovecoring.
(3) After completion of the overcoring test, the over-
core with the measuring device inside it is cali-
brated in a temperature controllable oven to get
thermal strain rate, i.e. strain value induced by
temperature change of 1◦ C, for each strain gauge.
(4) The lead wire of the strain gauge can induce
remarkable thermal strain due to temperature
change. To solve this problem, the same length
and same type of lead wire coming from the same
measuring point as the working strain gauge is
connected to a neighboring arm of the strain gage
in the bridge, which neglects the thermal effect of
lead wire of the strain gage.
From the calibrated thermal strain rate and recorded
temperature change during overcoring, the additional
thermal strain values for every strain gauges can be
determined and then eliminated from the total mea-
sured strain values to get the correct strain values for
stress calculation.
3.1.2 Consideration of nonlinear properties of rock
for stress calculation
Traditional method to calculate rock stress from the
measured strain values is based on the elastic theory
which supposes that the rock is linearly elastic, contin-
uous and isotropic. However, field rock mass has some
extent of non-linearity, discontinuity and anisotropy.
Some practical theory and methods have been estab-
lished by Cai (Cai M 1995) for interpretation of rock
stress measurement results considering the practical
behaviour of rock mass.
(1) To interpret the measured strains to in-situ stress
state needs the value of deformation modulus of
the rock. For nonlinear elastic rock, the value
of the deformation modulus depends on stress
level. To ensure correct interpretation, the value of
deformation modulus should exactly corresponds
its stress level. Because the values of stress and
deformation modulus are both undetermined, an
iteration program is used for the interpretation.
(2) For orthotropic and transverse isotropic rocks, a
method to determine anisotropic parameters with
biaxial test of overcore has been put forward by Cai
(Cai M 1995), which makes it possible to calculate
rock stress from the measured strain based on the
constitutive equations of these rocks.
137
(3) The results of the biaxial test of overcore can also
be used to determine anisotropic coefficient of
each strain gauge, because if the rock is ideally
isotropic, the strain values for strain gauges at
the same direction should be equal under biax-
ial loading. Using the anisotropic coefficient of
each strain gauge, the measured strain values can
be modified for correct stress calculation.
(4) To determine performance of rock stress mea-
surement devices in various rock conditions with
different distribution and extents of anisotropy
and discontinuity through systematical laboratory
modeling tests. Based on the modeling test results,
the in-situ stress measurement result is modified
according to the real rock condition.
(5) Using numerical modeling and iteration methods
to modify the effect of nonlinearity, anisotropy and
discontinuity on the measured strain values, which
makes the calculated results of rock stress close to
the real situation.
3.2 Measuring results and application
3.2.1 In Xincheng gold mine
Xincheng gold mine is one of the largest gold mines
in China with a gold production of 3.5 tons per year,
which is situated in a plain area and is only 5 km to the
coast of the Bo Sea. The orebodies are located in a frac-
ture belt which is about 80–200 m wide and 70–80 km
long. In situ stress measurements were conducted at
17 points distributed in 4 levels (Cai M, Qiao & Li
1995).
Based on the measuring results of in situ stress state,
an optimized design of deep development and mining
structures was completed. The design increased the
sublevel height from 30 to 50m and changed the pri-
mary ore pillars to artificial pillars, which leads to a
big benefit to the mine.
3.2.2 In Linglong gold mine
Linglong gold mine is another one of the largest gold
mines in China with a gold production of 3 tons per
year, which is situated in a hilly area with different
mineralogy from Xincheng gold mine. In situ stress
measurement was conducted at 18 points distributed
in 7 levels (Cai M, Liu & Li 2010).
The measuring results were used for prediction of
rock bursts in the deep mining areas and to make opti-
mum mining design, especially determining the best
excavation sequence in the mine.
3.2.3 In Jinchuan nickel mine
Jinchuan nickel mine is the second largest nickel
deposit in the world which is situated in the middle of
Hexi Corridor and the edge of Gobi Desert, northwest
of China. The current nickel metal production of the
mine is 110,000 tons per year with a mining depth of
1000 m. In situ stress measurement at shallow depth
was completed at eight points in the late 1970s. To
obtain more accurate and more detailed information
on in situ stress state at depth, stress measurements at
Table 3.1. In situ stress measurement results in Xincheng gold mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Depth/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 205 11.45 307.1 −17.6 5.69 286.3 71.3 4.03 35.1 6.2
2 205 11.54 270.0 4.3 6.77 181.5 −19.0 5.72 347.8 −70.4
3 205 11.27 218.9 10.2 5.68 220.2 −79.8 3.98 129 −0.2
4 235 14.62 237.6 9.2 10.17 329.9 13.9 5.63 295.1 −73.2
5 235 13.69 128.7 −7.8 6.83 131.3 82.2 5.06 38.8 0.3
6 235 12.99 301.9 −0.6 6.14 208.2 −81.3 5.00 212.0 8.7
7 235 13.60 311.0 −1.4 8.93 220.7 −10.4 6.85 228.8 79.5
8 235 12.58 280.0 −13.2 7.85 187.3 −11.1 6.92 238.5 72.6
9 235 12.80 127.1 −7.2 7.41 35.9 −9.7 5.89 72.4 78.0
10 310 18.39 123.1 −1.6 11.65 213.2 −3.3 10.73 187.7 86.4
11 310 18.50 285.5 −17.7 8.89 80.8 −70.6 7.05 13.0 7.6
12 310 20.73 109.9 −0.4 9.00 201.9 −79.1 7.01 199.8 10.9
13 310 16.32 82.9 3.2 9.19 13 −80.7 7.99 172.4 −8.7
14 410 29.62 308.9 −5.3 13.77 193.2 −78.0 11.98 219.9 10.7
15 410 31.49 148.4 −6.9 14.13 267.7 −76.0 11.8 236.9 12.0
16 410 31.55 327.2 11.77 13.89 219 −79.1 11.77 237.8 10.3
17 410 25.98 90.7 −4.5 11.54 106.7 85.3 5.78 0.8 1.3

Table 3.2. In situ stress measurement results in Linglong gold mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 250 17.63 52.6 4.7 8.62 321.9 7.7 7.58 353.6 −81.0
2 250 14.06 287.7 −14.4 7.63 19.4 −6.6 6.63 133.5 −74.1
3 290 15.58 141.1 −3.0 8.28 29.5 −83.3 6.84 51.8 5.9
4 290 17.51 294.8 −0.1 9.37 26.3 −84.3 7.26 24.8 5.7
5 290 17.68 280.3 13.5 9.25 322.8 72.0 6.61 193.2 11.7
6 290 20.45 343.5 −6.4 8.36 73.5 −15.1 7.75 51.2 73.5
7 290 19.74 91.3 −2.1 10.09 171.9 77.1 8.58 1.8 12.7
8 370 23.43 138.2 −9.3 12.69 12.7 −74.2 10.13 50.3 12.6
9 370 21.32 191.0 11.9 10.68 37.4 −72.9 8.20 103.6 −12.0
10 410 25.77 255.7 2.6 10.73 155.4 75.6 10.18 166.4 −14.1
11 410 25.55 218.0 2.1 11.51 118.8 77.1 8.64 128.5 −12.7
12 570 32.53 92.2 −3.8 15.54 199.0 −77 13.21 181.4 12.4
13 920 53.13 134.7 −5.3 27.72 81.4 81.2 25.51 44.1 −7.0
14 920 55.88 128.1 −3.8 30.12 229.2 −71.2 28.41 216.0 10.7
15 920 50.17 273.3 −15.8 27.72 314.1 70.2 24.89 187.0 13.1
16 970 60.26 335.0 11.0 34.52 34.0 72.2 27.93 246.0 −13.1
17 970 57.92 136.1 −0.5 30.24 227.1 −70.0 26.92 226.0 15.0
18 970 57.22 295.2 10.4 28.90 205.1 3.5 28.52 36.3 80.0

10 points between depths of 580–790 m were made in
1990s (Cai M, Liu & Zhou 1997).
Based on the measuring results lately obtained, a
modifying design of the mine was made in which the
original ‘two-step’ with pillars mining method was
changed to a ‘continuous cut-and-fill without pillar’
method, which remarkably increased excavation speed
and mining production of the mine (Cai M, Qiao & Li
2000b).
3.2.4 In Meishan iron mine
Meishan iron mine is the largest underground iron
mine in China with an ore reserve of 334 million tons.
The ‘sub-level caving without bottom pillar’ method is
used. The stability status was getting worse as increase
of the depth. Stress measurement was carried out at 8
points of 3 levels.
The measuring results provided a reliable basis for
optimal design of mining system, including effec-
tive controlling methods of ground pressure (Cai M,
Qiao & Yu 1997).
3.2.5 In Shuichang iron mine
Shuichang iron mine is the largest open-pit metal mine
in China with a designed capacity of ore production of

138
Table 3.3. In situ stress measurement results in Jinchuan nickel mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 580 31.18 33.8 6.3 13.74 280.9 74.1 10.88 305.4 −14.5
2 580 24.88 1.9 15.5 13.59 271.3 2.1 12.96 353.6 −74.4
3 580 28.08 35.2 5.0 14.28 88.7 −82.7 11.59 305.8 −6.7
4 580 28.44 36.6 2.2 13.34 299.4 72.9 9.44 307.2 −16.9
5 730 36.95 176.7 −8.8 17.55 2.6 −81.1 13.09 86.8 0.9
6 730 37.86 18.2 1.4 16.79 130.6 86.2 12.22 108.2 −3.5
7 730 34.68 348.0 −5.1 17.34 238.6 −74.9 13.48 259.2 14.2
8 730 31.64 13.2 3.8 18.68 79.9 −80.5 11.59 283.8 −8.7
9 790 40.55 160.6 −1.9 20.55 0.3 −84.3 16.75 70.6 0.7
10 790 37.26 226.0 14.6 18.19 204.2 −74.5 17.66 314.6 −5.6

Table 3.4. In situ stress measurement results in Meishan iron mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 342 20.19 107.3 −3.1 9.79 114.7 86.9 7.48 17.3 0.4
2 355 16.16 345.5 −0.3 10.28 211.3 −89.5 7.59 255.5 0.3
3 355 20.32 195.9 12.6 11.79 287.3 6.2 9.57 43.0 76.0
4 350 18.37 335.1 −4.5 9.57 307.3 85.2 6.92 64.9 2.4
5 218 9.46 228.1 2.0 4.36 318.5 11.7 3.04 308.6 −78.1
6 218 11.47 359.5 −4.5 5.61 270.3 9.9 4.80 65.2 79.1
7 210 11.79 140.2 −5.7 5.86 48.9 −13.1 5.03 73.2 75.7
8 420 21.50 313.7 −3.3 12.32 193.3 −83.5 11.56 224.1 5.6

Table 3.5. In situ stress measurement results in Shuichang iron mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 116.4 6.68 77 4.08 347 3.07

2 115.7 11.93 88 6.98 358 4.11
3 181.8 12.65 7.83 4.80
4 232.8 14.79 9.25 6.15
5 234.8 6.67 82 6.20 4.40 352
6 265.5 9.28 7.02 5.96
7 274.8 9.79 70 7.26 6.26 340
8 302.7 13.21 8.00 8.00
9 119.2 6.07 77 3.96 347 3.15
10 147.8 7.35 4.65 3.90
11 186.2 9.53 5.42 4.92
12 81 4.07 272.2 −7.3 2.38 3.9 −13.3 2.16 154.2 −74.8
13 91.5 4.26 90.6 −0.8 2.86 180.6 −2.9 2.68 344.9 −87.0
14 56 3.68 98.9 −7.2 2.33 189.7 −6.2 2.03 319.8 80.5

18 million tons per year. Since the end of last century,
the mine has got into deep-concave mining stage. The
final concave depth is 540 m and the vertical height
of the slope is 760 m. For such deep concave open pit
mine, an optimized design of slope angle is critical for
mining safety and for economical benefit. To this pur-
pose, in situ stress measurement with both overcoring
and hydraulic fracturing techniques was carried out
(Cai M, Qiao & Li 2004, Li J, Cai & Wang 2004).
Based on the measuring results, using a combined
technique of 3-D numerical modeling and 3-D limit
equilibrium analysis, an optimized design of the slope
and mining plan was provided. The overall slope angle
was increased by 4–5◦ , which could reduce the stripped

139
Table 3.6. In situ stress measurement results in Ekou iron mine.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Point Depth/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/ Value/ Bearing/ Dip/
No. (m) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 118.0 13.30 140.0 6.40 50.0 3.10

2 99.1 13.30 102.0 6.50 12.0 2.60
3 133.5 14.00 118.0 7.20 28.0 3.50
4 151.3 18.50 97.0 9.10 7.0 4.00
5 110.9 13.20 112.0 6.8 22.0 2.10
6 310 23.10 359.9 −2.0 7.64 89.9 1.1 9.41 331.4 87.7
7 310 23.11 170.0 −0.5 8.25 258.1 74.5 10.72 260.2 −15.5
8 310 22.96 183.2 0.8 8.85 93.4 −15.6 10.97 90.5 74.3
9 310 19.34 153.1 −0.3 8.87 64.6 78.0 8.99 295.1 −12.0

waste stone about 80 million tons and save a lot of cost

of production (Cai M, Xie & Wang 2009).

3.2.6 In Ekou iron mine

Ekou iron mine is also a deep concave open pit
mine with an ore production of 5 million tongs per
year which is situated in Shanxi plateau 1500–2000 m
above the sea level. In situ stress measurement was
carried out with hydraulic fracturing technique at 4
vertical exploration boreholes and overcoring tech-
nique at 4 points in a ventilation tunnel (Cai M, Yu &
Qiao 1997).
Based on the measured results, a feasibility study
of steep slope mining was completed. The originally
designed slope angle was increased by 4◦ and an effec-
tive system for maintaining stability of the slope was
established.

4 IN SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT WITH Figure 4.1. Location of measuring boreholes.

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING TECHNIQUE
IN WANFU COAL MINE
Wanfu coal mine is a part of the Juye coal field which
is within the range of the alluvium of Yellow River in
south-west of Shandong Province. The overburden soil
layer is more than 700 meters thick and the averaged
burring depth of the coal seams is 1104 m in Wanfu
coal mine. To provide information for mine design,
in-situ stress measurement at the early exploration
stage of the mine was carried out.
4.1 Improvement of hydraulic fracturing equipment
for deep stress measurement
4.1.1 Current application status of the technique
in China
Hydraulic fracturing technique is an efficient tech-
nique for in situ stress measurement at great depth. It
has been mainly used for in situ stress measurement in
water conservancy and hydro-electrical engineering,
highway and railway engineering, but less used in min-
ing engineering in China. The maximum measuring
depth for in situ stress measurement using hydraulic
fracturing technique in China was 800 m before the
measurement in Wanfu coal mine.
4.1.2 Problems for traditional hydraulic fracturing
equipment used at great depth
1) The pressure-enduring ability of the sealing pack-
ers and pressurizing system of the hydraulic frac-
turing equipment is not enough. Because at depth
over 1000 m, the pressure supplied by the pres-
surized water should be high enough to make
the borehole wall fractured. However, the high
enough pressurized water will also make the seal-
ing packers and water pipelines damaged or lose
function.
2) Along with increase of the measuring depth, the
pressure of ground water is increased. For Wanfu
coal mine, the more than 700 m thick soil layers
will make the borehole at measuring position fill-
ing with slurry. It will strongly influence sufficient
pressure relief and removal of the sealing packers
after completion of the fracturing test.
3) The traditional hydraulic fracturing equipment uses
double-loop system. Because the borehole is more

140
Table 4.1. Results of in-situ stress measurement in Wanfu coal mine.

Fracturing parameters/MPa Magnitude of stress/MPa

Borehole Orientation of
No. Depth/m Pi Pr Ps Po T σH σh σv σH /(◦ )

1# 891.2 27.55 21.74 20.40 8.91 5.81 30.55 20.40 18.64 65.3
1# 1046.2 28.61 25.33 24.28 10.46 3.28 37.05 24.28 22.74 78.7
1# 1104.9 33.27 29.47 27.67 11.05 3.80 42.49 27.67 24.30 62.9
2# 890.3 26.93 24.92 23.55 8.90 2.01 36.83 23.55 18.47 76.8
2# 1025.1 28.62 26.82 24.50 10.25 1.80 36.43 24.50 22.05 63.4
2# 1079.6 35.17 30.60 25.98 10.80 4.57 36.54 25.98 23.50 68.5
3# 791.0 33.00 28.40 21.60 7.91 4.60 28.49 21.60 15.75 46.1
3# 859.0 40.90 35.30 26.00 8.59 5.60 34.11 26.00 17.55 44.7
3# 1063.0 38.40 36.20 29.00 10.63 2.20 40.17 29.00 22.95 52.4
4# 799.6 40.80 38.30 32.80 8.00 2.50 52.10 32.80 16.16 36.0
4# 1026.4 42.70 33.80 32.70 10.26 8.90 54.04 32.70 22.14 39.2
4# 1052.7 40.90 35.70 33.90 10.53 5.20 55.47 33.90 22.85 43.6
5# 874.7 36.20 31.80 29.10 8.75 4.40 46.75 29.10 18.08 45.5
5# 1027.9 37.20 30.70 29.70 10.28 6.50 48.12 29.70 22.12 67.9
5# 1080.4 30.40 26.80 24.80 10.80 3.60 36.80 24.80 23.50 52.8
6# 813.8 29.62 26.92 20.47 8.14 2.70 26.35 20.47 16.53 98.1
6# 843.8 31.94 30.38 26.89 8.44 1.56 41.85 26.89 17.32 110.6
6# 892.2 45.78 37.63 30.51 8.93 8.15 44.97 30.51 18.59 92.5
7# 891.2 24.97 22.10 20.34 8.55 2.87 30.37 20.34 18.57 38.5
7# 1046.2 27.84 26.40 24.85 10.42 1.44 37.73 24.85 22.67 32.6
7# 1104.9 37.29 32.75 29.99 10.95 4.54 46.27 29.99 24.23 39.0

than 1000 m deep and will cross more than 700 m
thick soil layers, the hydraulic fracturing equipment
will suffer removal difficulty due to stuck on the
borehole wall during transferring to the lower or
upper positions.
4.1.3 Improvement technique (Cai M, Chen & Peng
2006)
1) A new type of sealing packer with special structure
was developed, whose pressure-enduring capacity
is 70 MPa which is enough for hydraulic fracturing
test at 2000 m depth.
2) A single-loop hydraulic fracturing system was
developed, in which a push-pull switch with high
strength is used for transforming the pressurizing
lines to the sealing packers or to the sealed section
of the borehole.
3) An automatic valve for low-pressure relief of the
sealing packer was developed, which automatically
makes pressure relief of the sealing packers after
completion of the fracturing test.
4) Two sets of pressure monitors are used to detect
water pressure in the pipeline, which ensure the
measuring accuracy of water pressure supplied to
the sealed section of the borehole.
5) The pressure-loading and unloading process is
automatically program-controlled, which elimi-
nates the influence of manual control in the tradi-
tional hydraulic fracturing system on the measuring
results.
4.2 Measuring results
To save the measuring cost, the hydraulic fractur-
ing stress measurement was performed in 7 chosen
exploration boreholes whose positions are shown in
Figure 4.1. Among the 7 boreholes, 6 boreholes are
close or over the depth of 1100 m, which is a new
record of measuring depth for in situ stress measure-
ment using hydraulic fracturing technique in China.
The measuring results are shown in Table 4.1. In the
Table, Pi , Ps and Pr are crack initial pressure, shut-in
pressure and crack re-open pressure, respectively; T
is tensile strength of the rock at measuring point; Po
is ground water pressure at the measuring level; σH
and σh are the maximum horizontal principal stress
and the minimum horizontal principal stress actually
measured by fracturing test; σv is vertical principal
stress calculated by gravity.
The measuring results show that: 1) The magnitude
of the maximum horizontal principal stress is about
twice of the vertical principal stress which means that
the in situ stress field in the mine is dominated by
tectonic horizontal stress field; 2) The orientation of
the maximum horizontal principal stress is basically
coincided with that of the regional tectonic stress field;
3) The values of in situ stress are commonly increased
with depth; 4) The faults have remarkable influence
on distribution of in situ stress field and make it less
uniform in Wanfu coal mine.
5 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The knowledge of in situ stress state is necessary
for design and construction of mining engineer-
ing, especially for choosing suitable location and
orientation of tunnels, shafts and stopes, opti-
mal shapes and sizes of underground roadways,

141
 efficient and safe sequences of excavations, and
reliable support of the mining structures, which
has been recognized by many Chinese mining
companies since the 1970s. Development of in
situ stress measurement in mines has significantly
enhanced the scientific level of numerical model-
ing, optimal design and construction in mining
engineering, as illustrated in 6 Chinese metal
mines.
(2) Stress relief by overcoring technique is especially
convenient for in-situ stress measurement in min-
ing engineering because there are many entrances,
such as shafts, tunnels, inclines, roadways, can
access the measuring points. The improvement
techniques, such as full temperature compensation
and consideration of nonlinearity, anisotropy and
discontinuity of the rock mass, are much useful
to increase reliability and accuracy of overcoring
stress measurement.
(3) Hydraulic fracturing is a useful technique for in
situ stress measurement in mines, especially in
open pit mines and the early exploration stage
of the underground mines. The improved tech-
niques developed for solving problems caused by
high measuring depth and extra thick overburden
soil layers make the hydraulic fracturing technique
possible and reliable to be used at deep position
of mines with complicated geological conditions.
REFERENCES
Cai, M. 1995 (modified edition 2000). Principle and tech-
niques of rock stress measurement. Beijing: Science Press
(in Chinese).
Cai, M. 2001. Optimization of mining design and control
of ground pressure in metal mines-theory and practice.
Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).
Cai, M., Chen, C., Peng, H. et al. 2006.In-situ stress measure-
ment by hydraulic fracturing technique in deep position of
Wanfu coal mine. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Engineering, 25(5): 1069–1074 (in Chinese).
Cai, M., Liu, T., Zhou. 1997.In situ stress measurement and
its application to mining design in Jinchuan nickel mine,
China. Environmental and Safety Concerns in Under-
ground Construction — Proc. 1st Asian Symposium on
Rock Mechanics, Seoul, Korea, A. A. Balkema, 679–682.
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Cai, M., Liu, W., Li, Y. 2010.In-situ stress measurement at
deep position of Linglong gold mine and distribution law
of in-situ stress field in mine area. Chinese Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Engineering, 29(2): 227–233 (in Chinese).
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Li, C. et al. 1995. Application of an
improved hollow inclusion technique forin situ stress mea-
surement in Xincheng gold mine, China. Int. J. Rock Mech.
Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 32(7): 735–739.
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Li, C. et al. 1997. Improvement on hollow
inclusion technique and its application to in situ stress
measurement. Proc. Int. Symposium. On Rock Stress,
Kumamoto, Japan, A. A. Balkema, 89–93.
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Li, C. et al. 2000a. Results of in situ stress
measurements and their application to mining design at
five Chinese metal mines. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
Geomech. Abstr., 37(2000): 509–515.
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Li, C. et al. 2000b. Study on mining method
in deep position of Jinchuan nickel mine, China. Aus-
tralian Institution of Mining and Metallurgy Publication
Series, 2000(7): 843–846.
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Li, C. et al. 2004.In-situ stress measurement
and analysis with hydraulic fracturing technique in deep
slope rock mass of Shuichang iron mine. Mining Research
and Development, 24(4): 11–13(in Chinese).
Cai, M., Qiao, L.,Yu, B. et al. 1997. Results and analysis ofin-
situ stress measurement in Meishan iron mine. Chinese
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 16(3): 233–
239 (in Chinese).
Cai, M., Qiao, L., Yu, J. 1995. Study and tests of techniques
for increasing overcoring stress measurement accuracy.
Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 32(4):
375–384.
Cai, M. & Thomas L.J. 1993. Performance of overcoring
stress measurement devices in various rock types and
conditions, Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. (Section A: Min.
industry), 102: A134–A140.
Cai, M., Xie, M., Wang, J., et al.. 2009. Study on optimum
design of high and steep slope in deep-depressed open-pit
mine. Proc. SINOROCK2009, Hong Kong, 176.
Cai, M., Yu, B., Qiao, L. et al. 1997. Experience of in situ
stress measurement with hydrofracturing and overcoring
techniques in Ekou mine, China. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min.
Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 34(2): 299–302.
Kang, H., Lin, J., Zhang, X. 2007. Research and application of
in-situ stress measurement in deep mines. Chinese Journal
of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 26(5): 929–933 (in
Chinese).
Li, J., Cai, M., Wang, S. et al. 2004. In-situ stress measurement
and analysis by overcoring technique in deep slope rock
mass. Metal Mine, (7): 16–17 (in Chinese).
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

New method to detect the induced hydraulic fractures

J. Mao & C. Wang

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing

ABSTRACT: This paper introduces one method to detect the fractures induced during the hydraulic fracturing
in-situ stress measurement process. This method can detect the hydraulic fracture fairly well, and can define the
strike of induced fractures exactly so as to determine the orientation of the maximum horizontal principal stress.
After the measured data were compared with the results gained with the traditional fracture impression method,
the findings show that this method is of high precision and operation speed, simple and energy and time-saving.
Especially in the deep measurement boreholes and boreholes with thick mud coat on the all, this new method
has much superiority over the traditional method, which offers a new means to determine the direction of the
maximum horizontal principal stress. Therefore, this new method is of great application value in the engineering
practice and rock mechanics research.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE BASIC

Originally, the hydraulic fracturing technology is one
method to improve the oil recovery in the oil industry.
Large amounts of logging data indicated that the direc-
tion of hydraulically induced fractures coincided with
the orientation of the maximum horizontal principal
stress of a regional stress regime. After that many sci-
entific researchers had done lots of research on how to
utilize the hydro fracturing technology to determine
the in-situ stress, and almost all the research find-
ings have proven the reliability of the hydro fracturing
in-situ stress measurement method. Since 1970s, this
method was widely applied in the geological and
geotechnical area. The ISRM specified this method
as one of the recommended methods to determine the
in-situ stress (ISRM 1987). This method is good at
the in-situ stress determination in deep boreholes. The
hydro fracturing in-situ stress measurement method
can not only determine the magnitude of stress, but
also can define the orientation of the maximum hori-
zontal principal stress through detecting the strike of
induced fracture (Haimson & Lee 2003).
Regarding the strike of induced fractures, the com-
monly used method is the oriented impression method.
The merit of this method is straightforward, but the
defect is energy and time consuming, especially in the
borehole with thick mud coat wall, the test efficiency is
very poor. The method introduced in this paper is based
on the instrument of ultrasonic borehole televiewer
(Mao 1994), which can detect the strike of induced
fractures precisely. By comparing the results from the
two methods, this new method is convenient, clear, fast
and high precision. The following will introduce the
principles, testing process and test results of the new
method through a application case.
WORKING PRINCIPLES OF ULTRASONIC
BOREHOLE TELEVIEWER
The ultrasonic borehole televiewer is one of the best
equipment to do borehole image logging. The equip-
ment consists of two parts, down part and surface part.
The downhole part includes ultrasonic sensor, syn-
chronous micro motor, gated magnetic flux direction
finder and signal processing unit. During the logging,
the ultrasonic sensor works like a downhole radar. The
ultrasonic sensor rotates at a constant speed under the
driving of synchronous micro motor, and beams scan-
ning pulses to borehole wall; at the same time, the
sensor will accept the reflected signal of these scan-
ning pulses and send them to the processor to form a
signal data reflecting the borehole wall; finally the sig-
nal data will be sent to the surface instrument through
a cable (or optical fiber cable) to process, record and
display. When the sensor rotates across the geomag-
netic North Pole, the orienting magnetic flux winding
will cut the geomagnetic field for one time; one orient-
ing order pulse will be created to control the scanning
pulse to scan the borehole clockwise from N to E
to S to W to N. The strength of reflecting ultrasonic
energy will display one scanning line with different
brightness; this is a unfolding scanning line of bore-
hole wall with Northern pole as the reference point
360◦ . When the borehole televiewer probe goes up
or down, many scanning lines can form a unfolded
borehole wall image (just as shown in Fig 1a). Based
on this image, the lithology change and distribution
of joints and fractures can be got. The processing
software can extract more useful information from
this borehole wall image logging, such as the rock
mass quality, borehole breakouts, and strike of joints

143
(a) Photo of acoustic borehole imaging (b) borehole his-
togram
Figure 1. Logging image got through a ultrasonic borehole
televiewer.
and fractures in the borehole wall(just as shown in
Fig 1b).
The statistical chart of joints and fracture in the
borehole wall is based on the processing of unfolded
borehole wall image logging data made by the ultra-
sonic borehole televiewer, as indicated in the right
figure of Figure 1.
When the probe scan one joint or fracture per-
pendicular to the borehole axis, because the filling
material or the upper and lower boundary materials
are different, the energies of reflected waves are dif-
ference as well; because the reflected energy changes,
the brightness of image will change as well; therefore,
when the sensor scan one joint or fracture with a cer-
tain dip angle, the scanning image shall be a sine or
cosine curve; the amplitude of curve is larger, the dip
angle of joint or fracture is larger. The strike of the
lowest point of curve corresponds with the inclining
direction of joint or fracture; when the sensor scan a
joint or fracture parallel to the borehole axis, one or
multiple vertical lines will be formed in the borehole
wall image; when there exist falling blocks in the bore-
hole wall or a eroded hole, there will be black spots
in the borehole wall image; after processing the image
through a professional software, the geometry, strikes
and concrete depth of falling blocks or eroded holes
can be got.
If the logging data is processed with a professional
software (Wang et al. 2007), one 3D simulation image
of rock core can be got (as indicated in Fig 2), and such
image can reflect the change of borehole diameter and
the borehole wall conditions.
The polar diagram and rose diagram is based on the
statistics of strikes and dip angle of joints or fractures
detected by the probe, which is similar to the polar
diagram and rose diagram used in the engineering area.
Because the ultrasonic wave has good ability to
detect the medium changes in the borehole wall, the
144
Figure 2. Example for analysis and processing of image
logging data of ultrasonic borehole televiewer.
ultrasonic borehole televiewer can be utilized to detect
the strike change of joints or fracture in the borehole
wall and the configuration of the artificially induced
fracture. The following will introduce how to use the
ultrasonic borehole televiewer to detect the hydrauli-
cally induced fractures through an application case.
3 DETECTING INDUCED FRACTURES
The induced fracture refers to those that is created
in intact rock mass with the hydraulic fracture tech-
nique during a in-situ stress measurement. According
to the elastic mechanics theory, the strike of induced
fracture is the orientation of maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress. There are three commonly used methods
to detect the induced fracture: (1) orienting impres-
sion method, the orienting impression method is one
method that is widely accepted and used all over the
world, and this method is simple and straightforward
and can be used in dry boreholes; the shortcoming is
effort and time-consuming and of low efficiency in
the borehole with thick mud; (2) optical borehole tele-
viewer method; this instrument is easy and convenient
to understand and operate in field, and can be used in
the dry borehole, the defect of such kind of instrument
is that it requires that the fluid in the borehole must
be transparent and that it has low resolution; (3) ultra-
sonic borehole televiewer, this equipment employs the
ultrasonic imaging principles to transform the bore-
hole wall appearances into a digital ultrasonic image
to determine the geometries and strikes of fractures in
borehole wall. This method is simple, straightforward,
energy and time saving, of high precision; at the same
time, this method can be used in the borehole with
thick mud. This shortcoming of this equipment is that
it cannot be used in a dry borehole.

Figure 3. Created fissure during the hydraulic fracturing.
The ultrasonic borehole televiewer method is the
new method delineated in this paper. It can not only
detect the direction of borehole breakouts in a deep
borehole to get the orientation of maximum horizon-
tal principal stress, but also can detect the strike of
hydraulically induced fractures in shallow borehole to
define the orientation of the maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress. The following will introduce a application
case in a granite borehole of 300 m deep in North China
to demonstrate the measurement results (Zhang et al.
1985).
Firstly, the whole borehole was logged with the
ultrasonic borehole televiewer; according to the image
logging data, 54 test intervals were selected for the
hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurement; after
the stress measurement operation was finished, the
image logging work was done once again in this bore-
hole; comparing the image logging data before and
after the hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measure-
ment, it is found that clear and intact image of induced
fractures could be found in most in-situ stress measure-
ment intervals. The typical logging image of a induced
fracture is indicated in Figure 3.
According to the strikes of the two vertical fractures
shown in Figure 3, the strike of the vertical fracture can
be calculated, which is the direction of the maximum
horizontal principal stress.
In this test, 54 induced fractures were detected. The
length of fracture depended on the length of test inter-
val; if the test interval was longer, the induced fracture
was longer too, and vice versa. Because the granite
rock mass is hard and brittle, almost all the induced
fractures exceeded the test interval where the rock
mass was intact and free of joints. For a general
hydro-fracturing in-situ stress measurement, the test
interval created by a pair of straddle packers of 1m
long is 0.8 m in length, and the constant flow rate of a
high-pressure pump adopted for hydraulic fracturing is

Table 1. Measurement results of hydraulically induced fractures.

Strike of induced fracture/◦ Strike of induced fracture/◦

BHTV result Result by oriented BHTV result Result by oriented

Serial No. Depth /m by BHTV impression Serial No. Depth /m by BHTV impression

1 40 −6 −20 28 167.5 −5.7 −2.

2 44 0 −12 29 171 −3 1.3
3 48 −6 −13 30 178 3 10.3
4 52 −6 −8.6 31 181.5 −11 27.5
5 56 −13 −18 32 185 −16 −4.7
6 65 −3 −19.3 33 188 −16 −9.2
7 70 −11.6 −12 34 194 −5.7 7.3
8 75 −14.7 4 35 198.5 −3 6.9
9 80 −14 −6 36 207 2.9 6.5
10 85 −14.5 0 37 213.25 5.7 12.3
11 90 −14.5 −11 38 219 11.4 15
12 95 −14.5 −5 39 228 0 22
13 105 −5.8 18 40 231 −3 9.6
14 110 −3 −2 41 239 30 40.7
15 115 −35.5 −21 42 241.5 −16.4 −6.4
16 118.5 5.5 0 43 248.5 8.5 7.1
17 122 27 −11 44 251 2.9 −1.1
18 125 6.5 −7.6 45 255 20.7 20.5
19 130 8.7 −8.6 46 259 11 8.6
20 135 −38 −14 47 263 11 5.2
21 139 −11 −20.6 48 267 −3 1.7
22 140 −11 −11 49 271 −3 −0.8
23 142 −11 −26 50 275 −3 −8.8
24 145 −11 −19 51 279 −4.3 13.3
25 151 −8 5.5 52 283 −3 −8.4
26 154 −14 −1.7 53 287 −3 −0.5
27 161 −8.6 3.3 54 291 −8.6 12.9

145
Figure 4. Curve of attitude of induced fissure with depth.
15 L/min; under such conditions, the induced fractures
were often 1 to 2 meters long. When the test interval
and the packer both were 2 meters long and the con-
stant flow rate was 50∼60 L/min, the length of induced
fractures was 3 to 5 meters. The image of induced frac-
tures is shown in Figure 3, and the measurement results
is shown in Table 1.
To plot the strikes of 54 induced fractures, the vari-
ation of the orientation of the maximum horizontal
principal stress around the borehole area versus depth
can be got (as indicated in Fig 4), in Figure 4, “−”
means NW and “+” means NE. According to the mea-
surement results shown in Figure 4, the orientation
of maximum horizontal principal stress, affected by
the topography and the structure of rock mass, varied
within a range of 30◦ . The average direction deter-
mined by the ultrasonic borehole televiewer is about
N8◦W.
After the hydraulic fracturing operation in a test
interval is accomplished, the fracture impression
should be taken in the same test interval to determine
the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress. The
widely-used method is the oriented fracture impres-
sion method. The oriented fracture impression system
consists of one automatic orienting device and one
fracture impression packer. There is one coat of semi-
vulcanized rubber on the surface of the impression
packer. Raising the pressure in the packer can make it
inflate to contact tightly with the borehole wall. The
coat of semi-vulcanized rubber on the surface of the
impression packer can make a copy of the fracture
image on the borehole wall (as indicated in Fig 5), and
the auto orienting device can record the orientation
of the reference line on the impression packer during
146
Figure 5. Created fissure during the hydraulic fracturing.
this process, and then the orientation of the maximum
horizontal stress can be determined by calculating the
angle between the hydraulically induced fracture and
the reference line of the impression packer because
the direction of the hydraulically induced fracture is
equal to the orientation of the maximum horizontal
stress according to the principles of hydro-fracturing
stress measurement. The average direction determined
by the oriented fracture impression method is about
N10◦W. The difference between the two results deter-
mined by two different methods is only 2 degrees,
which proves that the measurement results coincide
with each other. In addition, the impression work for
54 test intervals cost 10 days, but the logging work
of ultrasonic borehole televiewer only needed one day.
Therefore, adopting the ultrasonic borehole televiewer
can save lots of energy and time to improve the work
efficiency and to cut down the project expenses.
4 CONCLUSIONS
According to the above, the untrasonic borehole tele-
viewer can detect the borehole wall appearances very
well. This equipment can not only be used to detect
borehole breakouts (Zoback et al. 1985) and induced
fractures to determine the orientation of the maximum
horizontal principal stress, but also can be used to
detect joints and fractures in the borehole wall to offer
more useful information for the design and construc-
tion of large projects (such underground caverns for
hydroelectric power station and underground oil and
gas storage cavern)
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Haimson. B.C., Lee. M.Y., et al. 2003. Shallow hydraulic
fracturing measurements in Korea support tectonic and
seismic indicators of regional stress. International Journal
of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, 40: 1243–1256.
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International Society for Rock Mechanics, Commission on
Testing Methods. 1987. Suggested Methods for Rock
Stress Determination [J]. Int. J. Rock Mech. Mi Sci. &
Geomech. Abstr. 24(1): 53∼73.
Mao. J. 1994. Application of ultrasonic borehole televiewer
in the geotechnical engineering, Chinese Journal of rock
mechanics and rock engineering, 13(3).
Wang. C., Guo Q. et al. 2007 Application of new-version
of ultrasonic borehole televiewer in the geotechnical
investigation[J]. Geology and prospecting, 43(1):98∼101.
Zhang. B., et al. 1999. Research on the formation and
extending of hydraulically induced fractures, Earthquake
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Zobck. M.D., et al. 1985. Wallborer breakouts and in-situ
stress. J.G.R. 90:7
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurements in underground coal mines

and study on stress fields

H. Kang, L. Si & X. Zhang

Coal Mining and Designing Branch, China Coal Research Institute, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In-situ stress testing methods frequently used in underground coal mines in China were intro-
duced, including stress relief, hydraulic fracturing, geological structure information, earthquake focal mechanism
and underground stress mapping. The stress data records obtained by the small borehole hydraulic fracturing
testing rig used in underground coal mines were given more emphasis. Based on the testing data, the relationship
between in-situ stresses and depth, and the changes of the ratio of the maximum horizontal principal stress to
vertical stress were analyzed. There exist three types of in-situ stress fields. Depth, geological structures and rock
properties are the main factors affecting in-situ stresses. Complicated geological conditions result in obvious
scatter in testing data. However, the magnitude of in-situ stresses basically increase with the depth in the general
trend; the increasing rate of horizontal stresses is larger than that of vertical stress in shallow sites, and gradually
decrease as the depth increases.

1 INTRODUCTION poses great threat to the safety of deep mines. Other

Coal measures are extremely complicated geological
bodies. When compared with other geological materi-
als, they have two distinct characteristics: firstly, they
are cut by various discontinuities, such as joints and
fractures, which sharply change the strength and defor-
mation characteristics of them, and cause the great
difference of strength between rock mass and a small
rock block; secondly, there are active stresses in the
coal measures, and the orientation and magnitude of
stresses strongly influence deformation and damage
characteristics of surrounding rock mass.
Most coal mines in China are operated in under-
ground, and there are a variety of deposition conditions
of coal seams. The stress fields in the coal measures
are complex and irregular, because of the mixed influ-
ence of faults, folds, subsided columns and so on. The
mining conditions are very different among coal min-
ing districts. As for as the mining depth is concerned,
in western China, the depth of some coal mines is
just several tens of meters, however in eastern China,
the depth amounts to 1400 m, which causes radical
differences of stress values and distribution, and dis-
tinct deformation and damage modes of surrounding
rock mass among different mines. With the steeply
increasing output of coal in recent years, the mining
depth also increases quickly. It is estimated that many
coal mines will operate at 1000–1500 m under the
ground in the following 20 years. Deep mining brings
about the unfavorable effects of high in-situ stresses,
high temperature, high hydraulic pressure and violent
mining disturbance. Roadways endure great stresses
with large displacement and severe damage, which
disasters, such as rock burst, coal and gas outburst,
also have been linked to in-situ stresses. Therefore, in-
situ stress measurements in underground have a great
significance for the safety of coal mines.
There are many kinds of methods for in-situ stress
measurements at present, including mechanical meth-
ods, such as jacking method, strain recovery method,
stress relief and hydraulic fracturing methods; geo-
physical methods, such as photoelastic analysis, wave
speed, x-ray and sonic emitting methods; earthquake
focal mechanism method; borehole breakout method
and geological structure information method. The the-
ories and testing procedures of these methods have
been introduced thoroughly by some authors (Amadei
et al. 1997, Cai, 2000). The status and development
of these methods have been analyzed in detail (Ljung-
gren et al. 2003, Chistiansson, 2006). Some methods
provide satisfying stress values and orientations, some
just offer the orientations of principal stresses indi-
rectly, and the others just judge the maximum stress
experienced by rock mass in the past.
Many authors did research work on studying the
in-situ stress fields based on existing stress data. In
China, the fundamental database of crustal stress envi-
ronment in continental China was established, and
Chinese modern tectonic stress map was drawn up
according to the stress data present (Xie et al. 2007).
Xu J. et al. achieved the statistic results of compres-
sive axes and tensional axes in regional crustal stress
fields in continental China, using the earthquake focal
mechanism method to analyze 3115 middle and strong
earthquakes, which happened during 1918–2006 (Xu
et al. 2008). Then, they inquired into the stress field

149
structure in continental China, and analyzed the effects
on the stress field by the movement of surrounding
tectonic plates. From the view of international scenes,
“The World Stress Map project” was finished in 1992,
and the global modern tectonic stress database was
established (Zoback, 1992). The database are kept
and expanded continuously. The latest version of this
database and “The World Stress Map”, were published
in 2008 (Heidbach et al. 2008, Heidbach et al. 2009).
The characteristics and affecting factors of the world
or local stress fields can be analyzed on the basis of
the database.
The popular in-situ stress measurement methods are
stress relief and hydraulic fracturing, and both of them
have been used in underground coal mines. As a results
of special conditions in underground coal mines, such
as gas, high moisture, narrow space, the performance
and reliability of testing devices are required to meet
high standards. The testing devices developed by other
industrial departments are often not permitted to be
used in underground coal mines because of special
requirements. As there is no device suitable for fast
in-situ stress measurements in coal mines, many coal
mines are lack of local stress data, and the reason-
ability and reliability of engineering designs are not
ensured. The small borehole hydraulic fracturing test-
ing rig, aiming at testing in roadways of underground
coal mines, was developed by the Mining and Design-
ing Branch, China Coal Research Institute (Kang et al.
2007a). This rig has been used in many coal mines, and
lots of valuable data with respect to underground in-
situ stresses have been acquired (Li et al. 2005, Kang
et al. 2007b). These data can be readily used not only
in mine development planning and supporting design
associated with in-situ stresses, but also in analyzing
the macro stress fields in Chinese coal mines.
2 EXISTING TESTING METHODS USED
IN COAL MINES
2.1 Stress relief methods
The stress relief methods have been widely used in
in-situ stress measurements. The testing law of them
falls into two categories: borehole deformation and
borehole strain.
Borehole deformation method estimates in-situ
stresses based on the change of the borehole diame-
ter before and after stress relief. Borehole deformation
method can also be divided into two classes based on
the stiffness of sensors: borehole displacement and
stress. Piezomagnetic overcoring method measuring
the change of borehole diameter was applied in in-situ
stress measurements in Xinwen coal mining district.
Borehole strain method also falls into two sub-
classes: bottom strain and wall strain. The bottom
strain method tests the strain change of the bottom of
boreholes, and the wall strain method tests the strain
change of the wall of boreholes before and after stress
relief. Of these methods, hollow inclusion stress cells
are widely used in underground coal mines.
150
2.2 Hydraulic fracturing methods
Hydraulic fracturing methods are frequently used to
test the in-situ stresses at great depth into the crust
of the earth from surface. The greatest testing depth is
above 5000 m in the world, and it also has amounted to
2000 m in China. From its basic principles, hydraulic
fracturing methods are limited to plane stress test-
ing, and can be divided into two categories: traditional
hydraulic fracturing (HF) and hydraulic testing of pre-
existing fractures (HTPF) (Haimson et al. 2003). Some
Chinese researchers have dealt with the feasibility
and principles of the three dimensional measurement
by hydraulic fracturing methods, some preliminary
results were achieved (Chen et al. 2001, Liu et al. 1999,
Yin et al. 2001).
Cai M. et al. measured the in-situ stresses in the
exploring boreholes in Wanfu coal mine by hydraulic
fracturing method, where the greatest depth amounted
to 1105 m (Cai et al. 2006). However, the surface
devices used for hydraulic fracturing are of huge
volume with large testing boreholes and high costs,
which are unfit for the requirements of underground
coal mines. To solve this problem, the small borehole
hydraulic fracturing testing rig was developed, and has
been used in many coal mines.
2.3 Geological structure information methods
The present status of in-situ stresses is closely related
with the existing geological structures. The orienta-
tions of principal stresses can be acquired by observing
the structure traces, and only the latest structures can
provide more reliable in-situ stress information. The
testing results of in-situ stresses can be compared with
the geological structure information to validate its reli-
ability. The orientations of principal stresses can be
deduced from the data involving in the fault or fold
strikes in a large range, and judged by the joints and
cleats in a small range.
2.4 Earthquake analyzing method
The in-situ stresses at deep points of the crust can
be detected by analyzing focus information collected
from earthquakes at different depths. The first motion
analysis of earthquakes can provide the sense of fault-
ing, and the relative magnitudes of the in-situ principal
stresses and their orientations. After development and
application in several decades of years, this method
has been the main approach to understand the in-situ
stresses at greater depth of the crust. The institute of
Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration
analyzed the distribution features of tectonic stress
fields by earthquake focal mechanism in Xinwen and
Xuzhou coal mining districts.
2.5 Underground stress mapping method
The horizontal stress in the roadway roof can cause
shearing fractures with a low angle when the deviatoric
stress is large. The exposed roof strata are very favor-
able to stress mapping. For roadways with rectangular
sections, when the orientations of principal stresses are
Table 1. In-situ stress measurement results in Xinwen coal Table 2. In-situ stress measurement results in Dongpang
mining district. coal mine.

Magnitude Orientation Dip σ1 σ2 σ3 σv E

Coal Principal No. of testing
◦ ◦ sites MPa MPa MPa MPa MPa
mine stresses MPa

Huafeng σ1 20.50 205.3 −77.3 1 14.9 10.5 7.6 9.3 23.2

σ2 14.24 76.6 2.7
σ3 8.63 192.8 12.4
Panxi σ1 17.69 94.9 −0.7
σ2 14.91 8.5 −78.7
σ3 7.95 184.7 −11.3
near horizontal or vertical, the fractures are near per-
pendicular to the minimum principal stresses. When
the axis of roadways is at an angle to the maximum
principal stresses, there are serious stress concentra-
tions and gutters on one side of roadways. When the
axis of roadways aligns with the orientations of the
maximum principal stresses, the roadways are on best
stress condition.
3 ANALYSIS ON IN-SITU STRESS TESTING
DATA FROM COAL MINES
3.1 Stress relief
3.1.1 Xinwen coal mining district
The three dimensional stress measurements in sin-
gle borehole were carried out in Huafeng and Panxi
coal mines in Xinwen coal mining district, by the
piezomagnetic overcoring device and technique devel-
oped by the Institute of Crustal Dynamics. The testing
results are shown in table 1, where σ1 , σ2 and σ3 denote
the maximum, middle and minimum principal stresses
respectively. The deeper site was at Huafeng mine, and
the shallow at Panxi mine.
It is shown that the orientation of maximum princi-
pal stress is near vertical in Huafeng mine, and that of
maximum and minimum principal stresses is near hor-
izontal with middle principal stress being near vertical
in Panxi mine. It is obvious that the vertical stress takes
a dominant position in first case, and the horizontal
stress dominates in latter case.
3.1.2 Xintai and Yanzhou coal mining districts
The Strata Control Technology Pty. Ltd. of Australia
carried out in-situ stress measurements in Dongpang
coal mine in Xintai coal mining district by the ANZI
stress cells. The testing sites were selected at a tail gate
with the depth of 420 m. The testing results of two sites
are shown in table 2, where σv is vertical stress, and E
is elastic modulus. The vertical stress is very close to
the middle principal stress, and the maximum principal
stress is horizontal.
The devices and techniques from the Strata Control
Technology Pty. Ltd. were introduced later in Yanzhou
coal mining district. The in-situ stress measurements
were carried out with the HI and ANZI stress cells
2 14.3 10.7 8.6 10.8 21.5
in the whole miming district (Ni, 2007). The testing
results showed following characteristics of stress dis-
tribution: (1) The orientations of the maximum and
minimum principal stresses are near horizontal, and
the maximum horizontal principal stress is larger than
vertical stress; (2) The difference between the max-
imum and minimum horizontal principal stresses is
large; (3)The maximum and minimum horizontal prin-
cipal stresses increase with depth. The vertical stress
increases linearly with depth, and the value of vertical
stress is a little less than that from overlying weight.
3.1.3 Pindingshan No. 1 mine
Zhang Y. et al. measured the in-situ stresses with hol-
low inclusion cells in Pingdingshan No. 1 mine (Zhang
et al. 2004). The testing results showed: (1) The maxi-
mum principal stress is near horizontal with the middle
and minimum principal stresses being oblique except
one or two sites. The horizontal tectonic stress predom-
inates in the stress field; (2) The ratio of the maximum
horizontal stress to vertical stress is more than 1.4
except specific sites; (3) The vertical stress equals to
or a little surpass the overlying weight; (4) The orienta-
tion of the maximum principal stress is closely related
with the local tectonic movements.
3.1.4 Datun coal mining district
Zhou G. et al. conducted the in-situ stress testing in
several coal mines in Datun coal mining district (Zhou
et al. 2005). The testing results showed following fea-
tures: (1) Among testing sites from level −780 m to
−380 m, the maximum principal stress is near hori-
zontal, and the tectonic stress predominates; (2) Below
the level −800 m, the maximum principal stress is
near vertical, and conforms to the overlying weight;
(3) It is possible that level −800 m acts as the bound-
ary, below which tectonic stress dominates and above
which vertical stress tends to predominate.
3.2 Hydraulic fracturing
As mentioned above, Cai M. et al. finished in-situ
stress measurements in exploring boreholes by means
of hydraulic fracturing in Wanfu coal mine in Juye
coalfield located in Shandong Province. The tradi-
tional hydraulic fracturing testing devices and proce-
dures were improved to secure successful measure-
ments at deep sites more than 1000 m. Measurements
were conducted on 37 selected testing sites in 7 explor-
ing boreholes, the deepest amounted to 1105 m. The

151
Table 3. In-situ stress measurements results in Shanxi coal
mines.

H σv σH σh α
◦
No. Coal mine m MPa MPa MPa

1 Tunliu 540 13.5 13.21 7.24 N24.7◦ E

2 Zhangcun 230 5.75 5.81 3.47 N52.7◦ W
3 Wuyang 589 14.73 16.94 10.84 N12.1◦ W
4 Changcun 373 9.33 13.57 6.96 N35.7◦ W
5 Wangzhuang 165 4.13 7.47 4.68 N55.0◦ W
6 Gaohe 468 11.7 13.15 7.1 N47.0◦ E
7 Sihe 376 9.4 18.92 9.67 N83.4◦ W
8 Chengzhuan 401 10.02 16.06 8.5 N43.4◦ E
9 g 290 7.25 10.09 6.17 N31.7◦ W
10 Changping 505 12.63 14.83 8.12 N34.7◦ W Figure 1. In-situ stresses vs depth in coal mining districts.
11 Zhaozhuang 477 11.93 16.7 9.45 N82.7◦ E
12 Wangpo 220 5.5 7.58 4.27 N27.4◦ W
13 Shuangliu 482 12.05 14.45 7.74 N4.0◦ E
14 Zhongxing 284 7.1 8.2 4.86 N36.8◦ W
15 Hexi 198 4.96 6.52 3.5 N54.3◦ W
16 Liuwan 176 4.41 5.29 3.39 N29.0◦ E
17 Shuiyu 467 11.68 12.78 7.24 N19.0◦ E
18 Tashan 495 12.38 11.75 6.31 N38.4◦ W
19 Xinjing 86 2.15 5.15 3.31 N49.8◦ E
20 Anjialing 558 13.95 10.48 4.86 N37.1◦ W
Shaqu

testing results showed as follows: the ratio of the max-
imum horizontal principal stress to vertical stress is
1.44–3.22 with an average value of 1.97, and the
horizontal stress dominates the local stress field.
Lots of hydraulic fracturing measurements have
been conducted with the small borehole testing rig
in underground coal mines (Kang et al. 2009a, b).
More than 200 testing sites spreading over 13 coal
mining districts in 6 Provinces of China, were finished
by using the rig. The shallowest testing site is 69.3 m
under the surface in Shendong coal mining district,
and the deepest site is 1283 m in Xinwen district. The
conditions of these mining districts are very differ-
ent, for example, the dip of coal seams varies from
near level, tilting, to steep tilting, and the strength
of coal measures varies from soft, middle to strong
level. Therefore, these testing sites are under very
different geological conditions, which cover almost
all the geological conditions in Chinese coal mining
districts. Table 3 lists the in-situ stress measurement
results of some coal mines in Shanxi Province, where
H denotes buried depth; σv , σH and σh denote vertical
stress, the maximum horizontal principal stress and
the minimum horizontal principal stress respectively;
α denotes the orientation of the maximum horizontal
principal stress. Figure 1 shows the relation between
principal stresses and depth for all sites. The relation
between the ratio of the maximum horizontal principal
stress to vertical stress and depth is shown in Figure 2.
It is shown in Figure 1 that the horizontal stresses
increase with depth. However, the testing results have
obvious scatter because of the considerable geological
Figure 2. Ratio of maximum horizontal principal stress to
vertical principal stress vs depth.
differences among coal mining districts. In a gen-
eral view, horizontal stresses increase more quickly
than vertical stresses in shallow sites; however, the
increasing rate of horizontal stresses decreases with
depth increasing; and the maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress tends to approach vertical stress at great
depth.
Figure 2 shows that the ratio of the maximum hor-
izontal principal stress to vertical stress decreases
with the depth increasing, and tends to converge at
1, as is the possible evidence of hydrostatic pressure
state in the deep sites of the crust. The ratio of the
maximum horizontal principal stress to vertical stress
concentrates in the limit between 0.5 and 2.0.
3.3 Earthquake focal mechanism
To identify the characteristics of the tectonic stress
fields in Xinwen coal mining district, the Institute
of Crustal Dynamics acquired the earthquake focal
mechanism solutions for the district and areas sur-
rounding it, as shown in Figure 3. It shows the obvious
features of the local modern tectonic stress field, i.e.
compression with the direction of NEE to SWW, and
tension along NNW to SSE. The local tectonic stress
field conforms to that of the Northern China. There-
fore, Xinwen mining district is under the control of the
tectonic stress field.

152

Figure 3. Tectonic stress distribution in Xinwen coal min-
ing district and its peripheral area based on focal mechanism
method.
4 CHARACTERISTICS OF STRESS FIELDS
IN UNDERGROUND COAL MINES
Based on analyzing the in-situ stress measurement data
in underground coal mines, the distribution charac-
teristics of in-situ stress fields can be described as
follows.
(1) In general, of three principal stresses, one is near
vertical, the other two are near horizontal. The vertical
stress approaches to the overlying weight; the differ-
ence between the maximum and minimum horizontal
principal stresses is considerably large.
(2) As a whole trend, the principal stresses increase
with the depth. The vertical stress increases linearly
with increasing depth; however, the values of horizon-
tal stresses show a wide scattering range because of the
obvious differences in geological conditions among
various coal mining districts.
(3) On shallow sites, horizontal stresses rise faster
than vertical stress; however, the increasing rate of
horizontal stresses decreases gradually with depth
increasing. The maximum horizontal stress tends to
approach vertical stress at greater depth.
(4) As for as the types of in-situ stress fields are
concerned, the type σH > σh > σV frequently occurs
in shallow coal mines; the type σH > σV > σh fre-
quently occurs in moderately deep coal mines; the type
σv > σH > σh mainly occurs in moderately deep to very
deep coal mines. However, the type σH > σV > σh are
also likely to occur in deep coal mines affected by
strong tectonic action.
(5) With the depth increasing, the ratio of the maxi-
mum horizontal principal stress to vertical stress tends
to reduce and converge at 1. Most sites with the ratio
above 2.0 lie in shallow coal mines, and most of the
ratio is between 0.5 and 2.0.
(6) Large-scale folds, faults and subsided columns
often cause the obvious change of the orientations and
153
values of the maximum horizontal principal stresses.
The maximum and minimum horizontal principal
stresses will increase sharply, and stress concentra-
tion will occur around the axis of synclines. The stress
value is likely to decrease near faults because of the
stress releasing effect.
(7) The strength and stiffness of rock mass obvi-
ously affect the distribution of in-situ stresses. The coal
measures with low strength and stiffness are unfavor-
able to the accumulation of the deformation energy
and horizontal stresses, because of their large defor-
mation under comparatively low stress. However, the
hard coal measures are favorable to the accumulation
of elastic energy and cause horizontal stresses higher
than that of soft rock mass.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the in-situ stress analysis mentioned above,
the following conclusions can be drawn.
(1) The geological conditions of Chinese under-
ground coal mines are very complicated, and the min-
ing conditions are very different among coal mines. As
a result of the more or less tectonic influence of faults,
folds and subsided columns, the in-situ stress fields in
coal measures are very complicated and changeable.
(2) The stress relief and hydraulic fracturing meth-
ods have been utilized for in-situ stress measurements
in underground coal mines. Especially, the small bore-
hole hydraulic fracturing testing rig has provided a
fast underground testing approach, and has been used
widely in coal mines. Lots of valuable data with respect
to underground in-situ stresses have been acquired.
Besides the two testing methods, other approaches
such as geological structure information, earthquake
focal mechanism solutions and underground stress
mapping, also have been used to analyze the stress
distribution of coal mines. The combination and con-
trast of these methods can be expected to improve the
reliability and exactness of testing results.
(3) The values and orientations of in-situ stresses
in underground coal mines are influenced by a variety
of factors, including buried depth, geological struc-
tures, the strength and stiffness of rock mass, and so
on. As a result of these complex factors, in-situ stress
testing results scatter widely, especially obvious for
horizontal stresses. The general trend is that: princi-
pal stresses increase with the buried depth increasing;
horizontal stresses rise faster than vertical stresses
in shallow mines; however, the increasing rate of
horizontal stresses decreases gradually as the depth
increases. The maximum principal stress tends to
approach vertical stress in deep mines.
(4) Three types of in situ stress fields occur in coal
mines: type σH > σh > σv frequently occurs in shallow
coal mines; type σH > σv > σh often occurs in moder-
ately deep coal mines; type σv > σH > σh frequently
occurs in moderate to deep coal mines. However,
the reverse may be possible when the coal measures
are severely affected by geological structures or with
extremely low strength.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Accuracy assessment and reliability analysis in the intelligent data analysis

system for the piezomagnetic stress meter

L. Jia
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China
China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China

C. Wang
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Q. Chen & Z. Jiang

China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In order to better cooperate with the YJ-95 piezomagnetic stress meter for stress measurement,
design and develop the piezomagnetic stress meter intelligent data analysis system. In this paper accuracy assess-
ment and reliability analysis of the intelligent data analysis system of the piezomagnetic stress meter are discussed
in theory and practical application on the detail. This system first processes error and estimates precision about
measured value by least-squares method, studentized residuals method and coordinate transformation. Precision
estimation have two steps: assessing the accuracy of stress components and assessing the accuracy of the princi-
pal stress. Then the system analyses the reliability of results depending on existing databases, the in-situ stress
condition and other criteria. The above process is carried out by the system intelligently, and the final results of
the analysis can be presented.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 ERROR PROCESSING AND ACCURACY

ASSESSMENT OF THE STRESS
In-situ stress measurement is an important method COMPONENT
to study the crustal stress state and tectonic stress
field. Accurate stress data is essential to the mining, 2.1 The checkout of abnormal element
water conservancy, civil construction, underground
The direct observations of the borehole relief meth-
caverns, and other constructions. However, stress mea-
ods are values of train gauge after stress relief. In
surement errors are ineluctable. According to error
piezomagnetic stress meter the observed value of
theory, as long as there are the number of observations
the piezomagnetic element is called converted dis-
is more than that of variables (stress components),
placement, which can be expressed by s = (s1 , s2 , · · · ,
we can estimate the error, in other word the accu-
sn )T , where n is the number of observations. In
racy can be assessed. In addition the actual stress
the YJ-95-type piezomagnetic stress meter, n = 8.
value always is unknown, so it is not possible to
Stress can be expressed by stress component vetor
compare measured values with unknown values in
σ = (σx , σy , σz , σxy , σyz , σzx )T . The strain observed
order to validate the accuracy of measurement results.
value and stress components generally have a linear
As a result, it is necessary to use appropriate crite-
relationship in theory, that is
rions for reliability analysis of the results so as to
the reasonable utilization. The piezomagnetic stress
meter intelligent data analysis system aimed at the
YJ-95 piezomagnetic stress meter. This system con-
tains precision estimation and reliability analysis for Where is C
= (C
1 C
2 C
3 C
4 C
5 C
6 ), which is coef-
measure results. So the piezomagnetic stress meter ficient matrix.
intelligent data analysis system can get the accurate Formula(1) is over determined systems. In addi-
outcome, and the reliability of the results is scientific tion, because of measurement error, the actual
assessed. observed values do not fully satisfy the formula (1).

155
So, least-squares method is needed to solve the stress meter f = 6. The root mean square error of stress
components. In the error theory, the least-squares component bi(i = 1, 2, 3 . . . 6) is Pi.
method is a kind error treatment method, also known
as adjustment method. It is a best unbiased estima-
tion in statistics. In theYJ-95 piezomagnetic stress, the
number of strain observations (8 components) is more Where cii is the diagonal elements of the inverse matrix
than the number of elements in the stress components of aij .
(6), so a group of “conversion shift” can be obtained. The relative error of stress component:
Sk , k = 1, 2, · · · N , (N ≥ 6). By the following equa-
tions stress component can be got in the least-squares
method:

3 ACCURACY ASSESS OF THE PRINCIPAL

STRESS

3.1 Accuracy assessment of the principal stress

magnitude
Assuming the optimal valuation of rock stress
components is calculated as follows: For the sake of the errors of the main stress magnitude,
the coordinate system will first be transformed. In the
new coordinate system, the three normal stresses are
equal to three principal stresses respectively, while the
three shear stresses are zero, then the errors of three
By formula (1) letting residual equation of the principal stress can be obtained by using the method
observed values can be built, or called the error equa- of getting the stress component error.
tion: V = C
∧ − s. V = (v1 , v2 , · · · , vi ) means residual
vector for the strain value. Vi is residual error of No.i
component. 3.2 Accuracy assessment of the principal stress
The following is studentized residuals method to direction
exclude abnormal observations: 3.2.1 The error analysis of principal stress
(1) Calculation of statistics L(n) = max |vi |
. direction cosine
s
(2) Determine significance level a, deriving the crit- Principal stress σi (i = 1, 2, 3) direction cosine Li , Mi , Ni
ical value L1−a (n). Where a = 0.05, n = 8, so decided by the following equation:
L1−0.05 (8) = 2.270 by the critical value table of
students residuals method.
(3) when L(n) > L1−a (n), “conversion shift” Si corre-
sponding to max |vi | is outlier, which should be
eliminated.
(4) If one abnormal value is detected, the rule should
be re-used for the remaining n-1 values, until the
abnormal value cannot be tested.
Solving principal stress direction cosine, we should
first choose the two equations including minor of a
2.2 Error analysis of stress component determinant of the absolute value largest from the pre-
vious three equations, and simultaneous solve with
After excluding abnormal observations, using the nor- the fourth equation, so that the results is the error
mal observed values can obtain stress component with minimum solution. For example, solve simultane-
the least square method. And then find the vector of ous equations of the two former equations and the
residuals. A margin of error theory, we can see rms fourth:
error of stress component as follows:

Where V is residual vector, r is the number of

redundant observations, namely degrees of freedom
r = n − p, n is the number of observed values, f is the
number of unknown variables, in the YJ-95 pressure

156
 We can see from the propagation of error: the
main stress direction cosine of the error Li , Mi ,
Ni (i = 1, 2, 3) as follows:
Where
b1 = σx , b2 = σy , b3 = σz , b4 = τxy , b5 = τyz , b6 = τzx
b1 , b2 , · · · · · · , b6 are six stress components
of the error, σ1 , σ2 , σ3 is errors of σ1 , σ2 , σ3 .
3.2.2 The error analysis of principal stress azimuth
Principal stress azimuth error Wi in the decision by
the formula.
3.2.3 The error analysis of principal stress
inclination
The inclination of principal stress the decision by the
formula, so
4 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS
After assess accuracy of the stress date, the reliability
analysis of the results is necessary, that also is in line
with quality control of stress estimation. The piezo-
magnetic stress meter intelligent data analysis system,
comparing with the available data, in-situ stress state
(topography, depth and rock properties) and other rel-
evant criteria£¬takes reliability analysis of calculation
results in order to ensure the quality of measurement
results, and to facilitate interpretation of the stress data.
4.1 Error checking
Analysis reliablility of the stress date should first be
inspected the error in order to determine whether
157
the measurement results satisfy corresponding spec-
ifications. Piezomagnetic principal stress is generally
believed that the relative error is less than 5%, the error
of direction is less than 3%.
4.2 Stress database
The simple and direct method of assessment reliabil-
ity is comparing the measured results with existing
data, but that always can not be realized because of
lacking the appropriate information. The solution is:
the formation of the underlying database, collecting as
much measured stress data as possible. And analyze
data to identify stress law. The intelligent data analy-
sis system is mainly designed for the China region, so
connects to “The in-situ stress information of crustal
stress database in China”, which is a basis for analysis
the reliability of data.
4.2.1 The regional stress field orientation
The measured principal stress direction should be
consistent with the regional principal stress direc-
tion. If there is deviation, deviation should be within
reasonable limits.
Where W is the direction of measured principal stress,
W0 is the regional principal stress direction. If n > 30◦ ,
then the stress direction may be not normal, should be
carefully considered.
4.2.2 The near measuring point data
The measured stress data should be consistent with the
data of the near measuring point (if there is appropriate
data in the database).
Where W is the measured principal stress direction,
W1 is the measured principal stress magnitude. W1 ,
σ1 is appropriate data in the database. If n > 30◦ or
m > 30%, then the stress direction may be not normal,
should be carefully considered.
4.3 The in-situ stress state assessment
According to rock strength, the depth of measure-
ment points, topography and some other criteriads,
the system evaluates stress data so as to ensure data
reliability.
4.3.1 Comparison with the self-weight stress
The sum of the principal stress presents a certain pro-
portional relationship with the sum of the self-weight
principal stress.
Where I1 is The sum of the principal stress, I10 is the
sum of the self-weight principal stress. When n > 2,
the stress is in very high status, or is abnormal.
Table 1. Measurement results.

Radial component Declining component

Surveying depth* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

8.40∼8.70 m Direction 13◦ 175◦ 220◦ 265◦ 130◦ 175◦ 220◦ 265◦
Stress 3.30 8.87 5.20 181.36 34.99 40.14 2.4 –
8.77∼9.2 m Direction 20◦ 65◦ 110◦ 155◦ 20◦ 65◦ 110◦ 155◦
Stress 5.20 6.81 6.01 37.97 25.88 36.23 16.08 5.05

Notes: *borehold azimuth: 40◦ ; inclination of borehole: −5◦

4.3.2 Rock strength Table 2. Stress component results (MPa).

The maximum principal stress presents a certain pro-
portional relationship with the uniaxial compressive σx σy σz σxy σyz σzx
strength.
12.536 13.109 11.489 1.662 −0.414 −1.428

Where RW is uniaxial compressive strength, σ1 is the

main stress. When n > 2, the stress is in very high
status, or is abnormal.
4.3.3 Terrain
Maximum principal stress direction should be toward
the ridge line, the second main stress direction should
be parallel with the hillside. If there is big different, the
stress direction should be carefully considered, may be
not normal.
4.4 Other criteria
Measurement of stress is always aim at getting the
crustal stress, therefore the choice of measuring posi-
tion and the number of measurement are often regard
as a measure of the reliability standards.
4.4.1 The depth
Because of rock weathering, the stress measurement
of shallow strata is often less reliable, so the measured
depth is regard as a reliability standards. In general,
the measurement depth of more than 300 m can reflect
the crustal stress.
4.4.2 Local influence zone
When the measurement location is away from known
local influence region (cavern, slope invading surface),
and have a certain distance, the measurement results
would be reliable.
4.4.3 Repeated measurements
When obtaining consistent results from more than one
borehole, the measurement would be reliable. Date
reliability related closely to the standard deviation of
the measurement data.
Where n is the number of easurements, Xn is
No.n measurements, S is the standard deviation of
measurements.
5 EXAMPLE
At one hydropower station there are some stress mea-
surement data with YJ-95 piezomagnetic stress meter.
Table 1–3 shows the measurement date of the two
different depths in the same borehole. Two sets of mea-
sured data are calculated uniformly by least squares
method, then the error is analyzed. There is no record
in No.8 component of the first test. After calculating,
No.5 component of the first test and No.3 component
of the second test is abnormal. Excluding abnormal
obverse value, the results also are shown in Table 1.
Evaluate the accuracy of the results with this paper’s
method, shown in Table 4. From the table, the error
of the main stress is 0.3∼0.5 MPa, the angle error of
the main stress is 2.0◦ ∼4.4◦ , so the result is precise.
In addition, piezomagnetic stress meter intelligent data
analysis system analyses the reliability of date depend-
ing on existing databases, the in-situ stress condition
(topography, depth and rock properties) and other cri-
teria. From the reliability analysis we can see, the
measurement results in a reasonable range, shown in
Table5. But because the depth of the measuring point
is not enough, the dates are not suitable to represent
the crustal stress environment.
6 CONCLUSION
Stress measurement data is calculated by least squares
method which is a kind error treatment methods and a
best unbiased estimation in statistics.
The system uses the Studentized residuals method
to exclude abnormal observations to ensure the accu-
racy of results.
The system not only evaluates the accuracy of stress
date, but also analyses the reliability of the measured
data analysis, ensure the quality control of data.
The system links with “The in-situ stress informa-
tion of crustal stress database in China”, the measure-
ment results can be compared with existing data to
determine the reliability.

158
 Table 3. Three-dimensional principal stress.

Value (MPa) Orientation Dip

Maximum principal stress σ1 33.640 224.713 20.451

Intermediate principal stress σ2 27.909 −27.725 38.972
Least principle stress σ3 −47.940 113.615 43.987

Table 4. Accuracy assessment.

The magnitude Azimuth Inclination

error (MPa) error (◦ ) error (◦ )

Maximum principal stress σ1 0.50 2.00 1.53

Intermediate principal stress σ2 0.33 2.11 2.03
Least principle stress σ3 0.32 2.14 4.40

Table 5. Reliability analysis.

The error In-situ stress state Database Influence zone Repeated asurement

Self-weight Rock
Magnitude Direction Stress Strength Depth Orientation* Magnitude** Slope Carver Number Deviation***

<5% <3% n<2 m<2 <300 m <10◦ <10% >300 m >2r >2 ≤12◦

Notes: * the regional stress orientation; ** existing data magnitude; *** the standard deviation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Li Hong & Xie Fu-ren. 2004.Format and Standard Of Data in

The research is supported by the Fundamental
Research Fund for State Level Scientific Institutes,
No. ZDJ2009-5 and the Youth Fund of the National
Natural Science Foundation of China, No.40704018.
REFERENCES
Li Hong, Ma Yuan-chun & Wang Fu-jiang. 2007. Study
on 3-D in-situ stress measurement by piezomagnetic
overcoring method, Rock and Soil Mechanics 28(2):
253∼257.
Crustal Stress Database in China and Adjacent Area. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 23(23):
4090∼4094. Wang lian-jie.1991. Stress measurement in
mining engineering. Beijing: Press of geology.
Wang Cheng-hu£¬Guo Qi-liang & Ding Li-feng, etc.
2009.High in-situ stress criteria for engineering area
and a case analysis. Rock and Soil Mechanics 30(8):
2360∼2364.
Xu Lin-sheng, Tang Bo-ming & Mu Chang-chun,et al.
2002. Review of high stresses and rock burst problems.
Technology of Highway and Transport (4): 48∼51.
Yang Xiao-chong & Wang Lian-jie. 2002. The error dis-
posal and precision estimation of the stress measurement.
Journal of Geomechanics 6(2): 55∼61.

159
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Impact of epoxy glue curing time on the quality of overcoring stress

measurements in low-temperature environments

F. Lahaie
INERIS National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Nancy, France

Y. Gunzburger
LAEGO Laboratoire Environnement Géomécanique et Ouvrages, Nancy, France

A. Ben Ouanas
INERIS National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Nancy, France
LAEGO Laboratoire Environnement Géomécanique et Ouvrages, Nancy, France
IRSN Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

J.D. Barnichon
IRSN Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

P. Bigarré
INERIS National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Nancy, France

J.P. Piguet
LAEGO Laboratoire Environnement Géomécanique et Ouvrages, Nancy, France

ABSTRACT: Many techniques of stress measurement or stress monitoring are based on the principle of gluing
a strain-measurement device on the wall of a pilot hole using an epoxy resin. The curing time needed for this
epoxy glue to achieve full hardening is rarely put into questions. Here, we present an in situ study of the impact
of curing time on the quality of overcoring stress measurements using CSIRO Hi cells. The tests were conducted
in an argillite rock at a temperature of 12◦ C. We show that the conventional curing time (16 hours) is clearly
insufficient in this context and leads to anomalous response in strain readings during both overcoring and biaxial
tests, thus hindering stress determination. We claim that in low-temperature near-surface environments, much
longer curing times may be needed in order to ensure good quality of stress measurements. Other possible
strategies are discussed in the body of this paper.

1 INTRODUCTION are usually determined from biaxial testing on the

Knowledge of the in situ state of stress is of utmost
importance for assessing the safety and stability of
underground openings and geo-engineering struc-
tures, ranging from old dams to geological waste
repositories.Yet, although much technical progress has
been made over the past decades, measuring in situ
stress in rock masses remains a challenging task (see
e.g. Amadéi & Stephanson, 1997, Hakala, 2006).
One of the most widely used methods for rock
stress determination is the overcoring method. It con-
sists in measuring the strains that develop at the wall
of a small diameter borehole (pilot hole) when this
one is relieved from the surrounding in situ stress
field by overcoring. Assuming a rock constitutive law
(usually linear elasticity), the in situ stresses may be
determined from the measured strains. This inversion
requires the values of the rock elastic parameters which
retrieved overcore.
Figure 1a shows the typical evolution of strains at
the wall of the pilot hole during an overcoring test. The
recorded strains usually show stable null readings at
the start of overcoring, followed by a local maximum
and/or minimum as the drilling bit passes the strain
gauge position, before the curves reach plateau values
which are generally used as input for stress deter-
mination. During the biaxial test (Figure 1b), strain
curves normally show circumferential contraction and
axial elongation as the overcore is laterally loaded.
At the end of the unloading phase, the strain read-
ings fall back to zero if the rock is perfectly elastic,
or keep a slight circumferential contraction if the rock
experiences permanent deformation.
Between Nov 2005 and Jan 2006, INERIS con-
ducted an important overcoring stress measure-
ment campaign in the argillaceous formation of the

161
Figure 1. Left: Typical evolution curves for strains at the vicinity of a pilot hole (a) during an overcoring test and (b) during
a biaxial test. Right: Strain curves recorded in Tournemire 2005–2006 experiment (c) during an overcoring test and (d) during
a biaxial test.
Tournemire experimental station (Aveyron, France)
using CSIRO Hi12 cells. This cell is a soft hollow
inclusion of diameter 36 mm in the wall of which
are embedded 12 strain gauges oriented 0◦ , 45◦ /135◦
and 90◦ from the borehole axis (see e.g. Worotnicki,
1993 for details). The cell is glued into a pilot hole
of diameter 38 mm using an epoxy resin formulated
according to the host rock temperature. In Tournemire,
the latter is about 12◦ C, thus the chosen temperature
range for the glue was 10–18◦ C. The hardening time
recommended by manufacturer for this glue is 16 h.
Despite the apparent technical success of the tests
and the good mechanical quality of the retrieved over-
cores, the strain curves recorded during overcoring and
biaxial tests revealed anomalous behavior (Figures 1c,
d), which practically hindered the determination of in
situ stresses. These include (1) a systematic jump in
strain readings when the air flushing system was turned
on at the beginning of overcoring, (2) a pronounced
sign inversion of the strain rates just after the drilling
bit passed the gauge position and (3) a transient cir-
cumferential dilation of the inclusion at the end of the
unloading phase.
In the following, we will refer to these phenom-
ena as “initial jump”, “overcoring hump” and “biaxial
hump”, respectively. Note that the biaxial hump was
present only in biaxial tests performed immediately
162
after overcoring (within a few hours). When the same
test was conducted (on the same overcore) several days
later, the biaxial hump was not observed anymore.
In this paper, we report on a new overcoring cam-
paign carried out in the Tournemire experimental
station in Nov 2008, also using CSIRO Hi cells. This
experiment was purely methodological and designed
to understanding the physical origin of the anomalous
phenomena observed in 2005–2006. It showed that
these phenomena are related to incomplete hardening
of the epoxy glue at the start of overcoring.
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENT
The experiment consisted in performing 6 overcoring
tests in the same borehole (TC3), at a distance of 1m
from each other, in a zone considered as homo-geneous
in terms of rock geology (argillite) and in situ state of
stress. The borehole was parallel to the bedding of the
argillite rock, thus the CSIRO cells were oriented along
the plane of mechanical isotropy of the material.
Several experimental parameters were varied along
the different tests, including the overcoring speed, the
rotation drilling speed, the drilling fluid (air/oil) and
the curing time of epoxy resin before the start of over-
coring. The only parameter which showed a significant
Figure 2. Curing time impact on the “overcoring hump”. From left to right are shown the strain responses of CSIRO Hi cells
to overcoring when the latter is performed at increasing curing times (tests TC33, TC32, TC31, TC35, TC36 respectively).
Note that test TC34 failed due to technical problems. For comparison, all graphs have the same y-axis scale range. The 5 upper,
5 intermediate and 2 lower curves of each graph correspond respectively to the 5 orthoradial, 5 inclined and 2 axial gauges of
the CSIRO cell.

Figure 3. Curing time impact on the “overcoring hump” as Figure 4. Curing time impact on the “biaxial hump” as
quantified by the OH index. quantified by the BH index.

3.2 Curing time impact on the “biaxial hump”

impact on the above discussed phenomena is the curing
time of the epoxy glue.
3 RESULTS
3.1 Curing time impact on the “overcoring hump”
Figure 2 presents the strain measurement curves
recorded during all overcoring tests performed in
Tournemire in 2008 (the graphs are displayed for
increasing curing times). They clearly demonstrate the
dependence between the curing time and the amplitude
of the “overcoring hump”.
Figure 3 shows the amplitude of this hump, as
expressed by the OH (overcoring hump) index, as a
function of curing time. We note that the hump fully
disappears only after 78 h of curing.
In the same way as for overcoring hump, we represent
in Figure 4 the amplitude of the hump observed during
all biaxial tests performed in 2008, as expressed by
the BRI (biaxial hump intensity) index, as a function
of curing time. The graph shows a clear dependence
between the amplitude of the biaxial hump and the
curing time. The curing time needed for the biaxial
hump to disappear ranges between 20 and 30 h.
3.3 Curing time impact on the “initial jump”
in strain readings at the onset of flushing
Figure 5 shows the strain measurement curves
recorded at the onset of flushing for all overcoring
tests performed in Tournemire in 2008 (the graphs are
displayed for increasing curing times). They clearly
demonstrate the dependence between the curing time

163
Figure 5. Curing time impact on the initial jump in strain readings at the onset of flushing. From left to right are shown the
strain responses of the CSIRO Hi cells to the onset of flushing for increasing curing times (tests TC33, TC32, TC31, TC35,
TC36 respectively). For comparison, all graphs have the same y-axis scale range.

Figure 7. Curing time impact on the apparent stiffness of

Figure 6. Curing time impact on the initial jump in strain
reading at the onset of flushing. Each point corresponds to
an average for all gauges of the same orientation.
and the amplitude of the “initial jump”. As shown
in Figure 6, the curing time needed for complete
vanishing of the initial jump is of the order of 40 h.
3.4 Curing time impact on the apparent stiffness
of the overcore determined by biaxial test
For each biaxial test, the apparent stiffness of the over-
cored sample was characterized. This was done, for
each orthoradial gauge, on the basis of the secant slope
of the unloading strain-pressure curve in the pressure
range 0–5 MPa, by using the thick cylinder solution
for isotropic linearly elastic rock cores with HI cells
(Woronicki, 1993, equations 19–20). For each test,
5 stiffness coefficients were thus calculated (one per
orthoradial gauge), from which the mean, maximum
and minimum values were determined. Figure 7 rep-
resents those values as a function of the epoxy curing
time at the start of the biaxial test. The fact that the
overcored samples determined from biaxial test.
stiffness coefficients are not the same for all ortho-
radial gauges comes from the transversely isotropic
behavior of the rock.
We note that the apparent stiffness of the core
samples change with the hardening time. This is inter-
preted as a signature of the change in the glue mechan-
ical properties as it hardens. Contrary to the previous
observations (overcoring hump, biaxial hump, initial
jump), this change in apparent stiffness seems to hold
up to very high curing times (>100 h), i.e. outside
the range of curing times considered in the present
study. This indicates that the hardening time needed
for the glue to achieve its definite mechanical prop-
erties may be even longer than the time suggested by
the disappearance of the anomalous behaviors cited
above.
3.5 Curing time impact on the average amplitude
of strains during overcoring
Beside the disappearance of the overcoring hump, Fig-
ure 2 shows that the average amplitude of peak strains

164

Figure 8. Curing time impact on the average amplitude of
peak strains that develop during overcoring. Each point rep-
resents average value for all gauges of the same orientation.
Figure 9. Typical evolution of strains and temperature
recorded in Tournemire tests during glue hardening (test
TC36).
that develop after the drilling bit passes the gauged area
increases with the curing time. Figure 8 illustrates this
in a more quantitative way, for each set of gauges of
the same orientation (orthoradial, inclined, axial).
Note that this result has important implications for
stress determination as it means that it is inadequate
to use peak strains (for a test where the glue would
not have fully hardened) instead of plateau strains, to
determine in situ stresses.
3.6 Strains measured during glue hardening
To help characterize and better understand the process
of glue hardening in the context of the Tournemire
experiment, it is worthwhile to examine the strains
recorded on the CSIRO Hi cell during hardening time
(Figure 9).
The observed curves may be divided into three
broad sections. In the first hours after setting
(0–10 h), the temperature decreases rapidly, probably
as a result of the decrease in heat production associ-
ated with glue hardening exothermic reaction. In this
phase, the strain curves are essentially correlated with
temperature and equal strains on all axial, tangential
and inclined gauges are observed. In a second phase
(∼10–60 h after setting), strain curves split according
165
Figure 10. Glue aspect after 16 h curing (12◦ C) and heat-
ing under a spotlight (∼60◦ C) during a few seconds. The
glue softens so it can be easily moved with a finger or a
screwdriver.
to their gauge orientation, globally indicating lateral
expansion of the inclusion. This expansion is thought
to be associated with the shrinkage of the glue annu-
lus due to hardening process, which pulls the CSIRO
inclusion toward exterior. In the last phase (>60 h after
setting), strain readings reach stable values.
The noticeable point here is that strains recorded
during hardening time do not yield stabilization before
60 h. If we assume that strain stabilization is an indica-
tor of the end of the glue hardening process then it may
be concluded that complete hardening is not achieved
in these tests before 60 h of curing.
3.7 Direct observations on the epoxy glue
For each test, reference gluing was prepared and let
harden in the same conditions as in borehole. After
16 h, the glue was found to be relatively hard but a little
sticky. When the sample was warmed under a spotlight
(∼60◦ C) during a few seconds, the glue softened and
became malleable (Figure 10).
4 DISCUSSION
Most stress measurement cells used for stress determi-
nation or for stress monitoring (Borre Probe, CSIRO
Hi cell, CSIR-cell, ANZI-cell, etc.) are based on the
principle of gluing the cell on the wall of a pilot
hole using an epoxy resin. This solution has been
experienced for decades and has proved adequate
in many environments. However, in shallow-depth
low-temperature environments (shallow URLs, geo-
engineering structures, shallow mines, natural rock
slopes), the use of epoxy has been shown to be more
problematic (Garrity et al, 1985, Irvin et al., 1987).
This study is a further illustration of the difficul-
ties that may be experienced if no special care is taken
to the glue hardening problem. We have shown that
in a 12◦ C environment as the one existing in Tourne-
mire experimental station, the use of a classical curing
time (16 h) leads to anomalous behavior of strain read-
ings during overcoring and biaxial tests (Figure 1c, d),
which makes it impossible to determine in situ stresses.
We interpret these behaviors as being the consequence
of an improper coupling between the measurement cell
and the rock wall due to insufficient hardening of the
epoxy glue. The fact that the glue softens and becomes
malleable after being let a few second under a heat
source (Figure 10) is direct evidence for the hardening
process not to be completed after 16h of curing at this
temperature. This is confirmed by the strain curves
recorded during hardening time, which stabilize only
after about 60 h of curing (Figure 9).
The empirical correlations we have built between
the curing time and the amplitude of the anomalous
phenomena mentioned above (see Figures 3–4, 6)
enable us to establish that the hump in strain read-
ings during overcoring, the initial jump of strains at
the onset of flushing and the hump in strains readings
at the end of the biaxial test, respectively disappear
after a curing time of the order of 80 h, 40 h and 24 h,
in the conditions of the Tournemire site. However, the
evolution of the estimated stiffness of the overcored
samples as a function of curing time (Figure 7) indi-
cate that even after a curing time of 100 h (the longest
curing time we have tested), the definite mechanical
properties of the glue do not seem to be achieved yet.
This, along with the fact that the final strain readings
(so-called “plateau values”) at the end of overcoring
change with curing time (Figure 8), implies that under-
taking in situ stress measurements from overcoring
tests where the glue would not have fully hardened is
probably doomed to failure.
To circumvent this problem, several strategies may
be developed. First, longer curing times may be
respected before the start of overcoring. This strat-
egy has been adopted (with variable success) in the
scandinavian URLs where the rock temperature is
below 10◦ C and where hardening times of at least
48h (preferably 72h) were systematically respected
(M. Hakala, personal communication). Second, heat-
ing of the pilot hole prior to, and during glue hardening
may help significantly reduce the time needed for the
glue to achieve complete hardening. This solution was
recently deployed by INERIS for stress measurements
in a concrete geo-engineering structure at a temper-
ature of about 10◦ C. The heating system enabled the
temperature to rise up to 20◦ C during glue harden-
ing, leading to successful overcoring tests (no humps
on strain readings during overcoring or biaxial tests,
glue hardening achieved within 18 hours of curing,
good quality and reproducibility of stress measure-
ments). Nonetheless, this solution needs to be tested
further in other rock materials since for certain rock
types, thermal stresses due to heating may induce sig-
nificant damage of the pilot hole wall. Third, glues
adapted to low-temperature environments may be used
166
(or developed). To our knowledge, this solution has not
been fully explored yet. Fourth, stress measurement
cells with no glue may be used. To our knowledge,
three-dimensional stress measurement cells of this
type do not exist. This provides a possible route of
research and development for near future.
5 CONCLUSION
We have reported on a unique in situ study of the impact
of the epoxy curing time on the quality of overcor-
ing stress measurements. This study shows that in low
temperature environments (shallow URLs, tunnels,
dams, shallow mines, rock slopes), much longer cur-
ing times than the one suggested by the manufacturer
may be needed in order to ensure complete harden-
ing of the glue and therefore, good quality of stress
measurements. A possible alternative strategy is to
heat the pilot hole prior to, and during glue hardening.
This solution was tested with success during a recent
overcoring experiment in a geo-engineering concrete
structure. Systematic applicability of this solution in
different rock types remains to be tested.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the specialist in polymers Abdesselam
Dahoun (Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France) for
fruitful discussions about epoxy resins and his help
in interpretation of the results. The work presented
in this paper was financed by contributions from
IRSN and INERIS, the latter being supplied by the
European RFCS research program CARBOLAB and
the French government ANR project HPPP-CO2 (ref:
ANR-07-PCO2-002).
REFERENCES
Amadei, B. & Stephansson (ed.) 1997. Rock stress and its
measurement. London: Chapman & Hall.
Garritty, P., Irvin, R.A. & Farmer, I.W. 1985. Problems asso-
ciated with near surface in-situ stress measurements by the
overcoring method. Proc. 26th U.S. symposium on Rock
Mech. Rapid City.
Hakala, M. 2006. Quality control for overcoring stress
measurement data, Posiva report 2006–03.
Irvin, R.A., Garritty, P. & Farmer, I.W. 1987. The effect of
boundary yield on the results of in situ stress measure-
ments using overcoring techniques. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min.
Sci. and Geomech. Abstr. 24(1): 89–93.
Worotnicki, G. 1993. CSIRO triaxial stress measurement cell.
In J.A. Hudson (ed.): Comprehensive Rock Engineering:
329–394. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The hydraulic fracture opening pressure multiple test for the stress state
measurement in permeable rock

V.A. Pavlov, P.A. Martynuk & S.V. Serdyukov

Institute of Mining (Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Novosibirsk, Russia
Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia

ABSTRACT: In permeable rock the hydraulic fracturing stress measurement is carried out using such impene-
trable shell as a packer and a sleeve that prevents from fluid injection into the fracture and rock. The stress states
are determined from several fracture reopening pressures on condition that cracks have different orientation in
reference to a maximum stress. Numerical modeling of this problem shows the gradual character of the crack
opening in the borehole and the influence of an indefinable initial crack length on the reopening pressure value
Pr of other fractures. As a solution the using of a singular radial fracture and the measuring of fracture opening
value on the outline dependence of the pressure in the impenetrable shell are proposed. The fractures are induced
by hydraulic fracturing in advance. The test of the solution is carried out using singular integral equations of
linear fracture mechanics. The fracture opening pressure and fracture opening value on the outline dependence
of the fracture opening portion length and external stress field is determined. The principal stress ratio estimation
algorithm is developed. The ratio of principal stresses is an additional parameter and it is used to find out the
stress with the fracture reopening pressure on the borehole wall. Technical and methodic issues of practical single
and repeated investigations realization are considered.
Keywords: Hydraulic fracturing stress measurements, fracture reopening pressure, numerical modeling

1 INTRODUCTION will be a distinct change in the slope of the pressure-

Rock masses are initially stressed in their natural state
and state of stress (magnitudes and directions) is an
essential parameter required for the stability evalua-
tion of underground openings. Hydraulic fracturing
has been widely used so far for stress measurements.
Its general concept is as follows (see e.g., Haimson
1989); the state of the remote stresses in a plane
perpendicular to a borehole axis is evaluated from
the reopening pressure, the shut-in pressure and ori-
entation of a pair of longitudinal cracks which is
induced by hydraulic fracturing, where the longitu-
dinal is the crack parallel to the borehole axis. In
this method, the shut-in pressure is used as a reliable
indicator of the remote compressive stress normal to
the crack plane. This method assumes that no pres-
sure penetration of the fracture occurs prior to the
onset of fracture opening. However, contrary to the
assumption, as shown in laboratory works to exam-
ine permeability of fractures under compressive loads
(Zoback et al. 1977), there are good grounds to believe
that the retention of a residual aperture allows borehole
pressure to penetrate the fracture before it begins to
open. The sleeve fracturing method of stress measure-
ment was first proposed by Stephansson (Stephansson
1983). A complete history of sleeve fracturing is given
by Amadei and Stephansson (Amadei et al. 1997). In
essence the method is based on the notion that there
deformation curve of a borehole once a radial fracture
is generated in response to internal jacking by a split
loading sleeve. Unfortunately the sleeve fracturing
method can’t be used in the condition of an irregu-
lar stress field in the massif σmin /σmax < 1 (Charsley
et al. 2003). This concerns the technology of a sin-
gle fracture as well as those of a double one. In the
double fracture technology it is connected with mis-
takes of the reopening pressure determination of the
secondary fracturing system. Moreover according to
the experiments the direction of secondary cracks pro-
duced with sleeve fracture injection in the irregular
stress field is not always orthogonal to initial frac-
tures (Serata 1992). In the single fracture technology
the inaccuracy in external field parameters determina-
tions connected with the impossibility to create linear
extensive fractures by flat jack (Charsley et al. 2003).
Two methods (Pavlov et al. 2009), based on the
integrated use of measuring hydraulic fracture and
deformational measurement are proposed to solve the
problem of σmax , σmin determination in the permeable
rock. Realization of the following methods involves
2 stages. On the 1st stage (preliminary) the stretching
fracturing system is formed be hydraulic fracturing but
with high intensity of loading. On the 2nd stage the
mechanism with impenetrable shell is placed into the
same borehole interval. As only one fracturing sys-
tem is supposed to be produced, than the additional

167
 2.2 Numerical calculations
For the borehole sectional area incremental size esti-
mation the problem with the following boundary
conditions on the round outline is solving:

and on the crack edges (as a liquid does not penetrate

cracks):

where σn and τs are normal and tangent stresses

on boundaries. Using the complex potential integral
expressions for the elastic plane with a round hole and
a linear cut and considering the central symmetry, the
Figure 1. Illustration of the fracture and borehole geometry. problem comes down to the finding of the integrated
singular integral equation solution (Savruk 1981):
parameter for external stress field determination is
necessary.As such a parameter it is suggested to use the
fracture opening on the borehole outline dependence
on α. In the second method two orthogonal fracture
systems are supposed to be created on the preliminary where T and X is the outline of the fracture L in the
stage with placing then the mechanism flat jack into the basic coordinate system xOy:
same interval for reopening pressure determination of
these two orthogonal systems. The amounts of external
field σmax , σmin are determined by known equations.
The method based on sleeve fracturing determination
and opening fracture use as the additional parameter
which is necessary during the stress measurement will here z0 is zero of local coordinate
√ system, connected
be considered later. with the crack of a length L, i = −1.
The cores R(T , X ) and S(T , X ) of the equation (1)
are included into (Savruk 1981), and the 1st part is:
2 NUMERICAL MODEL

2.1 Mathematical model

A 2D problem, illustrated in Fig. 1, is considered. A
vertical borehole with the radius R, with a pair of
radial, lengthy fractures located in an infinite rock for-
mation subjected to the horizontal principal stresses Where
σmax , σmin . The fractures are aligned in the direction of
σmax . Let us consider (x, y) to be a coordinate system
(Figure 1). The datum point of coordinate system is
coincident with the center of the borehole. Compress-
ing stress field σmax , σmin takes place at infinites, the The unknown function g
(t) is proportional to the
coefficient α = σmin / σmax characterizes irregularity derivative from displacement discontinuity:
of the compression field. The maximum compression
direction σmax makes axis Ox (Figure 1).
A packer system is installed within the borehole
and its packer element is inflated against the bore-
hole wall. Due to the inflation, a pressure σ0 is applied where E – is the coefficient of elasticity, υ is the
on the borehole wall but not on the fracture surfaces Poisson ratio, u and v are horizontal and vertical
at anytime during pressurizations. Where σ0 is lower crack edges displacement in the local coordinate
than the borehole pressure at fracture reopening Pr the system, connected with them. Signs “+” and “−”
fracture surfaces contact each other. When σ0 reaches near the brackets mean upper and lower crack edges
σ∗ (where σ∗ = σmax (3α − 1) - i.e. Pr ), the fractures respectively.
begin to open from their mouths at the borehole. After- The algorithm of equations (1) numerical calcu-
wards the length of the opening portion of the fracture, lation is described in detail in (Savruk 1981). As
L, increases with σ0 (but always L << L0 ). Where L0 additional condition the finitude of crack edges dis-
is a length fractures are induced in advance. placement discontinuity on the hole outline is taken.

168
A problem which is set is solved as the superposition
of 2 additional problems. The first one (I): the hole
is free from stresses, and the compression field with
parameters σmax , σmin functions on the infinity. The
second one (II): there is no stress on the infinity and
the pressure σ0 functions in the hole. In both problems
the outlines of opening cracks are free from stresses.
In the defined problem because of the symmetry the
stress intensity factor in the tips of cracks K2 = 0.
According to (Panasyk et al. 1976), the solution of
the problem is found as:

Figure 2. Dependence of [v] on σ0 received from numerical

where the functions ϕ1 (ξ), ϕ2 (ξ) are solutions of the Ist
and the IInd additional problems. Using the linearity
of problems we get the expression for the intensity
coefficient of stress K1 as:
Where numerical factors A(α, L/R), B(L/R) are the
result of additional problems solution (I, II). The value
σ0 , which is necessary to open the closed fractures for
the length L are found from the condition K1 ≥ 0 and
are determined by the equation:
modeling.
(n – determines the odder of the solution approxi-
mation). Dividing the real and supposed parts of the
formula we come to the equation:
Thus we have the dependence of normal fracture
opening on the hole outline [v]A on the mechanical
constants E, υ, values σmax ,σ0 and fracture length

L. Also the dependences σ0 α, L R , [v]A (α,L/R) i
[v]A (α,σ0 ) for different α = σmax /σmin = 0.5÷1 were
found.
Let’s introduce non-dimensional fracture opening
on the hole outline:

For which the approximate formulas are produced:

This value σ0 is presented in (3) and we get the numeri-

cal solution of the original problem, with the help
of which the open fracture profile can be calculated
including [v]A , that is the coefficient of normal frac-
ture opening on the hole outline. As displacement for different α and having σ0 = 1÷4, which are
discontinuities in the tip of the crack [u]B = [v]B = 0 depicted in the fig. 2.
(fig. 1), then if we integrate (2) from A to B and use
Gaussian quadratures (Panasyk et al. 1976), we get:
3 THE ALGORITHM OF EXTERNAL FIELD
PARAMETERS DETERMINATION

Using the received dependence the algorithm of exter-

nal field parameters determination is proposed. The
data receives from field experiments are given by
the diagrams “pressure-volume”. The total area of the
deformed hole with σ0 > 1 will be written as:

When the pressure in the hole is σ0 ∈ (1 − 4)

Where ϕ(ξk ), are values of numerical solution in nodal (σ0 > 1), as a result of fracture opening cross sectional
points: area of borehole gets the change:

169
Under the action of external field and the pressure in
hole it turns into the elliptical one with semi axis:
And its area will be:
Thus the total area can be marked as:
If we set that h is the length of measuring device with
impenetrable shell, we can write the volume of fluid
in a sleeve by the height h as:
Let us show how to find σmax , σmin by using the results
of calculations.The general diagram form of the equip-
ment volume change V from σ0 is shown in the fig. 3.
In the section OA the equipment filling by fluid occurs.
Therefore the volume V0 with σ0 is:
Let’s examine the volumetric gain V = V1 + Vm ,
which results from the pressure action σ0 (V1 −
lini
AD) and fracture opening (Vm with σ0 > 1):
Where
is the slope ratio of AD. The inclination of this right
line is easily determined. So if h = 20 cm, measuring
the volume in cm3 , and E in mPa (mega Pascal), we
get β is an angle of dip of the line AD to the horizontal
170
Figure 3. Form of the ricieved experimental curve.
Figure 4. Algorithm of σ∗ and α. determination.
axe, which is equal to ≈15◦ . We should remark that
pitch angles of curves [v] = [v](α, σ0 ) are differenti-
ated according to α (fig. 2). The same we can say about
Vm . This allows to find α and σ∗ by the following
algorithm.
Let’s examine the dependence V0 (σ0 ) received as
a result of the experiment (fig. 4). as the angle β ≈ 15◦
then one can distinguish V0m with σi > σ∗ .
The true meaning σ∗ is not distinguished, it is in the
interval (σ∗1 , σ∗2 ) Let’s choose σi > σ∗ (i = 1 ÷ k)and
the volumes V0 (σi ) and V0m (σi ) respectively. As
true σ∗ we take that whereby the function:
achieves the minimum with α = 0.5 ÷ 1 and σ∗ = σ∗1
÷ σ∗2 . Using the found σ∗ the squared deviation is
calculated:
with different α. As α the value whereby this function
have a minimum is chosen.
Numerical calculations are carried out with
the following parameters: E = 3 · 104 mPa; υ = 0.3;
Table 1. The dependence on V0m /V0 on α and σ0 . probe, but with the usage of high speed rate of fluid
injection into isolated borehole interval. High speed
σ0 /α 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 injection is carried out using an electric pump or
hydropneumatic accumulator placed into a borehole
1.0 1.54/ 4.31/ 8.72/ 13.47/ 18.43/ 23.21/ next to an examined borehole interval for the harden-
16.0 21.35 26.68 32.02 37.35 42.69
ing the working system. At the second (basic) stage an
0.7 0.85/ 2.71/ 5.35/ 8.6/ 12.28/ 16.25/
12.9 17.29 21.61 25.93 30.26 34.58 instrument with an isolated cover, which prevents the
0.5 0.27/ 0.95/ 1.94/ 3.23/ 4.79/ 6.59/ leak-off into the rock, is placed into the interval with
8.0 10.67 13.34 16.01 18.68 21.35 already created stretched crack. The fracture reopen-
ing pressure Pr is fixed as in the method of double
fracture. As an additional parameter one suggests to
use the crack opening at the borehole outline depen-
R = 0.07M; σmin = 20 mPa. Performed accounting dence of the pressure in the probe. This parameter
showed that if experimental values V 0 (σi ) are reg- directly depends on the parameter α. The determina-
istered to within ∼5–10%, then σ∗ is determined tion of maximum compressive stress is also carried
accurate to 6% with σ∗ = 5 mPa and 2.5% with out by the impression packer (Anderson et al. 1967).
σ∗ = 20 mPa. If α ≤ 0.8 then it is accurately deter- This method allows the monitoring of the rock mass
mined but if α = 1 i0.9 the mistake in α determination state, as the crack is formed at a preliminary stage
about 10%. Knowing α and σ∗ , we can find the of measurements. During the loading of the bore-
external field parameters σmax and σmin . The use of hole interval by the probe with an isolated cover apart
this algorithm supposes the possibility of precision from the fracture opening there will be included elas-
measurement of V dependence on σ∗ . tic deformation, induced by injection into the change
In the table 1 the values V0m /V0 are illustrated in of cross-sectional area. These deformations are taken
cm3 with σ0 /σ∗ = 1.5 ÷ 4.0 for α = 1; 0.7; 0.5 (the vol- into accounts in the course of the solution. The mag-
ume of the packered area V0 = π R2 h = 3,078.76 cm3 ). nitudes of cross-sectional area change of the borehole
The algorithm of external field parameters determi- induced by fracture opening and elastic deformations
nation with the use of numerical calculations described are equals.
in this work is not single but in authors’ opinion it is
the most effective one. Let’s compare the errors of
external stress field determination according to the 5 CONCLUSIONS
suggested method with the classical method of stress
measurement be hydraulic fracturing. In the suggested The method of the rock stress measurement based on
method α and σ∗ are found and the accuracy of σmax the integrated use of hydraulic fracturing and of elastic
determination will be: deformations was suggested. The numerical modeling
showed that the fracture opening on the borehole out-
line depends on relations of maximum and minimum
stress in the rock mass. The advantage of the method
is that the crack of hydraulic fracture as a system mea-
that is it accounts for about 20%. The accuracy of σmin suring element is created once. As a result the method
determination will be: could be used for a continuous monitoring of state
change in the chosen point of rock mass in the process
of field exploitation.

and it accounts for about 20–30%. According to the REFERENCES

classical method σ∗ and σmin are found considering that
they are measured with accuracy of 10%, the accuracy
of determination
makes 20–50% with 0,5 ≤ α ≤ 1,0. The determination
accuracy is not high enough.
4 THE SCHEME OF THE PERFORMANCE
OF THE EXPERIMENT
The suggested method includes two stages. Prelim-
inary stage is the producing of 2 symmetrical lin-
ear stretched cracks by standardized straddle packer
Haimson, B.C. 1989. Standard test method for determination
of the in-situ stress in rock using the hydraulic fractur-
ing method. Annual Book of ASTM Standards 04.08.,
851–856.
Zoback, M.D. & Rummel, F. & Jung, R. & Raleigh C.B. 1977.
Laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments in intact and
pre-fractured rock. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. and
Geomech. Abstr.; 14:49–58.
Stephansson O. 1983. Rock stress measurement by sleeve
fracturing. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Cong. Interna-
tional Society of Rock Mechanics, Melbourne, vol. F.
Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema, p. F.129–37.
Amadei, B. & Stephansson, O. 1997. Rock stress and its
measurement, 1st ed. London: Chapman & Hall.
Charsley, A.D. & Martin, C.D. 2003. Sleeve-fracturing lim-
itations for measuring in situ stress in anisotropic stress
environment, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech.
Abstr. Vol.40, 127–136.

171
Serata, S. et al. 1992. Double-fracture method of in situ stress
measurement in brittle rocks, Rock Mechanics & Rock
Engineering, Vol.25, 89–108.
Pavlov, V.A. & Yankayte, A.V. & Serdyukov, S.V. 2009. The
development of hydraulic fracturing for the estimation of
stress state of permeable rock [in Russian]. Mining infor-
mational and analitival bulletin (scientific and technical
journal) No 12.
172
Savruk, M.P. 1981. 2D Elastic Problems for Bodies with
Fractures [in Russian], Naukova Dumka, Kiev.
Panasyk, V.V. & Savruk, M.P. & Dacyshin, A.P. 1976. Stress
distribution around crack in the plate and envelope [in
Russian], Naukova Dumka, Kiev.
Anderson, T.O. & Stahl, E.J. 1967. A study of induced frac-
turing using an instrumental approach, JPT (Feb. 1967)
261–67; Trans., AIME, 240.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Stress measurement and rock excavation at Skaland mine, Norway

N.Q. Trinh & T. Larsen

SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, Trondheim, Norway

S.N. Sand
Rana Gruber AS, Mo i Rana, Norway

A. Myrvang
SigmaH, Trondheim, Norway

ABSTRACT: The Skaland mine is a graphite mine in Senja island, North of Norway. The mine is located in
a granite rock (possibly be Migmatite). The owner of the mine – Leonard Nilsen and Sons (LNS) – plans for a
new excavation profile, and the stability of the excavation needs to be checked for the planning. For the stability
analyses, SINTEF is asked to carry out stress measurement, using 2D and 3D measuring methods. Results of
the stress measurement are used as an important input for numerical models to analyse the stability of the mine.
This paper is describing the whole process of the stress measurements and the numerical analyses for the mine.

1 INTRODUCTION

Skaland mine is a graphite mine located in the Senja

island, North of Norway. The excavation profile con-
sists of a complex of service tunnels and several
production tunnels at level 25 and level 45 m.a.s.l
(above sea level). The location of the mine is presented
in Figure 1.
To evaluate the stability of the excavation for the
mine, stress measurement had been carried out at
the mine during June 2009. Results of the stress
measurement are used as input data for the stability
analyses.
For the stability analyses, numerical modeling,
Phase 2D (Rocscience 2005), is used. The purposes
of the analyses are:
• To have broader picture of the stress, displacement
condition around the mine.
• To evaluate the stability of the mine with the
proposed excavation profile.

2 STRESS MEASUREMENTS

With long development and strong experience in the

field of stress measurement as presented in Table 1,
SINTEF has been asked to carry out the task at Skaland
mine in 2009.
2.1 Equipment and procedure for 2D stress
measurements
Adiamond drill hole (76 mm outer diameter) is drilled
to the desired depth. The core is removed and the hole
bottom is flattened with a special drill bit.
Figure 1. Plan view and location of the Skaland mine
(provided from Rana Gruber AS).
A two dimensional measuring cell (door stopper)
that contains a strain gauge rosette, is inserted into
the hole with a special installing tool and glued to
the bottom of the hole. The door stopper is now fixed
to the hole and initial reading (0 recording) is done.
The installing tool is removed and the cell is ready for
overcoring.

173
Table 1. Stress measurement (2D, 3D and hydraulic frac-
turing) at SINTEF – List of clients.

Countries Number Year Industry

China 1 2005 Road tunnel

Finland 4 1976–1978 Mining
Greenland 1 1991 Hydropower
Iceland 3 2004–2006 Hydropower, Road
Italia 1 2001 Marble quarry
Nepal 2 1993–2008 Hydropower
Norway 194 1970–2008 Hydropower, Road, . . .
Pakistan 1 1996 Hydropower
Singapore 2 2001,2004 Strategic storage
Spain 1 1974 Mining
Sri-Lanka 1 1996 Hydropower
Sweden 17 1973–2007 Hydropower, Road, . . .
Tanzania 1 1992–1998 Hydropower
Figure 3. 3D measurement technique – equipment and
procedure.

A measuring cell with strain gauges and data log

Figure 2. 2D measurement technique – equipment and
procedure.
A new core is drilled with the 76 mm outer diameter
diamond drill, thus stress relieving the bottom of the
borehole. The corresponding strains at the end of the
core are recorded by the strain gauge rosette.
The core is removed from the hole with a spe-
cial core catcher. Immediately after removal from the
hole, the second recording is done. From the recorded
strains, the stress in the plane normal to the borehole
may be calculated. Supplemental elastic parameters
for the calculation are determined from laboratory
tests.
The described procedure is presented in Figure 2.
2.2 Equipment and procedure for 3D stress
measurements
A diamond drill hole (76 mm outer diameter) is drilled
to the desired depth. Usually, this depth is 1.5 times
the span of tunnel/cavern. The hole bottom is flat-
tened with a special drill bit, and a concentric hole with
smaller diameter (36 mm o.d) is drilled approximately
30 cm further.
unit is installed with a special installing tool contain-
ing orienting device. Compressed air is used to expand
the cell in the hole, and the strain gauges are fixed to the
walls in the hole. The cell is now ready to start measur-
ing, and continuously logging of strain data is stored in
the measuring cell. The installing tool is removed and
the cell is ready for overcoring. The small hole is over
cored by the larger diameter bit, thus stress relieving
the core. The corresponding strains are recorded by the
strain gauge rosettes.
The core is removed from the hole with a special
core catcher, and immediately after removal from for
the hole the recorded data is transferred to the com-
puter. When the elastic parameters are determined
from biaxial- and laboratory test, the stresses may be
calculated.
The described procedure is presented in Figure 3.
Details of the measuring cell are not presented here,
so interested readers may find more information at the
SINTEF’s website.
2.3 Results of the stress measurement
In-situ stress had been measured during June 2009.
The measurement was carried out in two boreholes,
2D and 3D measurements. Location and direction of
the measurement holes are presented in Figure 4.
The measurement result shows the following
stress field σ1 = 12.41 MPa, σ2 = 8.85 MPa and
σ3 = 3.5 MPa. Results (magnitudes and directions) of
the measured in-situ stresses are presented in Figure 4.
It can be seen from the figure that σ1 and σ3 are almost
horizontal and σ2 is almost vertical. The σ1 tends to be
perpendicular to the length of the ore body, meanwhile
σ3 is almost parallel.
The 3D borehole in this mine is happened to be too
deep. The depth of the borehole is about 20 m, mean-
while the normal requirement is 9 m, which is 1.5 times
the span of tunnel. The reason for this long borehole
is to obtain a reasonable intact rock mass area.

174
 Figure 5. Host rock mass condition (GSI = 80 for
Migmatite).

Table 2. Host rock properties included in the model (refer-

ence is also made to NTNU report, 1983).

Parameters Unit Migmatite Graphite

Uniaxial comp. strength – σci MPa 140 36

Figure 4. In-situ stress measurement – locations of 2D and Geo. Strength Index – GSI 80 60
3D holes (plan view) and the results. HB parameter – mi 29 25
Disturbance factor – D 0.1 0.1
Young’s modulus – Ei GPa 60 25
Poisson ratio – ν 0.19 0.25
3 ROCK MASS CONDITION

The host rock around the mine is granite (possibly be

Migmatite), and the intact rock has high strength.Aver-
age uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the intact
rock was reported to be 147 MPa (NTNU 1983). Dur-
ing the stress measurement in June 2009, two samples
was collected and tested at SINTEF’s rock mechanic
laboratory. The results show very high UCS, and they
are up to 250 MPa (SINTEF 2009).
In addition to the stress measurement, the rock mass
in the tunnels and at the portal was also observed.
Joints were measured and evaluated. The observa-
tions indicate that most of the joints have relatively
favourable conditions. The joints are tight, have closed
contact, and unweathered. Some joints have planar sur-
face. The joints are discontinuous, and the lengths
are normally 0.5 to 4 m. Joint spacing are about
1 m in average, resulting in relatively massive rock
mass condition. Some typical joints are presented in
Figure 5.
It is difficult to observe the undisturbed ore body
(graphite). The exposed graphite in the tunnel is well
disturbed from the blasting. Observation at disturbed
graphite indicates that the ore is softer than the host
rock. In fact, due to the soft rock mass, there was no
observation of open joints within the graphite body.
Displacement may have taken place and closed the
joints.
Rock mass quality is evaluated using GSI system,
2002 version (Hoek et al. 2002). Rock mass properties
for numerical models are presented inTable 2. Uniaxial
compressive strength, Young’s modulus and Poisson
ration are taken from laboratory tests. The disturbance
factor is assumed.
4 NUMERICAL MODELS FOR THE
EXCAVATION
To evaluate the stability of the mine, numerical models
are established for 2 sections. The first section is a
horizontal section at elevation 25 m, the second section
is a vertical section cutting through both north and
south ore bodies.
4.1 Horizontal model at elevation of 25 m.a.s.l.
In this model, horizontal excavation profile, including
service tunnel, is put into the model. This result-
ing in complicated excavation profile as presented in
Figure 6.
Value and direction of input field stress is taken
from the stress measurement. The input stress is
12.41 and 3.5 MPa, with the directions as indicated
in Figure 6.
The stress graphs (σ1 and σ3 ) show that the rock
mass area around the excavation is a relatively stress
released. The σ1 is reduced from in-situ value of
12.41 MPa to less than 3 MPa. Similarly for the sigma
3, the stress value is reduced from 3.5 MPa to almost
zero. At some particular locations, it even reaches a
negative value. The stress released areas around the

175
Figure 6. Displacement and failure indications in the model
of the horizontal section (zoom up).
excavation are relatively large. It is almost equivalent
of the overall length and width of the excavated
complex.
Large stress released areas are leading to some rock
mass displacement and indication of rock mass failure
in the models. The displacement in the host rock is in
the order of 20 to 30 mm. These values might be con-
sidered to be relatively large for this hard rock mass.
A large stress released area is also causing the indi-
cation of a large rock mass failure. Tension and shear
failure are indicated along the long tunnel wall. The
depth of the failure area is up to 9 m, which indicates
a very severe situation. From the experience, results
of these horizontal models are not really reflecting the
practical situation. Thus, further consideration should
be made to evaluate the outputs.
There may be two reasons for the mentioned unre-
alistic results. The first reason is the complexity of
the excavation profile and the second reason is a lim-
itation of a 2D model. The excavation profile results
in many sharp extruded corners, where the rock mass
will be completely stress released. The result might be
more realistic if the service tunnel is excluded in this
horizontal model.
The second reason for the mentioned unrealistic
results is related to a limitation of the 2D model. In
the 2D model, the tunnel excavation is understood as
“infinite” in the direction that perpendiculars to the
paper. This is not the case in the tunnel excavation. In
the perpendicular direction to the paper, the excavation
dimension is the height of the tunnel, and it is about 6
to 8 m only. Thus, rock mass beyond the roof and floor
should contribute to the stress redistribution. Due to
this contribution, the stress released area should be
reduced. The contribution of the floor and roof is only
possible to be modelled by using a 3D program such
as FLAC3D, which is very complicated and time con-
suming. Another solution is to model the excavation
in different directions.
Unfavourable stress values in the modelled plane
(σ1 = 12.41 MPa and σ3 = 3.5 MPa) should also con-
tribute a great effect to the results. The large difference
between the value of σ1 and σ3 makes the stress condi-
tion to be unfavourable. The σ2 of 8.85 MPa is included
in the model as “out of plane stress”. However, the
176
Figure 7. Vertical profile and sequence of the ore
excavation.
effect of the σ2 to the results is not too clear in the
models.
From the mentioned limitations, it is noted that to
interpret a result from a 2D model, model at only
one direction may not be sufficient. In the situation
of this mine, vertical section is going to be studied as
presented below.
4.2 Vertical model
In this vertical model, the ore excavation is assumed
to be six excavation stages. In the first and second
stages, production tunnels at level 25 are excavated. In
the 3rd and 4th stages, production tunnels at level 45
are excavated. In the 5th stage, the ore body between
level 25 & 45 in the south ore is excavated. In the 6th
stage, the ore body in the north ore between the two
tunnels is excavated. Modelled section and the exca-
vation sequence are presented in Figure 7. Dimension
of the production tunnels is about W × H = 9 × 6 m.
Stress field in the vertical model is σ1 = 12.41 MPa
horizontally and σ2 = 8.85 MPa vertically, following
the results from the stress measurement. Due to
this favourable stress condition (relatively uniform
between σ1 and σ2 ), rock mass failure is expected to
be less than the horizontal models.
Results of the analyses concerning displacement,
rock mass failure are presented in Figure 8. A general
impression from the graphs is that the host rock mass is
stable, and rock mass failure at the ore is more signif-
icant than in the host rock. This result is reasonably in
line with our experience in many other similar mines.
For the host rock, based on the stress distribution
graphs, stress release area is smaller. Simple excava-
tion profile without many extruding corners is a help
to reduce the failure. Displacement at the wall is about
5 mm, as presented in Figure 8. Excavation in such
hard and massive rock mass, displacement of less than
10 mm is expected. As presented in the same figure,
very minor rock mass failure is indicated. The failure
is locally with the thickness of only 0.5 m. Such fail-
ure scale may result in some cracks on the rock wall
surface. The cracks may combine with the existing
discontinuities in the rock mass to create potentially
unstable rock blocks. Observation should be made to
Figure 8. Displacement and failure indications in the model
of the vertical section (zoom up).
Figure 9. Excavation of the production tunnels and
observed rock mass instability.
detect such situation, and potentially unstable block
should be supported by spot bolting.
Rock mass failure in the ore is relatively more sig-
nificant than that in the host rock. The failure at the
floor is not important, but care should be taken for
the roof. As indicated in Figure 8, shear and tension
failure appears on the roof, and the depth of the failure
is about 1 m. It is worth to note that the depth of the
failure indication is not changed between the excava-
tion stages. This means that the roof failure level at the
final excavation stage should be the same as it is at the
stage 1 (when only production tunnel is excavated).
Thus, there is a possibility to check for the stability of
the mine at a very early stage.
At the time of this analysis, production tunnels at
level 25 m are completed. The actual condition inside
the tunnel is similar to the result of the model that
there no severe instability is occurred. Some minor
rock instabilities are observed as presented in Figure 9.
Based on the model results and the actual obser-
vation in the tunnel, it could be concluded that the
excavation should process as planned. There is one
177
Figure 10. A joint with slicken side surface.
requirement is that observation should be done sys-
tematically in the tunnel for early detection of any
unexpected behaviours of the rock mass. Unexpected
behaviours of the rock mass could be significant dis-
placement, continuous loosening of rock blocks or
development of the cracking in the mine. If such
behaviours are observed, they should be noted for
further analyses and treatments.
5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Even though, the equipment and procedure of the
stress measurement are clearly presented and easy to
follow, it is not easy to get a reliable result. In order
to achieve a good measurement, many details need to
be taken care of. The details could be the location of
the bore hole, location to put the measuring cell, the
attachment of the cell to the rock mass. Thus, stress
measurement would require a strong experience to deal
with uncertainties during the measurement process.
Numerical analyses for different section indicated
that it is possible to excavate for the mine as planed.
Some instability on the roof of the mine may be
concerned. The stability could be observed now (the
excavation of the production tunnels at level 25 and
level 45 is completed). If no serious instability has been
observed, the excavation should process as planed as
in Figure 7.
It is also recommended to have a continued obser-
vation procedure for the rock mass behaviour in the
mine. The purpose of such observation is to detect if
any unusual behaviour of the rock mass occurs that
may lead to instability.
It is however that attention should be paid at few
places, where there are joints with unfavourable char-
acteristics. The joints have very smooth surface, could
be planar and also undulating. Joint surface indicate
some slickenside, as indicated in Figure 10. Even
though these joints are few and not representative
for the general rock mass condition, but when such
joints are observed in the tunnels, care should be
taken because the joints may intersect other joints and
thus create unstable blocks (wedge failures, rock fall).
If such potential unstable blocks are detected, spot
bolts with an appropriate length and direction should
normally be sufficient.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to express their thanks to
Leonard Nilsen and Sons AS and Skaland Graphite
AS for permission to prepare and publish this paper.
178
REFERENCES
Hoek, E., Carranza-Torres, C. & Corkum, B. 2002. Hoek-
Brown criterion – 2002 edition. Proc. NARMS-TAC
Conference, Toronto, 2002, 1, 267–273.
NTNU. 1983. Report: Rock mechnical investigation in the
Skaland mine. Trondheim. Norway.
Rocscience Inc. 2005. Phase2 Version 6.0 – Finite Element
Analysis for Excavations and Slopes. www.rocscience.
com. Toronto. Ontario. Canada.
SINTEF. 2009. NOTAT/PROSJEKTFORLAG. Report:
North Cape Minerals Stjernøy Gruver Geoteknisk og
geologisk bistand Befaringsnotat. Trondheim. Norway.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Correlation between the stability of surrounding rocks and ratio of rock

breakdown pressure to geostress

Li Hong, An Qimei, Fan Lianglong, Wang Haizhong Liu Fengqiu & Dong Jianye
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: To analysis the correlation between the ratio of breakdown pressure (Pb ) to horizontal minimum
compression stress (Sh ) and stability of surrounding rocks. Attempt to use the ratio to estimate the stability of
surrounding rocks. The elementary results indicate: the higher the ratio, the more stable the wall rock. When
Pb /Sh ≥ 1.8,the stability of surrounding rocks was well. When Pb /Sh ≤ 1.50, hard rock is potential to happen rock
burst, soft rock is easy to convergent distort. When 1.8 > Pb /Sh > 1.50, the wall rock was in the critical condition
of distortion. On the basic theory of hydraulic fracturing stress measurement, the definition of breakdown
pressure (Pb ) and instantaneous shut-in pressure (Ps ) is explicit. The value is correctable, reliable and easy to
acquire. The ratio reflects the effect of stress, intensity of tension resistance to stability of surrounding rocks.
The method based on measurement of in-situ rock stresses and engineering information feedback, the stability
of surrounding rocks is estimated in the engineering survey or preliminary design stage. All those may provide
the basis data for the projects design and construction.

1 INSTRUCTION The rock show obvious rheological or creep in the

The hydraulic fracturing technique was introduced
by the oil industry in 1948 for the purpose of oil-
well production stimulation. The theoretical study
have been carried out using the assumptions that rock
behavior as a homogeneous, isotropic, elastic, contin-
uous medium and that fluid is impermeable into the
well. After decades of theoretical and experimental
research, it is currently effective and practical method
in deep stress measured (Hubbert and Wills1957,
Mizuta 1984, Cornet 1992,Haimson 1993, Li, 2003).
In the high stress region of deep hard rock, the accu-
mulation of very high elastic strain energy, resource
exploitation and tunnel excavation process, the sec-
ondary stress field formation due to internal stress
adjustments in rock mass, generated stress concen-
tration near the tunnel wall. When the stress exceeds
the strength of rock mass, elastic strain energy stored
in the rock body would be the sudden release, rock
damage occurred violent instability, broken rocks or
large rocks ejected from the tunnel wall, produced a
strong air waves or shock waves, that rock failure is
called the rock burst. Since 1937, the first time of
rock burst occurred in the coal mine of the United
Kingdom, mining and the rock engineering experts
and scholars on the rock burst was a lot of research
in mechanism, prediction and forecasting, as well as
prevention and treatment aspects of rock burst yielded
some results(Tan 1989, Shan 2001, Li 2005a, 2006b,
Xu 2002, Xu 2002, He 2002, Gu 2002, Yang 2005,
Feng 2008).
deep high-stress environment. The deformation prop-
erty of rock has been a fundamental change: from
shallow to deep in the brittle-plastic transition; rock
mass deformation has a strong time effect; rock mass
deformation is with the expansion phenomenon, and
discontinuous and shocking. The high stress lead to
rock rheology is clear, supporting extremely difficult.
Along with China’s national economy and scientific
and technological development, the construction of
deep-lying long railway and road tunnels, in the deep
mining accident prevention, the tunnel surrounding
rock deformation mechanism and control of large
areas such as a number of technical and theoretical, has
made some results(He 2005, Zhou 2005, Sun 2007).
More than 20 deep tunnel stability of rock have been
studied in China, and chamber rock buried deep in
the hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurement in
the process of rock fracture pressure Pb and the lev-
els of minimum principal compressive stress ratio Sh
the relationship between the preliminary results show
that: the ratio is less than 3.0 most of the underground
rock cavern stability, and the ratio is closely related to
the different ratio of the steady state corresponds to
a different, the ratio is higher, the better the stability
of surrounding rock. When the Pb /Sh ≥ 1.80, the var-
ious types of rock in the underground rock cavern is
good stability. When the Pb /Sh ≤ 1.50, the hard rock
and soft rock rock burst occurred convergence defor-
mation, the higher the probability of roof fall films
to help. 1.80 > Pb /Sh > 1.50, when it is created cavern
rock deformation and failure of the critical state. The

179
study results are in-situ stress measurement data anal-
ysis and engineering based on the feedback received
can be in the engineering investigation phase of the
cavern will occur will be able to make an assessment
of geological, provide reference for the design and
construction.
2 THE THEORETICAL BASIS FOR ANALYSIS
Affect the stability of underground rock caverns are
more factors, in addition to the geological conditions
and lithology, depends on the stress state of rock in
large extent. The role of stress has attracted much
attention in engineering for the deeper cavern. A large
number of measurement data show that the rock stress
are mostly compressive, mainly including tectonic
stress and self-weight stress, self-weight stress with
depth is proportional, the tectonic stress associated
with the geological structure, it is rather complicated.
The hydraulic fracturing method is the suggestion
method of the international society of rock mechan-
ics. Hydraulic fracturing method can obtained directly
in situ rock breakdown pressure, re-opening pres-
sure, shut-in pressure and tensile strength and other
parameters, which breakdown pressure and re-opening
pressure can obtained directly from the measurement,
less errors. Maximum horizontal principal stress is
calculated in the corresponding formula, therefore a
larger error.
Based on hydraulic fracturing in situ stress mea-
surement theory, if the fast-water pressure during
fracturing of water penetration into the rock can be
neglected, then the breakdown pressure of broken rock
produced can be established as following formula:
Where Pb is rock breakdown pressure value, Sh is
the minimum principal stress, SH for is the maximum
principal stress, T is the tensile strength of rock, P0 is
the pore pressure. Equation (1) both sides were also
divided by the Sh :
Where Pb /Sh is the ratio of breakdown pressure
with the minimum principal compressive stress, the
plane principal stress SH and Sh , the rock tensile
strength T and pore pressure P0 reflect the role of the
surrounding rock of underground caverns, the relation-
ship between parameters of both sides with the stability
of surrounding rock are as follows:
The relationship with the principal stress SH and
Sh : SH /Sh is greater, the greater the differential stress,
equation (2) Pb /Sh is smaller, it is detrimental to the
stability of surrounding rock.
The relation with the rock tensile strength T : rock
tensile strength T is larger, the better of rock integrity,
equation (2) Pb /Sh is larger, it is beneficial to the sta-
bility of surrounding rock. When T equal to P0 , affect
180
the stability of underground rock cavern is the major
factor in the value of principal stress SH and Sh .
The above analysis seems to ignore the direction
of principal stress effect on the stability of surround-
ing rock cavern, in fact the impact of the direction
of principal stress has been implied in the ratio of
SH and Sh , SH /Sh is long and short axis ratio of
stress ellipse, SH /Sh is greater, the greater the dif-
ferential stress, it is detrimental to the stability of
surrounding rock, Adjusted the tunnel strike, then the
differential stress within the surrounding rock will
correspondingly smaller, stable and favorable to the
surrounding rock. In addition, the chamber to with-
stand the Self-weight stress does not intuitively seem
to be reflected, as noted earlier, measurement stress is
the combined result of various forces, which implied
the effects of gravity on the plane stress, because the
possion effect, self-weight stress increases will lead to
increased levels of plane stress.
3 MEASUREMENT RESULTS WITH THE
STABILITY OF SURROUNDING ROCK
FEEDBACK
This article talked about is the stability of surrounding
rock: there is no explosion, end of drums, slide and
cave deformation failure in hard rock cavern, with-
out reinforcement, or a little protection that is able to
use; there is no obvious convergence of deformation,
end of drums, roof fall and so on in weak rock sec-
tion. We use the hydraulic fracturing method of stress
measurements conducted in deep tunnels for more
than 50. According to incomplete statistics, now been
completed or the stability of surrounding rock under-
ground caverns is well when the stress measurement
conducted, here are 11 representative works listed
(Table 1). Can be seen from Table 1, the ratio of break-
down pressure and minimum horizontal principal
stress are between 1.80∼3.0, the stability of surround-
ing rock cavern is well without rock explosion, end of
drums, slide and cave, etc. deformation phenomena.
For comparative analysis,Table 2 shows seven of the
cavern which there is different geological problems.
Can be seen from Table 2, these geological problems
such as rock burst occurs that the surrounding rock
of cavern is f granite, another is weak rocks, and the
ratio of breakdown pressure and the minimum prin-
cipal stress are most less than 1.50. There are larger
ration of individual tunnel in Table 2, for example, the
ratio of Pb /Sh is higher than 1.50 in three borehole
along the deeper and long tunnel in Sichuan, but the
tunnel emerged in varying degrees of deformation and
damage, the reason may be related to highlight the rock
anisotropy of the tunnel site.
4 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Through the above analysis and discussions, on the use
of the ratio of hydraulic fracturing breakdown pressure
Table 1. The ratio of breakdown pressure (Pb ) to minimum horizontal stress (Sh . ) and stability of wall rock.

Tunnel
Horizontal/
Rock stability Vertical Borehole Pb PS = Sh
Tunnel/cavern Name Lithology of feedback Depth(m) depth(m) (MPa) (MPa) Pb /Sh

Tianhu Hydropower Station Biotite granite stability 685/470 30 18 10 1.80

In Guangxi High-Pressure intact 30 17 7 2.43
Water Tunnel 30 20 7 2.85
A Water Tunnel Of granite Stability 30 11 4 2.75
A Hydropower Station No lining 30 15 7 2.14
In Yunnan Province 30 13 5.5 2.36
Fujian Zhouning feldspar granite stability 30 15 8.0 1.88
Hydropower Station 30 16 5.3 3.04
Underground Building 30 15 6.0 2.50
Fujian Ningde Feiluan Lava, breccia stability 420 15.2 8.27 1.84
Highway Road Tunnel 200 14.3 5.7 2.51
200 11.5 6.26 1.86
Ningxia Liupanshan Siltstone, stability 400 10.0 5.0 3.12
Highway Tunnel sandstone 200 10.85 4.52 2.01
Beijing Ming Tombs Volcanic rocks, stability 52 10.97 3.51 3.12
Hydropower Station conglomerate 60 14.28 7.11 2.01
Underground Building
Underground Building Sandstone, Stability of 100/160 54 6.67 2.67 2.50
Hydropower Station in siltstone cavern 30 8.25 3.0 2.75
Guangxi excavation 30 9.14 3.13 2.92
Underground powerhouse Limestone Stability of 30 10.44 5.28 1.98
of a storage power station cavern 30 14.82 6.77 2.19
in Shanxi Province excavation 30 11.81 6.49 1.82
30 12.80 6.80 1.88
30 12.50 6.50 1.92
30 15.60 8.50 1.95
Underground powerhouse Granite Stability of 130 14.75 7.99 1.85
of a storage power cavern 120 16.50 7.37 2.44
station in Shandong excavation 120 13.14 5.37 2.29
130 20.09 7.80 2.70
200 11.61 5.66 2.05
Underground powerhouse Granite Stability of 130 17.45 9.45 1.85
of a storage power cavern 125 14.60 7.80 1.87
station in Guangdong excavation 135 13.97 6.50 2.15
30 15.59 7.07 2.20
30 19.25 7.63 2.52
30 16.18 8.04 2.01

with the stress to analysis of underground rock cavern
stability, some overall conclusions are apparent:
(1) On the use of the ratio of hydraulic fractur-
ing breakdown pressure Pb with the minimum
horizontal principal stress Sh , analysis and deter-
mining rock stability method is based on in situ
measurements and engineering feedback. It can
be used to determine the stability of surrounding
rock during the engineering investigation phase
or before the underground excavation. It is similar
with the theory of the ratio of uniaxial compres-
sive strength and the maximum principal stress to
analysis of rock burst.
(2) The hydraulic fracturing breakdown pressure Pb
and the minimum horizontal principal stress Sh
are defined clearly, and their ratio generally
less than 3.0, the higher the ratio, the bet-
ter the stability of surrounding rock, the initial
classification as follows: When the Pb /Sh ≥ 1.8,
hard rock and soft rock cavern is stabil-
ity; when the Pb /Sh ≤ 1.50, the probability is
higher that occurred rock burst in hard rock
and convergent deformation in soft rock; when
1.8 > Pb /Sh > 1.50, it is critical state that occurred
rock burst in hard rock and convergent deforma-
tion failure in soft rock.
(3) The ratio of Pb /Sh involve the role of the in-
situ stress, orientation, tensile strength and pore
pressure on the surrounding rock stability.
(4) The rock stability of deep caverns is closely
related to tectonic activity, rock structure, hydro-
geological, engineering geological conditions,
construction techniques and methods. On the use

181
Table 2. The ratio of breakdown pressure (Pb ) to minimum horizontal stress (Sh .) and stability of wall rock.

Tunnel
Horizontal/
Rock stability Vertical Borehole Pb PS = Sh
Tunnel/cavern Name Lithology of feedback Depth(m) depth(m) (MPa) (MPa) Pb /Sh

Hydropower Station granite, intact cake core, 200 19.2 12.5 1.52
In Qinghai cave rock burst 150 21.75 13.19 1.64
Sichuan Erlangshan argillaceous limestone, local rock burst 110 8.5 5.6 1.51
Highway Tunnel sandstone and shale 120 15.0 7.58 1.97
200 12.7 8.47 1.50
Guang-Yu Expressway limestone, shale local rock burst 435 12.15 8.85 1.37
Huaying Mountain collapse 462 12.20 8.76 1.39
Tunnel 637 15.90 11.18 1.42
Lan Wu Second-Tier diorite, sandy slate, large convergent 550 23.0 20.0 1.20
Of A Tunnel chibaya and tuff deformation 250 10.72 7.92 1.06
Yalong Reiver Deep thick layer of marble local rock burst The level of 30 30 22.0 1.36
Tunnel collapse large depth:1800 30 29 17.0 1.71
convergent 30 27 18.0 1.50
deformation
The level of 30 17 10.0 1.70
depth :2700 30 24 16.6 1.57
The level of 30 13.2 6.58 2.00
depth :3050 30 38.4 25.0 1.54
30 26.1 21.0 1.21
Water Control Project metamorphosed quartz local rock burst 30 5.7 4.0 1.43
In Ningxia sandstone rock, rock collapse 30 7.0 4.5 1.56
or plywood chibaya 30 7.0 5.0 1.40
100 7.0 4.0 1.75
300 10.0 7.0 1.43
Shanxi Deep Railway granite local rock burst 1620 30 31.75 23.25 1.36
Tunnel 30 29.3 21.81 1.34
30 26.5 21.10 1.25

of the ratio of hydraulic fracturing breakdown
pressure Pb with the minimum horizontal prin-
cipal stress Sh , analysis and determining rock
stability method is based on in situ measurements
and engineering feedback. It is need to conduct in-
depth study in theory, but also need more on-site
investigations and engineering information feed-
back to prove, and comparison with other methods
with each other, constantly added and improved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is founded by National Basic Research
Program of China(2006CB202203), Exploration tech-
nology deep and experimental study(SinoProbe-06-
02) and Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA ,Basic
scientific Special Fund(ZDJ2007-2).
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under the conditionof high ground pressure in the depths.
Advances in Mechanics 35(1): 91∼99.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Strength and failure of rock due to hydraulic fracture

Mingqing You
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China

ABSTRACT: Hydraulic fracture in borehole is used to determine the geo-stresses. The complexity of rock
property and stress state makes the great difference between the real curve and the ideal curve of water pressure-
time. The water pressure to crack the borehole wall may be lower than that to spread the fissure. The pore pressure
in rock results in the decrease of the tensile strength. Cylinder specimens were directly tensile under confining,
hollow cylinders were fractured by inner pressure under different axial load, and rings were Brazilian split. The
experimental results show that two indexes of deformation and stress are related to thefailure of rock specimen
when it is suffered non-uniform stresses.

1 INTRODUCTION

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is a borehole field-test to

estimate the state of in-situ stresses. Figure 1 shows
the borehole status and water pressure in the process
of hydraulic fracturing (Cai 2000).
A section of a borehole is sealed off by use of two
inflatable rubber packers sufficiently pressurized so
that they adhere to the borehole wall. Water is pumped
under constant flow rate into the section, gradually
raising pressure on the borehole wall until fracture
is initiated in the rock. Pumping is stopped, allow- Figure 1. Hydraulic fracturing method for stresses in-situ.
ing the interval pressure to decay. Several minutes
into the shut-off phase, the pressure is released and The breakdown pressure Pb is taken as the peak
allowed to return to ambient conditions. The pres- pressure attained in the first pressure cycle.
sure cycle is repeated several times maintaining the The fracture reopening pressure Pr is the point on
same flow rate. Key pressure values used in the com- the ascending portion of the pressure–time curve in
putation of the in-situ stresses are picked from the subsequent cycles, where the slope begins to decline
pressure–time record. The attitude of the induced HF from that maintained in the first (breakdown) cycle.
is obtained using an oriented impression packer or The slope decline, while maintaining constant flow
borehole camera (Haimson & Cornet 2003). rate, signifies that some fluid has infiltrated the
In this paper the compressive stress is positive, and reopened fracture.
the pressure P and the tensile strength T are positive
magnitude. One of the principal stresses acts along
the vertical direction. The others act on the horizontal
plane, named σH ≥ σh . When hydraulic pressure P acts The shut-in pressure Ps is the pressure reached, after
in the borehole, the stresses in the borehole wall are the pump is shut off following breakdown or fracture
reopening, when the hydraulically induced or the pre-
existing fracture closes back. Various methods are in
use for evaluating this pressure

where θ is the angle measured from the direction of

the large principal stress. If the compressive stresses
in vertical and radial direction do not affect the failure
of rock, then the borehole wall will break along large
principal stress the when the minimum of σθ reaches
to the tensile strength – T , or the hydraulic pressure is
Therefore, the stresses in-situ may be determined
after the pressure values of Pb , Ps and Pr are picked out
from the pressure–time record as shown in Figure 1.
However this process is not clear due to the complex-
ity of stresses state and the failure mechanism around
borehole.

185
2 EFFECT OF PORE PRESSURE Table 1. In-situ stresses measured with hydraulic fracturing
test in Xinwen Coal Mines, China (Kang et al. 2007).
In saturated rocks with low permeability, it is often
assumed that pore pressure is unaffected by the state σV / σh / σH / σH − 2σh /
of stress and that Terzaghi’s effective stress concept Depth/m MPa MPa MPa MPa
applies to tensile ruptures,
1 790 20.94 16.56 32.39 −0.73
2 1150 30.48 17.89 34.60 −1.18
3 1071 28.38 20.64 39.77 −1.51
4 1220 32.33 22.80 42.10 −3.50
5 1130 29.95 19.10 33.15 −5.05
6 1040 27.66 16.20 31.35 −1.05
7 964 25.55 12.23 25.65 1.19
Or 8 967 25.63 10.87 21.42 −0.32
9 961 25.47 10.12 20.06 −0.18

Table 2. In-situ stresses measured with overcoring test*.

A problem needs to be solved that what the items is
on the left hand of Equations 6a, 7a. For example, only depth/ σV / σh / σH / σH - 2σh /
σH and σh in Equation 3 are substituted with effective Lcation m MPa MPa MPa MPa
stresses in Chen & Wong (2001), and different equa-
Linglong 290 8.28 6.84 15.58 1.90
tion are resulted. As Terzaghi’s effective stress concept
290 9.37 7.26 17.51 2.99
comes from soil that is totally different to rock, You 410 10.73 10.18 25.77 5.41
(2005) proposed an explain for the effect of the pore 410 11.51 8.64 25.55 8.27
pressure. South crofty 790 18.5 11.3 37.7 15.1
For the inner pressure and far-field tension stress Oskarshamn 490.5 7.6 8.1 30.8 14.6
have same effect on the Griffith fissure based on the 501.6 13.1 6.2 26.3 13.9
linear elastic fracture mechanics, so
*Cited from Cai et al. 2009, Pine et al. 1983, Anderson &
Christianson 2003.

or
From Equation 3c and 5, we have

Maybe, we just consider that the tensile strength

of rock decreases due to the pore pressure. Therefore,
the breakdown pressure and reopening pressure can be
written directly as
Equations 6c and 7c are the same form with
Equation 6b and 7b, but have different mean.
3 HYDRAULIC FRACTURE OF BOREHOLE
The fracture reopening pressure Pr is not the peak point
in subsequent cycles as explained in ( Lee & Haim-
son, 1989), but the breakdown pressure Pb usually is
the peak pressure attained in the first pressure cycle.
The pressure drops steeply that means the crack has
opened. So it implies an assumption that the hydraulic
pressure is greater than shut-in pressure PS, or the least
horizontal stress σh
In the other words, the stress magnitudes from
hydraulic fracturing always satisfy Equation 9. Table 1
presents the in-situ stresses measured with hydraulic
fracturing test in Xinwen Coal Mines, China (Kang
2007).
The pore pressure is not lower than the static
hydraulic pressure at the test interval, which is 10 MPa
at depth of the 1000 m. The tensile strength of rock is
also about 10 MPa usually. Therefore the magnitude
of (T − P0 ) in Equation 9 is approximate to zero.
The horizontal stresses measured with hydraulic
fracturing in (Chen et al. 2004, Tan et al. 2004, Xie
et al. 1999, Zhang et al. 1999) are also satisfied the
relation of σH < 2σh . However, the real stresses in-situ
may be different.
Table 2 presents three groups of in-situ pressure
measured with overcoring test. The decline angle of
maximum principal stress is less than 3◦ , and the inter-
mediate principal stress closes to vertical direction in
Linglong Gold Mine, China (Cai et al. 2009). The real
decline angles of principal stresses are 84◦ , 3◦ and 5◦
in Carnmenellis granite of South Crofty, British (Pine
et al. 1983), which means one principal stress is nearly
along the vertical direction. The maximum principal

186
stress is also in the horizontal plane in Smaland gran-
ite of Oskarshamn, Sweden (Anderson & Christianson
2003). The largest horizontal principal stress σH is 2
times higher than the least horizontal principal stress
σh in Table 2. No doubt, the in-situ stresses can not be
measured rightly with hydraulic fracturing.
Clearly, when

the breakdown pressure will satisfy

and when

the borehole will break sooner after it is drilled out, Figure 2. Tensile strengths of cylinder specimens under
confining pressure.
not need the hydraulic pressure at all. Therefore the
breakdown pressure Pb is not always the peak value
in the first cycle as shown in Figure 1, but the point Table 3. Experimental results of hollow cylinders cracked
in inner hydraulic pressure under various axial load.
where the slope begins to decline.
The stresses status in the surrounding rock of the
σZ / P/ σθr / σθR / σθM /
borehole will change after pressure water flows into Spec. MPa MPa MPa MPa MPa
the crack. However the crack will develop only when
the hydraulic pressure is larger than the least horizontal A1 21.2 20.3 21.2 0.9 3.4
principal stress which is vertical to the crack plane. A2 22.0 17.6 18.1 0.5 2.4
Therefore, when A3 57.3 20.0 20.7 0.7 2.9
A4 85.7 23.5 24.2 0.8 3.4
A5 109.1 20.2 20.9 0.7 3.0

the peak value in the breakdown cycle will close to the

magnitude of σh . respectively, where η = r/R. The average magnitude
of the tangential stress is
4 FAILURE OF ROCK

A direct tensile experiment of rock specimens was car-

ried under confining pressure in (You et al. 2006).
Specimens of ϕ50 mm × 100 mm in size were glued
with joints 80 mm in diameter and put in hollow cylin-
der in which hydraulic oil was pumped. The joints
were compressed in axial direction by servo-control
testing machine to balance tensile force produced by
the hydraulic oil in the hollow cylinder. The tensile
strengths under different confining pressure can get
by changing the axial compression force. Although the
specimens of three kinds of rock are machined from
one block respectively, the experimental results were
divided into groups as shown in Figure 2. The tensile
strength decreases with confining pressure linearly.
For a hollow cylinder, R in outer radius and r in
inner radius, acted on hydraulic pressure P, the tensile
stresses at the borehole wall and outer wall are
Table 3 presents the experimental results of hol-
low cylinders with 6 mm in inner diameter. The hole
wall was sealed with wax. Clearly, the cracked pres-
sure for hollow cylinder is not influenced significantly
by the axial load when it is lower than 80% of the uni-
axial compression strength, the average magnitude of
152 MPa. This is different to that shown in Figure 2 for
the non-uniform stresses effect as explained in You &
Su (2010).
The tangential stresses σθr at the inner surface of the
hollow cylinder as presented inTable 3 are much higher
than the Brazilian split strengths of six discs, from
3.54 MPa to 6.17 MPa, with an average of 4.98 MPa.
Moreover rings with various inner diameters were
Brazilian split and results are presented in Table 4,
where D is the out diameter of 50 mm; L is the length
of about 35 mm; d is 4.6 mm and 7.1 mm of the inner
diameter; F is the fracture load. TT is the tensile
strength after Hobbs (1965)

187
Table 4. Brazilian split results of rings. Cappa, F. et al. 2006. Hydromechanical modelling of pulse
tests that measure fluid pressure and fracture normal
d/ 2F / (πDL)/ 2F / (π(D-d)L)/ TT / displacement at the Coaraze Laboratory site, France.
disc mm MPa MPa MPa International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Science 43: 1062–1082.
BB1 4.6 4.69 5.17 29.6 Chen, Qunce et al. 2004. Study on influence of topography
BB2 4.6 4.98 5.48 31.5 on in-situ stress by interpretation of measurement data
BB3 4.6 5.32 5.86 33.6 of in-situ stress. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
BB4 4.6 5.32 5.86 33.6 Engineering 23(23): 3990–3995. (in Chinese)
Chen, Yong & Wong, T. F. 2001. Physics of rock. 134–137
CC1 7.1 3.33 3.88 22.5
Beijing: Press of Beijing University. (in Chinese)
CC2 7.1 5.45 6.35 36.9
Haimson, B. C. & Cornet, F. H. 2003. ISRM Suggested Meth-
CC3 7.1 6.15 7.17 41.6
ods for rock stress estimation—Part 3: hydraulic fractur-
CC4 7.1 6.61 7.70 44.7
ing (HF) and/or hydraulic testing of pre-existing fractures
(HTPF). International Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Mining Science 40(7/8): 1011–1020.
Hobbs, D. W. 1965. An assessment of a technique for deter-
Clearly, the small hole in the discs does not influ- mining the tensile strength of rock. British Journal of
ence the fracture load significantly, and the maximum Applied Physics 16: 259–268.
tangential stress at the hole boundary, or TT , is much KANG, Hongpu et al. 2007. Research and application of in-
higher than Brazilian tensile strength from sound discs. situ stress measurement in deep mines. Chinese Journal
The experimental results in Tables 3, 4 show that of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 26(5): 929–933. (in
Chinese)
the stresses at the weakest point can not determine
Lee, M. Y. & Haimson, B. C. 1989. Statistical evaluation
the failure of the rock when there are stress gradient of hydraulic fracturing stress measurement parameters.
in the specimen. It needs adequate deformation for International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
rock to destroy or failure. Therefore, two indexes of Science 26(6): 447–56.
deformation and stress are related to the failure of rock Pine, R. J. et al. 1983. In-situ stress measurement in the
specimen suffered non-uniform stresses. Carmenellis granite - I. Overcoring test at South Crofty
mine at a depth of 790 m. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Science 20(2): 51–62.
5 CONCLUSION Rutqvist, J. Tsang Chin-Fu Stephansson O. 2000. Uncer-
tainty in the maximum principal stress estimated from
hydraulic fracturing measurements due to the presence
For hydraulic fracturing of borehole, rock is suffered of the induced fracture. International Journal of Rock
in the stresses of tension and compression, and also Mechanics and Mining Science 37: 107–120.
non-homogeneously, the breakdown pressure needs to Tan, Chengxuan et al. 2004. Research on tectonic stress plane.
be demonstrated reliably, and the exact meaning of Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering
Equation 3, 6c is still an open question. 23(23): 3970–3978. (in Chinese)
Xie, Furen et al. 1999. Analyses of regional tectonic
stress field along the Neijiang-Kunming Railway sec-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS tion between Tianxianchang and Xianshui. In Collected
Works on Tectonic and crustal stress. 63–69. Beijing:
Seismological Publishing House. (in Chinese)
This work was supported by the National Natural You, Mingqing. 2005. Study on the geo-stresses measurement
Science Foundation of China (10572047). with hydro-fracture of borehole. Chinese Journal of Geo-
technical Engineering 27(3): 350–353. (in Chinese)
You, Mingqing, et al. 2006. Direct tensile experiment of rock
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hydraulic fracturing rock stress measurements and com- and failure of hollow cylinders and rings of sandstone
parison of triaxial overcoring results made in the same under compression-tension stresses. Chinese Journal of
borehole. In Katsuhiko Sugawara et al (eds). Rock Stress. Rock Mechanics and Engineering 29(8): (in Chinese)
315–320. Rotterdam: Balkema. Zhang, Yanshan et al. 1999. Estimation of the horizontal
Cai, Meifeng. 2000. The Principle and technique of in-situ principal stress magnitudes from stress-induced bore-
stress measurement. Beijing: Science Press. (in Chinese) hole wall breakouts. In Collected Works on Tectonic and
CAI, Meifeng et al. 2009. In-situ stress measurement at deep crustal stress. 134–139. Beijing: Seismological Publish-
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188
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Acoustic emission signature of different oriented sandstone specimens

W. Nie & M.C. He

School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, Beijing, China

Z.Y. Zhao
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

ABSTRACT: Acoustic Emission (AE) can provide wealthy information on the failure process of rock mass,
which makes it possible to visualize the process of rock damage. In order to study the AE signature of sand-
stone, three kinds of specimens with different bedding orientations were selected for uniaxial compressive tests
accompanied by an AE monitoring system. The failure modes of these specimens were clearly affected by struc-
tural plane, and can be divided into three categories: tensile-split along the weaker bedding plane (TD), tensile
fracture across the weaker bedding plane (TM) and sliding failure along the weaker bedding plane (SD). Not
only the simple counting of the number of AE events vs. different stress levels and accumulated AE energy with
an inelastic strain rate were studied, but the frequency-magnitude relation was established in different stages of
the uniaxial test by the spectral analysis. For the specimen failed along the weaker bedding, the AE signals were
more intense and the accumulated AE energy before failure was larger. The sandstone has three main frequency
domains at around 50 kHz, 177 kHz and 266 kHz. A significant magnitude increase before peak stresses was
detected for frequency at around 177 kHz. The magnitude variation and duration in 50 kHz and 266 kHz were
not clear for failure along weaker bedding planes. All these results will contribute to the forecast of rock failure
and the back analysis of failure modes.

1 INTRODUCTION (2005) showed the frequency-based discrimination of

An acoustic emission is defined as a transient elastic
wave generated by the rapid release of energy within a
material (Lockner, 1993). Both the micro-cracks form-
ing and the crack-borders rubbing against each other
can cause the acoustic emission.AnAE testing is a pas-
sive and receptive technique analyzing the ultrasound
pulses emitted in the moment of defects occurrence.
Recently, AE studies of rocks are prevalent in labora-
tory. Reinhardt et al. (2008) indicated four different
steps of an AE analysis: (1) the analysis of mechanical
data and the acoustic emission rate, (2) the localization
of acoustic emissions, (3) the evaluation of the topog-
raphy of the fracture plane, and (4) fracture mechanical
studies based on moment tensors.
Lockner et al. (1992) indicated there were a greater
percentage of low-magnitude events in the prenucle-
ation phase. Cai et al. (2007) indicated the monitoring
of AE waves in the laboratory usually in the 200–
2000 kHz range. He et al. (2009) observed two main
frequency ranges in limestone specimens dynamic
failure process, and when the rock suffering rock-
burst failure, the AE signals turn to higher magnitude
and lower frequency. Chang et al. (2004) proved the
shear failure was a major microscopic failure mech-
anism of rock under triaxial compression by moment
tensor analysis of acoustic emission. Shiotani et al.
concrete is possible between cracking and fretting sig-
nals combined with high attenuation. Reinhardt et al.
(2008) illustrated the fracture models of theAE sources
for visualization of damage zones.All these results will
contribute for the fracture mechanical studies.
Rocks are believed have high attenuation (Ono,
2008). As a wave propagates through the rock, the
mineral components affect the signal a lot. For sand-
stone fault formation, the overall AE activity was more
intense compared with granite (Lockner et al., 1992).
Zhao et al. (2005) found the transmitted wave will be
slowed and attenuated when fracture stiffness in rock
decreases. Cosenza et al. (2007) found no significant
low-frequency spectral distortions in clay-rock speci-
mens submitted to a desaturation phase. Ahmad (2009)
enhanced the research about how the fluid affected
wave velocity.
Compared with the crystalline texture in granite, the
deformational behavior of sandstones varies with the
bedding orientation. Yong et al. (2006) have divided
the failure modes of stratified material into two main
types as sliding failure along discontinuities and non-
sliding failure along discontinuities, where the last one
could be divided into tensile-split along discontinu-
ities, tensile fracture across discontinuities, and sliding
failure across discontinuities. Colak (1998) reported
the Poisson’s ratio in some trsversely isotropic rocks

189
Table 1. Physical properties of sandstone specimens.
Rock Diameter Height Vp Vs Mass
No.* mm mm m/s m/s g
#1, ⊥ 49.41 99.43 5125.2 2234.4 508.9
#2, // 49.39 100.73 5245.8 2243.2 519.6
#3, // 49.43 102.63 5345.3 2192.9 529.5
#4, ∠35 48.92 101.59 4979.9 2533.4 497.5
* Bedding orientation: ⊥ indicates the bedding plane is per-
pendicular to the loading direction; // indicates the bedding
plane is parallel to the loading direction; ∠35 indicates the
bedding planes with angle at 35◦ from the loading direction.
is larger on the direction perpendicular to bedding
plane than the value parallel to the bedding plane. The
U-shaped strength-weakness orientation curve reveals
that the weakest strength value is obtained when the
planes are oriented along which the greatest shear
stress is generated. As the AE signal can be a reli-
abel indicator of damage, it is meanful to analysis
the relation between AE signals and different failure
mode. In this paper, three different bedding orien-
tation sandstone specimen were carried out under
unixail compression tests (UC). The AE activities were
recorded to analysis the AE signature of different fail-
ure modes. In addition, Fourier transforms were used to
analysis the frequency-spectra features during failure.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
2.1 Specimen preparation
A set of block sandstones was taken from Xingcun
Coal Mine, in Shandong province, China, at depth of
1113 m. Four sandstone specimens with three different
bedding orientations were cored for testing, includ-
ing one cylinder specimen whose bedding planes are
perpendicular to the loading direction, two cylinder
specimens whose bedding planes are parallel to the
loading direction and one cylinder specimen having
incline bedding planes with angle at about 35◦ from
the loading direction. The mineralogy of this sandstone
is: 57.7% quartz, 13.8% plagioclase, 8.7% K-feldspar,
0.5% calcite, 1.5% pyrite and 17.8% clay minerals
(in intact rock area); 23.4% quartz, 3.0% plagio-
clase, 4.6% K-feldspar, 22.5% calcite, 5.1% dolomite,
20% Siderite, 0.9% pyrite and 20.5% clay minerals
(in weaker bedding planes). The most abundant clay
minerals include 57% kaolinite, 26% illite/smectite
formation, 12% illite and 5% chlorite. Their physical
properties are summarized in Table 1.
2.2 Experimental procedures
A servo-controlled hydraulic testing machine was used
for uniaxial compression tests. The tests were displace-
ment controlled at the rate of 0.001 mm/s. PXWAE AE
monitoring system is used for the AE measurement.
Considering the background noise, theAE trigger level
190
Figure 1. Photo and illustration of specimen preparation.
1-AE transducer (CH2); 2-AE transducer (CH1); 3-radial
extensometer; 4-axial extensometer; 5-bearing plane; 6-rock
specimen.
was set to 54 dB. The bandpass filter between 30 to
400 kHz was applied in our tests. The data acquisi-
tion rate was set to 1 MHz, and a waveform could be
measured every 1 µs. In addition, the waveforms were
recorded at 8 ms with 8192 data points. The diam-
eter and thickness of AE sensors were 15 mm and
12 mm, respectively. The main frequency band of the
AE sensors was between 0 to 400 kHz and their reso-
nant frequency is 150 kHz. The pre-amplification is at
40 dB, gain amplification is 10, and the total amplifi-
cation is 1000. Two AE sensors were held on by scotch
tapes, one on the upper part of specimen and the other
on the lower part of specimen as shown Fig. 1.
3 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Failure modes
Figure 2 showed the eventual fracture planes devel-
oped in tests. A sharp shear fracture plane formed at a
small angle to the major principal stress on specimen
#1 in the SM mode (sliding failure across discontinu-
ities) , shown in Figure 2(a). The other three specimens
were failed along the weaker bedding planes. Speci-
men #2 and #3 were splitted along the weaker bedding
planes in the TD mode (tensile-split along disconti-
nuities) (Figure 2(b)). A shear fracture plane slided
along the weaker bedding planes (SD mode) in spec-
imen #4 at the lowest peak stress. Table 2 showed the
mechanical properties of these specimens. The spec-
imen of loading direction perpendicular to bedding
planes has higher uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)
value as compared with other specimens. The speci-
men with incline bedding orientations has the lowest
UCS value. In addition, the specimens with a load-
ing direction parallel to the bedding planes have the
lowest Poisson’s Ratio in all, which meant less lateral
deformation ability.
The stress-paths versus the AE counts are shown in
Figure 3. #1 specimen showed linearity before failure,
and suffered brittle failure accompanied by intense AE

Figure 2. Photos of the fracture planes.
hits. The AE signal started at appear at the early stage
of loading process (nearly 17 MPa), and there were
intensive AE hits before peak stress. The other three
specimens failed in ductility and had low grade AE
events rate. The AE signal appeared much later (nearly
30–40 MPa) and there were not obviously intense AE
hits before peak stress for #2 and #3. The AE signals
occurred even at the beginning of loading path, with
not much intensive AE events before peak stress value.
The AE hits have well correlation with the stress his-
tory. For specimen failed across the weaker bedding
planes, the increases in AE hits can predict the rock
rupture.

Table 2. Machanical properties of sandstone specimens. 3.2 Accumulated AE energy process

Young’s Poisson’s Energy changes in the tests can be recognized as
modulus Ratio UCS Duration the process of accumulated AE energy. AE energy is
Rock No. GPa – MPa s defined as the integral of signal magnitude over time
of signal duration. Figure 4 gathered the bulk strain
#1, ⊥ 39.1 0.36 125.6 417 vs. time curves and the accumulated AE energy vs.
#2, // 33.5 0.13 72.9 324 time curves. The correlation between the bulk strain
#3, // 37.9 0.11 69.8 340
#4, ∠35 17.3 0.43 26.0 296
and the accumulated AE energy can be recognized in
this figure. Each inflexion in the bulk strain is matched

Figure 3. Stress paths (vs. time) and AE hits (vs. time) of sandstone specimens.

191
Figure 4. Sandstone bulk strain (%) (vs. time) and accumulated AE energy (vs, time); the images below were the
frequency-magnitude features of A, B, C, and D, respectively in each accumulated energy curves.
along with an AE energy jump. Specimen #1 has obvi-
ously accumulated AE energy before large bulk strain
change point related to the peak stress. The percentage
of accumulated AE energy before the maximum stress
is about 64.6%. Specimens #2 and #3 had the low-
est percentage of accumulated AE energy before the
first maximum stress, about 0.1% and 0.2% respec-
tively. The accumulated AE energy before the first
maximum stress of #4 specimen was about 24.1%.
There will be two possibilities to explain this. Case 1:
there was much less cracks generated before failure
along the weak bedding planes in rock specimens;
Case 2: the attenuation in the latter case was much
more than the former. This will be proved in further
study by located AE sources.
In addition to a correlation between AE energy and
bulk strain, FFT transform was carried out and typical
magnitude-frequency relations of AE waveform were
plotted in Figure 4. There are three frequency domains
192
at 50 kHz (47–53 kHz), 177 kHz (170–184 kHz) and
266 kHz (262–270 kHz).
Figure 5 shows the magnitudes variation of
AE waveform at above mentioned three frequency
domains. In Fig. 5(a), the magnitude variation in each
frequency domain can predict strain breaks as a sig-
nificant magnitudes increase before peak value. The
strain breaks are related to stress variation indicat-
ing the rock ruptures. In Fig. 5(b) and Fig. 5(c),
only the frequency domain around 177 kHz has reli-
able correlation with peak stress values and fail-
ure process duration. In frequency around 266 kHz
and 50 kHz, the magnitude variations and durations
are not so signification as in frequency around
177 kHz and some other eruptions with no obvi-
ously strain or stress changes will disturb the results.
Therefore, even in same rock specimens, the fre-
quency domains for predicting failure will change
with the failure modes. In this specimen, frequency

Figure 5. Magnitude variations in different frequency
domain. (a) for specimen #1; (b) for specimen #3; (c) for
specimen #4. The AE waveform No. between two dash line
are related to the waveforms generated in peak stress time.
domain around 177 kHz can be used for pre-failure
detection.
The Kaiser effect is a well known phenomenon in
laboratory AE studies. It refers that if a specimen is
subjected to a cyclic stress history, AE will not occur
193
during the loading portion of a cycle until the stress
level exceeds the stress in all previous cycles (Lockner,
1993). In our tests, for specimen #1 whose loading
direction is perpendicular to bedding orientation, the
first intensive AE event appeared at 17 MPa. But for
specimens #2 and #3 which have a loading direction
paralled to the bedding orientation, the intensive AE
events occurred at nearly 30–40 MPa, while for speci-
men #4, AE events started at the beginning of loading
stage. Therefore, the anisotropy of rock will affect the
reliability of Kaiser effect in sandstones specimens.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, four sandstone specimens with three
different bedding orientations were carried out under
uniaixal compression tests. The acoustic emission
signatures, including AE hits vs. stress levels, accu-
mulated energy vs. bulk strain changing and AE
magnitude variation, are induced to study how the
failure modes affect AE signals. Several points are
summarized as follows.
(1) The AE signals are more intensive in specimen
with loading direction perpendicular to the bed-
ding plane and its accumulated AE energy before
failure is much larger too. For the specimens with
loading direction parallel to bedding orientation,
(2) The magnitude variation in frequency domain
around 177 kHz can be used to predict failure
along the weaker bedding planes and across the
weaker bedding planes, as significant increases is
shown for this sandstone specimens. Magnitude
variations in frequency domain around 50 kHz and
266 kHz are not clear enough in predicting the
failure along weaker bedding planes.
(3) The structural will affect the reliability of Kaiser
effect in sandstone specimens.
Furthermore, more tests of specimens with different
bedding orientation will be carried out and their AE
signatures will be studied too. The confining pressure
will be induced
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wishes to thank the Major State Basic
Research Development Program Project of China
(2006CB202200) and Creative Team Development
Project of the Chinese Education Ministry (IRT0656).
They also wish to express their thanks to Prof. LI
Dejian, Dr. Miao Jinli and Wang Jiong for their
assistance during this project.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurement based on acoustic emission in combination

with core orientation techniques

Y. Li, L. Qiao & Z.L. Sui

University of Science & Technology, Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The CSIRO overcoring stress relief and hydraulic fracturing methods are the most popular
methods used for the measurement of in-situ stress at depth. One major advantage of the CSIRO overcoring
stress relief method is that the three dimensional state of stress can be obtained, but the measurement must be
done in an excavated tunnel(Hudson and Harrison, 2000). Hydraulic fracturing method can be carried out on the
ground surface, but it assumed that one of the principal stresses direction is vertical(Cai et al, 2006). In terms of
the disadvantages of the two methods, the techniques based on core orientation and acoustic emission behavior
of rocks are incorporated in the in-situ stress measurement in order to obtain the in-situ stress conditions at
depth in Shuichang Iron Mine. According to the comparison of the measurement data obtained from the acoustic
emission test in the laboratory and CSIRO overcoring stress relief measurement in the field, effectiveness of the
acoustic emission test is confirmed. In addition, the relationships between in-situ stresses and tectonic settings
are analyzed. Finally, the distribution of in-situ stresses in Shuichang Iron Mine is given, which provides a
meaningful guideline for the following mining and design.

1 INSTRUCTION of a series of low-middle mountains. The ridges strike

So far the slope of Shuichang Iron Mine is the high-
est one of open pit in China. The slope was designed
to be 660 m high, and Shougang Group planed to
extend exploiting range with the constant and substan-
tial increasing of the iron ore’s price. The modified
deep of the pit will arrive to 750 m at the elevation of
−440 m. The stress states, engineering geological con-
ditions and hydrogeology conditions will be different
form current environment. So the exploration should
be carried out to obtain the factors which are effective
on the stability of slopes before the expanded mining.
Among those factors, in-situ stress state is the most
important to the safety of the slope, so it’s significant
to obtain the stresses values of the rock mass through
in-situ stress measurement.
Hydraulic fracturing and CSIRO overcoring stress
relief method have been used by University Science
and Technology of Beijing in in-situ stress measure-
ment of Shuichang Iron Mine since Dec. 2001 (Li et al,
2004; Cai et al, 2004). The additional measurement
sites is chosen for drilling and the techniques based
on core orientation and acoustic emission behavior of
rocks are incorporated in the environments to calculate
the in-situ stresses values. In this paper, the mea-
surement results are introduced and the relationships
between in-situ stresses and tectonics are discussed.
2 PROFILE OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGICAL
CONDITIONS
The open mine located at the southern foot of the
branching of theYanShan mountain ranges and consist
195
NNE∼NE, and the elevations are all higher than
170 m. The landforms are low hills with the east slope
steep and west slope gently in central and south-east
part, and mostly in company with deep ditches. The
tectonic is located in transition zone of ShanHaiGuan
shelf and JiXian depression of YanShan settlement
belt, and the directions of strike shows a series chang-
ing of NE-SN-NW-EW in the range from the north to
the south. The tectonic is about 38∼40 km long and
5∼8 km wide. A synclinorium belt with the shape of
“W”, which is composed of two parallel synclinori-
ums and an anticlinorium, is located at the north of
the mine and a more complex geological association
of two syniclinoriums and an anticlinorium lies in the
south. Effected by latitudinal fault system, a regional
arcuate tectonic belt are formed and made of WuChon-
gAn fracture, HuangJinZhai fracture, LiuGuanying
fracture, etc. The mine lies between the HuangJinZhai
fracture and LiuGuanYing fracture.
3 FORMER IN-SITU STRESS
MEASUREMENTS
The measurements with the method of Hydraulic frac-
turing and CSIRO was operated by the research team
in 2001, and results come from six sites are obtained.
The measurement by hydraulic fracturing were carried
out in 3 sites which were divided into 11 sections, and
the coordinates are shown in Table 1.
CSIRO overcoring stress relief measurements were
manipulated in 3 sites in the respective depth of 81 m,
91.5 m, 56 m. The distance between site 1 and 2 was
Table 1. Coordinates of sites for hydraulic fracturing mea- from core orientation, the directions of specimens in
surement. space can be calculated. Then the separated critical
stress can be decided by the tests of Kaiser Effect, and
No. X Y Z
the stresses are the component ones of in-situ principle
KB 4445953.57 506132.39 59.17 stresses. So the principle stresses can be computed
KD1 4445933.02 504928.53 149.51 out with mathematic methods, if enough relationships
KE1 4445257.68 504214.35 189.30 between principle stresses and component stresses are
obtained.
The typical acoustic emission figure is shown in
Fig. 2. Usually, about 15∼25 specimens are used for
one direction test and statistical calculation, and the
stress values with six orthogonal directions can give
the largest in-situ historical stress state of measure-
ment site.

5 RECENT MEASUREMENT OF FIELD

STRESS IN SHUICHANG IRON MINE

There are two drilled holes for in-situ stress measure-

ment this time, and the holes respectively locate in the
west and east bank of the mine (which are K1, K3, as
shown in figure 1). The data of drilling is shown in
Table 4. The oriented cores are drilled through rock
mass, and three cylinder specimens with angles of 0◦ ,
45◦ , 90◦ which measured in the axis counter-clockwise
from the marked dip direction of hole in cross section
are taken. Up to six sections are measured in K1 hole
and K3 hole and the results are shown in Table 5.
Figure 1. Distribution of sites for in-situ stress
measurement.

6 MAIN FEATURES ANALYSIS OF FIELD

50.5 m, and the one between site 2 and 3 was 81.8 m.
The distribution of six measurement sites is shown in
Fig. 1.
The results came from the measurement by the
method of Hydraulic fracturing were shown in Table 2,
and by the CSIRO overcoring stress relief method were
shown in Table 3.
4 PRINCIPLE OF IN-SITU STRESS
DETERMINATION METHOD BASED
ON ACOUSTIC EMISSION PHENOMENA
The rock emits low-intensity ‘noise’when it is stressed.
The principle of in-situ stress measurement method
in which acoustic emission is recorded is that the
signals emitted by rock specimens are weak when
the impressed stress is smaller than the largest one
of in-situ rock mass in history, and are strong when the
impressed level exceeds the largest historical stress.
The point where the critical transformation is occurred
is called Kaiser Point, and the associated stress is rec-
ognized as the in-situ stress of rock mass. It is founded
that the Kaiser effect can be obviously obtained during
granite, marble, quartzite, sandstone, andesite, etc. is
stressed (Qin, 1993).
Specimens can be drilled out through rock core in
different directions. And with the help of data obtained
STRESS
The tested results are given in Table 2, 3 and 5.
The main features of filed stresses are introduced as
follows:
(1) It can be deduced from the prophase data that
direction of the first principle stress is about NEE
in Shuichan Iron Mine, and the result coincides
with the rules of in-situ stress of North China. It
is shown that the stresses are mainly affected by
New Cathysian Tectonic System.
(2) The conclusion can be obtained that the stress state
where Kaisser Effect will take place is changed in
the sections of K1 hole with the depth of 110 m
and 140 m. Because of the excavations and origi-
nal topography, the directions of the first principle
stress has turned to parallel the slope strike. Dur-
ing the redistribution of stresses, the failure and
the new Kaisser Point were recorded in rocks. The
values of K1 and K3 hole show that little effect is
received by deeper rock masses, and the stresses
state are still similar to in-situ stresses with the
direction of maximum horizontal principle stress
being NEE. But it also can be found that the direc-
tion of the first principle stress incline to turn to
NNE from the direction of NEE. It should be atten-
tion that not all the shallow rock specimen can

196
Table 2. Results of in-situ stress measurement by Hydraulic fracturing method.

Measurement parameter (MPa) Stress value (MPa)

Sequence Depth of fracture Direction of
No. number section (m) Pb Pr PS PH P0 T σ1 σ2 σV fracture (◦ )

KB 1 83.36—83.96 2.83 2.08 1.66 0.82 0.74 0.76 2.16 1.66 2.21
2 116.07—116.67 5.93 4.50 4.08 1.14 1.06 1.43 6.68 4.08 3.07 N77◦ E
3 155.38—155.98 12.57 7.57 6.98 1.52 1.44 5.00 11.93 6.98 4.11 N88◦ E
4 181.53—182.13 12.91 9.13 7.83 1.78 1.70 3.78 12.65 7.83 4.80
5 232.54—233.14 / 10.76 9.25 2.28 2.20 / 14.79 9.25 6.15
KD1 1 265.18—265.78 9.11 6.59 5.96 2.60 2.01 2.52 9.28 5.96 7.02
2 274.51—275.11 11.72 6.89 6.26 2.69 2.10 4.83 9.79 6.26 7.26 N70◦ E
3 302.41—303.01 11.78 8.42 8.00 2.96 2.38 3.36 13.21 8.00 8.00
KE 1 118.87—119.47 9.16 5.36 3.96 1.16 0.46 3.80 6.07 3.96 3.15 N77◦ E
2 147.52—148.12 / 5.85 4.65 1.45 0.74 / 7.35 4.65 3.90
3 185.90—186.50 13.02 5.62 5.42 1.82 1.12 7.40 9.53 5.42 4.92

* Pb: breakdown pressure; Pr: reopening pressure; PS: shut-in pressure;

PH: water pressure of measurement section; P0: pore pressure of measurement section;
T: tension strength of rock; σ1 : maximum horizontal principle stress; σ2 : minimum horizontal principle stress; σV : estimated
vertical stress

Table 3. Results of in-situ stress measurement by CSIRO method.

σ1 σ2 σ3

Value Direction Dip angle Value Direction Dip Angle Value Direction Dip Angle
No. (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

1 4.07 272.2 −7.3 2.38 3.9 −13.3 2.16 154.2 −74.8

2 4.26 90.6 −0.8 2.86 180.6 −2.9 2.68 344.9 −87.0
3 3.68 98.9 −7.2 2.33 189.7 −6.2 2.03 319.8 80.5

Table 4. Orientation data of drilled hole.

Series Dip direction angle Dip angel Length of hole

num (◦ ) (◦ ) (m)

K1 130.0 80 406
K3 310.5 80 498

(3) The values of vertical principle stresses result from

acoustic emission test show that current verti-
cal stress is lower than the biggest stress level
in history. About 120 m high hill has been cut
down during mining, and it can be concluded that
the original elevation is higher. So the method
of estimation according to the density and depth
incorporated in CSIRO measurement results is
used for the analysis of vertical stress.
(4) The largest horizontal stress is about 1∼2.9 times
Figure 2. The calculating rate and time of liberation and
higher than the vertical stress, and it show that the
ring. stress level is mainly affected by the horizontal
tectonic movement.
(5) Linear regression is manipulated for the conclu-
reflect the history stress path clearly, a lot of para- sion of relationships between depth and principle
doxical results are omitted in this paper and the stresses. The equations are shown as follows:
data in Table 5 result from hundreds of acoustic
emission tests.

197
Table 5. Results of in-situ stress measurement in mine area.

The maximal horizontal The minimum horizontal

principle stress σh.max principle stress σh.min
Series Depth Vertical principle stress
num (m) Value (MPa) Direction (◦ ) Value (MPa) Direction (◦ ) Value (MPa)

K1 110 8.0 N16◦ E 4.53 N106◦ E 8.27

140 13.72 N25◦ E 5.26 N115◦ E 9.64
260 14.40 N62◦ E 5.40 N152◦ E 12.20
K3 190 15.56 N89◦ E 6.13 N179◦ E 8.38
250 14.75 N77◦ E 8.62 N167◦ E 9.37
490 33.74 N62◦ E 20.13 N152◦ E 20.68

obtained, and the associated equations resulted from

where σh.max = the first horizontal principle stress;
σh.min = the minimum horizontal principle stress;
σv = vertical principle stress; H = the depth of the
stress site with the unit being meter.
estimating of linear regression are given. The fail-
ure because of the disturbance of excavation can
be recorded in rock and make the Kassier point
changing, but not all rock specimen can reflect it
clearly, more future investigations should be taken to
research the relations between Kassier effect and stress
history.

7 CONCLUSIONS
Several in-situ stress measurements have been car-
ried out with different methods of hydraulic fracturing,
CSIRO and acoustic emission from 2001 to 2010. The
general law of stress distribution can be concluded that
the field stress state is controlled by the horizontal tec-
tonic movement. The first horizontal principle stress
strike to NEE in shallow-seated rock mass, but the data
shows that the direction tends to be NNE in deeper
site. The New Cathysian Tectonic System can be con-
cluded as the main influential factor for the formation
of current stress field. The biggest values of vertical
principle stresses in history are higher than current
vertical stresses, and it is not reflected in hydraulic
fracturing and CSIRO measurement.
The relationships between depth and principle
stresses of rock mass in Shuichang Iron Mine are
REFERENCES
M.F. Cai. 2000. Theory and Technology of In-situ stress
measurement. Beijing: Science Press.
M.F. Cai, L. Qiao, C.H. Li, et al. 2004. In-situ Stress Mea-
surement and Analysis of the Deep Slope Rockmass with
Hydro-fractruing Method in Shuichang Iron Mine. Mining
R&D 24(4):11–13.
M.F. Cai, M.C. He, D.Y. Liu, 2006. Rock Mechanics and
Engineering (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press.
J.A. Hudson, J.P. Harrison, 2000. Engineering Rock Mechan-
ics: An Introduction to the Principles. Trowbridge: Red-
wood Books.
S.Q. Qin, Z.D. Li, D.Y. Zhang, et al. 1993. An Introduction
to Acoustic Emission Techniques in Rocks. Xian: Xi’an
Jiaotong University Press.
Y.C. Li, M.F. Cai et al. 2004. In-situ Measurement and Analy-
sis by Stress Relaxation Method in Deep Slope Rockmass.
Metal Mine 337(7):16–17, 53.

198
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Applications of anelastic strain measurements in scientific

ocean deep drillings

Weiren Lin
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kochi, Japan

Timothy B. Byrne
University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA

Akito Tsutsumi
Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Yuhji Yamamoto
Kochi University, Kochi, Japan

Arito Sakaguchi & Yuzuru Yamamoto

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan

Chandong Chang
Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea

ABSTRACT: To determine three-dimensional stress orientation, we carried anelastic strain recovery (ASR)
measurements out using drill core samples taken from a scientific ocean deep drilling project. The lithology
of the core samples is mudstone or siltstone with larger porosities ranged from 35% to 45%. We glued strain
gauges on their cylindrical surface, and successfully obtained high quality anelastic strain data in at least six
directions. And then, we determined the three-dimensional stress orientations by the strain-time curves. The
stress orientations obtained from the ASR core measurements were consistent with those from drilling induced
borehole breakouts and tensile fractures observed in electrical image of borehole logging.

1 INSTRUCTIONS As one of them, a simple and inexpensive method to

Following Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), the Inte-
grated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) begun from
2003. Deep drillings related with geodynamics such
as seismogenic zone drillings are one of its impor-
tant scientific targets. Therefore, determination of in
situ stress state is an important and necessary research
item in such ocean drilling projects. As an IODP scien-
tific deep drilling project, Nankai Trough Seismogenic
Zone Experiments (NanTroSEIZE) is undergoing in
the southwest Japan subduction zone to understand
the physics of an active fault (Kinoshita et al., 2006).
Determination of current in-situ stress is one of the
main scientific objectives of NanTroSEIZE.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method
by which magnitudes and orientations of three-
dimensional in-situ stress can be reliably measured
at large/great depth, although various field and lab-
oratory measurement techniques have been proposed.
In the cases of ocean scientific deep drilling projects,
we suggest that a combined application of borehole
method (s) and core-based method (s) be employed.
determine in-situ stress from anelastic strain recovery
(ASR) measurement of oriented cores can be consid-
ered as having a relatively explicit theoretical basis
in comparison to other core-based methods. Three-
dimensional ASR measurements have been carried out
in several continental drillings (Matsuki & Takeuchi,
1993; Lin et al., 2006; Lin et al., 2007; Lin et al., 2009a;
Lin et al., 2009b). Recently, we successfully applied
the ASR measurements in NanTroSEIZE project to
determine three-dimensional stress orientations for the
first time in scientific ocean drillings. Therefore, we
report this case study hereafter.
In the first and second stages of NanTroSEIZE,
more than ten vertical boreholes have been drilled
by the deep drilling vessel CHIKYU (Figure 1). We
conducted the ASR measurements in both first and
second stage drillings. In two first-stage drilling sites
C0002 and C0006, three-dimensional principal in-situ
stress orientations were determined by ASR method.
The highlights of the first stage stress measurement
results and its tectonic interpretations have been pre-
sented by Byrne et al. (2009). Hereafter, we report the

199
Figure 1. A photograph of Drilling Vessel Chikyu (D/V
CHIKYU ) employed for various riser and riserless deep
drillings in IODP projects.
C0002 results to show the measurement techniques
applied in the ocean drilling project.
2 OUTLINE OF ASR METHOD AND SAMPLE
PREPARATION
The principle idea behind the ASR method is that
stress-induced elastic strain is released first instanta-
neously (i.e., as time-independent elastic strain), fol-
lowed by a more gradual or time-dependent recovery
of anelastic strain. The ASR method takes advantage
of the time-dependent strain. Voight (1968) first pro-
posed that anelastic strain could provide constraints
on in situ stress; and then Teufel (1983) applied this
in some petroleum industry as a two-dimensional
method. Matsuki (1991) showed that the method could
be extended to three-dimensional stress and that it
could constrain stress magnitudes. In principle, the
anelastic strain is induced by stress release of the core
sample accompanying drilling. Therefore, the stress
constrains obtained by ASR measurement are of the
present-day stress state.
Matsuki (1991) showed that the orientations of the
three principal in situ stresses coincide with the ori-
entations of the three principal anelastic strains for
isotropic viscoelastic materials. Thus, the orientations
of the principal in situ stresses can be determined by
calculating the orientations of principal strains based
on anelastic strain data measured in at least six inde-
pendent directions. In this study, we conducted the
ASR experiments based on the basic principle sug-
gested by Matsuki (1991) and employed the same test
procedures and apparatuses as Lin et al. (2007).
Two core samples used for ASR measurements in
C0002 were taken from depths of 2820 m and 2848 m
below sea surface (884 m and 912 m below sea floor
plus 1936 m water depth, respectively). The lithology
of both the core samples used for ASR tests is mud-
stone or siltstone with a larger porosity (about 40 %).
They located in Kumano Forearc Basin sedimentary
formation just above Nankai accretionary prism.
200
Figure 2. (a) A photograph of the ASR core sample taken
from 912 mbsf in drilling site C0002, (b) and its schematic
illustrations of the X, Y, Z axes of a local coordinate system
and the layout of the strain gauges glued on the surface of a
cylindrical core sample.
We carried the ASR measurements onboard the
ocean drilling vessel. After the samples were removed
from the core liner, they were washed, air dried at room
temperature and marked at 45◦ intervals to ensure that
strains were measured in at least nine directions, six
of which were independent.
As shown in Figure 2b, a local coordinator sys-
tem in which the Z axis was parallel to the borehole
axis and the X and Y axes were properly defined by
referring to core surface situation. It means to allow
selection of homogenous, crack-free and smooth loca-
tions for gluing strain gauges on the cylindrical surface
of ASR sample. Six cross-type wire strain gauges and
six single strain gauges were mounted on each ASR
sample for measuring anelastic normal strain. Thus,
the nine directions of the strain measurements were
X (direction cosines, 1, 0, 0), Y (0, 1, 0), Z (0, 0, 1),
XY (0.707, 0.707, 0), −XY (−0.707, 0.707, 0), YZ (0,
0.707, 0.707), −YZ (0, −0.707, 0.707), ZX (0.707, 0,
0.707), and −ZX (0.707, 0, −0.707). In addition, two
strain gauges were used for each of the nine directions
(Figure 2).
The samples were double bagged (clear plastic and
aluminum) and submerged in a thermostatic cham-
ber where temperature were controlled constant. After
the ASR onboard measurements, sub-samples were
made from the used ASR samples in shore-based
laboratory. By using them, the core samples were suc-
cessfully reoriented to a geographic reference frame
with paleomagnetic data.
3 ONBOARD ASR MEASUREMENTS
The ASR measurement system used in this study
(Figure 3) consists of a data logger with a scanning

Figure 3. A photograph of ASR measurement system set
onboard the D/V CHIKYU. UPS: uninterruptible power
supply.
(switching) box for recording strain and temperature
data, a water bath (Constant Temperature Chamber)
and a circulator for keeping the water temperature con-
stant, and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to
prevent measurement problems arising from electric
power failures. Measurements of the ASR core sample
(called active samples sometime) and a dummy sand-
stone sample, which did not undergo any deformation
except thermal expansion, were acquired simultane-
ously. Purpose of the measurement of the dummy
sample is to monitor the drift of the system and to
correct the measured strain data if necessary.
During ASR measurement, the bagged samples
were placed in a constant temperature chamber filled
with tap water, in which the temperature was controlled
by the circulator with heating and cooling functions. In
this apparatus, the target constant temperature should
be set at a temperature near room temperature to avoid
a large temperature change when the samples are put
into the chamber. The strain gauges and two high-
resolution thermistor thermometers (one measuring
water temperature and the other room temperature)
were connected directly to the data logger, and the
digital data were recorded every 10 minutes.
In the case of the core samples from approximate
3000 m depth below sea surface, it took less than
2 hours to elevate the core sample from depth to sea
surface (deck of the drilling vessel), 1 hour to fin-
ish the on-site core sample handling including X-ray
CT images and a quick geological-observation, and
2 hours to prepare the sample for the ASR procedure
and set it in the apparatus. Therefore, strain measure-
ments of the samples from the depths were begun
about 5 hours after extraction of the core and the stress
release. In general, the anelastic strain continuously
recovers over several days or weeks after the stress
release. Usually, ASR measurement over a period of
about one week is sufficient.
201
4 AN EXAMPLE OF ANELASTIC STRAIN
MEASUREMENT RESULTS
As an example of anelastic strain curves obtained from
the NanTroSEIZE ocean drilling project, raw data of
anelastic strain in nine directions of a core sample
taken from 912 mbsf depth in C0002 site is shown
in Figure 4. The duration of the measurement period
was approximate 8 days. During the experiment, the
constant temperature chamber worked correctly, so the
temperature change was less than ±0.1◦ C. As a result,
the anelastic strains in all directions were extensional;
all of the curves varied smoothly and similarly with
increasing time. It is clear that the anelastic strain
recovery continued in all directions for a period of
more than the measurement duration 8 days.
The values of the strain in the various directions,
continuously measured for about 8 days depended on
the orientation, the largest one (Z direction) reached
more than 300 microstrains (0.03%). The dummy
sample showed that the drift of the measurement sys-
tem was very small relative to the anelastic strain
of the active core samples. It indicates the strain of
active samples were anelastic strain induced by the
stress release accompanying drilling. These suggest
that ASR method is suitable to such lithology and
such ocean deep drillings. Thus, these data could be
used for the three-dimensional analysis to determine
the orientations of principal strains.
5 THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINCIPAL STRESS
ORIENTATIONS OBTAINED FROM ASR
MEASUREMENTS
From the measured anelastic normal strains in the nine
directions, which included six independent directions,
the anelastic strain tensor was calculated by least-
squares analysis. By using a data set of the anelastic
strain tensor for an arbitrary elapsed time, a data set of
orientations of the three principal strains correspond-
ing to that time can be determined. The determined
orientations of and their variations as elapsed time
increases are depicted as the curves from the begin-
ning (open diamond symbol) to the end (solid diamond
symbol) in Figure 5 for core samples of C0002 ASR-1
and ASR-2, respectively. Then, the average (solid cir-
cles) of each principal orientation can be calculated by
using the data from the begging to the end. The orien-
tations of the three principal anelastic strains must be
the same as the orientations of the three principal in
situ stresses. The three-dimensional stress orientations
show a very good consistency with each other between
the two core samples.
In four drilling sites of NanTroSEIZE first stage
including C0002 and C0006 where the ASR measure-
ments were conducted, two boreholes were drilled at
almost same location in each site. In the first borehole,
LWD (logging while drilling) was carried out without
coring. Then, the core samples including ASR sam-
ples were retrieved from the second borehole. From
Figure 4. As an example of anelastic normal strain recovery raw data, strain curves (thin curves labeled by X,Y, Z etc showing
its measurement direction) measured in nine directions during approximate 8 days of a core sample taken from 912 mbsf in
drilling site C0002. Four thick curves (three principal strains, i.e. Max-imum, Intermediate and Minimum strains, and the
Mean principal strain) were calculated from the nine anelastic strain raw data.

Figure 5. Stereo projections (lower hemisphere) of orientations of three-dimensional principal stresses which are same as
those of the principal anelastic strains from ASR measurements with respect to the true north coordinate system at C0002. The
stress orientations were calculated from anelastic strain values at a certain range of elapsed times, thus the orientations vary
with time increases. Open diamond symbol shows the beginning point and solid symbol shows the final point respectively;
and the larger solid circles shows the average of the stress orientation from beginning to final point.

the very clear borehole wall electrical images, a lot
of drilling induced borehole breakouts (compressive
failures) and a few drilling induced tensile fractures
were recognized (Tobin, 2009). Therefore, the orienta-
tions of principal horizontal stresses at the four drilling
sites were determined from the borehole breakout and
tensile fracture analyses (Tobin, 2009; Chang et al.,
2009). The details on the stress orientations at C0002
obtained from LWD image analyses were described
by Expedition 314 Scientists (2009). Here, we show
some breakouts in LWD borehole image correspond-
ing to the approximately same depth range with the
ASR core samples for a comparison of the horizontal
stress orientations with the ASR results (Figure 6).
Breakouts occur at two opposite locations which
differ 180◦ each other on borehole wall (Figure 6)
when the stress state reaches compressive failure cri-
teria of the rock material. These two locations are
the same as the azimuth of the minimum principal
horizontal stress (e.g. Zoback et al., 2003).
The breakout analysis is a two-dimensional method,
i.e., having principal horizontal stress orientation data
only; whereas ASR is a three-dimensional method.
Because the stress regimes at both the depths of C0002

202

Figure 6. An unrolled borehole electrical image (left) in a
depth range from 825 mbsf to 950 mbsf at C0002 obtained
by LWD (Logging While Drilling) and lithologic unit column
(right) defined by the logging data (Expedition 314 Scientists,
2009). Breakouts which show the azimuth of minimum prin-
cipal horizontal stress were intermittently recognized. The
circle plots are the azimuth of the minimum principal stress
σ3 determined by the measurements of ASR-1 and ASR-2
core samples, respectively.
where ASR core samples were taken from are almost
normal stress regime (Figure 5), i.e., the vertical stress
is almost the same as the three-dimensional max-
imum principal stress σ1 , and the two-dimensional
maximum and minimum principal horizontal stresses
are almost the same as the intermediate stress σ2 and
minimum stress σ3 , respectively. Therefore, the results
showed in Figure 6 indicate that stress orientations
independently determined by ASR measurements and
breakout analyses are consistent with each other.
6 SUMMARY
To determine three-dimensional principal stress ori-
entations, we applied ASR (anelastic strain recovery)
measurements using drill core samples taken from
a scientific ocean deep drilling project i.e. NanTro-
SEIZE (Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experi-
ments). The lithology of the core samples is mudstone
or siltstone with larger porosities ranged from 35 %
to 45 %. We glued strain gauges on their cylindrical
surface, and successfully obtained high quality anelas-
tic strain data in at least six directions. And then, we
determined the three-dimensional stress orientations
203
by the strain-time curves. The stress orientations by
the ASR measurements were consistent with those
obtained from drilling induced borehole breakouts
analyses. Therefore, it can be said that the ASR method
is well suited for the applications in directly determin-
ing the directions of principal in-situ stresses in three
dimensions in scientific ocean deep drillings.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support pro-
vided by the D/V CHIKYU laboratory technicians,
logging stuffs and drilling crew. A part of this work was
supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
(KAKENHI) C19540453 by the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science (JSPS) and 21107006 by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology (MEXT), Japan.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Experimental study on load/unload response ratio and Kaiser effect

when rocks under cycling load

Liu Jian-Po, Yang Yu-Jiang & Li Yuan-Hui

College of Resources & Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

ABSTRACT: Rock is a typically inhomogeneous and anisotropic material, which contains several natural
defects with various scales, such as micro-cracks, pores, fissures, joints inclusions, and precipitates. Large
numbers of acoustic emission (AE) signals will be generated when rock is loaded until failure. Experimental study
on rock damage process under cycling load based on acoustic emission technique was carried out. Mathematical
relation between rock damage and AE counts based on damage theory and load/unload response ratio theory
was established to study rock damage process and Kaiser effect. The Experimental results show that acoustic
emission can reflect the rock damage process. Under cycling loading, rock damage is increasing during unload
process with load increasing. There is internal relation between load/unload response ratio of AE and Kaiser
effect. The damage during unload phase may be the induced factor for the occurrence of AE before the previously
applied stress reached when specimens under re-load.
Keywords: acoustic emission (AE); rock failure; damage; load/unload response ratio; Kaiser effect

1 INTRODUCTION inside rocks. The process of rock failure is similar to

Acoustic emissions (AE) are transient elastic waves
generated by the rapid release of energy from local-
ized sources within materials such as metal, rock and
concrete, when they undergo changes in the mechani-
cal, thermal and hydraulic environment (Katsuyama
1996). AE technique is a helpful tool to study the
unstable failure process because it can monitor the pro-
cess of initiation and propagation of micro-cracks in
brittle material continuously and in real-time, which
is much superior compared with other methods and
is applied to study failure mechanics of brittle mate-
rial widely. For the importance of AE technique, many
researchers applied AE technique to study the unstable
fracture process of rock and have obtained many valu-
able results. Tang & Chen (1990, 1997) established
quantify relationship between AE and failure units’
distribution in rocks through the studies on mechan-
ics of Kaiser effect based on statistical damage model.
Fan (2000) carried out theoretical analysis on Kaiser
effect and memory capability of rocks. Yin (2002)
studied the prediction of earthquakes based on the
theory of load/unload response ratio. Mogi (1969) dis-
cussed the AE activities during rock failure process
through study on earthquakes. Through experimen-
tal study, Li (2004) analyzed AE activities of rock
under uniaxial compression and multilevel loadings,
respectively. Liu (2009) studied locating precision of
different algorithms.
Because AE are transient elastic waves caused by
micro-cracks generation and propagation in rocks, so
it is closely related between AE activities and damage.
In other word, AE activities reflect the damage degree
the pregnant process of earthquakes. Therefore, it is
meaningful to introduce the seismology into the study
of rock failure mechanism. The process of rock failure
can be seen as a strong earthquake if the AE events
during rock fracture are regarded as small-scale earth-
quakes (Liang 2003). In this paper, experimental study
on rock damage process under cycling load based on
AE technique was carried out. Mathematical relation
between rock damage and AE counts based on dam-
age theory and load/unload response ratio theory was
established to study rock damage process and Kaiser
effect.
2 LOAD/UNLOAD RESPONSE RATIO
The ratios of load response and unload response during
stable phase and unstable phase are absolutely differ-
ent, which is called load/unload response ratio theory
(Zhang 2004).
As showed in Fig. 1 and Eq. (1), X is the response
during load phase or unload phase, P and R are
increment of load and unload response, respectively.
If responses during load phase and unload phase are
expressed by X+ and X− , the load/unload response
ratio Y can be defined as Eq. (2). In the seismology,
load/unload response ratio Y can be wrote as Eq. (3)
according to Yin (2002).
Tang and Chen [2, 3] established quantify relation-
ship between AE and failure units’ distribution based

205

Figure 1. Constitutive law of rock.
on statistical damage model showed as Eq. (4). Eq. (5)
and Eq. (6) show the relation between damage and AE
during load and unload phase, respectively.
Based on Eq. (3), Eq. (5) and Eq. (6), the
load/unload response ratio of AE counts can be wrote
as Eq. (7).
The elastic modulus in Eq. (7) of unload phase,
E− , can be seen as constant, E0 . During initial com-
paction phase, damage during load and unload phases
are small, which is mainly occurred during load phase.
The elastic modulus is small in load process, which
leads to the value of Y much large. With the increas-
ing of load, the elastic modulus of load phase, E+ ,
gradually increase and approach to E0 , while the value
of load/unload response ratio, Y , gradually decrease to
1. When plastic phase reached, the elastic modulus of
load phase will be re-reduced caused by micro-cracks
nucleate, which will lead the value of Y re-increased.
So, the phenomenon of re-increase of load/unload
response ratio, Y , can be seen as the precursor of
rock unstable failure. But rock is brittleness material,
the time of plastic phase during rock failure process
is much short and it is difficult to observe the phe-
nomenon of re-increase of Y . So in this paper, we
are mainly analyze the phase of Y ≈ 1 to study the
precursor of rock unstable failure.
3 SAMPLE MATERIALS AND
3.1 Test specimens
Rock specimens (70 mm × 70 mm × 150 mm) for
experiment were common brittle rocks of granite, mar-
ble and were prepared according to the international
rock mechanics test criteria. The depth of parallelism,
206
Figure 2. Arrangement of experimental instruments.
Figure 3. Arrangement of AE sensors.
smoothness and verticality were agreed with the test
standard.
3.2 Test equipment
The servo-controlled hydraulic testing machine with
a maximum capacity of 3000 kN was used in the
experiment. It can record the data of load, stress,
displacement and strain, and plot the curves of
load-displacement and stress-strain instantaneously. A
multi-channel, high-speed AE signal acquiring and
analyzing system called HUS (Hyperion Ultrasonic
System) was employed to acquire the AE signals. It
can record the AE signals and waves in real-time. It
also can record the temporal and spatial distribution
of AE events within the specimens during loading and
visually display them by the post processor in 3-D
model. The threshold was set at 50 dB to gain a high
signal/noise ratio. The sampling frequency was set at
2 MHz. Fig. 2 shows the system of the experimental
instruments.
3.3 Sensors arrangement
Eight Nano30 sensors with frequency sensitivities
between 125 Hz to 750 KHz and a 40 dB pre-
amplification (1220A–AST) were used in the experi-
ment.The sensors were fixed on rock face by gum band
and was used vaseline for coupling. Plastic cushions
were matted between pressing machine and specimen
to eliminate noise generated by friction. Figure 3 shows
the arrangement of AE sensors.

Figure 4. Relationship of time with stress and AE rate
of GS1.
4 ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Fig. 4 shows the relationship of time with stress and
AE rate of GS1. For rock material, load and unload
are outside disturbing force and can all induce dam-
age inside rocks, although their damage degree are
different.
Fig. 5 is the changes of load/unload response ratio
with stress level of different specimens. Table 1 shows
the AE count during load and unload phases of GS2.
When the stress is less than 35% of peak stress, the
specimens is compacted. From Fig. 5 (a) and Table 1,
we can see the AE count during load and unload
phases are few, and the AE count during load phase
is much fewer than that of unload phase. The value of
load/unload response ratio, Y , is much large. In this
phase, AE are mainly caused by closure and friction of
micro-cracks. During elastic deformation phase, i.e.
35–70% of peak stress, AE count during load and
unload phase are gradually increasing. But the incre-
ment of AE count during unload is much large which
indicates the increment damage during unload phase
is much more serious. In this phase, the load/unload
response ratio, Y , is gradually decrease to 1 and fluc-
tuating near this value. When stress exceeds 75% of
peak stress, micro-cracks begin to unstable propagate,
large number of AE generated during both load and
unload phases. The value of Y is fluctuating near the
value of 1 until rock unstable failure. The stress level
of beginning of Y ≈ 1 is 72.65% of peak stress which
is the late of elastic deformation phase. The changes of
load/unload response ratio of other granite specimens
(GS3 and GS4) and marble specimens (MS1, MS2 and
MS3) are similar to the change of GS2, which are much
large at beginning and gradually decrease to 1 at the
late of elastic deformation phase.
Table 2 lists the started stress of Y ≈ 1 of different
rock specimens. They started stresses of Y ≈ 1 are all
larger than 60% of peak stress and the largest started
stresses reach 77.53%, which are all at the late elastic
deformation phase. Because the time of plastic phase
during rock failure process is much short and it is dif-
ficult to observe the phenomenon of re-increase of Y .
207
so the phenomenon of load/unload response ratio, Y ,
decrease to the value of 1 at the late elastic deforma-
tion phase can be seen as the precursor of rock unstable
failure.
When material under cycle loading, the AE events
will generate again if the previously applied stress
level is exceeded. This phenomenon is named the
Kaiser effect because it was first observed in metal
by Kaiser. For rocks, the stress of AE events generated
is always smaller than the previously applied stress
level, i.e. Felicity ratio (FR) is smaller than 1. Fig. 6
shows the relationship of stress level with Y and FR of
GS1. When the stress is less than 50% of peak stress,
the value of FR is about, which suggests the Kaiser
effect is reliable in this phase. But when the stress
exceeds 50% of peak stress, the value of FR grad-
ually decrease, which indicates the Felicity effect is
enhance. Form Fig. 6, it can be seen the decrease of
load/unload response ratio is earlier than FR. Accord-
ing to the view of Kaiser effect, new damage will
not occurred before the previously applied stress level
reached. But with the increase of stress, the damage
during unload phase and the new damage during load
phase appeared earlier. The reason is may be when the
stress exceeds 50% of peak stress, the damage during
unload phase is serious caused by tensile stress. When
re-loaded, slipping and friction in these damage zones
will generate new damage, which leads the AE events
generated earlier. Because the failure mechanism of
rock has not distinct comprehended, the intrinsic rela-
tion between load/unload response ratio and Kaiser
effect needs further studied.
5 CONCLUSION
The load/unload response ratio of AE count, Y , can
reflect the damage degree inside rock specimens dur-
ing load and unload phases. When rock under cycling
load, damage will occur during load and unload pro-
cess, and the damage of unload process will be
enhance obviously with the increasing of stress. The
load/unload response ratio of AE count, Y , will gradu-
ally decrease to the value of 1 and fluctuating until rock
failure, which can be seen as the precursor for fore-
casting rock failure. In this paper, the load and unload
process are continuous without load holding process,
i.e. unload is immediately carried out after load. In fur-
ther study, experiments of rock under cycling load with
load holding process will be undertaken to analyze the
damage process.
When stress reach a certain level, AE events will
be generated before previously applied stress reached,
which may be caused by the serious damage during
unload phase. But this relation needs further studied
in theory and experiments.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was financially supported by the Spe-
cial Subject of the National High-Tech Research and
Figure 5. Relationship of stress level with load/unload response ratio of different rock specimens.

Table 1. AE counts during load and unload phase of GS2.

Stress level/% 18.16 27.24 36.32 45.4 54.48 63.56 72.65 81.73 90.8

AE count during load 72 89 143 262 457 609 830 959 1162
AE count during unload 11 27 36 94 173 403 874 914 1184

Table 2. Started stress of Y ≈ 1 of different rock specimens.

Serial number Lithology Stress level of/Y ≈ 1 stress % Phase

GS2 Granite 72.65 Late elastic deformation phase

GS3 Granite 73.48 Late elastic deformation phase
GS4 Granite 65.98 Late elastic deformation phase
MS1 Marble 64.70 Late elastic deformation phase
MS2 Marble 63.93 Late elastic deformation phase
MS3 Marble 77.53 Late elastic deformation phase

Plan Period (2008BAB34B02), the Program for New

Century Excellent Talents in University of China
(NCET-07-0163) and Chinese Universities Scientific
Fund (N090401006). The authors also would like to
thank Mr. X. D. Zhao and J. Y. Zhang for their help
during the tests, and Prof. Y. J. Wang for correcting the
language.

Figure 6. Relationship of stress level withY and FR of GS1.
Development Program of China (2007AA06Z107),
National Science Foundation of China (50974031),
the Key Projects in the National Science & Tech-
nology Pillar Program during the Eleventh Five-year
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A comparison of rock stresses measured by WASM AE with results

from other techniques that measure the complete rock stress tensor

C.R. Windsor, E. Villaescusa & L.A. Machuca

Western Australian School of Mines/Cooperative Research Centre Mining, Australia

ABSTRACT: The scalar characteristics (ie stress magnitudes alone) from ca. 200 Western Australian School
of Mines Acoustic Emission (WASM AE) rock stress tensor determinations are compared with those compiled
in an Earth Rock Stress Tensor Database. The two data sets comprise results obtained from different geologic
and geodynamic regimes within different continents in the upper 3 km of Earth’s crust. Importantly, the data sets
are restricted to results from techniques that attempt to measure, without a priori assumption, the complete rock
stress tensor and are presented as reported in the literature, without prejudice or censorship.

1 INTRODUCTION

The WASM AE stress measurement technique

(Villaescusa et al., 2002), samples the Kaiser Effect
(Kaiser, 1953, Holcomb, 1993) in 6 independent ori-
entations from oriented sub-cores taken from oriented
master core.
To date, over 200 WASM AE stress tensor determi-
nations have now been conducted from near the surface
(eg. Villaescusa et al., 2002) to a depth over 2.5 km
(eg. Villaescusa et al., 2009a). Detailed laboratory
investigations have been conducted on the technique
at the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology,
Tsukuba, Japan (Villaescusa et al., 2009b) and further
laboratory investigations have been commissioned
from Sandia National Research Laboratories, USA.
Detailed site investigations have been conducted at
mine sites in Australia (eg. Windsor, 2005, 2006, 2007
and Windsor et al., 2007), Chile (Windsor et al., 2006a,
2006b) and Peru (Windsor, 2009a) in attempts to rec-
oncile the stress measurement results with local con-
ditions of rock strain, rock structure and rock strength.
Here, we record the scalar characteristics (ie stress
magnitudes alone) from ca. 200 WASM AE rock stress
tensor determinations obtained from different geolog-
ical, geodynamic regimes from different continents
and compare these to those compiled in an Earth
Rock Stress Tensor Database (ERSTD) (Windsor, Figure 1. Distributions of measured vertical stress with
depth.
2009b). The data comprises results from techniques
that attempt to measure, without a priori assumption,
the complete rock stress tensor (eg. it does not include crust measured by WASM AE and from the ERSTD
results obtained from the Hydraulic Fracturing Tech- are shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively.
nique). The data are presented as reported, without Figure 1 indicates that both data sets are distributed
prejudice or censorship. about a theoretical linear relationship for vertical stress
given by σv = zγr where z is the overburden depth
2 DISTRIBUTIONS OF STRESS MAGNITUDES and γr is the unit weight of rock which is set here
WITH DEPTH at 27 kN/m3 . The WASM AE data appear to fit better
with this relation than the ERSTD data.
The distributions of the vertical stress and the principal The distribution of principal normal stresses (σ1 ,
normal stresses with depth in the upper 3 km of Earth’s σ2 and σ3 ) with depth given in Figure 2 shows a
211
Figure 2. Distributions of principal normal stresses with depth, measured by WASM AE and all measurements from the
ERSTD.
212
Figure 3. Distributions for ratios of the principal normal
stress to mean normal stress with depth, measured by WASM
AE and all measurements from the ERSTD.
low frequency of tensor measurement below 1.5 km,
with scatter increasing with depth. It indicates slight
non-linearity of the WASM AE data set and greater
non-linearity of the ERSTD data set. If σ1 is assumed
to be linear with depth and to also represent the max-
imum horizontal normal stress (σH ), then the WASM
AE data suggests σH = σ1 ≈ 1.85σV . This is within
the stress gradient range suggested by deep hydraulic
fracture results (eg. Zoback and Zoback, 2002). The
ERSTD data set is influenced at depth by a greater
frequency of deeper and lower stress magnitudes
measured around South African mine sites.
The issue of non-linearity with depth and the rate
of divergence or convergence between the principal
normal stresses with depth is an important issue in
defining the stress tensor field in Earth’s crust but is
limited by the restricted number of complete tensor
measurements below 1.5 km.
The relationships between principal normal stresses
with depth may also be explored by considering the
ratios (Kni ), of the principal normal stresses to the
mean normal stress (σm ) with depth where:
Figure 3 indicates that these normal stress ratios,
maybe asymptotic to Kn2 = 1 with increasing depth.
Furthermore, if, and only if, Kn2 = 1, then:
213
Figure 4. Distribution of maximum shear stress with depth,
measured by WASM AE and all measurements from the
ERSTD.
Thus, σm is equivalent to the normal stress at which
shear stress is a maximum (τmax ), where:
This implies that only two of the principal normal
stresses may be independent at great depth in the crust.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of the maximum
shear stress from WASM AE and from the ERSTD.
Both data sets show non-linearity and considerable
scatter with depth which may be linked to the vari-
ability in the shear strength of Earth’s crust and its
ability to sustain shear stresses (Windsor, 2009).
3 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRESS
TENSOR COMPONENTS
The relationships between the maximum (major prin-
cipal) shear stress and the mean normal stress mea-
sured by WASM AE and all measurements from the
ERSTD are shown in Figure 5.
This figure could be used to define the bounds of a
criterion for the maximum shear stress currently sus-
tained by Earth’s upper crust. This issue was explored
using the ERSTD by Windsor, 2009 with respect to lab-
oratory based rock shear strength data along lines first
Figure 5. Relationship of the maximum shear stress with the mean normal stress measured by WASM AE and data from
ERSTD.
proposed by Brace and Kohlstedt, 1980 and extended
by many authors (eg. Townend and Zoback, 2000).
In summary, it was found that, normal stress-shear
stress space is partitioned by a bounding polynomial
representing an intact rock strength envelope. The
measured rock stresses are, for the most part, contained
within this envelope. By resolving, measured stress
tensors onto fault planes at a number of research study
sites, it was found that normal stress-shear stress space
is further partitioned by bounding polynomials rep-
resenting fault strength envelopes. The approximate
region representing these fault strength envelopes for
these particular study sites is shown by the shaded
relation given in Figure 5. All WASM AE measures
are bounded by these fault envelopes.
Consequently, it was suggested that the magnitudes
of stress are constrained by the shear strengths of faults
and the orientations of stress are constrained by the
orientations of faults.
Figure 6a shows the true proportional relationships
between principal normal stresses with respect to the
mean normal stress. Automatic, least squares, best fit
relations through the data indicate that, like Figure 3,
σ1 and σ3 maybe asymptotic, with increasing stress,
to σ2 = σm . Collectively, the data sets suggest that
with increasing depth and increasing stress the rela-
tionships between the principal normal stresses maybe
controlled by the principal shear stresses (τ1 , τ2 , τ3 ), or,
the ‘deviators’ from the invariant mean normal stress.
The data also show different rates of change in the
deviators with depth in the radial and circumferential
planes in Earth’s upper crust.
214
Figure 6b shows the true proportional relationships
between principal shear stresses with respect to the
mean principal shear stress,τm . It shows that: τ1 = 32 τm
and τ1 = τ2 + τ3 , which may be proven theoretically
(Windsor, 2009). In other words, in general and impor-
tantly, only two of the principal shear stresses are
independent.
Figure 6 is thought to be central to the issue of
the rate of divergence or convergence between the
principal normal stresses with increasing depth and
stress. Again, this issue limited by the restricted num-
ber of complete rock stress tensor measurements below
1.5 km.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The scalar characteristics (ie stress magnitudes alone)
from ca. 200 Western Australian School of Mines
Acoustic Emission rock stress tensor determinations
have been compared with those from an Earth Rock
Stress Tensor Database.
The two data sets comprise results obtained from
different geologic and geodynamic regimes within dif-
ferent continents in the upper 3 km of Earth’s crust.
These differences, which are well known to result in
stress variation, were conveniently ignored in order
to compare the overall patterns between the data sets.
Importantly, the data sets are restricted to results from
techniques that attempt to measure, without a pri-
ori assumption, the complete rock stress tensor and
were presented, as reported in the literature, without
prejudice or censorship.
Figure 6. Proportional relationships between a) the principal normal stresses with the mean normal stress and b) the principal
shear stresses with the mean shear stress measured by WASM AE and all measurements from the ERSTD.
215
 It was found that, when considering the depth–stress
relations for vertical stress, maximum shear stress and
the ratios of principal normal stresses to the mean nor-
mal stress; the WASM AE data appear to be a subset
of the larger ERSTD data set. However, differences
are apparent when considering the distributions of
the principal normal stresses with depth, with slight
non-linearity of the WASM AE data set and greater
non-linearity of the ERSTD data set but; with both dis-
tributions within the stress gradient range suggested
by the results from deeper hydraulic fracture stress
measurements.
The issue of the rate of divergence or convergence
between the principal normal stresses with increasing
depth and stress, and the dependence of this on the
principal shear stresses, and with respect to the shear
stresses in both radial and circumferential planes, is
considered critical to understanding the stress tensor
field in Earth’s upper crust.
Unfortunately, complete rock stress tensor mea-
surements are limited below a few kilometers depth,
which means this issue and its relation with WASM AE
must be explored using the deeper, more numerous
results obtained from hydraulic fracture stress mea-
surements. This issue is the subject of ongoing WASM
AE research work and will be explored in another
publication.
REFERENCES
Brace, W.F. and Kohlstedt, D.L. 1980. Limits on lithospheric
stress imposed by laboratory experiments. Journal of
Geophysical Research, Vol. 85, No. B11, pp.6248–6252.
Holcomb, D.J. 1993. General theory of the Kaiser effect. Int
J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr. 30, 929–935.
Kaiser, J. 1953. Erkenntnisse und Folgerungen aus der
Messung von Geräuschen bei Zugbeanspruchung von
metallischen Werkstoffen. Archiv Eisenhüttenwesen 24,
43–45.
Townend, J. and Zoback, M.D., 2000. How Faulting Keeps
the Crust Strong. Geology 28: 399–402.
Villaescusa, E., Seto, M. and Baird, G., 2002. Stress measure-
ments from oriented core. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 39(5): 603–615.
Villaescusa, E., Windsor, C.R., Baird, G.R. and Seto, M.
2003. Stress measurements from cored rock. Miner-
als and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia,
Research Report No. 233. Project 329, Minerals and
Energy Research Institute of Western Australia: Perth. 124
pages.
Villaescusa, E., Li, J., Windsor, C.R. and Seto, M. 2006.
A comparison of overcoring and AE stress profiles
with depth in Western Australian Mines. In-Situ Rock
Stress: Measurement, Interpretation & Applications,
International Symposium on In-Situ Rock Stress. M. Lu,
216
C.C. Li, H. Kjorholt & H. Dahle (eds), 223–228. Taylor
& Francis: Leiden.
Villaescusa, E., Machuca, L., and Windsor, C.R. 2008. Sam-
ple selection for an AE stress measurement program at
the Western Australian School of Mines. Proceedings,
MassMin 2008, Luleå, 9–11 June, H. Schunnesson & E.
Norlund (eds), 825–834. Luleå University of Technology:
Luleå.
Villaescusa, E., Machuca, L., Windsor, C., Simser, B. and
Carlisle, S., 2009a. Stress measurements at great depth at
Craig-Onaping Mines, Sudbury, Canada. ROCKENG09,
Rock Engineering in Difficult Conditions, Proceedings,
3rd Canada-US Rock Mechanics 25 Symposium, Toronto,
9–15 May, M. Diederichs & G. Grasselli (eds). CIM:
Montreal.
Villaescusa, E., Lei, X., Nishizawa, O. and Funatsu, T. 2009b.
Laboratory testing of brittle intact rock – Implications for
in situ stress measurements and rock mass failure. Proc.
Australian Mining Technology Conference, CRC Mining,
QLD. 27–28 Oct, 2009. 226–239. Melbourne: AusIMM.
Windsor, C.R., Cavieres, P., Villaescusa, E., and Pereira, J.,
2006a. Rock stress tensor Measurements at El Teniente
mine, Chile. In-Situ Rock Stress: Measurement, Inter-
pretation & Applications, International Symposium on
In-Situ Rock Stress, Trondheim, 19–21 June, M. Lu, C.C.
Li, H. Kjorholt & H. Dahle (eds), 67–72. Taylor & Francis:
Leiden.
Windsor, C.R., Villaescusa, E., Cavieres, P. and Pereira, J.,
2006b. Reconciliation of strain, structure and stress in the
El Teniente mine region, Chile. In-Situ Rock Stress: Mea-
surement, Interpretation & Applications, International
Symposium on In-Situ Rock Stress. M. Lu, C.C. Li, H.
Kjorholt & H. Dahle (eds), 533–540. Taylor & Francis:
Leiden.
Windsor, C.R. 2007a. Reconciliation of strain, structure,
strength and stress at Perseverance Mine, Western Aus-
tralia. Confidential Report to BHP Billiton Nickel West.
Kalgoorlie: CRC Mining/WASM. 98 pages.
Windsor, C.R., Villaescusa, E., Funatsu, T. and Lachenicht,
R. 2007b. Measurement of the regional and local stress
field along a 10 km strike of the Zuleika Shear Zone in the
Kundana gold mining province of Western Australia. Proc.
1st USA – Canada Rock Mechanics Conference – Meet-
ing Society’s Challenges and Demands, 713–719. London:
Taylor and Francis.
Windsor, C.R. 2008. Reconciliation of strain, structure,
strength and stress at Mt Keith Mine, Western Aus-
tralia. Confidential Report to BHP Billiton Nickel West.
Kalgoorlie: CRC Mining/WASM. 100 pages.
Windsor, C.R., 2009a. Strain, Strength and Structural Con-
trols on the Stress Field at Antamina Mine. Confidential
Report to Compania MineraAntamina S.A., Peru. Sydney:
Beck Arndt Engineering. 109 pages.
Windsor, C.R. 2009b. Rock stress measurements in Earth’s
upper crust. Proc. Australian Mining Technology Con-
ference, CRC Mining, QLD. 27–28 Oct, 2009. 240–263.
Melbourne: AusIMM.
Zoback, M.L. and Zoback, M.D., 2002. State of Stress in
the Earth’s Lithosphere. International Handbook of Earth-
quake and Engineering Seismology, Vol. 81A, 559–568.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurements using oriented core – A comparison of uniaxial

vs triaxial Acoustic Emission results

E. Villaescusa & L. Machuca

Western Australian School of Mines, CRC Mining, Australia

X. Lei & T. Funatsu

Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the results from a number of laboratory testing experiments conducted
under uniaxial and triaxial conditions. A high speed AE monitoring system was used to record the maximum
amplitude and waveform for the AE signals with no major loss of events, even for AE event rates of the order of
several thousands of events per second, such as they are normally observed before a catastrophic full scale rock
mass failure event. The detailed damaging process as stress was increased was determined by monitoring the
complete spacio-temporal distribution of microcracking events. The results showed that for samples of similar
orientation and collected immediately adjacent to each other, the magnitude of the stress field determined using
a triaxial testing set-up is similar to the stress level determined using uniaxial samples.

1 INTRODUCTION

The determination of the in-situ stress field during

the early stages of a project (such as mine feasibi-
lity studies), even in areas where development access
is not yet available (such as below current open pits)
is a key step in a rock mass characterization process.
Consequently, over the last decade or so, a number of
experimental investigations of compressive loading of
intact rock specimens have been undertaken to moni-
tor the general increase of AE activity under conditions
of constant rate loading. The study of micro structure
mobilization with a subsequent characterization of the
in-situ stress measurements has been a key objective
Figure 1. A block diagram of the experimental set-up used
of the experimental studies to date (Villaescusa et al., for triaxial testing.
2002; 2003).
This paper presents the results for a number of intact
rock samples tested under uniaxial and tri-axial com- of the loading apparatus, AE recorder and other data
pression. The uniaxial testing was undertaken at the acquisition systems. The assembled pressure vessel
Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) and the was placed in a loading frame and high-pressure fluid
triaxial tests were performed in Japan National Insti- lines attached for external confining pressure.
tute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology The test samples used were from exploration core
(AIST). and consisted of cylinders having a diameter of 50 or
62 mm with a length ranging between 100 to 125 mm.
Stainless-steel end-pieces were attached to both sam-
2 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND DATA ple ends.The sample assembly withAE sensors (PZTs)
PROCESSING and strain gages was sealed with silicone sealant to
prevent immersion of oil, which was used as the hydro-
The procedure and approach to uniaxial testing for static pressure medium (See Figure 2). As many as 32
Acoustic Emission in-situ stress measurements has PZTs (piezoelectric transducers, compressional mode,
been previously described in the literature (Villaescusa 1 or 2 MHz resonant frequency, 5 mm in diameter)
et al., 2002; Villaescusa et al., 2003) and will not be were mounted on the sample surface for detecting the
described further here. Figure 1 shows the AIST tri- AE signals produced by micro-cracking events (Fig-
axial experimental set-up along with important details ure 3). The signal was pre-amplified by 40 dB before

217

Figure 2. A test sample ready for triaxial testing.
Figure 3. Unfolded sample showing a typical setup of PZT
sensors and strain gauges.
feeding into the highspeed waveform recording sys-
tem, which had a maximum sampling rate of 40 ns and
a dynamic range of 12 bits. Two peak detectors were
used to capture the values of the maximum amplitudes,
from 2 artificially selected sensors, after 20 or 40 dB
preamplifiers. Such high-speed AE monitoring system
can record the maximum amplitude and waveform of
the AE signals with no major loss of events; even for
AE event rates of the order of several thousand events
per second such as they are normally observed before
a catastrophic failure of hard rocks.
The AE hypocenters were determined by using
the arrival times of the P wave and the measured
P-velocities during every test. Location errors are
generally less than 1–2 mm for fine-grained rocks
and slightly greater for coarse-grained rocks, and are
caused by the effect of a non-homogeneous veloc-
ity field. By this, it is possible to study the detailed
damaging process within stressed rock samples, by
monitoring the complete spatio-temporal distribution
218
Figure 4. Loading cycles used for every sample.
of microcracking events. During every such test, the
trigger threshold for waveform recording is about 10
times larger than the threshold for peak detection (i.e.
for the detection of the maximum amplitude of the AE
signal). In addition, at least 4 precise P arrival times are
required for hypocenter determination. As a result, the
hypocenter data is a sub set of magnitude data. Besides
AE measurement, eight, 16-channel, cross-type strain
gauges were mounted on the surface of the test sam-
ples for measuring the local strains along the axial and
circumferential directions. Stress, strain, and confin-
ing pressure were digitised at a resolution of 16 bits
and sampling interval of ms order.
3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Figure 4 shows the loading path applied to each of the
intact rock specimens. 1) the test samples described
here were confined to 20 MPa. 2) the axial load was
increased to 50–70 MPa (end of cycle 1). 3) the axial
load was unloaded to a stress level approximately
2 MPa higher than the selected confining pressure.
4) The axial load was subsequently increased to a
given stress (end of cycle 2). 5) the loading cycle was
repeated one more time (cycle 3). 6) the sample was
loaded to failure in the fourth cycle. The AE activity
was monitored by two peak detectors and the wave-
form recording system of 30 channels. The 1st loading
cycle was noisy due to the initial contacts of the speci-
men and platens along the axial direction. Thus, events
in the 2nd, 3rd and final loading phases were consid-
ered valid for stress estimation according to the WASM
AE methodology (Villaescusa et al., 2003). The final
loading cycle was used to increase the axial stress
to failure while characterizing the damage process in
great detail (Villaescusa et al., 2009b).
4 UNIAXIAL IN-SITU STRESS
MEASUREMENTS – WASM AE
In the last ten years, WASM has researched, developed
and successfully applied an in-situ stress measurement
technique using oriented core from exploration, known
as the WASM AE method (Villaescusa et al., 2002;
2003; 2006; 2008; 2009a). The method is based upon
the monitoring of intact rock specimen microstructure
mobilization under uniaxial loading. The analysis of
this phenomenon supposes that a previously applied
Figure 5. Typical AE cumulative events versus applied
uniaxial stress.
Figure 6. Conventional WASM AE results for Bendigo
Mining – 856 m.
maximum stress can be detected by loading a rock
specimen to a point where a substantial increase
in Acoustic Emission (AE) activity is experienced
(See Figure 5). Provided the rock specimen has been
selected from an area previously in equilibrium with
gravitational loading and tectonics (Windsor et al.,
2006; 2007), this is the maximum previous stress to
which a particular rock mass has been subjected by its
environment. The fundamental methodology has been
developed over the last 20 years by several researchers
with the aim of providing a practical technique for
estimating the in-situ stress measurements using ori-
ented core (Kurita and Fujii, 1979, Seto et al., 1989,
Seto et al., 1992, Seto et al., 1996, Seto et al., 1999,
Villaescusa et al., 2002 and 2003).
The results presented here were calculated using ori-
ented samples collected from the Bendigo Mine. The
conventional WASM AE results using uniaxial testing
are shown in Figure 6.
5 TRIAXIAL STRESS MEASUREMENTS
The triaxial AE results analyzed here (axis 1, 2
and 3) were compared to the conventional WASM
219
Figure 7. Triaxial AE activity and strain at low stress level
during cycled loading – Axis 1.
Figure 8. AE hypocenters at low stress level during cycled
loading – Axis 1. Foliation and eventual failure plane also
shown. Open circles indicate tensile mode of failure.
AE program of uniaxial testing (tested at similar
orientation, depth and location).
5.1 Triaxial Sample – Axis 1
For this sample, the AE activity at low stress levels was
very low (See Figure 7). Similar to the uniaxial case,
the triaxial testing shows that during the 2nd and 4th
loading cycles, the AE activity initiated at a stress level
slightly higher than 40 MPa. Major AE hypocenters
were located in the centre part of the sample and shows
tensile mode of failure at those low levels of stress
(See Figure 8). No evidence of damage due to sample
drilling (majority of events would be located near the
sample edge) was observed. The conventional WASM
AE results for uni-axial loading immediately adjacent
ranged from 40–43 MPa (average 41.9 Mpa).
5.2 Triaxial Sample – Axis 2
Results for this sample show that during the 2nd (and
additional loading cycles), significant AE activity was
observed (See Figure 9). In all phases AE activity ini-
tiated at a stress level slightly higher than 20 MPa, in

Figure 9. Triaxial AE activity and strain at low stress level
during cycled loading – Axis 2.
Figure 10. Triaxial AE activity and strain at low stress level
during cycled loading – Axis 3.
agreement with the conventional uniaxial WASM AE
results for this axis that ranged from 21 to 25 Mpa
(average 23.3 Mpa).
5.3 Triaxial Sample – Axis 3
The data shows that from loading cycles 1 to 3, several
relatively large events were detected. Nevertheless, the
number of AE events at low stress level was small (See
Figure 10). During the 2nd and 3rd loading cycles, the
AE activity initiated at a stress level exceeding 35 MPa
(See Figure 11), which again agrees reasonable well
with the conventional uniaxial WASM AE results for
this axis which ranged from 38 to 41 MPa (average
39.6 MPa).
This sample was confined to 20 MPa and sustained
a peak stress of about 375 MPa. Unlike the other
samples, many pre-failure events were recorded with
hypocenter distributed mainly in the upper half of the
220
Figure 11. Corresponding AE hypocenters – Axis 3. Solid
circles indicate shear mode of failure. Foliation and eventual
failure plane also shown.
Figure 12. AE hypocenter distribution during faulting
nucleation (B) and fault sliding (C) – Axis 3.
sample. The foliation angle of this sample is about 30
degrees with respect to the loading axis, thus, being
optimally oriented for mobilization. Stress for initiat-
ing AE activity was about 200 MPa, or about 53% of
the ultimate strength. After the AE initiation, the event
rate increased following a power law of time to fail-
ure. The final failure plane is parallel with the foliation
planes. About 2 seconds prior to the dynamic fractur-
ing AE hypocenter concentrated in the final fracture
plane and form a nucleation of ∼3 cm (Figure 12).
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
All the samples tested were characterized by being very
homogenous (fine-grained having a strong foliation
structure; and a low density of pre-existing microc-
racks. The AE activity was generally low, especially at
the in-situ stress level, in all samples. For samples of
similar orientation and collected immediately adjacent
to each other, the magnitude of the stress field deter-
mined using the triaxial testing set-up at AIST Japan is
similar to the stress level determined at WASM using
uniaxial samples.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The financial assistance of the CRC Mining in support-
ing the work of the WASM Rock Mechanics Group is
gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Kurita, K. and N. Fujii. 1979. Stress memory of crystalline
rocks in acoustic emission. Geophys. Res. Lett., 6(1):
9–12.
Seto, M., Utagawa, M. and K. Katsuyama. 1989. Estimation
of rock pressure using the acoustic emission (in Japanese).
Proc. 7th National Conf. on Acoustic Emission. The Jap.
Soc. for NDI, Shizuoka, Japan, 54–59.
Seto, M., Utagawa, M. and K. Katsuyama. 1992. The estima-
tion of pre-stress from AE in cyclic loading of pre-stressed
rock. Proc. 11th Int. Symp. onAcoustic Emission. The Jap.
Soc. for NDI, Fukuoka, Japan, 159–166.
Seto, M., Nag, D.K. and V.S. Vutukuri. 1996. Experimental
verification of the Kaiser effect in rock under different
environment conditions. Proc. for Eurock’96. Barla (ed.),
Torino, Vol 1, 395–402.
Seto, M., Nag, D.K. and V.S. Vutukuri. 1999. In-situ rock
stress measurement from rock cores using the acoustic
emission and deformation rate analysis. Geotechnical &
Geological Engineering. 17(3–4): 1–26.
Villaescusa, E, Seto, M and Baird, G, 2002. Stress measure-
ments from oriented core. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 39(5): 603–615.
Villaescusa, E., Windsor, C.R., Baird, G. R. and Seto M.
2003. Stress measurements from cored rock. Minerals and
Energy Research Institute of Western Australia, Research
Report No. 233. Project 329, Minerals and Energy
Research Institute of Western Australia: Perth. p. 124.
221
Villaescusa, E, Li, J., Windsor, C.R. and Seto, M. 2006. A
comparison of overcoring and AE stress profiles with
depth in Western Australian Mines. In-Situ Rock Stress:
Measurement, Interpretation & Applications, Interna-
tional Symposium on In-Situ Rock Stress, Trondheim,
19–21 June, M. Lu, C. C. Li, H. Kjorholt & H. Dahle
(eds), 223–228. Taylor & Francis: Leiden.
Villaescusa, E., Machuca, L., and Windsor, C.R. 2008. Sam-
ple selection for an AE stress measurement program at
the Western Australian School of Mines. Proceedings,
MassMin 2008, Luleå, 9–11 June, H. Schunnesson & E.
Norlund (eds), 825–834. Luleå University of Technology:
Luleå.
Villaescusa, E., Machuca, L., Windsor, C., Simser, B. and
Carlisle, S., 2009a. Stress measurements at great depth at
Craig-Onaping Mines, Sudbury, Canada. ROCKENG09,
Rock Engineering in Difficult Conditions, Proceedings,
3rd Canada-US Rock Mechanics25 Symposium, Toronto,
9–15 May, M. Diederichs & G. Grasselli (eds), Paper 4033
(available on CD). CIM: Montreal.
Villaescusa, E., Lei, X., Nishizawa, O. and Funatsu, T. 2009b.
Laboratory testing of brittle intact rock – Implications
for in situ stress measurements and rock mass failure.
Proc. Australian Mining Technology Conference, CRC
Mining, QLD. 27–28 Oct, 2009. 226–239. Melbourne:
AusIMM.
Windsor, C. R., Villaescusa, E., Cavieres, P. and Pereira, J.,
2006. Reconciliation of strain, structure and stress in the
El Teniente mine region, Chile. In-Situ Rock Stress: Mea-
surement, Interpretation & Applications, International
Symposium on In-Situ Rock Stress, Trondheim, 19–21
June, M. Lu, C. C. Li, H. Kjorholt & H. Dahle (eds),
533–540. Taylor & Francis: Leiden.
Windsor, C. R., Villaescusa, E. Funatsu, T. and Lachenicht, R.
2007. Measurement of the regional and local stress field
along a 10 km strike of the Zuleika Shear Zone in the Kun-
dana gold mining province of Western Australia. Proc. 1st
USA – Canada Rock Mechanics Conference – Meeting
Society’s Challenges and Demands, 713–719. London:
Taylor and Francis.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

An estimation of the absolute stress value for the Landers earthquake

source region

Y.G. Wan
Institute of Disaster-Prevention Science and Technology, Yanjiao, Sanhe city, Hebei province, P. R. China

S.Z. Sheng
Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P. R. China

T.L. Lin & Y.M. Wu

Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

ABSTRACT: We estimate the absolute stress value at the earthquake source region of a small cubic area in
Homestead valley fault segment which broke during the Landers earthquake, using seismic stress drop and
rotations of stress axes during the event. We obtained the pre-seismic compressive, intermediate and extensional
principal stress values as 323, 319 and 312 MPa in the depth of 8∼12 km. The shear stresses on the fault plane
before and after the event are 6 MPa and 1 MPa respectively. The results show that normal stress increased after
the earthquake, which helps to terminate the rupture process. The pre-seismic shear-stress is greater than that
after the quake and their differences roughly correspond to the seismic stress drop. The post-seismic shear-stress
is positive, which means no overshooting in co-seismic slip. The differential stress value is less than the absolute
stress value, and the shear stress is also relatively small.

1 INTRODUCTION are also estimated by Govers et al. (1992) and Hacker

The study of tectonic stress field plays an important
role in the research of geodynamics. The world stress
map plan collects global tectonic stress measurements
and research results to establish global stress database
(Zoback, 1992). Although we have some understand-
ing on stress field, relatively little is known about
the stress value. Stress is a key factor in a variety of
seismic dynamic and geodynamic problems, so geo-
physicists always seek a method to estimate crustal
stress value. At present, only the complete stress ten-
sor at the shallow crust can be directly measured by
using scientific drill holes data (Brudy et al. 1997). Sci-
entists have tried to quantitatively estimate the crustal
stress value according to focal mechanisms and fault
scrape data, combining with geological and litholog-
ical data (Zoback, 1992, Plenefisch & Bonjer, 1997).
Some researchers estimated shear stress on fault plane
according to the change of slip direction and stress
drop (Spudich, 1992, Spudich et al. 1998). Using rota-
tions of principal stress axes and seismic stress change,
Wesson & Boyd (2007) proposed the absolute par-
tial stress tensor determination method and applied
to 2002 Denali earthquake. Their results show that the
spatially averaged shear stress resolved onto the fault
plane is 1∼4 MPa before the earthquake, and nearly
zero after the quake. Fialko et al. (2005) determined the
differential stress at San Andreas fault is on the order
of 50 MPa. Differential stresses at the other regions
et al. (1992) according to the depth of hypocenters,
focal mechanisms, and rheological properties.
Apparent stress can be related with average absolute
stress value (Choy & Boatwright, 1995, Wu, 2001).
This concept of apparent stress has been gradually
validated by more and more field experiments and
observed results (McGarr, 1999). Chen & Duda (1996)
applied fracture mechanics into earthquake rupture
process and proposed a method of ambient shear stress
estimation. Wyss et al. (1992) estimated the absolute
stress value in the focal depth assuming that magma
migration caused by volcano activity is the source of
stress, and pore hydraulic pressure is equivalent to the
lithostatic stress.
Wan et al. (2006) derived the analytical formula of
deviatoric stress value based on rotation of the princi-
pal axes before and after large strike slip earthquake
and seismic stress drop. But their theory can only be
used in vertical strike-slip fault earthquake, and only
deviatoric stress value can be estimated. This study
will extend their theory to arbitrary 3-D fault, and esti-
mate the absolute stress value using rotation of stress
axes before and after a large earthquake and its seismic
stress drop.
Landers Earthquake (Ms7.5, Mw7.3, located at
34◦ 13
N, 116◦ 26
W) occurred on June 28, 1992, which
is the largest event in western United States in the
last 40 years. It happened to take place in Southern
California, where many seismic stations are densely

223

Figure 1. Space (left) and depth (right) distributions of
quakes (circle) before Landers earthquake from focal mech-
anism catalogue of Hauksson (2000). The gray long bars
indicating the 3 segments of sub-faults given by Wald &
Heaton (1994). The curve lines represent faults. The beach
ball is the epicenter of Landers Earthquake. The inset map
in the right-hand corner shows the location of the study area
and the active fault in Southern California.
deployed, giving us a good opportunity to validating
our absolute stress estimation method.
2 STRESS FIELD BEFORE AND AFTER THE
LANDERS EARTHQUAKE
2.1 Data selection
Based on geodetic seismic, and geological data,
Wald & Heaton (1994) developed a fault rupture
model, where the fault of the Landers earthquake was
divided, from southeast to northwest, into three ver-
tical sub-faults, i.e. Johnson valley sub-fault, Home-
stead Valley sub-fault and Emerson and Camprock
sub-fault as indicated in Figure 1. The detailed param-
eters of each sub-fault can refer to http://pasadena.wr.
usgs.gov/office/wald/Landers/slip_model.cmb, last
accessed August 2009. The stress drops of Homestead
Valley sub-fault is 4.0 MPa, calculated from its mean
slip and fault length (Knopoff, 1958). In addition,
Hauksson (2000) provided a good focal mechanism
catalog of Southern California (Fig. 1).
In order to avoid complex stress fields at both ends
of the co-seismic rupture, only the Homestead Valley
fault segment was investigated in this study. Seismic-
ity before the Landers mainshock in this segment was
relatively few and scattered (Fig. 1). However, there
is a cluster of focal mechanism data at the depth
8–12 km can be used to determine the stress field
before the Landers earthquake (Fig. 2a). Given the
stress heterogeneity in the crust revealed by borehole
measurement data (Barton & Zoback, 1994, Zoback &
224
Figure 2. Space (left) and depth (right) distribution of the
preshocks (a) and aftershocks (b) focal mechanism on the
Homestead Valley fault section. The red squares indicate
the area providing the earthquake events used in this study.
Table 1. Results of stress field inversion.
Compresive/Intermediate/
Extensional principal
Time Number stress axes Misfit
length of data (Plunge/Azimuth) R (/◦ )
10 years 18 8/205 81/58 5/296 0.25 2.43
185 days 49 33/208 56/38 5/301 0.60 11.53
* R stands for relative stress given by formula (13). The first
and second rows are stress inversion results of foreshock and
aftershock.
Figure 3. Schmidt diagram of stress field on the Homestead
Valley fault. The solid and hollow symbols indicate the prin-
cipal stress before and after Landers earthquake respectively,
with the circle indicating the compressive principal stress,
triangle the intermediate principal stress, the square the exten-
sional principal stress, and the area covered by small hollow
symbols marks 95% confidence level of the post-seismic
stress fields.
Healy, 1992) as well as perturbations of stress fields at
shallow depths by free surface (Bokemann & Beroza,
2000), we only chose the foreshocks and aftershocks
located within a cubic area of 6 km long, 4 km wide
and 8–12 km deepth as shown by the little square frame
in Figures 2a, 2b.
2.2 Results of stress field inversion on the
Homestead Valley fault section
Based on selected the data of foreshock and aftershock,
we applied the grid search method given by Gephart &
Forsyth (1984). The stress inversion results are shown Then from (1), (3) and (5), we can get the following
in Table 1. We find some focal mechanisms of after- form:
shocks show a strong diversity, but we did not reselect
the focal mechanism data, which is one of the reasons
why misfit of the post-seismic stress field is relatively
large.
The inversion result (Table 1 and Fig. 3) shows that
the compressive principal stresses on the Homestead Equations (6) give the absolute stress value prior to
Valley fault segment before and after the event were the quake.
both to the northwest, and the main shock resulting in a Supposing that the strike of pre-seismic principal
clockwise rotation of the direction of the compressive extensional stress axis i is ϕi , and the dip angle is δi ,
principal stress. The results given by Hauksson (1994) then the direction can be represented in the N-E-D
show that the main shock caused rotations of the stress geographical coordinate system as follows:
axes, and the direction of the compressive principal
stress axis rotated clockwise by 7◦ to 20◦ , which is
larger than ours but with the same clockwise rotation.
The same for compressive stress axes k vector as:
3 ESTIMATE THE STRESS VALUE

3.1 Establishing the equation set to estimate the

stress value Then the vector of the intermediate stress axis j is:
Consider a spatially uniform 3-D stress tensor prior to
an earthquake as:
In the N-E-D geographical coordinate system, î
, ĵ

Another spatially uniform stress tensor after an and k̂
have the same representation with î, ĵ and k̂,
earthquake as: and we add prime to the symbol which used in (7),
(8) and (9) for the representation of î
, ĵ
and k̂
.
Assuming that the seismic fault strike is φE , dip is
δE and rake is λE , then the unit normal vector of fault
where τ, η and ρ are eigenvalues and î, ĵ, k̂ are and the unit vector of slip direction can be represented
unit eigenvectors, in which added prime represent (Aki & Richard, 2002) as:
that after the quake. For seismic source have little
explosion component, the stress change due to the
earthquake can be assumed as purely deviatoric,
i.e. Tr(σ) = σ11 + σ22 + σ33 = 0. In this con-
dition, it can be represented uniformly in source
region as:

Then, equation (6) only has three unknown param-

where ê and n̂ are fault slip direction vector and fault eters of τ, η, ρ.
normal direction vector, τ is the seismic stress drop. The magnitude of relative stress R also can be deter-
Allowing for spatial averaging, one might assume mined during the stress inversion process, and R is
(1) plus (3) equals (2) represented as follows (Gephart & Forsyth, 1984):

i.e. Supposing the magnitude of relative stress before

and after the quake are R and R
respectively, from
(12), we can get:
We let the “double dot product” be defined as
a • H • b = ba : H = H : ba, in which a and b are any
vectors and H is any tensor.
Adopting double dot symbol, from (1) and (2), we
can get the following form:

Combining the above (6), (13) and (14), we can get

an equation set with the pre-seismic stress values as
the unknowns number.

225
3.2 Solution of the equation set for absolute
stress value
Since the 3 equations in (6) are trigonometric func-
tions concerning the stress direction, they are relatively
accurate, while the rest 2 equations of (13) and (14)
are concerning R, that show relatively large standard
errors in the stress inversion (Yin, 1996), we set, in
actual calculation, the standard errors of (13) and (14)
as 10 times larger than that of the first 3 equations in
(6) with both standard errors obeying the bell-shaped
distribution. Assuming that the a priori estimate of
the intermediate principal stress value is the lithostatic
pressure at the average depth of the seismic rupture,
and the compressive and extensional stresses are the
lithostatic pressure plus and minus δσ, which is com-
monly adopted as 10 MPa for the tectonic stress value
(King et al. 1994), respectively, i.e.:
Assuming the rock density (γ) is 2.7 × 103 kg/m3 ,
gravity constant (g) is 9.8 kg · m/s2 . And supposing the
above equation set can be simplified as:
Here
d
is the vector for “observational data”, x is the vec-
tor for unknown parameters, x0 is the vector of a
priori stress value that is taken as equation (15), δd
is the vector for “observational data” errors, and Cd
is the covariance matrix of “observational data”. Let
d = d
− Ax0 , then formula (16) can be rewritten as:
Assuming that the variances of solution δx obey
normal distribution, then:
Where I is the unit matrix, and Cx is the covariance
matrix of the a priori model constraints.
Using the maximum likelihood method (Jackson,
1979; Jackson & Matsu’ura, 1985, Shen et al., 1996),
we can invert the data and obtain the solution as:
The sum of x̂ and x0 is the solution obtained from
deflection of stress direction before and after the
quake. According to the inversion theory, resolution
of the solution can be expressed as
We use the sum of diagonal elements of RS as
an index of smoothness degree for the unknown
parameters. The greater the sum is, the less smooth the
solution becomes, and the more resolved the solution
is. Each diagonal term of the resolution matrix RS
226
Figure 4. Relation between the resolution and model
post-fit residual with different (a) standard errors of “obser-
vational data” and (b) a priori model standard error. The
numbers in the figure 4(a) and 4(b) are the “observation data”
standard error and a priori model standard error.
corresponds to principal stress value, and its value
varies between 0 and 1. If the diagonal element is
0, then “observational data” have no contribution to
resolving this parameter. In contrast, if the diagonal
element is 1, it means that the corresponding parameter
is completely determined by the “observational data”.
In inversion theory, post-fit residual (RP ) is a crite-
rion of solution quality. It’s defined in this study as:
The normal stress σn and shear stress τe (slip direction)
before the quake are:
The normal stress σn
and shear stress τe
after the
quake are:
3.3 Steps and results of the absolute stress value
inversion
Based on the method described above, we use stress
field parameters (Table 1) to calculate the principal
stress value through the following two steps.
We seek for the optimal estimation of the accuracy
of the “observation data” in the first step. The stan-
dard error of the a priori stress value is assumed to be
10 MPa. By varying the standard errors of “observa-
tional data” (δd), we obtain the corresponding post-fit
residual and resolution. We plot them in a trade-off
curve between the resolution and model post-fit resid-
ual with different standard errors of “observational
data”, as shown in Figure 4a. From the curve we
can see that the smaller standard error of “observa-
tional data” resolves the model better (with higher
resolution), but results in larger post-fit residual. In
contrast, The larger standard error of “observational
data”, results in smaller post-fit residual, but resolves
the solution less clearly (with lower resolution). If the
Table 2. Influence of different a priori values on the results. principal stress values before the quake as 323 MPa,
318 MPa and 312 MPa respectively, and all with stan-
h δσ σ1 σ2 σ3 σn τe σn
τe
RP dard error of 14 MPa. The pre-seismic normal stress
and the shear stress as 317 MPa and 6 MPa and the
10 10 272.39 267.75 260.23 266.37 6.15 267.78 1.58 0.64 post-seismic ones as 319 MPa and 1 MPa. The total
10 5 272.40 267.76 260.26 266.39 6.14 267.80 1.58 0.62
resolution is 2.04, which means we can resolve 2.04
10 15 272.37 267.73 260.20 266.35 6.15 267.76 1.58 0.71
10 20 272.35 267.71 260.17 266.33 6.16 267.74 1.59 0.84
parameters in our inversion.
10 80 272.15 267.51 259.84 266.09 6.22 267.50 1.65 6.68
8 10 221.74 217.11 208.93 215.73 6.40 216.82 1.96 0.93
8 5 221.76 217.13 208.96 215.75 6.40 216.84 1.96 0.92 4 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
8 15 221.72 217.10 208.91 215.71 6.41 216.80 1.97 1.00
8 20 221.71 217.08 208.88 215.69 6.41 216.78 1.97 1.12 The method to estimate the absolute stress values on
8 80 221.51 216.87 208.55 215.44 6.47 216.54 2.03 6.92 the basis of the relationship between the stress drop
12 10 323.03 318.38 311.52 317.02 5.89 318.75 1.20 0.53 and the directions of the stress axes before and after the
12 5 323.05 318.39 311.55 317.04 5.89 318.77 1.19 0.51 shock is presented in this study. We applied this method
12 15 323.02 318.36 311.49 317.00 5.90 318.73 1.20 0.61 to a small cubic area on the segment of Homestead
12 20 323.00 318.34 311.47 316.98 5.90 318.71 1.21 0.74
Valley fault in Landers Earthquake.
12 80 322.80 318.14 311.14 316.73 5.97 318.47 1.26 6.63
Our stress tensor inversion result shows that the nor-
*δσ and h are used to determine a priori values of compressive, inter- mal stress after the quake increased, which is prone to
mediate and extensional principal value according to (15), the unit of terminate the rupture, and the pre-seismic shear stress
h is km, σ1 , σ2 and σ3 are the pre-seismic compressive, intermediate on fault plane is greater than that after the quake with
and extensional principal stress, σn and τ are the normal stress and their differences roughly corresponding to the stress
the shear stress before the quake, σn
and τ
are the normal stress and drop. The post-seismic shear stress on the fault is not
the shear stress after the quake, and the unit of all stress is MPa, Rp is zero, which shows no overshooting. The result also
the post-fit residual with the unit of MPa2 . shows that the lithostatic pressure is great, but the
differential stress is not big, and the shear-stress is rela-
standard error of “observational data” is zero, the res- tively small as well. Wyss et al. (1992) selected a small
olution would be equal to the number of unknown area of 7 ± 2 km deep in Kaoiki, Hawaii and made
parameters (the highest resolution, 3 for this study). an estimate of the stress tensor. Their results present
Therefore, the turning point of the trade-off curve in the compressive, intermediate and extensional princi-
Figure 4a is the best estimation of the standard error of pal stress value as 202 MPa, 200 MPa and 196 MPa
“observational data”, corresponding to 0.3 MPa, with respectively, and a shear stress of 3 MPa on the fault
a comprehensive consideration of both the resolution plane. The pre-seismic mean shear stress range of the
and post-fit residual. Denali Earthquake given by Wesson & Boyd (2007)
The second step is to seek for the appropriate stan- is 1–4 MPa, and the post-seismic mean shear stress on
dard error of the a priori model. Based on the “observa- every fault section is almost 0. Using focal mechanism
tion data” standard error of 0.3 MPa, we calculate the data and GPS data, Hsu et al. (2009) gave the shear
post-fit residual and resolution with different a priori stress value on the creeping portion of the décollement
model standard error (δx) (Fig. 4b). With a comprehen- beneath the Central Range is 1–3 MPa, and friction
sive consideration of both the model stability and the coefficient is about 0.01, corresponding to the absolute
post-fit residual, the turning point of 60.0 MPa in the stress value is in the order of 100∼300 MPa. The shear
trade-off curve is the best estimation of standard error stress on the Homestead Valley fault segment before
of prior model, which means that there is 60.0 MPa of and after the quake given by this study is 6 MPa and
parameter space to be determined by “observational 1 MPa respectively, which is in the same order of the
data”. other researches (Wyss et al. 1992, Wesson & Boyd,
By applying the optimal standard error of the 2007, Hsu et al. 2009).
“observation data” with 0.3 MPa and that of the prior Finally, the small differential stress obtained in this
model with 60.0 MPa obtained above, we also changed study can be verified by observed large heterogene-
initial input of h and δσ in the range of 8∼12 km and ity of stress directions in close distance (Hauksson,
5∼20 MPa to search the lowest post-fit residual in the 1990, Kerkela & Stock, 1996, Hardebeck & Hauks-
inversion (Table 2). In fact, we also gave an extreme son, 1999, 2001, Hardebeck, 2006). If the differential
δσ as 80 MPa, and the results only changed a little. stress is very big, the stress direction is difficult to
We can see that different a priori values have strong rotate to another direction in close distance, then the
influences on the value of pre-seismic principal stress stress direction would be more homogeneous than that
and normal stress, but less on the shear stress. This be observed. But if the differential stress is very small,
implies that although the absolute stress value has cer- the stress direction will turn easily to another direction.
tain relationship with stress rotation and stress drop,
the present data cannot constrain it very well, that is
why the studies of Wesson & Boyd (2007) and Hsu ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
et al. (2009) do not consider the absolute stress value.
We selected the lowest post-fit residual of 0.5 MPa2 , This study is encouraged by Professor Zhonghuai Xu
and got the compressive, intermediate and extensional and Yaolin Shi. Professor Steve Ward read the method

227
manuscript and gave us constructive comment to this
paper. Dr. Yaju Hsu’s revision resulted in significant
improvement of the manuscript. This work is sup-
ported by NSFC under contract number 40874022
and commonweal trade research project under contract
number 200808053.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Stress inversion from focal mechanism solution of Bam earthquake

aftershocks (Iran, 2003)

V. Fattahpour & M. Moosavi

School of Mining Engineering, The University of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Conventional inversion methods for in situ stress determination from fault slip data obtained
from focal mechanism solutions, define the optimum stress as the maximum point of the object function. In this
research, object functions are computed for a mesh of principal stress directions and stress ratios for fault slip
data obtained from fault plane solution for aftershocks of Bam Earthquake in Iran, in 2003. Several stress state
possibilities are found with close values of object function. To overcome this problem, a method is introduced
in which the stress states with less than 5 percent difference with maximum value of the object function are
selected and categorized according to their stress ratio. Significant stress states for each category are identified
as high concentrated loci of principal stresses. The results obtained in this method are compared with results
obtained from multiple inverse method which shows a close agreement.

1 INTRODUCTION Object function obtained from data sets analyzed in

Estimation of in-situ stress state is one of the major
tasks in structural geology and rock engineering
projects. Knowledge about stress state serves a vital
role in certain cases such as large underground struc-
tures, deep drilling tasks and borehole stability in
petroleum engineering. Focal mechanism solutions are
widely used to estimate the stress state. The process of
estimating the stress state from focal mechanisms is
called “stress inversion”. Most of the stress inversion
methods are based on Wallace-Bott hypothesis, which
assumes that slip vector is parallel to the resolved shear
stress on the fault surface and fault movements are
expected to occur in the direction parallel to the maxi-
mum shear stress on this plane (Wallace 1951 and Bott
1959).
The “Multiple Inverse Method”, which is presented
by Yamaji 2000, is a method based on separat-
ing stresses from heterogeneous fault slip data. This
method is based on conventional inverse method and
on re-sampling statistical techniques.
Well known conventional inversion methods such
as Anglier (1979, 1984 and 1990) and also Gephart &
Forsyth (1984) assume the optimal solution to be the
maximum point of a function in four-dimensional
parameter space (Anglier 1990). Such a function is
called the “object function” (Yamaji 2002). Yamaji
introduced a method based on visualization of the
object function topography. In the current paper, the
object function is computed for a mesh of grid points
(in 4D space) by using the software introduced by
Yamaji (2002) based on his method. The fault slip data
was obtained from focal mechanism solutions for Bam
Earthquake which happened in Iran in 2003 which was
fully discussed by Tatar et al. (2005).
the current paper falls into the category which has sev-
eral maximum points. As discussed by Yamaji (2002),
reliability of the result obtained from object function,
depends on stability and uniqueness of the solution.
For such cases with a few maximum points, reliability
is not satisfied.
For solving this problem, a technique is introduced
and is applied to the data set. Stress states with related
object functions which are less than 5 percent differ-
ent from the value of maximum object function are
separated. These stress data are categorized according
to their stress ratio and are projected on stereogram.
High concentration of grid points on stereogram indi-
cates the significant stress state for each category. The
quality of contour lines concentration and also position
of P and T axis and fault planes are used to help ana-
lyzing the stereogram. The data set was also analyzed
by multiple inverse method and results are compared
with those of the best fitted stress states obtained from
object function.
The methods which are used in this paper are based
on adaptation of conventional and multiple inverse
methods, therefore the basics of these methods are
explained in the following section.
2 INVERSION METHODS
2.1 Conventional stress inverse method
The main purpose of conventional inverse method is
to find the directions of stresses which simultaneously
justify a group of fault plane solutions. To serve this
purpose, two main assumptions should be made: the
slip on the fault plane is in the direction of maximum

229
shear stress (Wallace-Bott hypothesis (Bott 1959)) and
the stress is uniform in the volume under consideration
(homogeneity of fault slip data (Anglier 1979).
The slip direction predicted by Wallace-Bott
hypothesis depends on the direction of principal
stress axis and the shape of Lame’s stress ellip-
soid (McKensie 1969). The shape is represented by
Bishop’s (1966) stress ratio:
Where σ1 , σ2 and σ3 are the principal stresses. The
method should find the optimum stress state that has
the best compatibility with all fault slip data. The dis-
crepancies between a stress state and the observed
fault slip data are quantified by individual misfits, fi ,
defined as the smallest rotation angle between the pre-
dicted and observed slip directions of the ith fault-slip
data. Assume a data set with N fault slip data. The opti-
mum stress state is found by maximizing the object
function:
Where N is the number of fault slip data and fi is
the angular misfit for each stress state and w(fi ) is an
arbitrary non decreasing function of fi . Anglier (1979)
recommends a function of the form
The object function is evaluated for the full vari-
ety of stress states. The stress state which produces
the maximum object function is then assumed as the
optimal stress state.
2.2 Visualization of the topography of object
function
Yamaji (2003) introduced a method based on topo-
graphic visualization of the object Function. This
method, which is also called Ginkgo model, utilizes
main and post processors to make a stereogram that
shows the stress ratio by a range of colors and the value
of object function by saturation of colors. The mesh is
generated using Rakhamanov et al. (1994) algorithm.
Three hundred directions of σ3 axis are generated with
equal intervals and the direction of σ1 is rotated about
the σ3 axis with an interval of 10◦ . The stress ratio
is divided in 11 grades from 0 to 1 with an interval
of 0.1. The total numbers of grid points are therefore
300 × 18 × 11 = 59400 (Yamaji 2002). The main pro-
cessor calculates the angular misfit at all grid points of
a computational mesh in 4-parameter space.The object
function for each grid point is calculated according
to calculated misfits and tabulates the results with the
direction of stress axis and stress ratios arranged in the
ascending order of object function. The post proces-
sor is projected the tabulated results on the stereogram
230
each of them being related to one of principal stresses.
The stress ratio is shown by a range of spectrum colors
and object function is shown by saturation of colors,
respectively.
2.3 Multiple inverse method
This is a technique to separate stress state from hetero-
geneous fault slip data introduced by Yamaji (2000).
If you suppose that there are N fault slips data, at first
step k-element subsets are made out of this data so we
have following number of subsets:
At the second step, the optimal stress is determined
for k fault slip data by conventional stress inverse
method. So at the end of the second step, there are
N Ck stress states which are represented by points in
4D space. At the third step, the statistically significant
stress states are visualized on stereogram by tadpole
symbols. The significant clusters of stresses show the
possible stress states.
3 DATA SET
In order to determine the stress state around Bam
city in southeast of Iran, the focal mechanism solu-
tions were obtained from Bam Earthquake aftershocks,
which were gathered and studied by Tatar et al. (2005).
The Bam earthquake main shocks occurred in 26th of
December, 2003. The CMT solution of the main shock
provided by Harvard University was consistent with a
pure dextral strike-slip motion on N-S trending fault
(Tatar et al. 2005).
As mentioned before, the focal mechanism solu-
tions obtained by Tatar et al. (2005) are used in the
current study. The process of obtaining the data is
explained in the followings.The aftershocks were stud-
ied by a network of 23 portable 3D stations which was
deployed around the epicentral area of the main shock
starting on 28th of December 2003 for about 1 month
(Tatar et al. 2005).
The aftershock cluster is 25 km long, trends N-S and
is located 5 km west of the Bam-Baravat escarpment
(Fig. 1). The focal mechanism solutions are consistent
with dextral strike-slip faulting on N-S trending faults,
parallel to the Bam-Baravat escarpment (Tatar et al.
2005).
Out of the focal mechanism solutions provided by
Tatar et al. (2005), those solutions which are consis-
tent with dextral strike-slip faulting, are chosen to be
studied in the present paper.
4 STRESS INVERSION PROCESS
4.1 P and T axis
Special terms are assigned to the center of quad-
rants in beach ball diagrams, which shows the focal
Figure 1. Location of selected seismicity of earthquakes
which shows an N-S trend (Tatar et al. (2005)).
Figure 2. Schematic picture shows the location of P and T
axis and σ1 and σ3 axis for a dextral fault with N-S trend.
mechanism solutions. The center of the dilatational
quadrant is called P axis and the center of compres-
sional quadrant as T axis. It would be predicted that
usually the principal compressional stress σ1 would
be rotated somewhat from P axis towards the fault
plane and the smallest compressional stress (σ3 ) would
be rotated away from T axis towards auxiliary plane
(Fig. 2).
P and T axis which are related to all focal mech-
anism solutions for our data set are illustrated on
stereogram in Figure 3. The concentration of P axis is
043.9/5.3 (Azimuth/Plunge) and the main concentra-
tion for T axis is 312.6/2.8. As mentioned earlier, focal
mechanisms are consistent with right lateral strike slip
faulting on N-S trending fault, therefore it can be
deduced that σ1 should lie somewhere between P axis
and N-S trend as the fault plane and σ3 should lie some-
where between T axis and E-W trend as the auxiliary
plane. This can be considered as the first assumption
for direction of principal stresses.
231
Figure 3. Counter lines which show the concentration of
P and T axis.
4.2 Best fitted stress states obtained
from object function
For the fault slip data obtained from Bam earthquake
aftershocks, the object function is evaluated. In order
to serve this purpose, the main software processor
called GinkgoMP proposed by Yamaji (2002) is used.
In this processor, the principal stress direction and
stress ratio are arranged in ascending order of their
relative fit which is defined as object function minus
the minimum object function. The object function is
evaluated using equations 2 and 3. According to the
classic inversion method, it is expected to find a stress
state which is optimum and has a maximum value of
object function with a meaningful difference from the
other values of object functions of other stress states.
Let us choose w(d) according to equation (3). The
object function for data obtained from Bam is shown in
Table 1. The total number of grid points is 59400. There
are 105 stress states with less than 1 percent differ-
ence with maximum relative fit, and 754 stress states
with less than 5 percent difference from the maximum
relative fit.
It seems not easy to choose one grid point as the
optimum one, because of very close differences in
many of the grid points. When the object function for
variety of computational grid points are close together,
it is not acceptable to just select the computational grid
point which has just the maximum value. The reliabil-
ity of solutions for stress inversion method is discussed
by Yamaji (2002). He used schematic pictures to show
different cases and to show the meaning of stability
and uniqueness. Figure 4, which is designed based on
 Table 1. The object function evaluated for 59 400 grid points in ascending order. Fmin shows minimum value
of object function. Relative fit, R, is object function minus minimum object function. Rm shows the maximum
value of relative fit. Difference from maximum relative fit is (Rm−R)/Rm

σ1 -axis σ3 -axis Relative Difference

fit (R) from Rm
Number a p a p  F−Fmin (Rm −R)/Rm

1 157 0 247 87 0 0 1
2 157 0 247 87 1 0 1
50761 183 29 282 15 1 2852 0.500088
50762 34 42 154 29 2 2853 0.499912
57746 220 0 310 32 0 5134 0.100088
57747 231 0 321 65 2 5135 0.099912
58646 15 20 109 11 2 5419 0.050131
58647 35 24 144 37 4 5420 0.049956
59295 38 10 129 4 4 5647 0.010167
59296 161 81 341 9 10 5648 0.009991
59399 11 9 106 28 0 5703 0.000351
59409 10 10 118 61 0 5705 0

stress ratio equal to zero, it should be considered that

Figure 4. Values of object function for grid points which
have positive values (non zero) of object function (29353
numbers out of 59400 total grid points).
idea of similar schematic picture from Yamaji (2002),
shows the object function for grid points (stress state
and stress ratio), which have positive values (non zero)
of object function, for data set obtained from Bam
earthquake’s aftershocks. As it is clear from Figure 4,
the solution is not unique and the peaks have very close
values to the object function, therefore the reliability
of solution is questionable by just choosing the highest
value as the optimal one.
In order to solve this problem, a technique is
proposed which the computational grid points are
tabulated assuming the w(d) to be the same as the
definition given by equation (3). This form for w(d)
is chosen according to Anglier (1979). There are 754
grid points with relative fit of less than 5 percent dif-
ference with the maximum relative fit. These stress
states are categorized according to their stress ratios
and the direction of σ1 and σ3 are projected on different
stereograms for each category. To study their density,
contour lines, which show the distribution of principal
stresses directions, are plotted as in Figure 5.
For each category, concentration of principal
stresses directions can be found according to Figure 5.
For stress ratio equal to 1, contour lines don’t show any
concentration for the direction of σ1 . For the case of
stress ratio equal to zero resembles a case in which
σ2 equals to σ3 . It means that there are no differences
in the magnitude of σ2 and σ3 stresses, therefore the
direction of both are shown in Figure 5.
Concentration of principal stresses for different
stress ratios shows that by increasing the stress ratio,
σ1 axis tends to rotate away from N-S direction and
σ3 axis tends to rotate towards N-S. In 4.1, it was
shown that σ1 should lie somewhere between P axis
and N-S direction (as the fault plane) and σ3 should
rest somewhere between T axis and E-W direction (as
the auxiliary plane). For stress ratios less than 0.5, σ1
direction lies between P axis and the fault plane and
also direction of σ3 locates between T axis and the aux-
iliary plane. For stress ratios more than 0.5, the case
would be reversed. Therefore it can be concluded that
the case of stress ratio less than 0.5 and its related prin-
cipal stress concentration, is more consistent with the
present data set.
4.3 Results obtained from Multiple
Inverse Method
Fault slip data obtained from Bam earthquake after-
shocks are also analyzed by multiple inverse method
program (MIM 5.31) introduced byYamaji (2000).The
main object of Multiple Inverse Method is to find the
main cluster of the optimum stresses. The main clus-
ter for k=5, is shown in Figure 6, which is similar to
the orientation of principal stresses for stress ratios of
0.1 and 0.2 (Fig. 6). Eighty percent of tadpoles (which
symbolize stress states found by MIM program as opti-
mum stresses) are related to stress ratios of less than
0.5. Average stress ratio is 0.37 and the stress ratio for
main cluster is equal to 0.1476.
4.4 Results obtained from different methods
Figure 7, shows the results obtained from 3 differ-
ent approaches. Main cluster of the Multiple Inverse

232

Figure 5. Position of σ1 and σ3 axis for different stress
ratios on stereogram.  shows the stress ratio. Concentra-
tions of axis are written below each stereogram in the form
of (Azimuth/Plunge).
233
Figure 6. Main cluster obtained from Multiple Inverse
Method. Main cluster is comparable with results obtained
from best fitted stress states according to object function with
stress ratios of 0.1 and 0.2.
Figure 7. Principal stress axis obtained from different
methods.
Method and stress states obtained from Best Fitted
Object Function are depicted on stereogram. For stress
ratios less than 0.5 and main cluster determined by the
Multiple Inverse Method, σ1 is well placed between
N-S direction and P axis and also σ3 is located between
E-W trend and T axis. The direction of principal
stresses can be assumed to be in area which is cov-
ered by results of object functions with stress ratios
less than 0.5 and main cluster obtained by multiple
inverse method.
Average stress ratio for optimal stresses found by
Multiple Inverse Method is 0.37 and the stress ratio
for main cluster is 0.1476 and stress states related to
stress ratios less than 0.5 are more consistent due to the
fact that σ1 lies between P axis and fault plane and
direction of σ3 lies between T axis and auxiliary plane.
Therefore the results obtained from different analysis
show that stress ratio less than 0.5 is more consistent
with studied data set.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Different approaches are available for determining
stress state direction from focal mechanism solutions.
The simplest way to analyze fault slide data is to
assume that the P and T axis to be directions for prin-
cipal stresses approximately. Generally σ1 lies between
P axis and fault trend and σ3 lies between T axis and
auxiliary plane. The classical approach, which is based
on Wallace-Bott hypothesis, tries to find out the stress
state which creates minimum angular misfit. An object
function is defined as summation of a non decreasing
function of angular misfit for all fault slip data. The
method tries to find the stress state which maximizes
the object function. The third approach, which is called
Multiple Inverse Method, is a numerical technique to
separate stress state from heterogeneous fault slip data.
The fault slip data are obtained from focal mech-
anism solution for Bam earthquake aftershocks and
focal mechanism solutions are discussed to be consis-
tent with N-S fault trend as explained by Tatar et al.
(2005). In the current paper, object function is com-
puted and tabulated for studied data set and resulted
mesh. It is shown that there are a lot of stress states with
different stress ratios which result in close neighbor-
hood to the maximum point of the object function. To
find the best solution for such a complicated case, grid
points with object functions less than 5 percent differ-
ence with maximum value of the object function are
chosen and are categorized according to their stress
ratios. The concentration of grid points is assumed
to be the optimum stress state for that stress ratio. A
rotation in direction of principal stresses is observed
according to change of stress ratio. For stress ratios
less than 0.5, direction of σ1 is positioned between
P axis and N-S trend (fault plane) and direction of
σ3 lies between T axis and E-W trend (auxiliary plane).
This is reverse for stress ratios more than 0.5.The stress
states related to stress ratio less than 0.5 seem more
acceptable for studied data set.
Multiple inverse method is also utilized to study
the data set. The main cluster of stress state obtained
from this method is also consistent with stress states
obtained from object function analyses with low stress
ratios. To conclude, the direction of maximum and
minimum principle stresses in Bam area which has
resulted in fault slip during Bam earthquake should be
somewhere in the areas which are indicated by dashed
lines in Figure 7. The approximated azimuth and
plunge of the center of both areas which show the pos-
sible direction of maximum and minimum principle
234
stresses are about 035/09 and 300.5/11.5 respectively.
This stress state is consistent with a north-south dex-
tral strike slip faulting. As mentioned before, the CMT
solution of the main shock provided by Harvard was
consistent with a pure dextral strike-slip motion on N-
S trending fault (Tatar et al. 2005). As expected the
obtained stress state from aftershocks is in agreement
with the faulting mechanism of the main shock.
REFERENCES
Angelier, J., 1979. Determination of the mean principal
directions of stresses for a given fault population. Tectono-
physics 56 (3/4), T17–T26.
Angelier, J., 1984. Tectonic analysis of fault slip data sets.
Journal of Geophysical Research 89 (NB7), 5835–5848.
Angelier, J., 1990. Inversion of field data in faults tectonics
to obtain the regional stress-III. A new rapid direct inver-
sion method by analytical means. Geophysical Journal
International 103, 363–376.
Bishop, A.W., 1966. The strength of solids as engineering
materials.Geotechnique 16, 91±130.
Bott, M.H.P., 1959. The mechanics of oblique slip faulting.
Geological Magazine 96(2), 109–117.
Gephart, J.W., Forsyth, D.W., 1984. An improved method for
determining the regional stress tensor using earthquake
focal mechanism data: Application to the San Fernando
Earthquake sequence. Journal of Geophysical Research
89, 9305–9320.
McKenzie, D.P., 1969. The relation between fault plane solu-
tions for earthquakes and the directions of the principal
stresses. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
59, 591–601.
Rakhamanov, D.E.A., Saff, E.B., Zhou, Y.M., 1994. Mini-
mal discrete energy on the sphere. Mathematical Research
Letters 1,647–662.
Tatar, M., Hatzfeld, D., Moradi, A. S., Paul, A., 2005. The
2003 December 26 Bam earthquake (Iran), Mw 6.6, after-
shock sequence. Geophysical Journal International 163,
90–105.
Wallace, R.E., 1951. Geometry of shearing stress and relation
to faulting. Journal of Geology 59 (2), 118–130.
Yamaji, A., 2000. The multiple inverse method: a new tech-
nique to separate stresses from heterogeneous fault–slip
data. Journal of Structural Geology 22(4), 441–452.
Yamaji, A., 2003. Are the solutions of stress inversion cor-
rect? Visualization of their reliability and the separation
of stresses from heterogeneous fault–slip data. Journal of
Structural Geology 25 (2), 241–252.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A review of the new understanding of fluid-rock deformation

in the crack-critical earth

Stuart Crampin
British Geological Survey, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Yuan Gao
Institute of Earthquake Science, Chinese Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Shear-wave splitting (seismic birefringence) shows that fluid-saturated microcracks throughout
the Earth’s crust are so closely-spaced they verge on fracturing and hence are critical-systems. Such criticality
imposes fundamental new properties on conventional sub-critical geophysics that resolve several previously
inexplicable geophysical anomalies as well as implying a New Geophysics that has implications and appli-
cations for almost all solid-earth processes and operations including particularly hydrocarbon-production,
carbon-sequestration, and forecasting-earthquakes, as well as suggesting new techniques for investigating
currently-important solid-earth processes. This review summarises this new understanding of fluid-rock defor-
mation where the new properties include: monitorability, calculability, predictability, universality, and extreme
sensitivity to initial conditions. These new properties suggest that New Geophysics is a fundamental advance in
solid-earth geoscience.

1 INTRODUCTION of new properties on conventional sub-critical solid-

Conventionally, in situ rocks in the uppermost half of
the crust are considered to be brittle and elastically
isotropic, except where heavily fractured rocks induce
seismic anisotropy and cause shear-wave splitting.
However, there are several unexplained anomalies:
(1) Stress-aligned shear-wave splitting, indicating
some form of anisotropy is almost universally
observed throughout the Earth’s crust and uppermost
mantle; (2) The inability of oil companies, despite
immense research investment, to extract more than an
average of 30% to 40% of the oil in any reservoir. (3)
Why in situ rock is so weak to shear-stress that the
stress drops at earthquakes are typically 2 to 4 MPa
independent of the enormous range of the earthquake
energy release. We identify further anomalies below.
Clearly the conventional understanding in situ rock is
not wholly correct.
Note that we are so accustomed to many of these
anomalies that they are seldom questioned. They are
merely accepted as the way in situ rocks behave,
without appreciating the underlying dilemma that we
cannot understand the mechanisms.
We review evidence that pervasive distributions of
stress-aligned fluid-saturated microcracks in almost
all rocks in the crust are so closely-spaced they are
critical-systems. Critical-systems are a New Physics
(Davies 1989; Crampin & Chastin 2003), hence a New
Geophysics (NG) (Crampin 2006) and a New Geol-
ogy (Crampin & Clarkson 2009), that imposes a range
earth geoscience. We review how these new properties
explain anomalies in our understanding of in situ
rock, and suggest new applications and interpreta-
tions that are a substantial advance in understanding
conventional solid-earth geoscience.
2 SHEAR-WAVE SPLITTING
Shear-wave splitting is the key observable. Split-
ting occurs when shear-waves propagate through
some form of seismic anisotropy (Crampin 1981).
Widespread observations of stress-aligned shear-wave
splitting suggest that almost all rocks in the crust
of the Earth, and probably the uppermost man-
tle, are pervaded by stress-aligned fluid-saturated
micro-cracks (Crampin 1994, 2003; Crampin & Pea-
cock 2008). Only transverse isotropy (hexagonal
anisotropic symmetry) with a horizontal axis of sym-
metry (TIH-anisotropy) can provide the observed
parallel polarisations, and the only common cause
of TIH in all rocks is stress-aligned parallel-vertical
fluid-saturated microcracks (Crampin 1978); where
only microcracks have sufficient compliance to mod-
ify crack-geometry in CO2 -injection experiments
(Angerer et al. 2002), and in near-negligible changes
of stress at great distance from impending earthquakes
(Crampin & Peacock 2005, 2008).
The microcrack pore-fluid is usually a water-based
salt solution but can be hydrocarbons. Figure 1a

235
Figure 1. (a) Schematic illustration of stress-aligned shear-wave splitting in the stress-aligned fluid-saturated microcracked
crust, where sV , sH , and sh are the vertical, and maximum and minimum horizontal differential stresses, respectively (after
Crampin 1994). (b) Schematic illustration of observed percentages of shear-wave velocity anisotropy interpreted as uniform
dimensionless distributions of equally-sized circular cracks, where ε is crack density and a is relative crack radius (after
Crampin 1994). (c) APE-modelling: schematic illustration of increasing differential stress deforming microcrack geometry
(solid lines) of fluid-saturated rock (with a porosity of ∼6%) (after Crampin 1999).

is a schematic dimensionless illustration of shear-
wave splitting in the distributions of fluid-saturated
stress-aligned microcracks pervasive throughout most
igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks in the
crust (Crampin 1999). The image of parallel micro-
cracks in Figure 1a is approximately correct for
crack-densities below the level of fracture-criticality
(Crampin 1994).
2.1 Percentage of observed shear-wave velocity
anisotropy and crack-density
Stress-aligned shear-wave splitting is widely observed
in most rocks in the crust. The observed range of
azimuthally-varying shear-wave velocity anisotropy in
the crust (and upper mantle) varies from a minimum
of about 1.5% to a maximum in ostensibly-intact rock
of about 4.5% (Crampin 1994; Crampin & Peacock
2008). Assuming uniform distributions of approxi-
mately equally-sized circular cracks, which is a reason-
able assumption for most distributions of intergranular
cracks, pores, and pore throats in in situ rocks, crack
density can be written ε = Na3 , where N is the number
of cracks of radius a per unit cube (Hudson 1981). Con-
√ poro-elasticity (APE) (Zatsepin & Crampin 1997;
veniently, if Poison’s ratio σ = 0.25, (VS ≈ VP / 3),
which is approximately true for most in situ rocks, the
percentage of shear-wave velocity anisotropy equals
ε × 100 (Crampin 1994). This means that an estimate
of the crack density along ray paths can be immediately
inferred from the observed percentages of shear-wave
velocity anisotropy for near-vertical arrivals at the
free-surface.
Microcracks are typically intergranular cracks in
crystalline rocks and pores and pore-throats in gran-
ular rocks, with relatively uniform crack-radii usually
between 0.1 mm and 2 mm depending on rock type.
Figure 1b is a schematic illustration of cross-sections
of three-dimensional distributions of microcracks for
the observed range of 1.5% to 4.5% shear-wave
velocity anisotropy in ostensibly-intact rock (Crampin
1994). Much higher percentages of velocity anisotropy
can be found in heavily fractured rock and in aligned
crystals. Perturbation theory suggests that there are
through-going fractures in distributions of aligned
cracks at crack-densities of ε ∼0.055 (Crampin &
Zatsepin 1997). This means that shear-strength will
be lost at ε ≈ 0.055 when failure by fracturing (earth-
quakes) will occur whenever there is any disturbance
(Crampin 1994). This level of cracking is known as
fracture-criticality.
2.2 The evolution of microcracked rocks
There are known to be fluid-filled intergranular micro-
cracks and pores in almost all in situ rocks (Fyfe
et al. 1978). Under zero differential stress open
cracks are assumed to be randomly aligned. When
stress changes, gradients in pore-fluid pressures drive
fluids by flow or dispersion between neighbouring
microcracks at different orientations to the stress-
field and microcrack geometry deforms. The response
of fluid-saturated microcracked rock to changes of
stress can be modelled by the equations of anisotropic
Crampin & Zatsepin 1997). Figure 1c is a schematic
illustration of APE-evolution modelling increases of
differential stress on an initially random distribution
of microcracks.
Hexagons are isotropic. Initially (top left), under
zero differential stress and uniform aspect-ratios, the
two imaged hexagons are a small selection of randomly
oriented cracks and there is no anisotropy. A small
increase in stress (top-right) imposes pressure gradi-
ents so that pore fluids move by flow or percolation
and crack aspect-ratios tend to swell in directions par-
allel to the predominant stress. However, if the stress
is not large enough to close cracks there is still negli-
gible anisotropy. As stress increases, there is a critical
value, normalised to one (bottom left), when cracks
first begin to close and shear-wave velocity anisotropy

236
jumps from zero to about 1.5%, similar to observations
in the left-hand diagram in Figure 1b. As stress con-
tinues to increase (bottom right) cracks aspect-ratios
continue to increase until (not illustrated) percolation
theory suggests there are through-going fractures at
a crack density of ε ≈ 0.055 (Crampin & Zatsepin
1997). Note that the deformation in Figure 1c is almost
transparent to P-wave propagation.
Since stress-aligned shear-wave splitting is almost
always observed in the crust this suggests that dif-
ferential horizontal stress is always above the critical
level.
2.3 Observations of temporal changes in
stress-aligned shear-wave splitting
Stress-aligned shear-wave splitting is now a recog-
nised property of the crust and mantle with substantial
numbers of static observations above earthquakes
(reviewed by Crampin & Peacock 2008), and in seis-
mic exploration (no overall review, but there are
hundreds of observations).
Table 1 lists the wide range of observations of
static and temporal variations in shear-wave splitting
in the crust (details specified in Crampin & Peacock
2005). All observations are approximately matched by
APE-modelling. The match can only be approximate
because there is never enough information available
about the sub-surface behaviour for detailed analysis.
There are no known effects that are not matched
by APE. Since NG of fluid-saturated microcracks
is integral to APE, even this approximate match to
observations is strong support for the existence of
critical-systems and NG in almost all rocks.
3 THE NEW GEOPHYSICS (NG)
Critical-systems are complex heterogeneous interac-
tive systems that verge on failure, critical points, or
singularities. Critical-systems are extremely common.
The weather, earthquake occurrence (see below), the
clustering of traffic on roads, and a huge variety of
physical, biological, and sociological phenomena are
all critical-systems (Davies 1989; Crampin & Chastin
2003). Thus it is not surprising that the Earth, an
archetypal complex heterogeneous interactive system,
is also a critical-system. A great advantage is that the
Earth is one of the few critical-systems whose detailed
behaviour can be monitored internally by analysing
observations of shear-wave splitting. This means that
the evolution of critical-systems of fluid-saturated
stress-aligned in situ microcracks can be analysed by
monitoring with shear-wave splitting.
Nearly universal observations of stress-aligned
shear-waved splitting show that microcracks are so
closely-spaced they verge on fracturing and hence are
critical-systems (Davies 1989; Crampin & Chastin
2003). Critical-systems are characterised by impos-
ing a range of fundamentally new properties (Table 2)
on conventional sub-critical behaviour. All these
237
Table 1. Match of APE-modelling to observations of shear-
waves (details in Crampin & Peacock 2005 – updated).
STATIC EFECTS
Shear-wave velocity anisotropy (SWVA) below ∼1 km km
depth
1 SWVA in all rocks independent of rock type/geology
2 Minimum SWVA in intact rock: APE/obs: ∼1.5% /
∼1.5%
3 Maximum SWVA in intact rock: APE/obs: ∼5.5% /
∼4.5%
4 Narrow range of crack density: 0.015 < ε < 0.045
5 Proximity of fracture-criticality/ percolation threshold
6 Consistent SWVA in explor. surveys & above
earthquakes
Other field observations
7 Fracture-criticality specifies crack distributions with
dimensions over ∼9 orders of magnitude
8 90◦ -flips of polarisations in critically-high pressurised
rocks
9 Fossils deformation matched by transformation grids
DYNAMIC EFFECTS
Changes in SWVA during production procedures
10 Changes after pumping tests
11 Changes after critically-high- and low-press. CO2 -
injections
Changes in shear-wave time-delays (SWTD) before
earthquakes
12 Stress-accumulation changes in retrospect before
14 EQs
13 Stress-relaxation changes in retrospect before 9 EQs
14 Successful stress-forecast of M = 5 EQ in Iceland
15 Plate-wide deformation before 2004 M = ∼9 Sumatra
EQ
Changes in SWVA/SWTD before Volcanic eruptions
16 Changes before 1966 Vatnajökull eruption, Iceland
17 Changes before Mt Ruapehu eruption, New Zealand
18 Changes before 2001 eruption Mt Etna, Sicily
Changes during laboratory experiments
19 Changes in SWVA and permeability in uniaxial
stress-cells
20 Changes in SWVA in gas-, water-, oil-filled stress-cells
Table 2. Properties of critical-systems and NG.
1) Self-similarity: logarithmic plots of quantities are linear.
2) Monitorability: behaviour of in situ microcracks can be
monitored with shear-wave splitting (Crampin 1994,
2006).
3) Calculability: evolution of microcracks can be
calculated by APE (Crampin & Zatsepin 1997).
4) Universality: critical-systems pervade all available space
(Crampin & Chastin 2003).
5) Sensitivity: there is shows extreme sensitivity to
miniscule differences in initial conditions (Crampin &
Chastin 2003).
properties have been observed, and in the case of
seismic exploration surveys, along millions of source-
to-geophone ray paths. These properties define NG
and confirm that the Earth is a critical-system.
3.1 Explanations of anomalies
Table 3 lists anomalies that cannot be explained by
conventional sub-critical geophysics.
3.1.1 Why stress-aligned shear-wave splitting is
observed in almost all in situ rocks
Although fluid-filled inclusions are known to exist in
most in situ rocks (Fyfe et al. 1978), the inclusions
were previously assumed to be approximately spheri-
cal and elastically isotropic. Shear-wave splitting is the
principal evidence for stress-aligned fluid-saturated
microcracks in almost all rocks regardless of rock-
type, geology, tectonics, and porosity. This is impor-
tant as demonstrating the mechanism of low-level
microcrack deformation in APE-evolution.
stress modify distributions of crack aspect-ratios to
make the cracked rock seismically anisotropy. This
means that changes in microcrack geometry can be
inferred from changes in observed shear-wave splitting
(Crampin 1999). This has allowed stress-accumulation
before earthquakes to be recognised in the field (see
4.3, below).
3.1.3 How fossils deform within intact rock?
The transformation grids in Figure 1c shows how
stresses modify the internal geometry of fluid-
saturated microcracks by the APE-model of microc-
rack evolution. This means that significant deforma-
tion can occur at temperature and pressures well below
those at which melting occurs as illustrated in Figure 2a
(Crampin & Clarkson 2009).

3.1.2 How a stressed rock differs from an

unstressed rock
Figure 1c shows that microcracks in an unstressed rock
are randomly aligned (diagram top left). Changes of
Table 3. Anomalies explained by NG.
1) Why shear-wave splitting is observed in all rocks
2) How stress rock differs from an unstressed rock.
3) How fossils deform within the interior of intact rock
4) Why despite huge investment <40% oil recovered
5) How can rock, weak to shear-stress store accumulate
sufficient energy for release by large earthquakes
6) Why Gutenberg-Richter relationships between
logarithms of cumulative frequencies and magnitudes
are linear
7) Why we cannot deterministically predict, but can
stress-forecast the time, magnitude, and location of
earthquakes
3.1.4 Why, despite huge investments is <40% oil
recovered from any reservoir?
We suggest there are two principle reasons for the
extraordinary ineffectiveness in extracting oil. 1) Oil
exploration depends almost exclusively on seismic
P-waves for all seismic investigations in exploration
and recovery of oil. P-waves are rather insensitive
to fluid-saturated microcracks, where shear-waves
delineate fluid-flow in reservoirs. 2) The sensitivity
of fluid-saturated microcracks to external conditions
means that temporal variations are expected (Crampin
2006) due to changes in oil extraction, changes in
oil/water contact, fluid-injections, changes in water-
table, stress-accumulation before distant earthquakes
and volcanoes, Earth and ocean tides, and others. This
means that details of any seismic record may change
with time, so that time-lapse processing is disturbed
(Crampin 2004).

Figure 2. (a) Deformation patterns in fossils illustrated by simple transformation grids (after Crampin & Clarkson, 2009);
(b) Seismic reflection record sections of effects of CO2 -injection (sequestration) into a carbonate reservoir (after Angerer
et al. 2002): five traces to left are observed, three traces to right are modelled (without reverberations); (c) Effects of small
earthquake energy ≡ M = 3.5 earthquake at 70 km distance from the prototype SMS: a) P; SV -& SH -wave travel times;
SWVA; NS & EW GPS measurements; water-well levels; and histogram of seismicity (after Crampin et al. 2003). Full details
can be found in the cited papers.

238
3.1.5 How can rock store sufficient stress-energy
for release by large earthquakes
Figure 1c shows schematically how small changes in
stress modify aspect-ratios in distributions of fluid-
saturated microcracks. These effects have been con-
firmed by the observations in Table 1. This is for levels
of stress and deformation well-below those at which
fracturing takes place (see discussion in 3.1.7).
3.1.6 Why Gutenberg-Richter (1956) relationships
between logarithms of cumulative frequencies
and magnitudes are linear?
The linearity of logarithmic plots of variables is charac-
teristic of all critical-systems (Table 2, Item 1). Since
earthquake magnitudes are logarithms of seismic of
displacements, the linearity of the Gutenberg-Richter
relationship merely indicates that earthquakes are
critical-systems with complex heterogeneous interac-
tive behaviour.
3.1.7 Why we cannot deterministically predict but
can stress-forecast the times, magnitudes, and
locations of impending earthquakes?
Previously it was thought that because of the linear-
ity of the Gutenberg-Richter relationships (previous
item), implying self-organised criticality (SOC) (Bak
1996), earthquakes could not be predicted (Geller
et al. 1997). It has now been shown that by using
shear-wave splitting to monitor stress-accumulation at
distance from the impending source, the approach to
fracture-criticality and the time, magnitude, and fault-
break of impending earthquakes can be stress-forecast
(Crampin & Gao 2010).
3.1.8 Implications for New Geophysics
Although resolution of anomalies provides support for
NG it does not provide direct proof.
4 DIRECT PROOF OF NEW GEOPHYSICS
Direct proof of NG is difficult because we never have
sufficient details of in situ rock for accurate tests (see
3.1.4, above). We review the best tests available.
4.1 Example of CO2 -injection/sequestration
Figure 2b show seismic record sections from Angerer
et al. (2002) who modelled critically-high-pressure
and low-pressure (not shown) CO2 -injections in a car-
bonate reservoir by inserting exact injection pressures
into APE. The match of shear-wave splitting arrivals is
almost exact, demonstrating the remarkable accuracy
of APE-modelling of NG.
Both observations and synthetics in Figure 2b
show a remarkable phenomenon. Critically-high pore-
fluid pressures cause microcrack orientations to re-
align resulting in faster and slower split shear-wave
exchanging polarisations in ‘90◦ -flips’. Such 90◦ -
flips have been observed in high-pressure hydrocarbon
reservoirs, and above seismically-active fault-planes,
239
where critically-high fluid-pressures are necessary to
relieve friction and allow faults to slip.
4.2 Monitoring stress changes in borehole
stress-monitoring sites
Figure 2c shows records from the prototype borehole
Stress-Monitoring Site (SMS) on the Húsavík-Flatey
Transform Fault in Iceland (Crampin et al. 2003).
SMSs record shear-wave splitting between three 1 km
to 2 km-deep boreholes using a Downhole Orbital
Vibrator (DOV). Figure 2c shows classic changes
over two-weeks recording in changes in: seismic
anisotropy; Global Positioning System (GPS) mea-
surements; and water-well levels; all correlating with
equivalent seismic energy of a M = 3.5 earthquake at
70 km distance on a neighbouring transform fault.
A M = 3.5 earthquake is small, and Figure 2c shows
exceptional sensitivity well beyond that expected in
a conventional sub-critical crust. Thus the figure is
direct confirmation of the NG of a crack-critical
crust. It also shows the sensitivity and technology is
sufficient to monitor stress-accumulation and stress-
forecast impending large earthquakes.
4.3 Stress-forecasting earthquakes
Although earthquakes with SOC cannot be determinis-
tically predicted, earth release substantial amounts of
stress, and stress-accumulation can be monitored by
analysing shear-wave splitting time-delays (Crampin
1999), see Item 3.1.7. Using swarms of small earth-
quakes as the source of shear-waves, a M = 5 earth-
quake has been successfully stress-forecast (Crampin
et al. 2008), and characteristic anomalies have been
observed in retrospect before ∼15 earthquakes world-
wide (Crampin & Peacock 2008).
The problem for routine forecasting is that swarms
of small earthquakes are far too scarce for routine oper-
ations. Reliable routine stress-forecasting requires
SMSs. GEMS, a Global Earthquake Monitoring Sys-
tem of ∼200 three-borehole SMSs has been proposed
that would forecast the times and magnitudes of all
damaging (M ≥ 5) earthquakes worldwide (Crampin
et al. 2010).
NG has applications to almost all solid-Earth appli-
cations. We review three applications and implications
for hydrocarbon recovery.
5 NG AND HYDROCARBON RECOVERY
5.1 Implications of NG for time-lapse seismics
Movement of oil/water contacts in hydrocarbon recov-
ery is often analysed by subtracting record sections
before and after some production process in time-lapse
seismics.The great sensitivity of NG to external effects
means that time-lapse seismics may show changes
caused by remote effects that are independent of
hydrocarbon recovery. This means that the longer ray
paths are likely to show greater rock mass variations
(Crampin 2006).
5.2 SWI: Single-Well Imaging
One way to avoid degradation is to record and interpret
measurements at the time they are required by Single-
Well Imaging (SWI) (Crampin 2004). SWI is where
the scattered reflections from a borehole (DOV) source
are recorded by three-component recorders behind the
casing or tubulars in the same well as the DOV. There
are time-lapse techniques for vector analysis of chang-
ing oil/water contacts SWI would be much cheaper
(∼1/100) than conventional seismic surveys, while
providing possibly more useful information (Crampin
2004).
5.3 SMORE: Slower production for MOre
REcovery
One of the characteristics of critical-systems is that
self-similarity and calculability only occur when the
complex interactions are responding to slow changes.
Rapid aggressive production strategies are likely to
produce chaotic deformation. This suggests that mod-
elling and calculating the response will only be possi-
ble for slower recovery rates, hence the hypothesis of
SMORE (Crampin 2004).
6 DISCUSSION
The differences imposed by NG on the conventional
sub-critical geophysics are fundamental. They are not
due to inadequate: observations; measurements; inter-
pretations; or calculations. They are the result of a
fundamentally new type of geophysics in a critical
regime.
The reason why NG has only just been recog-
nised is that shear-wave splitting is the key observable
(Crampin 1981). Shear-waves are more difficult to
measure and are expensive to record in field exper-
iments requiring three-component instrumentation to
record three-times more data. These difficulties are
also indicated by the preponderance of the name
‘Crampin’ in the reference list. Stuart Crampin pio-
neered the observation (Crampin et al. 1980), calcu-
lation (Crampin 1999), and interpretation of shear-
waves and shear-wave splitting (Crampin & Peacock
2008), and is now pioneering the New Geophysics
(Crampin 2004, 2006).
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Processing, modelling, and predicting time-lapse effects
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Bak, P. 1996. How Nature Works. NewYork: Springer-Verlag.
Crampin, S., 1978. Seismic wave propagation through a
cracked solid: polarization as a possible dilatancy diag-
nostic. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society 53: 467–496.
Crampin, S. 1981. A review of wave motion in anisotropic
and cracked elastic-media. Wave Motion 3: 343–391.
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*Crampin, S. 1994. The fracture criticality of crustal rocks.
Geophysical Journal International 118: 428–438.
*Crampin, S. 1999. Calculable fluid-rock interactions. Jour-
nal of the Geological Society 156: 501–514.
*Crampin, S., 2003. Aligned cracks not LPO as the cause of
mantle anisotropy. EGS-AGU-EUG Joint Assembly, Nice,
2003, Geophysical Research Abstracts 5: 00205.
*Crampin, S. 2004. The New Geophysics: implications for
hydrocarbon recovery and possible contamination of time-
lapse seismics. First Break 22: 73–82.
*Crampin, S. 2006. The New Geophysics: a new understand-
ing of fluid-rock deformation. In A. Van Cotthem, R.
Charlier, J.-F. Thimus & J.-P. Tshibangu (eds.), Eurock
2006: Multiphysics coupling and long term behaviour in
rock mechanics: 539–544. London: Taylor & Francis.
*Crampin, S. & Chastin, S. 2003. A review of shear-wave
splitting in the crack-critical crust. Geophysical Journal
International 155: 221–240.
*Crampin, S. & Clarkson, E.N.K. 2009. The New Geology: a
new understanding of fluid-rock deformation. Edinburgh
Anisotropy Project, Research Report 16: D4-1-D4-28.
*Crampin, S. & Gao, Y. 2010. Earthquakes can be
stress-forecast. Geophysical Journal International 180:
1124–1127.
*Crampin, S. & Peacock, S. 2005. A review of shear-wave
splitting in the compliant crack-critical anisotropic Earth.
Wave Motion 41: 59–77.
*Crampin, S. & Peacock, S. 2008. A review of the cur-
rent understanding of shear-wave splitting and common
fallacies in interpretation. Wave Motion 45: 675–722.
*Crampin, S. & Zatsepin, S.V. 1997. Modelling the compli-
ance of crustal rock: II - response to temporal changes
before earthquakes. Geophysical Journal International
129: 495–506.
Crampin, S., Evans, R., Üçer, B., Doyle, M., Davis, J.P.,
Yegorkina, G.V. & Miller, A. 1980. Observations of
dilatancy-induced polarization anomalies and earthquake
prediction. Nature 286: 874–877.
*Crampin, S., Chastin, S. & Gao, Y. 2003. Shear-wave
splitting in a critical crust: III - preliminary report of multi-
variable measurements in active tectonics. Special Issue,
Journal of Applied Geophysics 54: 265–277.
*Crampin, S., Gao,Y. & Peacock, S. 2008. Stress-forecasting
(not predicting) earthquakes: A paradigm shift? Geology
36: 7–430.
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K., Gao, Y. & Walter, L. 2010. GEMS: the opportunity
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Fyfe, W.S., Price, N.J. & Thompson, A.B. 1978. Fluids
in the Earth’s crust. Developments in geochemistry 1.
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Gutenberg, B. & Richter, C.F. 1956. Magnitude and energy
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Hudson, J.A. 1981. Wave speeds and attenuation of elastic
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ance of crustal rock: I - response of shear-wave splitting
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*Papers at: www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/scrampin/opinion.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The influence of rock anisotropy on the stress-induced velocity anisotropy

around a borehole

Jiayong Tian & Huaqing Wang

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R.China

Yuanbo Zhao
Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The acoustoelasticity method has been developed to estimate the in-situ rock stresses by the mea-
surement of velocity anisotropy around a borehole. The velocity anisotropy around a borehole can be induced by
intrinsic anisotropy or the applied stresses of rocks. The practical rocks exhibit the anisotropy inevitably. There-
fore, In order to advance the acoustoelasticity method for the measurement of in-situ rock stresses, the influence
of intrinsic anisotropy of rocks on the stress-induced velocity anisotropy around a borehole is investigated in
this paper. First, the acoustoelasticity theory of finite-deformation solids is introduced briefly. Secondly, The
stress and displacement fields around the anisotropic borehole subjected to the far-field stress fields are given
by Stroh formalism. Thirdly, the assumption of the body waves propagation along the direction of the borehole
axes yields the quantitative borehole acoustoelasticity. Lastly, we discuss the intrinsic anisotropy of the borehole
on the stress-induced velocity anisotropy around the borehole in detail.

1 INTRODUCTION medium subject to the homogeneous far-field hori-

It has been shown in many experiments that the stress-
induced wave velocity variations in rocks are about
10−2 ∼10−3 /MPa, which are much more than that of
metallic materials (Hirao & Ogi 2003, Johnson &
Rasolofosaon 1996, Nur & Simmons 1969, Pao et al
1984, Thurston & Brugger 1964, Toupin & Bernstein
1961, Vega 2003). Therefore, acoustoelasticity method
being based on the wave-velocity measurement around
a borehole will become a promising method of in-situ
stresses measurement, which promises non-contact,
non-destructive measurements and reusable sensors.
Mao et al. are the first authors to my knowledge to
estimate in situ stresses by measuring stress-induced
body-wave velocity anisotropy around a borehole of
10.2 cm diameter on a 35.6 cm cube of Nugget sand-
stone under biaxial compressional loadings in 1984
(Mao et al 1984). They measured the shear wave veloc-
ities of polarization either parallel or perpendicular to
the principal stress directions in the borehole. They
introduced a simple form of the stress-induced veloc-
ity variations around the borehole and used the biaxial
velocity data to back-calculate the applied stresses.
Sinha et al applied the non-uniform stress fields
around the borehole into the acoustoelastic formula for
the homogenous pre-deformed solids directly to obtain
the expressions for the compressional- and shear-
wave velocities of body waves propagating along
the axial direction of the borehole in an isotropic
zontal stresses (Sinha & Kostek 1996). Winkler et al
exerted an in-plane uni-axial compressional loading
along the θ = 00 to measure the compressional- and
shear-wave velocities for body waves propagating
along the axial direction of the borehole in a sandstone
sample (Winkler et al 1998). Their measurements for
the locations of θ = 00 or θ = 900 with a distance
of 2 borehole radii from the center of the borehole
agree with the theoretical prediction of Sinha (Sinha
& Kostek 1996). Tian and Wang simplified the stress
fields at the borehole wall as the uniform stress fields
to present a simplified acoustoelastic relation for body
waves propagating along the borehole wall (Tian &
Wang 2006). In the above-mentioned researches, all
rocks are assumed to be isotropic. To our knowledge,
there are no quantitative body-wave acoustoelastic
relations around an anisotropic borehole.
In this paper, considering the non-uniform stress
fields around an anisotropic borehole, we present a
quantitative borehole acoustoelasticity for body waves
to discuss the influence of rock anisotropy on the
stress-induced velocity anisotropy around the bore-
hole.
2 ACOUSTOELASTICITY THEORY
Based on finite deformation theory of elastic solids,
the acoustoelasticity theory is introduced to establish a

241
theoretical basis for stress-induced wave-velocity vari- the region outside the circular hole in zα plane is trans-
ations of solids. Assumptions of the initial static defor- formed to the region outside the unit circle in ξα plane,
mation, small dynamic disturbance, and hyperelastic where
constitutive equation yield the equations of motion for
displacements u(ξ, t) induced by the dynamic distur-
bance with reference to the natural coordinate system
(Pao et al 1984)

i i
where Tαβ and eαβ are the initial static stresses and
strains, respectively. ρ0 is the mass density free of
stresses. pα and aα (α = 1,2,3) are the three complex eigenval-
ues and eigenvectors of eigenvalue problem

cαβγδ and cαβγδζη are the second-order elastic constants

and the third-order elastic constants, respectively. For
an isotropic elastic solid, there exist two indepen-
dent second-order elastic constants (Lame constants λ
and µ) and three independent third-order elastic con-
stants (Murnaghan constants l, m, and n) (Murnaghan
1951).
where Im(pα ) > 0. Q, R, and T are 3 × 3 matrix, whose
components are expressed respectively as Qik = Ci1k1 ,
Rik = Ci1k2 , and Tik = Ci2k2 .
The displacements u = {u1 , u2 , u3 }T around the
borehole in the infinite anisotropic rock subjected to
the far-field principal stresses σij∞ (i, j = 1, 2, 3) are
expressed as

3 QUANTITATIVE BOREHOLE
ACOUSTOELASTICITY

We consider a borehole of radius a in an infinite,

homogeneous, anisotropic rock of elastic constants where
Cijkl subjected to far-field stresses. Without consid-
ering the variation of vertical stress, the problem can
be simplified as a generalized anisotropic plane strain
problem of ε∞ 33 = 0, which can be solved by Stroh the-
ory. A Cartesian coordinate system (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and a
cylindrical coordinate system (r, θ, x3 ) with the same
origin and x3 -axis are defined to make it coincide with
the borehole axis. Here it is assumed that the elastic
waves propagate along the direction of the borehole ε∞ ∞ ∞ T
1 = {ε11 , 0, 2ε13 } and ε∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ T
2 = {2ε12 , ε22 , 2ε23 } are
axis. the far-field strain vectors. t∞ 1 = {σ ∞
11 , σ ∞
12 , σ ∞ T
13 } and
t∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ T
2 = {σ12 , σ22 , σ23 } are the far-field stress vectors.
Correspondingly, the strains ε1 = {ε11 , 0, 2ε13 }T
3.1 Displacements and stresses around the and ε2 = {2ε12 , ε22 , 2ε23 }T are
anisotropic borehole subjected to the
far-field principal stresses
According to Storh theory, the circular-hole boundary
L in z plane can be denoted as

In zα plane, the corresponding circular-hole bound- The stresses t1 = {σ11 , σ12 , σ13 }T and t2 = {σ12 , σ22 ,
ary Lα can be expressed as σ23 }T are expressed as

Considering the conformal mapping

242
3.2 Plane waves propagating along the direction of
the borehole axis
A plane harmonic wave propagating along the direc-
tion of the borehole axis is considered, whose displace-
ments are represented in the cylindrical coordinate
system as

where ur0 , uθ0 , and ux3 0 are unknown amplitudes, ω the

angular frequency, k wave number, and α0 the polariza-
tion azimuth of shear waves with respect to the x1 axis.
Substitution of Eqs. (6)–(11) into Eq. (1) in the cylin-
drical coordinate system, and then letting θ = α0 yield
a system of equations for the unknown amplitudes

√
where D = V / C11 /ρ is the normalized wave veloc-
ity. Polarization of shear waves can be given by the
eigenvectors.

4 NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Here we take an example to discuss stress-induced
wave-velocity variations around an orthotropic bore-
hole. The second-order elastic constants C11 , C12 ,
C13 , C23 , C22 , C33 , C44 , C55 , and C66 of orthotropic
rocks of mass density 2650 kg/m3 are 119 GPa,
51 GPa, 52 GPa, 47 GPa, 110 GPa, 104 GPa, 29.7 GPa,
30.7 GPa, and 32.6 GPa, respectively (Choy et al
1979). Because there are no measurement of third–
order elastic constants of orthotropic rocks in the
present literatures, we assume third-order elastic con-
stants of orthotropic rocks to be isotropic, where l,
m, and n are −3371 GPa, −6742 GPa, and 6600 GPa,
respectively (Johnson & Rasolofosaon 1996). The
velocities of a pure longitudinal wave (P wave) and two
pure shear waves (SV1 and SV2 waves) for the free-
of-stress rock are 6265 m/s, 3404 m/s, and 3348 m/s,
respectively. The polarizations of two pure shear waves
are along x1 and x2 axes, respectively.
Azimuthal variations for three pure waves with
respect to free-of-stress state at the borehole surface
of orthotropic rock subjected to the far-field principal
stresses σ11 = σ22 = 5 MPa are shown in Fig.1. Fig-
ures 1(a) and 1(b) reprsent the relative velocity and
relative polarization, respectively. When 0 ≤ θ ≤ 90,
the relative velocities for pure P wave and SV2 wave
decrease with the increase of azimuthal angle, while
it is contrary to SV1 wave. At θ = 90, there are neg-
ative abrupt change of the relative wave velocity for
pure P wave and SV1 wave, while SV2 wave positive
abrupt change. When 180 ≥ θ > 90, azimuthal varia-
tions of three pure waves keep the same trends as those
Figure 1. Azimuthal variations of three pure waves with
respect to free-of-stress state at the borehole surface of
orthotropic rock subjected to the far-field principal stresses
σ11 = σ22 = 5 MPa.
of θ < 90. Because two principal stresses are equal,
azimuthal variations of the velocity change shown in
Fig.1 are mainly determined by orthotropic properties
of the rock. However, there are no azimuthal variations
of the relative velocity change for three pure waves in
the isotropic borehole. (Tian & Wang 2006).
When 0 ≤ θ ≤ 90, there is the polarization delay for
two pure shear waves with respect to free-of-stress
state, while it is contrary to 180 ≥ θ > 90. For isotropic
borehole, polarizations for two shear waves coincide
with the directions of principal stresses at the borehole
wall (Tian & Wang 2006).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the supports from the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
10602053 and No. 50808170), research grants from
Institute of Crustal Dynamics (No. ZDJ2007-2), and
research grants for oversea-returned scholars.
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1604–10.
Tian J, Wang E. 2006. Ultrasonic method for measuring in-
situ stress based on acoustoelasticity theory.YanshilixueYu
Gongcheng Xuebao/Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Engineering 25: 3719–24.
Toupin RA, Bernstein B. 1961. Sound Waves in Deformed
Perfectly Elastic Materials. Acoustoelastic Effect. The
Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America 33: 216–25
Vega S. 2003. Intrinsic and stress-induced velocity anisotropy
in unconsolidated sands. Ph.D thesis thesis. Stanford
University. 181 pp.
Winkler KW, Sinha BK, Plona TJ. 1998. Effects of borehole
stress concentrations on dipole anisotropy measurements.
Geophysics 63: 11–7.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The volume borehole deformation observation in China

H.L. Li
Institute of Crustal Dynamic, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the history of china volume borehole deformation observation is introduced. The
Chinese volume-strain product named model TJ-2, has the features of highest resolution, linearity and long time
stability. And the principle, transducer structure, technical specifications, install method, data acquisition, and
network communication technique etc. are introduced in this paper. The observation locations and earth-quake
precursor application in china are also described.

1 INTRODUCTION

A key observational requirement in the study of earth-

quakes is to observe deformation. The borehole defor-
mation instrument is a very important observational
tool. China’s earthquake precursor observation strain
used in drilling equipment, begun in 1966 (Chen
1995), has already had 40 years of history. The
low-pressure magnetic sensitivity of borehole stress
apparatus was used during 1966–1983. The volume-
type strain called TJ-1 instruments had been used
successfully in 1983 (Su 1997,1985), and now is called
TJ-2. At first, this high sensitivity instrument was not
installed more until 2003 and only 31 units installed,
mainly in northern China. In 2006, more are installed,
although the country has already about 100 sets. In this
paper, the TJ-2 principle, transducer structure, tech-
nical specifications, install method, data acquisition
and network communication technique are introduced.
In addition, its observation location and earthquake
precursor application in china are also described. Figure 1. Transducer structure of TJ-2.

2 TRANSDUCER STRUCTURE OF TJ-2

China’s TJ2 sensor principle is basically the same
as that in the United States and Japan. The struc-
ture is similar with the Sacks-Evertson(
1983). Thus no big difference, China’s size type and
its drilling equipment have its own characteristics.
Figure 1 shows the Transducer structure of TJ-2.
Compared with United States and Japan, China vol-
ume sensor is characterized by as follows (Su et al.
1997):
(1) The sensor is not the linear variable differential
transformer (LVDT), which is not the corrugated
pipe but the fluid pressure sensor (differential
pressure sensors). They can be said that the former
way of working is “liquid surface displacement
type”, while the latter is “the pressure of the
liquid-type”.
(2) The volume loss provided by its own volume (the
amount of deformation of the volume) is differ-
ent from the former, the latter is relatively small.
As a result, the volume of China’s total height of
the instrument response is only up to 100 cm. This
not only reduces costs but also facilitates the pro-
duction of commissioning, transportation, on-site
installation.
(3) Since the structure is simplified, the underground
part of the basic diameter is 108 mm. The required
hole diameter is reduced from 150 mm to 130 mm.
(4) For pressure sensors, it has good high-frequency
characteristics. So the emergency equipment can
observe the high frequency information. However,
some aspects of this work have not developed yet.
(5) There is a backup sensor. Once suffering a light-
ning strike and the damaged downhole sensors
cannot continue to work, we have also installed

245

Figure 2. Tj-2 Sensor Installation Diagram.
Figure 3. The Ground Equipment of TJ-2.
backup sensors inside that the instrument perfor-
mance is fully consistent with it, where its four
endpoints are connected to the electronic circuits
the “land” side in peacetime.
3 SENSOR INSTALL METHOD
TJ-2 sensor installation diagram is shown in Figure 2.
Firstly we used the special device to put the spe-
cial cement into the bottom of the borehole, and then
placed sensors on it. The purpose of this installation
is to coupling the sensor with the borehole to keep
consolidation of cement (Su 2004).
4 GROUND EQUIPMENT AND
SPECIFICATIONS
As the volume-type strain signal is closely related to
the borehole water level, atmospheric pressure, tem-
perature, air pressure, water level and temperature
signals are also observed beside the physical strain sig-
nal observing systems. The functional block diagram
of ground equipment of TJ-2 is shows in Figure 3.
The ground equipment consists of the power sup-
ply, signal pre-processing, multi-way switch, A/D
conversion, control boards and other components.
The ground equipment structure is as shown
below: system control using embedded control mod-
ule to complete, the module features real-time clock,
10/100 MB Ethernet interface, an IDE interface and
DOC and so on. The module’s power consumption is
246
Table 1. TJ type borehole strain the major specifications.
Content TJ-1 TJ-2
Sensitivity 1 mV/1 × 10−8 ≥2.0 mV/1 × 10−8
Resolution (1∼1.5) × 10−9 ≤1 × 10−9
Sensor number 1 2
Range (2∼3) × 10−6 ≥6 × 10−6
Dynamic Range (2∼3) × 103 ≥1 × 104
Noise Level 0.1 mV <0.1 mV
Self-stability 1 × 10−7 /a 1 × 10−7 /a
Calibration Constant Constant Current(2s)
Voltage(5s)
Linearity <1% (0.2–1)%
Sensor diameter ϕ114 ϕ108
with 4 watts; Software operation is to use the wince
4.2 operating system. Measuring device by the con-
trol module is to control, calibration, clock service,
communication control, signal pre-processing, A/D
conversion and measurement data storage.
LTC2400 is used as A/D conversion chip (Li 2003),
which is a high-precision micro-power AD converter
24-bit A/D converter chip integrated oscillator, operat-
ing voltage range of 2.7 V–5.5 V, integral linearity error
(INL), 4ppm, RMS noise with 0.3 ppm. The chip uses
the unique architecture of the digital filter to eliminate
the waiting time to reach steady state. LTC2400 used
by the SPI interface is compatible with the 3-wire dig-
ital interface, which is applied for high-resolution and
low-frequency situations.
The Ethernet port of ground equipment system
supports the following features: Webserver, FTP, net-
work communications control, the use of SNTP timing
server and so on.
The instrument power is supplied with 220-volt AC
power supply or 12 volt DC power supply. In order
to meet the AC power grid voltage instability during
the working, the data acquisition device has a wide
range of AC voltage power supply (100-260V) and
DC voltage range of 6-16 volts. The table 1 shows the
TJ-1 and TJ-2 the major technical specifications about
the volume type borehole strain. The comparison of
some key performance parameters is give for the TJ-1
and the TJ-2(Su 2004).
5 OBSERVATION STATIONS IN CHINA
At present, China has nearly one hundred sets of TJ-
2 instrument in the working stations, the majority of
which made a very good observational data. The data
play a good role in the Earth science research and the
earthquake prediction. The results of a small number
of observational data is not very satisfactory, partly
because of various reasons, such as drilling condi-
tions itself. Figure 4 shows the observation stations
distribution map in China.
Figure 5 shows the value curve on QINGZHONG
station in China’s Hainan Province on 1–18 minutes,
December 2008.

Figure 4. Distribution of TJ-2 Borehole Strainmeter station
in China.
Figure 5. Observing Curve of QINGZHONG Station.
Through practical observation and data analysis, the
following interesting phenomenon is found:
1. The quality of observational data are greatly influ-
enced by the drilling, rock quality, and environmen-
tal conditions.
2. The magnitude and quality of the solid tidal strain
are different for the different received stations.
6 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS
Up to now, China’sTJ-2 Instrument is basically mature.
The future work is to try to capture the high-frequency
signal. On the other hand, it is further needed to probe
the relationship between signals and the earthquakes
247
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is founded by Exploration technology deep
and experimental study (SinoProbe-06-02) and the
Basic scientific Special Fund (ZDJ2007-2) supported
by Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA.
REFERENCES
Chen, D.F. & Su, K.Z. 1995. Seismic ground deformation
observation technology. Earthquake Press: 229–250 (in
Chinese).
Li, H.L. 2003. 24-bit A/D Controller LTC2400 and Its Appli-
cation, International Electronic Elements (12) (in Chinese
with English abstract).
Li, H.L. 2007. The implementation of networking of TJ-2 vol-
ume borehole deformation instrument. Seismological and
Geomagnetic Observation and Research 28(2)(in Chinese
with English abstract).
Su, K.Z. 1985. The stress measurement method. Seismic
Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Su, K.Z. & Li, G.R. 1997. Small borehole strain meter. Inland
earthquake 11(4): 316–322(in Chinese).
Su, K.Z. & Ma H.J. 2003. Combined strain observation
instrument. Seismological Research 26 (2): 164–171 (in
Chinese with English abstract).
Su, K.Z. 2003. My observation borehole strain Retrospect
and Prospect. Seismological and Geomagnetic Observa-
tion and Research 24(1): 65–69(in Chinese with English
abstract).
Su, K.Z. & Li, H.L.2004. Borehole strain measurement in
Progress. Beijing: Earthquake Press: 154–217(in Chi-
nese).
Su, K.Z. 2005. Topography varying technical problems
of continuous observation. Geodesy and Geodynamics
25(1): 131–135(in Chinese with English abstract).
(1983). 3
, 1983(48):1∼3.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Relationship between rock stress and failure of underground cavern’s wall

rock at river valley with ‘V’ shape

Quan Jiang, Xiating Feng, Dingping Xu & Cunpeng Shi

State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: For large underground cavern established in bank slope with ‘V’ shape valley, estimation of
in-situ rock stress and failure of wall rock is very signification, not only for prevention from potential failure,
large deformation, and instability of caverns, but also for the optimizing design of rock supporting. As a typical
example, the relationship between valley rock stress field ofYalong river and rock failure of underground caverns
is discussed. Firstly, the differences between elastic simulation method and elasto-plastic simulation method of
in-situ rock stress field at ‘V’ shape valley are analyzed, which shows that the rock stress field calculated by
elasto-plastic constitutive model is more reasonable. Then, the subfield of valley’s stress field is marked out
according to the ratio between maximum principle stress and vertical stress, which is useful for position design
of cavern in bank. And, the rock failure of cavern, which is in different horizontal and vertical position of bank
slope, has been summarized through statistical analysis of 9 meshed models using numerical method. What’s
more, the comprehension about rock failure of Jining I underground caverns and in-situ rock stress filed of
Yalong river valley is discussed and the conclusion is that the in-situ initial rock stress condition in stratum,
including value and direction of stress, is the basic force source of rock failure in underground engineering.

1 INTRODUCTION maximum principle stress and vertical stress. The fail-

In underground construction of large cavern or tunnel,
determination of in-situ rock stress and failure of wall
rock is very important, not only for prevention from
potential failure, large deformation, and instability of
caverns, but also for the optimizing design of rock sup-
porting (Rajmeny 2002, Xia 2007, Li Shouju 2008).
However, many outside factors, such as historical tec-
tonic stress, encroach of valley bottom, degradation of
bank slope el al., had affected the primal self-weight
rock stress and leaded to the complicated current rock
stress of bank slope at ‘V’ shape valley (Hudson 2003,
Tan 2004, Li 2006).
Since the construction of underground engineering
at ‘V’ shape valley is inevitable during the develop-
ment of hydro power, understanding the basic rules of
rock stress at deep valley is necessary. Through the
analysis of stress field at valley with ‘V’ shape, the
relative safety island, in which the rock stress has less
disadvantageous effect on failure of wall rock during
excavation of caverns, can be found easier. To under-
standing the failure of wall rock at deep valley, this
paper explains that elastic-plastic constitutive model is
more reasonable in the aspect of geo-stress numerical
simulation by the way of contrasting the differences
between elastic calculated result and elastic- plastic
calculated resul firstly. Then, the subfield of valley
stress field is marked according to the ratio between
ure characters of wall rock in different horizontal and
vertical position of slope is summarized also through
the way of statistical analysis of 9 numerical calculat-
ing examples. What’s more, the relationship between
rock failure of Jining I underground caverns in China
and geo-stress filed of Yalong river valley is discussed
based on above understanding.
2 BASIC CHARACTER OF JINPING I PROJECT
Jinping I hydropower station, located at Sichuan
province of China, is a key tread water power station in
Yalong river basin. The flow direction ofYalong river is
about N25◦ E. The underground power caverns, includ-
ing main powerhouse, main transformed cavern, high
press water tunnel, tailrace tunnel et al., is buried at
right band slope with vertical depth about 160–420 m.
The region of hydropower station is typical V-
shaped river valley morphology with high grand
mountains and deep gorges. The mountain at the
project is intact, steep and sharp. The gradient of
Yalong river’s slope is about 70–90 degree under
1770 m elevation and 40 degree upwards 1770 m ele-
vation (show as Fig. 1). The stratum at the underground
engineering is Triassic sandwich marble, the trend of
which is near to the river. The suggested mechanical
parameters of marble mass are shown as Table 1.

249
Figure 1. The position of Jinping I underground cavern and
‘V’ shape valley of Yalong river.
Table 1. Basic suggested mechanical parameters of marble.
Rock E/GPa υ C/MPa φ/◦
II 25–42 0.25 2.0 0.95
III 5–22 0.3 0.9–1.5 0.75
IV 25–40 0.35 0.6 0.58
3 METHOD OF NUMERICAL SIMULATION
AND CHARACTERS OF ROCK STRESS AT
DEEP VALLEY
In the aspect of numerical simulation about valley
geo-stress field, two type constitutive models are used
usually, which are linear elastic model and elasto-
plastic mode (Liu 2006, Jiang 2008, Li G. 2009). For
the purpose of distinguishing the better constitutive
model which is more factual, the rock stress of bank
slope at Jinping I powerhouse region is discussed as
an example. So, a meshed slope model with the size
650 m in length and 600 m in width is built (show
as Fig. 2). And, the displacement boundary condition
for geo-stress simulation is gained also by nonlinear
regression method, such as Artificial Neural Network
(show as Eq. 1). Using regressed boundary condition,
the simulated rock stress is agreed with the measured
geo-stress at the position of in-situ stress measurement.
Since the main aim is to discuss the effect of numerical
constitute model on calculated result of rock stress at
deep valley, the regression method of rock stress is not
expounded here.
250
Figure 2. Meshed model of Jinping I bank slope.
Where, P = (p1 , p2 , . . . pn ) is the input vector of ANN;
D = (d1 , d2 , . . . dm ) is the output vector of ANN;
NN (n, h1 , . . . , hp , m) is the structure of ANN.
3.1 Constrast between elastic simulated result and
elasto-plastic simulated result of valley stress
With the same displacement boundary condition, the
same meshed model and the same mechanical defor-
mation parameters, the calculated geo-stress by elastic
model and the calculated geo-stress by elasto-plastic
model are gained. Some obvious difference can be
found (shown as Fig.3 and Fig.4), such as:
• Different position of stress concentration (shown as
‘1’ in Fig.3 and Fig.4)
In elastic result, the zone of maximum stress con-
centration is located at the surface of valley, but that
zone of stress concentration in elasto-plastic result is
located at depth about 80 m under the bottom of val-
ley. Indeed, the surface marble should failure when the
maximum principle stress reaches −110 MPa in elastic
result (according to elastic mechanics, the ‘−’ means
compress stress and the ‘+’ means tension stress),
since the rock mass of marble has the strength which is
not more than 60 MPa. The elasto-plastic result shows
that the maximum principle stress, about −70 MPa,
concentrates under the bottom is more reasonable. This
result is agree well with the usual phenomenon that
the disking phenomenon often appears at the inside of
valley but not surface (Zhu 1985).
• Different distribution of stress at shallow slope
(shown as ‘2’ in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4)
Figure 3. Rock stress of ‘V’ shape valley simulated result
by elastic constitutive model.
The elasto-plastic result shows the accessorial ten-
dency of geo-stress from small to large step by step
in bank slope. But, this instance is not agree with the
elastic calculated result, which shows violent grads
of geo-stress at surface of bank slope. Since the rock
at surface is weak, there has not condition to stor-
age large geo-stress. So, the geo-stress field at bank
slope simulated by elasto-plastic model is seems more
reasonable.
• Different grads of stress increase (shown as ‘3’ in
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4)
The difference between elastic calculated result and
elasto-plastic calculated result is that the elasto-plastic
result is steeper of stress increase than that of elastic
result. Maybe this results is related with the position of
stress concentration and rock stress at surface of slope.
251
Figure 4. Rock stress of ‘V’ shape valley simulated result
by elasto-plastic constitutive model.
• The appear of tension stress (shown as ‘4’ in Fig. 3
and Fig. 4)
The tension stress appears at the bulgy surface of
slope in elastic calculated result, but that is not found in
elasto-plastic calculated result. In fact, the rock should
failure by tension if the tensile stress exists. In the con-
sequent longtime geology process, the natural slope
can not appear tensile stress.
In sum, the analysis above indicates that the rock
stress at ‘V’ shape valley simulated by elasto-plastic
model is more reasonable.
3.2 Characters of rock stress at ‘V’ shape valley
From above simulated result by elasto-plastic model, it
is clear that the rock stress at a point is not only related
Figure 5. Typical zone of valley stress field.
to the thickness of covered stratum, but also related
to the position apart away from valley. So, a stress
coefficient (γ), defined as the ratio between maximum
principle stress and vertical stress (shown as Eq.2), is
used to mark the rock stress at bank slope.
Where, σ1 is the maximum principle stress and σv is
the vertical stress.
Analyzing the distribution of γ, several typical zone
can be marked out at the ‘V’ shape valley. They are:
I: zone of stress concentration at bottom valley,
where both σ1 and and γ are very large.
II: zone of stress increase at foot of valley, where
the rock stress has obvious tectonic component con-
trasting to self-weight stress field.
III: zone of slope stress at bank surface, where the
rock stress at stratum is small.
IV: natural hill stress within the mountain, where the
rock stress is not affected by valley terrain distinctly.
4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROCK FAILURE
AND INITIAL IN-SITU ROCK STRESS
Hoek (1995) found the phenomenon firstly that the
rock stress at intact stratum is one of key factors lead-
ing to failure of wall rock at tunnel or cavern and the
stress failure of rock do correspond to the direction of
in-situ initial maximum principal stress. R.S. Read’s
(2004) study about granite spalling at Mine-by test-
ing tunnel of AECL and Martin’s (2009) study about
diorite flaking at circular testing tunnel of ASPO also
shows that the essential force of rock’s failure is the
initial geo-stress deposited at rock mass. So, to avoid
or reduce the failure of rock, how to find the rela-
tive safe position is very important if construction of
underground cavern is necessary at complicated deep
valley. Here, nine meshed models, having a cavern in
252
Figure 6. Different position of cavern in bank slope.
every model, are built up to find the safety island at
valley bank (shown as Fig.6). The cavern, with the size
of 25 m in width and 40 m in height has the volume of
38000 m3 . During numerical excavation simulation of
cavern, the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion is adopted
(shown as Eq. 3).
4.1 Failure of wall rock at different position
Using numerical simulation software of Fast
Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC), nine mod-
els have been calculated under the same condition and
the failure volume of wall rock around the cavern have
gained. Dividing the failure volume by volume of cav-
ern, a dimensionless failure volume ratio (Rfailure ) is
gained.
Where, Vbreak is the volume of failure rock and Vcavern
is the volume of cavern.
The horizontal curve between failure volume ratio
and horizontal distance from valley shows the trend
that the more the cavern is apart from the valley, the
little the failure volume ratio is (shown as Fig.7). Sim-
ilarly, along the vertical direction with 175 m space to
valley, the failure volume ratio rises with the increase
of cavern’s elevation. The reason leading the result is
the in-situ stress condition mainly including the value
of the maximum principle stress, the relation between
the maximum and the minimum principle stress, el al.
The numerical result indicates a suggestion for us that
Figure 7. Curve of failure volume ratio with distance from
the valley and elevation.
Figure 8. Failure of wall rock at Jinping I underground
caverns.
the position of cavern should be in deep at valley not
only from the horizontal direction but also from the
vertical direction for the safety of cavern. But, a prac-
tical embarrassment is that the general construction
cost of cavern must be increased notable because of
building of accessorial engineering, including trans-
port tunnel, the draining tunnel, and so on. So, the
reasonable design proposal of cavern position should
considering the safety and cost at the same time. Refer-
ring to the Yalong river valley, the ideal position for
underground main powerhouse is middle between the
zone of stress increase (shown as II in Fig. 5) and zone
of natural hill stress (shown as IV in Fig.5), where the
failure volume ratio of rock is not too large and the
assistant engineering is not too density.
4.2 Analysis of rock failure at underground
caverns of Jinping I project
During the excavation of Jinping I underground cav-
erns, stress failure of wall rock appeared at most of
caverns and tunnels. In general, there are two kind of
rock stress failure, shown as ‘A’ and ‘B’ in Fig. 8). One
kind of rock failure, named type A, is crack or break
of wall rock, happened at upstream wall and down-
stream spandrel of the main powerhouse and the main
253
Figure 9. The maximum principle stress field of Jinping I
caverns after excavation.
transformed cavern, the lengthways axes of which are
upright to the Yalong river. The typical characters of
‘A’ failure are outside project or snap of rock and the
force resource is the geo-stress having the direction
from upstream to down stream with small obliquity.
The other kind of rock failure, named type B, is split
or fracture of rock at high press water tunnel, tailrace
tunnel, busbar channel, and son on, the lengthways
axes of which are parallel to the Yalong river almost.
The typical characters of ‘B’ failure are small spalling
of surface rock and the force resource is the geo-stress
having the direction upright to the Yalong river with
the obliquity about obliquity of 40–50 degree.
From the back analysis of rock failure of Jin-
ping underground caverns and the rock stress field of
Yalong river valley, a conclusion about Jinping caverns
is that the maximum principle stress which is upright
to the river leads to the type ‘B’ failure and the middle
principle stress which is to parallel to the river leads
to the type ‘A’ failure (shown as Fig. 9). By the way,
the issue that most caverns are located in the zone of
stress increase at foot of valley, which accelerates the
failure of rock, need more ponder still. The fact shows
that the in-situ rock stress in stratum is the basic force
source of rock failure again.
5 CONCLUSION
Taking the Jinping I project as an example, the rela-
tionship between rock stress of ‘V’ shape valley and
rock failure of underground cavern is discussed. In the
study, several cognitions can be concluded.
Firstly, the reasonable model to simulate the in-situ
rock stress at ‘V’ shape valley is the elasto-plastic con-
stitutive model, which can reflect the in-situ practical
yield of stratum in numerical simulation.
Secondly, the design of cavern position in bank
slope should locate at the relative safety island to
reduce or avoid the failure of wall rock.
Thirdly, the failure distribution of wall rock in
Jinping I underground caverns indicates that the in-
situ initial rock stress condition in stratum is the
force source of rock failure and the direction of the
maximum controls the place of rock failure.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work is financially supported by National Nat-
ural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.
40902090 and National Special Funds for Major
State Basic Research Project under Grant No.
2010CB732006. The authors would like to give their
acknowledgement to Mr. Song Shenwu, Mr. Zhou
zhong, Mr. Zeng Xionghui for their assistance on basic
information of Jinping I project.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Static vertical pendulum – apparatus for in-situ relative stress

measurement

L. Neumann
ANECT, a.s., Prague, Czech Republic

P. Kalenda
IRSM CAS CZ, Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT: Static vertical pendulums have been installed in mines and caves in Central Europe since 2007.
The two dimensional optical measurement of tilt of rock mass and continuous full digital on-line evaluation
of results makes possible to detect small tilt of the surroundings with resolution of tens of nanoradians or
deformation of the surroundings in the horizontal plane with resolution of hundereds nanometers. The paper
will describe the measurement device, measurement method, observed effects and theirs evaluation.
The two years experience of measurement shows that it is possible to find the main direction of stress in the
surroundings of the pendulum and its development in time. The noise level and anomalous deformation devel-
opment shows the value of relative stress in the surroundings of the pendulum. The correlation of deformation
between distant stations shows existence of stress variations that they are not of local origin. The stress field has
wider than regional character and effects of very far origin can be observed.
The great changes in stress orientation and in stress state were observed before the biggest earthquakes on
the Eurasian lithosphere plate.

1 INTRODUCTION

The current main task of seismology seems to be

the prediction of earthquakes. Although the modern
science uses many apparatus based on various princi-
ples, and it manages many sophisticated mathematical
procedures, there is not generally accepted method
how to predict the earthquake deterministically i.e. to
assess the place, time window and magnitude of future
earthquake. It can be seen ex-post that many of main
shocks could be predicted and many of apparatuses or
methods showed the detectable anomalies.
One of the most important conclusions of the
ISESEP 09 International Conference On Earthquake
Prediction in Beijing says that for immediate predic-
tion it is necessary to measure stress in rocks contin-
uously using direct or indirect methods (Crampin &
Gao 2009, Shi et al. 2009).
Most common methods for indirect measurement
of stress in seismogenic depths are methods based on
measurement of strain or tilt of rocks. From the instru-
mentation point of view, the tilt measuring methods
started to be used first (Melchior 1983, Braitenberg
et al. 2006); however, they were not used to predict
earthquakes. They registered only occasionaly anoma-
lous tilt preceding earthquakes (Biagi et al. 1976,
Braitenberg 1999). Strain measurement is broadly
used in China (Li et al. 2003) and the measurements
were performed there in 358 areas in 2009 (Shi et al.
2009). The measurement of movement of wings of
Figure 1. Most common deformations of rock mass by hor-
izontal force – a) strain and rotation, b) layering, c) pure
rotation.
active faults by various dilatometers can show the peri-
ods of fault activity, when the Coulomb criterion on the
fault is fulfilled (Stemberk et al. 2003).
Because the tectonic stress in rock mass is mostly
horizontal (Staš & Souček 2002), the common defor-
mations will be in vertical directions (see Fig. 1). That
is why we suggested for the indirect stress measure-
ment a quite new apparatus, based on vertical static
pendulum (Neumann 2007).
2 VERTICAL STATIC PENDULUM
2.1 Physical principles
The measurement device is based on very simple
physical principle. It is vertical static pendulum. The
pendulum weight (bob) is made from electromagnet-
ically neutral material. It is not conductor, it is not
insulator; it has minimal permittivity and permeability.

255
The weight is hanged on the pendulum rod and calmed
in stable position by the swing attenuator.
The relative position of the pendulum weight to the
surrounding is measured by optical sensor in hori-
zontal plain. Used light beam is perpendicular to the
pendulum movement plain. Every acquired sample is
on-line processed by connected measurement com-
puter. The result of the image processing is stored in
the raw data form. The raw data is transferred to the
central computer system in regular time periods. The
raw data transformation and following processing is
made by the central computer system.
2.2 Technology and functionality
Three technologically different generation of the pen-
dulum have been developed (Neumann 2007). The last
one is described in the following text.
The weight was made from concrete. Weight mass
is about 5 kg. Minimum amount of metal component
was used. The swing attenuator had liquid filling.
Mineral heavy lubricating engine oil was used. The
pendulum rod was made from steel wire with diam-
eter about 1 mm (with respect of local conditions).
The sensor is digital camera with microscope objec-
tive lens. Optical magnification has been setup by
the lens selection with respect of local conditions.
The light source is monochromatic LED diode. Very
important part of the weight position measurement
subsystem is micro-raster. It is specific pattern made
on the glass backplane. The pattern has been designed
to support the error free functionality of the eval-
uation algorithm. It supports wide range of optical
magnification of the sensor. The specific irregular and
Figure 2. Scheme of static vertical pendulum (1- rod,
2- weight, 3- pattern, 4- swing attenuator, 5- camera
suspension, 6- camera, 7- microscope, 8- light source).
256
non-repetitive pattern has been developed. It supports
unique acquired image in any position.
The computer with specific evaluation software is
the part of the measurement device. The computer cap-
tures the micro-raster image by the micro-camera and
calculates relative image displacements with respect
of reference image. Low power consumption computer
and USB digital camera have been used.
The camera resolution was usually setup to
800 × 600 pixels. The square cutout 600 × 600 pixels
or 512 × 512 pixels was used for the following pro-
cessing. The acquired image is numerically filtered to
its contour view. The acquired contour together with
stored reference image contour is transformed into
the position difference in X and Y axes. Modified
two-dimensional Hough parametric transformation
algorithm was used (Marble Project 1996).
The result of repeated digital image filtering is time
series of relative displacements in two orthogonal axes
X andY calibrated in pixels (optical elements of image
area) relative to the sensor orientation. The sensitiv-
ity of the measurement device was setup in range
about 2 µm/pixel to 0.07 µm/pixel in different locali-
ties. The sensitivity is not the technology maximum;
it was selected as the optimum between sensitivity,
measured displacements short period noise, and mea-
sured displacement value range. Digitalized optical
cutoff area has limited size (600 × 600 or 512 × 512
pixels). Adaptive algorithm using automatically cap-
tured reference image is used in case when pendulum
weight displacement is greater than size of the cap-
tured optical area. The pendulum rod length has been
approximately from 1.0 m to 36 m depending on the
specific situation in the locality.
The basic measurement device calibration is geo-
metrical and absolute. Optical image resolution was
calculated from the sampled image size with known
size micro-raster pattern. The pendulum suspension
(rod) length was measured directly in every locality.
The micro-camera objective lens optical features and
camera sensor size was supposed as constant. Calibra-
tion accuracy was estimated better than +/−10%. The
global pendulum sensitivity was from 150 nRad/pixel
to 15 nRad/pixel. The sensitivity had to be setup
with respect to the local conditions in place of
measurement.
Sampling speed is limited by the CPU speed of used
computer. It was recognized that 10 s sampling period
is adequate to measurement needs.
Figure 3. Acquired image pattern and contour view
examples.
2.3 Measurement system
The measuring system consists of separated measure-
ment devices placed in specific locality and of central
system. The specific measurement device was adapted
to the specific local circumstances, namely to the
power supply conditions and internet connection pos-
sibilities. The typical measurement device consists of
two computers. The first one deals with measurement
(as described above). It is placed close to the pendu-
lum in the underground. The second one is placed
on the surface to support internet connectivity. The
cable between both two computers is used typically to
enable communication between computers and to sup-
ply power to the measurement computer. Very long
cable is usually needed in real condition; therefore
specific electronic adapters had to be used to sup-
port long cable communication and power transport.
The communication computer was connected to inter-
net with respect of local possibilities. GSM modem
supporting only low speed internet connection had to
be used in localities where no wired connection was
ready.
Figure 4. Measurement system principal schema.
Figure 5. The vertical static pendulum deployment map; status at the end of year 2009; green squares – in operation, blue –
installed but not in operation, open – planed.
257
Both computers are programmed to communicate
with central system in regular time periods. The raw
measured data is transferred to the central system. The
communication computer reads commands from cen-
tral system and writes status information to the central
system as well.
The raw measured transferred data from all mea-
sured devices are processed by central system. It is
made daily. The central system automatic data process-
ing includes transformation of raw data into physical
coordinates, calculation of averages and variations
(30 min and 3 min) and transforming into the form
of time series and graphs. The calculated results can
be displayed remotely by standard web browser and
can be used for further analysis. The central system is
used for system management as well. It receives status
information from all measured devices and evaluates
technical parameters every hour. The results can be
used for quick overall information about all measure-
ment devices and for more detail view of anyone as
well. The measurement system enables remote control
of measurement devices including operation support
and a possibility to focus camera remotely.
2.4 Deployment
The vertical pendulum is highly sensitive device. It can
react to traffic, walking people, wind, drought, changes
in humidity and temperature. Therefore it needs an
insulated chamber or place without access of visitors.
We found optimal places in the old inclined gallery
Prokop in Příbram abandoned mines, with chambers
and branches, where only highly scientific instru-
mentation is in operation at present (Skalský 1963,
Skalský & Pícha 1965), and only operators are allowed
to enter. A suitable environment will be found in cave
No.13C in Moravian Karst, which is closed to the
public.
Ten pendulums are in operation in the area of Cen-
tral Europe at the end of year 2009 (see Fig. 5 and
Table 1).
Table 1. Parameters of underground pendulums.

Sign of In opeartion End of Depth Length Sensitivity Azim Instalation

pend. Locality since operation Latitude Longitude [m] [m] nRad/pix X position

P1 Příbram 9.2.2007 1.11.2007 49.68601 N 13.99722 E 1 1.03 346 225 at NNW side of tube
P1a Příbram 9.10.2008 49.68601 N 13.99722 E 1 1.02 275 225 at NNW side of tube
P7 Příbram 17.5.2007 49.68515 N 13.99288 E 96 3.63 82 350 at NE side of chamber
P6 Příbram 20.1.2009 49.68561 N 13.99416 E 65 2.00 95 45 S side of road
13C cave No.13C 3.11.2007 20.9.2008 49.39724 N 16.77243 E 30 30.49 12 255 N side of abyss
13Ca cave No.13C 19.10.2008 5.3.2009 49.39724 N 16.77243 E 30 30.49 25 255 N side of abyss
13Cb cave No.13C 4.4.2009 49.39724 N 16.77243 E 30 30.49 27 255 N side of abyss
Lub Lubeník Slovakia 25.8.2008 48.64934 N 20.17434 E 200 10.25 41 27 SE side of schaft
S1 Skutina, Sněžné 28.3.2009 50.35501 N 16.29112 E 3 36.55 18 315 N wall of fortress schaft
D2 Skutina, Sněžné 3.10.2009 50.35501 N 16.29112 E 3 17.88 56 315 N wall of fortress schaft
Ida Ida mine M.Svat. 1.4.2009 50.53289 N 16.08433 E 200 4.56 45 142 NE side of chamber

3 PHENOMENA, OBSERVED BY PENDULUM

MEASUREMENT

After installation of the pendulum lasts a period then

there are relaxed various stresses of the pendulum’s
cable and the holders of the cable of the pen dulum
and camera. This deformation development can be
described by the equation

where do is representing decompensated deformation, Figure 6. The tilt and noise of tilt development on station
which was caused by changes of stress in the surround- P7 in Příbram P7_NS – tilt in NS direction +N, P7_varNS –
ing of the pendulum’s suspension and by change of noise (variation) of tilt in NS direction. Stress wave – see
paper (Kalenda & Neumann 2010).
strain of the pendulum‘s material. The constant k is
determined by elastic properties of suspension mate-
rial and of rock in the surroundings of points A and
B. The constant to is the time of manipulation with the
pendulum when the stress state in the surrounding of
suspensions of the camera and the rod was changed.
Such stress relaxation is clearly visible on Fig. 6 after
April 15, 2008, when the pendulum was re-installed.
The measurement of deformation is not disturbed by
this additional stress relaxation of the pendulum after
a couple of weeks or months and measured deforma-
tion is fully dependent on changes of external stress
in the rock mass between points A and B. The length
of measuring a base between points A and B and their Figure 7. The tilt and noise of tilt development on station P7
geometry in the chamber determines what reaction of in Příbram and seismicity in Nový Kostel seismic swarm area,
registered by Webnet (Horálek & Fischer 2008) – seismic
massif on the external stress field will be. The longer
events, P7_NS, P7_EW – tilts in NS or EW directions (+N,
measuring base is the less sensitive to the deformation +E), P7_noise_NS – variations of tilt in NS direction.
geometry in the surrounding of points A and B the
results are.
It is possible to define the periods, when the or compared with theoretical values of tilt accord-
tilt development was changed radically on the mid- ing to the semielastic model of the Earth’s lithosphere
term scale. For example, pendulum P7 in Příbram by Wahr-Dehant-Zschau (Skalský 1991). The diurnal
changed its tilt development around August 3 and periods of tilt is clearly visible on the pendulum P1
October 1, 2008 (see Fig. 7). The next big changes at Příbram, which is installed only 1–2 m below the
of tilt development were observed at the turn of 2008 surface (see Fig. 9 a,b). Such diurnal waves are caused
and 2009. mainly by exposition of the Earth’s surface (Neumann
On a short-time scale, we can observe semidiurnal 2007). In the afternoon, when the surface temperature
variations of tilt, caused by earth tides (see Fig.8). is the highest, the deformation of the rock mass in
The amplitude of tilt varies in time and it is different the surrounding of the pendulum becomes irreversible
on both directions (NS and EW) compared each other (see Fig. 9b).

258
Figure 8. Short-period tilt (trend removed) of pendulum P7
in Příbram compared with theoretical tide tilt. NEIC – seismic
events M>7 according to NEIC catalogue, other legenda see
Figs. 6 and 7.
Figure 9. The diurnal variation of tilt measured by pendu-
lum P1 in Příbram.
Figure 10. Creep, observed on pendulums P1 and P7 in
Příbram.
Figure 11. Silent earthquake and microearthquake,
observed on pendulums P7 and P1.
Such diurnal waves were observed by pendulum
P7 too, although this pendulum is installed in the
distance 200 m of pendulum P1 and in the ground
90 m below the surface, but the amplitudes of diurnal
waves measured by pendulum P7 are much smaller
than pendulum P1 ones.
When the primary data, measured with sampling
period of 10 s, are analysed, the various forms of
irreversible deformations in the surrounding of the
pendulum are visible. The most often irreversible
deformation is creep (see Fig. 10), silent earthquakes
(see Fig. 11a) or microearthquakes (see Fig.11b).
The movements, generated by local, regional or tele-
seismic earthquakes were observed on all pendulums.
259
Figure 12. Coseismic slip registered during Indonesian
earthquake on 12 September 2007.
Sometimes, coseismic deformations were observed,
which were caused mainly by surface waves of big
earthquakes, i.e. in the case of the Sumatra earthquake
on September 12, 2007 (M = 8.5) (see Fig. 12).
4 ESTIMATION OF STRESS AND DIRECTION
OF ITS MAIN COMPONENT
The estimation of the stress tensor in the surrounding
of the pendulum is not as easy as it looks, because it is
not clear what deformation is caused by increasing of
stress and what deformation is caused by decreasing
of stress and massif relaxation. Because the blocks of
Earth core can be regarded as a beam with one fixed
end in the mantle and one free end on the Earth’s sur-
face (see Fig. 1), such blocks will be inclined to the
north when the force F increases and its direction is
from south to the north. On the other hand, if the force
F decreases and its direction are oriented against in
northern direction, the blocks will incline to the south
according to Hook’s law
In the real environment of Earth’s core, the ideal
beams with one fixed end are not present and each
blocks of Earth’s core react individually to increasing
stress by individual deformation, rotation and move-
ment, which are defined by local geometry of block’s
contact with other blocks, by stress transfer between
blocks and physical parameters of rock mass and
faults between blocks. It results into the apparently
chaotic and opposite movements of blocks with vari-
ous directions and amplitudes (Stemberk et al. 2003,
Briestenský et al. 2007a, Briestenský & Stemberk
2007b).
How to decide, what deformation matches the stress
increasing and what deformation matches relax time
and decreasing of the stress? It is possible to decide it
by the help of irreversible deformation. If the stress
in the rock mass increases, the rock behaves with
respect of Hook’s law until the strength limit. When
the stress is greater than the strength limit of the softest
parts of rock mass, the creep of the massif occurs, the

Figure 13. Directions of movement of a pendulum during
one hour in one week long period.
seismic noise increases and the deformation becomes
irreversible. There are the rose diagrams on Fig. 13
of directions of tilt, which were measured during one
hour long intervals between point A of the suspen-
sion of pendulum and point B of the suspension of the
camera.
The prevailing directions, measured on pendulum
P1 are in directions NNW, SSE, WNW and ESE (see
Fig. 13a). If only the biggest movements are sum-
marised, the prevailing directions are only to SSE (see
Fig. 13b). The general direction of pendulum P7 was
to the south (see Fig. 13c), which is the same as during
the biggest movements (see Fig. 13d).
Generally speaking, the direction to the south
(SSW – SSE) is the direction of the main stress com-
ponent in Příbram during the observed period and the
force has its orientation from north to south.
The second way, how to determine the period of the
increased stress in the area under study, is with the help
of monitoring of microseismicity. The microseismic-
ity generates seismic noise, which can be measured
by variations of differences between actual positions
of pendulum and the central (average) position, i.e.
“noise” of pendulum (see Fig. 9).
The third way is to recognise the anomalous devel-
opment of the tilt. For example the pendulum P7 in
Příbram was anomalously tilted to the west and south
(see Fig. 14). The normal development during the year
2007 was defined by interpolation of tilt by a poly-
nom of 3-rd order. It is clearly visible that the high
“noise”, especially in the NS direction, was observed
in June 2007. At that same time, the anomalous tilt of
the pendulum to the west and south was observed. The
biggest tilt anomaly in September 2007 was accompa-
nied by high “noise” that started on September 7 after
the Taiwan earthquake (Mw = 6.2). The maximum of
anomalous tilt of the pendulum was around Septem-
ber 12, when two strong earthquakes took Sumatra
(Mw = 8.5 and Mw = 7.9). The third period of increas-
ing stress was at the end of the year 2007 and in
the beginning of the year 2008. Two of three anoma-
lous periods in the year 2007 correlate well with the
strongest seismic events on the Eurasian lithosphere
260
Figure 14. Anomalous tilt of pendulum P7 in Příbram (gen-
eral trend removed) and seismicity, registered by the Czech
seismic network (Zedník 2007, ANSS 2007).
plate (Sumatra, Andreanoff island). On the other hand,
the strongest seismic events, which were observed
on the other lithosphere plates (Peru mb = 8, Chile
mb = 7.7, Windward mb = 7.3), took place at the same
time as small “noise” of the pendulum, small stress
in the area under study and massif relaxation. Gen-
erally speaking, the periods of increasing stress can
be defined by higher “noise” of the pendulum and
the direction of the main stress component can be
estimated by prevailing directions of the pendulum’s
movement. The orientation of the main stress compo-
nent varies in time, as it can be seen according to noise
values.
The anomalous tilt, observed before other big earth-
quakes (Wenchuan 2008, Kurile islands 2008 and
Tonga 2009), is described in (Kalenda & Neumann
2010).
5 CONCLUSION
Static vertical pendulums were used for indirect mea-
surement of stress in the upper crust. The first static
vertical pendulums were installed in the old Prokop
mine in Příbram and in cave No. 13C in Moravian
Karsts in 2007. One pendulum was installed in a pro-
ductive potassium mine in Lubeník (Slovakia) in 2008.
In 2009 two another pendulums were installed in old
mine Ida and old fortress Skutina in eastern Bohemia.
More than the two years experience of measure-
ment shows that it is possible to find the main direction
of stress in the surroundings of the pendulum and its
development in time. The noise level and anomalous
deformation development shows the value of rela-
tive stress in the surroundings of the pendulum. The
correlation of deformation between distant stations
shows that stress variations are not only of local origin.
The great changes in stress orientation and in stress
state were observed before the biggest earthquakes
on Eurasian lithosphere plate and even before Chile
earthquake on February 2010 (M = 8.8). Two years of
our experience resulted in the successful prediction
of Kurile Islands earthquake on November 24, 2008
(M = 7.3).
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© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Calculating tectonic stress coefficient of formation with rock mechanics

parameters and fracturing work data

Ren Lan, Zhao Jinzhou, Hu Yongquan & Zhang Wenchang

Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The treatments in petroleum engineering are greatly affected by the value and heterogeneity of
tectonic stress, which has direct influence on the distribution of horizontal principal stress. For example, the
borehole wall sloughing in drilling and the unbroken reservoir in fracturing will hinder the construction program
and add the construction cost. Therefore, basing on the mechanics analysis of linear elastic rock, the formula is
established among the maximum and minimum horizontal stress with the tectonic stress coefficient, considering
that horizontal principal stress is made up of the overburden gravitational stress component and the tectonic
stress component. Then, the tectonic stress coefficient in the direction of the maximum and minimum principal
stress can be calculated on the base of the rock mechanical experiment parameters and fracturing work data.
According to the tectonic stress coefficient calculated by this method, the horizontal stress is computed in two
wells which are located in the same tectonic zone of Santanghu Basin in Tuha oil field. It is indicated that the
field data and the computational result fit well and the error is small. Hence, the tectonic stress coefficient could
be used in stress analysis and fracturing design for other wells in the same regime. Also, the analysis method
may be applied in other oil and gas field.

1 INTRODUCTION oil field for example, the method proves to be correct.

In-situ stress is the interior stress of crustal rocks
and plays an important role in exploration and devel-
opment of oil and gas fields (Cipolla C L 1994),
which forms the basic work data for field development
plan, fracturing design, reservoir fracture prediction,
wellbore stability analysis, oil and gas rich region
forecasting and so on. Due to the influence of geo-
logical tectonism, horizontal principal stress contains
the tectonic stress component except for the overbur-
den gravitational stress component(Wills D G & Biot
M A 1977, Walls J D 1991). In this case, the size rela-
tion among two horizontal principal stress and vertical
principal stress will usually have great change, which
makes the breakdown pressure, the extended pressure,
the closure pressure and the fracture azimuth hard to
predict. Therefore, it increases the difficulty of oper-
ation and the risk of construction in fracturing. Since
the tectonic stress is difficult to determine accurately,
in order to improve the success rate and construction
effect of fracturing, through rock mechanics parame-
ters from laboratory experiment, mini-fracturing test
and the analysis of on-site fracturing curve (Lin P &
Ray T G 1994, Yang L N et al 2002), researchers learn
gradually the stress characteristics to direct the later
fracturing in a given region. In this paper, the formula
is established about the tectonic stress coefficient with
horizontal stress, according to laboratory core experi-
ment and fracturing work data, a method is proposed
to calculate the tectonic stress coefficient. Taking the
high tectonic stress area of Santanghu Basin in Tuha
So this method and the calculated tectonic stress coef-
ficient can be used to analysis and optimize design of
later fracturing in this region.
2 BASIC THEORETICAL ANALYSIS
Due to the effect of overburden compaction and tec-
tonic setting, the rock is in compressive stress state.
The stress of one rock unit body in formation is in
abnormal complex stress state because of the change of
rock density with depth and effect of different tectonic
movements. With the synthetic and decomposed the-
ory, the in-situ stress can be broken down the vertical
principal stress and two horizontal principal stresses
in the coordinates x, y, z direction. The stress imposed
on the rock unit body can be divided into the vertical
principal stress σz , the maximum horizontal princi-
pal stress σH and the minimum horizontal principal
stress σh .
2.1 Vertical principal stress calculation
The vertical principal stress is caused by the overbur-
den gravitational stress, which varies with the density
and depth of formation. At the depth of H, the ver-
tical principal stress σz is calculated by the formula
(Iverson W P 1995) as follows:

263
where σz = the vertical principal stress; H = vertical
depth of the formation; g = gravitational acceleration;
and ρ(h) = density of the overlying layer rock.
As the reservoir has certain pore pressure, the effec-
tive vertical principal stress σ z which has direct action
on matrix particles or matrix can be computed as (Jin
Y & Chen M2002):
where pp = reservoir pore pressure.
Assuming the density of overburden is a constant,
that is ρ(h) = ρ, then equation (1) can be simplified to
the formula:
2.2 The horizontal tectonic stress coefficient
calculation
The horizontal principal stress is controlled by the
vertical stress and the tectonic stress, which are influ-
enced by overburden gravitational stress and tectonic
movements respectively. Since the strength of tectonic
movements in the horizontal direction is different, the
heterogeneity of horizontal stress is presented in most
of reservoirs, resulting in the imbalance between the
two principal stresses. From the mechanical analy-
sis of rock unit body, the additional tectonic stress
coefficient in two horizontal directions is used to char-
acterize the effect of tectonic stress. Basing on the rock
elasticity theory, considering the affection of tectonic
stress, the maximum and minimum horizontal princi-
pal stress (Chen M et al 2006) of rock in linear elastic
state can be expressed as:
where ξH , ξh = horizontal Maximum and mini-
mum tectonic stress coefficient; ν = Poisson’s ratio;
E =Young’s modulus; α = Biot’s coefficient;
Set equations (4) and equation (5) together to solve
the horizontal Maximum and minimum tectonic stress
coefficient ξH and ξh :
2.3 Horizontal principal stress calculation
To calculate the horizontal tectonic stress coefficient,
it is necessary to determine the horizontal principal
stress. Using the fracturing work data, with the crustal
264
stress test law in hydraulic fracturing (Haimson B C &
Fairhurst C 1970, Haimson B C 1978, Rummel F 1987,
Haimson B C et al 1993), according to the pressure
drop data from mini-fracturing test, fracture closure
pressure can be calculated accurately by the G func-
tion method(K hayashi & B C Haimson 1991, Guo F et
al 1993). Taking into account that the minimum princi-
pal stress is generally consistent with fracture closure
stress (Ito T et al 1999), so it can be approximately
equal to the fracture closure stress in field, that is:
where pc = fracture closure pressure.
Basing on the rock tensile failure criterion, the layer
breakdown pressure can be achieved as follows:
where St = tensile strength of rock.
The closed fracture will be reopened by adding
pressure. Comparing this reopen pressure with the
breakdown pressure, there is no need to overcome
the tensile strength of rock, which can be regarded
as the pressure difference of the above two pressure,
that is:
where pr = fracture reopen pressure.
Combine equation (9) and equation (10) to calculate
the maximum principal stress:
When the formation core is obtained, Poisson’s
ratio, Yong’s modulus, Biot’s coefficient and other
basic parameters can be achieved by the triaxial test
of rock mechanics parameters. The principle stress
gained from fracturing work data, together with rock
mechanics parameters, can be substituted into equa-
tion (6) and (7) to compute the horizontal tectonic
stress coefficient.
3 TECTONIC STRESS COEFFICIENT
CALCULATIONS
Located in northeast of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region, Santanghu Basin is nearby Mongolia in the NE
direction and between Altai Mountain and Tianshan
Mountain. As a whole, it extends as corridor in NW-
SE direction. Tectonically, the basin is at the joint of
the Kazakhstan and Siberia ancient plates. Santanghu
Basin has the high tectonic stress under the impaction
of geological tectonism.
Through the statistics on the basic parameters of
volcanic rock reservoir in Kalagang formation (C2 k)
from five implemented wells of Santanghu Basin in
Tuha oil field, the formation pore pressure can be read
from bottom hole pressure indicator, however the over-
burden stress should be gained by the formula (1)
Table 1. The basic parameters index for calculation of Table 3. The basic parameters of example wells for calcu-
tectonic stress. lating horizontal principal stress.

H pp σz E H pp σz E
Well no m MPa MPa MPa v α Well no m MPa MPa MPa v α

m19 1539.0 14.6 38.4 53820 0.31 0.90 nd6-3 1546.0 15.2 38.2 38580 0.32 0.89
m24 1596.0 17.2 42.2 47050 0.30 0.95 m23 1803.0 18.6 45.4 43710 0.35 0.92
nd105 1529.0 16.0 40.3 42900 0.35 0.96
m27 1506.0 14.2 37.0 47390 0.36 0.90
nd108 1698.0 17.5 42.9 35740 0.38 0.88
Table 4. The error analysis of calculated results.

Relative
Table 2. Tectonic stresses index of resolution. H Calculated σh Actual σh error
Well no m MPa MPa %
H pc pr σH ξH ξh
Well no m MPa MPa MPa ×10−4 ×10−4 nd6-3 1546.0 33.9 31.2 3.97
m23 1803.0 43.4 41.5 4.35
m19 1539.0 37.4 43.6 55.4 5.62 4.39
m24 1596.0 40.7 47.7 58.2 6.56 4.83
nd105 1529.0 39.5 46.3 56.9 5.88 5.46
m27 1506.0 36.3 42.4 53.7 5.02 5.00
nd108 1698.0 41.1 48.7 59.1 6.17 6.95 Using the work data in two fracturing wells, pres-
sure drop curve is analyzed through the G function
method. The calculated bottom closure pressure of
well No.nd6-3 and No.m23 is 31.2 MPa and 41.5 MPa.
The actual minimum principal stress of these two wells
using the density logging data, meanwhile Young’s is 31.2 MPa and 41.5 MPa, deriving from the equation
modulus, Poisson’s ratio, Biot’s coefficient and other (8). Comparing the calculated data with actual data, the
rock mechanics parameters can be obtained by labo- relative error is less than 5%, within the permissible
ratory experiment, which result is shown in Table 1 as range. It indicates that the tectonic stress coefficient
follows: gained by this method is credible and approximate to
Using the pressure drop from mini-fracturing, frac- practice.
ture closure pressure can be calculated by the G
function method. At the same time, the fracture reopen
pressure can be computed by the reload operation 5 CONCLUSIONS
curves when pump is off. The maximum horizon-
tal stress could be gained by putting the minimum This paper presents a simple method for calculat-
principal stress solved from the formula (8), pore pres- ing the tectonic stress coefficient, depending on the
sure and reopen pressure into equation (11). Then the rock mechanics parameters from laboratory experi-
two tectonic stress coefficients in horizontal direc- ment and the fracturing work data. On the basis of this
tion can be obtained by putting the above results method, the tectonic stress coefficient in Santanghu
into equation (6) and (7). A couple of rock tectonic Basin of Tuha oil field is solved. In contrast with the
stress coefficients are listed in Table 2. From the newest fracturing work data in two wells, it can see
table, we can see that the tectonic stresses coefficient that the achieved horizontal tectonic stress coefficient
in maximum principal pressure direction is between is suitable to compute the minimum principal stress
5.02 × 10−4 and 6.56 × 10−4 , and that in minimum for volcanic rock reservoir in this region. Besides, the
principal pressure direction is between 4.39 × 10−4 method may be applied to analyze the minimum prin-
and 6.95 × 10−4 , with the average of 5.85 × 10−4 and cipal stress and guide the design in fracturing of other
5.33 × 10−4 respectively. oil and gas field.

4 APPLIED EXAMPLES ON FIELD REFERENCES

According to the average tectonic stresses coefficients
in table 2 and the fundamental data in table 3, the hor-
izontal principal stress is computed for well No.nd6-3
and No.m23 in the same structural belt. While the cal-
culated minimum and maximum horizontal principal
stress of well No.nd6-3 is 33.9 MPa and 49.5 MPa
respectively, that of well No.m23 is 43.4 MPa and
60.6 MPa, which is applied to guide the operation and
optimize the design in fracturing of two wells.
Chen M, Deng J G, Wu Z J. The application of rock mechanics
in petroleum engineering. Petroleum industry press, 2006,
46–49.
Cipolla C L. Practical application of in-situ stress profiles.
SPE 28607, 1994.
Guo F, Morgenstern N R, Scott J D. Interpretation of hydraulic
fracturing pressure: A comparison of eight methods used
to identify shut-in pressure. International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining sciences and Geomechanics
Abstracts, 1993, 30(6): 627–631.

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Haimson B C. The hydrofracturing stress measuring method
and recent results. International Journal of Rock Mechan-
ics and Mining sciences and Geomechanics Abstracts,
1978, 15(2): 167–178.
Haimson B C, Fairhurst C. In-situ stress determination
at great depth by means of hydraulic fracturing. Rock
Mechanics – Theory and Practice, Proc. of 11th Sym-
posium on Rock Mechanics. New York: AIME, 1970,
559–584
Haimson B C, Lee M, Chandler M, et al. Estimating the static
of stress from sub-horizontal hydraulic fractures at the
underground research laboratory. International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining sciences and Geomechanics
Abstracts, 1993, 30(7): 959–964.
Ito T, Evans K, Kawai K, et al. Hydraulic fracture reopening
pressure and the estimation of maximum horizontal stress.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
sciences, 1999, 36(6): 811–826.
Iverson W P. Closure stress calculation in anisotropic forma-
tion. SPE 29398, 1995.
Jin Y, Chen M. Effective stress law of multi-porosity medium
saturated multi-phase fluid. New Development in Rock
Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2002, 93–96.
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K hayashi, B C Haimson. Characteristics of shut-in curves in
hydraulic fracturing stress measurements and determina-
tion of in-situ minimum compressive stress. IGR, 1991,
96(B11): 18311–18321
Lin P, Ray T G. A new method to determine in-situ stress
directions and in-situ formation rock properties during a
microfrac test. SPE 26600, 1994.
Rummel F. Fracture mechanics approach to hydraulic fractur-
ing stress measurements. Barry Kean Atkinson (edited):
Fracture Mechanics of Rock. London Academic Press,
1987.
Walls J D. Measured and calculated horizontal stress in the
Travis Peak formation. SPE 21843, 1991.
Wills D G, Biot M A. The elastic coefficients of the theory of
consolidation. Journal Applied Mechanics, 1977, 24(2):
594–601.
Yang L N, Chen M, Zhang X D. Review of mini-frac devel-
opments. New Development in Rock Mechanics and Rock
Engineering, 2002, 371–376
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Inversion analysis of initial stress field based on modified particle swarm

optimization

Yaofeng Cao
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, P.R. China

Fulian He
China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, P.R. China

Kaiqing Li & Hongqiang Han

University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, P.R. China

Shengrong Xie & Hong Yan

China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: The initial stress field is very important in rock mechanics. The particle swarm optimization
(PSO) algorithm developing in recent years is a stochastic optimization algorithm based on swarm intelligence.
By use of the theory of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, a modified PSO algorithm is proposed
for the calculation of the initial stress field. PSO algorithm possesses advantages. Then by use of integrating
the advantages of other traditional methods and taking into account the factors affecting the initial stress, the
reasonability of the present method is shown by a case study. The intelligent inversion analysis of initial stress
field in Xinyuan coal mine is carried out by using the particle swarm (PSO) algorithm. The field results show
the method is accurate and high velocity which conforms well to the practical data.

1 INTRODUCTION efficiency of the back analysis results. The results

The initial stress field is a never mining-induced nat-
ural stress that lies in the strata. Also as we known
that the original rock stress, rock initial stress and
so on. It is the fundamental forces that caused by
mining engineering, civil engineering, water conser-
vancy and hydropower, and various other underground
or open-pit rock and soil excavation deformation
and destruction. To achieve a scientific design and
decision-making in mining and geotechnical engineer-
ing excavation, it is a necessary precondition that
accurate information on initial stress. The formation of
stress is the result of crustal movement. It is decided by
several tectonic movements, which include the load-
ing and unloading caused by crustal movements, the
thermal stress caused by magmatic activity, changes
in physical and chemical properties of rock mass and
so on. However, it is impossible to solution quantita-
tively, based on the development history of the earth,
the initial stress field for the engineering application.
It mainly depend on the measured data, but a few
measuring points is hard to meet the needs of con-
struction projects. It is raised that how to make an
inversion of the initial stress field of regional issues
by using a few measuring points. In the displacement
back analysis, optimization techniques are the impor-
tant aspects that affect the accuracy and computational
from the present investigation suggest that the objec-
tive function of the optimization back analysis is a
highly complex nonlinear multimodal function. To
solve such complex optimization function, it is often
difficult to use the traditional optimization methods.
In fact, it is a better way to solve the optimization
problem of complex function by using global opti-
mization algorithm. The optimization back analysis
of the initial stress field is the optimization prob-
lem of complex function. The calculation process
of such optimization back analysis is studied care-
fully, and the basic calculation procedure shown in
Figure 1.
As a global optimization algorithm, particle swarm
optimization technology is applied for the back anal-
ysis the initial stress field. It can effectively over-
come the shortcomings of the slow convergence rate,
through the introduction of particle swarm optimiza-
tion technique. Hence, it is an effective way to solve
the current issue that the initial stress field is measured,
by using the particle swarm optimization technique to
back analyze the initial stress field.
In this paper, in order to improve the ability of
conventional PSO to escape from a local optimum, a
modified PSO algorithm is proposed for the back anal-
ysis of the initial stress field, a MPSO is developed and
an example is studied.

267

Figure 1. PSO basic calculation procedure.
Figure 2. The principle of PSO algorithm.
2 PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION
2.1 Conventional particle swarm optimization
Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an evolutionary
computational technique motivated by the simulation
of the behavior of flocks of birds and schools of fish.
The algorithm was first developed by Kennedy and
Eberhart (1995) and swarm intelligence was further
developed into an optimization technique. The global
best solution during PSO’s execution is memorized
and each individual particle memories individual best
solution is determined. PSO is often adopted to solve
multi-objective programming problems, as seen in:
Omkar, Mudigere, Naik, and Gopalakrishnan (2008),
Janson, Merkle, and Middendorf (2008), Coello et al.
(2004), Clerc, M.(1999), Shi, Y. and Eberhart, R. C.
(1999), R. C. (1998)and Hu and Eberhart (2002). The
key idea is that in the flock, any agent of the group
can profit from the discoveries and previous experi-
ences of all members of the school in the search of
food. This advantage can become decisive, outweigh-
ing the inconvenient of competition for food items,
whenever the resource is unpredictably distributed in
patches. This means that information is socially shared
by the bird flock school and provides an evolutionary
advantage. The principle of PSO algorithm is shown
in Figure 2.
268
Suppose that the searching space is D-dimensional
and m particles form the colony, which is also called
as colony size. If the value of m is too much, it will
affect computing velocity and convergence of the algo-
rithm. The i th particle represents a D-dimensional
vector zi = (zi1 , zi2 , . . ., ziD ,) (i = 1, 2, . . ., m). It means
that the ith particle locates at zi = (zi1 , zi2 , . . ., ziD ,)
(i = 1, 2, . . . , m) in the searching space. The position
of each particle is a potential result. We could calcu-
late the particle’s fitness by putting its position into
a designated objective function. When the fitness is
higher, the corresponding zi is “better”. The “flying”
velocity of the i th particle is also a D-dimensional
vector, denoted as vi = (vi1 , vi2 , . . . , vid , . . . , viD ,)
(i = 1, 2, . . . , m). Denote the best position of the
ith particle as pi = (pi1 , pi2 , . . . , pid , . . . , piD ,), and
the best position of the colony as pg = (pg1 ,
pg2 , . . . , pgd , . . . , pgD ,). The PSO algorithm could be
performed by the following equations:
where i = 1, 2, . . . , m, d = 1, 2, . . . , D, k represents the
iterative number, r1 and r2 are random numbers
between 0 and 1. c1 and c2 are learning rates. It can
make particles have the ability of self-summary and
learn from outstanding individuals in the groups.
Because the particle swarm algorithm has no mech-
anism to control the actual particle velocity, it is
necessary to limit the maximum velocity. When the
velocity exceeds the threshold value, it is supposed as
vmax , and the minimum velocity is vmin , respectively.
zi are the particle’s position between zmin and zmax , The
second part is cognition part in equation (1), which rep-
resents the particles on their own learning. The third
part is social part in equation (1), which represents
collaboration between particles. Equation (1) repre-
sents the particle updates its velocity based on last the
iterative velocity, its current position and its own best
experience, the distance between its position and the
groups’, and then particles will fly to the new location
according to equation (2).
The implementation procedure of this conventional
PSO algorithm is shown as follows:
(0)
Step 1. Initialization the particles’ position zi =
(zi1 , zi2 , . . . , ziD ,) (i = 1, 2, . . . , m). Choose the
threshold value ω and the maximum number of
iterations Nmax . Initialization the particles’ veloc-
(0)
ity vi = (vi1 , vi2 , . . . , viD ,) (i = 1, 2, . . . , m). Set
the current number of iterations as k = 0. Calcu-
(0)
late each particle’s fitness value Di , and accord-
(0) (0) (0) (0)
ing to that Di = min{D1 , D2 , . . . , Dm }, the
global optimum will be find.
Step 2. Make k equals k + 1, the new velocity of
each particle will be calculated according to
equation (2).
Step 3. Calculation the fitness value of the parti-
(k)
cle’s position zi , represented as Di , and make
(k) (k) (k) (k)
Di = min{D1 , D2 , . . . , Dm }.
(k) (k)
Step 4. Calculation the new pi and pi .
Step 5. Check the calculation results, the algorithm
will be paused if it meets the accuracy require-
ments. Otherwise it will be back the step 2.
2.2 Modified particle swarm optimization
The advantages of PSO are that it is rapidly con-
verging towards an optimum, easy to implement,
simple to compute and free from the complex com-
putation in genetic algorithm (e.g., coding/decoding,
crossover and mutation) (Kennedy, J. and Eberhart
1995). However, PSO does exhibits some disadvan-
tages: it sometimes is easy to be trapped in local
optima, and the convergence rate decreased consider-
ably in the later period of evolution (Eberhart, R. C. and
Shi, Y. 1998), when reaching a near optimal solution,
the algorithm stops optimizing, and thus the accu-
racy the algorithm can achieve is limited. Hence, it
is necessary to amend the algorithm.
In this paper, the method that the individual par-
ticle acceleration was closed to the optimal particle
was used. It can quickly increase the speed of target
particles in the early search, and reduce the speed in
the late search. The conventional PSO algorithm was
changed by amend the equation (2). The inertia incre-
ment was introduced, which could be performed by the
following equations:
It decreases linearly with the iterations k. The func-
tion can make the particle swarm algorithm tend to
speed up reach the optimal location in the early search,
and reduce the speed reach the optimal location in the
late search. The equation (2) will be updated by the
following equations:
To verify the validity of the algorithm, Schaffer
function was adopted in this paper. Schaffer function
expression is the following equation:
The search scope is between −100 and 100. Do a
test and the test number is three times. The test result
is the following table 1.
From the calculation results it can be seen, the mod-
ifield particle swarm algorithm (MPSO) can increase
significantly on the average convergence algebra (con-
vergence rate), and it is in general on the improvement
of average convergence rate.
269
Table 1. MPSO and conventional PSO algorithm’s
comparison.
Average
Test convergence Convergence
Algorithm times rate/% rate
Conventional 1 43 325.24
PSO 2 46 329.79
3 49 334.51
MPSO 1 32 243.85
2 35 257.21
3 38 259.62
3 MPSO ALGORITHM BACK ANALYSIS
OF INITIAL STRESS FIELD
3.1 Generation of the initial particle swarm
A certain number of particle groups were randomly
generated in the solution space throughout the back
analysis process of the MPSO algorithm. The initial
particle population was generated. Initialize a popula-
tion of particles with random positions and velocities
on D-dimensions in the solution space, and each
particle’s position can correspond to the appropriate
position in the D-dimensions solution space. Deter-
mine the impact parameters of the initial stress field,
and make them corresponding to the particles in the
solution space.
3.2 Fitness value of particles
For each particle, evaluate the desired optimization fit-
ness function in D variables. Not only is fitness value
of particles an important indicator to evaluate that if the
particles’ location is better, but also a control indicator
of the rate of algorithm convergence criteria. Compare
particle’s fitness evaluation with its pbest. If current
value is better than pbest, then set pbest equal to the
current value, and Pi equals to the current location
Xi in D-dimensional space. The MPSO described was
applied in this paper. The absolute error of values mea-
sured and values calculated was used as the objective
function, which for a back analysis of the initial stress
field. The expression of the objective function is the
following equation:
where ek represents the absolute error of values mea-
sured and values calculated; Num represents the num-
ber of the measuring points. The fitness value of
particles was taken by the following equation:
Table 2. The comparative table between inversion values convergence speed, and have good global search
and measured values. capability.
(3) Particle swarm optimization is an effective
Station Value/MPa σx σy σz
method in the initial stress field inversion anal-
1 Measured value 6.78 4.65 13.72 ysis. It has a good adaptability of complex prob-
Inversion value 7.25 4.86 13.66 lems geotechnical engineering. In this paper, an
2 Measured value 5.87 3.18 13.96 improvement had been done through the particle
Inversion value 6.12 2.74 14.31 equation of motion patterns in the location. The
3 Measured value 8.26 3.29 14.27 method was applied in field practice, and it was
Inversion value 8.19 2.96 13.86 shown that the results are obvious.
4 Measured value 7.27 3.12 14.73
Inversion value 7.52 3.02 14.26
5 Measured value 6.83 3.41 14.71
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Inversion value 6.52 2.97 15.37
The research work is supported by National Basic
Research Program of China under Grant No.
2010CB226802, and sponsored by the Scientific
3.3 Particle flight trajectory Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chi-
It is the key to the whole MPSO algorithm that par- nese Scholars, State Education Ministry (2007-1108).
ticle flight trajectory. Particle flight trajectory of the
flight depends on the speed of particles. It’s available
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A mechanism and characteristic analysis of rock core discing in the in-situ

stress survey on deep coalmine

Y.D. Jiang
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China
State Key Lab of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, Beijing, China

T. Wang
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

L.H. Hu
China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Beijing, China

S.P. Tian
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Rock core discing arises in the process of in-situ stress survey on Jiulong mine of Fengfeng
mine area when hollow inclusion stress-relief method is applied. At the mean time, the data of the in-situ stress
is obtained. By measuring the in-situ stress of this district, this paper analyzes the stress condition and the
characteristics of rock core discing when the stress is relieved in the in-situ stress measurement process, and the
core coring operation is stimulated by mathematical software. The relationship between the in-situ stress and
the rock core discing is figured out by stress analysis of the rock core discing based on the measured geostress
data. The result points out that discal drill core is a special outcome of certain stress field. It indicates the stress
field level. The position of discal drill core break does not absolutely located at the root of the rock core, and the
discal drill core is roughly of uniform thickness. The drill core plate breaks from the surface of the drill core,
and the crack size depends on the in-situ stress. This paper discloses the inner link of the in-situ stress and the
discal drill core, offering reference for the back analysis of the crustal stress field in light of the characteristics
of rock core discing.

1 PREFACE sleeve is needed to drill a core, which has been fur-

With the expansion of mining scale and the exploita-
tion of deep underground space, the stability of mining
engineering is getting worse due to the geostatic stress.
Geostress is the fundamental force to the failure of
the surrounding rock and support, earthquakes and
mine dynamic phenomenon. Accurate information on
geostress is a necessary precondition for the wall rock
stability analysis and calculation, the regional fore-
cast of mine dynamic phenomena, to determine the
engineering properties of rock mechanics and achieve
scientific of mining decision-making and design. It
is of far reaching importance to study the crustal
stress for the mineral resources prediction, energy
development and large-scale projects construction.
There are several kinds of in-situ stress measure-
ment methods, which can be classified into Hydraulic
Fracturing Method, Stress Restoration Method and
Stress Relief Method. At present, the Stress Relief
Method is the most commonly used geostress mea-
surement and develops more maturely. A thin-walled
nished with measuring sonde when to relieve the stress.
In a certain in-situ stress condition, the concentration
near the drill bit will lead to the rupture of the drill
core, and then cause the core discing.
Rock core discing[2] is a typical phenomenon of
rock mechanics during the drilling process. That is,
the core fractures into discal drill core in the pro-
cessing of drilling. This phenomenon is mainly found
in igneous rock areas, also observable in metamor-
phic and sedimentary rocks. For example, the Ertan
Hydropower Station, the Lubuge Power Station, the
Laxiwa Hydropower Station and the Jinchuan mining
area.
Hast[3] first reported the core discing in 1958, and
afterwards Obert[4] , Jeager[5] et al studied this phe-
nomenon by simulation experiment, they confirmed
that the main mechanical cause is the high in-situ
stress. Afterwards, Suzuki and other specialists[6] stud-
ied the failure mechanism of the core discing, consid-
ered that core discing is mainly shear failure or tension
failure.

271

Figure 1. Recent tectonic principal stress direction distri-
bution of China and its neighboring area.
2 IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENTS AND
CHARACTERISTICS OF DISCAL CORE
Fengfeng mine is located in the east of Taihang Mon-
tains, which extends across Handan, Cixian, Wu’an
border, belonging to extensional tectonics type coal
field. The coal field is infected by the Zanhuang and
Fuping uplift, the coal-bearing strata spread along the
north-south or north-north-east. Gushan anticline, the
north-south axial fold, is the main controlling struc-
ture in Fengfeng mine district, which intersects mine
area into two parts. East of Gushan anticline is mono-
clinic structure, where the strata spread towards the
north-north-east in general tendency of south-east.
The layers are nearly flat, generally for 8◦ ∼15◦ and
the depth of coal-bearing strata gradually increase
from west to east. Recent tectonic principal com-
pressive stress direction distribution of China and its
neighboring area is shown in figure 1.
The geostress measuring point is located in NO.4
coal seam floor in Jiulong mine of Fengfeng mine area,
with a depth of 560 m. Drilling parameters: diameter
0.146 m, hole depth 10.810 m, azimuth NS271◦ . The
lithology is shale with a character of overall difference
and some mudstone in the outside.
Stress Relief Method is used to measure the
geostress. The measurement results are shown in
Table 1, getting the following conclusions:
(1) The maximum principal stress direction is nearly
the horizontal direction, correspond with tec-
tonic stress field in mainland China, as shown in
figure 1.
(2) The maximum principal stress is in the horizon-
tal direction and the value is about 1.2∼1.8 times
of gravity stress, suggesting that the horizontal
direction of tectonic stress field is dominated.
(3) The maximum horizontal principal stress direction
overall is from the north-west-west to south-east-
east.
(4) The vertical stress equals to the weight of the
overlying strata basically.
272
Table 1. In-situ stress measurements results.
Principal stress
Vertical
Depth/ Principal Value/ stress/
m stress MPa Azimuth/◦ Obliquity/◦ MPa
560 σ1 27.2 93 −5 15.1
σ2 16.3 2 −3
σ3 15.0 238 −83
Figure 2. Discal drill core.
In general, it is rare to obtain the geostress test data
and the core discing at the same time, so the test data
is very valuable. The reference[8] had recorded the
core discing phenomenon in Ertan Hydropower Sta-
tion in China. The measured in-situ stress is 63.7 MPa,
obtaining annular crack core as well.
Core discing phenomenon is observed during the
processing of geostress measurements in Jiulong
mine of Fengfeng mine area. Discal drill cores with
sonde are obtained. The cores have gray appearance,
hard dense and without apparent joints, suggesting that
it is not the joints or cracks that cause the rock fracture.
The rock cores have almost constant thickness, flat
fracture and apparent existence of scratches, showing
that the it is not because of the mechanical twist drill
that cause the phenomenon. Some cores have emerged
but have not cracked, as shown in figure 2.
The discal cores obtained have the following char-
acteristics:
(1) The cores have thin thickness. The average thick-
ness is about 1∼2 cm, and the thinnest is only
0.2∼0.3 cm;
(2) One type of the cores has not yet absolutely frac-
ture. Ring bands formed of interwoven tiny dentate
cracks are clearly visible. Most of these cores can
be split apart along the crack and then restore to
their original by rabbet joint.
(3) There are two forms: one has uneven surface and
the other one has smooth fresh surface with no
traces of dyed.
Some scholars[11] obtained the critical horizon-
tal in-situ stress formula to cause the core discing
phenomenon:
Where τ 0 is the shear strength of rocks, the value
can get by the field or laboratory test.
Figure 3. Numerical analy- Figure 4. Boundary condi-
sis model. tions. Figure 5. Cloud chart of maximum shear stress.

According to the test results of rock mechanical

parameters in Jiulong mine, σ r is 60 MPa, generally
τ 0 is 10 MPa, The σ pcr obtained by the above formula
is 29.9 MPa.
The measured in-situ stress is 27.3 MPa, close to the
theoretical calculation results.That the phenomenon of
core discing can be attributed to the high in-situ stress.

3 THE NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE

CORE DISCING

In order to discuss the problems of high in-situ stress

in deep coal mines and study the law, it is neces-
sary to study the stress condition before and after
releasing stress in the core when drilling coring[9]∼[11] .
With numerical simulation software, it is convenient
to establish a calculation model of in-situ stress, so as
to simulate geo-stress measurement process of coring
and study the stress state of the core and rock around
the core. Thus it is easy to analysize the mechanism of
core discing.
3.1 Numerical model
The numerical software FLAC3D is used to complete
the task. The X, Y, Z dimensions of model in three
direction are determined, that is 1 m of X direction,
1.5 m of Y direction and 1 m of Z direction.The drill bit
diameter is 130 mm and the thickness of the drill sleeve
is 8 mm. It is divided into a grid model with 11,760
units and 119,244 grid nodes, using the Mohr-coulomb
model as the constitutive model. The rock mechanics
parameters: the elastic modulus 60 Gpa, shear modu-
lus 6 Gpa, adhesion cohesion 10 Mpa, friction Angle
35◦ , tensile strength 2.5 Mpa. Stress boundary con-
ditions for the X axis is 30 Mpa, 20 Mpa for the Y
direction and 30 Mpa for the Z axis. The left and front
up of the model fixed, and the right rear below is free.
Displacement boundary conditions: the left, front and
the bottom are fixed; the right, the top and the back
are free. Calculating model and boundary conditions
are shown in figure 3 and figure 4.
The equilibrium of the model without excavation is
first calculated. Because of the small-scale model, the
weight of rock in it can be ignored. Core 300 mm in the
Y-axis direction first and then re-calculate its equilib-
rium in order to reduce the influence of the boundary
conditions. At last, simulation is carried out with a
30 mm footage for each step.
Figure 6. The maximum principal stress.
3.2 Shear stress analysis
Choose the 330 mm excavation results to analyze stress
status. The shear stress contours are shown in figure 5,
from which shear stress distribution of the core and the
surrounding rock mass is clearly emerged. The shear
stress distribution and change when drilling coring has
the following rules:
(1) The stress concentration appeared at the end of
the hole after the start of coring, especially at the
junction of the bottom and the hole wall, the value
of the shear stress is 15.355 Mpa.
(2) The shear stress distribution at the hole bottom is
characterized by those description: the maximum
shear stress appears at the junction of the bot-
tom and the hole wall; the shear stress decreases
rapidly from the hole wall to the center of the core
and increase in the center to some extent.
(3) Shear stress decreases and then increases before
rendering a final stabilization during the coring
process.
3.3 Principal stress analysis
It is the same with the shear stress analysis that the
330 mm excavation results are selected to analyze
the principal stress. The principal stress contours are
shown in figure 6, from which principal stress dis-
tribution of the core and the surrounding rock mass
is clearly emerged. The principal stress distribution

273
and change when drilling coring has the following
rules:
(1) After the start of coring, a stress concentration
appeared at the end of the hole, especially at the
junction of the bottom and the hole wall, the value
of the major principal stress is 65.203 Mpa, over
two times of the applied stress.
(2) The maximum principal stress changes rapidly
along the core axis. The value decay rapidly to 0
within the 0.3D from the bottom (D is the diameter
of the core)
(3) There is a annular tensile stress area around the
outer edge of the core and a circular compressive
zone in the center of the bottom. The compressive
stress constitutes a closed ring and the maximum
tensile stress appears in the core of the edge.
3.4 Discussion
Separation of core and rock mass due to the drilling and
coring breaks the original equilibrium state, causing
stress concentration around the core roots and plas-
tic failure of the surrounding rock. When the coring
separates from the rock, the original triaxial compres-
sive state becomes a free state and elastic recovery
occurs. Therefore, the plastic core damage would frac-
ture in some micro-cracks. The core stress is centro
symmetric in the core drilling processing, so the core
would fracture into disc-like subsection along the axial
direction.
4 CONCLUSION
Rock core discing phenomenon is a special outcome
of high in-situ stress. The core plate breaks from the
surface of the core, and the crack size depends on the
in-situ stress. The main reason of the core discing is
the shear stress and the subsequent tensile stress caused
by the in-situ stress. This synergism will maintain a
short-term development. The final fracture factor is
mainly the tensile stress. However, the shear stress in
the core cannot be neglected to study the fracture, espe-
cially at the edge, where the shear stress and the tensile
stress are both large.
274
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We express our appreciation to the Major State Basic
Research Development Program (2010CB226801),
the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(50704034), the Jointly Research Project of Beijing
Municipal Commission of Education and the Indepen-
dent Research Program of the State Key Laboratory of
Coal Resources and safe mining.
REFERENCES
[1] Ni Xing-hua. Research and application of in-situ
stress[M]. Beijing: Coal Industry Press, 2007.
[2] WANG Shi-tian, HUANG Run-qiu. Numerical simula-
tion of core discing mechanism[J]. Geological Hazards
and Environment Preservation, 1990, 12(2): 4–14.
[3] Hast N., Limits of stress measurements in the earth’s
crust, Rock Mechanics, 1979, 11: 134–150.
[4] Obert L. and Stephenson C.E., stress condition under
which core discing occurs, Society of Mining Engi-
neers, 1966, pp. 227–234.
[5] Jaeger J.C. and Cook N.G. W., Pinching-off and discing
of rock, J.Geophys. Res. vol.68, N0.6, pp. 1759–1765.
[6] LIU Zhu-hua, YAO Bao-kui, YANG Jia-lu. Fracture
mechanism of the discal drill core[J]. Journal of
Engineering Geology, 1997, 5(4): 330–334.
[7] LI Shu-sen, NIE De-xin, REN Guang-ming. The frac-
ture mechanism of discal drill core and its influence
on characteristic of engineering geology[J]. Advance
In Earth Sciences, 2004, 19(Suppl): 0376–0379.
[8] BAI Shi-wei, LI Guang-yu. Research on stress field
around dam area of ertan hydropower station[J]. Chi-
nese Journal Rock Mechanics And Engineering, 1982,
1(1): 004.
[9] HOU Fa-liang, LIU Jun, ZHUO Guang. An analysis of
the stress state in cores during stress relief and the cause
of core disking[J]. Chinese Journal Rock Mechanics
And Engineering, 1986, 5(1): 61–77.
[10] HOU Fa-liang, JIA Yu-ru. Stress analysis on disced
rock cores[J]. Chinese Journal Of Geotechnical Engi-
neering, 1984, 6(5), 48–58.
[11] HOU Fa-liang. Critical under-ground stress of disked
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1985, 1: 37–48.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Comparison of two complimentary measurements: Sonic Fast-Shear

Azimuth and breakout directions for stress estimation

Romain Prioul & Haitao Sun

Schlumberger-Doll Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

ABSTRACT: We compare two stress models, “subsidiary” and “borehole,” as mechanisms responsible for,
respectively, the sonic fast-shear azimuth (FSA) and breakout directions for arbitrary well orientations. We show
that the sonic FSA coincides with the “maximum subsidiary principal stress” as the dipole shear is unaffected by
borehole stress concentrations, and is, therefore, directly related to the relative deviatoric stress tensor described
by the orientation of σh and ellipsoid factor R. In contrast, the breakout orientation, controlled by borehole stresses,
occurs at a location where the compressive principal stress in the borehole tangential plane is maximum. We
show that, to a first-order approximation, the breakout directions are also related to the orientation of σh and R as
for normally pressured to slightly overpressured conditions, the breakout orientation is not very sensitive to the
borehole mud pressure. Results indicate that, for arbitrary well orientations, sonic FSA and breakout direction
are not necessarily at 90◦ of each other. This analysis implies that the sonic FSA, from stress-induced origin, is
theoretically a better measurement to estimate the relative deviatoric stress tensor, and FSA observations from
wells with at least two different orientations can be used to estimate the orientation of σh and R. To a first-order
approximation, the same can be done using breakout orientations.

1 INTRODUCTION around the borehole, borehole mud pressure, and rock

Knowledge of the stress field is important for all
subsurface rock mechanics applications. Stress field
characterization involves the determination of three
principal stress directions and magnitudes (σ1 , σ2 ,
σ3 ; σ1 > σ2 > σ3 ). The stress tensor σ can always be
decomposed as the sum of isotropic and deviatoric
components, σ = σ3 I + (σ1 − σ3 )σd , where I is the
identity matrix and
The relative deviatoric stress tensor σd has the same
principal directions as σ and the same shape (or ellip-
soid) factor R. In practice, the primary objective is
to determine the principal stress directions, and the
secondary objective is to determine full or partial mea-
sures of the magnitudes, that is, any of the possible R,
σ1 , σ2 , and σ3 . R is an important quantity that may
be estimated more directly than absolute stress mag-
nitudes under certain conditions [1, 2, 3] and helps
estimate the remaining stress magnitude (such as max-
imum horizontal stress σH ) when the other two are
known (in our example, vertical and minimum hori-
zontal stresses, respectively σv and σh ). In this paper,
we assume that the vertical direction is a principal
stress direction (i.e. σv is a principal stress).
One common source of data for stress determina-
tion is coming from the analysis of borehole breakouts
that are observed on image logs and depend on stresses
strength properties. Breakout directions are mostly
controlled by the relative deviatoric stress tensor σd
for arbitrary well orientations [4] and, to a first order,
do not depend on failure properties and absolute
magnitudes of in-situ stress (assuming linear elas-
ticity and instantaneous failure). When the well is
vertical, the breakout direction indicates the direc-
tion of σh [5, 6]; when the well is nonvertical, the
breakout direction depends mostly on the orienta-
tion of σh and R [4, 7, 8] and follows qualitatively
the orientation of the maximum compressive princi-
pal stress [4, 8] in tangential [φ, Z] plane σT (φ) =
(σZZ + σφφ )/2 + [(σZZ − σφφ )/2]2 + σZφ 2
[cylindri-
cal coordinates for borehole stresses are defined here
as (r,φ,Z)], which depends on absolute magnitudes of
in-situ stress, pore pressure, borehole mud pressure,
and Poisson’s ratio.
Another common source of data is coming from
dipole shear sonic anisotropy from a stress-induced
origin. It has been frequently used to measure the direc-
tion of σH via the fast shear azimuth in vertical wells
since the work of Esmersoy et al. [9,10]. The fast shear
azimuth (FSA) is defined as the polarization direction
of the fast dipole shear wave propagating along the
borehole direction. For vertical wells and consolidated
rocks with isotropic unstressed backgrounds, the esti-
mation of three shear moduli from dipole and Stoneley
sonic modes in orthorhombic stressed media has been
the basis for a new way to estimate σH magnitude using
nonlinear elasticity theory [11, 12]. However, for wells
that are not oriented along a principal stress direction

275
(here, nonvertical wells), Sun and Prioul [13,14] have
recently shown that, to a first order, the dipole sonic
FSA direction depends only on the orientation of one
horizontal stress (such as σh ) and R, without stress
sensitivity parameters and without the effects of com-
plex borehole sonic wave propagation in orthorhombic
media with isotropic unstressed backgrounds. Further-
more, they showed that the FSA coincides with the
maximum normal stress direction orthogonal to the
borehole (“maximum subsidiary principal stress”) as
the dipole shear is characterized into the formation
sufficiently far away from the borehole wall to be Figure 1. Illustration of TOH reference frame. The borehole
unaffected by borehole stress concentrations. Conse- direction coincides with the TOH z-axis. The circular plane
quently, the stress-induced FSA from wells with at represents the cross-sectional plane of a borehole. The coor-
least two different orientations can be easily used to dinate system xyz indicates the TOH frame. The coordinate
estimate the horizontal stress directions and R. system x
y
z
is found by rotating xyz around the z-axis by
The goal of this paper is to two-fold. First, we angle φ.
compare the two stress models (“subsidiary” and stress-induced shear sonic anisotropy in the following
“borehole”) as mechanisms responsible for, respec- section.
tively, the sonic FSA and the breakout directions for The top of the hole (TOH) frame is a convenient
arbitrary well orientations. Second, we investigate to reference frame for the discussion in this paper. It is a
what extend the breakout directions can be related to coordinate system tied to the borehole (see Fig. 1). The
the orientation of σh and R, considering the depen- z-axis is pointing along the borehole in the direction of
dence of the orientations on the absolute magnitudes increasing depth. The x-axis is in the cross-sectional
of in-situ stress, pore pressure, borehole mud pres- plane and is pointing to the most upward direction,
sure, and Poisson’s ratio, and assess the implications and the y-axis is found by rotating the x-axis 90◦ in
for stress field estimation. the cross-sectional plane in a direction dictated by the
We first describe the “subsidiary” stress model and right-hand rule. We useds the second reference frame,
the three-dimensional variations of the subsidiary prin- the north-east-vertical (NEV) frame, whose x-axis is
cipal stress directions for arbitrary well orientations pointing to the north, y-axis is pointing to the east,
and for different stress regimes. Second, we concisely and z-axis is pointing downward in the vertical direc-
present Sun and Prioul’s model relating the sonic FSA tion. The stress tensor referenced to the NEV frame,
to the maximum subsidiary principal stress. Third, we σNEV , is defined by Eq. 2. For a given well orienta-
compare the minimum subsidiary principal stress and tion (deviation from vertical is θ and azimuth from
the direction of the maximum compressive principal north is ϕ (see Fig. 1), the stress tensor referenced to
stress in tangential plane [φ, Z] as proxy to compare, the TOH frame,σTOH , follows from σNEV multiplied by
respectively, the sonic FSA and breakout direction. We the rotation matrix Tt (Eq. 3).
also make a sensitivity analysis to assess the effect
of the borehole mud pressure on breakout directions.
Finally, we present a synthetic example where we show
the advantage of using a “relative deviatoric stress”
approach to estimate the orientation of σh and R using
a combination of sonic FSA and/or breakout direction
observations in wells with two different orientations.

2 SUBSIDIARY PRINCIPAL STRESS IN

INCLINED WELLS

The maximum and minimum normal stresses acting

on planes whose normals are orthogonal to the bore-
hole direction are often called the subsidiary principal For a given borehole orientation, the stress tensor σc
stresses [16]. By definition, these normal stresses in coordinate system x
y
z
rotated around the borehole
are in the plane orthogonal to the imaginary bore- axis by angle φ (Fig. 1) can be derived as
hole (also called the cross-sectional plane). The two
subsidiary principal stresses are principal stresses if
the considered borehole orientation coincides with
one of the principal stress directions. The maximum
and minimum subsidiary principal stresses (hereafter
max min
σsub and σsub ) do not rely on the existence of the
borehole and are not affected by the near-wellbore
max
stress concentration effects. We will relate σsub to the

276

By definition, φ = φ0 gives one of the subsidiary
principal stress directions:
By comparing Eqs. 5 and 6, we also find
Therefore, σx
y
= 0 when φ = φ0 , which means the
shear stress vanishes in the two particular directions
max min
σsub and σsub . However, the shear stress is nonzero
in other directions in the three planes [x
, y
], [x
, z
]
and [y
, z
] because subsidiary principal stresses are
not real principal stresses.
To understand how σsub max
directions vary in 3D, we
max
plotted the σsub direction on stereonet projections fol-
lowing [4] for arbitrarily oriented boreholes (Fig. 2)
and various stress regimes (Fig. 3). The orientations
of the subsidiary principal stresses depend only on the
orientation of σH and R. The patterns vary continu-
ously from an entirely circumferential (thrust regime
and R = 1) to an entirely radial (normal regime and
R = 0) distribution. We refer to Zajac and Stock [7],
who gave an excellent explanation of the pattern of
breakout directions that is qualitatively similar to the
min
pattern of σsub directions. These plots lead to an impor-
tant observation: the presence of “nodal points” (red
dots) are in the [σ1 , σ3 ]-plane at a borehole orientation
where the two subsidiary principal stresses are equal.
max min
The nodal points and the directions of σsub and σsub in
the [σ1 , σ3 ] plane depend only on R (and the principal
stress directions). Sun and Prioul [13,14] showed √ that
the location of the nodal point is θn = cos−1 R where
θn is the angle between the borehole direction and σ1
within the [σ1 ,σ3 ] plane. Therefore, the directions of
max min
σsub and σsub in the [σ1 ,σ3 ] plane depend only on R
(and the principal directions).
277
Figure 2. Illustration of how a deviated borehole and its
max
σsub (that coincides with FSA direction as discussed in the
next section) would be plotted (left) in the cross-sectional
plane and (right) on a lower hemisphere stereonet for a
deviated borehole (deviation = θ and azimuth = ϕ).
max
Figure 3. Relationship of the σsub directions to the stress
directions and 0 ≤ R ≤ 1 for arbitrarily oriented boreholes
and different stress regimes: (first row) thrust, (second row)
strike-slip, (third row) normal. σH is east-west. The red dots
are nodal points where σsubmax
= σsub
min
= σ2 .
3 FAST SHEAR SONIC ANISOTROPY
max
DIRECTIONS VERSUS σsub
In boreholes, sonic shear waves propagate in the direc-
tion of the borehole axis, characterized by slowness
vector p, and their particle motions (or polarization
vector U) are almost orthogonal to the borehole axis
in anisotropic media. We define the FSA as the angle
between the projected shear polarization direction of
the fastest wave and a given reference direction (such
as TOH) in the cross-sectional plane. Sun and Prioul
[13,14] showed using a nonlinear elasticity model that,
to a first order, the FSA coincides with the direction of
max
σsub for all propagation directions within the symme-
try planes for stress-induced orthorhombic media with
isotropic unstressed background.This result is a conse-
quence of, first, the property of the sonic dipole shear

Figure 4. (Top) ψ = |ψnonlinear − ψσsubmax | of sandstone sam-
ple “Buff SS” for various well orientations (0◦ ≤ θ ≤ 90◦ and
0◦ ≤ ϕ ≤ 90◦ ) and R = 0.4. (Bottom) Same as top but a mask
has been applied where the slowness anisotropy is less than
0.5%.
that is characterized as the low- frequency asymptote
of the dispersive dipole flexural wave.
This means that the dipole shear is obtained into the
formation sufficiently far away from the borehole wall
to be unaffected by borehole stress concentrations,
max
making σsub the relevant quantity for our problem.
Second, it is also a consequence of the almost “ellipti-
cal” nature of stress-induced orthorhombic media and
is deduced by the direct relationship, R ≡ (σ2 − σ3 )/
(σ1 − σ3 ) = (c55 − c66 )/(c44 − c66 ), between the stress
ellipsoid factor and the shear stiffness difference ratio.
This ratio shows that the stress-induced FSA can be
related to the deviatoric stress tensor directly without
being dependent on the stress sensitivity coefficients
for consolidated rocks with isotropic unstressed back-
ground. The accuracy of this relation between FSA
max
and σsub depends on the intrinsic rock elastic prop-
erties and the applied stress. The model was tested
using published second- and third- order elastic coef-
0 0
ficients (c33 , c55 , c111 , c112 and c123 ) deduced from
laboratory measurements by Winkler and Liu [17] for
eight consolidated rock samples. As an example, we
recall one result of the validation analysis using a sand-
stone sample called “Buff SS” (c33 0
= 29.7, c550
= 9.5,
c111 = −16366, c112 = −2408 and c123 = 356 GPa).
On one hand, we computed stress-induced FSA
(called ψnonlinear ) using the nonlinear elastic model
[14, 18] and plane-wave Christoffel equations for
different well orientations. On the other hand, we
max
computed σsub directions (called ψσsub max ). Then, we
max
studied the differences between the FSAs and the σsub
directions, ψ = |ψnonlinear − ψσsub |. We assumed
max
σV = 100 MPa, σh = 0.94σV , and σh is in the north
278
Figure 5. Comparison of the stress-induced FSA orien-
max max
tations (blue) and σsub orientations (red). FSA and σsub
directions coincide except in the vicinity of the nodal point.
This is calculated for sandstone sample “Buff SS” assuming
R = 0.4 and σh is in the north direction.
direction. We calculated ψ for R = 0.4 and for vari-
ous well orientations. The results are shown in Fig. 4
(top) and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 (bottom) shows that the well ori-
entations where ψ = 0 are within an area where the
slowness anisotropy is less than 0.5% when R = 0.4.
Hence, in practice, it is important to note that the dif-
max
ference between the FSA and σsub matters only if it
corresponds to a range of well orientations where the
anisotropy is actually detectable. Indeed, the notable
differences between our simplified model and the real-
ity are found where the slowness anisotropy is small
and most probably not observable.
4 BREAKOUTS DIRECTIONS VERSUS
min
σsub AND σT
We investigated the most direct and accurate relation-
ship for breakout directions and the orientation of σh
and R and assessed the sensitivity of this relation to the
state of stress, pore pressure, and borehole fluid pres-
sure at different rock strength conditions. Breakouts
are initiated by borehole stress concentrations around
a cylindrical cavity that are increasing compressive
stresses up to the point of shear failure. Under the
assumption of linear elastic behavior of a homoge-
neous isotropic rock, borehole stresses in cylindrical
coordinates, σrr , σφφ , σZZ , and σφZ around the bore-
hole can be computed using the generalized “Kirsch”
stress solution for nonaligned borehole and effective
stress directions as [8, 19, 20, 21]
The stresses around the borehole are functions
of 11 parameters, 6 for the stress tensor (3 magni-
tudes and 3 directions), 2 for the borehole geometry
(azimuth and deviation), the Poisson’s ratio ν of the

Figure 6. Stresses acting on an inclined borehole wall where
cylindrical coordinates (r, φ, Z) are used. σrr , σT , and σt are
the local principal stresses at the borehole wall where σT and
σt are rotating in planes [φ, Z].
rock, the difference between borehole and pore pres-
sures p = pW − pP , and the angle that determines the
position around the borehole (and φ is the angle mea-
sured from TOH). Effective stresses are here defined
as the difference between principal stresses and pore
max
pressure; looking at Eqs. 9 and 5, the direction φhoop for
max min
which σφφ is the maximum coincides with σsub . How-
ever, for an arbitrarily oriented borehole, the effective
principal stresses at the borehole wall (Fig. 6) are given
by [8]
Breakouts occur at an angle φTmax where the compres-
sive principal stress σT in the tangential [φ, Z]-plane
is maximum (so called σTmax ).
First, we computed the theoretical breakout orienta-
tion φTmax (irrespective of tendency for failure to occur)
and compared it to the orientation φhoopmax
of the mini-
min
mum subsidiary stress σsub to assess the difference
with results from the previous section on sonic FSA.
max
We computed φhoop and φTmax for a range of borehole
azimuths and deviations between 0◦ and 90◦ (vertical is
0◦ and σH is oriented at 90◦ ) for the following condi-
tions: σV = 100 MPa, σH = 0.813 σV , σh = 0.626 σV ,
pp = 0.45 σV [normal regime with state of stress at fric-
 orientations, sonic fast-shear azimuth and breakout
tional limit σ1 − pp = (σ3 − p)( µ2 + 1 + µ)2 with
µ = 0.6, hydrostatic pore pressure and R = 0.5] and
p = 0. The angles φhoopmax
and φTmax were almost insen-
sitive to Poisson’s ratio, which was kept constant at
ν = 0.25.
The results are summarized on Fig. 7 as color
maps and contour plots of the difference |φhoop
max
− φTmax |
for all borehole deviations and azimuths. We observe
279
Figure 7. Angle difference |φhoop max
− φTmax | for borehole
azimuths and deviations between 0◦ and 90◦ (vertical is
0◦ and σH is oriented at 90◦ ) for the following conditions:
σV = 100 MPa, σH = 0.813 σV , σh = 0.626 σV , pp = 0.45 σV
(normal regime with state of stress at frictional limit with
µ = 0.6, hydrostatic pore pressure and R = 0.5) and p = 0.
Figure 8. Same as Fig. 7 but mask was applied where
breakouts are unlikely to occur given Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion with unconfined compressive strength C0 = 0.1 σV
and friction coefficient µi = 0.6.
that the biggest angle differences are found √ near the
“subsidiary stress” nodal point θn = cos−1 R within
the [σ1 , σ3 ] plane where the maximum difference
reaches 90◦ . Contour plots show us lobes of constant
angle differences around the nodal points; for example,
there is more than 10◦ difference in |φhoop max − φTmax |
for most wells within deviations of 25◦ to 55◦ and
azimuths of 0◦ to 40◦ (Fig. 7). For those orientations
near high value contour lobes, this means that theo-
retical breakout direction and sonic FSA would not
be at 90◦ difference if both observations were made
at the same location [we note that it is also the error
that would be made by assigning an observed break-
min max
out direction to stress direction σsub (= σφφ ) instead
of σTmax ]. Thus, an angular difference can take any
value between 0◦ and 90◦ for wells within nodal point
deviation ±20◦ and azimuth ±40◦ . Outside of those
direction are expected to be at 90◦ ± 10◦ of each other.
Second, we analyze the tendency for compressive
failure to occur base on Mohr-Coulomb failure cri-
terion when the strength of the rock is controlled by
the coefficient of internal friction, µi , and by the uni-
axial strength, C0 . For the previous stress conditions,
Fig. 8 is the same as Fig. 7 except that we have applied
a mask where breakouts are unlikely to occur given
 max p=0 max p=0.1σ
Figure 9. Angle difference |φT − φT V
| for Figure 10. Same as Fig. 9 but mask was applied where
borehole azimuths and deviations between 0◦ and 90◦ using breakouts are unlikely to occur given Mohr-Coulomb failure
the same stress conditions as in Figs. 7 and 8 but for two criterion with C0 = 0.1 σV and µi = 0.6.
differential pressures, p = 0 and p = 0.1 σV .

a relatively weak rock with C0 = 0.1 σV and friction

coefficient µi = 0.6. We observe that, depending on
the azimuth, wells inclined up to 30◦ to 55◦ have ori-
entations where breakouts are unlikely to occur given
the stress and failure conditions as expected in normal
stress regime environments. Increase in borehole fluid
pressure p or rock strength C0 will increase the area
of the mask, ultimately covering all borehole orienta-
tions. We observe that a slight overbalance will prevent
the initiation of breakouts for most well orientations
max p=0 max p=0.1σ
near the nodal points encompassing the lobes with the Figure 11. Angle difference |φT − φT V
| for
biggest angular differences, further reducing the dif- borehole azimuths and deviations between 0◦ and 90◦ for
ference between the “subsidiary stress” and “borehole the following conditions: σV = 100 MPa, σH = 0.864 σV ,
stress” models. σh = 0.728 σV , pp = 0.6 σV (R = 0.5) and two differential
pressures p = 0 and p = 0.1 σV .
Next, we assessed the sensitivity of the difference
between borehole and pore pressures p = pw − pp
on the orientation of the breakouts φTmax . If we keep
the state of stress on the surface of the frictional the frictional limit with R = 0.5, giving σh = 0.728 σV .
limit with R = 0.5 as we have chosen in the previ- The two differential pressures p = 0 and p = 0.1 σV
ous examples, the pore pressure affects the ratio of correspond to the following two ratios p/(σ1 − σ3 )
the maximum and minimum principal stresses, and equal to 0 and 0.37. Results show that the difference
the orientation of the breakouts will depend on the in breakout orientations (Fig. 11) will slightly increase
ratio P/(σ1 − σ3 . We compute the breakout direction as expected. However, considering the tendency of the
max p=0
difference |φT − φTmax z=0 | for two differential rock to fail, there is no well orientation for which we
pressures p = 0 and p = 0.1 σV (Fig. 9) corre- can expect a breakout to occur for C0 = 0.1 σV and
sponding to the following two ratios p/(σ1 − σ3 ) µi = 1 (Fig. 11 with a mask would be all white and
equal to 0 and 0.27. We observe that the difference is not shown). This confirms the fact that even though
|φTmax P=0 − φT
max p=0.1σV
| is much smaller than the p/(σ1 − σ3 ) impacts the orientation of the breakouts,
previous difference |φhoop
max
− φTmax | and solely concen- as soon as the difference between the maximum and
minimum stress slightly decreases or p increases,
trated around the transition point where the breakouts
there will most probably not be any breakout to be
switch from TOH to side of the hole within the [σ1, σ3]
observed.
plane. Furthermore, the orientations for which break-
As a preliminary conclusion, we have found that
outs are likely to occur given Mohr-Coulomb failure
using the orientation of the maximum compressive
criterion for a weak rock with C0 = 0.1 σV and σi = 0.6
principal stress σTmax in the tangential [φ, Z] plane
(Fig. 10) exclude the lobes where the orientation is
with p = 0 is a reasonable approximation to com-
greater than 10◦ .
pute the breakout orientations for normally pressured
This indicates that in a normally pressured environ-
to slightly overpressured environments. The effect of
ment with relatively small p/(σ1 − σ3 ), the sensitiv-
pp and p/(σ1 − σ3 ) is overshadowed by the fact that
ity of the breakout orientations φTmax to the difference
high pore pressure and high p/(σ1 − σ3 ) will not gen-
p = pW − pP is small.
max p=0 erate breakouts.As σTmax with p = 0 is directly related
Finally, we computed the difference |φT − to the orientation of σh and R, we can use an approxi-
max p=0.1σV
φT | for slightly overpressured conditions mate relation between the breakout orientation and the
with pp = 0.6 σV and the state of stress on the surface of orientation of σh and R.

280
Table 1. Example of breakout and sonic stress-induced FSA
observed in two nearby wells.
Borehole Borehole Observation
deviation azimuth azimuth (TOH)
FSA 60 155 10
Breakout 45 45 60
5 IN-SITU STRESS ESTIMATION USING FAST
SHEAR AZIMUTH AND BREAKOUTS
We have just shown that the sonic FSA is directly
related to the relative deviatoric stress tensor described
by the orientation of σh and ellipsoid factor R via the
max
maximum subsidiary principal stress σsub and that,
to a first-order approximation, the breakout direction
is also directly related to the orientation of σh and R
via the maximum compressive principal stress σTmax
with p = 0. Therefore, orientation of σh and R can
potentially be estimated from wells with at least two
different orientations in the following manner.
For practical purposes, we first combined the ellip-
soid factor R and the knowledge of the stress regime
into a single continuous parameter Q as defined
by [15]:
This made the deviatoric stress a function of the
orientation of σh and the continuous scalar parameter
Q(0 ≤ Q ≤ 3).
Next, we stepped through large discrete sets of devi-
atoric stress distributed uniformly in the space of the σh
azimuth and Q, and determined all compatible stress
states for which the difference between the predicted
max
σsub and observed sonic FSA (or predicted σTmax and
observed breakout direction) was below a tolerance
threshold (such as 5◦ ). If we consider observations
from wells with different orientations that are sub-
jected to the same deviatoric stress, we can study the
stress solutions that honor all data.
Let us consider an example where we observe a
breakout from one well and a stress-induced FSA from
another well nearby (see Table 1)
We can calculate all the deviatoric stress solu-
tions compatible with the FSA direction from the first
well and the breakout direction from the second well
(Fig. 5).The intersection of these two solution sets con-
tains the solutions compatible with both stress-induced
FSA and breakout observations. Fig. 5 shows that the
σh azimuth is between 80◦ and 95◦ from the north and
Q (=R) is between 0.6 and 0.9 (in the normal stress
regime). Knowledge of the vertical σv and minimum
horizontal σh stress magnitudes would then provide the
magnitude of σH .
281
Figure 12. Deviatoric stress solutions (orientation of σh
and I ) compatible with both stress-induced FSA and breakout
observations (red dots).
6 CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have compared “subsidiary” and
“borehole” stress models as mechanisms responsi-
ble for, respectively, the sonic fast-shear azimuth and
breakout directions for arbitrary well orientations. On
one hand, we showed, from previous results, that the
sonic fast-shear azimuth coincides with the maximum
normal stress direction orthogonal to the borehole
(“maximum subsidiary principal stress” ) as the dipole
shear is characterized into the formation sufficiently
far away from the borehole wall to be unaffected by
borehole stress concentrations. Therefore, the sonic
fast-shear azimuth is directly related to the relative
deviatoric stress tensor described by the orientation of
the minimum principal stress and the stress ellipsoid
factor R.
On the other hand, the breakout orientation is con-
trolled by borehole stress concentrations and occurs at
an angle around the borehole wall where the compres-
sive principal stress in the borehole tangential plane is
at a maximum. We showed that for normally pressured
to slightly overpressured conditions, the breakout ori-
entation is not very sensitive to the borehole mud
pressure, and consequently, to a first-order approxi-
mation, the breakout directions are also related to the
relative deviatoric stress tensor described by the orien-
tation of the minimum principal stress and the stress
ellipsoid factor R.
Results show that, for wells oriented in the vicinity
of the “subsidiary” nodal point found in the [σ1 , σ3 ]
plane, sonic fast-shear azimuth and breakout direction
are not at 90◦ to each other as previously expected.
Angular difference can take any value between 0◦ and
90◦ for wells within nodal point deviation ±20◦ and
azimuth ±40◦ . Outside of those orientations, sonic
fast-shear azimuth and breakout direction are expected
to be at 90◦ ± 10◦ of each other.
These results imply the sonic fast-shear azimuth,
from a stress-induced origin in an isotropic unstressed
background, is theoretically a better measurement to
estimate the relative deviatoric stress tensor because
it is unaffected by near- wellbore stress concentra-
tions and independent of borehole fluid pressure.
Consequently, stress-induced sonic fast-shear azimuth
observations from wells with at least two different ori-
entations can be used to estimate the orientation of
the minimum principal stress and the stress ellipsoid
factor R. To a first-order approximation, the same can
be done using breakout orientations in environments
where the orientation is weakly dependent on the bore-
hole mud pressure, which is expected to be valid for
most of the holes drilled.
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© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Quality assurance system for borehole strain observation

Zhang Zhoushu, Lu Haiyan, Yang Zhenyu, Wang Zongping, Gui Zhirei & Cai Li
China earthquake disaster prevention center, CEA, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: This paper mainly focuses on the quality of crustal strain observations. Carry on works in
standard, metrology and quality inspection three aspects to establish a quality assurance system ensures crustal
strain instruments have corresponding quality assurance measure in production, station construction and routine
operation is elaborated. The quality of crustal strain observation will be improved significantly. Accurate and
reliable data can be provided for earthquake prediction and seismology research.

1 INTRODUCTION of the Maximum shear strain state can be obtained.

Geological mechanics theory created by LI Siguang
had successfully guided the development of several
major oil fields such as Daqing and promoted the
exploit of China’s oil and other mineral resources. His
theory also demonstrated a clear direction of earth-
quake prediction research. According to the geological
mechanics theory, crustal stress state is one of the
most important characteristics of the crust. Accurate
determination of crustal stress state and diversifica-
tion is not only important basis of earth science and
its relational subjects but also is scientific basis to
discover formation mechanism and prediction of mul-
tiple geological disasters, earthquake gestation partic-
ularly. Major contradictions of caused earthquake are
contradiction of crustal stress and rocks against ten-
sion. Li Siguang had Emphasized that crustal stress
diversification should be carefully observed on the
basis of research of tectonic activity in seismology
research. In 2lth century, U.S Government’s “Earth-
Scope Project: Plate Boundary Observation (PBO)”
White Paper indicates that borehole strain instruments
are the ideal instruments for continuous observation
to reveal crustal deformation in short time (from sev-
eral seconds to several months) and can play a major
role in the observation when or before earthquake and
volcanic eruptions.
2 BOREHOLE STRAIN INSTRUMENTS
Borehole strain instruments divided in three types:
The first is volumetric borehole strain instruments.
According to volume changes of cavity mounted in
the instrument, the relative change in rock volume
can be obtained. The second is shear strain bore-
hole strain instruments. According to the combination
measurement of several component parts mounted in
the instrument, the maximum and minimum princi-
pal strain difference which is the rock relative changes
The third is Components borehole strain instruments.
According to the information of three or more Com-
ponent parts mounted in the instrument, the maximum
and minimum principal strain of rock and azimuth
angle of the maximum principal strain axis can be
obtained.
China is one of the nation that start observa-
tions of crustal strain early. Total 45 borehole strain
observation stations as an important part of national
earthquake precursor observation network are normal
operation currently which distributed in l4 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities (Qiu Zehua). It
is included two types of volumetric strain instruments,
one is Sacks-Evertson volumetric strain instrument
(Sacks & Evertson, 1971), another is TJ series volu-
metric strain instrument (Su Kaizhi, 1982), which total
28 observation stations mainly concentrated in eastern
China. There are 7 component parts observation sta-
tions of RZB capacitive strain instruments (Ouyang
Zuxi, 1988) which are mainly in the west and southwest
China. Inductive crustal stress observation instruments
(Zhang Mingchuan, 1981) is the first developed stress-
strain observation instruments installed in more than
100 stations and only remained 8 stations untill now.
Only Xuzhou component parts observation station of
Jiangsu Province use string-frequency strain instru-
ment (Wang Qimin, 1983). YRZ pressure capacity
borehole strain instruments (Chi Shunliang, 1983) are
used in differential strain observation in 5 stations.
The theory and technology of borehole strain obser-
vations have been improved continuously more than
30 years by the tireless efforts of many researchers.
The effects of observations are also improved greatly
because of implementing digital observations basi-
cally. Rich observation data and experiences have
been accumulated to predict earthquake by using
borehole strain method which become one of the
effective means of earthquake prediction. There are
several successful cases to predict earthquake by using
borehole strain method that constructed observation

283
stations and use RZB-1 capacitive strain instruments
to observe in Wushi, Korla and Urumqi in Xinjiang
since 1984. At least 10 cases have corresponding
abnormalities of earthquake precursor before more
than M.6 earthquake in Xinjiang and more than M.7
earthquake in adjacent areas. Because views of short-
term earthquake prediction were proposed many times
by using abnormalities of crustal strain by Xinxjiang
Earthquake Bureau, a certain effectiveness of disaster
mitigation were obtained.
3 THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF BOREHOLE
STRAIN OBSERVATIONS
As the name suggests, borehole strain observations
instruments must be installed in the borehole in depth
from 50 or 60 meters to 100 or 200 meters. At the
same time, because solid tide should be observed its
resolution will be equal to or higher than 1 × 10−9 .
These features bring the following issues: The first
is the quality of the probe must be guaranteed abso-
lutely, otherwise, if the probe is broken it will lead to
reject the observation system or the borehole at worst.
The second is stronger anti-Interference ability with
higher accuracy. It’s better to complete signal pick-
up, sampling, converting and transporting digitally in
the probe for reducing the affect of Interference dur-
ing signal transporting. Higher demand is required to
design the circuits to complete these tasks in the lim-
ited space of probe which meanwhile it is also highly
required high pressure resistance, corrosion resistance
and anti-lightning. There have been many problems
because it was lack of strict requirements of circuit
design, parts selection, machining and sealing in pro-
duction process. It would cause observation failure
while using because of improper drill site, irregulari-
ties of borehole (cave or bad lithology), poor coupled
borehole-wall when installing or anti-lighting not in
place, etc. In addition, it is a technical blind spot of
measuring and testing these types of instruments. High
accuracy metrology standard has not been established.
The performances and parameters of instruments
are acquired through calibrating by manufacturer or
using of celestial movement, calculating by astronom-
ical parameters and tidal force to evaluate the instru-
ments. Because it combined effects that including
factors of equipments, station condition and quality
of observers, actual results of this examine method are
not accurate and it is lack of accurate measurement and
verification of overall characteristics and basic indica-
tors. Simultaneously, because of a lack of high accu-
racy verification procedure in a laboratory, it can not
be certificated accurately the technical indicators and
overall performance of instrument’s sensor as primary
instruments. It can’t verdict the similar instruments’
comparability of observation results. That is it can’t
be recognized as consistency and reliability of value
by all which lack of metrology verification and cali-
bration by authorized institutions. Specifically, when
the instrument was abnormal it was always suspected
284
in trouble and judgment of earthquake situation was
delayed sometimes.
4 QUALIITY ASSURANCE FOR BOREHOLE
STRAIN OBSERVATIONS
It’s not only necessary but also urgent to establish a
quality assurance system according to the develop-
ment of borehole strain observations. It is increased
in number of crustal strain instruments as national
earthquake safety needs and the development of earth-
quake enterprise. Efficacy of crustal strain network
will be influenced if the exposed quality problems
can’t be solved properly. The intuitive of observa-
tion results is dropped greatly though the real-time
performance and degree of automation of seismic
observations are increased through implementing net-
working and digitization of earthquake instruments.
Only it is conviction that quality of seismic instruments
is ensured and accuracy and Reliability of observation
results, networking performance can be exerted.
Quality assurance is divided into three parts:
1. All Operation procedures are normalized by stan-
dards.
2. Unified Unit and accurate, reliable measuring value
are ensured by metrology.
3. Qualified performances and indicators of instru-
ments are confirmed by quality inspection.
4.1 Establishing complete technology standard
and observation standard
Standard is a document that obtain the best order in a
certain range, common and repeated use rules, guide-
lines or characteristics are formulated to activities or
their results.The document is approved by a recognized
institution by consensus. Virtuality of standardiza-
tion is to achieve unity by developing, publishing and
implementing standards. Purpose of Standardization is
to obtain the best order and social benefits. Qualities
of production, project and service is ensured by stan-
dard. China Earthquake Administration (CEA) pay
great attention to seismic standardization. A series of
standards or Specifications, which play a good role of
quality and effectiveness of borehole strain observa-
tions, are formulated about station construction, equip-
ments installation and setting, daily operation, data
transporting and processing. There are 1 national stan-
dard and 9 industry standards introduced for borehole
strain observations in recent years.
They are: National seismic standard DB/T
19531.3-2004 “Technical requirement for observa-
tional environment of seismic stations Part 3: Crustal
deformation observation”, Seismic industry standard
DB/T 1-2008 “Table of Standard System for Seis-
mic Industry”, DB/T 3-2003 “Classification and code
of seismic observation item and observation item
for earthquake precursor”, DB/T 8.2-2003 “Specifi-
cation for the construction of seismic station crust
deformation station Part 2: Crust tilt and strain
observatory in borehole”, DB/T 11.1-2007 “Cate-
gories and codes for earthquake-related data–Part 1:
Basic categories”, DB/T 11.2-2007 “Categories and
codes for earthquake-related data–Part 2: Observa-
tion data”, DB/T 12.1-2000 “Earthquake Precursor
Observation Instrument Part 1: Interface and Control
of Sensor”, DB/T 21-2007 “Technical requirements
of instruments in network for earthquake monitor-
ing The description of common technical parameter
and test method”, DB/T 26-2008 “Classification and
code for earthquake observation instrument”, DB/T
25-2008 “Quantities and units for earthquake obser-
vation”, DB/T 31.2-2008 “Technical requirements of
instruments in network for earthquake monitoring The
instrument for crustal deformation observation Part 2:
Strain-meter”. In addition, “Earthquake and precur-
sory digital observation specifications”, “Earthquake
station observation specifications” and “Cave strain
station observation specifications” were formulated.
The standards stipulate station construction, operation
and routine observations.
Instruments production standard is also lack cur-
rently. Because borehole stain instrument is a special
scientific instrument, market demand is not great. It is
impossible to product in large-scale and main is pro-
duced in small workshop just like the other earthquake
precursor instruments production. This type instru-
ments in other nations are produced in the same way. It
is necessary of the Guarantee of standards as produced
in a small workshop where ensure that Process of pro-
duction can be controlled and instrument performance
is Identical.
4.2 Strengthening assurance of metrology
Metrology is the science about measurement. It’s an
activity that achieve measurement unit to be Identi-
cal and ensure measurement of value to be accurate
and reliable. It is significance for determining the
occurrence of earthquake the data output from crustal
strain observation instruments. It is accurate or not
will directly influence to determine the occurrence
of earthquake and have a major impact in mitigat-
ing earthquake disasters. Currently, most instruments
included crustal stain instruments for earthquake pre-
cursor are lack of verification and calibration. It has
affected on trusting data output from instruments and
judging analysis results.
Crustal strain instruments are seismic metrology
instruments according to “Metrology law of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China” that should be managed
in metrology Monitoring areas. Because it is very
high resolution of crustal strain instruments, there is
no social laboratory can verify and calibrate them.
According to the “Rules of implementation for Metrol-
ogy law of the People’s Republic of China”, metrology
laboratories must be established for the special value
by CEA. The observation value of instrument can
be connected with national standard by traceabil-
ity Traceability is an activity that measuring value
can be connected with usually national or interna-
tional standard through a continuous comparison chain
285
with prescriptive uncertainty. The observation value of
crustal strain instrument is length which should traced
to national length standard (0.663 micron wavelength
reference). Because its sensor measures pressure, it
also can be traced to national pressure reference.
It is strictly requested measurement equipments,
environment and method for a metrology laboratory.
Because of its high resolution, crustal stain instru-
ments will be easily and greatly influenced by airflow,
micro vary of temperature and base vibration. So how
to reduce the influence of these factors in maximum
must be completely considered while design the envi-
ronment condition and its base. Metrology equipments
must satisfy the requirement of instrument resolution.
It must have corresponding metrology specifications
for metrology laboratory. The crustal strain instrument
could not be disassembled once it was installed in a
station, so it is necessary to research and develop the
method and equipment for subsequent verification and
calibration (once about 2 to 3 years) that ensure the
instruments in use can be traced also.
4.3 Strengthening quality inspection
for instruments
Quality inspection is an activity that watch, mea-
sure and test one or more quality characteristics of
a product. The results should be compared with a
quality requirement so that the eligibility or not of
every quality characteristics can be determined. It is
not only required accurate and reliable observation
results of instrument but also has stability, strong anti-
Interference ability, adaptive environment ability and
reasonable usage life.
As a manufacturer, it is necessary of equipments and
environment for quality inspection that instruments
can be examined before delivery so that every qual-
ity characteristics meet the quality requirements. From
a higher demand, quality inspection should be com-
pleted by entrusting a specialized agency (the third
party). There are two parts in crustal strain instru-
ment that one is primary instrument (probe unit), the
other is secondary instrument (data acquiring unit).
The main performances and technical indicators of
primary instrument, secondary instrument and whole
instrument should be accurately examined according
to testing procedure and relative normative files. The
quality and stability of observation instrument can be
ensured from the technical aspects.
5 CONCLUSION
After several years’ development, theory of crustal
strain observation is increasingly sophisticated.
Progress of observation technology is significant and
construction of network scale is also growing. While in
the development, aspects of instrument quality are paid
attention generally. It is not only necessary of enter-
prise development to establish a quality assurance sys-
tem but also required by national laws and regulations.
The basic ideas of implementing quality assurance are
works Strengthened in standard, metrology and quality
inspection three aspects. It has important significance
for promoting Earthquake prediction and other seis-
mic research through establishing quality assurance
system to improve crustal strain observation quality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is founded by Seismic Industry Public Ben-
efit Research Foundation (200708040), Research on
method of measurement value traceability.
REFERENCES
[1] Chi Shunliang, “Preliminary experiment results of
Pressure-Capative Borehole strain meter”, ACTA SEIS-
MOLOGICA SINICA, vol.4, 1982, p.98–103.
[2] Ouyang Zuxi, Li Bingyuan, Jia Weijiu, Zhang Zongrun,
“A drilling-type ground stress measurement system”,
286
Crustal structure and crustal stress paper collection,
vol.2, Beijing, Earthquake Press, 1988, p.11–20.
[3] Su Kaizhi, “Working Principle of level volumetric strain
meter”, Seismology research, vol.4, 1982, p.57–62.
[4] Borehole stress-strain technology workgroup, “Indone-
sian tsunami and earthquake data of borehole stress and
strain observations”, Crustal structure and crustal stress
paper collection, Beijing, Earthquake Press, 2005,
p.2–6.
[5] Qiu Zehua, Xie Furen, Su Kaizhi, Ouyang Zuxi, “The
strategy of borehole strain observations development”,
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORLD SEISMOL-
OGY, no.1, 2004, p.7–14.
[6] Qiu Zehua, Zhang Baohong, “Borehole Stress – Strain
Status of earthquake Precursor onservation network of
borehole stress-strain”, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
WORLD SEISMOLOGY, no.6, 2002, p.5–9.
[7] Ouyang Zuxi, “40 years for Observation and Study
of crustal stress and strain- The pursuit and Persis-
tence of a team”, Crustal structure and crustal stress
paper collection, Beijing, Earthquake Press, 2006,
p.37–45.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Analysis of in-situ stress field by using a visual BP neural network

Li Yongsong, Ai Kai & Liu Yuankun

Yangtze River Scientific Research Institue, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: A method of In-situ stress field’s multi-factor regression analysis, based on visual BP neural
network and on ActiveX technology, is presented with an application example. The relevant theories of neural
network are adopted and permit to calculate the three dimensional stress fields. The method owns the advantages
of strong capability in computing of Matlab, friendly VB interface and easy user-machine conversation.

1 INTRODUCTION controllers are reserved in ActiveX assembly, and the

Neural network theory has been used as an effec-
tive method in the in-situ stress analysis[1] . But it
will inevitably involve massive problems related to the
numerical calculation, such as routine matrix calcula-
tion, model orthogonalization, least-square processing
and etc. In this case, many users will choose the
existing simulation software Matlab. Matlab has great
advantages in some common complicated matrix cal-
culations and simulation calculation, while it is less
able in compiling the graphical user interface (GUI).
Although VB is relatively weaker in matrix calculation
and numerical analysis, it is flexible and convenient in
the programming. Also it is one of the most widely
used visual programming tools.
In order to take advantages of matlab in calculation
and those of VB in GUI, neural network toolbox is
adopted as one of its ActiveX components in the multi-
factor regression analysis method of three dimensional
stress field. It is capable of visualizing the BP artificial
neural network model in VB.
2 IMPLEMENTATION OF VISUAL NEURAL
NETWORK MODEL BY MIXED
PROGRAMMING
2.1 ActiveX automation technology
ActiveX automation is one of ActiveX’s protocols,
which permits the control of one application pro-
gram or component to another. It contains automatic
servers and controllers. ActiveX component supplied
by Microsoft Corporation is a new protocol applied
to module integration. Meanwhile, it is an extension
of the VB toolbox as well as some executable codes
written according to the ActiveX criterion, such as a
document of .EXE, .DLL or .OCX. ActiveX will be a
portion of the development and running environment
after it is added to the program. As a result it can pro-
vide new functions for the application program. The
attributes, events and methods of a few common VB
specific methods and attributes of ActiveX assembly
make the programming more powerful and flexible.
Matlab is also software supporting ActiveX auto-
mation technique, which can be controlled by any
Microsoft programs that can be used as ActiveX
program, including Excel, Access, Visual Basic and
Visual C++. User can use Matlab conveniently in
his own programs by making use of this character-
istic, including executing Matlab commands, using its
toolbox with rich functions, inputting data to it and
obtaining results. In this way not only beautiful visual
Windows programs can be compiled by vb but also
various toolboxes of Matlab can be acquired to make
assistant decision, design and simulation.
2.2 Implementation of visual neural network model
To realize the visual neural network model, firstly,
create a new form and some controls used to realize
the requirements. Secondly, select a suitable network
model, numbers of the input layer, output layer and
hidden layer of the network, training function and so
on. Thirdly, compile BP neural network documents,
which should be saved as M document and can be
called by VB.
In addition, the system clipboard can be used as a
transferring station. The images of Matlab are stored in
system clipboard in the format of bitmap document,
and then it can be obtained again in VB by reading
from the clipboard. Some functions adopted to realize
the visual neural network Model are as follows:
(1) BSTR Execute ([in] BSTR Command), this func-
tion uses command string as Matlab parameter,
and the result will be returned in the form of
string. All the executable command lines inputted
into the Matlab command window can be used
here. In this way, the command lines can be used
in codes, just as in the Matlab window.
(2) VOID Minimize Command Window ( ): this func-
tion minimizes the Matlab window, which hasn’t
been minimized.

287
(3) VOID Maximize Command Window ( ): this func-
tion maximizes the Matlab window, which hasn’t
been maximized.
(4) VOID Quit ( ): this function closes the Matlab and
exits.
3 APPLICATION
In-situ stress field is very important in the numeri-
cal simulation and stability analysis as well as in the
engineering design and construction. So it requests
an effective analysis method. The method proposed
in this paper combines the advantages of the multi-
factor regression analysis[2–6] and the artificial neural
network theory. The training samples of the neural net-
work are generated by making use of the results of the
multi-factor regression analysis, which can avoid the
blindness of sample generation. And also it makes
the network generalization into interpolation problem,
which can improve the network learning speed and
training precision. We can compute the displacement
boundary conditions of the geological model by utiliz-
ing the highly nonlinear characteristics of the artificial
neural network, and then apply the obtained boundary
conditions to the main analysis program, so the simula-
tion of the initial in-situ stress field in the engineering
area can be done.
3.1 Site description
Yangjiang Pumped Storage Plant is located in the Bajia
Mountrain across Yangchun City and Dianbai County,
in southern China’s Guangdong province. In order to
study the in-situ stress distribution of the engineer-
ing area, the in-situ stress measurement was succes-
sively done in the underground powerhouse, and high
pressure branch pipes by the deep-hole stress relief
method, which can provide evidence for the arrange-
ment scheme of the engineering structures, selection
of the excavation methods, the stability analysis and
supporting design of every building. Having taken
many factors such as the characteristics of topography
and geomorphology into account comprehensively, the
calculation range can be determined. The range is
that length × width = 3000 m × 2000 m, bottom ele-
vation ∇-1000 m. And it includes portion of the upper
and lower reservoirs, diversion tunnel, high pressure
branch pipe, underground powerhouse, tailrace surge
tank, tailrace tunnel and so on. The measuring point
is located at the center of the calculation range. Finite
element meshes are shown in Figure 1.
3.2 Acquirement of neural network samples
It is generally considered that tectonic stress field
and gravity stress field are the two main compo-
nents of rock stress field, while tectonic stress is
supposed in horizontal direction and decomposed
as Ux, Uy and Uxy, corresponding to the tectonic
stress in the north-south direction, tectonic stress in
288
Figure 1. FEM Mesh.
the east-west direction and shear stress in the hor-
izontal plane respectively. Mathematical calculating
model can be established according to this, in which
gravity factor L1, tectonic displacement Ux, Uy and
Uxy are regarded as undetermined factors. In order
to determine its range approximately, multiple lin-
ear regression analysis can be done once at first, and
then regression coefficients of the four independent
variables (L1, L2, L3 and L4) can be calculated. So
tectonic displacements should be L2 × Ux, L3 × Uy
and L4 × Uxy. It can be considered that the result of
the regression analysis is an approximate solution, true
value of the gravity coefficient and tectonic displace-
ments change around the L1, L2 × Ux, L3 × Uy and
L4 × Uxy. So a suitable range can be selected by the
experience. By doing this it avoids the blindness of
sample generation. And it makes the network genera-
lize into an interpolation problem, which can improve
the network’s learning speed and training precision.
According to the measured values, the results of
the finite element multiple linear regression are:
L1 = 1.05, Ux = 0.185, Uy = 0.19 and Uxy = 0.05. So
the ranges of L1, Ux, Uy and Uxy are determined as
follows : L1 ∈ [0.85, 1.25], Ux ∈ [0.1, 0.4], Uy ∈ [0.1,
0.3], Uxy ∈ [0, 0.15]. Training samples of the neural
network can be obtained by adjusting the values of L1,
Ux, Uy and Uxy to do the feedforward calculation.
Thought of the uniform design is adopted in the value
adjustments of the training samples. Table U9*(94 ) is
selected to do the design, and every factor takes nine
levels, and combinations of factor levels are shown in
table 1.
For every combination in table 1, finite element
forward calculation is done. The results are used as
training samples, which will be trained by the BP neu-
ral network. 96 calculated values of the in-situ stress
components of the 16 measured points arranged in the
measuring hole of underground powerhouse and high
pressure branch pipes are used as input values, gravity
coefficient L1 and three tectonic displacements Ux,
Uy and Uxy are used as output values.Three layer net-
works are selected in the Network structure, hidden
layer has 24 elements, the network structure is 96-24-4,
and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm is adopted to
train. The mapping relation among the stress values of
Table 1. Combinations of factor levels.

levels L1 levels Ux levels Uy levels Uxy

1 0.85 3 0.175 7 0.25 9 0.100

2 0.9 6 0.2875 4 0.175 8 0.088
3 0.95 9 0.4 1 0.1 7 0.075
4 1 2 0.1375 8 0.275 6 0.063
5 1.05 5 0.25 5 0.2 5 0.050
6 1.1 8 0.3625 2 0.125 4 0.038
7 1.15 1 0.1 9 0.3 3 0.025
8 1.2 4 0.2125 6 0.225 2 0.013
9 1.25 7 0.325 3 0.15 1 0.000

Figure 3. Comparison of the measured and BP calculated

results in borehole ZKD004.

The comparison of BP neural network calculated vales

Figure 2. The calculated result of BP.
the measured points, gravity coefficient and three tec-
tonic displacements can be obtained, after the training
is done. Now the measured value of the measurement
points are taken as input value, so the output values
are gravity coefficient L1, and tectonic displacements
Ux, Uy, Uxy, as shown in Figure 2. According to
the obtained gravity coefficient and tectonic displace-
ments, the initial stress field can be obtained by doing
the finite element forward calculation once.
By using the ActiveX automation tool and taking
VB as the foreground development tool and Matlab
as background server, we can establish a user inter-
face in the VB’s integrated development environment
to implement the visualization of the neural network
model. Take the measured stress values as the input of
neural network that has done the training, then pass it
to the Matlab, let Matlab train and calculate. At last the
calculations are transferred to the VB window to visu-
alize. Meanwhile, add an image control to VB, and set
the stretch attribute as True, so the image control will
adapt to the size of image being loaded. The clipboard
is used to transfer the complete path of the image doc-
ument and the image in the format of bitmap in order
to visualize the training results in the VB window. As
shown in figure 2: L1 = 1.04, Ux = 0.23, Uy = 0.23,
Uxy = 0.03.
The gravity coefficient and tectonic displacements
of three orientations can be obtained by the BP arti-
ficial neural network method; also the stress situation
of the whole engineering area can be calculated by the
superposition and finite element forward calculation.
and test results in the measuring hole ZKD004 of the
underground powerhouse is shown in Figure 3.
The result of the initial in-situ stress field is shown
in the form of stress in the mesh points. But in real
engineering we usually want to know the initial in-
situ stress of a certain position or profile, when the
interpolation calculation will be needed. As the result
of the complexity of the structure model of the initial
in-situ stress field, traditional interpolation method is
more tedious and time-consuming; this can not meet
the requirements of repeated taking value and calcu-
lation check. So it is necessary to search for a new
method which is simple and suitable for operating to
replace the traditional interpolation method. It sug-
gests the method adopting neural network to express
initial in-situ stress field, which provides a conve-
nient and efficient intelligent expression method. It
makes the complex interpolation work simple and fea-
sible. The stress components of a certain point can be
obtained in the VB visual interface by inputting the
coordinates of it, which provides convenience for the
engineering application. The calculations of the initial
stress are used as training samples to train the net-
work. During training, take coordinates of the X, Y,
and Z of each node in the finite element calculation
model as input, and take the six corresponding stress
components as output. After completing the learn-
ing function, take the coordinate of a certain position
needed to know as input of the neural network that
has been well trained. Then neural network will output
the corresponding six stress components of the posi-
tion. Furthermore, the principal stress, dip angle and
azimuth of the position can be calculated according to
them. Transfer the calculated results to the vb to the
human-computer interaction to visualize, as shown in
figure 4.

289

Figure 4. The Stress query system.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The features of the method presented in this paper can
be summarised as following:
(1) It combines advantages of the multi-factor regres-
sion analysis and the artificial neural network
theory. The training samples of the neural net-
work are generated by making use of the result of
the multi-factor regression analysis. So, it does
not need to adopt the elastic hypothesis of the
linear regression and can avoid the blindness of
sample generation. And it also makes the network
generalize into interpolation problem, which can
improve the network’s learning speed and training
precision. So it has good development prospect.
(2) It combines the powerful calculation function of
Matlab with the VB’s good user interface suitable
for graphic developing. And ActiveX automation
technology is used to carry on the BP neural
network calculation by the mixed programming
of the two. By doing this not only visualization
of the interface is implemented, but also vari-
ous network models of the Matlab neural network
290
toolbox and many learning algorithms it has inte-
grated are made full use of. Thus the two can make
up for each other’s deficiencies. So the whole per-
formance of the software is improved, and the
time and energy the development has taken is
saved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is funded by China 11th Five-Year
Plan’s Science & Technology Supporting Program
(2008BAB29B01-1).
REFERENCES
[1] QI Lan, DING Zhi-hong, MA Bin, ZHUANG Xiao-
jun. Regresstion analysis of initial in-situ stress field
with multiple variables and equations. Rock and Soil
Mechanics. 2003, 24(1): 137–139
[2] ZHANG Qi-hua, ZHONG Zuo-wu, GONG Bi-xin.
Method of Generating Pure Shear Stress by Adding
Boundary Displacement and its Application in Back
Analysis for Geo-stress Field. J.Yangtze River Scientific
Research Institute. 2000, 17(2): 34–36
[3] LI Qing-qi, Regression Analysis and 3-D Fitting of
Initial Stress. Chinese J. of Geotechnical Engineering.
1998, 20(5): 68–71.
[4] YU Jun-hua, JIN Wei-liang, ZOU Dao-qin. Displace-
ment function method for analyzing initial earth stress.
Rock and Soil Mechanics. 2003, 24(3): 417–419.
[5] David G. Kleinbaum, Lawrence L. Kupper, Azhar
Nizam. Applied Regression Analysis and Other Mul-
tivariable Methods. America:Thomson Learning Press,
1999.
[6] LI Yongsong, YIN Jianmin, AI Kai. Geostress regres-
sion analysis method and engineering cas application.
J. Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute. 2006,
23(4): 46–50.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Study on characteristics of in-situ stress affected by faults

Yin Jianmin, Guo Xifeng, & Liu Yunfang

Yangtze River Scientific Research Institue, Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT: In the context of stress field determination for a long tunnel, hydro-fracturing in-situ stress
measurement was conducted in two boreholes drilled in or near faults zones, respectively.The results are presented
and compared with the regional stress field. Those results obtained in fault zone of cataclasite rock are found
in poor consistence with the regional tectonic stress, while other results obtained in the hole near fault zone are
found close to the regional stress.

1 INTRODUCTION

A large number of stress measurement results show

that, due to the disturbance superimposition of dia-
genesis and tectonic movements, the in-situ stress
distribution in or near fault zone is very complex. Since
large faults are found in many engineering sites, the
study on the characteristics of in-situ stress in fault
zone is not only an important issue to geoscientists,
but also a practical problem faced by geotechnique Figure 1. Tunnel’s geological profile and boreholes posi-
tion.
engineers [1∼3].
In this paper, some results of stress determination
by using the hydro-fracturing method for a long tunnel
is presented, the stress characteristics and the effect
of faults are analyzed on focus of their representative
significance of the regional tectonic stress.

2 GEOLOGY BACKGROUND
Figure 2. Schematic plane view of faults and test boreholes.
OF THE STUDY SITE

A railway tunnel of 12.97 km long is located in middle-
low mountainous areas of Fujian Province, in South-
east China. Although no active faults exist in the tunnel
site, some large faults are found in ground surface.
Four faults are found in the central section of the tun-
nel with length of 2.5 km, see figure 1∼2. Their depth
and thickness of influence zone are of important task of
geology survey. The fault zones are found mainly ori-
ented towards Northeast∼Southwest (named as com-
pression or sheared fault zones) and NW∼SE (tensile
fault zones). The main faults around the two boreholes
of stress measurement are as follows:
F2, the visible width is about 35 m, oriented at
NE30◦ and dipped at 80◦ eastward, the horizontal
extended length is over 2000 m.
F3, the visible width is between 20 and 60 m,
oriented at EW and dipped at about 80◦ eastward.
F4, the visible width is between 60 and 70 m, ori-
ented at NE10◦ and dipped at about 77◦ eastward, the
extended length along the trend is over 3000 m.
F5, the visible width is about 70 m, oriented at EW
and dipped at about 75◦ eastward, the extended length
along its tend is over 2000 m.
From geological data, F2, F3 and F5 are regional
sheared compression faults while F4 is a regional
sheared tensile fault.
Some boreholes are drilled for the purpose of
inspecting the fault extension and thickness in the
vertical extension. Stress measurements by hydro-
fracturing method were conducted by taking advantage
of these boreholes initially for geology survey. So it
must analyze the representative significance of stress
results.
The central tunnel section of 2.5 km long is taken as
the study area of this paper. The two boreholes of geol-
ogy survey are used for stress measurements, noted as
ZK1 and ZK2 (Fig.1∼2). By outcrop observation, ZK1
is located in the fault F3 and its influence zone, the
depth is 228 m, and its lithology is granite and gabbro.
Rock cores are totally fragmented in the upper 85 m.

291
In detail, the rock is lightly weathered granite at depth
85∼140.8 m, gabbro at 140.8∼145.5 m and relative
intact granite at 145.5∼228 m. It can be observed that
only the upper 85 m section of borehole is in the fault
zone of F3 or the later seems to be limited to shallow
depth.
ZK2 is located in the fault F5 and it’s influence zone,
the depth is 170 m, Rock cores are totally fragmented
cataclasite and fault braccia in the upper 73 m and the
lithology is weathered cataclasite in the deeper section,
with localized fragmented gabbros at depth 93∼94 m,
98∼99 m and 162∼163 m.

3 STRESS MEASUREMENT RESULTS

AND ANALYSIS

3.1 Results of stress measurements

The stress measurements were conducted in the two
boreholes by using the hydraulic fracturing method
[4, 5]. According to the integrity of borehole cores,
appropriate test intervals are selected in sections of
intact cores. Totally 13 tests and 9 tests were suc-
cessfully achieved in the two boreholes respectively,
and the largest horizontal principal stress magnitude
(σH ) and the least horizontal principal stress magni-
tude (σh ) are obtained and shown by Fig. 3 with the
estimated vertical stress magnitude (σz ) as the over-
burden weight. The largest horizontal principal stress
directions are obtained through impression packer
tests.
The variation tendency of the largest and least hori-
zontal principal stress magnitudes is obtained by linear
regression for the measurements in ZK1 and ZK2 and
expressed by equation (1) and (2) respectively. Figure 3. Variation of principal stress magnitudes.

The different character can be explained by the dif-

It can be observed that in both borehole the largest
and least horizontal principal stress magnitudes in
the depth range of measurements are systematically
higher than the estimated vertical stress values, i.e.
σH > σh > σZ .
Finally the orientation of the largest horizon-
tal principal stress is N19◦ ∼31◦W for ZK1 while
N12◦ ∼17◦W for ZK2, this means that the orientation
of the largest horizontal principal stress reveals very
close for the two boreholes with distance of 2 km.
3.2 Analysis of results
Although the horizontal principal stress magnitudes
increase with the depth for all the two boreholes, the
variation tendency is almost linear for ZK1 and very
dispersed for ZK2.
ferent integrity and weathering grade of rock mass.
In borehole ZK1’s depth section of weathered granite
and gabbro (85∼145.4 m) in Hole ZK1, the horizontal
principal stress values or their differential values reveal
some local irregularity in the vertical direction. Since
the rock mass is generally qualified as massif hard rock
in this borehole, the stress distribution is stable in the
depth range of measurements (85∼228 m).
In other hand, the borehole ZK2 is totally located
in the fault F5’s influence zone, the rock is totally
weathered cataclasite (73∼163 m) with localized frag-
mented gabbros at depth 93∼94 m, 98∼99 m and
162∼163 m in the depth range of measurement. So
it is natural to obtain the very dispersed stress values
in this borehole. However, the orientation of horizon-
tal principal stress is close to that of Hole ZK1. It
can be observation that the character of stress distri-
bution is controlled by the rock structures, especially
the stress magnitudes in faults or in fault zone is quite
heterogeneous.
As mentioned above, the horizontal principal stress
magnitudes in the depth range of measurements are
systematically higher than the estimated vertical stress

292
Figure 4. Direction of principal compressive stress axis in Fujian Province.
values, i.e. σH > σh > σZ . This stress regime is coher-
ent to the tectonic feature of sheared compression
faults with a reversed movement component.
4 COMPARISON WITH OTHER IN-SITU
STRESS RESULTS
4.1 Comparison with near stress measurements
Similarly, other measurements were conducted on a
site of 30 km away from the tunnel of this study [6].
The borehole of 463 m deep is located in intact granite,
the stress state is not influenced by landform and geo-
logical structures. The measurement results show that
the orientation of largest horizontal principal stress is
NW20◦ ∼49◦ , and the horizontal principal stress mag-
nitudes have the tendency expressed as equation (3)
and match to the relationship such as σH > σh > σZ .
It can be observed that the stress results from bore-
hole in or near faults zones presented in this study is
somehow similar to the results in the nearby borehole
of intact granite.
4.2 Comparison with tectonic stress
In-situ stress in deep rock is primarily controlled by
regional tectonics. For this tunnel engineering, the
entire project area is located in the southeast coast
of China mainland’s tectonic regime named as new
cathaysian system, and regional structure is apt to NE
orientation compressive fracture [7, 8]. Focal mech-
anism solution in this region gives the current deep
tectonic stress field. It can be summarized that the tec-
tonic stress field in Fujian and its coastal areas link
293
up the stress field in the Taiwan Strait, the dominant
horizontal compressive stress axis is NW-SE direction,
shown in Figure 4. Obviously, the measured stress ori-
entation of this study is close to the regional tectonic
direction.
By summarizing observation, although the results
of stress measurements in borehole in/near faults show
important heterogeneities, mainly on the stress magni-
tudes, they have obvious similarity with other results
in intact rock mass, and the largest horizontal principle
stress’ direction is almost consistent with the regional
tectonic direction.
5 CONCLUSION
The in situ stress measurement results presented in this
study reveal some interesting features. For the bore-
hole partly located in relative intact rock, ZK1, both
the magnitude and orientation of horizontal principal
stresses are consistent to the regional tectonic regime.
For the borehole totally located in a fault zone of frac-
tured rock, ZK2, the magnitude of horizontal principal
stresses are very heterogeneous, only the orientation
of horizontal principal stresses is close to the axis of
the regional tectonic stress.
Therefore it is important to insure the conditions
required by the method of stress measurements and to
analyze the geological data in the study area in order
to appropriately interpret the measurement results and
to establish the correlation with the regional tectonic
stress.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was funded by China 11th Five-Year
Plan’s Science & Technology Supporting Program
(2008BAB29B01-1).
REFERENCES
[1] Matin CD, & Chandler NA. Stress heterogeneity and
geological structures. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. &
Geomech. Abstr., 1993, 30(7), 993∼999
[2] Su S. & Stephansson O., Effect of a fault on in situ stress
by distinct element method. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min.
Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 1999, 36(8), 1501∼1506
[3] HUANG Xingchun, XIA Xiaohe & SHEN Weiping.
Measurement and back analysis on the initial rock stress
field around the faults [J]. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong
University, 1998, 32(12): 55–59
[4] Liu Yunfang. Geostress and engineering construction.
Wuhan: Hubei technology press, 2000
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[5] Kim K & Franklin JA. Suggested methods for rock stress
determination. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 1987, 24:
53–73
[6] YIN Jianmin, CHEN Liwei, ZHONG Zuowu et al.
Measurement and interpretation on in-situ stress with
hydro-fracturing in highway tunnel site [J]. Chinese
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2001,
20(S): 1827–1830
[7] LI Hong,AN Qimei & XIE Furen. Study on in-situ stress
measurement around coastal marginal land in Fujian[J].
ACTA Seismologica Sinica, 2005, 27(5): 508–514
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Engineering application of in-situ stress
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Modeling of landslides hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

using ground motion parameters

Xiuying Wang
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Han Zhenlin
Geological Surveying Insitute, Henan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Devleopment, Nanyang,
Hennan, China

ABSTRACT: Studies of earthquake-induced landslides in China using ground motion parameters have been
rare. However, landslides induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in the Longmenshan area were relatively
well instrumented and can be investigated using ground motion records. Analysis shows that the Newmark
accumulative displacement calculated from the ground motion data recorded in a particular geological hazard
zone corresponds to the hazard intensity in that zone: the larger the displacement, the more serious the geological
hazard. Analysis also shows that the displacement is related to the Arias Intensity, which represents the total
energy released during the earthquake at the observation site. An evaluation model of Newmark displacement
calculated with Arias Intensity was constructed to estimate the subsequent slope failure resulting from the
earthquake. The fact that the calculated results based on the model fit well with the distribution of actual
landslides shows that this method is useful for hazard evaluation. This type of model therefore can be used as
a tool for estimating regional-scale distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and their associated hazards.
Furthermore, the technique is useful for evaluating applied engineering needs during reconstruction efforts in the
earthquake-hit area.

1 INTRODUCTION from those studies using earthquake intensity are not

The MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of 12 May 2008
induced severe landslides and caused great economic
and human losses. Much research has subsequently
been undertaken concerning, not only the earthquake,
but also geological disasters triggered by the earth-
quake (Huang et al., 2008; Yin, 2008; Liu, 2008).
Earthquake-induced landslide hazard is widely dis-
tributed in China. According to statistical data from
earthquakes that have occurred since 1949, over 20
provinces and regions have records of such disasters,
especially in the western mountainous areas that are
prone to earthquakes (Wang, 2009(a)).
However, there have been only limited studies con-
ducted on earthquake-induced landslides in China to
date, especially those involving the measurement of
ground motion parameters. Earthquake intensity has
been the earthquake triggering factor assumed for
those studies (Wang et al., 2003; Ding et al., 1999;
Zhou et al., 1994); however, earthquake intensity may
be influenced by the personal biases of the observers
because of the qualitative criteria (Hu, 2006). There-
fore, inconsistency and discrepancy may exist. More-
over, landslide numbers and extents themselves are
often part of the criteria used to assess the earthquake
intensity (Hu, 2006; GB/T 17742-2008). For these
reasons, evaluations of earthquake-induced landslides
highly reliable.
Studies based on data from earthquakes such as the
1987 Loma Prieta earthquake, the 1994 Northridge
earthquake, and the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, show
(1) that ground motion is one of the most important
factors affecting earthquake-induced landslides, and
(2) that ground motion parameters are closely related
to the distribution of earthquake-induced landslides.
Ground motion parameters have subsequently been
introduced into more and more earthquake-induced
landslide investigations (e.g., Keefer, 2002; Harp et al.,
1995; Wilson et al., 1985; Jibson et al., 2007; Liao,
2000; Bijan et al., 2004).
Prior to the investigation presented in this paper,
we investigated the relationships between landslides
induced by the Wenchuan earthquake and various
ground motion parameters (Wang et al., 2009a,b,c,d,
2010). We found that the following ground motion
parameters: Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak
Ground Velocity (PGV) and Arias Intensity (Ia ) are
closely related to earthquake-induced landslides on
both regional and local scales.
PGA is the most popular ground motion parameter
used in earthquake engineering because it is eas-
ily acquired (Hu, 2006). Much applied earthquake
engineering research has been conducted using this
parameter, and the results of such studies can be

297
referenced in earthquake-induced landslide studies.
Therefore, PGA is the first candidate parameter for the
study on earthquake-induced landslide with ground
motion parameters and those studies have been car-
ried out by many researchers (Wang et al., 2002; Liao,
2000; Jibson et al., 1995; Keefer, 2002; Bijan et al.,
2004).
Arias Intensity, a ground motion parameter propor-
tional to the energy released during an earthquake,
is a frequently used ground motion parameter used
to study earthquake-induced landslides. Wilson and
Keefer (1985) were the first to induce this parame-
ter into the earthquake-induced landslides study. Harp
et al. (1995) thoroughly investigated the relation-
ships between Ia and earthquake-induced landslides
based on the data from two moderate earthquakes and
the Ia thresholds were obtained from this work. Jib-
son et al. (2000, 2007) established regression models
related earthquake-induced landslides to Arias Inten-
sity based on earthquakes data scattered in many places
worldwide.
Due to a lack of ground motion data that correspond
to earthquake-induced landslides, previous researches
has been undertaken by comparing ground motion
data from an earthquake with records to landslides
induced by an earthquake without records. The results
of such studies may be problematic, since the source,
path of propagation, and local site condition can exert
great influence on ground motion records (Hu, 2006).
Two earthquakes with similar magnitudes and epicen-
tral distances to the receiver may have quite different
site responses. Therefore, conclusions arrived at by
comparing data from different earthquakes at different
locations may not be sufficiently correct.
The MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, which triggered
numerous landslides (Yin, 2008; Huang, 2008; Liu,
2008) had a large quantity of strong motion data
recorded (Li et al., 2008;Yu et al., 2008). This provided
an excellent opportunity to study the relationships
between earthquake-induced landslides and ground
motion parameters from a single earthquake, and also
to study the landslides’ distribution characteristics and
relationships with ground motion parameters.
We have carried out series studies based on the
data from the Wenchuan earthquake. These include
investigations of the relationships between landslides
induced by the Wenchuan earthquake and (1) PGA, (2)
PGV, (3) Arias Intensity, and (4) the lower and upper
triggering limits for each of these parameters (Wang
et al., 2009b,c,d, 2010). Based on these studies, a quan-
titative evaluation model of landslides induced by the
Wenchuan earthquake was built to assess the regional-
scale hazard. This will be useful for site selection and
earthquake-induced landslides hazard zoning for the
reconstruction after the Wenchuan earthquake.
2 DATA AND METHOD
Based on previous investigations, the ground motion
parameter of Arias Intensity (Ia ) is considered to be
the most relevant for studies of earthquake-induced
298
landslides (Harp et al., 1995; Jibson et al., 2007; Wang,
2009(c)). Therefore, Ia is employed as the estimation
parameter in the model as normally used by other
researchers.
2.1 Definition of arias intensity
Arias Intensity is defined as the sum of all the squared
acceleration values from a strong motion record. It is a
measure of the energy dissipated at a site by shaking.
Where a(t) is the acceleration value from the
record, Td is the duration of the shaking, and g is the
acceleration due to gravity. The unit of Ia is in m/s.
From its definition, we can see this parameter
incorporates both amplitude and duration informa-
tion, making it more useful in representing the shaking
intensity of ground motion than other parameters, such
as PGA and PGV. Because of this, it is also more
relevant for evaluations of surface damage, of which
landslides induced by earthquakes are an example.
2.2 The newmark analysis
Newmark Analysis is often used in slope stability
analyses in conjunction with seismic activity. For this
method, the slope is taken as a rigid friction block.
When the ground acceleration exceeds the slope’s
critical/yield acceleration (ac ), the threshold ground
acceleration necessary to overcome the block slid-
ing resistance, down-slope movement will be initiated
and permanent movement of the block will begin to
accumulate. If the critical acceleration of the slope is
known, Newmark displacement can be calculated by
double integrating all those values exceeding the slope
critical acceleration (ac ). The Newmark calculating
process can be expressed as
Where DN is the Newmark displacement, ac is the
critical acceleration, a(t) is the ground acceleration of
the acceleration time history.
With this method, permanent accumulated displace-
ment is calculated over the whole shaking process,
and the calculated result is used to analyze the slope
stability. Both lab and field investigations prove that
Newmark analysis is accurate when the slope geom-
etry parameters, geotechnical controls, and ground
acceleration time history are provided correctly. For
example, the measured displacement of a landslide,
triggered by the Coyote Lake earthquake in California,
is in excellent agreement with the Newmark displace-
ment calculated from the acceleration time history
(Wilson et al., 1983).
The critical acceleration, ac , must be obtained in
order to calculate the Newmark displacement. One
way to determine ac is by using the static safety param-
eter FS , i.e., different acceleration is applied to the
slope, and then the acceleration value makes FS equal
to 1 is the critical acceleration. Slope critical accel-
eration signifies that the slope may fail when the
ground motion acceleration reaches or exceeds this
value. It is the maximum ground motion acceleration
the slope can withstand when subject to an earthquake,
and it is related to the slope geotechnical parameters
(shear strength, unit weights, pore water pressure, etc.),
and the slope geometry. It can be calculated by the
following equation.
where, g is acceleration due to gravity, FS is the static
factor of safety, θ is the slope angle.
The Newmark Displacement is often used as a slope
failure index; the larger the Newmark accumulated
displacement, the bigger the probability of slope fail-
ure. When the displacement exceeds the maximum
displacement limit a slope can withstand, it is quite
possible that a landslide will be triggered. There-
fore, the failure of a slope after an earthquake can
be deduced from the accumulated displacement, and
the results evaluated by this method are much more
reliable than those of PGA only. This is because it is
not necessary to accumulate sufficient displacement if
the PGA does exceed the critical acceleration, and the
slope may resume to its original status after undergoing
a vibration episode.
2.3 Distribution of the strong motion data
Before the Wenchuan earthquake, a large number of
ground motion instruments were deployed in the Long-
menshan area. From these instruments, a large quantity
of acceleration records were obtained from both the
main and after shocks (Li et al., 2008; Yu, 2008).
Nearly 40 groups of records from the main shock were
selected for this study. These were distributed along
the earthquake rupture trace both on the hanging wall
and footwall, corresponding well with the most serious
earthquake-induced geological disaster areas. Figure 1
shows the distribution of these strong motion stations
and their relation to the Longmenshan Fault lines and
the earthquake rupture.
After the Wenchuan earthquake, the China Insti-
tute for Geo-Environmental Monitoring, belongs to
the Ministry of Land and Resources, P.R.C, divided the
disaster-stricken areas into three categories based on
geological data obtained from field investigation car-
ried out immediately after the earthquake. The three
categories, divided according to the average disaster
levels calculated for each administrative unit, are Cat-
egory 1, Category 2 and Category 3 respectively, as
shown in Figure 1. We divided the strong motion sta-
tions into different groups according to their positions
within the Three Categories. The stations that do not
fall into the three categories were grouped into Cat-
egory 4, where we think the average disaster level is
299
Figure 1. Distribution map of ground motion observation
stations, the Longmenshan Fault Lines, the earthquake rup-
ture and the geological disaster zones in the Longmenshan
area.
slight. In this way, we can compare the ground motion
intensity with the disaster level on a regional scale.
3 THE NEWMARK DISPLACEMENT
EVALUATION MODEL
3.1 Analysis of the relationship between newmark
displacement and geological Hazard
From the geological hazard zoning map shown in
Figure 1, we can deduce that in places where the
geological hazard is serious, e.g., where the average
number of landslides is high, the landslide displace-
ment calculated from Newmark method (Equation 2)
will be large, because many landslides took place in
this region had large scale and longer run distance. We
can also deduce that the ground motion intensity was
strong in these places, and therefore the corresponding
Arias Intensity was high.
Since no critical acceleration data is available and
the analysis is not on a concrete slope, we calculate the
Newmark Displacement for a range of ac and plot DN
vs. ac for given acceleration time histories. We draw all
these DN − ac curves on a chart according to their geo-
logical categories; Figure 2 shows the four categories
mentioned above with their corresponding DN − ac
curves. The figure legends show the corresponding
average Ia of the horizontal components.
Comparing the four charts given in Figure 2, leads
to some observations as detailed below.
The Newmark Displacement is largest in Cate-
gory 1, the most serious geological disaster areas,
followed by Category 2, then Category 4. Category 3,
with relatively fewer observation stations, lacks ade-
quate strong motion data. The general trend in Figure 2
shows that a decrease in geological hazard level (or dis-
aster level) corresponds to a decrease in the Newmark
Displacement as well. This shows that the Newmark
Displacement is proportional to the seriousness of the
geological hazard on a regional scale. Therefore, based
Figure 2. Newmark displacement vs. critical acceleration for the four geological hazard categories.
simply on strong motion records, Newmark Displace-
ment can be used to estimate the seriousness of the
geological disasters resulting from an earthquake and
can provide information for earthquake emergency
rescue services. In this way, earthquake evaluations
can be obtained much more quickly than by assessing
earthquake intensity, which often takes a long time to
be accurately determined after an earthquake.
Strong motion records also relate to the geological
hazard category. When considering ac , locations with
larger Newmark Displacements are also the places
with the most serious geological disaster levels. For
example, Bajiao station in Shifang City, Wolong in
Wenchuan County, and Qingping station in Mianzhu
City recorded the top three Newmark Displacements
during the Wenchuan earthquake; all three are in Cat-
egory 1, the region of most serious geological disaster
according to the average disaster levels. Numerous
landslides were triggered in this region. For this rea-
son, we can see that the Newmark Displacement can
also be a good indicator of the landslide hazard on a
small scale. Given a slope and its ac , the larger the cal-
culated Newmark Displacement, the larger the failure
300
probability of the slope. The Newmark Displacement
can therefore be used to judge the failure result of a
slope or disaster seriousness in small region after the
earthquake.
From the four charts shown in Figure 2, we can see
that at observation points where the Newmark Dis-
placement is large, the corresponding Arias Intensity
values are large too, indicating that the Newmark Dis-
placement is proportional to Ia . The Ia is therefore a
ground motion parameter that can represent the ground
intensity and energy release well.
These analyses support the conclusion that the New-
mark Displacement can reflect the disaster level well,
and at the same time show that it is proportional to the
ground intensity. Therefore, the Newmark Displace-
ment can be used to estimate ground intensity and the
seriousness of landslide disasters.
3.2 The Newmark Displacement and Arias Intensity
Here, we quantitatively analyze the relationship
between the Newmark Displacement and Arias Inten-
sity. Given an ac value, we calculate the Newmark
Figure 3. Newmark displacement vs. Ia for a range of ac .
Displacement for each acceleration time history and
get the DN vs. Ia curves shown in Figure 3. We calcu-
lated five groups of DN vs. Ia values using ac values
of 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 gal, each of which is
represented by different curve in Figure 3.
As shown in Figure 3, the Newmark Displacement
is obvious proportional to Ia ; it decreases with a corre-
sponding decrease in the Arias Intensity. As for the ac ,
the Newmark Displacement is correlated negatively
with it; i.e., it decreases with an increase in ac . It is
understandable that a larger ac , a parameter reflect-
ing the maximum ground motion intensity a slope can
withstand, means that the slope has a higher ability
to withstand strong ground motion intensities without
failure.
Ia represents the ground motion intensity of an
earthquake, whereas ac represents the ability of a slope
to remain stable when subjected to the earthquake in
terms of the acceleration it is subjected to. Therefore,
a higher ac will result in less Newmark Displacement
than a lower ac under the same ground motion inten-
sity. On the other hand, the same slope will result
in a larger Newmark Displacement when subjected
to stronger ground motion intensity. Hence, we can
deduce the following equation,
Taking the logarithm on both sides of the equation,
we get
Equation (5) is similar to the improved equation of
Jibson (2000). Here, we prove that this is the correct
form from assessments of both the regional hazard
distribution and a quantitative analysis of the data
obtained from the Wenchuan earthquake. The resulting
regression equation is:
where DN is the Newmark Displacement in centime-
ters, Ia is the sum of theArias Intensity in the horizontal
301
Figure 4. Comparison of the model and actual landslide
distributions.
direction in meters per second, and ac is the critical
acceleration in g.
Equation (6) can be used to estimate the possi-
ble Newmark Displacement in different parts of the
earthquake-affected regions if ac and Ia are known.
Since it is difficult to get the correct ac value for each
slope, the possible ac values have been evaluated based
on the acceleration time history records and landslides
triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake (Wang, 2009b).
The Ia value in equation (6) can be obtained from the
Ia attenuation law established using the same ground
motion data, following the methods of Wang (2009c).
where Ia is the sum of the Arias Intensity of the horiz-
ontal components in meters per second and Df is
the observation distance to the earthquake rupture in
kilometers.
The Newmark Displacement estimated in this way
is not the actual displacement caused by the earth-
quake. Instead, it can be used as an indicator of the
failure status (hazard level) of the slopes analyzed
above. If a larger DN is found by equation (7), we
can be sure of a greater possibility of triggered land-
slides; otherwise, the possibility of landslides will be
lower.
4 APPLICATION OF THE MODEL
To assess the landslide hazard distribution model,
0.1 g is taken as a representative critical accelera-
tion value for the Longmenshan area. This ac value
was obtained from previous work on the Wenchuan
earthquake (Wang, 2009a; 2010). Combining equa-
tions (6) and (7), we calculated the various Newmark
Displacements as shown in Figure 4.
In Figure 4, the 29 km innermost closed curve cor-
responds to a critical displacement of 10 cm, a value
taken by most researchers as the maximum movement
most slopes can undergo when using the Newmark
Displacement model (e.g., Wilson et al., 1985; Jib-
son et al., 2007). Displacements inside this closed
curve are larger than 10 cm, which means that slope
failure is almost certain. According to Huang et al.
(2008), most landslides (and all large landslides) trig-
gered by the Wenchuan earthquake are located within
30 km of the earthquake rupture. The 29 km distance
contoured in Figure 4 fits well with the actual land-
slide distributions, although it looks smaller than that
for Category 1, the most serious landslide hazard
area, which may incorporate some locations with less
significant hazard because of the averaging process.
The middle closed curve, at a distance of 48 km
from the rupture, corresponds to a critical displace-
ment of 2 cm, a value adopted by Wilson et al. (1985)
for slopes with brittle material, a condition that is com-
mon in the Longmenshan area (Huang et al., 2008;
Feng, 2007). This situation generally corresponds to
Category 1. Within this range, the Newmark Displace-
ment is larger than 2 cm, but less than 10 cm, which
corresponds to a very high probability of landslid-
ing – especially for those slopes consisting of brittle
material.
The outermost closed curve, at a distance of about
100 km from the earthquake rupture, corresponds to
the 0 cm displacement estimate. Within the 48–100 km
band, the displacement is greater than zero but less than
the critical displacement; therefore landslides might
still be triggered, but the possibility is decreased.
This model can provide a general distribution
map of regional landslides (Figure 4). However,
earthquake-induced landslides are affected by many
factors. Ground motion intensity is not the only impor-
tant factor, as geological and topographical conditions
can also exert great influence on landslide occur-
rences. Therefore, as can be seen from Figure 4,
differences may exist between the modeled and actual
cases. For example, notice that in the southwest, land-
slides hazard is less than modeled, whereas on the
northeast side of the rupture, the hazard is more severe.
This is due to the thrust fault and the propagating effect
of the earthquake. Moreover, on the northeast side of
the rupture, the loess geological condition is quite dif-
ferent from it is in the Longmenshan area. Hence, if a
more accurate result is needed, many additional factors
must be considered in the evaluation model.
In spite of the generalized model results, the New-
mark Displacement method can provide a better result
than those obtained by earthquake intensity. The lat-
ter produces isoseismal maps with much larger areas
delineated where the earthquake intensity is greater
than IV (Department of Earthquake Emergency Res-
cue, CEA, 2008). If this evaluation model could be
produced immediately after an earthquake, it would be
helpful for decision making during emergency rescue.
For example, it could be used to focus rescue work in
regions with greater hazard. If more accurate param-
eters are provided, the evaluation model can produce
better result. This may even be useful for engineering
applications during reconstruction work following a
large earthquake like Wenchuan.
302
5 CONCLUSIONS
Studies of earthquake-induced landslides in China
using ground motion parameters have been rare. This
paper made an attempt to improve on this situa-
tion using valuable ground-motion data from the
2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The study shows that a
model constructed through ground motion parame-
ters can produce better results than one constructed
using earthquake intensity, the factor that has been
previously used for routine assessments in China.
Earthquake intensity measurements have already been
replaced by ground motion parameters in earthquake
engineering (Hu, 2006). Therefore, the study on
earthquake-induced landslides with ground motion
parameters is in agreement with this type of work.
By using ground motion parameters, researchers can
connect the study of landslides with the achievements
of the ground motion parameters zoning work. The
research in this paper is only preliminary. In-depth
studies are needed to incorporate more data and design
new methods.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Natural stress tensor field at the Porce III hydroelectric project,

Colombia-South America

L.O. Suárez-Burgoa & A.P. Assis

Universidade de Brasília, Brazil

A.J. Castro-Caicedo & A.A. Navarro-Montoya

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

ABSTRACT: At the Porce III Hydroelectric Project site there is a lack of information concerning the natural
stress tensor field. Only three USBM overcoring measurements were performed during final-design explorations
at the exploration powerhouse chamber branch gallery. In this article is explained how the natural stress tensor
field was assessed by considering these few measurements and a stress inversion analysis based in a slip analysis
with discontinuity data collected at the powerhouse chamber site. Even tough, there is no a clear evidence to
validate the estimated natural stress tensor field, the obtained results was helpful to reduce the uncertainty about
the natural stress tensor field at the site and exhorted to the stakeholder to be afraid in performing state of the
art and state of the practice stress estimation programs, for any future project in the region.

1 INTRODUCTION the World Stress Map (WSM) Project, for example

The natural stress tensors field (NSTF) refers to a
continuous volume forming the crust, in where every
infinitesimal point is loaded by stress actions com-
ing from the current or past activity of the crust. The
estimation of NSTF in rock mass is a central con-
cern within the geosciences, for understanding basic
geological processes, for the study of plate tecton-
ics, earthquakes and for rock mechanics, this last
for the designing process of surface or underground
structures.
Concerning this later application, the NSTF was
attempted to assess for the Porce III Hydroelectric
Project located in Colombia-South America, more
specifically for the underground powerhouse complex
which is 260 m below the surface, inside a metamor-
phic good quality rock mass. Knowing the natural
stress tensor field at this hoisting rock mass was an
essential condition to develop any further stress-strain
study.
2 NATURAL STRESS TENSOR FIELD
Natural stress tensor field can be assessed by three dif-
ferent scales: regional scale, local scale and punctual
scale. From the regional point of view, it is possible
to estimate the NSTF due to earthquake focal mecha-
nisms, GPS points displacement measurements at the
terrestrial crust, and by fault planes measurements
(Michael 1984, Lisle et al. 2001).
Also, it can be assessed by an inverse process upon
punctual stress tensors data, as it was employed in
(Reinecker et al. 2005). On the other hand, in Galybin
and Mukhamediev (2004) and in Mukhamediev et al.
(2006) three alternative methods based on the analy-
sis of the tensor orientations under an elastic criteria,
were suggested to assess the NSTF at this scale.
Regarding to the local NSTF assessment, gen-
eral rules and comments are mentioned in Amadei
and Stephansson (1997). For a first stage assessment
a well known method was proposed by Goodman
(1989), where he suggests the K ratio estimation from
Coulomb’s law. Other several stress magnitudes ver-
sus depth empirical relationships for various particular
regions of the world were compiled and shown also
in Amadei and Stephansson (1997), but one should
be carefully because those empirical relationships are
only applied for the tectonic environment they have
estimated. Because, none of those empirical relation-
ships makes reference to Northern South America
Andes Range (i.e. the study area of the project), they
were not used. In that compilation, there are also some
relationships based on world data (Voigth 1966, Herget
1974, Brown and Hoek 1978, Aymatov 1986, Rummel
1986).
For the punctual stress tensors assessment (i.e.
punctual scale), the Suggested Methods (SM) of the
ISRM about rock stress estimation, emphasize the fol-
lowing field tests: over-coring, hydraulic fracturing
(HF) and hydraulic testing of pre-existing fractures
(HTPF) methods. As over-coring methods, there a lot
of variations methods and tools, and these are impor-
tant to differentiate among them at the moment to refer
to them. Punctual stress tensors estimation is a difficult
and in all cases a costly activity. The benefits expected

305
Figure 1. Southwest isometric view of Porce III Under-
ground Powerhouse Complex (P3UPC).
from this activity should be well evaluated and well
programmed.
3 PORCE III HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT
The Porce III hydroelectric project is located in the
north of the Central Andes Mountain Range in Colom-
bia, South America. The project, owned by the Medel-
lín Public Works Company (EPM, Empresas Públicas
de Medellín), consists on the construction of a reser-
voir, generators and transmission installations. It will
have a 660 MW of installed power, in order to gen-
erate 3 605 GWh/year, once entering in operation in
January, 2011.
Total underground works in the project will
make a total excavation volume of 1.49 × 106 m3 .
The Porce III Underground Powerhouse Complex
(P3UPC) system, geographically located at a latitude
of 7◦ 1
17

and longitude of −75◦ 4
5

, is composed
by the machine, the transformer and the ventilation
chambers; four bars galleries, a Penstock tunnel with
its four branches, a gate-gallery with its four gate-
shafts, a Tailrace tunnel with its four branches, a
fumes gallery, and the number two to five construction
galleries/tunnels (Figure 1). The NSTF assessment
reported here, was made only for the surrounding mass
around this underground complex.
4 GEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS
The main geological unit encountered near P3UPC
is the Pnf corresponding to a Quartz Feldspar Gneiss
with Aluminum. Figure 2 shows the local geology near
P3UPC (EE.PP.M-E.S.P. 2005).The structural features
near P3UPC can be grouped in five main structural
groups:
1. Synclinal and anticline structures having an axis
preferential orientation of SE-NW.
306
Figure 2. Local geology at P3UPC.
Table 1. Basic rock material mechanical properties.
σc,i (MPa) σt,i (MPa) Ei (GPa) ν (–)
87 to 124 −15 59 to 63 0.20 to 0.51
2. The El Salado Fault System (SFS) that has a
direction of SSE-NNW to SE-NW.
3. The Guayabo-El Castillo Local Faults System
(GCFS), composed by the Guayabo local fault,
located 7 km to the SW of P3UPC, and the
El Castillo local fault, which traces at outcrops have
a SE-NW to SSE-NNW orientation.
4. The Porce River Consequent System Fault (PCSF),
having orientations of their traces at outcrops
around SSW-NNE, near P3UPC.
5. The local Faulting Zones Systems (FZS) that have
traces at outcrops with a mean orientation around
the WSW-ENE to SW-NE (i.e. La Primavera-
El Reposo slip faults).
The rock material at P3UPC is a fresh, mas-
sive, soundness and compact foliated and banded
anisotropic Gneiss, with a unit weight of 27 kN·m3 and
specific gravity of 2.8, composed by gray micaceous
lepidoblastic texture bands which define an incipient
foliation; having erratically milk white bands, com-
posed especially by Plagioclase, Potassium Feldspar
and Quartz. Mechanically, the rock material is slightly
transverse isotropic elastic, and a very hard brittle
rock, that obeys best with the Drucker-Prager failure
envelope (Suarez-Burgoa 2008). Resume of basic rock
material mechanical properties, at fresh state, is shown
in Table 1.
Table 2. Rock mass engineering indexes & properties.
Index Value Class. σc,m (MPa) Em (GPa) ν (–)
RQD 96 Excellent 28 to 42 37 to 45 0.21
RMi 42 Excellent
RMR 76 II, Good
Q 20 B, Good
GSI 65 Good
The rock mass was formed by regional metamor-
phism in the Early Paleozoic. Later it has suffered
intense decompression, normal, inverse and strike slip
faulting, since the Late Cretaceous; converting it in a
rock mass of dynamic metamorphisms characteristics
with various discontinuity sets. The intense pressure
developed during dynamic metamorphism caused re-
alignment of minerals parallel to the direction of
movement. This rock mass, has also suffered tectonic
and hydro-thermal influence due to the intrusion of
the 7 221 km2 Antioquian Batholith (which its nearest
boundary is located approximately 20 km southwest
from the P3UPC) that is dated between 63 and 90
Million Years (i.e. Late Cretaceous) (Restrepo et al.
1991).
Mechanically, rock mass at P3UPC comprises the
Gneiss rock material intruded by Plagioclase, Potas-
sium Feldspar, and Quartz veins with widths less than
ten centimeters. On a very local scale, considerable
variation of the orientation of the foliation and band-
ing can be observed, but in general it has a dip-direction
of SE-NW to S-N with a sub-horizontal dip. The
banded assemblage is composing a preferred plane of
weakness, deformation and rupturing.
In some locations, the intense pressures devel-
oped during dynamic metamorphism cause slicken-
side at the rock mass. Persistent displaced planes were
observed (i.e. slip faults) associated with this tectonic
activity, which have a dip direction NE-SW and sub
vertical dip, reflecting a compressive state (i.e. inverse
fault). Near these slip faults, faulting perpendicular
to the slip faults planes are present. Also, a group of
non-persistent discontinuities planes is present at the
rock mass, which can be related to the presence of
the slip faults. Table 2 show the Engineering Indexes
obtained in studies prior and during the construction of
the underground excavations (Suarez-Burgoa 2008).
5 NATURAL STRESS TENSOR FIELD
The regional natural stress tensor orientation was esti-
mated by referring to geological studies around the
area of the project. Thenkamp et al. (2002) found a
direction of N103◦ E for the major horizontal stress
while Cortés et al. (2005) expressed a direction of
N107◦ E. Cortés and Angelier (2005) concluded that
the actual compressive regime in the northern part of
the Los Andes has a major compressive stress with
a NW-SE to WNW-ESE orientation, with an average
307
Table 3. Regional NSTF after Cortés & Angelier (2005).
σ1 σ2 σ3
Trend Plunge Trend Plunge Trend Plunge
097 09 006 07 238 79
Figure 3. Possible values of K at P3UPC site.
value of N110◦ E. The last authors finally proposed the
directions of the NSTF as shown in Table 3, where σ1 ,
σ2 and σ3 are the principal natural stresses. The ratio
of principal stress differences (θ) encountered by these
authors is equal to 0.26 (Eq. 1). With the θ value one
could had an idea of the magnitudes of the NSTF
at regional scale, but it was not completely defined,
because at least two of the three principal stresses mag-
nitudes are necessary to known. Even though, these
values gave a good idea for later assumptions and
comparisons of the NSTF at local scale.
At local scale, initial considerations by assuming
equality of the two horizontal stresses were taken into
account. Considering the analysis proposed by Good-
man (1989), for K value estimation from Coulomb’s
law, it was obtained a range of the extreme values of
{Kmin = −0.3 . . . Kmax = 31}, for a depth equal to the
overburden at the P3UPC (i.e. z = 260 m). The range
exposed here is too large, because the theory is con-
sidering extreme values in respect rock strength and
parameters assumed, and because Coulomb’s theory
assumes a limit equilibrium state for this calculation.
Considering the empirical equation proposed by
Brown and Hoek (1978), for the same overburden
value of z = 260 m, it was obtained that K may vary
from 0.7 to 6.3, and by considering the Sheorey (1994)
expression, values of K between 1.3 and 1.5 were
found. Figure 3 shows the K extreme values that can
be possible at P3UHC site under the Goodman (1989),
Brown and Hoek (1978) and Sheorey (1994) criteria.
The last two criteria give more realistic values com-
paring to stress magnitudes found in nature as will be
Table 4. Local NSTF from slip analyses, after Suarez- Table 5. Mean stress tensor of local NSTF at P3UPC.
Burgoa (2008).
Stress Trend (◦ ) Plunge (◦ ) Magnitude (MPa)
Avrg.
Trend Plunge θ Desv. Trend Plunge σ1 097 33 13.5
Stress (◦ ) (◦ ) (–) (◦ ) (◦ ) (◦ ) σ2 340 35 6.9
σ3 217 38 6.0
σ1 271 42 1.0 27.0 233 49
σ2 037 34 037 34
σ3 150 30 150 30

shown further. With this analysis it was possible to

have an idea of the magnitudes of the NTSF, at local
scale.
Additionally of the last considerations for the case
of local scale NSTF assessment, a slip analysis similar
to that made by Michael (1984) was performed from
data obtained from the P3UPC. Here it was assumed
that slip plane direction of each measured discontinu-
ity was parallel to the direction of its resolved shear
stress. The three variables required for each disconti-
nuity measure are: the dip direction, the dip and the
pitch of the striae, this last measured from the strike
line of the slip plane. In many measures, the striae of
the discontinuities were not clearly observed, so it was
assumed for these cases, that the pitch of the striae was
the same as the dip-direction of the plane.
The calculations were performed with the program Figure 4. Tensors orientations for the P3UPC.
SLICK (Ramsay and Lisle 2000), where the orienta-
tion of the stress tensor was found by a trial-and-error
(Smean ) and its respective standard deviation (Sstd ) were
calculation. The five first columns of Table 4 sum-
defined only with the remaining two (Eq. 2), where all
marize the results obtained upon this analysis, for the
the values are in MPa units, and α is a factor which can
case of the studied site, where 275 measures as input
be defined to propose an uniform probabilistic density
data were used. A second estimation was done with
function in an interval. It can be observed that the value
the Right Trihedral Method using the program RDTM
of each component of the Sstd tensor is around the half
(Ramsay and Lisle 2000). Same input data of the later
of the corresponding mean tensor component value,
method was used, and the results are shown in the last
which expresses a very high dispersion. The mean ten-
two columns of Table 4.
sor (Smean ) is also expressed in a more used format in
Finally, for punctual estimations of the NSTF, three
Table 5. The ratio of principal stress differences (θ) for
overcoring measurements with the USBM gage at the
this result was equal to 0.88.
machine chamber of the P3UPC exploration gallery
were performed during the detailed design explo-
ration program (Ingetec and Klohn Crippen 2002).
The USBM overcoring measurements were located
at three niches, one near the actual entrance of the
machine chamber (overcoring measure number 1) and
two near the current end of it, measures number 2 and 3
(Figure 1).
Looking more in detail to the three values of the Some doubts surged from the USBM overcoring
tensors obtained by these USBM overcoring measure- results: Why the stress tensor is rotated? Are they
ments (see Figure 4), one can observe that the tensor rotated because local faults are influencing the stress
obtained from the measure number one is rotated in regime?- One hypothesis suggested by Suarez-Burgoa
so manner that the σ1 principal stress coincides with (2008) which can answer these two questions was that
the σ2 principal stresses of the other two tensors, and the principal stresses at P3UPC site are rotated because
the σ3 principal stress of this first tensor coincides of the presence of the three fault main systems (i.e.
with the other two σ1 principal stresses; situation which GCFS, PCSF, FZS) (c.f. Section 4), because these sys-
shows a possible error in its estimation. Unfortunately, tem planes are near perpendicular to each plane of the
no more tests of this type near the site were performed mean natural stress tensor. Figure 4 shows that the
in order to confirm this situation, and being intu- traces of the faults are coincident with the strike of
itive, this first tensor was discarded and a mean tensor the planes where the principal stresses act; or that the

308
Table 6. Final local NSTF at P3UPC.
◦ ◦
Stress Trend ( ) Plunge ( ) Magnitude (MPa)
σ1 = σH 097 00 14.0
σ2 = σh 007 00 12.2
σ3 = σv 277 90 7.0
dip direction of each fault plane is coincident with the
trend of each principal stress.
6 DISCUSSION
Incomplete stress tensors, at different scales (i.e.
regional, local and punctual scales) for the P3UPC site
was defined as NSTF by the upwards explained analy-
sis. Using all this information, the final and complete
local NSTF at P3UPC site was defined by the next
assumptions:
– Vertical stress due to rock mass weight is assumed
to be coincident with one of the principal stress,
say σv .
– The remaining two principal stresses are horizontal.
– The major principal magnitude is one of the hori-
zontal, because a compressive regime may prevail
in the region.
– The major horizontal stress has a direction near
to that defined in the compressive regime in the
regional NTSF analysis.
– Vertical stress magnitude is geostatic.
– Major principal stress magnitude is around 14 MPa,
based on the overcoring results.
– A value of the principal stress differences ratio (θ)
equal to 0.26 was assumed, based on the value
specified in Cortés and Angelier (2005).
Table 6 shows the final complete tensor assumed to
be a good representative of the local NSTF around the
P3UC, where KH = 2.0 and Kh = 1.7 for an overbur-
den of z = 260 m (Figure 3). The σ1 /σ2 , σ2 /σ3 and σ1 /σ3
rations are 1.15, 1.74 and 2.0, respectively. By calculat-
ing the ratio between σ1 and the uniaxial compressive
strength of the rock mass (σc,m ), giving a value of 0.33,
one can have the idea that in P3UPC, a low geostress
condition prevails. For two dimensional stress-strain
analysis, the major and intermediate stresses were
assumed equal to a magnitude of 14 MPa (i.e. a NSTF
with KH = Kh = 2.0), because they don’t differs too
much.
After this research was concluded, owners of the
hydroelectric project performed three hydrofracturing
(HF) tests in three boreholes, making a total of six
HF values, at the Penstock tunnel near the P3UPC
(EE.PP.M-E.S.P. 2008) (for the location see Figure 2).
Here, the magnitudes for the minimum principal stress
vary between 5 to 7 MPa for a mean overburden of
250 m, which were similar to the magnitude of the the-
oretical geostatic overburden, equal to 6.8 MPa. These
tests shown that a theoretical geostatic condition was
309
close to the real one and that around the P3UPC, the
vertical stress is still the minimum principal stress,
confirming the assumed NTSF for the P3UPC.
7 CONCLUSIONS
At Porce III Hydroelectric Project lack of information
concerning the NSTF existed, especially at local and
punctual scales. This situation is a common problem
in engineering projects in the region, because the item
for the assessment of the NSTF is commonly not con-
sidered as important. Even though, the analysis and
the information processing exposed here reduced the
uncertainty of the values and orientations of the NSTF,
especially for the P3UPC.
In future projects for the region, it is recommended
to include NSTF assessments upon stress inversion
analysis (e.g. the slip fault analysis) and more abun-
dant local in-situ stress measurements. A minimum
of five punctual measurements, with the same in-situ
test method, is recommended in the surrounding of a
determined volume. This project case shows that three
measurements, as a punctual stress estimator, were
insufficient to confirm a reliable tensor.
The final hydrofracturing campaign promoted by
the project owner show that stakeholder was finally
afraid to know more about the NSTF. This causes prob-
ably that in future projects, a better NSTF assessment
will be programmed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are most thankful to: the Medellín Pub-
lic Works Enterprise (EPM), Ingetec s.a. consultants,
Porce III Hydroelectric Project Triple-C contractors
(CCC), the University of Brasilia (UnB), Furnas Elec-
tric Centrals and the National University of Colombia
(UN) with its Research Investigation Office. The first
author is grateful to the Belgian Technical Cooper-
ation (BTC) located in Bolivia, to the Coordination
for the Improvement of Higher Education of Brazil
(National Grant: CAPES/CNPq-IEL) and to the Foun-
dation of Scientific and Technological Developments
(FINATEC) for financing the different phases of the
research and its dissemination.
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© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Research on production increasing mechanism by slotting

in low permeability oilfield

Zhang Yong-li & Ma Yu-lin

College of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, China

ABSTRACT: How to enhance the output in low-permeability oilfield has been the focus of the researchers. The
technique of abrasive jet cutting in oil are developed to be used in increasing oil production and water pouring
quantity by abrasive two-phase jet theory. Based on the basic parameters of Daqing oilfield, it proved the relation
of rock body stress and seepage rate.According to the numerical simulation for the in-situ rock stress field changes
of oilfield before and after slotting, the mechanism of abrasive jet cutting in oilfield to increasing production is
found. Slotted through wells weeks the change of the original rock stress field, obtained after the abrasive water
jet cutting oil output slit mechanism. The results showed the flow-area increased and the seepage rate increased
after slotting. Furthermore, the rock strata of compaction zone loosened and bring new cracks with reducing of
in-situ rock stress, thereby enhancing effectively the permeability of strata and increasing oil production.

1 INTRODUCTION where σij
= effective stress; σij = stress in the rock;

Now oil is the most important non-renewable energy
in the world which could not be replaced. However,
low recovery ratio of oil production has been troubled
with a large number of scientific researchers. Espe-
cially for low-permeability oil fields, how to improve
the extraction efficiency and output has become a
key problem. In order to improve the permeability of
low-permeability wells, domestic and foreign experts
and scholars respectively has studied recovery ratio
of technical measures such as hydraulic fracturing,
intensive drilling, explosive fracturing, acidizing, per-
forating et al. But the effect is not good.[1–3] Hydraulic
slotting technique is simple, easy to use, easy to con-
trol, low cost.[4–5] And it directly achieves yield of oil
wells. Therefore, it has broad prospects.[6]
Hydro-sand blasting works pretty good. It applies
liquid and solid two-phase jet in production which slots
oil reservoir through the specialized tools.[7-8] Practice
has proved that the in-situ rock stress directly impacts
on the permeability. Hydro-sand slotting reduces in-
situ rock stress around rock and wells which will effec-
tively improve the production of the low-permeability
oil reservoir. Therefore, based on the relation of
rock stress and permeability, simulate in-situ rock
stress around oil wells before and after slotting to
obtain mechanism of increase production by hydro-
sand slotting. It is important for the development of
low-permeability oil field.
2 MECHANISM OF SLOTTED WELLS
TO INCREASE PRODUCTION
The rock of the effective stress formula is
δij = δ function; p = pore pressure; and α = equivalent
pore compressibility (0 ≤ α ≤ 1).
We have known that the rock effective stress is con-
nected with the confining pressure, pore pressure and
rock characteristics. Pore and skeleton of rock became
smaller and deformed after rock pressures. pore pres-
sure make pore bigger and skeleton more expansive.
The confining pressure or pore pressure changes are
enabling to change effective stress as to deform rock
and change the pore volume. It directly alters the fluid
path so that the permeability changes.
Based on the parameters of Daqing Oilfield, effec-
tive stress and permeability are inversely proportional
relationship by changing the pore pressure.
Abrasive jet cutting is high pressure water jetting
mixed sand. The spray gun itself moves along the
shaft axis to cut casing and the rocks around wells.
It makes wall rock complete relief. Slotted edges form
a loose band. Thus, the in-situ rock stress greatly
reduced. Effective stress reduces leading to permeabi-
lity increasing after rock slotted. With the increase of
permeability, fluid osmotic pressure can be improved
to make the effective stress to decrease. It makes
the crude oil flow into the shaft continuously. There-
fore, abrasive jet cutting can reduce the in-situ rock
stress and improve permeability around the shaft to cut
down reservoir resistance. Finally increase production
achieved.
3 MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF LOW
PERMEABILITY WELLS SLOTTED
Considered the stress and seepage of oil field, we
establish the mathematical model of hydraulic sand
blasting by coupling analysis.

311
3.1 Seepage equation
Continuity equation is

where ρ = fluid density; and q = specific discharge.

Constitutive equations is

Figure 1. The diagram of the rock-stress distribution before

If the fluid is incompressible, the seepage equation well slotted.
is

Oil and water from the reservoir to the wells

generally consistent with seepage flow. That is

where q = quantity of flow; A = superficial area of

seepage; K = permeability of rock; and µ = viscosity
coefficient.

3.2 Seepage equation

Differential equilibrium equations expressed by the
Figure 2. The distribution of the in-situ rock stress before
effective stress is well slotted.

oil production. In particular, the reservoir has always

where σij = total stress; fi = body force; δij = tensor;
and α = Biot coefficient.
Geometrical equation:
where εij = strain; and ui = displacement.
3.3 Coupling equation
Stress and deformation impact seepage field. The
relationship of effective stress and permeability is:
where σz
= vertical effective stress; and A and B are
constant.
been low permeability. The rock around well brings a
circle compacted zone because high stress forms com-
paction effect. See to Figure 1. The penetration here is
far lower than away from the well which hampers to
increase oil output.
According to field data, based on the principle of
compacted zone, simulate and analyze the in-situ rock
stress about 1000 meters below the ground. The elas-
tic modulus of rock is 1000 MPa. Poisson’s ratio is
0.2. The average density of rocks is 2.4t/m3 . Figure 2
shows the stress distribution around shaft before the
seam slotted. In the 1000 m, wall rock forms stress
concentration area under the in-situ rock stress before
slotted. The stress-compaction ring formed because of
the high stress of the rock. It permeability decreased
significantly. The penetration here is far lower than
away from the well which also hampers to increase oil
output.

4 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE IN-SITU
STRESS CHANGE BEFORE AND AFTER
SLOTTED
4.1 The regularity of the in-situ stress change
before slotted
In the vicinity of wells, it will form a stress concen-
tration zone around the shaft under the stress with the
4.2 The regularity of the in-situ stress change
after slotted
When wells are cut symmetrical two seams, stress field
redistributes around the shaft because rock geometry
has changed. It will form a new stress density area
around the seam. See to Figure 3.
In Figure 4, the cracks are a pair of deep and long
narrow slit after wall rock slotted. The surrounding of

312
 Table 1. The stress distribution of slits.

Stress Stress Stress

Distance Mpa Distance Mpa Distance Mpa

1 7.356 18 26.821 35 34.866

2 15.013 19 26.938 36 35.735
3 18.835 20 27.160 37 36.802
4 20.848 21 27.380 38 37.921
5 22.359 22 27.643 39 39.129
6 23.028 23 28.005 40 40.513
7 23.841 24 28.332 41 41.932
8 24.389 25 28.555 42 43.781
9 24.786 26 28.934 43 44.951
10 25.017 27 29.320 44 46.875
11 25.349 28 29.812 45 51.881
12 25.595 29 30.310 46 56.408
13 25.809 30 30.981 47 60.375
14 26.021 31 31.516 48 64.880
15 26.211 32 32.225 49 68.455
Figure 3. The distribution of the in-situ rock stress after well 16 26.378 33 32.928 50 83.555
slotted. 17 26.605 34 33.914

Figure 4. The curve of effective stress around slits.

Figure 5. The curve of permeability around slits.

the cracks will reform new stress region under power-
ful stress. Previous compaction-dense ring is removed.
Relaxation phenomena of rock stress appear around
the slits. The relatively high-stress region is a very
small area which exists only at the top of the nar-
row gap. Compare the stress distribution before and
after rock is slotted. The compaction-dense ring exists
before rock is slotted and the in-situ rock stress is great
lager. They make pore and crack of rock closed and
permeability reduce. The crude oil flows into the well
difficultly. Hence, the production decreases.After rock
is slotted, the compaction-dense area is removed. The
permeability increases sharply around slit. The area of
seepage and flow increase and flow distance cut down.
At the same time, the rock layer of compaction-dense
area became loose and turned up cracks. Thus slot-
ting effectively enhances the ability to penetrate and
oil production.
According to simulation results, Table 1 is the
distribution of unilateral rock stress around a well.
Since slotting is symmetrical, the other side of the
distribution should be the same.
4.3 The relation of effective stress and permeability
after slotted
Based on values of rock stress which are obtained by
simulation, the effective stress curves is drew by way
of calculating formula of rock effective stress. See to
Figure 4. Permeability curves are based on the relation
of effective stress and permeability by experiment and
theory. See to Figure 5.
In Figure 4, the effective stress change due to the
rock stress re-arranged after slotted. The effective
stress reduces in the vicinity of shaft. The effective
stress changes gradually gently along the seam away.
It significantly changes when reaches an end point.
In Figure 5, permeability increases sharply around
well due to slotting which far higher than away from
the shaft. Thus, abrasive jet cutting can effectively
reduce the in-situ rock stress around the well so that
loose rock and create cracks. It effectively improve
the ability to penetrate near the well and production
for low-permeability wells.

313
5 CONCLUSION
1. Based on the relation of rock efficient stress and
seepage rate, the mechanism of abrasive jet cutting
in oilfield to increasing production is found that
is effective stress reduces leading to permeability
increasing after abrasive jet cutting.
2. In the vicinity of wells, it will form a stress con-
centration zone around the shaft under the stress
with the oil production. In particular, the reservoir
has always been low permeability. The rock around
well brings a circle compacted zone because high
stress forms compaction effect. The seepage rate
here is far lower than away from the well.
3. The flow-area increased and the seepage rate
increased after slotting. Furthermore, the rock
strata of compaction zone loosened and bring
new cracks with reducing of in-situ rock stress,
thereby enhancing effectively the permeability of
strata and increasing oil production. Comprehen-
sive consideration the actual production conditions
of coal-bed methane through injection of heat,
the coupling mathematical model contains sepa-
rately temperature, coal and rock deformation and
non-isothermal seepage field of coal-bed methane
which are injected heat is found.
REFERENCES
1. Thomas J. Labus. 1993. Fluid jet technology: funda-
mentals and applications. St. Louis, MO: Water Jet
Technology Association.
314
2. Mengtao, Zhang & Yishan, Zhang & Bing, Liang &
Laigun, Wang. 1995. Fluid Mechanics of Coal and Rock.
Beijing: Science Press.
3. Yangsheng, Zhao. 1994. Rock fluid mechanics in mine.
Beijing: China Coal Industry Publishing House.
4. Yongli, Zhang & Yinglou, Tai & Laigui, Wang &
Mengtao, Zhang. 1997. Experimental research on
hydraulic sandblasting slotting technology for stimula-
tion of production and injection well. Oil Drilling And
Production Technology 19(6): 100–101.
5. Yongli, Zhang & Laigui, Wang & Encheng, Wu. 1998.
Principle of hydraulic sandblasting slotting technology
for stimulation of production and injection well and its
prospects. Drilling And Production Technology 21(2):
19–21.
6. Shengxiong, Xue. 1998. High Pressure Water Jet Tech-
nology and Application. Beijing: China Machine Press.
7. Hongchun, Yu. 2007. Experimental research on appli-
cation of abrasive jet slotting technology to improve
flow field nearby well bore formation. Oil Drilling And
Production Technology 29(3): 56–58.
8. Bing,Yang & Fuwang, Wang & Liang, Bian & Miao, Li &
Jianzhou, Han. 2002. Application of Hydraulic Slotted
Liner Technique in Oilfield Development. Well Testing
11(4): 63–65.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Simulation research on in-situ rock stress of mining coal in gently-dipping

close-range low coal seam

Tian Tian, Zhang Yong-li & Ma Yu-lin

College of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, China

ABSTRACT: In China, 20% of the coal total reserves are low coal seam. Safe and efficient exploitation of
gently-dipping close-range low coal seam not only reduce the waste of resources, but also to extend the mine
life. Based on the geological conditions and the storage state in the median space of Da’anshan coal mine,
analyze the in-situ rock stress laws of four mining methods (make single and compound mining respectively
in the coal pillars and no coal pillar) by similarity simulation theory and numerical simulation. The roof-
fall state and the strata-pressure laws of exploiting in gently-dipping close-range low coal seam are found.
Furthermore, there are four experiments by dint of similar material simulation experiment and rock’s physical
mechanical experiment for the coal seam with different mining methods. It is better that taking no coal pillar
and single seam mines coal in flat dipping girdle in security and economy by comparison. The simulation
and the experimental results are very important in the other pertinent theoretical researches and productive
practices.

1 INTRODUCTIONS 2 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE IN-SITU

ROCK STRESS OF MINING
Coal is always the major energy source in China due to GENTLY-DIPPING CLOSE RANGE LOW
constraint of energy kinds and reserves. It is very rich. COAL SEAM
The proportion of coal still is about 70\% in total pri-
mary energy since it has decreased in recent years.[1] 2.1 The geological conditions
Coal production is nearly 30 million tons in 2009
The length of the mining area greatly changes. It is
which is one-third of total output and ranks first in the
divided into upper and lower layers. The thicknesses
world. Even if non-coal energy will greatly increase
of both are about 1m. The coal is fine and hard which is
and the share of coal may decrease in primary energy
a medium-hard coal. There is a sandwich in the middle
ratio, the total output will still increase. It shows that
of coal. But the height of the sandwich is an average
coal is in an important position in China’s national
of 1.5 m. The dip angle of seams is from 15 to 26. The
economy.
average is 17◦ . So the coal seams are gently-dipping
With continually mined, most of the coal mines has
close-range low coal seam. The structure of the com-
been at the stages of deep thin-seam mining. Min-
posite coal seam is complex. Roof and floor are silt-
ing the thin seams can not only reduce the waste of
stone. Bogus roof and floor is carbonaceous siltstone.
resources, but also help to extend the life of coal mine.
Partial roof fractures easily and rock are frangible.
Hence it is a major problem that how to mine the com-
The mining area is not impacted by igneous rocks.
posite thin seams safely and effectively. Many experts
There is a simple hydro-geological conditions. It is
at home and abroad advance a number of ways for
not impacted by goaf water in addition to drip water
the inclined thin seam mining. But there are some
from a fractured roof. But there is the phenomenon of
arguments for gently-dipping close-range low coal
partial spraying water at the north-south axis due to
seam.[2–4] Based on the geological conditions of Bei-
minor faults developed. Coal seams contain gas little
jing Da’anshan coal mine, numerically simulate the
and coal dust can not blast.
different exploitation modes and analyze the changes
of stratigraphic rock stress. At the same time, compar-
ing the experimental and numerical simulation results,
2.2 The selection of coal and rock of physical
obtain the regularity of the in-situ rock stress, roof
and mechanical parameters
motion parameters and mining pressure behaviors. It
provides guidance for safely and efficiently exploiting Cut coal sampling into standard test pieces and make
other similar coal seams. an experiment of physical and mechanical properties

315
Table 1. Mechanical parameters of the coal and rock.

Apparent Bulk Cohesive Inter-

density modulus strength friction
Item Kg/m 3
MPa MPa angle◦

Upper rock roof 2720 35800 20 28

Upper coal seam 1800 3740 0.9 30
Lower rock roof 2690 54700 20 20
Lower coal seam 1780 1180 0.9 32
Lower rock floor 2660 87600 20 28

Figure 2. The regularity of in-situ rock stress as mining with

no coal pillar.

double fulcrum and coal pillar after mining. After min-

Figure 1. The regularity of in-situ rock stress as mining with
coal pillar.
of coal and rock.[5] Obtain the data about apparent
density, compression strength, modulus of elasticity,
Poisson ratio, internal friction angle and other param-
eters of roof and floor rock and coal seams. See to
Table 1.
2.3 The regularity of the in-situ rock stress
as mining coal seam
Based on practical production, analyze in-situ rock
stress field for the thin-seam mining in order to get
different ways of exploitation of the mining area under
the stress. By comparative analysis, finally choose the
most suitable method for the coal seams.
2.3.1 The regularity of the in-situ rock stress
as mining coal seam with coal pillar
In practice, considering security, mineworkers often
left coal pillars at some roadways to be the role of
hydraulic supports to help reinforce supporting. How-
ever, leaving the coal pillar is not only a waste of
resources and can not afford the vertical stress from
the upper rock to bring on tensile damage. It may
threat coal production greatly. Based on the geolog-
ical conditions, remain 10m coal pillars to be support
at a fixed place. Based on numerical simulation we can
found the regularity of the in-situ rock stress as mining
upper coal seam or double coal seams. See to Fig. 1.
The distribution of in-situ rock stress on coal pillar is
uneven after mining, and there is a big stress concentra-
tion around the edge of coal pillar. The reason of stress
concentration is the stress of upper rock supported by
ing in the upper coal seam, there is a biggish area to
withstand in-situ rock stress in virtue of the support of
down-canal rock and coal. There is a higher degree of
stress concentration on both sides of coal pillars, and
the 10 m coal pillar could support a upper in-situ rock
stress. When the two coal seams have been mined, the
in-situ rock stress all forces the 10 m coal pillar. The
scale decreases and the value increases. The stress is
up to more than double the original stress. The rock
stress would exceed the strength of coal seam which
led to the edge of coal pillar damage. Then the concen-
trative stress move into the internal pillar which results
in the stretching destruction of coal pillars. It threats
security.
2.3.2 The regularity of the in-situ rock stress
as mining coal seam with no coal pillar
Coal pillars may be damaged so that the mining area
can not be supported. Respectively, numerically simu-
late the rock stress under the upper and both coal seams
with non-coal pillar. See to Figure 2.
In Figure 2, the value and scale of the stress at both
ends of mining area with no coal pillar are less than
with the coal pillars. It is in favor of supporting. How-
ever, there will be stress relaxation zone at the reserved
location of coal pillar. In particular, the scale of the
zone is bigger after mining the two coal seams. The
zone is prone to roof fall due to no load-bearing pil-
lars. It should be strengthened supports. But the degree
of concentration of rock stress falls with no pillar and
affects range smaller. The impact of changes in min-
ing is also smaller. So supporting and management of
mining areas are easy.
2.4 The regularity of the in-situ rock stress
as mining coal seam
2.4.1 The regularity of the distortion as mining
coal seam with coal pillar
Because coal seam mining sometimes produce surface
subsidence disasters, the analysis of deformation field
on coal seam mining is very necessary.[6] Through
the analysis on mining with coal pillar of the verti-
cal displacement is beneficial to confirm deformation

316
Figure 3. The regularity of vertical displacement with coal
pillar.
Figure 4. The regularity of the acmes on both sides of coal
pillar.
influence on the In-situ rock. See to Fig. 3. In these
figs, the displacement moves downward from numeri-
cal value. As a result of the roof-fall in actual exploita-
tion, the upper rock will whereabouts. As the existence
of coal pillar, displacement can not fall normally to
form goaf. Thus the area of displacement so big that
surface subsidence phenomena may occur. For idio-
graphic analysis of the coal pillar, the acmes on both
sides of coal pillar are selected to observe the situation
of rock roof. See to Fig. 4. Displacement moves down
and movement distance increases, moreover displace-
ment increases gradually with time. When both of the
coal seams are mining, the both sides of coal pillar
displacement are larger.
2.4.2 The regularity of the distortion as mining
coal seam with no coal pillar
Because vertical displacement is too large as the
existence of coal pillar and the surface subsidence
phenomena may occur, the numerical simulation on
the distortion as mining coal seam with no coal pillar
carry through. See to Fig. 5.
From the figs we can see that the biggest vertical
displacement occur in the vicinity of the middle of coal
seam with the absence of supporting pillars. The dis-
placement is the greatest changes to indicate the rock
sinking in the area. It is consist with the regularity of
in-situ rock stress. Furthermore, because of biggish
fall in the goaf, the deformation of the ground sig-
nificantly reduced. Especially after mining of double
317
Figure 5. The regularity of vertical displacement as mining
with no coal pillar.
coal seams, falling rock will fill goaf areas in virtue
of rock swell factor. The upper rock did not to con-
tinue fall down which is conducive to ground building
safety.
3 SIMILAR MATERIAL SIMULATION
EXPERIMENT OF MINING COAL IN
GENTLY-DIPPING CLOSE-RANGE LOW
COAL SEAM
3.1 Pattern facture
Considering from the convenience of observation
and reasonable simplification, the planar models are
adopted. In order to study the laws of the strata pressure
that the roofs of working faces caving. The geometric
similarity coefficient is αL = 100.[7] Moreover, tak-
ing fully into account to the athletics similitude and
the dynamic similarity, the appropriate matching of
similar material is selected by way of ensuring the
comparability of the simulated material and actual coal
and rocks. All of these are in order to make simulation
more realistic.
Use the YDJ-1 static electrical resistance strain
gauge to measure the stress. The pressure capsules are
whole electrical bridge measurement. And use a dig-
ital camera to record the every phase that the change
of the form of the roof when mining the models.
3.2 Observations and analysis of experiment
Based on the actual project mining speed, the experi-
ment found the observations of upper-canal and down-
canal coal seam with coal pillars. The first weight
of the roofs, the periodic weights of the roofs, the
roof-fall height and caving angle could gain in the
experiment.[8]
According to the experimental analysis of observa-
tions, the roof rock beam destabilized because of the
first weight and periodic weight in the process of min-
ing working face. The roof and the floor moved close
continually and subside faster. The in-situ rock stress
of the working face increased. That is the premonition
indicating the strata pressure if coal debris failing. In
addition, the distortion and moving of the upper rock

Figure 6. Snap the rock beam of the coal pillars.
seam expand around upwards along the working face
and cutting-eyes. All of them can expand to the ground
and the ground will sink to the basin.
Otherwise, the upper rock falls naturally and forms
the big-area goaf when the upper-canal coal seam has
been mined. The goaf could gradually impact the fall
rock and form the self-born roof by the influence of
the in-situ rock stress in the upper rock. The strata
pressure of the down-canal coal seam mostly comes
from the roof first weight and the fall rock weight of
the upper goaf. Therefore, the roof pressure, pressure
interval and intensity of it are less.
In the experiment, with the mining of coal seam,
the in-situ rock stress goes beyond pressive strength
of the coal pillar. The coal pillar has been pushed by
in-situ rock stress of the upper rock. There will be the
tensile stress at the upper rock beam. It can snap the
rock beam upon the coal pillar and create a crevice,
see to Fig 6.
In conclusion, the experiment proves when min-
ing with chain coal pillars, the coal resource will
be wasted. And the coal pillars can not support the
stress so as to destroy the coal pillars. Furthermore,
Upper stratum coal pillars could form bearing pressure
and create stress concentration in the below stratum
coal when mining the down-canal coal seam, adverse
infection will bring to the down-tunnel control and
exploitation.
3.3 Analysis of compound mining
In the compound mining, the strata pressure laws after
mining upper-canal coal seam is same to single min-
ing. Difference is only to keep dozens of meters in the
mining proceeding between the upper-canal and down-
canal coal seam, there is only 1.5 m thick siltstone roof
at the top of the down-canal coal seam working face,
and the upper-canal coal seam goaf is at the top of the
siltstone roof.
A complexion was found with mining in the exper-
iment: as a result of the effect of mining power, the
1.5 m roof of down-canal coal seam fractures and
caves to make for goaf connected. These make the
working face of down-canal coal seam can not be sup-
porting, and thus to bring a lot of difficulties to roof
318
management. At the same time, when the roof pres-
sure of upper-canal working face is coming, roof beam
will bend and sink. This dynamic load will be impact
of 1.5 m rock roof. It could destroy all the support-
ing of working face, and leave down-canal coal seam
out of producing.
4 CONCLUSION
1. According to analyze to the in-situ rock stress laws
of mining with coal pillars or no coal pillar by
numerical simulation. The distribution of in-situ
rock stress on coal pillar is uneven after mining,
and there is a big stress concentration around the
edge of coal pillar. The rock stress would exceed
the strength of coal seam which led to the stretching
destruction of coal pillars. The degree of concen-
tration of rock stress falls with no coal pillar and
affects range smaller.The impact of changes in min-
ing is also smaller. So support and management of
mining areas are easy.
2. The displacement moves downward after mining.
As the support of coal pillar, displacement can
not fall normally to form goaf. Thus the area of
displacement so big that surface subsidence phe-
nomena may occur. For idiographic analysis the
acmes of coal pillar, Displacement moves down and
movement distance increases, moreover displace-
ment increases gradually with time. the biggest
vertical displacement occur in the vicinity of the
middle of coal seam with the absence of supporting
pillars. the deformation of the ground significantly
reduced. And falling rock will fill goaf areas in
virtue of rock swell factor. The upper rock did not
to continue fall down which is conducive to ground
building safety.
3. According to similar material simulation experi-
ment to validate the accuracy of numerical simu-
lation. The roof-fall state and the strata-pressure
laws of exploiting in gently-dipping close-range
low coal seam are found. The experiment proves
when mining with chain coal pillars, the coal
resource will be wasted. And the coal pillars can
not support the stress so as to destroy the coal
pillars. Furthermore, Upper stratum coal pillars
could form bearing pressure and create stress
concentration in the below stratum coal when
mining the down-canal coal seam, adverse infec-
tion will bring to the down-tunnel control and
exploitation.
4. In the analysis of compound mining, the mining
methods bring a lot of difficulties to roof man-
agement. Furthermore, it could destroy all the
supporting of working face, and leave down-canal
coal seam out of producing.
5. The numerical simulation and the experimental
results shows that it is better to take no coal pillar
and single seam exploiting in gently-dipping close-
range low coal seam in security and economy by
comparison.
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green mining of coal resources in Cina: current sta-
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Engineering 26(1): 1–12.
[2] Zhengjing, Shi & Guoqing, Sun & Shouhong, Fu. 2006.
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above gob. Coal Mining Technology 11(3):26–28.
[3] Luqing, Li & Yanfe, Wang. 2008. Effective ways of rais-
ing specific yeild at face of gradient and thin coal seam.
Coal Technology 27(2): 68–69.
[4] Chengduan, Li. 1996. Study on advancing mining for
solving single gentle slopping the seam subject to
sudden outbursts. J. XIANTAN MIN. INST 11(2):
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[5] Meifeng, Cai. 2002. Rock Mechanics and Engineering.
Beijing: Science Press.
[6] Mingzhong, Gao & Zhonglin, Yu. 2003. Numerical
analysis of surface subsidence behavior relative to
steep excavation. Journal of China Coal Society 8(6):
578–582.
[7] Xiangyi, Kong & Li, Dong. 2003. Test Technology of
Earth and Rock. Jilin: Jilin EducatePress.
[8] Yulin, Ma & Yongli, Zhang. 2007. Simulation exper-
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Features of in situ stress in a crystallized batholith and its influence

on the rockbursts of tunnels

J.Q. Ma
College of Highway, Chang’an University, Xi’an, China

ABSTRACT: During the excavations of the Qinling extra-long tunnels, severe rockburst occurred in several
sections, where the initial subhorizontal stress is about 20 MPa–30 MPa and the overburden is no less than
1000 m. The magnitude of the in situ stresses are related to the rock mass’s capacity of storing initial geostatic
stress. Large in situ horizontal stresses are kept in intact gneiss, with unaxial strength more than 45 MPa and
overburden more than 200 m. The large subhorizontal in situ stress mainly plays the role of σ2 during tunnel
excavations in the section of gneiss with severe rockbursts occurred. The initial stress in the rock mass at Qinling
tunnels is not such large that severe rockbursts will be induced during tunnel excavations. The severe rockbursts
should be the combination effect of in situ stress, gneiss fabric and excavations.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 FEATURES OF IN SITU STRESS IN THE

The original properties of rock mass around a tunnel
are changed due to excavation and stress redistribution
in the wall rocks of a tunnel or underground struc-
ture. The characteristics of disturbed zone around an
excavation vary with geological conditions, excava-
tion method, and opening geometry. The stability of
tunnels and underground structures is related to the
onset of wall rock yield due to boundary condition
alteration (Martin et al. 2003). For a tunnel or under-
ground structure excavated in brittle rock mass, as
stress levels beyond this point of hard rock at depth,
the bursting of wall rock can increase cost and safety
concern (Diederichs et al. 2004). It is evident that the
overburden of tunnels and underground caverns has
been increasing in recent years. As a result, rockburst
seems one of the major concerns for the stability deep
underground structures in hard rocks or difficult con-
ditions. The determination of the in situ stress level is
one of the primary design issues (Heok & and Brown
1980, Zang & Stephansson 2009).
Two extra-long tunnels were excavated in a corri-
dor of about 200 m in Qinling Mountain in the central
part of China. During excavations, severe rockburst
occurred in several sections, where the initial sub-
horizontal stress is about 20 MPa–30 MPa and the
overburden is no less than 1000 m. The features of
in situ stress in a crystallized batholith, through which
the Qinling tunnels were excavated, and the influence
of the in situ stress on the rockburst of the tunnels will
be discussed in terms of the brittle damage mechanism
of wall rocks at the tunnels.
WALL ROCKS
Rockbursts are usually relevant to high initial geostatic
stress kept in the wall rocks of a tunnel, with large
overburden. The initial geostatic stress measurement
is one of the survey topics. At the Qinling tunnels, the
initial geostatic stress measurements were carried out
in survey and construction stages.
2.1 Magnitude of measured initial stresses
During survey stage, five boreholes were drilled to
measure in situ stress with hydraulic fracture method
(Wei 1997, Zhang et al. 1998, Gu et al. 2002 and
Guo 2003). The test results indicate that the maxi-
mum stress is nearly horizontal in sections with an
overburden less than 500 m, while it is nearly vertical
in sections with an overburden more than 1000 m. In
the other sections, the maximum stress direction varies
due to overburden, rock mass strength and integrality.
The in situ horizontal stresses at the Qinling tunnels
show that a linear relation exists between stress and
depth in the plot of variation of horizontal stress with
depth below surface, and that the ratio of average hor-
izontal stress to vertical stress tends to decrease with
larger overburden, especially in the points at a depth of
no more than 1100 m, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 2
shows a narrow range of in situ horizontal stress with
overburden over 200 m. The in situ horizontal stresses
are nearly equal in sections with an overburden of more
than 1000 m in Figure 2(a); and are nearly equal in
sections with an overburden of more than 200 m in the
same test hole, as shown in Figure 2(b).

321
 Table 1. Tested and calculated stresses at the Qinling
tunnels.

σv (MPa) σH (MPa)
Ed z
(GPa) k (m) Cal. Tested Cal. Tested

39 1.66 240 6.24 13.2 10.36 27.2

45 1.09 600 15.90 / 17.33 21.9
47 0.88 1080 28.62 34.1 25.29 27.5
47 0.88 1100 29.15 36.2 25.60 28.2
50 0.82 1600 43.20 43.2 35.37 27.3

z – Overburden; σv – Vertical stress; σH – Horizontal stress;

Cal. – Calculated result. Tested results from Guo (2003), Wei
(1997), Gu et al. (2002) and Zhang et al. (1998), respectively.
Figure 1. Variation of horizontal stress with depth.

Figure 3. Measured horizontal stress with rock mass

Figure 2. Measured horizontal stress with depth.
There is no simple linear relationship between hori-
zontal stress and vertical stress (overburden). This is
different from the horizontal stress increase trend in
the Lærdal Tunnel (Grimstad 1999). The magnitude
of the maximum measured horizontal major principal
stresses varies from 21.9 MPa to 28.2 MPa with dif-
ferent overburden. The calculated horizontal stresses
using the equation: σH = kσv (Grimstad 1999), where
k = 0.25 +7Ed (0.001 + 1/z), where Ed , the deforma-
tion modulus of the rock mass in GPa and z, the over-
burden in m, as well as parameters used in calculation,
is tabulated in Table 1. The magnitude of the measured
horizontal stresses are higher than these of the calcu-
lated in the sections with an overburden no more than
1100 m, while the inverse is the case in sections with an
overburden more than 1100 m, as shown in Figure 2(a).
The trend of the magnitude of the in situ stresses in
Figures 1 and 2 may be explained by the rock mass’s
capacity of storing initial geostatic stress. Figure 3
shows the relationship between the in situ horizon-
tal stresses and the strength of the host rock of the test
holes. In general, the in situ stresses in the rock masses
have an increasing trend with larger uniaxial strength.
However, it is notable that the in situ stresses vary in a
narrow range in rock masses with a strength more than
45 MPa. Figure 3 implies that rock masses, with same
strength and integrity, store initial stress with similar
magnitude.
2.2 Direction of horizontal initial stress
The measured subhorizontal major principal stress, is
σ1 or σ2 , dipping only 0.3◦ –38◦ towards the mountain
strength.
ridge, and with an orientation of N28◦W–N87◦W at the
Qinling tunnels. The test results of the subhorizontal
major principal stress from magmatic gneiss sections,
with overburden more than 600 m, show an orientation
of around N28◦W and dipping only 0.3◦ –27◦ .
The orientations and dips of the tested major princi-
pal stresses (σt1 , σt2 , σt3 ) shows significant variation,
as illustrated in Figure 4. The directions of the tunnels
are generally parallel to the orientations of σt1 . The
occurrence relationship between tunnel structure and
the tested major principal stresses indicates that the σt1
generally plays the role of σ2 .
There is a significant difference between the direc-
tions of the measured and deduced regional horizontal
major stresses, in terms of regional geological evo-
lution history. The direction of the regional major
horizontal principal stress is nearly north-south direc-
tion (Zhang et al. 2001). The rock mass, which belongs
to a crystallized batholith and where the tunnels are
located, is bounded with regional counter-clockwise
strike-slip faults during the uplifting of the batholith.
Large structural discontinuity can also work as a
boundary of stress field (Hudson 1989). When the pri-
mary geological condition is alternated abruptly, such
as development of huge fault in rock mass, the stress
field may also change correspondingly both in magni-
tude and direction. The rotation of a geological block
due to strike slip mode of the faults along the block
boundaries may one of the scenarios of the difference.
The occurrence of in situ stress in a rock mass is
related to the evolution history of regional far field
stress (Zang & Stephansson 2009). During the uplift-
ing of the Qinling orogen belt, the wall rocks are
subjected to the deformation of an extensional fault

322

Figure 4. Plot of tested initial stresses at the tunnels.
geometry system in form of a core complex (Brun
et al. 1994). There occurs deflection of the direction
of the stress (Zhang et al. 2001), which induces the
development of the deformation pattern of less inten-
sively deformed regions bounded by more intensively
deformed zones. As a result, the initial stress in the
intensively deformed zone is depleted out through
deformation and displacement and the stress in the
weakly deformed region is kept in sound rocks, as
shown in Figure 3.
The case history presented by (Everitt & Lajtai
2004) showed that in the Lac du Bonnet Batholith
in Canada regional thrust faults act as stress domain
boundaries, in terms of both the magnitude and ori-
entation of horizontal stresses. It is analogical to the
features of the in situ stress kept in the wallrocks
of the Qinling tunnels, that the intact rock preserves
high in-situ stresses while the stress in domains sub-
jected to movement and fracture formation is low. The
orientation of the maximum horizontal stress in the
domains subjected to movement and fracture forma-
tion is significantly different from that of the intact
rock domain. The formation of fractures and the move-
ment of the fault presumably induce the reduction and
re-orientation of stresses.
3 FEATURES OF ROCKBURSTS
At the Qinling tunnels, moderate and severe rockbursts
occur in the sections of migmatitic gneiss with over-
burden more than 600 m. The rock masses in these
sections are generally of high strength and integrality.
The strength of the gneiss varies from 75 to 250 MPa,
with an average value around 145 MPa.
3.1 Modes of rockbursts
The rockbursts occurred at the Qinling tunnels show
the features of self-initiated or strain bursts, as defined
by Kaiser & Maloney (1997). In a practical way, the
323
rockbursts in the Qinling tunnels are named as: rock
ejecting, rock throwing with explosive sound, and rock
spalling (Ma et al. 2005). The intensity of rockbursts
is described as light, moderate or severe rockbursts.
Rocks ejected by rockbursts vary in slice, lens, and
flat or block form. The flat form is the most common
one, with an irregular margin, leaving the rock surface
a concave scar. A surface relief of the rockburst pit usu-
ally takes the form of a ladder and rock spalling extends
along foliation structure of the migmatitic gneiss, with
an intersection angle between the failure surface and
the tunnels wall less than 10◦ .
The maximum dimension of rockbursts failure area
and intensity in the road tunnel are larger than that in
the railway tunnel, which has a smaller section than
the road tunnel.
3.2 Shapes of rockburst damage pits
Rockbursts mainly occurred in arch and wall. The west
wall is more readily subjected to rockbursts than the
east wall in a section at the Qinling tunnels. The con-
cave scar of a moderate rockbursts, usually takes the
form of irregular plate. Extremely severe rock spalling
tabular occurs with its area decreasing in depth. The
magnitude of a severe rockbursts may be 10 m long,
8 m wide and 4 m deep.
The ultimate pit shape is usually relevant to rock
structures, such as joint, minor fault plane in the wall
rocks, and foliations of the rock mass. Since joint and
minor fault only sparsely occur, the occurrences of
the foliations in gneiss have a strong influence on the
shapes and rock spalling.
4 THE INFLUENCE OF THE INITIAL STRESS
ON THE ROCKBURST OF TUNNELS
As above-mentioned, the rockbursts occurred at Qin-
ling tunnels are self-initiated. The rockbursts occurs
when the stresses near the boundary of an excava-
tion exceed the rockmass strength and failure proceeds
in an unstable, violent manner (Kaiser & Maloney
1997). It takes place on the condition that the stored
strain energy in the wall rocks cannot be dissipated
gradually via the formation of new fracture surfaces
and frictional slip along existing joints or fractures
(Kaiser & Maloney 1997, Diederichs et al. 2004). The
self-initiated rockbursts is conditioned on large initial
geostatic stress, sound hard rock and failure manner
during excavation.
4.1 Stress state of the wallrocks
Hoek and Brown (1980) suggested a stability classifi-
cation for hard rock square openings, in the condition
of σ3 /σ1 = 0.5, in terms of the ratio of far field maxi-
mum stress (σ1 ) and unconfined compressive strength
(σc ). Martin et al. (1999) described this classifica-
tion as: (σ1 /σc ≤ 0.1) a stable unsupported opening,
i.e., no damage; (σ1 /σc = 0.2) minor spalling (failure)
can be observed, requiring light support; (σ1 /σc = 0.3)
Table 2. Geostatic initial stresses and rock strength.
∗
σ1 σ3 σc σ3 /σ1 σ1 /σc σmax /σc

(MPa)
13.2 6.2 46.6 0.5 0.28 0.72
10.6 8.3 100.2 0.8 0.11 0.23
12.3 7.6 145.0 0.6 0.08 0.20
34.1 15.0 145.0 0.4 0.24 0.60
36.2 16.1 147.0 0.4 0.25 0.63
43.2 17.2 147.0 0.4 0.29 0.76

*σmax = 3σ1 –σ3 ; σc – uniaxial compressive strength.

severe spalling (failure), requiring moderate support;
(σ1 /σc = 0.4) heavy support required to stabilize the
opening; and (σ1 /σc = 0.5) stability of the opening may
be very difficult to achieve, extreme support required.
Table 1 gives the tested stress σ1 , and the ratios of σ1 /σc
and σ3 /σ1 at the Qinling tunnels. The ratios of σ3 /σ1
are around 0.5. The ratios of σ1 /σc are in the range of
0.1 to 0.3.
In order to apply the classification by Hoek and
Brown (1980) to the stability analysis on other shape
openings, Wiseman (1979) proposed a sidewall stress
concentration factor (SCF) for a circle excavation in
hard rock (Martin et al. 1999) as: SCF = (3σ1 –σ3 )/σc ,
where σ1 and σ3 are the far field in situ stresses,
σmax = 3σ1 –σ3 and σc is the laboratory uniaxial com-
pressive strength.
Martin et al. (1999) corresponded the ratio of
σmax /σc to the damage potential grade in the clas-
sification of Hoek and Brown (1980). The ratio of
σ1 /σc = 0.3 is approximated as σmax /σc = 0.95, which
implies the conditions for unsupported tunnels deteri-
orating rapidly. Table 1 shows that the SCF at Qinling
tunnels is below or about 0.8, which does not point to
severe brittle damage condition.
Detournay and St. John (1988) categorized possible
failure modes around a circular unsupported tunnel in
terms of mean and deviatoric stress, as shown in Fig-
ure 5. In this method, mean and deviatoric stress are
normalized to the uniaxial compressive field strength
(σc∗ ), which is assumed to be approximately 0.5σ c . The
normalized mean and deviatoric stress from the Qin-
ling tunnels are plotted in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the
data from the Qinling tunnels are in the elastic region
or the region I, which means the extent of the predicted
failure zone is localized, and only at large values of
deviatoric and (or) mean stress does the failure shape
become continuous.
The more recent studies on the failure process of
test tunnels in intact rocks, with brittle failure around
openings, showed that the crack initiation starts at
0.3σc to 0.5σc (Cai et al. 2004, Read 2004, Martin &
Christiansson 2009). The case histories from some
practical engineering showed similar results (Rajmeny
et al. 2004; Cai et al. 2004). The ratios of the initial
stress and rock strength of the Qinling tunnel, as shown
σ1 /σc in table 1, fall in the range of 0.08 to 0.29, i.e.,
σ1 < 0.3σc .
The above analysis shows that the initial stresses in
the wall rocks at Qinling tunnels are not such large
Figure 5. Relationship between failure modes and far-field
stress state for an unsupported circular opening.
that severe rockbursts or strong brittle failure will be
induced during tunnel excavations. It is noted, that the
rock strength shown in table 1, to some extent, presents
the average magnitude of the gneiss, with overbur-
den more than 600 m, where the range of the uniaxial
compressive strength is 75 to 250 MPa. This situation
implies that some other factors are also strongly related
to the occurrence of severe rockburst at the Qinling
tunnels.
4.2 Influence of gneiss fabric on brittle damage
At the Qinling tunnels, the most common rockbursts
scar takes flat form. As the above mentioned, spalling
pits usually takes the form of a ladder because sur-
face extends along foliation structure of the migmatitic
gneiss or near parallel to foliation planes. This dam-
age feature indicates that the foliation structure of the
gneiss has a significant influence on the failure of wall
rocks along excavation surfaces.
Gneiss is characteristic of anisotropic structure and
strength. System triaxial compression experiments
on the biotite gneiss showed dilatancy and strength
anisotropies and features are more pronounced with
increasing confining pressure (Rawling et al. 2002).
The anisotropic of the gneiss is mainly attributed to
high resolved shear stress on the macroscopic foli-
ation. Where there is high resolved shear stress on
the macroscopic foliation, dilatancy arises from exten-
sile microcracks nucleated by frictional slip on biotite
grains, which is quiet weak in comparison to its
neighbor minerals, quartz and feldspar. The foliation
structure is readily subjected to fracturing along its ori-
entation and a crack may grow (Eberhardt et al. 1998,
Diederichs et al. 2004, Paliwal & Ramesh 2008), as
shown in Figure 6.
In the condition of σ1 nearly parallel to a weak
plane the brittle failure around openings in anisotropic
rocks, such as gneiss, a damage mechanics model
based on sliding wing cracks model was usually
adopted to analyze the anisotropic development of
dilatancy and brittle fracture (Mitaim & Detournay
2004). In this conceptual model the two wing-cracks
propagate according to the principles of linear elas-
tic fracture mechanics. Shear displacement along the

324
sliding crack, which occurs under compressive load-
ing, is required to open the wing cracks thus providing
a mechanism for their propagation.

4.3 Mechanism of rockbursts

The effect of initial stress on tunnel wall rocks is
directly influenced by their orientations. The relation-
ship between the tunnel axis and the direction of the
initial stress may greatly affect the damage features
of the wall rocks during excavation (Read et al. 1998,
Martin et al. 1999, Everitt & Lajtai 2004). When there
is a corner between them, the stress distribution is in an
asymmetric state and stress concentration may occur
around the excavating surface. The cracks potentially
grow parallel to the excavation surface, and the propa-
gation of the initial cracks may cause the rock to reach
a level of instability, where it will fail violently in hard
rock (Diederichs et al. 2004).
The axial lines of the Qinling tunnels are N34◦W.
There a small angle between the direction of the tunnel
axial line and the orientation of the subhorizontal in
situ stresses, as shown in Figure 4. The preferred ori-
entation of the foliation plane of the gneiss is around
N50◦ E and dips at angles varying from 30◦ to 75◦ ,
mainly along S40◦ E. Considering the occurrences of
both the initial principal stresses (Figure 4) and the
foliation planes, we deduce that there is a relatively
large angle between the foliation plane and the initial
principal stresses. The angle between the orientation of
the initial stress σt1 (Figure 4) and that of tunnel axial Figure 6. Model showing the influencing of geological
line is more than 15◦ . In the section of gneiss, with factors on brittle damage around an excavation.
overburden more than 600 m, where severe rockburs
mainly occurred, the subhorizontal initial geostatic
along the layers composed of biotite and quartz, but
stress is 21 MPa to 28 MPa. The vertical initial stress
most break in an irregular fashion.
is σ1 for the tunnels. The large initial stress (vertical
The mechanism of the severe rockbursts at the Qin-
or subhorizontal) has a good chance nearly parallel to
ling tunnels should be the combination effect of in
the gneiss foliation planes and the anisotropic feature
situ stress, rock chistous fabric and excavation, when
of the gneiss will be significant. The rockbursts occur-
the large initial stresses (vertical or subhorizontal) is
rences, which are asymmetrical along the excavation
nearly parallel to the gneiss foliation planes, as shown
surface, may be contributed to the fact that there is a
in Figure 6(c).
large corner between measured direction of the initial
stress, tunnel axis, and the foliation plane in gneiss,
especially for the case of large magnitude spalling 5 CONCLUSIONS
around opening.
The stress in the wall rocks will redistribute due to The magnitude of the in situ stresses at Qinling tunnels
excavations. As in situ stress magnitudes increase, the are related to the rock mass’s capacity of storing initial
failure process around openings is dominated by new geostatic stress. Large in situ horizontal stresses are
stress induced fractures growing parallel to the exca- kept in intact gneiss, with unaxial strength more than
vation boundary (Martin et al. 1999). In the model of 45 MPa and overburden more than 200 m.
sliding wing cracks in Figure 6(a), the damage derives The large subhorizontal initial stress in Qinling
from a set of preexisting micro cracks with random tunnels mainly plays the role of σ2 during tunnel exca-
orientation, e.g., around foliations composed of biotite vations in the section of gneiss with severe rockbursts
and quartz in gneiss, and a set of cleavage cracks in occurred. The initial stress (about 20 MPa–30 MPa)
biotite grains preferentially oriented along the folia- in the rock mass at Qinling tunnels is not such large
tion angle, as shown in Figure 6(b). Hence, the initial that severe rockbursts will be induced during tunnel
damage is higher for the intermediate angles, and con- excavations.
sequently, the strength becomes lower (Rawling et al. The severe rockbursts should be the combination
2002). The wing cracks could readily grow in the rocks effect of in situ stress, rock chistous fabric and exca-
that contains a large number of pre-existing flaws, and vation, when the large initial stresses (vertical or
the cracks did not interact with one another (Mitaim & subhorizontal) is nearly parallel to the gneiss foliation
Detournay 2004). As a result, some gneiss will split planes, as well as the tunnel excavation surface.

325
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Inversion of marine in-situ stress of northeast Sichuan and its influence

on horizontal well completion optimization

Kai Lan, Mingguo Liu

Sinopec Zhongyuan Drilling Engineering Technology Institute, Puyang, Henan, China

Youming Xiong
Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Kuangxiao Liu
Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In-situ stress plays an important role in keeping borehole stability and designing the appropri-
ate completion technique. Ultra-deep horizontal wells are adopted to exploit marine carbonate gas reservoirs
in northeast Sichuan, which are sour gas reservoirs with high sulfur content. To recommend the appropriate
completion method for horizontal well in sour gas fields in northeast Sichuan, in-situ stress should be precisely
gained at first. Based on care in method and induced facture method, imaging logging data of 16 wells was
used to determine the stress direction. Statistical results indicated that the maximum horizontal principal stress
extended nearly east-westward. Rock mechanical parameters were calculated from density logging and cross-
dipole acoustic logging data based on the relationship between rock strength and acoustic slowness. Layering
earth stress calculation model combined with imaging logging data and well stability information during drilling
were used to calculate magnitude of in-situ stress of marine reservoir. Then, the influence of marine in-situ stress
on horizontal borehole stability during production was studied, which gave an insight on ultra-deep horizontal
wellbore completion optimization in northeast Sichuan.

1 INTRODUCTION Caliper logging curves are usually used to deter-

Marine carbonate gas reservoirs in northeast Sichuan
are characterized as deep buried depth, high temper-
ature and high pressure, high H2 S and CO2 content.
A few numbers of horizontal wells were deployed;
natural depletion development and multiple zones
production strategy were used. In order to enhance
recovery and keep long-term safety and high pro-
duction, optimum well completion method should
be chosen for ultra-deep horizontal well in north-
east Sichuan. In engineering view, well completion
optimization is mainly considering the well trajec-
tory direction, borehole stability during production
and stimulation methods. But all of these factors are
related to in-situ stress. So, accurate evaluation of in-
situ stress for marine pay zones in northeast Sichuan
is the fundamental work.
Methods to estimate underground in-situ stress can
be summarized as five categories (Liang, 2008). For
ultra-deep marine carbonate reservoirs, core test is
expensive and discontinuous; inversion of seismic data
is not enough accurate and hydraulic fracture is also
infeasible for depth more than 5000 m and gas with
high sulfur content. In this case, inversion from logging
and drilling data become the best way to determine
underground in-situ stress in northeast Sichuan.
mine stress orientation (Ma, 2002). But this method
is not applicable during sections without collapse and
sections with collapse induced by other reasons but
shear failure. Micro-resistivity scanning imaging log
(FMI) and dipole acoustic log (DSI) can solve these
problems (Liu, 2005). In this paper, FMI, DSI and
caliper log data were used together.
Multi-pole acoustic logging and density logging
data can be used to calculate rock mechanical parame-
ters; dipole acoustic log and Cross-dipole acoustic log
data can be used to estimate in-situ stress magnitude
(Ma, 2002). In this paper, logging data were used to cal-
culate rock mechanical parameters, in-situ stress was
estimated from suitable stratified calculation model,
and then drilling information was used to calibrate the
calculated results. Based on these data, the optimum
completion method for ultra-deep horizontal wellbore
in northeast Sichuan was given out.
2 IDENTIFYING STRESS ORIENTATION
2.1 Regional in-situ stress
Horizontal stress is mainly composed by horizontal
stress component due to vertical stress and tectonic

327
Figure 1. Stresses around borehole wall.
stress. Northeast Sichuan basin is located in the super-
position zone between arc-shaped block-type fault belt
of east Sichuan basin and south Daba-Micang arc-
shaped block-type fault belt. In general, this district
has experienced two stages, marine carbonate sedi-
ment during Paleozoic era/Middle-Triassic and con-
tinental clastic sediment during late-Triassic/Jurassic.
This process formed three reservoir accumulation sys-
tems. In the near eight years, Changxing-Feixianguan
gas pay zones for Puguang, Longgang, Yuanba and
Feixianguan-Jialingjiang gas pay zones for Hebachang
had been discovered in this area (Zhu, 2008).
Three tectonic movements have changed the orien-
tation of tectonic stress (Hu, 2008). Through Indosinan
to Yanshan stage, orientation of tectonic stress is
NE-SW, but during Yanshan Stage, the orientation is
NW-SE.
2.2 Determinating present stress orientation using
imaging logging data
Assume radius of a vertical borehole is R. On the wall,
two principal stress σ1 and σ2 (σ1 > σ2 ) and hydrostatic
pressure pfrom drilling fluid are exist (Fig. 1). The
stress in the rock that is r from borehole center can be
expressed as (Huang, 2006):
where σr = radial stress; σθ = tangential stress; and
τrθ = shear stress.
328
Figure 2. A fragment of EMI images on Shuangmiao 1 well.
Elliptical borehole caused by collapse failure dur-
ing drilling is usually due to tangential stress around
the borehole. From Eq. (2), when r = R, tangential
stress reach the maximum if θ equals to 90◦ or 270◦ ,
which means σθ max = 3σ1 − σ2 − p; if θ equals to
0◦ or 180◦ the minimum value would appear, which
means σθ min = 3σ2 − σ1 − p.
In this case, the orientation of minimum tangential
stress is coincident with maximum horizontal princi-
pal stress. Imaging logging data could clearly show
the direction of borehole breaking out and pressure-
induced fractures, this information can help precisely
determine horizontal principal stress direction.
2.2.1 Orientation determination using
drilling-induced fractures
Pressure fractures and stress release fractures are
adopted to identify orientation of horizontal principal
stress. On EMI images, pressure fractures look like
two black stripes parallel to well axis, which have sta-
ble direction and extend to a long distance. And stress
release fractures look like a group of parallel fractures
with high angles.
Fig. 2 is a fragment of EMI images on Shuangmiao
1 well in NE Sichuan. Clear drilling-induced fractures
can be found. The chart about the directions of drilling-
induced fractures is shown in Fig. 3. We can conclude
that the present maximum horizontal principal stress
is nearly East-westward, mostly N60◦ -80◦ E.
 Table 1. Average values of calculated marine carbonate rock
mechanic parameters for member 1 and 2 of Feixianguan
formation in NE Sichuan.

parameter value parameter value

P-wave slowness/ 170.554 Shear 29.705

µs·m−1 modulus/GPa
S-wave slowness/ 303.025 Compressive 206.682
µs·m−1 strength/MPa
Density/g·cm−3 2.673 Cohesion/MPa 37.872
Clay content/% 2.748 Friction angle/◦ 16.708
Poisson ratio 0.266 Tensile 7.574
strength/MPa
Elastic modulus/ 75.201 Sand production 94.443
GPa index/GPa
Figure 3. Statistical chart of drilling-induced fractures
Bulk modulus/ 54.836 – –
direction on Shuangmiao 1 well based on EMI images.
GPa

After the analysis of 16 wells logging data in NE

Sichuan, statistical results on maximum horizontal
principal stress orientation can be concluded in the rose
diagram Fig. 5, which shows the dominant orientation
between 70◦ and 110◦ .
Combined with these two methods, the present
maximum horizontal principal stress can be defined
as nearly east-westward, that is N85◦ E-S85◦W.

Figure 4. Statistical chart of maximum principal stress ori-
entation for Puguang 102-2 well based on caliper logging
data.
3 DETERMINING STRESS MAGNITUDE
3.1 Calculating rock mechanical parameters
In petroleum engineering, rock mechanical parameters
are usually determined by logging data. Inversion of
typical logging data in NE Sichuan can gain Poisson
ratio, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus,
clay content, density and interval transit time.
Based on a certain number of core tests, Liu (2005)
suggested using the following equations to calcu-
late rock mechanical parameters for marine carbonate
reservoirs in NE Sichuan basin:

Figure 5. Statistical chart of maximum principal stress

direction based on caliper logging data of 16 wells in NE
Sichuan.
where c0 = uniaxial compressive strength, MPa;
τ = rock cohesion, MPa; ϕ = friction angle, ◦ ;
σt = tensile strength, MPa; µ = Poisson ratio; E =
2.2.2 Orientation determination by care
elastic modulus, MPa; Vsh = clay content, %;
in method
tc = slowness of P-wave, µs/m; M = 58.93-1.785τ.
Borehole collapse is mainly caused by shear failure
Logging data of seven wells were used to calculate
under stresses around borehole, which indicates the
the rock mechanic parameters of member 1 and 2 of
orientation of minimum principal stress.
Feixianguan formation. The average values referred in
Take Puguang 102-2 well as an example. EMI
Table 1.
images of this well shows no drilling-induced fractures
can be easily found, so care in method can be used to 3.2 Calculating vertical stress based on density
identify horizontal stress orientation. Fig. 4 shows the logging data
caliper logging curve and the statistical chart of max-
imum principal stress orientation for Puguang 102-2 Vertical stress is usually considered as equal to weight
well. of overlying strata. If precise density logging data are

329
Table 2. Calculated results of in-situ stress of member 1 and 2 of Feixianguan formation in NE Sichuan.

Well No. Vertical depth Sv/MPa SH/MPa Sh/MPa

P101-2H 5522.5–5698.2 144.45∼149.06 87.16∼89.94 63.47∼65.50

P102-2 5448.0–5770.0 142.34∼150.77 85.89∼90.98 62.54∼66.25
P104-1 5571.0–5850.0 145.16∼152.47 87.59∼92.00 63.78∼67.00
P301-4 4818.0–5100.0 125.92∼133.31 75.98∼80.44 55.33∼58.58
P6-3 4999.0–5387.6 130.75∼140.93 78.89∼85.04 57.45∼61.92
P11 5650.3–5927.8 148.92∼156.19 89.86∼94.24 65.43∼68.63
PD-1 4993.0–5365.0 130.53∼140.28 78.76∼84.64 57.36∼61.64
M4 3798.0–4135.9 99.84∼108.69 60.25∼65.59 43.97∼47.76
D1 5011.0–5389.0 131.66∼141.56 79.44∼85.42 57.85∼62.20

available, vertical stress can be calculated by adding
weights of every layer. For sections without density
logging data, average density value can be used. The
equation can be noted as:
where Sv = vertical stress, MPa; ρ
= average den-
sity of overlying strata, g/cm3 ; ρ = density of rock
mass, g/cm3 ; h0 = starting depth of target intervals,
m; h = depth of target intervals, m.
3.4 Results of calculated in-situ stress
According to acid fracturing curves of Puguang 301-4
and 104-1 wells, the tectonic stress factor of NE
Sichuan basin can be determined as βH = 0.262 and
βh = 0.078. Then in-situ stresses of member 1 and 2 of
Feixianguan formation for 9 wells in Puguang, Dawan
and Maoba reservoirs in NE Sichuan can be calculated
by equation 7 in table 2.
4 INFLUENCE OF IN-SITU STRESS ON
HORIZONTAL WELL COMPLETION

3.3 Calculating horizontal stress
After obtaining Poisson ratio, Young’s modulus, bulk
modulus and shear modulus based on acoustic wave
slowness and density logging data, Acoustic-Density-
Stress method could be used to calculate present
horizontal principal stress (Lai, 2007):
where SH = maximum horizontal principal stress,
MPa; Sh = minimum horizontal principal stress, MPa;
Pp = pore fluid pressure, MPa; µ = Poisson ratio;
ub = unbalanced factor due to horizontal rock matrix
stress, derived from caliper logging curves.
This method is very useful when estimating hori-
zontal stress magnitude, but that cannot present the
accurate values. So other information should be taken
into consideration.
In this area, acid fracturing curves of several cased
wells are available, which can derive horizontal tec-
tonic stress factors. Then the equations that take
tectonic stress into consideration can be used (Yan,
2007):
where βH = tectonic stress factor of maximum hori-
zontal principal stress; βh = tectonic stress factor of
minimum horizontal principal stress.
The study shows that the direction of maximum horiz-
ontal principal stress of main marine reservoirs in
NE Sichuan is nearly east-westward and the vertical
stress is the maximum principal stress. The difference
between maximum and minimum horizontal princi-
pal stresses is small so that stress conditions can
be deemed as nearly symmetric. Sand production
index is 94.443 GPa which means that sand pro-
duction would not occur under normal drawdown
pressure.
A few numbers of horizontal wells were deployed
in NE Sichuan; natural depletion development and
multiple zones production strategy were used. Con-
sidering the uneven distribution of reservoir physi-
cal properties, acid fracturing would be optimum
method to improve productivity. This will affect well-
bore stability during production especially important
for sour gas reservoirs. So, consideration should
be paid on horizontal wellbore stability during pro-
duction in optimizing horizontal well completion
method.
Based on calculated rock parameters and in-situ
stresses, we can use geo-mechanical model to analyze
stability of horizontal open-hole sections under vari-
ous drawdown pressures, which take strength reduc-
tion due to acidizing and formation pore pressure
reduction due to long-term production into account.
The calculated results can be noted as equivalent
plastic strain curves in figure 6 to 8 (Lan, 2010).
From these figures, conclusions can be made:
1) equivalent plastic strains augment with the increase
of drawdown pressure that means drawdown pressure
should be strictly controlled to reduce possibility of

330

Figure 6. Distribution of equivalent plastic strain along
borehole wall under various drawdown pressures with dif-
ferent trajectory directions.
Figure 7. Distribution of equivalent plastic strain along
borehole wall under various drawdown pressures with differ-
ent trajectory directions which treat rock strength reduction
to 80%.
Figure 8. Distribution of equivalent plastic strain along
borehole wall under various drawdown pressures with differ-
ent trajectory directions which treat pore pressure reduction
to 34 MPa.
331
borehole instability if horizontal well trajectory direc-
tion was not coincident with horizontal principal stress
orientation; 2) formation pore pressure reduction has
great effects on horizontal borehole stability during
production; 3) when angle between horizontal well tra-
jectory and direction of maximum horizontal principal
stress reaches 60◦ , possibility of borehole instability
increase after drawdown pressure comes to 10 MPa; 4)
horizontal borehole stability is the worst when angle
between horizontal well trajectory and direction of
maximum horizontal principal stress reaches 45◦ , well
repair should be taken in the later production stage if
open-hole completion was used.
In this case, appropriate horizontal well comple-
tion method for sour gas fields in Northeast Sichuan
was recommended. 1) If well trajectory was coincident
with direction of horizontal stress, open-hole comple-
tion was recommended. 2) If the angle between well
trajectory and direction of horizontal stress was less
than 30◦ , open-hole completion could be used, but
drawdown pressure should be strictly controlled. 3) If
the angle was more than 30◦ , cased completion should
be used.
5 CONCLUSIONS
(1) Based on care in method and induced facture
method, imaging logging data of 16 wells was used
to determine the stress direction. Statistical results
indicated that the maximum horizontal princi-
ple stress extended nearly east-westward, that is
N85E-S85W.
(2) Density logging data and acid fracturing curves
were used to calculate present in-situ stress state
of main marine reservoirs in NE Sichuan. Results
show that vertical stress is the maximum principal
stress, which means the biggest stress occured in
vertical direction, and difference between maxi-
mum and minimum horizontal principal stresses
is small so that stress conditions can be deemed
as nearly symmetric.
(3) Calculated sand production index and analysis
based on rock strength without reduction indicate
carbonate rock in NE Sichuan is stable so that hor-
izontal open-hole section under normal drawdown
pressures is stable enough to suggest open-hole
completion method. But thorough analysis, taking
strength reduction due to acidizing and formation
pore pressure reduction due to long-term produc-
tion into consideration, results in recommending
appropriate horizontal well completion method
for sour gas fields in Northeast Sichuan as a)
if well trajectory was coincident with direction
of horizontal stress, open-hole completion was
recommended; b) if angle between well trajec-
tory and direction of horizontal stress was less
than 30◦ , open-hole completion could be used, but
drawdown pressure should be strictly controlled,
and c) if the angle was more than 30◦ , cased
completion should be used.
REFERENCES
Huang Bo. 2008. Study of the formation stress analysis
method for imaging logging [Master Thesis] [D]. Beijing:
China University of Geosciences (Beijing). (In Chinese)
Huang Jixin, Peng Shimi, Wang Xiaojun, et al. 2006. Appli-
cation of imaging logging data in the research of fracture
and ground stress [J]. Acta Petrolei Sinica, 27(6): 65–69.
(In Chinese)
Hu Ming, Deng Shaoqiang, Chen Rong, et al. 2008. Tec-
tonic stress field and hydrocarbon migration in Northeast
Sichuan basin [J]. Special Oil & Gas Reservoirs, 15(3):
14–19. (In Chinese)
Lai Fuqiang, Sun Jianmeng, Su Yuanda, et al. 2007. Predic-
tion of fracture pressure using multi-pole array acoustic
logging [J]. Progress in exploration geophysics, 30(1):
39–42. (In Chinese)
Lan Kai, Xiong Youming, Yan Guangqing, et al. 2010. Hor-
izontal borehole stability and its influence on well com-
pletion optimization in northeast Sichuan [J]. Petroleum
exploration and development. (Submitted) (In Chinese)
332
Liang Lixi. 2008. Research on deep in-situ stress field and
wellbore stability- A case study of Tahe oil field [Ph. D.
Thesis] [D]. Chengdu: Chengdu University of Technology.
(In Chinese)
Liu Zhidi, Xia Hongquan, Tang Xiaoyan, et al. 2005. The
application of the formation stress calculation using image
well logging data [J]. Journal of Southwest Petroleum
Institute, 27(4): 9–12. (In Chinese)
Ma Jianhai, Sun Jianmeng. 2002. Calculation of formation
stress using logging data [J]. Well logging technology,
26(4): 347–351. (In Chinese)
Yan Ping. 2007. The earth stress calculation using well
logging data and its applied research in Piedmont struc-
ture [Master Thesis] [D]. Dongying: China University of
Petroleum. (In Chinese)
Zhu Tong, Feng Dongjun, Long Shengxiang. 2008. Main con-
trolling factors types of reservoir-forming for Northeast
Sichuan marine origin gas and its prospecting direction
[J]. Petroleum & Petrochemical today, 16(8): 17–20. (In
Chinese)
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical simulation on in-situ rock stress of exploitation process through

injection of heat into low permeability coal seam

Cheng Yao & Zhang Yong-li & Ma Yu-lin

College of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, China

ABSTRACT: There are rich coal-bed methane resources in China. But the production volume is so small that
can not establish large-scale industrialized mining in most coal seams which are low permeability. Based on
the character of low permeability coal seam and the regularity between desorption and seepage, in-situ rock
stress is one of the important influence factors for coal-bed methane movement is found. And the numerical
simulation analyses respectively to single well, double wells and nine wells collocation received the change laws
and influence circle of in-situ rock stress field nearby the well before and after injection of heat. The results
show: In-situ rock stress reduction is beneficial to coal-bed methane pulled out from the adsorption state after
injecting heat into shaft. The coal-bed methane flows into the production shaft faster under greater pressure
difference on the region outside of the thermal radius. It generates interference between wells when arranges
multiple wells. It allows the rapid decline in reservoir stress and a large number of coal-bed methane is released.
Especially for nine wells exploitation, the interference between wells is more obvious and differential pressure
area is wider. Numerical simulation results provide guidance for exploitation through injection of heat into low
permeability coal seam in our country.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF

Coal-bed methane (known as gas) is a clean energy
which is associated with coal. There are rich coal-
bed methane resources in China. But the production
volume is so small that can not establish large-scale
industrialized mining in most coal seams which are
low permeability.[1] Therefore, study the permeability
and desorption of coal-bed methane in order to find
the specific mining method for low-permeability coal
seams. It is significant for the environment protection,
gas accidents prevention and the full development and
rational utilization of coal-bed methane resources.
The temperature is a key factor to improve the per-
formance of coal-bed methane for penetration.[2] It
is a new idea for heat injected into low-permeability
coal seam. Many scholars at home and abroad have
achieved a large number of theoretical and experi-
mental research about relations the stress and pore
pressure with permeability and production of coal-
bed methane.[3–8] They point out that the in-situ rock
stress is an important factor to affect the migration of
coal-bed methane which is mined by heat injected.
According to the field data, obtained variation and
influence of the in-situ rock stress before and after
injecting thermal by numerical simulation for low-
permeability coal seams around the shaft. The results
confirm that the changes of the in-situ rock stress
are conducive to the output of coal-bed methane by
being injected heat. It provides a favorable reference
to reclaim coal-bed methane in the low permeability
coal-bed methane in China.
COAL-BED METHANE EXPLOITATION
BY HEAT INJECTED
The phenomenon of thermal diffusion occurs when
the coal seams are injected by heat. Within the ther-
mal diffusion, both coal seams and fluid are in the
non-isothermal process.[9] Experimental study finds
out that the permeability, adsorption and desorption
volume of coal samples change with temperature.
Therefore, it should be considered separately temper-
ature, coal and rock deformation and non-isothermal
seepage field and make coupled analysis in order to
study variation of seepage flow of coal-bed methane
which is injected heat.
2.1 Coal-bed methane exploitation by heat injected
of the temperature field equations
Suppose that heat capacity and thermal conductivity
are constant. Taking into account the heat accumula-
tion, convection, thermal conductivity and heat effects,
the temperature field equation is
where T = temperature function; t = time; cp = coal
special heat; qt = intensity of inner heat source;
σt = heat capacity ratio; and αt = thermal diffusion
coefficient.

333
2.2 Coal and rock deformation equations
2.2.1 Equilibrium equation
Differential equation is expressed by effective
stress [10]
where σij = total stress; fi = body force; δij = tensor;
and α = Biot coefficient.
2.2.2 Geometrical equation
where εij = strain; and ui = displacement.
2.2.3 Constitutive equation
Considering the temperature effect, the incremen-
tal form of constitutive equation by elastic-plastic
equation is:
where εij is consists of two parts of the strain: one is
induced by stress, and the other is due to temperature.
Yield rule use the corrected Drucker  rule, the
mathematics expression is F = βI1
+ J2
− k where
I1
is the first invariant of the effective pressure:
I1
= σx
+ σy
+ σz
, J2
is the second invariant of the
effective pressure.
where c = viscous force of the framework; and
ϕ = internal friction angle.
2.3 The control equation of seepage process under
non-isothermal conditions
Seepage process of coal-bed methane can be described
by Darcy’s law and continuity equation. Because the
linear Darcy’s law is not fit to describe the low-
permeability coal seams, it should use low-speed
non-linear Darcy’s laws to express as follows:
where Vrg = rate of flow (m/s); K = absolute perme-
ability (md); Krg = relative permeability; µg = fluid
viscosity; ρg = fluid density (kg/m3 ); H = elevation
(m); and Gg = fluid start-up pressure.
Continuity equation:
where Sg = saturation; qm and qq are the quality of
sources and sinks respectively (kg/m3 ).
334
2.4 The relation equation between framework
metamorphosis and coal-bed methane
seepage
Because the metamorphosis caused by stress, we can
gain the relation equation between the seepage rate and
the effective pressure is:
where σz
= radial effective pressure; A and B are
coefficient.
2.5 The relation equation of the coal-bed methane
seepage to framework metamorphosis
The infection of coal-bed methane seepage to frame-
work metamorphosis mostly is the infection about
modulus of elasticity and compressive strength by the
effective pressure.
where E = modulus of elasticity; p = pore pressure;
and σ = compressive strength.
2.6 The relation equation of coal-bed methane
seepage to the temperature field and
stress field
Based on the analysis of the experiment result fit-
ting, we gain the relation equation of seepage to the
temperature and the stress:
The mathematical models of gas mining process in
low-permeability coal seams which are injected heat
are made up of boundary conditions and initial condi-
tions that are subjected to by the upper mathematic
model and parameter values and relational expres-
sions which are obtained by experiment.The numerical
simulations can be made by the model.
3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION RESULTS AND
ANALYSIS OF THE IN-SITU ROCK STRESS
AFTER HEAT IS INJECTED
3.1 Regularity of the in-situ rock stress
in single well
Simulate the in-situ rock stress before and after the
level of coal-bed methane wells are injected heat
based on Liaohe oilfield’s parameters. The fields is
50 m × 50 m. The regularity can be the foundation for
subsequent analysis of the production. The contours
of the in-situ rock stress after heat injection shown in
Figure 1. The stress significantly increases around the
well. while the value of the gas pressure within the
reservoir decreased rate of speed up and strengthen
Figure 1. The contours of the in-situ rock stress after heat
injection in single well.
Figure 2. The profile curve of pressure in heat injection and
non-heat injection of single well.
the role of the production shaft of the pressure relief.
The pressure decreases in the seams. It strengthens the
role of pressure relief on the production shaft. With
continuously mining the coal-bed methane, coal-bed
methane has been pressed into the shaft at a lower pres-
sure because of the higher stress so that production
increase.
In order to contrast the stress before and after injec-
tion heat, simulate 3D pressure-drop funnel, analyze
the profile and select the data for comparison. In the
profile chart, we can easily find that the area of influ-
ence of pressure in the non-heat injection is bigger
than in heat injection. However, the pressure drop in
the heat injection is larger than in the non-heat injec-
tion. This result clearly shows that pressure of seams
is reduced to some extent when injected high steam. It
is conducive to the coal-bed methane adsorbed from
the state of adsorption. See to Figure 2.
3.2 Regularity of the in-situ rock stress
in multi-well
Reasonable wells arrangement is one of the most
important factors to exploit coal-bed methane more
efficiently. It can directly affect the economic benefits
335
Figure 3. The contours of the in-situ rock stress after heat
injection in double well.
Figure 4. he profile curve of pressure in heat injection and
non-heat injection of double wells.
of coal-bed methane development projects and recov-
ery of coal-bed methane resources. Therefore, a rea-
sonable wells arrangement should be considered in
order to improve the effect of heat injection.
3.2.1 The simulation results and analyses
of double wells
The influence of mining by inter-well interference
should be noted in double wells exploitation through
heat injection. The contours of the in-situ rock stress
after heat injection will be gained according to the
numerical simulation on coal-bed methane coupling
double wells. See to Fig. 3.
The stress is big around two producing wells
like single well when heat is injected. The coal-bed
methane is pressed into well by pressure difference.
At the same time, reservoir stress decreased rapidly
because of interference between wells to release a large
number of coal-bed methane.
The reservoir pressure profile curve of double wells
show the reservoir pressure declined faster than the
single-well exploitation at the early period of exploita-
tion time. The coal-bed methane content and the
reservoir pressure were both significantly lower in the
Figure 5. The contours of the in-situ rock stress after heat
injection in nine well.
vicinity of wells. There will be a more uniform dif-
ferential pressure that enhances production effect to
increase gas output of both wells. The inter-well inter-
ference well will form when the production of double
wells at the same time. In the initial period of joint
exploitation by injecting heat in double wells, area of
pressure relief expands to the surrounding area as soon
as a certainty distance. With the exploitation of time,
the pressure relief effect weakened and production of
each well reduced. Therefore, the joint exploitation of
the double wells can reduce the exploitation time and
increase the exploitation efficiency.
3.2.2 The simulation results and analysis
of nine wells
As a result of a unified group of differential pressure
formed by joint exploration in nine wells, the coal-bed
methane production within the scope of differential
pressure is more adequate. For the nine wells explo-
ration, inter-wells interference phenomenon is more
obvious, area of differential pressure is much wider,
and reservoir stress decreased rapidly. The biggish in-
situ rock stress oppresses coal-bed methane into the
production well. See to Figure 5.
Contrasting the contour of single well to double
wells, we found the initial pressure of multi-wells
decline faster. The content of coal-bed methane and
reservoir pressure are clearly lower in the vicinity of
shaft. They are form a uniform cone of depression
and heighten an effect of emission. So the produc-
tion increases. The effects of multi-wells are similar to
single and double wells. Therefore, the arrangement
of multi-well spacing lies reasonably when mine wells
jointly so that mining time reduces.
Figure 6 shows the transient pressure in the two
kinds of mining methods near points at the center
well. From Figure 6, for single-well exploration and
exploitation of nine wells, pressures are increasing
with the extraction time decreases at the point due
to the pressure relief; there was no significant differ-
ence for two kinds of mining methods at the beginning
stage. After a period of time, well interference occurs.
336
Figure 6. The curve of transient pressure near the single or
nine wells by heat injection.
Pressure drops sharply in the nine-wells mining case.
Finally pressure is much smaller than single well’s. It
shows that the interference between wells is in favor
of pressure relief and increasing the capacity of gas
desorption.
The above simulation results show: coal-bed
methane production which are injected heat increase
more than which not as the desorption capacity
enhance. After a certain time, rate of gas production
increase slowly. At this time, intermittent injecting
heat (steam stimulation) will raise production again.
Beyond a radius of injecting hot area, pressure dif-
ference is bigger so that desorption pressure increase
because gas pressure rapidly decline near well-bore.
The gas flows faster into shaft.
4 CONCLUSION
1. Comprehensive consideration the actual produc-
tion conditions of coal-bed methane through injec-
tion of heat, the coupling mathematical model
contains separately temperature, coal and rock
deformation and non-isothermal seepage field of
coal-bed methane which are injected heat is found.
2. When inject heat into single well, in-situ rock
stress accretion and reservoir stress reduction are
beneficial to coal-bed methane pulled out from
the adsorption state after injecting heat into shaft.
The coal-bed methane flows into the production
shaft faster under greater pressure difference on the
region outside of the thermal radius.
3. It generates interference between wells when
arranges multi-well. It allows the rapid decline in
reservoir stress and a large number of coal-bed
methane is released because of biggish in-situ rock
stress. Especially for nine wells exploitation, the
interference between wells is more obvious and dif-
ferential pressure area is wider. All of these show
inject heat is propitious to the output of coal-bed
methane.
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CBM resources. Xuzhou: China University of Mining
and Technology Press.
2. Xiangyan, Kong. 1999. Advanced Mechanics of Flu-
ids in Porous Media. Anhui: University of Science and
Technology of China Press.
3. Mingyang, Zhao & Yaoqing, Hu. Experimental study of
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Cable truss support on a large span set-up coal entry based on ground
stress measurement

Xiaokang Zhang
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Fulian He, Hongzeng Yang, Shengrong Xie & Hongbin Li

China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Kaiqing Li
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACT: There are no stable upper rock strata available to suspend if conventional bolts (cables) are used to
support the large span set-up entry with thick coal roof, and the roof caving accident is prone to occur. According
to the field observation results of rock stress, a stress distribution model of the surrounding rock is built to analyze
the relationship between rock stress and roadway damage. In this paper, the active multidimensional support
technology of cable truss is put forward, and its control principle is discussed, and the physical simulation
experiment is done to verify the effect. After the support scheme is applied in field, the surrounding rock is
controlled successfully.

The thick seam (more than 3.5 m) occupies an impor-
tant place in the current coal industry of China. Its
reserves, in total, account for about 44% of all coal
deposits and more than 40% of all volume of produc-
tion. As the coal market improves and the urgent need
for high capacity and efficient exploitation, the caving
method has made great progress and been a primary
method in the mining of thick seam. However, the fully
mechanized caving method is bound to cause the prob-
lem of large span set-up entry timbering with thick and
friable coal roof.
The comprehensive mechanized caving method is
adopted to mine No. 10 coal seam in Pangpangta Col-
liery. The seam is 8.60–13.30 m thick and the average
thickness is 11.40 m. There are 1–3 levels of carbon
mudstone dirt band with a thickness of 0.10–0.38 m
in the seam. The roof is grayish black mudstone or
sandy mudstone with a thickness of 1.00–7.00 m and
the bottom is grayish black mudstone and sandy mud-
stone that thick about 1.00–8.00 m. The set-up entry
of No. 10101 fully mechanized caving mining face
is a rectangular figure at 3.5 m high by 6.8 m wide.
As the immediate roof of the set-up entry is friable
coal roof of which the thickness is about 8m and then
mudstone roof with great variety in thickness, the
traditional bolts (cables) supporting technique can’t
solve the problem that no stable upper rock strata
are available to suspend. In addition, the influence of
horizontal stress to the entries stability is never consid-
ered in the support design in Pangpangta Colliery, as
a result obvious underground pressure behavior can
be observed in the small section crossheading and
the surrounding rock control in the set-up entry of
No. 10101 working face has become a key technical
problem of desiderate to solve in the mine. With refer-
ence to the foreign advanced coal drift bolt supporting
experiences of developed countries such as Aussie and
America, a new surrounding rock supporting system
of active multidimensional control technology of cable
truss based on ground stress is put forward and adopted
in the set-up entry of No. 10101 working face.
1 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROCK
STRESS AND ROADWAY DAMAGE
1.1 The measurement of the rock stress
The ground stress distribution of a mining area has
important directive to the roadway support. Only when
the distribution of the ground stress is fully grasped, a
boundary condition of practicality and reliability can
be provided to the numerical calculation and eventu-
ally the rational support parameters are determined.
Putting the engineering geology and mining condition
of Pangpangta Colliery into consideration, the measur-
ing points are arranged at a crossheading of air-return
rise entry in first mining area of No. 10 coal. The stress
relief method and the triaxial strain gauge of KX-81
have been used. The technical characteristics of the
applied stress measurement are shown in Table 1. Then
by the special software adapted to the gauge developed
by the Geomechanics Institute of Chinese Academy of
Science, the orientation and magnitude of the primary

339
Table 1. The technical characteristics of the drill hole.

Drill hole
Measuring
point Altitude/ Hole Dip
depth/m m depth/m Azimuth/◦ angle/◦

361 918 11.2 225 14

Table 2. The measurement results of ground stress.

Principal stress
Vertical
magnitude/ dip stress/
Location Name MPa Azimuth/◦ angle/◦ MPa

crossheading s1 13.08 188.63 2.35 8.35

s2 8.40 86.84 −66.65
s3 6.74 −99.64 −23.21

stress and the magnitude of the vertical stress can be
achieved, as shown in Table 2.
The date in Table 2 indicates the fact that the mag-
nitude of maximum principal stress in the first mining
area of Pangpangta Colliery is 15.08 MPa with the
azimuth 188.63◦ and the plunge 2◦ that is less than
15◦ ; and that the magnitude of minimum principal
stress is 7.74 MPa with the azimuth 99.64◦ and the
plunge −23.21◦ that is less than 25◦ , suggesting that
the horizontal stress dominates the rock stress. The fact
two stresses are approximatively perpendicular to one
another and the maximum value is 1.94 times more
than the minimum shows that the horizontal stress
varies much from direction.
1.2 The model of stress distribution
After the roadway is excavated, formal equilibrium
is broken and the stress conditions of the surround-
ing rock will be adjusted until a new equilibrium is
achieved. A model of stress distribution is created to
research the relationship between the rock stress and
the roadway damage. For better analyzing, to hypothe-
size and simplify as follows: (1) the roadway is circular
and infinite in length (the Plane-Strain Problems);
(2) the surrounding rock is of quality isotropy and
continuous and liner elastic without creep; (3) the
vertical stress σV = γH , the side pressure coefficient
γ = σH /σV , and the depth of the roadway Z > 20R0 .
As shown in Figure 1.
On the base of elastic mechanics theory, the formu-
las for tangential stress and radial stress of a casual
point on the roadway are derived:
Where σv = the vertical stress; σr = the radial stress;
σθ = the tangential stress; H = the mining depth.
Figure 1. The model of stress distribution.
Let r = R0 , the above formulas can be simplified as:
By the above formulas, following conclusions can
be drawn: if λ = 1, the tangent stress concentrates on
the tunnel-surrounding; if λ < 1, the tangent stress
centralizes on the both coalsides; if λ > 1, the roof
and floor is the tangent stress concentration area. The
maximum principal stress of the first mining area is
13.08 MPa while the vertical stress is 8.35 MPa, as a
result the lateral pressure coefficient is 1.57, indicat-
ing that the roof and the bottom are the concentration
area of tangent stress.
1.3 The influence of rock stress on set-up entry
No. 10101
The stress causes the rock mass itself and the disconti-
nuities inside fail, and then develop to become a range
of failure zones in which expansion load is formed to
make the roof curve and subside. Meanwhile the abil-
ity to resist the level deformation of the damaged rock
decreases highly, as a result the high stress regions are
converted into the deep areas where new broken areas
are formed. The procedure of the bending won’t stop
until the strongest rock stratum or support system is
met. Therefore the horizontal stress in the failure area
of roadway roof is very low. The higher the rock in
roadway roof is, the larger the horizontal stress is. The
horizontal roof stress value reaches the original ground
stress level above the roof failure area. The failure of
the roof due to the horizontal principal stress is shown
in Figure 2.
The actual measurement of the crustal stress in the
first face of Pangpangta Colliery makes clear that the
azimuth of the maximum horizontal principal stress
is 188.63◦ while the direction of the set-up entry cut

340
Figure 2. The roof damage caused by horizontal stress.
Figure 3. Principle of the active multidimensional control
technology.
is in the latitudinal direction that both are nearly per-
pendicular. According to the maximum principal stress
theory, when the roadway trend is perpendicular to that
of the maximum horizontal principal stress the hori-
zontal stress will damage the roadway worst. So not
only the large span and the friable coal roof should be
taken into account in the surrounding rock control of
the set-up entry, but also the influence of the horizontal
stress that greatly increases the controlling difficulty.
2 THE ACTIVE MULTIDIMENSIONAL
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY OF THE
CABLE TRUSS
2.1 Principle of the active multidimensional control
technology
The system of the active multidimensional control
technology of the cable truss that aims at the large
span, thick and friable coal roof and the high horizon-
tal stress of the set-up entry is the new method that the
paper puts forward.
The system, which is a flute structure of high reli-
ability(As shown in Figure 3) that can offer high
two-way pre-tightening force is composed mainly of
high tensile-strength steel strand, anchor agent and arc
connector. Its characteristics can be listed as follows:
(1) it can afford active supporting force both in hori-
zontal and vertical direction that can reduce the tensile
stress in the middle of the coal roadway effectively;
341
Figure 4. The model of the physical similarity simulation.
(2) the location of anchorage lies deeply in both sides
of the tunnel where the rock is in the triaxial stress state
that can’t be damaged easily so the bearing foundation
is reliable and steady; (3) in the case of roof curva-
ture or subsidence, the supporting force it offers will
increase with the anchor points on both sides moving
inside, preventing the further failure of the roof; (4) the
cable truss has a good shear behavior and wide sphere
of action, and it passes through the maximum shear
stress area of the thick coal roof that can control the
shear fracture effectually; (5) as the steel strand of the
cable truss system contacts with the roof along lines,
the load in the steel strand can transfer continuously,
besides the high supporting force to the roof is located
in the whole truss structure which shapes like a groove,
so the roof can be kept in a good stress state.
2.2 The physical similarity simulation experiment
of the active multidimensional control
technology of the cable truss
The physical simulation experiment of the cable truss
is carried out in the plane stress model to verify effect
of the system, in which the static resistance strain sur-
veying instrument of type TS3890A and displacement
meter of type YHD were used. The model pre and post
loading are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5. The active multidimensional supporting schema
of the open-off cut.
The experimental study indicates that: (1) at the
beginning of loading, there is little subsidence in both
the roadways supported by the traditional bolts (cables)
and the cable truss; (2) the subsidence of the tun-
nel supported by the conventional bolts (cables) is
0.52 mm more than that supported by the cable truss
when the load is 3900 MPa; (3) with the increasing of
load, the subsidence of the roof supported by the latter
is obviously lower than that supported by the former;
(4) the difference is over 2mm when the load adds to
5200 MPa; (5) the former tunnel will fail at first when
the load is 6500 MPa,while the other is still steady until
a certain time later. The results show that the roadway
supported by the cable truss is significantly better than
that supported by the traditional bolts (cables).
3 THE SCHEME OF THE ACTIVE
MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONTROL
3.1 The design of the prestress cable truss
According to the actual production condition and com-
bined with the engineering analogism, a supporting
schema is put forward for the set-up entry. The key
parameter is determined by the way of numerical
simulation based on ground stress. The general inter-
national geotechnical analytic software FLAC5.0 of
the America ITASCA Firm is selected to simulate and
determine the parameters of the prestress cable truss
such as the length, inclination and the distance between
the hole of the truss cable and the coalside. The large
342
span set-up entry, 7.8 by 3.0 m of Pangpangta Col-
liery is simulated. In the simulation the mohr-coulomb
criterion is applied to the model (90 × 60 m) that the
uniformed vertical stress of 8.35 MPa is composed on
the upper boundary and 13.08 MPa on the lateral. The
bottom is fixed to control the vertical displacement.
3.2 The parameter of the prestress cable truss
Combined with the simulation results and theoretical
calculation, the parameters are defined as follows: the
obliquity angle of the cable truss is 70◦ and the depth
of the drill hole is 9.0 m, the distance between the hole
of the cable and the coalside is 1.5 m. The supporting
schema is shown in Figure 5.
The roof supporting: the combined support of the
single cable and the cable truss is applied in which
they are staggered patterned and both the distance
between two rows is 1.6 m. The type of the bolt is
the high strength steel bolt (φ 20 × 2500 mm) with a
row space of 800 mm applied together with the W-type
steel band (4500 × 250 × 35 mm) and rhombic metal
mesh (4.5 × 1.1 m).
The coalside supporting: the high strength steel
bolt (φ18 × 2 m) is used combined with the lad-
der beams (φ14 × 4300 mm) and the rhombic metal
mesh(4.5 × 1.1 m) of which the row space is 800 mm.
4 DISCUSSIONS
(1) The contraction percentage of the roadway section
is very low and the control of the surrounding rock
is well. Field observation indicted that the set-up
entry was tending towards stability after tunnel-
ing about 22d. The average subsidence of the roof
is only 287 mm and the relative displacement of
the two sides is 216 mm, completely meeting the
requirements of design and installation.
(2) Reduce the cost of material and construction,
economize the installation fee of the fully mech-
anized mining face, and make it possible for
working face to get into production in advance.
(3) Decrease the accident of the support facilities
destroy, the fall roof caving and the rib spalling
as a result the corresponding personnel casualty
is avoided; reduce the labor intensity and improve
the working conditions that enhance project qual-
ity and support reliability; make the construct-
ing conditions better, simplify the installation
procedure and increase the fixing speed.
5 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The horizontal stress is the predominant type in
the rock stress in Pangpangta Colliery. The tan-
gential force concentrates on the roof and the
direction of the maximum principal stress is per-
pendicular to the trend of the set-up entry, which
make the worst damage to the tunnel.
(2) The support force, that passes through the maxi-
mum shear stress area, can be provide by the cable
truss not only in the vertical direction but also hor-
izontally. The steel strand of cable truss system
contact with the roof along lines, so the load in
the steel strand can transfer continuously. What’s
more, the location of anchorage lies deeply in the
compressed rock of the coalside so that the atresia
structure that can bear high stress is formed.
(3) After the active multidimensional control technol-
ogy of the cable truss is applied in the set-up entry
support of No. 10101 face, the roadway is tending
towards stability quickly and the surrounding rock
is well controlled, solving the supporting problem
of the large span set-up entry.
Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chi-
nese Scholars, State Education Ministry (2007-1108).
REFERENCES
Meng, Xianrui et al, 2009. Selection Principle and Devel-
opment Status of Thick Seam Mining Methods in China.
Beijing: Coal Science and Technology.
Zhao,Hongliang et al, 2007. Application of prestress truss
cable in large cross section coal roadway. Beijing: Journal
of China Coal Society.
Du, Bo et al, 2009. Study on Complex Active Support Sys-
tem of Seam Gateway with Thick Carbonaceous Mudstone
Roof. Beijing: Coal Science and Technology.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research work is financially supported by National

Basic Research Program of China under Grant No.
2010CB226802, and sponsored by the Scientific

343
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Estimation of in-situ stress state at the maximum depth of the Jinping

tunnels, China

C.Q. Zhang, X.T. Feng, H. Zhou

State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil
Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

C.S. Zhang
East China Investigation and Design Institute, CHECC, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

S.Y. Wu
Ertan Hydropower Development Company, Ltd., Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACT: The auxiliary tunnels and the underground testing sites #2 and #3 at the Jinping II hydropower
station are buried in the entire Jinping mountain at a maximum depth of 2525 m. The in-situ stress level is
very high and the self-weight stress at that depth reaches 66.5 MPa. Many difficulties, such as the breakouts
of the boreholes, core discing, and failing to be fractured, will be encountered in the stress measurements. The
phenomena, including the brittle failures of the intact rock mass and core discing are directly related to high
stress level. Hence, abundant information can be obtained by interpretation of these phenomena disclosed during
the excavation of the auxiliary tunnels and the underground testing sites. Based on these data, the multi-methods
integration analysis is carried out to estimating the regime, orientation and magnitude of the in-situ stress at
this site. The analysis indicates that the accuracy of the results is proportional to the amount of available data.
However, limited by the quantity of data at this site, it is difficult to obtain the horizontal components of shear
stresses by applying this method. Nevertheless, the results can meet the requirements for the stability analysis
of the surrounding rock mass of the headrace tunnels at this hydropower station.

1 INTRODUCTION estimation methods for in-situ stress based on these

The in-situ stress provides the initial and boundary
conditions for stability analysis and support design of
the surrounding rock mass in underground engineer-
ing. And the accuracy of the orientation and magnitude
of in-situ stress directly influences the stability estima-
tion for the surrounding rock mass and the feasibility
of the support parameters. Accordingly, substantive in-
situ stress measurements are required in the project
areas before construction in order to obtain the dis-
tribution rules of the in-situ stress field. However, for
deep-buried tunnels, difficulties will be encountered in
the application of the traditional stress testing meth-
ods because of the extremely high in-situ stress level.
The overcoring methods cannot be applied because
of rock core fracturing or discing. And moreover, the
hydraulic fracturing methods fail to fracture the rock
at the borehole sidewall. These problems also occurred
in the in-situ stress measurements at the URL 420 m
level in Canada (Martin et al. 1996) and the Jinping II
Hydropower Station auxiliary tunnels.
Special phenomena are disclosed in the excavation
of deep tunnels, such as the brittle failures of the hard
rock and core discing, which reflect the effects of high
stress level. Many researchers proposed the indirect
phenomena. Haimson & Lee (1995, 2004) studied the
relationship between the brittle failures around the
borehole sidewall and the stress boundary condition
in laboratory. Their results indicated that the failure
locations on the wall are parallel to the direction of
the minimum principle stress in the borehole plane;
moreover, the failure degree is relative to the principle
stress ratio. These rules can also be obtained from tun-
nel excavations despite the difference in scale. Thus,
it is feasible to estimating in-situ stresses based on
the statistical rules of brittle failures on the intact or
sparsely fractured rock mass.
Core discing is a special phenomenon during
drilling under high stress conditions. Its application
to estimate the far-field stress was started in 1963 by
Jaeger and Cook. Lim & Martin (2010), Matsuki et al.
(2004) also presented the estimation methods of the
in-situ stress based on core discing information. The
research indicates that the maximum stress in the bore-
hole plane is considered the primary factor inducing
core discing.
For estimating the in-situ stress on a deep tunnel
site at a depth of 2,500 m, a multi-methods integra-
tion analysis strategy is presented which makes full
use of valuable information about the brittle failures

345
Figure 1. Layout of the tunnels in the Jingping II
Hydropower Station.

of hard rock and core discing during the excavation of

the Auxiliary Tunnels (AT), A and B, and the Under-
ground Testing Sites (UTS) #2 and #3 at the Jinping II
hydropower station.

2 OBSERVATION AT JINPING’S LARGE

DEPTH TUNNELS

The tunnel project in the Jinping II hydropower station

involves the excavation of seven tunnels with various
diameters and shapes, including four headrace tunnels,
two auxiliary tunnels, and one drainage tunnel. The
Figure 2. Layout of UTS #2 and #3.
seven tunnels run parallel, and cut through the entire
Jinping mountain, a length of 16.7 km, and at a max-
imum depth of 2,525 m, which is one of the largest
deep-buried hydraulic tunnel projects in the world.
The layout of tunnels is shown in Figure 1. In order to
investigate the deformation and fracture mechanism
of the marble under high stress conditions, UTS #2
and #3 were constructed 100 m apart at the maximum
depth. Numerous testing tunnels are disposed perpen-
dicularly at each testing site, as shown in Figure 2.
During the excavation of the auxiliary tunnels, a
number of intense rock bursts occurred, destroying
support systems and collapsing rock masses into flakes Figure 3. The intense rock burst on the north side wall of
or blocks as shown in Figure 3. The geological sur- AT B.
vey on site indicated that the lithology at this tunnel
section is T2b thick layer fine-grained white marble
and the surrounding rock mass is with sparse struc-
tural planes. Therefore, these events of rock bursts are
directly relative to the high in-situ level at this section.
In addition, brittle failures such as weak rock bursts
and spalling generally developed along the auxiliary
tunnels and the tunnels at the UTS as well. Therefore,
these phenomena can be taken as a basic reference for
estimating in-situ stress.
Core discing is another important phenomenon Figure 4. Core discing in the borehole A08 of UTS #2.
which occurs in the Jinping deep-buried tunnels. Prior
to the excavation of TT (Test Tunnel) C and TT B, core an extension in the disturbance range of concentrated
discing was investigated in the horizontal drilling hole stress. Although the phenomenon of core discing is
on the southern sidewall of AT A, which is 20 m in primarily due to the concentrated stress, it can still
length, and is shown in Figure 4. It indicates that the provide an indirect information for stress estimation
disturbed stress lies at least in the range of 20 m, which (Lim & Martin, 2010).
is about 3 times the span of AT A and in fact extends
beyond the range of 2.5 times the span, based on 3 REGIME OF IN SITU STRESS
elastic solutions. As indicated, the concentrated stress
causes fractures of the surrounding rock mass and low- In general, the regime of in-situ stress determines the
ers the carrying capacity, thus consequently leading to sequence of principle stresses. And the correctness of

346

Figure 5. The statistical result indicating the locations of
the brittle failures in AT A and B.
Figure 6. Fracture of the surrounding rock mass on the east
sidewall to spandrel in TT 2.
Figure 7. The fractured rock on the east sidewall of CT 3.
its estimation governs the reliability of the in-situ stress
analysis results. So the regime analysis of in-situ stress
is the primary work prior to the estimation of thein-situ
stress magnitude and orientation. Generally, it is one
of the controlling factors of the brittle failure locations
on the intact or sparsely fractured surrounding rock
mass, namely the top arch or the sidewalls. Therefore,
the corresponding information on site is accounted for
the regime analysis of in-situ stress.
Figure 5 indicates the brittle failure locations devel-
oped at the maximum depth in AT A and B, which were
recorded in the excavation. As can be seen, the brittle
failures primarily localized to the two sidewalls. Sim-
ilarly, spalling and fracturing of the surrounding rock
mass in the tunnels at the UTS also occurred on the
sidewalls as shown in Figures 6 and 7. These phenom-
ena mean that the vertical stress is greater than the
horizontal stress in the tunnel plane.
347
Figure 8. The distribution of the disturbed stress field in the
auxiliary tunnels under the NF stress condition.
Core discing generally occurs at the concentrated
stress zones (Martin et al. 1996) which coincide with
locations of the brittle failures and are determined by
the regime of in-situ stress Without considering stress
magnitude and orientation temporarily, the distribu-
tion of the disturbed stress field in the auxiliary tunnels
has been obtained by numerical simulation under an
NF stress condition, as shown in Figure 8. From this,
it can be seen that the upper arch should be the stress
relaxation region where the maximum principle stress
is lower than the far-field rock stress. As a result, core
discing will seldom develop in the borehole at the ver-
tical position. However, since the maximum principle
stress is positioned on either side of the tunnel walls,
drilling a rock core from the horizontal position should
intersect this region and thus result in core discing.This
is indeed what is observed from horizontal drilling
holes.
The above analysis indicates that the vertical stress
is greater than the horizontal stress at the maximum
depth of the auxiliary tunnels and the UTS and that
the in-situ stress should be of the NF type.
4 ESTIMATING OF INITIAL VALUE OF
IN-SITU STRESS ORIENTATION
The analysis of the in-situ stress regime has provided
the preliminary finding with regard to its direction,
however further analysis of its azimuth and plunge are
required. Due to the high level of in-situ stress encoun-
tered at the maximum depth zone of this project, many
difficulties remain in the in-situ measurements. And as
a result, no testing data can be utilized at this site. Since
the tunnel axes seldom parallel the orientation of the
in-situ stress, there isn’t a simple corresponding rela-
tionship between the brittle failures and the orientation
of principle stress, and thus, it is difficult to directly
determine its orientation.
Testing data of in-situ stress at a depth lower than
1,900 m on the auxiliary tunnels have been obtained.
And the analysis indicates that the distribution of the
orientation of stress within the test site along the tunnel
axis is approximately consistent, as shown in Figure 9
with L1 being the direction of the tunnel axis on the
map. Assuming that the orientation of stress at a depth
of greater than 1,900 m remains similar to the distri-
bution described above, in light of the test results, a
Figure 9. Stereographic projection map of stress test results from the auxiliary tunnels.
Table 1. Orientation and magnitude of in-situ stress at the sites with the depth of 2,500 m.
SV∗ Sh∗
Analysis value/MPa azimuth/◦ plunge/◦ value/MPa
REGression 70.1 273 69 30.6
REVision 1 69.7 273 69 43.7
REVision 2 69.3 277 70 43.8
more accurate determination of the stress orientation
can be obtained by applying multiple regression anal-
ysis of the stress, based on the numerical simulation
method. Strictly speaking, these initial values, as listed
in Table 1–REG, are derived from the extension of test
results at shallow sites. Therefore, the accuracy prob-
lem exists by the extrapolation method. In addition,
there are some error existing during the in-situ stress
testing unavoidably, so the initial values cannot be very
accurate, which is why adequate information is needed
to revise them by further iterative analysis.
5 MAGNITUDE AND ORIENTATION OF
IN-SITU STRESS
Zoback et al. (2003) proposed a methodology to esti-
mate the in-situ stress based on vertical borehole
breakouts. And assuming three components of in-situ
principle stresses, one being self-weight stress and
the other two being horizontal stress, the minimum
horizontal stress can be obtained from hydraulic frac-
ture testing, and the orientation and magnitude of the
maximum horizontal stress can be determined from
recorded borehole breakouts. The compression failure
locations on the hole wall and the maximum horizontal
stress are generally orthogonal, with the tensile frac-
tures paralleling it. Zoback et al. (2003) and Lucier
et al. (2009) both pointed out that there is not an exact
quantitative relation between the failure positions on
the tunnel walls and in-situ stress when the tunnel
axis deviates from the vertical direction. Based on the
brittle failure locations in the auxiliary tunnels and
the tunnels at the UTS, it can be concluded that the
in-situ stress orientations are not ideally vertical and
348
SH∗
azimuth/◦ plunge/◦ value/MPa azimuth /◦ plunge /◦
123 19 35.9 30 10
123 19 50.4 30 10
124 18 50.3 31 8
horizontal, but occur at certain deflection angles. As a
result, it is impossible to conduct the above-mentioned
research directly.
In fact, the stability of the surrounding rock in the
tunnels is primarily influenced by stress components
within the tunnel plane. As shown in Figure 10, a cer-
tain deflection angle of the stress orientation in the tun-
nel plane will produce the concentration stress at dif-
ferent locations, and thus lead to the failure of the sur-
rounding rock. The failure locations can be obtained
from the statistical results for the brittle failures of
the surrounding rock at the site and then the numeri-
cal simulation method can be applied to calculate the
deflection angle, θ, in the tunnel plane by comparison
between the locations where the stress concentration
occurs and where the brittle failures of the surrounding
rock mass occur, as shown in Figure 10.
The numerical simulation of the auxiliary tunnel
excavation is carried out with certain boundary condi-
tions and the results are consistent with the statistical
results of the actual failure positions (Figure 5). There-
fore, θ equals 12.4◦ . And θ equals 16.6◦ based on
the statistical results of the brittle failures in TT C.
Together, the two average 14.5◦ .
Due to the horizontal layout of the tunnels, the ver-
tical stress component Sz can be assumed to equal to
the self-weight of the overlying rock mass. Knowing
Sz and θ, a linear correlation between Smax and Smin
can be obtained
where, θ = deflection angle of thein-situ stress in
the tunnel plane, with counterclockwise deflection
considered positive.
Figure 10. The relationship between the failure locations of
the surrounding rock and the far-field stresses in the tunnel
plane.
Figure 11. Smax – Smin and m – Smin curves in the interval
of 0.5 ≤ l ≤ 1.0.
Since the in-situ stress is of the NF type, Sx < Sz ,
0.5Sz ≤ Smin ≤ Sz = 66.5 MPa, depending on the fail-
ure degree of the surrounding rock. Selecting a certain
increment l = 0.1 of Smin in the range of 0.5Sz
and Sz , a series of data (Smax , Smin ) can be gener-
ated by Equation 1, as shown in Figure 11. Setting
m = Smax /Smin , the failure degree of the surrounding
rock mass depends the value of m when the data
pair (Smax , Smin ) serves as the boundary condition.
The greater the value of m is, the more severe the
failure degree is. Comparing the results calculated
and the actual degree of failure of the surrounding
rock, it is estimated that m = 1.51, Sx = 46.3 MPa and
Txz = 5.58 MPa.
Having determined the stress regime, the initial
value for the orientation of the stress and the three
stress components, Sx , Sz and Txz , they can now be
substituted into the conversion formula of the principle
stresses and the stress components to solve the linear
equation and obtain S1 , S2 and S3 . The magnitudes and
orientations of the principle stresses obtained are listed
in Table 1–REV 1.
TT #2 and #3 and CT #2 and #3 remain per-
pendicular to the auxiliary tunnel axis. As such,
according to the statistical results of the locations
and degree of the brittle failures in these tunnels,
349
Figure 12. Distribution of FAI for the surrounding rock
resulting from calculating stress based on Table 1-Revision 2.
θ = −17.1◦ , Sy = 50.6 MPa and Tyz = −5.53 MPa
within the tunnel plane. However, taking into account
the stress value in Table 1-REV 1, θ equals −19.2◦ ,
Sy = 51.02 MPa, Tyz = −6.11 MPa. There are subtle
differences between the above two results. The stress
components in Table 1-REV 1 are updated according
to the new results. Due to inadequately information,
the stress component Txy is still, unfortunately, not
accurate. However, since this stress component is not
an essential factor for the stability of the surround-
ing rock in the tunnel projects, it remains unchanged.
Finally the magnitude and orientation of the in-situ
stress at the site is given in Table 1-REV 2. There is
only a very minor adjustment in REV 2 based on REV
1, which indicates that the accuracy of the initial value
for the stress orientation is relatively high. The FAI
(Zhang et al. 2007) distribution maps of AT A, TT C
and TT #3 are calculated according to the stress state
in Table 1-REV 2 and shown in Figure 12, with the
results of the analysis being consistent with the actual
failure state of the surrounding rock.
6 CONCLUSION
There are a number of difficulties that arise when
attempting to determine directly the in-situ stress state
encountered in deep-buried tunnel projects. Fortu-
nately, indirect estimations of the in-situ stress mag-
nitude and orientation based on information gathered
regarding the brittle failures of the intact surrounding
rock and core discing provide valuable clues. Firstly,
the regime of the in-situ stress can be determined based
on the information revealed in the excavation of the
tunnels. Secondly, depending on the actual stress test
results at the shallow sections, initial values for the
stress orientation at the maximum depth site in the
Jinping tunnels can be obtained by applying the multi-
ple regression method based on numerical simulation.
Next, the stress components in the tunnel plane can
be analyzed on the basis of the locations and the fail-
ure degree of the surrounding rock. Finally, the initial
values of the stress orientations are revised accord-
ing to the stress components obtained. As a result, the
following conclusions can be inferred:
• The regime of in-situ stress can be accurately deter-
mined by analyzing the statistical data from the
brittle failures of the surrounding rock and core disc-
ing. The results indicate that the stress encountered
at the greatest depths of the auxiliary tunnels and the
UTS is of the NF type, and that the vertical stress is
an essential factor controlling the brittle failure of
the surrounding rock.
• Due to the specific geological tectonic character-
istics of the Jinping mountain through which the
tunnels are cut, the accuracy of the estimation of
the in-situ orientation at the maximum depth of the
site is guaranteed in light of the analysis of the stress
test results.
• The ratio between the maximum stress and the min-
imum stress is 1.6, which indicates that the tectonic
stress at the engineering site is very high. The differ-
ence between the vertical stress and the horizontal
stress is slight after the superposition of self-weight
stress and the tectonic stress. The larger range and
the shallower depth of the surrounding rock failure
also verify the accuracy of the results.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper was financially supported by the
National Science Foundations of China under Grant
350
No. 50709037, 10772190 and the research grant of
Ertan Hydropower Development Company, Ltd, which
are hereby acknowledged, along with the permission
to write and present this paper. The authors also wish
to thank X.R. Chen, J. Hou and C.H. Zhou for their
support in the data on site in particular.
REFERENCES
Haimson, B.C. & Lee, C.F. 1995. Estimating geostress
conditions from borehole breakouts and core disking –
experiment results in granite. In: Proceedings of the Inter-
national Workshop on Rock Stress Measurement at Great
Depth, Tokyo, Japan, Eighth ISRM Congress.
Haimson, B. & Lee, H. 2004. Borehole breakouts and
compaction bands in two high-porosity sandstones. Inter-
national Journal of Rock Mechanics. and Mining Sciences
41: 287–301.
Jaeger, J.C. & Cook, N.G.W. 1963. Pinching-off and disking
of rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 68(6): 1759–
1765.
Lim, S.S. & Martin, C.D. 2010. Core disking and its relation-
ship with magnitude for Lac du Bonnet granite. Interna-
tional Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 47:
254–264.
Lucier, A.M., Zoback, M.D., Heesakkers, C. etc. 2009.
Constraining the far-field geostress state near a deep
South African gold mine. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics & Mining Sciences 46: 555–567.
Matsuki, K., Kaga, N., Yokoyama, T., Tsuda, N. 2004. Deter-
mination of three dimensional in situ stress from core
discing based on analysis of principal tensile stress. Inter-
national Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences
41: 1167–1190.
Martin, C.D., Chandler, N.A., Read, R.S. 1996. The role of
convergence measurements in characterizing a rock mass.
Canadian Geotechnical Journal 33(2): 363–370.
Zhang, C.Q., Feng, X.T., Zhou, H. 2007. Statistical Anal-
ysis on Strength of Rock Based on YAI Concept. Key
Engineering Materials 340–341: 1157–1162.
Zoback, M.D., Barton, C.A., Brud, M. etc. 2003. Deter-
mination of stress orientation and magnitude in deep
wells. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining
Sciences 40: 1049–1076.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurement and rockburst possibility in deep tunnel

at a hydro-power station

L. Bao & S. Zhao

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: To study the relation between stress and rockburst during tunnel excavation at a hydro-power
station, in-situ stress measurements are carried out by hydraulic fracturing method. the maximum compression
stress and minimum compression stress within the tunnel cross—section are obtained by stress analysis. The
possibility of rockburst is analyzed with rockburst criterion, and provided the scientific basis and technological
support for the design and construction of the tunnel engineering.

1 INTRODUCTION As a mountain incised meander, damsite valley gen-

As an important production increase measure for
petroleum and natural gas, hydraulic fracturing origins
from natural gas field in Kansas, the USA. Hubbert and
Willis issued theoretical research result for relation-
ship of tension fracture caused by hydraulic fracturing
and surrounding stress in 1957 (Hubbert & Willis
1957). At present, it is an effective and practicable
method to measure deep in-situ stress by theoretical
and test research for tens of years.
There are many inevitable difficulties during con-
struction of deeply buried chamber and development
of mineral resources. Secondary stress field will form
due to stress adjustment in the rock during chamber
excavation with concentrated stress near the chamber
wall. Elastic strain energy stored in the rock mass will
release suddenly with impetuous unstability damage
for rock mass when stress exceeds breaking strength of
rock mass. Broken rocks will eject on the chamber wall
or a lot of rocks will outburst to generate violent blast
of an explosion or shock wave. Such damage form of
rock mass refers to rockburst. Rockburst will damage
underground digging or project construction greatly
so damage generation, development; prevention and
control shall be researched with safe and economic
significance for underground digging (Xu et al. 2002,
Guo et al. 2006).
2 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT GEOLOGY
2.1 Landform and topography
Northern landform is higher than southern one in
the measurement zone. In general, mountain altitude
is between 4000 m and 4600 m and river valley is
between 2000 m and 2500 m. It is a typical highland
and river valley landform.
erates from granite with high mountains, deep river
valley and steer slope. Slope height which approaches
the river is more than 1000 m and natural slope is 35◦ to
50◦ for the left bank and 45◦ to 60◦ for the right bank.
Typical V-shape valley with slight asymmetry of which
altitude is less than 2800 m has provided excellent
geological conditions for construction of hydropower
station.
2.2 Introduction to geology structure
The engineering zone is located in the southeast of
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It borders southeastern section
of Bayan Har Mountain on the north, northern section
of Qionglai Mountain on the east and Ta-hsueh Moun-
tains on the west. Its geology structure is in the eastern
rim of Songpan County-Garze geosyncline fold belt
and Bayan Har Mountain miogeosyncline fold belt
and north of Songpan County- Garze geosyncline fold
belt (namely, in the zone from Jintang to Aba). It bor-
ders Maqin-Lueyang deep fault on the north, Longmen
Mountain deep fault on the southeast and Xianshuihe
fault on the southwest. The zone consists of 3 structural
layers and area is about 30,000 square kilometers.
2.3 Stratum and lithology
Lithology of exposed stratum in the damsite mainly
consists of Yanshan Keeryin granite olith, namely,
biotite moyite during the early period and late period as
well as Yanshan granite during the late period. Granite
has fine-medium-granule structure and self-gradual
structure. Rocks are solid and complete with slight
weathering to fresh rocks and compressive strength
can be 88 MPa to 115 MPa. Occurrence of rock mass
can be classified into batholith and stock. Dike in the
zone mainly consists of granite pegmatite with a little

351
Table 1. In-situ stress measurement result.

Depth/m σH /MPa σh /MPa Orientation of σH

106.10∼106.90 8.39 5.24

115.70∼116.50 13.73 8.83
124.10∼124.90 14.52 8.57
138.10∼138.90 15.35 9.75 N68◦ W
150.00∼150.80 17.22 10.22
165.40∼166.20 17.37 10.72 N64◦ W
175.00∼175.80 17.47 12.22 N70◦ W

(σH : The maximum horizontal principal stress; σh: The

minimum horizontal principal stress)

Figure 2. Relationship diagram of coefficient of horizontal

pressure of measurement points and bore depth.

Table 2. Rockburst judgment.

Method Judgment Type

Russenes σθ /σc < 0.2 Without rockburst

judgment 0.2 < σθ /σc < 0.3 Weak rockburst
0.3 < σθ /σc < 0.55 Medium rockburst
σθ /σc > 0.55 Strong rockburst
Hoek σθ /σc < 0.3 Without rockburst
judgment 0.3 < σθ /σc < 0.42 Weak rockburst
0.42 < σθ /σc < 0.56 Medium rockburst
σθ /σc > 0.56 Strong rockburst
Hou Faliang’s A status σ3 /σ1 = 0.00, σlcr = 0.188σc;
rockburst B status σ3 /σ1 = 0.25, σlcr = 0.294σc;
Figure 1. Variation of various principal stresses with bore judgment C status σ3 /σ1 = 0.50, σlcr = 0.360σc;
depth. method D status σ3 /σ1 = 0.75, σlcr = 0.383σc;
E status σ3 /σ1 = 1.00, σlcr = 0.402σc;

of diabase and acid dike such as granite porphyry and
granitine, etc.
3 RELEVANCE ANALYSIS ON IN-SITU
STRESS MEASUREMENT RESULT
AND ROCKBURST
3.1 In-situ stress measurement result and analysis
In-situ stress in the engineering zone shall be measured
by hydraulic fracturing to know stress distribution sta-
tus of seepage tunnel. Only in-situ stress of which
depth is less than 100 m shall be measured by con-
sidering great influence to measurement result caused
by shallow landform and topography. Please refer to
Table 1 for result.
(1) Stress value analysis:
As shown in Figure 1, measured in-situ stress result
shows that the maximum and minimum horizontal
Where: “σθ ” refers to tangential stress of wall rock and “σc”
refers to uniaxial compressive strength of rock; “σ3/σ1”
refers to ratio of the minimum and maximum principal stress
in the cross section of tunnel axle and “σlcr” refers to critical
stress of rockburst.
principal stresses varies with burial depth linearly.
Please refer to following figure for linear regression
relationship.
Where: H refers to vertical burial depth;
(2) Stress constitution analysis: Please refer to
Figure 2 for variation curve of measured coefficient
of horizontal pressure (namely, λH (σH /σZ ) and λh
(σh /σZ ) with depth. λH and λh do not vary greatly with
increased burial depth. Such two values which exceed

352
 Table 3. Rockburst analysis result.
Burial Russenes Hoek
depth/m σθ /σc judgment judgment
100 0.23 Weak rockburst Without rockburst Without rockburst Possible rockburst
150 0.49 Medium rockburst Medium rockburst Rockburst
175 0.50 Medium rockburst Medium rockburst Rockburst
1 mean that in-situ stress field in the entire measure-
ment zone mainly consist of tectonic stress field and
stress status is shown as follows: σH > σh > σV .
3.2 Rockburst forecasting analysis
Complex rockburst generation conditions will bring
difficulties for rockburst forecasting. At present,
national and foreign experts have analyzed rockburst
from views of strength, rigidity, energy, stability, dam-
age and mutation to propose various assumptions and
judgments (Ding. 2007, Liu. 2000, Li et al. 2005, Hou
et al. 1989). It is simple and practicable to regard ratio
of in-situ stress status of wall rock in the chamber
and rock strength as rockburst judgment according to
current research situations. Many rockburst judgment
guidelines shall be adopted for comprehensive analysis
to avoid uncertainty of forecasting result. The paper is
to adopt Russenes judgment, Hoek judgment and Hou
Faliang’s rockburst judgment methods. Please refer to
Table 2 for 3 kinds of typical rockburst judgments.
Predominant direction of measured in-situ stress is
NW67◦ and axial direction of seepage tunnel is EW so
we can calculate stress component on the cross section
of tunnel according to Formula (2). Wall rock pressure
of tunnel after excavation shall be calculated approx-
imately according to circular chamber and uniaxial
compressive strength of rocks measured in the labora-
tory is 90 MPa. Please refer to Table 3 for forecasting
analysis result of rockburst.
Where: “σH ” and “σh ” refer to the maximum and min-
imum horizontal principal stress in the measurement
zone respectively; “α” refers to included angle between
axial line of tunnel and the maximum horizontal stress;
Forecasting result shows that rockburst is possible
when burial depth of tunnel is less than 100 m and
rock will surely burst despite of judgment method if
burial depth exceeds 150 m. It is required to strengthen
support and monitoring during tunnel construction to
avoid rockburst.
353
Hou Faliang’s Comprehensive
judgment method evaluation
Rockburst
Rockburst
4 CONCLUSION
(1) In-situ stress status in the measurement zone is
σH > σh > σV and it mainly consists of tectonic
stress field. Stress level shall be the medium and
high stress level integrally. The maximum hori-
zontal principal stress in deep location is 17 MPa
and the minimum horizontal principal stress is
12 MPa.
(2) The angle between the maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress and axial line of tunnel is about 23◦
and it is beneficial to stability of wall rock of the
tunnel.
(3) Medium rockburst is possible for wall rock if
burial depth of tunnel is 150 m. Measured data
is only limited to measurement of one bore but
we will pay attention to rockburst possibility and
suitable construction method during construction
process with monitoring strengthening to avoid
rockburst.
REFERENCES
Ding, L. 2007. Crustal stress measurement and rockburst
possibility analysis at a highway tunnel in east China.
Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology, 1: 57–61.
Guo, Q., Wu, F. et al. 2006. Study on relationship between
deformation of surrounding rock and in-situ stress in
Wushaoling deep-buried railway tunnel [J]. Chinese
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 25(21):
2194–2199.
Hubbert, M. K. & Willis, D.G. 1957. Mechanics of hydraulic
fracturing [J]. Trans., AIME, 210: 153–166.
Hou, F. & Wang M. 1989. Rockburst Criterion and Con-
trol Measures in the Circular Tunnel. Application of Rock
Mechanics in the engineering. Beijing: The Knowledge
Press.: 195–201.
Liu, Y. 2000. Rock Mass In-situ Stress and engineering
constructions. Wuhan: Hubei Science and Technology
press.
Li, H., An, Q. et al. 2005. Study on Relativity Between Rock-
burst and Stress State in the Deep Tunnel. Chinese Journal
of Rock Mechanics and Engineering., 24(1): 4822–4826.
Xu, L., Wang, L. et al. 2002. Study on mechanics and judg-
ment of rockburst[J]. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 23(3):
300–303.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Segment pre-blasting application on 52 m sublevel caving of steep and thick

coal seam under complex conditions

S.J. Miao
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Science & Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

X.P. Lai
Energy School, Xi’an University of Scinece & Technology, Xi’an, China

ABSTRACT: Space structures and scales of mined-out area are dynamic changed with high-sublevel fully-
mechanized caving in steep and thick coal seam. In weakening and disturbance of segment pre-blasting, the degree
of coal damage and crack would be increased, and the complexity of physical-geometric structure and spatio-
temporal evolution of mined-out area would be intensified. Firstly, the complexity of geological environment
and mining technologies, balsting parameters and technologies optimization, and blasting effect of B1+2 steep
coal seam of Weihuliang coal mine were analyzed comprehensively. Then, the pre-splitting blasting was applied
successfully in 52 m sublevel top-coal caving and weak the coal effectively. Finally, the blasting effect was
detected in broken zone with RSM-SY5 acoustic detector and YS(B) borehole optic camera, and the front
and behind support forces were monitored before and after blasting. The results showed that blasting effect
was obviously, and which provided technological reference for the subsequent safe mining of 102 m and 18 m
sublevel top-coal caving.

1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2 GEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT AND

In top-coal caving, the weakening and accessibility
of top coal directly determine its fully-breaking and
caving safety and efficiency (Xie 1999, Shi 2006,
Kang 2004, Chen 2002). The mined-out area caused
by high-sublevel fully-mechanized caving in steep and
thick coal seam is a spatial structure with dynamic
sizes (or dimensions). In weakening and disturbance
of segment pre-blasting, the degree of coal damage
and crack would be increased, and the complexity of
physical-geometric structure and spatio-temporal evo-
lution of mined-out area would be intensified. (Gao
2001, Wang 2007, Shao 2007). Weihuliang coal mine
is with low gas. In the high-sublevel caving workface of
+579E2EB1+2 steep seam (from 64◦ to 69◦ ), there are
some coal pillars with different heights, respectively
52 m, 102 m and 18 m, along the trend direction of
the B1+2 coal seam. In 52 m sublevel top-coal caving,
large-scaled dynamic collapse occurred several times,
and some harmful gases were squeezed into workface
and injured people.
To ensure fast and safe caving, segment pre-blasting
of 52 m coal pillar must be carried out. Based on
comprehensive analysis of workface complexity, blast-
ing parameters and technologies optimization, amount
of explosive and blasting effect, segment pre-blasting
100 m in front of workface of 52 m sublevel coal seam
was successfully implemented, which provided tech-
nological reference for the subsequent safe mining of
102 m and 18 m sublevel top-coal caving.
MINING TECHNICAL CHARACTERS
2.1 Geological conditions and in-situ stress
characters
Joints in B1+2 coal seam are well developed, the struc-
ture is complex, and its roof and floor are loose. The
trend direction of the seam is 55◦ , its dip direction is
325◦ , its dip angle is from 64◦ to 69◦ , and its hard-
ness is 3. Except the seam is inclined steeply under the
strong stress of south-north direction, there is a fault
in level 320.5 m. The fault trend is 248◦ , dip angle is
48◦ , dip separation is 3.5 m, roof displacement angle
is 30◦ , floor displacement angle is over 60◦ , and trend
displacement angle is about 70◦ .
2.2 Complex mining conditions
The workface length is 1202 m along trend direction
of rock seam. The coal pillar between open-off cut
and shaft is 200 m wide. On the west of open-off cut,
in the range of 430 m along coal seam, the sublevel
height of B1+2 coal is 52 m, and the thickness of coal
seam is 32.9 m. In the range from 430 m to 627 m and
the range from 627 m to 1020 m, the sublevel heights
of B1+2 coal are 102 m and 18 m respectively, and the
thickness of coal seam is 32.9 m. Because of irregular
mining and frequent disturbance of some coal pits in
history, a lot of mined-out areas formed, in which large
quantities of harmful gas accumulated, just like a gas

355
tank. Hence, hazard sources such as water, fire and
coal dust are all existed, which posed great challenges
for the safe mining.
3 PRINCIPLE OF PRE-SPLITTING LOOSEN
BLASTING OF TOP COAL
Pre-splitting blasting of top coal is on the theoretical
basis of internal dynamic action of explosives. In the
action of explosion gas caused by blasting in coal, the
coal can be broken and loosen. The shock-wave and
explosion gas will promote the permeability of gas and
lengthen the extrusion time of gas. Under the pressure
from overburden rock, top coal falls down in small or
medium-sized pieces, which can avoid great impact
caused by large pieces falling or disadvantage caving.
Simultaneously, pre-splitting loose blasting can also
improve caving ratio and control the size of coal.
3.1 Radius of fractured circle
The radius of fractured circle determines the para-
meter of top coal’s pre-splitting blasting. i.e., take full
advantage of dynamic forces of stress waves, so that
the distance between shot holes can be close to the
minimum burden. The distance between two shot holes
shall be as close as possible to the sum of two radiuses
of fractured circles, otherwise the pre-splitting will not
be adequate, and large blocks will be formed between
two shot holes. Contrariwise, it will be broken exces-
sively, and the shock-effect caused by the excessive
energy from explosives will make troubles to the sup-
port. For the B1+2 coal mass, because of the adequate
developed cracks, the theoretical calculation is very
different from the practical condition. According to the
theory of blasting stress waves, the quasi-static theory
of explosion gas and engineering analogy, amend-
ments are gradually made in accordance with the actual
conditions.
(1) According to theory of blasting stress waves, the
critical resistance can be calculated as follows.
Where RP is the radius of fractured circle;
b = µ/(1 − µ), and µ is Poisson’s ratio; P2 is the initial
radial stress peak of stress waves; ST is the dynamic
tensile strength of coal; a is stress wave attenuation
index (and a = 2 − b); r is the radius of shot hole.
(2) According to the quasi-static theory of explosion
gas, it can be calculated by the thick-wall cylinder
theory of elasticity mechanics.
Where PP is the static pressure acting on hole wall.
356
3.2 Critical resistance
When explosive goes off in a certain depth of free
surface, compressive blasting formed when the mini-
mum burden is larger than the radius of loose circle,
and when they are equal, loosen blasting formed.
According to Livingston’s blasting craters theory,
when elastic deformation energy and breaking energy
in rock reaches the saturation state, the buried depth is
called as critical resistance, wc , and its relation can be
showed as follows.
Where Q is the explosive charge; Eo is deformation
energy factor, which is determined by test.
4 WEAKENING COAL BY SEGMENT
PRE-BLASTING
There are three coal blocks with different level heights
in workface along B1+2 coal seam different trend direc-
tions, to ensure safe and fast advancing of workface,
segment pre-blasting must be done to 52 m level height
of B1+2 coal block before workface cutting. Based
on safety rules, workface complexity, blasting param-
eters and technologies optimization, the amount of
explosive and blasting effect are analyzed and car-
ried out comprehensively in pre-blasting, which can
be divided into three stages: the initial caving of 52 m
sublevel, segment pre-blasting of 52 m sublevel, and
pre-blasting at the juncture of 52 m and 102 m sublevel.
4.1 Initial caving of 52 m sublevel
As shown in Figure 1, on the south wall of +579B2
roadway, a pair of shot holes were bored every 25 m
along the trend direction of coal seam, those holes’
diameter is 800 mm, the height is 20 m, and the dis-
tance between each pair holes is 6 m. To each pair
holes, one would be used as passage for walking, and
the other would be used as pre-blasting hole. Take the
pre-blasting hole as center, a roadway, which is 31 m
long, 3.5 m wide and 2.5 m high, was dug towards the
B1 floor of coal seam. In the roadway, fan-shaped shot
holes with the diameter of 100 mm was arranged, in
which pre-blasting have been carried out 50 m ahead of
the workface. 12.5 tons of explosives were used in the
blasting in June, 2009. The blasting was implemented
successfully and subsidence was formed in the ground.
4.2 Segment pre-blasting of 52 m sublevel
Two groups of pre-blasting roadways were used to blast
simultaneously. 25 tons of explosives were used and
subsidence was formed in the ground.
4.3 Pre-blasting at the juncture of 52 m and 102 m
sublevel
Pre-blasting of 17# coal (52 m sublevel) and 18# coal
(102 m sublevel) were carried simultaneously, 35 tons
Figure 1. Pre-blasting layout in initial caving of 52 m sublevel of +579E2EB1+2 coal seam.

Table 1. Parameters of fan-shaped shot holes of 8# section. cracks directly (Miao 2009). Through the monitoring
photo of holes as shown in Figure 2, it can be seen
Hole number Hole length/m Amount of drillpipes that the inner wall was damaged in varying degrees
under the monitoring scope (10 m). The longitudinal
1#, 11# 9.3 12 cracks are develop seriously and hole wall collapsed
2#, 10# 11.69 14
seriously, which indicated that serious fracture and
3#, 9# 17.87 22
4#, 8# 27.15 34 weakening happened to coal mass under the influence
5#, 7# 26.79 34 of tension-shear stress in vertical stress.
6# 26.16 33 In the place of 12 m from workface (102 m sub-
level), cracks were developed widely within 10 m,
and the deformation was evident, which showed that
of explosives were used. The blasting was successfully the blasting effect was very good. Meanwhile, with
carried in February 4th, 2010. And in February 22nd, the workface advanced, the maximum compressive
2010, the workface advanced safely. stresses of front pillar (12 MPa before blasting and
42 MPa after blasting) and back pillar (26 MPa before
blasting and 54 MPa after blasting) increased signifi-
5 BLASTING EFFECT DETECTION cantly, and the average pressure also increased obvi-
ously, which further indicated the significant effect
RSM-SY5 acoustic detector and YS(B) borehole optic of coal blasting (Xi’an University of Science and
camera were used to observe the development of Technology, 2007).

357

Figure 2. Cracks characteristics of coal in difference depth
after blasting.
6 SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES FOR
PRE-BLASTING
In order to ensure safety of pre-blasting, the pre-
blasting alley was used, and a water injection pump
was used to inject water into coal seam from top to
bottom. It is key technique of this engineering, and
there are few underground mines or workfaces can dig
such large-scaled (three roadways) pre-blasting alleys,
which could also be used as roadways to weaken coal
mass by injecting water. Injecting Water in advance in
pre-blasting alley, when the next part of coal seam is
under mining, the strength of coal mass will obviously
decrease because of having soaked in water for a long
time, and meet the requirement of caving. Therefore
the top coal caving ratio of workface will be pro-
moted, and it is nearly a perfect technology that not
only improved the output and the efficiency, but also
attained goal of safe mining.
358
6.1 Soak in water-blasting coupling to intermittent
water injection
When water is injected into coal seam, it filter into coal
fissures rapidly, the surface of fissures are often cov-
ered by bubbles that may impede water penetration. If
water is injected in advance in pre-blasting alley, the
weakness can be eliminated by water-blasting coupling
effect, which can achieve intermittent water injection.
In addition, intermittent water injection can preserve
some certain time for the penetration of water in fis-
sures in the capillary force. When water injection is
finished, the fissures in coal mass become variable. In
the intermission of two water injections, humid coal
mass is expanded and close the original fissures to stop
water discharge.
6.2 Permeability improved by blasting vibration
in hole
Filled the holes with water, mining safe explosives
(4 to 5 units) are placed in waterproof sheath to form
explosive cartridge, and two blasting caps are placed in
cartridge, then put it into the hole. Water seal blasting
is carried out when the holes are opening. The water in
the holes transmits the blasting pressure evenly to holes
wall as blasting, and water is also squeezed into coal
mass under high pressure, which will form or expand
coal fissures and link it up with other fissures, then
promote the permeability of coal mass. The holes can
be sealed and injected water after blasting. The effect
of blasting in holes is to use the high blasting pressure
as initial force to crack coal, simultaneously, coal mass
is loose in blasting vibration, which creates favorable
conditions for subsequent water injection.
6.3 Dust control
In order to prevent accumulation of coal dust in lim-
ited space which could induce coal-dust coupling
explosion, except for reasonable and effective airflow
control, slurry and loess are used to seal the holes dur-
ing the charge of explosives, which can play a good
role in dust control during blasting.
6.4 Control of explosion harmful gas
Because the space of pre-blasting alley is limited, and
the amount of explosives is large, so the accumula-
tion of explosion harmful gas will easily hurt people.
Water bags of isolating explosion filled with some cer-
tain amount of alkali waters will be used to neutralize
acidic gases in blasting.
6.5 The control of the blasting impact
In order to ensure the shock waves by the pre-blasting
do no damage to roadways, effective preventive
measures have been taken. For example, 20 m in
front of the pre-blasting area, an anti-impact wall is
installed. Besides, backfilling and plugging work are
carried out in the ground subsidence areas to reduce
the risk of ignition in workfaces or mined-out areas.
7 CONCLUSIONS
There are some risks in the mining of +579E2EB1+2
workface in Weihuliang coal mine, so the complex-
ity of workface and blasting parameters, technologies,
effects and other aspects during the process of pre-
blasting are comprehensively analyzed and carried out.
The following conclusions were drawn.
(1) Through comprehensive analysis on the complex-
ity of geological environment and mining tech-
nology of workface, the optimization of blasting
parameters and technologies, the amount of explo-
sives and the blasting effect, pre-splitting blasting
of 52 m high sublevel coal was implemented
successfully.
(2) RSM-SY5 acoustic detector and YS(B) borehole
optic camera were used to observe the develop-
ment of cracks and monitor average compressive
stresses of front and behind workface supports.
The results showed that blasting effect was obvi-
ously, and which provided technological reference
for the subsequent safe mining of 102 m and 18 m
sublevel top-coal caving.
(3) Pre-blasting can increase breaking degree of top
coal, raise permeability of coal seam, and prolong
the effusing of gas effectively. Water injection
in pre-blasting alley can lower coal temperature
effectively. Grouting-backfilling technology and
nitrogen injection can reduce oxygen supply, and
consequently reduce the ignition probability of
workface (or mined-out area). The normal top
coal caving of 52 m and 102 m high sublevel, and
18 m low sublevel coal seam and pillar were suc-
cessfully carried out, which removed the hidden
risk of large-scaled roof collapse of the subse-
quent mining, so the problems of new explosive
sources formed by gas accumulation as increasing
the height of horizontal segment would be solved
at the beginning. Those proved that pre-blasting
and water injection are effective weakening and
mining method for caving of local high sublevel
coal.
(4) In view of the comprehensive analysis on com-
plexity of workface, blasting parameters opti-
mization, techniques, the amount of explosives
and the effect in the process of pre-blasting, this
blasting is representative in high sublevel top coal
caving of complex environments.
359
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was financially supported by Doctor Sub-
ject Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China
(No.20070008012).
REFERENCES
Chen, Z.h., Xie, H.P., Lin, Z.M. 2002. Study on falling ability
of top coal during top coal caving by damage mechan-
ics. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering,
21(8):1136–1140.
Gao, Z.N., Shi, P.W. 2001. Rock movement law of horizontal
section top coal caving in steep seam. Xi’an University of
Science & Technology, 21(4): 316–318.
Kang, T.H., Zhang, J.P., Bai, S.W. 2004. Theoretical study
and application of weakening top coal using water pre-
infusion in fully mechanized sublevel caving mining.
Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering,
23(15):2615–2621.
Miao, S.J., Lai, X.P., Zhao, X.G., & Ren, F.H. 2009. Simu-
lation experiment of AE-based localization damage and
deformation characteristic on coving rock in mined-out
area. International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and
Materials, 16(3): 255–260.
Shao, X.P., Shi, P.W., He, G.C. 2007. Analysis on unloaded
arch structure of roof in mining steep seams using hor-
izontal section top-coal caving. Journal of University of
Science and Technology Beijing, 29(5): 447–451.
Shi, P.W., Zhang, Y.Z. 2006. Structural analysis of arch of
spanning strata of top coal caving in steep seam. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 25(1):
79–82.
Wang, N.B. 2007. Probing into rational improvement of hor-
izontal sublevel height of steep-pitch fully-mechanized
caving face. Mining Safety & Environmental Protection,
(10): 149–153.
Xie, H.P., Wang, J.C., Chen, Z.H. 1999. Study on top-coal
blasting technique of full-mechanized caving in the hard
thick coal seam. Journal of China Coal Society, 24(4):
350–354.
Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Shenhua-
Xinjiang Energy Com. Ltd. 2007. Monitoring and
comprehensive analysis of broken characteristics on
heavy-steep seam at 579E2EB1+2 Weihuliang Coal Mine.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Failure mechanism and supporting strategy of deep rock roadway

under high ground stress

Z.J. Li
College of Resources and Environment, Hebei Polytechnic University

G. Qi
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology

ABSTRACT: The haulage roadway of the fifth coal mine of Hebi coal group located in the syncline axis,
depth of burial 706 m, is suffering from a knotty problem of severe tunnel deformation and in short supply of
production due to high tectonic stress and complex geological environment. The main elements on roadway
stability controlling were determined and the mechanism of the deformation and failure of the roadway was
researched by means of comprehensive analysis on engineering geological and the results of in situ measurement
of ground stress around the roadway, based on the result of numerical simulation, the new coupling supporting
design—bolt-mesh-cable + truss with anchor in the floor to control floor heaving—is proposed. Practices have
proved that the bolt-mesh-cable + truss and anchor in the floor scheme adapts to high ground press condition, it
will make full use of the action of coupling support and controlling the deformation of the roadway sufficiently,
and providing fundamental basis for safe and efficient production for other coal mines.

1 INTRODUCTION disruption, the normal roadway excavation and safety

With the depletion of shallow coal resources, most of
the coal mines have entered the stage of deep mining,
some of the deep coal mines are more than 1000m.
As the mining depth increasing constantly, the ground
stress also increases gradually and the geological con-
ditions deteriorates, thus resulting in large deformation
of the surrounding rock such as the roof subsidence,
two walls shrinking and floor heaving, the roadway
controlling is the major technical problem impacts
on the deep mining continuation and the safety in
production (He M.C.2004.)
2 ANALYSES OF THE GEOLOGICAL
CONDITIONS
2.1 General situation of the engineering
The transportation roadway of the third level of the
fifth mine of Hebi coal mine group is located in the
syncline axis, the depth is 706 m, due to the great
depth, high ground pressure, complex geo-mechanics
environment, the rock is loose and broken, severe
deformation is induced during the pre-excavation of
the roadway, and during the roadway repairing, dif-
ferent degrees damages appeared such as the floor
heaving, U-type steel frame fracture, anchor stretch
broken, two walls contraction and roof subsidence, all
these damages lead to the cross-section of the roadway
reducing dramatically, and resulting in the transport
in production is seriously affected.
2.2 Rock mass properties of the engineering
The on-site exposed shows that the main rock of the
project is mudstone or sandy mudstone which contains
expansive clay minerals and abundant rock joints and
fissures, the rock is loose and broken by the impacts
of the fracture, the surrounding rock of the roadway is
also in the folder for coal-line, all these are the disad-
vantage factors affect the roadway stability.The whole-
rock mineral types and contents are shown in table 1.
Table 1 and table 2 tell us some characteristics
of the mudstone: the clay mineral content is up to
69.6%, the compressive strength is 43.27 MPa, the ten-
sile strength is only 2.726 MPa, and with high water
absorption, it prone to mud and expansion when meet
water and the strength will reduce. After the tunnel
is formed, if the surrounding rock is not promptly
closed, the rock strength will be a sharp decline at the
same time the expansion will generate a larger stress
due to the natural weathering deliquescence, this kind
of rock group is the typical fragmentation structure,
and also is the maintenance rock of deep supporting.
Because the surrounding rock of the roadway is the
water swelling soft rock, water softening is one of the
main reasons of roadway deformation and damage.
2.3 Ground stress measurement
The rock mass stress state is an important factor to
impact the stability of underground rock engineering,

361
Table 1. Classification and respective content of whole rock mineral.

Mineral Types and Contents/%

Lithologic Iron Amorphous Clay minerals

Number Sampling site characters Quartz Plagioclase pyrites Siderite state Amount /%

1# Roof Sandy mudstone 22.7 1.6 4.0 8.3 / 63.4

2# Right side Mudstone 24.5 1.2 5.7 6.4 / 62.2
3# Right side Mudstone 24.1 0.7 4.0 1.6 / 56.8
4# Floor Mudstone 44.2 0.3 4.7 / / 69.6

The mechanical parameters are shown in table 2.

Table 2. physical mechanics characteristics of the different petrofacies.

Bulk Compression Water Cohesion Internal Tensile Young’s

Item density strength Softening absorption force friction strength modulus Poisson’s
Lithology /kN/m3 /MPa coefficient /% /MPa angle /MPa /GPa ratio

Sandy mudstone 2.524 47.38 0.265 2.13 2.7 30◦ 3.346 24.01 0.221
Mudstone 2.534 43.27 0.287 2.72 3.0 34◦ 2.726 15.01 0.212

Table 3. The stress measurement results in the fifth mine of

Hebi.

Principal stress
Vertical
Measurement Magnitude/ Azimuth/ Rake/ stress/
points Stress MPa angle◦ angle◦ MPa

Figure 1. The test drilling structure of stress measurement. 1# σ1 23.6 98.6 −3.6 17.62
σ2 18.9 13.8 51
σ3 16.8 185.7 37.6
2# σ1 23.4 94.7 −4.6 17.64
σ2 18.3 7.9 −75.8
σ3 16.6 195.8 13.2

angle between direction of the maximum principal

Figure 2. KX-81-type air-core triaxial stress meter.
and it is the main reason leading to tunnel deformation
and damage. The deep roadway of the fifth mine of
Hebi coal mine group is located in the syncline axis, the
stress environment is complex. In order to understand
the stress distribution and providing a scientific basis
for the deep tunnel reasonable supporting and mining
safety of deep coal seams, in the third level of the
second yard, the on-site stress relief method is applied
to test the stress, the drilling structure for the test is
shown in Fig. 1. The tests were conducted using KX-
81-type air-core triaxial stress meter which is shown
in Fig. 2, three measuring points was laid out, and the
monitoring results are shown in Table 3.
According to the measured strain data, the stress
components and the size and direction of the principal
stress can be analyzed and calculated, the stress mea-
surement results of the third level of the second yard
of Hebi coal mine is summarized in table 3.
Table 3 showed that the maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress of the second yard is about 23.5 MPa, the
stress and the horizontal is −3.6◦ ∼−4.6◦ , the verti-
cal stress is about 17.6 Mpa, it is basically equivalent
to the weight of the overlying rock γH (γ = 2.5 t/m3 ),
the horizontal stress is equal to 1.34 times the ver-
tical stress, the roadway direction and the angle of
maximum principal stress is 37◦ bias, so the roadway
stability is influenced by the tectonic stress.
3 ANALYSES OF THE ROADWAY
DEFORMATION MECHANICS
3.1 The original supporting method
The face of the roadway is semicircular arch and ver-
tical walls, the gross cross-section size is 4000 mm ×
3200 mm, the original supporting is bolt spray mesh
wire+ U-type steel frame, the support parame-
ters are as follows: the roof is resin rebar bolt of
20 mm × 2000 mm, the spacing and row distance are
800 mm; U-type steel frame is U29 and the row dis-
tance is 500 mm; the steel mesh is 4 mm, and the
mesh size is 150 mm × 150 mm.

362
3.2 The mechanics analyses of roadway
deformation and damage
According to the field research, laboratory tests, field
tests and theoretical analysis, the mechanism of tun-
nel deformation and failure are mainly the following
aspects:
1) The high stress. The fifth mine of Hebi coal mine
group is located in the syncline axis, the stress
environment is complex. According to the stress
test results, the maximum principal stress is up to
23.6 MPa, the high stress is an important reason of
roadway damage and also it leads to the original U-
steel braces bend and failure in the legs. As most of
the roadway surrounding rock is the broken mud-
stone and sandy mudstone, the on-site investigation
shows that its critical depth is 550m, the supporting
difficulty coefficient is up to 1.34, the conventional
supporting method can’t solve the problem.
2) Jointed rock. The on-site investigation results show
that the tunnel rock is crushed and joint fractured.
The RQD value is 26–44%, and the grade of rock
mass is III–IV.
3) Water swelling soft bottom. As a result of the
open-supporting method, the bottom has not been
effectively controlled, the deformation of water
swelling floor is severe and the normal usage of
the roadway is affected because of the abundant
expansive mineral composition in the bottom rock;
4) Uncoupling between the supporting structure and
the surrounding rock. As the broken rock mass and
the unreasonable original supporting method, and
the uncoupling supporting between the strength and
stiffness of the supporting structure and that of
the surrounding rock, it leads to the roof subsi-
dence and two sides extruding to the roadway face,
in the severe deformation happened spots often
accompany floor heaving and supporting structure
failure phenomena, and finally resulting in overall
damage.
3.3 Determination and transformation of the
mechanical mechanism of the roadway
deformation
Based on the analysis of engineering geological con-
ditions, the on-site testing and laboratory test results,
three main deformation mechanics mechanisms of
deep roadway of Hebi Coal mine were determined,
that is: IAB : molecular and colloidal imbibitions; IIAB :
tectonic stress mechanisms + gravity mechanism;
IIIAE : random joint type + structure deformation type
(He M.C. 2005.)
For the IAB -type, distortion space is reserved to
release the deformation energy and reduce the stress
concentration; for the IIAB -type, the mesh-anchor +
truss support method is adopted, the mesh-anchor and
truss coupling support formed the closed permanent
lining, so that the stress and strain of the surrounding
rock is homogenization, and the deformation of the
surrounding rock is uniform, thus, the unstable defor-
mation mechanics mechanism of IIAB -type is turned
363
into a stable one IIB -type. For the IIIAE -type, the 3D
bolt optimization techniques is used, the anchor mesh
and rock achieved coupling support in the strength and
stiffness and the deformation energy is fully released
to achieve the maximum self-supporting capacity; and
then the anchor coupling support technology is used
in the key points, the strength of the deep rock is fully
mobilized, so the strength of the supporting body and
the rock is mixed secondly, thereby the resistance of
the supporting body is the minimum.
4 DESIGN OF SUPPORTING STRATEGY
Against the features of high ground pressure, large
deformation and hard supporting, according to its
mechanical transformation mechanism, the new pro-
grams of mesh-anchor + bottom bolt + flexible layer
truss coupling supporting is proposed, and the sup-
porting parameters, supporting design and supporting
process is optimized.
4.1 Equations optimization of supporting
parameters
1) The original strength of roadway supporting is
obviously insufficient, the diameters of the bolts and
anchor cables are partial small and lower density,
so the deformation of the surrounding rock can not
be effectively restricted; the new supporting design
increased the strength of bolt and cable appropri-
ately, and the parallel arrangement bolt is replaced
by the quincunx arrangement, and the rebar bolt with
higher strength and stronger shear strength is adopted,
the specification of the bolt is 22 mm × 2500 mm,
the spacing and row distance is 700 mm × 700 mm.
The anchor is 18.9 mm × 8000 mm instead of the
original 15.24 mm × 6000 mm, the spacing and
row distance is 1400 mm × 2100 mm, the density of
anchor should be appropriately enhanced in the key
parts.
2) The optimization of the mesh net. One main
factor induces the roof excessive subsidence and two
sides extrusion deformation is the insufficient mesh
stiffness, the mesh join parts with poor deformation
retaining capacity is the weak link of the roadway
surface, the mesh join parts prone to extrude to
the roadway and tearing off. The new designs adopt
the mesh reinforcement of ϕ6 mm and mesh net of
80 mm × 80 mm instead of the original of ϕ4 mm and
mesh net of 150 mm × 150 mm, the excessive defor-
mation of the surrounding rock is limited by means of
the increased stiffness of the mesh reinforcement.
3) Grouting base angle anchor is applied on both
sides of the roadway, on the one hand, the full-length
anchored bolt is achieved, so the rock strength and the
anchoring force are improved as well as the integrity
of the surrounding rock is enhanced; on the other hand,
the base angle grouting bolts can cut off the plastic slip-
line of the bottom effectively, and weaken the extrusion
stress from the two sides of the roadway, and help the
roof, floor and two sides to achieve coupled integra-
tion supporting(Li Z.J.2008).The specifications of the
grouted bottom anchor are as follows: seamless steel
pipe of 33 mm diameter, wall thickness 5 mm, length
2500 mm, and solidifying the anchor with the cement
paste after installed.
4) The Optimization of Flexible Layer Truss Sup-
porting.Select the 11# mining I-beam as the soft truss
material witch with high strength, tensile, compressive
and shear strength, and using the bracket connecting
rod to connect the single truss, making it a whole
and three-dimensional one, thus bringing the bending
resistance and torsion resistance into a tensile resis-
tance, compressive resistance or shear resistance, so
better supporting effect is achieved.
Figure 3. Support pattern of the second shaft statio.
4.2 Optimization design of construction
program
1) The primary spraying concrete. The primary spray-
ing concrete must be executed as soon as possible after
the roadway is excavated so that the water in the air
will be cut off, and the thickness of the initial spraying
concrete is possibly small, the required thickness is no
more than 30 mm;
2) The primary coupling support of anchor and
mesh. Install the roof anchor and side anchor to heel
workface and mesh installing timely, the designed
bolt preload is 60–80 kN. The bottom bolt should
be executed after the drain is executed but before
concreting;
3) Anchor cable secondary support. According to
the observations of rock pressure and displacement
back analysis principle, the best supporting time for Figure 4. Simulation model of the second shaft statio.
the second anchor coupling supporting is 30 m–40 m
backward the workface (according to the normal
tunneling velocity).
4) The permanent supporting of flexible layer
truss.A gap of 100 mm was reserved between the flex-
ible spray layer and the steel truss, the surrounding
rock experienced full deformation in the limit of the
soft spray layer and the deformation energy is released,
and thus a uniform state of external plastic area and
internal elastic area is created, the purpose that the
high-stress energy transfer to deformation and high-
stress transfer to the surrounding rock is achieved,
when the flexible laye is contacting the steel frame, it is
the time for the implementation of concrete permanent
supporting.

5 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE NEW Figure 5. Distribution of final horizontal stress.

SUPPORTING PROGRAM
5.1 3D Model of the Numerical Simulation
FLAC3D software is applied to carry out the numerical
simulation analysis of the new supporting program.
Both the length and width of the calculation model
are 30 m, the applied vertical load is 17.64 MPa, the
horizontal load is 23.5 MPa. Material damage is in line
with Moore – Coulomb. The supporting methods and
the model are shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
5.2 The results of 3D numerical simulation
analyses
The simulated horizontal and vertical stress distribu-
tion and displacement of the roadway are shown in
Fig. 5–Fig. 8.
According to the analysis of the horizontal and
vertical displacement and stress contour of the road-
way, the distribution of the equivalent region is uni-
form, it indicates that better deformation coordination

364

Figure 6. Distribution of final vertical stress.
Figure 7. Distribution of final horizontal displacements.
Figure 8. Distribution of final vertical displacements.
is achieved, and the coupling supporting between
anchor + mesh + truss system and rock is significant.
As the bottom bolts are executed, the plastic zone
of the bottom is greatly reduced, the shear field of
the bottom has been significantly improved, and the
roadway deformation gradually stabilized. Flexible
layer truss support program is that the deformation
space is reserved between the soft layer and the rigid
layer on the basis of mesh-anchor supporting, so the
365
Figure 9. Displacement curves at the tunnel surface.
Figure 10. Support result of test engineering.
deformation energy of the soft rock is released, at
the appropriate time, the rigid truss is carried out to
restrict the harmful deformation of the surrounding
rock, so the truss, mesh-anchor and bottom bolts sys-
tem work together, so the satisfying supporting effect
is achieved.
6 APPLICATION RESULTS
The optimized design program was implemented in the
second yard of the third level, based on the analysis on
the mine pressure monitoring data of 450d (Fig. 9), the
left wall moved 130 mm to the centerline of the road-
way while the right wall moved 144 mm, the largest
roof subsidence amount is 155 mm, the largest floor
heaving amount is 56 mm, the maximum move rate of
two walls is 3.0 mm/d, the largest roof subsidence rate
is 1.53 mm/d, from the displacement and deformation
of the roadway, the overall deformation of the road-
way is small, and the roadway has stabilized on the
whole, the roadway deformation controlling effect is
obvious, the picture of the supported roadway is shown
in Fig. 10.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the study of roadway failure mechanism of
the third level of the fifth coal mine of Hebi coal mine
group, the compound deformation mechanics mech-
anisms of the roadway was determined, the anchor
mesh and anchor cable + flexible layer truss and bot-
tom bolts supporting measures is proposed, and the
support parameters and the construction process was
optimized, the main conclusions are as follows:
1) Based on the study of roadway failure mech-
anism of the third level of the fifth coal mine of
Hebi coal mine group, the compound deformation
mechanics mechanisms of the roadway was deter-
mined and the pertinent transformation supporting
measures was proposed, and the supporting program of
anchor mesh-cable + flexible layer truss and the bottom
bolts controlling floor heaving was put forward.
2) By means of the optimization of the support-
ing parameters and the construction program, the
anchor, mesh-cable and truss work in co-ordination
and matched to each other, so the active supporting is
achieved, the self-bearing capacity of the rock is maxi-
mized as well as the supporting capacity of the anchor,
and the strength of deep rock is mobilize, so the rock
and the anchor, mesh-cable and the sprayed concrete
support system achieved the best coupling conditions.
3) The deformation space is reserved between the
soft layer and the rigid layer on the basis of mesh-
anchor supporting, so the deformation energy of soft
rock is released, at the appropriate time, the rigid truss
366
is carried out, so the truss, mesh-anchor and bottom
bolts system work together, so as to achieving a satis-
fying supporting effect, the results of the deformation
controlling of the swelling soft rock is obvious.
REFERENCES
He M.C. 2004. Present state and perspective of rock mech-
anics in deep mining engineering. Proceedings of the 8th
Rock Mechanics and Engineering Conference. Beijing:
Science Press.
XIE H.P.& PENG S.P. 2006. Basic Theory and Engineering
Practice in Deep Mining. Beijing: Science Press.
HE M.C., XIE H.P. & PENG S.P. 2005. Study on
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Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 24(16),
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HE M.C. & CHEN Xl.2007.Software system for large defor-
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Studies for rockburst prediction in the Carrara Marble (Italy)

M. Coli & E. Livi

Department of Earth Science, Florence University, Italy

P. Berry & A. Bandini

Department of Civil, Environmental and Material Engineering, Bologna University, Italy

X.N. Jia
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, University of Mining and Technology,
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The exploitation of Carrara Marble dates back to Roman times. Throughout these twenty cen-
turies, quarrying activity was mostly developed in the Carrara district in open pit quarries. In the last decades
many quarries have been moved into underground. In some areas the mining stopes are subjected to rock burst.
In order to overcome this hazard, detailed studies were carried out on Carrara Marble’s geostructural and geome-
chanical setting, as far as laboratory determinations of its basic physical and mechanical parameters, focused on
obtaining knowledge of the right geomechanical assessment and marble rock-mass behaviour and on developing
mining prospecting and stability analysis. On the basis of those studies, it is now possible to predict by means
of FEM analysis, the occurrence of rock-bursts and to define the geometry and sequence of quarrying activity,
such as the supports to be placed.

1 FOREWORD

The exploitation of the world famous Carrara Mar-

ble (Tuscany, Italy) (Fig. 1) began with the Romans,
decreased in the Middle Age and increased again
during the Renaissance.
The production of marble blocks gradually, but
slowly, increased up to the end of XX century when
both the technology and the increment of international
assets brought to the necessity to evaluate the amount
of marble and to organize the exploitation itself.
In the last twenty years environmental concerns and
mining optimization induced many quarries to move
underground in order to lower the impact on envi-
ronment and increase dimensional stone percentage
production. At the beginning many of these under-
ground quarries, due both to cultural heritage and
the lack of specific laws, were worked without any
geomechanical study, any design, or any bolts or rein-
forcements, guided only by the instinct and experience
of the quarrymen. Figure 1. Red dots are the Carrara Marble district inTuscany
Present day intense Carrara Marble exploitation, (blue), Italy.
which includes the widening of the underground quar-
ries, up to very large sized caverns, new concerns for 2 GENERAL GEOLOGICAL SETTING
safety and new specific laws have forced quarriers to
apply to designers for up-to-date exploitation projects. The Carrara Marble derives from the tectono-
This study concerns the rock-burst problems metamorphic deformation of an Hettangian (about
encountered in the deepest and larger of the Carrara 200 Ma) carbonate platform. The Carrara Marble is
Marble underground quarry: the Carlone quarry. the result of three tertiary (27 to 12 Ma) overprinted

367
Table 1. Main characteristics of Carrara marble verso,
secondo and contro.

Name Characteristics Orientation

verso lower strength dip towards SW of about 45◦

secondo intermediate trend about SW-NE and dip
strength about sub-vertically (70◦ to
90◦ ) both to NW and SE
contro higher strength trend about SE-NW and dip
about sub-vertically (70◦ to
90◦ ) both to NE and SW

tectono-metamorphic deformations onto a massive

limestone of carbonate platform origin. Different
lithofacies in the platform setting gave rise to the
different commercial types of marble.

2.1 Geomechanical assessment

Because of its metamorphic origin and its slight chro-
matic banding (“macchia”), Carrara marble presents
a weak oriented texture which determines a weak
anisotropy degree of mechanical characteristics.
In particular, Rotonda (1991) found a degree of Figure 2. Geostructural setting of the Carlone quarry
anisotropy of about 2% by measuring P-wave veloci- area: map and cross-section; marble types: nu = Nuvolato;
or = ordinary white; ve = veined; cs = cherty limestone;
ties in 36 directions on a spherical specimen (110 mm
rv = quarry debris.
in diameter).
The tectonic actions determined a global orthotropic
structure and three principal planes of weakness can
be recognized in the field. Such planes, at right angle
relative to each other and called by quarrymen verso,
secondo and contro (Tab. 1), control the exploitation
and excavation of the Carrara marble representing
planes along which blocks are cut. They sub-divide the
rock mass into prismatic blocks, the sizes and shapes
of which determine the commercial grade.
Because fractures are mainly distributed into bands
it was possible to categorise the Carrara Marble
rock-mass into four rock-mass typologies: intact, scat-
tered fractured, systematically fractured (finimento),
intensely fractured (intersection of two finimento)
(Coli 1995, Coli 2001a, b, Coli & Livi 2002, Coli et
al. 2006).

3 LOCAL SETTING

The Carlone quarry is the deepest underground quarry
in the Carrara district, it is located in the core of the
widest Carrara Marble outcrop (Fig. 2) in the core
of a pyramidal pick crossed by a tunnel of the old
marble-railway (built at the end of the XIX century),
which after the II World War was transformed into a
truck-way. From the middle of the tunnel, about 500 m
below the top of the mountain, the quarry was opened
twenty-five years ago, at about 600 m from each tunnel
entrance.
Nowadays the quarry has been largely widened, and
future extensions are under planning (Figs 3–4).
Figure 3. Topographic setting of the Carlone quarry: cross
section and plain view.
The quarry is located in a zone of intense ductile
folding deformation which involves many of the Car-
rara Marble lithotypes (Fig. 2). The Carlone quarry is
opened in ordinary white marble, between a S1 syn-
cline and a S1 anticline, marked respectively by flames
of Nuvolato (cloudy) marble e and Veined marble.
Towards NW the quarry shaft is bounded by an intense
deformation bands of the contro type (Fig. 2).

368

Figure 4. General view of a restricted side of the Carlone
quarry.
Figure 5. Arrows outline the panels subject to rock-burst.
Figure 6. Top-heading advancing shaft with traces of
rock-burst.
During excavation works, rock-burst events occurred
in some panels (Figs. 5–6), as a consequence those
shaft were abandoned and excavation proceeded
towards different directions.
4 LABORATORY ANALYSIS
In order to define the geomechanical behavior of Car-
lone quarry’s marble and to open new insight in the
understanding of rockburst, laboratory analyses were
carried out in the labs of the Universities of Bologna
369
Table 2. Physical-mechanical properties for the marble of
the Carlone quarry according to the ISRM suggested meth-
ods, Bologna University (m = mean value; sd = standard
deviation; cv = variation coefficient (%); N = number of
tests).
φ (%) γd [kg/m3 ] Vp [m/s] σf [MPa]
m 0.4 2708 4386 96.2
sd 0.1 1 176 0.7
cv (%) 14.8 0.1 4.0 0.8
N 6 6 6 3
Figure 7. Stress-strain curves obtained in uniaxial compres-
sive test on Carlone marble samples performed by Bologna
University.
(Italy) and Beijing (China): in the last one a new
equipment was developed for rock-burst testing.
4.1 Physical-mechanical characteristics of
investigated marble
A physical-mechanical characterization of intact rock
was conducted by the University of Bologna (Italy)
according to ISRM Suggested Methods (ISRM 2007).
Samples were cored from a single block along the same
direction in order to avoid the influence of anisotropy.
The experimental results are summarized in Table 2.
UCS tests were performed under force-controlled
conditions by applying the axial load continuously
at a constant stress rate of 0.5 MPa/s until failure
occurs. Typical stress-strain curves obtained are shown
in Figure 7. It results a tangent Young’s modulus of
about 49.5 GPa (value measured at 50% of the ultimate
UCS) and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.33.
The strength and deformability values were deter-
mined on cylindrical specimens with a height to
diameter ratio (H/D) of 2 and are comparable to data
reported in literature (Table 3) for Carrara Marble on
samples of the same geometry (Rotonda 1991, Berry &
Table 3. General physical-mechanical data for Car-
rara marble from literature (λ = slenderness; m = mean
value; sd = standard deviation; cv = variation coefficient
(N = number of tests).

Cubic samples (λ = 1)
E.R.T.A.G. (1980)
m cv (%) N

γd [kg/m3 ] 2692 0.4 53

σf [MPa] 130.5 12.7 53

Cylindrical samples (λ = 2)
Rotonda (1991)
m cv (%) N

φ (%) 0.4 7.1 49

γd [t/m3 ] 2.7071 0.03 49
VP [km/s] 6.26 1.48 50
VS [km/s] 3.09 1.33 50
σf [MPa] 98.2 3.1 4
σt [MPa] 10.2 4.6 10
E [GPa] 77.6 1.9 4 Figure 8. Effect of specimens’slenderness (λ) on UCS: in
red the curve proposed by ASTM 1994, circles are all data
Berry & De Virgilio (1985) points on core (circle-shaped, University of Bologna) and
m cv (%) N prismatic (cross-shaped, University of Beijing) samples.

γd [t/m3 ] 2.69 0 9
σf [MPa] 91 5 8
σt [MPa] 4.9 17 6

De Virgilio 1985). Franklin and Hoek (1970) obtained

a mean value of 92.4 MPa on core specimens of the
same diameter and slenderness. In Table 3, 130 MPa
(E.R.T.A.G. 1980) refers to tests carried out on cubic
specimens 70×70×70 mm.
Specimens prepared at H/D ranging from 0.5 to 3.0
were subjected to uniaxial compression to evaluate the
effects of slenderness on strength (Fig. 8).
As expected, there is no difference in strength val-
ues varying H/D from 2 to 3 and UCS increases with
decreasing H/D as highlighted by other researchers
(Obert et al. 1946, John 1972, Hawkins 1998, Mogi
2007). Moreover, a certain scatter in strength values is
brought out by comparing data points to curve sug-
gested by ASTM (1994) and strength variability in Figure 9. Strength values versus confining stress: the sym-
Carrara marble is also confirmed from results of the bols represent data points and the lines, in blue and in red,
tests carried out on 53 samples collected in different represent respectively the theoretical values in accordance
points inApuanAlps (E.R.T.A.G. 1980, variation coef- with Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown strength criteria.
ficient of 12.7 for UCS).Conventional triaxial tests
(σ2 = σ3 ) were conducted in order to study the influ-
ence of confining pressure on strength (Fig. 9). The si = 1 (intact specimens) the Hoek-Brown strength
tests were carried out at confining stresses of 0, 2, 5, parameter m is equal to about 9.8 (Hoek & Brown
10, 20 MPa. In Figure 9 the best fitting Mohr-Coulomb 1980). Also in this case variability in strength values
and Hoek-Brown strength curves are shown. In Fig- appears evident. It seems due to microstructural differ-
ure 10 the experimental Hoek-Brown strength curve ences and a different cohesion degree between calcite
obtained is compared with Hoek-Brown curves con- grains. Studies carried out on another marble quar-
structed processing Carrara marble’data reported in ried in Tuscany (Bandini & Berry 2010) suggested
literature (Rotonda 1991, Franklin & Brown 1970). that going from a granoblastic to a xenoblastic tex-
According to Mohr-Coulomb the values of cohesion C ture strength values increase. The effects of texture
and internal friction angle φ calculated are respectively on mechanical behaviour of marble are being under
21.7 MPa and 40◦ (Jaeger et al. 2007). By assuming investigation by the University of Bologna.

370
Figure 10. Hoek-Brown strength curves on Carrara marble.

4.2 Rockburst testing

4.2.1 Test system and parameters selected
The true-triaxial rock test system (Fig. 11) was devel- Figure 11. Test system.
oped by Prof. HE at China University of Mining &
Technology in Beijing. It is a unique system for rock-
The test requires prismatic samples and on these
burst testing, which can provide dynamic loading
specimens (100.61×39.77×20.08 mm) lower UCS
and unloading independently in three principal stress
values were obtained (mean value of 58 MPa indicated
directions, and it can also be used to conduct a uniax-
with cross-shaped symbol in Fig. 8). Such value is
ial or triaxial test. It includes the principal machine,
admissible taking into account the different geometry
the hydraulic pressure controlling system and data
and, above all, a higher slenderness (3.8) than values
acquisition system including force and displacement
suggested by ISRM and ASTM (ISRM 2007, ASTM
acquisition, acoustic emission acquisition and high
2004). Generally, with the increase in height, surface
speed digital camera recording.
instability increases, the danger of buckling arises
During the test, one surface of the specimen can be
and experimentally, as a result, the strength decreases
unloaded immediately from the true triaxial compres-
(Tang et al. 2000).
sion condition, simulating the stress condition for rock
Four marble samples were used in this study but we
mass at the free excavation boundary in underground
choose one sample as representative due to the similar
excavations (He et al. 2010). In the present study, two
rockburst phenomenon.
AE polarity transducers were used, one with a reso-
According to the rock mechanics parameters, the
nance frequency of about 150 kHZ and a fairly flat
procedure in this study is shown in Table 5.
response from 100∼300 kHZ and the other one with a
resonance frequency of about 30 kHZ and a fairly flat
response from 0∼100 kHZ. The pre-amplification is
at 40dB, gain amplification is 10 and the total ampli- 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
fication is 1000. The data acquisition rate was set to
1 MHz and waveforms could be measured every 1 µs. 5.1 Test results
The recording speed of high speed photograph system 5.1.1 Loading stress path and process on the
in this study is 1000 frame/s under full resolution and sample
the recording time is 30 min. The loading–unloading stress path is shown in
Figure 12. It took 5 min, including loading and holding
4.2.2 Test procedure process with the loading rate approximately equal to
Test samples were taken from the same block from 0.5 MPa/s.
which core specimens for physic-mechanical charac- Loads were monitored by a strain gauge (700 kN)
terization were cored by Bologna University. These attached between the steel power and oil cylin-
samples were generally intact but with some inclined der. When the stress state of σ1 = 14 MPa, and
bedding and showed a white color with grayish veins. σ2 = σ3 = 5 MPa, corresponding to the sampling depth
Table 4 shows the results of x-ray diffraction analy- of 500 m, the stress state was retained for about 15 min
sis carried out on samples with D/MAX2500 X-ray and then one horizontal loading plate, that corre-
diffraction (Rigaku Corporation). sponds to the minimum principal stress, was suddenly

371
Table 4. X-ray diffraction results of mineral contents of Carrara Marble.

Mineral types and contents(%)

potash clay mineral

NO. quartz feldspar plagioclase calcite dolomite siderite contents(%)

#
IC-8 99.2 0.8*

Note: *Some mica group minerals exist in sample.

Table 5. Test procedure design.

σ1 σ2 σ3 Embedded depth

10.00 5.00 5.00

14.00 5.00 5.00 500 m
14.00 5.00 0.00 500 m
20.00 7.00 7.00 750 m
27.00 10.00 10.00 1000 m
32.00 12.00 12.00 1200 m
64.00 12.00 0.00 1200 m

Figure 12. Loading stress path.

removed, leading to an abrupt release of σ3 . The largest

sample surface was exposed to air to observe its change
under the stressed condition. The platen was put back
and dropped again. The rock sample failure occurred
at the stress state σ1 = 32 MPa, and σ2 = σ3 = 12 MPa.
At last the sample entirely failed corresponding to the
stresses σ1 = 50 MPa and σ2 = 12 MPa, σ3 = 0 MPa, Figure 13. Accumulated AE energy analysis and failure
process after unloading on surface of sample.
with a formation of compression-splitting and the
exposed surface can be defined rockburst.

5.1.2 AE monitoring and rockburst process
The accumulated AE energy release is presented in
Figure 13(a). It is noted that the energy release is of sig-
nificance at the initial stage of loading. The AE energy
increases not only at every unloading and reloading but
also before rock failure although which is at a lower
level under a lower stress state. In general, on the basis
of accumulated release energy the entire test can be
divided into three representative stages. The first stage
of little high AE rate at the initial loading is followed
by a later AE rate decrease under loading.
Almost no AE activities are recorded at constant
loads. The second stage of high AE energy release is
monitored under suddenly 1st unloading of σ3 , fol-
lowed by weaker AE activities associated with stress
redistribution within the sample. A thin crack hap-
pened quickly as unloading completed on the middle-
upper part and several grains ejected at the lower part

372
of the sample. The third stage of AE release energy
is characterized by a rapid bursting manner during the
process of vertical loading.After 26 seconds of unload-
ing, the first thin fragment ejected from the upper-left
region of the sample, then several small grains ejected
from the upper left & right of the sample. The rock-
burst happened accompany with a big fragment and
several little fragments falling down from the sample
at last as shown in Figure 13(b).
5.2 Discussion
(1) The failure of the marble sample in this study
showed sudden rockburst with violent voice and
detachment of rock slabs from the top.
(2) Much more AE energy released in the rockburst
process than that in the initial loading and unload-
ing process, which represents that dissipated
energy would increase with dislocation emission,
slipping and shear deformation for the samples
corresponding to the formation of transgranular
micro-cracks, while intergranular micro-cracks
would appear under relatively lower stress state.
6 FINAL REMARKS
There are two types of rockburst, i.e. delay rockburst
and instantaneous rockburst. The rockburst occurred
in Carrara marble laboratory samples belongs to the
delay rockburst corresponding to the stress concentra-
tion after excavation in the field. The laboratory test
shows a critical stress of σmax = 50 MPa for the rock-
burst of Carrara marble. This result accords quite well
with the outcome of the numerical analysis by an FEM
(Phase) code, which demonstrated that the vertical
stress on the opening side reached about 45MPa when
the first rockburst events occurred in some pannels
with an embedded depth of 450 m.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank Prof. HE at China University
of Mining & Technology, Beijing and his colleagues
for their contribution to the rockburst test in State Key
Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground
Engineering.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The in situ stress state of Kailuan mining area

J. Han
Kailuan Group Ltd., Tangshan, China
College of Resource and Environment Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, China

P.T. Zhang, X.G. Tian & S. Sun

Kailuan Group Ltd., Tangshan, China

H.W. Zhang & T.W. Lan

College of Resource and Environment Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, China

ABSTRACT: The magnitudes and orientation of in situ stress affect the stability of mine openings, as well
as the type and amount of ground support needed to maintain a safe working environment for miners. Using
hollow inclusion stress cells, researchers obtained 13 in situ stress measurements from 6 coal mines Kailuan
mining area, China. According the analysis of the measurement data, the characteristic of in-situ stress field is
obtained. At last the relation between in situ stress and geological structure was discussed. The result provided a
more precise and reliable stress environment for design, construction and production of deep mining in Kailuan
mining area.

1 INSTRUCTIONS

Kailuan mining area, located in Tangshan city, north

China, is the main coal production bases of China. It
includes 11 coal mines and 670 km2 (Figure 1). Most of
Kailuan mining area is covered by the Quaternary allu-
vial deposits. The strata of carboniferous and Permian
systems are 490-530 m thick. There are 15–20 coal
seams, 20–28 m thick. The minable seams in descend-
ing order include No.5, No.7, No.8, No.9, No.11,
No.12, and No.14. With 130 years of mining history,
a lot of mines have already entered in deep mining. Figure 1. Location of coal mines in Kailuan mining area.
Such as Tangshan mine is 841 m; Linxi mine is 899 m;
Lujiatuo mine has reached 827 m deep; Fangezhuang data were available. This paper documents the mea-
mine is 829 m. The rock mechanics problems caused surements, describes the in situ stress state, and dis-
by the deep mining are the focuses in the fields of min- cusses the relation of in-situ stress field and geological
ing engineering. In situ stress is fundamental force structure.
which caused rock failure, supporting invalidation,
even mining dynamic phenomena (coal and gas out-
2 MEASUREMENT METHOD AND SITE
burst, rockburst and mining induced seismism). In
SETTING
many factors which affect the stability of mining engi-
neering, the in situ stress is the most important and
2.1 Measurement method
most fundamental factor.
Many works about tectonic stress had done in north There are several decades’ methods and more than 200
of China, including Kailuan mining area (Cui, X.F. & instruments for in situ stress measurement.The authors
Xie, F.R, 2001; Zhao, J.T. & Cui, X.F, 2002; Xie, F.R. used overcoring method, one of the most widely used
et al, 2004). But previous researches were focus on techniques in the engineering field. The overcoring
larger region and depth. Their result had indirect ref- method was based on coring a larger diameter bore-
erence for mining engineering. To get precise and hole over a coaxial small-diameter pilot hole in which
reliable stress environment for mining engineering, the strain-measuring instrument was located. Thus, the
hollow inclusion technique was used to measure in cylindrical core sample was relaxed from the stress
situ stress in Kailuan mining area and 13 measurement field in the rock mass and the strains associated with

375
1-installation pole; 2- orienting device cable; 3- orienting device; 4-data sampling cable; 5- orienting pin; 6- waterproof ring;
7- epoxy colophony canister; 8-shell (cement inside); 9-fixed pin ; 10-interspace between cell and borehole; 11-plunger;
12-borehole; 13- glue hole; 14- waterproof ring; 15- orienting device head; 16-strain gauge rosette.

Figure 2. Structure of KX-81 HI cell.

Figure 3. Location of in situ stress measurement sites and geological structure of Kailuan mining area.

the relaxation were measured. Then with the elastic-
ity theory calculated the magnitude and orientation of
in-situ stress. The HI cell was KX-81, designed by the
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geo-
logical Sciences (CAGS). It was an improver based on
the CRISO HI cell which was invented by Worotnicki
and Walton (1976). It could obtain 3D stress state in
one stress relief process and its water proof perfor-
mance was very well. The out diameter was 35.5 mm,
and length was 150 mm. The structure of KX-81 was
showed in Figure 2.
2.2 Measurement setting
The measurement sites lied in Kailuan mining area,
including 6 coal mines, Jinggezhuang, Tangshan,
Qianjiaying, Fangezhuang, Donghuantuo and Linxi
(Figure 3). The distribution of measurement site was

376
Table 1. In-situ measurement data.

maximum principal stress interim principal stress minimum principal stress

Depth Magnitude/ Orientation/ Dip/ Magnitude/ Orientation/ Dip/ Magnitude/ Orientation/ Dip/
Location No. (m) MPa (◦ ) (◦ ) MPa (◦ ) (◦ ) MPa (◦ ) (◦ )

Jinggezhuang 1 −410 27.40 136.0 3.00 14.30 46 1.00 12.80 * 86.00

2 −410 17.30 132.0 24.00 14.00 45 6.00 12.90 * 64.00
3 −410 18.70 130.0 8.00 15.10 42 17.00 10.80 * 70.00
Tangshan 4 −830 29.50 131.0 2.80 21.30 * 78.00 21.00 41.0 17.20
5 −830 33.00 148.0 8.70 20.20 * 58.50 18.50 53.0 29.90
Qianjiaying 6 −630 31.80 131.6 4.10 16.80 * 61.00 15.30 43.9 29.50
7 −630 34.30 66.0 3.00 15.20 * 58.10 14.50 155.0 31.70
Fangezhuang 8 −650 24.34 103.0 3.78 16.01 * 78.68 13.90 193.0 10.66
9 −650 20.46 142.0 1.31 15.31 * 81.88 7.64 52.0 8.01
10 −450 18.91 119.0 0.73 12.31 29 5.38 9.04 * 84.57
Donghuantuo 11 −530 22.96 79.0 8.16 12.09 * 85.90 7.38 169.0 9.96
12 −260 14.22 104.0 8.11 7.15 * 78.91 6.50 14.0 7.51
Linxi 13 −870 30.15 180 1.35 21.01 * 88 17.14 90 0.50

“*” means that the close to the vertical.

3 MEASUREMENT RESULT

With the known hollow include cell parameters, elastic

properties calculated from biaxial chamber tests, and
strain changes obtained from overcoring, the in situ
stress can be calculated. Table 1 listed the calculation
result of in situ stress from each overcoring.
Maximum principal stresses, minimum principal
stress and vertical stress were plotted in Figure 4.
The magnitude of the vertical stress, σv , could be
represented by the equation (1):

E.T.Brown and Hoek (1978) collected 116 in-situ

measurement data in the world, and found that the
vertical stress could be represented by the relationship:

The difference between the author’s measurement

Figure 4. Relation between maximum principal stresses,
minimum principal stress and vertical stress versus depth.
data and Browns’ maybe caused by the thicker Qua-
ternary alluvial deposits in Kailuan mining area.
The relation between maximum horizontal stress
and depth is statistically nonsignificant. From -630 m
to -650 m, the maximum horizontal stress is from
20.46 MPa to 34.3 MPa.

showed in Figure 3 too. At the same time the geological

structure of Kailuan mining area was displayed in the
Figure.
To assurance the measure data was representative,
measurement site was located according these aspects:
(1) keeping away from structure such as fault, folder;
(2) the depth of borehole was at last 2∼2.5 times of
roadway diameter in order to keep away from the influ-
ence of roadway and mine area; (3) the rock mass
should be whole and homogeneous; and (4) at last 2
sites in every coal mine.
The ratio of maximum horizontal principal stress to
vertical stress is an important index for the in situ stress
field evaluation. In Kailuan mining area, the ratio of
maximum horizontal principal stress to vertical stress
is showed in Figure 5. The value is at the range of 1.34
to 2.26, its average is 1.74. With the depth increased,
the ration is decreased.
From Figure 6 we find that the ratio of maximum
horizontal principal stress to minimum horizontal prin-
cipal stress is at the range of 1.24 to 3.11. More than

377
Figure 5. Relation between ratios of maximum horizontal
principal stress to vertical stress and depth.
Figure 6. Relation between ratios of maximum horizontal
principal stress to minimum principal stress and depth
69% are at 1.5 to 2.7. So the difference of horizontal
stress is not very prominent. In the shallow (−260 m ∼
−650 m), the data is discrete. Under −650 m depth
data concentrated to a small zone.
The ratio of average horizontal principal stress to
vertical stress versus depth in Kailuan mining area is
378
Figure 7. Relation between ratios of average horizontal
principal stress to vertical stress and depth.
showed in Figure 7. Its range is from 0.92 to 1.73. Zhao,
D.A. ( 2007) gave the follow relationship between k
and depth in China
Where H is depth, m.
It shows that the relationship between average hor-
izontal stress and depth is equal to the average of k in
China.
The relationship of maximum, interim and mini-
mum principal stress is an important factor of stress
field characteristic. According the modality and cor-
relative stress state of fault, Anderson, E.M (1951)
categorized the in-situ stress to normal fault region
(σv > σhmax > σhmim ), slip fault region(σhmax > σv >
σhmim ) and anti-fault region(σhmax > σhmim > σv ). YU,
S.Z. (1994) categorized in-situ stress to static stress
field, dynamic field and quasi static stress field based
the relationship of horizontal principal and vertical
stress. Usually normal fault region correspond to static
field, slip fault region and anti fault region corre-
spond to dynamic field. According Table 1, most
areas belong to slip fault region. Jingezhuang mine
and Fangezhuang mine was exceptional. They are
anti-fault region.
4 DISCUSSION
Kailuan mining area includes four coal-bearing struc-
tural zone, Kaiping syncline, Chezhoushan syncline,
Figure 8. Orientation of maximum horizontal principal stress and geological structure.
Wandaoshan Syncline and Xigangyao syncline. Kaip-
ing syncline is an unsymmetric structure with a NE-
SW direction. Its length is about 50 km and width
20 km. The direction of the syncline axis changes
from Guye to Linxi and Tangjiazhuang which is EW.
The strata of west and north wing inclines slightly
in the vicinity of Tangshan mine and Zhaogezhuang
mine, but its east and south wing become more flat in
the vicinity of Qianjiaying mine, Lvjiatuo mine and
Linxi mine. Chezhoushan syncline is an unsymmet-
ric syncline too, about 20 km length and 5 km, width.
Its axis is NE45◦ . NW wing of syncline is compli-
cated, the southeast wing relatively simple. The axis
of Wandaoshan syncline is arc-shaped curve which
transferred from NE in north to NW in south. It is
about 5.3 km length and 3.4 km width. The direction
of Xigangyao syncline axis is SN. Like Kaiping syn-
cline and Chezhoushan syncline, its west wing is steep
and east wing flat.
The in situ stress measurement sites were located in
different mine, so it belong to different coal-bearing
syncline. Jinggezhuang mine is in Wandaoshan syn-
cline. This syncline is special structure to other
syncline. So the stress state is different to other.
The anti-fault stress state is controlled by the syn-
cline. The Chezhoushan syncline, Kaiping syncline
and xigangyao syncline has similar characteristic, so
the stress state in those region was accordant. The
Fangezhuang mine is governed by the EW structure.
This maybe the reason that the abnormity of stress
state.
379
The orientation of maximum horizontal principal
stress is showed in Figure 8. We could find that the
orientation of maximum horizontal principal stress
was changed with the strike of geological structure. In
the north of Kailuan mining area, the axis of syncline
and anticline was EW, the orientation of compressive
stress in Linxi coal mine was vertical to it. In the
southwest of Kailuan mining area, with the axis of
Kaiping syncline changed the orientation of maximum
horizontal principal stress was changede too. There is
a large angle between compressive stress and struc-
ture’s axis. The orientation of maximum horizontal
principal stress is controlled by the Kaiping syn-
cline, the most important structure in Kailuan mining
area.
5 CONCLUSION
In general, the distribution and magnitude of in situ
stresses affect geometry, shape, dimensioning, exca-
vation sequence and orientation of caverns, tunnels
etc. In other situations like support design etc. The in
situ stress measurement will be of great help to the
designer and the Engineer. So it must be determined
in whatever possible methods available to the investi-
gator. The stress state of mining area must be gain a
mastery by mining engineer.
Maximum principal stress and minimum principal
stress is horizontal approximately and interim prin-
cipal stress is vertical approximately at most area of
Kailuan mining area. The stress field type of Kailuan
area is dynamic stress field.
The maximum horizontal principal stress, mini-
mum horizontal principal stress and vertical stress are
increased with depth gradually.
In Kailuan mining area, the ratio of maximum
horizontal principal stress to vertical stress is at the
range of 1.34 to 2.26, its average is 1.74. With the
depth increased, the ration is decreased. The ratio of
maximum horizontal principal stress to minimum hor-
izontal principal stress is at the range of 1.24 to 3.11.
More than 69% are at 1.5 to 2.7.
The stress state of Kailuan mining area was con-
trolled by geological, Especially Kaiping syncline.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The work presented in this paper was financially
jointly supported from the Major State Basic Research
Development Program of China (973 Program) (Grant
No. 2005CB221501), the General Project of the
National Natural Science Foundation of PR China
(Grant No. 50874058) and the Research Fund of The
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Mine
safety, CUMT (08KF01). Special thanks to Kailuan
Group.
380
REFERENCES
Cui, X.F & Xie, F.R. 2001. The Space - time Variations of
Present Tectonic Stress Field in North China before and
after 1976 Tangshan Earthquake. Earthquake Research In
China, 17(3): 280–288.
Zhao, D. A. & Chen, Z.M. 2007. Analysis of distribution rule
of geostress in china. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Engineering, 26(6): 1265–1271.
Brown, E.T. and Hock, E. 1978. Trends in relationships
between measured in situ stresses and depth. International
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 15(4):
211–215.
Xie, F R & Cui, X F. 2004. Regional division of the recent
tectonic stress field in China and adjacent areas. Chinese
J . Geophys, 47 (4): 654–662.
Zhao, J.T. & Cui, X.F. 2002. Preliminary analysis of the
tectonic stress intensity in the source region of Tang-
shan earthquake. ACTA SEISMOLOGICA SINICA, 24(3):
268–276.
Yu S.Z. 1994. Engineering Geology of Coal Mine. Xuzhou:
China University of Mining & Technology Press.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Floor heaving failure mechanism and stability controlling on the deep

large-span tunnel

G.G. Qiao
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

Z.Z. Li
College of resources and Environment, Hebei Polytechnic University, Tangshan, Hebei, China

ABSTRACT: As the depth increasing of domestic and foreign coal mines, the ground press increasing gradually
and the mining conditions are getting worse and worse. By the impact of tunneling and mining face, the roadway
deformation is serious and the roadway floor heave frequently, the regular service of the roadway is affected
severely. The engineering geological conditions and the mechanical properties of the wall rock of a certain
coal mine were analyzed, and the in situ ground press and strain of the roadway was measured, the floor heave
failure mechanism of the deep large span roadway was studied, and the floor heave controlling program “anchor-
mesh-cable + bottom grouting anchor” was proposed aiming at the results of the analysis, and the numerical
simulation also verified that the program is reliable, the field experiments showed that the supporting got a good
performance, the research production gives some references for the floor heaving controlling and prevention of
the deep roadway.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the coal mining depth increasing continuously,

mining disasters have increased each day, and it causes
a tremendous threat to the safety and efficient exploita-
tion of deep coal resources. Deep tunnel floor heaving
is a common disease because of the complex geo-
mechanical environment and the continuously infec-
tion of mining and tunneling. Floor is the foundation of
the tunnel, dramatic floor heaving not only made the
mine ventilation, transportation, pedestrian severely
affected, but also may lead to instability of the entire
roadway, inrush of water, rock burst and other disas-
ters, and come into being a serious threat to the safe
extraction of deep coal resources. Domestic and inter-
national researches have shown that stability control of Figure 1. Drain destruction.
roadway surrounding rock are one of the key issues in
deep coal mining, and the key problem to solve the
stability control of deep roadway surrounding rock
is to carry out the research on the floor instability 800 mm; U-steel frame is U29 and row distance is
mechanism and controlling countermeasures. 600 mm; mesh reinforcement is 4 mm and the mesh
size is 120 mm × 120 mm. The roadway excavation
was completed in December 2007, in April 2008, a
2 GENERAL SITUATION OF THE large area of roadway began to heave due to the large
ENGINEERING cross-section, and high stress and poor lithology, Fig-
ure 1 shows the situation. A strong floor heaving not
A coal mine in Henan province, the transporta- only brought a lot of roadway maintenance work, but
tion roadway of -450 Level is deeper than 730 m, also may lead to instability of the entire roadway.
the cross-section of the roadway is 5.6 × 3.4 m2 , Therefore, the control of floor heaving of roadway is
with anchor spray and U-bars supporting, and the a major technical issue that has been plagued the min-
supporting parameters are as follows: the resin ing production, it is urgent to resolve the floor heaving
bolt 20 mm × 2000 mm, the row–to-row distance is problem for the deep mining.

381
Table 1. Classification and respective content of whole rock mineral.
Content/%
Sampling sites Rock lithology quartz calcite
Roof Black mudstone 29.8 33.5
Left wall Sandy mudstone 44.3
Right wall Black mudstone 26.3
floor Black mudstone 7.8
3 DEFORMATION MECHANISM ANALYSIS
OF FLOOR HEAVING
According to the results of field research, laboratory
tests, field tests and theoretical analysis, the deforma-
tion and failure mechanism of the tunnel are mainly
the following aspects:
1) High self-weight stress
The roadway depth is about 730 m. According to
the on-site stress testing, the vertical stress is up to
18.2 MPa, the horizontal stress is 23.4 MPa, the con-
centration stress reaches 35 MPa, and it is the range
of non-linear high-stress state, which will give a great
impact on the bottom stability of the roadway. Based
on the investigation on the roadway floor heaving of
each level, the tunnel depth is less than 500 m, the
floor heave is minor, when the mining depth is about
500 m, the roadway began to achieve a certain degree
of floor heaving, when the mining depth from 600 m
increases to 700 m, the amount of floor heaving begin
to increases, when the mining depth is over 700 m, the
amount of floor heaving increases dramatically, and
the floor heaving happens frequently.
2) Poor strata lithology
The roof and floor of the roadway are mainly the
mudstone that with developed bedding and joints and
high content of clay minerals with strong expandability
(the clay content is shown in Table 1), it resulting in a
large quantity of floor deformation, and it is difficult to
control. According to the on-site investigation results,
the degree of floor heaving is in a great relationship
with the thickness of the soft rock under the floor, the
thicker the soft soleplate layer, the greater the scope of
the plastic zone and the greater degree of the floor
heaving under the action of the long-term stress.
The rock lithology of the head exposed is shown in
Figure 2.
As can be seen from table 1, the bottom rock con-
tains expansive clay minerals, and the clay mineral
content is up to 88.3%, after the roadway is excavated,
if water, such as roof sprinkling water or construction
water failure to drain, concentrated on the floor, on
the one hand, the floor rock expansion and deforma-
tion will take place and resulting in swelling stress, on
the other hand the rock strength will be weaken and the
destruction of floor rock will be exacerbated, which is
a major cause of roadway damage.
382
dolomite Iron pyrites siderite Total %
1.4 8.7 13.8 56.4
5.1 50.6
0.9 69.3
3.2 0.7 88.3
Figure 2. Picture of the roadway surrounding rock.
3) Uncoupling supporting structure
Because of the high stress and large cross-section
of the roadway, and the traditional support method
adapted which is usually used to the shallow roadway
supporting, it induces uncoupling between the strength
and stiffness of the supporting structure and that of
the surrounding rock, so it causes some destructive
phenomena such as floor heaving occurring in a great
degree, roof crushing and fall, steel frame deforma-
tion, bolt shearing and spray layer off. The uncoupling
phenomena between the supporting structure and the
surrounding rock are as follows: The inadequate roof
support intensity and bolting density result in the floor
heaving, roof falling and wall shrinking seriously; The
intensity of the welded wire mesh is low and the diam-
eter of the wire is somewhat small, the bolts and rock
failed to achieve the coupling supporting and can not
control the shallow rock very well; without dense fill-
ing behind the flexible steel frame U29, so that the
supporting structure failed to achieve uniform stress,
and it causes the supporting structure likely to with-
stand concentrated loads locally, so that the supporting
structure can not play its role sufficiently, it is easy
to induces the partial or total destruction of the sup-
porting structure because of the stress concentration
in some individual points.
The surrounding rock expresses non-linear mechan-
ical properties because of the large depth and high
stress, correspondingly, simply to follow the tradi-
tional supporting way that suitable for the shallow
roadway is inapplicable during the design of roadway
stability controlling, the integral controlling system
that includes the top, wall and floor should be carried
out, as well as the coupling support design between
the strength and stiffness of the supporting structure
and the surrounding rock.
4 FLOOR HEAVING CONTROLLING
STRATEGY
4.1 Integrated controlling measures
According to the above analysis on the stability con-
trolling technology of the deep mine roadway, getting
rid of the shortcomings of the traditional supporting
forms and utilizing its merits, the three step coupling
supporting technology of “anchor-mesh-cable + base
angle grouting bolt” is raised, its technical character-
istics are as follows:
1) The anchor, sprayed concrete and wire mesh as the
primary support to protect the shallow rock and
voiding the loose circle expanding, the bolts and the
surrounding rock work together to form the bearing
ring.
2) The second step is the roof controlling aiming at the
key points. Supporting the key position like the roof
and shoulders using the anchor wire to mobilize the
strength of deep rock and reduce the pressure on the
floor that produced by the loose rock.
3) The base angle grouting bolts implement as the
third step to protect the base angle. The coupling
supporting of mesh-anchor wire-bolt played impor-
tant role to control the roof and the two sides, at the
same time, the base angle bolt was implemented
to cut off the plastic slip-line of the bottom rock
effectively, weakening the compression stress from
both sides of the roadway and controlling the plas-
tic zone development of the base rock to achieve
the integrated coupling controlling of the roof, two
sides and the bottom.
4.2 The mechanism of base angle grouting
bolts supporting
Based on the above analysis, the anchor, sprayed con-
crete and wire mesh as the primary support to protect
shallow rock, the anchor wire supporting the key posi-
tion as the second step to control the roof, so the
pressure applied to the bottom is greatly reduced, so
that the coupling role of anchor and anchor wire mesh
acts on the surrounding rock, the stress state of the
bottom and the boundary conditions are improved sig-
nificantly. In this way, if the pressure applied on the
bottom is still larger than the carrying capacity limit,
it is necessary to take the base angle grouting bolts as
the further supporting method.
The mechanical model of base angle bolt control-
ling floor heaving is shown in Figure 3, after the
roadway is excavated, A and B begin to enter the plastic
state first under the action of loose rock, then the entire
floor rock extended into the plastic state. According to
383
Figure 3. Mechanical model of base angle bolt controlling
floor heave.
the characteristics of the slip line, some conclusion can
be deduced: in Figure 3, in BEF and ADG, ∠DAG
and ∠EBF is (π/4 − ϕ/2), BEF and ADG move
along the direction of (π/4 − ϕ/2), and the direction of
the movement perpendicular to line AG and BF. Fan-
shaped area AGC and BFC respectively make a overall
movement around the radial direction of AandB. If the
bolts are laid out along the direction of AG and BF,
then the direction of rock movement perpendicular to
AG and BF, that is, the axial direction of the base angle
bolt, then under the action of base angle bolt located in
the AG and BF, the surrounding rock can not move to
the roadway space but rotate at the points A and B, and
because the surrounding rock has the mobile trend per-
pendicular to AG and BF, it is bound to compress the
base angle bolts, the base angle bolts give the reacting
force to the surrounding rock, so the movement of the
surrounding rock must overcome the resistance of qc .
If the strength of the bolt and the density of bolts layout
are appropriate, and when the resistance of qc is big
enough to balance the Pd (Pd is the carrying capacity
limit of the bottom without bolts supporting), then the
bottom is in a limit equilibrium state, the heaving floor
can be controlled.
5 NUMERICAL SIMULATION ANALYSIS OF
THE NEW SUPPORTING SCHEME
The FLAC3D is applied to study the floor heaving con-
trol action and the mechanical effect of the base angle
grouting bolt in the deep tilt layered soft rocks. Three
models was established against the deep geological
conditions, model 1: bolting and sprayed concrete lin-
ing, no base angle grouting bolt; model 2: mesh-anchor
supporting, and both sides laid out a row of 45◦ base
angle grouting bolt; model 3: mesh-anchor support-
ing, and both sides laid out two rows of 45◦ base angle
grouting bolts.
The vertical displacement of model1 (figure 5 a)
shows that serious convergence distortion happened
because the roof and bottom are not controlled effec-
tively. Severe floor heaving appeared, the maximal
Table 2. Classification and respective content of whole rock
mineral.
Rock
character ρ/ kg/m3 K/Pa G/Pa T /Pa C/Pa ϕ/de
sand rock 2650 6.0e9 3.6e9 1.0e6 3.0e6 35
sandy 2500 4.0e9 2.5e9 5.0e5 2.0e6 33
mudstone
mudstone 1650 3.0e9 2.0e9 1.0e3 8.0e4 20
Figure 4. Three supporting models.
Figure 5. The displacement of model 1.
Figure 6. The displacement of model 2.
Figure 7. The displacement of model 3.
floor heaving is 62 cm and the roof subsidence is
14.47 cm. The vertical displacement of model 2 (fig-
ure 6 a) shows that the deformation of the roadway is
controlled significantly, the maximal floor heaving is
11.9 cm and the roof subsidence is 4.67 cm. The verti-
cal displacement of model 3 (figure 7 a) shows that the
floor heaving deformation gets a further improvement,
the roof subsidence is 2.79 cm and the maximal floor
384
Figure 8. The optimized supporting cross-section.
heaving is only 1.89 cm, the largest amount of floor
heaving is only 1.89 cm, the floor heaving amount is
reduced 84% than model 2, the supporting effect is
better.
The horizontal displacement figures of three mod-
els also give us some information. The horizontal
displacement of model 1 (figure 5 b) is obvious, the
horizontal displacement mainly concentrated in the
area of the bottom right and left shoulder, the two sides
moved closer to the amount of 55 cm. The deformation
of the roadway gets a significant control in model 2
(figure 6 b), the two sides moved closer to the amount
of 13.18 cm. In model 3 (figure 7 b), the horizontal
deformation of the roadway gets a further decrease,
the two sides moved closer to the amount of 4.93 cm,
the supporting effect is better.
6 ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION
EFFECTIVENESS
The optimized supporting program of bolt-mesh-
anchor cable +base angle grouting bolt is successfully
applied to the −530 m roadway repairing project
of the coal mine, the optimized supporting param-
eters are as follows: the resin anchor is 22 mm
and length 2500 mm, inter-row is 700 × 700 mm, the
preload is 6 t; the welded wire mesh is 6 mm, mesh
segment is 800 × 900 mm, mesh size 100 × 100 mm;
the steel standard anchor wire is 18.9 mm, the
length is 8000 mm, inter-row 1600 × 2100 mm, the
adopted arrangement is “3-4-3”, the preload is 10 t;
the base angle grouting bolt is seamless steel pipe
of 33 mm, the length is 2500 mm, 2 for each side,
spacing 500 mm, distance 1000 mm. The layout of the
supporting cross-section is shown in Figure 8.
The deformation monitoring of the supported road-
way is carried out after the supporting program is

Figure 9. The monitoring curve of surface displacement.
implemented, according to 260d monitoring data (Fig-
ure 9), the roof subsidence is 54 mm, the displacement
of the right wall is 52 mm and the left wall is 58 mm,
the maximum floor heaving is 42 mm, generally, the
deformation of the roadway is small, 120d later,
the supported roadway has been stabilized and good
supporting effect is achieved.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of field investigation, laboratory
tests and field tests, the floor heaving failure mecha-
nism of deep large cross-section roadway is studied,
the three steps supporting program of bolt-mesh and
cable + base angle grouting bolt is proposed to con-
trol the floor heaving, and the numerical simulation
and on-site applications validated the reliability of
the supporting program, the following conclusions are
drawn:
1) The three steps supporting program is reliable, that
is, anchor wire supports the roof, bolt-mesh protects
the sides and the base angle grouting bolts protect
the floor, the supporting program can effectively
control the heaving floor;
385
2) The base angle grouting bolts can not only improve
the self-supporting capacity of the rock located
in the base angle zone, and help to form a self-
supporting arch with higher load-carrying ability
to prevent the plastic deformation of two sides and
the roof subsidence, but also can achieve full-length
anchorage in order to control the development of
plastic in the base angle zone;
3) The base angle grouting bolts can weaken the stress
concentration of the base angle zone and cut off the
plastic slip-line of the sides of the roadway effec-
tively, and weaken the extrusion stress from the two
sides of the roadway, and control the deformation
of the floor heaving effectively, and in turn it is
conducive to the overall stability of the roadway.
REFERENCES
Li Z. J. 2004. Present state and perspective of rock mechan-
ics in deep mining engineering: Chinese Society of Rock
Mechanics and Engineering ed. Proceedings of the 8th
Rock Mechanics and Engineering Conference. Beijing:
Science press
HE M. C. & SUN X. M. 2004. Support design and construc-
tion guide of soft rock roadway engineering in Chinese
coal mines. Science Press: Beijing
Liu W. T. 2007. Study on the mechanics of the asymmet-
ric deformability for rock roadways at great depths and
supporting countermeasures in datun mining area, China
University of Geoscience: Beijing
Li Z. J. 2009. Study on Deformation Mechanism and Control
Strategy for Deep Rock Roadway in the Fifth Coal Mine
of HBCG. China University of Mining and Technology:
Beijing
Li Z. J., He M. C. & Tang Q. D. 2008. Analysis and
application of bolt and mesh reinforcement and anchor
wire coupling support mechanism under high horizontal
site-stress. China Mining. 17(7): 65–68
Xie H. P., Peng S. P., He M. C., et al. 2006. Basic Theory
and Engineering Practice in Deep Mining. Science Press:
Beijing
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Mechanism and support measures of floor heave mainly caused by

horizontal extrusion stress in soft rock roadway

Yang Xiaojie, Wang Fuqiang, Guo Zhibiao, Han Qiaoyun, Zhang Zhao & Han Liuping
State Key Laboratory of Deep Geomechanics and Underground Engineering, Beijing
School of Mechanics & Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijng

ABSTRACT: Floor heave is one of the most difficult problems of soft rock roadway supporting in coal mines. A
serious floor heave have occurred when the west wing track roadway of Tingnan coal mine was being constructed,
the maximum value reached to 50 cm, which impacted the normal application of roadway severely. The article
involved engineering geology, soft rock engineering mechanics and clay mineralogy etc, employed the ways of
study on engineering geomechanics, laboratory testing on properties of rock mass, and combined with FDM 3D
numerical simulation, and deeply researched the deformation mechanism and generating process of floor heave,
it indicated clearly that the major influencing factor that led to floor heave was the horizontal extrusion stress,
and the secondary ones were floor surrounding rock with high content of swelling clay minerals and soaking
effect on floor rock. Thus the deformation mechanism was compound type of floor heave caused by the combined
action of plastic extrusion and swelling. Aimed at the above-mentioned mechanism, a new support measures
would be provided with inverted arch and floor bolt to control the floor heave. Project protice has shown good
results of new supporting have been obtained with expected effects, and controlled the floor heave effectively.

Keywords: Soft rock roadway floor heave deformation mechanism horizontal stress swelling soaking effect

1 INTRODUCTION belongs to serious floor heave, so it is extremely urgent,

When the excavation of roadway has been advanced,
the balance of in-situ stress situation of rock mass was
destroyed, which lead to the redistribution of stress
field, and the surrounding rock would be displaced
into roadway. With an increase in depth of roadway,
there would be on the increase in displacement and
destruction of the surrounding rock, that will result in
some engineering disaster situations. One of the typi-
cal situations that occurred when the floor rock mass
was displaced into the roadway is called floor heave.
The floor heave is a kind of dynamic phenomenon; it
has always been happened in many coal mine, which
lead to the decrease in roadway section, and hinder
transportation, ventilation and staff operation. There
are some coal mines stopping production or canceling
construction caused by floor heave, which seriously
affect production, and threaten life safety[1] .
The floor heave are classified on the basis of its dis-
placement in soft rock roadway[2] , as slight floor heave
(100∼200 mm), visible floor heave (200∼300 mm),
serious floor heave (300∼500 mm), and destructive
floor heave (500∼800 mm). the latter three classes
will cause different degrees of damage to roadway,
so it is required in time to support or even thoroughly
repair the roadway for maintaining the utilization and
production. The displacement range of floor heave
occurred in the west wing track roadway of Tingnan
coal mine reached to 400∼500 mm, which obviously
by research on mechanism of failure in deformation,
to provide new support measures for floor heave.
2 RESEARCH OF ENGINEERING
GEOMECHANICS
2.1 Engineering background
The Tingnan coal mine, using a pair of vertical shaft,
has been constructed with single-level to open the
whole mine field, three main roadway have been exca-
vated along the strike of coal bed, and adopted the
single inclined longwall cutting method principally
combined with fully mechanized sublevel caving to
win the mine field which is divided into four coal
regions. The west wing track roadway is at an eleva-
tion of 457.85 meters (the vertical cover depth is about
463 meters), its cross section is straight wall semi-
circular arch, it is about 1720 m long, 4.6 m in clear
width and 1.6 m in side wall height, supported by bolt,
wire mesh, shotcrete and cable, and has been com-
pleted in Dec 2006. The west wing track roadway has
been constructed, being a production assistance and
transportation system, to fulfill the ventilation, oper-
ation, transportation and pipe installation for the west
wing coal field. Serious floor heave occurred when
the west wing track roadway had been constructed for
five months, and carried in repairs to control the floor
heave, but then the serious floor heave occurred again

387

Figure 1. Serious floor heave of west wing track roadway
in Tingnan Coal Mine.
Figure 2. Deformational schematic diagram of west wing
track roadway.
in May 2008 (as figure 1), and repaired repeatedly,
on which consumed lots of labor, materials and finan-
cial resources, but the floor heave still has not been
effectively controlled, as a result the stability of roof
and walls were directly influenced. The deformational
schematic diagram of west wing track roadway is
illustrated in figure 2.
388
Figure 3. Synthetical stratum histogram of west wing track
roadway.
2.2 Engineering rock mass
The field measured geological stratum histogram of
west wing trace roadway is illustrated in figure 3, that
shown the roadway was excavated in # 8 coal seam,
and the main rock mass, to which the floor exposed, are
aluminous mudstone, mudstone and sandy mudstone,
in which mudstone is the main rock mass. The severest
floor heave occurred in a poor quality aluminous mud-
stone, which contains joints and hair cracks, is heavily
jointed and crushed. So based on the above mentioned
information, the texture of engineering rock mass is
cataclastic.
2.3 Geological structures
2.3.1 Geological structures of mine field
The Tingnan mine field locate at the middle section of
Lujia∼Xiaolingtai anticline in the Binchang mining
area, northward stride crosses the axis of Nanyuzi syn-
cline till to the north wing, and southward gets into the
north wing of Dafosi syncline. The Lujia∼Xiaolingtai
anticline, of which, the axis strata, being approxi-
mately horizontal, passes through the south of Tingnan
mining area, the angle of dip is gently in south wing, as
is 4◦ ∼ 6◦ in north wing. The Nanyuzi syncline, locates
at the north of mine field, striking north 20◦ east and
dipping 2◦ ∼ 3◦ from the horizontal, and connects with
the north wing of Lujia∼Xiaolingtai anticline. The
control effect of those structures, behaving to the coal
measure strata, is manifested mainly in thickness of
coal seam, which is relatively thin in axis of anticline,
and thickens from the axis to wings of anticline and
syncline. The precise geological survey was measured
in the south of axis in Nanyuzi syncline, which shown
the feature of geological structure in Tingnan mine
field is overall approximately monoclinal structure,
and did not explore faults. So the geological struc-
ture of mine field is attributed to simply type, which
is illustrated in figure 4.
2.3.2 Geological structures of west wing track
roadway
The strata especially the # 8 coal bed, through which
the west wing track roadway passed, is a monoclinal
structure, striking west east and dipping average 4◦ to
the north. According to the precise geological survey,

Figure 4. Geological structures and stress field feature of
Tingnan mine field.
there are not faults found around coal working face,
and no igneous intrusion in coal-bearing strata.
2.4 In-situ stress measurement and research
2.4.1 Analysis of tectonic stress field
The tectonic stress field in Tingnan mining area is
mainly affected by plate collision, that is, the Indian
plate northward moves and collides with the Eurasian
plate, which is force source of the tectonic stress field.
The master trait of tectonic tress field is approximately
NS-NNE directional squeeze, which coincide with the
squeezing orientation of Indian plate[3] . Indo-Chinese
epoch structure, being coal bearing strata basal struc-
ture, which play a major role in sedimentation and
occurrence condition of coal measure and coal seam
in mine field, and determinative to tectonic stress field
shape of mining area. So the current stress field ori-
entation in Tingnan mining area is SSE-NNW, which
roughly accord with the master control stress orien-
tation of Tingnan mining area in geological structure
outline map, as shown in the figure 4.
2.4.2 In-situ stress measurement in roadways
In order to understand the laws of in-situ stress dis-
tribution in Tingnan coal mine, and provide scientific
foundation for roadway reasonable support and safety
decision-making for coal mining, so in-situ stress mea-
surement has been carried using the hollow inclusion
stress meter to grasp the laws of in-situ stress distri-
bution. Based on the site measuring strain data, rock
mechanics parameters of measuring points and bore-
hole geometric parameters, by computational analysis
to coming to the in-situ stress components of measur-
ing points and the magnitude and direction of principal
stresses, the in-situ stress measurement results of
Tingnan coal mine are illustrated in table 1.
According to the in-situ stress measuring results,
the following main conclusions be summarized are:
(1) The maximum horizontal principal stress of each
measuring point are greater than its vertical stress;
the maximum horizontal principal stress direc-
tions, dipping −3.8◦ ∼ −4.7◦ from horizontal
plate, are approximately horizontal.
(2) Each site measuring vertical stress are around
11.2 Mpa, basically equal to overburden weight
per unit area expressed γH (γ average 2.5 t/m3 ).
389
(3) The maximum horizontal principal stress direction
of Tingnan coal area is nearly NW-SE, dipping
55◦ ∼ 65◦ from fold axial directions. In this mine
area, the maximum horizontal principal stress
direction is near vertical to the syncline or anti-
cline axial directions, which just accord with fea-
tures of in-situ stress field when original structures
formed, as shown in the figure 3.
(4) With the measuring results, the in-situ stress field
type, impacting on the west wing track road-
way and surrounding regions, is mainly hori-
zontal stress; the maximum principal stress are
σ1 = 27.7 Mpa, dipping at 3.8◦ against horizon-
tal plate and approximately horizontal direction,
and the middle principal stress are σ2 = 13.6 Mpa,
dipping at 14.2◦ against horizontal plate and 80◦
against the west wing track roadway, but the min-
imum principal stress σ3 is relatively small. It is
thus clear that the floor heave occurred in west
wing track roadway is mainly caused by hori-
zontal stress, and the deformation of floor heave
is mainly extrusion type. When roadway axial
direction and maximum horizontal principal stress
direction intersect at acute angle, the deformation
of surrounding rock has a tendency to certain side
wall, which induce asymmetrical deformation in
roadway[4−6] .
2.5 Composition analysis of surrounding rock
containing clay minerals
On the basis of research methods on clay mineral
composition[7] , by use of the X-ray diffraction anal-
ysis results, the aluminous mudstone of floor account
for 50.9% of clay mineral composition, and the clay
mineral composition consist largely of illite montmo-
rillonite mixed layer and kaolinite, including 18% illite
montmorillonite mixed layer being typital of a high
swelling capacity and soaking performance, and 71%
kaolinite, so obviously the floor mudstone has certain
expansibility and water absorption.
2.6 Soaking effect
During the course of roadway excavation, the sources
of water, enabling surrounding rock to react soaking
effect, are mainly engineering water, water content
in the air and partial water leakage from sandstone.
Since high the swelling mineral contents especially
of montmorillonite and kaolinite included in floor
mudstone, the binding interaction between mont-
morillonite/kaolinite and water molecule after the
swollen floor mudstone exposed to water, which leads
to the increase of mudstone volume, reducing the
strength of mudstone by means of reducing the binding
force between rock bones, and then phenomenons of
sliming, disintegration and rupture happened, finally
results in swelling destroy occurred to floor mudstone;
besides, owing to the drainage ditch with water accu-
mulation, by passing through discontinuties, such as
joints and cracks of rock mass, the water percolate
through the interior of the floor, which accelerate
Table 1. In-situ stress measurement results of Tingnan Coal Mine.

Measurement results

Measuring Principal Value Direction Dip Vertical

Measuring positions and depth (m) points number stresses (MPa) angle (◦ ) (◦ ) stress (MPa)

Material interconnecting roadway for #111 No. 1 σ1 17.9 98.6 −3.9 11.1
working face, 450 σ2 11.9 13.8 53
σ3 9.8 185.7 36.7
201 return airflow roadway, 450 No. 2 σ1 22.3 94.7 −4.7 11.1
σ2 11.6 7.9 −76.9
σ3 9.7 195.8 12.18
West wing coal bunker, 464 No. 3 σ1 27.7 99.4 −3.8 11.2
σ2 13.6 8.4 −14.2
σ3 11 204.1 −75.2

in the floor of west wing track roadway, the floor sur-

rounding rock with high swelling mineral contents
soften and swell easily when exposure to water, so
the failure mechanism of floor heave is also swelling
type. In conclusion, the mechanism of floor heave is
multi-type consisting of above mentioned mechanism.

3.1.1 Plastic extrusion[9]

Figure 5. Attenuated relation between uniaxial compressive
strength of floor mudstone and soaking time.
the loss of floor rock strength and volume expan-
sion, and aggravate the displacement of floor heave,
thus the displacement of roadway side close to the
drainage ditch is bigger than the other side, which
present the phenomenon of asymmetrical deforma-
tion. Aimed at the floor mudstone of west wing track
roadway, through the experiment on uniaxial compres-
sive strength of mudstone in different soaking time[8] ,
the attenuated relation between uniaxial compressive
strength of floor mudstone and soaking time has been
obtained, as shown in the figure 5.
3 ANALYSES OF MECHANISM AND FAILURE
PROCESS OF FLOOR HEAVE
3.1 Mechanism analysis of floor heave
By way of research on field engineering geomechan-
ics, and combined with theory analysis of soft rock
engineering mechanics, that shown the principal force
acting on west wing track roadway is tectonic stress
that closely approximates horizontal direction, and
because of the biggish engineering partial stress in
bottom angle, so the major failure mechanism of floor
heave is plastic extrusion under horizontal extrusion
stress; besides, swelling rock advances into the road-
way on account of expansion, the capacity to swell
seems to be limited to those rocks that contains clay
minerals such as montmorillonite, with a high swelling
capacity. by results of X-ray diffraction analysis and
experiment on soaking effect of aluminous mudstone
To a great extent, owing to the plastic flow of floor soft
mudstone, and deeply affected by horizontal tectonic
stress, the floor heave of west wing track roadway is
created. The rock mass is a poor quality aluminous
mudstone, being the direct floor of roadway, is heavily
jointed and softened, but the strength of rock mass of
the wall and roof is greater than the rock mass of the
floor, under the pressure of horizontal stress field and
rock pillars of roadway wall, the plastic deformation
and rheology of the softened and jointed floor mud-
stone occurred, then the squeezing floor rock advances
into the roadway, finally the displacement of floor
heave became great.
3.1.2 Swelling
The swelling floor mudstone has high the illite mont-
morillonite mixed layer and kaolinite content, after
meeting with water, interlayer swelling and interpati-
cle expansion are formed under the action of internal
and external swelling mechanism on swelling mineral
through water molecule getting into unit cell interlayer
and inter particle. With the excavation of roadway,
the stress on floor rock stratum gradually increase,
and the hair cracks of rock mass constantly expand
and transfix, thus the volume increased under stress
dilatation mechanism, lead to the swelling type of floor
heave[10]. The swelling type of floor heave occurred
to west wing track roadway chiefly on account of the
soaking effect, which results in the expansion of floor
stratum and strain softened to floor rock mass.
3.2 Analysis on process of failure of floor heave
After the excavation of roadway, the stress field is
redistributed, the particular extent of surrounding rock,

390
being in a strain softened condition, is called soften-
ing region, also namely plastic loosened zone. Under
the pressure of horizontal stress field, when the stress
at the rock of floor exceeds the rock limit strength,
the plastic deformation and rheology of the weak-
ened floor rock occurred, and the squeezing floor rock
advances into the roadway, which cause the roadway
floor heave. In addition, at the situation of roadway
water accumulation, when there is the plastic loosened
zone around roadway, the water can not only contact
with the exposed rock, but also percolate through the
interior of surrounding rock by passing through cracks,
making the increase in contact area between water and
rock, the aggravation of physical and chemical reac-
tion between water and rock, and the acceleration of
rock swelling speed and the loss of rock strength. After
that, the strength of surrounding rock within plastic
loosened zone is constantly reduced, perhaps totally
lost, creating that the plastic loosened zone is further
broadened. The effect of mighty in-situ stress coupling
water makes surrounding rock further get softened, the
strength and the modulus of deformation are evidently
reduced, and the cohesion is almost lost, so the floor
surrounding rock further advances into the roadway,
causing the vicious circle[11]. In a word, the process
of multiple swelling floor heave is the process of cou-
pling action of soft rock reaction for water inducing
properties of rock change and the plastic deformation
under in-site stress field.
The original support in west wing track road-
way was the form of floor-opening support, a
700 mm × 700 mm pattern of 2.1 m long × 18 mm
diameter resin anchored and tensioned rockbolts were
installed radially from the roof and walls; one cable
was installed from every cross section of roadway,
using 6.5 m long, 15.2 mm diameter high-strength low-
relaxation stran spaced at 1.6 m in the top of roof;
6.5 mm diameter wire mesh, with 150 mm of shotcrete
for the roof and walls were installed. Because of no
effective support for the floor and corner, and the floor
mudstone when meeting with water is easily getting
weak and swelling, so the floor of roadway, under
the extrusion action of horizontal stress, becomes the
deformation unrestrained surface, the stress concen-
tration in floor rock happened, causing the plastic
deformation and the serious floor heave, and then,
directly affecting the stability for roof and walls and
the displacement occurred to the roof and walls.
From the entire deformation of west wing track road-
way, the large displacement quantity of floor heave,
account for 80% in total displacement, and having
small displacement in walls, are obtained.
4 CONTROL TECHONOLOGY OF FLOOR
HEAVE AND ITS 3D NUMERICAL
SIMULATION ANALYSIS
By the above analyses, the horizontal stress has strong
effect on floor surrounding rock. For against the com-
pound floor heave, firstly making the strengthening
391
treatment to the floor that has been crushed already,
the combined support technology with inverted arch
and floor rock bolt, has been designed to control the
floor heave.
4.1 Strengthening technology
4.1.1 Floor bolt support[12−13]
The chief function of floor bolt support is to weaken the
stress concentration degree on floor angle of roadway,
effectively cut off the plastic slip line and weaken the
extrusion pressure from sides of roadway and tectonic
stress, and by taking advantage of its flexural rigidity
to resist the plastic deformation of floor heave, so the
floor bolt is required to be of higher flexural rigidity.
By comparative analysis of the mechanical property
of various support material involving cement mortar
grouted rock bolt, slit wedge tubing rock bolt, seamless
steel tube, the selection finally adopted is slit wedge
tubing rock bolt. The designed parameters of bottom
angle bolt, determined by the support load on floor,
are 43 mm diameter, 2.0 m long, 700 mm × 700 mm
space pattern, fixed at the angle of 45◦ , and during the
construction process, fully grouted after the insertion
of steel into slit wedge tubing rock bolt.
4.1.2 Inverted arch
Another strengthening measure commonly used in per-
petual roadway is the inverted arch, two chief functions
to be qualified are: the first function is to control floor
heave, the inverted arch has higher support resistance
that uniformly acts on floor, thus it can restrain floor
heave; the other one is the formation of closed struc-
ture of the surrounding rock support bodies, which is
advantageous to the improvement in support effect.
In the case of floor heave in loosened, crushed and
soft mudstone under consideration here, on the basis
of inverted arch, the plus support, that lay wire mesh
within inverted arch, is further advantageous to the
control of floor heave. Based on the original design
scheme of the drainage ditch, the construction factors
of excavating floor and taking into account the asym-
metrical deformation of roadway, the shape of inverted
arch that has been designed is the elliptic arc, 200 mm
in thickness, 1000 mm in arch rise, the strength grade
of concrete of C30, and 6.5 mm diameter wire mesh
laid within inverted arch, have been determined.
4.2 Analysis of numerical simulation on the
combined support effect to floor heave
In order to researching on the results of combined
support that integrates floor bolt and inverted arch
to control the floor heave, the three-dimensional
finite difference computational model has been struc-
tured using the program FLAC3D. The region of
computational model was 30 m in length × 40 m in
width × 38 m in height, divided into 141440 elements
and 148625 nodes. The conditions on boundaries
assumed for this model were, the sides that were lim-
ited to horizontal deformation, the bottom side that
 Figure 7. Horizontal displacement fields.

Figure 6. Support system diagrams. heave arrived to 49.5 cm; the horizontal maxi-
mum displacement zone was mostly concentrated
underneath the wall angles, that caused the floor
mudstone squeezed by the horizontal displace-
was fixed; the upper surface, being the stress bound-
ment advanced into roadway, then increased the
ary, were loaded by overburden weight stress equal to
displacement of floor; and the floor mudstone is
11 Mpa, the value of horizontal stress on this model
on the condition of being sheared and slid along
was determined by the results of in-situ stress mea-
the plastic shear sliding surface, the chief fail-
surement; the Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion was
ure mechanism of floor heave, that was plastic
used as failure criterion of materials.
extrusion, was basically consistent with the dis-
Two kinds of support forms are: ➀ support with
placement fields of original support, thereby the
rock bolt-wire mesh-shotcrete and cable (the original
mechanism of large deformation of floor has been
support form); ➁ support with bottom angle rock bolt
validated.
and inverted arch on the basis of the original support
(2) The new support form ➁ as having reinforced the
with rock bolt-wire mesh-shotcrete (the new support
floor with bottom angle bolt and inverted arch,
form of testing section). The support system diagrams
that removed the stress and displacement concen-
of two forms are showed in the figure 6, and the results
tration on region around the wall angles, cut off the
of numerical simulation are showed as figure 7 and
continuity of horizontal stress from roof, walls and
figure 8.
tectonic stress, improved the stress condition of
By the comparative analysis of displacement fields
floor surrounding rock being sheared, controlled
of two forms, the results were followed as:
the quantity of floor heave, and the deformation
(1) The original support form ➀ as being in a state of roadway has a tendency to stability. Besides the
of floor opening without support, the asymmetri- addition of strengthening technology of floor with
cal deformation of roadway happened, the serious bottom angle bolt and inverted arch to original
floor heave has arisen in the left side close to support enhanced the overall support effect, and
the drainage ditch, the maximum value of floor not only effectively controlled the displacement

392
 Figure 9. Final support scheme adopted in west wing track
roadway.

Figure 8. Vertical displacement fields.

of floor, but also improved the stress condition
of walls and roof of roadway, so also reduced the
displacement of walls and roof.
4.3 Scheme of support design
Based on the results of analysis on numerical simu-
lation, the designed parameters on support have been
optimized; finally the final support scheme designed
for the west wing track roadway to control the floor
heave has been determined, as shown in the figure 9.
In addition, the floor waterproofing measures have
been carried out on the basis of strengthening sup-
port of floor, that were, the dry lime powder cushion,
placed with the thickness of 100 mm immediately after
floor dinting, will solidify itself by absorbing mois-
ture of floor, then come into being isolation layer with
certain strength; another measure was the placement
of drainage ditch for timely draining off water dur-
ing the course of construction process to avoid water
immersion.
5 ENGINEERING APPLICATION
The new support scheme has been adopted using the
combined support with bottom angle bolt and inverted
Figure 10. Displacement monitoring curve of floor.
arch, over 60 meters of west wing track roadway have
been successfully repaired. By analysis of the moni-
toring data on displacement of floor for four months,
the floor heave has been effectively controlled, good
results have been obtained with expected effects. The
displacement monitoring curve of floor is illustrated
in the figure 10.
6 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The serious floor heave occurred in west wing
track roadway was mainly caused by extrusion
from horizontal tectonic stress, secondly the prop-
erties of floor surrounding rock and its soaking
effect, and the compound type of floor heave,
caused by the combined action of plastic extrusion
type and swelling type, has been determined.
(2) The new control scheme for floor heave, that inte-
grated the combined support with bottom angle
bolt and inverted arch with the floor waterproof-
ing measures, has been advanced, and by the
comparative analysis of numerical simulation on

393
 different support forms, validated the rationality
and reliability of new support control scheme.
(3) The new support scheme has been adopted in
west wing track roadway, good results have been
obtained with expected effects, and the floor heave
has been effectively controlled.
REFERENCES
[1] Kang H P. Mechanism and Control of Floor Heave
in Soft Rock Roadway. Beijing: China Coal Industry
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[2] He M C, Sun X M. A Guide on the Design and Con-
struction of Coalmine Soft Rock Engineering in China.
Beijing: Science Press, 2004: 145–163. (In Chinese)
[3] Xie F R, Chen Q C, Cui X F. Crustal Stress in
China. Beijing: Geological Publishing House, 2003.
(In Chinese)
[4] Chen H. J,1999,Stress Analysis in Longwall Entry
Roof Under High Horizontal Stress. Ph.D. dissertation,
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[5] Gale, W. J. Strata Control Utilising Rock Reinforce-
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[6] Gale, W. J., and Blackwood, R. W. Stress distribu-
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Journal of Rock Mech. Min. Sciences and Geomech.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Analysis of rock burst and crustal stress measurement in a hydropower’s

traffic tunnel at ganzi prefecture, Sichuan Province

L. Ding
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: There was a hydropower in the transition zone between Qinghai-Tibet plateau and Sichuan Basin,
while excavating the traffic tunnel towards its underground structure at about 631 m horizontal depth, many rock
burst happened at right arch, and the hydraulic fracturing three dimensional stress measurement was adopt at
the place immediately. The paper introduced the process and the result of this measurement, analyzed the spatial
distribution of crustal stress and the maximum tangential stress σθmax in tunnel excavation. It found that the
direct mechanical cause of the rock burst was that the σθmax at the site of right arch reached 39 MPa, which
have greatly exceeded the rock burst critical stress σlcr 29 MPa.

1 INTRODUCTION 635 m away from the entrance. The measuring point

The hydropower is located in Ganzi Tibetan
autonomous prefecture, a transition zone of Qinghai-
Tibet plateau and the Sichuan Basin, is a high mountain
canyon. In the zone, mountains and the ditches stag-
ger each other, and the whole terrain is from west to
east, the local faults are not developed, and no regional
active faults pass through.
While excavating the traffic tunnel of diversion
routes, rock burst happened at about 631 m Horizontal
depth. It occurs during the smoke cleaning after blast-
ing, and occasionally happened after the tunnel have
finished for 1 to 2 months, It mostly occurred at right
arch on the wall, mainly medium-sized peeled off.
To identify the crustal stress at the location of
rock burst, a three dimensional stress measuring point
was conducted in the traffic tunnel which is about
includes of three 25 m depth boreholes with diameter
∅76 mm, two are horizontal boreholes named ZKD01
and ZKD02 with 80◦ angle each other, they are about
0.85 m high to the bottom, and the other vertical bore-
hole named ZKD03 at the bottom. Figure 1 was the
boreholes plane diagram of the measuring point.
The paper attempts to analysis the cause of rock
burst, from the view of mechanics, by measuring
crustal stress data in rock burst region. It is useful for
judging the trigger conditions of possible rock burst at
the initial excavation term, and useful to some similar
projects’ design and construction.
2 GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW AND
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING THREE
DIMENSIONAL STRESS MEASUREMENT
RESULT OF THE MEASURING POINT

2.1 Geological overview

Figure 1. Boreholes’ plane diagram of three dimensional
stress measuring point.
The measuring point carrying out hydraulic fractur-
ing three dimensional stress measurement was at stake
0 + 631∼0 + 639 m in the traffic tunnel, its upper
rock depth was about 515 m, the E.L. of its bottom
is 2250 m, and the tunnel was toward to N62◦ E.
The mountains is very high with exposed bedrock
surface, cliffs, THE gradient of the natural slope gen-
erally at 45◦ ∼75◦ , with gray Yanshanian two-mica
granite. It’s strong with wet compressive strength is
about 80 MPa, which belong to hard rocks, density is
2.66g/cm3.
The two-mica granite of measure section is fresh,
hard, and integrated, is class II rock, with light
gray to white color. It is lack of joints, little joint
plane is mostly flat, closed and non-filling. At stake
0 + 631 m, there is a joint on the wall, with attitude

395
Table 1. Each borehole’s plane crustal stress obtained by HF method.

Stress/MPa

Borehole No. Serial No. Test depth/m σ A(σH ) σ B(σh ) Fracture Azimuth /◦

horizontal borehole ZKD01 1 10.68∼11.93 14.15 8.18

(drilling towards 195◦ , Down declining 2◦ ) 2 13.84∼15.09 13.17 7.58 57◦
3 15.42∼16.67 11.70 6.60
4 17.00∼18.25 10.38 6.06 59◦
5 21.06∼22.31 10.33 6.00 63◦
horizontal borehole ZKD02 1 9.10∼10.35 9.74 5.22
(drilling towards 115◦ , Down declining 1◦ ) 2 10.68∼11.93 12.42 7.68 157◦
3 17.00∼18.25 12.58 7.10 165◦
4 18.58∼19.83 14.96 9.52
5 20.16∼21.41 16.00 9.70 158◦
Vertical borehole ZKD03 1 9.10∼10.35 9.79 6.29 N32◦ W
2 15.42∼16.67 11.65 6.55
3 17.00∼18.25 12.27 7.37 N35◦ W
4 18.58∼19.83 12.55 7.75 N34◦ W
5 20.16∼21.41 13.40 8.20

*➀ σB , σA —the minimum and maximum principle stress measured in horizontal and inclined boreholes σh , σH —the minimum
and maximum horizontal stress
➁ The fracture azimuth measuring rule: Facing to the bottom of the borehole, within the cross-section of borehole, measure
the angle from right direction to the fracture in counterclockwise.

N20◦W/SW∠85◦ , the joint plane is flat, smooth

and non-filling, extended length 3∼4 m. At stake
0 + 639 m, 5 cm thick pegmatite veins were found on
and below the joint with attitude N60◦W/SW∠70◦ .
Most tunnel wall is dry, any dribble at local top. The
shape of tunnel is regular, and the rock mass is totally
stable except rock burst.
Because the excavating time is short (about 15
days), at stake 0 + 631 m, the rock burst happen occa-
sionally at the right arch of the wall, the falling rock
film’s is about 60 cm long, 30 cm wide, 5–10 cm thick.
The measuring site was derived from the enlarged
turnout lane.

2.2 Hydraulic fracturing plane stress measurement

results
Hydraulic fracturing (HF, same as below) method is
one of the testing methods promulgated and recom-
mended by international society for rock mechanics
and used to determine the rock stress (ISRM 1987).
Since Hubbert and Willis announced their theory on
the relationship between open fracture by HF and
surrounding stress in 1957(Hubbert & Willis 1957),
the method have been as a better direct and effec-
tive way to measure crustal stress after decades of
theoretical and experimental research(Kuriyagawa &
Kobayashi 1989). This method could get a variety of
crustal stress parameters no need knowing the mechan-
ical parameters of rock. It also had some advantages
such as easy operating, continuous done at any depth,
quick measurement, reliable measurement values, etc.
In recent years, it has developed into a measurement
method which can calculate the three dimensional
stress by using three intersection boreholes’ stress data
(Zoback & Haimson 1983, Chen et al. 2001). It has
been widely used and achieved substantial results in
Figure 2. Recorded P-T curve in horizontal borehole
ZKD01.
the underground plants, pressure tunnels, etc. At this
hydropower this method was adopt also.
In three boreholes ZKD01, ZKD02 and ZKD03 of
the traffic tunnel measuring point, 15 measure seg-
ments were carried out with HF method, and 3 measure
segments in each borehole (total 9 measure segments)
were impressed to identify the azimuth of the frac-
ture. All the measurement results of 3 boreholes can be
found in Table 1, and their Pressure-Time (P-T, same as
below) curves shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4.
Variations of each borehole’s plane stress value to
the depth were shown in figure 5, such the relationship
between them should be found more intuitively. As
figure 5 showed, the three boreholes’ stress value had
their own laws, stress value in ZKD01 was much larger

396

Figure 3. Recorded P-T curve in horizontal borehole
ZKD02.
Figure 4. Recorded P-T curve in vertical borehole ZKD03.
within 10 m, and then gradually reduced till the bot-
tom, stress value in ZKD02 was much lower at first for
the influence of fissure, and then gradually increased
till the bottom; and stress value in ZKD03 increased
with the depth.
As shown, there were 5 measured stress value and
3 data of the maximum principle stress azimuth has
been obtained in each borehole, the measurement was
quite successful.
There were any differences among the measured
plane stresses in three different direction boreholes.
Also test segment’s stress value in any borehole was
larger or lower than the normal ones because of the
influence of stress concentration or releasing, over-
all, the stress values in three boreholes were more
consistent. Of them, the maximum principle stress’s
value normally at 10∼14 MPa, the minimum principle
stress’s at 6∼9 MPa. The maximum horizontal princi-
ple stress azimuth of the vertical borehole ZKD03 was
near to N34◦W.
397
2.3 Calculated result of three dimensional stress
In the theory of HF three dimensional stress mea-
surement method, the three dimensional stress of
measuring point could be calculated by parameters
of attitude, the plane stress values and azimuths of
three intersection boreholes in different direction. The
selection rule of plane stress value as below: if one
borehole’s stress value has little change at whole depth,
then averaging value was adopt, if the value was much
larger or lower to normal ones for the influence of
stress concentration or releasing, then get rid of the
abnormal data first. In usual the prefer direction was
adopt as the azimuth of the maximum principle stress.
With the method mentioned, it had a careful analysis
on the measurement stress data at first, then deleted
any abnormal data which were significantly larger or
lower than normal ones, at last identified the fit data
to calculate the three dimensional stress, as shown in
Table 2.
With the data in Tab. 2, three dimensional stress of
the measuring point was obtained, the value, azimuth,
inclinations and components were shown in Table 3.
As list in Table 3, the maximum principle stress
value was 16.39 MPa, with azimuth 327◦ , inclination
51◦ , the middle principle stress value at 9.88 MPa,
with azimuth 142◦ , inclination 39◦ , and the minimum
principle stress value at 7.46 MPa, with azimuth 234◦ ,
inclination 3◦ nearly horizontal.
Having Analyzed of each principle stress’s value,
azimuth and inclination, it found that the inclination of
the maximum stress was quite steep, and the vertical
stress component was the largest one, obviously the
deep bury of upper rock made a significant effect to
the stress pattern, and it showed that the main actual
stress near the measuring point was firstly act at
3 ROCK BURST ANALYSIS AND JUDGE
AT THE PLACE NEAR THE MEASURING
POINT IN TRAFFIC TUNNEL
Rock burst happened mostly at right arch of the wall
during excavating traffic tunnel. It was related to the
three dimensional stress at the place.
The traffic tunnel is horizontal, its attitude towards
to N65◦W. And it have known that the minimum
principle stress’ azimuth at N54◦W nearly in horizon-
tal, the direction of tunnel is almost parallel to the
azimuth of σ3, such the cross-sectional of the tunnel
can be simplified to force by two dimensional stress
σ1 and σ2, just as Figure 6 shown (in the figure, the
shape of the tunnel is simplified as circular).
The status in Figure 6 was similar to the model of
HF method which is a infinite large plate with a hole
loading two dimensional stress σ1 and σ2 , the differ-
ence of them was that in Figure 6 the two stress were
at vertical plane, and the azimuth of σ1 rotated about
40◦ Counterclockwise from vertical line(same as the
inclination of σ2 ), Seen from mechanics theory, the
Figure 5. Variation of each borehole’s plane stress value to its depth.

Table 2. Parameters for calculating the three dimensional stress of traffic tunnel measuring point.

Borehole name Inclination Azimuth /◦ σA or σH /MPa σB or σh /MPa Fracture azimuth

ZKD01 2 195 11.95 6.88 60◦

ZKD02 1 115 13.99 8.50 160◦
ZKD03 90 / 12.47 7.47 N34◦ W

Table 3. Three dimensional stress result of the measuring point in traffic tunnel.

Principle stress Value Azimuth Inclination Stress component

σ1 16.39 MPa 327◦ 51◦ σX = 10.91 MPa τXY = 2.32 MPa

σ2 9.88 MPa 142◦ 39◦ σY = 9.03 MPa τYZ = −1.63 MPa
σ3 7.46 MPa 234◦ 3◦ σZ = 13.79 MPa τXZ = −2.75 MPa

*X-axis at south was positive, Y-axis at east was positive, Z-axis at upper is positive. And azimuth at north was zero, positive
at clockwise, and the inclination upon horizontal (zero) was positive.

Rock burst was a serious problem in tunnels exca-

Figure 6. Sketch map of the stress load on Tunnel
cross-section.
maximum tangential stress σθ max position on the tun-
nel wall must be at point B and B
, and the value of
σθ max as Formula (1)
vation, Studies showed that the occurrence of rock
burst mainly depended on the nature and the stress
of surrounding rock, and the rock’s nature was much
important, the rock’s stress was much necessary. It’s
hard to tell what scale did each one take effort in
rock burst (Hou et al. 1992). For the same reason,
now types of assumptions and Criterions appeared to
study the rock burst phenomenon, which relying on
such as strength, stiffness, energy, stable, fracture, etc
(Miu et al. 2002). Because rock burst was too com-
plex to predict, each method had its own advantages
and disadvantages. Of them, use the ratio of crustal
stress to rock strength to study whether or not rock
burst happens in tunnel rock mass was more reason-
able. In this paper, the same type of criterion from
professor Houfaliang (Hou et al. 1989) was adopt, as
follow formula (2):
In formula (2), σθ referred to the tangential stress on
rock mass, σc referred to rock’s uniaxial compressive

398
strength, and the coefficient in bracket was defined by
the stress state of rock, which depend on the ratio of
the minimum and maximum principle stress σ2 and σ1
within the cross-section plane of tunnel, for details,
see formula (3).
In formula (3), σc referred to rock’s uniaxial com-
pressive strength like formula (2), σlcr referred to the
Critical stress of rock burst.
The Granite rock’s uniaxial compressive strength
near this measuring point of traffic tunnel was 80 MPa.
And the ratio of σ2 /σ1 at the measuring point was
about 0.60, reference to formula (3), the state of rock
mass was C, and the rock burst’s critical stress σlcr
equal to 0.360σc , at about 29 MPa, which mean while
the Maximum tangential stress exceeded it do rock
burst happen.
The maximum tangential stress existed at the
positions B and B
on wall, and it’s value equal
to 3 × σ1 −σ2 , at about 39 MPa, obviously, it have
exceeded the Critical stress σlcr , so that the rock burst
would happen.
The above analysis showed£¬from the perspective
of crustal stress, rock burst would happen at positions
B and B
(The bottom left corner and top right corner
of tunnel, along the azimuth of σ2 ), this was consistent
with the actual rock burst position.
Yet that, rock burst was an complex geological
phenomenon, the cause of it maybe related to rock’s
mechanical structure, tectonic, stress, tunnel shape,
excavation progress, etc, stress was just one factor,
to analysis rock burst only by the view of stress, there
was any one-sidedness maybe.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Having introduced the three dimensional stress mea-
surement results of measuring point at traffic tunnel in
one hydropower, and having analyzed the stress con-
tribution features at the place of rock burst, now it have
approximately clarified the mechanical cause of rock
burst. And the conclusions of the stress measurement
and rock burst analysis were driven as followed.
1. There were any differences among the measured
plane stresses in three different direction boreholes.
Also test segment’s stress value in any borehole
was larger or lower than the normal ones because
399
of the influence of stress concentration or releas-
ing, overall, the stress values in three boreholes
were more consistent. Of them, the maximum prin-
ciple stress’s value normally at 10∼14 MPa, the
minimum principle stress’s at 6∼9 MPa.
2. The maximum horizontal principle stress azimuth
of the vertical borehole ZKD03 was near to N34◦W.
3. The maximum principle stress value was 16.39 MPa,
with azimuth 327◦ , inclination 51◦ , the middle prin-
ciple stress value at 9.88 MPa, with azimuth 142◦ ,
inclination 39◦ , and the minimum principle stress
value at 7.46 MPa, with azimuth 234◦ , inclination
3◦ nearly horizontal.
4. Having Analyzed of each principle stress’s value,
azimuth and inclination, it found that the inclina-
tion of the maximum stress was quite steep, and
the vertical stress component was the largest one,
obviously the deep bury of upper rock made a sig-
nificant effect to the stress pattern, and it showed
that the main actual stress near the measuring point
was firstly act at vertical direction, and secondly at
horizontal.
5. By rock’s mechanical parameter, measured stress
data and Houfaliang’s rock burst criterion, it found
that why the rock burst happen was that the σθ max
at the right arch of tunnel reached 39 MPa, greatly
exceeded the critical stress σlcr which was about
29 MPa, and it was the main mechanical cause of
rock burst.
REFERENCES
Chen, Q., Li, F., et al. 2001. Application Study
of Three Dimensional Geo-stess Measurements by
Use of Hydraulic Fracturing Method[J]. Journal of
Geomechanics, 7(01).69∼78.
Hou, F. & Wang, M. 1989. criterion of rock-burst evaluation
and its prevention and cure measure in circular tunnel[C],
Rock Mechanics in Engineering Applications, Beijing:
Knowledge press, 195∼201.
Hou, F., Liu, X., et al. 1992. Causes of rock burst re-analysis
and discuss of Intensity classification[C], Chinese Soci-
ety of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, the 3th Rock
dynamics Conference Proceedings, Wuhan: Wuhan Tech
Univ. Surveying & Mapping press, 448∼457.
Hubbert, M.K & Willis, D.G. 1957,Mechanics of Hydraulic
Fracturing[J]. AIME Trans., 210:153∼166.
International Society for Rock Mechanics, Commission
on Testing Methods. 1987.Suggested Methods for Rock
Stress Determination[J]. Int. J. Rock Mech. Mi Sci. &
Geomech. Abstr. 24(1): 53∼73.
Kuriyagawa, M. & Kobayashi, H.,1989. Application of
hydraulic fracturing to three dimensional in situ stress
measurement[J], Int. J. rock Mech. Min. Sci. 26(6):
587∼593.
Miu, J., Wu, J., et al. 2002.Causes of rock burst in circular
chambers and its geological disaster analysis [J]. Journal
of Hohai University (Natural Sciences), 30(5):37∼40.
Zoback MD. & Haimson BC., Hydraulic Fracturing Stress
Measurements[M]. Washington DC: National Academy
Press, 1983:201∼209.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Analysis on landslide catastrophe mechanism and landslip forecasting

for open-pit coal mine

Zhang Yanbo, Li Zhanjin & Kang Zhiqiang

College of Resources and Environment, Hebei Polytechnic University, Tangshan, Hebei, China
HeBei Province Key Laboratory of Mining Development and Safety Technique, Tangshan, Hebei, China

ABSTRACT: By adopting the research methods of in-situ investigation, laboratory test and theoretical analysis,
the slope sliding mechanics and key factors of effecting stability of the slop in catastrophe was analyzed at Shenli
open mine. The working slope was divided into four zones including land sliding zone, potential sliding zone,
relatively stable zone and importance engineering zone by analyzing the engineering geological condition and
lithological characteristics of slope. By the application of the in-situ monitoring data, the model of forecasting
the landslide was built up. Combined with the modified grey model and mutation forecasting model, the suitable
method of landslide catastrophe forecasting was given. The in-situ monitoring data and the land sliding condition
were verified, which proves the feasibility of the forecasting method.

1 INTRODUCTION
With the rapid growth of demand for coal, open coal
mining scale and speed got rapid development. Open
stope has deepened. The height of slope exposure, area
and maintain time has also increased. This leads to
open mining slope instability of landslide incidents.
Not only the normal production of mine was disturbed
in order, the economy of the country suffered, but
also constituted a serious threat to the safety of life[1] .
Therefore, making scientific prediction on the stability
of the slope engineering effectively has an impor-
tant guiding significance to the safety and efficiency
mining of open-pit mines.
slided 31 m, the sliding area was 2.51 × 104 m2 and the
sliding volume was 3.35 × 105 m3 . The east drain was
diverted after being burried, surface drainage system
suffered a serious threat and some of the unwater wells
were scrapped.
2.2 Northern end wall slope slide
It was formed in the end of Sep, 2005 and its slope
height was 37 m. A crack parallel to end wall was
found in elevation 982 m level in Feb, 2006. Large
slide happened to the northern end wall in August.
All the access ramp roads were damaged and unwater
wells, NB2 , NB3 , NB4 , were scrapped.

2 THE SERIOUSNESS OF SHENGLI PIT

SLOPE SLIDE
ShengLi first open coal mine is located in the Midwest
ShengLi coal mining area which is the main coalfields.
After years of opencast mining, by the end of 2006,
it had formed a mining pit which north-south length
was 1.8 km and east-west width was 0.9 km. Now the
mining depth was 930 m level and the height of the
side slope was 50∼60 m. Since 2005, the slide and
collapse of the different scale occurred in eastern non-
work wall, northern end wall, south access ramp road
of first stope mining in ShengLi open coal mine which
had a great influence on the production.
2.1 Eastern non-work wall slope slide
It was formed in March, 2005 and its slope height was
about 50 m. The loose rock in the central slope of non-
work wall slided in large area in May, 2005. Slip crest
2.3 Southern access ramp slope slide
It slumped many times from September to November,
2006. Sliding zone north-south length was 140 m,the
sliding area was 1.41 × 104 m2 and the sliding volume
was 5.0 × 104 m3 .The access ramp transport road was
damaged which had a serious influence on transporta-
tion of production.
With the further development and outspread of
ShengLi open-pit mine, landslide problem will be
more outstanding, it has already become an impor-
tant factor of open coal mine safety and production.
According to mining plans, open coal mine coal seam
6 cropped out and had a deep excavation to 90 m, for-
mation of slope height will reach 150 m. If not forecast
the stability of the existing slope engineering, put for-
ward the necessary and feasible countermeasures to
prevent and control production, open coal mine will
not go smoothly and safety in production is difficult
to ensure.

401

Figure 1. The distribution map of landslide plane in non-
working side.
3 PIT SLOPE ENGINEERING DIVISION
OF SHENGLI
The lithologic features, structure and characteristics
of groundwater is an important index, combining
engineering degree, divide the research area into the
landslide zone, potential zoning landslide area, relative
stable area and important engineering area.
3.1 Landslide area (I)
Refer to the landslide has happened, need management
to guarantee the slope stability. Since 2005, the slide
and collapse of the different scale occurred in eastern
non-work wall, northern end wall, south access ramp
road of stope. Including five large scale landslides,
which had great influence on production. They were
non-work wall DH1, DH2, DH3, DH4 and northern
end wall BH1, landslide planar distribution (figure 1).
3.2 Potential slide area (II)
Refer to the area distributed near the landslide, in criti-
cal condition, or has had a crack in the appearance, etc
and landslide may happen. Such as area II1 between
landslide DH1 and DH2, area II2 between landslide
DH2 and DH3, area II3 between landslide DH4 and
DH1. Potential slide area and the nearest landslide
zone has the same stratigraphical lithology and influ-
encing factors. If don’t take the corresponding control
measures, it is likely to form a threat of landslide.
3.3 Relative stable area (III)
Refer to the area which has no landslide or signs of
landslides with high stability. Like 1.8 km gentle slope
in the non-work wall and the peak gentle slope in
northern end wall.
3.4 Important engineering area (IV)
Refer to the area which has been arranged or need to
arrange mining engineering to guarantee mine produc-
tion. This kind of area has high request in stability .The
stability should guarantee to complete the mining of
coal seam 6 and important ground production facilities
are mapped out here.
402
4 THE MAIN FACTORS THAT AFFECT
LANDSLIDE
The basic for the slip mass is the quaternary loose layer
with hoar or pale yellow powder sand and sand which
the bottom clamps thin layer of clay or gravel layer.
The main influence factors of landslide are:
4.1 The action of water
The quaternary is medium eutrophication water. The
stability of the slope is greatly reduced because of
the softening, seepage, suffosion, freeze and water
pressure from water to the rock mass.
4.2 Lithologic conditions
The upper strata landslide is made up by quaternary
sand layer and cretaceous shale. Sand layer is thicker
and is made of the fine sand and clay, including more
argillaceous shale, poor gradation, natural rest Angle
between 25–30◦ . The cretaceous shale contains more
grit with low strength. The quaternary water perco-
late to the pit, reducing the strength of unconformity
mudstone, sliding resistance. All make the slope slide
because of unstability.
4.3 The influence of mining activities
With the mining, the slope becomes higher and steeper.
slope bottom shear stress increases. The deep mining
of mining pit provides free face for the deformation
damage of side slope.
4.4 Engineering load
Transportation load forces slope deformation damage.
5 LANDSLIDE MECHANISM ANALYSIS
5.1 Landslide mechanism of DH1
The quaternary loose rock on the top of eastern non-
work wall DH1 posterior border strew at random under
the force of water(surface water infiltration, xilin river
seepage, capillary water of water sump rising on slope
toe). It slips along the quaternary bottom interface
firstly, middle and leading edge shear out from the
strong weathering gompholite of slope toe under the
force of the leading role for smooth. (figure 2).
5.2 Landslide mechanism of DH2 , DH3 , DH4
Central eastern non-work wall (DH2 ) and north land-
slide (DH3 , DH4 ) are mainly influenced by lithology
and water (precipitation infiltration, xilin river seep-
age.) The quaternary is medium eutrophication water.
When mining pit slope crest unwater wells unwater
incompletely, large amount of the quaternary water
percolate to pit, reducing the intensity of unconformity
mudstone, sliding resistance decreased. Under the
effect of the quaternary water softening and seepage
slope slide along the quaternary sand layer and cre-
taceous mudstone deposited interface. Make sliding

Figure 2. Landslide engineering geology section of DH1 .
Figure 3. Landslide engineering geology section.
slope instability (figure 3), destroying front trans-
port shortcuts. This is evolution model of landslide:
Cut slope makes the slope toe stress redistribution.
First slope slides along cretaceous mudstone deposited
interface causing the slope crest cracks slide shear
surface forming gradually. Under inducing factors
(rain, long lasting rainfall, etc.) the sliding surface run
through leading to a hazard.
6 LANDSLIDE FORECAST MODEL OF
MUTATIONS
6.1 Landslide model of mutations
Landslide disaster is an change system that is deter-
mined by internal and external factors which influence
each other, from gradual changes to the mutation, from
quantitative to qualitative. It is a kind of nonlinear evo-
lution, non-continuous variation, and the mutations is
finally precursor of damage[2–4] .
The point mutations is the most widely used within
the scope of mutations in mechanics theory, phase
space is three-dimensional, its canonical function of
potential function is [5] :
x is state variable, p, q are control variables, x is time
variable here. Set M of all the critical corresponding
E, known as the balance of surface
M meet:
403
Its graphics in space (x, p, q) is a smooth surface
with folds. Therefore in different areas, the number
of equilibrium position is different. Easy to prove
that the balancing position is not stable when the
potential function corresponding middle lobe take
maximum(i.e. gradx (gradxV) < 0). And the balance
position is stable when the potential function corre-
sponding to upper and inferior lobes take minimum
(i.e.gradx(gradxV) > 0). Obviously, the points with
upright tangents in the surface meet:
All the points with vertical tangents on the balance
surface of mutations point set are called mutating or
singularity. Their projections on the control variables
plane p–q compose bifurcate set (or bifurcation). It
is all the points of collection which make the state
variable x jump. Bifurcation divides control variable
into three parts: F > 0; F < 0; F = 0.
We can get the bifurcation collection equation by
type (2) and (3):
Control points(p,q) change and the corresponding
points also change in the curved surface M. But when
the control points trajectory across bifurcation sets
8p3 + 27q2 = 0, the corresponding points will jump
through the middle lope and the rock mass will lose
stability.
Through the analysis above, we can conclude insta-
bility discriminent:
Namely: F > 0, slope stability, F = 0, slope in critical
condition, F < 0, landslide slope.
6.2 Landslide hazard prediction method
Based on literature[6] can get the modified grey
forecasting model:
This function contains slope sliding information
which is the expression of slope deformation condi-
tion. In other words, it is another form of expression
of a mutation cusps function
The grey prediction model of the function forms
into mutations cusps function v(x) = x4 + px2 + qx,
thus obtains the p, q and F value, judge the slope insta-
bility. Considering any one-variable function can be
spread by Taylor formula,
use Taylor series to develop[7] and truncated the can not control the dynamic change, often need sev-
fifth: eral monitoring points. According to the forecast of 14
pile we can get the F value of other piles in April 30,
May 3, May 6 and May 9. (table 2.)
(1) All the F values of monitoring points 1–14 in
i
∂y −1/4
among: ai = i!∂t i |t=0 , make: t = a4 (x − n), Change eastern non-work wall were greater than zero on
type (7) into sharp point mutations standard form by April 30, May 3, and May 6 and it was predicted
variable substitution: that the side slops within the scope of the slipe
points were stabile. Landslide can’t happen.
(2) 1, 11, 12 and 14 pile F values were less than
zero, the other 10 pile F values greater than zero
Type of: on May 9. Considering 1, 11, 12 and 14 piles in
upperlimb of slope DH2, they are more sensitive
to the slope changes and four pile points along the
slope toward the same direction. So the slope near
the four piles may slide on that day by forecast.
The reality is that the slope slided, slide area is
1440 m2 , mainly concentrated around the pile 14
on May 7. The forecast effect is good.
According to the p, q we can calculate F values utilizat-
ing type (5), predict the moment whether the slope is
Table 1. Observed value of No. 14 pile
stable.
Observation time Monitoring values/cm Prediction/cm

7 LANDSLIDE DISASTER FORECASTING 2007

METHODS IN THE APPLICATION EFFECT 3.13 1.11 1.11
OF SHENGLI OPEN COAL MINE 3.19 1.18 1.19
3.25 1.51 1.40
In order to grasp the deformation of landslide, take 3.31 2.18 1.69
the middle eastern non-work wall (DH2 ) as the studied 4.06 2.88 2.18
4.12 3.43 3.18
area. Build surface deformation monitoring network in
4.18 6.26 5.67
central eastern non-work wall (figure 4). Each mon- 4.24 13.69 12.37
itoring line lays 2∼4 points and 2∼3 of monitoring 4.30 25.92 23.32
lines beyond slope set a relative fixed point. 5.06 38.73 39.78
The spaces of observation line are 15 to 30 m and
the spaces of piles are 15 to 30 m, too.
Take eastern non-work wall pile 14 as example to
inspect the forecast effect of landslide of land slope by Table 2. Stability decision table of all piles in no-work slope.
catastrophe prediction method. According to the char-
acteristics of the gray theory and landslide condition, Prediction Prediction
the monitoring datum are chosen from the displace- Monitoring F value effect F value effect
ment monitoring datum between March 2007 and May
2007. (table 1.) 4.30 5.3
As for a small landslide by only one point of mon- 1 9.44E+4 stable 6.68E+5 stable
itoring data can forecast a sliding time. But for the 3 6.87E+4 stable 7.63E+4 stable
large and medium-sized landslide, a monitoring point 5 5.83E+5 stable 6.63E+4 stable
7 1.28E+5 stable 8.75E+4 stable
9 8.54E+4 stable 6.83E+4 stable
11 7.14E+4 stable 6.23E+4 stable
12 8.37E+4 stable 7.36E+4 stable
13 6.94E+4 stable 5.83E+4 stable
14 7.38E+4 stable 6.26E+4 stable
5.6 5.9
1 5.45E+4 stable −5.66E+4 unstable
3 5.68E+4 stable 5.26E+4 stable
5 4.84E+4 stable 3.36E+4 stable
7 6.56E+4 stable 5.73E+4 stable
9 5.86E+4 stable 2.17E+5 stable
11 4.47E+4 stable −2.38E+4 unstable
12 5.59E+4 stable −4.52E+4 unstable
13 4.29E+4 stable 5.18E+4 stable
Figure 4. Deformation monitoring of ground surface in 14 5.83E+4 stable −3.43E+4 unstable
non-work slope.

404
8 CONCLUSION
This article analysed land slope according to the
ShengLi open caol mine slope engineering geologi-
cal conditions and present situation of the slope. It
analysed the landslide mechanism of side slope with
the method of numerical simulation and theory analy-
sis, and put forward the forecasting method, the main
conclusion:
(1) On the basis of exploration the slope engineer-
ing was divided. The main influence factors of
ShengLi open coal mine landslide land sliding
were confirmed by using the rock mechanics
and engineering mechanics theory. And further
analysed the landslide mechanism.
(2) According to the landslide mechanism, we revised
the traditional theory of grey forecasting model to
a new grey-mutation forecasting model, and got
suitable method for pit slope landslide disaster
forecasting.
(3) The monitoring data and the landslide condition of
eastern non-work wall of ShengLi open coal mine
proved the landslide disaster prediction method is
feasible, and got a good effect in the engineering
application of ShengLi open coal mine.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the funding
support from HeBei Province Natural Foundation
405
(No E2008000410). At the same time, acknowledge
the laboratory support from The HeBei Province
Key Laboratory of Mining Development and Safety
Technique.
REFERENCES
[1] He Manchao. Open high slope engineering[M], Beijing:
Coal industry press, 1991
[2] Huang Changqian, DING Enbao. Slope stability analy-
sis methods used [J]. Hydropower station design, 1999,
15(1): 53∼58
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurement and acoustic emission instrumentation for rock

burst control in a deep tunnel

B. Liu, C.J. Song, N. Tian, H. Zhong & B. Cao

School of Mechanics & Civil Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a case study of a deep-buried underground tunnel project with the buried
depth of 1000 m in south-western China. Both the magnitude and direction of the geo-stress were determined
through the field measurement. The stress distribution law of the tunnel with different buried depth from 700 m
to 1000 m was comprehensively analyzed and evaluated. Through the laboratory tests and field monitoring, the
mechanical parameters and engineering characteristics of surrounding rock were obtained. On the basis of the
Kaiser Effect measurement, the real-time tests were carried out in surrounding rock for monitoring the rock
burst. The study detected that the acoustic emission parameters multiply before the occurrence of rock burst.
Furthermore, the wave-form was obtained when rock burst occurred though analyzing acoustic emission signal.
The results of the analyses provide a scientific basis for tunnel support design and section choice of the deep
tunnel projects.

1 INTRODUCTION samples are conducted. At the same time, the real-time

Geo-stress is the fundamental force that leads to
all kinds of geological disasters, such as rock-burst,
collapse and large deformation in underground engi-
neering. It has important influence on the design and
construction of deep-buried tunnels. The research on
the geo-stress is to ascertain the initial stress field
within the rock mass. Rock-burst as an engineering
geological problem is often encountered during exca-
vation in deep-buried and high-stressed underground
works. It often occurs in the hard, integrity and brittle
rock mass. In such rock mass the high elastic strain
energy is liable to be stored, which is the basic condi-
tion for inducing rock-burst (Hou 1986 & Ma 2006).
Measurement and monitoring of in-situ stress is an
important method for study of geodynamics, geologi-
cal disasters and engineering stability (Wu 1997 & Cai
2000).
Most parts of the deep-buried underground tunnel
project in this paper lie in high stress area. Therefore,
rock-burst is the most prominent geological disas-
ters in the deep-buried underground tunnel project.
Based on this reason, in-situ stress measurement and
rock-burst real-time tests are carried out at the tunnel
engineering area. Through the in-situ stress measure-
ment, the present stress state in rock mass surrounding
the tunnel is identified including the magnitude and
direction of the in-situ stress. According to in-situ
stress state, the stress distribution law of the tunnel
with different buried depth from 700 m to 10000 m
is obtained (Peng 2004). In order to make certain
the mechanical properties of surrounding rock of
the deep-buried underground tunnel project, numer-
ous laboratory tests concerning the surrounding rock
tests are carried out in surrounding rock for monitor-
ing the rock-burst through the acoustic emission (AE)
method. The test results find that the acoustic emission
parameters (such as acoustic emission signal ampli-
tude, Ring Counts, Duration and so on) multiply before
the occurrence of rock burst. This effect can serve as a
means to find the premonitory information, which is
helpful for monitoring and forecasting the rock burst
failure accordingly. Furthermore, the wave-form was
obtained when rock burst occurs though analyzing
AE signal. At the last, the possibility of rock-burst is
analyzed and discussed.
2 GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
2.1 Field geological survey
The deep-buried underground tunnel project in this
paper is located in south-western China.The maximum
buried depth is 1000 m. The lithology of the tunnel
rock is mainly sandstone and mudstone, which suf-
fered structural movements of folding, fracturing and
shear sliding in several tectonic periods. Thus the tec-
tonic structure in this area is very complicated. Partial
photos of sandstone and mudstone samples which are
obtained through drilling a hole in the site are shown
in figure1.
2.2 Rock mechanics laboratory tests
The tests were done in accordance with different stan-
dard methods. Rock mechanical properties such as
uniaxial compressive strength, triaxial compressive
strength, dynamics damage time, elastic energy index,
rock deformation and rock burst-prone tendency using

407
Figure 1. Partial photos of sandstone and mudstone samples
in the deep-buried tunnel.

combination samples with different height ratio have

been conducted for more than 200 samples. The
curves of stress-strain and dynamics damage time are
obtained. Figure 2 shows partial uniaxial test curves.
The laboratory test results of deep-buried surrounding
rocks and evaluation results of rock burst-prone are
shown in table 1.
From test results, following conclusions are
obtained.
– Triaxial compressive strength of sandstone increases
125% than uniaxial compressive strength and elas-
tic modulus increases about 23%. The ratio of
triaxial compressive strength of combination sam-
ple to triaxial compressive strength of sandstone
is about 50% and about 20% for elastic modulus,
which indicates that the strength of sandstone with Figure 2. Curves of partial uniaxial stress-strain.
mudstone layer is much lower than sandstone.
– The average uniaxial compressive strength of com-
bination samples is between mudstone and sand- 3 LAYOUT OF MEASURING POINTS
stone and is much closed to the mudstone. The
mechanical property of mudstone is very closed to The measurement method is using hydraulic frac-
coal petrology. The burst-prone tendency of coal turing technique (ISRM 1987, Cai 1993, Cai 2000,
petrology can be used to describe the properties of Peng 2006 & Ma 2005). The in-situ stress measure-
burst-prone tendency of mudstone. ment is in one borehole. The measured borehole,
– The dynamic failure strength and destruction dura- which is a vertical borehole with buried depth of
tion have enhanced with the thickness ratio of approximately 26 m, is located in the floor of the
sandstone and mudstone increases. deep-buried tunnel. The rock property of the drilling
– All of mudstone and sandstone have weak burst- hole is relatively integrity and dryness. The lithol-
prone tendency. ogy of the borehole is mainly as follows: 0–4.3 m,

408
Table 1. Physical and mechanical properties of surrounding rock and evaluation results of rock burst-prone tendency.

compressive strength (MPa)

Elastic Poisson DT Rock burst-prone
Rock samples Uniaxial Triaxial modulus (GPa) ratio (ms) WET KE tendency evaluation

Sandstone 53.647 120.577 21.23 0.229 – – 1.9 weak

Mudstone 15.14 – 5.346 0.27 360 4 1.6 weak
1:1 combination 25.12 – 7.83 0.132 720 – – no
1:2 combination 61.95 – – – 360 – – weak
1:3 combination 63.99 – – – – – – –
1:1:1 combination – 61.336 4.40 – – – – –
Coal petrology 13.91 – 4.065 0.34 – – – –

Note: DT = Dynamic damage time; WET = Elastic energy index; KE = Impact energy index.

Table 2. In-situ stress measurements results.

fracturing parameters (MPa) magnitude of stress (MPa)

Measurement fracturing section orientation of σH
points depth (m) Pb Pr PS T σH σh σv (◦ )

1 4.5–5.3 17.0 10.5 6.9 6.5 10.3 6.9 0.13

2 8.6–9.4 13.5 7.9 7.15 5.6 13.6 7.2 0.24 NW73
3 11.5–12.3 – 10.5 8.6 – 15.3 8.6 0.33 NW38
4 16.0–16.8 18.0 11.3 7.2 – 10.2 7.2 0.43 NW36
5 21.6–22.4 – 8.5 6.3 – 10.4 6.3 0.51
6 25.0–25.8 – 7.7 6.2 – 10.9 6.2 0.66

Notes: (1) Pb = fracturing pressure; Pr = re-expanding pressure; PS = instantaneous closure pressure; T = rock tensile strength;
σH = maximum horizontal principal stress; σh = minimum horizontal principal stress; σv = vertical principal stress.
(2) The depth of the borehole is calculated from the floor of the deep-buried tunnel. The upper parts of the rock don’t consider
when vertical stress σv is calculated.

reddish-brown fine sandstone; 4.3–7.65 m, purple-
red muddy siltstone; 7.65–8.15m, reddish-brown fine
sandstone; 8.15–8.45 m, purple-red muddy siltstone;
8.45–18.25m, reddish-brown fine sandstone; 18.25–
18.46 m, purple-red mudstone; 18.46–19.06, purple-
red siltstone; 19.06–19.55 m, purple-red mudstone;
19.55–22.43 m, purple-red siltstone; 22.43–29.76m,
reddish-brown fine sandstone.
According to the geology and lithology condition
of borehole, six hydraulic fracturing tests have been
carried out in this hole, of which three are chosen for
impression test to determine fracturing orientation in
the borehole.
4 IN-SITU STRESS MEASURING RESULTS
ANALYSIS
Through six hydraulic fracturing tests in this borehole,
reliable measurement results are obtained. Fractur-
ing pressure, instantaneous closure pressure and re-
expanding pressure of each test in each cycle are clear
and the repetition is good. Therefore, the values of
maximum horizontal principal stress and minimum
horizontal principal stress can be calculated by the
fracturing pressure, instantaneous closure pressure and
re-expanding pressure. The values of vertical princi-
pal stress can be calculated through the theoretical
method without considering the upper rock mass of
the deep-buried underground tunnel.
The values of fracturing pressure in each section
are 17–18 MPa. According to pressure recording curve
of fracturing measurement, re-expanding pressure is
obtained. The values of re-expanding pressure are
approximately 8.0–11.09 MPa. The values of instan-
taneous closure pressure of hydraulic fracturing face
are approximately 6.0–8.0 MPa. The values of max-
imum horizontal principal stress are 10.0–15.0 MPa
and the values of minimum horizontal principal stress
are 6.0–8.0 MPa, which are calculated by the measur-
ing pressure parameters. Table 2 shows the hydraulic
fracturing test results.
Three automatic directional impression tests have
been carried out in the hole, at depths of approximately
8.6–9.4 m, 11.5–12.3 m and 16.0–16.8 m, respectively.
Impression traces of each test section are very clear.
Hydraulic fracturing fissures distribute vertically and
occur symmetrically at the borehole wall. It reflects the
properties of hydraulic fracturing cracks accurately.
The orientations of maximum horizontal principal
stress in the impression test are N73◦W, N38◦W and
N36◦W, respectively, which illustrate that the orien-
tation of maximum horizontal principal stress around
the measuring point is NW-NWW.
The hydraulic fracturing test has been successfully
released the stress distribution law of the surrounding

409
rock in the deep-buried tunnel through analysis of field
measured results carefully.
From the measured results, the distribution of in-
situ stress state in the deep-buried tunnel area is
obtained as follows.
– The magnitude of maximum horizontal principal
stress is 10.2–15.3 Mpa. Its local maximum stress is
generally 10 MPa. The magnitude of minimum hor-
izontal principal stress is 6.2–8.6 MPa. The princi-
pal stress is significantly improved due to slight
concentration of stress at the depth of approxi-
mately 10 m.The magnitude of maximum horizontal
principal stress is up to 15.3 MPa. At the same time,
the magnitude of minimum horizontal principal
stress is up to 8.6 MPa.
– The orientation of maximum horizontal principal
stress is between NW36◦ to NW73◦ with an average
of NW52◦ . The edge orientation of the measured
maximum horizontal principal stress is NW-NWW.
– The present tectonic stress of the surround-
ing rock in the deep-buried tunnel is not very
strong. However, the possibility of rock-burst
can’t be eliminated in stress concentration tunnel
section.

5 REAL-TIME MONITORING AND ANALYSIS

ON ROCKBURST

The real-time monitoring of in-site rock burst is not

extremely universal in the deep-buried underground
tunnel. Field real-time monitoring of rock-burst has
been carried out in the deep-buried tunnel by using
SAEU2S acoustic emission system in this paper. The
main goal of real-time monitoring is the prediction of
rock-burst and the indication of the areas of high stress.
The in-situ stresses at the test site have been mea-
sured using hydraulic fracturing methods. Twelve
real-time motoring has been conducted during the
excavation. The sensors with integrated preamplifiers
are fixed on the tunnel wall through the fixing type
of magnetic absorb in each measurement. The pream-
plified signals are supplied to a 2-channel transient
recorder card which is controlled by a portable per- Figure 3. Characteristic parameters correlation diagram.
sonal computer. The transient recorder card is read
each time a signal passes the trigger threshold. All
original data of AE waveform is analyzed on the
computer.
Figure 3 shows AE parameters recorded by one
channels during the period of rock burst.TheAE events
are emitted frequently at the beginning of each frac-
ture phase. During the real-time monitoring in the
deep-buried underground tunnel, a huge number of
AE events are detected and the source locations are
also deduced. Figure 4. Frequency domain waveform when rock-burst
Frequency domain waveform when rock-burst occurs.
occurs is shown in figure 4. The frequency is mainly
in the range of 50–90 kHz when rock-burst happens. – The acoustic emission signals of rock mass are rel-
From the above parameter correlation diagram and evant to the state of rock mass damage occurs. Its
frequency domain waveform, the following conclu- parameters change accordingly with the different
sions can be obtained stages of the destruction.

410
– Acoustic emission signal amplitude of rock burst
remains at 90db and its peak value is up to 100 db.
Ring Counts is up to 21 times. Duration is up to
6000 µs. peak value of energy is up to 40000 mv µs
the peak value of rise counts is up to 15 times. The
peak value of rise time is up to 5500 µs.
– Rock burst persists to 5 to 6 minutes. The val-
ues of the characteristic parameters, i.e. amplitude,
energy, ring counts, etc when rock-burst occurs are
significantly increased.
– Rock acoustic emission signal spectrums are com-
plicated. The scope of dominant spectrums is rel-
atively wide, which is 50–90 kHz. The amplitude is
mainly in the scope of 0.5–0.7v.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Based on laboratory tests, stress measurement and
rock-burst real-time monitoring of the tunnel, the
following conclusions may be drawn.
– The strength of sandstone with mudstone layer is
much lower than sandstone. All of mudstone and
sandstone in the deep-buried tunnel have weak
burst-prone tendency.
– The values of maximum horizontal principal stress
are 10.2–15.0 MPa. Partial stress is up to 15.3 MPa.
The minimum horizontal principal stress values
are 6.2–8.6 MPa. The horizontal principal stress is
dominant in the stress field at the engineering area.
– The orientation of maximum horizontal principal
stress is NW36◦ -NW73◦ and its average is NW52◦
– The overall stress values are relatively high, but
stress is lower at local measuring hole. The rock
integrity and local structures affect obviously the
stress values. The stress value is higher in the
integrity parts; nevertheless, it is lower at jointed
and fractured parts.
– The hydraulic fracturing test has successfully
released the stress distribution law of the surround-
ing rock of the tunnel through the analysis of the test
results carefully.
411
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors sincerely thank the following agents for
their financial supports: National Natural Science
Foundation of China (50974126, 50674095), Pro-
gram for New Century Excellent Talents in University
(Grant No.NCET-08-0835), Beijing Excellent Talents
Program (20071D1600700414), Key Research Project
of Chinese Ministry of Education (No.109034).
REFERENCES
Cai, M.F., 1993. Commentary of principles and techniques
of rock stress measurement. Chinese Journal of Rock
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Cai, M.F., 2000. Principles and techniques of in-situ stress
measurement. Beijing: Science Press (In Chinese).
M.F. Cai, X.O. Xia, H. Peng & X.M. Ma. 2008. Stress field
characteristics and prediction of rockburst in the tunnel
area. Boundaries of Rock Mechanics in Beijing, China.
Hou, F.L., Jia, Y.R. 1986. the relations between rockburst and
surrounding rock stress in under-ground chamber. In: Pro-
ceedings of the Inter-national Symposium on Engineering
in Complex Rock Formations. Science Press, Beijing,
China, 11: 497–505 (In English).
ISRM. 1987. suggested methods for rock stress determina-
tion. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. Vol.
24, No. 1:55–73 (In English).
Ma, X.M., Peng, H., Li, J.S. et al. 2005. application of
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neling in west xinjiang. Journal Geo-mechanics, Vol. 11,
No. 4:386–393(In Chinese with English abstract).
Peng, H., Cui, W., Ma, X.M. et al. 2006. Hydrofracturing in
situ stress measurements of the water diversion area in
the first stage of the south-north water diversion project
(western line). Journal Geomechanics, Vol. 12, No. 2:182–
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Measurements and research of in-situ stress near the fault structure filed

C.H. Zhou, J.M. Yin & G.Q. Xiao

Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering of the Ministry of Water Resources, Changjiang
River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China

ABSTRACT: By analyzing the results of several typical projects’ hydrofracturing in-situ stress measurements
near the engineering fault structure field, the relativity between the in-situ stress and tectonics’ space distribution,
motive mechanism and lithology is obtained. The in-situ stress’ magnitude general decreases or increases in the
tectonics’depth direction and the orientations of maximum horizontal principal stress is almost parallel or vertical
to the faults’ trend influenced by the motive mechanism. It is helpful to evaluate the stability of engineering
rockmass scientifically and to provide the base of project location by analyzing the distribution of geo-stress
near the fault structure field.

1 INTRODUCTION and structural geology point of view, and sums up the

Geo-stress measurement in the engineering construc-
tion,especially in large-scale projects, is more and
more important, because it is mainly not only an
important factor of regional stability determination,
but also the force of deformation and failure dur-
ing underground or surface geotechnical engineering
excavation. Geo-stress measurement is the premise for
the determination of engineering rock mechanics, the
analysis of surrounding rock stability, the scientific
design and decision of geotechnical excavation. With
the continuously promoting of China’s western devel-
opment, a large number of high-altitud, super-depth,
high temperature differential large-scale underground
engineering will be carried out, The influence of geo-
stresses on the projects’ stability increases more and
more, such as rock burst, gas outburst, surrounding
rock’s large deformation, the roof falling, the floor
water invasion etc.a series of geological disasters
related to the geo-stress.Therefore,the measurement
and study of geo-stress distribution in the engineer-
ing area become one of the mostly conserning issues
for scientific and engineering researchers. Geo-stress
is the combined result of rockmass’s dead weight
and tectonic movements.The temporal effects of geo-
stress distribution is relative in some region, while the
distribution law is almost invariant.Therefore,how to
explore the distribution of stress for the better service
of the project construction becomes an urgent problem
to be resolved. Due to the constraints of project site, the
layout of some engineering key structure is in a particu-
lar faults or near the faults field, leading to the complex
stress field distribution. For the analysis of the prac-
tical engineering problem, many researchers analyze
it from the numerical simulation point of view. This
paper mainly analyzes the problem with several typi-
cal cases of stress measurement from the mechanics
distribution of stress near the faults in the end.
2 TEST PRINCIPLES
Hydrofracturing method is often applied in a number
of engineering rock mass stress test studies with the
benefits of high testing depth, avoiding the error by
using uncertain elastic constants,by the same time, the
stress distribution under the assumption in the two-
dimensional analysis.
The principle of hydrofracturing method is to use
a pair of inflatable rubber packer, which packers the
scheduled depth of a borehole, and then fluid pressure
is pumped into the drilling in the segment. At last, the
geo-stress is calculated according to the eigenvalue of
the process fracturing curve.
The several basic formula is commonly used as
follows:
The maximum horizontal principal stress
The minimum horizontal principal stress
Tensile
Where Pb is fracture pressure, Pr is reopening pressure,
Ps is closing pressure, P0 -pore pressure.
The fracture plane of hydrofracturing generally
extends along the perpendicular direction of the mini-
mum principal stress’s cross-section (usually the for-
mation of cracks parallel to the borehole axis), which
extends the direction of the maximum principal stress
in the drilling cross.

413
3 CASES AND MEASUREMENT RESULTS
With the further execution of the western development
policy, the engineering investment increases more and
more and the projects carried out in complex geologi-
cal environment are growing increasely. There appears
some problems affected by the tectonic environmen-
tal factors, such as the inevitable engineering stability
problems induced by some tectonic factor with the site
election and development of large-scale hydroelectric
projects in complex geological structures background.
At the same time,in order to accelerate the develop-
ment of intercity traffic, a number of rail and road are
also inevtibly located crosssing the faults during the
location of the election, thereby saving construction
costs. While the difficulty of building increases and
how to apply a better scientific guidance for the con-
struction of complex geological structures becomes an
unignorable issue.
Figure 1. Section of dam site and collocation of measure-
ment boreholes.
The paper quotes several typical engineering
stress measurement cases following, a comprehensive
analysis of the test results is introduced to discover
the stress distribution law in tectonic environment for
scientific engineering guidqance.
3.1 The geo stress test of Buxi hydropower station
dam site in Yalongjiang River
Buxi dam site is located inYalongjiang River tributary-
Yazuihe River midstream of canyon segment and about
6 km away from the upstream dam site. The site is
the basic symmetry of the “U”-type gorge where the
river flows east-west. The cutting depth of valley is
350 m or so, the bottom width is 25∼35 m, the height
is 3161∼3170 m and the relative height difference up
to the peak and the riverbed 300∼350 m. Most of
the rock in the dam is exposed and the topography
is in integrity. is The characteristics of the two sides
is only near-vertical bank slope of the “slot” type of
small gully development and the typical cross-section
of the dam is shown in Figure 1. Several fault struc-
tures are distributed in the dam,representatively the f1
fault (NNW), f2 faults (NNE)and a thrust fault F1 fault
(NNE). F1 fault’s occurrence is 90◦ ∠49◦ on the left
bank and the right bank 75◦ ∠52◦ . The two boreholes
ZK27 and ZK28 are located in the upper part of F1 fault
in the depth direction. The two boreholes’ maximum
measuring depth are 20 m and 60 m away from the fault
respectively. The measurement results in Table 1 show
that the stress value of the left bank is lower than the
right’s, due to the left bank’s testing location in f1 fault
and fracture development unloading slope.At the same
time,the maximum horizontal principal stress orienta-
tion of Table 1 reflects the F1 fault’s impact on the
stress orientation to a certain extent. Specifically for,
the principal stress direction in the right bank is essen-
tially perpendicular to the faults and consistent with

Table 1. Measurement results by hydrofracturing method.

Borehole Depth downhole Pb Pr Ps σH σH σh Azimuth of σH

number (/m) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (◦ )

ZK27 37.7 6.0 3.2 1.5 2.8 2.1 1.9

47.0 9.5 3.0 1.9 6.5 3.4 2.3
56.5 10.7 7.8 3.8 2.9 4.7 4.4 85
66.0 14.0 3.0 1.8 11.0 3.7 2.5
75.5 11.5 3.5 1.7 8.0 2.8 2.4
85.0 8.0 6.2 3.2 1.8 4.8 4.1
93.8 11.3 7.9 4.1 3.4 5.9 5.0 92
ZK28 36.9 8.2 6.9 4.2 1.3 6.0 4.6
46.9 8.8 4.4 3.1 4.4 5.3 3.6
56.9 14.0 10.1 5.9 3.9 8.1 6.5
66.9 13.0 9.0 4.8 4.0 6.0 5.5
76.9 16.2 9.3 5.8 6.9 8.8 6.6
86.9 19.2 15.4 11.0 3.8 18.4 11.9 125
96.9 16.5 12.3 9.3 4.2 16.5 10.3
104.0 14.3 9.4 5.8 4.9 9.1 6.8 110
110.0 10.9 8.2 6.6 2.7 12.7 7.7

Note: H is the measured depth segment (the below is the same).

414
the river, while the left bank’s deep testing direction located in the volcanic rift-depression middle part of
tends to the vertical fault F1 . Fujian Province. Fault F3 is located near borehole
ZK1(149◦ ∠64◦ ) and made of more than 4 parallel
faults (1 m∼15 m width each) fracture zones, where
3.2 Stress measurment of A Hai hydropower station is mainly tectonic breccia. The lithology in measure-
in Jinshajiang River ment zone is mainly rhyolite and the boreholes’ layout
A Hai hydropower station is located in Yulong County, and cross-section are shown in Figure 3. The result of
Lijiang City of Yunnan Province (on the right bank) stress value is different distributed for the faults’ affec-
and the Ninglang County (left bank) at the junction of tion, shown in Figure 4. The stress of borehole ZK1
the middle reaches of the Jinshajiang River.The river decreases along the depth firstly, then in increasing
flows generally from north to south in the underside trend when the measured depth reaches the intersec-
dam and looks the “S” type. The tectonic outside the tion with the fault F3 . While, the stress distribution of
dam area is complex and located in the northwestern borehole ZK2 firstly increases in value, then decreases
wing of Peide anticline.The main structural features in in the intersection of faults F5 in an “arc”. In a word,
the dam are expressed as folds and structure of surface
rupture.
There is a certain correlation between the maximum
horizontal principal stress orientation and the structure
surrounding the project area (Figure 2). The distribu-
tion of the test results orientation shows in Table 2,
thus, the maximum horizontal principal stress orienta-
tion in the project area is parallel to the two compound
fracture (Zhongdian-Hailuo fault, located west of the
dam site, about 15 km away; small Zhongdian-Daju
fault, located west of the dam site, about 30 km away).

3.3 Stress measurment of a railway tunnel

The tunnel is located in the south of Daiyun moun- Figure 3. Section and collocation of measurement bore-
tains and the moutains’ bearing of trend is mainly holes.
northeast∼southwest. According to regional geolog-
ical data,the regional tectonic of the testing zone is

Figure 2. Distribution of the main faults and earthquake Figure 4. The relationship between the stress and the depth
epicenters in the engineering and surrounding region. downhole.

Table 2. Results of hydrofracturing geostress measurement.

Borehole Depth downhole Pb Pr Ps σH σH σh Azimuth of σH

number (/m) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (◦ )

ZK1 92.0 9.8 3.0 1.8 6.8 3.4 2.7 310

100.0 5.8 3.2 2.0 2.6 4.0 3.0
104.7 2.4 1.9 1.5 0.6 3.9 2.5
110.5 4.2 3.4 2.2 0.8 4.6 3.3
112.5 5.1 3.9 2.4 1.2 4.8 3.6 305
114.2 4.7 4.0 2.6 0.7 5.1 3.7 316

415
when the measurement depth reachs the fault the stress
value suddenly decreases or increases with the impact
of tectonics.
The direction of maximum horizontal principal
stress of borehole ZK1 in the depth 196.6 m and
285.5 m is respectively N39◦ E and N26◦ E, while
the borehole ZK2 in the depth 123.1 m and 162 m
respectively N22◦ E and N9◦W. Figure 3 shows that
the measured orientations of the two holes’maximum
horizontal principal stress are parallel to the near fault.
4 ANALYSIS OF NEAR-FIELD TECTONIC
STRESS DISTRIBUTION
In general, different sizes of faults have a certain
impact on the stress state (stress value and the max-
imum horizontal principal) and the impact is often
influenced by the fractures’ spatial distribution and the
rockmass’ physical and mechanical nature on the both
sides.
According to E.M. Anderson’s stress state analysis,
the formation mechanism of the shearing normal faults
and reverse faults, slip faults fault is the same, belong
to the shearing fracture, while there are still differences
between the actual structural characteristics. Firstly,
the shearing normal faults and reverse faults, slip
faults, respectively, are “tensile and shearing nature,
shearing nature and compression-shear nature”, fol-
lowed by the tectonic zonation of the apparent degree
is weakening in turn of shearing normal faults and
reverse faults, slip fault faults.
It’s not difficult to find the stress release effect in
the geo-stress filed near faults’ zone of the the case I as
well the influence of the valley topography and faults
on the maximum horizontal principal stress direction,
ie vertical to the valley and the major faults in the direc-
tion. The fault F1 due to its specific spatial distribution
affects slightly the magnitude of borehole ZK28 on the
right bank; Similarly, in Case II, due to fault f1 tens of
meters outside the test area, the stress values are less
affected, but the surrounding complex faults’influence
of the stress field in the maximum horizontal princi-
pal stress direction is apparently, that is, the regional
stress orientation is basicaly parallel to the complex
structures; Case III shows that the distribution of prin-
cipal stress magnitude and direction are both affected
by the near faults. On the one hand, the maximum
horizontal principal stress direction is parallel to the
fault, mainly for the F3 and F5 faults belong to the
compressive thrust fault with pressure-shear dynamic
mechanism,on the other hand,the stress value in a cer-
tain depth of the fault shows “mutation” phenomenon,
which is due to the physical and mechanical properties
of rock related to the context of the case. In detail, it is
the fault fracture zone F3 within the broken split rock-
based, while the F5 fault fracture zone within a tectonic
breccia. That is, for the different integrity physical and
mechanical properties[10] of the former lower than the
latter, and thus two holes test results show a different
value “mutation” phenomenon.
416
5 CONCLUSION
Through the comprehensive analysis of the Several
above-mentioned cases’ on-site stress measurement
results and the law of their results, the following
conclusions can be draw:
(1) The spatial distribution of faults influences the dis-
tribution of the stress value in the vicinity zone in
different degree, the relative distance of the closer,
the stress “release” effect more clearly.
(2) The faults’ motion mechanical mechanism deter-
mines the direction of the maximum principal
stress near the faults zone in a large extent, ie
parallel or perpendicular to the direction of fault
structure.
(3) The difference of the faults both sides’ rock phys-
ical and mechanical characteristics influences the
rock stress gradient distribution in some degree,
showing the increase or decrease of the stress mag-
nitude along the fracture direction of the depth,
that is so-called “mutation;” phenomenon.
Limited to the author’s knowledge, the above under-
standing is introduced. How to deeply and organi-
cally study the relationship between the site stress
test results and the near faults’geological conditions,
mechanical motion(such as numerical simulation and
physical models) awaits further field tests and theoreti-
cal analysis. It’s helpful to understand the deep crustal
fault structure activity features by studying the prob-
lem, hoping to get colleagues and research staff on the
concerns and discussion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work was financially supported by Scientific
Research Foundation of Changjiang River Scientific
Research Institute (No.CKSF2010018). The support
is gratefully acknowledged.
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cal and mechanical properties of rocks on stress field in
the vicinity of fractures effect of physical and mechani-
cal properties of rocks on stress field in the vicinity
of fractures. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Engineering.Vol.22,3: 370–377.
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electric engineering(SL264 – 2001)[S]. Beijing: China
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engineering rock stability analysis [M]. Beijing: Coal
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Investigation on the mechanism of water inrush in deep mining

by in-situ stress measurement

Y.D. Jiang
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Mine safety(CUMTB), Beijing, China
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

Y.K. Lv, Y.X. Zhao & L.L. Zhu

School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Jiulong mine is a typical inundation coal mine in China, in the working face several water
inrush disasters has occurred during the process of deep mining so far. Working face water inrush disasters in
Jiulong mine is taken as the research object, by means of the Hollow Inclusion, deep rock mechanics character
measurement and on-site investigation, this paper has discussed the influencing factors of the stability of the
floor in deep mining working face and come to the conclusion of distributed characteristics of stress field.
Combined with numerical simulation, it inverses the distributed discipline of the stress field, studies the stability
characteristics of the floor in the deep mining working face under the effect of in-situ stress, confined water, and
mining disturbance. The research results show that the integral floor heave in the deep mining working face of
Jiulong mine is due to the influence of multi-field coupling, which includes in-situ stress field, the pressure of
confined water under strata, the mining disturbance stress, and so on. Among these, the tectonic stress field, the
recovery method and the size of working face are key elements of floor heaving and breaking. By the appropriate
selection of mining method and the size of working face, such water inrush disasters can be prevented effectively.
And mining area in-situ measurement also plays an important role in the research of the working face floor water
inrush mechanism.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT

Due to gradually entering the time of deep mining,
the threat of overlying confined groundwater become
intensive in increasing number of mine working face
in China. Consequently, a number of researches[1–5]
have been done by many outstanding scholars, which
focus on water inrush mechanism in working face with
deep mining overlying confined groundwater. These
researches indicated that: Geostress is the most signif-
icant and essential factor. Currently, the influence of
geostress receives less concern in the design of mining
working face and roadway supporting, which could be
omitted in the small-scale or near the surface mining.
But as the mining range being extended and deepened,
the influence of geostress become serious, especially
in working face with deep mining overlying confined
groundwater, without the concern of geostress, water
inrush disasters would likely happened.As the research
background, the deep stress measurement in Jiulong
mine, Fengfeng coal mine area, which is introduced,
the stress field of the deep working face 15423N in
Jiulong mine is inverted by numerical simulation, and
the integral fracture and water inrush mechanism of
this working face floor is also discussed on the basis
of this research.
As a specific inundation mine area in China, Fengfeng
coal mine area is confronted with the secular threat
of the high confined water in the floor of the mine.
Jiulong mine, located in the southeast of the mine
area, in which 2# (Daqing coal seam) and 4# (Yeqing
coal seam) coal seams are primarily mined. As the
growth of mining depth, floor fracture, integral heaven,
and water inrush often occurred in working face with
overlying confined water during the deep mining. So
far, three working face 15413N, 15421N, and 15431N
have been extracted in Jiulong deep coal seams, and
at least 1 to 2 water inrush disasters occurred in
each working face during the mining. It is discov-
ered by analysis that the working face water inrush
in coal seams of Jiulong mine is effected by Ordovi-
cian limestone aquifer and Daqing limestone aquifer,
the Daqing limestone aquifer has great water yield
property and high head pressure, can be supplied
by Ordovician limestone aquifer readily, also have
high dewatering volumes characters; the Ordovician
limestone aquifer is regional aquifer, which has great
thickness, large supply area, great water yield prop-
erty, and high head pressure, it’s the significant aquifer
to the coal mining, which inrushes the mine by floor

419

Figure 1. Columnar section of rock strata.
water inrush, and with the large volume of inrush
water.
Currently, the deep mining working face is
extracting in 15423N, which has the elevation at
−616∼710 m, ground elevation is +127.2∼135.7 m,
mining area are 91872 m2 , depth of available coal seam
is 1.46 m, and the mining velocity is 2 m/day. For the
purpose of avoiding floor heaven and water inrush in
working face 15423N and implement of effective mea-
sures, the character and mechanical property of the
rock in working face, the fracture property of the floor
in the process of mining must be obtained, and the pos-
sibility of mining in double-unit face should also be
discussed. Consequently, the drilling and categorizing
of the drill core in working face is on implement.
The drilling project was launched at No.2 observa-
tion hole during June 30, 2008 to August 31, 2008,
which is near the working face 15423N, and 104.1 m
length core sample was acquired, then categorizing and
wax-sealed work had been done.
The result of categorizing shows that: 34 rock
stratums exist between the floor of working face
15423N and the Ordovician limestone aquifer, and
100 m distance away from each other, see Figure 1.
Three aquifers which below the working face floor
are locate in order: Shanfuqing aquifer at 30.4 m,
with 2∼3 MPa hydraulic pressure; Daqing aquifer at
66 m, with 5 MPa hydraulic pressure; and Ordovician
limestone aquifer at 104.1 m, with 9 MPa hydraulic
pressure.
3 IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT
3.1 The principle of in-situ stress measurement
The target of in-situ stress measurement[6] is to con-
firm the three-dimensional stress state of rock mass.
420
The stress state of any point in rock mass could be
represented by 6 parameters (σx , σy , σz , τxy , τxz , τyz ) in
specified coordinate. The implementation procedure
of any measuring methods is breaking the original state
by perturbation (Commonly drilling), then acquiring
the mechanical effect by indirect measurement in the
process of re-balance. The generation of strain and dis-
placement is the most direct effect of strength or stress;
the measured changes of rock stress and displace-
ment are recorded by sensor, by which the mechanical
calculate model could be built up according with con-
stitutive relation (stress – strain relation), then the 6
parameters or 3 primary stresses of the geostress could
be calculated.
Stress relief by hollow inclusion is the most devel-
oped and mature method technically. Stress relief
method was firstly applied in rock mass stress mea-
suring by Olson[7] in 1949. In this method, the virgin
rock is considered as ideal elastic body at specified
stress state, and the rock mass has a certain elas-
tic deformation temporality, then release the stress
at the measuring point by extracting the rock core,
the primary stress of the rock can be inverse solute
by measuring the transformation after the release of
stress.
3.2 The selection of stress measuring point
in Jiulong mine
The measuring results of geostress were influence not
only by instrument and measuring methods, but also
constrained by environment of engineering geology
and status of rock. Consequently, the concerned mea-
suring points should be chosen as follows: Selected
region should be representative; the location should
in in-situ rock stress area; measuring points should be
arranged in the continuous rock mass as far as possible
and keep away from large excavation such as big gob,
big cave rooms; stress distortion zone, unstable areas
and interference sources should be avoided; tunnel and
slope bend, fork , abductions and top of other stress
concentration zones should be avoided. According to
the principles above and mining geological conditions
in Jiulong mine, 5 measuring points were tentatively
selected.
No. 1 point was located at: 20 m away from the head
of conveyor in North-two, 595 m below sea-level, on
the bottom of 2# coal seam (far away with the coal),
sandstone, drilling upward 3◦ , hole depth 10.200 m,
azimuth angle NS309◦ , good rock integrity.
No.2 point was located at: 10 m away from the tail
of conveyor in North-two, 592 m below sea-level, on
the floor of 4# coal seam (near the coal), sandstone,
drilling upward 3◦ , hole depth 13.370 m, azimuth angle
NS281◦ , good rock integrity.
No.3 point was located at: 10 m away from North
two-two offset port two of level air return, 770 m below
sea-level, on the bottom of 2# coal seam (far away
with the coal), drilling upward 3◦ , hole depth 10.010 m,
azimuth angle NS12◦ , broken rock.
No.4 point was located at: working face 231
(behind 55 tram in transported roadway), 450 m below
sea-level, on the floor of 4# coal seam (near the coal),
drilling upward 3◦ , hole depth 10.810 m, azimuth angle
NS271◦ , poor rock integrity, shale rock, and some
mudstone outside.
No.5 point was located at: north out-drainage road-
way, 640 m below sea-level, on the floor of 4# coal
seam (far away with the coal), sandstone, and shale
rock outside the drilling, drilling upward 3◦ , hole
depth 10.890 m, azimuth angle NS272◦ , rock extreme
broken rock at the probe.

3.3 Problems and analysis in the process

of rock core drilling
Several high stress phenomenons have occurred in the
process of deep rock core drilling, disced rock cores Figure 2. The strain of No.4 measuring point in Jiulong coal
and hole instability for instance. Disced rock cores mine.
happened during the measuring of No. 4 point in Jiu-
long mine. The reason is the original equilibrium state
Table 1. The results of in-situ stress in Jiulong coal mine.
has been broken by rock core drilling in high stress
environment, then stress concentration happened near The values of Dip Vertical
the hole and plastic collapse happened near the bottom Principal principal Azimuth angle stress
of the core consequently. After the core break from No. stress stress (MPa) angle (◦ ) (◦ ) (MPa)
rock mass, the original triaxial compressive state has
been changed into force-free state, which makes elas- 4 σ1 27.2 93 −5 15.1
tic recovery in the core, and break happened in some σ2 16.3 2 −3
micro-crack of the core which has plastic collapsed. σ3 15.0 238 −83
As the stress direction in core drilling is symmetry 5 σ1 24.4 109 −22 20.3
with the centre of the core and the process of coring σ2 22.7 −13 −52
σ3 10 212 −28
is along the axial of the core, the break happened in
stages along the axial direction and formatted disced
rock, disced rock phenomenon happened eventually.
The phenomenon of hole instability. In measuring
Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Science, the mount-
of geostress, the initial installation of inclusion probe
ing depth is 10 m approximately. From the strain curve
was smooth in the stress relief hole, but great resistance
of foil gauge at 4# measuring point in Jiulong mine, it
appeared in the process of the working of guidance
is found that strain capacity at each foil gauge is zero
positioner when did the reinstallation, and necking
at the beginning of drilling, then varies larger with the
phenomenon happened in the drilling hole sharply.
increase of drilling distance, when it reaches near the
Two reasons for this phenomenon: first, without the
foil gauge, which is in compression state, and strain
support of rock formation after drilling, the stress
capacity wanes gradually, expresses as a negative value
equilibrium was broken and re-distribution of stress
on the curve. In case the relief distance reaches 20 cm,
appeared around the hole, hole instability happened
strain larges abruptly when the core drilled the loca-
in high-stress field consequently; second, the drilled
tion of the strain gauge, and changes into positive value
rock would creep and rheology under the influence
from negative on the curve, the foil gauge is on a pro-
of high-stress, and necking might sharply occurred
cess of sudden release of the stress. Subsequently, the
with a passage of time. Two solutions for the condition
strain capacities of all foil gauges stabilize along with
of broken hole as follows: ➀ Applying high-pressure
the increase of relief distance, which is consist with
grouting treatment, which could cemented the rock
actual situation. Only results of 4# and 5# measur-
into a whole, then set out the cement with thin-walled
ing points are concerned in this paper, on account of
drill after its drying up to a certain degree, this could
unsuccessful measurements on 1#, 2#, 3# point for a
make hole wall smooth and no impression on the mea-
variety of reasons.
surement of primary rock stress. ➁ Prolong suitable
What is found from the analysis of the ground stress
annular tubes to the end of the macropore, then install
measuring results in Jiulong mine: (Table 1).
inclusion and release the hole stress, so the guidance
positioned could be avoided through the fracture zone. (1) The directions of maximum principal stress at
each measuring point are close to the horizontal
direction, which is corresponding with the tectonic
3.4 Measurement result of ground stress
stress field in Chinese mainland;
in Jiulong mine
(2) Maximum principal stress in the horizontal direc-
The stress meter used in measuring named KX- tion, and the value is about 1.2∼1.8 times to its
2003, which developed by Institute of Geological self-weight stress, which indicate that horizontal

421

Figure 3. Numerical model.
Figure 4. Double-unit face mining.
tectonic stress field is on dominant position in this
mining area;
(3) The trend of the maximum principal horizon-
tal stress is North-west-west to South-east-east
overall.
(4) In substance, the vertical stress is equal to the
weight of overlying rock.
4 IN-SITU STRESS INVERSION BY
UMERICAL SIMULATION
4.1 Three-dimensional geological model
construction of Jiulong mine
Based on ABAQUS, the three-dimensional numer-
ical model is set up, which plots out 64800 grid
cells and 69972 nodes. The range of the entire model
is 480 m(X axis) × 231.9 m(Y axis) × 300 m(Z axis).
The vertical stress is calculated with gravity stress of
rock mass (16 MPa) and compression hydraulic pres-
sure (9 MPa); the horizontal stress of rock stratum
is applied according with field measurements; dis-
placement constrain is applied on the bottom of the
model.
4.2 Analysis of stress field inversion result
in Jiulong mine
The maximum and minimum principal stress increase
along with the deepen position, which at 5# measuring
422
Table 2. The results of in-situ stress inversion in Jiulong
coal mine.
The results of in-situ
Number of stress inversion (MPa)
measuring
point Depth (m) σx σy σz
4 560 15.4 14.6 15.3
5 750 24.8 21.8 21.4
point are both greater then at 4# measuring point; the
buried depth of 5# point is 750 m, which is 560 m at
4# point, and the maximum principal stress of the for-
mer is 24.8 MPa, whereas the latter is 15.4 MPa, and
the values of σz at each point are both equal with
the gravity of rock stratum, which is in conformity
with field condition in principle. The calculation found
that: On working face 15423N, the maximum princi-
pal stress ranging between 17 MPa and 20 MPa, the
minimum principal stress ranging between 17 MPa
and 21.4 MPa, the horizontal stress ranging between
19.8 MPa and 22.6 MPa, the vertical stress ranging
between 17 MPa and 20 MPa, and horizontal stress is
about 1.16∼1.33 times to vertical stress, which illus-
trate that the floor of working face is more influenced
by the horizontal stress.
5 INVESTIGATION ON THE MECHANISM
OF WATER INRUSH IN DEEP MINING
OF JIULONG COAL MINE
With the results of in-situ stress field measurement and
analysis on hydraulic fracturing theory[8] came the fol-
lowing finds: when the deep 15423N working face did
the mining in Jiulong coal mine, together with the dis-
turbance stress and high geostress field, the working
face floor strata would damage severely. With the influ-
ence of high confined water on the floor, cracks in the
working face floor would extend to the direction with
the least resistance pressure, after which, the work-
ing face floor would break and blow up. Meanwhile,
before the break of the end of the rock beam of the
main roof, and the goaf floor is in a state of pres-
sure relief, the vertical stress, together with horizontal
stress will form a tension stress zone with low pressure
beneath the area of the goaf, which makes cracks in all
directions in this area keep opening, and the horizontal
pressure of 15423N working face becomes the maxi-
mum principal stress and the horizontal cracks would
open while vertical cracks would be closed because the
fact that the horizontal stress is higher than hydraulic
pressure. Oblique cracks would stay opened only when
the following needs are met.
Pw represents hydraulic pressure, σx is horizontal
stress of the floor, α is the dip angle of a cracker. Before

Figure 5. The maximum principal stress and vertical dis-
placement along vertical slicing of working face.
the break of the end of the rock beam of main roof,
confined water which leads to water inrush in goaf
could only go up along horizontal cracks and crack
network which is constituted by those cracks generated
by the result of a angle conditions’ satisfaction. When
the rock beam of the main roof touch coal gangue,
vertical stress will increase in gob, cracks in floor will
close and the spot of water inrush will be situated in
big roof area near the coal wall[9] .
Based on the measurement of in-situ stress field in
this mining field and the results of numerical simu-
lation inversion, we did some simulation calculation
on floor pressure and displacement in various mining
processes for 15423N working face, and the results are
shown in figure 4.
The results based on analysis: vertical stress will
transfer to the walls of the tunnel, which means vertical
stress will concentrate on the walls of the tunnel. Hori-
zontal stress will go to the roof and floor, which means,
this kind of stress will concentrate on the roof and the
floor. When working face utilized the maximum floor
heave amount (72.4 cm) for single face mining and
stress on the direct floor (1.39 Mpa), the 50 m’ area
beneath the integral floor would blow up, which would
result in the formation of fracture development zone.
The maximum principal stress picture shows the
tension stress zone extending to the 30 m beneath the
floor and this zone has extended to the aquifer in Shan-
fuqing limestone, but the small stress of this limestone
is not strong enough to damage the working face.
Based on the spot research, we find that the aquifer
in Ordovician limestone is connected with aquifer in
Daqing limestone where its hydraulic pressure also
increased and all these, made the growth of guide rise
zone of confined water in aquifer in Daqing limestone,
which will induce the disaster of water inrush under
the coupling effects of with the disturbance stress and
high geostress field,After the utilization of double-unit
face mining means, the maximum principal stress on
the working face floor reduced to 0.85 Mpa, when the
423
alternate distance reached 30 m, the length of integral
floor’s blowing-up reduced to 15 m.
From this we can obtain the conclusion that, the way
to reduce the mining width of the working face by
double-unit face mining can effectively relief the
effects of stress on the floor, meanwhile, it can also
decrease the coverage of integral blowing-up on the
floor, which achieved the goals to relieve and prevent
the floor’s integral blowing up and break.
6 CONCLUSION
1. Under the circumstances of the high in-situ stress
field, it’s easy to come the result of disced rock
cores and hole instability when we do the rock
core drilling. We could obtain rock specimen which
is qualified for experiments with responsive and
proper measures.
2. In-situ stress measurement leads to the finds that
the strata in deep Jiulong coal mine is mainly led
by horizontal stress field, and the general trend goes
from North-west-west to South-east-east.
3. Combined with the in-situ stress field measurement
and numerical simulation’s results, we analyzed the
damage situation of 15423N working face floor,
and we discussed the principal reasons of blow-
ing up and water inrush during the exploration of
working floor of the Yeqing limestone coaling in
deep Jiulong coal mine.
4. With ABAQUS numerical simulation, we discussed
the effects of double-unit face mining on the relief
of blowing up of the 15423N working face floor for
the deep confined water, which also provides the-
oretic foundation for the prevention and treatment
of water inrush on the floor on spot.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We express our appreciation to Project 2010CB226801
supported by National Key Basic Research Devel-
opment Program (973 program); Project 50704034
supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China;
Project supported by Beijing Education commission
Jointly Construction Project construction plan; Project
supported by State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources
and Mine safety independent research topic.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical stimulation of minimum permitted operating pressure

of natural gas storage in bedded salt

Wang Tongtao, Yan Xiangzhen & Yang Xiujuan

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum,
Dongying, Shandong, China

Yang Henglin
CNPC Drilling Research Institute, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The equation of Mohr-Coulomb salt dilation criterion has been developed obtained from the
triaxial compression and extension laboratory tests of bedded salt. Numerical stimulations of the natural gas
storage caverns in bedded salt formation are carried out by FLAC3D to evaluate the effect of cavern design param-
eters on the minimum permitted operating gas pressure necessary to maintain cavern stability. The influences
of cavern depth, cavern roof span, roof salt thickness, overlying shale thickness and overlying shale stiffness on
the minimum permitted operating pressure are studied. In order to compare the calculating results conveniently,
the minimum permitted operating pressure is expressed in terms of a pressure gradient at the casing shoes. The
comprehensive study results indicate that the minimum permitted operating pressure gradient has a proportion
with cavern roof span, and an inverse proportion with overlying shale stiffness. The roof salt thickness and
overlying shale thickness have little or no influence on the minimum permitted operating pressure gradient.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 BEDDED SALT EXPERIMENTS

In order to overcome the natural gas use-peak and 2.1 Experimental samples preparation
emergency reserves of China eastern provinces, the
The experiment salt samples are taken from H-1 wells,
state decided to construct underground salt caverns,
depth of 1897 ∼ 2025 m, which are typical bedded salt
located at eastern of China, to storage natural gas on
containing lots of non-salt (such as anhydrite, shale,
August 2006. The whole constructions are made up
dolomite, and limestone) and salt layers (fig. 1). The
by a total of 16 separate caverns, with a total con-
thicknesses of these layers are different.
struction scale of 3.2 × 108 m3 /a working gas. The
As the rock salt dissolved with water, the dry-
newly built salt cavern depth, height and diameter
grinding method is adopted to make the bedded salt to
are about 1900 m, 90 m and 60 m, respectively. The
the standard specimens to avoid the rock salt structural
effective space of single gas storage cavern is about
damage by water. Firstly, the salts are divided roughly
1.5 × 107 m3 , operating pressure about 7∼17 MPa.
by sections to meet the test requirements; then, the
Comparing to the other salt caverns(CHEN Weizhong
salt sections are processed to standard experimental
et al, 2009; P. Bérest et al, 2003; Yin Xueyuan, 2006),
samples by lathe with a small amount of feed. During
the newly built salt caverns are much deeper in buried
the study, 7 standard experimental samples are pro-
depth, higher operating pressure and more multi-
duced by above process according to Specifications
laminated non-salt, which make the constructions
for rock tests in water conservancy and hydroelectric
become more challengeable. In this study, the Mohr-
engineering (SL264-2001), characteristic parameters
Coulomb salt damage criterion has been obtained
of standard samples shown in table 1.
according to the experimental data and implemented
in FLAC3D to simulate the bedded salt cavern behav-
ior. Cavern design parameters are varied to evaluate
2.2 Experiment results
how they influence on the minimum permitted oper-
ating gas pressure, which are cavern depth, cavern Several physical mechanic experiments are carried
roof span, roof salt thickness, overlying shale thick- out on the standard samples, which include: 1) Den-
ness, and overlying shale stiffness. The numerical sity tests; 2) Brazilian tests; 3) Uniaxial compression
simulations results can afford references and data tests; 4) Triaxial compression tests. Tests processes
to evaluate the cavern stability and optimize cavern and requirements are strict followed the PRC indus-
dimensions. try standard Specifications for rock tests in water

425
 Figure 2. Stratigraphy model of cavern in bedded salt.

3 NUMERICAL CALCULATION OF MINIMUM

PERMITTED PRESSURE
Figure 1. Typical bedded salt samples.
In order to get the influences of cavern design parame-
ters on the minimum permitted operating gas pressure
necessary to maintain cavern stability, numerical stim-
Table 1. Characteristic parameters of standard samples.
ulations of the natural gas storage caverns located at
NO. Length/mm Diameter/mm eastern of China in bedded salt formation, are carried
out by FLAC3D . Several design parameters are investi-
R-1 160.13 75.60 gated in the numerical simulations, including: cavern
R-3 161.32 74.96 depth, cavern roof span, roof salt thickness, overlying
R-4 160.20 75.15 shale thickness, and overlying shale stiffness. Results
S-1 86.70 50.15 of the numerical analyses are presented in terms of
S-2 100.07 49.65 the pressure gradient at the casing shoe to provide
S-3 100.92 48.71 a convenient method for comparison of the results,
S-5 85.55 50.92 particularly those obtained for the caverns at different
depths (Fig. 2).

conservancy and hydroelectric engineering (SL264- 3.1 Model description

2001), the experimental data of H-1 well shown in
table 2.
The equation of Mohr-Coulomb salt dilation cri-
terion is obtained by the H-1 well salt samples
experimental data, written as:
Where, τ is the shear stress on the failure plane, MPa;
σn is the normal stress on the failure plane, MPa.
Figure 3 illustrates the stratigraphy distribution of H-1
well located at eastern of China. As shown in Figure 2,
there are seven non-salt beds concluded. One non-salt
bed is above cavern approximately 1807.5–1817.7 m
below the well head. Three non-salt beds are within
the cavern interval, and the locations to the wellhead
are 1950.3–1958.6 m, 1972.1–1977.4 m and 2003.5–
2007.6 m, respectively. And three non-salt beds are
under the salt cavern, located at 2024.3–2027.5 m,
2046.4–2054.5 m and 2071.3–2086.5 m, respectively.

Table 2. Physical mechanic tests data of bedded salt from H-1 well.

Test items Density tests Brazilian tests Uniaxial compression tests Triaxial compression tests

Density Tensile splitting Strength Young’s modulus Poisson Cohesive Friction

Test contents ρ/g.cm−3 strength σt /MPa σc /MPa E/MPa ratio µ force C/MPa angle ϕ/(◦ )

Non-salt 2.363 4.864 41.34 27.29 0.277

Salt 2.182 29.45 5.54 0.293 5.84 40.27

426
Figure 3. Failure zone distributions of natural gas storage under different operating pressure.
During the numerical simulation, the overburden
of above 1600 m strata is treated as the in-situ stress
loads. The magnitude of the vertical principal stress is
typically assumed to be equal to the weight of the over-
burden. So, the overburden in the simulation is equal to
31.86 MPa. In the stratigraphy model, the depth is dis-
tributed from 1600 m (distance to well head) to 2300 m
(Fig. 2).
3.2 Numerical calculating results and discussions
Based on the above calculation model and mechanical
properties of rock salt, the numerical simulation mod-
els are built up by FLAC3D software. The influences of
design parameters on the minimum permitted operat-
ing gas pressure necessary to maintain cavern stability
are studied. These design parameters are cavern depth,
cavern roof span, roof salt thickness, overlying shale
thickness and overlying shale stiffness. The minimum
permitted operating gas pressure, which is expressed
as the form of pressure gradient at casing shoe. The
calculating results are shown in figure 3∼4.
As shown in figure 3, the areas of failure zones
in the inner surface of natural gas storage decrease
as the operating pressure increasing, which indicates
the incensement of operating pressure under certain
amplitudes is beneficial to the stability of caverns. The
427
minimum permitted operating gas pressure to maintain
cavern stability can be obtained by the stress distribu-
tions and Mohr-Coulomb salt dilation criterion, shown
in figure 4.
From figure 4(a), we can see the minimum per-
mitted operating pressure gradient (MPRPG) has a
direct proportion relationship with cavern roof span
for the bigger cavern roof span means bigger above
overburden loaded at the cavern dome. So, higher
operating pressure is needed to equilibrate part of
above overburden. The roof salt thickness and over-
lying shale thickness have little effect on the MPRPG
(fig. 4 (b)∼4 (c)). However, the importance of main-
taining a competent layer of salt above the cavern
roof cannot be underestimated. The roof salt pro-
vides a barrier of rock having a low permeability
necessary to prevent the upward migration of gas.
Additionally, the salt in formations comprising very
weak non-salt beds must provide the structural support
to prevent cavern collapse. Figure 4(d) illustrates the
MPRPG decreases greatly as the overlying shale stiff-
ness increasing. For example, when the buried depth is
1900 m, the MPRPG decreases from 0.01459 MPa/m
to 0.00545 MPa/m when the overlying shale stiffness
is increasing from 1.5 GPa to 10 GPa. It is decreased
by 62.64%. In the stratigraphy structure of the natural
gas storage, the non-salt layer with higher stiffness can
Figure 4. Relationships of cavern MPRPG between design parameters.
endure more overburden which will decrease the part
of overburden balanced by operating pressure, reduc-
ing the MPRPG. The overlying shale stiffness should
be considered fully in design of cavern roof structure.
From the numerical calculating results, we can also
find the MPRPG increases with depth, and gradually
becomes smoothly as depth increasing.
4 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The physic mechanics parameters of bedded salt
getting from H-1 well are obtained by the labora-
tory tests. And the equation of Mohr-Coulomb salt
dilation criterion is taken from the experimental
data.
(2) The numerical simulation models are built up by
FLAC3D software based on the calculation models
and mechanical properties of rock salt. The influ-
ences of cavern depth, cavern roof span, roof salt
thickness, overlying shale thickness and overlying
shale stiffness on the minimum permitted oper-
ating gas pressure necessary to maintain cavern
stability are studied.
428
(3) The numerical calculating results show the min-
imum permitted operating pressure gradient of
natural gas storage has a direct proportion rela-
tionship with cavern roof span and buried depth,
which has an inverse proportion with overlying
shale stiffness. The roof salt thickness and over-
lying shale thickness have little influence on the
minimum permitted operating pressure gradient.
REFERENCES
CHEN Weizhong, TAN Xianjun, WU Guojun, et al. 2009.
Research on gas seepage law in laminated salt rock gas
storage.Chinese journal of rock mechanics and engineer-
ing, 28(7): 1297–1304.
P. Bérest, B. Brouard.2003. Safety of salt caverns used for
underground storage. Oil & Gas Science and Technology,
58(3): 361–384.
Specifications for rock tests in water conservancy and
hydroelectric engineering (SL264-2001).PRC industry
standard, 2001:33-40.
Yin Xueyuan, Zhang Ziqiao.2006.Cementing Techniques for
Wells with Salt Caverns Used for Gas Storage in Jintan.
Petroleum drilling techniques, 34(2): 45–47.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A pseudo-3D model with 2D flow of hydraulic fracture propagation

in thin interbedded sandstone reservoir

Yang Xiujuan, Wang Tongtao & Yan Xiangzhen

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Dongying,
Shandong, China

Wang Xin
CNPC Research Institute of Petroleum Exploitation and Development (Langfang Branch), Langfang, Hebei, China

ABSTRACT: During the large-scale hydraulic fracturing of thin interbedded sandstone reservoir (short for
TISR), the fracture is propagated greatly along the fracture height direction, leading the length/height ratio of
fracture usually smaller than 4. Because the interlayer is thin and weak, this can not afford strong restrictions
on the height of fracture propagations. In this condition, the traditional pseudo-3D model only considering the
fluid flowing along the length direction of fracture does not agree with the actual situation. In this study, a new
pseudo-3D model of predicting the fracture development with 2D flow is built up according to the hydraulic
fracturing characteristics of TISR. In the new model, the flow along the fracture height direction is considered.
The precise solutions of fracture length and height dimensions are calculated by the new model. The numerical
calculating software is obtained based on the new model, which is used to stimulate the fracture development
during hydraulic fracturing in TISR. The results show that the new model has a perfect performance in analyzing
the fracture development during large-scale hydraulic fracturing in TISR.

Keywords: pseudo-3D model with 2D flow; large-scale hydraulic fracturing; thin interbedded sandstone
reservoir (TISR); fracture; length/height ratio

1 INTRODUCTION In this paper, a new psudo-3D with 2D fluid flow is

Stimulation of TISR by massive hydraulic fracturing
has been established as a very successful technology
for improving the petroleum production performance
(XU Yun1ong et al., 2005; Dou Ranglin et al, 2001).
In the TISR, interbeds and storage layers appear by
alternation and their strengths are weak, leading a
weak constrain to the fracture propagation in height
direction. So, during massive hydraulic fracturing, the
fracture propagates effectively in vertical and horizon-
tal directions. To properly simulate the fracture and the
reservoir, the engineers have used three-dimensional
(3D) or pseudo-3D hydraulic fracture propagation
models. At present, during the simulations of frac-
ture propagations by 3D or pseudo-3D model, the fluid
flow is considered as 1D flow along the fracture length
direction, neglecting the flow along the fracture height
direction, e.g. Palmer pseudo-3D (Palmer ID et al.,
1983). These 3D and pseudo-3D are suitable in cas-
ing of fractures length/height >4, illegal for the TISR
hydraulic fracturing calculating for the fracture propa-
gation in height direction effectively.The length/height
of TISR hydraulic fracturing is usual smaller than 4.
developed to stimulate the fracture propagations of
TISR during massive hydraulic fracturing. In the new
modal, the flow in fracture is presumed running along
both the fracture length and height directions. The pre-
cise solutions of pressures, fracture length and height
are deduced and the calculating software is complied.
2 THE PSUDO-3D WITH 2D FLUID FLOW
The fracture of TISR by massive hydraulic fracturing
can be presumed as an elliptical fracture in infinite
plane according the available literatures (Qiu Weide
et al., 2002; M.M.Rahman et al., 2003; M.K.Rahman
et al., 2007). In order to analyze the proposed new
model, the following assumptions are made:
1) The material of storage layers is ideal elastic.
2) The pumping rate is constant during hydraulic
fracturing.
3) The length/height of fracture is small, less than 4.
4) The minus horizontal in-situ stress of the lower and
upper bed are uniform and symmetric with storage
layers.

429
2.1 Computation of fracture width and stress
intensity factor
According to the methods developed by Shah and
Kobayashi (Shah, R.C et al., 1971), the fluid pressure
of fracture can be written as:
Where, Aij is undetermined constant.
The geometrical dimensions and stress distribution
in upper and lower bed are showed in Figure 1. By
using assumptions (4), the fluid pressure of fracture is
obtained as
The with of fracture in Figure 1 is obtained as
During the fracture propagation, the stress intensity
factors are expressed as
Substituting θ = 0 into equation (4), the stress inten-
sity factor of fracture end in length direction (x = Lf ),
KIL , is expressed as the following simplified forms
Similarly, the value of θ = 90◦ and y = hf are sub-
stituted into equation (4) to give the stress intensity
factor of fracture end in height direction
Where, Lf is the half length of elliptical fracture, m;
hf is the half height of elliptical fracture, m; G is rock
shear modulus, GPa; θ is the angle parameter of ellipse
to define the position of calculating point, ◦ ; C00 , C20 ,
C02 are constants determined by A00 , A20 , A02 .
430
Figure 1. Stress on the fracture and related parameter dia-
gram when stress distribution in upper and lower bed is
symmetrical.
2.2 Computation of fluid pressure in elliptical
fracture with 2D flow
The fluid pressure in the elliptical fracture with a line
source can be described by Laplace equation ∇ 2 P = 0.
In this paper, the length of line source is equal to per-
forated casing length in storage layers. Close to the
well, the solution given by Muskat (Muskat, M, 1982),
which assumes a line source and a region with an infi-
nite boundary, is adopted.Away from the well and close
to the elliptical boundary, the solution is that of a point
source with an elliptical boundary at constant pressure
given by Prats (Prats, M., 1961; S. Amini, 2007). The
two solutions are matched along a circle of radius rm ,
where the discrepancy between the two solutions is
minimal.
In the circle of radius rm , the fluid pressure of
fracture Pfm solution given by Muskat, is obtained as
6µq
Where, λ = .
πb3
Where, µ is the viscosity of fracturing liquid mPa·s; q
is pump rate, m3 /min; b is average width of fracture,
m; hs is the half length of line source, m; K is constant,
determined by matching the Muskat calculating fluid
pressure and Prats’.
Away from the circle of radius rm , the fluid pressure
of fracture Pfm solution can be written as equation (8)
according Prats method.
Where, A, B, C and m are constants; C1 is constant
solved by equations (7), (8) and (2).

Figure 2. Filtration length calculation parameter diagram.
2.3 Computation of fracture propagation time and
leakoff
It is assumed that the relationship of fracture length
propagation rate and time may be modeled with a
power-law equation of the form (Palmer ID et al.,
1983)
Where, t is the demanded time of fracture growing to
length Lf , min; m
, n
are undetermined constants.
The leakoff volume of fracture liquid is computed as
Where, ht is leakoff height, equal to the thickness of
storage layer, m; CL is comprehensive leakoff coef-
ficient, m/min0.5 ; Sp is leakoff volume coefficient,
m3 /m2 ; L
is leakoff length of fracture, m.
The leakoff length of fracture L
in equation (10) is
obtained by equation (11) (see Fig. 2).
ht 2
Where, Lh = Lf 1− .
2hf
The total pump volume of fracture fluid is equal
fracture volume and leakoff volume according to mass
balance theory, written as
Where, Vf fracture volume, is calculated from the
length, height and width of various segments of
the fracture. The time of fracture propagation is
expressed as
431
2.4 Computation of effective viscosity in
non-Newton fluids
The above calculations and discussions are mainly
used to Newton fluids. The fracture fluids are usual
non-Newton fluids, so the effective viscosity in non-
Newton fluids should be computed, given as
Where, R = (Lf + hf )/2, kp is denseness coefficient of
fracture fluids, mPa·snp ; np is flow exponent parame-
ter; b0 is the maximum fracture width, m.
3 SOLUTION OF PSEUDO-3D WITH 2D FLOW
3.1 Computation of fluid pressure in fracture
The fluid pressure at x = Lf and y = hf are approxi-
mately the same according to the assumption of upper
and lower bed stress symmetric with storage layers,
which causes the fluid pressure at y = hf , in higher
stress (S2 ) zone, to be less than the fluid pressure
at x = Lf , which in the lower stress zone (S2 ) (see
Fig. 1). The difference of the fluid pressure at x = Lf
and y = hf , PLh , is the function of S2 −S1 , written as
Where, ht is the thickness of storage layer, m; S1 is the
in-situ stress of storage layer, MPa; S2 is the in-situ
stress of upper and lower bed, MPa.
The half height of fracture, hf , is assumed as given
and PLh could be obtained from equation (15). In
the same time, the stress intensity factor of frac-
ture ends (x = Lf and y = hf ) are satisfied with the
boundary condition, KI |θ=0 = KIL and KI |θ= π2 = KIh ,
respectively. The fluid pressure distribution in fracture
are obtained from the equations as follow
The fluid pressure and width of fracture can be
computed from equation (16).
3.2 Computation of fracture height
In order to get the required solutions, the half height
of fracture, hf , should be iterated to satisfy following
conditions:
1. The fluid pressure over the elliptical fracture sur-
face obtained from Muskat and Prats (short for MP)
is equal to that obtained from Shah and Kobayashi
(short for SK), satisfying the width and pressure
coupling conditions.

2. The difference between the average fluid pressure

along both x and y axes in the MP and SK calcula-
tions is a minimum, thus satisfying the asymmetry
requirement along the two axes. The differences are Figure 3. Relationship between height and length of half
expressed as fracture.

bigger than that of pseudo-3D with 2D flow modal and

The difference of two squares  is written as
The precise solution of half height hf is gotten
when  is minimum.
The width and fluid pressure along fracture length
direction can be determined by the half height hf and
other known parameters. The fracture is divided into
a number of segments, knowing the width and height
at the ends of each segment; we can calculate the area
and volume values for each segment. Thus, the total
volume of the elliptical fracture, Vf , and the fracture
growing time t
are obtained.
4 NUMERICAL STUDY OF PSEUDO-3D WITH
2D FLOW AND DISCUSSION
Prior to the demonstration of pseudo-3D with 2D
flow model, the calculating software has been com-
piled by Visual Basic computer language. An actual
TISR in Shengli oilfield is stimulated as example.
The average thickness of the storage is 67.97 m,
and stress difference between storage layer and
upper/lower bed of 0.7 MPa. The fracture toughness,
shear modulus
√ and Passion of storage material are
1.098 MPa· m, 2.154 GPa and 0.2, respectively. The
pump rate is 6.359 m3 /min and fracture fluid viscosity
of 3.352 Pa·s. The calculating results obtained by the
software are shown in Figure 3–4.
measured values (see Fig. 3). The results show that
the pseudo-3D with 2D flow modal is more precise
than pseudo-3D with 1D flow modal comparing with
measured values, illustrating the flow along the height
direction of facture cannot be neglected in simulation
of TISR hydraulic fracturing.
4.2 Influence factors of fracture height
In this section we provide different examples to
demonstrate the influences of pump rate, matrix frac-
ture toughness, matrix Young’s modulus and in-situ
stress on the fracture height and width. In the given
pump time, the computed results are shown in Figure 4.
The fracture height grows as the pump rate grow-
ing at the same fracture length position (see Fig. 4
(a)). When the matrix fractures toughness increases,
stronger constraints are loaded at the fracture grow-
ing along height direction, leading the decrease of
fracture height (see Fig. 4 (b)). In contrast, the frac-
ture height is inverse proportion with matrix Young
modulus (see Fig. 4 (c)). From Figure 4 (d), it can
be observed that the in-situ stress difference has a
remarkable influence on the fracture height, which is
decreasing with the in-situ stress difference of storage
and upper/lower bed increasing. From the magnitude
of fracture height changes, matrix Young modulus and
in-situ stress difference are more significant than other
two factors.
5 CONCLUSIONS

(1) The pseudo-3D with 2D flow modal is built up to

4.1 Comparison of results
The flow along height direction is neglected in the
pseudo-3D with 1D flow modal and energy in frac-
turing fluid are all used in fracture propagation along
length direction, which causes the length of fracture
obtained from pseudo-3D with 1D flow modal is much
stimulate the hydraulic fracturing propagation of
TISR and the calculating software is compiled by
Visual Basic computer language.
(2) The pseudo-3D with 2D flow modal can pre-
dict the hydraulic fracturing propagation of TISR
effectively comparing with the measured values.

432
Figure 4. Different factors influence on the fracture height.
(3) The comprehensive results show that the hydraulic
fracture of TISR grow effectively both along the
height and length direction, usually length/ height
<4. The maximum width is at the center of well
bottom fracture. The fracture height increases as
the pump rate and matrix Young modulus increas-
ing. In contrast, it decreases as matrix fracture
toughness and in-situ stress difference increasing.
Matrix Young modulus and in-situ stress differ-
ence have more significant influence on fracture
height than pump rate and matrix Young modulus.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are very much indebted to the China
National Science and Technology Major Project (Con-
tract No. 2008ZX05037-004 and 2008ZX05036-001).
REFERENCES
Dou Ranglin, Xu, Long, Zhang, and Baotuan, et al., 2001.
Application of Large Scale Hydraulic Fracturing in Wen-
dong Oilfield. Journal of Jianghan Petroleum Institute, 23:
74–75 (in Chinese).
M.M. Rahman, M.K. Rahman, and S.S. Rahman. 2003.
Multicriteria hydraulic fracturing optimization for reser-
voir stimulation. Petroleum Science and Technology,
21(11/12): 1721–1758.
433
M.K. Rahman, M.M. Rahman, and A.H. Joarder. 2007. Ana-
lytical production modeling for hydraulically fractured
gas reservoirs. Petroleum Science and Technology, 25(6):
683–704.
Muskat, M. 1982. The flow of homogeneous fluids through
porous media. IHRDC Publications, Boston: 181–186.
Palmer ID, and Darroll HB Jr. 1983. Three-dimension
hydraulic fracture propagation in the presence of stress
variations. SPE 10849-PA.
Prats, M. 1961. Effect of vertical fractures on reser-
voir behavior-incompressible fluid case. SPEJ(June):
105–118.
Qiu Weide, and Lu Lianjun. 2002. A new pseudo three-
dimension flow field model for predicting height of frac-
ture. Journal of the University of Petroleum China (edition
of natural science, 36(5): 48–51.
S. Amini, D. Ilk, and T. A. Blasingame. 2007. Evaluation
of the Elliptical Flow Period for Hydraulically-Fractured
Wells in Tight Gas Sands—Theoretical Aspects and Prac-
tical Considerations. SPE 106308.
Shah, R.C., and Kobayashi, A.S. 1971. Stress intensity fac-
tor for an elliptical crack under arbitrary normal loading.
Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 3: 71-96.
XU Yun1ong and GE Hongkui. 2005. Status of the study on
the technology of controlling fracture in near wellbore.
Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering,
24(Supp.1): 5189–5193 (in Chinese).
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Sectional optimization research of water flooding with horizontal wells

in heterogeneous reservoir based on logging information

Jiang Tingting, Yan Xiangzhen & Yang Xiujuan

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Dongying,
Shandong, China

ABSTRACT: A sectional optimization algorithm of perforation parameters of casing in horizontal water injec-
tion wells is established on the basis of triaxial in-situ stress of formation and the characteristics of flow fluid
in porous medium. The triaxial in-situ stress of formation is obtained from acoustic logging information. Many
affecting factors are included in the optimization algorithm, such as formation heterogeneity, pore pressure,
pressure drop of oil reservoir, wellbore pressure drop and injection flow rate. The program of the sectional opti-
mization algorithm is compiled by Visual Basic computer language, which is used to optimize the perforation
parameters of casing of an actual horizontal well named W73-P7. The results show that the sectional optimization
algorithm of perforation parameters in horizontal water injection wells can effectively optimize the distribution
of perforation density along the wellbore, quantify the injection rate of each perforation section and improve
the water injection efficiency. The optimization method lays a foundation for the analysis of injection effect and
produces degree of surrounding oil well.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 ACQUIREMENT OF IN-SITU STRESS

At present, the same perforation parameters along a Displacement efficiency may be reduced if the
wellbore are always adopted in the course of perforat- research on triaxial principal stress is not suffi-
ing, which is a common method of well completion. cient during waterflooding. Even the phenomenons of
Due to the high heterogeneity of formation, perme- water breakthrough and water flooding may present
ability which is near the wellbore along a horizontal in anisotropic reservoir. The paper acquires the con-
well is quite different from each other. The regions tinuous contribution of triaxial in-situ stress along
with high penetration have low filtrational resistance the borehole axis based on acoustic wave, density
and early breakthroughs of water. In the meantime, it is and the other conventional well logging information.
difficult to inject water into the low-permeability areas The results can provide basic data for the optimiza-
because of the high filtrational resistance. In order to tion study on the sectional horizontal well of low
improve development effects and enhance economic permeability oil reservoir.
benefit, it is quite important to study the sectional
optimization of perforation parameters of horizontal
water injection wells. A great deal of research [1–3] has 2.1 Calculation model of triaxial principal stress
been done into the optimization design of perforation Based on elasticity theory, triaxial principal stress
parameters along horizontal wells without considering which is formed by stress of over strata, formation pore
permeability heterogeneity by domestic and foreign pressure, structural pressure and temperature stress
researchers. A solving equation of perforation param- can be expressed as follows[4] :
eters of casing in horizontal water injection wells is
established on the basis of the characteristics of flow
fluid in porous medium and triaxial in-situ stress of
formation for the purpose of enhancing productive
potential of low permeability reservoir. Many affecting
factors are included, such as formation heterogene-
ity, pore pressure, pressure drop of oil reservoir,
wellbore pressure drop and injection flow rate. A pro-
gram is compiled by Visual Basic computer language,
which is used to optimize the perforation parameters
of casing of an actual horizontal well named W73-
P7. The results can be a reference in engineering
design.

435
Where ti (◦ C) is the difference between original and
injection formation temperature which can be obtained
by the surveying data of oil field. pp (MPa) stands for
pore pressure of formation, which can be expressed as
below:
In the formula above, λ(MPa/m) is the pore pressure
gradient which can be calculated by logging infor-
mation and H (m) stands for the vertical depth of
horizontal well.
Poisson ratio, µ(zero dimension), can be calculated
by log information[5] .
Similarly, elastic modelling quantity E(Nm−2 ) can
be written as[5] :
2.2 Calculation of effective stress
After complex analysis and derivation are completed,
we can get effective stress principle for formation
based on the elastic mechanics theory.
3 PERMEABILITY ESTIMATION
It has been firmly proved that[6–7] there are prominent
power function relationship between effective stress
and permeability:
Where a and b are all constants.
4 A SECTIONAL OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM
OF PERFORATION PARAMETERS
In order to acquire ideal perforation effect, we should
optimize the whole perforation process to make sure
the waterflood front to advance uniformly.
4.1 Analysis of oil reservoir flow
Some assumptions are described below: the forma-
tion is of anisotropy and has steady edge water; the
oil reservoir has the same thickness while the fluid is
of single-phase incompressible character; permeabi-
lity near a infinitesimal section of different parts of
436
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of subsection for a conven-
tional horizontal well.
the horizontal well is homogeneous; the whole injec-
tion capacity in a day is Q and injection process meets
Darcy Law and steady-state flow condition.
In figure 1, we separate the wellbore into N parts.
The length of each part along the horizontal well is
L.
On the basis of stable percolation, each infinites-
imal section can be substituted by a vertical well.
When they have the same producibility, the equivalent
wellbore radius, rew , can be written as follows:
In infinite stratum, the pressure drop of arbitrary
point (M) is equal to the sum of pressure drop which
is caused by each water flooding section.
4.2 Analysis of wellbore pressure drop
Generally speaking, we usually assume the pressure
along a horizontal well is the same as that of wellbore
bottom. Actually, with continuous fluid being injected
into the formation, we can not ignore wellbore pres-
sure drop because of the fluid quality reducing. Test
results show that there are a mass of influence factors
on flow resistance in a horizontal well. Nevertheless,
pipe friction resistance has a huge component.
Based on mass and momentum conservation laws,
we can define the pressure drop of infinitesimal
section i as follows:
Under the condition of laminar flow in wellbore,
friction coefficient can be expressed as follows:
On the contrary, if turbulent flow in wellbore, that is:
Figure 2. Schematic drawing of pressure drop superposition
of infinitesimal section.
Figure 3. The sketch of pressure drop of a horizontal well.
4.3 Analysis of segment water injection rate
Taking special points on reservoir boundary and bore-
hole wall of each equivalent vertical well, we can get
a relational expression between bottom pressure and
circulating rate:
Assuming the whole injection volume is Q, in
this case, delivery of each perforation section can be
expressed as formula 14.
As is shown in Figure 2, dij (m) stands for the
distance between equivalent vertical wells.
4.4 Sectional optimization of perforation density
Taking formation heterogeneity, pore pressure, well-
bore pressure drop and injection flow rate into consid-
eration, injection density of each section can be derived
on the basis of permeation fluid mechanics:
437
Figure 4. Continuous profile of triaxial principal stress.
In the formula above, m, n, t can be described as
below:
According to computer programming iteration, we
can work out the injection density along a horizon-
tal well. Where, x(m) stands for the distance of the
perforation toe; χ is the correlation index of friction
coefficient.
5 EXAMPLE ANALYSIS
On the basis of these theoretical analysis and algo-
rithm above, the program of sectional optimiza-
tion algorithm of perforation parameters along the
horizontal water flooding well in heterogeneous reser-
voir is compiled by Visual Basic computer lan-
guage, which is used to optimize the perforation
parameters of casing of an actual horizontal well
named W73-P7. The range of analysis length is
2050 m to 2400 m, mean thickness of the oil reservoir
is 8.3 m, δ = 1.0 m−1 , ρw = 1 g/cm3 , µ = 1.0 mPa.s,
Q = 120 m3 /d, Rp = 0.006 m, Lp = 0.895 m.
5.1 Triaxial principal stress and permeability based
on logging information
Fig. 4 shows the distribution of triaxial principal stress
along the wellbore. We can see from the Fig. 4 that
the stress is depending not only on the stratum litho-
logic characteristics, but also on the position of the
horizontal well.
Based on the distribution of triaxial principal
stress, permeability in heterogeneous reservoir will be
obtained (Fig. 5). It is rather difficult to inject water
into formation because of the high diversity. Before
the sectional optimization research, injection water is
likely to flow into the production well, leading to the
decrease of development of hydrocarbon reservoir.
Figure 5. Distribution map of formation permeability along
the wellbore.
Figure 7. Partition optimization results of perforation den-
sity in horizontal well.

After sectional optimization of perforation param-

eters, the perforation density is properly reduced in
high permeability block and enhanced in low perme-
ability block. The near wellbore zone in the horizontal
well with segmental perforation is easily to form nearly
linear displacement system, as is shown in Fig. 8 (the
length of the blue rectangular is the length of perfora-
tion, while the width stands for the average density of
Figure 6. Distribution map of perforation density of the
perforation along all the perforation sections).
horizontal well.

5.2 Results analysis of sectional optimization

on perforation density
As can be seen from Fig. 6, under the condition of
permeability, the distributions of perforation density
of each infinitesimal section along the wellbore differ
from each other. The results are not suitable for an
actual project.
Taking 10 meters as an optimization unit to opti-
mize the whole injection segment, we can obtain the
perforation density (Fig. 7) which can meet the need
of the actual program.
6 CONCLUSIONS
(1) According to flow analysis of the heterogeneous
reservoir, taking pore pressure, wellbore pressure
drop and injection flow rate into consideration,
the sectional optimization algorithm of perfora-
tion parameters for the horizontal water flooding
well is set up on the basis of permeation fluid
mechanics. The corresponding program is com-
piled by Visual Basic computer language which is
used to optimize an actual horizontal well named

Table 1. The results of water injection rate after sectional perforation optimization.

Hole section Length range Rate of water Hole section Length range Rate of water
number m injection m3 /d number m injection m3 /d

1 2050–2060 3.12 19 2230–2240 3.52

2 2060–2070 2.75 20 2240–2250 4.16
3 2070–2080 3.67 21 2250–2260 3.59
4 2080–2090 3.43 22 2260–2270 3.21
5 2090–2100 3.96 23 2270–2280 4.18
6 2100–2110 2.36 24 2280–2290 3.62
7 2110–2120 2.57 25 2290–2300 3.83
8 2120–2130 2.49 26 2300–2310 3.77
9 2130–2140 3.67 27 2310–2320 3.96
10 2140–2150 3.15 28 2320–2330 3.32
11 2150–2160 4.36 29 2330–2340 2.79
12 2160–2170 3.28 30 2340–2350 3.66
13 2170–2180 3.92 31 2350–2360 3.14
14 2180–2190 3.17 32 2360–2370 3.25
15 2190–2200 3.48 33 2370–2380 4.69
16 2200–2210 2.33 34 2380–2390 3.56
17 2210–2220 2.94 35 2390–2400 3.48
18 2220–2230 3.62

438

Figure 8. Pressure decline features around horizontal water
injection well.
W73-P7. The results are of great value for the
actual engineering design.
(2) Before the sectional optimization of perforation
parameters along the horizontal water flooding
well, distribution of the perforation density is
not suitable for an actual engineering program
because of its significant differences. After opti-
mization, the perforation density is lower in high
permeability block than that in low permeabil-
ity block and the water injection rate of each
perforation section has lesser difference.
(3) The method can quantify the injection rate of each
perforation section and improve the efficiency of
the horizontal injection well, laying a foundation
for the analysis of injection effect and producing
degree of surrounding oil wells.
7 NOMENCLATURES
r = the space between well center and arbitrary point
M, m
rw = wellbore radius, m
rew = equivalent wellbore radius, m
zw = vertical distance between well center and reser-
voir bottom, m
h = thickness of oil reservoir, m
Rp = radius of perforation channels, m
Lp = depth of perforation channels, m
C = constant, MPa
pz = gravity stress, MPa
Pw = critical fracturing pressure of formation, MPa
pw = boundary pressure of oil reservoir, MPa
pf = well hole pressure, MPa
439
pwall = frictional pressure drop of cylinder wall, MPa
σgh = horizontal tectonic stress, MPa
σH = maximum horizontal principal stress, MPa
σh = minimum horizontal principal stress, MPa
σv = vertical principal stress, MPa
σeff = effective stress, MPa
σt = tensile strength of rock, MPa
ts = shear wave slowness, µs/m
tp = compressional wave slowness, µs/m
k = permeability, 10−3 µm2
µ = fluid viscosity, mPa·s
ρ = formation rock density, g/cm3
ρw = injection water density, g/cm3
Q = the whole injection flow rate, m3 /d
q = water injection rate of each perforation section,
m3 /d
δ = coefficient of turbulence, 1/m
α = coefficient of linear expansion of rock, 1◦ C
Np = perforation density, shots/m
B = formation volume factor, zero dimension
Re = Reynolds number of wellbore, zero dimension
Reout = outflow Reynolds number of fluid though pipe
wall, zero dimension
f = friction coefficient, zero dimension
f0 = friction coefficient of turbulent flow for conven-
tional horizontal well, zero dimension
REFERENCES
Wang Zhiming, Xu Jing, Wang Xiaoqiu. Study on variable
density perforating model of two-phase flow in horizontal
wells [J]. Journal of the University of Petroleum, China
(Edition of Natural Science), 2005, 29 (3): 65–69.
Zhou Shengtian. Optimization of perforation tunnels dis-
tribution in perforated horizontal wells [J]. Journal of
the University of Petroleum, China (Edition of Natural
Science), 2002, 26(3): 52–54.
Song Shiquan, Li Jingjing. Optimized Design to Perforating
Parameter [J]. Well testing, 2008, 17(5): 65–67.
Zhang Yi, Yan Xiangzhen, Yan Qingzhi. 3D model for the
stratified calculation of ground stress and fracture cri-
terion of wellhole rock[J]. Journal of Xi’an Petroleum
lnstitute: Natural Science Edition, 2000, 15(4): 42–48.
Liu Qinjie, Yan Xiangzhen, Yang Xiujuan. Application of
stratified stress method in massive hydraulic fracturing
design[J]. Oil Drilling & Production Technology, 2009,
31(4): 83–88.
Li Yiqiang, Ban Fansheng. Effect of effective stress on
fractured low-permeability sandstone reservoir pressure
response[J]. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 2008, 29(6):
1649–1653.
Dai Ping, Sun Liangtian, Li Min. Study on Relation between
Porosity/Permeability and Effective Stress of Sand Reser-
voir with Low Permeability[J]. Natural Gas Industry,
2006, 26(5): 93–95.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A method to determine the negative pressure difference and the drilling

fluid density in coal-bed methane underbalanced drilling

Wen Qingyang, Yang Xiujuan & Yan Xiangzhen

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum,
Dongying, Shandong, China

Li Gensheng
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting China University of Petroleum Beijing,
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: According to the relationship of the percolation ability and the pore pressure of coal reservoir, an
interpretation method of analyzing the pressure attenuation testing data is derived by use of the Duhamel principle.
Consequently, the pore pressure of coal reservoir is obtained by the method. Depending on mechanics of porous
elastic medium and rock mechanics, mechanical mechanism of borehole instability is analyzed for underbalanced
drilling. Based on Hoek-Brown strength failure criteria, the limit drilling pressure difference mathematical model
for keeping borehole stability is established. By calculating the annular pressure loss of drilling fluid in the laminar
flow, the method for determining the proper drilling fluid density is proposed combined with the pore pressure
of coal reservoir and drilling negative pressure difference. Comparing the measured values with the theoretical
results of pressure difference and drilling fluid density of a coal-bed methane well in QinShui basin, the result
shows the high degree of coincidence, verifies the correctness of the method and model in this paper, and supplies
the theoretical basis for parameter design during underbalanced drilling.

1 INTRODUCTION hole pressure is lower than the formation pore pressure,

Because of the low mechanical strength, the coal rock
can not brace the pressure of overlying strata, and is
easily to collapse. For the coal seam that has been
opened, the more soaking time, the more serious the
coal seam collapse. As the microporosity, micro crack
and joints are quite developed, and the formation pore
pressure is low, it is easy to have the leakage. The
coal liquid has the acid property, but the drilling fluid
shows the alkalinity, so it is easy to cause acid-base
neutralization producing metal salts and block coal-
bed methane channel. Therefore, in order to protect
the coal reservoir effectively, reduce the pollution on
coal reservoir, and improve the recovery efficiency, the
underbalanced drilling technology is used in coal-bed
methane mining more and more in recent years.
The wellbore stability in coal-bed methane drilling
depends on the coal rock structure and the drilling
fluid density and the drilling fluid performance. If the
drilling fluid density is too low, it will cause the stress
intensity acted on the rock surrounding the wellbore
exceeds the intensity of rock itself, then the collapse,
hole enlargement, or creep will happen, causing hole
shrinkage and sticking. If the drilling fluid density
is too high, the produced fluid column pressure will
exceed the formation fracture pressure, the lost circula-
tion and the serious formation damage will be caused.
In the process of underbalanced drilling, as the bottom
the under voltage is formed by the pressure difference.
If the pressure difference is too large, the formation
fluid production rate will be too high, the high require-
ment for formation, casing, and ground equipment
will be proposed, and the construction risk will be
increased. Conversely, if the pressure difference is too
small, the cyclical alternating positive and negative of
transient positive pressure or negative pressure will be
formed by the bottom hole pressure fluctuation caused
by various reasons, and then the reservoir damage will
be caused.
In this paper, the coal reservoir pore pressure
is determined by the well testing method, and the
mathematic model of the limit drilling pressure dif-
ference keeping wellbore stability is established, then
the method to determine the drilling fluid density is
formed.
2 THE COAL RESERVOIR PORE PRESSURE
DETERMINED BY THE WELL TESTING
METHOD
As the coal reservoir porosity and permeability is very
sensitive to the effective stress, the effective stress
increases, the coal permeability decreased. But the
effective stress becomes small relatively when the

441
pressure is too large. So, the overpressure sometimes where qsfD is the dimensionless plane flow, which is
is the indication of high permeability. defined as

2.1 The permeability related to the coal reservoir

pore pressure
The plane flow qsfD can be determined according to
The coal seam has the nature dual-pore structure, the changing speed of bottom hole pressure, which is,
which is composed of fracture pore and matrix pore.
The coal matrix is cut by the fracture network sys-
tem, which is called cleat. Generally, the matrix pore
has the larger porosity and smaller permeability, the
fracture pore has the smaller porosity and larger per-
meability, providing the penetrability for fluid flow.
The coal-bed methane in coal seam is stored in the According to the line source solutions of specific
inner surface of matrix pore as the adsorption. The production in single well, the plane pressure derivative
water is difficult to enter the matrix pore as the pore is is obtained when the referential flow is qr ,
very small. So, in the initial state, there is no free gas
in the coal seam. When the reservoir pressure is low-
ered, the coal-bed methane desorpts from the coal
surface, spreads through the micropore, and flows into
the wellbore through the cleat net. The water in coal Inserting (3), (4) and (5) into (2), the following
matrix is almost still, while the water and free gas in condition results:
cleats flow according to Darcy’s law. As the impact
of porosity of coal matrix on fluid flow is small, the
permeability determined by well testing is the cleat
permeability.
As the cleats can be regarded as a group of paral- In order to consider the influencing factor that the
lel fractures, the cleat permeability can be influenced coal reservoir cleat permeability changes with the
by the fracture width directly. The change of effective change of pore pressure, inserting (1) into (6), and
stress in coal seam is induced by the change of pore making the differential identity transformation, then,
pressure, thus the joint opening of fracture, the fluid
flow velocity, and the pressure distribution in fracture
are changed obviously. Experiments show that the cleat
permeability decreases exponentially with the effec-
tive stress increases. The Puri and Seidle correlation Transforming (7) into the numerical integration
formula is used in this paper. form, (8) is obtained.

Where

where K is the permeability when pore pressure is p;

K0 is the permeability when pore pressure is p0 ; α is
the dimensionless coefficient.

2.2 The determination of coal reservoir pore 

pressure In the Cartesian coordinate system, the pw (t) ∼ t
relationship curve is obtained by using (8), the inter-
In the pressure decay testing of coal-bed methane, for
cept in the curve is the pore pressure.
reducing the well testing cost, it usually use very short
injection time, thus the impact of injection stage on
reservoir pressure system can be ignored. So in the
3 THE DETERMINATION OF NEGATIVE
process of pressure decay testing, the change of bottom
PRESSURE DIFFERENCE IN
hole pressure can be regarded as a special variable flow
UNDERBALANCED DRILLING
testing. The pressure decay testing can be explained
using the convolution formula.
In the process of underbalanced drilling, the bottom
According to the Duhamel principle, the formula
hole pressure is lower than the formation pore pres-
can be obtained.
sure, the pressure difference forms the under voltage,
which can protect the coal-bed methane reservoir. But
if the pressure difference is too large, the formation

442
fluid production rate will be too high. For the speed According to the theory of mechanics of porous
sensitivity formation, it is easy to cause the parti- elastic medium, the stress expressions of coal rock
cle migration, block the pore throat, and damage the surrounding the wellbore are:
formation near borehole zones. For the stress sensitiv-
ity formation, the bottom hole pressure which is too
lower decreases the fracture pore pressure in the for-
mation near borehole zones, causes the fracture tend to
closure. Thus, the high requirement for formation, cas-
ing, and ground equipment will be proposed, and the
construction risk will be increased. Conversely, if the
pressure difference is too small, the cyclical alternat-
ing positive and negative of transient positive pressure
or negative pressure will be formed by the bottom
hole pressure fluctuation caused by various reasons,
and then the reservoir damage will be caused. There-
fore, the reasonable underbalanced value should be
determined before the underbalanced drilling. Where σr , σθ , σz are the radial stress, circumferential
In the process of coal-bed methane underbalanced stress and vertical stress respectively; pi is the drilling
drilling, the factors which influence the magnitude of fluid density; σH , σh are the maximum and minimum
underbalanced value are: ➀ the oil production or gas horizontal principle stress respectively; p0 is the coal
production per underbalanced value; ➁ the designed reservoir pore pressure; ri is the radius of borehole;
oil production or gas production while drilling; ➂ the r is the distance from the hole center line; θ is the
formation pressure with different pressure system in angle from the maximum horizontal principle stress;
the well section which is underbalanced; ➃ the hor- ν is the passion ratio; f is the porosity; δ is the coef-
izontal length of horizontal well; ➄ the ability of ficient representing the permeability, δ = 1 when the
degassing and liquid elimination of wellhead equip- borehole wall has permeation, δ = 0 when the borehole
ments; ➅ the rated operating pressure of wellhead wall does not have permeation.
blowout control equipment; ➆ the wellbore stability. Using the Hoek-Brown criterion to represent the
In these factors, the factor ➆ has an essential coal rock failure,
effect on underbalanced drilling design, the wellbore
stability is the basic premise of underbalanced drilling.
In the initial state, the formation is only subjected
to the in-situ stress. After the borehole is formed, the
stress in the rock surrounding the borehole will redis-
tribute for the influence of stress concentration, when Where σ1 , σ2 are the maximum and minimum prin-
the stress reaches the limit stress of rock, the rock ciple stress respectively; mb , s, a are the Hoek-Brown
damage will occur. The assumed conditions are: ➀ constants of coal rock; σci is the uniaxial compressive
the horizontal stresses are unequal in each direction; strength of integrated coal rock.
➁ the coal rock has the property of permeability; ➂ the Inserting (9) into (10), the solving formula is:
coal rock failure is in accordance with Hoek-Brown
criterion. The coal rock force diagram is shown as
Fig 1. Translating the formulas of stress distribution
in Cartesian coordinates into the formulas of stress
distribution in cylindrical coordinates, The stress state
of coal rock surrounding the wellbore in cylindrical The lowest mud column pressure pi when borehole
coordinates can be expressed by the three principle wall collapses is obtained according to iterative calcu-
stress (σr , σθ , σz ). lation. then the limit pressure difference in underbal-
anced drilling is P = p0 − pi , when borehole instability
happens, where σr , σθ , σz are all related to pi .

4 THE DETERMINATION OF DRILLING

FLUID DENSITY

4.1 The determination of annular pressure loss

Figure 1. The rock force diagram in underbalanced drilling.
For conventional overbalance drilling or nearly bal-
anced drilling, the pump displacement is designed
according to the principle of maximum water power
of drill bit or impact force in jet drilling. But the dis-
placement should not be too large in underbalanced
drilling, for reducing the equipment load of drilling

443
Figure 2. The design flow chart of drilling fluid density in
underbalanced drilling.
pump, wellhead equipment and throttle manifold, the
principle is to meet the requirement of cleaning up
debris, and the flow state should be laminar flow maily.
Therefore, the annular pressure loss when the
drilling fluid is in state of laminar flow is
Where Pv is the plastic viscosity of drilling fluid,
mPa·s: Q is the displacement of drilling fluid, L/s: Dp is
the diameter of drilling string, mm: Dh is the diameter
of wellbore or casing, mm: Lp is the length of drilling
string, m: Yp is the yield strength, Pa.
4.2 The determination of drilling fluid density
After the determination of formation pressure, the
drilling fluid density can be designed according to the
negative pressure difference determined previously.
The design of drilling fluid density should in the case
that wellhead pressure is zero and the negative pressure
difference reaches to its regulation in drilling (shown
as Fig 2).
Then the calculation formula of drilling fluid den-
sity is
5 CASE STUDY
Taking the measured data of a coal-bed methane well
in Qinshui basin as example, the drilling fluid density
is determined. The depth of the coal-bed methane well
is 624 m, the diameter of borehole is 215. 9 mm.
5.1 The determination of coal reservoir pore
pressure
The injection and damping test is taken for tar-
get strata using 525.2 m × φ127 mm drill pipe and
50.24 m × φ158.8 mm drill collar. The depth of testing
444
Figure 3. actual pressure diagram.
Figure 4. The curve of pressure damping analysis.
strata is 588.5∼593.5 m, and the depth of production
formation is 5.0 m. In the testing, the water of 4.93 m3
is injected into the testing string keeping the liquid
level still, then the well is opened for pressure damp-
ing test. The actual
 pressure shows in fig 3. Fig. 4
is the pw (t) ∼ t relationship curve obtained using
well testing interpretation theory. The slope of line seg-
ment in this curve is 0.644 MPa·h and the intercept is
7.25 Mpa, so the formation pore pressure in the depth
of 590 m is 7.525 MPa.
5.2 The calculation of drilling pressure
difference
According to the logging data of this well, the stress
parameters in the depth of 590 m are: σH = 13.21 MPa,
σh = 9.34 MPa, σz = 8.80 MPa. The lowest drilling
fluid pressure is 6.216 MPa when the borehole failure
happens. Therefore, the drilling pressure difference is
P = 7.525 − 6.216 = 1.309 MPa.
5.3 The calculation of drilling fluid density
In the process of underbalanced drilling, the basic
parameters are shown as table 1.
According to (12), the annular pressure loss in the
depth of 590 m is 0.892 MPa.
Table 1. The parameters in drilling.
Index Value
Diameter of drilling string 89 mm
diameter of wellbore 152.4 mm
length of drilling string 590 m
yield strength of drilling string 980000 Pa
displacement of drilling fluid 14 L/s
plastic viscosity of drilling fluid 3.0 mPa·s
Then the reasonable drilling fluid density is
6 CONCLUSIONS
1) Considering the relationship of coal reservoir per-
meability and coal reservoir pressure, the testing
data of pressure damping test in well testing is
explained, which can determine the permeability
and pore pressure of coal seam.
2) Using the mechanics of porous elastic medium and
rock mechanics, the mathematics model of keeping
wellbore stability in coal-bed methane underbal-
anced drilling is established, and the principle of
determining the reasonable pressure difference is
proposed.
3) In the process of underbalanced drilling, the
premise is the drilling fluid should meet the require-
ment of carrying coal rock, the drilling fluid dis-
placement should not be too large, and the flow
state should be laminar flow.
4) The design flow and calculation method of drilling
fluid density suitable for coal-bed methane under-
balanced drilling is proposed, supplying the basis
for the choice of drilling fluid density.
445
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are very much indebted to the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China “973 Projection” (Contract
No. 2010CB226706) and the China National Sci-
ence and Technology Major Project (Contract No.
2008ZX05036-001) for the financial support.
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method of DST pressure buildup analysis. Xi’an: Journal
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tion of injection/fall off tests for coalbed methane wells,
SPE20569, 1990
Kamal M M, Six J L. Pressure transient testing of methane
producing coalbeds. SPE 19789, 1989
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of wellbore instability in drilling. Beijing: petroleum
Insustry Press, 1998
Yang Hu. Study on Mechanics Basis of Well Bottom Negative
Pressure in Reason during UBD. West-china Exploration
Engineering, 2000, 65(4): 63–64
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Classification method study of joint coal fracture based on Hoek-Brown

criterion

Zhang Lisong
College of Mechanical & Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Dongying,
Shandong, China

Yan Xiangzhen, Yang Xiujuan

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum,
Dongying, Shandong, China

ABSTRACT: Calculation formulas of geological strength index(GSI) and jointing parameter(JP) of rock
strength index(RMi) are derived, and the GSI-JP modified analysis method for coal fracture in wellbore direction
is given. Considering wavelet neural network, coal principal stresses with reservoir plane is analyzed, conse-
quently coal seam plane fracture classification method is presented based on Hoek-Brown criterion. According
to GSI-JP value, coal seam fracture coefficient size and energy method, four grades of A,B,C,D are divided
for coal fracture degree at wellbore direction and reservoir plane, and coal fracture classification stan-dard is
determined. Appling the classification method and standard, the distribution regularity of coal fracture is studied
for ZP-1 Well and JinCheng region in QinShui basin. The research results show that coal GSI value of ZP-1
well is among 30–50, and JP value of RMI is 0.1–0.25, so coal fracture of ZP-1 is considered as grade B. Coal
seam fracture degree of YangCheng, DingDian, FanZhuang, FanZhuang, ChangYe, ZhangZi in JinCheng block
is defined as grade A, but northwest region coal seam is belong to grade D. The prediction results agree well
with the measured values, therefore the classification method and standard are proved. Depending on research
results, computer program is corresponding developed.

1 INTRODUCTION show that the fracture classification method is reliable

and can meet engineering requirement.
Because of coal anisotropy of physical and mechan-
ical properties, as well as the presence of cleat and
fissures, the integrity of coal is undermined, and coal 2 HOEK-BROWN CRITERION
is easily broken. Drilling occurs to collapse in coal
seam fracture zone, so pre-drilling accurately predic- Hoek-Brown criterion can be expressed as follow:
tion that is the distribution of the fracture zone with the
direction of wellbore and coal plane can greatly reduce
the drilling risk. Existed rock mass classification stan-
dards for home and abroad are determined based on
qualitative descriptions and subjective experience of
individuals to achieve rock mass classification. This Where σ1 , σ3 are maximum and minimum principal
classification standard is not applicable for coal seam stress; σci is uniaxial compressive strength for intact
with depth of a few hundreds meters, thereby the dis- rock; mb is rock constant; s, α are the coefficient of
tribution of coal fracture prediction results is affected. rock properties.
Because coal classification method and standard are GSI(geological strength index) is proposed by the
yet been established for the current domestic to guide Hoek, and it can be written:
coal seam fracture zones forecast, internal factors and
external factors of coal fracture is not comprehensive
enough, and the safety requirements can not be met
for coal seam drilling. Appling Hoek-Brown criterion
and modified GSI and JP(RMi) parameters, coal frac-
ture classification method and standard are proposed
with the direction of plane and wellbore, and the dis-
tribution regularity of coal fracture is studied for ZP-1
Well and JinCheng block in QinShui basin. The results

447
 Table 1. Classification of coal strength with JP value for
RMI index.

Coal
Where Em is deformation modulus; D is rock mass qualitative Corresponding Coal fracture
representation strength JP value classification
weak factor, and it is among 0–1.
According to elastic wave theory, the relationship
Much low Much weak 0–0.05 Fractured
between D and longitudinal wave speed is as follow: Low Weak 0.05–0.25 Strong fracture
Middle Middle 0.25–0.5 Weak fracture
High Strong 0.5–1 Unfractured

Where, VD is average P-wave velocity for disturbance Where

rock; VUD is average P-wave velocity for undisturbed
rock mass.
Uniaxial tensile strength is equal to biaxial ten-
sile strength for coal. According to (1), σt can be
calculated as:

Where Cb is bulk compressibility modulus; Vsh is clay

Equivalent parameters of Hoek-Brown are com-
puted by Mohr-Coulomb criterion:
content; ts and tp are s-wave and longitudinal wave
slowness; ρ is coal density.
By substituting (2)–(4) into (8) the GSI is
obtained. According to calculated GSI value, coal
fracture is divided into 4 classifications: fractured
(0 < GSI < 30); strong fracture (30 < GSI < 50); weak
fracture (50 < GSI < 70); unfractured (70 < GSI <
100).

Uniaxial compressive strength of coal can be

expressed: 3.2 Coal fracture classification analysis based
on joint parameter JP
Coal RMi value can be defined as follw:

3 COAL FRACTURE CLASSIFICATION GSI-JP Combined with (7), JP is obtained:

ANALYSIS METHOD IN WELLBORE
DIRECTION

3.1 Modified GSI method of coal fracture

classification
GSI formula is derived based (5), (6), (7):
By substituting GSI value into (2)–(4), mb , s and α
are obtained, and coal joint parameter JP is computed.
JP value can express joint size and continuity jL, joint
roughness jR, joint alteration jA, joint density and vol-
ume of block Vb, so JP can reflect coal fracture. Coal
fracture classification of coal strength with JP value
for RMI index is shown in Table 1.

448
Table 2. Coal fracture classification standard at wellbore
direction.

Classification
standard A B C D The calculation steps are as follows:

Modified 0–30 30–50 50–70 70–100 (1) Random initial values of wj , aj and bj are given
GSI value initial values;
JP value 0–0.05 0.05–0.25 0.25–0.5 0.5–1 (2) Learning sample X (j) is input;
(3) Network output is calculated based on the current
network parameters;
(4) The gradient of the objective function is com-
puted;
3.3 Coal fracture classification standard with
wellbore direction
According to modified GSI and JP values, coal fracture
is divided into 4 classifications: fractured(A); strong
fracture(B); weak fracture(C); unfractured(D). Coal
fracture degree is determined when GSI and JP values
are obtained. The corresponding relationship between
classification and GSI and JP values is listed in Table 2. Where

4 COAL FRACTURE CLASSIFICATION

WITH PLANE

4.1 Coal seam stress field analysis based on

wavelet neural network (5) Error back-propagation by modifying the network
parameters wk , ak and bk ;
Morlet wavelet which is called neuron transfer func-
tion can be written:

Sigmoid function is expressed as follow:

Learning is stopped when the error function value

Network output is that:
The objective function can be expressed:
The optimal parameter θ is solved by conjugate gra-
dient descent algorithm, where θ is vector including wj ,
aj and bj (j = 1, 2, · · · L).
Iterative process can be followed as:
Where η is a learn step; ∇E(θ(K)) is gradient of
parameter θ;
is less than a predetermined value, otherwise return to
step 2 to re-learning.
According to wavelet theory and neural network
method, the corresponding finite element module is
developed. On the basis of many times trial calcula-
tion, the finite element forward calculation is carried
on by changing the boundary loads of stress field
and coal mechanical parameters, then the stress under
the boundary load constraints is available. The cor-
responding stress components σx , σy and σz that are
obtained at the measuring point are considered as a net-
work learning input samples, whereas the correspond-
ing boundary loads and coal mechanical parameters
are output as the result vectors. Approximate values
range of mechanical parameters and boundary loads
in this paper are determined, and a few discrete levels
are combined to form 12 groups of calculation para-
meters (ie, deformation modulus, Poisson’s ratio, the
x direction load, the Y direction load). Depending on
the parameters, corresponding stress components are
obtained based on the finite element model. Taking
12 sets of the principal stress components as training
input samples, training is done using a good wavelet
neural network, and 12 sets of calculation parameters

449
Table 3. Coal fracture classification standard at plane
direction.

Plane classification
standard A B C D

fracture coefficient ξ >1.0 1.0–0.8 0.8–0.5 <0.5

are output as training expectations. Output samples

that are the boundary load and mechanical parameters
of coal are obtained by considering the principal stress
components of measured points as an input sample
after the network training completion.

Figure 1. Coal GSI and JP values of ZP-1 Well in wellbore

4.2 Coal fracture classification method with plane direction.
σ1 and σ3 are solved based on wavelet neural network.
By substituting σ3 into Hoek-Brown criterion to cal- Table 4. The simulation results compared with the measured
values of maximum principal stress size for key points.
culate [σ1 ], then it is compared with σ1 . Coefficient of
coal fracture ξ is introduced to express the ratio: Simulation Measured Relative
Stress Value Value Error
Key Points Component (MPa) (MPa) (%)

FanZhuang σH 11.823 11.82 0.025

σh 5.702 5.82 −2.03
DingDian σH 11.908 11.88 0.236
Or substituting σ1 into Hoek-Brown criterion to cal- σh 5.742 5.7 0.74
culate [σ3 ], then it is compared with σ3 . Coefficient of FanZhuang σH 10.233 10.54 −2.91
coal fracture ζ is introduced to express the ratio: σh 6.33 6.47 −2.16
PanZhuang σH 11.061 10.86 1.86
σh 5.71 5.58 2.33

When the fracture coefficient ξ or ζ is greater than

Table 5. The simulation results compared with the measured
1, coal fracture is considered to occur. Coal fracture values of maximum principal stress azimuth for key points.
degree increases with ξ and ζ increasing.
Simulation Measured Absolutely
4.3 Coal fracture classification standard with plane Key Points Value (◦ ) Value(◦ ) Error (◦ )

Corresponding classification of wellbore direction, FanZhuang NE53.737 NE55 −1.263

coal plane fracture is also divided into 4 classifi-
cations: fractured(A); strong fracture(B); weak frac-
ture(C); unfractured(D). The corresponding relation-
ship between classification and fracture coefficient is
listed in Table 3.
5 COAL FRACTURE CLASSIFICATION
PREDICTION ANALYSIS IN QINSHUI BASIN
5.1 Coal fracture classification prediction of ZP-1
at wellbore direction
Based on ZP-1 well log data, coal seam fracture (depth
546.0–552.7 m) at wellbore direction is predicted by
GSI-JP classification method.
GSI value of ZP-1 Well seam is among 30–50; Joint
parameter JP value is among 0.1–0.25. Appling the
GSI-JP classification standard, coal fracture of ZP-1
well is strong fracture (B grade). GSI and JP values
are less than sandstone, so coal is more easily broken.
ZhangZi NE32.771 NE32 0.771
5.2 Coal fracture classification prediction of
JinCheng region
Appling wavelet neural network, coal stress field of
Jincheng region is analyzed by the finite element
numerical simulation, and the size and direction of
the principal stress are compared with the measured
values. The results are shown in Table 4–5:
Compared the principal stress results using com-
bined inversion algorithm with the measured values
from Table 4 and 5, the results show that the max-
imum and minimum principal stress relative errors
between the simulated and measured values are less
than 3% for the key points in the region; its direction
difference of principal stress is less than 1.30 ; so the
calculation accuracy of combined inversion algorithm
is higher. The stress field results that are obtained by

450
Figure 2. Maximum horizontal principal stress contour map
in JinCheng region.
Figure 3. Minimum horizontal principal stress contour map
in JinCheng region.
using inversion algorithm are desirable, and precision
can meet the engineering requirements.
According to the maximum horizontal principal
stress contours of Jincheng region (Fig. 2), the maxi-
mum principal stress shows compressive stress state,
and the values are among the 8–13 MPa. Fault has more
significant effect to the distribution of stress field, and
fracture zone has obvious stress concentration phe-
nomenon. High value area of concentrated stress is
located in the southern and eastern regions of Jincheng.
It shows a gradual increasing trend from northwest to
southeast, and maximum principal stress direction in
the region is mainly in NE30◦ -NE60◦ with increasing
the performance of the south to the north.
Low value stress area is mainly located in south-
ern JinCheng (CBM is relatively rich for the region)
based on the minimum principal stress contour, and
it is presented by compressive stress state with the
value about 5–9 MPa based on Fig. 3. The minimum
principal stress increases from southeast to northwest.
451
Figure 4. Coal fracture coefficient in Jincheng region.
The direction of the minimum horizontal principal
compressive stress is mainly NW for the region.
The calculated fracture coefficient of coal bas-
ing on Hoek-Brown criterion is shown in Fig 4.
Fracture coefficient of JinCheng block is mainly dis-
tributed between 0.15–1.25, and it increases gradually
from northwest to southeast f or research block, and
high-value areas are mainly distributed nearby faults.
According to coal fracture classification method,
fracture coefficient is much greater, and coal is
prone to produce the possibility of strength damage.
The coal fracture classification distribution regular-
ity of Jincheng block is that YangCheng, DingDian,
FanZhuang, PanZhuang, ChangYe and ZhangZi are
considered as grade A; coal seam in southeast region
is presented as strong fracture (grade B); the central
region belongs to weak fracture (grade C); the others
is taken as grade D.
Obtained Based on measured coal geological statis-
tics, coal seam fracture of YangCheng, DingDian,
FanZhuang and PanZhuang is more severe than other
regions, and it agrees well with prediction results
(grade A), so the coal fracture classification method is
reliable and can meet engineering requirement.
6 CONCLUSION
(1) GSI and JP theory formulas are solved, and
GSI-JP fracture classification analysis method at
wellbore direction is established. On the basis of
obtaining principle stress, coal fracture classifi-
cation method at plane is proposed. According to
the size of GSI-JP and fracture coefficient val-
ues, 4 grades are divided, including A,B,C,D, and
classification standard is determined.
(2) Appling wavelet neural network, the maximum
and minimum principle stresses are obtained. The
results show that the maximum principle stress is
among 8–13 MPa; the minimum principle stress
is 5–9 MPa.
(3) According to coal fracture classification method
and standard, JinCheng region and ZP-1 are
analyzed. The coal fracture prediction result of
YangCheng, DingDian, FanZhuang, PanZhuang,
ChangYe and ZhangZi is considered as grade A;
but coal seam in northwest region is presented
as unfractured, including GuXian, QinYuan, Qin-
Can, QinXian, ZhongCun and AnZe. Coal GSI
values of ZP-1 are among 30–50; JP values are
among 0.1–0.25. It agrees well with measured
results.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are very much indebted to the China
National Science and Technology Major Project (Con-
tract No. 2008ZX05036-001 and 2008ZX05037-004).
REFERENCES
QU Ping, SHEN Rui-chen, YANG Heng-lin. 2009. Evalu-
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ZANG Xiu-ping, RUAN Han-ting, LI Ping. 2007. Status quo
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WEN Chang-ping. 2008. Bayes discriminant analysis method
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INA COAL SOCIETY 33(4): 395–399.
XU Hong-fa, ZHOU Jian-min, Wu Hua-Jie. 2005. Simplified
method for national standard for engineering classifica-
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strength. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci 34(8): 1165–1186.
KLERCKPA, SELLERSEJ, OWENDRJ. 2004. Discrete frac-
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sile stress states. Computer Methods in Applied Mechan-
ics and Engineering 193(27): 3035–3056.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress field inverse analysis technology study of low

permeability reservoir based on multi-well constraint

Yan Xiangzhen & Yang Xiujuan

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of
Petroleum, Dongying, Shandong, China

ABSTRACT: In-situ stress field inversion is to find a model or parameter, which can fit practical data as much
as possible.According to the fundamental equations of elastic mechanics, the optimization constraint model based
on the least square method is established. The optimization method of in-situ stress field of low permeability
reservoirs is proposed. Depending on sequential unconstrained minimization technique, the problem of multi-
objective constraint is transformed into unconstrained optimization problem by adding penalty function, and
numerical model related with finite element calculation is derived. Reasonable objective function is selected to
solve minimum value by applying optimization method to adjust and search design parameters, thus boundary
loads are obtained. By use of the inversion boundary loads, finite element forward solution is carried out, so
in-situ stress field is determined. According to in-site stress size and direction in typical well for GaoYou W8
fault block of SuBei Basin as constraint, the area stress field is calculated. The example shows that the method is
reliable and has high precise, and overcomes disadvantages of regression method and boundary adjusting method.
Therefore, the optimization method put forward in this paper can effectively solve the inversion problem of in-situ
stress field for low permeability reservoir.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the process of low-permeability reservoir develop-
ment, the stress field distribution is needed to know.
According to the fundamental equations of elastic
mechanics, the basic theory of stress field inversion
is established. Mixed-penalty function is adopted, and
the multi-well constrained optimization model and
method are established, so the numerical inversion
method combined the constrained optimization with
the finite element method is proposed. According to a
small amount of measured stress data of the research
area to optimize the stress field, the calculation results
of stress field agree well with measured values. The
method can make up the defect of the existed inver-
sion methods and the boundary load adjustment and
enhance calculation accuracy.
2 STRESS FIELD INVERSION MODEL
2.1 The constitutive equation of stress field
According to the finite element equations of three-
dimensional boundary value problem, the nodes stress
and boundary loads can be satisfied the following
relationship:
Where D is elasticity matrix; L is differential operator
matrix; K is the overall stiffness matrix.
Several key point stress values are known for
research reservoir, and the boundary load is needed to
solve, so it is the inverse problem by use of solving
differential equations. Depending on finite element
method, the boundary value problems under discus-
sion are changed into a group of node stress equation.
When the mechanical parameters as well as bound-
ary conditions are given, then the stress field can be
solved.
2.2 Optimal inversion model and algorithm
analysis of the stress field
Using the sequence of unconstrained technology, the
constrained problems can be changed into uncon-
strained problems by adding a penalty function
approach, and the optimization numerical model asso-
ciated with the finite element is derived.
Considering the constrained optimization problem:

Where σ is node stress; F(X ) is nodal force array; X is

vector of unknown parameters of the boundary load;
T is transfer matrix.

453
Where f is the objective function; x is the design
parameter; gi , hi and wi are state parameters which
can be expressed as principal stress size and direction.
Constrained problems can be changed into uncon-
strained problems, and unconstrained objective func-
tion is as follows:
Figure 1. Calculation model.

Table 1. Rock physical parameters of geological model.

Layer E/MPa µ Density/g/cm3

Top 21710 0.25 2.30

Where Q is the unconstrained objective function; E1 f 3 21760 0.20 2.47
Px , Pg , Ph , Pw are the constraints design parameter E1 f 2 22400 0.21 2.42
and punishment items; f0 is the reference objective E1 f 1 25200 0.29 2.59
Bottom 31000 0.27 2.62
function value for unifying units.
Fault 15120 0.41 2.25
Q is defined as: Boundary 29500 0.25 2.30

The functions of Qf and QP are separately related

to the objective function and constraint penalties.

The changing value of objective function from the

current design to the previous design is less than tol-
erance, and optimization calculation is ended. The
changing value of objective function is as follow:
The optimization iteration formula of design param-
eter for unconstrained objective function can be
expressed:
Where τ is an allowable value of objective function.

The minimum value of objective function can be 3 CALCULATION MODEL

found at d (j) direction by adjusting x(j) and Sj . Based
on golden section method and quadratic interpolation
to solve Sj , the upper and lower limits are written as
follow:
3.1 Model establish
Taking the main producing reservoir of W8 block as a
research object, geological isolation body is selected as
a cuboid, and E1 f1 layer is key research.The calculation
model is established as follow:

Where, Sj∗ is iterative step length of current line search;

Smax is the maximum value of line search step. 3.2 Rock Mechanics Parameters
Search direction is assumed to be negative gradient Rock physical parameters of geological model for W8
of the unconstrained objective function. block are shown in Table 1.

3.3 Inversion boundary condition

If q is equal to 1, then:
Obviously, the search direction is formed based on
the following recursive formula:
Selecting the six measuring points the size of the level
of principal stress and principal stress direction as the
known test value based on the study field test data, the
measured point data is listed in Table 2.
According to calculation condition, the lower limit
value of boundary compress stress is 1 MPa; the upper
limit value is 40 MPa. The lower limit value of shear
stress is −20 MPa; the upper limit value is 20 MPa.
The allowable value of objective function τ is 10−6 .

454
 Table 2. Measured values for inversion calculation.

Sites Depth/m Measurement method σh /MPa σH /MPa Direction/0

W5-5 1049.8 Hydrofracturing AE; −18.9 −25.8 E27.5◦ S

W8-1 1435.0 Hydrofracturing −17.6 −29.4 E5.7◦ S
W8-4 1152.9 Hydrofracturing AE; −18.7 −29.0 E3.0◦ N
W8-5 1190.7 Velocity Method AE; −17.5 −30.5 E3.1◦ N
W8-6 1160.4 Velocity Method AE; −16.8 −31.8 E1.4◦ N
W8-7 1187.0 Velocity Method −16.3 −33.3 E3.5◦ S

Table 3. The simulation results compared with the measured Table 5. The boundary load optimum results.
values of maximum principal stress size for key points.
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8
Simulation Measured Relative Boundary
Key Stress Value Value Error load (MPa) 13.9 13.9 27.5 27.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
Points Component (MPa) (MPa) (%)

W5-5 σh −18.843 −18.937 0.496

σH −28.957 −25.771 12.363
W8-1 σh −17.075 −17.566 2.795
σH −30.965 −29.417 5.262
W8-4 σh −17.060 −18.659 8.570
σH −30.083 −28.964 3.863
W8-5 σh −17.079 −17.509 2.456
σH −30.044 −30.525 1.576
W8-6 σh −17.475 −16.785 4.111
σH −29.925 −31.782 5.843
W8-7 σh −17.903 −16.255 10.138
σH −29.901 −33.277 10.145

Figure 2. Maximum horizontal principal stress contour map

in the region.
Table 4. The simulation results compared with the measured
values of maximum principal stress azimuth for key points.
5 STRESS FIELD ANALYSIS
Simulation Measured Relative AND APPLICATION
Key Value Value Error
Points (◦ ) (◦ ) (◦ ) 5.1 Stress field analysis

W5-5 E13.98◦ S E27.5◦ S 13.52◦ According to the maximum horizontal principal stress
W8-1 E6.44◦ S E5.7◦ S 0.74◦ contours of W8 block (Fig. 2), the maximum principal
W8-4 E6.66◦ S E3.0◦ N 9.66◦ stress shows compressive stress state, and the values
W8-5 E6.25◦ S E3.1◦ N 9.35◦ are among the 27–33 MPa. Fault has significant effect
W8-6 E7.19◦ S E1.4◦ N 8.59◦ to the distribution of stress field, and fracture zone
W8-7 E6.88◦ S E3.5◦ S 3.38◦ has obvious stress concentration phenomenon. High
value area of concentrated stress is located in the east-
ern regions of W8; low value area is distributed in
the north and eastern regions. The maximum principal
stress direction in the region is mainly in NE77◦ –115◦ .
4 INVERSION RESULTS

Compared the principal stress inversion results with

the measured values from Table 3 and 4, the results
show that the maximum and minimum principal stress
relative errors between the simulated and measured
values are less than 10% for the key points in the
region; W5-5 is an exception, the principal stress rel-
ative errors is 12.363%; its direction difference of
principal stress is less than 10◦ ; so the inversion calcu-
lation accuracy is higher. The stress field results that
are obtained by inversion calculation are desirable, and
precision can meet the engineering requirements.
5.2 Fracture development prediction
According to fracture strain energy density factor cri-
terion, the energy within rock is much greater, and
the micro-fracture is more prone to generate. Based
on calculated strain energy density factor (Fig. 3), the
fracture scope and intensity of the fault block eastern is
greater than the western, and fracture which is located
in construction region is more developed. Energy high-
value area is mainly distributed in the fault zone and
eastern of research region from strain energy density

455

Figure 3. Strain energy density contour map in the region.
Figure 4. Fracture pressure contour map in the region.
results of E1 f 1 and E1 f 2 layers, and strain energy den-
sity increases with depth increasing. That is to say,
fracture development of bottom layer is better than top
layer. Also, the results show that fracture development
increases with vertical depth.
5.3 Fracture pressure prediction
Formation fracture pressure is predicted by use of frac-
ture mechanics criteria to provide reference for drilling
and hydraulic fracturing design. Based on formation
fracture pressure results of W8 (Fig. 4), the values are
among the 16–36 MPa. The scope of fracture pres-
sure in northern is 16–30 MPa, and western is higher
than eastern. Fracture pressure increases with depth
increasing. Also, it changes 4MPa within 200 meters.
Through the calculation of strain energy density,
the region of fracture development can be predicted.
For strain energy density high-value areas of stress
field, rock permeability is usually good, and the area
is conducive to enrich for oil and gas, so it is the prior-
ity development area for development and arrange of
wells.
6 CONCLUSION
(1) According to the fundamental equations of
solid mechanics, the numerical inversion model
456
is established. Appling geomechanical analysis
method, basic factors of tectonic stress field are
considered. Using finite element optimization
method, the boundary load of tectonic stress field
is obtained, thus stress field is determined in the
region. The method overcomes the lack of the
existed inversion methods and the boundary load
adjustment, so it is a practical method for inversion
calculation of stress field.
(2) Optimization method is introduced to the oil and
gas geological stress field calculation. Full use of
in-site stress measured data, the objective func-
tion is combined with field measured data, and the
inversion calculation singularity problem which is
caused by using stress size data to calculate stress
field is solved. Examples calculation show that
the inversion results agree well with experimental
results.
(3) Appling two-dimensional finite element optimiza-
tion method and three-dimensional tectonic stress
field model, strain energy density, fracture pres-
sure and the fracture rate are analyzed, so frac-
ture developed region is predicted accurately to
provide reference for well network deployment,
drilling and hydraulic fracturing design.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are very much indebted to the China
National Science and Technology Major Project (Con-
tract No. 2008ZX05036-001 and 2008ZX05037-004).
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Borehole stability study of coal seam based on orthotropic coal

cleats model

Wang Baohui, Yan Xiangzhen & Yang Xiujuan

College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum,
Dongying, Shandong

Yang Henglin
Institute of Drilling and Technology (CNPC), Beijing

ABSTRACT: Based on the fractured-porous elastic and seepage theory, considering the orthotropic physical
properties of coal cleats and different seepage characteristics in the orientation of the face and butt cleats, the
orthotropic dual media mathematical model for fluid-solid coupling is established. The finite element equation
is derived on the basis of the orthotropic dual media mathematical model, and also the relative two dimensional
program of finite element method is developed. Taking the ZP-1 well in Qinshui Basin as an example, the effect of
the permeability orthotropic coefficient on the pressure distribution in the borehole wall is simulated. According
to the mathematical model, the various parameters which effect the collapsed pressure for borehole stability
are analyzed in detail, including non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient, hole size, permeability, pore pressure,
internal friction angle and cohesion. The results shows that the pressure distribution in the borehole wall decreases
with permeability orthotropic coefficient increasing between 0◦ and 45◦ , whereas it increases between 45◦ and
90◦ . Collapsed pressure increases with non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient, hole size, permeability and pore
pressure increasing, and decreases with friction angle and cohesion increasing.

1 INTRODUCTION model for fluid-solid coupling is gained. According to

The formation fluid flows into the borehole unceas-
ingly during the under balanced drilling. After the
borehole is formed, the stress around the borehole
will be distributed again accompanied by the per-
colation of the formation fluid which influences the
borehole stability. Over the years, a lot of valuable
results have been gained by many domestic and for-
eign scholars according to the large number of studies
on borehole stability. Fjaer presents the elastic stress
solution in the borehole wall under non-uniform in-
situ stress. Fonseca shows the porous linear elastic
stress solution in the borehole wall subjected to fluid-
solid coupling, considering the effect of the uniform
in-situ stress and radial porous flow. However, coal
bed methane reservoir is considered as naturally frac-
tured reservoir because of the presence of face and
butt cleats. They usually align orthogonal to each other,
which creates permeability anisotropy. Generally, face
cleats have larger permeability compared to the butt
cleat, therefore it is assumed as the maximum per-
meability direction. Because of the different seepage
characteristics in the orientation of the face and butt
cleats, the water inside the cleats system is considered
as non-uniform flow. On the basis of the orthotropic
physical properties of coal cleats and different seep-
age characteristics in the orientation of the face and
butt cleats, the orthotropic dual media mathematical
the mathematical model, the effect of the permeability
orthotropic coefficient on the pressure distribution in
the borehole wall is calculated. The reservoir physi-
cal parameters which affect the collapsed pressure for
borehole stability are analyzed.
2 FLUID-SOLID COUPLING MATHEMATICAL
MODEL IN THE CLEATS SYSTEM
The fluid-solid coupling problem in the cleats system
is the mutual infiltration and cross of multi-disciplines.
In order to study this problem smoothly, the basic
assumptions are described as:
(1) Flow of water inside the cleats system is consid-
ered as laminar and hence Darcy law is applicable.
(2) The solid skeleton and pore can be compressed.
(3) Coal and rock mass can be considered as isotropic
linear elastic material.
2.1 Basic stress equations
Solid skeletal deformation obeys Terzaghi’s effective
stress principle, and it is expressed as follows:
Where σij
= the effective stress; σij = the total stress;
p = the pore pressure; δij = the Kroneker tensor.

457
 1) Stress equilibrium equation
2) Geometric equation
Where {U } = the displacement matrix, {U } = {u v w}T ;
[B] = the geometric matrix.
3) Constitutive equation:
Where {ε} = the strain matrix, {ε} = {εx εy εz γxy
γyz γzx }bT ; [D] = the elasticity matrix.
When the equation (1), (3) and (4) are substituted
into equation (2), after rearranging there results:
2.2 The seepage field equation
According to the mass conservation principle, the
seepage field equation inside the cleats system is
established.
Where ρw = the density of water; Vx Vy Vz = the
seepage velocity; ϕ = the porosity; V = the volume of
a micro unit.
If it is assumed that the compressibility of water
is represented by β, then the right hand side of
equation (6) can be written as:
Considering the influence of the gravity, the Darcy
law can be described as:
Where µ = the viscosity of water; K = the seepage
matrix.
458
Because of the physical properties of orthotropic
coal cleats, permeability tensor under new coordinate
system can be written as:
When the equation (7), (8) and (9) are substituted
into equation (6), after rearranging there results:
Where kf = the face cleats permeability; kb = the butt
cleats permeability; εv = the volumetric strain.
The equation (5) and (10) are coupling equations
between seepage fields and stress fields.
For the equivalent continuum model, the relation-
ship between stress fields and permeability coefficient
are described as
Where σ v = (σ1 + σ32 + σ3 ) = the average principal stress.
3 THE FINITE ELEMENT SOLUTION
OF COUPLING MODEL
We can obtain the numerical solution although it is dif-
ficult to solve the exact solution for the above coupling
equations. Under the assumption that the displacement
field and pressure field are represented by the value of
the discrete points, then they can be written as
Where NP = the total number of the scattered nodes;
Ni (x, y, z) = the whole shape function.
Based on the Galerkin method, after the equa-
tion (12) is substituted into equation (5) and (10), they
can be written as:
Where [K] = the general stiffness matrix, [K] =
NE
e=1 A[K]
e
; [K
] = the general coupling matrix,
NE
[K ] = e=1 A[K
]e ; [S] = the general compression


 NE ∼ Table 1. Mechanical properties of the coal seam.
matrix, [S] = e=1 A[S] ; [K ] = the general seepage
e
∼ NE ∼
matrix, [K ] = e=1 A[K ]e ; {F1 } = the equivalent node ID. Parameter

load, [F1 ] = NE A[F1 ]e ; {F2 } = the equivalent node
e=1
NE 1 Well diameter (mm) 62.1
flow, [F2 ] = e=1 A[F2 ]e ; NE = the total number of 3 In-situ stress gradient (MPa/100 m) 1.15
elements; A = the combination operator. 4 Pressure coefficient (MPa/100 m) 0.95
It is assumed that tm , tm+1 are two points in time 5 Elastic modulus (MPa) 31200
domain, then the corresponding field variables are 6 Poisson ratio 0.23
{Um }, {Pm }, {Um+1 }, {Pm+1 }. The differential term dU
dt
7 Fluid column pressure (MPa) 3.5
8 Internal friction angle (◦ ) 47.5
and dPdt
are approximately equal to U t
and P
t
respec- 9 Cohesion (MPa) 2
tively within the time step t = tm+1 − tm . The linear 10 Face cleats permeability (µm2 ) 5.1E-3
interpolation formulas are described as: 11 Butt cleats permeability (µm2 ) 3.2 E-3
12 Vertical permeability (µm2 ) 0.5 E-3

exceeds the envelope created by the two Mohr’s circles

for uniaxial tensile strength and uniaxial compression
strength. The criteria can be expressed in terms of
principal stress as:

When the equation (14) is substituted into equation Where σ1 = the maximum principal stress in the bore-
(13), after simplifying there results: hole wall; σ3 = the minimum principal stress in the
borehole wall.

5 EXAMPLE ANALYSIS

Based on the mathematical model, the effect of the

Where [Kt ] = the tangent

stiffness matrix; θ = the
t permeability orthotropic coefficient on the stress dis-
0 ωt τdτ
integral parameter, θ =  . tribution in the borehole wall is calculated, and then
t 0t ωt dτ
Using total content instead of pressure increment,
the equation (15) becomes
 meability, pore pressure, internal friction angle and
[Kt ]{U } − [K t ]{Pm+1 } = {F1 } − [K t ]{Pm }
[K
]T {U } + ([S] + θt[K̃]){Pm+1 } (16)
 Qinshui Basin is simulated for the numerical analyses.
= t(θ{F2 } + {F2 }m ) + ([S] − (1 − θ)t[K̃]){P}m
By setting a reasonable boundary condition and ini-
tial condition and using the finite element program, the
stress distribution in the borehole wall under the cou-
pling action can be calculated, and then the borehole
stability is analyzed based on Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion.
4 BOREHOLE STABILITY ANALYSIS
The main objective of stability analysis is to study
the probable instability of wellbore by computing the
redistributed stress situation based on the fluid-solid
coupling mathematical model in the cleats system and
comparing with an adopted failure criterion. In this
paper, the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is adopted
because of its simplicity and wide application for pre-
dicting shear well bore failure. It suggests that the
failure occurs when Mohr’s circle at a point in the body
459
the various parameters which effect the collapsed pres-
sure for borehole stability are analyzed, including
non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient, hole size, per-
cohesion. The borehole stability of the ZP-1 well in
The constant pressure is applied on the out boundary.
Mechanical properties of the coal seam are given in
Table 1:
5.1 The effect of the permeability orthotropic
coefficient on the stress distribution in the
borehole wall
Stress distribution curves in the borehole wall are
shown in Figure 1 through 2. According to Figure1,
the tangential stress in the borehole wall increases with
circumferential angle increasing. When the circumfer-
ential angle is 0◦ , the tangential stress in the borehole
wall is minimum, however the tangential stress in the
borehole wall is maximum at 90 degree. The tangential
stress in the borehole wall decreases with permeability
orthotropic coefficient increasing in the circumfer-
ential angle range from 0 to 45 degree, whereas it
increases from 45 to 90 degree. The stress value is
decreased by 1 MPa from 0 to 45 degree, whereas it is

Figure 1. The tangential stress distribution in the borehole
wall under different permeability orthotropic coefficient.
Figure 2. The radial stress distribution in the borehole wall
under different permeability orthotropic coefficient.
increased by 1 MPa from 45 to 90 degree. According
to Figure 2, the radial stress is almost unchanged as
the circumferential angle rises.
5.2 The sensitivity analysis of physical
parameters for the collapsed pressure
in the borehole wall
Figure 3 to 6 show the curves of physical parame-
ters for the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall.
As it can be seen in figure 3, the collapsed pres-
sure in the borehole wall increases approximately
linearly with non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient
increasing. Under the non-uniform in-situ stress, the
collapsed pressure in the borehole wall increases as
the well depth and pore pressure rise, but it decreases
as the cohesion rises. In the coefficient range from
1.0 to 1.5, the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall
increases approximately linearly with internal friction
angle increasing. In the coefficient range from 1.5
to 2.0, the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall
decreases approximately linearly with internal friction
angle increasing.
Figure 7 to 10 show the curves of cohesion, internal
friction angle, porosity and hole size for the collapsed
460
Figure 3. Curves of non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient
and collapsed pressure at different seam depth.
Figure 4. Curves of non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient
and collapsed pressure at different cohesion.
Figure 5. Curves of non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient
and collapsed pressure at different internal friction angles.
pressure in the borehole wall. As it can be seen in Fig-
ure 7 and 8, the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall
decreases with cohesion increasing, 2 MPa decreasing
amplitude approximately, whereas it increases with
internal friction angle increasing,0.4 MPa increasing
amplitude approximately. According to the figure 9,
the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall is almost
unchanged as the porosity rises. Figure 10 shows that
the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall presents
nonlinear growth with an increase of the hole size in the
hole size range from 20 cm to 50 cm, 1 MPa increas-
ing amplitude approximately, whereas it keeps almost
unchanged in the hole size range from 50 cm to 70 cm.
Figure 6. Curves of non-uniform in-situ stress coefficient
and collapsed pressure at different pore pressure.
Figure 7. Curves of cohesion and collapsed pressure.
Figure 8. Curves of internal friction angle and collapsed
pressure.
Figure 9. Curves of porosity and collapsed pressure.
461
Figure 10. Curves of hole size and collapsed pressure.
6 CONCLUSION
1) The orthotropic coal cleats model is established
considering permeability orthotropic of coal cleats.
The finite element and finite difference methods
are adopted in this paper to make the stress equation
and seepage field equation discrete. The coupling
solution of the mathematical model is implemented
according to transmission of the parameter values
of coupling effect.
2) Based on the mathematical model, the borehole
stability of ZP-1 well is analyzed by means of the
finite element program. The results show that the
tangential stress in the borehole wall increases with
circumferential angle increasing, the tangential
stress in the borehole wall decreases with per-
meability orthotropic coefficient increasing in the
circumferential angle range from 0 to 45 degree,
whereas it increases in the circumferential angle
range from 45 to 90 degree, the radial stress is
almost unchanged as the circumferential angle
rises.
3) The sensitivity analysis of physical parameters for
the collapsed pressure in the borehole wall are
carried out based on the orthotropic coal cleats
model. The analysis shows that collapsed pressure
increases with non-uniform in-situ stress coeffi-
cient, hole size, permeability and pore pressure
increasing, and decreases with friction angle and
cohesion increasing. The collapsed pressure in the
borehole wall is almost unchanged as the porosity
rises.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are very much indebted to the China
National Science and Technology Major Project (Con-
tract No. 2008ZX05036-001 and 2008ZX05037-004).
REFERENCES
Fjaer, E., Holt, R., Horsud, P., Raaen, A., and Risnes,
R. Petroleum Related Rock Mechanics.Elsevier Science
Publishers, 2008.
Fonseca,C. Chemical-Mechanical Modeling of Wellbore
Instability in shales. The University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, Texas, 1998.
Zhang, J., Roegiers, J.-C. Horizontal borehole stability in nat-
urally fractured reservoirs. International Conference on
Horizontal Well Technology. SPE: 65513,2000.
Z.X. Wang, P. Massarotto, V. rudolph. An improved per-
meability model of coal for coalbed methane recovery
and CO2 geosequestration. International Journal of Coal
Geology, 2009, 77(1/2): 127–136.
Li H., S. Shimada, and M. Zhang.Anisotropy of gas perme-
ability associated with cleat pattern in a coal seam of the
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Kushiro coalfield in Japan. Enviromental Geology, 2004,
47(1):45–50.
Chaianansutcharit, T. Her-Yuan Chen, and Teufel, L.W.
Impacts of Permeability Anisotropy and Pressure Inter-
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The function and significance of in-situ stress measurement in the research

of strong earthquake prediction

Q. Guo, L. Ding, C. Wang & Y. Zhang

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: One week before the occurrence of Wenchuan Ms8.0 Earthquake the maximum horizontal prin-
cipal stress measured by hydro-fracturing technique in the seismogenic fault zone of Wenchuan Earthquake
(Yingxiu-Beichuan fault) at 400 ± m depth was 21 ∼ 22 MPa, which was 8 ∼ 10 MPa higher than the values
measured in the nearby footwall. The repeated measurements after the great earthquake at the same locations
indicate that the maximum and minimum horizontal principal stress in the fault belt decreased by 29% and 23%
respectively; while in the footwall the stresses did not change after the earthquake. The analysis of the measured
result indicates that anomalous high stress in an active fault belt provides a reliable basis for determining the area
of high seismic risk, and it is a warning sign of generation and occurrence of strong earthquakes. Therefore the
in-situ stress measurements have quite important function and significance in the strong earthquake prediction
research.

1 PREFACE It is very fortuitous that, to meet the engineering

In-situ stress status is the most important character of
crust. All kinds of geological phenomena (include the
occurrence of shallow earthquakes) inside and out-
side crust and all concomitant physical phenomena
are associated with in-situ stress. Pregnant and occur-
rence of strong destructive earthquakes are the result
of strong tectonic stress, and also an express of strong
crust movements. The strength pushed the movement
which was existed in crust, will gradually increase
at special conditions, and destroy the crust at any
fragile place, lead to vibration, it is the cause and pro-
cess of earthquake (Li 1977). Therefore, Professor Li
Siguang suggests to study and prediction earthquake
by measuring in-situ stress status.
However, it is impossible to predict accurately when
and where a strong destructive earthquake may occur.
And it’s difficult to fulfill the aspirations of measur-
ing the in-situ stress in the pregnant seismogenic zone
just before earthquake, Therefore, up to now there is
no report on in-situ stress measurement in the epi-
center area before a large earthquake anywhere in the
world. And it’s impossible to identify the in-situ stress
contribution state of seismogenic fault zone before
earthquake.
On May 12, 2008 a great shallow focus earthquake
of magnitude 8.0 occurred at Wenchuan in west China;
it killed about 80000 people and caused tremendous
economic loss. The sudden release of tectonic stress in
the crust resulted in an earthquake fracture zone about
300 km long (Ma et al. 2008, Xu et al. 2008, Zhang
et al. 2008). The intensity of the earthquake and the
severity of the disaster are rarely seen in the world.
requirement of highway construction, in early May
before the occurrence of great Wenchuan Ms8.0 earth-
quake, we carried out in-situ hydro-fracture stress
measurements in 4 deep boreholes in Qingchuan and
its vicinity, which were located in the meizoseismal
area; and after the May 12 great earthquake we did
repeated measurements and acquired reliable data of
in-situ in-situ stress.
This paper is based on the measure result of in-
situ stress before and after WenChuan Earthquake, it
shows that the in-situ stress of seismogenic fault zone
is very high before WenChuan Earthquake, at same
time discuss the effect and significance of in-situ stress
measurement in the prediction of strong earthquake.
2 THE IN-SITU STRESS DISTRIBUTION OF
SEISMOGENIC FAULT ZONE
MEASUREMENT RESULT BEFORE AND
AFTER WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE
2.1 Measurement bore holes’ position on tectonic
map
The great Wenchuan earthquake took place in the mid-
dle part of the eastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
on the Longmenshan Fault Belt. This fault belt consists
manly of three thrust faults (Xu et al.2005, Densemore
et al. 2007, Deng et al.1994 ), from northwest to south-
east they are successively the Wenchuan-Maoxian
Fault, Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault, and Guanxian-Anxian
Fault (Fig. 1). The great Wenchuan M8.0 earthquake
took place at the Yingxiu Town at the southern end

463

Figure 1. Longmen Shan Fault Belt and the distribution of
aftershocks and hydro-fracturing stress measuring boreholes.
of the middle section of Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault of
the Longmenshan Fault Belt. The earthquake rup-
ture started fromYingxiu, extended towards northeast,
crossing Beichuan till the vicinity of Qingchuan and
Guangyuan. Following the M8.0 main shock the after-
shocks were densely distributed along this fault belt,
a number of strong aftershocks of magnitude 5 ∼ 6
occurred around Qingchuan and Guangyuan at the
north end of the Longmenshan Fault Belt (Fig. 1).
2.2 Seismogenic fault zone’s in-situ stress measure
results before and after earthquake
In April and early May before the occurrence of
Wenchuan M8.0 earthquake, we made in-situ hydro-
fracturing stress measurements in four deep boreholes
nearby Qingchuan and Guangyuan on the northern
section of Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault of the Longmen-
shan fault Belt. Among them the measurement in
borehole ZK1, which was only 7 km from the Muyu
Town in the meizoseismal zone, was accomplished on
May 6, one week before the great earthquake. This
borehole was on the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault, which
was the seismogenic structure of the great Wenchuan
earthquake; the other three boreholes were located on
the footwall of the fault belt (Fig. 1). After the May
12 Wenchuan earthquake we made great efforts to
carry out in-situ stress measurements in the earthquake
area. In the meantime we selected boreholes ZK1 and
ZK3 for repeated stress measurement. The two bore-
holes were respectively on theYingxiu-Beichuan Fault
and on the footwall of the fault, and stress had been
measured there before the earthquake.
In order to investigate seismogenic fault zone’s in-
situ stress distribution carefully after earthquake, we
drill a deep borehole 450 m in east of ZK1 after earth-
quake, and measure the in-situ stress as soon as drilling
finished on July 1. At same time, for the sake of
studying the change character of in-situ stress after
464
Figure 2. Original recording curves of hydro-fracturing
in-situ stress measurement before and after the earthquake
in borehole ZK1.
earthquake, we measured this borehole again in Dec,
2009, and get reliable result of in-situ stress variation.
For the advantage of learn and evaluate in-situ stress
measure result, Figure 2 shows the original testing
records before and after the great earthquake in bore-
hole ZK1 on the central fault belt. It can be seen from
the figure that the recording curves are quite regular,
the characteristic fracturing parameters, especially the
instantaneous shut-in pressure of the hydro-fracture
surface (i.e., the minimum horizontal principal stress),
are quite clear and definite on the recording curves.
Therefore, the measuring result is considered relatively
accurate and reliable, and can truly represent the in-
situ stress state at the testing site (Stephen et al.1981,
Guo et al.2004). The results measured before and after
the great earthquake from various boreholes are listed
in Table 1.
3 THE EFFECT OF IN-SITU STRESS
MEASUREMENT RESULT TO WENCHUAN
EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION
3.1 Analysis of tectonic in-situ stress
Characteristics in seismogenic fault zone
Just before the occurrence of Wenchuan M8.0 earth-
quake, we made in-situ hydro-fracturing stress mea-
surements in four deep boreholes nearby Qingchuan
and Guangyuan on the northern section of Yingxiu-
Beichuan Fault of the Longmenshan fault Belt. Among
them the measurement in borehole ZK1, was on the
Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault, which was the seismogenic
structure of the great Wenchuan earthquake; the other
three boreholes were located on the footwall of the
fault belt (Fig. 1). The distances from borehole ZK1
to ZK4 to Yingxiu-Beichuan fault respectively are
2.3 km, 15.8 km, 18.6 km, 40.1 km. Therefore we got
the in-situ stress profile of earthquake fault by mea-
suring in-situ stress, revealed the characteristics of
tectonic stress of seismogenic fault zone reliably.
Boreholes ZK2 ∼ ZK4 are all located in the foot-
wall of the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault. In the depth range
Table 1. Result of in-situ hydro-fracturing stress measurements before and after the great earthquake.

Before May 12 earthquake After May 12 earthquake

Stress /MPa Stress (MPa)

Date Bore-hole Depth/m SH Sh Date Bore-hole Depth/m SH Sh

08.05. ZK1 390.60∼391.40 21.11 12.83 08.06. ZK1 390.60∼391.40 15.73 10.33
04∼07 408.80∼409.60 21.78 13.01 26∼29 408.80∼409.60 15.91 10.01
417.60∼418.40 21.87 13.60 417.60∼418.40 16.00 10.10
08.04. ZK2 312.84∼313.64 13.04 8.57 08.05. ZK5 359.80∼360.60 15.18 9.03
22∼25 355.00∼355.80 13.95 10.48 25∼28 369.10∼369.90 16.73 9.64
378.39∼379.19 15.28 10.36 378.40∼379.20 17.07 10.49
08.05. ZK3 358.90∼359.70 10.02 7.52 08.10. ZK3 358.90∼359.70 10.42 7.32
01∼04 406.12∼406.92 11.98 8.48 08∼15 406.12∼406.92 11.88 8.48
420.00∼420.80 12.22 8.82
08.04. ZK4 349.50∼350.30 13.29 8.93 08.07. ZK6 318.32∼319.12 15.67 9.12
05∼08 363.00∼363.80 13.52 9.26 02∼05 332.29∼333.09 13.81 9.26
394.50∼395.30 14.73 9.87 362.00∼362.80 15.60 10.05
09.12. 318.32∼319.12 11.97 7.72
23∼26 332.29∼333.09 10.81 6.86
362.00∼362.80 12.30 7.95

of 300 ∼ 380 m in borehole ZK2, the maximum hori-
zontal principal stress was 13 ∼ 14 MPa, with slightly
higher value in the bottom section. The minimum
horizontal stress in every measuring section was obvi-
ously larger than the vertical principal stress; the
relations between the three principal stresses were
SH > Sh > SV .
In borehole ZK3 at depths 400±m the maxi-
mum horizontal principal stress was generally 12 MPa,
whereas the minimum horizontal principal stresses
from various measuring sections were obviously lower
than the vertical principal stresses, the ratio between
the two was about 0.8. The relations between the
three principal stresses were SH > Sv > Sh , the vertical
stress was intermediate.
Between depths 350 m and 400 m in borehole ZK4,
the maximum horizontal principal stress values were
generally 14 ± 0.5 MPa; the values of minimum hori-
zontal stress and vertical stress were quite close. The
relations between them were SH > Sv  Sh , the ver-
tical stress is greater than or equal to the minimum
horizontal stress.
The measurement result from borehole ZK1 shows
that in this borehole the horizontal principal stress is
dominant, vertical principal stress SV is the minimum
principal stress. The relations between the three prin-
cipal stresses are SH > Sh > SV , this further indicates
that the in-situ stress field is characterized by strong
horizontal stress action.
From Table 1 it is seen that the principal stress
values measured in the three sections in Borehole
ZK1 are consistent with each other, the differences
are not significant. At a depth about 400 m the max-
imum horizontal stress reached a value as high as
21∼22 MPa, which was obviously much higher than
the stress in normal stress state, indicating that this
region was under the action of strong contemporary
tectonic stress.
It is seen from above described facts that in the
footwall of Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault the magnitude of
maximum horizontal stress was generally 11∼14 MPa,
while on the seismogenic structure of great Wenchuan
earthquake—the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault the maxi-
mum horizontal stress was as high as 21∼22 MPa,
the minimum horizontal stress was generally 1.2∼1.3
times the vertical stress. However on the footwall the
minimum horizontal stress and the vertical stress do
not differ much; with increasing distance from the
fault the two become nearly equal, even the verti-
cal stress becomes the intermediate principal stress.
This shows that the contemporary tectonic stress in
the footwall is not very strong, the stress state on the
Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault is significantly different from
that in the footwall, the difference between maximum
horizontal stresses reaches up to 8∼10 MPa.
3.2 Tectonic stress contribution characteristics and
the occurrence of strong earthquake
The results of hydro-fracture in-situ stress measure-
ments showed that before the great Wenchuan M8.0
earthquake the tectonic stress on the seismogenic
fault—the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault was very high, and
the tectonic stress decreased gradually with increas-
ing distance from the fault until the vertical stress
became the intermediate principal stress. This indi-
cates a prominent feature of the seismogenic fault
which is ready to produce earthquake rupture, that is,
where the tectonic stress is particularly high.
Domestic and abroad scholars has been a clear con-
sensus on active fault zone of tectonic stress field
distribution characteristic, the tectonic stress in the

465
active fault zone is relatively weak, tectonic stress
gradually increased away from the faults, until resume
to the regional tectonic stress field in normal level.This
is due to the fault’s activity which led to the release of
tectonic stress rather than savings, therefore, the prin-
cipal stress values on an active fault, are always lower
than the faraway normal level of tectonic stress.
Figure 3(a) shows the stress profile in direction per-
pendicular to the San Andreas fault by Zoback, the
in-situ stress values got from 7 boreholes of 250 m
depth in different place indicate that the maximum
shear stress ((σ1 − σ3 )/2, σ1 - the maximum princi-
ple stress, σ3 –the minimum principle stress) value
increases from 0.9 MPa to 5.3 MPa with the distance
vary from 2 km to 34 km away from the fault. Chinese
scholar Li Fangquan also got similar conclusion by
studying on the in-situ stress measurement values of
Tan-Lu Fault. (Shown as Fig. 3 (b)).
However, the in-situ stress measurement results
obtained in the Wenchuan seismogenic fault zone show
different stress distribution characteristics. Figure 3(c)
shows the distribution characteristic of Longmenshan
Fault tectonic stress before Wenchuan Earthquake,
obviously the tectonic stress increases when approach
to the seismogenic fault zone, measured maximum
shear stress is 2.3 MPa at the place 15.8 km far away
from the fault, quickly up to 5.5 MPa on the fault. Obvi-
ously, tectonic stress status in Wenchuan seismogenic
fault zone is different from the others. The principle
stress value is larger than the faraway regional stress
in Wenchuan, not as other place which principle stress
value is lower than regional stress. Therefore, tectonic
stress is very strong at Longmenshan fault zone, before
Wenchuan Earthquake ,and the strong earthquake is
in pregnant to be triggered, and this is the original
cause of the different tectonic stress status between
Longmenshan fault and other active faults.
The analysis of Situ stress measurement results
shows that in some fault zones with strong activity, the
stress can be released and not gather a large number
of savings, it would not have the risk of strong earth-
quakes, however in some fault structures with certain
activity, as long as the tectonic stress savings, mak-
ing the role of tectonic stress is much higher than that
under normal circumstances, and having the risk of
breeding and occurrence of an earthquake. This shows
that anomalous high stress in an active fault belt pro-
vides a reliable basis for determining the area of high
seismic risk, and it is a warning sign of generation and
occurrence of strong earthquakes. Therefore the in-
situ stress measurements have quite important function
and significance in the strong earthquake prediction
research. Figure 3. Variation plot of measured maximum shear
stress vs. distance of measuring spot to faults.

and continued for long period. Aftershock still often

3.3 In-situ stress analysis of series strong
aftershock after the earthquake
A series of strong aftershock happened along the
seismogenic fault zone after Wenchuan Earthquake.
The prominent feature is that aftershocks are strong
happens one year after Wenchuan Earthquake.
In order to discuss characteristics of aftershock
of Wenchuan Earthquake, Figure 4 shows several
large earthquakes epicenter of the stress measure-
ment results in China mainland in recent years. In

466

Figure 4. Several large earthquakes epicenter of the stress
measurement results in China.
general strong tectonic stress has been released after
strong earthquake, so tectonic stress in seismogenic
zone descends significantly, Tangshan Earthquake,
Haicheng Earthquake is same. But, the diagram shows
that tectonic stress in the earthquake zone is higher
than outer after Wenchuan Earthquake, so the role of
tectonic stress is still obvious.
From the in-situ stress analyzing of Wenchuan after-
shock, we can find that very strong tectonic stress
accumulated in Wenchuan Earthquake zone hasn’t
released adequately even after the strong earthquake.
Therefore the reason for high level and long term
Wenchuan aftershock is that the tectonic stress hasn’t
released. Measurement result of in-situ stress in seis-
mogenic zone after earthquake is helpful for analyzing
aftershock and it’s characteristics.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of Situ stress measurement results shows
that in some fault zones with strong activity, the stress
can be released and can not gather a large number of
savings, it would not have the risk of strong earth-
quakes, however in some fault structures with certain
activity, as long as the tectonic stress savings, mak-
ing the role of tectonic stress is much higher than that
under normal circumstances, and having the risk of
breeding and occurrence of an earthquake. This shows
that anomalous high stress in an active fault belt pro-
vides a reliable basis for determining the area of high
467
seismic risk, and it is a warning sign of generation and
occurrence of strong earthquakes. Therefore the in-
situ stress measurements have quite important function
and significance in the strong earthquake prediction
research.
REFERENCES
Densemore. A. L, Ellis. M.,et al. 2007. Active tectonics of
the Beichuan and Pengguan faults at the eastern margin
of the Tibetan Plateau, Tectonics, 26, TC4005:1∼17
Deng, Q., Chen, S.& Zhao, X. 1994. The structure, seismicity,
and dynamics of Longmenshan and neighboring areas.
Seismology and Geology, 16(4):389∼403.
Guo, Q. & Ding, L. 2004. Study on integrated in-situ measure-
ment technique of mechanical parameters for rock mass
and its application[J]. J. Rock Mechanics and Engineering,
23(23): 102∼113.
Li, F., Sun, S. et al. 1982. Ground stress measurement in North
China and Tan-Lu Fault. Chinese J. Rock Mechanics and
Engineering, 1(1), 73–86.
Li, S. 1977,Talking about earthquake [M]. Beijing: Geology
press.
Ma, B., Zhang, S., Tian, Q., et al. 2008. Ground surface ruture
zone of the Wenchuan M8.0 earthquake. Quaternary
Sciences, 28(4), 513–518.
Xu, X., Wen, X., Ye, J. et al. 2008. Groundsurface rupture
zone and seismogenic structure of the Wenchuan Ms8.0
earthquake. Seismology and Geology. 30(3):597∼629.
Stephen. H. et al. 1981.The interpretation of hydraulic frac-
turing pressure-time data for in-situ stress determination,
Hydraulic fracturing stress measurements proceedings of
a workshop, December 2∼5.
Xu, X., Zhang, P. et al. 2005. Basic characteristics of the
active structures in western Sichuan and and neighbor-
ing areas and the recurrence model of strong earthquakes.
Seismology and Geology, 27(3):446∼461.
Zhang, P., Xu, X. & Ran, Y. 2008. Slip rate, recurrence
period, and tectonic origin of the seismogenic fault of the
Wenchuan M8.0 earthquake of 2008. Chinese J. Geophys,
51(4):1066∼1073.
Zoback. M.D., Tsukahara. H. & Hickman. S. 1985. Stress
measurements in the vicinity of San Andreas fault: Impli-
cation for the magnitude of shear stress at depth. J.
Geophys. Res., B11, 6157∼6173.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Key technologies research of natural gas storage construction in salt

rock formation

Tian Zhonglian
CNPC Drilling Research Institute, Beijing, China

Wang Tongtao
College of Storage & Transportation and Architectural Engineering, China University of Petroleum,
Dongying, Shandong, China

Zhang Gang
China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The salt cavern gas storage is attracting more and more attentions in the world wide natural gas
storage for its special advantages. And also it is a complex and systematic project to build a certain shape salt
cavern in formations by water solution. According to the mechanical properties, solubility and in-situ stress
distribution of salt rocks formation in China, this paper fully discussed the key technologies of gas storage cavity
design and construction. The cavity-making process, shape control and detection of salt storage are described
and analyzed. A number of construction technologies are proposed, such as the corresponding well type to
salt cavern, circulation measure, steps of solution mining, adjusting of leaching pipeline, shape control, roof
protection, sealing detection, cavern stability, and etc, to improve the efficiency of storage construction. The
pipe string assembly and circulation rate are optimized to keep cavern stability during the solution. This paper
can provide the reference and theoretical basis to the design and construction of salt cavern gas storage.

Keywords: salt rocks formation; in-situ stress; gas storage; construction technologies; parameter optimization

1 INTRODUCTION After long-term continuous cycles, more and more salt

The underground natural gas storage is an irreplace-
able role in guaranteeing the gas providing safety and
adjusting gas peaking during the natural gas produc-
tions and consumptions (P. Bérest et al. 2003; YANG
Chunhe et al, 2008; Bao-you Zhao et al, 2009). So,
the construction of underground gas storage is always
regarded by many natural gas productions and con-
sumptions gigantic countries, which is also considered
as an important component of the overall natural gas
usage process.
There are 4 kinds of underground gas storage at
present (A. Suat Bagci, 2007), including (1) depleted
reservoirs in oil and/or gas fields, (2) aquifers, (3) salt
caverns, and (4) waste mine pits. As the salt cav-
erns gas storage which has many advantages over
other types of characteristics of gas storage has been
more and more used and studied, for example, high
adjusting peak capability, safety, reliability, complying
with environmental and ecological protection require-
ments, economical, volume expansion convenient and
so on.
Salt caverns for gas storage are mostly man-made,
which are constructed by pumping the fresh water
(surface water or groundwater) to solute salt from the
formations and routing the saline water to the ground.
are dissolved from the formations forming the cavity
gradually, and ultimately the gas storages are achieved
as the required design parameters.
The construction of underground gas storage in
required shapes is a complex systems engineering
problem, which needs to integrate the mechanical
properties of rock salt, its soluble and in-situ stress
distributions. During the solutions, many complex
issues should be solved, such as water-cyclic way,
injected fresh water volumes, casing strings combina-
tion, cavern roof and floor protection measures, cavern
shape detections, excavation measures adjustments, as
well as ancillary ground equipments, etc, to form the
underground gas storage with requirements.
2 TARGET OF CAVERN BY SOLUTIONS
The proper location, shape and size of salt cavern are
the ultimate goal of solution and basis demands of
cavity design.
2.1 Cavern roof and bottom salt thickness
In order to keep the stability of the salt cavern roof and
decomposition of the overlying overburden, there are
must be maintained sufficient thickness of salt above

469
Figure 1. Comparisons of carven constructions well-styles.
the cavern roof. Additionally, the roof salt provides a
barrier of rock having a low permeability necessary
to prevent the upward migration of gas. According to
the available literatures, the thickness of salt or some
other crystal nucleus above the cavern roof are recom-
mended about 4.5 ∼ 71 m. The bottom of salt cavern
also has significant effects in the cavity seal, whose
integrality should be kept during the drillings and its
thickness recommended about 5 ∼ 10 m.
2.2 Cavern shape and size
The cavern shape and size have great influences on
the stability of underground natural gas storage. The
stability of cavern is considered satisfying the engi-
neering requirements when the ratio of height and
diameter is about 1.53–2.7. The upper cavity height-
diameter ratio can take large values, the lower taking
a small value, forming a pear shape in space.
According to the cavity recommended shape, the
sizes of gas storage in about 200 m thickness salt for-
mations are estimated as the largest diameter of gas
storage at the cavern lower part about 80 m, the mid-
dle diameter of about 40 m, and the height of 140 m,
the effective volume of about 25 × 104 m3 .
3 KEY TECHNOLOGIES OF CAVERN
CONSTRUCTIONS
The solution well styles of carven constructions in the
salt formation at present are classified as follow.
(1) A cavern with single well. This is the simplest
and most common way to build carven. A well is
drilled to the top of salt layer, then water injection
and gradually leaching the salt layer by pulling
leaching string to form a cavity (Fig. 1(a)).
(2) Two caverns with single well. This type is suitable
to the construction of gas storage with two salt lay-
ers with thick non-salt layer. The upper and lower
salt layers are connected by drilling a well, putting
the leaching string to the top of lower salt layer
forming lower carven, and then solution mining
of upper salt layer to construct upper carven. At
last, two separate cavities (Fig. 1(b)) are built up.
(3) A cavern with two wells. Two wells are drilled
adjacently and connected in the same salt layer,
a well for water injection, and the other well for
dewatering (Fig. 1(c)).
470
Although there are many different well styles of car-
ven construction, the type of a cavern with single well
is still widely used because it is simple and safe except
time-consuming. While the other well styles of cavern
construction are feasible and even more efficiency, but
the cavity shape control, roof protection, low secu-
rity, and large investment are insurmountable in the
practical engineering.
The combinations of leaching string have greatly
influence on the shapes and sizes of salt caverns, which
should be optimized. During the optimization of leach-
ing string combinations, several optimized criterions
should be satisfied, e.g., controlling cavity shape eas-
ily, roof protections, dewatering, constructions time
requirements, and operability.
Two kinds of leaching string combinations are usual
used at present, one is single leaching string, and the
other is double-leaching strings. The single leaching
string combination is very simple in operations, but is
impossible to control the cavern shapes, which will
lead the instability of cavern. The double-leaching
string combination is composed by two concentric
leaching pipes, one is for fresh water injection, and
the other is for dewatering. Although double-leaching
string is more expensive than single leaching string, it
is much stronger in controlling the cavern shapes than
single leaching string. So, the double-leaching string
is the predominant in the salt cavern constructions at
present.
During the cavern constructions by double-leaching
string, the diameters of outer pipe and inner pipe
should cooperate to obtain big water flow rate, low
pump pressure and high density brines. The ratio
of inner pipe area and annular area is an important
reference parameter in pipe diameters combinations.
The proper value of the ratio is recommended about
1.112 ∼ 3.79 by calculating.
The flow pressure loss is greatly influenced by water
flow rate, which is increasing exponentially as the
water flow rate increasing. In the same time, the water
flow rate determines the times of cavern constructions.
So, it must integrally consider the times of cavern con-
structions, pump pressure and tube working conditions
to optimize the pipe diameters.
3.1 Solution mining types
Solution from bottom to roof: The construction of
cavern begins from the bottom to roof of salt layer
by solution. During the construction, there are two
Figure 2. Solution from bottom to top.
Figure 3. Solution from top to bottom.
methods to choose to control the cavern shapes, one
is pulling the water injection pipe gradually and keep-
ing dewatering pipe still (see Fig.2(a)), and the other
is keeping the leaching string still and moving the
blanket fluid(see Fig. 2(b)). During the whole con-
struction, the usage of blanket fluid is small and liquid
recommended.
Solution from roof to bottom: A small cavity is built
up firstly at the top of salt layer, then dissolving salt to
form the salt cavern ultimately. The leaching string is
kept still during the whole construction by adjusting
the height of blanket fluid to control the cavern shapes
and sizes, but the blanket fluid is demanded largely
and recommended gaseous materials.
Comprehensive solution: During the actual carven
construction, above two solutions mining methods
are used comprehensively according to the actual
situations to form the salt cavern.
The solutions from bottom to roof are adopted by
most excavation of caverns. During the construction,
the location of water injection pipe is changed fre-
quently to achieve the salt cavern with required shapes.
And also, the dewatering pipe is move at times to
471
Figure 4. Comprehensive solution.
Note:I, II, III, IV, V representing the five stages of cavern
constructions.
avoid barrage. Although the degree of the actual cav-
ern shapes satisfied the design shapes is proportion
with the times of water injection pipe location change
in theory, the location changes need more times and
moneys. So, the water injection pipe location change
should be optimized considering various factors in
practical engineering. When the upper layer of salt
starts to dissolve by change the location of water
injection pipe, the lower salt layer also continues dis-
solving and expanding the cavern. So, the second stage
solution should begin before the last solution com-
pletion with design dimensions to achieve the cavern
shape and size exactly. In order to make even more
accurate, simulations should be done before cavern
constructions.
Additionally, the salt cavern could be constructed
without protective materials if the characteristics of
salt layer are well studied and the thickness of salt is
enough, ensuring not dissolving out the required top
of salt cavern. Many parameters are needed during the
practical operations, so the assistances of computer are
indispensability.
3.2 Salt cavern construction
3.2.1 Circulation method
Direct circulation method is defined as the fresh water
is injected to bottom of cavern and the brined is dis-
placed from the roof of cavern. It is easy to form a pear
shape cavern (shown in Fig. 5).
While, the inverses circulation method is defined as
the fresh water is injected into cavern roof and brined
is displaced from cavern bottom. Usually, the shape of
cavern is inverted cone-shaped (shown in Fig. 6).
The two circulation methods both have their own
advantages and disadvantages in the salt cavern con-
structions by solutions. The disadvantages of direct
circulation method are low-density salt contained in
brine for the brine ejected from the top of cavern, which
leads the low efficiency in construction speed. And the

Figure 5. Direct circulation method (without protective
material).
Figure 6. Inverse circulation method (without protective
material).
advantages are easy controlling cavity shapes, keep-
ing stability and protecting cavern roofs. The inverses
circulation method is good at to increase the brine den-
sity and improve the efficiency, but difficult to control
cavity shape, stability and roof protection.
In order to meet the design requirements, the
two methods could be used together in one cavern
construction, but at the beginning, direct circulation
method must be adopted to avoiding pipes blocking.
3.2.2 Water flow rate
The fresh water flow rate is a fatal parameter to con-
trol the cavern construction speed, which is determined
by these basic criterions (1) meet the optimum work-
ing state of tube, (2) the concentration of ejected
brine as close as saturated brine, (3) low water and
energy consumptions, and (4) satisfy construction
times requirements.
From above demonstrations, the mainly param-
eters should be included salt corrosion rate, side
angle of solution, solution pressure, diffusion coef-
ficient, injection flow state, streamline distribution,
non-solution out rate and so on besides fresh water
flow rate. It is difficult to get all parameters in fields,
for there are no accurate data and experimental results
for all parameters. So, a preliminary design can be
only made by the existing data and conclusions for
field use.
472
Figure 7. Relationship between water flow rate and cavern
volume.
If the leaching string combinations and temper-
atures are given, and the average dissolution rate
considered basically equal, the fresh water flow rate
can be determined by the sizes of effective dissolution
areas, written as:
Where, Q is the fresh water flow rate, m3 /h. F is the
effective dissolution areas, m2 . W is the solution speed,
kg/m2 .h.
In a particular layer, the average dissolution rate
is basic the same, so that the fresh water flow rate is
mainly determined by the effective dissolution areas.
Of course, the other factors, such as the downhole flow
field distribution and liquid exchange capacity in per
unit time, all have some influences on the fresh water
flow rate (Figure 7), but these are difficult to quantify.
There are reasonable upper and lower limit of water
flow rates when the sizes of cavern are different. The
lower limit is defined to make sure the concentration
of ejected brine close to saturation when the cavern
is small. The upper limit is the best water flow rate
to make sure there is enough time to dissolve the salt
to saturate during fresh water flow injection periods
when cavity volume is large enough. At this point, the
water flow rate should be as large as possible in order
to improve salt construction speeds, but constrained
by equipment conditions. So, the optimal water flow
rate is used only in practice.
3.3 Cavern shapes control technologies
3.3.1 Leaching strings adjusting
The distance between the fresh water export and brine
entrance pipe has notable influences on the carven
construction speed, efficiency and shape. If the dis-
tance is too small, the brine will be ejected with low
concentrations, which decrease the solution efficiency
and the expansion dimensions of cavern. In same time,
the fresh water and brine are always keeping flowing
between their distances, leading the parietal solution
rate greater than other parts, which can be used to
rectify the cavern shapes during constructions.
In the field salt cavern constructions, solution from
bottom to roof is the most usually used method. Dur-
ing the constructions, the pipe moving methods are
classified as 3 categories: (1) the water injection and
brine ejection pipes move together, (2) the brine ejec-
tion pipe move only, and (3) the water injection and
brine ejection pipes keep still, moving the blanket
fluids. So, the cavern shapes can be controlled by
adjusting the distance between the fresh water export
and brine entrance pipe properly.
3.3.2 Roof protection
The salt located at vertical upper layer dissolves speed-
ier than the horizontal parts’ for the gravity, which will
make the roof solution quickly and fail to the shapes
requirements if any measurements are not taken. The
roof protection (protect the top salt) is the key factor
to control the cavern shapes, which could be protected
by cutting off the upper salt layer and freshwater direct
contaction, which can be completed by adding sepa-
ration materials (oil or gas) into the cavern to form
blanket between the roof and brine.
The injection methods of separation materials can
be divided into two kinds, one is injecting with fresh
water by inner pipe, the other is injecting by the cas-
ing annular individual. The thickness of blanket is no
uniform standards to obey, which should facilitate the
cavern shapes control. Usually, the gas blanket cush-
ion is thicker than the oil’s. The separation materials
should add timely during the whole constructions.
4 CAVERN SHAPE DETECTION
The cavern shape detection is a challenge to the reg-
ular measuring instruments and equipments for its
large sizes, sometimes in diameter up to 100 m. After
years of studies and practices, the ultrasonic detection
technology is considered most effective than electro-
magnetic waves, ultrasonic and other technologies by
public (Benoît Brouard et al, 2006).
Sonar equipment detects the distance by calculated
the sound travel time in different media, whose core
parts are transmitting and receiving ultrasonic wave
poles. The ultrasound can penetrate casing and trans-
mit in the brine or other media, when the ultrasound
collided by the cavern wall will reflect back. The sonar
equipment receives the reflected wave and converts
into electrical pulses, transmitting to the ground by
the cables. After treatments, the digital signal is turned
into visual images. Then, the dynamic characteris-
tics of caverns, stress distributions, operation pressure
range, and cavern closed rate or creep speed can be
obtained from the sonar detected data by finite ele-
ment simulations. The sonar technology has already
used successively in salt cavern detection and stud-
ied in Canada, America, Germany and so on (Frank
Hasselkus, 1997), but is still just starting in China.
The main goal of sonar detection during the con-
struction is to verify the cavern shapes and sizes,
affording the information to adjust the cavern dimen-
sions. The shapes and sizes of caverns also should
be tested and evaluated during gas injection and
473
production to calculate the cavern volume and inspect
closure rate.
5 CAVERN SEAL DETECTION
The goal of the cavern seal detection is mainly to check
the ability of salt cavern, completion casing and well-
head equipments to store natural gas (Gomm H et al,
1989).
The cavern seal detection contains two stages: the
first stage is carried out after completion before the
cavern construction to check the casing technical con-
ditions and gas-tight of casing shoes, which will give
the suggestion on the applicability of future gas storage
operation and construction. The seal detection results
can be used to determine the status of wellbore before
cavern construction and afford reference data for the
second stage seal detection. After the cavern construc-
tion before dewatering, the second stage seal detection
is carried out to test the seal degrade of casing shoe,
excluding the possibility of leak generated during the
cavern construction.
There are two seal detection methods usually used
in the zones out of China. They are recommended by
API and Geostock-UGS Company, and used in North
America and Europe respectively. At present, China
has also developed a unique tightness testing technol-
ogy according to the actual situation and applied in
practice.
6 CAVITY STABILITY DURING
CONSTRUCTION
In order to improve the gas storage caverns life, mea-
sures must be taken to maintain the cavern stability
during the cavern constructions and operations. The
influence factors of cavern stability and corresponding
preventive measures include:
Water Hammer: During the cavern construction, the
water flow rate and leaching string does not match,
or too intense pressure fluctuations which are likely
to produce water hammer phenomenon, leading the
deformation and fracture of inner pipe, affecting cav-
erns top stability. Thereby, the high-pressure centrifu-
gal pump should be taken and run strictly accordance
with the design water flow rate.
Pressure excitement: The instantaneous pressure
change greatly may cause excessive cavern pressure
excitement, leading cavern instability and collapse
during the cavern constructions and operations. There-
fore, the start of pump should be operated smoothly
during constructions, and gas valve open and close
must be balanced in gas productions.
Salt creep: Creep is the most prominent features of
salt. The maximum value of creep rate occurs at the
early stages of formation pressure difference appear-
ing, decreasing with time, and ultimate constants. The
cavern closure caused by creep is absolutely inevitable,
but it can be controlled by the gas pressure.Thus, a high
gas pressure should be kept after the commissioning
of cavern groups (especially in the beginning).
7 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
(1) During the cavern construction, the cavern shapes,
locations, and sizes should be first determined,
and the salt of cavern top must maintain sufficient
thickness.
(2) The cavern storages are general constructed by
water solution, and the well style recommended
a cavern with single well. The two pipes com-
bination leaching string is recommended which
is beneficial to cavern shape control, roof pro-
tection and variety of built-cavity technologies
implemented.
(3) The direct circulation and inverse circulation
methods should be used alternatively in practical
cavern constructions, but at the beginning, direct
circulation method must be adopted to avoiding
pipes blocking.
(4) The protection materials need use to prevent the
solution speed of upper salt too quickly. The
most usual measurements are injecting fluid or
gas materials to cavern forming the protection
blankets.
(5) Preventive measures must be taken appropriately
to maintain the cavern stability during the whole
474
constructions and productions. The water ham-
mer, pressure excitement and salt creep should be
highlighted during cavern constructions.
REFERENCES
A. Suat Bagci, E. Ozturk. 2007. Performance Prediction
of Underground Gas Storage in Salt Caverns. Energy
Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2:
155–165.
Benoît Brouard, Mehdi Karimi-Jafari, Pierre Bérest, et al.
2006. Using LOCAS software to better understand the
behavior of salt caverns. Solution Mining Research Insti-
tute, Spring 2006 Technical Meeting Brussels, Belgium,
May 1–3, 2006, 1–15.
Bao-you Zhao, Zhen-yue Ma. 2009. Influence of cavern spac-
ing on the stability of large cavern groups in a hydraulic
power station. International Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Sciences, 46(3): 506–513.
Frank Hasselkus. 1997. Echometric surveying of gas
cavities—practical experience with the BSE echo tool and
its applications. Solution Mining Research Institute, Fall
1997 meeting, Texas, USA.
Gomm H, Quast P. 1989. Status of gas storage in salt-caverns
in west germany. SPE 19084.
P. Bérest, and B. Brouard. 2008. Safety of salt caverns used for
underground storage. Oil & Gas Science and Technology,
58(3):361–384.
YANG Chunhe, LIYinping, QU Danan, et al. 2008. Advances
in researches of the mechanical behaviors of bedded salt
rocks. Advances in Mechanics, 38(4):484–494.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Study on relationship between deformation failure of surrounding rock

and in-situ stress in deep-buried tunnel

F. Jing, J.M. Yinn & H. Chen

Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering of Ministry of Water Resources,
Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei, China

ABSTRACT: The construction of increasing deep-buried underground projects, especially large mines, leads
to more and more geological hazards. The surrounding rock of some 450 ∼ 800 m deep iron mine deforms
severely, with local support failures. Most of deformation failures occur at the cross between side wall and
crown (or floor). In-site stress tests results of hollow inclusion triaxial strain gauge shows that these tunnels
are affected greatly by modern tectonic stresses, with maximum principal stress of 13 ∼ 21 MPa, and the field
geostress generally features σV ≥ σH > σh . Surrounding rock of large deformation is fissured rock. The FEM
simulation of typical cross-section tunnel shows that the maximum stresses, about 40 MPa, occur at crosses
between side wall and crown (or floor), which fits the deformation failure positions by field survey. The research
indicates that the large deformation of surrounding rock of tunnel is caused jointly by strong tectonic stress and
gravity stress, with continuous large rheological deformation latterly. In addition, the common shotcrete-bolt
support is hard to ensure the stability of the fissured surrounding rock under high stress. Through the analysis
of deformation mechanics of surrounding rock and defects of prophase support system, this research finding is
of great significance to the reinforcement and repair of surrounding rock of the mine.

1 INTRODUCTION but also the acting force of deformation and failure

With the development of engineering constructions
such as transportation, water conservancy and hydro-
electric power, energy, etc., human activity space is
increasingly expanded to the deep part of the globe
where numerous deep-buried underground engineer-
ing are involved. For example, the maximum depth
of the diversion tunnel of Jinping II Hydropower Sta-
tion is up to 2500 m, the mining depth of Tongling
shizishan copper mine is up to 1100 m and many
coal mines will enter into the depth of 1000 ∼ 1500 m
(Zhou & Xie 2005). Because the depth of increases,
the occurrence environment changes, and the physical-
mechanical properties and deformation failure charac-
teristic of surrounding rocks also change. Under high
stress, geologic hazard such as large deformation, wall
caving, floor heave and rock burst, etc. occur easily,
the stability and security problem of which becomes
extremely prominent. Yet, the theorys about geologic
function characteristic, rock mechanics and support-
ing in superficial part are not adaptable to that in deep.
Therefore, the research of the surrounding rock sta-
bility in deep-buried tunnels has important realistic
significance for engineering construction.
The stability of surrounding rock is mainly related
to lithology, rock mass structure, geological struc-
ture and geostress , in which lithology and rock mass
structure characteristic are material foundation, while
geostress is environmental factor. Geostress is not
only the important factor that decides area stability,
of geotechnical engineering (Yu 1983). Deformation
characteristics of surrounding rock and various geo-
logic hazards are closely related to geostress. For
example, in high stress, rock burst can easily occur in
hard rock, while fractured hard rock shows large defor-
mation. Therefore, for the deep-buried tunnels, survey
of surrounding rock lithology and structure character-
istic, and geostress measurements are basic principle
to the research of surrounding rock deformation mech-
anism and decision of corresponding strengthening
programs (Guo & Wu 2002).
An iron mine located in middle of Shangdong basin,
70 km long, 8 ∼ 22 km wide, the ground level is about
200 m. Now mining level is about −350 m. With the
increase of mining depth and geostress, sustained large
deformation occurs in some tunnels, especially the
haulage tunnels near quarry, which bring much dif-
ficulty in roadway layout and support, and largely
influences mining safety and production.
Aiming at sustained large deformation of deep-
buried tunnels, the research of surrounding rock defor-
mation characteristic is performed, and through the
analysis of regional geology tectonic and stress mea-
suring, the geostress characteristic in mining area
is comprehensively researched. Based on the sur-
vey of surrounding rock structure, qualitative divi-
sion of rock mass quality, physical mechanical test,
strength characteristic of surrounding rock is analyzed,
and the deformation characteristic and mechanism of
large deformation are discussed by combining finite

475
element analysis. In addition, the effect of existing
reinforcement measures is concluded, which provides
reference to the further support system optimization
of deformation failure.
2 PROJECT OVERVIEW
2.1 Geology
Luzhong area is located in China-Korea paraplatform,
Luxi fault uplift, Luxi fault-block uplift. It’s next to
Mount Taishan fault block bulge on the north, next to
Xinfushan single break bulge on the south, and it is
Laiwu rifted basin formed in Yanshan tectonic epochs
on the eastern. Fracture structure is developed in the
basin and fold structural takes the second place. Large
faulted structures are Tai’an-Tongyedian, Caizhuang
fault, Tai’an-Xiaoyi fault and Shimengguanzhuang-
Quanli fault, in which the length of Tai’an-Tongyedian
and Tai’an-Xiaoyi fault is 50 km and 20 km separately.
The strike from west to east transition from NE to EW
and then NW, and the inclination is about 60 ∼ 80◦ .The
length of Shimenguanzhuang-Quanli fault is 15 km,
strike near EW, dip north and dip angle steep. Regional
large faults and fracture can be divided into NE, NW
and near EW, and NE and EW are dominant.
Folded structures in basin mainly are mine arc
anticline and BaLiGou synclinal, which are mainly
the ore-controlling structures. Mining area is located
among the two folds as figure 1 shows. Length of mine
arc anticline is about 15 km and the overall strike NE.
BaLiGou syncline is about 10 km long and strike NE.
Both folds are formed in Yanshan period, and the core
part is broken.
The strike of main fault of mining area is N70◦ E,
and the dip is northwest with an inclination of 84◦ , the
length is about 4 km, thick, formed in Yanshan period.
Lengths of the other faults are less than 500 m and
most are associated faults.
The quaternary covering layer is about 10 m thick,
while the tertiary is about 200 m, which is mainly
argillaceous siltstone. Bedrock covering bellow is
mainly hornblende, diorite, serpentine and granite.
Rock mass is broken, the fractures spacing interval
is generally between 10 ∼ 20 cm, the fracture bond is
poor and the biggest opening is up to 2.1 cm filled
with earth. In earlier exploring, the RQD values of
more than 40 drills are all less than 50%.
There are SN, NEE and NNW three dominant joint
groups, the inclinations are among 70 ∼ 80◦ . And roch
mass strength has obvious directivity, in NE is higher
and it is easy to keep relatively high stress compared
with other directions.
Fracture, fault, etc. in the area are mostly formed
in Yanshan period. In the effect of long-term geo-
logic activity, travel of underground water and else,
it becomes a stress relaxation area and NE, EW pre-
ferred faults influenced the area stress. Because of the
extrusion of Pacific Plate, the tectonic activity cur-
rently is weak. Therefore, according to the current
tectonic movement, fracture structure characteristics,
476
anisotropy of rock mass strength and the measured
geostress of neighbor area, it can be deduced that struc-
ture principal compressive stress direction in Luzhong
area is about NEE (Kong & Sun 2005a, b Chen & Chen
1990).
2.2 Research the deformation characteristic of
tunnel surrounding rock
Fissure in bedrock develops, most of which is filled
with earth; surrounding rock of tunnel is mianly soft
rock with fissure at large. This complex rock mass
structure influenced the deformation characteristic of
surrounding rock under high stress.
From the field survey, the deformation is not obvi-
ous where surrounding rock is comparatively inte-
grated and is supported in time. While at the tunnel
where fissure develops, surrounding rock deformed
after completing shoring, some of which damaged
along the structural plane, and new shear failure sur-
face appeared in some part, which caused the cracking
of shotcrete layer and the dislocation can be up to sev-
eral centimeters. Sustained large deformation occurs
laterly, it arises as stripped from macrograph, and sus-
tained deformation in damaged part can be over 1 m.
Typical form of deformation of surrounding rock is
showed as Figure 2.
Most large deformation occur at two sides. Even
in the same side, some deformation appears in the
connection of side and crown, while others in the con-
nection of side and floor. Deformation failure position
statistics shows that large deformation always occurs
in connection of sides and crown or sides and floor,
and the number of deformation at two sides are almost
consistent. When the large deformation appears in the
connection of sides and crown, it is easily collapsed,
but when it appears in the connection of sides and floor,
it is easily forced out. Position of deformation failure
of surrounding rock of tunnel is showed as Figure 3.
Figure 1. The map of regional geological structure.
 3 IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT

3.1 In-situ stress measurement results

Considering that the rock mass is broken and geostress
measurement can’t influencing the regular mineral
performance as far as possible, test point should be
a bit beyond serious deformation area. At −350 m
and −472 m two level where the rock mass is a
little integrity, the geostress measurement is done
respectively.
Three-dimensional geostress measurement is per-
formed by hollow inclusion triaxial strain gauge,
which can accurately measure Three-dimensional
stress by only one test point through strain varia-
tions of 9 pieces of strain gages of different directions
(Cai 2000).
Three points test data are obtained at −350 m and
Figure 2. Typical section of deformation of surround-
ing rock.
−472 m successfully, the test procedure curve fits
theory and the results are reliable. The typical test
procedure curve is showed as Figure 4.
The two geostress measurements are done in hori-
zontal shallow holes with depth 20 m separately, the
rock characters is consistent and testing points are
together. Therefore, the stress of each elevation can be
represented by average value of each hole, the result
of which is showed in Table 1.

3.2 Analysis of in-situ stress measurement results

Figure 3. Position of deformation and failure of surround-
ing rock.
Figure 4. Typical curve of stress measurement.
Stress measurement result shows that, of the three prin-
cipal stresses, inclination of σ1 is sub-vertical while σ2
and σ3 are less than 24◦ . The value of σ1 is between
16 and 20 MPa, it means that, test area is in a com-
paratively high stress level. Vertical stress σZ is almost
equal to the overlying rock mass, which privide the
reliability of test (Liu 2000).
In order to analyze stress field characteristic better,
maximum horizontal principal stress σH and mini-
mum horizontal principal stress σh are by calculated
table 1, a comparison is made among the rock self-
weight σv , σH and σh , which shows σv ≥ σH > σh
in large. This means that testing area stress field is
self-weight stress field, but the difference between
σv and σH are less than 1 MPa. A comparatively
large horizontal stress shows that though σH is lit-
tle smaller than σv , but the effect of tectonic stress
field is obvious in testing area. Fault in the area is
mainly normal and strike-slip fault, macroscopic stress
field characteristics is consistent with tested geostress
characteristics.

Table 1. Results of three-dimensional stress measurement.

σ1 σ2 σ3
Depth of test magnitude/ magnitude/ magnitude/
point/(m) MPa dip/◦ azimuth/◦ MPa dip/◦ azimuth/◦ MPa dip/◦ azimuth/◦

550 16.91 66.3 139.0 14.06 3.4 237.4 4.85 23.2 328.7
672 19.52 65.0 169.0 16.31 12.7 238.0 7.40 23.1 342.1

477
 Measured σH /σh is between 1.6 and 2.1 with the
difference about 10 MPa, horizontal stress has obvi-
ous directivity, which shows that horizontal tectonic
effect is obvious. Direction of measured maximum
horizontal stress is NEE.
The direction of measured σH is between the direc-
tion of area tectonic stress EW and two NE folds.
In addition, three fracture sets in mining area is
developed, the strikes of which are SN, NEE, NNW
respectively, the strength of rock at NE is compara-
tively higher because of the influence of fissure and
interlayer. According to the anisotropy characteristics
of rock mass strength, the direction of σH should close
to it too.
Therefore, while the stress field of mining area is
influenced by the tectonic stress, and fracture, fold,
rock mass structure are also affect it, the geostress
field shows σv ≥ σH > σh , the direction of maximum
horizontal principal stress is NEE.
4 ANALYSIS OF SURROUNDING ROCK
SUSTAINED DEFORMATION MECHANISM
AND COUNTERMEASURES
4.1 Analysis of surrounding rock deformation
failure and large deformation mechanism
In order to understand the mechanism of surround-
ing rock deformation and the influence of geostress,
considering that the included angle of tunnel axial
and σH is about 30◦ , horizontal stress vertical to the
tunnel axial is about 12 ∼ 16 MPa by transformation
of coordinates. Linear elastic material constitutive
model is utilized, basing on rock homogeneity and
isotropy, under the condition that tunnel vertical stress
is 18 MPa and horizontal stress is 14 MPa, the sur-
rounding rock stress distribution is simulated by Finite
Element method. According to geological data and
similar engineering experience, calculating parame-
ters are showed as Table 2 and maximum principal
stress isoline is showed as Figure 5.
Numerical simulation shows that tunnel stress con-
centration appears at the connection of sides and crown
or floor, and the value is about 40 MPa, which indicates
that high stress exists at tunnel sides.
Surrounding rock of tunnel is broken, the fracture
spacing is among 10 ∼ 20 cm, and the biggest breadth
is up to 2.1 cm and filled with soil. According to
qualitative division in Standard for Classification of
Engineering Rock Masses (GB50218-94), surround-
ing rock quality should be divided into IV class (The
Ministry of Water Resources of People’s Republic of
China 1994.). According to the standard, it is advised
that angle of internal friction of type IV rock mass
is 25 ∼ 35◦ , cohesive force is 0.1 ∼ 0.4 MPa, and the
uniaxial compressive strength of rock estimated is
low, which maybe related to the conservativeness of
advised value in standard.
For further discussing the quality of surrounding
rock, some rock strength test as well as argillaceous
siltstone strength and creep test are added. Laboratory
478
Table 2. Mechanical parameters of surrounding rock for
FEM.
Mechanical Young’s Poisson’s Density/
parameters modulus/GPa ratio kg·m3
Magnitude 4.5 0.26 27
A = 42.4 Mpa B = 39.2 MPa C = 36.1 MPa D = 32.9 MPa E = 29.7 MPa
F = 26.6 MPa G = 23.4 MPa H = 20.2 MPa I = 17.0 MPa
Figure 5. Maximum principal stress isoline of tunnel.
experiment results shows that, uniaxial compressive
strength of diorite is 50 ∼ 80 MPa, and that of argilla-
ceous siltstone is 8 ∼ 18 MPa, creep will occur if
pressure is above 3 MPa. So rock with steep inclination
and developed fissure is wholly fractured soft rock,
and rheology behaves prominent.
According to Standard for Classification of Engi-
neering Rock Masses (GB50218-94), for soft rock,
when Rc /σmax is lower than 4 (Rc is uniaxial com-
pressive strength, σmax is maximum initial stress being
vertical to tunnel), displacement of soft rock is visibil-
ity, and even large displacement. Rc /σmax of the tunnel
fractured soft rock is lower than 4 by experiment, so
large deformation will occur.
Tunnel stress concentration position by numerical
simulation fits to the real large deformation, which
shows that analysis is basically correct.
In conclusion, under the action of self-weight and
horizontal tectonic stress being approximate to self-
weight, the excavation of tunnel caused the stress
redistribution, the stress concentration occurs at the
connection of sides with crown or floor with the value
about 40 MPa. But bearing capacity of fractural sur-
rounding rock is low, deformation failure occurred,
and the support system failure.
With continuous acting of high stress, due to that
surrounding rock with low strength can lead to large
creep, which causes sustained movement along the
fracture plane and that deformation continues increas-
ing, then caused the decrease of surrounding rock
strength, and a vicious cycle formed, which leads to
too large surrounding rock deformation finally, the
rock mass at two sides bloats like bands, the macro-
graph deformation characteristic is similar to soft rock.
Part of the surrounding rock formed plastic wedge and
damaged, which leaded to caving or being forced out.
4.2 Practice of surrounding rock continuous large
deformation reinforcement and shoring
For soft rock tunnel in high stress, though ordinary
anchoring shotcrete with wire mesh is flexible sup-
porting, it still has certain rigidity, being not fit to large
deformation and easily yielded. It has been verified by
this mine that, ordinary anchoring shotcrete with wire
mesh could not ensure the stability of soft rock under
high stress.
According to the measured geostress and numer-
ical simulation of tunnel excavation, for the tunnel
stepped excavated with continuous large deformation,
it should be reinforced in time, especially at the con-
centration location of connection of tunnel sides with
crown and floor. Anchor bar can be densified and
extended appropriately, locked anchor bar is used and
appropriate pre-stress is applied as possible, mak-
ing the surrounding rock been under triaxial stress
state, ensuring the surrounding rock quality will be
not worsened. If the stability trends to worsen, sec-
ondary support should be used, after stress releasing to
a certain degree, supporting system with slightly large
rigidity is added, for example, reinforcement metal
developed in recent years, high strength arc plate or
shell bolting and shotcrete support, etc. can be used.
These new support types can greatly improve the sup-
porting capacity, coordinate deformation and yielding
capacity of supporting system(Zhang 2006a, b, Liu &
Zhang 2004).
5 CONCLUSION
Fracture of this mine deep buried tunnel surrounding
rock is developed and filled with earth, the deforma-
tion failure is serious at the connection of tunnel sides
with crown or floor. Laboratory experiment shows
that, strength of surrounding rock is big, while the
strength of fracture fillings is low, which leads to low
creep threshold value, and it is a typical fractured
soft rock.
Measured geostress shows that the action of hori-
zontal tectonic stress is obvious; the maximum hor-
izontal principal stress is almost equal to rock self-
weight, the direction is in accordance with regional
tectonic. Currently, geostress appears as σv ≥ σH > σh
and stress is in a high degree.
After excavating, stress concentration occurred at
the connection of tunnel sides with crown or floor
and stress is greater than rock supporting capacity,
which caused the surrounding rock deformed. Due to
479
the low threshold value of surrounding rock rheology,
it appears continuous large deformation under action
of high stress. It present stripped rise in macro sense,
which is similar to soft rock.
For the tunnel in the soft rock of high stress, prac-
tice has proved that ordinary anchoring shotcrete with
wire mesh could hardly fit to the large deformation.
Support system in the higher stress positions need to
strengthen, at the same time, some steps such adding
prestressing bolts can be used, which make the rock
been under triaxial stress state, and some new support-
ing types having high supporting capacity, coordinate
deformation and yielding capacity can be used as well.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work presented here was supported by the special
funds for major state basic research project under grant
No.2010CB73200x and centre class public welfare
research institute program of Yangtze River Scientific
Research Institute No.YWF0910.
REFERENCES
Cai Meifeng. 2000. Principle and Techniques of In-situ Stress
Measurement. Beijing: Science Press
Chen Pengnian & Chen Hongde. 1990. Assembly of in-situ
stress in world. Beijing: Seismos Publishing House
Guo Qiliang & Wu Faquan. 2002. Study on relationship
between deformation of surrounding rock and in-situ
stress in Wushaoling deep-buried rail tunnel. Chinese
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 21(12):
2113–2118
Fanshun, Kong. & Ruhua, Sun. 2005. Research and analysis
of in-situ stress field on Pengzhuang mining field.Coal
Geology and Exploration 33(4): 14–14
Liu Quansheng. & Zhang Hua. 2004. Study on stability
of deep rock roadway in coal mines and their sup-
port measures. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Engineering 23(21): 3732–3737
Liu Yunfang. 2000. Geostress in Rock Mass and Engineer-
ing Construction. Wuhan: Hubei Science and Technology
Press
Yu Xuefu. 1983. Stability Analysis of surrounding rock in
underground engineering. Beijing: Coal industry Publish-
ing House
Zhang Fulian. 2006. New technology of boied shotcrete
support and its application to Taoyuan coal mine. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 25(11):
2208–2212
Zhou Hongwei & Xie Heping. 2005. Resherch advances of
rock mechannic Mechanics under high stress. Advances
in Mechanics 35(1): 91–99
The Ministry of Water Resources of People’s Republic of
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of Rock Masses (GB50218-94). Beijing: China Planning
Press
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Measurement and numerical simulation of the stress relaxation zone

on the roadway face in coal mine

Nie Baisheng, Zhai Shengrui, Zhang Ruming, Jia Chuan & Zhang Jufeng
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resource and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology,
Beijing, China
School of Resource and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing),
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: By analyzing the stress characteristics and simulating numerically the law of the stress distribu-
tion on the roadway face in coal mine, the mathematical model is established and calculated to determine the
stress relaxation zone and the forming process and evolution rules of the stress relaxation zone were discussed.
The stress distribution on the roadway face was measured with the electromagnetic emission (EME) technology.
The testing results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculation results on the whole. The research
results show that stress relaxation zone of the roadway face is related with the height of roof-floor and the inner
frictional angle of the coal and the calculating model is accurate. The results can provide the technical support
for preventing coal and gas outburst, roof disaster, rock-burst and so on.

1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Coal and gas outburst is a kind of very complicated

dynamic disaster of coal or rock containing gas in
which the coal-rock containing gas in coal mines, in
broken state, abruptly moves from the coal-rock stra-
tum to mining space and a large amount of gas erupts
(ZHAI et al, 2007, HE 1995). At present, the syn-
thetic hypothesis about coal and gas outburst is widely
recognized: outburst is the result from the compre-
hensive effects of crustal stress and the physical and
mechanical properties of gas and coal. According to
the statistics of the job sites where outburst occurred,
most of outbursts took place on the roadway face and
accounted for 66.2% of the outbursts, of which average
outburst intensity was 66.9 t/times. Frequent outburst Figure 1. Distribution of stress state in mining workface.
occurring during the mining of roadway constitutes a
major threat to the life safety of coal mine workers. in front of the roadway face will inevitably undergo
Effective prevention and control of coal and gas out- deformation or fracture, forcing stress to redistribute.
burst is not only the safeguarding of safe production, After elastic, plastic and damage process, confining
but also the prerequisite to quicken roadway tunneling rock reaches a new steady equilibrium state following
speed, eliminate outburst hazard for stoping face and stress adjustment.
extend space and time. The stress distribution after the coal in front road-
way face stabilizes is shown in Fig. 1. Three zones exist
in sequence in the coal in front of the face: stress relax-
2 COMPUTATION OF STRESS RELAXATION
ation zone (relaxation zone), stress concentration zone
ZONE WIDTH
and protolith stress zone (WANG, 1997). Subsequent
to formation of roadway space, the three zones exist at
2.1 Characteristics of coal stress distribution
all times, and move forward along with the advance-
in front of roadway face
ment of roadway face. When new roadway is formed,
Without being affected by mining, coal basically is the distance (x0 ) of the face to stress concentration
in quasi-equilibrium state. After roadway comes into zone is very small, the degree of stress concentration
being, the coal of the face, having lost the origi- in the stress concentration zone is considerably high,
nal stress equilibrium, is in unsteady state, the coal and then gradually shifts insider. This distance is in

481
nature embodied as the role of the stress relaxation
zone in preventing coal and gas outburst occurrence.
2.2 Setup of the model
2.2.1 Basic assumptions
Without resulting in large errors, the following
assumptions are made:
1) The coal in front of the roadway face is continuous
and even elastic body;
2) In order to simplify computation model, the effects
of gas and structural factors on the stress equilib-
rium of coal are not taken into consideration;
3) The intensity of the rood and floor is larger than
that of coal, the frictional coefficient µ of coal is
identical with that of the roof and floor;
4) Because the roadway height h is far smaller than
burying depth H , the weight of the coal in the
roadway is not computed.
From assumption 3), under the deadweight of the
upper overlaying rock, the transverse deformation of
coal seam is larger than that of rock stratum. There-
fore, relative to the rock stratum, the coal seam tends
to move outward, thus a frictional force, namely, shear
stress, forms between the coal seam and the roof.
Under the deadweight stress of the overlaying rock,
the coal experiences shear fracture under compress-
ible stress, and the form of its fracture complies with
Coulomb Criterion.
2.2.2 Governing equations and computation model
Take a micro segment dx of the coal column at x
direction. From the equilibrium conditions, obtain:
Where, µ = tan φ, φ is the interface frictional coeffi-
cient between the coal and the roof and floor.
2.2.3 Computation of stress relaxation
zone distribution
σy is related to the mined length of the roadway,
the burying depth of the roadway, crustal stress, the
482
properties of the coal and the shape and size of the
roadway, etc. In order to simplify computations, the
coal distribution σy in front of the roadway face meets:
Suppose plastic stress state dominates the coal in
front. Under common effect of the vertical and hori-
zontal direction of the elastic and plastic interface, an
equilibrium state is formed, so Mohr-Coulomb yield
criterion is adopted, namely
ϕ is the internal frictional angle of coal, c cohesive
force of the coal. In the equation σ1 can be replaced
by γH . Because the cohesive force c is tiny and can
be ignored, Equation (5) is rewritten as
Now suppose the roadway is rectangular, consider
no shear stress exists at the horizontal direction of the
stress concentration interface, positive stress is evenly
distributed on the interface, then if the coal in front to
maintain equilibrium, at the horizontal direction, meet
Based on the above mentioned conditions, deduce
2.2.4 Analysis of stress relaxation zone
and evolution effect
During the mining of the roadway, the roof of coal
seam is generally hard. Except direct roof, main roof
generally does not fall. Therefore, it can be considered
that the weight of the overlaying rock on top of the
mining width b entirely passes over to the coal-rock in
front of the roadway face (QIAN, et al, 1991), result-
ing in the stress relaxation fracture zone of the coal in
front of the roadway and the stress concentration zone
shifting to the depth. And the stress relaxation zone is
the barrier against coal and gas outburst in the road-
way face. It can be concluded from the computation
results that, when other conditions keep unchanged,
the distribution width of the stress relaxation zone x0
decreases with the increment of the burying depth of
the roadway H, and increases as the increment of the
thickness of mined coal seam h, the residual intensity
of the coal-rock in the stress relaxation zone will sup-
port the roof, increasing of Rc will expand the width
of the stress relaxation zone, α value depends on the
shape of the roadway, the length of mined gob b and
the properties of coal, and the increasing of internal
frictional angle of coal-rock also contributes to reduce
the width of the stress relaxation zone.
Figure 2. Measurement schematic of hole electromagnetic
emission (EME).

3 EME MONITORING TECHNIQUE FOR

STRESS RELAXATION ZONE

3.1 Brief introduction to EME monitoring

technique
Research suggests that, when coal-rock deforms and
fractures under compression, EME phenomenon will
appear (NIE, et al, 2002). The higher load or stress
imposed on coal-rock, the more violent its deforma-
tion and fracture, and the stronger EME signals. EME
information can reflect the deformation and fracture
process of the coal-rock and its violent degree. Based
on the macro compression and damage characteristics
of the stress relaxation zone on the roadway face, the
characteristics of EME signals that cross the relative
stress state in front of the face can ascertain the scope
of stress relaxation zone.
Figure 3. Measurement results of EME in the front of
3.2 Testing instruments and method roadway

For site testing, KBD5 coal mine-used, intrinsically
safe EME monitoring system is used (NIE, 2001),
which consists of EME signal sensor (EME reception
antenna), EME monitoring host computer and auxil-
iary push-pull rod for testing. The reception antenna
has sensitivity of 50 µV/m and bandwidth of 1K ∼ 1M.
EME reception host computer has Vpp ≥ 2 µV, oper-
ating voltage of 12V and operating current of no more
than 500 mA. Explosion-proof type meets type ExibI.
The schematic of the testing system is shown in Fig. 2.
When tests are performed on site, a hole is drilled
into the depth of coal-rock head on the face and per-
pendicular to coal wall. The drilling depth depends on
the site conditions, which according to the research is
often at least more than 5 times the roadway height.
After completion of drilling, the drilling rod is quickly
withdrawn, and EME reception antenna is quickly
inserted by using push-pull rod. A testing point is
arranged every 0.5 m, EME signals are measured along
the drilled hole. In combination with the compression
characteristics of the coal in the stress relaxation zone
and through the relative stress state of the coal-rock at
different positions within the drilled hole, monitoring
and analysis is performed to ascertain the distribution
distance of the stress relaxation zone in front of the
roadway face.
3.3 Testing results
From the testing results, the intensity distribution law
of the EME in the drilled hole of the roadway face
is: near the coal wall, EME has lower intensity, from
the coal wall to the depth of coal, the intensity abruptly
increases, and after a distance, the intensity tends to
slow down. After that, EME intensity again decreases.
Where EME intensity decelerates is just the boundary
of stress relaxation zone. It can be seen from the fig-
ures below that in front of the roadway face, the width
distribution of the stress relaxation zone is 1.5 m away
from the coal wall.
3.4 Analysis
The stress relaxation zone of roadway face is the
barrier against coal and gas outburst. Exact under-
standing of the distribution width of stress relaxation
zone can effectively prevent occurrence of coal and
gas outburst. From the research in this paper, it can be
concluded that the distribution width of stress relax-
ation zone is directly associated with the burying depth
of coal seam, the height of roadway, the residual stress
of coal and α and b. At the same time, EME moni-
toring technique can be adopted to correctly measure
the distribution width of stress relaxation zone. For
this reason, water injection to the coal seam in road-
way face and deep-hole blasting can be used to release
stress so as to expand the width of stress relaxation
zone and eventually effectively prevent and control
coal and gas outburst occurrence.
The shortcomings of the research include: no con-
sideration is taken into the effect of gas pressure and

483
structural factor on the width distribution of stress
relaxation zone, and limited to the length of the paper,
no deduction is made to α and b.
4 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The distribution characteristics of the coal-rock
stress in front of roadway face is analyzed, the
theoretical model for computation of stress relax-
ation zone is established, and major influential
factors are analyzed;
(2) Using EME technique, the distribution charac-
teristics of the stress relaxation zone of roadway
face are measures on site, which is in agreement
with the theoretical model. This provides new
and convenient technical measure and channel
for ascertaining of stress relaxation zone distribu-
tion, and lays foundations for prevention of coal-
rock dynamic disasters. The technique promises a
bright future for application.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge foundation
by National Eleventh Five-year Key Science &
484
Technology Project(2006BAK03B0303), New Cen-
tury Excellent Talents Program from the Ministry
of Education of China(NCET-07-0799) and Beijing
Science & Technology New Star Plan(2006A081).
REFERENCES
Zhai Shengrui, Nie Baisheng, Song Yimeng, et al. 2007.
Application of EME monitoring technique to ascertain
impacting area of coverage’s island abutment. Safety in
Coal Mines 38(5):1–4.
He Xueqiu. 1995. Rheological dynamics of coal or rock con-
taining gas. China University of Mining and Technology.
Xuzhou.
Wang Enyuan. 1997. Study on the effect and application
of EME & AE of coal and rock containing gas. China
University of Mining and Technology. Xuzhou.
Qian Minggao, Liu Xincheng. 1991. Rock pressure and its
control. Beijing: China Coal Industry Publishing House.
Nie Baisheng, He Xueqiu, Wang Enyuan, et al. 2002. Exper-
imental study on EME during the shearing process of
coal. In Huang Ping, Wang Yajun, Li Shengcai et al
(eds), Process in Safety Science andTechnology: 492–496.
Beijing/New York: Science Press.
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Xuzhou.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Measurements and application of in-situ stress and related rock

mechanics parameters at a new type of diversion hydroelectric
project in Southwest China

Shuxin Yang, Chenghu Wang & Rui Yao

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R. China

Qi Mi
College of Earth Science, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In order to realize the geostress state of a new pattern hydroelectric project in southwest china,
demonstrate the scheme design of the air-cushion surge tank for the hydroelectric project, the hydraulic fracturing
technology has been adopted to define the In-situ stress and related rock mechanics parameters of rock mass
around the high pressure cavern, and utilizes the data of stress measurements, together with numerical simulation
and regression analysis to synthetically analyze the ground stress field at engineering sites. The results show
that the direction of maximum principle stress at engineering sites is N33◦ ∼52◦W, the elevation is N26◦ ∼39◦W,
the value is 7.35∼8.16 MPa; that the maximum principal stress in the rock mass around the high-pressure
cavern is 10.63 MPa, the minimum principal stress is 4.45 MPa, The tensile strength is about 4.4∼8.6 MPa, the
permeability under the pressure of 3∼5.0 MPa is less than 2.0 Lu; the jacking strength is <1.0∼5.5 MPa. In
the main the rock mass suit the air-cushion surge tank. Whereas the rock of the vertical bore at the air-cushion
surge tank is fragmentation, It is suggested that increasing the depth of the cavern in order to enhance carrying
capacity of the rock. In addition there exist some tensile fissures in the rock mass of high-pressure cavern,
which have poor bearing strength, good connectivity and severe water permeability, and which are a huge hidden
trouble for the non-supported high-pressure cavern construction. The effective high-pressure grouting measures
shall improve the integrity of rock mass structures and enhance the high-pressure sealing function, which is a
key point for the establishment of the project.

1 INTRODUCTION station the pilot generating system (including the air

The people use the hydro-energy resources already
near millennium, and using hydraulic electro gener-
ating also had hundred years in history. Now there
are many pilot type hydroelectric power station every-
where in China, the new pilot type hydroelectric power
station is opposite with the old pattern of the con-
ventional pilot type hydroelectric power station. Its
characteristic is a slope, deeply buries. Make full use
of the carrying capacity of surrounding, non-lining,
less reinforcement. The air cushion surge chamber
has the advantages that reduce the construction invest-
ment of turboelectric power station and the build time,
and has the advantageous in environmental protec-
tion. The new pilot type hydroelectric power station’s
core idea is with the use of the precipice and the
crystal stress field to undertake the inside and out-
side loads of the pilot generating system building’s
under each kind of operating mode, and its mechani-
cal control measure is the geological parameter which
is obtained based on the project scene, and accord-
ing to the Norwegian criterion (or snowy mountain
criterion) design and construct a hydroelectric power
cushion type accent room).
The rock mass’s crystal stress condition is an impor-
tant effect factor of the geological project formation,
we all need to understand the earth’s crust stress con-
dition in the stable structure design as well as the
develop of energy and the mineral resource from the
underground security. At present the power plants have
completed can pump and gather energy in our coun-
try, the water-carrying tunnel adjacent formations have
about 5∼7 MPa in flood peak pressure to take. The
gas pressure of the air cushion accent room which
have completed and plan to construct is 4∼6 MPa gen-
erally. Regarding the new type of the hydroelectric
power station, carrying on in-situ stress measurement,
the research of rock’s mass stress condition, under-
standing correctly of the rock’s mechanical properties,
expounding the destruction mechanism of adjacent
formation, the full use and display of adjacent forma-
tion’s self-supporting ability, using the advantageous
aspect reasonably of the rock’s mass stress condi-
tion and overcoming its disadvantageous aspect, is the
innovation and the development of the science and
technology instruction project actual and key aspect

485
decides project success or failure. This article intro-
duces the room adjacent formation in-situ stress and
the related rock mechanics parameter’s survey and the
findings of the new pilot type hydroelectric power sta-
tion project area and the air cushion accent presses in
southwest of China, and has carried on the analysis to
it in the project’s application.

2 THE GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE STATUS

OF THE PROJECT AREA

The project area locate at southwest in China, is sit-

uated at southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plain, is the
Dianxi mountainous region canyon area and belongs
to the Li River landscape source lake basin sub region
landform unit. In the area the stratums eliminates the
third department, has appearing from the Devonian
system ∼ fourth department, and mostly are the Pale-
ozoic’s group stratum distribution. It is new gradually
form the upstream to the downstream stratum. The
Jinsha River breaks the north-south project area and
the east side is the pressure-shear fracture – Moro frac-
ture, west side hillock GangQu River and nearby the
Jinsha River connection section is the Compressive
thrust fault – Jinsha River fracture, the south side has
the thrust fault is nearly east and west . The project area
located at the clamp region which breaks with Jinsha
River and Moro fracture , the fault and the fold grow
in the area, the lineation’s movement toward is mainly
SN and NW approaches.
The project locates the Sichuan and Yunnan area
is one of the most intense areas of interior seismic
activity in the mainland of China, is also the interac-
tion boundary zone of the Europe Asia and India two
big plate convergences, and to reduce. As a result of
its special structure spot and the intense diastrophism,
for many years it has attracted one group of scholars to
launch the widespread discussion with the evolvement,
the dynamic model, the earth’s crust stress condition,
the break, the seismic activity on its structure and so on
related question, and the findings have indicated that
the region and the neighboring area Quaternary Period
structure stress field and the modern structure stress
field has the very strong succession, and the basic pat-
tern of its stress field direction’s is consistent, it means
that the region’s compression stress field direction is
NNW∼SSE.
The power plant pilot system located at the left
bank’s complete bedrock, in order to guarantee that
the high-pressured hole room adjacent formation will
not have the cleavage under the project running sta-
tus’s high-pressured function, and the mountain will
also not occur lifts up and distortion, and decide the
form of the indeed tune and the design of the high-
pressured pipeline’s project sensible and reasonable, in
the priority project spot has carried on the in-situ stress
of the hole room adjacent formation and the related
rock mechanics parameter survey with (Figure 1), and
has provided the reliable basis for the project design
sensible.
Figure 1. Layout of the geostress measuring points.
3 SURROUNDING ROCK-SITU STRESS AND
MEASUREMENT OF THE MECHANICAL
PARAMETRES
3.1 Measurement and analysis of the
in-situ stress status
In order to understand the underground workshop,
diversion tunnel and the air cushion surge cham-
ber key project construction site in situ stress state,
Adopts hydraulic fracturing technology, Carried out
into the five measurement points of the three-
dimensional hydraulic fracturing in situ stress mea-
surement (table 1).
From the (table 1) we know that, 1# , 2# and 3# , 3
point data are closer, Nether 1# , 3# and two of three
dimensional stress value of minimum and maximum
principal stress data are very close, the result is good.
For each point of vertical hole minimum and max-
imum principal stress level, three holes in the data
of maximum principal stress and relatively discrete
minimum principal stress is more close, Analyzing the
phenomenon that, with each hole nearby rock condi-
tions, which reveal the three points were significantly
different rock conditions, the difference of the stress
state, the reaction to the maximum principal stress lev-
els are some discrete values. It also accords with people
of the stress state law, namely in the same region, hard
and complete the high rock stress value, and the broken
loose rock in low stress value 4# and 5# 3D measuring
the stress state of relatively close, because the buried
depth measuring 4# to 5# points, and more than 4#
nearby rock quality rather than 5# , therefore, the stress
value is relative taller also to the ground with state
law, namely in the same region, hard and complete the
high rock stress value, and the broken loose rock in low
stress value. Two points of vertical hole minimum and
maximum principal stress levels are close to that data

486
Table 1. Results of 3D stress measurement.

Horizontal principal stress 3D stress measurement Component of stress

Measuring Quantity σH Quantity Normal Shear

point Name value/MPa Azimuth Name value/MPa Azimuth/◦ Obliquity/◦ stress/MPa stress/MPa

1# σH 8.05 N32∼41◦ W σ1 8.16 327 26 σx 6.48 τ xy 1.53

σh 4.94 σ2 6.12 98 52 σy 5.79 τ yz 0.08
σ3 4.20 224 24 σz 6.20 τ xz −1.20
2# σH 6.76 N28∼31◦ W \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
σh 4.70
3# σH 6.18 N32∼40◦ W σ1 7.35 308 39 σx 5.54 τ xy 1.30
σh 4.92 σ2 6.15 148 49 σy 5.57 τ yz −0.71
σ3 4.17 46 10 σz 6.57 τ xz −0.14
4# σH 4.45 N41∼50◦ W σ1 10.63 320 58 σx 5.97 τ xy 0.05
σh 2.69 σ2 6.62 61 6 σy 6.80 τ yz −1.54
σ3 4.98 155 31 σz 8.93 τ xz −2.26
5# σH 4.80 N39∼55◦ W σ1 7.13 327 63 σx 4.18 τ xy −0.88
σh 3.00 σ2 5.46 236 0.8 σy 4.85 τ yz −0.97
σ3 2.70 145 26 σz 6.26 τ xz −1.47

*: In the table x axial South; y axial East; z axis on; azimuth clockwise from north is positive; inclination is positive upward.

Figure 3b. The contour of the minimum principal stress on

elevation 2080 plane.

390 m for 500 m, bottom of ground elevation for

Figure 2a. The longitudinal section contour of the minimum
principal stress.
in two points, which revealed rock conditions are rela-
tively close to the original state of stress, the minimum
and maximum level is relatively close to the principal
stress value.
3 Dimension measuring and calculating the stress
direction of maximum principal stress N33∼52◦ , The
maximum principal stress level 55◦ direction for
N28∼N41.5 azimuth, N41.5◦W. The results obtained
with this epicenter mechanisms of extrusion stress
direction, and the Chinese continental crust, which
should be tried to reflect the regional tectonic stress
field direction also match.
More comprehensive reveals the crustal stress area,
the general characteristics of the project site as the
center, take east-west length, length of north-south
1920 m, with the surface for free interface, east, west,
north and south, and the lower boundary of the plane,
west to rules for part of the valley, boundary accord-
ing to the topography and geology conditions of finite
element calculation model was established, and a
numerical simulation analysis.
Figure 2a gives the longitudinal section contour
of the minimum principal stress, and figure 2b gives
the contour of the minimum principal stress in air-
cushioned surge chamber level. The existing stress
finite element calculation analysis shows that the
maximum principal stress influence on slope topog-
raphy, feet and topography fluctuation in severe stress
concentration, due to the local stress concentration,
makes the local area, and the stress value increases
correspondingly affects the principal stress direc-
tion, appear certain degree deflection, The maximum
principal stress direction for 12∼15 MPa, NW, The
minimum principal stress increases with depth, value
orientation, for 5∼6 MPa for en to. Air-cushioned

487
Table 2. The statistics results of high pressure permeability measurements.

Statistical result of water percolation rate

Measuring Horizontal Horizontal Vertical
point Rock permeability hole 1 hole 2 hole

3# Water percolation rate < 1.0 Lu Test paragraph \ 25% \

1.0 Lu < Water percolation rate < 3.0 Lu Test paragraph \ 25% \
Water percolation rate > 3.0 Lu Test paragraph \ 50% \
4# Water percolation rate < 1.0 Lu Test paragraph 37.5% 25% 50%
1.0 Lu < Water percolation rate < 3.0 Lu Test paragraph 62.5% 75% 50%
Water percolation rate > 3.0 Lu Test paragraph 0% 0% 0%
5# Water percolation rate < 1.0 Lu Test paragraph 100% 100% \
1.0 Lu < Water percolation rate < 3.0 Lu Test paragraph 0% 0% \
Water percolation rate > 3.0 Lu Test paragraph 0% 0% \

surge chamber of maximum principal stress value Table 3. Statistics results of hydraulic jacking test.
for about 12∼15 MPa NW direction, and to mini-
mum principal stress 5∼6 MPa direction, to nearly Cleavage
NE; Water line through a broader regional, if the Measuring Depth of test pressure/
point Drilling paragraph/m MPa
pipeline near the valley region, it will affected by the
stress concentration, and the maximum principal stress
4# Horizontal 1 3.00∼4.25 8.5
will 2∼3 MPa more than the stress of the measuring 5.00∼6.25 5.5
point, its direction is tilted with topography vary. It 14.00∼15.25 6.0
should be pointed out that the finite element calcu- 24.0∼25.25 <1.0
lation results, just from the general trend presented Horizontal 2 3.00∼4.25 3.0
the basic rules of stress distribution, limited in the 5.00∼6.25 <1.0
calculation model of some boundary conditions, rock 9.00∼10.25 <1.0
mechanics parameters and tectonic conditions to a cer- Vertical hole 3.00∼4.25 3.5
tain extent, the simplified calculation results inevitably
affected, accordingly, the proposal is in use should with
experimental data. pressure that the rock mass actually understands, can
we obtain reliable information about the permeability
of rock mass. The test used three pressure points (1.0,
3.2 The water permeability of surrounding rock
3.0, 5.0 Mpa or 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 Mpa), five pressure stages,
of tunnel under high-pressure
namely P1 → P2 → P3 → P4 (P4 = P2) P5 (P5 = P1),
The packer permeability test of borehole under high- P1 < P2 < P3. At stages with larger volume of flux, the
pressure is a kind of in-situ rock permeability test that pressure values of the pressure points had been come
was carried out in the borehole. Its main purpose is down.
to determine the permeability rate of rock mass, and To objectively and truly determine the permeability
to provide basic information for the evaluation of per- of the rock mass under high pressure of the under-
meability property and anti-seepage designing of rock ground powerhouse, air cushion surge chamber and
mass. Under normal circumstances, the volume of flux the diversion tunnel, we carried out the packer perme-
of rock increases with the increase of stress, and some ability test at some more representative layer sections
rocks, which are impermeable or have a low rate of of the litho-logic structure, which are chose in six bore-
infiltration under low-pressure, turn into permeable or holes at 3# , 4# , 5# test points. The length of the 3# and
the volume of flux increases markedly. There is often 5# test point pressure of water is 4.0 m. The length of
a head of several hundred meters in the large reser- 4# is 3.3 m. The statistical results of packer perme-
voir with high dam and high water head. The rock ability test in every borehole at every test point are
mass is subjected to a high pressure. The permeabil- presented in table 2.
ity data of the rock mass is very important for the Table 3 gives out the statistical results in perme-
anti-seepage designing. But the pressure values from ability test of every borehole, and reveals their basic
traditional packer permeability test are low (0.3, 0.6, characteristics of permeability under high pressure.
1.0 MPa).The test results are difficult to reflect the per- Statistical analysis on test results from six boreholes,
meability properties of the rock mass accurately under three test points showed that, among total 27 test
a real hydraulic head. This is mainly because of that, sections, the number of sections whose permeabil-
under a high pressure, the weak structural planes of ity is less than 1.0 Lu under greater than 5.0 Mpa
the rock, such as micro-cracks or joints, may open or high pressure is 15, for measuring the total number
expand, and then the original permeability property of paragraphs 56%. Note on measuring the overall
of the rock mass is changed. Therefore, only we carry surrounding area is more complete, the structure of
out the packer permeability test in accordance with the noodle poor connectivity.

488
 The permeability of 9 test sections of 5# measuring
points measured are less than 1.0 Lu under more than
5.0 MPa high pressure, and pressurized water of P-Q
curve is generally dilated or filling type, which showed
that the rock mass are relatively complete, structural
connectivity Noodles sex are inferior.
Paragraph 14 of the high-pressure water permeabil-
ity test results were measured in air cushion surge
chamber at site #4 measuring points. The test results
showed that there is at paragraph 9 measurements
under pressure from the larger (3∼5 MPa), rock per-
meability rates are close to or exceeded 2 Lu, P-Q
curve is the type of erosion-type or laminar flow type,
note that the rock nearby are relatively crusher, the
structure noodle connectivity is better, and they are
rock with a weak permeability.
3.3 Hydraulic hold-order test
The dam, surge shaft and the surrounding water con-
veyance tunnel of a power station with a high-head
are subjected to the long standing role of high water
stress. Whether the fractured rock mass at high water
under pressure is opened, how its permeability is, is
directly related to the stability of surrounding rock sex-
ual. 8 sections’ hydraulic-order up tests were carried
out at the station # 4 at the measuring point of the three
drilling (Table 3).
It can be seen from Table 3, 4 # measured points
near the fractured rock mass hydraulic rock bands
hold the value of three conditions, sub-high, medium
and low: first, high-value areas, the area in fractured
rock bands hold the value of hydraulic resistance at
more than 5.5 Mpa. At the 3.0∼4.25 m, 5.00∼6.25 m
and 14.00∼15.25 m test paragraph three months of
bored ZK51, the two cores of test paragraph are
mainly pillar and long columnar with tiny fissures,
good cementation, and extrusion close, high load-
bearing capacity of rock; Second, low-value areas,
the area in fractured rock band Anti-hydraulic shoring
value <1 MPa, bored at 24.00∼25.25 m of ZK51 and
ZK52 of 5.00∼6.25 m, 9.00∼10.25 m paragraph. This
pilot paragraph fissures are relatively general develop-
ment, fracture filling cementation poor performance,
the fractured rock mass hydraulic anti-bad-order hold
capacity, carrying capacity is relatively low, the seri-
ous water leakage; three are in the equivalent area in
fractured rock hold the value of hydraulic resistance
band 3.0∼3.5 MPa, a total of 2 for 3.00∼4.25 m of
ZK52 and ZK53 of 3.00∼4.25 m, the cementation of
this kind of rock is generally relatively good.
4 THE APPLICATION OF TEST RESULTS
IN ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION
4.1 Relationship between geostatic stress and the
direction of the axis, the shape of the tunnel
Theory and Practice has proved that, when horizontal
principal stress is greater than the vertical stress, the
489
smaller of the separation angle between the maximum
horizontal principal stress direction and the direction
of chamber axis is, the more favorable it is for the
cavern stability. When the direction of the maximum
horizontal principal stress is perpendicular to the axial
direction of the cavern, it’s most detrimental to the sta-
bility of cavern. When the cavern axis arranged in the
direction of maximum principal stress direction when
the wall pressure on the smallest, has the best stabi-
lization effect. It can be seen from Table 1, measured
2 GangQu River Hydropower plant projects near the
direction of maximum horizontal principal stress at
around NW34◦ , with the proposed water system to a
small hole axis angle (≈20◦ ), so it’s basically feasi-
ble to select the axial direction hole. Moreover, the
measured in situ stress is not big, so the direction of
the ground stress has little effect on the stability of
chamber.
In addition many excavation Practice has proved
that when the excavation of body shape makes the
Agency’s compressive stress of the roof and the side
values equal, this is the just stress field under the best
shape it can give the most uniform distribution of com-
pressive stress Excavation body shape which is usually
oval-shaped, its ratio of the length and short axis equals
the two principal stress ratio of the original section in
the cavern, the proposed cavity shape should be con-
sistent with the above requirements as far as possible
in order to achieve better stability of the cavern.
4.2 Pairs of high-pressure chamber design guide
The pressure chamber design is feasible or not, the
key is in the actual role of high pressure, the rock will
not be destructed by rifting and the mountain will not
lift deformation based the engineering practice expe-
rience, foreign scholars had put forth a high-pressure
chamber scientific design guidelines for the minimum
principal stress, that is as long as any point of the min-
imum principal stress is not less than its maximum
pressure of bearing in the pressure chamber surround-
ing, even if the chamber is no longer lining reinforce-
ment, the surrounding rock would not have the risk of
split damage, it can assure security and stability.
Test results show that the minimum principal stress
of the air cushion surge chamber three-dimensional in
situ stress state is 4.98 MPa and the minimum princi-
pal stress at the water hole near the three-dimensional
in situ stress state is 2.70 MPa. According to the
minimum principal stress criteria, when the bearing
pressure of air cushion surge chamber is not more
than 4.98 MPa, the pressure chamber does not possess
the lining of the rock mechanics design conditions,
not lining program design is feasible, if the bearing
pressure inside the cave stress greater than 4.98 MPa,
it should be considered lining; the internal pressure
of diversion tunnel near the measuring point is not
more than 2.70 MPa, with the no designed lining rock
mechanics conditions, if the internal pressure is greater
than 2.70 MPa then the lining subject will should be
considered.
 In addition, the air cushion surge chamber at the
project area measuring point # 4 rock band up in frac-
tured rock hydraulic fracture relatively low-value zone
development, the filling cementation performance of
fracture is poor, fractured rock mass hydraulic resis-
tance bands hold value <1 MPa, the lining is supposed
to use in the corresponding program.
Because the rock mass nearing both the measuring
points #4 and #5 are relative more broken, so the actual
value is the smaller than the test’s, in the using process
we should take into account the effect of field test
conditions to the measured value, if the future layout of
the location depth increased, rock mass quality better,
it is considered that the situ stress may be enhanced
appropriately.
4.3 The guiding significance to pairs of
high-pressure chamber and anti-seepage
grouting treatment
Pressurized water high-pressure experimental results
show that the rocks have less permeable rate near
air cushion surge chamber, under the larger pressure
(3∼5 MPa), rock permeability rates are close to or
exceed 2 Lu, the P-Q curve type is erosion-type or
laminar flow. At the high-pressure water hole line’s
surrounding, the measuring point of the rock exposed
by the testing results is micro-permeable rate rock
mass, under the larger pressure (5 MPa),all the rock
permeability rate are less than 1Lu, and the pressure
water P-Q curve is generally dilated or filling type.
near the water hole Segment, the rock of measuring
point exposed by the test results are middle-permeable
rate rock, more than 12 Lu, karsts crevasse growth,
better connectivity, lower integrity of the rock. based
on the rock mass permeability Criteria, wall rock per-
meability rate is requested less than 1 Lu, if greater
than 1 Lu, it should take solid wall grouting treatment,
therefore, the weak and middle-permeable site should
adopt grouting treatment to improve the structural
integrity of the hole surrounding rocks, and enhance
function of high-pressure closure.
5 CONCLUSIONS
At work of the geological survey of a high-pressure
cavern hydropower project in western China, analysis
of the air cushion surge chamber district and hydraulic
fracturing stress measurements of 16 drilling in the
6 measuring points on the diversion tunnel line, high-
pressure water and hydraulic jacking test results, we
can draw the following conclusions:
(1) The in-situ stress in project area is mainly self-
weight stress and tectonic stress, the tectonic
stress intensity is not too great. Nowadays the
direction of maximum principle stress at engineer-
ing sites is about N46◦W, the three-dimensional
principal stress direction is N33∼40◦W, the ele-
vation is about 58∼63◦ .
490
(2) The minimum principal stress nearby the air cush-
ion surge chamber is 4.98 MPa, the minimum
principal stress nearby the high-pressure water
hole is 2.70 MPa. Because of the rock of the mea-
suring point is relatively fragmentation, the actual
value of the test is smaller.
(3) There are the less permeable rate rock near the air
cushion surge cavern, the micro-permeable rate
rock near the high-pressure water line hole and
the middle-permeable rate rock near the diversion
tunnel segment.
(4) The hydraulic hold-order value of fractured rock
mass surrounding near the air cushion surge
chamber divided into sub-high, medium and low
three situations: the high-value areas more than
5.5 MPa,the median area is about 3.0∼3.5 MPa,
and the low-value area less than 1 MPa.
(5) According to the test results of a comprehen-
sive analysis of the view that air-cushion surge
chamber rock with its own basic-situ rock stress
and related physical and mechanical properties,
Whereas taking into account the hydraulic jack-
ing low-value area is smaller than 1 MPa, It is
suggested that increasing the depth of the cavern
and using the corresponding lining work plan in
order to enhance carrying capacity of the rock and
enhance the safety coefficient.
(6) The core idea of the new pattern hydroelectric is
the use of rock stress field and its role to safe-
guard the stability of chamber works and security,
it is the innovative applications of rock mechan-
ics at the practical engineering, it is bound to
face many new issues and challenges and also
will actively promote the development of rock
mechanics research and advances and application
of the testing technological.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the support from the Min-
istry of Science and Technology, China (SinoProbe-
06), and the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (NO. 40704018).
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Study on the relationship between in-situ stress and the rupture

of mine shaft

Sun Ruhua & Li Wenping

China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China

ABSTRACT: Non-mining rupture of coal mine shaft is a new kind of mine geological disaster. There are some
standpoints on the reason of the shaft lining rupture, but a new option that the horizontal tectonic stresses lead to
the rupture of the mine shaft is appeared after the shaft lining rupture occurred in the Yanteng-Xuhuai diggings.
This paper analyzes the relationship between geostresses and the shaft lining rupture in the diggings. The results
demonstrated the rupture of the mine shaft and horizontal tectonic stress is not very closely linked.

1 INTRODUCTION of Tanlu fault zone does exist, Yanteng-Xuhuai mines

Since the 1980s, a new mine geological hazard–non-
mining fracture of shaft has appeared in Yanteng-
Xuhuai Area, China, that is, under the condition that
coal mine shaft is not affected by underground mining,
serious deformation and rupture with the shaft.
The shaft is the throat of mine, the non-mining sud-
den rupture of shaft inYanteng-Xuhuai Area has posed
threat to the safety of ten thousands of people under the
mine, which seriously affects the normal production of
coal mine. For many years, a lot of science and technol-
ogy workers who work on mine construction, mining,
geological study have carried out extensive investiga-
tion and research work on non-mining rupture of shaft
in Yanteng-Xuhuai Area[1–5] .
After the vertical shaft for coal mine in Yanteng-
Xuhuai area has broken, there is a view thinking that
the vertical shaft rupture is related with earthquake
occurrence in this area and activities of Tan-Lu fault,
the vibration force generated by earthquake and dislo-
cation resulting from movement of active faults (i.e.,
the horizontal tectonic stress) are the main causes for
rupture of vertical shaft. However, from the view of
earthquake and active fault condition, this view is not
desirable. This is because: (1) During the shaft rupture,
no catastrophic destructive earthquake takes place in
the study area. (2) According to the fact of slight
destruction of coal mine shaft wall when the Tangshan
Earthquake took place in 1976 (When the earthquake
occurs, the degree of destruction to buildings on the
ground is more serious than deeper location), for
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area, some minor earthquakes
since 1980 are not enough to cause such serious shaft
rupture. (3) Because the duration of each time earth-
quake is only a few seconds, in such a brief time, it
is impossible to cause such extensive rupture of shaft
wall in the study area, even harder to explain causes for
repeated rupture of some mineshafts. (4) Although the
relative displacement dislocation in east and west plate
are all located in the western plate of the fault zone,
most of the mines are tens to one hundred kilometers
away from the fault zone, and for the shafts of 5 to
8 m diameter, it is impossible to just cross a shear dis-
location surface, it is impossible for the rock and soil
mass around the shaft to produce relative dislocation
which causes rupture of shaft wall, but there is only
the possibility of integral shift due to regional crustal
block movement, such integral shift is impossible to
cause rupture of shaft wall.
2 ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF
IN-SITU STRESS FIELD IN
YANTENG-XUHUAI MINING AREA
2.1 Basic theory of in-situ stress field analysis
Theory of plates can better explain the global crustal
movement and features of overall distribution of in-situ
stress field, but it seems to be rough and general for
the analysis of internal in-situ stress of plates, espe-
cially the analysis of in-situ stress field distribution
in smaller area, e.g. a mining area. The author uses
“theory of ellipsoid with balanced density” proposed
by Professor Yu Shuangzhong of China University of
Mining and Technology to analyze the types of macro-
scopic in-situ stress field of mining area[6] , and has
achieved very good effect. This theory thinks that
crustal blocks with high crust density tend to move
towards the two poles of the earth, while crustal blocks
with low density tend to move towards the equator
(Fig. 1). When the mining area is located in front of
the moving crustal block, it will suffer strong squeez-
ing force, and shows the characteristic of big tectonic
stress; when the mining area is located in the rear of
the moving crustal block, it is in tensile state with
small tectonic stress, and the stress of deadweight is
the maximum principal stress (Fig. 2).

493
Figure 1. Map of theory of ellipsoid with balanced density.
Figure 2. The relationship between Movement block and the
in-situ stress field (a) Movement characteristics of stress field
around the block; (b) The effect on the maximum principal
stress in different Boundary conditions.
2.2 Characteristics of in-situ stress field of
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area
By analyzing the Bouguer anomaly map of regional
gravity of Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area (as shown in
Fig. 3), the gravity anomaly inside the area has the
characteristics as follows: on the whole, the gravity
on both sides of the fault zone show the character-
istic of high in the east and low in the west. High
gravity zones on the east side of the fault zone are:
the gravity in north Jiangsu Province is high with
the largest anomaly value near Yancheng, which is
35 mgal; the gravity in Anqing – Jiujiang zone is
high with the anomaly value of 0 mgal. On the west
side of the fault zone are low gravity zones, there
are mainly: the gravity in the southwest of Shandong
Province centered around Yiyuan is low with its min-
imum anomaly value of −10 mgal; the gravity in the
Dabie Mountain nearby Yuexi – Luotian zone is low
with the anomaly value of −45 mgal, which is the
min. anomaly point within the region. According to
“the theory of ellipsoid with balanced density”, for
the Tanlu fault zone of Yanteng-Xuhuai Area, gener-
ally the west side of the fault zone moves to south
494
Figure 3. The Bouguer anomaly map of regional gravity of
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area.
relative to east side, namely, it shows the character-
istic of left-handed rotation. On the whole, it suffers
horizontal squeezing in the nearly east-west direction,
and there exists certain action of tectonic stress all
in the horizontal direction. However, the presence of
difference in intensity of movement trend, especially
the southward shift of negative anomaly of gravity
in the southern Dabie Mountain and southward shift
of negative anomaly of Yiyuan in southwest Shan-
dong Province (stopped by the nose-shaped positive
anomaly along Shangqiu – Fengxian zone) causes rel-
atively big variation in the magnitude of horizontal
tectonic stress in nearly east-west direction within the
region and difference in direction. Huainan mining
area in the south is located in the northern of the Dabie
Mountain crustal block, influenced by the tension in
the nearly north-south direction, the value of tectonic
stress in the nearly east-west direction is larger than
that of Huainan area in horizontal plane, which may
exceed the value of deadweight stress of superstratum,
and thus macroscopically presents the characteristic of
tectonic stress field type. Horizontal tectonic stress
of Yanteng mining area in the north is larger than
the former two, and the direction will deflect toward
north, which is the NEE-SWW direction, macroscop-
ically showing the characteristic of tectonic stress
field type.
2.3 Measurement of in-situ stress of
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area
The author had measured the virgin rock stress in many
locations inside the study area. And collected the mea-
sured results of other in-situ stresses in the area, as
shown in Table 1. The measured results basically agree
with theoretical analysis.
Table 1. Comparison between calculated values and the measured values of in-situ stresses of part of mines inYanteng-Xuhuai
mining area.

The value of in-situ stress Illustrates

Buried Calculated Measured Relative Stress

Mines Location depth/m Lithology Method values/MPa values/MPa error(%) state

Zhuangshuanglou Prospecting 1075.5 Fine Acoustic σH 29.32 27.73 5.7 Elasticity

holes of 17-3 sandstone emission σh 15.33 19.84 −22
σT 26.89
σv 20.45
1040.5 Fine σH 26.14 28.57 −8.5 Elasticity
sandstone σh 14.37 13.49 6.5
σv 26.01
σT 17.56
Zhangshuanglou Return airflow 600 Sandy Acoustic σH 8.01 9.32 −14.1 Elasticity
dip of −500 m mudstone emission σh 5.96 5.7 4.56
horizontal plane σv 15.0
σT 3.06
−500 the 3th 533 Medium σH 17.17 16.9 1.60 Elasticity
horizontal plane sandstone σh 7.83 8.7 −10.0
of −500 m σv 13.33
horizontal plane σT 13.18
Belt diphead 608 Medium σH 14.8 15.9 −6.92 Elasticity
of −500 m sandstone σh 7.61 5.1 49.2
horizontal σv 15.2
plane σT 10.26
Wangzhuang Prospecting holes 272 Medium Stress σH 6.32 6.51 −10.3
of 11 sandstone relief σh 1.55 1.42 8.38
σv 6.80 8.50 −20
σT 5.57 5.45 2.20
Prospecting holes 305 Sandy σH 6.85 7.11 −3.66
of 15-1 mudstone σh 4.52 5.16 −12.4
σv 7.63 9.34 −18.3
σT 4.91 4.90 0.2

3 ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
IN-SITU STRESS AND SHAFT RUPTURE
After shaft rupture of Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area,
there is a view thinking that the cause for shaft rupture
is large horizontal tectonic stress. The author thinks
that the relationship between the in-situ stress and
the shaft rupture can be analyzed in the following
aspects[7,8] :
(1) Although there is certain adjustment change in the
distribution direction and magnitude of stress field
in a region before and after earthquake, they are
relatively stable in a relatively long period of time.
In Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area rupture did not
take place at the initial stage of shaft construction,
the destruction takes place in a few years after
construction of shafts (after the mining shaft is
put into operation), the in-situ stress is impossible
to increase significantly in such a short period of
few years.
(2) Preliminary study of the author shows that the
magnitude of accumulated tectonic stress has
direct relation with the magnitudes of elastic mod-
ulus and strength of rock and soil medium due
to occurrence of it. For the rock and soil layer
in the same unit of tectonic crustal block, the
higher the elastic modulus and strength of the
rock and soil layer, the bigger the accumulated
tectonic stress; and vice versa. Shaft rupture of
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area mostly takes place
in the soil layer section at the connection between
soil and bedrock or in the strong weathered zone
of bedrock, within which large horizontal tectonic
stress won’t be accumulated, its maximum hori-
zontal stress is only possible to be approximately
equal to the dead weight of superstratum soil layer,
the analysis is as follows.
For deep rock-soil layer, if it stays under the hor-
izontal tectonic stress, its maximum in-situ stress
component σ1 is in the horizontal direction, suppose
its minimum principal stress σ3 is in vertical direction,
and the intermediate principal stress σ2 is in horizontal
direction and perpendicular to σ1 . When the tectonic
stress is relatively small, and the rock-soil layers

495
is in elastic state, from the generalized Hook’s law,
we get:
Generally, suppose the strain ε2 and ε3 in the verti-
cal and horizontal direction are zero, i.e., taking into
account of uniaxial strain elastic solution, then we get
from equation (2) through arrangement:
Where k is the coefficient of lateral pressure in elastic
state. For soil layer or soft rock layer (e.g. deep soil
layer and bottom strong weathered layer in Yanteng-
Xuhuai mining area), it can easily enter plastic state
under the action of horizontal tectonic stress. If con-
sidering the ideal elastoplastic body, for soil layer, we
apply Mohr-Columb criterion, then we get:
Where c and ϕ are the strength parameter cohesive
strength and internal friction angle of the soil. If
we suppose the coefficient of lateral pressure at this
time (plastic state), i.e. σ3 = kp σ1 , substitute it into
equation (3), then we get:
By further arrangement, we get:
Where
kp is the function of σ1 , and we can solve its extreme
value, which is:
For the bottom aquifer ofYanteng-Xuhuai mining area,
under the condition of high depth and high pressure,
its ϕ value is very small; if taking into account both
the rheological behavior of soil layer and long-term
496
action characteristics of in-situ stress, we can consider
ϕ ≈ 0, according to Equation (6), kp = 1, that is,
Where, ri and hi are the gravity density and thickness
of the soil of ith layer, respectively; and γ and H are
the average gravity density and total thickness of the
soil layer. Therefore, even under the background of
macro-tectonic stress field, the maximum horizontal
in-situ stress in the soil layer is close to its superstratum
deadweight stress.
After excavation of the shaft, the original stress in
the soil layer within a certain range outside the shaft
is redistributed, and enclosing rock stress (secondary
stress) is formed. This enclosing stress causes the soil
layer to displace and deform towards the direction of
the shaft so as to generate pressure against the outer
shaft wall (outer load for the shaft wall), which is called
the ground pressure p of vertical shaft. Since the stress
in the shaft wall caused by the ground pressure p of ver-
tical shaft can be calculated from the elastic solutions
of elastic thick-wall cylinder can be obtained, i.e.
Where, a and b are respectively the inner and outer
radius of the shaft wall, and σr and σθ are the radial
and circumferential stress of the location which has a
distance of radius r from the central point of the shaft
in the shaft wall. On the peripheral surface (r = a) in
the shaft wall, σθ reaches the maximum value.
4 EXAMPLE ANALYSIS
The stress of shaft wall calculated according to Equa-
tion (9) has been taken into account in the design of
shaft wall thickness, take Xifeng Shaft of Huainan
Panji No. 3 Mine with thickest soil layer in the study
area as an example, its related basic data are a = 3.5 m,
b = 5.2 m, H = 441 m. According to the construction
engineering practice of vertical shaft in the deep
top soil layer, calculate the ground pressure of ver-
tical shaft according to “the heavy liquid theory”,
p = γ
H , generally where γ
= 0.011 − 0.013 MN/m3 .
Here, γ
= 0.012, then we get the maximum ground
pressure at bottom of the thick top soil of Xifeng Shaft
of Panji No. 3 Mine p = 5.29 MPa. The maximum
stress on inner side of shaft wall obtained by calcula-
tion according to Equation (9) σθ = 19.36 MPa, it will
not lead to rupture of shaft wall.
 Since the horizontal tectonic stress has distinct
directionality, the directionality of initial rupture posi-
tion on the shaft of round cross-section is also distinct,
i.e., the rupture is easiest to occur first at the location
of shaft wall perpendicular to the maximum principal
stress σ1 . However, no such phenomenon is found in
the investigations of shaft wall rupture.
5 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The Bouguer anomaly of regional gravity in
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area is analyzed accord-
ing to “Theory of ellipsoid with balanced density”,
the study area shows the characteristics of tectonic
stress field macroscopically.
(2) Shaft rupture of the study area mostly takes place
in the soil layer section at the connection between
soil layer and bedrock or in the strong weathered
zone of bedrock, within which large horizontal
tectonic stress won’t be accumulated, its maximum
horizontal stress is only possible to be approxi-
mately equal to the dead weight of superstratum
soil layer.
(3) The enclosing rock stress causes the soil layer to
displace and deform towards the direction of the
shaft so as to generate pressure p against the outer
shaft wall (also called the ground pressure of ver-
tical shaft), the inner circumferential stress (σθ )
of the shaft wall it causes reaches the maximum
value on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft
wall (r = a).
(4) Through analysis and study on the relations
between the in-situ stress and shaft rupture in
Yanteng-Xuhuai mining area, it can be concluded
that shaft rupture is not closely related to the action
of horizontal tectonic stress.
497
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stress measurement of rock mass by the kaiser effect
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Wang Shuchang, Ge Hongzhang. Causes and Preventions of
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in Thick Alluvium[J], Journal of Qingdao Construction
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Application of a new stress measurement device in underground

marble quarrying, a case study

G. Iabichino & M. Cravero

Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria (IGAG-CNR), Torino, Italy

ABSTRACT: The paper deals with the evaluation of the stress state in an white marble underground quarry
(Lasa, Bolzano, Italy), where new exploitation activities are currently in progress. In addition to the geomechan-
ical study, which has shown the influence of the joint pattern on the potential structurally controlled instabilities,
particular attention has been given to in situ stress evaluation by means of the stress overcoring method. The
measurements were carried out by using the classical CSIR strain cell and a newly developed cell. The results
offered by the two devices appear to be in acceptable agreement and suggest a rather high stress level in the
natural supporting structures. The new stress measurement device is able to autonomously supply power, perform
signal conditioning and continuously acquire data during the overcoring phase.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 SITE DESCRIPTION: GEOLOGY

The current mechanization and technology level of
marble cutting favours a relatively fast enlargement of
underground quarry exploitations and makes it nec-
essary to carry out an experimental evaluation of the
static condition of the residual rock structures (roofs,
walls, pillars) to ensure a safe ore body exploitation.
Planning the ground control, which is not a com-
mon systematic activity in quarry practice, is driven
by the specific geomechanical characteristics of the
exploited rock mass at the quarry sites and the exploita-
tion technique (Hoek & Brown 1982, Brady & Brown
1985, Iannacchione & Prosser 1997). Therefore, a
monitoring programme, that includes stress state mea-
surement in the residual supporting rock structures,
becomes essential for a safe and profitable quarry
development. As far as the monitoring devices are
concerned (Dunnicliff 1993), the stress variation in
supporting rock structures is measured by means of
borehole stressmeters which are used to control stress
variations, while the stress state, when the most com-
mon measurement techniques are utilized, can be
measured by the relief techniques, or by stress restor-
ing methods or by hydraulic methods (Amadei &
Stephansson 1997).
An example of stress evaluation by means of the
overcoring method related to an white marble alpine
underground quarry is reported in this paper. The
stress measurements were made on the walls of two
new underground rooms, excavated to increase quarry
exploitation, and they involved a comparison of the
values obtained utilizing the classical CSIR biaxial
strain gauge (Leeman 1969) and those obtained using
a newly developed biaxial strain gauge, together with
numerical modelling.
AND THE QUARRY
The underground quarry of Lasa (Bolzano, Italy) is
located on the Venosta valley side of the Ortles –
Cevedale massif, the Eastern sector of the Alpine
ridge. The quarry, which consists of a rather complex
arrangement of excavations, exploits a subhorizontal
white marble lens, embedded in the Lasa micaschist
unit (Andreatta 1951, Gregnanin 1980, Conti 1994).
The lens is located in the hinge zone of a large fold
structure and the marble – micaschist contact develops
along a surface almost concordant with the schistosity.
The morphological arrangement of the marble lens is
characterized by a fold type deformation, over which
a prevailingly extensional pattern of a brittle type
deformation, consisting of fracture sets and occasional
faults, is superimposed. The present quarry layout,
which is basically a room and pillar scheme (Fig. 1),
develops under a highly variable rock cover under the
mountain side (Consiglio 1964). This complex layout
is the result of a long exploitation activity which began,
as a systematic industrial process, in 1883. Quarrying
is carried out by opening large rooms which are sep-
arated by pillars, and proceeds by descending steps,
starting from the drifts that define the perimeter of the
rooms in the upper part of the marble lens.
A 5 m–10 m thick marble slab has been left in
place to avoid the risk of rock failures from the roofs
of the exploitation room, due to the poor marble –
micaschist contact. The descending excavation is per-
formed by isolating large slices of marble using a
chain saw, which is sometimes combined with a dia-
mond wire. Blasting is almost only applied for slotting
operations. The extensive use of mechanical cutting
not only increases the marble yield, but also reduces

499
Figure 1. Map of the Lasa underground quarry and the mountain topography. Dashed circle = new exploitation zone. Bold
line = location of the section of the FEM model. Equal-area projection (Rocscience – Dips code) showing the density levels
of the rock joint poles. Upper diagram: survey over the entire underground quarry. Lower diagram: survey in the new rooms,
12 and 15.
disturbance to the room and pillar surfaces caused by
excavation.
The resulting rooms, which in the past even reached
spans of over 25 m, are presently limited to 20 m max-
imum span and show heights usually below 30 m.
Moreover, the recent exploitation consists of long
rooms excavated according to a more regular layout
than the quarry zone near the quarry portals.
3 GEOSTRUCTURAL AND
GEOMECHANICAL SETTING FOR
STABILITY AND STRESS EVALUATION
Since the beginning of the underground marble quar-
rying, the quarry site has been the subject of technical
evaluations related to the exploitation technique and
to stability requirements for permanent excavations
(Consiglio 1964). In this quarry, rock bolts were used
for the first time to stabilize a roof (Atzeni 1934) of the
excavations. Many studies dedicated to geostructural
rock mass characterization, rock testing and monitor-
ing have been carried out with the aim at attaining
the stability of excavations (Ribacchi 1969, Cravero
et al. 1991, Cravero & Iabichino 1997, 2009). More
recently geomechanical evaluations have been con-
ducted, concerning the excavation of an experimental
exploitation panel, funded on the CEE Brite Euram
III CAD-PUMA research project (Cravero et al. 2002,
Ferrero et al. 2002, 2007) and these evaluations are
still under way.
3.1 Geostructural characterization
Different geostructural surveys have been performed
in the underground rooms and drifts and these have
500
been complemented by an external survey along the
mountain side. Maps of the persistent rock joints
(>10 m) of the entire quarry have been drawn, with
increasing detail in the zones where the experimen-
tal panel was excavated and quarry development is
presently in progress: rooms 12 and 15.
Apart from large joints and the few recognized
faults, which are of hectometric size, an evaluation
of the small – medium sized joints was based on scan-
line sampling (ISRM 1978). The rock joint attitudes,
which were defined by merging all the data, can be
represented by two, almost orthogonal, highly dipping
joint sets on average trending N25-60W and N45E
(Fig. 1). This general trend is essentially confirmed
by the joints surveyed along the surfaces of the two
new rooms (Fig. 1). The proportion between the large
and the other sized joints is below 10%. This reduced
occurrence limits the possibility of bad intersections
among large sized joints at the excavation surfaces and
hinders the risk of large structural instability of the nat-
urally supporting rock structures. However, the small –
medium sized joints can lead to minor or slender rock
blocks (Fig. 2), whose failure has to be prevented by
installing spot bolts or dowels with a wire mesh where
unfavourable joints occur. Their kinematic feasibility
and possible failure has been evaluated according to
the rock block theory (Goodman & Shi 1985) and
using the Unwedge code (RocScience).
3.2 Geomechanical characterization
A extensive set of lab. tests, carried out during the
above mentioned studies (e.g. Cravero & Iabichino
1997, Cravero et al. 2003) and those related to the
design of the two new rooms, have allowed an accu-
rate evaluation of the mechanical behaviour of the
 Table 2. Mechanical parameters for: a) rock mass:
Em =Young’ modulus, νm = Poisson’s ratio, σci , mb ,
sb = parameters of the Hoek and Brown failure envelop; b)
large sized joints: knl , ksl = normal and shear stiffnesses, ϕjl ,
cjl = friction angle and cohesion.

a)

σci Em νm mb sb
(MPa) (GPa) (−) (−) (−)

80 25 0.3 2.9 0.02

b)

knl ksl ϕj cj
(GPa/m) (GPa/m) (◦ ) (MPa)

25 2.5 35 0

Figure 2. Sketch of slender rock blocks located at the room

boundary.

Table 1. Laboratory characterization for: a) marble:

σci = uniaxial compressive strength; Et = tangent Young’s
modulus; νt = tangent Poisson’s ratio; ci = cohesion;
ϕi = internal friction angle, mi = Hoek & Brown failure
envelop parameter (Hoek & Brown 1982); b) rock joints:
φj , cj = residual friction angle and cohesion from direct
shear tests, φb = basic friction angle, JRC = joint roughness
coefficient, kn normal stiffness, ks shear stiffness.

a)

σci Et νt σtb ci ϕi mi
(MPa) (GPa) (−) (MPa) (MPa) (◦ ) (−) Figure 3. Map showing the location of the measurement
stations, in the rooms 12 and 15 and the access drift, where
81 ± 10 60 ± 11 0.25 ± 0,05 8 ± 2 19 36 7 the stress measurements have been carried out. One of the
overcored marble cores is shown.
b)
4 STRESS MEASUREMENTS
ϕj cj ϕb JRC kn ks
(◦ ) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ ) (GPa/m) (GPa/m) Some experimental evaluations of the stress acting on
the rock walls of the two new rooms have been carried
39 0.2 30 12 35 3 out at different measurement locations (Fig. 3), apply-
ing the overcoring technique, using both the classical
CSIR strain gauge cell (Leeman 1964) and a new cell
designed at the IGAG-CNR rock mechanics lab. by the
Lasa marble to be made. The characterizing mechan- first Author. The cored borehole is the NW (76 mm)
ical parameters of the marble, obtained from uniaxial for both strain cells.
and triaxial compression tests, brazilian and direct ten-
4.1 The new strain gauge cell
sile tests, are reported in Table 1a, while the strength
and stiffness parameters of the rock joints submitted This device exploits the same measurement princi-
to direct shear lab. tests are given in Table 1b. As ple as the CSIR cell, in that the sensor is a resistive
far as the mechanical qualification of the rock mass, strain rosette glued on a polished borehole bottom,
whose geomechanical quality was rated by RMR 60 and activated by the stress release due to overcoring.
(Bieniawski 1989) and GSI 65 (Hoek 1994), and of The two devices are shown in Figure 4a for comparison
the large sized rock joints is concerned, the follow- purposes.
ing parameters where adopted and used for modelling Besides the strain rosette, another strain gauge is
(Table 2). embedded inside the plastic casting and this acts as

501
 Table 3. Stress measured at the different stations in rooms
12 and 15: c# = cell symbol L/R = left/right borehole,
ty = new (n)/old (o) cell type, σ1 , σ2 = principal maximum,
minimum stress (+=compressive), ϕ1 , ϕ2 = principal stress
directions (+=anticlockwise from −x, +x right, +y up).

σ1 σ2 ϕ1 ϕ2
# ty (MPa) (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )

C1L n 17,82 −3,88 84,88 −5,12

C1R o 20,55 −3,9 83,68 −6,32
C2L n 11,6 0,15 87,32 −2,68
C2R n 12 −1,27 85,05 −4,95
C3R n 27,5 −0,79 89,15 −0,85
C3L o 21,17 −1,4 85,02 −4,98
C4R n 18,99 −3,61 82,24 −7,76
C4L o 17,16 −3,38 83,12 −6,88
C5R n 18,89 −2,5 81,53 −8,47
C5L o 16,29 −0,48 87,37 −2,63
C6R o 9,26 1,3 89,5 −0,5
C6L o 9,19 0,36 80,31 −9,69

Figure 4. a) the CSIR strain gauge cell and the newly devel-
oped cell and the miniaturized data logger; b) the micro4
layout: Red arrow represent digital link between blocks;
Green arrow represent analogical link between blocks.
Figure 5. Example of the trends of the gauge strains read
by the micro4 during a measurement session.
temperature effect compensator (Hakala & Sjoberg
2006, Bertilsson 2007).
The battery power supply, control, signal condition-
ing and data readings of the new cell are performed
by means of a miniaturized data logger, called micro4
(Fig. 4b), which is located on the back of the cylin-
drical plastic casting. Once started remotely, through
a wireless connection to a PC, the gauge cell oper-
ates autonomously, collecting data during all the glue
curing and overcoring operations.
An example of the output provided by the new
device is shown in Figure 5 where the strain varia-
tions read by the gauge sensor are displayed for the
measurement session time interval.
4.2 The measurements
Because of the good state of the room walls, two
short boreholes, ∼1 m from each other, were drilled
at each measurement station (Fig. 3). Out of a set of
18 trials, 12 stress measurements were successful and,
according to the borehole condition, the borehole bot-
tom were located at about a distance of 0.5 m ÷ 1 m
from the borehole head. The stresses were evaluated
using the deformability parameters recovered from
the marble cores, corresponding to each overcoring
measurement, and applying a 1.25 concentration coef-
ficient (Van Heerden 1968). Table 3 summarizes the
results of the stress measurements.
The measured stress essentially appears to be com-
pressive and acts in a subvertical direction, with a
maximum value ∼ 28 MPa in the pillar between the
two rooms, a minimum ∼ 9 MPa in the wall of the
access drift and an average value of ∼ 17 MPa.
Compared to the lithostatic stress at the depth
of interest, ∼200 m, the measured stress suggests
an intensification ratio of ∼3, possibly due to the
exploitation excavations, joint pattern and mountain
morphology.
According to the stress-strain behaviour shown by
the marble specimens, these, rather high stresses,
should fall into the elastic marble strain range, how-
ever they are important in view of possible joint slip.
The minimum stress appears to be comparatively low
and often tensile and acts in a subhorizontal direction.
This low confinement stress confirms the possibility of
the extensional deformation, previously ascribed to the
rock mass jointing. Furthermore, the stress measure-
ments carried out by the two different devices appear
to be in acceptable agreement.
5 COMPUTATION EVALUATION AND
COMPARISON WITH STRESS
MEASUREMENTS
The experimental results have shown that the induced
stress is not only high, but is also affected by important

502

Figure 6. Section of the FEM model.
Figure 7. Computed trends of the maximum stress along
two vertical alignments on the Eastern (E) and Western (W)
walls of room 12, with and without the large subvertical joint.
variations. This kind of behaviour is in agreement with
previously carried out stress measurements and analy-
ses made at different quarry locations (Ribacchi 1969,
Cravero & Iabichino 1997) and suggests the need for
further computation evaluations.
Previous modelling involved both 2D and 3D BEM
evaluations (Hoek & Brown 1982, Wiles 1995). A
highly idealized 2D FEM model has been set up for
the present evaluation using the Phase2 code (Roc-
Science). The geometry of the evaluation section
(Fig. 1) is shown in Figure 6 and the model, apart
from an ideally continuous scheme, also represents a
large subvertical feature that dissects the Eastern por-
tion of the quarry. Only one material has been used
to represent both the marble lens and the micaschist
which have the mechanical parameters reported in
Table 2 The initial stress state is assumed to be litho-
static according to the topography (specific quantity
γ26 kN/m3 ). The room excavation and the possible
local yielding along the subvertical joint induce stress
modification. The trend of the maximum wall stress in
room 12 has been evaluated along two vertical align-
ments on the Western and Eastern room walls and is
represented in Figure 7.
503
The room excavation entails a maximum stress
magnification of about 2 compared to the lithostatic
stress, while the local slip along the subvertical joint
plays a minor role on the stress transfer mechanism.
The computation is not able to reproduce the aver-
age maximum stress value pointed out by the stress
measurements nor higher stress values.
Similar results were previously obtained using 2D
and 3D BEM models (Cravero & Iabichino 1997).
This indicates that the models that have been used
so far are not able to represent, in a suitable way, the
different factors affecting rock stress, such as high
complexity of the quarry layout, mountain morphol-
ogy and the 3D arrangement of the large joints. In
this context, the experimental stress investigation has
proved irreplaceable.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The paper has described a stress state evaluation in
a white marble underground quarry site. The present
evaluations have been carried out after a series of
ground control studies conducted at the same quarry.
In addition to a geomechanical characterization, stress
measurements have been conducted to ascertain the
role played on the stability by a new quarry enlarge-
ment, carried out to increase marble exploitation. In
particular, besides a set of overcoring measurements
based on CSIR strain gauge, the study has offered the
opportunity of applying a newly developed stress mea-
surement device, in this complex quarry environment.
The most significant results from this field experience
are here summarized.
– The joint pattern should be considered relevant so
that the new quarry developments conform with
the rock mass structure. Though the proportion of
the large sized joints appears low, thus hindering the
risk of large structural instability, the joint charac-
teristics must be carefully recognized in order to
avoid the occurrence of minor rock block instabili-
ties, which would require setting up of local support
measures.
– The stress measurements, carried out on the rock
walls of two new exploitation rooms, have shown
a substantially compressive stress state with a
principal subvertical component. The maximum
value ∼28 MPa, was detected in an isolated pillar
between the two rooms. While the average stress
∼17 MPa, compared to the lithostatic stress, sug-
gests an intensification ratio of ∼3. This stress level
could be important in view of the possibility of joint
slipping. The measured minimum principal stress
suggests a lack of rock mass confinement.
– The stress relief measurements obtained from
both the classical CSIR strain cell and the new
autonomously operating cell, which is able to
autonomously acquire strain data throughout the
entire overcoring process, appear to be in accept-
able agreement.
– The stress computed along the room walls, by a sim-
plified 2D FEM model, has pointed out a stress ratio
of ∼2, which is far from that of ∼3 suggested by the
stress measurements. In this sense the experimental
stress investigation has proved essential.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Room-and-pillar mine workings design in high level horizontal stress

conditions. Case of study from the Polish underground copper mines

W. Pytel
KGHM Cuprum CBR and Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland

ABSTRACT: Numerical experiments modeling different three-dimensional mine layout were performed, using
two boundary condition sets defined by presence or absence of horizontal additional stress. The determined
stress/deformation states were used afterwards for quantitative characterization of the effect of horizontal tectonic
stress on system behavior. Local rock mass load intensity and the related failure possibility were assessed using
the indicators called safety margins related to several well known failure criterions such as: the maximum
principal stress’, Coulomb-Mohr’s, and true triaxial strength theories. The safety margins’ spatial distribution
served then as a basic measure helpful in identifyng areas of higher failure risk. The analysis permitted selecting
the safest mining layout of the three considered, and recommend it for the practical development in one of the
Polish underground copper mine.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The area description

A problem of interaction between room-and-pillar
panel, exploited in so called roof deflection techno-
logy, with overburden strata subjected to high level
stress has been recognized as one of the most impor-
tant geomechanical and safety issues in the Polish deep
copper mines.
In 1997 and 2005, measurements of three-
dimensional stressfield were carried out at three loca-
tions in the KGHM’s copper mines in Polkowice
(Fig. 1), Poland (Katulski et al., 1997, Fabich and
Pytel, 2005). The results obtained were similar to other
stress measurements performed throughout the world
and they have proved that at the depth of 1100 m
below the surface, the average horizontal stress value
within the hard dolomite deposit is greater of about
50 pct. than the vertical stress value estimated to be
equal to 29.7 MPa. Despite of a limited number of
such measurements, their results could be used as
a basis for a practical extensive design comparative
study utylizing the very refined FEM quantitative
computations.
This paper objective is to prove an effect of high Figure 1. Location of Polkowice-Sieroszowice Mine.
horizontal stress presence/absence on a three-
dimensional mine panels’ behavior including six dif-
ferent working face geometries. Generalized geological profile generally includes
the following types of rocks:
• Motley sandstone: fine grain sandstone,
1.2 Geological conditions in the considered area
• Zechstein: clayey shale serie, claystone, gypsum,
The economically most valuable copper deposit in • Zechstein anhydrite serie, anhydrite with dolomite
Poland consists of stratoidal accumulations hosted inclusions,
in Lower Zechstein sediments from the Fore-Sudetic • Zechstein: salt rock,
Monocline and in the North-Sudetic Trough (Fig. 2). • Zechstein: dolomite,

505
Figure 2. Schematic geological section across the south part
of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline.
Figure 3. Geotechnical diversity of overburden strata within
the area of copper bearing deposit.
• Zechstein: carbonate serie, dolomite, limestone,
shale,
• Copper ore seam,
• Red floor sandstone: gray and red sandstone.
Geotechnical diversity of overburden strata within
the area of copper bearing deposit is roughly depicted
in Fig. 3 where are distinguished three main zones of
different geological features strongly influencing rock
mass stress-strain behavior resulted in different level
of safety. They are as follows:
• Central Zone – Zechstein formation of stiff
dolomite-anhydrite strata of 160–220 m of thickness
overlaid by 200–400 m of Triassic sandstone;
• Northern Zone – thickness of dolomite-anhydrite
structure of about 32–90 m with presence of rock
salt deposit and thick Triassic sandstone;
• Southern Zone – glacial deposits directly on Zech-
stein formation, no Triassic sandstone).
1.3 Room-and-pillar mining methods applied
in Polish copper mines
One phase room-and-pillar methods is generally prac-
ticed in Polish deep copper mines. (Fig. 4). In this
method the ore is mined out by one longer face
consisting of numerous room faces connected by
506
Figure 4. Diagram of one phase room-and-pillar mining
method.
workings with technological pillars securing roof
stability within the working space.
With the growing depth of exploitation and higher
variability of rock mass and roof characteristics, the
difficulties in using those methods caused by increas-
ing pressure, had been occurred. Problems with proper
adjustment of systems parameters (pillar dimensions,
rate of mining face progress etc.) to the given geology
and rock mass conditions, were noticed.
Elastic-plastic with strain softening characteristics
of yielding pillars allow the roof deflection in simi-
lar way as timber piles or dry backfill do in classical
mining methods. Roof caving takes place far from the
mining face front, after partial extraction of the tech-
nological pillars. To date experiences confirmed that
the bolted roof, has the tendency to deflection without
causing the caving on the mining front.
The most important issue was technological yield
pillars size selection providing the immediate and
main roof strata stability without the concentrations
of elastic energy stored within the rock-mass.
In order to illustrate the effect of the accepted of
mine workings’ geometry on roof strata stability, three
different mining geometries in one of the Sieroszowice
mine’s district have been modeled using 3D finite ele-
ment method assuming different materials within the
different rock mass deposits as well as the large hori-
zontal stress of the value measured previously in-situ.
The determined stress/deformation states were used
afterwards for quantitative characterization of the
effect of horizontal tectonic stress on system behavior.
Local rock mass load intensity and the related failure
possibility were assessed using the indicators called
safety margins related to several well known failure
criterions
2 CASE STUDY FROM SIEROSZOWICE MINE
2.1 General model based on FEM
As a basic physical model for the problem, the multi-
plate overburden model has been accepted with the
following simplifying assumptions (Fig. 5):
• overburden strata consists of several homogeneous
rock plates reflecting the real lithology in the area,

Figure 5. General view of the numerical model.
• technological and remnant pillars work effectively
within post-critical phase (elastic-plastic with strain
softening behavior),
• the value of carried loads depends on pillar size and
actual extraction ratio.
Geomechanical problem solution and results visu-
alization were based on the NEi/NASTRAN computer
program code utilizing FEM in three dimensions. It
was understood that all but the pillars’ materials reveal
a linear-elastic characteristics, whereas copper ore
rock mass behavior is represented by elasto-plastic
with strain softening kind of mechanical model. The
entire numerical model general boundary conditions
were described by displacement based relationships.
More information on the applied solution method may
be find elsewhere (Pytel, 2002).
Numerical experiments modeling three different
three-dimensional mine layouts (Fig. 1) were per-
formed, using two boundary condition sets defined
by presence or absence of horizontal additional stress.
The determined stress/deformation states were used
afterwards for quantitative characterization of the
effect of horizontal tectonic stress on system behavior
and safety using the indicators called safety margins
related to several well known failure criterions such
as: Coulomb-Mohr’s (Jaeger et al., 2007)
(where: σcm – unconfined compression strength in
rock mass, σ1,3 – major and minor principal stress
respectively, compression - positive) and suggested by
Bresler and Pister (1957):
where:
and A, B and C are positive material constants depen-
dent on angle of internal friction φ in rock mass:
507
Based on the above mentioned strength theories, the
respective safety margins have been formulated as
follows:
Rock mass instability potential is indicated by safety
margin value smaller than zero.
The safety margins’ spatial distribution served then
as a basic measure helpful in identifying areas of
higher failure risk. This kind of analysis permitted
selecting the safest mining layout of three considered,
and recommend it for the practical development in
Sieroszowice underground copper mine.
2.2 Geological conditions in the site
The copper ore deposit, located at the depth of 1018 m
is almost horizontally flat and is covered by very thick
and stiff main roof strata consisting of 16 m layer
of coherent dolomite overlaid by 183 m thick strong
anhydrite plate and 311 m thick competent sandstone
stratum. The averaged geological data over the consid-
ered area and the estimated rock mass parameters are
given in table 1.
Based on the material data presented in Table 1,
all material constants A,B and C (Eq. 3) have been
calculated (Table 2) and loaded up into the computer
model of the considered site FEM’s structure.
2.3 In-situ stress
Only two field measurements of in-situ stress has
been performed in the area of KGHM’s copper mines
within the hard lower dolomite stratum (Katulski et al.
1997, Fabich et al. 2002). Stress tensor components
originally expressed in the principal stress coordinate
system (1-2-3) has been transformed into the (h-H-z) –
system (h – direction of the least horizontal com-
ponent, H – direction of the greatest horizontal
component, z – direction of the vertical compo-
nent (the greatest horizontal stress component σH =
44.41 MPa acts at the angle of 301 deg from the North,
while the smallest σh = 19.8 MPa).
The stress components within the dolomite strata
have been adjusted by two-directional compression
(walls’ forced uniform displacements) of the rock
strata model. Selected values of forced displacements
Lx (along the x-x axis, Fig. 7) and Ly (along the
y-y axis) permitted obtaining the same stress compo-
nents within the dolomite strata as those which have
been field measured. The additional stress within dif-
ferent rock mass strata have been set up according to
the ratio of the rocks module of deformation – the
stronger strata are loaded more than weaker ones.
2.4 Development of alternate mine working
geometry in Sieroszowice mine
To illustrate the effect of varying face geometry as
well as high horizontal stress involvement, one of
 Table 1. Geological data in the analyzed area.

Strength Deformation parameters

∗
Thickness Co σcm φ∗ E ν
Rock m MPa MPa deg GPa –

Quaternary 56 – – – 0.07 0.30

Tertiary 347 – – – 0.07 0.30
Sandstone 311 76.5 11.5 32.4 5.0 0.15
Clayey shale 103 36.0 1.7 26.2 3.4 0.18
Anhydrite 183 93.1 19.5 35.2 14.0 0.25
Dolomite III 4 121.8 40.7 39.3 13.2 0.25
Dolomite II 10 149.2 63.9 45.8 14.6 0.26
Dolomite I 2 214.7 149.6 60.4 24.1 0.25
Copper ore∗∗ 2.4 116.0 – – 8.2 0.23
Gray sandstone 7 25.1 – – 4.7 0.16
Red sandstone 200 17.9 – – 2.6 0.13
∗
Compression strength and angle of internal friction in rock mass assessed acc. to Hoek’s (2007)
approach (see Fig. 6)
∗∗
Laboratory assessed strength values

Table 2. Material constants governing margins of safety

within overburden strata (Eq. 3).

A B C
Rock – – MPa

Sandstone 3.31 0.615 3.06

Clayey shale 2.58 0.488 0.53
Anhydrite 3.72 0.673 4.82
Dolomite III 4.69 0.780 8.23
Dolomite II 6.07 0.888 11.2
Dolomite I 14.3 1.154 12.9

Figure 6. Angle of internal friction and rock compression

strength in rock mass based on UCS (Hoek, 2007).

Sieroszowice mine’s district has been analyzed and

modeled using the finite element method formulated
in three dimensions (NEi/NASTRAN).
Two different mine workings basic geometries (pil-
lars 6 × 10 m) were evaluated from safety point of
view:
• Mining Geometry 1 (Figure 8),
• Mining Geometry 2 (Figure 9).
Calculated safety margin contours 14 m above the
immediate roof stratum within the dolomite III stratum
are shown in Figures 10–17.
Safety margins profiles along line A-B (Figs 8–9)
are shown in Figures 18–21.
Figure 7. The model loaded by additional uniform hori-
zontal displacements in x-x and y-y directions (Lx, Ly)
resulting in the same stress tensor components as in the field
measured within the dolomite strata.
3 CONCLUSIONS
The obtained analysis results have proved generally a
significant and very positive effect of a large value hor-
izontal (tectonic) stress presence on main roof strata

508
Figure 8. Mining Geometry 1 modeled using FEM.
Figure 11. Safety margin Fbp contour within dolomite III
stratum (Mining Geometry 1) without presence of additional
horizontal stress.

Figure 9. Mining Geometry 2 modeled using FEM.

Figure 12. Safety margin Fcm contour within dolomite III

stratum (Mining Geometry 1) with presence of additional
horizontal stress.

Figure 10. Safety margin Fcm contour within dolomite III

stratum (Mining Geometry 1) without presence of additional
horizontal stress.

stability. This mean that in such a case a bump hazard

(instability within main roof strata) has much lower Figure 13. Safety margin Fbp contour within dolomite III
potential than one could expect. However, since safety stratum (Mining Geometry 1) with presence of additional
margin contours differ depending on the mode of horizontal stress.

509
Figure 14. Safety margin Fcm contour within dolomite III
stratum (Mining Geometry 2) without presence of additional
horizontal stress.
Figure 15. Safety margin Fbp contour within dolomite III
stratum (Mining Geometry 2) without presence of additional
horizontal stress.
Figure 16. Safety margin Fcm contour within dolomite III
stratum (Mining Geometry 2) with presence of additional
horizontal stress.
510
Figure 17. Safety margin Fbp contour within dolomite III
stratum (Mining Geometry 2) with presence of additional
horizontal stress.
Figure 18. Safety margin Fcm profiles along line A-B
(Mining Geometry 1).
Figure 19. Safety margin Fbp profiles along line A-B
(Mining Geometry 1).
possible mechanism of failure, the conclusions should
be addressed to particular strength hypotheses used in
numerical analysis.
The results indicate also that mining geometry
modifications has a very limited influence on hazard
level in a large scale since it depends mostly on the

Figure 20. Safety margin Fcm profiles along line A-B
(Mining Geometry 2).
Figure 21. Safety margin Fbp profiles along line A-B
(Mining Geometry 2).
actual mining and geological conditions present also
in remote distances from the considered mining face.
In smaller scale however, roof fall hazard may
be higher since the large horizontal stress creates
511
conditions favoring shear failure mode development,
particularly at the roof-pillar corners. Using several
criterions of failure (based on different strength theo-
ries) one can perform however an optimization pro-
cedure with pillar residual strength as the decisive
parameter and determine spatial size distribution of
pillars in a mining panel for optimum ground control.
Design of yield pillar size spatially within a panel is
of utmost importance. Using of scientific procedures
to estimate dimensions of yield pillars spatially in a
mining layout will result in optimum extraction and
roof and pillar stability with controlled load transfer.
REFERENCES
Bresler, B. & Pister, K.S. 1957. Failure of plane concrete
under combined stresses. Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Engrs, 122:
1049–1068.
Fabich, S. & Pytel W. 2003. Określenie naprȩżeń w górot-
worze w różnych warunkach geologiczno-górniczych
na podstawie badań in-situ, Res. Rep. CBPM Cuprum,
Wroclaw.
Jaeger J.C., Cook N.G.W. & Zimmerman, R. 2007. Funda-
mentals of rock mechanics. Blackwell Publ.
Hoek, E. 2007. Practical rock engineering. www.rocscience
.com/hoek/Hoek.asp (2010).
Katulski A., Bugajski W., Bryja Z., Mike Fabjanczyk. 1997.
Pomiar przedeksploatacyjnego pola naprȩżeń w KGHM
Polska Miedź, O/ZG Rudna. Proc. Underground Exploita-
tion Workshop, Szczyrk: 67–75.
Pytel, W. 2003. Rock mass – mine workings interaction model
for Polish copper mine conditions, Int. J. of Rock Mech.
&Min. Sci. (40): 497–526.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Hydraulic jacking tests in crystalline rocks for hydroelectric

projects in Quebec, Canada

M. Quirion
Hydro-Québec, Unité Conception des aménagements de production–Hydraulique et géotechnique,
Montréal, Québec, Canada

J.-P. Tournier
Hydro-Québec, Ingénierie de production, Direction principale Expertise, Montréal, Québec, Canada

ABSTRACT: Since 1997, more than 250 hydraulic jacking tests have been conducted as part of the site
investigations for different Hydro-Quebec projects in the Canadian Shield. All of these projects are located in
the Grenville and Superior Geologic Province where the bedrock consists of crystalline igneous and metamorphic
rocks. Hydro jacking tests serve the objective of identifying an increase in transmissivity of the rock mass with
water pressure to define the upstream limit of pressure tunnel lining. A study of different test results demonstrates,
for depths less than 150 m, that the tested rock masses of massive crystalline rocks behave similarly. Analysis
of statistical data of minimum stress from shut-in curves and P-Q graphs are presented and compared with
the leakage of a pressure tunnel in operation. Interpretation methods certainly play a role in minimum stress
interpretation. It is also proposed that the ratio of initial fracture resistance to breaking and fracture reopening
pressure is a parameter to consider in the analysis of results.

1 INTRODUCTION

Since 1997, the hydraulic jacking test was added to the

list of tests to be performed for Hydro-Québec projects
that include the design of unlined pressure tunnels.
The use of this test was extended also to projects with
inclined penstocks. In most cases, the tests were con-
ducted at shallow depths, 150 m and less, except for
SM-3 which is not included in the present analysis as
it was at a depth of more than 250 m. Haimson & al.
(1996) presents some results for this specific project.
All tests were performed in crystalline rock and the
number of tests conducted until the present exceeds
two hundreds and fifty. Figure 1. Map showing project locations.
The objective of this paper is first to share Hydro-
Quebec’s experience, from test realization to result the years corresponding to design stages. The quantity
interpretation, and also to bring out a possible typical of tests performed and number of drill holes associ-
response to hydraulic jacking of the tested crystalline ated to these tests are presented; in general, five or six
rock masses. tests are performed within each borehole.

2.1 Test objectives

2 HYDROPOWER PROJECTS
All of the recent projects are located in the North-
ern part and in the North Shore of Quebec (Fig. 1).
Table 1 presents the list of projects that includes the
use of hydraulic jacking tests. SM-3, Toulnustouc and
Romaine-2 are intake tunnel of 8, 10 and 5 km in
length respectively and other project tests are related to
inclined penstocks. Also presented in this table is the
year of the test programs as they may be conducted over
The test objective is to determine the effect of an
increase in water pressure applied in the rock mass
open joints. This is well in accordance with Broch &
Dahlo (1997) stating that, for hydropower projects,
determination of rock mass stress field maybe of less
importance than knowing the effect of water in the
rock mass of the unlined portion of an intake tunnel.
One of the design steps includes the evaluation
of the minimum rock cover based on the Norwegian

513
 Table 1. Hydro projects that include hydro jacking tests.

Quantity Test Depth Reservoir

(max) pressure
Project Year Tests boreholes m MPa

SM-3 1997 13 4 250 3.2

2003 41 12
Toulnustouc 2003 83 18 145 1.6
2004
Péribonka 2003 30 5 100 0.9
2004 13 1
EM-1 2004 14 4 60 0.8
EM-1A 2004 12 3 80 0.8
Romaine-1 2004 19 2 85 0.6
Romaine-4 2004 9 1 60 1.1
Romaine-2 2008 12 3 150 1.7
2009 20 6

Criterion modified by Broch (1984). As a first esti- Table 2. Average mechanical properties of intact rock.
mate, during preliminary design stage, a safety factor
of 1.3 is considered. After conducting the tests, this UCS T0 E
factor maybe adjusted depending on results quality, Sector MPa MPa GPa ν E/UCS
quantity and rock mass properties.
Eastmain-1 244 20 70 0.20 288
Eastmain-1A 219 19 70 0.25 320
3 REGIONAL GEOLOGY Romaine 2 154 9 53 0.21 344
Toulnustouc 118 8 59 0.24 500
The province of Quebec (Canada) is formed by 90% Péribonka 174 12 49 0.20 282
of Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield and all
the recent Hydro Quebec projects are located in the
Grenville and Superior geological provinces of this gneisses, Peribonka and Romaine-4 in anorthosites
shield. Except for Eastmain-1 and Eastmain-1A pow- and Romaine-2 sits in monzonites. Laboratory tests
erhouses, which are located in the Superior, all the on intact rock are made for the determination of rock
other projects are excavated in the Grenville rock mechanical properties: uniaxial compressive strength
formations. (UCS), elastic modulus (E) and Poisson ratio (ν) and
The rocks of the Grenville Province consist mostly indirect tensile strength (T0 ). The ratio of E/UCS gives
of a variety of plutonic rocks: granites, monzonites, an indication of the modulus ratio for the intact rocks.
syenites, diorites, gabbros, anorthosites, etc. The According to Deere & Miller (1966) classification,
Grenville Province also contains metamorphic rocks: intact rock is in the average to medium class for mod-
meta-sedimentary rocks and a gneiss complex char- ulus ratio and high strength class for rock resistance.
acterized by a high grade of metamorphism. The Romaine 3 and 4 project are not at the phase of lab
Superior province is formed also of plutonic and meta- testing and no results are available at this time.
morphic rocks as described above. However, it does
also contain some volcanic rocks and the metamorphic
rocks show a lower grade of metamorphism than those 4 HYDRAULIC JACKING TEST DESCRIPTION
of the Grenville region. Joints, dykes, shear zones and
faults are the typical structures observed (Sharma & The equipment used and test set-up is typical and sim-
et al. 1975). ilar to what is described in standards (ASTM, 1989),
The region was completely covered by ice during suggested methods (ISRM, 2003) and in the literature
Pleistocene. The whole area shows many of the char- (Amadei et al. 1997): double packer systems, pumps,
acteristics of continentally glaciated regions. From an pressure sensors and high frequency data acquisition
engineering point of view, an important impact of the system.
glaciers retreat is the decompression of joints at shal-
low depths that may provoke their openings; some of
these particular joints are often oriented parallel to the 4.1 Test planning
topographic surface. Boreholes are drilled to reach the presumed location of
steel liner section of penstock, for the purpose of rock
mass characterization but also to conduct hydraulic
3.1 Intact rock engineering properties and types
jacking tests. For the optimization of the lined por-
More precisely, Eastmain projects are in gneisses tion of intake tunnels, boreholes are made sequentially
and granodiorites, Romaine-1 and Toulnustouc in along the tunnel axis and their number depends on the

514
 Table 3. Interpretation methods of test results.

Authors Graph Type H-Q

Gronseth & Kry (1983) P - t (inflexion) 

McLennan & Rogiers (1982)1P-log (t0 + t)/t
Doe et al. (1983) P - log t
log P-t
Zoback & Haimson (1982)1 log √
P - log t
Sookprasong (1986)1 P- t
Tunbridge (1989) dP/dt – P 
Hayashi & Sakurai (1989) Max. curvature
Aamodt & Kuriyagawa (1983) log (P-Pa) - t
Enever & Chopra (1986) P-t intersect 
Lee & Haimson (1989) P-t curve fit
P–Q 
Doe & Korbin (1987) P – Q min 
Hartmaier (1998) P-Q intersect & max 
Rutqvist & Stephansson (1996) P – Q at 0-flow 

1
Refereed in SINTEF (1999)

Figure 2. Typical unfolded borehole televiewer images
a) digital image b) acoustic images before and after hydro-
jacking test; arrows show new fractures.
Figure 3. Typical P-T curve showing 4 test cycles; maxi-
mum breakout (Pb max) pressure and maximum third cycle
pressure (P3 max) are shown.
results obtained. For inclined penstock, generally one
or two boreholes are made and tests performed at the
level of the curved section.
Hydro jacking test planning makes an extensive use
of the borehole televiewer optical images to locate
existing joints and, if present, open joints. The bore-
hole televiewer allows also to obtain “acoustic images”
of the borehole wall (Fig. 2). After hydro jacking tests,
images are compared to see the effect on existing frac-
tures or new fractures that may have been created.
If joints are not observed in the interval located at
the future tunnel elevation, hydro-fracturing tests are
performed.
4.2 Testing procedure
After borehole clean-up, completion of borehole tele-
viewer surveys and measurement of existing pore
water pressure, the equipment is set-up in place by
inflating the packers. The cycling procedure, illus-
trated in Figure 3, includes: 1st cycle–Existing fracture
opening; 2nd cycle–Fracture extension and shut-in;
3rd cycle–Fracture re-opening and shut-in; 4th cycle–
Stage testing.
This procedure is slightly modified when hydro
fracturing tests are performed. Test duration varies, in
general, from 3 to 6 hours and some adjustments can
be made depending on fracture response. Numerous
interpretation methods to determine the shut-in pres-
sure or minimum stress are described in the literature.
Table 3 presents several of them with the graph type
associated.
This table should not be considered as an exten-
sive review and some of them are widely described
and refereed in a SINTEF report (1999). The meth-
ods used in Hydro-Quebec’s projects for interpretation
purpose are checked in the H-Q column. From this, it
is seen that no unique method is considered for results
interpretation as recommended by the ISRM (2003).
5 HYDROJACKING TESTS ANALYSIS
In the next sections, a statistical analysis of all the data
is proposed. The objective is to evaluate the overall
tendency of the data for the type of rock mass tested.
5.1 Peak pressures of 1st and 3rd cycles
First analysis integrates data of the first cycle peak
pressure, called the breakout pressure, and the third
cycle maximum pressure. The pressure level of the
first cycle causes the existing fracture to break and
the second and third cycles re-open the fracture before
performing the stage testing of the 4th cycle. The val-
ues of peak pressures are raw data where there is no
intervention of graphical (or mathematical) methods
for interpretation. The breakout pressure is noted Pb
max and the maximum pressure of the third cycle is
noted P3 (Fig. 3).
Table 4 presents the ratio of maximum breakout
pressure and third cycle maximum pressure. The table
shows the number of data (n) used in the analysis, min-
imum and maximum values and the average value of

515
Table 4. Ratio of maximum breakout pressure (Pb ) and 3rd
cycle maximum pressure (P3 ).

Pb max/P3 max

Project n Min Max Avg Std. Dev

Eastmain 1 15 1.1 2.6 1.5 0.4

Eastmain 1A 12 1.1 2.8 1.8 0.6
Romaine 1 12 1.1 2.0 1.5 0.3
Romaine 2 12 1.2 3.3 1.8 0.5 Figure 4. Tangent intersections used for interpretation in P-t
Romaine 4 5 1.0 1.8 1.4 0.3 and Q-P graphs.
Toulnustouc 67 0.6 2.8 1.5 0.5
Péribonka 26 1.0 4.3 1.7 0.7 Table 6. Interpreted values of minimum stress for the
different projects.

Table 5. Ratio of maximum breakout pressure (Pb ) and Interpreted minimum stress (MPa)
operating pressure of tunnel or inclined penstock (Po ).
Project n Min Max Avg Std. Dev
Pb /Po
Eastmain 1 15 1.1 2.7 1.6 0.4
Project n Min Max Avg Std. Dev Eastmain 1A 12 1.1 2.1 1.4 0.3
Romaine 1 19 1.1 3.7 2.5 0.8
Eastmain 1 15 5.4 12.8 7.8 2.2 Romaine 2 30 1.2 3.1 2.1 0.5
Eastmain 1A 12 3.0 8.8 4.7 1.9 Romaine 4 8 1.0 4.2 2.5 1.0
Romaine 1 17 5.3 11.0 8.4 1.7 Toulnustouc 78 0.6 8.2 2.6 1.7
Romaine 2 10 2.6 5.8 4.9 0.9 Péribonka 35 0.8 3.1 1.8 0.6
Romaine 4 9 2.3 8.9 5.3 2.4
Toulnustouc 76 1.4 12.9 4.7 2.3
Péribonka 43 2.4 10.2 6.6 2.3
(Tab. 3). The listed methods are used to best evaluate
the minimum stress acting on fracture plane. However,
pressure values at the point of tangent intersections in
Pb max/P3 max ratio with the corresponding standard P-t and Q-P graphs serve at first to make this evaluation
deviation. (Fig. 4). Final interpretation is made by analyzing test
For all the projects, the average values for the quality, water absorption test and other interpretation
Pb max/P3 max ratio varies from 1.4 to 1.8 which is method results.
relatively constant. A variation of the maximum value Table 6 presents the statistical values for the inter-
of ratio is observed as it is ranging from 1.8 to 4.3. preted minimum stress from hydro jacking testing
However, it should be noted that the low maximum programs of the different projects. From this table, two
value of 1.8 for Romaine-4 is based on the analysis of ranges of values are observed: values around 1.5 MPa
only 5 test results. for Eastmain and Péribonka projects and 2.5 MPa for
Romaine and Toulnustouc. It is noticed that the higher
5.2 Breakout and operating pressure ratio values of standard deviation are related to the projects
that have the highest and lowest number of tests. Also,
Comparison of the maximum breakout pressure (Pb )
observed is the fact that Toulnustouc project has the
and the operating pressure (P0 ), i.e. static water pres-
highest maximum value of 8.2 MPa and the tests where
sure to sustain, of the unlined tunnel is made by
also realized at higher depth in the rock mass.
calculating the ratio Pb /Po ,Table 5 presents the value of
Comparison of four different values is presented in
that ratio with the related statistical values. It appears
Table 7: third cycle peak pressure (P3 max), P-Q dia-
that the initial breakout of fracture is always higher
grams tangent intersection (P-Q intersect.), inflexion
than the pressure that the tunnel will experience. It
starting point (ISIP inflex.) and tangent intersection
has to be mentioned that this result has less interest
(ISIP min) of shut-in curves. Note that for a spe-
when interconnected open fractures are present in the
cific test, the ISIP min value often corresponds to the
rock mass. However, if scarce fracturing of rock mass
minimum interpreted stress for the project (Tab. 6).
is observed, it may be thought that the increase of
From this table, it is seen that P3 max is generally
water circulation needs fracture interconnections. To
stable ranging from 4 to 5.5 MPa except for Eastmain-
generate this interconnection between fractures, the
1A for which the average is lower. For P-Q intersection,
breakout pressure has to be reached to initiate fracture
average values are between 2.7 and 3.8 MPa except
propagation and allow them to connect.
for Eastmain-1A However, a maximum of 2.2 MPa is
obtained for this value.
5.3 Minimum stress interpreted values Average values for ISIP inflexion point is from 2.5
As mentioned in the previous section, different meth- to 4. In this case, Eastmain-1A project shows a lower
ods are used for minimum stress determination average value of ISIP inflexion point. Finally, average

516
Table 7. Average values of stresses from different interpre-
tation methods.

Mean P3 P-Q ISIP ISIP

Depth max Intersect. Inflex min
Project m MPa MPa MPa MPa

Eastmain 1 60 4.3 2.7 3.1 1.6

Eastmain 1A 70 2.1 1.7 (2.2) 1.9 1.4
Romaine 1 70 4.3 3.8 4.0 2.5
Romaine 2 100 5.2 2.7 3.3 2.1
Romaine 4 60 5.5 3.8 3.9 2.5
Toulnustouc 130 5.6 2.8 2.6 2.6
Péribonka 100 4.1 3.8 2.5 1.8

values for ISIP min is ranging from 1.4 to 2.6. For

most of the project, ISIP min values are the lowest of Figure 5. Frequency distribution of minimum interpreted
all other values compared in Table 7. stress for Toulnustouc project

6 DISCUSSION

It is interesting that comparison of the breakout pres-

sure and the maximum pressure of 3rd cycle of tests
leads to the determination of a relatively constant aver-
age ratio ranging from 1,4 to 1,8 (Tab. 6). One could
assume that, for the crystalline rock masses studied,
the average value of ratio Pb max/P3 max represents
a typical signature of the fracture initiation/reopening
process to be used in overall assessment of rock mass
behavior to hydraulic jacking test. The values that are
used to calculate this ratio are not affected by data inter-
pretation methods because they are raw data from tests.
Also, it is observed that the different values in
Table 7 for all projects are generally in the same range:
P3 max value is averaging around 5 MPa, P-Q intersect
and ISIP inflexion is averaging around 3.5 MPa and
average ISIP min (and minimum interpreted stress) is
around 2 MPa. As mentioned in previous section, ISIP
min corresponds generally to the interpreted value of
minimum stress (Tab. 6) for a given project.
For studied projects, P-Q intersect. and ISIP min
are certainly the ones that serve most for the design of
the lined section of pressure tunnels. ISIP min value
is, in most of the cases, lower than P-Q intersection
value and ISIP inflexion. On a statistical basis, it is
seen that the inflexion point of the shut-in pressure
graphs agrees with the P-Q intersect value. Inflex-
ion point may then serve for a preliminary evaluation
or validation of the P-Q intersect. value for stress
determination.
In evaluating the minimum stress acting perpen-
dicular to a fracture, ISIP min maybe seen as a more
conservative value of minimum stress. The particular
case of the Toulnustouc project may serves to illustrate
this aspect.
For the Toulnustouc tunnel, which has a length of
10 km, two areas of low stress were identified: Zone 1
near the powerhouse, related to a topographic nose, and
Zone 2 related to the presence of a river valley with a
shear zone near the tunnel alignment. Table 6 presents
Figure 6. Estimated leakage of Toulnustouc tunnel with
water pressure.
values of minimum interpreted stress ranging from 0.6
to 8.2 MPa and Figure 5 shows frequency distribution
of data for Toulnustouc. Maximum operating pressure
of tunnel is 1.6 MPa and safety factors lower than 1.3
were calculated from stress measurements.
For Zone 2, located approximately 3 km from pow-
erhouse, a major concern was the overburden stability
that could be threatened if pressurized water reaches
the surface. A series of relief holes was drilled above
the tunnel to act as drains if jacking occurs and water
is directed to the surface (Rancourt et al. 2006a)
In 2005, after completion of the project, filling of
tunnel was made and estimation of leakage was real-
ized as described by Rancourt et al. 2006b. The values
of estimated leakage in 2005 are presented in Figure 6.
In 2006 and 2008, dewatering of tunnel was made
for maintenance purposes. Estimations of leakage
from tests realized during re-filling of the tunnel are
also presented in Figure 6. The values of leakage after
few years of operation are in the same range and there
is no significant evolution.
Figure 6 presents a Q-P graph of leakage in the
same manner of hydro jacking results (Fig. 4). In the
comparison of P-Q curve of hydro jacking tests with
the increase of leakage with reservoir pressure it is

517
interesting that the curve in Figure 6 shows a break
point when hydrostatic pressure in tunnel reaches
1.5 MPa. This value corresponds approximately to the
operating pressure.
As described, ISIP min may be regarded as conser-
vative interpretation method. From Table 7, one could
calculate an average ratio of 1.5 between ISIP min and
P-Q intersect. values. By taking the lowest values of
stresses for Toulnustouc (Fig. 5) and applying the fac-
tor of 1.5, the minimum stress reaches approximately
1 MPa which is below the minimum value of in situ
stress requested. The fact that few low values were
observed and that these interpreted values are conser-
vative may contribute to explain that no uncontrolled
jacking was observed in the Toulnustouc project but
only an increase in tunnel leakage.
7 CONCLUSION
Results of hydraulic jacking tests conducted at shallow
depth in crystalline rock mass show a typical constant
response to breaking/re-opening pressure. Values of
P3 max are averaging around 5 MPa, P-Q intersects
and ISIP inflexions are averaging around 3.5 MPa and
average ISIP min (and minimum interpreted stress)
is around 2 MPa. Interpreted values, of local mini-
mum stress, with ISIP min are always the lowest value
compared to P-Q intersect.
Leakage analysis of Toulnustouc shows that some
low values of interpreted minimum stresses were mea-
sured. However, no uncontrolled jacking was observed
but an increase of leakage. This increase maybe related
to an increase of rock mass saturation with water pres-
sure. To explain this behavior, one could put together
the fact that ISIP min may be more conservative, ini-
tial resistance of fracture to breaking, represented by
Pb /P3 ratio, may be associated with fracture stiffness
or strength inherent to crystalline rock mass.
It is proposed that future studies focus on the
nature of fracture and its stiffness; dilatometer test-
ing could be an interesting tool to consider. Also,
in situ simultaneous measurements of water pressure
and fracture displacement variations around pressure
tunnels during filling are certainly of interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Hydro-Quebec’s Man-
agement teams of different projects for the permission
to publish the results. Also, the support of the person-
nel at investigations sites was essential in conducting
the in situ tests. Special thanks to M. Dominic Babin
of Qualitas who conducted the tests and prepared all
the data reports.
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Numerical modeling
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Development of method for evaluation of three dimensional distribution

of in situ stress state and preliminary estimation of applicability

Takeo Tanno & Toru Hirano

Crystalline Environment Research Group, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan

Hiroya Matsui
Crystalline Environment Engineering Group, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan

ABSTRACT: Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed a method for accurate evaluation of the distributions
of actual in situ stress state at any point using limited results of in situ stress measurements from surface based
investigations. We assumed that the actual stress components are formed by a combination of overburden pressure
and plate tectonic force, and constructed two types of model, three-dimensional finite element and boundary
element models that considered the presence of geological heterogeneities, such as variations in rock type and
faults. Afterwards, as a validation of these models, we applied this method to in situ stress state evaluation for
some locations around the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU).

1 INTRODUCTION 2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE MIU

In the design of underground structures, it is important Figure 1 shows the location of the MIU and the site
to incorporate information on the in situ stress field geology. The MIU is located in Mizunami City, Gifu,
not only for design purposes, but also for the safe con- Japan. The investigations at the MIU site started in the
struction and operation of the underground structure. 2002 fiscal year and excavation of the shaft began later
Generally, the scale of the structure will determine that year.
the stress measurement needs for quantitative under- MIU consists of two shafts with diameters of 6.5 m
standing of the in situ stress field. However, obtaining and 4.5 m. The shafts had reached 460 m depth by
sufficient measurements can be very difficult because March, 2010. They are connected horizontally by sub-
of the limitations such as budget, schedule and size of stages at 100 m intervals, with a major research stage at
underground construction. 300 m depth. Additional horizontal research stages are
In the case of a high level waste repository that may planned at 500 m and 1000 m depth for geoscientific
occupy several cubic kilometers of underground space, studies.
understanding of the in situ stress field is important to
minimize development of excavation disturbed zones
around tunnels and shafts.
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been
investigating the development of a methodology to
estimate the in situ stress field based on limited stress
measurements. In the conventional method, gravity
alone has been considered to calculate an in situ stress
field (Mizuta et al. 1997). However, most existing
studies (Mizuta et al 1997, Sulistianto et al 1998) of
in situ stress suggest that horizontal stress caused by
plate tectonic forces should be considered for quanti-
tative understanding of the in situ stress field. In this
paper, the numerical simulation methods developed to
consider horizontal stress due to plate tectonics are
introduced and the application of the method using
in situ stress data from the MIzunami Underground
research laboratory (MIU) are presented. Figure 1. Location of MIU (minor alteration, JAEA 2007).

521
 The geology around the MIU construction site is G
and γxy are added and at the boundary of an area, these
composed of the late Cretaceous to Paleogene, Toki stresses are defined by Eq. (2);
granite overlain by 180 meters of Miocene to Pliocene
sedimentary rock. A fault, the Tsukiyoshi Fault, E-
W strike and steep dip, offsets the entire geological
sequence to the north of the MIU site (JAEA 2007).

3 EXPRESSION OF IN SITU STRESS FIELD

AND APPLIED NUMERICAL SIMULATION
METHODS
The stress at an arbitrary point in the area is defined as
the local stress in this study. If the local stress is σijL (x),
σijL (x) can be defined by Eq. (1) as a function express-
ing a disturbance by either geographical features and
geology shown as the function of “F” or “G”;
where, E and ν are elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio
respectively.
In addition, if we consider the stress due to gravity,
assuming uniform density, the regional stress,σijG is
expressed by Eq. (3), the sum of the stresses due to
gravity and those stresses defined by Eq. (2) (Kaneko.
2000).

where σijG and εGij are the regional stress field and strain
field respectively and these are equivalent in elasticity.
Therefore, these are defined as the regional stress field
in this paper (Mizuta et al. 2003).
In Eq. (1), if “F” or “G” is determined, the stress
at an arbitrary point in the area, namely local stress, 4.2 Formulation for calculation of regional
can be calculated from the regional stress field (for- stress field
ward analysis). Alternatively, the regional stress field
can be reversely calculated from local stress (inverse The stress at an arbitrary point, x in the area, σijL (x) is
analysis). In this study, F or G is defined by using the defined by Eq. (4) from Eq. (1) and Eq. (3);
measured local stress first. Then, the in situ stress field
in a target area is estimated by the regional stress field
calculated in Eq. (1).
In this report, we introduce two different numer-
ical approaches based on the finite element method
where, σij0 (x, ρg) is the local stress caused by the over-
(FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM). The
burden pressure at point x, and the effect of gravity.
former considers the distribution of different mechan-
Also,σijX (x, εG Y G XY G
xx ), σij (x, εyy ) and σij (x, γxy ) are the local
ical properties that correlate to geological structures.
The latter consider large discontinuities such as the stresses at an arbitrary point x determined by adding
Tsukiyoshi fault. The details are described in Sections the displacement equivalent to the normal strain, εG xx ,
4 and 5. εG G
yy and the shear strain, γxy at the boundary of an area,
and the term related to the regional strain.
Eq. (4) can be rewritten as Eq. (5) because of linear
ship;
4 THE METHOD FOR CALCULATING THE
DISTRIBUTION OF IN SITU STRESS IN
HETEROGENEOUS ROCK STRATA AND
THE APPLICATION

4.1 Definition of the regional stress field
In the previous section, we mentioned that the regional
stress field should consider horizontal stress due to
both gravity and plate tectonic forces. The former is
the stress defined as the overburden pressure restrained
by the boundary area. The latter is the stress caused by
regional strain due to plate tectonic force.
The regional stresses derived from the regional
T T T
strain are shown as σxx , σyy and σxy . If we assume that
the rock mass is a homogeneous elastic body and the
displacement corresponds with regional strain, εG G
xx , εyy
where, cx = εG xx /εxx0 , cy = εG yy /εyy0 and cxy =
γ G xy /γxy0 , and εxx0 , εyy0 and γxy0 are constant. If the
stress at the measurement point, xn is shown as σijM (xn ),
Eq. (6) holds.
That is, if we had already assumed εxx0 , εyy0 and
γxy0 are constant for estimation of local stress in the
analysis, we can estimate the regional stress in relation
to the measured stress from Eq. (6)

522
 Now, the observation equation is Eq. (7), and the
constitutive equation is Eq. (8).

where,

Figure 2. The analytical area.

The Eq. (8) estimate of the regional strain is

important for examination of the sensitivity of the
model’s parameters. This is because the estimated
regional stain is affected by both model shape and rock
mechanical constants.
It is especially important to examine the rock
mechanical constants; bulk density, Young’s modu-
lus and Poisson’s ratio in Eq. (4). Bulk density can
be determined precisely in the lab, testing or density
logging etc. However, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s
ratio in a rock mass must be calibrated because of large
uncertainty.
The unbiased variance is shown as eA , and defined
by Eq. (9);
where,
In the examination of the sensitivity of the model
parameters, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are
changed relative to each other to calculate eA . The
Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio in which eA is
the minimum were used to calculate the in situ stress
field.
4.3 Overview of the stress measurements around
MIU construction site and in the analyzed area
The location of the boreholes with stress measure-
ments are shown in Fig. 2 Five boreholes are at
Tono mine and three are at the Shobasama site in a
Figure 3. The geology and rock mechanical properties.
3 km × 3 km area. The depth of the boreholes ranges
from several hundred meters to 1 km. Stress measure-
ments were carried out by hydraulic fracturing. The in
situ stresses were measured at several depths in each
borehole. The number of stress measurement points is
ninety.
To construct the three-dimensional mechanical
model reflecting geological structure and the results
of borehole investigations (JAEA 2000), we separated
the rock strata into layers, I to IV with depths as shown
in Fig. 3. Bulk density was estimated based on lab,
testing and density logging.
Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio in the rock
mass are treated as unknown parameters.Young’s mod-
ulus is normalized as specific Young’s modulus E4.
There are three unknowns, E1/E4, ν1 and ν4 in this
analysis.
4.4 Calculation of the regional stress field
The three-dimensional (finite-element) mechanical
model constructed is shown in Fig. 4. The size of
this model is 3.4 km × 3 km × about 1 km and we
estimated the regional stress field at this scale. The
numerical simulation method applied is FEM. This
model consists of hexahedron elements. The size of

523
Figure 4. The three dimensional finite element model
(3.4 km × 3 km × about 1 km.
Figure 5. The results of the sensitivity analyses using
specific Young’s modulus, E1 /E4 and bulk density, ν1
and ν4.
an element is 20 m × 20 m in the horizontal plane, and
the number of the elements in the vertical direction
is 25. The number of elements and nodes are 637,500
and 671,346, respectively.
Next, we estimated the regional stress field for the
MIU area and examined the effects of specificYoung’s
modulus, E1 /E4 and Poisson’s ratio, ν1 and ν2 based
on the stresses measured at the Tono and Shobasama
sites. The results of the sensitivity analyses for the rock
mechanical constants are shown in Fig. 4.
Note in Fig. 5, the unbiased variance is mini-
mized by the combination of E1 /E4 = 0.1, ν1 = 0.4
and ν4 = 0.3, namely the combination given the most
probable value. The results correspond with laboratory
testing of rock samples.
As well, the calculated regional strain (×10−3
xx = −0.351, εyy = −0.437. Here, Young’s
strain) is εG G
modulus of E1 and E4 were estimated to be 2 GPa and
20 GPa based on laboratory testing.
4.5 Estimation of the in situ stress field at MIU
By using the calculated regional stress field in Sec-
tion 4.4, we calculated the in situ stress field around
524
Figure 6. Comparison of measured and calculated stresses
around MIU.
the MIU to compare the estimated stresses with the
measured ones.
On the other hand, in situ stress measurements in
the “MIZ-1” borehole drilled at the MIU construction
site were carried out. Also, in situ stress measurements
at 100 m and 200 m depth were performed in the shaft.
The comparisons of results with the calculated in situ
stresses around MIU are shown in Fig. 6.
The magnitudes of the measured and the calculated
stresses are a little different, but the change with depth
is quite similar. In particular, the change in the trend
with depth at 600 m is evident.
5 THE METHOD OF CALUCULATING THE
DISTRIBUTION OF IN SITU STRESS IN A
LARGE DISCONTINUOUS BODY WITH
NONLINEAR COMPONENTS AND ITS
APPLICATION
5.1 Definition of the regional stress field
The regional stress field is defined by Eq. (10) (Mizuta.
2006). This definition assumes a stress component
with non-linear depth variation due to plate tectonic
force, in addition to gravitational as in Eq. (3).
where,
And where, σ0 is the regional stress at a depth of h, α
is the matrix affected by gravity, αx = αy = ν/(1 − ν),
αz = 1, and S is the constant stress with depth. Each
of a,b and k show nonlinear parameters to express
horizontal plate tectonic stress.
5.2 Calculation of regional stress field
5.2.1 Development of the boundary element
analysis code in the heterogeneous model
Boundary element analysis has the advantage of hold-
ing true for an infinite body. On the other hand, it is
impossible to apply to a heterogeneous model having
differential properties.
Therefore, we developed a new numerical simu-
lation code to handle a heterogeneous model. Detail
describe in Ref (Kuriyama et al. 1993, 1995 and 1999)
(Mizuta et al. 2003).
5.2.2 Equation to estimate distribution
of in situ stress
If the local stress at point i is (σ ci ), (σ ci ) is defined as
Eq. (11).
where, p = x, y, z q = x, y, xy
If the measured stress at point i is shown as
(σ mi )(i = 1 ∼ N ), it can be defined by Eq. (12), and
the observation equation is defined by Eq. (13).
Because αx , αy and αz are determined by Poisson’s
ratio, the unknown quantities are the six numbers
Sx , Sy , Sxy , kx , ky and kxy , and the regional stress field
is estimated using the least-squares method for the
unknown quantities.
5.3 Modeling of the stress measurement points
and the analyzed area
The stress data used for this analysis is the same as in
Section 4. The mechanical model is divided into two
layers. The upper layer is sedimentary rock formed of
sandstone and mudstone with a maximum thickness
of 150 m. The lower layer is massive Toki Granite. A
large discontinuity, the “Tsukiyoshi Fault” is included
to the model. The fault was simply set as a plane with
an EW strike and dip of 60 degrees to the south.
525
Figure 7. The boundary element model.
Table 1. The calculated regional stress field.
Sx (MPa) −1.99
Sy (MPa) −3.45
Sxy (MPa) 0.755
kx (MPa) −0.778
ky (MPa) −0.674
kxy (MPa) 0.168
5.4 Calculation of the regional stress field
The model used for BEM analysis is shown in Fig. 7.
The size is 3.2 km × 2.4 km in the horizontal plane, and
about 1 km vertically. The size of individual elements
is 200 m × 200 m in a horizontal plane. The Tsukiyoshi
Fault was modeled by the Displacement Discontinuity
Method (DDM) joint elements.
At first, the two constants, a and b in Eq. (10) were
determined to be 904.6 and 812.1 respectively using
the simplex method based on measured stress data.
Then, the regional stress field was estimated using
the least-squares method, Eq. (12). In Table 1, the
estimated regional stress field is shown.
5.5 Estimation of the in situ stress field at MIU
By using the calculated regional stress field in Sec-
tion 5.4, we calculated the in situ stress field around the
MIU to compare the estimated stresses with the mea-
sured stresses. Calculation of the in situ stress field
was applied using a forward analysis by the finite
difference method. The model analyzed is shown in
Fig. 8.
The results of the calculated in situ stresses around
the MIU are compared in Fig. 9. There is little dif-
ference between calculated and measured stresses.
The calculated stresses basically increase with depth
and this trend is consistent with the change of mea-
sured stresses. The calculated stresses fluctuate even
though the properties of Toki Granite are assumed to
be homogeneous. We infer that the reason for this is
the presence of the fault included in the model.
6 CONCLUSION
In this study, we developed two different numeri-
cal simulation methods to estimate the in situ stress
field based on limited stress measurements around

Figure 8. The model of the finite difference method.
Figure 9. The comparison between measured and calculated
stresses around MIU.
an underground structure. In traditional methods, the
mean trend of the in situ stress variation with depth
is estimated considering gravity alone. However, the
numerical simulation methods developed can estimate
local stress variations quantitatively by considering the
horizontal stress components due to plate tectonics.
Section 4 presents the geological model that was
constructed by dividing the bedrock geology into four
layers and assigning different rock properties to each.
With this approach, we could determine the most prob-
able rock property values for estimates of the regional
stress field in the models. In Section 5, ordinary BEM
code was improved so as to be able to consider the
actual geological structure and a large structural dis-
continuity. Then, the improved numerical code applied
the regional stresses calculated and the in situ stress
field was estimated by forward analysis using the finite
difference method.
The results indicate that the finite element approach
described in Section 4 for modeling the heterogeneity
of the rock mass, can evaluate stress more precisely
compared to the BEM approach described in Section
5. However, it is important to consider large disconti-
nuities, which can affect the in situ stress field and to
establish the methodology for the modeling.
526
Stress measurements at greater depths will be car-
ried out and comparison made with the calculated
in situ stress around the MIU. In addition, three-
dimensional mechanical models will be improved
using new mechanical and geological data obtained
during continued excavation of the MIU and the
influence of large discontinuous will be studied for
estimates of the in situ stress field.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study acknowledges the studies of Dr. MIZUTA1
and Dr. KANEKO2 , supported by JAEA. We are
indebted to them for help.
REFERENCES
Fujii S, Horinokuchi K, Kato H, Kato Y, Kido T, Kimura N,
Mizuta Y, Singu K. 1997. Determination of a Regional
Stress Field from the Measurement Result of Local Rock
Bed Stress. Shigento to Sozai
Sulistianto B, Kido T, Mizuta Y. 1998. Determination of far
Field Stress from the Point Stress measurement. Shigento
to Sozai
JAEA. 2007. Final Report on the Surface-based Investiga-
tion (Phase 1) at the Mizunami Underground Laboratory
Project.
Kaneko K, Matsuki K, Mizuta Y, Sudo S, Sugawara K. 2003.
Study on Improved Procedure for Determination of Three
Dimensional Distributions of the Initial Rock Stresses
(Second Report): 2–3
Ito K, Kaneko K, Kato M, Nakamura N, Obara Y, Yoneda T.
2000. Estimation of Global Stress State in Mt. Torigata
Region. Shigen-to-Sozai
JAEA. 2000. The Result of the Geomechanical Investigations
in the MIU-3 Borehole and the Conceptual Geomechan-
ical Model of the Toki Granite in Shobasama Area: JNC
TN7420 2001–001
Kaneko K, Matsuki K, Mizuta Y, Sudo S, Sugawara K.
2006.Advanced Study for Determination of Three Dimen-
sional Distributions of the Initial Rock Stresses (Second
Report): 16
Kuriyama, Mizuta. 1993, Kuriyama et al. 1995, Ryu et al.
1999
Kaneko K, Matsuki K, Mizuta Y, Sudo S, Sugawara K. 2003.
Study on Improved Procedure for Determination of Three
Dimensional Distributions of the Initial Rock Stresses
(Second Report): 56–66
Kaneko K, Matsuki K, MizutaY, Sudo S, Sugawara K. 2003–
2004. Study on Improved Procedure for Determination
of Three Dimensional Distributions of the Initial Rock
Stresses (First, Second and Third Report)
Kaneko K, Matsuki K, Mizuta Y, Sudo S, Sugawara K.
2005–2007. Advanced Study for Determination of Three
Dimensional Distributions of the Initial Rock Stresses
(First, Second and Third Report)
1
Yoshiaki MIZUTA; Professor, Department of EcoDesign,
Sojo University
2
Katsuhiko KANEKO; Professor, Graduate School OF Engi-
neering Division of Field Engineering for Environment,
Hokkaido University
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Dynamic mechanisms of the 2008 MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China:

New insights from numerical simulation by Finite Element Methods

Shoubiao Zhu
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The sudden and unexpected Wenchuan earthquake occurred on the Longmen Shan Fault. The
dynamic mechanisms of the event remain enigmatic although much work has been done by scientists. In order
to know more about the behaviors of the Longmen Shan thrust fault, we simulate the occurrence of earthquakes
on the fault by means of viscoelastic finite element method, with gravity being included in the model. The
result shows that the average earthquake recurrence time on the Longmen Shan fault is very long, ∼3,257
years. Basically, the modeled coseismic displacements have characteristics of ones for a typical thrust fault. The
distribution patterns of the coseismic changes of stresses and energy are consistent with ones of aftershocks,
which occurred mainly in the region where the coseismic changes of stresses and energy are increased, or possibly
on the region where the coseismic changes of stresses and energy are not released completely. Moreover, The
model results indicate that the earthquake initiated from slip on a fault plane dipping 30◦ –40◦ northwest in depth
range from 15 to 20 km, and triggered slip on the high-angle segment of the fault at depths shallower than 15 km
to form large earthquakes such as the Wenchuan earthquake.
Keywords: Wenchuan earthquake; dynamic mechanisms; Longmen Shan fault; finite element.

1 INTRODUCTION (http://www.djy.gov.cn) there, which is still in service

On May 12th 2008, the devastating Wenchuan earth-
quake (Ms = 8.0) struck the densely populated China’s
Sichuan Province (31.0◦ N, 103.4◦ E) (CENC, 2008).
The earthquake occurred by slips on multiple, imbri-
cate, high-angle (60◦ to 80◦ ) reverse faults. The surface
rupture is ∼240 km long with maximum vertical off-
set ∼9.0 m and ∼4.9 m right-slip. More than 80,000
people were killed, and over 370,000 people injured
in the earthquake. It is the most disastrous event in
China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which
killed more than 240,000 people.
The sudden and unexpected Wenchuan earthquake
occurred on the Longmen Shan thrust belt, divid-
ing line between the Tibetan Plateau and the Sichuan
Basin. Although the steep western margin of the
Sichuan basin is known to be seismically active, few,
if any, earth scientists anticipated an event of this
magnitude there. At least 3 main observations were
responsible for this biased viewpoint. First of all, on
the Longmen Shan fault belt, there have been no earth-
quakes with magnitude greater than 7 occurred in the
long history of human civilization. In this area, the ear-
liest sensitive earthquake recorded in local literature
occurred in 278 AD, more than 1700yr ago. Since then,
there have been no strong earthquakes recorded with
seismic magnitudes exceeding 7.0 in and around the
Longmen Shan fault zone (Wen, et al., 2009). In addi-
tion, the area around the main shock has been a high
civilization, as early as in 256 BC, the world famous
hydraulic engineering, Dujiangyan, was constructed
today. We can see there is no large and very destruc-
tive earthquakes took place on the Longmen Shan fault
zone in recent 2000 years. Secondly, Global Position-
ing System (GPS) measurements (King et al., 1997;
Chen et al., 2000; Shen et al., 2005; Zhang et al.,
2004; Gan et al., 2007) and active faulting studies
(Burchfiel et al., 1995, 2008; Densmore et al., 2007;
Zhou et al., 2007) reveal very slow (>2–3 mm/yr) slip
rates across the Longmen Shan fault zone, indicative
of relatively modest strain accumulation and there-
fore a slowly accumulating seismic hazard. And lastly,
there were no findings of any anomaly for earthquake
precursors before the Wenchuan earthquake, including
seismic activity, underground fluid movement, gravity
changes, and something like that. Really, the occur-
rence of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is beyond our
imagination. Just as Zhang (Zhang et al., 2008) pointed
out that the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is possible a
new type of one, being worth studying deeply.
As far as we know, the Wenchuan earthquake is the
first with such a large magnitude to have occurred on
a listric reverse fault within continental interior dur-
ing instrumentally recorded earthquake history (Zhang
et al., 2009).
Therefore, we address the question, what are the
dynamic mechanisms of the event? What about the
seismic cycles on Longmen Shan fault belt? How
did the main shock rupture the Longmen Shan thrust
fault? In the paper, we try to model the dynamic
process of the Wenchuan earthquake by means of
visco-elastic finite element method. Moreover, we

527
will pay special attention to delineate the coseismic
changes of stresses, displacements, and energy. Our
results will shed new light on the detailed process of
the earthquakes on the Longmen Shan thrust fault belt.

2 GEODYNAMIC SETTING

India began colliding with Eurasia over 50 mil-

lion years ago, progressively accommodating at least
1,400 km of north-south shortening (Yin & Harrison,
2000). This plate collision uplifted the highest moun-
tains in the world and also a vast flat region to the
north known as the Tibetan plateau. This plateau has an
average elevation of over 5,000 m, maintained in part
by a 65–75-km-thick crust with a complex and het-
erogeneous three-dimensional structure inferred from
topographic studies (Rapine et al., 2003; Yao et al.,
2008; Hubbard & Shaw, 2009).
On the eastern side of the Tibetan plateau, the
Longmen Shan rise 6,000 m above the Sichuan basin,
exhibiting greater relief than anywhere else on the
plateau. The active Longmen Shan fault zone marks
a predominantly convergent boundary with a right-
lateral strike slip component. This fault system was
reactivated during late Cenozoic time along a Meso-
zoic orogenic belt (Burchfiel et al., 1995, 2008; Kirby
et al., 2002, 2008). To the west of the Longmen Shan,
eastern Tibet (Songpan–Ganzi Terrain in geological
terminology) actively deforms by both right-lateral
shear parallel to and convergence perpendicular to the
Longmen Shan fault (King et al., 1997; Chen et al.,
2000; Shen et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2004; Gan et al.,
2007). Tectonic activity in the Sichuan basin, east of
the Longmen Shan, has been mild during late Cenozoic
time (shown in Fig. 1).
The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is a consequence
of interactions among multiple geological units under
a tectonic background in which the eastward growth
of the Tibetan Plateau has been impeded by tecton-
ically stable Sichuan basin (Burchfiel et al., 1995,
2008; Royden et al., 1997; Clark and Royden, 2000;
Clark et al., 2005). The rheologically “soft” material
in the middle and the lower crust of the eastern Tibet
(Royden et al., 1997, 2008; Clark and Royden, 2000;
Clark et al., 2005; Liu Q. et al., 2009) has been thick-
ened, while the brittle upper crust has been obliquely
pushed against the effectively rigid Sichuan basin on
a high-angle reverse contact, the Longmen Shan fault
zone.
Unlike strain accumulation along a single fault,
the Wenchuan earthquake involved three geologi-
cal units: the eastern Tibet, the Longmen Shan, and
the Sichuan basin (Zhang P-Z et al., 2009). Interac-
tions among them caused strain accumulation in the
Longmen Shan, and finally released to form the dev-
astating Wenchuan earthquake. The three units behave
differently during both interseismic and co-seismic
periods.
The entire crust of eastern Tibet appears to be rela-
tively weak (Wang C., 2007; Yao H. et al., 2007; Xu L.
Figure 1. Regional tectonic map of the Longmen Shan
region. (a) Topography, active faults and earthquakes of the
Tibetan Plateau. Earthquakes of magnitude over 6 are shown.
Black lines are major active faults. White polygon outlines
approximate area of the Central Longitudinal Seismic Belt
(CLSB). Red rectangle shows Fig. 1b. (b) Active tectonic map
of the Longmen Shan region. GPS velocity vectors are rel-
ative to the South China block (data from Gan et al., 2007).
Major active tectonic terrains are denoted by their names.
Thick black lines are major active faults.
et al., 2008; Liu Q. et al., 2009), and thus serves as
a deforming unit. During interseismic periods, sig-
nificant deformation occurs mainly in eastern Tibet
by convergence perpendicular to the Longmen Shan,
right-lateral shear, and vertical movement . Thus east-
ernTibet functions as a strain-energy conveyor belt that
continuously transfers deformation of eastern Tibet
into accumulating stress on the Longmen Shan fault
zone (Zhang et al., 2009).
The Longmen Shan thrust sheet consists of Pre-
cambrian metamorphosed crystalline basement with
relatively high strength such as the Baoxin, the Peng-
guan, and the Jiaoziding massifs (Burchfiel et al.,
2008; Wang and Meng, 2008; Xu. et al., 2006), that
are oriented in a direction unfavorable for slip, for
shortening normal to a high-angle reverse fault should
increase its frictional resistance to prohibit slip. It thus
serves as stress accumulation unit (Zhang P-Z et al.,
2009).The imbricated listric high-angle dipping nature
of the Longmen Shan fault zone remains locked during
interseismic periods and accumulates stresses at a low
rate before the earthquake, so that pre-earthquake slip
also accumulates slowly. During co-seismic time when
the accumulated stress exceeds the critical strength of

528
the Longmen Shan fault zone, an earthquake occurs
to release huge amounts of strain energy that has been
slowly stored during the several thousand-year inter-
seismic period, and the co-seismic deformation occurs
mostly in the interseismicaly locked Longmen Shan.
The Sichuan basin is treated as a stable geological
block since late Mesozoic, it has a mechanically strong
lower crust and upper mantle structure (Wang C. et al.,
2007; Liu Q. et al., 2009) and thus acts as a supporting
unit to resist eastward movement of both eastern Tibet
and the Longmen Shan. The supporting unit is a requi-
site condition for stress accumulation in the Longmen
Shan fault zone although minor deformation locally
occurs along the western edge of the Sichuan basin.
According to Fault plane solutions of mainshock
(CENC, 2008; Ji et al., 2008; Nishimura and Yagi,
2008; ZhangY. et al., 2008; The Harvard CMT catalog,
2008), Geological studies (Chen and Wilson, 1996;
Burchfiel et al., 1995, 2008; Wang and Meng, 2008;
Xu Zh., 2009), surface exposures of the earthquake
rupture and the distribution of aftershocks, the struc-
ture responsible for the occurrence of the Wenchuan
earthquake is possible an imbricate, oblique, high-
angle, listric, reverse fault that dips ∼70◦ above 15 km
depth, becomes 30◦ to 40◦ below ∼15 km depth,
and finally roots into sub-horizontal brittle-ductile
transition zone below 20 to 22 km depth.
Under the stress regime of pure shear, according
to various fracture criteria, slip on a fault dipping
30◦ –40◦ is easy. The initial slip on the gentle dip-
ping fault probably has caused the Coulomb stress
changes that may in turn trigger significant slip on the
high-angle dipping fault above it to form the Wenchuan
earthquake.
3 SETUP OF THE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
In order to simulate earthquake generation cycles and
to investigate coseismic behaviors on the Longmen
Shan thrust fault belt, we choose the cross section
passing across Line AB in Fig. 1 as a study profile.
Line AB is nearly perpendicular to the Longmen Shan
belt, and point O is the perpendicular foot, lying at the
intersection between Line AB and the Longmen Shan
belt.
We constructed a 330-km-long, 150-km-deep, 2-D
finite-element model shown in Fig. 3. The Moho in
point A, on the eastern brim of the Tibet, is ∼60 km,
and it is ∼40 km deep in point B (Liu et al., 2009),
located in Sichuan basin. The dividing line between
the upper crust and the lower crust in the eastern Tibet
is assumed as in the middle of the Moho. The geometry
of meshes of the finite element in the model is shown
in Fig. 2, in which there are 5399 triangular 3-node
elements connected by 2835 nodes.
The plane strain model is applied in this paper. The
upper crust is regarded as the linear elastic. In contrast,
the lower curst and the upper mantle is assumed to be
visco-elastic, Maxwell material. Because of no low-
velocity feature of the lower crust (Guo et al., 2009),
the whole crust of Sichuan basin is treated as elastic.
529
Figure 2. Geometry and boundary conditions of the finite
element model. The Longmen Shan Thrust fault is mod-
eled though two segments shown by purple curve, where the
meshes are densely distributed. The displacements shown by
black arrows along x-axis are applied at each node on the left
side of the model, with its value consistent with GPS velocity
vectors.
In addition, we will take into account the fact that the
Pengguan massif (Zhang et al., 2008), the rock being
hard and strong, are distributed along somewhere on
the Longmen Shan fault.
According to the velocity (Wang et al., 2007; Li
et al., 2006), density (Teng et al., 2008), and viscosity
(Royden, et al., 2008) structures in the eastern Tibet
and Sichuan basin, we assigned the model parameters
as in table 1. In fact, the value of each parameter in
table 1 is the first order approximation.
Although the Longmen Shan thrust fault is com-
posed of 3 rupture belts, we only consider the main
fault, namely Yingxiu – Beichuan rupture, consisting
of two segments. At the lower section of the fault, dip-
ping northwestward with angle of 40◦ in the depth
ranges from 15 to 20 km, and at shallower depths
the fault steepens to 70◦ to form prominent coseimic
displacements (shown in Fig. 2).
In the finite element calculation, fault behavior,
being in the state of stick or slip, is modeled by means
of contact element method. A sudden slip on fault is
assumed as an event. On the contrary, in the period of
inter-seismic, fault is in the state of lock, with some
strains accumulated on it. When modeling fault behav-
iors by contact element, usually we meet with the
question of convergence in calculation. Contact with
friction is a highly nonlinear problem in finite ele-
ment method. Besides, the initial stresses will decide
stress evolution and contact behaviors. Therefore, they
should be introduced in numerical simulation. How-
ever, so far, we do not really know the absolute
geo-stress state, because we cannot directly measure
in-situ stresses in deep earth, e.g., over the depth of
10 km. In this study, we try to apply gravity and bound-
ary displacements to obtain the pre-stresses generally,
in order to model the fault behavior reasonably.
How to apply boundary conditions is one of the key
problems in finite element. Based on geological survey
and GPS measurements (Gan et al., 2007; Zhang et al.,
2008), the boundary conditions are applied as follows:
The surface of the model is set to free, the right side
of the model is set to zero in horizontal direction and is
 Table 1. Values of parameters used in the model.

Region parameter description value

Upper crust in eastern Tibet Euc Young’s modulas 7.0 × 1010 pa

µuc Poisson ratio 0.28
ρuc density of upper crust 2.6 Mg m−3
Lower crust in eastern Tibet Elc Young’s modulas 6.8 × 1010 pa
µlc Poisson ratio 0.32
ρlc density of lower crust 2.7 Mg m−3
νc viscosity of lower crust 5.0 × 1017 pa·s
Upper mantle Em Young’s modulas 7.3 × 1010 pa
µm Poisson ratio 0.30
ρm density of upper mantle 3.2 Mg m−3
vm viscosity of upper mantle 5.0 × 1020 pa·s
Sichuan basin Es Young’s modulas 7.2 × 1010 pa
µs Poisson ratio 0.23
ρs density of crust 2.65 Mg m−3
Pengguan massif Ep Young’s modulas 7.3 × 1010 pa
µp Poisson ratio 0.20
ρp density of crust 2.7 Mg m−3
all area g gravitational acceleration 9.8 m s−2
µfr coefficient of friction 0.60

free vertically (shown in Fig. 3), because the Sichuan

basin is regarded as stable. The bottom of the model is
free to move in the horizontal direction, and is fixed to
zero vertically. The left side is applied displacements,
with the magnitude obtained accorded to the speed of
5 mm/yr, the average value of the GPS velocity vectors,
with directions along x-axis, pointing to Sichuan basin,
i.e., from A to B (shown in Fig. 3).
We perform numerical modeling using commercial
finite element software MSC·MARC (MSC·Software,
2005; http://www.mscsoftware.com/). Slip initiation
on the fault is governed by the Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion τ = C + µfr σn , where τ is the shear stress,
C cohesion, µfr is the friction coefficient and σn is
the normal stress. In our model, we apply a friction
coefficient of µfr = 0.6 and zero cohesion. Gravity is
included in the model as a body force. Figure 3. Displacements at typical nodes on the hanging
In modeling fault behavior, we assigned some wall change with time, the upper curve represents node
parameters such as friction coefficient by calling on steep segment of the Longmen Shan fault, with the
subroutine UFRIC in MSC·MARC, which can be lower curve corresponding to gentle segment. The average
modified by any user. In the paper, calculation is recurrence time is 3,257 year.
performed by quasi-static state problem with 100000
computational steps. result shows the average earthquake recurrence time
is ∼3,257 years, which is consistent with geological
survey (Ran et al., 2010). In addition, the model finds
4 MODEL RESULTS that the seismic cycle varies with friction coefficient
chosen on the fault. The larger the friction coefficient,
Fig. 3 shows the displacements at typical nodes on the the longer the seismic cycle is.
hanging wall vary with time, the upper curve is cor-
respondent to node, in ∼10 km deep, located on steep
4.1 Coseismic displacements
segment of the Longmen Shan fault, with the lower
curve for node in ∼20 km deep on gentle segment of Fig. 5 gives the coseismic displacements in an event
the fault. The sudden displacement in a very short time calculated by the model.An typical pattern of displace-
is regarded a seismic event here, thus the black arrow in ments for thrust fault is seen in Fig. 5 (b). Nodes on
Fig. 4 points to the occurrence time of earthquake. The the hanging wall move upwards along the lower gentle
period between neighbor arrows represents seismic ramp and along the steep fault. On the contrary, nodes
recurrence interval, shown in the figure. The model on the footwall move downwards. Moreover, the figure

530

Figure 7. Calculated co-seismic displacements. (A) shows
co-seismic slip distribution on a vertical cross-section; (B) is
comparison of calculated and observed co-seismic surface
vertical displacements, red dots are calculated, and black dots
are observed from leveling occupations (Wang Q. et al, 2009).
Figure 8. Co-seismic equivalent stress distribution (A) and
co-seismic energy release distribution (B) associated with
listric reverse fault with 70◦ angle above 15 km depth, and
30◦ angle below 15 km depth.
shows that the displacements on the hanging wall are
increasing from the bottom to top.
4.2 Coseismic changes of stresses and energy
Fig. 6 depicts the coseismic changes of equivalent
Von Mises stresses by the model. From Fig. 6 (b), we
can see that the stresses in some region were released
(shown in blue), whereas in some other area, stresses
increased, shown in red. The stresses on top of the
fault, or in the lower surface near the fault, are released
thoroughly. The pattern of coseismic energy changes
(shown in Fig. 7) is similar to that of coseismic stress
changes, with huge amount of energy releasing on top
the fault. Also, we see from Fig. 7 (b) that some area
is loaded in the event, with energy increasing. Com-
paring aftershock distribution (shown in Fig. 8) of
the Wenchuan earthquake with coseismic changes of
stresses and energy, clearly we see that aftershocks are
distributed on the area where the stresses or energy
are increased in main shock, or in the region where
531
stresses or energy are not released completely. There
are nearly no aftershocks at all shown in Fig. 8 on top
of the fault where the stresses and energy were released
much.
5 DISCUSSION
In the model, we only consider one main rupture-
Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, neglecting the other two rup-
tures. However, how the main fault ruptures remains
unclear. As for the thrust fault with dipping angle of θ,
it can slide only if the coefficient friction (µ) on the
fault surface is ctg(θ) theoretically. Therefore, the
upper steep fault segment may slide when µ  ctg
(70◦ ) ≈ 0.364. It cannot slip/slide or produce earth-
quakes in the case of µ = 0.6 which we used in the
above model in the paper. In order to know how the
Longmen Shan thrust belt ruptures in higher coeffi-
cient friction, we perform computation by means of
modifying the boundary conditions on the base of the
aforementioned model, in which we apply a 100 m of
the displacement on left side of the model in a very
short period of time (10 days) just before the model
is in a critical state in which fault is about to slip by
100,000 computational steps. Fig. 9 is the curve show-
ing the displacements on typical nodes the same nodes
as in Fig. 4 varying with time. We can see that there
exists a step or earthquake in each of the curve. But,
attention should be paid that it is impossible for the
model to be applied 100 m of the boundary displace-
ment in 10 days based on GPS measurements. This
is because that if we apply the boundary condition of
displacements of which the surface moves in 10 days
at the speed of GPS vector (5 mm/yr), the model give a
straight line for displacements varying with time, not
occurring any steps or earthquakes. Therefore, the data
of the curve shown in Fig. 7 are the results scaled both
in the domains of time and displacements, respectively.
Clearly, Fig. 9 displays that slips, corresponding to
displacements increasing suddenly, begin in different
time in different curve, the one in lower curve begin
before that of the upper ∼60 s. That is to say, the steep
high angle of upper section of the Longmen Shan fault
does not rupture until the lower gently part of the fault
slips. Thus, the high angle of the Longmen Shan fault
was triggered to rupture by its lower segment of the
reverse fault with dip angle of ∼40◦ . Then, the rupture
propagates form bottom to top. At the same time, we
see that the accumulated slips on the upper segment of
the fault are larger than the ones on the lower.
Therefore, the Wenchuan mainshock may take place
initially on a ramp dipping northwestward at 30◦ –40◦
in the depth range from 15 to 20 km, and at shallower
depths the fault steepens to ∼70◦ to form prominent
surface ruptures with significant displacements along
the main rupture.
Contrasting with other reverse faults, the geom-
etry and the style of fault rupture of the Longmen
Shan fault are very special and unique. The most
devastating, great reverse or thrust faulting historic
earthquakes commonly rupture gently dipping thrust
(not high-angle reverse) faults along which slip occurs
rapidly (>50 mm/yr at the oceanic subduction zones
and >15 mm/yr along the Himalaya collision zone).
For example, at the extreme of these great earthquakes,
those in 1960 in Chile, in 1964 in Alaska, or 2004 in
Sumatra, geologically averaged slip rates all exceed
50 mm/yr along gently dipping subduction zone inter-
faces (Kanamori and Anderson, 1979; Plafker, 1967;
Lay et al., 2005; Ammon et al., 2005; McCaffrey,
2009); and those in 1905 in Kangra, in 1934 in Bihar
Nepal, in 1959 in Assam, along the <15◦ dipping the
Main Himalayan Thrust long-term slip rates are 15–
20 mm/yr (Lavé andAvouac, 2000; Bilham et al., 2001;
Kumar et al., 2001, 2006; Avouac, 2003; Bollinger
et al., 2004; Lave et al., 2005). The 2008 Wenchuan
earthquake, however, occurred on a high-angle dip-
ping listric-reverse fault with a slip rate less than
3 mm/yr (Densmore et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2008a;
Zhou et al., 2007). To the best of our knowledge, the
2008 Wenchuan earthquake is the first with such a
large magnitude to have occurred on a listric reverse
fault within continental interior during instrumentally
recorded earthquake history.
6 CONCLUSION
Co-seismic deformations associated with the Wenchuan
earthquake suggest the seismogenic structure to be
imbricate, high-angle listric reverse faults.
Our visco-elastic finite element simulation shows
that changes of co-seismic stress and energy mainly
occur in the vicinity of the seismogenic fault, espe-
cially hanging wall of the fault in the depth range
above 12 km. Modeled co-seismic slip distribution and
modeled average recurrent interval corroborate with
geological, geodetic and seismological observations.
Modeled results show that the average earthquake
recurrence time on the Longmen Shan fault is very
long, ∼3,257 years, which are in good agreement with
paleoseismological investigations and estimations by
other methods.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by Special Project for Basic
Research on China State Level (Grant No:ZDJ2009-1,
ZDJ2007-1), the National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (40774024, 40974020) and by State Key
Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics (LED2008B02).
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The study on shield support system in longwall mining

M.M. Hosseini & N. Hosseini

Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Mechanized longwall mining is considered as one of the best choices for excavating low dip coal
seams. In this method, the position and movement of power supports play an important role in production, safety
and performance. In this article we surveyed stress condition around the longwall face based on a numerical
simulation using FLAC3D software. Then the effect of stress distribution and geomechanical condition of roof
and floor strata in longwall face on power supports function has been studied too. As a case study we chose First
panel of mechanized Tabas coal mine in Iran. The study result shows that instances like increasing of power
support pressure on roof, irregular stress distribution pattern, situation of roof cavability and also geomechanical
quality of floor are all effective on how the power support system functions. The approach that has been used in
this paper could be considered as a new systematic observational method, especially for second panel of Tabas
coal mine.

1 INTRODUCTION strata to cave after the shields move forward, so it pre-

1.1 Location and Situation of Tabas coal mine
Parvadeh coal mine is located 85 km off the south of
Tabas city inYazd province in mid east of Iran. Because
it is located on a desert line it has a dry weather,
sparsely having trees.
1.2 Mine’s bedding and deposit
Tabas coal mine has probable amount of ore about
357 million tons, and its proved reserve is around 270
million tons for B1, B2, and C1 strata in Parvadeh car-
bonaceous zone (Moeen 1993). B1, B2, and C1 strata
have more than 80 cm thickness in vast zones of east
Parvadeh and among them C1 seam, which is the main
layer in this paper, has an equal extension all around
the Parvade zone. C1 seam is the thickest stratum in
west part of the zone with the average thickness of
1.83 cm. Also its extension in the length of the out-
crop is around 40 km and follows the seam dip toward
the Ghourichaai fault (30 km off the out-crop).
2 ROOF AND FLOOR STRATA
2.1 Roof strata
New special equipments have made it possible to use
longwall mining in a variety of roof conditions. Even
having unconsolidated roof strata is not a problem any-
more, when it is possible to accelerate the development
rate using new special equipments, and let the cav-
ing happens as the panel develops. Therefore selecting
an appropriate rate of development will help the roof
vents from concentration of stress in the mine’s roof
strata. Accordingly with a higher rate of development
the vertical load on the roof strata reduces effectively.
If the immediate roof is more competent than it is sup-
posed to, it will be harder to cave in non-mechanized
situation; in such circumstances, by applying appropri-
ate amount of force to the roof in supporting process,
using shields, we can speed up caving after the sup-
porting shields move forward. In this method we apply
concentrated pressure to the immediate roof and con-
sidering the fast development rate a refraction line
forms on immediate roof.
2.2 Floor strata
With the fast developing extraction technology the
situation of floor strata is not an unsolved problem
anymore, on the process of mechanizing mines. In
longwall mining method the floor strata must be resis-
tant enough to the pressure applying from shield props,
so that the shield props will not submerge in the floor
strata. In such occasion where the floor strata are very
weak and the development rate is low, there will be a
risk of floor strata yielding, because of the long time
pressure that transmits to the floor from the roof above
(Oraee 1993).
By increasing the development rate, and reducing
the duration of applying pressure to the floor, and
making some minor changes in equipments like using
shields with larger surfaces, we can reduce the pres-
sure that applies to the floor by the supporting shields.
With these methods we can make it possible to mecha-
nize the coal extraction process even though the floor
strata are not competent enough.

535
2.3 Roof and floor strata in Tabas coal mine
Coal seam in Tabas coal mine is about 25 to 25 percent
with 26◦ dip. The immediate roof strata, according to
Canmet report, are characterized as weak to very weak
with RMR from 10 to 24. This situation is not favorable
for longwall supporting system.
3 STUDY OF STRESS AND PRESSURE
There are 3 different zones of turbulence in overbur-
den strata of longwall mines. Although each zone can
be characterized considering its form of refraction,
the thickness of each zone is diverse and not deter-
minable. These zones are Caving zone, Fractured zone,
and Continuous deformation zone (Peng 2006).
Caving zone is the immediate roof after caving.
Generally each seam may has a high yield strength,
which leads it to severe refraction or displacement
because of shear stress.
When a longwall panel develops in a coal seam
the support for upper strata will reduce, that disturbs
the primary equilibrium; the pressure of overburden
weight force will deform and displace the roof strata.
This will create seat pressure on the two sides of the
panel and working face, also it causes the convergence
of the roof toward the floor in gateroads and working
faces (Malyan 2003).
4 SPECIFICATIONS OF COAL FACE
AND FACE EQUIPMENTS
In Tabas longwall coal mine, the panel length is about
1500 m, panel width is around 600 m, and each devel-
opment is 160 m. After excavating each working face
all the equipments will be moved to the next face.
4.1 Working face specifications
Working face width is supposed to be around 6.5 to
7 m long, and its height must be 2 m which is almost
as high as the coal seam. The shield supports that are
being used are 2 leg shield supports.
4.2 Working face equipments
4.2.1 Shearer
The selected coal extraction equipment in Tabas coal
mine is Double-ended ranging drum shearer (DERDS)
with high capability of ranging in high cuts.
4.2.2 Shield support
Roof shield supports in Tabas coal mine are two legged
with the canopy width of 1.5 m long. This kind of
shield support has a heavy caving shield and tele-
scopic hydraulic cylinders to achieve the maximum
and minimum height possible.
Shield supports apply a high pressure to the roof
very suddenly which will cause the immediate roof
to refract in one line that almost covers whole the
536
Table 1. Specifications and limitations of two leg shield
supports in Tabas coal mine.
Height limit Yield strength
Specification
ton m
Open height 0.89 1.18 1.6 —
Closed height 1.8 2.68 3.61 —
Maximum — 310 226 189
Minimum — 316 280 224
width of the working face. As a result of this refrac-
tion the immediate roof in the back of supporting
shields will cave; after this caving process the pres-
sure on immediate roof will transform to the caved
area that maximizes the caving. This condition is very
favorable for mechanized longwall mining with a high
development rate.
The two leg shield supports that are being used
in Tabas mechanized coal mine has special specifi-
cations. These specifications and limitations are as
mentioned in Table 1.
5 GEOMETRICAL SIMULATION
FOR ANALYZING WITH FLAC3D
5.1 Geometrical situation and equations
In order to analyze the stability of Tabas coal mine’s
2nd east panel at the beginning of installation of equip-
ments, a rectangular tunnel with 2 m height, 14 m
width, and 200 m working face is simulated with
FLAC3D software. 7 m out 14 m of tunnel width is
considered as set-up room. Average height from the
tunnel roof to the ground above is considered around
50 m, and 50 m long is considered beneath the floor.
Overburden rocks are including Mudstone, Sandstone,
and Siltstone according to the coring that has per-
formed on Parvadeh zone. This analyze is based on
the Mohr-Coulomb Model which is a plastic model
and appropriate for underground excavations.
In order to be more accurate about the geological
properties of overburden rocks the amounts of internal
friction angel and cohesion of the rocks are calculated
using Mohr-Coulomb criterion equations 1, 2, and 3.
Where ϕ = internal friction angel; σcm = apparent
resistivity of rock mass; σ3 = minimum working stress
in yield; and σc = compressive strength.
Figure 1. Side view of working face without applying
pressure.
Figure 2. Side view of working face shear stresses n and p.
5.2 Analysis of plastic index in working face
After 1000 time gap in FLAC3D simulation process,
the designed block analysis is as you can see in Fig-
ures 1, 2, and 3. Figure 1 shows the general situation
of working face in a side view. In figure 2, blocks and
their yielding situation are modeled. Shear stress con-
centration of n and p in roof and floor strata, also in
working face is observable. This figure shows the ten-
dency of blocks for caving, which can be considered
a merit in longwall mining, if rate of development can
be adjusted with it.
In figure 2 brown blocks show shear-n and shear-
p. Shear-n means that the blocks have already been
refracted and shear-p means that these blocks refracted
after excavation.
In figure 3 the red blocks are under tension frac-
ture and obviously they are located on tunnel walls.
Which are working face and the area behind the shield
supports.
Considering the plastic condition of the working
face and roof strata, also the situation of the zone
before excavation and according to the 1000 time
steps in simulation the caving will happen without any
mechanized force. Because of the pressure applying
537
Figure 3. Side view of working face under tension fracture.
Table 2. Stand-up time of the roof inTabas coal mine (East 2
pannel).
Rock type Max unsupported roof Stand-up time
m min
Fractured mudstone 2.25 6
Mudstone 7.85 35
Siltstone 9 50
from the shield supports to the immediate roof, the
refraction happens on one line.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Considering all the analysis, figures, and reports from
the FLAC3D software, stand-up time of the roof in
Tabas coal mine’s 2nd east panel is as mentioned in
Table 2.
The maximum unsupported roof shows us the
appropriate distance from the shield supports to the
working face, also using these data the rate of develop-
ment can be designed more properly. With an accurate
rate of development some obstacles can be eliminated,
like caving on back of support shields which prevents
them to move forward, and preventing the floor strata
from being refracted, so that the shield supports can
move in one straight line as it is designed.
REFERENCES
Malyan, M. (ed.) 2003. Optimization of Panel Width in Full
Mechanized Longwall Mining. Tehran, Tarbyat Modares.
Moeen-ol-Sadat, H. (ed.) 1993. Geology of Iran. Tehran,
Organization of Geology & Exploitation Exploration of
Iran.
Oraee, K. (ed.) 1993. Sufficiency of Mechanization of Iran’s
Coal Seams. Tehran, Amir Kabir.
Peng, Syd S. (ed.) 2006. Longwall Mining. West Virginia:
Department of Mining Engineering of West Virginia
University.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical stability analysis of tectonically disturbed and lithologically

varied rock masses of collapsed pressure shaft slope in Siah Bishe Dam,
North Iran

H. Hassani, M. Farokhnia, H. Sarkheil & M. Rahimi Dizaji

Faculty of mining & metallurgical engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Siah Bishe pumped storage power plant with capacity of 1000 MW is the first pumped storage
power plant that is located in the northern part of the Alborz mountain range in Iran. There are two parallel
pressure shafts in the slope which both of them are 450 m long and their diameters are 6 m with 65 degree
inclination relatively south-north trend. The pressure shafts slope is highly tectonically disturbed. The site area
and especially the area of the pressure shaft are characterized by the presence of three important thrust faults
which cut through the whole stratigraphic series. The shafts are arranged in sedimentary and volcanic highly
jointed rocks of Triasic and Jurasic ages. In addition, based on several results of site investigations, there are
lithologically varied rock masses. These have led to complicated situations and complexities for the project,
especially for excavating the pressure shafts. In order to predict and also analyze the stability condition of
the shafts, numerical modeling has been used. The results show instabilities within the slope, especially the
boundar of Elika and Nesen formations which have highly different permeabilities. The permeabilities diversity
has prevented underground water discharge in the boundary. This has led to instabilities in the shafts excavation
process. Also, this boundary was severely techtonized; hence, it was very potential to have such huge instabilities.
Numerical modeling results show the same instabilities, and they prove that by means of numerical modeling, it
is possible to predict and estimate instabilities in geotechnical projects.

1 INTRODUCTION

Iran Water and Power Resources Development Com-

pany was entrusted 1983 with the design of Siah
Bisheh pumped storage scheme. The waterways of the
plant, which are now under construction (Fig. 1), are
located in the northern part of the Alborz Mountain, at
a distance of 80 km from the Caspian Sea (Moshanir
Consultant Engineer, 2002).
The pumped storage plant passes through Jurassic
Shemshak, Triassic Elika layers, and the strata of Per-
mian age, called Dorud, Ruteh, and Nessen formation.
The Main Thrust Fault (MTF) separates the Jurassic
formation from the Triassic one (Darvishzadeh, A.,
2003). The shafts are being constructed in Elika,
Nesen, Routheh, and Doroud formations. These for- Figure 1. Layout of Siah Bisheh Pumped Storage Project
mations consist of shale, slightly sandy siltstone, and location of shafts (Moshanir Consultant Engineer, 2002).
sandstone and thin layered limestone and intrusions of
igneous rock such as spilitic basalt partially bedding the main access tunnel, the intermediate access tunnel,
parallel orientated. and the surface (Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, 2009).
The stability of pressure shafts slope of Siah Bisheh
Dam is discussed in this paper. The geology of the pres-
sure shaft slope continuously raised discussions since 2 GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL SETTINGS
end of 2003. An extensive investigation program was
thereafter initiated in April/May 2006 by authors with The area of the pressure shaft slope of Siah Bisheh
the aim to investigate the geological conditions of shaft Dam is characterized by the presence of non-
area in more detail. A few boreholes were drilled from metamorphic or very low metamorphic stratigraphic

539
Figure 2. Collapses happened in the boundary of Elika lime-
stone and volcanic rock fragments, shown zone by black
circle (Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, 2009).
series. The oldest rocks outcropping in the area belong
to the Early Permian Dorud Formation (Sandstones
and shales). The series continues with a late Per-
mian limestone (Ruteh Formation) and interbedded
limestones and shales (Nesen formation). Both for-
mations are intercalated with volcanic rocks of the
Melaphyre complex (Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, 2009).
In the pressure shaft area, this stratigraphic series
is in some cases complicated by thrusts and faults that
has produced repetitions and/or lacks within the strati-
graphic series. The main geological features observed
on both sides of the pressure shaft slope are two
major sub-vertical fault zones with considerable ver-
tical displacements, (Iran Water and Power Resources
Development Co., 2005). Both faults are aligned in
E–W direction, and are thus, parallel to the main
tectonic block-fault structure in this area.
Both faults can also be observed in the Garmrud-
bar valley (Quarry II area) with the same offset in the
formations. The distance between the faults narrows
from 400–600 m east of Siah Bishe to <100 m in the
Garmrudbar valley. In the area of Quarry II, large slices
of a massive dark grey limestone, tectonically embed-
ded within igneous rocks of the Melaphyre complex,
are outcropping between the two faults (Hassani, H.,
Arshadnejad, 2009).
The ‘Main Thrust fault’, a major thrust fault along
which the Elika formation is thrust over the Shemshak
formation, shows a SE–NW alignment. This align-
ment differs from the general tectonic picture in the
adjoining northern formations. The Main Thrust fault
is associated with the active Kanodavan fault (Fig. 2)
further south which shows the same orientation.
Based on the results from the detailed field map-
ping, the general model of a pop-up structure bordered
by north (MTF and fault 2) and south dipping (fault 3)
thrust planes that converge in the pressure shaft area
can be considered valid (Fig. 3). On large scale
also, vanishing of the south dipping planes moving
toward the west can be considered valid (Hassani, H.,
Arshadnejad, 2009).
In particular, four thrusts dipping to north (MTF,
T-S_1, T-S_2 and T-S_3) and two dipping to south
(T-N_1 and T-N_2) are present. Geometries and
540
Figure 3. Minimum dimensions for slope analysis model
(Itasca Consulting Group).
kinematics of these planes indicate that they belong
to a conjugate thrust system developed in a compres-
sional regime and have the same age.
The projection of the Main thrust fault with this
orientation along the pressure shafts nearly coincides
with the observed position of the MTF in the displace-
ment chamber. Here the measured dip angle is 55◦
(Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, 2009).
3 CONSTRUCTION OF THE PRESSURE
SHAFTS
3.1 Construction method
In an early stage of the project, it was decided to exca-
vate the shafts with a pilot shaft with 2.4 m diameter,
drilled with raise boring and then widen the shafts
to the final diameter of 5.9 m and mucking through
the pilot shaft. Proposals from various subcontractors
were later studied for the enlargement of the shafts.
The proposals included drill and blast excavation by a
specific platform and mechanized excavation with a
boring machine.
For the raise boring of the right lower shaft, contrac-
tor started to construct. After that, the enlargement of
the lower shafts was started by contractor (Iran Water
and Power Resources Development Co., 2005).
3.2 Upper section
Drilling of the pilot hole for the raise boring in the
upper section started in January 2006 in the left shaft.
On February 15, 2006 a collapse occurred while ream-
ing the 11” pilot hole up to a diameter of 2.4 m.
During the following days a considerable mass of water
saturated, fractured rock fragments flowed from the
shaft into the intermediate adit (Iran Water and Power
Resources Development Co., 2006).
3.3 Chronology of the Collapse
According to the recorded information, the following
events took place during the drilling of the pilot hole
for raise boring and the reaming of the left upper pilot
shaft to diameter of 2.4 m:
The First problems were recorded during the drilling
of the 11” pilot hole in the upper part of the left shaft.
The hole had to be grouted and re-drilled at several
locations. After the pilot hole reached the intermedi-
ate adit, reaming of the pilot shaft diameter expanding
to 2.4 m started from the intermediate adit upward.
The first 160–170 m was reamed without major diffi-
culties. At approx. 170 m from the intermediate adit,
the reamer was blocked. Consequently, the reamer
was lowered down to the intermediate adit for main-
tenance and cleaning. At that time, a major collapse
happened. Based on oral information, first, some lime-
stone fragments (Elika limestone), and later volcanic
rock fragments (melaphyre and tuffites) plunged into
the intermediate adit. The collapsing material broke
the rods of the reamer and buried it.
While removing the material out of the shaft, new
material continued to flow down. A camera was then
lowered through the pilot shaft from above. It showed
a cavity at a depth of approx. 75 m from the upper bent.
The size of the cavity could however not be determined
(Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co.,
2006).
Feb. 17, 2006: Another collapse happened 2 days
later. The collapsed material consisted mainly of dark
reddish-green volcanic rock fragments with some
limestone and dolomite blocks. The material was
highly water saturated and emerged like a mudflow
from the shaft into the intermediate adit.
It was reported that exceptionally heavy rains
occurred in the previous 2 days (Iran Water and Power
Resources Development Co., 2006).
Feb. 18, 2006: The downbreak of material slowed
down and the pilot shaft was finally blocked by
the material. The total amount of collapsed material
is reported to be between 500 to 1’000 m3 . Some
5–10 l/min of water continued to flow through the
material.
The remaining cavity in the upper part of the pilot
shaft was filled with 360 m3 of concrete from the top
through the pilot hole (Iran Water and Power Resources
Development Co., 2006).
3.4 Reason for the collapse in the pilot shaft
Based on the information available up to date, it is
assumed that the collapse in the pilot shaft occurred
at the boundary of volcanic rocks sequence and the
overlying limestone of the Nesen and Elika formations.
As observed in various other locations, this boundary is
generally tectonized and especially the volcanic rocks
are intensely fractured and weathered (Iran Water and
Power Resources Development Co., 2006).
In addition, rigid and jointed limestone of the Elika
formations is water permeable while the underlying
volcanic sequence is nearly impervious. This leads to
a collection of groundwater along the formations inter-
face and a saturation of the underlying volcanic rocks
(Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co.,
2006).
541
Figure 4. Initial mode, representing the slope.
When the reamer was pulled up through this water
saturated zone and fractured and weak volcanic rocks,
it was blocked when reaching the overlying harder
limestone. After the reamer had again been lowered
down to the intermediate adit, the unsupported walls
of the pilot shaft finally collapsed at that location and
water-saturated volcanic rock fragments flowed down
into the shaft. Based on the above appraisal, the col-
lapse is considered to be a local occurrence which is
limited to a critical, fractured and water-saturated rock
zone at the boundary between volcanic rocks and over-
lying limestone. The reported heavy rainfalls in the
previous days possibly also had an influence on the
timing of the collapse (Iran Water and Power Resources
Development Co., 2006).
3.5 Lower Section
The 11” pilot holes excavation for the raise boring
from the intermediate adit downwards was completed
at the end of 2005 (Iran Water and Power Resources
Development Co., 2006).
4 NUMERICAL STABILITY ANALYSIS
OF THE PRESSURE SHAFTS
Due to several geological and geotechnical uncer-
tainties in projects, numerical modeling is used to
estimate ground reaction against diverse activities
such as underground excavation activities. In such sit-
uations, numerical modeling results can help prevent
some unfavorable events during projects and economic
hazards. In the following section the aim is to pre-
dict and show the process of instabilities, plastic zone
progress around the shafts, the effect of water on
the shafts stability and different geological formations
consequences.
Among numerical models which are used in
rock engineering, finite element method (FEM),
finite difference method (FDM) and discrete element
method (DEM) may be the most commonly applied
approaches.
Table 1. Geomechanical properties of formations (Arshadnejad, Sh., et al, 2008).

Bulk Shear Friction Dilation Tensile

Modulus Modulus Density Cohesion Angle Angle Strength
(Gpa) (Gpa) (kg/m3 ) (Mpa) (degree) (degree) (Mpa)

Shear zone 0.63 0.38 2300 0.168 33.08 1.74 0

Elika Formation 22.6 11 2750 6.72 42 0 1.58
Shemshak Formation 0.6 0.36 2700 43.3 45.37 2.4 18
Nessen Formation 10 6 2680 25.4 36.1 0 1.5
Doroud Formation 2.5 1.7 2700 43.3 50 2 13.7
Ruteh Formation 3.8 2.9 2800 17.2 35.08 2 7.5
Limestone 0.156 9.4 2400 5.9 38.1 0 14.6

Figure 5. Model geometry of the focused zone, representing

the boundary of Elika and Nesen formations.
The finite difference method is perhaps the old-
est numerical technique used for the solution of sets
of differential equations, given initial values and/or
boundary values. In the finite difference method, every
derivative in the set of governing equations is replaced
directly by an algebraic expression written in terms
of the field variables (e.g., stress or displacement) at
discrete points in space; these variables are undefined
within elements (Itasca Consulting Group).
The steps recommended for performing a geome-
chanics analysis include of:
• Grid generation;
• Boundary and initial;
• Loading and sequential modeling;
• Choice of constitutive model and material proper-
ties;
• Ways to improve modeling efficiency; and
• Interpretation of results
FDM is applicable for continuous media; there-
fore, it was necessary to estimate equivalent rock mass
mechanical parameters for continuous media. To esti-
mate them, Rocklab from Rocsicence programs was
used (Rocscience, 2002, Dips 5.1. Software). These
parameters are shown in table 1. To make the model
geometry, the cross section of the slope was used
(Fig. 2), considering the rules of proper modeling
which are shown in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows the initial
model geometry.
Figure 6. Yield in tension in the boundary of the formations.
In order to model instabilities in the boundary of
Elika and Nessen formations, modeling was concen-
trated on this boundary, the boundary which is shown
in the black circle in figure 4.
For modeling this zone with considering the shafts
presence, axisymmitric technique was used. In fact,
this technique can be used to model the problem
of stress distribution in bodies of revolution (i.e.,
axisymmetric solids).
This model boundary is fixed; the lateral bound-
aries are fixed in two directions. Since axisymmitric
technique is used in the model, it is possible to model
half of the focused zone (Fig. 5) (Itasca Consulting
Group).
Modeling sequences consist of the following steps:
I Model selection, defining boundary conditions and
solving the model without excavating the shafts.
II Assigning Mohr-Coulomb parameters for rock
masses and solving the plastic model with con-
sidering a hydrological load for the sake of low
permeability of shear zone.
Before starting the second step, all displacements
were reset.
The results of the solving this model is showing
instabilities in the boundary of Elika and Nessen for-
mations (Fig. 6). In this figure, yield in tensile is

542

Figure 7. Displacement vectors which shows instabilities in
the shafts location.
obvious by purple color in the figure. The instabili-
ties are more in the shafts location. Instabilities initiate
dramatically within the boundary and are less within
Nesen formation.
Moreover, displacement vectors show high instabil-
ities in the shafts location (Fig. 7).
5 CONCLUSION
Due to clear difference in Elika and Nesen formations
permeabilities, water was not able to discharge from
the boundary of theses formations. In fact the per-
meability of the boundary materials is very low and
this is a result of the fact that these materials are very
fine graded ones. This water caused severe instabilities
in this boundary during shafts excavatation. Besides,
the boundary of the formations is severely techtonized
and the boundary material mechanical properties are
dramatically weak.
Since geotechnical projects are full of uncertainties
because of unknown ground, numerical methods such
as FDM are vastly used in rock engineering to predict
and estimate the effects of disturbance, resulted from
engineering activities like underground excavations
and some other favorite parameters.
543
FDM was used to model the instabilities place in
the slope. For this reason, axisymmitric technique
was used. This technique can be used to model the
problem of stress distribution in bodies of revolu-
tion (i.e., axisymmetric solids). The results are in
complete accordance with what has happened in the
slope. The model solving shows instabilities in the
boundary of the formations. Instabilities initiate dra-
matically within the boundary and are less within
Nesen formation.
Finally, the modeling results show that it is possible
to estimate events such as instabilities in geotechnical
projects.
REFERENCES
Arshadnejad, Sh., poshtvan, H., Parsaee, H. (2006) Determi-
nation of Optimum pillar size by empirical and numerical
methods based on ground reaction curve – Case study,
Soltan abad’s underground salt mine, In 7th tunneling
conference in Iran, 849–865, Sharif university.
Darvishzadeh, A. (2003) Geology of Iran, Tehran Univ.
Publisher.
Moshanir Consultant Engineer (2002) The Siah Bishe
Pumped Storage Project in Iran, Report NO: 39.
Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, 2009, BEHAVIOR OF POP-UP
STRUCTURES IN THRUST WEDGES ON THE RIGHT
PRESSURE SHAFT COLLAPSE OF SIAH BISHEH
DAM, NORTH IRAN, J. Tunneling and Underground
Space Technology, 23: 531–538.
Hassani, H., Arshadnejad, Sh., Hajhassani, H. R. (2008) Opti-
mum static and dynamic design of displacement chamber
of headrace tunnel with bedding parallel shear zones in
Siah Bishe Dam, Iran, J. Tunneling and Underground
Space Technology, 23: 531–538.
Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co., 2006,
Update on the Geology in the Pressure Shaft Slope, Basic
design documents Volume III.
Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co., 2005,
Field and Laboratory Investigations, Additional Investiga-
tion Programme for underground structures, Basic design
documents Volume III.
Itasca Consulting Group, FLAC, User’s Manual.
Rocscience (2002) Dips 5.1. Software; “Plotting, analysis and
presentation of structural data using spherical projection
techniques”.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Back regression analysis on initial geostress field of Wendeng

Pumped storage power station

Ning Liu & Chunsheng Zhang

Hydrochina Huadong Engineering Corporation, Hangzhou, China

ABSTRACT: Initial geostress is indispensable to the design and the construction of rock engineering. Based
on the measured data of geostress and engineering-geological conditions in the region of Wendeng Pumped
storage power station, a geological model is developed to express the physiognomy of the research area and
rock mass structure. The established 3D simplified geological model is calculated by Fast Lagrangian Analysis
for Continuum of FLAC3D. A multivariate regression model is established between the actually measured
and corresponding calculated results of geostresses. According to multiple regression analysis, the optimum
regression coefficient can be received. Through the comparison between computed and measured geostress
values of measuring points, found that they are similar in values and directions, which suggests the accuracy and
reasonability of the geostress field. The results offer for reasonable geostress field for excavating simulation and
analysis on stability of the underground workshop of Wendeng Pumped storage power station.

1 INTRODUCTION This method is mainly used in underground engineer-

The initial stress field of rock (or geostress field) is
the necessary condition for rock engineering numer-
ical simulation and the stability analysis of rock. It
is important for engineering design and construction.
It is not only the important factor for decision of
the regional stability and is the force of underground
excavation or ground deformation and destruction of
geotechnical engineering. It is the mechanics proper-
ties of surrounding rock, and is the precondition of
geotechnical engineering design and realization of the
excavation of scientific decision. How to accurately
reflect the initial stress field of geotechnical engineer-
ing is an important subject which the geotechnical
engineering has to face.
From the characteristics and demands for large-
scale engineering construction, along with the imple-
mentation of the western development strategy, many
large rock engineering will be constructed in western.
But the western geological environment is very com-
plex where the most intense global modern crustal
movement, active faults exist. Add the topographi-
cal features such as high canyon, often make high
stress. Rock burst and large deformation problems will
be influence on construction safety and stability and
increasing the stress the importance of [1].
There are two kinds of back regression analysis
on initial geostress Field Initial geostress field at
home and abroad: one kind is the displacement back
regression analysis method, which combined the actual
displacement field excavation, to deduce rock initial
stress. This is a kind of indirect method, when cal-
culating the domain of back-analyzing or measured
geostress is disturbed stress, this method is feasible.
ing small range of rock initial geostress inversion [2].
Another kind is stress regression analysis methods,
namely the combination of regional stress field, the
regularity of the conditions for the regional stress field
of three-dimensional geological model. According to
the project area small data of stress field to deduce
the initial geostress field and make the calculation of
stress field and measured optimum [3–5].
According to the stress measuring results of Wen-
deng Pumped storage power station nearby, and the
engineering geological conditions of the study area,
adopt the regression analysis method, to simulate the
initial stress field of Wendeng Pumped storage power
station. It is the basis for the design and construction
of underground workshop.
2 THE PRINCIPLE OF BACK REGRESSION
ANALYSIS
According to the regression principle, the stress value
σ̂k is the dependent variable, and the weight stress
and tectonic stress σki which is calculated by the
finite element calculation of field in the correspond-
ing calculation of stress as independent variables, the
regression equation is [6,7]:
Where k is the serial number for observation; σ̂ k is the
argument for corresponding regression coefficient; Li
is coefficient of back regression; σ̂ k and σki are the

545
measured stress components of the value of single Table 1. Mechanical properties of surrounding rock at
matrix and n is several condition. Wendeng Pumped storage power station
Suppose there are m observations, least-square
method for the squared residuals is Elastic Poisson Shear strength
Rock Density UCS modulus ratio
type (g/cm3 ) (MPa) (GPa) µ f c (MPa)

II 2.63 120 25 0.25 1.2 1.6

IV 2.1 100 1 0.45 1 0.05
Where σjk∗
is the value of k observation of j stress
components; σjki is the finite element calculation of
k observation of j stress components for I condition.
According to the principle of least squares, the Table 2. Parameters of faults
equation for minimum S is:
occurrence
Type trend tendercy dip position Width

f202 280 SW 75 1720 5∼6

f203 296 SW 81 1695 0.05∼0.3
f1-55 287 SW 75 1435 0.9∼2.5
f1-56 275 SW 75 1442 2∼2.5

Solve this equation to get n regression coefficients

L = (L1 , L2 , . . . , Ln )T . Then the initial stress P can 4 CALCULATION REGION AND
return by the finite element calculation. REGRESSION MODEL

The accuracy of the calculation results depends on

Where j = 1. . . 6 are corresponding initial stress com-
ponents.
Finally, adopt the complex correlation coefficient r
to measure the effects. In order to prevent the other
factors degradation, through the calculating partial
correlation coefficient Vi to eliminate not significant
factors.
For Wendeng Pumped storage power station, based
on the analysis of in-situ inversion results the stress
field will be calculated in the domain of stress field as
self-respect and tectonic stress field of linear superpo-
sition, through decomposition, stress and load weight
simulated stress. Finally add up to field calculation.
(1) The gravity stress which adopt actually density of
rock mass under the action of gravity field, to cal-
culate the weight by constraint the displacement
and the bottom side, only to limit its displacement
direction.
(2) The tectonic stress field which adopt the horizon-
tal triangular or trapezoidal pressure to simulate
horizontal direction tectonic forces, triangle or
trapezoidal shear force, shear structural simu-
lation direction of lateral boundary and bottom
loading by limit the displacement.
3 ENGINEERING PROFILE
Wendeng Pumped storage power station is located in
fresh rock of I category. The parameters are list in
Table 1 The rock is mainly granite. There are four faults
in workshop region, including f202, f203, f1-55 and
f1-56. The faults are treated as IV category.
the regional boundary conditions and the calculation
region. In the regression analysis, calculation domain
of at least two principles must comply with the scope of
geometry: (1) to include all the relevant areas of inter-
est, (2) boundary conditions of geometric constraint
must be easy to determine. Usually fitting ridge lines
and the valley will be chosen. Because the boundary
line of its sides terrain is roughly symmetrical. It can
be assumed that this kind of boundary in the direction
of vertical with boundary will not move. The boundary
will extend to the depth that will not be affected.
The finite element analysis regression model will be
calculated by combining with stress calculation model
and excavation model. Namely in order to make full
use of stress on plant area of measuring obtained, the
large scale model will be used in stress field, including
underground powerhouse inversion calculation model.
The regression of large stress calculation model will
be input as initial conditions.
The calculation model consists 104886 units and
19141 nodea, the three-dimensional numerical model
as figure 1, blue for workshop calculation model.
5 ANALYSIS ON CALCULATION RESULTS
Using the tress test data, get three variables, includ-
ing self-respect, rivers and stress direction of regres-
sion coefficients, L1 = 1214333.875, L2 = 1.272729,
L3 = 0.616084, and L4 = 0.427899. Correlation
coefficient r = 0.9467586, shows the effect is good.
Most of the return value between absolute error is
lesser, the maximum error in vertical direction ZK521,
this is mainly due to the point of shallow, vertical
stress by mountains, causing big error, the rest of the

546

Figure 1. Meshes of numerical model.
Figure 2. Contour of the principal stresses in typical surface
in back analysis region.
basic requirements in some range. The judge stress
regression another important index is calculated after
balance within the model of maximum principal stress
and the minimum principal stress value and the direc-
tion, regression principal stress and the principal stress
measured in numerical value most close, similar direc-
tion. Therefore regress stress is reasonable, fitting
result has high accuracy.
547
The stress in the regression model of four main
stress distribution by flac3d are in Figure 2 give. From
the figures, we can get
From the whole principal stress contours can see:
the maximum principal stress isoline, minimum prin-
cipal stress isoline in shallow relatively poor. The
principal stress from each isoline distribution can see:
the stress value basically have gradually increased
from bottom to top, isoline in shallow influenced
by terrain change in rivers and over a secret, stress
distribution of the stress concentration gradient is
larger, more apparent, inversion regression stress fully
reflects the landform and physiognomy. The ground
stress regression area with obvious changes in slope
topography, shallow region, due to the influence of the
mountains, and its tectonic stress significantly greater
than its gravity stress, tectonic stress field.
Whatever along the river direction along the ridge
directions, or section rock initial geostress field dis-
tribution are similar, shallow the maximum principal
stress isoline and slope to parallel, and with the hori-
zontal and vertical buried depth, gradually increasing
trend of present value of the surface energy.
6 CONCLUSIONS
(1) From the regression result, using multivariate lin-
ear regression with FLAC3D program combining
calculation method of inverse regression initial
geostress field can be rational distribution, value
and the actual return inversion stress value is good,
fitting that the inverse regression method is an
accurate and reliable method.
(2) On the basis of the measured by regression analy-
sis can predict the stress state of the project area,
the structure stability of underground engineering
analysis provides a convenient use stress boundary
conditions.
(3) Measured results and the calculation results show
that the stress on the overall project, with the
level of structural stress along the river section
or whatever direction along the ridge directions,
rock initial geostress field distribution are simi-
lar, principal stress isoline and slope to parallel,
and with the horizontal and vertical buried depth
increases. The lower cavity namely stress level
obviously higher than top arch, this means that
the lower cavity excavation unloading effect more
significantly, should cause enough attention.
REFERENCES
[1] Guo Huaizhi (1983). The analytical method of the ini-
tial stress field for rock masses. Chinese Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 5(3):64–75
[2] Zhu Bofang (1994). Back analysis of initial stresses in
rock masses. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, (10):
30–35
[3] Xiao Ming & Liu Zhiming (2000). Regression analysis
of 3D geostress field on Jinping secondary hydropow-
erstation. Yangtze River, 31(9), 42–44.
[4] HU Bin (2005). Regression analysis of initial geostress
field for left bank high slope region at Longtan
hydropower station. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechan-
ics and Engineering, 24(22):4055–4064.
[5] LI Yongsong (2006). Geostress Regression Analysis
Method and Engineering Case Application. Journal
548
of Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute, 23(4):
41–45.
[6] XIAO Ming (1989). Back analysis of 3D ini-
tial geostress and stress function fitting. Chinese
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 8(4):
337–345.
[7] Yang Linde (1999). Back Analysis Theory and Engi-
neering of Geotechnical Problems. Beijing: Science
Press.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Comparative analysis on mining-induced stress between in-situ

observation and numerical simulation in deep mining

Yang Ke, Xie Guang-Xiang & Chang Jucai

Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Safety and Efficiently Caving of Ministry of Education,
Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, Anhui, China

ABSTRACT: To understand and master the evolving patterns of mining-induced stress is a key issue to control
and utilize the action of rock pressure in deep underground mining. In-situ observation and numerical modeling
test were carried out to investigate the redistribution patterns of stress in the rock surrounding a fully mechanized
top-coal caving (FMTC) face of unsymmetrical disposal. The characteristics of mining-induced stress were open
out based on the comparative and integrated analysis between in-situ observation and numerical simulation. There
is a macro-stress shell (MSS) composed of high stress exists in the rock surrounding and it bears and transfers the
loads of overlying strata by acting as the primary supporting system of forces. Its evolution is a mined-induced
high stress developing and dynamically equilibrating process that form and influence the abutment pressure
redistribution in spatial rocks during mining. Within the low-stress zone inside the stress shell, which only bears
parts of the load from the lower-lying strata, has been proved by in-situ observation. The results show that the
face is protected by the stress shell of the overlying surrounding rock and strata behaviors are under control of
the stress shell.
Keywords: deep mining; macro stress shell; stress development; unsymmetrical disposal; in-situ observation;
numerical simulation; fully mechanized top-coal caving

1 INTRODUCTION and top-coal is 2.8 m thick. The strike length is 1674 m

Based on special mining and caving characteris-
tics compared with other mining methods, the fully
mechanized top-coal caving (FMTC) results in much
distinctiveness of stress redistributing & developing
that influence different characteristics on deep and
superficial deformation laws of gates, support pres-
sure changing laws of gates and stress redistribution
laws of rock surrounding face. Maintenance and sta-
bility control of gates has been a difficult problem
and impacts on safely mining, especially dissymmet-
rical disposal. Hence, large numbers of investigations
have been done and developed a certain degree in the
domain of abutment stress development and rock pres-
sure control in recent years[1–10] . In order to figure out
the characteristics of 3D mining-induced stress, in-situ
observations and numerical modeling tests have been
synthetically and comparatively applied to research on
the laws of mining-induced stress redistribution under
the conditions of deep and thick seam mining.
2 GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
AND OBSERVATION SCHEME
Xieqiao Mine FMTC Face 1151(3), from the switch-
yard below Section E-C in the west to the cut connect-
ing road in the east, works Seam C13−1 which averages
5.4 m thick, averaging 13◦ .The mining height is 2.6 m,
and the dip length is 231.8 m. The face is at an elevation
of −588 to −662 m, on which the seam floor of the air
return is at an elevation of −558.0 to −602.8 m and the
seam floor of the haulage drift-636.5 to −662.0 m. On
the north, Face 1141(3) is finished. The Face is sepa-
rated with the goaf of Face 1141(3) by an air return and
a protective coal pillar as wide as 5 m. The structure
of coal seam is stable in the face, and develops gen-
erally two-layer carbonaceous mudstone or tonstein
(Figure 1). Driving advances along the roof of Seam
13-1, supported by bolt-mesh-anchor. The observation
scheme and plane layout of 1151(3) face is shown
in Figure 2 and the type KSE-II-1 of borehole stress
meter was applied to measure the relative changing of
abutment stress in coal seam.
3 STRESS REDISTRIBUTION
CHARACTERISTICS OF COAL SEAM
3.1 Stress redistribution of coal pillar
Figure 3 and Table 1 show that the stress redistributing
process is divided four phases as four zones thatA,B,C,
and D is respectively the stabilizing zone, the gradually
increasing zone, the quickly increasing zone and the
decreasing zone of stress on the strike.And the location
of stress peak value is 11–12 m apart from face on the
strike.

549
Figure 1. The generalized stratigraphic column of 1151(3)
face.

Figure 3. Stress development curves of coal pillar (a) on the

strike, (b) to the dip.

Table 1. Stress development values and stress concentration

coefficients (k) of coal pillar by in-situ observation.

Stress Gradually Rapidly

development Stabilizing augmenting increasing Decreasing
zone zone (A) zone (B) zone (C) zone (D)

Range of >91 91∼38.7 38.7∼ 10.8 <10.8

influence (m)
k 1.0∼1.2 1.18∼1.63 1.42∼1.86 1.86∼1.06

Figure 2. Plane layout of 1151(3) face and stress observa-

tion station.
3.2 Stress redistribution of face frontage coal
Based on the analysis of Figure 4 and Table 2, the
stress redistribution laws of face frontage coal seam
along the strike are mainly two sides. One side, the
stress redistributing process is the divisional charac-
teristic and the stress peak location (SPL) is 15–20 m
to face wall. Other side, the stress redistribution of
face frontage coal is unsymmetrical that the stress peak
value (SPV), the stress reduced area and peak location
to face of tailgate side coal are more than maingate
side.
3.3 Stress redistribution of original coal
the peak value is 5–7 m apart from maingate wall of
original coal side to the dip.
4 NUMERICAL MODELING OF STRESS
DISTRIBUTION IN SURROUNDING ROCK
OF FMTC FACE
4.1 Model construction
Based on the characteristics of FLAC and under-
ground mining engineering, A Strain softening model
is adopted in association with the Mohr-Coulomb
yield criterion. The caved roof rocks are simulated
by time dependent elastic material with properties as
follows[9,10] :

The figure 5 shows that the original coal stress of main-

gate side increases during face advancing and there is
not peak value in face frontage along the strike, but

550
 Figure 6. The grid of three-dimensional model.
Figure 4. Stress development curves of coal seam.

Table 2. Stress development characteristics of coal seam by

in-situ observation.

Tailgate Maingate

11m 14m 17m 10m 15m 20 m

SPL (m) 16 15.2 20.2 15.6 17 16

k 2.04 1.90 1.77 1.74 1.75 1.78

Figure 7. Vertical stress development of coal seam by

numerical modeling.

Table 3. Stress development characteristics of coal seam by

numerical modeling.

Location SPV(MPa) k SPL(m ) RI(m)

Up-face 131 8.6 18.8 150

Middle-face 43.6 2.76 13.8 80∼100
Bottom-face 54.1 3.34 13.8 80∼100
Coal pillar 40.04 2.65 21.3 200
Original coal 42.2 2.6 8.1 150

In this investigation, the FLAC3D model is

Figure 5. Stress development curves of original coal at
maingate side (a) on the strike, (b) to the dip.
Where, ρ, E and ν are density, Young’s modulus
and Poisson’s ratio, respectively, whose values increase
with time t(year) and eventually approach constant
values.
314.17 m (height) ×500 m (strike length) ×600 m (dip
width). The model simulates Seam 13−2 and its roof
and floor, 13◦ dipping, 5.4 m thick, 231.8 m long of
the face dip. The model is divided into 95332 3-D ele-
ments and 112739 nodes (Figure 6). Displacement of
the model are restricted on boundaries, horizontal ones
by the four sides and the vertical ones by the bottom,
with vertical loadings exerted from above, in simu-
lation of the weight of overlying strata. The mining
thickness of Coal seam 13−1 is 2.8 m, and the thickness
of top coal is 2.6 m.
4.2 Stress field characteristics of coal seam
Figure 7 and Table 3 show mining-induced stress of
coal seam are unsymmetrical characteristics that the
SPV, the stress decreasing zone and the range of influ-
ence (RI) at the side of tailgate are better than side
of maingate. In coal pillar, the stress peak value is at
the frontage of face but gradually increasing again in

551

Figure 8. The principal stress vector field of surrounding
rocks in the center of face on the strike (MPa).
the gob. But in original coal, the stress is gradually
increasing and relatively stabilizing in the gob.
4.3 Stress field characteristics of surrounding
rock on the strike
It is can be seen from the principal stress vector field
(Figure 8) that there is a stress arch composed of high
stress undles in the surrounding rock of FMTC face
on the strike. The primary mechanical characteristic
Figure 9. The principal stress field of surrounding rock at different location to the dip(MPa) (a) at 150 meters distance ahead
of face; (b) at 15 meters distance ahead of face; (c) at face; (d) at 15m behind face; (e) at 100 m behind face; (f) at 100 m
behind face.
552
is that the principal stress value of the stress shell is
larger than that inside and outside. The skewback of the
stress arch lies in coal seams ahead of the face, forming
front abutment pressure. The voussoir beam formed
by the main roof lies in the stress-decrease zone below
the stress arch. The principal stress in the main roof
is larger than in other strata, indicating that breakage
and instability of the main roof will cause stress re-
distribution which exerts indirect effects, though not
serious, on the top-coal and the face. Nestled within
the low-stress area below the macro stress arch of the
surrounding rock, the FMTC face is subjected to a
tendency of mine pressure easing, different from the
case of a fully-mechanized face.
The height of the stress arch on the strike is 130
meters, 24.1 times the mining thickness, in the center
of FMTC Face 1151(3).
4.4 Stress field characteristics of surrounding
rock along the dip
Figures 9 show the maximum principal stress distribu-
tion at different places of the surrounding rock ahead
of and behind the face along the dip. It can be seen that
there is a stress arch composed of high stress bundles
in the surrounding rock along the dip. The form of
the stress arch changes with the face advancing, as
follows:

1) Out of the mining influence range, the skewback of

the stress arch formed by the mining of the upper
section lies on the edge of the virgin coal seams
below (Figure 9-a). Inside the stress arch, there is
a low stress area formed by the goaf of the upper
section; outside, there is an initial stress zone of the
virgin rock and coal mass along the dip.
2) At the peak of the abutment pressure ahead of the
face, there is a large-scale stress concentration zone
on the edge of coal seams where strike-ward and
dip-ward abutment pressure confer. So the skew-
backs are formed in large coal seams and their roof
strata (Figure 9-b).
3) Near the face, as a result of the unloading of the rock
mass on the edge of coal wall and above the face and
of abutment pressure transfer to the downside virgin
coal seams, a larger-scale stress arch is developed,
with a new skewback formed on the edge of the
downside virgin coal seams and the original one
shrinking upward (Figure 9-c/d). The stress arch
above the face is 62 m high, 11.5 times the mining
thickness.
4) Behind the face, farther from the face, the for-
mer skewback shrinks further and the stress arch Figure 10. Three dimensional shape of MSS surrounding
expands over the whole mining area (Figure 9-e/f). rocks (MPa) (a) view of maingate side; (b) view of tailgate
side.
There are stress arches in the surrounding rock of
FMTC faces both on the strike and on the dip. The two
arcs make up of a ellipsoidal shell in three-dimensional 5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
space of the face. It can be seen that there is also a
macro stress shell (MSS) composed of high stress. The (1) The stress development laws are obvious differ-
schematic plot of the stress shell in surrounding rock ences in different location of rocks surrounding face
is as shown in Figure 10. and gates. The stress redistribution of face frontage
The stress of the shell is higher than its internal and coal is unsymmetrical that the peak value of abutment
external stress. The stress shell lies in the virgin rock pressure, the stress reduced area and peak location to
and coal mass in the vicinity of the working face and face of tailgate side coal are more than maingate side.
in the sagging zone of the overlying strata. The shell The peak value of abutment pressure in original coal
skewback forms abutment pressure behind and ahead is located rear of face along the strike.
of the face and on the edge of the virgin seam on the (2) There is a macro stress shell composed of high
sides. The stress of the shell skewback is the abut- stress in the surrounding rock of an FMTC face.
ment pressure of the face and its vicinity. The shape of The stress shell, which bears and transfers the loads
the stress shell is related to the structure of the work- of overlying strata, acts as the primary supporting
ing face. Engineering practice show an FMTC face is structure.
mechanically characteristic of its location in the low- (3) The research findings are of guiding signifi-
stress zone protected by the stress shell of the overlying cance and theoretical basis for the following engi-
surrounding rock. Consequently, strata behaviors tend neering practice. Reasonable design and choice of
to be eased. The voussoir beam, situated in the stress- support must be consistent with the characteristic of
decrease zone below the stress shell, only bears partial the distribution of stress development of FMTC face.
loads of the strata below. Breakage and instability of
the voussoir can give rise to periodic pressures, instead
of great dynamic pressures, onto the face. The strata ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
behaviors of the face and its neighboring gates are
under control of the stress shell. Only off-balance of This study was supported by and the Science and Tech-
the stress shell can result in violent strata behavior, nological Fund of Anhui Province for Outstanding
such a shock bump or rock burst. The discovery and Youth Grant (No. 08040106839), the Natural Science
analysis of the stress shell has revealed the mechani- Research Project of Anhui Province for Colleges and
cal nature of the top coal of an FMTC face acting as a Universities (No. KJ2009A139), the National Basic
“cushion”. Research 973 Program (No.2005cb221503), and the

553
National Natural Science Foundation (No. 50774001).
The financial supports are gratefully acknowledged.
The writer also acknowledges the effort to engineers
of Xieqiao Coal Mine.
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[1] Li Xuehua. 2003. Deformation mechanism of sur-
rounding rocks and key control technology for a road-
way driven along goaf in fully mechanized top-coal
caving face. Journal of Coal science & Engineering,
9(1): 28∼32
[2] SZWEDZICKI T. 2000. The Effect of mining geom-
etry on stability of rock mass around underground
excavations[J]. Mineral Resources Engineering, 9(2):
265–278
[3] JIN Zhongming, WEI Jinping, JIN Wenxue. 2001. Dis-
tributive characteristic of front abutment pressure in
top-coal caving face[J]. Journal of Taiyuan University
of Technology, 32(3):216–218. (in Chinese)
[4] WU Jian, LU Mingxin, ZHANGYong, et al. 2002. Sim-
ulation research on stress distribution of surrounding
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Mechanics and Engineering, 21(Sup.2):2356–2359.
(in Chinese)
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[5] XIE Guangxiang. 2005. Study on mechanical charac-
teristics of fully mechanized top-coal caving face and
surrounding rock stress shell[J]. Journal of China Coal
Society, 30(3):309–313. (in Chinese)
[6] XIE Guangxiang, YANG Ke, CHANG Jucai. 2006.
Analysis of site measurement of support pressure dis-
tribution law for seam of fully mechanized longwall top
coal caving mining[J]. Coal Science and Technology,
34(3):1–3. (in Chinese)
[7] CHEN Zhonghui, XIE Heping, WANG Jiachen. 2002.
Numerical simulation of three-dimensional deforma-
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of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 21(3): 309–313.
(in Chinese)
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Relationship between instantaneous strength in laboratory and creep strength

by numerical simulation of soft rock in deep site

Liu Chuanxiao, He Jiadong, Zhang Jiawang & Tian Hongye

College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian City, Shandong
Province, China

ABSTRACT: Silt mudstone lied in deep field underground is the immediate roof of roadway and coal mining
face, which mechanical properties may be important to corresponding engineering. By uniaxial mechanical test
in laboratory for rock specimens, average instantaneous ultimate strength of the silt mudstone is 9.841 MPa.
Plastic-viscous constitutive model (Pwipp) has been constructed to simulate uniaxial creep properties of the
silt mudstone. Basic creep parameters have been got by numerical simulation with six steps loading methods
separately. The ratio of long-term strength to instantaneous strength is 96.79 percent and that of creep strength
to instantaneous strength is 97.05 percent, which have special differences with traditional viewpoints. Results
have given extrude rheological features of soft rock in deep site to be used in supporting design of underground
engineering. That is, instantaneous strength, creep strength, and long-term strength of unstable soft rock with
strong rheological properties will decrease in turn, but their values are closed one another.

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTIONS program that both are interdependent (Ding et al. 2005,
Han et al. 2007, Liu et al. 2005, Tan et al. 2008, Zhang
Universal creep features of rock masses with increas- et al. 2008). Combining physical test and numerical
ing depth have been recognized in coal mining engi- model, this paper tries to discover creep features of
neering. That rock mass whose ultimate strength is long-term strength and ultimate creep strength of silt
beyond 25 MPa can bring large plastical deformation mudstone in deep field.
is typical creep properties of general rock in deep
site (Gasc et al. 2004, He et al. 2002, Sun. 1999,
Zhang et al. 2004). Under the condition of higher 2 ROCK MECHANICAL PARAMETERS BY
initial stresses, rock masses have distinct volume- GENERAL TEST
enlarged creep features and enlarging degree increases
with higher stress grade or smaller enclosed pressure. 2.1 Rock specimens from field
Influenced by complicated geological environment,
high stresses, rock cracks and water, rock masses sur- Field rock specimens lied in 530 meters underground
rounding roadways in deep field may present creep in Binhu colliery, which had been transported to
properties. That is, stable state and standard of rock laboratory for test. Rock specimens were from silt
masses in engineering will change with development mudstone which was immediate roof of the twelfth
of time or controlling factors (Deng et al. 2002, Karato coal seam. Raw silt mudstone is shown in figure 1.
et al. l993, Sun. 2005, Wang et al. 2001). Especially to
soft rock in deep site, the old supporting plan and actual
experience can not answer problems in existence,
which states that support to roadway surrounding with
soft rock masses in deep site is a difficulty. Depending
upon rock mechanical test to study creep properties of
soft rock masses, deformation control for roadway in
deep field would become a possibility, which is an
important foundation of coal mining security (Li et al.
2004, Mao et al. 2006, Yuan et al. 2006).
Experimental mechanics provides effective theories
for engineering application of rock masses. Generally,
mechanical testing methods must include physical test Figure 1. Silt mudstone from immediate roof of the twelfth
in laboratory and numerical simulations by calculating coal seam.

555

Figure 2. SAW-2000 rock mechanical testing device.
2.2 Electro-hydraulic servo-controlled rock
mechanics testing system
Triaxial rock mechanics testing system is com-
posed of vertical loading mainframe, servo-controlled
hydraulic pressure source, enclosed pressure system,
monitoring system, and host computer. Equipped with
self-balanced triaxial pressure chamber, the testing
system may be used to study compressing strength,
creep properties, relaxation, and lower frequency load-
ing features of rock or concrete materials under three
dimensional stresses state. With servo-controlled pore
water pressure system, pore water pressure test includ-
ing evolving laws of osmotic ratio with different
stresses can be completed. Testing device of SAW-
2000 from Changchun Kexin Ltd. Is mainly makeup
of three EDC controllers from Germany DOLI Ltd.
And D633 servo-valve from MOOG Ltd. Three dimen-
sional displacement meters include vertical and radical
sensors which may measure displacements of four
positions at one time and their average value can be
get. Inspecting range of displacement meter is 5 mm in
vertical direction and 4 mm in radical direction. Stiff-
ness of SAW-2000 electro-hydraulic servo-controlled
rock mechanics testing system is up to 2 × 1010 N/m
and its responding frequency is higher. So it may
be used in uniaxial and triaxial test of rock, which
complete strain-stress curves can be protracted. From
this testing system, some rock mechanical parameters
may be calculated automatically, including compress-
ing strength, elastic modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s
ratio, ultimate strength, and remaining strength.
556
Figure 3. Rock specimen and displacement meter.
SAW-2000 rock mechanics testing system is shown
in figure 2 and its displacement meter is shown in
figure 3.
Triaxial electro-hydraulic servo-controlled rock
mechanics testing system is equipped in structural
mechanical laboratory of Shandong Agricultural Uni-
versity, which controlling system is displacement
mode. By uniaxial and triaxial compressing test, rock
mechanical parameters of uniaxial ultimate strength,
elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, cohesion stress, and
friction angle may be determined. And the com-
plete strain-stress curves of rock are important testing
results too. If designing creep mechanical testing plan
for rock specimens, their time-effect properties of
deformation can be arrived.
Based on rock testing criterion, rock masses from
coal mine are processed according to the standard
rock specimen. Generally, shape of rock specimen is
cylinder which size is about φ50 × 100 mm. In verti-
cal direction of rock specimen, error of section sides
must be no more than 0.3 cm. The limited error of par-
allelism of two surfaces is 0.05 cm. Two surfaces of
rock specimen are perpendicular to its axes, and the
deflection angle should be no more than 0.25◦ . Hens,
standard specimens for one kind rock mass should be
much more by any possibility to answer for uniaxial,
triaxial and creep mechanical tests.
2.3 Uniaxial compressing test for silt mudstone
Uniaxial ultimate strength of rock specimen is σc . It
can be expressed as
where F is ultimate force and A is area of initial section
of rock specimen.
Average values of compressing strength, elastic
modulus and Poisson’s ratio from each group of
rock specimens are their corresponding mechanical
parameters.
By uniaxial compressing test for silt mudstone,
its mechanical parameters are listed in table 1, some
Table 1. Mechanical parameters of silt mudstone by uniax-
ial test.

Destroyed Ultimate Elastic Remaining

force strength modulus Poisson’s strength
Size kN MPa MPa ratio MPa

φ46 × 80 16.39 9.862 2417 0.38 0.65

φ46 × 91 17.06 10.26 2564 0.36 2.40
φ46 × 97 15.72 9.400 2454 0.41 3.80
Average 16.39 9.841 2478 0.38 2.28

Figure 6. Complete strain-stress curve of 2# silt mudstone

specimen by uniaxial test.

Figure 4. Some specimens and results of uniaxial test.

Figure 7. Complete strain-stress curve of 3# silt mudstone

specimen by uniaxial test.

terms of the second invariant of the deviatoric stress

tensor, the Drucker-Prager model is the most compati-
ble with the viscoelastic model in FLAC3D to simulate
creep law of rock.

3.2 Numerical model of uniaxial creep test

Figure 5. Complete strain-stress curve of 1# silt mudstone
specimen by uniaxial test.
initial specimens or destroyed results are illustrated
in figure 4, and its complete strain-stress curves are
shown in figure 5, figure 6 and figure 7.
Average value of uniaxial instantaneous compress-
ing strengths of silt mudstone is 9.841 MPa.
3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION FOR UNIAXIAL
COMPRESSING CREEP OF SILT
MUDSTONE WITH FLAC3D
Referring to initial state of silt mudstone in Binhu col-
liery, element distribution and boundary conditions of
numerical model are illustrated in figure 8.
Rock specimen in uniaxial compressing creep
model is a cylinder, which height is 100 mm and its
ratio of height to diameter is 2:1. Rock specimen
is plotted into 40 layers evenly in vertical direction.
From the center of rock specimen, 10 cirques are dis-
persed by ratio 0.85 in radical direction. 40 sectors
are evenly disparted surrounding the rock specimen.
Therefore, one rock specimen will be dispersed into
16000 elements when calculating and include 16441
nodes.
Boundary conditions: vertical displacements are
fixed at underside boundary and the upper boundary
is applied with vertical stresses.

3.1 Plastic-viscous constitutive model (Pwipp)

3.3 Mechanical properties of materials
Viscoplasticity of rock is modeled in FLAC3D by com-
bining the viscoelastic model with the Drucker-Prager Mechanical parameters of rock specimen with vis-
plasticity model. Because they are both formulated in coplasticity constitutive model are mainly according

557
 Figure 9. Creep curves of uniaxial numerical test.

9.525 and 9.55 MPa respectively. The maximum creep

time is 10000000 seconds that is about 116 days.

3.5 Uniaxial creep curves of numerical simulation

Figure 8. Numerical model and boundary conditions about
uniaxial creep test.
Horizontal displacements of nodes (25,50,0) and
(−25,50,0) on surface of rock specimen are recorded
with calculation, by which the radical strain can be
determined. Creep curves of rock specimen under
different loading stresses are shown in figure 9.

4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
to experimental values in FLAC3D and uniaxical INSTANTANEOUS AND CREEP
compressing test for silt mudstone in laboratory. STRENGTHES OF SILT MUDSTONE IN
In these mechanical parameters, experimental value DEEP SITE
d_wipp(D) is replaced with 5.79 × 10−34 Pa−4.9 s−1
and tension(σt ) is replaced with 1 × 107 Pa. Mechan- From uniaxial creep curves of silt mudstone by numer-
ical properties of numerical materials are listed as ical simulation, its long-term strength and ultimate
follows. creep strength are 9.525 MPa and 9.55 MPa respec-
act_energy (Q), 1.2 × 104 cal/mol; tively, which states that the soft rock mass in deep site
a_wipp (A), 4.56; should be with strong rheological features.
By uniaxial mechanical test in laboratory for rock
b_wipp (B), 1.27 × 102 ;
specimens, average instantaneous ultimate strength
bulk (K), 2.07 × 1010 Pa;
of the silt mudstone is 9.841 MPa, so the ratio of
d_wipp (D), 5.79 × 10−34 Pa−4.9 s−1 ; long-term strength to instantaneous strength is 96.79
e_dot_star (ε̇∗ss ), 5.39 × 10−8 s−1 ; percent which is different from traditional recognition
gas_c (R), 1.987 cal/mol K; about ratio ranging from 60 percent to 80 percent.
kshear (kφ ), 3.5 × 107 ; Meanwhile, ratio of creep strength to instantaneous
n_wipp (n), 4.9; strength is 97.05 percent which has special differences
qdil (qk ), 0; with general viewpoint that creep strength should be
qvol (qφ ), 0.75; less than instantaneous strength obviously. Research
shear (G), 1.24 × 1010 Pa; results have given extrusive rheological features of
temp (T), 3 × 102 ◦ C; soft rock in deep site to be used in supporting design
tension (σt ), 1 × 107 Pa. of underground engineering. That is, instantaneous
strength, creep strength, and long-term strength of
unstable soft rock with strong rheological properties
will decrease in turn, but their values are closed one
3.4 Uniaxial loading approach of numerical
another.
simulation for creep properties
Separate loading method is generally used in creep
tests which testing devices and conditions are invari- 5 CONCLUSIONS
able to several identical rock specimens, which can get
typical creep curves under different loading stresses Studying general mechanical properties in laboratory
but can not achieve in actual mechanical test. It is and creep features by numerical simulation for silt
not a problem for separate loading method to be used mudstone lied in deep field, its instantaneous strength,
in numerical calculation. Based on uniaxial testing creep strength and long-term strength would decrease
results of silt mudstone which instantaneous com- in turn and three values are closed, which is differ-
pressing strength is 9.841 MPa, its creep properties are ent with traditional viewpoints but may be useful to
studied under six steps loading stresses of 3, 4, 7, 8.6, corresponding engineering underground.

558
REFERENCES
Deng, G.Z. & Zhu, W.S. 2002. An experiment research on the
crack propagation in rock mass. Journal of Experimental
Mechanics 17(2): 177–183.
Ding, X.L. Fu, J. Liu, J. Sheng, Q. Chen, H.Z. & Han, B.
2005. Study on creep behavior of alternatively distributed
soft and hard rock layers and slope stability analysis. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 24(19):
3411–3418.
Gasc, B.M. & Chanchole, S. 2004. Creep behavior of bure
clayey rock. Applied Clay Science 26(1): 449–458.
Han, B. Wang, Z.Y. Ding, X.L. & X, P. 2007. Numerical sim-
ulation for rheologic characteristics of interbedded strata
of soft and hard rock. Journal of Yangtze River Scientific
Research Institute 24(2): 25–29.
He, M.C. Jing, H.H. & Sun, X.M. 2002. Engineering
Mechanics of Soft Rock. Beijing: Science Press.
Karato, S.I. & Wu, P. l993. Rheology of the upper mantle: a
synthesis. Science 260: 77l–778.
Li, H.M. Li, Z.H. & Su, C.D. 2004. Testing study on
creep characteristics of marble. Chinese Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Engineering 23(22): 3745–3749.
Liu, J.H. Zhu, W.S. Li, S.C. & Yang, F.Y. 2005. Analysis
of rheological characteristics and stability of surround-
ing rock masses of Xiaolangdi hydrojunction underground
caverns by using FLAC3D . Chinese Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Engineering 24(14): 2484–2489.
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Mao, H.J.Yang, C.H. Liu, J. & Wang, X.C. 2006.Testing study
and modeling analysis of creep behavior of slates. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 25(6):
1204–1209.
Sun, J. 1999. Rheology and Its Application in Engineering
of Rock or Soil. Beijing: Chinese Architectural Industry
Press.
Sun, J. 2005. Recent development on the computation tech-
niques of geomechanics and underground structures.
Chinese Quarterly of Mechanics 26(3): 329–338.
Tan, Y.L. Liu, C.X. & Zhao,T.B. 2008. Elementary for Rock
Nonlinear Dynamics. Beijing: Chinese Coal Industry
Publishing House.
Wang, Y.F. & Jin, Z.M. 2001. Diffusion creep of rocks
and its implications. Geological Science and Technology
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creep rules of soft and intricate ore-rock under step load
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Zhang, L.J. & Liu, C.X. 2008. Supporting Technology to
Roadway with Rheological Rock Masses. Beijing: Chinese
Coal Industry Publishing House.
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theory of soft rock and its engineering application. Chi-
nese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 23(10):
1635–1639.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Research on the energy dissipation and stress distribution characteristics

of the excavated circular tunnel under high stress conditions

S.R. Wang, H.Q. Zhang, P.P. Liu & H.H. Jia

School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China

ABSTRACT: It is the key important problems in the world to research on rockburst disaster mechanism and
control countermeasure of the deep mining tunnel under high stress conditions. The principal stresses distribution
and energy dissipation were analysed according to the cases of the excavated radius, the stress level, and the non-
uniform stress field of the tunnel with UDEC technique. The growth curves of the energy dissipation quantity
and the energy dissipation ratio were concave with stress level increasing and the non-uniform stress field
aggravating. The growth curve of the energy dissipation quantity were also concave, but the energy dissipation
ratio with the excavated radius increasing was almost holding constant. The concentrated zones of the principal
stress difference were extended and gradually migrated from the outside to the inside in the tunnel surroundings
rock with the non-uniform stress field aggravating. When the horizontal stresses are greater than vertical stresses,
the concentrating zones of principal stress difference in the roof are usually having serious consequences than
these in the both sides of the tunnel.

1 INTRODUCTION Xu 2003 & Du 2007). In other countries, Cook et al.

Since the first record of rockburst at a tin mine in
Britain in 1738, rockburst has always been a big puzzle
in mining development engineering. Because it occurs
suddenly with characters of dynamic failure, rockburst
often brings threat to the safety of constructors and
equipments, causes destruction of engineering struc-
tures and affects the project progress, until now it is still
one of the conundrums in underground engineering on
a worldwide basis. (Shabarov 2001, Singh 1988).
Rockburst is often encountered during excavation
of deep-buried underground engineering under high
stress conditions. It is considered as a dynamic insta-
bility phenomenon caused by the sudden release of
elastic strain energy stored in the surrounding rock-
mass as a result of the excavation unloading induced
stress dissipation in the stress redistribution process
of the tunnel wall. As for researchers on rockburst
mechanism, there have been many laboratory experi-
ments and theory analysis in the world. In China, the
analysis of the energy release in rockburst was made
by Wang et al. (2008) through finite element numer-
ical modeling including the influence of excavation
rate. By laboratory experiments it was confirmed that
energy dissipation leads to reduction the rock strength
and the energy release is the true cause of rock catas-
trophic failure (Zhao et al., 2008). Some scholars have
executed a large number of experiments by means
of unloading method, acoustic emission monitoring
method, energy criterion and catastrophe theory (Xu
2002, Zhang 2002, Pan 1997 & Pan 2006). Exploration
and research on prediction and prevention of rockburst
were also conducted (Xu 2005,Yang 2007, Shen 2006,
(1979) early conducted experimental study of rock
burst, Ryder (1988) and Spottiswoode (1988) et al.
found that the quantity of mine earthquakes, energy
release rate and rockburst events have a good correla-
tion with ESS (excess shear stress), but not yet with
ERR (energy release rate).
Although there have been some progresses in stud-
ies of rockburst mechanism and researches on pre-
diction and prevention of rockburst, up to now, the
results are far from mature and it deserves a long
way to go. Along with the shallow mineral resourses
increasingly exhausted, deep mining will inevitably
become the main direction of mining development
in the future in China. In deep mining, researching
on effective prevention methods to mining dynamic
geological disasters such as rockburst et al., have not
only important theoretical values to ensure the safety
of mining, but also important strategic significance
to develop and use of the deep mineral resources.
As unloading and continuous loading follow differ-
ent stress paths and have different failure effects in the
dynamic instability of underground engineering, the
energy accumulation, migration and dissipation pro-
cess in the surrounding rock of the tunnel under high
stress conditions correspondingly have different char-
acteristics. Thus it is always difficult to reach a result
corresponding to practical engineering by following
loading mechanics in researching on the mechanical
characteristics of excavation unloading failure and its
stability. It shows that excavation unloading charac-
ter of tunnel under high stress condirions much closer
to the practical engineering. With application of the
energy calculation in UDEC in this paper, the principal

561
stress distribution and energy dissipation characteris-
tic of the surroundings rock during the circular tunnel
excavation were analyzed along with variation of the
excavated radius, stress level and stress uneven degree,
which has some referential value to revealing the
rockburst mechanism and its evolutionary behavior.

2 ENERGY BALANCE EQUATION AND ERR

CALCULATION OF THE EXCAVATED
TUNNEL SURROUNDINGS ROCKMASS

2.1 Energy balance equation

M. D. Salamon (1974) holded that after tunnel exca-
vation, the energy balance equation due to excavation
unloading is:
Figure 1. Computional model and meshes.

where W is the work done by the shifting of external
and gravitational forces working on the convergence
and deformation of the rock mass due to tunnel exca-
vation, Um is the strain energy stored in the mined
rock, Uc is the strain energy re-accumulated in the
surroundings rock after tunnel excavation, and Wr is
the dissipated energy of various forms owing to tunnel
excavation.
2.2 ERR calculation
It can be done by using the energy computation in
UDEC to get the numerical solution which agrees well
with the analytical solution. The calculation error is
less than three percent and can meet the requirement
of engineering calculation.
In order to effectively reflect the variation of energy
release quantity caused by excavation of arbitrary
shape and volume, Hodgson and Joughin (1967) et
al. proposed the concept of energy release rate which
stands for the energy release quantity per volume exca-
vation, which is often used as a quantitative index for
the rockburst evaluation of surrounding rock mass.
where k is energy release rate, dw is the energy release
caused by rock excavation, and dv is the rock volume
which is digged out.
is 0.3, cohesion is 10 MPa, friction angle is 43◦ , and
tensile strength is 2.0 MPa. A 10 m radius circular
model is estabished, in a self weight field of hydro-
static pressure state, with a fully-clamped boundary.
The computional model and its meshes are shown
in fig. 1.
3.1.2 Simulation analysis schemes
Firstly, along with the excavation radius changes of
the circular tunnel from 0.5 m, to 1.0 m, to 1.5 m and
to 2.0 m, the energy release quantity w of the tunnel
surroundings rock is calculated respectively and the
variation of energy release rate k is analyzed.
Secondly, to the surroudings rock stress σ increas-
ing from 25 MPa, 50 MPa, 75 MPa to 100 MPa, in
which vertical stress and horizontal stress increase
synchronously, the energy release quantity w is calcu-
lated respectively and the variation of energy release
rate k is analyzed.
Finally, as the unevenness of the surrouding rock
stress is changing by keeping the vertical stress σv
constant and by increasing the horizontal stress σh
from 25 MPa, 35 MPa, 45 MPa to 55 MPa, the energy
release quantity w is calculated correspondingly and
the variation of energy release rate k is analyzed, after
that, analysis of the maximum principal stress differ-
ence and its distribution characteristics in the tunnel
surroundings rock are carried out.

3.1.3 Characteristic analysis of the energy release

3 ENERGY CALCULATION AND
CHARACTERISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE
PRINCIPAL STRESS DIFFERENCE
VARIATION TO THE EXCAVATED TUNNEL
3.1 Characteristic analysis of the energy release
quantity of the excavated circular tunnel under
high stress conditions
3.1.1 Computation model
Considering the excavation of a circular tunnel, with
1000 m deep in a mine, of which the surroundings
rock is sandstone of good integrity which density is
2500 kg/m3 , elastic modulus is 90 GPa, Poisson’s ratio
quantity in the tunnel surroundings rock
Under three conditinons, along with the increase of the
excavation radius, of the surrounding rock stress σ, and
of the horizontal stress σh , it can be seen from fig. 2
that for the circular tunnel excavation in deep min-
ing, the energy dissipation quantity increases rapidly
in the form of concave quadratic curves, and the curve
increases significantly in the wake of the stress level
growth. The results indicate that with the continuously
stress level improvement in deep mining, the energy
dissipation quantity in tunnel excavation will show a
remarkable growth of nonlinear instability curve, and
the potential harmfulness of rockburst will increase.

562
Figure 2. The curves of the energy dissipation quantity in
the tunnel surroundings rock.
3.1.4 Characteristic analysis of the ERR in the
excavated tunnel surroundings rock
Fig. 3 shows that for the excavated circular tunnel in
deep mining, the energy dissipation rate will increase
in the form of concave quadratic curves along with
the enhancement of stress level and of stress field
unevenness, on the other hand, however, the excava-
tion radius variation from small to big does not lead
to great change of energy dissipation rate, which only
fluctuates around a constant. Namely, ERR is insensi-
tive to the excavated radius changing, and this result
confirmed that there is not a direct connection between
the rockburst event and ERR (energy release rate).
In the quadratic polynomial fitting curve method,
the quadratic coefficient determines the curvature
variance of the concave curve. From the curves of
energy dissipation quantity and of energy dissipation
rate (See Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) it can be seen that, in
contrast to other factors, stress level is the determin-
ing key factor to the concave curve growth. This also
563
Figure 3. The curves of the energy dissipation ratio in the
tunnel surroundings rock.
reflects the main cause, for rockburst phenomenon in
underground works in deep mining being more than
that in shallow mining, is the increment of stress level.
3.2 Analysis of the principal stress distribution
characteristics of the excavated circular tunnel
3.2.1 Distribution characteristics of the maximum
and minimum principal stress
As shown in the fig. 4, keeping the vertical stress of
the surroundings rock invariance at 25 MPa, as the
horizontal stress of the surrounding rock rising from
25 MPa, 35 MPa, 45 MPa, to 55 MPa, the principal
stress σp generated from the surroundings rock will
be varying along with the change of its distance to
the inner wall, l of the circular tunnel. The maximum
principal stress gradually decreases in the shallow
rock (distance from the tunnel rim less than about
5.0 meters), and increases in the deep rock (distance
from the tunnel wall greater than about 5.0 meters),

Figure 4. The curves of the principal stresses distribution in
the tunnel surroundings rock.
meanwhile, the minimum principal stress has little
change. Thus the results come to: (1) transference of
the maximum principal stress difference, generated in
the surroundings rock of the excavated circular tunnel,
l from the near to the distant to its wall; (2) the positions
of the maximum principal stress difference emerged
discontinuous transference, which is identical with the
alternating of tension and compression stress and zon-
ing cracking phenomenon in the surroundings rock
discovered by the domestic and foreign scholars.
564
As the magnitude of maximum principal stress dif-
ference (to represent shear stress) and its location are
closely related to the phenomenon of rockburst, conse-
quently, the gradual increase and further concentration
of the principal stress difference from the near to the
distant to its wall in the surroundings rock of the
excavated tunnel will be the potential direct factors
to induce rockburst.
3.2.2 Concentrating zones distribution of the
principal stress difference
As shown in fig. 5, keeping the vertical stress of the
surroundings rock invariance at 25 MPa, as the hori-
zontal stress rising from 25 MPa, 35 MPa, 45 MPa, to
55 MPa, the concentrating zones of the principal stress
difference come about in horizontal direction of the
surrounding rock both sides, and the scope and mag-
nitudes of the concentrating zones show growth trend
along with the horizontal stress increment. Meanwhile,
the concentrating zones also can be seen in the roof and
have greater scope and magnitude than those in hori-
zontal direction of the surrounding both sides. Thus we
can say that with the gradual increase of the horizontal
stress in surroundings rock, strengthened attention and
rockburst monitor should be given to the tunnel roof.
The numerical simulation results show that, when
quasi-static instability occurs after the circular tunnel
excavated, the accumulation, migration and dissipa-
tion of the energy in the surroundings is a process of
gradual gestation, and then development and finally
outburst, along with the time incresing. Engineering
practices demonstrate that rockburst generally lags the
excavation several hours to dozens of hours (Xu &
Wang, 2003); besides, after tunnel being excavated,
the generation of the principal stress concentration
phenomenon and the redistribution process of the prin-
cipal stress are both related to the stress conditions and
geological environments of the excavated tunnel.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The distribution of the principal stress difference and
the characteristic of energy dissipation in tunnel sur-
roundings rock are analysed according to the cases of
the excavated radius, the stress level, and the nonuni-
form stress field of the circular tunnel with UDEC
technique, some main conclusions can be obtained as
follows:
1. In the process of the circular tunnel being exca-
vated in deep mining, the growth curves of the
energy dissipation quantity and the energy dissipa-
tion ratio were concave with stress level increasing
and the non-uniform stress field aggravating. The
growth curve of the energy dissipation quantity
were also concave, but the energy dissipation ratio
with the excavated radius increasing was almost
holding constant.
2. After excavation of the circular tunnel, the con-
centrating zones of the principal stress difference
are extended and gradually migrated from the
 near to the distant from the the tunnel wall in
the surroundings rock with the nonuniform stress
field aggravating. The intensity increment of the
principal stress difference provides conditons for
gestation and accumulation of rockburst energy.
3. When the horizontal stresses are greater than verti-
cal stresses, the concentrating zones of the principal
stress difference in the roof are usually having seri-
ous consequences than those in the both sides of
the excavated tunnel, for this reason, strengthened
attention and rockburst monitor should be given to
the tunnel roof.

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565
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical simulation research on seismic activity in Yunnan area

Li Yujiang, Chen Lianwang, Ye Jiyang & Zhan Zimin

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: We employ a three-dimensional finite element model to study the relationship between the tec-
tonic stress-strain fields and seismic activities inYunnan area, basing on the updated GPS-derived displacement as
the boundary constraints. Through comparing the stress-strain fields, strain energy density with the Ms ≥ 6 earth-
quakes distribution in recent one hundred years. We found that the strong earthquake distribution corresponds well
with the stress high value or transitional sections, also the upper strain energy density regions, especially the mag-
nitude above seven. Finally, the potential seismic risk regions are given based on the relationship between them.

1 INTRODUCTION Table 1. Geometric parameters of active faults in Yunnan

area.
Earthquakes result from elastic stress built up in part
Fault Strike Dip Rake
by tectonic motion. GPS-derived crust strain measure-
ments provide an opportunity to model the relative Anninghe NS E/W vertical
growth of crust stress in detail. The observed strain Zemuhe NW NE 60–70
field is not uniform, thus it is expected that the distri- Xiaojiang NS NE vertical
bution of crustal stress will also irregular. In this paper, Lijiang-Xiaojinhe NE SE/NW vertical
the stress-strain field in Yunnan area is calculated with Yuanmou-Lvzhijiang NS N 70–80
a three-dimensional finite element model that is loaded Nanhua-Chuxiong-Jianshui NW/NW WNE/SW vertical
by the updated observed GPS displacements. Honghe NW SW/NE 60–85
The Yunnan area was located at the south-eastern Zhenyuan-Puer NW NE vertical
margin of Qing-Tibet Plateau, and also the intense dis- Weixi-Weishan NW NE vertical
tortion belt deduced from the collision of India plate
toward the Eurasian plate. In recent thirty years, it
experienced two stages of strong earthquake activi-
ties, during this periods, there happens Tonghai Ms7.7, activities deduced from the mainly active faults, the
Daguan Ms 7.1, Longling Ms7.3, Lanchang Ms7.4, borders of the finite element model must keep apart
Menglian Ms7.3 and Lijiang Ms7.0 earthquakes, as from Yunnan area with a certain distance. Finally, the
well as many Ms6.0 earthquakes occurred (Tang, boundaries are determined as follows: the east bound-
1989). Therefore, a great number of highly effec- ary is located at 105◦ E, the west is at 98.5◦ E, and the
tive observations and researches of seismology, active south is in the vicinity of 22◦ N while the north is 29◦ N.
structure and crustal deformation have been car- The major active faults selected in the model include
ried out in this area (Wang J C, 1991; Yang G Y, Anninghe, Zemuhe, Xiaojiang, Honghe, Lijiang-
1981, 1982; Naoyuki Kato, 1999; Stewart W. Smith, Xiaojinhe, Yuanmou-Lvzhijiang, Nanhua-Chuxiong-
1969; Jiao M R, 1999; Liu C Q, 1998). At this, we Jianshui, Zhenyuan-Puer,Weixi-Weishan faults. The
choose this area as the target to study the stress-strain geometric parameters of the active faults are derived
fields and theirs relationship with the happened strong from the mainly research in this area (Xiang H F, 2000;
earthquakes. Xu X W, 2003), and the details are shown in Table 1.

2 FINITE ELEMENT MODEL 2.2 Material properties

2.1 Geometry
Based on the Holocene active faults of Yunnan area
and three dimensional velocity structure of crust, and
integrated with source mechanism solution and GPS
data, the geological structure model is established and
the geometric boundary conditions is determined.
Considering from the model boundary effect and
the effect on the regional tectonic motion and seismic
Based on the travel time of initial P and S waves of
4625 regional earthquakes recorded at 174 stations in
Yunnan seismologic networks (Lin Z Y, 1993), and
integrated with other deep geophysical data, Wang,
et al (2002) determined the three dimensional veloc-
ity structure of the lithosphere in Yunnan area, the
results are shown in Tab 2. According to our inten-
tion in this paper, we only give the crustal model at
this, and the model is vertically divided into three

567
Table 2. The 3-D velocity structure of the crust and the
mantle in Sichuan-Yunnan area.

Depth vp vs ρ
(km) (km/s) (km/s) ν (kg/m3 )

10 5.88 3.43 0.25 2685

30 6.45 3.74 0.25 2682
50 7.75 4.35 0.28 2835
85 8.00 4.35 0.28 3270

Table 3. Partitioned media and their parameters of 3D

finite element model of Yunnan area.

Number of Young’s modulus Poisson’s Figure 1. 3-D discretization model in Yunnan area.
Layer Subzone 104 MPa ratio
finite element model. Figure 1 shows the results of dis-
Upper crust 1 8.3 0.25 cretization model consisting of 197901 elements with
2 7.7 0.25
3 7.2 0.25
65514 nodes. The coordinate system of finite element
4 6.5 0.25 model is a right-hand rectangular oxyz with the posi-
13 2.3 0.26 tive x axis directing to the due east, the positive y axis
14 2.5 0.26 directing to the due north, the positive z axis directing
15 2.66 0.26 up and the origin locating at the southwest corner of
Middle crust 5 7.9 0.25 the model.
6 8.5 0.25 All modeling presented here are conducted using
7 9.3 0.25 the ANSYS finite element program from the numer-
8 9.9 0.25 ical simulation laboratory of the Institute of Crustal
16 2.7 0.26
17 2.9 0.26
Dynamics China Earthquake Administration. ANSYS
18 3.15 0.26 employs the Newton-Raphson approach to solve non-
Lower crust 9 13.3 0.28 linear problems. In this method a load is subdivided
10 12.6 0.28 into a series of increments applied over several steps.
11 11.3 0.28 Before each solution the Newton-Raphson method
12 11.9 0.28 evaluates the out of balance load vector, which is the
19 3.8 0.28 difference between the restoring forces (the loads cor-
20 4.1 0.28 responding to the element stresses) and the applied
21 4.3 0.28 loads. A linear solution is performed, using the out of
balance loads, and check for convergence. If conver-
gence criteria are not satisfied, the out of balance load
layers consisting of the upper crust (0∼15 km), mid- vector is reevaluated, the stiffness matrix updated, and
dle crust (15∼30 km) and the lower crust(30∼50 km). a new solution is obtained. The system of equations
Now the model has 21 medium subareas and the is solved through direct elimination of equations until
medium parameters of each subarea are shown in the problem convergence (sparse direct solver).
Table 3. The Young’s modulus parameter is deduced
from the equation below (Wang R, 1980):

2.3 Modeling loading and GPS velocity field

Where ν = Poisson’s ratio; C = velocity P; and
ρ = density.
In establishing finite element model and determin-
ing dynamic boundary conditions, the above men-
tioned characteristic of crustal structure should be fully
considered so as to obtain better results.
Based on the geologic model, we have established
a three dimensional finite element numeric model of
crust inYunnan area with the horizontal scope of 98.5◦
E∼105◦ E, 22◦ N∼29◦ N and the vertical scope from
the earth surface to 50km depth (Li Y J, 2009). All
the faults in the model are disposed with the contact
frictional analysis element, in this way; we can simu-
late the discontinuous surface and also give an actual
With the updated GPS datum as the boundary con-
ditions (Wang Q, 2001, 2002; Jiang Z S, 2003). And
also we assumed that the deformation only exist in
the elastic scope, the boundary is uniform in the ver-
tically, the model base is free to move laterally but
cannot move vertically, the model free surface is fully
deformable,all velocity constraints are imposed on the
model edge.
3 CALCULATION RESULTS OF STRESS
FIELD, STRAIN ENERGY DENSITY
First, we assumed that the coefficient is a constant,
at this, through comparing the modeling displacement

568
results with the GPS datum; the fault friction coef-
ficients are modified slightly to match the observed
long-term slip rates. And therefore, we believe that the
three dimensional finite element model established in
the paper is reasonable and feasible.
Due to the uncertainty of the background stress
state in the deep crust, we choose the regional relative
change of stress field as the target. As the model is sub-
jected to the load for a 1000-year period, the stress and
strain energy density is given. From the earthquakes
catalog with magnitude above six that happened from
1900 to 2007, also the epicenter depth is about ten to
twenty km. Through comparing the earthquakes loca-
tion with the stress and strain energy density in the
fifteen km, the relationship between them is discussed
in the end.
In this article, we choose the maximum principal
stress, the maximum shear stress, the equivalent stress
and the strain energy density to represent the stress
field, and the equivalent stress σf and strain energy Figure 2. Relationship between the maximum stress and
density w are defined as follows (Chen L W, 2007): strong earthquakes distribution (Unit: 103 Pa).

Where σ1 = the maximum principal stress; σ2 = the

middle principal stress; σ3 = the minimum principal
stress; ε1 = the maximum principal stress; ε2 = the
middle principal stress; and ε3 = the minimum prin-
cipal strain.

3.1 Relationship between the maximum principal

stress, the maximum shear stress and the
seismic activity
The maximum principal stress represents the local
stress field intensity while the maximum shear stress
is the level to rupture. From figure 2 we can find
that the strong earthquake activities in this area are Figure 3. Relationship between the maximum shear stress
mainly along the faults, in the east of the model, and strong earthquakes distribution (Unit: 103 Pa).
it’s mainly located at the Anninghe-Zemuhe-Xiaojiang
fault of the rhombic block, while in the west it is maximum shear stress distribution is distinctly asym-
mainly on the intersection of the Honghe fault and metric, due to the effect of the faults and medium
the Lijiang-Xiaojinhe called the northwestern of the ununiformity. The strong earthquake is mainly on the
Sichuan-Yunnan area. Additionally, there are also western, southwestern, northeastern of the Yunnan
some strong earthquakes in the Zhenyuan-Puer fault area with comparatively high value of the maximum
at the southwestern. On the analysis of the relationship shear stress. Meanwhile, in the southern segment of
between the maximum principal stress with the seismic the Honghe fault, the stress is also relatively high, but
activities, we concluded that the strong earthquakes are the seismic activity is weak, and the concrete reason
mainly on the high value or transitional sections of the is good for the further investigation.
stress, while the earthquakes above seven are almost
on the stress transitional sections from tension to ten-
sional, maybe these sections are the relatively sensitive
3.2 Relationship between the equivalent stress, the
zone to the stress adjustment.
strain energy density and the seismic activity
The fault sliding and slip is related to the maximum
principal stress, and what’s more, it is the difference The equivalent stress represents the degree to bend
between the maximum principal stress and the mini- while the strain energy density is level of the total
mum principal stress. From figure 3, we find that the strain energy accumulation. The increase of the former

569

Figure 4. Relationship between the equivalent stress and
strong earthquakes distribution (Unit: 106 Pa).
Figure 5. Relationship between the strain energy density
and strong earthquakes distribution (Unit: J/m3 ).
makes for triggering earthquake, while the latter is in
favor of the earthquake pregnancy, if both are increased
at the spatial and temporal sect, this maybe the criterion
to analyze the seismic activity in the future.
From figure 4, we concluded that the distribution
of the equivalent stress is similar to maximum shear
stress. And the only dissimilarity is that the high value
scope is enlarged in the western and southwestern of
this area. At the figure 5, the strain energy density
distribution is asymmetric, almost all the magnitudes
with 6.5 or above are at the high value sections, while
in the southeastern, the value is low and this is well
explained the reason why the region has lesser seismic
activities.
In all, we synthetically analyzed the relationship
between the stress, strain energy density and seismic
activities in the area, and concluded that the relation-
ship between them is consanguineous; the earthquake
distribution is mainly on the high value region or tran-
sition of the stress and strain energy density. The stress
level is relatively high in western, southwestern, north-
eastern of Yunnan area, and the strong earthquake
570
distribution during the recent one hundred year is
also well explained the spatial difference of the stress.
Meanwhile, there is also some question that we cannot
give the reasonable answer, in the southeastern of the
Honghe fault, the stress is relative high and also the
transition of stress state, but the earthquake probability
is low, the reason need to be future explored in detail.
In the end, we also give the regions that deserve more
attention in the future: the middle segment (Daqing-
Tadian) of the Nanhua-Chuxiong-Jianshui fault and
the northern of the Yuanmou-Lvzhijiang fault.
4 CONCLUSION
In the paper, we have established a more detailed and
accurate three dimensional element model for Yunnan
area according to the multi-discipline datum, and cal-
culated the stress field, strain energy density in the
area. From the comparison between the stress, strain
energy density and seismic activity, the results indi-
cate that the relationship between them is preferable
and the strong earthquakes are mainly on the relatively
high value regions or the stress transition sections,
and in the end we also display the potential seismic
risk regions in the future. But, for the particularity of
the local regions, we also cannot give a reasonable
explanation, perhaps its maybe due to the complexity
deficiency of the model itself and also other factors.
Furthermore, we will give a complicated research con-
sidering many factors such as stress relaxation, mantle
convection and geothermal grads in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Pro-
fessors Lu Yuan-zhong and Jiang Zai-sen for their
instruction and help in this study.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Modeling of shallow spallation of rock slope under dynamic loading

T. Xu
State Key Laboratory of Geo-hazard Prevention and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu, China

J. Zhao & G.F. Zhao

Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Laboratory for Mechanics of Rocks, Lausanne, Switzerland

L. Yuan & P. Liu

Center for Material Failure Modeling Research, Dalian University, Dalian, China

ABSTRACT: Wave propagation process and shallow spallation of rock slope under the dynamic loads is
numerically simulated to investigate the applied incident compressive stress wave on the fracturing process and
failure induced in the rock mass. Heterogeneity of the rock materials is taking into account and the RFPA-
dynamics is firstly briefly described. Then, the propagation of compressive stress wave along a one-dimensional
rock bar is performed to validate the effectiveness of the RFPA-dynamics code. Furthermore, the shallow
spallation of rock slope under the dynamic loads is carried out. Numerical simulations capture the whole process
of the propagation of incident compressive stress waves in the rockmass and the reflection of stress wave upon
rock slope surface and the shallow spallation of rock slope induced by the reflected tensile stress wave, which is
obviously different from the failure pattern of rock slope under static loads, where a circular slip failure surface
normally formed in the rockmass. The approach suggested in this paper also can be used generally for estimating
dynamic load influ-ences on the development of stress and displacement fields around rock slopes.

1 INSTRUCTIONS techniques. Several researchers (Ambraseys &

On May 12, 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake with a
moment magnitude of 8.0 occurred on the NE-SW
trending Longmenshan fault zone at the eastern margin
of the Tibetan Plateau, just west of the Sichuan basin,
China. It not only caused severe damage to infrastruc-
ture, but also triggered a large number of landslides,
rockfalls, rock avalanches, and debris flows. One third
of estimated 88000 casualties of the earthquake were
considered to be caused by landslides. Through the
interpretation of post earthquake satellite images a
rapid inventory was made of landslides in the earth-
quake affected area. The database contained more than
9500 individual landslides, mapped as single points,
of which approximately 41% were landslides, 28%
rockfalls, 10% debrisflows and the rest other types
of mass movements. The landslides were also classi-
fied according to their size, into 4 classes, with 2.5%
as huge containing the largest landslide (Daguangbao
landslide, in Anxian county) with an estimated volume
of 742 millions m3 (Xu et al., 2009). The mass move-
ments induced by the Wenchuan earthquake released
different degrees of potential energy. Avalanches
occurred on steep slopes and also deposited on steep
slopes. Landslides, especially the landslide with qua-
ternary deposit, occurred on a relatively shallow slope
and the slope was almost flat.
The stability of rock slopes subjected to seismic
effects can be analysed using appropriate numerical
Srbulov 1995, Bommer & Rodriguez 2002, Bhasin &
Kaynia 2004, Stead et al. 2006, Hack et al. 2007,
Kveldsvik et al. 2009) have attempted using continuum
and discontinuum techniques to study the behaviour
of rock slopes subjected to dynamic loading. Some
continuum codes can consider the effect of pseudo-
static earthquake loading by applying a seismic body
to each finite element in the model. Such approaches
are useful for analysis of underground structures but
are considered inadequate for dynamic analysis of
rock slopes. In the pseudo-static analysis approach,
the ground deformations and/or inertial forces are
imposed as static loads and the rock-structure inter-
action does not include dynamic or wave propagation
effects. For example, Ambraseys & Srbulov (1995)
studied the earthquake induced displacement of slope.
Zhang et al. (1997) have carried out studies on the
dynamic behaviour of a 120-m high rock slope of
the Three Gorges Shiplock using the distinct ele-
ment model. Ma et al (1998) studied the underground
explosion induced wave propagation in the under-
ground. Bommer & Rodriguez (2002) investigated
the earthquake-induced landslides in Central Amer-
ica. Kveldsvik et al (2009) carried out the dynamic
distinct element analysis on the 800 m high Aknes rock
slope. It needs pointing out that Sato et al. (2007) found
that about 79% of the landslides were small (less than
0.5 ha in area), whereas about 9% of the landslides
were large (1 ha and more in area) among the counts

573
of 2,424 landslides identified in the study area of 55 by
51 km. Furthermore, he found that most of the small
landslides are shallow rock falls and slides.
Great progress on the instability of rock slope has
been made in the last decade, but little attention is
paid to the shallow spallation mechanism of rock slope
under dynamic loading or seismic ground motion.
Thus, in this paper, the shallow spallation of rock slope
is numerically simulated for investigating the dynamic
instability of rock slope. The focus of this contribution
is to numerically investigate the mechanism of shallow
spallation of rock slope under dynamic loading.
selected degree of freedoms. It also need to be noted
that Rayleigh damping is assumed, i.e. C = αM + βK.
Here α and β are damping factors.A direct step-by-step
integration procedure is found suitable for solving the
problem in which a body is subjected to a short dura-
tion impulse loading (Tedesco et al. 1991). Wilson θ
method of implicit time integration with a consistent
mass formulation is employed and for unconditionally
stability we need to use θ ≥ 1.37.
3 VALIDATION OF NUMERICAL MODEL

3.1 Model set-up

2 DESCRIPTION OF NUMERICAL MODEL
To validate the numerical model, a homogeneous and
The RFPA2D-Dynamics Code used in this paper, isotropic rock bar sample subjected to a triangle pres-
which has the same basic idea with the basic ver- sure incident wave was used for the simulations. The
sion of RFPA2D except for the dynamic finite element rock bar model with 5 mm in width and 100 mm in
algorithm. Similar with the RFPA2D, in RFPA2D- length is divided into 2000 (200 × 10) square elements
Dynamics, rock is numerically divided into small in 2D plane stress problem., as shown in Figure 1
elements with fixed size. The heterogeneity of the rock and the applied stress waveform acted on the rock
is taken into account by assigning different proper- bar is shown in Figure 2. The compressive stress is
ties to the individual elements according to statistical imposed at the left end of bar and the right end of it is
distribution function. In this paper, random numbers kept fixed. No strain rate effect is considered for the
satisfying Weibull’s distribution were generated to give mechanical parameters such as Young’s modulus and
the spatial distribution of the microscopic strengths tensile strength of rock in this paper. The parameters
andYoung’s modulus. A homogeneity index m is intro- and calculation conditions are listed in Table 1.
duced to represent the heterogeneity of the rock (Tang
et al., 1997, Zhu et al, 2004, Xu et al., 2006). The
physical phenomena occurring on element scale can be
described at the level of the constitutive relation. We
assume that the constitutive relation is elastic-brittle Figure 1. Numerical model of the rock bar with 5 mm in
with residual strength and failure is obtained for ele- width and 100 mm in length.
ments in which the stress exceeds a certain threshold.
In this paper, a Mohr-Coulomb criterion with a ten-
sile cut-off (Brady & Brown 1993) is used so that the
elements may fail either in shear or in tension. The
discontinuity feature of the initiated fracture is auto-
matically induced by using element with very small
stiffness when the tensile strain of the failed elements
reaching certain values.
A standard dynamic finite element algorithm was
used to implement the aforementioned rock failure
process analysis model. As described above, the rock
specimen is composed of many rectangle elements
with the same size. These elements are also acted
as the four-nodded iso-parametric elements for finite
element analysis. The equilibrium equations govern-
ing the linear dynamic response of a system of finite Figure 2. Applied incident waveform acted on the rock bar.
elements can be expressed in following form
Table 1. Material properties for the rock bar model.

Setting Rock bar

where M, C and K are the mass, damping, and stiff-
ness matrices; R is he vector of externally applied Young’s Modulus 40 GPa
loads; and U , U̇ and Ü are the displacement, velocity, Uniaxial compressive strength 200 MPa
and acceleration vectors of finite elements. A lumped Uniaxial tensile strength 10 MPa
Poison’s ratio 0.25
mass analysis is assumed, where the structure mass is
Homogeneity Index 100
the sum of the individual element mass matrices plus Density 2500 kg/m3
additional concentrated masses which are specified at

574
3.2 Modeling results
Figure 3 shows the induced shear stress wave propa-
gation and reflection process along the rock bar with
a fixed end at different time 0.25us, 5us, 10us, 15us,
20us, 25us and 27.5us. Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure
6 illustrate the corresponding stress wave curves, ver-
tical and horizontal displacement along the rock bar.
It can be clearly seen that the stress wave front propa-
gates along the rock bar with the time duration and the
magnitude of the stress wave is about 5 MPa, which is
equal to the magnitude of the applied incident stress
pulse. Meanwhile, the vertical and horizontal displace-
ment of the particles at the left end of the rock bar both
Figure 3. Induced shear stress wave propagation and reflec-
tion process along the rock bar with a fixed end.
Figure 4. Propagation of incident stress wave along the rock
bar with a fixed end.
Figure 5. Vertical displacement of the particles in the
rock bar.
575
gradually increases up to a maximum value with the
increase of time duration. The vertical and horizontal
displacement of the particles up to the right end along
the rock bar gradually decreases to zero due to a fixed
right end. When the front of the stress pulse arrives at
the fixed end of the rock bar, the magnitude of stress
wave doubled at the right end of the rock bar at the
time of 25.75 us since the right end of the rock bar
is fixed as shown in Figure 4. The numerical results
on stress wave propagation in a one-dimensional bar
agree well with the theoretical analysis (Wang, 2005).
From the above numerical simulation it can be con-
cluded that the RFPA code is effective in capturing the
propagation of stress wave and the evolution of stress
fields in rock subjected to dynamic loads.
4 MODELING OF SLOPE INSTABILITY
4.1 Model set-up
A rock slope model, 16 m in length and 10 m in height
with a slope angle of about 60 degrees as shown in
Fig.7a, is divided into 25600 elements. On the left side
of the rock slope, a triangle incident stress wave with
a magnitude of 20 MPa as shown in Fig.7b is input to
examine the mechanical response of the rock slope.
The model is assumed to be in plane strain state. The
mechanical parameters of the rock slope are presented
in table 2.
4.2 Modeling results
Figure 8 shows the selected propagation of the inci-
dent stress wave from the left side in the rock mass
and the induced spallation process of rock slope. Cor-
respondingly, the propagation of incident stress wave
curves along the rock slope at the cross-section A-A is
given in Figure 9. As shown in the Figure 8, the level
contours of stress magnitude are defined as the rela-
tive value of maximum shear stress. A fully fractured
surface is smeared in black, whereas the zones that are
intact or failed but not fully fractured remain in the
color of level contours of stress magnitude. It can be
clearly seen that the propagation and reflection pro-
cess of stress wave front in rock mass and the tensile
Figure 6. Horizontal displacement of the particles in the
rock bar.
Figure 7. Numerical model for rock slope and the incident
stress wave acted on the rock slope.

Table 2. Material properties for the rock slope model.

Setting Rockmass

Uniaxial compressive strength 50 MPa

Uniaxial tensile strength 5 MPa
Young’s Modulus 50000 MPa
Poison’s ratio 0.25
Homogeneity Index 100
Density 2500 kg/m3

stress wave induced shallow spallation of rock mass at

the free surface of the rock slope is visualized.
It can be seen from Figure 8 that there is some failure
points or failure zone in the rock mass caused by the
incident pressure induced by the compressive stress
wave. With the time duration, the front of compres-
sive stress wave propagates in the rock mass. When
the stress wave strikes the free slope surface at the
time of about 2.7 ms, the compressive stress wave is
reflected, with an 180◦ reversal in phase, as a tensile
stress wave. There is a depth below the surface at which
the downward-traveling tensile stress exceeds the sum
of the upward-traveling compressive tress, the litho- Figure 8. Propagation of the incident stress wave and
statics tress, and the tensile strength of the rock. At induced shallow spallation of rock slope.
that depth the rock formations part and a spall gap is
formed. The spalled layer, each point of which has a
positive velocity, continues ballistically outward, even- or in those in which lithological discontinuities form
tually falling under the force of gravity and landing inherent planes of weakness. Due to the heterogeneity,
with a considerable shock. Parting would normally the fractures well developed in the bottom area in the
take place in the subsurface along bedding planes, right side when induced tensile stress exceeds the ten-
and is apt to occur in poorly indurated earth materials sile strength of rock mass. The development of these

576
Figure 8. Continued.

Figure 9. Propagation of incident stress wave along the rock

slope.

fractures generates relief waves which temporarily halt

the failure process.
Numerical simulations capture the whole process of
the propagation of incident compressive stress waves
in the rockmass and the reflection of stress wave upon
rock slope surface and the shallow spallation of rock
slope induced by the reflected tensile stress wave. Con-
trast to the failure pattern of rock slope under static
loads (Li et al, 2006), it can be found that the failure
pattern of rock slope subjected to dynamic loads is
obviously different from that of rock slope subjected
to static loads. There is normally a circular slip failure
surface occurred in the rock slope under static loads
whereas there is usually shallow spallation failure of
rock slope under dynamic loads, which is remarkably
observed in the rock slopes and landslides occurred
in the earthquakes such as Wenchuan earthquake (Yin Figure 9. Continued.
et al, 2009).

5 CONCLUSIONS validated by a rock bar sample with a fixed end sub-

We used a numerical simulator with the advantage
of direct simulation of fracture and fragmentation,
which considers the heterogeneity of material prop-
erties, to investigate shallow spallation processes of
rock slope subjected to dynamics loads. This numeri-
cal approach accounts explicitly for the development
of macroscopic fractures, and uses a mixed mode of
failure strength criterion to control the failure and frag-
mentation processes. Firstly, the numerical model was
jected to a triangle pressure incident wave. Numerical
simulations demonstrate that the magnitude of stress
wave doubles when it arrives at the fixed end and the
magnitude of displacement is zero due to the fixed end,
which is well tallied with the theoretical results. Sec-
ondly, the shallow spallation of rock slope subjected to
dynamic loads was simulated to examine the propaga-
tion of incident compressive stress waves and study the
failure pattern and failure mechanism of shallow spal-
lation of rock slope. Numerical simulations capture the

577
whole process of the propagation of incident compres-
sive stress waves in the rockmass and the reflection of
stress wave upon rock slope surface and the shallow
spallation of rock slope induced by the reflected ten-
sile stress wave, which is obviously different from the
failure pattern of rock slope under static loads, where
a circular slip failure surface normally formed in the
rockmass.
The approach suggested in this paper also can be
used generally for estimating dynamic load influences
on the development of stress and displacement fields
around rock slopes. The outcomes obtained from the
simulations, which are very rich in information con-
cerning fracture initiation and kinetics as well as the
stress field evolution, make this method an ideal candi-
date for the analysis of rock slope failure under a fully
dynamic framework. The simulations not only allow
identification of model parameters but also explain
the different failure mechanisms of rocks as a func-
tion of loading waveforms. It is seen that the model
is suitable for simulating fracture processes and the
failure patterns in rock materials.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The joint supports provided by the Opening fund
of State Key Laboratory of Geo-hazard Prevention
and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu University
of Technology (SKLGP2010K008), the Sino-Swiss
Science and Technology Cooperation Program-The
Exchange Program (EG22-032009), National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50804006
and 50874020) are highly acknowledged.
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displacements of slopes. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake
Engineering 14(1):59–71.
Bhasin, R. & Kaynia, A.M. 2004. Static and dynamic sim-
ulation of a 700-m high rock slope in western Norway.
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Bommer, J.J. & Rodriguez, C.E. 2002. Earthquake-induced
landslides in Central America. Engineering Geology
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Brady, B.H.G. & Brown, E.T. 1993. Rock mechanics for
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L. 2007. Influence of earthquakes on the stability of
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characteristics of the landslides triggered by the Wenchuan
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Analysis of influencing factors in response spectrum of underground

structures using numerical method

M. Serati
School of Mining Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

M. Moosavi
Associated professor, School of Mining Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: With the advancement of technology and the possibility of making large underground excavations
in difficult geological conditions, dynamic analysis of underground structures against earthquake waves has been
necessitated. In this research, factors affecting response of underground structures to earthquake loading has been
reviewed using finite difference numerical method. In modeling, Tabas, Naghan and El-Centro earthquakes are
used as typical earth shakes. The changes in amplitude of displacement, velocity and acceleration as a function
of changing desired model parameters are recorded and facilitated a sensitivity analysis. Results indicate that
design parameters such as diameter and depth of underground structures have greater impacts than geotechnical
parameters. Among geotechnical parameters, density and elastic modulus show greater impacts. Friction angle
and cohesion have great influence only in terrestrial environments during dynamic analysis and it can be stated
that these two parameters have little impacts in rocky environments in the process of dynamic analysis.

1 INTRODUCTION

There has been a lot of controversy around the issue

of earthquake especially for the last century. Once
it was believed that effects of earthquake on tun-
nels and underground spaces is not very important
and have long been assumed they have the ability
to sustain earthquakes with little damage. But due
to significant damages in some underground struc-
tures for instance the 1995 Kobe Japan earthquake
(Parra-Montesinos et al., 2006), the 1999 Chi-Chi
Taiwan earthquake and the 1999 Kocaeli Turkey earth-
quake (Iwatate et al. 1997); few rock mechanic engi-
neers subscribe to this viewpoint anymore. Therefore
strong motions or shallow tunnels can be considered
as factors which can cause considerable damages to
underground structures.
The primary purpose of current research in this field
is to present methods for analyzing stresses and defec-
tions developed in underground structures when they
are subjected to arbitrary earthquake loading.
2 DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
In Dynamics problems, dynamic equation of motion
can be expressed as a mathematical relationship using
physical laws. Considering the fact that in dynamic
loading the force is a function of time, dynamic behav-
ior of structures unlike their static behavior, doesn’t
have a unique answer (Chopra, 2001).
Besides the time, other parameters such as the
elastic force, inertia force and damping force must
Figure 1. Idealized SDOF system: (a) basic components;
(b) forces in equilibrium.
be determined. The equation of motion for the sim-
ple system of Figure 1 is most easily formulated by
directly expressing the equilibrium of all forces act-
ing on the mass using d’Alembert’s principle (Clough
et al. 2003).
Inherent complexity of issues related to soil struc-
ture interaction, especially for underground structures
with non-circular shape or uniform characteristics in
supporting systems makes closed form solutions to be
impossible for dynamic analysis. Therefore, numeri-
cal analysis for underground structures in such terms
seems necessary.
Given the question of what are the most important
and effective parameters of underground structure due
to dynamic loading, what solutions might an engineer
consider? In this paper, to understand and comprehend
the share of different parameters while earthquake
loading the parameters are divided into two different
groups; geotechnical and geometrical parameters. For
the first group, parameters such as density, Poisson’s
ratio, elastic modulus and cohesion of the host medium
were selected. For the later group the diameter, shape
and depth of underground structures were taken into
account for dynamic analysis.

579
Table 1. Dynamic analysis process.

– Data correction of raw earthquake acceleration records

– Model size selection
– Element size selection
– Dynamic boundary selection
– Model attenuation selection
– Finding natural frequency of the models
– Apply earthquake dynamic loading
– Verifying the results with theoretical dynamic principles

In numerical dynamic analysis, the process starts

from a static analysis stage. To study the effect of tar-
get variables, static calibration models with the steps Figure 2. Natural frequency in X direction.
presented in Table 1 are used.
If a “raw” acceleration or velocity record from a site
is used as a time history, numerical models usually may
exhibit continuing velocity or residual displacements
after the motion has finished. This arises from the fact
that the integratio of the complete time history may
not become zero. The process of “baseline correction”
should therefore be performed. It is possible to deter-
mine a low frequency wave which, when added to the
original history, produces a final displacement which
is zero. In this research using SeismoSignal program
the baseline correction filter was done on the selected
earthquake records.
To avoid numerical distortion while wave propa-
gates in the models, both the frequency content of
the input waves and the wave-speed characteristics Figure 3. Natural frequency in Y direction.
of the models were considered. Considering the fact
that for accurate representation of wave transmission damping”. Rayleigh damping was originally used in
through a model, the spatial element size, must be the analysis to damp the natural oscillation modes
smaller than approximately one-tenth to one-eighth of of the models. Experiments show that for geological
the wavelength associated with the highest frequency materials, damping commonly falls in the range of 2
component of the input wave, the elements size of the to 5% of the critical value.
models were corrected (Kuhlemeyer et al. 1973). In this analysis, Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model
The natural frequency of models has been esti- was used for model characteristics and due to the con-
mated by running the models in dynamic mode without siderable amount of energy dissipation that occurs
damping along a specific timeinterval (about 2 sec). during plastic flow, only 0.005 was considered for
For each model, the resulting plot of velocity history damping, similar to many dynamic analyses that
indicates the dominant natural frequency (Kirzhner involve large-strains (Ahmadi et al. 2008).
et al. 2000). It is noted here that in performing the Earthquake record was applied as a dynamic load
dynamic analysis, it was necessary to account for from the base boundary in stress form. The velocity
energy losses, taken from the properties of the mate- time history was converted to stress time history by
rial, and a preliminary simulation. Figures 2–3 show equation:
natural frequency of a model used for analysis of
density both in X and Y directions, respectively.
Underground excavations are normally assumed to
be surrounded by an infinite medium, while surface Where σs is applied shear stress, Vs is input shear
and near-surface structures are assumed to lie on a particle velocity, ρ is mass density and Cs is given by:
half-space. To accurately simulate this situation, quiet
boundary condition was applied at the bottom of the
models and free field boundaries were used for the lat-
eral boundaries of the models. In this way, plane waves
propagating upward suffer no distortion at the bound- Considering the fact that no in-situ or laboratory
ary because the free field grid supplies conditions that experiments data were available for this research, the
are identical to those in an infinite model (Ahmadi results of dynamic analysis for each models were cal-
et al. 2008). ibrated using theoretical concepts and general waves
Two main damping modes are usually available propagation law. The calibrations used in this research
in numerical models; “Rayleigh damping and local include: analyzing the amplitude of return wave from

580
Table 2. Range of Changes in desired variables

Property Range

Density 1500–3200 Kg/m3

Depth of Excavation 50–600 m
Poisson ratio 0.07–0.49
Elastic modulus 7.5–70 GPa
Cohesion 0.25–2 MPa
Excavation diameter 5–25 m
Internal friction angle 20–55 Degree

Figure 7. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration

Table 3. Earthquake profiles used in modeling around underground excavation against excavation diameter.

Earthquake Max Acc. g Max Vel. m/s Duration Sec

In this research, 180 models were carried out in
Tabas 0.8517 1.2122 32 dynamic mode. Considering the fact that the average
Naghan 0.5277 0.3736 21 running time for each model lasted four hours using a
El-Centro 0.3168 0.3842 30 computer with Intel Core Due 1.66 Hz CPU and 2 GB
memory.
Review of dynamic histories recorded in all mod-
els showed that amplitudes of velocity, displacement
and acceleration histories recorded at surface of the
models were at maximum. Around the underground
space, amplitude of velocity, displacement and accel-
eration histories recorded in the upper-half of the
Figure 4. Modified acceleration record of El-Centro. underground space were greater than those recorded
in the bottom-half part.

3 PARAMETRIC STUDY

Figure 5. Modified acceleration record of Naghan.
Figure 6. Modified acceleration record of Tabas.
surface, comparison of wave speed in the medium
obtained from velocity history with those from theo-
retical and monitoring model distortion. Investigations
from a wide range of data have been conducted to
determine the mechanical and geotechnical parame-
ters of the models such as cohesion, friction angle
and the deformation modulus of the rock mass. It was
believed that range of changes within desired param-
eters is selected to demonstrate natural conditions and
real environment properties in rock and soil mediums.
Range of changes in material properties of models are
presented in Table 2.
Raw time history of dynamic loading was selected
from Tabas, Naghan and El-Centro acceleration
records. These records were selected so that a wide
range of earthquake magnitude and duration can be
addressed. Properties of selected earthquake records
are cited in Table 3. Earthquake records after base line
correction filter are depicted in Figures 4–6.
Parametric studies were carried out to investigate the
influence of the desired variables on dynamic behavior
of an underground structure while earthquake loading.
To perform a sensibility analysis of a particular param-
eter, a suitable model based on all important concepts
of dynamic analysis was created. Then by changing
the desired parameter in the selected range accord-
ing to Table 1 and keeping all other conditions of the
model (such as model dimension, element size and
etc. constant), acceleration, displacement and veloc-
ity histories around the underground structure were
calculated.
Finally, the spectral graph was obtained so that its
independent variable was the desired parameter and
its dependent variable was the maximum amplitude of
velocity, displacement or acceleration history.
Examining the spectral graph obtained shows that
how changing in the desired parameter can affect
dynamic records amplitude around the basic model
of underground structure. Since three different earth-
quake loading were simulated in this research, to be
able to show the results of all three earthquakes in a
single spectral graph, all of the results were normal-
ized between [0–1]. For brevity and the significant
effect of desired parameter on acceleration records in
comparison to velocity and displacement records, only
the results of acceleration record around the tunnel are
depicted in Figures 7–13. The trend is the same for
velocity and displacement but with lower intensities.

581
Figure 8. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration
Figure 12. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration
around underground excavation against cohesion.
around underground excavation against poisson ratio.

Figure 9. Normalized maximum amplitude of accelera- Figure 13. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration
tion around underground excavation against internal friction around underground excavation against elastic modulus.
angle.

Table 4. Average changes in dynamic records.

Property Acc. Vel. Disp.

Depth of Excavation 45% 30% 25%

Excavation diameter 50% 7% 5%
Elastic modulus 25% 22% 12%
Density 25% 15% 8%
Poisson ratio 20% 7% 5%
Cohesion 15% 1% 1%
Internal friction angle 8% 2% 1%

Figure 10. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration

Table 4 presents the average changes in acceler-
around underground excavation against density.
ation, velocity and displacement records caused by
changes of desired parameters based on the ranges
presented at Table 2, in three simulated earthquakes.
As it can be inferred from Table 4, Amongst the
geotechnical parameters, elastic modulus and density
have significant impact on dynamic behavior of under-
ground structures during earthquake. However, the
most effective parameters are depth and diameter of
excavation that are both geometric parameters.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Considering the fact that the importance of dynamic

analysis of underground structures is emphasized by
Figure 11. Normalized maximum amplitude of acceleration reports indicating occurrence of serious damages to
around underground against excavation depth. underground spaces against earthquake loading, a

582
parametric study was performed to understand the
effect of various parameters on dynamic behavior of
underground structures. These included both geotech-
nical and geometrical parameters. Results indicate
that:
Design parameters such as diameter and depth
of underground structures have greater impacts on
dynamic response and stability of underground struc-
tures than geotechnical parameters in earthquake load-
ing. Therefore the correct choice of proper design
parameters can guarantee the stability of underground
structures against earthquake waves.
Increasing the cohesion of materials contain-
ing underground space, decreases the amplitude of
dynamic records such as acceleration, velocity and
displacement. This reduction is noteworthy if the cohe-
sion is less than 1 MPa. Considering the fact that in
rocky environments, cohesion is significantly more
than 1 MPa, it can be stated that any changes of
cohesion in rocky environments has little impact on
dynamic behavior of underground spaces excavated in
such situations.
Sensibility analysis of internal friction angle
demonstrates that in terrestrial environments (with
internal friction angles less than 30 degrees), this
parameter plays an important role during earthquake
loading. For those environments with internal fric-
tion angle more than 30 degrees, this parameter is
ineffective.
Increasing density reduces dynamic records dur-
ing earthquake loading. Based on the fact that more
583
acceleration amplitude during dynamic loading causes
more forces on support systems, it can be stated that in
dense environments, underground structures are much
safer under dynamic loadings.
REFERENCES
Ahmadi, M. Yazdani, M. Rahnama, A. 2008. Numeri-
cal dynamic analysis of seismic effect on Siahbishe
pump-storage caverns. ISRM International Symposium.
899–906.
Chopra, A. K. 2001. 2nd Edition. Dynamics of Struc-
tures, Theory and application to earthquake engineering.
Prentice-Hall. New York.
Clough, R. W. & Penzien, J. 2003. Dynamics of Structures.
3nd Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York.
Iwatate, T. & Domon,T. 1997. Earthquake damage and seis-
mic response analysis of subway station and tunnels during
great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Tunnels for people.
Balkema. Roterdam. 45–51.
Kirzhner, F. & Rosenhouse, G. 2000. Numerical Analysis
of Tunnel Dynamic Rsponse to Earth Motions. Tunnel-
ing and Underground Space Technology. Vol. 15. No. 3.
249–258.
Kuhlemeyer, R. L. & J. Lysmer. 1973. Finite Element Method
Accuracy for Wave Propagation Problem. Journal of Soil
Mech. & Foundations. 421–427.
Parra-Montesinos, G. J. & Bobet, A. 2006. Evaluation of Soil-
Structure Interaction and Structural Collapse in Daikai
Subway Station During Kobe Earthquake. ACI Structural
Journal. Vol 103. 113–122
University of California. PEER Strong Motion Database.
http://peer.berkeley.edu/svbin.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Stability analysis of slope under mining for resident ore body outside the
open-pit

Zhang Ya-Bin
University of Science and Technology, Beijing, China
Hebei Polytechnic University, China

Gan De-Qing & Chen Chao

Hebei Polytechnic University, China

ABSTRACT: According to the characteristic of open-underground combined mining for resident ore body, the
stress change mechanism and rock mass displacements law of slope under open-underground combined mining
were researched by numerical simulation, and the research results provided scientific basis for subsequent mining
and Stability analysis of slope.

1 INTRODUCTION fault basin, and in the short axis of ZhongGu anti-

With the development of open-pit mining, mineable
resources of shallow surface are declining. Transition
from open-pit mining to underground mining is imper-
ative under the situation. In the 1970–1990 years, the
total number of mines in Western countries increased
from 1020 to 1200, an increase of 17.6%, while the
transition number from open-pit mining to under-
ground mining is from 48 to 98, an increase of 104%
[1]. The stability of transferring open pit mining into
underground mining is different from the stable side
of a single open-pit mining, but also different from
the pure underground mining, The open-underground
combined mining combined mining experience the
two disturbance of mine open pit and underground
rock excavation, so the stress field and displacement
are more complex [2].
Gushan Iron Mine is the major iron ore base of
MaGang Iron & Steel Group, which is designed with
open-pit mining method, and it has formed a 150-
meter-tall open slope after years of mining. As the
engineering geology and hydro-geological conditions
are complicated, a great deal of research work on
the open pit slope stability is done [3,4]. Ore min-
ing in deep mines is difficult, in 2006 the geological
exploration work outside resident ore body is verified,
the open-underground combined mining method is
used. But the stress change mechanism and rock mass
displacements law of slope under open-underground
combined mining have not been researched.
2 GEOLOGY AND ENGINEERING SITUATION
2.1 Geology Situation
Gushan iron ore deposit is located under XiaYangZi
Depression which is in the southern tip Ning Wu
cline, its inner is gabbro-diorite, around are shale
and siltstone in the Triassic Department of yellow
polo team, Group sandstone of Jurassic, andesite
of early Cretaceous Gushan Group, andesitic vol-
canic breccia and mudstone, shale, siltstone, tuff and
so on.
The upper part of quaternary cover is sub-clay and
fine sand, central is clay layers interbedded with fine
sand, lower is the sandy gravel layer The thickness of
quaternary is between 0 m and 110 m.
The mine is developed with fracture Structure, the
fracture before ore formation is a regional north-
south thrust ZhongGu fault and east-west GuShan
steep faults. The fault activity is also very strong after
ore formation, squeezing face, schistosity zone, and
mylonite zone is quite developed, but the small size
of the ore body shape is little damaged, there are 11
post-ore faults.
Roof rock ore body is silty shale, siltstone,
and gabbro-diorite, bottom is gabbro-diorite. The
hardness factor of ore and rock is the follow-
ings, compact massive ore f = 16∼17, gabbro-diorite
brecciated ore f = 10∼11, kaolin of gabbro-diorite
f = 3∼4.
2.2 Engineering Situation
The lowest elevation of Gushan Iron Mine open pit
mining is −140 m, the surface elevation is 6∼7 m,
the resident ore body exist in southwest of the
open edges, mines design use Adit pioneering pro-
gram, sub-92 m, −118 m and −133 m 3 the mid-
dle, the method is shallow-hole mining, ore average
thickness is 23 m, mineral blocks is perpendicu-
lar to the ore body, and block length is ore body
thickness, stope width is 15 m, mine pillar width
is 8 m.

585
 Figure 2. The vertical stress diagram of open-pit slope.

Figure 1. Numerical simulation model.

Table 1. Ore and rock physical and mechanical parameters.

Ore and E × 104 T C Y

rock MPa MPa λ MPa F(◦ ) g/cm3

Ore 2.57 4.29 0.25 5.58 50.2 3.50

Rock 1.18 1.64 0.32 2.10 45.8 2.62

Figure 3. The vertical stress diagram of first part of resident

ore body.
3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION MODEL

3.1 The model size and boundary conditions

The typical profile of the mining area were calculated.
The model with the size of length-400 m, height-300 m
was made from 2359 units and 7323 nodes. The verti-
cal direction of the boundary in the model was imposed
stress constraint, the model bottom was imposed by
the distance constraint along the X, Y direction. The
above surface is the free boundary surface. Calculation
model was shown in Figure 1.
Figure 4. The vertical stress diagram of second part of
resident ore body.
3.2 The selection of mechanical parameters
According to the laboratory test results and the overall
geological situation of ore and rock, after discount, the
physical and mechanical parameters of ore-rock form
this simulation result are shown in Table 1.

4 PHOTOGRAPHS AND FIGURES

According to the actual mining situation, Firstly sim-

ulated calculation process is divided into six steps and
began to excavate for format the open pit slope, then
divided into three middle section for mining resident
orebody, every room of mining is a substep of calcula-
tion, the underground goaf formed needs into twelve
steps excavation.
4.1 The change of stress field of slope mining in
resident ore body
Stress change in vertical direction of slope after open
mining and resident orebody mining as shown in
figure 2–5.
Figure 5. The vertical stress diagram of third part of resident
ore body.
After open mining completed, it can be seen from
vertical stress diagram of slope that the slope surface
is mainly affected by tensile stress and its maxi-
mum value is 0.2 Mpa while slope internal is mainly
affected by press stress and its maximum stress value
is 16.5 Mpa. After first middle section mining com-
pleted, because the goaf formed in slope internal, so
the tensile stress is mainly distributed in roof and floor
of the goaf, its maximum value is 1.34 Mpa, the ten-
sile stress of slope surface is transferred into press

586
Figure 6. The level displacement figure of open-pit slope. Figure 8. The level displacement figure of second part of
resident ore body.

Figure 7. The level displacement figure of first part of

resident ore body. Figure 9. The level displacement figure of third part of
resident ore body.
stress, the maximum value is 0.6 Mpa. After the sec-
ond middle section mining completed, the maximum
value of tensile stress is 1.28 Mpa, distributed mainly
in the roof and floor of surrounding rock of the goaf.
The range of the press stress value is little, the max-
imum value is 16.4 Mpa and the press stresses value
of the slope surface is present a trend of increase, the
maximum value is 0.79 Mpa. After the third middle
section mining completed, the maximum value of ten-
sile stress is 1.32 Mpa, still distributed mainly in the
roof and floor of surrounding rock of the goaf. The
range of the press stress value is little, the maximum Figure 10. The vertical displacement figure of open-pit
value is 16.3 Mpa, and the maximum value of the press slope.
stresses is 0.8 Mpa.
It can be seen that in the process of the resident stress of slope is formed around the goaf, this is mainly
orebody mining, the stress state of the slope surface because of the horizontal displacement in slope inter-
rock from tensile stress into press stress, and the press nal rock from internal to goaf. After the second and
stress value increases, and is beneficial to the stability third middle section mining completed, the numerical
of the slope. The tensile stress is mainly distributed in further reduce and finally the maximum value only
the roof and floor rock, its values are all smaller and about 0.1 cm.
will not affect the stability of underground stope. It can be seen from the horizontal displacement
field of slope that in the process of the resident ore-
body mining, the horizontal displacement value is
4.2 The change of the slope horizontal inclined to decrease, the horizontal displacement value
displacement field in resident orebody mining of underground stope rock is inclined to increase, and
will not affect the stability of underground stope.
Displacement variation in horizontal direction of slope
after open mining and resident orebody mining com-
pleted as shown in figure 6–9.
4.3 The change of the slope vertical displacement
After open mining completed, it can be seen from
field in resident orebody mining
the horizontal displacement diagram of slope that on
top of the slope the maximum value of horizontal Displacement variation in vertical direction of slope
displacement is 8 cm. After the first middle section after open mining and resident ore body mining
mining completed, horizontal displacement value of completed as shown in figure 10–13.
slope surface has been significantly reduced, the max- After open mining completed, it can be seen from
imum value is 0.6 cm, the main reason is due to the the vertical displacement diagram of the slope that on
underground goaf has been completed, the internal the slope angle the vertical displacement value is the

587

Figure 11. The vertical displacement figure of first part of
resident ore body.
Figure 12. The vertical displacement figure of second part
of resident ore body.
Figure 13. The vertical displacement figure of third part of
resident ore body.
biggest, which is +6.1 mm. All displacement direction
of slope surface point to open goaf, the mainly reason
is because of elasticity spring back after pressure relief
when the open mining is finished.After the first middle
section mining completed, the range of the displace-
ment value of slope angle is little, this explains that
the first middle section mining has little impact on the
displacement of the slope, and the maximal displace-
ment of the stope surrounding rock is 2.2 mm.After the
second middle section mining completed, the displace-
ment value of slope angle is −0.7 mm, pointing in the
direction of the inclined downward slope.The maximal
displacement value of slope is in the surrounding of
the underground goaf, and the maximal displacement
value is 3.8 mm. After the third middle section min-
ing completed, the changes of the displacement value
588
of slope surface rock is not great, and the maximal
displacement value of underground stope surrounding
rock is 2.2 mm.
It can be seen from the vertical displacement field
of slope that during the resident orebody mining pro-
cess, the vertical displacement value of slope are all
smaller, the displacement value of underground stope
surrounding rock increases gradually, and the maxi-
mal displacement value distributed in the bottom of
the stope, its value is lesser also.
5 CONCLUSION
By using the finite element method to slope of Gushan
iron ore resident orebody mining on numerical calcu-
lation, and analyses of the secondary stress field of
ore mining resident orebody variation rules and the
stability of the slope, the following conclusions:
(1) In the process of mining resident orebody that the
stress state of the slope surface rock from tensile
stress into press stress, and the press stress value
increases, and is beneficial to the stability of the
slope.
(2) In the process of mining resident orebody that the
horizontal displacement value and the vertical dis-
placement value are all present a trend of decrease,
and is beneficial to the stability of the slope.
This article studies the influence of the resident
orebody mining of slope on the stability of slope,
the only consideration is the slope stability of under-
ground excavation, without considering the groundwa-
ter exploitation in the process of blasting construction
and the influence factors, yet on this aspect content to
do further research.
REFERENCES
Han F, Xie F & Wang J A. 2006. 3-D numerical simulation
on the stability of rocks in transferred underground min-
ing from open-pit. Journal of University of Science and
Technology Beijing, 28(6):409–514.
Han X M, Li Z J & Gan De-Qing. 2007. Numerical Simu-
lation and Sensitivity Analysis of Slope Stability in Mine
Transferred from Open Pit to Underground Mining. Metal
Mine (6):8–12.
Wu Y Z. 2007. Meehanism and slope stability analysis
of landslide for the Gushan Iron ore mine pit. Hefei
University of Thechnology..
Zhou Y X, Zhou Z F & Liu F G. 2003 Numerical Calcula-
tion of the Filtrate of Complex Water-containing Layers
of Slope at Gushan Iron Mine. Metal Mine (7):3–5, 8.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Brittle failure due to excavation induced stress change – a case study

of Jinping II Hydropower Station

C. Cheng
State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining
and Technology, Beijing, P.R.China
Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada

X.M. Sun
State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining
and Technology, Beijing, P.R.China

ABSTRACT: Excavation induced stress change is a significant and considerable factor to drive the brittle
failure in the underground opening. Rockburst, as a type of brittle failure, has became a great threat to the
construction of mining, traffic tunnels, hydropower station etc. With Hoek-Brown brittle parameters m = 0 and
s = 0.11, failure of the auxiliary tunnel in Jinping II Hydropower Station was analyzed using a BEM program
examine2D, and the calculated depth of brittle failure accords with the field observation very well. This paper
transformed the in situ stress at the embedded depth of about 1182 m from the principal stress coordinate system
to the tunnel coordinate system. With these stress values and brittle parameters, the brittle failure of B-auxiliary
tunnel was analyzed with examine2D program, and the depth of failure was estimated as about 2.2∼2.3 m. This
paper also supplied an analysis on the spalling limit because of excavation based on elastic theory.

1 INTRODUCTION improved criterion of rockburst based on the ratio of

The stability of underground openings can be drasti-
cally influenced by excavation-induced stress change
(Kaiser et al. 2001). Martin et al. (1999) pointed that as
in situ stress magnitudes increase, the fractures grow-
ing parallel to the excavation surface due to the induced
stress will dominate the process of brittle failure,
and the failure regions are localized near the open-
ing perimeter at intermediate depths while at great
depths the whole boundary of the excavation may be
enveloped by the brittle fractures.
Rockburst, as a kind of brittle failure, always results
in the damage of equipment, delay of construction
and even wounds and deaths of workers. Wu (2008)
reported 67 rockbursts with the intensity of medium
or higher leading to 955 m in length of cumulative
continuous failure along the A- auxiliary tunnel in
Jinping II Hydropower Station, China. Several failure
phenomena observed in B-auxiliary tunnel are pre-
sented in Figure 1 (photographed by China Railway
Shisi Group). On Nov. 28, a very strong rockburst hap-
pened in the drainage tunnel of Jinping II and caused
7 deaths and 1 wounded (Liu 2010).
Brittle failure owing to the induced stress has been
studied by many scholars. According to more than 200
rockbursts recorded during the construction of Erlang-
shan highway tunnel, Xu & Wang (1999) provided the
tangential stress (σθ ) after the generation of the tun-
nel to the uniaxial compressive strength (Rc ) of the
intact rock. Kaiser et al. (1996) studied some observed
depths of failure from excavations damaged by rock-
burst. Based on Kaiser’s analysis and similar analyses
on the failure from many tunnels around the world in a
progressive, non-violent manner, Martin et al. (1999)
supplied an empirical equation of depth of failure in
consideration of the ratio of maximum stress (σmax ) at
the boundary to the UCS of intact rock (σc ). Kaiser
et al. (2000) showed us a bi-linear failure envelope
cut-off, which gives a damage threshold at (σ 1 –σ3 ) =
1/3 to 1/2, as well as a spalling limit at σ1 / σ3 =
10 to 20 for the brittle rock tunnel. He et al. (2010)
analyzed the AE characteristics during the rockburst
process of limestone under true-triaxial unloading
conditions.
Taking the auxiliary tunnels of Jinping II
Hydropower Station for a case study, this paper will
analyze the brittle failure with the boundary element
method (BEM), and this paper will present a transfor-
mation of the in situ stress from the principal stress
coordinate system, which can not be used directly to
analyze the stability of the opening, to the tunnel coor-
dinate system, and give an estimation on the depth of
brittle failure of B-auxiliary tunnel of Jinping II at the
embedded depth of about 1182 m. At last, this paper

589

Figure 1. Failure phenomena in the B-auxiliary tunnel of
Jinping Hydropower station. (a) rockburst in the side and
shoulder of the tunnel. (b) rockburst in the side and bottom
corner of the tunnel (by China Railway Shisi Group).
will propose an analysis on the spalling limit due to
excavation based on elastic theory.
2 IN SITU STRESS TRANSFORMATION
2.1 In situ stress
The measurement shows that the in situ stress at
the embedded depth of 1182 m in this area is: σ1 =
38.02 MPa, α = 120.69◦ , β = 57.97◦ ; σ2 = 27.26 MPa,
α = 110.01◦ , β = −31.58◦ ; σ3 = 17.49 MPa, α =
22.97◦ , β = 4.8◦ , where α is the azimuth and β is the
dip. The auxiliary tunnels trend at N58◦W. It should be
noted that the directions of the three principal stresses
are quite random for the tunnel coordinate system.
Stress transformation should be carried out to analyze
the brittle failure of the surrounding rock mass occurs
in this tunnel.
2.2 Stress transformation
The stress transformation method demonstrated by
Peska & Zoback (1995) and Valley (2007), and ini-
tially introduced by Hiramatsu and Oka (1968) is used
in this paper to analyze the stress state of the auxiliary
tunnel.
590
According to the measurement, the principal
stress is
Transform the in situ stress from the principal stress
coordinate system to the reference geographical coor-
dinate system at first and then transform it to the tunnel
coordinate system. The tunnel coordinate system is
defined with three directions u, v, w (u points down-
ward perpendicular to the axial line of the tunnel, v is
horizontal and perpendicular to the axis, and w is the
orientation of the axis). We can get:
3 BEM ANALYSIS ON BRITTLE FAILURE
3.1 Examine2D
Numerical analysis with boundary element method
just requires that the opening boundary is discretized
while the surrounding rock mass is considered as an
infinite continuum. Very few elements are needed in
this method, and far field conditions are only required
to be represented to be the stresses applied to the rock
mass and no outer boundaries are necessary. There-
fore, it is a very convenient and fast method compared
with the domain methods such as finite element and
finite difference methods etc.(Hoek 1998).
Examine2D (available from Rocscience Inc.
http://www.rocscience.com) is a 2-dimensional bound-
ary method for elastic stress analysis of underground
opening considered as a plane strain problem. There
is no denying that most of the rock mass has none
of the properties corresponding to the three assump-
tions, i.e. (1) homogenous; (2) isotropic or transversely
isotropic; (3) linearly elastic. However, examine 2D
proved to be a useful tool to calculate and display the
induced stress when optimizing the opening geometry
or sequence to prevent the case of overstress and unde-
sirable de-stressing (according to Quick start tutorial
of examine2D).
3.2 Stress consideration in the examine2D model
This tunnel can be analyzed as a plane strain problem,
and we should choose a cross section. According to the
stress transformation in Section 2.2, the stress state of
the surrounding rock mass around the tunnel (before
excavation) should be:
 As shear stress exists in this stress space, we should
find the principal stress space in this cross section. The
major and minor principal stresses in this plane can be
computed from eq. (4). We should notice that σu is
downward perpendicular to the tunnel axis, while σv
is horizontal and perpendicular to the aixs.
Substitute the values of σu , σv and σuv from eq. (3)
into eq. (4), and we can obtain the principal stresses in
this plane:
σmax = 34.96 MPa, σmin = 17.77 MPa
The dip angles of the principal stresses θ can be
obtained from eq.(5):
With the values of the stresses from eq. (3), it is easy
to get that θ = −2.3◦ (for σv ) or 87.7◦ (for σu ).
3.3 Analysis on auxiliary tunnels (Jinping II)
Martin et al. (1999) proposed Hoek-Brown parame-
ters: m = 0 and s = 0.11 for the brittle rock mass as
they believed that the brittle failure of underground
excavation should be dominated by the loss of cohe-
sion of the rock mass while the frictional component
can be ignored for the assessment of the depth of fail-
ure, and their analysis on the failure of hard brittle
rock mass, weak sedimentary rock mass and foliated
rock mass proved that it is applicable to study the brit-
tle failure due to the opening induced stress with the
brittle parameters above and examined2D program.
The auxiliary tunnels of Jinping II Hydropower Sta-
tion consist of two parallel tunnels (A tunnel and B
tunnel) with the lengths of about 17 km and a space of
35 m between the central lines of them. The rock types
along the tunnels include marble of Yantang formation
(T2y ), marble of Baishan formation (T2b ), sandstone
and slate of upper Triassic system (T3 ), marble of
Zagu’nao formation (T2z ), chlorite schist and meto-
morphic medium to fine sandstone of lower Triassic
system (T1 ) etc. from the east to the west and marble
occupies the highest percentage (Yang & Zhao 2009 &
Xu 2009). 73.1% of the tunnels in length have the
embedded depth distributed from 1500 m to 2375 m,
and the depths of failure are observed as 3.0 m and
4.5 m at most for A and B tunnel, respectively (Wu
2008).
B tunnel is modeled with examine2D program to
analyze the failure using the brittle parameters: m = 0
and s = 0.11. The cross section of B tunnel has a
shape of horse shoe with the size of 7.35 m in height
591
Figure 2. Strength factor contour of examine2D model of
B-auxiliary tunnel in Jinping II (with the maximum stress
values from inversion (σ1 = 54 MPa, σ3 = 32 MPa) to analyze
the depth of brittle failure).
by 8.58 m in width. According to the inversion and
regression analysis on the measured far field in situ
stress at the altitude of 1600 m, the maximum principal
stress reaches as high as 54 MPa, while the minimum
principal stress 32 MPa (After Huang & Tang, 2008).
The UCS of the intact marble sample from Baishan
formation (T2b ) is 123 MPa (tested in State Key Lab-
oratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground
Engineering, China). With the increasing embedded
depth, the major principal stress approaches to be
vertical, therefore in this model we consume σ1 is
vertical.
Figure 2 illustrates the strength factor contour of
examine2D model of B tunnel with the maximum
stress values from inversion to analyze the depth
of brittle failure. Strength factor is the ratio of the
material strength to the excavation induced stress, con-
sequently, the region where the strength factor <1
would fail under the given stress condition (accord-
ing to Quick start tutorial of examine2D). Based on
the BEM analytical results, the largest depth of failure
is about 4.462 m as shown in Figure 2, which agrees
considerably well with the field observation of 4.5 m
mentioned above. This means that the BEM analysis
with the brittle parameters: m = 0 and s = 0.11, which
performs well in many case studies according to the
research of Martin et al. (1999), is also suitable for
the brittle failure analysis on the auxiliary tunnel of
Jinping II.
Now, with the transformed principal stresses in the
tunnel coordinate system obtained from section 2&3.2,
the brittle parameters are used here to supply an esti-
mation on the depth of failure around the tunnel at the
embedded depth of about 1182 m.
The calculated strength contour around the tunnel
at this depth is shown in Figure 3. Two points can be
concluded according to the calculation comparing with
the field observation:
(1) The localization of the failure region is almost
in two sides including the shoulder and the bot-
tom corner, which almost accord with the field
observation as shown in Figure 1. This is because
Figure 3. Strength factor contour of examine2D model of
B-auxiliary tunnel in Jinping II (at the embedded depth of
about 1182 m).

the major principal stress is almost vertical while

the minimum principal stress is nearly horizontal, Figure 4. Example of the bi-linear failure envelope cut-off
thereafter the tangential stresses near the two sides for hard brittle rock (after Kaiser et al. 2000).
concentrate to be very high;
(2) The depth of brittle failure can be measured in
examine2D program and tow values are shown in
Figure 3. The result shows that the largest depth
of failure at this depth is about 2.2∼2.3 m.
However, it is also necessary to mention that
although this elastic BEM analysis with brittle param-
eters can supply us with the depth of failure and a
general failure region, it does not mean that every-
where in this region has the depth of failure as shown in
the contour. In the field, the failure will almost formed
like a notch, and the depth of failure in this analy-
sis can only give a fine estimation on the depth of
the notch.

4 SPALLING LIMIT

Spalling is caused by the coalenscence of crack and Figure 5. Stress and displacement redistribution around a
fracture with surface parallel fractures when the stress circular excavation in a biaxial stress field (after Brady &
path enters the low confinement area and comes across Brown, 2006).
the damage thresold (Kaiser et al. 2000). Kaiser et
al. (2000)proposed a bi-linear failure envelope cut-off between the connection of OA and the horizontal axis.
includes a damage threshole ((σ1 –σ3 ) = 1/3 to 1/2) and The stresses on the unit A are as follows:
a spalling limit (σ1 /σ3 = 10 to 20) for hard brittle rock,
and the variation of the values for the spalling limit
depends on rock and rock mass heteogeneity and the
degree of existed jointing (Figure 4).
After excavation, the major principla stress σ1 near
the opening surface equals the tangential stress σθθ ,
while the minor principla stress σ3 would be the radial
stress σrr . Based on elastic theory, Kirsch (1898)
obtained the stress redistribution of a circular cross
section of a long excavation under the biaxial stress (Kirsch 1898; Brady & Brown 2006)
condition. The equations were adjusted by Brady & Considering the centrosymmetry of the circular
Brown (2006). opening, and the horizontal far field stress being
As shown in Figure 5, the far field vertical stress always higher than vertical far field stress, we pos-
pyy = p, and the horizontal stress pxx = kp.a is the tulate here k ≥ 1. According to the analysis above, we
radius of the tunnel. For any unit A in the surrounding can subsitute the induced stresses on any unit to the
rock mass, it has a distance r (r ≥ a) from A to the cen- spalling limit from the bi-linear failure envelope cut-
ter of the circular opening and an angle θ (0 ≤ θ < 2π) off by Kaiser so as to identify the spalling limit of the

592
surrounding rock mass around the circular tunnel. We
have,
When k = 1, subsituting eq. (6) to (7), it is very easy
to obtain,
which means that the spalling limit will be
(1.05∼1.11)a around the circular excavation under the
hydrostatic stress.
When k > 1, we also subsitute eq. (6) to (7). For the
case of the lower limit of σσ13 = σσθθrr = 10 for the jointed
rock mass, we can have,
In order to solve the maxium value of r, take the
derivative of eq. (9) with respect to θ, and we can get
−2 sin 2θ = 0. It is easy to solve that θ = 0, π/2, π or
3π/2.
Apparently, the spalling limit will reach its maxium
value at θ = π/2 or 3π/2, while the minmum value at
θ = 0 or π. Therefore, substituting θ = π/2 or 3π/2 to
eq. (9), we can have,
Solve eq. (10) and we can obtain the maxium value
of the spalling limit defined by the ratio of opening
radus (a) to the distance between the spalling to the
center of the excavation (r):
For the case of the upper limit of σσ13 = σσθθrr = 20 for
the intact rock, with the similar analysis on the case of
jointed rock mass, we can obtain the maximum value
of the spalling limit for intact rock at θ = π/2 or 3π/2:
Equations (11) and (12) are the spalling limits for
the jointed rock mass and intact rock, respectively.
It seems that the spalling limit (r/a) has something
to do with the stress ratio (k). Table 1 presents several
593
Table 1. Spalling limits for different stress ratios
Spalling limit (r/a)
Stress ratio (k) Intact rock Jointed rock mass
1 1.0513 1.1055
2 1.0525 1.1108
3 1.0528 1.1125
4 1.0529 1.1133
5 1.0530 1.1138
6 1.0531 1.1141
values of spalling limits for some representative stress
ratios (k).
The calculation results of the spalling limits show
that the spalling limit for the jointed rock mass is larger
than that for the intact rock, while the spalling limit will
remain constant almostly as the stress ratio k increases
for both the intact rock and the jointed rock mass.
The spalling limit (r/a) will always be about 1.05 for
intact rock and about 1.11 for jointed rock mass, which
means that the thickness of spalling will be about 0.05
and 0.11 times of the opening radius for the two kinds
of surrounding rock mass, respectively.
5 CONCLUSIONS
(1) As the far field in situ stresses always have uncer-
tain angles with the axes of the tunnel coordinate
system, the measured in situ stress values can not
be used directly to analyze stability of the tunnel.
Taking the measured in situ stress around the aux-
iliary tunnel of Jinping II at the embedded depth
of 1182 m before excavation (σ1 = 38.02 MPa,
σ2 = 27.26 MPa, σ3 = 17.49 MPa) for example,
stress is transformed in this paper;
(2) With the Hoek-Brown brittle parameters m = 0
and s = 0.11, this paper analyzed the brittle failure
of the auxiliary tunnel in Jinping II Hydropower
Station in China using a boundary element method
(BEM) program examine2D. The calculated depth
of failure accords with the field observation very
well. This study demonstrates that the elastic anal-
ysis combined with Hoek-Brown parameters is
quite a good method for the estimation of the brit-
tle failure due to excavation induced stress in the
opening of Jinping II. With this method, the brittle
failure around the B-auxiliary tunnel of Jinping II
at the embeded depth of about 1182 m is analyzed.
The analysis gives an estimation on the depth of
failure of about 2.2∼2.3 m;
(3) For hard brittle rock mass, the opening induced
stress may result in spalling near the excavation
surface. Combining the spalling limit from the
bi-linear failure envelope proposed by Kaiser et
al. with the stress distribution equations of circu-
lar opening under biaxial stresses based on elastic
theory, this paper derived the spalling limit (r/a)
 for the cases of jointed rock mass and intact rock,
respectively;
(4) According to the spalling limits corresponding to
several representative stresse ratios, the spalling
limit for the jointed rock mass is higher than that
for the intact rock, but the value almost keeps con-
stant with the increasing of the stress ratio (k),
and the calculated results show that the thickness
of the spalling limits are about 0.05 times of the
excavation radius for the intact surrounding rock
and about 0.11 times of the radius for the jointed
surrounding rock mass.
However, we have to take notice of the limit of the
analysis in this paper: the numerical calculation can
only offer a fine depth of failure corresponding to the
depth of the notch in the field, but not everywhere
around the excavation has the depth of failure as shown
in the figure of strength factor contour. As most of the
analysis in this paper is still based on the elastic the-
ory, while most rock mass show the complexity on the
plasticity, rock mass quality and composited geologi-
cal condition etc. Further work on the brittle failure due
to excavation induced stress change should be done
under these more complex conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr. N. Bahrani and Dr. B. Valley are acknowledged
for their helps on the use of examine2D program and
stress transformation in this paper, respectively. The
author’s supervisor Prof. M.C. He is also appreciated
here for his suggestions on this paper.
REFERENCES
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Underground Mining (Third edition): 173–174. Dor-
drecht: Springer.
China Railway Shisi Group 2006. Report of rockburst under
high stress in the auxiliary tunnel (eastern part) in Jin-
ping II Hydropower Station. (in Chinese)
He, M.C. et al. 2010. Rock burst process of limestone
and its acoustic emission characteristics under true-
triaxial unloading conditions. International Journal of
Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences (47): 286–298.
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Hiramatsu, Y. & Oka, Y. 1968. Determination of the stress
in rock unafected by boreholes or drifts, from measured
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Hoek E. Practical rock engineering. Rocscience Site Web
(http://www.rocscience.com). 1998.
Huang, X.B. & Tang J. 2008. Phenomena and counter mea-
sures on rockburst in the west auxiliary tunnel of Jinping
Hydropower Station. West China Exploration Engineering
(1): 154–156. (in Chinese)
Kaiser, P.K. et al. 1996. Drift support in burst-prone ground.
CIM Bulletin 89(998): 131–138.
Kaiser, P.K. et al. 2000. Underground works in hard rock
tunnelling and mining. Keynote address in GeoEng 2000.
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Kaiser, P.K. et al. 2001. Mining-induced stress change and
consequences of stress path on excavation stability – a
case study. International Journal of Rock Mechanics &
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Liu, Z.J. Finish of the resuce on the disaster in Jinping
Hydropower Station lasting 840 hours. http://www.china
news.com.cn/gn/news/2010/01-22/2087675.shtml (in
Chinese)
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ing the depth of brittle failure around tunnels. Candian
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Peska, P. & Zoback, M.D. 1995. Compressive and tensile
failure of inlclined well Bores and determination of in situ
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical simulation of the effect of geostress on large deformations of

deep soft rock tunnels

M.C. He, H.Y. Guo, X. Chen & P.Y. Liu

School of Mechanics & Civil Engineering, China University of Ming & Technology (Beijing)
China State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, Beijing, China

S.Z. Xi
China HPDI Geotechnical (Beijing), Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: There exist two types of finite deformation theorems in large deformation process of deep soft
rock engineering, i.e. polar decomposition theorem and additive decomposition theorem. In this paper, referring
to the functional expression between geostress and the depth proposed by Brown and Hock, the additive module
and the polar decomposition module included in A Software on Large Deformation Analysis for Soft Rock
Engineering (LDEAS) at Great Depth were adopted respectively to simulate the effect of geostress on the large
deformation induced in the process of the excavation of Jia-he Mine at −800 m level. The results indicate that:
the sidewall shrinkage, floor heave and roof caving represent a positive linear relationship with the depth and
the increasing rate of the mount of floor heave is the fastest. Moreover, the mount of the deformation calculated
by solar decomposition module is relatively smaller than the corresponding result obtained through the polar
decomposition module.

1 INTRODUCTION i.e., classical large deformation theory (see Biot, M.A,

As the depth of excavated tunnels increases, the
geostress value is increasing and deformations of the
surrounding rock masses are generally large, such as
roof caving, floor heave and sidewall shrinkage, which
contribute to the increasingly difficulties of the tunnel
supporting. Therefore, the determination of the ini-
tial geostress field is essential to the design of the
tunnel supporting and construction and it affects the
economical efficiency, reliability and safety directly.
As a result, it is necessary to study the influence of
geostress in the excavation of a tunnel.
Geostress is the natural stress without any arti-
ficial disturbance and the formation is a complex
process. However, there is a certain relationship with
the depth. According to the achievement of Brown E.T.
and Hock E. in 1978, the regularity of distribution of
geostress in China is given by Equation 1.
where σv is the vertical component of geostress; k is
the ratio between the vertical stress and the horizontal
stress.
In the large deformation analysis of a deep soft
rock tunnel, appropriate nonlinear kinematic theories
to measure strain and rotation are needed in addi-
tion to reliable geostress field. At present, there exists
two theories of mechanics for large deformation field,
1965; Guo, Z.H., 1980), which Green strain tensor
is used as strain definition while rotation tensor is
defined by Finger-Truesdell’s polar decomposition
theorem separately, and large deformation theory pro-
posed by Chen, which is based on solar decomposition
theorem using a co-moving coordinate system method
(see Chen, Z.D., 2000; Li, P., 1991). Large deformation
analysis for soft rock engineering at great depth, briefly
called LDEAS, includes a nonlinear theory of mechan-
ics based on solar decomposition theorem proposed by
Chen as well as the classical large deformation theory
for comparison (see He, M.C et al. 2007).
In this paper, the focus is on the different influence
of geostress on the deformation of a deep soft rock tun-
nel based on different large deformation theories. First,
the advantages and disadvantages of the two nonlin-
ear theories were summarized respectively (see Guo,
H.Y et al., 2009). Then, the process of a deep soft rock
tunnel with the same parameters of rock masses but
different depths were analyzed by LDEAS1.0. Finally,
the relationship between the deformation of the sur-
rounding rock and the depth is given, and similarities
and differences of the results calculated by the two
different modules were compared.
2 LARGE DEFORMATION THEORIES
2.1 Polar decomposition theorem
There is no definition of finite mean rotation angle
in compatible with finite strain; therefore, polar

595
decomposition theorem was put forward to overcome
this deficiency by Finger in the 19th century. Accord-
ing to polar decomposition theorem (Truesdell &
Noll, 1965), any reversible motion transformation is The differential coefficient of radius vector r and
denoted by: R is expressed by Equation 7 and Equation 8 respec-
tively:

where R is second-order orthogonal tensor; U and V

are the second-order positive symmetric tensors.
F = R · U called the right polar decomposition rep-
resents that a body deformed before the rotation, and
F = V · R is called the left polar decomposition which
indicates that a body rotated before the deformation.
It is proved that U and V has certain relation- The displacement vector is:
ships with the deformation gradient F. See Equation 3
below:
0
There exists certain relations between gi and gi . See
Equation 10 as follows:

The relations between Green strain tensorEand the

right Cauchy-Green tensor is:
where I is the unit matrix.
Obviously, for one motion transformation, two dif-
ferent deformation gradients are obtained by different
orders of deformation and rotation; therefore, the
deformation is not separated uniquely in polar decom-
position theorem. However, the shortcoming which
Green strain tensor has no compatible rotation tensor
is overcome; thus, it is adopted mainly in references.
In fact, the local rotation and deformation of a point
in a deformable body occur simultaneously, and there
is no order for them.
j
where δi is the Kronecker delta, and uj |i is the covariant
derivative of the displacement of the point in the initial
co - moving coordinate system and it is given by
j
where 0 il is the Christoffel symbol of the initial co –
moving coordinate system.
Thereby, the motion transformation of a deformable
body is expressed by Equation 10.
The deformation gradient is decomposed to one
unique addition of a positive definite strain tenor and
an orthogonal rotation tensor in solar decomposition
theorem. See Equation 12.

2.2 Solar decomposition theorem

The co-moving coordinate system method is adopted
in solar decomposition theorem (see Chen Z.D., 2000)
which is identical to the material coordinate to describe
the general motion of a deforming body. A metric the-
ory for the reference system is established, and the
rotation and strain of a local system at every point of
a deforming body is described accordingly.
At time t0 , the special location of a material point
of a deformed body in the original equilibrium state
is P which is identified by xi (i = 1, 2, 3) in updated
co-moving coordinates, the radius vector is r, and the
0 respectively by solar decomposition module and polar
basic vector is gi (i = 1, 2, 3). Then, it transforms to
P at time t, the radius vector is changed to R and the
basic vector is gi (i = 1, 2, 3).The covariant basic vector
0 rock engineering at great depth. To focus on the simi-
gi and gi are defined by Equation 5 and Equation 6
respectively.
where R is the orthogonal transformation representing
the rotation of a set of points in a deformable body; S
is the symmetry transformation which represents the
deformation of points.
3 NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
Large deformations of a tunnel at −800 m level in
Jia-he Mine with different geostress are analyzed
decomposition module in LDEAS1.0, the 2D finite
element software on large deformation analysis for soft
larities and dissimilarities of the influence of geostress
on different calculating models, the constitutive model
used in analysis is elastic for simplicity.
The cross section of the tunnel is trapezoid with a
width of 4.1m, and the heights of the left and right

596
 Table 2. Geostress calculated through the designed depths.

Vertical Horizontal
Model Depth (m) stress (MPa) stress (MPa)

1 500 13.5 6.75

2 1000 27 13.5
3 1500 40.5 20.25

Figure 1. Materials classification for numerical modeling

of the tunnel.

Figure 2. Mesh for numerical modeling of the tunnel.

Table 1. Material parameters of rock masses.

Bulk Shear Figure 3. Results of displacements of the tunnel with

Rock Unit Weight Modulus Modulus different depths by polar decomposition module.
Stratum Rock (Kg/m3 ) (Pa) (Pa)
study the surrounding rock deformation of the tunnel
1 Finestone 2637 5.0e9 3.6e9 acted different geostress. The following three issues
2 Sandy mudstone 2000 4.0e9 2.7e9 were investigated: (1) the influence of geostress on
3 Sandy shale 2635 3.8e9 2.5e9
4,8,9 coal 1650 3.0e9 2.0e9
the tunnel deformation based on polar decomposition,
5 Sandy shale 2625 3.6e9 2.3e9 (2) the influence of geostress based on solar decom-
6 Sandy mudstone 2000 3.8e9 2.5e9 position, (3) Comparison of the numerical results of
7 Sandy stone 2623 6.0e9 4.0e9 the two large deformation analysis modules.

3.1 Numerical results of polar decomposition

sidewall are 2.8 m and 2 m respectively. The calcula-
tion zone is taken as 30 m width and 30 m height. The
excavation process of the tunnel is simulated by one
step. The classification of materials is shown in Fig.1
and the mesh model is seen in Fig. 2. The boundary
conditions are given as follows: the bottom margin is
fixed in horizontal and vertical, two sides are fixed
in horizontal and acted the horizontal component of
the design geostress, and the top margin is acted the
vertical stress. Material parameters of rock masses are
listed in Table 1.
As displayed in Table 2, 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m
are chosen as the design depths of the tunnel respec-
tively; therefore, three sets of geostress were obtained
by Equation 1 to study the influence of geostress on
the results of numerical simulation.
Polar decomposition module and solar decomposi-
tion module in LDEAS were applied respectively to
analysis module
Deformations of the surrounding rock masses of the
three models listed in Table 2 were analyzed and com-
pared by polar decomposition module. The numerical
results of the displacement of the tunnel are shown in
Fig. 3.
It can be seen from Figure 3 that deformations of the
surrounding rock masses are increasing as the depth of
the tunnel increases, such as roof caving, floor heave
and sidewall shrinkage.
As can be noted in Figure 4, the horizontal axe
is taken by the depth of models and the vertical axe
is taken by the deformation of the surrounding rock,
which is described by the maximum absolute values
of horizontal displacement of the left sidewall and the
right sidewall and the vertical displacement of the floor
and the roof respectively. Through the regression anal-
ysis, it is found that: the maximum absolute values of

597
Figure 4. Relation graph of the deformation and the depth
obtained by the polar decomposition module.
Figure 5. Results of displacements of the tunnel with
different depths by solar decomposition module.
the horizontal displacements of the sidewalls and the
vertical displacements of the floor and roof show a
linear relationship with the depth, and the correlative
coefficients of the regressive equations (See Equa-
tion 13) |R| > 0.98; furthermore, the rate of roof caving
is largest, and then is the floor heave, and the change
of the left wall’s horizontal displacement is slowest.
where d is the component of the corresponding dis-
placement of the surrounding rock masses, h is the
depth, a and k are the regression coefficients.
3.2 Numerical results of solar decomposition
analysis module
Solar decomposition module is also applied here to
simulate deformations of the tunnel in the process of
598
Figure 6. Relation graph of the deformation and the depth
calculated by the solar decomposition module.
Figure 7. Results of displacement vectors in two large
deformation modules.
excavation through the three different models listed in
Table 2, and the parameters of rock masses are seen in
Table 1. The numerical results are shown in Fig. 5.
It can be found from Figure 5 that deformations
are also increasing with the depth increasing. Using
the depth as X-axis and the corresponding values of
displacement as Y-axis, we can note that the absolute
values of the horizontal displacement of sidewalls,
the roof falling and the floor heaving represent a
better linear relationship with the depth of the tun-
nel (|R| > 0.999). The regressive equation is shown
in Equation 13. It is noticeable that the floor heave
changes fastest, and then is the roof caving, and the rate
of the right wall’s deformation is smallest, which is dif-
ferent with the results obtained in polar decomposition
module.
3.3 Comparison of numerical results of the two
large deformation analysis module
Using model 3, the deformation is analyzed by the
two large deformation analysis modules respectively.
The graphs of displacement vectors of the surround-
ing rock masses of the tunnel are seen in Figure 7. As
displayed in Table3, it is clear that the maximum value
of floor heave, roof falling and the side wall shrink-
age obtained through solar decomposition module are
relatively smaller than that in polar decomposition
module.
Table 3. The comparison of deformations of the tunnel are relatively larger, and (1) the shrinkage rate of the
obtained through the two different analysis modules. left sidewall is bigger than the right sidewall in polar
decomposition module, while it is opposite in solar
Corresponding deformations (m) decomposition module.
Surrounding rock
masses Polar module Solar module

Sidewall’s shrinkage 0.475 0.216

Floor heave 0.699 0.423
Roof caving 0.442 0.326
4 CONCLUSION
Deformations of a tunnel with three different designed
depths after excavation were analyzed and com-
pared through using polar decomposition module and
solar decomposition module respectively included in
LDEAS1.0. The results show that there exist simi-
larities and dissimilarities in two large deformation
analysis modules. The similarities include: (1) the
maximum value of floor heave, roof caving and side-
wall shrinkage represent a positive linear relationship
with the depth, and (1) the rate of floor heave is largest.
There are two dissimilarities, which include the fol-
lowing: (1) the mount of deformations of the same
model calculated by the polar decomposition module
REFERENCES
Brown, E.T. & Hock E. 1978. Technical note trends in rela-
tionships between measured in-situ stress and depth. Int.
J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. and Geomech 15(3):211–215.
Biot, M.A. 1965. Mechanics of incremental deformations.
New York: Johnwiley.
Guo, Z.H., 1980. Nonlinear Elasticity. Beijing: China Sci-
ence Press.
Chen, Z.D. 2000. Rational Mechanics. Chongqing:Chongqing
Publication.
Li, P. 1991. The updated co-moving coordinate formulation
for the nonlinear large deformation finite element anal-
ysis and application. Ph.D. Dissertation. Beijng: China
University of Mining & Technology.
He, M. C et al. 2007. Software system for large defor-
mation mechanical analysis of soft rock engineering at
great depth. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Engineering 26 (05): 934.
Guo, H.Y et al. 2009. Comparison between two different
definite deformation theorems. Journal of Heilong Jiang
Institute of Scinece and Technology 19(2): 198–201.
Truesdell, C. & Noll, W. 1965. Nonlinear field theories of
mechanics. New York: Springer Press.

599
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Design of barrier pillars in Tabas underground Coal Mine (Iran) using

3D numerical modeling

M. Goodarzi, F.S. Rassouli & M. Yavari

School of Mining Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: This paper describes longwall numerical model of Tabas Coal Mine (Iran) by using commercial
code FLAC3D . The coal seam was modeled as strain softening material and its parameters were established by
calibrating separate test pillar models to common empirical pillar strength formulas. The longwall panel and the
intersection of Main-Entry and tailgate were modeled separately. For simulating gob behavior, bulk modulus
updating method, as a function of vertical strain, was used. Roof and floor remained elastic during all steps and
caving was modeled by replacing coal zones with gob material in the panel. Induced vertical stresses of two
models in two cross sections, in the middle of pillar and near tailgate, were investigated. The optimum size of
barrier pillar was determined by avoiding superposition of stress concentrations which are produced by panel
and Main-Entry extraction, on pillar in the direction of mining.

1 INTRODUCTION

Longwall mining is an exploitation method used in

flat-lying, relatively thin tabular coal seams in which
a long face is established to extract the coal. In these
operations, a mechanical shearer progressively mines
a large block of coal, called a panel, which is outlined
with development entries or gate roads (Yuan & Smith
2008).
Figure 1 shows a typical panel layout. The pan-
els are blocked out by developing panel entries or
gateroads perpendicular to the main entries on one
or both sides of the main entries. Longwall mining
begins at the setup room or entry. In order to protect
the bleeder entries and the setup room, where all of
the face equipment is located initially, a barrier pil-
lar between the bleeder entries and the setup room, Figure 1. A typical panel layout of a U.S. longwall mining
ranging in width from 200 to 500 ft (60 to 150 m), is section. (Peng, 2006).
developed depending on the seam depth. Sometimes,
if the bleeder system contains a sufficient number of
entries, no barrier pillar is developed, and the setup bleeder end of the panel, and (3) roof-to-floor conver-
room is developed as part of the bleeder system. Also gence in the gateroads and face area. The process of
a barrier pillar from 300 to 500 ft (90 to 150 m) (some- caving is that a stratum sags downward as soon as it is
times less than 200 ft or 60 m) in width is left between undermined.
the recovery room and the main entries for protection When the downward sagging of the stratum exceeds
of the mains. (Peng, 2006 & Hartman 1988) the maximum allowable limit, it breaks and falls.
As a coal in longwall panel is being extracted slice (Peng, 2006)
by slice, the surrounding strata are forced to move Compaction of the fractured, particulate material,
toward and attempt to fill the voids left by the extracted called the “gob”, created by the caving of the roof in the
coal. This process can be summarized in three activ- area from where the coal has been extracted, requires
ities; (1) movement of the rock strata resulting in attention in the numerical modeling of longwall min-
surface subsidence, (2) abutment pressure on both ing. With continuing extraction, the upper strata and
sides of the panel, in front of the faceline and in the the floor converge and gradually the vertical load on

601
the gob material increases. When the gap vanishes, the
caving process stops. Representation of this process
requires consideration of the deformations of both the
gob materials and the surrounding strata (Peng, 2006;
Badr et al., 2003). During this process the barrier pil-
lars prevents the gob from affecting on Main-Entries
and unexploited adjacent panel.
In this paper, a numerical model of Tabas Under-
ground Mine longwall panel has been formed in 3D
by using commercially available software, FLAC3D .
Change of stress distributions has also been deter-
mined with the aim of suggesting the optimum size
of its barrier pillar.

2 NUMERICAL MODELING

Modeling was carried out with a widely used numer-

Figure 2. The entry system dimensions.
ical software program called FLAC3D which is used
for stress and deformation analyses around surface and
underground structures opened in both soil and rock.
The software is based on the finite difference numer-
ical method with the Langragian calculation method.
FLAC3D is commercially available software that is
capable of modeling in three dimensions (Unver &
Yasitli, 2006).
Modeling of the longwall panel is performed in
eight steps which are described as follows:
– Determination of material properties,
– Formation of the model geometry and meshing and
allotting the material behaviors to the model,
– Applying boundary and initial conditions,
– Initial running of the program and monitoring the
model response,
– Excavation of tailgates and running the model to get
in equilibrium,
– Consecutive coal seam extraction and caving the top Figure 3. The FLAC3D block model developed for longwall
stratum, mining simulations. As it has been shown the panel length
is 1000 m and its width is 200 m. Because of symmetrical
– Re-evaluation of the model and necessary modifi- condition of the model, just half of it, was modeled.
cations,
– Obtaining the results.
on the barrier pillar is due to the incompact material
in front of the faceline, 1000 m of the length of this
2.1 Geometry of the model panel were modeled as extracting area.
Figure 2 represents a numerical longwall panel layout Within the fine meshed region, Mohr-Coulomb
model used in this study. It shows a three-entry tail- interface separates the coal seam from the roof strata.
gate and Main-Entry with five entries. Longwall mine
located at a depth of 200 m below the surface. The
2.2 Determination of material properties
panel width is 200 m and the mining height is 2.8 m
approximately. The width of the entries and cross cut is In this paper the Mohr Coulomb Strain Softening
4.5 m. The chain pillars between the entries are 2.8 m model has been used for the behavior of coal. The
high, 6 m wide and 22 m long. The mining geometry Strain Softening behavior is due to the development
is built in a 2000 m long, 200 m high, and 430 m wide and propagation of cracks and it is used to explore the
block with graded mesh, as shown in Figure 3. Since manner of materials after the peak of their strength.
the overall size of this model is too large, the mesh of The Mohr-Coulomb Strain Softening model is more
each parts of the mine such as Main-Entries, tailgates realistic than the traditional Mohr-Coulomb consti-
and panel were generated separately and were attached tutive law for estimating the strength and post peak
to each other. behavior of coal pillars (Badr et al., 2003).
Because of the symmetric geometry of the panel, a The parameter determination used in this study is
half of the panel was only modeled. The real length of based on the two most commonly used empirical pil-
the panel is 1200 m but in as much as the induced load lar strength formulas given by Salamon (1967) and

602
Table 1. Properties of different layers in longwall panel.

Layer φ C γ ν E K G
Unit – MPa Kg/m3 – GPa GPa MPa

Coal 23 0.5 1600 0.29 3 2.38 1.16

MC interface 23 0.5 – – – – –
Roof & Floor 32 4.7 2600 0.3 3.5 2.91 1.34

Figure 5. Model pillar strength versus empirical pillar

strength at cohesion drop rates of 3 MPa/εp .

plastic strain (εp ) increment. As it is obvious from this

curve, the peak cohesion of 0.4 has a better agreement
with Bieniawski model, so in this paper this amount
were chosen for modeling the strain softening behavior
of coal.

2.3 Longwall model

Figure 4. Test pillar model geometry.
Bieniawski (1984), Eq. 1 and Eq. 2, respectively, as
follow, regarding to the properties of Tabas Coal:
A FLAC3D model of a single test pillar was devel-
oped to establish the most suitable combination of coal
MCSS parameters for replicating pillar strength values
based on empirical formulas.
Table 1 presents the materials properties using in
present numerical modeling where C is cohesion, E is
the Elastic modulus, ν is Poisson’s ratio, φ is friction
angle and γ is density.
Figure 4 shows the FLAC3D model of the test pillar
in a room and pillar environment.
The model is loaded along the top boundary using a
constant displacement of 2 × 10−7 m per FLAC step.
For all pillar test simulations, the friction and dila-
tion angles are held constant at 30 and 15 degrees,
respectively.
Three pillar width-to-height (W/H) ratios (1, 2 and
3) were modeled. For each W/H ratio, the numerical
model was run with two different combinations of peak
cohesion, 0.35 and 0.4, and a cohesion drop rate. The
strengths established from the test pillar models were
plotted against the empirical pillar strength formulas
in Figure 5 for the cohesion drop rate of 3 MPa per
Since the dimension of model were voluminous, this
model was executed in two parts; first the longwall
panel and related tailgate, and second the intersection
of Main-Entry and tailgate. After solving the model,
design of barrier pillars were performed as respects
to both results. For two mentioned conditions, initial
model of field was run until the field stresses brought
to equilibrium. After that, for the first condition the
tailgate entries were excavated and model was run
again till achieving to balance. Exploitation was the
next move and since the amount of RMR for immedi-
ate roof of coal is 55, caving step assumed to be 10 m
approximately. As regards maximum distance of com-
pletely compact materials from the faceline is about
0.3–0.4 times the height of overburden (60–80 m),
(Peng, 2006), each caving steps got around 200 step
intervals by trial and error. After complete excavation
of the panel, the model was run again to achieve equi-
librium. At all stages of the program running, rock of
floor and roof remain in elastic state.
In this section, ‘Modulus Updating’ algorithm was
used to simulate the gob. The gob was modeled as a
non-linear elastic material. Its bulk modulus is contin-
ually increased as a function of vertical strain within
the gob area. The algorithm for this “modulus updat-
ing” method uses the bulk modulus K for each gob
element (Badr et al., 2002):
where εz is the vertical strain in the element.
In the later condition, Main-Entries and tailgates
were excavated simultaneously.
Because solving the model with caving takes too
much time, a sample model, without caving, was run

603
Figure 6. Stress distribution on the angel of barrier pillar
located near intersection of Main-Entry and tailgate.
to investigate the effect of excavation of adjacent panel
on induced stress on barrier pillar. As it is clear, the
excavation of lateral panel had significant effect on
chain pillars in tailgate but, for barrier pillar its influ-
ence just occurred at the initial parts of barrier pillar
and it was less than 5 percent. According to this exam-
ination, the effect of adjacent panel was neglected and
only one panel was modeled.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of stress distribution on Main-Entry and
tailgate junction were showed that maximum induced
stress was about 46 MPa on angle of this junction,
which is located on a region with approximately 10 m
apart from the tailgate and 10 m from Main-Entry
(Point A in figure 6), and amount of this stress on
middle zones of barrier pillar was about 25 MPa. The
induced stress diminishes along the barrier pillar width
and finally stresses must reach to in situ stresses. In
this model, stress concentration vanished on the mid-
dle of barrier pillar, at 26 m distance area from the
Main-Entry. This distance extended to 35 m for zones
near 20 m ahead of the tailgate. (Fig. 6)
After complete extraction of the panel, the model
reaches to equilibrium and some zones in gob area
become totally compacted. This region can bear over-
burden load and reduce the load on areas located
around panel. The full compacted area has certain dis-
tance from barrier pillar (as it was mentioned before)
and for this case it must be 60–80 m. In figure 7, the
completely compact Gob area has been shown. The
distance of this regain from barrier pillar is around
100 m which caused a bit overestimate load on the
pillar. Due to low accuracy of FLAC3D program in cal-
culating strain and fast change of Eq. 3 near εz = 0.5,
some zones suddenly reached to complete compaction
and there was a considerable difference in bulk modu-
lus between the complete compacted gob area and the
gob zones surrounded them.
Investigation of induced stress caused by panel
extraction is the most important part of designing the
barrier pillar.
604
Figure 7. Complete compacted gob area which can bear
overburden load.
Figure 8. Stress distribution along panel width on barrier
pillar, this cross section belonged to about one meter far from
pillar edge.
The numerical results have shown that, the induced
stress dwindles from middle of panel to areas near
tailgate but there was an abrupt increase of stress on
the initial parts of the barrier pillar which is due to
induced stress created by excavation of the tailgate
entries (Fig. 8). Its maximum value that happened on
the middle of the panel, was about 48 MPa, so, crit-
ical stress situation occur on the middle of the pillar
(Vice versa the previous situation in which the angle
of junction is the crucial point). These results have a
good agreement with Peng’s findings.
Figure 9 shows stress distribution on the barrier pil-
lar in direction of mining. Induced stress has decreased
along the barrier pillar until it has reached to in situ
stress. This phenomenon has happened in the middle
of the pillar and 20 m away from tailgate, at 80 m and
65 m distance from the barrier pillar edge, respec-
tively. According to numerical modeling results of
two conditions which were modeled and interpreted
previously, the pivotal part of barrier pillar is its
middle part. Therefore, this pillar width must be at
least 106 m (80 + 26 m) to have a zone without any
stress concentration. The zones located within this size
were investigated to reach to plastic flow and it was
found that there was an elastic region with 30 m width

Figure 9. Stress distribution on barrier pillar in direction of
mining, these cross sections belong to middle of pillar and
20 m away from tailgate.
between the barrier pillar and Main-Entry. This dimen-
sion resulting by numerical modeling is in a good
agreement with SME suggestion.
4 CONCLUSION
In this study, a three dimensional longwall model of
Tabas Coal Mine was developed using FLAC3D to
determine the optimum dimension of barrier pillar.
For more realistic simulation of coal behavior
Mohr-Coulomb Strain Softening constitutive law was
used and the parameters of it were determined by
back-analyses according to two empirical formulas
(Bienawski & Salamon formulas).
Longwall panel and junction of Main-Entry and
tailgate were modeled separately. Modulus updating
method which updates bulk modulus of gob zones
by changing in vertical strain was used for model-
ing the gob region behavior. This method does not
consider caving of roof but it just replaces properties
of excavated zones by the gob ones to simulate com-
paction and hardening phenomenon. Numerical results
showed that the crucial part of barrier pillar is the mid-
dle part of it and by trying to prevent any superposition
605
of stress concentration produced by Main-Entry and
panel extraction, the minimum size of the pillar was
gained 106 m.
The effects of lateral panel excavation on chain
pillars are significant but it could be neglected for
design of barrier pillar. In this research only one panel
was modeled. This approach could agreeably assess
stresses around the longwall panel. It must be noted
that amount of stress in this method is a direct func-
tion of properties allotted to the gob region. Since the
equation used for bulk modulus updating is for USA
coal mines, and properties of these coals is different
from the ones in Tabas mine, it could be a good idea
to determine precise amount of gob properties used in
this model by back-analyses on the real gob material
of Tabas Coal to achieve a better design.
Some gob zones suddenly reach to complete com-
paction due to low accuracy of FLAC3D program in
calculating displacement and strain which is about four
digits. It causes an abrupt change in bulk modulus in
gob region and a bit stress concentration is produced
on zones located at the border of complete compacted
gob area.
REFERENCES
Badr, S.A., Schissler, A., Salamon, M.D.G. & Ozbay, M.U.
2002. Numerical modeling of yielding chain pillars in
longwall mines. Proc. of the 5th North American Rock
Mechanics Symposium, Toronto Canada: 99–107.
Badr, S.A., Mendoza, R., Kieffer, S., Salamon, M.D.G. &
Ozbay, M.U. 2003. Numerical modeling of longwalls in
deep coal mine. Proc. of 22nd Conference on Ground
control in Mining, Morgantown, WV, USA: 37–43.
Hartman, H.L. 1988. SME mining engineering hand book.
2nd edition on CD-ROM; 1782.
Peng, S. 2006. Longwall mining. John Wilely & Son’s
publisher 2nd edition.
Unver, B. & Yasitli, N.E. 2006. Modeling of strata movement
with a special reference to caving mechanism in thick
seam coal mine. International Journal of Coal Geology
66: 227–252.
Yuan, L. & Smith, A.C. 2008. Numerical study on effects of
coal properties on spontaneous heating in longwall gob
areas. International Journal of Fuel 87: 3409–3419.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Influences on in-situ stress distribution and surrounding rock mass

stability of underground cavern groups under different slope
inclinations

Lige Wang, Weishen Zhu, Kui Zhou & Xiaoli Xin

Geotechnical & Structural Engineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, P. R. China

ABSTRACT: Inbetween the many factors, which will influence the distribution character of initial stress,
the slope angle of the mountain is important one. Therefore, stress distribution in mountains under different
slope angles with considering different lateral coefficients of initial stress is studied using numerical method.
The results show that the actual initial vertical stresses are usually 2–5 times of the gravitational stresses for
some zones. The next part of this paper shows the remarkably different plastic zones distributions after excavating
a cavern under different slope angles. Ultimately, a suggestive advice to determine the fitting areas of the in-situ
stress is proposed.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPUTING

1.1 Generally situation
Quite a number of hydropower stations will be built
in southwest China in the few years, most of which
poses underground powerhouse. These plants are gen-
erally located in high canyon regions. The topogragh
of mountain of projects location has a great impact
on the distribution character of initial stress field. In
the current engineering, the depth of the direct over-
burden rock is defined as the basis of calculating the
vertical initial stress generally. However, according to
some analysis, thus definition for the vertical compo-
nent of the initial stress may cause a considerable error.
The purpose of this article is to study the problem by
comparing the two basic conditions: Firstly, assuming
that the project is located under a slope with a angle;
Secondly, it is under a flat surface of ground. The lat-
ter part of this paper, the rock stability will be studied
when a cavern is excavated in the above models.
1.2 Influence of slope angle to initial stress
distribution
At the design stage of hydropower project stress mea-
surements are conducted, then the numerical method
to fit out the initial stress field in the project areas will
to do. But under normal circumstances the measured
data are very limited, which poses discrete charater
generally. So the stress field what we get are often
not reliable. Many underground cavern of the station
are located in the mountain valleys and the initial stress
field in the project area are strongly effected by moun-
tain slope angle. Therefore, the study on the effect of
slope angle to stress field is an important item.
MODEL I AND MODEL II
2.1 Model I
According to conventional idea, a vertical initial stress
in a point should be by = γh. h is the direct overburden
depth, γ is the rock density. But in fact it is not the
case for a mountain area. For study the question two
types of computational models are established. Model
I includes a hill slope area with different angles of it;
model II is a ground area with horizontal surface (no
angle).
The hill slope areas with slope angles of 30◦ , 45◦ ,
60◦ are formed respectively. The computation scope
incluedes the hill peak on right border (Figure 1). The
coordinates x and y y directions are shown in the figure
and z direction is perpendicular to the paper.
Models range is shown in the figure as well. A
cavern will be examined and the distance is about
460 m from the corner of slope. The depth of cav-
ern roof is 200 meters. Three survey lines near the
cavern AB, CD and EF are seted for analysis (Fig-
ure 2). The thickness of z direction for model is of 30
meters, and the plane-strain stress state is assumed for
computation.
2.2 Model II
For comparison the another model with horizontal sur-
face(no slope) is established as well (Figure 3). The
cavern’s depth is the same as model I and three survey
lines A
B
, C
E
and E
F
(Figure 4) are set up also.
The lateral pressure coefficients of initial stress in
the x direction are taken as Kx = 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0,
2.5 respectively.

607

Figure 1. Model I.
Figure 2. Location of survey line AB, CD, EF.
3 CALCULATION RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SLOPES
At first we define a parameter N as N = by/by
, in
which by is actual vertical stress calculated by model
I and by
= γh is calculated by model II. Accord-
ing to the calculation, the results are as following
(Figure 5):
In the survey line AB, when Kx ranges between 1.0
and 1.5, there is no much difference with N. For the
608
Figure 3. Model II.
Figure 4. Location of survey line A
B
, C
E
, E
F
.
slope with angle 30◦ when the depth is 100 meters,
by and by
are mostly equal. But for the slope angle
is increased more than 30◦ such as 45◦ or 60◦ , the N
will be changed obviously. When it comes to the loca-
tion more closer to slope surface, the N is larger. But
in the case of slope angle being 60◦ , only when the
depth is over 400 meters, the value of N may be near
1 still. However, if we have h = 200 m or so, the value
N will be reaching up to 5 even. Therefore, it can be
known, the slope angle has very large impact to the
stress distribution (Figure 6).
4 EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN
SLOPE ANGLE ON THE SURROUNDING
ROCK STABILITY
If a similar cavern is excavated in model I and model
II respectively with assuming the direct depth is 200
meters, Kx = 1.5 and the mechanical parameters of
the rock are the same. This time we establish two new
models (model I
and model II
), which are similar
to the model I and model II, but with smaller com-
putation scopes, that are 1500 meters for the bottom
length of the models replacing the 3000 meters like
in figures 2, 3, 4, 5. Here we assuming that the rock
is jointed rock, considering the effect of two major
 Table 1. Mechanical parameters of rock

Compressive Deformation
Density strength modulus Poisson’s Cohesion Friction
Categories (m3 ) (mpa) (Mpa) ratio (Mpa) coefficient

III Class 2.65 80 30 0.20 1.5 0.85

Table 2. Geometric parametres for joints

Length Width Spacing

Joint set (m) (cm) (m)

1 8 10 2
2 8 10 2

Angle between
Dip angle Azimuth joint strike and
Joint set (◦ ) (◦ ) powerhouse axis(◦ )

1 8 10 2
2 8 10 2

Figure 5. N changes with the depth for line AB and

Kx = 1.5.

Figure 6. N changes with the depth for line AB and

Kx = 2.5.

Figure 7. Damage zone around cavern for Model I

groups of joints and a damage-fracture mechanics
model [4] is adopted. The orientation, density, length
and other parameter for the two major joint sets at
the site are presented in Table 2. A calculating has
been conducted by using FLAC-3D, in which a new
sub programme is developed involving the new model.
Therefore, some results are given as below: Figures 7
and 8 show us the distributions of the damage zone
after the rock cavern is excavated for model I and
model II.
(Kx = 1.5 slope angle = 60◦ ).
As it can be seen, the damage zone of model I is
much larger than that of model II. And the area for
former is a very asymmetrical one. Since the upstream
side wall is more closer to the surface of slope than the
another one, the damage area of former one is more
larger than the later one.

609

Figure 8. Damage zone around cavern for Model II
(Kx = 1.5 slope angle = 60◦ ).
5 CONCLUSION
1. When the mountain slope has a larger inclination,
the vertical components of initial stress around
the cavern are deferent, comparing to the value of
by = γh, the closer to the surface is, the greater
coefficient N is, and which reachs up to more than
5 even in some cases. So for determining by the
impact of the slope angle needs to be considered.
The more steep angle is, the more obvious effect
of it is.
610
2. The rock stability around cavern will be very dif-
ferentfor two models, when the slope angle is large,
the damage zone of the rock for model I is much
larger than that of model II, and the distribution
of former is a very asymmetrical one, the damage
degree for the side wall near the hill surface is more
serious than the other side wall.
3. In a slope with greater angle of the mountain, the
stress distribution is more complex, every compo-
nent of initial stress is related to the nearby peak of
the mountain. The more steep of slope is, the more
effect is. The simulation scope for fitting stress
field should include the mountain peak as much
as possible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was financially supported by National Nat-
ural Science Foundation of P. R. China (No. 90510019
and 50579033)
REFERENCES
[1] Li Panfeng, Zhang Zhuoyuan, WANG Yinmei. A deep
canyon in the spatial distribution characteristics of
stress field [J]. Taiyuan University of Technology,
2004, 35(2):195–198.
[2] Li Zhongkui, Dai rong, Jiang Yiming. FLAC3D anal-
ysis of the initial stress field is generated and in large
underground caverns calculation [J]. Rock Mechanics
and Engineering, 2002, 21(by 2):2387–2392.
[3] Yang Weimin, Chen Weizhong, LI Shucai, etc. Fast
Lagrangian Analysis of the stability of large under-
ground caverns [J]. Journal of Geotechnical Engineer-
ing, 2005, 27(2): 230–234.
[4] Xu Jingnan, Zhu Weishen, Bai Shiwei: Multi-crack
Rock Mass Mechanical Character under the State of
Compression-shearing-Fracture and Damage Evolution
and Testing Verification, Rock and Soil Mechanics
Vol. 14, No. 2 (1994, in Chinese)
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Research on in-situ stress field simulation of coal and

gas outburst mining area with 3D finite element method

Xu Jiang, Peng Shou-Jian, Yang Hong-Wei, Zhang Dan-Dan & Liu Dong
Key Laboratory for Exploitation of Southwestern Resources and Environmental Disaster Control Engineering,
Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

ABSTRACT: The research of three-dimensional initial in-situ stresses field in mine can put forward the sugges-
tion on the production design of coal mine and the prediction of coal and gas outbursts. Based on the geological
materials about Tian-fu San-hui No.1 mine in Chongqing, the 3D FEM model is built, and the numerical mod-
eling of initial in-situ stresses field is finished with the elastoplastic finite element method by use of ANSYS
program. According to the modeling results, the characters of the in-situ stresses both of San-hui No.1 mine and
K1 coal seam are analyzed. The study shows that by building the geological model from the earth’s surface, the
influence of terrain on initial in-situ stresses field has been studied; the coal and rock mass in Sanhui No.1 mine is
under complex compressive stresses, both of the maximum principal stress σ1 and the minimum principal stress
σ3 are mainly the textural stress at horizontal direction, the middle principal stress σ2 is mainly the overburden
pressure, and there is an affinity between the direction of the principal stress and the tectonization of this area.
It also indicate that the three-dimensional initial in-situ stresses field could be obtained legitimately by finite
element modelling.

1 INTRODUCTION deal of stress field measurement due to limiting factor

The coal and gas outburst, which threatens coal mine
safety production, is an extremely complex geological
power phenomenon that occurs in the coal mine pro-
duction. In the last 150 years, since the first reported
coal and gas outburst occurred in the Issac Colliery,
Loire coal field, France, in 1843 [1], as many as
30,000 outbursts have occurred in the world coal min-
ing industry. The most outbursts, more than one-third
of the total, have occurred in China. These disastrous
mine outbursts have resulted in much loss of equip-
ment, production time, even entire mines, and the lives
of numerous miners all over the world. These have
forced mining leaders and researchers to develop an
understanding of the complex outburst phenomenon,
and develop procedures to minimize the effect of out-
bursts or eliminate them completely. According to the
research of scholars at home and abroad [2–6], in-situ
stress is one of the main factors which lead to coal and
gas outburst.
Tian-fu San-hui No.1 Mine in Chongqing is one of
the mining areas having great potential of serious coal
and gas outburst, which once occurred the most serious
coal and gas outburst in the mining industry history of
China [7]. However, by far, there has been rare study
on in-situ stresses of the area, three-dimensional distri-
bution of the regional in-situ stresses field. Generally
speaking, practically measured in-situ stresses provide
the most direct route to the regional in-situ stresses
field. However, it is impossible to carry out a good
such as space and funds shortage. While numerical
method will be a good solution to this problem, base on
which, in this paper, No.1 mine of San-hui serves as the
object of study, and through the establishment of three-
dimensional computational model, three-dimensional
numerical calculation of in-situ stresses field of Min-
ing areas is carried out by the use of ANSYS structural
analysis program. The purpose of the study is to get
three-dimensional distribution of in-situ stress field in
Tian-fu San-hui No.1 mine, and then to provide a ref-
erence frame for its production design and regional
prediction of coal and gas outburst hazard.
2 3-D FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF IN-SITU
STRESS FIELD
2.1 The general introducation of the coal
mine area
San-hui NO.1 mine in Chongqing, between east lon-
gitude 106◦ 35
37

to 106◦ 39
22

, northern latitude
30◦ 03
45

to 30◦ 08
45

, locates in San-hui Town of
Hechuan City which is 85 kilometers to the north
of Chongqing City. The coal mine locates in an area
where the stress is relatively concerntrated, coal and
gas outburst disasters happen frequntly and the out-
burst scale is large. The mining coal seams are all
outburst coal seams. Fig. 1 shows the involved area
with the 3-D stress field numerical calculation and its
planar graph.

611
 Table 1. Classification of terranes and their physical-
mechanical parameters

Complex ρ/
rock L/m kg · m−3 E/GPa ν C/MPa (◦ )

T1 f 42 2597 4.984 0.25 11.25 26.5

P2 c 46 2651 19.104 0.29 13.86 27.6
P2 l 57 2622 28.937 0.27 20.68 22.3
K1 3 1420 1.000 0.33 0.80 20.0
P1 m3+4 56 2689 34.706 0.22 20.56 24.2
Figure 1. Geologic map of the researched area. P1 m1+2 90 2427 31.955 0.19 21.65 25.4

Figure 2. 3-D geological model.

2.2 Establishment of 3-D finite element
calculation model
2.2.1 3-D geological model
Considering the boundery loading and the boundery
effect, a geological model built based on geological
data of San-hui NO.1 mine is shown in Fig. 2. Tak-
ing the point (3327535, 36366675, 400) as the origin
of the coordinate, the rang in the direction parallel to
the minimum principle stress is 4000 m, making the
direction of the minimum principle stress the positive
direction of x axis; the rang in the direction parallel to
the maximum principle stress is 1500 m, making the
direction of the maximum principle stress the positive
direction of z axis; another range is from the eleva-
tion of 400 m to the surface of the grand, and make the
vertical direction the positive direction of y axis.
2.2.2 The selection of constitutive model and
material parameters
In this paper, a numerical calculation is accomplished
by applying ANSYS structual analysis program, and
material of the formation is revealed based on D-P
model of which the yield criterion is Drucker-Prager
criterion. Parameters need to determine include elastic
modulus, density, Poisson’s ratio, cohesion, internal
fiction angle and so on [8].
To simplify calculation and improve accuracy, the
K1 coal seam is considered separately, and also each
rock formation on the roof and the floor are com-
pounded by geological age. Tab. 1 shows the thickness
of strata and the value of other physical and mechanical
parameters.
2.2.3 Mesh generation
This paper apply solid45 structual element. After the
assignment of the property of entity model elements,
infinite mesh grids are diveided, and its total number
Figure 3. Mesh of finite element for 3D computational
model.
is 913104. Fig. 3 shows the 3-D calculation model of
San-hui NO.1 mine and its element mesh division.
2.2.4 Boundary conditions
Whether the selection of boundary conditions is res-
onable or not will influence the reliability of the
calculation results. The boundary conditions in this
paper are as follows:
Displacement constraint boundaries: the normal
direction of the boundary where x = 0; the normal
direction of the boundary where y = 0; the normal
direction of the boundary where z = 0.
Stress constraint boundaries: the boundary where
x = 4000 m is in the negative direction of x axis; the
boundary where z = 1500 m is in the negative direction
of z axis;
Free boundaries: the surface of the upper ground.
The displacement constraints is zero on the dis-
placement constraint boundaries. The value of the
stress on the stress constraint boundaries are deter-
mined like this: horizontal stress on the displacement
constraint boundaries mainly comprises horizontal
component of gravity stress and horizontal tectonic
stressand the horizontal component of gravity stress is
determined by the following formula:
Where, ν is the Poisson’s ratio of the strata, γ is the
bulk density of trata, h is the depth beneath the surface
of the ground. Horizontal tectonic stress is determined
according to the measured results of Yongchuan coal
mine in Chongqing [9] which is not far from San-hui
NO. 1 mine and came into being in the same geological
ages as San-hui NO.1 mine. The maximum horizontal

612
Figure 4. The constraint conditions for computational model.

tectonic stress is regarded as 8 MPa and the minimum

horizontal tectonic stress is regarded as 4.0 MPa.
Fig. 4 shows the boundary conditions of every
boundary in the calculation model.

3 SIMULATING RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

3.1 The 3-D distribution of in-situ stresses field

in mining area
Based on the analysis which is shown in Fig. 5 and
Fig. 6, the distribution of the maximum principle stress
σ1 , the intermediate principal stress σ2 and the mini-
mum principle stress σ3 of the mining area have the
following features:
(1) the principle stress σ1 , σ2 and σ3 are all compres-
sive stress, which indicates that all coal and rock
mass is under complex 3-D compressive stress,
the directions of σ1 and σ3 are all nearly parallel
to horizontal direction except those influnce by the
lithology interface and the surface of the ground,
also the direction of the intermediate principal
stress σ2 is perpendicular to horizontal direction.
Knowed from all of those above, the study con-
clude that σ1 and σ3 are mainly horizontal tectonic
stress and σ2 is mainly gravity stress.
(2) Contour of the maximum principle stress σ1 and
the minimum principle stress σ3 is possible to
point out at somewhere on the surface of the
ground, but the contour of the intermediate prin-
cipal stress σ2 may be similar to the curve of the
landform.
(3) In the shallow parts of the formation, in-situ
stresses is greatly influenced by the surface relief
which is closely related to the landscape of the
mountainous area. Generally speaking, due to the
gravity stress of hillside, the value of principle
stress is high, the gradient of principle stress Figure 5. Contours of principal stresses in mining area
is large and there is stress concerntration, how- (unit: Pa).
ever, beneath the surface of the protuberant hill,
the value of principle stress is relatively low, the stress increases linearly in the perpendicular
gradient of principle stress is relatively small. direction in every strata. But compound rock
(4) the Principle stress σ1 ¡¢σ2 and σ3 will increase strata will conflict with each other if the material
with increase of the buried depth, every principle parameters are quite different from others, and

613

Figure 6. Contours of principal stresses for X = 2000 m
section (unit: Pa).
the conflict has great relationship with material
parameters of compound rock strata [10].
3.2 Distribution of in-situ stress in coal seam
To predict potential coal and gas outburst areas, what
the most important is the distribution of initial stress
field. Then this paper take the K1 coal seam of San-hui
NO. 1 mine as an example to analysis the maximum
principle stress σ1 , the intermediate principal stress σ2
and the minimum principle stress σ3 .
Fig. 7 shows the distribution of σ1 , σ2 and σ3 , and
it has the following features:
(1) The value of σ1 , σ2 and σ3 will increase with the
increase of the depth of coal seam, there will be
stress concertration where the inclinationof coal
seam twists.
(2) Due to the twist of inclinationof coal seam from
southeast to the south, stress concentration hap-
pens in the twisted areas. Generally, in the same
614
Figure 7. Contours of stress for the coal seam section
(unit: Pa)
depth the priciple stress will be stronger in the
southeast than that in the northeast.
(3) In the shallow regions, each priciple stress will be
influenced by the landscape, and stress concentra-
tion happens in depression areas. On the contrary,
the stress is weak in protuberan areas; In deep
regions, σ1 , σ2 and σ3 will have little change with
increase of the thickness of overlying strata.
3.3 The simulated values comparison with the test
values
In order to verify the reasonableness of numerical
simulation results, the original rock stress of Tian-fu
San-hui NO. 1 mine has test by using Kaiser effect
of rock acoustic emission method. The test direc-
tional core is taken from the +590 m level of 2124
machine Lane, where corresponds to the coordinate
point (330,190,560) in three-dimensional model.
According to the calculation method of literature
[11], the original rock stress test results of Tian-fu
san-hui NO.1 mine is shown in table 2, where X is the
bedding strike direction of rock mass, Y is the vertical
direction, and Z is the direction of rock tendency. From
the table 2, we can see that the direction of the max-
imum principal stress σ1 and the minimum principal
Table 2. The results of stress test
Principle stress σ1 σ2 σ3
value/MPa 28.86 11.24 16.96
θx (separation angle of 26.4 104.8 68.6
principle stress and x)/(◦ )
θy (separation angle of 79.64 16.9 76.8
principle stress and y)/(◦ )
θz (separation angle of 65.9 82.0 154.5
principle stress and z)/(◦ )
stress σ3 are close to the horizontal direction, and the
intermediate principal stress σ2 is plumb. From the sim-
ulation results, we can see that the stress simulated val-
ues at (330,190,560) are as follows: σ1 = 25.82 MPa,
σ2 = 12.14 MPa, σ3 = 14.65 MPa, which are close to
the test values, so it shows that the simulation results
have a certain reliability.
4 CONCLUSIONS
(1) Based on the 3-Dcomputational model, three-
dimensional distribution of ground stress field can
be easily got from finite element simulation for
initial stress field in the mining area, and it pro-
vides a reference frame for further potential risk
analysis and forecast of coal and gas outburst of
mining area as well as design and construction of
mine workings.
(2) The calculation results shows that all coal and rock
mass in San-hui No. 1 mine is under complex 3-D
compressive stress, σ1 and σ3 are mainly horizon-
tal tectonic stress and σ2 is mainly gravity stress,
and the direction of maximum principle stress is
closely related to geological structural movement
in this area.
(3) For accuracy is the most important point to numer-
ical simulation, it’s necessary to estabilish a rea-
sonable 3-D geological model and determine the
boundary condition so as to make the result of the
simulation approach the actural value as much as
possible.
(4) Because factors that influence the stress field are
complex, it is difficult to have a comprehensive
understand of the real conditon in the worksite.
Results of this paper show the general trend of
the distribution of in-situ stresses in San-hui No.1
mine, but the paper tries its best to improve the
accuracy as much as possible.
615
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work presented in this paper was supported by
the General Project of the National Natural Sci-
ence Foundation of PR China (No. 50974141) and
the National S&T Major Project of PR China (No.
2008ZX05034-002).
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research in Warren-lvov and Donbass coal field. The
stress state of crustal.Translated by Information Room of
Earthquake and Geology Team of National Earthquake
Administration: 66–70.
Xing-shan ZHU & Feng-yin XU. 1994. The controlling effect
of tectonic stress field and its evolution on coal and gas
outburst. Journal of China Coal Society 19(3): 304–313.
Xi-hai WANG. 1997. A study on the relation between rock
stress and outbursts. Journal of Geocechanics 3(1): 88–94.
Zi-xu ZHANG & Cong-fu YUAN. 2003. Tectonic stress con-
centration of outburst dangerous area. Journal of Jiaozuo
Institute of Technology 16(2): 16–20.
Jun HAN & Hong-wei ZHANG & Wei-hua SONG, et al.
2008. In-situ stress field of coal and gas outburst mining
area. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering
27(S2): 3852–3859.
Tian-mo ZHANG. 2006. Analysis of the differences and
countermeasures for the large amount of coal and gas
in Sanhui Tianfu mining area. Journal of Chongqing
Vocational & Technical Institute 15(4): 140–142.
Yan-xin ZHANG & Mei-feng CAI & Ke-zhong WANG.
2005. Algoritm of in-situ stress field and its application.
Journal of University of Science and technology Beijing
27(5): 520–523.
Fu-sheng WEI & Guo-zhong HU & Hong-tu WANG, et al.
2007. Measurement and variation characteristics of strata
stress in Yong chuan coal mine. Mining Safety & Envi-
ronmental Protection 34(4): 1–3.
Sheng-rui SU & He-hua ZHU & Sshi-tian WANG, et al. 2003.
Effect of physical and mechanical properties of rocks on
stress field in the vicinity of fractures. Chinese Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Engineering 22(3): 370–377.
Yong-dong JIANG & Xue-fu XIAN & Jiang XU. 2005.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Three-dimensional stability analysis of stratified rock mass tunnel based

on anisotropic theory

Y. Wang, J.M. Yin & G.Q. Xiao

Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering of the Ministry of Water Resources,
Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei, China

ABSTRACT: The anisotropic characteristics of stratified rock mass are considered by ubiquitous-joint model.
The FLAC3D software is used to analyze the deformation, failure and the displacement of the key monitoring
points of a tunnel passing through the stratified rock with different dip and inclination. The results show that
the effect of deformation and stability of rock mass varies with the dimensional orientation of structural planes.
When the inclination of rock stratum remains invariable, with the increase of dip angle of rock stratum, the
displacements around tunnel are of a decreasing trend. When the dip angle of rock stratum remain invariable,
with the increase of inclination of rock stratum, the displacements of rock surrounding in vault and floor had
fluctuated, the displacements of side wall had increased. The study has been played an important role to assure
the safety and quality of the tunnel and can be used further for the guiding of the similar tunnel construction.

1 INTRODUCTION angle of structure plane which used three-dimensional

In recent years, as the country gradually implementa-
tion of the strategy for the large scale development of
the western region and the “Rising in Central China”,
many great basic projects had been developed rapidly,
such as water conservancy and hydropower engineer-
ing, railway engineering and highway engineering
and so on. The tunnel has become an indispensable
part of the basic projects. Tunnel is concealed in the
mountain, so the engineering geology of underground
surrounding rock and the hydrogeological conditions
will directly affect the safety of tunnel construction.
The attitude of rock stratification has a direct relation-
ship with stability of the tunnel, especially in stratified
rock mass. The stratified rock mass have significant
anisotropic characteristics not only for deformation
and strength properties, but also failure mechanism of
rock mass and is distinctly different from other rock
(Xian 1989a, b, Hoek 2000, c, Li 2001).
Studies show that mechanical properties of strat-
ified rock mass are very complicated as it affected
by bedding plane of spatial morphology, mechanical
properties and joint properties together. Engineering
properties of stratified rock mass have great relation
with its attitude. In plane problems, they vary with the
dip of bedding plane (Zhang 1999a, b, Zhang 2006, c,
Mei 2008). The stratified rock mass in underground
engineering and slope engineering often represent
stratified anisotropy, with significant influence on
deformation and stability of rock mass. Therefore, the
study of structure plane of stratified rock mass effect
on stability of tunnel is particularly important. The
stability of tunnel surrounding rock varies with dip
similar model under three-dimensional load in the lab-
oratory had been studied. (Ren, 1988). The stability of
highway tunnel surrounding rock under the influence
of structural plane of orientation, geometrical parame-
ters and shear strength had been analyzed. Application
of question of RQD index had been explored and the
quantitative statistical estimation method of JRC had
been recommended (Du et al. 1997).
The anisotropic characteristics of stratified sur-
rounding rock are described by ubiquitous-joint
model; the calculation method of safety factor based
on ubiquitous-joint model is proposed; then the rela-
tionships between stratification dip angle, inclination
and stability are analyzed by FLAC3D . The study has
been played an important role to assure the safety and
quality of the tunnel and can be used further for the
guiding of the similar tunnel construction.
2 NUMERICAL MODEL AND PARAMETERS
SELECTION
2.1 An introduction to the model
The physical and mechanical properties of stratified
rock mass which parallel the direction of bedding plane
are similar, but they are perpendicular to the direction
of bedding plane are more different. Therefore, when
study on mechanical response caused by its force; it
usually is simplified for transversely isotropic media.
The anisotropic characteristics of stratified surround-
ing rock are described by ubiquitous-joint model in
the paper. This model accounts for the presence of an

617

Figure 1. FLAC3D weak-plane failure criterion.
orientation of weakness (weak plane) in a FLAC3D
Mohr-Coulomb model. The criterion for failure on the
plane, whose orientation is given, consists of a com-
posite Mohr-Coulomb envelope with tension cutoff.
The position of a stress point on the latter envelope
is controlled again by a non-associated flow rule for
shear failure and an associated rule for tension fail-
ure. In this numerical model, general failure is first
detected and relevant plastic corrections are applied
as indicated in the FLAC3D Mohr-Coulomb model
description. The new stresses are then analyzed for
failure on the weak plane and updated accordingly. The
weak-plane orientation is given by the Cartesian com-
ponents of a unit normal to the plane in the global x-,
y-, z-axes. A local system of reference axes is defined
with x’ and y’ in the plane and z’ pointing in the direc-
tion of the unit normal (Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.
2002).
The weak-plane failure criterion used in the
FLAC3D model is a composite Mohr-Coulomb cri-
terion with tension cutoff expressed in terms of
(σ3
3
, τ, as illustrated in Figure 1. (Recall that com-
pressive stresses are negative.) The failure envelope
f (σ3
3
, τ) = 0 is defined from point A to B by the
Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion f S = 0, with
and from B to C by a tension failure criterion of the
form f t = 0, with
where φj , cj and σjt are the friction, cohesion and tensile
strength of the weak plane, respectively. Note that for a
weak plane with nonzero friction angle, the maximum
value of the tensile strength is given by
The ubiquitous-joint model contains the weak plane
of special direction of Mohr-Coulomb. According to
differences of stress state, inclination of weak plane,
618
model and the material properties, yielding maybe
occur in the model or on the weak plane or the two
places at the same time.
The potential function is composed of two func-
tions, g s and g t , used to define shear and tensile plastic
flow, respectively. The function g s corresponds to a
non-associated law and has the form
where ψ is the weak-plane dilation angle. The function
g t corresponds to an associated flow rule and is written
When stress state of rock mass is in stable region,
rock mass take on elastic state and plastic corrections
are unnecessary. When stress state of rock mass is in
yield region, according to associated (non-associated)
flow rule, plastic corrections are necessary. The stress
corrections for shear failure from point A to B may
thus be expressed as follows
where, we use the superscript of stress 0 to refer to the
original stress and N to refer to the new stress. We use
the subscript of stress to refer to stress direction, 1
1

to refer to inclination direction of weak plane; 2
2
to
refer to horizontal direction which is vertical to 1
1
;
3
3
to refer to normal direction of weak plane.
where α1 and α2 are material constants defined in
terms of the shear modulus, G, and bulk modulus, K,
α1 = K + 4/3G and α2 = K − 2/3G.
On account of σiN = σiI − λSi (∂g/∂σn ), with f = f t ,
the stress corrections for tensile failure may be
expressed as follows
2.2 Range of model and boundary conditions
Tunnel excavation only obviously affect on the sur-
rounding rock at a limited range. The change of stress
Figure 2. Numerical model.
Table 1. The physico-mechanical parameters of the rock
mass.
Parameters Quartz schist Weak plane
Rock mass density γ(kN/m3 ) 27.6 – key points have impact on the stability of the cavern.
Elastic modulus (GPa) 4.0 – Six typical key monitoring points in the surrounding
Poisson ratio 0.23 – rock mass are selected to estimate the stability of the
Cohesion C(MPa) 5.0 0.1
Friction angle ϕ(◦) 42 24
Tensile strength Rt (MPa) 0.5 0.01
and displacement those far from the excavation site
are very small. When the distances are three times of
the span, the change of stress is under 5%. Therefore,
generally the scopes of numerical calculation model
of underground engineering excavation are 3∼5 times
of excavation section. A typical underground horse-
shoe tunnel in a hydroelectric project has a span of
7.6 m and a height of arch of 3.8 m. The model size
is 40 m × 50 m × 40 m in x, y, z direction. Comput-
ing model has 75520 elements and 78105 nodes, to
ensure the accuracy of the calculation sufficiently. The
numerical model is shown in Figure 2. Note that dip
angle and dip direction assume that x corresponds to
“East,” y to “North” and z to “Up”. Following bound-
ary conditions are set in the computations: the normal
constrains are set on the symmetrical planes (i.e. the
planes x = 0, y = 0), the bottom plane of the model
and the outer boundaries. The gravitational force of
the over burden acts on the top plane of the model.
2.3 Calculation condition and parameters
In order to study the effect of stratified rock mass on
stability of surrounding rock, the inclination of rock
stratum 0◦ , 45◦ , 90◦ and the dip angle 30◦ , 45◦ , 60◦ , 75◦
were assembled to calculate. The physico-mechanical
parameters of the rock mass were shown in Table 1.
The arch top is located at 250 m depth under ground
surface. According to the in-situ stress field, the ini-
tial horizontal stresses are almost 2.0, 1.0 times the
619
Figure 3. Sketch Map of the key monitoring points.
vertical stresses near the caverns in x, y direction so
that the coefficient of horizontal earth pressure was
determined to be kx = 2.0, ky = 1.0.
Based on the past experiences of studying the sta-
bility of the cavern, the displacement values of some
caverns. Figure 3 shows the six key monitoring points.
3 RESULTS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Effect of the dip angle on displacement
deformation of surrounding rock
Figure 4(a-c) shows that displacement variation of six
key monitoring points under the effect of the different
dip angle when the inclination of rock stratum vary
from 0◦ to 90◦ . It can be seen in the figure as follows:
(1) When the inclination of rock stratum is 0◦ , the dis-
placements of surrounding rock of six key moni-
toring points along with increase of the dip angle
of rock stratum have different degree reduced.
(2) When the inclination of rock stratum is 45◦ , along
with increase of the dip angle of rock stratum,
the displacements of surrounding rock of the key
monitoring point 1 are reduced after the first
increase and they are the maximum when the dip
angel of rock stratum is 45◦ . The displacements
of surrounding rock of the key monitoring point 2
are increased after the first decrease and they are
the minimum when the dip angel of rock stratum is
60◦ . The displacements of surrounding rock of the
key monitoring point 3 and 5 are reduced after the
first increase and they are the maximum when
the dip angel of rock stratum is 45◦ . The displace-
ments of surrounding rock of the key monitoring
point 4 and 6 are always reduced.
(3) When the inclination of rock stratum is 90◦ , along
with increase of the dip angle of rock stratum,
the displacements of surrounding rock of the key
monitoring point 1, 3, 4 and 5 are reduced after
the first increase and they are the maximum when
Figure 4. Relationship between different dip angle and
surrounding rock deformation of key monitoring points.

the dip angel of rock stratum is 45◦ . The displace-

ments of surrounding rock of the key monitoring
point 2 and 6 are always reduced.
In summarize, effect of the dip angle of rock stratum
on displacement of surrounding rock around tunnel is
variable with the inclination of rock stratum. When the
inclination of rock stratum remains invariable, the dis-
placements of surrounding rock around tunnel have a
Figure 5. Relationship between different inclination and
decreasing trend. The change of the dip angle of rock surrounding rock deformation of key monitoring points.
stratum had a most effect on displacement of surround-
ing rock of central floor, displacement of surrounding
rock of central vault the second, displacement of the key monitoring points except key monitoring
surrounding rock of side wall the least. point 1 have different degree increased.
(2) When the dip angle of rock stratum is 45◦ , along
with increase of the inclination of rock stra-
3.2 Effect of the inclination on displacement tum, the displacements of surrounding rock of
deformation of surrounding rock the key monitoring point 1 are reduced after the
first increase; the others have different degree
Figure 5(a–d) shows that displacement variation of six
increased.
key monitoring points under the effect of the different
(3) When the dip angle of rock stratum is 60◦ , along
inclination when the dip angle of rock stratum vary
with increase of the inclination of rock stratum,
from 30◦ to 75◦ . It can be seen in the figure as follows:
the displacements of surrounding rock of the key
(1) When the dip angle of rock stratum is 30◦ , along monitoring point 1 are reduced after the first
with increase of the inclination of rock stra- increase; the displacements of surrounding rock
tum, the displacements of surrounding rock of all of the key monitoring point 2 are increased after

620
 the first decrease; the others have different degree
increased.
(4) When the dip angle of rock stratum is 75◦ , along
with increase of the inclination of rock stratum,
the displacements of surrounding rock of the
key monitoring point 2 are increased after the
first decrease; the others have different degree
increased.
In summarize, effect of the inclination of rock
stratum on displacement of surrounding rock around
tunnel is variable with the dip angle of rock stratum.
When the dip angle of rock stratum remains invari-
able, along with increase of the inclination of rock
stratum, the displacements of surrounding rock of cen-
tral vault and central floor have a fluctuating variety,
the displacements of surrounding rock of side wall
have different degree increased.
4 CONCLUSIONS
A numerical simulation has been conducted to initially
study the stability of stratified rock mass tunnel based
on anisotropic theory. The related numerical results
and conclusions are demonstrated as follows:
(1) Because the stratified rock mass represent
anisotropic characteristics in the underground
engineering, the deformation of surrounding rock
after excavation is asymmetric. When the dimen-
sional orientations of structural plane of stratified
rock mass are different, effects on deformation
and stability of underground cavern rock mass are
different.
(2) When the inclination of rock stratum remains
invariable, the displacements of surrounding rock
around tunnel have a decreasing trend. The change
of the dip angle of rock stratum had a most effect
on displacement of surrounding rock of central
floor, displacement of surrounding rock of cen-
tral vault the second, displacement of surrounding
rock of side wall the least.
(3) When the dip angle of rock stratum remains invari-
able, along with increase of the inclination of rock
621
stratum, the displacements of surrounding rock of
central vault and central floor have a fluctuating
variety, the displacements of surrounding rock of
side wall have different degree increased.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work was financially supported by the Doc-
tor Initial Foundation of Changjiang River Sci-
entific Research Institute (No.CKSQ2010085) and
Scientific Research Foundation of Changjiang River
Scientific Research Institute (No.CKSF2010018).
Both supports are gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
D. H. Ren & P. Zhang. 1988. Influence of fault obliquity for
stability of opening. Journal of China Coal Society 13(3):
51–53.
Evert. H. 2000. Rock engineering. North Vancouver: Evert
Hoek Consulting Engineering Inc.
Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.. 2002. FLAC 3D (Fast
Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in Three-dimensions),
version 2.1, User’s Mannual. Itasca Consulting Group,
Inc.
J. L. Li & Q. Y. Meng. 2001. Anisotropic study of unloaded
rock mass. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Engineering 20(3): 338–341.
S. G. Du, Q. L. Zhou & Y. F. Sun. 1997. The influence of dis-
continuity on stability of highway tunnel wall rock. China
Journal of Highway and Transport 10(2): 64–69.
S. H. Mei. 2008. Study on deformation mechanism and failure
characteristic of layered rock masses due to excavation.
Wuhan: Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
X. F. Xian & X. S. Tan. 1989. The failure mechanism of strat-
ified rock mass. Chongqing: Chongqing University Press.
X. M. Zhang. 2006. Anisotropic characteristic of rock mate-
rial and its effect on stability of tunnel surrounding rock.
Changsha: Central South University.
Y. J. Zhang & Y. X. Tang. 1999. FEA on underground tunnel
with directional strength of laminated rock. Underground
Space 19(1): 30–34.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Coupled hydromechanical behavior of jointed rocks in the study

of HTPF tests

N. Valinezhad & H. Ghasemzadeh

Department of Civil Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Hydraulic fracturing had been a widely applied method of measuring stresses in a drilled bore-
hole. During the test procedure, induced forces due to the interaction between fluid flow and rock blocks
deformation overcome the in-situ least stress. Thus the coupled hydromechanical behavior of rocks having
pre-defined joints should be considered. In order to model the process, an interactive computer program was
developed. Through a numerical analysis, at first, fluid flow forces were calculated by Extended Pressure (EP)
method. Then the coupled influence of fluid on mechanical behavior of rock blocks is included using Dis-
continuous Deformation Analysis (DDA). The procedure was used to simulate hydraulic tests on pre-existing
fractures (HTPF). Finally having pressure-time records, the inverse calculation of in-situ stresses are compared
with conventional method. The results have a reasonable coincidence.

1 INTRODUCTION the widely accepted method available for in situ stress

1.1 Fluids and rock fractures
The behavior of fractures plays a leading role on
rock treatments. This fact could clearly be recognized
through design analysis applications of Rock Mechan-
ics such as design of underground caverns to prevent
collapse of structures as such, to promote fracture in
quarry industry in mineral mining and so on. In addi-
tion, fluid flow and its pressure distribution in jointed
rock masses are important so as even in the case of rock
masses with widely spaced and very tight joints, for
most rock types, the hydraulic conductivity due to the
joints is much larger than that of the rock matrix i.e. the
fluid flow is controlled by the network of intersecting
joints.
1.2 Hydraulic fracturing stress measurement
The artificial hydraulically induced fracturing has
several usages, among the rest, the exploitation of
geothermal energy, nuclear waste disposal, the stim-
ulation of reservoirs and in situ stress determination.
This process called “hydrofrac” in the late 40s (Clark,
1949) as a stimulation technique in order to enhance oil
and gas well production. Later on, Hydraulic Fracture
(HF) procedure proposed for in situ stress measure-
ments (Hubbert & Willis 1957, Fairhurst 1965). The
method was for a vertical borehole in linear elastic,
isotropic, homogenous, impermeable rock. Due to the
existence of natural joints in rocks per se, such as bed-
ding planes, some authors tried to point out the general
case of a fractured rock (Rummel & Alheid 1979,
Cornet & Valette 1984, Baumgartner 1987) which
results in a so called Hydraulic Tests on Pre-existing
Fractures (HTPF) technique. The HF/HTPF method is
measurements especially at depth greater than 50 m.
In this paper the process of HTPF tests is simu-
lated through modeling the interaction of fluid flow
on rock deformation. Then a back analysis is imple-
mented to determine the in situ minimum horizontal
principal stress. Finally the results are compared to
what is obtained (Valinezhad et al. 2008) from iteration
technique.
2 HYDROMECHANICAL BEHAVIOR
In the following sections, first of all, the fluid
distribution is calculated using Extended Pressure
method. Further the formulation of rock block
mechanical behavior in discontinuous deformation
analysis (DDA) method is summarized. Then the iter-
ative algorithm for hydromechanical interaction is
described.
2.1 Extended pressure method for flow problems
All of the fluid flow problems can be categorized in two
sections: confined and unconfined flow problems. The
confined problems include issues in which the com-
plete boundary of the interested domain is specified.
If there is a phreatic surface with unknown location,
the flow is unconfined which needs the determina-
tion of the free surface location. The free surface
can be found using nonlinear numerical techniques
including finite difference method with adaptive mesh
(Cryer CW. 1970), finite element method with adap-
tive mesh (Taylor RL. & Brown CB. 1967, Neuman
SP. &Witherspoon PA. 1970, Finn WDL. 1967) and
fixed mesh (Desai C.S. 1976, 1977, Bathe K. J. 1979,
Kikuchi N. 1977 & Westbrook DR. 1985). Among all

623
these proposed methods, the “Extended Pressure” (EP)
method emerges one of the most efficient as it reduces
variational inequalities to simpler equalities through
an extension of Darcy’s law. The method eliminates
the formation of matrix systems at the expenses of
slower convergence rate for large problems (Bardet
J.P. & Tobita T. 2002).

2.1.1 Pressure distribution

In the case of steady flow of water, the conservation of
water mass leads to the following partial differential
equation:

Figure 1. Grid geometry used for finite difference equations

(Bardet J.P. & Tobita T. 2002).
Hereafter it is assumed that flow of water follows
Darcy’s relation:

where K is the permeability matrix, h is the total head

and v is the discharge velocity vector. Therefore the
governing equation is the Laplace equation as follows:

Figure 2. A generic seepage problem with a free surface

(Bardet J.P. & Tobita T. 2002).
If a closed line S is considered and the unit vector
normal to S is dominated by n, the Eq. (1) can also be
expressed as: pressure in comparison with its head. The conversion
is given by:

which uses the first order of derivatives of h. Imag-

ine an irregular and rectangular finite difference grids
(Fig. 1) in which S is taken as A2 A4 A6 A8 . The Eq. (4) in
finite difference form is (Bardet J.P. & Tobita T. 2002):
w and
d respectively
where y is the relative elevation.
In unconfined problems, there are two independent
domains: saturated and dry (
in Fig. 2.) which are separated by free surface. Brezis
et al. (1978) modifies Darcy’s relation as follows:

where v
is the modified seepage velocity, p the

In the case of anisotropic permeability with different pressure head and H (p) is the Heaviside function:
grid spacing in the x- and y-directions, Eq. (5) the total
head at node i, j can be written as follows:

The mathematical derivations that establish the equiv-

where x = x1 = x2 and y = y1 = y2 are the alence between the modified EP boundary value prob-
x and y grid spacing respectively and the coefficient lem and the original free surface problem can be found
β is equal to (ky /kx )(x/y)2 . The identification of in Brezis et al. (1978) and Oden & Kikuchi (1980). The
free surface is more convenient with the use of the fluid finite difference equations for unconfined problem,

624
using an area S surrounding a grid node, in terms of
the pressure for node i, j is:
In the case of evenly spaced square grid and isotropic
permeability Eq. (10) becomes:
The usual mathematical way to describe a system of
n linear equations with n unknowns is to write it in a
matrix format. But in iterative calculations, instead, the
equations could be written in arrays which relate the
adjacent grids to each other. Here the iterative calcula-
tions are based on the numerical concept of successive
relaxation (SR), which applies to the solution of both
linear and nonlinear system of equations. The conver-
gence of SR algorithm can be accelerated by using
Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR). For instance, the
SOR version of Eq. (11) is:
where pm i,j represents the value of pi,j at the mth itera-
tion. In general, in contrast to the other methods, the
SOR algorithm performs fewer operations as it does
not require the reforming and inversion of a tangential
matrix.
2.1.2 Hydraulic conductivity of jointed rock
It is mentioned that the hydraulic conductivity due to
the joints is much larger than that of the rock matrix.
Since the permeability of the rock matrix is negligible,
only the facture conductivity is considered in compu-
tations. The hydraulic conductivity k, of the fracture
625
is defined by the so called “cubic law” for smooth
parallel fractures (Jing L. & Stephansson O. 2007):
where ρ is the fluid density, g the gravitational accel-
eration, a the fracture aperture and µ is the dynamic
viscosity of the fluid. For non-parallel smooth frac-
tures an aperture can be calculated for an equivalent
smooth parallel plate conduit that offers the same resis-
tance to flow as the arbitrary shaped conduit. The
equivalent aperture is given by (Barbossa R. E. 1990):
where a1 and a2 are the end apertures.
2.2 2D Formulation of DDA
2.2.1 Block stress and deformation
The formulation of an implicit DEM is similar to, or
parallel with, that of the FEM. Both methods use dis-
placements as the basic variables of unknowns, and
the energy minimization principle is used to derive
the equation of motion of the system in a matrix form
(Jing L. & Stephansson O. 1997). These methods also
add stiffness, mass and loading submatrices to the
coefficient matrix of the simultaneous equations.
In DDA, it assumes that the stress and strain is con-
stant within the block domain i.e. the displacement is
approximated in first order. The block unknowns are
six variables denoted by di : rigid body motion of block
centroid (u0 , v0 ), its rotation angle r0 and normal and
shear strains εx , εy , γxy . According to Shi (1988), the
displacements (u, v) of a point (x, y) in a block i, are
related in two dimensions to the unknowns as follows:
in which
A system of n independent blocks is formed by
interblock relations, via the mechanical contacts of
blocks and their constraints. Writing down the state-
ment of several energy mechanisms such as initial
stress, inertia, point load, fix point and so on, and
differentiation with respect to the displacement vec-
tor yields a weak equilibrium equation. If each block
has mi nodes (i = 1, 2 . . . N ), the total number of nodes The potential energy functional due to the action
is M . As every node has two orthogonal displacement of pressure and material deformation is given by
variables, such minimization results in 2 M × 2 M (Jing L. & Stephansson O. 2007):
simultaneous equations for whole system as follows:

Denoting x21 = x2 − x1 , y21 = y2 − y1 , x1c =

x1 − xc , y1c = y1 − yc , px = px2 − px1 , py =
Each coefficient Kij is not only defined by contacts py2 − py1 the vector {Fpi } becomes (Jing et al. 2001):
between blocks i and j, but also is itself a 6 × 6 sub-
matrice due to the six degrees of freedom (eq. 17).
The vector fi is a (6 × 1) vector of the resultant gen-
eral forces acting on the ith block (Jing L. 1998).
The detail of forming Kij and fi is described by Shi
(1988). Therefore the whole system of equations could
be summarized in Eq. (19):

The minimization of the functional w in Eq. (21)

with respect to the nodal displacement vector {di }, then
The solution to the system of Eq. (19) is constrained leads to a nodal load vector of rank (3 × 1) for a rigid
by a system of inequalities associated with block kine- block.
matics and coulomb friction for sliding along block
interfaces (KimY. et al. 1999).The final solution of Eq.
(19) for the displacement variables is obtained through
an iteration procedure (Fig. 4).

2.2.2 Fluid pressure

Noting that the vector {p(ω)} = {px (ω), py (ω)}T varies
linearly along the line segment of pressure actionn, it
can be expressed as function of parameter ω as

Figure 3. Fluid pressure on a rigid block (Jing et al. 2001). Figure 4. Flowchart for Hydromechanical solution.

626
2.3 Iterative algorithm for hydromechanical
interaction
The hydromechanical interaction includes the simul-
taneous solutions of motion equations (19) and flow
equation (10). Since the hydraulic conductivity varies
with blocks displacement, the global load vector
change with fluid pressures which results in new val-
ues for load vector. The solution of such procedure is
through a time marching process.
The technique applied for the flow analysis is an
iterative extended pressure method as described before
for confined and unconfined flow problems, which
is then interwoven with a time marching process of
stress/deformation analysis. So in each time step,
through the updating of stiffness and conductivity
matrices, the conductivity changes can be included
in reevaluation of load vectors. The time stepping
continues until a desired convergence is reached.
3 PROGRAM VERIFICATION
To demonstrate the validity of the hydraulic model for
networks of fractures for both confined and uncon-
fined problems, a comparison with the experimental
Figure 5. Uniform network of parallel conduits.
work of Ollos (1963) and numerical model of Barbosa
R. E. (1990) is presented respectively.
3.1 Confined domain
Ollos (1963) used a square grid of five horizontal by
eight vertical tubes, all of the same diameter, to model
a fracture system (Fig. 5). Water was introduced at
all nodes on the left side by using a total head of
290 cm and was restricted to only one exit point on
the bottom, where the head was held at 237.5 cm. Ollos
measured piezometric heads in each branch a short dis-
tance away from each intersection, and the averages of
these readings give a close estimate of the head at each
intersection.
The network of Ollos (1963) was modeled using the
programmed code and the same piezometric heads at
the entrance and exit points. The flow is assumed to be
laminar. An arbitrary network of uniform blocks was
chosen. The resulting heads are shown in Table 1. The
maximum discrepancy between measured and com-
puter calculated heads is less than 3% of the net head
difference.
3.2 Unconfined domain
In this section, an example is presented to illus-
trate the application of the proposed hydraulic model
of networks of fractures for free surface problems.
Here the fluid flow occurs from an upper reservoir
to a lower reservoir through a uniform network of
fractures. Fractures are assumed to be smooth. The
geometry definition in the programmed code is shown
in Fig. 6b. The aperture of the fractures is assumed to
be 2.5 mm and the spacing between fractures 30.48 m
(100 ft). The elevations of the upper and lower reser-
voirs were assumed to be 91.44 m (300 ft) and 30.48 m
respectively (Barbosa R. E. 1990).

Table 1. The comparison between measured (Ollos 1963) and calculated intersection heads.

Measured Measured
Node Calculated (Ollos, 1963) Node Calculated (Ollos, 1963)

1 290 290 21 262.64 263.7

2 282.57 281.5 22 257.55 259.4
3 274.87 275.6 23 255.65 258
4 266.38 267.3 24 255.21 257.2
5 255.64 254.2 25 290 290
6 237.5 237.5 26 283.19 283.7
7 247.76 245.3 27 276.52 276.8
8 249.98 251.5 28 270.2 270.5
9 290 290 29 264.62 266
10 282.7 282.2 30 260.36 262.3
11 275.26 276.2 31 258.05 260.5
12 267.51 269.2 32 257.36 259.8
13 259.34 260.8 33 290 290
14 251.54 252.8 34 283.28 282.7
15 251.79 253.8 35 276.73 276.7
16 252.19 254.4 36 270.6 271.4
17 290 290 37 265.26 266.7
18 282.96 282.3 38 261.21 263.1
19 275.95 276.4 39 258.86 261.6
20 269.08 270.1 40 258.11 261

627

Figure 6. (a) The boundary condition and (b) geometry of
the proposed problem.
Figure 7. The location of the free surface in uniform
network of fractures.
Then the iterative procedure described in section 2.3
was used to determine the location of the free surface.
The computed location of the free surface together with
its comparison to Barbosa example is shown in Fig. 7.
4 HTPF ANALYSIS
The HTPF method is the only in situ stress determina-
tion method at great depth, where the borehole doesn’t
have to be assumed to be vertical and perpendicular to
a principal in situ stress component. Instead of induc-
ing new fractures in intact rock, the HTPF method is
based on the re-opening of existing fractures found
in the borehole wall and thereby determining the nor-
mal stress across the fracture plane. First, according to
the log cores, an interval of the borehole which has a
specific joint, i.e. any weakness plane like a bedding
plane, is chosen (the geometry of the fracture must
be planar) to be attacked by hydraulic fracturing test.
The method requires a fairly large number of tests.
628
So it is obvious that the dip and strike of the planes
through several tests are different. Since the normal
stress across a fracture depends on either the six com-
ponents of the in situ stress field or the orientation
of the fracture with respect to that stress field, a sys-
tem of equations can be created to determine the stress
tensor. The normal stress component Sn acting across
the plane at depth zi is given by (Baumgartner J. &
Rummel F. 1989):
where αi and θi are the dip and strike angle of a fracture
plane respectively, which are observed from impres-
sion tests. The eigenvalues of stress tensor S which
are the principal stresses are assumed as SV 0 , SH 0 and
Sh0. In addition the eigenvalues of stress gradients D
are nominated by δSV , δSH and δSh . θ

is the orien-
tation of SH0 with respect to north. The angle η is
introduced to take into account a possible stress field
rotation with depth. Psi is the shut-in pressure at depth
zi . There are six unknowns in Eq. (23). The solution
therefore requires at least six measurements of Sn at
various depths on fractures with different orientations.
4.1 Monte Carlo simulation
The unknown stress state at Gotvand Dam site in Iran
Aghajari Formation is estimated with the measure-
ments carried out recently (Valinezhad et al. 2008) by
the improved HF method with flow rate measurements
at the position of straddle packer. Through applying
an iteration technique, the Monte Carlo simulation is
implemented to select a set value for the unknowns of
Eq. (23). This process is used to invert stress data from
hydraulic tests on arbitrary oriented fracture planes.
The kernel of Monte Carlo simulation is random num-
ber generation. The methods for generating random
numbers from any distribution all start with uniform
random numbers. Once you have a uniform random
number generator, you can produce random numbers
from other distributions. So you can generate a random
number from a distribution by applying the inverse
function for that distribution to a uniform random
number. This procedure is used to select a set value for
SH 0 , Sh0 , δSH , δSh and θ

through a normal distribution
within a prescribed range. The classical approach of
Hubbert and Willis (1957) was applied to HF tests data
in which the observed initiated fractures are to some
extent axial. Having these results one can determine
the range of principal stress components for using in
Monte Carlo simulation. In order to satisfy a desir-
able convergence between the computed normal stress
(Eq. 23) and the field shut-in pressure, the standard
least square method is defined. The minimum devia-
tion between theoretical and measured stress values is
 Figure 9. Reopening pressure vs time, Gotvand Dam site,
Borehole No. YBHF1, Depth 42 m. (Pahlavan et al. 2007).
Figure 8. The Monte Carlo simulation results for 250,000
runs (Valinezhad et al. 2008).

Table 2. The value of unknowns for stress variables of least

deviation

dS v /dZ SH dS H /dz Sh dS h /dz θ

Mpa/m SH Mpa Mpa/m Mpa Mpa/m (◦ )

0.0184 2.88 0.0102 1.42 0.0167 39

0.0189 2.54 0.0007 1.54 0.0224 44
0.0175 2.50 0.0004 1.57 0.0259 44
0.0184 2.45 0.0012 1.59 0.0218 43
0.0176 2.49 0.0013 1.61 0.0198 41 Figure 10. The bearing force obtained from back analysis.
0.0187 2.49 0.0001 1.57 0.0203 46
0.0188 2.61 0.00004 1.58 0.0196 38 the bearing induced forces through applying the
0.0185 2.63 0.0001 1.58 0.0207 43 reopening pressure to a predefined fracture, are calcu-
0.0174 2.47 0.0003 1.66 0.0203 42 lated (Fig. 10). Then the bearing stresses at the time of
0.0188 2.63 0.0001 1.55 0.0202 39
reopening pressure could be obtained which is similar
counterpart to the normal stress component Sn acting
across the fracture plane i.e. the shut in pressure.
selected which is illustrated in Table 2. Finally the least
in situ stress is as follows (Valinezhad et al. 2008):

The results from iterative analysis obtained for the

4.2 Numerical simulation
The shut-in pressure, psi , is widely considered to equal
the minimum principal stress Sh in the plane perpen-
dicular to the borehole. On the other hand, based on
experimental results for a granitic rock mass, Pine et al.
(1983) considered reopening pressure as a measure
of minimum horizontal stress. Ito & Hayashi (1993)
numerically showed that the conventional pr could
be equal to psi by considering that the pressure fluid
permeates the fracture deeply before reopening.There-
fore the reopening process is simulated rather than
breakdown phase.
A graph of reopening cycle during a HTPF test is
illustrated in Fig. 9. It is used as boundary conditions
applied to a pre-existing fracture formed by defining
the rock blocks position.
Since the flow rate is low, for each time step, the flow
is assumed to be in a steady state conditions. Using
hydromechanical interaction described in section 2.3,
same location (Eq. 24) suggest the minimum principal
stress at depth 46 m as:
which has a reasonable coincidence with the bearing
stress calculated from hydromechanical modeling.
5 CONCLUSION
A new proposal for stress-flow calculations is pre-
sented with the aim of slower convergence rate for
large problems. The hydromechanical process of rock
masses are modeled using Extended Pressure method
coupled with Discontinuous Deformation Analysis.
The algorithm is verified with previous experimental
and numerical results. Then a back analysis is imple-
mented through applying the obtained in situ values of

629
reopening pressure, which results in the calculation of
initial normal stress acting across the target fracture.
The estimated stresses agree well with the inverse cal-
culations using Monte Carlo simulation of the in situ
measurement data. Therefore, it is practical to estimate
the stress state in an unknown location based upon
the in situ measurement data in the close locations by
inverse analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank Prof. F. Rummel for
his valuable comments and suggestions at an early
stage of this work. We would like to extend our thanks
to Dr. B. Pahlavan for supplying in situ data and his
beneficial knowledge in Hydraulic Fracturing oper-
ation and analysis. Also we acknowledge Mr. M. A.
Ramezanpour who helped to improve progressively
the programmed code of DDA analysis.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Application of a global interpretation model for assessment of the stress

field for engineering purposes

L.N. Lamas, J. Muralha & B. Figueiredo

National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), Lisbon, Portugal

ABSTRACT: Release of the in situ stresses is often the most relevant action in underground projects. Several
different field methods are available to measure the in situ state of stress. Some allow the evaluation of the
complete state of stress at a given point, while others only supply a single stress component. The paper presents
a global methodology for evaluation of the most likely natural stress field from in situ test results. Some
case histories are presented as examples of application. One example deals with the case of an underground
powerhouse where high horizontal stresses were determined by overcoring tests, which were later confirmed by
flat jack tests performed during the construction of access adits. A second one considers the analysis of a testing
programme where overcoring and flat jack tests were both performed during the initial testing programme in
different locations. The last one refers to the results of overcoring tests in the vicinity of existing underground
caverns, which have to be adequately considered in order to estimate the natural state of stress.

1 INTRODUCTION SFJ is a method of partial stress release. It consists

Release of the state of stress is often the most relevant
action during the excavation of an underground work,
and it can affect the location and orientation of the
cavern or tunnel, the design of the support, as well as
the construction method used.
The large number of factors that influence the
in situ stresses in rock masses make of its char-
acterization a difficult task. These factors include
lithological and deformability heterogeneities, topog-
raphy and the existence of nearby excavations, the
action of water, the mechanical properties of rocks or
even the actions of man. Owing to these factors, the
state of stress presents a significant spatial variability
and its characterization requires execution of in situ
tests using the most appropriate test techniques and a
global interpretation model for analysis of the obtained
results.
Several authors present descriptions, limitations
and fields of application of existing test techniques
(e.g. Cornet 1993, Amadei & Stephansson 1997
Fairhurst 2003, Hudson et al. 2003, Ljunggren et al.
2003), which are usually grouped as follows:
– methods based on hydraulic fracturing;
– methods based on the complete stress release;
– methods based on the partial stress release;
– methods based on the observation of the rock mass
behaviour.
LNEC uses small flat jacks (SFJ), when there is
direct access to the rock mass inside adits or wells,
and a 3D cell (Strain Tensor Tube – STT) to perform
overcoring tests, when the zones of interest can only
be reached using boreholes.
in cutting a 10 mm slot in a rock mass surface with
a circular disk saw, introducing a flat jack in the slot
and applying a pressure until the deformation caused
by opening of the slot is compensated. A single stress
component is obtained.
STT is a complete stress release method that allows
determining all stress components at a given loca-
tion using a borehole overcoring technique. STT cells
are 2 mm thick epoxy resin hollow cylinders with 10
embedded strain gauges at its mid thickness, sampling
homogeneously the 3D space (Pinto 1983). The cell is
cemented in a 37 mm diameter borehole and the in situ
stresses are released by overcoring with a larger diame-
ter, thus obtaining a 120 mm diameter core. Strains are
measured before and after overcoring and the stresses
are calculated using the elastic constants obtained in a
biaxial test of the recovered core with the STT cell.
2 GLOBAL MODELS FOR THE IN SITU
STRESSES IN ROCK MASSES
Tests for determination of the in situ stresses in rock
masses are usually scarce in numbers and their results,
due to the point wise nature of stress, only allow
to characterize the state of stress, or in some cases
just some of its components, in the precise locations
where they are executed. After the interpretation of
the results of each test (as in STT tests), or of sets
of tests (as in SFJ tests), it is useful to apply global
models that integrate the results from various tests
performed in different locations. These models are
used to assess the influence of the main factors that
affect the stress distribution in rock masses, namely

631
the ground surface topography generated by tectonic
or eroding processes, the existence of underground or
surface excavations, as well as the heterogeneity and
the variability of the mechanical properties of the rock
mass. The influence of these factors can be considered
jointly or separately.
Global interpretation models start by establishing a
set of assumptions regarding the stresses in the rock
mass. In some cases, based on the particular geomet-
ric conditions of a given problem, it may be reasonable
to set forward some assumptions regarding the direc-
tions of the principal stresses. Assumptions regarding
the variation of the stress components may also be jus-
tified. It is common to consider that the vertical and
horizontal stresses increase linearly with depth, since
the stresses are, in a large proportion, due to the weight
of the overlaying ground.
The global interpretation model used in the analy-
ses presented in this paper is based on the following
assumptions:
– The natural in situ stress is calculated for an initial
situation, prior to the disturbance in the stress field
caused by significant topographic changes, such
as the excavation of a deep canyon by a river, or
caused by any underground excavations in the area
of interest.
– The principal initial in situ stresses σj0 are zero at
the ground surface and vary linearly with depth:
σj0 = kj γh, where γ is the unit weight of the rock
mass, h is the depth and j is an index that takes the
values 1, 2 and 3.
– One principal initial in situ stress is vertical, and
therefore the other 2 are horizontal.
The existing natural stress field results from the
initial stress field, characterised by the parameters kj ,
and from the effect of the superficial and underground
excavations that disturbed the initial conditions. It is
calculated through the application of analytical solu-
tions in simple problems or, in the more complex cases,
using 3D numerical models.
The parameters ki are determined from the mea-
sured stress components obtained in all in situ stress
measurements, which may have been carried out in
different locations and using different methods, and
from the geometry of the excavations, using the follow-
ing methodology, which is derived from a procedure
proposed by Sousa et al. (1986):
– A vector Mi is constructed with all the measured
stress components, where i is an index that takes
values from 1 to N .
– Each of the 3 principal initial in situ stresses, with
unit kj values, is considered separately, and this
corresponds to 3 loading cases Ei .
– Each loading case Ei is applied to the rock mass
model, and the stress components at the measuring
points are calculated (6 for each overcoring test plus
1 for each flat jack test).
– A matrix Aij is constructed, which represents the N
stress components at the different measuring points,
for each loading case Ej .
632
– Using the principle of superposition of effects, the
following expression can, then, be written:
This system of linear equations is usually highly
redundant. Its resolution by the least squares method
enables to determine the parameters kj , with which it
is possible to calculate the most probable in situ state
of stress at any point in the rock mass.
3 APPLICATION EXAMPLES
LNEC was asked to perform in situ stress measure-
ments in rock masses for the design of the re-powering
projects of the Picote II, Bemposta II and Salamonde
II hydroelectric projects, in the North of Portugal.
These re-powering projects consist in the construc-
tion of new hydraulic circuits and larger underground
powerhouses close to the dam valleys.
The state of stress in the vicinity of the powerhouses
is influenced by the topography of the ground, in par-
ticular by the shape of the river valleys, which result
from the erosive action of the river over geologic time.
In addition, in some cases, the results of tests do not
reproduce directly the natural stresses, since they were
determined near underground openings that change
the stress field around them. To interpret the results of
various tests in order to obtain an estimate of the nat-
ural stress fields, it was necessary to perform global
analyses, making use of numerical models.
3.1 Picote II re-powering scheme
The existing Picote hydroelectric scheme, on the
Douro River, consists of a concrete arch dam and an
underground powerhouse with a hydraulic circuit in
the right bank of the river. The re-powering scheme
is also to be built in the right bank, close to and sur-
rounding the existing power plant, and includes a new
hydraulic circuit (a 300 m long headrace tunnel and a
150 m long tailrace tunnel), a larger powerhouse cav-
ern and several adits (Figure 1). The new powerhouse
cavern is 68 m long, 23 m wide and 58 m high at the
turbine hall. The cavern is located 150 m below surface
and only 80 m away from the existing one.
To characterize the in situ stresses, three STT over-
coring tests were performed in each one of two parallel
boreholes (STT1 and STT2), drilled from an existing
adit (LNEC 2006). The boreholes are 50 m apart and
dip 70◦ . The tests were carried out at the following
depths: STT1 – 39.80 m, 66.10 m and 78.35 m; STT2
– 41.00 m, 60.60 m and 77.45 m.
In all tests, one of the principal stresses was approx-
imately in the direction of the borehole and the other
two were approximately parallel and normal to the
river axis. In some tests, stress levels were consider-
ably higher than initially expected, especially taking
into account the rock coverage. This is the case of the
test in STT1 at 78.35 m with an almost hydrostatic
stress of around 20 MPa.
Figure 1. Layout of the Picote II re-powering scheme (in
red).

In this example, the main factor that affects the in Figure 2. Mesh detail and location of the boreholes.
situ stresses distribution within the granitic rock mass
is the topography of the steep river valley. For the
interpretation of the test results a 2D numerical model
was developed, using the finite difference software
FLAC (Itasca 2005). The model considers a vertical
cross-section of the rock mass in the zone of the new
powerhouse, approximately perpendicular to the river
and parallel to the boreholes. The mesh has 1,000 m in
the horizontal direction, 700 m in the vertical direction
from elevations 0 to 700 m, and an axis of symmetry
on the left boundary, which represents the river bed.
The mesh has 200 × 300 zones, and is more refined
close to the test locations with 2.5 m × 1.75 m zones
(Figure 2). The associated system of coordinates has
axis 1 horizontal, in the plane of the model, axis 2
vertical, and axis 3 normal to the plane.
The global interpretation method presented in sec-
tion 2 was used for calculation of the in situ stresses,
with the following additional assumptions:
– the rock mass is continuous, linear elastic, homoge-
neous and isotropic, with γ = 27 kN/m3 ; Figure 3. Stresses calculated in the overcoring test loca-
– the initial in situ stress corresponds to the situation tions.
before excavation of the river valley;
– the initial vertical stress σ20 is equal to the weight of
valley, with a vertical stress equal to the weight of the
the overlying rock (k2 = 1);
overlying rock mass and with isotropic horizontal
– the depth h is measured from elevation 700 m;
stresses equal to 1.75 times the vertical stress.
– plane strain conditions.
– This initial in situ state of stress shall be considered
Applying this procedure to the overcoring tests car- for simulation of the excavation of the valley due to
ried out for the Picote II project, the following values the erosive effect of the river, and the resulting state
were determined: k1 = 1.70 and k3 = 1.75. of stress shall be the starting point for the design
Figure 3 shows the principal stresses calculated in computations of the powerhouse.
the overcoring test locations. The stresses are clearly
Owing to the high horizontal stresses calculated
influenced by the proximity of the canyon. The ratio
and to the relatively scarce information obtained at
of σI (sub-horizontal) over σIII (sub-vertical) is very
the design phase, it was decided to perform additional
high (between 4.5 and 5.1).
stress measurements, using the small flat jack method,
Based on this analysis, recommendations to the
once excavation of the adits reached the proximity of
designer regarding the state of stress to consider in
the underground powerhouse. These tests confirmed
the powerhouse cavern calculations were issued:
the existence of high horizontal stresses (about four
– The initial in situ state of stress should be obtained times the vertical stresses), thus confirming the results
from an initial situation prior to the excavation of the obtained in the earlier stages.

633

Figure 4. Layout of the Bemposta II re-powering scheme.
3.2 Bemposta II re-powering scheme
The Bemposta II hydroelectric scheme lies down-
stream from Picote II on the Douro River. The re-
powering project includes a new hydraulic circuit and
a new powerhouse, which is an 80 m high and 30 m
diameter shaft.
Test measurements for design of the excavations
took advantage of the existence of adits used dur-
ing construction of the existing powerhouse. In one
of these adits, two locations were selected (Figure 4):
– location 1, at the river bed level, at a depth of 95 m,
120 m from the river axis;
– location 2, at a level 20 m higher than location 1, at
a depth of 130 m, 225 m from the river axis.
The adit cross section at location 1 is normal to the
river and at location 2 is parallel to the river.
At location 1, three small flat jack tests were per-
formed on the adit wall and three overcoring tests were
performed in a borehole STT1, perpendicular to the
adit wall and dipping 45◦ . At location 2, three flat jack
and two overcoring tests were performed. Borehole
STT2 for the overcoring tests was also perpendicular
to the wall and dipped 45◦ .
The main factor that affects the in situ stress distri-
bution within the rock mass is the topography of the
river valley. Besides, the tests were done close to the
adit, which affects the local stress field. Furthermore,
two different types of tests were used and they were
performed at two distinct locations. Estimation of the
stress field for design of the underground openings
requires, therefore, a global interpretation model that
integrates all the information.
The global interpretation method presented in sec-
tion 2 was used for calculation of the in situ stresses,
with the following additional assumptions:
– the rock mass is continuous, linear elastic, homoge-
neous and isotropic, with γ = 27 kN/m3 ;
634
Figure 5. Numerical model (2D) with the terrain topogra-
phy before and after the river eroding effect.
– the initial in situ stress corresponds to the situation
before excavation of the river valley.
For modelling this situation a 3D numerical model
is necessary. However a global 3D model would be
very large and difficult to handle. To overcome this
problem, a methodology similar to the one used by
Wittke (1990) was implemented.
In a first stage, a 2D numerical model with plane
strain conditions was built with FLAC. Figure 5
shows the grid with the ground topography before and
after the excavations of the valley by the river. Opening
of the adit in location 2 was also simulated. The grid
was more refined close to the river bank in the zone
where the tests were performed.
This 2D model allowed calculating the stress com-
ponents at the measurement points in location 2, but
not in location 1, due to the adit orientation at that
location. A second numerical model had to be built
for this purpose. It is a 100 × 100 m2 3D model using
FLAC3D (Itasca 2006), with a unit width, centred at
the adit in location 1. Grid blocks are 0.5 × 0.5 × 1 m3
and the approximate shape of the adit is also mod-
elled (Figure 6). The stresses applied on the boundary
of this model were the stresses resulting from the
application of each of the loading cases Ei in the 2D
model. With this 3D model the stress components at
the measurement points in location 1 were calculated.
Application of this procedure to the tests carried
out for the Bemposta II project, gave the following
results: k1 = 0.60 k2 = 0.91 and k3 = 0.75. This cor-
responds to an initial vertical stress nearly equal to
the weight of the overburden, and smaller horizontal
stresses, 1.5 times lower than the vertical stresses. With
these values, it is then possible, to estimate the state of
stress at any location in the rock mass, namely around
the shaft of the new powerhouse. This is presented in
Figure 7, which displays the end result of the global
interpretation model.
3.3 Salamonde II re-powering scheme
The Salamonde II hydroelectric scheme is located on
the Rabagão River in the north of Portugal. The re-
powering project includes a new hydraulic circuit and
a new underground powerhouse.
Figure 6. Numerical model (3D) with the adit near
location 1.
Figure 7. State of stress along the direction perpendicular
to the river around the new powerhouse.
Test measurements for design of the excavations
took advantage of the caverns of the existing power-
house. Six STT overcoring tests were performed from
2 boreholes: S8 at the ground surface, and S13 at the
existing valve chamber (Figure 8). In each borehole 3
tests were performed.
The main factor that affects the in situ stress distri-
bution within the rock mass is, in this case, the exis-
tence of the old powerhouse cavern. In this example
the topography of the river valley was not considered
of particular relevance.
635
Figure 8. Layout of the Salamonde II re-powering scheme.
Figure 9. Mesh detail and location of borehole S13.
The global interpretation method presented in sec-
tion 2 was used for calculation of the in situ stresses,
with the following additional assumptions:
– the rock mass is continuous, linear elastic, homoge-
neous and isotropic, with γ = 27 kN/m3 ;
– the initial in situ stress corresponds to the situa-
tion before excavation of the existing powerhouse
caverns;
– plane strain conditions.
For interpretation of the three tests of borehole S13
a 2D mathematical model was used, that represents
a cross section of the existing powerhouse caverns.
Figure 9 shows the FLAC mesh, where these caverns
and borehole S13 are represented.
Application of this procedure to the tests carried out
in borehole S13 of the Salamonde II project, gave the
following results: k1 = 0.90 k2 = 1.43 and k3 = 1.05.
The high vertical stresses that were calculated (1.43
times the overburden weight) may be due to the vicinity
of the river valley, which was not considered in the
model. The horizontal stresses are around 1.5 times
lower than the vertical stress.
4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The in situ stress is a parameter of great importance
for the design of underground openings, but it is at the
same time very difficult to estimate. This difficulty has
to do with several sources of uncertainty that affect its
estimation.
On one hand, the available measuring devices and
methods have their own inherent measuring uncertain-
ties. On the other hand, the measured quantities are
often not stresses, but strains, displacements or other
quantities. Transformation models that yield stresses
based on the measured quantities and on a set of
assumptions regarding stress-strain relationships, test
geometry and others, also add uncertainty into the
stress measurement results. Finally, spatial variability
is an unavoidable characteristic of the state of stress in
rock masses and corresponds to another major source
of uncertainty in the in situ stress estimation.
A methodology using a global model that integrates
the results of stress measurements obtained by several
methods, in different locations, in zones with stress
fields that are disturbed by nearby excavations, was
presented. This methodology incorporates assump-
tions regarding the stress field, which may be found
reasonable approximations of reality, as well as prior
knowledge. Heterogeneity of the rock mass can also
be considered.
The application examples demonstrate the impor-
tance of using a global interpretation model in the
averaging of the results of a set of in situ stress mea-
surements. The variability of the stress field and the
uncertainties that affect its estimation makes it very
hard to interpret individual measurements and, when
this is done, the possibility of obtaining erroneous esti-
mates of the stress field is very high. On the contrary,
use of a global interpretation model in the application
examples that were presented, resulted in the estima-
tion of stress fields that can be directly used for design
purposes.
The in situ stress testing programme should be pre-
pared having in mind the global interpretation model
deemed adequate for each project. The tests should be
located in such places that allow to capture important
features of the stress field variation and should also
have in mind the numerical model that will be used
for the analysis of the results.
Sometimes, only long and expensive boreholes are
able to reach the rock mass around an underground
excavation, but in other cases depth may make them
unfeasible. These difficulties may be overcome by
performing additional tests as soon as exploratory or
636
access adits reach the zone of interest, namely using
direct measurements such as flat jack tests, and in this
way update the values of the stress field.
The number of in situ tests performed during the site
characterization stage to support the design is often
very scarce. This was also the case of the examples
presented.As a consequence, it is usually impossible to
make any statistical inference about stress variability.
Thus, the values of the in situ stresses to be used in
design should be carefully defined and it is advisable
to use available mean results and to perform judicious
sensitivity analysis.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Permission from EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. to
publish the information regarding the Picote II, Bem-
posta II and Salamonde II hydroelectric schemes is
greatly acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Amadei, B. & Stephansson, O. (1997) Rock stress and its
measurements, Chapman and Hall Publication, London.
Cornet, F.H. (1993). Stress in rock and rock masses. Com-
prehensive Rock Engineering, Vol. 3, (Hudson, J., ed.).
Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 297–327.
Fairhurst, C. (2003). Stress estimation in rock: a brief history
and review. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and
Mining Sciences, Vol. 40, pp. 957–973.
Itasca (2005). FLAC, Version 5.0, User’s Manual. Itasca
Consulting Group, Minneapolis, USA,
Itasca (2006). FLAC3D, Version 3.1, User’s Manual. Itasca
Consulting Group, Minneapolis, USA.
Hudson, J.A., Cornet, F.H. & Christiansson, R. (2003). ISRM
Suggested methods for rock stress estimation – Part 1:
Strategy for rock stress estimation. Int. Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 40, pp. 991–998.
Ljunggren, C., Chang, Y., Janson, T. & Christianson, R.
(2003). An overview of rock stress measurement methods.
Int. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol.
40, pp. 975–989.
LNEC (2006). Tests for the geomechanical characterisa-
tion of the rock mass of the new Picote powerhouse (in
Portuguese). Report 71/06-NFOS, LNEC, Lisbon.
LNEC (2008). Tests for the geomechanical characterisation
of the rock mass of the new Bemposta powerhouse (in
Portuguese). Report 296/08-NFOS, LNEC, Lisbon.
LNEC (2009). Repowering of Salamonde. Overcoring tests
for determination of the state of stress (in Portuguese).
Report 406/09-NFOS, Lisbon.
Pinto, J.L. (1983). Deformability of rock masses (in Por-
tuguese). Research Programme, LNEC, Lisbon.
Sousa, L.R., Martins, C.S., & Lamas, L.N. (1986). Develop-
ment of the techniques of measurement and interpretation
of the state of stress in rock masses. Proceedings of the
IAEG Int. Congress, Buenos Aires.
Wittke, W. (1990). Rock Mechanics: Theory and applications
with case histories. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg,
New York, Tokyo.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Second fine inversion of regional in-situ stress field considering

the excavation disturbance effects of pilot tunnel

G.Q. Chen
State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection,
Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

G.S. Su
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, China

T.B. Li & H.M. Ma

College of Enviroment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology,
Chengdu, Sichuan, China

ABSTRACT: The changes of in-situ stress magnitude and directions caused by the excavation disturbance
effect of pilot tunnel are usually neglected. An inversion regression method called region second fine in-situ
stress field is proposed. Firstly, the surrrouding stress field of pilot tunnel was inversed finely by multiple linear
regression inversion anlaysis in the local mesh model. In order to obtain the entire stress distribution of damsite
region, the inversion analysis method of second stress field for the whole damsite region was presented, which
combined the ground abrasion process of strata and support vector machine model. Considering the abrasion
process of the strata, the second stress value of measuring points is calculated in the entire mesh model. Numerial
results of real project indicate that the in-situ stress field obtained by second fine inversion method fits for the
distribution law of V-shaped vally generally.

1 INSTRUCTION

Back-analysis of in-situ stresses is of top priority to the

stability analysis in the rock engineering. Most river
valleys in southwest of China are mountain valleys
and are the symmetrical V-shaped or the nearly sym-
metrical V-shaped (Fig. 1). There are extensive crustal
movement, abundant active faults, extensively compli-
cated geological environment, and the physiognomy of
alpine gorges in the southwest. Its in-situ stress field is
complicated due to many tectonic movements such as
tectonic stress, overburden and exhumation, in addi-
tion to the crash and squeezing between Indian plate
and Eurasian plate which is the primary cause to give
rise to the horizonal deformation of rock mass in the
depth of Chinese Mainland (Liu 2006).
Figure 1. V-shaped valley in southwest China.
The measurement of in-situ stress is time-
consuming, expensive and onerous, and furthermore,
it is very demanding on the skill, so it is impossi- is obtained through combining the measuring results
ble to carry out in engineering field. On the other of displacement in the excavated underground carven
hand, because the in-situ stress field is affected by (Zhang 2006). The other is stress back-analysis, in
a lot of factors, thus the measuring results of each which the initial stress field is obtained, which combin-
measure point only represent the local stress field. ing the measuring results of stresses in measure points.
The measuring results are limited and discrete to Thus, many methods were followed to obtain initial
some extent due to the in-situ stress and the measure- stress field according to mathematical model on the
ment errors (Ljunggren 2003). There are two kinds of basis of measurement data, such as, regression method
back-analysis for initial in situ stress. One is displace- of geostress, regulating method of stress boundary, fit-
ment back-analysis, in which the initial stress field ting method of stress function, and so on (Karakus

637
2005 & Kaiser 1990). In large hydropower station,
many researches on back-analysis of initial stress field
for rockmass near underground power houses have
been carried out (Jiang 2008).
Thus, in order to obtain much more accurate initial
in-situ stress filed as well as the bigger scope of appli-
cation, effective analysis methods must be adopted
to conduct the inversion of initial in-situ stress. The
generally used multiple regression calculation of the
in-situ stress does not consider the changes of in-situ
stress size and direction under the tunnel excavation,
and it can not reflect the influences that the unload-
ing of surface denudation and fluvial erosion do to
region stress field from. In this paper, the inversion of
loacl fine stress field, the simulation of strata denuda- Figure 2. The principal stress before excavation.
tion and the secondary inversion of support vector
machine model (SVM) in-situ stress field have been
put forward. It simulates the process of remote antiq-
uity construct and surface denudation, the distribution
rules of regional stress field for hydropower station in
southwest China was got. It provides important basis
for the engineering excavation and stability analysis.

2 LOCAL FINE INVERSION

2.1 Disturbing effect of pilot tunnel excavation

During inversion regression calculation of ground
stress field, the changes of in-situ stress magnitude
and directions caused by the excavation disturbance
of pilot tunnel are usually neglected. If the measured Figure 3. The principal stress after excavation.
stress data is used directly in the stress inversion
regression for the whole region, there will be certain
errors between the inversion results and the actual in-
situ stress field. Therefore, the excavation disturbing
effects of pilot tunnel should be considered into the
inversion process. It is necessary that the measured
in-situ stress data in the holes should be modified
to accurately reflect the distribution characteristics of
in-situ stress in the original area field.
It can be seen from the figures that the cavern exca-
vation causes stress concentration and relaxation to
different degrees and the principal stress direction of
in-situ stress also changes (Fig. 2∼Fig. 5). Therefore, it
is necessary to study the excavation disturbance effect Figure 4. The principal stress vector before excavation.
on the stress field for the in-situ stress inversion.
(3) The present in-situ stress field is gradually formed
by the later surface denudation and river erosion.
2.2 Simulation of V-shaped valley
The forming of V-shaped valley is the rivers erosion 2.3 Steps of the method
and release of structural stress from Cenozoic era,
According to the influence on in-situ stress distribution
and some hypotheses on remote antiquity surface and
caused by excavation disturbance of the pilot tunnel,
geological structure are taken:
and taking into account the distribution characteristics
(1) The remote antiquity is basically planation surface ofV-shaped valleys stress field, an inversion regression
which does not obviously fluctuate. method called region second fine in-situ stress field is
(2) During the remote antiquity, the in-situ stress field proposed.
is composed of gravitational stress field and struc- Firstly, comprative analysis was considered between
ture stress field and the tectonic movement is measured stresses and numerical stresses of measur-
completed in the remote antiquity. ing points in the pilot tunnel. Then, the surrrouding

638
 Table 1. The measured in-situ stress in the pilot tunnel.

Priciple stress

σ1 σ2 σ3

No. Data Dip Data Dip Data Dip

1 8.27 38.5 2.29 −37.9 1.21 29.1

2 6.98 35.8 2.66 −46.9 1.13 20.6
3 6.55 23.9 3.68 15.9 2.55 −60
4 8.28 49.4 2.65 12.2 1.35 −38
5 7.71 68.5 2.67 −17.9 −0.8 11.6
∗
The angle in above horizontal is positive.
Figure 5. The principal stress vector after excavation.

Figure 7. The layout of pilot tunnel.

3 ONE CASE STUDY

3.1 Engineering introduction

Figure 6. The principal stress after excavation.
stress field of pilot tunnel was inversed finely by mul-
tiple linear regression inversion anlaysis in the local
mesh model. A fine sub-model for analyzing excava-
tion effect of tunnel is established in a relatively small
area and stress concentration or relaxation, change of
principal stress direction that caused by excavation
could be remedied accurately.
Meanwhile, in order to obtain the entire stress dis-
tribution of damsite region, the inversion analysis
method of second stress field for the whole damsite
region was presented, which combined the ground
abrasion process of strata and SVM. Considering the
abrasion process of the strata, the second stress value
of measuring points is calculated in the entire mesh
model, the relationship between fine calculated stress
and second calculated stress is established by SVM.
At last, the whole region stress field distribution is
regressed.
Flowchart is as follows (Fig. 6).
One large hydropower station is located in the mid-
dle and lower reaches of Lancang River in southwest
China. The river reaches in dam site has a length of
about 2.5 km and the river direction is S35◦ E. The river
valley is V-shaped with strong mountains on both sides
and well-developed gullies. The left side of the valley
has an average slope angle of 45◦ below elevation of
850 m and a width of 700 m vertical to the slope. The
slope by the side of the Kanjie River is commonly
5◦ ∼15◦ above 770 m in elevation, and 35◦ in average
below. Topography in dam site is shown in Fig. 1.
3.2 Local fine inversion
Five stress test results (Table 1) are used as data value
for local fine inversion in the two pilot tunnels located
in the two sides of the damsite (Fig. 7).
Data is obtained from in-situ measurement point
in the range where stress redistribution occurs. So a
model of 60 m × 40 m × 60 m in pilot tunnel segment
is established to calculate the redistributed stress state
for pilot excavation, and the stress from numerical

639
 Table 3. The real in-situ stress in the measured point.

Principal stress

σ1 σ2 σ3

No. Data Dip Data Dip Data Dip

1 10.5 48 3.5 −20 2.4 16

2 5.8 41 3.4 −10 2.1 28
3 6.8 36 4.3 35 3.5 −36
4 7.2 59 2.8 26 1.4 −12
5 6.5 43 3.1 −25 −0.4 20

Table 4. Boundary condition used in SVM.

Figure 8. Pilot tunnel model for local fine inversion. Boundary Txx /×10−2 m Txy /×10−2 m G/m.s−2

Table 2. The boundary stress in the model. Value 3∼6 10∼20 6∼10

σ1 σ2 σ3

No. Data Dip Data Dip Data Dip According to the least square method, 3 regres-
sion coefficients L are obtained. Then regression stress
1 10 50 4.0 −40 2 −50 of any point can be calculated by that superposi-
2 9 40 3.5 −20 1 −30 tion stress values derived from numerical calcula-
3 8 30 3.0 0 0 0 tion. By Formula (2), regression coefficient matrix
4 7 20 2.5 15 −1 20 L = [0.42, 0.55, 0.34]T is obtained. Real in-situ stress
5 6 10 2.0 30 −2 30 of measured point is calculated as in Table 3.

3.3 Regional second inversion

calculation of whole mountain is used as the initial
stress condition for local analysis. The calculation
model for pilot excavation is shown in Fig. 8, and the
excavation depth is 30 m. Isotropic M-C criterion is
adopted in numerical calculation for local excavation.
Displacement boundary conditions: upper bound-
ary is set free in the in-situ stress calculation while the
vertical displacements are restricted in other bound-
aries. Different in-situ stress directions and sizes are
applied in the tunnel boundaries, as is shown in
Table 2.
Multiple linear regressions are used to analyze the
measured values and stress data after excavation by
numerical calculation, which has different boundary
conditions and the regression formula is as follows:
Where, the Li (i = 1, 2, 3) is the regression coefficient.
Suppose there are 5 observation points, then the
least squares residual sum of squares is:
Where, σ ∗ is the observed value of the observation
point, stress component j; stress component j = 1∼3,
corresponding to the 3 stress components.
In order to simulate the formation process of physiog-
nomy, the process of erosion formation with top-down
excavation calculation is simulated, and the quadratic
nonlinear inversion of stress filed is made by SVM.
During the process of inversion of stress filed, mea-
suring the stress value is regarded as entry vector,
the boundary conditions of tectonic stress field as
the output vector and the nonlinear mapping is estab-
lished between them by SVM. Analysis of the regional
geological setting shows that G(weight), Txx (the com-
pression of X) and Txy (shear structure of level X) have
remarkable effect on modern stress field of damsite.
In order to build the learning and testing sample of
SVM, scope values of each factor, shown in Table 4,
are identified.
The boundary conditions and gravity of each group
are applied to the calculation model in the order of
weight, compressional structure in X orientation and
shear structure in X orientation. Incorporate them into
the numerical simulation software for balance calcu-
lation, shown in Fig. 9. Then the process of surface
erosion are calculated and simulated by excavating
the surface layer and finally denude to the present site
topography.The stress in test positions can be obtained,
and is taken as input vectors of SVM samples.
Finally, each measured stress value has been used
as input vector of trained SVM model; the specific
values of various components of ground stress field
are obtained (Table 5).

640

Figure 9. Strata denudation process.
Table 5. Determined boundary condition by SVM.
Boundary Txx /×10−2 m Txy /×10−2 m G/m.s−2
Value 4.5 16.2 9.7
Figure 10. The maximum principal stress.
The boundary conditions and acceleration of grav-
ity obtained from SVM model were put into numer-
ical simulation software and in-situ stress field of
hydropower plant region is got.
3.4 Results
By calculating the stress of the hydropower station,
the initial stress distribution and characteristics of the
damsite were obtained and then the principal stress
distribution is got, shown in Fig. 10∼Fig. 11:
The intake slope of Hydropower Station is located
in near the left bank of the demarcation, taking a pro-
file across the inlet section (Y = −600), it can see from
the initial stress distribution profile (Fig. 12∼Fig. 13):
The maximum value of the maximum principal stress
σ1 of hydropower intake slope (shown as dashed line)
is about 3∼5 MPa, σ1 of the bottom of V-shaped valley
641
Figure 11. The minimum principal stress.
Figure 12. The maximum principal stress in plane.
Figure 13. The minimum principal stress in plane.
is about 10∼15 MPa. The maximum value of the min-
imum principal stress σ3 of hydropower intake slope
(shown as dashed line) is about 0.1 MPa, σ3 of the
bottom of V-shaped valley is about 0.4∼1 MPa.
4 CONCLUSIONS
(1) Numerial results of real project indicate that the in-
situ stress field obtained by second fine inversion
method fits for the distribution law of V-shaped
vally generally. The orientation of maxmium prin-
cipal stress parellells with the dip direction of
vally, magnitude is also in accordance with the
characteristic of real in-situ stress.
(2) Because the disturbance effect on in-situ stress
field by excavation is considered adequately in
local fine inversion, the ultimate initial in-situ
 stress field by inversion will be closer to the real
state.
(3) The calculation shows that in-situ stress field
obtained by strata denudation simulation can
reflect the influences of topography, physiognomy
and geological structure well. In other words, the
result is reliable and can be taken as a reference and
basis of the excavation of typical high slope in dam
site and stability analysis of subsequent operation.
(4) The calculation analysis indicates that dead weight
and proximal NEE-direction horizontal com-
pressed structure are the manipulative factors of
geo-stress field of dam site, and the proximal
NNW-direction horizontal compressed structure
is secondary.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported by Reserch fund of State Key
Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenviron-
ment Protection (Chengdu University of Technology),
under grant NO. SKLGP2009Z015, and supported
by Scientific Reserch Fund of SiChuan Provincial
Education Department (NO. 09ZC026).
This work is also supported by the Open Research
Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil
642
Mechanics, ChineseAcademy of Sciences, under grant
NO. Z010909.
REFERENCES
Liu J. & Feng X. T. & Qiao L. P. 2006, Back analysis of
geostress field of deep river valley region-a case study
of Laxiwa Hydropower Project with high stress, China.
Proceedings of International Symposium on In-situ Rock
Stress. Trondheim: 433–439.
Ljunggren C. & ChangY. T. & Janson T. 2003, An overview of
rock stress measurement methods. International Journal
of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 40(7): 975–989.
Zhang L. Q. & Yue Z. Q. & Yang Z. F. 2006, A displacement-
based back-analysis method for rock mass modulus and
horizontal in situ stress in tunneling-illustrated with a case
study. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology
21(6): 636–649.
Karakus M. & Fowell R. J. 2005, Back analysis for tun-
nelling induced ground movements and stress redistri-
bution. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology
20(6): 514–524.
Kaiser P. K. & Zou D. H. & Lang P. A. 1990, Stress
determination by back-analysis of excavation-induced
stress changes-a case study. Rock Mechanics and Rock
Engineering 23(3): 185–200.
Jiang A.N. & Jin L.F. & Zhang J. 2008, Back-Analysis of
Stress Field for Underground Powerhouse Using Differ-
ence Evolutionary Self-Adaptive BP. Fourth International
Conference on Natural Computation, IEEE (2): 314–318.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Study on the coupling system of high prestress cable truss

and surrounding rock on a coal roadway

Fulian He, Dongping Ying & Hong Yan

China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing City, People’s Republic of China

Hongqiang Han & Kaiqing Li

University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing City, People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACT: The combined support technology of prestressed bolt and cable truss has been widely used
in coal mines, but the mechanical interaction between cable truss and surrounding rock hasn’t been studied
systematically. In this paper, the development process of truss support system is briefly discussed, which is from
bolt truss to cable truss, then to high prestress cable truss. The support structure and advantages of cable truss are
analyzed thoroughly. Based on the coupling relationship between the high prestress cable truss and the roof rock,
the mechanical model of cable truss is built, and the calculation formulas of anchoring force and pre-tightening
force are drawn out. The numerical simulation and field observation results of Xinsan mine in Fengfeng Coal
Group showed that the design scheme of combined support system including high prestress cable truss was
reasonable and effective.

1 INTRODUCTION of Mining and Technology (Beijing) has been dedicat-

In Chinese coal mines, with the development of mining
depth and area, the roadway conditions are becoming
more and more complex. The following complicated
roadways, such as deep roadways with high ground
stress, soft expansion rock roadways, extremely frac-
tured surrounding rock roadways, large-section set-up
entry, and roadways strongly suffering from dynamic
pressure, have increased rapidly. The common charac-
teristics of these roadways are large surrounding rock
deformation and serious support damage, and even
roof caving and rib spalling occur, so the roadway secu-
rity is difficult to be guaranteed (Kang & Wang 2007).
The combined bolt and cable truss support technology
to be suitable to the complicated roadways develops
rapidly and is widely applied in mines.
ing to the improvement and optimization of both the
new-type connector and cable’s stiffness and strength,
and has achieved a series of profitable results.
3 THE STRUCTURE AND ADVANTAGES OF
CABLE TRUSS SUPPORT SYSTEM
As shown in Figure 1, the high prestress cable truss
supporting system consists of two anchor steel cables
with high tensile-strength and one connector with inte-
gral wedges, which two anchoring points are located
in the deep rock mass in compressive stress field on a
roadway. This supporting system with the high tension
prestress can provide horizontal compressive prestress

2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRUSS

SUPPORTING SYSTEM

An earliest truss bolt supporting system composed of

two threadbar bolts, two truss brackets, two horizon-
tal threadbars and six tightening nuts appeared in the
USA in 1967. About 20 years later, the earliest con-
tinuous cable truss supporting system was researched
and applied in a shaft inset in Kentucky. In China, the
cable truss supporting technology began to be used and
studied on a coal roadway in 1989 and obtained much
better supporting effects than before (Yuan, 2007). In
recent years, as the roadway supporting complexity Figure 1. The structure of cable truss support system.
increases, the truss bolt supporting is gradually trans- 1 — compression area; 2 — connector; 3 — coal side; 4 —
ferred to the cable truss supporting. China University truss cable.

643
to middle roof, improve the roof stress state, strengthen
mechanical properties of lower roof, and enhance its
anti-deformation performance. Therefore the tensile
deformation and bed separation of layered roof are
controlled effectively (Wahab 1992).
Compared with the conventional bolt or single
cable supporting, the cable truss supporting system
has five advantages: (1) It can supply active support-
ing force whose directions are both horizontal and
vertical. As the roof deformation becomes larger, the
supporting force and internal bearing stress of cable
truss gradually increases too. The new type of support-
ing system can effectively reduce the highest tensile
stress in the middle area of roadway roof, which is Figure 2. Mechanical model of cable truss support system.
favorable to keeping rock under multi-dimensional
supporting state and raises both rock intensity and counteract each other and finally reach equilibrium.
roof anti-deformation performance. (2) Owing to the When the cable truss performs supporting function,
large length and excellent anti-shear properties, truss the anchoring force F will balance all load on the cable
cable can go through the highest shear stress region truss system, and the following formula is obtained.
of roadway roof and its control area is bigger than
the bolt supporting range. So the cable truss is able to
control roof ’s shear deformation and breaking more
effectively. (3) Since the cable truss system contacts
with the roof along lines, its supporting influence is
much larger than the one of the single cable or bolt. The
roof load acting on the cable truss could be transferred
continuously and higher pretension can be applied. As Where F = anchoring force, N; g(x) = the non-
a result, the loose or broken roof may be kept in a good uniform distributed load in plumb direction on inclined
state more easily. (4) The anchor points of cable truss part of cable truss, N; q(x) = the load horizontal part
lie within the rock compressed the three directions, of cable truss, N; f1 = friction coefficient between the
which are not easy to be influenced by roof separation inclined part of cable truss and rock; a = half length
or deformation and could provide the truss system with of the horizontal part of cable truss, m; b = inclined
reliable and stable basement for high anchoring force. length of cable truss, m; α = acute angle between
(5) During roof curvature and subsidence, the anchor inclined cable and horizontal direction; λ = ratio of
points above both sides move inside slightly and the horizontal load to plumb load.
bearing force increases reasonably. The lock structure Whether the truss system plays effective support
is not easy to be destroyed, and its supporting function role depends on the tensile strength of truss cable
keeps for more time, and then the locking structure
could control the rapid roof deformation and prevent
serious caving accidents.

4 THE MECHANICAL MODEL AND

ITS CALCULATION FORMULAS

According to the geometric and mechanical charac-
teristics of cable truss supporting system, the whole
system could be regarded as a symmetric structure.
Because the steel cable used widely in coal mines is
composed of seven or nineteen wires, the cable is sim-
plified as a flexible bar. The cable truss could give a
pressing force to surrounding rock. On the basis of the
force interaction, the cable truss is also endured the
pressing force from surrounding rock. Moreover, as
the cable truss contacts with the surrounding rock and
has the pressing force, the friction force is generated.
According to the above analysis results, the mechan-
ical model of the cable truss supporting system and
the corresponding mechanical parameters are shown
in Figure 2.
As the whole model is a symmetric structure, the
horizontal forces of cable truss supporting system
and cohesive strength of anchor agent. The calculation
formula of necessary tensile strength of truss cable
could be derived, which offers an important theoretical
basis for the material selection and parameter design.
In addition, an important precondition to keep
active supporting function of cable truss is that the
pre-tightening force should be applied. After applying
the pre-tightening force, if the roof rock has not yet
subsided apparently, the pre-tightening force can be
used to balance overlying strata load actively.
Since the truss system is symmetric, one half of
the truss system is analyzed, and the corresponding
mechanical model for pre-tightening force calculation
is shown in Figure 3.

644
Figure 3. Mechanical model for pre-tightening force
calculation.
Where F
= pre-tightening force, N; f2 = friction
coefficient between horizontal part of cable truss and
rock.
For the simplification need of the calculation and
design process of the support system, the roof load is
considered to be of uniform or trapezoidal distribution,
which is related with the thickness of overlying strata
needed to be supported.
Where γ = average density of the overlying strata,
kN/m3 ; h = thickness of roadway roof needed to be
supported, m; k1 , k2 = the coefficient, and their value
range is 0∼1.
Finally, the calculation formulas of the anchoring
force, and tensile strength and pre-tightening force of
truss cable can be deduced, which are the foundation
of roadway support design in coal mines.
5 ENGINEERING APPLICATION AND
MONITORING RESULTS
Set-up entry 162403 in Xinsan mine of Fengfeng Coal
Group is chosen to be the practice site because of three
difficult supporting problems: (1) The roof consists of
thick carbonic mudstone in which the joints and frac-
tures develop fully, and integrity of the surrounding
rock is bad. Consequently, the roof stability is weak,
and easily separates or even collapses. (2) The set-up
entry is wide, which leads to a larger crushing scope
and to be difficult to guarantee the single cable anchor-
ing force. (3) After the roadway is driven, the vertical
645
Figure 4. The broken components of the traditional sup-
porting system of single bolt and cable. 1 — broken steel
cable; 2 — locker; 3 — cable plate; 4 — damaged bolt plate;
5 — destructive bolt anchors.
Figure 5. The horizontal stress distribution of the set-up
entry. 1 — bolt; 2 — cable.
stress over the roadway is transferred to both coal sides
promptly. Since roadway roof and sides are weak roof
and soft coal respectively. The typical broken compo-
nents of the traditional supporting system of single bolt
and cable in Xinsan coal mine is shown in Figure 4. For
these complicated problems, the high prestress cable
truss system is adopted to support the set-up entry.
The software FLAC is used to simulate the displace-
ment field, and the horizontal and vertical stress for
set-up entry 162403. During the process of numeri-
cal simulation, the stress state and displacement field
of the set-up entry’s surrounding rocks for 15 support
schemes are monitored and recorded. The horizontal
and vertical stress of the set-up entry’s surrounding
rocks is respectively shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
The simulation results indicate that the high pre-
stress cable truss supporting system greatly improves
the stress field of roadway roof needed to be sup-
ported, which also benefits the roof control in plastic
deformation.
On the basis of theoretical calculation and simula-
tion results, the optimal cable truss supporting design
scheme was put into practice, and the surface displace-
ment of the set-up entry was observed along with the
tunneling.
The observation results of about one month are
shown in Figure 7. The largest convergence of both

Figure 6. The vertical stress distribution of the set-up entry.
Figure 7. The surrounding Surface displacement.
sides is less than 134 mm, and the roof subsidence is no
more than 158 mm. After excavation, the early conver-
gence velocity is larger than the later. Both sides tend
to be stable about 10 days later, and the roof becomes
stable after about 20 days. The roof observation results
show that the deformation with cable truss support
is relatively small compared with the roof subsidence
with other kinds of supports, and the roof could remain
stable all the time. The design scheme is very effec-
tive to the roadway control, and the truss cable system
plays an important part in the support scheme.
646
6 CONCLUSIONS
(1) The high prestress cable truss is a structure which
can supply active supporting force in both hori-
zontal and vertical directions. This system is much
better than the traditional bolt truss supporting,
and overcomes the shortcomings of single cable
supporting. So this system will have a bright
application future.
(2) After discussing the interaction between cable
truss and roof, the mechanical model of cable
truss is built. By analyzing the model, some use-
ful formulas referring to anchoring force, tensile
strength and pre-tightening force are deduced, and
these calculation formulas are the foundation of
roadway support design in coal mines
(3) The optimum support scheme is put into practice
for set-up entry 162403 in Xinsan coal mine, and
the observation results show that all the chosen
parameters for the cable truss supporting system
are reasonable, and the system controls the soft
surrounding rock successfully.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Work is financially supported by National Basic
Research Program of China under Grant No.
2010CB226802, and the Scientific Research Foun-
dation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars
(2007–1108). The authors would like to thank the
technicians of Xinsan coal mine for the practice.
REFERENCES
Kang, Hongpu & Wang, Jinhua 2007. Rock bolting theory and
complete technology for coal roadways. Beijing: China
Coal Industry Publishing House.
Wahab Khair A. How to cope with cutter roof problem. Paper
presented at 11th International Conference on Ground
Control in Mining. The University of Wollongong, NSW,
1992.
Yuan, Liang 2007. Control of surrounding strata in deep mine
roadway and practice in Huainan area. Beijing: China
Coal Industry Publishing House.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Detecting non elastic behavior from strain recovery curves

R. Corthésy & M.H. Leite

Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, École Polytechnique, Montréal, Canada

ABSTRACT: When interpreting results from stress measurements using stress relief techniques, one funda-
mental assumption is that the rock behaves elastically. This assumption may not be verified if the stress level to
which the recovered core is submitted surpasses its strength. Local shear or tensile yielding may occur prior or
concurrently to the stress relief operation. In either case, means of identifying this yielding must be available in
order for the measurement to be rejected or treated with caution. Using an axisymetric numerical model with
a strain softening constitutive law, the drilling and stress relief drilling operations associated with the modified
doorstopper stress measurement technique are simulated to generate strain recovery curves which are then ana-
lyzed in order to detect non elastic behavior. The simulated curves are compared to actual experimental curves
obtained in the lab or in the field.

1 INTRODUCTION coring and also has constitutive models such as the

In a paper by Corthésy and Leite (2008), core discing
and damage mechanisms were simulated using Flac2D
with an elasto-plastic cohesion softening friction hard-
ening model, which showed that for a given stress
state, discing or core damage could involve tensile fail-
ure, a combination of shear and tensile failure or only
shear failure, depending on the stress state and ratio
of tensile to shear strength of the rock. The numerical
model used was validated by replicating core discing
occurrence and disk thicknesses observed by Obert
and Stephenson (1965) under controlled laboratory
conditions.
Using the same model, stress measurements con-
ducted using the modified doorstopper technique were
simulated. This technique allows continuous monitor-
ing of the strains caused by stress relief and using the
strain recovery curves, it is shown how a rock behav-
ior departing from elasticity can be identified in order
for the measurement to be rejected or interpreted with
caution. In their paper, Corthésy and Leite (2008) also
showed that the damaged core could store residual
stresses which would also affect the interpretation of
stress measurements.
2 NUMERICAL MODEL
Since failure is obviously present when core discing
occurs, elasto-plastic numerical analyses which simu-
late the coring operation in a rock were performed. As
non linear stress-strain relationships are involved, the
results are stress-path dependent and the coring oper-
ation must be entirely modeled. For this reason Flac2D
from Itasca was chosen, since it has the ability to eas-
ily null elements in the path of the drill bit to simulate
plastic strain softening model, that allow the inclu-
sion of the post failure behavior of geomaterials, which
as shown by Corthésy and Leite (2008), plays a very
important role in the discing or damaging mechanisms.
When a sufficiently dense grid (mesh) is used, the fail-
ure localization phenomenon found in geomaterials
can be simulated. The strains that would be monitored
by a modified doorstopper cell can also be obtained
using node displacements at the hole bottom.
2.1 Model geometry
For the analyses presented in this paper, a 2D axisym-
metric model is used. This choice takes advantage
of the axial symmetry found with the problem but
limits the stress state normal to the borehole axis to
an isotropic state. A dense grid is required in the
region where discing may occur in order to allow the
development of strain localization.
2.2 Constitutive model
A Mohr-Coulomb strain softening/hardening model
with non associated shear and associated tensile flow
rules is used. This model allows defining how cohe-
sion, friction angle, tensile strength and dilation angle
vary after yielding occurs, as a function of hardening or
softening parameters related to the plastic shear or ten-
sile strains (Hajiabdolmajid et al., 2002). Two plastic
models were run with an initial uniaxial compressive
strength (σc) of 153 MPa for the first and 251 MPa
for the other. A residual tensile strength of 0.5 MPa
had to be kept in order to allow the numerical model
to converge without having indefinite tensile plastic
flow. It is this tensile strain flow that makes it difficult
to model the brittle tensile failure one would expect

647
Figure 1. Stress recovery curves for elastic and plastic
analyses for tensile failure in the core.
when the core discs. The elastic parameters are 26 GPa
for Young’s modulus and 0.35 for Poisson’s ratio.
2.3 Boundary conditions
Initial conditions for simulating diamond drilling
imply initializing the stresses in the cylinder to the in
situ stress state, then instantly coring a certain length
and removing the core which, for the sake of simplic-
ity, leaves a flat borehole bottom as if the drillers had
retrieved the core barrel and broken off the core with
the core spring. The model then cycles to reach a new
equilibrium state. The drilling process then begins as
elements representing the rock in the drill bit path are
nulled one zone height at a time, which corresponds
to approximately 5.9% of the core radius per drilling
step. After each drilling step, the model cycles until
equilibrium is reached and the drill-solve operations
are repeated until a core is produced.
Drill bit and fluid pressures are not considered in
these analyses since the stress level they cause is negli-
gible in comparison with the stress intensities related
to the field stresses (Stacey, 1982). Contrary to lin-
ear elastic analyses, elasto-plastic models require this
step-by-step coring operation because the results are
stress-path dependent when non linear stress-strain
relationships are involved.
3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION RESULTS
3.1 Analysis of the tensile discing recovery curves
In order to have reference strain and stress recovery
curves to which the non elastic measurement can be
compared, a numerical model is run with an elastic
behavior only. The load case corresponds to an applied
axial stress of 64 MPa and an isotropic radial stress of
124 MPa. The same model is run again but this time,
failure is allowed (plastic) with two different uniaxial
compressive strengths. Figure 1 shows the evolution of
the radial stresses at the borehole bottom for both the
elastic and plastic analyses as a function of the stress
relief drilling advance (core length L to radius r ratio).
Note that in this figure as well as in Figure 2, com-
pressive stresses are negative and tensile stresses are
648
Figure 2. Strain recovery curves for elastic and plastic
analyses for tensile failure in the core.
positive. For the plastic analysis with σc = 153 MPa, it
is found that localized shear failure occurs at the hole
bottom periphery prior to stress relief drilling with the
consequence that the stresses at the center of the core
are already partly relieved at 99 MPa compared to the
elastic case with 126 MPa.As a consequence, from that
point on, even if the rock behaves elastically, more than
26% of the stresses have already been relieved. For the
model with a σc value of 251 MPa, no failure occurs
prior to stress relief drilling and it can be seen that the
initial stress equals the one given by the elastic model.
The graph also shows that tensile stresses develop
much faster at the borehole bottom in the plastic
models (for L/r = 10%) than in the elastic model
(L/r = 50%). Another feature clearly visible on this
graph is the occurrence of failure at a little over 50%
L/r ratio where a stress drop occurs. In the elastic
case, tensile stresses of nearly 30 MPa develop at the
borehole bottom whereas in the plastic cases, the ten-
sile stresses cannot become greater than the tensile
strength (9.1 MPa) and are suddenly relieved when the
first disc is created. In principle, this failure should not
be a problem for the interpretation of the measurement
as it only causes the stresses at the borehole bottom to
be relieved almost instantly if no tensile plastic flow
occurs. Another element that is shown by these analy-
ses is that in the plastic models, complete stress relief
is not attained as compressive residual stresses in the
order of 11 MPa are locked in the core. For the same
two models, Figure 2 shows the strain recovery curves.
In this figure, the initial strains are set to 0 as they
would be for an in situ stress measurement. Soon after
drilling begins, the plastic models shows a much higher
strain recovery rate than the elastic model because in
the former, tensile stresses develop at a faster rate
which generates tensile plastic strains which add to
the elastic strains. This also causes the total recovered
strains to be greater than the ones given by the elastic
model. Comparing the two plastic models shows the
recovered strains to be lower for the stronger rock. This
results from the fact the borehole bottom is subjected
to tensile stresses for a much shorter period of time
since shorter discs were formed for the stronger rock
as seen in Figure 3 where the dark zones represent the
Figure 3. Core discing for plastic analyses with different
σc.
Figure 4. Experimental strain recovery curve measured in
the laboratory under discing conditions.
tensile plastic strains equivalent to the failure planes
one would have in a brittle rock.
If strain recovery curves are available as is the case
with the modified doorstopper, their irregular shape
allows to diagnose non elastic rock behavior. If it is
not detected, an overestimation of the stresses would
result, assuming the deformability parameters are not
affected by localized failure. In practical applications,
if these parameters are determined on the recovered
core, they may very well allow the inclusion of damage
which is a phenomenon not represented in our anal-
yses as only the strength parameters are softened. As
mentioned in section 2.2, the brittle tensile failure with
very little tensile plastic strains is difficult to replicate
using a continuum model. Consequently, the sudden
stress and strain relief one would observe when discing
occurs in a brittle rock cannot be replicated accurately.
Figure 4 shows a strain recovery curve obtained in
the lab on cylinders of synthetic rock in which stress
measurements using the modified doorstopper were
performed. One can clearly see the sudden drop in
strain when the core discs for an L/r ratio of around
100%. The difference in core length for which discing
occurs between the physical and numerical models is
caused by the fact the material properties and applied
stresses were completely different.
3.2 Shear failure controlled damaging
In this section, the term damaging is used instead of
discing as it is not certain that the shear controlled
failure mechanisms generated while drilling can lead
649
Figure 5. Sequence of shear failure controlled core damage
mechanism as drilling proceeds for the σr = 140 MPa and
σa = 62 MPa loading case. The vectors in figure 5(a) repre-
sent displacements. Contour lines represent tensile stresses.
to the creation of visible fractures with an actual
separation of cones of rock. Using the previous
model with exactly the same mechanical properties
(σc = 153 MPa) but lowering the axial stress σa or
increasing the radial stress σr causes shear failure
to dominate over tensile failure. Figures 5a, 5b and
5c show the model with an increased radial stress
σr = 140 MPa and an axial stress σa = 62 MPa. Fig-
ure 5a shows the shear failure initiates at the bottom
of the hole prior to starting the drilling process. A cone
of rock is wedged out by the failure zone or shear cone
(instead of shear band because of axial symmetry) as
seen from the displacement vectors. Inside this cone,
the rock remains elastic and tensile stresses develop
as a result of the upward movement of the cone which
is still held in place by the residual strength of the
rock. These tensile zones are absent when no shear fail-
ure occurs. Some tensile stresses also develop inside
the shear zones. Blair and Cook (1998) mention that
heterogeneities in the microstructure of the rock pro-
duce local concentrations of tensile stresses even when
the rock as a whole is subjected only to compressive
stresses. An important radial stress drop at the hole
Figure 6. Stress recovery curves for elastic and plastic anal-
yses with shear failure in the core with σr = 140 MPa and Figure 7. Strain recovery curves for elastic and plastic
σa = 62 MPa applied stresses. analyses for shear failure in the core.

bottom results from this localized failure. In an elas-

tic model, the radial stress at the hole bottom would
be 143 MPa and the failed model gives a radial stress
value of 109 MPa (a 24% drop).
As in the tensile failure mode, this has a major effect
on the interpretation of rock stress measurements
using the doorstopper technique. As will be shown
in the next figures, theses stresses become locked at
the core surface where the modified doorstopper cell
would be bonded.
Figure 5b shows the core after drilling to an l/r
ratio of 47.2%. Another shear cone develops with a
geometry similar to the first, after sufficiently high
compressive stresses have built up away from the pre-
vious shear zone. This previous shear zone causes
a stress drop in its vicinity because of plastic flow Figure 8. Mean recovered strain from a field measurement
in a weak rock relative to the in situ stress level.
resulting in decreasing compressive strength. Figure
5c shows the core once drilled over an l/r ratio of
450% with the shear cones regularly spaced. has not allowed the development of the tensile regime
Figure 6 shows the stress recovery curve which in under the strain gauge rosette. These measurements
the plastic analysis never enters the tensile regime, were taken in a mine in an area of high stresses relative
explaining the absence of the characteristic peak to the strength of the rock.
shown by the elastic model. The plastic model also
shows residual compressive tresses reaching values of
3.3 Residual stresses
11 MPa remain locked in the core which again, will
affect the estimation of stresses from the recovered As mentioned previously, an element that stands out
strains. when comparing elastic and strain softening models
Figure 7 shows the strain recovery curves which is the presence of locked-in or residual stresses in
follow closely the shape of the stress recovery curve. the core when plastic flow is allowed to occur. Fig-
The initial stress and strain recovery rates are similar ure 9 shows, on the cross section of half the core,
in the elastic and plastic analyses. The overall recov- compressive residual stresses in excess of 20 MPa ori-
ered strains in the plastic analysis are lower than in the ented normal to the core axis for the σr = 124 MPa and
elastic reference case because of lower initial stresses σa = 62 MPa load case (σc = 153 MPa). These com-
at the borehole bottom and because residual stresses pressive stresses are mostly concentrated in the center
remain locked in the core. This would lead to an under- part of the core, in the failed zones and at the surface
estimation of the stresses assuming the results are of the borehole bottom where complete stress relief is
interpreted using an elastic approach. Fortunately, the usually not questioned.
availability of strain recovery curves using the mod- Figure 10 shows the residual compressive stresses
ified doorstopper technique would allow identifying found when shear failure mechanisms dominate.
the abnormal shape of the curve and the measurement Stress intensities are comparable to the tensile failure
would be rejected or interpreted with caution. Such an case and are also present at the surface of the borehole
example from actual field measurements is given in bottom. Note that tensile stresses are also present in
figure 8 where the absence of the characteristic peak both cores but these stresses are not felt at the surface
prior the final plateau indicates plastic shear failure where strain gauges would be bonded.

650

Figure 9. Residual compressive stresses in a half core cross
section where discing (tensile failure) occurred.
Figure 10. Residual compressive stresses in a half core cross
section where shear failure occurred.
The presence of residual stresses which is well
known in materials undergoing plastic deformations,
has two major implications in rock mechanics. The
first is that if in situ stress measurements are per-
formed using stress relief techniques such as the
doorstopper or modified doorstopper technique, ini-
tial stresses at the borehole bottom are not entirely
relieved. Corthésy and Gill (1990) and later Leite et al.
(1998) have shown how this phenomenon could affect
stress measurements performed in rocksalt with the
modified doorstopper cell and the CSIR triaxial cell,
651
respectively. Due to plastic creep strain, a stress redis-
tribution takes place during stress relief which in turn
causes residual stresses to develop at the measure-
ment points once the stress relief drilling is completed.
The other side effect of residual stresses is that, with
time, they will eventually relax, causing further dam-
age to the rock. This phenomenon may be one of the
contributing mechanisms in a stress estimation tech-
nique called anelastic strain recovery (ASR) where
rock cores retrieved from their in situ environment
are instrumented to measure a delayed (visco-elastic)
strain response. Barr and Hunt (1999) had shown that
cores retrieved at depth showed longer relaxation times
than cores that had been loaded in the laboratory with
stresses of similar magnitudes as found at depth. This
is consistent with the fact that when recovered in the
field, the cores will store residual stresses, whereas
when loaded in the laboratory under a uniform stress
state, no damage mechanism with failure localization
will contribute to the creation of zones with residual
stresses.
4 DISCUSSION
In order to validate the numerical model used in this
paper, the authors have reported an excellent agree-
ment between the experimental work done by Obert
and Stephenson (1965) including stress states caus-
ing the presence or absence of discing and also disk
thickness by using the data made available by these
authors (Corthésy & Leite, 2008). Although the agree-
ment between experimental data and simulation results
is good, the authors acknowledge the limitations of the
numerical model they used since all the mechanisms
involved in rock discing or drilling induced damage,
especially fracture propagation mechanisms, cannot
be reproduced rigorously with a continuum model.
This is clearly seen when discing occurs on a physical
model where the stresses drop is almost instantaneous
(Figure 4) whereas this drop is gradual in the numeri-
cal model (Figures 1 and 2). As a consequence of these
numerical model limitations, the results presented in
this paper should be considered qualitatively although
they tend to show that discing alone should not be
a problem for interpreting stress measurements using
the doorstopper technique if shear or tensile plastic
strains are absent.
Another point that can be made regarding the appli-
cation of the analyses presented here and in situ
stress measurements is the use of the Kaiser effect
where acoustic emissions (AE) are monitored on cores
retrieved from the rock mass. When reloading uniax-
ially these cores, it is stated that AE will increase as
the maximum stress level sustained by the core along
its axis is attained and it is assumed this stress is the
in situ stress. As shown by various researchers, the
core geometry as it is being drilled will cause stress
concentrations (mainly shear stresses) in the core that
will exceed the in situ stress levels. More importantly,
the damage eventually sustained by the core will most
certainly affect the onset of AE events, shedding some
doubt on the effectiveness of this technique in high
stress environments.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Results from this paper suggest that using stress mea-
surement techniques which permit continuous mon-
itoring of strain recovery curves, like the modified
doorstopper techni que, allows an assessment of the
mechanical behavior of the rock during stress relief.
The abnormal shape of the recovery curve may indicate
tensile or shear failure prior or concurrently to stress
relief drilling. If the only failure mechanism is discing
and no tensile or shear plastic strains occur, the mea-
surement may still be interpreted using conventional
methods. If the borehole bottom fails in shear prior to
stress relief drilling, or if any plastic strains superpose
to the elastic strains during the stress relief process,
it becomes very difficult if not impossible to separate
them and interpret the measurement correctly.
Although this has not been presented here, it is
believed that techniques based on strain measurements
around a borehole, such as the CSIR, CSIRO or SSPB
triaxial cells, would be more prone to showing a non
elastic behavior than the doorstopper technique since
the latter causes lower stress concentrations than what
is found around a borehole for a given stress state.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank NSERC grants #
OGP0089752 and # RGPIN194316 for supporting
652
part of this research as well as the many mines in
Québec which have indirectly contributed to the devel-
opment of tools and techniques in the field of stress
measurements.
REFERENCES
Barr, S.P. & Hunt, D.P. 1999.An elastic strain recovery and the
Kaiser Effect retention span in the Carnmenellis granite,
UK. Rock Mech Rock Eng. 32: 169–193.
Blair, S.C. & Cook, N.G.W. 1998. Analysis of compressive
fracture in rock using statistical techniques: Part II. Effect
of microscale heterogeneity on macroscopic deformation.
Int J Rock Mech Min Sci. 35: 849–861.
Corthésy, R. & Gill, D.E. 1990. A novel approach to stress
measurements in rocksalt. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci. 27:
95–107.
Corthésy, R. & Leite, M.H, 2008. A strain-softening numer-
ical model of core discing and damage. Int. J. of Rock
Mech. & Min. Sci. 45: 329–350.
Hajiabdolmajid, V., Kaiser, P.K. & Martin, C.D. 2002. Mod-
elling brittle failure of rock. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci. 39:
731–741.
Leite, M.H., Corthésy, R. & Gill, D.E. 1998. Experimental
and numerical evaluation of stress redistribution in thick
walled rocksalt cylinders. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 35:
367–383.
Obert, L. & Stephenson, D.E. 1965. Stress conditions under
which core discing occurs. Trans Soc Min Eng of AIME
238: 227–235.
Stacey, T.R. 1982. Contribution to the mechanism of discing.
Journal of the South African Inst. of Min. and Met.: 83:
269–274.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

3-D Modeling of bedding slip for coal-seam with outburst proneness

Deng Xu-Biao, Xu Gang, Liang Ping, Li Xiao-Ting & Ma Yong-Qiang

State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology,
Beijing, China
College of Geosciences and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology,
Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Similar to other geological structures, bedding slip is thought to be determined by the in-situ rock
stress and the rock properties. Differently, the bedding slip (BS) in coal seam would lead to a higher proneness
of coal and gas outburst during the coal mining. Under the acknowledged regular pattern of in-situ rock stress,
a three-seam 3-D model by FLAC3D was established to recover the formation of bedding slip in this paper,
in which model of Mohr-Coulomb (MC) and strain hardening & softening (SS) were taken as a comparison,
variation of geologic factors, such as dip angle, strength, thickness and depth of rock stratum, were done. It
was verified that bedding slip formed by the application of horizontal in-situ stress and the difference of rock
strength. Localization band in coal-seam were found by SS model, which produced a stress concentration, lower
coal strength, more fissures for the gas aggregation and storage and these are thought to be the key factors for
the happening of coal and gas outburst. It was testified by simulation that localization is determined by the
in-situ horizontal stress and the rock strength. The conclusion is significant and encouraging to the prediction
and prevention of outburst in BS coal seam.

1 INTRODUCTION softening (SS) were used to model the localization

As one of the most important geological structures,
bedding slip produced by in-situ stress on different
scales and connected closely with the soft stratum in
crust (Zhang, 1984). Therefore, it often formed in coal
measure strata since coal-seam is right a typical soft
stratum. Bedding slip (BS) in coal-seam, which may
be termed as bedding fault sometimes, has been stud-
ied by scientists for its strong proneness to coal &
gas outburst and many encouraging suggestions were
achieved. With simple elastic model and Coulomb-
Navier rule, the mechanical formation of BS was
studied by Hubbert & Rubey (1959) and other geolo-
gists (Chen, 1986), of which no detail structure of BS
discussed, especially for those formed in depth. On the
other hand, scientists in mining engineering investi-
gated the detail structure of BS in coal measure strata
and found many strange phenomena that cannot be
explained by the existed model( Shepherd et al., 1981;
Cao & Peng, 1995; Guo & Han, 1998; Wu, 1998; Ju &
Wang, 2002; Ju et al., 2004; Zhang & Zhang, 2005).
For example, the spots have a proneness of outburst
appear to be in a belt in coal-seam.
The concentration in a band is known as localiza-
tion in modern rock mechanics, which is thought to be
the sign of failure of rock. Zhao et al. (2005) gives a
good summary on the recent development of experi-
mental researches, theoretical modeling and numerical
simulation on it and emphasizes the necessity of con-
sidering strain-gradient. Model of strain hardening &
during the rock failure by Wang XB (2002), Wang
ZC (2007), etc, which was developed from the model
Mohr-Coulomb and taken in this paper.
Theoretically, the BS is determined by its struc-
ture and boundary condition. For coal measure, strata,
they are depth, thickness, strength, dip angle of the
coal-seam and the roof & floor seam, friction of the
interfaces and the in-situ stress on boundary. It will
be done with the SS model in this paper to clarify the
key factors of localization in coal-seam and find the
property of it which may lead to strong proneness to
outburst.
2 MODELING OF BS BY FLAC3D
2.1 Model analysis
In coal mining engineering, the study focus of
bedding-slip (BS) is not its slip as a whole but the
deformed localization produced during by the slip.
Similar to other geological structures, bedding slip
is thought to be determined by the in-situ rock
stress and the rock properties, especially its strength
(Harrison et al., 2007). It is known to all that the con-
fined pressure heavily influenced the rock strength,
which was considered by Mohr-Coulomb model (MC)
in FLAC3D. To simulate the deformation after the
strength peak, which are thought to lead to localization
process, SS model has to be taken.

653
Table 1. Basic property parameters of TBS.

Bulk Shear Tension

Density/ modulus/ modulus/ Strength/
Seam Model kg.m−3 MPa MPa MPa

Roof elastic 2500 2000 2000

Floor elastic 2500 2000 2000
Coal-seam SS 1500 200 200 1

Figure 2. 3-D model established by FLAC3D .

model with the es_plastic contour, which represents

the accumulation of plastic shear rate in FALC3D . The
localizing process started at step 847 and formed at
step 2080. Comparison has been done between the con-
tour of es_plastic and other parameters and found that
YZ-stress contour match the es_plastic most., shown
Figure 1. Sketch for the boundary condition of TBS model.
in Figure 4. Therefore, the differences between model
of MC and SS were illustrated with the YZ-stress con-
The complex BS structure of coal measure strata
tour, shown in Figure 5. Their YZ-stress contour has
can be simplified to a three-seam model with the soft
symmetric change but in a different trend.
coal-seam and its hard roof & floor, which was first
Variation of dip angle is realized by adjust the
mentioned as “two hard grip one soft” by Guo &
acceleration of gravity in the model. They have the
Han (1998) and we term it “three-seam model of BS”
same trend to localization with the time difference.
(TBS). To be simplified, elastic model is applied to
Figure 6a shows the es_plastic contour when local-
the roof & floor and Mohr-Coulomb model (MC) VS
ization formed of TBS at 30◦ dip angle. Change of
SS to coal-seam. In FLAC3D , the interaction between
the roof & floor or the coal-seam can both change the
seams has to be considered with interface. Their basic
thickness of coal-seam relatively. They also have the
property parameters of the TBS are listed in Table 1,
same trend to localization with the time difference.
which come from the present results of experiments
Figure 6b shows the es_plastic contour when local-
and tests. Other parameters will be set and adjusted
ization formed of TBS at thickness of 2 panes. The
according to the simulation requirement. Variations of
strength of coal-seam changed with the internal fric-
dip angle, thickness and strength of the TBS will be
tion angle and cohesion force according to MC rule,
done.
but it dose the same influence of depth.
The embedded depth can be taken for a stress act on
Other condition and variation of properties are
the roof and the variation of the stress implies changes
also done. It finds that localization appears only with
of depth. The change of embedded depth can also be
enough stress from z direction, which implies certain
taken as a strength change relatively, which would
thickness of roof. If X-velocity acts on the right side
make strength change easier in modeling. The floor,
match the Szz properly, the through localization can be
called as base by Zhang (1984), was fixed. One of
expected. The two factors determined the formation
the horizontal boundaries was set free and the other
and process of deformed localization.
was act by horizontal stress. It is generally thought to
be slowly that the horizontal stress act on the bound-
ary, which cannot be well simulated by the stress act in
FLAC3D .Therefore, the stress in X-direction was taken 3 DISCUSSION OF TBS LOCALIZATION
for initial velocity boundary during the modeling. It IN COAL-SEAM
is verified by simulation that localization process was
deadly depended on this change. The detail is sketched The simulations reconstruct the localization process in
by Figure 1. the BS with SS model and proper conditions. The real
BS formed at different conditions and may stay at any
stage of the deformed localization and appeared to be
2.2 Modeling results
a complex scene. So only those related to coal and gas
The model is shown by Figure 2. It is well illustrated in outburst discussed for the paper purpose, which are
Figure 3 that the localization process produced by SS concluded in three points below.

654

Figure 3. Process of deformation localization.
655
Figure 4. Contour comparison of es_plastic &YZ-stress.
3.1 Properties of Tectonic Coal by BS
It is generally thought that tectonic coal is a neces-
sity for coal and gas outburst. It can accumulate a
high potential energy with tectonic coal existed due
to stress concentration (Guo, 2003; Hu, 2008; Xian
et al., 2009). Plenty of fissures often appeared with
the tectonic coal. With large free volume and high per-
meability, it supplies more easy aggregation of gas in
coal-seam, which may increase the energy accumula-
tion and development of fissures in coal-seam during
mining and lead to outburst (Ding et al., 1989; Guo,
2003; Jing, 2005; Hu, 2008; Xian et al., 2009). The
gas aggregation zone is the gas drainage target, which
is taken to prevent the danger of outburst.
Bedding slip in coal measure strata can produce
localization in the coal-seam with no distinct dis-
placement between seams, which is different from
the general BS discussed in geology. Similar to the
simulation results, with condition variations, the local-
ization of coal deformation appears in complex scene
and may form through a band or stayed at any stage
of the process. The BS caused the coal deformation,
called tectonic coal, or deformed coal sometimes, and
produced new fissures or developed old ones in the
coal-seam (Cao & Peng, 1995; Guo & Han, 1998; Wu,
1998; Ju & Wang, 2002; Ju et al., 2004). This is why
outburst often happened with bedding slip and appears
to be in much common properties. It might be efficient
way to outburst prediction and prevention to find the
Figure 5. YZ-stress contour comparison of SS & MC.
rule of localization distribution by BS in coal measure
strata.
3.2 Localization Analysis
As testified by study of many scientists (Cao & Peng,
1995; Guo & Han, 1998; Wu, 1998; Ju & Wang, 2002;
Ju et al., 2004), it is difficult to summarize a universal
rule to clarify the distribution of localization bands
with complex geology condition.
It suggests by the above analysis that the deformed
localization might be the key factor to lead the con-
centration in a belt of coal and gas outburst since
localization appears to be a belt too, as shown by Fig-
ures 3c, d, 6. In the same way, localization near the
zone boundaries lead to the outburst near fault, shown
by Figure 3c (Y-direction localization part near the
right boundary), which have been investigated a lot
before (Hubbert & Rubey, 1959; Chen, 1986). When
the localization stayed at its early stage, the outburst
spot may be far from the faults, which often were noted
as normal coal-seam with no structure influence, as gas
outbursts investigation showed from Panshan Mine in
Huainan, China (Fig. 3b). It may be paid much atten-
tion when the outburst predictions are done in BS coal
seam. Obviously, numerical simulation with correct
condition analysis is an efficient method to clarify the
formation and distribution of the localization band in
the coal-seam.
656
Figure 6. Localization changes with the variation of param-
eters.
It also found by simulation that relative strength of
coal and the X-velocity are two key factors to con-
trol the localization process. This corresponds to the
known thought in mining and geology study of BS.
The difference is that embedded depth was found to
be a strength influence.
4 CONCLUSIONS
To sum up, we have revealed the following points in
this paper:
1) The bedding slip in coal measure strata was sim-
plified as three seam model to be numerically
simulated with model of strain hardening & soften-
ing. Localization illustrated by es_plastic contour
might appear in the coal-seam condition that there
was enough gravity of overlying strata. The process
determined by horizontal in-situ stress and strength
of the coal-seam.
2) Simulation with variation of coal-seam parame-
ters may lead different pattern of localization in
the coal-seam. If X-velocity acts on the right side
match the Szz properly, the through localization can
be expected.
3) With deformed localization analysis, it rationally
explained the proneness to outburst of tectonic
 coal and its necessity. The outburst spots distri-
bution in coal-seam were found to correspond to
the localization zone. The conclusion is significant
and encouraging to the prediction and prevention
of outburst in BS coal seam.
Further study and model experiment should be car-
ried out on the theoretical calculation and analysis
about the deformed localization, which might be a
bridge to engineering application of results here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the collaborative
funding support from items of Chinese 973 project
(2009CB219603, 2006CB202209, 006CB202210,
2005CB221501), major items of Chinese national nat-
ural science foundation project (40874071, 50490271,
40672104), items of Chinese national support science
projects (2006BAK03B01), and China Postdoctoral
Science Foundation funded project (20080440442).
In particular we wish to thank Professor Zhaoping
MENG for his help on FLAC3D .
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Comparison of the 1999 Chi-Chi Mw 7.6 Earthquake and the 2008

Wenchuan MS 8.0 Earthquake

Y. Liu & S.B. Zhu

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA

ABSTRACT: p value in Omori’s law and the b value in G-R relation are probably the most broadly accepted
statistics in seismicity study. In this paper, we focused on the p and b values of two great earthquake sequences
occurred in China, the 1999 Chi-Chi Mw7.6 earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake. We calculated
both values of each sequence, analyzed some statistic characters of these values, compared them, and drafted
some features based on the calculation and comparison. By comparing the temporal variation of bvalue with
the moment cumulating, we found that almost each inflexion on the cumulative moment curve corresponded
to a sharp hop on the temporal fluctuation of b value. This might due to the fact that b value indicates stress
condition in the same region. Earthquake releases strain energy, causing stress to change. As a result, the temporal
undulation of b value may indicate the variation of stress condition. Furthermore, we attempted to explain the
different aftershock distribution pattern of the two earthquakes. The primary determinants, referring to geological
data, may be the trend and pattern of the fault system and stress state in the aftershock district.

1 INSTRUCTIONS with M as log Es ∼ dM (Ekstrom and Dziewonski,

The Sep 21, 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake
(Mw7.6) is the largest inland earthquake that occurred
in Taiwan in the 20th century, while the May 12, 2008
Wenchuan earthquake (Ms8.0) is the most affected
earthquake to China in the beginning of the 21st cen-
tury. In this study, we concentrated on two statistic
values p value and b value, whose variation respec-
tively relates to the stress and energy changes during
aftershock period. We found some proof to define the
relations. Another focus was the spatial distribution
difference between the Chi-Chi and the Wenchuan
aftershock sequences. By geological data, we found
that different stress conditions might be the main
reason.
For their strong physical significances, p and b val-
ues are considered as two important parameters in
seismicity study. They first emerged as parameters
in formulas which are used to quantitatively describe
the seismic activity. The first formula provided to
characterize the aftershock activity is in the form of
n(t) ∼ t −p (Omori, 1894). In this formula, the num-
ber of aftershocks n(t)has a relation with t (time from
the mainshock), and p value could be estimated as a
parameter through the fitting of relationship between
n(t) and t. Furthermore, this relation shows p value
as an indicator of energy release form. Gutenberg and
Richter (1944) showed a relation of log N versus M in
the form log N ∼ bM which first introduced b value.
In this formula, M is the earthquake magnitude and
N is the number of events with great magnitude than
a certain M . Because seismic energy released as elas-
tic wave during an earthquake increased exponentially
b/d
1988), so N ∼ Es . This reasoning suggested that b
value as a trace of variation of stress condition for the
energy released was strain energy, leading to changes
of stress condition.
There are plenty of studies searching for the physics
of p and b values. Mogi (1962) suggested that high
nonuniformity produces higher b value and stress
rapidly decreases after the mainshock and gradually
approaches a constant value. Scholz (1968) showed the
inverse relation of bvalue on stress, and suggested that
the aftershocks are produced by creep rupture due to
stress corrosion in the regions of stress concentration
following the mainshock.
Based on shallow events recorded by the Taiwan
Telemetered Seismographic Network (TTSN) from
1973 to 1984, the average b value was 1.04 ± 0.01
(Wang, 1988) in the Chi-Chi aftershock region. Jiang
(2008) studied the 2 month aftershock sequence of
the Wenchuan earthquake, believed that the p value
increased from about 0.1 to 1.0 during the two months
aftershock, then kept around 1.0 in accordance with
the global average. While the b value remained at 1.1
stably since the mainshock.
As the data we have was aftershock record, we
focused on analyzed and charted the p and b values
and their variations of both aftershock sequences in
this study.
2 DATA
The data we collected for each sequence was over
40,000 events, lasting over 400 days since mainshock.

659

Figure 1. Temporal vibration of Mc. Figure 1-a. for the
Chi-Chi aftershock sequences and Figure 1-b. for the
Wenchuan, calculated through Zmap.
The minimum magnitude of the record was 0.1.
The Chi-Chi aftershock region covered 120◦ ∼122◦ E,
22.5◦ ∼25◦ N, while the Wenchuan records covered
102.5◦ ∼106◦ E, 30◦ ∼33.5◦ N. The Chi-chi data was
recorded in the same format by local Taiwan stations,
so we made no processing with the magnitudes. But the
magnitudes of Wenchuan data was recorded in “Ms”
and “ML”, so we changed all the “ML” form into “Ms”
for calculation.
Figure 1. showed similar Mc ’s temporal vibrations
for both the Chi-chi and the Wenchuan aftershocks:
almost smooth fluctuation with some sharp protuber-
ances, and obvious tendency. Whereas there were some
distinctions: (1) Average Mc of the Chi-Chi sequence
was greater than that of the Wenchuan. (2) the Chi-
Chi’s Mc fluctuated around the average, while the
Wenchuan’s Mc decreased markedly as time passing.
It seemed that Chi-Chi’s aftershocks data was better
than the Wenchuan’s. The former was much stable,
with only few sharp points. While in Fig. 1-b, the
Wenchuan’s Mc kept falling down though there were
two distinct segments seemed to hang on a certain
value, one was around 1.0, the other 0.5. Actually, the
observation level in the Chi-Chi area was higher than
that in the Wenchuan area. Observation sites in the
Chi-Chi district retained stable and continuing during
the aftershock period, whereas the decreasing of the
Wenchuan’s Mc was probably due to installation of
temporary sites after the mainshock.
Figure 2. pictured the Mc s applied by Zmap using
Maximum Likehood method. The Wenchuan’s Mc was
much greater than that of the Chi-Chi’s, which means
the Wenchuan’s data was better than that of the Chi-
Chi’s. But the Wenchuan data seemed poor in Mc − t
(Fig. 1). This was because that during the period after
the Chi-Chi earthquake before the Wenchuan earth-
quake, average data observation standard increased
660
Figure 2. Mc. Figure 2-a for the Chi-Chi earthquake
sequence and Figure 2-b for the Wenchuan sequence, cal-
culated by Zmap.
quite a lot. Though the observation level changed
greatly as mobile stations successively been installed
after the mainshock, and the average accuracy of a
single observation could even concealed the inaccu-
racy attribute to the change of temporal observation
gaps, we would still distinguish the data quality from
the fitting result of each sequence. The straight red
lines in Fig. 2 presenting the fitting of Mc with the
actual observations. From this point of view, fitting
of the Chi-Chi sequence shown in Fig. 2-a seemed to
be more close to the real observation. And our later
analysis also proved this.
3 p VALUE
Omori’s law (1894) first expressed the rate of
aftershock occurrence following a major earthquake
decreases with time as
Utsu (1961) stated a more general version as
known as the modified Omori’ law, introducing p, and
an offset parameter c to account for observed behavior
shortly after the mainshock. In this study, we esti-
mated K, p and c, together with their uncertainties
using Confidential Interval method with Zmap.
Figure 3. showed the fitting results for both the
Chi-Chi and the Wenchuan sequences. In the first 100
days after mainshock, p value for the Chi-Chi events
seemed to be greater than that of the Wenchuan events.
When combined with the Cumulative moment curves
(Fig. 4) and temporal magnitude variation of after-
shock (Fig 5.), difference between two manners of
strain energy release was clear.The Chi-Chi sequence
was more like a swarm type, releasing energy by a
series of events of narrow magnitude gaps. While
the Wenchuan sequence was more like an isolated
type, with most of the strain energy releasing in the
mainshock. Until Nov, 29th, 2009, there were only 8
aftershocks in the Wenchuan aftershock region whose
Figure 3. Seismicity declining with time. Figure 3-a.
showed the fitting curve for the Chi-Chi sequence, p = 1.287.
Figure 3-b. showed the fitting for the Wenchuan sequence,
p = 1.14.

Figure 5. Magnitude-time. Figure 5-a. for the Chi-Chi

sequence. Figure 5-b. for the Wenchuan sequence.

Figure 4. Cumulative moment with time. Figure 4-a. for the

Chi-Chi sequence. Figure 4-b. for the Wenchuan sequence.

magnitude were great than M 6.0 and the greatest one

(Ms 6.4) occurred on May, 25th, 2008. Yet in the Chi-
Chi region till Dec, 2nd, 2000, 18 earthquakes greater
than M 6 occurred and the greatest one was on Nov,
1st, 1999 with magnitude of Mw 6.9. Mainshock of
the Chi-Chi sequence released about 40.7% of the
whole 450 day cumulative moment, but that figure was
98.4% in the 440 day Wenchuan sequence. This might
explained the phenomenon that the Chi-Chi sequence’s
p value is greater than that of the Wenchuan sequence.
The energy release pattern might also be a leading fact
for the aftershock distribution. We would talk about it
in the discussion part.
4 b VALUE
Gutenberg and Richter (1954) observed that the
annual frequencies of earthquake seemed linearly
related to the surface magnitude, with slopes differing
Figure 6. Vibration of b value with time. Figure 6-a. for the
Chi-Chi sequence. Figure 6-b. for the Wenchuan sequence.
depending on the depth of the event. Later researchers
have often used the relation
where N (m) is defined to be the number of earthquakes
of magnitude larger than m.
In this study, the b value’s temporal variations of
the two aftershock sequences were estimated on the
chosen Mc s ascertained in Fig. 2.
Figure 6. showed the temporal b value’s vibra-
tion of two sequences: strong fluctuation followed the
mainshock, but as time passing amplitude converged to

661

Figure 7. Comparison between the Wenchuan sequence’s b
value-time and Magnitude-time.
Figure 8. Comparison of Cumulative Moment and temporal
b value’ vibration.
a constant and fluctuated much smoothly. There were
some differences between two figures.
The envelop lines in Fig. 6-a was much closer to the
estimated b value than that in Fig. 6-b. There might be
two reasons to explain this. First, the variation of the
Wenchuan sequence’s b value was that much huge. But
this was hard to believe. Although the curve in Fig.6-a.
was much smoother, but events with magnitude higher
than M 6 were clearly reflected on it when compared
with Fig. 5-a. Second, due to the data quality. Mag-
nitudes of Wenchuan data was recorded in “ML” and
“Ms” forms, we did transform “ML”s into “Ms”s, but
inaccuracy caused was hard to evaluate. Besides, the
aftershock data covered a region of 320 km × 40 km,
so it’s not wise to describe the whole situation with a
single line.
We especially mapped Wenchuan’ Magnitude-time
and b value-time on one craft to chase some links but
no special founding (Fig. 7). When comparing Chi-
chi sequence’s the Magnitude-time figure and b value-
time figure, 28 events with magnitude greater than
M5.0 all pointed to an inflexion’s adjacent area on the
b value-time map (Fig. 9).
In Fig. 6-a, the fluctuation of the Chi-Chi ’s b value
turned to be mild in about 3 months since the main-
shock, while it took more than 5 months for that of
the Wenchuan’s in Fig. 6-b. The Wenchuan mianshock
is Ms 8.0 but Chi-chi is Mw 7.6, maybe more time
was needed for viscoelastic relaxation in the Wenchuan
aftershock region.
Fig. 4 showed that the Wenchuan sequences released
more energy than the Chi-Chi sequences. Whether
662
Figure 9. Chi-Chi sequence’s b value-time with Magnitude-
time.
Figure 10. Distribution of the Wenchuan aftershocks.
the Wenchuan aftershock region need more time for
stress adjustment still need more evidences. Earth-
quake releases strain energy, causing b value to change
(Scholz, 1968). The Chi-Chi sequence was more like
a Swarm-type earthquake, causing sharp changes on
b value. Through the comparison of the cumulative
moment and the temporal b value variation of the Chi-
Chi record, corresponding between the two was clear.
Each inflexion on the C. M (Cumulative Moment)
curve was followed by a rape increase on the temporal
b value curve.
5 DISCUSSION
The aftershock region of the Wenchuan earthquake
looks like a SW-NE trend bar, 320 km long and average
40 km wide, wider at SW end adjacent to the main-
shock about 50 km and narrower at the NE end about
30 km.That was too vast a region to describe by a single
b value’s variation. So, we didn’t compare the tempo-
ral aftershock magnitude distribution with temporal
b value’s vibration (Fig. 7) by details. Nevertheless,
there were still some corresponding points. This might
be explained by the calculation process of b value,

Figure 11. Distribution of the Chi-Chi aftershocks.
single large earthquake affect more on the determina-
tion of b value. b value’s change indicates variation of
stress, cumulative moment with time shows variation
of strain energy.
The strain energy release pattern might explain the
distribution form of the Wenchuan events, most energy
(about 98%) was released in the mainshock, creating
a huge ground rupture for more than 300 km long.
Most of the following events with magnitude greater
than Ms 5 occurred along the rupture, only 4 next to
the mainshock epicenter in the footwall. This pattern
suggested stress concentrated along the fault. More
evidence came from the geology data.
Longmen Shan region where the Wenchuan events
occurred was on the eastern margin of Tibetan plateau,
adjacent to the Sichuan basin.The characteristic topog-
raphy there was relief of 5,000 km over distances of
50 km, steep ever seen anywhere on the other edge of
plateaus. Vestige of high stress was significant in this
region, a set of large NE –trending faults parallel to
he eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau within a broad
zone of generally N-S shortening. Complex metamor-
phite mass indicated quondam deformation; thick fault
gouge added layer upon layer detected by well drilling
survey revealed several paleo-earthquakes on this fault
belt; slow slip rate demonstrated strain accumulation.
High strain state concentrated along the thrust belt.
Once a segment cracked, rupture expanded along the
fault, releasing most of the energy cumulated so long.
High strain concentration on a strip narrow fault belt
might be the best explanation for the distribution of
the Wenchuan aftershocks. Additionally, distribution
of the Chi-Chi events seemed to be normal, no more
reluctant.
6 CONCLUSION
Earthquake is a natural phenomenon of energy trans-
form. During an earthquake, accumulative strain
energy is transformed into frictional heat, fracture
energy and radiation energy of seismic wave
663
(Kanamori, 1994). The former two is hard to detect,
While the last one, seismic energy for short, is rel-
ative with magnitude. To estimate energy release in
an earthquake sequence, magnitudes of events alone
is not enough, quantity of the events in this sequence
should also be included. Just like b and p values who
indicate physics of a sequence though calculated as
statistic eigenvalues of the sequence. In this study, rela-
tions of b value’s variation with the stress change and
p value with energy release pattern were clear through
analysis and comparison of two great earthquakes. Fur-
thermore, our point that trend of fault system and
stress condition of aftershock district for these two
earthquakes was supported by some geological data.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The method of bound regression analyse of the initial geostress

field and its application

Shuxin Yang
Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, P.R. China
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R. China

Zhaoyi Xu & Mingzhou Bai

Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, P.R. China

Rui Yao
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: We propose a new synthetic finite element regression analysis for the determination of the
geostress field in engineering construction areas. In this method, numerical simulation, regression analyses and
a small number of actual measurement stress data are combined in a synthetic evaluation of the geostress field.
Stepwise regression is first performed to screen the major factors determining the geostress field and to ensure the
completeness and significance of these factors. Bound regression (regression with constraints) is subsequently
performed to analyze quantitatively the influence of each major factor on the geostress field and thus ensure
the accuracy of the results. As an experimental case study, the proposed method was applied to analyses of the
formation of the initial geostress field in the Baojiadian coal field, and the results were found to agree well with
actual conditions.

1 INTRODUCTION technical limitations, this method is only suitable

The geostress state of a construction area is a major
factor in determining engineering stability. Geologi-
cal hazards are usually closely related to the geostress
environment. With economic growth in China, there
are an increasing number of large engineering projects,
such as excavations of underground caverns, large
mining/oil fields, nuclear waste disposal projects,
and large hydraulic/hydroelectric facilities. Because
many of these projects involve a complicated high-
geostress environment, accurate information of the
geostress state of the construction area is critical
in project design. Therefore, better understanding of
the nature of rock/solid media and their interaction
with engineering architectures can provide scientific
knowledge as well as practical guidelines for the
rational design, construction, and operation of such
engineering projects.
The present tectonic stress field has been studied
from various perspectives, such as those of tectonic
evolution, crustal deformation, and focal mechanisms.
For a given location or area, these approaches can
provide the approximate direction of the principal
stress, but not the exact value of the stress. Cur-
rently, the tectonic stress field is mainly determined
by in situ stress measurement; however, because of
for measurement at a relatively small number of
positions.
The analysis of the geostress field is complicated
as various interactive factors are involved. Before the
1950s, geostress field analyses were mainly based
on Heim’s hydrostatic theory or Dinnik’s elastic
theory; these two rock-gravity-based theories have
been used in engineering design for a long period.
In the 1960s, the geostress field was often semi-
quantitatively described on the basis of the synthetic
evaluation of measurement results. Since the 1970s,
numerical modeling methods such as finite element
analysis (FEA) have been introduced to the study of
crustal stress fields. As a result, various new meth-
ods that relate stress measured at individual positions
to the field stress have been developed, including the
boundary load adjustment method, stress–dislocation
regression analysis, stress measurement-based regres-
sion analysis, stress function trend analysis, genetic
algorithms, neural-network-based analyses, and gray
analysis.
In this study, we developed a new analysis method
by combining stepwise regression and bound (condi-
tional) regression in an attempt to more accurately
analyze geostress fields in engineering construction
areas.

665
2 PRINCIPLES OF BOUND REGRESSION These regression equations can be equivalently
ANALYSIS expressed by matrices. Let

2.1 Approach
The formation of a tectonic stress field is influ-
enced by many factors such as the tectonic process,
lithology of the geological mass, topography, geo-
morphology, and self-weight of the rock. Thus, the
geostress measurement data reflect the combination
of these factors. Regression inversion of the geostress
field is the modeling of the contributions of these fac-
tors. We propose here synthetic regression analysis
comprising four steps: (1) constructing a numerical
FEA model based on topographical/geological data;
(2) setting initial loads using potential contributing
factors (e.g. rock gravity, tectonic action) as undeter-
mined factors; analyzing the FEA model and obtaining The regression equations can then be written as
multiple regression equations for the relationships
between the undetermined factors and measurement
data; (3) solving the coefficient for each undetermined 2.2.2 Stepwise regression analysis
factor employing statistical methods; screening factors The basic idea of stepwise regression is that although
and ensuring their completeness and significance by all candidate factors can contribute to the geostress
stepwise regression; ensuring the validity and reliabil- field, not every factor necessarily contributes signifi-
ity of each selected factor through bound regression cantly; thus, the contributions of some factors may be
analyses; (4) multiplying the initial load setup for each neglected.
undetermined factor by its coefficient, and feeding the On the above basis, stepwise regression analyses
product back to FEA modeling; summing the results involve the following procedures. Each undetermined
into a geostress field with minimal residue from the factor is tested; if its partial regression sum of squares
measurement data. is found to be significant, it is included. Addition-
ally, with the inclusion of each new undetermined
2.2 Fundamentals of regression analysis factor, the already-included factors are retested one-
by-one, and any factor that fails to show significance
2.2.1 Multiple linear regression equations is excluded. By this repeated screening, the remain-
A multiple linear regression is expressed as ing factors are ensured to be significant and the
combination of these factors is considered optimal.
This stepwise regression can be mathematically
described by
where β0 , β1 , β2 ,. . . βm are coefficients of unknown
values, σ is the actual stress, and σ1 , σ2 , . . .σm are the
simulation values of the candidate contributing fac-
tors. ε represents a random error, and its mathematical where the meaning of Y, X, β, and ε are the same as in
expectation and mean variance are (4). We assume that there are i undetermined factors,
denoted σ1 , σ2 , . . .σi , and n measurement data, denoted
σk1 , σk2 ,. . .σkm (k = 1, 2,. . .n). We can then write:

We assume that there are n geostress data (recorded

at n positions) denoted σk . The corresponding simula-
tion values of the m candidate factors at these points
are expressed as σk1 , σk2 , σk3 ,. . .σkm (k = 1, 2,. . .n). A
group of equations can then be written:
If a new undetermined factor, U , is to be added, and
its coefficient is δ and the corresponding information
vector is Un×1 , then expression (5) becomes

where ε1 , ε2 , . . .εn are identically and independently We note that (5) and (6) differ only in terms of the
distributed, and have a mean value of zero and a number of undetermined factors; the actual geostress
variance of ρ2 . field and measurement data remain unchanged.

666
 We denote the least-squares estimation associated where In is an identity matrix; the meanings of
with the model described by (5) as β∗ , and the residual Y, X, β, and ε are the same as in (4). H and C are
sum of squares as Q. For the model described by (6), expressed by
we denote the least-squares estimation of β as βu∗ , and
the estimation of δ as δ∗u . Moreover, we denote the
corresponding residual sum of squares as Q(U ). We
can then write

where hij is a linear constraint coefficient and ci

(i = 1, 2,. . .q; j = 1, 2, . . . m) is a constant.
Moreover, the rank of matrix H is

The estimation of β can be determined employ-

ing the least-squares method, and the corresponding
residual sum of squares is expressed as
where

The minimum value of the following function (8)

can then be determined employing the Lagrangian
multiplier method.

We then decide whether this new factor U should

be added to the existing subset of factors by testing the In (8), λ is an undetermined q-dimensional vector
hypothesis H0 : δ = 0. known as the Lagrangian multiplier. Correspondingly,
The following statistical measure is used as the βH∗ and λ∗H are also solved.
criterion for the decision.

U
RY

where δ∗ = .
U
RU
If F > Fα (1, n − i − 1), H0 is rejected, and the factor
U should be added. Otherwise, it should not. where β∗ = (X
X )−1 X
Y is the solution of the least-
The above procedures are repeated to add new squares analysis without constraints.
factors or exclude already-included factors until no We consider that
addition or exclusion is possible.

2.2.3 Bound regression analysis

In the regression model described above (Y = X β + ε),
there is no restriction on β; in reality, however, some
properties of unknown factors are known, such as the It is clear that the above expression has a minimum
density of a rock body and the approximate direction value when β = βH∗ . In addition, because
of the principal tectonic stress in a region. It is clear
that better use of this information can make the regres-
sion analysis more accurate and reliable. Logically, this
requires an appropriate constraint on β. Therefore, we
propose the following bound linear regression model.
βH∗ is the least-squares estimation of β at which Q
is a minimum under the constraint of H β = C.
Tests of the significance of regression equations:
We consider the model

667
 The hypothesis to be tested is
The F statistic is expressed as
where
The hypothesis is rejected if the computed F is
greater than the threshold value.
3.2 Factors in regression analyses
and simulation
Tectonic analyses and geostress (Table 1) measured
by overcoring (Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China
Seismological Bureau, Beijing, China) showed that
the maximum present principal compressive stress
was approximately along the east–west direction (the
x-axis on the map). Because the topographic relief of
the coal field was limited, the four boundary surfaces
(east, west, south, and north) were regarded as the
principal stress planes.
Considering the characteristics of the field, the self-
weight (gravity) of a rock body, rh (Figure 2a), and
horizontal tectonic actions, P1 and P2 (Figure 2b),
were selected as the candidate factors for regression.
The stresses contributed by these three factors were
denoted σrh , σP1 , and σP2 .

3 EXPERIMENTAL CASE STUDIES

The principles and methods presented above, com-
bined with a small number of geostress measurement
data, were applied to the analyses of the three-
dimensional geostress field in the Baodian coal field,
as well as analyses of the stability of associated mining
engineering.
3.3 Regression analyses
3.3.1 Regression equations
There were n measurement data, denoted σk
(k = 1, . . .n). The simulation values for the different
measurement points were determined by FEA based
Table 1. In-situ measurements of rock stress.

3.1 Computation model Principal Stress Azimuth Dip angle

Point stress (MPa) (◦ ) (◦ )
A three-dimensional mesh model was constructed for
the FEA modeling (Figure 1). The model was 5500 m 1 Maximum principal 10.29 92.1 5.70
wide (east to west), 10,000 m long (north to south), and stress σ1
0–3500 m deep. P1 and P2 indicate the ground posi- 1 Intermediate principal 8.21 339.2 75.3
tions of two geostress measurement points (#1 and #2). stress σ2
1 Minimum principal 4.02 183.5 13.5
In the geostress field analyses, geological features in
stress σ3
the field (the Damachang fault, Xinghang anticline, 2 Maximum principal 10.29 91.9 5.3
Yanzhou syncline, Baojiachang anticline, and Xiao- stress σ1
nanhu syncline) as well as boundaries (the Huangpu 2 Intermediate principal 7.75 281.5 84.6
fault and Majialou fault) were taken into account. In stress σ2
addition, the properties of seven stratum media (Q, J3, 2 Minimum principal 4.03 182.0 1.0
P1, Coal 3, C3, C2, fault) (Table 2) were incorporated stress σ3
in the analyses.
*: Azimuth: north is 0◦ , north and east are positive.
**: Dip angle: horizontal is 0◦ , upward is positive and down-
ward is negative.
***: Components of stress are listed in Table 3.

Table 2. Mechanical properties of the geological media.

Modulus of Poisson’s
Medium elasticity (MPa) ratio

Quaternary stratum (Q) 15 0.30

Jurassic stratum (J3) 5500 0.23
Permian stratum (P1-1) 9500 0.20
Permian stratum (P1-2) 4700 0.21
Coal seam 3 (Coal 3) 1000 0.36
Carboniferous system (C3) 10000 0.21
Carboniferous system C2 17000 0.20
Fault (F) 1650 0.35
Figure 1. Three-dimensional mesh model for FEAs.

668
on the models shown in Figures 2 and 3, and denoted
σkrh , σKP1 , and σKP2. A basic equation was then written:
where brh , bp1 , and bp2 were the assumed coeffi-
cients for the gravity (rh) and tectonic actions (P1 and
P2), which were to be determined by regression; ek
was the estimation of error.
3.3.2 Regression calculations
Twelve measurement data of stress (σk in Table 3, nega-
tive values indicating compression and positive values
indicating tension) were used for the calculations. The
FEA-simulated values were calculated on the basis of
the models depicted in Tables 2a and 2b, as shown in
Table 3.
Figure 2. Model of rock gravity.
(1) Stepwise regression analyses and results
The rock gravity and tectonic actions were ana-
lyzed by stepwise regression; P1 was included and
P2 was excluded. The coefficient for rock gravity,
brh , was determined by regression to be 1.010308; the
coefficient for tectonic action P1, bp1 , was 0.870040;
the coefficient for tectonic action P1, bp2 , was zero;
and the constant, b0 , was 0.003659. The correspond-
ing multiple correlation coefficient (R) was 0.99615.
The results of analyses of variance (for testing the
significance of regression equations) are listed in
Table 4.
Evaluation of regression results:
First, the coefficient for rock gravity, 1.010308, was
close to the expectation, 1, indicating that the con-
tribution of gravity was stable and that the values of
bulk densities were appropriately selected. Second, the
multiple correlation coefficient, R, was substantially
greater than the threshold value (R0.05 = 0.5324); the
measure of significance, the F-value, was 581.090,
also far greater than the threshold value (F0.05 = 3.89),
indicating that the results of the regression analyses
were significant. Additionally, these findings indi-
cated that the inclusion of gravity and tectonic actions
as the major factors in the formation of the geostress
field was justified and consistent with the geological
history of the coal field.
(2) Bound regression analyses and results
Considering that the geostress field of the coal
field was dominated by the three factors analyzed in
the above stepwise regression, other factors could be
neglected; thus, b0 = 0.0. In addition, since the values

Table 4. Analysis of variance.

Source of Degrees of Sum of Mean

variance freedom squares square F-value

Regression 2 223.43030 111.71520 581.090

Residue 9 1.73026 0.19225
Total 11 225.16056 111.90745
Figure 3. Model of tectonic action.

Table 3. Results of the regression analysis.

FEA simulated stress values

Stress Measured Regressed
component stressσk (Mpa) σkrh (Mpa) σkp1 (MPa) σkp2 (MPa) stress σk

σk − σk

σx −10.250 −2.4516 −9.0669 −1.4515 −10.362 −0.112

σy −4.260 −2.4692 −1.9197 −6.6367 −4.161 0.099
σz −10.100 −9.1809 −0.0030 −0.0040 −9.275 0.825
τxy 0.200 0.0018 0.0042 −0.0493 0.042 −0.158
τyz −0.150 0.0095 −0.0074 −0.0047 −0.012 0.138
τzx −0.060 −0.0025 0.0014 −0.0032 0.002 0.062
σx −10.260 −2.2812 −9.0418 −1.4760 −10.168 0.092
σy −4.040 −2.3308 −1.9640 −6.9250 −4.060 −0.020
σz −7.770 −8.6082 0.0351 0.0521 −8.663 −0.893
τxy 0.217 −0.0104 −0.0064 −0.0094 −0.106 −0.323
τyz −0.050 −0.0200 −0.0041 0.0050 −0.020 0.030
τzx −0.235 −0.0140 0.0400 0.0119 0.024 0.259

669
 Figure 5. Distribution of maximum principal stress on the
coal seam roof.

Figure 4. Variation of the stress components with depth

through P1.

of rock densities were confirmed to be appropriate, the

contribution of rock gravity to the geostress field was
well defined; thus, brh = 1.0.
Bound regression analyses were performed with
these two constraints. The regression coefficients
obtained for the three factors (brh , bp1 , bp2 ), denoted
b0 , brh , bp1 , and bp2 , were 0.00, 1.00, 0.882, and
0.002, respectively. The F-value was calculated to
be −1.619, which is less than the threshold value
of F0.05 (3,11-3-1) = 4.35, indicating that the restraints
were valid. Each regression coefficient was then multi-
plied with the initial value of the corresponding factor
and fed back to the FEA model for the calculation
of the bound-regressed geostress field. The calculated
stress values, σk
, and their deviation from the actual
measurement data, (σk − σk
), are listed in Table 3.
3.4 Patterns of the geostress distribution
A multiple correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9615 indi-
cated the significance of regression analyses, and
also that the rock gravity and tectonic actions were
indeed the major factors in the formation of the ini-
tial geostress field in the coal field. The two types
of factors contributed differently at different locations
(or depth), and thus formed a geostress field with a
pattern of features. Within the shallow region (above
−400 m), the contribution of tectonic actions domi-
nated and the contribution of gravity was secondary. In
contrast, in deeper regions (below −700 m), the contri-
bution of gravity was dominant and the tectonic actions
secondary (Figure 4.).
With contributions from both gravity and tectonic
forces, the geostress field at the mining field was
clearly affected by the geological features including
the distribution of faults and coal seams, where the
values of the principal stresses decreased and the direc-
tion of a principal stress deviated, to certain degrees,
toward the normal of the fault or coal seam plane.
Figure 6. Direction of the principal stress on the coal seam
roof.
The magnitude and direction of maximum principal
stress on the coal seam roof (the plane 30 m above the
upper surface of the coal seam) is shown in Figures 5
and 6. It is clearly seen that the stress at the seam roof
was affected by faults, folds, and the burial depth.
4 CONCLUSIONS
1) A new synthetic finite element regression analysis
combining stepwise regression and bound regres-
sion was developed for the practical and more
accurate analysis of geostress fields in engineering
construction areas.
2) The new method was applied to analyses of the
Baojiadian coal field. Results show that results
obtained with the model, theoretical analyses, and
calculation methods were consistent with actual
measurement data.
3) Analyses of the Baojiadian coal field employing
the new method show that the initial geostress field
was mainly determined by the rock gravity and tec-
tonic actions. The contributions of the two types
of factors differed at different positions (or depths)

670
 and thus generated a geostress field pattern. The
tectonic actions dominated in the shallow region,
and rock gravity dominated in the deeper regions.
4) Analyses revealed the general characteristics of the
geostress field in the Baojiadian coal field. The
geostress field was substantially affected by the
distribution of faults and coal seams; at these geo-
logical features, the magnitudes of the principal
stresses decreased and the direction of a principal
stress tended to deviate toward the normal of the
fault or coal seam plane.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the research grant from
Institute of Crustal Dynamics (ZDJ2007-1) and
the Ministry of Science and Technology, China
(SinoProbe-06).
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Prediction of the time dependent in-situ pressure of soft rock using multiple
regression approach, artificial neural network, and adaptive network-fuzzy
inference system

R. Doostmohammadi
Mining Engineering Department, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran

M. Moosavi
School of Mining Engineering, The University of Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Soft ground is a non-linear material with time-dependent characteristics. It causes major prob-
lems of supporting both during construction and during the operational life of an underground excavation due
to swelling and squeezing phenomenon. Therefore, it is worth monitoring the swelling and squeezing behavior
of soft grounds in underground excavations. Compensation method is one of the most famous methods for
determining the in-situ pressure of such ground on support systems. The study presented herein aims to predict
the variant stress of concrete lining due to time dependent pressure of soft rock based on the closure of pine
distances before and after making the slots in compensation method. In order to establish predictive models,
statistical and soft computing techniques such as multiple regression approach (MRA), artificial neural network
(ANN) and adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were used, and prediction performances were
then analyzed.

1 INTRODUCTION pressure of soft rock using statistical and soft comput-

Tunneling through soft rocks often encounters a
gradual change in tunnel wall displacement or rock
pressure during and after excavation. If structures
like lining are installed in the tunnel, displacement
will cause a pressure behind the structure. This time-
dependent phenomenon results mainly from two basic
factors, swelling and squeezing. According to Barla
(1995), squeezing is the time dependent large deforma-
tion of a rock mass, which occurs around a tunnel, and
is essentially associated with creep caused by exceed-
ing a limiting shear stress. He proposes that ‘Defor-
mation may terminate during construction or continue
over a long time period (Dalgic, 2002). Swelling is a
combination of physico-chemical reactions involving
water and stress relief (ISRM, 1983). In argillaceous
rocks (i.e. mudstone, shale, etc), swelling is caused by
one or a combination of three mechanisms: mechan-
ical, osmotic and intracrystalline (Einstein, 1996).
Such time dependent behavior of rock masses causes
considerable damage to the structures constructed in
them. Consequently, determining the pressure of such
rocks has been the topic of numerous investigations
in recent years. Compensation method is one of the
most famous methods for determining the in-situ pres-
sure of soft ground and support systems (i.e. concrete
liner). The study presented herein aims to predict the
variant stress of concrete lining due to time dependent
ing techniques. The results of compensation tests at
Masjed-Soleiman Underground Hydro Electric Power
Plant (UHEPP) were used to describe and verify the
mentioned methods.
2 COMPENSATION METHOD
The test method is based on inducing an artificial
condition of stress-relief in the lining with a saw cut
and taking simultaneous measurements of the result-
ing deformation. This deformation is then reversed
again by applying a compensation pressure with suit-
able loading devices. Basically, the stress required to
recover the convergence of the slot is equivalent to the
original stress. As the first step, measuring pins are
cemented on the surface of the concrete lining in an
appropriate arrangement on both sides of the planned
cut. The distances between the pins are recorded by
an accurate displacement sensor (reading accuracy
±1 µm). Following the zero measurement, a slot is cut
with a diamond-tipped circular saw blade. Hydraulic
pressure cell (flat-jack) is inserted into the slot and
is connected with a hydraulic pump fitted to a preci-
sion manometer. Finally, the flat jack is loaded until
the relief-induced deformations are compensated. The
measured pressure in the flat jack is converted into
the lining stress considering the shape factor Km

673
(dependent on the shape of the flat jack) and the pres-
sure level as well as the geometric factor Ka . The
conversion is done by the following equation:
where; σn = Tangential stress at a distance of 5 cm
from the outer edge of the lining surface; P = Oil pres-
sure in the flat jack at full compensation; Km = Shape
factor of the used flat jack; Ka = Ratio of flat jack area
to cut area.
This process is followed by drawing pressure-
deformation curve. The purpose of the models
described here is to examine the potential of using
statistical and soft computing methods for predict-
ing pressure-deformation relation in compensation
method. Engineer can use the mentioned curve and
then calculate the time dependent pressure of ground
using analytical or numerical methods.
3 MASJED-SOLEIMAN UHEPP AND
MONITORING THE GROUND PRESSURE
Masjed-Soleiman UHEPP is being constructed by
the Iranian Water and Power Resources Development
Company on Karun River in South West Iran. Rocks
at the underground power plant site are members of
unit V of the Bakhtiari formation. Mudstones are silt-
stones and claystones.Two sequences of sedimentation
can be recognized at site from an undulating contact
between the mudstone and the overlying conglomerate
layer. Several mudstone layers in unit V are separated
by sandstone and conglomerate layers and lenses with
variable thickness. At 43 meters from the entrance
to the ventilation tunnel (VT) of the UHEPP, the
mudstone daylights in one clearly distinguished layer
(Figure 1). During the design stage of the project, the
mudstone was identified as being a swelling rock. This
has been confirmed by further excavations, particu-
larly when the mudstone became exposed (Anagnosti
et al., 2002). In order to monitor the swelling pressure
of mudstone on concrete lining, two sections of venti-
lation tunnel (VT) were selected to install 10 flat-jacks
(Figure 1). The stress measurements in the ventilation
gallery have been executed according to section 2 and
have been evaluated according to the explanations in
equation 1.
4 CONCEPT OF ANN
ANN modeling is a relatively new non-linear statisti-
cal technique. It can be used to solve problems that are
not fit for conventional statistical methods. Recently,
there has been increasing interest in neural network
modeling in different fields of rock mechanics (Shahin
et al., 2001). A neural network consists of simple
synchronous processing elements, called “neurons”,
which are inspired by biological nerve systems. The
neurons are connected to each other by links with their
674
Figure 1. Geology of the VT and Flat-jacks position (cross
section).
own weight factors or “weights”. Usually neural net-
works are trained by adjusting the values of the weights
of the links between neurons, so that the network will
fit its outputs as closely as possible to the represented
experimental data. During training, the weight of a
link multiplied by the input signal on that link defines
the activation of the neuron. The sum of the activa-
tions of all inputs of a neuron defines the value of the
output signal for that neuron via a transfer function.
Then calculated outputs are compared with the targets
and the differences between them are back-propagated
through the network. This process continues in epochs
until network outputs fit the targets. Once the network
is trained, the weight factors are fixed and the neural
network may be used to calculate the output for any
arbitrary set of input data. A network is usually trained
using a large number of input data with corresponding
outputs (input/output pairs).
The design of an ANN includes the choice of archi-
tecture, training functions and training algorithms. The
architecture of a network is depicted by the number of
hidden layers in the network, the number of neurons
and the transfer function in each layer, and how the
layers are connected to each other. The nature of the
problem determines the type of neural network (NN)
to be used. The most commonly used NN architec-
ture is the feedforward hierarchical architecture. Such
architecture is shown schematically in figure 2, where
the number of neurons in the input and output layers is
constrained by the problem and the outputs required by
it, respectively, while the number of hidden layers and
the size of the layer is determined by the designer. Here
the neurons are ordered in layers and the information
is processed in one direction, from input to output. The
learning rule is a procedure for modifying the weights
and biases of the network. This procedure may also
be referred to as a training algorithm. The learning
rule is applied to train the network to perform some
particular task. Learning rules fall into two broad cate-
gories, supervised learning and unsupervised learning.

Figure 2. A feed forward network having three layers.
Figure 3. The general structure of the fuzzy Inference
System.
In supervised learning, the learning rule is provided
with a known input–output set of data. The known
output data are considered as the target output of the
network. As the inputs are applied to the network, the
network outputs are compared with the targets. The
learning rule is then used to adjust the weights and
biases of the network to move the network outputs
closer to the targets. There are numerous variations on
the basic algorithm, which are based on other standard
optimization techniques, such as conjugate gradient,
Newton and Levenberg–Marquardt methods. Properly
trained back propagation networks tend to give rea-
sonable answers when presented with inputs that they
have never seen (Zurada, 1992). Moosavi and Doost-
mohammadi (2006) have used ANN for predicting the
pressure-deformation of solids in flat jacks.
5 CONCEPT OF ANFIS
The fuzzy logic approach is based on the linguistic
uncertain expression rather than numerical uncer-
tainty. The main problem with this approach is that
there is no systematic procedure for a design of fuzzy
controller. Basically a fuzzy inference system (FIS) is
composed of five functional blocks (Figure 3).
– A rule base containing a number of fuzzy if-then
rules;
– A database which defines the membership func-
tions of the fuzzy sets used in the fuzzy rules;
– A decision-making unit which performs the infer-
ence operation on the rules;
– A fuzzification inference which transforms the
crisp inputs into degrees of match with linguistic
values;
– A defuzzification interface which transform the
fuzzy results of the inference into a crisp output.
FIS implements a nonlinear mapping from its input
675
space to the output space. This mapping is accom-
plished by a number of fuzzy if–then rules, each
of which describes the local behavior of the map-
ping. The parameters of the if–then rules (referred
to as antecedents or premises in fuzzy modeling)
define a fuzzy region of the input space, and the
output parameters (also consequents in fuzzy mod-
eling) specify the corresponding output. Hence, the
efficiency of the FIS depends on the estimated
parameters. The rule structure of a FIS makes it
possible to incorporate human expertise about the
system being modeled directly into the process to
decide on the relevant inputs, the number of mem-
bership functions (MFs) for each input, etc., and
the corresponding numerical data for parameter
estimation.
Jang (1993) introduced a novel architecture and
learning procedure for the FIS that uses a neural net-
work learning algorithm for constructing a set of fuzzy
if–then rules with appropriate membership functions
from the stipulated input–output pairs. This procedure
of developing a FIS using the framework of adaptive
neural networks is called an adaptive network-based
fuzzy inference system.
ANFIS is a Sugeno-type FIS. The general structure
of the ANFIS is presented in Figure 4. It is assumed
that the FIS has two inputs x and y and one output z.
suppose that the rule base contains two fuzzy if-then
rules of Takagi and sugeno’s type:
WhereA1 ,A2 and B1 , B2 are the membership functions
for inputs x and y, respectively; p1 , q1 , r1 and p2 , q2 ,
r2 are the parameters of the output function. Figure
4(a) illustrates the fuzzy reasoning mechanism for this
Sugeno model to derive an output function (f) from a
given input vector [x,y]. The corresponding equivalent
ANFIS architecture is presented in Figure 4(b), where
nodes of the same layer have similar functions. The
functioning of the ANFIS is as follows:
Layer 1: Each node in this layer generates member-
ship grades of an input variable. The node output OPi1
is defined by:
Where x (or y) is the input to the node; Ai (or Bi−2 )
is a fuzzy set associated with this node, characterized
by the shape of the MFs in this node and can be any
appropriate functions that are continuous and piece-
wise differentiable such as Gaussian, generalized bell,
trapezoidal and triangular shaped functions. Assuming

Figure 4. Schematic of fuzzy and neurofuzzy paradigm: (a)
fuzzy inference system and (b) equivalent ANFIS architec-
ture.
a generalized bell function as the MF. The output OPi1
can be computed as:
Where {ai , bi , ci } is the parameter set that changes
the shapes of the membership function with maximum
equal to 1 and minimum equal to 0.
Layer 2: Every node in this  layer multiplies the
incoming signals, denoted as , and the output OPi2
that represents the firing strength of a rule is computed
as:
Layer 3: The ith node of this layer, labeled as N,
computes the normalized firing strengths as:
Layer 4: Node i in this layer computes the contribu-
tion of the ith rule towards the model output, with the
following node function:
where wi is the output of layer 3 and {pi , qi , ri } is the
parameter set.
Layer 5: The single node in this layer computes the
overall output of the ANFIS as:
The parameters for optimization in an ANFIS are the
premise parameters {ai , bi , ci }, which describe the
676
shape of the MFs, and the consequent parameters
{pi , qi , ri }, which describe the overall output of the
system. The basic learning rule of an adaptive network,
the back propagation algorithm which is based on
the gradient descent rule, can be successfully applied
to estimate these parameters. However, Jang (1993)
argues that the gradient descent method is generally
slow and is likely to get trapped in local minima.
Jang has proposed a faster learning algorithm, which
combines the gradient descent method and the least
squares estimate to identify parameters. A detailed
description of the method can be found in Jang and
Sun (1995). Doostmohammadi and Moosavi (2010)
have used ANFIS for determining the time dependent
behavior of weak rocks.
6 DEVELOPING THE STATISTICAL AND SOFT
COMPUTING MODELS FOR PREDICTING
PRESSURE-DEFORMATION CURVE
6.1 Database arrangement
The material properties around the slot may have a
very great influence on the measurement results in
certain circumstances as a result of irreversible defor-
mations during the production of the slot and during
the reloading procedure. In order to produce the mate-
rial properties and considering the shrinkage of the
concrete lining when hardening, it will be important
to introduce these effects to the network. Therefore,
the used data included:
– Pine distance of flat-jack’s position in a period (A).
– Difference of pin distance before making the slot
and immediately after making the slot (B).
– Induced deformation because of flat jack pressure
(C).
– Pressure of the flat jack (P).
The station information used for developing the
models is shown in Table 1.
For the purpose of training the recommended mod-
els, learning matrices including 707 patterns (based
on flat-jack testing in 10 stations during 11 reading
period as described at section 3) were chosen. To test
the models, a matrix was used involving 154 samples
from 10 stations not used in training. The characteris-
tics testing group used in testing are presented in Table
1 and were chosen with the intent to cover most of the
station parameters.
6.2 Developing and testing the ANN model
An ANN model including an input layer, a hidden layer
(including 3 hidden neurons), and an output layer was
developed for determining the pressure-deformation
relation, as shown in Figure 2. The network uses
a tansig activation function in hidden layer and a
purelin output function in output layer. A Levenberg-
Marquardt training combined with Bayesian regulari-
zation is used as a learning rule (Hagan and Menhaj,
Table 1. Station information used for developing the
models.

Station Testing
number Training data set data set

1-1 Jun2005, Aug2005, Sep2005, July2005,

Oct2005, Dec2005, Jan2006, Nov2005
Feb2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
1-2 Jun2005, Jul2005, Aug2005, Sep2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Jan2006
Feb2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
1-3 Jun2005, Jul2005, Sep2005, Aug2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Mar2006
Jan2006, Feb2006, Apr2006
1-4 Jul2005, Aug2005, Sep2005, Jun2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Jan2006, Dec2005
Feb2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
1-5 Jun2005, Jul2005, Aug2005, Jan2006
Sep2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Oct 2005
2-1 Jun2005, Jul2005, Aug2005, Oct2005,
Sep2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Feb2006
Jan2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
2-2 Jun2005, Aug2005, Sep2005, Jul2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Apr2006
Jan2006, Feb2006, Mar2006
2-3 Jun2005, Jul2005, Sep2005, Aug2005,
Oct2005, Dec2005, Jan2006, Nov2005
Feb2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
2-4 Jun2005, Jul2005, Aug2005, Sep2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Jan2006
Feb2006, Mar2006, Apr2006
2-5 Jul2005, Aug2005, Sep2005, Jun2005,
Oct2005, Nov2005, Dec2005, Mar2006
Jan2006, Feb2006, Apr2006

1994). To achieve the best performance of the net-

work, the input and output data were normalized with
respect to the corresponding maximum values. This
constrains the input and output values of network
between −1 and +1. Training of the network was con-
tinued until convergence was achieved in sum squared
error (sse) and sum squared weights (ssx). The ANN
model was used to predict the flat jack pressure of
the stations according to concrete liner deformation.
Samples of Pressure-deformation relation as predicted
by the ANN model are presented in Figure 5. It can
be observed that ANN is efficient in predicting the
pressure-deformation relation.
6.3 Developing and testing the ANFIS model
The ANFIS model for predicting the ground pressure
is developed following the procedure described in Sec-
tion 5. The FIS used in developing the ANFIS model,
can be viewed as a partition in the multidimensional
feature space, where the number of partitions in each
dimension corresponds to the number of fuzzy sets
and the corresponding membership function that is
defined in that dimension. Consequently, the input
space partitioning plays a major role in the optimal
architecture of the model. The number of membership
Figure 5. Samples of pressure-deformation relation as
predicted by the ANN model and real data.
functions (MFs) associated with each input variable
is fixed by trail and error. In the present study, two
bell shape membership functions have been assigned
to each input variable. Each input variable is classified
into two fuzzy categories with linguistic attributes.
The initial values of the premise parameters are set
in such a way that the centers of the MF are equally
spaced along the range of each input variable. The
model structure is implemented using the fuzzy logic
toolbox of MATLAB software package. The hybrid
algorithm used in the present study for optimizing
the parameters allows a fast identification of parame-
ters and substantially reduces the time needed to reach
convergence. The minimum checking error is used as
the stopping criterion to avoid over fitting. Samples
of Pressure-deformation relation as predicted by the
ANFIS model are presented in Figure 5, also. It can
be observed that ANFIS is efficient in predicting the
pressure-deformation relation.

677
Table 2. Correlation index (corr), root mean square error
(rmse) and error bias (bias) between the measured and those
predicted by the ANN, MRA and ANFIS techniques.
corr rmse bias
ANN 0.9130 0.0811 0.0059
ANFIS 0.9220 0.0768 0.0002
MRA 0.8275 0.1129 0.0084
6.4 Developing and testing the MRA
Using regression approach has been a common method
for mapping the input and output variables. The same
training input data that used in ANN and ANFIS mod-
els were used here. Finally, the following equation was
developed:
P = 0.2452 − 0.0465.A + 0.0532.B + 1.2341.C
Testing result of the MRA is shown in figure 5. Results
show that MRA is inefficient in modeling the pressure-
deformation curve.
7 COMPARISON OF STATISTICAL AND SOFT
COMPUTING TECHNICS
The performance of the ANN, ANFIS and MRAmod-
els can be evaluated by statistical indices. The error
bias, root mean square error (rmse) and correlation
index (corr) are determined as follows:
Where x = forecasted values, y = measured values,
x = mean of forecasted values, y = mean of measured
values and N = number of datasets.
The performance capability of the mentioned tech-
niques was examined using the indices above between
the models predictions and the measured values con-
tained in the datasets. The results are shown in Table 2.
This comparison shows that the ANFIS method is an
effective way of modeling the pressure-deformation
curve at underground excavations with acceptable
accuracy.The lowest error and best correlation index of
the ANFIS model is comparable with other methods.
678
8 CONCLUSION
Time dependent pressure of soft rocks can result in
significant changes in the state of stress in support sys-
tem of underground excavations (i.e. concrete lining).
Prediction of this pressure can be assessed by deter-
mining the accurate relation of pressure-deformation
relation in field compensation test. This paper pro-
poses to use the information of pin distances before
and after drilling the slot in combination of soft com-
puting methods to predict the pressure-deformation
relation. Table 2 and Figure 5 show the comparison of
ANN, ANFIS and MRA results in predicting pressure-
deformation relation of the testing periods. It can be
noted that ANFIS models provide significant improve-
ments in memorizing the pressure-deformation rela-
tion over ANN and MRA. One of the most important
results of this research is eliminating the repetitive
closure measurements of compensation stations to
determine the pressure-deformation curve using the
proposed ANFIS model.
REFERENCES
Anagnosti, P., Beer, G., Brown, E.T. 2002. Masjed–Soleiman
HEPP panel of experts report. 45 pp.
Barla, G. 1995. Squeezing rocks in tunnels. Int. Soc. Rock
Mech., News J. 2: 44–49.
Gregorczyk, P., Lourenco, P.B. 2000. A review on flat-jack
testing”, Engenharia Civil 9: 39–50.
Dalgic, S. 2002. Tunneling in squeezing rock, the Bolu tun-
nel, Anatolian Motorway, Turkey. Engineering Geology
67: 73–96.
Doostmohammadi, R., Moosavi, M. 2010. Determining the
Time Dependent Pressure of Weak Rock using Adap-
tive Network Based Fuzzy Inference System. 3rd Iranian
mining engineering conference, yazd,Iran.
Einstein, H.H. 1996. Tunnelling in difficult ground-swelling
behaviour and identification of swelling rocks. Rock Mech
Rock Eng 28: 113–124.
Hagan, M.T., Menhaj, M.B., 1994. Training feedforward net-
works with the Marquardt algorithm. IEEE Trans. Neural
Netw. 5: 989–993.
ISRM, 1983. Characterisation of Swelling Rock. Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
Jang, J.S.R. 1993. ANFIS: Adaptive network based fuzzy
inference system. IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybernet 23:
665–683.
Jang, J.S.R., Sun, C.T. 1995. Neurofuzzy modeling and
control”, Proc IEEE. 83.
Moosavi, M., Doostmohammadi, R. 2006. Using Artifi-
cial Neural Networks to Predict Pressure-Deformation
of Solids with Flat Jacks. 4th International Asian Rock
Mechanics Symposium. Singapore.
Takagi, T., Sugeno, M. 1985. Fuzzy identification of systems
and its applications to modeling and control. IEEE Trans
Syst Man Cybernet 15: 116–32.
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West Publishing Company, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 683pp.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Feasible study of the application of stress measurement in mining

engineering to seismic monitoring system

Enrui Xue, Jianhua Guo, Yincang Wang, Hejia Wang

Changzhi Vocational College of Technology, Changzhi, Shanxi, China

ABSTRACT: “Relative Geodynamics” is first introduced briefly, which explains the irresistibility of the earth-
quake power source based on physical principles. Then, the basic idea for the continuous measurement of stress
in mines all over the country is proposed. Lastly, the calculation formulas of stress field is deduced, so that the
correctness of the process and the superiority of the boundary element back-analysis method are verified, taking
the calculation of a coal mine roadway an instance.

1 INSTRUCTION 1991. He held the opinion that the locomotion in the

Earthquake is the swift vibration of the crust in a short
time and one of the most serious disasters on the earth.
Earthquakes happen on earth everyday, and those can
be recorded by instruments are about 5 million times
per year [1]. ‘People have plenty of ways to research
the space, but have few accesses to earth’s deep inte-
rior’. We still face great difficulties to master the law
of earthquake by putting the instruments in the crust
to observe the epicenter directly. The earthquake phe-
nomenon is indeed very complex. There are still some
clues, however, indicating the existence of the win-
dow to have some insights of the earthquake rules.
As the earthquake prediction has the most direct and
effective capacity to reduce the destructive damage,
we shouldn’t give up any chance to find out the rules
of earthquake occurrence. Zhao Wenjin, a Chinese
Academy of Engineering academician, said: ‘I think
Mr. Li Siguang’s earthquake geology – earth stress
research is very promising.’
2 THE CAUSES OF EARTH STRESS
Due to a serious lack of the interpretation of physics
decades ago, geology study developed very slowly.
With the interdisciplinary study of physics, mathe-
matics, astronomy and other subjects, great academic
progress was made in the seismic science. In 1950s,
Hast (N. Hast) first carried out the work of earth
stress measurements in the Scandinavian Peninsula.
He found the maximum principal stress in the upper
crust is almost or close to the horizontal level [2]. In
1960s, the Theory of Plate Tectonics has been put for-
ward and acknowledged. However, the driving force
of plate movement mechanism is still an unresolved
issue. Ge, Baomin proposed the Geodynamics Rela-
tive Movement Theory in his book ‘Earth Evolution’in
lithosphere can be used as the driving force of plate
movement. The fundamental points of the Theory of
Relative Geodynamics [3] are: the Earth can be divided
into the outer ring (including the lithosphere and other
spheres), inner ring (including the mantle ring, ring
of the liquid outer core, solid core) and the transition
spheres (asthenosphere), in which the Earth’s inner
circle, asthenosphere and lithosphere together consti-
tute the solid Earth. In the Earth’s geological evolution
period, the solid Earth works as a discrepancy rotating
movement system. Its rings as the basic unit of move-
ment made relative motion in a large-scale, in which
the most important and prominent movement is the rel-
ative motion of lithosphere and the Earth’s inner ring.
The Earth’s inner ring accelerates continuously from
west to east, while the lithosphere in the surface of the
asthenosphere as a lubricant slows down the Earth’s
rotation from east to west. The slow rotation of the
Earth is in essence the slow rotation of the lithosphere.
As the lithosphere is a very thin spheres compared to
the Earth’s inner ring, especially the lithosphere is not
an ideal ‘rigid unit’, so the lithosphere will be broken
into the lithospheric blocks when it makes a large-scale
horizontal movement relative to the Earth’s inner ring.
The differences in rock mass’ quality, size, speed and
others exist, so that lithospheric blocks move relatively
and large-scale tectonic deformation emerged and its
power is irresistible.
China continental plates are pushed by external two
plates, namely, the Indian Ocean Plate and the Pacific
Plate and the pushing speed is a few centimeters per
year. They are also pushed and constrained by the
Siberian Plate and the Philippine Plate. Under such
boundary conditions, the plate deformed, resulting in
the horizontal compressive stress field. The movement
of Indian Ocean plate and the Pacific Plate led to the
formation of mountains in China and controlled the
distribution of China’s earthquake.

679
3 THE EXCAVATION STRESS
MEASUREMENT’S APPLICATION
IN SEISMIC MONITORING SYSTEM
3.1 The significance of mastering the state of
the earth stress
If people have no idea of the actual state of stress
in the engineering area, any calculations and analysis
will lose its authentic and practical value. At present,
experience is applied in the tunnel supporting work in
China and other countries as well. The majority of tun-
nel work in China depends on completely engineering
analogy method, which stays in a qualitative design
level. When the excavation activities are in a small
scale and in near-surface depth, engineering analogy
is often effective. But with the continued expansion of
excavation and to a deeper layer, the tunnel rock mass
system will become a dissipative structure system,
instead of a conservative system which is determined
only by the laws. The difference between the two sys-
tems is a process of the fluctuation. Some projects
result in failure when analogy method is used between
the similar projects due to the random fluctuation [4].
All design and construction of underground work must
be done under the known premise stress.
It is of great significance for earthquake prediction
and geodynamics research to bring stress measurement
when excavating the earth into the seismic monitor-
ing system. The average mining depth of China’s coal
mines is about 450 meters. There are 25 coal mines in
13 mines district whose depth is more than 800 meters.
Furthermore tens of thousands of non-coal mines form
the direct detection network into the Earth. If we can
start the work in all over the country at the same time,
we are likely to grasp the state of earth stress dis-
tribution. If we measure the stress continuously, it is
possible for us to obtain time-varying stress through-
out the country so that to establish a wide range of
stress database.
3.2 The feasibility of stress displacement
back-analysis method
A number of caverns are required to excavate some
chambers in advance so that people and equipments
can be put into the measuring point when the stress
is measured with instrument. However, as long as the
chamber is opened, the stress state of the surrounding
rock mass will be sure to be disturbed and it is impos-
sible to calculate and analyze precisely. Therefore, the
state of stress of the original rock mass derived in such
method is often inaccurate or even wrong. In addition,
the equipment to measure the stress is very expensive
and a lot of manpower and material is needed. The
very complex technical operations and the large dis-
creteness results make the information insufficient to
be used for the relevant departments.
With the application of computer technology in
geotechnical engineering, the numeric theory and
methods of rock and soil mechanics are maturing. In
which the displacement back analysis method, both
680
depending on the theories of engineering geology and
rock mechanics theory and on the geotechnical engi-
neering field measurements, is a bridge combining
theory with practice. The rock excavation changes the
boundary conditions and the rock excavation surface
will result in a corresponding deformation. The size of
deformation is a reflection of the geological parame-
ters and stress field scale of the rock mass. The method
which the original stress field is obtained reversely
according to the measured variable bit after excavation
is called stress back-analysis method. It is not only an
important means to obtain stress field, but a practical
approach to obtain the mechanical parameters of sur-
rounding rock and the original stress field reversely
as well, because the rock mass deformation after the
underground excavation is a comprehensive reflection
of the complex mechanical properties and the impact
of the original stress.
The outcome of the back-analysis is a macro-
generalization of the surrounding rock nature. The
state of stability of surrounding rock and deformation
prediction can be carried out according to this infor-
mation. Furthermore, the observations are carried out
during construction. They don’t need additional work-
load as in the common measurement of the stress, so
they are very economical.
4 THE PRINCIPLES OF STRESS FIELD
BACK-ANALYSIS
4.1 Basic principles
The displacement of stress acting on the roadway sur-
rounding rock is a problem of elastic plane strain when
rock mass is considered as a linear elastic medium.
The initial rock stress field exists in rocks and it redis-
tributes after the excavation and a new boundary is
generated. To maintain a constant state of stress before
and after excavation, an external force which is com-
patible with the original stress at the boundary of
the excavation zone is required, namely, the so-called
Reverse Force. The following stress field is obtained
by the reverse force σ ∗ superimposing the initial stress
field. (Figure 1)
4.2 The stress field back-analysis
Rock mass has self weight body force. The back-
analysis is based on the measured displacement and
it already contains the impact of a body force. There-
fore, when it is analyzed with the boundary element
method, it can be treated as it has no body force and
the result will be same as it has. Suppose the initial
rock stress field is a constant σij0 , then the initial stress
will redistribute after tunnel excavation. This problem
can be analyzed with imaginary loading method. The
boundary is divided into n units, and each unit is loaded
a imaginary loading fk (p). Then the stress field of
Figure 1. Mechanical model of underground excavation.
Figure 2. The relationship of the relative deformation
between the measured points.
imaginary loading formed in an infinite domain on
the excavation border should be consistent with the Equation (3) as a substitution:
condition of t i = 0, namely:

In which,
In which: nj (p) — p direction cosine of the unit
midpoint outside the normal.
Hik (p, q) — q Unit k units in the direction of
uniform force to the p element contribution to the mid- Note that in Gi (m) each item has the common factor
1
point of i the direction of balance force, it is called the E
, Equation (6) can be written as:
influence coefficient matrix.
Because of the boundary conditions, (2) can be
expressed in matrix form:

Equation (8) is the relationship between measured

Through last type, imaginary loading vector can be
deflection and standardization initial stress {σ 0∗ }. It
deduced as follows:
can be abbreviated as

For the three-dimensional, the direction cosine matrix

as follows: It’s easy to observe tunnel convergence value,
namely, the relative deformation of two points. Sup-
pose there are two points m1 and m2 , it changes
between uk (m1 ), uk (m2 ). Suppose lk is the direction
cosine values from m1 to m2 . The relative deflection
between two points is shown in Figure 2.

Initial stress is:

Or it can be expressed as:

The equation (3) is the imaginary loading impressed

by initial stress. The virtual displacement of any point
m obtained by imaginary loading is as follows:

A number of measured values of the relative defor-

mation can be written respectively in (11). It is
Written in matrix form integrated into a matrix form:

681
 [c] is the transition matrix of the absolute displace-
ment and relative displacement.
Put equation (9) as a substitution in equation (12):
in which
[K ∗ ] matrix has a unique determined value with a given
Poisson’s ratio. Poisson’s ratio ν has little effect on
stress distribution and its value range is small, too. For
the hard rock ν = 0.2, while the soft rock ν = 0.3∼0.4.
The number in equations (13) is equivalent to
the relative displacement measurement value. The
unknown number is the standard initial stress (There
are three two-dimensional problems.). The number of
the measured points is asked to be larger than or be
equal to the unknown number. If they are the same
number, then there is a unique solution. If the num-
ber of the measured points is larger than the unknown
number, then it is a contradictory equation, then the
optimal solution to the equation is the principle of least
square method.
When the standard initial stress is obtained, then all
components of the initial stress can be obtained when
the elastic modulus E or any value in the stress com-
0
ponents is known. It is generally believed that σ22 is
the weight of overlying rock. Suppose rR is the volume
weight of rock, H is the thickness of overlying rock,
then:
0
When σ22 is obtained, it is not difficult to obtain the
elastic modulus
When E is known, the equation [5] is resolved.
4.3 A brief introduction to the boundary element
method calculation program of stress field
back-analysis under the supporting conditions
The first author of this thesis programmed the bound-
ary element method calculation of stress field back-
analysis under the supporting conditions based on the
linear elastic boundary element method. With the rela-
tive displacement values after excavation as the input,
the program can calculate the whole site’s initial stress,
based on the established mathematical mode. The main
innovation points of this project are:
1. This Program changes the pattern of calculation of
the supporting and rock mass separately, and the
data collected in the supporting conditions can help
to calculate the original rock stress.
2. The back-analysis method is not the same when
under a supporting or non-supporting condition.
The way to solve this problem is only in the data
input and the two situations can be applied.
682
3. This program has the function of being analyzed
and back-analyzed. It can be calculated by using
known parameters and the calculated value of a
predetermined point can be output. So the program
also has the function of testing.
Industrial development has different stages from a
sense of science. After the basic theory of structural
mechanics and foundation has been used in the ground
construction, the ground structural design also devel-
oped from the stage of engineering analogy into the
stage of scientific theory and quantitative calculation.
Similarly, it is possible for the underground engineer-
ing to get rid of the engineering analogy and develop
into the stage of scientific theory and quantitative
calculation due to rock mechanics being introduced
into underground engineering. The application of the
boundary element back-analysis method into the geo-
logical studies is an advance and expansion of the
earth stress monitoring technology. Crust movement
study requires the combination of geological science
and geophysical information to explore the Tectonic
dynamics mechanism. In the book “Geomechanics
Introduction”, the author Li Siguang has pointed out
that stress activity patterns reflected from the various
types of construction are used to infer the ‘physical’
or ‘external’ promoting styles and directions in the
various regions as a whole, then to explore the styles
and direction of the crust movement combined with
the regional crust movement. In general, the style of
stress activities is explained through the study of tec-
tonic stress field. By the statistics of the stress data
after underground excavation, regional tectonic stress
field can be broadly reflected.
5 EXAMPLES
According to present situation of the measurement
items and the status of the domestic measuring instru-
ments, we choose a simple, reliable, durable, low-cost
measurement tools. The basic measurement is selected
as the measurement items.
5.1 Test
5.1.1 Arrangement of measuring points
Sufficient depth of the roadways is first considered
when the measuring point is determined, so that the ini-
tial stress around the roadway is no major differences,
which requires the minimum spacing of roadways is
no less than 3-4 times of the roadway diameter. Sec-
ondly is considered is that it is easy, fast, self-strong
and protective to install.
5.1.2 Test method
The convergence value measured with the convergence
measure method is just the distance changes between
two points of roadway wall.
5.2 Calculation
Example: Lu An Group CiLinShan Coal Ltd., Road-
way 7301 of muddy shale roof with steel web
 Table 3. The comparison of the displacement measured
values and the theoretical values (mm).

The Displacement The Theoretical

Measured values Values

0.914 0.9140105
2.472 2.472011
1.287 1.287004

back-analysis will be analyzed. Then the analyzed

displacement predictive values are compared to the
project measured values in the late stage of the con-
struction or in the construction on the similar con-
Figure 3. Cross-section shape and position of measuring ditions. Then value the correctness according to the
point.
coincidence degree of the two items. Table 3 shows
the comparison of analyzed value of the surrounding
Table 1. The input value of displacement increment
rock stress increment after supporting of the observed
Units: mm.
cross-sections and the displacement measured values.
Sequence It shows that the two are in good agreement.
alignments 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Security: the staff works under the protection of
supporting or bracing or the lining. They have better
1 0.0161 0.0108 0.0322 0.0323 security conditions.
2 0.0436 0.0291 0.0873 0.0872 Efficiency: The staff required for testing is little.
3 0.0228 0.0151 0.0454 0.0454 Only 1or 2 workers are sufficient.

Table 2. Calculating result. 6 CONCLUSION

Initial stress of The stress increment
Stress surrounding released by surrounding
Category rock rock after supporting
Horizontal stress 3.284069 1.171566
Vertical stress 2.538 0.9054118
Shear stress −0.3593277 −0.1281874
frame-support in the depth of 94 meters. The elastic-
ity modulus, bulk densities and Poisson’s ratio, based
on recommendations in the national standards GBJ86-
85 and experience of similar projects, are identified
as 2000 Mpa, 2700 kg/cubic meters and 0.2. Tunnel
cross-section dimensions is shown in Figure 3, the
measured convergence displacement increment shown
in Table 1, the result after using the subject procedure
shown in Table 2.
As can be seen by calculating, ratio of the horizontal
stress and vertical stress is 1.294, which indicates that
the level of rock mass stress is not only affected by the
gravitational field, but also by the geological impact.
5.3 Preliminary analysis of technical and economic
effect of the boundary element method
Through the engineering practice, the technical and
economic results of the boundary element method can
be summarized into followings:
Correctness: The correct evaluation can be
achieved like this: first the parameters calculated by
The development of modern earthquake science shows
that the observation data is the fundamental driving
force of seismic scientific development. Therefore, a
large number of modern science and technologies have
been applied into earthquake science. One example is
the technology of outlining the mainland China high-
precision underground structure by using the mobile
seismic monitoring stations. However, a large number
of ready-made underground mine resources have not
yet been utilized.
From 1988 to 1999, 53 times earthquakes with mag-
nitude greater than 6 occurred in China’s mainland,
including nine earthquakes with magnitude greater
than 7. If east longitude 105◦ acts as a boundary
between the west and the east of China, eight earth-
quakes hit the west and only once in the east. In the
west of east longitude 105◦ , it is sparsely populated,
the traffic is inconvenient and the monitoring station
network is extremely thin. It is no doubt a waste of
valuable natural resources of seismic information in
such an area where more than 90% of seismic energy
is released. It slowed down the process of improving
earthquake prediction. Considering the amount of the
existing mines, however, it will be a big improvement
if these underground mines can be used to observe the
convergence value to calculate the stress value which
can be used in earthquake prediction.
Comparing to other physical observation, the crust
deformation caused by accumulated strain has a more
direct link with a forming earthquake. The boundary
element method can quantitatively help to speculate

683
source body of earthquake and the stress of its neigh-
boring region based on the observation of roadway
deformation. If we can carry out continuous observa-
tion of the deformation, then the research and moni-
toring of the dynamics changes of the stress internal
of the crust can be achieved at least in theory.
REFERENCES
Monitoring and Forecasting Department of China Earthquake
Administration, 2007, Beijing, Seismological Press
684
Cai, Meifeng, 2002, Rock Mechanics and Engineering,
Beijing, Beijing: Science Press
Xu, Caijun, 2001, Crustal Movement Model of Qinghai-
Xizang Plateau and Tectonic Stress Field, Beijing, Sur-
veying and Mapping Press
Sun, Jun & Huang, Hongwei, 1994, The random Medium
Model of Mechanics Properties and State of Tunnel
Surrounding Rock, Shanghai, Shanghai Mechanics
Zhang, Youtian, 1989, BEM and Its Application in Engi-
neering, Beijing, Water Resources and Electric Power
Press
Active tectonics and crustal dynamics
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Characteristics of tectonic stress in the east of Tibetan Plateau

and its neighboring region inferred from in-situ stress measurement

Rui Yao, Shuxin Yang, Yuanzhong Lu & Xiaofeng Cui

The Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, P.R. China

Qunce Chen
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China

Qi Mi
College of Earth Science, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT: By reference to the distribution of major faults in Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the “ground motion
parameter zoning map”, we divided the study region into 14 sub-regions. Using ground stress data in field
investigation, we obtained the statistical features of the horizontal maximal and minimal stress variation with
depth. After the removal of gravitational effects from in-situ stress, we analyzed the statistical characteristics
of stress variation with depth and tectonic stress orientations in the sub-regions. The results of our study may
bear great referential implication for understanding the overall regional stress distribution and its dynamic
environment, and are of great practical significance to underground engineering design and mineral resource
exploitation.

1 INTRODUCTION meters depth, and each tectonic division exhibits dis-

At present, various stress measurement methods have
been developed and abundant in-situ stress data are
accumulated. Many scholars conducted comprehen-
sive researches concerning regional stress using in-situ
stress data. Jing Feng et al. analyzed crustal shallow
stress distribution in Chinese Mainland. Zhao Dean
et al. studied the pattern of in-situ stress distribution
in China. Xie Furen et al. investigated the regional
characteristics of ground stress of the mainland of
China. Chen Qingxuan et al. discussed the feature
of contemporary crustal stress in terms of both lat-
eral distribution and vertical variation. Zeng Qiusheng
et al. studied the basic characteristic of crustal stress
state in China using the results from in-situ stress mea-
surement. Zhu Huanchun and Tao Zhenyu summarized
the features of maximal and minimal horizontal stress
variation with depth in the world. Brown obtained the
ratio of vertical and horizontal average stress to ver-
tical in-situ stress and its variation with depth. Mary
Lou Zoback et al. published the World Stress Map.
However, detailed researches with regard to the sta-
tistical characteristics of stress variation with depth
in Tibetan Plateau and its tectonic stress feature are
rare. This paper analyzes the statistical features of
the horizontal maximal and minimal stress variation
with depth in Tibetan Plateau, and investigates the
magnitude and orientation of tectonic stress in each
of its subregions. The results show that the tectonic
stresses gradually become stabilized beneath ∼100
tinctive tectonic stress values and orientations. In the
following we first clarify the two concepts – maximal
and minimal horizontal stress and tectonic stress –
used in this paper.
In fact, the maximal horizontal stress (σH ) and min-
imal horizontal stress (σh ) ought to have the largest
and smallest value of normal stresses on all upright
planes. Lund and Townend derived the orientation of
maximal horizontal stress from stress tensor. We obtain
the maximal and minimal horizontal stress using three
principal stresses in a similar way.
Some scholars deemed maximal horizontal stress as
tectonic stress, while in this paper the tectonic stress
is the stress after the removal of gravitational effects.
Based on the two concepts above, we study the char-
acteristics of stress variation with depth and tectonic
stress orientation in the sub-regions of the study area.
2 DATA FROM IN SITU STRESS
MEASUREMENT IN TIBETAN PLATEAU
The Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake
Administration started the work of stress measurement
in the early period. They collected data of stress mea-
surement, research results from measurement reports
and relevant literatures published to obtain a com-
plete database of crustal stress in China in 2002. (Xie
Furen. et al.). That database plays important roles in
the studies of crustal stress state and crustal dynamics.

687
Table 1. Comparison between the original database and the new one.

HF/No. OC/No. HF OC HF OC HF OC
of of depth depth longitude longitude latitude latitude Articles/
entries entries range/m range/m range/◦ range/◦ range/◦ range/◦ no.

Old data 1014 338 12∼1620 3∼588 88∼125 79∼130 22∼44 18∼45 99
New data 829 321 11∼3984 5∼1271 82∼125 75∼130 22∼46 21∼47 94
New database 1843 659 11∼3984 3∼1271 82∼125 75∼130 22∼46 18∼47 193

At 2008, we gathered the data of hydraulic fractur- stress in all upright planes then the rotation matrix L
ing measurement and over-coring stress relief mea- from G to G
is as follows:
surement (OC) from literatures published 2002 to
2008. Table 1 shows that the amount of new data is
almost equal to the former. The scope of data in new
database is wider than original one and the depth is
deeper than before.
The present study is based on the new database
of crustal stress in China. The scope of the study region Suppose σ
is a tensor in the coordinate system G
.
is from 85◦ to 110◦ E in longitude and from 20◦ to 40◦ N It can be expressed by σ in the coordinate system G.
in latitude. The number of the data from hydraulic frac- The relationship between σ
and σ can be described by
turing measurement is 783 (731 from 2D hydraulic equation (2).
fracturing measurement and 52 from 3D hydraulic
fracturing measurement). The number of data from
over-coring measurement is 207. After removal of the
data that did not provide depth information, or had no The normal stress of Y
axis in the coordinate
maximal horizontal stress or minimal horizontal stress, system G
:
or lacked complete information of principal stresses,
the amount of data from hydraulic fracturing mea-
surement and over-coring stress relief measurement
is reduced to 714 and 82 respectively. Transform the equation (3) to equation (4):

3 MAXIMAL AND MINIMAL HORIZONTAL

STRESS VARIATION WITH DEPTH After calculation of the derivative of the right part
of equation (4), we obtain the value of maximal
3.1 Calculating maximal and minimal horizontal horizontal stress:
stress
Traditional 2D hydraulic fracturing measurement
results can be employed in our study straightforwardly.
Three-dimensional hydraulic fracturing measurement
and over-coring stress relief measurement can deter- The value of minimal horizontal stress:
mine 3D stress state of any point in rock. In this paper,
we deduce the value of maximal horizontal stress
and minimal horizontal stress and the orientation of
maximal horizontal stress. For convenience, we first The direction of the two horizontal stresses can be
project the value, direction, inclination of every prin- expressed by:
cipal stress to the tensor in the geodetic coordinate
system G (the positive direction of Y axis is north-
ward and the positive direction of X axis is southward).
Many scholars deduced the formula in this projection.
Then, how to solve the value of maximal horizontal
stress and minimal horizontal stress and the direction
3.2 Horizontal maximal and minimal stress
of maximal horizontal stress is converted to studying
variation with depth
the value of maximal stress and minimal stress and the
direction of maximal stress in the horizontal plane. Considering the different principles and procedures of
Coordinate system G
is obtained by rotating coordi- hydraulic fracturing method and stress relief method,
nate system G with a degree D in clockwise direction. we first investigate the maximal and minimal horizon-
If in G
, Y
axis is the orientation of maximal normal tal stress variation with depth employing the data from

688
the above methods respectively, and then consider how
to combine the results from data analysis.
2D hydraulic fracturing measurement data can be
directly employed in our study, while 3D data could
be firstly selected by rejecting the data with princi-
ple stress intersection angle smaller than 85 degrees,
then be converted into maximal and minimal horizon-
tal stresses using equations in 3.1. For those 3D data
obtained from 3D hydraulic fracturing measurement
and stress relief method, only the data containing three
principal stresses would be used, for we are uncertain
whether the data with only two principal stresses are
truly the maximal and minimal horizontal stress or not.
We eliminate the data outside the range of twice the
standard deviation using “PASW (Predictive Analytics
Software) Statistics 18”. After sorting out the observed
data according to their depth, we divide the data into
several groups. Then eliminate the data outside the
range of twice the standard deviation in every group.
The mean depth in a group is taken as the depth of the
depth range; the mean maximal and minimal horizon-
tal stresses are the stress values of the corresponding
depth. The division standard: for each group, the sec-
tion lengths above and below the depth are equal; the
numbers of data in the two sections are approximately
the same; and as many as possible data should be taken
according to this standard. The practice suggests that
the statistical parameters such as the standard devi-
ation and the scattering coefficient of data obtained
from such procedure are smaller than those without
any preprocessing, and the correlations of maximal
and minimal horizontal stress with depth are markedly
improved.
After the above procedure, there are 450 entries of
data from hydraulic fracturing measurement. The cor-
relation coefficients of maximal and minimal horizon-
tal stress with depth are 0.98 and 0.984 respectively,
and the scattering coefficients are 0.32 and 0.33. The
linear correlation equations are equation (8) and (9)
respectively.
After the above procedure, there are 61 entries of
data from stress relief measurement. They are fur-
ther divided into 6 groups. The correlation coefficients
of maximal and minimal horizontal stress with depth
are 0.97 and 0.98 respectively, and the scattering
coefficients are 0.36 and 0.41. The linear correlation
equations can be referred to equation (10) and (11).
Thus, the absolute value of σ H difference between
these two measuring methods are as follows: 30 m –
2.2 MPa, 50 m – 2.5 MPa; 70 m – 2.7 MPa; 100 m –
3 MPa; 200 m – 4.3 MPa…The deeper the depth, the
689
larger the disparity. The absolute value of the differ-
ence between mean values of σ h obtained from the
two measurement approaches increases with depth,
which amounts only to 0.5 MPa in the depth of 100 m.
It can be seen that above the depth of 100 m, the differ-
ence of results from those two approaches are smaller
than 3MPa, consistent with Liu’ s results, especially in
terms of σ h . Though the difference of σ h between the
two methods is relatively small, that of σ H is large and
it also increases with depth.
From the regression equations we can find that the
values of data measured by hydraulic fracturing are
smaller than that by over-corning method. The result
is consistent with other literatures. The maximal prin-
cipal stress derived from stress relief method could be
higher mainly because of the combined effect of scale-
dependence and anisotropic Young’s modulus resulted
from inhomogeneous and anisotropic microfissures in
the rock. Many over-coring measurements are con-
ducted in the caves. The evacuation disturbance affects
the properties of wall rock to different extent, inten-
sifying the rock’s inhomogeneity, resulting in larger
scattering of measurement results. Sometimes, due
to neglecting the existence of microcracks and pore
pressure in the rock, as well as using closure value
as minimal horizontal stress, in-situ stresses obtained
from 2D hydraulic fracturing measurement are lower
than realistic value.
Considering that the two methods have their own
merits, the scattering coefficients above 100 meters
are relatively large for both methods, and the measured
data from one method are probably larger and those
from the other method smaller than the realistic values,
it seems reasonable to combine the data with the depth
above 100 meters to produce a more realistic linear
regression equation.
Using the above method, we divide the combined
data into groups after removal of the data outside the
range of twice the standard deviation. The correla-
tion coefficients of maximal and minimal horizontal
stresses with depth are 0.81 and 0.92; the standard
deviations are 1.67 and 1.12, the scattering coeffi-
cients are 0.23 and 0.36. The regression equations are
equation (12) and (13).
Below 100 m depth there are 41 entries of data
from stress relief measurement after processing. The
standard deviations of maximal and minimal hori-
zontal stresses are 8.2 MPa and 6 MPa, the scattering
coefficients are 0.47 and 0.64, and the correlation
coefficients are 0.53 and 0.45. There are 474 entries
of data from hydraulic fracturing measurement, in
which the standard deviations of maximal and min-
imal horizontal stresses are 5.3 MPa and 3.0 MPa, the
scattering coefficients are 0.42 and 0.38, and the cor-
relation coefficients are 0.53 and 0.45. Therefore, for
data collected below the depth of 100 m, the quality
of data obtained from hydraulic fracturing measure-
ment is better than that of stress relief measurement.
The possible reasons could be the complex topogra-
phy and geology in targeting region, the scarce data
from stress relief measurement, and the difficulty of
stress relief method used in relatively deeper depth.
According to measurement norm, the release of stress
should utilize relatively long rock-cores, and it is hard
to obtain them in great depth. If we combine the
two types of data in depths below 100 m, the maxi-
mal and minimal horizontal stress values are 5.8 MPa
and 3.3 MPa, the scattering coefficients are 0.44 and
0.22, and the correlation coefficients are 0.37 and 0.46.
Thus, for depths below 100 m, it would be better to only
employ data from hydraulic fracturing; the precision
will deteriorate if those two types of data are com-
bined. Similarly, after screening-grouping-screening
procedure, we obtain the correlation coefficients, stan-
dard deviations, and scattering coefficients of maximal
and minimal horizontal stresses with depth, which are
respectively 0.97 and 0.99, 2.54 and 1.68, 0.21 and
0.22 orderly. The regression equations are equation
(14) and (15).
Comparing the statistical parameters such as stan-
dard deviation and scattering coefficient, we notice
that in the two ranges of depth, the features of stress
variation with depth are clearer and the precisions of
regression coefficient are better. From equation (12)–
(15), we notice that within the first 100 m depth, the
gradients of maximal and minimal horizontal stress
variation are larger than those below 100 m depth,
suggesting that horizontal stress varies dramatically
in shallow crust. The constants in equation (12)–(15)
are related to tectonic motion and earth surface ero-
sion. It is also implied that in the shallow crustal
layer (0–300 m) the maximal and minimal horizon-
tal stresses are both larger than the value of vertical
stress; from 300 m to 700 m in depth, the minimal hor-
izontal stresses start to be smaller than vertical stress,
and when the depth is below 700 m, the vertical stress
becomes dominant and larger than both maximal and
minimal horizontal stress.
σ H and σ h variation with depth in the world
was studied statistically by Zhu Huanchun and Tao
Zhenyu as:
σ H and σ h variation with depth in shallow crust of
China mainland obtained by Jing Feng are as follows:
690
We can see that the above σ H gradient with regard
to depth lies between the gradients for depths above
and below 100 m in our study. So is σ h . This illustrates
that the variation of σ H and σ h with depth given in
different depth ranges can more accurately reflect the
characteristic of σ H and σ h in one region. Similarly,
the characteristics of tectonic stress obtained in this
way are also clearer.
4 EXTRACTION OF VALUE OF TECTONIC
STRESS AND ITS VARIATION
WITH DEPTH
4.1 Extraction of tectonic stress
Based on the P axis and T axis of focal mechanism
solutions and in-situ stress measurements, Xie Furen
et al. suggested that the dominant orientation of tec-
tonic stress field is horizontal in China and its adjacent
areas. The horizontal stress σh0 can be calculated from
the vertical stress if there is no tectonic motion force.
The value of horizontal stress is:
Here, γ stands for bulk density, ν stands for Pois-
son’s ratio.
In ideal horizontally layered model, the maximal
horizontal tectonic stress (σ T ) can be calculated by
subtracting the horizontal component of self-gravity
from maximal horizontal stress.
The minimal horizontal tectonic stress (σ t ) can be
calculated by subtracting the horizontal component of
self-gravity from minimal horizontal stress.
4.2 Tectonic stress variation with depth
Although many factors affect the state of crustal
stress such as geological condition, rock mechanical
properties, temperature and topography, the crustal
self-gravity and tectonic force are the most domi-
nant sources of in-situ stress. Tectonic stress study is
an important field in geosciences as well as a vital
factor to understanding crustal dynamics. Tectonic
stress bears intimate relationship with plate motion
and earthquake genesis. Here we study the feature of
tectonic stress variation with depth based on above
data.
According to the formula of tectonic stress we
defined in section 4.1 and the linear correlation equa-
tions of σ H and σ h in section 3.2, we can calculateσ T
and σ t in depth above and below 100m respectively.
Here, we assume the bulk density γ = 27 KN/m3 and
Poisson’s ratio ν = 1/3.
Above 100 m:

Below 100 m:

Figure 1. The variation of σT and σt with depth.

It is suggested that: ➀ In depth above 100 m, σ T and σ t
the linear regression equations of σ T and σ t using the
are increasing with depth, while in depth below 100m,
data of first part. Likewise Equation (27) and (28) are
σ T and σ t almost come to a stable state. ➁ Due to the
for the second part, Equation (29) and (30) are for the
geological effect such as erosion and topography, the
third part.
variation gradients of σ T and σ t above 100 m are larger
than that below 100 m depth. ➂ The characteristics of
tectonic stress can only be effectively extracted after
the removal of the data subject to earth shallow non-
tectonic effects.
(1) The first part:
5 CHARACTERISTICS OF TECTONIC
STRESS IN SUB-REGIONS

5.1 Division of sub-regions

The study region is under the joint compressive action
of the Indian plate, Eurasian plate, Pacific plate and
Philippine plate. It is crossed by the North-South seis-
mic belt and subjected to active tectonic motion, hence
has long been deemed as an earthquake-prone area, as
well as one of the most complex regions in the world
in terms of regional stress field. Therefore, we divide
the region into different parts in order to obtain more
detailed tectonic stress and characteristics of tectonic
stress variation with depth in the sub-regions.
Using the data of focal mechanism and in-situ stress
measurement, Xie Furen et al. studied the division of
tectonic stress field in Chinese mainland.
In this paper, we divide the study area into finer sub-
regions according to the distribution of major faults in
Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the “ground motion param-
eter zoning map”. The study area was divided into 14
sub-regions (fig. 2). We view rhombus-like block (i.e.
Sub-region VII) as a research emphasis.
5.2 Tectonic stress variation with depth
in all sub-regions
5.2.1 Sub-region VII
Figure 1 shows that σ T and σ t do not increase mono-
tonically. We divide the data of region VII into 3 parts.
After deleting the data outside the range of two stan-
dard deviations, the data number of each part is 12, 66,
and 16. The depth scopes of the 3 parts are 26–57 m,
87–152 m, and 164–423 m. Equation (23) and (24) are
the linear regression equations of σ T and σ t with depth
using all data from 3 parts. Equation (27) and (28) are
(2) The second part:
(3) The third part:
We can find out in the first and second parts, the
gradients of σ T and σ t with depth are all higher than
that of the third part. This may have a relationship with
the non-tectonic effect in the shallow layer of earth sur-
face. In the third part, tectonic stress nearly does not
change with depth. That illustrates that using only the
data below depth 160 m, we can truly pick up the char-
acter of tectonic stress in sub-region VII. If the data
were not analyzed, we would think the variation of
tectonic stress with depth is acute according the equa-
tion (23) and (24). So we must analyze the specialty
of every region then pick-up the data which can truly
reflect the character of tectonic stress in each region.
5.2.2 Comparison of sub-region VII with others
For comparing sub-region VII with others, we carry
out piecewise analysis along depth in every sub-region.
The depth range with the smallest shallow non-tectonic
effect is found for each sub-region, and the data from
this depth range are used to study the characteristic

691
 Table 2. The data regression description for each sub-region.

Depth
NO. Quantity range σT Linear equation σt Linear equation

II 17 160–270 σT = 0.0265H + 2.753 σt = 0.0175H + 1.498

III 15 60–286 σT = 0.0185H + 1.643 σt = 0.0155H + 1.641
IV 100 20–582 σT = 0.0075H + 8.366 σt = −0.0005H + 4.986
V 93 15–574 σT = 0.0085H + 6.377 σt = 0.0005H + 4.059
VII 16 164–423 σT = −0.0005H + 11.996 σt = −0.0065H + 7.09
VIII 145 100–890 σT = 0.019H + 4.72 σt = 0.012H + 3.118
X 22 38–183 σT = −0.0075H + 9.015 σt = −0.0105H + 5.063
XII 8 113–296 σT = 0.0295H + 3.448 σt = 0.0125H + 2.206

of tectonic stress. Table 2 shows the comparison of

results from all sub-regions, each of those with the
number of data which depth range below 100 meters
is beyond 0, including the number of the data used to
extract the statistical characteristics of tectonic stress,
the depth range of basically steady tectonic stress,
and the regression equations of maximal and minimal
horizontal tectonic stress in this range.
There are fewer data in sub-regions II, III, and X II,
where the characteristic of tectonic stress increasing
with depth is not reliable. In sub-regionVIII, tectonic is
increasing with depth markedly. In other sub-regions,
tectonic stress nearly does not change with depth.

5.3 The magnitude of tectonic stress

From 5.2 we find that the tectonic stress in sub-regions
IV, V, VII, and X tends to be stable below a certain
depth. The depth range of stable stress in the above
sub-regions is respectively 20–582 m, 15–575 m, 164–
423 m, and 38–183 m. For studying the characteristic
of tectonic stress in every division, we select a com-
mon depth in the four depth ranges, for example
170m. We find the solution in this depth and study
the characteristic of tectonic stress in every division.
When the depth is 170 m, the values of tectonic
stress in sub-region IV, V, VII, and X are 9.6 MPa,
7.8 MPa, 11.9 MPa, and 7.7 MPa respectively. It is
shown that the value of tectonic stress in VII is big-
ger than that in the other areas. Probably the reason is
that the sub-region VII is in the middle of the research
area, suffering the pushing effect from the India plate
in southwest, the Pacific plate and Philippines plate
in the east. The greater action of tectonic stress may
evoke more earthquakes.
5.4 The characteristic of tectonic stress
orientation in sub-regions
As mentioned above previous researches indicated
that the Chinese tectonic stress field is dominated by
horizontal action. So when we study the orientation
of tectonic stress, we take the orientation of max-
imal horizontal stress as the orientation of tectonic
stress. There are altogether 145 data selected from
Figure 2. The orientations of σH in the study area.
hydraulic fracturing and 64 from over-coring measure-
ments. Figure 2 shows the orientations of the maximal
horizontal stresses. Because the boundaries of the sub-
regions are generally major faults, which may severely
distort the stress orientations, we do not consider the
data from nearby the boundaries.
The general feature of tectonic stress orientation in
the study region is as follows. ➀ The orientations of
tectonic stress in sub-regions V, VI, and X are steady. ➁
Generally, the orientation in sub-regions VII, VIII, and
X tends to rotate clockwise; from west to east it turns
gradually from NE to EW to NW, which accords with
the result of Jiang Zaisen from GPS data. ➂ The data
in the other sub-regions were measured in proximity to
fault zones, the stress orientations are more scattered.
6 CONCLUSION
(1) The linear equations of σ H and σ h with depth H
are shown as below.
Above 100 m:

692

Below 100 m:
(2) The variations of maximum and minimum hori-
zontal tectonic stress σ T and σ t with depth is expressed
by the following linear equations:
Above 100 m:
Below 100 m:
In depths above 100 m, due to the non-tectonic
effects,σ T and σ t vary considerably with depth. How-
ever, below 100 m they become stabilized and do not
change significantly with depth. It suggests that when
studying the characteristics of tectonic stress, a rea-
sonable analysis of the in-situ stress data is highly
necessary, along with removal of data affected by the
shallow non-tectonic activities.
Generally, tectonic stress value of sub-region VII
is clearly higher than that of the others, at the depth
of 170 m it reaches 12 MPa, which might be one
important factor of frequent earthquakes in this region.
(3) The directions of σ H calculated from in-situ
stress measurement in all sub-regions reveal the local
tectonic stress direction in the study region. They are
in good agreement with many other studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the support from the Min-
istry of Science and Technology, China (SinoProbe-
06) and research grant from Institute of Crustal
Dynamics (No. ZDJ2009-01).
693
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Recent tectonic stress field zoning in Tienshan area

and its dynamic genesis

Hongyan Zhang
Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China,
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Furen Xie & Xiaofeng Cui

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Liming Hu
Tianjin Institute of Surveying and Mapping, Tianjin, China

Da Su
Tianjin Real Estate Registration and Certificate Trading Center, Tianjin, China

ABSTRACT: Using 245 middle and strong earthquake focal mechanism solutions happened in the period of
1931–2004 to determine the stress districts in Tienshan area by step by step convergence method. The inverted
results indicate there are 3 stress districts in Tienshan area. They are Pamirs stress district, Jiashi and its adjacent
stress district and Urumchi and its adjacent district, respectively. Besides, we also get the generally characteristic
of recent tectonic stress field in Tienshan area. First, its direction of the maximum compressional stress is about
in N-S direction, but it shows a clockwise rotation from Pamirs stress district in the west to Urumchi stress
district in the east from the spatial distribution. Second, each stress district has its own different characteristic
of tectonic stress field. This phenomenon indicates that the research area in the whole stress background has its
local changes. And the third is that the stress regime in Tienshan area is almost Strike slip and reverse slip. On
the basis of above basic research work, we try to analyse and explain the dynamic genesis of the heterogeneity
of the spatial distribution of recent tectonic stress field in Tienshan area from the force sources.

1 INTRODUCTION 6.0–6.9 and 228 with the magnitude between 5.0–5.9

The Tienshan range extends 2500 kilometers from east
to west across Central Asia. To the south, the Tien-
shan are separated from the Kunlun Mountains and the
Tibetan Plateau by the broad, hyper-arid Tarim Basin
and Taklimakan Desert. To the north are the Kazakh
Shield and the broad Junggar Basin, another large
desert. The Tienshan is an extensive mountain system
that comprises part of the basin-and-range topogra-
phy in the northwest of China and it was formed by
faulting and uplift during the Pliocene, 7 to 2.5 mil-
lion years ago. Like the Rocky Mountains of North
America, the Tienshan is thought to be one of the great-
est examples of intracontinental mountain-building in
the world. Besides, it is also one of the most seismi-
cally active regions of the world and is known for
major earthquakes (Dzhanuzakov et al. 1980, Kon-
dorskaya & Shebalin 1982). According to incomplete
statistic, about 400 destructive earthquakes of magni-
tude more than 4.7 have happened from 1600 to the
end of 1986. Among them, there are 3 earthquakes of
magnitude equal or larger than 8.0, 6 with the magni-
tude between 7.0–7.9, 39 with the magnitude between
(FENG X.Y. 1986). Quantities earthquakes coming
along with active faults and scattering over the whole
Tienshan area like stars in the sky form the seismic
belts with different degree of earthquake intensity.
Many scholars have done lots of research work in
tectonic stress field with abundant stress data espe-
cially the focal mechanism solutions in Tienshan area
and obtain plenty of remarkable and useful achieve-
ments (Wang S.Z. 1992, Fan F.Q. 1993, Gao G.Y. et al.
1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, Long H.Y. et al. 2007,
2008, Zhou S.Y. et al. 2001, Lai Y.G. et al. 2002,
Yang C.R. et al. 2002, Cui X.F. et al. 2006, Zhang
H.Y. et al. 2006). Among them, the typical research
work is that Xie Furen and his research group divide
the tectonic stress field in Xinjiang into 7 stress dis-
tricts with various kinds of stress data according to the
stress state and force source character. B102 is Tien-
shan stress district from their result and the direction
of maximum compressional stress is in NS direction
(Xie F.R. et al. 2004). Because there are some uncer-
tain factors, they only get the outline of tectonic stress
field in Tienshan area and the results are just prelimi-
nary. Yet, we also want to know how the fine texture of

695

Figure 1. The distribution of focal mechanism solutions in
Tienshan area.
tectonic stress field in Tienshan is. What heterogene-
ity of tectonic stress field in Tienshan is from spatial
distribution? What dynamic geneses form the pattern
of recent tectonic stress field in Tienshan?
In order to answer the above questions, we use
245 middle and strong earthquake focal mechanism
solutions happened in the period of 1931–2004 to
determine the stress districts in Tienshan area by step
by step convergence method. From the inverted results,
we will give the fine texture of tectonic stress field in
Tienshan and try to discuss its present pattern of recent
tectonic stress field from dynamic geneses.
2 DATA AND METHOD
2.1 Data
Searching from the system of “Database of Crustal
Stress in China and Adjacent Area”, we collect
245 middle and strong earthquakes which happened
between 1931–2004 in the research area (N36◦ –40◦ ,
E70◦ –90◦ ) and figure 1 shows the distribution of epi-
central location of these focal mechanism solutions.
The magnitude of the focal mechanism solutions is
between 4.1 and 8.0 (Fig. 1). Among them, there are
84 with the magnitude from 4.1 to 4.9, 112 are from 5.0
to 5.9, 44 are from 6.0 to 6.9 and 5 are from 7.0 to 7.9.
2.2 Method
In this study, we use the method named “step by
step convergence method (SSCM)” (CUI X.F. et al.
1999) to invert the collected focal mechanism solu-
tions. This method is on the basis of Sliding Direction
Fitting Method (SDFM), then it has been gradu-
ally developing and at present it can extensively
applied in the analysis of tectonic stress (Zoback,
1980, Mercier, et al. 1987, Xu Z.H. et al. 1984, Xie
F.R. et al. 1989, 1993, Plenefisch, et al. 1997). It
needs two criteria when using the method. One is
the angle between the fault slip vector and the direc-
tion of shear stress due to the deviatonic stress tensor
acting on the seismic fault plane is less than or equal
to 30◦ . Another is that the ratio of shear stress of devi-
atonic stress tensor acting on the fault plane to the
696
Figure 2. Recent tectonic stress field zoning determined
step-by-step convergence method in Tienshan area.
Table 1. Stress districts in Tienshan area.
Research Stress district Predominant direction
area name of σ 1
Tienshan Pamirs (I1 ) NNE (I1 -A)
NNW (I1 -B)
Jiashi (I2 ) NNE (I2 -A)
NNW (I2 -B)
Urumchi (I3 )
stress on the same fault plane must be greater than
or eaqual to 0.51. If the inverted result does not meet
the above two criteria, the focal mechanism solutions
involved in calculation are considered as contradic-
tory data. According to the both criteria, we can select
focal mechanism solutions of one region and sort out
the earthquake controlled by different tectonic stress
fields, and at last determine the stress districts from
epicenter distribution of earthquakes. That is the idea
of the method “step by step convergence method”.
3 INVERSION RESULT
We use step by step convergence method to calculate
245 middle and strong earthquakes in Tienshan area.
Among these focal mechanism solutions, 175 fit the
criteria and 70 are unsuitable. The utilization rate of
the data is about 71.4% and it indicates the inversion
result is reliable. The 245 focal mechanism solutions
are calculated and divided automatically into 3 groups
by the step-by-step convergence method. It is appar-
ent that there are 3 stress districts in Tienshan area.
They are Pamirs stress district (I1 ), Jiashi and its adja-
cent stress district (I2 ) and Urumchi and its adjacent
stress district (I3 ), respectively. Generally speaking,
the direction of the maximum compressional stress in
Tienshan area is about in N-S direction and the stress
regime are almost strike slip and reverse slip. How-
ever, we can see clearly from Figure 2 that the hollow
arrows indicate the direction of the maximum com-
pressional stress is in clockwise rotation from west to
east from the spatial distribution and the solid arrows
in stress district I1 and I2 indicate there are two groups
predominant direction of σ 1 (Fig. 2 and Tab. 1).

Figure 3. Inverted results from focal mechanism solutions
in 3 stress district. (a) Projection of 2 nodal planes of the
3 group focal mechanism solutions on Wulff net of upper
hemisphere, (b) Distribution histogram of deviation angle α
between the direction of shear stress and the fault slip vector
on the fault planes, (c) Distribution histogram of τ/f , the
relative amplitude of shear stress on the fault planes.
3.1 Pamirs stress district
Each sub-stress-district has its own different charac-
teristic. In Pamirs stress district, there are two groups
of predominant direction of σ 1 . The dip angles of σ 2 of
both groups are vertical and the dip angle of σ 1 and σ 3
are both horizontal, and the stress regime are both of
strike slip. However, the directions of σ 1 and σ 3 in I1 -A
and I1 -B are apparently different. The direction of σ 1
and σ 3 of the former is 22◦ and 292◦ respectively and
the σ 1 and σ 3 of the later are 163◦ and 73◦ (Fig. 3 and
Tab. 2). From figure 4, we can see the location of focal
mechanism solutions in I1 -B group is full of the all
Pamirs and the number of focal mechanism solutions
is more than the number of I1 -A group. So, we consider
the inverted stress direction of σ 1 in NNW-SSE from
the focal mechanism solutions in I1 -B group reflects
the basic characteristic of the tectonic stress field in
Pamirs, and the stress direction of σ 1 in NNE-SSW in
the other group may indicate its local characteristic in
this stress district.
3.2 Jiashi stress district
In Jiashi and its adjacent stress district, there are also
two groups of predominant direction of σ 1 . The dip
697
angles of σ 2 of both groups are vertical and the dip
angle of σ 1 and σ 3 are both horizontal, and the stress
regime are both of strike slip. In this stress district,
it has similar spatial characteristic to Pamirs district.
That is to say the directions of σ 1 in two different
groups are NNE-SSW (in I2 -A group) and NNW-SSE
(in I2 -B group) respectively. However, the different is
that the location of the focal mechanism solutions of
I2 -A group in the inversion concentrate on the Jiashi
hypocentral focus area and the distribution of the focal
mechanism solutions of I2 -B group almost covers the
whole Jiashi and its adjacent stress district (Fig. 5).
So, we also consider the inverted stress direction of σ 1
in NNW-SSE from the focal mechanism solutions in
I2 -B group reflects the basic characteristic of the tec-
tonic stress field in Jiashi and its adjacent area, and the
stress direction of σ 1 in NNE-SSW in the other group
indicates the local characteristic in Jiashi hypocentral
focus area. Furthermore, we find an interesting phe-
nomenon in Jiashi and its adjacent stress district. We
notice that the time when the focal mechanism solu-
tions of group I2 -B happened contains two periods
of time, and they are 1958.01–1996.03 and 2003.02–
2003.09, respectively. In the two periods of time, the
direction of σ 1 is always in N18◦ W. On the contrary,
the time when the focal mechanism solutions of group
I2 -A happened is between 1997.01–2003.1, and most
of the focal mechanism solutions belong to the JIashi
strong earthquake swarm. The direction of σ 1 is N25◦
E in this period of time. Thus, it can be seen that the
direction of maximum compressional stress in group
I2 -A appears clockwise rotation in 1997 when Jiashi-
Bachu earthquake swarm happened, but it returned to
the original state in 2003 when Jiashi-Bachu earth-
quake swarm was over (Fig. 6). This result greatly
matches with the opinions of other researches (Yang
X. et al. 1998, Shan X.J. et al. 2002, Gao G.Y. et al.
2004).
3.3 Urumchi stress district
In Urumchi stress district, the characteristic of tectonic
stress field is relatively simple. The inverted direction
of maximum compressional stress from focal mech-
anism solution is N10◦ E, and the dip angle of σ 1 is
5◦ . The inverted direction of minimum compressional
stress is N88◦ E, and the dip angle of σ 3 is 77◦ , it
is nearly vertical. And the direction of middle com-
pressional stress and its dip angle are 103◦ and 23◦
respectively. The stress regime of tectonic stress field
in Urumchi and its adjacent area is reverse slip. This
result matches the tectonic stress tensors inverted from
fault slip data in Urumchi area (Fig. 7, Tab. 2) (Zhang
H.Y. et al. 2006).
4 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION
We use 245 middle and strong earthquake focal mech-
anism solutions happened in the period of 1931–2004
to determine the stress districts in Tienshan area by
Table 2. The inverted parameters of each tectonic stress district from focal mechanism solutions.

σ1 σ2 σ3
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Name Az ( ) Dip ( ) Az ( ) Dip ( ) Az (◦ ) Dip (◦ ) ϕ α (◦ ) τ/f M N R (%)

I1-A 22 5 187 85 292 1 0.62 10.3 0.84 16 8 66.7

I1-B 163 3 264 75 73 15 0.56 13.3 0.82 42 19 68.9
I2-A 25 5 278 73 116 16 0.47 6.8 0.91 46 13 78.0
I2-B 162 5 284 80 71 8 0.51 12.0 0.82 50 20 71.4
I3 10 5 103 23 268 77 0.80 10.4 0.82 21 10 67.7

AZ is the azimuth of stress axes, Dip is the angle between the stress axes and horizontal plane, M is the number of focal
mechanism solutions used in the inversion, N is the number of contradictory data, and R = M /(M + N ) is the utilization rate
of focal mechanism solutions.

Figure 6. The map of the direction of σ 1 changed by time

in group I2 -A.

Figure 4. The map of tectonic stress field determined by

focal mechanism solutions in Pamirs.

Figure 7. The map of tectonic stress field determined by

Figure 5. The map of tectonic stress field determined by
focal mechanism solutions in Jiashi.
focal mechanism solutions and fault slip data in Urumchi. 1
fault, 2 reversed fault, 3 strike-slip fault, 4 the direction of
principal compression stress determined by fault slip data, 5
the azimuth of P axis of focal mechanism solution applied
in the inversion, 6 the azimuth of P axis of focal mechanism
solution not applied in the inversion, 7 the average direction of
principal compression stress determined by focal mechanism
solutions.

step by step convergence method. The inverted results characteristic of recent tectonic stress field in Tien-
indicate there are 3 stress districts in Tienshan area. shan area is in N-S direction compressionan action. It
They are Pamirs stress district, Jiashi stress district shows the action of collision between Eurasia Plate
and Urumchi stress district, respectively. The generally and India Plate passed by Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is

698
the main strong force source in Tienshan area. And
the pushing force from Siberian Plate moving towards
south is the second force source in the research area
from force-balance angle. In the action of this pair of
force in N-S direction, it presents the present direc-
tion of tectonic stress field and the stress regime is
almost strike-slip and reverse slip in the research area.
In addition, the phenomenon that there are two groups
of different direction of the maximum compression
stress in Pamirs stress district and Jiashi stress district
not only shows that local changed stress field exists in
Pamirs and Jiashi besides the whole stress background,
but it reflects that there are another force source in the
research area, that is the action of Pamirs corner. In
conclusion, we consider that the combined effect of
the three forces is the main dynamic genesis of the
present state and its heterogeneity of tectonic stress
field in Tienshan area.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank XU Zhonghuai for providing his origi-
nal computer program and partial focal mechanism
solution data. This work was supported by the grant
from the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (40904024) and the special item of professional
fund for basic scientific research of Chinese central-
level public-welfare college/institute from Institute of
Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration
(ZDJ2009-17) to H. ZHANG.
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Implocations for the Magnitude of Shear Stress at Depth.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Present-day stress state in southeast Korea with an emphasis

on effects of regional-scale faults

C. Chang
Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea

T.S. Kang
Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea

ABSTRACT: Present-day stress tensor is characterized in southeastern Korean Peninsula using shallow
geotechnical in situ stress data to understand the regional contemporary stress state and its relationship to
the population of faults. The in situ stress data show an ENE-WSW to NE-SW maximum compression direction,
which is in accord with the contemporary earthquake focal mechanism solutions, as well as the first order pattern
of tectonic stress direction in the eastern Eurasian plate. The current stress tensor exhibits a heterogeneity in
its orientations and magnitudes, possibly caused by the influence of faults. The horizontal principal stresses
normalized by vertical stress vary spatially. The magnitude of stress field appears to be inversely correlated
with the density of regional scale faults, suggesting that a stress relief due to faulting may be one of the major
factors that contribute to low stress magnitudes. As a way to confirm the inference, we examine the attitudes
of Quaternary faults with respect to the current stress field. A majority of the faults are oriented in the optimal
directions for slip, as indicated by the overall high ratios of shear to normal stress acting on fault planes for the
given stress condition, which implies that they might sustain the current stress field.

1 INTRODUCTION The southeastern part of Korea is occupied by a Cre-

It is known that structural elements such as active faults
and joints influence in situ stress conditions locally
(Barton & Zoback 1994, Sassi & Faure 1997, among
others). In order to verify the likelihood of correlation
between in situ stress states and regional scale faults
in a relatively wide region, we analyze stress tensors
in southeastern Korea. We use stress data determined
through shallow (100–320 m) borehole in situ stress
measurements such as the hydraulic fracturing and
the overcoring methods. The in situ stress measure-
ment methods provide a complete in situ stress tensor
(magnitudes and orientations) at a point. Although
the measurements are normally constrained within
shallow depths, they are the only methods that can
be utilized for stress tensor analysis in a relatively
wide region, because of the abundance of data. In
order to verify the reliability of the results, we also
compare the results with earthquake focal mechanism
solutions.
The Korean Peninsula is situated near the eastern
edge of the Eurasian plate, away from the major plate
boundaries, and is typically considered to be tectoni-
cally stable. That does not mean that the occurrence of
earthquakes is rare. A few tens of weak and intermedi-
ate earthquakes take place annually in and adjacent to
the Korean Peninsula. Many of these earthquakes may
be attributed to intraplate faulting activities triggered
by stress accumulation that exceeds fault strength.
taceous sedimentary basin. Regional scale faults are
intensely developed almost all over the area, with their
population density varying locally (Fig. 1). Especially
noted is a family of densely distributed faults striking
to NNE in the southeastern part of the study area. This
fault system includes the Yangsan fault, an approxi-
mately 200 km long major fault whose contemporary
activeness has been argued by a number of researchers
(Okada et al. 1994, Ree et al. 2003). A number of evi-
dences such as fault scarps and slickenlines associated
with earthquake events that occurred during Quater-
nary time have been observed along the Yangsan fault
and adjacent area.
2 IN SITU STRESS DATA
We used in situ stress data collected from the literature
(Lim & Lee 1991, Kim 2002, Haimson et al. 2003, Lee
& Chang 2007). All these data were determined mostly
from hydraulic fracturing stress measurements and
partly from overcoring techniques. Typical wireline
hydraulic fracturing systems consisting of a straddle
packer assembly pressurized by a hydraulic pump were
used for all the hydraulic fracturing tests. Testing setup
and procedure follow the International Society for
Rock Mechanics Suggested Method (Kim & Franklin
1987). The overcoring technique used here utilizes a
borehole deformation gauge that measures strains in a

701

Figure 1. Maximum horizontal principal stress directions
in southeastern Korea.
plane normal to the axis of borehole. Complete stress
tensors are determined from strain measurements and
calculated with knowledge of the elastic constants of
the rock.
After the initial compilation of stress data, we care-
fully screened them out based on some acceptance
criterion. First, we eliminated any stress data that were
not provided along with stress directions, which is
the criterion for D-quality rank in World Stress Map
(WSM). Second, we only accepted data below 100 m
to minimize possible topography effects, as suggested
by Zoback (2007).
The majority of selected data are D-quality, and
partly C-quality, based on the WSM ranking sys-
tem. Thus the data possess quite wide uncertainties.
However, several consistent individual D-quality data
points in close proximity may reveal meaningful infor-
mation on the stress field, as previous WSM related
studies demonstrated (Müller et al. 1992, Zoback
1992, Hillis & Reynolds 2000, Tingay et al. 2010).
3 RESULTS
3.1 In situ stress orientations
Figure 1 shows the directions of the maximum hor-
izontal stress (SHmax ). Overall, the SHmax directions
are predominantly ENE-WSW or NE-SW. The SHmax
direction is consistent with that estimated using other
702
independent methods such as fault slip analysis (Park
et al. 2006) and focal mechanism solutions (shown
later). This direction is also comparable to that in the
World Stress Map, which shows an approximately E-W
trend of SHmax in this region (Heidbach et al. 2010).
Some subset of data in the southeastern part of
the study area shows a systematic bias of the SHmax
direction towards NE or NNE, where NNE-striking
subparallel fault sets including the Yangsan fault pre-
vail. The SHmax directions determined from these
locations are notably parallel to the strike of the fault
system. This trend is quite conspicuous since the stress
directions away from the fault trend predominantly
ENE. In fact, stress orientations in other regions do
not appear to have a clear correlation with the strikes
of local faults.
Structural controls on stress field have been investi-
gated by a number of previous studies (e.g. Hudson &
Cooling 1988, Evans 1989, Ask 1997, Yale 2003). A
common aspect of these studies is that the local stress
field can be perturbed by the structural discontinuities
represented by faults such that the maximum stress ori-
entation is diverted parallel or perpendicular to fault.
In particular, Hudson & Cooling (1988) suggested that
such a structural control on stress can be attributed to
the contrast of the mechanical properties between the
surrounding rocks and the fault-filling material. They
showed that if the fault-filling material is significantly
more compliant than the host rock, stress orientation
becomes parallel in the vicinity of the fault. We infer
that the local NNE trend of the SHmax direction near
the Yangsan fault is a suggestive of relatively compli-
ant in-filling material represented by fault gouges and
damaged zones with a significant thickness.
3.2 In situ stress magnitudes
Figure 2 shows the magnitudes of the minimum
horizontal principal stresses (Shmin ) and maximum
horizontal principal stresses (SHmax ) in different loca-
tions as a function of depth, as well as the vertical
stress (Sv , indicated by solid line) calculated from the
weight of the overburden (a unit-weight of 26.5 kN/m3
assumed). The Shmin data overall are notably scattered,
as normally expected from the shallow engineering
measurements. It is noted that there are slightly differ-
ent Shmin gradients with depth in different locations. In
some locations, the Shmin values are either comparable
to or less than Sv (Fig. 2a), while in other locations,
those are generally higher than Sv (Fig. 2b).
Despite scatter, the SHmax values overall are defi-
nitely higher than the vertical stress. Thus, the prevail-
ing stress regime in the region is in favor of reverse
faulting and partly strike-slip faulting (Sv ≤ Shmin <
SHmax ). The two subsets of SHmax data represented by
different symbols are those corresponding to respec-
tive of relatively lower and higher Shmin data. The
difference between these two subsets of data is clearer
because fundamentally the derivation of SHmax values
contains a 3-times amplification of Shmin .

Figure 2. Shmin (a, b) and SHmax (c) magnitudes in different
locations. Shmin values from locations plotted in (a) are close
to, or lower than Sv , and those from locations plotted in (b)
are generally higher than Sv . Open and closed circles indicat-
ing SHmax in (c) corresponds to Shmin plotted in (a) and (b),
respectively.
Figure 3. The stress ratio contours: (a) Kmin and (b) Kmax .
To compare stress conditions in different locations
visually, we construct in Figure 3 in situ stress con-
tour maps expressed in terms of stress ratios, Kmin
(=Shmin /Sv ) and Kmax (=SHmax /Sv ). Because the SHmax
magnitudes depend to some extent on Shmin values,
the general trends of both Kmin and Kmax contours are
shown to be similar to each other. While the lower val-
ues of Kmax (in the middle of the map) are less than 1.4,
those in the southern margin reach values as high as
∼2.2, demonstrating a clear spatial contrast in stress
magnitude.
3.3 Comparison with earthquake focal mechanism
Because the in situ stress data represent stress condi-
tions in shallow depths, it is worth trying to compare
them with deeper stress information from the earth-
quake focal mechanism. A total of 85 contemporary
earthquake data with M>1.6 were used for focal
mechanism inversion (following the method given by
Gephart (1990)).
703
Figure 4. Focal mechanisms of 85 contemporary earth-
quakes (M>1.6) and the inversion result: (a) P-axes (dark
circles) and T-axes (open circles) of individual focal mech-
anisms, (b) Stress inversion results showing the best-fit
principal stress axes and their area of the 95% confidence
limit.
The inversion yields that the maximum stress (σ1 )
is horizontal and in the direction of ENE, which are
in good agreement with that from the shallow in situ
stress data. The intermediate and minimum princi-
pal stresses (σ2 and σ3 ) are tilted from the horizontal
and vertical directions and somewhat permutated from
those of in situ stresses. A possible reason may be that
the two principal stresses may not be clearly resolvable
so that the orientations of these principal stresses can
be arbitrary.
4 DISCUSSION
4.1 Correlation between stress magnitudes
and fault density
The cause of the heterogeneity of stress field can be
attributed to various reasons: contrast in material prop-
erty, different pore pressure conditions, and different
fracture networks. Lithology in the study area consists
mostly of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and thus no
clear lithologic boundary in terms of their physical
properties is expected between the low and high stress
regions. Regarding hydrology, the water level monitor-
ing system based on 40 water wells in the study area
shows no evidence of high pressure zone; water lev-
els are maintained at a depth of 11.8 ± 7.7 m, possibly
indicating hydrostatic pressure. However, the density
of regional scale faults appears to be distinct between
the low and the high stress regions (Fig. 1).
In order to quantitatively assess the variation of fault
density in different regions, we measured total cumu-
lative length of faults that are occupied in a region of
30 km diameter circle containing each location.
In Figure 5, we plot the Kmin as a function of
the cumulative fault length around each location. The
general trend is that the in situ stress magnitudes rep-
resented by stress ratios decreases as cumulative fault
length increases, except three locations. We do not
know the reason for these exceptions, but we believe
that the influencing factor on stress magnitudes is not
unique and that a single parameter controlling stress
Figure 5. Relationship between in situ stress condition
represented by Kmin and cumulative fault length.
Figure 6. Stereographic projection of the poles of Quater-
nary faults. The contours indicates τ/σ
.
states is not likely to be extracted. The results sug-
gest that the population of faults, even though it may
faults are optimally oriented for slip for the stress state
not be the only factor, is likely to have a correlation
of the region.
with the present-day in situ stress such that the lower
The determined values of τ/σ
acting on the Quater-
stress region is characterized by relatively higher fault
nary faults are substantially lower than the normally
density.
known values of friction coefficients of faults. When
The correlation between stress magnitudes and fault
compared to the laboratory determined static fric-
density lets us think that the present-day stress might
tion coefficients (having a range of 0.6–1.0, Byerlee,
have been controlled by pre-existing faults in this tec-
1978) in various rock types, the current stress con-
tonically stable region, by stress relief due to fault slip
ditions acting on the faults do not seem to be high
that retained the current stress field. In order to ver-
enough to initiate slip. However, previous studies show
ify this presumption, we investigated stress conditions
that the static frictional coefficient of faults can be
acting on recently activated faults that would cause
notably lower (as low as ∼0.2) depending on the type
stress relief.
of fault-filling material such as its clay content and
grain size (e.g. Morrow et al. 2000, Moore & Lock-
4.2 Stress relief by fault slip ner 2004). Thus, the stability of the faults cannot be
clearly asserted at this stage. Nonetheless, it is possi-
In the study area a number of Quaternary faults have
ble to draw some meaningful points from the results.
been identified that show clear shear displacements
Regardless of the criticality of stress conditions for
along fault planes that cut through the Quaternary
slip potential, the faults are oriented such that they are
alluvium. All the known Quaternary faults are located
subjected to the maximum possible τ/σ
ratio for the
in the eastern part of the basin, clustered along the
given stress regime. This suggests that the faults sus-
Yangsan fault and in the vicinity of the Ulsan fault
tain and thus maintain the current stress field, which
where K values are relatively low.
otherwise would decrease (or release) due to slip. Since
If stress was released by faulting, the Quaternary
it is expected that stress condition (in terms of its mag-
faults found in this region would have considerably
nitude) at the time of faulting might be more favorable
contributed to the stress relief. We conducted the slip
for slip than that in present, the results above imply that
tendency analysis of the Quaternary faults under the
the Quaternary faults are indicators of stress release
current stress regime. The slip tendency of a fault is
that causes the lower stress regime.
defined by the ratio of shear (τ) to effective normal
stresses (σ
) acting on the plane, which depends on
the attitude of fault with respect to the stress field. We 5 CONCLUSIONS
assume a hydrostatic pore pressure for calculating the
effective normal stress. Based on our results, there seems to be a spatial varia-
Because the stress field varies even in the region tion of stress orientations and magnitudes. First, there
that includes the Quaternary faults, we use averaged appears to be a systematic tilting of the maximum hor-
magnitudes and directions of the principal stresses in izontal stress direction to the strikes of the major fault
the region (Kmax = 1.5, Kmin = 1.0 and SHmax direc- system. Regarding the stress magnitude, the ratio of
tion: NE). The poles of the Quaternary faults projected horizontal to vertical stress (K) appears to be inversely
in the stereonet lie in a relatively high τ/σ
range for correlated with the density of regional scale faults;
the given stress state (Fig. 6). This indicates that these that is, the higher the fault density, the lower the stress

704
magnitude. This relation suggests a likelihood of stress
relief due to faulting, which results in a lower stress
regime.
This is corroborated by stress conditions on the
recently activated Quaternary faults that populate in
the lower K region. The ratios of shear to effective
normal stress acting on these fault planes are relatively
high for the given state of stress. That is, the faults are
oriented such that they are stressed at their maximum
criticality. Any excess stress may cause slip along the
faults, which would result in a release of the regional
stress field.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Background stress state estimated from 2008 Wenchuan

earthquake sequence

Zhang Yong-Qing & Xie Fu-Ren

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA

Susanna J. Gross
Boulder, CO

ABSTRACT: A model of the tectonic stress state of Longmenshan Faults and adjacent area including direction
and magnitude is derived from the spatial and temporal distribution of seismicity before and after Wenchuan
Ms 8.0 earthquake. This technique utilizes the assessment of spatial correlationship between stress change and
seismicity change to obtain stress information. One detailed source models derived from the inversion of body
wave, geology field survey and GPS data was used to calculate the stress change field from the Wenchuan
mainshock, which was fit to the spatial distribution of seismicity. Agreement between the best-fitting background
stress state from seismicity modeling and the background stress state inferred from focal mechanisms was found
to be consistent, showing that the spatial distribution of seismicity contains information about the stress state.
The best fitting background stress state has its greatest principal compressive stress plunging 11◦ to N295◦W,
a large effective coefficient of friction 0.76 for Longmenshan area, and 75 MPa for the magnitude of greatest
principal stress, which is far less than the overburden pressure estimated from the pressure intact rock endured
in 15 km depth. Although the estimations of the magnitude of background stress, gradient of stress with depth
and effective coefficient of friction are quite uncertain, and need further research to confirm, the result provides
the dynamic information of stress loading on the Longmenshan Faults, which is useful for the further research
on seismogenic stress environment.
Keywords: Wenchuan earthquake; Aftershock sequence; Inversion; Stress state

1 INTRODUCTION on the field observation. Earthquakes occur at a depth

The massive Ms8.0 earthquake that struck China’s
Sichuan province on the 12th of May, 2008, killing
about 90,000 people and injuring hundreds of thou-
sands more, showing a devastating force on the lives
and property for the populated area, western Sichuan
basin in China. The mainshock ruptured the boundary
between the Longmenshan mountains and the Sichuan
basin with as much as 9 m of slip and more than 300 km
long at depth along, and demonstrated the complex
strike-slip and thrust motion that characterizes the
region [Wang 2008; Xu et al. 2008].
Focal mechanism solution and GPS survey has
shown that Longmenshan mountain’s Kinematics
characteristics is that vertical uplift accompanied
by N-E horizontal motion, presenting an image of
complex fault movement. The complicated charac-
teristics strong motion of Wenchuan earthquake sup-
ports above observation result. Wenchuan earthquake
resulted from such long-term movement thus slow but
continuous energy accumulation and sudden release.
The dynamic environment, especially the stress envi-
ronment, implicit in this big earthquake becomes a
scientific problem that many researchers try to answer.
Earlier research on the stress state limited to shal-
low surface of crust, the acquisition of stress state relies
of tens of kilometers, so the detection of stress state
at depths is more meaningful. Slickenside and focal
mechanisms solution (Angelier et al.,1984; Zoback
et al.1992, Xie et al. 1993; Etchcopar et al. 1981, Xu
et al. 1987), combined with the analysis of geology and
rock mechanics (Li 1992), was used to the attempt of
acquisitions of stress state. However, these researches
give incomplete or partial information of stress state,
for we can only get the relative magnitude of princi-
pal stress, which results from the data and the method
itself. So the acquisition of stress state at depth is still
a scientific problem needing our effort.
In fact, there is a clear clue between stress and
earthquake. Earthquake is the beacon of stress change.
Lisowski pioneered the use of stress changes in the
interpretation of seismicity change data [Lisowski
1991], finding aftershocks clustered in areas of
increased Coulomb failure criterion computed for
faults oriented parallel to the mainshock rupture. But
they did not develop a quantitative measure of the
strength of the relationship between the seismicity
distribution and the stress model. Reasenberg and
Simpson (1992) find that correlationship of micro-
seismicity rate change with static stress changes as
small as a few tens of kilopascals. They also find that
aftershocks are most numerous in regions experienced

707
increased stress duo to the mainshock and are reduced
in number in areas in which static stress field reduced
the background stress.
Therefore, based on the assumption of stress
changes influence seismicity, Gross and Kisslinger
(1994, 1997) suggested a method to get stress state by
assessing the correaltionship between stress change
and seismicity change. They take events before and
after 1992 Landers earthquake and source model from
Wald and Heaton as input, inversed the stress state
of Landers and adjacent area, obtained 8 indepen-
dent parameters of the stress state model, including
the azimuth, plunge and magnitude of greatest princi-
pal stress, plunge of least principal stress, stress shape
factor, effective friction coefficient, density, and inter-
mediate stress magnitude. The directions parameters
of principal stress are consistent with the result of
focal mechanism. Although there exists uncertainty,
the magnitude of stress and other parameters are ref-
erentially valuable for the understanding of dynamics
of regional dynamics environment.
Some valuable researches have been conducted in
the geology environment and seismicity character-
istics of Longmenshan Faults, and other researches
discussed the stress environment derived from focal
mechanisms solutions and fault slip direction.
Based on the above research, spatial and tempo-
ral seismicity information before and after Wenchuan
earthquake as the input, we inversed the crustal stress
state of Longmenshan faults and adjacent (with 6.0◦
multiply 6.0◦ ) area, the eight independent parameters
are obtained.
2 REGIONAL TECTONICS
Longmenshan nappe tectonic belt is the boundary tec-
tonic belt of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and southern China
block, and is also a part of North-South seismic belt of
China, spreading along the middle part of eastern mar-
gin of Tibetan (Deng et al. 1994, Burchfiel et al. 2008).
Its structure and geology evolution is rather complex. It
is important for the understanding for the dynamics of
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the deformation character-
istics of North-South seismic belt of China. Longmen-
shan faults is the main component of Longmenshan
nappe tectonic belt, about 500 km in length, consist-
ing of 4 thrust fault, i.e., Maowen-Wenchuan fault,
Beichuan-Yingxiu fault, Guanxian-Jiangyou fault and
Longmenshan piedmont hidden fault (Figure 1).
The field investigations shows that the MS8.0
Wenchuan earthquake of 12 May 2008 ruptured two
NW dipping imbricate reverse faults along the Long-
menshan Fault zone at the eastern margin of theTibetan
Plateau. This earthquake generated a 240 km long sur-
face rupture along the Beichuan-Yingxiu Fault char-
acterized by right-lateral oblique faulting and a 90 km
long surface rupture along the Guanxian-Jiangyou
Fault characterized by dip-slip reverse faulting. Such
coseismic surface rupture pattern involved multiple
structures, and is the most complicated one among
708
Figure 1. Regional seismotectonic map of Longmenshan
Faults 1. Holocene active fault; 2. Pleistocene active fault;
3. Early and Middle Pleistocene fault; 4. Buried fault;
5. Thrust fault; 6. Dip-slip fault; 7. Epicenter of Ms8.0
events; 8. Epicenter of Ms7.0 ∼ 7.9 events;9. Epicenter of
Ms6.0 ∼ 6.9 events;10. Epicenter of Ms5.0 ∼ 5.9 events;
11. Epicenter of Ms4.0 ∼ 4.9 events; the rectangles is the pro-
jection of Wenchuan earthquake rupture plane(Redraw with
the data from Wang, 2008).
recent great earthquakes. The slip distribution on the
rupture plane is shown on Figure 1 (the rectangles
filled with gradient gray).
3 DATA
The seismicity used in this work is from the result of
certain researchers who have explored the character-
istics of seismicity and dynamics for this area, and the
work of EarthquakeAdministrator of Sichuan province
and Yunnan province, and Institute of Geophysics,
CEA (Zhu et al. 2008, Ma et al. 2008]. The events of
background are relocated, including the events during
1992 ∼ 2008. We apply a spatial cut to the catalogue,
using only events north of 34◦ , south of 27◦ , east of
100◦ , west of 106◦ , after applying this cut the working
catalogue including has more than 20000 events occur-
ring between 1992 ∼ 2008. The catalogue including
Ms ≥ 2.0, 15000 events after the mainshock, till the
end of 2009, part of the events are relocated, and other
events are the result of mobile seismostation. So there
are enough events to well define the spatial distribution
of seismicity before and after the mainshock.
The source model is another essential input for
the inversion. We collected 7 source models listed in
Table 1, We adopt some detailed and maybe more real-
istic source model published by Wang (2008) and Shen
(2009). These models are inverted from the teleseismic
waveforms and local coseismic displacement based
on the geologic studies and the surface rupture inves-
tigation, and the double-listric rupture plane divided
by sub-faults with gradual changing strikes, dips and
Table 1. Source models of Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake.

Sub-fault
Model Num. Strike(◦ ) Dip(◦ ) Rake(◦ ) Reference

No. 1 1 229 33 0–180 Ji et al.

(2008)
No. 2 1 230 39 120 Chen et al.
(2008)
No. 3 1 225 39 0–180 Zhang et al.
(2008)
No. 4 3 222.2–234 20–65 0–180 Wang et al.
(2008)
No. 5 Not 216–276 0 ∼ 97 0–180 Shen et al.
clear (2009)
No. 6 1 228 33 0–180 Sladen
(2008)
No. 7 1 229◦ 33◦ 147.6◦ Nishimura
(2008)

The No.6 model (Sladen, 2008) is similar to the No.1, No.7

is too detailed to be used in the inversion. So we choose
No.1–No.5 models as the target source models.

responsible rakes. Other source models are inverted

from waveform. The surface projection of the slip on
rupture plane is depicted in colored rectangles in Fig- Figure 2. This flowchart illustrates model parameters
ure 1, redrew according to Wang’s data (Wang et al. (ellipses) and analysis procedures.
2008).
computed from the principal stresses σi in following
function.
4 METHOD

The thread to obtain stress state using seismicity and

source model described as following: take seismicity
data of target area and source model of strong earth- In which σi (i = 1, 2, 3) is the principal stress, µ
refers
quake as input, initiate a stress state, and then calculate to effective friction coefficient. Its derivation can be
stress changes in the focus of each earthquake before found in the paper’s appendix of Susanna (2001).
and after the mainshock, and evaluate the spatial corre- The change of failure stress can be computed by
lationship between failure stress change and seismicity following function,
change. Modulate the stress state to make the similar-
ity between the images of stress change and seismicity
change is the biggest.
Changes in failure stress are found for each hypocen-
ter by evaluating both with and without the modeled
4.1 Stress model mainshock stresses and by subtracting σF without the
The stress model we use was developed from the model mainshock stress step from σF with it.
used by Gross and Kisslinger (2001). It builds seismic
sources out of point double couples in a purely elastic
homogeneous half space. Fault plane may be simulated 4.2 Statistical process
by distributing a large number of double couples upon
Stress models are compared by computing t statistics,
a fault surface, with variable slip distributions repre-
which relate the change in spatial distribution of the
sented by allowing the moments of the double couples
seismicity to the change in failure stress,
to vary. Stress fields calculated with our stress model
are similar to stress fields computed with programs
that include subroutines written by Okada (1992).
The stress model is used to compute a change in fail-
ure stress at the hypocenter of each earthquake (after-
shock or background) using the three-dimensional
stress tensors before and after the mainshock. The The average change in failure stress from back-
before
Coulomb failure stress on optimally oriented planes ground seismicity σF is compared with the aver-
σF (Reasonberg & Simpson 1992, King et al. 1994] is age change in failure stress from the aftershocks

709
Table 2. Inverted Background Stress of Longmenshan Faults area.

Param . σ1 σ1 σ1 σ3
Source Model t azi/◦ plunge /◦ mag/MPa plunge/◦ ϕ y µ
ρ

No. 1 −39 282 ± 8 16 ± 6 49.5 ± 20 10 ± 10 0.70 ± 0.11 0.70 ± 0.10 0.75 ± 0.30 2.3 ± 1.2
No. 2 −49 275 ± 6 23 ± 12 78.6 ± 12 2±7 0.45 ± 0.15 0.60 ± 0.33 0.54 ± 0.22 3.0 ± 2.2
No. 3 −42 310 ± 13 11 ± 7 53.0 ± 31 14 ± 11 0.60 ± 0.08 0.87 ± 0.21 0.62 ± 0.13 0.6 ± 1.8
No. 4 −58 295 ± 3 1±5 65.7 ± 19 5±8 0.55 ± 0.12 0.79 ± 0.12 0.82 ± 0.11 1.8 ± 0.9
No. 5 −62 290 ± 5 10 ± 5 62.0 ± 20 17 ± 4 0.68 ± 0.10 0.90 ± 0.11 0.47 ± 0.21 0.8 ± 0.7
F.M.S. * – 288 5 – 20 0.62 – – –

Note*: F.M.S. is the inversion of Focal Mechanisms Solution before and after Wenchuan Main shock (Cui, 2009). Source
models here have the same define as the Table 1. ϕ is the ratio of stress magnitudes, y the ratio of least and mediate principal
stress magnitudes, µ
the effective frictional coefficient, and ρ
the mass density.

after This optimization technique is designed to over-

σF and normalized by the pooled standard devi-
ation of the two quantities sbefore and safter . In effect:
we use t statistics to ask how significantly the seis-
micity distribution has changed, as defined by the
change in failure stress averaged over locations of the
earthquakes.
To balance the effects of different parts of the after-
shock zone upon the solution, the seismicity is divided
up into eight concentric shells, ranging from 5 to 85 km
away from the center of the source. The quantity used
to selectthe best
 fitting model of the stress step is
simply  ni=1 ti , the sum of the t statistics as defined
above for the earthquakes in all the distance ranges.
Each zone is expected to contain a variety of stress
steps, and each show a greater number of aftershocks
in zones of stress increase. Pooling statistics from all of
the zones makes it much less likely that large numbers
of events in any one zone will have a disproportionate
effect upon the solution.
The stress state fits shown in Table 2 were found
by calculating 10 sets of 1000 trial background stress
states each and selecting the best fitting
 stress  state
from each set as defined with the  ni=1 ti  statistic
discussed in the stress modeling section above. The
inversion begins with trial stress states in the first set
uniformly distributed over the full legal range for every
parameter listed in Table 2 that is not constrained. After
the first set has been evaluated, new trial stress states
are drawn from an exponential distribution of param-
eter values broadly centered on the best fitting
 stress
state, which has the largest value of  ni=1 ti  yet found.
As the inversion progresses, the width of the distribu-
tion of trial stress state parameters is narrowed, until
the trial stress states being evaluated are only slightly
different from the best fitting stress state.
In order to reduce the time of inversion, the trial
stress state parameters are done as following proce-
dure: we pre-sampled the data, i.e. presetting some
initial value for the parameters, for example, the
azimuth and magnitude of the greatest principal stress
are set to −100 ∼ 0◦ and 1 ∼ 1000 MPa respectively, of
cause, these value can be preset according to the focal
mechanisms solutions and rock mechanics experiment
result. The parameters are narrowed by utilizing a
method similar to genetic algorithm.
come the nonlinear nature of the problem while mak-
ing efficient use of stress modeling computer program
written for the purpose.
5 RESULT
The stress state fits shown in Table 2 were found by cal-
culating 10 sets of 1000 trial background stress states
each and selecting the best fitting stress state from each
set as defined with the 1;t statistic discussed in the
stress modeling section above. The inversion begins
with trial stress states in the first set uniformly dis-
tributed over the full legal range for every parameter
listed in Table 2 that is not constrained. After the first
set has been evaluated, new trial stress states are drawn
from an exponential distribution of parameter values
broadly centered on the best fitting stress state, which
has the lowest value of t yet found. As the inversion
progresses, the width of the distribution of trial stress
state parameters is narrowed, until the trial stress states
being evaluated are only slightly different from the
best fitting stress state. This optimization technique is
designed to overcome the nonlinear nature of the prob-
lem while also making efficient use of stress-modeling
computer program written for the purpose.
Best fitting background stresses for fits to four
source models. Models and various catalog subsets.
All were constrained to fit the background stress model
of focal mechanisms by Cui et al. (2009). Units of ρ

are thousands of kilograms per cubic meter, All results
can be compared because the same catalog is used for
this study.
Five different source models were used to assess
the impact of uncertainties in the source upon the best
fitting stress state. In this study the orientations and rel-
ative magnitudes of the principal stresses for a general
background stress state were sometimes constrained
to the results of a stress inversion from focal mech-
anisms (Cui et al. 2009). Because the constraints are
based upon focal mechanisms and are independent of
the earthquake locations which are the primary data
for the stress fits calculated here. The Wang et al.
(2008) and Shen et al. (2009) sources in combination

710
with the catalog cut at magnitude 2 show remarkable
agreements with the stress inversion from focal mech-
anisms. The constrained fit is only 2–7◦ different in
azimuth of the greatest principal stress and 5◦ steeper
in plunge. The plunge of the least principal stress is
not as accurate, being 10◦ off, and the ratio of stress
magnitudes, is moderately different, 0.5–0.7 instead
of 0.62 from the focal mechanisms. The magnitude of
the greatest principal stress, approximately 75 MPa,
is consistent too but is not available from the focal
mechanism inversion, so it cannot be independently
checked. Similarly, the effective coefficient of fric-
tion mu’ varies in a wide range from 0.4–0.8, but this
is constrained with spatial distributions of seismicity
alone and cannot be independently checked. The rela-
tively high value coefficient found in these models is
consistent with laboratory measurements of friction.
The Ji (2008) and Chen (2008) models have been
used to fit the same catalog, but those fits are less
consistent with the focal mechanism inversion than
the Shen et al. (2009) and Wang et al. (2008) source
model fit. The greatest principal stress is 13◦ different
in azimuth and 10◦ different in plunge.The least princi-
pal stress is again worse, being 10–18◦ off in plunge.
This comparison suggests that the Shen et al.(2009)
and Wang et al. (2008) source model produces a stress
field in better agreement with focal mechanisms, but
it also suggests that the stress inversions based upon
seismicity are sensitive to uncertainties in the source
model.
The densities in this study are generally less than
2.7 or negative which is inconsistent with the classic
view of lithostatic stress, it implies that the vertical
normal stress is decreasing with depth in relation to
the horizontal principal stresses. The negative effective
densities are quite unexpected and are presented partly
to communicate to the reader the true uncertainty of
the stress fitting results. There is no a priori reason
to suppose horizontal stresses increase more rapidly
than vertical stresses with depth and so the main result
would be to hide the problem.
6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The results above fairly firmly establish that the
spatial distribution of seismicity can provide informa-
tion about the stress state, in agreement with stress
inversions based upon focal mechanisms, but there
are many other quantities estimated as part of the
technique that are less testable and more interesting.
Some of the quantities are unstable because inver-
sions with slightly different catalogs produce signif-
icantly different results, and in some cases repeated
inversions using the same data are not consistent.
These uncertainties may caused by the disturbed infor-
mation such as some discrete distributed events and
relocation error, because the technique evaluates the
spatial data, thus is sensitive to the location accuracy.
Of cause, the result can be improved by extracting
major characteristics of spatial data. The effective
coefficient of friction µ
and effective overburden
711
density, are unstable and therefore unreliable. The
magnitude of the effective background stress fluctu-
ates widely, averaging to 75 MPa, beyond our expec-
tations, a value considerably lower than the overburden
pressure; it conveys information that the force drives
the big earthquake fault to rupture maybe not so large.
The effective coefficients of friction are also quite vari-
able and average to 0.6, this means that the effective
coefficient of friction is similar to intrinsic friction
coefficient, in Longmenshan area.
Analysis on the focal mechanism solutions shows
that there exists entirely different type of focal mecha-
nism solutions in regional stress field, which is called
stress permutation. Hu & Angelier (2001) has stud-
ied this phenomenon, if two of three principal stress
magnitudes are roughly equal size, it will bring about
the stress permeation. Analysis on the focal mech-
anism solution of Wenchuan aftershocks shows that
Strike-slip and thrust-type focal mechanism solu-
tions exist in large numbers in hypo central region
(Hu et al. 2008, Zhang et al. 2009). This study has
got a ratio of least and mediate principal stress magni-
tude is about 0.8, which can be an explanation stress
permutation in Wenchuan hypo central region, and
responsible relationship between stress parameters and
observation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ma Hong-Sheng of Institute of Earthquake Science,
CEA, Zhang Yong-Jiu of Sichuan Earthquake Admin-
istration, CEA, and Liu Li-fang of Yunnan Earthquake
Administration, CEA, Provided relocated earthquake
catalogue. Thoughtful reviews by Prof. Lu Yuan-
Zhong and Prof. Chen Lian-Wang, Prof. Shi Bao-Ping
of Graduate School, CAS, and an anonymous reviewer
greatly improved the manuscript.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The new-born fault in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan, China:

A case in Qingping town

Junjie Ren, Changwei Mao & Shimin Zhang

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Guihua Chen & Xiwei Xu

Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration,Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Mw 7.9, ruptured the Longmenshan fault zone at the eastern
margin of Tibetan Plateau and formed a 240-km-long surface rupture zone along the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and
an additional 70-km-long surface rupture zone along the Guanxian-Jiangyou fault. Some authors published its
repeated recurrence behavior along the preexistent fault trace. Here, we use RTK surveying of alluvial terrace
sequence and excavation of the trench across the surface rupture in Qipanshi Village, Qingping Town and find
that the vertical offsets of terraces and sediment in the trench are equivalent to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
(∼3 m) in situ which proves that it was possibly a newly born rupture and did not follow the preexistent fault
line.
Qipanshi Village is located in the jog of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault. The strain energy accumulated in the jog
zone due to different movement of the faults of tow sides, might be focused on the soft interlayer of carbonaceous
shale in the north of Qianpanshi and the Wenchuan earthquake triggered the release of strain energy and formed
the new surface rupture. This study may be significant in understanding the detailed rupture process of Wenchuan
earthquake and selecting the excavation location of paleoearthquake study.

1 INTRODUCTION of geomorphologic surfaces across the surface rup-

On May 12, 2008, a great earthquake (Mw7.9)
awoke the seemingly sleeping Longmenshan fault
zone at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.
This catastrophe caused millions of landslides and
the loss of thousands lives and a huge property
(Zhang et al., 2008). Post-earthquake field inves-
tigations indicate that the earthquake generated a
240-km-long surface rupture zone along the Yingxiu-
Beichuan fault (YBF) and an additional 70-km-long
surface rupture zone along the Guanxian-Jiangyou
fault (GJF) (Hao et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2009a; Xu
et al., 2009b). After this shock,a number of geosci-
entists published their research results in the field of
earthquake mechanism,rupture process, geophysical
background, deformation partitioning, complex slip
distribution, geometry and kinetics of surface rupture
zone and so on (An et al., 2009, Burchfiel et al., 2008,
Chang et al., 2008, Chen et al., 2009, Deng et al.,
2008, Dong, 2009, Fu et al., 2009, Li et al., 2009,
Lin et al., 2009, Liu et al., 2009, Lu et al., 2009, Ma
et al., 2009, Meng et al., 2008, Peng et al., 2009, Roy-
den et al., 2008, Teng et al., 2008, Toda et al., 2008,
Wang et al., 2009b, Wang et al., 2008, Wu et al.,
2009a, Wu et al., 2009b, Wu et al., 2009c, Zhang
et al., 2009a, Zhang et al., 2008, Zhang et al., 2009b,
Zhang et al., 2009c). Measurement of deformation
ture zone shows that older level of alluvial terraces
always has a bigger offset which approximately is the
multiple of the co-seismic displacement in Yingxiu
town, Xiaoyudong town, Leigu town, Beichuan town,
Pingtong town along the BYF and in Bailu town
along the GJF (Ren et al., 2009). Trenches in site
also give the evidences of paleoearthquakes occurred
repeated along this seismogenic faults (Dong et al.,
2008, Ran et al., 2008, Zheng et al., 2008). How-
ever, we conducted a RTK surveying of alluvial terrace
sequences across the surface rupture in Qingping town
in January, 2009 (Figs. 1,2). Our finds by deformation
surveying and trench excavation show that the newly-
born surface rupture co-exists with repeated rupture
in situ.
2 DEFORMATION OF RIVER TERRACES
Coseismic surface scarps are measured using the Trim-
ble R8 GNSS system which is a multi-channel, multi-
frequency GNSS(Global Navigation Satellite System)
receiver, antenna, and data-link radio combined in one
compact unit. Powered by an enhanced Real-Time
Kinematic (RTK) engine, Trimble R-Track technol-
ogy supports both the modernized GPS L2C and L5
signals and GLONASS L1/L2 signals. (Landau et al.,

713
Figure 1. Surface rupture zone associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake along the BYF and GJF. Red circle- the
major shock of Wenchuan earthquake. Yellow circles- aftershocks relocated by (Huang et al., 2008) from May 12 to July
8, 2008. Red lines indicate the surface rupture zone of Wenchuan earthquake modified from (Xu et al., 2009). Aftershock
focal cross sections are indicated by Blue rectangles. Black box shows the study area. Focal mechanism solutions are taken
from USGS.YBF-Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, GJF- Guanxian-Jiangyou fault, WMF- Wenchuan-Maoxian fault, QCF- Qingchuan
fault, MSF- Minshan fault, HYF- Huya fault. Whit circle- placename: DJY- Dujiangyan County, YX- Yingxiu Town, XYD-
Xiaoyudong Town, WC- Wenchuan County, MX- Maoxian County, QP- Qingping Town, LG-Leigu Town, BC- Beichuan
County, QC-Qingchuan County. Inset map shows tectonic features around the Tibetan Plateau. SC-Sichan Basin.

Figure 2. Characteristics of deformed river terraces in Qipanshi Village, Qingping Town, showing surface rupture (solid line,
teeth toward upper plate) and river terraces (grey level region). Thin dashed lines indicate the surveying line of displacement of
terraces across the surface rupture zone. Thick long dashed lines show active faults inferred from shutter ridges, linear valleys
and aligned saddles in SPOT satellite images and aerial photos. Thick short dashed lines indicate the bedrock fault traces from
the geological map at scale 1:200,000. Contour lines are from the topographic map at scale 1:50,000. Black solid box is the
location of trench excavation. The projection coordinate system is WGS84-UTM.

714
Figure 3. Photographs of typical surface ruptures of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Qipanshi Village, Qingping Town.
White arrows indicate the coseismic surface scarps. R- Mianyuan River. (a) Scarp on the floodplain(T0), view to NW. (b) Scarp
on the terrace T1, view to NW. (c) Scarp on the terrace T2, view to NE. (d) Scarp on the terrace T3, view to NW. (e) Survey
result of the vertical displacement of river terraces. See Figure 2 for the location of surveying lines.

2007, Roberts et al., 2007). This integrated system
delivers unmatched power, accuracy and performance
in a rugged, compact unit. This system always has
a high precision in the RTK system which always
has the horizontal and vertical precision, respectively
±10 mm + 1 ppm RMS and ±20 mm + 1 ppm RMS
and it is very suitable to the environment of the Long-
menshan region which is always mountainous and
woody. A field test on the terrace surface indicates that
the vertical accuracy is always smaller than ±10 cm
with a 5-seconds sample interval despite the shelter of
around cliffy hills.
In the north of Qipanshi Village, Qingping Town
along the Mianyuan River, there are four terraces
(T4 ∼ T1) and the floodplain (T0) whose heights above
the river bed are 53 m, 28 m, 18.5 m, 11 m and ∼1 m,
respectively (Figs. 2 and 3). Qipanshi Village is located
on the terrace T2 and Sanxingmiao Village is located
on the terrace T1 (Fig. 2). The Wenchuan Mw7.9
earthquake dislocated the terrace sequence from flood-
plain (T0) to the third terrace (T3). According to the
local villagers, these geomorphological surfaces are
almost flat before Wenchuan earthquake. RTK Sur-
veying lines are perpendicular to the strike of the
coseismic surface scarp (Fig. 2). The raw GPS data
were processed into WGS84-UTM Map Grid coor-
dinates and graphed by the program grapher v4.0
(Golden Software Inc.). Surveying results indicates
that the floodplain T0 of Mianyuan River was dislo-
cated in the southern Qipanshi Village and formed a
310-cm-high scarp (Figs. 3a and e) and a cement road
on terrace T1 was broken by the earthquake and its
scarp is 310 cm height(Figs. 3b and e). The farmland
on terrace T2 was deformed and its scarp is 294 cm
high (Figs. 3c and e) and the scarp height on terrace
T3 is 310 ± 10 cm (Figs. 3d and e). In addition, the hor-
izontal offset of terraces and floodplain is very small
and unobvious (Fig. 3b).

715

Figure 4. SW wall log of Qipanshi trench, imaging the
deformation of alluvial sediments. Trench location is shown
in Fig. 2. (a) Photograph of SW wall of the trench. (b) Detailed
log of SW wall of the trench. Thick black line is the fault. The
numbers in brackets indicate deposit units. The black triangle
is the location of the OSL sample.
3 DEFORMATION OF ALLUVIAL SEDIMENTS
IN WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE
Shallow excavations have been proved to be very use-
ful for describing the internal structure of fault scarp
(Yeats et al., 1997). In order to study the deformation
of alluvial sediments in this earthquake, a 13 m-long-
and-5 m-deep trench was excavated on the surface of
terrace T2 across the rupture scarp (Figs. 2 and 4). SW
wall of the trench was mapped in detail. The trench
discovers eight sediment units (Fig. 4). Unit 1 consists
of recent blackish 20-cm-thick cultivated soil (mainly
sand with pebbles and often grass roots) which covers
the surface of terrace T2 and presently is the farm-
land. Other units represent alluvial deposits. Unit 2
is a brownish cobble filled with sand and silty sand.
Unit 3 is a grey bowlder filled with coarse sand. Unit 3
and 2 represent the sediment rhythm from coarse to
fine in the alluvial system. Unit 4 is a grayish-brown
coarse sand, filled with pebbles. Unit 5 is a yellowish-
brown gravel-bearing silt. And unit 6 is medium-grain
grayish-brown sand with horizontal beddings. Unit 7
consists of grey gravel-bearing coarse sand and unit 8
consists of a yellowish-brown horizontally- bedding
coarse sand, filled with pebbles.
On the terrace T2, the fault scarp reflects only
warping at the surface. In the excavation, the zone of
faulting is about 2-m wide and complex (Fig. 4b). Unit
6 to 8 are on the hanging wall of the fault and dragged
by the fault plane f3 and an extensional packed wedge
was formed along with the movement of the fault plane
716
Figure 5. Simplified model of the new rupture in Qipanshi
Village. Teeth are toward upper plate.
f3 (Fig. 4b). On the footwall unit 6 and the bottom of
unit 4 are not exposed in the trench. Unit 5, a silt lens
in the coarse sand layer (unit 4), was dragged and dis-
located by the fault plane f1 (Fig. 4b) which indicates
the direction of this faulting. But the offset of unit 5
is about 1.4 m, smaller than that of terrace T2. Under
the biggest bowlder in unit 3, the gravels of unit 4 is
the long-axis orientation on slip plane (Fig. 4). Unit 1
to 3 are expressed as a fold and have an almost same
deformation with a vertical offset of ∼3 m, equivalent
to the height of surface scarp on the terrace T2. Far
from the fault zone and its vicinity, the deposits are
in a common alluvial sedimentary sequence and are
not deformed (Fig. 4b) which demonstrates the defor-
mation of the Wenchuan earthquake is confined in the
limited fault zone. The sand layer under unit 2 on the
hanging wall is dated by Optically Stimulated Lumi-
nescence and its age is 68.29 ± 2.88 ka which reveals
only the last rupture occurred since at least 68 ka.
4 FEATURES AND CAUSES OF THE SURFACE
RUPTURE IN QIPANSHI VILLAGE
The result of RTK surveying on river terraces indi-
cates that terrace T1-T3 and flood plain (T0) have
a equivalent vertical offset which represents the last
vertical displacement (∼3 m) in QingpingTown. Exca-
vation of the trench on the terrace T2 shows that the
deposit layers (Unit 1–3) were merely warped in the
2008 Wenchuan earthquake and their vertical defor-
mations are equivalent to the vertical offset of terrace
T2 (Fig. 3). And the other paleoearthquake is not dis-
covered through the deformation of sediment in this
trench (Fig. 4). These finds give me the evidence that
surface rupture in Qipanshi does not follow the fault
trace of the last rupture and bedrock faults and it is
possibly newly broken.
Qipanshi Village is located in the fault jog between
the fault (F1) from Yingxiu Town and the fault (F2)
from Beichuan County (Figs. 2 and 5). In Qipanshi,
the fault F1 is mainly thrusting uplift and has a very
small horizontal slip. Field investigations shows that
the fault F2 have an almost equivalent displacement
in vertical and horizontal direction (Xu et al., 2009).
Relocated aftershock sequence of Wenchuan earth-
quake using double-difference algorithm indicates that
two sides of the fault jog have a different pattern of
aftershock activity (Fig. 1) (Huang et al., 2008), which
may demonstrate the principal thrusting uplift in the
Figure 6. Geological section (A-A
) in Qipanshi Village. Section line is seen on Fig. 2.
fault F1 and the increasing strike slip in the fault F2.
Due to the different thrusting and right-lateral strike
slip, the zone of fault jog is in the northwestern com-
pression and north-eastern extension. In the fault jog,
there is possibly a barrier which takes the respon-
sibility of transforming the style of fault movement
and simultaneously storing the strain due to different
movement of the fault F1 and F2 (Fig. 5).After the stor-
age of at least a thousand years, the strain approached
or reached the fracture strength of the rocks in the bar-
rier. When the new rupture of Wenchuan earthquake
occurred on the fault F1 and F2, the rocks of the bar-
rier between F1 and F2 could not bear the big strain
energy. So its rocks began to fracture following the
soft strata in the barrier and triggered this new rupture
(Fig. 5).
In the jog area, the types of rocks are mainly
dolostone, limestone and sandstone which are rela-
tive stronger (Fig. 6). Otherwise, between these rocks,
there is some interbedded carbonaceous shale which
is softer than other type of rocks. And the new rup-
ture might occur in this kind of soft layers. Along
the surface rupture zone of Wenchuan earthquake, in
Hongkou Town, Beichuan County and Pingtong Town
and so on, the type of softer carbonaceous shale is
easily found in the fault plane (Wang et al., 2009a).
Therefore, the strain energy accumulated in the jog
zone is focused on the interlayer of carbonaceous shale
in the north of Qianpanshi Village before Wenchuan
earthquake and this big shock triggered the release of
strain energy and formed the new surface rupture.
5 CONCLUSION
RTK surveying of alluvial terrace sequence and exca-
vation of the trench across the surface rupture in
Qipanshi Village, Qingping Town indicate that the ver-
tical offset of terraces and sediment in the trench is
equivalent to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (∼3 m)
in situ and this proves that this surface scarp is possibly
a new-born rupture.
The strain energy accumulated in the jog zone due
to different movement of the faults of two sides, was
focused on the soft interlayer of carbonaceous shale
717
in the north of Qipanshi Village and the Wenchuan
earthquake triggered the release of strain energy. So
the barrier was broken and formed the new surface
rupture.
This study discovers that the 2008 Wenchuan earth-
quake not only had the repeated behavior along the
preexistent fault, but also generated is newly-born rup-
ture. It is of significance in understanding the detailed
rupture process of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and
selecting the excavation location of paleoearthquake
study.
This article was completed with assistance from
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake
Administration Research Fund (grant ZDJ2009-16)
and the National Science Foundation of China (grant
40841007).
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Active model, deformation characteristics and dynamic mechanism

of the Yingxiu – Nanba segment in the MS 8.0 seismic fault

H.F. Lu, S.M. Zhang, Ma Bao-Qi, Hou Zhi-Hua, He Zhong-Tai,

Zhao Jun-Xiang & Wang Jin-Yan
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake happened 0n May 12th 2008, which was mainly caused by the
activity of the Central Fault Belt. What aspects did surface rupture characteristics of this earthquake manifest?
According to the surface rupture belts, deformation characteristics, kinematic characteristics and aftershock
migration characteristics formed by Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake along theYingxiu – Nanba segment of Central
Fault Belt On May 12th 2008, combined with the former’ study about physical character of the shallow and deep
part of the fault, the research result showed: (1) FromYingxiu to Nanba, the faulting mode changed from reverse-
thrusting to reverse-thrusting with right lateral slip and to the component of right lateral striking slip correspond
to the component of thrust, and was accompanied by a weak rotation between the two walls of the fault; (2) On
the whole, the northeast direction striking fault was dominated by thrusting with right lateral slipping, while
locally there was northwest direction thrusting with left lateral striking slip, as was the result of the east-west
direction stress; (3) The seismic cracks, the distribution of aftershocks and the deformation characteristics of the
overlapped shortening on the earth’s surface revealed that the rupture and strain energy releasing resulted from
the combined action of region tectonic stress in near east-west direction and local tectonic stress in northeast
direction; (4) Under the geological background of nearly east-west direction exceptional density zone and the
fault plane dipping to east-west direction, plateau matter creepaging to the east along the slip layer led to nearly
east-west direction stress and brought the Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake, and whose energy regulation behaved
as the active method of Longmenshan Fault.

Longmenshan Orogen, as Chinese first grade tectonic

unit, which is the boundary of the Songpan-Ganzi fold
belt and the Yangtze Plate, is a grand complex thrust
belt, which composes of the Back range fault, Centre
fault and Front range fault which arrange like folded
tiles by northeast direction (Fig. 1), locating the bound-
ary between the physiognomy of the East and the West
of China (Zhang et al., 2003). There was a great earth-
quake happening in the Central Fault 0n May 12th
2008 whose magnitude is MS 8.0, epicentral being in
the Yingxiu town and the depth of earthquake source
about 18 km. Meanwhile, Beichuan county suffered a
great destroy and formed elliptical intensity zone as
Yingxiu-Beichuan an axis, with eleven degree. This
earthquake behaves high magnitude, grand energy,
shallow epicentral and long duration (90s) (Chen et al.,
2008; Deng, 2008) and the most peak value ground
acceleration was recorded by Strong Earthquake Desk
reaching 957.7 gal (Deng, 2008).
Experts and researches at large think, combin- Figure 1. Simple map showing regional geological structure
ing with the Satellite images and scientific reviews, and its power source of the studied area. 1. active tecton-
ics; 2. inactive tectonics; 3. thrust fault; 4. strike-slip fault;
that Wenchuan earthquake behaved thrust, right lat-
5. tectonic stress field; 6. the studied area; 7. M = 8.0; 8.
eral striking and extrusion, whose seismic structure M = 6.0∼6.1; 9. M = 5.0∼5.9; 10. M = 4.0∼4.9; F1 : Min-
is the Central fault. The above seems contradiction jiang fault; F2 : Wenxian-Linjiang fault; F3 : Longmenshan
comparing with the viewpoint on the characteristics fault belt: F3−1 the back range faults; F3−2 the central
of the Longmen shan Orogen before the Earthquake. fault; F3−3 he front range faults 1. Seismic surface rupture
For example, the process of surface shallow geologic characteristics ofYingxiu-Nanba segment in the Central fault.

719

Figure 2. Characteristic of seismic surface rupture.
structure did not behave active character and the scope
and intensity of seismic activity was far inferior to
Xianshui River fault and Anning River- Xiaojiang
Fault in history, and so on.
Therefore, detailedly discussing the activity of the
Fault, scientific confirming the seismic surface rup-
ture, deformation characteristics and the Earthquake’s
formation mechanism are very important for again
understanding the tectonic activities of the Longmen-
shan Fault belt in late Quaternary and its dynamics
environment.
The central fault spreads out alongYanjing,Yingxiu,
Beichuan, Nanba, Qinliukou and Ningqiang zone and
generally striking northeast with 50◦ , inclining almost
northwest, obliquity some 60◦ , whose mainbody is
made up of several branches with right striking and
left step. According to activity of the Central fault,
It is divided into three segments, including Yanjing-
Yingxiu segment, Yingxiu-Beichuan segment, and
Beichuan-Qinglinkou segment. This paper mainly dis-
cussed Yingxiu-Beichuan phase. Coseismic rupture
characteristics by MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake is
complex and it mainly acquits drums, ridge, crack
and shorten deformation etc., which may directly and
indirectly reveal the activity of the Fault.
Wenchuan earthquake, according to field obser-
vation, led to an uplift of National highway (upper
plate of the Fault) 321 about 2.1 m, and the verge of
mud roadbed moving with right striking about 0.4 m
(Fig. 2A), meanwhile, a great deal of Landslide devel-
oped on slope of the mountain along the Fault and
720
new groove, extrusion drum and other physiognomy
were produced because of the Earthquake. The Fault
tends towards 20◦ , arc face is almost erection, channel
due to scratches trends upwards with arc upright along
gliding face (Fig. 2B) and highness of the ridge is 4 m
with the inclination of southeast slightly. Combined
with characteristics of the scratches, the characteris-
tics of the Fault shows thrust with right lateral motion,
with falling water nearby the fault, and upper plate’s
drums led trees the inclination with west.
At the south to Xiaoyudong, the surface rupture
exhibits towards northwest direction with wave Shape
with 7 m long and the rupture belt incises the dilu-
vial fan, terrace and riverbed, graduating away towards
northwest and companied by broad drums produced
along both sides of the Fault. Trees is inclined, build-
ing breaks down and falling water of the river exhibits
like strip etc. River obviously reveals right lateral
curve, level strike-slip dislocation 1.5 m and verti-
cal dislocation 1.72 m (Fig. 2C). In Gaochuan zone,
earthquake scarp mainly distributes river, terrace and
fields, breaking lots of roads and rivers and leading
the gravel in the riverbed bared, with 1.7 m uplift. On
the stagger roadway, Many tension fracture arranges
with 310◦ direction, the width of the fracture from
10 cm to 15 cm, the distance between the two fracture
about 3–4 m like wave. The trees on the scarps Nearby
Come-at-able field, which was produced by Wenchuan
earthquake, was inclined with 240◦ , as revealed that
the fault main thrust with right-lateral striking slip,
horizontal offset 1.6 m and vertical offset 1.65 m.
While, in Leigu, ridge on the surface strikes 60◦ and
dips to East with the slope angle of 45◦ . Seismic fault
led field ridge to right-lateral strike slip with 1.45 m
and vertical slip with 1.66–1.72 m (Fig. 2D), which
shows the fault motions were thrust with right-lateral
strike slip with mechanism and with greater thrust.
Meanwhile, seismic scarp in the Pingtong zone has
highness 3.5 m (Fig. 2E), length 500–600 m, nearby
the channel edge right-lateral strike slip 3.4–3.5 m
(approximate uplifted height), and ridge strikes 43◦ ,
dips to eastsouth and slope angle of 48◦ . The inverted
scarp excavated nearby reveals seismic fault being
(Fig. 2F), 43◦ trending,dipping to eastsouth with dip
angle 50◦ . The gravel in the upper plate near the Fault
behaves obvious directionality, its flat plane dipping
northwest(305◦ ∼ 310◦ ), dip angle accretion with the
distance between the fault and the place of gravel
shortening. The flat plane of the gravel in the fault
almost is vertical, southeast trending. While dip direc-
tion of the flat plane of the gravel in the lower plate is
identical to the fact in the upper plate, only dip angle
obvious diminishing. There are many curving rupture
nearby the fault in the upper plate, formed by transpres-
sion, striking direction 60◦ ∼ 70◦ , width of 20∼30 cm,
while deformation zone width 10–15 m.
The earthquake causes seismic scarp in Mowan vil-
lage of Nanba town, 30–40◦ trending, width several
meters, meanwhile, the west to fault is higher than the
east, nearby the roadway right-lateral slip offset 1m.
The buildings lying to east of the fault dips to eastsouth
Table 1. Ration of the vertical displacement and horizontal
displacement of earthquake surface rupture on the Yingxiu –
Nanba segment of the Central fault belt.
spot Yingxiu Hongkou Xiaoyudong
Vertical 5.2 Obliquity almost 90◦ 1.15
displacement/
horizontal
displacement
spot Gaochuan Leigu Pingtong Nanba
Vertical 1.03 1.16 1.03 0.8
displacement/
horizontal
displacement
due to the fault right-lateral strike slip and both plates
oblique pression. Violent deformation resulted in the
width of the gap in the wall varying, traversed southern
hill and formed many echelon pression-shear undu-
lance ruptures (Fig. 2H), whose trending is identical
to the fault’s. And ruptures reveal that fault moves with
thrust and right-lateral strike slip, with the distance of
strike greater than the vertical. Neary the Hejiaba vil-
lage, activity of the earthquake caused the roadway
deforming with 2–3 m scarp, and several ten meters
width of waterfall in the cross cut spot of the fault and
the rivers.
Summaried the above, the ration to seismic horizon-
tal and vertical displacements is relatively stable in the
same zone, whereas physiognomy and characteristics
of the quaternary sediment have difference and the
displacement caused by domino offect of stratum and
physiognomy varies (Tian, et al., 2005). Characteris-
tics of the seismic surface rupture in Yingxiu-Nanba
segment of the Central fault rveals (Table 1) that, From
Yingxiu to Nanba, the faulting mode changed from
reverse-thrusting to reverse-thrusting with right lateral
slip and to the component of right lateral striking slip
correspond to the component of thrust.
1 CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFORMATION
KINEMATICS AND CAUSE OF
FORMATION
Deformation characteristics can effectively reflect the
character of tectonic movement, regressing its mech-
anism of dynamics.
1.1 Characteristics for surface rupture of thrust
earthquake fault
Earthquake cracks means it is formed in the earthquake
movement, mainly behaving tensional and transpres-
sional cracks. Geometry and character of the cracks
is closely related to activity patterns of seismic fault.
Under the movement mechanism of normal fault,
Unconsolidated sediments in the shallow substance
due to tension effection of curving rupture becomes
721
Figure 3. Distribution characteristics of the seismic cracks.
possible for the movement of the upper of fault. And
this rupture character method is produced by the angle
between shear plane and uprightness main stress δ1
decreasing upwards. The tensional crack plane often
parallels the fault plane, and behaves small thrust
fault in the surface. While distribution shape of the
seismic cracks produced by thrust fault has more com-
plex relation with fault strike. Spreading’s character
of the thrust seismic cracks in this mechanism is not
only determined by the angle between shear plane
and uprightness main stress δ1, but also vector size
of main stress, material speciality and cracks charac-
teristics, manifesting complexity in the joint relation
of earthquake crack and fault plane on the surface
(Fig. 3).
Surface rupture of the Wenchuan earthquake and
Unilateral main fault plane with an angle spread out
mainly in the deformation belt of the upper plate in the
Yingxiu-Nanba segment. Conjugate shear-breaking
cracks was produced by Cement Flooring curving and
shear-breaking mechanism at Variable Power Plant
in Yingxiu town, which may effectively reveal main
stress direction (Wan, 1983). Seismic crack trending
85◦ and northwest 325◦ respectively, the orientation
of angle bisector 300◦ and fault scarp 40◦ trending
show that principle stress is almost identical to fault
strike, although activity method of the fault reveals the
fault almost dip-slipping. In Gaochuan, fault striking
northeast direction with about 30◦ , a few of ten-
sional cracks 310◦ trending on the stagger roadway
and angle between the cracks and scarp 80◦ ∼ 70◦
implys activity method of the fault is mainly thrust
with striking slip. Fault scarp striking 40◦ , many curv-
ing tension cracks striking 60◦ ∼ 75◦ and the width of
20∼30 cm show component of the thrust correspond
to component of the strike slipping in fault move-
ment or component of the strike slipping accretion in
Pingtong. In Mowan village, Nanba town, echelon
and pression-shear wave’s ruptures generally strikes
55◦ , fault strikes 30◦ ∼ 40◦ , angle of tension-pression-
shear cracks strike and fault strike varies from 25◦ to
15◦ . Meanwhile, fault movement reveals greater strik-
ing slip’s component. Therefore, activity method of
the fault in Yingxiu-Nanba phase reveals it mainly
reverses with conjugate shear in Yingxiu and lit-
tle by little evolves as the thrust companied by
striking and the strike companied by thrust towards
north direction, which also reflects the Tibet plateau’s
material opposed to flood eastwards in the crust
behaves different extrusion and flowing speciality,
companied by different contacting part with rigid
Sichuan Basin.

Figure 4. Deformation characteristics in the earth’s surface.
1.2 Deformation characteristic of Surface
overlapped shortening
Surface deformation not only reveals fault plate hori-
zontal movement and vertical movement, but its rotat-
ing upwards, side wring and overlapping in space as
well. With the same stress state, the dynamic direction
the edured medium suffering of was changed because
of varying of geometry shape, as may lead it to rotate
and deform (Xu, 1984) (Fig. 4). Intensively gliding
of the Fault led rapid deformation of the fence on the
road at the South to Xiaoyudong, whose shape was like
twist. According to the above characteristic, the com-
ponent of fence overlapped shortening was estimated
1.3 m, while at the north to Xiaoyudong, the compo-
nent shortened of road-surface overlapped 1 m, which
has relation with the upward rotation and lateral rota-
tion by the broken plate curving thrust upward. Weak
arc-shaped oblique scratches was produced on fault
plane of rock, whose vertical offset is about 5.1 m. dip
in the upper section of the scratches is northeast with
the most pitches of which between 45◦ ∼ 50◦ , while
the lower section is almost erection, which reveals the
fault behaves with lateral reversion, whereas whose
activity was main thrust with right-lateral strike slip.
1.3 Kinematics mechanism for deformation
The ground surface deformation produced by
Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake clearly manifests cracks
and component of surface overlapped. The above
characteristic indicated, from Yingxiu to Nanba, char-
acteristic of the cracks in Yingxiu zone is conjugate
tensional, characteristic of the cracks in Gaochuan-
Pingtong zone is single tensional and characteristic of
the cracks in Yingxiu zone is tensional and pressional.
Meanwhile, the angle between cracks and fault strike
gradually becomes smaller. According to the above,
in Yingxiu, fault plates at first revealed thrust and
extrusion with conjugate cracks and tension cracks,
then behave transpressional motion and increasing the
component of strike slip norward. The changing charc-
teristic not only embodies character of cracks, but also
is identical to the change of component of surface
shortened. Greater component of the surface shortened
near Xiaoyudong and the decreasing component of
surface shortened northward indicates the component
of the thrust of the fault gradually fade out.
2 CHARACTERISTICS OF TEMPORAL AND
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF AFTERSHOCKS
According to above 4.0 magnitude aftershocks of
Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake quick report directory, till
722
at 10:00 on June 23, 2008, characteristics of tem-
poral and spatial distribution of aftershocks showed
that The general active trend of aftershock along the
Central fault belt moved northward. in the process
of performance, fault aftershocks of the North-South
inter-regional happened repeatedly, And the dense
band of aftershocks concentrated in the Dujiangyan –
Mianzhu, Beichuan, and Qingchuan 3 regions (Fig. 1).
Meanwhile, more mainly distributed Dujiangyan –
Mianzhuand Qingchuan. That is to say, active charac-
teristic of aftershock indicated the modulation of strain
energy first happened in the north and south ends of the
three regions and rebound out and home and the latter
concentrated in the central region. This shows geologi-
cal characteristics of north and south regional location
determine the characteristics of the earthquake activ-
ity. According to the Longmen Shan orogenic belt and
its surrounding geological environment, we can see
that Dujiangyan – Mianzhu zone ,located the zone
which the Longmen Shan fault belt, and the Minjiang
fault, whose strike is NW direction, converges but not
joints, with east-west direction stress collecting zone,
Qingchuan zone lies arc cut-point of the Longmen
Shan fault belt, while the Beichuan becomes its right
node, therefore, three zones all are sensitive zones of
strain accumulation and release.
At the same time, strain energy released in Beichuan
zone of the Central fault, where the continuity of fault
structure is better, size is rather greater and strike
is similar. The fact of a large great deal of energy
release in Beichuan zone provided for the collecting
and releasing of strain energy in Qingchuan zone.
North and south linking made aftershocks periodic
recurrence at the north and south ends of the Cen-
tral fault possible. And in this process, strain energy
was accumulated and released for several times in the
Beichuan area where a strong stick-slip was occurred
and this led aftershocks to recur repeatedly along the
tectonic line, concentrating in three regions.
3 CHARACTERISTICS OF DEEP PART OF THE
LONGMENSHAN FAULT ZONE
Based on observation for natural earthquakes
happened in Songpan – Ganzi, the Longmen Shan oro-
genic belt and the Sichuan Basin, combining with seis-
mic tomography imaging and evolvement in reserve
on function received and surface wave dispersion,
we deduced the thickness of the crust, the depth of
the top of the upper mantle and profile of velocity
structure. According to seismic tomography imaging
forYingxiu, Wenchuan county, results show that (Teng,
2010)
1) Most parts of Sichuan in P-wave velocity dis-
tribution from 1 to 10 km depth shows the low-
speed zone, while the Longmen Shan orogenic belt
high-speed area;
2) The western plateau in Sichuan, located the west to
the longmen Shan fault zone, and the zone near
 Xianshuihe fault in P-wave velocity distribution
from 10 to 20 km depth both shows the obvious
low-speed characteristic. The low-speed range and
scope in Ya’an-Dujingyan-Mianyang area, which
is the near the western edge of Sichuan Basin,
gradually decrease with depth increasing, while,
Leshan-Jianwei zone’s in the Basin shows obvious
high-speed abnormity;
3) High-speed characteristics of Yangtze block in P-
wave velocity distribution below 30km and that
characteristic of whose front edge expands to the
tibetan plateau with the depth increasing show the
middle-upper crust and the top of the upper mantle
in Yangtze lithosphere insert into the west to the
Longmenshan fault belt, as may lead many faults
at the east margine of the tibetan plateau reverse
and dip to the west. While, the middle-lower crusts
in the Sichuan Basin indicates high-speed abnor-
mity with wild range, indicating the stability of the
block.
Therefore, the shallow, deep structural features of
the Longmen Shan fault zone reveal the basic char-
acteristics of the fault zone, that is, which is mainly
composed of three different angles sub-faults dipping
to the west as an imbricate method, as is correspondent
to the characteristic of surface tectonic line.
Meanwhile, the above characteristic also manifests
the tectonic character of the longmenshan belt is very
complex. On the one hand, the belt behaviors thrust
fault in the surface, whose plane dips to the west;
on the other hand, the low-speed part in middle-lower
crusts, as a slip plane with deep material reversing slip
to the east, plays a ductile-shear function. The thick-
ness of northwest to the longmenshan orogen relative
thickening and lower crustal velocity is caused by the
rather weak crust and mantle belonging to Songpan-
Ganzi block being stopped at longmenshan zone by
“rigid” material in Sichuan Basin. Combined with
apparent density mapping in the studied area (Teng,
2010), Yingxiu locates in the northwest-west direction
deformation area.
4 MECHANISM OF WENCHUAN
EARTHQUAKE
Surface rupture investigation of Ms8.0 Wenchuan
earthquake and deformation characteristics and deep
structural analysis aim to determine the principal stress
direction of the deformation, estimating the modern
tectonic stress field of the studied area and earthquake
mechanisms.
The recent results of aftershocks projection along
the Longmen Shan fault zone show the area of after-
shocks distribution is rather wide at the southwest
end, with the local long axis striking northwest direc-
tion. aftershocks extending from southwest direction
to northeast direction, the width gradually becoming
narrow and the trend of converging towards north-
east direction indicate the size of the body broken
gradually becomes small towards northeast direction.
723
Figure 5. Deep characteristics of the studied area (from
Teng, 2010).
Meanwhile, it also shows the surface fault dips nearly
vertical, while the dip angle of the deep gradually
decreases and slows (Teng, 2010).
Former’s results also confirmed (Cui, 1994) that
the Longmen Shan fault zone made up of three large-
scale faults is a deep grand fault belt., which is not
only the boundary of geology and geomorphology, but
also an important boundary of physical geography and
magnetic field. They are all thrust, overthrust fault or
nappe tectonics dipping to the west in the surface and
shallow, and may terminate at different depths of the
detachment surface or slip layer (Teng, 2010), alike
with distribution characteristic of mainshock and after-
shocks and (Fig. 5). Regional structural characteristics
of the Longmen Shan fault zone has laid the basis for a
new tectonic movement (Lu et al., 2006). Furthermore,
Cui (1994) also discovered that the tectonic boundaries
of Beichuan-Nanba fault may slow down downward
and terminate in the low-velocity layer in the crust.
The longmenshan tectonic belt, as a thrust fault (east
longitude 105–110◦ ) locating the most eastern edge
of central China’s North-South seismic belt, was pro-
duced in the process that the Sichuan block and Ordos
block, which deeply take root in the Earth’s deep since
the Late Jurassic, strong resist to the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau’ extrusion and force the material depositing or
overlapping on the Sichuan block.
Results from the former survey show that (Table 2)
the geometrical shape of surface rupture generally
behaviors northeast exhibiting like wave, meanwhile,
active patterns of the fault changes from reverse-
thrusting to reverse-thrusting with right lateral striking
slip and to the component of right lateral striking slip
correspond to the component of -thrust from Yingxiu
to Nanba, and the different active model and the corre-
sponding deformation characteristics is response. For
example, a strong dip-slip made the surface ofYingxiu
and Hongkou zone obviously deform, producing the
greater vertical shortening. Moreover, the principle
direction of tectonic stress field was acquired and
manifests eastwest∼southeast-east direction accord-
ing to the net Wu hemisphere stereographic projection
of parameters on cross-section sliding. Meanwhile,
the component of striking slip of the fault obviously
increases with the fault extending toward northeast
direction. While, nearly northeast Vertical extrusion
made the surface rupture strong deformation and led a
lots of inclined scrapes to form. Then in Pingtong and
Nanba zone, the deformation of surface cracks high-
lights the two plates of the fault shear movement along
the fault. Therefore, from Yingxiu to Nanba, the direc-
tion of tectonic stress should be the primary nearly
Table 2. Schedule for activity and surface deformation features in Yingxiu-Nanba segment of Wenchuan 8.0 seismic fault.
spot Activity patterns
Yingxiu thrust
Hongkou thrust with right lateral strike slip
Xiaoyudong thrust with right lateral strike slip and t
lateral strike slip by turns
Gaochuan thrust with right lateral strike slip,
Weak lateral rotation
Leigu thrust with large component of right
lateral strike slip
Pingtong the component of right lateral striking slip
correspond to the component of thrust
Nanba Strike-slip component a little greater than
vertical component
perpendicular to the direction of fault lines, then grad-
ually changes into northeast-east direction along the
fault line, tending to be in according to the direc-
tion of the fault striking. According to data derived
from inversion of focal depth of Wenchuan 8.0 earth-
quake from 12 to 19 km, the projection for the place
just locating in the deep part of the Beichuan-Yingxiu
fault. Meanwhile, co-seismic surface rupture showed
northwest-west direction with right lateral strike slip
in the south to Xiaoyudong, as indicates the tectonic
stress here extrusion as eastwest direction (Jiang et al.,
2008). If the process of the whole earthquake was
divided into 7 phases, in the first phase, active char-
acteristic of the earthquake mainly manifested thrust,
then gradually turned into strike slip. 7 phases corre-
sponded to earthquake magnitude respectively Mw7.1,
Mw7.1 Mw7.6, Mw7.4, Mw7.4, Mw7.4 and Mw7.2
(Chen, 2008). And according to the result of focal
mechanism solution of aftershocks from Dr. Zheng
Yong (China Geological Survey Bureau, 2008) making
the use of CAP (Cut and Pasate) method, tectonic stress
tends to northeast-east∼northeast direction along the
fault, which is identical to the result acquired from
surface rupture and deformation characteristic.
Combination with the temporal and spatial distri-
bution of previous aftershocks (above 4.5 magnitude)
of Wenchuan earthquake, this zone was pushed from
the east to the west, and aftershocks happened fol-
lowing as the rule. And all the aftershocks lying the
east to the main earthquake and not west indicated
Wenchuan earthquake should not be function of north-
wewst direction structure, but nearly east-west tectonic
stress trigger activity of the Longmen Shan fault.
5 GENERAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF THE
FAULT AND CAUSE OF THE MECHANISM
OF DYNAMICS CHANGING DUE TO LOCAL
FAULT MOVEMENT.
Since the late Cenozoic, the strong collision between
the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate and the uplift
724
Direction for Crack
or angle bisector Deformation characteristic
125◦ Twisted Type, average size of
shortening 1.3 m
◦
110 size of shortening 1 m
uncertainty Shape of surface rupture like wave
310◦ ∼130◦ Weak arc and inclined scrape
330◦ ∼70◦ Weak rotation wring
60◦ ∼75◦ Crooked and inclined waveform
55◦ Crack of Pressure-shear waveform
of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau resulted in the plateau
material lateral moving eastward, forcing the active
plateau crust in Songpan area thrust eastward along
the the slip layer, or thrust nappe on the eastern
rigid block of Sichuan basin. At the same time, the
plateau material which floating eastward along the
gently slip layer in the tectonic belt, including Kun-
lunshan fault belt and Xianshuihe fault belt, reversed
upward due to stopping of the deep part of Sichuan
basin, and led the material distributing the top and
end parts of the slip layer strong deforming. Xie
et al. (1993)thought that maximum principal-stress
orientation In the northern Songpan and the Long-
men Shan region is the northeast-east∼southwest-west
direction. May 12, 2008 Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake
was caused by regional tectonic stress eastward, which
led the aftershocks mainly occurring in the bound-
aries of the top and end of slip layer in the middle
crust.
6 CONCLUSION
According to the above, Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake
happened 0n May 12th 2008, which was mainly caused
by the activity of the Central Fault Belt. What aspects
did surface rupture characteristics of this earthquake
manifest? According to the surface rupture belts,
deformation characteristics, kinematic characteristics
and aftershock migration characteristics formed by
Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake along the Yingxiu –
Nanba segment of Central Fault Belt 0n May 12th
2008, combined with the former’ study about phys-
ical character of the shallow and deep part of the
fault, the research result showed:(1) From Yingxiu
to Nanba, the faulting mode changed from reverse-
thrusting to reverse-thrusting with right lateral slip
and to the component of right lateral striking slip
correspond to the component of thrust, and was accom-
panied by a weak rotation between the two walls of the
fault; (2) On the whole, the northeast direction strik-
ing fault was dominated by thrusting with right lateral
slipping, while locally there was northwest direction
thrusting with left lateral striking slip, as was the
result of the east-west direction stress; (3) The seis-
mic cracks, the distribution of aftershocks and the
deformation characteristics of the overlapped short-
ening on the earth’s surface revealed that the rupture
and strain energy releasing resulted from the combined
action of region tectonic stress in near east-west direc-
tion and local tectonic stress in northeast direction;
(4) Under the geological background of nearly east-
west direction exceptional density zone and the fault
plane dipping to east-west direction, plateau matter
creepaging to the east along the slip layer led to nearly
east-west direction stress and brought the Wenchuan
MS 8.0 earthquake (Zhang, et al., 2008) ,and whose
energy regulation behaved as the active method of
Longmenshan Fault.
Based on the occurrences change of surface rup-
ture along the fault, we deduced that the direction of
principal stress changed from southeast-east direction
in Yingxiu to northeast-east direction in Nanba, which
was in according with the focal mechanism solutions
of the mainshock and aftershocks determined with
The CAP(Cut and Pasate) method. Therefore, May 12,
2008 Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake was the result of the
Yingxiu – Beichuan segment of the Longmen Shan
fault zone suddenly faulting with east-west direction
stress (Zhang et al., 2008), and triggered the activity
of the front range fault.
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The research of the cumulative vertical slip of the faults which caused
the MS 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

Wang Lin, Tian Qinjian & Hao Kai

China Earthquake Disaster Prevention Center, Beijing, China

Ma Baoqi & Zhang Shimin

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Yu Jianqiang
Institute of Earthquake Prediction, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The Wenchuan earthquake(Ms = 8.0) suddenly happened on May 12th 2008 in Sichuan
Province,China.This earthquake produced a 240 km-long co-seismic surface rupture along the Longmenshan
Central Fault. We mainly focus on three regions along the co-seismic surface rupture: the Nanba Town and the
Fenghuang Village on the northern segment of the rupture,the the Yingxiu Town on the southern segment of the
rupture, and we study the river terraces in these regions cut by the active fault. We measured the surface rupture
and the fault scarps on the multilevel terraces. We obtain the height of the fault scarps on the terrace of each
level through data calculation and analysis,and the height of the scarps is namely the cumulative vertical slip of
the active fault recorded by terrace. If we use the vertical slip of this earthquake as the average vertical slip of
the paleoearthquakes,then the ratio of the cumulative vertical slip of each terrace to this average vertical slip is
namely the cumulative times of the paleoearthquakes record by each terrace. The research results shows that T1
of every study area undergoes only 1 time of the paleoearthquake since its formation, T2 undergoes about 5 times
of the paleoearthquakes since its formation, T3 undergoes about 9–11 times of the paleoearthquakes since its
formation and T4 undergoes about 20 times of the paleoearthquakes since its formation. Based on the research
result of this paper,combined with the previously dating ages of the terraces,we can obtain some reliable data
about the recurrence intervals of the paleoearthquakes.

1 INTRODUCTION Beside the trench, tectonic geomorphology is also

On May 12th, 2008, an Ms8.0 earthquake occured on
the Longmenshan tectonic belt in Sichuan Province in
China. The longmenshan tectonic belt is considered as
a thrust nappe structure, and its cacavity of triggering
earthquakes has been underestimated for a long time.
For example, during the process of making the seis-
mic ground motion parameter zonation map of China,
the upper magnitude limit of the potential focal in this
area was set at 7. To some extent, this fault is due
to the deficiency of the data about the seismic activ-
ity and especially the paleoearthquakes. As a result
of the bedrock uplifting, the denudation within this
area is strong, so the amount of the Quaternary sed-
iments (especially fine particle sediments) is small,
causing the difficulties of the research on the seismic
activity and paleoearthquakes. Since the Wenchuan
earthquake, the CEA emergency exploration team has
dug several trenches (RanYongkang et al. 2008, Zhang
Peizhen et al. 2008), but the strata in these trenches are
mainly composed of coarse clastic rocks, reducing the
accuracy of the timing and the identification of the
paleoearthquakes.
an important method in the paleoearthquake research.
As for the Longmenshan tectonic belt, there are a
lot of river systems, such as Mingjiang River, Tuo-
jiang River, Pujiang River and their tributaries, so
there exist many terraces in these rivers. Some of
the terraces are cut through by the faults, and this
kind of tectonic geomorphology is very useful to
research the paleoearthquakes. In this article, we select
several research areas along the seismic surface rup-
ture, Nanba, Fenghuangcun on the north segment and
Yingxiu on the south segment, and then we measure the
topography of some terraces which is cut by the faults
in these areas, obtaining a great quantity of the fault
slips of the cut terraces at every level. Using these data,
we mainly analyze the pattern of the cumulative fault
slip recorded by the higher level terraces, and this anal-
ysis is useful to further research the paleoearthquake
events.
2 GEOLOGIC SETTING
The Wenchuan earthquake occurred on the Longmen-
shan fault belt, which lies in the middle segment of

727
Figure 1. Simplified map of seismic surface rupture distribution of the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake. the north margin
of the West Qinling Fault; 2. East Kunlun Fault; 3. Xianshuihe Fault; 4. Jiali Fault; 5. Longmenshan Fault; A. Nanba; B.
Fenghuangcun; C. Yingxiu).
the eastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 1).
The Longmenshan fault is the boundary between the
Yangtze platform and the Songpan-Garzê orogenic belt
in the Indo-Chinese epoch (Xu Zhiqin et al. 1992),
which experienced left-lateral strike-slip movement
and thrusting movement during the Indo-Chinese and
Yanshanian epochs (Wang Erqi et al. 2001). Since the
Himalayan movement, with the uplifting of the Tibetan
Plateau, the Longmenshan Mountains has obliquely
thrust upon the Sichuan Basin (Deng Qidong et al.
1994), and the fault movement has also changed to
right-lateral thrusting which has going on until now,
and contributed to the formation of the current Long-
menshan fault (Tang Rongchang et al. 1991, Zhao
Xiaolin et al. 1994, Li Yong et al. 2006).
After the occurrence of the Wenchuan earthquake,
the CEA emergency exploration team immediately
investigated the seismic surface rupture. The investi-
gation result shows that the surface rupture is a reverse
strike-slip fault with a maximum vertical slip of 5 m
(Ma Baoqi et al. 2008, He Honglin et al. 2008). This
earthquake mainly caused a 200 km-long surface rup-
ture zone along the Longmenshan central fault, which
extended northeastward from the south of Yingxiu
to Pingwu, and a 70 km-long rupture zone along the
front-range fault (Xu Xiwei et al. 2008) (Fig. 1).
In the field investigation, we found many geomor-
phic surfaces with cumulative fault slip on the fault or
728
its extension line. One kind of such surfaces is the river
terrace. The surface rupture causes the deformation of
the river terrace at all levels, and the cumulative slip
at every level is also different from each other. The
cumulative fault slip of T1 , T2 , T3 , T4 is respectively
H1 , H2 , H3 , H4 (Fig. 2). The higher the terrace level,
the larger the cumulative slip, and the more the times of
paleoearthquakes recorded by the terrace. Many sim-
ilar phenomena and patterns exist along the surface
rupture, including the research areas of this article.
We select three research areas along the surface rup-
ture: Nanba, Fenghuangcun on the north segment and
Yingxiu on the south segment, and we mainly measure
the cumulative vertical fault slip at the terrace scarp of
each level to analyze the total paleoearthquake times
recorded by the terrace.
3 METHODS
3.1 Instrument and measurement
In the field topography measurement, we use the RTK
(Real Time Kinematic) GPS system. The actual name
of the instrument is Trimble R8 GNSS measurement
system. Under the RTK measurement model, the hor-
izontal error is within ±10 mm, and the vertical error
is within ± 20 mm, totally meeting the requirements
of our calculation and analysis.
Figure 2. The cumulative fault slip of the terrace.
Our interested parameters are the cumulative fault
slip of the terrace and the terrace height relative to
the floodplain. The first parameter can be measured
from the fault scarps on the terrace, and the second
parameter equals the altitude difference between the
terrace and the floodplain. Besides, maybe we will use
the terrace height at a certain level, which means the
terrace altitude difference between this level and its
adjacent lower level.
In the actual measuring process, some measurement
points were placed along a line across and perpendic-
ular to the terrace fault scarps, so we can get elevation
profile of these scarps, and calculate the cumulative
slip; other measurement points were evenly distributed
on a certain level terrace to control the total topog-
raphy, then we further assort these points into two
classes which belong to the hanging wall and the foot-
wall respectively, and finally we take the mean altitude
value of each point class as the absolute terrace altitude
on the hanging wall and the footwall.
3.2 Data processing
Here we use Ti to denote the terrace at the i level
(i = 1, 2, . . . n), and T0 to denote the floodplain. As
for Ti , the cumulative vertical fault slip is denoted by
Hi ; the absolute terrace altitude on the hanging wall
and footwall is denoted by Tiu and Tid respectively;
therefore, the terrace height relative to the floodplain
is Tiu –T0u (for the hanging wall) and Tid –T0d (for the
footwall).
We use h to denote the vertical fault slip on the ter-
race by this earthquake. If we take h as the average
level of the vertical fault slip of each paleoearthquake
before, then the ratio Hi /h (i = 1, 2, . . . n) is namely
the total times recorded by Ti since its formation
(including this time).
4 DATA ANALYSIS
In this part, we will analyze the cumulative slip and
the times of paleoearthquakes recorded by the terrace
in our research areas along the strike of the surface
rupture.
729
4.1 Nanba
4.1.1 Terrace
The basic setting of Nanba is shown in figure 3a. Ter-
races develop on both of the riverbank. T0 and T1 is
obvious and can be identified easily; T2 and higher
level terraces have been severely eroded and deformed,
so the their remnants is hard to find and we can only
identify the rough boundary of these terraces through
detailed investigation.
4.1.2 The relation between the fault and terraces
The fault in this area thrusts southeastward, with a
strike of N50◦ E and a right-lateral feature. The fault
cuts through the terraces, forming many scarps. Some
obvious terrace scarps exist at a (T0 and T1 ), b (T0 and
T1 ), c (T3 ) and d (T1 ) (Fig. 3a).
4.1.3 Data analysis
According to the methods discussed in 2.1 and 2.2,
we measured the terrace fault scarps at a, b, c and
d, and calculate Hi , Tiu –T0u , Tid –T0d and Hi /h for Ti
(i = 1, 2, . . . n) (Table 1).
As for T0 , the fault scarps have been partly eroded
by the flowing water, so maybe H0 here is not accurate
enough to use.
As for T1 , we measured the fault scarps at a, b and
d. At a and d, the terrace width along the direction
perpendicular to the river is large, so we placed three
measuring lines across the scarps to control the over-
all topography of the profile, and we take the mean
scarpheight value of all these profiles as the H1 value
for T1 . At b, we placed one measuring line along
the road, but H1b (H1b means H1 at b) value is obvi-
ously larger than H1a and H1c , so maybe there already
existed some other scarp or a slope terrain before this
earthquake, and H1b maybe too large to be used here.
Figure 3b shows scarps profile of T1 at a, b and d.
From a to b then to d, the overall elevation of the profile
increases, but the scarp height of profiles are simi-
lar. Field investigation shows that T1 only experienced
one earthquake, namely the Wenchuan earthquake, so
H1 equals h. On the other hand, H1a = 1.56 m, and
H1d = 1.11 m, so we can infer H1c = hc = 1.34 m by
linear interpolation.
Figure 3. The distribution of the survey line in the Nanba Town and the comparison of the morphology of different profiles.
the basic setting of Nanba; b. the scarps profile of T1 at a, b and d; c. the scarps profile of T3 at c).

As for T2 , due to the badly eroding, no obvious
terrace remnant can be found, so we didn’t make the
measurement.
As for T3 , we measured the fault scarps at c. Fig-
ure 3c shows scarps profile of T3 at c. Most part of the
terrace on the hanging wall have been covered by the
colluviums from T4 , and the terrace on the footwall
have also been eroded into a concave pit, so the ter-
race remnant is very narrow around the fault scarp, but
they can still be identified through detailed investiga-
tion. According to the measurement, H3c = 15.74 m,
hc = 1.34 m, and H3c /hc ≈ 11, so we infer that T3 have
experienced 11 paleoearthquake events until now (inc
luding this time).

730
4.2 Fenghuangcun perpendicular to the river is large, so we placed 3, 4
and 2 measuring lines across the scarps on T0 , T1 and
4.2.1 Terrace
T2 respectively to control the overall topography of the
The basic setting of Fenghuangcun is shown in fig-
profile, and we take the mean scarp height value of all
ure 4a. Terraces develop on both of the riverbank.
the profiles as cumulative slip at each place.
T0 and T1 is mainly on the southwestern riverbank;
Figure 4b shows the terrace scarps profiles on T0 ,
T2 is mainly on the northeastern riverbank. All these
T1 and T2 . According to these profiles, H0 = 2.7 m,
terraces are flat and board, and can be easily identified
H1 = 2.51 m, H2 = 12.14 m. Field investigation shows
through detailed investigation.
that T0 and T1 only experienced one earthquake,
namely the Wenchuan earthquake, so both H0 and H1
4.2.2 The relation between the fault and terraces equals h, and we take their mean value as h, namely
The fault in this area thrusts southeastward, with a h = (H0 + H1 )/2 = 2.61m. Based on the ratio of H0 /h,
strike between N35◦ E and N45◦ E and also a right- H1 /h and H2 /h, we can infer that T0 , T1 and T2 have
lateral feature. The fault cuts through the terraces experienced 1, 1 and 5 events respectively (including
(T0 , T1 and T2 ). this time).
There is something different between the scarp pro-
4.2.3 Data analysis files of the terrace at different level. The scarp profile
According to the methods discussed in 2.1 and 2.2, for T0 and T1 is clear, and it is easy to identify the upper
we measured the terrace fault scarps at a, b and c, and lower edge to calculate the scarp height. On the
and calculate Hi , Tiu –T0u , Tid –T0d and Hi /h for Ti other hand, the scarp profile of T2 on the hanging wall
(i = 1, 2, . . . n) (Table 2). is not as flat and clear as that of T0 and T1 , with a big
As for T0 , T1 and T2 , we measured the fault slope and many slope breaks. The scarp on T2 is much
scarps on them. The terrace width along the direction older than the scarps on T0 and T1 , so maybe since its
formation, the scarp has undergone constant erosion
and deformation due to natural factors or human activ-
Table 1. The data analysis result of the Nanba. ities. During this process, the clear topography of the
original scarp has become “blunt” gradually, and the
i Hi (m) Tiu –T0u (m) Tid –T0d (m) Hi /h
upper edge of the scarp has receded toward the fault,
1 1.34 12.05 9.60 1
so the terrace between the receding upper edge and
3 15.74 83.38 67.63 11 the fault has been destroyed and is not as flat and clear
as before, but the terrace beyond this range still pre-
serves their original clear topography and elevation.
Therefore, the upper end of the measuring line should
Table 2. The data analysis result of the Fenghuangc. at least extend beyond the erosion area and into the
terrace without later deformation, and then we can get
i Hi (m) Tiu –T0u (m) Tid –T0d (m) Hi /h
the accurate elevation of the upper edge. The scarp
0 2.71 0 0 1
profile of T2 on the footwall is clear and flat enough
1 2.51 2.77 2.94 1 to determine the elevation of the lower edge. The dif-
2 12.14 30.32 20.72 5 ference between the elevation of the upper and lower
edge is namely the height of the fault scarp on T2 .

Figure 4. The distribution of the survey line in the Fenghuang Village and the comparison of the morphology of different
profiles. (a. the basic setting of Fenghuangcun; b. the scarps profile of T0 , T1 and T2 ).

731
Figure 5. The distribution of the survey line in the Yingxiu Town and the comparison of the morphology of different profiles.
(a. the basic setting of Yingxiu; b. the scarps profile of T0 , T1 , T2 , T3 and T4 ).
4.3 Yingxiu
4.3.1 Terrace
The basic setting of Yingxiu is shown in figure 5a. T0 ,
T1 , T2 , T3 and T4 develop on the southwestern river-
bank, and all these terraces are flat and board, and can
be easily identified through detailed investigation.
4.3.2 The relation between the fault and terraces
The fault in this area thrusts southeastward, with a NE
strike and also a right-lateral feature. The fault cuts
through the terraces fromT0 toT4 , forming fault scarps
on the terrace at each level.
4.3.3 Data analysis
According to the methods discussed in 2.1 and 2.2,
we measured the terrace fault scarps at a, b and c,
and calculate Hi , Tiu –T0u , Tid –T0d and Hi /h for Ti
(i = 1, 2, . . . n) (Table 3).
According to the profiles in figure bb, H0 = 2.64 m,
H1 = 2.72 m. Field investigation shows that T0 and T1
only experienced the Wenchuan earthquake, so both
H0 and H1 equals h, and we take their mean value as
h, namely h = (H0 + H1 )/2 = 2.34 m. Both T0 and T1
have only experience 1 event.
The width of T2 and T4 along the direction per-
pendicular to the river is large, so we placed 4 and
2 measuring lines across the scarps respectively to
control the overall topography of the profile, and we
take the mean scarpheight value of all the profiles as
cumulative slip at each level. According to the pro-
files in figure 5b, H2 = 11.88m, H3 = 20.96 m and
H4 = 46.97 m, so then based on the ratio of H2 /h, H3 /h
and H4 /h, we can infer that T2 , T3 and T4 have expe-
rienced 5, 9 and 20 events respectively (including this
time).
There is also something different between the scarp
profiles of the terrace at different level, just like the
case of Fenghuangcun. The scarp profile for T0 and T1
is clear, and it is easy to identify the upper and lower
edge to calculate the scarp height. On the other hand,
the scarp profile of T2 , T3 and T4 on the hanging wall
732
Table 3. The data analysis result of the Yinxiu Town.
i Hi (m) Tiu –T0u (m) Tid –T0d (m) Hi /h
0 2.28 0 0 1
1 2.40 5.96 5.21 1
2 11.88 23.05 13.60 5
3 20.96 54.12 35.49 9
4 46.97 121.71 76.28 20
is not as flat and clear as that of T0 and T1 , due to the
constant erosion and deformation by natural factors
or human activities. Therefore, the upper end of the
measuring line should also at least extend beyond the
erosion area and into the terrace without later defor-
mation, and then we can get the accurate elevation of
the upper edge to calculate height of the fault scarp.
5 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Based on the data in table1, 2 and 3, we take the field
“Tid –T0d ” and “Hi /h” as the variable on x axis and y
axis respectively to generate a 2D scatter plot, and link
the point of each research area in sequence respectively
to form a variation curve (Fig. 6).
According to figure 6, x (Tid –T0d ) is positively cor-
related with y (Hi /h), and that means y increases with
the increasing of x. This pattern just accords with the
universal and actual situation: with the increasing of
“Tid –T0d ” value, the terrace become older and the total
times of paleoearthquakes recorded by the terraces
also increase.
After further observing and analyzing carefully,
we found that although there is obvious difference
between the Tid –T0d and Hi values for Ti of differ-
ent research area, the ratios of Hi /h for Ti are basically
similar, such as the T1 of Nanba, Fenghuangcun and
Yingxiu (1 time), the T2 of Fenghuangcun and Yingxiu
(5 times) and the T3 of Nanba and Yingxiu (9–11
times). Therefore, we can infer that T1 , T2 and T3 in
Figure 6. The scatter plot of Hi/h and Tid –T0d.
these areas have experienced 1 time, 5 times and 9–11
times of events respectively. Besides, the ratio of H4 /h
for T4 in Yingxiu is about 20, so we infer that T4 in
these areas have experienced 20 times of events.
According to some dating data of terraces in our
research areas (Ma Baoqi et al. 2005, Li Yong et al.
2006), the age of T2 , T3 and T4 is about 20 ka, 50 ka
and 76 ka respectively, and then using the times of pale-
oearthquake event we just get above, we can know that
the recurrence period of the paleoearthquake for T2 , T3
and T4 is about 4ka, 4.5–5.6 ka and 3.8 ka respectively,
so the overall recurrence period in our research areas
is about 4–5 ka.
Here I wish to thank Hou Zhihua, Lu Haifeng, Liu
Xudong, Ren Junjie, He Zhongtai, HaoYanjun for their
help and support in the field investigation.
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seismicity and geodynamics of the Longmenshan Moun-
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ture of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake. Seismology and
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nental Dynamics and Geological Response of the Eastern
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nary slip rate in the central part of the Longmenshan Fault
733
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Surface rupture of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake.
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Ran Yongkang, Chen Lichun, Chen Guihua, et al. Primary
analysis of insitu recurrence of large earthquake along
seismogenic fault of the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake.
Seismology and Geology, 30(3):630–643.
Tang Rongchang, Wen Dehua, Huang Zuzhi, et al. 1991. The
Quaternary activity characteristics of several major active
faults in the Songpan£Longmenshan region. Earthquake
research in China, 7(3):64–71.
Wang Erqi, Meng Qingren, Chen Zhiliang, Chen Liangzhong.
2001. Early Mesozoic leftlateral movement along the
longmen shan fault belt and its tectonic implications.
Earth Science Frontiers, 8(2):375–384.
XuXiwei, Wen Xueze, Ye Jianqing, et al. 2008. The Ms 8.
0 Wenchuan earthquake surface ruptures and its seismo-
genic structure. Seismology and Geology, 30(3):597–629.
Xu Zhiqin, Hou Liwei, Wang Zongxiu, et al. Mountain
Building Process of the SongpanGanzi Orogeny, China.
Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
Zhang Peizhen, Xu Xiwei, Wen Xueze, et al. 2008. Slip
rates and recurrence intervals of the Longmenshan active
fault zone, and tectonic implications for the mechanism of
the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, 2008, Sichuan, China.
Chinese Journal of Geoghysics, 51(4):1066–1073.
Zhao Xiaolin, Deng Qidong, Chen Shefa. 1994. Tectonic geo-
morphology of the central segment of the Longmenshan
thrust belt, western Sichuan, southern China. Seismology
and Geology, 16(4):422–428.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Numerical simulation of earthquake mechanism based on stick-slip

behavior of faults

Mohammad Sasani & Mahmoud Yazdani

Tarbiat Modares university, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the three-dimensional numerical modeling of in situ stress distributions in
a limited seismic region of the Earth’s crust. The model involves a vertical strike-slip planar fault that resides
in the crust and reaches the Earth’s surface. Stress distribution in faulted areas can be calculated and then used
to assess the potential of regional seismic hazard. The second goal of this study is application of a constitutive
relation which represents the governing equation of the failure process and specifies the dependence between
stress, fault slip, slip rate, and other relevant physical properties. There are several laboratory-derived friction
constitutive laws among which the slip-weakening was adopted in this paper to simulate the failure process based
on stick-slip behavior of faults. The finite element code (ABAQUS) is used to model the mechanical behavior
of fault illustrating the distribution of stress and deformation in the crust.

1 INTRODUCTION the dynamic friction coefficient (Scholz 1998; Xing,

The dynamic rupture along a fault during an earth-
quake is a highly complex process involving many
factors such as fault geometry, the initial stress field
and the constitutive law. Since most of earthquakes
occur by sudden slippage along pre-existing faults, the
frictional behavior of faults and the constitutive fric-
tion law is the main factor in earthquake mechanism
(Scholz 1998). The first step in the expression of fric-
tional mechanism of faults is to define the stick-slip
instability as shown in . tory experiments. In this study, linear slip weakening
In the standard model of this mechanism, it is
assumed that sliding begins when the ratio of shear
to normal stress on contact surfaces reaches the value
of static friction coefficient. After that sliding occurs
and the coefficient of friction decreases and reaches
Figure 1. Stick-slip instability.
Mora et al. 2006).
There are several frictional laws which express the
stick-slip behavior such as Amontons-Coulomb fric-
tion law (Jeager, Cook et al. 2007; Voisin, Renard
et al. 2007), slip-weakening law in which coefficient of
friction is dependent on slip (MariagiovannaGuatteri
& PaulSpudich 2000; Senatorski 2002; Olsen-Kettle,
Weatherley et al. 2008; Liu & Shi 2009) and rate
and state friction law (Chen & Lapusta 2008). All
of these constitutive laws are derived from labora-
law is adopted to simulate the frictional behavior of
fault. There are several reasons for this selection. First,
this law has strong support in laboratory experiments,
performed both for the case of frictional slip failure
on preexisting faults as well as for shear failure of
intact rocks. Second, kinematic models of earthquakes
give some support to the slip weakening constitutive
formulation. Third, a slip weakening constitutive for-
mulation is applicable for theoretical treatment of both
the fracture and frictional slip phenomena, and has
interpretation in terms of energy change of the system
(Senatorski 2002).
There are no analytical solutions for modeling of
faults and also few field observations are available
(Harris 2009). However, in recent years some inves-
tigations on this issue have been done such as deep
scientific drilling in fault region (Omura 2007). There-
fore, numerical method is the main tool to study
the mechanical behavior of faults. In this paper, the
finite element method (FEM) using ABAQUS soft-
ware is utilized to simulate rupture process in Earth’s
crust.

735

Figure 2. The geometry of 3D model (Harris 2009).
2 SLIP WEAKENING LAW
Like other rock friction laws, slip weakening is a labo-
ratory derived friction law and it has three parameters
which are estimated based on experimental results. In
this paper the linear slip weakening is used with this
formulation:
Where µs = static coefficient of friction; µd =
dynamic coefficient of friction; and Lc = critical slip
distance; x = displacement; µ(x) = coefficient of fric-
tion corresponding to displacement (x). In this study:
µs = 0.677; µd = 0.525 and Lc = 0.4 m are assumed.
The formulation of slip weakening was written in
FORTRAN code and then linked to the ABAQUS with
user subroutine VFRIC.
3 MODEL DESCRIPTION
To verify the simulation, the model is adopted based
on the SCEC (Southern California Earthquake Center)
model which involves a vertical strike-slip planar fault
that resides in the crust and reaches the Earth’s surface.
The fault has 30 km length and 15 km depth and outside
of the faulting area, there is a strength barrier. Hence,
the rupture is not able to propagate on the fault plane
beyond 30 km x 15 km area (Figure 2).
Inside the faulting area, there are four zones with
different initial shear stresses in which three zones
are squares with 3 km length. The rock material is
assumed to be homogeneous and elastic through-
out the medium with density of 2670 Kg/m3 ; Vp
(body wave velocity) = 6000 m/s; Vs (shear wave
velocity) = 3464 m/s.
A dynamic analysis has been carried out for 10
seconds. During this time, the in-situ normal stresses
equal to 120 MPa applied both identically on fault-
ing area and strength barrier, whereas different shear
736
Table 1. Shear stresses along strike direction.
Section (as presented in Figure 2) τ, (MPa)
Central Square 81.6
The left square 78
The right square 62
Remainder area of fault 70
Strength barrier 70
Figure 3. Continuum infinite element with 8 nodes.
stresses as presented in Table 1 applied on different
zones. All shear stresses have been assigned instan-
taneously. As time progresses, these stresses evolve
spontaneously, but normal stresses are assumed con-
stant during the analysis.
The 8-noded elements (regular hexahedrons called
C3D8 in ABAQUS) are used for simulation with the
length of 100 m (in central parts of model) up to
1000 m (near the boundary). The finite element mesh
extends 10 km along the perpendicular direction of
fault.
To minimize the reflection of shear wave energy
back into the finite element mesh, absorbing bound-
ary conditions are implemented with 8-noded infinite
elements, CIN3D8, which are one way infinite ele-
ments (Figure 3). In all sides of the model, except top
surface (Earth’s surface), infinite elements are used.
One of the capabilities of ABAQUS software is
to define a contact in which the surfaces are related
together immediately and it doesn’t need to define an
interface element for contact surfaces. In this study,
the contact pair formulation is used to model surface
interaction along the fault for modeling frictional slip
between two surfaces.
4 ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL
Dynamic simulation has been run for 10 seconds and
results have been verified with Michael Barall’s sim-
ulation who modeled the same problem with a finite
element code (FaultMod) (Harris 2009). This verifica-
tion demonstrated satisfied convergence. Nucleation
occurs because the initial shear stress in a 3 km × 3 km
square (central square) is set to be higher than the

Figure 4. Displacement of the middle point of Central
Square versus time.
initial static yield stress in that patch (based on
equation 2).
Where τs and τd are static and dynamic frictional
resistance, respectively and σn is normal stress.
Failure occurred on the fault plane, including in the
central square, following a linear slip-weakening frac-
ture criterion and the corresponding depth is assumed
as focal depth (7500 m).The displacement of the cen-
tral point of this square is shown in Figure 4. As
illustrated, the stick-slip instability is sensible in this
diagram. The stick phase is between the start time of
analysis and t = 3.77 s, then slip phase starts and at the
end of analysis, the displacement of this point reaches
the value of 5.2 m.
The variation of horizontal shear stress of Earth’s
surface above the focal point during the time of anal-
ysis is shown in Figure 5. This relation can explain
the mechanism of faulting obviously. As shown in this
figure horizontal shear stress at the beginning of the
analysis is set to 70 MPa. Then it rises slowly until near
the slip phase. At this time, shear stress accumulates
and reaches the static frictional resistance (81 MPa)
based on equation 2. Then slip occurs and at the end of
analysis the shear stress reaches the dynamic frictional
resistance (68 Mpa) based on equation 2.
As shown in Figure 6, the slip weakening behav-
ior is obvious in the relation between the horizontal
shear stress and displacement. The shear stress is accu-
mulated up to 81 MPa and then it drops and energy
737
Figure 5. Horizontal shear stress versus time at top of the
fault.
Figure 6. Horizontal shear stress versus slip at top of fault.
releases. This energy can produce an earthquake. The
amount of this energy could be calculated in relation
with slip weakening friction law (Liu & Shi 2009).
when slip reaches the 0.4 m (critical slip distance), only
the dynamic friction, τd , resist against slipping.
Although the slip weakening law can simulate the
mechanism of faulting truly, it has some limitations.
It can just model one cycle of earthquake and the
interval time of earthquake in this formulation is not
considered. Some changes in the primary formulation
of this law have been carried to consider the static re-
strengthening (Olsen-Kettle, Weatherley et al. 2008).
In addition, in order to model the interval time of earth-
quake, the rate and state friction law could be used
(Chen & Lapusta 2008).
5 CONCLUSION
Analysis results show that the slip weakening law
could explain the stick-slip behavior which is the main
mechanism of faulting. In addition, in this law, the
accumulation of stress before earthquake could be sim-
ulated. As shown in Figure 5, the rate of accumulation
increases near the slip time. After slipping, the stress
drop occurs and with increasing the slip of fault, the
dynamic frictional resistant acts as a deterrent force.
Rupture occurs in Central Square, because the ini-
tial shear stress in this area is greater than the initial
static yield stress. After that, as time increasing, the
rupture propagated throughout the fault plane and
in every point of fault plane the linear slip weaken-
ing law governs as a frictional resistant and the total
displacement in focal depth at the end of analysis
reaches 5.2 m.
REFERENCES
Chen, T. & Lapusta N. 2008. Rate and state friction laws can
explain scaling of small repeating earthquakes. Journal of
Geophysical research.
Harris, R. A., M. Barall, R. Archuleta, B. Aagaard, J.-P.
Ampuero, H. Bhat, V. Cruz-Atienza, L. Dalguer, P.
Dawson, S. Day, B. Duan, E. Dunham, G. Ely, Y. Kaneko,
Y. Kase, N. Lapusta, Y. Liu, S. Ma, D. Oglesby, K.
Olsen, A. Pitarka, S. Song, & E. Templeton 2009. The
SCEC/USGS Dynamic Earthquake Rupture Code Veri-
fication Exercise. Seismological Research Letters 80(1):
119–126.
Jeager, J. C., N. G. W. Cook, et al. 2007. Fundamentals of
rock mechanics, Blackwell.
Liu, B. & B. Shi 2009. A brief discussion on the relationship
between apparent stress and slip-weakening law based on
the energy partition criteria. Earthq Sci 22: 63–67
738
MariagiovannaGuatteri & PaulSpudich 2000. What Can
Strong-Motion Data Tell Us about Slip-Weakening Fault-
Friction Laws? Bulletin of the Seismological Society of
America. 90: 98–116.
Olsen-Kettle, L. M., D. Weatherley, et al. 2008. Analysis of
slip-weakening frictional laws with static restrengthening
& their implications on the scaling, asymmetry, & mode of
dynamic rupture on homogeneous & bimaterial interfaces.
Journal of Geophysical research 113(B08307).
Omura, K. 2007. Drilling Investigations on the Mechanics &
Structure of Faults. Scientific Drilling. 1: 59–60.
Scholz, C. H. 1998. Earthquakes & friction laws. nature 391.
Senatorski, P. 2002. Slip-weakening & interactive dynam-
ics of an heterogeneous seismic source Tectonophysics:
37–60.
Voisin, C., F. Renard, et al. 2007. Long Term Friction:
from Stick-Slip to Stable Sliding. Geophysical Research
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& its application to the simulation of frictional instability
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86: 3453–3475.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

3D Mohr diagram to explain reactivation of pre-existing planes

due to changes in applied stresses

S.-S. Xu, A.F. Nieto-Samaniego & S.A. Alaniz-Álvarez

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Geociencias, Querétaro, Qro., México

ABSTRACT: In this work, we analyze the characteristics of three-dimensional Mohr diagram. Based on this
analysis, the conditions of reactivation of pre-existing planes on a Mohr diagram due to changes in applied stress
state are investigated. Our results indicate that: (1) On a three-dimensional Mohr diagram, one point, which is
an intersection of three cycles (arcs) with direction angles θ1 , θ2 and θ3 , indicates a stress state in terms of shear
and normal stresses, which represents four non-parallel planes due to the orthorhombic symmetry of the stress
tensor. This implies that four planes may be reactivated, as long as a point on the diagram is located above the
critical slip line; (2) The reactivated planes that originally had the identical normal and shear stresses can have
two different angles of pitch; (3) If the planes represented by a point on the diagram rotate a magnitude about a
certain axis, some of them could be reactivated, whereas the others could not be reactivated; (4) Reactivation of a
pre-existing plane is dependent on not only change in the maximum differential stress (σ1 –σ3 ), but also the value
of intermediate stress (σ 2 ). No matter what the maximum differential stress increases or decreases or maintains
constant, a pre-existing plane may be reactivated due to changes in any principal stresses. (1) The range of the
dips of the reactivated planes is larger for the smaller values of coefficient of friction µ and cohesion C. Also, the
range of dip of the reactivated planes increases or decreases as the magnitudes of the principal stresses change.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 CONSTRUCTION OF A 3D MOHR DIAGRAM

Two-dimensional Mohr diagram is widely used in According to Ramsay (1967) and Moeck et al. (2009),
structural geology, seismology, soil mechanics, engi- the normal stress (σ) on a plane is expressed by
neering geology etc (e.g. Sibson 1985, Streit & Hillis
2002). Three-dimensional Mohr diagram is also used
to explain mechanism of faulting and reactivation
of pre-existing fault (e.g. Yin & Ranalli 1992, Jolly where ni is direction cosine related to principal stress
and Sanderson 1997, McKeagney et al. 2004). Tri- σ ii .
axial stress state has two general conditions: (a) σ 1 , Also, the total stress on the plane is calculated by
σ 2 , and σ 3 have non-zero values; (b) σ1 > σ2 > σ3 ,
and can be tensile or compressive. The measure-
ments of in-situ stress indicate that the crustal stress is
generally in three-dimensional stress state (e.g. Hast where τ is maximum shear stress.
1969, Tsukahara et al. 1996). In this way, mechanical On the other hand, since ni is a unit vector, we can
behavior of crustal rocks should be explained by three- have
dimensional Mohr diagram (e.g. Jaeger & Cook 1979).
Crustal stress state could be considered as the result
of superimposition from some sub-stress tensors. The
main regional sub-stress tensors are lithostatic, pore By resolving these three equations, the following
fluid, and tectonic stress tensors (e.g. Fleitout 1991, three results can be obtained
Tobin & Saffer 2009). Local sub-stress tensors can
be thermal stress tensor, stress tensor due to chemical
changes, etc.The changes of any sub-stress tensors will
alter the stress state. In this way, the pre-existing planes
could be reactivated. In this paper, we will explain this
mechanism of reactivation by using 3D Mohr diagram.

739

Figure 1. Construction of a 3D Mohr diagram. Three fam-
ilies of concentric circles are shown at center O12 , O31 , O23
in the σ 1 σ 2 , σ 3 σ 1 , and σ2 σ3 planes, respectively. The com-
mon region (grey area) of three families of concentric circles
represents the stress state on all planes in three dimensions.
Equations (4), (5), (6) can also be written as following
forms
These three equations have the form (x − a)2 + y2 =
r 2 , which is the formula for a circle centered at x = a,
y = 0. Therefore, equation (7) represents a series of
circles that are centered at (σ2 + σ3 )/2 with the val-
ues of n1 varying from −1 to 1 or direction angel
θ1 equal to from 0◦ to 360◦ . The minimum diame-
ter is (σ 2 −σ3 )/2, for which n1 = 0. The maximum
diameter is ((σ2 − σ3 )/2)2 + (σ1 − σ2 )(σ1 − σ3 ), for
which n1 = ±1. Similarly, from equation (8) we can
obtain a series of concentric circles with a center
Figure 2. There are four types of reactivated planes according to the normal and stress on the planes. When all principal
stresses are larger than zero, the normal stress on the planes is positive (Fig. 2a). If minimum principal stress is less than zero,
other types of reactivated planes may appear (Fig. 2b, 2c). On one type of planes, only shear stress exists (points on line AB).
On another type of planes, the normal stress is negative (grey area in figures 2b, 2c). Specially, for point G, there is only
extensional stress.
740
at (σ 1 + σ 3 )/2 by giving the values of n2 equal to
from −1 to 1, or direction angle θ2 equal to from 0◦
to 360◦ . For these circles, the maximum diameter is
(σ 1 − σ 3 )/2 when n2 = 0, and the minimum diameter is

((σ1 − σ3 )/2)2 − (σ2 − σ3 )(σ1 − σ2 ) when n2 = ±1.
In the same way, from equation (9) other concen-
tric circles can be drawn on the diagram at a cen-
ter (0, (σ 1 + σ 2 )/2), given the values of n3 equal
to from −1 to 1. The minimum diameter of these
circles is (σ 1 + σ 2 )/2, and the maximum diame-
ter is ((σ1 − σ2 )/2)2 + (σ3 − σ1 )(σ3 − σ2 ). In this
way, six typical circles are drawn as shown in Fig-
ure 1. The common area for all circles is shown
as grey. This area is enclosed by three circles:

2
2
2
σ − σ2 + σ3 + τ 2 = σ2 −2 σ3 , σ − σ1 +2 σ3 + τ 2 =

σ1 − σ3 22

2
, and σ − σ1 +2 σ2 + τ 2 = σ1 −2 σ2 . These
2
2
three circles present the Mohr circles on three principal
planes, respectively.
3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REACTIVATED
PLANES ON 3D MOHR DIAGRAM
As shown above, the applied stress on an arbitrary
plane under a stress state is dependent on the orienta-
tion of the plane. According to Mohr-Coulomb theory,
for a pre-existing plane, the critical condition to slip is
where τ is the magnitude of shear stress and σ is nor-
mal stress on the pre-existing plane; C is the shear
strength on the pre-existing plane when σ is zero, and
µ the coefficient of friction on the pre-existing plane.
For this equation, only above half of the Mohr diagram
is used for common analysis. Equation (10) indicates
that on a reactivated plane there is not only shear stress
but also normal stress. On the Mohr diagram, above
the slip envelope, there is stress difference enough to
initiate slip for a range of pre-existing plane orienta-
tions. In this region, the states of stress are unstable for
slip. On the other hand, below the slip envelope, slip
will not occur. On the 3D Mohr diagram, four types
of reactivated planes can be distinguished (Fig. 2). On
the first type of planes, the normal stress is compres-
sional as shown by the area with vertical black lines in
Figure 2. On second type of planes, no normal stress
exists and there is only shear stress. These planes are
expressed by the points on line AB in Figure 2b and
Figure 2c. For the third type of planes, the normal
stress is tensional on them. The grey area represents
this type of planes in Figures 2b, 2c. The forth type of
planes is vertical, whose strike is parallel to the max-
imum principal stress (σ 1 ) and perpendicular to the
minimum principal stress (σ 3 ). On these planes, there
is only tensional stress and there is no shear stress. For
example, the planes on G in Figure 2c are this type of
planes.
As commonly known, the function of cosine is peri-
odic, whose value is from −1 to 1. Therefore, for
a certain value of direction cosine (ni ), two direc-
tion angles can be obtained in a period. For example,
for n1 = 0.5, two direction angels are θ1 = 60◦ and
θ1 = 300◦ or −60◦ . According to equations (3), only
two values of n1 , n2 , and n3 are independent. In terms
of the theory of permutation and combination, the
planes represented by a point on the diagram are then
equal to 2 × 2 = 4. The four planes are with direction
angles (θ1 , θ2 , θ3 ), (θ1 , θ2 , −θ3 ), (θ1 , −θ2 , −θ3 ), and
(θ1 , −θ2 , θ3 ), where 0◦ ≤ θi ≤ 90◦ . Specially, in solid
mechanics, the stress on a right octahedron is always
proposed (Pitarresi & Shames 1999). Among eight
planes, there are pairwise symmetric planes related
to origin of coordinates, their direction cosines have
opposite signs. For example, for plane (θ1 , θ2 , θ3 ),
its symmetric plane is (−θ1 , −θ2 , −θ3 ). The pairwise
symmetric planes are parallel to each other with only
different facings or normal directions. One is down-
ward or face-down normal, and the other is outward
or face-up normal. Based on this feature, if the shear
stress is expressed by the absolute value, a point on
the 3D Mohr diagram with the same resolved stresses
represent 4 independent planes. The normal stress on
octahedral planes is (σ1 + σ2 + σ3 )/3 and the shear Figure 3. Morh diagram explaining the effects of block rota-
stress is (σ1 − σ2 )2 + (σ2 − σ3 )2 + (σ3 − σ1 )2 /3. The tion. In (a), (b), (c), effects of block rotation are shown. The
direction angels are θ1 = θ2 = θ3 = 54◦ 45
, and the method of Allmendinger (2002) is used to calculated rotation.
four planes can be (54◦ 45
, 54◦ 45
, 54◦ 45
), (54◦ 45
, (a) Planes 1 and 2 are two crosscutting planes. The attitude
of plane 1 is 135◦ /60◦ SW, and plane 2, 45◦ /60◦ SE. Points 1’
54◦ 45
, −54◦ 45
), (54◦ 45
, −54◦ 45
,−54◦ 45
), and and 2’ are the projections of planes 1 and 2 after rotation. The
(54◦ 45
, −54◦ 45
, 54◦ 45
). axis of rotation is 360◦ /0◦ N, and rotation angle is clockwise
According to Sibson (1985), for the two- 30◦ . After rotation, plane 1 is moved to the point 1’ that is
dimensional case, the stress condition for reactivation located in the slip area, and plane 2 is moved to point 2’, that
of a plane with a dip of θk to σ 1 is is farther from the criterion line τ = C + µσ than before rota-
tion. (b) The axis of rotation is 90◦ /0◦ E, and rotation angle is
30◦ clockwise. After rotation, two planes are still below and
farther from the critical line of slip. (c) The axis of rotation
is 90◦ /0◦ E, and rotation angel is 30◦ anticlockwise. After
rotation, two planes are located above the critical slip line.
where p is pore pressure and µ is friction coefficient.
This indicates that only two planes represented by a
point on 2D Mohr diagram could be reactivated under Because the values of n1 , n2 and n3 for a point on the
the 2D stress state. This is different from those for the diagram can be either positive or negative, the value
3D stress state. of tanR may be positive and negative depending on the
The maximum shear stress vector is parallel to the signs of n1 , n2 and n3 . Here, the pitch of slip defied
slickenlines on the fault plane (e.g. Etchecopar et al. as an angle ranging from 0◦ to 180◦ measured from
1981). According to Bott (1959), the pitch (R) of a set the strike to the slickenline on the plane. Therefore,
of slickenlines can be calculated for a given value of tanR, two values of angle can
be obtained. Similarly, by using the minus sign for
value of tanR, we can obtain other two values of angle.
This indicates that the four planes may have two pitch

741
Figure 4. Cases of reactivation of pre-existing planes due to changes in the principal stresses during which the maximum
differen-tial stress is not changed. σ01 - Original maximum principal stress; σ02 - Original intermediate principal stress; σ03 –
Original minimum principal stress; σ1 - Original maximum principal stress after change; σ2 – Original intermediate principal
stress after change; σ3 – Original minimum principal stress after change. For all cases, P1 > 0, P2 > 0, and P3 > 0.

angles of slikenlines. For example, for tanR = 2, the
pitch can be 63◦ , 117◦ . The senses of the slickenlines
can determine that the faults are normal-oblique or
inverse-oblique.
4 EFFECT OF BLOCK ROTATION
The axes of the Mohr circle have no geographic signif-
icance. Therefore, in order to study the effect of block
rotation, the geographic axes are assumed parallel to
the principal stress direction as shown in Figure 3. It
worth pointing out that in practice, the principal axes
are rarely parallel to the geographic north.
Both the strike and dip of a fault could be changed
during block rotation. As a result, the applied stress on
the fault plane will be changed. Here, for simplicity,
only two planes are shown in Figure 3. There are three
results of rotation if two pre-existing planes below the
slip envelope rotate. First, after rotation, one plane is
located above the slip envelope, whereas another is
still located below the slip envelope and farther to it
than before rotation (Fig. 3a). For this scenario, the two
planes do not induce interaction. Second, after rotation,
two planes are still located in the stable region of slip
and farther to the slip envelope than before rotation
(Fig. 3b). In this case, two planes cannot be initiate
slip. Third, after rotation, two planes are located in the
unstable region of slip (Fig. 3c). In this case, the two
planes become to slip and there may be a kinematic
interaction between two planes. These results imply
that if the planes represented by a point on the Mohr
diagram rotate a certain degree, not all of them can be
reactivated.
5 EFFECT OF CHANGES IN THE APPLIED
PRINCIPAL STRESSES
Crustal stress state could be considered as a com-
bination of sub-stress tensors. The common known
sub-stress tensor is lithostatic stress tensor. If litho-
static stress tensor is superimposed by pore fluid or
tectonic stress tensor or any other local sub-stress

742
Figure 5. Cases in which the pre-existing planes are reactivated due to changes in the principal stresses with decrease in the
maximum differential stress. The signs of σ01 , σ02 , σ03 , σ1 , σ2 , and σ03 have the same meaning as in Fig. 4. For all cases,
P1 > 0, P2 > 0, and P3 > 0.
tensors such as thermal stress tensor, stress tensor
due to chemical changes etc., the magnitudes of the
principal stress could be changed. As a result, accord-
ing to equations (7), (8) and (9) the positions of 3D
Mohr circles can be translated along the axis σ on
the 3D Mohr diagram. In this way, positions of the
pre-existing planes could be changed and would be
reactivated when they are located above the critical
slip line.
Crustal stresses are quite inhomogeneous. For
example, Tsukahara et al. (1996) obtained that the
fracture zone has small differential stress (σ1 − σ3 ) in
Ashio, Japan. They show that the differential stress
is large in the earthquake swarm region. But, it is
extremely small at narrow zones adjoining fracture
zones. If one of the three principal stresses is changed,
the differential stress may be altered. On the 3D Mohr
diagram, three trends of maximum differential stress
are studied. The first case is that the maximum differ-
ential stress maintains constant when a plane is moved
to the location above the critical slip line (Fig. 4).
Five sub-cases can be distinguished. The important
for these sub-cases is that change in only the inter-
mediate principal stress can produce reactivation of
743
a plane (Figs. 4b, 4c), and high pore fluid pressure
always cause some plane to be reactivated (Fig. 4d).
The second case is that the maximum differential
stress decreases when a pre-existing plane initiates slip
(Fig. 5). Four sub-cases are distinguished. These cases
could be the results of combinations of high pore fluid
pressure and tectonic stress. For example, the sub-case
in Figure 5c may represent the following combination:
(a) The pore fluid stress is P1 ; (b) The tectonic stress
is tensional and is applied in the plane of σ 02 − σ 03 ,
whose components in the σ 03 and in σ 02 is less
than P1 .
The third case is that the maximum differential
stress increases when the stress state of a pre-existing
plane reaches critical slip condition. Only five but
not all the sub-cases are presented in Figure 6. For
example, the condition in Figure 6f is σ 1 = σ 01 + p1 ,
σ2 = σ02 + p2 , and σ 3 = σ 03 + p3 . This condition can
be further divided into some sub-cases such as
p1 < p2 < p3 , p3 < p2 < p1, p1 < p3 < p2 , etc., where p1 ,
p2, and p3 are large than zero. The superimposed
sub-stress tensors in these cases could be more com-
plicated than those in Figure 5. For example, the static
stress can be changed due to co-seismic dislocations.
Figure 6. Cases of reactivation of pre-existing planes due to changes in the principal stresses during which the maximum
differential stress increases. The signs of σ01 , σ02 , σ03 , σ1 , σ2 , and σ3 have the same meaning as in Fig. 4. For all cases, P1 > 0,
P2 > 0, and P3 > 0.

These induced changes in static stress on neighboring
faults that may delay, advance, or trigger impending
earthquakes (e.g. King et al. 1994, Muller et al. 2006).
The above cases indicates that reactivation of a
plane is dependent on not only the maximum dif-
ferential stress, but also the intermediate stress. No
matter how the maximum differential stress changes
(increases or decreases or maintains constant), a
pre-existing plane could be reactivated after certain
changes of magnitudes in principal stresses.
6 RANGE OF THE DIPS OF REACTIVATED
PLANES
From the diagram, a range of dips of the reactivated
planes can be evaluated. For simplicity, only the case
in the normal fault regime is analyzed. In the normal
fault regime, the direction angle related to maximum
principal stress is the dip of a reactivated plane. The
dips of reactivated planes are strong affected by the
values of µ and C. Smaller the values of µ and C,
lager the range of the dips of reactivated planes (Fig. 7).
Then, if the values of µ and Care small enough, the dips
can less than 45◦ , which is consistent with equation
(11). On the other hand, the change of applied stress
can also influence the range of dips of the reactivated
plane. This effect is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
(1) Case where the maximum differential stress is
constant (Figs. 4b and 4c). The change of inter-
mediate stress causes a little increase in the dips
of the reactivated planes. High pore fluid pres-
sure generally increases the range of the dips of
the reactivated planes (Figs 4d, 4e and 4f).
(2) Case in which the maximum differential stress
decreases. In the sub-case in Figure 5b, the range
of dips of the reactivated planes increases a little.
Whereas in sub-cases in Figures 5c, 5d, 5e and 5f,
the range of dips increases evidently.
(3) Case where the differential stress increases. In any
sub-cases, the range of the dips of the reactivated
planes also increases (Fig. 6).
In general, the range of the dips of the reactivated
planes is dependent on the values of µ and C. Also, the
range of dips for the reactivated planes changes with
the principal stresses.
7 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of the reac-
tivated planes on three-dimensional Mohr diagram. We

744

Figure 7. The range of dips (θ1 ) of the reactivated planes
changes in the normal fault regime due to the changes in the
value of µ in (a) and the value of C in (b).
obtain following results. (1) On a three-dimensional
Mohr diagram, a point is determined by three Mohr
circles. This point has unique combined values of shear
and normal stresses. In real space, there are four planes
with the same shear and normal stresses if the signs of
stress are ignored. This implies that four planes may be
reactivated, if a point on the diagram is located above
the critical slip line.
(2) The reactivated planes, on which there are the
identical normal and shear stresses, can have two
different pitches of the slickenlines.
In this work, we also analyze changes in stress
state on pre-existing planes on a Mohr diagram due
to change of the applied stress. First, the effect of
block rotation is analyzed. Our results indicate that
if the magnitude of rotation about a certain axis is
the identical for the planes represented by a point on
the diagram, which one will be reactivated depends
on magnitude and direction of the block rotation. On
the other hand, reactivation of a pre-existing plane is
not only dependent on change in the maximum dif-
ferential stress. Under the constant differential stress,
a pre-existing plane may also be reactivated due
to appropriate changes in the intermediate principal
stresses. Finally, three parameters such as the values of
τ and C, the magnitudes of the principal stresses influ-
ence the range of the dips of the reactivated planes.
High pore fluid pressure commonly increases the range
of dips of the reactivated planes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the 049049 and 089867
Conacyt projects of Mexico.
745
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

InSAR measurement of fault activity in Red River fault zone

Leyin Hu
Institute of Crustal Dynamics China Earthquake Administration, (CEA), Haidian Area, Beijing
Shandong University of science and technology, Qianwangang RD., QingDao, Shandong, China

Jingfa Zhang, Xiaoqing Shang, Huifang Zhou & Chenglong Li

Institute of Crustal Dynamics China Earthquake Administration, (CEA), Haidian Area, Beijing

Jan-Peter Muller
Department of Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, UK

ABSTRACT: The Red River Fault Zone is a gigantic slide-slip fault zone extending up to 1000 km from
Tibet to South China Sea. It is complex, consisting of up to four strands, and is dominated by right-lateral
strike-slip displacement. Evidence for an extensional component of displacement is strongest along the northern
part of the fault, and decreases to the southeast, to zero southeast of a major bend in the fault. To detecting the
deformation information of this fault is significant to study the activity of the fault. Differential SyntheticAperture
Radar Interferometry (D-InSAR) technology in the detection of surface deformation has been widely applied.
The detection accuracy of the surface deformation can reach centimeter and even millimeter scale. Persistent
scatterers (PS) technique is a classical deformation time series analysis methods. It was proposed to overcome
the traditional D-InSAR technology’s restrictive factors, including the temporal and spatial decorrelation and
the atmospheric effects. In this study, we collected ENVISAT ASAR data that covering Red River Fault area.
We analyzed the information of all the acquisitions and the background of the Red River fault to carry out
the PS-InSAR technology. Based on the analyzing of the time-series acquired from the PS-InSAR method, we
detected the displacements along the Red River fault with a comparable accuracy.

1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS considered(Ferretti, 2001). In 2004, Andy Hooper pre-

The differential interferometric SAR (D-InSAR) tech-
nique is an useful method to monitoring the sur-
face deformation (Peradino, 2002), which was widely
applied in the study of earthquake, volcano movement,
crustal deformation and hill slide, with an accuracy of
cm to mm magnitude (Massonnet, 2009). Recently,
there are some successful practices on applying
D-InSAR technologies in monitoring the crustal defor-
mation (Lixia Gong, 2005). However, the traditional
DInSAR technique has its limitations on detecting the
long term crustal deformation, such as temporal and
spatial de-correlation and atmospheric effects.To over-
come these limitations many research has been carried
out on the studying of InSAR Time-series analyzing,
which deal with multiple images.
Permanent scatterer InSAR(PS-InSAR) is an exten-
sion of the conventional DInSAR, which was proposed
overcome the main limitations in the conventional
DInSAR techniques. It was developed in the late 1990s
by A. Ferretti, F.Rocca, and C. Prati of the Politec-
nico di Milano (POLIMI). The main characteristics
of this method are that it utilizes a single master in a
stack of differential interferograms, and that only time-
coherent pixels, i.e “Permanent Scatterers” (PS) are
sented a new PS-InSAR method, mentioned as Stand-
ford method of Persistent scaterrer InSAR, which does
not require the prior knowledge of the deformation
model (Hooper, 2004).
For the PS analysis in this paper, I used StaMPS/
MTI software, which is an open source software pro-
vided by Andy Hooper. The Sar data used in this study
are all Envisat Asar raw data. We process the raw data
and generate SLC data using ROI PAC software, which
is also open-source software. After the formation of
the SLC image, we need to carry out the D-InSAR
process to every slave images relative to one mas-
ter image. Because we used Doris InSAR software to
carry out the D-InSAR processing and form the inter-
ferograms, so we need to transfer the SLCs required
from the ROI_PAC software to the format that Doris
software can read. When we get all interferograms
ready, the works before PS analysis were finished.
2 GEOLOGICAL AND GEOTECHNICAL
SETTING
Midu County is located in western YunNan Province
and lies in the south-east of Dali Bai Autonomous

747
 Table 1. Distribution of time and spatial bperb baselines of
ASAR images.

Doppler
Time series Time (days) Bperp(m) centroids (HZ)

17-Apr-03 −945 691 44.33

4-Sep-03 −805 95 −68.61
18-Dec-03 −700 −963 −47.12
22-Jan-04 −665 −1025 −54.18
26-Feb-04 −630 −1134 −43.51
1-Apr-04 −595 547 −46.23
19-Aug-04 −455 −948 −36.61
28-Oct-04 −385 225 −46.16
2-Dec-04 −350 −108 −48.73
10-Feb-05 −280 −690 −42.55
15-Nov-05 0 0 0
22-Dec-05 35 −246 −24.87
2-Mar-06 105 −518 −25.7
11-May-06 175 −221 −33.93
15-Jun-06 210 −287 −28.95
20-Jul-06 245 715 −29.05
24-Aug-06 280 289 −20.35
Figure 1. Location of the test area. 15-Feb-07 455 −424 −30.72
27-Dec-07 770 −582 −22.37
Prefecture. The longitude of this county area is from
East 100◦ 19
to East 100◦ 47
and the latitude is
from 24◦ 47
to 25◦ 32
. From northwest to southeast,
the county presents a long and narrow terrain, with
a total area of 1523.43 square kilometers, of which
the dam area of 132 square kilometers, accounting for
8.66% of the total area, mountains, Mid-Levels area
of 1391.43 square kilometers, accounting for 91.34%
of the total area. From the geological aspect, Midu
County is located in the north tip of the interchange
between Erhai and Chenghai large faults, and it is the
source of the Red River fault, extension from the north-
west to southeast. The Mountains and Rivers are most
spreading from northwest to southeast. The highest
point is Jiuding hill, 3117.9 meters above the sea level,
and the lowest point is Miruola in Niujie town, eleva-
tion 1223 meters. The Landscape in this area can be
divided into tectonic denudation, mountain canyon cut,
corrosion valleys and intermontane basins.
The area we selected for applying deformation mon-
itoring using PS-InSAR technique is the basin in Midu
County, where is surrounded with hills. Due to the
passing through of the Red River fault from northwest
to southeast, the characteristic of the crustal defor-
mation in this area may be affected by the activity Figure 2. Interferograms formed from 19 ASAR Images,
of the Red River fault. Therefore, by studying the taking 20051115 as Master Image.
crustal deformation of this area, we can derive some
information about the activity of the Red River fault. ASAR images are shown in the following table 1.
In total, there were 18 interferograms formed from
Envisat-ASAR raw images, as shown in figure 2.
3 DATA AND PROCESSING We processed the data using the Stanford Method
for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) (Hooperet al.,
In this study, we collected 19 Envisat-ASAR raw 2004) to analyze ENVISAT ASAR data, acquired
images acquired betweenApril 17th, 2003 and Decem- from April 17th, 2003 and December 27th, 2007,
ber 27th, 2007. Considering the time and spatial Bperb and determine line of sight (LOS) displacements. For
baselines, we choose the image on January 17th, 2005 conventional PS method, typically at least 25 interfero-
as the master image for Envisat-ASAR stack. The grams are required to obtain reliable results. However,
distribution of Time and Spatial Bperp Baselines of the StaMPS method requires fewer interferograms in

748
Figure 3. Master crop area ramp simulated from the DEM.
Figure 4. Atmosphere effect phase due to master images.
PS analysis. According to Andy Hooper’s research,
12 interferograms are usually sufficient to identify a
network of PS pixels and, in one case at least, have
even been able to identify PS pixels using just four
interferograms (Hooper, 2007).
In our study, we applied 19 ASAR raw images to
carry out the PS analysis in the Midu county area.
To overcome the DEM error and orbits error, SRTM
DEM and DORIS precise orbits were used in this
paper. In our data processing, the open source software
ROI_PAC 3.0 was used to focus the raw image and
form the SLCs and the open source software DORIS
4.02 was used to form single-look interferograms from
all other slave images, all with respect to one ‘super
master’ image.
The mean deformation velocity (LOS) of the test-
ing area is shown in the figure 5. From which we can
identify some characteristic of the crustal deforma-
tion in this area. Obviously, the velocity in the edge
of the basin is bigger than the place in the flat area.
The maximum upward velocity reached 6.6 mm/year
(LOS) and the maximum downward velocity reached
6.5 mm/year (LOS).
The mean velocity map indicates that the deforma-
tion velocity in the town location is higher than the
749
Figure 5. Mean deformation velocity of the testing area.
(mm/year, LOS).
other places and the town location has an obviously
trend of going toward to the satellite. In the north-
west of this area there is an implicit boundary that the
deformation direction are oppose in the different side.
Based on the prior knowledge of the Red River fault,
we know that the boundary seem like the place where
the Red River fault pass through. Maybe the different
deformation trend was resulted from the activity of the
fault.
We chose four points in this area, two points with
a higher deformation velocity away from the satel-
lite (marked A and B) and the other two points with
a higher deformation velocity toward to the satellite
(marked C and D), to figure out the changing trend of
the phase, all take the value in the image of Decem-
ber 11th, 2005 as a reference. The time-series of these
four places are plotted in figure 7. The time-series of
the point A and B showing an clearly downward trend
which have an average velocity of −6.6 mm/year and
the time-series of point C and D indicating an obvi-
ously upward trend with an average velocity of about
6.5 mm/year.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
The results showing here are our preliminary research
on the Red River fault applying PS method. In this
study, we derived the time series of the crustal defor-
mation in Midu basin area, where Red River fault
passed through. Based on the deformation time series,
we can carry out some more research on the character-
istic of the activity of the Red River fault. The result
demonstrated the potential of SAR long time-series

Figure 6. The time-series of deformation in Point A ∼ Point
(mm/year, LOS).
scenes to monitor the long time slow deformation of
the crustal.
In this paper, we only presented the result derived
from the ENVISAT-ASAR images, lacking of results
from other acquisitions. As a result, we can only do a
little analysis on the reality confirmation. The results,
however, still need to be carefully analyzed for the
tectonic point of view which is in progress.
For the future work, we are preparing to collect
some time series scenes of ERS1/2 images to apply the
same PS-InSAR analysis. We are now studying some
new InSAR time series analysis methods, namely:
SBAS-InSAR technique and MTI-InSAR technique.
We will apply these three InSAR time series analyze
approach on the same test area, so we can get more reli-
able results to confirm the reality. The results will be
750
refined by the application of MTI-InSAR that includes
both Persistent Scatterer and Small Baseline Subset
methods.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is supported by the National Natural Science
Funds(40774023), National Science and Technology
Ministry (2008BAC35B04-1) and the Dragon project
(5343). I would like to thank the European Space
Agency (ESA), who provided the Envisat-ASAR raw
data that cover the Damxung area. SRTM topographic
data we used were provided by the Jet Propulsion Lab-
oratory (JPL). I also want to express my thanks toAndy
hooper, who provide the open source InSAR software
StaMPS/MTI.
REFERENCES
Berardino, P., Fornaro, G., Lanari, R., et al.., 2002, A new
algorithm for surface deformation monitoring based on
small baseline differential SAR interferograms, IEEE
Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, 40(11): 2375∼238.
Massonnet, D., Rossi, M., Carrnona, C., et a1.. The displace-
ment field of the Landers earthquake mapped by radar
interferometry[J]. Nature, 1993(364): 138∼142.
Lixia Gong, Jingfa Zhang, Qingshi Guo, “Measure Ground-
water Pumping Induced Subsidence with D-InSAR”,
IGARSS, July, 2005. Seoul, Korea, 25–29.
Ferretti, A., Prati, C., and Rocca, F., 2001, Permanent scat-
terersin SAR interferometry. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote
Sensing, 39(1): 8∼20.
Hooper, A., Zebker, H., Segall, P.,et al.., 2004, A new method
for measuring deformation on volcanoes and other natural
terrains using InSAR persistent scatterers, Geophys. Res.
Lett., 31, L23611, doi:10.1029/2004GL021737.
Hooper, A., P. Segall, and H. Zebker, 2007. Persistent scat-
terer interferometric synthetic aperture radar for crustal
deformation analysis, with application to Volcáno Alcedo,
Galápagos, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 112,
B07407,doi:10.1029/2006JB004763.
Mora, O., Mallorqui, J., Broquetas, A., 2003£¬Linear and
nonlinear terrain deformation maps from a reduced set of
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Lithospheric thermo-mechanical strength map of China

Yang Wang
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University
of Geosciences, Beijing, China

Suhua Cheng
School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The thermo-mechanical strength distributions of the lithosphere underneath China were obtained
by 3-D crustal velocity model of China, local isostasy equilibrium constrained geothermal inversion, and
4-layered rheological model of lithosphere. Map of the lateral strength variation at compression condition is
presented for whole China continent, and the thermal thickness of the lithosphere is also calculated. The relative
strength ratio of crust/mantle (SC/SM) in the vast region of Tibetan plateau is larger than 10, corresponding to
a stronger crust but weak upper mantle. It means that the present-day rheology of Tibet belongs to the typical
“crème-brûlée” layering due to its warm (hot) geotherm and thick crust. Off Tibetan plateau, the lithosphere
of typical “jelly sandwich” rheology that SC/SM ratio is less than 1, occurs in Junggar, Tarim, Sichuan basin,
and Dabieshan as well as the southeastern and northeastern part of Sino-Korean platform. However, the SC/SM
ratios are larger than 3 in the northern part of Northeast China, Tian Shan and South China fold belt. The “crème-
brûlée” model is more suitable for describing the lithosphere rheology of these regions. For other portion of
China, the SC/SM ratios are mainly in range of 1 to c.3, corresponding to a slight stronger crust and a weaker
upper mantle. Accordingly, the most of China Mainland exhibit “crème-brûlée” layered lithosphere rather than
“jelly sandwich” one, with exception of Junggar, Tarim and Sichuan basin as well as some areas in Sino-Korean
platform. This result means that the lithosphere beneath most area of China continent is mechanically weak. It
is the upper crust rather than the upper mantle portion bears the elastic stress. In earthquake-prone regions of
China landmass, the mechanical behavior of crust and mantle is decoupled.

1 INTRODUCTION and dataset statistics. Accordingly, the results provide

The continental area of China is made up of juxta-
posed strongly deformed parts and relatively stable
regions, and the crustal structure, lithosphere thickness
and temperature distributions beneath China mainland
exhibits significant lateral variations (Wang, 2001).
Accordingly, the study on the strength of the conti-
nental lithosphere in China provides not only insights
on the present-day geodynamics for this geologically
intriguing country, but also information about the spa-
tial variability of lithospheric rheology in a highly
heterogeneous landmass.
To avoid the difficult from the biased geographic
distribution and possible intrinsic errors of some heat
flow observations, in here we use local isostasy anal-
ysis to constrain the temperature distributions within
the lithosphere of China mainland. The 1◦ × 1◦ grid
based map of the lateral strength variation is presented,
either maps of the thermal lithosphere thickness and
the 600◦ C isothermal contours. Compared to the work
by Wang (2001), this study puts its feet up a solid
physical principle rather than geological experiences
a more robust approximation to the strength of China
lithosphere.
2 CALCULATION OF LITHOSPHERIC
STRENGTH
Relative topographic variations, assuming local
isostasy and taking into account density variations
due to thermal expansion in the lithospheric mantle,
can be used to constrain the vertical distributions of
temperature within lithosphere (geotherm) (Zeyen &
Fernandez 1994). Under local isostasy assumption, the
absolute elevation of a given lithospheric column is
determined by comparing its buoyancy force with that
of a reference column (Lachenbruch & Morgan 1990).
The mean elevation of each 1◦ × 1◦ latitude-longitude
grid derived from ETOP5 model is used as the fit-
ting target in this study. The trial-and-error method
is applied to search the surface heat flow value get-
ting minimum misfit of the elevation in each 1◦ × 1◦
grid. The geotherm calculation procedure adopts a

751
five-layer model, consisting of a sedimentary layer
(where present), an upper crust, an upper lower crust
and the lowermost crust as well as the lithospheric
mantle layer. The thickness of crust and its sub-layers
are obtained from a 1◦ × 1◦ grid crustal Vp model
of China and its adjacent region (Wang et al. 2004;
Zhu et al. 2004), which covers a rectangle region from
18◦ –55◦ N and 73◦ –135◦ E. The parameters adopted for
geotherm calculation can be found in Wang (2001).
Laboratory rock mechanics studies demonstrate a
dependence of rock-strength on temperature and pres-
sure (e.g. Goetze & Evans 1979). Within the mechan-
ically strong part of the lithosphere, the strength of
the upper part is defined by criteria for brittle failure
(Byerlee’s Law). Creep processes become dominant at
temperatures exceeding roughly half the melting tem-
perature of rock (Carter & Tsenn 1987). Therefore,
the strength in the lower part of the lithosphere and
the lower part of crust is governed by the temperature
distribution. Extrapolation of flow laws and laboratory
failure criteria (i.e. Byerlee 1978; Brace & Kohlstedt
1980), adopting estimates for tectonic strain-rates and
thermal gradients at different depths provides a first-
order description of the strength distribution within the
lithosphere. For each depth interval strengths for both
brittle and ductile deformation are calculated, with the
lesser of these representing the limiting strength of
the lithosphere (σv ) at that particular depth level (e.g.,
Ranalli 1995).
The Byerlee’s Law can be expressed as (Sibson
1974):
where α is a parameter depending on the type of fault-
ing, ρ the average density, g the gravity acceleration,
Z is the depth and λ is the pore fluid factor. In this
study, we take α = 3.0 (thrust faulting) and a typical
(“hydrostatic”) λ = 0.37.
Power-creep law is expressed as (Ranalli 1995):
where ε̇ is the steady-state strain rate, T the tempera-
ture in degrees Kelvin, R the universal gas constant, A
and n are material creep parameters, Q the activation
energy.
A scalar measure for the total strength of a multi-
layer lithosphere with a depth-dependent rheology
can be obtained by vertically integrating the yield
envelope:
where SL is the total (integrated) lithospheric strength.
In calculation, a four-layer model, consisting of an
upper crust (wet quartzite), the upper lower crust (fel-
sic granulite), a lowermost crust (mafic granulite) and
the upper mantle (wet peridotite) is adopted; mean-
while, a steady-state strain rate ε̇ of 10−15 s−1 is
752
Table 1. Creep parameters for lithospheric rocks.
Lithology (1) (2) (3) (4)
n 2.3 3.1 4.2 4.0
Q (kJ mol−1 ) 154 243 445 471
A (MPa−n s−1 ) 2.0 × 10−4 8.0 × 10−3 1.4 × 104 2.0 × 103
(1) Wet quartzite: Kirby & Kronenberg (1987); (2) Fel-
sic granulite: Wilks & Carter (1990); (3) Mafic granulite:
Chopra & Paterson (1984); (4) Wet peridotite: Chopra &
Paterson (1981).
used. Parameters used for rheological modelling are
presented in Table 1.
There has been much debate recently concerning the
strength of continental lithosphere (Maggi et al. 2000;
Jackson 2002; Afonso & Ranalli 2004; Burov & Watts
2006 and references therein). The accepted rheologi-
cal model for continental lithosphere has been that of
a strong upper crust overlying a soft lower crust and a
stronger upper mantle (cf., Ranalli and Murphy 1987;
Ranalli 1995; Cloetingth and Burov 1996; Watts and
Burov 2003). However, this “jelly sandwich” model
has been challenged by the “crème brûlée” model,
which consists of a strong crust but a weak upper man-
tle (Maggi et al. 2000; Jackson 2002). Meanwhile, it is
proposed that the weak upper mantle might be caused
by the presence of hydrous minerals, which weaken
olivine and pyroxene (Maggi et al. 2000). Although
dry rheology may be more relevant for older and stable
regions, wet rheology may be appropriate for con-
tinental lithospheric mantle in the regions recently
affected by subduction of oceanic lithosphere (cf.,
Afonso & Ranalli 2004). China Mainland has expe-
rienced the episodic tectonothermal events including
subduction and collision (Şengör & Natal’in 1996;
Yin & Nie 1996; Ren 1999), so we use wet peri-
dotite to model mantle strength of China Mainland.
Following Afonso & Ranalli (2004), we calculate rel-
ative strength for China mainland, but use the (total)
crust/mantle strength ratio (SC/SM) rather than the
lower crust/mantle strength ratio (SLC/SLM); because
the “crème brûlée” in here is regarded as including all
models with a weak mantle and “jelly sandwich” as
all models with a strong mantle, not just those with a
weak lower crust (Burov & Watts 2006).
3 LITHOSPHERIC STRENGTH OF CHINA
The thickness of the thermal lithosphere, here defined
as a conductive layer above the 1350◦ C isotherm, is
presented in Figure 1. The 600◦ C isothermal depth dis-
tributions are displayed in Figure 2, because 600◦ C is
the earthquake focal depth limit temperature for upper
mantle (McKenzie et al. 2005). The lateral distribu-
tions of total lithospheric strength in China mainland
are presented in Figure 3, and the relative strength
ratios are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 1. Lithospheric thermal thickness in China (with
1◦ × 1◦ krigging interpolation), assumed to be the depth of
the 1350◦ C isotherm.
Figure 2. The depth of 600◦ C isotherm in China (with
1◦ × 1◦ krigging interpolation).
Figure 3. The total lithospheric strength of China (with
1◦ × 1◦ krigging interpolation).
The good consistent between the spatial patterns of
lithospheric temperatures and strength in China main-
land (Figs. 1–3), confirms the conclusions suggested
by Wang (2001) that lateral variation of total litho-
spheric strength is mainly influenced by the tempera-
ture distributions in China continent, but the strength
of Tibet is much reduced by its over-thickened crust.
The relative strength ratio of crust/mantle (SC/SM) in
the vast region of Tibetan plateau is larger than 10
(i.e., the log unit >1 in Fig. 4), corresponding to a
stronger crust but weak upper mantle. It means that
the present-day rheology of Tibet belongs to the typ-
ical “crème-brûlée” layering due to its warm (hot)
geotherm and thick crust. Off Tibetan plateau, the
lithosphere of typical “jelly sandwich” rheology that
753
Figure 4. The spatial distributions of relative strength ratio
SC/SM (crustal strength/mantle strength) in China (with
1◦ × 1◦ krigging interpolation).
SC/SM ratio is less than 1 (or log(SC/SM) < 0 in
Fig. 4), occurs in Junggar, Tarim, Sichuan basin, and
Dabieshan as well as the southeastern and northeast-
ern part of Sino-Korean platform (Fig. 4). However, the
SC/SM ratios are larger than 3 (i.e. the log unit of 0.5
in Fig. 4) in the northern part of Northeast China, Tian
Shan and South China fold belt. The “crème-brûlée”
model is more suitable for describing the lithosphere
rheology of these regions. For other portion of China
mainland, the SC/SM ratios are mainly in range of
1 to c.3 (i.e. the log unit from 0 to 0.5 in Fig. 4),
corresponding to a slight stronger crust and a weaker
upper mantle. Accordingly, the most of China Main-
land exhibit “crème-brûlée” layered lithosphere rather
than “jelly sandwich” one, with exception of Jung-
gar, Tarim and Sichuan basin as well as some areas in
Sino-Korean platform.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The spatial variation of lithospheric strength of China
is mainly influenced by geotherms, but the “crème
brûlée” layering of rheology in Tibet is due to its over-
thick crust. The lithospheric rheology of a vast area
in China can be approximated as the “crème brûlée”
consisting of a strong crust with a weak upper man-
tle. However, Junggar, Tarim and Sichuan basin as
well as some area of Sino-Korean platform have “jelly
sandwich” layered lithosphere consisting of a stronger
upper mantle with a relative weaker crust.
The lithosphere beneath most area of China conti-
nent is mechanically weak. It is the upper crust rather
than the upper mantle portion bears the elastic stress.
In earthquake-prone regions of China landmass, the
mechanical behavior of crust and mantle is decoupled.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study is supported by the 973 Research
Project (Grant no. 2008CB425704) from Ministry
of Science and Technology, PRC, National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 90814006,
40572128, 40376013, 40104003), and the project
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structure of oceanic and continental lithosphere. Earth and
Planetary Science Letters 233: 337–349.
Ranalli, G. 1995. Rheology of the Earth (2nd Edition).
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Earthquake focal depths, effective elastic thickness, and

754
Stress-strain observation and earthquake prediction
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

In-situ stress measurement is an important approach to realize earthquake

prediction – developing J.S. Lee’s scientific ideas on earthquake prediction

F. Li
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In 1960s, J.S. Lee (Si-Guang Li) pointed out that, tectonic stress and its variation have tight
relationship with earthquake, and unraveling the stress variation process by in-situ stress measurement is key to
realize earthquake prediction. On the basis of Dr. Lee’s speeches and my own experiences of the related practices,
some significant ideas from Dr. Lee on the earthquake prediction were introduced. Today, his ideas on “safe
island” and earthquake prediction still have theoretical and practical significances.

According to Prof. J.S. Lee’s previous speeches and
instructions, combined with our own working experi-
ences, his main ideas and opinions about earthquake
prediction are introduced below, which still have
theoretical and practical significances in the present.
1 AN EARTHQUAKE IS CLOSELY RELATED
TO TECTONIC STRESS AND ITS VARIATION
After the 1962 Xinfengjiang earthquake in Guang-
dong, Prof. J.S. Lee proposed several new ideas about
works on earthquake and began to organize research
teams and gradually push forward the earthquake
prediction research.
J.S. Lee pointed out: “Most of the earthquakes occur
on the Earth’s surface” (Li, 1973). “According to this
fact, we should make notices on the tectonic issues at
the Earth’s surface, and earthquakes occur in the zones
(or areas, sites) with special tectonic forms. Existing
materials indicated that epicenters often concentrated
at tectonic belts, turning points or conjunctions of
tectonic belts. Therefore, we should at first deep inves-
tigate the zones (points) on the earth’s surface, where
the tectonic phenomena happened” (Li, 1973). He also
clearly pointed out: “Earthquakes are closely related to
tectonic stress and its variations” (Li, 1974). “Tectonic
stress should exist, and an earthquake can be generated
when tectonic stress changes to a certain degree. The
occurrence of an earthquake should attribute to the
intensive crustal deformation in the rock body or rock
stratum at certain locations on the Earth’s surface, and
this deformation can happen only when there is force
action. It is hard to imagine that this force is gener-
ated within a few hundredth of a second, and then it
should have a gradually strengthening process, which
is a stress accumulation process” (Li, 1974).
According to the above views, after the Xin-
fengjiang earthquake in 1962, the Xinfengjiang geo-
logical brigade at Heyuan, Guangdong Province began
earthquake geology survey in the area of Xinfengjiang
reservoir. Meanwhile, Prof. Lee let Zongjie Wang and
me to carry out tectonic stress measurement and fault
displacement measurement. Under the guidance of
Prof. J.S. Lee and Prof. Linzhao Qian, the works ini-
tiated quickly. On the basis of analyses of literatures,
we decided to adopt piezomagnetic method to mea-
sure tectonic stress, and then Prof. Lee directly called
Director Su, Iron and Steel Research Institute of Min-
istry of Metallurgical Industry by himself to get the
core material for tectonic stress meter, Fe-Ni Alloy
containing 65% nickel, and strain resistance wire for
fault displacement measurement, for us. After more
than one year’s technical preparation and laboratory
testing, with deputy director, Leibo Wu, we went to
Xinfengjiang, Heyuan in the spring of 1964 and car-
ried out the in-situ measurements for tectonic stress
and fault displacement.
2 THERE ARE RELATIVELY SAFE AREAS
IN A SEISMIC ACTIVE ZONE
In 1964, due to the need for three-line construction
in China, several large industrial bases were built up
along the line from Xichang to Dukou (Panzhihua)
in Sichuan Province. According to historical records
over the past 1000 years, many strong earthquakes
occurred in this region in the past, including some
recent cases. Engaging the constructions in such region
was the requirement of the situation at that time. Many
important construction projects in this region, such
as constructions of factories, mines, railway stations,
power plants, high-raise buildings and so on, will be
carried out, and all the projects were related to issues
how to identify crustal stable and safe regions. In order
to solve this problem, J.S. Lee thought that earthquake
geology work should be conducted before all other
construction work because it was service work for site-
selection of the construction bases and was a pioneered

757
work. Thus one geological brigade from Guangdong
Province was selected to carry out the earthquake geo-
logy work in Sichuan. In the mean time, a number of
technical experts from the Institute of Geomechan-
ics and students from the Advanced Geomechanics
Training Classes were selected to enhance the tech-
nique power in the earthquake geology works, and they
played roles as technical leadership and conducted
earthquake geology survey in large areas.
In January 1965, when conversed with the partici-
pants of the southwestern earthquake geological work
from the Institute of Geomechanics, Professor Lee
addressed: “An earthquake is the result of relatively
strong destructive changes occurring in the under-
ground rock stratum. The energy generated by such
destructive changes spreads out, as seismic waves, in
all directions towards other areas at the Earth’s surface”
(Li, 1973). “Since the seismic wave propagation would
be affected by rock lithology and tectonic characteris-
tics, earthquake may raise very severe damages along
some particular directions, while in some other places
the damage would be relatively weak” (Li, 1973).
He said: “The prior objective of seismic research
is trying to avoid losses caused by earthquake or to
reduce the losses to a minimum”. “Another goal is for
seismic resistance. When constructions in areas under
earthquake risk are inevitable, then making resistant
buildings to earthquake damage must be considered.
All of us should be clear about these two goals which
are of political and economical significances. Espe-
cially under the current circumstances, the earthquake
geology survey is of particular significance in areas of
construction, large factories, mines and big reservoirs,
where earthquakes may occur. Therefore, this task is
not only a fighting task, but also an urgent and impor-
tant political mission” (Li, 1973). But, “where can we
find such ‘dangerous’ areas on such a big planet? Tra-
ditional method was to draw intensity isoline range
based on historical data. From today’s perspective, des-
ignating risk areas by drawing circles is not realistic.
Seismic wave is actually controlled by tectonics,. . . .
Thus, there also are relatively safe areas (also known as
safe islands) in some active zones. This is very impor-
tant for our construction.The key problem is to identify
active zones. For our current concentrated construc-
tion areas, we are about to ascertain active zones and
relatively safe areas” (Li, 1973).
In October 1965, following with Prof. Qingxuan
Chen, we carried out the tectonic stress measurement
and fault displacement measurement in Sichuan.
3 EARTHQUAKE GEOLOGY SURVEY IS THE
BASIS OF EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION
Dr. Lee devoted a great deal of enthusiasm and
energy to the establishment and the operation of Earth-
quake Geology Brigade (the predecessor of Institute
of Crustal Dynamics, CEA). He had several conver-
sations with leaders, technicians and the masses of
the Earthquake Geology Brigade, and explained the
758
working content, task and direction repeatedly and in
details. Even at the age of 80, he still had in-situ geo-
logical survey together with the technicians from the
Earthquake Geology Brigade.
In January 1986, after hearing the work report
of the Earthquake Geology Brigade, Dr. Lee said:
“The working method of earthquake geology is dif-
ferent with old seismological methods. We particularly
focus on geological-tectonic conditions, especially the
tectonic characteristics in the crustal derm, that is, geo-
logical tectonic study. For some region in the crustal
derm, we should conduct geological survey to find
out its characteristics. Tectonics in the crustal derm
are very complex, therefore, we focus on the tecton-
ics which are still active now, especially the active
tectonic zones since Tertiary and Quaternary. In the
areas of economic and national defense significance,
the geological tectonic study should be paid particu-
lar attention. Most of earthquakes occur at the turning
points of the currently active fault zones or at the con-
junction points of tectonics in different occurrences,
which has been verified by historical and current earth-
quake data. We should look for not only active fault
zones, but also the dangerous points” (Li, 1973). He
also pointed out: “Not all currently active areas always
have earthquakes, but the areas, zones or sites where
the earthquake occurred must be currently active. Such
areas, zones or sites could be the center of poten-
tial earthquakes. Therefore, the purpose of earthquake
geology work is to look for such zones, which cannot
be accomplished through general geological survey. In
a word, the work of earthquake geology is to pave the
way for earthquake prediction, and is the fundamental
of the earthquake prediction” (Li, 1973).
4 EARTHQUAKE IS PREDICTABLE, AND
MASTERING TECTONIC STRESS
VARIATION IS THE KEY FOR
EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION
Dr. Lee had given a great enthusiasm and concern to
earthquake prediction. After the Xingtai earthquake
in 1966, when Premier Zhou asked whether earth-
quakes can be predicted or not, different from others,
Dr. Lee answered that earthquake is predictable (Ma
& Ma, 1999). He said: “It is indubitable that the crust
experienced different movements and superposed var-
ious tectonism after its formation. From this fact, we
can further ask why the crustal movement occurs. If
an object moves and has displacement, there must be
a force action, that is, stress is the requirement for
tectonic activities. And now it is sure that stress has
magnitude and direction. Any change occurring in
nature must have a process, so the variation of stress,
as the internal cause of tectonic activities, also has a
process. If a stress is so overwhelming that the rock
cannot withstand, the rock would have deformation,
even break and shake, which is a sudden change called
earthquake. If above opinion is correct, we should pay
great attention on the stress measurement, because this
stress change process is the key to predict earthquake”
(Li, 1973).
After the Xingtai earthquake, Dr. Lee immediately
organized and led earthquake geology survey in Xing-
tai earthquake zone. In there, a series of tectonic
stress measurements were conducted quickly, and the
first Chinese tectonic stress observational station,
Yaoshan station, Xingtai, for earthquake prediction
was established (Li, 1981).
When we conducting stress measurements there,
Dr. Lee told us repeatedly that the stress measurement
have just got going, and there is no experience, so
we must work carefully with the field measurement.
By telephone and telegraph, we reported stress mea-
surement values to him every day. Dr. Lee personally
studied stress variation map, analyzed the seismic-
ity, and guided the measuring work by an exclusive
telephone every day. Regardless of ripe old age and
sickness, he also put himself out of the way to inves-
tigate the works at Yaoshan station, and braved the
bitter cold to attend our stress measurement in the field,
which is really very affecting.
5 CONCLUSION
In the conversations with the members from the Earth-
quake Geology Brigade, Dr. Lee repeatedly explained
their working tasks, direction and contents, even
detailedly instructed the working method and proce-
dure.
According to Dr. Lee’s academic opinions, in order
to find out the distribution of intensive earthquake
belts and the potential intensity and activity of each
earthquake belt, it is necessary to study earthquake
from the perspective of geological tectonics. The steps
of study are as follows: First, conduct detailed sur-
vey on the geological tectonics in the related regions,
especially to find out the attribute, distribution and
extension of active fault belts. Simultaneously, it is
necessary to collect historical earthquake data as much
as possible, and then study the relationship between
tectonic system and earthquake on the basis of the
comprehensive analyses on historical earthquake data
and epicenter distribution. Second, focus on the fault
zones which are still active today, conduct precise
759
geodetic survey, micro-scale displacement measure-
ment and in-situ tectonic stress measurement, and
deploy earthquake observation network to carry out
micro and macro seismic observation. Third, compre-
hensively analyze above data, study the distribution
and variation of current stress, and find out the rela-
tionship between the stress and local earthquakes, and
then determine hypocenters and their distribution area.
In this way, it is possible to infer earthquake developing
trend in the future.
Dr. Lee also believes that most earthquakes are
tectonic earthquakes induced by tectonic movements.
The tectonic movements would occur only when force
in certain intensity acts on the rock. For a rock
with certain elasticity, the rock will not break and
form earthquake until the force (stress) increases and
exceeds the rock’s strength limit. For the above rea-
sons, it is believed that in a region where earthquakes
are related to tectonism, selecting suitable location and
observing the increase process of stress is one of the
reliable approaches to grope for earthquake prediction
(Li, 1973). The above idea provides a new approach
for the earthquake prediction.
Today, rather than out of the date, Dr. Lee’s theo-
ries and thoughts are still valuable fortune for us, and
we are worthy to understand, study and develop them
further. With the development and progress of modern
science and technology, some difficulties in the past
will become easy to be solved. Long-time scientific
practice tells us that for earthquake geological study
and earthquake prediction, correct instructive thoughts
and scientific technological line are critical.
REFERENCES
Li, F. 1981. Some Reminiscences on Li Siguang (in Chinese).
In Li Siguang Yan Jiu Hui (ed), Li Siguang Ji Nian Wen
Ji. Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
Li, S.-G. 1973. Earthquake Geology (in Chinese). Beijing:
Science Press.
Li, S.-G. 1974. Li Siguang’s Suggestions for GeologicalWorks
(1) — Discussion on Trial Production of Equipments for
Stress Measurement (Jan. 1, 1968) (in Chinese). Beijing:
Institute of Geomechanics, CAGS.
Ma, S. & Ma, L. 1999. Li Siguang Nian Pu (in Chinese).
Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Features and mechanism of coseismic surface ruptures by Wenchuan

earthquake of May 12, 2008

Z.Q. Yue
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT: This paper summarizes the typical features and their regularities of the observed coseismic
surface ruptures by Wenchuan Earthquake in terms of the three faults, ground locations, ground geomaterials,
rupture geometries and rupture displacements. The paper then uses both the traditional and the author’s views
to analyze and explain the surface rupture phenomena. The traditional view believes that the earthquake energy
was the elastic stress-strain energy accumulated in interlocked stressed hard fault rocks, but leads to unsolvable
inconsistency to the observed rupture phenomena. The author’s view is based on his discovery of originality
that the earthquake energy was the volumetric expansion energy of highly compressed natural gas in deep traps
of Longmen Shan fault zone. The author’s view leads to the conclusion that the surface rupture phenomena
are not complicated and have consistent and systematic regularities with respect to the flash loading of highly
pressurized natural gas from the deep fault grounds.

1 INTRODUCTION Some published their field photos showing the ground

Since the occurrence of Wenchuan Earthuqake on May
12, 2008, many scientists and researchers went the
epicenter areas in northern Longmen Shan and made
investigations on the numerous permanent ground
damages by the earthquake. One type of the per-
manent ground damages is the so-called coseismic
surface rupture which has a planar rupture surface and
some relative displacements of geomaterials on the
two sides. The trace of the ruptured surface is contin-
uously and linearly observable on the ground surface
along a longitudinal direction and terminates only at
the two ends.
The coseismic surface ruptures (for short, surface
ruptures are used below) are traditionally believed
to represent the extension and/or continuation of the
dislocation of active sub-surface rock ruptures in
deep ground at the ground surface. The active brit-
tle ruptures of sub-surface hard rocks along the deep
geological and tectonic faults are traditionally consid-
ered responsible for causing the earthquake. However,
they normally cannot be observed directly although
they may be back-calculated with the elastic seis-
mic waves recorded at far field. The surface ruptures
are visible and measurable on the ground surface.
Therefore, identification, measurement and examina-
tion of the coseismic ruptures on the ground surfaces
are of the most importance to provide physical sub-
stance to the back-calculated results and gain new
knowledge on the regional neo-tectonics.
Based on their field investigations, many people
have published their observations and findings on the
surface ruptures in scientific and engineering journals.
damages in single manuscripts (Guo, 2008; ICD, 2009;
Wu & others, 2009; Xu, 2009). According to the
field investigations, it is clear now that the geological
faults associated with the Wenchuan Earthquake were
the so-called northern Longmen Shan faults (LMS).
More specifically, they are the Yingxiu-Beichuan-
Qingchuan Fault and the Guanxian-Jiangyou Fault.
The back-calculations of the far field elastic seismic
waves show that the sub-surface ruptures along the
Longman Shan fault zone were about 300 km long
and 10 to 20 km deep and the rock dislocations of the
sub-surface ruptures were mainly a reverse faulting
and associated with some right-lateral slipping (Chen,
2008 and others).
The author’s review of the open literatures has indi-
cated that almost all of the relevant publications held
the traditional view that the observed surface ruptures
should be the exposed or extended parts of the active
sub-surface new brittle ruptures of interlocked Long-
men Shan geological/tectonic faults, as a result of the
long-term continuing penetration of the Indian plate
into the Eurasian plate. Using this traditional view,
many people attempted to analyze and explain the sur-
face ruptures in terms of the geometry, kinematics and
kinetics of the active faulting. But, they encountered
difficulties or contradictions.
For examples, Xu & others (2008) and He & oth-
ers (2008) found that patterns of the observed ruptures
were extremely complicated and irregular. Hao & oth-
ers (2009) stated that “the relationship between these
individual fault-slip locations and the entire rupture
system along the LMS fault was still unclear” and
that “finite fault inversions from far-field waveform

761
information showed that the ruptures started from
about 12 km deep and propagated along the LMS fault
zone, but few details were seen on the surface.”
This author, however, found that the difficulties
or contradictions were due to the traditional view,
because it is inconsistent with the rupture phenom-
ena with respect to the basic mechanical properties
and behavior of geomaterials (soils and rocks). There-
fore, the author has put forward his own view of the
mechanism (Yue, 2008a,b,c; 2009a,b). His view is that
the observed surface ruptures were formed and devel-
oped by the tremendous penetrating, expanding and
spreading power of huge highly pressurized natural
gas in the ground. The gas, with extremely high speed
and pressure, was powerfully escaped from and flew
out of the traps in deep Longmen Shan fault zone.
It passed through and pushed up the new subsurface
ruptures and the old discontinuities’ apertures in the
ground.
This paper particularly presents and discusses the
typical features of the surface ruptures observed by the
author and many other people on the ground surfaces.
Based on the typical features, the paper presents the
relationships and systematic regularities of the surface
ruptures with respect to the three faults, valley loca-
tions and geomaterials, as well as the flash loading
of the earthquake causing the surface ruptures. The
paper further gives a brief account of the traditional
view on the cause of the earthquake and discusses the
inconsistency in using the traditional view to analyze
and explain the surface ruptures. Most importantly, the
paper presents his view on the cause of the earthquake
and uses his view to give a consistent explanation
on the surface ruptures, their features and regulari-
ties. Finally, the paper concludes its remarks on the
nature of the earthquake and the nature of the surface
ruptures.
2 CONCENTRATED DISTRIBUTIONS OF
SURFACE RUPTURES
2.1 Distribution of surface ruptures mainly along
three faults
The Longmen Shan orogenic zone occupies a near
rectangular mountainous land of NE trending length
500 km and NW trending width 30∼40 km (Xie &
others, 2008). The orogenic zone has many geologi-
cal structures including faults and folds, which are
evidenced by numerous high and large mountains,
deep valleys and streams, high rock cliffs, beddings
with various dip angles, many exposed lithology or
rock types with a complete sequence of geological
times from Archean to Tertiary, as well as Quaternary
loose deposits and weathered soils. Although the pri-
mary geological structures strike NE, many secondary
geological structures trend NW or other directions.
Therefore, one of the prominent features of sur-
face ruptures was their distribution mainly and lon-
gitudinally concentrated along three fault zones in
762
northern part of Longmen Shan orogenic zone. They
are the Yingxiu-Beichuan-Qingchuan Fault of more
than 290 km long, the Guanxian-Jiangyou Fault of
more than 90 km long and the Xiaoyudong Fault.
The Yingxiu-Beichuan-Qingchuan and Guanxian-
Jiangyou Faults are two parallel thrust faults with
NW-dipping while the Xiaoyudong Fault of 6 km long
and with NW-trending almost perpendicularly links
the two parallel faults (Xu & others, 2008; Liu-Zeng
& others 2009).
2.2 Concentrated & spotted distribution
along the three faults
The second prominent feature of the surface rup-
tures is that their distributions were not uniform along
each of the three fault zones. The large amount data
given in Li & Zhou & others (2008), Xu & oth-
ers (2008), Liu-Zeng & others (2009) and Zhang &
Shen & others (2009) demonstrated that the observed
surface ruptures were concentrated within several
regions along each of the three fault zones. For
example, the surface ruptures along the Yingxiu-
Beichuan-Qingchuan faults were segmented in some
local regions of Yingxiu, Hongkou, Gaochuan, Leigu,
Qushan, Huangjiaba, Chenjiaba, Guixi, Pingtong, and
Nanba towns. The surface ruptures were segmented,
discontinued, spotted and sometimes parallel or inter-
sected. A majority portion of the three faults did not
have any surface ruptures observable on the ground
surface.
2.3 Relatively lower & flat topography
of ruptured grounds
Thirdly, the surface ruptures were mainly distributed
in grounds with lower elevations and/or flat land or
gentle slopes with angles <20◦ (He & others, 2008;
Ren & Zhang, 2008; Lin & others, 2009; Li & Zhou &
others, 2008; Liu-Zeng & others, 2009; Zhang &
Shen & others, 2009). These valley flat areas included
Yinxiu, Hongkou, Bailu, Xiaoyudong, Leigu, Qushan,
Pingtong, and Naba towns. The relatively lower basin
grounds had the elevations from 667 to 1423 m.
The site topography is mainly high mountainous ter-
rains with the elevations up to 4000 m. The ruptured
grounds were mainly river and stream beds and ter-
races and farm lands with lower elevations relative to
the surrounding mountainous terrains.
2.4 Rupture terminated at hillside slope or valley
Field investigations indicate that the observed sur-
face ruptures had the following termination cases.
Both ends extended to and terminated at upper hill-
side slopes with elevations higher than the ruptured
grounds. One end terminated at upper hillside slopes
and the other at lower stream valleys. The ends of many
short scarps disappeared into the adjacent flat or gentle
sloped grounds.
3 WEAK RUPTURED GEOMATERIALS
3.1 Weak ruptured or folded geomaterials
Logically and consistently to the ruptured locations, it
was of no surprising and astonishing that almost all
the surface ruptures were found in weak geomaterials
including Quaternary loose deposits, weathered soils
and the coal seams of Xujiahe formation of late Trias-
sic (see example, Li & others, 2009a,b; Zhang, 2009;
Ran & others, 2008; Chen & others, 2009). In other
words, the ground geomaterials ruptured or folded by
the earthquake were weak and had substantially lower
tensile strength, lower shear strengths and modulus of
deformation.
In general, if the weak geomaterials were brittle,
they would form ruptured scarps while if the weak
geomaterials were ductile, they would form folded
scarps. These ruptured or folded weak geomaterials
can be completely or partially broken down by hand
into its constituent grains. It is noted that sometimes,
the folded scarps were monoclinic.
3.2 Almost none of observed surface ruptures
found in hard rocks
Consequently, almost none of the observed surface
ruptures were found in hard rocks. In other words, the
rocks with high tensile and shear strengths at ground
surface were not ruptured at all by the great earthquake
(Xie & others, 2008; Li & Yu & others, 2008; Li &
Wei, 2009). The three reported bedrock rupture cases
in their papers were either in coal seams, associated
with huge landslides, or in highly weathered slate.
4 TYPICAL FEATURES OF INDIVIDUAL
RUPTURES
4.1 Variable & short rupture lengths
Although there are many publications on the surface
ruptures and their total possible extensions along the
three faults, a few of them documented the mea-
sured lengths of individual surface ruptures along the
three faults (Li & Zhou & others, 2008; He & oth-
ers, 2008; Li & Ye & others, 2008). The lengths of
the observed individual surface ruptures were between
a few meters and hundred meters. A few had their
lengths of 1.0 to 4.5 kilometers. The reverse surface
rupture along Shenxigou stream in Hongkou was about
3.12 km. The well observed reverse rupture at Bajiao-
miao had a length of 15 m. The normal surface rupture
found along the hillside slope above and parallel to
Qiangjiang river at Shaba village, closely northeast
to Qushan town of Beichuan county was ∼4.5 km. It
could be the longest single rupture.
4.2 Variable & limited rupture widths
The surface rupture zone widths were variable and gen-
erally less than 50 m. Some could be up to 100 m (Xu
& others, 2008; Li & others, 2009a,b).
763
4.3 Dominant upward thrust movements with
lateral slips
The up-thrusting of ground geomaterial displacements
was the dominant phenomenon that was shown by the
relative displacements of the surface ruptures although
some lateral slips were also involved. It is consistent
to the types of surface ruptures found and reported by
many people.The types of surface ruptures found at the
sites included reverse, normal, right-lateral slip, left-
lateral slip, reverse with right-lateral slip, and reverse
with left-lateral slip (Chen & others, 2008; He &
others, 2008; Xu & others 2008, 2009).
The up-thrust hanging or foot wall of a ruptured or
folded scarp could have a relatively wide ground that
was also horizontally uplifted. A well known example
is the surface rupture at Bailu High School where the
associated flat ground together with a school building
was completely horizontally uplifted.
4.4 High dip angles & opposite dip directions
The co-seismic surface ruptures generally had high
dip angles of greater than 60◦ (Chen & others (2008;
Liu & other, 2008; Ran & others, 2008; Li & others,
2009a,b). The co-seismic surface rupture at Bajiao-
miao in Hongkou perhaps is the best reported rupture
so far. Its rupture hanging-wall surface had a high dip
angle 76◦ toward NW (He & others, 2008). The sur-
face ruptures mainly had the NW or SW dip directions
which are opposite. Some had other dip directions
(Xie & others, 2008; He & others, 2008; Li & Zhou &
others, 2008; Lin & others, 2009).
4.5 Locally variable strike directions
In general, the surface ruptures were longitudinally
distributed along the three faults. The strike direction
of an individual rupture could have substantial local
variations (Li & Zhou & others, 2008; He & others,
2008; Lin & others, 2009).
4.6 Various & limited rupture displacements
Some comprehensive field measurements of surface
rupture displacements were reported in Xu & oth-
ers (2008) and Chen & others (2008) along the three
faults. The data show that the vertical and oblique
displacements and the lateral slips were variable.
The maximum vertical displacement associated with
reverse surface ruptures was 6.2 mm. The maximum
right-lateral slip was 4.9 mm.
The maximum vertical displacement associated
normal surface ruptures was 10.5 m at Shaba near
Qushan (Liu-Zeng & others, 2009). The Yingxiu-
Beichuan-Qingchuan fault had the largest vertical
displacements and lateral slips among the three faults.
In particular, Gao & others (2008) gave the dis-
placements at 7 cross-sections over a 200 m long
segment of the reverse rupture at Shenxigou stream.
The pairs of the vertical and lateral displacements (m)
were (5, -), (2.8, 4.5), (2, -), (0, 3), (0, 0.6), (0, 0.6) and
(0, 2), respectively.
4.7 A few rupture scarps with upward striations
found
The rupture dislocation of geomaterials involves fric-
tional shearing and results in slickenside striations
on the scarp plane. The rake angle of striations on
the plane describes the relative displacement direction
between the hanging-wall and the footwall. Although
there were many surface ruptures, striations were
found and reported on a few rupture scarps along the
Yingxiu-Beichuan-Qingchuan Fault only (He & oth-
ers, 2008; Xu & others, 2008; Li & Wei, 2009; Liu &
others, 2009; Zhang, 2009). The striations indicated
upward frictions with the rake angles between 10◦
and 84◦ .
5 RELATIONSHIPS & REGULARITIES
5.1 Flash loading for the mechanical failures
In nature, the surface ruptures were the permanent
results of mechanical deformation and failures of
in-situ ground geomaterials under flash loading of
the earthquake. For this flash mechanical process, the
permanent results (i.e., the surface ruptures) had the
typical features summarized above. These typical fea-
tures were about the permanent results on the ground
surface or within a few to tens meters of ground
only. The permanent ruptures at deeper depth were not
completely known yet.
From the typical features at the ground surfaces,
the following relationships and regularities can be
recognized.
5.2 First relationship with the three faults
The Longmen Shan orogenic zone has many geolog-
ical structures. Their spatial distributions are com-
plicated and have various local irregularities due to
extremely long geological history and various tectonic
movements. However, the surface ruptures were lin-
early distributed along the three faults. In addition,
although they had local variations, the strike directions
of individual surface ruptures also mainly followed the
faults’overall strike directions. It is noted that the faults
also have local variations in their strike directions with
respect to their overall strike directions.
These facts demonstrate that the surface ruptures
must have a definite relationship with the three faults.
The three faults controlled the overall spatial distribu-
tion of the surface ruptures and the flash loading came
from the deep ground along the three faults during the
earthquake.
5.3 Second relationship with the geomaterials
However, the surface ruptures were not uniformly dis-
tributed along each of the three fault zones. They were
concentrated, segmented or spotted in relatively lower
764
& flatter grounds such as river beds and terraces in
valley basins, where the ground geomaterials are rel-
atively weak, wet, loose and soft, which is consistent
with the facts that almost all the ruptured or folded
geomaterials were soils and coal seams and the surface
ruptures had variable local strikes and a few rupture
scarps with striations.
On the other hand, the surface ruptures generally
did not show up in hillside slopes and high mountains,
where the ground geomaterials are relatively strong,
dry, compact and rigid, which is consistent with the
facts that almost none of observed surface ruptures
found in hard rocks, the surface ruptures had short
lengths and limited widths, and always terminated in
the weak flat grounds or at hillside slopes or small
hillside gullies.
It is further noted that there are many rock types
composing the northern Longmen Shan orogenic zone
damaged by the earthquake. The rocks are of igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic origins and have a com-
plete sequence of geological times from Archean to
Tertiary. The igneous rocks include granite, diorite and
gabbro. The sedimentary rocks include conglomerate,
conglomerate bearing sandstone, siltstone, mudstone,
shale, dolomite and limestone. The metamorphic rocks
include slate, sandy slate, marble, phyllite, metomor-
phic sandy conglomerate, metamorphic limestone, and
metamorphic sandstone.
These facts further demonstrate that the surface
ruptures must have a definite relationship with the geo-
materials at the valley flat grounds along the faults.
The ground geomaterials controlled the local spatial
distribution of the surface ruptures along the three
faults.
The facts also demonstrate that the flash loading
from the deep fault grounds had some lower and upper
limits once it reached the near surface grounds. The
lower limit was that the flash loading could fracture
or fold the soils or coal seams near the ground sur-
face. The upper limit was that the flash loading could
not form any surface ruptures in the rock grounds.
The physical and mechanical properties of these geo-
materials on the ground surface can be measured and
assessed.
5.4 Third relationship with the geomaterial upward
thrusting
Furthermore, the ruptured or folded weak geomaterials
had dominant upward thrust displacements with some
lateral slips, which is consistent with the facts that the
surface ruptures had variable and short rupture lengths,
variable and limited rupture widths, high scarp dip
angles, NW or SE dip directions, various and limited
rupture dislocations and slips, as well as variable rake
angles of upward striations.
These facts demonstrate that the flash loading from
the deep fault grounds was mainly upward thrust-
ing and again its magnitudes have some lower and
upper limits. In addition, its magnitudes were sub-
stantially non-uniform and variable and its upward
thrust directions were also variable, with respect to
the ground locations of both the valley basins along
the three faults and the position along each individual
surface rupture in a valley basin.
6 THE QUESTIONS
Based on the above analysis and findings about the
surface ruptures, their regularities and their relation-
ships with the faults, the geomaterials, and the flash
earthquake loading, many specific questions can be
asked and have to be answered in order to disclose and
understand the nature of the earthquake. Some of the
specific questions are listed below.
What was the exact relationship between the surface
ruptures and the faults?
Why and how could the three faults control the
overall distributions of the surface ruptures?
What was the exact relationship between the surface
ruptures with the geomaterials?
Why and how did the surface ruptures happen only
in the weak geomaterials and not in hard rocks?
Why had the surface ruptures’ geometrical proper-
ties substantial variations?
Prior to giving answers to these specific questions,
a key question must be asked and answered at first.
This key question is what was the flash loading from
the deep fault grounds causing the surface ruptures?
This key question in fact is about the nature of the
earthquake (i.e., the earthquake energy) because the
earthquake suddenly released a huge amount of energy.
What was the earthquake energy?
7 EARTHQUAKE ENERGY & FLASH
LOADING
7.1 The traditional view & inconsistency
From an examination of the displacement of the
300 km long ground surface which accompanied the
1906 San Francisco earthquake, Reid (1910) con-
cluded that the earthquake must have involved an
“elastic rebound” of previously stored elastic stress
along the San Francisco fault. Since then, this sud-
denly active rupturing of highly stressed rocks along
geological faults has become the traditional view of
earthquakes. This traditional view has been further
widely accepted and applied due to the establishment
of the hypothesis of plate tectonics in 1960s.
Consequently, many people attempted to use tradi-
tional view to analyze and explain Wenchuan Earth-
quake and to forecast its aftershocks (Hao & others,
2009; Li & other, 2009a,b; Liu & others, 2008; Liu-
Zeng & others, 2009; Teng & others, 2009; Xu &
others, 2008; 2009; Zhang & others, 2008; 2009).
They found that Yingxiu-Beichuan-Qingchuan fault
was the primary fault causing the earthquake. The
earthquake energy was the elastic stress-strain energy
stored in high stressed, deformed and interlocked rocks
along the faults.
765
The high stresses in the rocks and the associated
elastic deformation of the fault rocks were due to the
long-term continuing penetration of the Indian plate
northeasternly into the Eurasian plate. The penetration
caused the eastern Tibetan Plateau eastward pushing
the Longmen Shan orogenic zone which was firmly
retained by the rigid barrier of Sichuan basin. Stresses
and the elastic energy in the interlocked hard fault
rocks were built up.
Once the stress level reached the failure limit, the
highly stressed and interlocked hard fault rock zones
suddenly and actively ruptured for 300 km long and
10 to 20 km deep. This brittle sub-surface rupture
suddenly released the huge amount of the previously
stored elastic stress and energy in the fault rocks, which
caused the great earthquake.
However, this traditional view generated inconsis-
tency with the observed surface ruptures.
For example, if the observed surface ruptures were
extensions of the active sub-surface ruptures of inter-
locked hard fault rocks to the ground surface, they
should be found in hard fault rocks along the faults.
Furthermore, if the active rupture initially at the
subsurface of 10 to 20 km deep could suddenly and
quickly propagated along the interlocked hard fault
rocks for 300 km long, they should be able to propagate
to the ground surface via the hard fault rocks. Since
there was no resistance above the ground surface, such
upward rupture propagation over short distance should
be much easier than the lateral rupture propagation
over long distance in the deep ground where other
rocks could be additional resistance to the rupturing.
But, the rupture extensions were not found in the
hard fault rocks exposed on ground surface. Instead,
the surface ruptures with evident up-thrust displace-
ments were found in weak geomaterials which had
about 1/1000 of the tensile or shear strength and rigid-
ity of the hard rocks. Due to their high modulus and
yield and failure strengths, hard rocks including those
on the ground surface could sustain high stresses and
store large elastic stress-strain energy. Weak geomate-
rials could not experience high stresses without failure
and could not store any meaningful elastic stress-strain
energy.
On the other hand, someone may hold the point that
the observed surface ruptures were not the extensions
of the sub-surface ruptures on the ground surface.
They were a secondary phenomenon of the earthquake
and were formed due to ground deformation by the
earthquake action.
However, what was the earthquake action that could
cause the surface ruptures? It can be difficult if not
impossible to use this point to further explain the
typical features of the surface ruptures and the rela-
tionships with the three faults and geomaterials, as
well as the dominant up-ward thrust displacements.
7.2 The author’s view & consistency
The author has discovered that the earthquake energy
was the volumetric expansion energy of highly
compressed natural gas in deep traps of Longmen Shan
fault zone (Yue, 2008a,b,c; 2009a,b).
The natural gas gradually accumulated and pres-
surized in the deep traps with higher stresses in the
surrounding rocks. Due their higher stress level, the
surrounding rocks could continuously generate and
produce natural gas of higher pressure into the traps
with lower gas pressure.
Once its pressure reached the fault rock rupture
strength, the gas actively ruptured the fault rocks at
the weakest surface and then opened and flew with
high pressure and speed through the rock ruptured and
faulted gaps or apertures. The stress equilibrium in the
fault zones was suddenly and completely broken up.
The volumetric expansion energy was used for
penetrating, fracturing, expanding, uplifting, moving,
waving, deforming & damaging weak rocks (particu-
larly the coal seams) along the fault zones. The sudden
and quick and powerful gas flow and rock displace-
ment in the ground generated the elastic seismic waves.
This powerful interaction process between the gas and
the fault rocks was flash and completed within 100
seconds due to the high velocity of the gas flow in the
weak fault or aperture grounds.
The surfaces of the three faults were weak sur-
faces and had lower resistance to the gas flow and
penetration and expansion. Consequently, the passive
sub-surface ruptures were formed laterally along the
three faults for long distance. The observed surface
ruptures were formed in weak geomaterials (particu-
lar coal seams) in valley basins due to the upward flow
of the powerful natural gas from the deep fault sur-
faces. The high pressured gas would always be able
to find the weakest ground zones to flow and to pene-
trate, which resulted in no surface ruptures in hard fault
rocks. Once the gas emitted into air, it dramatically
reduced its pressure and lifting power.
Besides, the gas velocity direction was controlled
by the orientations of weak fault planes or geoma-
terial discontinuities. Consequently, the uplifting or
up-thrusting loading could be oblique and have various
local variations in magnitudes and directions. In short,
the flash loading causing the surface ruptures was the
natural gas with various velocities and pressures from
the deep fault ground. This flash loading produced the
surface rupture phenomena and can be used to con-
sistently answer the specific questions summarized
above.
8 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This paper has presented the typical features of the
observed surface ruptures by Wenchuan Earthquake.
The typical features include wide aspects of the
mechanical failure and deformation of the geoma-
terials at the ground surfaces. The surface ruptures
were concentrated in lower valley grounds with weak
geomaterials along the three faults. The surface rup-
tures mainly involved the up-thrust displacements
which had various local variations in magnitudes and
directions with respect to locations.
766
This paper also attempted to use the traditional view
to analyze and explain the surface ruptures. The tra-
ditional view believed that the earthquake energy was
the elastic stress-strain energy previously and gradu-
ally stored in interlocked hard fault rocks due to the
surrounding horizontal movements of tectonic plates.
The earthquake energy was released due to the sud-
den active rupture of the interlocked stressed hard
rocks along the faults. But, this author has found that
this traditional view has unsolvable inconsistency in
the terms of the mechanical property and behavior of
geomaterials and rocks.
This author proposed this view to analyze and
explain the surface ruptures. He has discovered that
the earthquake energy was the volumetric expansion
energy of highly compressed natural gas in deep traps
of Longmen Shan fault zone. The highly pressurized
natural gas ruptured the fault rocks at the weak loca-
tions and flew laterally and upward with high velocities
and pressure along the weak surfaces of the faults and
discontinuities in the grounds. Once it reached the
ground surface, the natural gas used its power to up-lift,
up-thrust, penetrate, tear and shear the weak geomate-
rials there, which produced the surface ruptures with
various local variations. The sub-surface and surface
ruptures along the faults were passively induced by the
expanding power of the highly pressured natural gas.
Using his view, the author found that the surface rup-
tures were simple and had systematic and consistent
regularities with respect to the physical and mechani-
cal properties and behavior of geomaterials under the
flash loading of highly pressurized natural gas in the
fault grounds.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to thank partial financial sup-
ports for the field investigations from Professor Peng
Cui under the 973 Program No 2008CB425800 and
from The University of Hong Kong.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Yielding in intact rock at different scales

Hossein Masoumi & Kurt J. Douglas

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

S.M. Seyed Alizadeh

School of Petroleum Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT: Investigation of mechanical behavior in intact rock can help to better understand the stress-
strain correlation in accordance with yielding. Attention to the formulation of yield criteria can direct the
research into two areas, developing the criteria based on interpolation of experimental data and detailed study of
micromechanics. The aim in the mathematical theory of yielding is to describe the theoretical respects in relation
to stress and strain and recognition of the limit between elastic and plastic behavior. The authors consider
studying of yielding in intact rock at different scales. From Weibull theory it is believed that the increase in
scale causes a decrease in the strength. This has been quantified by the Hoek-Brown equation for Uniaxial
Compressive Strength (UCS). However, the confinement can change this strength and subsequently yielding.
Thus, from experimental observations the change of yielding at different scales is investigated. The experiments
are conducted on cylindrical samples of sandstone with diameters of 50 and 96 mm. Every specimen was tested
at different confining pressures. The distinctions of the initial yield points at different scales are extracted and
the yield surfaces are depicted. Finally a simple mathematical yield criterion is developed.

1 INTRODUCTION In addition, the propagation of cracks and frac-

Over the last few decades a significant amount of
research has been conducted in rock engineering,
including in the areas of rock mass and rock slopes.The
main difficulty in regard to rock mass study is the devi-
ation of laboratorial results in comparison with field
scale measurements. This ‘scale effect’therefore needs
to be analyzed more extensively and comprehensively.
The mechanical behavior of intact rock over the
last years has been investigated by many researchers
(Desai 1980, Desai et al. 1984, Kim and Lade 1984,
Kim and Lade 1988, Lade and Duncan 1975, Lade
and Kim 1988, Lade and Nelson 1987). These studies
were generally an extension from those performed on
soil. Where this is the case, the scale effect has gen-
erally not been incorporated. Similarly, this has been
the issue in slope engineering that the study of the soil
slope directly has been applied to rock slope (Masoumi
and Douglas 2010).
Experimental investigation of the behavior (includ-
ing yielding and failure) of Hawkesbury sandstone at
two scales (50 and 96 mm diameters) was the major
aim of this research.
The micro-properties of the samples were recog-
nized by XRD and porosity measurement methods.
Triaxial tests were performed to provide the full stress-
strain curves at different scales and confinements.
ture patterns were investigated and followed by some
experimental studies of the permeability in Hawkes-
bury sandstone.
Finally, from the samples at 96 mm diameter, a sim-
ple mathematical model was developed that can depict
the yield and ultimate failure surfaces.
2 EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT
2.1 Triaxial Cell
In order to conduct the triaxial experiments at different
confining pressures, a triaxial cell was applied. The
cell can provide a confinement of up to 70 MPa with
a maximum loading capacity of 2000 kN. The axial
displacement on the sample was logged by two axial
transducers and the average of them was considered
as the final measure. Also, two LVDTs on the cell
measured the displacement of the ram and similarly
the mean value was counted as the final dimension.
Three different platens were available at 25, 50 and
100 mm diameters and samples up to 3 units of slender-
ness (the ratio of the length over the diameter) could
be tested in the cell. Figure 1 presents a schematic
design of the triaxial chamber and the name of differ-
ent parts. The instrumentation was implemented based
on the ISRM (2007) standards.

769

Figure 1. The triaxial chamber, (1) Loading piston,
(2) Seals, (3) Platen with spherical seating, (4a) Hydraulic
connection, (4b) Bleeder hole, (5) Flexible membrane, (6)
“O” ring clamps (ISRM 2007)
2.2 Confining pressure
To provide the confining pressure a GDS Advanced
Digital Controller apparatus was applied.The GDS can
provide a confining pressure up to 64 MPa and is appli-
cable for both rock and soil experiments. The stability
of the pressure at the target value during experiments
is the significant advantage of this apparatus.
3 SAMPLE PROPERTY
3.1 XRD
The nominated sample used for this research was
Hawkesbury sandstone that is widely distributed
across the Sydney Basin in New South Wales, Aus-
tralia. It is also recognized as the Gosford sandstone
as they are from the same geological environment.
To better understand the components of the
Hawkesbury sandstone samples used, the XRD
(X-Ray Diffraction) test was conducted and it was con-
cluded that the major ingredient was quartz (SiO2)
at about 93%. About 7% of the sandstone consists
of kaolinite mineral. However, distribution of some
clusters (Shale particles) randomly, across the samples
is also identifiable. Figure 2 illustrates the graphical
results of this diffraction visually.
In addition, some pink layers similar to cross bed-
ding are recognizable and based on the geological
study and XRD results they were realized as the oxi-
dization zone. This zone has distributed fortuitously in
the rock blocks, so it appeared in some samples and
did not in the others.
3.2 Porosity
In order to measure the porosity of the sample, it was
first cleaned using a 50:50 (by volume) mixture of
770
Figure 2. XRD analysis of the Hawkesbury sample
iso-propanol and distilled water. The core was cleaned
for 24 hours.
Upon accomplishment of the cleaning process, it
was placed in the oven and regulated at a temper-
ature of 60◦ C to dry it. The weight of the sample
was frequently monitored and recorded until no fur-
ther change was recorded. This was considered as the
final dry weight which was utilized in the porosity
calculation (Byrne and Patey 2004, Soeder 1986).
The sample was then vacuum saturated for 48 hours
using 2% wt. NaCl solution. Brine solution was chosen
as the saturating/permeating fluid to avoid a chemi-
cal reaction with the kaolinite minerals that exist in
the sample. To calculate the porosity, Equation 1 was
employed:
Where n, wwet , wdry , ρf and νb are sample porosity,
wet weight, dry weight, fluid density and bulk volume
respectively. The calculated porosity was 16.3%.
3.3 Sample preparation
To assess the yielding and failure at different scales,
50 and 96 mm diameters samples were cored. For the
first size the 50 mm and for the second size 100 mm
platens were applied. The slenderness ranged between
2 and 2.5 based on the ISRM (2007) and ASTM (2000)
standards. In order to reduce the possible friction at the
ends of the sample, they were ground very carefully at
about 0.003 mm tolerance. This is the acceptable range
based on the rock testing criteria.
Note, all the samples were drilled perpendicular to
the bedding plain (pink zones and the shale particles).
4 EXPERIMENTS
4.1 Triaxial test
96 mm diameter samples were tested at three different
confining pressures, 4, 5 and 20 MPa using the triaixal
equipment described above. In addition, the 50 mm
Figure 3. Stress-strain curves for the samples at 96 mm diameter
Figure 4. Stress-strain curves for the samples at 50 mm diameter
diameter samples were tested at 5 and 15 MPa con-
finements. The deviatoric stress was applied at a dis-
placement rate of 3 × 10−3 s−1 The experiments were
under a servo controlled system and subsequently, the
full post peak behavior was recorded.
The stress-strain curves for the 96 mm diameter-
samples are presented in Figure 3. From traditional
rock mechanic studies, it has been realized that the ini-
tial yield and ultimate failure points rise with increase
in confinement. This is evident here and the mini-
mum and maximum peak points are recorded as 4 and
20 MPa confining pressures, respectively (Figure 3).
It is also identifiable that the stiffness increases with
confinement. Note, this is only the case if brittle behav-
ior occurs and in the ductile regime the scenario is
reversed (Brady and Brown 2006).
From figure 3 it is evident that due to large growth
in the residual strength up to 20 MPa confining pres-
sure, it is predicted that at 30–40 MPa confinement the
brittle-ductile regime will occur.
For the samples at 50 mm diameter the scenario is as
defined as above. Figure 4 illustrates the stress-strain
771
curves at two confining pressures (5 and 15 MPa) and
it is understandable that the residual strength increases
with increase in confinement.
To provide the hydrostatic pressure up to the target
value the suggested ISRM (2007) criteria was applied.
The confining pressure applied by the GDS machine
is increased at the same rate as the deviatoric stress
applied by the Instron apparatus. This is the standard
method if the cross-sectional area of the loading piston
and the sample diameter are the same and a case in
point is the sample at 50 mm diameter.
If the cross-sectional area of the sample is less or
more than the cross sectional-area of the piston then
the following general equation is applied (Equation 2).
Where, σ1 is the total axial stress, σ3 is the confining
pressure, a is the cross-sectional area of the piston, A is
the cross-sectional area of the sample and F is the force
applied by the Instron machine. Therefore, in the case
of samples at different diameters in comparison with

Figure 5. Visual representation of the total force direction
on the sample at 100 mm diameter in triaxial chamber
Figure 6. Internal cross section of Hoek cell (Brady and
Brown 2006)
the piston diameter, the major principal stress does not
equal FA . This is only the case, in triaxial cell due to
pore or oil pressure around and on top of the sample
as illustrated in Figure 5.
Note, if the Hoek cell is applied then the term in the
parentheses in Equation 2 is zero and that is due to the
lack of the connection between axial stress or loading
ram and confinement (Figure 6).
As a result, to provide the hydrostatic pressure for
the sample at 96 mm diameter the deviatoric (Supply
by Instron machine) and confining stresses are applied
as the table 1.
In order to compute the strain more accurately and
precisely, Equation 3 is employed.
772
Table 1. Increment of deviatoric and confining stress for
the 96 mm diameter sample up to the target pressure (5 MPa)
Total
Time Deviatoric Confining Axial Stress
(Per Second) Stress FA Pressure σ3 σ1 = σ2 (1 − Aa ) + F
A
1 0.31 1 1
2 0.61 2 2
3 0.93 3 3
4 1.24 4 4
5 1.55 5 5
Where, ε is the strain, H is the existing dimension and
H0 is the initial dimension.
The results showed that the computation of strain
from Equation 3 gives more accurate values in com-
parison with the traditional method (Equation 4)
Where, all the notations are as defined as the above.
4.2 Scale effect
The very popular relationship that quantifies the vari-
ation of the Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS)
at different scales is the Hoek-Brown criteria (Equa-
tion 5).
Where, σc is the expected UCS, d is the diameter
of the sample and σc50 is the UCS of the sample at
50 mm diameter. Equation 5 is of the similar form as
that suggested by Weibull statistical theory (Weibull
1951). The theory states that an increase in sample
scale causes a subsequent decrease in strength.
Recently, Yoshinaka et al. (2008) conducted exten-
sive research regarding the variation of UCS val-
ues at different scales and distinct rock types. Here,
the authors explore the scale effect in Hawkesbury
sandstone at different confinement.
From Figure 7 it is evident that at 5 MPa confin-
ing pressure the peak strength of the sample at 50 mm
diameter is higher than the one at 96 mm diameter. This
case is more evident if the results at 15 and 20 MPa
confinements in both diameters (50 and 96 mm) are
compared.
In the sample at 50 mm diameter the peak and initial
yield points increase sharply when the confining pres-
sure is raised from 5 to 15 MPa, whereas, this growth
is moderate in the sample at 96 mm diameter.
In a very recent study Sharrock et al. (2010) con-
ducted some UCS experiments on Hawkesbury sand-
stone at different scales and the results are illustrated
in Figure 8.
It is clear from Figure 8 that there is a significant
scatter in data. Also, the expected reduction of the
Figure 7. Stress-strain curves for the samples at 50 and 96 mm diameters
Figure 8. Distribution of UCS values in Hawkesbury Sand-
stone at different scales (Sharrock et al. 2010)
strength by increase in the diameter is not recogniz-
able. The authors believe in addition to what Sharrock
et al. (2010) discussed, the diversity of the testing cri-
teria such as friction control and various slenderness
could be the reasons that this scatter was observed. In
this study the authors tried to reduce friction effects as
much as possible by application of suggested ISRM
(2007) criteria.
Based on the XRD information and what Sharrock
et al. (2010) argued, there are some oxidization zones
in the rock sample with small clusters that signifi-
cantly can cause inhomogeneity. Also, the results of
the porosity tests proved that the range of void ratio
is high and this could impact on the UCS results at
different scales. Perhaps, these points can be the rea-
sons that the expected reduction in UCS values was
not observed. However, the authors believe that due to
the contraction in the sample at high confining pres-
sure the impact of random distribution of porosity may
decrease due to the closure of the pores when sample
contracts at high confinement.
4.3 Fracture pattern
Study of the fracture pattern includes the compara-
tive analysis of the shear bands at different sizes and
773
Figure 9. Fracture pattern in the sample at 96 mm diameter,
failed at 20 MPa confining pressure.
distinct confinements. In every porous material based
on the theory of Mohr-Coulomb a particular shear
band is expected. This occurs during the propagation
of the micro-cracks up until failure and consequently
the residual strength.
From the experiments it is identified that the expan-
sion of the shear band at high confining pressure is
slightly different. Figure 9 shows the fracture pattern in
the sample at 96 mm diameter that expanded symmet-
rically. From the photo it is clear that the recognition
of the shear band is not straight forward. Thus, appli-
cation of the Mohr-Coulomb theory to calculate the
angle of friction from the β angle (Equation 6) has to
be considered with a care.
Where, β is the angle between shear band and
horizontal axis and  is the angle of friction.

Figure 10. Fracture pattern in the samples at 96 mm diam-
eter (From left to right they failed at 4 and 5 MPa confining
pressures).
Figure 11. The samples at 96 mm diameter (From left to
right they failed at 4, 5 and 20 MPa confining pressures).
The only sample that, after failure, did not break
apart was the one that was tested at 20 MPa confining
pressure.
At 4 and 5 MPa confinements approximately similar
shear bands have developed as depicted in Figure 10. It
is clear that both samples show the similar fracture pat-
terns and therefore Equation 6 is applicable. Despite
the one that failed at 20 MPa confining pressure, these
samples broke apart after the failure (Figure 11) and
this was also the case in samples at 50 mm diameters.
Figure 12 proves that the developed shear plains in
the samples at 50 mm diameter at both 5 and 15 MPa
confinements are very similar. In other word at 15 MPa
confining pressure the fracture pattern is not conju-
gated and it developed based on the Mohr-Coulomb
theory.
774
Figure 12. Fracture patterns in the samples at 50 mm diam-
eter (From left to right they failed at 5 and 15 MPa confining
pressures).
4.4 Permeability test
The permeability evolution of the Hawkesbury sample
was tested in a hydrostatic compression test. During
the experiment, the pore pressure was held at a constant
value of 1 MPa using a back pressure regulator. The
confining pressure was increased in a stepwise manner
up to 34 MPa and at each stress level the permeability
of the sample was measured.
The injection fluid pump was fixed at a con-
stant flow rate mode and after reaching the steady
state the Darcy’s law was employed to calculate the
permeability as Equation 7.
Where, Q is the volumetric flow rate in cm3 /sec
A is the cross-sectional area, K is the permeability
of the sample in Darcy (1D ≈ 10−12 m2 ), µ repre-
sents the dynamic viscosity of the injection fluid in
centipoise (1cP = 1 mPa.S) and ∇P is the pressure
gradient across the sample in atm/sec.
After mounting the saturated sample in the core-
holder, first a confining pressure of 2–3 MPa was
applied to ensure that no permeating fluid will bypass
through the annular space between rubber sleeve and
core, hence, an initial test was run in order to evaluate
the initial permeability of the rock.
Figure 13 illustrates the results of the test. The
horizontal axis denotes the effective stress at differ-
ent loading levels. The graph reveals the permeability
decreases at about 50% in comparison with the initial
permeability of the rock at the end of loading cycle.
The rapid decline of permeability at early stages of
hydrostatic stress may be attributed to the closure of
pre-existing micro-cracks or the closure of the pores
of smaller aspect ratios.
This type of hysteretic behavior has been observed
in previous studies (Ghabezloo et al. 2009). For Crys-
talline rocks, hysteresis is related to friction (Walsh
Figure 13. Evolution of permeability of the sample during hydrostatic loading/unloading cycle

1965). Bernabe (1987) explained the frictional slid-

ing mechanism of crack faces in crystalline rocks by
analogy to a single sliding block with a constant nor-
mal stress exerted on it. For sandstones, however, the
inherent mechanisms in diminishing the permeability
is believed to be related to other factors such as clay
particles in the rock (Dey 1986).

5 YIELD AND FAILURE CRITERIA

From the above triaxial experiments in the samples at

96 mm diameter two simple yield and failure criteria
were developed. The framework is similar to the Khan
et al. (1991 and 1992) criterion and can determine both
initial yield and ultimate failure surfaces.
To depict the initial yield surface the departure of
the elasticity or the linear variation of the stress-strain Figure 14. Initial yield and ultimate failure surfaces for the
curves in Figure 3 are selected as the initial yield points samples at 96 mm diameter
and consequently the locus of these spots show the
yield surface on the triaxial stress state (q vs p). Sim- ultimate failure criteria as the equations 11 and 12
ilarly, the failure surface is depicted from the locus of respectively.
the peak points.
To determine the criteria, the more suitable fitted
curves to the spots from the experiments are plotted
and the coefficients are extracted. These curves are
drawn in triaxial stress state or deviatoric stress (q)
versus mean stress (p) (Figure 14).
6 CONCLUSION
Deviatoric stress (q) and mean stress (p) based
on the rock mechanics principles are defined by
The mechanical behavior of intact rock at different
Equations 8 and 9.
scales and distinct confinements is similar to that for
a simple Uniaxial Compressive Strength model. How-
ever, at every scale and specified confining pressure
some dissimilarities are identifiable. It is important
to mention that these are based on a limited num-
ber of tests and that they are currently being further
investigated by the authors.
Thus, the general forms of the yield and failure
functions are as in Equation 10. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to appreciate Dr Russell, Dr

Sharrock and Dr Heidarpour for their excellent advises
From the figure 14, the constants in the equation during the conduction of this research. Also, many
10 could be determined for the initial yield and thanks to Paul Gwynne, Richard Berndt and William

775
Terry for their helps and attempts throughout the
laboratorial experiments.
REFERENCES
Astm 2000. American Society for Testing and Materials.
Annual book of ASTM standards. 04.08. Philadeplhia, PA,
USA.
Bernabe, Y. 1987. The effective pressure law for permeabil-
ity during pore pressure and confining pressure cycling
of several crystalline rocks. Journal of Geophysical
Research. 92(B1): 649–657.
Brady, B. H. G. and Brown, E. T. 2006. Rock Mechanics for
Underground Mining. Springer.
Byrne, M. and Patey, I. 2004. Core sample preparation-An
insight into new procedures. Society of Core Analysis.
paper SCA2004-50
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Potential Functions in Plasticity. International Journal for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. 4:
361–375.
Desai, C. S., Sasce, M. and Faruque, M. O. 1984. Constitutive
Model for (Geological) Materials. Journal of Engineering
Mechanics. 110(9): 1391–1408.
Dey, T. N. 1986. Permeability and electrical conductivity
changes due to hydrostatic stress cycling of Berea and
Muddy J sandstone. Journal of Geophysical Research.
91(B1): 763–766.
Ghabezloo, S., Sulem, J., Guedon, S. and Martineau, F. 2009.
Effective stress law for the permeability of a limestone.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences. 46(2): 297–306.
Isrm 2007. The complete ISRM suggested methods for rock
characterization, testing and monitoring: 1974–2006. In:
Ulusay R, Hudson JA (eds) Suggested methods prepared
by the commission on testing methods, ISRM, Compilation
arranged by the ISRM Turkish National Group. Kozan
ofset. Ankara.
Khan, A. S., Xiang, Y. and Huang, S. 1991. Behaviour of
Bera Sandstone under Confining Pressure Part I: Yield
and Failure Surfaces and Nonlinear Elastic Response.
International Journal of Plasticity. 7: 607–624.
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Khan, A. S., Xiang, Y. and Huang, S. 1992. Behaviour
of Berea Sandstone under Confining Pressure Part II:
Elastic-Plastic Response. International Journal of Plas-
ticity. 8: 209–230.
Kim, M. K. and Lade, P. V. 1984. Modelling Rock Strength
in Three Dimensions. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 21(1): 21–33.
Kim, M. K. and Lade, P. V. 1988. Single Hardening Consti-
tutive Model for Frictional Materials I Plastic Potential
Function. Computers and Geotechnics. 5: 307–324.
Lade, P. V. and Duncan, J. M. 1975. Elasto-Plastic Stress-
Strain Theory for Cohesionless Soil. Journal of Geotech-
nical Engineering. 101(GT10): 1073–1053.
Lade, P. V. and Kim, M. K. 1988. Single Hardening Consti-
tutive Model for Frictional Materials II. Yield Criterion
and Plastic Work Contours. Computers and Geotechnics.
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Masoumi, H. and Douglas, K. J. 2010. Review of Rock Slope
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Sharrock, G., Carroll, D., Masoumi, H. and Douglas, K. J.
2010. Scale effects in Hawkesbury Sandstone In Press.
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permeability of tight sandstone core. SPE formation
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The design of strain measuring sensor of geophysical observations

in deep boreholes

H.L. Li
Institute of Crustal Dynamic, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the design of strain measuring sensor technology of geophysical comprehensive
observations in deep boreholes, the measurement principles of the capacitive displacement sensor are generally
introduced. And the sensor adjustment technology is described in details. Signal conversion circuit, low-power
data acquisition and remote data communication and control are illustrated.

1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS measuring sensor can be solved by using the capacitive

In order to improve earthquake prediction, partic-
ularly in enhancing the ability to track temporary
seismic section, the development environment suit-
able for the underground observation is chosen for
more than one underground test items of the integrated
observing system (Chen et al. 1995), mainly including
the underground observation broadband seismometer,
tilt-meter, component strain sensor ( 1983.),
magnetometer and temperature measurement instru-
ment (Su 2003). It is of great significance to the
research of the underground sealing technology, the
positioning technology and the system integration
technology to develop the underground access to the
integrated data acquisition and data transmission tech-
nology. Using the RS422 communications technology,
we can achieve real-time observation data transfer
or transfer by the command and realize the value of
command-control cell-site calibration of sensors and
other control functions.
In accordance with system design requirements,
strain sensors is needed to achieve the following
technical indicators (Li 2004):
(1) Measuring component: 4-component strain;
(2) Resolution: better than the 10−10 strain;
(3) The average daily drift: less than 10−8 ;
(4) Range: more than 5 × 10−4 ;
(5) Dynamic Range: not less than 100 dB;
(6) Noise level: less than 10−9 ;
(7) Linearity: better than 1% F.S.;
(8) Calibration repeatability: better than 5%;
(9) Accuracy: ± (0.03% FS +1 words) (−10◦ C ∼
+50◦ C, 6 months);
(10) Sample rate: not less than 1 times/minute;
(11) Physical Dimensions: 108 mm × 1300 mm.
As the cylinder diameter of 10 cm, the resolution
of displacement observation is needed to be better
than 0.01 nm. The problem of resolution of strain
displacement sensor (Gladwin et al. 1984).
Using the capacitance sensor with high stability
source through the lock-in amplification and filter cir-
cuit, the amount of displacement to voltage conversion
is completed. High stability of the calibration units is
to achieve the sensor calibration; Use of motor-driven
and fine machining of the dry cell is to achieve sensor
zero adjustment; High-performance low-power pro-
cessors and 24-bit ADC chip is used. The RS-422 is
used for the digital transmission.
2 THE SENSOR ARCHITECTURE
2.1 The mechanical design of the capacitive
displacement sensor
To meet the specific needs about High Accuracy
and Reliability (Li 2004), heavy demands are made
for the sensor. The sensor is 108 mm diame-
ter stainless steel tube to accommodate two kinds
of diameters with 130 mm and 150 mm respec-
tively. The structural design component of strain with
108 mm × 1200 mm space is carried out to reduce
effectively the overall height of the probe using a plane
arranged by two mutually orthogonal sensors. With
high precision, high stability and high resolution, the
wide-range capacitive displacement sensor is devel-
oped. Traditionally, the difficulty in detecting changes
for the capacitive sensors lies in the charge to achieve
high-performance and low-cost signal to process the
front-end input capacitance. It is probed for the part
of the use of capacitive displacement sensor as the
cylinder diameter measurement to achieve 10−10 strain
measurements. Figure 1 shows the Schematic diagram
of component strain sensor.
For accurate measurement of small displacements,
the spacing variation is the best. Three-electrode
systems can improve performance (Lu 1994).

777

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of component strain sensor.
Notes: 1, Sensor circuit board; 2, Capacitor plate; 3, Mechan-
ical adjustment; 4, Calibration Unit; 5-8, 4 Component
unit.
Figure 2. Signal conversion circuit.
2.2 Signal conditioning
Signal conditioning circuits can convert capacitance
variations into a voltage (Lu 1994). Ideally, the excita-
tion frequency will be high enough to reject coupling
to power waveforms and also high enough so that the
overall sensor frequency response is adequate. Sen-
sors excited with a continuous wave signal usually use
the synchronous demodulators. This demodulator type
offers high precision and good rejection of out-of-band
interference. This paper adopts a highly stable signal
excitation source, using lock-in amplification and low-
pass filtering technology. The circuit diagram is shown
in Fig. 2:
3 DATA ACQUISITION AND
COMMUNICATION
As the strain sensor is installed in the deep-hole envi-
ronment, the integrated analog signals with the tilt
778
sensor, temperature sensor, broadband seismic sen-
sors and magnetic sensors can not be transmitted to
the ground mode but the digital sensors. Finally it is to
use the bus ways and ground-based instruments for the
communication. The observational data will be trans-
mitted to the ground-based observations instruments,
sensors, ground-based instruments to receive instruc-
tions for controlling the sensor data transmission and
calibration. The requirement acquisition and control
system are designed not only to have the precision
but also the low power consumption, together with
the CPU processing capabilities with high demand (Li
2007).
The component borehole strain with low-power
probe circuit mainly includes: CPU controller, AD
converter, power supply, calibration and zero commu-
nication.
CPU control part is used by ST32F101 chip. The
STM32 family of 32-bit Flash Microcontrollers is
based on the breakthrough ARM Cortex™-M3 core –
a core specifically developed for embedded applica-
tions. The STM32 family benefits from the Cortex-M3
architectural enhancements including the Thumb-2
instruction set to deliver improved performance with
better code density, significantly faster response to
interrupts. All is combined with industry leading
power consumption. ST is now the first leading MCU
supplier to introduce a product family based on this
core. The STM32 family is built to offer new degrees
of freedom to MCU users. It offers a complete 32-bit
product range that combines high performance, low
power and low voltage to maintain the full integration
and ease of development.
A/D converter uses Analog Devices, Inc. AD7734
chip. The AD7734 is based on sigma-delta architec-
ture and features up to 24 bits of none missing codes
performance. The part can be configured via a sim-
ple digital interface, which allows users to balance
the noise performance against data throughput up to
a 12.3 kHz conversion rate. The analog front end fea-
tures 4 single-ended input channels with unipolar or
true bipolar input ranges up to ±10 V while operat-
ing from a single 5 V analog supply. The part has an
over-range and under-range detection capability and
accepts an analog input over-voltage up to ±16.5 V,
which does not degrade the performance of the adja-
cent channels. The differential reference input features
“No Reference” detect capability.
A/D conversion of the 5.0 V reference voltage used
the AD780 chip. The AD780 is an ultrahigh precision
reference voltage, which provides a 2.5 V or 3.0 V out-
put from inputs between 4.0 V and 36 V. Low initial
error and temperature drift combined with low output
noise and the ability to drive any value of capacitance
make the AD780 the ideal choice for enhancing the
performance of high-resolution with ADCs and DACs
for any general purpose on the precision reference
application. A unique low headroom design facilitates
a 3.0 V output from a 5.0 V ± 10% input and provide
a 20% boost to the dynamic range of an ADC over
performance with existing 2.5 V references.

Figure 3. The picture of strain sensor.
Figure 4. February 2010 component strain observation
curve.
The RS-422 communication is used by the SIPEX
Corporation SP491EEP chips.
The overall picture of the borehole strain sensor is
as follows:
4 FIELD TEST
In order to test the performance of strain sensor, we
conducted the experiment. The experimental installa-
tion of the sensor are as follows:
Test Run Time: October 9, 2008
Trial run Location: Urumqi Usu County
Test run conditions: rock: fine ∼ medium-grained
hornblende granite
Component sensors are installed in the hole at the
depth of 50 meters with 4-channel analog signals
transmitted via cable to the ground the host. Sensor
zero, calibration host control from the ground, the col-
lected data is stored as the value of minutes, which is
communicated with network transmission.
Figure 4 is the value of recording curves of the
minutes on March 2, 2010.
779
Figure 5. The corresponding curves of earthquakes on
February 27, 2010.
Figure 5 shows the corresponding shock curves
with the earthquake M7.2 on February 27 of 2010
occurred in the Ryukyu Islands (Beijing time: at 04:31,
12 minutes later, on February 27 of 2010) and the Chile
M8.8 earthquake (Beijing time: at 14:34, 30 minutes
later, on 27 of February in 2010).
5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS
Through the use of capacitive displacement sensor,
it is realized to achieve the sensor calibration using
a high-performance capacitance to voltage transmis-
sion circuits and high stability of the calibration units.
To use the motor-driven and fine machining of the
dry cell, it is realized to achieve sensor zero adjust-
ment, low-power microprocessors and high-precision
A/D converter that meets the specific needs. RS-422
Interface has been applied for. By the experimental
verification of the sensor performance, we basically
reached the design goals. The further experiments and
tests need to be refined on the strain sensor in the
deep-hole in the performance, as well as the detailed
technical specifications. This is our next work to be
carried out.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is founded by Exploration technology
deep and experimental study item (SinoProbe-06-
02) and the Basic scientific Special Fund program
(ZDJ2007-2) by Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA.
REFERENCES
Chen, D.F. & SU, K.Z. 1995. Seismic ground deformation
observation technology. Earthquake Press: 229–250 (in
Chinese).
Gladwin, M.T. 1984. High precision multi component
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Li, H.L. & Ma, H.J. 2004. The design of FZY-1 type multi- and Research (1): 65–69.
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JOURNAL OF SEISMOLOGICAL RESEARCH (2): 164–
171 (in Chinese with English abstract).

780
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Development of Real-Time Soil Deformation Monitoring System (RSDMS)

M.A. Mohd Din & L. Kang Wei

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,University of Malaya, Malaysia

ABSTRACT: Four contributing factors to the success of monitoring tasks by Real-time Soil Deformation Mon-
itoring System (RSDMS) have been identified. The factor included the ability to achieve accurate observation,
maximum reliability of the system, the automatic measurement and computation factors and the emails alert
function. RSDMS has developed using VB 6.0 for measure and trace alterations in coordinates of monitoring
prisms which caused by soil movements. The TM30 robotic total station is used as a geodetic measuring device
in RSDMS. Collected data are transferred back to the server subsequently processed with with Least Squares
Adjustment from software embedded STAR*NET. Adjusted coordinates that differences from initial survey will
be analyzed further by targets health check function before triggered emails alert. RSDMS is capable to record
measurements, carry out deformation analysis and events triggering alarm thus provide a simple, low cost and
effective way to monitor absolute 3-D displacements for numerous monitoring points.

1 INTRODUCTION and perform post processing, subsequently send alert

The measurement technique for spatial data collection
for industrial measurement and deformation detec-
tion usually employed by surveyors are based on the
geodetic method. Industrial measurement and defor-
mation detection commonly consists of data collection
and processing modules. Data collection is one of the
important aspects where all the spatial information
collected must not contain gross error (Wolf and Ghi-
lani, 2006). Gross error is normally contributed from
surveyor or observer blunders. Observer blunders are
usually caused by misunderstanding of the problem,
carelessness, fatigue, missed communication or poor
judgment (Mikhail, 1976; Wolf and Ghilani, 2002).
Software implementation during data gathering can
reduce and avoids gross error or observer blunders.
This paper deals with real time data acquisition
for industrial deformation application. RSDMS has
2 computerized programs where installed in remote
terminal unit (RTU) at monitoring site and in pro-
cessing server in laboratory, the first one is RSDMS
Measurements Control, functioned as a interactive
software to send and receive commands from Total
Station. It has to established communication with
robotic total station and carry out data accquisi-
tion work. The database management system will be
implemented to support huge amount of raw mea-
surement data. Open Database Connectivity or ODBC
will be used for this software system and linked to
Microsoft Access, all measured data will be store in
Microsoft Access database for further processes. The
measurement data collected from InDA was verified
by commercial software Leica GeoMos. The second
program is RSDMS Process and Analysis, its able
to receive raw data from RTU with FTP technology
emails to end users. The raw data will be process
by Star*Net software using an embedded program
initialized function within SDAnaS program. With
integration of these 2 programs, RSDMS has become
interacting, interrelated, or interdependent software
and hardware elements forming a complex whole for
deformation monitoring that, once set up, does not
require human input to function. The motivation inside
this research have considered several factors such as
expensive price and licensing for commercial soft-
ware, error in measurement data issues and analysis
aspect in commercial software. Due to this problem,
RSDMS is developed as a low cost software system,
to minimize the error in measurement, and provide
robust analysis.
2 RESEARCH’S OBJECTIVES
There are three objectives to be achieve in the research.
The first objective is to develop a control program to
communicate with total station for taking measure-
ments. Subsequently, a program needed to process raw
data from total station in order to get resultant coordi-
nates for each measurement cycle. Finally, an analysis
program used to detect alert value and generate alarm
or warning emails to end users. With completion of
these three objective, users are able to get informed
with real-time soil deformation value.
3 METHODOLOGY
Surveying technology allows the determination of
3-dimensional (3D) coordinates and movement. Cur-
rent technology provides robotic total stations (RTS)

781
Figure 1. Diagram of RSDMS Configuration.
that are able to measure angle with an accuracy
of ±0.5” (0.15 mgon) and distance with an accu-
racy of ±1 mm+ppm in standard measurement mode
(Leica Geosystems, 2000). For example, TCA1800
produces by Leica Geosystems AG, which is designed
for conducting deformation-monitoring survey. Many
researchers have used the TCA2003 model for indus-
trial measurement like automatically search and lock
target prisms within seconds see Dünish and Kuhlman
(2001) and Kuhlmann (2001). Their studies claimed
that tracking moving target is possible with RTS in
setting out rail geometry. Radovanovic and Teskey
(2001) used Leica TCA2003 for measuring several
points in continuous mode and the results were com-
pared with GPS technique. Lutes et al. (2001) imple-
mented DIMONS software (and supported by Leica
TCA2003) for monitoring a water reservoir dam in
Canada. With this latest technology, the RTS allows
the measurement of many points on a surface. Then
the points will be monitored within a short period of
time. All the operations are done using Automatic Tar-
get Recognition (ATR) technology (Leica Geosystem,
2000), where each prism can be found automatically.
The instrument selected in this study is Leica TM30.
It has 1 second of Angle measuring accuracy with
1 mm + 2 ppm distance measuring accuracy. It also
have motor driven mechanism which can be controlled
using the software to perform data recording at prede-
fined time intervals or manually should the situation
requires. Measurements can be carried out remotely
from the computer.
Hardware communication is a crucial part for
this research, communication protocols needed to
be comprehenced before enter software developing
state. GeoCom protocols will be implemented in
RSDMS Measurement and Control program using
Visual Basic computer language. GeoCom is imple-
mented as a point to point communication system
the two communication participants are known as the
client (external device) and the server (TM30 total
782
Figure 2. Methodology Research Flow Chart.
station). The cummunication unit consists of a request
and a corresponding reply. Hence, after communica-
tion takes place when the client sends a request to the
server and the server sends a reply back to the client.
RSDMS system operation procedure are illustrated as
Figure 1. A control program will be develop as a com-
ponent to RSDMS named RSDMS Measurement &
Control program (SDMonS). The duty of this program
are to establish communication with robotic total sta-
tion from remote terminal unit (RTU) and carry out
data accquisition procedure. The raw measured data
will first stored in RTU Microsoft Access database
before being FTP through broadband network back to
processing server.
In processing server, RSDMS Process & Analy-
sis program (SDAnaS) will take charge of the raw
data. SDAnaS will first convert raw data into Star*Net
input format follow by initiate Star*Net least square
processing functions for data adjustments. After least
square processing procedure, the deformed coordi-
nates of each monitoring point will be extracted
to compare with initial coordinates to get actual
deformed measurements. SDAnaS also embeded with
soil deformation alert function. The program will
check throug the deformed measurements with a
preset allowable deformed value, if any deforma-
tion exceeded the allowable value alert emails will
be send to designated emails address for alert pur-
poses. Engineers or researchers may spare time to take
mitigation strategies to counterfeit soil deformation
situation.

Figure 3. Client/Server Applications and GeoCOM Func-
tion (Leica Geosystems, 1999).
4 CONCEPT’S OF RSDMS
RSDMS is developed for use on personal, laptop
computer and Industrail PC with Microsoft Window
Me/2000/XP operation system. The monitoring sys-
tem allows users to perform a complete deformation
monitoring in real-time data acquisition and analysis.
RSDMS monitoring procedure consist of 2 core pro-
grams named SDMonS and SDAnaS where SDMonS
is install in RTU on site to perform robotic total sta-
tion controlling and data accquisition works, SDAnaS
is install in server to perform post processing and alert
functions.
4.1 RSDMS Measurement & Control program
(SDMonS)
Only Leica instruments in TPS1000 and TPS1100 sys-
tem software family (e.g. Leica TCA 2003, Leica TCA
1800 and TM30) can be integrated with computer. The
TPS system software is built around the sensor element
(On-board software), organizes and control interplay
of several sensor elements. It provides a set of function
to access sensors. Figure 3 shows architecture of com-
munication between TPS 1000/1100 software system
with computer. All these functions can be manipulated
and controlled form GeoCOM Client (i.e. software
packages that developed by Microsoft Visual Basic
6.0 and VBA).
The functions (Figure 3) are grouped and organized
as subsystems, the functions are:-
• AUT for Automation – Function to control ATR,
change face and do positioning.
• BAP for Basic Application – Function used to get
measurement data.
• BMM for Basic Man Machine – Function to control
basic input/output
• COMF for communication – Function to handle
basic communication parameter.
783
• COM for communication – Function to access some
aspect of TPS 1000 control which are related to
communication.
• CSV for Central Services – Function to get or set
central/ basic information about TPS 1000.
• CTL for Control Task – Function contain system
control task.
• EDM for Electronic Distance Measurement – Func-
tion module which measures distance.
• SUP for Supervisor – Function to control general
values of TPS 1000.
• TMC for Theodolite Measurement and Calculation
is a core module for getting measurement data.
• WIR for Windows Registration – Function for GSI
recording.
The communication module links the client to the
server with serial communication connection (RS232)
by send and receive communication protocol called
GeoCOM command set. GeoCOM is based on SUN
Microsystem’ Remote Procedure Call (RCPC) pro-
tocol thus its able to recognize and act on certain
sequences of character (commands) that sent via serial
port. With the low level of implementation, each pro-
cedure, which is executable on the remote instrument,
is assigned a remote procedure call identification num-
ber. This number is used internally to associate with
a specific request, including the implicit parameter
to a procedure on remote device (Leica Geosystems,
1999). GeoCOM provides an ASCII interfacs for low
level design, on the other hand, GeoCOM has provides
normal function call interfaces for high level design
such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual C/C++ and
VBA software developments.
4.2 RSDMS Process & Analysis program
(SDAnaS)
SDAnaS (Soil Deformation Analysis system) is given
an objective to detect soil deformation. SDAnaS
developed using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 program-
ming language, and uses robust method of Itera-
tive Weighted Similarity Transformation (IWST) for
deformation detection computation. SDAnaS consist
of three parts, the first part is integration module,
it convert raw data from measurement cycles into
STARNET (commercial LSE software) process data.
The program provoke STARNET processing via OLE
(Object Linking and Embedding) and convert LSE out-
put to SDAnaS format for second part of the program.
The second part is deformation detection module, it
will compare output from each cycle to the initial coor-
dinate for each point in the loop before produce a
numerical real-time result of deformation. The third
part of the program is the function to send alert via
emails to undersign users for deformation result that
over the preset threshold.
4.3 Verification between RSDMS & Leica
GeoMos
This research will adopts Leica GeoMos soft-
ware to check the consistency, reliability and
 5 CONCLUSION

This research focused on the development of RSDMS

software for real-time automated data capture and
analysis for soil deformation monitoring applica-
tions. In order to accomplish the research objectives,
RSDMS has able to deliver real-time deformation
results with consistency. The approach of unique tech-
nical design in RSDMS guarantees the integrity that
is high accuracy, overall availability of the system and
continuity of the instrument function for rough con-
struction needs. RSDMS has deployed on site to carry
out monitoring measurement for a month for data col-
lection and system durablility test. test result showed
that RSDMS is able to deliver data according to the pre-
set measurement cycle with consistancy during testing
period.

REFERENCES
Leica Geosystems (1999). GeoCOM Reference Manual.
Switzerland: User Manual.
Allan, A.L. (1997). Practical Surveying and Computations
Revised Second Edition). Amimprint of Butterwortt-
Heinemann, Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford
OX28DP: A Division of Reed Educational and Profes-
sional Publishing Ltd.
Khairulnizam M Idris, Halim Setan (2008). Automation in
Data Capture and Analysis for Industrial/Deformation
Surveying Using Robotic Total Station. Msc Thesis.
University Teknologi Malaysia.
Miller, G. M. (1996). Modern Electronic Communication.
5th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
MuhammadAsyran CheAmat (2007). Implementasi Pengop-
timuman Komputer Dalam Pembangunan Perisian Anali-
sis Pelarasan Kuasa Dua Terkecil. Msc. Thesis. Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia.

Figure 4. Architecture of RSDMS Instrument Control and

Data Acquisition Module.

capability of RSDMS Measurement & Control pro-

gram (SDMonS). Fifty monitoring points will be setup
around the building with ten more reference points will
be located at the edge of group of monitoring points.
A TM30 robotic total station with IPC (industrial PC)
which installed SDMonS will be setup on the building
top as RTU (Remote Terminal Unit). Further more, a
computer with SDAnaS installed will setup in office
for receive and process data.

784
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Experimental study of the temperature-pressure effect on gas transport

in peridotite sample from Sudbury Basin, Canada

C.G. Wang
State key laboratory for Rock mechanics and Deep underground Engineering, Beijing, China
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

X.H. Zhang & H.J. Zhang

School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: The physical processes triggering the fluid flow within the stressed rock are highly complex
and not fully understood. In order to investigate the gas transport behaviors due to the deformation of rock,
the peridotite sample from Sudbury, Canada, was subjected to the temperature-pressure effects using a special
rock mechanic testing machine. It is shown that when the sample was ruptured by uniaxial compression, the
connective cracks instantaneously occurred accompanied by a swarm of AE activities, which suddenly decrease
the fluid pore pressure. This change can be able to drive the gas back to the emerging crack due to the gas
pressure gradient within the damage zones. Once the fracture network is filled with backflow gas, gas pressure
rose back quickly. The dominant components of mixed gases are carbon dioxide and methane. In addition, a
large mounts of gas can be ejected from the deformed sample subjected to the confining pressure. The feature
for the gas emission determined by the changes in pore structure of rock is also discussed and analyzed.

1 INTRODUCTION observations, physical and theoretical studies, and

High in-situ stress in hard rock tunnel regularly trig-
gers various types of failure such as flaking, spalling
and possibly bursting of wall rock, during underground
excavation at great depth (Diederichs, et al. 2004; He,
et al., 2009). These disasters adversely affect both the
safety and the productivity of underground coal mines
all over the world.
Generally, the high in-situ stress induced by com-
paction or thermal process tends to develop the pore
pressure in fluid-filled rock systems. It is referred as
abnormally pressured or overpressured. Although the
pore fluid pressure applied to the rock system can
relieve the rock matrix from part of the higher in-
situ stress, yield or failure of the rock is controlled
by effective stress rather than total stresses.
In some cases, the stress concentration induced
by mining activity also enables surrounding rock to
rapidly compact, which is obviously anther possible
reason for the development of overpressures. Once the
deformation of sample beyond the dilatancy bound-
ary (Alkana, et al. 2007), the abnormally pressured
and overpressured rock system can suddenly eject the
compressive fluid contained in rock matrix due to a
fully developed cluster network of cracks imposed
by the combination of the pore fluid pressure and
rock skeleton resistance. As presented by many field
numerical modelings (Xu, et al. 2006; Kidybinski,
1980; Gray, 2006; Li, et al., 2006), however, it is still
not fully understand the mechanism of the rock-gas
outburst.
Taking account of the limitation of field observa-
tion on rock-gas outburst, various laboratory analysis
manners are therefore performed. One of the most
widely used laboratory manner is performed by inject-
ing a stressed pore fluid into the rock core, which is
referred to the effective stress law. However, because
the stressed pore fluids often conceal the detailed
evolution, further works are urgently needed on inves-
tigating the physical processes responsible for the pore
fluids performance impacted by the deformation of
rock matrix.
As the deep rock like granite and peridotite com-
monly shows the low permeability, it is capable of
retaining aboriginal fluid in micro-pore structure. Here
we report results from one of series of laboratory defor-
mation experiments on deep rock sample at variable
temperature-pressure conditions, in which we have
generated micro flows that exhibit features nearly
identical to those observed during rock-gas outburst
activity, and discussed the principle for evolution
of pore fluid pressure during rock deformation. It
is hoped to be helpful in predicting and preventing
outbursts in high in-situ rock stress condition.

785
Table 1. Mineral content of the peridotite sample.
Plagioclase Calcite Dolomite Clay Moisture content
78.7 8.4 5.8 7.1 0.054
2 EXPERIMENT
2.1 Sample
The sample from the 2400 m-deep coring platform in
the Garson Mine were cut to measurement dimensions
(diameter 35 mm, length 80 mm). The mineralogical
composition of peridotite is reported in Table 1 and is
structurally characterized with in terms of the results
for SEM and x-ray diffraction analysis. The mineralog-
ical composition of peridotite is reported to be % and
is structurally characterized with in terms of the results
for SEM and x-ray diffraction detections.
2.2 Laboratory equipment
The experimental set-up was specially designed by
Prof. He, who has presided over State Key laboratory
for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineer-
ing in China. A sample located into a triaxial cell is
subjected to the combination of temperature-pressure
applied by a rock mechanics tester, where the active gas
through a pore fluid conduit drilled in piston is piped
into the a high-precision gas monitor equipped with
a gas pressure transducer and a flow meter. Acoustic
measurements were performed using special hardware
and software. The output of AEs was recorded contin-
uously throughout both phases with a high frequency
piezo-electric transducer. The PT-1000 temperature
sensor is glued directly to the sample. After the jack-
eted package of specimen, two extensometers had been
positioned into the steel pressure vessel, then the gas
fluid tube was connected to the gas vent at the top
platen. Aircraft hydraulic oil is used as the confining
fluid and heating medium.
2.3 Test proceeding
The experiment was conducted in four stages. In
stage 1, the temperature in rock core was increased at
a constant heating rate of 0.04◦ C/min up to 47◦ C, rep-
resentative of geothermal conditions approximately
2 km beneath the ground surface. In stage 2 the sample
was deformed at a constant strain at 12.5 × 10−6 s−1
until brittle failure occurred. This resulted in the cre-
ation of a localized connective crack damage zone. In
the third stage, the temperature of fractured sample
was linearly increased up to 63◦ C, during which the
fluid stored in the sample was removed by the thermal
expansion and diffusion. In the last stage, the confined
pressure was applied to the deformed sample, which
drove out a large quantities of gas from the preexisting
microcracks and the new fault damage zone.
786
Figure 1. The pore fluids transport within the peridotite core
influenced by the combination of the temperature – pressure.
Fig. (a) indicates the changes in temperature and loading path.
Fig. (b) plots the fluids pore pressure observed during the
experiment. Fig. (c) shows the different pore fluid concentra-
tions and the cumulative volume of the releasing gas.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Rock deformation and pore fluid emission
We observed a slight increase in gas pressure respond
in gas conduit during initial heating, due to the ther-
mal expansion of mixed gas stored in the preexisting
crack and open pore. Meanwhile, their correspond-
ing concentrations showed approximately constant
value according to the results of gas chromatography
analysis. When the peridotite sample was subjected
to the uniaxial compression at isothermal condition
(47.7◦ C), AE activity then increased exponentially
as axial stress increased and new crack nucleated
and propagated (Stanchits, et al. 2006; Benson, et al.
2008). In order to discriminate and interpret the AE
behavior associated with the solid deformation, we
analyzed a sequence of AE signals by using a short
time Fourier transform mode in MatLab software.
The result exhibited the respective seismic charac-
teristics during different deformation phase. Several
high frequency activities intermittently appeared in
each short time scale during the elastic deformation
phase. It is indicated that the localized brittle fail-
ure was increasingly occurred. In contrast with AE
signal characteristic of the elastic compression, the
rapid coalescence of the cracks was accompanied by a
swarm of AE events, preceding approach to the peak
failure strength. When failure occurred at axial stress
of 178 MPa, we observed that the gas pore pressure
in conduit then sharply reduced to −800 Pa, subse-
quently the gas pressure rebounded up to 400 Pa. We
therefore postulate that the rapid coalescence of cracks
created condition conducive for the formation of a con-
siderable of gas reservoir at short time. It can be able
to not only enlarge the gas volume, correspondingly
decrease the gas pressure in high permeability zone,
but also can generate the gas pressure gradient between
Figure 2. The relationship between the fluids pore pressure
observed and axial stress at 47.7◦ C.

the different permeable zones. Generally, gas move-

ment is determined by pressure gradient. Thus, the gas
pressure drop associated to the sudden change in pore
volume can be capable of suction of the external gas
stored in relative high gas pressure zone.
The gaseous state is commonly known as thermal
sensitivity to the temperature changes. For this reason,
we increased the temperature in fractured zone up to
60◦ C, giving the geothermal effect on deep rock strata.
In most of the recent papers (Yang, et al. 2003; Shen,
et al. 2008; Li, et al. 2007), the sequential earthquakes Figure 3. Representative AE waveform types observed dur-
and gas outburst are related to the fault movement. The ing the uniaxial compression. (a)Intermittent high-frequency
experiment performed by the same proceeding with events occurred in the elastic deformation of rock sample,
(b) Continual high-frequency events observed when approach
various confined pressure are given in Fig. 5. The gas to the failure.
emission is characterized by the abrupt release of high
concentration and large volume of mixed gas as the
increasing radial stress. During the closure of aper-
ture of crack network, the gas flux decay rapidly with
loading-induced crack closure.

3.2 Porous structure - fluid flow changes

During the rock deformation stage, the emergency of
higher permeable zone enhances fluid flow connectiv-
ity within low permeability rock, particularly in the
mid location of sample without the confining pres-
sure, as shown in Fig. 2. These dilatancy-induced high
permeability zones (gas reservoir) clearly coincided
with pore gas pressure changes. In our experiment, the
fluid pore pressure instantaneously dropped at the fail-
ure occurred, followed closely transient rebound in gas
pressure. It is shown that fluid flow in sample under-
went a reverse process, just as breathing circulation.
These observations imply that the dominant fluid flow
is initially driven into the major dilatation zones by
the fluid pore pressure gradient between new tortuous
damage zones and preexisting cracks. Subsequently,
the rapid flow of the pore fluid filled with broken
and comminuted zones, accordingly equilibrated the
Figure 4. The photograph of the deformed sample and its
CT image.
pore pressure distribution within and near gas reserv-
ior and drove out redundant gas. In contrast with the
permeability enhanced by tensile cracks at uniaxial
compression, the increasing confining pressure obvi-
ously reduced the aperture of fractures and momently
expelled large mounts of gas.
Further similarities between field data and our lab-
oratory data above can be seen in the fluid flow
performance, as also reported field observation of gas
concentration drop during fault movement (Etiope,

787

Figure 5. The relationship between the fluids pore pressure
observed and the confining pressure.
et al. 2002; Weinlich, et al. 2006). Brittle processes,
from millimeter-scale microcracking to kilometer-
scale earthquake rupture, change differentially the per-
meability of fluid-filled rock strata, which frequently
alters the direction of preferred fluid movement driven
by the fluid pore pressure variation.
4 CONCLUSION
Although the differences in dimension and structure
between small sample and rockmass can obviously
result in the different magnitude of data observed, our
laboratory data interpret field evidence in detail.
The development of the dilatancy-induced cracks
clearly coincides with pore gas pressure changes,
which exhibits instantaneously dropped when the fail-
ure occurred, followed closely transient rebound in gas
pressure. This mechanism allows dominant fluid flow
to be driven into the major dilatation zones by the fluid
pore pressure gradient between new tortuous damage
zones and preexisting cracks, until the pore pressure
distribution within and near gas reservior approach
to equilibrium. Moreover, the carbon dioxide dom-
inates the preexisting mixed gas stored micropores,
which can provide the suggestive interpretation for gas
emission due to the fault movement.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the National Basic
Research Program of China (2006CB202200) and
Innovative Team Development Project of the Ministry
788
of Education of China (IRT0656). We are grateful to
Prof. P.K. Kaiser and Dr. M. Cai for their helps in the
specimen supply. Particular thanks Prof. He for his
innovative thinkings.
REFERENCES
Alkana, H., Cinarb, Y., Pusch, G. 2007. Rock salt dila-
tancy boundary from combined acoustic emission and
triaxial compression tests. International Journal of Rock
Mechanics & Mining Sciences 44:108–119.
Benson, P.M.,Vinciguerra, S., Meredith, P.G. et al. 2008. Lab-
oratory Simulation of Volcano Seismicity. Science 322:
249–252. DOI: 10.1126/science.1161927.
Diederichs, M.S., Kaiser, P.K., Eberhardt, E. 2004. Damage
initiation and propagation in hard rock during tunneling
and the influence of near-face stress rotation. Interna-
tional Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 41:
785–812.
Etiope, G., Klusman, R.W. 2002. Geologic emissions of
methane tothe atmosphere. Chemosphere 9: 777–789.
Gray, I. 1980. The mechanism of, and energy release asso-
ciated with outbursts. Symposium on the occurrence,
prediction and control of outbursts in coal mines. Aust
Inst Min Metall, Melbourne: 111–25.
He, M.C., Miao, J.L. Feng, J.L. 2009. Rock burst pro-
cess of limestone and its acoustic emission characteris-
tics under true-triaxial unloading condition. International
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. Doi:
10.1016/j.ijrmms.2009.09.03.
Kidybinski, A. 1980. Significance of in situ strength mea-
surements for prediction of outburst hazard in coal mines
of Lower Silesia. Symposium on the occurrence, predic-
tion and control of outbursts in coal mines. Aust Inst Min
Metall, Melbourne: 193–201.
Li, T., Cai, M.F., Cai, M. 2007. Earthquake-induced unusual
gas emission coalmines – A km-scale in-situ experimental
investigation at Laohutai mine. International Journal of
Coal Geology 71: 209–224.
Li, X.Z., Hua, A.Z. 2006. Prediction and prevention of
sandstone-gas outbursts in coal mines. International Jour-
nal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43: 2–18.
Shen, B., King, A., Guo, H. 2008. Displacement, stress and
seismicity in roadway roofs during mining-induced fail-
ure. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining
Sciences 45: 672–688.
Stanchits, S. et al. 2006. Pure Appl. Geophys. 163:975.
Weinlich, F.H., Faber, E., Boušková, A., et al. 2006. Jür-
gen Poggenburg Seismically induced variations in Mar-
iánské Láznì fault composition in the NW Bohemian
swarm quake region, Czech Republic — A continuous
gas monitoring. Tectonophysics 421: 89–110.
Xu, T., Tang, C.A., Yang, T.H., et al. 2006. Numerical
investigation of coal and gas outbursts in underground
collieries. International Journal of Rock Mechanics &
Mining Sciences 43: 905–919.
Yang, X.X., Song, D.L., Chen, Z., 2003. Forecast for dis-
aster and gas explosion in Jixi colliery. Northwestern
Seismological Journal 5 (1): 93–93.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

The design of 3-component volume borehole strainmeter of type TJ-3

X.B. Ma, H.L. Li, J.J. Ma & K.Z. Su

Institute of Crustal Dynamic, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A new instrument of 3-component volume borehole strainmeter is developed in China and the
primarily function is for borehole strain measurement. The sensor is designed on the base of type TJ-2 volume
borehole strainmeter, and it has three independent components which make it being able to observe the strain
changes in three different directions. In this paper, the principle, structure, measurement circuit and measuring
system of the sensor are presented, and the field observation is also introduced. The filed results show that the
measurement resolution of 3-component volume borehole strainmeter is up to 10−9 –10−10 .

1 THE THEORETICAL BASIS OF The volume change can be defined as:

3-COMPONENT VOLUME BOREHOLE
STRAINMETER

1.1 The relationship between the 3 chamber volume

change and the principal strain
In which a is the radius of the probe within the elastic
Dr. Shoji (Shoji, 1981) has expressed the rigorous wall.
and comprehensive theoretical explaination on the 3- Substitute the formula (2) and the definition of the
component volume borehole strainmeter. The volume volume change into formula (1), the formula (3) can
or pressure change of three chambers can be given be deduced.
after little transformation to the analytical formula.
Formula (1) lists the changes of the cross-sectional
area in three chambers.

In which the parameters of Ai and Bi , can be

calculated by the followed formula (4).

The parameters of Ki and Ji represent the influence

In the formula, σ1 and σ2 are the maximum and of strain in three chambers and can be calculated by
minimum principal stress respectively, and they can the followed formula (5).
be expressed by strain of (ε1 + ε1 ) and (ε1 − ε1 ). Their
relationship is expressed in formula (2).

789
 Combining the above related relationship of param-
eters, the formula (4) can be rewritten by formula (6).
The parameters of the formula are given as below:
In the reduced condition, (A1 = A2 = A3 , B1 =
B2 = B3 ), the parameters of the structure can be set
by the following values:
If µm = 0.25, the values of the corresponding
parameters can be calculated shown as below:
A = 0.931, B = 1.23
A : B = 1 : 1.32, And the difference is up to 32%
If µm = 0.3, then
A = 0.97, B = 1.15
A : B = 1 : 1.18, And the difference is 18%.
These two difference can be expressed in the
following equations:
From the hydraulic changes in three chambers
shown by equations of (3) and (3)
, it can be seen
that the characteristic of 3-component volume bore-
hole strainmeter is the similarity between the cross
strains differential strains, and the relationship is close
to the linear strain in continuous medium, i.e., the
pressure change in each chamber is almost the strain
790
difference of the rock in the centre line of the cor-
responding chamber, which provides the convenience
for the calculation of strain tensor.
In practical application, the following simplified
formula can be tried:
In which it is assumed that A1 = A2 = A3 , and θ1I is the
azimuth of the principal strain ε1 in the first chamber
(Counterclockwise direction from the ε1 central axis to
the central line of the first component). It is suggested
that (ε1 + ε2 ), (ε1 − ε2 ), and θ1I should be more used
in various analysis in future. The traditional analyze is
not exluded of couse. The values of ε1 and ε2 can be
derived by equation (8).
1.2 The relationship of the chamber volume change
and in the Hydraulic pressure change
The relationship between the relative changes of the
chamber volume and the hydraulic pressure change
has been studied and verified in the course of the pro-
duction and application of type TJ-2 volume borehole
strainmeter as expressed in formula (9).
In which the formula of KC is the compression
modulus and can be derived by formula (10).
In formula (10), the parameter of V is the work-
ing volume of each chamber and can be calculated by
formula (11).
The parameters are explained as the followed and are
shown in figure 1.
φ – The opening angle of each chamber
a – Inner radius of the elastic cylinder inside the
chamber
L – Chamber height, here V = CM 3
Vm – The volume of metal rod, the calculated method
is similar to the formula (11), Vm = CM 3
Km – Metal rod material volumetric compression
modulus (1.75 × 105 MPa )
 Figure 1. Relationship between the locations of each
chamber.
VH – The total volume of silicone oil in chamber,
VH = CM 3
KH – The compression modulus of the silicone oil
(1.1 × 103 MPa )
GS – The compression stiffness of the sensor
(12.5 MPa /CM 3 )

If = 1 × 10−8 , the relationship of P = hPa can
be derived by formula (10) for the structure.
1.3 Instrument calibration
The calibration by hot wire igniter has the virtue s of
simple structure, directive and credibility results.
The calibration principle is same to the type of TJ-2
(K.Z., Su, etc., 2003), i.e.,
In which W is the power and W = I 2 R, I is the cali-
bration current of constant electrical source, and R is
the resistance of the calibrated wire.
2 THE NEW STRUCTURAL DESIGN
2.1 Three-chamber structure
The main considerations of three-chamber structure
design are:
(1) the junction between them should be as narrow as
possible (the space angle of occupied is small);
(2) the combination of mechanical requirements and
the airtight performance;
(3) the diameter of the probe shouldn’t be increased
even if the number of parts increases;
the mechanical and operational principle of 3-
component volume borehole strainmeter are very
simple shown as crustal deformation → enclosure →
volume change → (liquid) pressure. When the stress
and strain state of rock are delivered to the probe crust,
it is converted to the volume change and finally the
stress change based on the incompressibility, and the
sensor records the changes.
Inside the probe, the elastic cylinder is adopted and
the inner circle is a solid stick. The circle is dev-
ided into 3 parts with equal volume. Three chambers
791
Figure 2. Schematic of the structure.
are distributed in 120 degree, and each one is an
independent and closed space as shown in figure 2.
However, if the stainless steel plate is too thick„the
volume of the three chambers will be reduced and
the sensitivity will be debased. And if the tainless
steel plate is too thin, the precision and ndepen-
dency will be debased. As the result, the thickness
of the plate is selected as 2 cm. The elastic cylinder
is 4 mm thick and the material is also the stainless
steel to ensure the relative wall thickness is not greater
than 1.09. Because there are three chambers, the cor-
responding sensor and solenoid valve are increased
threefold compared to the previous single-component
strain gauge with three-dimensional layout (only a
slight increase in the length of the instruments), which
is used to ensure the diameter of the instrument is
consistent with the current drilling size, and also
is helpful to promote the use of the instrument in
future.
2.2 Calibration device
To test if the value of volume strain sensitivity coeffi-
cient of A has significant change with time, the method
of resistance wire calibration is set. The method is
able to directly give the mechanical (volume change)
with a more direct underground installation, which is
an important merit. The constant current power sup-
ply and heating wire heating power are used by us,
which can be more constant and avoid the effects of
cable resistance caused by small external disturbances.
In addition, a common ground, simultaneous calibra-
tion and recording data, reduce the influence among
three chambers and the calibration repeatability is
improved.
2.3 Electromagnetic valve
Another important advantage of three component
borehole strainmeter lies in the contaminations of
independent zero mechanical device in an internal
probe of the three sets, and the difference of cali-
bration is that mechanical calibration can give the
‘absolute zero’. As to the solenoid valve selection, we
have adopted a ‘normally open normally closed’ two-
state solenoid valve, so that the instrument can resolve
the trouble of power transportation. In order to reduce
 Figure 4. Solid Earth tide curve (August 2008 data).

Figure 3. Probe photo.

interference between zero and impact of electromag-

netic valve base we use the shock resistance rubber
materials.

2.4 Removal of air and Silicone oil injection

In the manufacturing process of the apparatus, one of
the key technologies is the high-vacuum probe (less Figure 5. Record curve of solid Earth tide in Wenchuan
than 1 × 10−5 hPa), and the degassing of gas, sili- earthquake in Sichuan Province, China (May 12, 2008) (the
cone oil at high temperature. Then the silicone oil was seismic strain steps).
injected into probe. The cubic millimeter air bubbles
in the probe will affect the sensitivity of the probe.
And the smaller the size of chamber, the more air of the circuit was installed into the internal probe
required dispel completely. Therefore, to enhance the underground, which is able to avoid the influence of
equipment reliability and stability, strictly controling temperature and ensure the signal is more reliable.
of the process is necessary, and the can not reduce the
sensitivity at the same time.
3.2 Reboot and filter circuit
2.5 Assembly processes The signal has been sufficiently amplificated in the
mine and then transmitted by cable to the ground. The
The sensor and solenoid valve are installed in the
signal should be still set to zero based on the the-
measurement chamber. With threaded connection, the
ory of ensuring the pressure difference is zero when
section with ‘O’ ring type oil is sealed, and ‘O’-
the final output. Long-distance signal transmission
ring groove with the seal gap are also used to ensure
needs to be filtered to remove high frequency inter-
parts and components’ precision and the reliability of
ference signals for a more stable output. To ensure
sealing.
signal synchronization underground, the inverter is
also set.
3 CIRCUIT DESIGN

3.1 Front-end circuit 3.3 Solenoid valve open circuit

We use the INA128 amplifier as a front-end circuit, The circuit is formed by the Schmitt circuit, relays, sub-
which has the properties of low power consumption, automatic and manual in two parts. To prevent misuse,
high stability, and simple structure. And this part the protection switch is also set.

792
3.4 Calibration circuit In 2004, two TJ-3-type three-component volumetric
strain gauge prototypes were finished. In the platforms
The calibration circuit is composed by time base of
of Changping (March 2005) and Jinzhou, (May 2006),
the NE555 circuit, resistor-capacitor network and the
two field stations were installed and the related study
relay. Constant current source generates a current pulse
was carried out in the field. After the above observa-
of two seconds.
tion, the instrument is running in all aspects of the
stability, the data is integrity and good tidal curve is
3.5 Data Acquisition also obtained (figure 4 and 5).
Instrument channels: 6 (The tri-component volume
borehole, pressure, temperature and water level); REFERENCES
Sampling rate: 1 times/minute;
Storage capacity : >100 days of data; K.Z. Su, etc., TJ-2-based mechanical design Volumetric
Power consumption: <5 W; Strain, see ‘new progress in observation borehole in
Clock Service: <1 second/day. response’, Su Kaizhi etc., Earthquake Press, 2003, Beijing
Shoji Sakata, recently designed three-component borehole
strain meter, see “National Disaster Prevention Center of
3.6 Network Communication Science and Technology Report”, March 1981, No. 25, (in
Japanese), Tsukuba, Japan
In line with China Earthquake Precursor network
communications protocols.

4 EXPERIMENT STATION

Since 2003, we began to embark on the three-

component volumetric strain meter pre-research work.

793
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Static vertical pendulum – observations of anomalous tilt before

earthquakes (case study)

P. Kalenda
IRSM CAS CZ, V Holešovičkách, Prague, Czech Republic

L. Neumann
ANECT, a.s., A. Staška, Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT: The observed anomalous tilt time development of static horizontal pendulum and anomalous time
development of variations (noise) before earthquakes could be the basis for possible prediction of earthquakes.
This case study showed the behaviour of rock mass before main earthquakes worldwide in the years
2007–2009 (Peru 15.8.07 (M = 8), Indonesia 12.9.07 (M = 8.5 + 7.9), Chile 14.11.07 (M = 7.7), Fiji 9.12.07
(M = 7.8), Andreanoff island 19.12.07 (M = 7.2), Sichuan 12.5.08 (M = 7.9), Kuril islands 24.11.08 (M = 7.3),
Indonesia 3.1.09 (M = 7.6), Tonga 19.3.09 (M = 7.6), N. Zeland 15.7.09 (M = 7.8), Andaman island 10.8.09
(M = 7.5), Samoa 29.9.09 (M = 8.1)).
It was shown that the anomalous tilt or variations of the pendulum movement started in many cases a few
days up to weeks before the mainshock. The most of the biggest earthquakes were predictable and one of them
(Kurile Islands 24.11.2008) was predicted 29 days before as a test of a validity of this prediction method.
The paper will describe anomalous high stress time intervals, the anomalous effects observed before the
biggest earthquakes and discussion of reliability of earthquake prediction.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 CASE STUDY

The observed anomalous tilt time development of
static horizontal pendulum and anomalous time devel-
opment of variations (noise) before earthquakes could
be the basis for possible prediction of earthquakes.
This case study showed the behaviour of rock
mass before main earthquakes worldwide in the
years 2007–2009 (Peru 15.8.07 (M = 8), Indonesia
12.9.07 (M = 8.5 + 7.9), Chile 14.11.07 (M = 7.7),
Fiji 9.12.07 (M = 7.8), Andreanoff island 19.12.07
(M = 7.2), Sichuan 12.5.08 (M = 7.9), Kuril islands
24.11.08 (M = 7.3), Indonesia 3.1.09 (M = 7.6),
Tonga 19.3.09 (M = 7.6), N. Zeland 15.7.09 (M = 7.8),
Andaman island 10.8.09 (M = 7.5), Samoa 29.9.09
(M = 8.1)).
It was shown that the anomalous tilt or variations
of the pendulum movement started in many cases a
few days up to weeks before the mainshock. The most
of the biggest earthquakes were predictable and one
of them (Kurile Islands 24.11.2008) was predicted
29 days before as a test of a validity of this prediction
method.
The paper will describe anomalous high stress time
intervals, the anomalous effects observed before the
biggest earthquakes and discussion of reliability of
earthquake prediction.
Between July 1, 2007 and January 1, 2010, 16 earth-
quakes with M ≥ 7.5 were registered on the whole
Earth (see Tab. 1). For each of them, we have tried
to find out whether or not the earthquakes were pre-
dictable using the devices available to us, the static
vertical pendulums in particular.
Event 08/08/2007 Java, M = 7.5. With respect to
the initial stage of the measurements and their short-
comings, that EQ was not predicted and would not
have been predictable even ex-post. Only the diur-
nal period was observed on both components by no
means exceeding the standard, and reduced noise on
both components (more on the NS component) from
22/07/2007.
Event 15/08/2007 Peru, M = 8. Non-predictable
event on our lithosphere plate. It occurred in the relax-
ation stage of our lithosphere plate and no unusual tilts
or noise were observed before that.
Event 12/09/2007 Mentawai Region, Sumatra,
Indonesia, M = 7.9. One of a few events in 2007 where
it was possible to identify several precursors that may
have led to its prediction. Since 2007 we were only dis-
covering what was actually possible to identify from
the pendulum tilts and what precursors there might be,
we didn’t try to predict. Today we know that for that

795
Table 1. Parameters of the worldwide earthquakes with M > 7.4 since May 1, 2007 (ANSS 2009, EMCS 2009) and their
predictability by pendulums measured the tilt in Central Europe

Date Lat. Lon. Depth Mag. Predict. Recognised precursors

08/08/2007 17:05 −5.86 107.42 280 7.5 JAVA, INDONESIA ?no?

15/08/2007 23:40 −13.39 −76.6 39 8 NEAR COAST OF no
CENTRAL PERU
12/09/2007 11:10 −4.4 101.36 10 8.5 KEP. MENTAWAI REGION, yes tilt, noise P7, gravity
INDONESIA
28/09/2007 13:38 22.01 142.67 260 7.5 VOLCANO ISLANDS, yes tilt P7, gravity
JAPAN REGION
14/11/2007 15:40 −22.25 −69.89 40 7.7 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE yes waves, noise P7
09/12/2007 07:28 −26 −177.51 152 7.8 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS no
12/05/2008 06:28 31 103.32 19 7.9 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA yes diurnal waves P7
05/07/2008 02:12 53.88 152.89 632 7.7 SEA OF OKHOTSK no
03/01/2009 19:43 −0.41 132.88 17 7.6 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, yes tilt, noise P7, gravity
INDONESIA
19/03/2009 18:17 −23.05 −174.66 34 7.6 TONGA REGION yes tilt, noise Lubeník, P7
15/07/2009 09:22 −45.76 166.56 12 7.8 OFF W. COAST OF ?no? only tilt P7
S. ISLAND, N.Z.
10/08/2009 19:55 14.1 92.89 4 7.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, no
INDIA REGION
29/09/2009 17:48 −15.49 −172.1 18 8.1 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION no
30/09/2009 10:16 −0.72 99.87 81 7.5 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, yes tilt, diurnal waves, gravity
INDONESIA
07/10/2009 22:03 −13.06 166.34 45 7.7 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS ?yes? waves
07/10/2009 22:18 −12.53 166.37 55 7.8 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS ?yes? waves

event, the beginning of the nucleation stage could have

been identified around 26/08/2007 (see Fig. 1), which
was characterised by a sudden change of a tilt motion.
Simultaneously, the noise was decreasing and peaks
related to small-scale earthquakes on the eastern edge
of the Eurasian plate started to appear within the noise
(since 01/09/2007). The main stage of the event started
after the medium earthquake in Tai-wan (M = 6.2) on
06/09/2007 when the pendulum noise doubled in both
directions. We had just one underground pendulum
active more than 30 m deep in 2007, it was not possi-
ble to identify unambiguously the directionality of the
anomalous stress component.
The magnitude could be estimated as M ≈ 7.4 based
on the length of the nucleation stage of approx. 16 days
according to the relation (2).
The increased stress during the nucleation stage
induced a series of anomalies on other instruments.
Horizontal movements were observed on active
faults (Stemberk, pers. comm.), increased noise was
observed on the strainmetr at Vyhne (Brimich,
pers. comm.), anomalous movements of water lev-
els were observed in the VS3 borehole in the Eastern
Bohemia (Stejskal, pers. comm.) and increased grav-
ity was observed on the absolute gravimeter at Pecný
(Pálinkáš, pers. comm.).
Event 28/09/2007Volcano Island, Japan, M = 7.5,
occurred in a final stage of the same “stress wave”,
which triggered the EQ in Sumatra (see Fig. 1).
Its only precursor was the fact that after the EQ in
Sumatra, the high noise did not calm down. Further
increase of noise was apparent on the EW component.
Also, the pendulum tilt trend did not get to the original
Figure 1. Tilt development on pendulum P7 in Příbram in
September 2007, P7_NS, EW – tilt in NS resp. EW direction
(+N, +E), P7_varNS – variations of tilt in NS direction.
values after the EQ in Sumatra but only after the EQ
of the Volcano Islands after 01/10/2007.
Based on the arrival of the circadian stress wave
from 19/09/2007 to 26/09/2007 (see Fig. 1), it was pos-
sible to expect the increased stress from the E direction.
Both the Volcano Islands and Sumatra events point at
the virtual “expansion” of the Philippine plate against
the neighbouring plates, especially in the NE-SW
direction (see Fig. 2).
Event 14/11/2007 Antofagasta, Chile, M = 7.7,
occurred in a relatively “relaxation” stage of the stress
in the Central Europe. In spite of that, it was possible
to observe pronounced changes in the tilt motion and
the beginning of the nucleation stage on 03/11/2007
accompanied by the arrival of “stress waves” from
08/11/2007 to 12/11/2007 (see Fig. 3). If there were
more pendulums deployed in South America, then this
earthquake would probably have been predictable and

796
Figure 2. Centroid moment tensor parameters of Sumatra
12/09/2007 and Volcano Islands 28/09/2007 EQs (Harvard
CMT catalogue (Dziewonski & Woodhouse 1983)). Map
according to Google maps and tectonic plate boundaries by
Bird (2003). Arrow – direction to Central Europe, star –
epicentre by EMSC (2010).
Figure 3. Tilt development on pendulum P7 in Příbram in
November 2007. Legenda see Fig. 1.
localisable. From the Central Europe, it was impossi-
ble to localise the focus situated on a different plate
and deforming our plate implicitly only. The magni-
tude estimate according to the relation (2) would have
been M ≈ 7.3.
Event 09/12/2007 Fiji, M = 7.8: Except the
reduced noise on the EW component, no special
tilt development was observed on the pendulums.
The earthquake was unpredictable from the Central
Europe.
Event 12/05/2008 Sichuan, M = 7.9: The first
event for which we recognised the “stress waves” prior
to the earthquake. We did not identify the epicentre,
however, we did estimate the magnitude of approx.
6.9, based on the comparison with creep preceding
the earthquake of Loma Prieta 1989. Now we know
that it was possible to estimate very precisely the local
meridian of the focal area, even when based on the tilt
measurement in the Central Europe.
We finished our measurements on the P7 pendu-
lum in Příbram and reconstructed the pendulum on
08/04/2008. On 15/04/2008, a new measurement com-
menced with a new camera and suspension of camera,
which immediately manifested itself in the pendulum
noise (variations) reduction to 1/2 to 1/3 of the original
values.
After the commencement of the new measurement,
the tilt showed a typical movement given by the
relaxation of the new pendulum. As early as from
22/04/2008, the natural tilts of the pendulum and
especially noise were interpretable.
797
Figure 4. Comparison of tilt development and HRT waves
(Qian et al. 2009). Theoretical tilt is calculated by program
by Skalský (1991) according to Tamura (1987) development.
LN wrote on 11/05/2008 at 20:45 UTC: “I evalu-
ated the data from Příbram and they are interesting.
We can see diurnal period, which increases. The noise
decreases and noise has diurnal period, too. I wonder
where an earthquake will occur.”
PK answered on 12/05/2008 at 4:55 UTC: “I
expected such diurnal thermo-elastic waves before
huge earthquakes according to Hvožd’ara. I had
observed them before the Loma Prieta earthquake
(1989) on creepmeters in California. The magnitude
of a possible earthquake would be greater than 6.9,
like in the case of Loma Prieta.”
This partial prediction proved true already within
two hours when the news brought the information
of a large earthquake in Wenchuan (Sichuan). When
we look back at the tilt curve on the pendulum P7
in Příbram, we can see that after the pendulum recon-
struction we were not able to record the tilt change
that could have occurred any time between 08/04/2008
a 22/04/2008. On the other hand, in the low noise
its circadian period was clearly visible starting on
07/05/2008 and ending on 15/05/2008 after the earth-
quake (see Fig. 4). Maximum noise was observed
exactly at the time when the pendulum displacement
reached its maxim towards the south. No significant
movement deviations were observed in the EW direc-
tion nor the noise showed a pronounced circadian
periodicity. From those facts, it was possible to judge
that the anomalous additional stress acted from the
north.
Half a year after the earthquake in Sichuan, after the
AGU meeting in San Francisco, we compared our mea-
surement results with those measured right near the
focal point in Sichuan. We found out that the “stress
waves” we had measured were identical with those
inducing the changes of impedance measured at the
Hongge station, approx. 465 km from the epicentre
(Qian et al. 2009) (see Fig. 4).
Qian et al. (2009) showed that from the fortnightly
period point of view, it was possible to establish the
beginning of anomalous impedance in the EW direc-
tion around 30/04/2008. On the NS component, no
anomalous variations of impedance were observed.
The beginning of the largest anomalous stage occurred
in the seven-day window around 06/05/2008 and
five-minute values showed a pronounced circadian

Figure 5. Map of the Western China (according to He &
Tsukuda 2003) and earthquake focal mechanism (Harvard
CMT catalogue (Dziewonski & Woodhouse 1983)).
variations beginning after 06/05.2008 (see Fig. 4).
The second period of stress increase and reduced
impedance was recorded after 24/05/2008. Both peri-
ods exactly correspond to the beginning of the “stress
waves” arrival registered in Příbram. Hence, it may be
stated that both the observed tilts of the pendulum P7
in Příbram and the impedance changes at Hongge were
induced by the same strain changes in the massif.
Which mechanisms are likely to have induced such
stress changes? One explanation was offered at the
AGU meeting by X. Xiwei et al. (2008). They were
of the opinion that the Indian plate pushes towards
Asia and the stress is deflected in the EW direction.
That, however, does not explain the observed circa-
dian stress periods. Stress maximums in Sichuan and
in the Central Europe were observed between 10:00
and 12:00 LT, i.e. 2:00–4:00 UT. At that time, a maxi-
mal and anomalous exposure of the whole Himalayan
area occurred and, as R. Singh et al. (2008) has shown;
the relative humidity was anomalously low (20%) in
comparison with the average value of 50–60%. So,
the thermo-elastic wave, caused by the exposure of
the whole of Himalayas, probably acted as a triggering
mechanism of that earthquake. This idea is supported
by the observed mechanism that manifested itself in
Wenchuan as a reverse and oblique-slip, when the
Tibetan Plateau in the NW slipped onto the Sichuan
Basin (see Fig. 5). In the Central Europe, we observed
the same thermo-elastic wave generated in the Cen-
tral Asia and Himalayas, only it acted mostly from the
northern direction in accordance with the geometric
(geographic) position of the source area towards the
Central Europe.
798
Figure 6. Tilt development on pendulum P7 in Příbram. No
data between October 30 and November 7 due to PC failure.
No continuation of tilt values – new zero position defined,
noise – variations of tilt.
Except the thermo-elastic waves generated by the
insolation, other precursors were observed preced-
ing that earthquake. Anomalies were observed on the
strainmetr in Shandan on 11/05/2008 (Peng et al.
2009); IR anomalies in the last, i.e. fifth, stage
from 30/04/2008 to the earthquake on 12/05/2008
(Wei et al. 2009); noise was heard on the fault
near Wenchuan (Smith 2008), “earthquake clouds”
(Irrational Geographic 2009). Therefore, we cannot
agree with the declaration by G. Purcaru (2008) that
Wenchuan earthquake was unpredictable. This earth-
quake was predictable, but not predicted by scientists.
Event 05/07/2008 Okhotsk, M = 7.7, was pre-
ceded by a small drift anomaly only of the pendu-
lum tilt and insignificant stress wave. The event was
unpredictable from the Central Europe.
Earthquake 24/11/2008 near the Kuril islands,
M = 7.3, was the first officially predicted earthquake
based on the recognition of the circadian “stress wave”.
The primary characteristics of the stress behaviour
in the Central Europe from April to September 2008
was the relaxation which manifested itself by a general
movement of the pendulum P7 tilts towards the north
and east. More “stress waves” kept arriving into the
overall trend. In that one, the “stress waves” with circa-
dian periods were recognised both on the P7 pendulum
in Příbram and, in particular, on the pendulum in the
cave No.13C in Moravian Karsts, since the pendulum
is situated in an active fault with the N-S direction so
it is very sensitive especially to the stress changes in
that direction (see Fig. 6).
Pronounced circadian periods of noise were
observed on the pendulum in the cave No.13C, and
the noise decreased radically (see Fig. 6). Since the
noise maximums were observed around midnight UT,
we expected that the breaking asperity be on our litho-
sphere plate, on the opposite side (hemisphere). Since
in that area there is a contact between the North Amer-
ican and Eurasian lithosphere plates, we estimated the
asperity location to be the region between the Kuril
Islands and Kamchatka. Since the peaks on pendulums
P7 and 13C coincided with the periods when the diur-
nal periods prevail in the tides, we estimated that the
asperity could have been broken within 28 days from
31/10/2008 when there would be two similar coinci-
dences. We estimated the magnitude of the expected
Figure 7. Tilt development on P7 pendulum in Příbram in
spring 2009.
earthquake based on the nucleation stage length and
also based on the reasoning that we have had observed
no similar marked peaks prior to other earthquakes in
the area of the Sea of Ochotsk and the Kurils.
The probability that an accidental earthquake with
M ≥ 7 in a given area between the Kurils and Kam-
chatka occurs in a 28-day window was 6.4%. The
probability was calculated, based on the USGS cat-
alogue for the time period from 1973 to 2002, using
the program by R. Hunter (2003).
An earthquake was observed near the island of
Sulawesi (M = 7.5) on 16/11/2008, and exactly one
day later a radical increase of noise was observed on
the pendulum, which corresponded to an uninterrupted
movement of an active fault and occurred simultane-
ously with a series of medium-size earthquakes in the
Northern Ice Ocean. The movement on the fault slowly
went down by 21/11/2008 and then suddenly acceler-
ated and culminated exactly at the time of the main
shock on the Kurils on 24/11/2008 (M = 7.3). The
period between 21/11/2008 to 24/11/2008 may be con-
sidered the nucleation stage sensu stricto, when the
crack development is already unstoppable.
The successful prediction of the Kurils earthquake
confirmed the predictability of the earthquakes and
correctness of reconnaissance and detection of the
noise peaks that correspond to the maximum of “stress
waves” generated probably in the focal point of the
future earthquake on the breaking asperity. We found
surprising the discovery that the “stress waves” are
able to overcome the distance of the whole lithosphere
plate from one edge to the other one, which allows for
deformation transfer between the plates in a relatively
short time and explains the series of earthquakes on
different lithosphere plates.
Event 19/03/2009 at the Tonga Archipelago,
M = 7.6, was preceded by anomalies on most pendu-
lums both in Bohemia and in Lubeník, Slovakia (see
Figs. 7 and 8). The significant feature of detection of
“stress waves” in Lubeník mine was the higher reac-
tion of massif on mine ventilation than average and the
collapses of blocks of rock mass (see Fig. 8).
Despite the fact that both pendulums are more than
500 km apart, on both of them it was possible to
observe the arrivals of the “stress waves” prior to the
earthquake in Indonesia (M = 7.2) around 29/01/2009
and especially prior to the earthquake in the Tonga
Archipelago between 03/06/2009 and 06/06/2009.
799
Figure 8. Tilt development of pendulum in Lubeník mine
in spring 2009.
Even macroscopic deformations of some old roads
accompanied by falling top walls were observed at
the time of the “stress wave” in the Lubeník mine and
the staple pit where the pendulum is located tilted by
several mm per 50 m of height.
The earthquake hit the region of Central Italy
near the town of Aquila (M = 6.3) on 06/04/2009.
As one can see from the tilts of both pendulums,
the “stress wave” from Tonga was going away at
that time and stress redistribution occurred even in
the Central Europe. According to that scenario, the
earthquake of Aquila could be classified amongst the
aftershocks of the Tonga earthquake. Thus, it is a simi-
lar case to that one after the earthquake in Sichuan after
which the earthquake in Iceland (M = 6.3) followed
on 29/05/2008, the largest one in the last 18 years
(see Fig. 4). Nonetheless, those earthquakes differ a
lot from each other as the earthquake of Aquila was
predicted by G. Giuliani based on the radon gas mea-
surement at Aquila and surroundings (Dorigo 2009).
His anomalies correspond, from the time point of view,
with the “stress waves” that caused the deformations in
Bohemia and Slovakia. So, G. Giuliani was performing
his measurements, in the area, which was prepared for
the earthquake and a substantial energy was accumu-
lated there. TheAquila earthquake was an “aftershock”
of Tonga earthquake, according to our results of mea-
surement. Hence, his prediction was successful and
substantiated but a question remains whether or not he
would have measured such big anomalies as at Aquila
in other areas of Europe at the same time, too, since
macroscopic deformations and movements on faults
were observed even at Lubeník.
Event 15/07/2009 at New Zealand, M = 7.8, was
preceded by a change of tilt trend on the P7 pendulum
in Příbram that occurred after a medium-size event
at Baffin Bay on 07/07/2009. Other precursors were
not observed so that event was unpredictable from the
Central Europe, similar to the earthquakes in Hon-
duras (M = 7.3) and New Ireland (M = 6.8), preceded
by “stress waves”, however, without a change in the
pendulum tilt movement.
After New Zealand earthquake of 15/07/2009, a
period of increased seismic activity continued and
the earthquake occurred near the Izu Island (Japan)
(M = 7.1) on 09/08/2009; a day later, on 10/08/2009,
at Andaman (India) (M = 7.5); on 02/09/2009 at Java
(Indonesia) (M = 7.0) and ended by a huge earthquake
near Samoa on 29/09/2009 (M = 8.1), near southern
Sumatra on 30/09/2009 (M = 7.5) and near Santa Cruz
on 07/10/2009 (M = 7.8).
Except the earthquakes of Samoa and Santa Cruz,
preceded by clear “stress waves” (see Fig. 9), it was
not possible to discover the precursors of the particular
earthquakes in a chaotic stress field, as it is obvious
already from 18/07/2009. Neither in the case of the
Samoa nor the Santa Cruz earthquakes was it possible
to localise the relevant asperities. If we analysed the
times of stress (noise) maximums, then we could see
that they fluctuate around 04:00 UT.Therefore, the cor-
responding local meridian is approx. at 90E to 110E.
That meridian corresponds to the Sumatra earthquake,
so the Samoa earthquake could not be predicted as well
as the earthquake of Santa Cruz, which was preceded
by “stress waves” with longer periods than one day.
For three of them, the nucleation stage was detected
in advance and their magnitudes were established
but they were not localised (Sichuan May 12, 2008,
Samoa September 29, 2009, and Indonesia Septem-
ber 30, 2009). Today, ex-post, it shows that the earth-
quake in Sichuan was completely predictable from the
Central Europe, including the focal point localisation.
Except those 16 largest earthquakes, it showed that
some other events were predictable and one of them,
the deep earthquake on the Kuril Islands (M = 7.3),
was completely predicted 26 days prior to the main
Event.
During the earthquake in Sichuan we concluded that
we were able to recognise the anomalous stress waves
induced probably due to the asperity breaking in the
earthquake focal point. We verified this finding by our
Figure 9. Short-period tilt on pendulum P7 in Příbram in
September 2009.
first official prediction of the earthquake of the Kuril
Islands where we detected the “stress waves” approx.
26 days prior to the earthquake and localised its future
epicentre. With that event, the nucleation stage sensu
stricto was observed from the foreshocks in the North-
ern Ice Ocean until the main shock, surprisingly at a
distance more than 10000 km from the focus.
3 MODEL OF PREPARING OF EARTHQUAKES
We could claim that most of predictable earthquakes
occurred on our lithosphere plate (see Tab. 1). Only
the biggest earthquakes from other lithosphere plates
were preceded by precursors. The earthquakes from
Southern America or Tonga and Fiji took place mostly
in the time of relaxation of Eurasian plate.
The most common precursor seems to be “stress
wave” or “tectonic waves” (Khalilov 2009). These
“stress waves” are probably generated in the focus
area of future earthquake by destruction of asperities,
i.e. locked parts of faults or much solid part of rock
mass, which are resisted against deformation transfer
and which create stress concentrators. The arrival time
of such “stress waves” can be recognised by sudden
changes of tilt wobble (see Figs. 1, 3, 7 and 8) and/or
by increasing of noise of pendulums, i.e. variations of
movement around average position (see Figs. 1, 3, 6
and 8). Many of “stress waves” had circadian periods
with the maximum stress around afternoon of local
time in epicentre area. Stress waves were probably
triggered by solar insolation and thermoelastic wave
generation (Hvožd’ara et al. 1988).This fact could lead
to localisation of future mainshock according to local
meridian.
We suppose that other external forces can trigger
earthquake and can generate “stress waves” with corre-
sponding periods. The “stress waves” with semidiurnal
period, generated probably by tides were observed
before Honduras earthquake on May 2009.
The “stress waves” are different from seismic waves
by their super-long periods (semidiurnal and longer)
and than super-long wavelengths. From this point of
view all deformations of “stress waves” are occur-
ring in near field of the focus area to the contrary to
the seismic waves, which are observed mostly in far-
field area. That is why the attenuation of these “stress

Table 2. Predictions made since 2007.

Beginning End of time Days Predicted Mag. Probab. Actual
Prediction of period time period place M>= % date Place M Conf Note

Sichuan unof. 11/05/2008 08/06/2008 28 ? 6.9 ? 12/05/2008 31N, 103E 7.9 ?

Kuril Is. off. 30/10/2008 27/11/2008 28 Kuril – Kamchatka 7.0 6.4 24/11/2008 54N, 154E 7.3 Yes
Euro-Asia off. 10/03/2009 06/05/2009 57 0-180E, −10 – +90N No >=7 65.1 07/04/2009 46N, 151E 6.9 Yes
worldwide off. 16/12/2009 30/12/2009 14 worldwide No >=7 42.1 19/12/2009 24N, 122E 6.4 Yes
East unof. 04/02/2010 11/02/2010 7 Taiwan area 6.2 3.5 07/02/2010 23N, 124E 6.3 Yes EQ clouds
East unof. 19/02/2010 19/03/2010 28 Indon., Philip., Taiwan 7.0 65.1 26/02/2010 26N, 128E 7.2 Yes
East unof. 19/02/2010 19/03/2010 28 Tonga, New Guinea Big ? 27/02/2010 36S, 73W 8.8 No Chile
Pakistan off. 22/02/2010 22/03/2010 28 25-40N, 60-80E 6.0 17.3 27/02/2010 36N, 70E 5.7–6.0 Yes
N. Guinea off. 22/02/2010 22/03/2010 28 15S-5N, 130-155E 6.5 23.2 20/03/2010 3S,152E 6.2–6.5 Yes
USA off. 05/03/2010 02/04/2010 28 0-90N, 100-165W 6.5 17.0
worldwide off. 06/03/2010 13/03/2010 7 worldwide 7.0 24.2 11/03/2010 34S, 72W 7.2 Yes Chile

800
waves” is very low and we could observe the “stress After the analysis of stress state and the recognition
waves” coming from opposite hemisphere, more than of anomalous stress direction we can find the direc-
10000 km outside. For the “stress waves” is not valid tion to the possible focus area (Neumann & Kalenda
the relationship 2010).
If we are able to recognise the “stress waves” and
their triggering mechanism, we should be able to
recognise the possible local meridian.
derived by Takemoto (1991) based on the stress-tilt We were able to recognise all areas in critical state
measurement in Japan. in the world before Chile earthquake on the basis of
All of recognised “stress waves” in Central Europe peaks of “stress waves” (see Fig. 10). The aftershock
were coming from east or north, even in the case of occurred on February 28, 2010 (M = 6.0) in Pakistan.
catastrophic earthquake in Chile on February 2010 New Guinea is on the same meridian as Honshu, where
(M = 8.8). Such observation confirms the westward the earthquake with M = 6.6 occurred on March 14,
drift of lithosphere plates against mantle (Ostřihanský 2010. It is a pity that we could not separate the after-
1997, 2004, Scoppola et al. 2006) and the westward shocks of Haiti earthquake (M = 7.1) from the “stress
transfer of deformations. waves” generated in Chile focal area, which are on the
All earthquakes were connected each other world- same meridian.
wide by these “stress waves” and foreshocks and The most difficult is to determine the magnitude of
aftershocks could be placed at various lithosphere the future earthquake from the pendulum use point
plates. The preparation area of an earthquake has of view. It is necessary to utilise some more analyses
global scale from this point of view. a methods here. One of the basic ones is establishing
the deficit in expenditure of energy or deformation
on some section of a fault or subduction zone, so-
called seismic gap. By adding up the magnitudes of the
4 PREDICTION OF EARTHQUAKES
observed events on a given section of a fault and by the
comparison with a long-term mean energy expenditure
The deterministic prediction of earthquake seems to
it is possible to estimate the amount of energy that
be solved main task of seismology.
could break free in the case that the whole section shifts
How can we predict the earthquake by means of
at once. As a good example, one can use the estimate of
vertical static pendulums, i.e. how can we specify the
the place and magnitude of the Haiti earthquake, which
time window in which we can expect the earthquake
was presented in 2008 at the Caribbean Conference
occurrence, the area in which the accumulated energy
(Mann et al. 2008).
is going to release and expected earthquake magni-
The time period for which the precursors mani-
tude? Specifying the time window in which we can
fest themselves may help estimate the magnitude of
expect the earthquake is the easiest task from our point
a future event using pendulums or gravimeters. We
of view. Why? The pendulum deviation (massif defor-
can then make a conservative estimate of the mag-
mation) and noise depend on stress of rocks. More
nitude for instance based on the next relation (see
specifically, the pendulum deviations are proportional
Fig. 11)
to time derivation of relevant components of stress ten-
sor in the rocks surrounding the pendulum, and the
noise is proportional to strain. Thus, it is possible to
identify the time period when stress is increasing and to
estimate even its relative value when compared to the
strength limit of the rocks surrounding the pendulum. where T is period of nucleation period sensu lato, start-
Localisation of a future earthquake focal point ing by arriving of “stress waves” (see for example
is more difficult task. Because we’ll probably never Fig. 10).
be able to measure the complete stress tensor and its
changes in an intact environment not affected by the
underground working itself or a cave where the pendu-
lums are placed, we’ll always measure the stress field,
affected by these openings. Therefore we’ll always
have to interpret the results of the massif deformation
with regard to the measurement geometry, geometry
of the measured space, tectonic situation of the space
and other factors.
We found that the pendulums working close to the
big or active faults, are very sensitive on the stress
changes in the direction of faults. That is why we were
able to recognise the nucleation phase sensu stricto of
Kurile earthquake on the distance more than 10000 km Figure 10. Histogram of number of peaks of “stress waves”
from their source, but only by one (in cave No. 13C) mapped to the corresponding local meridian according to
pendulum in operation. pendulums P6 in Příbram and in Ida mine.

801

Figure 11. The dependence of nucleation period on magni-
tude.
5 CONCLUSION
We can conclude from our results that earthquakes are
predictable. Not all of them, but realistically those with
M ≥ 6. Then, the precursors more than 1 day prior to
the main shock should be observed.
Five from eight earthquakes with M ≥ 7.5 on
Eurasian plate were predictable and only two of eight
earthquakes on other lithosphere plates were pre-
dictable (the precursors were recognised) in Central
Europe.
The earthquakes are triggered by a set of exogenic
factors like irradiation, tides, changes of the length of
the day (LOD), change of atmospheric pressure, hurri-
canes, snow cover, and precipitation. Solar irradiation
and tides seems to be the main triggering mechanisms.
Prior to the main shock, so-called “stress waves”
have often been observed. These “stress waves” are
likely to be generated near focal areas of earthquakes.
Due to their low periods and a low attenuation, they
were observed on the opposite side of the globe. Based
on the time pattern of the “stress waves” it is possible
to estimate the local meridian of focal area.
The earthquakes should be observed globally
reflecting that all lithosphere plates are in a mutual
contact and the deformation or shift of one of them
causes the change of stress and movement of the others.
Therefore the earthquakes occur in series. The fore-
shocks and aftershocks shall be located globally, not
only in the near area of the epicentre.
By interconnecting the deformometers like pendu-
lums and other measuring devices globally into one
system it should be possible to monitor the mutual
interactions of the lithosphere plates and estimate the
development of other deformations and stress trans-
fer from one area to the other and thus estimate the
other potentially dangerous areas of future big earth-
quakes. That cannot be monitored and measured with
one type of equipment only but it is necessary to
build a global network, which would show the sta-
tus and development of stress in a given area, on the
whole lithosphere plate and on contacts between the
plates.
802
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Strains recorded by using seismic acquisition unit

X.H. Yang, S.X. Yang, Y. Wang, G.H. Zhang, F.S. Liu & Y.Z. Liu
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA, P.R.China

ABSTRACT: A seismometer acquisition has been used in Changping observing station to gather the output
of strainmeter. The original sampling rate of the strainmeter is 1 time per minute, it’s 100 Hz for seismometer
acquisition. Plenty of higher frequency data are recorded and the minutely data calculated from seismometer
acquisition are consistency with that of the original data sampled by strain acquisition. Spectrum of the strain
waves are compared with seismic wave recorded by a seismometer in Shisanling seismic station, their trend are
almost the same, but some lower frequency ingredients existed in strain waves.

1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Most precursor instruments are digitalized in our coun-

try in this years, their sampling rate is 1 time per
minute. Signals such as daily, monthly, yearly or longer
periodic information are hided in the observational
data. Under normal circumstances, these information
are enough to researcher for the earthquake situation
analysis. However, the sampling rate of seismometer
is higher a lot, it is 100 times per second.
Can the precursor instruments observe higher fre-
quency information ? In fact, higher frequency strain
waves are recorded by bore hole strainmeter in simu-
lated records. In few years, high frequency sampling
data has been tried in some earthquake observing sta-
tion along with the fast development of the observing
techniques. One Hz sampling data with the water level
measurement was recorded in Fujian[1], integrated
water level oscillation was recorded. A test which
observe water level oscillation with EDAS-3 acquisi-
tion unit was devoloped by Shu youliang[3] in Zhouzhi
station, Shannxi province. In the application of high
frequency sampling data, Zhang Ziguang compared
the strain value induced by seismic surface wave and
the change of water level in Tangshan mining well[4].
Many precursor instruments, such as bore hole
strainmeters and underground fluid measurement
units, are used in Changping Earthquake Observing
Station (short title CP Station). A seismometer acqui-
sition unit has been used to record strains of the RZB-1
bore hole strainometer in our observatory since 2008,
it shows that nuch more information was recorded in
the data.
2 DATA RECORDS
RZB-1 strainmeter is a high precision and sensitivity
instrument devoloped by prof. Ouyang Zuxi, Insti-
tute of Crustal Dynamics, CEA. This instrument was
Figure 1. Strain recorded by seismometer acquisition
(upper: 1#, middle:2# and lower:4#).
installed in CP Station in 1989. It has 4 measure-
ment units, but 3 units (1#-NS, 2#-N45◦ W, 4-N45◦ E)
remains now because of the 3rd one broken down in
2008. All of the 3 units generate raw data minutely. The
seismometer acquisition, EDAS-24IP, is manufactured
by Beijing Gangzhen Mechanical Electronic Technol-
ogy Co., Ltd., and it has 3 channels. We connected the
3 units with the 3 channels respectively, the sampling
rate is 100 Hz.
2.1 Continuous record
Plenty of data because of 100 Hz sampling, here we
just draw the curves of one hour record (Fig. 1) on
Aug. 29, 2008, from 00:00:00 to 00:59:59.
Based on the highly frequency sampling data, we
calculated their minutely data, then the whole day
observing data on Aug. 29, 2008 are worked out. Their
original minutely data (sampled by strain acquisition)
and the calculated minutely curve are plotted as fol-
low (Fig. 2), the left column show the original sampling
data curves, and the right column are the high sampling
curves.

805
Figure 2. The original sampling curves (left) Vs the high
sampling curves.
Figure 3. Strains gathered by strainmeter acquisition and
calculated based on highly acquisition.
Figure 4. Strain wave recorded in CP Station (upper: unit
1#, middle: unit 2#, lower: unit 4#).
2.2 Events records
There is a M7.3 earthquake occurred in the east sea-
coast of Honshu in Japan at 10:39:30, Jul. 19, 2008.
The distance of epicenter is about 2276 km. All of
the two acquisitions have recorded this event. The
minutely curves, gathered by the original and calcu-
lated according to the highly sampling, are given below
(Figure 3). The strains curves from original acquisition
is on the left column, and the highly sampling is on the
right.
Fortunately, another station, the Shisanling Earth-
quake observing Station (SSL for abbreviation) is just
located 3 km away from CP station. There a seismome-
ter work better, and we can compare our strain wave
with that of the real seismic wave, see Figure 4 and
Figure 5.
806
Figure 5. Seismic wave recorded at SSL Station (upper:
vertical, middle: EW, lower: NS).
Table 1. Seismic parameters of the M7.3 earthquake,
Jul. 19, 2008, in Japan.
Records Arrival time Wave speed∗
Min-sec km· s −1
P S L Vp Vs VL
CP station 44-03 47-55 49-23 8.33 4.51 3.83
SSL Station 44-1.8 48-56.8 49-31.1 8.45 4.49 3.78
∗
Apparent velocity
3 ANALYSIS
3.1 Time domain
Compare the left column and the right column in
Fig. 2, it shows that the minutely data generated by
strain acquisition are almost the same with that of
the curves calculated from the highly sampling data
respectively. When an event occurred (Figure 3), the
minutely waveform recorded by seismic acquisition
are more integrated, it has top half and bottom half
amplitude, however, the top half seems lost in the
record of strainmenter acquisition.
Then we compare the waveform of strain wave from
CP station with the seismic wave from SSL station
(Fig. 4 Vs Fig. 5), the seismic wave has more clear
P, S and surface waves, the strain wave also have P
and surface waves, but its S waves are very weak
comparatively.
Based on the epicenter distance and the travel time
of waves, we get some parameters as the following
table 1.
From table 1, where Vp, Vs and VL is the apparent
velocity of P, S and Surface wave, respectively. The
results show that the two kinds of waveforms has little
error, and this results are consistent with Shu Youliang
et al.
3.2 Frequency domain
The FFT spectrums of the strain wave (Figure 4) and
the seismic wave (Fig. 5) are calculated, see as Figure 6.

Figure 6. FFT spectrums of strain wave (left) Vs Seismic
wave (right).
It shows that the spectrum of the two are similar in
whole trend, some details are different. The spectrum
of strain wave has some energy at lower frequency
(∼10-3 Hz), and dominant frequency of the seismic
waves is relatively concentrated around 1 Hz.
4 DISCUSS AND CONCLUSION
We took an experiment in CP station, which gather
the strainmeter output by using the seismic acquisi-
tion unit, since 2008, and plenty of observing data
are recorded. Through simple comparing analysis with
the strain acquisition and SSL seismometer records,
it shows that much more information in the highly
frequency sampling data.
4.1 Conclusions
– Seismic acquisition can be used to gather the
output of the strainmeter. The minutely data cal-
culated according to the highly sampling series are
consistency with the strain acquisition output.
– The minutely waveform are more integrated and
undistorted while events occurred. All of the top
half and bottom half amplitudes are existed in
highly sampling curves, while the top half has been
lost in the strain acquisition records.
– Strain oscillation or strain wave has been recorded
by using seismic acquisition unit in highly fre-
quency sampling almost the same with seismome-
ter, just the amplitude of S wave is very weak. This
maybe caused by frequency response of the two
different kinds instruments.
807
– Seismic parameters calculated based on the arrival
time of several seismic phase for strain wave and
seismic wave, the results show little error between
the two, and the value of wave speed is reasonable
and consistency with former research.
– The results of FFT spectrum analysis show that,
energy exist at lower frequency band for the strain
records.
4.2 Discuss
Seismic wave, such as P, S and surface wave, can trig-
ger so-called strain wave or strain oscillation, compare
these wave with that of the seismic waves generated
by seismometer, their waveforms are similar. Seismic
phase parameters gotten from strain wave are also
equal to the seismic wave approximately, as well their
spectrums.
However, different on their application aim and
constructions, their frequency responses are not the
same, the seismic wave show more clear P, S arrive,
and amplitudes are stronger. Vertical component is an
important unit in seismometer, however, all compo-
nents are horizontal for strainmeter. Now we just take
some simple analysis with the observing data, farther
study will be done in the future.
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Liao Lixia, Chen Changyong & Ni Xiaoying et.al. 2009.
Comparison of the Ability for Recording Earthquakes
Using Water level of Different Models Instruments. Earth-
quake Research 33(2): 137–144.
Shu Youliang & Zhang Shimin.2004. A comparative study
of digital recording of seismic water-level fluctuations
in Zhouzhi deep borehole with seismographic record-
ings. SEISMOLOGICAL AND GEOMAGNETIC OBSER-
VATION RESEARCH 24(5): 26–31.
Zhang Ziguang, Wan Dikun & Dong Shouyu. 1998.
RESEARCH AND APPLICATION OF COMPARISON
BETWEEN WATER LEVEL VIBRATION AND FACE
WAVE. EARHQUAKE 18(4): 399–404.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

A new type of multi-component borehole instrument for continuous

monitoring of crustal deformation

Z.X. Ouyang
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Deep borehole observation can eliminate effectively various earth’s surface interferences, pro-
viding considerable advantage over other geophysical measurements made at the ground, and improve greatly
our capability to detect very small deformations and vibrations in the surrounding strata. This new technol-
ogy will promote consequently our understanding of presently active geological processes and its relation to
earthquakes and tectonics. Based on previous experiences of developing RZB type borehole strainmeter a new
multi-component borehole instrument for deep boreholes has been developed. The new system, namely RZB-3
multi-component borehole instrument is a complete package consisting of strain, tilt, strain seismic waves and
ground temperature measurement units in a stainless-steel pressure cylinder with 102 mm outside diameter. Fur-
thermore, another three channels provide the assistant observation including well temperature, well water level
and atmospheric pressure. The multi-component borehole instruments were installed at a few sites in Beijing,
Sichuan and Fujian provinces. This new instruments can run at maximum sensitivity to provide strain resolution
of 0.1 nanostrain with the maximum of 5 × 105 nanostrain and tilt resolution of 1 nanorad with the maximum of
5 microrad. Up to now these instruments have observed good tidal signals, strain-steps associated with large earth-
quakes, and strain changes of geophysical interests. Some details relate to design of the multi-component borehole
instruments and the relevant observation data were presented, and primary analyses were discussed as well.

1 INTRODUCTION Based on previous success of developing RZB type

Deep boreholes enable the high S/N ratio geophysical
observations for detecting very small tectonic strain,
tilt and vibration signals with negligible artificial dis-
turbances and meteorological noises. But the cost of
digging deep borehole is very expensive, therefore, the
only way is to develop the multi-component borehole
instrument to cut down the total cost for establishing
of an compositive observation station.
During last decade, the borehole strain project
has progressed from a small instrumentation research
effort to a larger-scale monitoring program. In USA
175 borehole strainmeters as part of Earthscope/PBO
Project are to be installed in boreholes of depth of
∼200 meters, other scientific instruments installed in
succession in PBO strainmeter boreholes will include
a 3-component seismometer, a pore pressure moni-
tor and, in some cases, a two-component tiltmeter.
A multifunctional geophysical observation station is
ultimately setting up based on application of multi-
fold borehole instruments (Gladwin M. 1984, Sacks I.
1971, Linde A. et al. 1996, PBO whitepaper). Unlike
the technology used in USA, a new type of bore-
hole instruments comprising sensors for the moni-
toring of strain, tilt, seismic waves, magnetic field
and temperature was developed in Japan. Such instru-
ments are installed in boreholes of depth between
150 m ∼ 800 m, the deepest one among them up to now
being 1200 m (Ishii H. et al. 2001, 2003).
borehole strainmeter, a new multi-component bore-
hole instrument for deep borehole observatories has
been developed in China. This new device, namely
RZB-3, is an integrated borehole observation sys-
tem including of strain, tilt, strain-seismic waves,
ground temperature observation and an electronic
compass. The downhole measuring device resides near
the bottom of the hole, of which the target depth is
150 ∼ 500 m to isolate them from most of the human
and environmental induced disturbances (Ouyang Z.
1977, Ouyang Z. et al. 1988B, 2009, Jiang J. 1998).
Some new RZB-3 instruments were installed at a
few sites of tectonic interests in Beijing and Fujian,
Sichuan, Yunnan provinces. The instruments have
observed strain and tilt tidal signals, strain-steps
associated with large earthquakes, and strain seis-
mic waves. In this paper some details of the new
multi-component borehole instruments design and the
relevant observation data are presented, and primary
analyses are discussed as well.
2 MEASUREMENT OF BOREHOLE STRAIN
2.1 Basic formulas
Borehole strainmeter comprises a resilient metal cylin-
der prestressed into a borehole with an expansive
grout so that the tube follows the deformation of the

809
rock exactly to provide meaningful information about
changes in the crustal strain state. The equations below
assume a homogeneous, isotropic, elastic half-space, a
three layer nested modal was presented and the diame-
ter change along θ direction can be written as (Jaeger J.
1976, Ouyang Z. 1988A)
Where ε1 and ε2 are horizontal principal strain in the
crust, α is the azimuth of strain sensor S1 , A and B
are coupling factors representing affects of steel tube,
elastic characteristics of cement and surrounding rock,
and their geometry.
2.2 Advantages of four component arrangement
The RZB type borehole strainmeter has four strain
sensors oriented 45 degrees apart. The independent
measurements of change in length along each axis Si
(i = 1,2,3,4) can be combined to obtain other strain
components that describe the horizontal strain tensor:
the areal strain, and 2 shear strains which are of more
straightforward meaning for understanding tectonic
strain state.
For strains S1 and S3 , when they are orthogonal, the
sum strain combination S can be obtained based on
equation (1),
Equation (2) shows that the sum of any two orthog-
onal measured strains of a RZB borehole strainmeter
equals to the areal strain in the surrounding crust.
In addition, we can also get the difference strain
combination S = S1 − S3 , which is
Here εθθ , ελλ and εθλ are NS strain component, EW
strain component and shear strain component, respec-
tively. Considering that S1 and S3 strain sensors are
orthogonal, we have
QD is the shear strain factor for difference strain
combination and αD is an azimuth to which the original
coordinate system should rotate. τD is the shear strain
in the rotated coordinate system and equals half of
S = S1 − S3 .
From discussion above that four strain components
can be divided into two groups of orthogonal sensors,
the areal strain obtained from a group should be the
same as from another. This may be a diagnostic tool of
any false strain steps and variations of output probably
caused by instrument problems, curing of the grout and
deformation from very local rock wall. By using four
810
strain component configuration areal strain and shear
strain are easier to monitor with higher reliability.
Borehole strainmeters are calibrated firstly by the
manufacturer in a laboratory. Subsequently in-situ cal-
ibration by using tidal analysis can be carried out.
The in-situ calibration involves comparing the strain
changes induced by the earth tides and ocean loading
as measured by the instrument with those predicted
by theory. Owing to advantages of four strain sensor
arrangement, coupling factors A and B can be inferred
independently (Hart R. et al. 1996, Jiang J. 2000, Qiu Z.
et al. 2005).
3 RZB-3 BOREHOLE INTEGRATED
OBSERVATION SYSTEM
3.1 System Outline
The RZB-3 system consists of a downhole measur-
ing instrument and a ground surface electronic box.
Schematic illustration (Fig. 1) shows the configuration
of the new system. The downhole integrated device is
composed of a strain unit (6 strain sensors: 4 for hor-
izontal, 1 for vertical and 1 for reference), a tilt unit
(2 orthogonal tilt sensors), a strain seismometer unit
(3 sensors), a thermometer, and an electronic compass,
housed in a compositive cylinder with outer diameter
of 102 mm.
In order to clearly detect strains as small as 10−10 ,
it is necessary to use displacement transducers with
sensitivity better than 0.01 nm. The capacitance dis-
placement transducer becomes preferred sensors for
application in designs of strainmeters, tiltmeters and
strain seismometers. A differential capacitive plate
transducer was adopted to measure changes in the
borehole diameter. Four strain sensors oriented 45
degrees apart are used and stacked above each other
within a steel cylinder. As the cylinder is deformed, the
central plate moves between two outer plates with the
result that two gaps between the central plate and outer
plates vary differentially. It causes a change in capac-
itance proportional to the variation in diameter of the
cylinder, resembling the structure of RZB-1 borehole
strainmeter (Ouyang Z. 1977, 1988B).
The traditional vertical pendulum configuration
was adopted in design of tilt sensors. A suspended
mass, as the central plate, and two outer metal plates
form a three plate capacitance displacement sensor.
As the ground is inclined, the suspended mass swings
freely forth and back under the influence of gravity,
the mass position is detected by the capacitive posi-
tion sensor. The instrument employs two orthogonal
tilt sensors to provide the complete tilt vector data
(Jones R. 1970).
Design of the electronic measurement and con-
trol circuits for downhole strain and tilt measuring
units was uniform. There are two circuit boards as
shown in Figure 1. The major roles of the MCU are
to acquire signals from each sensor, convert analog
signals to digital data in 24bit and send out the con-
verted digital data to the LAD via RS-485 data bus.

Figure 1. Schematic view of the new RZB-3 system.
It also distributes the power to individual sensor mod-
ules. Although strain-seismic waves are detected by
capacitance displacement sensors, its outputs will be
magnified and send uphole in analogue form other
than strain and tilt signals.
The RZB-3 downhole measuring device has a size
with 102 mm outer diameter and 1500 mm to 5200 mm
length depending on how many observation units are
incorporated in the instrument.
The up-hole electronic box comprises four main
sections (Fig. 1): LAD board (low-sampling rate A/D
converter), HAD board (high-sampling rate A/D con-
verter), COM board (communication unit) and PSB
board (power subsystems).A multi-core cable provides
connection for digital and analogue signal and power
supply between the downhole device and the up-hole
electronic box, including a twisted-pair RS485 serial
link.
Besides sending the data sampling and other con-
trol signal downhole, the LAD receives data and the
time reference signals from an external time refer-
ence signal through the serial link and synchronizes
the internal RTC to the reference. The data collected
by RS-485 data bus are handled by an ARM micro-
processor, and the data are processed to give lower
sample-rate data. All data are stored in digital format
in the storage acquisition of LAD and HAD boards
at the ground, the nominal data rate are as follows:
1 Hz sampling rate for strain, tilt and ground tem-
perature; 200-Hz sampling rate for broadband strain
seismic waves. Each station site must have a continu-
ous, reliable, IP connection for forwarding data to the
data acquisition computer located in each datacenter
of provinces or autonomous regions. The COM board
is optically isolated from the communication module.
The system is operated by rechargeable batteries,
which provides a 12V supply. A regulated voltage
811
supply of ± 9V powers the downhole devices and all
integrated units are powered in parallel.
3.2 The data bus and system integration
The RS-485 is among the most successful standards for
industrial applications. The RS-485 standard allows
for bidirectional, multi-point, party-line communica-
tions, with data rates to 10 M bits/second (10 Mbps)
and line lengths to 1200 meters. Differential trans-
mission provides good noise immunity. All downhole
integrated units are connected together by RS485 data
bus, forming a node, and also linked with ground elec-
tronic box. The distributed control system composed
of an ARM microprocessor of LAD board and several
downhole MCU systems is finally implemented.
3.3 Installation of the instrument
After completion of the borehole drilling and casing,
the first installation step is to decide the target depth
for the integrated observation system installation from
viewing the core samples and any geophysical logging
data such as temperature logging and borehole inclina-
tion logging. The relative orientation of the sensors is
already fixed and known. The absolute orientation of
the installed system can be subsequently determined
at installation time. The next step is grouting. A pipe
provides a conduit for cement pumping. In order for
the cement to set up properly, the instrument package
has to be completely undisturbed for ∼1 day after the
cement is introduced.
Fig. 2 shows a new RZB-3 instrument installation at
Zhangzhou 253 m deep well as an example.The system
is an integrated package consisting of a strain segment
(4 horizontal sensors and 1 reference), a reserved strain
segment (4 horizontal sensors and 1 reference), a tilt
segment (2 orthogonal tilt sensors), a borehole strain
seismometer (3 sensors) and a geothemometer, form-
ing a whole borehole observatory of about 4.63 meters
in length. The reason for including a reserved strain
unit to the primary one is the requirement for a long
service life. A cable connecting the sensors uphole
provides simultaneity of a digital data connection via
RS-485 link and an analogue signal transmission line
only for the strain seismometer.
Furthermore, another three channels provide the
access of assistant observation including well tem-
perature, well water level and atmospheric pressure.
One measure of instrument installation is the degree to
which the strainmeter is undergoing net compression,
which can be estimated by computing the areal strain
from the raw data. On the other hand, the success of
the system in recording strain and tilt tide signals a few
days after installation is another important indication.
4 DATA AND PRIMARY RESULTS
4.1 Noise Level and Long-term Stability of the
System
The raw strain data of Changping station, BEIJING
for the period, October 4, 2008 until June 20, 2009

Figure 2. Photograph showing RZB-3 instrument installed
at Zhangzhou station just before the downhole device was
sent to the 253 m deep borehole. 1-Electronic compass;
2-Strain segment; 3-Reserved strain segment; 4-Borehole
strain seismometer; 5-Tilt segment; 6-Geothemometer.
Figure 3. Strain data from Changping Station. The plot
shows ∼9 months of raw data for four strain components.
Amplitude scale is given in 10 nanostrain and contracting is
down. Data rate is 1 sample/minute.
was given in Fig. 3. The downhole instrument was
cemented in 215 m deep borehole on September 28,
2008, the data has been recorded since a few days later.
The reasons for the cessation of instrument operation
in April are due to the failure of rechargeable batteries.
It is apparent that two strain sensors are extending, but
the areal strain is contracting at the same time.
The contractional trend presumably caused mainly
by curing of the grout (over a period of 3-6 months)
812
Figure 4. Time series of output from the reference trans-
ducer of Changping instrument. Amplitude scale unit is 50
microstrain and the data rate is 1 sample/minute.
and relaxation of the borehole. The strainmeter runs
at almost maximum sensitivity to provide resolution
of nanostrain with maximum of ±5 × 105 nanostrain
recorded locally at a normal rate of 1 sample/second
(sps) on each sensor.
The strainmeter has a reference sensor which is iso-
lated from borehole deformation and specially used
to monitor the long-term drift and electric interfer-
ences of the system. Fig. 4 shows the raw data of
reference sensor of Changping instrument. It can be
seen that after 3 months since installation the long-
term stability of the reference sensor is better than 1
nanostrain/month as far as instrumental or electronic
drifts to be concerned, rather than problems resulting
from localized deformation in the grout or the borehole
wall.
The filtered data can get from LAD board to pro-
vide lower sample-rate data, namely 1 sample/minute
(spm) for each channel with a lower signal-to-noise
ratio in the tidal band. At Changping, the noise level
of the strainmeter in the tidal band is improved to about
0.1 nanostrain similar to other stations.
4.2 Tide Analysis
Strain tidal signals are clearly recorded for most instru-
ments installed. Figure 5 shows the strain and tilt data
of Zhangzhou station, Fujian province on January,
2010 as an example. The downhole instrument was
cemented on December 7, 2008.
Tide analyses were applied to extract an M2 areal
strain tide for Changping instrument and find that in
most cases the M2 signal is fairly well in phase with the
predicted tide and remain consistent over long periods
of time (Table 1). At the same time, the M2 amplitude
changes gradually with time by a small amount. For
this comparison we filtered the data to hourly samples
and used 30 day window. Calculations are done for
the M2 tide constituents using the EIS2000 program
and results were in an East-North coordinate system
(Jiang J. et al. 2000).
We also find that the phases of M2 shear com-
ponents for Changping instrument are in reasonable
 Figure 6. Two time serials of the areal strain observed at
Zhangzhou station during December, 2009.

Table 2. Results of correlation analysis

Time (year. month) Correlation

2009. 1 0.9998
2009. 2 0.9994
2009. 3 0.9984
2009. 4 0.9687
2009. 5 0.8937
2009. 6 0.9816
2009. 7 0.9910
2009. 8 0.9953
2009. 9 0.9993
2009. 10 0.9991
2009. 11 0.9974
2009. 12 0.9968

4.3 Uniformity inspection of four component

arrangement
As noted above, there are four sensors oriented 45
degrees apart from each other in RZB borehole strain-
Figure 5. Raw data obtained at Zhangzhou Station during meter. The sum of strain changes of any two orthogonal
January, 2010. Data rate is 1 sample/minute. (a) strain with sensors equals to the areal strain of the surrounding
amplitude scale of 10 nanostrain and contracting down; (b) crust. The results from two combinations out of four
tilt with amplitude scale of 1 arc. sec. sensors should be uniformity. Figure 6 is an example
showing good uniformity of two time serials of the
Table 1. Results of tidal analysis for Changping instrument. areal strain observed at Zhangzhou station.
(The unit of phase lag is degree.) Correlation analysis was performed on 12 one
month windows to the data obtained at Zhangzhou
Areal strain Shear strain station to evaluate the data quality. Correlation factors
Time Tide factor/phase lag Tide factor/phase lag
between (S1 + S3 ) and (S2 + S4 ) are listed in Table 2.
2008.11 0.2091/7.6958 0.1574/−2.4959 We find that two time serials are quite identical in the
2008.12 0.2058/6.7138 0.1477/−9.5678 year of 2009.
2009.01 0.2070/6.0519 0.1554/−9.5592
2009.02 0.2041/6.2803 0.1427/−11.185
2009.03 0.2080/6.6516 0.1527/−9.8215 5 DISCUSSION

Deep borehole can eliminate effectively various earth’s

agreement with predicted phases. Above results were
calculated from raw data, and only laboratory calibra-
tion was applied.
Tilt tidal signals are also clearly recorded. Tide anal-
yses were applied to evaluate the data quality. We find
that EW tilt tidal amplitude was distinctly bigger than
other stations. Having considered Zhangzhou station is
located 28 km to the coast, large amplitude is presum-
ably caused by local ocean tidal loading. The reasons
for the drift on tilt NS channel are unknown for the
time being.
surface interferences to provide high S/N ratio mon-
itoring capability and multy-component observation
system integrated in a complete package that is easy
to install in deep borehole are two important features
in borehole observation technology. The data obtained
with RZB-3 system from a few wells deeper than 200
meters revealed prospective characters of lower noise
and long term stability.
Four component arrangement for borehole strain
measurement is characterized by two aspects. Firstly,
the sum strain combination inspecting of two groups
may be a diagnostic tool to find out any false steps and

813
variations of strain output probably caused by instru-
ment problems, grout curing and deformation from
very local rock wall. Secondly, owing to four strain
component configuration the areal strain and the shear
strain are easier to monitor with higher reliability and
can be inferred independently.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank my team member: Zhang Jun, Chen Zheng,
Li Tao, Wu Liheng, Shi Jieshan, Zhang Zongrun and
Fan Guosheng for collaboration for years, and Li Tao
again, for assisting with tide analyses. This work was
supported by the ministry of science and technology
of P.R.C. grant-2004DIB 3J132.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Using fiber Bragg grating in geothermal monitoring

K. Li, Z.A. Zhou & A.C. Liu

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

X.P. Ye
Institute of Fiber Sensing of Beijing Pi-optics Co. Ltd., Beijing, China

H.X. Li & D.Q. Cheng

Huailai Seismostation of Hebei Earthquake Administration, Hebei China

ABSTRACT: Earthquake precursor monitoring is the foundation of earthquake prediction and geothermal
monitoring is one of the basic methods of earthquake precursor monitoring. High temperature well contains
more information and therefore its monitoring is more important. However, electric sensors are hard to meet
the monitoring requirements of high sensitivity and long lifetime. For a better observation of the earthquake
precursor, a high sensitive fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor is designed to monitoring a well at
87.5 ± 1◦ C. The performance of the FBG sensor demonstrates that it’s quite possible that applying FBG to
high-sensitivity temperature-monitoring fields, such as geothermal monitoring. As far as we known, it is the
first time that trying a high sensitive FBG temperature sensor in a practical application, let alone in the field of
geothermal monitoring.

1 INTRODUCTION an effective way to tune the strain of FBG in arbitrary

Earthquake precursor monitoring is the foundation
of earthquake prediction and geothermal monitoring
is one of the basic methods of earthquake precursor
monitoring. Geothermal monitoring also reflects the
Stress-strain, and therefore being a good complement
to Stress-strain observation. High temperature well
contains more information and therefore its monitor-
ing is more important. However, electric sensor is hard
to meet the monitoring requirements (high sensitivity
and long lifetime).
As a new generation sensing element, fiber Bragg
grating has lots of advantages, such as immunity
to electromagnetic interference and ease in signal
transmission, which are very appealing to the field
of geothermal monitoring. And temperature monitor-
ing based on FBG is one of its hottest applications
(Lee, 2003). FBG is sensitive to both temperature and
strain by shifting its resonance Bragg wavelength. Its
intrinsic temperature sensitivity is about 10 pm/◦ C.
For achieving a higher sensitivity, people first try
to improve its sensitivity by attaching it to a large
CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) material (Cruz
1996, Mizunami 2001). So when temperature changes,
FBG will response to both temperature and the pull
from the large CTE material. The disadvantage of this
method is that the improvements of their sensitivities
are fixed and limited by the CTE of the bonding mate-
rials, and its sensitivity is improved about 10 times in
maximum (Jung 1999). Then, bimetal is adopted as
proposition to temperature (Jung 1999) and by which
the temperature sensitivity and accuracy even reaches
709 pm/◦ C and 0.05◦ C, respectively (Li et al. 2008).
There always is a tradeoff between sensitivity and
measurement range, therefore the low strain tunabil-
ity of FBG (normally 5 nm) confines its temperature
measurement range. For high and low temperature
measurement, variable measurement ranges (Li et al.
2009a) and minus temperature coefficients (Li et al.
2009b) are introduced.
In this paper, we have designed a FBG geothermal
sensor base on the principle by (Li et al. 2009a). Then
it was placed into a well (located at Huailai county,
Hebei Province, China, 500 m in depth, temperature
at 87.5 ± 1◦ C), and an electric-quartz sensor was also
placed for comparison. As far as we known, it was
the first time trying a high sensitive FBG temperature
sensor in a practical application, let alone in the field
of geothermal monitoring.
2 SENSOR DESIGN
First we made a sensing head as described by (Li et al.
2009a), and tuning the measurement range to include
the temperature of from 85◦ C to 89◦ C. For using it
under water, we encapsulated it by an aluminum alloy
tube. And for eliminating the influence of the shape
change of the aluminum alloy tube, only one end of
the base metal of the bimetal was connected with the

815
Figure 1. Five months results of the FBG sensor.
Figure 2. The abnormal results of the first electric sensor.
tube. A heavy block was added on the head of the tube
to add its mass for an easy sinking into water.
3 EXPERIMENT AND RESULTS DISCUSSION
FBG used in experiments were written with phase
masks. Their grating length and bandwidth (FWHM)
are ∼14 mm and ∼0.15 nm, respectively. A broad-
band light source with 40 nm spectral width (1525–
1565 nm) is applied. The accuracy and resolution of
the demodulator (Pi05, Pioptics Inc) are ±3 pm and
1 pm, respectively. An high sensitive FBG temperature
sensor was manufactured. Aluminum alloy and invar
alloy were chosen to constitute the bimetal. The length
of Aluminum alloy strip is 450 mm and the length of
invar is 412 mm. The original Bragg wavelength is
1534.2 nm. Its sensitivity is tested (Li et al. 2008), and
it is ∼280 pm/◦ C.
Then, it was placed into a well (500 m in depth,
temperature at 87.5 ± 1◦ C, located at Huailai county,
Hebei Province, China), together with an electric-
quartz sensor (sensitivity 0.0001◦ C, accuracy 0.05◦ C).
The monitoring results of the FBG sensor in
5months are shown in Figure 1. From its performance,
the process of becoming stable is shown. At first
two months, there were obvious drifts. They might
result from the slacking of the epoxy adhesive fix-
ing FBG with metals, since the epoxy adhesive was
always pulled by FBG. Some data were missed, but
it had nothing to do with the sensor. It was because
816
Figure 3. One day results of the second electric sensor.
Figure 4. The same day results of the FBG sensor.
that sometimes the demodulator was out of power and
sometimes the fiber was accidently curled too much
due to other machines installment.
At first, the electric-quartz temperature sensor
worked abnormally, and its results are shown in Fig-
ure 2. It was taken out for check. It worked normally
again at room temperature, so the possible reason of
its working abnormal at the well might be due to the
high temperature.
After about 2 months, we noticed that the results of
sensor1 became stable. Then, another electric-quartz
sensor (same type) was put in and its results agreed
well with sensor1 in one day comparison. Their one-
day monitoring results (every minute per point) are
shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, respectively.
4 CONCLUSION
A FBG geothermal sensor working at ∼87◦ C is pre-
sented. In observation: a) the FBG sensor was more
stable than electric-quartz temperature sensors; b) at
the beginning, there were obvious zero drift in the
results of the FBG sensor; c) after about 2 month, the
zero drift was almost disappeared, and the FBG sensor
agreed well with an electric-quartz temperature sensor
in the comparison of one-day results. It has demon-
strated that it’s quite possible that applying FBG to
high-sensitivity temperature-monitoring fields, such
as geothermal monitoring.
As first trial of applying FBG to a practical appli-
cation, this FBG sensor is still not mature, and has a
very serious obstacle, zero drift, need to be overcome.
This problem may be solved by changing the adhesive
or eliminating the adhesive by FBG metallization and
weld.
This work was supported by the research grant
from Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake
Administration (No. ZDJ2009-19), Chinese National
Science Foundation (0209405) and 973 Program
(2010CB327806).
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Lee, B. 2003 Review of the present status of optical fiber
sensors. Optical Fiber Technology 9: 57–79
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Cruz, J.L. et al. 1996 Improved thermal sensitivity of fibre
Bragg gratings using a polymer overlayer. Electronics
Letters 32: 385–387.
Mizunami, T et al. 2001 High-sensitivity cryogenic
fibre-Bragg-grating temperature sensors using Teflon
substrates, Measurement Science and Technology 12:
914–917.
Jung, J. et al. 1999. Fiber Bragg grating temperature sen-
sor with controllable sensitivity. Applied Optics 38:
2752–2754.
Li, K. et al. 2008. The application of fiber Bragg grat-
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Li, K. et al. 2009a. A method of manufacturing high sen-
sitive fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors at high
temperature. Acta Optica Sinica (in Chinese) 29: 249–251
Li, K. et al. 2009b. A high sensitive fiber Bragg grating
cryogenic temperature sensor. Chinese Optics Letters 7:
121–123
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

PS InSAR time-series analysis for monitoring ground subsidence

B. Liu, Y. Luo, J.F. Zhang, L.X. Gong & W.L. Jiang

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration

ABSTRACT: Strong groundwater extraction has led to subsidence of some areas in many cities of the world,
and this phenomenon has been becoming more and more serious in recent 30 years in China. Ground subsidence
at the rate of few centimetres per year can be measured using methods of precise leveling, and more recently the
GPS. Recent advances in the SAR interferometry, especially with the Permanent Scatterer InSAR (PS InSAR) is
an appropriate remote sensing technique for measuring ground subsidence in urban areas at high accuracy and
low costs. In this work two time-series of 29 JERS and 41 ENVISAT ASAR acquisitions of Suzhou-Wuxi Jiangsu
Province, covering the period from October 1992 to October 2008 (JERS 1992–1998, ASAR 2004–2008), were
analyzed. We validate the results by comparing subsidence measurements collected in some points of this area
with precise leveling, which are in agreement with each other (relative error within 3 mm/a for JERS). The maps
of ground subsidence velocity in Suzhou-Wuxi areas is also obtained with JERS and ASAR images respectively,
in which several subsidence centers are discovered. In addition, by comparing the results of PS InSAR with the
history of groundwater exploitation, it indicates that ground subsidence in Suzhou-Wuxi areas is induced by
groundwater over-extracted.
Keywords: PS-InSAR; Subsidence; ENVISAT ASAR; JERS

1 INTRODUCTION This paper presents an application of PS InSAR

Groundwater over-pumping has led to serious ground
subsidence in many cities of the world, and this phe-
nomenon has been becoming more and more serious
in recent 30 years in China. Rapid increase of ground-
water use started since 1980’s when Suzhou-Wuxi
areas were urbanized, people and the industries used
groundwater as the main water resource. The more
groundwater use the more ground subsidence will
happen and ground deformation at the rate of few
centimetres per year can be measured at the heavy
groundwater pumping stations. Therefore, it is impor-
tant to be able to measure the subsidence values as
a support to a better management of groundwater,
in order to minimize future subsidence. Although
many traditional methods such as precise levelling and
GPS techniques can provide subsidence information,
they are high cost, time-consuming and inefficient for
monitoring large areas.
Permanent scatter InSAR (PS-InSAR) is an exten-
sion of conventional InSAR, which has the advantage
of overcoming the traditional InSAR problems of tem-
poral and spatial decorrelation and atmospheric signal
contributions. PS InSAR technique puts emphasis on
processing time series of SAR interferograms by rec-
ognizing and analyzing single scatterers with a stable
backscatter intensity or reliable phase behavior in time,
which can measure ground subsidence in urban areas
at high accuracy and low costs.
technique (Ferretti et al, 2001) for detecting and mon-
itoring ground subsidence in Suzhou-Wuxi areas of
Jiangsu Province. In our work, two time-series of
29 JERS and 41 ENVISAT ASAR acquisitions
of Suzhou-Wuxi Jiangsu Province, covering the period
from October 1992 to October 2008 (JERS 1992–
1998, ASAR 2004–2008), were analyzed. We validate
the results by comparing subsidence measurements
collected in some points of this area with leveling,
which are in agreement with each other (relative error
within 3 mm/a for JERS). We alos obtain the maps
of ground subsidence velocity in Suzhou-Wuxi areas
based on JERS and ASAR respectively, and discover
several subsiding centers. In addition, by comparing
the results of PS InSAR with the history of groundwa-
ter exploitation, it indicates that ground subsidence
in Suzhou-Wuxi areas is induced by groundwater
over-extracted.
2 STUDY AREAS AND DATASET ANALYSIS
In this work, we lay emphasis study on Suzhou-Wuxi
areas, which is about 100 × 100 km2 . In this area ,the
terrain is flat, of which average height is 10 m below,
and just few mountains locate in the west , near the Tai
Lake (fig.1). As a tourism area, building in this area
has more long years, and moreover, this area is full of
lakes and rivers.

819
Figure 1. The position of study areas (DEM with ETM image
surface).
Figure 2. Temporal-spatial baselines of JERS (left) and
ASAR (right) pairs.
To perform the Suzhou-Wuxi PS InSAR analysis,
29 JERS and 41 ENVISAT ASAR images have been
selected in the period of October 1992 to October 2008
(JERS 1992–1998, ASAR 2004–2008). It is necessary
to refer all images to same reference geometry so that
a single pixel corresponds to the same ground resolu-
tion cell in each acquisition. Therefore, a master image
is chosen having an optimal relative temporal and per-
pendicular baseline and Doppler shift regarding the
slave images (Ferretti et al, 2001). In our process, we
set master images acquired at 1996-04-02, 2006-06-
29 for our JERS and ASAR images correspondingly.
Fig. 2 shows the distributions of the slave JERS or
ASAR images refering to the master image for tem-
poral baseline against perpendicular baseline. Effects
of topography were removed from the interferograms
using a 3-arc-second (∼90 m) resolution Shuttle Radar
Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model
(DEM).
3 DATA PROCESSING
In our process, the PS InSAR processing is performed
using the EARTHVIEW software. Because the cur-
rent PS InSAR processing algorithm is not applicable
to process big areas (>30 km × 30 km), and more-
over, PS InSAR process is also confined due to the
dense water system in the test areas. The method of
image partitioning is firstly proposed in our work, with
which we acquire very good results. For JERS, urban
areas is divided into big patch in the image, such as
Suzhou, Changshu; areas in dense water system and
dense vegetation are in smaller patches. For ASAR,
we divide the image into 12 patches evenly. Fig. 3
820
Figure 3. patches of JERS (left) and ASAR (right).
Figure 4. Annual subsidence velocity maps of JERS (left)
and ASAR (right).
shows the results of JERS and ASAR image partition-
ing. The pre-processing steps are generally divided
into three parts: 1) data prepare; 2) interferometric
process; 3) image partitioning. For every patch, post-
processing is the following steps: 4) PS points extract
and analysis; 5) model refinement, non-deformation
phase remove and deformation phase extract; 6) defor-
mation maps and histories generation. In addition, in
order to assemble all the deformation maps, we fit
adjacent deformation maps based on PS points of over-
lapping patches with higher coherence. Fig. 4 shows
the annual subsidence velocity maps of JERS and
ASAR with PS InSAR technique.
4 RESULT ANALYSIS
4.1 Distribution of subsidence centers
We detect and validate several subsidence centers in
Suzhou-Wuxi areas (blue areas in fig. 4). The annual
subsidence velocity of representative PS points is anal-
ysed in some subsidence centers, which indicates that
the annual subsidence velocity reduced significantly
after 2004. During the same period, the parliament
of Jiangsu decided that the groundwater mining was
forbidden in southern Jiangsu province. The ground-
water pump number has drastically reduced from
2.88 × 108 m3 to 0.4 × 108 m3 between 2000 and 2004.
It indicates that ground subsidence in Suzhou-Wuxi
areas is induced by groundwater over-extracted. The
following maps (fig. 5 and fig. 6) show the accumu-
lated subsidence of some PS points in fig. 4.
Figure 5. Accumulated subsidence of JERS PS points.

Table 1. Comparison of the annual subsidence velocity of

PS InSAR and precise leveling (mm/a).

InSAR
P1 for
Leveling InSAR reference Relative
Points (1993–2000) (1992–1998) (1992–1998) error

P1 0.00 −28.92 0.00 0.00

P2 −50.59 −77.31 −48.39 −2.20
P3 −16.08 −47.06 −18.14 2.06
P4 −32.20 −59.17 −30.25 −1.95
P5 −3.52 −34.96 −6.04 2.52
P6 −30.90 −59.15 −30.23 −0.67

4.2 Subsidence of Suzhou and suburb

Figure 6. Accumulated subsidence of JERS PS points.
The annual subsidence velocity maps of Suzhou and
suburbs are shown in fig. 7, with which some JERS
PS points of Suzhou and suburb are recognized. P1 has
a little subsidence in this area, the annual subsidence
velocity of other points can be worked out according to
the result of P1. The results are in agreement with that
of leveling between 1992 with 1998, and the relative
error is less than ±3 mm/a (table 1). Some beneficial
results are obtained in our analysis, which is listed as
follows: 1) The max subsidence velocity of Suzhou is
over 50 mm/a during 1992–1998, while that is just less
than 15 mm/year after 2004 (fig. 8); 2) The subsidence
velocity in urban is less than that of suburbs after 2004.

821

Figure 7. Annual subsidence velocity maps of Suzhou and
suburbs (JERS:left, ASAR:right).
Figure 8. Comparison of accumulated subsidence of JERS
and ASAR.
5 CONCLUSIONS
PS InSAR technique is applied to detect and monitor
ground subsidence in Suzhou-Wuxi areas of Jiangsu
Province. Several subsidence centers are recognized
822
in accumulated subsidence maps based on JERS and
ENVISAT ASAR PS InSAR analysis. In addition, the
annual subsidence velocity is also obtained in our
work, the relative error of which is less than 3 mm/a.
The result demonstrates that PS InSAR is an effective
tool for mapping ground subsidence in urban areas.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study has been supported by research grants from
National 863 Program of China (2006AA12Z150),
National Natural Science Funds (40774023) and the
project Dragon 2 (5343). ENVISAT ASAR data used
in this work are provide by European Space Agency
(ESA), and the JERS SAR data are provide by JAXA.
SRTM DEM is provided by NASA. Leveling data
is provided by Geologic Survey of Jiangsu Province
(JSGS). Other data is provided by SuZhou Water
Conservancy Agency. Thanks a lot to ShuLiang Wu,
JianQiang Wu and Yefei Zhu (JSGS) for their help in
our work.
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Ferretti, A., Prati, C. & Rocca, F. 2001. Permanent Scatterers
in SAR Interferometry. IEEE transactions on geoscience
and remote sensing 39(1): 8–20.
Gehlot, S., Ketelaar, V.B.H., Verbree, E. & Hanssen, R.F.
2005. Conceptual Framework for PS-InSAR Interpreta-
tion Assisted by Geo-information Technology. In ISPRS
Workshop on“High Resolution Earth Imaging for Geospa-
tial Information”; Hannover, Germany, 17–20 May 2005.
Sousa, J.J., Ruiz, A.M., Hanssen, R.F., Perski, Z., Bastos,
L., Gil, A.J. & Zaldívar, J.G. 2008. PS-Insar Measure-
ment of Ground Subsidence in Granada Area (Betic
Cordillera, Spain). 13th FIG Symposium on Deformation
Measurement and Analysis & 14th IAG Symposium on
Geotechnical and Structural Engineering; LIBON, 12–15
May 2008.
Nanjing Institute of geologic and minerals 2001. Geologic
Survey of Jiangsu/Zhejiang/Shanghai “Briefly report of
land subsidence survey in Yangtze Delta (south of the
Yangtze River)”.
Tang, Y.X., Zhang, H. & Wang, C. 2006. Long term Mon-
itoring of Urban Subsidence by Permanent Scatterers
DInSAR. Progress in Natural Science 16(8): 1015–1020.
Luo, Y., Zhang J.F., Zeng, Q.M., Wu, J.Q., Gong, L.X., Jiang,
W.L. & Dai, Y.Q. 2008. PS InSAR monitoring of land
subsidence in Suzhou. Proc. Dragon 1 Programme Final
Results 2004–2007; Beijing P.R. China, 21–25 April 2008.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Application of sand layer strain based on granule medium to earthquake

prediction

A.X. Wu
Earthquake Administration of Beijing Municipality, Beijing 100080, China

ABSTRACT: The sand layer strain records are a new-style strain data with some physical basis and prediction
significance, whose measure principle is based on granular media theory and whose observational instruments
have been installed in the sand layer with very fine particles. The evolution characteristics of sand layer strain
observational data and the abnormal forms of earthquake precursory at different distances at Changping and
Tongzhou stations have been systematically analyzed to consider that the sand layer strain records are a compre-
hensive strain response in the crust at different distance, and including the change compositions with extremely
complex and meaningful information with very rich. The clear precursor change features and impending informa-
tions were remarkably demonstrated before some earthquakes with different epicentral distances and magnitudes.
Specifically, there were some unloading variations with large-scales and large amplitudes, and can reflect the
precursor images of seismogenic processes to the large earthquakes, which may reveal certain physical models
and precursor evidences of seismogenic processes. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve some successful predic-
tions for the devastating earthquakes, rather than the unpredictability of the earthquakes. According to the above
reasons and facts, the sand layer strain with the novelty, the unique physical property and certain precursory
significance have obvious differences with the other traditional strain. Therefore, there will be the exploring
significance in earthquake prediction used by the sand layer strain data.

1 INTRODUCTION The sand layer strain gauge was developed by Bei-

Based on different scales, granular media is abound
in the natural world, such as planets in the universe,
the Earth’s interior plates, sands on the beach, fault
gouges in earthquakes rupture zone, everyone in soci-
ety, even in the fault surface of the earthquake inside
the earth, and so on. Since the 1990s, the theoretical
study on granular media began to gradually rise, fol-
lowed by the rapid development and became one of
the best international hot (Sornette, et al. 1994; Jen-
nifer, et al. 2005; Zhao, et al. 2007; Wu, et al. 2007;
Peng, et al. 2007). However, this theory in earthquake
research and practical prediction involved very little.
The sand layer strain gauge, whose observations
based on granular media theory (Sornette, et al. 1994;
Jennifer, et al. 2005; Zhao, et al. 2007; Wu, et al. 2007;
Peng, et al. 2007), which were installed into a uniform
sand layer in the strain observations and experimen-
tal research, have been put into observing in recent
years, whose observation ways are clearly different
with the traditional strain instruments. The significant
difference strain records have been obtained and are
undoubtedly a new type of strain data with a certain
physical observable significance, which can reflect
the characteristics of granular media under certain
conditions. These data has been obtained the initial
application in the impending earthquake prediction
(Sun, 2007; Sun, et al. 2008; Wu, et al. 2009a; 2009b).
jing Precision Technology Co. Ltd. The instrument
is consist of the three recording directions with a
good linear frequency response range of 0.002 to 4.0
and sensitivity of nm/2mV. The preliminary research
and analysis to the sand layer strain data recorded by
Changping and Tongzhou stations in Beijing area from
January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009 will be expected
to obtain the characteristics of non-seismic factors of
the records and their preliminary application results in
earthquake prediction in this paper, and thus which
can promote the rapid development of observation
and theory based on granular media, explore the spe-
cific applications of new methods about earthquake
prediction to improve the actual capacity of seismic
observation and prediction.
2 THE ANALYSIS ON THE NON-SEISMIC
PRECURSORY ANOMALY FACTORS
OF SAND STRAIN RECORD
2.1 The trend characteristics of background
variations recorded by the sand layer
strain gauge
The cycles on the sand layer strain and body strain
records at Changping station were calculated based on
the maximum entropy spectrum (Kay & Marple, 1981;

823
Figure 1. The cycle results for body strain and sand layer
strain estimated by maximum entropy spectrum at Changping
station.
Figure 2. The daily changes characteristics of the stability
record of sand layer strain at Chang station.
Wu, et al. 2004) to show that the body strain have a
very good significantly cycle component of the daily
(24.7 hours), half-day (12.4 hours) and half-month
(14.8 days) (Figure 1a), while the sand layer strain
records only have the most significant diurnal cycle
(about 24 hours) and the other longer and more com-
plex cycles (Figure 1b-d). Therefore, the sand layer
strain has the apparent inconsistency to the tide based
on general continuous medium (with 4 lines) in the
cycle elements.
The original record nature of the sand layer strain
(Figure 2) and the above results of cycle estimation
have synthetically been analyzed to obtain the trend
characteristics of background variation about sand
layer strain records at Tongzhou and Changping sta-
tions, and it is thought that there is only a significant
daily variation features (with two lines) in sand layer
strain records, whose image is not response to solid
tide. So the argument of ‘soil layer solid tide’ pro-
posed by Beijing Precision Technology Co. Ltd, who
is instrument maker, is completely rejected.
824
Figure 3. The typical information of disturbance changes of
sand layer strain records at Changping and Tongzhou station.
Figure 4. The typical activities fault with cycle from the
sand layer strain records at Tongzhou station.
2.2 The interference factors from the sand layer
strain records
The sand layer strain data for Changping and Tongzhou
stations have systematically been analyzed to show
that the sand layer strain records are integrated strain
response in crust at different distance. The signal
components of second value time sequences have
been quantitatively estimated by the maximum entropy
spectrum to discover that the main interference com-
ponents (Figure 3) for the sand layer strain records
exist in the high-frequency: such as, the clear pulse-
cycles of 42 minutes may be the results of fault
activity (Figure 4), the significantly cycles of 1.5 min-
utes are obviously inconsistent with the background
changes, it may be related to the high-frequency activ-
ity around stations. Certainly, there may also be shorter
cycles, such as the more high-frequency noise changes
recorded by Changping station (Figure 3).
Based on the above results of the quantitative
estimation and systematic analysis on all the sand

Figure 5. The coseismal response of Wenchuan Ms8.0
earthquake recorded by sand layer strain gauge at Tongzhou
and Changping stations in Beijing.
layer strain records, the interfering factors can be
summarized as follows: high-frequency interferences,
up random pulse sequences, similar to the image
changes from time to time, slow changes with low-
frequency, etc.
Through the comparing of interfering types and
the analysis of the internal mechanism for sand layer
strain records, it is thought that these interference
components are mainly affected and controlled by the
temperature changes, a large number of fault activi-
ties around the stations, pressure changes, instrument
closed, voltage fluctuation, the linear range of record-
ing instruments, media properties and other factors,
to create the complexity of recording composition
about the sand layer records with different stations and
their different directions, but have obviously different
with the normal changes in the background trends and
impending information before some earthquakes.
2.3 The characteristics of coseismic responses
recorded by sand layer strain gauge
The coseismal changes from the sand layer strain
records for the world’s some strong earthquakes
have fully been searched to only found that there
exist the obvious coseismic responses caused by the
Wenchuan earthquake. By carefully comparing the
coseismic response characteristics at the Changping
and Tongzhou stations (Figure 5), we found that the
coseismic records with different stations have sig-
nificant difference. The possible internal mechanism
about these differences has been analyzed to deem that
only the special factors controlled by the Wenchuan
earthquake can be the key to recording the coseis-
mal changes of the Wenchuan earthquake, such as the
enormous magnitude, an appropriate distance from the
epicenter, the consistency of the rupturing direction
and the recording direction, etc.
For the other earthquakes with lower magnitudes,
it is difficult to stimulate strain wave, or far away
from the epicenter, the complexity to the medium in
825
Figure 6. The sand layer strain gauge have recorded trend
changes (east-west direction) before and after Wenchuan
Ms8.0 earthquake and Chile Ms8.5 earthquake at Changping
station.
propagation path. Thus, the high-frequency compo-
nents of strain wave have been filtered through the
complex granular medium in propagating path, and
their energy loss were almost depleted, so that the sand
strain gauges can not record coseismic changes in the
vast majority strong earthquakes. Since, it can be seen
the coseismic changes in the sand layer strain based
on granular media theory have significant differences
with the other strain records based on the continuum
media theory.
3 THE SEISMIC PRECURSORY ANOMALY
CHARACTERISTICS, CHANGE
INFORMATIONS AND STATISTICAL
DISTRIBUTION CHARACTERISTICS
REFLECTED BY THE SAND LAYER STRAIN
RECORDS
By comparing the sand layer strain records and earth-
quakes occurred, we discover that such new obser-
vational strain data have unloading change trends
with different scales and short-impending precursor
features with different magnitude:
1) The recording characteristics of the sand layer
strain before and after some strong earthquakes
occurred in the far-field have systematically been
analyzed to find out that the sand layer strain
records were in the unloading process with rel-
atively slow variations, the larger variation mag-
nitude, the longer duration (a half months to six
months, there are certain relationships with the
magnitude) (Figure 6) and significant changes in
at least a direction before and after the 23 earth-
quakes with Ms >= 7 in the 37 earthquakes, and
the number of strong earthquakes that occurred
during the unloading process markedly increased,
approximately accounted for 62.2%, with signifi-
cant statistical properties and meaning (at least 1
observed direction) (Figure 9). The statistics on a
large number of earthquakes show that such change
have a clear directivity, and which may be closely
related to the media characteristics in propaga-
tion path, also is the inherent relationship with
the media properties at the station (eg, Tongzhou
station is located in the fault, the medium have par-
ticle properties, while Chang station is far from the
Figure 7. The sand layer strain gauge have recorded typi-
cal images of trend change before and after some historical
earthquakes with different epicentral distance, magnitude and
stations. a) for the Indian Ocean Ms8.7 earthquake, b) for the
Tangshan Ms7.8 earthquake, Figure c) for the horinger Ms6.3
earthquake and Figure d) for the Wenan Ms5.1 earthquake. Figure 8. The trend variation of LURR during earthquakes
and rock fracture experiments. a) The constitutive relation of
a system, b) the variation of LURR before large earthquake,
fault, the media have continuous integrity proper- c) LURR anomaly during rock fracture experiments of gran-
ties, so the different media properties could caused ite rock specimens, d) LURR anomaly during rock fracture
experiments of granite sandstone rock specimens.
the different strain responses to the sand layer strain
records) and the recording direction.
2) In particular, the Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake on
May 12, 2008 and Chile Ms8.5 earthquake on
February 27, 2009 with the most obvious per-
formance in the 37 earthquakes had significant
strain loading and unloading process significant
amplitude changes with large-scale (Figure 6) and
with long-term sustainability from November 1,
2007 to May 18, 2008 and from June 2009 to
the present, separately. The Figure 6 is the com-
plete strain evolution process recorded by the sand
layer strain gauge at Changping station before
and after the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,
2008 and the Chile earthquake on February 27,
2009. All the records from the current point have
been comparatively studied to find that this change Figure 9. The sand layer strain gauge have recorded the
process (Figure 6) is a typical large-scale precur- unloading process with the different scales (parallel to the
sor images of the sand layer strain, which mainly breaking direction) and the strong earthquake that occurred
include five change stages of markedly different in this periods at Tongzhou station.
characteristics for fast-loading strain stage with
enhanced strain and a certain strain disturbance,
strain locked in a stalemate balance stage with the
a certain degree of similarity to LURR (load/unload
basic steady change, rapid unloading stage with
response ratio) (Wang, et al. 1998; Yin, et al. 2009)
feature of disturbance and rapid decline, short clin-
curve of rock testing and some strong earthquakes
ical change stage with strain disturbance changes,
(Figure 8), and this may reflect the same intrinsic
calm before the earthquake and magnitude of con-
variation mechanism, namely, the sand layer may be
traction, impending signals stage with appears of
record the actual changes about stress, strain and rock
unilateral pulse phenomena, and post-earthquake
deformation in the seismogenic process to some major
recovery stage (Figure 6 and Figure 10).
earthquakes. Although such images can be recorded
The above 5 change stages have integrity and by not all stations and their observing directions, but
continuity in dynamic evolution process, and have they have reproducibility, which were rare in other
significant of magnitude and differences of stages earthquake precursor observation in the past. Once
on changing characteristics. By the images of the again, the images of seismogenic process with typical-
Wenchuan earthquake and Chile earthquake compar- ity and physical meaning observed by the Wenchuan
ing with the images of the typical history earthquake huge earthquake and Chile Ms8.5 earthquake, further
cases (Figure 7), it is thought that the typical process have proved that the physical model to typical seis-
basically repeat the seismic precursory anomaly image mogenic process based rock testing is credible for
repeatedly observed by the sand layer strain gauge at some huge earthquakes, and have a practical signifi-
home and abroad (Figure 6 and Figure 7). At the same cance in strong earthquake prediction, particularly for
time, we also found that such change images have devastating earthquakes.

826

Figure 10. The change characteristics of impending signal
of the sand layer strain before Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake.
Figure 11. The change characteristics of impending sig-
nal of the sand layer strain before and after Suihua Ms4.5
earthquake on May 10, 2009 in Heilongjiang.
3) The sand layer strain records before the 54 earth-
quakes with ML >= 4.0 at the far-field in China
were systematically analyzed to find that there
were 23 earthquakes, accounting for 42.6%, before
the earthquake with obvious changes at least in
one direction. The change features mainly include
the quickly unload or up pulse, and then quickly
decay with small-scale (Figure 10), or a very
clear impending change signals without the notable
unload process before the earthquake (Figure 11).
The anomalies generally exist in the 1-2 directions
and more stations, but the arrival time of anomalies
is inconsistent, such as the Anda Ms4.5 earthquake
in Heilongjiang Province (Figure 2), Yellow Sea
Ms4.1 earthquake, Panzhihua Ms6.1 earthquake
in Sichuan, Yutian Ms7.3 earthquake in Xinjiang,
Zhongba Ms6.8 earthquake in Tibet, Wenchuan
strong aftershocks, and so on. Such anomalies
may be closely related to sensitive media nature at
propagation path and the recording direction, and
has a clear directivity and sensitivity. Otherwise,
it would be difficult to record the change infor-
mation by the sand layer strain gauges before the
small-middle earthquakes occurred in the far-field.
4) Through the comparison analysis of the sand layer
strain records and 7 earthquakes with Ms>=3
occurred around the stations, it is thought that
the changes have no large-scale unloading pro-
cess with 1-3 days occurred before the earthquake,
change fast and short duration, and which may have
827
a certain relationship with magnitude; Generally,
the anomalies with essentially the same arrival time
exist in the three recording directions, but some-
times may be two directions or more stations, it
is shown that the anomalies are not sensitive to
direction, and proved that the abnormality infor-
mation could be from the near-field signals, which
are mainly impending signal features of sand layer
strain in the near-field. Such earthquakes have 5,
accounting for 71.4%, but less shock cases.
The comprehensive researching and summarizing
on the above anomaly evolution images of earthquakes
with different magnitude and epicentral distance in far
and nearly field, it is thought that the abnormal per-
formance characteristics at the different distances are
clearly not the same, there are some differences, which
will provide an indication meaning and a specific crite-
rions to more scientifically recognize the far or nearly
field abnormality.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The observational data of the sand layer strain have
been synthetically analyzed to show that the sand
layer strain based on the granular media theory should
be a comprehensive strain response in the crust at
different distance, whose recording components are
extremely complex, including the change informations
of the trigger point, propagation path and observation
stations. The records of the background trend, inter-
ference factors, the coseismic responses, abnormal
changes in morphological performance have a close
relationship with the epicentral distance, propagation
path, media nature at station and recording direction,
and the sand layer strain has significantly different
from the other strain based on the continuous medium
theory.
The earthquake cases with different epicentral dis-
tance and magnitude were studied to show that there
are impending signal responses of the sand layer strain
before strong earthquakes in far-field, the earthquakes
occurred in the unloading period have obvious statis-
tical significance, and have disturbed changes or the
secondary scale unloading change processes before
some strong-middle earthquakes, while there are cer-
tain rapid changes with short time before or when some
earthquakes in the near-field. There is a certain arrival
time difference, which potentially react the abnormal
propagation characteristics at different distances and
on different directions, in different recording direction
and stations to the sand layer strain anomalies reflected
by different distances. This is not in other earthquake
precursory anomaly observation, and will provide the
necessary conditions for judgements of orientation and
determining of epicentral distances to the earthquakes
ocurred in the future, also is an most important crite-
rion in valid distinction between the time and location
of earthquake. So it is thought that the sand layer strain
recording gauge is a “seismometers” or “locator” of
seismogenic abnormality.
 In particular, through the comparative analysis of
the strain records before and after the Wenchuan earth-
quake on May 12, 2008, Chile earthquake on February
27, 2009 and change processes of enormous historical
earthquake cases, it is found that the two type images
are very similar, and thought that the images may be a
true reflection of the presence of their precursor evo-
lutions in the seismogenic process of the Wenchuan
huge earthquake and Chile huge earthquake. Based
on such images with repeatability in a number of
major earthquakes, thus it is not difficult to see that
the occuring process of large earthquakes may indeed
have their own evolution law, the unique seismogenic
process and the possessing physical model. So, it is
hopeful to achieve effective prediction of the partial
devastating earthquakes, enhance the predictability of
earthquakes rather than the unpredictability of the
earthquake (Geller & Kagan, 1997).
In a word, there are the significant signal changes or
abnormal informations to the sand layer strain records
before or when the earthquakes with different epicen-
ter distances and magnitudes, which have verified the
novelty and uniqueness of the sand strain records, and
there may be some evidences and significance of earth-
quake precursors in some earthquakes. However, the
sand strain observation based on the theory of granular
media is still a young earthquake monitoring project
applied to the earthquake prediction, and there natu-
rally are a lot of problems. So, we need further study
and clarification on the sand strain data, this should
be the focus of future work, with a certain exploration
meaning.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is supported by Earthquake Administration
of Beijing Municipality.
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observational recording of sand layer strain and its analysis
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simulation and experimental research for solid gran-
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Confined well water level: An approach to measure seismic

induced strain changes on site

F.Q. Huang
China Earthquake Network Center, CEA Beijing
Institute of Geophysics, CEA, Beijing

Y. Zhang & G.J. Lai

Institute of Geophysics, CEA, Beijing

R. Yan
China Earthquake Network Center, CEA Beijing

ABSTRACT: We collected all of the well-water level data and bore-hole volume strain data with step-like
changes induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, and then compared the two kinds of data simultaneously
obtained from one-well and obtained from two monitoring network, based on earth tide standardization within
poro-elastic theory. The results are as follows: a) from the one-well data, the amplitude of standardized well
water level is closely related to the standardized bore hole volume strain, the correlated coefficient is more than
98%; b) from the monitoring network data, the standardized amplitude of well water level changes is in the
same order with the standardized amplitude of bore-hole volume strain changes. We inferred that the well water
level can be as an approach to measure earthquake induced volume strain changes on site under the frame of
poro-elasticity.

1 INTRODUCTION
Seismic induced strain/stress changes are useful for
evaluating the risk of following earthquakes after
a large earthquake occurred. While measuring the
strain/stress changes on site is not easy and cheap.
Scientists keep trying to find approaches. Decades
years ago scientists declaimed that confined well-
aquifer system can be considered as strain meter
according to the observation of water level oscilla-
tion changes induced by seismic waves and earth tide
based on poroelastic theory (Blanchard and Byerly,
1935; Bovarson, 1970; Kano, 2005). Poro-elastic the-
ory gives the relationship between water level and the
volume strain changes. That suggests that we can get
volume strain changes from well water level. While
according to the water level steps induced by earth-
quakes, the results are controversial because some
cases of the steps in a well kept decreasing or increas-
ing regardless the compression or extension static
stress/strain changes simulated from different earth-
quakes based on dislocation model (Wakita, 1975;
Roeloffs, 1998; Matsumoto, 2002; Brodsky, 2002).
That means the seismic induced oscillation changes
of water level can be explained by poro-elastic the-
ory while the step-like changes are controversial. The
epicentral distance and the direction of water level are
the two key problems. In near field, most of the water
level changes induced by earthquakes are consistent
with the static strain changes but few are exceptional
(Wakita, 1975; Roeloffs, 1998); while in far field,
the static strain exponentially decreased with epicen-
tral distance in 1/r−3 , the static strain changes are
not enough for the well water level changes (Manga,
2003). The far field water level changes induced by
earthquakes were explained as energy from seismic
wave propagation (Wang, 2008).
Lots of water level and volume strain changes
induced by recently worldwide occurred large earth-
quakes were observed in China Earthquake Moni-
toring Network. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is
the strongest earthquake after digital precursory mon-
itoring network since July 2007. Water level and
volume strain changes induced by the large event were
observed from near field to far field. With comparison
of the water level and volume strain changes simul-
taneously observed in one well observed in different
monitoring network, we try to find the relationship
between them.
It was found that even in far field, the water level
rose with increasing volume strain changes with time,
the correlation coefficient between water level and
volume strain is more than 98%; but the ratio of
water level to volume strain changed with different
earthquakes. It is suggested that water level changes
induced by earthquakes essentially represent volume
strain changes.

829
2 BACKGROUND OF MONITORING
NETWORKS BOTH FOR BOREHOLE
VOLUME STRAIN AND GROUNDWATER

2.1 Groundwater monitoring network

In Chinese Mainland, groundwater observation aiding
for earthquake precursors has been carried out system-
atically since 1960s. There were more than 400 wells
in the monitoring network in 1994. The depth is from
hundreds meters to decades hundreds meters. All the
wells have well confined aquifer system. The aquifer
system condition is consistent with poro-elastic the-
ory. The data were recorded by analogue techniques
and sampled by people worked in observation stations.
Since 1999, digital techniques have been gradually
introduced to data sampling and recording system.
Till the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, there have been
more than 200 wells with digital recording systems.
The precision of the sensor for hydraulic pressure is
0.5 mm. The sensor is linked with Digital data record-
ing system and automatically recorded one time per
minute. The data are sent to local data collecting cen-
ter near real time for revision and then telemetered to
China Earthquake Network Center (CENC) one day
later (http://10.5.160.100/fluidnet/).

2.2 Borehole volume strain monitoring network

There have been more than 70 stations for volume
strain observation since July 2007. Most of the strain
meters were self-designed and self-made by China
Earthquake Administration. Part of them is Sacks. The
precision of the self-made strain meter is 10−9 .
Most of the boreholes are located on stable rocks.
The depth of boreholes is decades meters or about
100 meters. The data of volume strain meter are sam-
pled and collected as the same as that of groundwater
observation system. The background information is
obtained from Prof. Qiu Zehua and Ms. Chen Zhiyao
via personal communication.
3 DATA AND DATA ANALYSIS METHOD
Figure 1. To remove the information of earth tide and
atmosphere pressure from water level time series (a) and
from borehole volume strain time series (b) of Fuxin sta-
tion in Liaoning Province, Noth-East China to get the 2008
Wenchuan earthquake induced changes.
standardize both the water level and the volume strain
changes with M2 component of earth tide informa-
tion so that we can compare the amplitude of them in
a same standard and avoid the atmospheric effect on
behalf of absent from M2 component in atmospheric
information.

All the data involved in this paper were from China

Earthquake Network Center (CENC). We chose one
well to analyze the relationship between water level
and volume strain changes in far field, and standard-
ized all the data with induced changes by the Wenchuan
earthquake in monitoring network both of ground-
water and volume strain so that we can compare their
amplitude in spatial.
Both the water level and the volume strain time
series include information of earth tide, atmospheric
effect, earthquake induced changes, etc. We removed
the earth tide information and the atmospheric infor-
mation to get the earthquake induced changes with
complicated method described by Yan (2008) and
Zhang (2009).
We analyzed the correlation coefficient of well
water level and volume strain changes simultaneously
observed in one borehole to get the relationship. We
4 DATA PROCESSING RESULTS
4.1 Results in one borehole
We chose data of Fuxin station, Liaoning province of
North-East China to analyze the correlation coefficient
in far field on behalf of the same observation strata so
that we can build up the relationship between water
level and volume strain changes in a same condi-
tion. Such bore hole condition is not general in the
two monitoring network. The bore hole is less than
70 meters deep and with confined aquifer system
to observe water level and volume strain simultane-
ously since October 2005. Both the water level and
the volume strain sensor recorded the 2007 Sumatra
strong earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan earth-
quake. We analyzed the raw data to get the Wenchuan
earthquake induced changes (show in Figure 1). Then

830
Figure 2. The water level and volume strain changes
induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (a) and their cor-
relation (b) The sharp change in water level curve on May
13 was induced by power cut after a thunder attack on the
station.

drew the changes in a same coordinate and calculated

the correlation coefficient (Figure 2). The correlation
coefficient is more than 98%. From the results, we
can inferred that the well water level change is linear
correlated with the volume strain changes induced by
earthquakes even in far field.

4.2 Results in whole monitoring network

We collected the earthquake induced changes from
water level monitoring network and bore hole volume
strain monitoring network. We standardized the data
from station by station with the M2 component of earth
tide information recorded by the station itself. We show
the standardized water level changes in Figure 3a and
standardized volume strain changes in Figure 3b and
combined them in Figure 3c. From Figure 3c we can Figure 3. The standardized water level changes (a), volume
see the standardized amplitudes of water level changes changes (b), and the combination of them (c). Where: the
red line means increasing, the blue line means decreasing.
are comparable with the standardized amplitudes of The Figure were drawn by GMT software downloaded from
volume strain changes induced by the Wenchuan website for free.
earthquake regardless in near field or far field.
We also got the similar results from Sumatra earth-
quake induced changes in Chinese Mainland (Huang, or
2008).

5 DISCUSSIONS

According to poroelastic theory, the pore pres-

sure/water level induced by earthquakes can be
expressed as (Roeloffs, 1998)
Where, B is the Skempton Coefficient, G is shear mod-
ula, νu is undrained Poison’s ratio, θ is volume strain
changes induced by earthquakes, p is pore pressure
changes, H is water level changes, g is gravity, ρ is
the density of fluid.

831
 According to formula (1) or (2), the water level
changes should be linearly correlated with the vol-
ume strain changes induced by earthquakes, and they
should be in same order.
From the above results both in one well’s same tar-
get aquifer system and in two monitoring networks, the
relationship between water level changes and volume
strain changes induced by the 2008 Wenchuan earth-
quake is fit for the poro-elastic theory. That means
that we can infer volume strain changes from water
level changes in wells with confined aquifer systems
after earthquake occurrence under the frame of linear
poro-elastic theory.
While the mechanisms both for water level and for
volume strain changes induced by earthquakes even
in far field remained controversial. Further research is
continuing.
6 CONCLUSIONS
We can get conclusions from above research as fol-
lows, (1) even in far field, the water level change
is linearly correlated with bore hole volume strain
changes induced by large earthquakes simultaneously
observed in one well; (2) the amplitude of standardized
water level and volume strain changes are in the same
order; (3) we can infer volume strain changes from
water level changes induced by earthquakes under the
frame of poro-elasticity. That implies that we have new
approach to measure volume strain changes on site
after earthquakes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper is supported by NSF program with contract
number 40674024. We thank professor Qiu Zehua and
Ms Chen Zhiyao to supply the background information
of bore hole volume strain observation network.
832
REFERENCES
Blanchard F. B. & Byerly P., 1935, A study of a well gauge
as a seismograph, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 25: 313–321.
Bodvarsson, G., 1970. Confined fluids as strain meters.
J. Geophys. Res., 75(14): 2711–2718.
Brodsky E. E., E. A. Roeloffs, D. Woodcock, I. Gall, &
M. Manga. 2003. A mechanism for sustained ground-
water pressure changes induced by distant earthquakes,
J. Geophys. Res., 108(B8):2390.
Huang Fuqiong, 2008, Response of Wells in Groundwater
Monitoring Network in Chinese Mainland to Recent Large
Earthquakes. PhD thesis of Institute of Geophysics, CEA,
pp51–60.
Kano, Y., & T. Yanagidani, A2006, Broadband hydroseismo-
grams observed by closed borehole wells in the Kamioka
mine, central Japan: Response of pore pressure to seismic
waves from 0.05 to 2 Hz, J. Geophys. Res., 111: (B03410):
1–11.
Manga M., Brodsky E.E., Boone M., 2003, Response of
streamflow to multiple earthquakes and implications for
the origin of postseismic discharge changes. Geophys.
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Matsumoto N., G. Kitagawa & E. A. Roeloffs, 2003, Hydro-
logical response to earthquakes in the Haibara well, central
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space decomposition of atmosphere pressure, rainfall and
tidal reponses, Geophys. J Int., 155: 885–898.
Roeloffs E.A., 1998, Persistent water level changes in a
well near Parkfield, California, due to local and distant
earthquakes, J. Geophys. Res, 103(B1): 869–889.
Wakita H., 1975, Water Wells as Possible Indicators of
Tectonic Strain, Science, Vol. 189: 553–555.
Wang C-Y, and Chia Y., 2008, Mechanisms of water level
changes during earthquakes: Near field versus intermedi-
ate field. Geophys. Res. L., 35: L12402, 5 PP.
Yan Ray, 2008, Study of several influence factor of well water
level change, thesis for Master Degree of Institute of
Earthquake Science, pp20–30.
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based on the observation of groundwater of Changping
station, Earthq Sci (2009)22: 631–638.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Rock failure and the evolution of pre-failure signals

F.T. Freund
NASA Ames Research Center, Earth Science Division, Code SGE, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Department of Physics & Astronomy, San José State University, San José, CA, USA
Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, USA

R.P. Dahlgren
Department of Physics & Astronomy, San José State University, San José, CA, USA
Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, USA

J.J. Chu
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: Earthquakes are massive rock failure events. Many large earthquakes are preceded by transient
signals: electromagnetic, magnetic field variations, ionospheric perturbations, changes in soil conductivity, and
other pre-earthquake (pre-EQ) signals. To the surprise of observers some of the pre-EQ signals tend to fade, even
disappear, shortly before the seismic events. The discovery of stress-activated electric currents in rocks provides
a possible explanation. Stresses activate mobile charge carriers in rocks, namely electron vacancy defects (EVD),
also known as positive holes, symbolized by h• . The h• are equivalent to O− in a matrix of O2− . They exist in
unstressed rocks in an electrically inactive, dormant state. When activated the h• flow down stress gradients,
producing an electrical current. At very high stress rates dislocations begin to coalesce into microfractures,
initiating catastrophic failure. They can no longer activate h• charge carriers. As a consequence, pre-rupture
signals will decrease in magnitude.

1 INTRODUCTION piezo-magnetic effects, streaming potentials and oth-

When large-scale tectonic stresses increase in the Earth
crust beyond some critical threshold, faults can fail
catastrophically and cause earthquakes. The same is
true, albeit on a smaller scale, for rock outbursts in
mines and other rock failure events.
Rock rupture falls well into the realm of classical
mechanics and is usually treated in this context.
However, the literature is also replete with reports
that, prior to major earthquakes, the Earth sends out
various pre-earthquake (pre-EQ) signals. They are
non-seismic in nature, sometimes strong, more often
subtle and fleeting. They include magnetic field vari-
ations, electromagnetic (EM) emissions from the VIS
through the IR and RF to ULF/ELF, seismo-electric
signals (SES), various atmospheric and ionospheric
perturbations, and others.
There have been numerous attempts to explain
these different types of non-seismic pre-EQ sig-
nals (for recent reviews see (Uyeda 2009, and Fre-
und 2010). Different processes have been invoked
to explain the variety of pre-EQ signals. For
instance, explanations offered to account for EM
emissions include microfracturing, piezoelectric or
ers. Those offered to account for pre-EQ thermal
infrared anomalies, seen in night-time satellite images,
include increased CO2 emanation from the soil due to
microfracturing in the underlying rocks, or increased
latent heat from the condensation of water on air ions
introduced at ground level by increased radon emana-
tion from the soil, thought to be due to microfracturing
of the underlying rocks. Other types of explanations
are offered to account for or rationalize other types of
pre-EQ signals.
This raises the question whether different pre-EQ
signals require different explanations depending on
the type of signals considered. If the signals have a
common origin – the build-up of stress in the deep
underground – shouldn’t they also be traceable to a
common cause?
It is noteworthy that, because seismologists focus
intently on rock mechanics, the science community
interested in non-seismic pre-EQ signals also seeks
explanations primarily based on rock mechanics. Frac-
ture and microfracture are widely considered to be the
common cause of pre-EQ signals. In this report, we
submit that the focus on fracture and microfracture
has helped to confound the field.

833
 Here we take a very different approach, asking
whether fracturing and microfracturing are needed to
understand the different types of pre-EQ signals.
One characteristic features of pre-EQ signals seems
to be that, while they can often be seen a few days or
hours before major events, it is commonly reported
that they tend to fade away on the last day or during
the last hours before earthquakes occur. In addition, it
is reported that pre-EQ signals are not produced with
orders of magnitude higher intensities during the earth-
quakes themselves, though the moment of fault failure
is obviously the moment of the most forceful and most
intense rock fracture.
The reports of fading pre-EQ signals shortly before
major earthquakes and their weakness or near-absence
during main shocks are difficult to reconcile with the
notion that pre-EQ signals are caused by fracturing
or microfracturing deep in the Earth crust. Indeed,
because of the conflict between fading pre-EQ signals
before the earthquakes and the widely inferred impor-
tance of fracturing or microfracturing, pre-EQ signals
have been discredited and called into question (Geller
1997 & Mulargia 2003).
2 A LONG OVERLOOKED DEFECT IN
ROCK-FORMING MINERALS
New insight regarding non-seismic pre-EQ signals has
been obtained through work aimed at elucidating a
family of point defects in minerals, where the oxida-
tion state of the oxygen anions has changed. Normally
oxygen anions occur in the 2- valence state, but some
change to 1-. This seemingly minor detail has far
reaching consequences.
Peroxy links are point defects, where O3 Si-O-
SiO3 bonds are replaced by O3 Si-OO-SiO3 links or,
more generally O3 X-OO-YO3 with X,Y=Si4+ , Al3+
etc. Peroxy links are introduced into nominally anhy-
drous minerals through incorporation of H2 O when
they crystallize or recrystallize in H2 O–laden high-
temperature environments (Freund 1985). The H2 O
incorporation leads to hydroxyls, O3 (X,Y)-OH, most
commonly hydroxyl pairs, which rearrange electron-
ically during cooling in such a way as to split off an
H2 molecule and form a peroxy link. Because H2 O
is omnipresent in all geological environments, essen-
tially all rocks in Earth’s crust can be expected to carry
a non-zero concentration of peroxy in their constituent
minerals.
Peroxy links are inconspicuous. Though they have
been known for some time (Freund 1985), their
omnipresence in minerals and rocks has escaped the
attention of the geoscience community.
Stresses cause dislocations to move and new dis-
locations to be generated. They lead lead to plastic
deformation, in particular at grain-to-grain contacts
which act as stress concentrators. When dislocations
intersect peroxy links, the electrically inactive peroxy
links break up by causing neighboring O2− to trans-
fer an electron onto the broken peroxy bond (Freund
834
2006). The electron gets trapped and held back, while
the O2− , which had donated the electron, turns into
an electron vacancy defect (EVD), also known as a
positive hole and symbolized by h∗ :
The EVD is an electronic state associated with a
missing electron in the O2− sublattice. It is an elec-
tronic charge carrier, represented by a wavefunction
centered at the oxygen anion where the electron is
missing. The h• resides in energy level at the upper
edge of the valence band. Though silicate minerals are
insulators with respect to electrons, they are p-type
semiconductors with respect to positive holes: h• can
propagate as positive charges through the matrix of the
mineral grains. As they jump from grain to grain, they
are able to propagate through rocks. They travel fast
and far (Freund, 2002).
3 COMMON EXPLANATIONS OF
PRE-EARTHQUAKE SIGNALS
Because seismologists approach earthquakes through
concepts rooted in classical mechanics, most
researchers in the non-seismological community have
also somehow come to focus on mechanical concepts
when considering pre-EQ signals, in particular EM
emissions.
Indeed, the main process invoked in the context of
pre-EQ signals is fracturing and microfracturing. It has
long been noted that, when rocks are stressed to the
point of fracture in a laboratory press, EM emissions
occur ranging from x-rays to visible light to radiofre-
quencies and lower frequencies (Yoshida & Ogawa
2004, Rabinovitch et al. 1995, Yamada et al. 1989).
However, these EM emissions only occur because
the rock cylinders can bulge outward under load.
As a result they develop tensile stresses at the sur-
face, which in turn lead to cracks. The cracks develop
patches of positive and negative charges on opposing
crack surfaces, causing instant and often highly ener-
getic discharges with attendant EM emissions over
a wide energy range (Brady & Rowell 1986, Brady
1992).
The idea that EM signals recorded prior to actual
earthquakes are also caused by rock fracture leads to
a dilemma: If fracturing or microfracturing of rocks
were the source of EM emissions, one would expect
to see the strongest EM emissions at the time of the
earthquakes themselves. However, bursts of strong
EM radiation during earthquakes do not seem to
have ever been observed. This has created widespread
consternation (Hough 2009).
While the concept that fracture and microfracture
are prevalent during the earthquake preparation period
has been inspired by laboratory experiments with
unconstrained rock cylinders, the situation is defi-
nitely very different in actual earthquake situations.
The rocks, which are stressed and will eventually fail
in the Earth’s crust, are not close to the surface but
mostly in the 10–35 km depth range. Under such high
lithostatic overload processes that are based on the
opening of cracks or microcracks become inconceiv-
able. This in turn invalidates the idea that EM signals
could be caused by the opening and closing of cracks
or microcracks deep below.
Piezoelectricity has also been considered as a
process to generate pre-EQ EM emissions. The
only piezoelectric rock-forming mineral is quartz. In
quartz-bearing rocks the piezoelectric dipole axes of
the quartz crystals are always randomly oriented, even
when quartz crystals are morphologically aligned. As a
result, electric dipoles generated in every single quartz
crystal will cancel out, except weakly at the rock sur-
face. Thus, large electric dipoles as needed to account
for the reported strong pre-EQ EM emissions cannot
be due to piezoelectricity, even in quartz-bearing rocks
(Freund 2010).
The electrokinetic (EK) effect is also a poor candi-
date for generating pre-EQ EM signals. EK is due to
streaming potentials, which develop when brines are
pushed through porous media. The potentials build up
because cations are preferentially retained on the walls
of the capillaries, while anions are carried on by the
fluid flow.
Under realistic conditions, with moderately saline
pore solutions, streaming potentials cannot exceed
a few tens or hundreds mV. Importantly, however,
streaming potentials can only be produced in the
uppermost 3–5 km of the crust, where rocks main-
tain an open porosity allowing brines to flow along
stress gradients. In the 7–35 km depth range, where
most crustal earthquakes occur, the lithostatic over-
load closes pores, shutting off fluid flow and, hence,
the possibility of generating sizeable EM signals due
to the EK effect (Galdin et al. 1986).
Even if pre-EQ EM emissions were due to
microfracture or to piezoelectricity or the electroki-
netic effect, the intensities would be expected to not
only increase as the stresses increase, but they should
be most intense in the moment of rupture during earth-
quakes. The observation that pre-EQ EM signals tend
to decrease in intensity or fade away shortly before
earthquakes, suggests that a fundamentally different
generation mechanisms for these signals.
4 STRESS-ACTIVATION OF POSITIVE HOLE
CHARGE CARRIERS
The discovery of stress-activated positive hole charge
carriers in rocks provides a new approach to address
and possibly decipher EM and other pre-EQ signals.
Instead of focusing on microfracturing and fracturing
or on any of the other processes mentioned above,
we can now look at processes arising from elec-
tronic charge carriers that become activated in rocks
through application of stress but without fracturing or
microfracturing.
835
As outlined by eq. (1) electrons e
and positive
hole charge carriers h• are generated when dislocations
sweep through mineral grains as a result of directional
stresses and plastic deformation. While the electrons
e
remain trapped in the broken peroxy bonds, the
h• charge carriers have the remarkable capability to
flow out of the stressed rock volume, down stress
gradients and into unstressed rocks. The situation is
akin to that in an electrochemical battery, where two
types of charge carriers exist, electrons and cations,
which require different paths to flow out of the anodic
subvolume.
In rocks the charge carriers are electrons and pos-
itive holes, e
and h. They lie dormant in unstressed
rocks but become activated by dislocations sweeping
through mineral grains. Fracturing is not needed. Dur-
ing most of the earthquake preparation time, but not
all of it, the rate at which e
and h are generated in the
rocks is a function of the stress rate.
As two portions of interplate or intraplate faults
move relative to each other, asperities often develop.
An asperity is a section of a fault that becomes locked.
The locked sections continue to be pushed against each
other or past each other at a more or less constant
velocity, e.g. strain rate. Assuming a constant strain
rate, the stresses inside the affected rock volume will
increase non-linearly, most likely in an exponential
fashion.
However, as long as the rate at which e
and h• are
activated is a linear function of the stress, a non-linear
increase of stress will rapidly increase the number of
e
and h• charge carriers generated per unit time in the
affected volume.
Once activated, some of the e
and h• charge carriers
will recombine. In a complex system like the Earth’s
crust there will be different types of e
and h• charge
carriers, which recombine at different rates. Exper-
imentally, using gabbro as a representative igneous
rock, we have observed e
and h• charge carriers with
lifetimes ranging from about 1 sec to several hours,
days or even months. The actual increase in the num-
ber of active e
and h• charge carriers within a given
rock volume will therefore be a function of two com-
peting processes: (i) generation due to the increase
in stress and dislocation movement and (ii) annihi-
lation due to recombination or other reactions. The
following questions arise: What happens before catas-
trophic failure when stress rates become very high?
Will the charge carrier generation continue to increase
and eventually overtake all charge carrier annihilation
processes?
5 EVOLUTION OF PRE-EARTHQUAKE
SIGNALS WITH INCREASING STRESS
If the number of e
and h• charge carriers activated
in a rock volume that will eventually contain the
hypocenter increases without limits, we would expect
the strength of the pre-EQ signals to increase up to
and during the catastrophic rupture. The number of e

and h• charge carriers activated, however, is affected
by three controlling factors:
(i) the number of peroxy links in a given rock volume
is limited,
(ii) the number of dislocations that can be mobilized
or generated is also limited, and
(iii) the resistivity of the rocks is finite
(i) limits the number of e
and h• charge carriers that
can be activated in any rock volume because there is
only a finite number of peroxy defects in the system.
An upper limit is reached when all peroxy links are
broken and all positive holes activated.
(ii) arises from the fact that, when the dislocation
density within a given volume becomes very large, the
generation of new dislocations slows down. The rea-
son is that existing dislocations will begin to coalesce,
merging into slip planes (which one could call micro-
faults). As a result of extreme plastic deformation, the
rock will eventually turn into a mylonite, where the
grain size of the minerals is reduced to less than the
interaction length between dislocations. At the same
time h• charge carriers, which have been activated, will
be continuously removed through recombination and
other loss mechanisms
Therefore, if the strength of pre-EQ signals depends
primarily on the number of h• charge carriers activated
in the system and their movement through the rock
volume, any process that removes h• through recom-
bination and other loss mechanisms will weaken the
strength of pre-EQ signals. If the rate of activation of
new h• charge carriers slows down, due to the satu-
ration of the system with dislocations, while the rate
of recombination and other loss mechanisms contin-
ues unabated, the number of h• will go down. If this
happens close to catastrophic failure, the strength of
various pre-EQ signals can indeed be expected to fade.
(iii) limits the amount of current that can flow
through a given cross section of rock. At constant
temperature and if ohmic behavior applies, the cur-
rent increases linearly with voltage. If rocks under
stress can be likened to a battery, one of the charac-
teristic parameter will be their battery voltage, which
in turn depends on the rate at which stresses are
applied (Takeuchi et al. 2006). Fast loading, corre-
sponding to high stress rates, creates higher voltages
than slow loading. Higher voltages will cause pro-
portionally larger currents to flow, assuming ohmic
behavior. According to laboratory experiments, the
voltage increases only by a factor on the order of 2–5
between slow and fast or very fast loading and so does
the current (Freund 2009).
If, in the field, stresses change very rapidly such
as during an earthquake, one would expect higher bat-
tery voltages to momentarily develop perpendicular to
the fault and an increase in positive hole current out-
flow. However, whether or not larger current outflows
can actually translate into stronger EM signals at the
moment of an earthquake will depend on additional
factors. For instance, the phase velocity of positive
hole charge clouds is of the order of 200 m/sec, 1/10th
836
to 1/30th the speed of propagation of the P and S seis-
mic waves. Powerful seismic waves in the near-field
of a fault undergoing catastrophic rupture can there-
fore be expected to outrun the expansion of positive
hole clouds and thus interfere with the build up elec-
tric dipoles, which would be required for the emission
of EM waves. More work is needed to address these
complex questions.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Understanding in greater detail the processes that go
on in rocks during application of stress and upon
approach of the moment of catastrophic failure is
crucial to understanding pre-EQ signals. Non-seismic
pre-EQ signals play an important role because they
contain information about the pre-fracture conditions
in any complex system approaching criticality such as
a subvolume of the Earth’s crust in the weeks, days and
hours before an earthquake or shortly before rocks fail
in a mining environment.
Therefore, based on work that has come out of the
study of stress-activated positive hole charge carriers
in rocks, focusing on purely mechanical properties of
rocks is not enough, maybe even misleading.
In the case of earthquakes, which most often orig-
inate under large lithostatic overload in the Earth’s
crust, in the 7–35 km depth range, microfracturing
appears to be a concept that is basically inapplicable.
Most processes that occur in laboratory tests during
loading of unconstrained rock cylinders become irrel-
evant when the lithostatic overload is so high that there
is no way to generate open fractures or microfrac-
tures. Instead we have to look at signals produced by
processes such as the activation of electronic charge
carriers by stress and the propagation of these charge
carriers along stress gradients.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Supported in part by the NASA Earth Surface and
Interior (ESI) program.
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of the electrodynamics of rock fracture. Nature. 321: 488–
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molecular hydrogen and peroxy linkages. Journal of
Non-Crystalline Solids. 71: 195–202.
Freund, F. 2002. Charge generation and propagation in rocks.
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rents streaming out of stressed igneous rocks - A step
towards understanding pre-earthquake low frequency EM
emissions. Phys. Chem. Earth. 31: 389–396.
Freund, F. T. 2009. Chapter 3: Stress-activated positive
hole charge carriers in rocks and the generation of pre-
earth-quake signals. In M. Hayakawa (ed.), Electromag-
netic Phenomena Associated with Earthquakes. Kerala:
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of electromagnetic radiation and acoustic emission in
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R33–R41.
Takeuchi, A., Lau, B. W. & Freund, F. T. 2006. Current and
surface potential induced by stress-activated positive holes
in igneous rocks. Phys. Chem. Earth. 31: 240–247.
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earthquake prediction: Current status of seismo-electro-
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Phys. Earth Planet. Interiors. 57: 157–168.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Softening rocks with stress-activated electric current

F.T. Freund
NASA Ames Research Center, Earth Science Division, Code SGE, Moffett Field, CA,
USA Department of Physics & Astronomy, San José State University, San José, CA,
USA Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA

S.A. Hoenig
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

A. Braun
Bose Corporation, ElectroForce Systems Group, Eden Prairie, MN

R.P. Dahlgren
Department of Physics & Astronomy, San José State University, San José, CA, USA
Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA

M. Momayez
Department of Mining & Geological Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

J.J. Chu
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: When rocks are subjected to mechanical stress, dormant electronic defects become activated.
This activation produces electron-hole pairs, which increase the electrical conductivity of rocks by releasing
highly mobile defects electrons, equivalent to O− in a matrix of O2− , called positive holes and symbolized by
h∗ . The h∗ charge carriers can spread from the stressed rock into surrounding unstressed rocks. Preventing the
outflow of h∗ alters the mechanical properties of the rocks: they become softer and weaker. Ongoing studies point
to a delocalization of the wave function associated with the h∗ charge carriers, which is far-reaching and affects
many neighboring O2– . Although the number density of positive holes may be as low as 1 in 1000, essentially all
O2– in the rock subvolume lose some of their electron density. This loss weakens the interatomic bonds between
anions and cations, thus affecting the mechanical properties of rocks.

1 INTRODUCTION Tomashevskaya (1987) the strength of rocks decreases

Rock deformation and rock failure are widely stud-
ied from the viewpoint of rock mechanics (Anderson
2005, Atkinson 1987). However, stressing a rock also
creates an electronic component. Since most rocks
are good insulators, changes in electrical conductivity
during application of stress have not received much
attention. It has long been reported that the conduc-
tivity of rocks increases with increasing load. This
increase is generally believed to be due to better grain-
to-grain contacts during compaction (Glover & Vine
1994, Nover et al. 1995) or to a reduction in the electro-
chemical potential for the formation of vacancies cor-
responding to the diffusion of the rate-controlling ion
in the space-charge at the grain boundary (Conrad &
Yang 2010).
Postnikov (1978) reported that during cutting, elec-
trophysical and electrochemical properties of rocks
are markedly affected. According to Balbachan &
when they are charged electrostatically, for instance
by friction. This effect reportedly leads to a reduction
in strength of up to 50%. Since the number of elec-
tric charge carriers that can be generated by friction
is very small relative to the total number of atoms or
ions in a typical rock sample, the question arises on
how a bulk property of a rock, such as its mechanical
strength, can be affected in such a significant way by
a comparatively small number of electric charges.
2 STRESS ACTIVATION OF CHARGE
CARRIERS IN ROCKS
When rocks are stressed electronic charge carriers are
activated. The charge carriers pre-exist in the matrix
of many rock-forming minerals, albeit in an elec-
trically inactive, dormant form. They are associated
with changes in the valence of oxygen anions (Freund
2010a,b).

839
 Most oxygen anions in minerals are in the 2–
valence state, as O2− , forming [SiO4 ]4− and [AlO4 ]5−
tetrahedra with cations for charge compensation.
Many rock-forming minerals are anhydrous, meaning
that they should not contain hydroxyl anions, O3 Si-OH
or O3Al-OH in their crystal structures. However, any
mineral that crystallized from an H2 O-laden magma
or recrystallized in a high-grade metamorphic envi-
ronment, has invariably incorporated small amounts
of H2 O. A convenient way to describe this process is
through hydrolysis of the O3 Si-O-SiO3 bond:

Figure 1. Laboratory set-up of the Bose ElectroForce ELF

System, Model 3100, with the rock sample in the white stand.

However, it has long been demonstrated that the O3 Si-

OH pairs rearrange electronically so as to generate
peroxy links (Freund 1987)

The peroxy links are the dormant form of the elec-

tronic charge carriers mentioned above. When stresses Figure 2. Three-line dynamic bending test of gabbro with
are applied, dislocations sweep through the mineral ±dc voltages applied between the steel roller at the center
grains. They intersect peroxy links causing them to (where the load is applied) and the ends of the rock. The
break.An electron from an outside O2− then jumps into Kapton films are used for electrical insulation.
the broken bond and is trapped, while the O2− , which
donated the electron, turns into an O− , i.e., into an
electron vacancy defect, also known as positive hole,
symbolized by h∗ . This process is schematically shown
in eq. (3)

Figure 3. Major flux direction of the h∗ and e
charge

One of the remarkable consequences of this activation
process is that it creates two types of charge carriers,
electrons e’ and positive holes h∗ . The e’ are trapped
and immobile, while the h∗ have the capacity to flow
out of the stressed rock volume (Freund et al. 2006).
They travel from grain to grain along O 2sp-symmetry
energy levels at the upper edge of the valence band.
The valence bands of all mineral grains that are in
physical contact in a rock are electrically connected.
Hence, they form an energy continuum along which
the h∗ can propagate, traveling down stress gradients.
The e’ can leave the activation volume only when a
metal or equivalent contact is available.
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
We obtained the modulus K* of gabbro by measur-
ing the response in a dynamic 3-line bending test,
shown in Figure 1, using a Bose ElectroForce ELF
System Model 3100 (22 N force capacity, ±2.5 mm
displacement).
Thin slabs of gabbro, 10 × 20 × 0.5 cm, cut with a
diamond saw out of a larger block and air-dried, were
carriers, under three-line bending conditions.
loaded via the central steel roller, as depicted in Fig-
ure 2, with the force 2 N to 5 N over the frequency
range 0.1 to 10 Hz. The rock slabs were fitted with
Cu contacts under the steel roller in the center and at
both ends of the slab. Kapton films, 25 µm thick, were
used for electrical insulation. We applied ±dc voltages
between the center and the edges. The data were ana-
lyzed using the Wintest v 4.1 release with Bose ESG
Version 3.0 DMA software.
Figure 3 shows in a simplified way the flow of h∗
charge carriers during loading of the slab. Most of the
stress is assumed to be concentrated along the center
line of the rock sample. Stresses that build up at the
two steel rollers, on which the slabs were resting, are
neglected. If a static load is applied, the h∗ will spread
laterally from the maximally stressed volume, while
the e’ flow from the center through the wire to the
Cu electrodes at both ends of the slab. The center of
the slab becomes negatively charged relative to both
ends of the rock sample (Freund et al. 2006). The self-
generated potential under open circuit conditions is on
the order of about 2 V.

840

Figure 4. Frequency dependence of modulus K* on the
voltage applied to the gabbro slab, under positive bias.
Figure 5. Frequency dependence of modulus K* on the
voltage applied to the gabbro slab, under negative bias.
Under dynamic load the potential within and across
the slab varies in a more complex manner, which
requires additional study.
Figures 4 and 5 show viscoelastic behavior: the
modulus K∗ varies as a function of frequency from 0.1
to 10 Hz, depending on the voltages applied between
the center and both ends of the slab.
Under positive bias (+1, +2, +5, +25 V; Figure 4),
when the ends of the gabbro slab are made posi-
tive relative to the center, the variation of modulus
K∗ is relatively simple: K∗ increases with increasing
mechanical frequency for +1 V, +5 V and +25 V. The
K∗ increase is moderate from 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz, then
faster above 5 Hz. At +2 V the applied potential is just
about enough to balance the self-generated potential
841
and thereby prevent the flow of h∗ . As a result K∗
decreases above 5 Hz.
Under negative bias (−1, −2, −5, −25 V; Figure 5),
when the ends of the gabbro slab are made negative rel-
ative to the center, the behavior of the modulus K∗ is
more complex: K∗ appears to be independent of the
frequency between 0.1 and 5 Hz, but increases with
increasing mechanical frequency above 5 Hz. This
more complex behavior, relative to the positive volt-
ages, may be due to the fact that, under dynamic load,
different portions of the gabbro slab experience alter-
nating compressive and tensile stresses. We believe
that the alternation affects the flow pattern of the h∗ in
the rock, and hence its mechanical properties, in ways
that are not yet well understood.
4 DISCUSSION
Viscoelastic behavior means that the deformation
varies with the rate at which the force is applied. In this
paper, we report on changes in the mechanical prop-
erties of rocks due to electrical excitation. The rock
studied here is gabbro, which contains neither quartz
nor any other piezoelectric mineral. Hence, we can
state affirmatively that the observed response of the
gabbro has nothing to do with piezoelectricity. In fact,
piezoelectricity does not produce, activate or mobilize
charge carriers in a stressed rock subvolume, but only
generates a potential that is proportional to the applied
stress within the limits of elastic behavior.
In the case described here, by stressing the gabbro,
we increase the charge carrier concentration in the
stressed subvolume. We activate electron-hole pairs,
e
-h∗ , with lifetimes that range from fractions of a sec-
ond to minutes, hours, and even days. The larger the
force magnitude and the higher the rate of increase that
we stress the rock slab, the greater the number of e
-h∗
pairs that are activated. The e
cannot flow out of the
stressed subvolume into the unstressed rock because
they remain trapped, but the h∗ can move. The h∗ out-
flow generates a potential, which at first increases with
increasing stress, but then reaches a saturation level.
The steady state voltage is relatively constant, though
it depends moderately on the speed with which stress
is applied, increasing with increasing speed.
What appears to be happening is that the outflow
of h∗ charge carriers affects the mechanical proper-
ties of the rock. The geometry of the 3-line dynamic
bending test as shown in Figures 2 and 3 is not ideally
suited to illustrate this effect, as stresses do not only
develop in the rock subvolume below the central steel
roller but also in the subvolumes above the two sup-
port rollers close to the edge contacts. In addition, the
stress applied varies in a sinusoidal fashion between
± maximal values. The e
-h∗ pairs that are activated
have finite lifetimes, most of which are longer than
the periodicity of the applied stress. This makes the
h∗ flow more complicated than indicated by the white
arrows in Figure 3. Therefore the mechanical response

Figure 6. Field test with a rotary drill (force of 8600 lbs)
penetrating a clay-rich formation, with and without −60 V
applied. Under conditions allowing a stress-activated current
to flow to ground, the drill speed slowed after 6 min at a depth
of 12 feet. With countervoltage, the drill reached 16 feet after
only 3 min.
Figure 7. Laboratory test with white marble showing a
nearly constant penetration of the drill when the current
is nulled, reaching 70 cm depth within 100 min. Without
nulling, the overall drilling speed is slower and the drill shows
signs of wear after 60 min, only penetrating to 30 cm depth.
to + and − applied voltages is more complex, as the
comparison between Figure 4 and Figure 5 suggests.
We show, in Figures 6 and 7, a different set of tests,
where rocks were drilled allowing the h∗ charge car-
riers to flow out radially into the surrounding rocks.
In this geometry, the rock closest to the drill bit is the
maximally stressed subvolume and stresses will decay
monotonously in all directions. In the field test of Fig-
ure 6, the Earth’s ground acted as the counterelectrode.
The h∗ current was either allowed to flow from the drill
string to ground uninhibited or prevented from flowing
out by applying −60 V to the drill.
In the laboratory test of Figure 7, a counterelec-
trode was attached to the block and the h∗ were
842
either allowed to flow out or nulled by applying an
appropriate countervoltage.
With the highly stressed subvolume at the drill bit
and radial outflow of h∗ charge carriers into the sur-
rounding rock, the mechanical properties of the drilled
rock change: When the h∗ charge carriers flow out,
rocks become hard and difficult to drill. When the h∗
charge carriers are prevented from flowing out, forced
to remain in the stressed subvolume, the rocks become
softer and drill rate increases.
This discussion above allows us to return to results
of the dynamic bending test depicted in Figures 2 and
3. The low values for the modulus K∗ shown in Fig-
ure 4 are only observed with +2 V countervoltage, not
with +1 V, +5 V, and +25 V. Under negative bias the
data are similar except that the K∗ values are low in
the −25 V run between 0.1 Hz and about 7 Hz, and
increase between 7–10 Hz. Obviously ±1 V do not
suffice to block the h∗ outflow. Countervoltages of
±5 V and higher apparently reverse the flow pattern,
allowing h∗ to flow from the two contact points at
the end of the slab to the electrode in the center. In
a separate study using the same gabbro, Freund et al.
(2009) show that under relatively fast loading, the sur-
face potential builds up rapidly to about +3 V. Hence,
a countervoltage of 2 V should null out most of the
h∗ outflow. With −2 V, the nulling effect also works
because of the dynamic load situation and complicated
stress distribution along all 3 lines of contact.
To understand how the spreading of the h∗ charge
carriers may affect the mechanical properties of rocks,
we have to take a more detailed look at their wave
functions and how they propagate.
The basic step controlling the h∗ propagation is an
electron transfer from O2− to O− , which has the high-
est probability to occur when neighboring O2− and
O− are moving towards each other as part of ther-
mally activated vibrations. Shluger et al. (1992) have
described this process as phonon-assisted electron
hopping. With the mean phonon frequency at ambient
temperatures (around 300 K) of about 1012 Hz sec−1
and the distance over which the electron will hop
of about 2.8 Å (2.8 × 10−10 m), the maximum speed
for the propagation of a positive hole pulse will be
280 m sec−1 . Consistent with these findings, experi-
mental values in the 200–300 m sec−1 range have been
reported (Freund 2002).
Studies of the activation of h∗ charge carriers in
MgO have provided strong evidence that the wave
function associated with the h∗ state is highly delocal-
ized. In other words, the electron density associated
with the h∗ is spread over many neighboring O2−
anions (Batllo et al. 1991 & Freund et al. 1993). Fig-
ure 8 depicts the h∗ delocalization over a cube of
10 × 10×10 oxygen positions, taking MgO as a model
material.
Hence, even if there is only one h∗ for every 1000
O2− , effectively all O2− will have slightly less electron
density than they would have without h∗ . As a result
many fundamental physical properties of the MgO are
affected, including its thermal expansion and refractive

Figure 8. Peroxy defect in MgO. Left: Undissoci-
ated, spin-coupled, dormant state. Right: Dissociated,
spin-decoupled state, accompanied by delocalization of the
wave function representing the h∗ charge carrier.
index (Freund et al. 1994). It is not surprising therefore,
that the delocalization of the h∗ wavefunctions also
changes the mechanical properties of rocks.
5 CONCLUSION
This study is built on the recognition that rocks contain
dormant electronic charge carriers, which are activated
by stress. Of special interest are the positive holes,
i.e., electron vacancy defects equivalent to O− in a
matrix of O2− . The observations reported here indi-
cate that the delocalization of the h∗ wavefunctions
affects the bulk mechanical properties of rocks. Even
if the number density of h∗ is only on the order of
1:1000, the electron density of every O2− in the sys-
tem will decrease, leading to an overall decrease in the
Coulomb interaction between anions and cations and,
hence, to a weakening of the anion-cation bonds within
rocks. During dynamic loading it is conceivable that
the local deformation field associated with the delocal-
ized state of the h∗ will move along the stress gradients,
thereby allowing for the viscoelastic response depicted
in Figures 4 and 5. Future work both experimentally
and theoretically will further develop what has been
presented here.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Supported in part by the NASA Earth Surface and
Interior (ESI) program.
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Measuring relative ground stress variations using

piezomagnetic stressometers

Xiangning Huang
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration
Lianjie Wang
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Liming Ge
Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration

ABSTRACT: This paper briefly presents the principles of piezomagnetic stressometers, repeated observation
and experiment results under hydro-pressure in crust rocks. It was expounded that the values measured by sus-
pended element were compared with those by forced element. The crustal stress changes and the micro displace-
ment of fault were ynchronously rippled.That the similar crustal stress changes were measured in the correspond-
ing period at the stations ten to hundreds km apart. In the regions of few earthquakes the crustal stress were stable,
and that earthquakes was predicted successfully many times by anomalies of crustal stress, we found and proved
that the direction of anomalous principal stress is pointed at or mined to epicenters, the stations with higher anoma-
lous principal stress were near the epicenters, and the duration time of long-term anomaly was linearly related with
the magnitude of earthquakes. It has been demonstrated that we can measure the process of change of stress field
with the gauges in the borehole and make time, location and magnitude prediction for earthquakes. It has been 50
years since the method was used for the study of the premonitory stress observation and earthquake prediction
under the late proposition of Prof. J. S. Lee and under the concrete direction of Academician Chen Qingxuan.

1 INSTRUCTIONS be made. Install the gauge in the prefixed depth and

direction, exert a prestress on the gauge and record
Prof. J. S Lee. a famous Chinese scientist, put forward the gauge reading as Fig. 1. After the readings were
that:The cause of earthquakes is due to an underground steady observe the gauge at regular intervals or con-
force which pushes the rocks in the crust. The pro- tinually record in order to get the curve of crustal stress
cess of strengthening and concentration of this pushing changes with time.
force should take a certain amout of time. At the rela-
tively weak places of the crustal structures .when the
force esceeds the limit for rock to bear, fracture takes 2.2 The principle of the piezomagnetic stress
place and an earthquak occurs. Therefore, based on gauges
the research of the active structure system, to select
proper sites and observe the process of stress chang- Stress is recorded by the gauge based on the principle
ing, strengthening, and reaching the breaking point is of magnetostriction. The sensor of crustal stressometer
ensured by the system under the condition of different
tectonics and rocks, how high its sensitivity is ,how
the observation error and the stability in a long period
are. And what the effectiveness for monitoring stress
precursor and for earthquake prediction are like.

2 THE METHOD AND PRINCIPLE OF

MEASURING RELATIVE CHANGES OF
CRUSTAL STRESS WITH PIEAOMAGENTIC
STRESS GAUGES

2.1 Piezomagnetic method for measurement of

relative changes of crustal stress
A borehole of diameter 36 mm/l10 mm was drilled
where the relative stress measurement was going to Figure 1. A stressometer in a borehole.

845
Figure 2. Ferronickle mandre.
Figure 3. The calibration of stressometer and the calibra-
tion curve. Readings can be converted into the conversion
is made of a mandrel of ferromagnetic material on displacement, by means of the curve and then the principal
which coils are winded (Fig. 2). stress can be calculated.
If a constant alternating current passes through the
coil, when the stress applied along the axis of the ele- 2.4 Calculation of crustal stress
ment changes the magnetic conductivity of the spindle Convert the readings of the test instrument into conver-
will change. And the inductance changes with the con- sion displacements by the calibration curve, calculate
ductivity. Based on it the change of crustal stress can the change of the principal stress through the follow-
be recorded (Hast N. 1958, Wang et al. 1991). ing formula and if the angles among the elements are
60◦ , the principal stresses are:
2.3 The relation between the pressure on the
stressometer and the crustal stress
When the crustal stress changes, the borehole will
deform and its wall wsll have a displacement. There
is a relation between the displacement and the stress
(Wang et al. 1991).

where U is the displacement of the borehole wall, σ1

and σ2 are the maximum and the minimum principal
stresses perpendicular to the borehole wall respec-
tively, θ is the included angle between the maximum the direction of maximum principal stress ϕ is:
principal stress σ1 and the reference direction. The dis- when 2S1 − S2 − S3 > 0:
placement of the borehole wall will make the pressure
(p) on the gauge in the borehole have a corresponding
change. And the relation of the change and the stress
is based on the following formula:

when 2S1 − S2 − S3 < 0:

where a is the radius of the borehole Em is the elas-

tic modulus of rock, Ec is the equivalent modulus of
the stress meter, D is the equivalent area of the meter,
K is a constant, α is an included angle between the
stiffness of a piezomagnetic stress gauge is high, and
it is calibrated against stress, so it is usually called a
stressometer but not a strainmeter.
It is very complex and unnecessary to give directly
the expression of the relation between the inductance
and stress. The calibration curve of a stressometer
was given through calibration. Install a stressometer
in the hole of a test piece (15 * 20 * 40 cm) of rock
or metal for calibration. If a known load is applied on
the test piece by a press, the relation curve between the
recorded stress (conversion displacement) in rock and
readings of the instrument can be obtained (Fig. 3).
We call it the calibration.
where S1 , S2 , S3 are the displacements ecorded by three
elements arranged in counter-clockwise rder, σ1 , σ2 are
maximum and minimum principal stress respectively,
θ1 is the azimuth of the first element counted counter-
clockwise from the north.
2.5 The field test
In order to examine the reliability of relative rustal
stress measurement, in 1984 field tests were made
in Tangshan region and Guangdong region (Yu et al.
1984). Inject water into a borehole to generate stress
field around the borehole, observe in the other two
boreholes nearby (one is 8m away from the ressured
borehole, another is 20 m far) as shown in Fig. 4.

846
 The test results demonstrated that the crustal stress
curve recorded by crustal stress measurement system
changed with the pressurization and pressure relief
process, and that the curve was in correspondence
with the theoretical calculation. The sensitivity of the
stressometer is 0.1∼2 kPa.

2.6 The rock mechanics prerequisite for crustal

stress measurement
It is known that solid rocks are basically elastic on
a time scale of seconds to tens of years if the stress
intensity is within the elastic limit.
Professor J. S. Lee put forward that in order to
explain the law of stress distribution in the tectonic
stress field, we assumed that rocks in the nature had the
features of homogeneous continuum under the action
of crustal stress and that the variation of the stress
in the tectonic stress field was continuous. Strictly
speaking, rock formation and rock masses are neither
homogeneous nor cofitmuous, but their inhomogene-
ity and discontinuity are often so multifarious that they
showed homogeneity and continuity as a whole (Lee
1973). Figure 4. (a) Arrangement of testing borchole In the site.
This is an important geomechanical prerequisite for (b) recorded curve.
crustal stress measurement in rock formation.

3 RESULTS OF RELATIVE STRESS CHANGE

MEASUREMENT WITH PIEZOMAGNEFIC
STRESS GAUGE (HUANG 1991, HUANG
ET AL.1982A, HUANG ET AL.1982B, HUANG
ET AL. 1991, LI 1991).

3.1 Comparison of the values measured by the

suspended elements with that by the forced ones
The piezomagnetic stress gauge is made up of a sus-
pended element and three or four forced elements. The
gauge has powerful anti-disturb capacity to tempera-
ture. The suspended element set up above the forced
elements was used to measure air pressure, tempera-
ture and other circumstances but not to measure crustal
stress. Forced elements were used to measure crustal
stress changes.
Fig. 5 shows typical measured curves with piezo-
magnetic stress gauges, from which we can see that
measured values of the forced elements change with
time. The measured values of the uspended element are
stable, and the measured values of the forced elements
reflect crustal stress changes.
Figure 5. Curves from suspended and forced elements at
(AQ)station.
action of fault had the synchronously characteristic
of hindered displacement, so it synchronously rip-
pled with crustal stress. As shown in Fig. 6 before
and after Longling M7.3∼7.4 earthquake, the mea-
sured values of both the crustal stress and the fault
micro-displacement showed synchronously changes at
the Xiaguan (XG) station, Yunnan province. It is sug-
gested that synchronous changes of both the crustal
stress and the fault micro-displacement resulted from
obstruction to fault movement.

3.3 The stations ten to hundreds km apart measured

3.2 Crustal stress change synchronous with
micro-displacement of fault
It has been found that, in Xibozi and Dahuichang, Bei-
jing, and Xiaguan Yunnan province,relative changes
of the crustal stress measured by the gauge and the
micro-displacement of fault showed a similar change
time section before and after strong earthquakes as
shown in Fig. 6. The phenomenon indicated that the
the similar or related crustal stress changes in
the corresponding period
Before Tangshan M7.8 earthquake the similar crustal
stress changes in the depth of 77 m and 97 m were
measured by the stations in Douhe (DH) and Zhao-
gezhuang (ZGZ), which were about 10km apart, with
the same instrument (RYC impedance auto-recording
stressometer) (Fig. 7).

847
Figure 6. (a) Comparison of ground stress variation with
horizontal fault displacement. (b) Stress variation and vertical
fault movement at Xiaguan(XG) station,Yunnan.
Figure 7. The short-time anomaly before earthquake at
Zhaogezhuang (ZGZ) and Douhe (DH) station.
In March and April, 1976, 1500 kPa and 320 kPa
tension stress of NW in the depth of 35 m and 50 m
were measured in Changping (CP) and Wenquan (WQ)
of Beijing and at the same time some 220 kPa com-
pressive stress of NW was measured in the Dalian
(DL) station, which is 480 km away from Beijing,
in the depth of 43 m It is suggested that the above
crustal stress changes measured by differem stations
are caused by the same source (Fig. 8).
3.4 The crustal stress measurement in the regions
of few earthquakes and the mean square errors
during observation were stable
In the regions such as North China, Northwest and
Southwest where there are many earthquakes,crustal
stress measurement values often change, but m the
regions where crust is m relative stable state he mea-
surement results with gauges are stable. For example,
the values of crustal stress measured with gauges in
Nanchang, Jiangxi province are very stable during
1982–1983 (Fig. 9).
848
Figure 8. The short-time stress anomaly before earthquake
at Changping (CP) station, Bejing and Dalian (DL) station,
Liaoning.
Figure 9. The traces of daily mean value of stress an
Nanchang (NC) station, Jiangxi.
At some other stations, such as Qiongzhong
(QZ) [N19◦ 01’, E109◦ 50’], Nanchang(NC)N28◦ 46’,
E115◦ 48’], Junxian (JX)[N32◦ 27’, E111◦ 32’] and
Guiyang (GY) [N26◦ 25’, E106◦ 38’], where the crust
is in the relatively stable state, the mean square errors
of crustal stress measurement with gauges are almost
the same in rainy season and winter for many years. It
indicated that the gauge system has very high stability
and can obtain information about the smooth state of
crustal stress in stable regions.
3.5 The following facts have been found and proved
from tens of successful prediction usint
piezomagnetic stress anomalies
3.5.1 Anomaly feature and classification
The crustal stress can be classified on the basis of stress
state, change form, change time, change pattern. The
Figure 10. (a) Typical pattern of trend anomaly. (b) Trend
anomaly of crustal stress for Longling earthquake.

stress state can be divided into compression, tension

and tension-compression anomaly. The stress change
form can be divided into rate, pulse and high frequency
vibration anomalies.
The crustal stress anomaly time can be divided into
trend (several months-a year), short term (terns Days-
three months) and immediate (several hours) before
earth quake, as shown in Fig. 10. The positive anomaly
of crustal stress means that the anomaly traces are
Figure 11. (a) Epicenter intersection of anomaly principal
above the mean value line and presents convex. The
stress orientations before Haicheng earthquake. (b) Epicenter
negative anomaly of the crustal stress means that the intersection of anomaly principal stress orientations before
anomaly traces are below the mean value line and Tangshan earthquake. +: Station, solid line: for δ1, Dashed
presents concave. The positive-negative anomaly of line for δ2.
the crustal stress means that the anomaly traces present
both convex and concave. The effective premomtory distance with the piezo-
magnetic stressometer is generally 500 km for an M≥7
earthquake, 200–300 km for M5-6 earthquakes.
3.5.2 Orientation of anomaly principal stress
directed or turned to the epicenter region. 3.5.4 The trend anomaly time of the crust stress
We can use the intersecting method with orientation of presented a linear relation to earthquake
anomaly principal stress to predict epicenter regions. magnitude
For example, we used the method to predict the risk Having analyzed 20–30 earthquake cases of crust
region before Haicheng M7.3, 1975, and Tangshan stress trend anomaly, we found that the duration time
M7.8, 1976 earthquake, as shown in Fig. 11. of the crust stress trend anomaly had a linear relation
with earthquake magnitude, as follows:
3.5.3 The nearer station from epicenter has the
greater anomaly principal stress values.
For example, before Tangshan M7.8 earthquake, the
values of the crustal stress change were greater than
2450 kPa at Zhaogezhuang (ZGZ), being 20 km away
from the epicenter, the anomalous crust stress val-
ues reached 603 kPa at Changli (CL) station, which is
85 km away from the epicenter, the anomalous crust
stress values reached 766 kPa at Changping (CP), where T is the crust stress trend anomaly duration time
which is 180 km away from the epicenter, the anoma- (in days).
lous crust stress values reached 564 kPa at Anqiu (AQ) When the time exceeds 1.5 years, the experience
station, Shandong province,which is 340 km away relation can not be used, but it can be used for
from the epicenter, and the anomalous crust stress val- predicting Ms >7 earthquakes.
ues were 23l kPa at Shenvang (SY) station, Liaoning For example, for the Feb. 4, 1975, M7.3 earth-
province, which is 500 km away from the epicenter. quake in Haicheng, Liaoning Province and the July 28,

849
1976, M7.8 earthquake in Tangshan, Hebei Province,
successful imminent predictions were made before
the earthquakes. During the 11 years from 1971 to
1981, 175 imminent predictions were made based on
the data of piezomagnetic stress observation Accord-
ing to the judging standard of UN, there were 62
successful predictions, 21 erroneous predictions, and
92 false warnings. The rate of successful prediction
was 62/175 = 35.4%, the rate of erroneous prediction
was 21/175 = 12%, and the rate of false warning was
92/175 = 52.6%.
4 CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is suggested that change
process of focal stress field can be measured with
piezomagnetic stress gauge at the depth from several
tens to a hundred meters in borehole. If we can master
the basic pattern and varying features on the change
process of stress field,we can approximately predict
the time, location, and magnitude of the earthquake.
REFERENCES
Hast, N., 1958. The measurement of rock pressures in mines,
Sverigs Geol. Undersoknig Ser C. Arsbok, 52(3).
850
Huang xiangning, 1988, Discussion on the relative changes
in ground stress measured with piezomagnetic method (in
Chinese), Geomechanics, No. 8.
Huang xiangning et al, 1982a, Stress changes and earthquake
prediction (in Chinese), Bulletin of Institute of Geome-
chanics, Academy of Geological Sciences of China, No. 3.
Huang xiangning et al, 1982b, Results and analysis of
stress measurements (in Chinese), in: The 1976 Tangshan
earthquake, Seismological press, Beijing.
Huang xiangning et al, 1991, Comprehensive analysis on
nationwide earthquake prediction with borehole stress and
strain methods (in Chinese), in: Earthquake prediction
Research in China, Seismological press, Beijing.
J.S.Lee, 1973,An introduction to Geomechanics (in Chinese),
Geological Publishing House, Beijing.
Li Jianchun, 1991, Study on stress and strain earthquake
precursors with borehole methods (in Chinese), in: Earth-
quake Prediction Research in China, Seismological Press,
Beijing.
Wang Lianjie et al, 1991, Ground stress measurement and
its application in engineering (in Chinese), Geological
Publishing House, Beijing.
Yu Yunsheng et al, 1984, Insitu testing of inductance stress-
measurement with hydro-fracturing method.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Three-dimensional measurement of a deep-seated RZB-type integrated

wideband deformation observing system

Zheng Chen, Tao Li, Zuxi Ouyang, Liheng Wu & Yujiang Li

Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

Jieyuan Ning
School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: At present, borehole strain observations are generally in the horizontal longitudinal components
of the strain. These observations take stress concentration model of an infinite flat plate with hole as their
theoretical basis and are used for measuring stress distribution and stress change. Measuring both horizontal
and vertical normal components of the stress, we can perform three-dimensional stress distribution. This article
describes the horizontal and vertical strain measurement units of a deep-seated RZB-type integrated wideband
deformation observing system, especially focusing on the measuring principle of the vertical longitudinal strain
and technological breakthrough. Finite element method has been used to test the robust of the equipment.

1 INTRODUCTION drift of smaller than 10−7 . This article will introduce

The earth’s crust has differential movement and defor-
mation under the action of tectonic stress field. While
the accumulated energy eventually leading to quick
destruction of a place of the earth’s brittle crust, there
is an earthquake. Employing the measured data of
crust deformation, we can better understand the crust
movement, which is important to establish the dynam-
ics model of earthquakes and to reveal tectonic stress
field.
Since the 70s of last century, China has exerted
strain observation and has already accumulated a large
number of borehole strain data. Nowever, for tech-
nical limitations, the observation only limited to the
horizontal strain measurements, which are difficult to
carry out three-dimensional stress inversion. Japanese
scholars exerted vertical strain measurements, which
were used to achieve three-dimensional strain obser-
vation together with horizontal strain measurements.
However, its magnetic sensor prevent them from hav-
ing large dynamic range of measurement and high
sensitivity. Large magnetic drift is also a severe prob-
lem. In 2009, Prof. Zuxi Ouyang and his coworkers
designed and manufactured deep-seated RZB-type
integrated wideband deformation observing system.
The system has been accepted by the National Sci-
ence and Technology. It integrates measurements of
horizontal strain, vertical strain, gravity, tilt, seis-
mic wave produced strain, water level, temperature.
The measurement system adopts capacitance sen-
sor as the sensory component which overcoming the
shortcomings of the magnetic sensor. The strain mea-
surement achieves a large dynamic measurement range
(2 × 10−3 ), high sensitivity (10−10 ), and a 10 years
the horizontal and vertical measurement units of the
new equipment and uses the finite element method
to test the robustness of the three-dimensional strain
measurements.
2 STRUCTURE OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL
MEASURING DEEP-SEATED RZB-TYPE
INTEGRATED WIDEBAND DEFORMATION
OBSERVING SYSTEM
The measuring probe of deep-seated RZB-type inte-
grated wideband deformation observing system is
composed of multiple independent measurement units
which are installed in series. Integrated probes inde-
pendently measure horizontal strain, vertical strain,
borehole tilt, seismic waves. On the top of the system
locates the main centralizer, while the weight locates
on the bottom which can guarantee an equipment set
in the center position of a borehole. The diameter of
the cylinder-shaped borehole is 130 mm and the instal-
lation depth of the set is at 50–400 m depths. After the
set being laid down into the borehole, the space of
the borehole is casted by special cement. This case,
the probes could be completely coupled with the sur-
rounding earth, and carry out accurate measurements
of deformation. (Ouyang Zuxi, Zhangjun, Chenzheng,
et al, 2009)
2.1 The working principle of capacitive
micro-displacement sensor
Capacitive sensor is a kind of micro-displacement
sensor with high sensitivity, good stability, simple

851

Figure 1. RZB deep wideband deformation integrated
observing system.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the sensor part of the
RZB-type borehole strain measurement system.
structure. Especially when the differential capaci-
tive displacement sensors and precision ratio trans-
former are combined to form the bridge, it can
obtain very precise measurements. Deep-seated RZB-
type integrated wideband deformation observing sys-
tem uses the three-terminal differential capacitive
micro-displacement meter as the deformation sensing
852
Figure 3. Schematic view of the horizontal strain observa-
tional probe.
element, of which the strain measurement sensitivity
is up to 1.6 × 10−10 .
2.2 The structure of the horizontal strain
observational probe
As shown in figure 2, in the middle of the steel
tube installed four capacitive micro-displacement sen-
sors in four directions. Neighboring sensors form 45◦
angle. For elimination of the end effect, the probe
length is 1 m, which is ten times of the baseline. Stress
measurement takes stress concentration model of an
infinite flat plate with hole as its theoretical basis. As
the elastic modulii of the probe and the surrounding
cement is much lower than those of the bedrock, the
influence of the cement layer and the steel tube on
measuring is negligible.
2.3 The structure of vertical strain probe
The difficulty in vertical strain measurement is how
to make vertical strain measurement probe sensi-
tively respond vertical deformation of the borehole.
As observed drillings are mostly shafts, the probe
should be installed vertically. The cylindrical steel tube
with no special structure make the vertical equivalent
Young’s modulus much higher than the horizontal one
and that of the surrounding cement, i.e., the hardness
of the vertical strain probe is high, far exceeding the
Young’s modulus of the coupling medium, so vertical
deformation can not be completely transferred to the
inside sensor of the probe.
To solve this problem, the vertical strain probe of
our observing system use the spiral carved silk on the
outer steel tube as well as the heat treatment technol-
ogy to make the vertical equivalent Young’s modulus
of the probe around 103 MPa, which is lower than the
coupling cement with an order of magnitude. At the
Figure 4. The structure of vertical strain probe.

same time, the horizontal Equivalent Young’s modulus Figure 5. Vertical displacement map of the rock in meter.
of the steel tube is above 104 MPa, which is higher than
the vertical Young’s modulus with one order of magni-
tude. Adopting above techniques, vertical strain sensor
can be image as a reaction by a helical cylinder, which
is easy to produce axial elastic deformation, while the
horizontal stiffness has been greatly strengthened.
In the probe of vertical strain measurement, the
capacitive micro-displacement sensor is vertically
installed and both ends of the sensors are fixed on
the two ends of the probe. When the probe has axial
deformations, the sensor can accurately measure them.

3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE

THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRAIN
OBSERVATION

Due to the structure of vertical strain probe is relatively

complex, it is difficult to show analytical solutions, so
here we show numerical solutions of finite element
method. In order to assure the reality, we design our
model fully in accordance with the actual structure and Figure 6. Horizontal displacement map of the rock along
dimension of the vertical strain probe assembly. one horizontal direction in meter.
TheYoung’s modulus of the bedrock is 5 × 104 MPa.
The Young’s modulus of the coupled cement is
We can calculate the strain of the probe by dividing
3 × 104 MPa (the actual Young’s modulus of coupled
the length of the measurement baseline. The strain of
cement is 2.5–4 × 104 MPa); Referring to the actual
probe is about 1.5 × 10−10 . It means that vertical strain
value, we set the diameter of the drill hole as 130 mm.
of the probe and the bedrock differ within 1%, when
Horizontal scale of the cuboid is 20 × 20 m2 , which is
the rock is forced both in horizontal and vertical. This
more than 100 times of the drilling aperture.
result means that the vertical strain sensor can accu-
Fig. 5 to Fig. 10 show some computational results
rately measure strain on the vertical drilling, while the
under horizontal and vertical pressures simultane-
impact of the horizontal deformation can be neglected.
ously. From Fig.5, we can see that the vertical longitu-
dinal strain of the bedrock far away from the borehole
is about −1.45 × 10−10 , while −1.51 × 10−10 near the
borehole. Fig.8 shows that the vertical longitudinal 4 CONCLUSION
strain of the cement is about −1.49 × 10−10 . Fig. 10
shows that the difference of the Probe’s upper and From the above discussion and the finite element
lower side of the displacement is about 0.3 × 10−10 m. numerical simulation we can see that deep-seated

853
Figure 7. Horizontal displacement map of the cement along
one horizontal direction in meter.
Figure 10. Vertical displacement map of the vertical strain
probe in meter.

RZB-type integrated wideband deformation obser-

vation system meets the requirements of the three-
dimensional measurement. It can provide a more accu-
rate three-dimensional observation of additional strain
field and is significant for the inversion of regional
deformation field, displacement field and stress field.
Furthermore it is important for the studies of structure
and earthquake activity of the crust.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is founded by Institute of Crustal Dynam-

ics, CEA, Basic scientific Special Fund (ZDJ2009-29,
ZDJ2009-26).

Figure 8. Vertical displacement map of the cement in meter. REFERENCES

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quake Occurrence[J], Journal of Transducer Technology,
17:36–38, 1998
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Pendulum Tiltmeter for Measuring Earth Tide[J], Geo-
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 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

RZB-type capacitive borehole inclinometer

Liheng Wu, Zheng Chen, Tao Li & Zuxi Ouyang

The Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT: A RZB-type Capacitive Borehole Inclinometer (RZB-type CBI) is designed to measure the
inclination angle by the reaction of a capacitance with small displacement or small angle. It is characterized
by high sensitivity (2 × 10−4 degree/sec.), good linearity (≤1%) and simple circuit structure. In addition, one
pre-adjusting platform controlled by a micro motors is designed for this instrument to meet the requirement that
an inclination sensor may change in a rather large range during downhole installation. In this paper, we introduce
the operational principle and the constitution of RZB-type CBI and one application case in a borehole of 250-m
depth. The measurement recordings show that this probe can detect the variation of Earth tide, the abnormal
phenomenon before an earthquake and the seismic wave during an earthquake, which prove that this probe can
meet the requirements to detect the inclination deformation of the upper crust.

Keywords: Borehole, Inclinometer, DPB circuit, Application

1 INTRODUCTION inclinometer is water-tube inclinometer, and the short-

The earthquake monitoring is an observation dis-
cipline and is always advanced by new observing
techniques and methods. When force is acted on a
part of the crust, stress and deformation will be pro-
duced, and then may result in an earthquake; therefore,
there is surely a link between an earthquake and
the crust deformation. The deformation observation
has attracted much attention from the explorers of
earthquake prediction and monitoring. The observa-
tion of stresses and strains in the upper crust plays
a very important role in the earthquake prediction
and monitoring as well as the analysis of tectonic
stress regime. The inclination deformation, vertical
deformation and horizontal deformation are all nec-
essary parts of stress and strain observation system
(Ouyang Zuxi & Zhangjun & Chenzheng, et al., 2009,
Qiu Zehua & Xie Furen & Su Kaizhi, et al., 2004).
The high-precision inclinometer is mainly a gauge to
observe the inclination deformation of upper crust,
which can be used to detect small inclination varia-
tion, inclination earth tide and to capture the abnormal
phenomenon shortly before earthquakes.
Generally, there are two observation techniques
widely adopted for crust inclination measurement.
One technique is to measure the excursion of swing
compared with the plumb line, and the other tech-
nique is to measure the relative displacement of
the crust in the gravitational direction within a cer-
tain span with the horizontal plane as the refer-
ence plane. If classified with the reference line of
device, there are two kinds of inclinometers, long-
reference-line inclinometer and short-reference-line
inclinometer. The commonly used long-reference-line
reference-line inclinometer includes horizontal swing
inclinometer, vertical swing inclinometer, diamag-
netic inclinometer, bubble inclinometer, and so on
(Huangyu & Wu Lihua, 2006, 2008, He Chengping
& Ouyang Zuxi, 2006).
In the long-term earth inclination observation histo-
ries, the key techniques and parts have been advanced
step by step in performance. The traditional inclinome-
ter was updated technically with new techniques and
methods, such as digital technique, intelligent tech-
nique. On the other hand, delicate-structured and good-
performance inclinometers come into use continu-
ously. The new generation high-precision inclinometer
tends to become small, practical, digital and easy to
use. This paper introduces something about one new
RZB-type capacitive borehole inclinometer, including
the working rinceples, structure constitution, perfor-
mance and an application case in Zhangzhou, Fujian
Province, China.
2 OPERATION PRINCIPLE OF RZB-TYPE CBI
The inclination sensor of RZB-type CBI is a gravita-
tional swing vertically hanging on a rigid bracket. As
indicated in Figure 1(a), fixed polar plateA, fixed polar
plate B and gravitational swing M form the three-end
capacitive differential-displacement inclination sen-
sor. The gravitational swing M is under the action
of gravitational force, and keeps in line with vertical
direction. When the ground surface incline to a certain
direction with an angle , the swing bracket will dip
at an angle of , but the gravitational swing is still in
the vertical direction under the action of gravitational

857

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of capacitive tilt sensor.
force; therefore, the relative displacement between the
swing and the bracket shall be created, as shown in
Figure 1 (b). The inclination of ground surface, ,
make the gravitational swing and the fixed polar plates
to form relative displacement δ. The relationship is
as follows:
The capacitance between two objects depends on
the areas of two polar plates which compose a capac-
itance (S), the relative distance between the two polar
plates (δ) and the dielectric constant between the
two polar plates, and the equation to describe such
relationships is as follows:
Combining equation 1.1 with equation 1.2, the dis-
placement of swing is proportional to the inclination
angle of ground surface. Through such a conver-
sion, the problem of measuring an angle becomes
a problem of measuring a displacement. Moreover,
the capacitance is proportional to the displacement of
swing; therefore, the problem of measuring displace-
ment can be converted into a problem of measuring
858
Figure 2(a). Downhole probe of CBI.
Figure 2(b). Data acquisition system of CBI.
the capacitance. After such a conversion, the rela-
tionship between the to-be-measured physical param-
eter  and the able-to-be-measured capacitance is
established.
3 CONSTITUTION OF RZB-TYPE CBI
The RZB-type CBI consists of a downhole probe and
a ground surface data acquisition system (see Fig-
ure 2). The downhole probe is 1 m long. The main
body of the probe is a stainless cylinder with diameter
of 102 mm. There is a electric-motor driven adjust-
ment platform at the bottom of the cylinder, and two
capacitance inclination sensors perpendicular to each
other are installed on the adjustment platform; the elec-
tronic orienting device, measuring and communication
circuits are installed in the upper part of the cylin-
der. Silicone oil fills inside the cylinder to function as
damping medium to filter high-frequency noisy distur-
bance and to eliminate the fluctuation phenomenon.
The “O” ring sealing technique is employed for the
sealing of the probe cylinder to assure that there is no
leakage when the probe is 400-m below the ground
surface. To facilitate the downhole installation, one
centralizer is on the upper part of the probe and one
gravitational load is applied on the probe.

3.1 Downhole probe component

3.1.1 Capacitance inclination sensor
The stress and strain waves will attenuate during the
propagation. The variation of stress or/and strain in the
surface crust is very small. Generally, the inclination
variation observed in the surface crust, which is caused
by an earthquake of Ms 6.0 to Ms 7.0, is only about sev-
eral hundredth arc seconds to several tenth arc seconds.
The inclination angle of earth tide is about several hun-
dredth arc seconds. If several hundredth arc seconds
of variation needs to be measured accurately, the sen-
sitivity of a sensor shall be of several ten thousandth
arc seconds (Ma Hongjun & Meng Baocheng, 1998.).
For the sensitivity purpose, the designed polar plates
of sensor is 12 mm in area, with the interval spacing
of 0.25 mm; the swing hammer is 49 mm in length. The
distance between the two side plates is fixed, and one
special technique is adopted to assure that the spacing
distance between the two polar plates will never be
changed. The swing hammer, serving as the medium
plate, will move as the inclination occurs, resulting
in a displacement, and then the capacitances between
the swing hammer and the left and right polar plates
will change as well. All the polar plates, swing ham-
mer and bracket structures of the inclination sensor is
made of invar steel. The expansion coefficient of the Figure 3. Tilt sensor calibration curve.
invar steel is less than or equal to 1.2 ∼ 1.5 × 10−6 /◦ C,
and the length deviation dispersion within half a year
is within 10−8 , which all proves that it is a perfect
sensor component and can assure the stable work of
inclination sensor.
The calibration under the laboratory conditions is
affected by many factors, such as vehicle’s passing
by, vibration of buildings and so on. Therefore, the
fine scale calibration cannot be achieved in the indoor
laboratory. The inclination variation angle of calibra-
tion platform is set as 36.82 arc seconds. During the
calibration, the inclination sensor is fixed on a cali-
bration platform, and then the calibration platform is Figure 4. RZB capacitive principle of borehole strain mea-
made to incline at an angle of 36.82 arc seconds, at surement system block diagram.
the same time, the output capacitance of inclination
sensor is recorded. The calibration curve is indicated the medium polar plate, is demodulated and ampli-
in Figure 3. The two inclination sensors of the incli- fied, and then transferred to data acquisition device.
nometer vary linearly. Based on the two linear fitting The digital signal, converted by an A/D, is sent to the
curves, the conversion parameter between capacitance epistatic machine by the MCU control unit through
and inclination angle can be got. RS485 bus.
Because DPB digital potentiometer is employed as
3.1.2 Measurement circuit the adjustment end of a measuring bridge, the MCU
Figure 4 is the principal module diagram for the RZB control unit can program to control the central tap
capacitive borehole strain measurement system. In this joint of DPB digital potentiometer so as to reach the
figure, the part in the dotted frame is the inclination balance adjustment of measuring bridge and to attain
sensor, and the two side polar plates are connected the high-efficiency integration of sensors. In order to
to alternating motivation, forming the alternating- improve the reliability of the whole system, the circuits
current bridge with a DPB digital potentiometer. In and devices after the bridge, including the demod-
the figure, Rw represents the tap joint spot of the ulating and amplifying circuit, AD converter, data
DPB digital potentiometer. The unbalance bridge sig- transmission and cable circuits, employ two identical
nal, created by the gravitational swing and output from but independent systems, one of which is standby one.

859

Figure 5. Siagrchematic dam of electric adjustment.
3.1.3 Motor-driving level adjustment device
An inclinometer finally will be installed into a bore-
hole, but the dip angle of borehole only can be less
than 3 degrees. That is to say, in order to make an
inclinometer work properly after being installed down
into a borehole, the dynamic inclination measurement
range of inclinometer shall be greater than ±3 degrees.
However, in order to guarantee the high sensitivity of
10-4 arc seconds, the dynamic measurement range of
inclination sensor is only about ±0.15 degrees. Obvi-
ously, the dynamic range cannot meet the requirement
of downhole installation.
For satisfying large-scale staged adjustment
requirements, the inclination sensors are installed on a
motor-driving adjustment platform to meet the practi-
cal using requirement for RZB capacitive inclinome-
ter. After the installation of inclinometer is finished,
the inclination sensor can be made to work in a nor-
mal measurement scale through adjusting the motor to
level the two inclination sensors.
Two stepping motors are selected for one elec-
tric inclination adjustment platform, which correspond
to the two adjustment directions of the two inclina-
tion sensors. Just as shown in Figure 5, the stepping
movement of Motor 1 controls the upper and down
movement along axis 1, which corresponds to the incli-
nation status of Sensor 1; the stepping movement of
Motor 2 controls the upper and down movement along
axis 2, which corresponds to the inclination status of
Sensor 2. The connection lines between two motors
and ball bearings form an angle of 90 degrees to
facilitate the downhole operation, which minimize the
mutual effects on each other during the adjustment pro-
cess and make the sensor status adjustment convenient
and direct.
The stepping motor is controlled through a micro
computer and a SCM so as to attain the high-precision
control on the positions. The adjustment range of this
adjustment platform is even up to ±5 degrees, which
can meet the adjustment needs of ±3 degrees pretty
well. After the inclination sensor is installed down into
a borehole, the inclination sensors can be made to
work within the design scale through the adjustment
860
of the platform. Moreover, the motor-driving adjust-
ment platform can adapt to micro variation angle to
calibrate the working inclination sensors.
3.1.4 Electronic orienting device
The traditional downhole orienting devices mainly
include down-borehole photograph techniques or pre-
oriented borehole-bottom device with a specific ori-
entation adapter and downhole probe. However, all
the former downhole orienting devices are very com-
plicated in operation and difficult to conduct in the
field. The electronic compass orienting technique is
adopted for the RZB capacitive borehole inclinome-
ter. Because the position relationships between the
electronic compass and the two sensors are certain,
and after the probe is put down into the borehole,
the electronic compass can tell the exact orienta-
tion of the probe, and then the orientations of two
inclination sensors can be determined. In deeds, the
orienting function can be attained easily through the
electronic compass together with a power supply, com-
munication interface circuit, epistatic machine and one
communication-control software.
3.2 Data acquisition part
Data acquisition part is TSY-1 data acquisition device.
The TSY-1 is precision, wide dynamic range, delta-
sigma analog-to-digital converters with 24-bit resolu-
tion operating from a single +5 Vsupply. The system
consists of RS232, RS485 and Ethernet interfaces. A
variety of ways through data collection and transmis-
sion are suitable for various conditions of observation
stations.
4 APPLICATION CASE OF RZB-TYPE CBI
The RZB-type CBI has high sensitivity and large
pre-adjustment range, which is a good fit for the
installation in deep borehole. This capacitive incli-
nometer, integrated with a deep-well wideband multi-
component borehole strain probe, was installed down
into a borehole of 250 m deep in Dec. 2008 in
Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, and the probe contacted
with the borehole wall tightly through the micro-
expansion cement. The successfully-installed probe
has recorded lots of earth deformation information,
such as slow ground surface inclination, inclination
earth tide, and coseismal responses and so on. Figure
6(a), (b) and (c) shows some data from the probe in
Zhangzhou.
5 CONCLUSION
RZB-type capacitive borehole inclinometer has high
sensitivity (2 × 10−4 arcsec), good linearity, simple
measurement circuit, large adjustment range during
the installation, high-precision electronic orienting
compass, and these features make it eligible for the
 In middle and eastern parts of North China, there
are large areas of sedimentary stratum. At the same
time, with the development of cities, the environment
disturbances on the surface observation devices will
become more and more severe. It will be a good way
to install the RZB capacitive borehole inclinometer
into a deep borehole to gain high-quality earth incli-
nation data. Therefore, this device will have a good
application prospect.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Figure 6(a). East-west tilt sensor observation curve excerpt. This work is founded by Institute of Crustal Dynam-
ics, CEA, Basic scientific Special Fund (ZDJ2009-26,
ZDJ2009-29).

REFERENCES
Ouyang Zuxi, Zhangjun, Chenzheng, et al., 2009. New
progress in Multi-component Observation of Crustal
Deformation in Deep Boreholes. Recent Development in
World Seismology, 11:1–13
He Chengping, Ouyang Zuxi, 2006, A Review on the Obser-
vation Technique of Ground Tilt. Bulletin of the Institute
of Crustal Dynamics,18:149–157
Qiu Zehua, Xie Furen, Su Kaizhi, et al., 2004. New Era
of Borehole Strain Observation. Recent Development in
World Seismology, 1(301):7–14
Figure 6(b). North-south tilt sensor observation curve Huangyu, Wu Lihua, 2008. Research Development of Tilt-
excerpt. meter with High Precision. Senserworld, 5:10–15
Huangyu, Wu Lihua, 2006. Response of two-dimensional
vertical pendulum tilt meter to crustal tilt. Journal of
Harbin Engineering University, 27:469–473
Ma Hongjun, Meng Baocheng, 1998. Vertical-Pendulum
Sensor Measuring the Crustal Deformation Before the
Earthquake Occurrence. Journal of Transducer Technol-
ogy, 17:36–38

Figure 6(c). North-south tilt sensor recorded a magnitude 7

earthquake in Indonesia twice to respond to the same shock.

downhole installation in deep well. The application

case in Zhangzhou indicates that this device can record
good earth tide change curves, abnormal phenomena
in the upper crust before the earthquake and coseismic
waves during an earthquake, which offer abundant data
for the earthquake research.

861
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Incoherent hydro-frac results & its implications in design of crude oil

storage caverns

M.R. Saharan & A. Sinha

Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (CIMFR), India

K. Srinivasan, V.V. Nagada & S. Panda

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), India

H.S. Mitri
McGill University, Canada

F. Rummel & U. Weber

MeSy GmbH, Germany

ABSTRACT: Incoherent results of in-situ stress measurements and their implications in designing a crude
oil storage caverns project are presented in this paper. Core-discing at depths corresponding to abnormally
higher stress magnitude values were observed at the project site. It is brought to the notice that an optimistic
assessment of in-situ stresses may result into costly design surprises during the excavation stage. Consideration
of incoherency in the computed in-situ stress magnitudes and orientation resulted into lowering of the caverns
level farther 5m from the surface than the design requirements as per the storage pressure. The paper also briefly
outlines the project settings, fundamentals of crude oil storage projects in unlined mined caverns and in-situ stress
measurements using hydro-frac technique. Impacts of in-situ stress regime on the caverns design is evaluated by
using numerical modeling for which plain strain numerical models are prepared using a general purpose finite
difference code, FLAC3D.

1 INTRODUCTION injection/hydraulic fracturing using test set-up of wire-

Indian economy is growing at a rapid scale and
a growing economy has put pressure for increase
in consumption for petroleum products. Majority of
the Indian refineries are situated in congested urban
sprawl above surface level where hardly any land
can be spared to accommodate modern processing
plants with higher storage capacities for crude and
finished petroleum products. “Going Underground”
is the only solution measure for obtaining design free-
dom at surface, achieving a higher safety in operations
and making the operations more competitively eco-
nomical. M/S Hindustan Petroleum Reserves Limited
(HPCL), Mumbai has thus planned for storage of crude
oil and finished products in unlined mined caverns at
a floor depth of 55 m from surface level with a planned
capacity of 1.05 MMT in 1.9 km long 11 caverns.
The study conducted for requisite design by Central
Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (CIMFR), India
comprised of core drilling and logging, geophysical
investigations, in-situ stress measurements, laboratory
testing and numerical modeling to design the under-
ground storage facility in unlined mined caverns. Two
NQ-size boreholes of 66 and 75 m depth were utilised
for in-situ stress and permeability testing by fluid
line technique by MeSy, India. A total of 14 tests
could be carried out at depth between 18 m and 60 m.
Most of the tests provided distinct fracture initia-
tion phases, subsequent re-fracturing cycles yielded
rather clear pressure values for fracture opening
and closure. For fracture initiation injection pres-
sures up to almost 17 MPa was required, fracture
re-opening/closure occurred at injection pressures of
about 2 MPa independent of depth. The characteristic
hydrofrac pressure values for fracture opening and clo-
sure has shown a scatter in calculated horizontal stress
magnitudes and also, the orientation of stress tensors
has shown scatter due to scatter in fracture orientation
data. MeSy had the opinion to utilize an average value
for in-situ stress regime. The project, however, could
have different design implications if the average values
had been chosen. The measurement values are there-
fore critically re-evaluated in the light of the informa-
tion that core discing was observed in corresponding
depth levels those reflected higher fracture initiation
injection pressure. The paper presents details discus-
sion on the different design implications in light of the
incoherent stress magnitude and orientation values and
the logic for the chosen option in design of the under-
ground openings. A brief introduction to the design

863
Figure 1. Fundamentals of crude oil storage in unlined mined caverns (Pillai & Saharan, 2007).
fundamentals of underground oil storage and in-situ
stress measurements are also discussed in the paper.
Design implications of in-situ measurement data are
illustrated through plane strain numerical models of
the proposed designs using a general purpose FDM
code, FLAC3D (Itasca, 2007).
2 CRUDE OIL STORAGE IN UNLINED MINED
CAVERNS-FUNDAMENTALS
Figure 1 conceptually illustrates two major criteria
demand, namely – mechanical tightness criterion and
hydraulic containment criterion, those are essential for
ensuring safe storage of crude oil in unlined mined
caverns. The mechanical tightness criterion demands
housing of the caverns in a rock mass which is free
from geological disturbances (faults, dykes, folds,
etc.), rock mass strength greater than the excavation
induced rock stresses and a rock joint environment
having characteristics of tight and less persistent joints
devoid of soluble infillings surrounding the excava-
tion geometry. Operational safety, stability and cost-
effectiveness are achieved by meeting this criterion.
The hydraulic containment criterion demands citing
of the caverns to a depth having a hydraulic poten-
tial, natural or artificially boosted, always greater than
864
the design pressure developed due to vapour phase of
the stored products. Chances of product leakage are
eliminated by meeting this criterion.
3 IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENTS AT THE
PROJECT SITE
In order to ensure fulfilment of the mechanical tight-
ness criterion for the storage of crude oil facilities
in unlined mined caverns, it is desired that the cav-
erns should be housed – (1) at a depth level which
has consistent orientation for the principal stresses of
in-situ stress regime, (2) the caverns axis is parallel to
the major principal stress, and (3) shape of the cav-
erns induce changes in in-situ stress regime in such
a way that compressive stresses are induced around
the caverns. Thus, one of the most critical inputs for
the feasibility design of crude oil facility in unlined
mined caverns is identification of the in-situ stress
regime. Classical hydrofracturing stress measurement
technique (Hubbert and Wills, 1957) and its analy-
sis employing the method given by Cornet (1986)
for hydraulic fracturing through pre-existing fractures
(HTPF) or Rummel (1989) for PSI inversion meth-
ods are conducted for the test site. The test method
demands assumption for the direction of the one of the
Figure 2. A typical core discing sample form the Figure 3. Pole Concentration of fracture orientation data.
Borehole B1.

Table 1. Characteristics pressure data and fracture orientations.

Test no. depth k Pc Pr Pco Psi α β θ

m µDarcy MPa MPa MPa MPa degree degree degree

B1/8 15 3 10.5 5.6/5.7 4.9/4.8 2.3/1.8 ± 0.2 90 325 172

81 91
27 85
B5/6 18 64 – 2.5 – 2.0 90 322 38
58 53
B1/7 25 25 (4.8) 2.0/1.8 (2.8/2.6) 1.7/1.5 90 67 157
B5/5 25 61 (4.4) 1.7 (2.7) 1.56 25 148 58
63 187 97
B5/4 30 50 (4.7) 2.7 (2.0) 2.4/2.2 90 146 118
18 56
B1/6 35 520 (3.7) 3.0 (0.7) 2.2 85 269 179
36 176 86
B5/3 35 0 8.4 1.9/2.4 6.5/6.0 1.6/1.7 90 152
B5/2 40 150 – 0.9 – 1.1 0 – –
B5/1 43 1700 – 1.85 – 1.5/1.4 16 311 41
B1/4 45 76 (2.8) 1.8/2.1 (0.8) 1.95 74 262 172
B1/3 51 18 16.8 (11) (5) (10) 90 72
B1/2 58 3 15.7 5.2 10.5 4.2/4.4 90 283 118
56 13
B1/1 60 53 (6.7) 2.7 (4) 2.6/2.55 68 233 143

principal stresses and test boreholes must be aligned
to this direction. Vertical stress is found truly vertical
in the present case as observed through core discing
obtained from the core drilling program (Figure 2).
Core discs as shown in Figure 2 having cylindrical
shapers are indicative of the major principal stress
perpendicular to the borehole axis and a higher stress
magnitude regime surrounding the depth zones where
core discs are obtained (higher than the anticipated).
Therefore, downward vertical boreholes are selected
for the determination of in-situ stress regime. The tests
are conducted in two boreholes to enhance the reli-
ability of the results and analysis. Results obtained
from the second boreholes have adequately corrobo-
rated the results for the first test borehole and general
observations of core discing during the core drilling
program. Characteristic pressure data and fracture
orientation data calculated from the field test and re-
examined from laboratory hydro-frac tests are shown
in Table 1. Pole concentration plot of fracture ori-
entation data is given Figure 3. As per Table 1,
incoherency in the horizontal stress magnitude data
(calculated from Pc , Pr and Psi ) with particular refer-
ence to data of B1/8 and B1/2 resulted into different
presumptions for in-situ stress regime for the organi-
sation which conducted the tests (MeSy GmbH) and
the designers (CIMFR, India). The different conno-
tation to the regime can have different impacts to
the caverns design. The following three prepositions
were considered for the caverns design in light of
the information gathered from the in-situ stress test-
ing program. These prepositions are evaluated in the

865
next section to understand their effects in the caverns
design.

Preposition 1: MeSy GmbH had the opinion that the

tests at B1/8 and B1/2 are aberrations those shall be
ignored for the calculation of the in-situ stress regime.
Further, no plausible relation can be put forward to sug-
gest inter-relationship between the principal stresses.
Thus, it was suggested that the design calculations
shall consider the following average stress values for
the design.
σv , MPa = 0.027H
σh , MPa = 2.2 ± 0.9
σH , MPa = 4.5 ± 2.7
θSH ≈ N 168 degrees.

Preposition 2: MeSy GmbH had also opinioned that

ignorance of the test data of B1/2 will yield into the
following stress relationship for the site which can be
used for the design purposes.
σh , MPa = (1.6 ± 0.3) + (0.009 ± 0.006)*z, m
σH , MPa = (2.0 ± 0.7) + (0.0556 ± 0.0008)*z, m
σv , MPa = 0.027*z, m
θSH , degrees = 171 ± 4
Preposition 3: CIMFR India had the opinion that the
combination of the test data at B1/2 and B1/8 with
core discing observed in more than one test boreholes
at corresponding depth levels shall not be ignored and
must be considered for the caverns design. Consid-
eration of these data will make caverns depth +5 m
than the required design depth but omittance of these
data may prove to be a costly in terms of expen-
sive design changes at later excavation stage resulting
from probable excavation stability surprises. Keeping
these apprehensions in mind, CIMFR suggested the
following stress relationships for the caverns design.
(i) High stress Zone ‘1’ (Depth: −10 to −15 m.s.l.)
σv = 0.028*depth, MPa ≈ 1.0 MPa, Dipping ver-
tically downward
σH = 4.8 MPa, Strike direction N123◦ E
σh = 2.2 MPa, Strike direction N213◦ E
(ii) High stress zone ‘2’ (Depth: −30 to −40 m.s.l.)
σv = 0.028*depth, MPa ≈ 1.7 MPa, Dipping ver-
tically downward
σH = 18.7 MPa, Strike direction N72◦ E
σh = 9.7 MPa, Strike direction N152◦ E
(iii) Average stress value for the remaining domain
of interest
σh , MPa = (1.6 ± 0.3) + (0.009 ± 0.006)*z, m
σH , MPa = (2.0 ± 0.7) + (0.0556 ± 0.0008)*z, m
σv , MPa = 0.027*z, m
θSH , degrees = 171 ± 4
4 NUMERICAL MODELLING FOR THE
CAVERNS DESIGN
11 caverns, parallel in 3 rows with a pillar width of
35 m in between, of 24 m (w) × 31 m (h) sizes with
Figure 4. Geometric layout and sampling points for the
models.
a minimum length of 4 times the caverns width are
planned having a minimum surface cover of 55m. Plain
strain numerical models are prepared using a general
purpose FDM code, FLAC3D (Itasca, 2007). Rock
mass properties as the input data are estimated based
on the field and laboratory testing program for the
project site. The estimated RMR (Bieniawski, 1976)
for the project site has an average value of 86 and
the same is used for estimating rock mass properties.
The initial simulations covered placing of trunca-
tion boundaries in such a manner that the interaction
behaviour of neighbouring caverns can be evaluated
with respect to the induced stresses. It is, however,
found that the pillar width in between the caverns is
sufficient and pillars are not undermining structural
stability of the caverns design. Therefore, further anal-
ysis covered simulation of half-cavern space with a
suitable symmetric plane (Figure 4). Sampling points
for the comparative parameters for the evaluation of
all the prepositions of in-situ stress regime are shown
in Figure 4. Non-associative Mohr-Coulomb material
model is employed for the modelling. Simulations are
performed for all the three prepositions for in-situ
stress regime and also, with one more preposition con-
sidering the in-situ stress regime as the preposition
number 3 but the caverns are placed at −50 m in place
of −55 m. This is to consider the effect of the preposi-
tion number 3 as a geological surprise by ignoring the
important incoherent stress values. Important results
of the modelling are summarized in Table 2. Negative
values in Table 2 indicate for compression (or stress
concentration for SCF) and positive values are tension
or stress relaxation. SCF is stress concentration factor.

866
Table 2. Summary of numerical modelling results.

Point 1 Point 2 Point 3

Preposition 1:
σMin 0 MPa −1 MPa −1.0 MPa
σMax −6 MPa −4 MPa −4.0 MPa
σzz 0 MPa −4 MPa −2.0 MPa
σxx −4 MPa 0 MPa 0.0 MPa
σMax − σMin −6 MPa −3 MPa −3.0 MPa
SCF 1.4 MPa 2.3 MPa 0.23 MPa
Preposition 2:
σMin 0 MPa −2.5 MPa −2.5 MPa
σMax −1 MPa −5 MPa −5.0 MPa
σzz 0 MPa −5 MPa −5.0 MPa
σxx −0.5 MPa 0 MPa 0.0 MPa
σMax − σMin −1 MPa −2.5 MPa −2.5 MPa
Figure 5. Principal stress tensors for the Preposition 2.
SCF 5.0 MPa −3.27 MPa −3.27 MPa
Preposition 3:
σMin 0 MPa 0 MPa 2.0 MPa
σMax −2 MPa −2 MPa −2.0 MPa
σzz 0 MPa 0 MPa 2.0 MPa
σxx −2.5 MPa 0 MPa 0.0 MPa
σMax − σMin −2 MPa −2.0 MPa −4.0 MPa
SCF 15.5 MPa 1.73 MPa 3.73 MPa
Preposition 4:
σMin 2 MPa −2.0 MPa −2.0 MPa
σMax −5 MPa −10 MPa −10.0 MPa
σzz 0 MPa 0 MPa 0.0 MPa
σxx −5 MPa 0 MPa 0.0 MPa
σMax − σMin −7 MPa −12 MPa −12 MPa
SCF 5.0 MPa 2.5 MPa 2.5 MPa

Figure 6. Principal stress tensors for the Preposition 3.

It is clearly evident from the Table 2 that Preposi-

tion 4, i.e. ignoring the incoherency and designing the
caverns as per the basis of storage products pressure,
would lead to the highest level of deviatoric stresses
(σMax − σMin ) and also tensile stresses in the roof level
to manage. The preposition 3 will result into a uni-
form low level of deviatoric stresses in the roof and
a good amount of stress relaxation for the design in
terms of the major principal stress. Comparative plots
of principal stress tensors for the preposition 2 and 3
are also shown in Figure 5 and 6. It can be noticed from
Figures 5 and 6 that unlike the other prepositions, the
preposition 3 will generate compressive stresses in the
roof level which is a desired position for the success
of the crude oil storage projects. Other alternative for
the management would be to opt for a shape which
is closer to an oval shape for generation of uniform
compressive stresses all around the proposed caverns
for other preposition.
a later stage. The incoherent result could not be corrob-
orated from the field testing in another borehole due
to practical difficulties. This resulted into considera-
tion of Preposition 3 with caverns level repositioning
to +5m deeper than the required depth level by the
product storage pressure demand. Other difficulty
encountered during the field testing was identification
of proper locations for in-situ stress estimation along a
particular borehole. The locations were selected based
on the soundness of core drills which could have obvi-
ously ignored the possible influence of a joint set
near to the borehole boundary but not exposed dur-
ing the core drilling. A geophysical method, such as
acoustic televiewer, could have assisted in identifying
these hidden joint sets so a proper HTPF calculation
incorporated for the stress estimation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Authors of this paper appreciate Hindustan Petroleum

Corporation Limited (HPCL), India for financially and
It is evident from Table 2 that ignoring the incoherency administratively supporting this field study. Support of
in stress measurement data may lead to undesired geo- the other field personnel and officers from MeSy and
logical surprises resulting into costly design changes at CIMFR is also acknowledged.

867
REFERENCES
Bieniawski, Z.T. 1976. Rock mass classification in rock engi-
neering. In Z.T. Bieniawski (ed.), Exploration for Rock
Engineering; Balkema: Rotterdam. 97–106.
Cornet, F.H. 1986. Stress determination from hydraulic tests
on pre-existing fractures – the HTPF method. In Proc. Int.
Symp. Rock Stress Measurements; Stockholm, CENTEK.
301–312.
Hubbert M.K. & Willis, D,K. 1957. Mechanics of hydraulic
fracturing. Trans AIME. 210, 153–163.
868
ITASCA 2007. Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in
3 Dimensions. Version 3.0, User’s guides, Minneapolis,
USA.
Pillai, R.K. & Saharan, M.R. 2007. Designing LPG storage
facilities in unlined mined caverns – geotechnical issues
and experiences. In Proc. 1st Int. Conf. – Global compe-
tencies and emerging trends in LPG safety. Agra, India.
Feb. 7–9, 2007.
Rummel, F. 1987. Fracture mechanics approach to hydraulic
fracturing stress measurements. In Atkinson (ed.), Frac-
ture Mech. of Rock. Acad. Press Geol. Ser. 217–239.
 Rock Stress and Earthquakes – Xie (ed.)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-60165-8

Influence of high horizontal stress regime on the shape of LPG caverns – A

case study

M.R. Saharan & A. Sinha

Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (CIMFR), India

H.S. Mitri
McGill University, Canada

ABSTRACT: Incoherent results of in-situ stress measurements and their implications in designing a crude
oil storage caverns project are presented in this paper. Core-discing at depths corresponding to abnormally
higher stress magnitude values were observed at the project site. It is brought to the notice that an optimistic
assessment of in-situ stresses may result into costly design surprises during the excavation stage. Consideration
of incoherency in the computed in-situ stress magnitudes and orientation resulted into lowering of the caverns
level farther 5 m from the surface than the design requirements as per the storage pressure. The paper also
briefly outlines the project settings, fundamentals of crude oil storage projects in unlined mined caverns and
in-situ stress measurements using hydro-frac technique. Impacts of in-situ stress regime on the caverns design
is evaluated by using numerical modeling for which plain strain numerical models are prepared using a general
purpose finite difference code, FLAC3D.

1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
M/S South Asia LPG, Visakhapatnam (India) has con-
structed the first mined unlined caverns for LPG
storage in South-East Asia. India. The project site is
located at 17◦ 41
N and 83◦ 18
E in southern part of
India. The caverns with 1,23,600 m3 capacity are stor-
ing maximum 60,000 MT of LPG and they are located
at a depth between 162 m to 186 m below ground sur-
face. The major axis of the caverns is in the N30◦ E
direction. Geologically, the project caverns are located
in Khondalite group of metamorphic Archaean rocks.
The main joint set family strikes in the N85◦ E direc-
tion and has a near vertical dip. The joints are tight
(separation less than 1 mm), less persistent, widely
spaced (spacing more than 1 m) and are clear of infill-
ings. The current project is cited in metamorphic rocks
having rock strength (Uniaxial) of 100 MPa, Modu-
lus of Elasticity equals to 78 GPa, Poisson’s ratio as
0.22 and density equals to 2877 kg/m3 . A detailed
geotechnical investigation has been carried out and
the rock mass was characterized using the 1976 Bieni-
awski’s Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system (Bieniawski,
1976). According to this classification, the rock mass
was classified as Good Quality Rock with an average
RMR value of 78. This rock mass structure provides
an environment similar to Continuously Homogenous
Isotropic Linear Elastic (CHILE) material.
Feasibility of the project was established on the
basis of optimistic assumption of the stress regime
and an oval shape for the caverns was determined.
Later on, in-situ stress measurements were conducted
at the project site and M/S Geostock, France consid-
ered a change in the caverns shape and proposed a
new basket shape to accommodate the new knowl-
edge of in-situ stress regime which was higher than
the assumed stress regime. Change for the new design
meant higher input for the rock reinforcement mea-
sures and a longer period of excavation program for
SALPG. CIMFR, India undertook the auditing of this
design change using numerical modelling. This paper
presents outcome of this auditing apart from a brief
description of the design requirements for LPG storage
in unlined mined caverns.
2 PRINCIPLES OF LPG STORAGE IN
UNLINED MINED CAVERNS
Two major objectives, hydraulic containment and
mechanical tightness, are to be fulfilled for any cavern
designed for the storage of liquefied petro-products.
Hydraulic containment of the products is achieved
by a water curtain system in which natural aquifer
around caverns is maintained in such a way that con-
trolled flow direction of water is always towards the
caverns. This scheme successfully limits chances of
leakage of the products from the caverns. Similar to
other projects of the same nature, a water curtain sys-
tem has been designed for the Visakhapatnam project
of SALPG.
The purpose of ‘mechanical tightness criterion’ is
long-term stability of the caverns as well as mainte-
nance of natural rock mass environment so that water

869
flow towards the caverns always remains under con-
trolled conditions. This tightness criterion is achieved
by adopting the following step-wise procedure in the
caverns designs.
(i) Citing of the caverns in good rock mass condi-
tions.
(ii) Locating the Caverns at a depth having consistent
stress-regime.
(iii) Aligning the caverns major axis.
(iv) Designing a Suitable Shape of the Caverns.
3 IN-SITU STRESS MEASUREMENT AND
CAVERNS ALIGNMENT
In general, in-situ stress regime near the surface is
not consistent due to various geographical, geological
and tectonic reasons. As the depth increases, the stress
regime attains characteristics which follow a consis-
tent trend of magnitude and direction. Location of the
caverns at such a depth ensures uniform loading on
the caverns roof and wall. Then design procedure takes
care of the loading in order to ensure the tightness cri-
terion. An inconsistent in-situ stress regime results in
an increase in the uncertainty of the design and thus
shall be avoided.
The stress measurements for the project site were
carried out using wireline hydrofrac/hydraulic injec-
tion technique, where the straddle packer tool is moved
within the borehole on a borehole logging cable with a
winch system. The wireline testing approach enables
pressure and fracture growth control due to its high
system stiffness and the possibility of on – line down
hole pressure recording. The sealing length of each
packer element was about 1.0 m, the length of the test
interval between the two packers was about 0.75 m.
The impression packer tool to measure the orientation
of induced or stimulated fractures consisted of a single
packer element with a soft rubber sleeve, in conjunc-
tion with a magnetic single shot device. Measurement
of the in-situ stress regime using hydrofrac technique
provided the following relations.
Vertical stress,
Major horizontal stress,
Minor horizontal stress,
The caverns for the project of M/S SALPG are cited
at a depth in between 162 m to 186 m. The above mea-
surements are carried out up to the depth of 150 m
and involve inconsistency in the stress magnitude
and direction for the horizontal stresses. No serious
adverse impact on the caverns stability, however, is
apprehended despite this shortcoming in the citing of
870
the caverns depth. The reasons behind a good sta-
bility of the caverns are very good rock mass, high
rock strength and less persistent tight joints devoid of
infillings surrounding to them.
Further, the stress measurements at the project site
established that on average the major principal stress
(σH ) is at 59 ± 3 Degree (ENE-WSW). The caverns
major axis is planned at 30 Degree (30 Degree ENE-
WSW) from the major principal stress direction.As per
the stress transformation equations, this will invoke
shear stresses in the horizontal plane of the order of
3 MPa at the caverns level. Though the caverns axis
is not aligned with the major principal stress, serious
adverse impacts from the shear stresses are not fore-
casted due to the fact that the jointing in rock mass is
sparse, less persistent and is tight.
4 PREPARATION OF NUMERICAL
MODELS
As mentioned above, the rock mass for the project
represents CHILE material. Therefore, plane strain
modelling, using a continuum finite difference code
FLAC3D (ITASCA, 2007), is adopted for the analy-
sis purpose. Elastic material models are prepared with
the geometric and boundary conditions as shown in
Figure 1. Numerical models are prepared for both the
proposed shapes with the provisions of a symmetric
plane at 32 m away from one end of the excavation
boundary to represent excavation of two caverns with
64 m pillar in between. Smaller openings around the
caverns such as water curtain galleries and other con-
necting galleries are ignored in the current modelling
exercises as their influence on the caverns will be neg-
ligible. Inputs of in-situ stress regime are given as per
the tested values (reported in Equations 1, 2 and 3) with
suitable application of stress transformation equations
to align the stresses along the Cartesian and excavation
axes.
The prepared models are first solved without exca-
vations in order to stabilize in-situ stress regime to
represent virgin conditions. Further, rock properties
(elastic modulus and later on strength properties using
safety factor contouring) are converted into rock mass
properties in the models. The rock properties and
adopted rock mass properties are shown in Table 1.
Once the stresses are stabilized, the excavations are
invoked in stages, to represent staged excavation, and
each stage is solved separately. Finally, after the last
excavation stage, safety factor contouring is made
using the Sheorey Criterion (Sheorey, 1996). The
criterion reads as per the followings.
(a) – Geometric layout for oval shape
(b) – Geometric layout for basket shape
 where, σ1 = Major stress at failure σcm , rock mass
compressive strength

rock compressive strength, σc = 100 MPa

Rock Mass Rating, RMR = 78
rock mass tensile strength,

rock tensile strength, σt = 10 MPa

For estimation of Safety Factor (SF),

σ1i = induced major principal stress σ3i = induced

minor principal stress except, when −σ3i > σt

A sub-routine program is added in FLAC3D to cal-

culate Safety Factor which reads induced principal
Figure 1. Geometric and boundary conditions for the pre- stresses (σ1i and σ3i ) and calculates the safety factor
pared numerical models. as per the above.

Table 1. Input parameters for rock mass properties for numerical modelling.

Measured rock Rock mass property Basis of the change

Parameter property Used in numerical models in the property

Elastic Modulus 78 GPa 56 GPa Relation by Bieniawaski (1978) as

Erm = (2 × RMR −100)
Poisson’s ratio 0.22 0.22 –
Density 2877 kg/m3 2650 kg/m3 From the relation of in-situ
stress measurements, particularly
relation – Sv = 0.02650 × Depth, MPa
Compressive 100 MPa 33.29 MPa Relation (5) as
Strength per Sheorey Criterion
Tensile 10 MPa 4.43 MPa Relation (6) as per
Strength Sheorey Criterion
In-situ stresses As per relations 1 to 3 – –

871
Figure 2. The major principal stress contours around oval
shaped caverns.
Figure 3. The minor principal stress contours around the
oval shaped caverns.
5 ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF
NUMERICAL MODELS
Principal stresses and safety factor contour plots are
prepared from the output of the numerical modelling
exercises and the same are presented and discussed in
the following sub-sections.
5.1 Principal stresses around the caverns
Plots of the principal stresses are shown in Figures 2
to 5. Figures 2 and 4 show the maximum principal
stress contours while Figures 3 and 5 represent the
minimum principal stress contours for the respective
shapes. Based on these plots, the difference between σ1
and σ3 is summarized in Table 2. It is evident that this
difference is slightly on higher side for basket shape
which indicates for slightly lower safety margins for
this shape.
5.2 Safety factor contours around the caverns
The most important and direct communicative results
from the safety point of view are the local safety factor
872
Figure 4. The major principal stress contours around the
basket shaped caverns.
Figure 5. The minor principal stress contours around the
basket shaped caverns.
Table 2. σ1 -σ3 values for different caverns shapes.
Difference in σ1 -σ3 at
Cavern Shape Roof Floor Side wall
Oval −64 MPa −38 MPa −26 MPa
Basket −43 MPa −37 MPa −17 MPa
contours plots. Safety factor plots are prepared using
Sheorey Failure Criterion (1996) for both the shapes.
The plots are shown in Figures 6 and 7. Safety fac-
tor value below 1.0 represents unstable scenario. Also,
rock bolts as rock reinforcement measures should have
about 1.5 m depth in stable zones to contain stress con-
trolled failure. It is evident from Figure 6 that the oval
shape will have, finally, 2 m wide by 1 m deep unsta-
ble zone at the caverns roof while two 3 m wide by
1 m deep unstable zones are shown at floor corners.
Figure 7 shows unstable zones as 16 m wide by 1 m
deep in the roof, about 14 m wide by 2 m deep in the
floor and 1 m wide by 1 m deep in the bottom most

Figure 6. The safety factor contour plots for oval shaped
caverns.
Figure 7. The safety factor contour plots for basket shaped
caverns.
corners of the side walls for the basket shape. Failure
in the roof will be contained by rock reinforcement
measures while the floor failure is insignificant as the
material will remain there due to gravity. Further, rock
reinforcement in the form of rock bolts having depth of
2–3 m and 3–4 m will be sufficient for oval and basket
shapes, respectively.
873
6 CONCLUSIONS
The results presented in this study predict over-all a
safe scenario for the both shapes. It is, however, can be
noticed that the decision for change of shape slightly
reduced safety factor contours, generated additional
requirements for greater amount of rock reinforcement
measures and longer rock bolt lengths to maintain the
stability. This had forced the management to incur
higher costs towards the rock reinforcement measures
and also delayed the project schedule due to changes
required for loading and unloading at the shaft bottom.
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Bieniawski, Z.T. 1976. Rock mass classification in rock engi-
neering. In Z.T. Bieniawski (ed.), Exploration for Rock
Engineering; Balkema: Rotterdam. 97–106.
Bieniawski ZT. 1978. Determining rock mass deformability:
experience from case histories. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci
Geomech Abstr; 15:237–47.
ITASCA 2007. Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in
3 Dimensions. Version 3.0, User’s guides, Minneapolis,
USA.
Sheorey, P.R. 1997. Empirical Rock Failure Criteria;
Balkema: Rotterdam. 194p.