Research Projects Supported by HKU's High Performance Computing Facilities
Researcher:
Professor L G Tham, Department of Civil Engineering
Professor Chunan Tang, Northeastern University, China
Project Title:

Three-dimensional Analysis of Brittle Materials

Project Description:

Fluid flow through fractured rock masses has been a subject of interest in civil as well as mining engineering. In civil and mining engineering projects, after the necessary excavations, such as tunnels and underground chambers, the re-distribution of the stress field will adversely alter some existing fracture apertures and create, at the same time, some undesirable new fractures. These changes will influence the permeability and in turn control the associated water flow. These changes in mechanical behaviour may also occur after impounding water in the reservoirs of hydroelectric power projects and lead to activities such as seismic movements. Furthermore, even the mere fact of storage of nuclear waste and/or other hot stuff in rock chambers has undoubtedly added a new dimension of complexity to the problems. In sum, civil engineers have to deal with not only the so-called 'hydro-mechanical' but also the coupled 'thermal' effects.

It is on this background that the Rock Engineering Research Centre of The University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Professor C.A. Tang, has developed a finite element package for the steady state hydro-mechanical analysis. This package is able to model the effects of the initiation, development and coalescence of fractures on the flow, which have not been taken into account by most available packages. However, transient flow has not been modelled and thermal effects have not been taken into account. Therefore, the aim of the present project is to extend the modelling capability to handle both transient flow and thermal effects.

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Project Duration:
24 months
Project Significance:

The new and comprehensive package can directly be applied to various engineering projects such as energy exploitation and development, protection and restoration of water resources, environmental remediation, mining and tunnelling.

Results Achieved:
The findings of the project will be published in the leading international and national journals. In collaboration with the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, China, the package will be used to assess the suitability and potential nuclear waste disposal sites and the detailed design of the disposal scheme.

Some related publications since 2000 :

1. C.A. Tang, H. Liu, P.K.K. Lee, Y. Tsui, L.G. Tham, Numerical Tests on Micro-Macro Relationship of Rock Failure under uniaxial Compression - Part I: Effect of Heterogeneity. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, Vol. 37, pp555-569, 2000.

2. C.A. Tang, L.G. Tham, P.K.K. Lee, Y. Tsui, H. Liu, Numerical Tests on Micro-Macro Relationship of Rock Failure under uniaxial Compression - Part II: Constraint, Slenderness and Size Effects. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, Vol. 37, pp571-583, 2000.

3. Q. Yang, Z. Li and L.G. Tham, An explicit expression of second-order fabric-tensor dependent elastic compliance tensor. Mechanics Research Communication, Vol. 28, pp255-260, 2001.

4. Q. Yang, L.G. Tham and G. Swoboda, Micromechanical basis of nonlinear phenomenological equations as damage evolution laws. Mechanics Research Communications, Vol. 29, pp131-136, 2002.

5. C.A. Tang, L.G. Tham, P.K.K. Lee, T.H. Yang and L.C. Li, Coupled analysis of flow, stress and damage (FSD) in rock failure. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, Vol. 39, pp477-489, 2002.

6. Z.H. Chen, L.G. Tham, M.R. Yeung, Y. Tsui and P.K.K. Lee, A study on the peak strength of brittle rocks. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Vol 35, pp 255-270, 2002.

7. E.Z. Wang, Z.Q. Yue, L.G. Tham, Y. Tsui and H.T. Wang, A dual fracture model to simulate large-scale flow through fractured rocks. Canadian Geotechnical Journal,Vol 39, pp 1302-1312, 2002.

8. C.C. Xia, Z.Q. Yue, L.G. Tham and C.F. Lee, A study for quantifying topography and closure deformation of rock joints. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, Vol 40, pp197-220, 2003.

9. Z.H. Chen, M.R. Yeung, L.G. Tham, P.K.K. Lee, Numerical simulation of the damage and failure of rocks under different confining pressures. Journal of Geomechanics, Vol 3, pp 266-273, 2003.

10. L. Li, P.K.K. Lee, Y. Tsui, L.G. Tham and C.A. Tang, Failure Process of granite. International Journal of Geomechanics, Vol 3, pp 84-98, 2003.

11. Z.Q. Yue, S. Chen and L.G. Tham, Finite element modelling of geomaterials using digital image processing, Computer and Geotechnics, Vol 30, pp 375-397, 2003.

12. L.G. Tham, L. Li, Y. Tsui and P.K.K. Lee, A replica method for observing microcracks on rock surfaces, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, Vol 40, pp 785-794, 2003.

13. T.H. Yang, L.C. Li, L.G. Tham and C.A. Tang, Numerical approach to hydraulic fracturing in heterogeneous and permeable rocks, Key Engineering Materials, Vol 243-244, pp 339-344, 2003.

14. B. Jin, Z.Q. Yue and L.G. Tham, Stresses and excess pore pressure induced in saturated poroelastic halfspace by moving line load, Soil Dynamic and Earthquake Engineering, 24, pp 25-33, 2004.
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Remarks on the Use of High Performance Computing Cluster:
A three-dimensional analysis will involve millions of unknown, and therefore a computer with high computing capacity, both in terms of storage and speed, is necessary. The availability of such machine in HKU will be beneficial to the project.
Email Address:
hrectlg@hkucc.hku.hk (Professor Tham)

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