Damage assessment of High-Stress brittle surrounding rock masses in a deep Large-Span High-Sidewall underground Cavern: In situ measurement and numerical simulation

Excavation within high-stress brittle rock masses often encounters severe problem of structural damage in deep underground engineering, necessitating a significant scientific demand for accurately assessing the damage to surrounding rock masses through in-situ measurement and numerical simulations. This study reports detailed findings from an exhaustive investigation on the damage characteristics and underlying mechanisms in the high-stress brittle surrounding rock masses during excavation at the Shuangjiangkou (SJK) underground caverns. These findings were obtained through a comprehensive long-term in situ measurement using multi-point extensometer monitoring, borehole digital optical televiewer observing, and acoustic testing. Based on a deep understanding of the damage and failure mechanisms peculiar to the SJK high-stress brittle surrounding rock masses, a new damage index specifically designed for high-stress brittle rock masses was developed. This index is formulated by incorporating the failure approach concept into a modified Hoek−Brown criterion adapted for high-stress brittle rock masses. Comparison between the numerical predictions and in situ measuring results of the excavation damage zones during layered excavation of the SJK underground powerhouse revealed remarkable concordance. This consistency validates that the newly proposed damage index has good applicability and reliability for quantifying excavation-induced damage in high-stress brittle surrounding rock masses. These research findings are poised to provide valuable insights into the damage identification of brittle surrounding rock masses subjected to high-stress excavation, contributing to optimize excavation design and enhance the safety and sustainability of underground engineering projects.