Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress

Abstract To forecast the release of hazardous gases during deep underground excavation, it is essential to understand how normal and lateral stresses interact to influence fracture surfaces in rock mass deformation and seepage development. This study investigates the complete stress–strain–seepage r...

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Main Authors: Jilu Zhang, Xiaohan Zhou, Xinrong Liu, Lei Fang, Xueyan Guo, Hao Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04068-3
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author Jilu Zhang
Xiaohan Zhou
Xinrong Liu
Lei Fang
Xueyan Guo
Hao Chen
author_facet Jilu Zhang
Xiaohan Zhou
Xinrong Liu
Lei Fang
Xueyan Guo
Hao Chen
author_sort Jilu Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract To forecast the release of hazardous gases during deep underground excavation, it is essential to understand how normal and lateral stresses interact to influence fracture surfaces in rock mass deformation and seepage development. This study investigates the complete stress–strain–seepage response of fractured rock under varying fracture angles and gas pressures through triaxial testing. Results show that gas pressure begins to significantly promote fracture opening when the gas-to-confining pressure ratio (p/σ 3) exceeds 7.5. However, increasing gas pressure has limited influence on the overall failure mechanism. As deviatoric stress increases, rock mass permeability initially decreases and then increases, with the enhancing effect growing at higher stress levels. A fracture permeability model incorporating lateral stress effects was developed to simulate the dynamic coupling of damage and seepage throughout loading and unloading. The model effectively captures the dynamic evolution of seepage under the coupled damage-deformation conditions by iterating damage and seepage computations. Simulations reveal that increased lateral stress reduces normal stress on fracture surfaces, with its influence becoming more pronounced as fracture angle decreases and gas pressure rises. Damage accumulation further reduces normal stress, significantly affecting gas flow at the inlet and rupture planes, while having minimal impact at the outlet. These findings offer valuable insights for predicting gas release during deep tunnel excavation.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
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spelling doaj-art-c9f4ef9e1ed04be18efc30cb3e191e8d2025-08-20T03:38:13ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115112310.1038/s41598-025-04068-3Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stressJilu Zhang0Xiaohan Zhou1Xinrong Liu2Lei Fang3Xueyan Guo4Hao Chen5School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversitySchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing UniversityAbstract To forecast the release of hazardous gases during deep underground excavation, it is essential to understand how normal and lateral stresses interact to influence fracture surfaces in rock mass deformation and seepage development. This study investigates the complete stress–strain–seepage response of fractured rock under varying fracture angles and gas pressures through triaxial testing. Results show that gas pressure begins to significantly promote fracture opening when the gas-to-confining pressure ratio (p/σ 3) exceeds 7.5. However, increasing gas pressure has limited influence on the overall failure mechanism. As deviatoric stress increases, rock mass permeability initially decreases and then increases, with the enhancing effect growing at higher stress levels. A fracture permeability model incorporating lateral stress effects was developed to simulate the dynamic coupling of damage and seepage throughout loading and unloading. The model effectively captures the dynamic evolution of seepage under the coupled damage-deformation conditions by iterating damage and seepage computations. Simulations reveal that increased lateral stress reduces normal stress on fracture surfaces, with its influence becoming more pronounced as fracture angle decreases and gas pressure rises. Damage accumulation further reduces normal stress, significantly affecting gas flow at the inlet and rupture planes, while having minimal impact at the outlet. These findings offer valuable insights for predicting gas release during deep tunnel excavation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04068-3Fractured rock massFluid–solid couplingNumerical simulationEntire process evolutionLateral stress
spellingShingle Jilu Zhang
Xiaohan Zhou
Xinrong Liu
Lei Fang
Xueyan Guo
Hao Chen
Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
Scientific Reports
Fractured rock mass
Fluid–solid coupling
Numerical simulation
Entire process evolution
Lateral stress
title Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
title_full Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
title_fullStr Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
title_full_unstemmed Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
title_short Full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
title_sort full process evolution of deformation and seepage coupling in fractured rock under triaxial stress
topic Fractured rock mass
Fluid–solid coupling
Numerical simulation
Entire process evolution
Lateral stress
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04068-3
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AT xinrongliu fullprocessevolutionofdeformationandseepagecouplinginfracturedrockundertriaxialstress
AT leifang fullprocessevolutionofdeformationandseepagecouplinginfracturedrockundertriaxialstress
AT xueyanguo fullprocessevolutionofdeformationandseepagecouplinginfracturedrockundertriaxialstress
AT haochen fullprocessevolutionofdeformationandseepagecouplinginfracturedrockundertriaxialstress