Hydro-Mechanical Response of the Tournemire Argillite to the Excavation of Underground Openings: Unsaturated Zones and Mine-by-Test Experiment

摘要

A mine-by-test has been performed in the Tournemire experimental site, during the excavation of a new gallery in 2003. This experiment shows that excavations in the Tournemire argillite generate hydro-mechanical disturbances which can extend up to 4 to 6 times the mean radius of the gallery. These hydro-mechanical disturbances due to the excavation are not as large as the hydric ones due to the desaturation/resaturation processes which take place after excavation. Indeed, the hydric disturbances induced the development of some micro-cracks mainly parallel to the bedding planes which form the current damaged zone of the gallery.