Treatment design of geological defects in dam foundation of Jinping I hydropower station

Jinping I hydropower station is one of the most challenging projects in China due to its highest arch dam and complex geological conditions for construction.After geological investigation into the dam foundation,a few large-scale weak discontinuities are observed.The rock masses in the left dam foundation are intensively unloaded,approximately to the depth of 150–300 m.These serious geological defects lead to a geological asymmetry on the left and right banks,and thus some major diffculties of dam construction are encountered.In this paper,the influences of geological defects on the project are analyzed,followed by the concepts and methods of treatment design.Based on the analysis,the treatment methods of the weak rock masses and discontinuities are carefully determined,including the concrete cushion,concrete replacement grids,and consolidation grouting.They work together to enhance the strength and integrity of the dam foundation.Evaluations and calibrations through geo-mechanical model tests in combination with feld monitoring results in early impoundment period show that the arch dam and its foundation are roughly stable,suggesting that the treatment designs are reasonable and effective.The proposed treatment methods and concepts in the context can be helpful for similar complex rock projects.

Measures for controlling large deformations of underground caverns under high in-situ stress condition--A case study of JinpingⅠhydropower station

The Jinping I hydropower station is a huge water conservancy project consisting of the highest concrete arch dam to date in the world and a highly complex and large underground powerhouse cavern. It is located on the right bank with extremely high in-situ stress and a few discontinuities observed in surrounding rock masses. The problems of rock mass deformation and failure result in considerable challenges related to project design and construction and have raised a wide range of concerns in the fields of rock mechanics and engineering. During the excavation of underground caverns, high in-situ stress and relatively low rock mass strength in combination with large excavation dimensions lead to large deformation of the surrounding rock mass and support. Existing experiences in excavation and support cannot deal with the large deformation of rock mass effectively, and further studies are needed. In this paper, the geological conditions, layout of caverns, and design of excavation and support are first introduced, and then detailed analyses of deformation and failure characteristics of rocks are presented. Based on this, the mechanisms of deformation and failure are discussed, and the support adjustments for controlling rock large deformation and subsequent excavation procedures are proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of support and excavation adjustments to maintain the stability of the rock mass is verified. The measures for controlling the large deformation of surrounding rocks enrich the practical experiences related to the design and construction of large underground openings, and the construction of caverns in the Jinping I hydropower station provides a good case study of large-scale excavation in highly stressed ground with complex geological structures, as well as a reference case for research on rock mechanics.