Acoustic emission monitoring of rockbursts during TBM-excavated headrace tunneling at Jinping II hydropower station

To better understand the mechanical properties of marble at Jinping II hydropower station, this paper examines the changes of brittle rocks in excavation damaged zones (EDZs) before and after excavation of tunnel with the tunnel boring machine (TBM). The paper attempts to employ the acoustic emission (AE) to study the AE characteristics and distribution of rockburst before and after TBM-excavated tunnel. It is known that the headrace tunnel #2, excavated by the drill-and-blast (D&B) method, is ahead of the headrace tunnel #3 that is excavated by TBM method. The experimental sub-tunnel #2–1, about 2000 m in depth and 13 m in diameter, between the two tunnels is scheduled. In the experimental sub-tunnel #2–1, a large number of experimental boreholes are arranged, and AE sensors are installed within 10 m apart from the wall of the headrace tunnel #3. By tracking the microseismic signals in rocks, the location, frequency, quantity, scope and intensity of the microseismic signals are basically identified. It is observed that the AE signals mainly occur within 5 m around the rock wall, basically lasting for one day before tunnel excavation and a week after excavation. Monitoring results indicate that the rockburst signals are closely related to rock stress adjustment. The rock structure has a rapid self-adjustment capacity before and after a certain period of time during tunneling. The variations of rock stresses would last for a long time before reaching a final steady state. Based on this, the site-specific support parameters for the deep tunnels can be accordingly optimized.