Numerical analysis of Shiobara hydropower cavern using practical equivalent approach

Three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation of Shiobara hydropower cavern was attempted with the developed practical equivalent approach. This simple equivalent approach integrates the effect of joints and corresponding nonlinearity in the rock and predicts its deformation behaviour. The model requires minimum inputs from field or laboratory tests and is efficient to capture the nonlinear stress-strain responses associated with the jointed rock mass. In this study, the applicability of the model was demonstrated with the 3D analysis of Shiobara hydropower cavern. The numerical results were also compared with those of six other computational models to analyse the same cavern. The 3D modelling of powerhouse cavern shows that the present approach, though simple, can be applied to large-scale field problems. The model can precisely predict the deformation values well, and this study confirmed the effectiveness of the approach for simulation of underground structures in jointed rocks.