A study on sidewall displacement prediction and stability evaluations for large underground power station caverns

Based on an opening complex for a hydropower station in China, an equation considering four basic factors was fitted for prediction of displacement at the key point on the high sidewalls of the powerhouse, on the basis of a large number of numerical simulations. The basic factors include rock deformation modulus, overburden depth of caverns, height of the powerhouse and the lateral pressure coefficient of the initial stress. Quasi-three-dimensional stability analyses were carried out by using FLAC3D. With an equation, the elasto-plastic displacement and elastic displacement at a sidewall key point can be calculated quickly. The equation was applied to predict the displacements at key points on the sidewalls for caverns of nine projects. The computation results were compared with numerical modeling or back-analysis results. In addition, in order to consider the effects of cavern spacing, a new equation was proposed. Finally, three possible criteria for stability evaluation of the rock masses were considered. It is suggested that the rock stability is assessed by the ratio θc between the elasto-plastic displacement and the elastic displacement, which is commonly applicable. The stability of the surrounding rock for the above-mentioned nine underground projects was evaluated by the method. Long prestressed cables were considered to be needed to reinforce the sidewalls in order to ensure the stability of the caverns for some of the projects. For the actual design and construction of the five relevant projects, long prestressed cables were employed for reinforcement of high sidewalls. This showed that the evaluation criterion was valid.