Deformation Forecasting of Surrounding Rock Mass Based on Correlation between Frequency and Fracture Scale of Microseismicity

Abstract

The macroscopic deformation and failure of engineering rock mass may occur as a result of evolution and breakdown of its internal microfracture. Therefore, the macroscopic state of rock mass can be obtained from fracture scale of microfracture in real time. To assess instability and predict macroscopic deformation and failure of engineering rock mass, a time-frequency analysis technique based on S transform was proposed to investigate microseismic waveform and reveal the correlation between macroscopic deformation failure and microseismic frequency characteristics of engineering rock mass in combination with fracture scale. To minimize the influence of external factors on parameters calculated, a significant amount of microseismic data from three large-scale hydropower projects in southwestern China was collected as the statistical sample. The analysis of correlation between fracture scale and frequency characteristics of microseismic events was carried out based on the statistical sample. Combining with microseismic data and multipoint extensometers in the underground powerhouse of the Houziyan hydropower station, engineering verification was conducted. The result shows that the high-frequency components decrease and microseismic signals display low-frequency characteristic as the fracture scale increases; the microseismic high-frequency components decreased at first and then increased during the deformation process of surrounding rock mass, and the frequency of microseismic events shifts from high band to a lower one before deformation.