Underground excavations are used for a wide variety of civilian and military purposes, including mining, road & railway tunnels, and caverns. Permanent storage of the current U.S. stockpile of nuclear wastes will utilize large underground excavations. With increasing world population, demand for underground construction is expected to accelerate in the future. From an Information Technology (IT) viewpoint, design and construction of underground facilities are just emerging from the dark ages. Rock failure in underground mines and tunnel construction continue to claim lives, and the tunneling industry is still beset by frequent failures. Computational modeling can lead to more rational designs for underground excavations than what is provided by traditional rock mass classification systems and empirical design procedures. The key problem in using computer models to design underground excavations is the paucity of information on site geology, rock mass properties and in situ stresses.
The two major research objectives for this project are 1) to design and implement an IT-based system called AMADEUS for real-time and adaptive geologic mapping, analysis, and design of underground space, and 2) to enhance teaching efforts related to engineering geology, mining, rock mechanics and computer science. Advances in IT, particularly in digital imaging, data management, visualization and computation can significantly improve analysis, design and construction of underground excavations. Using IT, real-time data on geology and excavation response can be gathered during the construction using non-intrusive techniques which do not require expensive and time-consuming instrumentation. The real-time data will then be used to update the geological and computational models of the excavation, and to determine the optimal rate of excavation, excavation sequence and structural support. Virtual environment (VE) systems will be used to allow virtual walk-through inside an excavation, observe geologic conditions, perform virtual tunneling operations, and investigate stability of the excavation via computer simulation.
The major intellectual merits of the project include development of 1) a digital imaging and analysis system for geologic characterization of rock exposures, 2) a remote measuring system for monitoring tunnel deformation during construction, 3) a computer tomography system for defining stress changes within the rock due to excavation, 4) a rock mass modeling system for constructing 3D geologic/geomechanical models from the data acquired by the data gathering tasks, and 5) a virtual environment (VE) for visualizing and interacting with the geologic/geomechanical models. The broader impacts of the project include educational opportunities for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students. The 3D, interactive and immersive VE to be developed in the project will enhance the educational experience of students. Minorities, women, and individuals from other underrepresented groups will be recruited to participate in the research by working with established national and University programs, and through contact with K-12 schools in the Appalachian region. The research results will be disseminated rapidly and broadly through 1) the worldwide web, 2) geotechnical and computer science print media, 3) conference presentations, and 4) demonstrations of AMADEUS to mine operators, contractors and engineers. As an integrated system, AMADEUS will result in significant contributions to the safe, efficient and economical construction and utilization of underground space.
