Quantitative assessment of an Excavation Damaged Zone from variations in seismic velocity and fracture distribution around a gallery in the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Aoyagi, Kazuhei  ; Tsusaka, Kimikazu; Kondo, Keiji; Inagaki, Daisuke

In a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal project, it will be important to evaluate an Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ). In particular, in an EDZ, new fractures are expected to develop in response to excavation. These fractures can cause increase in permeability of rock mass around the gallery. In order to investigate density of these fractures in an EDZ, the authors integrated information of fracture mapping of a gallery into a result of seismic tomography survey conducted in the Horonobe underground Research Laboratory. As a result, seismic velocity decreased almost linearly as the density of fracture increased. Also, it was found that density of fracture in an EDZ is expected to be evaluated by the trend which is calculated from simple numeric model. This analysis provides useful data for HLW disposal from a viewpoint that one can evaluate condition of fractures in an EDZ using the result of seismic tomography survey.