ADVANCES IN HYDRO-MECHANICAL ANISOTROPY OF COLUMNAR JOINTED ROCK MASSES

As a typical kind of structural rock mass,columnar jointed rock mass has the characteristics of well-developed columnar joints network and poor rock mass integrity. These characteristics lead to significant mechanical and seepage anisotropy. Based on the formation mechanism analyses of columnar joint,current research achievements on the mechanical and seepage anisotropy of columnar jointed rock mass are systematically summarized from the following four aspects of field tests,physical model tests,numerical tests and theoretical analyses. Then the deficiencies of the employed methods and results of present researches are analysed and the future research direction on the mechanical and seepage anisotropy of columnar jointed rock mass is discussed. From the discussions,it is concluded that the future research should focus on the mechanical and seepage anisotropy of columnar jointed rock mass under unloading condition by combining physical model tests with a new method for columnar joint rock mass specimen preparation that can take the formation mechanism of columnar joint into account.