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Investigation of hydraulic parameters of a weathered mylonite fault from field pumping tests: A case study

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Abstract

This paper presents a case history where the hydraulic parameters of a weathered mylonite fault located in the way of shield tunneling for the Xie-Zhong section on Metro Line No. 7 in Guangzhou City were determined using a series of field pumping tests. The weathered mylonite fault contains fissure groundwater, which would result in a high potential of water ingress during shield tunneling within the weathered mylonite strata. Therefore, the first stage of pumping tests involving five pumping wells was initially carried out. To verify the validity of the hydraulic parameters derived, the second stage of pumping tests involving four pumping wells was carried out. In addition, both an analytical method that involves a well-flow calculation for a fissure-confined aquifer for non-orthogonal anisotropic rock mass and a numerical simulation based on the theory of the equivalent continuum porous media were used to derive the hydraulic parameters based on the field pumping test data. The analytical method can provide the values of hydraulic conductivity only in the horizontal plane and is not able to capture the hydraulic characteristics of standalone stratum of the multi-aquifer system. In the numerical model, the weathered mylonite fault due to the nature of non-uniform mylonite strata distribution is further divided into four sub-regions with different hydraulic conductivities, according to the calculated influence radius of groundwater drawdown or geological formation. This leads to estimates of hydraulic parameters that are closer to real values, and enhances our understanding of non-uniform fissure development.

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Acknowledgments

The research work described herein was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program 2015CB057806) and partially funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 41472252). This financial support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Ship and Deep-Sea Exploration (CISSE), Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xiao-Xue Liu, Ye-Shuang Xu & Shui-Long Shen

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Wen-Chieh Cheng

  3. Center of Excellence in Innovation for Infrastructure Development, School of Civil Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

    Suksun Horpibulsuk

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  1. Xiao-Xue Liu
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  2. Ye-Shuang Xu
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  4. Shui-Long Shen
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  5. Suksun Horpibulsuk
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Correspondence to Ye-Shuang Xu or Wen-Chieh Cheng.

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Liu, XX., Xu, YS., Cheng, WC. et al. Investigation of hydraulic parameters of a weathered mylonite fault from field pumping tests: A case study. Bull Eng Geol Environ 76, 1431–1448 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-016-0910-6

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