Effects of a controlling geological discontinuity on the seismic stability of an underground cavern subjected to near-fault ground motions

The mechanism for the influence of near-fault ground motion on seismic issues for underground rock caverns has seldom been addressed, especially for caverns controlled by large geological discontinuities. In this paper, a nonlinear joint model was used to simulate the effects of unfavorable geological discontinuities under seismic excitation. The influence of near-fault ground motion on unfavorable geological discontinuities was analyzed using a large sample of ground-motion records collected from the NGA-West2 database. A damage potential index (DPI) for unfavorable geological discontinuities was proposed and discussed. The #1 surge chamber of the Baihetan Hydropower Plant, which is dominated by interlayer shear weakness zone (ISWZ) C2, was used as a study case to investigate the differences between pulse-type near-fault ground motion, non-pulse-type near-fault ground motion, and far-field ground motion. The results of the study indicate that (1) significant velocity and displacement as well as a stronger long-period response spectrum are key characteristics of pulse-type near-fault ground motions, whereas non-pulse-type near-fault ground motions display characteristics similar to those of far-field ground motions; (2) the velocity pulse is responsible for the destructive capabilities of near-fault ground motions; (3) the peak ground velocity (PGV) was shown to be the most suitable DPI of several ground-motion parameters for large geological discontinuities under seismic excitation (applicable to both near-fault and far-field ground motions); and (4) PGV was verified to be the most effective DPI for ISWZ C2 at the Baihetan #1 surge chamber. The cavern became fragile when subjected to near-fault ground motions, so special seismic reinforcement measures are recommended. These findings may provide a reference for the seismic design of underground caverns.