Abstract

When excavating tunnels, it is important to evaluate the groundwater

gush and to make a countermeasure to avoid the serious trouble. In
particular, under sea coal mine such as the Ikeshima coal mine, it is of great
importance to investigate the groundwater flow at the boundary between
fresh water and seawater under the shore line to estimate the abnormal
groundwater inflow to the tunnel. It is also important to evaluate the fault
that is consisted of soft and weak fractured zone for estimate the
groundwater inflow into the tunnel.

At first we study groundwater system : What is groundwater, how

groundwater moves through various type of pore spaces in the rock. Then,
some case studies will be presented after that.
Based on the distribution of groundwater, geological formation is divided
into 2 zones, i.e. unsaturated zone that is composed of liquid phase, solid
phase and vapor phase and saturated zone that is composed of liquid phase
and solid phase. Groundwater table is a plane where the hydraulic pressure
is equal to the atmospheric pressure.

Groundwater flows from the point with high hydraulic head to the
other point with low hydraulic head according to the hydraulic gradient.
Groundwater flows perpendicular to the hydraulic head contour. In the
mountainous area, groundwater generally discharges to deep underground
in the high mountain area and recharge to the river and lake again by means
of hydraulic head change.

Groundwater flows through the space in the geological formation.

There are two kinds of spaces, i.e. inter-granular matrix pore and fracture
pore. Inter-granular matrix porosity is high in well sorted sediments and
low in bad sorted sediments. In crystalline fractured rock such as granite,
groundwater flows mainly though the fractures which can be detected by
borehole drilling and be observed by bore hole television (BTV) that can
investigate the orientation and aperture of fractures.
 Groundwater flows according to the Darcy’s Law in case of low flow
velocity. According to the law, groundwater flow rate is proportional to the
hydraulic conductivity (K) and hydraulic gradient that is obtained by
dividing the hydraulic head difference (dh) by flow length (ds).

Fault is a fracture or a zone of fractures along which there has been

displacement of the sides relative to one another parallel to the fracture.
Faults are classified by its pattern, sense (normal, reverse, strike-slip)
etc. Length and density of faults shows the good relationship to the width
of fractured zone.

Fault is a conceptual term. Its substance is fractured zone that is

composed of fault breccia and fault gouge. Fault breccia is high permeable
and fault gouge is very low permeable. Around fault zone, permeability
shows the strong contrast, i.e. high permeable fault breccia and very low
permeable fault gouge affecting the groundwater flow around fault zone.
Therefore, it is important to determine the excavation direction based on
the geometry of fault. For example, it will be better to excavate from the
opposite direction of fault dip and excavate perpendicular to the fault
strike. When encountered to the fault and groundwater gushes heavily into
tunnel, drain boring and tunnel should be constructed to decrease the
groundwater gush.

Also, fault geometry is important to evaluate the stability of

underground cavern. It will be unfavorable that the strike of fault is parallel
to tunnel direction.

It is thought that sea water invade under the fresh water in the
underground of seashore. Based on the groundwater chemistry obtained in
the undersea coal mine in Japan, it is thought that groundwater in the
underground of seashore may be seawater that invade from present sea,
fresh water due to hydraulic gradient from inland, mixture of sea water and
fresh water, fresh water supplied by dehydration due to diagenesis, mixture
of fresh water and fossil water, fossil water with increasing the depth
respectively.
 Groundwater survey was carried in the tunnel of the Ikeshima coal
mine. Based on the hydraulic conductivity measurements, groundwater in
the tunnel is classified into 4 types with depth, i.e. A type, B type, C type,
D type respectively. C type is classified into 2 subtypes. A type is fresh
water and originated from rainfall. B type is a mixture of seawater and
fresh water. C1 type is very similar to present seawater geochemically and
shows the rich Ca++. This type is originated from present seawater and
Ca++ ion is dissolved from concrete lining of tunnel. C2 type is the same
origin of C1type, but residence time is longer than C2 type.. D type is
fossil water with poor Na+ ion due to the diagenesis of clay mineral for
long time.

Boundary model of fresh water and seawater is proposed. Water table

and boundary of fresh water and seawater is distributed near the geological
boundary of sedimentary rocks and basalt. From sea level to 200m under
the sea, seawater invades into the permeable Tokuman Formation. Fossil
water may be distributed in 200m to 270m under the sea and shows the
long residence tim.