Groundwater-induced geological disasters in underground engineering: Theoretical, experimental, and numerical approaches

Book excerpt: Water inrush (WI) is one of the most dangerous geological disasters in underground engineering, with significant human casualties and economic losses. To prevent and control WI disasters, great efforts have been made to address WI mechanisms for more than half a century. In particular, the seepage instability theory is hitherto one of the most widely used theoretical models. This theory portrays that the seepage system will undergo structural instability when the initial values of permeability and boundary pressure meet certain conditions, which manifests that the permeability parameter is one of the most valuable indicators to unveil WI mechanisms. However, rock permeability is determined by its internal structural characteristics, which can be affected by water chemical composition, stress environment, and temperature. In this regard, it is of great necessity and importance to facilitate a better understanding of the holistic impacts of multi-field coupling on rock internal structure and deformation failure characteristics. This Research Topic aims to initiate a global forum for presenting and disseminating the latest advancements of WI mechanisms, which entails the characterization of physical and laboratory tests, 3D reconstruction of rock internal structure, numerical approaches, theoretical models under multi-field coupling, and filed date analysis methods.