Modelling the excavation damaged zone in claystone with strain localisation using coupled second gradient model and the influence of gallery ventilation

Drilling of galleries induces stress perturbations that trigger damage propagation in the surrounding medium. The excavation process creates then the so-called excavation damaged zone around the galleries. The prediction of the extension and of the fracture structure within this zone remains nowadays a major issue especially in the context of underground storage. Since localised deformation in shear band mode is frequently observed in experimental works, the excavation damaged zone can be modelled by considering the development of shear strain localisation bands. To correctly model this behaviour, an enhanced model with a regularisation method is required. In underground structures, air ventilation inside the galleries induces a rock-atmosphere interaction that may lead to drainage and to rock desaturation close to the gallery wall. Such desaturation may influence the damage zone structure and needs to be studied. A hydro-mechanical modelling of a gallery excavation including air ventilation is thus performed and the numerical results provide information about the damaged zone extension, the strain localisation bands pattern and the influence of rock desaturation.