Consistency Discrimination and Experimental Study of Rock Discontinuities Based on Borehole Optical Images

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1- Please explain about the proficiency of the proposed method.

2-The English language of the paper should be largely improved as fragmented English error is seen in many places. Please proof read the revised paper by a native English speaker.

3-The introduction needs to be expanded to provide better engineering and scientific context for the research work conducted, the knowledge gap, and the relevant state of the art in the specific area of the presented work. 

4-in review literature, the authors have used the word of "Professor" . the word of professor shouldn't be used.

5-There are many new studies on this filed . Add some new references. for example:

1-Simulating the crack propagation and cracks coalescence underneath TBM disc cutters

2-Suggesting a New Testing Device for Determination of Tensile Strength of Concrete

3-Effect of normal load on the crack propagation from pre-existing joints using Particle Flow Code (PFC)

4-XFEM and experimental simulation of failure mechanism of non-persistent joints in mortar under compression

Author Response

Thank you for your comments and contributions to this article entitled “Consistency discrimination and experimental study of rock discontinuities based on borehole optical images”. According to your comments, I have explained some questions, the problems in the manuscript have been revised. The specific comments are as follows:

1- Please explain about the proficiency of the proposed method.

Reply: In this paper, a method of structural plane consistency discrimination based on borehole images is proposed. The key content is to determine the consistency of occurrence and development characteristics of two structural planes in adjacent boreholes. Borehole camera technology is a mature means to obtain the geometric parameters of the structural plane of underground rock mass, which can intuitively display the development characteristics of the structural plane. In addition, spatial geometry and vector analysis methods significantly improve the efficiency of structural plane consistency analysis. Furthermore, the indoor test and engineering application of this method have been carried out, and the results show that the connectivity analysis based on the borehole wall image is feasible and has a high degree of maturity.

2-The English language of the paper should be largely improved as fragmented English error is seen in many places. Please proof read the revised paper by a native English speaker.

Reply: Thank you for your comments. The language of the paper has been polished by the language polishing agency recommended by the editor, which will meet the publishing requirements. Grammar and spelling errors has been corrected in the revised manuscript. 

3-The introduction needs to be expanded to provide better engineering and scientific context for the research work conducted, the knowledge gap, and the relevant state of the art in the specific area of the presented work. 

Reply: Thank you for your comments. According to the suggestion, the content of the introduction has been adjusted in the revised version. It clarifies the engineering and scientific background of this research work, and increases the research status and existing problems at home and abroad. The key scientific and technical problems to be solved in this research are described.

4-in review literature, the authors have used the word of "Professor" . the word of professor shouldn't be used.

Reply: Thank you for your comments. According to the suggestion, the expression of “Professor” has been adjusted in the revised version.

5-There are many new studies on this filed . Add some new references. for example:

 1-Simulating the crack propagation and cracks coalescence underneath TBM disc cutters

2-Suggesting a New Testing Device for Determination of Tensile Strength of Concrete

3-Effect of normal load on the crack propagation from pre-existing joints using Particle Flow Code (PFC)

4-XFEM and experimental simulation of failure mechanism of non-persistent joints in mortar under compression

Reply: Thank you for your comments. These four references have good reference value for this study. Through reading the references, the content of this paper was optimized and adjusted in the revised version, and these four papers were added to the References.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper proposes a method to identify structural planes. The methodology relies on digital borehole camera, theoretical derivation of the plane consistency and experiments as validations. The research topic useful to geotechnical engineers as the results can be use to characterize discontinuities. Overall, I have found that the paper has merits. However, it needs improvement. My specific comments are as follows:

1- Even though the grammar is fine, the paper doesn't read well. It will be very difficult for someone who is not expert in the field to understand the main idea. Please address this issue and have some with a good background of structural geology to proofread because appropriate terminologies must be used to avoid confusion. I have made a few suggestions.

2- What do you mean by "consistency" of the structural plane. Same goes for "discriminate". Please clarify. 

3- The reason why you are conducting this research is not very clear. People have studied similar topics in the past but some gaps still exist. Please articulate what you contributing with.

4- More comments are highlighted in the annotated review.

5-No more comments, thank you

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you for your comments and contributions to this article entitled “Consistency discrimination and experimental study of rock discontinuities based on borehole optical images”. According to your comments, I have explained some questions, the problems in the manuscript have been revised. The specific comments are as follows:

# Reviewer 2

This paper proposes a method to identify structural planes. The methodology relies on digital borehole camera, theoretical derivation of the plane consistency and experiments as validations. The research topic useful to geotechnical engineers as the results can be use to characterize discontinuities. Overall, I have found that the paper has merits. However, it needs improvement. My specific comments are as follows:

1- Even though the grammar is fine, the paper doesn't read well. It will be very difficult for someone who is not expert in the field to understand the main idea. Please address this issue and have some with a good background of structural geology to proofread because appropriate terminologies must be used to avoid confusion. I have made a few suggestions.

Reply: Thank you for your comments. The language of the paper has been polished by the language polishing agency recommended by the editor, which will meet the publishing requirements. Grammar and spelling errors has been corrected in the revised manuscript. As for the expression of professional terms, I checked the full manuscript and revised some inaccurate terms.

2- What do you mean by "consistency" of the structural plane. Same goes for "discriminate". Please clarify. 

Reply: Thank you for your comments. Clear explanation of " consistency discrimination " has been added in the revised manuscript. “consistency” refers to whether two structural planes are on the same plane. The discrimination of structural plane consistency is a common structural plane analysis method in the field of engineering geology. Specifically, when the same structural plane is penetrated by two boreholes, the trace of this structural plane in the two borehole images is found by analyzing the borehole wall images. The specific discrimination method is mainly determined by comparison between two parties based on the principle of "the same occurrence and similar characteristic ". This discrimination method is helpful to analyze the scale of structural plane and seepage channel. We use analytical geometry and spatial vectors to derive a method that can discriminate the consistency of structural planes in boreholes with arbitrary angles and positions in space. And combine it with indoor tests to design vertical boreholes, inclined boreholes, and simulated structural planes with certain roughness and undulation angles by comparing flat structural planes with simulated structural planes.

3- The reason why you are conducting this research is not very clear. People have studied similar topics in the past but some gaps still exist. Please articulate what you contributing with.

Reply: Thank you for your comments. Firstly, the object of this paper is rock mass structural plane. The structural plane is an interface with a certain scale and is hidden inside the rock mass, which is difficult to be observed directly from the surface. In this study, the borehole camera technology is used to observe the structural plane inside the rock mass and obtain the geometric information of the structural plane. Based on the information of the internal structural planes of rock mass, we propose this method for discriminating the consistency of structural planes between boreholes. This study is mainly used to analyze the scale of structural plane, and can provide data and method support for the analysis of fracture development and seepage channel in the project site. In addition, the inclination of the borehole has a certain impact on the consistency analysis. In this study, the influence of borehole inclination on the analysis process is considered, and a universal method for determining the connectivity of structural planes in boreholes is proposed. This is not involved in other studies.

4- More comments are highlighted in the annotated review.

Reply: Thank you for your comments. In the revised version, the highlighted parts have been carefully read and modified.