Simplified Method for Estimating the Hoek-Brown Constant for Intact Rocks
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 6
Abstract
The constant is a fundamental parameter required for the Hoek-Brown (HB) criterion to estimate the strength of rock materials. To calculate values, triaxial tests need to be carried out; however, triaxial tests are time-consuming and expensive. In this research, a simplified method is proposed that can estimate values using information on rock types and the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of intact rocks. To evaluate the reliability of the proposed method, values estimated from the proposed method are used in the HB criterion to predict intact rock strength. The predicted intact rock strength is then tested against experimental intact rock strength using existing triaxial tests and tests in the authors’ laboratory. Results from the comparison show that values calculated from the proposed method can be used reliably in the HB criterion for estimating intact rock strength when triaxial test data are not available.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to three anonymous reviewers, especially to reviewer 2, for their constructive comments on the manuscript. Many thanks go to Associate Professor Rafael Jimenez for helpful discussion on the manuscript when the first author was a visiting scholar in the ETSI Caminos Canales y Puertos at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. Mrs. Barbara Brougham is also acknowledged for editing the manuscript. The Ph.D. scholarship provided by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 6 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 18, 2013
Accepted: Feb 18, 2014
Published online: Mar 19, 2014
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 19, 2014
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