Method for Estimating the Deformability of Heavily Jointed Rock Masses
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 9
Abstract
Determination of the deformability of jointed rock masses is an important and challenging task in rock mechanics and rock engineering. In this paper, simple expressions are derived for estimating the equivalent isotropic deformation properties of heavily jointed rock masses using the methodology of equivalent continuum approach. The derived expressions are compared with two analytical relations in the literature and the field test data relating rock quality designation (RQD) and deformation modulus ratio , where and are the deformation modulus of the rock mass and the intact rock, respectively. The derived expressions are in reasonable agreement with the existing analytical relations in the literature and satisfactorily predict the range of the field RQD versus modulus ratio data. Finally two examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the derived expressions by applying them to estimate the deformation modulus of jointed rock mass at two sites. The results of the paper can be of help in predicting the deformation behavior of jointed rock masses when the properties of the intact rock and discontinuities are available.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Amadei, B. (1983). Rock anisotropy and the theory of stress measurements, Lecture notes in engineering, C. A. Brebbia and S. A. Orszag, eds., Springer, Berlin.
Amadei, B., and Savage, W. Z. (1993). “Effect of joints on rock mass strength and deformability.” Comprehensive rock engineering—Principle, practice and projects, J. A. Hudson, ed., Vol. 1, Pergamon, London, 331–365.
Bandis, S. C., Lumsden, A. C., and Barton, N. (1983). “Fundamentals of rock joint deformation.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 20(6), 249–268.
Barton, N. (1983). “Application of -system and index tests to estimate shear strength and deformability of rock masses.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Engineering Geology and Underground Construction, Vol. 1, LNEC, Lisbon, Portugal, 51–70.
Barton, N., Loset, F., Lien, R., and Lunde, J. (1980). “Application of the -system in design decisions.” Subsurface space, M. Bergman, ed., Vol. 2, Pergamon, Oxford, U.K., 553–561.
Bieniawski, Z. T. (1978). “Determining rock mass deformability: Experience from case histories.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 15, 237–247.
Brady, B. H. G., and Brown, E. T. (1985). Rock mechanics for underground mining, George Allen and Unwin, London.
Brown, E. T. (1993). “The nature and fundamentals of rock engineering.” Compressive rock engineering—Principle, practice and projects, J. A. Hudson, ed., Vol. 1, Pergamon, London, 1–23.
Chen, E. P. (1989). “A constitutive model for jointed rock mass with orthogonal sets of joints.” ASME Trans. J. Appl. Mech., 56, 25–32.
Chun, B. -S., Ryu, W. R., Sagong, M., and Do, J. N. (2009). “Indirect estimation of the rock deformation modulus based on polynomial and multiple regression analyses of the RMR system.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 46(3), 649–658.
Coon, R. F., and Merritt, A. H. (1970). “Predicting in situ modulus of deformation using rock quality indices.” ASTM Spec. Tech. Publ., 477, 154–173.
Deere, D. U., Hendron, A. J., Patton, F. D., and Cording, E. J. (1967). “Design of surface and near surface construction in rock.” Proc., 8th U.S. Symp. on Rock Mechanics, C. Fairhurst, ed., 237–302.
Dershowitz, W. S., Baecher, G. B., and Einstein, H. H. (1979). “Prediction of rock mass deformability.” Proc., 4th Int. Congress of Int. Society for Rock Mechanics, Montreux, Switzerland, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Vol. 1, 605–611.
Duncan, J. M., and Goodman, R. E. (1968). “Finite element analysis of slopes in jointed rocks.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rep. TR No. 1-68, Washington, D.C.
Ebisu, S., Aydan, O., Komura, S., and Kawamoto, T. (1992). “Comparative study on various rock mass characterization methods for surface structures.” ISRM Symp.: Eurock ‘92, Rock Characterization, J. A. Hudson, ed., British Geotechnical Society, Chester, U.K., 203–208.
Fossum, A. F. (1985). “Effective elastic properties for a randomly jointed rock mass.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 22(6), 467–470.
Gerrard, C. M. (1982a). “Elastic models of rock masses having one, two and three sets of joints.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 19, 15–23.
Gerrard, C. M. (1982b). “Joint compliances as a basis for rock mass properties and the design of supports.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 19, 285–305.
Gerrard, C. M. (1991). “The equivalent elastic properties of stratified and jointed rock masses.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, G. Beer, J. R. Brooker, and J. P. Carter, eds., Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 333–337.
Ghorbani, M., and Sharifzadeh, M. (2009). “Long term stability assessment of Siah Bisheh powerhouse cavern based on displacement back analysis method.” Tunn. Undergr. Space Technol., 24, 574–583.
Gokceoglu, C., Sonmez, H., and Kayabasi, A. (2003). “Predicting the deformation moduli of rock masses.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 40, 701–710.
Goodman, R. E. (1976). Methods of geological engineering, West, New York.
Goodman, R. E. (1980). Introduction to rock mechanics, Wiley, New York.
Hoek, E., and Brown, E. T. (1997). “Practical estimates of rock mass strength.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 34(8), 1165–1186.
Hoek, E., and Diederichs, M. S. (2006). “Empirical estimation of rock mass modulus.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 43(2), 203–215.
Hoek, E., Kaiser, P. K., and Bawden, W. F. (1995). Support of underground excavations in hard rock, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Huang, T. H., Chang, C. S., and Yang, Z. Y. (1995). “Elastic moduli for fractured rock mass.” Rock Mech. Rock Eng., 28(3), 135–144.
Isik, N. S., Doyuran, V., and Ulusay, R. (2008). “Assessment of deformation modulus of weak rock masses from pressuremeter tests and seismic surveys.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ., 67, 293–304.
Kulatilake, P. H. S. W., Wang, S., and Stephansson, O. (1993). “Effect of finite size joints on the deformability of jointed rock in three dimensions.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 30(5), 479–501.
Kulhawy, F. H. (1978). “Geomechanical model for rock foundation settlement.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 104(2), 211–227.
Labrie, D., Plouffe, M., Haevey, A., and Major, C. (1997). “Destress blast testing at Sigma Mine: Experimentation and results.” Div. Rep. No. MMSL 97-143E, Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lahmeyer-Iran Water and Power Resources Co. (2005). Report on geology and engineering geology of powerhouse cavern, Lahmeyer-Iran Water and Power Resources Co., Iran.
Mitri, H. S., Edrissi, R., and Henning, J. (1994). “Finite-element modeling of cable-bolted stopes in hard rock ground mines.” SME Annual Meeting, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Albuquerque, N.M., 94–116.
Nicholson, G. A., and Bieniawski, Z. T. (1990). “A nonlinear deformation modulus based on rock mass classification.” Int. J. Min. Geol. Eng., 8, 181–202.
Oda, M. (1988). “An experimental study of the elasticity of mylonite rock with random cracks.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 25, 59–69.
Oda, M. (1993). “Modern developments in rock structure characterization.” Comprehensive rock engineering—Principle, practice and projects, Vol. 1, J. A. Hudson, ed., Pergamon, London, 185–200.
Priest, S. D. (1993). Discontinuity analysis for rock engineering, Chapman and Hall, London.
Priest, S. D., and Hudson, J. (1976). “Discontinuity spacing in rock.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 13, 135–148.
Raphael, J. M., and Goodman, R. E. (1979). “Strength and deformability of highly fractured rock.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 105(11), 1285–1300.
Salamon, M. D. G. (1968). “Elastic moduli of stratified rock mass.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 5, 519–527.
Serafim, J. L., and Pereira, J. P. (1983). “Consideration of the geomechanical classification of Bieniawski.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Engineering Geology and Underground Construction, LNEC, Lisbon, Portugal, Vol. 1, 33–44.
Serrano, A., and Olalla, C. (1996). “Allowable bearing capacity of rock foundations using a non-linear failure criterion.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 33(4), 327–345.
Singh, B. (1973a). “Continuum characterization of jointed rock masses. Part I: The constitutive equations.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 10, 311–335.
Singh, B. (1973b). “Continuum characterization of jointed rock masses. Part II: Significance of low shear modulus.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 10, 337–349.
Vukovic, N. (1998). “Comparison of laboratory and field modulus of elasticity of rocks.” MS thesis, McGill Univ., Montreal.
Wang, S., and Kulatilake, P. H. S. W. (1993). “Linking between joint geometry models and a distinct element method in three dimensions to perform stress analyses in rock masses containing finite size joints.” Soils Found., 33(4), 88–98.
Yang, K. (2006). “Analysis of laterally loaded drilled shafts in rock.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Akron, Ohio.
Yoshinaka, R., and Yambe, T. (1986). “Joint stiffness and the deformation behavior of discontinuous rock.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 23(1), 19–28.
Zhang, L. (2005). Engineering properties of rocks, Elsevier Geo-Engineering Book Series, Vol. 4, Elsevier, New York, 304.
Zhang, L., and Einstein, H. H. (2004). “Using RQD to estimate the deformation modulus of rock masses.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 41(2), 337–341.
Zienkiewicz, O. C., Kelly, D. W., and Bettess, P. (1977). “The coupling of the finite element method and boundary solution procedures.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng., 11, 355–375.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 30, 2009
Accepted: Feb 19, 2010
Published online: Feb 22, 2010
Published in print: Sep 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.