Quantitative Classification of Rock Mass
Description of Joints: Orientation, Persistence, Roughness, Wall Strength, Aperture, Filling, Seepage, Number of sets, Block size, spacing. ISRM commissions report Classification of Rock Material Based on Uniaxial Compressive Strength
Point Load Index
Quick evaluation for uniaxial strength (field or lab setup) ASTM D 5731 procedures Little sample preparation (cores, pieces) Measure force (P) to crunch intact rock specimen Point Load Index: Is = P/de2 where de = equivalent core diameter
Fig.8-1
Point Load Index
GCTS Device
Roctest Equipment
Uniaxial Compressive Strength
Ranges for some Common Rock Material Kg/cm2 Schist, Silt stone Term VW-W, Sand Very Weak- VW < 70 Stone, Lime stone Weak- W 70-200 VW-M,Granite, Medium Strong-MS 200-700 Basalt, Gneiss, Strong- S 700-1400 Quartzite, Marble MS-VS Very Strong- VS > 1400 |
Classification for Rock Material Strength
Rock Quality Designation (RQD) or Modified Core Recovery
x i RQD = L
xi = lengths of individual pieces of core 10 cm L is the total length of the drill run
Indirect Methods of determination of RQF
Seismic Method RQD= (Vf / Vl )2 * 100 Ratio of velocity in the field to that in the lab Volumetric Count RQD = 115- 3.3* Jv where Jv is a measure of number of joints within a unit volume of rock mass
RQD
A. Very poor B. Poor C. Fair D. Good E. Excellent RQD 0 25 25 50 50 75 75 90 90 - 100
ROCK STRUCTURE RATING (RSR)
Wickham et. al. (1972) suggested this based on observation of small tunnels supported by steel ribs. RSR = A + B + C Parameter A, Geology: General appraisal of geological structure on the basis of: a. Rock type origin (igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary). b. Rock hardness (hard, medium, soft, decomposed). c. Geologic structure (massive, slightly faulted/folded, moderately faulted/folded, intensely faulted/folded).
Parameter B, Geometry: Effect of discontinuity pattern with respect to the direction of the tunnel drive on the basis of: a. Joint spacing. b. Joint orientation (strike and dip). c. Direction of tunnel drive Parameter C: Effect of groundwater inflow and joint condition on the basis of: a. Overall rock mass quality on the basis of A and B combined. b. Joint condition (good, fair, poor). c. Amount of water inflow (in gallons per minute per 1000 feet of tunnel)..
RMR or Geomechanics Classification
Guideline properties of Rock Mass Classes
NGI Q-System Rating for Rock Masses
(Barton, Lien, & Lunde, 1974)
Nor wegian Classif ication f or Rock Masses Q - Value Quality of Rock Mass
< 0.01 0.01 to 0.1 to 1 to 4 to 10 to 40 to 100 to < 400 0.1 1 4 10 40 100 400 Exceptionally Poor Extremely Poor Very Poor Poor Fair Good Very Good Extremely Good Exceptionally Good
RQD J r Q = J n J a
J w SRF
= Ja 0.75 1 3 4 4 6 8 12 10 15 20
PARAMETERS FOR THE Q-Rating of Rock Masses 1. RQD = Rock Quality Designation = sum of cored pieces > 100 mm long, divided by total core run length 2. Number of Sets of Discontinuities (joint sets) Massive One set Two sets Three sets Four or more sets Crushed rock 3. Roughness of Discontinuities* Noncontinuous j oints Rough, wavy Smooth, wavy Rough, planar Smooth, planar Slick and planar Filled discontinuities *Note: add +1 if mean joint spacing > 3 m = Jn 0.5 2 4 9 15 20 = Jr 4 3 2 1.5 1 0.5 1
4. Discontinuity Condition & Infilling 4.1 Unfilled Cases Healed Stained, no alteration Silty or Sandy Coating Clay coating 4.2 Filled Discontinuities Sand or crushed rock inf ill Stif f clay inf illing < 5 mm Sof t clay inf ill < 5 mm thick Swelling clay < 5 mm Stif f clay inf ill > 5 mm thick Sof t clay inf ill > 5 mm thick Swelling clay > 5 mm
5. Water Conditions 1 Dry Medium W ater Inf low 0.66 Large inf low in unf illed j oints 0.5 Large inf low with f illed j oints 0.33 that wash out High transient f low 0.2 to 0.1 High continuous f low 0.1 to 0.05 6. Stress Reduction Factor** Loose rock with clay inf ill Loose rock with open j oints Shallow rock with clay inf ill Rock with unf illed j oints = SRF 10 5 2.5 1
**Note: Additional SRF values given for rocks prone to bursting, squeezing and swelling by Barton et al. (1974)
Rock Tunnelling Quality Index, Q (or Norwegian Q system), Barton et al., 1974
RQD Jr Jw Q= Jn Ja SRF
RQD = Rock Quality Designation Jn = Joint set number Jr = Joint roughness factor Ja = Joint alteration and clay fillings Jw = Joint water inflow or pressure SRF = stress reduction factor Typically: 0.01 < Q <100 100 - 10 1 20 4 -1 1 20 1 0.1 1 20
Q system
RQD Jr Jw Q= Jn Ja SRF
(RQD/Jn) = crude measure of block size (Jr/Ja) = roughness/friction of surfaces (Jw/SRF) = ratio of two stress parameters (active stress)
Geological Strength Index, GSI
Developed by Hoek, Kaiser, & Bawden (1995), Hoek & Brown (1997). RQD J r GSI from Q-system: GSI = 9 log + 44
J J n a
GSI from Geomechanics system where 4 RMR > 25: GSI = 10 + (Ri )
i =1
Chart approach based on structure & surface quality
Slope Mass Rating (SMR)
SMR = RMRbasic ( F1.F2.F3 ) + F4 F1, F2 and F3 are adjustment factors related to joint orientation with respect to slope orientation. F4 is the correction factor for method of excavation.
Suggested Supports for Various SMR classes
SMR Classes Ia Ib II a II b III a III b IV a IV b V SMR Values 91-100 81-90 71-80 61-70 51-60 41-50 31-40 21-30 11-20 Suggested Supports None None, scaling is required Spot Bolting Spot or systematic bolting Spot or systematic bolting, spot shotcrete Systematic bolting and shotcrete, toe wall Anchors, systematic shotcrete, toe wall Systematic reinforced shotcrete, toe wall, re-exacavation Gravity or anchored wall, re-excavation
Rock Strength: mi parameter
Strength of Rock Masses
mi
Strength of Rock Masses
c'/qu
mi
Equivalent Modulus of Rock Masses (Table 10-7)
Allowable Bearing Stresses on Rock Masses
Foundations on Fr actur ed Rock For mation
30
Allowable Bearing Stress qa (MPa)
25 20 15 10 5 0
0
Note: Use maximum qa < q u wher e q u = compr essive str ength of intact r ock specimens
q ALLOWABLE ( MPa ) 1 +
NOTE: 1 MPa = 10 tsf
( RQD / 16 ) 1 ( RQD / 130 )
Peck, et al. (1974) Approximation
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Rock Quality Designation, RQD
