Tishk International University

Engineering Faculty
Petroleum & Mining Eng. Department

Rock Mechanics PTR 339

Lecture 1
3rd. Grade- Fall Semester 2021-2022

Instructor: Professor, Dr. Hamed M. Jassim

ROCK MECHANICS
Definitions

1- The study of the mechanical behaviour of rocks, especially

their strength, elasticity, permeability, porosity, density, and
reaction to stress.

2- Mathematical analysis of the forces acting along joints, faults,

and bedding planes of natural rock in situ, especially in the
evaluation of wall strengths, and hence slopes and slope ratios,
in open-pit mines.

3- The theoretical and applied science of the physical behavior

of rocks, representing a branch of mechanics concerned with
the response of rock to the force fields of its physical
environment (NAS-NRC, 1966).
ROCK MECHANICS
Rock mechanics forms part of the much broader
subject of geomechanics, which is concerned with the
mechanical responses of all geological materials,
including soils.
Rock mechanics, as applied in engineering geology,
mining, petroleum, and civil engineering practice, is
concerned with the application of the principles of
engineering mechanics to the design of the rock
structures generated by mining, drilling, reservoir,
production, or civil construction activity such as
tunnels, mining, shafts, underground excavations,
open pit mines, oil and gas wells, road cuts, waste
repositories, and other structures built in or of rock.
It also includes the design of reinforcement systems,
such as rock bolting patterns.
1) Ductility: A material condition characterised by ability to
resist permanent strain without losing the ability to carry
load.
2) Durability: The resistance of a rock against slaking or
disintegration when exposed to weathering processes.

3)Elasticity: The capability of a material to regain its original

shape or condition after the removal of an applied load.

4) Elastic limit: The point on the stress/strain -curve

defining the transition from elastic to non-elastic behavior.

5) Failure: The result of instability. Both failure and

instability are used rather inconsistently in the literature as
they often overlap.
6) Failure criterion: Theoretical or empirical stress-
strain relationship defining the failure condition of a
material.

7) Fracture index: Ratio of seismic velocity for intact

rock samples to seismic velocity of rock mass in situ.

8) Friction bolt: Rock bolt with the support capacity

represented by the friction between the drill hole wall
and the rock bolt along its entire length.
9) GIN: Stands for Grout Intensity Number and is the
product of pressure (in bar) and grout take (in litres
per drill hole meter).

10) Granular: Could have the following meanings:

1) Engineering term for a cohesionless soil, i.e. one
which cannot form a coherent mass. (Contrast with
"cohesive"),

2) Geological term for the texture of a rock that

consists of mineral grains of approximately equal
size.
11) Hooke's law: States that the force needed to
compress or extend a spring is directly proportional
to the distance you stretch it. Hooke's law doesn't
only apply to normal forces. It has many applications,
one of which is the shear stress/strain relationship.

12) In situ: Latin words (in situ) meaning "in place" or

"in its original position". Distinguishes rocks and
soils found in their original position of formation, as
opposed to transported materials.
13) Instability: The lack of stability.
14) k-value: The ratio between horizontal and vertical
stresses within the rock mass.

15) K-value: Applied as boundary load in numerical

models.

16) Lugeon: The unit for water loss measurement. 1

Lugeon (1 L) is the water loss in liter per minute and
per meter bore hole at an over -pressure of 1 MPa ( = 10
bars).

17) Mohr’s envelope: The envelope of Mohr’s circles,

representing failure at various stress levels.
18) NATM: New Austrian Tunnelling Method; a system
for tunnel design and construction developed
especially for squeezing rock.

19) Plasticity: Property which enables a soil or other

material to be deformed continuously and
permanently without rupture.
20) Plane strain: State of two-dimensional strain with zero
strain perpendicular to the actual strain plane.

21) Plane stress: Two-dimensional stress condition with

zero stress perpendicularly to the actual stress plane.

22) Poisson's ratio, denoted by the Greek letter 'nu', ν: Is

the negative of the ratio of (signed) transverse strain to
(signed) axial strain.
For small values of these changes, ν is the amount of
transversal expansion divided by the amount of axial
compression.

It is also defined as: The decrease in the breadth or

thickness of a bar when it is stretched by a particular
amount.
23) Principal stresses: Normal rock stresses on
planes with no shear stress.

24) RMi: Rock Mass index.

25) RMR: Rock Mass Rating.

26) Rock mass: Rocks penetrated by discontinuities,

i.e. the structural material which is being excavated
and in which the tunnel or underground opening is
located.
27) Rock quality designation (RQD): An expression of the
degree of jointing (or density of joints) defined as intact core
lengths greater than a threshold value of 0.1 m along any
bore hole or scan line.
28) Schmidt hammer: Non-destructive test of the quality of
rocks and concrete. It measures the 'rebound hardness' of
the tested material.
29) Shear plane: Surface along which differential movement
has taken place parallel to the surface.
30) Shear stress (denoted by τ (Greek: tau): Is the component
of stress coplanar with a material cross section. Shear stress
arises from the force vector component parallel to the cross
section of the material. Normal stress, on the other hand,
arises from the force vector component perpendicular to the
material cross section on which it acts. Shear stress arises
from shear forces, which are pairs of equal and opposing
forces acting on opposite sides of an object.
31) Shear strain: Is the ratio of the change in
deformation to its original length perpendicular to the
axes of the member due to shear stress.
γ = τ/G
γ = shear strain (which is unit-less)
τ = shear stress (unit of force over unit of area: N/m2,
or Pascal (Pa) in the International System of Units, or
pounds per square inch (psi) in the British Imperial
System)
G = shear modulus, or modulus of rigidity (defined as
the ratio of shear stress over shear strain).
32) Shear Force: Is the force acting on a substance in
a direction perpendicular to the extension of the
substance, acting in a direction to a planar cross
section of a body.
Shear force is the summation of the effect of shear
stress over a surface, and often results in shear
strain. Bending moment and shear force calculations
are essential while designing any structural
members.
Shear force is also known as shearing force.
33) Shear modulus: A constant property of the
material from which the structural member is cast.
It is also defined as: The ratio of shear stress to shear
strain. The shear modulus value is always a positive
number and is expressed as an amount of force per
unit area. Shear modulus' derived SI unit is the pascal
(Pa), although it is usually expressed in gigapascals
(GPa) or in thousands of pounds per square inch (ksi).

33) Shear modulus is also known as modulus of

rigidity. It is normally denoted by G, but is sometimes
denoted by S.
34) Shotcrete: Sprayed concrete, mostly, quick setting
(in

USA. included gunite).

35) Stability: The strength to stand or endure.

36) Strain: Relative elongation or shortening of a

material as a

result of loading.
37) Young's modulus: Is a mechanical property that
measures the stiffness of a solid material. It defines the
relationship between stress (force per unit area) and strain
(proportional deformation) in a material in the linear
elasticity regime of a uniaxial deformation.
Formula and units:
E=σ/ϵ
whereby:
E is Young's modulus, in Pascal (Pa).
σ is the uniaxial stress, or uniaxial force per unit surface,
in
Pascal.
ϵ is the strain, or proportional deformation (change in
length
divided by original length) (unit-less).