Lecture Session 2

Introduction to Rock Mechanics
CH7
‘we were over-stepping the limits of our

ability to predict the consequences of
our actions’
The Subject Of Rock Mechanics
• Rock Mechanics:- is the subject that concerned with the
reaction of rock to an applied disturbance i.e.
engineering or man made disturbance.
It applies to:-
– Design of foundations for bridges, buildings, dams and towers
etc
– Design of rock slope and Surface excavations for canals,
highways ,railways .spillways, pipelines ,penstocks , dam
abutments, open pit mines quarries etc
– Design of underground excavations such as tunnels, mines,
powerhouse cavern and other storage chambers
Historical Development Of Rock
Mechanics
• These lead to the formation of the International
society of Rock Mechanics, ISRM, 1966,Madrid,Spain
• Over the past 30 years, the number of engineering
projects involving rock either as construction or
foundation material has increased drastically.
• These engineering activities have strongly enhanced
the need for a better understanding of rock behavior.
• As a result, a large body of literature is now available
on the subjects of rock mechanics and rock
engineering.
Geologic Setting
• Rock as Engineering Material
– Rock will be used as either building material so
• the structure built of rock, foundation material, so
• the structure is built on rock or structure will be built in the rock
– Some of the factor that affect the response of rock to engineering

intervention are; rock type, rock structure, alterations of the rock,
in situ stress, hydro geological regime, presence of large
underground caverns, presence of buried valleys, etc
– Near surface structures are affected by discontinuities however
deep structures are affected by in situ stress levels
Cont..
• Rock and rock mass properties cannot be assigned to a
design calculation with the same degree of certainty as for
other types of engineering materials such as concrete or steel
for three reasons.
– Information obtained from the testing of rock specimens or from
field observations is not sufficient to provide a complete picture of
the rock mass of interest.
– Rock is a very complex material that can be:
• Discontinuous, Anisotropic, Heterogeneous, time-dependent and scale-
dependent
– Geological processes are coupled in a strong non-linear fashion.
Acceptable Rock Engineering Design
• There are no simple universal rules for acceptability nor are there
standard factors of safety which can be used to guarantee that a
rock structure will be safe and that it will perform adequately.
• Each design is unique and the acceptability of the structure has to
be considered in terms of the particular set of circumstances,
rock types, design loads and end uses for which it is intended.
• The responsibility of the geotechnical engineer is to find a safe
and economical solution which is compatible with all the
constraints which apply to the project.
• Such a solution should be based upon engineering judgment
guided by practical and theoretical studies such as stability or
deformation analyses, if and when these analyses are applicable.
Section 8:
Rock Deformation, Strength and

Failure Criteria:
Deformation behavior of rocks
•deforming loads.
• In general, the deformation of intact rock is partly elastic
and partly plastic, and is time dependent.
• Deformation of a rock mass is the change in volume or
shape of the rock mass.
• The deformation is mainly caused by displacements of
intact rock blocks along or perpendicular to
discontinuities.
 discontinuities cause a dramatic change in deformation

behavior of a rock mass in comparison to that of intact rock.
 a rock mass shows mostly non-elastic deformation behavior.
•In general a rock mass does not fail and therefore failure of a
rock mass is usually defined as the deformation of the rock mass
Rock material, rock mass and discontinuity
Rock material, rock mass and discontinuity
Cont..
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Index Properties Rock Material
• Porosity, n
• Density (unit Weight)
– If the rock is made of a number of minerals with
different specific gravity and volume proportion v
• Permeability, Hydraulic Conductivity
– Flow in Pores Vs flow in fissures

Cont.
• Strength
– Point Load Index
• Slaking and Durability
– Slake durability index = % retained after 10 min cycle
Cont.
• Sonic Velocity
– Sound wave speed is a function of the elastic behavior
of the rock minerals
– If rock has minerals with theoretical sonic speed vl,i
and their proportion in rock is ci the longitudinal wave
velocity is given vl* by
– If the actual speed is measured the ratio of actual to

theoretical is given by
Cont.
• Hardness
– Hardness is the characteristic of a solid material
expressing its resistance to permanent deformation.
– Hardness of a rock materials depends on several factors,
including mineral composition and density.
– A typical measure is the Schmidt rebound hardness
number.
• Abrasiveness
– It is an important measure for estimate wear of rock
drilling and boring equipment.
– Abrasivity is highly influenced by the amount of quartz
mineral in the rock material.
Mechanical Properties of Rock Material
•Strength:-
• in a general term, is the ability of a material to resist an
externally applied load.
• But, in rock mechanics strength is defined as the force per unit
area required to bring about rupture in rock mass at a given
environmental
 In addition to the environment, rock strength also depends
on the following factors:
a) Size of the rock specimen (e) Cycle of loading
b) Types of test (f) Confining pressure
c) Duration of test, i.e. rate of loading (g) Degree of saturation
d) Loading condition
 In addition to these factors, strength depends upon
physical properties of the rock materials.
1. Comprehensive Strength
 Comprehensive Strength
– Compressive strength is the capacity of a material to
withstand axially directed compressive forces.
– The most common measure of compressive strength is
the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) or unconfined
compressive strength.
– Usually compressive strength of rock is defined by the
ultimate stress.
• The complete stress-strain curve uniaxial
Compression Test can be divided into 6 sections,
represent 6 stages that the rock material is
undergoing.
Comprehensive Strength
• Stage I
– The rock is initially stressed, pre-existing micro-
cracks or pore orientated at large angles to the
applied stress is closing, in addition to
deformation.
– This causes an initial non-linearity of the axial
stress-strain curve.
– This initial non-linearity is more obvious in weaker
and more porous rocks,
• Stage II
– The rock basically has a linearly elastic behavior with
linear stress-strain curves, both axially and laterally.
The Poisson's ratio, particularly in stiffer unconfined
rocks, tends to be low.
– The rock is primarily undergoing elastic deformation
with minimum cracking inside the material. Micro-
cracks are likely initiated at the later portion of this
stage, of about 35-40% peak strength.
– At this stage, the stress-strain is largely recoverable,
as the there is little permanent damage of the micro-
structure of the rock material.
• Stage III
– The rock behaves near-linear elastic. The axial stress-
strain curve is nearlinear and is nearly recoverable.
– There is a slight increase in lateral strain due to
dilation. Micro-crack propagation occurs in a stable
manner during this stage and that micro-cracking
events occur independently of each other and are
distributed throughout the specimen.
– The upper boundary of the stage is the point of
maximum compaction and zero volume change and
occurs at about 80% peak strength.
• Stage IV
– The rock is undergone a rapid acceleration of micro-
cracking events and volume increase.
– The spreading of micro-cracks is no longer
independent and clusters of cracks in the zones of
highest stress tend to coalesce and start to form
tensile fractures or shear planes - depending on the
strength of the rock.
• Stage V
– The rock has passed peak stress, but is still intact, even
though the internal structure is highly disrupt.
– In this stage the crack arrays fork and coalesce into macro-
cracks or fractures. The specimen is undergone strain
softening (failure) deformation, i.e., at peak stress the test
specimen starts to become weaker with increasing strain.
– Thus further strain will be concentrated on weaker
elements of the rock which have already been subjected
to strain. This in turn will lead to zones of concentrated
strain or shear planes.
• Stage VI
– The rock has essentially parted to form a series of blocks
rather than an intact structure.
– These blocks slide across each other and the
predominant deformation mechanism is friction
between the sliding blocks.
– Secondary fractures may occur due to differential
shearing.
– The axial stress or force acting on the specimen tends to
fall to a constant residual strength value, equivalent to
the frictional resistance of the sliding blocks.
• Factors that affect Compressive Strength

– Size of Sample
– Shape of Sample
– Confining Stress
– Temperature
– etc
2.Tensile Strength
• Tensile strength of rock material is normally defined
by the ultimate strength in tension, i.e., maximum
tensile stress the rock material can withstand.
• Rock material generally has a low tensile strength.
The low tensile strength is due to the existence of
micro-cracks in the rock.
• Tensile strength of rock materials can be obtained
from several types of tensile tests:
– Direct tensile test, Brazilian test and flexure test.
• Direct test is not commonly performed due to the
difficulty in sample preparation.
Brazilian Tension Test
• Cylindrical specimen of diameter approximately equals to
50 mm and thickness approximately equal to the radius is
prepared.
• The cylindrical surfaces should be free from obvious tool
marks and any irregularities across the thickness.
• End faces shall be flat to within 0.25 mm and square and
parallel to within 0.25° .
• The specimen is wrapped around its periphery with one
layer of the masking tape and loaded into the Brazil tensile
test apparatus across its diameter.
• Loading is applied continuously at a constant rate such that
failure occurs within 15-30 seconds.
Tensile Strength
• Ten specimens of the same sample shall be tested. The
tensile strength of the rock is calculated from failure
load (P), specimen diameter (D) and specimen
thickness (t) by the following formula
Shear Strength
• Shear strength is used to describe the strength of rock
materials, to resist deformation due to shear stress.
• Rock resists shear stress by two internal mechanisms,
cohesion and internal friction. Cohesion is a measure of
internal bonding of the rock material. Internal friction is
caused by contact between particles, and is defined by
the internal friction angle, f.
• Shear strength of rock material ca be determined by
direct shear test and by triaxial compression tests.
• In practice, the later methods is widely used and
accepted.
Failure Criteria for rock Materials
• A failure criteria defines the limiting stress state in a loaded
sample.
• There are a number of Failure criteria for rock.
• These include the
– Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria
– Plane Griffith Criteria
– Hoek-Brown criteria etc
• Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion assumes that a shear
failure plane is developed in the rock material when
failure occurs, the stresses developed on the failure
plane are on the failure envelope
rock slope stability
Landslides and slope failures are
responsible for millions of dollars of
damage to public and private property
every year
Rock Slope Stability
• A variety of engineering activities require excavation of
rock cuts.
• In civil engineering, projects include transportation
systems such as highways and railways, dams for power
production and water supply, and industrial and urban
development.
• In mining, open pits account for the major portion of the
world’s mineral production.
• The overall slope angles for these pits range from near
vertical for shallow pits in good quality rock to flatter
than 30o for those in very poor quality rock.
• The required stability conditions of rock slopes will
vary depending on the type of project and the
consequence of failure.
• For example, for cuts above a highway carrying high
traffic volumes it will be important that the overall
slope be stable, and that there be few if any rock falls
that reach the traffic lanes.
Rock slope
Rock slope
• In contrast, slopes for open pit mines are usually
designed with factors of safety in the range of 1.2–1.4,
and it is accepted that movement of the slope and
possibly some partial slope failures will occur during
the life of the mine.
• In fact, an optimum slope design is one that fails soon
after the end of operations.
• The common design requirement for rock cuts is to
determine the maximum safe cut face angle
compatible with the planned maximum height.
• The design process is a trade-off between stability and
economic .i.e. steep cuts are usually less expensive to
construct than flat cuts.
• There is less volume of excavated rock, less
acquisition of right-of-way and smaller cut face areas.
• However, with steep slopes it may be necessary to
install extensive stabilization measures such as rock
bolts and shotcrete in order to minimize both the risk
of overall slope instability and rock falls during the
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• The design of rock cuts involves;

• the collection of geotechnical data,
• the use of appropriate design methods,
– the implementation of excavation methods
– stabilization/protection measures suitable for the
particular site conditions.
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• Design data Required
• Geological data of which structural geology is usually the
most important. This information includes the orientation of
discontinuities and their characteristics such as length,
spacing, roughness and infilling.
• Rock strength with the most important parameter being the
shear strength of discontinuity surfaces or rock masses, and
to a lesser extent the compressive strength of the intact rock.
• Ground water conditions comprise the likely ground water
level within the slope, and procedures to drain the slope, if
necessary
• Modes of Failure
– Common modes of failures in rock slopes are:
• Circular
• Planar
• Wedge
• Toppling
• Other Terms fro slope movements
• Slides
– In a slide, the moving material remains largely in contact
with the parent or underlying rock during the movement
which takes place along a discrete boundary shear surface
• Rock Falls
– Falls normally take place from steep faces in rock, and
involve immediate separation of the falling material from
the parent material, with movement involving only
infrequent or intermittent contact thereafter, until the debris
comes finally rest
• Rock Flows
– Flows is used when the material becomes disaggregated and
can move without the concentration of displacement at the
shear boundary
• Factors that determine modes of failure are
– The orientation of geologic structures i.e.
discontinuities in relation to the strike and dip of
the slope face
– Spacing and persistence of discontinues
– Shear strength of discontinuities
– Strength of intact rock material(UCS)
• Circular Failure
– When the rock mass is very heavily jointed or broken, as in
a waste rock dump, the failure will be defined by a single
discontinuity surface but will tend to follow a circular
failure path
– In the circular failure, the rock slope should be treated as a
soil slope where a strongly defined structural pattern no
longer exits and the failure surface is free to find the line
least resistance through the slope
• Plane Failure
– When a rock block rests on an inclined discontinuity that
daylights into the slope face i.e. the dip of the
discontinuity is less than that of the slope face
– In addition, the inclination of failure face must be
greater than the friction angle along the discontinuity
face
– The plane on which sliding occurs must strike within
approximately ±20º to the rock face
• Wedge Failure
– When two planes of weaknesses intersect to form a tetrahedral
block and the line of intersection daylights into the slope face
• In order that wedge failure can occurs, the following
geometrical condition must be fully satisfied:
– Two discontinuities strike obliquely across the slope face and
their line of intersection daylights in the slope face
– The wedge on which sliding occurs must strike within
approximately ±20º to the rock face
– The dip of the crest must be greater than the angle of friction
of the rock
• Toppling occurs in hard rock with columnar structure an over-
steep faces with closely spaced and adversely inclined steep
discontinuities dipping into the face.
• The resulting movement is due to forces that cause an
overturning moment about a pivot point below the centre of
gravity of the block
• In order that toppling failure can occurs, the following
geometrical condition must be fully satisfied:
– The dip direction of the discontinuity beneath the block must be
towards the face within ±20º
– The centre of gravity of the block must be in front of its toe
– The block cannot slide
• Limit Equilibrium Analysis
– Limit equilibrium analyses calculates the factor of safety of
the slope and different procedures are used for plane,
wedge, circular and toppling failures.
– The stability of rock slopes for the geological conditions
depends on the shear strength generated along the sliding
surface.
– For all shear type failures, the rock can be assumed to be a
Mohr–Coulomb material in which the shear strength is
expressed in terms of the cohesion c and friction angle f.
– For a sliding surface on which there is an effective normal
stress s acting, the shear strength t developed on this
surface is given by
– If the dip of the sliding surface is ψp, its area is A, and the
weight of the block lying above the sliding surface is W, then
the normal and shear stresses on the sliding plane are
– The driving force is

– The resisting force
– Factor of safety, FS
• Plane Failure Analysis
– The slope geometries and ground water conditions
considered in this analysis are defined as below which shows
two geometries as follows:
• slopes having a tension crack in the upper surface; and
• slopes with a tension crack in the face.
– When the upper surface is horizontal (ψs= 0), the transition
from one condition to another occurs when the tension crack
coincides with the slope crest, that is when
• where z is the depth of the tension crack, H is the slope height,

ψf is the slope face angle and ψp is the dip of the sliding plane.
• The following assumptions are made in plane failure
analysis:
– Both sliding surface and tension crack strike parallel to the
slope.
– The tension crack is vertical and is filled with water to a
depth zw
– Water enters the sliding surface along the base of the
tension crack and seeps along the sliding surface, escaping
at atmospheric pressure where the sliding surface
daylights in the slope face.
4. The forces W (the weight of the sliding block), U (uplift
force due to water pressure on the sliding surface) and
V (force due to water pressure in the tension crack) all
act through the centroid of the sliding mass. In other
words, it is assumed that there are no moments that
would tend to cause rotation of the block, and hence
failure is by sliding only.
5. Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria applies
6. Plain strain conditions apply
– The factor of safety for the slope configuration shown is given
by
– Where
– For tension crack on inclined upper slope

– For tension crack on slope face

– Factor of Safety with anchor bolt reinforced slopes
• Plane Failure Analysis, Example
• A 12-m high rock slope has been excavated at a face angle
of 60o. The rock in which this cut has been made contains
persistent bedding planes that dip at an angle of 35o into
the excavation. The 4.35m deep tension crack is 4m behind
the crest, and is filled with water to a height of 3m above
the sliding surface. The strength parameters of the sliding
surface are as follows:
Cohesion, c = 25kPa Friction angle, f = 37o
• The unit weight of the rock is 26kN/m3, and the unit
weight of the water is 9.81kN/m3
Rock Slope Analysis
• Plain Failure Example
Rock Slope Analysis
1. Calculate the factor of safety of the slope for the conditions given
in the figure above.
2. Determine the factor of safety if the tension crack were
completely filled with water due to run-off collecting on the crest
of the slope.
3. Determine the factor of safety if the slope were completely
drained.
4. Determine the factor of safety if the cohesion were to be reduced
to zero due to excessive vibrations from nearby blasting
operations, assuming that the slope was still completely drained.
5. Determine whether the 4.35-m deep tension crack is the critical
depth
Rock Slope Analysis
• Solution Factor of safety calculations
– The weight W of the block is
– 1241kN/m
• The area A of the sliding plane
• is 13.34m2/m .
• For water in the tension crack to depth, zw= 4.35m, the
values of the water forces U and V acting on the block
are ;
• U=196.31kN/m and V = 44.15kN/m

• The factor of safety is given by
• The factor of safety can be calculated for cases 1
through to 4 by substituting corresponding values as;
Case 1 2 3 4
FS 1.25 1,07 1.54 1.08
• The factor of safety reduces with increasing depth of

water in the tension crack as,
• Reading Assignment
– Influence of ground water on slope stability
• Book “Rock slope engineering “ Ch6 article 6.3.1
• Exercise
1. For the above problem It is proposed that the drained
slope with zero cohesion be reinforced by installing
tensioned rock bolts anchored into sound rock
beneath the sliding plane. If the rock bolts are installed
at right angles to the sliding plane, that is, ψT= 55o, and
the total load on the anchors per lineal meter of slope
is 400kN, calculate the factor of safety.
2. Calculate the factor of safety if the bolts are
installed at a flatter angle so that the ψT is
decreased from 55o to 20o
3. If the working load for each bolt is 250kN,suggest
a bolt layout, that is, the number of bolts per
vertical row, and the horizontal and vertical
spacing between bolts to achieve a bolt load of
400kN/m of slope length.
Assignment 2
1.A rock mass at a depth of 5000m had a value of K (= ratio of horizontal to vertical stresses) equal to 0.8. If
Poisson’s ratio is 0.25, what should K become after erosion of 2000m of rock?
2.In a series of triaxial compression tests on a sandstone, the following data represent the stresses at peak
load conditions:
Test 3 (Mpa) 1 (Mpa)
1 1.0 9.2
2 5.0 28.0
3 9.5 48.7
4 15.0 74.0
Determine values of Si and  that best fit the data
3.Triaxial compression tests of porous rock yield Si equal to 1.0Mpa and  equals 350. Calculate the
unconfined compressive strength.
4.Show that the volume change per unit volume of a rock core undergoing compression is approximately
equal to the sum of the three normal strains (i.e., =x+y+z). (Assume that the product of strains is
extremely small and hence it is neglected.)
5. (a) Plot Mohr envelopes of strength (1) = 00, (2)  = 300, (3)  = 600, and  = 900 for the slate
whose strength anisotropy is described by Equations
Si = 65.0 – 38.6cos 2   30 Mpa 
3
tan = 0.600-0.280 cos 2   50

(b) Plot the peak compressive strength of the slate as a function of  for
(i) 3 = 0 and (ii) 3 = 30Mpa.
Discontinuity Characterization and
Classification of Rocks for Engineering
Purpose:
Rock Mass Classification
• Design of support for tunnel/cavern excavation or
slope stability analysis can be done by analytical
methods i.e. collecting rock properties from field and
taking reasonable assumptions.
• This method fails to comprehensively address all
factors that affect the property of rock mass in
satisfactory manner.
• Hence Empirical procedures based on rock mass rating
have found great acceptability in the last century
• Rock mass classifications form the back bone of the
empirical design approach and are widely employed in
rock engineering.
• The rock mass classifications have recently been quite
popular and being used in feasibility designs
• Objectives of Rock Mass Classifications
– Identify the most important parameters influencing the rock
mass.
– Divide a rock mass formation into groups of similar
behaviour.
– Provide a basis for understanding the characteristics of each
rock mass class.
– Relate experiences of rock conditions at one site to those at
another.
– Derive quantitative data and guidelines for engineering
design.
– Provide a common basis for communication between
geologists and engineers.
• Quantitative rock mass classification systems have
been used with great benefit due to the following
reasons:
– It provides better communication between geologists,
designers, contractors and engineers;
– Engineer's observations, experience and judgment are
correlated and consolidated more effectively by a
quantitative classification system;
– Engineers prefer numbers in place of descriptions, hence, a
quantitative classification system has considerable
application in an overall assessment of the rock quality; and
– Classification approach helps in the organization of
knowledge.
Rock quality designation index (RQD)
• RQD is defined as the percentage of intact
core pieces longer than 100 mm (4 inches) in
the total length of core.
• When no core is available but with

discontinuity Palmström (1982) suggested
RQD = 115 - 3.3 Jv, where, Jv = sum
of no of joint per unit legth
( 35)
.
• Rock Mass Rating-RMR system
– The geomechanics classification or the rock mass rating
(RMR) system was initially developed at the South African
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) by
Bieniawski (1973) on the basis of his experiences in
shallow tunnels in sedimentary rocks (Kaiser, MacKay, &
Gale, 1986).
– Since then the classification has undergone several
significant evolutions: therefore, it is important to state
which version is used when RMR values are quoted.
• The RMR system in use now incorporates five basic
parameters below.
– Strength of intact rock material: Uniaxial compressive
strength is preferred. For rock of moderate to high strength,
point load index is acceptable.
– RQD: RQD is used as described before.
– Spacing of joints: Average spacing of all rock discontinuities is
used.
– Condition of joints: Condition includes joint aperture,
persistence, roughness, joint surface weathering and
alteration, and presence of infilling.
– Groundwater conditions: It is to account for groundwater
inflow in excavation stability
– Joint Orientation
• The mathematical expression for RMR given by:
RMR  Rs  RQD  Rdj  Rej  Rw  Roj

• where,
– RMR -rock mass rating
– Rs- Strength of intact rock material (rating 0-15)
– RQD- Rock quality designation (rating 3-20)
– Rdj- Spacing of joints (rating 5-30)
– Rej- Condition of joints (rating 0-25)
– Rw- Groundwater conditions (rating 0-10)
– Roj- Joint orientation (rating –12 to 0)
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orientation
orientation
Estimation of support pressure
Pv = support pressure, Y = unit weight of rock, B = tunnel

width
Cont…
• RMR Example
• A granite rock mass containing 3 joint sets, average
RQD is 88%, average joint spacing is 0.24 m, joint
surfaces are generally stepped and rough, tightly
closed and unweathered with occasional stains
observed, the excavation surface is wet but not
dripping, average rock material uniaxial
compressive strength is 160 MPa, the tunnel is
excavated to 150 m below the ground where no
abnormal high in situ stress is expected.
example2
• THE Q-SYSTEM
– Barton, Lien, and Lunde (1974) at the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute (NGI) originally proposed the Q-system of rock mass
classification on the basis of approximately 200 case histories
of tunnels and caverns.
– In a similar way to the RMR system, the Q-rating is developed
by assigning values to six parameters. These are:
• RQD;
• number of discontinuity sets, Jn;
• roughness of the 'most unfavourable' discontinuity,Jr;
• degree of alteration or filling along the weakest discontinuity,Ja;
• water inflow,Jw; and
• stress condition, SRF.
• The motivation in presenting the Q-value in this form is to
provide some method of interpretation for the three
constituent quotients.
• The first, RQD/Jn,(P86) is related to the rock mass geometry:
– Q increases with increasing RQD and decreasing number of
discontinuity sets.
– RQD increases with decreasing number of discontinuity sets, so
the numerator and denominator of the quotient mutually
reinforce one another.
– Basically, the higher the value of this quotient, the better the
'geometrical quality' of the rock mass.
• The second quotient, Jr/Ja,(P60) relates to the 'inter-
block shear strength' with high values of this quotient
representing better 'mechanical quality' of thet rock
mass:
– the quotient increases with increasing discontinuity
roughness and decreasing discontinuity surface alteration.
• The different discontinuity sets in the rock mass may
have different roughnesses and degrees of alteration,
so the Q-system uses the worst case.
• The third quotient, Jw/SRF,(P61) is an 'environmental
factor' incorporating ;
– water pressures and flows,
– the presence of shear zones,
– squeezing and swelling rocks and
– the in situ stress state.
• The quotient increases with decreasing water pressure or
flow rate, and also with favourable rock mass strength to
in situ stress ratios.
• The rock mass quality Q system value ranges from o.oo1
to 1000 and groupd rock masses in to nine groups.
SRF
• JOINT ORIENTATION AND THE Q-SYSTEM
– Barton et al. (1974) stated that joint orientation was not as
important a parameter as expected, because the orientation
of many types of excavation can be, and normally are,
adjusted to avoid the maximum effect of unfavorably
oriented major joints.
– Barton et al. (1974) also stated that the parameters Jn, Jr , and
Ja appear to play a more important role than the joint
orientation, because
• the number of joint sets determines the degree of freedom for block
movement (if any);
• the frictional and dilatational characteristics (J r/Ja) can
counterbalance the down-dip gravitational component of weight of
wedge formed by the unfavorably oriented joints.
• If joint orientation had been included the classification system
would be less general, and its essential simplicity lost.
• However, it is still suggested to collect the rating for Jr/Ja for
the most critical joint set.
• The critical joint set or “very unfavorable joint set” with
respect to tunnel axis can be obtained as;
• Example on Q system
• A sandstone rock mass, fractured by 2 joint sets plus
random fractures, average RQD is 70%, average joint
spacing is 0.11 m, joint surfaces are slightly rough,
highly weathered with stains and weathered surface
but no clay found on surface, joints are generally in
contact with apertures generally less than 1 mm,
average rock material uniaxial compressive strength is
85 MPa, the tunnel is to be excavated at 80 m below
ground level and the groundwater table is 10 m below
the ground surface.
• Application of Q system
– Q value is applied to estimate the support measure for a
tunnel of a given dimension and usage, as shown in below.
– Equivalent dimension is used in the figure and ESR is given in
table as;
• Correlation between RMR,Q and Mechanical
Properties of Rock mass
– Modulus of Elasticity
• Correlation between RMR,Q and Mechanical
Properties of Rock mass
• Cohesion and Angle of Internal Friction
– Barton (2008) suggested the following correlations to
obtain the cohesive strength (cp) and angle of internal
friction or frictional strength (fp) of the rock mass.
tunneling
Tunnels
Tunnels
underground conveyance structures
are
by special tunneling
constructed
important in high head plant. methods,
 When the
and
ground rugged, it is becomes
uneconomical
very to
steep
canals as it follow constr
distances s uct
provision of and/orcross-drainage
longer
works and deep cuts andneeds fills
at a number of
appropriate locations.
 In such cases, it is advisable to 67
Fig: Tunnel go for tunnels or pipes.
Tunnels…Contd
In the headrace of water conveyance system tunneling is
popular because of the following reasons:
 It provides a direct and short route for the water
passage thus resulting in considerable saving in cost
 Tunneling work can be started simultaneously at many
points thus leading to quicker completion
 Natural land scape is not disturbed
 Tunneling work has become easier with development
techniques of drilling and blasting and new mechanical
equipment
 Development of rock mechanics and experimental stress
analysis has given greater confidence to engineers
regarding stability of tunnels. 68
Tunneling & Rock Support
• Tunnels, shafts and caverns are common features of
hydropower schemes.
• Typical lay outs of Hydropower Plants are shown here.
Classification of Tunnels
Classification based on shape, alignment and design
aspects.
 Shape: Tunnels are either circular or non-circular in
shape.
 Commonly used tunnel shapes(Shapes of Tunnels) are
discussed below:
1. Polycentric
2. Circular
3. Rectangular,
4. Egg-shaped,
5. Horseshoe type
6. Elliptical
7. Segmental
Classification of tunnels…Contd
1. Polycentric Shaped of Tunnels
 This sort of tunnel shape has a
number of centers and provides a
sufficient flat base for traffic
movement.
Advantages:
 It can be used for road and railway
traffic.
 It can resist external and internal
pressure for their arch shape.
Disadvantages:
 The construction of these tunnels is difficult.
 The lining of this type of tunnel is difficult.
2. Circular Shaped Tunnels
 Circular tunnels are used to carry water under pressure.
 These are not appropriate for traffic tunnels because more
filling is needed to make the base flat.
Advantages:
 Best to resist the external or internal
force.
 It provides the greatest cross-
sectional area for the least perimeter.
Fig: Circular Shaped
Tunnels
Disadvantages:
 More filling is required to form a flat base for
designing a road or railway track.
 In circular tunnels, lining work is very
3. Rectangular Shaped Tunnels
 For pedestrian traffic, rectangular shapes of tunnels
are appropriate.
 These tunnels are sometimes accepted if pre-
constructed R . C . C caissons are used.
 This types of tunnels not suitable to resist external
pressure due to their rectangular shape and these
are not in use these days.
Fig: Rectangular Shaped of Tunnels

4. E g g Shaped Tunnels
 This tunnel shape has a number of centers and radius

length.
 These are suitable as sewer tunnels to carry sewage
water Advantages:
 It is mostly adopted for carrying sewage
water.
 Due to their small cross-section at the
bottom, it can maintain the self-cleaning
velocity of flow of sewage in dry and rainy
seasons.
Fig: Egg  It can resist external and internal
Shaped Tunnels pressure
due to their circular walls
Disadvantages:
 This type of tunnels are not suitable as traffic tunnels
 The construction process of these tunnels are very
difficult
5. Horse Shoe Type Tunnels
 Horseshoe type tunnel shape is a combined shape
of arches and circular tunnel.
 These type of tunnels shape is quite popular.
Fig: Horse Shoe Shaped Tunnels

6. Elliptical Shaped Tunnels
 For carrying water, elliptical-shaped tunnels are
appropriate.
 These are suitable in softer material.
 For better resistance to external pressure, the major
axis of these tunnels is maintained vertically.
Fig: Elliptical Shaped Tunnels

7. Segmental
 Segmental tunnels are suitable for traffic tunnels.
 It is a section with an arched roof and straight sides.
 These are generally used for subway or navigation
tunnels.
Fig: Segmental
Advantages:
 It is the most suited in rock tunnels.
 It is suitable to resist external load due to their
arch-shaped roof.
 It has flat floor which is helpful during driving
and moving any equipment.
Tunnels… C ontd
Tunnel alignment
 A name tunnel indicates a very small bottom slopes,
i.e. tunnels are aligned nearly horizontal.
 Shaft is a tunnel with vertical alignment or inclined
alignment
 It is very crucial to investigate in detail the geology
of the strata through which the tunnel a tunnel
would be passing, there my be folds, faults, joint
planes, weak strata, etc . The alignment of a tunnel
should be fixed keeping in view these phenomena.
 The alignment, should as far as possible avoid the
major fracture planes
Tunnels… C ontd
Fig: Tunnel
alignment
/
arrangement
/
• Design and construction of tunnels, shafts and caverns is
characterized by high degree of uncertainty due to the
inherent variability in rock mass properties and geologic
conditions.
• Design and Implementation of tunnels involves the following
stages
– Reconnaissance and conception
– Feasibility studies and concept development.
– Preconstruction planning and engineering.
– The construction stage: Final design and preparation of contract
documents.
– Construction.
– Commissioning and operations.
• Geologic Considerations
– Properties of Intact Rock
– Faults, joints and bedding planes
• Orientation, Spacing, Persistence, Roughness, Aperture,
Filling, Seepage, Number of sets, Block size, etc
– In-situ Stress
– Weathering
– Hydrogeology
– Gases in the Ground
• Methane gas, Hydrogen sulfide, Sulphur dioxide and other
gases.
• The design shall be conducted with a team of experts
involving
– Engineering geologists, hydraulics engineers ,structural
engineers ,geotechnical engineers ,civil engineers
environmental staff ,cnstruction engineers and others like
drafters/designers/computer aided drafting and design
(CADD) operators
Tunnels…Contd
Design Aspects:
 Aspects of lining, pressure condition considers.
 Concrete lining is a protective layer of concrete,
R . C . or steel on the inner surface of the tunnel a n d
 it is an important aspect in classification of tunnels.
81
Fig: diversion tunnel concrete lining

Tunnels…Contd
Lining of tunnels is required:
 For structural reasons to resist external forces when
the strata is of very low strength.
 When the internal pressure is high, above 100m
 For prevention or reduction of seepage losses
 For protection of rock against aggressive(likely to

attack) water
Pressure tunnels: are classified according to pressure head
above the soffit of the tunnel. Accordingly:
a) Low pressure tunnels(H<10m)
b) Medium pressure tunnels(10m<H<100m )
c) High-pressure tunnels(H>100m)
a) Low-pressure tunnels
 The trimmed rock surface may be sufficient; the
tunnel surface may frequently be left unlined
except for visible fissures.
b) Medium head Tunnels
 A water tight, lining concrete is almost always
needed
 If the lining is only for water sealing purposes,
and
no load is carried by it
Let :h r = depth of overburden rock; r = specific weight
of the rock; w = specific weight of water; H = Internal
pressure head of water.
, we have 83
Using factor of safety of r r

Tunnels… Contd
C) H igh Head Pressure Tunnels
 Usually steel lining is used (R.C. Concrete
lining not satisfactory )
 In order to provide proper contact b/n rock and
concrete and b/n steel lining & concrete, all
voids are filled by grouting with cement
mortar.
 To reduce construction costs, relatively high
velocities (higher than in open channels) are
permitted in tunnels.
Tunnels… C ontd
Flow velocity
To reduce construction costs, relatively high
velocities (higher than in open channels)
are permitted in tunnels.
 The following velocities are suggested:
• Very rough rock surface---------- 1 to
2,0 m/s
• Trimmed rock surface ----------- 1.5 to
3.0 m/s
• Concrete surface------------------- 2 to
4.0 m/s
85
• Steel lining--------------------------- 2.5 t0
7 m/s
Tunnel design features
In addition to the above discussion:
 Alignment
 Geometrical shape
 Longitudinal slope
 Flow velocity
 Rock cover (overburden)
 Head loss
 Optimum X-section
• Common Terms in Tunneling
• Tunneling Methods
• There are various methods of Tunnelling. The selection of
a method depends up on: the size of the bore, the
condition of the ground, the equipment available, and
the extent to which support is required.
• Based on the geomechanically factors, tunneling may be
basically divided into two main groups:
– Tunneling in hard rocks.
– Tunneling in soft rocks.
• Based on Method of excavation, Tunneling may be
divided into two groups: Conventional methods and
Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)
• Conventional methods
• Full face method
– The full face made is normally selected for small tunnels
whose dimensions do not exceed 3m.
– In this method, the full face or the entire face of the tunnel is
tackled at the same time.
• Heading and Bench Method
– In this method, the heading (top or upper half) of the tunnel
is bored first and then the bench (bottom or lower half)
follows.
– The heading portion lies about 3.7m to 4.6m ahead of the
bench portion.
• Drift Method
– A drift is a small tunnel measuring 3m*3m which is driven
into the rock and whose section is widened in subsequent
process till it equates that of the tunnel.
– A number of drill holes are provided all round the drift and
these are filled up with explosives and ignited so that the size
of the drift expands to become equal to the required cross-
section of the tunnel.
• Pilot tunnel Method
– This method normally involves the digging of two tunnels,
namely a pilot tunnel and a main tunnel.
– The cross-section of the pilot tunnel usually measures about
2.4m*2.4m.
– The pilot tunnel is driven parallel to the main tunnel and
connected to the center line of the main tunnel with cross
cuts at many points.
• Perimeter Method of Tunnelling
– In this method, the excavation is carried out along the
perimeter or periphery of the section. This method is also
called the German method.
• Other methods include old Austrian Method, New
Austrian Method ,NATM,Norwegian Method etc
• Tunnel Excavation Methods
– Drilling and Blasting
– Mechanical Excavation
• Partial Face
• Shield Full face Excavation
Tunneling method, drill and blast …Contd
Drilling carried out by the percussion method.
charging of the drill holes with explosives will be

Charging
performed, the most common one being dynamite.
In rock blasting the main principle is to break the rock

Blasting
and push the rock fragments towards a free surface
ventilation has to be carried out to lower the

Ventilating concentration of blasting fumes to a satisfactory level.
The fans are usually started just after the explosion.
Removing loose rocks from the roof and walls of the
Scaling
tunnel is done for the sake of safety.
The selection of equipment for mucking and hauling

Mucking and
largely depend on the cross-sectional area and the
hauling 97
gradient of the tunnel.
Tunnel
supporting
• Blasting Rounds
• The correct design of a blast starts with the first hole
to be detonated.
• In the case of tunnel blast, the first requirement is
to create a void into which rock brocken by blast can
expand.
• This is generally achieved by a wedger or burn cut
which is designed to create a clean void and eject
the rock originally contained in the void clear of the
tunnel face
• Special Purpose Blasting
– During blasting, the explosive damage may not only occur
according to the blasting round design, but there may also be
extra rock damage behind the excavation boundary.
– To minimize damage to the rock, a smooth-wall blast may be
used to create the final excavation surface.
– The smooth wall blast begins with a large bulk opening,
followed by a series of closely spaced, lightly charged parallel
holes design to create a fracture plane connecting through
coalescing fractures
• Blasting Accessories
• Mechanical Excavation
• There are basically two types of machines for
underground excavation
– Partial face machines
– Full face Machines
• Full Face Excavation (TBM)
Tunneling method…Contd
ii. Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM)
 T BM is often used for excavating long tunnels
 T BM excavate the entire cross-section in a single
operation without the use of explosives.
 T BM consists of a wheel cutter head fitted with teeth or
rollers to cut the rock.
Tunnels… TBM …Contd
Advantages of T B M over conventional

drilling and blasting method
 For long tunnels (>3km) the
excavation time and the costs in
many cases are considerably lower
 The tunnel will have a circular profile
with a smooth contour
 Potential problems due to blast
vibrations are eliminated
 Less number of “adits” is required.
• TBM in soft Rock
• TBM in Hard Rock
• Mechanics of Rock Cutting
– The TBM applies both trust and torque during the cutting
process.
– In selecting the proper cutting tool, the engineering wishes to
know how the tools should be configured on a machine
cutting head, how to minimize the need to replace cutters,
how to avoid damaging the cutter mounts and how to minize
vibration.
• Mechanics of Rock Cutting
– Cutting involves a mixture of tensile, shear and compressive
modes of failure.
– With thrust, the cutting disc penetrates the rock and
generates extensive crack propagation to free saurface.
– Further strain relief occurs as the disc edge rolls out of its cut,
inducing further tensile cracking and slabbing at the rock face
• TBM excavation Problems
– The two main factors that stop tunnel boring
machines are either the rock is too hard to cut or
that the rock is too soft to sustain the reactionary
force necessary to push the machine forward.
– TBM’s will operate within certain ranges of rock
deformability and strength, where the machine can
be tailored to a specific ranges to achieve maximum
efficiency( the risk being if the rock conditions
diverge from those the TBM is designed for)
• Rock failure Mechanisms in Underground excavations
– When considering different rock mass failure mechanisms,
we generally distinguish between those that are primarily
structurally-controlled and those that are stress-controlled.
– Of course some failure modes are composites of these two
conditions, and others may involve the effect of time and
weathering on excavation stability
• Mechanism of Structurally controlled Instability
– In tunnels excavated in jointed rock masses at relatively shallow
depth, the most common types of failure are those involving
wedges falling from the roof or sliding out of the sidewalls of the
openings.
– These wedges are formed by intersecting structural features, such
as bedding planes and joints, which separate the rock mass into
discrete but interlocked pieces.
– When a free face is created by the excavation of the opening, the
restraint from the surrounding rock is removed.
– One or more of these wedges can fall or slide from the surface if
the bounding planes are continuous or rock bridges along the
discontinuities are broken.
• The steps which are required to deal with this problem
are:
– Determination of average dip and dip direction of significant
discontinuity sets in the rock mass, as described previously.
– Identification of potential wedges which can slide or fall
from the back or walls of the opening.
– Calculation of the factor of safety of these wedges,
depending upon the mode of failure.
– Calculation of the amount of reinforcement required to
bring the factor of safety of individual wedges up to an
acceptable level.
Tunnel Supports
The following support methods are the
most commonly used in hydropower
tunneling
Rock bolting
Shotcreting
Steel support
Grouting
Concrete lining
Tunnels support..Contd
Rock bolting
 A rock bolt is a steel bar, which is inserted into a hole
drilled in a rock to improve the rock competency/capability.
Fig:
Rock
bolting
Tunnels support..Contd
 The distance end has a device which permits it to

firmly anchored in the hole and the projecting
end is fitted with a plate which bears against
the rock surface
 The bolt is placed between in tension between
the anchor and the plate, thereby exerting a
compressive force on the rock
 On average, the length of rock bolts in water
tunnels is 1.5 to 4 m and the diameter is 16 to 25
mm.
104
Tunnels…support..Contd
Shotcreting
 A shotcrete is a quick-setting concrete plaster shot at
rock surfaces pneumatically (using compressed air)
 In practice the shotcrete is placed in 5cm layers until
a desired thickness is attained.
 The use of steel fibers in the concrete mix has an
effect of increasing the strength of the shotcrete
 In many cases, the shotcrete is combined with rock
bolting for use as a permanent support
 For an immediate support in areas of heavily
jointed
rock masses or in areas of high rock stresses, steel
fiber reinforced shotcrete is commonly used. 105
steel fiber
106
Fig: Typical steel fiber used in shotcreting

Fig: Principle of shotcreting 107

Steel support
108
Fig: Steel support

Tunnels…steel support..Contd
 Usually steel lining is used (R.C concrete lining not

satisfactory)
 The steel lining is embedded in concrete filling the
annular space between the steel lining and the rock. In
order to provide proper contact b/n rock and concrete
and b/n steel lining and concrete, all voids are filled by
grouting with comment mortar.
 The profile pressure tunnel should be such that the
roof should always be at least 1 to 2m below the
hydraulic grade line
 Saddles should be provided with dewatering provisions
and summits should be provided with outlets or shafts
109
G rou ting Tunnels…support..Contd
 A grout is a mixture of cement and water forced in to
rocks around the tunnel periphery
 Grouting may be performed ahead of the tunneling
face(pre-grouting) or behind the tunneling face (post
grouting)
 Pre-grouting is necessary in area where ground water
inflow makes tunnel driving difficult
 Probe holes are drilled ahead of the tunnel face to
perform permeability testing before deciding the
necessity of per-grouting. Post grouting is done to
improve the stability of the rock mass behind the
tunnel face.
Fig:
110
tunnel
grouting
.
THE END

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Introduction to Rock Mechanics

‘we were over-stepping the limits of our

– Some of the factor that affect the response of rock to engineering

Rock Deformation, Strength and

 discontinuities cause a dramatic change in deformation

• Permeability, Hydraulic Conductivity

– Flow in Pores Vs flow in fissures

– If the actual speed is measured the ratio of actual to

• Factors that affect Compressive Strength

• The design of rock cuts involves;

– The driving force is

• where z is the depth of the tension crack, H is the slope height,

– For tension crack on inclined upper slope

– For tension crack on slope face

• U=196.31kN/m and V = 44.15kN/m

• The factor of safety reduces with increasing depth of

tan = 0.600-0.280 cos 2   50

• When no core is available but with

RMR  Rs  RQD  Rdj  Rej  Rw  Roj

Pv = support pressure, Y = unit weight of rock, B = tunnel

Fig: Rectangular Shaped of Tunnels

 This tunnel shape has a number of centers and radius

Fig: Horse Shoe Shaped Tunnels

Fig: Elliptical Shaped Tunnels

Fig: diversion tunnel concrete lining

 For prevention or reduction of seepage losses

 For protection of rock against aggressive(likely to

b) Medium pressure tunnels(10m<H<100m )

Using factor of safety of r r

Drilling carried out by the percussion method.

charging of the drill holes with explosives will be

In rock blasting the main principle is to break the rock

ventilation has to be carried out to lower the

The selection of equipment for mucking and hauling

Advantages of T B M over conventional

 The distance end has a device which permits it to

Fig: Typical steel fiber used in shotcreting

Fig: Principle of shotcreting 107

Fig: Steel support

 Usually steel lining is used (R.C concrete lining not

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