100 Rock strength properties and their measurement solving equation (4.14) for a range of minor prin- cipal stress values defined by 0; ~ 3 ~ a3 maxy as illustrated in Figure 4.22. The fitting process involves balancing the areas above and below the Mohr-Coulomb plot. This results in the fol- lowing equations for the angle of friction ¢}! and cohesive strength c! (Figure 4.23): Gangsta TUF a ale Pm (424) © log [ 42a +O — adm [+ mg) {[a+er+e x14 Gamomyy, DKF +ap (425) where o3n =O} nyq/Ach Note that the value of o}ya,y the upper limit of confining stress over which the rela- tionship between the Hoek-Brown and the Mohr-Coulomb criteria is considered, has to be determined for each individual case. Guidelines for selecting these values for slopes are presented in Section 4.5.5, ‘The Mohr-Coulomb shear strength 1, for a given normal stress «7, is found by substitution of these values of c and ¢! into the following equation: rae tartan, (4.26) ‘The equivalent plot, in terms of the major and ‘minor principal stresses, is defined by {| Ltsing? Trang a (427) Trang 4.5.4 Rock mass strength ‘The uniaxial compressive strength of the rock ‘mass ax is given by equation (4.18). For under- ‘ground excavations, instability initiates at the boundary of the excavation when the compressive strength a is exceeded by the stress induced on that boundary. The failure propagates from this initiation point into the biaxial stress field and it eventually stabilizes when the local strength, defined by equation (4.14), is higher than the induced stresses «| and ~,. Most numerical mod- els can follow this process of fracture propagation and this level of detailed analysis is very import- ant when considering the stability of excavations in rock and designing support systems. However, for slope stability, failure is ini- tiated along a sliding surface within the slope where the rock is subject to a biaxial stress field and it is useful to consider the overall behavior of a rock mass rather than the detailed failure propagation process described earlier. This leads to the concept of a global “rock mass strength” and Hoek and Brown (1997) proposed that this could be estimated from the Mohr-Coulomb relationship: 2c cos. (4.28) fem = Tsing with c!and ¢/ determined for the stress range a < a} « i/4 giving the following value for the rock mass strength a9: ny — 89) Mim /4 + 99°F 2d +ae+a) dong +45 (4.29) 455. Determination of 0 ‘The issue of determining the appropriate value Of mag for use in equations (4.24) and (4.25) depends upon the specific application. For the case of slopes, it is necessary that the calculated factor of safety and the shape and location of the failure surface be equivalent. Stability studies of rock slopes using Bishop’s circular failure analysis for a wide range of slope geo- metries and rock mass properties have been carried out for both Generalized Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb criteria to find the value Of oma. that gives equivalent characteristic curves. These analyses gave the following rela- tionship between 95,,,, the rock mass strengthRock strength properties and their measurement 101 oo 02 04 06 08 Normal stress + (MPa) 10 Figure 4.23. Non-linear Mohr envelope for fractured rock mass defined by equations (4.24) and (4.25); best ft line shows cohesion and friction angle for applicable slope height. Rock mass parameters: re = 30 MPa, GSI = 50, = 10, D=0.7, H = 20m, y= 0.026 MN/m’. dig, and the stress level on the sliding surface, a0 (Figure 4.24): : -091 Poona 72 (zm (4.30) (S) ‘The stress level on the sliding surface is related to. the slope height H and the unit weight of the rock iis given by (431) ov =H 4.5.6. Estimation of disturbance factor D Experience in the design of slopes in very large open pit mines has shown that the Hoek-Brown criterion for undisturbed in situ rock masses (D = 0) results in rock mass properties that are too optimistic (Pierce et al., 2001; Sjaberg et aly 2001). The effects of heavy blast damage as well as stress relief due to removal of the overburden ° on 0208 om Ratio of rock mass strenght in situ stress lo Figure 4.24 Relationship for the calculation of 4 4 for equivalent Mohr-Coulomb and Hock-Brown parameters for slopes result in disturbance of the rock mass (Hoek and Brown, 1988). It is considered that the “dis- turbed” rock mass properties using D = 1 in equations (4.14) and (4.15) are more appropriate for these rock masses. A number of other studies to assess the degree of disturbance of the rock mass have been carried ‘out by observing the performance of surface and underground excavations. For example, Lorig and Varona (2001) showed that factors such as the lateral confinement produced by different radii of curvature of slopes (in plan) as compared with their height also have an influence on the degree of disturbance. Also, Sonmez.and Ulusay (1999) back-analyzed five slope failures in open pit coal mines in Turkey and attempted to assign disturbance factors to each rock mass based upon their assessment of the rock mass properties pre~ dicted by the Hoek-Brown criterion. Unfortu- nately, one of the slope failures appears to be structurally controlled while another consists of a transported waste pile. Hoek considers that the Hoek-Brown criterion is not applicable to these two cases. In addition, Cheng and Liu (1990) report the results of very careful back analysis of