INTEGRATED EMPIRICAL METHODS

FOR THE DESIGN OF TUNNELS,

SHAFTS, AND CAVERNS IN ROCK,
BASED ON THE Q-SYSTEM

METODOS EMPIRICOS INTEGRADAS PARA EL
DISEO DE TNELES, LUMBRERAS Y CAVERNAS
EN ROCA BASADOS EN EL SISTEMA Q

Nick Barton, Oslo, Norway

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 Content of Course
1. THE WIDE NUMERICAL RANGE OF Q: (0.001-1000) HELPS
DESCRIBE NATURAL VARIABILITY. BASIC Q INTRODUCTION

2. FUNCTIONS OF Jr/Ja = FRICTION COEFFICIENT

3. FAULT-ZONE EXAMPLES the BIGGEST CHALLENGES

4. FUNCTION OF Jn/Jr FOR EXPLAINING OVERBREAK

5. DOUBLE-SHELL NATM : OVERBREAK CONSEQUENCE on CCA

6. THE ALTERNATIVE SINGLE-SHELL NMT (B + Sfr)

7. PRE-GROUTING FOR CONTROLLING WATER: SAVING TIME + COST

8. RRS INSTEAD OF LATTICE GIRDERS IN BAD GROUND

9. A LARGE CAVERN WITH B+ S(fr), MONITORING DEFORMATION

10. INTEGRATION OF Q WITH OTHER PARAMETERS: Vp, E mass, c,
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 SUGAR LOAF MOUNTAIN,
RIO DE JANEIRO

TOP END OF ROCK MASS
QUALITY SCALE.

Q 100/0.5 x 4/0.75 x 1/1

i.e. >1000

BRAZILIAN HYDROPOWER
PROJECT COLLAPSE IN FAULT
LOWEST END OF THE ROCK
MASS QUALITY SCALE.
Q 10/20 x 1/8 x 0.5/20

i.e. < 0.001 3

 RQD J r Jw
Q=
Jn J a SRF

RQD is the % of competent drill-core sicks > 100 mm in length in a selected

domain. (In tunnel mapping imagine cores or scan-lines).

Jn = the raing for the number of joint sets (9 for 3 sets, 4 for 2 sets etc.) in
the same domain.

Jr = the raing for the roughness of the least favourable of these joint sets or
lled disconinuiies, in the same domain.

Ja = the raing for the degree of alteraion or clay lling of the least
favourable of these joint sets or lled disconinuiies, in the same
domain.

Jw = the raing for the water inow and pressure eects, which may cause
outwash of disconinuity inllings, in the same domain.

SRF = the raing for fauling, for strength/stress raios in hard massive rocks,
for squeezing or for swelling in soK rock in the same domain.
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 Strength contrast, modulus contrast,
constructability contrast (15 years/1 year)
0.0011000, or 595, or F7F1 ???

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THE FIRST TWO PAIRS OF PARAMETERS
HAVE DIRECT PHYSICAL MEANING:
RQD / Jn = relaive block size

Jr / Ja = fricional strength

Jw / SRF = eects of water, fauling,

strength/stress raio, squeezing or
swelling (an acive stress term)


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Jr/Ja is like a friction coefficient
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Left: Not a fault affects Jr/Ja Right: fault with clay core:
only (2/41/8) affects Jr/Ja and SRF
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(Brazilian HEP tailrace tunnel incorrect mapping
therefore incorrect support)

Multiple faults (at least two): SRF = 10

10
all Q-parameters affected
 Repairs and
strengthening of
fault-zone
collapses are
extensive
operaions,
especially where
swelling clays
are present.

Adverse change
of secion for
HEP tunnel.

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 FAULT ZONES ARE UNIQUE
CHALLENGES FOR
TUNNELLERS

RQD, Jn, Jr, Ja, Jw,

SRF..everything is
adverse + TIME + COST 12
SITE VISITS SOMETIMES BY BOAT SWELLING ROCK - SRF

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 OTHER COMBINATIONS OF
Q-PARAMETERS ALSO PROVIDE
USEFUL GUIDANCE ABOUT
TUNNEL BEHAVIOUR

Jn/Jr

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 OVERBREAK
IF
Jn/Jr 6

Jn = number of sets

Jr = roughness
6/1.0 9/1.5
9/1.0 12/2
12/1.5 12/1.0
15/1.0 15/1.5
15/2.0

BUT NOT with 15/3
(DESPITE FOUR JOINT
SETS, TOO MUCH
ROUGHNESS
AND DILATION) 15
Adverse Jn/Jr
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OVER BREAK
needing
4m of
CONCRETE

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FOR double-shell NATM metroUNWANTED
OVERBREAK IS EXPENSIVES(fr) and CCA
volume increases, 3D membrane etc.

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THOSE (METRO-OWNERS?) WHO INSIST ON NATM CAN USE Q FOR
TEMPORARY SUPPORT SELECTION5Q + 1.5 x ESR (25 years use in HK)

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15 km of
membrane
welds per
1 km of
tunnel


What if
leaks?

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THERE ARE two ALTERNATIVES:

1. DOUBLE-SHELL (NATM)
(Temporary Sfr, B, steel/lazce girders, eece,
membrane, permanent CCA)

2. SINGLE-SHELL (NMT)
(pre-grouing?) + B + Sfr + (RRS?)

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 Single-shell (NMT)
caverns

Single-shell
(NMT)
tunnels
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23
SOME DETAILS OF NMT

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Wet process S(fr) + CT bolts

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 An over-cored CT
bolt showing crack
(joint) penetration to
outer layer of grout
the usual
commencement
of corrosion
for a conventional
bolt near the face.

There remain four

layers of corrosion
protection even with
the joint/crack.

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 INFLOW LIMITATIONS?

E.g. < 4 litres/min/100 m

(or < 10E-8 m/s or < 0.1 Lugeons)

Dry tunnel: no seQlement
damage, no dried sh ponds, no
dried lakes, no dead trees?
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 SUCCESSFUL PRE-
GROUTING: MUST
USE HIGH
PRESSURES
LOCALLY OPENS
JOINTS CLOSE TO
INJECTION HOLE.
(5-10 MPa, 50-100
bars)
WHEN FLOW STOPS
REDUCE THE
PRESSURE
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WATER-SICK ROCK......MORE WATER AFTER
PRE-GROUTING, THAN BEFORE !

BUTTHE NEXT SCREEN SHOWS WHAT OCCURS

WHEN DOING SUCCESSFUL INJECTION when the
grout penetrates as expected
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DRILLING 50 to 60 HOLES at the TUNNEL FACE

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 RELATIVE TIME FOR TUNNEL EXCAVATION AND SUPPORT
potenial benets of pre-grouing, especially if Q 0.1

COST
1200 %

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CONSEQUENCES OF
PRE-INJECTION
ON COST.....
IF EFFECTIVE
Q-VALUE
CAN BE INCREASED

TRY TO ELIMINATE
MOST OF THE LOW
Q-VALUE ROCK
i.e. Q< 1

THEN GET LOWER
COST BECAUSE OF
LESS PROBLEMS
WITH
CONSTRUCTION
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HERE WE SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR REDUCED TUNNEL SUPPORT . IF
THE EFFECTIVE Q-VALUE CAN BE IMPROVED

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WHAT IF BAD CONDITIONS
IN
SINGLE-SHELL (NMT)
TUNNELS ?

(WE NEVER USE STEEL
ARCHESbecause.next)
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STEEL ARCHES or
LATTICE
GIRDERS

THE
CONSEQUENCES
OF LOOSENING
ROCK SRF ? 37
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A SPECIAL (NMT) CAVERN

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 FINAL STAGE OF MODELLED EXCAVATION
(UDEC-BB modelling by Chryssanthakis, NGI)

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DEFORMATION RECORDS FROM MPBX AND LEVELLING

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 SPAN
=
Q

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 SPAN v
v =
100 Q c

HEIGHT h
h =
100 Q c
2 2
SPAN h
ko =
HEIGHT v
Units:
SPAN, HEIGHT, v and h (mm)
Rock stresses and rock strengths (MPa).
(But over-simplified central trend is (mm) SPAN(m)/Q
from many hundreds of case records, many from Taiwan). 44
Integraion of rock mass quality
(Q) with seismic velocity (Vp),
deformaion modulus Emass,
c and .



(PLEASE SEE THE WRITTEN VERSION !)

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