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2 Isrm - SM - Large - Scale - Sampling - Triax - Testing - Joint - Rock - 1989 PDF
2 Isrm - SM - Large - Scale - Sampling - Triax - Testing - Joint - Rock - 1989 PDF
CONTENTS
Co-ordinators
O. P. Natau (F.R.G.)
Th. O. Mutschler (F.R.G.)
427
428 ISRM: LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD
INTRODUCTION
The Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field Tests, subsequently renamed The
Commission on Testing Methods, was first established in 1967. Answers to the questionnaire
circulated to all members of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) clearly showed
a general desire for standardized testing procedures. The tests were characterized and a priority
for their standardization was agreed upon. It was decided that research tests, including many of
the rock physics tests, were beyond the scope of standardization.
The present document has been produced through the efforts of a working group of the
Commission consisting of a number of individuals. A list of contributors is given on the title page.
Most of the work has been conducted by means of correspondence co-ordinated by Professor
O. P. Natau with assistance of Mr Th. O. Mutschler of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The purpose of this Suggested Method is to specify the sampling and triaxial testing apparatus
and procedure for large cylindrical specimens of pervasively jointed rock mass. The method of large
scale triaxial testing in laboratory is well proven for many kinds of rock mass and for a wide range
of geotechnical designs as underground openings, foundations and rock slopes.
Any person interested in these recommendations and wishing to suggest additions or modifi-
cations should write to the Secretary General, International Society for Rock Mechanics,
Lab6ratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil, 101 Avenida do Brasil, P-1799 Lisboa Codex, Portugal.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following persons contributed to the preparation and reviewed the drafts of this suggested
method: J. A. Franklin (Canada), J. A. Hudson (U.K.).
430 ISRM: LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAXIAL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD
I !
Ii I,
should provide a sufficient volume of air" in the thickness that the surface of the platen in contact
core barrel at a pressure of 100 kPa. Water flushing with the specimen does not bend by more than
is permissible only for hard and water-resistant i mm/m at maximum load. To carry out con-
rocks. solidated and drained tests, the platens must be
perforatedL Their surfaces must be ground and
Testing equipment polished to a flatness of 0.01 mm.
3. (a) The triaxial testing equipment essentially in- (f) A flexible jacket 5 of suitable material shall be
eludes a triaxial cell, pressurizing and axial loading used to prevent the confining fluid from entering
equipment and load and displacement measuring the specimen. One way of connecting this to the
systems with the requirements as outlined below. platens is shown in Fig. 3. The jacket must be
flexible enough to accommodate specimen expan-
Triaxial cell and axial loading derice sion during testing.
4. (a) One of many possible designs 3 of a triaxial
testing apparatus is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of Equipment for measuring and recording loads, pressures
an integrated system of a cell and a loading device and displacements
where the base of the cell provides the reaction for 5. (a) The axial load shall be measured continuously
the axial force. with an accuracy of 2%. Because of the large forces
(b) The cell must be strong enough to bear the and the dimensions of the specimens, the capacity
combined loads of confining pressure and axial of one load cell might not be sufficient. In such
force. It should have windows to allow an optical cases a tripod of load cells should be used.
control of the specimen during the test.
(e) The device for applying confining pressure
should be capable of fine regulation of the pressure
to a range of I%. Due to the large volume
involved, the use of water is more convenient than F
(b) The cell pressure shall be measured with an facilitate retrieval. The seam of the casing must be
accuracy of I%. tight or the casing must be seamless.
(c) The axial displacement shall be measured di- (c) The annular space between the core and the
rectly between the platens at three points with an casing is filled with gypsum plaster in the following
accuracy of not less than 0.5%. If electronic trans- manner. First, the base of the annulus is sealed
ducers are used, an additional optical reading of with a layer of gypsum. Then the surface of the
vernier scales should be provided. core and especially the joints are sealed by a
(d) The radial displacement shall be measured as thin layer of watery gypsum. When the seals
the change of circumference at three or more levels have hardened the sample is totally embedded in
with an accuracy of not less than 0.5°/,. If elec- gypsum.
tronic transducers are used, an additional optical (d) The core shall be marked to show specimen
reading should be provided. number and in situ orientation.
(e) Axial load, confining pressure and displacement (e) After hardening of the gypsum plaster (about
data can either be read intermittently or recorded l h), the core is withdrawn with a crane. The
continuously. A simultaneous evaluation shall in- sample breaks at a tension fracture at its base
dicate the point of failure. The radial displacement which often coincides with a plane of weakness. If
shall be included to calculate the axial stress ~. the force of the crane proves to be insufficient, a
basal fracture can be created by driving wedges
PROCEDURE into the annular slot.
(f) The specimen shall be sealed with gypsum
Sampling procedure plaster at both ends to prevent drying and to
Sampling location. protect it against mechanical damage during trans-
6. (a) The area to be sampled should first be examined portation. If the specimen is to be stored in the
with regard to its geological characteristics. The laboratory, the sealing shall be checked on arrival
sampling can be done from the ground surface, and, if necessary, renewed. In a cool humid room,
from an exploratory hole or from an exploration storage of several months is possible.
gallery.
(b) The location of the sample and the fabric Testing procedure
lithology and pattern of discontinuities in the Preparation of the specimen.
surroundings shall be recorded. 8. (a) The specimen shall be a right circular cylinder
(c) The drilling site must be carefully prepared having a length-to-diameter ratio of at least I: 15.
without blasting. The last layers should be re- (b) The ends of the specimen shall be flat to
moved by hand before drilling starts. 0.5 mm/m and shall not depart from the perpen-
(d) The area to be sampled should be prestressed dicular to the longitudinal axis of the specimen by
to avoid exfoliation during coring and to prevent more than 0.01 tad or I cm per 100cm. In most
loosening of the specimen. This can be achieved by cases, this requires that they are prepared using a
a deadweight in the form of a circular steel platen, chisel and then trowelled with plaster or cement
with an additional central rockbolt, if necessary. mortar grout. The strength of grout should be
Rockbolting should be reserved for difficult cases similar to that of the rock mass to be tested. The
because, if used, the bolt must be removed before grout layer should be kept as thin as possible and
testing and the remaining hole filled with a suitable its thickness is to be reported.
material; thus a certain disturbance cannot be (c) The sides of the specimen shall be smooth, free
avoided. The deadweight should be grouted to the from abrupt irregularities and straight to within
rock surface to give a uniform distribution of the 2% of the diameter. The steel casing and the grout
prestressing. between it and the rock is to be removed just before
testing. Breakouts of smaller pieces of rock are to
Drilling and retriet,al of the core be filled with the grout material used for the ends.
7. (a) An annular slot is cut into the rock mass using In cases where damage may occur during prep-
the calyx core barrel and regulating the thrust to aration, the surrounding gypsum plaster can be left
give a steady return of air for effective flushing. in place. If so, this is to be reported.
Excessive thrust may cause cuttings to obstruct the (d) The specimen is to be measured before testing,
slot and prevent further drilling. Too little thrust its height to the nearest i mm, and its circumfer-
may cause grinding and polishing of the core bits ence at three equidistant locations to the nearest
and vibrations which disturb the specimen. If I mm. The average circumference shall be used for
groundwater enters the drillhole the use of air calculating the cross-sectional area.
flushing is not possible. (e) The moisture content shall be reported in
(b) After drilling, the barrel is withdrawn and a accordance with Suggested Methods for Determin-
steel casing with a wall thickness of 2mm is ing Water Content, Porosity, Density, Absorption
inserted into the annular space. The upper rim of and Related Properties in Rock Characterization,
the casing should have four hanger attachments to Testing and Monitoring [5].
RMMS 2b ~ F
432 ISRM: LARGE SCALE SAMPLING AND TRIAX1AL TESTING SUGGESTED METHOD
START )
Choice of confining /
pressure steps ¢3[n)
I ApptyinQof ]
confinincj pressure
Deviatoric I
Loading
No YeS
/ modulus of
deformaLion DI")
further steps / modulus of
deformation Oz
first step
//
No Yes
UnLoodinq-
reLoadin9 cycLe
/U modulusof //
nLoodinq E (,r<,~..o.) / /
II
No Yes
I ,Lure
reached! I
Reduction of
deviatoric Loadto 0
modulus of /
unLoadinq E [, =,D--.) /
REPORTING OF RESULTS
7 13.(a) The report shall include at least the following
b2 1 items:
(b) Source of specimen, including geographic
CONFINING PRESSURE 0"3
location, date and method of sampling.
(c) Lithologic description of the rock mass, includ-
Fig. 6. Bilinear strength envelope and its description by means of two
straight portions with the parameters m, and b,. ing its structure and joint system.
(d) Details of specimen preparation in the labora-
tory, including the thickness of the gypsum at the
ent" cohesion c (in the sense of Coulomb's failure surface of the specimen, also history and environ-
ment of the test specimen storage.
theory) may be calculated from:
(e) Orientation of the loading axis with respect to
the specimen joint system.
~p, = arcsin m , - I I - sin ~Pi (f) Water content at time of test.
m~ + ! ; c i = b, 2 cos ~
(g) Date of testing.
(h) Specimen diameter and height.
(c) Provided that there are no strain-hardening (i) Test duration and/or stress and displacement
effects in the tested material, a multi-stage test with rates.
increasing confining pressure steps will give a lower (j) Graphs of test results.
bound for the friction angle and an upper bound (k) Mode of failure.
for the cohesion. A test with decreasing confining (1) Photos of the specimen before and after testing.
Notes
I. Sampling equipment at the University of Karls- 7. For the particular type of triaxial cell this is
ruhe, West Germany (60cm max dia, 160cm max reached by increasing the cell pressure alone.
height). REFERENCES
2. For a 60cm dia a volume of 7m~/min of com-
I. Karman von T. Festigkeitsversucheunter allseitigem Druck. Ztg
pressed air is needed. d. Vereins Deutscher lngenieure, Jg. 55 (19LL).
3. Large triaxial cell at the University of Karisruhe, 2. M/iller L. Grundsfitzliches t~ber gebirgstechnologische GroOver-
West Germany: capacity: 100cm max dia, 170 cm max suche. Geol. u. Bauw., Jg. 27 (H. L), 3-8 (1961).
3. Wichter L. and Gudehus G. Ein Verfahren zur Entnahme und
height, 6.4 M N max axial force, 2 MPa max confining Prfifung yon gekliifteten Grol3bohrkernen. Proc. 2. Nat. Tagungf
pressure. Felsmechanik, Aachen (1976).
4. Natau O., FrShlich B. and Mutschler Th. Recent developments of
4. A very good method to measure the pore fluid the large scale triaxial test. Proc. 5th Int. Congr. of ISRM,
pressure is by installing pressure gauges at the sides of Melbourne, pp. A65-A74 (19831.
the specimen. The measuring tubes are best guided 5. ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field
Tests. Suggested Methods for Determining Water Content, Por-
through the load platens [3]. osity, Density, Absorption and Related Properties in Rock Charac-
5. Jackets from 4 m m rubber are well proven. terization, Testing and Monitoring, pp. 8L-89. Pergamon Press,
6. The correction of the cross-sectional areas calcu- Oxford (198L).
6. ISRM Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and FieLd
lated from the middle of the radial displacement. If Tests. Suggested Methods for the Quantitath'e Description of
buckling occurs, the maximum radial deformation shall Discontinuities in Rock Masses, pp. 3-52. Pergamon Press, Oxford
be used. (1981).