Rock Engineering I

Lecture 2

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2. Properties of Rocks and Rock Masses

• Introduction

• Physical properties of rocks

• Strength of rocks

• Jointing of the rock mass

• Shear strength of joints

• Weakness zones and faults

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 2.2 Physical properties of rocks

• Density

• Porosity

• Wave velocity

• Heat Transfer and expansion

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 Density
• Function of rock type, texture and structure

• Generally, higher the density better is the engineering

properties

• Important engineering parameter to evaluate rock stress

and stability analysis

• Common rocks have density ranges from 25 to 32 kN/m3

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 Density (Contd…)
Dry densities of some typical rocks

Rock Dry Density (kN/m3)

Granite 26.00
Basalt 27.10
Marble 27.00
Amphibolite 29.3
Shale 22.1

* Data from clark (1966), Davis and De Weist (1966)

- Richard E. Goodman

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 Porosity
• often designated by the dimensionless quantity “n”

• porosity is the ratio of volume of void to the total volume of rock

• depends upon
o type of rock
o age
o depth
o the environment under which it has been existing

• approximately 0% for some igneous rock to more than 50% for

some sedimentary rock

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 Wave Velocity
• Sonic Velocities as and index to Degree of Fissuring

• Longitudinal velocity can be related to number of

engineering properties of
 rock and
 the minerals constituting the rock

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 Wave Velocity (contd…)

Typical Values of longitudinal Velocities for Rocks

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 Heat transfer and expansion

• Thermal property

• Affect storage of hot and cold fluids in caverns and

geothermal energy recovery

• Quartz is the key mineral regarding heat transfer capacity

of the rock

• this mineral has 2 – 4 times higher heat transfer capacity

than other rock forming minerals such as feldspar mica

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Other physical and mechanical properties

• Hydraulic permeability and conductivity

• Durability (slake durability)

• Swelling and squeezing

 Smectite
 Anhydrite (CaSO4  gypsum)
 pyrrhotite containing schists and shales

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Five Minutes Break

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Other physical and mechanical properties

• Drillability and blastability

 The brittleness test

 The Sievers’ J – value test

 The abration test

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Three Major parameters influencing EXCAVATABILITY

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 The Brittleness Test

The brittleness value (S20) is the percentage of the material that passes
the 11.2 mm sieve after 20 drops of the 14 kg piston

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 The Sievers’ J – value (SJ) Miniature Drill Test

The Sievers’ J – value (SJ) is the penetration measured in 1/10 mm

after 200 rotations
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 The Abrasion Test

The Abration value (AV) is measured as the weight loss in milligrams of

the test specimen

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 For Evaluating Bit wear in Percussive Drilling,
Drill Rate Index (DRI) and Bit Wear Index (BWI)

Operation of rotary percussive drilling

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Drilling Rate Index (DRI) is defined by combining the Sievers’ J – value
and Brittleness Value (S20), as in Fig (b)

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Bit Wear Index (BWI) is defined by combining the Drilling Rate Index(RI)
and Abrasion values (AV), as in Fig (b)

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For Evaluating TBM Cutter Wear, “Cutter Life Index (CLI)” is Used

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 Cutter Life Index (CLI)

For Evaluating Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Cutter Wear

Cutter Life Index (CLI) is used instead of Bit Wear Index (BWI)

CLI = 13.84 (SJ/AVS) 0.3847

Where, SJ = Sievers’ J – value

AVS = Abrasion value for cutter ring steel

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 2.4 Jointing of the rock mass

Engineering properties of rock mass have to be assessed

taking into consideration:

1. Engineering properties of the “intact rock” as well as

those of the “rock mass”
2. Interlocking and interaction of rock blocks
3. Directionality of movement and therefore of the
engineering properties

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Rock mass discontinuity characterization

1. Orientation 6. Wall strength

2. Spacing 7. Joint filling
3. Persistence 8. Seepage conditions
4. Aperture width 9. Joint set number
5. Roughness 10.Block size

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 Joint Rosette

• Widely used technique for

representing the joints

• Joint rosette diagram is a

radial histogram of strike
density or frequency

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 Orientation of length axis

Orientations of main joint sets and Khimti headrace tunnel

 Orientation of length axis

Orientation of main joint sets and Kaligandaki “A” headrace tunnel

 Orientation of length axis

Orientation of main joint sets and Modi headrace tunnel

 Orientation of length axis

Orientation of the main joint sets and Middle Marsyangdi headrace tunnel
Dip/Dip direction Dip/Dip direction Dip/Dip direction Dip/Dip direction
75,190 80,170 50,290 85,170
80,020 83,090 30,290 65,017
83,100 80,100 80,340 80,090
30,290 70,080 65,200 70,090
40,060 10,010 20,330 65,110
82,150 76,140 20,320 80,205
85,100 65,070 75,060 82,040
30,190 40,100 68,070 80,210
70,165 55,070 78,060 30,330
27,280 70,072 75,240 70,080
82,260 15,290 25,290 70,085
85,190 25,025 78,200 70,065
40,300 75,070 15,290 12,290
65,090 78,340 82,160 83,160
75,165 20,290 22,280 73,330
25,280 75,190 78,190 40,270
22,285 75,200 30,290 45,290
10,280 15,330 80,000 42,280
12,280 80,190 78,090
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 2.5 Shear Strength of Joints

Three shear strength criteria for rock joints: 1 Mohr Coulomb, 2 Patton
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and 3 Barton.
 Shear Strength of Planar Surfaces

Rock is assumed to be a
coulomb material, i.e

τ = c + σtanФ

Figure: Shear testing of discontinuities (After Hoek, 2000)

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Definition of shear strength of discontinuity surface; (a) shear test of
discontinuity; (b) plot of shear displacement vs shear stress; (c) Mohr plot of
peak strength; (d) Mohr plot of peak and residual strength
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Figure: Diagrammatic section through shear machine used by
Hencher and Richards (1982)
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Figure: Shear machine of the type used by Hencher and Richards (1982) for
measurement of the shear strength ofSujan
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Maka joints in Hong Kong granite 46
Shear Strength of Rough Surfaces

τ = σ tan (φ + i)

Patton’s experiment (1966) on the shear strength of saw-tooth

specimens
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 Patton’s observations (1966)

Measurement of roughness angles i

Patton’s observations of bedding plane
for first- and second-order asperities
traces in unstable limestone slopes
on rough rock surfaces
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Shear Strength of Rough Surfaces

Effect of surface roughness and normal stress on friction angle of

discontinuity surface (Transportation Research Board, 1996)
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Determination of Shear Strength
Four main alternatives for finding friction parameters

1. Empirical Methods

2. Laboratory Shear Testing

3. Field Shear Testing

4. Back Analysis

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