ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms

Estimation of rock modulus: For intact rocks with an artificial neural

network and for rock masses with a new empirical equation
H. Sonmeza,, C. Gokceoglua, H.A. Nefeslioglub, A. Kayabasic
a
Hacettepe University, Department of Geological Engineering, Applied Geology Division, 06532 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
b
General Directorate of Mineral and Exploration, Natural Disasters and Environmental Division, Ankara 06520, Turkey
c
General Directorate of Electrical Power Researches Survey and Development Administration, Ankara, Turkey
Accepted 25 June 2005
Available online 2 September 2005

Abstract

The elastic modulus of intact rock is used for many rock engineering projects, such as tunnels, slopes, and foundations, but due to
the requirements of high-quality core samples and associated sophisticated test equipment, instead the use of empirical models to
obtain this parameter has been an attractive research topic. In the rock mechanics literature, some empirical relations exist between
the elastic modulus of intact rock and other rock properties, such as the uniaxial compressive strength (sci), unit weight (g), Schmidt
hammer rebound number, point load index and petrographic composition. However, the past use of specific rock types is the main
limitation of the existing empirical equations. In other words, they are not open to the general purpose use. To eliminate this
deficiency, a total of 529 datasets, including uniaxial compressive strength, unit weight and elastic modulus of intact rock (Ei), were
collected via an extensive literature review. In addition to these datasets, a further total of 80 datasets was obtained from laboratory
tests performed on greywacke and agglomerate core samples for this study. To prepare a chart for the prediction of the elastic
modulus of intact rock, an artificial neural network was constructed using the large database. In addition, after a brief overview of
existing empirical equations, a new empirical equation, which considers RMR and the elastic modulus of intact rock (Ei) as input
parameters, is also proposed using worldwide data.
r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Elastic modulus; Modulus of deformation; Neural network; RMR

1. Introduction employed on core samples or by index tests, such as the

In many rock engineering applications, the elastic
modulus of intact rock is not actually determined by
laboratory tests—due to the requirements of high-
quality core samples and sophisticated test equipment.
It is sometimes too difficult to obtain standard core
samples from weak, stratified (thinly bedded), highly
fractured and block-in-matrix rocks. However, the
strength of the intact rock material, i.e. another essential
design parameter, is obtained by either laboratory tests
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 312 297 7184;
fax: +90 312 299 2034.
E-mail address: haruns@hacettepe.edu.tr (H. Sonmez).
point load or Schmidt hammer tests. Deere [1]
performed some well-known studies to propose a
relation between uniaxial compressive strength and the
elastic modulus of intact rock.
The relations obtained by Deere [1] depend on the
type of rock and are summarized in Table 1. However,
the ranges of the modulus ratios of intact rock
(MR ¼ uniaxial compressive strength/elastic modulus)
are wide and generally overlap for most of the rock
types (Fig. 1). Therefore, the use of average values of
MR considering rock type include considerable uncer-
tainty, and the estimation of Ei by using the mean value
of MR can be too rough. Also, there is no generally
accepted empirical equation or approach to estimate the

1365-1609/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2005.06.007
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H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235 225

Table 1 approaches, an RMR-based empirical equation is

The ranges and average value of MR for different type of intact rocks
proposed for the determination of the deformation
(after Deere [1])
modulus of rock masses.
Type of rock Average value of MRa Range of MR

Diabase 300 280–400

2. Prediction models for the elastic modulus of intact rock
Granite family 400 300–500
Basalt and flow rocks 300 200–600
Limestone and dolomite 420 250–700 In the first stage of the study, an artificial neural
Sandstone 220 120–400 network for predicting Ei was constructed by using a
Shales 130 60–300 large database including Ei, sci and g to increase the
Quartzite 400 300–600
Gneiss 400 200–700
utility of some empirical equations which use Ei as one
Marble 1000 700–1200 of input parameters. The database evaluated in this
SchistXXfoliation 600 250–1600 study was formed through an extensive literature review
Schist?foliation 250 150–400 and a series of laboratory tests [2–42]. The histograms of
a sci, g and Ei used in the construction of the prediction
E i ¼ M R
sci
model are given in Fig. 2, and the distribution of the
database values are shown on the modulus ratio graph
given in Fig. 3 (the modulus ratio is the slope of the
line). As can be seen in both Figs. 2 and 3, the datasets
are quite widely distributed; however, the database can
be used in the construction of a chart to be used for
predicting the Ei of various types of rocks.

3. Artificial neural network

A neural network model of the data-generating

Fig. 1. The ranges of modulus ratio of intact rock (MR) for different
type of intact rocks (after Deere [1]).// parallel and ? perpendicular to
the foliation.
elastic modulus of intact rock based on multi-input
parameters.
Furthermore, the deformation modulus of rock
masses is one of the crucial parameters used in the
design stage of engineering structures, such as tunnels,
dams and slopes, where estimating of amount deforma-
tion is essential. However, the preparation of cylindrical
samples have the additional problem of including a
representative discontinuity pattern of the rock mass to
use in a laboratory test is almost impossible, not to
mention the size of testing equipment required for a
reliable result. In addition, the determination of
deformation modulus by in situ test is also extremely
difficult and expensive; so it is rarely attempted. Thus,
predicting the deformation modulus of rock masses by
using empirical equations has been an attractive
research topic relating to rock engineering practice for
many years.
In this study, an artificial neural network was
constructed to predict the elastic modulus of the intact
rock, Ei, by using a multi-input parameter approach.
Then, after a brief discussion of existing empirical
system can be constructed using an artificial neural
network (ANN), the network predicting outputs from
inputs. The ANN model has been one of the attractive
tools used in geo-engineering applications due to its high
performance in the modelling of non-linear multi-
variate problems. Hecht-Nielsen [43] and Schalkoff
[44] indicate that an ANN may be defined as a structure
comprised of densely interconnected adaptive simple
processing elements that are capable of performing
massively parallel computations for data processing and
knowledge representation.
The attractiveness of ANN comes from the informa-
tion processing characteristics of the system, such as
non-linearity, high parallelism, robustness, fault and
failure tolerance, learning, ability to handle imprecise
and fuzzy information, and their capability to generalize
[45]. ANN-based models are also empirical in nature;
however, they can provide practically accurate solutions
for precisely or imprecisely formulated problems and for
phenomena that are only understood through experi-
mental data and field observations [46].
Several types of ANN have been used in the literature.
However, the back-propagation ANN, which is also
known as the generalized delta rule, is the most popular
type. A back-propagation network is a multi-layer
neural network (MNN). The MNN with back-propaga-
tion (BMNN) has been successfully used as a mapping
and prediction tool in the geotechnical engineering field.
Neaupane and Achet [47], Lee et al. [48], Gomez and
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226 H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235

Fig. 3. The distribution of the data used in the construction of ANN

to predict Ei on modulus graph.

Kavzoglu [49], Ermini et al. [50] and Yesilnacar and

Fig. 2. The histograms and statistical evaluations of the data used in
the construction of ANN to predict Ei.
Topal [51] describe some of the examples for landslide
susceptibility mapping applications of BMNN. Goh
et al. [52] used BMNN to estimate lateral wall move-
ments in a braced excavation. Shi et al. [53] construct a
BMNN for predicting settlement during tunnel excava-
tion. Another successful use of BMNN is described by
Lee and Lee [54] for prediction of pile bearing.
Gokceoglu et al. [55] preferred a neuro-fuzzy system
for the prediction of the deformation modulus of rock
masses.
The back-propagation technique has expanded the
range of problems to which ANNs can be applied, and it
has generated many successful demonstrations of its
power [47]. The simplest form MNN is composed of one
input layer and one output layer. The complexity of the
MNN structure increases by the addition of a hidden
layer. Each layer consists of neurons (nodes), and the
neurons are connected by weighted links passing signals
from one neuron to another. The final weights and
thresholds of activation for decreasing the error between
observed and computed outputs subject to a sufficient
level defined by the user is set in the training phase of the
ANN algorithm.
The transfer function, also called the activation
function, is necessary to transform the weighted sum
of all signals impinging on a neuron so as to determine
its firing intensity [46]. The most common transfer
function implemented in the literature is the sigmoid
function. Therefore, the sigmoid function is preferred as
the transfer function in this study. The forward and
backward stages are performed repeatedly until the
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H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235
neural network solution reaches the predefined thresh-
old for the root mean square error (RMSE). The
number of training cycles is important to obtain proper
generalization of the ANN structure. Theoretically,
excessive training, which is also known as over-learning,
can result in near-zero error on predicting training data.
However, this overlearning may result in loss of
the ability of the ANN to generalize from the test data,
Fig. 4 [46]. The increasing point in the error of the test
data or the closest point to the training curve is
considered to represent the optimal number of cycles
for the ANN architecture.
Kavzoglu [56] stated that a sufficient number of
training samples being available is important to estimate
these parameters accurately. For this purpose, Klima-
sauskas [57] and Messer and Kittler [58] proposed that
at least 5–10 times the number of training samples as
free parameters (weights) should be used. However,
Kavzoglu [56] suggested that the optimal number of
training samples must be between [30
numbers of
input nodes
(numbers of input nodes+1)] and
[60
numbers of input nodes
(numbers of input
nodes+1)]. While Swingler [59] and Looney [60]
propose 20% and 25% of the data for testing, res-
pectively, Nelson and Illingworth [61] recommend
between 20% and 30% of data for testing. In the
present study, a randomly selected 487 component sub-
set of the 609 component dataset (80% of database)
were used in the training stage, and the remainder (122
components) were used in testing. By considering two
input nodes (sci and g) and the recommendations
described above, the required number of datasets have
been satisfied in this study.
The initial weights, learning rate and momentum
coefficients of the ANN influence the convergence of the
Fig. 4. A criteria for termination of training and selection of optimum
network architecture (after Basheer and Hajmeer [46]).
227
back-propagation learning rule [46,51]. In the literature,
the initial weights are generally set as random small
values. Different ranges were used to set the initial
weights: such as [0.1;0.1] by Paola [62] and Staufer and
Fisher [63]; [0.25;0.25] by Gallahger and Downs [64]
and Kavzoglu [56]; [0.3;0.3] by Rumelhart et al. [65]
and ASCE [66]; and [0.5;0.5] by Sietsma and Dow [67]
and Looney [68]. Fahlman [69] stated that initialization
of the weights has an insignificant effect on both the
convergence and final network architecture. However,
Basheer and Hajmeer [46] indicated that too small a
range can lead to small error gradients which may slow
down the initial learning process. In this study, the
initial weight range was selected as [1.0;1.0].
The training rate of an ANN is sensitive to the
learning rate (Z) and momentum coefficient (m). If the
learning rate is selected as small, the training rate can be
slow because, small Z values causes minor changes to
weights in the network. However, the training phase can
cause oscillations when Z is selected too large. The
momentum coefficient has a stabilizing effect in
the back-propagation algorithm [70]. Wyhthoff [71] set
the momentum coefficient between 0.4 and 0.9; Hassoun
[72] and Fu [73] suggest 0.0 to 1.0; and Henseler [74] and
Hertz et al. [75] suggest m ffi 1:0. In this study, the
learning rate was selected as 0.01 and 0.1 separately for
the training process to search for the most effective ANN
architecture; the momentum coefficient was set to 0.95.
Baheer [76] and Hect-Neilsen [43] indicated that one
hidden layer may be sufficient for most problems. Two
hidden layers may be necessary for a learning function
with discontinuities [77]. Lippmann [78] and Rumelhart
et al. [65] indicated that there is rarely an advantage in
using more than one hidden layer. Therefore, one
hidden layer was preferred in this study. However, the
number of neurons is the most critical task in the ANN
structure. The heuristics proposed for this purpose are
summarized in Table 2. As can be seen from Table 2, the
number of neurons that may be used in the hidden layer
Table 2
The heuristics proposed for the number of neuron to be used in hidden
layer(s) (Ni: number of input neuron, N0: number of output neuron)
Heuristic Calculated number Reference
of neuron for this
study
p2
Ni+1 p5 Hecht-Nielsen [43]
3Ni 6 Hush [92]
(Ni+N0)/2 2 Ripley [93]
2þN 0
N i þ0:5N 0
ðN 20 þN i Þ3 1 Paola [62]
N i þN 0
2Ni/3 1 Wang [94]
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Ni
N0 1 Masters [77]
Kaastra and Boyd
[95]
2Ni 4 Kannellopoulas and
Wilkinson [96]
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228 H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235

varies between 1 and 6, depending on the proposed
heuristics in the literature. In this study, the number of
hidden neurons was selected as 2, 4 and 6 separately to
establish the most effective ANN structure.
The ANN structures were trained by using combina-
tions of learning rates and the number of hidden
neurons defined above. The datasets were normalized
between zero and 0.9 considering the maximum values
of sci, g and Ei. In this study, a computer code, namely
ANNES, was written to construct the ANN structure.
The relations between the number of training cycles and
the RMSE for each combination obtained by ANNES

Fig. 5. The relations between number of training cycle and RMSE for combinations of number of hidden neurons and learning rates (Z) defined in
the study. (a) Z ¼ 0  1 and (b) Z ¼ 0  01.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235 229

are given in Fig. 5. The trainings and tests curves of all 4. A new empirical equation for predicting the
structures for Z ¼ 0:1 intersect each other at around deformation modulus of rock masses based on RMR
training cycles of 10 with an approximate RMSE of
0.165 (Fig. 5a). However, the meeting values were Determination of the deformation modulus of a rock
observed around two training cycles of 300 and 3750 mass by testing cylindrical core samples is almost
with RMSE values of 0.135 and 0.125, respectively, for a impossible due to the presence of discontinuities. To
0.01 learning rate (Fig. 5b). The initial RMSE value of overcome this difficulty, various empirical equations
the structure for 2
2
1 is lower than the others. have been proposed for predicting the deformation
By considering the findings obtained from trials, the modulus of rock masses, this parameter being one of the
ANN structure consisting of one hidden layer with 2 crucial parameters used in the design of surface and
neurons (Fig. 6) was selected for preparing a chart for underground rock engineering structures. The number
practical use. The weights and threshold values obtained of empirical approaches uses for predicting the defor-
for Z ¼ 0:01 at the training cycle of 3750, which have a mation modulus of rock masses has increased in recent
lower RMSE value than that of training cycle 300, were
used in the ANN structure of 2
2
1. The possible
combination of the input parameters, such as sci and g
were used in the ANN as inputs, and Ei was obtained as
output. Then, a prediction chart for Ei, given in Fig. 7,
was drawn for practical use. In addition, to improve the
practical value of the proposed chart, the point load
index Is50 was introduced to the prediction chart by
using the empirical relation between sci and Is50
proposed by Bieniawski [79], i.e. the factor of 25.
By using 609 datasets collected from more than 35
types of rock, the overall performance of the ANN
based empirical chart was evaluated. The relation y ¼
1:048x was obtained with a correlation coefficient of
0.82 for the ANN-based model (Fig. 8a). In addition,
percentage errors for approximately 70% of the data are
less than 50% (Fig. 8b). Therefore, the proposed
empirical chart has a strong prediction capacity and
can be used to estimate the modulus of elasticity of Fig. 7. The prediction chart of elastic modulus of intact rock (Ei)
intact rock for practical purposes. prepared by using ANN.

Fig. 6. The structure of ANN used in this study.

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230 H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235
Fig. 8. The prediction performance evaluations of the prediction chart
of elastic modulus of intact rock (Ei). (a) Cross-correlation between
predicted and measured values of Ei, (b) the relation between
percentage error and cumulative frequency.
years [80–88]. Following a description of these, a new
empirical equation, which considers rock mass rating
(RMR) and Ei as input parameters, is proposed based
on worldwide well-known field data [80,81] as used by
Nicholson and Bieniawski [82].
The proposed empirical equation, which can be used
for the full range of RMR from a very weak rock mass
(low values of RMR) to massive rock mass
(RMR ¼ 100), will be presented. As is known from
the related literature, while the uniaxial compressive
strength of intact rock is considered in many rock
engineering projects, generally Ei is not always obtained
from direct laboratory testing. In fact, the preparation
of standard core samples from intact rock for laboratory
tests is difficult for weak, stratified (thinly bedded),
highly fractured and block-in-matrix rocks. Therefore,
to increase the practical value of the empirical equation,
a neural network based chart, as is given in Fig. 7, can
be used.
5. A brief overview of existing empirical equations for the
deformation modulus of rock masses
The first empirical equation, which considers only
RMR as an input parameter, was proposed by
Bieniawski [80]. The main limitation of Bieniawski’s
approach is that it has to be used for rock masses with
RMR450. Serafim and Pereira [81] suggested an
equation for rock masses with RMRo50 to overcome
the limitation of Bieniawski’s equation. The use of only
the RMR value in the both empirical equations is
another limitation discussed in detail as a subsequent
part of this study. Nicholson and Bieniawski [82] and
Mitri et al. [83] developed two empirical equations to
estimate the deformation modulus of the rock mass by
reducing the intact modulus of elasticity (Ei) based on
the RMR value.
Hoek and Brown [84] proposed a modified version of
Serafim and Pereira’s equation [81]. The uniaxial
compressive strength of intact rock (sci) was introduced
to Serafim and Pereira’s equation to reduce the
deformation modulus of a rock mass as a function of
the properties of the intact rock pieces. In addition,
researchers introduced the GSI to the empirical
approach instead of the RMR. Hoek et al. [89]
improved the previous version of the empirical equation
by considering a disturbance effect in the rock mass.
Two empirical equations proposed by Kayabasi et al.
[86] and Gokceoglu et al. [87] consider both the intact
rock and rock mass parameters together. The equation
suggested by Kayabasi et al. [86] was derived based on
57 data which included RQD, Ei, weathering degree and
in situ measurements of deformation modulus. Gokceo-
glu et al. [87] improved the previous version of the
equation by using 58 additional data and modulus ratio
values for intact rock.
Another empirical equation was suggested by Sonmez
et al. [88] to estimate the deformation modulus of the
rock mass using the data compiled by Gokceoglu et al.
[87]. Their empirical model was constructed based on an
approach which considers that the modulus ratios of the
rock mass (Em/scm) and the intact rock (Ei/sci) should
be theoretically equal to each other when GSI ¼ 100.
The empirical approaches overviewed briefly above are
given in Table 3.
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Table 3
List of some empirical equations suggested for estimating the modulus of deformation with required parameters and limitations
Originator(s) of emprical equation Required parameters
Bieniawski [80] RMR
Serafim and Pereira [81] RMR
Nicholson and Bieniawski [82] Ei and RMR
Mitri et al. [83] Ei and RMR
Barton [85] Q and sci
Hoek et al. [89] GSI, sci and D
Kayabasi et al. [86] Ei, RQD and WD
Gokceoglu et al. [87] Ei, RQD, WD and sci
Sonmez et al. [88] Ei, s and a
6. The requirement for a new empirical equation and the
proposed empirical equation
As assessed in the previous topic, numerous existing
empirical equations were derived based on parameters
which define the quality of the rock mass, such as RMR,
Q, RQD and GSI. The discontinuities and their
particular properties, such as weathering, infilling
material and aperture, have considerable effect on the
deformation of a rock mass. Therefore, at least one of
them was used in almost every empirical equation. In
this study, the authors preferred RMR as the indicator
of the quality of rock mass due to the high popularity of
RMR in many rock engineering projects. The empirical
equations, which consider only a single parameter
concerning the quality of the rock mass, such as
RMR, Q or GSI, yield extremely high deformation
moduli for high-quality rock masses which include
softer intact pieces. For such cases, the deformation
modulus of the rock mass can be estimated as higher
than the elastic modulus of the intact rock, which is
unsatisfactory.
Therefore, it can be said that for high-quality rock
masses composed of softer intact rocks, the intact rock
properties have more importance than the discontinuity
properties in terms of defining the deformation modulus
of a rock mass. By considering this situation, Hoek and
Brown [84] introduced sci to Serafim and Pereira’s
empirical equation. Although Hoek et al. [89] modified
the previous form of their equation by considering a
disturbance factor, their empirical equation yields some
unexpected Erm values, particularly for higher GSI
values and particularly for GSI460. The modulus ratio
and elastic modulus of intact rock obtained from Hoek
et al.’s equation for various sci values are very high for
almost every type of rock when GSI ¼ 100 (Fig. 9). This
limitation may be observed for almost all empirical
approaches which do not consider the elastic modulus of
intact rock as an input parameter. Sonmez et al. [88]
overcame this limitation by considering that the
231
Limitations Equation
RMR450 Erm ¼ 2RMR100
RMRp50 E rm ¼ 10ðRMR10Þ=40
— Erm ¼ Ei[0.0028RMR2+0.9exp(RMR/22.82]
— Erm ¼ Ei[0.5(1(cos(p*RMR/100)))]
sci
— E rm ¼ 10Qc1=3 Q ¼ Q 100
  qffiffiffiffiffiffi c
scip100 MPa E rm ¼ 1  D2 sci ðGSI10Þ=40
10010
— h i1:1811
E ð1þRQD=100Þ
E rm ¼ 0:135 i WD
h i
— ðE =s Þð1þRQD=100Þ 1:5528
E rm ¼ 0:001 i ci WD
— E rm ¼ E i ðsa Þ0:4
modulus ratios of the rock mass and intact rock should
be equal to each other when GSI ¼ 100.
Firstly, the performance of the equations, which use a
reducing factor via Ei and proposed by Sonmez et al.
[88], Mitri et al. [83] and Nicholson and Bieniawski [82],
are controlled by using worldwide well-known data used
by Nicholson and Bieniawski [82] and three additional
data derived average values of the data used by Sonmez
et al. [88]. While 18 of the 33 data used by Nicholson
and Bieniawski [82] belong to Bieniawski [80], the
remainder were obtained from Serafim and Pereira
[81]. RMR values are assumed as equal to GSI by
considering that the RMR value of the earlier version of
1989 is about equal to GSI when controlling the
performance of the Sonmez et al. [88] data [90]. As
can be seen from Fig. 10, the equations proposed by
Sonmez et al. [88] overestimate for lower values of RMR
(RMRo50) but yield lower values for higher RMR
(60oRMRo80). Mitri et al. [83] produce higher Erm
value than observed the ones. Nicholson and Bieniaws-
ki’s equation [82] seems to be more representative curve-
fit to the data.
At this stage of the study, considering a reducing
factor with the RMR value, a new empirical equation,
which can be used for full range of RMR from a very
weak rock mass (low values of RMR) to a massive rock
mass (RMR ¼ 100) was obtained by the trial error
method. At first glance, it can be seen that an
exponential type function may give the best fit to the
data. However, the exponential type function has a
limitation because it is almost impossible to match unity
(Erm/Ei ¼ 1.0) when RMR ¼ 100. Therefore, the new
equation (Eq. (1)) was produced in this study. The
performance of the empirical equation proposed in this
study is high and its performance is better than
Nicholson and Bieniawski’s equation (Fig. 11).
expðRMR=100ÞÞ
E rm ¼ E i 10½ððRMR100Þð100RMRÞ=4000 . (1)
The elastic modulus of intact rock is also obtained from
Eq. (1) when RMR ¼ 100. Also, the disturbance effects
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232 H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235

Fig. 9. The modulus ratio of rock mass obtained by Heok et al. [89] for combinations of sci and GSI values.

Fig. 10. The performance of Nicholson and Bieniawski [82], Mitri et Fig. 11. The comparative cross-check graph obtained from the
al. [83] and Sonmez et al. [89] on well-known data, and the curve empirical equations proposed by Nicholson and Bieniawski [82] and
proposed in this study. this study considering well-known data.

in the rock mass can be taken into account via the RMR
value. For this purpose, the reduction factor for RMR,
depending on the type of excavation, as proposed by
Kendorski et al. [91] can be used.
Consequently, the empirical equation proposed in this
study can be used as a preliminary tool for predicting
the deformation modulus of a rock mass for the design
stage of rock engineering projects such as tunnels, deep
slopes and dams.
It should be noted that the equation proposed in this
paper and by the earlier researchers listed in Table 3
assumes that the rock mass is isotropic, i.e. that the
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H. Sonmez et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 43 (2006) 224–235
deformation modulus does not vary with the direction
of loading and hence there is a single value for the
deformation modulus of a specific rock mass. Naturally,
this will not be the case for some classes of rock mass
(e.g. foliated metamorphic rocks, sedimentary rocks,
rock masses with one dominant joint set) where there
are laminations and transverse isotropy (with different
moduli perpendicular and parallel to the laminations) is
a more appropriate model. However, it is still possible to
use the proposed equation to give the two moduli in this
case if the Ei and RMR are taken in the directions
perpendicular and parallel to the laminations. Similarly,
the use of a disturbance factor gives the modulus
value in the vicinity of the disturbance and not the value
for the whole rock mass. These aspects should be
considered when using the modulus values established
from Eq. (1).
7. Conclusions
It is difficult to obtain standard core samples from
weak, stratified (thinly bedded), highly fractured and
block-in-matrix rocks. In such cases, the elastic modulus
of intact rock cannot generally be obtained by
laboratory tests performed on standard core samples.
In the first part of the study, to overcome this limitation
a prediction chart was prepared by using an extensive
database including elastic modulus, unit weight and
uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock, and an
ANN as the prediction tool. The empirical chart
presented has a strong prediction capacity and can be
used to estimate the modulus of elasticity of intact rock
for practical purposes.
In the second part of the study, assessments of
existing empirical equations for estimating the deforma-
tion modulus of a rock mass and their limitations were
discussed. Empirical equations, which consider only a
single parameter relating to the quality of the rock mass,
such as RMR, Q or GSI, yield extremely high
deformation moduli for a good-quality rock mass but
including softer intact pieces. For such cases and using
earlier equations, a deformation modulus for the
rock mass is obtained which is higher than the
elastic modulus of intact rock. To overcome this
limitation, a new empirical equation, which considers
RMR and Ei as input parameters, is proposed by
considering well-known data collected by Bieniawski
[80] and Serafim and Pereira [81] and used by Nicholson
and Bieniawski [82].
The performance of the proposed empirical equation
is better than Nicholson and Bieniawski’s equation.
Therefore, the empirical equation proposed in this study
can be used as a preliminary tool for predicting the
deformation modulus of a rock mass for the design stage
of rock engineering projects such as tunnels, deep slopes
233
and dams. It should be remembered that this equation
holds for an isotropic rock mass, i.e. there is a single
scalar value for the deformation modulus, but can be
used for a rock mass with distinct laminations by
assuming a transversely isotropic model and separately
estimating the moduli perpendicular and parallel to the
laminations using the proposed equation.
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