Tishk International University

Engineering Faculty
Petroleum & Mining Eng. Department

Rock Mechanics PTR 339

Lecture 6
3rd. Grade- Fall Semester 2021-2022

Instructor: Professor, Dr. Hamed M. Jassim

2) The Q-system: The Q-System for rock mass classification is
developed by Barton, Lien, and Lunde.
It expresses the quality of the rock mass in the so-called Q-value, on
which are based design and support recommendations for
underground excavations.
The Q-value is determined by using the following equation:

The first term RQD (Rock Quality Designation) divided by Jn (joint set
number) is related to the size of the intact rock blocks in the rock mass.
The second term Jr (joint roughness number) divided by Ja (joint
alteration number) is related to the shear strength along the
discontinuity planes and the third term Jw (joint water parameter)
divided by SRF (stress reduction factor) is related to the stress
environment on the intact rock blocks and discontinuities around the
underground excavation.
A multiplication of the three terms results in the Q parameter,
which can range between 0.001 for an exceptionally poor to
1000 for an exceptionally good rock mass.
The numerical values of the class boundaries for the different
rock mass qualities are subdivisions of the Q range on a
logarithmic scale.

The Q-value determines the quality of the rock mass, but the
support of an underground excavation is based not only on the
Q-value but is also determined by different terms in the above
equation.

This leads to a very extensive list of classes for support

recommendations.
Rock Tunnelling Quality Index, Q (or Norwegian Q system), Barton et
al., 1974:
 RQD   Jr   Jw 
Q=   
 Jn   Ja   SRF 
The ratings of the different factors are as shown below:
RATING
RQD= Rock Quality Designation 0 – 100
Jn = Joint Set Number 0.5 - 20
Jr = Joint roughness number 1–4
Ja = Joint alteration number 0.75 – 20
Jw = Joint Water Reduction Factor 0.05 - 1
SRF = Stress reduction factor 0.5 – 400

Q-value = 0.001 – 1000

Classification of rock mass based on Q-values: ◆
 Excavation span, diameter or height (m)
De =
Excavation Support Ratio (ESR)

The various values of ESR

3) Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) system
by modifying the Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system of
Bieniawski.
In the MRMR system the stability and support are determined
with the following equations:
RMR = IRS + RQD + spacing + condition in which:
RMR = Laubscher’s Rock Mass Rating, IRS = Intact Rock Strength
RQD = Rock Quality Designation, spacing = expression for the spacing of
discontinuities
condition = condition of discontinuities (parameter also dependent on
groundwater presence, pressure, or quantity of groundwater inflow in
the underground excavation)
MRMR = RMR * adjustment factors, in which:
adjustment factors = factors to compensate for: the method
of excavation, orientation of discontinuities and excavation,
induced stresses, and future weathering.
Systems for slope engineering
1) Slope Mass Rating (SMR) and Continuous Slope Mass
Rating
2) Q-slope
3) Rock mass classification system for rock slopes
4) Slope Stability Probability Classification (SSPC)
1) Slope Mass Rating or SMR
is a rock mass classification scheme developed by Manuel
Romana to describe the strength of an individual rock outcrop
or slope.
The system is founded upon the more widely used RMR
scheme, which is modified with quantitative guidelines to rate
the influence of adverse joint orientations
(e.g. joints dipping steeply out of the slope).
2) Q-slope method
It is used for rock slope engineering and rock
mass classification. It is developed by Barton
and Bar.
It expresses the quality of the rock mass for
slope stability using the Q-slope value, from
which long-term stable, reinforcement-free
slope angles
can be derived.
The Q-slope value can be determined with:
Q-slope utilizes similar parameters to the Q-system which has been
used for over 40 years in the design of ground support for tunnels and
underground excavations.
The first four parameters, RQD (rock quality designation),
Jn (joint set number),
Jr (joint roughness number) and
Ja (joint alteration number) are the same as in the Q-system.

However, the frictional resistance pair Jr and Ja can apply,

when needed, to individual sides of a potentially unstable
wedges.
Simply applied orientation factors (0), like (Jr/Ja)1 x 0.7 for set J1 and
(Jr/Ja)2 x 0.9 for set J2, provide estimates of overall whole-wedge
frictional resistance reduction, if appropriate.
The Q-system term Jw is replaced with Jwice, and takes into account a
wider range of environmental conditions appropriate to rock slopes,
which are exposed to the environment indefinitely.
The conditions include the extremes of erosive intense rainfall, ice
wedging, as may seasonally occur at opposite ends of the rock-type
and regional spectrum.
There are also slope-relevant SRF
(Strength Reduction Factor) categories.
Multiplication of these terms results in the Q-slope value, which can
range between 0.001 (exceptionally poor) to 1000 (exceptionally
good) for different rock masses.

A rock mass is classified following a standardized set of criteria in one

or more exposures (‘exposure’ classification).
These values are converted per exposure to a ‘reference’ rock mass by
compensating for the degree of weathering in the exposure and the
method of excavation that was used to make the exposure, i.e. the
‘reference’ rock mass values are
not influenced by local influences such as weathering and
method of excavation.
A new slope can then be designed in the ‘reference’ rock mass with
compensation for the damage due to the method of excavation to be
used for making the new slope and compensation for deterioration
of the rock mass due to future weathering (the ‘slope’ rock mass).
If the stability of an already existing slope is assessed the ‘exposure’
and ‘slope’ rock mass values are the same.
Correlation between UCS and PLS:

Qu = 16.3 + 15.3 Is (50)

Where
Qu = Uniaxial Compressive Strength of rock.
Is(50) = Point Load Index for 50 mm diameter core.

For size correction:

UCS = 24 X Is(50)

Bieniawski suggested the following

approximate relation between UCS, Is and the core diameter (D).

UCS = (14 + 0.175 D) X Is(50)

 Correlation between UCS and Schmidt Hammer N

where UCS is in MPa, and

N = Schmidt Hammer
Value (Strength)
To summarize, we have dealt in this lecture with introducing the Q-
System as one of the rock classification systems.
We have also explained how to quantify the six parameters which
are used to find the Q-value and have indicated its significance.
The Equivalent diameter (De) was defined and it was shown how to
use it with the other parameters to design the tunnel and to
estimate the needed support measures using a design chart.
The Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) and the Q-Slope methods
were also introduced.
A correlation between the UCS (Uniaxial Compressive Strength) and
the PLS (Point Load Strength) and another correlation between the
UCS and the Scmidt Hammer N Value were also introduced.

We have illustrated the parameters which determine each system

and presented some design charts.