Mining Technology

Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy: Section A

ISSN: 1474-9009 (Print) 1743-2863 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ymnt20

Mechanism of bond failure and load distribution

along fully grouted cable-bolts

M. Moosavi, W. F. Bawden & A. J. Hyett

To cite this article: M. Moosavi, W. F. Bawden & A. J. Hyett (2002) Mechanism of bond failure
and load distribution along fully grouted cable-bolts, Mining Technology, 111:1, 1-12, DOI:
10.1179/mnt.2002.111.1.1

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/mnt.2002.111.1.1

Published online: 29 Nov 2013.

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 Mechanism of bond failure and load distribution along fully
grouted cable-bolts

M. Moosavi, W. F. Bawden and A. J. Hyett

Synopsis
The mechanism of bond failure in cables of conven-
tional and of modified geometry has been investigated
through laboratory tests under constant confining
pressure. The axial load and radial dilatation due to
axial cable displacement were determined from the
tests. Bond failure in conventional cables is ‘cable
untwisting’, whereas ‘grout shearing’ is the dominant
mode in modified geometries. Higher axial load and
radial dilatation are generated in the modified cables
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than in conventional cables as a consequence of the

bulge structure present in the cable. The greater dila-
tation generated produces higher radial pressure,
depending on the degree of confinement provided by
the rock mass. Since the load in the cable is strongly
dependent on the magnitude of this pressure, such
behaviour makes modified cable an excellent choice in
mining situations where a considerable amount of min-
ing-induced stress relaxation may occur.
On the basis of the laboratory results models are
introduced to simulate properly the bond failure mech-
anism in the cable. These are integrated, with the use of
a finite-difference algorithm, to calculate the load dis-
tribution along a long bolt—the primary interest of the
mining engineer—which is determined for continuous
and discontinuous rock-mass displacement cases.
Under identical conditions higher axial load will be
generated in the bolt if the rock displacement is caused
by the opening of few cracks. This suggests that the
behaviour of a fully grouted bolt is a characteristic not
only of the bolt and the grout but also of the rock-mass
deformation.
Fig. 1 Different cable types (from top): nutcase, Garford bulb and
birdcage7
cables may suffer a significant amount of stress decrease, par-
ticularly in the hanging-wall.
To minimize the capacity loss in cables several attempts
have been made to produce cables with improved frictional
properties. Windsor7 has summarized the development of the
modified geometry cable-bolts chronologically. Among the
wide variety of the cables with enhanced properties, Garford
bulb, nutcase and birdcage cables are the most popular
(Fig. 1). A summary of the results obtained from experimen-
tal investigations on the bond capacity of the conventional,
Garford bulb and nutcase cables is presented here and the

Cable-bolts, in their present form, have been used in the min-

ing industry since 1977.1 As a fully grouted reinforcement
they are usually installed in the back and/or the hanging-wall
before excavation of the ore. They are often installed unten-
sioned and load in the cables is then mobilized by
mining-induced displacement.
Although cable-bolting was generally successful in cut-
and-fill operations, it was often unsatisfactory in open-stope
mining.2 These observations prompted a series of laboratory
and field tests, which showed that the bond capacity in con-
ventional cables is very sensitive to the stresses acting normal
to the cable at the cable–grout interface (where the bond fail-
ure usually occurs).3–6 Consequently, mining-induced stress
change can also affect the bond capacity. The different
responses observed can be explained by the fact that in cut-
and-fill operations cables are installed in the back (where
usually stresses increase), whereas in open-stope operations

Manuscript first received by the Institution of Mining and

Metallurgy on 7 December, 2001; revised manuscript received on 5 (a) (b)
March, 2002. Paper published in Trans. Instn Min. Metall. (Sect. A:
Min. technol.), 111, January–April 2002. © The Institution of Mining Fig. 2 New modified Hoek cells for (a) conventional and (b) modi-
and Metallurgy 2002. fied-geometry cables

A1
 resulting models that have been used to evaluate the load dis-
tribution along the bolt length are explained.
Experimental investigations on bond capacity of
cable-bolts
Although numerous tests have been performed on cable-
bolts,6,8–14 they are of limited use in the development of a
bond failure constitutive law since they were conducted
under a ‘constant radial stiffness’ boundary condition. This
means that confining pipes, concrete blocks or rock masses
confine the cables. As a result, the pressure acting normally to
the outer surface of the grout is not known and increases as
the radial dilatation generated by the rough cable surface
increases during axial pull. To eliminate this problem a series
of pull-out tests was performed using different types of fully
grouted cable-bolts, in which the confining pressure at the
outside of grout annulus was maintained constant. Two pres-
sure vessels, similar in concept to the conventional Hoek cell,
were used for conventional and modified-geometry cable-
bolts.
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Fig. 3 Conventional cable pull-out test results under constant confining pressure;16,17 w:c, water :
cement ratio
A2
The method used here to determine the cable’s constitu-
tive law is similar to the approach described by Amadei and
Saeb15 for a dilatant rock joint. By using their approach the
shear response of a dilatant interface under a variety of
boundary conditions can be predicted from the results of tests
conducted under constant normal pressure. The resultant
formulation fully couples the normal and shear responses of
the interface due to dilatancy. The laboratory test results on
which the proposed bond failure models are based are sum-
marized below.
Conventional cable
MacSporran16 conducted a series of tests on conventional
cable-bolts using a modified Hoek cell (MHC). The cell was
similar to a standard Hoek cell used for triaxial tests on rock
samples apart from a few changes to accommodate the cable
(Fig. 2). It provided a constant radial pressure using
hydraulic oil while the radial dilatation at the outside of the
grout annulus was measured by means of four cantilever
strain-gauged arms at the middle of the sample. A typical set
of results for axial force, Fp, and radial dilatation, ur2, is pre -
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 15:58 04 April 2016

(a) (b)
Fig. 4 Modified-geometry cable pull-out test results under constant confining pressure:18 (a) Garford
bulb; (b) nutcase

Grout bridges that must shear during pull

Fig. 5 Garford bulb sample opened after test

sented in Fig. 3 for 250-mm embedment length, grouts of

different water : cement (w : c) ratios and various confining
pressures.

Modified-geometry cables
A new modified Hoek cell similar to that used for conven-
tional cables was designed and manufactured to test cables of
modified geometry (Fig. 2). The most important difference
resulted from the placement of 12 cantilever strain-gauged
arms at three levels surrounding the bulge structure to moni-
tor the grout dilatation at different locations of the bulge. In
these experiments the average sample volume change was
measured and used to calculate the average dilatation of the
sample. These tests are summarized in Fig. 4.
Comparison of the results given in Figs. 3 and 4 shows
some similarities and differences, the most important of
which are: (i) as expected, the load mobilized in the cable
increases with increasing confining pressure; (ii) the radial
dilatation generated decreases with increasing confining pres-
sure and it can be assumed to be a linear function of the axial
displacement; (iii) under identical confining pressure higher Fig. 6 Direct shear test results on grout of w : c ratio 0.4

A3
 radial dilatation is generated in the case of modified-geometry
cables; and (iv) the load profile in conventional cables has a
hardening characteristic, whereas a peak-residual form is
found for modified-geometry cables. To elucidate the latter
observation (which was not initially expected) a Garford bulb
sample was opened after the test (Fig. 5). It is apparent that
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Fig. 7 Schematic of cable system
Fig. 8 Simulated results corresponding to Fig. 3
A4
the presence of the bulge exposes a notable area of grout that
should undergo shear during a pull-out test. It was hypothe-
sized that the shear behaviour of the grout in the vicinity of
the bulb structure was responsible for the softening profile.
To investigate this phenomenon a series of direct shear tests
on grout cylinders was conducted to assess the strength of the
 grout in shear under varying normal stresses. The similarities
between the average shear results shown in Fig. 6 and those
for the pull-out tests (Fig. 4) served to establish the impor-
tance of grout shearing during bond failure. This implies that
the dominant mode of failure in modified-geometry cables is
grout shear, quite different from the behaviour of a conven-
tional cable-bolt, in which bond failure predominantly occurs
by rotation of the cable through the grout. This difference
was taken into account in development of the constitutive
model for modified-geometry cables.
Modelling bond failure for fully grouted cable-
bolts
Research6,8,9 has established that the bond strength of fully
grouted cable-bolts may be regarded as frictional rather than
adhesional in nature. Furthermore, as debonding proceeds a
progressive increase in the mismatch between the cable and
the grout first splits the surrounding grout annulus and there-
after pushes the resultant grout wedges aside (Fig. 7).
Depending on the stiffness of the borehole wall, a reaction
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pressure develops that controls the normal stress acting at the
cable–grout interface where slip occurs and hence controls
the bond strength of the bolt. The full relationship between
controlling ( ua and p2) and depending (Fp and ur2) variables
can be shown in incremental form as
dF p é K1 K2 ù dp2
= (1)
du r2 êëK 3 K4 úû du a
where K1, K2, etc., are coefficients relating the independent
and dependent test variables and that can be rearranged to
form an incremental stiffness matrix. K1, K2, etc., completely
describe the nonlinear frictional–dilatational behaviour of the
(a)
Fig. 9 Simulated results corresponding to Fig. 4: (a) Garford bulb; (b) nutcase
cable–grout interface and account for the transfer of stress
through, and deformability of, the fractured grout annulus.
Consequently, they depend on such parameters as the nomi-
nal diameter of the cable, the grout w:c ratio (which can be
related to the fundamental mechanical properties of the
grout—E g, ng, etc.) and the borehole diameter. The process
of calculating Ki coefficients has been discussed in detail in
earlier publications17,18 for conventional and modified cables
and is not repeated here. Using equation 1, the laboratory
tests under constant confining pressure can be simulated.
The results of simulations are presented in Figs. 8 and 9 for
conventional and modified-geometry cables, respectively
(comparable to Figs. 3 and 4).
In engineering practice the borehole wall confines the
system described above radially. On the assumption that the
rock immediately surrounding the cable-bolt is linear-elastic
(and if jointed, individual blocks are elastic)
du r =
(1 + nr )r2 dp -
2r2 n
ds r + r ds z
Er 2
Er Er (2)
where d ur is the radial displacement at the borehole wall, Er
and r are the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the
rock on a scale pertaining to the cable-bolt hole, dsr is the
hydrostatic component of the excavation-induced stress
change tensor in a plane perpendicular to the cable-bolt axis
and dsz is the component of stress change along the cable-
bolt axis. Seeing also that dua for a pull-out test is equivalent
to the relative slip dur – dux of the cable (with ur and ux as
rock and bolt displacements, respectively), by applying the
continuity conditions for pressure and displacement (i.e. dur
= d ur2) at the borehole wall equations 1 and 2 can be com-
bined to obtain an incremental form for the nonlinear
dependence of bond capacity on changes in rock mass dis-
(b)
A5
 (a) (b)

Fig. 10 Comparison between (a) laboratory and (b) simulation results for conventional cable
confined by Sch. 80 steel, aluminium and PVC pipes
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placement and stress:

æK KK ö
dF p = ç 4 1 r + K 2÷ d( u r - u x ) +
è 1 - K 3K r ø
2 K1 K1n r
ds r - ds z
(1 - K3 K r )(1 + nr ) (1 - K3 K r )(1 + nr )
(3)
in which Kr is the stiffness of the borehole wall, defined as

Er
Kr =
(1 nr )r2
+

with r2 as borehole radius. Equation 3 can be written in a

more general form as

dFp = KU d(ur – ux) + Ksds (4)

(a) which shows that the incremental change in bond capacity

can be separated into two components—one due to incre-
mental slip, the other to the incremental mining-induced
stress change. For laboratory tests conducted in confining
pipes of known radial stiffness the second term in equation 4
can be ignored. Figs. 10 and 11 show comparisons between
laboratory and simulated results under ‘constant radial stiff-
ness’ boundary conditions.
In summary, the proposed mathematical algorithm is capa-
ble of simulating the obtained laboratory results under any
boundary conditions. However, the length of reinforcement
used in real applications is an order of magnitude higher than
those used in the laboratory tests. Bearing in mind that the
rock-mass displacement and shear stresses along a long sup-
port length may die off rapidly, the load distribution in long
reinforcement needs to be determined by properly linking
small sections together.

Load distribution along cable-bolts

For fully grouted, untensioned bolts, which often have both

ends free, the bolt is activated by rock-mass deformations
occurring after its installation into the periphery of the exca-
(b) vation (Fig. 12). Following Farmer,19 the equilibrium of a
fully grouted rockbolt may be written as
Fig. 11 Comparison between (a) laboratory and (b) simulation
results for Garford bulb cable confined by Sch. 80 aluminium pipe Ab dsx = –Fsdx (5)
A6
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Fig. 12 Load distribution along fully grouted bolts

Fig. 13 Notation for finite-difference formulation

or

ds x - Fs (6) The governing equations for solution of the problem con-

=
dx Ab sist of a matrix of n simultaneous equations, which when
assembled in the correct order is tridiagonal in form with
where Fs is the shear force due to bond per unit length and Ab n unknown values of ux. If different boundary conditions
is the cross-sectional area of the bolt. Now, for an elastic bolt (plated and unplated cable) are accounted for and seeing that
Kiu is just dFp/dua for the ith element, which can be obtained
du x from equation 1, the problem can be solved in a piecewise
sx = E b (7) manner to simulate the bond behaviour of a fully grouted
dx
cable-bolt.22
Substitution of equation 7 into equation 6 results in
Parametric study
d 2ux -Fs (8)
=
dx 2 Ab E b In the following simulations both conventional and modified-
geometry cables are considered and the results are compared.
Let it be assumed that the shear force due to bond for a For simplicity only results for the 25-mm Garford bulb are
unit length of bolt is a linear function of the relative slip reported, but the results are very similar for the 21-mm
between the bolt and the rock nutcase cable. A constant 500-mm spacing is assumed
throughout although, as will be shown later, different
Fs = k(ur – ux) (9) responses can be obtained by changing the bulb spacing.

where k is shear stiffness of the interface per unit length,
N/mm2. Any function may be chosen to describe the distribu-
tion of ur over the bolt length (0<x<L). In general, ur will
decrease with distance from the surface of the excavation.
The form and rate of this will depend on the size and shape of
the opening and the strength and structure of the rock mass.
In engineering practice ur can be routinely determined with
either an extensometer or a borehole camera. If equations 8
and 9 are combined, the distribution of displacement along
the bolt is described by the second-order, inhomogeneous
linear differential equation
d 2ux k k
- u = - u
dx 2 Ab E b x AbE b r (10)
Although it would be possible to treat idealized nonlinear
bond strength analytically, in the same manner as Aydan did
in his analysis, 20 the versatility of a numerical approach was
chosen. On the assumption that the distribution of displace-
ment within the bolt varies quadratically, as in Fig. 13,
equation 10 can be solved by an ordinary finite-difference
method.21
Effect of rock-mass displacement profile
The case of a cable installed across a single fracture that is
opening is considered first. As shown in Fig. 14 (upper row),
the load developed in the cable is maximum at the fracture
and decreases away from the fracture towards the two ends
that are free (i.e. there is no faceplate attached to the cable).
The next case is that of multiple fractures. The middle-row
plots in Fig. 14 show the effect of three fractures, the com-
bined displacement on which is equivalent to that of the
single fracture above. Again, the maximum load development
occurs at the discontinuities, but the maximum load is con-
siderably less than when the displacement was concentrated
on a single discontinuity. The final case considered is when a
much greater number of discontinuities exist and, therefore,
the strain distribution in the rock can be assumed to be con-
tinuous (i.e. as in using a continuum numerical model to
simulate failure of a fractured rock mass). On the assumption
that the profile of rock displacement is given by uro /(1 + x)
where uro is the rock displacement at the face and x is the dis-
tance from the face the load distribution along the cable is
shown in the bottom row of Fig. 14—again for different
values of displacement at the face.
A7
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 15:58 04 April 2016
Fig. 14 Load distribution for different rock-mass displacement profiles in (left) conventional and
(right) modified cables
These three simulations indicate that load development in
a cable depends critically on the displacement pattern in the
rock and, in particular, whether displacement is concentrated
at a single fracture or is more evenly distributed on multiple
or many fractures. It is also notable that higher axial loads are
developed when modified-geometry cables are used, and this
difference is more pronounced in a discontinuous rock-mass
profile. Obviously, cable-bolts cannot take loads greater than
their ultimate capacity (260 kN for a cable of 15.2-mm dia-
meter); results presented that exceed this limit are simply
meant to emphasize the difference in response.
Effect of faceplate attachment
Where suitable access exists attaching a faceplate to the cable
is one possible solution to overcome a sloughing failure
mechanism. Fig. 15 shows the effect of the faceplate as the
distance a between the crack and the faceplate is decreased.
A8
The plate is especially effective when the fracture is located
close to the free face. Since the depth of potential fractures is
generally not known prior to a ground fall, this result provides
a justification for plating cable-bolts, particularly where mine
personnel will be exposed beneath cable-bolted ground. The
load is generally higher for modified-geometry cables, but
there is a significant difference in the load results when the
crack is very close to the face (a = 0.25 m). In this case the
location of the first bulb relative to the crack position
becomes very important. Case A in Fig. 15 represents the sit-
uation in which there is a bulb in front of the crack (between
the excavation face and the crack) and B simulates a case with
no bulb in front of the crack. As expected, in the second case
there is not much difference between a conventional and a
modified-geometry cable. This effect emphasizes the impor-
tance of the bulb location, particularly when the rock mass is
strongly laminated. A bulb located in close proximity to the
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 15:58 04 April 2016
Fig. 15 Crack location and effect of plating
free face has an effect similar to that of a surface fixture, i.e. a
plate, on a cable. Where access cannot be gained for the
attachment of faceplates the use of modified-geometry cables
should be considered as an alternative to plating.
Effect of mining-induced stress change
One of the principal objectives when using cable support is to
provide pre-reinforcement to the rock mass ahead of mining.
This, combined with the fact that the bond strength (which is
the limiting factor in many failures) is frictional, makes cable-
bolts susceptible to mining-induced stress changes. Fig. 16
shows the load developed in a 10-m cable installed in rock
masses having a modulus of 10 GPa and 100 GPa, respec-
tively. As pointed out by Kaiser and co-workers,23 the effect
of stress change on cable-bolt behaviour is most important in
low-modulus rock (i.e. poor-quality rock). As shown here, in
a 10-GPa rock a stress decrease of 30 MPa can result in a
75% reduction in the load in the cable-bolt, so that for a 10 m
long cable only 4 t (15% capacity) is mobilized. In other
words, the combination of a poor-quality rock mass and a
mining-induced stress decrease can result in completely inef-
fective cable-bolt behaviour. The use of modified-geometry
cables can improve the cable performance in such situations
significantly. Since higher radial dilatation in these types of
cables generates higher radial pressure, the effect of mining-
induced stress decrease would be less important. For
comparison, a load of about 13 t will still be mobilized in a
modified-geometry cable following a stress decrease of
30 MPa. Obviously, the stress relaxation effect would be even
less for rocks with higher Young’s moduli.
Effect of bulge spacing
As discussed previously, the cable stiffness depends on the
bulge spacing. In situations where a stiffer reinforcement is
preferred a decrease in the bulge spacing can increase the
stiffness greatly. This flexibility enables the designer to engi-
neer the best bulge spacing for a particular situation. As
shown in the long-pipe laboratory tests performed by Hyett
and Bawden, 24 when the frequency increases to three bulges
per metre the stiffness of the cable approaches that of a rein-
forcing bar. This is very important practically since the
support member has the advantages of both a stiff bar and a
coilable cable. The effect of bulb frequency is investigated in
Fig. 17. With increasing bulb spacing the cable stiffness
decreases, approaching that of a conventional cable at a spac-
ing of more than 1 m.
Conclusions
The bond failure mechanism for cable-bolts is a frictional–
dilatational process controlled by the helical surface morpho-
logy of the cable. Bond strength, therefore, depends directly
on the normal pressure acting on the cable–grout interface.
This normal pressure, in turn, depends on the reaction force
generated at the borehole wall (resulting from the borehole
wall stiffness and the dilatation generated from the cable).
Bearing in mind the low torsional rigidity of a conventional
cable and the strong tendency to untwist through the grout
flutes, the amount of generated dilatation is very low, and
if for any reason (a) less dilatation is generated at the
cable–grout interface (e.g. owing to the use of a very dirty
A9
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 15:58 04 April 2016
Fig. 16 Stress change effect on mobilized load in cable
Fig. 17 Effect of bulb frequency on load distribution along cable
cable); (b) the dilatation is absorbed by the grout annulus
because the grout has a low modulus, the borehole was not
filled properly or the breather tube was left empty; (c) the
borehole wall is compliant, perhaps because it has too many
fractures from drilling and/or blasting; or (d) the borehole
wall relaxes owing to mining-induced destressing, the reac-
tion force will not develop and the resultant bond strength
A10
will be low. Since the bond capacity of conventional cables is
extremely sensitive to the small amount of radial dilatation
generated and since quality control is very difficult to ensure,
many stripping failures were observed with standard cables.
An appropriate response to these problems is the use of modi-
fied-geometry cables, which generate much larger dilatation
and prevent the cable from untwisting.
The presence of a deformed structure on the cable, either a
Garford bulb or a nutcase, improves the load mobilization
characteristics of cables in two ways. First, it generates higher
radial dilatation, which, in turn, creates a higher pressure act-
ing normally to the cable and, second, it prevents rotation of
the cable. In view of the greater dilatation generated in modi-
fied-geometry cables (at least an order of magnitude higher),
it seems that sufficient normal pressure at the cable–grout
interface should be mobilized in poor rock-mass conditions
(low-modulus rock in a jointed environment). For the same
reason, it is expected that mining-induced stress relaxation
should not have as significant an impact on the mobilized
load for modified cables as for plain strand. Practically, it has
been demonstrated that the use of these cables can result
in considerable improvement in reinforcement behaviour,
including better dilution control and cost reduction through
expansion of the hole pattern.25
A mathematical model is proposed that simulates the
behaviour of the three main components in a cable system
(cable, grout and rock) and keeps track of the evolution of the
cracks in the grout and the resulting effects on the bond
capacity during slipping. The different bond failure mecha-
nisms in conventional cables (mainly rotation) and modified
geometries (mainly grout shearing) are modelled properly. In
the latter the effect of grout shearing is included in the model.
 The solution is determined in incremental form, which makes
it suitable for implementation in numerical stress analysis
packages, such as FLAC, UDEC, MAP3D (nonlinear),
PHASE2, etc., to model the effect of rock–reinforcement
interaction.
With different assumptions for rock-mass displacement
(continuous versus discontinuous profiles) completely differ-
ent load distributions have been obtained. Sakurai and
Kawashima26 emphasized this difference in their physical
models and similar differences were recorded earlier in some
field observations. Bjornfot and Stephansson27 concluded
that in hard rocks where the rock mass is crossed by a limited
number of joints shear stress along the bolt (or axial load)
reaches its maximum at the intersection with a major discon-
tinuity and, for a specified bond stiffness, higher axial loads
are developed if the rock-mass displacements are concen-
trated at few points rather than continuously distributed
along the bolt length. In other words, the effect of reinforce-
ment appears to be underestimated in a continuum approach.
The analytical and numerical results presented here confirm
these findings. This also clarifies why conventional cables
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13. Potvin Y., Milne D. and Gendron A. Cable bolt research pro-
ject—status report. NTC internal report, 1989.
14. Bawden W. F., Hyett A. J. and Lausch P. An experimental pro-
cedure for the in situ testing of cable bolts. Int. J. Rock Mech. geomech.
Abstr., 29, no. 5, 1992, 525–33.
15. Amadei B. and Saeb S. Constitutive models of rock joints. In
Rock joints (Rotterdam: Balkema, 1990), 581–94.
16. MacSporran G. R. An empirical investigation into the effect of
mine-induced stress change on standard cable bolt capacity. M.Sc.
thesis, Queen’s University, Canada, 1993.
17. Hyett A. J. et al. A constitutive law for bond failure of fully
grouted cable bolts using a modified Hoek cell. Int. J. Rock Mech.
geomech. Abstr., 32, no.1, 1995, 11–36.
18. Moosavi M. Load distribution along fully grouted cable bolts
based on constitutive models obtained from modified Hoek cells.
Ph.D. thesis, Queen’s University, Canada, 1997.
19. Farmer I. W. Stress distribution along a resin-grouted anchor.
Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. geomech. Abstr., 12, 1975, 347–51.
20. Aydan O. The stabilization of engineering structures by rock-
bolts. D.Eng. thesis, Nagoya University, Japan, 1989.
21. Hornbeck R. W. Numerical methods (New York: Quantum,
1975).
22. Hyett A. J., Moosavi M. and Bawden W. F. Load distribution
along fully grouted bolts, with emphasis on cable reinforcement. Int.
J. num. analyt. Meth. in Geomech., 20, 1996, 517–44.

23. Kaiser P. K., Yazici S. and Nose J. Effect of stress change on

have been found more effective in blocky (good-quality) rock the bond strength of fully grouted cables. Int. J. Rock Mech. geomech.
masses than in heavily jointed (poor-quality) conditions. Abstr., 29, no. 3, 1992, 293–306.
The benefits of applying faceplates to cable-bolts were 24. Hyett A. J. and Bawden W. F. The effect of bulb frequency on
the behaviour of fully grouted Garford bulb cable bolts. Report for
found to depend on the distribution of rock-mass displace- CAMADA Technology International, Thiessen team, 1996.
ment. With a discontinuous displacement profile the faceplate 25. Anderson B. and Grebenc B. Controlling dilution at the
is most effective when the joint is located within 1m. It follows Golden Giant mine. Paper presented at 12th Mine operators’ confer-
that the addition of a faceplate may be especially beneficial ence, Timmins, Ontario, 1995.
26. Sakurai S. and Kawashima I. Modelling of jointed rock mass
for the suppression of intermittent unravelling-type failures.
reinforced by rock bolts. Reference 7, 547–50.
Alternatively, if long cables are installed in conjunction with 27. Bjornfot F. and Stephansson O. J. Interaction of grouted rock
shorter rockbolts and the rockbolts effectively tie the rock bolts and hard rock masses at variable loading in a test drift of
together close to the face, there may be little advantage in Kiirunavaara mine, Sweden. Reference 2, 377–95.
installing faceplates. In situations with no access for the attach-
ment of faceplates use of modified-geometry cables should be
considered, especially when the rock mass consists of small
blocks on account of heavy jointing and/or laminating.
Symbols
Ab Cross-section of bolt
a Location of crack
References
1. Hunt R. E. B. and Askew J. E. Installation and design guidelines Ci , ci Constant unknown coefficients
for cable dowel ground support at ZC/NBHC. In Underground opera - Er Young’s modulus of rock, MPa
tor’s conference (Parkville, Vict.: Australasian Institute of Mining and Eg Young’s modulus of grout
Metallurgy, 1977), 113–22. Eb Young’s modulus of bolt
2. Bywater S. and Fuller P. G. Cable support of lead open stope
Fp Force that can potentially be mobilized on cable
hangingwalls at Mount Isa Mines Ltd. In Stephansson O. J. ed. Proc.
Int. symp. rock bolting, Abisko, Sweden (Rotterdam: Balkema, 1983). Fa Actual force in cable
3. Yazici S. and Kaiser P. K. Bond strength of grouted cable bolts. Fs Shear force due to bond
Int. J. Rock Mech. geomech. Abstr., 29, no. 3, 1992, 279–92. Kr Radial stiffness of borehole wall
4. Maloney S. et al. Investigations into the effect of stress change on K Shear stiffness of bolt–grout interface, MPa/mm
support capacity. In Rock support (Rotterdam: Balkema, 1992),
367–76. k Shear stiffness of bolt–grout interface for unit length,
5. Nosé J. P. A laboratory study of the effect of stress change on the N/mm 2
load capacity of cable bolts. M.Sc. thesis, Queen’s University, L Bolt length
Canada, 1993. pi Internal radial pressure
6. Hyett A. J., Bawden W. F. and Reichert R. D. The effect of rock
po External radial pressure
mass confinement on the bond strength of fully grouted cable bolts.
Int. J. Rock Mech. geomech. Abstr., 29, no. 5, 1992, 503–24. p1 Radial pressure at r = r1
7. Windsor C. R. Invited lecture: Cable bolting for underground p2 Radial pressure at r = r2
and surface excavations. In Rock support in mining and underground r1 Inner radius of cement annulus or radius of cable
construction (Rotterdam: Balkema, 1992). r2 Outer radius of grout annulus or radius of borehole
8. Fuller P. G. and Cox R. H. T. Mechanics of load transfer from
steel tendons to cement based grouts. Paper presented at 5th rb Radius of bulge in modified geometry cables
Australian conference on the mechanics of structures and materials, r0 Radius of excavation
Melbourne, 1975, 189–203. ua Relative slip between bolt and grout (ur – ux)
9. Goris J. M. Laboratory evaluation of cable bolt supports: first ur Rock mass displacement
part. Rep. Invest. U.S. Bur. Mines RI 9308, 1990.
uri Radial displacement at cable-grout interface
10. Hassani F. P. et al. Experimental and numerical studies of the
cable bolt support systems. Reference 7, 411–7. ur1 Radial displacement at inside of grout annulus
11. Stillborg B. Experimental investigation of steel cables for rock ur2 Radial displacement at outside of grout annulus
reinforcement in hard rock. Ph.D. thesis, Luleå University, Sweden, urr Radial displacement of borehole wall
1984. ux Bolt displacement
12. Rajaie H. Experimental and numerical investigations of cable
bolt support systems. Ph.D. thesis, McGill University, Canada, uro Displacement of rock at excavation wall
1990. x Distance along bolt
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 a Auxilliary parameter in load distribution differential
equation
fg Friction angle of grout, degrees
ng Poisson’s ratio of grout
nr Poisson’s ratio of rock
sn Normal stress
s Far field stress
sr Far field stress radial to cable
sz Stress along bolt axis
t Shear stress or bond capacity
tp Peak shear stress
tr Residual shear stress
tm Maximum bond capacity

Authors

Mahdi Moosavi was awarded a B.Sc. in mining engineering from the

University of Tehran, Iran, in 1988, an M.Sc. in mining engineering
from the Polytechnic University, Tehran, in 1991 and a Ph.D. in
rock mechanics from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, in
1997. He is research deputy of the Mining Engineering Department
at the University of Tehran.
Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 15:58 04 April 2016

Address: Mining Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering,

The University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: mmoosavi@
shafagh.ut.ac.ir

W. F. Bawden graduated from Queen’s University, Kingston,

Canada, and gained an M.Sc. in engineering geology and rock
mechanics at the University of Illinois, U.S.A. Between his first
appointments in industry he studied for a Ph.D. at the University of
Toronto and then, from 1983 to 1988, held the post of head of
geomechanical mine design at Noranda Technology, Montreal. He
returned to Queen’s University, where he was head of the Mining
Department from 1990 to 1997, and has since occupied the Pierre
Lassonde Chair in Mining Engineering at the University of Toronto.

A. J. Hyett obtained his M.Sc. from the Royal School of Mines in

structural geology and was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of
London in rock mechanics in 1990. Thereafter he went to Queen’s
University, Canada, as a research associate on the MRD project
‘Support of underground excavations in hard rock’.

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