Rock Mass Classification and

Site Application in Tunnelling

Rini Asnida Abdullah

Department of Geotechnics & Transportation
School of Civil Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Malaysia

2-Day Practical Short Course in Tunnels and Underground Space 2019 (PSCTUS2019)
OBJECTIVES OF ROCK MASS
CLASSIFICATION
▪ Identify the most important parameters influencing the rock
mass
▪ Divide a rock mass formation into groups of similar behaviour
▪ Derive quantitative data and guidelines for engineering design
▪ Provide common basis for communication between geologist
and engineers
PARAMETERS INCORPORATED IN EXISTING
ROCK MASS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Existing classification in various application (Abdullah, 2011)

Q-SYSTEM
▪ The first version of the Q-system was published in 1974, and
through the years the system has been updated many times to
include new and improved tunnel support technology.
▪ Several new types of rock bolts have been introduced, and the continuous
development of fibre reinforced technology has in many ways changed the
support procedure.

▪ Application of sprayed concrete has gained acceptance even for good quality
rock masses due to demands for a higher level of safety during the recent
years.

▪ Reinforced ribs of sprayed (RRS) concrete have replaced cast concrete

structures to a large extent.

▪ The majority of the case histories are derived from mainly hard, jointed rocks
including weakness zones.
The Q-system may be considered a function of only 3 parameters which
are approximate measures of:
Q = [RQD/Jn]  [Jr/Ja]  [Jw/SRF]

(1) Block size [RQD/Jn] : It represents overall structure of rock mass.

(2) Interblock shear strength [Jr/Ja] : It has been found that tan-1 [Jr/Ja]
is a fair approximation to the actual peak sliding angle of friction along
the clay coated joint.
(3) Active stress [Jw/SRF] : It is an factor describing the active stress.
1. ROCK QUALITY DESIGNATION (RQD)
2. JOINT SET NUMBER
• Should distinguish between systematic discontinuities
that are number of joint set and random
discontinuities, the orientation which are less
predictable.
Thick sandstone with thin interlayer of shale layers with a number of
joint sets present on its surface
3. SPACING
• Spacing can be mapped on the rock face or drill core

Interlayer of thick shale Interlayer of sandstone and

and sandstone layers shale with similar amount
 • Will define the size and shape of block and give indication of
stability
• JOINT SET NUMBER, PERSISTANCE and SPACING will reflect to
the block size
• As the number of joint set increases, the block size diminishes.
• Joint set number also reflects to the RQD value

2 joint sets, bigger spacing 2 joint sets, smaller spacing > 2 joint sets, smaller spacing
• Joints within a joint set will be nearly parallel to one another and will display
a characteristic joint spacing
• Joints that do not occur systematically or that have a spacing of several
meters are called random joints.
• However, the effect of spacing strongly depends on the span or height of the
underground opening.
 4. ROUGHNESS

▪ Roughness of discontinuity surface is

important component of shear strength.
▪ Roughness become less important
when discontinuity is infilled.

Descriptive terms for roughness

Rough surface Smooth surface
• The terms rough, smooth and
slickenside refer to small
structures in a scale of
centimetres or millimetres.

• Stepped, undulating and planar are

used for large scale roughness.

• The large scale roughness must be

considered in relation to the block
size and also to the probable
direction of sliding.
(a) rock wall contact (b) rock wall contact
(c) No rock wall contact
when sheared
 5. ALTERATION

▪ Refers to the weathering and the wall strength

 APERTURE

▪ Aperture is the perpendicular distance separating the

adjacent rock walls of an open discontinuity.
▪ The intervening space is air, water or any infilling
(gauge)
• Infilling refers to the material separating the adjacent walls of discontinuities
• The Ja-value depends on the type of clay minerals in the joint filling material. Swelling clay is unfavourable for stability.

Soft clay (infilling material) in between sandstone

and shale layer due to weathering of shale.
 • Refers to the material separating the adjacent walls of discontinuities

(a) rock wall contact (b) rock wall contact

(c) No rock wall contact
when sheared
Relationship between shear and normal stresses on sliding surface for five
different geological condition (Transportation Research Board, 1996)
 5. GROUNDWATER

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7M9PXtGpdEs/maxresdefault.jpg
• Joint water may soften or wash out the mineral infill and thereby
reduce the friction on the joint planes.

• Water pressure may reduce the normal stress on the joint walls and
cause the blocks to shear more easily.
 6. STRESS REDUCTION FACTOR (SRF)

• SRF describes the relation between stress and rock

strength around an underground opening.

• The effects of stresses can usually be observed in an

underground opening as spalling, slabbing, deformation,
squeezing, dilatancy and block release.

• Both stresses in and strength of the rock mass can be

measured, and SRF can then be calculated from the relation
between the rock uniaxial compressive strength (σc) and the
major principal stress (σ1) or the relation between the
maximum tangential stress σθ and σc in massive rock.
The stress situation is classified in four categories:

a) Weakness zones (shear/clay zone) that intersect the underground

opening which may or may not be able to transfer stresses in the
surrounding rock mass.

b) Competent rock with stability problems due to high stresses or lack

of stresses.

c) Squeezing rock with plastic deformation of incompetent rock under

the influence of moderate or high rock stresses.

d) Swelling rock; chemical swelling activity depending on the

presence of water.
 Q = [RQD/Jn]  [Jr/Ja]  [Jw/SRF]

(1) Block size [RQD/Jn] : It represents overall structure of rock mass.

(2) Interblock shear strength [Jr/Ja] : It has been found that tan-1 [Jr/Ja]
is a fair approximation to the actual peak sliding angle of friction along
the clay coated joint.
(3) Active stress [Jw/SRF] : It is an factor describing the active stress.
 7. EXCAVATION SUPPORT RATIO
• In addition to the rock mass quality (the Q-value) two other factors are decisive
for the support design in underground openings and caverns; 1) safety
requirements and 2) the dimension.
• To express safety requirements, a factor called ESR (Excavation Support Ratio)
is used.
 WALL SUPPORT

• The support chart is primarily valid for the crown and springlines of
underground openings and caverns.
• When the Q-system is used for wall support, the height of the walls
must be used instead of the span.
 Massive, strong rock
Low stress regime
Lack of ground support
RMR = 90 (very good rock)
Q = 180 (extremely good rock)

Blocky rock
Low stress regime
Minimal but systematic ground support
RMR = 70 (good rock)
Q = 15 (good rock)

Blocky rock
High stress regime
RMR = 40 (poor to fair rock)
Q = 0.8 (very poor rock)
Golder Associates
Example:
15 m span crusher chamber for an underground mine is to be
excavated in a norite at a depth of 2,100 m below surface. The
rock mass contains two sets of joints controlling stability. These
joints are undulating, rough and unweathered with very minor
surface staining.RQD is 90% and laboratory tests on core
samples of intact rock give an average uniaxial compressive
strength of 170 MPa. The principal stress directions are
approximately vertical and horizontal and the magnitude of the
horizontal principal stress is approximately 1.5 times that of the
vertical principal stress. The rock mass is locally damp but there
is no evidence of flowing water
• The numerical value of RQD is 90.
• The joint set number, Jn = 4.
• For rough or irregular joints which are undulating, Jr = 3.
• Ja = 1.0, for unaltered joint walls with surface staining only.
• An excavation with minor inflow, the joint water reduction factor,Jw= 1.0.
• For a depth below surface of 2,100 m the overburden stress will be
approximately 57 MPa and, in this case, the major principal stress 1= 85
MPa. Since the uniaxial compressive strength of the norite is approximately
170 MPa, this gives a ratio of c / 1 = 2.
• For competent rock with rock stress problems, this value can be expected
to produce heavy rock burst conditions and that the value of SRF should lie
between 10 and 20. A value of SRF = 15 will be assumed for this calculation.
• Using these values gives Q =4.5
• The crusher station discussed earlier falls into the
category of permanent mine openings and is assigned
an excavation support ratio ESR = 1.6.
• Hence, for an excavation span of 15 m, the equivalent
dimension, De = 15/1.6 = 9.4
• A value of De of 9.4 and a value of Q of 4.5 places
this crusher excavation in category (4) which requires
a pattern of rockbolts (spaced at 2.2 m) and 40 to 100
mm of unreinforced shotcrete.
Estimated support categories based on the tunnelling quality index Q (After Grimstad and Barton,
1993, reproduced from Palmstrom and Broch, 2006)
 Q-System
▪ Total number of joints= 14
▪ Joint frequency=14/10=1.4
▪ RQD= 99.85 ≈ 100
▪ No. of joint sets=2
▪ Jn=4 (Two joint sets)
▪ Jr = 3 (Rough or irregular, undulating)
▪ Ja = 1 (Unaltered joint walls, surface staining only)
▪ Jw= 1 (Dry excavations or minor inflow (humid or a few drips))
▪ Vertical stress= unit weight * overburden depth
=359*0.027= 9.63 MPa
▪ UCS= 120 MPa
▪ UCS/vertical stress= 12.4
▪ SRF=1 (Medium stress, favourable stress condition)

▪ ESR = 1 (Power houses, storage rooms, water

treatment plants, major road and railway tunnels, civil
defence chambers, portals, intersections, etc.)
Q-System
Q = [RQD/Jn]  [Jr/Ja]  [Jw/SRF]
= (100/4)*(3/1)*(1/1)
= 75 (Very good quality rock)
QTBM
ROCK MASS RATING (RMR)
• RMR was first introduced in 1973 and has been modified over
the years with changes being carried out in the ratings to
improve the system up to the latest version in 1989 (Bieniawski,
1989).
RMR= 𝑰𝑹𝑺 + 𝑹𝑸𝑫 + 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 + 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 + 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 + 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
where; IRS = Intact rock strength (MPa)
spacing = Discontinuity spacing
condition = Expression of condition
groundwater = Expression of groundwater inflow (pressure)
reduction factor = Dependent on the orientation of engineering structure
relative to the main discontinuity set
RMR= 𝑰𝑹𝑺 + 𝑹𝑸𝑫 + 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 + 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 + 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 + 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
 8. ORIENTATION
• Normally expressed as the dip and dip direction (or strike)
• Determine the mode of failure
Bieniawski (1989) provides a comprehensive guidelines
for selection of tunnel stabilisation methods. This is
applicable to tunnels excavated with conventional drill &
blast method.

These guidelines depend upon factors like depth below

surface (in situ overburden stress) tunnel size & shape &
method of excavation. The stabilisation measures are the
permanent and not temporary (or primary) support.
RMR guide for excavation & stabilization methods in rock tunnel
Relationship between RMR rating, stand-up time &
Unsupported span (Bieniawski, 1989)
RMR example
A mudstone rock mass at a depth of 200m
contains one set discontinuity, comprises
bedding plane at 0.9m mean spacing; these are
sligthly weathered, slightly rough surface and
are continuous that dipping at 20. The drilled
core sample gave a RQD value of 89%. The
strength of intact rock has been assesses as
55MPa, and the groundwater condition is damp.
Use the RMR system to classify this rock mass,
and assess the stability of a 10m wide
excavation being driven parallel with the strike.
Parameters Bedding
Value Rating
1. Strength of intact rock material 55 7
2. RQD (%) 89 20
3. Spacing (m) 0.9 15
4. Conditions of discontinuities
Persistence >20m 0
Aperture none 6
Roughness s/rough 3
Infilling none 6
Weathering h/weathered 1
5. Ground water Damp 10
6. Adjustment for joint orientation Fair -5
RMR rating 63
RMR class Class II: Good rock
mass
Stand up time 2 months
Excavation & support Refer table
Parameters Bedding
Value Rating
1. Strength of intact rock material 55 7
2. RQD (%) 89 17
3. Spacing (m) 0.9 15
4. Conditions of discontinuities
Persistence >20m 0
Aperture none 6
Roughness s/rough 3
Infilling none 6
Weathering h/weathered 1
5. Ground water Damp 10
6. Adjustment for joint orientation Fair -5
RMR rating 60
RMR class Class II: Good rock
mass
Stand up time 2 months
Excavation & support Refer table
RMR guide for excavation & stabilisation methods in rock
tunnel
Application of RMR:

(2) Estimation of support pressure:

The estimation of support pressure for openings with flat

roof is given as (Unal, 1983):

Pv = {(100 − RMR) / 100}    B

Pv : support pressure
 : rock density
B : tunnel width
(2) Estimation of support pressure:

For rock tunnel with arched roof the estimation of short-

term support pressure is given as (Goel & Jethwa, 1991):

Pv = {(0.75  B0.1  H0.5 − RMR) / (2  RMR)} MPa

Pv : short-term roof support pressure (MPa)

H : depth of tunnel in m (> 50 m)
B : span of opening in m
(Method of excavation by conventional blasting method)
Comprehensive guidelines
(3) Modulus of deformation:
Nicholson & Bieniawski (1990) developed an empirical
expression for modulus reduction factor (MRF). This
factor is calculated in order to derive modulus of
deformation for a rock mass using its RMR and Young’s
modulus of its core sample:

MRF = Ed / Er = 0.0028 RMR2 + 0.9  exp(RMR/22.82)

Where:Ed is deformation modulus of rock mass

Er is deformation modulus of intact rock material
Geological Strength Index (GSI)
• CHART
• HB FAILURE CRITERION AND MODELLING IN ROCSCIENCE SOFTWARE
General chart for GSI estimates from the geological observations.
(Marinos and Hoek, 2000)
Hoek-Brown and equivalent Mohr-Coulomb criteria (Li et al., 2007)