Engineering
Properties of Rocks
Rock Engineering Basics
Rock: compact, indurated natural material (composed
of one or more minerals) that requires drilling,
blasting, wedging, or other “brute force” to excavate.
Rock Material: solid rock material which does not
contain obvious structural features (discontinuities)
and which usually can be sampled and tested in the
lab; known as “intact rock”.
Rock Mass: a complex system of natural rock material
comprised of blocks of intact rock and structural
features (discontinuities) that allow for interactions
among the blocks; too large and complex to sample
and test in the lab
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l At this point in your course, you should appreciate that rock
properties tend to vary widely, often over short distances.
l A corollary of this is that during Engineering practice, the penalties
for geologic mistakes can be severe
severe..
l We will therefore briefly review factors that “quantise” rocks.
l The study of the Engineering Properties of Rocks is termed Rock Mechanics,
Mechanics, which
is defined as follows:
v “The theoretical and applied science of the mechanical behaviour of rock and
rock masses in response to force fields of their physical
environment.”
v It is really a subdivision of “Geomechanics
“Geomechanics”” which is
concerned with the mechanical responses of all
geological materials, including soils.
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l During Engineering planning, design and construction of works, there
are many rock mechanics issues such as:
v Evaluation of geological hazards;
v Selection and preparation of rock materials;
v Evaluation of cuttability and drillability of rock;
v Analysis of rock deformations;
v Analysis of rock stability;
v Control of blasting procedures;
v Design of support systems;
v Hydraulic fracturing, and
v Selection of types of structures.
l For this lecture we will confine our study to the
factors that influence the deformation and failure
of rocks.
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l Such factors include:
v Mineralogical composition and texture;
v Planes of weakness;
v Degree of mineral alteration;
v Temperature and Pressure conditions of rock formation;
v Pore water content, and
v Length of time and rate of changing stress that a rock experiences.
l Mineralogical Composition and Texture
Texture..
v Very few rocks are homogeneous, continuous, isotropic
(non directional) and elastic.
v Generally, the smaller the grain size, the stronger the
rock.
Engineering Properties of Rocks
v Texture influences the rock strength directly through the degree of
interlocking of the component grains.
v Rock defects such as microfractures, grain boundaries, mineral cleavages,
twinning planes and planar discontinuities influence the ultimate rock strength
and may act as “surfaces
“surfaces of weakness”
weakness” where failure occurs.
v When cleavage has high or low angles with the principal stress direction, the
mode of failure is mainly influenced by the cleavage.
v Anisotropy is common because of preferred orientations of minerals and
directional stress history.
v Rocks are seldom continuous owing to pores and
fissures (i.e. Sedimentary rocks).
v Despite this it is possible to support engineering
decisions with meaningful tests, calculations, and
observations.
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l Temperature and Pressure
v All rock types undergo a decrease in strength with increasing temperature, and
an increase in strength with increasing confining pressure.
v At high confining pressures, rocks are more difficult to fracture as incipient
fractures are closed.
l Pore Solutions
v The presence of moisture in rocks adversely affects their engineering strength.
v Reduction in strength with increasing H2O content is due
to lowering of the tensile strength, which is a function
of the molecular cohesive strength of the material.
l Time
Time--dependent Behavior
v Most strong rocks , like granite show little
time--dependent strain or creep.
time
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l Since there are vast ranges in the properties of rocks, Engineers rely
on a number of basic measurements to describe rocks quantitatively.
These are known as Index Properties.
l Index Properties of Rocks:
v Porosity
Porosity-- Identifies the relative proportions of solids & voids;
v Density
Density-- a mineralogical constituents parameter;
v Sonic Velocity-
Velocity- evaluates the degree of fissuring;
v Permeability
Permeability-- the relative interconnection of pores;
v Durability
Durability-- tendency for eventual breakdown of
components or structures with degradation of rock
quality, and
v Strength
Strength-- existing competency of the rock fabric
binding components.
Physical and Hydrological
Properties
l Specific gravity(Gs): the ratio between the
mass and that of equal volume of water (i.e. the
ratio of mass density and water density).
l Density : Wt/unit volume
vDry Density: Oven dried sample
vBulk Density: Natural Moisture content
vSaturated Density: Saturated condition
l Unit weight (mass density), g = Gs • gw
v gw = 62.4 pcf (lbs/ft3)
v for most rocks, g = 120 to 200 pcf
Physical and Hydrological
Properties (cont.)
l Porosity n: measurement of the relative amount of
void space, n = Vv / Vt, where Vv is the volume of the
voids containing liquids and/or gases, Vt is the total
volume.
l Absorption: measurement of how much water can be
absorbed by the given material,
WSat - Wdry
Absorption(%) = ´ 100
Wdry
l Permeability: measurement of the rate at which fluids
will flow through a saturated materials.
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l Deformation and Failure of Rocks:
v Four stages of deformation recognised
recognised::
• Elastic;
• Elastico
Elastico--viscous;
• Plastic, and
• Rupture.
v All are dependent on the elasticity, viscosity and rigidity of the rock, as well as
temperature, time, pore water, anisotropy and stress history.
v Elastic deformation disappears when responsible stress
ceases. Strain is a linear function of stress thus obeying
Hooke’s law, and the constant relationship between them
is referred to as Young’s modulus (E).
v Rocks are non ideal solids and exhibit hysteresis during unloading.
Stress
l Stress is force per unit area acting on a plane at
any point within a material, s = P / A.
vcompressive stress: equal forces that act
towards a point from opposite directions
vtensile stress: equal forces that pull away
from each other.
vshear stress: equal forces that act in opposite
directions but offset from each other to act
as a couple.
Strain
l The application of stress to a material
causes it to deform. The amount of
deformation is called strain.
vaxial strain: deformation along the direction
of loading, DL/L.
vlateral strain: the lateral extension
perpendicular to the direction of loading,
DB/B.
Mechanical Properties
l Strength: indicates the level of stress needed to
cause failure. The unit is pounds per square
inch (psi) or newtons per square meter
(Pascals
Pascals,, or Pa in short).
vCompressive strength: the compressive
stress required to break the specimen, sc.
vShear strength: the shear stress required to
break the specimen, t.
vTensile strength: the tensile stress required
to break the specimen, st
Mechanical Properties (cont.)
l Elasticity
vSome of the deformation of a rock under stress
will be recovered when the load is removed. The
recoverable deformation is called elastic
deformation.
vCommonly, the elastic deformation of rock is
directly proportional to the applied load. The
ratio of the stress and the strain is called
modulus of elasticity or Young’s modulus, E =
stress/strain = s/e
l Poisson’s ratio, m = lateral strain / axial
strain
Mechanical Properties (cont.)
l Toughness/Abrasion Resistance
vThe ability of resistance to abrasion
and degradation
vmeasured by the LA Abrasion Test
l Soundness/Durability
vThe ability to withstand deterioration due to
wetting and drying, heating and cooling.
vMeasured by sulfate soundness test and the
freezing and thawing test
How do you measure the
strengths?
Unconfined (uniaxial
(uniaxial)) compression test
l The rock sample is unconfined at its side while
the load is applied vertically until failure
occurs. In this case, the compressive strength is
called unconfined compressive strength
(uniaxial compressive strength).
sc = P / A
where P is the failure load, and
A is the cross section of the sample
Uniaxial Compressive Strength
A cylinder of rock taken from drill
drill--core is cut square on
the ends, then the ends are ground smooth, and the
specimen loaded to failure in a testing machine
machine.. The
length--to
length to--diameter ratio (L/d) typically ranges
between 2 and 3.
UCS = Pf / A (stress units of psi, psf
psf,, MPa
MPa,, tsm
tsm))
where:: Pf = ultimate failure load (at rupture)
where rupture);;
A=cross--sectional area of cylindrical specimen
A=cross
Reporting of UCS Standardized Results
Empirical corrections of the tested value of UCS to
“standardized” L:d values are given below
below::
For L:d of 2:1
UCS2:1 = UCS / [0.88 + 0.24
24((d/L
d/L)]
)]
For L:d of 1:1
UCS1:1 = UCS / [0.778 + 0.222
222((d/L
d/L)]
)]
Confined compression test
l For design of underground structure (such as
tunnels, mining, waste repository), we need to take
into account of the confining pressure at depth. This
is done at laboratory by so-so-called triaxial
compression test.
test.
l The failure curve constructed using Mohr's circle
after a series of tests gives the shear strength
(cohesion) and internal friction (angle of shearing
resistance) of the rock (or soil) sample.
l Shear stress: t = c + s tan
tanff
where t is the shear stress, c is the cohesion, s is the
normal stress, and f is the friction angle
Point Load Index
The point load test is conducted on a piece of drill core
(with ragged ends) with L/d > 1.5 whereby the core
piece is loaded perpendicular to the core axis between
cone--shaped platens until failure occurs and the core is
cone
“split”..
“split” The core diameter and instrument gage
pressure at failure are recorded
recorded.. The Point Load Index
then is given by
by::
PtL = Pg(Ar) / d2
where: d= core diameter, Pg = instrument gage
where:
pressure at specimen failure, and Ar = cross
cross--sectional
area of instrument loading ram
ram..
Estimating UCS Using a Schmidt Hammer
A Schmidt Type
Type--L rebound hammer can be used to
approximate the UCS
UCS.. A reasonable estimate of the
rock unit weight also is needed
needed..
Rebound measurements often are quite variable, so
the field investigation should include at least 10
measurements at a given sampling site (for averaging
purposes)..
purposes)
Brazilian Disk Tension Testing
A small disk of rock core with known diameter (d) and
thickness (h) is loaded along its diameter to induce an
apparent tensile stress field and cause the disk to
rupture.. The tensile strength then is given by
rupture by::
T = 2(Pf) / (pdh
dh))
where Pf = failure load at which the disk ruptured
A general rule
rule--of thumb:: (10 x T) @ UCS
of--thumb
Mapping & Display of Discontinuity Data
Field mapping methods to obtain information on
discontinuity orientations, spacing, length, roughness,
etc.:
etc .:
Scanline mapping – detailed mapping of individual
discontin--uities that intersect a designated mapping
discontin
line or linear “window”
Rock Mass Strength
l Strength depends on the density, nature and
extent of the fractures within it
Rock fractures and their
characterization
Typically carried out using 3 orthogonal scanlines
l orientation
l spacing
l length
l roughness
l aperture
l filling
l block size
Rock mass properties
l The strength and deformation properties of intact
rocks cannot be directly applied to the overall
rock mass in the field situation. The strength and
behavior of a rock mass are largely controlled by
the nature of its discontinuities or weakness
planes.
l Examples of rock mass discontinuities include:
vsedimentary: bedding planes, sedimentary
structure (mud cracks, ripple marks, cross
beds, etc.)
vstructural: faults, joints, and fissures
vmetamorphic: foliation
vigneous: cooling joints, flow contacts, intrusive
contacts, dikes, and sills
Engineering classification of
intact rocks
l The engineering classification of intact rocks is based on
the uniaxial compressive strength and the modulus of
elasticity, developed by Deere and Miller. Intact rock is
internally continuous, intact, and free from weakness
planes such as jointing, bedding, and shearing.
l Rocks are subdivided into five strength categories: A
through E for very high to very level of strength.
l Rock classification also involves the modulus of elasticity.
More specifically, the modulus ratio is used, which is the
ratio of the modulus of elasticity to the unconfined
compressive strength. Three modulus ratio categories are
H (high) for >500, M (medium) for 200-200-500, and L (low)
for <200.
In terms of the strength (unconfined compressive strength)
as obtained from the core samples, rocks are classified
as follows:
Clas Strength Range, lb/in2 (MPa)
s
A Very high strength > 32,000 ( 220.6)
B High Strength 16,000-32000 (110.3 – 220.6)
C Medium strength 8000 - 16000 (55.2 – 110.3)
D Low strength 4000 - 8000 (27.6 – 55.2)
E Very low strength < 4000 (< 27.6)
Engineering Properties of Rocks
l Engineering Classification Systems for Rock:
v Use of classification systems for rock remains controversial.
v Bieniawski’s Geomechanics system uses a rock mass rating
(RMR) which increases with rock quality (from 0- 0-100). It is
based on five parameters namely, rock strength; drill core
quality; groundwater conditions; joint and fracture spacing,
and joint characteristics. Increments from all five are summed to
determine RMR.
v While point load test values give rock strength, drill core
quality is rated according to rock quality designation
(RQD) introduced by Deere (1963). The RQD of a rock
is calculated by determining the percentage of core in
lengths greater than twice its diameter.
v Spacing of Joints is determined from available drill core.
Based on % recovery of core values,
the rock formations are classified as:
RQD (%)
Very poor 0 - 25
Poor 25 - 50
Fair 50-75
Good 75 – 90
Excellent 90 – 100
Engineering Properties of Rocks
v It is assumed that rock masses contain three sets of joints, but the
spacing of the most critical for the application is used.
v Condition of joints is treated similarly. Covers the roughness and
nature of coating material on joint surfaces, and should be
weighted towards the smoothest and weakest joint set.
v Ground water can exert a significant influence on rock mass
behavior. Water inflows or joint water pressures can be used to
determine the rating increment as either completely dry; moist;
water under moderate pressure, or severe water problems.
v Bieniawski recommended that the sum of these ratings
be adjusted to account for favorable or unfavorable joint
orientations. No points are subtracted for very favorable
joint orientations, but £ 12 points for unfavorable joint
orientations in tunnels, and £ 25 points in foundations.
Rock Structure Rating ( RSR)
Group A: Geology : Rock type (igneous / sedimentary metamorphic)
- Rock hardness (hard / medium/ soft/ decomposed)
- Geological structure (massive / slightly folded/
mostly faulted and folded / faulted / folded)
Group B: Discontinuities
- joint spacing
•Joint orientation ( strike and dip)
•Direction of tunnel drive as related to joint orientation
Group C: Ground Water inflow
•Overall rock mass quality on the basis of A+B together
•Joint condition ( good / fair / poor)
•Amount of water inflow per unit time per unit length
RMR or ‘Geo-mechanics Classification’
Guidelines for excavation and support of 10m span rock
tunnels according to RMR system(after Bieniawski, 1989).
Rock mass class Excavation Rock bolts (20 mm Shotcrete Steel sets
diameter, fully grouted)
1 – Very good Full face,
rock RMR : 81-80 3m advance
II – Good rock Full face, Locally, bolts in crown 50 mm in crown None.
RMR : 61-80 3 m long, where required
Spaced 2.5 m with
occasional wire mesh
III – Fair rock Top heading and bench 1.5 – 3 Systematic, bolts 4 m 50-100 mm in None
advance in top heading. long, spaced 1.5 – 2m in crown and 30 mm
Commence support after each crown and walls with in sides
blast. wire mesh in crown
Complete support 10 m from
face.
IV- poor rock Top heading and bench 1,0-1.5 m Systematic bolts 4-5 m 100-150 mm in Light to medium
advance in top heading .Install long in crown and walls crown and 100 ribs spaced 1.5 m
support concurrently with with wire mesh mm in sides where required.
excavation, 10m from face
V – very poor Multiple drifts 0.5 – 1.5 m Systematic bolts 5-6 m 150-200 mm in Medium to heavy
rock RMR : < 20 advance in top heading Install long, spaced 1-1.5 m in crown ribs spaced 0.75m
support concurrently with crown and walls with 150 mm in sides, with steel lagging
excavation shotrete as soon as wire mesh. Bolt Inver. and 50 mm on and forepoiling if
possible after blasting. face required.
Close invert
Original Olmos
support system –
wire mesh under
steel sets installed
inside finger shield
Wire mesh under steel sets
installed inside finger shield –
Acheloos tunnel, Greece
