Introduction

• The term support is widely used to describe

the procedures and materials used to
improve the stability and maintain the load
carrying capability of rock near the
boundaries of underground excavations.
• The primary objective of support practice is
to mobilise and conserve the inherent
strength of the rock mass so that it becomes
self-supporting.
 Introduction
• Support is the application of a reactive force
to the surface of an excavation and includes
techniques and devices such as timber, fill,
shotcrete,mesh and steel or concrete sets or
liners.
• Reinforcement, on the other hand, is a
means of conserving or improving the overall
rock mass properties from within the rock
mass by techniques such as rock bolts, cable
bolts and ground anchors.
 Introduction
Support may be temporary or permanent.
• Temporary support was that support or
reinforcement installed to ensure safe working
conditions during mining.
• For centuries, such support consisted of some
form of timbering.
• If the excavation was required to remain open
for an extended period of time, permanent
support was installed subsequently.
• Quite often, the temporary support was partly
or wholly removed to enable the permanent
support to be installed.
Support and reinforcement principles
• Consider the example illustrated in Figure in which a
heading is being advanced by conventional drill and blast
methods.
• The pre-mining state of stress is assumed to be hydrostatic
and of magnitude p0.
• Blocked steel sets are installed after each drill and blast
cycle.
• The following discussion concerns the development of radial
displacement and radial support ‘pressure’ at a point on the
excavation periphery at section X–X as the heading
progressively advances to and beyond X–X.
• In this discussion, the term support will be used throughout
although the process involved may be one of support and
reinforcement or reinforcement alone.
• Following customary usage, the equivalent normal stress
applied to the excavation periphery by the support system,
will be termed the support pressure
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 1, the heading has not yet reached X–X
and the rock mass on the periphery of the
proposed profile is in equilibrium with an
internal support pressure, pi , acting equal and
opposite to p0.
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 2,
• the face has been advanced beyond X–X and the
support pressure, pi , previously provided by the
rock inside the excavation periphery, has been
reduced to zero.
• However, the apparently unsupported section of
the heading between the face and the last steel
set installed, is constrained to some extent by the
proximity of the face.
• Figure 11.2 shows the development with distance
from the face of radial displacement at the
periphery of a circular tunnel in an elastic material
subject to a hydrostatic in situ stress field.
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 2………………,
• In this case, the zone of influence of the face may be
defined as 2.25 radii, at which distance from the face, the
radial displacement is within approximately 5% of the
comparable plane strain value.
• The graph in Figure 11.1 shows a plot of the radial support
pressure, pi , required at a point to limit the radial boundary
displacement, δi, to the value given by the abscissa.
• If the restraint provided by the face at step 2 were not
available, internal support pressures given by the ordinates
of points B and C would be required to limit the
displacements to their actual values.
• Different curves are shown for the side walls and for the
roof.
• Extra support pressure is required to limit the displacement
of the roof to a particular value because of the extra load
imposed by the action of gravity on loosened rock in the
roof.
Support and reinforcement principles
• By step 3,
• the heading has been mucked out and steel sets
have been installed close to the face.
• At this stage, the sets carry no load because no
deformation of the rock has occurred since their
installation.
• This assumes that the rock mass does not exhibit
time-dependent stress–strain behaviour.
• On the graph in Figure 11.1, the radial
displacements of points in the roof and in the side
wall, are still those given by points B and C.
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 4,
• the heading is advanced about one and a half tunnel diameters
beyond X–X by a further cycle of drilling and blasting.
• The restraint offered by the proximity of the face is now negligible,
and there is further radial displacement of the rock surface at X–X as
indicated by the curves CEG and BFH in Figure 11.1.
• This induces load in the steel sets which are assumed to show linear
radial stress–displacement behaviour.
• Thus the supports typically load along a path such as DEF, known as
the support reaction or available support line.
• The curve representing the behaviour of the rock mass is known as
the ground characteristic or required support line.
• Equilibrium between the rock and the steel sets is reached at point E
for the side wall and point F for the roof.
• It is important to note that most of the redistributed stress arising
from creation of the excavation is carried by the rock and not by the
steel sets.
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 4………….,
• If steel sets had not been installed after the last
two stages of heading advance, the radial
displacements at X–X would have increased along
the dashed curves EG and FH.
• In the case of the side walls, equilibrium would
have been reached at point G.
• However, the support pressure required to limit
displacement of the roof may drop to a minimum
and then increase again as rock becomes
loosened and has to be held up.
• In this illustrative example, the roof would
collapse if no support were provided.
Support and reinforcement principles
• In step 4………….,
• The rational design of support and reinforcement
systems must take into account the interaction between
the support or reinforcing elements and the rock mass,
described qualitatively for this simple example.
• It is clear from this analysis that control of rock
displacements is the major role of support and
reinforcement systems.
• As Figure 11.1 shows, enough displacement must be
allowed to enable the rock mass strength to be
mobilised sufficiently to restrict required support loads
to practicable levels.
• However, excessive displacement, which would lead to
a loosening of the rock mass and a reduction in its load-
carrying capacity, must not be permitted to occur.
 Introduction
• The principle objective in the design of
underground excavation support is to help
the rock mass to support itself.
 Introduction
• The principle objective in the design of
underground excavation support is to help
the rock mass to support itself.
 Set Of Principles To Guide Support
And Reinforcement Practice.
A. Install the support and reinforcement close to the face
soon after excavation. (In some cases, it is possible, and
advisable, to install some reinforcement before excavation.
This case of pre-placed reinforcement or pre-reinforcement
will be discussed in section 11.4.)
B. There should be good contact between the rock mass and
the support and reinforcement system.
C. The deformability of the support and reinforcement system
should be such that it can conformto and accommodate
the displacements of the excavation surface.
D. Ideally, the support and reinforcement system should help
prevent deterioration of the mechanical properties of the
rock mass with time due to weathering, repeated loading
or wear.
E. Repeated removal and replacement of support and
reinforcing elements should be avoided.
Set Of Principles To Guide Support
And Reinforcement Practice.
 Set Of Principles To Guide Support
And Reinforcement Practice.
F. The support and reinforcement system should be
readily adaptable to changing rock mass conditions
and excavation cross section.
G. The support and reinforcing system should provide
minimum obstruction to the excavations and the
working face.
H. The rockmass surrounding the excavation should be
disturbed as little as possible during the excavation
process so as to conserve its inherent strength.
I. For accesses and other infrastructure excavations
under high stress conditions, support and
reinforcement performance can be improved by
“closing the ring” of shotcrete or a concrete lining
across the floor of the excavation.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
• Rock reinforcements are additional supports
provided to the rock structures to improve its
stability and load carrying capacity.
• Rock reinforcement utilizes the inherent
property of the rock structures to behave like
a self-supporting single unit.
• Rock reinforcements can be provided in the
form of rock bolts, rock anchors or rock
dowels.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Need for Rock Reinforcement
• Rocks may undergo widespread fractures that
result in falling out of individual rock blocks
leading to slope failure.
• Use of rock reinforcement helps to connect
these discontinuities in the rock and helps the
rock mass to behave as a single unit.
• These discontinuities are connected together
by the method of bolting which results in the
alteration of stresses throughout the rock
mass.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Types of Rock Reinforcement
• The support provided by rock reinforcements
can be either an active type or passive type.
• In the case of active support, a predetermined
load is imposed on the rock surface at the
time of installation.
• In passive type, a load is developed when the
rock mass deforms or displaces.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Types of Rock Reinforcement
• Different types of rock reinforcement used in
rock engineering applications are:
1. Rock Bolts
2. Rock Anchors
3. Rock Dowels
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Rock Bolts
• This type of rock reinforcement is mostly held
at the end of the borehole.
• They are steel rods which are grouted into the
rock.
• These have a grout anchor or friction on the
rock.
• Once the anchorage is attained, it is tensioned
and a compressive force is induced into the
surrounding ground.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Rock Bolts
• The induced axial force acts on the rock-mass
discontinuities which increases the shear
capacity of the mass.
• This shear capacity is induced through the
pre-tensioning of the bolt.
• The rock bolts used can be the following types
– Grouted rock bolts
– Grouted cable bolts
– Friction anchor rock bolts
– Mechanically anchored rock bolt
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Rock Dowels
• This is a passive type of rock reinforcement
which requires a ground displacement for its
activation.
• When the discontinuities in the rock mass are
subjected to displacement, the dowel
experiences both shear and tensile stresses.
 Rock Support and reinforcement
Rock Anchors
• This method of rock reinforcement makes use of
compressive or uplift force in order to stabilise any
structure or rock mass present in the ground or
underground. These are high tensile strength bars.
These are pre-tensioned by anchoring at the end of the
borehole.
• Rock anchors can be either un-tensioned anchors or
tensioned anchors. An un-tensioned anchor is a
passive type rock reinforcement which develops
tension with the deformations. The support increases
with the increase in development. A tensioned anchor
is an active type which supports completely and
immediately after installation. Failure of the rock mass
due to shear is resisted by rock anchors.