ROCK ENGINEERING IN

UNDERGROUND MINING

Laboratorium Geomekanik dan Rekayasa Batuan

Program Studi Teknik Pertambangan
Universitas Hasanuddin

INTRODUCTION

Rock mechanics is the study of mechanics applied to rock and rock masses.

'Engineering rock mechanics' is this study within an engineering context,

rather than in the context of natural processes that occur in the Earth's crust,
such as folding and faulting.

Rock engineering refers to the process of engineering with rock, and

especially to creating structures on or in rock masses, such as slopes
alongside roads and railways, dam foundations, shafts, tunnels, caverns,
mines, and petroleum wellbores.

Geotechnical engineering, has been defined as the application of the

sciences of soil mechanics and rock mechanics, engineering geology and
other related disciplines to civil engineering construction, the extractive
industries and the preservation and enhancement of the environment.

Pertambangan

Teknik sipil
-

Lokasi dekat permukaan

Permanen
Keamanan dan kenyamanan tinggi
Soil - batuan

Lokasi dangkal dalam

Relatif Sementara
Keamanan
Batuan

Management

Mine
planning and
design

Mine geology

Production

Rock mechanics

ROCK PROPERTIES AND MECHANICAL BEHAVIORS

Rock physical properties
Rock

density (r) is a measure of mass of the rock contained in a given

unit volume (density = mass/volume).

Porosity

(f) is defined to be the ratio of a volume of void spaces within

a rock to the total bulk volume of the rock.
Berat contoh asli (natural): Wn
Berat contoh kering (sesudah dimasukkan ke dalam oven
selama 24 jam dgn T 90oC): Wo
Berat contoh jenuh (sesudah dijenuhkan dlm air selama
24 jam): Ww
Berat contoh jenuh didalam air: Ws
Volume contoh tanpa pori-pori: Wo - Ws
Volume contoh total: Ww - Ws

Rock mechanical properties

Rock

mechanical properties mainly include elastic modulus (E),

Poissons ratio (n), and rock strength (compressive strength, tensile
strength, shear strength).

UCS classification

ROCK MASS CLASSIFICATION

Rock

material is the term used to describe the intact rock between

discontinuities; it might be represented by a hand specimen or piece
of drill core examined in the laboratory

 The

rock mass is the total in situ medium containing bedding planes,

faults, joints, folds and other structural features.

Rock

masses are discontinuous and often have heterogeneous and

anisotropic engineering properties.

ROCK QUALITY DESIGNATION INDEX (RQD), DEERE et al

1967

Palmstrom, 1982
RQD = 115 3.3 Jv

Jv is number of joints present

in a cubic metre of rock

ROCK MASS RATING (BIENIAWSKI, 1973)

Rock Mass Rating System (After Bieniawski, 1989).

Quis-1

tunnel is to be driven through a slightly weathered granite with a

dominant joint set dipping at 60o against the direction of the drive.
Index testing and logging of diamond drilled core give typical Pointload strength index values of 8 MPa and average RQD values of 70%.
The slightly rough and slightly weathered joints with a separation of < 1
mm, are spaced at 300 mm. Tunnelling conditions are anticipated to
be wet.
Condition of discontinu:
1-3 m discontinuity length, separation 0.1-1.0 mm, slightly rough, no infilling, and (slightly
weathered

A tunnel is to be driven through a slightly weathered granite with a dominant joint set dipping
at 60o against the direction of the drive. Index testing and logging of diamond drilled core
give typical Point-load strength index values of 8 MPa and average RQD values of 70%. The
slightly rough and slightly weathered joints with a separation of < 1 mm, are spaced at 300
mm. Tunnelling conditions are anticipated to be wet.

Condition of discontinu:
1-3 m discontinuity length = 4,
separation 0.1-1.0 mm = 4,
slightly rough = 3,
no infilling = 6,
slightly weathered = 5

Relationship between Stand-up time, span

and RMR classification, after Bieniawski (1989).

NGI TUNNELLING QUALITY INDEX

ROCK MASS QUALITY - Q SYSTEM (BARTON, LIEN and LUNDE,
1974)
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).

Q=

Q is rock mass quality Q-system

is rock quality designation
is joint set number
is joint roughness number
is joint alteration
is joint water
is stress reduction factor

A. Block Sizes
1. Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
2. Number of joint sets ( )

C. Active Stresses
5. Water inflow ( )
6. Stress condition ()

B. Inter-block Shear Strength

3. Roughness of the most unfavourable joint or discontinuity ( )
4. Degree of alteration or filling along the weakest joint ( )

Classification of
individual parameters
used in the Q System
(Barton, 2002a)

QUIS-2

highly fractured siltstone rock mass, found to have 2 joint sets and
many random fractures, average RQD is 41%, joints appears
continuous observed in tunnel, joint surfaces are slickensided and
undulating, and are highly weathered, joint are separated by about 35 mm, filled with clay, average rock material uniaxial compressive
strength is 65 MPa, inflow per 10 m tunnel length is observed at
approximately 50 litre/minute, with considerable outwash of joint
fillings. The tunnel is at 220 m below ground. Unit weight of the sillstone
is 0.027MN/m3.

SUPPORT
Barton

et al. (1974) defined a parameter that they called Equivalent

Dimension, De, of the excavation. This dimension is obtained by
dividing the span, diameter or wall height of the excavation by a
quantity called the Excavation Support Ratio, ESR.

, ()
,

Table Excavation support categories and their ESR values (After Barton et
al., 1974).

The Q support chart (from Grimstad and Barton, 1993).

CORRELATION OF ROCK MASS CLASSIFICATIONS

Choquet and Hadjigeorgiou (1993).

GEOLOGICAL STRENGTH INDEX (HOEK, 1994)

It

was aimed to estimate the reduction in rock mass strength for

different geological conditions

The

system gives a GSI value estimated from rock mass structure and
rock discontinuity surface condition.

The

direct application of GSI value is to estimate the parameters in the

Hoek-Brown strength criterion for rock masses.

GENERALISED HOEK-BROWN CRITERION

1 = 3 + (
1 3

s and a

3
+ )

are the maximum and minimum stresses

is the value of the Hoek-Brown constant m for the rock mass
are constants which depend upon the rock mass characteristics
is the uniaxial compressive strength of the intact rock pieces

For the intact rock pieces

1 = 3 + (

3
+ 1)0.5

In order to use the Hoek-Brown criterion for estimating the strength and
deformability of jointed rock masses, three properties of the rock mass have to be
estimated. These are;
1. the uniaxial compressive strength sci of the intact rock elements,
2. the value of the Hoek-Brown constant mi for these intact rock elements, and
3. the value of the Geological Strength Index GSI for the rock mass.

Field estimates of uniaxial

compressive strength.

Values of the constant mi for intact rock,

by rock group. Note that values
in parenthesis are estimates

Idealised diagram showing the

transition from intact to a heavily
jointed rock mass with increasing
sample size

Once the Geological Strength Index has been estimated, the parameters that describe the rock
mass strength characteristics, are calculated as follows:
100
= exp(
)
28

 For better quality rock masses (GSI > 25), the value of GSI can be estimated directly from the
1976 version of Bieniawskis Rock Mass Rating, with the Groundwater rating set to 10 (dry) and
the Adjustment for Joint Orientation set to 0 (very favourable) (Bieniawski 1976).
For very poor quality rock masses the value of RMR is very difficult to estimate and the balance
between the ratings no longer gives a reliable basis for estimating rock mass strength.
Consequently, Bieniawskis RMR classification should not be used for estimating the GSI values
for poor quality rock masses (RMR < 25) and the GSI charts should be used directly.
If the 1989 version of Bieniawskis RMR classification (Bieniawski 1989) is used, then
GSI = RMR89 - 5
where RMR89 has the Groundwater rating set to 15 and the Adjustment for Joint Orientation set
to zero.

Characterisation of a blocky rock masses on

the basis of particle interlocking and
discontinuity condition. After Hoek, Marinos
and Benissi (1998).

Characterisation of a schistose
metamorphic rock masses on the basis
of foliation and discontinuity condition.
(After M. Truzman, 1999)

REFERENCES

Bieniawski, Z.T., 1974, Geomechanics classification of rock masses and its application in tunneling,
Proc. 3rd Congress of International Society for Rock Mechanics, Denver, 27-32

Bieniawski, Z.T., 1989, Engineering rock mass classifications, A complete manual for engineers and
geologists in mining, civil, and petroleum engineering, Jhon Wiley & Sons, USA

Barton, N., Lien, R., and Lunde, J., 1974, Engineering classification of rock masses for the design of
tunnel support, Rock Mechanics 6, 189-236

Deere, D.U., Hendron, A.J., Patton, F.D., Cording, E.J., 1967, Design of surface and near surface
construction in rock, Proc. 8th U.S. Symposium Rock Mechanics, New York, 237-302

Grimstad, E., and Barton, N., 1993, Updating the Q-System for NMT, Proc. Of the International
Symposium on Sprayed Concrete-Modern Use of Wet Mix Sprayed Concrete for Underground
Support, Fagernes

Hoek E. and Brown E.T., 1980: Underground excavations in rock, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy,
London

Evert Hoek , 2001, Rock mass properties for underground mines

Brady and Brown, 2005, Rock mechanics for underground mining, third edition, Kluwer academic
publishers,New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow

Peng, S., and Zhang, J., 2007, Engineering Geology for Underground Rocks, Springer

Thank you for attention

Purwanto@unhas.ac.id
ipurru@yahoo.com
081241959407