Rock quality classification

Having tests that give an idea of

the quality of the rock mass is
essential for engineering purposes
What are we calling a rock?
Grade Description Lithology Excavation Foundations

VI Soil Some organic content, May need to Unsuitable

no original structure save and re-use

V Completely Decomposed soil, some Scrape Assess by soil

weathered remnant structure testing

IV Highly Partly changed to soil, Scrape NB Variable and

weathered soil > rock corestones unreliable

III Moderately Partly changes to soil, Rip Good for most

weathered rock > soil small structures

II Slightly Increased fractures and Blast Good for

weathered mineral staining anything except
large dams
I Fresh rock Clean rock Blast Sound

Engineering classification of weathered rock

Rock Mass Strength
• 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

• orientation
• spacing
• length
• roughness
• aperture
• filling
• block size
Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
• Quantitative estimate of rock mass quality
from drill core logs
– % intact core pieces >10cm in total length of core

• Deere et al., 1967

Rock Quality Designation (RQD)
RQD

RQD
A. Very poor 0 – 25
B. Poor 25 – 50
C. Fair 50 – 75
D. Good 75 – 90
E. Excellent 90 - 100
RMR and Q Rock classification
systems

• Primary use of RQD is as a parameter in

more widely used
– RMR (Bieniawski, 1976) and
– Q Rock (Barton et al., 1974)
classification systems
Rock Mass Rating (RMR),
Bieniawski (1976, 1989)

• Classifies rock according to 6 parameters:

– UCS
– RQD
– Spacing of discontinuities
– Condition of discontinuities
– Groundwater conditions
– Discontinuity orientation
RMR or ‘Geomechanics
Classification’
Rock Tunnelling Quality Index, Q
(or Norwegian Q system), Barton et al., 1974

⎛ RQD ⎞ ⎛ Jr ⎞ ⎛ Jw ⎞
Q=⎜ ⎟×⎜ ⎟×⎜ ⎟
⎝ Jn ⎠ ⎝ Ja ⎠ ⎝ SRF ⎠
RQD = Rock Quality Designation 100 - 10
Jn = Joint set number 1 – 20
Jr = Joint roughness factor 4 -1
Ja = Joint alteration and clay fillings 1 – 20
Jw = Joint water inflow or pressure 1 – 0.1
SRF = stress reduction factor 1 – 20

Typically: 0.01 < Q <100

Q system

⎛ RQD ⎞ ⎛ Jr ⎞ ⎛ Jw ⎞
Q=⎜ ⎟×⎜ ⎟×⎜ ⎟
⎝ Jn ⎠ ⎝ Ja ⎠ ⎝ SRF ⎠

• (RQD/Jn) = crude measure of block size

• (Jr/Ja) = roughness/friction of surfaces
• (Jw/SRF) = ratio of two stress parameters (active stress)
Guideline properties of Rock Mass
Classes
Using Rock Mass Classification
Systems

• RMR and Q most widely used

• Both use similar parameters; difference in
weighting
Using Rock Mass Classification
Systems

• Good practice to
assign a range of
values

Field example
 CN Tower, Toronto

• World’s tallest free-standing

structure
• 550m high, 110,000 tonnes
• Foundations:
– shale
– UCS = 10 – 25 MPa
– E = 3.7 GPa
– RQD = 50 – 70 %
• Mean load = 580 kPa
– supported by slab foundation