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Engineering Geology

Engineering Geology - geomuseu

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Chapter 9<br />

but occasionally it is used in the excavation of the floor. Because fewer cracks are produced<br />

in the surrounding rock, it is stronger and so the desired roof curvature can be maintained<br />

to the greatest possible extent. Hence, the load-carrying capacity of the rock mass is utilized<br />

properly.<br />

Analysis of Tunnel Support<br />

The time a rock mass may remain unsupported in a tunnel is called its stand-up time or bridging<br />

capacity. This mainly depends on the magnitude of the stresses within the unsupported<br />

rock mass, which in their turn depend on its span, strength and discontinuity pattern. If the<br />

bridging capacity of the rock is high, the rock material next to the heading will stay in place<br />

for a considerable time. In contrast, if the bridging capacity is low, the rock will immediately<br />

start to fall at the heading so that supports have to be erected as soon as possible.<br />

The primary support for a tunnel in rock masses excavated by drilling and blasting, in particular,<br />

may be provided by rock bolts (with or without reinforcing wire mesh), shotcrete or steel<br />

arches (Clough, 1981). Rock bolts maintain the stability of an opening by suspending the<br />

dead weight of a slab from the rock above; by providing a normal stress on the rock surface<br />

to clamp discontinuities together and develop beam action; by providing a confining pressure<br />

to increase shearing resistance and develop arch action; and by preventing key blocks from<br />

becoming loosened so that the strength and integrity of the rock mass is maintained.<br />

Shotcrete can be used for lining tunnels. For example, a layer 150 mm thick, around a tunnel<br />

10 m in diameter, can safely carry a load of 500 kPa, corresponding to a burden of approximately<br />

23 m of rock, more than has ever been observed with rock falls. When combined with<br />

rock bolting and reinforcing wire mesh, shotcrete has proved an excellent temporary support for<br />

all qualities of rock. In very bad cases, steel arches can be used for reinforcement of weaker<br />

tunnel sections.<br />

A classification of rock masses is of primary importance in relation to the design of the type<br />

of tunnel support. Lauffer’s (1958) classification represented an appreciable advance in the<br />

art of tunnelling since it introduced the concept of an active unsupported rock span and the<br />

corresponding stand-up time, both of which are very relevant parameters for determination of<br />

the type and amount of primary support in tunnels. The active span is the width of the tunnel<br />

or the distance from support to the face in cases where this is less than the width of the<br />

tunnel. The relationships found by Lauffer are given in Figure 9.16.<br />

Bieniawski (1974, 1989) maintained that the uniaxial compressive strength of rock material; the<br />

rock quality designation; the spacing, orientation and condition of the discontinuities; and<br />

groundwater inflow were the factors that should be considered in any engineering classification<br />

485

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