Rock Mechanics

Analytic Modeling of Rock-Structure Interaction

Jeremy Isenberg
U.S. Bureau of Mines
R-7215-2299
August 1972

A number of recent advances in finite element theory and computer technology are combined into a computer program for analysing structures and cavities in rock. The program applies to general three-dimensional forms, considers non-linear material properties including joints, anisotropic and time-dependent material properties, gravity loading and sequence of construction or excavator. Example problems, demonstrating the ability of the program to reproduce ideal situations having closed-form, analytic solutions are solved.

Blasting for Rock Excavations

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
EM 1110-2-3800
30 October 2018

This manual describes theory, concepts, and procedures surrounding rock excavation through the use of blasting agents and methods for use on Civil Works and Military Construction projects. It is intended to provide guidance to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel (USACE) involved in the planning, design, monitoring, or implementation of blasting programs for rock excavation.

The scope of this manual is limited to the use of blasting agents and methods for the purposes of rock excavation. While this may involve the removal of overburden, blasting near structures, and other specialty methods, this manual does not cover demolition of structures, or the use of explosives for ordinance. It is intended to acquaint the practitioner with the materials, tools, and methods for executing blasting programs for rock excavation. It is also intended as a guide for engineers and geologists designing excavation programs and for construction monitor­ing of those programs.

There are many tools and techniques available for rock excavation, but few are as economical as the use of explosives. Rock blasting is effective for work as small as boulder re­moval (which use only very small amounts of explosives), to large scale excavations for mining, dam foundations, building foundations, lock construction, tunneling, and roadway building. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that, in 2012, total annual explosives consumption in the United States was 3.38 million metric tons and that explosives are used in “…virtually every segment of the manufacturing and major construction industry” (Apodaca 2012). Even though blasting ma­terials are potentially dangerous and must always be handled with respect, caution, and great care, these blasting agents are vital part of the engineering toolbox.

Literature Review of Rock Properties for Analysis of Navigation Structures Founded on Rock

Carl Philip Benson
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
October 1986

A review of behavioural rock properties used for input to the finite element method are summarized. Rock properties presented in the literature were primarily obtained from laboratory specimens. Methods to determine applicable field properties via testing , calculations and empirical correlations are included. Suggested behavioural properties of the structural concrete-to-rock interface are proposed. Specific property values, resulting from the literature review, are presented as input for a finite element parametric evaluation of navigation structures .

Rock Blasting and Overbreak Control

FHWA-HI-92-001
December 1991

This handbook is specifically designed as a guide to highway engineers and blasting practitioners working with highway applications. It was used as a handbook for the FHWA courses of the above title. The handbook is a basic review of explosives and their characteristics, along with explosive selection criteria. Initiations and timing effects as well as patterns are also discussed.

A simple step by step procedure is outlined to help the engineer review blasting submittals in a systematic fashion. Air blast and ground vibration are discussed along with methods for evaluation and control. Several solved examples are presented in a manner to simplify the necessary calculations with step by step procedures given where appropriate.

Rock Engineering

We also offer the companion software RocLab for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/XP, which includes online help and instructions.

Click here to download RocLab.

Evert Hoek

A complete treatment on the subject. Topics include the following:

  • Development of Rock Engineering
  • When is a rock engineering design acceptable
  • Rock mass classification
  • Shear strength of discontinuities
  • Structurally controlled instability in tunnels
  • The Rio Grande project–Argentina
  • A slope stability problem in Hong Kong
  • Factor of safety and probability of failure
  • Analysis of rock fall hazards
  • In situ and induced stresses
  • Rock mass properties
  • Tunnels in weak rock
  • Large powerhouse caverns in weak rock
  • Rock bolts and cables
  • Shotcrete support
  • Blasting damage in rock
  • References

Rock Foundations

EM 1110-1-2908
30 November 1994

This manual is intended to provide, where possible, a guided approach for the design of rock foundations. The concept of guided design provides for a stepped procedure for solving engineering problems that requires solution by decision making and judgement. Any design which involves rock masses requires a decision making process in which information must be obtained, considered, and reconciled before decisions and judgements can be made and supported. As such, the manual provides a stepped procedure for planning, collecting, and characterizing the information required to make intelligent decisions and value judgements concerning subsurface conditions, properties, and behaviour. A fully coordinated team of geotechnical and structural engineers and engineering geologists are required to insure that rock foundation conditions and design are properly integrated into the overall design of the structure and that the completed final design of the structure is safe, efficient, and economical. Foundation characterization and design work should be guided by appropriate principles of rock mechanics.

Rockfall Hazard Rating System – Participants’ Manual

Lawrence A. Pierson, C.E.G. and Robert Van Vickle, R.P.G.
FHWA-SA-93-057
August 1993

Development of the Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS) is complete. The system has been fully tested and implemented by the Oregon Department of Transportation. The RHRS is a process used in the management of rockfall sites adjacent to highways. The system is proactive by design, providing a rational way to make informed decisions on where and how to spend construction funds in order to reduce the risks associated with rockfall.

This Participant’s Manual documents the components of the RHRS, the steps an agency should follow to implement the system, and discusses the level of commitment required. The benefits of implementation and the limitations of the system are also described. The manual serves as both a field guide and as a desk top reference for those who perform the slope ratings and those who use the resulting database in establishing rockfall remediation designs and construction priorities.