RIS ID
36821
Abstract
Soil-infi lled discontinuities adversely infl uence the stability of rockmass, because, the infi ll materials especially when saturated, drastically reduce the shear strength. The angle of shearing resistance of a discontinuity decreases signifi cantly for increasing infi ll thickness. Once it reaches a critical thickness, the shear strength of the discontinuity will be governed only by the infi ll material and the rock-walls effect becomes negligible. Owing to the lack of research on the shear behavior of infi lled rock joints, it has been common practice to assume that the shear strength of the joint is that of the infi ll material alone. This assumption can often lead to signifi cant underestimation of the joint strength. This paper provides a critical analysis of selected soil-infi lled joint models and the peak shear strengths were compared with experiental data. For the Interference zone, the modifi ed shear displacement model better predicts the peak shear strength of the joint. For the Non-Interference zone all the models predict peak shear strength accurately.
Publication Details
Indraratna, B, Premadasa, WN, Oliveira, DA & Welideniya, HS, Development of sediment-infilled rock joint models and implications on rockmass stability, In Khalili, N and Oeser, M (eds), 13th International Conference of the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, 2011, 290-295, Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety, Sydney, Australia.