Elements of rock mechanics, rock defects,

identification and treatment of rock

defects

Rock mechanics is the study of

rock behaviour in the solid state
under varying internal conditions
Main focus is how rocks respond
to stresses under lithospeheric
conditions

Stress
Same as pressure
Force/ area
Units in earth sciences are Mpa= 10 6 Pa =
10 bars=10atm=147 psi

Stress

Strain - Rock Deformation in Response to Stress

Rock responds to stress differently depending on the pressure and

temperature (deep in earth) and mineral composition of the rock

Elastic deformation: For small differential stresses, less than
the yield strength, rock deforms like a spring. It changes shape
by a very small amount in response to the stress, but the
deformation is not permanent. If the stress is reversed the rock
would return to its original shape
Brittle deformation: Near the Earth's surface rock behaves in its
familiar brittle way. If a differential stress is applied that is greater
than the rock's yield strength, the rock fractures. It breaks.
Ductile deformation: Deeper than 10-20 km, the enormous
lithostatic stress makes it nearly impossible to produce a fracture.
The high temperature makes rock softer, less brittle, more
malleable. Rock undergoes plastic deformation when a differential
stress is applied that is stronger than its yield strength. It flows.
This occurs in the lower continental crust and in the mantle

Strain

Lithospheric Pressure
The vertical component can calculated as Pc=gz,

where,
Pc = lithostatic pressure (also confining pressure)
=average density in g/cc
g= gavitational constant
z=depth
In the lithosphere Pc increases at about 25 30

Mpa/km
In general Pc increases at *10MPa/km

Lithostatic pressure
Confining pressure- due to the weight of the

surrounding rock
Unlike hydrostatic pressure which is equal in all
directions, lithostatic pressure is not always equal
in all directions. The principal compressive stress
1 may be oriented vertically or laterally
As confining pressure increases:
Rock strain proceeds from brittle to ductile behavior.
Ductile deformation dominates at Pc > 700 kg/cm2.
Higher confining pressures resists opening of fractures
Rock strength increases (greater amounts of strain
accumulate before failure occurs).

Lithostatic pressure
Rock strength decreases with:
Increasing temperatures (reduces rock strength
and increases ductility)
decreasing strain rate (increasing time); rocks
more ductile at lower strain rates.
Foliations
Increased porosity
Presence of water

Mechanics of deformation
Stress and Strain
Elastic Deformation
Plastic Deformation
Fracture (Rupture)

Stress, Strain and Deformation

Pressure and temperature

increase with the depth

inside the earth
The rate of increase is
roughly 300 C per kilometer
and 5000 psi per kilometer
of depth
This trend is shown in the
fig. At the surface of the
earth (low P and T) rocks
are brittle
The greater the depth
inside the earth, (increasing
P and T), the more ductile
rocks become

Stress, Strain and Deformation

Forces in the crustal rocks cause deformation

Rocks in general have relatively high compressive

strength and low tensile and shear strength

But under high pressure and temperature they become
ductile, a phenomenon of rocks known as the
rheological property
In ductile condition rocks undergo deformation, which is
the change in shape and volume of a rock under a load
Rocks experience either by ductile deformation and
flow, or by brittle deformation and fracture
In Brittle conditions, rocks experience change in shape.
The structures we observe on the surface of the earth
are a reflection of either ductile flow or of brittle fracture

Ductile
Deformation:
Folds

Ductile
Deformation:
Folds

When a set of horizontal layers is

subjected to compressive forces it
is bent. This bend is known as fold

Ductile
Deformation:
Folds
The bends noticed in rocks are

known as folds
When a set of horizontal layers
is subjected to compressive
forces it is bent as shown in the
fig.
Under ductile conditions rocks
fold or bend without breaking
Folds are best displayed by
stratified formations such as
sedimentary or volcanic
formations or their metamorphic
equivalents
Some folds are a few miles
across while others may be
measured in feet or inches or
even fraction of an inch

Folds Anticline and Syncline

Anticline and syncline

Anticline and syncline

Syncline and Anticline

Fig. The most common types of folds: synclines and anticlines. Note
that the youngest that the youngest rocks are found at center of a
syncline while the oldest are found at the center of an anticline

Plunging Anticline and syncline

Folds - Domes and basins

Dome

A hogback is a narrow ridge with steep sides formed by

inclined strata.

Folds

Brittle deformation
Very often rocks are subjected to high

pressure and when the pressure exceeds

the plastic limit, they break
This is known as brittle deformation
During brittle deformation two main styles
of fracture take place and they are: Joints
and Faults.
Both are the result of relatively rapid stress
with little scope for ductile deformation.
This normally takes place over the surface
rocks

JOINTS
Joints are fracture planes in rocks

along which there is, virtually no

displacement of the blocks on either
side
Most rocks are broken by relatively
smooth fractures and they are found
in all types of rocks
The length of such fractures is
measured in feet, tens of feet, or even
hundreds of feet.
If there is a movement parallel to the
surface of a joint, it would be
classified as a fault
Initially most joints are tight fractures,
but they may be enlarged into open
fissures because of weathering

JOINTS: Relevance in engineering

The orientation and concentration of joints is very

significant in engineering projects

Closely spaced horizontal joints are of great
concern in tunneling
A large joint dipping into a highway cut is the site
of potential landslide
Joints cause leakage of water in dams and
reservoirs
Wells drilled in granites for water supply are more
productive in highly jointed rocks than in less
jointed rocks
Joints facilitate quarrying. Quarry operations
involved in obtaining blocks of certain dimensions
and sizes are decided by joints

JOINTS

Joint system; Geometric classification:

Intersecting sets of joint

In crystalline rocks, two sets

of vertical joints, one set of

horizontal joints and another
set of diagonal joints form
Joints may have any attitude;
some joints are vertical,
others are horizontal and
many are inclined at various
angles
The strike and dip are
measured in the same way as
bedding
The strike is the direction of a
horizontal line on the surface
of the joint
The dip is the angle between
the joint and a horizontal
plane measured in a vertical
plane at right angles to the
strike of the joint

JOINTS

(CONTINUED)

Sets of joints

A series of parallel joints is

called a joint set

More than one set of
intersecting joint is known
as a joint system
A persistent big joint is
called a master joint
Joints may be closed or
open
The closed joints are also
known as latent, blind or
incipient joints and they
may become open as a
result of weathering

Types of Joints:

Tensional Joints:

Genetic
Classification
these
are also
known as shrinkage
joints
Compressional
joints: These are
developed due to
compressional forces
Shear joints:
These are formed
under the forces
acing as a couple

Types of Joints
Tensional Joints: these are

Columnar joints in basalt

Sheet joints

also known as shrinkage

joints
In igneous (basalts) rocks,
they are produced as a
consequence of contraction
due to cooling
Columnar structure
(tensional joints) which is
found in basalts consists of
long hexagonal blocks

Sheet joints

Sheet joints: these

joints develop in sets

and are more or less
parallel to the ground
surface, especially in
plutonic intrusions
such as granite
They originate due to
unloading the rock
mass above through
the process of
weathering

Types of Joints:

Genetic Classification

Exfoliation

Domes- -Spherical
joint surfaces of
intrusive/metamorph
ic rocks; Common in
steep topography

FAULTS

FAULTS
Faults are well defined cracks

along which the opposite blocks

have moved past each other
The essential feature is
differential movement at the
surface of the fracture
Some faults are only a few
inches long, and the total
displacement is measured in
fractions of an inch, while others
are hundreds of miles long with a
displacement measured in miles
From the civil engineering point
of view, faults are the most
unfavourable and undesirable
geological structures

FAULTS

Presence of faults in the site

is always harmful for

purposes like location of
dams
Further, as long as the faults
are active, the site is
unstable and susceptible to
movements along the fault
plane, thereby making the
site highly hazardous for
foundation purposes
Special care is to be taken in
investigations to avoid the
sites of active or passive fault
zones when any major
construction activity is taken
up

Different faults

Faults normal/ gravity fault

Faults Normal fault

Faults reverse/thrust fault

Reverse or thrust fault

Strike-slip or lateral fault

Strike-slip fault

Oblique or diagonal-slip fault

Different structures

Rock defects and identification

Rocks only when they are deeply buried, the

possess ductile nature.

But rocks above the ground become brittle.
Even those ductile rocks when they suffered
strain become highly fractured the moment
they are exposed
Rock defects are easily identified when the
rocks are exposed on the ground surface
But when they are covered by a thick
overburden, the only way left is by subsurface
methods like resistivity method and coring

Rock defects and identification

Rock defects have

geotechnical significance
Brittle deformation of rocks
and/or sedimentation
processes introduce defects
They have variable geometry,
continuity, shear strength and
cohesion
Such defects could significantly
reduce the rock block or rock
mass strength, especially in an
unconfined situation
It is typical industry practice
when describing a drill core, to
call fractures that do not have Example of continuous block forming
bonding cement, as open joints and discontinuous joints in the rock
outcrop (above) and in the drill core

Rock defects and identification

The special categories of open

defects are small discontinuous

fractures or micro fractures
However, rock defects can change
their strength characteristics with
time and location.
For example open joints invaded by
hydrothermal fluids could become
cemented with minerals and
similarly, mineral cement could be
leached out of joints by ground water
flow
Special categories of cemented
defects are mineral veins and
veinlets such as those on copper
porphyries

Types of small scale defects. In the picture above small

fractures in the rock. Small fractures significantly reduce the
rock block strength. Relatively strong micro defects survived

Rock defects and

identification

Foliated Rocks or
sedimentary rocks which
have well developed
bedding planes exhibit
strong weakness and are
challenging

Highly foliated in the

picture (right above) is very
tsrong and has low
weakness

Rock defects and

identification
The bedding planes in sedimentary rocks (left picture)
from Cogo show moderate rock strength
The same sedimentary rocks (right side picture) when
they are found close to a fault show a very low strength

Treatment of rock defects

Treatment of rock defects is different from treatment

of soft rock and soils

Treatment of rock defects refer to the fractures found
in the hard rocks
This requires techniques like grouting and rock nailing
Treatment of soft rocks or soils require techniques like
dry soil mixing, dynamic compaction, rapid impact
compaction, vibro cvompaction, geotextile, etc
Here the concern is with regard to treatment of
defects in rocks
It means only the defects in hard rocks

Treatment of rock defects

Treatments of defects in rock masses is done

for the following purposes:

Enhance

the load-bearing properties of the

ground
Control of seepage in case of dams
Providing foundation support for structures

It is done by grouting

Grouting
Grouting is one of the important techniques used in

developing the ground in engineering projects

Injecting cementing material into a soil mass reduces
permeability and increases strength
Grout injection into fractured rock which forms the foundation
of a dam is possibly the oldest and best known application
Grout is a fluid that sets once it is in place in the cracks and
grouting is the process of filling open cracks and voids
Holes are drilled into the ground and grout is pumped down
into it
If suitable grout and methods are used the grout spreads out
into the open joints and voids and fill them
This is used in the foundations of dams and other large civil
engineering structures.

Grouting
Different grouts: There

several types of grout and

some of them are:
Cement

Compaction
grouting

grout
Chemical grout
Clay grout
Jet grouting
Compaction grouting