Research on Strength-Deformability-Water Pressure Relationships for Faults in Direct Shear
Abstract
A program of direct shear tests on samples of rock joints was initiated to gain an improved picture of the deformation and strength of jointed rock masses under load. The shear testing machine, developed under an NSF grant, and improved during this project, allows water pressure to be monitored in the joint plane during shearing. Seventy-two tests were conducted in this first year of an intended 3 year's program; artificial joints were created in two rock types--granite and sandstone-- with varying wall roughness, filling material thickness, and environmental conditions. Joints and faults exert controls on rock movement below ground and their weakness and deformability limit the 'hardness' of underground sites. Furthermore, water pressure phenomena create difficulties for design and construction. This research has added to the technology basis to rational engineering with rock masses. In the work, basic phenomena of jointed rock are being examined experimentally for the first time permitting formulation of correct constitutive laws for joints that are vital to numerical and physical modelling.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0747673
Entities
People
- F. E. Heuze
- R. E. Goodman
- Y. Ohnishi
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley