Shear Strength of Discontinuities: C Is The Cohesive Strength of The Cemented Surface and

4.
Shear strength of discontinuities

4.1 Introduction
All rock masses contain discontinuities such as bedding planes, joints, shear zones and
faults. At shallow depth, where stresses are low, failure of the intact rock material is
minimal and the behaviour of the rock mass is controlled by sliding on the
discontinuities. In order to analyse the stability of this system of individual rock blocks, it
is necessary to understand the factors that control the shear strength of the discontinuities
which separate the blocks. These questions are addressed in the discussion
that follows.
4.2 Shear strength of planar surfaces
uppose that a number of samples of a rock are obtained for shear testing. !ach sample
contains a through"going bedding plane that is cemented# in other words, a tensile force
would have to be applied to the two halves of the specimen in order to separate them. The
bedding plane is absolutely planar, having no surface irregularities or undulations. As
illustrated in $igure %.&, in a shear test each specimen is subjected to a stress n normal to
the bedding plane, and the shear stress , required to cause a displacement , is measured.
The shear stress will increase rapidly until the peak strength is reached. This corresponds
to the sum of the strength of the cementing material bonding the two halves of the
bedding plane together and the frictional resistance of the matching surfaces.
As the displacement continues, the shear stress will fall to some residual value that will
then remain constant, even for large shear displacements. 'lotting the peak and residual
shear strengths for different normal stresses results in the two lines illustrated in $igure
%.&. $or planar discontinuity surfaces the e(perimental points will generally fall along
straight lines. The peak strength line has a slope of and an intercept of c on the shear
strength a(is. The residual strength line has a slope of r. The relationship between the
peak shear strength p and the normal stress n can be represented by the )ohr"*oulomb
equation+
p = c + n tan
,here+
c = is the cohesive strength of the cemented surface and
- is the angle of friction.
$igure %.&+ hear testing of discontinuities .uji geser pada discontinuitas/
In the case of the residual strength, the cohesion c has dropped to zero and the
relationship between r and n can be represented by+
,here r is the residual angle of friction.
This e(ample has been discussed in order to illustrate the physical meaning of the term
cohesion, a soil mechanics term, which has been adopted by the rock mechanics
community. In shear tests on soils, the stress levels are generally an order of magnitude
lower than those involved in rock testing and the cohesive strength of a soil is a result of
the adhesion of the soil particles. In rock mechanics, true cohesion occurs when cemented
surfaces are sheared. 0owever, in many practical applications, the term cohesion is used
for convenience and it refers to a mathematical quantity related to surface roughness, as
discussed in a later section. *ohesion is simply the intercept on the a(is at zero normal
stress.
The basic friction angle b is a quantity that is fundamental to the understanding of the
shear strength of discontinuity surfaces. This is appro(imately equal to the residual
friction angle r but it is generally measured by testing sawn or ground rock surfaces.
These tests, which can be carried out on surfaces as small as 12 mm ( 12 mm, will
produce a straight line plot defined by the equation +
$igure %.3+ 4iagrammatic section through shear machine used by 0encher and 5ichards .&673/.
$igure %.8+ hear machine of the type used by 0encher and 5ichards .&673/ for measurement of
the shear strength of sheet joints in 0ong 9ong granite.
A typical shear testing machine, which can be used to determine the basic friction angle
b is illustrated in $igures %.3 and %.8. This is a very simple machine and the use of a
mechanical lever arm ensures that the normal load on the specimen remains constant
throughout the test. This is an important practical consideration since it is difficult to
maintain a constant normal load in hydraulically or pneumatically controlled systems and
this makes it difficult to interpret test data.
:ote that it is important that, in setting up the specimen, great care has to be taken to
ensure that the shear surface is aligned accurately in order to avoid the need for an
additional angle correction.
)ost shear strength determinations today are carried out by determining the basic friction
angle, as described above, and then making corrections for surface roughness as
discussed in the following sections of this chapter. In the past there was more emphasis
on testing full scale discontinuity surfaces, either in the laboratory or in the field. There
are a significant number of papers in the literature of the &6;2s and &6<2s describing
large and elaborate in situ shear tests, many of which were carried out to determine the
shear strength of weak layers in dam foundations. 0owever, the high cost of these tests
together with the difficulty of interpreting the results has resulted in a decline in the use
of these large scale tests and they are seldom seen today.
The author=s opinion is that it makes both economical and practical sense to carry out a
number of small scale laboratory shear tests, using equipment such as that illustrated in
$igures %.3 and %.8, to determine the basic friction angle. The roughness component
which is then added to this basic friction angle to give the effective friction angle is a
number which is site specific and scale dependent and is best obtained by visual estimates
in the field. 'ractical techniques for making these roughness angle estimates are
described on the following pages.
4.3 Shear strength of rough surfaces
A natural discontinuity surface in hard rock is never as smooth as a sawn or ground
surface of the type used for determining the basic friction angle. The undulations and
asperities on a natural joint surface have a significant influence on its shear behaviour.
>enerally, this surface roughness increases the shear strength of the surface, and this
strength increase is e(tremely important in terms of the stability of e(cavations in rock.
'atton .&6;;/ demonstrated this influence by means of an e(periment in which he carried
out shear tests on ?saw"tooth? specimens such as the one illustrated in $igure %.%. hear
displacement in these specimens occurs as a result of the surfaces moving up the inclined
faces, causing dilation .an increase in volume/ of the specimen. The shear strength of
'atton?s saw"tooth specimens can be represented by+
where
b is the basic friction angle of the surface and
i is the angle of the saw"tooth face.
$igure %.%+ 'atton=s e(periment on the shear strength of saw"tooth specimens.

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4.

Shear strength of discontinuities

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