Integrating rock mechanics and structural geology in rock engineering

Abstract

One of the major challenges facing rock engineers is that of establishing the bulk properties of the fractured rock mass on which or in which they are working. These are controlled principally by the geometry of the fracture network and the properties of the individual fractures. The network is built up by the superposition of separate fracture sets, each related to a geological event (burial tectonism and exhumation). In structural geology ‘fracture analysis’ is used to determine the order in which the sets are superimposed and knowing this, the 3D geometry of the network can be determined. Examination of the fracture surfaces can also reveal whether they are shear or extensional. Provided with this information the rock engineer can then combine it with site specific tests on the properties of the individual fracture sets and begin to quantify the likely physical behaviour of rock masses on an engineering scale. This paper presents a brief introduction to the concepts of fracture analysis, and goes on to show how these can usefully by integrated with typical rock mechanics analyses to give improved data for rock engineering design.