A roughness parameter considering joint material properties and peak shear strength model for rock joints

Abstract

This study aims at proposing a reasonable roughness parameter that can reflect the peak shear strength (PSS) of rock joints. Firstly, the contribution of the asperities with different apparent dip angles to shear strength is studied. Then the shear strength of the entire joint asperities is derived. The results showed that the PSS of the entire joint asperities is proportional to a key parameter θτ, which is related to the geometric character of the joint surface and the joint material properties. The parameter θτ is taken as the new roughness parameter, and it is reasonable to associate the PSS with the geometric characteristics of the joint surface. Based on the new roughness parameter and shear test results of 20 sets of joint specimens, a new PSS model for rock joints is proposed. The new model is validated with the artificial joints in this paper and real rock joints in published studies. Results showed that it is suitable for different types of rock joints except for gneiss joints. The new model has the form of the Mohr-Coulomb model, which can directly reflect the relationship between the 3D roughness parameters and the peak dilation angle.