An experimental study on the shallow underground openings in rock mass with hexagonal discontinuity pattern

Abstract

Various discontinuity patterns are observed in rock masses as a result of their geological past. One of the common discontinuity patterns is the hexagonal pattern. This pattern is mostly observed in all extrusive volcanic rocks such as basalt, andesite, rhyolite and welded tuffs. In this study, the authors investigate the stability of shallow underground openings in rock mass with hexagonal discontinuity pattern through model tests. Furthermore, some considerations are given to the failure mechanism, which could be utilized for developing limiting equilibrium methods to assess their stability and displacement responses. The outcomes of these experimental studies are presented and their implications in practice are discussed.