Analysis of Inflatable Rock Bolts

Abstract

An inflatable bolt is integrated in the rock mass through the friction and mechanical interlock at the bolt–rock interface. The pullout resistance of the inflatable bolt is determined by the contact stress at the interface. The contact stress is composed of two parts, termed the primary and secondary contact stresses. The former refers to the stress established during bolt installation and the latter is mobilized when the bolt tends to slip in the borehole owing to the roughness of the borehole surface. The existing analysis of the inflatable rock bolt does not appropriately describe the interaction between the bolt and the rock since the influence of the folded tongue of the bolt on the stiffness of the bolt and the elastic rebound of the bolt tube in the end of bolt installation are ignored. The interaction of the inflatable bolt with the rock is thoroughly analysed by taking into account the elastic displacements of the rock mass and the bolt tube during and after bolt installation in this article. The study aims to reveal the influence of the bolt tongue on the contact stress and the different anchoring mechanisms of the bolt in hard and soft rocks. A new solution to the primary contact stress is derived, which is more realistic than the existing one in describing the interaction between the bolt and the rock. The mechanism of the secondary contact stress is also discussed from the point of view of the mechanical behaviour of the asperities on the borehole surface. The analytical solutions are in agreement with both the laboratory and field pullout test results. The analysis reveals that the primary contact stress decreases with the Young’s modulus of the rock mass and increases with the borehole diameter and installation pump pressure. The primary contact stress can be easily established in soft and weak rock but is low or zero in hard and strong rock. In soft and weak rock, the primary contact stress is crucially important for the anchorage of the bolt, while in hard and strong rock it is the secondary contact stress that plays a vital role.