Abstract
AbstractRock anchors are high-capacity reinforcement measures used to stabilize large-scale infrastructures. According to the literature, they can fail in one of the four ways: (1) steel tensile failure; (2) tendon–grout interface failure; (3) grout–rock interface failure; and (4) rock mass uplift failure. Rock mass uplift field tests were performed in a limestone quarry to test this fourth failure mode. The tests were designed to induce rock mass failure around rock anchors. The ground surface heaved asymmetrically around the anchors and the pre-existing joints in the rock mass tended to open first. The seismic activity in the rock mass was greatest close to the anchor, decreasing with distance. The failure crater in the rock followed the joint sets in the rock mass, and the shape was partly controlled by the pre-existing joints. The apex angle of the failures was measured to be between 125 and 140$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ . The horizontal stress in the rock mass increased when the anchor was pulled, indicating load arching around the anchor. The observed failure was a combination of rock mass uplift and grout–rock bond failure. The measured anchor capacity was much higher than the estimated rock mass capacity using the recommended design methods of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
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