Abstract
Abstract One of the main inputs when estimating the shear strength of rock discontinuities, according to most existing strength criteria, is what is known as the basic friction angle, which is a parameter that responds to the frictional resistance of a planar, unfilled, and nonweathered rock joint. The basic friction angle can be estimated according to various procedures, although the tilt test is the simplest and possibly the most popular approach. With a view to standardizing tilt-test procedures, the present study provides experimental results regarding the influence of factors such as tilting rate, machine vibrations, and rock surface wear and roughness on sliding angle values. The tilting rate has been statistically and experimentally proved to scantily affect tilt test results when using motorized tilting tables and, by observing certain cutting guidelines, it is possible to expect reasonably representative and reproducible results. Nevertheless, the effect of wear associated with repeated testing and of microroughness significantly affects the resulting basic friction angle values. General recommendations are provided regarding better control of the studied factors as well as test results.
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