Abstract
Engineering and hydrogeological behaviors of rock masses are intimately related to the intensity, extension and orientation of discontinuities hosted by the rock. Qualitative descriptions of such discontinuities provides general base information about any type of engineering structure such as dams, highways, pressure tunnels, airports, etc. However, more significantly, their quantitative descriptions are of prime importance especially concerning design variables. One of the most used indices in this regard is the Rock Quality Designation (RQD). So far in the literature only one-dimensional assessments of RQD are available along scanlines such as tunnel axis or along highway rock cuttings. This paper extends the concept of RQD into two dimensions which helps to assess the rock quality on a regional basis. The technique proposed herein is based on lying a regular mesh over the study area and calculating the regional RRQD values at nodal points by considering two orthogonal directions along which conventional RQD9s are obtained. Based on these nodal points contour maps or three-dimensional appearances of RQD within the region are presented.
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