MODELING OF BOLTED JOINT BEHAVIOUR UNDER

CONSTANT NORMAL STIFFNESS CONDITIONS -

LABORATORY STUDY


B. Indraratna
1
, N. I. Aziz
2
and A. Dey
3




ABSTRACT

The shear behaviour of grouted joints has been studied in the recent past using the conventional direct
shear apparatus, where the normal load on the joint plane is kept constant during testing. The Constant
Normal Stiffness (CNS) condition is adopted in this study of shear behaviour of bolted joints, as the CNS
condition represents a better approximation of the deformation behaviour of grouted joints in underground
excavations as compared to the conventional Constant Normal Load (CNL) condition. A series of tests were
conducted to study the behaviour of these stabilised joints under constant normal stiffness condition at an
initial normal stress ranging from 0.13 MPa to 3.25 MPa, using a large scale CNS testing machine at a
controlled strain rate of 0.5 mm/min. An analytical model has been developed to predict the shear resistance
of bolted joints using the Fourier Series. The shear resistance of the bolted joint was defined as a function
of the applied initial normal stress, the normal stiffness of the surrounding rock mass and the shear stiffness
of the bolt. Fourier series was used to formulate the dilation behaviour during shearing, which in effect was
utilized to predict the variation of normal stress during test process. Thus, using the analytical model, the
complete stress profile for the bolted joint could be predicted at any normal stress and stiffness condition.
The laboratory results were found to compare favourably with the predicted stress profiles from the model.

INTRODUCTION

Rock mass reinforcement by means of grouted bolts or cables is the most commonly adopted stabilisation
technique in underground mines and other excavations. Because of the full bond over the entire length,
these bolts furnish a quasi-homogeneous reinforcement of the rock mass. Despite the enormous use of fully
grouted bolts in underground openings and foundation engineering, the present state of the art of bolting
knowledge does not provide enough information on their bearing capacity and the mode of failure. This
paper describes an analytical model for predicting the complete stress profile of bolted joints using Fourier
analysis and its verification through laboratory experiments.
The rock bolt research gained a momentum with the introduction of New Austrian Tunneling Method
(NATM) in the early sixties, where fully grouted bolts were used as one of the major support components in
the tunnel. Bjurstrm (1974) reported a systematic study on the behaviour of fully grouted bolt to predict
the shear strength of bolted joint based on friction angle, normal stress and the inclination of bolt with
respect to joint plane. Hass (1981) reported a laboratory study on limestone and schist blocks with resin-
grouted bolts at various angles. It was concluded that inclined bolts were stiffer and contributed more to the
shear strength of the bolted joints than perpendicular ones. Dight (1982) discussed the shear resistance of
bolted joints using gypsum and basalt blocks. It was found that normal stress acting on the joint had no
influence on the bolt shear resistance and the influence of dilatancy was similar to that of bolt inclination.
Indraratna and Kaiser (1990) reported a complete analytical model for predicting the stability of circular
tunnels with grouted bolts, using tunnel convergence as one of the major input parameters. In this method,
the design of support system was based on the bolt density factor, . Aydan and Kawamoto (1992) reported
an analytical model for studying the stability of underground slopes mainly for flexural toppling. A method

1
Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522
2
Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522
3
Post-graduate Student, Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522
was suggested to take into account the reinforcement effect of fully grouted rock bolts. In a recent paper,
Pellet and Egger (1996) introduced an analytical model for predicting the role of bolts on the shear strength
of rock joints. The interaction of the axial and shear forces mobilized in the bolt as well as the large plastic
displacements of the bolt during the loading process was considered in the model.
All the above models and laboratory test findings were reported under the conventional CNL or free
dilatancy conditions. Johnston & Lam (1989), Skinas et al. (1990) and Indraratna et al. (1998) have
described the importance of CNS condition to simulate the actual shear behaviour in the field. In
order to evaluate the behaviour of grouted rock joints under conditions more commonly encountered in
underground excavations, it was necessary to develop a model which would simulate the prevailing CNS
condition in the field. Leichnitz (1985) was the first to report laboratory studies of rock joints under CNS
condition and found that both the shear force and dilation were functions of both normal force and shear
displacement. Van Sint Jan (1990), Ohnishi and Dharmaratne (1990) and Skinas et al. (1990) also reported
some laboratory experiments in this area. Indraratna et al. (1998) discussed the shear behaviour of soft
joints under CNS condition for both clean and infill joints, where an analytical model was developed to
predict the shear behaviour of soft joints using the Fourier analysis. Considering the limited research on the
shear behaviour of grouted joints under CNS conditions, the current laboratory testing program has been
extended to study the shear behaviour of saw-tooth shaped joints grouted with 3 mm bolts. A mathematical
model was developed to predict the complete stress profile of such grouted joints under CNS condition.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL

Prediction of Dilation
Fourier series (Spigel, 1974) has been a good mathematical tool for defining continuous functions of any
kind. The application of Fourier series in the field of rock mechanics has lately been introduced by
Indraratna et al. (1998). Fourier series is normally used to define a continuous function f(x), which is
integrable along the period 2 and has an integrable derivative at some interval (a, b). For developing the
present mathematical formulation, the following form of Fourier series was used.

[ ]

v
n=
(h) =
a
+ a . ( nh/T)+b . ( nh/T)
n n
0
1
2
2 2 cos sin

(1)

a
T
f x
nx
T
dx
n
a
b
=

2 2
( ).cos

(2)

b
T
f x
nx
T
dx
n
a
b
=

2 2
( ).sin

(3)

where,

v
(h) = dilation at any shear displacement of h;
a
n
, b
n
= Fourier coefficients; and
T = period of the function
v
(h).

Prediction of Variation in Normal Stress
Once the dilation of the bolted joint is calculated for a particular shear displacement, the effective normal
stress on the joint plane could be calculated using the following equation,



n no
n v
h
k h
A
( )
. ( )
= + (4)
where,

n
(h) = effective normal stress at any shear displacement h;

no
= initial normal stress;
A = area of joint plane; and

k
k k
n
j b
=
+
1
1 1
(5)
where,
k
n
= bolt-joint normal stiffness;
k
j
= joint normal stiffness; and
k
b
= bolt normal stiffness.

Prediction of Shear Stress
As indicated by Johnston and Lam (1989), the joint asperity angle does not remain constant over the
entire length of shear displacement, and a similar phenomenon can also be observed in the case of bolted
joints. As the bolted joint is sheared, the asperities start to wear depending on the degree of applied initial
normal stress on the joint plane, shear displacement and the characteristics of bolt/grout interface. Thus
shear stress at any point could be given by,

( ) ( )

( )
.
/ sin
.tan h
k h
A
h i
s
n b h
b
= + + (6)
where,
(h) = shear stress at any shear displacement h;
k
s
= bolt shear stiffness;
A
b
= cross sectional area of bolt;
= angle of inclination of bolt with respect to joint plane;

b
= angle of internal friction of joint material; and
i
h
= asperity angle at an shear displacement h.

The peak shear stress,
p
could be obtained by differentiating equation (6) and equaling that expression to
zero. The simple solution for the above equation could not be achieved due to the complexity involved in
handling the Fourier terms using ordinary calculus, and the mathematical package, MATHEMATICA was
used to obtain the final solution.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Preparation of Bolted Joints
Joints were prepared from gypsum plaster (CaSO
4
.H
2
O hemihydrate, 98%). The plaster was mixed with
water in the ratio of 2:1 by weight and was poured inside the shear box to obtain fully mated joints, having
an asperity inclination of 18.5
0
. The saw-tooth profile was used in the present study. The bottom specimen
(250x75x100 mm) was cast inside the bottom mould containing the required surface profile and left for two
hours to cure. The top specimen (250x75x150 mm) was then cast on top of the bottom specimen and
subsequently, the whole assembly was left for two hours to cure. The mould was then stripped and allowed
to cure for 14 days at a constant temperature of 50
0
C. Following sample curing, a 5 mm hole was drilled
through the middle of the joint blocks, and a 3 mm threaded steel bolt was installed using Fosroc Chemfix
pour and mix grout resin. For the purpose of simplicity, bolts were installed only perpendicular to the joint
plane. The uniaxial compressive strength of model material was found to be in the range of 63 to 72 MPa,
which is close to the strength of roof rocks found in most of the underground excavations in the Illawara
region.

CNS Testing Machine
Figure 1 shows the general view of the CNS testing apparatus. The details of the CNS apparatus has
been reported earlier (Indraratna et al., 1998). The cast bolted joints were placed inside the shear box
assembly. A 10 mm gap was kept between the two shear boxes to allow the shearing of the bolted joint
plane. The shear force was applied at a constant strain rate through the bottom shear box, causing it to
move in a horizontal direction, while the movement of the upper shear box was
restricted to the vertical direction only. Load cells were used to measure both the
shear and normal loads, and dial gauges were used to measure the shear and
vertical displacement during testing.

Laboratory Experiments
Laboratory experiments were carried out in two steps. A set of joints without
any bolts were tested at an initial normal stress ranging from 0.13 MPa to 3.25
MPa. Subsequently, another set of joints with bolts were tested at the same
initial normal stress condition to determine the effect of bolt on the shear strength
of joint and also to determine the strength envelope of bolted joints. The applied
normal stress was limited to 3.25 MPa due to the capacity of CNS machine. A
constant normal stiffness of 8.5 mm/KN was simulated via an assembly of four
springs on top of the top shear box. A constant strain rate of 0.5 mm /min was
maintained for all the shear tests conducted.
Figure 1 : CNS equipment
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Shear Stress
Figure 2 shows the shear stress profile for both clean and bolted joints. As the applied initial normal
stress is increased, the peak of shear stress curves increases. The shear displacement at peak shear stress
decreases with the increasing level of applied initial normal stress. The higher peaks for bolted joints could
be attributed to the effect of bolt. The bolted joint also offered much stiffer resistance (i.e. increased
modulus) as compared to the clean joint.

Bolted joint Clean joint
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Shear displacement (mm)
S
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
0.13 MPa
0.63 MPa
1.25 MPa
1.87 Mpa
2.50 MPa
3.25 MPa
3.25 MPa
2.50 MPa
1.25 MPa
0.13 MPa
0.63 MPa
1.87 MPa

Figure 2 : Graphs showing shear stress profile of clean and bolted joints

Figure 3 shows the strength envelopes for both clean and bolted joints, which are bi-linear with
increasing normal stress. The gap between the two envelopes remained almost constant throughout the
loading history, indicating no significant change of the effect of bolt with changing normal stress conditions.
The slope of the failure envelope showed bi-linearity, indicating that the starting point of asperity
degradation occurs at a normal stress between 1.25 to 1.87 MPa.



Figure 4 shows the shear stress profiles obtained from
laboratory experiments and those calculated from the model
(equation 6). As seen from Figure 4, the predicted shear stress
profiles matches closely with the experimental values, both for
the clean and bolted joints.

Dilation
Figure 5 shows the dilation behaviour obtained from
laboratory experiments and the model predictions (equation 1).
The initial negative dilation may be attributed to the initial
settlement of fine irregularities along the joint plane. As the
normal stress increases the dilation curves become dome
shaped indicating the increased shearing of asperities. The

Figure 3 : Strength envelope
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Shear displacement (mm)
S
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
0.13 MPa
1.25 MPa
3.25 MPa
3.25 MPa
1.25 MPa
0.13 MPa
Bolted joint Clean joint
model
experiment

Figure 4 : Comparison of experiment and model predicted shear stress

-0.50
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
-15.00 -10.00 -5.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00
Shear displacement (mm)
D
i
l
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
0.13 MPa
0.63 MPa
1.87 MPa
2.50 MPa
3.25 MPa
3.25 MPa
2.50 MPa
1.87 MPa
0.63 MPa
0.13 MPa
Bolted joint Clean joint
model
experiment


Figure 5 : Comparison of experiment and model predicted dilation
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
0 1 2 3 4
Initial normal stress (MPa)
P
e
a
k

s
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Clean joint
Bolted joint

mathematical model was based on the assumption that the dilation profile follows a shape which is periodic
in nature. Other stress parameters were then modeled using dilation and stiffness as the major input. Hence,
the dilation is more accurately predicted by the model than stress parameters. Within the framework of the
model, it should be able to predict all the parameters (as defined in the above equations) with reasonable
accuracy even if the surrounding conditions are changed beyond the limit of the laboratory experiments.

CONCLUSIONS

A series of tests were conducted in a CNS apparatus on both clean and bolted joints at an initial normal
stress of 0.13 MPa to 3.25 MPa. While the peak shear stress increased with the increasing level of applied
initial normal stress, the shear displacement at peak shear stress decreased with the increasing level of
applied initial normal stress. The bolt contributes to the increased peak shear stress and the stiffness of the
bolt-joint composite. The applied initial normal stress did not have any significant impact on the effect of
bolt on the grouted joint. The strength envelope of both clean and bolted joint showed a bi-linear trend. The
starting point of degradation of asperities was found to be between 1.25 MPa to 1.87 MPa. The dilation
behaviour indicated the compression of fine irregularities at the initial stage and a smoothening effect at
increased level of applied initial normal stress. The proposed mathematical model using the Fourier analysis
could simulate the degradation of asperities at high normal stress levels as verified in the laboratory, and
could predict the shear stress in close agreement with the test results. Thus, the proposed mathematical
model could be used as a guiding tool for predicting the shear behaviour in underground excavations,
provided that the stiffness of both bolt and rock, as well as the normal stress conditions are known.

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rd
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