ROCK MASS CLASSIFICATION

USING THE Q-SYSTEM

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 OBJECTIVES OF ROCK MASS
CLASSIFICATION

• Classification of rock mass behavior

• Assessment of rock mass quality

• Comparison of rock masses

• Ground support requirement

• Preliminary mine design parameters
• Common descriptive parameter for geotechnical engineers

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 METHODS OF ROCK MASS
CHARACTERIZATION

• Rock Load Classification (Terzaghi, 1946)

• RQD Classification (Deere et al, 1967)

• RSR Concept (Wickam et al, 1972)

• RMR System (Bieniawski, 1973)

• Q-system (Barton et al, 1974)

• MRMR system (Laubscher, 1977)

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 BASICS OF Q-SYSTEM

• Originally proposed by Barton, Lien and Lunde from the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute in 1974
• Based on 200 tunnel case records mostly in Scandinavia
• Developed as part of the NATM process for faster tunneling
• Provides recommendations for ground support based on field inspections
• Support chart revised in 1994

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 Dimana :
RQD : Rock Quality Designation

Q - SYSTEM Jn : Joint Set Number

Jr : Joint Set Roughness Number
Ja : Joint Set Alteration Number
• Q = (RQD / Jn) * (Jr / Ja) * (Jw / SRF) Jw : Joint Water Reduction Number
SRF : Stress Reduction Factor

• Uses
• Block Size - RQD / Jn RQD / Jn ; Menyatakan ukuran dari
• Joint Shear Strength - Jr / Ja blok batuan
• Stress Condition - Jw / SRF Jr / Ja ; Menyatakan kondisi kekasaran
dan kondisi geseran dari
• Ranges from 0.001 to 1000 dinding joint
Jw / SRF ; menyatakan sterss aktif
yang ada pada 10/31/2017
batuan
Hubungan antara nilai Q & kebutuhan penyanggaan terowongan
disebut dengan Eqivalent Dimension dari Penggalian ;
Excavation Span, diameter or height (meters)
Eqivalent Dimension
ESR
 RQD ESTIMATION

• If available, use RQD data from drill hole

• Estimate RQD which is relevant to excavation ground conditions based on

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 JOINT SET NUMBER

• Joints sets are defined if joint spacing is less than excavation diameter
• Ignore joints which are less than 30 cm in length
• Observe joints on face, roof and ribs and make sure that joints are not
counted twice
• Use data from previous observation if the face/ribs are not available for
observation
• Do not include fractures caused by blasting

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 JOINT SET NUMBER TABLE

Description Jn
Massive, no or few joints 0.5 – 1.0
One joint set 2.0
One joint set plus random 3.0
Two joint sets 4.0
Two joint sets plus random 6.0
Three joint sets 9.0
Three joint sets plus random 12.0
Four or more joint sets, random, heavily 15.0
jointed, sugar-cube, etc.
Crushed rock, earthlike 20.0
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 EXAMPLES

Massive Jn =0.5-1.0 One Joint Set Jn =2.0

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One Joint Set + Random Jn =3.0

 Examples

Two Joint Sets Jn = 4.0 Two Joint Sets + Random Jn = 6.0

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Three Joint Sets Jn = 9.0

 Examples

Three Joint Sets + Random Jn Four or more Joint Sets Jn = 15.0

= 12.0

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Crushed Rock Jn = 20.0

 JOINT ROUGHNESS NUMBER

• Jr depends on roughness profile of joint based on a 1-m length

• Estimate average Jr for each joint set and then use the Jr for the most critical joint
• Evaluate whether there is rock wall contact within at least 10 cms of shearing (do the
walls make contact before 10 cms of shear along the joint)

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TYPES OF JOINTS

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 JOINT ROUGHNESS PROFILES
• Use Jr = 4.0 for
discontinuous joints Jr = 3.0
• Joint roughness
normally evaluated on 1 Jr = 2.0
meter joint lengths
• Use Jr = 1.0 if there is no Jr = 1.5
rock wall contact when 1 meter
sheared
Jr = 1.5
• Use profile chart to
select Jr for joints with
Jr = 1.0
rock wall contact or
rock wall contact within
10 cm shear Jr = 0.5

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 JOINT ALTERATION EVALUATION
• Check width of joint
• Check toughness of joint surface
and rock
• Check thickness of altered zone
Rock
• Check joint surfaces for fill
material
• Check fill material properties

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 ROCK WALL CONTACT
• Rock Walls in contact
• Walls of the joint are in contact Description Ja
• There is little or no filling on the
Tightly Healed, hard, non-
joints softening, impermeable filling 0.75
Unaltered Joint Walls, surface
staining only 1.0
Slightly altered joint walls.
Non-softening mineral 2.0
coatings, sandy particles, clay-
free dis-integrated rock, etc.
Silty or sandy clay coatings,
small clay fraction 3.0
Softening or low friction clay
mineral coating, i.e., kaolinite, 4.0
mica, chlorite, talc, gypsum,
graphite, etc.
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ROCK WALL CONTACT WITHIN 10 CM SHEAR
• Rock Walls in contact within 10 Description Ja
cm shear
Sandy particles, clay free dis-
• Walls will be in contact within
integrated rock 4.0
10 cm shear
Strongly over-consolidated,
• There is little or no filling on the
non-softening clay mineral filling 6.0
joints (cont., <5mm)

Medium or low over-

consolidation, softening clay 8.0
mineral fillings (cont., <5mm)

Swelling clay fillings

8.0-
12.0

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 NO ROCK WALL CONTACT
• Rock walls are not in contact at
present Description Ja
• No rock wall contact even with Zones or bands of disintegrated
or crushed rock and clay
10 cm shear 6.0
- non-softening fill
- softening fill 8.0
- swelling clay fill 8.0-12.0
Zones or bands of silty or sandy 5.0
clay, small non-softening clay
fraction
Thick, continuous zones or
bands of disintegrated or crushed
rock and clay
- non-softening fill 10.0
- softening fill 13.0
- swelling clay fill
13.0-20.0

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 JOINT WATER REDUCTION FACTOR

Description Approx Water Jw

Pressure
(kg/cm2)
Dry excavation or minor inflow i.e. < 5 <1.0 1.0
litres/min locally

Medium inflow or pressure, occasional 1.0 – 2.5 0.66

outwash of joint fillings

Large inflow or high pressure in 2.5 – 10.0 0.5

competent rock with unfilled joints
Large inflow or high pressure 2.5 – 10.0 0.33
Exceptionally high inflow or pressure at > 10.0 0.2 – 0.1
blasting, decaying with time
Exceptionally high inflow or pressure > 10.0 0.05
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STRESS REDUCTION FACTOR (SRF)
• Four categories
• Loosening
• Stress
• Squeezing
• Swelling

• For competent rock, use ratio between rock strength and estimated
stress, sc/s1
• For all other cases, use the descriptions in the SRF Table

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 SRF FOR LOOSENING CONDITION

• Use when weakness zones intersect excavation, which may cause

loosening of the rock mass when the tunnel is excavated

Description SRF
Multiple occurrences of weakness zones containing clay or 10
chemically disintegrated rock (any depth)
Single weakness zone containing clay or chemically 5
disintegrated rock (depth < 50 meters)
Single weakness zone containing clay or chemically 2.5
disintegrated rock (depth > 50 meters)
Multiple shear zones in competent rock (clay free), loose 7.5
surrounding rock (any depth)
Single shear zone in competent rock (clay free), depth < 50 m 5.0
Single shear zone in competent rock (clay free), depth > 50 m 2.5
Loose open joints, heavily jointed or “sugar cubes” (any depth) 5.0
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 SRF FOR COMPETENT ROCK, STRESS
PROBLEMS
• Use when rock mass is competent and there are stress
related issues in design and support of the excavations
Description sc/s1 st/s1 SRF
Low stress, near surface > 200 > 13 2.5
Medium stress 10-200 0.66-13 1.0
High stress, very tight structure (usually 5-10 0.33-0.66 0.5-2.0
favorable to stability, may be unfavorable to
wall stability
Mild slabbing, spalling (massive rock) 2.5-5.0 0.16-0.33 5-10
Heavy slabbing, spalling, rock burst < 2.5 < 0.16 10-20
(massive rock)

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 SRF FOR SQUEEZING/SWELLING
ROCK

• When there is squeezing rock with plastic flow of incompetent

rock under the influence of high rock pressure, use
Description SRF
Mild squeezing rock pressure 5-10
Heavy squeezing rock pressure 10-20

When there is swelling rock with swelling activity

depending on presence of water, use
Description SRF
Mild swelling rock pressure 5-10
Heavy swelling rock pressure 10-15

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ROCK SUPPORT BASED ON Q-SYSTEM

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 METODA EMPIRIK – Q-SYSTEM

Contoh kasus;
Terowongan akan di desain dengan span 15 m untuk lubang
bukaan tambang permanen (permanent mine openings),
batuan norite pada kedalaman 2100 m. Observasi di
lapangan diketahui bahwa terdapat 2 joint set, dengan
kondisi termasuk “undulating joint”, kasar dan tidak lapuk
(unweathered/unaltered). RQD berkisar antara 85% - 95%.
Dari hasil uji lab, UCS rata-rata 170 MPa, major principal
stress didapat harga 85 Mpa. Kondisi airtanah pada
terowongan agak merembes (Basah) tapi tidak ada tanda-
tanda aliran air.
Tentukan stabilitas Penggalian dan kebutuhan penyanggaan
dari desain terowongan tersebut.
METODA EMPIRIK – Q-SYSTEM