Overstressing of the rock surrounding a tunnel can result in either brittle fracture of the intact rock or shear failure along pre-existing discontinuities such as joints or shear zones. These two types of failure can co-exist and the extent to which the failures ...

<p>The recognition and analysis of the different modes of failure are the main issues that will be addressed in this paper on the fundamentals of slope design.</p>

<p>The 5 m diameter 23.3 km long Yacamb&uacute;-Quibor tunnel is designed to carry water through the Andes from the Yacamb&uacute; dam in the wet tropical Orinoco basin to the semi-arid but fertile Quibor basin in western Venezuela. The tunnel is excavated ...

<p>This paper describes the methods that can be used to optimize the design of tunnels using a combination of reinforcement and support methods. Particular attention is given to tunnels in very weak rock or soil in which large deformations can occur. Two case ...

<p>In this paper the historical development of the Hoek-Brown failure criterion and the associated Geological Strength Index (GSI) has been presented.</p>

<p>In this paper an analysis of in situ rock mass modulus measurements for a wide range of rock types from China and Taiwan has resulted in two new equations for estimating rock mass deformation modulus.</p>

<p>The notes are intended to provide an insight into practical rock engineering to students, geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists.</p>

Case studies of difficult rock masses for slope excavations at Egnatia Odos Highway.

A discussion on the use of the geological strength index (GSI) for the characterisation of tectonically undisturbed but lithologically varied sedimentary rocks rock masses is presented. Two GSI charts are proposed for estimating the mechanical properties ...

The highly variable nature of deeply weathered Oporto granite posed significant challenges in the driving of the 2.3km long Cline and the 4km long S line of the Oporto Metro project. Two 8.7m diameter Herrenknecht EPB TBMs were used to excavate these tunnels ...