Earth Sciences Research Journal,Vol 19, No 2 (2015)

http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/esrj.v19n2.49127.
GEOTECHNICS

AssessmentofaModifiedRockMassClassificationSystemforRock
SlopeStabilityAnalysisintheQsystem
EvaluacindelSistemaQModificadodeClasificacindelMacizoRocoso
paraelAnlisisdeEstabilidaddePendientedeRoca
DavoodFereidooni*1,GholamRezaKhanlari2,MojtabaHeidari2
1SchoolofEarthSciences,DamghanUniversity,Damghan,Irand.fereidooni@du.ac.ir(*Corresponding

author)
2DepartmentofGeology,BuAliSinaUniversity,Hamedan,Iran
Record
Manuscriptreceived:12/02/2015Acceptedforpublication:14/06/2015
Howtociteitem
Fereidooni,D.,Reza,G.andHeidari,M.(2015).AssessmentofaModifiedRockMassClassification
SystemforRockSlopeStabilityAnalysisintheQsystem.EarthSciencesResearchJournal,19(2)147
152.http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/esrj.v19n2.49127.
ABSTRACT
ThispaperexplorestheapplicabilityofamodifiedQclassificationsystemanditscomponent
parametersforanalysisandconclusionofsiteinvestigationdatatoestimaterockslopestability.Based
ontheliterature,Qclassificationsystemhashighapplicablepotentialforevaluationofrockmass
quality.Therefore,inthisstudy,itwasusedwithRMRandSMRrockmassclassificationsystemsto
assessstabilityorinstabilityofdifferentrockslopesalongtheHamedanGanjnamehTuyserkanroad,
HamedanprovincewestofIran.Furthermore,amodifiedrockmassclassificationsystemnamelySlope
QualityRating(SQR)wasproposedbasedonthecorrectionoftheQclassificationparametersand
calculatingsomenewparameterssuchasdipandstrikeofdiscontinuitiesandthemethodofrock
excavationorblasting.Forthispurpose,theSMRandRMRrockmassclassificationswerealsoneeded.
BymeasuringSQRfordifferentrockslopes,itwillbepossibletomeasureSlopeMassRating(SMR).
Keywords:Rockmassclassification,Rockslope,Q,RMR,SMR,SQR.
RESUMEN
EsteartculoexploralaaplicabilidaddelsistemadeclasificacinQmodificadoysusparmetrospara
analizarydeterminarlainformacinestimadadeestabilidaddependientederocaenelsitio
determinadodeestudio.Segnlaliteratura,elsistemadeclasificacinQtieneunaltopotencialde
aplicabilidadparalaevaluacindelacalidaddelmacizorocoso.Enesteestudioademsseutilizel
sistemaQjuntoconlossistemasndicedeMasadePendiente(SMR)yClasificacinGeomecnicade
Bienawski(RMR)paraevaluarlaestabilidadeinestabilidaddediferentespendientesrocosasenla
carreteraHamedanGanjnamehTuyserkan,delaprovinciadeHamedan,enelOestedeIrn.Adems,
seproponeelndicedeCalidaddePendiente(SQR),unsistemadeclasificacindemacizorocoso
modificado,apartirdelacorreccindelosparmetrosdeclasificacinQyelclculodenuevos
parmetroscomopendienteycadadelasdiscontinuidadesyelmtododeexcavacinoexplosinde
laroca.ParaestapropuestatambinseutilizaronlasclasificacionesSMRyRMR.LamedicinSQRen
diferentespendienteshizoposibleelclculodelsistemaSMR.
Palabrasclave:Clasificacindelmacizorocoso,pendienterocosa,sistemaQ,clasificacinde
Bienawski,ndicedeMasadePendiente,ndicedeCalidaddePendiente.
1.Introduction

Rockslopefailurealongroads,highways,railwaysandinurbanandindustrialareasisoneofthe
geologichazardsthatwilldestroyengineeringprojectssuchasdams,buildings,roadsandrailroads.
Thisnaturalhazardshowstheimportanceoftheengineeringgeologyandrockmechanicsstudieswhen
engineeringconstructionsareperformed.Inthepastdecades,therockmassclassificationconcepthas
beenextensivelyappliedinengineeringdesignofdifferentprojectssuchastunnels,slopesand
foundations.Manyresearchershaveproposedorusedrockmassclassificationsystemsasan
experimentalmethodtoassessrockmassqualityorrockslopestability(e.g.Bieniawski1973Barton
1974Selby1980HainesandTerbrugge1991Hacketal.2003LiuandChen2007Pantelidis2010
HajiaziziandKhatami2013).
Theprimaryobjectiveofrockmassclassificationistoprovidequantitativedataandguidelinesfor
engineeringpurposesthatcanimproveoriginallyabstractdescriptionsofgeologicalformation(Liuand
Chen2007).Overthelastseveralyears,differentrockmassclassificationsystemshavebeenproposed
forrockcuttingswithhighrisktoidentifytheirfailurepotentialtopresentpreventiveandimprovement
methods.Also,rockmassclassificationismeanfortheevaluationoftheperformanceofrockcutslopes
basedonthemostimportantinherentandstructuralparameters(Pantelidis2009).Inotherwords,
rockmassclassificationsystemstrytoconsiderthemostimportantaspectsaffectingtherockmass,to
rateitsquality(TzamosandSofianos2007).BasedonBieniawaski(1989),themainaimofrockmass
classificationsystemsisdividingparticularrockmassesintogroupsofsimilarbehaviorandalso
providingabasisforunderstandingthecharacteristicsofeachclustertoyieldquantitativedatafor
engineeringpurposes,andatleastprovidingacommonbasisforcommunicationsbetweenthe
researchers.
Mostofthemultiparameterclassificationschemesaredevelopedfromcivilengineeringcasehistories
inwhichallofthecomponentsoftheengineeringgeologicalcharacteroftherockmassareincluded.
Differentclassificationsystemsplacedifferentemphasesonthevariousparameters(Hoek2007).
Thesestatementsshowthatthestudyofrockmassclassificationsmustbedonebeforeperforming
engineeringconstructions.
Someofrockmassclassificationsproposedbydifferentresearchersneedtobemodifiedtoimprove
theirapplications.Forexample,Romana(1985)changedtheRMRrockmassclassificationsystem
basedonfourdifferentparametersforrockslopestabilityanalysis.Inthisresearch,therockmassesin
themarginofHamedanGanjnamehTuyserkanroadinHamedanprovince,westofIran,havebeen
studiedbasedonRMR,SMR,andQrockmassclassificationsystems.TheQclassificationsystemwas
modifiedusingtheparametersproposedbyRomana(1985)andalsosomeotherparameters.Also,
basedonthedataanalysisfromthesevenrockslopeschoseinthestudyarea,anewrockmass
classificationsystem(SlopeQualityRating,SQR)isappliedandproposed.
2.Geologicalsetting
Thestudyarea,longitudefrom4810'Eto4835'Eandlatitudefrom3430'Nto3452'N,is
locatedontheSanandajSirjanstructuralzone,west,andsouthwestofIran.Oneofthemost
importantandinterestingplutonicrocksofIrannamedAlvandbatholithissituatedinthisarea.Alvand
graniticrockmassislimitedfromthenorthtoHamedan,fromsoutheasttoTuyserkanandfrom
northwesttoAssadAbad.Itcoversanareaofabout400km2whichmakesitthelargestplutonicrock
massinIran.AccordingtoSepahiGero(1999),themajorpartofAlvandplutonicrockmassconsistsof
porphyriticgranites(monzogranitegranodiorites),mezocrategranitesandholocrategranites.The
metamorphicrocksoccurredaroundAlvandgraniticrockmassesarepelitichornfelsandschist.Various
discontinuitiessuchastectonicjoints,schistosityandcleavageplanesweredevelopedintheserocks
andcancauserockslopeinstability,especiallyonthemarginoftheGanjnamehShahrestanehroad.
Thegeologydepositsclosetothenorthandeastsideofthestudyareaarethequaternaryalluvialfans.
Fig.1showsthelocationofthestudiedrockslopesonthegeologicalmapoftheregion.Fig.2showsa
generalviewofthetwoofthesevenstudiedrockslopesinthestudyarea.Physicalandlithological
propertiesofthesevenstudiedrockslopeshavebeenlistedinTable1.propertiesofthesevenstudied
rockslopeshavebeenlistedinTable1.

3.Mostimportantexistingrockmassclassifications
Rockmassclassificationsareauniversalcommunicationsystemfortheirusers.Someofrockmass
classificationssuchasQ,RMRandMRMRsystemshavebeenappliedsuccessfullyintunnelingand
undergroundexcavations.Someofthesesystemshavebeenusedforslopes(e.g.QandRMRsystem)
orhavebeenmodifiedforslopes(e.g.theRMS,SMR,SRMRandCSMRsystemscomprisemodifications
oftheRMRsystem).Although,theclassificationschemesareappropriatefortheiroriginalapplication
(tunneling),especiallywhenusedwithintheboundsofthecasehistoriesfromwhichtheywere
developed,considerablecautionmustbeexercisedinapplyingrockmassclassificationstootherrock
engineeringproblems(Pantelidis2009).Adetailedlistofthemostimportantempiricalrockmass
classificationmethodsdevelopedworldwideispresentedinTable2.

TheRMRandQclassificationsystems,twoofthemostimportantsystems,wereproposedby
Bieniawski(1973)andBartonetal.(1974),respectively.Bieniawski(1989)developedhisrockmass
classificationscheme(RMR)usingdataobtainedmainlyfromcivilengineeringexcavationsin
sedimentaryrocksinSouthAfrica.Theclassificationsystembasedonrockmassquality(Q)was
originallydevelopedbyBartonetal.(1974)toassistintheempiricaldesignoftunnelandcavern
reinforcementandsupport,butithasbeenusedforseveralothertasksinrockengineeringinrecent
yearsbyBartonetal.(2002).Commonparametersintheseclassificationsarethoseconcerningrock
structureandjointsurfaceconditions.TheRMRvalueisobtainedfromthefollowingequation
(Bieniawski1989):

where,R1isuniaxialcompressivestrengthofrockmaterial,R2isRockQualityDesignation(RQD),R3
isspacingofdiscontinuities,R4isconditionofdiscontinuities,R5isgroundwaterconditionsandR6is
orientationofdiscontinuities.TheQvalueisestimatedfromthefollowingexpression(Bartonetal.
2002):

where,RQDisthepercentofcompetentdrillcoresticks>100mminlengthinaselecteddomain,Jnis
theratingforthenumberofjointsets(9for3sets,4for2sets,etc.)inthesamedomain,Jristhe
ratingfortheroughnessoftheleastfavorableofthesejointsetsorlleddiscontinuities,Jaistherating
forthedegreeofalterationorclayllingoftheleastfavorablejointsetdiscontinuity,Jwistherating
forthewaterinowandpressureeffects,whichmaycauseoutwashofdiscontinuityinllings,andSRF
istheratingforfaulting,forstrength/stressratiosinhardmassiverocks,forsqueezingorforswelling.
WithattentiontotheequationsoftheQandRMRsystems,itisnoticedthattheRMRvalueisobtained
fromsummationoffiveparameterswhereastheQvalueisobtainedbyproductsanddivisionsofthe
sixparameters.So,thenumberoftheparametersparticipatedintheQsystemismorethanthatinthe
RMRsystem.TheRMRparametersareuniaxialcompressivestrength(c),rockqualitydesignation
(RQD),spacingofthejointsets,discontinuitiesconditions,andgroundwatercondition.IntheQ
system,inadditiontotheaboveparameters,somenewparameterssuchasJn(factorofjointsets
number),Jr(factorrelatedtothejointroughness),Ja(factorrelatedtothejointalteration),andSRF
(StressReductionFactor)arealsoemployed.
IntheQequation,theratioof(RQD/Jn)clearlyindicatestheeffectofblocksizeontheinstabilityofthe
rockmasses.Otherratiosare(Jr/Ja)and(Jw/SRF)relatedtotheshearstrengthandstressconditions,
respectively,andtheyhaveveryimportantrolesinthebehavioroftherockmasses.
Oneofthemostimportantproblemsinthestabilityofrockslopesisshearstrengthofdiscontinuities
andjointsurfaceswhichareaffectedbytheblocksizeandtheroughnessofdiscontinuities.Inaddition,
theweatheringofdiscontinuitysurfaceswillhaveanegativeeffectontheshearstrengthofrock
masses.Anotherfactorwhichhasanegativeeffectontheshearstrengthofrockmassesisthe
presenceofthewateronthediscontinuitieswhichwillincreasetheporepressureanddecreasethe
shearstrength.Theseconditionswillleadtotheinstabilityofrockmassesandallofthemare
contributedintheQclassification.Therefore,thepresentedcontributedparametersintheQequation
showthatthisclassificationsystemhasahighpotentialincomparisonwiththeRMRsystemtoevaluate
therockmassquality.Asaresult,itispossibletosaythattheQsystemcanpresentagood
quantitativedescriptionofrockmassquality.
4.RelationshipbetweenRMRandQ
TheapplicationdetailsoftheRMRandQclassificationsforthesevenstudiedrockslopesareshownin
Tables3and4.Inanoverallview,theresultsoftheclassificationsshowthattherockslopesinthe
studyareaareplacedinthegoodrockclass.TomakeacorrelationbetweenRMRandQ,thevaluesof
theseparametersrelatedtothesevenstudiedrockslopeshavebeenplottedinFig.3.

AccordingtotheFig.3,itcanbeconcludedthattherelationshipbetweenthetwomentioned
parameterscanbeestimatedasfollow:

TheequationssimilartoEquation3havebeenproposedbysomeresearcherssuchasBieniawski
(1989)whichisasfollow:

SinghandGoel(2000)mentionedthatduetothelowcorrelationcoefficientofsuchequations,they
havelowvalidity.
5.ModificationofQclassification
TherockMassRatingsystem(RMR)wasmodifiedbyRomana(1985)forrockslopestabilityanalysis
purposes.Romana(1985)proposedsomenewfactorssuchasdiscontinuityorientations,patternof
discontinuitiesandthemethodsofblastingformodificationoftheRMRsystem.Thesefactorsdepend
ontheexistinggeometricalrelationshipbetweendiscontinuitiesaffectingtherockmassandtheslope
excavationmethod.HeproposedSlopeMassRating(SMR)whichcanbemeasuredfromthefollowing
equation:

where,SMRisSlopeMassRating,RMRbasicisbasicRockMassRating,F1isdifferencebetweenslope
faceandcriticaldiscontinuitystrike,F2isdiscontinuitydipangle,F3isdifferencebetweentheslope
faceangleandthedipofcriticaldiscontinuityandF4ismethodofexcavation.Amongallavailablerock
massclassifications,SMRisthemostextendedoneandisappliedforrockslopesduetoitseaseand
exhaustive,wellestablished,quantitativedefinitionofcorrectionfactors.Fig.4showsacomparison
betweenthevaluesofRMR,QandSMRforthesevenrockslopes.Thevaluesoftheseparametershave
agoodcoordination.

Inthisresearch,presentedparametersinEquation5wereusedtomodifyoftheQsystem.Becauseof
somedifficultiesderivedfromusingtheQsystem,nowitisusedforrockslopestabilityandopenpit
mininginsomecases.Duetothestressconditionatthesurfaceanddepths,distinguishingbetween
thesetwoconditionsisnecessary.Forthisreason,itseemsthatthereisnecessarytomakesome
changestothevalueofSRFparameter.AjoodaniNamin(1999)proposedthatwecanuse(JCS/ H)
factorofSRFinordertoincorporatetheeffectofstressdifferencesindifferentconditions(depthand
surfaceoftherockmasses).Basedonatryanderrormethod,AjoodaniNamin(1999)suggested
followingconditions:
If(JCS/ H)<160SRF=0.35
If(JCS/ H)160SRF=0.11
where,JCSisJointCompressiveStrength(MPa), isunitweightofrockslopematerials(g/cm3)andH,
istheheightofrockslope(m).Basedonthiscondition,thevalueofSRFforthestudyareawaschosen
0.11and,therefore,thevalueofQwascorrectedfortheslopestabilityapplications.Detailsofmodified
Q(Qm),RMR,JCS,SRFandotherparametersarelistedinTable5.

InordertomakeacorrelationbetweenRMRandQm,thevaluesoftheseparametersareplottedinXY
system(Fig.5).AccordingtoFig.5,therelationshipbetweenthetwomentionedparametersisas
follow:

6.CalculationofSQR
WithcombiningEquations5and6,itispossibletoachievethevalueofSQRbasedonthefollowing
processes:

AsitisclearfromEquation7,thevaluewithinbracketisratingofSQRfortherockmassesofthestudy
areawhichcanbecalculatedfromthebelowequation:

Asaresult,therelationshipbetweenSMRandSQRwillbeasfollow:

BasedonthetableproposedbyRomana(1985),thevaluesofF1,F2,F3andF4forthestudiedrock
slopesarelistedinTable6.

Fig.6showsacomparisonbetweencalculatedvaluesofSMRfromEquations5and9forthesevenrock
slopes.Thevaluesoftheseparametershaveagoodcoordination.

7.Conclusions
ThemodifiedQclassificationsystem(SQR)isoneoftherockmassclassificationsthatcanbeapplied
forrockslopestabilityanalysis.Thisclassificationhasbeenconcludedfromthreerockmass
classificationsmeansRMR,Q,andSMR.ApplicationofSQRclassificationsystemfortherockslopesin
thestudyareahaspresentedgoodresultsandshowsthatthisclassificationisaveryusefulmethodto
analyzetherockslopestability.Furthermore,withtheapplicationofthismethod,wecancalculateSMR
values.
TheestimatedvaluesofRMRinthesevenstudiedrockslopesshowthattheminimumvalueofRMR
(62)isrelatedtotherockslopesNo.3andthemaximumvalueofRMR(77)islinkedtotherockslopes
No.2.Bytheresults,thestudiedrockslopesareplacedinthegoodrockclass(classII).Themeasured
SMRforthesevenstudiedrockslopesshowsthattheminimumvalueofSMR(66)isrelatedtotherock
slopesNo.3andthemaximumvalueofSMR(84)islinkedtotherockslopesNo.2.Theresultsshow
thatthestudiedrockslopeshavegoodqualityandstablecondition(classII).TheCalculatedvaluesof
Qforthesevenstudiedrockslopesshowthattheminimumvalue(5.8)isrelatedtotherockslopesNo.
3andthemaximumvalue(12.8)islinkedtotherockslopesNo.5.Theresultsshowthattherock
qualitiesoftherockslopesarefairandgood,respectively.ThemeasuredSQRforthesevenrock
slopesshowsthattheminimumvalueofSQR(177)isrelatedtotherockslopesNo.3andthe
maximumvalueofSQR(497)islinkedtotherockslopesNo.2.Theresultsshowthatthestudiedrock
slopeshavegoodquality.ThevaluesofSMRfromtheequationproposedinthisresearch(Equation9)
havepropercoordinationwiththevaluesofSMRfromtheequationsuggestedbyRomana(1985)
(Equation5).Inotherwords,thevaluesofSMR,fromtwomentionedmethods,fortherockslopeNo.3
andtherockslopeNo.2areminimumandmaximum,respectively(Fig.6).Inthisstudy,similar
resultswereobtainedfromRMR,SMR,QandSQRrockmassclassificationsystemsforallsevenstudied
rockslopes.Thismeansthattheseclassificationsareincoordinationwitheachotherinassessingrock
slopestabilityanalysisinthestudyarea.
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