Shear strength of rock discontinuities

Average dispersion of strength

for most rocks - MPa

200

250
100

150
50

3
Unit weight of rock - kN/m
+ + + + | +

32
| | | |

30
400
350

28
300
250

26
200
Uniaxial compressive strength - MPa

24
150

22
20
100
90
80
70
60
50

40

Hammer orientation
30

20

10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Schmidt hardness - Type L hammer

Figure 7: Estimate of joint wall compressive strength from Schmidt hardness.