Prediction of peak shear strength of natural, unfilled rock joints accounting for matedness
based on measured aperture
Ríos-Bayona, F., Johansson, F. and Mas-Ivars, D. (2021) Prediction of peak shear strength of natural, unfilled rock joints accounting for matedness based on measured aperture. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering 54: 1533–1550. Go to Springer Link (external web page) .
This paper presents a methodology where objective measurements of the average aperture of natural, unfilled rock joints are used to estimate their matedness as a step in the prediction of the peak shear strength. This measured average aperture is based on high-resolution optical scanning of the surface roughness. The proposed relationship between measured average aperture and matedness of natural rock joints has been included in a further developed peak shear strength criterion. The verification against ten natural rock joint samples of coarse-grained granite showed that the revised criterion can predict the peak shear strength considering rock joint matedness.