Stabilization of Rock Slopes: 6, Chapter

6,Chapter 18
DUNCAN C. WYLLIE AND

NORMAN I. NORFUSH
STABILIZATION OF
ROCK SLOPES
1. INTRODUCTION slope failures that block the facility. The effects of

these events can be damage to vehicles, injury to
A successful rock slope stabilization program

requires the integration of a number of in-
terrelated activities, including geotechnical engi-
or death of drivers and passengers, economic loss
due to road closures, and possibly discharge of
toxic substances when transporting vehicles are
neering as well as environmental and safety issues, damaged. Figure 18-1 shows a rock slide that oc-
construction methods and costs, and contracting curred from a height of about 300 m above the
procedures. Modem methods for design and stabi- road and closed both the road and the railway.
lization of rock slopes were developed in the 1970s The removal of the rock on the road followed by
(Brawner and Wyllie 1975; Fookes and Sweeney stabilization of the slide area, which brought down
1976; Groupe d'Etudes des Falaises 1978; Piteau further unstable rock, resulted in a total closure
and Peckover 1978; Hoek and Bray 1981) and time of several weeks with significant economic
continue to be refined and developed (Federal losses for users of both the road and the railway.
Highway Administration 1989; Wyllie 1991; Although the cost of a major slide such as that
Schuster 1992). These procedures can therefore be shown in Figure 18-1 is substantial, the cost of even
used with confidence for a wide range of geological a single-car accident can be significant. For exam-
conditions. However, as described in this chapter, pIe, costs may be incurred for hospitalization of the
it is essential that the methods used be appropriate driver and passengers, for repair to the vehicle, and
for the particular conditions at each site. in some cases for legal costs and compensation.
Often there are additional costs for stabilization of
1.1 Effect of Rock Falls on Transportation the slope that will involve both engineering and
Systems contracting charges, usually carried out at premium
rates because of the emergency nature of the work.
The safe operation of transportation routes in In cases where the rock slide results in closure of a
mountainous terrain often requires that measures road, indirect costs may be incurred, such as loss of
be taken to control the incidence of rock falls and revenue for businesses located along the highway.
rock slope failures. Along highways, the types of In the case shown in Figure 18-1, the costs included
events and accidents that can be caused by rock leasing a car ferry to move vehicles around the
falls range from minor falls that damage tires and landslide. For railroads and toll highways, closures
bodywork, to larger falls that affect vehicles or result in a direct loss of revenue that may amount to
cause vehicles to swerve off the road, to substantial thousands of dollars per hour.
474
Stabilization of Rock Slopes 475
FIGURE 18-1
Railway and
highway at Howe
Sound, British
Columbia, blocked
by October 1990
rock fall that
originated
approximately
300 m above
highway.
DENISE HOWARI),
VANCOUVER SUN
1.2 Causes of Rock Falls conditions during the winter included heavy rain-
fall, prolonged periods of freezing temperatures,
The California Department of Transportation and daily freeze-thaw cycles in the fall and spring.
(Caltrans) made a comprehensive study of rock falls The results of a similar study carried out by
that have occurred on the state highway system to Peckover (1975) are shown in Figure 18-2. They
assess both their causes and the effectiveness of the clearly show that the majority of rock falls oc-
various remedial measures that have been imple- curred between October and March, the wettest
mented (McCauley et al. 1985). Because of the di- and coldest time of the year in western Canada.
verse topography and climate within California, The other major group of factors affecting sta-
Caltrans records provide a useful guideline on the bility in the California study were the particular
stability conditions of rock slopes and the causes of
falls. Table 18-1 shows the results of a study of 308 Table 18-1
rock falls on California highways in which 14 dif- Causes of Rock Falls on Highways in California
ferent causes of instability were identified. PERCENTAGE
Of the 14 causes of California rock falls identi- CAUSE OF TOTAL
fied, 6 are directly related to water, namely, rain,
freeze-thaw, snowmelt, channeled runoff, differen- Rain 30
Freeze-thaw 21
tial erosion, and springs or seeps. One cause is indi- Fractured rock 12
rectly related to rainfall—the growth of tree roots \Vind 12
in cracks, which can open fractures and loosen Snowmelr 8
blocks of rock on the slope face. These seven causes Channeled runoff 7
of rock falls together account for 68 percent of the Adverse planar fracture 5
Burrowing animals 2
total falls. Differential erosion
These statistics are confirmed by the authors' Tree roots 0.6
experience in the analysis of rock-fall records over Springs or seeps 0.6
a 19-year period on a major railroad in western Wild animals 0.3
Canada, in which approximately 70 percent of Truck vibrations 0.3
Soil decomposition 0.3
the events occutred during the winter. Weather
476 Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation
Under these circumstances, stabilization work can

take many years to complete. In order to make the
best use of available funds, it often is beneficial to
set up a systematic program that identifies the
most hazardous slopes. Then annual stabilization
work can be scheduled, with the most hazardous
sites being worked on early in the program. The
components of such a program make up six steps,
as shown in Figure 18-3.
The objective of the program shown in Figure
18-3 is to be proactive in identifying and stabiliz-
ing slopes before rock falls and accidents occur.
This requires a careful examination of the site to
identify the potential hazard and estimate the
likely benefit of the stabilization work. In contrast,
a reactive program places the emphasis on areas in
which rock falls and accidents have already oc-
curred and the hazard may be significantly dimin-
ished. The benefits of a reactive program are likely
to be less than those of a proactive program.
An effective proactive approach to stabilization
FIGURE 18-2 geologic conditions at each site, namely, fractured requires a consistent, long-term program under the
Correlation of direction of a team experienced in both the engi-
rock, adverse planar fracture (a fracture dipping
number of rock falls
out of the slope face), and soil decomposition. neering and construction aspects of this work.
with temperature
and precipitation These three factors represented 17 percent of the Another important component of this work is to
on railway lines in falls, and the total rock falls caused by water and keep accurate records, with photographs, of slope
Fraser Canyon, geologic factors accounted for 85 percent of the conditions, rock falls, and stabilization work. This
British Columbia falls. These statistics demonstrate that water and information will document the location of haz-
(Peckover 1975), geology are the most important influences in rock ardous areas and determine the long-term effective-
slope stability. ness of the program in reducing the incidence of
It appears that the study in California was car- rock falls. These records can be most conveniently
ried Out during a time when there were no signifi- handled using data-base programs that readily allow
cant earthquakes, which frequently trigger rock updating and retrieval (see Section 2.2).
falls and cause displacement and failure of slopes
(Van Velsor and Walkinshaw 1991). The mecha- 2.1 Rock Slope Inventory Systems
nism by which earthquakes trigger landslides is de-
scribed in Chapter 4, and methods of incorporating The relative risk of rock falls at a site as compared
earthquake forces into the design of rock slopes with other sites can be used in selecting priorities.
are demonstrated in Chapter 15. Early work on this topic by Brawner and Wyllie
(1975) and Wyllie (1987) was developed by
2. PLANNING SLOPE STABILIZATION Pierson et al. (1990) into a process for the rational
PROGRAMS management of the rock slopes along transporta-
tion systems, which has been named the Rockfall
In mountainous areas where there are numerous Hazard Rating System (RHRS). The first step in
rock-fall hazards that may result in a significant this process is to make an inventory of the stability
cost to the operator of the transportation system, a conditions of each slope so that they can be ranked
stabilization program is often justified. The situa- according to their rock-fall hazard (Figure 18-3).
tion may be particularly severe where the slopes The rock-fall areas identified in the inventory
have been open for 20 to 30 years and are in an are ranked by scoring the categories as shown in
unstable condition either because of poor initial Table 18-2. These categories represent the signifi-
construction practices or because of weathering. cant elements of a rock slope that contribute to the
overall hazard. The four columns correspond to INVENTORY OF -- -

logical breaks in the hazard represented by each STABILITY CONDITIONS
category. The rating criteria scores increase
exponentially from 3 to 81 points and represent a Assign point, scores to ten parameters describing slope and hazard
conditions (rock fall hazard rating).
continuum of points from 1 to 100. An exponential
system allows for a rapid increase in score, which Section 2.1
quickly distinguishes more hazardous sites. Using a
continuum of points allows flexibility in evaluating
the relative impact of conditions that are variable ANALYZE
by nature. Some categories require a subjective ROCK FALL HAZARDS
evaluation, whereas others can be directly mea- Analyze inventory database to determine locations and causes of rock
sured and then scored. A brief description of each falls.
of the categories of the RHRS follows. It should be
Section 2.2
noted that the system was developed on the basis of
customary units; however, conversion to metric
specifications is generally straightforward.
PLAN
STABILIZATION WORK
2.1.1 Slope Height Plan work according to hazard rating, site location and type of
Category 1 represents the vertical height of the stabilization work.
slope. Measurement is to the highest point from Sections 2.3, 2.4, 2.5
which rock fall is expected. If rocks are coming
from the natural slope above the cut, the cut
height plus the additional slope height (vertical DECISION ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE OPTIMUM
distance) are used. STABILIZATION METHODS
Compare effectiveness of stabilization measures in reducing rock fall
2.1.2 Ditch Effectiveness hazards.
The effectiveness of a ditch is measured by its abil- Section 2.3

ity to prevent falling rock from reaching the trav-
eled way. In estimating the ditch effectiveness,
factors to consider are (a) slope height and angle; DESIGN STABILIZATION MEASURES AND PREPARATION
OF CONTRACT DOCUMENT
(b) ditch width, depth, and shape; (c) anticipated
block size and quantity of rock fall; and (d) effect Categorize stabilization measures according to reinforcement,
of slope irregularities (launching features) on fal- removal, and protection methods.
ling rocks. A launching feature can negate the
Sections 3, 4, 5
benefits expected from a fallout area. Valuable
information on ditch performance can be ob-
tained from maintenance personnel and reference SERVICES
to Figure 18-15 (see Section 5.1).
Perform construction on cost-plus contracts where modifications to
stabilization measures to suit actual conditions are revealed as work
2.1.3 Average Vehicle Risk progresses. Use unit price contracts where specific tasks such as
bolting, shotcrete required.
Average vehicle risk (AVR) represents the per-
centage of time that a vehicle will be present in Section 6
the rock-fall section, which is obtained from the
following relationship: FIGURE 18-3
Rock slope
stabilization
AVR(%)= ADT (cars/day) X slope length (mi) program for
x 100% (18.1) transportation
posted speed limit (mph) X 24 (hr/day)
systems.
Table 18-2
Summary Sheet of Rockfall Hazard Rating System (Pierson et al. 1990)
RATING CRITERIA BY SCORE
CATEGORY POINTS 3 POINTS 9 POINTS 27 POINTS 81
Slope height (m) 7.5 15 23 >30
Ditch effectiveness Good catchment Moderate catchment Limited catchment No catchment
Average vehicle risk 25 50 75 100
(% of time)
Decision sight distance Adequate Moderate Limited Very limited
(% of design value)
Roadway width including 13.5 11 8.5 6
paved shoulders (m)
Geologic case characteristics
Case 1
Structural condition Discontinuous Discontinuous Discontinuous Continuous
joints, favorable joints, random joints, adverse joints, adverse
orientation orientation orientation orientation
Rock friction Rough, irregular Undulating Planar Clay infilling
or slickensided
Case 2
Structural condition Few differential Occasional erosion Many erosion Major erosion
erosion features features features features
Difference in erosion rates Small Moderate Large Extreme
a. Block size (m) 0.3 0.6 1 1.2
b. Volume of rock fall 3 6 9 12
or event (m3)
Climate and presence of Low to moderate Moderate precipitation High precipitation or High precipitation
water on slope precipitation; no or short freezing periods long freezing periods and long
freezing periods; or intermittent water on or continual water on freezing periods
no water on slope slope slope or continual
water on slope
and long
freezing periods
Rock-fall history Few falls Occasional falls Many falls Constant falls
A rating of 100 percent means that on average a is critical when obstacles on the road are difficult
vehicle can be expected to be within the section to perceive or when unexpected or unusual ma-
00 percent of the time. neuvers are required.
The relationship between DSD and the posted
2.1.4 Decision Sight Distance speed limit used in the inventory system has been
modified from the Policy on Geometric Design of
Sight distance is the shortest distance along a Highways and Streets of the American Association
roadway that an object is continuously visible to of State Highway and Transportation Officials
the driver. The sight distance can change appre- (AASHTO 1984).
ciably throughout a rock-fall section. Horizontal
and vertical curves, together with obstructions 2.1.5 Roadway Width
such as rock outcrops and roadside vegetation, can
severely limit the available sight distance. The available maneuvering room to avoid a rock fall
Decision sight distance (DSD) is used to deter- is measured perpendicular to the highway center-'
mine the length of roadway (in meters) needed to line from one edge of the pavement to the other
make a complex or instantaneous decision. DSD and includes the shoulders if they are paved.
When the roadway width is not constant, the water is known to flow continually or intermit-
minimum width is used. tently on the slope, the slope is rated accordingly.
Areas receiving less than 50 cm per year are low-
2.1.6 Geologic Case Characteristics precipitation areas. Areas receiving more than 125
cm per year are considered high-precipitation areas.
Generally, there are two cases of conditions that
cause rock fall. Case 1 includes slopes in which
joints, bedding planes, or other discontinuities are 2.1.9 Rock-Fall History
the dominant structural features. In Case 2 differ- Historical information is an important check on
ential erosion or oversteepened slopes are the the potential for future rock falls. As a better data
dominant conditions that control rock fall. The base of rock-fall occurrences is developed, more
case that best fits the slope should be used in the accurate conclusions for the rock-fall potential
evaluation. If both types are present, both are can be made.
scored but only the worst case (highest score) is
used in the rating.
2.2 Data-Base Analysis of Rock Slope
Inventory
Case 1
Structural condition is characterized by adverse It is common practice to enter the results of the
joints, those with orientations and lengths that rock slope inventory into a computer data base.
promote planar, circular, block, wedge, or toppling The data base can be used both to analyze the data
failures. Rock friction on a discontinuity is gov- contained in the inventory and to facilitate up-
erned by the characteristics of the rock material as dating of the inventory with new information on
well as by the surface roughness and properties of rock falls and construction work. The following
any infilling (see Section 2 of Chapter 14). are some examples of data-base analyses:
Case2 The slopes can be ranked in order of decreasing

Structural condition is characterized by differen- point score to identify the most hazardous
tial erosion or oversteepening, which is the domi-
slopes;
nant condition that leads to rock fall. Erosion Correlations can be found, for example, between
features include oversteepened slopes, unsup- rock-fall frequency and such factors as weather
ported rock units, or exposed resistant rocks. The conditions, rock type, and slope location;
different rates of erosion within a slope directly re- The severity of rock falls can be assessed from
late to the potential for a future rock-fall event. analysis of delay hours caused by falls;
The score should reflect how quickly erosion is oc- The effectiveness of stabilization work can be as-
curring; the size of rocks, blocks, or units being ex- sessed by determining how soon rock falls reoccur
posed; the frequency of rock-fall events; and the after stabilization work has been carried out.
amount of material released during a rock fall.
The results of such analyses of the rock slope
2.1.7 Block Size and Volume of Rock Fall inventory data base can be used to plan future
per Event stabilization work. For example, mobilization costs
for construction equipment can be minimized
The measurements in Category 7 should be repre- by selecting sites within one contract that are
sentative of whichever type of event is most likely close together and that require similar types of
to occur. The scores should also take into account equipment.
any tendency of the blocks of rock to break up as
they fall down the slope.
2.3 Selection of Stabilization Measures
2.1.8 Climate and Presence of Water
Methods of slope stabilization fall into three cate-
on Slope
gories: reinforcement, rock removal, and protec-
Water and freeze-thaw cycles both contribute to tion. Figure 18-4 includes 16 of the more common
the weathering and movement of rock materials. If stabilization measures divided into these categories.
FIGURE 18-4
Categories of rock Rock Cut
slope stabilization Stabilization and
measures. Protection
Stabilization [ Protection
Measures Ii Measures
I Reinforcement I Rock Removal I Ditches

Mesh
Catch Fences
Warning Fences
Rock Bolting Rock Sheds
Dowels Tunnels
Tied-Back Walls Resloping
Shotcrete Tnmrmng
Buttresses Scaling
Drainage
Shot-in-place
It is important that the appropriate stabilization tively, a more comprehensive program can be car-
method be used for the particular conditions at ried out using shotcrete and bolting in addition
each site. For example, where the slope is steep and to scaling. Although the initial costs of this sec-
the toe is close to the highway or railway, there will ond program will be higher, its effects will last
be no space to excavate a catch ditch or construct longer, perhaps for 20 years. Alternative stabiliza-
a fence. Alternative stabilization measures may be tion programs such as these, as well as the alterna-
to remove loose rock, secure it in place with bolts, tive of doing no work, can be compared by the use
or cover the slope with mesh. It is generally prefer- of decision analysis, which is a systematic proce-
able to remove loose rock and eliminate the hazard, dure for evaluating alternative courses of action
but only if this will form a stable face and not un- taking into account both the costand design life
dermine other potentially loose rock on the face. of the stabilization work, as well as the probability
When stabilization measures that are appropri- that rock falls will occur, causing accidents and
ate for a site are selected and designed, geotech- their costs (Wyllie et al. 1980; Roberds 1991).
nical, construction, and environmental issues
must be considered. The geotechnical issues—ge- 2.4 Construction Issues
ology, rock strength, groundwater, and stability
analysis—are discussed in Chapters 14 and 15. The following is a brief discussion of some con-
Construction and environmental issues, which struction issues that may have a significant influ-
can affect the costs and schedule of the work, must ence on stabilization work, depending on actual
be addressed during the design phase of the project site conditions.
in order for the work to be carried Out as efficiently
as possible. Issues that are frequently important are 2.4.1 Blasting
equipment access, available work time during traf-
fic closures, and disposal of waste rock and soil. Damage to rock faces by excessively heavy blast-
Another factor to consider in the selection of ing is a frequent cause of instability in the years
stabilization measures is the optimum level of following excavation of a slope. Methods of con-
work. For example, a minor scaling project will re- trolled blasting, such as preshear and trim blasting,
move the loosest rock on the slope face, but if the as described in Section 4.2, can be used to exca-
rock is susceptible to weathering, this work may vate a slope to a specified line with minimal dam-
have to be repeated every 3 to 5 years. Altema- age to the rock behind the face. -
2.4.2 Topography 2.5 Environmental Issues
The topography at a site can significantly affect A number of procedures can be implemented dur-
both the slope design and the type and extent of ing both the design and construction phases of a
stabilization work. For example, if there is a con- rock slope project to minimize the effects of this
tinuous slope above the crest of a cut, stabilization work on the environment. These procedures may
work that involves laying back the cut will have add to the direct cost of the work, but can have
the effect of increasing the cut height. This in- benefits of producing a more visually attractive
crease in cut height will require a larger catch highway and reducing environmental impact and
ditch and may result in additional stability prob- public opposition.
lems, especially if there is a substantial layer of soil
or weathered rock at the surface. 2.5.1 Waste Disposal
The least expensive method of disposing of waste
2.4.3 Construction Access
rock produced by excavation and scaling operations
in mountainous terrain is by dumping it down the
In the design of excavations and stabilization
slope below the highway. However, disposing of
work, it is necessary to determine the type of
waste rock in this manner has a number of draw-
equipment that is likely to be required to carry Out backs. First, a steeply sloping pile of loose rock may
the work and how this equipment will be used
be a visual scar on the hillside that can be difficult
at the site. For example, if it is planned to exca-
to vegetate. Second, the waste rock may become
vate a substantial volume of rock in order to lay
unstable if not adequately drained or keyed into the
back a slope, it is likely that airtrac drills and
existing slope; the material may move a consider-
excavators will have to work on the slope. In
able distance if it fails, which could endanger facil-
steep terrain it may be found that the construction
ities downslope. Third, when the road is located in
of an access road for this equipment would be
a river valley, the dumped rock may fall into the
costly and cause additional instability. Alterna-
river and have a deleterious effect on fish popula-
tively, if stabilization work is planned using large-
tions. In order to minimize these impacts, it is
diameter rock bolts, it is essential that suitable
sometimes required that the rock excavated from
drilling equipment have access to the site. For ex-
the slope be hauled to designated, stable waste sites.
ample, on steep faces, holes with a diameter larger
Another problem that may need to be ad-
than about 100 mm will have to be drilled with
dressed in the disposal of waste rock is acid-water
heavy equipment supported by a crane or anch-
drainage. In some areas of North Carolina and
ored cables. If it is not possible to use heavy dril-
Tennessee, for example, some argillite and schist
ling equipment, it will be necessary to drill
formations contain iron disulfides; percolation of
smaller-diameter holes with lightweight equip-
water through fills constructed with this rock pro-
ment, such as downhole hammers or hand-held
duces low-pH, acidic runoff. One method that has
percussion drills.
been tested to control this condition is to mix the
rock with lime to neutralize the acid potential and
2.4.4 Construction Costs then to place the blended material in the center
of the fill (Byerly and Middleton 1981). Some-
Cost estimates for stabilization work must take times it is necessary to encase the rock-lime mix-
into account both the costs of the work on the ture in an impervious plastic membrane.
slope and indirect costs such as mobilization and
traffic closures. For example, when minor stabi- 2.5.2 Aesthetics
lization work is carried out on a steep face, traffic
closures can be minimized by having the con- A series of steep, high rock cuts above a highway
struction crews work from ropes secured behind may have a significant visual impact when viewed
the crest of the slope rather than from a crane lo- both by the road user and the local population. In
cated on the road, which may block two to three scenic areas it may be desirable to incorporate ap-
lanes of traffic. propriate landscaping measures in the design of
the rock cuts in order to minimize their visual im- this reason, reinforcement of rock slopes is most
pact (Norrish and Lowell 1988). effective if it is installed before excavation—a
process known as prereinforcement.
3. ROCK REINFORCEMENT
The different applications of untensioned (pre-
reinforcement) bolts and tensioned bolts are
Figure 18-5 shows a number of reinforcement shown in Figure 18-6. Prereinforcement of a
techniques that may be implemented to secure po- benched excavation can be achieved by installing
tentially loose rock on the face of a rock cut. The bolts as each bench is excavated. Installation of
common feature of all these techniques is that fully grouted but untensioned bolts at the crest of
they minimize the relaxation and loosening of the the cut before excavation [Figure 18-6(b)] pre-
rock mass that may take place as a result of exca- vents loss of interlock of the rock mass because the
vation and unloading (Hoek 1983). Once relax- bolts are sufficiently stiff to prevent movement on
ation has been allowed to take place, there is a loss the natural fractures (Moore and Imrie 1982;
of interlock between the blocks of rock and a Spang and Egger 1990). However, when blocks
significant decrease in the shear strength. Fig- have moved and relaxed, it is necessary to install
ure 14-8(b) shows the effect of installing rock tensioned bolts in order to prevent further dis-
FIGURE 18-5
Rock slope bolts to maintain the interlock on high-angle, placement and loss of interlock [Figure 18-6(a)].
reinforcement second-order asperities. Once relaxation has taken The advantages of using untensioned bolts are the
methods. place, it is not possible to reverse the process. For lower costs and quicker installation compared
with tensioned bolts.
3.1 Rock Bolts
Tensioned rock bolts are installed across potential

failure surfaces and anchored in sound rock be-
yond the surface. The application of a tensile force
in the bolt, which is transmitted into the rock by
a reaction plate at the rock surface, produces com-
pression in the rock mass and modifies the normal
and shear stresses across the failure surface. The ef-
fect of the forces produced by the rock bolt when
installed at a dip angle flatter than the normal to
the potential failure surface is to increase the re-
sisting force and decrease the driving force. It is
found that the required bolt force to produce a
specified factor of safety is minimized when the
sum of the dip angle of the bolt (WT) and the dip
angle of the failure surface ('I's) is equal to the
friction angle (see inset, Figure 18-5). Savings in
bolting costs usually can be realized by installing
bolts at the optimum angle (W) rather than at
an angle normal to the failure surface.
The three main requirements of a permanent,
tensioned rock-bolt installation are that
There be a method of anchoring the distal end

of the anchor in the drill hole,
A known tension be applied to the bolt without
creep and loss of load over time, and
The complete anchor assembly be protected
from corrosion for the design life of the project.
These three aspects of rock-anchor design and in-

stallation are discussed below.
3.1.1 Anchorage
a> Stabilization of potentially
unstable block with tensioned
Methods of securing the distal end of a bolt in the rock bolts
drill hole include resin, mechanical, and cement-
grout anchors. The selection of the appropriate
anchor depends on such factors as the required b) Pre-reinforcement of cut
face with fully grouted,
capacity of the anchor, speed of installation, untensioned bolts
strength of the rock in the anchor zone, access to
the site for drilling and tensioning equipment, and
level of corrosion protection required.
3.1.1.1 Resin Anchors

The resin anchor system includes a plastic car-
tridge about 25 mm in diameter and 200 mm long
that contains a liquid resin and a hardener that set
when mixed together (Figure 18-7). Setting times FIGURE 18-6
ited length and tension capacity of the bolt (400
vary from about I to 5 min to as much as 90 mm, Reinforcement of
kN) and the fact that only rigid bars can be used.
depending on the reagents used. The setting time a rock slope with
Furthermore, the resin is not as effective as ce-
is also dependent on the temperature, with fast- (a) tensioned rock
ment grout for corrosion protection of steel. bolts and (b)
setting resin hardening in about 4 min at a tem-
Unlike cement grout, resin does not provide the fully grouted,
perature of -5°C and in about 25 sec at 35°C.
high pH protective layer against corrosion, and it untensioned rock
The installation method consists of inserting a bolts.
cannot be verified that the cartridges completely
sufficient number of cartridges into the drill hole to
encapsulate the steel.
fill the annular space around the distal end of the
bolt (the bar). It is important that the hole diame- 3.1.1.2 Mechanical Anchors
ter in relation to the bar size be within specified tol- Mechanical anchors consist of a pair of steel
erances so that complete mixing of the resin is wedges that are pressed against the walls of the
achieved when the bar is spun. This fit usually pre- drill hole. For the Williams anchor shown in
cludes the use of coupled anchors because the hole Figure 18-8(a), the installation procedure is to first
diameter to accommodate the coupling would be drill to the specified diameter so that when the bar
too large for complete resin mixing. The bar is spun is installed, the cone threaded on the bar is in con-
as it is driven through the cartridges to mix the
resin and form a rigid solid that anchors the bar in
the hole. The retiiiicd speed of lotalioLi is about 60
rpm, and spinning is continued for about 30 sec
after the bar has reached the end of the hole. The
maximum bolt length is about 12 m because most
drills cannot rotate longer bars at sufficient speed to
mix the resin. It is possible to install a tensioned,
resin-grouted bolt by using a fast-setting (about 2
mm) resin for the anchor and a slower-setting (30
mm) resin for the remainder of the bar. The bolt is
tensioned between the setting of the fast and slow
resins.
The primary advantages of resin anchorage are FIGURE 18-7
the simplicity and speed of installation, with sup- Resin cartridges for
port of the slope being provided within minutes of anchoring rock
spinning the bolt. The disadvantages are the lim- bolts.
FIGURE 18-8 Hexnut
Examples of rock
I)
bolts with (a) Anchor nut I I
Williams hollow
core mechanical Plastic cap
?
wedge anchor and
Anchor pIate
(b) Dywidag
grouted anchor.
WILLIAMS FORM
HARDWARE AND ROCK
BOLT COMPANY AND
DYWIDAG SYSTEMS
INTERNATIONAL
FROM GROUT
PUMP
Sheathing
IZ
fGROUTTUBE
IAMS GROUT
ADAPTER
AIR
Threadbar
a)
tact with the walls of the hole. When the bar is For cement-grout-anchored bolts, the stress dis-
torqued, the cone moves along the bar and ex- tribution along the bond length is highly nonuni-
pands the wedges against the walls of the hole to form; the highest stresses are concentrated in the
anchor the bar. proximal end of the anchor and ideally the distal
The advantages of mechanical anchors are that end of the anchor is unstressed (Farmer 1975;
installation is rapid and tensioning can be carried Aydan 1989). However, it is found that the re-
out as soon as the anchor has been set. Grouting quired length of the bond zone can be calculated
can then be done using a grout tube attached to with the simplifying assumption that the shear
the bar or through the center hole in the case of stress at the rock-grout interface is uniformly dis-
the Williams anchor. The disadvantages of me- tributed along the anchor and is given as follows:
chanical anchors are that they can be used only in
T
medium-to-strong rock in which the anchor will a or lb (18.2)
grip, and the maximum working tensile load is lrdhlb
about 200 kN. Mechanical anchors for permanent where
installations must always be fully grouted because
the wedge will creep and corrode, resulting in loss T = design tension force,
of support. dh = hole diameter,
ta = allowable bond stress, and
3.1.1.3 Cement-Grout Anchors = bond length.
Cement grout is the most common method of an-
choring long-service-life rock bolts because the Values of t can be estimated from the uniaxial
materials are inexpensive and installation is sim- compressive strength ((Y ,) of the rock in the an-
ple. Cement-grout anchorage can be used in a chor zone according to the following relationship
wide range of rock and soil conditions, and the (Littlejohn and Bruce 1975):
cement protects the steel from corrosion. Figure 0
18-8(b) shows a typical rock-bolt installation with a (18.3)
cement-grout anchorage and centering sleeves to 30
ensure complete encapsulation of the steel. The Approximate ranges of allowable bond stress
grout mix usually consists of nonshrink cement related to rock strength and rock type are pre-
and water at a water:cement ratio in the range of sented in Table 18-3.
0.4 to 0.45. This ratio will produce a grout that The diameter of the drill hole is partially deter-
can be readily pumped down a small-diameter mined by the available drilling equipment but
grout tube, yet produce a high-strength, continu- must also meet certain design requirements. The
ous grout column with minimal bleed of water hole diameter should be large enough to allow the
from the mix. Admixtures are sometimes added to anchor to be inserted without driving or hammer-
the grout to reduce shrinkage and bleeding and to ing and be fully embedded in a continuous column
increase the viscosity. of grout. A hole diameter significantly larger than
Tensioned rock bolts include a free-stressing the anchor will not materially improve the design
length (li) and a bond length (ib) [Figure 18-8(b)], and will result in unnecessary drilling costs and
with the full bond length being beneath the po- possibly excessive grout shrinkage. A guideline for
tential failure surface. Figure 15-6 shows the a suitable ratio between the diameter of the hole
method of calculating the factor of safety of a pla- (dh ) and the diameter of the anchor (d) is
nar failure in which tensioned bolts are installed.
When the bolt is at a flatter angle than the normal 0.4 - 0.6 (18.4)
to the failure surface, the bolt tension increases the
normal force and decreases the shear-displacing The working shear strength at the steel-grout in-
force on the surface. The design of rock anchors to terface of a grouted deformed bar is usually greater
sustain the necessary tension load requires the se- than the working strength at the rock-grout inter-
lection of an appropriate hole and bar diameter face. For this reason, the required anchor length is
and free-stressing and anchor lengths with respect typically determined from the stress level devel-
to the geological conditions. oped at the rock-grout interface.
Table 18-3 arrangement for a tensioned cable anchor includ-

Allowable Bond Stresses in Cement-Grout Anchors (WyIlie 1991) ing a hydraulic jack and a dial gauge set up on a
ALLOWABLE COMPRESS;VE tripod.
ROCK STRENGTH BOND STRESS STRENGTH RANGE
AND TYPE (MPA) (MPA)
3.1.3 Corrosion Protection
Strong 1.05-1.40 >100
Medium 0.7-1.05 50-100 Corrosion protection is provided for almost all
Weak 0.35-0.7 20-50 permanent anchors to ensure their longevity.
Granite, basalt 0.55-1.0 Even if anchors are not subject to corrosion at the
Dolomitic limestone 0.45-0.70
time of installation, conditions may change,
Soft limestone 0.35-0.50
Slates, strong shales 0.30-0.45 which must be accounted for in design. The fol-
Weak shales 0.05-0.30 lowing is a list of conditions that will usually cre-
Sandstone 0.30-0.60 ate a corrosive environment for steel anchors
Concrete 0.45-0.90 (Hanna 1982):
3.1.2 Tensioning Soils and rocks that contain chlorides,

Seasonal changes in the groundwater table,
When tensioned rock anchors are to be installed, Marine environments where sea water contains
it is important that a procedure be carried out to chlorides and sulfates,
check that the lull design load is applied at the re- Fully saturated clays with high sulfate contents,
quired depth and that there will be no loss of load Passage through ground types that possess dif-
with time. A suitable testing procedure has been ferent chemical characteristics, and
drawn up by the Post Tensioning Institute (1985) Stray direct electrical current that develops gal-
that includes the following four types of test: per- vanic action between the steel and the sur-
formance, proof, creep, and lift-off. rounding rock.
The performance and proof tests consist of a
cyclic testing sequence to a maximum load of 150 The corrosive environments described above can be
percent of the design load, in which the deflection quantified in terms of the pH value and the resistiv-
of the head of the anchor is measured as the an- ity of the site. In highly acidic ground (pH <4), cor-
chor is tensioned. The purpose of these tests is to rosion by pitting is likely, whereas in slightly
check that the anchor can sustain a load greater alkaline ground (pH just greater than 7), sulfate-
than the design load and that the load in the an- reducing bacteria flourish, producing a corrosive
chor is transmitted into the rock at the location of environment. Corrosion potential is also related
the potential failure surface. The creep test checks to the soil resistivity by the magnitude of current
that there will be no significant loss of load with that can flow between the steel and the soil. In
time, and the lift-off test checks that the tension general, the degree of corrosiveness decreases as
applied during the testing sequence has been per- follows (King 1977):
manently transferred to the anchor. The Post
Tensioning Institute (1985) provides acceptance
criteria for each of the four tests, and it is necessary
that each anchor meet all the acceptance criteria.
The usual method of tensioning rock bolts is to
use a hollow-core hydraulic jack that allows the
FIGURE 18-9 applied load to be precisely measured as well as cy-
Typical arrangement cles the load and holds it constant for the creep
for measuring test. It is important that the hydraulic jack be cai-
applied tension and ibrated before each project to check that the inch-
deflection of head cated load is accurate. The deflection of the
of multistrand
anchor head is usually measured with a dial gauge
anchor during
performance and to an accuracy of about 0.05 mm; the dial gauge is
proof tests of mounted on a reference point that is independent
grouted anchor. of the anchor. Figure 18-9 shows a typical test
Organic soil > clays > silts > sands > gravels
Hexnut
A number of rock-anchor manufacturers have Anchor nut
proprietary corrosion protection systems, all of
which meet the following requirements for long- Plastic cap
term reliability:
Anchor plate
There will be no breakdown, cracking, or disso- / Threadbar
lution of the protection system during the ser- 1
vice life of the anchor;
The protection system can be fabricated either Vent cap
in the plant or on the site in such a manner that
the quality of the system can be verified;
The anchor can be installed and stressed with-
//..'° .
out damage to the protection system; and
The materials used in the protection system will
be inert with respect to both the steel anchor Smooth sheathing
and the surrounding environment.
Methods of protecting steel against corrosion

include galvanizing, applying an epoxy coating, :.• °?j :<°
and encapsulating the steel in cement grout.
H1
Cement grout is commonly used for corrosion pro-
tection, primarily because it creates a high pH en- N
vironment that protects the steel by forming a

surface layer of hydrous ferrous oxide. In addition,
cement grout is inexpensive and simple to install
. .
and has sufficient strength for most applications Corrugated sheathing
and a long service life. Because of the brittle na-
ture of grout and its tendency to crack, particularly
when loaded in tension or bending, the protection
system is usually composed of a combination of
grout and a plastic [high-density polyethylene
(HDPE)] sleeve. In this way the grout produces
the high pH environment around the steel, and
the plastic sleeve provides protection against
/_ Grout cap
cracking. In order to minimize the formation of
shrinkage cracks that reduce corrosion resistance
of the grout, nonshrink grouts are usually used for
all components of the installation. Figure 18-10
-- / Cement grout
shows an example of a three-layer corrosion pro-
tection system for a rock anchor. The strands are
encapsulated in a grout-filled HDPE sheath, and
the outer annular space between the sheath and grouted into holes drilled in the underlying, stable FIGURE 18-10
the rock is filled with a second grout layer. rock, with a cap of reinforced concrete encasing Corrosion
the exposed steel (Figure 18-5, Method 1). It is protection system
for rock anchor.
3.2 Dowels important that the concrete be in intimate con- DYWIDAG SYSTEMS
tact with the rock that it is supporting so that INTERNATIONAL
Loosening and failure of small blocks of rock on movement and loss of interlock on the potential
the slope face can be prevented by the installation rupture surface are minimized. The reinforcing
of passive dowels at the toe of the block. Dowels steel dowels used to anchor the concrete to the
are composed of lengths of reinforcing steel rock are usually about 25 mm in diameter, embed-
ded about 0.5 m into sound rock, and spaced about The effectiveness of shotcrete depends to a
0.5 to 0.8 m apart. large degree on the condition of the rock surface
Because dowels provide only passive shear re- to which it is applied. The surface should be free of
sistance to sliding, they are used to support slabs of loose and broken rock, soil, vegetation, and ice
rock with thicknesses up to 1 to 2 m. Dowels are and should be damp to improve the adhesion be-
most effective when there has been no prior tween the rock and the shotcrete. It is important
movement of the rock so that there is interlock on that drain holes be drilled through the shotcrete
the potential sliding surface. For slabs thicker than to prevent buildup of water pressure behind the
1 to 2 m or where there has been movement, the face; the drain holes are usually about 0.5 m deep
required support may be provided more reliably by and are located on 1- to 2-rn centers. In massive
tensioned anchors. rock it is important that the drain holes be drilled
before the shotcrete is applied and that they be lo-
3.3 Tieback Walls cated so as to intersect fractures that carry water.
The holes are temporarily plugged with wooden
Method 3 in Figure 18-5 is used where there is po- pegs or rags while the shotcrete is applied.
tential for a sliding failure in closely fractured rock. For all permanent applications, shotcrete should
Tensioned rock bolts are required to support this be reinforced to reduce the risk of cracking and
portion of the slope, but the fractured rock may de- spalling. The two common methods of reinforce-
grade and ravel from under the reaction plates of ment are welded-wire mesh and steel fibers.
the anchors; thus, eventually the tension in the Welded-wire mesh is fabricated from light-gauge
bolts will be lost. In these circumstances, a rein- (3.5-mm-diameter) wire on 100-mm centers and is
forced concrete wall can be constructed to cover attached to the rock face on about 1- to 2-m centers
the area of fractured rock, and then the holes for with steel pins, complete with washers and nuts,
the rock anchors can be drilled through sleeves in grouted into the rock face. The mesh must be
the wall. Finally, the anchors are installed and ten- closely attached to the rock surface and fully en-
sioned against the face of the wall. The wall acts as cased in shotcrete, with care being taken to elimi-
both a protection against raveling of the rock and nate voids within the shotcrete. On irregular rock
a large reaction plate for the rock anchors. faces it can be difficult to attach the mesh closely to
Since the purpose of the concrete wall is to dis- the rock surface. In these circumstances the mesh
tribute the anchor loads into the rock, the rein- can be installed between two layers of shotcrete,
forcement for the tieback wall should be designed with the first layer creating a smoother surface to
so that there is no cracking of the concrete from the which the mesh can be more readily attached.
concentrated loads of the anchor heads or from An alternative to mesh reinforcement is to use
bending between anchors. It is also important that steel fibers that are a component of the shotcrete
there be drain holes through the concrete to pre- mix and form a reinforcement mat throughout the
vent buildup of water pressure behind the wall. shotcrete layer (Wood 1989). The fibers are
manufactured from high-strength carbon steel
3.4 Shotcrete with a length of 30 to 38 mm and diameter of 0.5
mm. To resist pullout, the fibers have deformed
Zones or beds of closely fractured or degradable ends or are crimped. The principal function of
rock can be protected by applying a layer of shot- steel fibers is to significantly increase the shear,
crete to the rock face (Figure 18-5, Method 4). tensile, and postcrack strength of the shotcrete
The shotcrete controls both the fall of small blocks compared with unreinforced shotcrete. These
of rock and progressive raveling that will produce loading conditions tend to develop when the frac-
large, unstable overhangs on the face. However, tured rock loosens behind the face.
shotcrete provides little support against sliding of
the overall slope; its primary function is surface
3.5 Buttresses
protection. Shotcrete is a pneumatically applied,
fine-aggregate mortar (less than 13 mm aggregate When a rock fall has occurred that forms a cavity
size) that is usually placed in a 75- to 100-mm layer in the slope face, it may be necessary to construct
(American Concrete Institute (1983). a concrete buttress in the cavity to prevent further
falls (Figure 18-5, Method 6). The buttress serves may result in degradation of low-strength materials
two functions: to retain and protect areas of weak or produce additional stability problems down-
rock and to support the overhang. Buttresses stream of the drains. Depending on site conditions,
should be designed so that the thrust from the it may be necessary to collect all the seepage water
rock to be supported loads the buttress in com- in a manifold and dispose of it some distance from
pression. In this way bending moments and over- the slope.
turning forces are eliminated, and there is no need Other methods of reducing water pressures in
for heavy reinforcement of the concrete or for rock slopes may be appropriate, depending on site
tiebacks anchored in the rock. conditions. For example, if surface runoff infiltrates
For the buttress to prevent relaxation of the open tension cracks, it is often worthwhile to con-
rock, it should be founded on a clean, sound rock struct diversion ditches behind the crest of the
surface. If this surface is not at right angles to the slope and to seal the cracks with clay or plastic
direction of thrust, it should be anchored to the sheeting. For large slides it may not be possible to
base using steel pins to prevent sliding. Also, the significantly reduce the water pressure in the slope
top should be poured so that it is in contact with with small drain holes. In these circumstances a
the underside of the overhang. In order to meet drainage tunnel can be driven into the base of the
this second requirement, it may be necessary to slide from which a series of drain holes is drilled up
place the last pour through a hole drilled down- into the saturated rock. For example, the Downie
ward into the cavity from the rock face and to use Slide in British Columbia has an area of about 7
a nonshrink agent in the mix. km2 and a thickness of about 250 m. There was
concern regarding the stability of the slope when
3.6 Drainage the toe was flooded by the construction of a dam.
A series of drainage tunnels with a total length of
As shown in Table 18-1, groundwater in rock 2.5 km was driven at an elevation just above the
slopes is often a contributory cause of instability. high-water level of the reservoir. From these tun-
The usual method of reducing water pressures is to nels, 13 500 m of drain holes was drilled to reduce
drill drain holes at the toe of the slope to create a groundwater pressures within the slope. These
series of outlets for the water. drainage measures have been effective in reducing
The most important factor in the design of the water level in the slide by as much as 120 m
drain holes for rock slopes is to locate them so that and in reducing the rate of movement from 10
they intersect the fractures that are carrying the mm/year to about 2 mm/year (Forster 1986).
water; little water is contained in the intact rock. An important aspect of slope drainage is to in-
For the conditions shown in Figure 18-5, the drain stall piezometers to monitor the effect of drainage
holes are drilled at a shallow angle to intersect the measures on the water pressure in the slope. For ex-
more continuous fractures that dip out of the face. ample, one drain hole with a high flow may only be
If the holes were drilled at a steeper angle parallel draining a small, permeable zone in the slope and
to these fractures, the drainage would be less ef- monitoring would show that more holes would be
fective because the holes would only intersect the required to lower the water table throughout the
steeply dipping, less continuous fractures. slope. Conversely, monitoring may show that in
There are no formulas from which to calculate low-permeability rock, a small seepage quantity
the required spacing of drill holes because it is more that evaporates as it reaches the surface may be suf-
important that the holes be located to suit the geo- ficient to reduce the water pressure and significantly
logical conditions at the site. As a guideline, holes improve stability conditions.
are usually drilled on a spacing of about 3 to 10 m to
a depth of at least one-third of the slope height. 3.7 "Shot-in-Place" Buttresses
The holes are often lined with a perforated casing,
with the perforations sized to minimize infiltration On landslides where the surface of rupture is a
of fines that are washed from fracture infillings. well-defined geological feature such as a continu-
Another important aspect of the design of drain ous bedding surface, stabilization may be achieved
holes is the disposal of the seepage water. If this by blasting this surface to produce a "shot-in-
water is allowed to infiltrate the toe of the slope, it place" buttress (Aycock 1981). The friction angle
of the broken rock is greater than that of the 4. ROCK REMOVAL

smooth and planar bedding surface because of the
greater effective roughness of the broken rock. If Stabilization of rock slopes can be accomplished
the total friction angle is greater than the dip of by the removal of potentially unstable rock; Figure
the surface of rupture, sliding is prevented. Frac- 18-11 shows typical removal methods including
turing of the rock also enhances drainage.
The method of blasting involves drilling a pat- Resloping zones of unstable rock,
tern of holes through the sliding surface and plac- Trim blasting overhangs, and
ing an explosive charge at this level that is just Scaling individual blocks of rock.
FIGURE 18-11
sufficient to break the rock. This technique re-
quires that the drilling begin while it is still safe Methods of rock removal and circumstances in
Rock-removal
for the drills to reach the slope and before the rock which removal should and should not be used are
methods for slope
stabilization. becomes too broken for the drills to operate. described in this section. In general, rock removal
is a preferred method of stabilization because the
work eliminates the hazard and no future mainte-
nance is required. However, removal should only
be used where it is certain that the new face will
be stable and where construction on active trans-
portation routes can be carried out efficiently and
safely.
4.1 Resloping and Unloading
When there is overburden or weathered rock in

the upper portion of a cut, it is often necessary to
cut this material at an angle flatter than that of
the more competent rock below (Figure 18-11,
Method 1). Careful attention should be given to
investigating this condition because the thickness
and properties of the overburden or weathered
rock can vary considerably over short distances.
Contract disputes may arise if there are major de-
sign changes during construction because of a
variation in excavation quantities.
Another condition that should be considered
during design is the rock weathering that takes
place after the cut has been excavated. An initially
stable, steep slope may become unstable some years
after construction, at which time resloping may be
difficult to carry out. Where a slide has developed,
it may be necessary to unload the crest of the cut to
reduce its height and diminish the driving force.
Resloping and unloading are usually carried out
by equipment such as excavators and bulldozers.
Consequently, the cut width must be designed to
accommodate suitable equipment on the slope
with no danger of collapse of the weak material;
this width would usually be at least 6 m. Safety re-
quirements for equipment access usually preclude
the excavation of "sliver" cuts in which the toe of
the new cut coincides with that of the old cut.
The design procedure for resloping and unload- no blast-induced fractures behind the face (lower
ing starts with back analysis of the unstable slope. By face). Controlled blasting involves drilling a series
setting the factor of safety of the unstable slope to of closely spaced, parallel holes on the required
1.0, it is possible to calculate the rock-mass strength break line to evenly distribute the explosive on
parameters (see Chapter 14). This information can the face. The spacing between holes on the final
then be used to calculate the required reduced slope line is generally in the range of 10 to 12 times the
angle or height, or both, that will produce the re- drill-hole diameter. Hole diameters on most stabi-
quired factor of safety. For most slopes on highway lization projects range from about 40 mm for
and railway projects, an acceptable factor of safety hand-held pneumatic drills to 80 mm for light,
for long-term stability is about 1.5. track-mounted drills. It is also important to limit
the hole length to about 3 m for hand-held drills
and to about 9 m for track drills, so that hole de-
4.2 Trimming
viation is not excessive. However, rock with a pro-
Failure of a portion of a rock slope may form an nounced structure can also cause excessive hole
overhang on the face (Figure 18-11, Method 2), deviation even in short holes.
which may be a hazard to traffic if it also were to In controlled blasting a low-velocity explosive
fail. The following is a brief discussion of methods with a diameter about one-half that of the hole is
of controlled blasting that can be used to excavate used. The air gap around the explosive provides a
rock to narrow tolerances without damaging the cushion that minimizes shattering of the rock
rock behind the face. around the hole but generates sufficient energy to
Figure 18-12 shows the difference in stability fracture the rock between the final line holes. The
conditions between heavily blasted rock (upper ratio between the hole diameter and the explosive
face) and controlled blasting in which there are diameter is termed the decoupling ratio. At a de-
coupling ratio of 2, the pressure generated in the
sides of the borehole is about an order of magni-
tude less than that when the explosive is packed
in the hole. As a guideline the explosive load in
the final line holes should be in the range of 0.1 to
0.5 kg/m2 of face area (Langefors and Kihlstrom
1967; Hemphill 1981; Federal Highway Admini-
stration 1985). It is normal practice to stem the
holes to minimize venting of the explosive gases.
It is usual in controlled blasting to detonate
each hole on a single delay, with the detonation
sequence starting at a free face and progressing
back to the final line. With a delay interval be-
tween holes of about 25 msec, there will be little
risk of sympathetic detonation between holes and
sufficient time for the broken rock to displace be-
fore the subsequent detonation. This methodology
helps to limit the shock energy that is transmitted
to the rock behind the face.
An alternative detonation sequence is to deto-
nate the final line first in the sequence, sometimes FIGURE 18-12
on a single delay. This procedure is termed preshear Comparison of
blasting. Preshearing should only be used when the stability conditions
of blasted rock face:
total burden is at least two to three times the hole
upper face, heavy
depth to ensure that there is adequate weight of fracturing and
rock to confine the explosive energy. Instances of overbreak; lower
displacement of the entire burden by preshear face, stable,
blasting have been recorded. Also, preshearing is presheared face.
generally not used in closely fractured rock because The crane is located on the road at the toe of the
there is little relief for the explosive gases, which slope if there is no access to the crest of the slope.
can cause damage to the rock behind the final line. The disadvantage of using a crane rather than ropes
Furthermore, ground vibrations produced by the is the expense and the fact that with the outriggers
instantaneous detonation of the preshear blasting extended, it can occupy several lanes of the road
can be greater than those produced by controlled with consequent disniption to traffic. Also, scaling
blasting with a single hole per delay. from a staging suspended from a crane can be less
safe than using ropes because the scalers are not
4.3 Scaling able to direct the crane operator to move quickly in
the event of a rock fall from the face above them.
Scaling describes the removal of loose rock, soil,
An important component of a scaling operation
and vegetation on the face of a slope using hand
in wet climates is the removal of all trees and veg-
tools such as scaling bars, shovels, and chain saws.
etation growing on the face and to a distance of
On steep slopes workers are usually supported by several meters behind the crest of the slope. Tree
ropes anchored at the crest of the slope and tied to roots growing in fractures on the rock face can
belts and carabiners around their waists (Figure force open the fractures and eventually cause rock
18-13). The most appropriate type of rope for falls. Also, movement of the trees by the wind pro-
these conditions is made of steel-core hemp that duces leverage by the roots on loose blocks. The
is highly resistant to cuts and abrasion. The scalers general loosening of the rock on the face by tree
work their way down the face to ensure that there roots also permits increased infiltration of water,
is no loose rock above them. which in temperate climates will freeze and expand
A staging suspended from a crane is an alterna- and cause further opening of the cracks. As shown
tive to using ropes for the scalers to reach the face. in Table 18-1, approximately 0.6 percent of the
rock falls on the California highway system can be
attributed to root growth.
4.4 Rock-Removal Operations
When rock-removal operations are carried out

above aLtive liigliways or railroads or in urban
areas, particular care must be taken to prevent in-
jury or damage from falling rock. Usually all traffic
should be stopped while rock removal is in
progress and until the slope has been made safe
and the road cleared of debris. When pipelines or
cables are buried at the base of the slope, it may be
necessary to protect them, as well as pavement
surfaces or rail track, from the impact of falling
rock. Adequate protection can usually be provided
by placing a cover of sand and gravel to a depth of
about 1.5 to 2 in. For particularly sensitive struc-
tures, additional protection can be provided by a
mar of tires or timber buried in sand.
During blasting it often is necessary to take pre-
cautions to control rock fragments thrown into
the air by the explosions. These fragments, called
FIGURE 18-13
flyrock, may damage buildings and utilities such as
High scaler
suspended on rope overhead transmission lines. Flyrock can be con-
and belt while trolled by means of appropriate stemming lengths,
removing loose ruk burden distances, and detonation sqtiences and
on steep rock slope. by the use of blasting mats. Blasting mats are fab-
ricated from rubber tires or conveyor belts chained stiff attachments to fixed supports, are rarely
or wired together. appropriate for stopping rock falls.
The advantage of removing unstable rock in
comparison with stabilization by the installation of 5.1 Rock-FaIl Modeling
tensioned rock anchors, for example, is that re-
Selection and design of effective protection mea-
moval can be a permanent stabilization measure.
sures require the ability to predict rock-fall behav-
However, removal of loose rock on the face of a
ior. An early study of rock falls was made by Ritchie
slope will be an effective stabilization measure only
(1963), who drew up empirical ditch design charts
if there is no risk of undermining the upper part of
related to the slope dimensions, as described in
the slope and if the rock forming the new face is
Section 5.3. In the 1986s, the prediction of rock-fall
sound. Method 4 in Figure 18-11 is an example of a
behavior was enhanced by the development of a
case in which rock removal should be carried out
number of computer programs that simulate the be-
with care. It would be safe to remove the outermost
havior of rock falls as they roll and bounce down
loose rock provided that the fracturing was caused
slope faces (Piteau 1980; Wu 1984; Descoeudres and
by blasting and extended only to shallow depth.
Zimmerman 1987; Spang 1987; Hungr and Evans
However, if the rock mass is deeply fractured, con-
1988; Pfeiffer and Bowen 1989; Pfeiffer et al. 1990).
tinued scaling will soon develop a cavity that will
Figure 18-14 shows an example of the output
undermine the upper part of the slope. from the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program
Removal of loose rock on the face of a slope is
(CRSP). The larger plot shows the path of a single
not effective when the rock is highly degradable,
falling rock, which lands and comes to rest on the
such as shale. In these circumstances exposure of a
outer slope of the ditch. The inset shows the distri-
new face will start a new cycle of weathering and
bution for 100 rock falls with bounce heights at each
instability. For this condition, a more appropriate
1.7-rn horizontal interval measured from the top of
stabilization method would be protection of the
the slope. Similar histograms can be obtained for the
face with shotcrete and rock bolts or with a bounce height and rock velocity at the analysis
tieback wall. Design of the protection measure
point (in the example, this point is located at a 21.6-
should consider its longevity compared with the
m horizontal distance from the top of the slope).
design life of the facility and the stability of the
The input for the program includes definitions of
slope, because shotcrete alone will not provide
the slope and ditch geometry, irregularity (rough-
support against sliding. ness) of the face, attenuation characteristics of the
slope materials, and the size and shape of the block.
5. PROTECTION MEASURES AGAINST The degree of variation in the shape of the ground
ROCK FALLS surface is modeled by randomly varying the surface
roughness in relation to the block size between fixed
An effective method of minimizing the hazard
limits for each of a large number of runs.
of rock falls is to let the falls occur and to control
The results of analyses such as those shown in
their distance and direction of travel. Methods of
Figure 18-15, together with geological data on
rock-fall control and protection of facilities at the
block sizes and shapes, can be used to estimate the
toe of the slope include catchment ditches and
dimensions of a ditch or its optimum position and
barriers, wire mesh fences, mesh hung on the face
the required height and strength of a fence or bar-
of the slope, and rock sheds. A common feature
rier. In some cases it may also be necessary to ver-
of all these protection structures is their energy-
ify the design by constructing a test structure. In
absorbing characteristics, which either stop the
the following sections, types of ditches, fences,
rock fall over some distance or deflect it away
and barriers and the conditions in which they can
from the facility that is being protected. As de-
be used are described.
scribed in this section, it is possible, by the use of
appropriate techniques, to control rocks with di-
ameters of as much as 2 to 3 m falling from 5.2 Benched Slopes
heights of several hundred meters and striking
with energies as high as 1 MJ. Rigid structures, Excavation of intermediate benches on rock cuts
such as reinforced concrete walls or fences with usually increases the rock-fall hazard. Benches can
FIGURE 18-14
Example of analysis
of rock-fall behavior
using Colorado
Rockfall Simulation
Program (CRSP) with
analysis point at
horizontal distance
of 21.6 m from crest
(Pfeiffer and Bowen
1989).
be a hazard when the crests of the benches fail be- sign (Figure 18-15). For slope angles steeper than
cause of blast damage and the failed benches leave about 75 degrees, the rocks tend to stay close to
irregular protrusions on the face. Rock falls strik- the face and land near the toe of of the slope. For
ing protrusions tend to bounce away from the face slope angles between about 55 and 75 degrees,
and land a considerable distance from the toe. rocks tend to bounce and spin, with the result that
When the narrow benches fill with debris, they they can land a considerable distance from the toe
will not be effective in catching rock falls. It is and a wide ditch is required. For slope angles be-
rarely possible to remove this debris because of the tween about 40 and 55 degrees, rocks will tend to
hazardous conditions of working on narrow, dis- roll down the face and into the ditch, and a steep
continuous benches. outer face is required to prevent them from rolling
out. Where the slope is irregular witih protrusions
5.3 Ditches on the face, the ditch dimensions should be in-
creased from those shown on the chart to account
A catch ditch at the toe of the slope is often a for less predictable bounces of falling rock, or the
cost-effective means of stopping rock falls when slope can be modeled as shown in Figure 18-14 to
there is adequate space for it. The required di- determine required ditch dimensions.
mensions df the ditch, as defined by the width of Recent updates of Ritchie's ditch design chart
the base and the depth, are related to the height incorporate highway geometric requirements as
and face angle of the slope (Richie 1963). A ditch well as cut dimensions (Washington State
design chart developed from field tests shows the Department of Transportation 1986), and the
effect of the slope angle on the path that rock falls Oregon Department of Transportation has carried
tend to follow and how this influences ditch de- Out an extensive series of tests of ditch require-
FIGURE 18-15
Design chartto
determine required
width and depth of
rock catch ditches
in relation to height
and face angle of
slope (Ritchie 1963).
t,\Roll
Fence
300 - slope angle, xVf
Slope
Height (D)
ments for rock falls on 1/4:1 cut faces (Pierson mensions, and the availability of construction ma-
et al. 1994). terials. Commonly used examples are gabions and
concrete blocks or geofabric-and-soil barriers.
The .function of a barrier is to form a ditch
5.4 Barriers
with a vertical outer face that traps rolling
rock. Barriers are particularly useful at the toes of
A variety of barriers can be constructed to either flatter slopes where falling rock rolls and spins down
enhance the performance of excavated ditches the face but does not bounce significantly. Such
or form catchment zones at the toes of slopes. The rocks may land in a ditch at the toe of the slope but
required type of barrier and its dimensions depend can roll, up the sloping outer side onto the road; a
on the energy of the falling blocks, the slope di- vertical barrier helps to trap such falls.
5.4.1 Gabions and Concrete Blocks rubber tires (Figure 18-17). The capacity of a bar-
rier of this type to stop rock falls depends on its
Gabions are rock-filled baskets, typically measur-
mass in relation to the impact energy and on its
ing 1 m by 1 in in cross section, that are often con-
capacity to deform without failing. The deforma-
structed on site with local waste rock (Threadgold
tion may be both elastic deformation of the bar-
and McNichol 1985). Advantages of gabions are
rier components and shear displacement at the
the ease of construction on steep hillsides and ir-
fabric layers or on the base.
regular foundations and their capacity to sustain
Extensive testing of prototype barriers by the
considerable impact from falling rock. However,
Colorado Department of Transportation has
gabions are not immune to damage by impacts of
shown that limited shear displacement occurs at
rock and maintenance equipment, and repair costs
the fabric layers and that they can withstand high-
can become significant. Concrete barriers are also
energy impacts without significant damage (Bar-
used extensively on transportation systems for
rett and White 1991). For example, a 1.8-rn-wide
rock-fall containment because they are often read-
geofabric barrier stopped rock impacts delivering
ily available and can he placed quickly. However,
950 kJ of energy.
concrete blocks are somewhat less resilient than
gabions.
Gabions and concrete blocks or concrete Jersey 5.5 Rock Catch Fences and Attenuators
barriers form effective protection from falling rock
During the 1980s various fences and nets suitable
with diameters up to about 0.75 in. Figure 18-16
for installation on steep rock faces, in ditches, and
shows an example of a ditch with two layers of
on talus runout zones were developed and thor-
gabions along the outer edge forming a 1.5-rn-high
oughly tested (Smith and Duffy 1990; Barrett and
barrier (Wyllie and Wood 1981).
White 1991; Hearn 1991; Kane and Duffy 1993).
A design suitable for a particular site depends on
5.4.2 Geofabric-and-SojI Barriers the topography, anticipated impact loads, bounce
height, and local availability of materials. A com-
Various barriers have been constructed using geo-
mon feature of these designs is that with the ab-
fabric and soil layers, each about 0.6 in thick, built
FIGURE 18-16 sence of any rigid components, they exhibit
up to form a barrier that may be as high as 4 in. By
Rock catch ditch energy-absorbing characteristics. When a rock
with 1 .5-rn-high wrapping the fabric around each layer, it is possi-
collides with a net, there is deformation of the
gabion wall along ble to construct a barrier with vertical front and
mesh, which then engages energy-absorbing com-
outer edge (Wyllie back faces; the impacted face can be strengthened
ponents over an extended time of collision. This
and Wood 1981). with such materials as railway ties, gabions, and
significantly increases the capacity of these com-
ponents to stop rolling rock and allows the use of
lighter, lower-cost elements in construction. The
total impact energy is the sum of the kinetic and
rotational energies; the rotation of the block is
also significant in determining the amount of
damage at the point of impact.
5.5.1 Woven Wire-Rope Nets
Nets with high-energy-absorption capacity con-

structed with woven wire-rope mesh or ring mesh
(submarine netting) have been developed. They
can be located either in the ditch beside the road
or railroad or on the steep slopes above it. The
components of these nets are a series of steel
I-beam posts on about 6-rn centers anchored to
the foundation with grouted bolts. Additional
support for the posts can be provided by up-slope
anchor ropes incorporating friction brakes that are

activated during high-energy events to help dissi-
pate the impact forces (Figure 18-18).
The mesh is a two-layer system composed of a
50-mm chain-link mesh and a woven wire-rope
net constructed typically with 8-mm-diameter
wire rope in a diagonal pattern on 100- to 200-mm
centers. The wire rope and net dimensions will
vary with expected impact energies and block
sizes. An important feature of the wire-rope net is
the method of fixing the intersection points of the
wire rope with high-strength crimped fasteners.
The mesh is attached to the posts by lacing it on a
continuous-perimeter wire rope that is attached to
brackets at the top and bottom of each post.
An extensive series of full-scale tests conducted a deflection of the posts of more than about 45 de- FIGURE 18-17
on mesh nets has shown that they have the ca- grees. This deflection limit provides protection from Rock-fall barrier
pacity to stop rocks with impact energies as high rock-fall events in which a number of boulders strike constructed with
as 800 kJ without sustaining significant damage soil wrapped in
the fence at approximately the same time.
(Smith and Duffy 1990; Duffy and Hailer 1993). geofabric reinforcing
This energy is equivalent to rock weighing 3000 strips and timber
5.5.3 Fences on Talus Slopes protective facade
kg traveling at a velocity of 23 rn/sec. The tests
(Barrett and White
also.showed that rock fallscould readily be cleared Rock falls down talus slopes tend to roll and stay 1991)
Out from behind the net by unthreading the close to the slope surface. In these conditions a
perimeter rope and lifting the mesh. lightweight chain-link fence placed either on the FIGURE 18-18
slope or along the outside edge of the ditch will de- Side view of woven
5.5.2 Flex-Post Rock-Fall Fence celerate or catch the rock. The position of the fence wire-rope rock catch
depends on the size of the blocks and the height of fence (Smith and
The Flex-post fence (Hearn 1991) is composed of Duffy 1990).
a series of posts constructed of bundles of seven-
wire prestressing strands grouted into lengths of
steel pipe (Figure 18-19). A portion of the strand 16mm Wire.Rope
W 8x48
bundle is left ungrouted, forming a flexible spring Wir.Rope
Anchor
mm. with braking
element
I
- Steel Post
element that can withstand large rotations of the Grout /

post without damage. The posts are spaced at
about 5 m and are installed by being grouted into ..,
Friction Brake
.•.
drill holes or pits to depths of about 1.0 m. Pairs of Wii-Rope Net
diagonal wire-rope stays installed' between the 3m
Chain4ink mesh
tops and bottoms of adjacent posts help to dissi- Ddllhole.'
loomm
3m
pate impact energies over an extended length of diam.
the fence. The mesh is standard 50 mm square at-

tached to the posts with intertwined steel wires.
When small rocks strike the fence, the energy is
absorbed by the mesh and wire stays; for larger
rocks, the mesh is stretched taut and the posts / .15m)
bend. The fence then rebounds to its initial verti- Concrete
cal position, sometimes throwing the rock back

into the ditch.
The Flex-post fence is a low-cost, low-energy
rock-fall barrier that should be designed preferably (Not to Scale)
so that the highest impact energy does not result in

order to improve the aesthetics of the fence, a

second fence constructed from hanging timbers
can be located just downslope from the tire at-
tenuator (Figure 18-20).
Maintenance requirements and worker safety
should be considered in the design of fence systems.
:31 A properly designed system should not need fre-
quent repairs if the actual impacts are within the
tolerances of design energies. However, clearing out
3.
of accumulated rock is necessary for any system.
Typically, fixed barriers such as geofabric walls re-
quire room behind them for clearing operations. In
contrast, woven wire-rope fences do not have this
requirement because of their modular design, which
allows the nets to be cleared from the front by the
removal or lifting of each panel in turn.
5.6 Draped Mesh

Wire mesh hung on the face of a rock slope can be
an effective method of containing rock falls close
FIGURE 18-19 the fall. Such fences are used extensively in the to the face and preventing them from bouncing
Colorado Flex-post onto the road (Ciarla 1986). Figure 18-21 shows
states of Washington and Oregon (Lowell 1987).
rock-fall fence an example of mesh installed on a near-vertical
(Hearn 1991).
5.5.4 Rock-FaIl Attenuators face. Because the mesh absorbs some of the energy
When rocks fall down a narrow gully or chute of the falling rock, the required dimensions of the
bounded by stable rock walls, it is possible to in- ditch at the toe of the slope are considerably re-
stall a variety of relatively lightweight fences that duced from those shown in Figure 18-15. When
slow down and absorb the rock-fall energy. The there is no ditch, the lower end of the mesh
general method of construction is to install a pair should be no more than about 0.6 m above the toe
of anchors to support a wire rope from which the to prevent rocks from rolling onto the road.
fence, spanning the gully, is suspended. For rock Chain-link mesh is suitable on steep faces for
falls with fragment dimensions up to about 200 controlling rock falls with dimensions less than
mm, it is possible to use chain-link mesh draped about 0.6 m, and woven wire rope may be suitable
down the chute from the anchor rope; wire-rope for rock with dimensions up to about 1 m. For
mesh can be used for larger blocks. Falling rocks larger blocks, ring nets can be used. For very high
are gradually brought to a halt as they bounce and installations, chain-link mesh can be reinforced
roll under the mesh. with lengths of wire rope. In all cases the upper
For blocks as large as 1 m, an attenuator fence edge of the mesh or net should be placed close to
utilizing waste automobile tires has proved to be the source of the rock fall so that the blocks will
successful in a number of installations in have little momentum when they strike the mesh.
Colorado (Andrew 1992). The fence consists of a The features of a mesh installation are as follows.
wire rope from which a number of steel rods are Anchors are installed along the slope above the an-
suspended each holding a stack of tires mounted ticipated rock-fall source. The anchors can consist
on rims (Figure 18-20). The stacks of tires are of steel loop-eye rock bolts grouted into holes drilled
arranged so that they form a continuous barrier in the rock or concreted into larger-diameter holes
across the chute. When the attenuator is struck excavated in soil. Support cables consisting of an
by a falling rock, the kinetic energy is dissipated upper-perimeter cable and vertical reinforcement
by a combination of the compression of the rub- cables are attached to the anchors. The mesh is se-
ber tires and the movement of the stacks of tires, cured to the cables with lacing wire, hog rings, or
which swing on the suspension cable rope. In other types of specialty fasteners. The mesh is not
anchored at the bottom of the slope or at interme- Stacked tires including wheel
diate points. This permits rocks to work their way rims
down to the ditch rather than accumulating behind Timber facing
the mesh; the weight of such accumulations can
--,
cause the mesh to fail.
-,
-------
5.7 Warning Fences Rock Outcrop .
Fences and warning signals that are triggered by

falling rock are sometimes used to protect railroads
and highways (Figure 18-22). The warning fence
consists of a series of timber posts and cantilever
crossarms that support rows of wires spaced about . Rockfall
0.5 m apart. At least one wire will be broken by
rocks rolling or bouncing down the face. The
wires are connected to a signal system that dis-
plays a red light when a wire is broken. The signal
light is located far enough from the rock slope that
drivers have time to stop and then to proceed with
caution before they reach the rock-fall location.
Warning fences are most applicable on trans-
energy-absorbing characteristics of the compo- FIGURE 18-20
portation systems where traffic is light enough to
nents of the shed—anchorage of the roof to the Rock-fall attenuator
accommodate occasional closures of the line.
cliff face, the roof, and the footings in the slope constructed in chute
However, the use of warning fences as a protec- (Andrew 1992).
below the road. A stable anchorage requires that
tion measure has a number of disadvantages. The
the anchors themselves, and the rock face to
signal lights must be located a considerable dis-
which the roof is anchored, withstand both the
tance from the slope, and falls may occur after the
traffic has passed the light. False alarms can be
caused by minor falls of rock or ice, and mainte-
nance costs can be significant.
5.8 Rock Sheds and Tunnels
In areas of extreme rock-fall hazard where stabi-

lization work would be very costly, construction of
a rock shed or even relocation of the highway or
railroad into tunnels may be justified. Figure 18-23
shows an example of a number of rock sheds con-
structed to protect a railroad. The sheds were built
with timber roofs that are inclined at a slightly
shallower angle than the chutes down which the
rocks are falling. The function of the roof is to di-
rect the rocks over the track rather than to with-
stand a direct impact.
Figure 18-24 shows a possible construction pro-
cedure for a rock shed where there are steep slopes
FIGURE 18-21
above and below the highway. In this case the roof Wire mesh hung
will sustain the direct impact of falling rock and on vertical face to
must be designed to withstand impact loads. The direct falling rock
critical feature of the design is the relationship be- into ditch at toe of
tween the energy of the falling rock and the slope.
FIGURE 18-22 Alternatively, a lighter-weight crushable element,

Typical warning such as a cellular metal panel, may be used. The
fences at toe of
columns supporting the lower end of the roof are
steep rock slope to
founded on rock-socketed piers that extend
detect rock falls on
railway. through the Iiil ililo sound rock. This typc offoun-
dation provides ihe tequijed support with minimal
settlement.
In locations at which it is impractical to con-
struct a rock shed, it may be necessary to drive a
tunnel to bypass the hazard zone. For example, a
railway in British Columbia drove a 1200-rn-long
tunnel to avoid a scction of track located on a nar-
row bench between a steep, unstable rock cliff
above a 400-rn-deep lake. Major rock falls were a
hazard to train operations and had caused track do-
lasting as long as two weeks (Leighton 1990).
6. CONTRACTING PROCEDURES
Specifications and contract administration for

projects involving rock slope stabilization have
particular requirements that differ from those for
most excavation projects. Some contractual re-
quirements of these projects and how they may be
addressed in the specifications are described in the
following sections.
FIGURE 18-23 6.1 Flexibility

Rock sheds dead load of the structure and the live load pro-
constructed with duced by the rock-fall impact. The impact load Contracts on most stabilization projects must be
steeply sloping roofs will include both a normal load and some tensile flexible with regard to both the scope of the work
that deflect rock component. The gravel on the roof acts as an en- and the procedures required because these may
falls over ergy absorbent and protection for the concrete, only be determined as the work progresses. For ex-
railway tracks. but its thickness must be balanced against the
(:ANADIAN NATIONAL
ample, scaling may be specified for an area of
RAILWAY weight that must be supported by the structure. loose, broken rock, but the actual scaling time will
depend on the extent of the loose rock that be-
r. comes evident once scaling begins. Furthermore,
,.': ,.
the number and length of bolts will be assessed
from the dimensions and shear-strength charac-
4:: :
. teristics of the potentially loose blocks remaining
on the face after scaling is complete. It is particu-
A larly difficult to estimate the scope of the stabiliza-
tion work when the slope is partially covered with
4 , soil and vegetation and when it is too dangerous
to reach the slope during the investigation phase
of the project.
One form of stabilization in which the scope of
the work can be defined with some precision is
f resloping, in which an existing slope is cut back at
I
a flatter angle. If a series of cross sections is pre-
pared, the excavation volume can be specified.
6.2 Payment Methods
In order to prepare a flexible contract, it is neces-

sary to have a method of payment that allows for
possible changes in the quantities and methods of
work. This requirement can usually be met by re-
questing bids on unit prices for items the quantities
of which are uncertain. An estimate is given for
the expected quantity of an item, and the product
of this quantity and the unit bid price forms the
basis for comparing bids and making payments. A
formula should be included for increasing unit
prices if actual quantities are less than those esti-
mated or for decreasing unit prices if quantities are
greater than those estimated. This adjustment
takes into account the contractor's fixed overhead,
which is independent of the quantity of work.
Work items often bid on unit prices include scal-
ing hours for a crew of a specified size, length of rock
bolts, volume of shotcrete, and standby time on
transportation routes when work has to stop for
traffic openings. Work items often bid as lump sums
include mobilization and demobilization and con-
crete volume for buttresses of specified dimensions.
Cost-plus-fixed-fee is an appropriate type of
contract for emergency work. In this type of con-
tract the contractor is paid specified costs for labor,
equipment, and materials related to the direct costs
plus an additional fee. This fee is a profit-plus man-
agement fee as reimbursement to the contractor for
overhead costs incurred from the performance of
the work. Items making up the fee include, but are
not limited to, salaries, rent, taxes, and interest on
money borrowed to finance the project. For work
on emergencies the fee may be negotiated on a per- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FIGURE 18-24
Rock shed showing
centage of the cost. However, in order to control Important conthbutions to this chapter were made by possible anchoring
costs, the scope of the work should be defined as R. K. Barrett, Colorado Department of Transpor- and foundation
soon as possible and either a fixed fee should be ne- tation (fences and barriers); J. D. Duffy, California construction
gotiated or the contract should be converted into a Department of Transportation (fences); S. M. Lowell, methods.
lump-sum contract. Washington Department of Transportation (fences
and ditches); and L. A. Pierson, Oregon Department
6.3 Preselection of Transportation (slope inventory systems).
When the stabilization contract requires work on

REFERENCES
steep slopes and specialized skills such as trim
blasting and installation of tensioned rock bolts, it American Concrete Institute. 1983. Specifications for
is usually advantageous to have the work per- Materials, Proportioning and Application of Shotcrete.
formed by experienced contractors. Therefore, if it ACI Report 506.2-7 7, revised. Detroit, Mich.
is permitted by procurement regulations, only suit- American Society of State Highway and Transporta-
ably qualified contractors should be invited to sub- tion Officials. 1984. A Policy on Geometric Design of
mit bids. Highways and Streets. Washington, D.C., 1087 pp.
502 Landslides: investigation and Mitigation
Andrew, R. D. 1992. Selection of Rockfall Fookes, P. G., and M. Sweeney. 1976. Stabilization
Mitigation Techniques Based on Colorado and Control of Local Rock Falls and Degrading
Rockfall Simulation Program. In Tranportation Rock Slopes. Quarterly Journal of Engineering
Research Record 1343, TRB, National Research Geology, Vol. 9, pp. 3 7-55.
Council, Washington, D.C., pp. 20-22. Forster, J. W. 1986. Geological Problems Overcome
Aycock, J. H. 1981. Construction Problems at Revelstoke, Part Two. Water Power and Dam
Involving Shale in a Geologically Complex Construction, Aug., pp. 42-45.
Environment-State Route 32, Appalachian Groupe d'Etudes des Falaises. 1978. Eboulements et
Corridor "5," Grainger County, Tennessee. In Chutes de Pierres sur les Chutes: Recensement des
Proc., 32nd Annual Highway Geology Symposium, Parades. Rapport de Recherche LPC No. 81.
Gatlinburg, Tenn:, pp. 6-58. Ministère de b'Environment et du Cadre de Vie
Aydan, 0. 1989. The Stabilization of Rock Engineering Ministère des Transports, Laboratoire Central des
Structures by Rock Bolts. Ph.D. thesis. Department Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
of Geotechnical Engineering, Nagoya University, Hanna, T. H. 1982. Foundations in Tension-Ground
Japan, 204 pp. Anchors. Trans Tech Publications/McGraw-Hill
Barrett, R. K., and J. L. White. 1991. Rock Fall Book Company, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, West Ger-
Prediction and Control. In Proc., National Sym- many, 573 pp.
posium on Highway and Railway Slope Mainten- Hearn, G. 1991. CDOT Flex-post Rockfall Fence.
ance, Association of Engineering Geologists, Report CDOH-R-UCB-91-6. Colorado Depart-
Chicago, III., pp. 23-40. ment of Transportation, Denver, 105 pp.
Brawner, C. 0., and D. C. Wyllie. 1975. Rock Slope Hemphill, G. B. 1981. Blasting Operations. McGraw-
Stability on Railway Projects. In Proc., American Hill, New York, 258 pp.
Railway Engineering Association Regional Meeting,
Hoek, E. 1983. Strength of Jointed Rock Masses.
Vancouver, B.C., American Railway Engineering
Geotechnique, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 187-223.
Association, Washington, D.C., 8 pp.
Hoek, E., and J. Bray. 1981. Rock Slope Engineering,
Byerly, D. W., and L. M. Middleton. 1981.
2nd ed. Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
Evaluation of the Acid Drainage Potential of
London, U.K., 402 pp.
Certain Precambrian Rocks in the Blue Ridge
Hungr, 0., and S. G. Evans. 1988. Engineering Evalu-
Province. In Proc., 32nd Annual Highway Geology
ation of Fragmental Rock Fall Hazards. In Proc.,
Symposium, Gatlinburg, Tenn., pp. 174-185.
Fifth International Symposium on Landslides, Laus-
Ciarla, M. 1986. Wire Netting for Rock Fall Pro-
anne, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands,
tection. In Proc., 37th Annual Highway Geology
Symposium, Helena, Mont., Montana Department pp. 685-690.
of Highways, pp. 100-1 18. Kane, W. F., and J. D. Dully. 1993. Brugg Low Energy
Descoeudres, F., and T. Zimmerman. 1987. Three- Flexible Rock Fall Barrier Tests. Technical
Dimensional Calculation of Rock Falls. In Proc., Research Report 93-01. University of the Pacific,
Sixth International Congress on Rock Mechanics, Stockton, Calif., 20 pp.
Montreal, Canada, International Society for King, R. A. 1977. A Review of Soil Corrosiveness with
Rock Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 337-342. Particular Reference to Reinforced Earth. Supple-
Duffy, J. D., and B. HaIler. 1993. Field Tests of Flex- mentary Report 316. U.K. Transport and Road
ible Rockfall Barriers. In Proc., International Con- Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, Berkshire,
ference on Transportation Facilities through Difficult England.
Terrain, Aspen, Cob., A.A. Balkema, Rotter- Langefors, U., and B. Kihlstrom. 1967. The Modern
dam, Netherlands, pp. 465-473. Technique of Rock Blasting. John Wiley and Sons,
Farmer, I. W. 1975. Stress Distribution Along a New York, 405 pp.
Resin Grouted Anchor. International Journal of Leighton, J. C. 1990. New Tunnel at Shalath Bluff
Rock Mechanics & Geomechanics Abstracts, Vol. on BC Rail's Squamish Subdivision. In Proc.,
12, pp. 347-351. Eighth Annual Meeting of the Tunnelling Association
Federal Highway Administration. 1985. Rock Blast- of Canada, Vancouver, B.C., Oct., Bitech
ing. U.S. Department of Transportation, 355 pp. Publishers, Ltd., pp. 255-266.
Federal Highway Administration. 1989. Rock Slopes: Littlejohn, G. S., and D. A. Bruce. 1975. Rock
Design, Excavation and Stabilization. Report FHWA- Anchors-State of the Art. Part 1, Design.
TS-89-045. U.S. Department of Transportation. Ground Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 41-48.
Lowell, S. M. 1987. Development and Application National Research Council, Washington, D.C.,
of Ritchie's Rock Fall Catch Ditch Design. In pp. 13-28.
Proc., Federal Highway Administration Rockfall Roberds, W.J. 1991. Methodology for Optimizing Rock
Mitigation Seminar, FHWA Region 10, Portland, Slope Preventive Maintenance Programs. Geotech-
Oreg., 15 pp. nical Special Publication 27. American Society
McCauley, M. L., B. W. Works, and S. A. Nara- of Civil Engineers, New York, pp. 634-45.
more. 1985. Rockfall Mitigation. Report FHWA/ Schuster, R. L. 1992. Recent Advances in Slope
CA/TL-85/12. FHWA, U.S. Department of Stabilization. Keynote paper, Session G.3. In
Transportation, 147 pp. Proc., Sixth International Symposium on Landslides,
Moore, D. P., and A. S. Imrie. 1982. Rock Slope Christchurch, New Zealand, A.A. Balkema,
Stabilization at Revelstoke Damsite. In Transac- Rotterdam, Netherlands.
tioris, 14th International Congress on Large Dams, Smith, D. D., and J. D. Duffy. 1990. Field Tests and
ICOLD, Paris, Vol. 2, pp. 365-385. Evaluation of Rockfall Restraining Nets. Division of
Norrish, N. I., and S. M. Lowell. 1988. Aesthetic Transportation Materials and Research, Engi-
and Safety Issues for Highway Rock Slope Design. neering Geology Branch, California Department
In Proc.,. 39th Annual Highway Geology Sympos- of Transportation, Sacramento.
ium, Park City, Utah, 31 pp. Spang, R. M. 1987. Protection Against Rock Fall-
Peckover, F. L. 1975. Treatment of Rock Falls on Railway Stepchild in the Design of Rock Slopes. In Proc.,
Lines. Bulletin 653. American Railway Engineering Sixth International Congress on Rock Mechanics,
Association, Washington, D.C., pp. 471-503. Montreal, Canada, International Society for
Pfeiffer, T. J., and T. D. Bowen. 1989. Computer Rock Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 55 1-557.
Simulation of Rockfalls. Bulletin of the Association of Spang, K., and P. Egger. 1990. Action of Fully-
Engineering Geology, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 135-146. Grouted Bolts in Jointed Rock and Factors of
Pfeiffer, T. J., J. D. Higgins, and A. K. Turner. 1990. Influence. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering,
Computer Aided Rock Fall Hazard Analysis. In Vol. 23, pp. 201-229.
Proc., Sixth International Congress of the Interna- Threadgold, L., and D. P. McNichol. 1985. The De-
tional Association of Engineering Geology, Amster- sign and Construction of Polymer Grid Boulder
dam, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Barriers to Protect a Large Public Housing Site
pp. 93-103. for the Hong Kong Housing Authority. In
Pierson, L. A., S. A. Davis, and R. Van Vickle. 1990. Polymer Grid Reinforcement, Thomas Telford
The Rockfall Hazard Rating System: Implementation Press, London, pp. 212-219.
Manual. Technical Report FHWA-OR-EG-90- Van Velsor, J. E., and J. L. Walkinshaw. 1991.
01. FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation. Accelerated Movement of a Large Coastal
Pierson, L. A., S. A. Davis, and T. J. Pfeiffer. 1994. Landslide Following the October 17, 1989 Loma
The Nature of Rock Falls as the Basis for New Prieta Earthquake in California. In Transportation
Fallout Area Design Criteria for 0.25:1 Slopes. Research Record 1343, TRB, National Research
Report FHWA-OR-GT-95-05. FHWA, U.S. Council, Washington, D.C., pp. 63-71.
Department of Transportation, 31 pp. Washington State Department of Transportation.
Piteau, D. R. 1980. Slope Stability Analysis for Rock 1986. Roadway Design Manual, Section 640.
Fall Problems: The Computer Rock Fall Model Olympia, Wash.
for Simulating Rock Fall Distributions. In Rock Wood, D. F. 1989. Shotcrete-Steel Fiber Rein-
Slope Engineering, Part D, Reference Manual forced with Silica Fume Additives. Tunnelling
FHWA-TS-79-208, FHWA, U.S. Department of Association of Canada Newsletter, April.
Transportation, pp. 62-68. Wu, S-S. 1984. Rockfall Evaluation by Computer
Piteau, D. R., and F. L. Peckover. 1978. Engineering Simulation. In Transportation Research Record
of Rock Slopes. In Special Report 176: Landslides: 1031, TRB, National Research Council,
Analysis and Control (R.L. Schuster and R.J. Washington, D.C., pp. 1-5.
Krizek, eds.), TRB, National Research Council, Wyllie, D. C. 1987. Rock Slope Inventory System.
Washington, D.C., Chap. 9, pp. 192-225. In Proc., Federal Highway Administration Rockfall
Post Tensioning Institute. 1985. Recommendations Mitigation Seminar, FHWA Region 10, Portland,
for Prestressed Rock and Soil Anchors, 2nd ed. Oreg., 25 pp.
Phoenix, Ariz., 57 pp. Wyllie, D. C. 1991. Rock Slope Stabilization and
Ritchie, A. M. 1963. Evaluation of Rock Fall and Its Protection Measures. In Proc., National Sym-
Control. In Highway Research Record 17, HRB, posium on Highway and Railway Slope Stability,
504 Lands/ides: Investigation and Mitigation
Association of Engineering Geologists, Chicago, Wyllie, D. C., N. R. McCammon, and W. Brumund.

pp. 41-63. 1980. Planning Slope Stabilization Programs
Wyllie, D. C., and D. F. Wood. 1981. Preventive Using Decision Analysis. In Trans portation
Rock Blasting Protects Track. Railway Track and Research Record 749, TRB, National Research
Structures, Sept., pp. 34-40. Council, Washington, D.C., pp. 34-39.

Stabilization of Rock Slopes: 6, Chapter

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Stabilization of Rock Slopes: 6, Chapter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

6,Chapter 18

DUNCAN C. WYLLIE AND

1. INTRODUCTION slope failures that block the facility. The effects of

A successful rock slope stabilization program

Under these circumstances, stabilization work can

overall hazard. The four columns correspond to INVENTORY OF -- -

The effectiveness of a ditch is measured by its abil- Section 2.3

Case2 The slopes can be ranked in order of decreasing

I Reinforcement I Rock Removal I Ditches

2.4.2 Topography 2.5 Environmental Issues

3.1 Rock Bolts

Tensioned rock bolts are installed across potential

There be a method of anchoring the distal end

These three aspects of rock-anchor design and in-

3.1.1.1 Resin Anchors

Table 18-3 arrangement for a tensioned cable anchor includ-

3.1.2 Tensioning Soils and rocks that contain chlorides,

Methods of protecting steel against corrosion

vironment that protects the steel by forming a

of the broken rock is greater than that of the 4. ROCK REMOVAL

4.1 Resloping and Unloading

When there is overburden or weathered rock in

4.4 Rock-Removal Operations

When rock-removal operations are carried out

300 - slope angle, xVf

5.5.1 Woven Wire-Rope Nets

Nets with high-energy-absorption capacity con-

anchor ropes incorporating friction brakes that are

element that can withstand large rotations of the Grout /

the fence. The mesh is standard 50 mm square at-

cal position, sometimes throwing the rock back

so that the highest impact energy does not result in

order to improve the aesthetics of the fence, a

5.6 Draped Mesh

Fences and warning signals that are triggered by

5.8 Rock Sheds and Tunnels

In areas of extreme rock-fall hazard where stabi-

FIGURE 18-22 Alternatively, a lighter-weight crushable element,

Specifications and contract administration for

FIGURE 18-23 6.1 Flexibility

6.2 Payment Methods

In order to prepare a flexible contract, it is neces-

When the stabilization contract requires work on

Association of Engineering Geologists, Chicago, Wyllie, D. C., N. R. McCammon, and W. Brumund.

You might also like