DIFFERENT TYPES OF

ROCK SUPPORTS

INTRODUCTION
Rock support : The procedures and materials

used to improve the stability and maintain the

load bearing capacity of rock near to the
boundaries of an underground excavation.
Primary objective : To mobilize and conserve
the inherent strength of the rock mass so that
it becomes self-supporting.
Rock support combines the effects of
reinforcement, by such elements as dowels,
tensioned rock bolts and cables, and support,
with shotcrete, mesh and steel sets.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCK
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Rock reinforcement or active support :

The supporting elements are an integral part

of the reinforced rock mass. Ex : A pattern of
un-tensioned grouted dowels.
Rock support or passive support :

These supporting members are external to the

rock and respond to inward movement of the
rock surrounding the excavation. Steel sets
are an example of passive support.

TYPES OF ROCK SUPPORT

SYSTEMS
Rock bolts
Shotcrete

temporary

Grouting
Steel ribs
Concrete lining

permanent

Note : Rock bolts when used in a pattern they

act as a permanent support.

TUNNEL LINING
Permanent lining is required in most

tunnels, always in soft ground and

frequently in rock. The purpose of a lining
is partly structural, to contain and support
the ground and control inflow of water, as
well as to provide an internal finishing
suitable for the equipment of the tunnel.

FUNCTIONS
The final tunnel lining has to sustain a large
number of influences. The main ones are:
Stemming from the ground:
Ground pressures
Landslides, earth subsidence
Earthquakes
Water pressures
Chemicals actions of aggressive subsoil

components

Resulting from construction

construction activities such as dead weight in fresh
state
shrinking
annular gap grouting, roof grouting
transport activities for ready-made parts
(segments, ready-made pipes)
jacking forces, back-up loads.
Through utilization
influences of temperature on the air or from
sewage
chemical attacks from gases, sewage, thawing salt
traffic influences
transportation of rubble or stones in the case of
water pressure tunnels
fire in the case of transport tunnels.

TYPES OF LINING
Primary lining :
To sustain the loads and deformations that the
ground may induce during the tunnel's working.
Control of water egress (exit) & ingress
(entrance).
Secondary lining :
Smooth bore profiles for their intended use
Erosion and corrosion protection for the primary
lining
Further waterproofing

The principal materials and construction

methods for permanent lining of bored

tunnels are:
in-situ concrete
sprayed concrete (shotcrete)
segments in prefab concrete or cast-iron.

INSTALLATION
The permanent tunnel lining has to be

dimensioned both in static and constructional

terms to cope with these influences.
Shallow tunnels are often lined by dropping

concrete down holes drilled from the surface

while the greater depth of most rock tunnels
requires concreting entirely within the tunnel.

The invert is generally concreted first, followed by

the arch where forms must be left in place from 14

to 18 hours for the concrete to gain necessary
strength.
Voids at the crown are minimized by keeping the

discharge pipe buried in fresh concrete. The final

operation consists of contact grouting, in which a
sand-cement grout is injected to fill any voids and
to establish full contact between lining and ground.
The method usually produces progress in the

range of 40 to 120 feet per day.

APPLICATIONS
Excavation stabilization in tunneling
Sealing works in underground construction
Tunnel and underground chamber lining
Slope stabilisation
Stabilisation in mine and gallery
Protective lining construction

ADVANTAGES
Compressed air conditions in the tunnel
Better visibility
More attractive appearance
Simpler installation

WIRE MESH
Wire mesh is used to support small pieces of

loose rock and broken rock from falling.

Two types of wire mesh currently used in

underground operations are

chainlink mesh
weld mesh.

ADVANTAGES
Mesh is very economical and quickly installed.
It is easy to attach to roof reinforcement with

extra faceplates and nuts.

It is easily repaired.

DISADVANTAGES

Mesh cannot carry excessive load of broken rock

without failure.
It is easily damaged by flyrock from nearby
blasts.

APPLICATIONS
Mesh is useful for supporting small pieces of

broken rock.
Weldmesh is used traditionally as
reinforcement for shotcrete.

STRAPS
This system is used extensively in mining and

civil engineering applications to hold slabby

ground between rock bolts or to prevent slabs
from loosening.
The strap is formed to follow the rock surface
and held with regular rock reinforcement or
specially installed pins.
Straps should always be installed across
weakness planes.

ADVANTAGES
Straps are easy to install with rock bolts.
They are very effective in stratified, slabby

ground.

DISADVANTAGES
Straps cannot be used to control ravelling in

loose, blocky ground if the block size is small.

APPLICATIONS
Steel straps are used to give roof control in

ground where rockbolts or dowels alone

cannot hold intermediate and relatively thin
slabs of rock.

ROCK BOLTS
Steel bolts are frequently set in holes drilled into

the rock to assist in supporting the entire roof or

individual rock slabs that tend to fall into a tunnel.
MECHANISM-Rock bolts maintain the stability of

an opening by suspending the dead weight of a

slab from the rock above by providing a normal
stress on the rock surface to clamp discontinuities
together and develop beam action by preventing
key blocks becoming loosened so that the
strength and integrity of the rock mass is
maintained.

Underground mines use two principal types of

rock reinforcement:
Tensioned mechanically anchored rock bolts.
Un-tensioned grouted or friction anchored

dowels.

MECHANICALLY ANCHORED
TENSIONED ROCKBOLT

ADVANTAGES
Bolt can be tensioned immediately after

installation using an impact wrench, torque

wrench or hydraulic jack, and grouted at a
later stage when short term movements have
ceased.
Provides very reliable anchorage in good rock.
High bolt loads can be achieved.

DISADVANTAGES

Correct installation requires skilled workmen

and close supervision.

Grout tubes are often damaged during
installation.

SHOTCRETE
Shotcrete is the generic name for cement,

sand and fine aggregate concretes which are

applied pneumatically and compacted
dynamically under high velocity.
The difficulty of access and unusual loading

conditions are some of the problems which are

peculiar to underground mining and which
require new and innovative applications of
shotcrete technology.

TYPES OF SHOTCRETE
Dry mix shotcrete
Wet mix shotcrete
Steel fibre reinforced micro silica shotcrete
Mesh reinforced shotcrete

DRY MIX SHOTCRETE

WET MIX SHOTCRETE

COMPARISON OF DRY AND

WET MIX SHOTCRETE
Dry mix system tends to be more widely used

in mining, because of inaccessibility for large

transit mix trucks and because it generally uses
smaller and more compact equipment.
The wet mix system is ideal for high production

applications, where a deep shaft or long tunnel

is being driven and where access allows the
application equipment and delivery trucks to
operate on a more or less continuous basis.

STEEL FIBRE REINFORCED

MICRO SILICA SHOTCRETE
Additives :

cementitious admixture - silica fume

steel fibre reinforcement

Silica fume or micro silica is a by-product of

the ferro silicon metal industry and is an

extremely fine pozzolana.

Pozzolans are ce- mentitious materials which

react with the calcium hydroxide produced

during cement hydration.

Silica fume, added in quantities of 8 to 13% by

weight of cement, can allow shotcrete to achieve

compressive strengths which are double or triple
the value of plain shotcrete mixes.
Result - an extremely strong, impermeable and
durable shotcrete.
Added benefits:
reduced rebound
improved flexural strength
improved bond with the rock mass
the ability to place layers of up to 200 mm thick in

a single pass because of the shotcrete's

'stickiness.

Steel fibre reinforcement a replacement of

wire mesh.

Reinforcement increases ductility.

Tests showed that the addition of steel fibres

to silica fume shotcrete enhances both the

compressive and flexural strength of the
hardened shotcrete by up to 20%.

The peak strength of these slabs increased by

approximately 85% and 185% for 1.0 and 1.5

volume % of fibres, respectively.

MESH REINFORCED
SHOTCRETE
In very poor quality, loose rock masses, where

adhesion of the shotcrete to the rock surface

is poor, the mesh provides a significant
amount of reinforcement, even without
shotcrete.
Plain shotcrete is applied later to provide
additional support and to protect the mesh
against corrosion.

COMPARISON OF FIBRE AND

MESH REINFORCED
SHORTCRETE
Same strength , but mesh superior in

bending.

In small mines, quality control is a problem

with fibre reinforced concrete because of nonuniform distribution of fibres.

ADVANTAGES
Prompt application before loosening starts to

reduce the strength of the rock mass.

Increased safety while application.
Shotcreting can be developed into a single-

support system that is strengthened

progressively as needed for conversion into
the final support.

Application to any elevations because sprayed

concrete adheres immediately and bears its

own weight.

Can be applied on uneven substrates

Good adhesion to the substrate.
Totally flexible configuration of the layer

thickness on site.

Rapid load-bearing skin can be achieved

without forms (shuttering) or long waiting times.

DISADVANTAGES
Shotcrete's quick-setting properties have

been achieved by the injection of highalkaline additives at the spraying nozzle.

The resulting concrete is highly porous,
and lacks strength.
Caustic dust from the additives can cause

skin and lung problems, and represents a

health hazard to construction workers.