MEE10001

Materials and Processes Assignment 1 Rock Bolts

Lucas Morgan
and Will Huson
7662793
7694210
Rock Bolts:

23/05/2014

A rock bolt is used predominantly in mining to reinforce rock faces.

This is accomplished by inserting a rock bolt into the rock face and tightening a
plate on the bolt that compress the rock face; this stabilizes the compressed
sections of rock so the face doesnt fall apart.
See Diagram: 1.1 *Obtained from reference 1.

Types of rock bolt:

There are a number of different types of rock bolt in use; however all need to be
fixed into the drilled hole in the rock face to function. There are three main styles
of rock bolt that accomplish this with different strengths and weaknesses.
Expansion shell Bolts
Bolt is inserted into undersized hole by force and remains there through friction
with the hole.
Quick to install, but unsafe to use on unstable rock face. Moderate strength, long
lifetime.
Swellex -dowel Bolts
Bolt is inserted into oversized hole, and then the bolt is filled with concrete to
occupy the bolt-hole.
Cheap and quick to install, reliable, and safe to use in most situations, however
corrosion is a concern as hollow bolt is in contact with rock. High strength, long
lifetime.
Cable Bolts
Cable is inserted into hole, which is then filled with concrete and capped.
Very cheap and easy to tension and install, but difficulties arise with the concrete
installation around the cable. Low strength, reasonable lifetime.

MEE10001

Materials and Processes Assignment 1 Rock Bolts

23/05/2014
Lucas Morgan
and Will Huson
7662793
7694210
As injection bolts have a high strength, long lifetime, and are reliable while
remaining cheap we will look at the material selection for this style of bolt.
Performance requirements:
Tensile Strength
-So bolts can withstand tensioning to support the rock face.
Low Mod. Of Elasticity
-Required so bolts can be expanded by concrete
injection when installed.
Moderate % elongation -Essential so when bolts stretch when under tension
they do not fail.
Weight; lower is better
-Welcome when installing materials on a large scale or
in delicate rock faces.
Corrosion resistance
-Required for lifetime durability as the material will
contact its environment.
3 materials come to mind in regard to these criteria;
Materials/Prope
rty
*Reference 2.
AZ31B
Manganese
Steel Alloy
Al2024
Aluminium
Alloy
Ti-5Al-2.5Sn
Titanium Alloy

Tensile
Strength

Modulus of
Elasticity

Density

Corrosion
Resistance

45 GPa

%
Elongation
at break
15%

290 MPa

1.8 g/cm3

Poor

485 MPa

72 GPa

18%

2.8 g/cm3

Good

760 MPa

110 GPa

16%

4.5 g/cm3

Very Good

Materials costs and availability:

AZ31B Manganese Steel Alloy: Widely available, cost of approx. 2.5-3.5
thousand USD per ton
AL2024 Aluminium alloy: Widely available, cost of approx.
3.5-4 thousand
USD per ton
Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Titanium alloy: Not so common, cost of approx.
20-45 thousand
USD per ton
Processing and Environment:
To obtain the Aluminium alloy, heat treatment followed by cold working is
required, which involves some heavily energy dependent processes, which
means a large environmental footprint.
For the Titanium alloy heat treatment and smelting contribute to a relatively
higher environmental footprint compared to the other two materials.
Finally in regard to the Manganese Alloy, it involves less energy in its production
than the other two materials, and so has the smallest environmental impact of
the three materials.

MEE10001

Materials and Processes Assignment 1 Rock Bolts

Lucas Morgan
and Will Huson
7662793
7694210

23/05/2014

Conclusion:
We recommend using Al2024 aluminium alloy, which has been solution heat
treated then cold worked and finally aged at room temperature, to meet the
performance requirements of Swellex-dowel rock bolts.
This material satisfies the design requirements of Swellex-dowel bolts well
without costing too much in comparison with the other two materials discussed.
In addition it has a relatively low weight while having good corrosion resistance,
tensile strength and modulus of elasticity. Despite the Titanium alloy meeting all
of the requirements better than the other materials its lower availability and cost
of up to 10 times as much was a strong limiting factor in its use on a large
industrial scale.

MEE10001

Materials and Processes Assignment 1 Rock Bolts

Lucas Morgan
and Will Huson
7662793
7694210

23/05/2014

References:
1.
ASM Material Data Sheet. 2014. ASM Material Data Sheet. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://asm.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?
bassnum=MA2024T4.
[Accessed 23 May 2014].
2.
14-Rock Bolts and Cables [Article accessed ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.rocscience.com/hoek/corner/14_Rockbolts_and_cables.pdf.
[Accessed 23 May 2014].
3.
William D. Callister Jr., David G. Rethwisch, 2014, Materials Science and
Engineering, An introduction 9th edition.