http://www.sciencedirect.

com/science/article/pii/S1365160906001158

Abstract
The Geological Strength Index (GSI) system, proposed in 1995, is now widely used for the
estimation of the rock mass strength and the rock mass deformation parameters. The GSI system
concentrates on the description of two factors, rock structure and block surface conditions. The
guidelines given by the GSI system are for the estimation of the peak strength parameters of
jointed rock masses. There are no guidelines given by the GSI, or by any other system, for the
estimation of the rock mass residual strength that yield consistent results. In this paper, a method
is proposed to extend the GSI system for the estimation of a rock mass's residual strength. It is
proposed to adjust the peak GSI to the residual GSIr value based on the two major controlling
factors in the GSI systemthe residual block volume <img height="17" border="0"
style="vertical-align:bottom" width="19" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the
MathML source" src="http://origin-ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1365160906001158si1.gif">Vbr and the residual joint condition factor <img height="17" border="0"
style="vertical-align:bottom" width="16" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the
MathML source" src="http://origin-ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1365160906001158si2.gif">Jcr. Methods to estimate the residual block volume and joint condition factor are
presented. The proposed method for the estimation of rock mass's residual strength is validated
using in-situ block shear test data from three large-scale cavern construction sites and data from a
back-analysis of rock slopes. The estimated residual strengths, calculated using the reduced
residual GSIr value, are found to be in good agreement with field test or back-analyzed data.

Keywords

Rock mass;

Rock mass classification;

Geological strength index;

Rock failure

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 705 675 1151; fax: +1 705 675 4838.
Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase2 Model > Material Properties > Define Material Properties

Strength Parameters
In the Define Material Properties dialog, the Strength Parameters allow you to define:

the failure (strength) criterion for a material

the material type (elastic or plastic)

Failure Criterion
The following strength criteria are available in Phase2 for defining the strength of your rock
mass or soil:

Mohr-Coulomb

Hoek-Brown

Drucker-Prager

Generalized Hoek-Brown

Cam-Clay

Modified Cam-Clay

Discrete Function

See below for information about each failure criterion.

NOTE: for the Mohr-Coulomb, Hoek-Brown or Generalized Hoek-Brown criteria, you can link
directly to RocData or RocLab to help determine values of input parameters.
Material Type
You may select either Elastic or Plastic for the Material Type.
Elastic Material
If you choose Material Type = Elastic, then the failure criterion parameters which you
enter will only be used for the calculation and plotting of strength factor within the
material. Although an Elastic material cannot "fail", the failure envelope allows a
degree of overstress to be calculated.
Plastic Material
If you choose Material Type = Plastic, the strength parameters you enter will be used
in the analysis if yielding occurs. This is unlike Elastic materials, where the strength
parameters are only used to obtain values of strength factor, but do not affect the
analysis results (i.e. stresses and displacements are not affected).
If you define a material to be Plastic then you may also define residual strength
parameters and a dilation parameter, depending on the strength criterion.

1.
o

If the residual strength parameters are equal to the peak parameters, then
you are defining an "ideally" elastic-plastic material.

The dilation is a measure of the increase in volume of the material when

sheared (see below for more information).

NOTE: if you define a material as Plastic, then you are restricted to Isotropic elastic
properties for that material. You cannot combine plasticity with Transversely Isotropic or
Orthotropic elastic properties.
Mohr-Coulomb
For the Mohr-Coulomb criterion you must define the following parameters:

Cohesion

Friction Angle

Tensile Strength

If you are not considering pore pressure in the analysis, then the cohesion and friction angle
are total stress parameters. If you are considering pore pressure, then cohesion and friction
angle are effective stress parameters.
If the Material Type = Plastic, you will also be able to define:

Dilation Angle

Residual values of cohesion, friction angle and tensile strength

Link to RocData / RocLab
For assistance with determining Mohr-Coulomb parameters you can startup RocData
or RocLab by selecting the
RocLab by selecting the

button, and paste applicable data from RocData or

button. See below for further information.

Hoek-Brown
The Hoek-Brown strength criterion in Phase2, refers to the ORIGINAL Hoek-Brown failure
criterion [ Hoek & Bray (1981) ], described by the following equation:

Note that this is a special case of the Generalized Hoek-Brown criterion, with the
constant a = 0.5. See below for definition of the parameters in this equation.

The original Hoek-Brown criterion has been found to work well for most rocks of good to
reasonable quality in which the rock mass strength is controlled by tightly interlocking
angular rock pieces.
For lesser quality rock masses, the Generalized Hoek-Brown criterion can be used.
Link to RocData / RocLab
For assistance with determining Hoek-Brown parameters you can startup RocData or
RocLab by selecting the

button, and paste applicable data from RocData or

RocLab by selecting the

button. See below for further information.

Generalized Hoek-Brown
For the Generalized Hoek-Brown criterion you must define the following parameters:

The intact uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the rock.

parameters mb, s and a

If the Material Type = Plastic, you will also be able to define:

Dilation parameter

Residual values of mb, s and a

The Generalized Hoek-Brown strength criterion is described by the following equation:

where:

mb is a reduced value (for the rock mass) of the material constant mi (for the intact
rock)

s and a are constants which depend upon the characteristics of the rock mass

is the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the intact rock pieces

and

are the axial and confining effective principal stresses respectively

In most cases it is practically impossible to carry out triaxial or shear tests on rock masses
at a scale which is necessary to obtain direct values of the parameters in the Generalized

Hoek-Brown equation. Therefore some practical means of estimating the material constants
mb, s and a is required. According to the latest research, the parameters of the Generalized
Hoek-Brown criterion [ Hoek, Carranza-Torres & Corkum (2002) ], can be determined from
the following equations:

where:

GSI is the Geological Strength Index

mi is a material constant for the intact rock

the parameter D is a "disturbance factor" which depends upon the degree of

disturbance to which the rock mass has been subjected by blast damage and stress
relaxation. It varies from 0 for undisturbed in situ rock masses to 1 for very
disturbed rock masses.
Parameter Calculator
The parameters GSI, mi, D and UCS can be estimated for your material using the
Parameter Calculator dialog, which is available by selecting the GSI button
in the
Define Material Properties dialog. Values of mb, s and a are automatically calculated
from the above equations, and the rock mass modulus is also calculated. See the
Parameter Calculator topic for more information.
Link to RocData / RocLab
For assistance with determining Generalized Hoek-Brown parameters, you can startup
RocData or RocLab by selecting the

button, and paste applicable data from

RocData or RocLab by selecting the

button. See below for further information.

Drucker-Prager

The Drucker-Prager strength parameters are:

Tensile Strength

q parameter

k parameter

If the Material Type = Plastic, you will also be able to define:

Dilation parameter

q (residual), k(residual)

NOTE: if you wish to calculate equivalent Drucker-Prager parameters based on MohrCoulomb parameters, click here for the appropriate equations.
Cam-Clay
Specification of the Cam-Clay model requires five material parameters, and the initial state
of consolidation. These parameters are summarized below. For a theoretical overview of the
Cam-Clay and Modified Cam-Clay strength models, see the Theory section.
Lambda
Lambda ( ) is the slope of the normal compression (virgin consolidation) line and
critical state line (CSL) in

space.

Kappa
Kappa ( ) is the slope of a swelling (loading-unloading) line in

space.

Critical State Line Slope (M)

The slope (M) of the Critical State Line (CSL) in

space.

Specific Volume (N or Gamma)

There are two possible methods for defining the specific volume parameter. The N
parameter defines the specific volume of the normal compression line at unit pressure.
The Gamma ( ) parameter defines the specific volume of the CSL at unit pressure.
The choice of parameter can be selected by the user in the Cam-Clay Options dialog
(see below).
Elastic Parameters

There are two possible methods of defining the elastic parameter for a Cam-Clay
material. You may enter either the Shear Modulus or Poissons Ratio. The choice of
parameter can be selected by the user in the Cam-Clay Options dialog (see below).
Initial State of Consolidation
There are two possible methods for defining the initial state of consolidation. The
Overconsolidation Ratio (OCR) is the ratio of the previous maximum mean stress to
the current mean stress. Or you can specify the Preconsolidation Pressure (Po). The
choice of parameter can be selected by the user in the Cam-Clay Options dialog (see
below).
Cam-Clay Options
If you select the Options button in the Define Material Properties dialog, you will be
able to choose the method of defining the following Cam-Clay parameters:

1.
o

Elastic Parameters (Shear Modulus or Poisson's Ratio)

Specific Volume at Unit Pressure (N or Gamma)

Initial State of Consolidation (OCR or Preconsolidation pressure)

The selections in the Cam-Clay Options dialog determine the Cam-Clay parameters
which can be entered in the Define Material Properties dialog, for a given material.
Modified Cam-Clay
The Modified Cam-Clay strength model in Phase2 has the same input parameters as the
Cam-Clay model, but uses the Modified Cam-Clay equations. See above for a summary of
input parameters.
For a theoretical overview of the Cam-Clay and Modified Cam-Clay strength models, see the
Theory section.
Discrete Function
The Discrete Function option allows you to define Mohr-Coulomb shear strength
parameters (cohesion, friction angle) at a grid of discrete points within a material. The shear
strength at any point within the material is then interpolated from the data at the grid
points. This allows you to define any type of strength distribution within a material. Elastic
modulus can also be defined at the discrete grid points.
See the Discrete Strength Function topic for details.
Dilation Parameter

A dilation parameter can be defined for Mohr-Coulomb, Hoek-Brown and Drucker-Prager

materials, if the Material Type = Plastic.
Dilatancy is a measure of how much volume increase occurs when the material is sheared.

For a Mohr-Coulomb material, dilatancy is an angle that generally varies between

zero (non-associative flow rule) and the friction angle (associative flow rule).

For Hoek-Brown materials, dilatancy is defined using a dimensionless parameter that

generally varies between zero and m.

Low dilation angles/parameters (i.e. zero) are generally associated with soft rocks while
high dilation angles/parameters (i.e. phi or m) are associated with hard brittle rock masses.
A good starting estimate is to use 0.333*m or 0.333*phi for soft rocks and 0.666*m or
0.666*phi for hard rocks.
Link to RocData / RocLab
If you have the programs RocData or RocLab installed on your computer, you can start up
these programs directly from the Define Material Properties dialog. You can then use
RocData or RocLab to help determine parameters for the Mohr-Coulomb, Hoek-Brown or
Generalized Hoek-Brown criteria (e.g. by curve fitting lab test data, for example).

To start up RocData or RocLab select the

button in the Define Material Properties
dialog. If you have both programs installed on your computer, then RocData will be
opened.

To paste applicable results from RocData / RocLab into Phase2, first select the Copy
Data option in RocData / RocLab, and then select the paste button
in the Define
Material Properties dialog in Phase2. Applicable data will be pasted into the dialog. If
applicable results for the selected strength criterion are not found, an error message
will be displayed.

For information about RocData and RocLab see the Rocscience website.