The Zagros fold-thrust belt results from the continent-continent collision between the Arabian margin and the Eurasian plate following the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean during the Tertiary. Despite some ongoing controversies about the timing of the onset of the collision there is little doubt that the main episode of the cover shortening in the Zagros folded belt occurred since about 10 Ma as suggested by the youngest folded strata of the Agha Jari red marls. Shortening by about 70 km derived from balanced sections across the Zagros folded belt, yields shortening rates of 7 km Ma-1 consistent with the present-day rates of 0.7 cm yr-1 based on GPS studies. A major unconformity between the Agha Jari formation and the Bakhtyari conglomerates indicates that cover shortening decreased or ceased 5 Ma ago. During or since the deposition of the Bakhtyari Formation, the Zagros fold belt underwent a regional uplift whose origin still remains enigmatic. The deformation is characterized by periodic folding with axial lengths sometimes greater than 200 km. This fold geometry is outlined by the limestone beds of the Asmari Formation, which is one of the main oil reservoirs in the Zagros. The Zagros also serves as the main originating headspring of the rivers running into the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea watersheds. Among all these rivers, the major ones are: Arvand Rud, Gamasb, Karun, Rajah, Zaal and Marun join and form Jarahi, Seymareh, Qareh Aqhaj, Zohreh, Dalaki, Mend, Shur, Minab, Mehran and Naband. Therefore, the Zagros region has high potential for dam construction to control surface water for electric energy, water supply for irrigation of agricultural lands and land reclamation. Among various formations in the Zagros region, the Asmari Formation limestone with relatively exclusive characteristics such as rigidity and morphology is a suitable rock foundation for dams in the Zagros range. It should be considered that the Asmari limestones constitute a series of double plunging, asymmetrical folds with northwest-southeast trend and that the southern flanks are steeper than the north-eastern ones (70° to 90º, locally reversed). Due to varying inclinations, there are much more curvatures of strata in the southwestern flanks of folded structures, with different characteristics of the rock mass in the two flanks of the anticlines. The anticlines, particularly in the Asmari Formation, contain tension-induced, open fracturing which has introduced significant secondary permeability. Engineering geological investigations indicate that there is a clear relationship between rock mass characteristics of the Asmari Formation and tectonic activities such as various tilting and curvature rates of strata at folded structures in the Zagros Mountain range. In this regard it should be considered that the upper and middle units of the Asmari Formation that constituted the main dam foundation rock mass on the northern flanks are influenced by karstification processes which have resulted from aggressive mineral waters. Thus huge karst features and cavities can be observed, where the Gachsaran evaporites stratigraphically overlie Asmari Formation succession limestones. The aggressive mineral waters originating from the Gachsaran Formation play the main role in karstification of the Asmari Formation limestones, whereas the lower Asmari is less influenced by these solutions and karstification processes as it is restricted to where the Karun-3 and Karun-4 dams are situated. Reassessment of available data and geological investigations during this research, lead to a new proposed configuration of engineering characterization of the rock mass for the Asmari formation limestones in the Zagros Region. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Geology / unrestricted

Jointed rock masses are formed of intact rock and joints. There-fore, proper characterization of rock mass behavior has to consid-er the combined behavior of the intact rock blocks and that of the joints. This thesis presents the theoretical background of the Synthetic Rock Mass (SRM) modeling technique along with example applica-tions. The SRM technique is a new approach for simulating the mechanical behavior of jointed rock masses. The technique uses the Bonded Particle Model (BPM) for rock to represent intact ma-terial and the Smooth-Joint Contact Model (SJM) to represent the in situ joint network. In this manner, the macroscopic behaviour of an SRM sample depends on both the creation of new fractures through intact material, and slip/opening of pre-existing joints. SRM samples containing thousands of non-persistent joints can be submitted to standard laboratory tests (UCS, triaxial loading, and direct tension tests) or tested under a non-trivial stress path repre-sentative of the stresses induced during the engineering activity under study. Output from the SRM methodology includes pre-peak properties (modulus, damage threshold, peak strength) and post-peak proper-ties (brittleness, dilation angle, residual strength, fragmentation). Of particular interest is the ability to obtain predictions of rock mass scale effects, anisotropy and brittleness; properties that can-not be obtained using empirical methods of property estimation. Additionally, the nature of yielding and fracturing can be studied as the rock mass fails. This information can improve our understand-ing of rock mass failure mechanisms. / QC20100720

Sweden's population is increasing every year, which means that cities must adapt their infrastructure to be able to follow the demographic trend. In the current situation, Stockholm plans a major expansion of its metro network where evaluating the bedrock quality is of paramount importance. For the new SL metro connection project Gula linjen that stretches between Odenplan and Arenastaden in Solna, the company WSP has previously done quality surveys of the bedrock in the area and dimensioning of the reinforcements in the planned tunnels. Previous survey of the lineaments and weakness zones in the area has been done by means of core drilling and observations in the field. This study examines if the lineaments in the area are associated to any structures below ground surface in the bedrock by examining rock samples from drill cores. A digital presentation tool called Astrock hyperdata report is evaluated in this study by comparing manual measurements of the orientation of the joints in drill cores and the software´s measurements. The studied bedrock in the drill cores varies in quality from very poor to very good. Further examinations of zones of particularly poor rock quality done in this study suggest that the two identified lineaments have different characteristics. The north-west/south-east lineament which runs parallel to the planned metro route is indicated to represent the surface trace of a water-bearing fracture zone in the bedrock. The lineament with the E/W direction is dominated by structures and fault rocks, such as fault gouge and crushed rock in the drill cores, which indicates a brittle deformation zone. For the Gula linjen project, this information becomes useful as the underground reinforcements such as bolting and grouting have to / Sveriges befolkning ökar varje år, vilket gör att städer måste anpassas och expandera för att kunna följa den demografiska utvecklingen. I Stockholm planeras i dagsläget en stor utbyggnad av dess tunnelbanenätverk där det sker mycket arbete kring utvärdering av berggrunden för att göra detta möjligt. För Stockholms lokaltrafiks (SL) tunnelbaneprojektet Gula linjen som ska gå mellan Odenplan och Solna har företaget WSP tidigare gjort kvalitetsundersökningar av berggrunden i området samt dimensioneringar av förstärkningar i de planerade tunnlarna. Studier av svaghetzoner och lineamenten i området har gjorts med hjälp av kärnborrning och fältobservationer. Denna studie undersöker om lineamenten som finns i området är kopplade till strukturer längre ner i berggrunden genom att undersöka bergprov i form av borrkärnor. Som komplement har det digitala redovisningsverktyget Astrock hyperdata report använts för att kunna jämföra strukturer i berget med de egna mätningarna i studien. Programmet kommer även att utvärderas i studien. De erhållna värdena från undersökningen på borrkärnorna varierar i kvalitet från väldigt dålig till väldigt bra. Närmare studier på zoner av särskilt dålig kvalitet tyder på att de båda lineamenten karaktäriseras av olika typer av strukturer. Det nordväst-/sydöstliga lineamentet, som går parallellt med den planerade tunnelbanesträckan, domineras av strukturer som tyder på att lineamentet representerar en vattenförande sprickzon under markytan. I lineamentet med öst-västlig riktning dominerar strukturer som tyder på förekomsten av en förkastningszon. För projektet Gula linjen blir denna information användbar då den vattenförande sprickzonen kan innebära att tunnelförstärkning med injektering måste göras för ytterligare skydd mot vatteninträngning.

<p>Today’s climate changes will probably give rise to precipitation in Sweden, which will cause more floods in Swedish rivers. Many of the Swedish rivers are regulated and have lots of hydro-electro power plants. Higher floods in the rivers will give greater water loads on the dams, which mean that a higher discharge through the sluice gates and in the spillway channels is needed. High discharge of water in a spillway channel can create scour of the material in the channel. Usually, for spillways in Swedish hydropower plants, this material is rock and the scour is in form of rock blocks. Scour downstream of dams can in the worst case endanger the dam construction.</p><p>The purpose of this study was to identify the extent and the type of rock scour that may appear in spillway channels of Swedish hydro power plants. The scour in rock material in a spillway channel is usually caused by pressure fluctuations in the water, which can cause large differences in pressure on the top and bottom surfaces of blocks. This pressure difference can be high enough to lift whole blocks. The main factors that affect this kind of scour are the crack pattern of the rock mass, the geometry of the spillway, the discharge of water and the surface fluctuation in the water. In this study a numeric model analyse, a field study and a literature study has been made in order to examine the influence on scour of the orientation of cracks in a rock mass. A rock mass containing a group of cracks with small or no dip is more likely to scour when it is exposed to discharging water. The orientation of the cracks in a rock mass relative to the direction of the water flow has also an impact on the capacity of the rock mass to resist scour.</p><p>In the field study the scour pattern in the spillway channels of the hydro power plants in Ligga, Harsprånget, Porjus, Satisjaure and Seitevare was examined. The scour of rock mass in the spillway channels in Ligga, Harsprånget and Porjus has been extensive. The rock mass in these channels has bedding cracks of small distances. This is probably the reason why these rock masses are sensitive for loads from discharging water. The rock mass in the spillway channel in Satisjaure has lots of cracks and is also very sensitive for loads from discharging water. This channel has been rebuilt during 2004.</p><p>There are different methods to predict the ability of a rock mass to resist scour. The Erodibility Index Method is a semi-empirical method that is verified by field observations in the USA. In this work the ability to apply this method on Swedish channels has been examined with field observations from Porjus, Harsprånget and Seitevare. As the Erodibility Index Method seemed to work in the case of these three spillways, it was also applied on the spillways in Satisjaure and Ligga.</p><p>Measures to reduce the energy in the discharging water in the spillways are very effective to reduce the risk of scouring in the rock mass. Blasted stairs in the rock mass in a channel or a stilling basin downstream the sluice gate is something that can reduce the energy in discharging water. Further documentary of spillway channels, like mapping and laser scanning, would contribute to a further verification of the Erodibility Index Method and to get a general survey of the risk of scour in Swedish spillways.</p> / <p>Dagens klimatsituation ser ut att ge ökad mängd nederbörd i Sverige, vilket innebär att de svenska älvarna kommer att utsättas för allt högre vattenflöden. De flesta av Sveriges älvar är reglerade, d v s längs älvarna finns en mängd större och mindre dammar. Ett högre flöde i älvarna innebär även rikligare tillrinning till dammarna vilket medför att avbördningen från dem måste bli större. Avbördningen från dammarna sker genom utskov och höga vattenflöden i utskovskanalerna kan orsaka erosion på det berg som kanalen vanligen består av. Erosionen är av typen ”blockerosion” där hela bergblock av större eller mindre storlek lösgörs från bergmassan. I värsta fall kan blockerosionen krypa uppströms och erodera dammkroppen bakifrån, vilket skulle kunna innebära att dammen brister.</p><p>Syftet med detta arbete var att identifiera omfattning och typ av bergerosionsproblem som uppkommer i utskovskanaler. Blockerosion uppkommer i regel då forsande vatten skapar tryckskillnader mellan övre och undre ytan på block. Tryckskillnaden kan då skapa tillräckliga lyftkrafter för att block ska lossna. De huvudsakliga faktorerna som styr blockerosionen är bergmassans sprickighet och material, utskovskanalens geometri och vattnets flöde och ytfluktuation. Genom litteraturstudie, numerisk modellanalys samt fältstudie har inverkan på blockerosionen av sprickriktningar utretts. En bergmassa som innehåller sprickgrupper som har liten, nära horisontell, stupning är känslig för vattenbelastning. Stupningsriktningen i förhållande till flödesriktningen har också betydelse för blockerosionen. Stupningsriktning i flödesriktningen gör bergmassan mer känslig för belastning av forsande vatten och gynnar därmed erosionen.</p><p>Utskovskanalerna i Ligga, Harsprånget, Porjus, Satisjaure samt Seitevare har undersökts med avseende på erosionsrisk. Erosionen i Ligga, Harsprånget och Porjus har varit omfattande och detta beror troligtvis på att dessa kanaler har subhorisontella bankningssprickor med litet sprickavstånd. I Satisjaure är bergmassan mycket sprickig, varför denna kanal är mycket känslig för vattnets belastning. Där har dock åtgärder vidtagits så att kanalen ska tåla sitt dimensionerande flöde. I Seitevare är erosionsrisken i kanalens övre del liten.</p><p>Det finns olika metoder för att bedöma erosionsrisken i en bergmassa. Erosionsindexmetoden är en semiempirisk metod som är verifierad med platsobservationer i USA. Med hjälp av observationer från Porjus, Harsprånget och Seitevare har erosionsindexmetodens tillämplighet på svenska kanaler undersökts. För dessa tre observationer verkar metoden fungera bra och har därför även använts i kanalerna i Satisjaure och Ligga.</p><p>Energidämpande åtgärder i kanalerna, såsom energiomvandlargropar och utsprängda trappor i kanalerna, har visats sig vara mycket effektivt för att minska erosionsrisken. En noga dokumentering av utskovskanaler, som t ex kartering och inmätningar, skulle bidra till att erosionsindexmetoden kunde verifieras ytterligare och att en översiktlig bedömning av erosionsrisken i utskovskanaler enkelt kan erhållas.</p>

The use of remote techniques to capture the geometrical characteristics of rock masses has seen increased use and development in recent years. Apart from the obvious improved Health and Safety aspects, remote techniques allow rapid collection of digital data that can be subsequently analysed to provide input parameters for a variety of geomechanical applications. Remote data capture is a new technique used to collect geotechnical data and little independent work has been done concerning the comparative limitations and benefits of photogrammetry and laser scanning. Photogrammetry and laser scanning produce three dimensional digital representations of a studied rock face which can then be mapped for geotechnical data using specialist software. Research conducted at Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter has focussed on developing robust and flexible methodologies for remote data capture techniques, namely photogrammetry and laser scanning. Geotechnical characterisation for photogrammetry was tested using the CSIRO Sirovision software and laser scanning was used with SplitFX from Split Engineering. A comparative method of assessing the error between orientation measurements was developed based on calculating the pole vector difference between remotely captured and traditionally hand-mapped data. This allowed for testing of the benefits of the remote data capture systems and limitations whilst comparing them with conventional hand-mapping. The thesis also describes the results of detailed comparisons between hand-mapping, photogrammetric and laser scanned data collection for discontinuity orientation, roughness, discontinuity trace lengths and potential end-use applications. During fieldwork in Cornwall, Brighton Cliffs and northern France it was found that remote data capture techniques struggled to collect orientation data from intensely fractured rock masses where features are primarily represented as discontinuity traces. It was found that both photogrammetry and laser scanning produce orientation data comparable to traditionally mapped data, with an average pole vector difference less than 12° from data mapped from the Tremough Campus road cutting to the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus. Set analysis on 151 comparable data points yielded a maximum set pole vector difference of 9.8°, where the closest difference was 2.24°. Testing the accuracy of discontinuity trace orientations captured by photogrammetry using the pole vector difference methods indicate that planar derived orientations are more accurate, with an average difference of 16.67° compared to 37.72°. This thesis contains the reviews and analyses of photogrammetry and laser scanning for use in characterising natural and manmade rock slopes. Improved field and post-processing methodologies have been developed to aid the safe, efficient and suitable geotechnical characterisation of rock fracture networks. The continual development and use of remote mapping techniques, whilst supplementing their unique qualities with traditional mapping, have the capability to revolutionise rock mass mapping. Particular development needed is the implementation of ISRM guidelines to standardise photogrammetric and laser scanning fieldwork and post-processing data analysis.

Characterization of rock masses and evaluation of their mechanical properties are important and challenging tasks in rock mechanics and rock engineering. Since in many cases rock quality designation (RQD) is the only rock mass classification index available, this paper outlines the key aspects on determination of RQD and evaluates the empirical methods based on RQD for determining the deformation modulus and unconfined compressive strength of rock masses. First, various methods for determining RQD are presented and the effects of different factors on determination of RQD are highlighted. Then, the empirical methods based on RQD for determining the deformation modulus and unconfined compressive strength of rock masses are briefly reviewed. Finally, the empirical methods based on RQD are used to determine the deformation modulus and unconfined compressive strength of rock masses at five different sites including 13 cases, and the results are compared with those obtained by other empirical methods based on rock mass classification indices such as rock mass rating (RMR), Q-system (Q) and geological strength index (GSI). It is shown that the empirical methods based on RQD tend to give deformation modulus values close to the lower bound (conservative) and unconfined compressive strength values in the middle of the corresponding values from different empirical methods based on RMR, Q and GSI. The empirical methods based on RQD provide a convenient way for estimating the mechanical properties of rock masses but, whenever possible, they should be used together with other empirical methods based on RMR, Q and GSI. (C) 2016 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

[pt] O presente trabalho apresenta os resultados de um programa experimental com o intuito de determinar propriedades de deformabilidade e tensões in-situ em rochas gnáissicas. A determinação das tensões in situ é fundamental para qualquer trabalho em mecânica de rochas, serve como condições de campo em problemas de engenharia e em escalas maiores dá alguns indícios do mecanismo que ocasiona a movimentação de placas tectônicas. O módulo de deformabilidade é um dos principais parâmetros de entrada na análise do comportamento de maciços rochosos que incluem deformações. Este parâmetro geralmente é obtido a partir de ensaios de laboratório em amostras de rochas. Em geral os resultados destes ensaios não representam as propriedades in situ de todo o maciço rochoso, pois uma amostra intacta em laboratório pode ser muito menor que o maciço rochoso que contêm um grande número de planos de fraqueza. A presente pesquisa compreende as etapas de projeto, montagem e aplicação de um pressiômetro como um instrumento para a determinação dos parâmetros de deformabilidade e estado de tensões nos maciços rochosos. Os dados obtidos foram usados para investigar a variação destes parâmetros com o grau de intemperismo. Um sistema de instrumentação foi projetado para tentar monitorar a resposta da rocha às solicitações de carregamento (no caso da determinação do módulo de deformabilidade) e descarregamento (no caso de medição das tensões in situ). A aplicação do pressiômetro foi realizada em maciços rochosos localizados no cidade do Rio de Janeiro afetados por diferentes níveis de intemperismo. Realizaram-se ensaios de pressurização e medição de deslocamentos no momento da escavação dos furos para determinar o estado de tensões da rocha. Os resultados foram processados, interpretados e comparados com ensaios de laboratório anteriormente realizados por outros autores. / [en] This thesis presents the results from an experimental program with intention to determine the properties of deformabilty and in situ stress in gnaissic rocks. The determination of in situ stress is fundamental for any work in rock mechanics, it is use like field conditions at the in engineering problems, and in bigger scales it gives some indications of the mechanics that produce the tectonics plate`s movements. The deformation`s modulus is one of the main parameters in the analysis of the behavior of rocks mass that include deformations. This parameter usually is gotten from laboratory assays in rocks samples. In general the results of these assays do not represent the in situ properties of all the rock mass, therefore an intact rock sample in laboratory could be smaller that the rock mass that contains a great number of weakness planes. This research understands the stages of project, assembly and application of the pressuremeter as an instrument for the determination of the deformability and in situ stress parameters in rock mass. The gotten data had been used to investigate the variation of these parameters with the weathering degree. An instrumentation system was projected to try to monitor the answer of the rock to load (in the case of deformability`s modulus) and unload (in the case of in situ stress measurement). The application of the pressuremeter was carried trough in rock masses located in the Rio de Janeiro city whose were affected by different levels of weathering. Assays of pressurization and measurements of displacements at the moment of the hole drilling in order to determine the in situ stress. The results had been processing, interpreted and compared with laboratory assays previously carried trough by another authors.

[pt] Esta tese apresenta o fenômeno de ruptura por tombamento bloco-flexural, que acontece na zona NW da mina Tintaya. O objetivo do presente estudo é contribuir o conhecimento de este tipo de fenômeno de ruptura, quantificando as características do maciço rochoso com as técnicas da mecânica das rochas. O trabalho inicia-se por uma caracterização geral da zona de estudo, com especial relevo das propriedades geomecánicas das descontinuidades presentes, pelo que foram desenvolvidos mapeamentos das caras de bancada e a amostragem da rocha intacta, esta data permitiu estabelecer correlações dos parâmetros geomecânicos e fazer a análise cinemática da zona de estudo. Após de fazer a caracterização e avaliação das características das descontinuidades, foi definido o tombamento bloco-flexural, pelo jeito das descontinuidades presentes no maciço, já que este tipo de ruptura é mais complexo do que os outros tipos de tombamento, porque é uma combinação de tombamento e deslizamento dos blocos. Em vez da ruptura flexural de colunas contínuas, neste caso o tombamento é resultado de deslocamentos acumulados das juntas transversais. Com o objetivo de fazer uma análise numérica, obtou-se por um modelo contínuo- equivalente que inclui os efeitos de orientação e espaçamento das juntas é o modelo de plasticidade de Cosserat. O contínuo de Cosserat, conhecido também como contínuo micropolar acrescenta os graus de liberdade de rotação ao contínuo convencional. Pelo que foi analisado este tipo de ruptura através de uma modelagem computacional com um programa de elementos finitos feito na PUC-Rio, assim, tornar possível a modelagem computacional com a teoria do continuo de Cosserat. / [en] This thesis presents the block - flexural toppling failure phenomenon, which happens at NW zone of the Tintaya´s mine. The objective of the present study is to contribute the knowledge of this type of phenomenon of failure, quantifying the characteristics of rock mass with the techniques of the rock mechanics. The work begins for a general characterization of the zone, with special relief of the geomechanical properties of the discontinuities, which were developed the window sampling (bench face mapping) and sampling of the intact rock, this information allowed to establish correlations of the geomechanical parameters and make feasible kinematics analysis from the zone of study. After doing the rock mass characterization and evaluation of the characteristics of the discontinuities, the block - flexural toppling failure was defined, on those long column rocks crossed by numerous huge subhorizontal joints. The block-flexural type failure is a complex phenomenon compared with other types of toppling failure, because it is a combination of pure toppling and sliding. With the intention of numerical analysis, I have been proposed analyzing this rupture for a continuum - equivalent model of Cosserat, that includes the orientation and the discontinuity´s spacing. This model is known also as continuum micropolar, which adds the degrees of freedom of rotation to a conventional continuum. It was analyzed this type of failure through a computational modeling with a program of finite elements made in the PUC-Rio, so, the computational modeling possible with the theory of continuum of Cosserat.

O comportamento geomecânico de túneis em rocha é fortemente influenciado pelas estruturas geológicas (descontinuidades) presentes no maciço. Do ponto de vista geométrico, estas estruturas são caracterizadas por parâmetros que descrevem suas orientações, frequências e comprimentos. Estes parâmetros, na maioria dos casos, são determinados em campanhas de campo, com bússola geológica e trena. Entretanto, limitações de tempo e acesso dificultam a execução destes trabalhos, impossibilitando a obtenção de números elevados de dados, que possibilitam análises estatísticas mais complexas. Para superar estas dificuldades, no presente estudo, o mapeamento das descontinuidades foi realizado em imagens do túnel Monte Seco, pertencente a Estrada de Ferro Vitória Minas (EFVM), obtidas por scanner a laser 3D. Neste mapeamento, tanto a orientação, quanto a posição e o comprimento dos traços das descontinuidades foram determinados com boa precisão, possibilitando a verificação da distribuição da intensidade de fraturamento de diferentes trechos, ao longo do túnel. Utilizando estes trechos diferenciados pela intensidade de fraturamento, foram elaboradas análises estatísticas mais complexas e adequadas (por janelas de amostragem e linhas de varredura) para determinação da orientação, comprimento médio dos traços e espaçamentos médios das famílias de descontinuidades. Com os parâmetros geométricos das descontinuidades, o modelo probabilístico de blocos rígidos foi construído, utilizando o software 3DEC. Assim, os parâmetros mecânicos das descontinuidades foram estimados utilizando correlações empíricas (a partir de descrições do maciço rochoso realizadas em mapeamentos geológicos por dentro do túnel), além de alguns ensaios de campo e laboratório. As análises com este modelo foram executadas para verificação da queda de blocos, e comparadas com as seções atuais do túnel. Os resultados indicaram que diferentes critérios de ruptura devem ser utilizados para diferentes tipos de descontinuidades (fraturas e foliação), e evidenciaram a importância de estimativas mais coerentes de parâmetros geométricos das descontinuidades nos resultados finais das análises. / The geomechanical behaviour of rock tunnels is strongly influenced by geological structures in the rock mass. Rock discontinuities are geometrically characterized by parameters that describes their orientations, frequency and lengths. In most cases, these parameters are determined in field inspections, using geological compass and measuring tapes. However, timeframes and access limitation hinder this procedure, making it impossible to obtain large amount of data that allow complex statistical analysis. To overcome these difficulties, here the discontinuity mapping was performed using images of the Monte Seco tunnel, obtained by 3D terrestrial laser scanning. In this case, the orientation, position and trace length of each discontinuity was determined with precision, allowing the verification of the fracture intensity distribution in different parts of the tunnel. Using these parts (differentiated by its fracture intensities), statistical analyses were performed, using sampling windows and scanlines, in order to determine the orientation mean trace length and spacing of discontinuity sets. Once the geometrical parameters of discontinuity sets were determined, a probabilistic model of rigid blocks was generated, using the 3DEC software. Thus, the mechanical parameters of discontinuity sets were estimated by empirical correlations (performed using descriptions of the rock mass obtained during geological inspections in the tunnel), and some laboratory and field tests. The analyses with this model were performed to verify the instability of blocks (block falls), and compared with actual cross sections of the tunnel. The results indicate that different failure criteria must be used for different discontinuity types (fractures and foliation), and revealed the importance of consistent estimated of geometrical parameters of discontinuity sets.

A caracterização geotécnica de maciços rochosos é um dos aspectos mais importantes para o sucesso de um empreendimento mineiro. Desta forma é preciso ter um investimento significativo para a aquisição de dados durante a fase de pesquisa mineral, bem como um grande esforço para manipular os dados obtidos. Para se determinar as propriedades de um maciço, é necessário estabelecer, primeiramente, as diferenças entre rochas intacta e maciço rochoso. O comportamento mecânico destas duas classes pode apresentar grandes diferenças quando analisadas em laboratório. Um dos métodos mais utilizados no ambiente mineiro para classificar o maciço rochoso é o Rock Mass Rating (RMR), sistema que consiste em ranquear os seguintes parâmetros: Rock Quality Designation (RQD), espaçamento entre fraturas, resistência a compressão simples (UCS), qualidade das descontinuidades e presença de água no maciço. Este trabalho tem por utilizar a geoestatística para primeiro se conhecer algumas das particularidades destas variáveis, tais como a não linearidade, o comportamento em diferentes direções e a união de diferentes populações e posteriormente usar as técnicas de krigagem para criar um modelo geotécnico tridimensional. A geoestatística nos permite obter uma estimativa mais precisa e ter um maior conhecimento da incerteza do fenômeno, entretanto o RMR, por não ser uma variável aditiva, não se pode aplicar diretamente o uso das técnicas de krigagem. Assim uma metodologia é proposta para se estimar cada um dos parâmetros, ranqueá-los de acordo com seus valores e por fim obter a classificação RMR através do somatório destes ranques. Os resultados são comparados com a geologia estrutural da região de estudo, para se analisar a relação desta com a qualidade do maciço. A metodologia proposta apresentou uma melhora significante na qualidade de informações no local estimado e mostrou ser uma tentativa consistente para se criar um modelo geotécnico 3D. / The geotechnical characterization of rock masses is one of the most important aspects for the success of a mining enterprise. In this way, it is necessary to have a significant investment to acquire data during the mineral research phase and to make a great effort to manipulate and interpret the obtained data. In order to know a rock, it is necessary to establish the differences of properties between rock intact and rocky mass. The mechanical behavior of these two classes can present great differences when analyzed in the laboratory. One of the methods most used in the mining environment to classify the rock mass is the Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system, which consists of ranking the following parameters: Rock Quality Designation (RQD), fracture spacing, simple compression strength (UCS) quality of the discontinuities and presence of water in the massif. This work has to use geostatistics to first know some of the peculiarities of these variables, such as nonlinearity, behavior in different directions and the union of different populations and later to use kriging techniques to create a three - dimensional geotechnical model. The geostatistics allows us to obtain a more accurate estimate and to have a better knowledge of the uncertainty of the phenomenon, however, the RMR is not an additive variable, so cannot be directly applied the use of kriging techniques. Thus a methodology is proposed to estimate each of the parameters, rank them according to their values and finally obtain the RMR classification through the sum of these ranks. The results are compared with the structural geology of the study region, in order to analyze its relation with the quality of the rock mass. The proposed methodology presented a significant improvement in the quality of information at the estimated site and proved to be a consistent attempt to create a 3D geotechnical model.