Comments on “Estimating the Strength of Jointed Rock Masses” by Lianyang Zhang

Excerpt

Zhang, in his article written in 2010 is estimating the strength of jointed rock masses. He deals with the estimation of the uniaxial compressive strength of jointed rock masses (σ_cm) and proposes a new empirical expression based on rock quality designation (RQD). The interested participants read the article with great interest and scrutiny. As the author states, ‘the estimation of the uniaxial compressive strength of rock masses is an important and challenging issue in the rock engineering field’. Despite the several limitations, RQD is the only parameter available for characterising the degree of jointing (block volume, joint spacing). Hence the discussers appreciate the authors’ comprehensive investigation to provide a new (σ_cm/σ_c) versus (RQD) relationship. Some findings derived from the comparisons based on different approaches are very important and are worthy of further discussion to enhance our understanding of the strength of jointed rock masses. …