Effect of Fully Grouted Passive Bolts on Joint Shear Strength Parameters in a Blocky Mass

The present paper discusses an experimental study on shear strength response of unreinforced and reinforced block masses to find out the effect of fully grouted passive bolts on the shear strength parameters of joints in a mass. Direct shear tests were conducted on specimens of large-sized blocky masses, each with a dimension of 750 × 750 × 900 mm. Each blocky mass was assembled by piling elemental blocks of size 150 × 150 × 150 mm. For the reinforced condition, the mass was reinforced with three, five, and nine bolts perpendicular to the shear plane. The tests were conducted at different normal stress levels ranging from 0 to 2 MPa, which are common in rock slopes. Results from the tests show that passive bolts enhance the joint shear strength parameters. The strength enhancement is mainly due to improved interlocking and therefore, enhanced cohesion. The value of enhanced cohesion depends on the bolt area, the ratio of bolt spacing to block size and the strength of the intact material for a given set of steel and grout. A correlation has been established to find out enhanced cohesion for the given joints in the mass.