{"id":50904,"date":"2020-02-20T09:48:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T09:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ingenio.lanthemes.com\/en\/?post_type=product&p=50904"},"modified":"2026-06-02T07:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:07:15","slug":"ground-support-for-tunnels-in-rock","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/ingeoexpert.com\/en\/courses-online\/ground-support-for-tunnels-in-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Ground support for tunnels in rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n

One of the most important tasks of a tunneling\/mining professional is to develop construction and ground support methods that achieve safe underground excavations. Safety must be guaranteed not only throughout the design life of the structure (long-term) but also during construction (short-term). To successfully complete this task, engineers must have, as a minimum, basic knowledge of the design principles associated with ground support. The purpose of this course is to provide the learner with easy-to-understand introductions to some of the knowledge required to design ground support for tunnels in rock.<\/p>\n

Firstly, it is essential to understand what failure mechanisms need to be addressed via design. In rock tunnels, these failure mechanisms are different than those observed in soft ground tunneling and soil mechanics due to the discontinuous nature of rock masses. One must consider and understand the inherent inter-relation between these failure mechanisms and the three basic ground support principles in rock tunneling: (a) suspension, (b) reinforcement and (c) surface retention. Secondly, the designer must also understand the inter-relationship between these failure mechanisms and construction methods. For example, the same ground support could be either safe or unsafe depending on the time of its installation (advance and support sequence) or if the tunnel has been excavated in full face or multiple headings (excavation sequence). Another example is the method of excavation and its associated impacts on ground support performance. For example, mechanized excavation methods such as roadheaders are much less likely to disturb the rock mass around the excavation opening than in drill and blast operations which certainly improve the performance of both reinforcing and surface retention elements (e.g. rockbolts and sprayed concrete linings)<\/p>\n

Last, but not least, engineers must understand the most fundamental difference between the concepts used in the design of ground support and those used in the design of other structures, such as bridges or buildings, particularly when using a Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approach. The main component that loads a tunnel support is the ground or rock mass which also provides resistance. In other words, load and resistance are interdependent. With some exceptions, this also means that the design of ground support is inherently associated with displacement-controlled failure mechanisms where loads are not constant but a function of deformation. This also explain why some yielding is acceptable in ground engineering whereas it is avoided in other fields of engineering where failure mechanisms are load-controlled, e.g. the structural design of bridges.<\/p>\n

Objectives<\/h3>\n

By the end of this course, you will have the needed background and basic knowledge to understand:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The typical failure mechanisms in rock tunnels and how to address them<\/li>\n
  • The inter-dependency between loads and resistance and its impact on design<\/li>\n
  • The basic ground support design principles in rock tunneling: (a) suspension, (b) reinforcement and (c) surface retention.<\/li>\n
  • The detailed design of rockbolts and sprayed concrete linings<\/li>\n
  • The impact of construction methods and excavation sequence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    All subjects will be explained with easy to understand examples. Lessons will mainly focus on practical aspects of actual designs such that the contents of this course cannot be found in a single textbook. Where applicable and possible, design tools in the form of spreadsheets and trial period of useful programs will also be provided.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Full-featured versions of Unwedge and RS2 software included<\/strong>: to put the theory into practice, the course also includes the use of two Rocscience programs: Unwedge and RS2. Practical tutorials and exercises are used to illustrate the application of rockbolts and sprayed concrete lining in the design of ground support in the same way as used in real industry practice<\/p>\n

    \n

    Limited places.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introduction One of the most important tasks of a tunneling\/mining professional is to develop construction and ground support methods that achieve safe underground excavations. Safety must be guaranteed not only throughout the design life of the structure (long-term) but also during construction (short-term). To successfully complete this task, engineers must have, as a minimum, basic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":51863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0"},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[499,497,498,501,1060],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-50904","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-civil-engineering","product_cat-geology","product_cat-geotechnical-engineering","product_cat-mining","product_cat-featured-en","entry","has-media","first","outofstock","sold-individually","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-variable","has-rating","has-product-nav","col","span_1_of_3","owp-content-center","owp-thumbs-layout-horizontal","owp-btn-normal","owp-tabs-layout-horizontal","has-no-thumbnails"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGround support for tunnels in rock - Ingeoexpert EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ingeoexpert.com\/en\/courses-online\/ground-support-for-tunnels-in-rock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ground support for tunnels in rock - Ingeoexpert EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Introduction One of the most important tasks of a tunneling\/mining professional is to develop construction and ground support methods that achieve safe underground excavations. 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