Two-dimensional numerical analysis on the rock/bolt interaction considering shear and normal relative displacements

Fully-grouted passive bolts are widely used in underground or surface rock excavations and in particular in stabilizing potentially unstable blocks of rock due to sliding on natural discontinuities. Their operating mechanism is complex, but it is possible to consider two stabilizing forces that each bolt applies to the block of rock. These forces depend on the mechanical parameters governing the bolt-rock interaction, which are difficult to evaluate. In this work, specific numerical analyses have been developed, able of evaluating the bolt-rock interaction (in shear and perpendicular to the interface that separates them) for numerous cases that were obtained by varying the main geometric parameters of the bolt, the mechanical properties of the binder material and rock. Thanks to this complex study, it was possible to describe the variability of the interaction parameters and to define, through graphs, the trend of the stabilization forces as the main geometric and mechanical parameters that can be encountered in practice change. The graphs obtained are a useful tool for the correct design of fully-grouted passive bolts and the stabilization of potentially unstable rock blocks on the walls of underground cavities or on the faces of surface excavations.