Fiber-reinforced shotcrete lining for stabilizing rock blocks around underground cavities

Fiber-reinforced shotcrete is a high-performance material that presents some special characteristics, which can provide some suitable applications in the excavation of underground cavities. The presence of fibers induces an increase in the tensile strength, flexural strength and shear strength in the concrete, as well as allowing a ductile rather than brittle type of behavior. It can be used to create a lining of the underground cavity that allows the stabilization of rock blocks that show a tendency to slip or fall (from the side walls or from the crown area, respectively). In this work, some full-scale tests on the fiber-reinforced shotcrete lining are presented. From these tests, it was possible to measure the behavior of this material when it is loaded locally: it is the same type of action produced by the rock block when it is held back from falling or slipping. The results obtained have allowed to characterize this type of material from a mechanical point of view. A subsequent detailed analysis of the stability of rock blocks surrounding an underground cavity permitted to determine the static stabilizing contribution offered by the fiber-reinforced shotcrete lining, leading to the definition of the minimum thickness required, in relation to the type of block that is present (shape and size). It was possible to predict how a lining thickness of about 3.5 cm is able to stabilize (just 15 min after its spraying) rock blocks with an exposed surface area of up to 10 m2 and a distance of the internal vertex from the border of the cavity of up to 3 m.