الفهرس 
EXPERIMENTAL WORKOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The special nature of jointed rock makes it one of the most complicated types of soils to work with from the geotechnical engineering point of view. The shear strength is considered as one of the most dominant mechanical properties of rock joints. The roughness of the rock joints is deemed as a major contributor to its shear strength depending upon the morphology of the surface. In order to represent this major contribution, experimental tests and three-dimensional finite element analysis are conducted with different morphologies of the joint surface.
Throughout this study, tilting tests have been performed on artificial rock samples with different morphological joint surface. The results are compared with published experimental results performed by Rao et al. (2009). Rao et al. used an automated large scale direct shear testing machine in examining the shear strength of artificial joint surface using plaster of Paris. Asperities of 15 degrees and 30 degrees were used in the formulation of the joint surface morphology.
Three-dimensional and two-dimensional finite element models using the software MIDAS GTS NX and PLAXIS have been introduced to simulate the performance and the shear strength of the jointed rock subjected to shear stress. The numerical models have been calibrated using the published experimental results performed by Rao et al. (2009). A comparison is then done between the results of the finite element model and the experimental results. The results showed that the numerical models show a good agreement with the experimental results.
A study for the influence of the morphology of the joint surface on the shear strength is then done using different geometrical three-dimensional models. By changing the asperities height, inclination angles and the spacing between the asperities, a parametric study has been conducted. The results of the parametric study are then highlighted.