Summary
Rock formations are distinguished from each other by measuring first the properties of the intact rock, and second those of the jointing. Whereas simple methods are available for measuring intact rock properties, those available for measuring jointing remain slow, expensive, and sometimes dangerous. Digitized photographs (‘photoanalysis’) may provide a solution. In this paper, the new techniques of photoanalysis are reviewed together with applications, promising areas for research, and also some obstacles that remain to be overcome. Aspects of the rock mass that lend themselves to photoanalytical measurement include those of individual joints, such as persistence, orientation and roughness, and those relating to the mass as a whole, such as block size and the spacing or intensity of jointing. Photoanalysis can also be applied to measurement of blasting. It allows characterization of the rock about to be blasted, helping the engineer to predict fragmentation and to design an appropriate blasting pattern. Afterwards, the same methods can be used to measure fragmentation, overbreak and backbreak, for quality control and for diagnosis of problems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aimone, C.T. and Dowding, C.H. (1983) Fragmentation measurement results for fourteen full-scale production blasts: a comparison with a three dimensional wave code.Proceedings of the Ninth Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, pp. 310–33.
Barton, N. and Choubey, V. (1977) The shear strength of rock joints in theory and in practice,Rock Mechanics 10, 1–54.
Barton, N., Lien, R. and Lunde, J. (1974) Engineering classification of rock masses for the design of tunnel support,Rock Mechanics 6, 189–236.
Barton, N., Bandis, S. and Bakhtar, K. (1985) Strength, deformation and conductivity coupling of rock joints,International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Geomechanics Abstracts 22 (3), 121–40.
Beyer, F. and Rolofs, F. (1981) Kluftkrpergrssenverteilungen aus Messungen auf Anschnitten,Rock Mechanics 14, 105–13.
Carter, J.W. (1977) Analysis of a simple photographic method proposed for determining size distribution of ore fragments,USBM Laboratory Report RBM 77–03, 19 pp.
Castleman, K.R. (1979)Digital Image Processing, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 429.
Cundall, P. (1971) A computer model for simulating progressive large scale movements in blocky rock systems,Proceedings of the International Symposium on Rock Fracture, Nancy, France, paper II-8, pp. 00–00.
DeHoff, R.T. and Rhines, F.N. (1968)Quantitative Microscopy. McGraw Hill, New York, 422 pp.
DeHoff, R.T., Aigeltinger, E.H. and Craig, K.R. (1972) Experimental determination of the topological properties of three-dimensional microstructures.Journal of Microscopy,95 (1), 69–71.
Dick, R.A., Fletcher, L.A. and D'Andrea, D.V. (1973) A study of fragmentation from bench blasting at reduced scale, USBM Report 7704, Washington DC, pp. 1–22.
Fabbri, A.G. (1984)Image Processing of Geological Data. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 244 pp.
Feckers, E. and Rengers, N. (1971) Measurement of large scale roughness of rock planes by means of profilograph and geological compass,Proceedings of the International Symposium on Rock Mechanics, Nancy, France, pp. 1–18.
Franklin, J.A. (1976) An observation approach to the selection and control of rock tunnel linings,Proceedings of the Conference on Shotcrete for Ground Support, Easton, Maryland, ASCE, pp. 556–96.
Franklin, J.A. and Maerz, N.H. (1986) Digital photoanalysis of rock jointing, Proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Canadian Geotechanical Conference, pp. 11–20.
Franklin, J.A. and Maerz, N.H. (1987) Photographic measurements of jointing and fragmentation,Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Kobe, Japan, pp. 1–12.
Gama, C.D. (1984) Microcomputer simulation of rock blasting to predict fragmentation,Proceedings of the Twenty-fifth U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, pp. 1018–30.
Goodman, R.E. and Shi, G. (1985)Block Theory and its Application to Rock Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 338 pp.
Grant, J.R. and Dutton, A.J. (1983) Development of a fragmentation monitoring system for evaluating open slope blast performance at Mount Isa Mines,Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, Lulea, Sweden, pp. 637–52.
Herget, G. (1977)Pit Slope Manual, Chapter 2: Structural Geology, CANMET (Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology, formerly Mines Branch, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada), CANMET Report 77–41, 123 p.
Hord, R.M. (1982)Digital Image Processing of Remotely Sensed Data. Academic Press, New York, 256 pp.
ISRM Commission on Testing Methods (1981) Suggested methods for the quantitative description of discontinuities in rock masses, inRock Characterization, Testing and Monitoring, ISRM Suggested Methods, (edited by E.T. Brown), Pergamon Press, pp. 3–52.
Just, G.D. and Henderson, D.S. (1971) Model studies of fragmentation of explosives,Proceedings of the First Australia-New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics,1, pp. 238–45.
Karpala, F. and Jernigan, M.E. (1981) An optimal frequency domain filter for peak detection,Proceedings of the International Conference on Cybernetics and Society, pp. 1–5.
Maerz, N.H., Franklin, J.A. and Coursen, D.L. (1987a) Fragmentation measurement for experimental blasting in Virginia,Proceedings of the Third Society of Explosives Engineers, Mini-Symposium on Explosives and Blasting Research, Miami, pp. 56–70.
Maerz, N.H., Franklin, J.A., Rothenburg, L. and Coursen, D.L. (1987b) Measurement of rock fragmentation by digital photoanalysis,Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Rock Mechanics, Montreal, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Volume 1, pp. 687–92.
Maerz, N.H., Bennett, C.P. and Dony, R.D. (1987c) Microcomputer image analysis of rock fabric,Proceedings of the First Canadian Symposium on Microcomputer Applications to Geotechnique, Regina, Saskatchewan (in press).
McKee, J.A. (1986) Laboratory Investigation of Fluid Flow Through Intact and Fractured Core Specimens, MSc Thesis, University of Waterloo, Ontario, 198 pp.
Ross-Brown, D.M. (1973) Suggested method for the determination of joint orientations by photogrammetry, Imperial College Rock Mechanics Research Report 24, 25 pp.
Serra, J. (1982)Image Analysis and Mathematical Morphology, Academic Press, London, 610 pp.
Tse, R. and Cruden, D.M. (1979) Estimating joint roughness coefficients,International Journal of Rock Mechanics Mining Science and Geomechanics Abstract 16, pp. 303–7.
Underwood, E.E. (1970)Quantitative Stereology. Addison Wesley, Reading, Massachusettes, 274 pp.
Weibel, E.R. (1979) Stereological Methods, inTheoretical Foundations, Academic Press, London, 415 pp.
Weibel, E.R. (1980) Practical Methods for Biological Morphometry, inTheoretical Foundations, Academic Press, London, 415 pp.
Weissbach, G. (1978) A new method for the determination of the roughness of rock joints in the laboratory,International Journal of Rock Mechanics Mining Science and Geomechanical Abstracts 15, 131–33.
Witherspoon, P.A. (1986) Flow of groundwater in fractured rocks.Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering Geology,34, 103–15.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Franklin, J.A., Maerz, N.H. & Bennett, C.P. Rock mass characterization using photoanalysis. International Journal of Mining and Geological Engineering 6, 97–112 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00880801
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00880801