Patent Application
20160177718
This invention relates generally to bolting for reinforcement of rock subject to deformation and dilation and, more specifically, to a rock bolt anchor with two anchor types that provide active and passive loading.
The prior art teaches a deformable rock anchor that is deformation tolerant, which is used in highly stressed rock masses to achieve reinforcement of these stressed rock masses and prevent large, sudden or catastrophic deformation, movement, dilation or failure of this rock mass.
This rock bolt includes an elongate cylindrical stem, with a threaded portion at a borehole surface portion of the stem, to which a nut and washer or bearing plate may be attached, and three or more stem portions serially extending along the length of the stem with each stem portion followed by an integral anchor, being of shorter extend than the stem portions.
Each integral anchor is capable of locally anchoring the rock bolt in a grouted borehole and each stem portion is adapted to elongate, move and slip relatively to the grouted borehole surround and, by the work done by this movement, absorb energy from the surrounding rock and constrain local rock deformation movement, whilst the rock bolt remains locally anchored by each integral anchor.
The rock bolt of the earlier invention is therefore principally defined by having at least three integral anchors and therefore, in situ, is capable of being locally anchored at three discrete localities along the length of the borehole. These anchor points exclude anchoring, by the bolt and bearing plate, at an entrance of the borehole.
The problem experienced with such a rock bolt is that it is reliant, for local anchoring, on the interaction of the anchors on the grout within the borehole.
The invention provides a rock bolt for being grouted in a borehole in a rock which includes:
a) an elongate body of a suitable steel material having;
b) a first distal end and an opposed second proximal end;
c) a threaded portion at the second end;
d) a mechanical anchor or a composite anchor at, or at least partially located on, a first end portion of the body;
e) a second anchor integrally formed on the body, between the threaded portion and the mechanical or composite anchor;
f) a first stem portion between the mechanical or composite anchor and the second anchor; and
g) a second stem portion between the second anchor and the threaded portion;
h) wherein the first and second stem portions have a smooth cylindrical surface; and wherein the second anchor is adapted to exceed the diameter of the body in at least one radial direction to be locally anchored in a grouted borehole and is adapted to be harder than the stem portions.
The mechanical anchor may be an expansion shell-type mechanical anchor which is actuated to radially expand into frictional engagement with the walls of the borehole.
The composite anchor may comprise an expansion shell type mechanical anchor component and an integrally formed anchor component which is adapted to exceed the diameter of the body in at least one radial direction, wherein the mechanical anchor component and the integral anchor component are consecutively serially positioned on the rock bolt body.
The second anchor may be positioned on the body between 400 and 700 mm from the second end. Preferably, the second anchor is positioned 600 mm from the second end.
A “mechanical anchor” means an anchor engaged with a rock bolt and which is actively actuated to anchor the rock bolt in a rock hole or, in other words, an anchor that is actively loaded.
A “resistive anchor” means an anchor engaged, or integrally formed, with a rock bolt which is passively actuated to anchor the rock bolt within a rock hole by resistive contact with grout or resin within the hole.
From another perspective, the invention provides a rock bolt which includes an elongate metallic body having a first end and an opposed second end, a threaded portion at the second end, for attaching thereto and locating thereon, a nut and a bearing plate, a mechanical anchor at, or at least partially located on, a first end portion of the body and a first resistive anchor, located between the threaded portion and the mechanical anchor.
The mechanical anchor may be an expansion shell-type anchor.
The first resistive anchor may be integral with the body, formed by adapting a section of the body, between 400 mm and 700 mm from the second end, to exceed the diametric dimension of the cylindrical body at least in one radial direction.
The rock bolt may include a second resistive anchor, located between the mechanical anchor and the first resistive anchor, preferably consecutively serially positioned relatively to the mechanical anchor.
Between the mechanical anchor or the second resistive anchor, the first resistive anchor and the threaded portion respectively, first and second stem portions are defined, each of which are adapted to elongate under a tensile load.
The invention extends to a method of supporting a wall of an excavation which uses a rock bolt having an elongate metallic body with opposed first and second ends, a threaded end portion towards the second end, a mechanical anchor located on the body towards the first end and at least two spaced resistive anchors between the mechanical anchor and the threaded portion, the method including the steps of:
a) drilling a hole in the wall and inserting the rock bolt into the hole;
b) mechanically anchoring the bolt within the hole with the mechanical anchor to define a first anchor location;
c) pre-tensioning the bolt by applying an axial load to the bolt;
d) holding the bolt in pretension between the first anchor location and a second anchor location defined at the mouth of the rock hole;
e) introducing a settable material into the rock hole to set between the rock bolt and the walls of the rock hole to define a third and fourth anchor location respectively about each of the resistive anchors.
The invention is further described by way of example with relevance to the accompanying drawings in which:
The rock bolt 10 has a solid cylindrical steel body 18, which extends between a first distal end 20 and a second proximal end 22, which projects out of the rock hole 12.
A section of the rock bolt body 18, extending from the second end 22 is threaded, to define a threaded portion 24.
The mechanical anchor 14, of an expansion shell-type, is located at the distal end 20. This expansion shell-type mechanical anchor can be of any suitable configuration known to the art. However a specific preferred expansion shell anchor is described below as a non-limiting example.
The integral anchor 16 is located between the threaded end section 24 and the mechanical anchor 14. This anchor 16 is integral with the body in that it is formed from the same blank as the body 18.
With reference to
In recognition that the rock, in a typically South African mine excavation, is most densely fractured within the first 300 mm or so, from a rock face, the integral anchor 16 is optimally and preferably positioned on the rock bolt body 18 about 500 mm from the second end 22.
Between the first mechanical anchor 14, the second integral anchor 16 and the threaded section 24, first and second, smooth surfaced, stem portions 30 and 32 are respectively defined.
With reference to
The advantage of the mechanical anchor 14 as described above is that mere insertion of the rock bolt 10 into the rock hole 12, and axial retraction, will actuate the anchor 14 into the engaged position. There is no need to spin the rock bolt 10 to actuate the mechanical anchor 14 to radially expand as is typically with many mechanical anchors known in the art.
A nut 46 and bearing plate 48 are provided, located on the threaded section 24 of the rock bolt body 18.
In a variation (not shown), a tapered formation, provided by the nut 28 in the embodiment described above, can be integrally forged with rock bolt body 18 at the first end 20.
In describing this embodiment, like features bear like designations. This embodiment differs, in essence, from the rock bolt 10 of the first embodiment in that it includes a composite anchor 50 which replaces the mechanical anchor 14 and the collar formation 42 of the first embodiment.
The composite anchor includes a mechanical anchor component 52, of the expansion shell-type as described above particularly with reference to
The integral anchor component 54, in the preferred embodiment, is structurally equivalent to the integral anchor 16 of the rock bolt 10.
Positioned, as it is, in consecutive serial arrangement relatively to the mechanical anchor component 52, the integral anchor component 54 not only provides an additional passively loaded anchor to the rock bolt 10A, it also performs the function provided by the collar formation 42 of the earlier embodiment in that it provides an abutment surface to one end of the spring 38, located between the trailing end 40 of the shell 34 and one end of the anchor component 54.
In use, and with reference to
The bearing plate 48 can be provided with a pair of holes (not shown) on either side of central aperture, to provide respective passage to a grout or resin filler tube and a breather tube.
To actuate the mechanical anchor component 52 of the composite anchor 50 into the engaged position, the rock bolt body 18 is pulled axially outwardly. This action causes the expansion shell 34, which is held in place relatively to the rock bolt body by frictional engagement with the walls of the rockhole 12, to ride over the tapered nut 28, radially dilating in the process into loaded contact with the walls of the rock hole 12. The rock bolt 10A is now locked in the rock hole 12 at this location, a first anchor location (illustrated as a dotted line 60).
With reference to
With further tightening of the nut 46, the rock bolt body 18 is pre-tensioned (the opposed forces directionally illustrated by arrows in
With reference to
The bung 56 seals the rock hole 12 from egress of the grout out of the rock hole 12 once introduced.
Once the rock bolt 10A is set in the grouted rock hole, with the integral anchor component 54 anchored in the grout, any movement of the surrounding rock mass relatively to the rock bolt 10A will cause the anchors (16, 54) to become passively loaded and anchored by resistive movement through the grouted annular space 66. Thus, about integral anchor component 54, a fourth anchor location (illustrated by a dotted line designated 74) is defined. Ahead of this anchor location 74, the initial anchor location 60, about the mechanical anchor component 52, is rendered inutile as reactive load support is now provided between anchor locations 74 and 72 and between 72 and 62.
The advantage of the rock bolt 10A of the invention is that, between the anchor locations 62, 72 and 74, the rock bolt body 18 can stretch along respective first and the second stem portions (30 and 32) to accommodate any dynamic loading movement.
The stem portions 30 and 32's ability to stretch is uninterrupted along their lengths due to their smooth surface which allows relative movement within the grouted confines of the rock hole 12.
However, prior to dynamic rock movement, with quasi-static movement, caused by dilation in the highly fractious rock layer, the second stem portion 32 is further passively pre-loaded, between the second 62 and third 72 anchor locations to provide support to this layer effectively by clamping this layer of rock 70 between the bearing plate 44 and the integral anchor 16.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/09368 | Dec 2013 | ZA | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/ZA2014/000076 | 12/11/2014 | WO | 00 |
