Support Overview

If some blocks do not meet the Design Factor of Safety, then supports can be applied to remedy this. In RocTunnel3, there are three different types of support which can be applied:

• Bolts: Pattern bolts can be applied over a specified area or selected surface. Bolts can be explicitly modelled by one of the common rock bolt types (e.g., Mechanically Anchored, Grouted Dowel, Cable Bolt, Swellex) as a Simple Bolt Force or as User-defined Bolt Forces along the length of the bolt.
• Shotcrete: One or more layers of shotcrete can be applied anywhere on the excavation face. The shotcrete layers have user-defined thickness, unit weight, and shear strength.
• Support Pressure: Support can also be modelled as a uniform or non-uniform pressure, applied over a specified area. The Support Pressure option can be used to simulate the equivalent applied load of any type of support system.

Any or all of these support types can be applied to a given model, in any combination.