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Wedge Information

Detailed analysis results are available for all wedges computed by UnWedge (e.g. Factor of Safety, wedge weight, wedge volume, joint trace lengths, areas, etc.). The Wedge Information is available in several different locations within the program:

  • In the Sidebar in the Wedge Information pane for all UnWedge views.
  • In the Info Viewer
  • In the Multi-Perspective and End Wedges views, wedge information is displayed within each pane used to display each wedge (the wedge name and Factor of Safety are displayed at the top of each pane, and all other wedge information is displayed at the bottom of each pane).
  • The Wedge Information is also available as Data Tips (hover the mouse over a wedge to see the wedge information for that wedge)

TIP: You can right-click in the Wedge Information pane in the Sidebar and select Copy copy button to copy the wedge information to the clipboard. From the clipboard it can be pasted into other applications. The wedge information can also be copied or saved to a file from the Info Viewer.

Wedge Information Filter

A considerable amount of data is available for each wedge, and you may not wish to view all of this information all of the time. The Wedge Information Filter dialog allows you to select only the wedge information that you wish to see displayed. To filter the wedge information:

  1. Select the Wedge Information Filter Filter Icon option from:
    1. The Sidebar (select the Filter List button above the Wedge Information pane)
    2. The Filter sub-menu of the View menu
    3. Right-click menu (right-click on any wedge in any 3D wedge view, or right-click in the Info Viewer)
  2. In the Wedge Information Filter dialog, use the checkboxes to select only the wedge data that you wish to view.
  3. Select OK, and only the selected wedge information will be displayed in the program (i.e., in the Sidebar, Info Viewer, Data Tips).

When a filter is applied, the icon will be displayed as Filter Icon.

The following wedge information is available:

  • Wedge Name: The name which is automatically assigned to each wedge (e.g., Upper Left)
  • Wedge Number: The number which is automatically assigned to each wedge (1-10)
  • Factor of Safety: The Factor of Safety
  • Wedge Volume: The wedge volume
  • Wedge Weight: The wedge weight
  • Wedge z-Length: The exposed length of the wedge in the direction of the tunnel axis (i.e. along the z-axis of the model). Note: only applicable for Perimeter Wedges, for End Wedges the z-Length = 0 by definition.
  • Excavation Face Area: The exposed area of the wedge within the excavation
  • Support Pressure: The support pressure required to achieve the Design Factor of Safety for the wedge. If the wedge Factor of Safety is already greater than the Design Factor of Safety, then the required support pressure = 0. The support pressure is assumed to be a uniform pressure applied normal to the excavation boundary.
  • Resisting Force: The total resisting force used to calculate the Factor of Safety (FOS = R / D where R = Resisting Force, D = Driving Force)
  • Driving Force: The total driving force used to calculate the Factor of Safety (FOS = R / D where R = Resisting Force, D = Driving Force)
  • Shear Force: The active driving force in the direction of sliding
  • Apex Height: The shortest distance from the apex of the wedge to the excavation boundary, measured in the 2-dimensional plane of the Opening Section
  • Apex Angle: The minimum angle at the apex of the wedge, measured between the line of intersection of any two planes, and the third plane which is opposite to the line of intersection.
  • Scaling Parameter: If you have used the Scale Wedges options to scale down the wedge size, the scaling parameter indicates the scaled size of the wedge, relative to the maximum wedge size, for a particular wedge. The Scaling Parameter can vary from 0 to 1. A value of 1 indicates the maximum wedge size (i.e. no scaling). A value less than 1 indicates that the wedge size has been scaled down.
  • Scaled By: If a wedge has been Scaled, this tells you which user-defined Scaling Value was used to Scale the wedge (e.g. Joint 1 Trace Length, Wedge Volume etc). The wedge size is always scaled using the parameter which gives the smallest wedge.
  • Failure Mode: The failure mode of the wedge. This can be: along any single plane, along the line of intersection of any two planes, falling (e.g. for a roof wedge), stable (e.g. for a floor wedge), or uplift (e.g. may occur if high water pressures are applied to a wedge).
  • Sliding Joint Orientations: The orientation of the joint(s) on which sliding can occur (i.e. the joints indicated by the Failure Mode). For a falling wedge, this is not applicable.
  • Sliding Direction (East, North, Up): The direction of sliding, given by global vector components in the East, North, Up directions.
  • Sliding Direction (Trend, Plunge): The direction of sliding given as trend/plunge
  • Joint Codes: The intersection of 3 joint planes in 3-dimensional space, creates (in the general case), 8 possible combinations of halfspaces in which a tetrahedral wedge can be formed. The Joint Code is a three number code (e.g., 010) which indicates which halfspace of each joint plane the wedge is situated in. A 1 indicates the lower halfspace. A 0 indicates the upper halfspace. For example:
    • 010 indicates that the wedge exists in the upper halfspace of joints 1 and 3 and the lower halfspace of joint 2.
    • A roof wedge typically has Joint Code 111 (i.e., the lower halfspace of all 3 planes).
    • A floor wedge typically has Joint Code 000 (i.e., the upper halfspace of all 3 planes).
  • Joint Areas: The area of each joint plane on the wedge
  • Joint Persistence: The maximum distance between any two points for each joint face of the wedge
  • Joint Trace Lengths: The exposed trace length of each joint, as measured along the surface of the excavation. Note that this represents the trace length as measured along the 3-dimensional surface of the excavation. It is not a projection or shortest distance between endpoints.
  • Joint Normal Forces: The total normal force on each joint face of the wedge
  • Joint Water Forces: The total water force on each joint face of the wedge
  • Joint Shear Strengths: The total shear resistance of each joint face of the wedge
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