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The irregularity of rock joints in rocky terrains contributes considerably to better mechanical stability of these terrains. The assessment of the stage of surface irregularities (asperities) of jointed surfaces in rock massifs plays an important role when shear strength of rock joints are evaluated. For this purpose it is necessary to analyze morphology of surface reliefs of rock joints. The digital replicas of surface reliefs are ideal tools for such a morphology analysis. This paper describes a new method for d...

Joints in rocky massifs usually form a space network that is hidden under the surface of terrains. Although normally invisible, same parts of such networks may emerge when excavation work is running in terrains. The irregularity of joint rock surfaces are characterized by joint rock coefficients that serve for computations of shear strength of these joints. This is important for evaluation of the mechanical stability not only the rock joints themselves but also for the mechanical stability of rock massifs that are...

The Fourier two-dimensional series is used for classification of surface irregularities of rock joints. The expansion coefficients of this series are employed to form an absolute indicator of waviness of joint rock surfaces. The indicator serves for classification of surface irregularity of rock joints. The method has been applied to several real rock samples and the results are presented in the form of graphs. A similar visual comparison is often performed in geotechnical practice when joint rock coefficients are...

The two-dimensional profile curves created by Barton are often used in geotechnics for the determination of the rock joint coefficients. These two-dimensional profiles of solid surfaces show self-affine properties, i.e. they are scaled differently in x- and y- directions. Similarly, the three-dimensional reliefs (3D) of solid surfaces are scaled differently in z-direction in comparison to x- or y-directions. Therefore, the vertical sections of surface reliefs (two-dimensional profiles) are self-affine curve (self-...