Sheeting Joints Characterisation Shear S

Rock Mech Rock Eng (2011) 44:1–22
DOI 10.1007/s00603-010-0100-y
ORIGINAL PAPER
Sheeting Joints: Characterisation, Shear Strength

and Engineering
S. R. Hencher • S. G. Lee • T. G. Carter •
L. R. Richards
Received: 31 December 2009 / Accepted: 5 May 2010 / Published online: 25 May 2010
Ó The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Sheeting joints are extensive fractures that 1 Introduction

typically develop parallel to natural slopes. Embryonic
sheeting joints initially constitute channels for water flow Sheeting joints are a striking feature of many landscapes
and then become the focus for weathering and sediment (Fig. 1a, b) and they have been studied for more than two
infill accompanied by progressive deterioration and dila- centuries (Twidale 1973). They run roughly parallel to the
tion. Slabs of rock fail along them periodically because of ground surface in flat-lying and steeply inclined terrain and
their adverse orientation and long persistence. They are generally occur close to the surface, typically at less than
however rough and wavy and these characteristics con- 30 m depth. They can often be traced laterally for hundreds
tribute highly to their shear strength and improve their of metres. Most sheeting joints are young geologically and
stability. This paper reviews several landslide case histories some have been observed to develop explosively and rap-
and on the basis of these provides guidelines for charac- idly as tensile fractures in response to unloading (Nichols
terising sheeting joints and determining their shear 1980). Others are propagated to assist in quarrying using
strength. Engineering options for stabilising sheeting joints heat or hydraulic pressure (Holzhausen 1989). Their recent
in natural and cut slope configurations are then examined origins and long persistence without rock bridges differ-
with reference to case examples. entiates them from most other joints many of which
develop following pre-imposed, geological weakness
Keywords Sheeting joint origins Shear strength directions during weathering and unloading as illustrated in
Landslides Engineering measures Roughness Fig. 2a, b and discussed by Wise (1964) and Hencher and
characterisation Knipe (2007). These characteristics of sheeting joints
(especially their long persistence and lack of intact rock
bridges) also distinguish them from most bedding, cleavage
or schistosity-parallel discontinuities.
S. R. Hencher
Halcrow China Ltd., Hong Kong, China
2 Development of Sheeting Joints
S. R. Hencher (&)
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Sheeting joints are common in granite and other massive
e-mail: stevehencher@btinternet.com igneous rocks but also develop more rarely in other rock
types including sandstone and conglomerate. Ollier (1975)
S. G. Lee
University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea provides an excellent review of early research and obser-
vations on their occurrence and development and Twidale
T. G. Carter and Vidal Romani (2005) discuss their occurrence specif-
Golder Associates, Toronto, Canada
ically in granitic terrain.
L. R. Richards Some sheeting joints develop at shallow dip angles,
Canterbury, New Zealand for instance during quarrying, where high horizontal
123
2 S. R. Hencher et al.
Fig. 1 Sheeting joints in granite: a Mt. Bukhansan, near Seoul,

Korea; b Tuen Mun Highway, Hong Kong
Fig. 2 Parallel set traces of proto-joints in the process of developing
as full mechanical fractures but maintaining considerable true
compressive stresses are locked in at shallow depths
cohesion a Jurassic granite, Bukansan, Seoul; b Tuff, Island Road,
(Fig. 3a). In Southern Ontario, Canada, for example, high Hong Kong
horizontal stresses locked in following glacial unloading
often give rise to quarry floor heave and pop-up structures
accompanied by opening up of pre-existing incipient dis-
continuities such as bedding planes and schistose cleavage
(Roorda et al. 1982). Where there are no pre-existing
weakness directions, new sub-horizontal fractures may
develop in otherwise unfractured rock. Holzhausen (1989)
describes propagation of new sheeting joints under a hor-
izontal stress of about 17 MPa at a depth of only 4 m
where the vertical confining stress due to self weight of the
rock is only about 100 kPa. The mechanism is similar to a
uniaxial compressive strength test where tensile fracture
propagates parallel to the maximum principal stress (r1).
Such exfoliation and tensile development of sheeting joints
is analogous to the sometimes explosive spalling and
slabbing often seen in deep mines (Diederichs 2003; Hoek
1968).
From a worldwide perspective, however, the joints most
commonly recognised as sheeting structures are observed
in steep natural slopes. These joints are also thought to Fig. 3 Stress conditions for the formation of sheeting joints a in
develop as tensile fractures where the maximum com- regions with very high horizontal in situ stresses and b in steep slopes
pressive stress due to gravity is reoriented to run parallel to and relatively strong, unfractured rock
123
Sheeting Joints: Characterisation, Shear Strength and Engineering 3
Fig. 5 a Completely decomposed granite in sheeting joint (horizontal

borehole for tunnel). b Thick (300 mm) continuous layer of grade IV
Fig. 4 Sheeting joints under valleys a Norway; b Zambezi River at granite sandwiched between grade II wall rock. Note sharp contacts
Batoka Gorge, Zimbabwe. The sheeting joints are in otherwise and rough nature of lower exposed sheet joint surface. Bamboo
massive basalt scaffold pole in foreground
the slope as illustrated in Fig. 3b, demonstrated by here are as defined in Geotechnical Engineering Office
numerical models (Yu and Coates 1970; Selby 1993) and (1988) and BS 5930 (1999).
discussed in detail by Bahat et al. (1999). Sheeting joints Additional evidence for the great age of some sheeting
also develop parallel to the stress trajectories that curve joints is the fact that they can sometimes be observed
under valleys where there has been rapid glacial unloading cutting through otherwise highly fractured rock. Most
or valley down cutting as illustrated in Fig. 4. Failure and sheeting joints occur in massive, strong rock and it is
erosion is a continuing process with the formation of new argued that if the rock mass had been already highly
sheeting joints following the failure of sheet-bounded fractured or weathered then the topographic stresses would
slabs. Wakasa et al. (2006) calculated an average erosion be accommodated by movements within the weak mass
rate of 56 m in 1 million years from measurements of rather than by initiating a new tensile fracture (Vidal
exposed sheeting joints in granite in Korea which is sig- Romani and Twidale 1999). Therefore where sheeting
nificantly higher than erosion rates on other slopes without joints are found in highly fractured rock masses, it is likely
sheeting joints. Whilst many exposed sheeting joints are that they predate the gradual development of the other
evidently very recent, others are much older. Jahns (1943) joints as mechanical fractures during unloading and
and Martel (2006) note the apparent dissection of land- weathering (Hencher 2006; Hencher and Knipe 2007).
scapes post-dating sheet joint formation. Antiquity is also Some extensive, hillside-parallel joints have many of the
indicated by preferential and thick weathering as illustrated characteristics of ‘‘true’’ sheeting joints but owe their
in Fig. 5a, which shows a segment of core through a sheet geometry instead to the opening up of pre-existing weak-
joint infilled with completely decomposed granite (CDG) ness directions such as doming joints in plutonic igneous
with the joint infill material abutting directly against almost rock or bedding in sedimentary rock. In this case the pre-
fresh rock; Fig. 5b shows a similar thick band of highly existing fracture network defines the hillside shape rather
decomposed granite (HDG) between the walls of a sheeting than the other way around (Twidale 1973). The opening up
joint at North Point, Hong Kong. Weathering grades used of these pre-existing joint systems is probably largely in
123
response to the same topographic stress conditions that

encourage the formation of virginal sheeting joints in
massive rock but development may be more gradual. That
being so, such joint sets are more likely to retain intact rock
bridges between sections of fully developed mechanical
fractures than will true sheeting joints and these rock
bridges will provide real cohesion, improving overall
hillside stability.
3 Geometry and Occurrence
3.1 Sheeting Joints Within the Weathering Profile
Sheeting joint terrain can be regarded as one end of a range

of possible weathering profiles where the erosion rate
exceeds that of the development of saprolite. They tend to
develop in steep sections of hillsides where of course surface
erosion is also high. Otherwise there does not appear to be
any defining criterion for whether sheeting joints or thicker
weathering profiles will dominate across a hillside although
it seems clear that once the rock mass becomes significantly
fractured or deeply weathered then this will preclude the
further development of sheeting joints. They are generally
not found in rock underlying thick weathered profiles; the Fig. 6 Typical sheeting joint terrains. a Sheeting joints dominate
weight of the soil probably constrains their formation landscape; b sheeting joints only in areas of rock exposure where
(Fig. 6). They are however sometimes encountered as relict erosion rate is higher than accumulation of weathering and colluvial
deposits
features within or at the base of thick weathered profiles
where they probably predate the weathering. In such situa-
tions they may constitute a major hazard for slope stability in
that they lack cohesion unlike the surrounding saprolite, they
may allow water pressures to develop rapidly and the
roughness and waviness that is such an important charac-
teristic of sheeting joints in fresher rock may be ineffective
due to weakening of the wall rock.
3.2 General Shape, Occurrence and Relationship

to Micro Fractures
Sheeting joints often extend 100 m or more laterally as

discrete fractures. Overlying tabular slabs of rock are
typically 1–10 m thick; with an observed tendency for slab
thickness to decrease the closer they are to the ground Fig. 7 Cross fractures influencing sheet joint development, Shek O,
Hong Kong
surface. The fractures often terminate against pre-existing
cross joints or in intact rock (Fig. 7). Sometimes, adjacent
parts of fractures, perhaps with two or more initiation sheeting joints. Elsewhere microfractures develop in a
points, interact forming step-like or ‘‘shingle’’ features as disintegrated zone between and parallel to the sheeting
described by Holzhausen (1989). At some locations close joint walls and have probably developed by exfoliation
microfractures can be observed running throughout the disintegration away from the original discrete fracture
hillside, parallel to the natural slope, instead of discrete (Fig. 8b). In other locations parallel microfractures in what
fractures defining rock slabs (Fig. 8a). Such zones of par- appears to be sheeting joint terrain may be demonstrated to
allel microfractures probably reflect the overall rotated owe their origins to geological stress conditions predating
gravitational stress state in a similar way as do discrete recent topographic development as for other sets of proto-
123
Fig. 8 Parallel unloading

microfractures throughout
hillside. a Lion Rock Tunnel
portal, Hong Kong. Lens cap for
scale. b Near Doseonsa temple,
nr. Seoul. Note microfracture
disintegration is parallel to
discrete sheeting joint in
background
joints as discussed earlier. During drilling for the Tuen

Mun Highway in Hong Kong zones of microfractures were
encountered in some areas at the same depths where joints,
interpreted as sheeting joints, might have been expected
through interpolation from other boreholes (Carter et al.
1998). Detailed petrographic examination however
revealed a block-work fabric of microfractures with the
main set running parallel to other discrete sheeting joints
and to the hillside, whilst others were essentially ortho
gonal and parallel to sets of cross joints developed elsewhere
as mechanical fractures (Fig. 9). In some samples all micro-
fractures were seen to be healed with secondary quartz
which is taken as an indication of their antiquity. Clearly
microfracturing and sheeting joint development are often
related as discussed in some detail by Jahns (1943) and
Johnson (1970), but the relationship can be complex. In
some situations, pre-existing microfractures can merge and
coalesce as ‘‘sheeting joints’’ as Jahns suggests but else-
where microfractures may develop instead of a discrete Fig. 9 Main set of microfractures dipping to left run parallel to main
fracture and thirdly sheeting joints may develop explo- discrete sheeting joints seen elsewhere in slope (see stereo plot).
sively and essentially independently of any gradual micro- Cross fractures run roughly parallel to cross joints dipping back into
slope and acting as release joints to the sheeting joints
fracture growth stage. The situation may be particularly
difficult to unravel when dealing with igneous plutonic
rocks as at the Tuen Mun Highway and as studied by Jahns by Holzhausen (1989) although some show lineations.
(1943) and Johnson (1970) and where the ‘‘sheeting joints’’ Sheeting joints that develop in steeply inclined hillsides
may exploit a microfracture network originally imposed by where they probably owe their origin to gravitational
cooling stresses following a doming joint pattern (Cloos stresses are typically rough and wavy (Richards and
1922) and where the cross joints might also owe their Cowland 1982). They often show broad waves with
origins to the cooling and emplacement process. The evi- amplitude of the order of perhaps 1 m over wavelengths of
dence of quartz healing in the Tuen Mun Highway samples 5–10 m. Smaller roughness features and steps are super-
does suggest that at least some of the microfabric at the imposed on the general waviness as illustrated in Fig. 10.
Tuen Mun Highway site might well owe its origin to Some of the steps are due to intersections with cross joints
cooling stresses with the quartz healing being the result of whilst others may have resulted from different sections of
late stage throughflow of hot fluids during emplacement the same sheeting joint interacting and overlapping during
(pneumatolysis). propagation as explained by Holzhausen (1989).
3.3 Surface Characteristics

4 Engineering Considerations
The flat-lying joints encountered in quarries in areas of
high residual horizontal stress and recognised as a type of It is a paradox that sometimes the entire stability of steeply
sheeting or exfoliation joint are described as often smooth cut slopes in otherwise excellent quality rock can be
123
asperities (Patton and Deere 1970) are overridden and the

slab detaches down slope as illustrated by the Leung King
Estate, Hong Kong, case example presented below.
The water flow through all joints is tortuous, channelised
and localised (Kikuchi and Mito 1993; Hencher 2010) and
this will be especially true of most sheeting joints with their
rough and wavy surfaces. Richards and Cowland (1986)
report on a careful instrumentation programme to measure
water pressure in a series of sheeting joints. They found
that storms resulted in pressure surges through the joints
with different joints responding at different times and in
Fig. 10 Wavy and stepped surface through volcanic tuff, Hong Kong different ways during separate storms (Fig. 12). Carter
et al. (1998) observed that distinctly different behaviour
compromised by the presence of discrete sheeting joints. occurred between CDG-infilled sheet structures and more
They are also a major source of landsliding in natural broken, less weathered sheet structures, in that the latter
terrain. showed significant peaky response to rainfall events (with
almost complete pressure dissipation occurring in minutes
4.1 Hydrogeology to hours), while the former showed a much delayed decay
in pore pressure dissipation after the rainfall event; in some
A newly formed sheeting joint may comprise a near per- cases taking several days before complete dissipation
fectly matching fracture. Nevertheless, the permeability returned to pre-rainfall pressure head conditions. The
will be higher than the surrounding rock and allow implications for design are significant in that peak water
groundwater ingress. In some situations water pressure pressures do not occur throughout the whole slope at the
may reduce effective stresses sufficiently to initiate shear. same time. The tortuosity of drainage paths also has
During shear, rough joints dilate thereby relieving water implications for the effective design of landslide preventive
pressure and halting movement in many situations drainage measures as discussed later. The drains have to
(Fig. 11). Following such transient displacement there will intersect the natural drainage paths if they are to do any
be a period of stasis, during which the walls of the joint good. It must also be anticipated that drainage paths may
may be attacked by weathering, the overlying rock disin- change with time so that some drains may dry up and
tegrates and voids that have been opened due to dilation are others need to be installed.
infilled with sediment transported from upslope. It is
common to find depressions on dilated sheeting joints in- 4.2 Shear Strength of Sheeting Joints
filled with pockets of sediment, often hard kaolin, and this
is interpreted as material that has gradually accumulated Based on observations of many natural slopes it appears
over a long period (Hencher 1983; Halcrow Asia Partner- that failure of slopes along sheeting joints occurs pre-
ship 1998; Parry et al. 2000). Consequently open joints and dominantly by translational sliding of slabs of rock, often
the presence of sediment infill may indicate that some initiated by water pressure in the joint network. The
translational movement has occurred (Hencher 2006). It problem is therefore relatively tractable to evaluate as it
might take many iterative minor movements from extreme essentially only involves planar failure calculations rather
rainfall events before the controlling, wavy first order than more complex wedge intersection displacements
Fig. 11 Partial movement and

dilation of sheeting slabs:
typical of early stage of failure
a Korea, b Hong Kong
123
Fig. 12 Storm response of

piezometers installed in
sheeting joints (after Richards
and Cowland 1986)
involving two or more joints. The common persistent stress. The fact that they tend in most domains to be rough,
nature of such joints means that the difficult judgmental wavy and often persistent over considerable distances
issue of the contribution from true cohesion from rock means that they are amenable to rational assessment of
bridges is of minor importance although cohesion might be shear strength. It is generally agreed that the shear strength
a real factor for infilled and weathered zones within of persistent joints can be considered as derived from some
sheeting joints and for stepped situations where different ‘‘basic’’ frictional resistance offered by an effectively pla-
sections of joint terminate against a pre-existing cross joint. nar, natural joint plus the work done in overriding the
Key factors that always need consideration are geometry roughness features on that joint. This is generally expressed
(orientation and roughness at all scales), shear strength and by the following equation (after Patton 1966):
the potential for ingress and development of adverse water
s ¼ r tanð/b þ i Þ
pressure.
Sheeting joints characteristically are limited to shallow where s is shear strength, r is normal stress, /b° is a basic
depths and therefore they are subject only to low confining friction angle for a planar joint and i° is a dilation angle
123
that the centre of gravity of the sliding slab follows during

shear, i.e. the deviation from the direction that the shearing
would have followed if the plane had been flat and sliding
had occurred along the mean dip direction of the joint.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the Patton equation,
derivation of the parameters can be difficult, especially for
judging the effective roughness angle.
4.3 Basic Friction, /b
Basic friction of natural joints can be measured by direct

shear testing but tests need very careful setup, instrumen-
tation and analysis if they are to make sense. A series of
tests on different samples of a joint will often yield very
wide scatter which is simply not interpretable without
Fig. 13 Typical test from single direct shear test run on a joint
correcting for sample-specific dilation as described by sample. Note how the measured strength strongly reflects the
Hencher and Richards (1989) and Hencher (1995). Dilation incremental dilation angle and how the corrected strength (lower
reflects work being done in overriding asperities. The line) is essentially constant once the influence of major, sample-
specific roughness has been accounted for
dilation angle, measured during a shear test will vary
especially according to the original roughness of the sam-
ple and the stress level. It is test-specific, will vary increment over horizontal displacement increment, dh),
throughout a test and with direction of testing. It is not the and which varies throughout the test, can however be used
same as the dilation angle, i°, which needs to be assessed at to correct (normalise) the shear strength incrementally
field scale, although the mechanics are the same. To avoid using the following equations:
confusion the laboratory-scale dilation angle measured sw ¼ ðs cos w r sin wÞ cos w
during a test is here designated, w°, whereas the field-scale rw ¼ ðr cos w s sin wÞ cos w
dilation angle to be judged and allowed for in design is, i°,
as defined by Patton 1966). where sw and rw are the shear and normal stresses cor-
Typically, because of the complex nature of shearing, rected for dilation caused by sample roughness. In practice,
with damage being caused to some roughness asperities experience shows that for a system measuring to an accu-
whist others are overridden, the dilation angle, w°, is dif- racy of about ±0.005 mm, analysis over horizontal dis-
ficult to predict for an irregularly rough sample although placement increments of about 0.2 mm generally gives
numerous efforts have been made to do so with some reasonably smooth dilation curves whilst retaining most of
limited success (e.g. Archambault et al. 1999; Kulatilake the detail of the test (Hencher 1995).
et al. 1995). In practice, rather than trying to predict dila- In Fig. 13 the maximum dilation angle is about 15° and
tion which will be unique to each sample, stress level and occurs slightly earlier than when peak shear strength is
testing direction, it is a parameter that needs to be mea- measured and then reduces throughout the rest of the test.
sured carefully during direct shear tests so that corrections The ratio between incrementally corrected shear and nor-
can be made to derive a normalised basic friction angle for mal stresses (sw/rw) peaks at about 0.9 which means a
use in design. Figure 13 shows the result from a well dilation-corrected basic friction angle of about 42° (tan-1
instrumented direct shear test on a rough interlocking joint. 0.9). The friction angle then reduces gradually over a fur-
It can be seen that the peak measured ratio between shear ther 14 mm horizontal displacement to about 38° which
stress and normal stress (s/r) is about 1.4 corresponding to reflects a reduced textural interlocking and ploughing
a peak uncorrected friction angle, /p = 54°, given that component together with the production of gouge (Rabi-
s = rtan(/p°). This peak strength however includes the nowicz 1965; Scholtz 1990). Tests can be run multi-stage
effect of the upper block having to override the roughness in which the same sample is used for tests at different
as the joint dilates and work is done against the confining confining stresses. These test stages generally give the
pressure. The dilation contribution is specific to this sam- same corrected friction despite the dilation angle changing
ple, this stage of the test, stress level and direction of with stress level and as damage is done to the surfaces.
shearing so cannot be taken as representative or even Tests must be properly documented however with photo-
indicative of the roughness component of the joint, i°, at graphs, sketches and profiles so that any variable data can
field scale. The measured dilation angle, w° (which equals be explained rationally (Hencher and Richards 1989).
tan-1 dv/dh where dv is the vertical displacement Generally it is found that tests on a series of samples from
123
Fig. 14 Series of direct shear

tests carried out on three
samples taken from different
locations along the same joint.
Different roughnesses will
result in different peak strengths
for the same normal stress but
dilation correction will reduce
scatter considerably and give a
basic friction for naturally
textured, non-dilatant joints.
The same samples can be tested
repeatedly at increasing or
decreasing normal stress stages.
Peak strengths will vary with
amount of damage and normal
stress level but the corrected
strength envelope for basic
friction, /b, is usually well
defined
the same joint set (with similar surface mineralogy and (Hencher and Richards 1982). Figure 15 shows dilation-
textures) provide a reasonably well-defined dilation-cor- corrected data for joints through grades II and III granite
rected strength envelope as illustrated in Fig. 14. That and Fig. 16 shows similar data for joints through friable,
strength is frictional (obeys Amonton’s laws) and com- grade IV rock. These data define essentially the same
prises an adhesional component plus a non-dilational strength envelope with /b & 40°. Similar values for dila-
damage component that varies with textural and second tion-corrected basic friction angle are reported for other
order roughness (Hencher 1995). silicate rocks (Papaliangas et al. 1995) and Byerlee (1978)
Barton (1990) suggested that the dilation-corrected basic found the same strength envelope (s = 0.85r) for a large
friction angle might be partly scale-dependent as assumed number of direct shear tests on various rock types where
for the asperity damage component in the Barton–Bandis dilation was constrained by using high confining stresses.
model (Bandis et al. 1981) but further research using the Similar strengths have been reported as a mean value
same shear apparatus and modelling setup as Bandis generally even for more weathered grades IV and V granite
(1980), but with better instrumentation, indicates that this in Hong Kong (El-Ramly et al. 2005). Papaliangas et al.
is unlikely (Hencher et al. 1993; Papaliangas et al. 1994). 1995 suggest, on the basis of these sort of results, that a
Rather it appears that the dilation-corrected basic friction, friction value of about 40° for granite joints may mark a
once the effects of small-scale roughness have been cor- transition from dilational to purely frictional behaviour and
rected for, as described above, remains fairly constant and may relate to a change from brittle to ductile behaviour
seemingly independent of the length of the sample. Scale within highly stressed asperities. Empirically it seems to be
effects do however need to be considered as a geometrical about the highest value for basic friction achievable for
effect when deciding on the appropriate field-scale i° value natural joints through many silicate rocks and applicable
to add to the dilation-corrected /b as discussed below. specifically to joints that are forced because of small-scale
This suggested procedure of first testing joints to roughness to dilate, which includes most sheeting joints.
determine a dilation-corrected basic friction angle and then That said, even higher dilation-corrected values can
adding the field-scale roughness angle component is best sometimes be measured for tightly interlocking, rough
illustrated by some case examples. textured, tensile fractures through very strong rock, at least
In the early 1980s an extensive series of direct shear for several stages of testing (Hencher 1995, 2006). Con-
tests was conducted on sheeting joints samples taken from versely, it must be remembered that where joints are
drill core as part of the North Point Rock Slope Study in smoother so that they do not dilate during shear and where
Hong Kong. Samples included strong joints with quartz the surface texture is fine, polished or coated with low
coating, joints coated with iron and manganese oxides friction minerals such as chlorite, much lower basic friction
and joints through highly decomposed, grade IV granite angles can be measured for natural joints (Brand et al.
123
There are two main tasks for the geotechnical engineer in

analysing the roughness component for a typical sheeting
joint slab failure: firstly, to determine the actual geometry
of the surface along the direction of likely sliding at all
scales, and secondly, to judge which of those roughness
features along the failure path will survive during shear and
force the slab to deviate from the mean dip angle. This is
the most difficult part of the shear strength assessment, not
least because it is impossible to establish the detailed
roughness of surfaces that are hidden in the rock mass.
Considerable judgement is required and has to be balanced
against the risk involved. Hack (1998) gives a good review
of the options and the difficulties in exercising engineering
judgement are discussed in an insightful way by Baecher
and Christian (2003).
Fig. 15 Dilation-corrected tests on sheeting joint samples through In practice, the best way of characterising roughness is by
grades II and III rock, many samples iron- or manganese dioxide measurement on a grid pattern in the way originally descri-
stained and with some patchy clay bed by Fecker and Rengers (1971) and adopted in the ISRM
recommended methods (1978) although spatial variability
Grade IV granite joints may be an important issue for sheeting joints; the important
300
first order roughness represented by major wave features
may vary considerably from one area to another. At one
250 y = 0.868x location a slab might be prevented from sliding by a wave in
the joint surface causing a reduction in the effective down-
dip angle along the sliding direction; elsewhere, a slab of
Shear stres, kPa
200
perhaps several metres length may have a dip angle steeper

150 than the mean angle for the joint as a whole because it sits on
the down slope section of one of the major waves as illus-
100 trated by a case example later. For the Tuen Mun highway
stability studies (Carter et al. 2002) numerous true scale
survey profiles down the plunge line of exposed sheet
50
structures were collected using EDM surveying techniques,
with abseil approaches being utilised to achieve profiles
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 down even the steepest of the slope gradients. These detailed
Normal stress, kPa profiles of the exposed surfaces were assumed to be repre-
sentative of adjacent hidden joints that were candidates for
Fig. 16 Dilation corrected data for grade IV material from sheeting
potential failure. The level of roughness/asperity surface
joints, North Point, Hong Kong
detail that is attainable by this sort of survey profiling is
illustrated for an extensive discontinuity in Fig. 18.
1983). This means that there is a marked variation between Defining the scale at which roughness will force dilation
basic friction measured for artificially prepared (saw-cut during sliding rather than being sheared through requires
and lapped) joints and for natural joints with different considerable judgement. Some assistance is provided by
surface textures, as illustrated in Fig. 17. Schneider (1976) and by Goodman (1980) who indicate
that for typical rough sheeting joint surfaces, where slabs
4.4 Roughness are free to rotate during shear, as the length of the slab
increases (at field scale) the dilation angle controlling
Roughness at the field scale will be the controlling factor lifting of the centre of gravity of the upper block will
for the stability of most sheeting joints and for engineering reduce. As noted earlier, sheeting joints are often wavy and
design must be added to the basic friction /b of the major waves, where opposing the shearing direction, can
effectively planar yet naturally surfaced and textured rock almost always be relied upon to cause dilation at field scale
joint. Roughness is expressed as an anticipated dilation from the mean dip of the overall sheeting joint plane,
angle, i°, which accounts for the likely geometrical path for especially at the low stress levels appropriate for most
the sliding slab during failure (deviation from mean dip). sheeting joints despite the obvious stress concentrations at
123
Fig. 17 Components of basic

friction for natural joints and
artificial surfaces
overriding contacts. Simple geometry shows that for wave

amplitude of 1 m over a wavelength of 20 m the minimum
dilation angle would be about 6°; over a wavelengths of
10 m, 11°; and over 6 m, 18°. This is an example of where
geometrical scale effects operate and must be taken into
account.
The characterisation of the geometry of sheeting joints
in the field is described by Richards and Cowland (1982).
Specifically for the North Point Study in Hong Kong it was
judged that relatively small base length asperities in grade
II and III rock would survive the field stresses based on the
observation that little damage occurred to even smaller
asperities at stress levels higher than in the field during
direct shear tests (e.g. Fig. 19). They therefore concluded
that the angle of deviation from mean dip of joints could be
relied upon to be 16° for long sheet joints with lengths of Fig. 18 Roughness survey under way using plates of different
[20 m, based on the geometry of frequently occurring diameter on a bedding plane discontinuity in shaley limestone
asperities (they judged that some second order asperity (Skipton, Yorkshire). At the small scale (hammer) the joint is rough
features could be relied upon as well as first order rough- but at larger scale the joint is effectively flat
nesses). Richards and Cowland (1982) appreciated that the
dip of sheeting joints can suddenly steepen on one side of a investigation and judgement based on experience of similar
wave thereby increasing the local dip for a relatively short joints and geological settings and an appreciation of the
(few metres) length slab of rock as illustrated by the Hui fundamental mechanics controlling the potential failure.
Ming Street landslide later in this paper. In summary, the
issue for differentiating the contribution of small- and 4.5 Infilled Joints
large-scale asperities boils down to carrying out appropri-
ate rock characterisation. The problem cannot be finessed Richards and Cowland (1982) suggest that where there is a
by improved analytical methodology. There is no substi- thick band of weathered rock along a joint (say grades IV
tution to careful engineering geological inspection, and V) as shown in Fig. 5, zero dilation should be allowed
123
Fig. 20 Hard, slickensided kaolinite infill from downwarp on failed

sheeting joint (Hencher 1983). Pencil for scale
Fig. 19 Sample V13, 8.7 m (North Point Study, Hong Kong) joints and particularly will affect pore pressure dissipation
following 5 stage, repeated direct shear test up to normal stress rates, potentially leading to an adverse stability state due to
285 kPa equivalent of more than 10 m confining stress. Note the
the potential for a lengthened period of reduced effective
localised nature of damage (white areas) on the weathered, stepped
surface coated in brown iron and black manganese dioxide. Note that stress following a rain storm event. Experience from the
main step feature has survived intact (and was responsible for dilating piezometric monitoring of ‘‘infilled’’ and of ‘‘clean’’
the joint) at that stress level sheeting joints at Tuen Mun (Carter et al. 2002) showed
that although similar maximum pore pressure spike levels
when assessing stability. Where the joint is infilled with a were recorded for both joint types, it took days instead of
mixture of weathered rock and rock fragments however the hours for the dissipation of the excess head in the filled
Hoek–Brown strength criterion might be used to provide joints compared with the clean joints.
some estimate of strength without laboratory testing
(Carter et al. 2002) although Brown (2008) cautions against 4.6 Estimating Shear Strength Using Empirical
applying the original criterion outside the original data set Methods
and expresses specific concern for application for rocks
with uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) below about 30 Because of the inherent difficulties, need for quality
or 40 MPa. Carter et al. (2008) and Carvalho et al. (2007) equipment and expertise required for measuring shear
discuss a modified Hoek–Brown criterion for low strength strength of rock joints, various empirical criteria have been
rocks that may be more applicable for such application. proposed for estimating shear strength based on index tests
As discussed earlier, incremental movement of sheeting and idealised joint shapes. The most widely used strength
joints may take place over many years before final slab criterion is that proposed by Barton (1973). This takes the
detachment and, following each movement, sediment may ‘‘basic friction’’ measured for saw-cut or other artificially
be washed in to accumulate in hollows on the joint prepared planar surfaces then adding in a component to
(Fig. 20). The presence of washed-in sediment may indi- account for roughness adjusted for the strength of the rock
cate that the rock mass has moved but this is not always the asperities and for scale. Details are given in many text
case as illustrated by a case at Kwun Tong Road, Hong books including Brady and Brown (1985) and Wyllie and
Kong, discussed later, where the observed sediments were Mah (2004). The advantages of this criterion are its
deposited in an erosional pipe along a sheeting joint rather apparent ease of use and application in numerical model-
than in a void opened up by dilation. The presence of in- ling but there are difficulties in determining each of the
washed sediment in a joint might cause alarm during various parameters. Basic friction is taken to be a lower
ground investigation (clay infill having relatively low shear bound component with a ‘‘limiting value’’ of 28.5–31.5°
strength) but in many cases such sediments are patchy in (Barton and Bandis 1990) but the friction measured for a
occurrence and confined to local down warps on a partially saw-cut surface is not necessarily a lower bound either for
dilated joint. The sediment is probably playing little or no natural or artificial joints (see Fig. 17). Hencher (1976) for
part in decreasing frictional resistance which is controlled example reports the sliding angle reducing from about 32°
by contact between rock asperities. When the infill to only 12° for saw-cut surfaces of Darleydale Sandstone
becomes of such thickness that rock wall contact is no after about 4 m in tilt tests with continual removal of rock
longer to be relied upon then of course the infill strength flour between test runs. Furthermore, considerable vari-
itself needs to be assessed for design. The infill will also ability is sometimes reported from tests carried out on
affect hydraulic conductivity properties of such infilled artificially prepared surfaces. Stimpson (1981) measured
123
values ranging from 24° to 38° using limestone core pieces base-line parameters must be utilised within the equations
in sliding tests. Tests reported by the Norwegian Geo- whatever approach is adopted. It is a prevalent miscon-
technical Institute (NGI) for the Åknes landslide investi- ception in the literature (e.g. Simons et al. 2001) that
gation gave values ranging from 21° to 36.4° for tilt tests dilation-corrected data from direct shear tests on natural
on saw-cut joints with about 73% of data between 25° and joints can be used interchangeably in empirical equations.
30.2° (Kveldsvik et al. 2008). Nicholson (1994) reports a This is incorrect because the dilation-corrected strength
variation in 12.5° for tests carried out on carefully prepared already includes a frictional component contributed from
saw-cut, lapped surfaces of Berea sandstone, all suggesting textural and roughness damage (part equivalent of JRC)
that the recommendation of some lower ‘‘limiting value’’ and its substitution for the saw-cut or residual /b of Barton
of 28.5 to 31.5° may not be universally applicable. There is could lead to overestimations of field-scale strength by
also some confusion in the literature regarding application maybe 10° in many cases.
of some of the Barton early equations as to whether /b
(which is stipulated as sawn surface value determinations)
or /r (residual values from multi-reversal shear box test- 5 Case Examples of Landslides Involving Sheeting
ing) is the appropriate parameter for application in the Joints
equation. In the authors’ opinion is also extremely unwise
to rely on the widely publicised Schmidt Hammer rela- A number of landslides involving sliding on sheeting joints
tionships proposed between residual strength and base have been studied in some detail in Hong Kong and pro-
friction angle as a means for sorting out the correct value vide some insight into operative shear strength and mech-
for shear strength determination. anisms of failure.
The contribution to shear strength from roughness for
small-scale roughness can be measured or estimated from 5.1 Sau Mau Ping Road, Hong Kong, Early 1970s
standard shape profiles, but this can be difficult in practice
and varies according to shearing direction and with scale, An example of an in-depth study of slope stability gov-
requiring appropriate judgement for its effective application. erned by potential sliding on sheeting joint is presented by
Beer et al. (2002) carried out an online survey of people’s Hoek (2009) and Wyllie and Mah (2004). Figure 21a
estimates of joint roughness coefficient (JRC) for three shows a section of the slope as it is today, little changed
randomly selected joints. Considerable scatter was reported from the slope photographed in the early 1970s, with an
and for one of the three joints a possibly bi-modal distribu- extensive section of exposed sheeting joint following a
tion of estimates was determined with the two centres of failure during blasting to construct the road. It was antic-
population at 8.9 and 17.9, perhaps reflecting different ipated that the exposed sheeting joint would extend through
individual’s perception of controlling roughness scale. Like the adjacent 60-m-high slope with an overall angle of 508
any other stochastic parameter, considerable difficulties can and individual batters 20 m high and inclined at 708. The
occur when representing joint roughness with a single value slope that was of concern has now been cut back as illus-
JRC estimate, as clearly demonstrated by determinations for trated in Fig. 21b (compare to Hoek’s Fig. 4). Hoek goes
the Åknes landslide by workers from NGI and MIT through a reasoned series of sensitivity calculations based
(Kveldsvik et al. 2008) where JRC measured for foliation on various assumptions, culminating in the decision to cut
joints at a 0.25-m scale ranged from 2.5 to 20 with a mean of back rather than drain or reinforce the slope. The inter-
10.6. At a 1-m scale, JRC estimates covered the full possible pretation at the time was that the additional strength
range (from 0 to 20) with a mean of about 8 and standard offered by dilation in overcoming roughness could be
deviation of *4. The range of calculated factor of safety for expressed as apparent cohesion. If these analyses and cal-
this range of JRC was from about 0.8–2.0 taking all other culations were repeated today probably a slightly different
parameters at their mean values. As is obvious, considerable approach would be taken in the way that shear strength was
judgement is still needed in application of such empirical dealt with and consequently on the measures adopted. In
procedures so that overall estimates for joint surface strength particular a cohesive component of strength is insensitive
can be considered realistic. Furthermore, once the second to water pressure assumptions, whereas if strength is
order roughness contribution has been decided upon, then an expressed as friction plus dilation angle, both of these are
additional roughness angle, i°, still needs to be determined dependent on effective stress and a different answer would
and added, to account for larger scale roughness not sampled ensue. Apparent cohesion is clearly a good concept for
in the JRC assessment (Barton 1990). jointed rock masses (e.g. Brown 2008) but not for the shear
An important point that arises from this review of strength of persistent rock joints. The result and conclu-
empirical strength criteria for estimating field strength of sions might still be the same (cutting back the slope to the
rock joints is that it needs to be emphasised that the correct dip angle of the sheeting joint is certainly a pragmatic
123
Fig. 22 Location of rock fall at Hui Min Street, 2000
at less than 30°. This case illustrates that significant block

failures can occur on unexposed steep sections of sheeting
joint. Back analysis showed that for an effective friction
angle (/b ? i) of 43° the factor of safety was 1.2 under dry
conditions and reduced to 1.0 with water pressure of about
10 kPa. The nearby, much larger 1993 failure surface was
investigated by cutting trial trenches through shotcrete that
had been placed over the landslide scar. The mean dip of
the lower part of the failure surface was only about 22° but
steepened to about 45° over the rear half of the failure
surface. Roughness values (deviation from mean dip) were
measured as 16° using an 80-mm plate and 12° for a 210-
mm plate. Much of the basal surface was however coated
with completely and highly decomposed granite which
would have reduced the effective dilation angle.
5.3 Above Leung King Estate: 2000

Fig. 21 a View of sheeting joint (2007) pictured in Hoek (2009);
b picture of the slope analysed and then cut back as discussed in detail
in Hoek (2009) The progressive nature of failures associated with sheeting
joints is illustrated well by a landslide that occurred above
solution) but the assessment approach might well now be Leung King Estate, Hong Kong (Halcrow China Limited
different. 2002b; Hencher 2006). Features of this landslide are
illustrated in Fig. 23. Surviving remnants of the rock mass
5.2 Hui Ming Street 2000 and 1993 above the main sheeting joint along which detachment
finally took place showed signs of long-term movement,
In 2000 a block of rock with volume of 15 m3 fell close to growth of fractures and sediment infill prior to failure. The
a playground after sliding on a sheeting joint. The source of stages prior to failure are shown schematically in Fig. 24.
the rock fall is shown in Fig. 22. A nearby previous failure
of a 20-m-wide section of slope in 1993 was re-examined 5.4 Lessons from Landslide Case Studies
as part of the study into the 2000 landslide Halcrow China
Ltd (2002a). The basal surface of the 2000 rockfall dipped These case examples of landslides involving sliding on
out of the slope at about 35°–38°. Using a 420-mm- sheeting joints have provided some useful insights into the
diameter plate on a 200-mm grid across the failure surface nature and characteristics of such failures. In particular, the
a dilation angle, i° of 8°, was determined and for an 80-mm failure above Leung King Estate gave considerable evi-
plate, between 12° and 14° which is consistent with mea- dence of long-term deterioration involving intermittent
surements on other sheeting joints in Hong Kong. The movements by sliding along the joint along which detach-
section of sheeting joint below the failed block that would ment eventually occurred. Such deterioration with sediment
have been exposed prior to failure, dipped more shallowly infill and natural pipe systems may be taken as indications
123
Fig. 23 Landslide above Leung

King Estate, Hong Kong.
a Below the detachment surface
the rock is light coloured and
joints are rare; above, the rock is
fractured and discoloured.
b Lower wavy surface with grid
for roughness measurements
using plates. c Side view with
evidence of long-term
displacement including dilation
and deposition of sediments
in voids
that the slope may be failing. The importance of the

development of cleft water pressure is evident in triggering
most sheeting joint failures investigated in Hong Kong. The
ground investigation reported by Richards and Cowland
(1986) which demonstrated the complex reaction of water
pressures in joints to rainstorm events indicates the diffi-
culties in designing drainage measures to prevent failure.
The case studies demonstrate the difficulties in extrap-
olating the geometry of sheeting joints into the rock mass
from measurements in exposures. In particular local
increases in dip hidden in the rock mass can allow signif-
icant and unpredicted rock falls.
Back analysis of landslides adopting reasonable esti-
mates for active water pressures confirms that the current
approaches to assessing shear strength based on dilation-
corrected basic friction plus an i° value judged from
roughness measurements on a grid basis at field scale can
provide realistic parameters for design use.
6 Engineering Works
6.1 Assessing Risk and the Need for Preventive

Engineering Measures
Fig. 24 Schematic representation of history of Leung King landslide Slopes in sheeting joint terrain often appear extremely
prior to detachment threatening because of the persistent, daylighting and
123
steeply dipping nature of the joints. The fact that such extensive, difficult slopes such as at Tuen Mun Road where
steeply dipping joints are associated with failures at all some sections were stabilised by anchors and buttresses and
scales from small rock falls to major translational move- other sections were protected by nets and other measures
ments has, over the years, necessitated that engineering (Carter et al. 2002; Pine and Roberds 2005).
works be implemented to reduce the risks.
A modern approach to assessing the need for preventive
measures is to use quantified risk assessment as described by 7 Engineering Options
Pine and Roberds (2005) for the widening of the Tuen Mun
Highway in Hong Kong (Fig. 1b). This project involved Some of the options for improving the stability of slopes
remediation and stabilisation of several sections of high cut are listed in Fig. 25 and illustrated in Fig. 26. These can be
and natural slopes dominated by potential sheeting joint split into passive options that either deal with the possible
failures and by the potential for failure of rock blocks and failure by controlling surface deterioration at source or
boulders bouncing down exposed sheeting joints to impact installing preventative reinforcement to increase local
the road below. Design of the slope cut backs and stabilisa- factors of safety, or adding walls or buttresses to restrain
tion measures was based on a combination of reliability detached debris before it causes injury or damage and
criteria and conventional Hong Kong standard factor of active measures that enhance overall factors of safety of
safety design targets aimed at achieving an ALARP (as low larger sections of slope by major engineering works
as reasonably possible) risk target which, in actuarial terms, including cut backs or buttresses or heavy tie-back cabling.
translated to less than 0.01 fatalities per year per 500 m
section of the slopes under remediation. 7.1 Surface Treatment
6.2 General Considerations Many risks can be mitigated through surface treatment to
stabilise or remove relatively small blocks of rock. There is
Remediation of sheeting joint-controlled stability hazards a temptation to use hard slope treatments like chunam (old
on high rock slopes is often not trivial and implementation
of the works can itself increase the risk levels albeit tem-
porarily. Factors that will influence the decision on which
measures to implement include the specific nature of the
hazards, topographic and access constraints, locations of the
facilities at risk, cost and timing. The risks associated with
carrying out works next to active roads both to road users
and to construction workers themselves and how to mitigate
these are addressed in some detail in Geotechnical Engi-
neering Office (2000a) and Halcrow China Limited (2002c).
Pre-contract stabilisation works will often be needed to
allow initial site access and preparation. Preventive mea-
sures such as rock bolting may be carried out at an early
stage to assist in the safe working of the site and designed to
form part of the permanent works. Options for the use of
protective barriers and catch nets to minimise disruption to
traffic during the works also need to be addressed, as do
contractual controls and alternatives for supervision of the
works. The use of a risk register, as piloted for tunnels
(Brown 1999), with clear identification of particular risks
and responsible parties, helps to ensure that all hazards and
consequences are adequately dealt with during construction.
Decision analysis is now widely applied at an early stage to
assess whether to mitigate slope hazards (e.g. by rockfall
catch nets) or to remediate/resolve the problem by excava-
tion and/or support approaches. If construction of intrusive
engineering measures to stabilise hazards might be unduly
risky, then passive protection can be adopted instead. A Fig. 25 Engineering options for stabilising slopes in sheeting joint
hybrid solution is often the most pragmatic solution for terrain
123
Fig. 27 Use of shotcrete on broken rock face together with anchor-

ages (nails). Disadvantages include damming water, hiding what is
going on and the shotcrete itself will form a hazard as it deteriorates
likely bounce heights and run-out damage zone extent.

Where energy considerations allow, toe-zone protection
Fig. 26 a Main engineering options for stabilising slopes in sheeting measures, catch benches, catch ditches, and toe fences
joint terrain; b retaining wall used to buttress large section of slope provide the earliest viable mitigation approach without
requiring access on the slope.
HK remedy) and shotcrete to constrain loose blocks at the Surface drainage is a very important consideration for
slope surface but such measures if not properly designed all slopes but particularly for slopes comprising part rock
can restrict drainage from the slope, hide the geological (with very high runoff) and soil sections which might
situation from future investigators and can themselves be eroded and undermined from high surface flow
cause a hazard as the shotcrete deteriorates allowing large concentration.
slabs of shotcrete to detach and impact whoever is unfor-
tunate enough to be below (Fig. 27). Furthermore, shot- 7.2 Mesh Drapes
crete is increasingly an unacceptable solution for aesthetic
reasons and there is a push towards landscaping high, Where slope heights are significant and ramp or bench
visual slopes where measures can be justified from an approach is difficult, mitigating hazards can be problematic
engineering sense (Geotechnical Engineering Office even using rope access techniques because face stability
2000b). In this context it is to be noted that most bio- may be too unstable to even allow rock climbing personnel
engineering solutions will not work for high-risk slopes in onto the face. Under such conditions surface mesh draping
that they cannot be relied upon in the long-term and root may allow some effective protection to be achieved pre-
growth can lead to blocks becoming loosened and venting ski jump-style bouncing of rock progressively
detached. Where individual rock fall sources are identified, down slope (Carter et al. 2002). Application of drape mesh
these can be scaled off, reinforced by dowels, bolts, cables (varying from chain-link, triple twist, hex-mesh to ring-net
or dentition and/or netted where the rock is in a closely in increasing order of energy capacity) can be effected by a
jointed state. Removing large blocks can be difficult variety of techniques ranging from climber controlled
because of the inherent risks associated with breakage unrolling of the mesh to helicopter access placement.
techniques including blasting and chemical splitting which Typically, crest restraint is provided by dowels or tie-back
can dislodge blocks unexpectedly. Care must be taken to anchors usually cabled back some distance from the crest
protect the public and workers during such operations. The zone to provide a safe anchorage.
most difficult zones to deal with are those with poor access.
Implementing passive or active protection approaches 7.3 Fences, Catch Nets and Barriers
needs to start from safe ground and move progressively
into the areas of more hazardous stability. Where there is the potential for repeated small-scale
Rockfall trajectory analysis using widely available detachments impacting a highway, then catch nets or
software allows prediction of energy requirements and diversion/stopping barriers can be the solution as discussed
123
with reference to reducing risk by Pine and Roberds the effectiveness of individual drains can change with time
(2005). Such catch nets or fences can be positioned on- as subsurface flow paths migrate. With exposed sheeting
slope as illustrated in Fig. 28 (from Carter et al. 2002) or in joints forming ledges on a slope, care must be taken that
the toe zone of the slope depending on energy requirements the step zones are not shotcreted otherwise free drainage
and site restrictions. Where energies computed from may be impeded and water might dam up behind the
rockfall analyses are too extreme for toe-zone protection shotcrete. If the exposed joint is weathered the weak
alone to maintain risk levels below prescribed criteria for material may back-sap and possibly pipe leading to
highway users, on-slope energy protection fences become a destabilisation, partially caused by lack of free drainage.
necessity to reduce total energy impact at road level. This This can be rectified by installing closely spaced horizontal
was the approach adopted at Tuen Mun Road in Hong drains with geotextile filter fabric sleeves so as to prevent
Kong for sections of the slopes which were to remain in blocking together with protection of the weathered mate-
place and where sheeting joint geometries were considered rial. No-fines concrete whilst appearing to be suitable to
hazardous enough to allow potential release of blocks of protect weathered zones often ends up with lower perme-
sizes that could not be stopped by toe-zone fencing alone. ability than designed and should not be relied upon without
The photograph in Fig. 28 shows an on-slope 3,000 kJ some additional drainage measures.
fence designed and installed above the highway to catch
rockfall blocks from the 100 m of slope upslope of the 7.5 Reinforcement
fence. This fence is located about 80 m vertically above the
main carriageway of the highway, where the main toe-zone The factor of safety against slab sliding can be improved by
fence and catch ditch are located. a variety of options. For sheeting joints specifically, pro-
vided there has not been previous movement, the rough
7.4 Drainage interlocking nature of these tension fractures provides
considerable shear strength (where not severely weathered)
Drainage can be very effective in preventing the develop- and this needs to be accounted for in design in order to
ment of adverse water pressures, but there is a need to avoid over-conservatism. If the joint can be prevented from
target subsurface flow channels many of which will be sliding by reinforcing at strategic locations then full
shallow and ephemeral. The paths may be tortuous and advantage can be taken of the considerable natural fric-
hard to identify and drainage measures can therefore be tional resistance. Active stabilisation of blocks is possible
rather hit or miss (Hencher 2010). Regular patterns of long if they are of relatively small size and access is feasible
horizontal drain holes can be very effective, but it must either by rope access techniques down the slope, using
never be expected that all drains will yield water flows and ‘‘spyder’’ drills or even better if tracks can be constructed,
using more conventional drilling equipment. Depending on
configuration, rock blocks may be stabilised by dowelled
concrete buttressing (to provide direct support to a well-
defined potential release block), through various forms of
tie-down and/or overturning control tie-back reinforce-
ment, comprising deep sub-vertical dowelling. Sub-hori-
zontal cable anchors can be used if capacities larger than
about 20 tonnes per reinforcement member are required.
Often the most significant reinforcement is needed where
extensive sheeting joint zones define slabs of large pro-
portions. In such cases, the preferred method in Hong Kong
is to use passive dowel designs rather than tensioned
bolting for necessary shear constraint. This is because it is
considered that active reinforcement members are more
subject to corrosion damage and that passive dowels allow
both mobilisation of a normal force (due to the restraint
provided by the full column bond against asperity ride
during shear), plus active shear restraint provided by the
steel of the dowels resisting block slide mobilisation
(Spang and Egger 1990).
Fig. 28 Catch net to stop rock falls, above Tuen Mun Highway, The Geotechnical Engineering Office in Hong Kong has
Hong Kong published some guidelines on prescriptive measures for
123
rock slopes and in particular gives guidance on rock

dowelling for rock blocks with volume less than 5 m3 (Yu
et al. 2005). In essence, it is advised to use pattern dowels
with one dowel per m3 of rock to be supported with min-
imum and maximum lengths of 3 and 6 m, respectively and
where the potential sliding plane dips at less than 60°. The
dowels are to be installed at right angles to the potential
sliding plane, with the key intention to allow the dowels to
act in shear, whilst also enhancing the normal restraint due
to asperity ride during sliding. In practice dowels fre-
quently need to be used in more variable orientations.
It is often difficult to identify the thickness and volume
of a given block requiring support and therefore dowel
patterns frequently are based on some assessment of cross-
joint spacing. Along the Tuen Mun Highway, typical
support layouts were adopted based on field mapping of
cross-joint spacing and orientation with respect to the
sheeting joint geometry and inferred direction of sliding.
The design used 40-mm dowels at 5-m spacing, based on
analysis using the approach of Spang and Egger (1990) for
definition of shear resistance. In areas of closer cross joints,
25-mm dowels were used at 2-m spacing, split spaced
between the wider pattern bolting layouts (Pine and
Roberds 2005). Field placement of reinforcement was
however always double checked against natural disposition
of features and decisions made by the engineer in the field
for additional spot bolting or dowelling as required and
illustrated in Fig. 29.
Fig. 30 Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. 500 m3 rock fall from sheeting
joints: a debris cleared off and showing the extent of problem with
7.6 Buttressing extensive sheeting joints through the hillside; b the solution: a huge
concrete buttress
Where earlier failure or cutting exposes sheeting joints or
detached blocks resting on a sheet structure then buttress-
ing using a reinforced concrete wall or a raked structural failed progressively over a period of 2 years and the
prop may be an economic option and offer some certainty eventual solution was to fill the failed zone with a very
of solving potential sliding or toppling instability problems. large concrete buttress wall.
One example is shown in Fig. 30. Much of the slope Figure 31 is a sketch of a large cut slope in Kwun Tong,
illustrated has sheeting joints running through it. The slope Hong Kong, which was the location for numerous signifi-
cant failures along sheeting joints over several years. The
slope was investigated by subsurface boreholes and by face
mapping and sections of the slope were designed to be re-
profiled, soil nailed, dowelled and buttressed as appropri-
ate. During construction however an additional sheeting
joint was exposed unexpectedly and found to be partly
open and partly infilled with stream sediments (Fig. 32). It
was established by careful mapping and matching geo-
logical features such as mineral veins across the joint that,
despite the voids and sediment infill, the joint had not been
displaced but simply eroded internally and locally. It was
decided that the peak interlocking strength could still be
relied upon and the solution adopted was to restrict any
translational movement. Accordingly, a dowelled buttress
Fig. 29 Spot bolting of sheeting joint slabs wall was constructed to infill the area below the potential
123
Fig. 31 Sketch of large section Failure on

of rock slope along Kwun Tong sheeting joint
Road (slopes up to 30 m high) within existing Failure during Series of soil
with history of failures scar, 1989. construction
failures 1964 Large failure on
dominated by sliding on 150 m3 failure on 1963
to1993 sheeting joints,
sheeting joints and selected for sheeting joint,
1995, blocked 1964
engineering upgrading work Minor soil
three lanes of
road failures1993
and 1997
association with deep weathering profiles, by the propa-

gation of other fracture systems through the rock mass after
formation of the sheeting joints and from geomorphologi-
cal interpretation.
Sheeting joints appear to always have originated by
tensile opening and as such often occur as persistent,
mechanical fractures extending laterally over many tens to
even hundreds of metres. Detailed assessment of the con-
figuration of sheeting slabs on various slopes in Hong
Kong, Korea and other well-defined sheeting geologies
around the world, suggests that in general, remnant slabs
sitting on persistent sheet structures owe their stability
more to the roughness and undulating/wavy character of
the sheet structure (and associated dilation) rather than to
Fig. 32 Landslide preventive works underway at Kwun Tong, Hong rock bridges (and true cohesion) which is commonly the
Kong
case for other types of joints. Definition of controlling
sliding slab with careful attention to ensure that the shear strength is thus amenable to evaluation either through
underground stream could continue to flow without a testing programme combined with field measurement and
restriction. assessment of roughness and analysis of the way that
Similarly on the slopes above Tuen Mun Highway many roughness will cause dilation or by employing empirical
combination buttresses were employed with parts of blocks methods. Both approaches require considerable judgement.
dowelled and part buttressed as access and local geometry Rock slope failure mechanisms based mainly on pseudo-
dictated. statistical analysis of defect data should not be the sole
basis of defining ground models. More intelligent analysis
of the data is required and in the case of sheeting joints,
8 Conclusions recognition of lateral variation in orientation, roughness
and degree of weathering and openness. The possibility for
Sheeting joints develop due to topographical or residual composite landslides, partly involving rough joints and
tectonic stresses close to the Earth’s surface. Those that partly through more weathered sections should be recog-
develop in natural slopes are often of adverse geometry nised. It is clear that sheeting joint failures are often
with respect to natural hillside slopes and as such, may pre- associated with the development of cleft water pressures
dispose the slope to repeated failure. Sheeting joint terrain and that failure may be incremental over long periods and
often comprises a series of simple slabs resting on one many storm events.
another and often these are geologically young. Many other Landslide preventive works often necessitate reinforce-
sheeting joints are very old however, as evidenced by their ment, drainage and rockfall protection (such as fences,
123
catch nets and ditches). On steep hill slopes where Byerlee J (1978) Friction of rocks. Pure Appl Geophys 116:615–626
detached or partially detached sheeting structures exist, Carter TG, Mierzejewski J, Kwong AKL (1998) Site investigation for
rock slope excavation and stabilization adjacent to a major
buttresses and/or anchor blocks have application for pre- highway in Hong Kong. In: Proceedings international conference
venting initial movement that would otherwise lead to on urban ground engineering, session 2, Geotechnics, Paper 14,
progressive deterioration. Preventing initial movement will 10 pp
optimise the contribution from peak shear strength. Seep- Carter TG, de Graaf P, Booth P, Barrett S, Pine R (2002) Integration
of detailed field investigations and innovative design key factors
age points on faces can help to identify the likely routes for to the successful widening of the Tuen Mun Highway. In:
channel flow which should be targeted with raking drains. Proceedings of the 22nd annual seminar, organised by the
Geotechnical Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engi-
Acknowledgments This research was supported in part by a grant neers, 8th May, 2002, pp 187–201
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Sheeting Joints Characterisation Shear S

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Rock Mech Rock Eng (2011) 44:1–22

Sheeting Joints: Characterisation, Shear Strength

Abstract Sheeting joints are extensive fractures that 1 Introduction

Fig. 1 Sheeting joints in granite: a Mt. Bukhansan, near Seoul,

Fig. 5 a Completely decomposed granite in sheeting joint (horizontal

response to the same topographic stress conditions that

3 Geometry and Occurrence

3.1 Sheeting Joints Within the Weathering Profile

Sheeting joint terrain can be regarded as one end of a range

3.2 General Shape, Occurrence and Relationship

Sheeting joints often extend 100 m or more laterally as

Fig. 8 Parallel unloading

joints as discussed earlier. During drilling for the Tuen

3.3 Surface Characteristics

asperities (Patton and Deere 1970) are overridden and the

Fig. 11 Partial movement and

Fig. 12 Storm response of

that the centre of gravity of the sliding slab follows during

4.3 Basic Friction, /b

Basic friction of natural joints can be measured by direct

Fig. 14 Series of direct shear

There are two main tasks for the geotechnical engineer in

perhaps several metres length may have a dip angle steeper

Fig. 17 Components of basic

overriding contacts. Simple geometry shows that for wave

Fig. 20 Hard, slickensided kaolinite infill from downwarp on failed

Fig. 22 Location of rock fall at Hui Min Street, 2000

at less than 30°. This case illustrates that significant block

5.3 Above Leung King Estate: 2000

Fig. 23 Landslide above Leung

that the slope may be failing. The importance of the

6.1 Assessing Risk and the Need for Preventive

Fig. 27 Use of shotcrete on broken rock face together with anchor-

likely bounce heights and run-out damage zone extent.

rock slopes and in particular gives guidance on rock

Fig. 31 Sketch of large section Failure on

association with deep weathering profiles, by the propa-

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