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Determination of rock quality designation (RQD) using a novel geophysical approach: a case study

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Abstract

Rock mass integrity is mainly assessed by geotechnical parameters. Rock quality designation (RQD) is a reliable geomechanical parameter, extensively used in geotechnical engineering to obtain proper design of large-scale engineering infrastructures. RQD is traditionally obtained by the rock cores from the boreholes. However, the conventional methods are time-consuming and costly, offer only point-scale measurements, and have topographic constraints. Hence, the conventional determination of RQD often causes ambiguities in the evaluation of subsurface geotechnical model. Geophysical methods, alternatively, are more economical, faster, user-friendly, and non-intrusive, provide volumetric measurements, and efficiently reduce the gaps between a true geotechnical model and the insufficient drilling tests. In this study, we estimate RQD via empirical integration of ERT with inadequate well data. The estimated RQD provides the in-depth subsurface valuation of engineering rock strength covering the whole area where even no borehole is accessible. Subsurface geology was contained in a geotechnical model of three distinct layers, namely, highly fractured/weathered layer via RQD 0–50% and resistivity < 400 Ωm, partly fractured/weathered layer using RQD 50–75% and resistivity between 400 and 1000 Ωm, and integral/fresh or unweathered layer with RQD varying from 75 to 100% and resistivity > 1000 Ωm. The obtained models reduced the geological uncertainties caused by subsurface heterogeneities and the insufficient well data. Our proposed research provides a thorough appraisal of rock mass integrity for smooth advancement of engineering structures.

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Acknowledgements

Authors would like to acknowledge the research support received from Key Laboratory of Shale Gas and Geoengineering (KLSGG), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, China. Authors are thankful to all the contributors and workers of this survey, especially the anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the quality of this paper.

Funding

This research was funded by IGG’s International Fellowship Initiative (IIFI) for Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2020PD01), **njiang Key Laboratory of Geohazards Prevention (XKLGP2022K07), Key R & D Program of **njiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2022B03001-2), the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (2019QZKK0904), and the Third **njiang Scientific Expedition Program (2022xjkk1305).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Shale Gas and Geoengineering (KLSGG), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Bei**g, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Hasan, Yanjun Shang, Xuetao Yi, Peng Shao & He Meng

  2. College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Hasan, Yanjun Shang, Xuetao Yi, Peng Shao & He Meng

  3. Innovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Hasan, Yanjun Shang, Xuetao Yi, Peng Shao & He Meng

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  1. Muhammad Hasan
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Contributions

Muhammad Hasan: Conceptualization, Resources, Methodology, Validation, Project administration, Data curation, Supervision, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Software, Funding acquisition, Roles/Writing–original draft, Writing review and editing; Yanjun Shang: Visualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology; Xuetao Yi:, Methodology, Investigation; Peng Shao: Validation, Formal analysis; He Meng: Visualization, Data curation.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Hasan.

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Hasan, M., Shang, Y., Yi, X. et al. Determination of rock quality designation (RQD) using a novel geophysical approach: a case study. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 86 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03113-7

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