The frictional resistance of rock joints: evaluation and comparison of field techniques for the determination of joint frictional strength

Barton's (1973) method of field estimation of joint friction angle was tested on a range of natural joint lithologies. The different methods of field estimation of joint roughness were also compared. Approximately ten samples of joints per lithology were used per test type. There were two test types - pull tests and tilt tests. Each was repeated ten times per joint to obtain a representative result. Pull tests were conducted on the following lithologies: orthoquartzite (Olympus Range), dolerite (Asgard Range), granodiorite (Bonney Riegel), augen gneiss , schist and marble (Nussbaum Riegel, Suess Glacier). Till tests were conducted on all lithologies except for the dolerite and granite.