Getting Started
The following is a listing of the major additions, changes and enhancements which have been made in the upgrade of RocData from version 2 to version 3.
Note: for a list of changes and bug fixes since the initial release of RocData version 3, see the RocData version 3 Update History page.
DOS to Windows Conversion
RocData converted from DOS to a Windows program. Windows 98/Me/2000/XP compatible
Incorporates all of the features of RocLab
Interface Improvements
Greatly improved viewing and plotting options (e.g. easily switch between different views, interactive failure envelope analysis)
Interactive Sidebar panel - all analysis results and plots are instantaneously updated whenever data is entered or edited
Customizable view layouts, zooming, display options (e.g. customize line widths, colours, number of decimal places, fonts. Save custom settings as program defaults)
Failure Envelopes (Strength Criteria)
Generalized Hoek-Brown Strength Criterion (2002 Edition). This supercedes the Modified Hoek-Brown criterion of RocData version 2, which is not used in version 3. The original Hoek-Brown criterion is still used in version 3 for the curve fitting of intact rock lab data
Barton-Bandis criterion (for joint strength analysis)
Power Curve criterion (applicable to a wide variety of material types)
Generalized Hoek-Brown Criterion
Interactive failure envelope analysis - Generalized Hoek-Brown rock mass failure envelope parameters mb, s and a are automatically calculated from the Hoek-Brown classification parameters:
GSI (Geological Strength Index)
intact rock constant mi
intact uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)
disturbance factor D
and failure envelopes are instantly updated as data is entered
Parameter estimation - each of the Hoek-Brown classification parameters (GSI, mi, intact UCS, D) can be conveniently estimated from interactive charts and tables
Calculated material parameters - in addition to the failure envelope parameters, the following rock mass parameters are also calculated:
global rock mass compressive strength (new in version 3)
deformation modulus (new in version 3)
tensile strength (in version 2)
uniaxial rock mass compressive strength (in version 2)
Mohr-Coulomb Criterion
Interactive failure envelope analysis - enter cohesion, friction angle, tensile strength and view failure envelopes
Parameter estimation - values of cohesion and friction angle for a variety of common rock and soil types are available through interactive dialogs (references provided in dialog)
Calculated material parameters - uniaxial compressive strength
Barton-Bandis Criterion
Interactive failure envelope analysis - enter phir (residual friction angle), JRC (joint roughness coefficient), JCS (jont compressive strength) and view failure envelopes
Curve fitting of direct shear data - input direct shear data and residual friction angle, and obtain JRC and JCS from curve fit
Parameter estimation - estimate basic/residual friction angle, JRC, JCS from interactive dialogs
Power Curve Criterion
Interactive failure envelope analysis - enter parameters a, b, d, and view failure envelopes
Curve fitting - input triaxial or direct shear data, and obtain a, b and d from curve fit
Non-dimensional power curve - parameters A, T, n, are computed, with user-defined normalization (atmospheric) pressure
Calculated material parameters - compressive strength, tensile strength
Interactive Failure Envelope Analysis
Failure envelopes and all output parameters are instantly updated in real time as input parameters are changed (see above for input and output parameters for each strength criterion)
Stress sampler - graphically obtain the stress coordinates at any point on the failure envelopes (principal stress or shear-normal plots), for any strength criterion
Instantaneous Mohr-Coulomb sampler - graphically obtain the instantaneous Mohr-Coulomb parameters, tangential to any point on a non-linear failure envelope (Generalized Hoek-Brown, Barton-Bandis, Power Curve), for both principal stress and shear-normal plots
Estimation of Input Parameters
Convenient interactive charts and tables for the estimation of strength criterion input parameters:
Generalized Hoek-Brown - estimate GSI, mi, intact UCS, D
Mohr-Coulomb - estimate cohesion and friction angle
Barton-Bandis - estimate basic friction angle, residual friction angle, JRC, JCS
Equivalent Mohr-Coulomb Parameters from Non-Linear Envelopes
For the non-linear strength envelopes (Generalized Hoek-Brown, Barton-Bandis or Power Curve), RocData will calculate the equivalent (best-fit) Mohr-Coulomb parameters (cohesion and friction angle), over a given stress range
Since an equivalent Mohr-Coulomb envelope is valid only over a stress range defined by a geotechnical problem (e.g. slope, shallow or deep tunnel), estimates of appropriate stress ranges can be automatically calculated according to the problem, or specified by the user
Equivalent Mohr-Coulomb envelope can be displayed on plots (triaxial and shear-normal plots)
Curve-Fitting of Test Data (Triaxial or Direct Shear)
Levenberg-Marquardt curve fitting method - a robust algorithm that has become the standard for non-linear regression. It is very reliable in practice, and has the ability to converge quickly from a wider range of initial guesses than other typical methods. (Simplex and Linear Regression methods also available for applicable strength criteria, as in RocData version 2)
Generalized Hoek-Brown (field data) - input triaxial field data, sigci and D, the curve fit determines GSI and mi, from which mb, s and a are calculated
Barton-Bandis criterion - input direct shear data and residual friction angle, and obtain JRC and JCS from curve fit
Power Curve criterion - input triaxial or direct shear data, and obtain a, b and d from curve fit
Ability to include tensile data points in Hoek-Brown lab data, Generalized Hoek-Brown field data, and Power Curve data analysis
Measurement Units
New metric and imperial measurement unit options: tonnes/m2, kPa, ksf, psf, tons/ft2 (in addition to the previously available MPa, psi and ksi)
Data Import / Export
Read RocLab or RocData version 2 files
Test data (triaxial or direct shear) can be imported from Excel using the clipboard, tab-delimited (*.txt) or comma separated (*.csv) text files
Automated export of data and plots to Excel spreadsheet with a single mouse click
Copy data to the clipboard and paste into spreadsheet or word processing programs
Image export - copy plots to the clipboard and paste into image editing or word processing programs, or save plots directly as JPG or BMP image files
Export a shear-normal envelope (as discrete data points) to a Slide shear-normal function file (*.fn2), to define the strength envelope for a material in Slide
Documentation
New RocData User's Guide