Parameter Calculator

The Parameter Calculator dialog allows you to calculate the following rock mass parameters:

from the Generalized Hoek-Brown parameters GSI, mi, D and Intact UCS. The Parameter Calculator is only available if the Solution Method = Duncan Fama in Project Settings.

This is a very useful feature of RocSupport, since the rock mass Young's Modulus, Compressive Strength and Friction Angle are often not well known quantities, whereas the parameters GSI, mi, D and Intact UCS are more easily obtainable. For details about the calculations involved, see Hoek et. al. (2002) and Hoek and Diederichs (2005).

To use the Parameter Calculator dialog:

  1. In the Tunnel and Rock Parameters dialog, select the Calculate from GSI button. This will display the Parameter Calculator dialog.

  1. Enter values of Intact UCS, GSI, mi and D (and Intact Modulus, if applicable, see below). The values of rock mass Young's Modulus, Compressive Strength and Friction Angle will be automatically calculated and displayed in the dialog. NOTE:

  1. When the desired parameters have been calculated, select OK in the Parameter Calculator dialog, and the calculated values will be automatically loaded into the Tunnel and Rock Parameters dialog. Note: the values will be rounded to an appropriate number of decimal places. For example, Young's Modulus will be rounded to the nearest whole number.