Figure 1
![The Q-slope chart [1].](https://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/647379ef4e662f30ba53f8a9/j_sgem-2022-0010_fig_001.jpg?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIA6AP2G7AKFAEZC4XL%2F20251211%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20251211T151550Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjECMaDGV1LWNlbnRyYWwtMSJGMEQCIElqykLtQEH7Ixy4NmWsJdRXD3VdxLXfjS20GYRelsIZAiAZVb9Z4Whv16STBkR76drAxOpCcE6MP7tO2XMu7wxj9SrGBQjs%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAIaDDk2MzEzNDI4OTk0MCIMdiqih1lC%2B1hjWcL%2BKpoFf3u9PIm4k6dNsjAYTndWRZSqSy8Oezxg%2BzDYlDbhxvjbog4sB9Al706nr5srj%2FLfgGYXg3ElopyMLVEpC%2F0v%2B0%2BXQog1R8RHewOQmSVOdMeQKYs%2Fca%2FAtUKvRSULq4sVXVWkmwTfgkck4%2FGgZui2AWg4t2eL2VcOhXB4xmQSFxxT1qu0Cu3duPkqTo9PMwS1%2BrgG3SsqIN6Zkku78fEVp83RLLMlesogJ569bftDu9csGnz30EdWuxD21qXuE6Mel2UJhLuQcE9DCqDMQs3aTH9fUiKm2J62oD%2Fkmt%2BT3vIbwOZwnYIcjrh1uBDfqjJHAhD58hhm0AytWN1bSS9Z6juLY7xbKgVWd43mOrgViZjFPQUwntSoNLv82047J2ozUOOKNUnApbPjJ31DnVVOBfDvnGy17NznCnttOuhqbD8%2FyNRyP%2BMp9tvd1ZmkdNH8bQyEq0PAYJwXMP0g%2Fqu3d7BHubRRLwLnTgJq83Au%2BjYJqXxBZvRWTNeNV2lTVTMnW85bK29W%2F2Aps5PzFlm6TwPWGr6blECqQdZ%2FVr7F4JmZ0u4c4lu6iWAbYBOT7H9V79RKaBd958WepdkIJC22q2%2BfGLSJO1n3aZ8Zqfyf4RsIu5p8TpE0FxyxAG%2Bcwve30izIiHg6jsZd8XdH9XTCuUO509BVSRR%2FTJEMdQxr6eIijEvk3qbWT8cslaZD9rqT%2BlMRfZ7nnFnhi5yBWAPgunkJ6MwnvTn5%2BH3ezZt8Hj9M9s6eZSi91MGUiXnpSfpxUt8PSS3WcPDgbZo%2Budg8%2FyM2VuqNJaLmTsSBTjXsyis87HdcVwLLjSdfb4XOdvFoFTR9wGdLvtWm9wukZqoGxXjOmx4u3S77L7Fd9nCsGg1y3gwW4AScIYqvMK7B6skGOrIB6li2tQrZGsl0neWfFJsHrU%2BdkeqE6zcDYIMxCILFNumv7CFoZGDo77DzpmaIuohr88UK4pCw2jK%2BvdCX0%2Br05gtcxwcCktzFFLhHt7mMQg0xi8MAGDmyK2SC5TsCG%2BpMH8gHhrnq5Ww9L9RkX0F2EESyZkGWsqi8XO2YN%2FRH0ra7lHTd53Qe8Io%2FL1wDtbe%2BoCUsnT6MlBm2x7Nkw4Gh5603VRsV1fzTzKAJDw6fKqdIFQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-Signature=b93d26cb0a06d55d3c9bfcb3ace6684d6a67bb7526de11cfd3225c113a5dbe7c&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)
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Figure 9
Ja values [1]_
| Description | Ja |
|---|---|
| (a) Rock-wall contact (no clay fillings, only coatings) | |
| Tightly healed, hard nonsoftening, impermeable filling, i.e., quartz or epidote | 0.75 |
| Unaltered joint walls, surface staining only | 1 |
| Slightly altered joint walls. Nonsoftening mineral coatings, sandy particles, clay-free disintegrated rock, etc. | 2 |
| Silty- or sandy-clay coatings, small clay disintegrated rock, etc. | 3 |
| Softening or low friction clay mineral coatings, i.e., kaolinite or mica. Also chlorite, talc, gypsum, graphite, etc., and small quantities of swelling clays | 4 |
| (b) Rock-wall contact after some shearing (thin clay fillings, probable thickness & 1–5 mm) | |
| Sandy particles, clay-free disintegrated rock, etc. | 4 |
| Strongly over-consolidated nonsoftening clay mineral fillings | 6 |
| Medium or low over-consolidation, softening, clay mineral fillings | 8 |
| Swelling-clay fillings, i.e., montmorillonite. Value of Ja depends on percent of swelling clay-size particles and access to water | 8–12 |
| (c) No rock-wall contact when sheared (thick clay/crushed rock fillings) | |
| Zones or bands of disintegrated or crushed rock and clay | 6–12 |
| Zones or bands of silty or sandy clay, small clay fraction (nonsoftening) | 5 |
| Thick, continuous zones or bands of clay | 13–20 |
Q-slope values of the case study slopes_
| Slope | Q-slope value |
|---|---|
| Kovanlik | 0.58 |
| Gure | 0.19 |
| Gulyali | 12.25 |
| Piraziz | 2.10 |
SRFa values [1]_
| Description | SRFa |
|---|---|
| Slight loosening due to surface location, disturbance from blasting or excavation | 2.5 |
| *Loose blocks, tension cracks, joint shearing, weathering susceptibility, severe blasting disturbance | 5 |
| As above (*), but strong susceptibility to weathering | 10 |
| Slope is in advanced stage of erosion and loosening due to erosions by water and/or ice-wedging effects | 15 |
| Residual slope with significant transport of material downslope | 20 |
Jwice values [1]_
| Description | Desert environment | Wet environment | Tropical storms | Ice wedging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stable structure; competent rock | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Stable structure; incompetent rock | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Unstable structure; competent rock | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Unstable structure; incompetent rock | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.05 | 0.2 |
SRFb values [1]_
| Description | σc/σ1 | SRFb |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate stress-strength range | 50–200 | 2.5–1 |
| High stress-strength range | 10–50 | 5–2.5 |
| Localized intact rock failure | 5–10 | 5–10 |
| Crushing or plastic yield | 2.5–5 | 15–10 |
| Plastic flow of strain softened material | 1–2.5 | 20–15 |
Jn values [1]_
| Joint set number description | Jn |
|---|---|
| Massive, no or few joints | 0.5–1 |
| One joint set | 2 |
| One joint set plus random joints | 3 |
| Two joint sets | 4 |
| Two joint sets plus random joints | 6 |
| Three joint sets | 9 |
| Three joint sets plus random joints | 12 |
| Four or more joint sets, random, heavily jointed | 15 |
| Crushed rock, earthlike | 20 |
Jr values [1]_
| Description | Jr |
|---|---|
| Discontinuous joints | 4 |
| Rough or irregular, undulating | 3 |
| Smooth, undulating | 2 |
| Slickensided, undulating | 1.5 |
| Rough or irregular, planar | 1.5 |
| Smooth, planar | 1.0 |
| Slickensided, planar | 0.5 |
| Zone containing clay thick enough to prevent rock-wall contact | 1.0 |
| Sandy, gravely, or crushed zone to prevent rock-wall contact | 1.0 |
SRFc values (RQD100: 1 m perpendicular sample of discontinuity, RQD300: 3 m perpendicular sample of discontinuity) [1]_
| Description | Favorable | Unfavorable | Very unfavorable | Causing failure if unsupported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major discontinuity with little or no clay | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Major discontinuity with RQD100 ≈ 0 due to clay and crushed rock | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Major discontinuity with RQD300 ≈ 0 due to clay and crushed rock | 4 | 8 | 12 | 24 |