Jointed rock mass characterization using field and point-cloud data

Abstract

This research addresses a rockslope on the motorway No. 228, labeled as a 2A category road, according to the official road authority—Public Enterprise Roads of Serbia, which links Prolom Banja with a higher-category road network. Prolom Banja is an uprising touristic destination, famous for its spa and wellness resort, which shows an increasing trend of visits (over 10k tourists per month in the peak-season). As the road 228 is the only link to the resort, there is a raising concern about the road safety for about 650 vehicles per day (on average) along its many critical road cuts. One such rockslope (Lat 43.039850, Lon 21.380114) in weathered, jointed andesite is exampled in this research, using both terrestrial and airborne systems for reconstructing surface point-clouds, as well as the abovementioned index field and lab tests. These allowed quantifications of the rock joint sets and their kinematic stability, joint spacing, blocks volumes, and finally, profiling the critical blocks for potential rockfall development. It is planned to annually monitor the pilot site in the future, so that all changes, i.e. detached blocks and fragments will be identified.