203

15. Shotcrete support

15.1 Introduction

The use of shotcrete for the support of underground excavations was

pioneered by the civil engineering industry. Reviews of the develop-
ment of shotcrete technology have been presented by Rose (1985),
Morgan (1992) and Franzén (1992). Rabcewicz (1969) was largely
responsible for the introduction of the use of shotcrete for tunnel sup-
port in the 1930s, and for the development of the New Austrian Tun-
nelling Method for excavating in weak ground.
In recent years the mining industry has become a major user of
shotcrete for underground support. It can be expected to make its own
contributions to this field as it has in other areas of underground sup-
port. The simultaneous working of multiple headings, difficulty of
access and unusual loading conditions are some of the problems
which are peculiar to underground mining and which require new and
innovative applications of shotcrete technology.
An important area of shotcrete application in underground mining
is in the support of 'permanent' openings such as ramps, haulages,
shaft stations and crusher chambers. Rehabilitation of conventional
rockbolt and mesh support can be very disruptive and expensive. In-
creasing numbers of these excavations are being shotcreted immedi-
ately after excavation. The incorporation of steel fibre reinforcement
into the shotcrete is an important factor in this escalating use, since it
minimises the labour intensive process of mesh installation.
Recent trials and observations suggest that shotcrete can provide
effective support in mild rockburst conditions (McCreath and Kaiser,
1992, Langille and Burtney, 1992). While the results from these stud-
ies are still too limited to permit definite conclusions to be drawn, the
indications are encouraging enough that more serious attention will
probably be paid to this application in the future.

15.2 Shotcrete technology

Shotcrete is the generic name for cement, sand and fine aggregate
concretes which are applied pneumatically and compacted dynami-
cally under high velocity.

15.2.1 Dry mix shotcrete

As illustrated in Figure 15.1, the dry shotcrete components, which

may be slightly pre-dampened to reduce dust, are fed into a hopper
with continuous agitation. Compressed air is introduced through a
204 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

rotating barrel or feed bowl to convey the materials in a continuous

stream through the delivery hose. Water is added to the mix at the
nozzle. Gunite, a proprietary name for dry-sprayed mortar used in the
early 1900's, has fallen into disuse in favour of the more general term
shotcrete.

pre-dampened shotcrete mix

Typical dry mix shotcrete machine.

compressed air
water injection

compressed air

Figure 15.1: Simplified sketch of a typical dry mix shotcrete system. After Mahar
et al (1975).

15.2.2 Wet mix shotcrete

In this case the shotcrete components and the water are mixed (usually
in a truck mounted mixer) before delivery into a positive displacement
pumping unit, which then delivers the mix hydraulically to the nozzle
where air is added to project the material onto the rock surface.

vacuum helps to restore

pumping tube to normal air and accelerator
shape air pipe
rotating rollers

rubber
nozzle
tip
wet mix shotcrete

roller rotating blades

suction
pumping tube

Figure 15.2: Typical wet mix shotcrete machine. After Mahar et al (1975).
 Chapter 15 Shotcrete support 205

The final product of either the dry or wet shotcrete process is very
similar. The dry mix system tends to be more widely used in mining,
because of inaccessibility for large transit mix trucks and because it
generally uses smaller and more compact equipment. This can be
moved around relatively easily in an underground mine environment.
The wet mix system is ideal for high production applications, where a
deep shaft or long tunnel is being driven and where access allows the
application equipment and delivery trucks to operate on a more or less
continuous basis. Decisions to use the dry or wet mix shotcrete proc-
ess are usually made on a site-by-site basis.

15.2.3 Steel fibre reinforced micro silica shotcrete

Of the many developments in shotcrete technology in recent years,

two of the most significant were the introduction of silica fume, used
as a cementitious admixture, and steel fibre reinforcement.
Silica fume or micro silica is a by-product of the ferro silicon
metal industry and is an extremely fine pozzolan. Pozzolans are ce-
mentitious materials which react with the calcium hydroxide produced
during cement hydration. Silica fume, added in quantities of 8 to 13%
by weight of cement, can allow shotcrete to achieve compressive
strengths which are double or triple the value of plain shotcrete mixes.
The result is an extremely strong, impermeable and durable shotcrete.
Other benefits include reduced rebound, improved flexural strength,
improved bond with the rock mass and the ability to place layers of up
to 200 mm thick in a single pass because of the shotcrete's 'stickiness'.
However, when using wet mix shotcrete, this stickiness decreases the
workability of the material and superplaticizers are required to restore
this workability.
Steel fibre reinforced shotcrete was introduced in the 1970s and
has since gained world-wide acceptance as a replacement for tradi-
tional wire mesh reinforced plain shotcrete. The main role that rein-
forcement plays in shotcrete is to impart ductility to an otherwise brit-
tle material. As pointed out earlier, rock support is only called upon to
carry significant loads once the rock surrounding an underground ex-
cavation deforms. This means that unevenly distributed non-elastic
deformations of significant magnitude may overload and lead to fail-
ure of the support system, unless that system has sufficient ductility to
accommodate these deformations.
Typical steel fibre reinforced, silica fume shotcrete mix designs are
summarised in Table 15.1. These mixes can be used as a starting
point when embarking on a shotcrete programme, but it may be neces-
sary to seek expert assistance to 'fine tune' the mix designs to suit site
specific requirements. For many dry mix applications it may be ad-
vantageous to purchase pre-mixed shotcrete in bags of up to 1,500 kg
capacity, as illustrated in Figure 15.3.
Figure 15.4 shows the steel fibre types which are currently avail-
able on the north American market. In addition to their use in shot-
206 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

crete, these fibres are also widely used in concrete floor slabs for
buildings, in airport runways and in similar concrete applications.

Table 15.1: Typical steel fibre reinforced silica fume shotcrete mix designs (After Wood, 1992)

Components Dry mix Wet mix

kg./m3 % dry kg./m3 % wet
materials materials
Cement 420 19.0 420 18.1
Silica fume additive 50 2.2 40 1.7
Blended aggregate 1,670 75.5 1,600 68.9
Steel fibres 60 2.7 60 2.6
Accelerator 13 0.6 13 0.6
Superplasticizer - - 6 litres 0.3
Water reducer - - 2 litres 0.1
Air entraining admixture - - if required
Water controlled at nozzle 180 7.7
Total 2,213 100 2,321 100

Figure 15.3: Bagged pre-mixed dry shotcrete compo-

nents being delivered into a hopper feeding a screw
conveyor, fitted with a pre-dampener, which discharges
into the hopper of a shotcrete machine

Wood et al (1993) have reported the results of a comprehensive

comparative study in which all of the fibres shown in Figure 15.4
 Chapter 15 Shotcrete support 207

were used to reinforce shotcrete samples, which were then subjected

to a range of tests. Plain and fibre reinforced silica fume shotcrete
samples were prepared by shooting onto vertical panels, using both
wet and dry mix processes. The fibre reinforced samples all contained
the same steel fibre dosage of 60 kg/m3 (see Table 15.1). All the sam-
ples were cured under controlled relative humidity conditions and all
were tested seven days after shooting.

28
d = 0.5

0.45
25
0.53

0.50
32.5
1.35

0.50
32.5
2.75

0.25
25.5
1.12

Figure 15.4. Steel fibre types available on the north American market.
After Wood et al (1993). (Note: all dimensions are in mm).

These tests showed that the addition of steel fibres to silica fume
shotcrete enhances both the compressive and flexural strength of the
hardened shotcrete by up to 20%. A significant increase in ductility
was also obtained in all the tests on fibre reinforced samples, com-
pared with plain samples. While different fibres gave different degrees
of improvement, all of the fibres tested were found to exceed the levels
of performance commonly specified in north America (i.e. 7-day com-
pressive strength of 30 MPa for dry mix, 25 MPa for wet mix and 7-
day flexural strength of 4 MPa). ‘Dramix’ steel fibres used in slab
Kompen (1989) carried out bending tests on slabs of unreinforced bending tests by Kompen (1989).
shotcrete and shotcrete reinforced with ‘Dramix’1 steel fibres. The The fibres are glued together in bun-
dles with a water soluble glue to
shotcrete had an unconfined compressive strength, determined from facilitate handling and homogeneous
tests on cubes, of 50 MPa. The results of these tests are reproduced in distribution of the fibres in the shot-
Figure 15.5. The peak strength of these slabs increased by approxi- crete.
mately 85% and 185% for 1.0 and 1.5 volume % of fibres, respec-
tively. The ductility of the fibre reinforced slabs increased by ap-
proximately 20 and 30 times for the 1.0 and 1.5 volume % of fibres,
respectively.

1
Manufactured by N.V. Bekaert S.A., B-8550 Zwevegem, Belgium.
208 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

Figure 15.5: Load deflection curves for unreinforced and steel fibre reinforced shot-
crete slabs tested in bending. After Kompen (1989).

15.2.4 Mesh reinforced shotcrete

While steel fibre reinforced shotcrete has been widely accepted in both
civil and mining engineering, mesh reinforced shotcrete is still widely
Chainlink mesh, while very strong
and flexible, is not ideal for shot- used and is preferred in some applications. In very poor quality, loose
crete application because it is rock masses, where adhesion of the shotcrete to the rock surface is
difficult for the shotcrete to pene- poor, the mesh provides a significant amount of reinforcement, even
trate the mesh. without shotcrete. Therefore, when stabilising slopes in very poor
quality rock masses or when building bulkheads for underground fill,
weldmesh is frequently used to stabilise the surface or to provide rein-
forcement. In such cases, plain shotcrete is applied later to provide
additional support and to protect the mesh against corrosion.
Kirsten (1992, 1993) carried out a comprehensive set of laboratory
bending tests on both mesh and fibre reinforced shotcrete slabs. The
load versus deflection curves, which he obtained, were similar to those
reported by Kompen, reproduced in Figure 15.5. He found that the
Welded wire mesh, firmly attached
load carrying capacity of the mesh and fibre reinforced shotcrete sam-
to the rock surface, provides excel- ples were not significantly different, but that the mesh reinforced
lent reinforcement for shotcrete. samples were superior in bending with both point loads and uniformly
distributed loads. He concluded that this was due to the more favour-
able location of the mesh reinforcement in the slabs subjected to bend-
ing.
Kirsten also concluded that the quality control,required to obtain a
consistent dosage and uniform distribution of fibres in shotcrete, is
more easily achieved in civil engineering than in mining applications.
This is a reflection of the multiple working headings and the difficul-
ties of access which are common problems associated with many
mines. Under these circumstances, more reliable reinforcement will be
obtained with mesh reinforced rather than fibre reinforced shotcrete.
However, in large mines, in which many of the ‘permanent’ openings
are similar to those on large civil engineering sites, these problems of
quality control should not arise.
 Chapter 15 Shotcrete support 209

15.3 Shotcrete application

The quality of the final shotcrete product is closely related to the ap-
plication procedures used. These procedures include: surface prepara-
tion, nozzling technique, lighting, ventilation, communications, and
crew training.
Shotcrete should not be applied directly to a dry, dusty or frozen
rock surface. The work area is usually sprayed with an air-water jet to
remove loose rock and dust from the surface to be shot. The damp
rock will create a good surface on which to bond the initial layer of
shotcrete paste. The nozzleman commonly starts low on the wall and
moves the nozzle in small circles working his way up towards the
back, or roof. Care must be taken to avoid applying fresh materials on
top of rebound or oversprayed shotcrete. It is essential that the air
supply is consistent and has sufficient capacity to ensure the delivery
of a steady stream of high velocity shotcrete to the rock face. Shooting
distances are ideally about 1 to 1.5 metres. Holding the nozzle further
from the rock face will result in a lower velocity flow of materials
which leads to poor compaction and a higher proportion of rebound.
A well-trained operator can produce excellent quality shotcrete
manually, when the work area is well-lit and well-ventilated, and
when the crew members are in good communication with each other
using prescribed hand signals or voice activated FM radio headsets.
However, this is a very tiring and uncomfortable job, especially for
overhead shooting, and compact robotic systems are increasingly be-
ing used to permit the operator to control the nozzle remotely. Typical
robotic spray booms, used for shotcrete application in underground
excavations, are illustrated in Figures 15.6, 15.7 and 15.8.

Figure 15.6: A truck mounted shotcrete robot being used in a large civil engineer-
ing tunnel. Note that the distance between the nozzle and the rock surface is ap-
proximately one metre.
210 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

Figure 15.7: Compact trailer-mounted robot unit for remote controlled shotcrete
application.

Figure 15.8: Shotcrete operator using a remotely controlled unit to

apply shotcrete to a rock face in a large civil engineering excava-
tion.
 Chapter 15 Shotcrete support 211

Figure 15.9: Plastic pipes used to provide drainage for a shotcrete layer
applied to a rock mass with water-bearing joints.

When shotcrete is applied to rock masses with well-defined water-

bearing joints, it is important to provide drainage through the shot-
crete layer in order to relieve high water pressures. Drain holes, fitted
with plastic pipes as illustrated in Figure 15.9, are commonly used for
this purpose. Where the water inflow is not restricted to a few specific
features, a porous fibre mat can be attached to the rock surface before
the shotcrete layer is applied. When practical to do so, the water from
these drains should be collected and directed into a drainage ditch or
sump.

15.4 Design of shotcrete support

The design of shotcrete support for underground excavations is a very

imprecise process. However, one observation, which is commonly
made by practical engineers with years of experience in using shot-
crete underground, is that it almost always performs better than an-
ticipated. There are many examples (very few of which are docu-
212 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

mented) where shotcrete has been used as a last act of desperation in

an effort to stabilise the failing rock around a tunnel and, to most
people's surprise, it has worked.
The complex interaction between the failing rock mass around an
underground opening, and a layer of shotcrete of varying thickness
with properties which change as it hardens, defies most attempts at
theoretical analysis. The simplistic closed-form support-interaction
analyses described in Chapter 9 give a very crude indication of the
possible support action of shotcrete. It is only in recent years, with the
development of powerful numerical tools such as the programs
FLAC2 and PHASES, that it has been possible to contemplate realis-
tic analyses, which will explore the possible support-interaction be-
haviour of shotcrete. A clear understanding of shotcrete behaviour
will require many more years of experience in the use of and in the
interpretation of the results obtained from these programs. It is also
important to recognise that shotcrete is very seldom used alone and its
use in combination with rockbolts, cablebolts, lattice girders or steel
sets further complicates the problem of analysing its contribution to
support.
Current shotcrete support 'design' methodology relies very heavily
upon rules of thumb and precedent experience. Wickham et al (1972)
related the thickness of a shotcrete tunnel lining to their Rock Struc-
ture Rating (RSR) and produced the plot given in Figure 4.2 in Chap-
ter 4. Bieniawski (1989) gave recommendations on shotcrete thick-
nesses (in conjunction with rockbolts or steel sets) for different Rock
Mass Ratings (RMR) for a 10 m span opening. These recommenda-
tions are summarised in Table 4.5 in Chapter 4. Grimstad and Barton
(1993) have published an updated chart (reproduced in Figure 4.3 in
Chapter 4) relating different support systems, including shotcrete and
fibre reinforced shotcrete, to the Tunnelling Quality Index Q.
Vandewalle (1990) collected various rules of thumb from a variety of
sources and included them in his monograph.
Table 15.2 is a compilation of current shotcrete practice by the
present authors, combining all of these empirical rules and adding in
their own practical experience. The reader is warned, that this table
can only be used as an approximate guide when deciding upon the
type and thickness of shotcrete to be applied in a specific application.
Modifications will almost certainly be required to deal with local
variations in rock conditions and shotcrete quality.
Shotcrete cannot prevent deformation from taking place, especially
in high stress environments. It can, however, assist in controlling de-
formation, particularly when used in combination with rockbolts,
dowels or cables. Shotcrete support becomes very effective when bolt
or cable installations are carried out after an initial shotcrete applica-
tion. This allows the face plate loads to be transmitted over a large
area to the underlying rock mass.

2
obtainable from ITASCA Consulting Group Inc.,Thresher Square East,
708 South Third Street, Suite 310, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415, USA,
Fax 1 612 371 4717
 Chapter 15 Shotcrete support 213

Table 15.2: Summary of recommended shotcrete applications in underground mining, for different rock mass conditions.
Rock mass Rock mass Support Shotcrete application
description behaviour requirements
Massive metamorphic No spalling, slabbing None. None.
or igneous rock . or failure.
Low stress conditions.
Massive sedimentary Surfaces of some Sealing surface to Apply 25 mm thickness of plain shotcrete to
rock. shales, siltstones, or prevent slaking. permanent surfaces as soon as possible after
Low stress conditions. claystones may slake excavation. Repair shotcrete damage due to
as a result of moisture blasting.
content change.
Massive rock with Fault gouge may be Provision of support Remove weak material to a depth equal to
single wide fault or weak and erodible and and surface sealing in width of fault or shear zone and grout rebar
shear zone. may cause stability vicinity of weak fault into adjacent sound rock. Weldmesh can be
problems in adjacent of shear zone. used if required to provide temporary rock-
jointed rock. fall support. Fill void with plain shotcrete.
Extend steel fibre reinforced shotcrete later-
ally for at least width of gouge zone.
Massive metamorphic Surface slabbing, Retention of broken Apply 50 mm shotcrete over weldmesh
or igneous rock. spalling and possible rock and control of anchored behind bolt faceplates, or apply 50
High stress condi- rockburst damage. rock mass dilation. mm of steel fibre reinforced shotcrete on
tions. rock and install rockbolts with faceplates;
then apply second 25 mm shotcrete layer.
Extend shotcrete application down side-
walls where required.
Massive sedimentary Surface slabbing, Retention of broken Apply 75 mm layer of fibre reinforced shot-
rock. spalling and possible rock and control of crete directly on clean rock.
High stress condi- squeezing in shales squeezing. Rockbolts or dowels are also needed for
tions. and soft rocks. additional support.
Metamorphic or igne- Potential for wedges Provision of support Apply 50 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
ous rock with a few or blocks to fall or in addition to that crete to rock surfaces on which joint traces
widely spaced joints. slide due to gravity available from rock- are exposed.
Low stress conditions. loading. bolts or cables.
Sedimentary rock with Potential for wedges Provision of support Apply 50 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
a few widely spaced or blocks to fall or in addition to that crete on rock surface on which discontinuity
bedding planes and slide due to gravity available from rock- traces are exposed, with particular attention
joints. loading. bolts or cables. to bedding plane traces.
Low stress conditions. Bedding plane expo- Sealing of weak bed-
sures may deteriorate ding plane exposures.
in time.
Jointed metamorphic Combined structural Retention of broken Apply 75 mm plain shotcrete over weld-
or igneous rock. and stress controlled rock and control of mesh anchored behind bolt faceplates or
High stress condi- failures around open- rock mass dilation. apply 75 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
tions. ing boundary. crete on rock, install rockbolts with face-
plates and then apply second 25 mm shot-
crete layer
Thicker shotcrete layers may be required at
high stress concentrations.
Bedded and jointed Slabbing, spalling and Control of rock mass Apply 75 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
weak sedimentary possibly squeezing. failure and squeezing. crete to clean rock surfaces as soon as pos-
rock. sible, install rockbolts, with faceplates,
High stress condi- through shotcrete, apply second 75 mm
tions. shotcrete layer.
Highly jointed meta- Ravelling of small Prevention of progres- Apply 50 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
morphic or igneous wedges and blocks sive ravelling. crete on clean rock surface in roof of exca-
rock. defined by intersect- vation.
Low stress conditions. ing joints. Rockbolts or dowels may be needed for
additional support for large blocks.
214 Support of underground excavations in hard rock

Rock mass Rock mass Support Shotcrete application

description behaviour requirement
Highly jointed and Bed separation in Control of bed separa- Rockbolts or dowels required to control bed
bedded sedimentary wide span excavations tion and ravelling. separation.
rock. and ravelling of bed- Apply 75 mm of fibre reinforced shotcrete to
Low stress conditions. ding traces in inclined bedding plane traces before bolting.
faces.
Heavily jointed igne- Squeezing and 'plastic' Control of rock mass Apply 100 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
ous or metamorphic flow of rock mass failure and dilation. crete as soon as possible and install rock-
rock, conglomerates around opening. bolts, with face-plates, through shotcrete.
or cemented rockfill. Apply additional 50 mm of shotcrete if re-
High stress condi- quired. Extend support down sidewalls if
tions. necessary.
Heavily jointed sedi- Squeezing and 'plastic' Control of rock mass Apply 50 mm of steel fibre reinforced shot-
mentary rock with flow of rock mass failure and dilation. crete as soon as possible, install lattice gird-
clay coated surfaces. around opening. Clay ers or light steel sets, with invert struts where
High stress condi- rich rocks may swell. required, then more steel fibre reinforced
tions. shotcrete to cover sets or girders. Forepoling
or spiling may be required to stabilise face
ahead of excavation. Gaps may be left in final
shotcrete to allow for movement resulting
from squeezing or swelling. Gap should be
closed once opening is stable.
Mild rockburst condi- Spalling, slabbing and Retention of broken Apply 50 to 100 mm of shotcrete over mesh
tions in massive rock mild rockbursts. rock and control of or cable lacing which is firmly attached to the
subjected to high failure propagation. rock surface by means of yielding rockbolts
stress conditions. or cablebolts.