A new energy-absorbing bolt for rock support in high stress rock masses

An energy-absorbing rock support device, called a D bolt, has been recently developed to counteract both burst-prone and squeezing rock conditions that occur during underground excavation. The bolt is a smooth steel bar with a number of anchors along its length. The anchors are firmly fixed within a borehole using either cement grout or resin, while the smooth sections of the bolt between the anchors may freely deform in response to rock dilation. Failure of one section does not affect the reinforcement performance of the other sections. The bolt is designed to fully use both the strength and the deformation capacity of the bolt material along the entire length. The bolt has large load-bearing and deformation capacities. Static pull tests and dynamic drop tests show that the bolt length elongates by 14–20% at a load level equal to the strength of the bolt material, thereby absorbing a large amount of energy. The impact average load of a 20 mm D bolt is 200–230 kN, with only a small portion of the load transferred to the bolt plate. The cumulative dynamic energy absorption of the bolt is measured to be 47 kJ/m. D bolts were tested in three deep mines. Filed measurements show that D bolts are loaded less than rebar bolts. This paper presents the layout and principle of the D bolt, and corresponding results from static, dynamic, and field tests.