The limited shear capacity and brittle failure of conventional pultruded glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rock bolts continue to restrict their application, despite advantages such as corrosion resistance and cuttability. To address this, our earlier study (Paper 1) developed braidtrusion-manufactured prototypes of GFRP rock bolts infused with graphene–epoxy matrices and identified two optimised designs, RE6 (22 mm) and R...

The shear capacity of hollow core bolts is still unclear due to the lack of experimental data. Therefore, to address this limitation, in this paper, the shear strength of three different types of hollow core bolts, including “X”, “S”, and “E” grade bolts, were studied experimentally using the double shear testing method under competent rock conditions. The outcomes of this research revealed that the shear force depended on the...

Ground reinforcement using rock bolts is critical for long-term stability in underground excavations, but their effectiveness is highly dependent on their resistance to corrosion. While Corrosion Protection Sleeves (CPS) are widely used to mitigate corrosion in steel rock bolts, their mechanical integrity and influence on the overall system’s performance under axial and shear displacement remain unquantified. This study addres...

The paper reports on different methods and techniques developed, over the past several decades, to characterize axial and shear strength of various tendons used for ground reinforcement in mining and civil engineering operations. Most of axial loading methods are carried out by pull testing, with very few tests reported on push load tests. Based on an extensive literature survey of more than 80 scientific documents, published...

Determining the axial load transfer mechanism of rock bolts under various conditions is paramount for ensuring efficient reinforcement in rock structures, advancing our understanding of rock support and ability to design robust engineering solutions. This paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at investigating the factors affecting axial load transfer mechanisms in fully encapsulated rock bolts including emb...

An analytical method and numerical simulation were developed to investigate the shear performance of fiberglass rock bolts (20-tonne and 30-tonne) by conducting sixteen double-shearing tests with both clean and infilled shear interfaces. Following the preparation of the required samples, each test set-up was subjected to different ranges of pretension values. The infilled scenario involved 5 mm thick sandy clay infilled shear...

In this paper, after determining an appropriate experimental design and testing scheme to test the shear performance suitably, the impacts of pretension and shear interfaces on fibreglass rock bolts were investigated. For this purpose, at the first stage, the double shear testing apparatus was modified to address the issues and shortcomings of the established testing methodology. Then, 20-tonne and 30-tonne rock bolts were tes...

With the increased use of cable bolts in mining and civil projects worldwide, it is important to understanding the performance of these support structures in different scenarios. The axial load transfer mechanisms of six cable bolts were investigated experimentally in this research study. A large-scale pull-out testing apparatus with a capacity of 1000 kN was designed and manufactured as part of the investigation. A common com...

This paper focuses on the experimental study of shear testing of 15.2 mm, 25 t capacity seven wire cables at zero, 30° and 45° angles using two different shear testing facilities at the University of Wollongong (UOW) and the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) in Toowoomba. A circular double-shear rig MK-IV was used for testing cable perpendicular to the sheared joint faces (zero angle of orientation), while testing the ca...