Joint Roughness Coefficient Determination

We have developed a new digital Process for the determination of JRC, starting with a readily available contour gauge trace of defect surfaces from core or field exposures.

Our method utilises off the shelf software to digitise the defect surface trace, then a series of spreadsheet algorithms to estimate JRC, the interlimb angles (i), and the initial dilation angle.

This allows consistent JRC estimation across all workers, rather than subjective determination from Barton’s JRC charts.

Our process will be published later this year at NZSOLD 2025.