Angled shear testing of 15.2 mm seven wire cable bolt

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 degree 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 MKIV was used for testing cable perpendicular to the sheared joint faces (zero angle of orientation), while testing the cable at 30 and 45 degrees was carried out using a larger size rectangular shaped rig. This study was part of the tri-universities funded ACARP project C27040 awarded jointly to the University of New South Wales, University of Wollongong and University of Southern Queensland. The objective of the experimental testing programme was to provide the essential information for the development of numerical models that included not only the technical parameters but also the behavioural outcomes from various tests with respect to the angles of testing and their effect on the nature of cable failure, be it pure shear, tensile shear or shear tensile, cable pretension and the credibility of the effectiveness of the Barrel and Wedge (B&W) anchorage system were evaluated. Laboratory facilities at both USQ and UOW were used in the study. It was found that increased angle of shear contributes to increased stiffness of the cable in shear with other parameters being equal.