Quality Evaluation of Rock Mass Using RMR14 Based on Multi-Source Data Fusion

The uncertainties in quality evaluations of rock mass are embedded in the underlying multi-source data composed by a variety of testing methods and some specialized sensors. To mitigate this issue, a proper method of data-driven computing for quality evaluation of rock mass based on the theory of multi-source data fusion is required. As the theory of multi-source data fusion, Dempster–Shafer (D-S) evidence theory is applied to the quality evaluation of rock mass. As the correlation between different rock mass indices is too large to be ignored, belief reinforcement and Murphy’s average belief theory are introduced to process the multi-source data of rock mass. The proposed method is designed based on RMR14, one of the most widely used quality-evaluating methods for rock mass in the world. To validate the proposed method, the data of rock mass is generated randomly to realize the data fusion based on the proposed method and the conventional D-S theory. The fusion results based on these two methods are compared. The result of the comparison shows the proposed method amplifies the distance between the possibilities at different ratings from 0.0666 to 0.5882, which makes the exact decision more accurate than the other. A case study is carried out in Daxiagu tunnel in China to prove the practical value of the proposed method. The result shows the rock mass rating of the studied section of the tunnel is in level III with the maximum possibility of 0.9838, which agrees with the geological survey report.