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Validation of Block Theory using Field Case Histories (1992)
Yossef H. Hatzor (
Hebrew: יוסף חודרה חצור; born 1959) is an
Israeliprofessor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he holds the Dr. Sam and Edna Lemkin Chair in
Rock Mechanics. He holds a joint appointment with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at BGU.[1][2]
Early life and education
Yossef H. Hatzor was born in
Tel Aviv as Yossef Hodara, to Rachel (Née Beja) and Isaac Hodara, both of whom have emigrated to Israel from
Turkey in the early 1950’s.
Hatzor joined Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Fall 1992. In 1995 he founded the Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and has directed it ever since.[5] He has established the
Engineering Geology track at BGU in 1993 and the double degree program with Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2015. He became an associate professor in 2004, and a full professor in 2010. Hatzor served as chair of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Ben-Gurion University during the years 2013 – 2017.
During the years, Hatzor has supervised more than 40
graduate students and
postdocs, five of whom hold professorship positions in research universities in Israel and abroad.[7]
Research
Hazor is an expert in rock mechanics and rock engineering. He is mainly interested in the
deformation of discontinuous rock masses in natural rock slopes or in man-made
tunnels,
dams, and open pit mines. In his work he utilizes analytical solutions for three-dimensional analysis such as block theory and
numerical approaches such as
DDA.[8] At his laboratory he explores the relationship between
microstructure and
mechanical behavior of
crystalline rocks,[9] the influence of thermal maturation on the mechanical behavior of
carbon-rich reservoir rocks,[10] and the relationship between fault surface roughness and sliding instabilities.[11]
He has applied his research to many high-profile projects both in Israel and abroad, including the reinforcement of
Masada rock slopes to withstand
earthquake vibrations,[12] determining the in situ stress level at the 2500 m deep tunnels in
Jinping hydro-power project,[13] and determining the support requirements in underground openings excavated in columnar jointed basalts of the
Baihetan hydro-power project.[14]
He developed novel methods based on block theory and discontinuous deformation analysis to determine the critical key block in a tunnel or a rock slope,[15] resolve historic peak ground accelerations from back analysis of stone displacements in historic monuments,[16] and to assess rock burst risk in deep underground mining operations.[17]
In 2004, Hatzor and Prof. Haim Gvirtzman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, proposed to the IDF a new method to protect against the tunneling threat in and around the
Gaza Strip, by applying controlled saturation of the subsurface and blast induced
liquefaction.[18][19][20][21]
Hatzor is the founding president of the Israel Rock Mechanics Association (IRMA), an
ISRM national group, and served as IRMA president between 2003 and 2014.[25] He served as President of Israel Geological Society between 2004 – 2005.[26] He is the founding president of ISRM commission on Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA) and served as the commission president between 2011 – 2019. He serves on the editorial boards of
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, and Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, where he held the role of associate editor between 2020 – 2024.[27][28]
Publications
Selected Books
Yossef H. Hatzor, Gouwei Ma, Gen-hua Shi, 2017. Discontinuous Deformation Analysis in Rock Mechanics Practice. ISRM Book Series, Vol. 5. CRC Press / Balkema. Leiden, The Netherlands.[29]
Selected articles
Hatzor, Y., and R. E. Goodman, 1993. Determination of the design block for tunnel supports in highly jointed rock. In: Comprehensive Rock Engineering (ed. J. A. Hudson), Vol. 2: Analysis and design methods (ed. C. Fairhurst), Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 263-292.
Hatzor, Y. H. 2003. Keyblock stability in seismically active rock slopes – the Snake Path cliff – Masada. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 129, No. 8, pp. 697 - 710.
Hatzor, Y. H., I. Wainshtein, and D. Bakun Mazor, 2010. Stability of shallow karstic caverns in blocky rock masses. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 1289 – 1303.
Yagoda-Biran, G. and Y. H. Hatzor. 2010. Constraining paleo PGA values by numerical analysis of overturned columns. Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, V. 39, No. 4, pp. 463-472.
Ibanez, J. P. and Y. H. Hatzor, 2018. Rapid sliding and friction degradation: lessons from the catastrophic Vajont landslide. Engineering Geology, Vol. 244, pp. 96–106.
Bakun-Mazor, D., Keissar, Y., Feldheim, A., Detournay, C., and Y. H. Hatzor, 2020. Thermally-induced wedging-ratcheting failure mechanism in rock slopes. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. Vol. 53, Issue 6, pp. 2521-1538.
Personal life
Hatzor holds the rank of
6th Dan in the Japanese martial art of
Aikido, awarded to him in 2013 by master teacher I. Shibata Shihan through the Aikikai world headquarters in Japan. In 1993 he founded
Beer Sheva Aikikai at the sports center of Ben-Gurion University and served as chief instructor until 2023.[30]
He is married to Orna Hodara Hatzor (ne’e Portugali), an Eco Artist, they live in Jerusalem and have 5 children.