Polyhedral modelling of underground excavations

Elmouttie, Marc; Poropat, George; Krahenbuhl, Greg

doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.02.009

Cited by 28 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…More advanced programs, e.g. Elmouttie et al (2010), allow for the use of all properties associated with a three-dimensional DFN, including the spatial distribution of joints and other structures. The analyses are not limited to statistical representations of these structures, but include representations of the actual structures mapped in the field across (potentially large) exposures.…”

Section: Weak Rock Shear Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Guidelines for numerical modelling of rock support for mines

Lorig¹,

Varona²

2013

Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Ground Support in Mining and Underground Construction

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Evaluation of the economic viability of mining projects may depend partially on the ability to reasonably predict the ground support required to maintain stable and serviceable openings. As mine tunnels are excavated at greater depths, and mining activity results in significant stresses around these tunnels, openings that may have performed adequately under lesser stresses can become challenging to support. Given the range of tunnelling conditions encountered in mines, it is not surprising that mine tunnel design procedures have heavily relied on experience and empirical rules. By definition, empirical procedures are unreliable when applied to situations beyond those on which these procedures are based. Major and continuing advances in the power of computers make it possible to develop more rational methods for representing and investigating the mechanical behaviour, including disaggregation of rock around the tunnel boundary. The paper initially reviews important differences between civil and mining applications. It describes the challenges in developing a rational method of tunnel support design and provides guidelines for numerical modelling as part of the decision-making process with respect to mine economics. It is hoped that these guidelines acquaint the reader with the best available procedures for tunnel design today, and are a basis for which to use improved methods based on numerical modelling as they become available.

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Section: Weak Rock Shear Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Guidelines for numerical modelling of rock support for mines

Lorig¹,

Varona²

2013

Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Ground Support in Mining and Underground Construction

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“…However, until recently, the Introduction Over the last decade or so, there has been increasing interest in the application of DFN technology to a wide range of mining applications. From wedge assessment (Rogers et al 2006;Elmouttie et al 2010;Grenon & Hadjigeorgiou 2003;Grenon et al 2015;Merrien-Soukatchoff et al 2012), fragmentation assessment (Rogers et al 2010), rock mass characterisation (Elmo et al 2014), to mine water inflow management (Rogers et al 2009) and synthetic rock mass modelling (Ivars et al 2007), DFN modelling has increasingly demonstrated its advantages over more conventional approaches. The advantage of a DFN model is that it is better at describing local-scale problems because of its ability to capture the discrete fracture parameters more accurately than larger-scale continuum approaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating photogrammetry and discrete fracture network modelling for improved conditional simulation of underground wedge stability

Rogers¹,

Bewick²,

Brzovic³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining

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Over the last decade, the advantages of discrete fracture network (DFN) models over more conventional tools for key block stability analysis have become increasingly apparent. Without their need for a series of simplifying assumptions regarding the fracture system, rock wedge formation and excavation geometry, DFN's ability to accurately capture the underground rock mass is clear. Coupled with the probabilistic consideration of block formation and joint strength parameters, they provide a valuable tool to the engineer for risk-based underground stability assessments. However, recent changes in DFN technology have allowed a step change in modelling realism to be incorporated. A major improvement is the ability to generate DFN models directly conditioned to photogrammetric surveys so that the kinematic assessment is carried out on a structural description that accurately reflects the scanned location. This conditioned DFN model is embedded within an unconditioned stochastic description of the rock mass away from the scanned rock mass exposure, thus, providing a model that is constrained by the available geotechnical data (boreholes, scanning, trace mapping) but accurately conditioned to the key observed structures. The result is an ability to optimise excavation and ground support designs with a method that intelligently handles the natural heterogeneity imposed by the rock mass, combining what we see with what we know.

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“…(2015) preformed a probabilistic block theory analysis and used the developed procedure to study a rock slope at a hydropower station in China. Because of the efforts of various researchers (Leung and Lo 1993;Mauldon and Ureta 1996;Jimenez-Rodriguez and Sitar 2008;Elmouttie et al 2010;Cho et al 2012;Elmouttie et al 2012), considerable progress has been made, which has improved the applicability of block theory. The shape of blocks in a block system may be complex, and concave blocks are common in practical engineering projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of removability and stability of rock blocks by considering the rock bridge effect

Zheng

Xia

2016

Can. Geotech. J.

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In traditional block theory, the removability and stability of rock blocks are analyzed independently; that is, the stability of a removable block is analyzed in detail, and nonremovable blocks are regarded as stable. However, in practical situations, nonremovable blocks may pose more danger than removable blocks. This paper presents a unified method for analyzing the removability and stability of rock blocks. In this method, the cracking of rock bridges is considered and nonremovable blocks are not assumed to be stable. First, possible cracking rock bridges are identified by extending finite-sized fractures and comparing the boundary surfaces of the resulting blocks with those of the original blocks. Then, the sliding direction associated with each possible moving block is determined by solving an optimization problem. The normal force acting on each sliding surface is determined, and the resisting force on each rock bridge is calculated and integrated into the total resisting force when calculating the safety factor of a possible moving block. Procedures to determine all possible moving blocks are introduced, and the possible moving block with the minimum safety factor is regarded as the actual moving block. The corresponding minimum safety factor is defined as the actual safety factor of the block. The proposed method is verified by considering a few examples. The results show that nonremovable blocks may be unstable if the cracking of rock bridges is considered.

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Polyhedral modelling of underground excavations

Cited by 28 publications

References 15 publications

Guidelines for numerical modelling of rock support for mines

Guidelines for numerical modelling of rock support for mines

Integrating photogrammetry and discrete fracture network modelling for improved conditional simulation of underground wedge stability

Analysis of removability and stability of rock blocks by considering the rock bridge effect

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