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Rock Mechanics.pdf - Mining and Blasting

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Figure 10.16 Probing the state of<br />

equilibrium of a body under load.<br />

MINE STABILITY AND ROCKBURSTS<br />

10.6 Mine stability <strong>and</strong> rockbursts<br />

In considering mine global stability, the concern is comprehensive control of rock<br />

mass displacement throughout the mine near-field domain. Assurance of mine global<br />

stability must be based on the principles of stability of equilibrium well known in<br />

basic engineering mechanics. They are discussed in detail in texts by Croll <strong>and</strong> Walker<br />

(1973) <strong>and</strong> Thompson <strong>and</strong> Hunt (1973). Essentially, the requirement is to make sure<br />

that any small change in the equilibrium state of loading in a structure cannot provoke<br />

a sudden release of energy or large change in the geometry of the structure.<br />

In a mine structure, small perturbations might be caused by a small increase in the<br />

mined volume, transient displacements caused by blasting, or an episodic local failure.<br />

Increasing depth of mining, resulting in increased states of stress relative to rock<br />

strength, or the need for increased extraction ratios from near-surface orebodies, both<br />

promote the possibility of mine global instability. Under these circumstances, analytical<br />

techniques to identify the potential for mine instability <strong>and</strong> design concepts<br />

which will prevent the development of instability become important components of<br />

mining rock mechanics practice.<br />

A general procedure for determining the state of equilibrium in a system is described<br />

by Schofield <strong>and</strong> Wroth (1968). The concepts are indicated schematically in<br />

Figure 10.16, where a body is in equilibrium under a set of applied forces Pi. Suppose<br />

a set of small, probing loads, Pj, is applied at various parts of the structure, resulting<br />

in a set of displacements, U j. The work done by the small probing forces acting<br />

through the incremental displacements is given by<br />

¨W = 1<br />

2 PjU j<br />

(10.73)<br />

In this expression, ¨W represents the second order variation of the total potential energy<br />

of the system. The following states of equilibrium are identified by the algebraic value<br />

of ¨W :<br />

293<br />

(a) ¨W > 0 stable equilibrium<br />

(b) ¨W = 0 neutral equilibrium (10.74)<br />

(c) ¨W < 0 unstable equilibrium

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