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Rock Mechanics.pdf - Mining and Blasting

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LONGWALL MINING IN HARD ROCK<br />

followed by a zone of influence <strong>and</strong> a stability analysis, considering hangingwall<br />

failure due to buckling, shear <strong>and</strong> block rotation. This gives a maximum safe spacing<br />

of the individual support elements. The calculations are carried out for both static<br />

(rock fall) <strong>and</strong> dynamic (rockburst) conditions. Daehnke et al. (2001) illustrate their<br />

methodology with a worked example. Detailed design methods are also presented by<br />

Ryder <strong>and</strong> Jager (2002).<br />

Tunnel support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement. As well as carrying out the functions of support<br />

<strong>and</strong> reinforcement systems discussed in Chapter 11, the support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement<br />

systems used in the off-reef tunnels associated with hard rock longwall mining <strong>and</strong> its<br />

variants, may also have to be dynamically capable to alleviate the rockburst hazard.<br />

The support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement systems must be capable of reinforcing <strong>and</strong> retaining<br />

or holding the rock mass in place, <strong>and</strong> surface support or containment of the broken<br />

rock at the excavation boundary under both static <strong>and</strong> dynamic loading conditions.<br />

It must be noted that rockburst conditions may also exist in mines that are less deep<br />

<strong>and</strong> use different mining methods than the deep level gold mines of South Africa (e.g.<br />

Li et al., 2003, Rojas et al., 2000, Simser et al., 2002). Under these conditions, the<br />

reinforcing elements may consist of rock bolts, cable bolts, studs <strong>and</strong> tendons, often<br />

with yielding capability. The surface support elements may include shotcrete or other<br />

sprayed liners, mesh, straps, wire rope lacing, fixtures of a range of types, <strong>and</strong> energy<br />

absorbing face plates. An example of the system used in the haulage level of a South<br />

African gold mine is shown in Figure 11.30.<br />

As in the case of stope support, the design methodology used for dynamically<br />

capable tunnel support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement has been based on tributary area <strong>and</strong> energy<br />

absorption concepts (e.g. Wagner, 1984, Ortlepp, 1994). Recognising that it is<br />

not practicable to attempt to prevent fracturing <strong>and</strong> displacement in the event of a<br />

rockburst, tunnel support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement systems are designed to yield <strong>and</strong> absorb<br />

energy, limit the amount of deformation occurring at the tunnel boundary, <strong>and</strong> contain<br />

the fractured rock mass at the excavation periphery (Roberts <strong>and</strong> Brummer, 1988).<br />

It is postulated that, in a rockburst, blocks or slabs of rock will be accelerated <strong>and</strong><br />

ejected from the tunnel boundary. In its simplest form, the energy released by the<br />

rock mass <strong>and</strong> required to be absorbed by the support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement system, E,<br />

is given by<br />

E = 1<br />

2 mv2 + mgh<br />

where m is the mass of rock ejected from the excavation, v is the ejection velocity<br />

<strong>and</strong> h is the height through which the rock falls in coming to rest. The ejection<br />

velocity may be up to 10 m s −1 in extreme cases but is often taken to be more<br />

like3ms −1 for design. The use of this approach has directed emphasis towards the<br />

development of a range of reinforcing elements that are able to yield or displace while<br />

retaining significant load carrying capability. In the st<strong>and</strong>ard design methodology,<br />

this approach is usually applied with a tributary area assigned to each reinforcing<br />

element (Ortlepp, 1994). However, on the basis of results obtained in a large-scale<br />

field experiment, Haile <strong>and</strong> Le Bron (2001) questioned the validity of the tributary<br />

area approach under the complex dynamic loading conditions resulting from mininginduced<br />

seismicity. Li et al. (2003) suggested that momentum change should be<br />

used as an additional design criterion. They also demonstrated the practical value<br />

of cable bolt plates made from conveyor belt material in absorbing incident energy<br />

439

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