Assessment of rock fall hazards and optimisation of rock support for deep underground mines
Stable excavations in underground mines are crucial for safe and efficient utilisation of mineral resources. The escalation of ground control problems as well as the increased occurrence of rock fall induced by mining advancing and seismic events with increasing mining depth jeopardize the safety and may lead to injuries of personnel, damage to equipment, ore loss and unplanned operational disturbances.
The aim of this project is to improve mining safety and productivity by improving the assessment of the rockfall hazards and optimising the current rock support system to combat the rockfalls.
Objectives in details are to:
- Improve the understanding of the failure mechanism of rockfalls,
- Develop statistical analysis methods for assessing rockfall hazards and for optimizing rock support,
- Improve the rock fall assessment methods under static and dynamic loading conditions,
- Develop knowledge of the performance characteristics of rock support (bolt-shotcrete arches and mesh overlap), and
- Develop design guidelines for bolt-shotcrete arches and mesh and mesh overlaps.
The successful completion of this project will result in:
- An innovative methodology for assessing the rockfall hazards based on deterministic (forensic investigation) and statistical (DFN modelling) analyses.
- Improved performance of the rock support system to prevent large rockfalls controlled by geological structures through new design guidelines.
- Improved performance of bolt-shotcrete arches and welded mesh support by new design guidelines.
- Educated qualified rock engineering personnel for the mining industry.
Project leader: Erling Nordlund, Luleå University of Technology
Project manager: Ping Zhang, Luleå University of Technology
Project duration: 2017–2020
Partners: Luleå University of Technology, Lundin Mining, Boliden AB, LKAB
Contact
Ping Zhang
- Professor
- 0920-493016
- ping.zhang@ltu.se
- Ping Zhang
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