Numerical modelling on the stability of an underground research facility excavation in Czech Republic

0548181 - ÚGN 2022 RIV AU eng C - Conference Paper (international conference)
Gong, Libin - Waclawik, Petr - Souček, Kamil - Vavro, Martin - Němčík, J. - Ram, Sahendra - Kukutsch, Radovan
Numerical modelling on the stability of an underground research facility excavation in Czech Republic.
Proceedings of the 2021 Resource Operators Conference. Toowoomba, Queensland: University of Southern Queensland, 2021 - (Aziz, N.; Mirzaghorbanali, A.), s. 329-348. ISBN 978-1-74128-335-8.
[Resource Operators Conference 2021. University of Southern Queensland (AU), 10.02.2021-12.02.2021]
Institutional support: RVO:68145535
Keywords : numerical modelling * underground research facility * stress state
OECD category: Mining and mineral processing
https://ro.uow.edu.au/coal/823/

A new Underground Research Facility (URF) is planned to be constructed in the Rožná Mine, Czech Republic. It is essential to evaluate the feasibility of the current excavation design before the start of the excavation. Numerical simulation using the software FLAC3D was adopted to investigate the stability or the strength-stress ratio of the URF. Laboratory tensile strength and uniaxial compressive strength tests on the rock specimens at various inclinations of the weak planes combined with the Geological Strength Index (GSI) system provide reliable deformation and strength input parameters for the explicit continuum model. The well-known modified Hoek-Brown constitutive model was employed for the numerical evaluation of the URF stability. In situ three-dimensional stress tensors were measured from the field and applied to the model boundaries. Displacement/convergence and distribution patterns of the stress state and strength-stress ratio were analysed. It was found that the current URF layout is on the safe side and the total displacement is minor and acceptable. Locations with potentially low strength-stress ratios were mainly around the roadway-chamber intersections. The current study can provide a valuable reference to similar numerical works since such large-scale numerical simulations are rare, due to the complexity and the time-consuming nature of the study.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0324295