Course: Modelling of Surface and Underground Mine Excavations

Course Date: June 5 – 8, 2023

Venue: Pullman Lubumbashi Grand Karavia, 55 Route Du Golf, Quartier Golf, Lubumbashi, DRC

Language: English

Registration Fees:

• Early Bird - USD $1000 (until April 28th, 2023)
• Regular - USD $1200
• 10% discount on the course fee if registrants have Maintenance+ plans

What’s included:

• Temporary software licenses for 30 days
• Lunch and refreshments
• PDF of course materials
• Certificate

Please note:

• Registrants will be responsible for their own accommodation.
• Registrants must bring their own laptops (and mouse)
• Registrant numbers are limited to 20.

Course Outline:

Rocscience is pleased to announce a training course in Lubumbashi, DRC, on applying the Rocscience's software suite to modelling and solving surface and underground mining excavation challenges. This four-day training course is designed for all experience levels and will cover the capabilities and features of the following software: Dips, Swedge, Unwedge, Slide2, Slide3, RS2, and RS3.

Objectives:

This hands-on training course will allow participants to achieve the following:

• Learn simple yet powerful approaches to modelling mining slopes.
• Develop high-quality models that provide insights on excavation behaviors.

Agenda:

Day 1: Fundamentals of Open Pit Slope Stability Analysis – Dips, SWedge and Slide2

• Review of rock mass properties analysis and their estimation
• Goals of slope stability analysis for open pits
• Scales of slope behaviour in open pits and slope failure mechanisms
  • Benches
  • Inter-ramp slopes
  • Overall slope
• Measures of stability – factor of safety, probability of failure, deformations
  • Design acceptance criteria and tolerable factors of safety and probabilities of failure
• Open pit design workflow and overview of Rocscience tools for surface excavation (open pit) analysis
• Slope stability analysis methods
• Orientation data and kinematic stability analysis – Dips
• Limit equilibrium analysis of surface wedges – SWedge
  • Stability analysis of surface wedges formed in rock slopes, defined by two intersecting discontinuity planes, slope surface, and optional tension crack for factor of safety against sliding
  • Bench design and analysis techniques
• Stability of rotational and translational failure mechanisms (overall slope scale)
  • Empirical methods
  • Limit equilibrium methods
  • Numerical methods
• Overview of the limit-equilibrium method (LEM) for slope stability analysis
• Introduction to Slide2
  • Modeler
  • Engine
  • Interpreter
• Multi-scenario modelling – creating analysis variations.
• Limit equilibrium analysis methods of slices and their selection.

Day 2: Limit Equilibrium Slope Stability Analysis with Slide2 and Slide3

• Design of rock slopes with limit equilibrium methods
• Search methods and optimization of failure surfaces
• Probabilistic and sensitivity analysis
• Material models
• Computing and interpreting Slide2 models.
• Modelling of anisotropic rock mass behavior
• Groundwater analysis
• Saturated-unsaturated steady-state groundwater analysis
  • Permeability functions
  • Boundary conditions
  • Seepage analysis of staged excavations
  • Interpretation of groundwater results
• Slope support systems
• Changing overall slope angles
• Modelling spatial variability in material properties
• Back-analysis of slope failures and calibration
• Introduction to 3D limit equilibrium slope stability analysis – Slide3
• Modeler and Interpreter
• Compute engine
• Advantages and disadvantages of 3D slope stability analysis
• Developing model geometries in 3D
  • Importing excavation geometries and geology
  • Developing geometry from primitives
  • Developing geometry with tunnel designer
  • Simplification and repair of slope and geology geometry
• Assigning material models and properties
• Slip surfaces and search methods.
• Modelling of faults and other major geological structures
• Computing models
• Interpreting results
• Wedge analysis in Slide3
• Engineering judgement and tips for practical, efficient modelling with Rocscience slope stability software

Day 3: Basics of Underground Mine Excavation Analysis (Dips, UnWedge and Introduction to Numerical Modelling Software and RS2)

• Goals of underground mine modelling
• Overview of rock masses, rock mechanics and underground excavation stability issues
• Limit equilibrium analysis of underground wedges using Unwedge
• Fundamentals of solid mechanics
  • Overview of rock mass mechanical behaviors
  • Deformations of solid materials under action of forces (static analysis)
  • Concepts of stress, strain and stress-strain relationships
  • Concept of principal stresses
  • Elastic behavior – materials undergoing small deformations when loaded and returning to original shape when unloaded.
  • Plastic behavior – materials undergoing permanent deformations when loaded and NOT returning to original shape when unloaded.
  • Strength of intact rock and rock masses – rock strength failure criteria
  • In-situ (pre-mining) state of stress
• Numerical modelling of underground mine excavations
  • Overview of numerical analysis methods – advantages and disadvantages
  • Finite Element Method
  • Boundary Element Method
  • Constitutive laws governing the behavior of rock masses.
  • Overview of development of numerical models (construction of geometry, meshing, application of loads and boundary conditions, and analysis options)
• Overview of the Finite Element Method and Introduction to RS2
• 2D finite element analysis of underground problems in rock
• Developing model geometries
• Estimating appropriate external boundaries for models
• Choosing appropriate geotechnical material models
  • Classical material strength models – Mohr-Coulomb, Generalized Hoek Brown

Day 4: Fundamentals of Rock Engineering Numerical Modelling, Numerical Modelling with RS2 and RS3

• Assigning material models and properties – elastic and plastic and material responses to loading
• Specifying in situ stress state and initial conditions
• Discretization and meshing
• Applying boundary and initial conditions
• Meshing models – mesh quality and refinement
• Applying loads to excavations and underground structures
• Stress analysis options in RS2
• Computing models – solving excavation response (stresses and deformations) to loading.
• Interpreting modelling results of underground analysis
• Using modelling results to assess damage, and pillar and excavation stability.
  • Application and interpretation of elastic modelling results
  • Application and interpretation of plastic modelling results
  • Comparison of plastic and elastic results
• Analysis of multi-stage models – mine sequencing
• Modelling anisotropic and discontinuous rock mass behavior – joint networks
• Specifying empirical failure/damage criteria (for excavations and pillars) in underground mining
• Superimposing mine seismicity data unto numerical modelling outputs
• Introduction to 3D finite element analysis of underground excavations in rock
• Developing model geometries in 3D
  • Assigning material models and properties
  • Specifying excavation sequences
  • Modelling faults and other major geological structures
  • Specifying in situ stress conditions
• Meshing models – mesh quality and refinement
• Computing models
• Interpretation of results in rock mass (contouring of stress points) and on joint surfaces
• Modelling backfill support.
• Modelling various support systems (liners, bolts, composite liners) in RS3
• Stope sequencing principles
• Estimating relaxation and dilution zones
• Tips and pitfalls of model building

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For any additional queries, please reach out to Ruth Obeng-King.

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Course Instructors

Reginald Hammah, Ph.D., P.Eng., Director, Rocscience, Africa

Dr. Reginald Hammah holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto and brings over 20 years of experience in rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering. He uniquely blends practical problem- solving experience with software tools and theoretical understanding of excavation behavior. He is well known for breaking down complex problems into simpler, more familiar, and solvable components.