25 - Fundamentals of Mine Roadway Support Design: Rock–Support Interaction Analysis

Abstract

This chapter presents a rock-support interaction analysis and describes fundamentals of mine roadway support design. The proper functioning of an underground mine depends on providing efficient transport for mine personnel, mined materials, mine equipment, materials and supplies, creating proper conditions of ventilation and air conditioning, and ensuring work safety. The effective solution of these matters is made possible only by ensuring the stability of the mine roadways. The loss of stability of an excavation is most often the result of an excessive concentration of stresses in the rock mass in the vicinity of the excavation, an overstressing of the support elements, or a change in the deformational and strength properties of the rock. The deformational pressure exerted by a viscoelastic rock mass on a support of an underground mine roadway is dependent on the properties of the surrounding rocks and on the nature of the rock-support interaction. The support cannot be regarded as a separate load-carrying structure but as one of the elements cooperating in the system support-rock mass. This is the basic condition for the correct designing, dimensioning, and construction of the support. Installation of support is one of the basic methods used for the preservation of excavation stability. The essential purpose of the support is the prevention of rock falls and closure of the excavation, and this is achieved through supporting the rock blocks, separated from the rock mass, and resisting the process of rock displacement.