Prediction of marginal rock mass stability in clays of Quaternary deposits including the effect of filtration reservoir by the example of the Bachat coal mine

Abstract

Introduction. During opencast mining, the development of mine workings in clays of Quaternary deposits is often accompanied by stability loss. As a rule, the reason for the development of geomechanical processes 46 "Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Gornyi zhurnal". No. 3. 2021 ISSN 0536-1028 is the mismatch between the accepted geometry and physical-mechanical characteristics of soils. In case strength characteristics and moisture content are strongly related in the conditions of lacking water saturation sources, slopes remain stable for a long time. However, in the case of water saturation, soils change to plastic or liquid consistency, and the strength properties are reduced. In engineering practice, to prevent hazardous geomechanical processes, electrophysical methods are applied that make it possible to build the boundaries of soil moisture anomalies through electrical contrast. In the instances when the water-saturated strata occurrence depth and thickness is known from drilling and vertical electrical sounding data, electrical profiling makes it possible to promptly determine the variability of these characteristics of the anomaly. The authors proposed an algorithm of water-saturated strata thickness variability determination from the point of electrical profiling. Research aim is to predict the stability of the marginal rock mass in clays of Quaternary deposits, taking into account the effect of filtration reservoirs by combining engineering-geological databases and geophysical measurement results based on the 3D geological-geophysical model. Methodology includes the analysis of the engineering-geological databases and geophysical measurement results. Results. A 3D geological-geophysical model of the marginal rock mass with the boundaries of the watersaturated stratum was built from the results of the research to predict the stability of the marginal rock mass’s actual position. Slope stability analysis established the following: at design sections О3у3–О5у5 after deformation, retaining forces exceed shearing forces significantly (safety factor) because the weight of the base wedge grows due to landslide masses; potential landslide hazard area is associated with the design section О1у1, which is due to smooth fall of the stability factor from 1.38 (section О2у2) to 1.06, close to ultimate. Conclusions. For the extension of the marginal rock physical-mechanical properties variation it is appropriate to apply the method of electrical prospecting (sounding and profiling) determining watersaturated areas by local negative anomalies of effective electrical resistivity and establishing the function of loose Quaternary deposits thickness variation by the inversion of electrical profiling graphs with the use of the least square procedure and the golden section method. If landslide hazard areas are vast, the variation of the stability factor design values, which were determined based on 3D geological-geophysical models, may possess the non-monotonic character with several extreme values and significant gradients. For that reason, it is appropriate to carry out computerized analysis with a cyclic extension of the most hazardous areas by the coordinate of the profile and the direction of the design section in a plan.