Safe Slope Research Articles

Role of the computer in managing and applying geotechnical data to surface mine design

ABSTRACT In large open cast operations, effective management of considerable volumes of specialized data generated by various earth science disciplines is necessary to ensure optimum pit design and equipment utilization. The development of a computerized geotechnical data base for a coal strip mine Is described and the interrelationship between the data base and the geological computer model is discussed, highlighting the advantages as well as shortcomings of the systems approach. Geotechnical input to mine development is outlined including computer models for determining safe pitwall and spoilpile slopes, classifying the mine area into sub-areas of relatively consistent geotechnical characteristics and assessing formation diggability.

On the embankment dam

The significance of the embankment dam stems from its importance to mankind in providing one of the cheapest means for storing large volumes of water. Historically this was required for irrigation, but it is also a necessity for hydro-power and supply for industrial and domestic use. The embankment dam was the first type of dam built by man: it is the most numerous type; it is the type most often chosen for a new dam and forms the world's highest dam. It was rivalled by various forms of concrete dam, but developments since the 1930s in geotechnical science, understanding of behaviour through instrumentation and improvement of earth-moving machinery has made it the foremost type of dam throughout the world. Improved methods of stability analysis, utilizing the concept of effective stresses and measured pore pressures, enable safe slopes to be constructed. Weaknesses due to slickensides and/or the effects of failure developing progressively along a potential slip surface clearly must be given due considerat...

Roadside Slope Design for Safety

The design engineer needs objective criteria to aid him in selecting safe combinations of slopes for roadway design and in evaluating alternatives to achieve optimum roadside safety in his design. This paper is concerned with research efforts conducted under this project to provide objective criteria for safe slope combinations and various ditch configurations. The research approach involved simulated traversals of combinations of front and back slope from 3:1 to 6:1 using the TTI version of Calspans Highway Vehicle Object Simulation Model (HVOSM). Curves are presented to aid in evaluation of combinations of slopes forming vee, round, trapezoidal, and rounded trapezoidal ditch configurations having widths to 16 ft (4.9 m). The principal tool used to evaluate or rate the slope combinations at the hinge-point and ditch was the severity index, based on an ellipsoidal mode of failure for tolerance to deceleration forces when these forces are applied to all three axes. The hinge-point region and front slope are also treated. Vehicle rollover does not appear to be a problem for slopes 3:1 or less for standard American-made vehicles.

Applying Linear Programming to the Design of Ultimate Pit Limits

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a Linear Programming model in open pit mine evaluation. The primary conditions to be incorporated into the model are the course and the inclination of the ore vein, and, during the whole life of the mine, safe slope angles to be maintained. Subject to this the objective of running a mine is assumed to be maximizing the direct operating profits which consist of proceeds from the sale of ore minus direct operating cost of extraction, transportation, and upgrading. First the Linear Programming model is developed, and subsequently some computational aspects are treated.