Applications of fracture system models (FSM) in mining and civil rock engineering design

Abstract

Engineering design in rock must, implicitly or explicitly, take into consideration the influence of small and large scale geological fractures. The complexity of a jointed rock mass is best captured using 3D fracture system model based on quality field data. In this article, we describe on-going work in developing and implementing fracture system models (FSM) to solve three engineering problems using the developed stochastic fracture modelling tool, Fracture-SG. The first case study uses field data from 53 mine sites to demonstrate the advantages of using FSM, as compared to empirical classification indices to quantify the structural complexity of a rock mass. The second case describes the determination of a structural representative elemental volume (REV) along a rock slope, and the third case study describes the use of FSM as an integral part of the stability analysis of a slope subject to structural failures.

Keywords:

• fracture system models
• rock engineering
• slope stability
• REV
• mining

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The contributions of Frederic Flament, Jean-Francois Lessard and Patrick Côté are gratefully acknowledged.