Papers by Erling Nordlund
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 2006
The static state of stress at the brow in a sub-level caving mine is, due to stress re-distributi... more The static state of stress at the brow in a sub-level caving mine is, due to stress re-distribution, almost uniaxial (major principal stress perpendicular to the cross cut). Since large amounts of explosives are detonated in each production round, the impact of stress waves on the brow can be significant. An extensive failure mapping programme in the Kiirunavaara mine showed that many of the failures close to the brow were structurally controlled. Furthermore, the area of damaged shotcrete was extensive when plain shotcrete was used. At brows supported by fibre reinforced shotcrete, damage in the roof was observed within a horizontal distance of about 3m from the drawpoint. To study the behaviour of roof wedges supported by shotcrete and subjected to blast-induced vibrations a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model was developed. The model consists of a shotcrete layer and a rock wedge.Vibration measurements showed that maximum particle velocity was approximately 1.2m/s. The acceleration record showing the largest magnitude was used as the load in the dynamic analyses.The analyses showed that a wedge can be ejected by a dynamic load even if the static safety factor was >10. Furthermore, the non-linear response of the wedges was in most of the cases greater when the wedge was supported both by the joints and the shotcrete layer compared to the case when the wedge was only supported by shotcrete. A conclusion from the analyses is that it is difficult to predict the dynamic response from static calculations.To provide a safe working environment close to the drawpoint, the rock support must sustain the impact of stress waves from production blasting. To support rock wedges subjected to dynamic load the support must be able to consume the energy imposed on the wedges from blasting. The non-linear numerical analyses showed that reinforced shotcrete has the necessary bearing capacity to support the wedges formed in the roof of the cross cut close to the brow. This was in fair agreement with the failure mapping.The single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model can be used to study the response of an arbitrarily shaped rock wedge supported by shotcrete as long as the movement of the wedge can be idealised by a pure translation and the dimensions of the wedge are small compared to the length of the incident wave. Analyses showed that 2D wedges can be used to judge whether symmetric or non-symmetric 3D wedges in a uniaxial stress field (which occurs close to the brow) are stable or not when they are subjected to waves induced by blasting.
International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 2012
The hangingwall deformation behaviour at the Kiirunavaara mine has been characterised after sever... more The hangingwall deformation behaviour at the Kiirunavaara mine has been characterised after several years of collecting surveying data from the ground surface. The monitoring system was implemented to track surface subsidence because the city of Kiruna and the railway are situated on the hangingwall. Data time-displacement and time-velocity curves were used and different stages of deformation behaviour were identified-regressive, progressive and steady state. The movement starts with a regressive behaviour for which subsidence is characterised by continuous deformations. At the end of this stage the movement accelerates, marking the beginning of the progressive behaviour where subsidence becomes more discontinuous. A steady state stage is reached when the strength of the failure surface decreases to the residual value. To predict displacement in the vicinity of the railway, accumulated displacements per year were analysed for several stations for which data for the full regressive stage were available. Displacement tendencies were fitted with quadratic polynomial functions. Therefore, the rate of movement follows a linear trend with a constant acceleration. Finally, a critical horizontal strain limit was determined based on the estimated displacement.
Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering
The Norra Alliansen orebody of the Malmberget sublevel caving mine consists of iron ore intersper... more The Norra Alliansen orebody of the Malmberget sublevel caving mine consists of iron ore interspersed with biotite schist and granitic inclusions. The schist is squeezed between the ore and the host rock and in direct contact with the ore along the majority of the length of the footwall. The schist exhibits high deformation when exposed to stress. SMART cable bolt roof deformation measurements are re-analyzed to draw conclusions regarding the patterns of deformation in the mine. Each bolt's head is placed at the origin of a spherical coordinate system and the radius and inclination angle between the bolt and every production blast occurring during the bolt's recorded lifetime are calculated. The deformation experienced by each instrument is investigated by comparing the long-term recorded movements with the developed geometric variables. Patterns of deformation magnitude and rate are found with respect to production-blast distance and inclination angle, instrument location, rock quality designation, and likely mining-induced stresses. Results show that deformation magnitude tends to be higher when driven by production blasting occurring on the production level above the instrumentation when accounting for the effects of distance, but average deformation magnitude for very-near production blasts tends to be higher than that for production blasts occurring directly above the instrument. Correlations also exist between the measured RQD, estimated rockmass parameters, and the measured deformation. Empirical evidence allows the identification of six scenarios which account for 91% of the recorded high-deformation-rate events. These scenarios help determine which production activities are most likely to cause high deformation rates.
Rock Mechanics and Rock …, 1993
Summary A conceptual model for the behaviour of rock joints during cyclic shear and under constan... more Summary A conceptual model for the behaviour of rock joints during cyclic shear and under constant normal stresses was proposed according to results from shear tests with 50 concrete replicas of rock joints. The shear strength and deformability of joint samples were ...
Rock Mechanics and Rock …, 1993
Summary A conceptual model for the behaviour of rock joints during cyclic shear and under constan... more Summary A conceptual model for the behaviour of rock joints during cyclic shear and under constant normal stresses was proposed according to results from shear tests with 50 concrete replicas of rock joints. The shear strength and deformability of joint samples were ...
Fracture is the main reason for the non-linear behaviour of hard rocks. The fracture mechanics of... more Fracture is the main reason for the non-linear behaviour of hard rocks. The fracture mechanics of rock is studied in this article by analysis of the fracture process under compression. A constitutive model that describes the relationship between the macro deformation of rock and the micro fracture within rock is developed. The propagation of microcracks, the non-linearity of deformation, the loading-and-unloading hysteresis and the variation of the apparent Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio are studied using the developed model. The model simulations demonstrate that: (1) the fracture toughness, initial crack length, crack density, and Young's modulus are four crucially important parameters that affect the deformation behaviour of rock; (2) the elastic parameters (E and v) of the rock matrix should be measured in triaxial tests. If they are measured in uniaxial tests, the upper straight unloading portion of the stress-strain curve is suggested to be used for the purpose, unless the closure effect of open cracks will be included in the estimations. In addition (3), the slope of the reloading stress-strain curve is a measure of the damage in material.
International Journal of Mining and …, 2011
A probabilistic approach is presented for the analysis of open stope stability. The approach cons... more A probabilistic approach is presented for the analysis of open stope stability. The approach considers the inherent variability and uncertainty which are typical of rock mass properties. In this study, a series of numerical analyses were performed using FLAC to study the ...
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Papers by Erling Nordlund