3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Relationship between undrained shear strength and moisture content for red berea sand tailings(2001) Du Plessis, AlbertusThe project report deals with the relationship between the undrained shear strength and the moisture content of Red Berea sand tailings. The tailings were obtained from the Red Berea sand dunes near Richards Bay, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The geology of the area consists of Miocene deposits of red clayey sand, classified as Berea Formation. A method for determining stability of a tailings dam for Red Berea sand tailings, was investigated. The general method of using the degree of saturation of the tailings to specify the rate of rise, is not applicable to this type of tailings. It was found that a relationship exists between the undrained shear strength of the tailings, and the moisture content. The moisture content can easily be measured and the undrained shear strength can then be calculated. The calculated undrained shear strength can be used in a total stress analysis to determine a factor of safety against failure. This project report consists of a discussion of the literature, which was used as the basis for the assumptions made, as well as a description of the tests performed to prove the above-mentioned relationship. Test results are given, interpreted and used in an illustrative example of a stability analysis.Item Design of regional pillars for the Khuseleka Ore Replacement Project (KORP) - UG2(2017) Mutsvanga, ClarenceDepletion of mineral resources is a reality of mining. It is critical that as resources get depleted, new reserves are subsequently opened up continuously if a mine is to continue operating. Failure to open up new reserves will result in a mining operation running out of reserves and ultimately ceasing operations. Besides the economic considerations of an ore reserve such as the grade and tonnage, stability of the mining operation is of equal importance. A mine should remain stable for the entire period that it remains operational. Pillars play a critical role in ensuring the stability of an excavation; actually, regional pillars ensure the overall stability of a mine. It therefore goes without saying, pillar design is an integral component of any successful mine design. This project was undertaken with the objective of ensuring that the new reserves being opened up in the Khuseleka Ore Replacement Project (KORP) section are not only profitable, but also stable. This was done through a) maximisation of extraction ratio, thereby maximising the mines’ profitability. b) designing the regional pillar layout for the KORP section using current empirical and numerical pillar design methods and comparing the results to come up with the most optimal design. c) ensuring the stability of the on and off reef mine infrastructure by determining the Rockwall Condition Factor (RCF) values on the footwall infrastructure due to pillars left above and thus prevent damage to these excavations through stress induced failures. Consideration was given to the standard Khuseleka footwall infrastructure layouts for the design based on the planning department’s layout of haulages and crosscuts for the KORP section. The layout of the footwall excavations indicated that the pillars would be differently sized thereby having an influence on the APS, pillar strength and factors of safety of the regional pillars. d) numerical modelling analysis of the effects of leaving stabilizing pillars on the 27 raise line where the haulages intersect the reef horizon. The methodology employed for this undertaking involved a critical literature review of existing pillar design methods, applying and comparing them, and coming up with an economic and safe design. To be able to design a pillar layout that met the objectives listed above, engineering design principles had to be applied. It involved gathering the relevant geological and geotechnical information required as input parameters for the different empirical and numerical analyses methods. What came out from this project was that each method employed yielded its own set of results. This highlighted the need to understand the context under which a design is carried out and the shortcomings of each method employed. It showed how important it is to have all the relevant information of not only the characteristics of the rock mass in which an excavation will be made, but also on the strengths and limitations of the tools available to design a structure. It highlighted the fact that to minimize uncertainty and have a more robust design, it was necessary to spend time and effort in gathering as much relevant data as possible. In the end engineering judgment was used to decide on the best method or system to employ in the design of the pillars.Item On the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks in WC-Co(1998) Erling, GhitaThis research examines fatigue in WC-Co, both under compressive and tensile loading conditions. A new macro-mechanism for compression fatigue crack propagation is put forward, which contradicts existing data on compression fatigue cracks as being self-limiting. Evidence of this macro-mechanism is presented in the form of final crack length versus number of cycles data, and micrographs of the compression fatigue cracks. A finite element study of the stress distribution in the WC-Co microstructure during compression fatigue loading has been developed. This model verifies possible methods of compression fatigue crack initiation. Examination of tensile fatigue and fast: fracture surfaces is used to show that fatigue is a separate mechanism to fast fracture in WC-Co. Characteristic features of the fatigue fracture surface are presented. A possible fatigue crack propagation mechanism is also presented. Finally, fatigue crack growth rate data in the form of the Paris equation is presented for WC-Co grades T6 and G6.Item A probabilistic structural design process for bord and pillar workings in chrome and platinum mines in South Africa(2016) Kersten, Rudiger Welf OlgertThe aim of this research was to investigate the bord and pillar design procedure in use at the time on chrome and platinum mines and subject it to a critical appraisal and, if necessary, propose an improved methodology. An analysis of the current method and some of the alternatives proposed in the literature has shown that the methodologies suffer from drawbacks that can be detrimental to the mining industry due to overdesign or rendering an excavation unsafe. The conclusion was that improvement is essential. The influence of the variability of the rock mass properties input parameters on the factor of safety in the current equation was calculated and the findings were that the value of the factor of safety can vary by up to 30 percent due to these variation. The proposed process adopted FLAC2D Hoek-Brown simulations to develop full stress deformation curves for typical pillars. The mine stiffness concept was introduced to determine the pillar load which automatically included the influence of the pillar and strata stiffness, excavation spans, pillar yield and failure. The factor of safety was obtained by dividing the pillar strength by the stress value of the intersection point of the two linear equations for the stiffness of the system and the pillar respectively. The proposed methodology was calibrated by applying it to two mines in the Bushveld. The conclusion was that the methodology is a significant improvement over the one in use. It was shown that a combination of the FLAC2D Hoek Brown and the System Pillar Equilibrium Concept can predict the extent of the fracture zones and, to certain extent, the pillar stresses. The stage has been reached where the methodology can be used to predict the most likely commencement of failure of pillars at greater depth and alternative pillar mining methods can be modelled.Item Investigations into the effect of size and width to height ratio on the strength of the laboratory sized coal specimens(1996) Canbulat, IsmetThe design of bord and pillar working in South African collieries is based on the pillar strength formula developed by Salamon and Munro1967 and which has been used widely since then for designing pillars. This formula is based on the statistical analysis of 27 collapsed and 98 intact coal pillar cases from collieries located in the Transvaal and the Free state. The main objective of this study is to establish the difference in the strength of the coal material in ditferent seams by means of laboratory testing. In this manner, some 753 coal samples from 10 collieries from 4 seams were tested. The size and width to height ratio effects on strength were analysed. The size effect showed that the difference between the seams was obvious, with a difference of 59,4 per cent between the strongest and weakest coal. The statistical re-analysis showed that the strength of the six blocks from the No 2 seam, Witbank Coalfield occurred in a fairly tight strength range; and that laboratory coal strengths from individual seams or mines could deviate to a significant although relatively small extent from the overall average.Item The effect of liquids on the stress distribution in a glass fibre reinforced plastic road tanker(2016) Armbruster, Michael HermanThe absence of reliable design data for Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) road tankers has been considered an obstacle for the local design and manufacture of such vehicles. This has prompted the analysis, using Finite Element Methods (FEM) of a filament wound cylindrical shell for a monocoque road tanker. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]Item Identification of inelastic deformation mechanisms around deep level mining stopes and their application to improvements of mining techniques.(2014-02-26) Kuijpers, J.S.Mining induced fracturing and associated deformations can commonly be observed around deep gold mining excavations. As the rockmass behaviour and the stability of the excavations are directly influenced by these processes, a proper understanding of this influence would certainly improve current mining practices with respect to blasting, rock breaking, support design and mining lay-outs. The main subject of this thesis is the physics of failure and post failure behaviour of rock and similar materials. Failure is denned here as a state at which the material has been subjected to fracture and/or damage processes. The applicability of commonly used constitutive models in representing such failure and post failure processes has been investigated mainly by means of numerical simulations. Mechanisms which control fundamental fracture and damage processes have been analysed by comparing the results from relevant laboratory experiments with numerical models. Linear elastic fracture mechanics has been applied to explain and simulate the formation of large scale extension fractures which form in response to excessive tensile stresses. Using the flaw concept it is demonstrated that these fractures not only initiate and propagate from the surface of an opening in compressed rock, but that so called secondary fracturing can be initiated from within the solid rock as well. The effect of geological discontinuities such as bedding planes, faults and joints on the formation of (extension) fractures has also been investigated and it has been shown how the presence of such discontinuities can cause the formation o f additional fractures. Micro mechanical models have been, used to investigate the interaction and coalescence processes of micro fractures. It was found that the formation of large scale extension fracturing can be explained from such processes, but so called shear fractures could not directly be reproduced, although such a possibility has been claimed by previous researchers. The formation of shear fractures is of particular- interest as violent failure of rock, which is subjected to compressive stresses only, is often associated with such fractures. In an all compressive stress environment, only shear deformations would allow for the relief of excess stress and thus energy. The formation of shear fractures is associated with complex mechanisms and shear fractures can therefore not directly be represented by tingle cracks. In contrast to the propagation of tensile fractures, which can readily be explained by traditional fracture mechanics in terms of stress concentrations around the crack tip, the propagation of shear fractures requires a different explanation. In this thesis an attempt has nevertheless been made to reproduce shear fractures by direct application of fracture mechanics. This his been done by representing a shear fracture as a single crack and by assuming fracture growth criteria which are either based on critical excess shear stresses, or on a maximum energy release. Both criteria are completely empirical and require a value for the critical shear resistance in the same way as a critical tensile resistance is required to represent the formation of tensile fracture; , The determination of a critical tensile resistance ( Kk ) is relatively straight forward, as the formation of tensile fractures from a pre-existing flaw can be reproduced and observed in standard laboratory tests. The determination of a critical shear resistance is, however, not a common practice, as the formation of a shear fracture from a pre-existing flaw is very infrequently observed. The application of shear fracture growth criteria nevertheless resulted in plausible fracture patterns, which suggests that such criteria are realistic. It is argued here however that the formation of shear fractures cannot be associated with primary fracture growth, but rather with the localisation of failure and damage in an area which is subjected to plastic deformation. The application of fracture mechanics is therefore not correct from a fundamental point of view as these processes are not represented. For this reason plasticity theory has also been applied in order to simulate failure in general, and shear failure localisation in particular. It was in principle possible to reproduce the shear fractures with the use of this theory, but numerical restraints affected the results to such an extent that most of the simulations were not realistic. Plasticity theory can also be extended to include brittle behaviour by the use of so called strain softening models. The physical processes which lead to brittle failure are however not directly represented by such models and they may therefore not result in realistic failure patterns. It was in fact found that strain softening models could only produce realistic results if localisation of failure could be prevented. The effect of numerical restraints becomes even more obvious with a strain softening model in the case of failure localisation. While the plasticity models appear inappropriate in representing brittle failure, they demonstrated that plastic deformations can be associated with stress changes which may lead to subsequent brittle fracturing. Although only indirect attempts have been made to reproduce this effect, as appropriate numerical tools are not available, it is clear that many observations of extension fracturing could be explained by plastic deformations preceding the brittle fracturing processes. Many rocks are classified as brittle, but plastic deformation processes often occur during the damage processes as well. The sliding crack for instance, which is thought to represent many micro mechanical deformation processes in rock, directly induces plastic deformations when activated. A pure brittle rock, which may be defined as a rock in which absolutely no plastic deformation processes take place, may therefore only be of academic interest as it is inconceivable that such a rock materiel exists. Only in such an academic case would (linear) elastic fracture mechanics be directly applicable. As plastic deformation processes do play a role in real rock materials it is important to investigate their influence on subsequent brittle failure processes. The elastic stress distribution, which is often used to explain the onset of brittle fracturing, may be misleading as plastic deformations can substantially affect the stress distribution . -recediny fracture initiation. In an attempt to combine both plastic and brittle failure, use has been made of tessellation models, which in effect define potential fracture paths in a random mesh. The advantage of these models is that various failure criteria, with or without strain softening potential, can be used without the numerical restraints which are normally associated with the conventional continuum models. The results of these models are also not free from numerical artefacts, but they appear to be more realistic in general. One o f the m;ij, r conclusions based on these results is that shear failure does not occur in a localised fashion, but is associated with the uniform distribution and extension of damage. Shear failure, which can be related directly to plastic failure, can however induce brittle, tensile, failure due to stress redistribution. While the theories of fracture mechanics and plasticity are well established, their application to rock mechanical problems often leads to unrealistic results. Commonly observed firacture patterns in rock, loaded in compression, are most often not properly reproduced by numerical models for a combination of reasons. Either a model concentrates on the discrete fracturing processes, in which case the plastic deformation processes are ignored, or plasticity is represented, but brittle failure is pooxiy catered for. While theoretically a combination of these models might lead to better representations and simulations, numerical problems do affect all models to a certain extent and a practical solution is not immediately available. The results of numerical models can therefore only be analysed with caution and the underlying assumptions and numerical problems associated with a particular technique need to be appreciated before such results can be interpreted with any sense. Many of the problems are identified here and this may assist researchers in the interpretation of results from numerical simulations. Laboratory experiments, which have been chosen for analyses, involve specimens which have been subjected to compressive stresses and which contain openings from which failure and fracturing is initiated. Such specimens are less subjective to boundary influences and are far more representative of conditions around mining excavations than typical uni- and tri-axial tests. The uniform stress conditions in these latter tests allow boundary effects to dominate the stress concentrations, and thus failure initiation, in the specimens. The large stress gradients, which can be expected to occur around underground excavations, are not reproduced in such specimens. As a consequence failure is not u atained within a particular area, but spreads throughout the complete specimen in the uni- and tri-axial tests. Specimens containing openings are therefore far more likely to reproduce the fracture patterns which can be observed around deep level mining excavations. Numerical simulations of brittle, tensile fracturing around mining excavations resulted in consistent fracture patterns. Fracture patterns could however be strongly influenced by the presence of geological (pre-existing) discontinuities such as bedding planes. Although tensile stresses are often assumed to be absent around deej: