Stability Assessment in wide Underground Mine Openings by

Mathews Stability Graph Method

Choon Sunwoo1, Young-Bok Jung , U.M. Rao Karanam 2
1
2

Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon, Korea, 305-350

Dept. of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharapur, India

ABSTRACT
Stability of underground openings is a major concern for the safety and productivity of mining
operations. Rock mass classifications methods form the basis of many empirical design methods as
well as form a basis for numerical analysis. Of the many factors which influence the stability of
openings, span of the opening for a given rock mass condition forms a single parameter of design. In
this paper, the critical span curves proposed by Lang, the Mathews stability graph method, and the
modified critical span curve obtained by the authors have been assessed. The modified critical span
curve propose by the author has been successfully used to assess the stability of wide underground
openings in several limestone mines.
1. INTRODUCTION
The condition of instability of underground openings is exhibited from the time of occurrence of rock
falls from roof and wall of opening. Rock falls vary in size and amount depending upon the state of
stress condition around opening, distribution of discontinuities, the strength and the condition of rock
mass and finally on the dimensions of the opening. It is often noticed that very few metalliferous
mines adopt systematic design procedures or methodologies. Consequently, unplanned operations
usually end in local roof falls to major catastrophic events. Hence, a rock engineering design
methodology for the design of stable underground openings is therefore essential for safety and
productivity of mine operations. The design methods which are available for assessing the stability of
underground openings have been broadly categorized as empirical methods, analytical methods, and
observational methods. Rock mass classification systems constitute an integral part of empirical mine
design. In more recent years, classification systems have often been used in tandem with analytical
and observational methods. The primary objective of all classification systems is to quantify the
intrinsic properties of the rock mass based on past experience. The second objective is to investigate
how external loading conditions acting on a rock mass influence its stability. An understanding of
these processes can lead to the successful prediction of rock mass behavior for different conditions.
The RMR and Q system have evolved over time to better reflect the perceived influence of various
rock mass factors on excavation stability. However, there have been certain modifications
incorporated into these systems to enhance their applicability to the mining conditions. In the present
investigations it is attempted to assess suitability of a rock mass classification system specific to the
limestone mines. Six underground limestone mines have been identified for the present study and all
the parameters required for estimating RMR and Q values have been measured from 140 locations of
six underground limestone mines. A comparison is drawn between Rock Mass Rating(RMR), and
Rock Mass Quality(Q) for the rock mass conditions prevailing at the mine sites. Since the main

objective of the study was to obtain a critical span design curve for the present set of underground
limestone mines, the stability graph proposed by Mathews was applied

2. STABILITY GRAPH METHOD

The stability graph method for open stope design was initially proposed by Mathews et al.(1981) and
subsequently modified by Potvin(1988) and Nickson(1992) to arrive at the modified stability graph
method. In all instances, stability was qualitatively assessed as either being stable, potentially unstable
or collapses. The modified stability Number N represents the ability of the rock mass to stand up
without support under a given stress condition.
The stability factor N, proposed by Mathews et al.(1981) is calculated as follows
N = Q A B C

(1)

Where, Q = The rock quality index after Barton et al.(1974) with the stress reduction factor(SRF) and
the joint water reduction factor(JW) equal to one as they are accounted for separately within the
analysis.
Factor A - This value is designed to account for the influence of high stresses reducing the rock mass
stability. The value of A is determined by the ratio of the unconfined compressive strength to the
intact rock divided by the maximum induced stress parallel to the opening surface. The value of A is
set to 1.0 if the intact rock strength is 10 or more times the induced stress indicating that high stress is
not a problem. The factor is set to 0.1 if the rock strength is 2 times the induced stress or less
indicating that high stresses significantly reduce the opening stability.
Factor B - This value looks at the influence of the orientation of discontinuities with respect to the
surface analyzed. This factor states that joints oriented at 900 to a surface are not a problem to stability
and a value of 1 is given to the value of B. Discontinuities dipping within 200 to the surface are the
least stable representing structure which can topple within the stope.
Factor C - This value considers the orientation of the surface being analyzed. A value of 8 is assigned
for the design of vertical walls and a value of 2 is given for horizontal backs. This factor reflects the
inherently more stable nature of a vertical wall compared to a horizontal back.
Hydraulic radius accounts for the combined influence of shape and size in a more accurate way
and it requires calculation. In short hydraulic radius or the shape factor(S) is defined as the ratio of the
area to the perimeter of the opening, and is given as

HR( S ) =

W H
2(W + H )

(2)

Where W is the width of the open stope / or the opening

H is the height of the open stope/ or the opening.
The following relationship was used in converting the RMR values to Q. In the stability graph method
the following relationship proposed by Bieniawski(1989) was employed to convert the RMR values to
Q:

RMR = 9 ln Q + 44

(3)

However, for mines considered in the present study the relationship between RMR and Q is as shown
in the Figure 1, and it is given by equation (4).

Basic RMR = 6.3 ln Q + 45.2

(4)

Basic Rock Mass Rating (BRMR)

100
BRMR= 6.3Ln(Q) + 45.2
2

80

R = 0.51

60
Daesung-1

40

P yunghae
Choongm u

20

Daesung-2
Chunglim

0
0.001

Sam sung

0.01

0.1
1
10
Rock Mass Quality (Q)

100

1000

Figure 1. Correlation between rock quality index Q and Basic Rock Mass Rating (B-RMR)

3. CRITICAL SPAN CURVE

The critical span curve is a simple and useful tool that aids in the design of underground openings. The
critical span is defined as the diameter of the largest circle that can be drawn within the boundaries of
the exposed back as viewed in plan. This exposed span is then related to the prevailing rock mass of
the immediate back to arrive at a stability condition. The stability of an excavation, according to
Pakalnis(1988) is classified into three categories(Table 1).
Table 1. Three categories for the stability of an excavation
- No uncontrolled falls of ground
Stable Excavations
- No noticeable movement in the back
- No extraordinary support measure requirement
- Requirement of extra ground support to prevent potential falls
of ground
Potentially Unstable excavations - Movement in the back of 1mm or more within 24 hours.
- Increase in the frequency of popping and cracking indicating
ground movement
- Area has collapsed
Unstable Excavations
- Support was not effective in maintaining stability

Figure 3. Updated critical span curve

Figure 2. Critical span curve for the mines sites

Figure 2 shows the span curve(after Lang et al.,1994) obtained for 6 underground limestone mines.
The database for this graph consisted of 140 points from the six mine sites with the RMR values
ranging between 40 and 70. It is apparent from this curve that almost all the points fall within
potentially unstable and unstable zone. The curve shown in Figure 2 has certain uncertainties since
most of the data points are within the unstable zone. It is shown in the Figure 3 that around 45% of the
openings of the mines considered in the present investigations can remain stable with good support
system, while more than 50% is totally unstable. The modified critical span curve(Figure 4) suggested
by Ouchi(2004) has also been drawn for the limestone mines considered in the present study.
However, the ambiguity regarding the stable condition of the openings remained prevalent.
3

4. EXTENDED MATHEWS STABILITY GRAPH METHOD

The Mathews stability graph encompasses a broad range of open-stoping experience and is essentially
a self-validating model. Nevertheless, the validity and accuracy of the Mathews method depends on
the quality and quantity of the stability data that it contains. The extended Mathews graph is a log-log
plot with linear stable, failure and major failure zones rather than the traditional log-linear format with
multiple curvilinear stability boundaries(Figure 4). The extension of the database has provided a wideranging data-set to which statistical methods can be applied. The strength of the extended Mathews
method lies in the improved stability graph with statistically determined stability zone boundaries and
iso-probability contours. The first step is the use of Mathews stability graph is to determine the
stability number N, and shape factor S, using the equation (1) and (2) respectively. The value of stress
factor A is taken in the present case as 1.0 since the ratio of the compressive strength/induced strength
is around 20 for all the case sets. Similarly, the value of joint orientation factor B is taken as 0.4 since
the orientation of the joints with respect to the direction of the opening are between 600 and 450.
Finally the value of surface orientation factor C is between 1 2 based on the orientation of roof
surface. According to the modified Mathews stability graph method, certain locations of Samsung,
Daesung-II, and Pyunghae mines are with the failure zone and the stability of these points can be
improved following a suitable support system. A similar graph(Figure 5) has been obtained by
modifying the critical span curve to suit to the limestone mines of present case history. A linear
regression analysis was used to get statistically a best fit line for the data points obtained in the field.
The dark line in the Figure 5 represents the best fit line and it satisfies the stability condition given by
the equation (5).

W = 0.3 ( Basic RMR)

(5)

Where W is the safe unsupported span for the rock mass conditions in the underground limestone
mines of the case study.
Although the stability zones can be defined statistically, a number of case histories in the present
analysis have been placed in the unstable zone. This is to be expected, given the inherent variability of
rock mass data that can be somewhat subjective. In order to include the locations of ambiguity, points
within the 10% confidence interval from the mean have been considered. The dotted line, for the
present set of data points, forms the upper-bound line of a stability zone. Any point outside the upperbound line is most unstable opening and the openings within the dotted lines though are stable with a
suitable mechanical support system.

Figure 4. Extended Mathews stability graph Figure 5. Modified critical span curve for the
based on logistic regression
limestone mines considered in the present study
The shape and size of the open stope is one of the key factors that affect its stability. The
application of various methods of structural analysis for the stability of the stopes, for a given rock
quality, depends principally on its geometry. Hence, for a given rock quality, the stability of a stope is
set by its dimensions(that is, height, width and the length of the stope). For the extraction of an orebody, the openings are determined by the ore-body shape and the chosen mining method. Most of the
classification systems define stability with respect to a single value of the span. This is because the
4

database is essentially from tunnels where the long span can be assumed to be infinite and in which the
short span (width) is critical. In mine openings the long dimensions are reduced by virtue of pillars
and thus the stability increases. However, for a safe unsupported span of a stope, it is essential to
estimate the limiting safe height of the opening. In order to ascertain the limiting height of an opening
for a stable width, RMR has been correlated with the shape factor(S) of the underground locations
(Figure 6) and from the linear regression analysis the best fit line obtained is given by the following
relationship.

S = 0.02 ( RMR) + 1.5

(6)

The RMR values for the limestone mines of the case study are lying between the lowest of 40 and the
highest of 70. From the graph it can be stated that the shape factor of an opening varies with the RMR
values. For a lower RMR value of 40 the value of S is less than 2.5 and similarly for RMR value of 70,
S is less than or equal to 3. For a measured value of RMR, using the equation (5) and (6) it is possible
to estimate the limiting height of the stope for the limestone mines of the case study. Table 2 is an
example of the measured and computed dimensions of locations in Samsung limestone mine
Table 2. The measured and computed dimensions of locations in Samsung limestone mine (All the
locations are assessed as unstable)
Measured
Measured
Shape
Computed
Computed
Site
RMR
Width (m)
Height (m)
Factor (S)
Width (m)
Height (m)
P-62-1
15.5
7.6
53
2.56
15.9
7.55
P-21
15.3
8.5
49
2.45
143.7
7.49
P-82
15.6
7
45
2.40
13.5
7.45
P-61
15
7.5
50
2.50
15.0
7.50
P-131
15.7
7
53
2.56
15.9
7.55
P-184
15
5.5
44
2.38
13.2
7.44
The Langs critical span curve, though is a very simple design curve, has not given any
satisfactory assessment of stability of openings under present investigation. The data collected in the
present investigation indicated that the lowest RMR value at which the roof fall has been noticed was
40 and the measured width was 12m. Similarly, on the higher range of RMR that is at RMR 65 the
unstable opening had a dimension of 18m. Therefore a line passing through these limiting points has
established a modified critical span curve for the mines considered in the present analysis (Figure 7).
The dotted lines represents the potentially unstable zone, where with suitable support system, the
openings may likely be made to stand stable. However, the points beyond the dotted lines are totally
unstable. This assessment though seemed empirical, was found suiting as a simple to use design curve
for the construction of underground openings in the limestone mines in Korea of a similar rock mass
condition.

Figure 7. Modified critical span curve

Figure 6. Correlation between Rock Mass Rating
representing the datasets of the mines sites of the
(RMR) and shape factor(S)
present investigation

5. CONCLUSIONS
The critical span curves proposed by Lang(1994) as well as the modified curve suggested by Ouchi et
al.(2004) did not give good assessment of the stability of the underground limestone mine opening of
the mines sites considered in the present study. However, a satisfactory assessment is obtained using
the modified critical span curve as well as the modified Mathews stability graph. The relationship
between RMR and the unsupported span and stability factor gave reasonably good correlations for the
limestone mines considered in the present investigation. The critical width as well as the limiting
height at which the openings are stable, calculated using the linear equations obtained by the statistical
regression analysis, gave a comparable results with those measured in the field. A modified Langs
critical span curve is found to be a easy to use chart for the 6 limestone mines. However the stability
assessment is more dependent on the quality of data and since the evaluation of RMR and Q still
adopts subjective methods, care must be taken not to promote over-confidence in the final results of
stability assessment without realizing the nature of the data and the relative importance of the location.
Empirical methods therefore can best be used as precursors of the stability assessment.
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