Evaluation of Open Pit Mine Slope Stability Analysis

590
International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 04, No. 04, August 2011, pp. 590-600
#02040703 Copyright 2011 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of Open Pit Mine Slope Stability Analysis

DHANANJAI VERMA
1
, RAHUL THAREJA
2
, ASHUTOSH KAINTHOLA
1
and T. N. SINGH
1
1
Dept of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India-400076
2
Dept of Mining Engineering, Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi,
India-221005
Email: ashuddn@live.com, geodhananjai@gmail.com, tnsingh@iitb.ac.in,
rahulthareja@hotmail.com

Abstract: The issues concerned with slope stability in the open cast mines have come to
forefront in the mining operations due to increasing pit depth. The cut slope stability has the
most prominent influence in the productivity and longevity of a mine, collapse of which can
lead enormous damages to man and machinery. It is always considered as economic burden
to mine production. A comprehensive study is necessitated to ensure stable slopes which
are aided by numerical, analytical, physical, kinematic and empirical analyses. In the
present study four cut slopes from a coal mine in Wardha Valley Coal field have been
analyzed using empirical and kinematic tools. The study has involved the classification and
prediction the probable failure mode of the slope mass using slope mass rating and
kinematic analysis. The analysis results have matched well with the field observations and
can help to protect the slope and ensure the safety for better productivity.

Keywords: Slope Stability, SMR, RQD, Kinematic Analysis, Wardha valley

Introduction:

Open cast mines call for the excavation of
the earth surface to reach the underlying
minerals of economic utility. The excavation
process requires cut slopes to be formed on
an earlier plain earth surface. Stability of the
cut slopes is crucial for the safe and
economical mining operations. The slope
stability is governed by the local geological
and geo-technical characteristics of the
slope forming mass and the prevailing
ground water conditions (Singh et al. 1998;
Singh et al. 1999). The design of the open
pit mine slopes is a deciding factor for
efficient exploitation of underground
minerals as well as for the safety of the
mine and the mineworkers which control the
economics of the operations. The ever
increasing pit depths and production
requirements from opencast mines subject
the design engineers and planners to work
under the constraints of two conflicting
requirements of stability and production.
Economics could be improved by steepening
the slope thereby reducing the amount of
waste excavation on the other side,
excessive steepening of slope could result in
failure leading to loss of life and damage to
property (Singh et al. 1989; Singh and
Singh, 1992). This scenario poses a big
question as to how to achieve an optimum
design - a compromise between a slope that
is flat enough to be safe and steep enough
to be economically acceptable. The
consequences of a slope failure could be
quite serious in terms of safety and
economics and are governed by the location
and extent of failure. Hence, the design of
the steepest slope with desired stability asks
for a detailed and reliable geotechnical
investigation. The factors, which mainly
influence the stability of a typical opencast
slope, are the shear strength parameters of
slope forming material, the presence and
characteristics of structural discontinuities in
the slope mass and the ground water
conditions (Singh and Monjezi, 2000; Singh
et al. 2008). There have been quite a
number of researchers who have proposed
the characterization of the rock mass
distinguishing them on the basis of strength
but there always persists a certain degree of
uncertainty while acquiring the field data for
designing a slope leading to erroneous rock
mass characterisation.

Rock Mass Classification Schemes:

Various researchers have proposed different
type of rock mass classification systems,
591
DHANANJAI VERMA, RAHUL THAREJA, ASHUTOSH KAINTHOLA
and T. N. SINGH
which find numerous applications in various
aspects of rock mechanics. Bieniawski
(1974) introduced the rock mass rating
(RMR). The RMR-system incorporates six
parameters, whose values are added to
obtain a total RMR rating to characterise a
rock mass. After 1974, the classification has
undergone several changes and it is
important to state which version of the
system is used Hoek-Brown (Hoek and
Brown, 1988). The rock mass strength
(RMS) classification (Stille et al. 1982) is a
modification of the RMR-system. The sum of
the parameters and the rating reduction
with respect to joints set is the RMS-value
for the rock mass. The Rock Quality
Designation index (RQD) was developed by
Deere (Deere et al. 1967) to provide a
quantitative estimate of rock mass quality
from drill core logs. This is also estimated
through indirectly on the number of
fractures and amount of softening or
alteration in the rock mass as observed in
the rock cores from a drill hole. The
geological strength index (GSI) was
introduced as a complement to their
generalised rock failure criterion (Hoek et al.
1995) which are in turn, used when
estimating the parameters "s, "a and "m
b

in the Hoek-Brown criterion, using empirical
equations. The GSI-system was introduced
to overcome the deficiencies in RMR for very
poor quality rock masses. The original GSI-
table has been subject to several minor
revisions, as well as additions to classify,
particularly weak and soil-like rock masses
(Hoek et al. 2002). The aim of present study
is to assess and evaluate the condition of
slope of Wardha Valley Coalfield (WVC). The
mine is infested with problems related to
slope stability owing to the low strength
slope forming material, its heterogeneity,
anisotropy and the discontinuity guided
failures. The problem of stability is more
aggravated due to presence of Wardha
River/ Ground water and incessant burning
of the coal in some pits. The Slope stability
problem of the cut slopes in the area calls
for a detailed geotechnical investigation for
the scientific and systematic mitigation.
There are number of approaches to assess
the behaviour of slope using different
modelling methods like limit equilibrium,
analytical and kinematic tools, physical and
numerical models as well as intelligent
models. The economic and safe design can
be achieved by a systematic approach like
Slope Mass Rating (SMR) (Romana, 1985).
It is used to assess the health of the slope
and is one of the most accepted, versatile
and widely used tool. This tool provides
quick assessment about the behaviour of
slope at a given site. The aim of the present
paper is identifying potentially hazardous
rock cut slopes using the slope mass rating
(SMR) approach in open cast coal mine of
Wardha Valley Coal Field (WVC) Nagpur,
India.

Slope Mass Rating:

Slope Mass Rating is a modified RMR system
for slope, developed by Romana (1985).
SMR is a useful rating tool for evaluation of
slope instability risk based on slope face
relation with geological discontinuities.
SMR = RMR - (F1.F2.F3) + F4
The adjustment rating of joints is the
product of three factors:
F1 depends upon the parallelism between
joints and slope face strike. It ranges from
1.0 to 0.15. The values are empirically
established by the formula:
F1 = (1 - Sin A)
2
Where A =Angle between the strike slope
face and joints.
F2 refers to the joint dip angle in the planar
mode of failure. Its values range from 1.00
to 0.15. The empirically established formula
is F2 = tan
2
Bj
Where Bj = joint dip angle. F3 indicates to
the relationship between slope face and joint
dip. In planar mode of failure, F3 refers to
the probability of joints daylighting on the
slope face. Condition is favourable when
slope face and joints are parallel and
unfavourable when slope dips 10 degree
more than joints. F4 - Adjustment factor for
method of excavation has been fixed
empirically and are follows Natural slope =
+15, Presplitting = +10, Smooth blasting =
+8, Normal blasting = 0, Deficient blasting
= -8 and Mechanical excavation = 0.
According to the SMR values, Romana
(1985) defined five stability classes. They
are described in Table 1.
592 Evaluation of Open Pit Mine Slope Stability Analysis

Table 1: Stability Classes as per SMR Values (Romana, 1985)

Class V IV III II I
SMR
Values
0-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100
Rock
mass
description
Very bad Bad Normal Good Very good
Stability
Completely
unstable
Unstable Partial stable Stable
Completely
stable
Failures
Big planar
or soil like
or circular
failure
Planar or big
wedges
Planar along
Some joints and
Many wedge
failure
Some
block
failure
No failure
Probability
of Failure
0.9 0.6 0.4 0.2 0

Study Area:

Wardha Valley Coalfield (WVC) is a NW-SE
elongated structural basin with its coal
bearing seams spreading over an area of
800 sq km along a length of 116 km
situated towards the south of the city of
Nagpur in the central region of India (Figure
1).The slope forming materials in these
mines mainly consists of variable soil, shales
and sandstones as overburden followed by a
composite of coal seam of 15-21 m
thickness. The Wardha River forms a major
drainage system of the area and flows from
NW to SE along the central part of WVC. The
study mainly focused on the Ghugus open
cast coal mine. The Ghugus open cast mine
lies exactly East of the Wardha River The
depth of open cast mine at present is around
95-100m. Some coal seams are submerged
in water throughout the year, particularly the
lower benches. WCL has taken on strip
mining method for Ghugus and the other
mines. At present, they are operating on the
11th cut of mine and going down further
along the dip of the seam. Four locations
have been selected for the present study for
the assessment of the slope stability.

Methodology:

A geological and geotechnical study was
record out to observe the geological data
viz. discontinuities present in the rock mass,
bedding planes, slope geometry and the
hydro-geological conditions. Rock samples
were collected from four different slope
locations in the study area to determine the
various geo-mechanical properties in
laboratory.

Figure 1: Study Area and Sample Collecting
Location of different Coalmines (Jhanwar &.
Thote, 2011)
The aim of the study is to characterize the
rock mass forming the slope. The rock
samples collected from the field include
different types of Sandstones, Coal, Shaley
Coal and Shale. Uniaxial Compressive
Strength (UCS) of the samples was
determined by loading the NX sized core
samples using Universal Testing Machine
(UTM) (ISRM, 1978, 1981).
593
and T. N. SINGH
Table 2: Uniaxial Compressive Strength of
the Rock Samples

Sl.
No.
Rock
Type
UCS
(MPa)
GSI
1 Sandstone 20-Oct 35-50
2 Shale 15-Jun 25-35
3
Shaley
Coal
13-Aug 35-40
4 Coal 9.5-15 30-45

GSI values were also tabulated from the
field with help of GSI chart given by Hoek
and Brown (1998) and adjusted from Hoek
1994). The resultant value of UCS and GSI
are given in Table 2. The Rock Quality
Designation (RQD) was obtained from the
volumetric joint count (JV) (Palmstrom,
1982).

Four locations were selected for recording of
field data which is described below:

Location 1:

Location 1 has beds of Shaley coal and shale,
which have three set of joints named as J
1,
J
2
and J
3
(Figure 2)
.
Bedding plane and the slope
are dipping

in the same direction i.e. west,
but inclination of slope is considerably more.
The discontinuity data has been tabulated
with their adjustment factors for different
joint conditions in Table 3(a,b).

Figure 2: Field View of Location 1 with Marked Joint Set.

Table 3a: Orientation of Discontinuities and Slopes (Location 1)

Joint Strike Dip angle Dip direction
J
1
N 330 80 ENE
J
2
N 175 55 W
J
3
N 250 55 SE
Slope N 180 55 W
Bedding plane N 20 8 W

Table 3b: Adjustment Factor for different Discontinuities (Location 1)

Conditions F
1
F
2
F
3
F
1
* F
2
* F
3

J
1
and slope 0.15 1.0 50 7.5
J
2
and slope 1.0 1.0 25 25
J
3
and slope 0.65 1.0 25 16.25

*Normal Blasting and Mechanical Excavation is the Case so F
4
= 0.
Location 2:

Location 2 has layers of shale and
Sandstone, with two prominent joint set
marked as J
1
and J
2
(Figure 3)
.
Bedding plane
and the slope orientation are similar to
Location 1. The rock mass is highly
weathered. The discontinuity data has been
tabulated with their adjustment factors for
different joint conditions in Table 4(a, b).


J
1
N 180 30 W
J
2
N 185 60 W
Slope N 180 45 W


Conditions F
1
F
2
F
3
F
1
* F
2
* F
3

J
1
and slope 1.0 0.57 25 14.25
J
2
and slope 1.0 1.0 60 60.0

4
= 0.

Figure 3: Field View of Location 2 with Marked Joint Set and Highly Weathered Rock Mass.

Location 3:

The slope in location 3 is composed of shale
and Sandstone, which have three sets of
joints marked as J
1,
J
2
and J
3
(Figure 4)
.
This
slope is steeply inclined as compared to
Location 1 and 2 and J
2
and J
3
are forming a
wedge. The discontinuity data has been

595
and T. N. SINGH

Figure 4: Field View of Location 3 with Broken Rock Mass.


J
1
N 10 81 W
J
2
N 100 60 SSW
J
3
N 50 70 NW
Slope N 180 60 W


Conditions F
1
F
2
F
3
F
1
* F
2
* F
3

J
1
and slope 0.15 1.0 50 7.5
J
2
and slope 0.70 1.0 6 4.2
J
3
and slope 0.85 1.0 25 21.25

4
= 0.

Location 4:

Shaley coal, Shale and Sandstone form the
slope in this location which is traversed by
two sets of joint marked as J
1,
J
2
and J
3
(Figure 5)
.
Bedding plane and the slope are
dipping

in the same direction, but the slope in
this location is steeper as compared to
location 3. The strata are highly weathered
which indicates continuous spalling due to
the presence of vertical joints which have
less spacing as compared to the inclined
joints. The discontinuity data has been


Figure 5: Field View of Location 4 with Vertical Joints.


J
1
N 45 75 SE
J
2
N 10 90 -
Slope N 180 70 W


Conditions F
1
F
2
F
3
F
1
* F
2
* F
3

J
1
and slope 0.75 1.0 25 18.75
J
2
and slope 0.55 1.0 50 27.5

4
= 0.

Analysis of Slope:

Rock mass characterization is another tool
to classify the slope particularly in mines.
SMR is the most common classification
scheme, which is frequently used by
different researchers for the stability
analyses of cut slopes in various mines
(Jhanwar et al. 2010; Pradhan et al. 2011;
Singh et al. 2011). Slope Mass Rating is
main tool to understand the rock mass
behaviour of slopes in surface mines, which
always poses serious problems due to
increase in depth and slope angle. Due to
the presence of various geological
complexities, the problem of stability is
more aggravated. Singh et al (2011) have
corroborated the results of numerical
simulations with the SMR value and matched
the results well with the field condition. In
the present study, all the locations have
different joint density with the bedding
planes having a dip slope. RMR weightage
and subsequently its SMR value is given in
Table 7. SMR ratings for Locations 1 and 3
fall under the SMR class III, which is
described as 'normal' rock mass and is
partially stable with a 0.4, probability of
failure. Figures 2 & 4 clearly indicate that
the possible failure mode is planer and
wedge type. Locations 2 and 4 are falling
under the SMR class IV, which is considered
to have 'bad' rock. The stability of this slope
face is observed as unstable and chances of
failure are planer and toppling with a 0.6,
probability of failure.
597
and T. N. SINGH

Table 7: RMR, RQD and SMR Values of different Locations

Parameters Location 1 Location 2 Location 3 Location 4
UCS in MPa
(Rating)
10-15
2
13-16
2
14-19
2
12-16
2
RQD from JV
(Rating)
30-45
8
25-40
8
40-55
13
30-50
8
Spacing of
discontinuities
in cm
(Rating)
40-90

15
40-100

15
20-40

10
15-40

10
Conditions of
discontinuities

(Rating)
Rough surfaces
slightly
weathered
25
Slightly rough
surface highly
weathered
20
Rough surface
slightly
weathered
25
Slightly rough
surface highly
weathered
20
Ground Water
condition
(Rating)
Dry

15
Dry

15
Dry

15
Damp

10
RMR basic 65 60 65 50
F
1
0.60 1.0 0.57 0.65
F
2
1.0 0.78 1.0 1.0
F
3
33.33 42.5 27.0 37.5
F
4
0 0 0 0
F
1
* F
2
* F
3
19.99 33.15 15.39 24.37
SMR Value 45.01 26.85 49.61 25.63
SMR Class III IV III IV
Rock Mass
Description
Normal Bad Normal Bad
Stability Partially stable Unstable
Partially
stable
Unstable
Failure
Planar along
some joint and
many wedges
Planar or big
wedges

Planar along
some joint
and many
wedges
Planar or big
wedges

Probability of
Failure
0.4 0.6 0.4 0.6

Kinematic Analysis of Slopes:

Kinematic slope stability analysis was
carried out using the Stereonet plots. It is
an easy tool to analyse the planar and
wedge failures in the rock slopes. The
structural data is geometrically plotted in an
equal area net to establish the mode and
probability of failure. At location 1,
intersected by three joint set present, shows
the possibility of wedge failures as indicated
by the plot (Figure 6 a). Joint set, J
3,
which
are parallel to the slope and forms a critical
failure plane. The results are supported by
the field observation of that particular
location (Figure 2). At location 2, there are
two joint set, which is running parallel to the
slope face. The J
2
has a steeper dip as
compared to J
1
which results in day lighting
on the slope face (Figure 3). There is chance
of planer failure due to the presence of J
2

(Figure 6 b).


Figure 6: Equal Area Stereonet Plot of all Location A) Location 1, B) Location 2.

At location 3, there are three set of joint
present, which are forming a wedge
between the slope face and joint sets J
2
& J
3

(Figure 7a) . As J
1
is steeply inclined to the
slope, there is a likelihood of a toppling
failure (Figure 4). At location 4, there are
two set of joints present. J
1
is steeply
inclined with the slope face (Figure 5) and
the probable failure mode would be toppling
as similar to location 3, whereas J
2
is
represented as vertical joint (Figure 7b).
The slope face in Location 4 is slightly
steeper than the all above locations. Here,
the joint have almost a similar strike, with
variation in dip amount.

Figure 7: Equal Area Stereonet Plot of all Location A) Location 3, B) Location 4.

Conclusion:

In the present study four vulnerable
locations were examined using a slope mass
rating classification scheme which were
further investigated through kinematic
analysis. The maximum three joint sets
were observed at a particular location. The
slopes in the studied locations have same
strike direction with slight variation in their
inclination towards west. The bedding has a
599
and T. N. SINGH
dip slope towards west gently inclined at an
angle between 6 to 8. The SMR study of
different locations indicates that the rock
mass are partially stable to unstable with
probability of failure 0.4 to 0.6 (SMR class
III to IV), which is further confirmed by
kinematic analysis. The failure is of wedge,
toppling and planer mode which is matching
with field investigations and observations.
For long term stability and its sustainability,
the slope requires immediate attention to
prevent and mitigate chances of failure in
order to enhance the productivity of the
mine. The similar approach should be
adapted to other virgin areas prior to the
beginning of the excavation to understand
the mode and mechanism of probable
failures.

Acknowledgment:

The authors would like to thank the
management of WCL, India, for their
cooperation and support during the field
work. The views expressed in the article are
those of the author and are not necessarily
any organization or institution.

References:

[1]Bieniawski, Z.T. (1974) Geomechanics
classification of rock masses and its
application in failure tunnelling. In: Proc.
of the 3rd Int. Congress on Rock Mech.
Denver, pp. 27-32.
[2]Bieniawski, Z.T. (1989) Engineering Rock
Mass Classification: A Manual. Wiley,
New York, pp. 205-219.
[3]Deere, D.U., Hendron, A.J., Patton, F.D.
and Cording, E.J. (1967) Design of
surface and near surface construction in
rock. In Failure and breakage of rock,
proc. 8th U.S. Symp. Rock Mech., (ed. C.
Fairhurst), pp. 237-302.
[4]Singh, A. and Connolly, M. (2003)
VRFSR - An Empirical Method for
Determining Volcanic Rock Excavation
Safety on Construction Sites, Jr. of the
Inst. of Eng. (India), V. 84 (3), pp. 176-
191.
[5]Hoek, E. and Brown, E.T. (1998)
Practical estimates of rock mass
strength, Int. Jr. of Rock Mech. & Min
Sci., V.34, pp. 1165-1186.
[6]Hoek, E. and Brown, E.T. (1988) The
Hoek-Brown failure criterion - a 1988
update. In: Proc. of 15th Canadian. Rock
Mech. Sym., University of Toronto, pp.
31-38.
[7]Hoek, E., Carranza-Torres, C. and
Corkum, B. (2002) Hoek-Brown failure
criterion - 2002 ed. In: Proc. of the 5th
North Am. Rock Mech. Symp., 17th
Tunnelling Association of Canada Conf.:
NARMS-TAC, University of Toronto, pp.
267-271.
[8]Hoek, E., Kaiser, P.K. and Bawden, W.F.
(1995) Support of underground
excavations in hard rock. A.A. Balkema,
Rotterdam Brookfield.
[9]Hoek, E. (1994) Strength of rock and
rock masses. ISRM News Jr., V. 2, pp.
4-16.
[10]ISRM (1978) Suggested method for
determining sound velocity, Int. Jr. of
Rock Mech.& Min Sci., Geomech
Abstract, V.15, pp. A100.
[11]ISRM (1981) Commission on
classification of rocks and rock masses.
Int. Jr. Rock Mech. &Min., Abstract,
V.18, pp. 85-110.
[12]Jhanwar, J.C. and Barsagade, D.S.
(2010) Design of ultimate pit slopes for
open cast Limestone mines working
under the construction of surface
structure- A case study, Min. Eng. Jr.,
V. 11, pp. 19-27
[13]Jhanwar, J. C. and Thote, N. R. (2011)
Slope Failures in the Opencast Coal
Mines of Wardha Valley Coalfield in
Central India: A Study, Rock Mech. &
Rock Eng., DOI 10.1007/s00603-011-
0139-4
[14]Palmstrom, A. (1982) The volumetric
joint count - A useful and simple
measure of the degree of rock mass
jointing. In Proc. 4th Conf. Int. Assoc.
Eng. Geol., V. 5, pp. 221-228.
[15]Pradhan, S.P. Vishal, V., Singh, T.N. (
2011) Slope mass rating for evaluation
of health of slope in an open cast mine
in Jharia coalfield, India, Min. Eng. Jr.,
V. 12 (10), 36-40
[16]Romana, M. (1985) New adjustment
ratings for application of Bieniawaski
classification to slopes, Int. Symp. on
the role of Rock Mech., ISRM.
Zacatecas, pp. 49-53.
[17]Singh, P.K., Singh, T.N. and Singh, D.
P. (1998) A Study of the Effect of Fault
Plane on Slope Stability of Opencast
Mine by Equivalent Material-Modelling,
MINETECH, pp. 37-44.
[18]Singh, T.N., Ulabhaje A. and Singh, D.
P. (1989) Planning of Slope Stability in
an Opencast Mine- A Model Approach,
National Seminar on Surface Mining,
Dhanbad edited by the Ind. Min. and
Eng. Jr., pp. 5.2.1-5.2.10.
[19]Singh, T.N. and Singh, D. P. (1992)
Slope Stability Study in an Opencast
Mine Over Previously Worked Seam,
Int. Symp. Rock Slope, New Delhi, pp.
467-477.
[20]Singh, T.N., Kumar, S. and Singh, D. P.
(1999) Analysis of Toppling failure in
Sandstone Quarry of Mizoram, Inst. of
Eng. (Mining), pp. 16-19.
[21]Singh, T.N. and Monjezi, M. (2000)
Slope Stability Study in Jointed
Rockmass - A Numerical Approach, Min.
Eng. Jr., V.1(10), pp. 12-13.
[22]Singh, T.N., Gulati, A., Dontha, L. and
Bhardwaj, V. (2008) Evaluating cut
slope failure by Numerical Analysis - A
Case Study, Natural Hazards, V.47, pp.
263-279.
[23]Singh, T. N., S. P. Pradhan and V.
Vishal, 2011. Stability of slopes in a
fire-prone mine in Jharia Coalfield,
India, Arab Jr. Geosci. DOI
10.1007/s12517-011-0341-4
[24]Stille, H., Groth, T. and Fredriksson, A.
(1982) FEM-analysis of rock mechanical
problems with JOBFEM, Stiftelsen
Bergteknisk Forskning - BeFo,
Stockholm, Report no. 307, 1/82.

Evaluation of Open Pit Mine Slope Stability Analysis

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Evaluation of Open Pit Mine Slope Stability Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

590

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

You might also like