STUDY ON SLOPE STABILITYAND

DESIGN AT ARDHAGRAM COAL MINE

By,

SHIBASHISH PRADHAN
115MN0544

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

Professor S. JAYANTHU

Department of Mining Engineering

National Institute of Technology
Rourkela-769008.
 Contents
Sl. No. Title Page No

1 Introduction 1-2

Literature Review 3-12

2.1. Types of Slope Failure 4

2.1.1. Plane Failure 4

2
2.1.2. Wedge Failure 4-5

2.1.3. Toppling Failure 5

2.1.4. Circular Failure 5-6

2.2. Ardhagram Coal Mine 6-7

Experiment and Design 8-18

3.1. Standard Proctor Compaction Test 9-11

3.2. Direct Shear Test 12-14

3 3.3. Design 14

3.3.1. FLAC/SLOPE 15-17

3.3.2. Modelling by FLAC/SLOPE 18

4 Project Flow Chart 19

5 Work plan 20

6 Reference 21
 List of Figures
Sl. No. Title Page No.

I Plane Failure 4

II Wedge Failure 5

III Toppling Failure 5

1V Rotational Failure 6

V Mine Plan of Ardhagram Coal Mine 7

VI Graphical Representation of Proctor Compaction Test 11

VII Direct Shear Test Apparatus 12

VIII Graphical Representation of Direct Shear Test 14

IX FLAC/SLOPE Model Stage 16

X FLAC/SLOPE Build Stage 16

XI FLAC/SLOPE Solve Stage 17

XII FLAC/SLOPE Plot Stage 17

XIII Build Stage FLAC/SLOPE Model of Ardhagram Coal Mine 18

XIV Plot Stage FLAC/SLOPE Model of Ardhagram Coal Mine 18

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
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1.INTRODUCTION
Slope failure is one of the biggest concern in the open cast mines in the mining industry.
Monitoring information about the slopes is used for various aspects such as safe and economic
design of excavations, embankments, earth dams, landfills, and spoil heaps, current mining
plan evaluation, designing of future slopes and its safety control. Slope stability evaluations
are concerned with identifying critical geological, material, environmental, and economic
parameters that will affect the project, as well as understanding the nature, magnitude, and
frequency of potential slope problems. When dealing with slopes in general and slope stability
analysis in particular, previous geological and geotechnical experience in an area is valuable.

Proper designing of dump slopes is crucial for its stability but in spite of how well it’s design
is, its susceptible to slope failure because of unidentified geological structures, unexpected
weather conditions, or seismic activities etc. So continuous monitoring of slopes is needed to
ensure stability. Early knowledge of movement zones allows necessary steps to curb the impact
on slope stability. If the failure is unavoidable, then it can be scaled properly. The slope
materials are inherently weak in the mine and generally fail in shear.

The basic objective of the project is primarily addressed towards:

a) Continuous monitoring and collecting relevant data on the concerned slopes.
b) Evaluation of stability of the slopes and help in designing stable slopes. [1]

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
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2.1. Types of slope failure
2.1.1. Plane failure
A rock slope undergoes this mode of failure when combinations of discontinuities in the rock
mass form blocks or wedges within the rock which are free to move. The pattern of the
discontinuities may be comprised of a single discontinuity or a pair of discontinuities that
intersect each other, or a combination of multiple discontinuities that are linked together to
form a failure mode.
A planar failure of rock slope occurs when a mass of rock in a slope slides down along a
relatively planar failure surface. The failure surfaces are usually structural discontinuities such
as bedding planes, faults, joints or the interface between bedrock and an overlying layer of
weathered rock. In case of a plane failure, at least one joint set strike approximately parallel to
the slope strike and dips toward the excavation slope and the joint angle is less than the slope
angle. [1] [2]

Figure I. Plane Failure

2.1.2. Wedge Failure

Wedge failure of rock slope results when rock mass slides along two intersecting
discontinuities, both of which dip out of the cut slope at an oblique angle to the cut face, thus
forming a wedge-shaped block. Wedge failure can occur in rock mass with two or more sets of
discontinuities whose lines of intersection are approximately perpendicular to the strike of the
slope and dip towards the plane of the slope. This mode of failure requires that the dip angle of
at least one joint intersect is greater than the friction angle of the joint surfaces and that the line
of joint intersection intersects the plane of the slope. [1] [2]

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 Figure II. Wedge Failure

2.1.3. Toppling failure

Toppling failures occur when columns of rock, formed by steeply dipping discontinuities in
the rock rotates about an essentially fixed point at or near the base of the slope followed by
slippage between the layers. The centre of gravity of the column or slab must fall outside the
dimension of its base in toppling failure. Jointed rock mass closely spaced and steeply dipping
discontinuity sets that dip away from the slope surface are necessary prerequisites for toppling
failure. The removal of overburden and the confining rock, as is the case in mining excavations,
can result in a partial relief of the constraining stresses within the rock structure, resulting in a
toppling failure. This type of slope failure may be further categorized depend on the mode such
as flexural toppling, block toppling, and block flexural toppling. [1] [2]

Figure III. Toppling Failure

2.1.4 Rotational Failure

In rotational slips the state of the failure surface in segment might be a circular arc or a
noncircular curve. All in all, circular slips are connected with homogeneous soil conditions and
non-circular slips with non-homogeneous conditions. Translational and compound slips
happen where the type of the failure surface is impacted by the nearness of a neighbouring
stratum of fundamentally diverse quality. The sliding of material along a curved surface called
a rotational slide. These are of two sorts: circular and non-circular. Circular shear failures are
affected by the size and the mechanical properties of the particles in the dirt or the rock mass.
This failure can happen in rock structures that show no plane of weakness, and may not be
connected with any hidden basic discontinuity. A circular failure happens when the individual
particles in soil or slope mass are little when contrasted with the span of the slope. [1] [2]

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 Figure IV. Rotational Failure

2.2.Ardhagram Coal Mine

Ardhagram coal mine is located in Bankura District of West Bengal state. It falls between
latitudes23035’30” and23033"20 and longitudes 87o4'37" and 8707'10". The climate of the area
is humid tropical. The average rainfall in the area is about 1200mm which precipitates mostly
during the period from June to October. The stratigraphic sequence is Alluvium & Sandy Soil
(6.60 m) followed by Running sand (49.30m) followed by Micaceous sandstones, grey to
carbonaceous shales & coal seams (more than 700m). There are 22 coal seams. Thickness of
seams varies from 3.37 - 4.08 m ( R-VIIA seam) to 6.35 m (R-VII seam).An O/C mine is
planned followed by excavation by U/G mining. Seams R-VIIA, R- VII and R-VI will be
excavated. Maximum depth is planned to be up to 62.5m(Pit-1) with final pit slope angle = 450.
The working benches of OB and coal will be kept at a slope angle of 70o during operation.
Maximum height of integrated OB dump will be 30 m above surface level (+110m RL). Slope
of individual dump benches will be 370. It is proposed to keep a width of coal and OB benches
as 50 m. Bench height 4.5m for stone benches and 5.2m for coal benches, with bench width
5m. The working benches of OB and coal will be kept at a slope angle of 70o during operation.
Width of berm between two adjacent benches will be 40m.The waste dumps will be provided
with toe wall and garland drain.

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 FIGURE V. MINE PLAN FOR ARDHAGRAM COAL MINE

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CHAPTER 3

EXPERIMENT & DESIGN

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3.Tests Done:

For properties of top soil two types of tests were done.

3.1. Standard Proctor Compaction Test:

THEORY:

In geotechnical engineering, soil compaction is the process in which a stress applied to a soil
causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. It is an
instantaneous process and always takes place in partially saturated soil (three phase system).
The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of experimentally determining the optimal
moisture content at which a given soil type will become densest and achieve its maximum dry
density.

Determination of the relationship between the moisture content and density of soils compacted
in a mould of a given size with a 2.5 kg rammer dropped from a height of 30 cm. the results
obtained from this test will be helpful in increasing the bearing capacity of foundations,
decreasing the undesirable settlement of structures, control undesirable volume changes,
reduction in hydraulic conductivity, Increasing the stability of slopes and so on.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:

1. Proctor mould having a capacity of 989.6 cc with an internal diameter of 10 cm and a height
of 12.6 cm. The mould shall have a detachable collar assembly and a detachable base plate.

2. Rammer: A mechanical operated metal rammer having a 5.08 cm diameter face and a weight
of 2.5 kg. The rammer shall be equipped with a suitable arrangement to control the height of
drop to a free fall of 30 cm.

3. Sample extruder, mixing tools such as mixing pan, spoon, towel, and spatula.

4. A balance of 15 kg capacity, Sensitive balance, Straight edge, Graduated cylinder, Moisture

tins.

PROCEDURE:

1. Take a representative oven-dried sample, approximately 5 kg in the given pan. Thoroughly

mix the sample with sufficient water to dampen it with approximate water content of 4-6 %.

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2. Weigh the proctor mould without base plate and collar. Fix the collar and base plate. Place
the soil in the Proctor mould and compact it in 3 layers giving 25 blows per layer with the 2.5
kg rammer falling through. The blows shall be distributed uniformly over the surface of each
layer.

3. Remove the collar; trim the compacted soil even with the top of mould using a straight edge
and weigh.

4. Divide the weight of the compacted specimen by 944 cc and record the result as the bulk
density.

5. Remove the sample from mould and slice vertically through and obtain a small sample for
water content.

6. Thoroughly break up the remainder of the material until it will pass a no.4 sieve as judged
by the eye. Add water in sufficient amounts to increase the moisture content of the soil sample
by one or two percentage points and repeat the above procedure for each increment of water
added. Continue this series of determination until there is either a decrease or no change in the
wet unit weight of the compacted soil.

Observations:

FIGURE VI. GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF PROCTOR COMPACTION

TEST

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Conclusion:

From the above experiment the maximum dry density was found to be 1.63 g/cc and the water
content at maximum density is 16.5%.

3.2. Direct Shear Test:

Theory

In many engineering problems such as design of foundation, retaining walls, slab bridges,
pipes, sheet piling, the value of the angle of internal friction and cohesion of the soil involved
are required for the design. Direct shear test is used to predict these parameters quickly. The
laboratory report cover the laboratory procedures for determining these values for cohesion
less soils.

Apparatus
1. Direct shear box apparatus
2. Loading frame (motor attached).
3. Dial gauge.
4. Proving ring.
5. Tamper.
6. Straight edge.
7. Balance to weigh up to 200 mg.
8. Aluminium container.
9. Spatula.

FIGURE VII. DIRECT SHEAR TEST APPARATUS

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PROCEDURE

1. Check the inner dimension of the soil container.

2. Put the parts of the soil container together.

3. Calculate the volume of the container. Weigh the container.

4. Place the soil in smooth layers (approximately 10 mm thick). If a dense sample is desired
tamp the soil.

5. Weigh the soil container, the difference of these two is the weight of the soil. Calculate the
density of the soil.

6. Make the surface of the soil plane.

7. Put the upper grating on stone and loading block on top of soil.

8. Measure the thickness of soil specimen.

9. Apply the desired normal load.

10.Remove the shear pin.

11. Attach the dial gauge which measures the change of volume.

12. Record the initial reading of the dial gauge and calibration values.

13. Before proceeding to test check all adjustments to see that there is no connection between
two parts except sand/soil.

14. Start the motor. Take the reading of the shear force and record the reading.

15.Take volume change readings till failure.

16. Add 5 kg normal stress 0.5 kg/cm2 and continue the experiment till failure

17. Record carefully all the readings. Set the dial gauges zero, before starting the experiment.

Observations:

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 FIGURE VIII. GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF DIRECT SHEAR TEST

Conclusion:

From the above experiment it was found that the angle of internal friction of sample was found
to be 28.10 o and cohesion intercept 29.94 KPa.

3.3. Design:

Design of the slope of the mine in the project is being done by FLAC/SLOPE software.

3.3.1. FLAC/SLOPE

FLAC/Slope is a mini-version of FLAC that is designed specifically to perform factor-of-safety

calculations for slope stability analysis. This version is operated entirely from FLAC’s
graphical interface (the GIIC) which provides for rapid creation of models for soil and/or rock
slopes, and solution of their stability condition.

FLAC/Slope provides a full solution of the coupled stress/displacement, equilibrium and

constitutive equations. Given a set of properties, the system is determined to be stable or
unstable. By automatically performing a series of simulations while changing the strength
properties (“shear strength reduction technique”), the factor of safety can be found to
correspond to the point of stability, and the critical failure (slip) surface can be located.

Features

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FLAC/Slope can be applied to a wide variety of conditions to evaluate the stability of slopes
and embankments. Each condition is defined in a separate graphical tool.

1. The creation of the slope boundary geometry allows for rapid generation of linear,
nonlinear and benched slopes and embankments. The Bound tool provides separate
generation modes for both simple slope shapes and more complicated non-linear slope
surfaces. A bitmap or DXF image can also be imported as a background image to assist
boundary creation.

2. Multiple layers of materials can be defined in the model at arbitrary orientations and non-
uniform thicknesses. Layers are defined simply by clicking and dragging the mouse to locate
layer boundaries in the Layers tool.

3. Materials and properties can be specified manually or from a database in the Material tool.
At present, all materials obey either the Mohr-Coulomb or ubiquitous-joint yield model, and
heterogeneous properties can be assigned. Material properties are entered via material dialog
boxes that can be edited and cloned to create multiple materials rapidly.

4. With the Interface tool, a planar or non-planar interface, representing a joint, fault or
weak plane, can be positioned at an arbitrary location and orientation in the model.
5. An Apply tool is used to apply surface loading to the model in the form of either an areal
pressure (surface load) or a point load.

6. A water table can be located at an arbitrary location by using the Water tool; the water
table defines the phreatic surface and pore pressure distribution for incorporation of effective
stresses and the assignment of wet and dry densities in the factor-of-safety calculation.

7. Structural reinforcement, such as soil nails, rock bolts or geo-textiles, can be installed at
any location within the model using the Reinforce tool. Structural properties can be assigned
individually for different elements, or groups of elements, through a Properties dialog. The
reinforcement logic is based upon the cable element formulation in FLAC

8. Selected regions of a FLAC/Slope model can be excluded from the factor-of-safety

calculation. This is useful, for example, when studying complex slope geometries in which
the user wishes to disregard selected regions, such as localized sloughing of the slope along
the slope face.

Analysis Procedure

FLAC/Slope is specifically designed to perform multiple analyses and parametric studies for
slope stability projects. The structure of the program allows different models in a project to
be easily created, stored and accessed for direct comparison of model results. A FLAC/Slope
analysis project is divided into four stages. The modeling-stage toolbars for each stage are
shown and described below.

Models Stage

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 FIGURE IX. FLAC/SLOPE MODEL STAGE

Each model in a project is named and listed in a tabbed bar in the Models stage. This allows
easy access to any model and results in a project. New models can be added to FLAC Version
5.0 the tabbed bar or deleted from it at any time in the project study. Models can also be
restored (loaded) from previous projects and added to the current project. Note that the slope
boundary is also defined for each model at this stage.

Build Stage

FIGURE X. FLAC/SLOPE BUILD STAGE

For a specific model, the slope conditions are defined in the Build stage. These include:
changes to the slope geometry, addition of layers, specification of materials and weak plane
(interface), application of surface loading, positioning of a water table and installation of
reinforcement. Also, spatial regions of the model can be excluded from the factor-of-safety
calculation. The build-stage conditions can be added, deleted and modified at any time during
this stage.

Solve Stage

FIGURE XI. FLAC/SLOPE SOLVE STAGE

In the Solve stage, the factor of safety is calculated. The resolution of the numerical mesh is
selected first (coarse, medium, fine or user-specified), and then the factor-of-safety
calculation is performed. Different strength parameters can be selected for inclusion in the
strength reduction approach to calculate the safety factor. By default, the material cohesion
and friction angle are used.

Plot Stage

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 FIGURE XII. FLAC/SLOPE PLOT STAGE

After the solution is complete, several output selections are available in the Plot stage for
displaying the failure surface and recording the results. Model results are available for
subsequent access and comparison to other models in the project. All models created within
a project, along with their solutions, can be saved, the project files can be easily restored, and
the results viewed at a later time.

3.3.2. Models by FLAC/SLOPE:

FIGURE XIII. BUILD STAGE FLAC/SLOPE MODEL OF ARDHAGRAM COAL

MINE

FIGURE XIV. PLOT STAGE FLAC/SLOPE MODEL OF ARDHAGRAM COAL

MINE

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3.3.3.Effect with change of bench angle:

Bench Angle 650 Bench Angle 67.50

Bench Angle 700 Bench Angle 72.50

Bench Angle 750

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3.3.4. Effect with change of bench height:

Bench Height 6m Bench Height 6.5m

Bench Height 7m Bench Height 7.5m

Bench Height 8m

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3.3.5.Change in factor of safety:
By change of bench angle:

Sl. No. Bench Angle (in degree) Factor of Safety

1 65 1.2

2 67.5 1.03

3 70 1.30

4 72.5 1.57

5 75 0.97

By change of bench height:

Sl. No. Bench Height (in m) Factor of Safety

1 6 0.92

2 6.5 1.22

3 7 1.30

4 7.5 0.94

5 8 0.94

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4. Project Flow Chart

Understanding the
Defining scope of the Collecting all the relevant
concept of slope stability
project. data and information.
and failure

Modelling of dumps
Comparing the model
using various numerical Analysing the stability
with the real time
techniques and softwares through the models.
scenario
(Flac/Slope/Oasys).

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5. Work Plan

7thsemester
Activities/Time August September October November
Period
Literature Review

Sample & data

collection
Analyzing the
data and
information
Experimentation
of samples

8th semester
Activities/Time December January February March April
Period
Literature
Review

Sample & data

collection &
Experimentation
Modelling by
FLAC/SLOPE
Analysis &
Comparing
model
Literature
Review for weak
Strata modelling
Final report

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6. References

1. Pradhan Biswajit, Evaluation of stability of dump slopes in open cast mines, Bachelor Degree
Thesis,2017, Department of Mining Engineering National Institute of Technology Rourkela

2. http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/8303/1/2016_BT_112MN0424_NAbhisek_Assesment.pdf

3. http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/8302/1/2016_BT_112MN0497_AAcharya_Assesment.pdf

4.http://web.mst.edu/~norbert/ge5471/Assignments/Assign%201%20-
%20FLAC%20I/FLAC%20manual/FLAC%20manual/f2d481.pdf

5. https://nptel.ac.in/courses/105103097/45

6. http://research.iitgn.ac.in/stl/lab-manual/Standard%20Proctor%20test_lab%20manual.pdf

7. https://www.itascacg.com/software/flacslope

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