DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, LAHORE

MINE 415 Strata Control

7th Semester Mining Engineering

Assignment 2
th
(Deadline before 11:59 pm on December 4 2017)

1. Using Kirsch equations, determine the distance from the circular tunnel center (r/a) at
which the failure of the opening becomes negligible (5% greater than the in situ stress).
You may present the answer graphically for a range of K value 1 to 4.
2. What are the major factors influencing the development of high compressive stress
around an excavation?
3. In a situation where K factor is quite low (less than 1), what would be the main stability
concern in the design of an excavation? Explain with a numerical example.
4. What are the limitations of the analytical methods in terms of analyzing the stability of
mine openings?
5. Estimate the roof and sidewall stresses around a horizontal elliptical opening that is 8
m wide and 4m high, subjected to in situ stresses of 30 MPa in the x direction and 20
MPa in the y-direction.
6. Estimate the vertical stress halfway between two circular tunnels of 4 m and 10 m in
diameter, situated 1000 m below ground surface. The distance between the tunnel
centres is 15 m. Where and how much is the maximum vertical stress. Assume k=1 and
rockmass specific gravity of 3.