Preliminary investigation into the zone of support influence and stable span between support units.

Abstract

The aim of this project is to formulate a basis for quantifying support mechanisms, and specifically to gain insights into the influence of rock discontinuities on stable spans. The work gives a preliminary analysis of the support interaction with a discontinuous rock mass, and the understanding thereof will ultimately result in an optimized support system design methodology. It is emphasised that, due to the preliminary nature of the work, the support design methodology proposed here is untried in the field. Before its full acceptance, the methodology should be subjected to field trials, and assessed and calibrated under actual rockfall and rockburst conditions. It is highly recommended to conduct further research work focusing on in situ evaluations of the proposed design methodology. This is considered an essential extension to this work.