Practical implementation of an anisotropic rock mass strength model for rock slope stability analysis

As mine pit slope become higher, the implications of accurately predicted slope angles becomes greater for worker safety, environmental impact and economics. Over the past decade, data analysis and computational methods have resulted in significant research developments in this area. Utilizing these some of thee methods requires a high level of field data and large computational resources. For many projects, this may not be warranted or available. This project will study the state-of-the-art approaches and develop a practical workflow implementation that captures the most important features of current research findings. In addition, this study will explore some of the research gaps, such as scale effects and spatial variability, and include these within the analysis tools to provide a holistic analysis approach consistent with geological observations.

Faculty Supervisor:

Andrew Corkum

Student:

Ryan Ziebarth

Partner:

BGC Engineering Inc

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University