Discontinuity survey and brittle fracture characterisation in open pit slopes using photogrammetry

Authors: Tuckey, Z; Paul, J; Price, J

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1604_39_Tuckey

Cite As:
Tuckey, Z, Paul, J & Price, J 2016, 'Discontinuity survey and brittle fracture characterisation in open pit slopes using photogrammetry', in PM Dight (ed.), APSSIM 2016: Proceedings of the First Asia Pacific Slope Stability in Mining Conference, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 587-600, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1604_39_Tuckey

Download citation as:   ris   bibtex   endnote   text   Zotero


Abstract:
Remote sensing techniques, such as ground-based photogrammetry and LiDAR, have become routine supplements to traditional rock mass characterisation approaches, greatly enhancing discontinuity survey capability. Concurrently, discrete fracture network simulations, constructed using field discontinuity mapping and borehole logging data, are increasingly being applied to advanced numerical modelling studies of rock slope stability, leading to improved understanding of progressive slope failure involving brittle fracture initiation, propagation, and coalescence. Despite continuing technological advances, predictive modelling of rock slope stability is still limited by our inability to observe the hidden interior structure of a rock mass, and by computational limitations restricting the explicit simulation of small scale material heterogeneity and localisation phenomena inherent to brittle fracture. This paper presents discontinuity mapping observations from a photogrammetry investigation of an Australian open pit mine, with emphasis on the influence of survey scale and resolution on discontinuity characterisation. We also discuss the application of fractography principles to interpretation of brittle rock mass damage, focussing on characterisation of irregular brittle fractures induced by blasting, and on incipient discontinuities which retain cohesion and tensile strength from intact rock bridges. Based on the results, we make recommendations for improving photogrammetry-based discontinuity mapping procedures in order to improve collection of both quantitative data on discontinuity persistence and intensity, and also qualitative characterisation of rock mass damage in open pit slopes.

References:
Almeida, LCR, Vargas Jr, E.do A & de Figueiredo, RP 2006, ‘Mechanical characterization of rock splitting planes in granitic rocks’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, vol. 43, pp. 1139–1145.
Alzo'ubi, AM 2009, ‘The effect of tensile strength on the stability of rock slopes’, PhD thesis, University of Alberta.
Ameen, MS 1995, Fractography: fracture topography as a tool in fracture mechanics and stress analysis, Geological Society, Special publication, London, no. 92, pp. 1–10.
Baecher, GB & Lanney, NA 1978, ‘Trace Length Biases in Joint Surveys’, in Proceedings of the 19th US Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS), Reno, Nevada, vol. 1, pp. 56–65.
Bahat, D, Rabinovitch, A & Frid, V 2005, Tensile Fracturing in Rocks: Tectonofractographic and Electromagnetic Radiation Methods, Springer, Berlin, p. 569.
Bjerrum, L 1967, ‘Progressive failure in slopes of overconsolidated plastic clay and clay shales’, Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation Division, ASCE, vol. 93, SM5, pp. 1–49.
Brideau, MA, Yan, M & Stead, D 2009, ‘The role of tectonic damage and brittle rock fracture in the development of large rock slope failures’, Geomorphology, vol. 103, pp. 30–49.
Eberhardt, E 1998, ‘Brittle Rock Fracture and Progressive Damage in Uniaxial Compression’, PhD dissertation, University of Saskatchewan.
Elmo, D, Liu, Y & Rogers, S 2014, ‘Principals of discrete fracture network modelling for geotechnical applications’, in D Kennard, D Stead, E Eberhardt & D Elmo (eds), in Proceedings of the First International Conference on Discrete Fracture Network Engineering, Vancouver.
Etchells, SJ, Sellers, EJ & Furtney, J 2013, ‘Understanding the blast damage mechanisms in slopes using observations and numerical modelling’, in PM Dight (ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Slope Stability in Open Pit Mining and Civil Engineering, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1359–1372.
Fekete, S, Diederichs, M & Lato, M 2010, ‘Geotechnical and operational applications for 3-dimensional laser scanning in drill and blast tunnels’, Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, vol. 25, pp. 614–628.
Franz, J 2009, ‘An investigation of combined failure mechanisms in large scale open pit slopes’, PhD thesis, University of New South Wales.
Gudmundsson, A 2011, Rock Fractures in Geological Processes, Cambridge University Press, New York, p. 591.
Hadjigeorgiou, J, Lemy, F, Cote, P & Maldague, X 2003, ‘An evaluation of image algorithms for constructing discontinuity trace maps’, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, vol. 36(2), pp. 163–179.
Hagan, TN, McIntyre, JS & Boyd, GL 1978, ‘The influence of blasting in mine stability’, in CO Brawner & IP Dorling (eds), Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Coal Mine Stability, Vancouver, pp. 95–122.
Hammah, RE, Yacoub, T, Corkum, B & Curran, JH 2008, ‘The practical modelling of discontinuous rock masses with finite element analysis’, in Proceedings of the 42nd U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium, San Fransciso, p. 8.
Hencher, S 2014, ‘Characterising discontinuities in naturally fractured outcrop analogues and rock core: The need to consider fracture development over geological time’, Geological Society Special Publication, vol. 374, pp. 113–123.
Hencher, S 2015, Practical Rock Mechanics, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 378.
Hencher, SR & Knipe, R 2007, ‘Development of rock joints with time and consequences for engineering’, in L Ribeiro e Sousa, C Olalla & N Grossman (eds.), Proceedings of the 11th Congress of the International Society for Rock Mechanics, Lisbon, vol. 1, pp. 223–226.
Hoek, E & Karzulovic, A 2000, ‘Rock mass properties for surface mines’, in WA Hustralid, MK McCarter & DJA van Zyl (eds), Slope Stability in Surface Mining, Littleton, Colorado, Society for Mining, Metallurgical and Exploration (SME), pp. 59–70.
ISRM (International Society for Rock Mechanics) 1978, ‘Commission on standardization of laboratory and field tests: Suggested methods for the quantitative description of discontinuities in rock masses’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences & Geomechanics Abstracts, vol. 15(6), pp. 319–368.
Lato, M & Vöge, M 2012, ‘Automated mapping of rock discontinuities in 3D lidar and photogrammetry models’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, vol. 54, pp. 150–158.
Lato, M, Diederichs, M, Hutchinson, J & Harrap, R 2009, ‘Optimization of LiDAR scanning and processing for automated structural evaluation of discontinuities in rockmasses’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, vol. 46, pp. 194–199.
Lato, M, Diederichs, M, Hutchinson, J & Harrap, R 2012, ‘Evaluating roadside rockmasses for rockfall hazards using LiDAR data: optimising data collection and processing protocols’, Natural Hazards, vol. 60, pp. 831–864.
Lemy, F & Hadjigeorgiou, J 2003, ‘Discontinuity trace map construction using photographs of rock exposures’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, vol. 40, pp. 903–917.
Lorig, L, Stacey, P & Read, J 2009, ‘Slope Design Methods’, in J Read & P Stacey (eds), Guidelines for open pit slope design, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, p. 510.
Mandl, G 2005, Rock Joints: The Mechanical Genesis, Springer, p. 222.
Mas Ivars, D, Pierce, ME, Darcel, C, Reyes-Montes, J, Potyondy, DO, Young, RP & Cundall, P 2011, ‘The synthetic rock mass approach for jointed rock mass modelling’, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, vol. 48, pp. 219–244.
Ortega, O, Marrett, RA & Laubach, S 2006, ‘A scale-independent approach to fracture intensity and average spacing measurement’, AAPG Bulletin, vol. 90(2), pp. 193–208.
Patton, FD 1966, ‘Multiple modes of shear failure in rock’, in Proceeding of the 1st Congress of International Society of Rock Mechanics, Lisbon, vol. 1, pp. 509–513.
Priest, SD 1993, Discontinuity Analysis for Rock Engineering, Chapman & Hall, London, p. 473.
Rocscience 2015, Phase2 version 8.024 64-bit, build date March 4, 2015.
Shang, J, Hencher, SR & West, LJ 2015, ‘Tensile strength of incipient rock discontinuities’, in W Schubert & A Kluckner (eds), Proceedings of the SRM Regional Symposium EUROCK 2015 & 64th Geomechanics Colloquium, Salzburg.
Stead, D & Eberhardt, E 2013, ‘Understanding the mechanics of large landslides’, in International Conference on Vajont, Padova, Italy, Italian Journal of Engineering Geology and Environment - Book Series (6), pp. 85–112.
Stead, D & Wolter, A 2015, ‘A critical review of rock slope failure mechanisms: the importance of structural geology’, Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 74, pp. 1–23.
Sturzenegger, M & Stead, D 2009, ‘Close-range terrestrial digital photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning for discontinuity characterization on rock cuts’, Engineering Geology, vol. 106, pp. 163–182.
Terzaghi, RD 1965, ‘Sources of error in joint surveys’, Geotechnique, vol. 15, pp. 287–304.
Wolter, A 2014, ‘Characterisation of Large Catastrophic Landslides using an Integrated Field, Remote Sensing, and Numerical Modelling Approach’, PhD thesis, Simon Fraser University.
Wolter, A, Stead, D & Clague, J 2014, ‘A morphologic characterisation of the 1963 Vajont Slide, Italy, using long-range terrestrial photogrammetry’, Geomorphology, vol. 206, pp. 147–167.
Ziegler, M 2014, ‘Age and formation mechanisms of exfoliation joints in the Aar Granites of the central Alps (Grimsel region, Switzerland)’, PhD dissertation, ETH Zurich.




© Copyright 2024, Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), The University of Western Australia. All rights reserved.
View copyright/legal information
Please direct any queries or error reports to repository-acg@uwa.edu.au