Large-scale dynamic testing of ground support systems at the Walenstadt testing facility

Authors: Brändle, R; Luis Fonseca, R; von Rickenbach, G; Fischer, G; Vallejos, JA; Marambio, E; Burgos, L; Cuello, D Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2205_10

Cite As:
Brändle, R, Luis Fonseca, R, von Rickenbach, G, Fischer, G, Vallejos, JA, Marambio, E, Burgos, L & Cuello, D 2022, 'Large-scale dynamic testing of ground support systems at the Walenstadt testing facility', in Y Potvin (ed.), Caving 2022: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Block and Sublevel Caving, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 177-190, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2205_10



Abstract:
Ground support systems must provide safe and effective designs for underground excavations under high stress conditions. These systems must be capable to resist dynamic impacts and yielding during the loading process. In this context dynamic testing of the reinforcement and retaining elements that compose the ground support system are required to study and improve the behaviour of these elements under dynamic load events. During the last years, Geobrugg has been working on the improvement of retaining products by testing them in a large-scale impact test facility located at Walenstadt, Switzerland. The test facility is composed of a double level platform with a square-shaped pyramidal trunk geometry, the upper level houses a loading mass that drops from a height up to 5 m. The loading mass is guided by one central steel pipe, and the impact occurs in the sample to be tested, which is located at the lower level in a slab with an area of 3.6 m × 3.6 m. This is where the ground support system is installed. During the last few years, this innovative facility has been used to test several configurations of ground support systems. The results of these tests have enabled the authors to improve the understating of the behaviour of ground support systems under dynamic loads. In this manuscript, the arrangement, measurement, results, and the preliminary analysis of large-scale dynamic tests of two ground support systems performed in 2019 and 2021, supported by the Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC – University of Chile), are presented.

Keywords: ground support, high stress conditions, rockburst, dynamic testing, underground excavations

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