The use of R programming languages for geotechnical data processing and visualization: Techniques to manage geotechnical data for a post-closure tailings storage facility

Authors: Sun, Y; Kalm, H; Hsiao, E; Crouse, PE Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2315_044

Cite As:
Sun, Y, Kalm, H, Hsiao, E & Crouse, PE 2023, 'The use of R programming languages for geotechnical data processing and visualization: Techniques to manage geotechnical data for a post-closure tailings storage facility', in B Abbasi, J Parshley, A Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2023: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2315_044



Abstract:
Mine closure requires regular updates of the site-specific knowledge base of the facility. Effective processing and visualization of the data acquired in tailings storage facilities (TSF) are vital in mine closure data management to ensure that all relevant information is evaluated. Digital geotechnical data can be stored and presented in systems such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Although GIS is a powerful tool for record keeping and spatial data visualization, it usually requires significant initial efforts to integrate the data into GIS. This study presents an alternative technique using R language to sort and present the digital data. A hypothetical TSF will be used to demonstrate the workflow that includes specifying the suitable data formats, pre-processing the data to check for inconsistencies, loading the data into the R scripts, extracting the relevant data columns for the desired calculations, performing the calculations, interpreting the results, and exporting the results. R language has a comprehensive library that provides a wide selection of statistics and graphics packages that makes the data analysis and visualization flexible. For the data visualization, this study will demonstrate several examples to display the geotechnical data in a one-dimensional drilling log that documented soil properties at one spot, a two-dimensional subsurface cross-section can be used to delineate subsurface layering, and a three-dimensional model that can be used to identify potential areas of concern. The choice of data processing and visualization techniques will depend on the specific geotechnical data being analyzed and the questions being asked. It is often useful to use a combination of techniques to get a comprehensive understanding of the subsurface conditions at a site. The techniques discussed in this study have been demonstrated to be a process that is flexible to expand and apply to knowledge bases of other mine closure disciplines.

Keywords: geotech data analysis; data visualization; mine closure knowledge base; CPT data processing

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