Investigation of the Hydromechanical Effects of Lithostatic Unloading in Open-pit Mines

Abstract

The stability of open-pit mine walls and other geotechnical infrastructure is a function of geometry, material properties and groundwater conditions (pore pressure distribution). A portion of failures are attributed to the effect of pore water pressures within the mine wall slopes. The objective of this research was to investigate the interaction between the increments/decrements of stresses that occur during the lithostatic unloading/excavation of the pit and the increments/decrements of pore water pressures. This interaction can be described by the theory of linear poroelasticity, which incorporates the coupling between changes in fluid pressure and changes in stress in porous media. The results of this thesis are displayed in the form of contour charts and graphs.