Numerical simulation of problems of great deformation in rock masses and its application in mining

Abstract

The design of a salt working requires detailed studies of the chambers and galleries which will remain opened during the operation. The excavation of the cavity changes the natural distribution of tensions, and the resulting derived cause the flow of salt towards the cavity. The relation between the diverting tensions and the velocity of the associated deformation is defined by a constitutive law depending on temperature. There are a series of computer programs which solve the equations of the thermic and mechanical phenomena, which are used to produce results to compare and combine with the measurements gathered in the mine. So it is a study of the rheologic behavior of a salt material in a visco-elasto-plastic performance, representing such performances by means of programs of numerical simulation based on procedures of finite differences with integration in time.