ABSTRACT
This paper describes a study of a sylvinite rock mass using the Mohr-Coulomb criterion with an empirical Norton-based combined time hardening creep law. Parameters for empirical creep law were obtained in a series of back-simulations, using field monitoring data from deep potash mine drifts. Following the statistical processing, normal distribution of the primary creep parameter and lognormal distribution of the secondary creep parameter were established. The distributions of these parameters were used to generate two-dimensional auto correlated random fields for stochastic analysis of deep vertical mine shaft by 3 cases: a concrete lining; a concrete lining with a “squeezable” foam layer; no lining. The practical application of this modeling approach made it possible to estimate the expected value of non-uniform mine shafts contour deformations. Analysis shows the unreliability of using a thick “squeezable” (foam) layer for shafts with depths of more than 1000 m.
