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A New Methodology for Open Pit Slope Design in Karst-Prone Ground Conditions Based on Integrated Stochastic-Limit Equilibrium Analysis

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Abstract

Using the Chengmenshan Copper Mine as a case study, a new methodology for open pit slope design in karst-prone ground conditions is presented based on integrated stochastic-limit equilibrium analysis. The numerical modeling and optimization design procedure contain a collection of drill core data, karst cave stochastic model generation, SLIDE simulation and bisection method optimization. Borehole investigations are performed, and the statistical result shows that the length of the karst cave fits a negative exponential distribution model, but the length of carbonatite does not exactly follow any standard distribution. The inverse transform method and acceptance–rejection method are used to reproduce the length of the karst cave and carbonatite, respectively. A code for karst cave stochastic model generation, named KCSMG, is developed. The stability of the rock slope with the karst cave stochastic model is analyzed by combining the KCSMG code and the SLIDE program. This approach is then applied to study the effect of the karst cave on the stability of the open pit slope, and a procedure to optimize the open pit slope angle is presented.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the China National Natural Science Foundation (Project No. 51274249, 51174228), the Personal Training Project of Yunnan Province (Project No. KKSY201504049), the Scholarship Award for Excellent Doctoral Student Granted by Ministry of Education of China, the State Scholarship Fund from the China Scholarship Council (Project No. 201306370135) and the Doctoral Program Foundation of Higher Education of China (Project No. 20120162110009). The authors would like to express their gratitude to Mr. Shaobin Zhou, Mr. Liangjin Huang and Mr. Zhenping Yuan of Chengmenshan Copper Mine for their kind assistance throughout the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electric Power Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650504, China

    Ke Zhang

  2. School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Ke Zhang, Ping Cao, Wenchen Fan, Jingjing Meng & Kaihui Li

  3. School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia

    Ke Zhang & Guowei Ma

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  1. Ke Zhang
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  2. Ping Cao
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  3. Guowei Ma
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  4. Wenchen Fan
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  5. Jingjing Meng
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  6. Kaihui Li
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Correspondence to Ke Zhang.

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Zhang, K., Cao, P., Ma, G. et al. A New Methodology for Open Pit Slope Design in Karst-Prone Ground Conditions Based on Integrated Stochastic-Limit Equilibrium Analysis. Rock Mech Rock Eng 49, 2737–2752 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0924-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0924-1

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