Numerical modeling of safety factor evaluation associated with the dredging and quarry mining techniques in northeast Bangladesh

  • Authors

    • Md. Rafiqul Islam Assistant Professor, Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
    • Mohammed Omar Faruque Assistant Professor, Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
    • Abu Toyob Shahid
    • Iqbal Hossain
    • Abdullah Al Masum
    2015-08-16
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v3i2.4867
  • Dredging and Quarry Mining Methods, Numerical Modeling, Safety Factor Analysis.
  • This article describes the numerical modeling to investigate the safety factor of the quarry and dredging mining methods in the Volagonj area of Sylhet district in northeast Bangladesh. Two kinds of numerical models (A and B) are presented here. Both models consist of a single zone that includes gravelly sand deposits with some fine silt and clay. The zone also bears homogeneous rock/soil physical characteristics. Model A assumes safety factor of dredging mining method with variable slope angles and water column height of 40 m. Model B assumes safety factor of the quarry mining method associated with variable slope angles, where water column of the riverbed has not been considered. The numerical modeling results reveal that the safety factor of the model A ranges from 1.56 to 1.04. The safety factor ranges from 1.32 to 0.81 for model B. The calculated safety factor of the Volagonj rock quarry implies that the slope angle should not be greater than 70o for the dredging mining method. Because the critical safety factor values are 1.07 and 1.04 associated with slope angles 75o and 80o, respectively. For the case of the quarry mining, the appropriate slope angle also should not be greater than 60o.

  • References

    1. [1] Daftaribesheli A, Ataei M, Sereshki F 2011. Assessment of rock slope stability using the Fuzzy Slope Mass Rating (FSMR) system. Applied Soft Computing, 2011, 11: 4465–4473. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2011.08.032.

      [2] Islam MR. Faruque MO 2013a. Optimization of Slope Angle and Its Seismic Stability: A Case Study for the Proposed Open Pit Coalmine in Phulbari, NW Bangladesh. Journal of Mountain Science, 2013, 10(6): 976–986. DOI: 10.1007/s11629-012-2483-6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11629-012-2483-6.

      [3] Islam MR, Faruque MO 2013b. Seismic slope stability of the Tipaimukh Dam of north-eastern India: A numerical modeling approach. Earth Sciences, 2013, 2(3):73-87. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20130203.12 http://dx.doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20130203.12.

      [4] Koloski JW, Schwarz SD, Tubbs DW 1989. Geotechnical Properties of Geologic Materials, Engineering Geology in Washington, Volume 1, Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Bulletin, 1989. 78.

      [5] Kulatilake PHSW, Wang L, Tang H, Liang Y 2011. Evaluation of rock slope stability for Yujian River dam site by kinematic and block theory analyses. Computers and Geotechnics, 2011, 38: 846–860. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2011.05.004.

      [6] Ning YJ, an XM, Ma GW 2011. Footwall slope stability analysis with the numerical manifold method. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, 2011, 48:964–975. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2011.06.011.

      [7] Stead D, Eberhardt E. 1997. Developments in the analysis of footwall slopes in surface coal mining. Engineering Geology, 1997, 46:41-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0013-7952(96)00084-1.

      [8] Stead D. Eberhardt E, Coggan JS 2006. Developments in the characterization of complex rock slope deformation and failure using numerical modelling techniques. Engineering Geology 2006; 83: 217– 235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2005.06.033.

      [9] Wyllie DC, Mah CW 2005. Rock Slope Engineering, Civil and Mining. Spon Press, 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, 2005. p. 109-151.

      [10] Zhang LL, Zhang J, Zhang LM, Tang WH 2010. Back analysis of slope failure with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. Computers and Geotechnics, 2010, 37:905–912. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.07.009.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Islam, M. R., Omar Faruque, M., Shahid, A. T., Hossain, I., & Al Masum, A. (2015). Numerical modeling of safety factor evaluation associated with the dredging and quarry mining techniques in northeast Bangladesh. International Journal of Advanced Geosciences, 3(2), 30-37. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijag.v3i2.4867