What can

I model
using RS
3
?
We are ofen asked about the
modeling capabilites of RS
3
, and
whether or not the program can
model certain situatons.
This artcle addresses many of
your RS
3
modeling questons, and
demonstrates the wide range of
complex models that can be cre-
ated, focusing on civil and mining
applicatons.
Sequenced stope
modeling
Circular shaf in
oblique strata
Topography with
stope mining
Topography with
tunnel
Dam
Raf with piles
Open pit slope
stability
Tunnel with two
headings
Twin tunnels with
diagonal staircase

Prepared for Spring 2014

issue of RocNews



Sequenced Stope Model

You can easily model stope mining in RS
3
. We have prepared a brief tutorial to illustrate a
simple drift mining and backfill sequence. Note that with the powerful meshing capabilities in
RS
3
, you can easily customize the mesh for individual volumes (see the Mesh Customization in
RS
3
Developers Tip from a previous RocNews for details).

The Simplified Mining Sequence Tutorial walks you through the modeling and results viewing
for a sample drift mine.

3D view of excavated drift with ore and backfill



Total displacements on an excavated volume



Circular Shaft in Oblique Strata

Even though models in RS
3
are created by extruding 2D slices, you are still able to capture a lot
of detail in the models.

Here weve modeled a circular shaft in an oblique material, both in the vertical and horizontal
modes. The circular shaft has a diameter of 2.5m, and a length of 50m.

Models


Extruded in horizontal direction


Extruded in vertical direction




Displacement Results on a Horizontal Contour and Line Query

The figures below compare the total displacement results on a contour near the bottom of the
shaft.


Extruded in horizontal direction



Extruded in vertical direction








Comparison of total displacements along query lines
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
D
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

A
l
o
n
g

Q
u
e
r
y

(
m
)
Total Displacement (x10
-3
m)
Total Displacement Along Query
Horizontal Mode
Vertical Mode


Excavation Contours

The excavation contours for the two models are also quite similar.















Excavation contours
(left: vertical extrusion; middle: horizontal extrusion, front view; right: horizontal extrusion, side view)




Terrain with Stope Mining

Here weve added some simple terrain to the stope mine shown above, illustrating that
multiple model details can be captured in RS
3
.












Top and 3D view of model









Side view of model


Dam
This model illustrates the type of detail you can get by increasing the number of slices. The dam
model below was constructed with approximately 130 slices.

Dam model


Total displacement contours







Z-direction displacement contours




Raft with Piles
In a previous RocNews we talked about piled raft modeling in RS
3
(see Modeling Foundations in
RS
3
). In that article we looked at the following models:
- Vertically loaded pile in clay
- Piled raft foundation in sand (with different configurations of piles)
- Piled raft foundation in multiple material strata
Here well look at a piled raft foundation for a building.


Piled raft foundation model


Total displacement contours (two user-defined query planes)



Open Pit and Slope Stability (Manual SSR)
RS
3
can be used to model slope stability in open pit mines. The simplified full-scale open pit
model below was used to examine the effect of the three-dimensional geometry on wall
stability.

Open pit mesh

Contours of total displacement at SRF=2.5


Tunnel with Two Headings
This model took approximately 15 minutes to build and run, and demonstrates the utility of the
Sequence Designer. The modeling steps were as follows:
1. Import tunnel geometry (as excavation boundary). The tunnel could also be defined
within the program.
2. Add external boundary.
3. Define Heading boundaries.
4. Use the Sequence Designer to specify the excavation sequence.
5. Assign material properties.
6. Assign restraints (underground auto-restraint option)
7. Mesh model (kept default settings)
8. Compute and view results
Tunnel model


















Total displacement contours
(left: exterior contours, query plane; right: excavation contour)















Twin Tunnels with Diagonal Tunnels
This model was done in the horizontal mode, and again demonstrates that the complexity of
the model can be increased by increasing the number of slices. In the figure below, notice that
the slice density is much higher in the area of the diagonal tunnels.

Model geometry



Total displacement contours