From the earliest days of mining until the middle of the 20th

century timber was the standard supporting medium due to its

abundant availability and attractive strength and the load-
deformation characteristics.

The load-deformation characteristics of wood make it a

suitable material for mine support purposes .Wood is rarely used
as a main form of tunnel support in the majority of modern mines
in developed countries standing steel sets and rock bolts are the
most commonly applied forms of support in such mining
excavation.

Wood is rarely as main form of tunnel support in the majority of

modern mines in develop countries . Standing steel sets and rock
bolts are the most commonly applied forms of support in such
mining excavations.

Design Methods
Mechanics can be defined as that branch of science
which deals with motion and in general any mechanics problem
can be analysed in terms of two distinct concepts:

(1)A difference in medium property between two points and

usually referred to as the driving potential.
 (2)The movement or flow of that medium, between the two
points under the action of the driving potential until the driving
potential return to zero and a state of equilibrium is
established.

There are three distinct approaches to arriving at solutions to rock

and soil mechanics problems and these have been utilized in the
design of tunnel linings, namely:

(1) ANALYTICAL METHODS:

In engineering mechanics, analysis consists of resolving a
problem into its simplest element, representing the problem by
tractable equation and then solving them.
Lining type Field of application
(1)Natural support in rock 1.limited to competent rock in low in situ
stress conditions
2.commonly adopted in several metalliferous
and evaporate deposit mining conditions
(2)Rock reinforcement 1.mechanical anchor bolts applied in hard rock mining
conditions
2.full column bonded bolts used in weaker rock
conditions to promote stability
Operational features
1.rare in UK coal mines although used in some
shaft bottom locations
2.in some hard rock mines, mesh is installed
using rock bolts to prevent detachment of
slabs
1.large range of bolt types has been
developed to cater for a wide range
of mining problems
2.often used in conjunction with
meshing and/or shotcrete in friable
roof conditions

(3)steel sets 1.rigid and yielding versions have been successfully
employed
2.suited to advance long wall mining where rock
bolt applications have not been feasible
1.adaptable to wide range of opening
profiles
2.support sys behavior depends on
ancillary items such as connecting plates,
struts
(4)concrete supports 1.benefits from stability induced 1.its can cause repair work difficulties if they fail, due to their
by the shaft pillar large mass and physical size
2.easily adapted to large cross- 2.highly dependent on the standard of backfilling for correct
sections operation

(5) shotcrete 1.shotcrete used in mining as a temporary support 1.shotcrete has found limited use in
if required and to control rock mass deterioration mining due to scheduling difficulties with
by sealing from the mine the air large numbers of working areas

(2)COMPUTATIONAL OR NUMERICAL METHODS:

As stated, the assumptions made in formulating an analytical
solution are in general, far too simple to allow it to retain a degree
of relationship to the problem in question.

In general there are two main classes of numerical solutions to

boundary value problems such as that of a support being placed
in a tunnel:
(a)Differential methods (b)Integral methods

(2)EMPIRICAL METHOD:
An empirical design method is essentially one that is based on in
situ observations or measurement made on models from the
prototype rock.

Empirical design method as it Is very often used to reproduce

effects in the laboratory which have been observed in situ.

Remedial measures can be devised and also assessed using the

same technique.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
It's of importance that a designer recognizes the purpose of a
support in a given tunneling situation so as to apply the
appropriate criteria to its design . it may be that the type and size
of a support is governed by non-geotechnical considerations or
that the experience of the designer leads him to prefer a
particular support in a given situation .