| The design of bedded footwalls is discussed as a class of rock slope problems where the slope face is excavated parallel to persistent bedding planes: (i) Groundwater pressures in bedded footwall strata are often artesian due to the preferred hydraulic conductivity parallel to bedding. (ii) The peak shear strength of persistent bedding joints is equal to or slightly greater than the ultimate friction angle. There does not appear to be any precedent for using a design peak strength with a dilation angle greater than 3;Rational design of bedded footwalls, incorporating anchor support, for Western Canadian mountain coal mines has proven to be economically beneficial by reducing waste requirements and/or increasing coal release. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
