This electronic brochure highlights our capabilities and activities in the area of Geotechnical and Mining Engineering Services. Please sign our guestbook. For additional information, e-mail Dr. Asadul H. Chowdhury, Southwest Research Institute.

Geotechnical and Mining Engineering Services 

As an independent nonprofit research and development organization, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI®) uses a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to solving complex problems in science and applied technology.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides effective solutions to a broad range of geotechnical and mining engineering problems. Experienced SwRI members use state-of-the-art computer, laboratory, and field study equipment to solve diverse scientific and engineering problems related to surface and underground structure stability.

The Institute has developed an international reputation for its expertise in the following technologies:

  • Physical and earth sciences
  • Material sciences and engineering
  • Hazard and risk assessment
  • Environmental science and engineering
  • Regulatory interpretation, implementation and compliance demonstration

The Institute’s comprehensive services address geotechnical and mining industry needs in areas such as:

  • Numerical modeling
  • Site investigations
  • Laboratory testing
  • Reliability analyses
  • Borehole stability assessment

Numerical Modeling

The Institute develops and applies numerical modeling codes for solving a variety of geotechnical and mining engineering problems. Staff members have also modified available codes to meet client needs in:

  • Underground and surface structural stability assessment (for example, longwall chain and yield pillars and entry; multiple seam mining optimization; and surface slope) using continuum, discontinuum, and particle flow methods
  • Earthquake and rock burst stability determination
  • Support systems design and analysis including rock bolts, lining, and shotcrete
  • Rock and soil-structure interaction
  • Earthquake ground response analysis
  • Failure zone and progression estimation
SwRI staff have experience applying numerical modeling to the design analysis of Transformer Hall and Machine Hall in an underground cavern.

 

 

Unsupported underground excavations may be unstable when subjected to mine seismic events or high stresses.   Underground excavations may be stabilized using rockbolts.   Underground excavations may also be stabilized using shotcrete.

SwRI engineers assess the effectiveness of ground supports under complex ground conditions using numerical models.

Site Investigation

The Institute conducts comprehensive field studies to characterize sites and evaluate effects of mining-induced seismicity on underground excavation stability. SwRI field experience includes a wide range of investigations and assessments, including the following:

  • Instability prediction and monitoring under earthquake loads
  • Underground pillar and entry stress and deformation measurements
  • Support systems (including rock bolt, lining, shotcrete, and soil nailings) design and effectiveness assessment
  • Rockburst and mine seismicity monitoring and investigation
  • Damage zone estimation, monitoring and propagation assessments
  • Slope stability monitoring and assessment under gravity, hydrological, and earthquake loads
  • Surface subsidence measurements and assessments
  • Soil and rock mass classification and characterization
  • Rock fracture geometry surveying and fracture network simulation
  • Blasting-induced structural damage assessment
  • Hydrological response assessment

SwRI engineers are developing a methodology for early warning of rockburst potential.

Institute staff members extensively instrumented sites to aid the design of an underground hydropower facility.

Laboratory Testing

To understand rock and soil behavior under a variety of conditions, SwRI engineers determine physical and mechanical properties through a battery of laboratory tests. These test results contribute to the design, structural modeling, and stability assessments of mines, shafts, tunnels, and various underground storage structures. Using methods approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials and the International Society for Rock Mechanics, SwRI performs laboratory tests on rock specimens and joints, soils and granular materials, and scale models of openings in jointed rock masses. Laboratory testing services include:

  • Direct shear tests of large rock fractures and soil specimens
  • Small-scale physical model tests of underground and surface structures under static and dynamic loads
  • Specialized laboratory testing, including damage assessment of underground excavations under repetitive seismic loads
  • Shear and creep tests
  • Uniaxial and triaxial compression tests for rock strength, modulus, shear wave velocity, and compressive wave velocity measurements
  • Surface profile measurement and roughness characterization

  

SwRI engineers studied the effects of mine seismicity on the stability of underground excavations.   An Institute laboratory experiment measures the deformation around an underground excavation subject to an earthquake ground motion.

SwRI has extensive laboratory testing capabilities to evaluate potential problems in the field.

Laboratory Facilities

As an internationally recognized multidisciplinary research and development organization, SwRI has extensive laboratory facilities. The Institute has innovative and state-of-the-art facilities for performing a variety of geotechnical and geological evaluations including:

  • Environmentally controlled scale-model evaluation
  • Rock sample preparation and physical testing
  • Rock strength, modulus, and shear and compressive wave velocity measurements

Experienced SwRI engineers design and build specialized test equipment, such as this device for large-scale dynamic shear tests of natural rock fractures under earthquake loads.

A triaxial test cell enables engineers to determine a rock matrix failure envelope under various environments including pore-pressure and heated conditions. The test cell also measures the shear and compressive wave velocities of rocks undergoing progressive damage.

Reliability Analyses

The Institute conducts comprehensive reliability analyses on a variety of geological and support structures, including

  • Soil and rock slope
  • Tunnel reliability
  • Support systems

Institute engineers assess the reliability of a slope considering uncertainties related to slope geometry, material and fracture properties, and watertable location.

Borehole Stability Assessment

The oil and gas industry is striving to reduce drilling-related costs and downtime and to enhance well production by controlling potential borehole stability and sanding problems. SwRI engineers conduct numerical analyses to identify potential borehole failure mechanisms and to provide cost-effective solutions. SwRI provides a variety of drilling and borehole-related service support including:

  • Borehole stability estimation considering presence of weak zones, fractures, and variation of material properties
  • Mud weight estimation while drilling
  • Potential caving analysis
  • Drill performance estimation
  • Potential sand formation
  • Material properties investigation
  • Wave propagation analysis

Using advanced numerical modeling, SwRI engineers assess potential borehole breakout mechanism and recommend methods of preventing or reducing the severity of breakouts.

 
This brochure was published in March 2006. For more information about geotechnical and mining engineering services, contact Dr. Asadul H. Chowdhury, Manager, Geosciences and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, Phone (210) 522-5151, Fax (210) 522-6081.

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