Patent Document ID: 8224631
Application ID: 12543220
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of designing supports for an underground mine opening comprising the steps of: (a) receiving mine opening information including at least one of site location, entry length, entry grade, entry orientation, size of opening, surface topology, adjacent borehole data and rock mechanics test data, historical roof fall height, and expected steel set support capacity; (b) conducting stress and geological condition evaluation of the mine opening using a finite element computer modeling program based on the mine opening information; (c) designing structural supports for the mine opening utilizing the stress and geological condition evaluation of the mine opening; (d) determining at least one of a Strata Weakness Indication Factor (SWIF), a Roof Stability Factor (RSF), and a Tensile Safety Factor (TSF), wherein the SWIF is defined as the ratio of in-situ original distortional energy scalar of rock before excavation to the distortional energy scalar after excavation under overburden and geological conditions, wherein the RSF is defined as the ratio of shear strength generated by normal confinement, cohesion, and angle of internal friction, to actual maximum shear stress at a mid-span of the mine opening immediate roof, and wherein the TSF is defined as a ratio of tensile strength of rock strata to horizontal stress at a specified location; (e) identifying potentially weak zones of rock strata or potentially unstable section of the roof strata or potentially unstable sections of rock strata along the mine opening, wherein a comparatively larger SWIF indicates the potentially weak zone of the rock strata, wherein a comparatively lower RSF indicates the potentially unstable section of the roof strata, and wherein a comparatively lower TSF indicates the potentially unstable sections of the rock strata; and (f) modifying the design of the structural supports based on the potential weak zones of the rock strata or potentially unstable section of the roof strata or potentially unstable sections of the rock strata.