Date of Publication :27th April 2023

Abstract: The slope monitoring program has now become a mandatory campaign for open pit mines around the world to operate safely. Utilizing various slope monitoring instruments and strategies, miners are now able to deliver precise decisions in mitigating the risk of slope failures which can be catastrophic. Currently, the most sophisticated slope monitoring technology available is the Slope Stability Radar (SSR) which can measure wall deformation with submillimeter accuracy. The slope movement historical data that SSR collects can be analysed to better understand slope deformation behaviour which, due to the geological complexity that each site possesses, will vary distinctively. Experience shows that this information will be highly beneficial in determining site-specific variables such as setting up alarm thresholds. In this paper, a total of 73 back analyses are carried out over the study period from which the slope-behaviour-defining parameters (e.g., deformation sequence, velocity, inverse velocity) are defined. The Anderson-Darling fitting test is then applied to each parameter and the sample mean values obtained are then used to illustrate an empirical model of slope deformation behaviour describing each of deformation sequence leading to slope failure. The result shows that there are three consecutive slope movement sequences developed namely linear, progressive, and failure-to-post-failure. The fitting test reveals that each deformation sequence possesses variables with different distribution patterns and sample mean values. Additionally, a fitting test for coherence, a data attribute unique to SSR, is also given. Ultimately, comparison with actual data suggests that the sample mean of each parameter seems to represent very well.

Reference :