Developing a MatLab code for determine geometry of rock mass blocks and its applications in mining and rock mechanic engineering

Abstract

Various geological processes such as tectonic activities develop fractures and discontinuities in the rock mass body; these, in turn, form blocks with different shapes and sizes in the rock mass body. Accurate understanding of these blocks' geometry is essential in different domains of rock and mine engineering such as determination of yield in quarries, optimization of fragmentation energy, the design of blasting pattern, block stability in slopes and underground spaces and the prediction of dilution potential in caving methods exploitation. Because of costly operation and uncertainties in the measurement of fractures and discontinuities properties in 3D, 2D simple models are recommended. So far, all investigations have been focused on the problem of finding primary blocks analytically and mathematically, but these problem applications have been neglected slightly. This paper introduces a MATLAB code for geometry determination of rock mass blocks in two dimensional spaces and investigates the applications of it.

Keywords

• Rock mass geometry
• Block size distribution
• MatLab code
• Quarry yield
• Fragmentation
• Blocks stability