Consideration of Rock Mass Violent Failure Mechanisms around Underground Excavations

The research presented in this Thesis develops a methodology to assess a violent failure mechanism and the associated risks for underground excavations through the following steps: - Literature review and experimental investigations of precursor rock behaviour leading to the strain-burst damage mechanisms, - Identification of factors affecting the severity of a violent failure, and - Quantification of the potential risk of violent failures through implementation (and validation) in numerical simulations. Throughout investigation of the identified shortcomings in the current state of strain-burst hazard assessment and control, outcomes of this research will significantly assist in developing strategies to reduce the consequences of strain-bursts in mines, and making them more economically feasible in the future