Fundamental aspects of the integration of seismic monitoring with numerical modelling.

Abstract

Numerical modelling of rock-mass response to underground excavations is of vital importance for the decision-making process in designing and running a mine. Likewise, seismic monitoring with state-of-the-art local seismic systems is indispensable as a means for quantifying hazard and as an indicator for potential instabilities in the rock-mass due to mining activities, geological structures and other hazard enhancing factors. The concept of integrating observational data with mining-oriented numerical modelling has emerged as the next logical step in the development of more reliable computer-based methods for treating the problems of rock-mass stability, damage evolution and the on-set of sudden material failure. The most important feature of an integrated numerical model is the ability to take real data, as provided by a seismic monitoring system, and to use this data as an additional input for solving a forward problem about the evolution of the physical state of the modelled rock-mass.