Groundwater analysis (2D & 3D)

Module V
Objectives
 Fundamentals of groundwater analysis
 Review of pore water pressure estimation methods
 How to include pore water pressure in analysis
 2D and 3D seepage analysis

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Groundwater Analysis
 Groundwater – subsurface water occurring beneath water table in
soils and rock masses
 Can have significant impact on stability of slopes and excavations
 Massive (often unexpected) inflows into excavations
 Surface settlements due to groundwater extraction
 Water leakage from reservoirs behind dams
 Slope/excavation instabilities from groundwater pressure increases

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Groundwater Analysis
 Outflows and inflows affecting groundwater regimes

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Steady-State vs. Transient Flow
 Steady-state Seepage
 Assumes that infinite time is available for pore pressures to equilibrate to
applied stresses
 Groundwater inflows equal the groundwater outflows along the boundaries of
the model and there is no change in storage within the model domain
 Should be confirmed by studying site-monitoring data
 Examples
 Predicting long-term post-closure conditions in pit slopes
 In pit slopes that are highly permeable so that equilibration of pore pressures
occurs quickly
 Situations where changes in pore pressure occur extremely slowly so that
transient effects can be ignored
Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.
Steady-State vs. Transient Flow
 Transient Seepage
 Response of the system to changing hydraulic stresses

 Examples
 Excavation of the pit
 Lowering of water levels due to mine dewatering, etc.

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Pore Water Pressures
 Water pressure

u   w hw Ground surface

 Effective stress Water table surface

h
 effective   total  u hw

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Pore Water Pressures
 Specification of Pore Water Pressures
 Phreatic surface
 Piezometric data
 Ru values
 Negative pore pressures

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Specification of Pore Water Pressures
 Phreatic Surface
 Defined by free groundwater level
 May be determined, in field, using standpipes or monitoring wells
 Most commonly used method of specifying groundwater
 Pore water pressures calculated assuming that all equipotential lines are
straight and perpendicular to phreatic surface segments

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Specification of Pore Water Pressures


Phreatic surface
Typical slice

2
hu h hu  h cos 

Pore water pressure head

Equipotential line

2
u   w ( h cos  )

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Specification of Pore Water Pressures
 Piezometric Data
 Specified at discrete points within slope
 Interpolation scheme used to estimate pore water pressures at other locations
 Piezometric pressure may be determined from
 Field piezometers
 Flow nets
 Numerical solutions (Finite Difference Method or FEM)

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Specification of Pore Water Pressures
 Pore Water Pressure Ratio (Ru)
 Popular and simple method
 Water pressures measured according to

u Pore water pressure

u  Ru  v  Total vertical subsurface soil stress
v

 Easy to implement
 Difficult to assign different Ru values to different materials

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Negative Pore Pressures
 Pore water pressures can be negative above water table (unsaturated
zone)
 Effective stresses will be higher than total stress in such cases
 Suction will increase total cohesion value
 Shear strength of material in unsaturated zone will increase by

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Pore Pressure Specification
 Water surfaces
 Piezometric surface
 Piezometric data
 Grid data
 Total head
 Pressure head
 Pore pressure
 Numerical method (FEM)
 Pore water pressure ratio
 Ru method

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 Pore Pressure Specification
 Definition of
 Total head, h
GROUNDWATER LEVEL
 Pressure head, 
 Pore pressure, p
p   gψ  p0 

p   g (h  z )  p0
h

A
 p0 – atmospheric pressure
  – density of water
z
DATUM

 g – gravitational acceleration
 z – elevation head

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Saturated vs. Unsaturated Flow
 Saturated soils (porous materials)
 All voids are completely filled with water
 Groundwater flow through such materials known as saturated flow
 Pressure head in saturated zone is greater than atmospheric pressure

 Unsaturated (partially saturated) soils

 Voids are only partially filled with water
 Groundwater flow through such materials known as unsaturated flow
 Pressure head in unsaturated zone is less than atmospheric pressure

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Water Table
 Water table (also known as phreatic surface) – boundary between
saturated and unsaturated zones
 Surface on which water pressure is exactly atmospheric
 Characterized by level at which water stands in shallow well
 Sustainable amount of water within material below water table is called
aquifer
 Perched water table (or perched aquifer) – aquifer that occurs above regional
water table in unsaturated zone

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Water Table
 Water table (phreatic surface)
 Requires assumption of hydrostatic conditions beneath it
 Appropriate for early stage assessments or where significant vertical gradients
do not develop
 Generally over-simplistic for detailed slope design

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Pore Water Grid
 Piezometric grid points
 Total head
 Pressure head
 Pore pressure

 Interpolation
 Modified Chugh (default)
 TIN Triangulation (recommended)

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Pore Water Grid
 Pore pressure grid
 Most appropriate for large pit slopes
 Becoming standard practice for pit slope studies

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Pore Water Grid
 Pore pressure contours
Pore Pressure (from grid)
8000

0
13333
26667
40000
53333
66667
80000
7000

93333
106667
120000
133333
146667
160000
6000

173333
186667
200000
213333
226667
240000
5000

253333
266667
280000
4000
3000
2000

6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 14000 15000 16000 17000 18000 19000 20000 21000

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Pore Water Specification
 Ru coefficient
 ratio between total upwards force due to
water pressure and total downward force
due to weight or overburden
 Easy way to assign pore pressure in each
material, but not the best for layered system
 Ignores water flow

Soil I

Soil II

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Pore Water Specification
 FEM Groundwater Fundamentals

Darcy’s law q  ki

q – specific discharge (amount of discharge per unit area)

k – hydraulic conductivity (measure of ability to allow flow of groundwater)
i – hydraulic gradient (gradient of fluid head or potential)

 Originally derived for saturated soil

 Can also be applied to unsaturated soil
 Hydraulic conductivity may vary with changes in water content

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Groundwater Fundamentals
 Governing equations for steady-state flow

  h    h 
k  k Q  0
x  x x  y  y y 

kx, ky hydraulic conductivity in x and y direction

h total head
Q applied nodal flow

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Numerical Modeling: Boundary Conditions
 No-flow boundary condition
 Specific head
 Constant-head
 Variable-head
 Recharge from precipitation

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Boundary Conditions
 Constant head (ABC, EFG)
 Flow rate (flux) (AH, GI)
 No flow (HI)
 Free surface (CD) – CALCULATED BYTHE PROGRAM
 Seepage face (DE)

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Constant Head
 Head is constant at given location
 Implies inexhaustible supply of water

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Nodal Flow
 Nodal flow – constant rate of injection or extraction of water
 Head is calculated to produce specified flow
 Resulting head may be above ground surface or below base (unless
checked)

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 Seepage Face
 Seepage face – simply means total
head (h) must never exceed elevation
head (z)
 h – total head
  – pressure head
GROUNDWATER LEVEL
 z – elevation head


h

z
DATUM

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Seepage Face
 Physical meaning of seepage face
 Saturated zone intersects ground
surface at atmospheric pressure
and water discharges as
evaporation or downhill film of
flow
 General location of surface is known
but its length is unknown prior to
numerical analysis

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Seepage Face
 Instances of violation of seepage face

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Infiltration
 Infiltration – volume of water entering (or leaving) an area (e.g.
rainfall)
 Can only be applied to line segments and not individual nodes

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No Flow
 Similar to nodal flow except flow at boundary equals zero
 May be used to represent boundaries that yield negligible amounts of
water to system

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Numerical Modeling: Sizing the Domain
 Boundaries should be distant enough from the open pit so that the
effects of hydraulic stresses do not arrive at the boundaries
 Base of the model should extend significantly deeper than the further
planned mining depth
 In general, the base of the model is defined as a “no-flow” zone, and
the boundary should be deep enough.
 Typically the depth of a no-flow boundary varies between 500 m and
1000 m beneath the deepest excavation
 External boundary should not influence pore pressure profile in the pit

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Numerical Modeling: Pit Slope Boundary
 Normally specified as a zero pressure condition
 Zero pressure condition may be modeled with drain nodes
 Seepage face location must be changed when the slope geometry is
changed

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Numerical Modeling: Inner Pit Boundary
 Central axis of pit floor can usually be approximated as a no-flow
boundary
 Groundwater generally converges radially towards pit floor
 Prescribed head can be used instead of no-flow boundary
 Usually only done with mature mines, where there is a large amount of data

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Material Permeability Functions
 Unsaturated permeability functions
 Lab tests
 Soil-water characteristic curve
 Brooks and Corey
2   3
 
K  K s  

 b 

 l = Pore size index

 yb = bubbling pressure
 y = matric suction (ua – uw)
 K = permeability
 Ks = saturated permeability

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Material Permeability Functions
 Fredlund and Xing
 
 1 
K  Ks  
 
 ln e   / A  B 
C


 A, B and C are material parameters

 Gardner
 1 
K  K s  n 
 ah 

 a and n are material parameters

 h = pressure head (suction)

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Material Permeability Functions
 Van Genuchten
 
 1 
Se   

 1 h n 
m


  
 
2
K  K s  S e  1 (1 S e1 / m
m

   

 Se = degree of saturation
 a, n, m = model parameters

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Material Permeability Functions
 Simple
 Unsaturated permeability function
automatically determined by Slide
 Based on magnitude of saturated
permeability Ks.

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Groundwater Module
 Groundwater module
 Finite element formulation
 Saturated and unsaturated steady-state flow
 Seepage analysis
 Automatic export of pore water pressure to stress analysis engine

Completely self-contained groundwater analysis program

Possible to use independent of FEM stress analysis

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Mesh Generation
 2D mesh generation
 Common to most FEM formulations
 Can be used with little user intervention

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Element Types
 3-noded triangle, 4-noded quadrilateral
 Linear variation of unknown (total head)

 6-noded triangle, 8-noded quadrilateral

 Quadratic variation of unknown (total head)

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Example 11 – Steady State GW Initial
 Open Example 11 Steady State GW Initial

Material Models in Slide – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Example
 Topics
 Seepage analysis
 Discharge sections
 Groundwater calculation
 Flow lines

(Tutorial_6_cofferdam.fez)
Tailings Dam
Sand
Foundation
Rock

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Creating Model
 Project Settings
 General tab
 Units: Metric

 Groundwater tab
 Method: Finite Element
Analysis

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 Mesh and Boundary Conditions

Total Head Seepage face

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Adding Discharge Sections
 Discharge sections allow for groundwater seepage analysis
 Groundwater > Add Discharge Section
 Click on Endpoints to create discharge section

Discharge section

Discharge section

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Interpreting Results
 Groundwater > Compute
 Groundwater > Interpret
Pressure Head
[m]
-8.000

-4.000

0.000

4.000

8.000

12.000

16.000

20.000

24.000

28.000

32.000

36.000

40.000

1.1089 m3/d

0.007347 m3/d

 Note flow rate through discharge sections

 Click to see Flow Vectors

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Creating Flow Lines
 Plot flow lines:
 Groundwater > Add Multiple Flow Lines

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Transient Groundwater Analysis
 Transient flow
 Groundwater states between time when conditions are perturbed and time
when all “settles down”
 At any point in material magnitude and direction of flow change with time
 Transient analysis may be important when there is a time-dependent
change in pore pressure
 Occurs when boundary conditions change and the material has low
permeability
 Transient pore pressures may have a large effect on slope stability

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Transient Flow
Governing equation

  h    h  h
 kx    k y   Q  Ss
x  x  y  y  t

kx, ky hydraulic conductivity in x and y direction

h total head
Q applied nodal flow
Ss specific storage

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Example 12 – Transient GW Initial
 Open Example 12 Transient GW Initial

Material Models in Slide – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Transient Analysis Example
 Model an earth fill dam with reservoir on one side
 Reservoir level quickly raised
 Transient seepage investigated

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 Transient Analysis Example
 Import earth fill dam model
(transient_example.slim)
 Turn on Transient Groundwater option
on the Groundwater page
of Project Settings
 Setup 5 stages in
Transient Page
as shown…

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Transient Analysis Example
 Assume initial water table at base of dam
 Select Transient Groundwater tab
 Discretize and Mesh

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Transient Analysis Example
 Set boundary conditions

Total head = 10

Zero Pressure

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 Transient Analysis Example
 Define Hydraulic Properties
 Choose from list of material
permeability functions
 Or create a user defined relationship
 Create “Soil Curve” as seen here

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 Transient Analysis Example
 Compute (groundwater)
 Interpret (groundwater)
 Initial Pressure Head:

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Transient Analysis Example

Stage 1 [10 days]

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Transient Analysis Example

Stage 1 [50 days]

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Transient Analysis Example

Stage 1 [100 days]

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Transient Analysis Example

Stage 1 [500 days]

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Transient Analysis Example

Stage 1 [10000 days]

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Example VII
 Time step rapid drawdown seepage analysis

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = initial state

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = 2 days

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = 4 days

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = 6 days

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = 10 days

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Transient Seepage Analysis
 Change of pore water pressure with time

t = 50 days

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The Effect of Hydraulic Anisotropy on
Slope Stability
Hydraulic Properties
 Anisotropic permeability may be specified in Slide for a material by
specifying a Factor and Angle, which defines the relative permeability
in two orthogonal directions
 K2 / K1 is the factor which specifies the relative permeability in the
direction orthogonal to the K1 direction

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Hydraulic Properties
 K1 permeability is the "primary"
permeability defined by the
Saturated Permeability Ks, and
the unsaturated permeability
model you have defined in the
Hydraulic Properties dialog
 K1 Angle is the angle which
specifies the direction of the K1
permeability. The K1 Angle is
specified relative to the positive
X (horizontal) direction

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Stratified, poorly cemented rock slopes
 The principal values for hydraulic conductivity of sandstone and
siltstone are 5–9x10-5 and 1–10x10-6 cm/s, respectively
 They are somewhat hydraulically isotropic
 For stratified shale and sandstone with thin alternation beds, the
equivalently hydraulic conductivity parallel to the bedding plane is 10–
150 times larger than that perpendicular to the bedding plane

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Numerical model
 x’ and y’ are chosen to coincide with the principal
directions of the hydraulic conductivity tensor
 When the inclined angle of stratification θ between x
and x’ axes and the principal values kx’ and ky’ are
specified, the components of hydraulic conductivity
tensor kxx, kyx/kxy, and kyy can be derived using the
same formula as that used for stress analysis

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Equivalent anisotropy
 Equivalent hydraulic conductivities (kx’)equi and (ky’)equi in the principal
directions of the stratified medium are as follows:

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 kx’ = ky’ = 10-5 cm/s

 kx’ /ky’ = 10, θ = 0°

 kx’ /ky’ = 10, θ = 30°

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Dam Seepage Example
Using RS3
Example 13 – RS3 GW INTO SLIDE3
 Open Example 13 RS3 GW into Slide3

Material Models in Slide – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Introduction
 The model is of a dam,
and is used to see the 400 m
115 m
effects of material
properties on the seepage 85 m
through the dam
77 m
72 m
78
12 42
9 137
50
300 m
600 m
Step 1: Starting the model
 Open RS3 model file “Tutorial 3 - Starting File.rs3model”
 This file has the relevant project settings and material properties
File > Save As…
 Save the project as a “Tutorial 3.rs3model”
 This new file is the one to be edited for the rest of the tutorial
Step 2: Importing Geometry
Geometry > Import…
 In the template folder, open
“Tutorial3.rs3dmodel_geom.dxf”
 An Import Geometry dialog should open
with a dam profile, press [OK]
 Four entities should now appear in the
visibility pane
Step 3: Extruding the Dam Profile
 Select all entities (0, 1, 2, and 3) in the
visibility pane
Geometry > Draw Tools > Create Polygon
from Polyline…, [Create Polygons]
 Select all Polygons
Geometry > Extrude/Sweep/Loft Tools >
Extrude
 Direction (x, y, z) = (0, 1, 0), and Depth = 300,
[OK]
Step 4: Finalizing the Geometry
 Next, we need to define the external box (model boundaries)
 Select the largest body “Polygon 2_extruded” in the visibility pane
Geometry > Set as External
 Now we can divide the geometry to split all the regions
Geometry > 3D Boolean > Divide All Geometry
 There should now be six bodies with none overlapping
Step 5: Defining the Materials
 Select the dam base “Polygon 2_8” in the visibility pane
 Change the Applied Property to “Foundation” (green)
 Select the outer two wedges “Polygon 2_5” and “Polygon 2_7” in the
visibility pane
 Change the Applied Property to “Outer Dam” (grey)
 Select the innermost wedge “ Polygon 2_6”
 Change the Applied Property to “Inner Dam” (pink)
 The two thin slices “Polygon 2_1” and
“Polygon 2_3” are by default be Filter (purple)
Step 6: Define Water Boundary Conditions
 In the viewer, select the four upwards facing right side faces
Groundwater > Add Groundwater Boundary Conditions
 Select TH = 60, with default staging, [OK]
 In the viewer, select the two upwards facing left faces
Groundwater > Add Groundwater Boundary Conditions
 Select Unknown, with default staging, [OK]
 The model should now look like this:
Step 7: Meshing
Mesh > Mesh Settings
 Enter Element Type = 10-Noded Tetrahedra,
Mesh Gradation = Graded, [OK]
Mesh > Mesh
Step 8: Computing Results
File > Save
File > Save Compute File
Compute > Compute Groundwater Only
 The engine should pop up and compute the
results
 Once complete the window will close
Step 9: Displaying Results (Part 1)
Interpret > Refresh Results
Interpret > Exterior Contour
 A Create Plane dialog should open
 Keep defaults, [OK]
Step 9: Displaying Results (Part 2)
 In the results drop downs, select Data Type = Total Head (left), then
Total Pore Pressure (right)
Importing RS3 PWP Data
Slide3 Tutorial
Introduction
 Import groundwater data from a 3D finite element seepage analysis in
RS3 to conduct the slope stability analysis

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 1: RS3 Transient Groundwater Analysis
 Open RS3 model file “Transient
Dam.rs3dmodel”
 This file is a completed transient dam that will be
computed

File > Save Compute File

Compute > Compute Groundwater Only
 The engine should pop up and compute the
results
 Once complete the window will close

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 1: RS3 Transient Groundwater Analysis
Select the Results tab.
Interpret > Refresh Results
Select Data Type = Total Pore Water Pressure
Day 0 Day 2

Day 4 Day 6

Day 10 Day 50

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 2: Export pore water ressure data from RS3
In RS3, Select Stage 4 tab
Select File > Export > Export Pore Water Pressure to Slide3D
Save as: “Transient Dam Day 6.pwp3”
This will extract pore water pressure data to a comma separated text
file.

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 3: Open Slide3 model
 Open Slide3 model file “Transient Dam - Starting File.slide3dmodel”
This file has the relevant project settings and material properties

File > Save As…

 Save the project as a “Transient Dam - Final.slide3dmodel”

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 4: Change project settings in Slide3
In Slide3,
File > Project Settings > Groundwater
Change the Default Groundwater Method to
Water Grids. Select [Ok].

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 5: Import pore water pressure data to Slide3
Select the Groundwater Tab
Groundwater > Add Water Pressure Grid
Select Import: “Transient Dam Day
6.pwp3”

Select [Ok]. Water Grid 1 should be

added to the Visibility Pane in the model

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 6: Assign water grid to materials
Groundwater > Assign water to materials
Select Check All and change the water set to Water Grid 1 in the top
right of the dialog. Select Apply to Checked Materials. Select [Ok].

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 7: Define Ponded Water Load
You may notice in the RS3 model that there is pore pressure greater
than zero on the right side of the model indicating that ponded water
exists on the upstream portion of the dam. We can define a ponded
water load by adding a water surface to the right side of the model.
The ponded water load is automatically calculated for a water surface
above the ground surface, but not for water pressure grids with pore
pressure greater than zero.
Ponded Water Load

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 7: Define Ponded Water Load
Geometry > Draw Tools > Draw Polyline
 A Draw on 2D plane dialog will open, select
Plane Orientation = XZ, then enter
 U,V Coord (press [Enter] between each pair) =
 [67, 14]
 [100, 14]
Then press the blue checkmark to close the
pane.
Select “Polyline 1” in the visibility pane. Then
select Geometry  Extrude/Sweep/Loft Tools
 Extrude and an Extrude Geometry dialog will
appear. Enter Direction (x, y, z) = (0, 1, 0), and
Depth = 100, [OK].
Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.
Step 7: Define Ponded Water Load
Select Polyline1_extruded
Groundwater > Add Water Surface
Select Ok. The Hydraulic Assignments
dialog should open. Select Cancel since
we would like the Water Grid to be used
for pore pressure calculations in the soil.
The Water Surface will be used to only
calculate the ponded water load above
the ground surface.

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Step 8: Results
Select Compute. The process should take a few minutes to finish.
Go to the Results Tab
Interpret>Refresh Results
Interpret> Show/Hide Contours
 The results should now look like the one below

Pore pressure contours on critical failure

surface (Janbu FS=1.30)

Importing RS3 PWP Data – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Design of a drainage
system in an open pit mine
Analysis Objective
 Abosso Goldfields (AGL) are undertaking a pit expansion of their
current operations at the Damang Goldmine near Tarkwa, Ghana.
 A drainage system is required to provide a workable environment for
the mining and excavation and also to improve the stability of the
slopes.

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Geometry and material properties

Geological cross section showing the current and proposed final cutback
profiles superimposed on the lithological model and major North-South Faults
Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.
 Geometry and material zones

Drainage System

2D view of a cross-section of the mine

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Slide - RS2 Models
 Finite element mesh and the boundary conditions

Seepage Face condition

(unknown boundary condition) to
simulate the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Results with & without Drainage
 Phreatic surface location

without drainage system With drainage system

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Three dimensional Models RS3
 A drainage system of width 1m is installed at 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100m
intervals.

Drainage
System

3D mesh and the boundary conditions

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.
RS3 Results – Drains at 10m Intervals
RS3 Results – Drains at 25m Intervals
RS3 Results – Drains at 50m Intervals
RS3 Results – Drains at 75m Intervals
RS3 Results – Drains at 100m Intervals
RS3 Results

Drains at 100m No Drainage

 Design of a drainage system in an open pit mine,
The South East Prongs, Tom Price

Ref.: “Groundwater, Pore Pressure and Wall Slope Stability – a model

for quantifying pore pressures in current and future mines”
M.Sc. Thesis by Richard J. Brehaut, 2009

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Analysis Objective
 The South East Prongs (SEP) pit, located within the Mount Tom Price
mine
 The drainage system is required to provide a workable environment for
the mining and excavation and also to improve the stability of the
slopes.

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Analysis Objective

Overview of the SEP pit as of October 2008

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Geometry and material Zones

Drainage System

Typical geological cross section showing the current and proposed final cutback
profiles, and the location of drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

Hydraulic properties

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Model
Seepage Face condition
(unknown boundary condition)
to simulate the drains

Slide finite element mesh and the boundary conditions;

Transient condition after installation of drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Results

Phreatic surface, before the installation of the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Results

Phreatic surface, 1 day after the installation of the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Results

Phreatic surface, 5 days after the installation of the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Results

Phreatic surface, 20 days after the installation of the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

 Slide Results

Phreatic surface, 10000 days after the installation of the drains

Groundwater Analysis – © 2017 Rocscience Inc.

RS3 Model
 A drainage system of 1m is installed at 25m intervals
RS3 Results

Phreatic surface, before installation of drains

RS3 Results

Phreatic surface, 1 day after installation of drains

RS3 Results

Phreatic surface, 5 days after installation of drains

RS3 Results

Phreatic surface, 20 days after installation of drains

RS3 Results

Phreatic surface, 10,000 days after installation of drains

End of Module