Numerical evaluation of rock supports performance from a large-scale blasting test at Kiirunavaara Mine, Sweden

The demand for mineral resources has led to excavation at deeper levels, which can cause seismic events that may result in rockburst damage. Rockburst damage poses a danger in mining and underground excavation. Because of this danger, rockburst has attracted research to study various aspects of rockburst, including its nature of occurrence, assessment of damages, and suggestions for mitigation measures. Studies encompass reviews, field and laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling. Kiirunavaara mining, at depths below 1 km, is experiencing seismic events and rockburst damages, leading to field tests to evaluate rock support performance under dynamic loading. The rock supports installed are shotcrete and swellex rock bolt. The field test was supported by numerical modeling that coupled LS-DYNA and UDEC. The LS-DYNA used to simulate dynamic loading while the UDEC used to simulate rock mass and rock supports. The results of both were compared and used to evaluate the performance of rock supports i.e shotcrete and swellex rock bolts. Both numerical modeling and field test results showed similar trends in velocity at the wall, damage inside the rock mass, and the effectiveness of rock supports. The rock supports were robust enough to withstand the damages, with only a few minor cracks in the shotcrete surface. This proves that numerical modeling can be used to evaluate rock support performance