Simulation of hard rock pillar failure using 2D continuum-based Voronoi tessellated models: The case of Quirke Mine, Canada

The Quirke Mine, ON, Canada, is a typical example of a mine that experienced a chain reaction of pillar failure. In this mine, the rib pillars were initially laid out with their long axis parallel to the dip direction of the orebody. In the central part of the mine, the pillars were re-aligned at 45° to the orebody true dip. This realignment resulted in adverse shear loading conditions that led to their failure. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element program was used to simulate the failure of Quirke Mine pillars under compressive and shear loading conditions. The pillars were simulated as a heterogeneous material, consisting of randomly generated Voronoi blocks. The calibration of this model, referred to as a Voronoi Tessellated Model (VTM), was conducted against the rock mass strength estimated based on a tri-linear, brittle failure criterion. The calibrated VTM was then employed to investigate the pillar behavior during drift development and stope excavation. It was found that the pillar under shear loading experiences higher confinement loss and tensile stress at its core and, therefore, fails at a lower stress level than that under compression. The simulated pillar failure process was found to agree with documented field observations.