A kinetic behavior model at a surface lignite mine, based on geotechnical investigation

This work aims to determine the magnitude of the mobility that is attributed to stress release due to a surface mine excavation at the Western Macedonia Lignite Center (Greece). This will contribute to the kinetic analysis not only of the particular excavation, but also of other operating surface mines in the region.For the estimation of the required geotechnical parameters, triaxial tests were performed on representative samples of the calcareous marls of the region, that are considered to influence decisively the kinetic behavior of the mine excavations in the Ptolemais–Amydeon basin, in Greece.The geotechnical parameters obtained (i.e. cohesion, angle of friction, stiffness moduli), were subsequently used for simulating the triaxial soil behavior using the Plaxis finite element software.The resulting material model was then applied to model the mobility that is evident during the excavation of the Tomeas-6 mine. Modeling results (i.e. estimated horizontal displacements about 0.8 m and floor heaving about 0.5 m) compared very well with measured values.