Reliability-based design in rock engineering

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This proposal is to support innovative world-leading research that will develop urgently needed reliability-based design (RBD) techniques for rock engineering, particularly in civil engineering geotechnics and mining. The long-term vision is to develop new approaches and techniques that will allow confident application of RBD to rock engineering designs, thereby improving their safety and efficiency. The research will provide excellent HQP training, and significantly contribute to the development of rock engineering design standards in Canada and worldwide. Geotechnical engineering design in Canada, as elsewhere in the world, is undergoing a fundamental change to customary practice in that design codes and standards are being introduced which implement the superior RBD procedures rather than the traditional prescriptive or working-stress based methods. Unfortunately, current rock engineering design procedures rely on a combination of largely empirical and ad hoc approaches that do not comply with RBD principles. There is an urgent need to rectify this, which the research in this program aims to do. The proposal covers three critically important research objectives for RBD in rock engineering: 1) improving the analysis and prediction of intact rock strength; 2) improving probabilistic characterization of in situ stress, and; 3) rationalizing the role of subjective qualitative assessments so as to suit RBD. All three objectives address urgent needs in rock engineering practice, and the research outcomes are all expected to have immediate and far reaching practical impact to the geotechnical engineering industry, particularly in civil engineering and mining. The impact of this research will be far-reaching and significant, given the urgent need to develop the knowledge base to support existing RBD geotechnical engineering design codes. The research results will have direct and immediate application to the civil engineering and mining sectors in Canada and worldwide. The results of the research will be disseminated as quickly and widely as possible, using the most appropriate means. This will include contributions to major international conferences, publication of journal papers, and presentation of the results at workshops for practising engineers. The research program supports Doctoral and Masters students, and will involve industrial collaboration where appropriate. All students in the research program will be trained in the use of industry-standard and emerging advanced tools and techniques, particularly in the field of data analysis and numerical modelling. It is expected that the students involved in the program will obtain employment in the geotechnical engineering industry, and training will be given to prepare them for this. As the program involves collaboration with industry in many areas, students will gain significant exposure to potential employers.