International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94

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International Journal of
Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms

Short communication

Rock burst prediction based on in-situ stress and energy accumulation

theory
Sheng-Jun Miao a,b,n, Mei-Feng Cai a,b, Qi-Feng Guo a,b, Zheng-Jun Huang a,b
a
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
b
Key Laboratory of High-Efficient Mining and Safety of Metal Mines (Ministry of Education of China), University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing
100083, China

art ic l e i nf o

Article history:
Received 18 June 2015
Received in revised form
29 October 2015
Accepted 1 January 2016
Available online 9 January 2016

Keywords:
Rock burst prediction
In-situ stress measurement
Rock burst proneness
Energy accumulation
Seismology

1. Introduction mechanisms.6 Frid forecasted rock bursts by electromagnetic ra-

A rock burst is a strong and sudden brittle failure induced by
high stresses. It occurs in a short period when the surrounding
stress is redistributed during the excavation of tunnels and stopes
in high geo-stress areas. The strong shock waves and blast fol-
lowed by the outburst of broken rock can cause casualties and
destroy underground constructions. Rock burst disasters tend to
increase in mining that is further in scale and greater in depths.1
Therefore, the research on rock burst mechanism and prediction
has become one of the key scientific and technical problems in
rock mechanics.2
It is generally recognized that a high strength brittle rock and a
high stress environment are two necessary conditions for a rock
burst.3 To reduce and control rock bursts, extensive theoretical and
experimental researches have been conducted on the failure me-
chanism, forecasting method, and prevention technology. Canada
started two research programs, Canadian-Ontario-Industry Rock-
burst Project (1985–1990)4 and Canadian Rockburst Research
Prograrm (1990–1995),5 for deep safe mining. Ortlepp and Stacey
distinguished several different rock burst mechanisms in tunnels
and shafts and drew a distinction between source and damage
n
Correspondence to: University of Science & Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan
Road, Haidian District Beijing, Beijing 100083 CHINA.
E-mail address: miaoshengjun@ustb.edu.cn (S.-J. Miao).
diation energized by rock fracture and established electromagnetic
radiation criterion for rock burst forecast in coal mines.7,8 Wang
and Park predicted rock bursts based on an analysis of strain en-
ergy and discussed the relationship between rock burst and elastic
energy criterion, brittle criterion, tangential stress, and RQD of
rock.9 Feng and Zhao proposed a prediction method of rock bursts
using a support vector machine model.10 Sharan established a fi-
nite element perturbation method for the prediction of rock
bursts.11 Gong and Li established a distance discriminant analysis
method for prediction and classification of rock bursts.12 Chen
et al. conducted unloading confining pressure tests and provided
rock burst criterion based on energy theory.13 He et al. studied
rock burst processes in limestone and its acoustic emission char-
acteristics under true-triaxial unloading conditions.14 Kaiser and
Cai designed a rock support system under rock burst conditions.15
Adoko et al. built a knowledge-based and data-driven fuzzy logic
model for rock burst prediction.16 But at present, rock bursts
predicted by using energy accumulation and seismology theory
are rare.
Geo-stress is an important factor for rock burst prediction. In
addition, the geo-stress data used in rock burst predictions are
usually estimated by geological investigation, empirical formula,
and numerical simulation, which make the predictions inaccurate
and uncertain. To overcome these deficiencies, the traditional
overcoring technique was improved and applied to in-situ stress

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2016.01.001
1365-1609/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94 87

Fig. 1. The hollow inclusion strain gauge with completely temperature compensation technique.

measurements at deep positions in Sanshandao Gold Mine. Based 3. In-situ stress measurements
on the results, we predicted the potential location and intensity of
rock bursts during future mining activities with the theoretical 3.1. Improved overcoring technique of in-situ measurement
analysis and numerical simulation. The achieved results will pro-
vide new ideas and approaches for rock burst prediction in deep Overcoring technique with a hollow inclusion strain gauge was
used to measure the in-situ stress in deep mining of Sanshandao
underground engineering.
Gold Mine. Compared with the shallow position, the mechanical
properties of the rock mass have significant nonlinearity, hetero-
geneity and anisotropy at deep positions.17 Before in-situ mea-
2. Project overview surements, a horizontal borehole must be drilled at the surface of
a roadway or chamber to install the hollow inclusion strain gauge.
Sanshandao Gold Mine is one of the most mechanized metal The borehole depth should reach certain requirements to ensure
that the measurement point is indeed in the initial stress area
mines and one of the largest gold mines in China, with 10.25
where it cannot be affected by mining disturbance. The sur-
million tons of available reserves, including 34.24 t of gold metal
rounding rock stress field around a deep roadway is more com-
content, and has great prospective reserves. The mining depth of
plex. Therefore, its borehole should be deeper than the shallow
Sanshandao Gold Mine will reach and exceed 1000 m (a blind position. Besides, the rock mass at deep positions is of poor quality
shaft has been constructed to
1180 m from level
600 m). The and in a high geothermal environment. These factors are not
increase of mining depth and ground stress are causing sur- conducive to the strain gauge installation and increase the diffi-
rounding rock deformation, collapse, roof fall, spalling, and other culty of in-situ measurement with the overcoring technique.
accidents in roadways and stopes. Additionally, the development In order to improve the reliability and accuracy of the mea-
work below the level of
600 m is facing potential threats from surement, Cai proposed and designed a completely temperature
rock burst. Even with these risk factors, the Sanshandao Gold Mine compensation technique incorporated in the stress relief method
is expecting to increase their production target to 8000 t per day. for the in-situ stress measurement (Fig. 1).18 Additionally, other
To guarantee the deep mining safety and achieve the expanding improvements were considered in the in-situ measurement and
capacity, it is necessary to conduct systematic research on pre- implementation of the overcoring technique. A built-in camera
was assembled on the installation equipment to monitor the da-
diction and control of rock bursts.
mage of rock mass at different borehole depths and get the rock
As shown in Table 1, physical and mechanical parameters of the
mass quality of the strain gauge installation site, which could ef-
main rocks in deep mining were obtained by laboratory tests.
fectively avoid the unsatisfied or invalid installation of the strain
gauge because of over-broken rock. An orienting and positioning
device was added during the installation to ensure that the strain
Table 1
gauge could be installed to the borehole in a preset direction and
Physical and mechanical parameters of the main rocks at deep position in San-
shandao Gold Mine. thus eliminate environmental and artificial influences. The cur-
rently used fifteen-lines access hollow inclusion strain gauge has
Lithology Density UCS Tensile Internal Cohesion Young's twelve strain channels, a thermal sensitive channel and two
strength friction modulus
ground wires, which can realize temperature compensation for the
angle
(g/cm3) (MPa) (MPa) (deg) (MPa) (GPa) long wires. But there is a certain error effect on the actual input
voltage because of the voltage consumption of ground wires. For
Amphibolite 2.934 86.28 14.66 37.26 49.89 63.61 example, there will be an error of about 10 με if the measurement
tonalites
value is 300 με.19 Only one ground wire is retained in the gauge
Adamellite 2.627 70.70 6.92 33.21 26.54 27.11
Biotite 2.717 97.53 16.46 25.06 42.87 40.08
for this in-situ measurement, which can better adapt to the high
granulite geothermal environment and completely realize temperature
Phyllic granite 2.572 125.21 16.31 39.51 37.35 43.12 compensation with higher accuracy. But its implementation is
Phyllic 2.677 93.26 14.33 36.82 35.60 41.04 relatively complicated.
Footwall 2.591 82.66 9.84 42.55 24.00 48.63
granite
Based on the detail site investigation, nine in-situ stress mea-
surement points were set up at six levels (Table 2) in Sanshandao
88 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94

Table 2
Measurement results of Principal stresses at 9 measurement points of Sanshandao Gold Mine.

No. Depth (m) The maximal principal stress (s1) The intermediate principal stress (s2) The minimum principal stress (s3)

Value (MPa) Direction (deg) Dip angle (deg) Value (MPa) Direction (deg) Dip angle (deg) Value (MPa) Direction (deg) Dip angle (deg)

1 510 24.55 129 4 16.35
138 2 14.49 133
85

2 510 24.64
111 3 15.68 155 82 15.02 161
10
3 555 25.71
45
13 14.00 14 73 13.00 50
20
4 600 28.88 103 1 16.54 10 76 14.77 13
8
5 600 30.17 110
16 18.83 24
11 16.94 236
70
6 645 29.57 112
3 19.56
177
80 15.48
156
9
7 690 31.50
80 2 19.08 230
79 17.54 10
10
8 690 29.77
83 4 20.84
8
74 19.63 8 15
9 750 33.22 119
10 19.93
89
82 17.10 208
8

Channels maximum principal stresses of the 9 measurement points are

600
1 nearly horizontal and in the direction of NW–SE, which is con-
2 sistent with the maximum principal stress's direction of regional
500
3
tectonic stress field.20 The average ratio of the maximum hor-
4
400 izontal principal stress (sh,max) to the vertical principal stress (sv)
Strain (με)

5
6 is 1.65, indicating that the in-situ stress field at deep positions in
300
7 Sanshandao Gold Mine is dominated by the horizontal tectonic
8 stress. The average ratio and the maximum ratio of the maximum
200
9
horizontal principal stress (sh,max) to the minimum horizontal
10
100 principal stress (sh,min) are 1.76 and 1.98, respectively. The differ-
11
12 ence of the two horizontal principal stresses is related to the
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 maximum shear stress. This indicates that the shear stress is high
Record times
in the horizontal plane, which could cause deformation, failure,
Fig. 2. The initial stress relief curve of measurement point 7. and rock bursts in the roadways and stopes. The measurement
results show that the sh,max, sh,min and sv of the mine area increase
in a nearly linear relationship with depth. The in-situ stress linear
Gold Mine. The deepest point was arranged at level
750 m.
regression equations were obtained by combining the nine mea-
surement points with the other four points' results at shallow le-
3.2. In-situ stress measurement results
vels measured in 2002 (the data are shown in Fig. 3).21
The initial stress relief curves of the nine points were obtained σ h, max = 1.433 + 0.043H (1)
from in-situ measurement (the stress relief curve of measurement
point 7 (level
690 m) is shown in Fig. 2, and the channels’ order
and direction are shown in Fig. 1). In addition, the borehole cores
received from the in-situ test were used for temperature and
confining pressure calibration tests. The cores were wrapped in
plastic film and taken back to the laboratory to ensure their ori-
ginal state. In the temperature calibration test, a temperature
chamber was used to simulate the in-situ temperature change and
measure the additional strains in the process. Then the additional
strains were eliminated them from the initial strains obtained
through in-situ measurements. The modified strains would be
used as the final stress relief data to calculate the in-situ stress.
Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and coefficients k1, k2, k3 and
k4 of the rocks at measurement points were obtained by confining
pressure calibration tests with borehole cores.18 A special double
iterative program was used to calculate the stress state of the
measurement points, including the values and directions of three
principal stresses (Table 2).

3.3. In-situ stress field distribution

On the basis of the in-situ stress measurement results of the

nine measurement points (Table 2), the in-situ stress field dis-
tribution at deep positions in Sanshandao Gold Mine was de-
termined as follows. Each measurement point has two principal
stress directions close to the horizontal plane. The angles between
the two principal stress directions and the horizontal plane are in
general smaller than 10°, and several greater angles also do not
exceed 20°. Another principal stress is close to the vertical direc-
tion, with a vertical angle that is no greater than 20°. The Fig. 3. Regression lines of the principal stresses with depth.
 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94
σ h, min = 0.536 + 0.024H
σv = 0.838 + 0.027H
where H is the vertical depth (m). The regression lines between
the principal stresses and the depth are shown in Fig. 3. The linear
correlation coefficients of the sh,max, sh,min and sv are 0.987, 0.963
and 0.954, respectively.
The regression lines show that the sh,max (s1) of the mine area
is greater than 30 MPa below the depth of
660 m. This provides
the second necessary condition (a high stress environment) for the
rock burst in deep mining of Sanshandao Gold Mine.
4. Rock burst predictions
4.1. Rock burst proneness analysis on loading tests
There are two necessary conditions for a rock burst. First, the
rock mass must have the ability to store high strain energy (i.e.,
rock burst proneness) because there is a strong impact when a
rock burst occurs. Second, the surrounding rock must be in a high
stress environment, which can accumulate high energy and
abruptly release it during rock burst. To predict the rock burst
proneness and its potential intensity, many criteria and
classifications16,22–24 were provided, such as Hoek, Turchaninov,
Kidybiński, Russenes, et al. According to the results of physical and
mechanical tests and in-situ stress measurements, multiple dis-
criminant criteria2,9,25,26 (i.e., impact property, linear elastic en-
ergy, brittleness coefficient and Tao discriminant index) were used
to analyze and evaluate the high energy storing ability (the first
necessary condition) of the main rocks in Sanshandao Gold Mine.
4.1.1. Impact property (R)
Based on the complete stress–strain response, the discriminant
index of impact property (R) can be calculated by
R = WE/WP
where WE is the elastic strain energy accumulated before rock
failure; WP is the plastic strain energy consumed after rock failure.
The ideal complete “stress–strain” curve is shown in Fig. 4. (It
should be noted that after deformation localizes in the form of a
failure plane, strain is no longer homogeneous, and the nominal
stress and strain can no longer be said to correspond to con-
stitutive behavior that is independent of the sample size and
Fig. 4. The ideal complete stress–strain curve.
89
(2) testing equipment). Before the peak strength, the main strain of
the high strength brittle rock is linear elastic strain with little
plastic strain. And the elastic strain energy is released quickly after
(3) the rock failure. Therefore, we simply assume that the elastic
strain could be completely recovered before the peak strength. The
complete stress–strain curve of the high strength brittle rock can
be divided into two parts, bound by the left and right half curves
representing WE and Wp, respectively. And the impact property (R)
can be calculated by the area ratio of the two parts. It is generally
recognized that the rock burst will occur as RZ1; and the greater
the R, the greater the impact tendency of rock burst.
4.1.2. Linear elastic energy (WE)
Under the uniaxial stress state, assuming that no damage ap-
pears before peak strength, the linear elastic energy stored in the
rock specimen before rock failure is
σc2
WE =
2Es (5)
where sc is the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), MPa; Es is
Young's modulus, MPa.
The rock burst intensity can be divided into four levels:
(1) Weak rock burst proneness as WE o 40 kJ/m3. (2) Moderate
rock burst proneness as 40 kJ/m3 rWE o100 kJ/m3. (3) Strong rock
burst proneness as 100 kJ/m3 rWE o200 kJ/m3. (4) Extra-strong
rock burst proneness as WE Z 200 kJ/m3.
4.1.3. Brittleness coefficient (B)
A brittleness coefficient (B) can be defined as the ratio of uni-
axial compressive strength (sc) to tensile strength (st) of rock:
B = σc /σt (6)
The discriminant indexes of the brittleness coefficient are as
follows: (1) No rock burst proneness as B 440; (2) Weak rock
burst proneness as 26.7 oB r40; (3) Moderate rock burst prone-
ness as 14.5 rB r26.7; (4) Strong rock burst proneness as
B o14.5.
(4)
4.1.4. Tao discriminant index (α)
Based on the stress reduction factor of the Q-system for rock
mass classification developed by Barton, Tao conducted a large
amount of research in China and put forward the following defi-
nition:
α = σc /σ1 (7)
where s1 is the maximum principal in-situ stress. The classifica-
tion of rock burst submitted by Tao is as follows: (1) No rock burst
proneness as α 4 14.5; (2) Weak rock burst proneness as
5.5 o α r14.5; (3) Moderate rock burst proneness as 2.5 o α r5.5;
(4) Strong rock burst proneness as α r2.5.
4.1.5. The results of rock burst proneness
Fig. 5 shows the complete stress–strain curves of the main
rocks in Sanshandao Gold Mine. According to Fig. 4 and Eqs. (4)–
(7), the rock burst proneness of the main rocks are calculated and
listed in Table 3 based on the multiple discriminant criteria. In
addition, the current mining activities of Sanshandao Gold Mine
are concentrated at a depth of
600 m and several roadways are
excavated at the level of
870 m. The maximum principal stresses
at the depths of
600 m and
870 m were determined from Eq.
(1) and used to calculate the Tao discriminant index α
600 and
α
870.
Although there are small differences in rock burst proneness
discriminant results between the different criteria, the main rocks
at deep position show a moderate or strong rock burst proneness
90 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94

80
80 100

60 80
60

Stress (MPa)
Stress (MPa)

Stress (MPa)
60
40
40
40
20
20
20

0 0 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Strain (1%) Strain (1%) Strain (1%)

(a) Amphibolite tonalities (b) Adamellite (c) Biotite granulite

100
120
80

100 80

60
80

Stress (MPa)
Stress (MPa)

60
Stress (MPa)

60 40
40
40
20 20
20

0 0 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Strain (1%) Strain (1%) Strain (1%)

(d) Phyllic granite (e) Phyllic (f) Footwall granite

Fig. 5. The complete stress–strain curves of the main rocks in Sanshandao Gold Mine.

and the ability to store large amounts of elastic energy. The greater σ1 ≥ 0.17σc (mechanical property)⎫
the depth, the stronger the rock burst proneness. Besides, the ⎪
σc ≥ 13σt (brittleness) ⎪
complete stress–strain curves present a strong brittle failure fea- ⎬
RQD ≥ 62% (rock mass integrity) ⎪
ture, which provides the first necessary condition (a high strength ⎪
R ≥ 1.2 (energy) ⎭ (8)
brittle rock) for rock burst.
Therefore, rock burst would occur when all requirements of Eq.
4.1.6. The discussion of rock burst criteria for Shanshandao Gold Mine (8) are met simultaneously in the deep mining of Sanshandao Gold
A great amount of theoretical researches, field investigation Mine. Its potential intensity can be predicted by referring to other
and in-situ measurement data, and laboratory test data have classifications.
shown that the in-situ stress is greater than a certain percentage of
the rock's UCS where rock burst occurs. Besides, the rock should be
4.2. Rock burst analysis on the unloading triaxial tests
brittle, hard and intact (or relatively intact). Meanwhile, the elastic
strain energy accumulated in rock should be much greater than Currently, most criteria and classifications for rock burst were
the energy consumed after rock failure. The Chinese scholars also obtained by loading tests. However, this is not consistent with the
proposed several criteria based on engineering practices.27–29 stress variation as rock burst occurrence in the unloading process
Combining the rock physical–mechanical test results, rock of rock excavation. Therefore, the unloading triaxial tests of Biotite
burst proneness analysis, and the field investigations (for example, granulite were conducted to study the rock burst. At first, the
the first known rock burst occurred at roadway excavation of level specimen was loaded to 85% of the peak strength (sp) of the

475 m) and measurements, and referring to other rock burst conventional triaxial test (s3 ¼15 MPa, sp ¼225 MPa; s3 ¼ 30 MPa,
criteria and classifications, the authors provide a set of rock burst sp ¼283 MPa). Then the confining pressure (s3) was unloaded with
proneness criteria for the deep mining of Sanshandao Gold Mine. the axial strain (ε1) constant. The results are shown in Fig. 6.

Table 3
Rock burst proneness analysis of the main rocks in Sanshandao Gold Mine based on multiple criteria.

Lithology Impact property Linear elastic energy Brittleness coefficient Tao Zhenyu index

3
R Proneness WE (kJ/m ) Proneness B Proneness α
600 Proneness α
870 Proneness

Amphibolite tonalites 1.8 Yes 58.51 Moderate 5.89 Strong 3.17 Moderate 2.22 Strong
Adamellite 2.5 Yes 92.19 Moderate 10.22 Strong 2.60 Strong 1.82 Strong
Biotite granulite 2.6 Yes 118.66 Strong 5.93 Strong 3.58 Moderate 2.50 Strong
Phyllic granite 3.1 Yes 181.79 Strong 7.68 Strong 4.60 Moderate 3.22 Moderate
Phyllic 2.8 Yes 105.96 Strong 6.51 Strong 3.42 Moderate 2.40 Strong
Footwall granite 2.3 Yes 70.25 Moderate 8.40 Strong 3.04 Moderate 2.13 Strong
 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94
Fig. 6. Curves of unloading triaxial tests (unloading confining pressure with constant ε1) of Biotite granulite.
As shown in Fig. 6(a), in the initial stage of unloading confining
pressure, the increase of circumferential strain (ε2) is small. There
is an approximate linear relationship between the ε2 and s3, in-
dicating that the ε2 is in the state of elastic deformation. With the
reduction of confining pressure, the plastic deformation appears in
the specimen. In this process, even a small decrease of s3 can
cause an obvious increase in ε2. As shown in Fig. 6(b), the s1
gradually decreases with the reduction of s3, and the strength of
specimen declines significantly. And the s1 of specimen is greatly
reduced after failure, indicating that the effect of s3 on axial
bearing capacity is remarkable.
Besides, the test machine does not do work on the specimen as
the confining pressure was unloaded with constant ε1. The elastic
strain energy accumulated in the specimen is released during its
yielding and failure process. From Fig. 6(c) and (d), we know that
the rock failure will occur in a low stress state as the stress along
one direction suddenly decreases. Therefore, actually, only small
elastic strain energy will be absorbed by the rock, and most of
them will be released to cause rock burst.
Additionally, compared with rock specimens, the rock mass is
large and full of fractures and joints, so the strength and rock burst
proneness of the rock mass is weaker than the intact rock speci-
mens. Therefore, a numerical model was built to perform the
quantitative calculation of the rock burst risk prediction at deep
positions in Sanshandao Gold Mine.
91
4.3. Rock burst risk prediction of deep mining based on energy ac-
cumulation condition
4.3.1. The second necessary condition for rock bursts
A rock burst is a dynamic phenomenon of rock failure caused
by energy that accumulates and releases. The rock mass accumu-
lates a certain amount of elastic strain energy in the initial state.
And the rock burst would occur when the stored energy attains a
certain limit. So the occurrence and intensity of rock bursts have a
direct relationship with the amount of energy that has accumu-
lated in the rock mass. Namely, rock burst occurrence must have
another necessary condition as well: the mechanical system
composed by the rock mass must be able to provide a stress en-
vironment that accumulates and abruptly releases high energy.
4.3.2. Establishment of the numerical model
The FLAC3D program was used to calculate and analyze the
distribution and accumulation of energy in surrounding rock
during the orebody excavation. According to the occurrence en-
vironment of lithology and orebody, and the mining method
(Room-and-pillar method) at deep positions in Sanshandao Gold
Mine, the numerical model was set up from the elevation of

380 m to
1180 m. In the model's coordinates, it took the strike
direction and thickness direction of the orebody and the vertical
direction as x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, respectively. The model's
92 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94

Table 4
Physical and mechanical parameters assigned in the model.

Lithology Bulk modulus (GPa) Shear modulus (GPa) Cohesion (MPa) Internal friction angle (deg) Tensile strength (MPa)

Rock mass Hanging wall 3.37 2.8 11.4 31 4.37

Footwall 5.48 3.45 42.8 37 5.98
Fault 0.595 3.78 0.128 18 0.0198
Orebody 2.51 1.35 21.5 33 3.44

length in the direction of x-axis and y-axis and the height in the
direction of the z-axis are 400 m, 800 m and 800 m, respectively.
The model is divided into 239,508 units and 256,878 nodes.
Considering geological and hydrogeological conditions, the model
is divided into four groups: the rock mass around the hanging
wall, footwall, fault, and orebody.
The in-situ stress field model received from the in-situ stress
measurement was used to calculate the sh,max, sh,min and sv, then
loaded the stress gradient constraints on the model boundary and
the gravitational field to the model. Finally, the model constrained
the z direction displacement of the bottom surface, the x direction
displacement on the two surfaces perpendicular to the x-axis, and
the y direction displacement of the two surfaces perpendicular to
the y-axis.
The physical and mechanical parameters of the model, ob-
tained by the rock mechanics tests, appropriately reduced con-
sidering the size effect based on Hoek–Brown criterion. The
parameters of the rock mass around the hanging wall, footwall,
fault, and orebody assigned in the model are shown in Table 4.
4.3.3. The elastic strain energy distribution of surrounding rock in
deep mining
The elastic strain energy parameters were defined in FLAC3D to
simulate the energy accumulation and distribution in surrounding
rock during the orebody excavation. The elastic strain energy of
the surrounding rock can be calculated according to

-5.1180e+004 to -4.0000e+004
-4.0000e+004 to -2.0000e+004
-2.0000e+004 to 0.0000e+000 -2.0000e+004 to 0.0000e+000
0.0000e+000 to 2.0000e+004 0.0000e+000 to 2.0000e+004
2.0000e+004 to 4.0000e+004 2.0000e+004 to 4.0000e+004
4.0000e+004 to 6.0000e+004 4.0000e+004 to 6.0000e+004
6.0000e+004 to 8.0000e+004 6.0000e+004 to 8.0000e+004
8.0000e+004 to 9.9585e+004 8.0000e+004 to 1.0000e+005
1.0000e+005 to 1.0918e+005

-2.0000e+004 to 0.0000e+000 -2.5000e+004 to 0.0000e+000

0.0000e+000 to 2.0000e+004 0.0000e+000 to 2.5000e+004
2.0000e+004 to 4.0000e+004 2.5000e+004 to 5.0000e+004
4.0000e+004 to 6.0000e+004 5.0000e+004 to 7.5000e+004
6.0000e+004 to 8.0000e+004 7.5000e+004 to 1.0000e+005
8.0000e+004 to 1.0000e+005 1.0000e+005 to 1.2500e+005
1.2500e+005 to 1.3689e+005

-7.4467e+004 to -5.0000e+004
-2.5000e+004 to 0.0000e+000 -5.0000e+004 to 0.0000e+000
0.0000e+000 to 2.5000e+004 0.0000e+000 to 5.0000e+004
2.5000e+004 to 5.0000e+004 5.0000e+004 to 1.0000e+005
5.0000e+004 to 7.5000e+004 1.0000e+005 to 1.5000e+005
7.5000e+004 to 1.0000e+005 1.5000e+005 to 2.0000e+005
1.0000e+005 to 1.2500e+005 2.0000e+005 to 2.3784e+005
1.2500e+005 to 1.5000e+005
1.5000e+005 to 1.5825e+005

Fig. 7. The elastic strain energy distribution in surrounding rock during the future mining process (unit: J/m3). (a) level -780m to -825m, (b) level -825m to -870m,
(c) level -870m to -915m, (d) level -915m to -960m, (e) level -960m to -1005m and (f) level -1005m to -1050m.
 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94
1 log E = 4.8 + 1.5 M
We = (σ1ε1 + σ 2 ε2 + σ 3 ε3 )
2 (9)
where We is the elastic strain energy of the surrounding rock; s1,
s2, s3 and ε1, ε2, ε3 are the principal stresses and the principal
strains, respectively, in a rock element.
Currently, the deepest development of the Sanshandao Gold
Mine is at the level of
780 m, so the mining area from level

780 m to
1050 m was chosen. The current sub-level height,
45 m, was assigned as the sub-level height of the model. On the
basis of the existing modules of FLAC3D, Fish language was pro-
grammed to simulate and reveal the accumulation and distribu-
tion of elastic strain energy in the surrounding rock after the deep
orebody excavation. The elastic strain energy contours of the sur-
rounding rock around the stopes during the future mining activ-
ities are shown in Fig. 7.
4.3.4. Energy accumulation of surrounding rock in deep mining
The simulation results show that the elastic strain energy in-
creases with mining from the higher sub-level to lower sub-level.
The energy accumulation zone is mainly distributed in the sur-
rounding rock around two sides and the handing wall of the stope.
The maximum energy value appears at the junctions of two sides
and hanging wall of the stope. The research30 shows that the rock
burst is likely to occur when the strain energy accumulated in the
surrounding rock is greater than 1.0  105 J/m3. The maximum
elastic strain energy of the surrounding rock is about
9.9585  104 J/m3 during the mining of sub-level
780 m to

825 m. Therefore, below the depth of
825 m, the maximum
elastic strain energy during mining is greater than 1.0  105 J/m3,
which could create the high-energy environment for rock burst
occurrence in the surrounding rock.
According to the stress and strain distribution from the simu-
lation, the energy stored in the surrounding rock can be calculated
with:
n
1 rage capability of surrounding rock. Therefore, reasonable and
W= ∑ ( σ1ε1 + σ 2 ε2 + σ 3 ε3 ) × Ve
i=1
2 (10)
where W is the energy stored in rock mass elements; Ve is the
element volume; n is the number of elements.
As shown in Fig. 7, the maximum elastic strain energy con-
centrates on the corner of the stope and the elastic energy in
surrounding rock is mainly distributed within the range of 10 m
around the stope. Therefore, the above range of the surrounding
rock was outlined to calculate the gross accumulated energy
around the stopes in the different depths (Table 5).
4.3.5. The prediction of rock burst magnitude
A rock burst is essentially a sudden release of strain energy
accumulated in a rock mass during the excavation in a high in-situ
stress field. In essence, the rock burst is a kind of artificially in-
duced earthquake.31 According to the seismological theory, the
energy released through seismic waves can be used to calculate
the earthquake magnitude with:
Table 5
Energy accumulation status and rock burst caused mine earthquake magnitude in deep mining.
Sub-level
780 m to
825 m to

825 m
87 0m
The maximum elastic strain energy 9.9585 × 104 1.0918 × 105
We,max (J/m3)
The accumulation elastic energy in the / 3.9742 × 109
range of 10 m around stope (J)
Mine earthquake magnitude / 3.1
93
(11)
where E represents the energy accumulated in rock mass in Eq.
(10), and M is the earthquake magnitude corresponding to the
rock burst.
The potential mine earthquake magnitudes (Table 5) caused by
rock bursts can be calculated according to the accumulated energy
in the surrounding rock at different sub-levels using Eq. (11). The
research and prediction results show that rock bursts will most
likely occur when the mining depth exceeds
825 m. Mine
earthquakes caused by rock bursts could reach and exceed mag-
nitude 3 below
825 m, and the mining in sub-levels of
1005 m
to
1050 m could induce mine earthquakes of magnitude 3.4. This
should draw significant attention and cause the necessary mea-
sures to be taken to monitor and control rock bursts in future deep
mining activities.
4.3.6. The prevention measures of rock burst
Room-and-pillar method is still used in the deep mining of
Sanshandao Gold Mine. During the deep excavation of roadways or
stopes, the lateral stress of surrounding rock is removed and the
stress field is redistributed. According to the unloading triaxial
tests results, the unloading effect causes the rapid decrease in the
bearing capacity of surrounding rock, which could lead to rock
failure in a low stress state. The rock burst will occur with the
quick and sudden release of elastic strain energy accumulated in
the surrounding rock. Therefore, timely and effective support
should be carried out in the deep excavation to prevent a sudden
decrease in the confining pressure of surrounding rock.
In addition, many studies have shown that the greater the
volume of one excavation, the greater the energy release; the
faster the excavating speed, the higher the energy release rate.13
Especially, when the excavation face is close to discontinuities, the
stress concentration of interface is more remarkable. In the
meantime, the rock burst easily occurs because of the increase of
the strain energy and the decrease of the maximum energy sto-
effective mining method, support, and excavation manner and
speed would be chosen to avoid various predisposing factors that
cause rock bursts in the deep mining of Sanshandao Gold Mine.
5. Conclusions
The overcoring technique with hollow inclusion strain gauge
adapted for in-situ stress measurements at great depth was used
to obtain the three-dimensional stress states of nine measurement
points at six levels in Sanshandao Gold Mine. Based on the results
of in-situ stress measurements, uniaxial tests and unloading
triaxial tests, multi criteria were used to qualitatively analyze and
evaluate the rock burst proneness in deep mining. Finally, com-
bined with the energy accumulation, distribution, and develop-
ment, potential rock burst locations and the magnitudes induced
by the future deep mining were predicted. The main conclusions
were drawn as follows.

870 m to
915 m to
960 m to
1005 m to

915 m
960 m
1005 m
1050 m
1.2078 × 105 1.3689 × 105 1.5825 × 105 2.3784 × 105
4.3964 × 109 4.9828  109 4.9828 × 109 8.6574 × 109
3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4
94 S.-J. Miao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 83 (2016) 86–94
The in-situ stresses are at a high level in deep positions, and the
horizontal tectonic stress is in the dominating position in the mine
area. The sh,max, sh,min and sv increase in a nearly linear relation-
ship with depth. The maximum ratio of the sh,max to the sh,min is
1.98, which provides favorable conditions for rock failure and rock
burst.
The discriminant results obtained from multiple criteria show
that the main rocks at deep positions in Sanshandao Gold Mine
have a tendency towards rock burst. Especially, the greater the
depth, the stronger the rock burst proneness. It satisfies the first
necessary condition for a rock burst: the rock must have the ability
to store large amounts of elastic energy. In addition, a set of rock
burst proneness criteria for the deep mining of Sanshandao Gold
Mine is provided.
Curves of unloading triaxial tests show that the rock failure will
occur in a low stress state as the stress along one direction sud-
denly decreases. Actually, only small elastic strain energy will be
absorbed by the rock, and most of them will be released to cause
rock burst.
Energy accumulation and distribution during the deep mining
process calculated by numerical simulation with FLAC3D show that
the high-energy accumulation regions (the elastic energy density
is greater than 1.0  105 J/m3) exist below the mining of level

825 m in Sanshandao Gold Mine. This satisfies the second ne-
cessary condition for the rock burst: a stress environment that
adapts to accumulate high strain energy.
Rock bursts will most likely occur when the mining depth ex-
ceeds
825 m in Sanshandao Gold Mine, and the mine earth-
quakes caused by rock burst could exceed magnitude 3. Therefore,
monitoring techniques and safety measures should be taken to pay
particular attention to the potential rock burst regions.
In addition to the two necessary conditions, other various
predisposing factors also affect the rock burst, such as mining
method, support conditions, excavation manner and speed, hydro-
geological conditions, and so on, which induce uncertainty of rock
burst prediction. Therefore, it is necessary to combine with en-
gineering practice, in-situ measurement and monitoring to pre-
vent and control the occurrence of rock burst in deep mining of
Sanshandao Gold Mine.
Acknowledgments
This research is financially supported by National Natural Sci-
ence Foundation of China (No. 51574014, No. 11002021 and No.
51534002), Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project
(No.YETP0341), National Key Basic Research Program of China (973
Program) (No. 2015CB060200), Fundamental Research Funds for
the Central Universities (No. FRF-TP-15-037A2). Prof. Joseph F.
Labuz is gratefully acknowledged for his review of this paper.
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