ABSTRACT: A domal failure 12 m high has occurred in flat lying, well-bedded limestone in a large room in Salamander Cave, Indiana. The roof is analyzed as a series of laminated beams, with free slip between the individual beams of each laminated beam. The relationship between stiffness and deflection for individual beams was calculated using a cracked beam column finite element code. The analysis provides a model for evolution of the failure. Crucial to stability is the development of large axial compressive stresses in the thicker beams as they crack. Outward frictional sliding toward the free face at the nearby hillside may restrict the magnitude of the axial compressive stress. This restriction is required to explain the observed failure and it implies that the remaining roof may be near failure.
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4th North American Rock Mechanics Symposium
July 31–August 3, 2000
Seattle, Washington
ISBN:
9058091554
Progressive Roof Failure in Breakdown Mountain Room, Salamander Cave
Paper presented at the 4th North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, Seattle, Washington, July 2000.
Paper Number:
ARMA-2000-0415
Published:
July 31 2000
Citation
Tharp, Thomas M., and John N. Foster. "Progressive Roof Failure in Breakdown Mountain Room, Salamander Cave." Paper presented at the 4th North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, Seattle, Washington, July 2000.
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