Polyhedral Stability Analysis

Polyhedral stability analysis allows you to take a second approach to assessing the stability of rigid blocks daylighting on your excavation. Unlike the Wedge Stability Analysis method, blocks of any shape (called polyhedra) can be accommodated (that is, not just simple wedges). The method is based on the work conducted by CSIRO and described in Elmouttie M. K., Poropat G.V. & Krahenbuhl G., 2010, “Polyhedral modelling of rock mass structure”, Int. Journal Rock Mech. & Min Sci. 47 (4) 544 – 552. The picture below shows an example of a block that was detected by the polyhedral modelling analysis method for a complex structural model.

The wedge and polyhedral analysis methods differ in several ways. The polyhedral method allows for more realistic constraints to be placed on the stability analysis. This generally means it is a less conservative approach than the wedge analysis method, and is therefore more sensitive to the accuracy input data. The table below compares polyhedral modelling with other modelling methods.