Rocscience Course: Advanced Rock Slope Stability Analysis: Integrating ShapeMetriX With Rocscience Slope Stability Software

This comprehensive training course is designed for practicing engineers and geologists involved in the stability analysis of surface excavations in blocky rock masses. Participants will learn to use ShapeMetriX to capture attributes such as orientation, persistence and spacing of geological structures. The course will cover the fundamentals of discontinuity characterization with ShapeMetriX and the practical application of various Rocscience software, including Dips, and RocSlope3 (and an upcoming slope stability software, RocSlope2) to the analysis of discontinuity-controlled failure mechanisms.

By the end of this course, participants will be proficient in processing 3D imaging data using ShapeMetriX, characterizing the discontinuities in rock masses from diverse data sources, and seamlessly integrating this information into Dips, RocSlope3 and other Rocscience software for comprehensive stability assessment. It will balance theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice, ensuring that participants gain practical skills they can immediately apply in their work.

Register to Rocscience Course

• Course Date: October 7-9, 2024
• Venue: The Fairway Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort, Setperk Road, Randpark
• Languages: English
• Registration Fees:
  • Early bird - USD $850 (Until September 15, 2024)
  • Regular - USD $1,000

What’s included:

• Temporary software licenses to all registrants
• Morning Tea, Lunch and Afternoon Tea daily
• PDF of course materials
• Certificate

Please note:

• Registrants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation.
• Registrants must bring their own laptops (and mouse).
• Seats are limited

Course Objectives:

• Understand the fundamental role of discontinuities in the stability of surface excavations
• Learn to use ShapeMetriX to convert digital photos and LIDAR data to 3D surfaces
• Learn to measure discontinuity attributes, including orientation, persistence, spacing, and planarity, and characterize geological structures using ShapeMetriX
• Integrate discontinuity data from ShapeMetriX into Dips, RocSlopes3 and other Rocscience software for comprehensive stability analysis
• Understand the fundamentals of slope stability analysis methods, including kinematic analysis, the Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM)
• Develop practical skills for stabilizing unstable wedges or blocks through mechanical reinforcement, slope geometry modifications, and drainage

Course Outline:

Day 1: Introduction to Rock Slope Stability and Fundamentals of ShapeMetriX

• Introduction to Rock Slope Stability

• Importance of discontinuities in rock mass behaviour
• Overview of slope failure mechanisms (planar, wedge, toppling)
• Fundamentals of ShapeMetrix
• Overview of ShapeMetriX
• Best practices for digital photo capture
• Integration with other imaging technologies (e.g., LIDAR)
• Processing digital photos
• Generating and refining 3D models
• Measuring discontinuity attributes (orientation, persistence, etc.) from 3D image models
• Exporting data to
• Discontinuity Characterization in ShapeMetriX
• Measuring orientation, persistence, spacing, and planarity
• Statistical analysis of discontinuity sets
• Data Export and Integration
• Exporting orientation and other discontinuity data to Dips and RocSlope3
• Creating and interpreting stereonets in Dips

Day 2: Stability Analysis with Dips, RocSlope2 and RocSlope3

• Orientation, Structural Geological and Kinematic Analysis in Dips
• Stereographic projection and plotting – understanding poles, planes, and contours on stereographic plots
• Introduction to Dips and its capabilities – understanding user interface and basic functionalities
• Inputting data from various sources (boreholes, televiewer, ShapeMetriX, etc.)
• Analyzing, managing and organizing data in Dips
1. Plotting orientations on stereonets
2. Identifying and analyzing discontinuity sets
3. Filtering discontinuity sets based on attributes
• Identifying geological structures such as folds
• Kinematic analysis of potential slope failure modes
• Wedge, Planar and Toppling Stability Analysis with RocSlope2
• Introduction to LEM in RocSlope2
• Setting up models with ShapeMetriX data
• Conducting analyses in RocSlope2
• Interpreting results and sensitivity analysis
• Designing stabilization measures

• Wedge Stability Analysis with RocSlope3

• Overview of 3D geometry modelling – importing data, typical issues and geometry repair
• Using RocSlope3 for wedge failure analysis
• Integrating ShapeMetriX data for realistic models
• Deterministic and probabilistic analysis
• Interpreting results and designing stabilization measures

Day 3: Stability Analysis with RS3

• Introduction to Numerical Modelling with RS3
• Basics of material strength and constitutive behaviour
• Stress analysis and deformation prediction
• Fundamentals of FEM analysis
• Boundary conditions and meshes
• Creating 3D finite element models from RocSlope3

• Using the Finite Element Method (FEM) for more detailed analysis – simulating complex failure mechanisms

• Interpreting results
• Course Wrap-up and Future Directions
• Emerging technologies in rock slope stability analysis
• Continuous improvement in data collection and analysis techniques
• Q&A session and final discussions