The selection and design of rock support systems rarely takes into explicit consideration the susceptibility of the systems to corrosion. The loss in capacity associated with the corrosion of support systems can be a major safety and economic concern in underground hard rock mines. This paper reports on the influence of atmospheric, aqueous and microbiological corrosion on the performance of support systems in several hard rock underground mines. In situ observations were complemented by laboratory investigations aiming to quantify the potential in loss of capacity of the installed support systems. A methodology is proposed to contribute to the selection and design of support systems in corrosive environments.
ASTM E8-99 Standard Designation. 1999. Standard test methods to tension testing of metallic materials, ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428–2959, United States.
2.
ASTM G1-03 Standard Designation. 2001. Standard practice for preparing, cleaning, and evaluating corrosion test specimens, ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428–2959, United States.
3.
ASTM G4-01 Standard Designation. 2003. Standard guide for conducting corrosion tests in field applications, ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
4.
CharetteF.2012. Stochastic approach to the corrosion assessment of rock bolts, ROCKENG12, Proc. 21st Canadian Rock Mechanics Symp., May 5–9, 2012, Edmonton, CARMA, 303–310.
5.
CharetteF, GermainP and HadjigeorgiouJ.2004. Corrosion behaviour of Swellex bolts in underground mining environments, Edmonton, AB, Canadian Institute of Mining, Annual General Meeting.
6.
DorionJF and HadjigeorgiouJ.2008. Caractérisation des environnements miniers menant à la corrosion des systèmes de soutènement, Proc. Maintenance Engineering Underground Mine Operators Conf., CIM, Val D'Or, CD-ROM only.
7.
DorionJF, HadjigeorgiouJ and GhaliE.2009. Quantifying the rate of corrosion in selected underground mines, Proc. Rock Eng09, May 9–14, 2009, Toronto, ON, CARMA.
8.
DorionJF, HadjigeorgiouJ and GhaliE.2010. Influence of corrosion rate on the capacity of rock support, ARMA 10–259, American Rock Mechanics Association, Proc. 44th US Rock Mechanics Symp. and 5th U.S.-Canada Rock Mechanics Symp., June 27–30, 2010, Salt Lake City, UT.
9.
HadjigeorgiouJ, DorionJF and GhaliE.2008. Support system performance under different corrosion conditions, J. South. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., 108, 359–365.
10.
HadjigeorgiouJ, GhaliE, CharetteF and KrishnadevMR. 2002. Fracture analysis of friction rock bolts, Proc. 5th North American Rock Mechanics Symp. and the 17th Tunnelling Association of Canada, Conf.: NARMS-TAC, 7–10 July 2002, University of Toronto Press, 881–887.
11.
HassellR, VillaescusaE, ThompsonAG and KinsellaB.2004. Corrosion assessment of ground support systems, Proc. 5th Int. Symp. on ‘Ground support, ground support in mining and underground construction’, (eds. VillaescusaE and PotvinY), September 28–30, 2004, Perth, WA, Australia, Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema, 529–542.
12.
LiC and LindbladK.1999. Corrosion classification of the underground environment, in Rock support and reinforcement practice in mining, (eds. VillaescusaE, WindsorC R and ThompsonA G), 69–75, Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema.
13.
RobinsonJ and TylerDB. 1999. A study of corrosion in underground reinforcement at Mount Isa Mines, corrosion classification of the underground environment, Rock Support and Reinforcement Practice in Mining, (eds. VillaescusaE, WindsorC R and ThompsonA G), Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema, 77–82.
14.
VillaescusaE, HassellR and ThompsonAG. 2008. Development of a corrosivity classification for cement grouted cable strand in underground hard-rock mining excavations, J. South. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., 108, 301–308.
15.
VillaescusaE.2004. Weld mesh for static rock support in Australia, in Surface support in mining, (eds. PotvinY, StaceyT R and HadjigeorgiouJ), 385–389, Perth, WA, Australian Centre for Geomechanics.
