Development of Mathematical Models of Creep Behavior’s Mae Moh Claystone

Abstract

Mae Moh Coal Mine is the largest open-pit mine in Thailand. Nowadays, the mine is continuing mining operations with higher depth of more than 300 meters in the future. Therefore, the long-term stability associated with the creep behavior of the claystone which is the main component of Mae Moh mine slopes must be seriously considered. Creep is a time-dependent behavior of a material under the condition of constant stress for a curtain time period. This paper aimed to develop a mathematical model of creep behavior of Mae Moh claystone based on the specially customized multi-stage creep tests. The creep mathematical models were used to simulate the creep behavior of Mae Moh claystone under a range of stress conditions of the Mae Moh mine. Three models of Maxwell model, Kelvin model, and Bugers Creep model were proposed in this study. The result showed that the Bugers Creep model had a good agreement between the test results and a model. This could be used to describe the creep behavior of Mae Moh claystone.