A Critical Assessment of Dynamic Rock Reinforcement and Support Testing Facilities

A major engineering challenge for mines experiencing significant seismicity is the performance of the support systems. This paper provides a critical review of dynamic testing techniques used for understanding and quantifying the performance of ground support systems. This review focuses on testing rigs in Canada, Australia and South Africa. The different laboratory testing rigs are listed along with their characteristics and their advantages and disadvantages. The paper concludes with recommendations towards developing a more unified strategy to understand and eventually forecast the behaviour of support systems under dynamic loads.