Analytical study of mine closure behaviour in a poro‐visco‐elastic medium

This paper is interested in the hydro‐mechanical behaviour of an underground cavity abandoned at the end of its service life. It is an extension of a previous study that accounted for a poro‐elastic behaviour of the rock mass (Int. J. Comput. Geomech. 2007; DOI: 10.1016/j.compgeo.2007.11.003 ). Deterioration of the lining support with time leads to the transfer of the loading from the exterior massif to the interior backfill. The in situ material has a poro‐visco‐elastic constitutive behaviour while the backfill is poro‐elastic, both saturated with water. This loading transfer is accompanied by an inward cavity convergence, thereby compressing the backfill, and induces an outward water flow. This leads to a complex space–time evolution of pore pressures, displacements and stresses, which is not always intuitive. In its general setting, a semi‐explicit solution to this problem is developed, using Laplace transform, the inversion being performed numerically. Analytical inversion leading to a quasi‐explicit solution in the time domain is possible by identifying the characteristic creep and relaxation times of volumetric strains with those of the deviatoric strains, on the basis of a parametric study. A few numerical examples are given to illustrate the hydro‐mechanical behaviour of the cavity and highlight the influence of key parameters (e.g. stiffness of backfill, lining deterioration rate, etc.). Further studies accounting for more general material behaviours for the backfill and external ground are ongoing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.