Stability During Shaft Sinking (A Design Guideline for Ground Support of Circular Shafts)

Many shafts have experienced stability problems during shaft sinking because the designer failed to fully appreciate the conditions he would encounter. Some shafts have failed during construction because the ground supports provided to compensate for the expected conditions were inadequate despite the most careful investigations and analyses. To design a ground support which is ultimately safe to achieve stability during shaft sinking would be too costly and impractical and, therefore, many shafts would simply not be constructed. The design of a ground support for shaft sinking based on an intimate understanding of the expected ground behaviour and stress development during excavation combines the art of mining with the science of geotechnical engineering. Where no historical design data is available, the designer of the ground support must: 1. classify the rocks and soils and assess their behavioural characteristics; 2. calculate the primary and secondary stresses; 3. design and/or select a ground support system which will ensure stability of the excavation during shaft sinking.