From Microstructure to Bursting: A Novel Reliability-based framework for Rockburst Proneness Criteria to Enhance Mining Safety and Rockburst Hazards Management

Faculty Development Competitive Research Grants Program for 2026-2028

This project seeks to develop a novel reliability-based framework for evaluating rockburst proneness, integrating laboratory experiments, microstructural analyses, and probabilistic modeling to improve prediction accuracy and hazard management in deep mining. Rockbursts remain poorly understood due to the complex interactions between rock microstructure, stress, and energy release. The study will perform microstructural and mechanical testing (SEM, XRD, micro-CT, and true triaxial experiments) to quantify grain-scale influences on bursting behavior, supported by acoustic emission and high-speed imaging. The project will apply reliability methods such as FORM, Bayesian updating, and Monte Carlo simulation to incorporate uncertainty and determine rockburst probabilities. The resulting reliability-based rockburst criterion will unify experimental and probabilistic insights into a comprehensive risk assessment tool, advancing the scientific understanding and practical management of rockburst hazards in deep mining and tunneling environments.