Abstract. The stability of man-made underground cavities in soft rocks interacting
with overlying structures and infrastructures represents a challenging
problem to be faced. Based upon the results of a large number of parametric
two-dimensional (2-D) finite-element analyses of ideal cases of underground
cavities, accounting for the variability both cave geometrical features and
rock mechanical properties, specific charts have been recently proposed in
the literature to assess at a preliminary stage the stability of the
cavities. The purpose of the present paper is to validate the efficacy of
the stability charts through the application to several case studies of
underground cavities, considering both quarries collapsed in the past and
quarries still stable. The stability graphs proposed by Perrotti et al. (2018) can be useful to evaluate, in a preliminary way, a safety margin for cavities that have not reached failure and to detect indications of
predisposition to local or general instability phenomena. Alternatively, for
sinkholes that already occurred, the graphs may be useful in identifying the
conditions that led to the collapse, highlighting the importance of some
structural elements (as pillars and internal walls) on the overall stability
of the quarry system.
Finite Element Numerical Integration on Xeon Phi coprocessor