A new technique for describing the deformation behavior of the rock mass around an underground opening in salt

The deformation behavior of the rock mass around an underground opening in salt is described involving a new technique using only field measurements. These included data from extensometers, closure points, and inclinometers. The separations across a clay seam derived from field measurements can be also included. A FORTRAN program based on interpolation techniques calculates the X and Y displacements around an opening from field measurements using one or two-dimensional interpolation functions without having to take into consideration the properties of the rock salt and impurities. This technique was applied to the deformation data from Site and Preliminary Design Validation (SPDV) Room 2 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The computer code FLAC was used to load and display the output from the program.