Underground mines use a combination of rock reinforcement and surface support elements to maintain the structural integrity of excavations in rock. The design of an effective ground support system requires an understanding of the mechanical behaviour of individual ground support components and how they interact under load. This paper reviews the mechanical behaviour of welded wire steel mesh routinely used in underground mines. It further reviews the advantages and limitations of using testing rigs used to quantify the performance of mesh. In particular, it illustrates the impact of rig configuration and testing parameters on mesh performance. The main focus of this work is the development and calibration of 3D discrete element method of numerical models capable of reproducing mesh behaviour under specific testing configurations. The developed models successfully reproduced the load redistribution on the mesh wires, the load–displacement response, and failure mechanisms observed in laboratory tests. The calibrated models were subsequently used to determine the impact of testing rig configurations, including loading plate dimensions and orientation, and mesh dimensions on the performance of mesh under load. This work has significant practical implications on how to interpret results obtained from different testing rigs. Furthermore, the results of this work can provide guidance towards designing new testing rig configurations as well as demonstrating the need for the development of testing methods and procedures. Finally, it illustrates the challenges that have to be overcome if the explicit modelling of mesh will be a reliable part of the ground support design process.

中文翻译：

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了解测试配置对电焊网实验室测试结果的影响

地下矿山使用岩石加固和表面支撑元件的组合来保持岩石开挖的结构完整性。有效的地面支持系统的设计需要了解各个地面支持组件的机械性能以及它们在负载下如何相互作用。本文综述了地下矿井常用电焊钢丝网的力学性能。它进一步回顾了使用用于量化网格性能的测试台的优点和局限性。特别是，它说明了钻机配置和测试参数对网格性能的影响。这项工作的主要重点是开发和校准能够在特定测试配置下再现网格行为的数值模型的 3D 离散元方法。开发的模型成功地再现了网格线上的负载重新分布、负载位移响应和实验室测试中观察到的失效机制。校准后的模型随后用于确定试验台配置的影响，包括加载板尺寸和方向，以及网格尺寸对负载下网格性能的影响。这项工作对于如何解释从不同测试台获得的结果具有重要的实际意义。此外，这项工作的结果可以为设计新的测试台配置以及证明开发测试方法和程序的必要性提供指导。最后，它说明了如果网格的显式建模将成为地面支撑设计过程的可靠部分必须克服的挑战。