Parametric Design for Mine Planning
What is Parametric Design? Parametric design is an algorithmic design approach that uses a series of data inputs to create various outputs. These data inputs or parameters allow the model to be flexible enough to let engineers and designers create, consider and evaluate a multitude of scenarios quickly and efficiently. Parametric design is used extensively in such industries as transportation and mobility, aerospace and defense, marine and offshore, industrial equipment, life sciences and healthcare, architecture, engineering, construction, consumer packaged goods, retail, home and lifestyle industries. Now the mining industry is beginning to use this same model-based approach to significantly accelerate and improve our traditional mine design process.
Brief History
The mathematical concept has been around since the 19th century, but for our modern purposes, parametric design or computer-aided design (CAD) was first developed around the mid-1960’s by IBM. This new drafting system electronically reproduced manual design and drastically reduced design time. This design approach first attracted the attention of the aerospace industry in the 1970s and gained wider adoption across various industries, eventually giving birth to modern design packages by the early 1980s.
Parametric design uses various parameters as inputs to the design model, so as parameters update, so does the model and any resultant 3D geometries. This creates a mathematical shortcut to the final design that shrinks to minutes or hours, which typically would take weeks or months using conventional design approaches.
Architecture Origins
Architects were among the first to adopt parametric design approaches. Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi developed an analog method in the early years of the 20th century using lengths of rope, birdshot weights, anchors and gravity to create a hanging computational model of the complex vaulted ceilings and arches for the Church of Colònia Güell in Catalonia.
By adjusting the position of weights or lengths of lines, Gaudi modified individual parameters to generate different versions of the model. He didn’t have to manually calculate parametric equations to see the result. Gravity showed him how each change altered the shape of the structure.
Before the Church of Colònia Güell, Gaudi became lead architect in 1883 for the world-famous Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Begun in 1882 and slated for completion in 2026, Gaudí's Sagrada Familia remains today an important case study of parametric design modeling for multiple variations of complex geometries.
Computers and Graphics
By the 1980s, architects had also turned to CAD software to calculate and render parametric designs of novel forms. The automotive industry began employing computer-aided design and electronic parametric requirements by the 1990s to replace traditional methodologies for component and system designs. Parametric design techniques sharply cut the time and number of engineers needed to develop final prototypes. Parametric design also led to the unexpected capability of digital prototyping, which removed the need to build physical prototypes and reduced manufacturing time.
These methods have been extensively applied by aerospace engineers to model aerodynamic objects and light-weight materials. Parametric design with 3D modeling and bioprinting lets medical scientists and engineers design patient-specific elements and implants. Urban planners model pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Today, parametric design software is used across various industries modelling everything from the aircrafts we see overhead to the soda bottle we see on the ground.
Mining Applications
For mine planning and design, parametric modeling establishes an intelligent workflow reducing the time to produce a design, and efficiently allowing for the simulation of various design scenarios. The design isn’t just limited to 3D shapes and wireframes; complex computations can also be performed to produce financial and costing models to compare alternative designs.
In underground mining, for example, the strategic mine design can be controlled by such parameters as the mining method, the spacing between tunnels and levels, and the ramp and level gradient to automate the creation of the mine design. This automated design can be scheduled to determine the economic return of a project. At the same time, the same design can be used to evaluate the geotechnical stability of a design. This approach not only allows mining companies to look for the most economic option, but also reduces the risks of the project.
As of today, the mining industry traditionally relies on General Mine Planning (GMP) tools, which require the manual work of a planner or designer. Integration with parametric design tools will likely be adopted into the mainstream of the mining industry within the next decade as we start to realize the same transformative benefits that the other industries have already seen. Those benefits include a reduction in time to design and the time in between designs, and a significant reduction in cost.
Parametric Design for Mining Series
This series on parametric design explores how mining professionals can transform and accelerate our traditional mine design process for a sustainable future.
The first article, Conventional vs Parametric Mine Design, compares conventional and parametric approaches to see how the latter improves the process and adds value. The second installment, Simulation in Parametric Mine Design, introduces a Design of Experiment (DoE) simulation using the parametric mine design approach. Number three in the series as mentioned above, Solving Unconventional Problems, reviews an important case study of a major underground mining operation that demonstrates how a parametric design accelerated design workflow to accomplish a process in hours that used to take weeks. The final installment, Moving Toward Parametric Mining, looks at challenges and opportunities parametric design presents for mining’s future.
Mine Planning Mine Design Parametric Design
Christina LUDWICKI is a Mining Industry Process Consultant at Dassault Systèmes GEOVIA with 15 years of experience in Industry and Consulting. Christina holds a BEng in Mining Engineering from Dalhousie University. Throughout her career, she has worked in various aspects and methods within the mining industry, from mine planning in narrow vein gold mines, to feasibility studies of large Block Caves and Sub-level Caves. Christina is now focused on developing cross brand synergies across the DS portfolio to deliver maximum value to the mining industry.
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