An integrated decision-making framework for rockburst hazard evaluation under uncertain environment: a case study of Linglong gold mine

The evaluation of rockburst hazard is significant for deep underground engineering. However, it is still a challenging task due to the uncertainty of rock mass properties. To evaluate the rockburst hazard reliably under uncertain environment, an integrated decision-making framework was proposed in this paper. First, considering the inherent inhomogeneity of rock mass, the Gaussian fuzzy numbers (GaFNs) were utilized to describe initial indicator information by introducing two uncertainty parameters. Then, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and criteria importance though intercriteria correlation (CRITIC) methods were integrated to determine the indicator weights, which considered the correlation and variability of indicators synthetically. Subsequently, the Combinative Distance-based Assessment (CODAS) method was extended with the GaFNs to determine the rockburst hazard level. Finally, an example of evaluating the rockburst hazard in Linglong gold mine was illustrated. The hazard level of four crucial areas was determined, and the ranking results were consistent with the field status. In addition, sensitivity and comparison analyses were conducted to reveal the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. Results indicated that the extended CODAS method was reliable for rockburst hazard evaluation in underground engineering.