Collapse Evolvement Analysis of Upstream Tailings Dam in Flood Situation

Abstract

Very large volume of mined ore materials are processed annually to obtain the various types of minerals that are essential to industrial processes, the upstream tailings dam is usually constructed to store these wastes. But with the increasing of dam quantities, the tailings dam collapsing in flood which are among the most dangerous hazards that affect mountainous and rural areas in a wide range of environments become more and more. Therefore it’s necessary to analyze the collapse mode of upstream tailings dam in flood situation. This paper using the physical model experiment and numerical simulation methods to research on the displacement, saturation line, stress and the broken processes, and the collapse mode of upstream tailings dam in flood water encountered in 100 years are explored. The results have very important significance and scientific support to understand the mechanism of collapse and broken mode deeply, and which have any new exploration for the prevention and control in flood hazard.