Experimental study for the particle size distribution of mine spoil pile cross section

Abstract

The aim of the experiment is to analyze and view the distribution of gangue with different particle sizes in mine spoil pile cross section. According to the Dimensional method, ‘Pi’ theorem was employed first to abbreviate ten physical and mechanical parameters to three dimensionless groups, and then the similarity criterion and coefficient of the experiment were determined and calculated based on particle size distribution curve. The similarity model was designed and constructed to represent the process of the mine spoil pile. The profile of the final model shows that the small sized particles mainly compose the upper zone of the mine spoil pile, while the bottom of the pile is dominated by bigger sized particles, and the intermediate section presents a zigzag stripe cross-bedding structure which is composed by small-medium scale particles and medium-large scale particles. Each stripe has two critical angles: one is the angle in which gangue particles can maintain their stability condition, with approximate range from 24° to 26°; and the other is the angle in which particles can stop gliding downwards, approximately varying from 34° to 36°.