Abstract
The soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an essential parameter for studying the mechanical properties of unsaturated tailings, and it plays an important role in stability assessment and prediction of unsaturated tailings dams. In this paper, the matrix suction was measured indirectly by a filter paper-based method to investigate the effects of key factors (gradation, temperature, and initial dry density) on the soil–water characteristic curves of fine-grained tailings, and the Van Genuchten model was adopted to obtain the empirical equation of SWCC and to verify the accuracy of experimental results. The results showed the following: 1) the Van Genuchten model fits well the relationship between matric suction and volumetric moisture content of fine-grained tailings, indicating that experimental data determined by filter paper-based method is accurate and appropriate; 2) at the same volumetric moisture content, the matrix suction increased with decreasing average particle size, and the decrease in temperature will increase the matrix suction and water-holding capacity of fine-grained tailings, and the matrix suction of the tailings in summer is 38.3% lower than that in winter under the natural volumetric moisture content (14.0%); 3) when the saturation degree of fine-grained tailings is less than 60%, the greater the initial dry density, the better the water-holding capacity and matrix suction.
Highlights
As the hydraulic structure for tailings storage, tailings reservoir is one of the major hazardous sources for the mining enterprises
In this paper, the matrix suction was determined by filter paper-based method to investigate the effect of gradation, temperature, and initial dry density on the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) of fine-grained tailings
To determine the effect of different initial dry densities on the matrix suction of fine-grained tailings, the raw tailings with a volumetric moisture content of 14% were compacted under the vertical pressure of 0, 150, and 300 kPa, which are roughly consistent with gravity stress of tailings at burial depths of 0, 10, and 20 m, respectively
Summary
As the hydraulic structure for tailings storage, tailings reservoir is one of the major hazardous sources for the mining enterprises. The previous research results show that gradation, temperature, and initial dry density are the key factors affecting the SWCC of tailings, so it is necessary to quantitatively evaluate the effect of key factors on the SWCC to analyze the stability of the unsaturated part of the tailings dam. In this paper, the matrix suction was determined by filter paper-based method to investigate the effect of gradation, temperature, and initial dry density on the SWCC of fine-grained tailings. To determine the effect of different initial dry densities on the matrix suction of fine-grained tailings, the raw tailings with a volumetric moisture content of 14% were compacted under the vertical pressure of 0, 150, and 300 kPa, which are roughly consistent with gravity stress of tailings at burial depths of 0, 10, and 20 m, respectively. The initial dry densities of tailings under the vertical pressure of 0, 150, and 300 kPa were calculated as 1.27, 1.41, and 1.55 g/cm, respectively
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