Abstract
China has over 1500 open-pit mines and 5000 dumps consisting of waste rock from the mining process. Due to dump instability in an open-pit mine and its diverse foundations, landslides and mudslides frequently occur. Heaped loose waste rock and concentrated heavy rainfalls are the two important factors affecting slope stability of a dump. Using the high Dump II within the Nanfen Open-Pit Iron Mine with a slope height of 300 m as a case study, this paper first proposes a physical model similarity ratio according to the on-site engineering geological survey data. The governing principles of deformation in the shallow dump layers in terms of different heaped loads and rainfall were then determined using fiber optic sensing to conduct an experimental study on the monitoring of the dump stability with an indoor physical model. Experimental results confirm that the amount of rainfall and heaped load has a great impact on the landslide in a dump. With an increase in the amount of material heaped onto the pile, the place between two heaped load points is squeezed and slowly deformed. As rainfall begins, the deformation of the rock-soil mass is significant, and constantly increasing rainfall intensity is accompanied by a dangerous sliding surface. Finally, the FLAC3D method was used to simulate the deformation features in the shallow part of Dump II under different heaped load conditions and verify the experimental results of the indoor physical model. By comparing the physical model experiments and numerical simulation results, we propose monitoring the stability of Dump II using this fiber optic sensing technology and provide the scientific basis for stability monitoring of similar dumps to detect the early warning signs of mudslides or landslides.
Highlights
Open-pit mines are prolific throughout China, generating enormous amounts of stripped, exploited, and discarded rocks
FLAC3D was adopted to analyze the vertical displacement and shear strain of the dump under different heaped load conditions, which provided the basis for the determination of the position of the sliding surface in the slope
The Dump II (Fengjiadonggou) within the Nanfen Open-Pit Iron Mine was the prototype for determining strain and deformation through experimental study and numerical simulation calculation on fiber optic monitoring with the indoor physical model combined with on-site engineering survey data and landslide analysis methods of the dump
Summary
Open-pit mines are prolific throughout China, generating enormous amounts of stripped, exploited, and discarded rocks. Topography, base lithology, discharge of surface water, groundwater flow, form of the dump slope, process and parameters of dump stacking, and shock caused by construction and earthquakes. These factors can be divided into four categories: external force, physical and mechanical properties of the base, physical and mechanical properties of dumping materials, and the impact caused by water. Research on dumps has determined the granular structure, landslide mechanisms, and other aspects based on features and methods of slope stability research, forming a complete basis for research on and analysis methods for dump stability. Through the combination of the fiber optic monitoring of indoor physical model experiments and numerical simulations of the stability of the dump, a theoretical and practical foundation is laid for fiber optic monitoring solutions of a mine dump
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