Abstract
To evaluate the evolutionary processes guiding the formation of the tailings-water mixtures produced by the instantaneous collapse of tailings ponds and the influence of these on downstream facilities, a 2D simulation model with reasonable boundary and working conditions derived from actual engineering practice was built in this study, and the relationship between dam-break elevation and impact on downstream facilities was also analyzed to determine the relevant mechanism of influence. Computational results indicated that lowering the dam-break elevation caused the maximum velocity and flooding depth, along with the flooded area at monitoring points, to gradually increase. The occurrence times of maximum velocity and flooding depth were also gradually moved forward as the breaking elevation was reduced; this effect is directly related to the increase in the total potential energy at the lower break elevations. Further simulations of sand-prevent dams with different heights located downstream from a tailings pond were carried out to identify methods for mitigating the impact of dam failure. The results revealed that increasing the height of the sand-prevent dam reduced the production of tailings mixtures. Based on the results, the construction of a sand-prevent dam with a crest elevation equal to that of the starter dam was recommended.
Highlights
Tailings ponds are specialized structures for the deposition of tailings produced by mining extraction [1]
Zhang et al [17, 18] carried out an experimental model study on dam breakage and the tailings pond evolution law and proposed a model test method for predicting and preventing the dam-break process
Technical data obtained from an actual tailings dam project were used to quantitatively model the flooded area and flooding depth following dam breakage using numerical simulation. e impact of tailings pond dam failure on downstream facilities was analyzed, producing the following conclusions: (1) Five minutes after dam breakage, the tailings-water mixture flow will have flooded the downstream highspeed railway facilities and drain opening, of which the scope of influence is longer than 1 km. is will seriously influence the normal operation of the railway and damage downstream villages and facilities, and a portion of the discharge will pile up in the natural riverbed with detrimental ecological impact
Summary
Tailings ponds are specialized structures for the deposition of tailings produced by mining extraction [1]. Li [19] analyzed the influence of rainfall factors and safety warning technology on tailings dam breakage and, based on physical and numerical simulation of a dam example, determined the evolution rule and water flow characteristics for instantaneous and progressive tailings dam break. Considering that the stability of a tailings dam is affected by many random and fuzzy factors that are difficult to quantitatively estimate, Li et al [23] conducted fuzzy theory-based research on tailings dam failure risk evaluation models and proposed a fuzzy theoretical model for the risk assessment of tailings ponds. The evolution law of the spreading range, flow rate, and submergence depth of the mixture of tailings and water under different dam-break elevations was determined using a 2D numerical simulation model of dam failure based on the Mike 21 hydrodynamics software package. −d e lateral stress component comprehensively considers the influence of viscous and turbulent friction, differential advection, etc., whereas the vortex viscosity formula is estimated based on the average velocity gradient: zu
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