Comprehensive analysis of the stability of tailings-geotextile composite—Iron Mine Tailings Dam in Gushan, Anhui, China

Abstract

The application of tailings-geotextile composites can effectively reduce tailings dam safety accidents. In this paper, the tailings dam of the Gushan Iron Mine is the research background. The construction of tailings-geotextile composites was briefly studied. Based on the existing experimental data, the permeability and physical properties of the composite material were analyzed, and the model of the composite material was generalized. The seepage characteristics of the composite were analyzed by using the numerical simulation method of the seepage field. Finally, the overall stability of the composite during the construction and storage phases was investigated. The conclusions are as follows: 1) In the early stage of stacking, the permeability coefficient of the composite body increases with the increase in filling tension; in the later stage, under the action of excess pore pressure, the composite body still exhibits strong permeability; 2) In the early stage of stacking, the height of the composite body is low, and the relative position of the saturated zone is relatively high; as the composite continues to rise or the stacking time increases, the lower part of the composite is gradually consolidated, and the position of the saturated zone is gradually raised; when the stacking is stopped, the saturated zone gradually decreases until it is close to the original position; 3) With the increase in the stacking height of the composite, the safety factor decreases rapidly; when the stacking height is 22.0 m, it decreases to the minimum; with time, the stability of the composite will gradually increase. This study helps people understand tailings-geotextile composites, and it has significant reference value for practical engineering.

An Experimental Study Focusing on the Filling Process and Consolidation Characteristics of Geotextile Tubes Filled with Fine-Grained Tungsten Tailings

“…In terms of filling efficiency, a 25% concentration requires more filling cycles and longer drainage times, resulting in lower efficiency, whereas a 60% concentration requires fewer filling cycles and shorter drainage times, yielding the highest efficiency. Combined with Zhou's [41] experiments with graded and ungraded tailings, this effect is mainly thought to be due to the characteristics of fine- Concerning the geotextile tube-filling stage, it was observed that both the number of filling cycles and the drainage volume decrease as the filling concentration increases. Higher filling concentrations result in longer intervals between drainage cycles; however, due to the reduced number of filling cycles, the total time required for the filling process decreases with higher concentrations.…”

“…In terms of filling efficiency, a 25% concentration requires more filling cycles and longer drainage times, resulting in lower efficiency, whereas a 60% concentration requires fewer filling cycles and shorter drainage times, yielding the highest efficiency. Combined with Zhou's [41] experiments with graded and ungraded tailings, this effect is mainly thought to be due to the characteristics of fine-grained tungsten tailings, which have a low effective specific gravity, a large specific surface area, and a slow settling velocity. At lower filling concentrations, the relative content of fine tailings per unit volume is lower, leading to less deposition in a short period and more fine tailings remaining in suspension and being carried out with the water, increasing tailing overflow outside the tube.…”

Seepage stability analysis of geogrid reinforced tailings dam

“…The results showed that reinforcement could effectively improve the stability of the fill dam. Zhou et al 19 studied tailing-geotextile composites, analyzed their permeability and physical properties, and generalized the composite model. Li et al 20 established a stability analysis method based on limit equilibrium theory to simulate the stability of tailings dams using geotextile bags.…”