Geotechnical Characterization of Fine-Grained Spoil Material from Surface Coal Mines
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 7
Abstract
Coal mines produce large amounts of excavated waste soils, known as spoils. These materials can cover vast areas, are typically dumped in heaps without any treatment, and are difficult to exploit for engineering purposes because of their significant variability. Efficient exploitation of spoil heaps poses engineering challenges, related mainly to the involved degree of uncertainty. A small number of studies have attempted to characterize the geotechnical properties of spoil material; however, there remains a considerable gap in understanding how to deal with spoil materials in the context of sustainable development and civil infrastructure design. In this work, a systematic effort is made to quantify the uncertainty of the geotechnical properties of a particular spoil heap. Laboratory test results based on an extended investigation of a spoil material originating from lignite coal mines are gathered in one database and thoroughly analyzed. The results reveal and quantify the significant spoil material variability, which is contrasted against data for common soils, while a systematic approach is proposed for spoil material characterization.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (analyzed results based on extended geotechnical investigation).
Some data generated or used during the study are proprietary or confidential in nature and may only be provided with restrictions (raw data of the geotechnical investigation).
Acknowledgments
This work has received funding from the European Union’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel under the projects “SLOPES - Smarter Lignite Open Pit Engineering Solutions” Grant No. RFCR-CT-2015-00001 and “SUMAD - Sustainable Use of Mining Waste Dumps” Grant No. 847227. Financial assistance by the European Commission is greatly appreciated. The authors are also thankful to the Public Power Corporation (P.P.C.) for kindly providing raw data, based on which this study was performed.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 7 • July 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 21, 2020
Accepted: Mar 5, 2021
Published online: May 11, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 11, 2021
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