Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
In Situ Seismic Investigations of Coal Tailings
Publication: Geo-Congress 2019: Engineering Geology, Site Characterization, and Geophysics (GSP 311)
ABSTRACT
Catastrophic tailings dam failures have resulted in significant social, economic, and environmental losses. The geotechnical properties of coal tailings have been investigated in the past using reconstituted samples or relatively undisturbed samples. To realistically assess the stability of coal tailings dams under dynamic loadings, there is a need to determine the in situ properties of coal tailings using non-destructive field testing. In this study, seismic refraction survey and multichannel analysis of surface waves method are performed in two coal tailings impoundments in the Appalachian coalfields in the USA. Shear wave and compressional wave velocities of coal tailings are determined based on the field data. Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio that are critical in understanding the stress-strain relationship of coal tailings are estimated. The Poisson’s ratio of the unsaturated fine coal tailings is determined to be 0.39. The Young’s modulus of the soft fine coal tailings for the inactive site is higher than that for the active site (i.e., 65 MPa versus 35 MPa). The small-strain shear modulus of the fine coal tailings is determined to be in the range of 10 to 50 MPa. The parameters derived from these seismic investigations contribute to the scarce database of geotechnical properties of coal tailings and can be applied to future stability assessment of coal tailings dams.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), U.S. Department of Interior. The authors thank the crew members from Vibra-Tech Engineers, Inc. for performing seismic survey. The authors also thank Behnoud Kermani and Jintai Wang for help in the seismic survey.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2019: Engineering Geology, Site Characterization, and Geophysics (GSP 311)
Pages: 239 - 247
Editors: Christopher L. Meehan, Ph.D., University of Delaware, Sanjeev Kumar, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Miguel A. Pando, Ph.D., University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Joseph T. Coe, Ph.D., Temple University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8213-1
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Mar 21, 2019
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Coal
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Earthquake engineering
- Energy engineering
- Energy sources (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Field tests
- Forensic engineering
- Fuels
- Geotechnical engineering
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Mechanical properties
- Mine wastes
- Non-renewable energy
- Pollutants
- Seismic effects
- Seismic tests
- Shear modulus
- Solid mechanics
- Structural engineering
- Surface waves
- Tests (by type)
- Wastes
- Waves (mechanics)
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