Abstract
This paper presents the development and application of a dam breach model, EMBREA-MUD, which is suitable for tailings dams. One of the common failure modes for these structures is breaching due to overtopping, which together with the flow of liquefied tailings, is simulated by the proposed model. The model simultaneously computes the outflow of water and tailings from a tailings storage facility and the corresponding growth of the breach opening. Tailings outflows are represented by a separate non-Newtonian viscous layer, which together with a water layer, represent the two fluid components of the model. The third component represents dam material that can be eroded by the shear forces exerted by either water or mud. The water layer also exerts dynamic and erosional forces and can transport solids eroded from either the mud or dam layer. The model was verified against laboratory cases as well as two field cases reported in the literature, the failures of the Mount Polley tailings dam in Canada in 2015 and the Merriespruit dam in South Africa in 1994. The model results agreed well with the recorded narrative of the events, although in the latter case, careful calibration of one of the model parameters was necessary to obtain a good match.
Zusammenfassung
Das vorliegende Paper erläutert die Entwicklung und Anwendung eines Dammbruchmodells, EMBREA-MUD, welches sich auch für Tailings-Dämme eignet. Eine der häufigsten Schadensursachen für entsprechende Bauwerke ist ein Brechen infolge des Überlaufens, was zusammen mit dem Fließen der verflüssigten Tailings durch das vorgestellte Modell simuliert wird. Das Modell berechnet simultan das Überlaufen von Wasser und Tailings aus einem Tailings-Becken sowie die dazugehörige Vergrößerung der Bresche. Das Ausströmen von Tailings wird durch eine separate, nicht-newtonsche viskose Schicht dargestellt, welche gemeinsam mit der Wasserschicht die beiden Fluid-Komponenten ausmacht. Eine dritte Komponente stellt das Dammmaterial dar, welches durch die von Wasser oder Schlamm ausgeübten Scherkräfte erodiert werden kann. Die Wasserschicht übt zudem dynamische und erosive Kräfte aus und kann Feststoffe aus sowohl der Schlammschicht als auch der Dammschicht erodieren. Das Modell wurde anhand von Laborstudien und zweier in der Literatur beschriebenen Feldstudien, den Dammbrüchen von Mount Polley in Kanada im Jahre 2015 und Merriespruit in Südafrika in 1994, verifiziert. Die Modellergebnisse stimmen gut mit den dokumentierten Schilderungen der Vorfälle überein, wobei im letzteren Fall eine vorsichtige Kalibration eines der Modellparameter nötig war, um eine gute Übereinstimmung zu erzielen.
Resumen
Este trabajo presenta el desarrollo y la aplicación de un modelo de ruptura de diques, EMBREA-MUD, que es adecuado para los diques de colas. Uno de los modos de falla comunes para estas estructuras es la ruptura por rebalse; el modelo propuesto lo considera en forma conjunta con el flujo de colas licuadas. El modelo calcula simultáneamente la salida de agua y de colas desde una instalación de almacenamiento de colas y el correspondiente crecimiento de la abertura de la brecha. Las salidas de colas están representadas por una capa viscosa no newtoniana separada que, junto con una capa de agua, representan los dos componentes fluidos del modelo. El tercer componente representa el material del dique que puede ser erosionado por las fuerzas de corte ejercidas por el agua o el barro. La capa de agua también ejerce fuerzas dinámicas y erosivas y puede transportar sólidos erosionados tanto desde la capa de barro como del dique. El modelo se verificó en el laboratorio así como en dos casos en campo reportados en la bibliografía: las fallas en los diques de cola del Monte Polley en Canadá (2015) y de Merriespruit en Sudáfrica (1994). Los resultados del modelo coincidieron bien con la narración registrada de los acontecimientos, aunque en este último caso fue necesario calibrar cuidadosamente uno de los parámetros del modelo para obtener una buena coincidencia.
抽象
介绍了EMBREA-MUD尾矿溃坝模型的建立和应用。利用该模型模拟了一种常见的漫堤和尾矿液化的坝体破坏模式。模型能够同时计算库内水和尾矿的出流及相应溃坝缺口的扩展。尾矿出流由独立的非牛顿粘滞层表示, 它与水层一起代表模型的两种流体组分。第三种组成代表坝体材料, 易被水或泥的剪切应力侵蚀破坏。水层可以施加动态和侵蚀性力, 能够运送被侵蚀破坏的泥或坝层固体。模型经历了室内实验和两个文献报道的现场案例的验证, 两个现场案例为2015年加拿大Mount Polley尾矿坝事故和1994年南非Merriespruit大坝事故。虽然后个案例经历了仔细模型参数校正才便之匹配, 但是现场案例模拟最终结果与事故记录过程非常吻合
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Acknowledgements
This work was part of the DAMSAT project, which was funded by a grant from the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme project. The objective of the work is to develop a tool, DAMSAT, to minimise the risk of tailings dam failures using remote sensing data and is being applied in Peru. The team working on the project is led by HR Wallingford and comprises Telespazio VEGA UK, Siemens Corporate Technology, Satellite Application Catapult, Oxford Policy Management, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment of the Oxford University, as well as Peruvian partners: National Foundation for Hydraulics, School of Hydraulic Engineering at the National University of Cajamarca, CIEMAM. More information on this work is available from https://www.damsat.org/. The authors also acknowledge the contribution of the reviewers and the editorial team who helped to improve the paper with their valuable comments and suggestions.
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Petkovšek, G., Hassan, M.A.A.M., Lumbroso, D. et al. A Two-Fluid Simulation of Tailings Dam Breaching. Mine Water Environ 40, 151–165 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00717-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00717-3