Geotechnical Properties and Flow Behavior of Coal Refuse
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES AND FLOW BEHAVIOR OF COAL REFUSE UNDER STATIC AND IMPACT LOADING by HAO YU Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Advisor: Professor Xiangwu Zeng Department of Civil Engineering CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY January, 2015 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Hao Yu candidate for the degree of Ph.D.*. Committee Chair Xiangwu Zeng Committee Member Adel Saada Committee Member Xiong Yu Committee Member Weihong Guo Date of Dense 11/19/2014 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. TABLE OF CONTENTS NOTATION ..................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... X ACKOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. XV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ XVI Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Review of Tailings Dams..................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Construction of Tailings Dams ................................................................ 4 1.2.2 Disposal of Fine Refuse in Impoundments .............................................. 8 1.3 Review of Flow Failure of Tailings Dams ........................................................... 9 1.4 Review of Breakthrough of Impounded Coal Refuse into Underground Mine . 13 1.5 Review of Flow Failure Mitigation for Tailings Dams ..................................... 16 1.6 Motivation and Research Objectives ................................................................. 19 1.7 Outline of the Dissertation ................................................................................. 22 Chapter 2 GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF COAL REFUSE ........................24 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 24 2.2 Sample Collection and Preparation .................................................................... 24 2.3 Geotechnical Properties of Coal Refuse ............................................................ 25 2.3.1 Particle Size Distribution ....................................................................... 26 I 2.3.2 Specific Gravity ..................................................................................... 28 2.3.3 Atterberg Limits Tests ........................................................................... 30 2.3.4 Consolidation Tests ................................................................................ 36 2.3.5 Permeability Tests .................................................................................. 48 2.3.6 Triaxial Tests ......................................................................................... 55 2.3.7 Viscosity Tests ....................................................................................... 68 2.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3 ANALYSIS OF FLOW BEHAVIOR OF COAL REFUSE BY SMALL SCALE MODEL TESTS ...............................................................................86 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 86 3.1.1 Review of Rheological Models .............................................................. 87 3.1.2 Determine Rheological Parameters of Bingham Plastic Flow ............... 91 3.2 Model Preparations and Test Procedures ........................................................... 93 3.2.1 Flume Tests under Static Loading ......................................................... 93 3.2.2 Flume Test under Impact Loading ......................................................... 95 3.3 Test Results and Analysis under Static Loading................................................ 98 3.3.1 Representation of Coal Refuse by Bingham Plastic Model ................. 106 3.3.2 Estimation of Flow Regime ................................................................. 115 3.3.3 Velocity Profile .................................................................................... 119 3.3.4 Relationship between Flow Velocity and Viscosity ............................ 122 3.4 Test Results and Analysis under Impact Loading............................................ 125 3.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 130 II Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF FLOW BEHAVIOR OF COAL REFUSE BY CENTRIFUGE MODEL TESTS ...............................................................133 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 133 4.1.1 Review of Geotechnical Centrifuge Test ............................................. 134 4.1.2 Scaling Law ......................................................................................... 136 4.2 Facilities and Instrumentation .......................................................................... 142 4.2.1 Centrifuge ............................................................................................ 142 4.2.2 Pore Pressure Transducers ................................................................... 144 4.2.3 Flow Container for Centrifuge Test ..................................................... 145 4.3 Model Preparations and Test Procedures ......................................................... 149 4.4 Test Results and Analysis under Static Loading.............................................. 151 4.5 Test Results and Analysis under Impact Loading............................................ 156 4.6 Evaluation of Slurry Cell as a Countermeasure ............................................... 163 4.6.1 Review of Coal Refuse Slurry Cells .................................................... 163 4.6.2 Centrifuge Model Preparations ............................................................ 165 4.6.3 Test Results and Analysis .................................................................... 166 4.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 168 Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................170 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 170 5.2 Summary of Conclusions ................................................................................. 171 5.2.1 Geotechnical Properties of Impounded Coal Refuse ........................... 171 5.2.2 Flow Behavior of Impounded Coal Refuse under Static Loading ....... 174 III 5.2.3 Flow Behavior of Impounded Coal Refuse under Impact Loading ..... 176 5.2.4 Effectiveness of Slurry Cells as a Countermeasure ............................. 177 5.3 Recommendations for Future Study ................................................................ 178 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................181 IV NOTATION a cross-sectional area of standpipe A cross-sectional area of soil mass through which flow q takes place B Skempton’s pore pressure parameter c cohesion of soil cs shape factor cu undrained shear strength Cc compression index Cs swelling index Cv coefficient of consolidation d hydraulic radius in the open channel Ds effective grain diameter e void ratio e0 initial void ratio Ff flow factor Gs specific gravity h total head difference across the flow path of length L Hdr maximum drainage path He Hedstrom number h1 hydraulic head across soil sample at the begin of test (t=0) V h2 hydraulic head across soil sample at the end of test i hydraulic gradient I p plasticity index k hydraulic conductivity KY coal refuse sample collected from Kentucky L length of sample or flow path that produces the head difference h mv coefficient of volume change N scaling factor q quantity of fluid flow in a unit time q deviator stress Re Reynolds number Rec critical Reynolds number t time required to get V volume t50 time elapsed at 50 percent consolidation Tv time factor u excessive pore water pressure v flow velocity V collected volume of water WV coal refuse sample collected from West Virginia Wn water content wL liquid limit wp plastic limit VI α slope angle normal stress on the plane of shearing 3 confining pressure t total vertical stress shear stress f shear strength at failure y yield stress friction angle of soil w unit weight of pore fluid shear rate or velocity gradient viscosity of fluid p plastic viscosity kinematic viscosity density of liquid VII LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1 Summary of laboratory tests conducted on coal refuse .................................... 26 Table 2-2 Summarized results of specific gravity test .....................................................