Numerical Analysis Of The Static And Dynamic Stability Of A Tailings Dam

The tailings dam is one of the three major construction projects in a mine. The toxicity of tailings and high potential energy of the tailings dam pose hidden dangers to local people and environment.As a result, investigation of tailings dam stability is not only of theoretical interests but also practical interests for evaluating their safety.In this paper, a 3D finite element mode of a tailings dam in south china was developed using software ANSYS which was then introduced into FLAC3 Dto analyze the static and dynamic stability of the tailings dam.The achievements are summarized as follows:(1) The analysis of static stability of the tailings dam without seepage was carried out, and safety factor(SF) was calculated by strength reduction method and using plastic zone connection as failure criteria.The SF value obtained is 1.93, which is essentially in agreement with the result of 1.90 from Sweden arc method. This suggests strength reduction method based on FLAC3 Dhas the practicability for analysis of stability of tailings dams.(2) The analyses of static stability of the tailings dam were conducted under the conditions of seepage and fluid-solid coupling,respectively. These two SFs obtained are both far lower than that without seepage, showing that both seepage and fluid-solid coupling were important factors influencing the stability of the tailings dam.(3) The analysis of dynamic stability of the tailings dam was performed under seismic loading. The SF was calculated using displacement mutation of observation point as failure criteria, indicating a certain resistance of the tailings dam to earthquake. And liquefaction of the tailings dam under dynamic conditions was simulated by using Finn constitutive model, which showed part of the tailings dam has liquefaction potential.