Understanding, characterization, modeling, and simulation of the spontaneous failure of tailings dams

尾矿坝自发破坏的理解、表征、建模和模拟

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-06049
• 负责人: Taiebat, Mahdi
• 金额: $ 4.52万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=740998
• 关键词: Understanding; characterization; modeling; simulation; spontaneous

The extraction of raw materials goes hand-in-hand with the generation of large amounts of waste products, consisting of mineral solids, process water, and chemical substances. This often hazardous sludge, known as "tailings", is pumped into massive earth ponds, so-called Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs), which often achieve great dimensions. The failure of TSFs leads to an uncontrolled discharge of waste that may have catastrophic impacts on the environment and on human beings, and cause huge economic losses. Unlike dams for water storage, in which water can be discharged if its structural integrity is endangered, TSFs must stand in perpetuity. Nevertheless, the high rate of catastrophic failures worldwide - about 20 failures per decade in the past 60 years - demonstrates unambiguously that TSFs are far from fulfilling this requirement. The causes of TSF failures have mainly been geotechnical. Liquefaction, with static or dynamic triggers, is a major hazard threatening the stability of TSFs with extreme consequences. Inadequate understanding of the corresponding failure mechanisms in tailings is known as a major factor in tailings dam failure cases. There is, therefore, an urgent need to improve our fundamental understanding of the mechanical response of tailings under monotonic and cyclic loadings, our effectiveness in the characterization of tailings, and our capabilities in modeling and simulation of TSFs to assess their failure triggers, mechanisms, and precursors. This proposal responds to the urgent need to reduce the failure rate of TSFs. More specifically, building on the previous body of work developed by the applicant and his team of HQP in the two core areas of constitutive and numerical modeling of geomaterials, the aim of this research is to develop new solutions for the challenging problem of stability analysis of TSFs and their risk of failure. Understanding the liquefaction of tailings materials, predicting the onset of liquefaction, and modeling the behavior of liquefied and non-liquefied tailings are essential parts of this study. In particular, the study will include efficient constitutive modeling of tailings material and its numerical integration in versatile computational platforms, for sound mechanics-based modeling of tailings and TSFs to assess their stability and their risk of failure. The proposed research takes advantage of ongoing collaborations with leading industrial and academic institutes and will train 4 PhD and 2 MASc students who will be supported partially or fully by this NSERC DG as well as several undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting students from collaborating institutes who will be supported from other sources of funding. The short and long term outcomes of this research contribute to groundbreaking advances in the extractive industries' life cycle, increasing the sustainability of mining and generating added value to Canada.

原材料的提取伴随着大量废物的产生，其中包括矿物固体、工艺水和化学物质。这种通常有害的污泥（称为“尾矿”）被泵入大型土池，即所谓的尾矿储存设施（TSF），其尺寸通常很大。 TSF的故障导致废物不受控制的排放，可能对环境和人类造成灾难性影响，并造成巨大的经济损失。与蓄水大坝不同的是，蓄水大坝的结构完整性受到威胁时可以将水排出，而TSF必须永久存在。然而，全球范围内灾难性故障的高发生率（过去 60 年中每十年大约发生 20 次故障）明确表明 TSF 远未满足这一要求。 TSF 失效的原因主要是岩土工程方面的。液化，无论是静态还是动态触发，都是威胁 TSF 稳定性的重大危险，会造成极端后果。对尾矿坝相应破坏机制认识不足被认为是尾矿坝破坏案例的一个主要因素。因此，迫切需要提高我们对单调和循环载荷下尾矿机械响应的基本理解，我们对尾矿表征的有效性，以及我们对 TSF 进行建模和模拟的能力，以评估其失效触发因素、机制、和前体。该提案响应了降低 TSF 故障率的迫切需要。更具体地说，基于申请人及其 HQP 团队之前在岩土材料本构和数值模拟两个核心领域开展的工作，本研究的目的是为岩土材料稳定性分析这一挑战性问题开发新的解决方案。 TSF 及其失败风险。了解尾矿材料的液化、预测液化的开始以及对液化和非液化尾矿的行为进行建模是本研究的重要部分。特别是，该研究将包括尾矿材料的高效本构建模及其在多功能计算平台中的数值集成，以对尾矿和 TSF 进行基于健全力学的建模，以评估其稳定性和失效风险。拟议的研究利用了与领先的工业和学术机构持续合作的优势，将培训 4 名博士生和 2 名硕士生，他们将得到该 NSERC 总干事的部分或全部支持，以及来自合作机构的几名本科生、博士后研究员和访问学生谁将得到其他资金来源的支持。这项研究的短期和长期成果有助于采掘业生命周期的突破性进展，提高采矿业的可持续性并为加拿大创造附加值。