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Estimating horizontal drain design by the finite-element and finite-difference methods

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Abstract

The presence of water is one of the most critical factors contributing to the instability of tailings embankments. Nonexistent or inefficient drainage facilities usually result in a high phreatic surface that can cause the embankment to fail. One possible solution, especially for remedial situations, is the installation of horizontal drains.

An investigation into the effects of horizontal drains on the phreatic surface of tailings embankments was conducted by the Bureau of Mines. A laboratory model was constructed to correlate the effects of various drain spacing and length combinations with results from computer codes. A three-dimensional finite-element computer code and a two-dimensional finite-difference computer code were used. Two existing tailings embankments were modeled and potentiometric data were compared to the computer results.

The two-dimensional finite-difference code and the three-dimensional finite-element code produced nearly the same location for the phreatic surface between drains. The location of the phreatic surface from the codes was slightly above the phreatic surface of one field application and followed the trend of the other closely. The phreatic surface location of the laboratory model was slightly above that of the computer-generated phreatic surface. The distance between the phreatic surfaces of these models became larger as drain length increased or drain spacing decreased.

Dimensionless graphs were constructed for estimating phreatic surface location for embankments with horizontal drains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spokane Research Center, U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines, 315 East Montgomery, 99207, Spokane, WA

    D. R. Tesarik & C. D. Kealy

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  1. D. R. Tesarik
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  2. C. D. Kealy
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Tesarik, D.R., Kealy, C.D. Estimating horizontal drain design by the finite-element and finite-difference methods. International Journal of Mine Water 3, 1–18 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02505836

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