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Flow Rate Computations in Hydraulic Fill Mine Stopes

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Abstract

Mining is a major industry worldwide, where hydraulic fills are commonly used for backfilling the underground voids created in the ore removal process. Hydraulic fills placed in the form of slurry drain through free draining barricades that block the access drives during the filling process. Failure of the barricades, followed by the in-rush of tailings into the mine can be catastrophic. This paper describes a simple method based on three-dimensional method of fragments, for computing the flow rates. Laboratory tests were carried out on model stopes filled with sands, and the measured flow rates compared well with those computed using the proposed method. This was also verified through numerical modelling. The proposed expressions for computing the flow rate in the three-dimensional hydraulic fill stope can be useful in the development of a spreadsheet-based fill simulation program that will help in monitoring the water level and flow rate within the stope, and improve mine safety.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the valuable contributions made by Mr. Warren O’Donnell, the Laboratory Manager of the Geotechnical Laboratory, James Cook University, in the design and fabrication of the laboratory model stope and in carrying out the tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    Nagaratnam Sivakugan, Kelda Rankine, Julie Lovisa & William Hall

Authors
  1. Nagaratnam Sivakugan
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  2. Kelda Rankine
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  3. Julie Lovisa
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  4. William Hall
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Correspondence to Nagaratnam Sivakugan.

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Sivakugan, N., Rankine, K., Lovisa, J. et al. Flow Rate Computations in Hydraulic Fill Mine Stopes. Indian Geotech J 43, 195–202 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-013-0043-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-013-0043-9

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