Abstract
Mines in the area of Aznalcóllar, a town in the province of Sevilla, southwest Spain, have exploited from ancient times a number of metallic minerals (zinc, lead, silver) associated with pyritic formations. The process of mineral extraction produces large volumes of pyritic tailings which, in the Aznalcóllar mine, were stored under water in a large pond area. The pond, whose layout is shown in the air photograph of Figure 4.1, is maintained by a perimeter dyke, which was conceived as a homogeneous rockfill dam made impervious by an upstream mantle of clay. The pond evolved in volume during the lifetime of mining operations in order to accommodate the increasing amounts of waste. The increasing demand of waste storage capacity was resolved (in the original design) by increasing the height and size of the dam in the manner schematically indicated in Figure 4.2.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alonso, E.E. and Gens, A. (2006) Aznalcólar dam failure. Part 1: Field observations and material properties. Géotechnique56 (3), 165–183.
Bishop, A.W. (1967) Progressive failure-with special reference to the mechanism causing it. Proceedings of the Geotechnical Conference. Oslo, Norway. Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. 2, 142–150.
Bishop, A.W. (1971) The influence of progressive failure on the method of stability analysis. Géotechnique21, 168–172.
Bjerrum, L. (1967) Progressive failure in slopes of over-consolidated plastic clays and clay shales. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division ASCE93, 3–49.
Chowdury, R.N. (1978) Slope Analysis. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Cooper, M.R. (1996) The progressive development of a failure slip surface in over-consolidated clay at Selborne, UK. Proceedings of the 7 th International Symposium on Landslides. Trondheim, Norway. Taylor & Francis. 2, 683–688.
Dounias, G.T., Potts, D.M. and Vaughan, P.R. (1996) Analysis of progressive failure and cracking in old British dams. Géotechnique46(4), 621–640.
Ericksson, N. and Adamek, P. (2000) The tailing pond failure at the Aznalcóllar mine. Spain. Proceedings of the 6 th International Symposium in Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral ProductionCalgaryi, Canada. Singhal & Mehrota (eds). 8 pp.
Gens, A. and Alonso, E.E. (2006) Aznalcóllar dam failure. Part 2: Stability conditions and failure mechanism. Géotechnique56 (3), 185–201.
Gates, R.H. (1973) Progressive failure model for clay shale. Applications of the Finite Element Method in Geotechnical Engineering. Vicksburg, USA. Desai (ed). 327–347.
Jardine, R.J., Gens, A., Hight, D.W. and Coop, W.R. (2004) Developments in understanding soil behaviour. Advances in geotechnical engineering. The Skempton Conference. London, UK. Jardine, Potts & Higgins (eds). Thomas Telford. 1, 103–206.
Lo, K.Y. and Lee, C.E. (1973) Stress analysis and slope stability in strain softening materials. Géotechnique23 (1), 1–11.
Morgenstern, N.R. and Price, V.E. (1965) The analysis of the stability of general slip surfaces. Géotechnique15 (1), 79–93.
Moya, J. (2004) Determination of the failure surface geometry in quick slides using balanced cross section techniques — Application to Aznalcóllar tailings dam failure. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences: Engineering Geology for Infrastructure Planning in Europe. A European Perspective. Hack, Azzam & Charlier (eds). 104, 414–421.
Palmer, A.C. and Rice, J.R. (1973) The growth of slip surfaces in the progressive failure of over-consolidated clay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, A 332, 527–548.
Pariseau, W.G. (1972) Elastic-plastic analysis of pit slope stability. Applications of the Finite Element Method in Geotechnical Engineering. Vicksburg, USA. Desai (ed). 349–384.
Potts, D.M., Dounias, G.T. and Vaughan, P.R. (1990) Finite element analysis of progressive failure of Carsington embankment. Géotechnique40(1), 79–101.
Potts, D.M., Kovacevic, N. and Vaughan, P.R. (1997) Delayed collapse of cut slopes in stiff clay. Géotechnique47(5), 953–982.
Poulos, H.G. and Davis, E.H. (1974) Elastic Solutions for Soil and Rock Mechanics. Wiley. New York.
Puzrin, A.M. and Germanovich, L.N. (2005) The growth of shear bands in the catastrophic failure of soils. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, A 461 (2056), 786–795.
Rice, J.R. (1973) The initiation and growth of shear bands. Proceedings of the Symposium on Plasticity and Soil Mechanics. Cambridge, UK. Palmer (ed). 263–274.
Scott, R.F. (1963) Principles of Soil Mechanics. Addison-Wesley. Massachussetts.
Skempton, A.W. (1964) Long term stability of clay slopes. Géotechnique14 (2), 77–101.
Skempton, A.W. (1985) Geotechnical aspects of the Carsington Dam failure. Proceedings of the 11 th International Conference in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. San Francisco, USA. 5: 2581–2591.
Stark, T.D. and Eid, H.T. (1994) Slope stability analyses in stiff fissured clays. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering123 (4), 335–343.
Terzaghi, K. (1943) Theoretical Soil Mechanics. Wiley. New York
Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R.B. (1967) Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice(2ndedition). John Wiley. New York.
Yoshida, N, Morgenstern, N.R. and Chan, D.H. (1990) Finite element analysis of softening effects in fissured, overconsolidated clays and mudstones. Canadian Geotechnical Journal28, 51–61.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alonso, E.E., Pinyol, N.M., Puzrin, A.M. (2010). Earth Dam Sliding Failure: Aznalcóllar Dam, Spain. In: Geomechanics of Failures. Advanced Topics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3538-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3538-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3537-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3538-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)