The Relatively Stable Seepage Field: A New Concept to Determine Seepage Field in the Design of a Dry-Stack Tailings Pond

Abstract

The determination of seepage field is the basis to design seepage drainage facilities and dam slopes in tailings pond. However, in the design of a dry-stack tailings pond with a long service life, previous research has been mostly limited to the influence of short-term rainfall, and a proper concept has not been formed to guide the calculation of the seepage field in the design of a dry-stack tailings pond under the cumulative effect of long-term periodic rainfall. The objective of this study is to propose a new concept to concisely determine the seepage field for the design of a dry-stack tailings pond under multi-year periodic rainfall. To this end, the calculation model of the seepage field of a dry-stack tailings pond under multiyear rainfall was established. The evolution process of the seepage field was studied by numerical simulation based on the calculation model and the final form of the seepage field evolution of a dry-stack tailings pond was found. Accordingly, a new concept, the relatively stable seepage field (RSSF) which can be used as the basis for seepage drainage facilities and the dam slope design of a dry-stack tailings pond, was proposed and named. Furthermore, the influencing factors of a relatively stable seepage field were studied by numerical simulation. The results show that: (1) the cumulative infiltration of long-term periodic rainfall is the main reason for the formation of the RSSF, and (2) under the condition of constant annual rainfall, the distribution of the RSSF has little to do with the selection of rainfall mode. Therefore, a new understanding has been formed from this article whereby the RSSF is an essential basis to be considered in the design of the dam slope and drainage system of a dry-stack tailings pond.