Analysis of Drainage and Consolidation at Typical Uranium Mill Tailings Sites.

摘要

The computer code TRUNC was used to analyze three aspects of uranium mill tailings dewatering: the coupling of consolidation and fluid flow, drainage design, and cover load. One-dimensional simulations of the effects of consolidation on fluid flow within a tailings pile of either slimes or a sand/slimes mix showed that drainage flux was greater for a consolidating system early in the simulation. Two-dimensional simulations of an actual tailings pile drainage design showed that a sand blanket drain increased the rate of drainage and settlement. The sand blanket drain also significantly reduced differential settlement across the pile. This indicates that the use of a sand blanket drain could enable earlier placement of the cover system after tailings emplacement. In simulations of covered and uncovered tailings piles, nearly the same quantity of water was removed from each, but drainage occurred much more slowly without the cover; hence, surface settlement was slower when the tailings pile was not covered.