Abstract
Coal-waste tailings dams are vulnerable to earthquake induced failure. In an effort to understand the seismic stability of tailings dams, field, laboratory, and centrifuge tests were conducted on a selected tailings dam in eastern Kentucky. This paper presents the results and analysis of the tests. Samples of fine refuse obtained from the impoundment had a specific gravity considerably less than a typical soil, and exhibited a high water content and low shear strength even after years of consolidation. Data from centrifuge tests show clearly that a dam built by the down-stream method has much better seismic stability than a similar dam built by the up-stream method.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 950-961 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Geotechnical Special Publication |
Issue number | 75 II |
State | Published - 1998 |