scholarly journals Characterization of unsaturated mine waste: a case history

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 1752-1761 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.K. Robertson ◽  
A. Viana da Fonseca ◽  
B. Ulrich ◽  
J. Coffin

It is becoming increasingly common in the mining industry for either crushed ore or filtered mine waste to be stacked to a significant height (>100 m) in a moist state with little compaction, resulting in deposits that can be potentially loose and unsaturated. This paper presents a case history describing the characterization of stacked filtered tailings at a mine site in South America. Cone penetration tests with pore pressure and seismic velocity measurements (SCPTu) were carried out along with selected drilling, sampling, and laboratory testing. Compression wave velocity (Vp) and shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles were obtained and compared with laboratory values on reconstituted saturated and unsaturated samples. Results indicate that shear wave velocity is sensitive to suction hardening effects and appears to capture the correct unsaturated in situ behavior. The cone resistance, which is a large strain measurement, can destroy the beneficial effects of suction hardening and appears to be insensitive to the unsaturated in situ behavior, but may capture the correct behavior after the beneficial effects of suction are removed if the soil becomes saturated.

Author(s):  
Dania Elbeggo ◽  
Yannic Ethier ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Dubé ◽  
Mourad Karray

Shear wave velocity is an important mechanical/dynamic parameter allowing the characterization of a soil in the elastic range (γ < 0.001 %). Thirty five existing laboratory correlations of small strains shear modulus or shear wave velocity were examined in this study and are grouped into different general forms based on their geotechnical properties. A database of 11 eastern Canadian clay deposits was selected and used for the critical insights. The effect of the coefficient of earth pressure at rest was also examined. A range of variation for each general form of correlation was determined to take the plasticity index and void ratio values of investigated sites into account. The analysis shows a significant scatter in normalized shear wave velocity values predicted by existing correlations and raises questions on the applicability of these correlations, especially for eastern Canadian clays. New correlations are proposed for Champlain clays based on laboratory measurement of shear wave velocity using the piezoelectric ring actuator technique, P-RAT, incorporated in consolidation cells. An analysis of P-RAT results reveals the sample disturbance effect and suggests an approach to correct the effect of disturbance on laboratory shear wave velocity measurements. The applicability of the proposed correlations, including the disturbance correction, is validated by comparison with in situ measurements using multi-modal analysis of surface waves (MMASW).


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 943-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Zalachoris ◽  
Ellen M. Rathje ◽  
Jeffrey G. Paine

The P-wave seismogram method is used to develop estimates of the time averaged shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m ( V S30) at 251 seismic stations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Geologic conditions at the sites are documented using large-scale geologic maps. The V S30 values from the P-wave seismogram method agree well with the limited in situ measurements across the study area and correlate well with the mapped geologic units. Compared with the V S30 proxy values assigned to the stations by the Next Generation Attenuation–East (NGA-East) project, the P-wave seismogram method generally produces larger V S30 estimates. These differences are likely due to the fact that very few V S measurements in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas were available for use in the development of the NGA-East proxies. Analysis of the P-wave seismogram V S30 values indicates that, in this geographic area, incorporating rock type along with geologic age better distinguishes the average V S30 of these materials than geologic age alone.


2013 ◽  
Vol 405-408 ◽  
pp. 470-473
Author(s):  
Sheng Jie Di ◽  
Ming Yuan Wang ◽  
Zhi Gang Shan ◽  
Hai Bo Jia

A procedure for evaluating liquefaction resistance of soils based on the shear wave velocity measurements is outlined in the paper. The procedure follows the general formal of the Seed-Idriss simplified procedure. In addition, it was developed following suggestions from industry, researchers, and practitioners. The procedure correctly predicts moderate to high liquefaction potential for over 95% of the liquefaction case histories. The case study for the site of offshore wind farm in Jiangsu province is provided to illustrate the application of the proposed procedure. The feature of the soils and the shear wave velocity in-situ tested in site are discussed and the liquefaction potential of the layer is evaluated. The application shows that the layers of the non-cohesive soils in the depths 3-11m may be liquefiable according to the procedure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 263
Author(s):  
Breno Padovezi Rocha ◽  
Heraldo Luiz Giacheti

ABSTRACT. The shear wave velocity (Vs) is an important geotechnical parameter to be used in dynamic problems (e.g. earthquakes and vibration problems) as well as in static deformation analysis such as excavations and foundation engineering design. There are several in situ seismic tests to determine Vs such as the crosshole and the downhole techniques, as well as hybrid tests (e.g. seismic dilatometer – SDMT). This paper presents crosshole, downhole and SDMT tests carried out in a typical tropical soil profile from Brazil. Advantages and limitations regarding the test procedures and interpretation are briefly presented and differences observed among Vs determined by these techniques are discussed. Shear wave velocities (Vs) estimated from the crosshole, downhole and SDMT tests ranging from 194 to 370 m/s. The shear wave velocity suggests that the experimental site could be divided into two strata, which are in agreement with soil profile description. The maximum shear modulus (G0) calculated from the Vs by theory of elasticity can be used to show the investigated tropical soil is a typical unusual geomaterial. This article also emphasizes that the SDMT is a useful test for site investigation since it allows a great means for profiling geostratigraphy and soil engineering properties during routine site investigation as well as for dynamics problems. Keywords: shear wave velocity, maximum shear modulus, crosshole, downhole, SDMT.RESUMO. A velocidade de onda cisalhante (Vs) é um parâmetro geotécnico empregado em análises dinâmicas (terremotos e problemas de vibração), bem como em análises estáticas (escavações e projeto de fundações). Existem vários ensaios sísmicos de campo para a determinação de Vs, entre eles as técnicas crosshole e downhole, e os ensaios híbridos (por exemplo, dilatômetro sísmico – SDMT). Este artigo apresenta os ensaios crosshole, downhole e SDMT realizados em um perfil típico de solo tropical do Brasil, as vantagens e limitações dos procedimentos de ensaio e de interpretação são brevemente apresentadas, e as diferenças observadas entre os valores de Vs determinados pelas diferentes técnicas são discutidas. Os perfis de Vs determinados pelas diferentes técnicas variaram de 194 a 370 m/s. A velocidade da onda cisalhante sugere que o campo experimental investigado pode ser dividido em dois horizontes, os quais estão de acordo com a descrição do perfil do solo estudado. O módulo de cisalhamento máximo (G0), calculado a partir de Vs pela teoria da elasticidade, pode ser utilizado para demonstrar o comportamento não convencional do solo investigado. Este artigo também enfatiza que o SDMT é um ensaio geotécnico útil para a investigação geotécnica do subsolo, uma vez que permite a definição do perfil estratigráfico e a estimativa de parâmetros estáticos e dinâmicos de um projeto.Palavras-chave: velocidade de onda cisalhante, módulo de cisalhamento máximo, crosshole, downhole, SDMT.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gino Romagnoli ◽  
Gianluca Carbone ◽  
Stefano Catalano ◽  
Massimo Cesarano ◽  
Stefania Fabozzi ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The availability of a unique database, where all data of the seismic microzonation studies carried out in about 1900 municipalities of Italy (https://www.webms.it/) are achieved with a standardized format, allowed statistical elaborations in terms of subsoil parameters. In particular, we analysed borehole logs and geophysical data in order to characterize them with the shear wave velocity (Vs) vertical profile, and the code of standardized engineering geological units, according to the Italian Guidelines for Seismic Microzonation (Seismic Microzonation Working Group, 2015; 2018). The Vs parameter, extracted from about 3700 geophysical surveys, was correlated to the engineering geological units from the borehole logs, with 1meter step. The correlation was performed for about 1700 available Down-Hole (DH) surveys and for about 2000 Multichannel Analyses of Surface Waves (MASW). For these latter, we selected only MASW surveys located near boreholes, no more than 100 m away. The statistical analysis on the distribution and dispersion of Vs parameter allowed to calculate the Vs values related to the mode, mean, median, standard deviation, first quartile, third quartile, minimum and maximum, and the trend with depth of Vs for each engineering geological unit. Validation with external datasets (e.g. Italian Vs30 map, Mori et al., 2020) demonstrates that the characterization of engineering geological units in term of Vs, based on velocity profiles extracted by the Italian seismic microzonation dataset, allow to reliably characterize the engineering geological model, where no geophysical data are available. Statistics of subsoil parameters will represent a fundamental tool for computing local seismic ground motion parameters (e.g. PGA, H&lt;sub&gt;SM&lt;/sub&gt;) in the areas not covered by seismic microzonation studies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;- Mori, F., Mendicelli, A., Moscatelli, M., Romagnoli, 796 G., Peronace, E., Naso, G., 2020. A new Vs30 map for Italy based on the seismic microzonation dataset. Engineering Geology 275, 105745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105745.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;- Seismic Microzonation Working Group, 2015. Guidelines for Seismic Microzonation http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/httpdocs/cms/attach_extra/GuidelinesForSeismicMicrozonation.pdf&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;- Seismic Microzonation Working Group, 2018. Standard di rappresentazione e archiviazione informatica Versione 4.1. http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/attivita-rischi/rischio-sismico/attivita/commissione-supporto-monitoraggio-studi-microzonazione/standard-rappresentazione-archiviazione-informatica&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 3381-3390
Author(s):  
Hai-Yun Wang ◽  
Wei-Ping Jiang

Abstract The shear-wave velocity (VS) in soil is an important parameter to characterize dynamic soil properties. The Delaney Park downhole array was deployed in 2003 without measuring the shear- and compression-wave velocity (VS and VP) profiles. Thornley et al. (2019) measured the VS and VP profiles using the downhole method after the sensor was removed from the 61 m borehole with casing in the array. However, the waves propagating along the casing wall may have a great influence on the recognition of the first arrival of waves propagating in the soil. Using horizontal and vertical components of weak-motion data of eight local earthquakes recorded by the array, in situ VS and VP profiles were assessed by the seismic interferometry based on deconvolution, respectively. The results are as follows. The VS and VP profiles computed by this study and measured by Thornley et al. (2019) are in relatively good agreement at a depth of 10–45 m and at a depth of 30–45 m, respectively, and in very poor agreement at other depths. The average VS profiles computed by this study are more consistent with the derived VS from the standard penetration test data at the site with slower near-surface velocities relative to the downhole logging analysis. There are strong anisotropy in the strata below 45 m and weak anisotropy with various degrees at various depths in the strata above 45 m.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document