Estimation of tailings flow runout

distance from rheology approach

Álvaro Vergara, Sergio Palma, Alejandra Álvarez and María Teresa Zandarín
 Introduction

• Mining has stood out for being one of the most

productive industrial activities in our country,
placing Chile as the main copper producer
worldwide.

• However, the activity entails the massive

generation of tailings product of the wet
treatment of the mineral in the flotation process,
which by 2020 were stored in a total of 757
deposits arranged throughout the national
territory.

El Mauro tailings dam, AMSA. Source: MineriaChilena

 Research motivation
• The study and analysis of the runout distance has
taken on importance together with the
categorization of tailings dams based on the
economic, social and environmental
consequences after their collapse (GSTM, 2020).
This added to a series of catastrophes that have
occurred in recent decades both in Chile and in
the rest of the world.

• Thus, various approaches have covered the

problem with the aim of providing different
proposals for estimating the runout distance as a
predictive tool that allows decision-making and
control of these threats.
Disasters in South Africa (1994) and Brazil (2015)
 Methodology
Table 1: Parameters considered in the system
• The tailings runoff has been modeled considering an
open channel system from which the boundary Parameter Unities
conditions are defined that allow the solution of the Runout distance, m
phenomenon by solving the conservation equations
(mass and momentum). Fluid height, m
Yield stress, Pa
• A set of incident variables have been considered within Tailing density, kg/m3
the system, in order to recognize their influence in the
Velocity, m/s
runout distance. Thus, this relationship between
variables can be reduced to: Viscosity, Pa s
Slope, deg
= ( ) = (Re ) = ( )
Numerical simulations
Table 2: Geometric and meshing considerations

Geometry
Total length, 30 m
Total width, 0.5 m
Barrier width. 0.2 m
Total height, 0.5 m
Computational domain
Fluid column length, 0.6 m

Fluid column height, 0.3 m

Meshing
Type Polyhedral
N° of elements 475.000
Mesh system
Numerical simulations

Table 3: Fluid characteristics and experimentation considerations

Setup conditions
Fluid density, 1800 kg/m3
Consistency index, 0.4
Flux index, 0.8
Yield stress, [0.1 - 1000] Pa
Slope, [0 - 30] °

= + ̇ System display at t = 0 s
Herschel-Bulkley model
Yield stress behavior
8

Runout distance (m)

• The graph shows a decreasing behavior
between both variables, deducing that fluids 6
with high yield stress have less impact on
their runoff, compared to those with low
yield stress. 4

• The curve that best fits this data set is of the 2

potential type, and follows the form:

= 6.7 . 0
0 500 1000
Yield stress (Pa)
Graph 1: Runout distance as function of the yield stress
Reynolds Number behavior
8

Runout distance (m)

• In the case of study, an increasing behavior is
observed, where fluids with high yield stress 6
(low Reynolds number), experience less
displacement, an expected result considering
the yield stress behavior.
4

• Thus, the fitted model has the following 2

structure:

= 0.097Re . 0
10 100 1000
Reynolds number
Graph 2: Runout distance as function of the modified Reynolds number
Angle of the system behavior
9
The angle of the system, has a negative

Runout distance (m)

•
influence on the runoff from the tailings,
associated with the component of the
acceleration of gravity that favors the
6
displacement of the fluid downstream.

• This behavior is reflected in the graph, 3

where the best fit to the data set is
represented by a second-degree polynomial,
for slope values in radians:
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
= −16 + 23 + 0.78
Angle of system (rad)
Graph 3: Runout distance as function of the angle of system
Abacus proposed
70

Dimensionless distance
• Finally, a simple abacus has been 60
constructed, which involves non-Newtonian
fluids with different yield stresses applied to 50
different slopes, to obtain the dimensionless
40
distance parameter ⁄ . With this, a 5 Pa
preliminary estimate of the runout distance 30 10 Pa
can be obtained from these parameters. 15 Pa
20
20 Pa
• This alternative is an interesting proposal as 10
a first evaluation of runoff behavior, based
on computational tools that speed up the 0
study of the phenomenon from a numerical 0 1 2 3 4 5
perspective.
Angle of system (deg)
Graph 4: Dimensionless distance as function of the angle for different yield stress
Conclusions and recommendations

• In this work, the modeling of tailings was carried out as a non-Newtonian fluid that follows a rheological
behavior according to the Herschel-Bulkley viscosity model, to evaluate the incidence of rheological
parameters in its runoff.

• It has been determined that the yield stress of a non-Newtonian fluid strongly influences the behavior of
the runoff (also reflected in the modified Reynolds number), considered as a parameter that induces the
stoppage of the fluid once it begins to flow.

• Although the slope is a parameter inherent to the geographical nature of the sector, it is a variable to
consider, considering that higher slope values influence the development of runoff, product of the
component of the acceleration of gravity in the direction of this.
Conclusions and recommendations

• A simple abacus has been proposed that allows estimating the runout distance from the yield stress of the
tailings, the slope of the terrain and the initial height of the dam wall.

• Finally, the objective of this study is to be able to encourage the rheological characterization of mining
slurries, showing a simple analysis, to promote the development of computational tools that allow to
simplify this type of phenomena.
Estimation of tailings flow runout
distance from rheology approach
Álvaro Vergara, Sergio Palma, Alejandra Álvarez and María Teresa Zandarín