From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines
A new perspective is presented for evaluating the slope stability of coal and lignite mines due to rainfall. The case of Greek lignite mining areas is employed to illustrate the methodology. Initially, past climatic records of rainfall are documented and analyzed; rainfall intensity varies from ligh...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/3/1538 |
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| author | Alexandros I. Theocharis Ioannis E. Zevgolis Alexandros V. Deliveris Rania Karametou Nikolaos C. Koukouzas |
| author_facet | Alexandros I. Theocharis Ioannis E. Zevgolis Alexandros V. Deliveris Rania Karametou Nikolaos C. Koukouzas |
| author_sort | Alexandros I. Theocharis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A new perspective is presented for evaluating the slope stability of coal and lignite mines due to rainfall. The case of Greek lignite mining areas is employed to illustrate the methodology. Initially, past climatic records of rainfall are documented and analyzed; rainfall intensity varies from light (0.8 mm/h) to heavy (up to 9 mm/h). Few extreme phenomena are documented, with the maximum intensity being 17 mm/h. Furthermore, climatic projections of future trends are performed with open-access tools to anticipate possible deviations from the baseline conditions. Although the mean temperature is expected to increase, projections show that the past rainfall range is not expected to change. Finally, the effect of rainfall infiltration on the stability of a typical open-pit lignite mining slope is investigated by finite element analysis. The precipitation range defined by the environmental analysis is used. The SF is practically constant for the lower rainfall intensities (0.8–2.2 mm/h). For the higher intensities of 6.4 mm/h, 9 mm/h, and 17 mm/h, the SF decrease is almost the same (from 2.08 to 1.9), with reduction rates of 8.3%, 8.9%, and 9.3%, respectively. The effect of the critical geotechnical properties—groundwater table depth, unsaturated zone properties, and soil permeability—is also examined for a complete evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:10:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11d7a3c42d0748a392f92a5ffb48d262 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:10:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-11d7a3c42d0748a392f92a5ffb48d2622023-11-23T15:59:18ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-01-01123153810.3390/app12031538From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal MinesAlexandros I. Theocharis0Ioannis E. Zevgolis1Alexandros V. Deliveris2Rania Karametou3Nikolaos C. Koukouzas4Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, 15125 Athens, GreeceSchool of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15773 Athens, GreeceChemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, 15125 Athens, GreeceChemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, 15125 Athens, GreeceChemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, 15125 Athens, GreeceA new perspective is presented for evaluating the slope stability of coal and lignite mines due to rainfall. The case of Greek lignite mining areas is employed to illustrate the methodology. Initially, past climatic records of rainfall are documented and analyzed; rainfall intensity varies from light (0.8 mm/h) to heavy (up to 9 mm/h). Few extreme phenomena are documented, with the maximum intensity being 17 mm/h. Furthermore, climatic projections of future trends are performed with open-access tools to anticipate possible deviations from the baseline conditions. Although the mean temperature is expected to increase, projections show that the past rainfall range is not expected to change. Finally, the effect of rainfall infiltration on the stability of a typical open-pit lignite mining slope is investigated by finite element analysis. The precipitation range defined by the environmental analysis is used. The SF is practically constant for the lower rainfall intensities (0.8–2.2 mm/h). For the higher intensities of 6.4 mm/h, 9 mm/h, and 17 mm/h, the SF decrease is almost the same (from 2.08 to 1.9), with reduction rates of 8.3%, 8.9%, and 9.3%, respectively. The effect of the critical geotechnical properties—groundwater table depth, unsaturated zone properties, and soil permeability—is also examined for a complete evaluation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/3/1538environmental engineeringgeotechnical engineeringmining and environmental issuesmine reclamationclimate changelignite |
| spellingShingle | Alexandros I. Theocharis Ioannis E. Zevgolis Alexandros V. Deliveris Rania Karametou Nikolaos C. Koukouzas From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines Applied Sciences environmental engineering geotechnical engineering mining and environmental issues mine reclamation climate change lignite |
| title | From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines |
| title_full | From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines |
| title_fullStr | From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines |
| title_short | From Climate Conditions to the Numerical Slope Stability Analysis of Surface Coal Mines |
| title_sort | from climate conditions to the numerical slope stability analysis of surface coal mines |
| topic | environmental engineering geotechnical engineering mining and environmental issues mine reclamation climate change lignite |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/3/1538 |
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