A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows
Mine waste debris flows are a type of man-made debris flow that commonly lead to major disasters. In this study, the Xiaotong Gully, which is located in the Xiaoqinling gold mining area in China and contains a typical mine waste debris flow gully, was selected as the study area. Since a debris flow...
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1536 |
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| author | Yanbo Cao Xinghua Zhu Bangxiao Liu Yalin Nan |
| author_facet | Yanbo Cao Xinghua Zhu Bangxiao Liu Yalin Nan |
| author_sort | Yanbo Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mine waste debris flows are a type of man-made debris flow that commonly lead to major disasters. In this study, the Xiaotong Gully, which is located in the Xiaoqinling gold mining area in China and contains a typical mine waste debris flow gully, was selected as the study area. Since a debris flow can be classified as either a geotechnical debris flow or hydraulic debris flow based on its initiation mode, we conducted 46 experimental model tests to explore the initiation conditions of these two different types of debris flows. According to our tests, the initiation conditions of hydraulic debris flows were mainly affected by the flume gradient, the water content of the mine waste, the inflow discharge, the water supply modes, and the clay particle content. A larger flume gradient and higher mine waste water content were more conducive to initiating a hydraulic debris flow. However, the influence of the water supply mode on the initiation of a hydraulic debris flow was complex (influenced by factors such as water content of mine waste, runoff discharge rate and rainfall intensity). The critical runoff of a hydraulic debris flow, which starts with a parabolic relationship to the clay particle content of the mine waste, decreased with increasing clay particle content and then increased. There was a minimum critical runoff when the clay content of the mine waste was 30%. The initiation conditions of a geotechnical debris flow were mainly affected by the flume gradient, the water content, and the clay particle content. The critical gradient of a geotechnical debris flow decreased with increasing water content and had a parabolic relationship to the clay particle content. In tests 31–46 of this study, the second and third critical slopes both decreased and then increased with increasing clay particle content. These preliminary research results provide a scientific reference for subsequent research on the prevention and mitigation of mine waste debris flows. |
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| issn | 2073-4441 |
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| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
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| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-e2a6b4816cfd48d08a537ac9a725e89d2023-11-20T02:00:22ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-05-01126153610.3390/w12061536A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris FlowsYanbo Cao0Xinghua Zhu1Bangxiao Liu2Yalin Nan3Department of Geological Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, ChinaDepartment of Geological Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, ChinaDepartment of Geological Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, ChinaChina Electronic Research Institute of Engineering Investigations and Design, Xi’an 710055, ChinaMine waste debris flows are a type of man-made debris flow that commonly lead to major disasters. In this study, the Xiaotong Gully, which is located in the Xiaoqinling gold mining area in China and contains a typical mine waste debris flow gully, was selected as the study area. Since a debris flow can be classified as either a geotechnical debris flow or hydraulic debris flow based on its initiation mode, we conducted 46 experimental model tests to explore the initiation conditions of these two different types of debris flows. According to our tests, the initiation conditions of hydraulic debris flows were mainly affected by the flume gradient, the water content of the mine waste, the inflow discharge, the water supply modes, and the clay particle content. A larger flume gradient and higher mine waste water content were more conducive to initiating a hydraulic debris flow. However, the influence of the water supply mode on the initiation of a hydraulic debris flow was complex (influenced by factors such as water content of mine waste, runoff discharge rate and rainfall intensity). The critical runoff of a hydraulic debris flow, which starts with a parabolic relationship to the clay particle content of the mine waste, decreased with increasing clay particle content and then increased. There was a minimum critical runoff when the clay content of the mine waste was 30%. The initiation conditions of a geotechnical debris flow were mainly affected by the flume gradient, the water content, and the clay particle content. The critical gradient of a geotechnical debris flow decreased with increasing water content and had a parabolic relationship to the clay particle content. In tests 31–46 of this study, the second and third critical slopes both decreased and then increased with increasing clay particle content. These preliminary research results provide a scientific reference for subsequent research on the prevention and mitigation of mine waste debris flows.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1536mine wastedebris flowsinitiationflume experimentscritical conditions |
| spellingShingle | Yanbo Cao Xinghua Zhu Bangxiao Liu Yalin Nan A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows Water mine waste debris flows initiation flume experiments critical conditions |
| title | A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows |
| title_full | A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows |
| title_fullStr | A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows |
| title_short | A Qualitative Study of the Critical Conditions for the Initiation of Mine Waste Debris Flows |
| title_sort | qualitative study of the critical conditions for the initiation of mine waste debris flows |
| topic | mine waste debris flows initiation flume experiments critical conditions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1536 |
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