No abstract

Shallow tunnels induce surface displacements which can cause damage to existing structures; an adequate evaluation of their settlement trough is of paramount importance. Nowadays, it becomes even more critical when dealing with an underground occupation where the green stress field has already been disturbed by previous excavations. Since the end of the last century, many researchers have explored the subject. Some empirical methodologies have been developed based on data from actual cases, sometimes associated with numerical analysis. The present work used plane strain numerical analysis of different geometric arrangements of side-by-side twin tunnels for different depths and distances between tunnel axes to evaluate its compatibility with some of the proposed methods to adjust the settlement profile of the second cavity. It was observed that the discussed methodologies have similar results for maximum settlement and its eccentricity. Nevertheless, the behavior of the trough width parameter from the semi-empirical methods has shown discrepancies.

Tailings dam accidents emphasize the importance of an adequate understanding of the strength parameters of tailings to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the design, construction, and operation of such structures. Usually, the tailings strength is addressed in a deterministic manner. However, a statistical approach would better represent their behavior due to its inherent heterogeneity. The literature about tailings strength distribution is relatively rare or superficial, which impairs the probabilistic analyses which are essential for risk management. Therefore, this article focuses on the probability density function (PDF) of the effective friction angle (ϕ′) of iron ore tailings from the reservoir of Germano dam, Mariana, Brazil, based on data from publicly available CPTu tests. The influence of the relative density (Dr), and the presence of plastic layers amidst the sand tailings on the strength of the sand are also discussed herein. Several correlations were employed to estimate ϕ’ and Dr. According to the results, the presence of plastic layers influences the estimated properties, and the relative density has a log-normal distribution. The effective friction angle, on the other hand, presents a normal distribution.

The present work intends to demonstrate the advantages of considering transient flow regime in the stability analysis of the upstream slope for the rapid drawdown situation of a homogeneous earth dam. Upstream slope stability evaluations were carried out, considering pore pressure and suction from transient flow analysis while simulating rapid drawdown of the reservoir. The evaluations comprised different geometries of the upstream slope (from 1V:1.1H to 1V:2.5H) and heights varying from 10 m to 50 m, as well as several low permeability materials (SM, SM-SC, SC, ML, ML-CL, CL, MH and CH). In addition, equations relating the safety factor to such slopes or dam height were adjusted to the analysis data, in order to define the minimum slope for a certain dam height or the maximum height for a given upstream slope. The results have shown that, considering the transient flow condition, including suction, within the slope stability analysis of the rapid drawdown situation, increases the safety factor in relation to the simplified analysis that is usually adopted. This also results in much steeper slopes (for a safety factor of 1.1) than the ones recommended by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), suggesting the importance of performing transient flow analysis for rapid drawdown situations and considering its results instability analysis.