Experimental Study on the Effect of Wetting–Drying Cycles on Crack Development and Radon Retardation of the Covering Soil in Uranium Mill Tailing Impoundments

Abstract

The majority of uranium mill tailing impoundments in the southern part of China are located in humid subtropical regions where persistent rainfall and rapid evaporation of water after rain often occur. Under the prolonged influence of alternating wet and dry conditions, the covering soil layer of uranium mill tailing impoundments develops cracks, leading to the issue of degradation or even failure of the radon retardation effect. A beach surface of uranium mill tailing impoundments in the southern part of China is selected as the research object. Through use of a selfmade simulation test device, a degradation experiment of uranium mill tailing covering soil models under wetting−drying cycles was conducted indoors. The experimental results indicate that with a constant amplitude of wetting−drying cycles, microcracks characterized by a narrow width and high abundance were mainly generated in the early-to-mid-stage of wetting−drying cycles. The main cracks, characterized by their wide width and less abundance, were mainly formed in the mid-to-late stage of wetting−drying cycles. After seven wetting−drying cycles, the total length of cracks showed a "stair-step" increase and the surface crack ratio exhibited a trend of moving from rapid growth to stable growth and then to a slight decline. The cumulative damage degree showed a rapid increase to stable growth with an increase in the number of wetting−drying cycles. Grey relational analysis revealed that, compared to other surface crack indicators, radon exhalation rate was the most closely correlated with the surface crack ratio. With a constant amplitude of wetting−drying cycles, the radon exhalation rate underwent four stages as the number of wetting−drying cycles increased: stage I witnessed a rapid increase, stage II witnessed a rapid decrease, stage III witnessed a gradual increase, and stage IV witnessed a stable or even slight decrease. With a constant number of wetting−drying cycles, the radon exhalation rate correspondingly increased with the amplitude of wetting−drying cycles, particularly noticeable when the alternation amplitude was 30 ± 20%. From the early mid-stage to the late stage of wetting−drying cycles, the curves of the radon exhalation rate, surface crack ratio, and cumulative damage degree tended to be consistent, showing a gradual increase. The research provided in this study offers valuable insights into radon control measures and environmental assessments on the beach surface of uranium mill tailing impoundments.