Design Capacity of Slurried Mineral Waste Ponds

Abstract

This paper summarizes existing consolidation data for various slurried mineral wastes; specifically, compressibility and permeability. It describes the state‐of‐the‐art in field and laboratory tests for measuring the consolidation properties of these very soft sediments. It briefly reviews computer programs that have been written to analyze finite strain consolidation. A design methodology is developed in detail for rapid calculation of storage capacity of disposal ponds under a variety of conditions. Finally, a methodology for determining preliminary design consolidation properties is described that is based on the Atterberg limits of the waste material.