Modelisation of tailings dams deformations during production : a practical case study from Bernburg (Germany)

This thesis simulates the behaviour of an industrial storage tailings dam under staged construction. A particular case was studied on site of Bernburg in Germany. A great attention was accorded to unexpected back and forward horizontal displacements during production on the dam. These changing profiles were observed by inclinometer monitoring system. Interpretation of the provided database was conducted and the presence of pore water pressure in unstaturated zones was observed. This phenomenon is called the suction pressure and was approached by three analytical procedures : the Soil-Water Charachteristic Curve, the Van Genuchten effective saturation and Bishop's coefficient. All these properties were implemented in a PLAXIS 2D model to modelize the tailings dam behaviour. At the end, a good approximation of the inclinometer was obtained.