The 2019 Brumadinho tailings dam collapse: Possible cause and impacts of the worst human and environmental disaster in Brazil     

《International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation》2020

On 25th January 2019, the tailings dam of the Brumadinho iron mine operated by Vale S/A failed catastrophically. The death toll stood at 259 and 11 people remained missing as of January 2020. This tragedy occurred three years after Mariana’s tailings dam rupture – the most significant tailing dam disaster in Brazilian history. Thus far, a systematic investigation on the cause and effect of the failure has yet to be conducted. Here, we use satellite-driven soil moisture index, multispectral high-resolution imagery and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) products to assess pre-disaster scenarios and the direct causes of the tailings dam collapse. A decreasing trend in the moisture content at the surface and the full evanescence of pond water through time (2011–2019) suggest that the water was gradually penetrating the fill downwards and caused the seepage erosion, saturating the tailings dam. Large-scale slumping of the dam (extensional failure) upon the rupture indicates that the materials of the fill were already saturated. InSAR measurements reveal a dramatic, up to 30 cm subsidence in the dam (at the rear part) within the past 12 months before the dam collapse, signifying that the sediments had been removed from the fill. Although the information on the resistance level of the tailings dam to infiltrations is not available, these pieces of evidence collectively indicate that the seepage erosion (piping) is the primary cause for the chronic weakening of the structure and, hence, the internal “liquefaction” condition. Upon the collapse, the fully saturated mud tailings flowed down the gentle slope area (3.13 × 10⁶ m²), where 73 % were originally covered by tree, grass or agricultural tracts. The toxic mud eventually reached the Paraopeba River after travelling 10 km, abruptly increasing the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and the toxic chemical elements in the river, immediately affecting the local livelihoods that depend on its water. The Paraopeba River is a major tributary of the San Francisco River, the second-longest river in Brazil reaching the Atlantic Ocean. We anticipate that the environmental repercussions of this toxic seepage will be felt throughout the entire basin, especially riverine communities located downstream.  相似文献   

地震断层对管道压溃压力的影响          下载免费PDF全文

余建星  袁祺伟  余杨  王华昆  王彩妹  赵岩 《世界地震工程》2020,(2):180-190

利用有限元软件ABAQUS,结合用户自定义Python程序,开展地震断层作用下深海管道局部变形和压溃过程的数值模拟。分析均质土体和随机分布土体模型的地震断层位移大小对管道局部变形的影响,并分析断层诱发的局部挤压变形对管道压溃压力的影响。研究表明:相比于断层走向与管道轴线方向垂直的走滑断层,断层走向与管道轴线方向夹角为45°的走滑断层作用下管道的压溃压力较小,且当断层走向为管道轴线方向逆时针旋转45°时,左旋走滑断层作用下管道的压溃压力低于右旋走滑断层作用下的管道压溃压力。断层位移相同时,管道径厚比越大,压溃压力越小。考虑土壤随机性时,由于APIX65钢制管道刚性较大,且管道两侧土体内聚力和摩擦角分散于均质土壤土体参数均值两侧,因此断层作用过程中管道受到的土压力在均质土壤模型中的土压力数值处上下波动。  相似文献   

重庆市中梁山地区隐伏塌陷特征及物探勘测的思路     

张银松  曹聪  康世海  刘家富 《中国岩溶》2020,39(6):918-927

为查明隐伏塌陷区域，分析重庆市中梁山地区岩溶塌陷的特征，发现塌陷主要发生在以岩溶裂隙发育为主的松散粉质黏土区域；地震映像法能方便、快速地查清土层的松散状态，而高密度电阻率法通过正演模拟发现只能探测出2～3倍电极距的异常范围，但能反映出岩溶裂隙发育的漏斗形态，即只要能找出岩溶裂隙的大致位置和浅表松散土层的范围就能圈定隐伏塌陷的区域。对中梁山地区某居民点进行野外勘测，综合以上两种方法圈定隐伏塌陷区域，其推断结果与钻探资料十分吻合，说明这种隐伏岩溶探测思路是可行的。   相似文献   

劲芯水泥土桩承载路堤渐进式失稳破坏机制     

张振  张朝  叶观宝  王萌  肖彦  程义 《岩土力学》2020,41(6):2122-2131

劲芯水泥土桩是一种软土地基处理的新方法，近年来已成功应用于公路、铁路路基处理工程中。然而由于人们对其承载路堤的失稳破坏机制认识不足，无法正确指导设计。采用反映桩体材料破坏后特征的应变软化模型，模拟劲芯水泥土桩承载路堤失稳破坏1g模型试验，通过分析路堤失稳破坏过程中桩体塑性区的开展和桩身受力的变化情况，研究了桩体的破坏顺序及其破坏模式。结果表明：路堤失稳过程中，劲芯水泥土桩并非同时发生破坏，路面正下方桩体首先发生受压破坏，坡面下方桩体自坡脚至坡肩依次发生弯剪破坏；由于桩体的存在，路基中滑动面并非完全穿过桩体破坏位置。基于桩体破坏顺序、破坏模式、受力情况变化，以及荷载传递规律，阐释了劲芯水泥土桩承载路堤渐进式失稳破坏机制。采用现行规范中基于残余强度的柔性桩处理方法，计算的安全系数与试验结果较为接近，但其适用性还需做进一步研究。  相似文献   

多维地震下考虑不同破坏准则的输电塔-线体系倒塌分析          下载免费PDF全文

袁光英  潘海洋  马瑞升  田利 《世界地震工程》2019,35(1):184-192

研究了基于不同失效准则多维地震激励下输电塔-线体系的倒塌。根据实际工程，运用ABAQUS有限元分析软件，考虑材料非线性和几何非线性，建立了包含两基输电塔与3跨输电线的大跨越输电塔-线体系三维有限元模型。提出了2种不同的杆件失效准则，采用用户材料子程序，基于动力显式分析方法，研究了大跨越输电塔-线体系在3条典型天然地震波作用下考虑不同失效准则的倒塌机理，并对输电塔的杆件失效、节间位移角以及相对薄弱位置进行了分析。分析结果可以为大跨越输电塔-线体系的抗震设计提供参考。  相似文献   

基于直觉模糊层次分析法的地震压埋率模型研究          下载免费PDF全文

肖东升  钟祖峰  罗尚  练洪  罗俊 《世界地震工程》2019,35(3):127-135

强烈地震会导致建筑物倒塌进而造成室内人员压埋，因此，把特定区域和建筑群的压埋率作为震后救援的决策指标尤为重要。但地震建筑物倒塌受多个影响因素共同作用，造成了压埋率模型的后验倒塌率评估的不确定性问题。针对这个问题采用直觉模糊层次分析法，选取了震级、震源深度、震中距、抗震设防烈度、地基和基础、建筑物结构类型和结构现状等七大影响因素进行加权分析。运用LINGO软件建模解算出了各影响因素权重，通过极大似然法估算了各影响因素对建筑物倒塌率的影响值，进而评估出了建筑物预估倒塌率，并结合先验在室率模型及其区划，建立了基于直觉模糊层次分析法的地震压埋率模型。最后以汶川灾区学校为例，进行了压埋率评估，并对其进行了误差分析。研究表明:抗震设防烈度、建筑物结构类型和结构现状是影响建筑物倒塌的主要因素；在实际评估中模型精度达到±0.15，能为震后快速应急救援提供决策辅助。  相似文献   

滕州荆泉水源地岩溶塌陷特征与成因分析          下载免费PDF全文

贾继成  孟宪洲  白平 《山东国土资源》2018,34(6)

自2015年6月以来,在山东滕州荆泉水源地范围内连续发生多起岩溶塌陷。通过研究区域地质条件,在已有认识的基础上分析得出发育的浅层开口岩溶洞隙的存在,一定厚度的松散覆盖层及地下水位大幅下降是该区产生岩溶塌陷的基本条件。阐述了岩溶塌陷形成发育过程及影响因素,得出长期过量抽采岩溶水是区内岩溶塌陷的主要因素,合理减少地下水开采量是预防岩溶塌陷最有效的方法。  相似文献   

Modelling the time‐dependent behaviour of granular material with hypoplasticity          下载免费PDF全文

Shun Wang  Wei Wu  Zhen‐Yu Yin  Chong Peng  Xuzhen He 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2018,42(12):1331-1345

This paper presents a constitutive model for time‐dependent behaviour of granular material. The model consists of 2 parts representing the inviscid and viscous behaviour of granular materials. The inviscid part is a rate‐independent hypoplastic constitutive model. The viscous part is represented by a rheological model, which contains a high‐order term denoting the strain acceleration. The proposed model is validated by simulating some element tests on granular soils. Our model is able to model not only the non‐isotach behaviour but also the 3 creep stages, namely, primary, secondary, and tertiary creep, in a unified way.  相似文献   

A multiscale work-analysis approach for geotechnical structures     

Hao Xiong  Zhen-Yu Yin  François Nicot 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2019,43(6):1230-1250

This paper presents a second-order work analysis in application to geotechnical problems by using a novel effective multiscale approach. To abandon complicated equations involved in conventional phenomenological models, this multiscale approach employs a micromechanically-based formulation, in which only four parameters are involved. The multiscale approach makes it possible a coupling of the finite element method (FEM) and the micromechanically-based model. The FEM is used to solve the boundary value problem (BVP) while the micromechanically-based model is utilized at the Gauss point of the FEM. Then, the multiscale approach is used to simulate a three-dimensional triaxial test and a plain-strain footing. On the basis of the simulations, material instabilities are analyzed at both mesoscale and global scale. The second-order work criterion is then used to analyze the numerical results. It opens a road to interpret and understand the micromechanisms hiding behind the occurrence of failure in geotechnical issues.  相似文献   

Location and probability of shoal margin collapses in a sandy estuary          下载免费PDF全文

Wout M. van Dijk  Dick R. Mastbergen  Geeralt A. van den Ham  Jasper R. F. W. Leuven  Maarten G. Kleinhans 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2018,43(11):2342-2357

Channel bank failure, and collapses of shoal margins and beaches due to flow slides, have been recorded in Dutch estuaries for the past 200 years but have hardly been recognized elsewhere. Current predictions lack forecasting capabilities, because they were validated and calibrated for historic data of cross‐sections in specific systems, allowing local hindcast rather than location and probability forecasting. The objectives of this study were to investigate where on shoal margins collapses typically occur and what shoal margin collapse geometries and volumes are, such that we can predict their occurrence. We identified shoal margin collapses, generally completely submerged, from bathymetry data by analyzing digital elevation models of difference of the Western Scheldt for the period 1959–2015. We used the bathymetry data to determine the conditions for occurrence, specifically to obtain slope height and angle, and applied these variables in a shoal margin collapse predictor. We found 299 collapses along 300 km of shoal margin boundaries over 56 years, meaning that more than five collapses occur on average per year. The average shoal margin collapse body is well approximated by a 1/3 ellipsoid shape, covers on average an area of 34 000 m² and has an average volume of 100 000 m³. Shoal margin collapses occur mainly at locations where shoals take up a proportionally larger area than average in the cross‐section of the entire estuary, and occur most frequently where lateral shoal margin displacement is low. A receiver operating characteristic curve shows that the forecasting method predicts the shoal margin collapse location well. We conclude that the locations of the shoal margin collapses are well predicted by the variation in conditions of the relative slope height and angle within the Western Scheldt, and likely locations are at laterally relatively stable shoal margins. This provides hypotheses aiding the recognition of these features in sandy estuaries worldwide. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献