Numerical simulation and safety distance analysis of slope instability of ionic rare earth tailings in different rainy seasons

Abstract

A significant number of ionic rare earth tailings slopes were generated during the process of rare earth mining and the factor of safety of these slopes continued to decrease under the action of rainfall. This study focussed on a specific tailings slope located in Dayu County, Ganzhou City. Through the utilization of MatDEM numerical simulation software, the variations in infiltration distribution and destabilization evolution of the tailings slope between different seasons were comparatively examined. The results indicated that during the rainy season (May to June), increased rainfall led to increased rate of water infiltration, consequently reducing the stability of the slope and exacerbating landslide damage. Furthermore, the study provided analyses of safety distances under different seasons of rainfall, taking into account the geographical location of the tailings slope in Dayu County, Ganzhou City, and the results of the analyses provided theoretical foundation into ensuring the safety of buildings and residents downstream of the slope.

Keywords:

• MatDEM
• rainfall
• safety distance
• tailings landslides

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

Data availability statement

Data is available on request from the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Grant No. 2022M722924; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 52364013; “Youth Innovation Talent Introduction and Education Plan" of Shandong Colleges and Universities (Grant No. Lu Jiao Ke Han [2021] No. 51), and Jiangxi Province Thousand Talents Program Project, Grant No. jxsq2019102082.