Engineering Centre «TechPolymer»
During the expansion of the existing tailings storage facility of the Talnakh Processing Plant (ТОФ), the project provides for the construction of a regulating basin. The waterproofing system—a seepage-control liner (ПФЭ)—will protect the deposit area from erosion.
The construction conditions for the basin include a shortage of soils suitable for installing the seepage-control liner, a severe climate, and the site's remoteness from transport infrastructure.
To address this complex challenge, the TechPolymer Engineering Centre proposed the five-layer geocomposite mat “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic”, СТО 56910145-005-2011, as the primary waterproofing element of the hydraulic engineering structure and incorporated additional waterproofing reinforcement using RD geogrid, РД СТО 30478650-001-2012, into the basin's seepage-control liner.
“Hydromat 3D/M Arctic” consists of a cellular three-dimensional HDPE core with geotextile coating on both sides and a UV-resistant geomembrane with a protective and drainage geotextile layer.
The primary function of the cellular three-dimensional core in “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic” is to protect the geomembrane from puncture when installed on an unprepared base.
The reinforced RD geogrid СТО 30478650-001-2012, installed above the geomembrane layer, will ensure the geomembrane's resistance to punching by coarse particles of the rock soil used in the protective layers.
The methods used in the Russian Federation to assess the resistance of geosynthetic materials to mechanical impacts—ГОСТ Р 56336-2015—do not allow the actual operating conditions of “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic” in the seepage-control liner to be assessed. It was necessary to evaluate whether the liner layers performed their protective function in preventing damage to the geomembrane by coarse soil particles.
The proposed design was assessed through the Customer's R&D project, conducted jointly with specialists from the SibADI Road Research Centre.
As part of the R&D project, seepage calculations were performed for the body of the containment dam and the bottom of the regulating basin with the seepage-control liner using PLAXIS 2D. The ability of “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic” to perform its protective function was assessed, as was the geomembrane's resistance to punching by coarse particles of rock soil due to the additional reinforcement.
The R&D project established the following:
- seepage through the body of the containment dam and the bottom of the regulating basin was eliminated by using a seepage-control liner made of “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic”;
- “Hydromat 3D/M Arctic” provides a protective function for the geomembrane against damage by coarse particles of the underlying layer;
- The RD geogrid ensures the geomembrane's resistance to punching by coarse particles of the rock soil used in the protective layers and makes it possible to meet the requirement of Clause 3.6 of П82-79 ВНИИГ, which stipulates that no hazardous tensile stresses may occur during operation in sections of the seepage-control element located on soil pores.
Based on the R&D project results, the design solution developed by the TechPolymer Engineering Centre was included in the design documentation and approved for implementation.
The specialists of the TechPolymer Engineering Centre have extensive experience in designing seepage-control liners under challenging natural and climatic conditions and are ready to cooperate.
