Numerical simulation of tailings dam failure based on the TDB_S model and application examples

Abstract Tailings ponds are generally highly potential risk of dam failure. At present, the numerical model of tailings dam failure is not targeted, is not accurate enough, and the research on the dam failure mechanism is insufficient. For these reasons, in this paper, the TDB_S tailings dam failure numerical model is proposed, and together with three other common dam failure models, it is applied to analyze 18 tailings dam failure cases. The study results show that, the numerical model of tailings dam failure established in this paper can be used to better predict the final breach time and final breach area in most cases, and better predict the flow rate value under the premise of guaranteeing the accuracy of the time. The sensitivity analysis results show that, the dam material erosion coefficient kd exerts a significant effect on the peak flow rate of the breach and its occurrence moment.