Performance of a Coal Refuse Embankment

Continuous determinations of density, moisture content, and permeability through a 140-foot high coarse refuse embankment impounding slurry were made. The density determinations were made with nuclear moisture-density depth gauges continuously throughout 120-foot depth of the embankment. The permeability tests were made with a special packer permeability device and were conducted throughout the 120-foot depth of the embankment. Compaction density tests were made during compaction of the refuse. Comparisons were made to design, as-compacted, and in-place permeabilities, densities, and phreatic surface within the embankment. The study shows that coarse refuse embankments compacted in roughly 18-inch lifts with a special dozer and haulage equipment perform well in terms of comparisons of in-situ parameters to design parameters for seepage, density, and strength