Horizontal pipe drain design for existing mill tailings embankments

This paper presents a method which uses two-dimensional finite-element analysis to approximate the flow into a series of parallel drains in a tailings embankment. The method enables a preliminary evaluation in designing horizontal drains after an embankment is in place. The spacing between drains and the length of the drain can be determined from the use of a computer model such as UNSAT2. A starter dam is considered that has a hydraulic conductivity of 7.92 ft/day. The application of the described technique requires specific data which are partially dependent on the type of mathematical model used for simulating flow