Design of covers with capillary barrier effect for protection of mine tailings

The purpose of this work is to design Covers with Capillary Barrier Effect (CCBE) for mine tailings. Mining tailings in contact with oxygen and water produce sulphuric acid, which is harmful for the environment. In order to isolate the mine tailings, the capillary barrier effect causes the accumulation of water in the upper layer and thus limits the diffusion of oxygen. This study is done through numerical simulations under the designed software. These simulations allowed to analyze the behaviour of CCBCs subjected to long periods of drought and long periods of flooding. The phenomenological knowledge that derives from the numerical study of CCBCs makes it possible to optimize the design parameters, the selection of materials, according to their texture and chemical nature, the thickness and the inclination of the layers. In conclusion, a methodology is proposed to design the CCBC; this methodology required the development of a numerical simulation software to compute fluxes in porous media.