7th BALKANMINE CONGRESS – Proceedings, Prijedor 2017

DOI: 10.7251/BMC170701327C

APPLICATION OF THE JET GROUTING TECHNIQUES FOR THE

WATER PRECIPITATOR MAKING AT INNER LANDFILL OF
SURFACE MINE DRMNO

Vladan ĈANOVIĆ1, Violeta ĈOLAKOVIĆ1, Dragan MILOŠEVIĆ1, Branka JOVANOVIĆ1

1
Mining Institute Belgrade, Serbia, vladan.canovic@ribeograd.ac.rs, violeta.colakovic@ribeograd.ac.rs,
dragan.milosevic@ribeograd.ac.rs, , povrsinska@ribeograd.ac.rs

ABSTRACT

Inner landfill of open coal pit "Drmno" is anthropogenic deposit built largely from loess, dust and
fine-grained sands where it is not possible to define any kind of stratification because the disposal of
tailings was indiscriminate. It is a material with weak filtration characteristics (k = 10-7 - 10-8 m/s)
where there is present of pore water and pore pressures. Rounding inner landfill of open coal pit
"Drmno" in late 2014.. was observed on the floors of many local depression and parallel gullies. It was
concluded that the inner landfill of surface mine Drmno there are no conditions for the development
and maintenance of the water precipitator due to poor geotechnical properties of the deposited tailings.
The application of jet grouting technology in areas of landfills designated for making water
precipitator can significantly improve the geotechnical characteristics of the deposited tailings so that
the excavation and maintenance of water precipitator designed dimensions can be implemented
without difficulty in the shortest period of time.

Key words: Surface mine, Inner landfill, water precipitator, jet grouting

1. INTRODUCTION

The surface mine Drmno is in the mine basin complex in Kostolac with annual production of
coal of 9 million tons providing continual operations of installed thermo capacities PD TE-
KO Kostolac. At the surface mine Drmno excavation of overburden is done within the
framework of the five of BTO system while the transport of the same is carried out in two
wings at eastern and western side of the mine. Coal exploitation is carried out along two
systems of floor conveyors with common export conveyors to the location of a distributing
bunker.
For the excavation of overburden there are engaged six excavators five of which works in the
elevation altitude block and one bucket-excavator works in a deep altitudes. Transportation of
the overburden on the eastern side of the mine is done in the BTO, IV BRO AND III BTO
system, while the westward transportation of overburden is done with II BTO and I BTO
system. There are five belt conveyor spreaders for disposal of excavated masses working in
alternating elevation and depth work.

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Coal excavations and transport is done by the BTD system including two systems of floor
transporters where at the first floor work rotor excavators in tandem with self-propelled
transporter in altitude work; while the bucket-excavator is positioned at the second floor and
works in depth.
Inner landfill PK Drmno is of surface of ~8.4 km2 according to the geodetic record made
30/11/2014. Volume of disposed tailings is V=436.000.000 m3 with average thickness of
Hav=52m. The floor of the internal landfill follows the fall of the floor III of the coal layer
with general direction from the south-east to north-west, and in that direction the depth of its
development increases.
The space survey at inner landfill at the end of 2014 provided the facts that landfill floors are
almost horizontal with many local depressions, parallel ravines and other forms of striking
surface erosion. It was also spotted the lack of possibility for construction at floors of
facilities aimed to surface drainage – water precipitators due to loose material deposited there
which fills and obstructs it with tailings after first rains.
Condition of mining operations at surface mine Drmno by the end of 2014 is illustrated at
Figure 1.

Figure 1: Condition of mining operations at

surface mine Drmno by the end of 2014

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2. HYDROGEOLOGY CHARACTERISTICS OF INNER LANDFILL

Inner landfill PK Drmno is anthropogenic deposit largely built from marl, dusts and fine
granulated sands where is not possible to define any kind of stratification due to not-selective
tailings disposal. Based on results of granulometric composition of samples taken from
exploration drillings executed in internal landfill by application of empirical pattern (Hazen)
there were calculated values of coefficients of filtrations (K) that goes in interval of 10-7 do
10-8 m/s. Natural humidity (W) of disposed material is 20.3%. Registered groundwater level
at measured piezometers in inner landfill PK Drmno is characterised with the lack of bigger
fluctuations. Almost all records of groundwater level are horizontal in longer time interval of
observations which points to the absence of influence of drainage wells located around inner
landfill and rainfalls to fluctuation of the ground water levels in piezometers; and to very slow
process of water exchange and law permeability as consequence of small values of the
filtration coefficient of disposed material.
Unlike the natural, untreated aquatic environment surrounding the inner landfill PK Drmno
where free gravitational movement of ground water persists, and where the work of drainage
wells resulted in the level of ground water measured in the interval from 16 to almost 70 mnm
in piezometers of inner landfill with registered artesian and sub-artesian levels which point to
the movement of ground water in vertical direction upwards as result of the consolidation
process. Since disposed material is characterised by large presence of micropores, capillary
forces are dominant in the process of binding water to the tailings particles. It is all about
hygroscopic material that easily absorbshumidity but releases it hardly. Rainfalls are
dominant source of humidity in the landfill. Alternating replacement of the process of
disposal of new quantities of tailings, atmospheric precipitations, water infiltration and
absorption by disposed masses increase the quantity of water in the landfill. There are also
present pores water and pores pressures that substantially affect stability of disposed masses.
Measured value of the ground water level in piezometers points to the size of pores pressures
in the part of the landfill where the water collector of the piezometer is placed. With altitudes
growth of disposed masses in the landfill, the pores pressures also grow which is manifested
through measured NVP values in piezometers.

3. CONSTRUCTION OF PRECIPITATOR BY JET GROUTING TECHNOLOGY

Jet grouting is one of the methods of geo-technical soil stabilization. This technology is based
on use of the jet of cement plaster which is under pressure and breaks the soil in situ mixing
with it and the result is a conglomerate of the ground and cement (soilcrete) which is of high
hardness and low permeability (mono fluid method). This technology was applied first time in
Japan during seventies last century. Jet grouting is used for making colons and anchors and it
can be applied in almost all types of soil including dusty soil, some types of clay and various
types of sands and gravels.
Basic characteristic two-fluid jet grouting is that soil destruction is executed by the jet of
water of huge energy and concreting by the cement milk injecting into the soil under the
pressure of 500-600 bar which mix with unbound soil and particles of soil making concrete of
5-20 MB label. The work phases are the following:

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1. Drilling to needed depth. In the most of the cases through drilling tool is released
pressurised water to degrade in certain level the soil making easier drilling and
improving condition for the final injecting.
2. When achieving given drilling depth, through drilling tool is injected cement milk and
simultaneously rotates and pick up.
Complete equipment necessary for concrete colons execution by jet grouting technology is
illustrated in the table 1.

Figure 2: Complete equipment necessary for

concrete colons execution by jet grouting technology

Table 1: Equipment for soil stabilization by jet grouting technology

No. Description No. Description

1. Cement storehouse 10. Rotor
2. Transporter 11. Sleeve
3. Mixer 12. Drill hose
4. Turbine mixer 13. Jet monitor
5. Exciter for solution 14. Natural soil
6. Pump for pre-pumping 15. Colon of stabilised soil
7. Main pump 16. Control drilling device
8. Display for manual and automatic 17. Acoustic and visual device for
9. control
Drill connection

With application of mono-fluid method of jet grouting diameter of the concrete colon is
maximum of 0.6 m and with two-fluid method the colon diameter is of 1.0 – 1.2 m.
consumption of cement with sandy materials is of 150 – 250 kg/m3. Time needed to make
1m’ of concrete colon in sandy material of inner landfill is 100 sec.
At the space of the inner landfill PK Drmno, the technology of jet grouting would be applied
for the sol stabilization in zones planned for construction of objects for surface drainage –
precipitator. This method also may be applied to form walls and barriers (for example colons

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30 m of depth in the first floor of inner landfill). Ash may be used for jet grouting colons of
similar characteristics, as well as dust and dusty sand.
To make water precipitator of working volume of 1800 m3 in unbound material of the landfill
first step would be construction of the frame of 20 m wide and 30 m long of concrete colons
with diameter of Ø 1000 mm and 4 m deep with overlapping of 10%. The project would
predict construction of 456 m’ of concrete colons and 13 working hours; then the material in
constructed frame would be removed by a trencher up to depth of 3 m and waterproof foil
would be placed as it is illustrated in the figure 3.

vodonepropusna folija

zidovi napravljeni mlaznom

sidrenje vodonepropusne folije cementacijom

odlagalište

Figure 3: View of water precipitator constructed by jet

grouting technology in inner landfill PK Drmno

4. CONCLUSION

The basic advantage of the jet grouting technology is that it can be applied for reinforcing and
stabilization of all types of grain soil (grave, sand, dust, clay), or its application it can find in
inner landfill PK Drmno which is per its lithological composition anthropogenic deposit built
of loess, dust and fine grain sand where is not possible to recognise any stratification due to
not-selective tailings disposal. Inner landfill PK Drmno in morphological sense is
characterised with huge surface of 8.4 km2 and average thickness of 52 m with floors having
depressions, ravines and other forms of striking surface erosion. Disposed material is
hygroscopic with natural humidity W=20.3% and weak filtration characteristics K=10-7-10-8
m/s. Until present, in inner landfill Drmno was not possible to make and maintain facilities
for surface drainage (water collectors and channels) by classical excavation and mining
mechanization because of loose material which fills and obstructs it with tailings after first
rains. As a result, a large amount of surface water from the inner landfill, after rain, plunges
into the lowest point in the surface mine where is placed water GVS collector and pump
station leading to the occasional flooding of this area and endangering of the mining
mechanization and people. To pump out accumulated water from the bottom of the surface
mine the main pump station had to work in maximum capacity longer time with engagement
of additional pumps which provided often failures and problems with power. Construction of
facilities for surface drainage in inner landfill PK Drmno would result in reduction of intake
of surface water at the bottom of the surface mine, prevention of flood and overtime work of

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the main pump station, and it would be created conditions or more safe work of people and
mining mechanization. Due to all above mentioned the need was imposed for construction of
water precipitator in the inner landfill in a way that in the zone of its construction is executed
soil stabilization by jet grouting technology aiming to improve geotechnical characteristics of
disposed tailings providing that excavation and maintenance of the water precipitator may be
realised quickly with money and energy saving. Water precipitator with volume of 1800 m 3
needs 456 m’ of concrete colons for 13 working hours, the precipitator would be transformed
in the object of underground drainage prior to backfilling with tailings and it would have the
function of geotechnical stabilization of disposed masses and reduction of pore pressures in
the body of landfill.

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