Geotechnical Characterization of Fine-Grained Spoil Material from Surface Coal Mines

Abstract

Coal mines produce large amounts of excavated waste soils, known as spoils. These materials can cover vast areas, are typically dumped in heaps without any treatment, and are difficult to exploit for engineering purposes because of their significant variability. Efficient exploitation of spoil heaps poses engineering challenges, related mainly to the involved degree of uncertainty. A small number of studies have attempted to characterize the geotechnical properties of spoil material; however, there remains a considerable gap in understanding how to deal with spoil materials in the context of sustainable development and civil infrastructure design. In this work, a systematic effort is made to quantify the uncertainty of the geotechnical properties of a particular spoil heap. Laboratory test results based on an extended investigation of a spoil material originating from lignite coal mines are gathered in one database and thoroughly analyzed. The results reveal and quantify the significant spoil material variability, which is contrasted against data for common soils, while a systematic approach is proposed for spoil material characterization.