Hydraulic Evaluation of Tailings Transport Systems in Mountainous Terrain: Density Wave Analysis
Authors: Alexander Manos1, Cristian Giner2, Stuart Flett1
Conference: Tailings 2025: 11th International Conference on Tailings Management
Date: September 3-5, 2025
1 Mechanical and Piping Engineering, Knight Piésold, USA
2 Mechanical and Piping Engineering, Knight Piésold, Argentina
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a hydraulic evaluation of a tailings transport pipeline system extended over mountainous terrain, focusing on transient pressure behavior during flushing, water batching, and slurry restart operations. The primary subject of analysis is the propagation of the water/slurry and slurry/water density interface during transitional phases and the resulting implications on pipeline selection, pump system adequacy, and long-term operability. The study is based on a project where the original tailings pump station was reassessed and partially modified to service a deposition site nearly five times farther than the original design. The study builds on prior foundational work by Hallbom (Hallbom DJ, 2006), especially in the context of hydraulic grade line discontinuities, U-tube effects, and slack flow phenomena.
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