Temperature–moisture–rainfall effects on internal dump slope stability in a cold-region open-pit coal mine with drainage validation
- 1College of Mining, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, Liaoning, China
- 2College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, Liaoning, China
- 3School of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, Liaoning, China
Abstract
Internal dump slopes in cold-region open-pit coal mines are subjected to moisture variation, freezing temperatures, rainfall infiltration, and groundwater seepage. This study developed an integrated experimental-numerical-field framework to evaluate these effects for the Chaoyang open-pit coal mine in Heilongjiang Province, China. Unconfined compression and direct shear tests were conducted under four moisture contents of 14.0%, 17.6%, 23.0%, and 26.0% and three temperatures of 23 ± 2°C, −5°C, and −15°C. The measured elastic modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle were incorporated into a three-dimensional GTS NX model to assess slope responses before and after 72 h of rainfall.At room temperature, increasing moisture content reduced the elastic modulus from 1802.4 to 1003.6 MPa and cohesion from 18 to 10 kPa, while the pre-rainfall factor of safety decreased from 1.405 to 1.176. Under subzero conditions, stiffness and cohesion increased because of pore-ice bonding, whereas the internal friction angle varied only modestly and non-monotonically. At −15°C, the post-rainfall factor of safety ranged from 1.478 to 1.537, and rainfall-induced reductions under all subzero conditions remained below 0.60%. Under the room-temperature natural-moisture condition, drainage pipes increased the factors of safety before and after rainfall from 1.221 and 1.184 to 1.413 and 1.384, respectively. Field monitoring recorded an average drainage discharge of 2.51 × 104 m3/day and groundwater-level drawdowns of 12.19 and 9.94 m in the upper and middle aquifers.The results demonstrate that moisture weakens unfrozen dump materials but can enhance frozen-state strength through ice bonding. The integration of laboratory-derived temperature-moisture parameters, three-dimensional rainfall analysis, and field hydraulic validation provides a practical framework for stability assessment and drainage control of cold-region internal dump slopes.
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BibTeX
@article{wen2026temperaturemoisturerainfall,
title = {{Temperature–moisture–rainfall effects on internal dump slope stability in a cold-region open-pit coal mine with drainage validation}},
author = {Yu Wen and Ziling Song and Yifang Long and Zhenhua Yao and Shixiang Xiong and Wenhong Qian},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0352575},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352575},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temperature–moisture–rainfall effects on internal dump slope stability in a cold-region open-pit coal mine with drainage validation
AU - Yu Wen
AU - Ziling Song
AU - Yifang Long
AU - Zhenhua Yao
AU - Shixiang Xiong
AU - Wenhong Qian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0352575
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352575
AB - Internal dump slopes in cold-region open-pit coal mines are subjected to moisture variation, freezing temperatures, rainfall infiltration, and groundwater seepage. This study developed an integrated experimental-numerical-field framework to evaluate these effects for the Chaoyang open-pit coal mine in Heilongjiang Province, China. Unconfined compression and direct shear tests were conducted under four moisture contents of 14.0%, 17.6%, 23.0%, and 26.0% and three temperatures of 23 ± 2°C, −5°C, and −15°C. The measured elastic modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle were incorporated into a three-dimensional GTS NX model to assess slope responses before and after 72 h of rainfall.At room temperature, increasing moisture content reduced the elastic modulus from 1802.4 to 1003.6 MPa and cohesion from 18 to 10 kPa, while the pre-rainfall factor of safety decreased from 1.405 to 1.176. Under subzero conditions, stiffness and cohesion increased because of pore-ice bonding, whereas the internal friction angle varied only modestly and non-monotonically. At −15°C, the post-rainfall factor of safety ranged from 1.478 to 1.537, and rainfall-induced reductions under all subzero conditions remained below 0.60%. Under the room-temperature natural-moisture condition, drainage pipes increased the factors of safety before and after rainfall from 1.221 and 1.184 to 1.413 and 1.384, respectively. Field monitoring recorded an average drainage discharge of 2.51 × 104 m3/day and groundwater-level drawdowns of 12.19 and 9.94 m in the upper and middle aquifers.The results demonstrate that moisture weakens unfrozen dump materials but can enhance frozen-state strength through ice bonding. The integration of laboratory-derived temperature-moisture parameters, three-dimensional rainfall analysis, and field hydraulic validation provides a practical framework for stability assessment and drainage control of cold-region internal dump slopes.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -