Flooding Speed of Former Lignite Open Pits Regarded as a Determining Factor on the Stability of Final Slopes | Chapter 13 | Emerging Trends in Engineering Research and Technology Vol. 11

 The main exploitation process of lignite in Europe is surface mining. As of 2017, EU output of lignite is somehow stable at approx. 380 million tonnes per year and in Poland, Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, it is a very significant source of electricity. Flooding the remaining gaps of former open pits of lignite is also used internationally, providing opportunities for the use of the lake and the reclaimed land, as well as many benefits, ranging from habitat regeneration to the growth of the local economy. The mechanism of flooding is conditioned by the amounts of water available from natural and/or artificial sources. Flooding may be achieved either by natural methods (inflow of underground water plus water intake from rainfall and superficial drainage), or by natural methods (inflow of underground water plus water intake from rainfall and superficial drainage). Artificial processes, and (water adductions from superficial collectors). Natural flooding has the benefit of lowering costs, unlike artificial flooding, but it is a long-lasting operation. As a result of rising water levels and saturation of rocks from the final slopes, geotechnical phenomena such as landslides can occur, depending on the flooding speed. The purpose of the paper is to create the dependency between the rate of water level rise in the lake and the rock's geotechnical behaviour in the internal dump. Based on this the flooding process needs to be intensified by adductions, as the hydrostatic pressure manifested on the final slopes determines the increase in their reserve of stability.

Author (s) Details

Dr. Eng. Florin Faur
Department of Environmental Engineering and Geology, University of Petrosani, Faculty of Mining, Romania.


Dr. Eng. Izabela Maria Apostu
Department of Environmental Engineering and Geology, University of Petrosani, Faculty of Mining, Romania.


Dr. Eng. Maria Lazăr
Department of Environmental Engineering and Geology, University of Petrosani, Faculty of Mining, Romania.

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