Desiccation studies of fine mining tailings under natural climatic conditions and resting under a drainage bottom in a test site are presented in this paper. A test section, loaded with several instruments, was implemented in the area to monitor a desiccating layer of the fine tailings especially deposited in the area. A weather station and considerations of a hydrologic model for potential evaporation were very important to characterize the top boundary condition. In monitoring soil variables, an innovative technique was introduced to measure volumetric water content: the time domain reflectometry. Data generated in this research can be used to determine constitutive properties related to the desiccation phenomenon and also be used to calibrated a numerical model to describe soil behavior under desiccation.
Tailings; desiccation; field investigation
