On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model
This thesis presents the background, observations, and analyses performed during an investigation of the flocculated mature fine tailings (MFT) technology at the Suncor Energy Oil Sands Tailings Reduction Operation (TRO) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The sub-aerial flow and deposition of floccu...
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University of British Columbia
2012
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ftunivbritcolcir:oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/43761 2023-05-15T16:17:39+02:00 On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model Charlebois, Lawrence E. 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43761 eng eng University of British Columbia Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ CC-BY-NC-ND Text Thesis/Dissertation 2012 ftunivbritcolcir 2019-10-15T18:10:25Z This thesis presents the background, observations, and analyses performed during an investigation of the flocculated mature fine tailings (MFT) technology at the Suncor Energy Oil Sands Tailings Reduction Operation (TRO) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The sub-aerial flow and deposition of flocculated MFT on a sloping beach can be described in the context of a rheology-energy conceptual model. The conceptual model, or flow map, can provide deposition cell designers and operators with a useful framework for managing beach development in a sub-aerial deposition cell. Observations during field work resulted in the development of the flow map and the establishment of numerical boundaries for the transitions between flow types. Practical applications for this new conceptual model are provided. The database of fully-developed beach surveys presented in this thesis demonstrates the trend of strongly concave profiles. This concavity has significant repercussions for tailings management and cell design, and cannot be ignored when calculating storage volumes. Furthermore, it is shown that the McPhail (1995) stream power model provides a robust tool for estimating ultimate beach profiles developed from the sub-aerial discharge of polymer-flocculated MFT. The model has been validated against field-scale measurements and is consistent with the rheology-energy conceptual model developed to describe the flocculated MFT flow behaviour. Applied Science, Faculty of Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of Graduate Thesis Fort McMurray University of British Columbia: cIRcle - UBC's Information Repository Canada Fort McMurray |
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University of British Columbia: cIRcle - UBC's Information Repository |
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language |
English |
description |
This thesis presents the background, observations, and analyses performed during an investigation of the flocculated mature fine tailings (MFT) technology at the Suncor Energy Oil Sands Tailings Reduction Operation (TRO) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The sub-aerial flow and deposition of flocculated MFT on a sloping beach can be described in the context of a rheology-energy conceptual model. The conceptual model, or flow map, can provide deposition cell designers and operators with a useful framework for managing beach development in a sub-aerial deposition cell. Observations during field work resulted in the development of the flow map and the establishment of numerical boundaries for the transitions between flow types. Practical applications for this new conceptual model are provided. The database of fully-developed beach surveys presented in this thesis demonstrates the trend of strongly concave profiles. This concavity has significant repercussions for tailings management and cell design, and cannot be ignored when calculating storage volumes. Furthermore, it is shown that the McPhail (1995) stream power model provides a robust tool for estimating ultimate beach profiles developed from the sub-aerial discharge of polymer-flocculated MFT. The model has been validated against field-scale measurements and is consistent with the rheology-energy conceptual model developed to describe the flocculated MFT flow behaviour. Applied Science, Faculty of Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of Graduate |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Charlebois, Lawrence E. |
spellingShingle |
Charlebois, Lawrence E. On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
author_facet |
Charlebois, Lawrence E. |
author_sort |
Charlebois, Lawrence E. |
title |
On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
title_short |
On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
title_full |
On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
title_fullStr |
On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
title_sort |
on the flow and beaching behaviour of sub-aerially deposited, polymer-flocculated oil sands tailings : a conceptual and energy-based model |
publisher |
University of British Columbia |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43761 |
geographic |
Canada Fort McMurray |
geographic_facet |
Canada Fort McMurray |
genre |
Fort McMurray |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
_version_ |
1766003542595731456 |