The rapid consolidation and compaction method comprises (i) first driving a hollow pipe, (ii) driving a pipe with a removable end plate after filling and compacting the sandy material in it, through the hollow pipe, to required depth, creating high excess pore-water pressures in the range of 50 to 300 KPa in clayey soils, (iv) pulling out the pipe section leaving behind the removable end plate and thereby installing porous displacement piles which allows dissipation of the excess pore-water pressures horizontally to the porous displacement pile, in which the excess water flows out vertically to the ground surface, and (v) the length of the drainage path is reduced to half the spacing between adjoining porous displacement piles, allowing rapid consolidation resulting in increase in density. Installing the porous displacement piles in the layer of loose to medium dense sand layer results in the instantaneous increase in its density.

The porous displacement piles comprising (a) closed-ended pipe piles with small holes and or narrow slots, filled with compacted sandy soil, (b) closed-ended porous pipe piles such as closed-ended pipe pile with very small holes and or very narrow slots, and (c) a precast prestressed porous concrete piles are driven through inside the already driven non-displacement hollow pipe piles in a grid pattern to create excess pore-water pressures generally ranging between 50 and 1500 kPa in cohesive soils, which begin dissipating through inside the porous displacement piles to rapidly consolidate and densify the said cohesive soil. The porous displacement piles are designed for permitting free flow of the pressurized pore-water and to prevent migration of particles of cohesive soil into the porous displacement pile using filter design criteria or verified by laboratory tests. These piles when driven in sandy soils densify sandy soils instantaneously.

The rapid consolidation and compaction method comprises (i) first driving a hollow pipe, (ii) driving a pipe with a removable end plate after filling and compacting the sandy material in it, through the hollow pipe, to required depth, creating high excess pore-water pressures in the range of 50 to 300 KPa in clayey soils, (iv) pulling out the pipe section leaving behind the removable end plate and thereby installing porous displacement piles which allows dissipation of the excess pore-water pressures horizontally to the porous displacement pile, in which the excess water flows out vertically to the ground surface, and (v) the length of the drainage path is reduced to half the spacing between adjoining porous displacement piles, allowing rapid consolidation resulting in increase in density. Installing the porous displacement piles in the layer of loose to medium dense sand layer results in the instantaneous increase in its density.

The porous displacement piles comprising (a) closed-ended pipe piles with small holes and or narrow slots, filled with compacted sandy soil, (b) closed-ended porous pipe piles such as closed-ended pipe pile with very small holes and or very narrow slots, and (c) a precast prestressed porous concrete piles are driven through inside the already driven non-displacement hollow pipe piles in a grid pattern to create excess pore-water pressures generally ranging between 50 and 1500 kPa in cohesive soils, which begin dissipating through inside the porous displacement piles to rapidly consolidate and densify the said cohesive soil. The porous displacement piles are designed for permitting free flow of the pressurized pore-water and to prevent migration of particles of cohesive soil into the porous displacement pile using filter design criteria or verified by laboratory tests. These piles when driven in sandy soils densify sandy soils instantaneously.

The rapid consolidation and compaction method comprises (i) first driving a hollow pipe, (ii) driving a pipe with a removable end plate after filling and compacting the sandy material in it, through the hollow pipe, to required depth, creating high excess pore-water pressures in the range of 50 to 300 KPa in clayey soils, (iv) pulling out the pipe section leaving behind the removable end plate and thereby installing porous displacement piles which allows dissipation of the excess pore-water pressures horizontally to the porous displacement pile, in which the excess water flows out vertically to the ground surface, and (v) the length of the drainage path is reduced to half the spacing between adjoining porous displacement piles, allowing rapid consolidation resulting in increase in density. Installing the porous displacement piles in the layer of loose to medium dense sand layer results in the instantaneous increase in its density.

THIS invention relates to a method of constructing a tailings storage facility structure, and to a tailings facility structure. The structure comprises a network of sand channel arteries 10 and permeable capillaries extending through tailings 14. The sand channel arteries 10 are continuous in the vertical and one lateral dimension and connect to a decant point or points. The permeable capillaries 12 are connected at their lowest point to a sand channel artery, and are continuous in one lateral dimension. The capillaries 12 transport water from the tailings 14 to the sand channel arteries 10, and the sand channel arteries transport water from the capillaries 12 and the tailings 14, to the water decant point or points.