Design and Slope Stability Analysis of a Proposed Ash Pond for Waste to Energy Plant in Shimla

Abstract

The thesis work presented here deals with the proposal for ash disposal from a waste to energy plant 2MW capacity located in Shimla (H.P.).The ash would be disposed in an ash pond, the thesis work shows the volume calculations of ash production and design of the ash dykes used in the construction of the pond using an upstream method. Ash would be used as a construction material for raising the dykes further, suitable drainage methods have also been proposed. The study includes the geotechnical aspects of the soil being used as a base for the ash pond, samples were taken from a depth of 3m and the tests were carried out. The soil samples were firstly determined for their nature and type and were then subjected to direct shear test to find out cohesion and angle of internal resistance. Slope stability analysis have been performed for the proposed design using the software GEO5.The minimum factor of safety for a slope of (1H: 2.5V) was calculated using the software for different water conditions (seepage conditions), the designed upstream slopes were found to be stable and were suitable for practical application of construction of ash pond. All the design details along with the geotechnical investigations and software output results have been explained in thesis using descriptive diagrams and graphs where needed.