Using Fly Ash to Construct New Ash Pond Containment Dikes at the Wabash River Generating Station

摘要

The existing fly ash ponds at Duke Energy's (formerly Cinergy) Wabash River Generating Station are nearing their useful capacity and site constraints limited the available options for new on-site ash disposal facilities. Ash had to be prepared to optimum moisture and marketed for outside uses to provide sufficient capacity until another ash disposal facility could be constructed. Other site constraints had to be considered in the design of the new facility, including maximizing the use of existing ash materials in the construction of the new facility. Therefore existing ash materials were utilized in the construction of dike structures that will be used for containing ash produced in the future. This paper outlines some of the site constraints and other unique challenges that had to be considered in the design of the new ash pond disposal facility as well as an in depth look at why and how existing ash materials were incorporated into the new disposal facility design. Design considerations to utilize the fly ash in the dike construction include seismic stability, dealing with very moist conditions, and ash placement concerns with respect to removing it from the existing pond, drying to acceptable moisture content, and placing the ash in the dike. Quality Assurance Testing of the in-place ash also had some unique challenges that will be addressed in this paper.