Tailings dams constitute major hazard sources for metal and non-metal mines, and red mud represents a strongly alkaline tailing discharged during alumina extraction processes. In recent years, the number of tailings dams has been continuously increasing, with earthquakes serving as critical factors inducing tailings dam failures. Currently, domestic and international experts and scholars have achieved significant progress in environmental impact assessment and remediation technologies for red mud; however, research on the dynamic characteristics of red mud remains relatively scarce. Consequently, further investigation into the dynamic properties of red mud tailings holds important theoretical value for the safe and stable operation and seismic design of tailings dams. This study employs red mud as the research object, utilizes GCTS cyclic triaxial apparatus to investigate the variation patterns of dynamic parameters of red mud under varying consolidation confining pressures and consolidation ratios, and integrates Geo-Studio software for stability analysis of tailings dams. The principal research contents are summarized as follows:

Dynamic deformation tests reveal that under different confining pressures and consolidation ratios, the dynamic stress-strain backbone curve of red mud exhibits nonlinear growth with increasing dynamic strain; the dynamic elastic modulus and dynamic shear modulus decrease at varying rates with increasing dynamic strain, while increasing with rising consolidation confining pressure and consolidation ratio; the damping ratio increases with increasing dynamic strain, yet decreases with increasing consolidation confining pressure and consolidation ratio.

Dynamic strength tests conducted on red mud tailings investigate the dynamic strength curves and dynamic strength parameters under different consolidation confining pressures and consolidation ratios. Results demonstrate that greater consolidation confining pressure and consolidation ratio applied to specimens require more cyclic vibration numbers to achieve failure; the dynamic internal friction angle and dynamic cohesion decrease nonlinearly with increasing vibration numbers, and can be fitted using a power function.

Integrating the aforementioned experimental results, Geo-studio software was employed to conduct in-depth research on tailings dam stability under seismic action. The study indicates that under seismic loading, horizontal displacement of the tailings dam increases with dam height, with maximum horizontal peak displacement occurring at the dam crest; liquefaction manifests in the shallow upstream region of the tailings dam, and post-earthquake liquefaction exerts relatively minor impact on the safe operation of this tailings dam; the minimum safety factor calculated via the Bishop method for the dam slope satisfies design code requirements.