Coupled thermo-hydro-chemical effect on rheological behavior of fresh cemented tailings backfill

Abstract

Cemented tailings backfill (CTB) is a mixture of tailings, binder and water. The freshly prepared CTB slurry is commonly transported into underground mined-out areas via pipeline. The flowability of fresh CTB slurry is significantly affected by the coupled thermal (T), hydraulic (H), rheological (R) and chemical (C) processes. Therefore, this paper develops a THRC coupling model, which considers the evolutions of thermal conduction, fluid flow, rheology, and binder hydration to predict the fluidity of fresh CTB slurry. Rheological testing experiments are conducted to verify the availability of the developed model. The validated model is used to further investigate the effect of time and temperature factors on the hydraulic behavior of the hydrating CTB slurry. The obtained outcomes can make contributions to a better regulation of the time and temperature factors in the preparation and transportation of fresh CTB slurry.