Durability, strength, and stiffness of compacted gold tailings – cement mixes

Abstract

Compaction and Portland cement addition are amongst promising ground improvement procedures for enhancing the mechanical properties of gold tailings. The present investigation intends to compute the impact of Portland cement content and dry density on the properties (durability, stiffness, and strength) of compacted gold tailings – cement mixes. Its main significant addition to knowledge is the quantification of accumulated loss of mass (ALM) after wetting–drying cycles, shear modulus at small strains, and unconfined compressive strength (qu) as a function of the porosity/cement index. In addition, the existence of an exclusive relation connecting ALM divided by the number of wetting–drying cycles and porosity/cement index is revealed empirically. This broadens the applicability of such an index by demonstrating that it controls not only mechanical but also endurance performance of compacted gold tailings – Portland cement mixes.