Abstract
This experimental study presents the rheological properties and strength characteristics of cemented unclassified tailings backfill (CUTB). The particle size distribution and chemical properties of tailings from the Shizhuyuan lead‐zinc mine were examined experimentally. A series of rheological properties and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted to study the relations between the rheological properties of CUTB and two factors of cement‐tailings ratio (c/t) and solid content (SD). The two‐factor nonrepetitive analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used to study the sensitivity of rheological properties to two factors of c/t and SD. Relations between UCS performance of CUTB and c/t, SD, and curing time (CT) were discussed. Results indicate that CUTB samples exhibit obvious shear thinning characteristics and the rheological process is the result of multiple rheological model composites. Yield stress and viscosity of CUTB increase with the increase of SD and c/t as quadratic. The solid content is the most important factor for the rheological properties of CUTB, followed by c/t. UCS of CUTB increases exponentially with the increase of SD and increases with c/t as quadratic. The larger the ratio of c/t, the greater the influence of the CT on the increasing strength of CUTB. The smaller the c/t, the slower the increase of the CUTB’s strength with the increase of the SD. The findings of this study can provide the efficient mix proportion of backfill slurry for the backfill mining design, so as to have better performance of the underground mining structure and reduce the cost of backfill mining.
Highlights
Mine backfill has gained increasing popularity in the mining industry all over the world due to the fact that it provides ground support for mining operations, reduces ore dilution, and allows safe disposal of tailings [1,2,3]
Where τ is the yield stress of the cemented unclassified tailings backfill (CUTB) slurry, M0 is the maximum torque of blade, h is the height of the mixing blade, and d is the diameter of the mixing blade
The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) CUTB samples exhibit shear thinning characteristics irrespective of cement-to-tailings ratio and solid content. e rheological process of the CUTB slurry is the result of multiple rheological model composites and the rheological properties can be the characterizations to distinguish the high concentration slurry mixes and low concentration slurry mixes
Summary
Mine backfill has gained increasing popularity in the mining industry all over the world due to the fact that it provides ground support for mining operations, reduces ore dilution, and allows safe disposal of tailings [1,2,3]. Considering the advantages of CPB based on high concentration unclassified tailings, such as realizing the full utilization of tailings, no bleeding, no segregation, and no sedimentation of CPB slurry, this method has become one of the vital development directions of backfill technology. Rheological properties and mechanical properties are two key factors in high concentration unclassified backfill technology, which significantly influence the pipeline transportation of slurry and safety of adjacent stope [7, 8]. Reports about the properties of CPB are numerous, all of them show no quantitative relationship between rheological property parameters and the two factors (solid content (SD) and cement-to-tailings ratio (c/t)), especially for high concentration cemented unclassified tailings backfill (CUTB). The major factors such as the c/t, SD, and curing time (CT) were considered for uniaxial compressive experiments, and relationships between the above three factors and the UCS of CUTB samples were studied. e research results provide a theoretical basis and data reference for an efficient and effective tailings backfill design of such mine
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