Effect of curing age, cement content and confining pressure on the saturated hydraulic conductivity and triaxial compressive behavior of cemented tailings backfill

Abstract

Hydraulic conductivity is a vital parameter that affects the mechanical stability of cemented tailings backfill (CTB) after placement into underground stope. Triaxial seepage tests were conducted on the CTB samples to investigate the effects of the cement content (2%, 3% and 5%), curing age (3, 7 and 28 d) and confining pressure (100, 200, 300 and 400 kPa) on the evolution of hydraulic conductivity. In addition, the change of hydraulic conductivity with axial strain during triaxial compression was revealed as well. The results show that the static hydraulic conductivity of CTBs shows a non-linear decrease with increasing of curing age length and cement content, and the confining pressure plays a negative effect on the static hydraulic conductivity. The dynamic hydraulic conductivity is closely associated with the deformation of CTB during the triaxial compression. The hydraulic conductivity of CTB shows a decrease firstly, but increases with further increase in the axial strain. The volumetric strain curves show volume shrinkage at first and subsequently expansion, which can be used to explain the dynamic hydraulic conductivity evolution under triaxial compression. The results can provide guide reference for backfill strength and drainage design.

Keywords

cemented tailings backfill / hydraulic conductivity / curing age / cement content / triaxial compression

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