Mechanical properties and damage constitutive model of polypropylene fiber-reinforced cemented iron tailings backfill

Abstract

Traditional cemented iron tailings backfill (CITB) exhibits poor crack resistance and limited toughness. The incorporation of fibers has been shown to significantly enhance its mechanical performance. However, the rheological behavior, strength characteristics, and damage evolution of fiber-reinforced backfill materials remain insufficiently understood. This study systematically investigates the effects of polypropylene fibers (PPF) on slurry rheology and their subsequent influence on the hardened mechanical properties of CITB. The results indicate that increasing PPF content and fiber length significantly elevates slurry yield stress and plastic viscosity, thereby reducing slurry fluidity and, to some extent, backfill strength, while also influencing damage evolution behavior. Despite these effects, the incorporation of PPF markedly enhances the overall deformation capacity and mechanical performance of CITB. At an optimal fiber content of 0.4 wt% and a fiber length of 9 mm, the splitting tensile and uniaxial compressive strengths increased by 123.08% and 43.01%, respectively. The observed improvement in slurry yield behavior is primarily attributed to the mechanical restraint and interfacial interactions introduced by PPF. Meanwhile, the enhancement in mechanical properties is mainly governed by the fiber-bridging effect, which effectively suppresses crack propagation and significantly reduces the rate of damage accumulation. Based on the experimental results, a damage constitutive model incorporating fiber reinforcement effects was developed, demonstrating good agreement with the observed stress-strain behavior of CITB. These results provide valuable theoretical and practical guidance for optimizing fiber-reinforced backfill design and improving the mine backfill operations’ safety and stability.

Keywords

cemented tailings backfill / polypropylene fiber / rheological behavior / mechanical properties / damage evolution

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