Modeling The Effects Of Sulphate And Curing Temperature On The Strength Of Cemented Paste Backfill Using Artificial Neural Networks

Modeling the Effects of Sulphate and Curing Temperature on the Strength of Cemented Paste Backfill Using Artificial Neural Networks

Advances in Design and Implementation of Cementitious Backfills (ADICB)

Testing and Multiphysics Modelling of the Shear Behaviour of Rock-Cemented Paste Backfill Interface

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is an innovative technology developed in the mining industry during the last few decades. It has been adopted worldwide by many underground mines for its tremendous advantages: (1) mining space is stabilized by pumping cemented paste backfill into the underground cavities created by mining activity, which is critical to the safety of mine workers; (2) the consumption of tailings (which is stored at the ground surface and is a major source of acid mine drainage (AMD)) is beneficial for environmental protection and community safety; (3) due to the supporting effect of the CPB structure on underground cavities, the recovery ratio is significantly increased; and (4) CPB structures can also carry heavy equipment when mining the adjacent orebody, facilitating mining operations. How to design a safe and cost-effective CPB structure is a key task or challenge for mining engineers and researchers. Mechanical stability is one of the most important design criteria. This stability is mainly a function of the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of CPB body and the shear strength/behaviour of the CPB-rock interface. Given the lower friction angle and adhesion of the CPB-rock interface (in comparison with the friction angle and cohesion of CPB body), a thorough understanding of the shear strength/behaviour of the interface is critical for a cost-effective geotechnical design of underground CPB structures. However, only limited studies have been conducted to date on the shear performance of the CPB-rock interface, and no studies have taken into consideration the effects of different factors (e.g., temperature, sulphate ions, self-weight or surface morphology) on the shear behaviour of the CPB-rock interface. Moreover, no multiphysics interface model is currently available that incorporates the aforementioned factors to describe and predict the CPB-rock interface shear behaviour. This research gap was therefore addressed in this PhD study. In this PhD research, a series of laboratory tests were conducted assessing the effects of sulphate content, temperature, curing stress, drainage condition and interface roughness on the shear strength/behaviour of the interface between CPB and rock. The results obtained so far indicated that sulphate and temperature can either positively or negatively affect the shear strength of the CPB-rock interface, depending on the initial sulphate contents and curing time. In terms of the effect of temperature, the shear strength and shear strength properties generally increased with temperature. However, high temperature (≥ 35°C) resulted in an adverse effect on the shear strength because of the crossover effect. In addition, higher curing stress benefitted to the shear strength acquisition of the interface and, due to the increased effective stress and matrix suction, the drained condition increased shear strength as well. As for the effect of surface morphology, the shear strength of the CPB-rock interface rose with surface roughness. Furthermore, chemo-elastic as well as coupled thermo-chemo-mechanical cohesive zone models (CZMs), which take the sulphate attack and temperature-induced acceleration in the cement hydration into consideration, are also developed to simulate the shear strength and behaviour of the CPB-rock interface. The proposed models can well capture the shear behaviour of the interface under different loading conditions. Besides, they also numerically attest to the importance of the shear resistance of the CPB-rock interface in controlling stress distribution in CPB structures. The results obtained from experimental tests, numerical modelling and simulations concerning the shear behaviour of the CPB-rock interface under different multiphysics conditions provided useful information for understanding and more effectively assessing the shear strength and behaviour of the interface between a CPB structure and rock mass, which is critical for the design of safer and more cost-effective CPB structures.