Technical Papers
Aug 19, 2016

Multiphysics Model for Consolidation Behavior of Cemented Paste Backfill

Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 3

Abstract

In underground mining practices, cemented paste backfill (CPB), a mixture of tailings, cement, and water, is widely adopted to fill extracted stopes. During and after the filling of the underground mine excavations or stopes with CPB, complex multiphysics processes (including thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical) take place in the CPB mass. These multiphysics processes and their coupling govern the consolidation characteristics and behavior of CPB. As a result, conventional soil mechanics consolidation theories and models are not appropriate for the evaluation and prediction of the consolidation behavior of CPB. Therefore, based on the principles of the continuity of pore space and conservation of mass, energy, and momentum, a three-dimensional coupled multiphysics consolidation model for CPB was developed in this study. The prediction capability of the proposed model was verified by comparing the predicted results with experimental data. Good agreement between the predicted values and experimental data was obtained. Furthermore, some of the important features of the developed model are highlighted by a comparison between the simulated results and Gibson’s solution.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

Abdul-Hussain, N., and Fall, M. (2011). “Unsaturated hydraulic properties of cemented tailings backfill that contains sodium silicate.” Eng. Geol., 123(4), 288–301.
Bai, M., and Abousleiman, Y. (1997). “Thermoporoelastic coupling with application to consolidation.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 21(2), 121–132.
Barbour, S. L., and Fredlund, D. G. (1989). “Mechanisms of osmotic flow and volume change in clay soils.” Can. Geotech. J., 26(4), 551–562.
Belem, T., El Aatar, O., Bussière, B., Benzaazoua, M., Fall, M., and Yilmaz, E. (2006). “Characterization of self-weight consolidated paste backfill.” Proc., 9th Int. Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, Australia, 333–345.
Biot, M. A. (1941). “General theory of three-dimensional consolidation.” J. Appl. Phys., 12(2), 155–164.
Brouwers, H. (2004). “The work of Powers and Brownyard revisited: Part 1.” Cem. Concr. Res., 34(9), 1697–1716.
Carrier, W. D., Bromwell, L. G., and Somogyi, F. (1983). “Design capacity of slurried mineral waste ponds.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 699–716.
Charlez, P. A. (1991). Rock mechanics: Theoretical fundamentals, Vol. I, Mécanique des Milieux Poreux, Paris.
Chen, W. F., and Baladi, G. Y. (1985). Soil plasticity: Theory and implementation, Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Choktaweekarn, P., and Tangtermsirikul, S. (2009). “A model for predicting the coefficient of thermal expansion of cementitious paste.” Sci. Asia, 35(1), 57–63.
COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1 [Computer software]. COMSOL, Inc., Burlington, MA.
Côté, J., and Konrad, J. M. (2005). “A generalized thermal conductivity model for soils and construction materials.” Can. Geotech. J., 42(2), 443–458.
Coussy, O. (1989). “A general theory of thermoporoelastoplasticity for saturated porous materials.” Transp. Porous Media, 4(3), 281–293.
Cui, L., and Fall, M. (2015a). “A coupled thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical model for cemented paste backfill.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol., 50, 396–414.
Cui, L., and Fall, M. (2015b). “Multiphysics modelling of the behaviour of cemented tailings backfill materials.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Civil, Structural and Transportation Engineering, International ASET Inc., Ottawa, ON, (330) 331–337.
Cui, L., and Fall, M. (2016). “An evolutive elasto-plastic model for cemented paste backfill.” Comput. Geotech., 71, 19–29.
Fahey, M., Helinski, M., and Fourie, A. (2010). “Consolidation in accreting sediments: Gibson's solution applied to backfilling of mine stopes.” Géotechnique, 60(11), 877–882.
Fall, M., Adrien, D., Célestin, J., Pokharel, M., and Touré, M. (2009). “Saturated hydraulic conductivity of cemented paste backfill.” Miner. Eng., 22(15), 1307–1317.
Fall, M., Belem, T., Samb, S., and Benzaazoua, M. (2007). “Experimental characterization of the stress–strain behaviour of cemented paste backfill in compression.” J. Mater. Sci., 42(11), 3914–3922.
Fall, M., and Ghirian, A. (2014). “Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical evolution of cemented paste backfill and implications for backfill design-experimental results.” Proc., MineFill 2014, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, Australia, 183–196.
Fine, R. A., and Millero, F. J. (1973). “Compressibility of water as a function of temperature and pressure.” J. Chem. Phys., 59(10), 5529–5536.
Gawin, D., Majorana, C., and Schrefler, B. (1999). “Numerical analysis of hygro-thermal behaviour and damage of concrete at high temperature.” Mech. Cohesive-frict. Mater., 4(1), 37–74.
Gawin, D., Pesavento, F., and Schrefler, B. A. (2006). “Hygro-thermo-chemo-mechanical modelling of concrete at early ages and beyond. Part I: hydration and hygro-thermal phenomena.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng., 67(3), 299–331.
Ghirian, A., and Fall, M. (2013a). “Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behaviour of cemented paste backfill in column experiments. Part I: physical, hydraulic and thermal processes and characteristics.” Eng. Geol., 164, 195–207.
Ghirian, A., and Fall, M. (2013b). “Experimental investigations of the thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of cemented paste backfill.” Proc., 23rd World Mining Congress, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Westmount, Québec, Paper #378.
Ghirian, A., and Fall, M. (2014). “Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behaviour of cemented paste backfill in column experiments: Part II: Mechanical, chemical and microstructural processes and characteristics.” Eng. Geol., 170, 11–23.
Ghirian, A., and Fall, M. (2015). “Coupled behavior of cemented paste backfill at early ages.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 33(5), 1141–1166.
Gibson, R. (1958). “The progress of consolidation in a clay layer increasing in thickness with time.” Géotechnique, 8(4), 171–182.
Godbout, J. (2005). “Evolution des proprieties des remblais miniers cimentés en pate durant le curage.” Mémoire de Maitrise, Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal, 212p Montréal (in French).
Greenberg, J. A., Mitchell, J. K., and Witherspoon, P. A. (1973). “Coupled salt and water flows in a groundwater basin.” J. Geophys. Res., 78, 6341–6353.
Hansen, P. F., and Pedersen, E. J. (1977). “Maturity computer for controlled curing and hardening of concrete.” Nordisk. Betong., 1, 19–34 (in Danish).
Helinski, M. (2008). “Mechanics of mine backfill.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia.
Helinski, M., Fahey, M., and Fourie, A. (2007). “Numerical modeling of cemented mine backfill deposition.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1308–1319.
Helinski, M., Fahey, M., and Fourie, A. (2010a). “Behavior of cemented paste backfill in two mine stopes: Measurements and modeling.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 171–182.
Helinski, M., Fahey, M., and Fourie, A. (2010b). “Coupled two-dimensional finite element modelling of mine backfilling with cemented tailings.” Can. Geotech. J., 1187–1200.
Hustrulid, W. A., and Hustrulid, W. A. (2001). Underground mining methods: Engineering fundamentals and international case studies, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Englewood, CO.
Jamali, M. (2013). “Effect of binder content and load history on the one-dimensional compression of Williams mine cemented paste backfill.” M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto.
Kamali, S., Moranville, M., Garboczi, E., Prené, S., and Gérard, B. (2004). “Hydrate dissolution influence on the young’s modulus of cement paste.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. of Fracture Mechanics of Concrete Structures, Routledge, Vail, CO, 631–638.
Kaczmarek, M. (2001). “Chemically induced deformation of a porous layer coupled with advective-dispersive transport. Analytical solutions.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 25(8), 757–770.
Kaczmarek, M., and Hueckel, T. (1998). “Use of porosity in models of consolidation.” J. Eng. Mech., 237–239.
Le Roux, K.-A. (2004). “In situ properties and liquefaction potential of cemented paste backfill.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto.
Li, L. (2013). “Generalized solution for mining backfill design.” Int. J. Geomech., 04014006.
Luckner, L., Van Genuchten, M. T., and Nielsen, D. (1989). “A consistent set of parametric models for the two-phase flow of immiscible fluids in the subsurface.” Water Resour. Res., 25(10), 2187–2193.
Mitchell, J. K., Greenberg, J. A., and Witherspoon, P. A. (1973). “Chemo-osmotic effects in fine grained soils.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng., 99, 307–322.
Mualem, Y. (1976). “A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media.” Water Resour. Res., 12(3), 513–522.
Nasir, O., and Fall, M. (2008). “Shear behaviour of cemented pastefill-rock interfaces.” Eng. Geol., 101(3), 146–153.
Neville, A. M., and Brooks, J. J. (1987). Concrete technology, Longman Scientific & Technical, Harlow, Essex, U.K.
Orejarena, L., and Fall, M. (2010). “The use of artificial neural networks to predict the effect of sulphate attack on the strength of cemented paste backfill.” B. Eng. Geol. Environ., 69(4), 659–670.
Pokharel, M., and Fall, M. (2013). “Combined influence of sulphate and temperature on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of hardened cemented paste backfill.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 38, 21–28.
Poole, J. L., Riding, K. A., Folliard, K. J., Juenger, M. C., and Schindler, A. K. (2007). “Methods for calculating activation energy for Portland cement.” ACI Mater. J., 104(1), 303–311.
Powers, T. C., and Brownyard, T. L. (1947). “Studies of the physical properties of hardened Portland cement paste.” J. ACI, 43(9), 249–336.
Reddy, J. N. (2006). An introduction to the finite element method, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Rotta, G. V., Consoli, N. C., Prietto, P. D. M., Coop, M. R., and Graham, J. (2003). “Isotropic yielding in an artificially cemented soil cured under stress.” Géotechnique, 53(5), 493–501.
Saebimoghaddam, A. (2010). “Liquefaction of early age cemented paste backfill.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto.
Schindler, A. K. (2004). “Effect of temperature on hydration of cementitious materials.” ACI Mater. J., 101(1), 72–81.
Schindler, A. K., and Folliard, K. J. (2003). “Influence of supplementary cementing materials on the heat of hydration of concrete.” Proc., Advances in Cement and Concrete IX Conf., American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, 17–26.
Seneviratne, N. H., Fahey, M., Newson, T. A., and Fujiyasu, Y. (1996). “Numerical modelling of consolidation and evaporation of slurried mine tailings.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods, 20(9), 647–671.
Sherwood, J. D. (1994). “A model of hindered solute transport in a poroelastic shale.” Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A, 445(1925), 679–692.
Simms, P., and Grabinsky, M. (2009). “Direct measurement of matric suction in triaxial tests on early-age cemented paste backfill.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(1), 93–101.
Smith, D. W., and Booker, J. R. (1993). “Green’s functions for a fully coupled thermoporoelastic material.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 17(3), 139–163.
Somerton, W. H., Chu, S. L., and Keese, J. A. (1974). “Thermal behavior of unconsolidated oil sands.” Soc. Petrol. Eng. J., 14(05), 513–521.
Terzaghi, K. (1943). Theoretical soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
Thomas, H. R., and Sansom, M. R. (1995). “Fully coupled analysis of heat, moisture, and air transfer in unsaturated soil.” J. Eng. Mech., 392–405.
Van Genuchten, M. T. (1980). “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44(5), 892–898.
Wang, Y., Fall, M., and Wu, A. (2016). “Initial temperature-dependence of strength development and self-desiccation in cemented paste backfill that contains sodium silicate.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 67, 101–110.
Wood, D. M., and Doherty, J. P. (2014). “Coupled chemical shrinkage and consolidation: Some benchmark solutions.” Transp. Porous Media, 105(2), 349–370.
Wu, D., Fall, M., and Cai, S. J. (2012). “Coupled modeling of temperature distribution and evolution in cemented tailings backfill structures that contain mineral admixtures.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 30(4), 935–961.
Yilmaz, E. (2010). “Investigating the hydrogeotechnical and microstructural properties of cemented paste backfills using the versatile CUAPS apparatus.” Ph.D. thesis, Université du Québec, Québec.
Yilmaz, E., Belem, T., and Benzaazoua, M. (2014). “Effects of curing and stress conditions on hydromechanical, geotechnical and geochemical properties of cemented paste backfill.” Eng. Geol., 168, 23–37.
Yilmaz, E., Belem, T., Bussière, B., Mbonimpa, M., and Benzaazoua, M. (2015). “Curing time effect on consolidation behaviour of cemented paste backfill containing different cement types and contents.” Constr. Build. Mater., 75, 99–111.
Yilmaz, E., Benzaazoua, M., Belem, T., and Bussière, B. (2009). “Effect of curing under pressure on compressive strength development of cemented paste backfill.” Miner. Eng., 22(9), 772–785.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to International Journal of Geomechanics
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17Issue 3March 2017

History

Received: Aug 14, 2015
Accepted: May 27, 2016
Published online: Aug 19, 2016
Discussion open until: Jan 19, 2017
Published in print: Mar 1, 2017

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Liang Cui
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Ottawa, 161 Colonel By, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5.
Mamadou Fall [email protected]
Professor, Director of OCIENE, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Ottawa, 161 Colonel By, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5 (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share