Influence of Polypropylene Fiber-Reinforcement on the Mechanical Behavior of Gold Ore Tailings through Direct Shear Tests
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 10
Abstract
To investigate techniques that focus on mining waste applied to geotechnical works, the mechanical behavior of mining waste reinforced with polymeric fibers has been studied. The present research seeks to evaluate the effects of fiber insertion in gold ore tailings using a direct shear test evaluating the peak and residual behavior. For this purpose, several conventional direct shear tests and shear planes with a polished surface in flooded conditions were conducted. To collaborate with the analysis, chemical, mineralogical, and geotechnical characterization tests were carried out, in addition to fiber tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in the composite. The results showed a bilinear behavior on shear strength envelopes in pure tailing, which is changed to linear behavior with the addition of fibers. For high and low stresses, an increase in the friction angle at a reinforced composite was observed. The residual behavior is suggested by the results of the shear plane test with a polished surface, in which there was also an increase in the friction angle. The volumetric behavior showed that there was a change in the pure material from being contractive to dilating when reinforced. With these results, it is possible to recommend the use of this type of reinforcement in interface areas with materials that have different stiffness—due to its adaptability to strains—or as a maintenance measure in areas affected by landslides, providing better strength characteristics to the affected area.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the institutions that provided technical and financial support: the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), both from the Brazilian Government.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 10 • October 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 26, 2020
Accepted: Feb 9, 2021
Published online: Jul 19, 2021
Published in print: Oct 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 19, 2021
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