Stiffness and Strength Governing the Static Liquefaction of Tailings
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 12
Abstract
In this study, the behavior of gold tailings is evaluated by a series of drained and undrained triaxial tests carried out in compression and extension and sheared under monotonic loading, allowing the critical state line (CSL) to be established. The observed highly nonlinear shape of the CSL under undrained loading was used to investigate the mechanics of tailings that were dictated by state transitions captured by both the state parameter and the measured values of shear-wave velocities. The definition of a zone is where state conditions may develop strain hardening (stable zone) or strain softening with high compressibility while maintaining the effective stress condition or, at the limit, a strong compressibility condition that may lead to collapse with loss of effective confinement and liquefaction. A set of original test data provides new evidence on how the small-strain shear modulus and shear strength can be coupled in the critical state framework to estimate the state parameter. This coupling is regarded as a key ingredient in characterizing the state of tailings because both the state parameter and the shear stiffness are proxies for flow liquefaction.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to CNPq/INCT PRONEX (Process No. 573795/2008-8) and PRONEX-FAPERGS (Process No. 10/0030-9) for their financial support to the research group. The authors are particularly grateful to ALUMAR, LPS, and GEOFORMA for the collaboration during the field tests. The experiment developed in the University of Porto was supported by multiannual funding from FCT (Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation), and the research project PTDC/ECM/103220/2008 was financed by QREN from the European Communion (UE/FEDER) through the Operational Program for Competitive Factors—COMPETE.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 12 • December 2013
Pages: 2136 - 2144
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 26, 2011
Accepted: Mar 11, 2013
Published online: Mar 13, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
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