Abstract
In the storage process, the tailings particle size distribution varies greatly in different regions of the tailings reservoir, which significantly affects the consolidation efficiency of tailings and the stability of tailings dam. Relying on the actual engineering, this study conducted tailings sampling, consolidation and triaxial shear experiments to explore the consolidation characteristics and strength variation rules of tailings under different gradations. The experiments discovered that, with the increase in fine particle content in the tailings, the compressibility and porosity showed greater changes, and the cut-off point between primary and secondary consolidation became more obvious. Besides, with the increase in consolidation pressure, the consolidation coefficient of tailings fine particles exhibited the greater growth, and the coefficient of compressibility declined sharply. Moreover, as the fine particle content increased in the tailings, the strain softening phenomenon appears gradually, and the shear strength of tailings decreased. When coarse particles were dominant in the tailings, the stronger force chain resulted in the more stable pore structure. Therefore, the research results provide some theoretical guidance for scholars to optimize the settlement and consolidation efficiency of tailings and research the fine microstructure strength of tailings.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the colleagues from the State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control for their perspectives and suggestions related to data collection and statistical analysis.
Funding
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51904040); the General Program of Chongqing Natural Science Foundation Project (Grant No. cstc2020jcyj-msxmX0747); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. 2020CDJ-LHZZ-003; 2020CDJQY-A045); and the Venture and Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees (Grant No. cx2018071).
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ST contributed to conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, supervision, project administration, writing—original draft preparation. YH was involved in conceptualization, investigation, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, visualization, writing—original draft preparation, writing—reviewing and editing. JC and RB contributed to validation, project administration, writing—original draft preparation. GW was involved in investigation, methodology, data curation, formal analysis. All authors gave final approval for publication.
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Tian, S., He, Y., Bai, R. et al. Experimental study on consolidation and strength properties of tailings with different particle size distribution characteristics. Nat Hazards 114, 3683–3699 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05537-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05537-y