Through the use of early iNET-prototype IP Transceiver technology, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) has been able to communicate with a flight test vehicle. This technology provides a two-way high-capacity communication that has not been achieved with conventional telemetry. KHI has been authorized to use S-band IP Transceivers since 2014 in Japan. Then various communication tests have been performed. Last year we presented the result of the performance test of initial iNET-like RF network using a tethered aerostat at ITC. As the next phase, we have a plan of the test using a helicopter. The test is going to be conducted in September. We will present the results at ITC. This paper describes plans of the test which includes improved data backfill techniques.

Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) is a mixture of cement, water and foam, with a density less than 50 pcf. This material is being used increasingly often in a variety of construction applications due to its self-leveling, self-compacting, and self-consolidating properties. LCC may be used as a backfill or structural fill in areas where traditional granular backfill might normally be used. This material may be especially advantageous in areas where the underlying soil may not support the weight of a raised earth embankment. Testing on the behavior of LCC when used as backfill behind retaining walls is relatively limited. The effects of surcharge on the development of active pressure material are unknown. Two large-scale active pressure tests were conducted in the structures laboratory of Brigham Young University. Each test was performed within a 10-ft x 10-ft x 12-ft box that was filled with four lifts of LCC. Hydraulic jacks mounted to a steel reaction frame provided a surcharge load to the LCC surface. In the first test, the LCC was confined on three sides by the reaction frame, while the fourth side was confined by a reinforced concrete cantilever (RCC) wall. Both vertical and horizontal pressures and deflections were measured to determine the effect of the surcharge load on the development of active pressure behind the wall. In the second test, the LCC was confined on three sides and exposed on the fourth. Surcharge was applied to this sample in a similar fashion until the LCC reached ultimate failure. Vertical pressures and displacements, along with horizontal displacements, were measured in this test. Sample cylinders of LCC were cast at the time the test box was filled. These samples were tested periodically to determine the material strength and density. It was observed that the LCC backfill developed active pressure most similarly to a granular soil with a friction angle of 34º and a cohesion between 700 and 1600 psf. The RCC wall was seen to add vertical bearing capacity to the LCC, as well as prevent the catastrophic and brittle failure seen in the free-face test. It was also observed that an induced shear plane in the material dramatically decreased the total bearing capacity when compared to a uniformly loaded specimen with no induced shear plane. The results of this study were compared with design parameters given in previous research, and new design suggestions are presented herein.

The main result of underground mining extraction is creating of large underground voids (mine stopes). These empty openings are typically backfilled with an engineering cementitious material called cemented paste backfill (CPB). The main purpose of CPB application in underground mining is to provide stability and ensure the safety of underground openings, maximize ore recovery, and also provide an environmental-friendly means of underground disposal of potential acid generating tailings. CPB is a mixture of mine tailings, cement binder and water. CPB has a complex geotechnical behaviour when poured into mine voids. This is because of the different thermal (T), hydraulic (H), mechanical (M) and chemical coupled processes and interactions that take place in CPB soon after placement. In addition to these THMC behaviours, various external factors, such as stope geometry, drainage condition and arching effects add more complexity to its behaviour. In order to acquire a full understanding of CPB behaviour, there is a need to consider all of these THMC factors and processes together. So far, there has not been any study that addresses this research need. Indeed, fundamental knowledge of the THMC behaviour of CPB provides a key means for designing safe and cost-effective backfill structures, as well as optimizing mining cycles and productivity of mines. Innovative experimental tools and CPB testing methods have been developed and adopted in this research to fulfill the objectives of this research. In the first phase of the study, experiments with high columns are developed to study the THMC behaviour of CPB from early to advanced ages with respect to height of the column and curing time. The column experiments simulate the mine stope and filling sequence and provide an opportunity to study external factors, such as evaporation, on the THMC behaviour of CPB. However, an important factor is the overburden pressure from the stress due to self-weight that cannot be simulated through column experiments. Therefore, in the second phase of this study, a novel THMC curing under stress apparatus is developed to study the THMC behaviour of CPB under various pressures due to the self-weight of the CPB, drainage conditions, and filling rate and sequence. Comprehensive instrumentation and geotechnical testing are carried out to obtain fundamental knowledge on the THMC behaviour of CPB in different curing conditions from early to advanced ages. The results of these studies show that the THMC properties of CPB are coupled. Important parameters, such as curing stress, self-desiccation due to cement hydration, temperature, pore water chemistry, and mineralogical and chemical properties of the tailings, have significant influence on the shear strength and compressive strength development of CPB. Factors such as evaporation and drying iii shrinkage can also affect the hydro-mechanical properties of CPB. The curing conditions (such as curing stress, drainage and filling rate) also has significant impact on CPB behaviour and performance. The THMC interactions and the degree of influence of each factor should be included in designing backfill structures and planning mining cycles. This innovative curing under stress technique can be replaced the conventional curing of CPB (curing under zero stress and no THMC loadings), in order to optimize CPB mechanical strength assessment, increase mine safety and enhance the productivity.

Underground mining is a mineral acquisition technique that is critical to global economies, and human technological advancements. As shallow resource reserves are depleted, mine depths are increasing to accommodate global mineral demand. Increases in mine throughputs and excavation depths pose increased environmental concerns. Tailings surface disposal, and underground mine support are two considerable environmental and geotechnical factors of concern in current day mining. Underground waste disposal has been adopted by the mining industry in many forms. Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a common best management practice developed to tackle these two specific resource industry related issues worldwide. CPB is a cement-stabilized material composed of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder. Tailings disposal areas on the earth’s surface are reduced by disposing of tailings in subsurface stopes that have been previously excavated. This increases underground safety by providing structural support to the mine. There are also economic benefits to this practice, as the additional support allows for adjacent pillars to be excavated. Although CPB greatly reduces tailings exposure to atmospheric elements, there are still underground environmental factors that must be considered with respect to environmental performance. CPBs are porous media, meaning they are susceptible to leaching of naturally occurring metals that are no longer in a stable condition as they were when incorporated in the parent rock. Arsenic and lead are metals of concern due to their association with many ore bodies. Leaching of these unstable metals may be influenced by the backfill curing temperature and the chosen hydraulic binder. Curing temperatures may be influenced by geographic location, local stope geology and depth, hydration and transport, among others. Hydraulic binders are chosen based on availability, cost, and desired mechanical properties of the paste. In this research, the effect of curing temperature and binder composition on the leachability of CPB are studied. ASTM C 1308 leaching protocol is used to determine the leachability of six CPBs. In addition, microstructural techniques (Powder X-Ray Diffraction, Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry, and Scanning Electron Microscopy) are used to relate the microstructural properties of the CPB to the leaching characteristics. Results reveal that CPBs cured with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) leach significantly less than CPBs cured with an OPC/Blast furnace slag (Slag) binder (50% blending ratio) as a result of CH consumption in slag hydration. Both CH and C-S-H are responsible for immobilizing arsenic in cement stabilized materials. OPC-CPBs contain greater relative quantities of CH, which aids in arsenic immobilization. Between the range of 2°C and 35°C OPC-CPB performed better at lower curing temperatures. Lower curing temperatures are favoured in OPC-CPB because the pore surface greater than the threshold pore diameter is reduced. Alternatively, OPC/Slag-CPB exhibited a decrease in cumulative mass leached at higher curing temperatures. The difference in cumulative mass leached by the OPC/Slag-CPBs is also related to the pore surface, and threshold pore diameter.

Over the past three decades, technological innovations with respect to cemented paste backfill (CPB) as a means of ground support has allowed for increased production within the mining industry, management mine waste costs, as well as the improvement of the overall health and safety of underground mining operations. Despite the extensive use of this relatively new ground support material, many fundamental factors affecting the design of safe and economical CPB structures are still not well understood.Recently, a significant amount of academic and industry research has been conducted to better understanding the distribution of stress with respect to primary-secondary extraction sequencing for stope-and-fill mining operations. While current, as well as past research, as provided a wealth of knowledge on the distribution of stress through the fill material itself, it lacks in providing an examination into the mechanism by which stress is able to redistribute itself through the backfill material as well as within the surrounding rockmass. The scope of this work is to optimize stope-and-fill extraction sequencing through the analysis of stress distributions as well as local and global stability of multiple narrow verticalfully-drained backfilled stopes. Scientific investigations into the behavior of the CPB material and surrounding rockmass will result in animproved understanding of how to better implement engineered paste-fill materials as a means of ground support for underground mining operations. Numerical simulations (FLAC3D and RocScience) were utilized in analyzing hypothetical (literature) as well as site-specific (field) case studies. While these simulations confirm generalized stress behaviors within the backfill material for single and adjacent stopes, stress redistributions within the surrounding rockmass as well as the rock-pillarindicate the development of tensile and compressive zones. From these results, one is able to better approximate ground and CPB instability with respect to site-specific conditions, geometries, and material properties. These simulations have been validated with respect to published analytical solutions, numerical simulations, and site-measurements for single (isolated) and adjacent narrow vertical fully-drained backfilled stopes.

In this thesis finite element analyses were performed to investigate the behavior of fill fences installed in underground mines to retain Cemented Paste Backfill (CPB) pressure. For this purpose, two fill fences installed and tested in the Cayeli mine in Turkey were modeled using a 2-D nonlinear finite element analysis program, Augustus-2, and a 3-D nonlinear finite element analysis program VecTor4, and the results were compared with measured field data. Different models were employed representing the material properties, boundary conditions, reinforcement ratio, and geometric properties, and it was found that boundary conditions (stiffness of surrounding rocks) has the highest influence on the pressure capacity of the fence among the other factors. The accuracy of the Augustus-2 program was investigated by modeling and comparing the analytical response with test results of 12 axially restrained beams tested by Su et al. (2009).

In this thesis finite element analyses were performed to investigate the behavior of fill fences installed in underground mines to retain Cemented Paste Backfill (CPB) pressure. For this purpose, two fill fences installed and tested in the Cayeli mine in Turkey were modeled using a 2-D nonlinear finite element analysis program, Augustus-2, and a 3-D nonlinear finite element analysis program VecTor4, and the results were compared with measured field data. Different models were employed representing the material properties, boundary conditions, reinforcement ratio, and geometric properties, and it was found that boundary conditions (stiffness of surrounding rocks) has the highest influence on the pressure capacity of the fence among the other factors. The accuracy of the Augustus-2 program was investigated by modeling and comparing the analytical response with test results of 12 axially restrained beams tested by Su et al. (2009).

Rapid delivery of backfill to support underground openings attracted many mines to adopt paste backfilling methods. As a precaution to prevent liquefaction and to improve the mechanical performance of backfills, a small portion of a binder is added to the paste to form the cemented paste backfill (CPB). Recently, adding sand to mine tailings (MT) in CPB mixes has attracted attention since it enhances the flow and mechanical characteristics of the pastefill. This thesis investigates the effects of adding sand to CPB on the undrained mechanical behavior of the mixture (CPBS) under monotonic and cyclic loads. Liquefaction investigations took place at the earliest practically possible age. Beyond this age, the present research focused on characterizing the evolution of stiffness and obtaining the values of the stiffness parameters that could be useful for designing and modeling backfilling systems. The liquefaction investigation involved monotonic compression and extension triaxial tests. Neither flow nor temporary liquefaction was observed for all cemented and uncemented specimens under monotonic compression, while temporary liquefaction was observed for all specimens under monotonic extension. The addition of binder and sand to MT was found to slightly strengthen the pastefill in compression while weakening it in extension. Under cyclic loading, the addition of sand negatively impacted the cyclic resistance. However, binder was found to be more effective in the presence of sand. All specimens exhibited a cyclic mobility type of response. The evolution of effective stiffness parameters for two CPB-sand mixtures was monitored in a non-destructive triaxial test for five days. Self-desiccation was found to not be influential on the development of early age stiffness. Moreover, a framework is suggested to predict the undrained stiffness at degrees of saturation representative of the field. The credibility of the proposed test in providing stiffness parameters at representative strain levels of the field was verified.

Rapid delivery of backfill to support underground openings attracted many mines to adopt paste backfilling methods. As a precaution to prevent liquefaction and to improve the mechanical performance of backfills, a small portion of a binder is added to the paste to form the cemented paste backfill (CPB). Recently, adding sand to mine tailings (MT) in CPB mixes has attracted attention since it enhances the flow and mechanical characteristics of the pastefill. This thesis investigates the effects of adding sand to CPB on the undrained mechanical behavior of the mixture (CPBS) under monotonic and cyclic loads. Liquefaction investigations took place at the earliest practically possible age. Beyond this age, the present research focused on characterizing the evolution of stiffness and obtaining the values of the stiffness parameters that could be useful for designing and modeling backfilling systems. The liquefaction investigation involved monotonic compression and extension triaxial tests. Neither flow nor temporary liquefaction was observed for all cemented and uncemented specimens under monotonic compression, while temporary liquefaction was observed for all specimens under monotonic extension. The addition of binder and sand to MT was found to slightly strengthen the pastefill in compression while weakening it in extension. Under cyclic loading, the addition of sand negatively impacted the cyclic resistance. However, binder was found to be more effective in the presence of sand. All specimens exhibited a cyclic mobility type of response. The evolution of effective stiffness parameters for two CPB-sand mixtures was monitored in a non-destructive triaxial test for five days. Self-desiccation was found to not be influential on the development of early age stiffness. Moreover, a framework is suggested to predict the undrained stiffness at degrees of saturation representative of the field. The credibility of the proposed test in providing stiffness parameters at representative strain levels of the field was verified.

Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall is a civil structure that has been used for various purposes e.g., supporting bridges, residential or commercial buildings, roadways, railroads etc. In general, MSE wall uses either metal strip, bar or geosynthetics materials as reinforcement. Roger et al. (2010) mentioned that an approximately 57% of the MSE wall constructed in U.S. utilize steel strips as the resources of reinforcement. The usage of metal steel strips is followed by usage of steel bar mats (24%) and geosynthetics grids (18%). Even though MSE walls are designed for a service life of 75 to 100 years, early complication has often been reported. Corrosion of the reinforced steel has been the major cause that afflicts the long-term performance of these walls. The deicing salts used on pavements to melt down snow is one of the major cause of corrosion of these reinforced steels. The aggressiveness of deicers in terms of corrosion of these reinforced steel is studied through the potentiodynamic polarization technique at various concentrations. This study aims to determine the corrosion behavior on galvanized steel and bare steel in presence of individual deicing salt or deicers e.g., sodium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium acetate at various (i.e., 0.25, 0.50 and 1.0 M) concentration. Subsequently, the surface morphology was analyzed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the mineralogical composition was observed through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). In addition, the corrosivity of two backfill aggregates, natural aggregate and recycled concrete aggregate, was compared. The result shows that the corrosion effect of deicers on reinforced steel depends on its chemical composition and concentration. The SEM imaging showed the presence of micro cracks on the surface of galvanized steel, resulting in pitting corrosion rather than general surficial corrosion. Comparing the corrosion rate of these deicers, the aggressiveness of these deicers on galvanized steel can be arranged in the following order: sodium chloride > calcium chloride > magnesium chloride > potassium acetate. Although sodium chloride was most aggressive for both the steel, the aggressiveness of these deicers on bare steel was different from that of galvanized steel and can be arranged in following order: sodium chloride > magnesium chloride > calcium chloride > potassium acetate. The pH and electrical resistivity of the natural and recycled aggregates were compared with standard provided by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and found to be non-corrosive. The corrosion rate of both the aggregates on galvanized and bare steel were inappreciable. While analyzing the corrosiveness of these two aggregates, recycled concrete aggregate was observed to be more aggressive than the natural aggregate.