Underground mining produces a huge amount of voids and an even larger quantity of mine waste. Overlooking these voids could lead to the possibility of ground subsidence, as well as safety issues during mining operation; while ignoring the waste, could cause environmental pollution and significant suffering. One solution to remedy both (the voids and the waste) is cemented paste backfill (CPB), which is gaining increased recognition in both the mining industry and academic research. Transforming tailings into cemented paste, and transporting this back to underground stopes, not only negates these safety issues to a large degree, but also makes it possible to put waste to good use.However, most studies involving CPB have been conducted at temperatures above 0°C; knowledge of CPB in sub-zero environments is still lacking. For this reason, this thesis investigates the mechanical behaviour of CPB in a the latter type of environment.Uniaxial compressive strength tests were carried out on a series of frozen CPB (FCPB) samples to evaluate the mechanical behaviour (e.g. compressive strengths, geotechnical features, and the stress-strain relationships) of FCPB. It has been discovered in this thesis that FCPB exhibits remarkable strength compared to CPB and, has a great resemblance to frozen soil. Factors which may affect the behaviour of FCPB were thoroughly examined. Binder contents and types were found to be irrelevant; water content, in contrast, plays a dominant role, with an optimum value of around 26% by weight. Sulphate was confirmed to have an adverse effect on the strength of FCPB due to the increasing unfrozen water content and the formation of legible ice lenses. Hydraulic conductivity tests, scanning electron microscope observations, thermal gravimetric analyses, and mercury intrusion porosimetry were also performed as subsidiary experiments to understand the geotechnical features of FCPB. This information will be of significant value for numerous practical applications.

One of the most novel technologies developed in the past few decades is to convert mine wastes into cemented construction materials, otherwise known as cemented tailings backfill (CTB). CTB is an engineered mixture of tailings (waste aggregates), water and hydraulic binders. It is extensively used worldwide to stabilize underground cavities created by mining operations and maximize the recovery of ore from pillars. Moreover, the application of CTB is also an environmentally friendly means of disposing potential acid generating tailings underground. During and after its placement into underground mine excavations or stopes, complex multiphysics processes (including thermal, T, hydraulic, H, mechanical, M, and chemical, C, processes) take place in the CTB mass and thus control its behavior and performance. With the interaction of the multiphysics processes, the field variables (temperature, pore water pressure, stress and strain) and geotechnical properties of CTB undergo substantial changes. Therefore, the prediction of the field performance of CTB structures during their life time, which has great practical importance, must incorporate these THMC processes. Moreover, the self-weight effect, water drainage through barricades, thermal expansion and chemical shrinkage can contribute to the volumetric deformation of CTB. Consequently, CTB exhibits unique consolidation behavior compared to conventional geomaterials (e.g., soil). Furthermore, the consolidation processes can result in relative displacement between the rock mass and CTB. The resultant rock mass/CTB interface resistance can reduce the effects of the overburden pressure or the vertical stress (i.e., arching effect). Hence, a full understanding, through multiphysics modeling and simulation of CTB behaviors, is crucial to reliably assess and predict the performance of CTB structures. Yet, there are currently no models or tools to predict the fully coupled multiphysics behavior of CTB. In this Ph.D. study, a series of mathematical models which include an evolutive elastoplastic model, a fully coupled THMC model, a multiphysics model of consolidation behavior and a multiphysics model of the interaction between the rock mass/CTB interface are developed and validated. There is excellent agreement between the modeled results and experimental and/or in-situ monitored data, which proves the accuracy and predictive ability of the developed models. Furthermore, the validated multiphysics models are applied to a series of engineering issues, which are relevant for the field design of CTB structures, to investigate the self-desiccation process, consolidation behavior of CTB structures as well as to assess the pressure on barricades and the strength development in CTB structures. The obtained results show that CTB has different behaviors and performances under different backfilling conditions and design strategies, and the developed multiphysics models can accurately model CTB field behavior. Therefore, the research conducted in this Ph.D. study provides useful tools and technical information for the optimal design of CTB structures.

Batch experiments have been used to assess the sorption properties of a potential repository backfill, NRVB (Nirex Reference Vault Backfill). In this study, UO22+, Eu3+, Am3+ and Th4+ have been used as model radionuclides and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), isosaccharinic acid (ISA) and humic acid (HA) as competing ligands. The NRVB is an effective scavenger of all radionuclides, with the majority sorbed within minutes. Ultrafiltration showed that for solutions of U in contact with NRVB, for the small amount of U remaining in solution, nearly all (79 %) was present as clusters or colloidal material in a very narrow and relatively small size range (0.9 – 1.4 nm); for Eu (> 94 %) is attached to large NRVB derived colloids or particulates; for Th (82 %) is present in the true solution; whilst for Am 58 % is in the true solution. High concentrations of EDTA (>0.01 M) were able to reduce the extent of sorption at apparent equilibrium for all metal ions. ISA was very effective as a competing ligand for all metal ions, generally at a lower concentration than EDTA in equivalent systems. Humic acid was found to be ineffective as a competing ligand at any realistic concentration. In all systems, there was evidence of significant irreversibility, with concentrations of EDTA and ISA that were able to prevent sorption unable to remove radionuclides from contaminated NRVB. For the uranyl systems, luminescence spectroscopy was used to analyse the mechanism of sorption. For CSH (calcium silicate hydrate), the spectra were consistent with surface complexation, followed by some degree of incorporation. For NRVB, the spectrum was dominated by a feature that was similar to uranyl sorbed to CSH as a surface complex and/or incorporated into the structure. There was also a minor component that was assigned as a calcium uranate like surface precipitate. The sorption data were fitted with a simple surface complexation model, which had a single surface binding site. The modelling showed that the uptake of all radionuclides is consistent with surface complexation or surface precipitation. The model was less effective at predicting the effects of the competing ligands on sorption. Thermodynamic speciation and surface complexation modelling were able to explain the behaviour in the systems qualitatively, but cannot be used to predict sorption absolutely.

Mining is an important industry that plays a significant role in the development of human civilization and economies. However, the underground mining process produces a large volume of mine wastes (e.g., tailings) as well as creates large voids that require filling, typically with an engineering backfill material. Filling the voids with mine waste materials provides an environmental-friendly way of disposing mining waste. It is also an effective way of increasing ore recovery and improving the safety of miners. One of the best techniques of mine backfill is called cemented paste backfill (CPB), which is typically a mixture of tailings, binder and water. The most common binder used in the preparation of CPB is Portland cement (PC). PC is not only a costly binder, but its production is highly energy-intensive and also generates a large amount of CO2. The cement consumption can represent up to 75% of the cost of CPB. These above-mentioned factors have compelled mining companies to seek for cement alternatives that enhance the engineering properties of the CPB, decrease the cement content and reduce the carbon footprint of the mining industry. Sodium silicate is the most recent chemical additive that is proposed to reduce the binder content in CPB. Sodium silicate is an alkaline solution that is used to activate a pozzolanic material, such as cement, slag and Fly ash. However, the effect of sodium silicate on the strength and key environmental properties (permeability or saturated hydraulic conductivity, reactivity) of CPB is not well understood. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibility of using sodium silicate as an activator in cemented paste backfill and obtain an improvement in the aforementioned engineering properties of CPB. In order to determine the effect of the sodium silicate on backfill properties, some CPB testing methods were developed to fulfill the objectives of this research. Thus, the evolution of hydraulic, mechanical and microstructural properties of CPB samples containing sodium silicate (SS-CPB) have been tested or monitored at different curing ages (1, 3, 7, 28 and 90 days) and different CPB mixtures as well. The results of these studies show that activating CPB with sodium silicate develop CPB strength faster than CPB samples without sodium silicate. In addition, hydraulic conductivity and reactivity results show a positive change in samples containing sodium silicate compared to free sodium silicate CPB samples. Indeed, this activation leads to decreasing permeability and reactivity due to the formation of cement hydration products and acceleration of the binder hydration process. Moreover, binder type and content in the presence of sodium silicate as an alkali activator in the CPB play a significant role in lowering hydraulic conductivity and reactivity of CPB.

No description available.

Este trabalho é um conjunto de conhecimentos sistematizado, alguns já disponíveis através da engenharia e/ou da tecnologia, e outros desenvolvidos durante este trabalho para solução de problemas que freqüentemente se apresentam na modalidade de instalação de linhas de transmissão subterrânea enterradas diretamente no solo. Nas linhas de transmissão diretamente enterrada, a corrente máxima circulante nos condutores depende do salto térmico entre o condutor e a temperatura máxima do solo em um ponto remoto onde os cabos estão instalados. Duas variáveis além da corrente teem um papel de extrema relevância: A resistência elétrica do condutor e blindagens que define as perdas joules geradas pelos condutores e capas metálicas, respectivamente e a resistência térmica externa do solo circunstante ao cabo enterrado. A parte devido às perdas joules já foi exaustivamente estudada e sistematização atual é suficiente para a solução da maioria dos problemas de engenharia, mas a parte do conhecimento da resistência térmica externa tem ainda muitos pontos que ainda não foram totalmente esclarecidos: sejam na modelagem, sejam nos materiais sejam no controle da fenomenologia. O escopo deste trabalho é dar uma contribuição no papel da resistência térmica externa aos cabos enterrados através de uma engenharia simultânea (Elétrica, Mecânica e Civil) assistida por tecnologia de desenvolvimento de materiais (Backfill). / The present work is a set of systematized knowledge, some of them available in the engineering and technological literature and others developed during this work to solve problems which presents in direct buried cables modalities. In direct buried transmission lines the current carrying in the conductors depends on the temperature rise of the conductor in respect of the temperature of remote soil. Two variables beyond the electrical current on the conductor play a paramount role: The electrical resistance of the conductor and sheaths which define the Joules losses upon the conductor and sheath and the thermal resistance between cable and soil. The role of Joule losses has been sufficiently studied providing solutions for large class of engineering problems, but the available knowledge regarding external thermal resistivity has several points under considerations yet: Even in modeling, materials and phenomenology control. The scope of this work is to present a short contribution on the role of external thermal resistance between cables and soil through the simultaneous frame work (Electrical, Mechanical and Civil engineering) and Technological development of materials (Backfill).

Este trabalho é um conjunto de conhecimentos sistematizado, alguns já disponíveis através da engenharia e/ou da tecnologia, e outros desenvolvidos durante este trabalho para solução de problemas que freqüentemente se apresentam na modalidade de instalação de linhas de transmissão subterrânea enterradas diretamente no solo. Nas linhas de transmissão diretamente enterrada, a corrente máxima circulante nos condutores depende do salto térmico entre o condutor e a temperatura máxima do solo em um ponto remoto onde os cabos estão instalados. Duas variáveis além da corrente teem um papel de extrema relevância: A resistência elétrica do condutor e blindagens que define as perdas joules geradas pelos condutores e capas metálicas, respectivamente e a resistência térmica externa do solo circunstante ao cabo enterrado. A parte devido às perdas joules já foi exaustivamente estudada e sistematização atual é suficiente para a solução da maioria dos problemas de engenharia, mas a parte do conhecimento da resistência térmica externa tem ainda muitos pontos que ainda não foram totalmente esclarecidos: sejam na modelagem, sejam nos materiais sejam no controle da fenomenologia. O escopo deste trabalho é dar uma contribuição no papel da resistência térmica externa aos cabos enterrados através de uma engenharia simultânea (Elétrica, Mecânica e Civil) assistida por tecnologia de desenvolvimento de materiais (Backfill). / The present work is a set of systematized knowledge, some of them available in the engineering and technological literature and others developed during this work to solve problems which presents in direct buried cables modalities. In direct buried transmission lines the current carrying in the conductors depends on the temperature rise of the conductor in respect of the temperature of remote soil. Two variables beyond the electrical current on the conductor play a paramount role: The electrical resistance of the conductor and sheaths which define the Joules losses upon the conductor and sheath and the thermal resistance between cable and soil. The role of Joule losses has been sufficiently studied providing solutions for large class of engineering problems, but the available knowledge regarding external thermal resistivity has several points under considerations yet: Even in modeling, materials and phenomenology control. The scope of this work is to present a short contribution on the role of external thermal resistance between cables and soil through the simultaneous frame work (Electrical, Mechanical and Civil engineering) and Technological development of materials (Backfill).

A Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall is a vertical grade separation that uses earth reinforcement extending laterally from the wall to take advantage of earth pressure to reduce the required design strength of the wall. MSE wall systems are often prefabricated to reduce construction time, thus improving constructability when compared with conventionally cast-in-place reinforced wall systems. However, there is a lack of knowledge for predicting the service-life of MSE retaining wall systems when recycled backfill materials such as Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Crushed Concrete (CC) are used instead of Conventional Fill Material (CFM). The specific knowledge missing is how these recycled materials, when used as backfill in MSE wall systems, affects the corrosion rate of the reinforcing strips. This work addresses this knowledge gap by providing recommendations for MSE wall systems backfilled with CC or RAP, and provides a guide to predict the service-life based on corrosion rate test data obtained from embedding steel and galvanized-steel earth reinforcing strips embedded in MSE wall systems backfilled with CC, RAP, and CFM. Experimental data from samples emulating MSE wall systems with steel and galvanized-steel reinforcing strips embedded in CC and RAP were compared to samples with strips embedded in CFM. The results of the testing provide data and methodologies that may, depending on the environmental exposure conditions, justify the use of RAP and CC for the construction of MSE walls. If these backfill materials are obtained from the construction site, this could provide a significant cost savings during construction.

Com a crescente diminuição de recursos minerais e o alto custo envolvido na construção da estrutura de uma mina, a recuperação máxima possível de uma jazida vem se tornando fundamental. Para isso além da escolha do método de lavra ter a necessidade de ser feito cautelosamente, é possível lançar mão de métodos adicionais de recuperação, como por exemplo, a recuperação de pilares. Essa pesquisa foi baseada na determinação da caracterização do enchimento (backfill cimentado) utilizado nas câmaras vazias que possibilita a posterior recuperação dos pilares. A caracterização do enchimento é composta da determinação da resistência simples do backfill necessária para que o enchimento cumpra com seu objetivo, desenvolvimento da classificação granulométrica ótima para os agregados e dosagem de cimento e água para alcançar a resistência proposta. A metodologia desenvolvida para obter a nova caracterização é composta de várias etapas que incluem pesquisas em campo e trabalhos em laboratório. Primeiramente, foram obtidos através de análise em campo os parâmetros de dosagem de cimento e classificação granulométrica dos agregados já utilizados na planta de fabricação do enchimento, bem como sua resistência correspondente. Em seguida definições teóricas da dosagem de cimento ideal e classificação granulométrica ótima foram realizadas com base na resistência à compressão simples que foi identificada como necessária para cumprir com as solicitações geomecânicas do maciço rochoso, então posteriormente, a nova caracterização definida teoricamente foi posta à prova através da confecção de corpos de prova de backfill, seguido de execuções de ensaios de compressão. Durante a primeira etapa da metodologia, já se pôde identificar que os agregados possuíam um alto índice de partículas tamanho argila que estavam afetando os resultados de resistência obtidos com a caracterização empregada inicialmente. A partir disso se optou por construir a curva granulométrica ótima sem essa fração. A resistência à compressão simples calculada de 2,69 MPa, foi obtida com base no planejamento de longo prazo que prevê a total recuperação dos pilares existentes na mina. Dessa maneira toda a área que será minerada foi considerada como um único bloco. Finalmente, foi identificada a dosagem de cimento sendo de 4% em peso, que juntamente com a granulometria ótima é capaz de alcançar os valores esperados de resistência. Para que o planejamento da produção da mina durante os próximos anos de vida útil seja efetivamente cumprido, o enchimento deverá prover à mina estabilidade geomecânica local a nível de câmaras abertas com paredes verticais de backfill estáveis e também estabilidade global a nível de contato entre níveis e galerias de acesso. Isso somente será alcançado se a nova caracterização for corretamente aplicada. / As a consequence of the ongoing reduction of mineral resources and the high cost involved in the construction of a mine, the maximum recovery of a mineral deposit becomes a fundamental issue. Therefore, besides the need of caution on the choice of the mining method, it is possible to make use of additional recovery methods, such as the recovery of pillars. This research was based on the determination of the characterization of the fill (cemented backfill) used in avoid stopes that allows the subsequent recovery of adjacent pillars. The characterization of the fill consists of determining the uniaxial compressive strength of the backfill required for an efficient filling, developing an optimal particle-size distribution for the aggregates and finding the cement-water ratio necessary to reach the desired resistance. The methodology developed to obtain the new characterization is comprised of several steps which include field work and laboratory tests. First, cement dosing parameters and particle size of the aggregates (already used at the filling manufacturing plant), as well as their corresponding strength, were obtained through analyses in the field work. Then, theoretical definitions of the ideal cement dosing and optimal particle-size analysis were carried out based on the uniaxial compressive strength that has been identified as necessary to comply with the geomechanical requests from the rock mass, and then later, the new theoretical characterization was tested by making backfill samples, followed by execution of compression tests. During the first stage of this methodology, it has been identified a high proportion of clay particle size for the aggregates, that have affected the strength results obtained from the characterization used initially. From this point, we decided to build the optimal particle-size curve without this fraction. Uniaxial compressive strength, calculated as 2.69 MPa, was obtained from the long-term planning that determines the full recovery of the existing pillars in the mine. In this way, the entire area to be mined was considered as a single block. Finally, the cement dosing has been identified as 4% by weight, which together with the optimal particle size, is able to achieve the expected strength values. In order to effectively fulfill the mine production planning over the next years of lifespan, the filling should provide the mine local geomechanical stability at open stopes level, with vertical walls of stable backfill, and also global stability at the contacts between levels and access galleries. This will only be achieved if the new characterization is correctly applied.

Although its use has become more widespread, controlled low-strength material, or CLSM, has fallen through the crack between geotechnical engineering and materials engineering research. The National Ready Mix Association states that CLSM is not a low strength concrete, and geotechnical engineers do not consider it as a conventional aggregate backfill. The use of CLSM as a bridge abutment backfill material brings up the need to understand the passive force versus backwall displacement relationship for this application. To safely account for forces generated due to seismic activity and thermal expansion in bridge design, it is important to understand the passive force versus backwall displacement relationship. Previous researchers have pointed out the fallacy of designing skewed bridges the same as non-skewed bridges. They observed that as the bridge skew angle increases, the peak passive force is significantly diminished which could lead to poor or even unsafe performance. The literature agrees that a displacement of 3-5% of the wall height is required to mobilize the peak passive resistance. The shape of the passive force displacement curve is best represented as hyperbolic in shape, and the Log Spiral method has been confirmed to be the most accurate at predicting the peak passive force and the shape of the failure plane. All of the previous research on this topic, whether full-scale field tests or large-scale laboratory tests, has been done with dense compacted sand, dense granular backfill, or computer modeling of these types of conventional backfill materials. However, the use of CLSM is increasing because of the product's satisfactory performance as a conventional backfill replacement and the time saving, or economic, benefits. To determine the relationship of passive force versus backwall displacement for a CLSM backfilled bridge abutment, two laboratory large-scale lateral load tests were conducted at skew angles of 0 and 30°. The model backwall was a 4.13 ft (1.26 m) wide and 2 ft (0.61 m) tall reinforced concrete block skewed to either 0 or 30°. The passive force-displacement curves for the two tests were hyperbolic in shape, and the displacement required to reach the peak passive resistance was approximately 0.75-2% of the wall height. The effect of skew angle on the magnitude of passive resistance in the CLSM backfill was much less significant than for conventional backfill materials. However, within displacements of 4-5% of the backwall height, the passive force-displacement curve reached a relatively constant residual or ultimate strength. The residual strength ranged from 20-40% of the measured peak passive resistance. The failure plane did not follow the logarithmic spiral pattern as the conventional backfill materials did. Instead, the failure plane was nearly linear and the failed wedge was displaced more like a block with very low compressive strains.