Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a novel technology developed in the past few decades to better manage mining wastes (such as tailings) in environmentally friendly way. It has received prominent interest in the mining industry around the world. In this technology, up to 60% of the total amount of tailings is reused and converted into cemented construction material that can be used for secondary support in underground mine openings (stopes) and to maximize the recovery of ore from pillars. CPB is an engineered mixture of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder (such as cement), that is mixed in the paste plant and delivered into the mine stopes either by gravity or pumping. During and after placing it into the mine stopes, the performance of CPB mainly depends on the role of the hydraulic binder, which increases the mechanical strength of the mixture through the process of cement hydration. Similar to other fine-grained soils undergoing cementations, CPB’s behavior is affected by several conditions or factors, such as cement hydration progress (curing time), chemistry of pore water, mixing and curing temperature, and filling strategy. Also, it has been found that fresh CPB placed in the mine stopes can be susceptible to many geotechnical issues, such as liquefaction under ground shaking conditions. Liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structure may cause injuries and fatalities, as well as significant environmental and economic damages. Many researches studied the effect of the aforementioned conditions on the static mechanical behavior of CPB. Other researches have evaluated the liquefaction behavior of natural soils and tailings (without cement) during cyclic loadings using shaking table test technique. Only few studies investigated the CPB liquefaction during dynamic loading events using the triaxial tests. Yet, there are currently no studies that addressed the liquefaction behavior of CPB under the previous conditions by using the shaking table technique. In this Ph.D. study, a series of shaking table tests were conducted on fresh CPB samples (75 cm × 75 cm ×70 cm), which were mixed and poured into a flexible laminar shear box (that was designed and build for the purpose of this research). Some of these shaking table tests were performed at different maturity ages of 2.5 hrs, 4.0 hrs, and 10.0 hrs, to investigate the effect of cement hydration progress on the liquefaction potential of CPB. Another set of tests were conducted to assess the effect of the chemistry (sulphate content) of the pore-water on the cyclic response of fresh CPB by exposing cyclic loads on couple of CPB models that contain different concertation of sulphate ions of 0.0 ppm and 5000 ppm. Moreover, as part of this study, series of shaking table test was conducted on CPB samples that were prepared and cured at different temperatures of 20oC and 35oC, to evaluate the effect of temperature of the cyclic behavior of CPB. Furthermore, the effect of filling strategy on the cyclic behavior of fresh CPB was assessed by conducting set of shaking tables tests on CPB models that were prepared at different filling strategies of continuous filling, and sequential or discontinuous (layered) filling. The results obtained show that CPB has different cyclic behavior and performance under these different conditions. It is observed that the progress of cement hydration (longer curing time) enhances the liquefaction resistance of CPB, while the presence of sulphate ions diminishes it. It is also found that CPB mixed and cured in low temperature is more prone to liquefaction than those prepared at higher temperatures. Moreover, the obtained results show that adopting the discontinuous (layered) filling strategy will improve the liquefaction resistance of CPB. The finding presented in this thesis will contribute to efficient, cost effective and safer design of CPB structures in the mine areas, and will help in minimizing the risks of liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structures.

The mining industry is a major economic driver and job creator for many countries. However, mining is associated with geo-hazards and environmental issues, such as the disposal of large volumes of waste, acid mine drainage, and ground subsidence. As a result, efficient mining waste management is crucial for sustainable development. The geotechnical, economic, and environmental benefits of cemented paste backfill (CPB) have piqued the interest of researchers and academicians worldwide, making it an essential aspect of underground mining management. CPB is a thickened cementitious combination of dewatered tailings (70 - 85 wt.%), binders (usually 3 to 8% wt.%), and water used to backfill mine waste into underground mining stopes. Despite being used in small amounts, the cost of cement makes up to 80% of the cost of backfilling operations. In addition, clinker production accounts for 5-8% of global human created carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This predicament necessitates the development of a viable alternative to cement. Partially substituting cement with supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash, blast furnace slag, natural pozzolans, and other materials has been increasingly prevalent in CPB. It is evident that the addition of slag to cement can increase the mechanical strength of CPB at the advanced ages but decreases the strength and suction development due to the slow reaction kinetics in the CPB at the early ages, which may negatively affect the mechanical stability of the CPB, mining cycle, and safety of mineworkers. Moreover, the supply of these materials is limited and may not be enough for the future needs of the industry. Furthermore, there has been a surge in interest in using limestone powder (LS) owing to its abundance, low cost, and lack of environmental costs which are associated with Portland cement - Type 1 (PCI). The addition of LS accelerates hydration at the early ages, thus resulting in high early strength, but the dilution effect can reduce the late strength. The combination of LS and slag in a ternary blended cement can be potentially used as a binder for CPB with acceptable strength development at the early and advanced ages while lowering the cost of the CPB and the carbon footprint of the mining industry. Nevertheless, the rheology, mechanical strength, and stability are important key performance quality criteria for CPB; however, the effect of ternary cement blends on these parameters is not well known. In this research program, the impact of the binary and ternary cement blends on (i) the fresh properties of CPB, such as the rheological properties (yield stress, viscosity) and setting time, and (ii) the strength and suction development of CPB are investigated. To understand the effect of substituting slag with LS in the binary binder in the first phase of the study, binary binders with two differ-ent PCI: Slag proportions of 50/50 and 80/20 are examined with no limestone, followed by replacing slag with an increasing amount of LS from 0 to 20 wt. % of the total binder, with a constant cement content, over a period of 4 hrs (0, 0.25, 1, 2, and 4 hrs) of curing at room temperature. In the second phase, the effect of a ternary binder (PCI-Slag- LS) with varying proportions on the suction development and the mechanical behavior of hardened CPB is investigated over a curing period of up to 90 days. The changes in strength of these binary and ternary binders on the CPB sample are tested for 1, 3, 7, 28, 60, and 90 days. An unconfined compression test (UCS) is conducted to evaluate the strength development. The microstructure of the mixes is examined through mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) for changes are validated through monitoring for the development of hydration and suction, electrical conductivity (EC), and temperature, which is carried out for up to 30 days. This is followed by a microstructure analysis with a thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric test on fresh and hardened samples. The results of the first phase show that an increase in the percentage of substituted cement in the binary binder (from PCI/Slag 80/20 to 50/50) increases the yield stress of the CPB but decreases the viscosity of the mix. However, the addition of LS as a substitution for slag shows a considerable decrease in the yield stress of the control mix with an increase in viscosity with increasing dosages of LS, thus indicating an improvement in the flowability of CPB. The second phase results indicate that the slow hydration kinetics of slag influences early age suction and strength changes in the binary sample with a high slag content (50/50); however, its latent hydraulic and pozzolanic properties enhance strength gain after 28 days. The addition of 5% limestone to the ternary blend increases the strength gain by up to 7 days compared to the binary control samples. Indeed, the presence of LS influences the rate of hydration of cement and slag through both physical (filler, nucleation, dilution) and chemical (hydrate) effects. However, substituting more than 10% LS for slag affects the mechanical performance at all ages. Overall, up to 50 wt.% slag and 10 wt.% limestone with cement as a ternary binder can be used without significant compressive strength loss. This study demonstrates that the partial substitution of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with varying percentages of slag and LS is complementary, and overall, the interaction of slag and LS is observed. The optimal use of LS and slag in a ternary system may serve as a sustainable alternative to the commonly used OPC and PCI/Slag binders, thereby reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint associated with cement. The findings of this study will ultimately help to develop a better understanding of the impact of ternary blends with increasing percentages of LS on the rheology and setting time of CPB mixes and mechanical strength changes in designing an efficient mixing plant, particularly its transport system.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a highly advantageous method of backfill that has been increasing in use in recent decades as it provides many environmental, economic, and practical benefits. When combined with cement and water, it recycles a portion of the dewatered tailings produced from mines as backfill for underground stopes. CPB is transported from the plant on the surface through pipes to the stopes, sometimes over several kilometers, and then placed in underground mining cavities (stopes) to support the ground or rock mass. Therefore, it must meet certain rheological, setting time, and strength gain performance requirements. Additionally, as many mines around the world are located in areas of freshwater scarcity, and societies are holding corporations to ever higher standards for humanitarian and environmental responsibility, many mines are seeking to utilize locally available, saline groundwater or seawater as mixing water in backfill. The impacts of this decision on the rheological, setting, and strength properties of CPB must be better understood to allow for the confident selection of this convenient solution, as the risks associated with improper design include huge costs due to pipeline clogging and death or injury due to backfill failure and ground subsidence. NaCl is a contributor to natural groundwater and seawater salinity and may be present in concentrations of up to 300 g/L. An additional cost-saving measure favoured by mines is to replace some of the costly Portland cement with much cheaper supplemental cementitious materials such as blast furnace slag. Therefore, this thesis examines the impacts of NaCl concentration and binder composition on the yield stress, viscosity, initial and final setting time, and strength development of CPB. A robust experimental program has been undertaken in which CPB was subjected to the above-mentioned tests in addition to pH and MIP testing, SEM, TG/DTG, XRD, and zeta potential analyses, and electrical conductivity, suction, and water content monitoring. CPB samples were made with synthetic silica tailings, Portland cement, and water with NaCl concentrations of 0 g/L, 10 g/L, 35 g/L, 100 g/L, and 300 g/L and CPB made with 35 g/L and slag replacement percentages of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%. Additional samples tested were made with natural gold tailings, Portland cement, and NaCl concentrations of 0 g/L and 35 g/L for verification. Rheological testing was conducted at 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours after mixing, and UCS testing was conducted after 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 28 days, and 60 days of curing. Additional tests or analyses were performed on selected mixes and curing times for optimum insight and monitoring was conducted from 0 to 28 days after curing. It was found that low concentrations of NaCl (10 g/L and 35 g/L) generally had favourable impacts on the UCS and setting times of CPB, while higher concentrations had negative impacts. The impacts of slag replacement on UCS development of saline CPB were also generally favourable. However, the impacts of slag replacement on initial setting time were generally negative, and favourable at higher replacements (50% or more) for final setting time. Low NaCl concentration led to slightly negative impacts on yield stress, especially at longer curing times (1-2 hours), but high concentrations greatly reduced the yield stress. NaCl concentration had minor impacts to viscosity, with any concentration leading to a slightly higher initial viscosity but slightly lower viscosity at longer curing times. Slag replacement content had negligible effects on yield stress, but led to favourable decreases in viscosity over longer curing times. The combination of positive and negative impacts indicates that care must be taken to knowledgeably prioritize or balance critical properties in mix design, though there is indication of opportunities for overall improvement. Supplemental testing provided useful information to explain the mechanics behind the results which will allow designers to carefully select the required components for the desired properties.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) technology is widely used in the mining industry as an effective means of tailings disposal. CPB is a mixture of tailings, binder, water, and additional admixtures when required. It is prepared in a mixing plant on the ground surface and then transported into the mine cavities through pipelines either by gravity and/or using pumps. To ensure efficiency during transportation and avoid pipe clogging (which can cause unnecessary delays and loss of productivity), fresh CPB must have sufficient flowability. To achieve that, high-range water reducing admixtures, also known as superplasticizers, are usually added to the CPB during mixing. These admixtures are widely used in the construction industry due to their ability to improve flowability without undermining other important engineering properties. However, their influence on the rheology, mechanical strength and environmental performance (reactivity and permeability) of CPB is not fully understood. Thus, experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effects of superplasticizers on the performance properties of cemented paste backfill at different curing temperatures. Yield stress and viscosity of fresh CPB cured for 0, 1, 2, and 4 hours were measured using a vane shear device and a Brookfield Viscometer respectively. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of samples cured for 1, 3, 7, and 28 days was determined in accordance with ASTM - C39. Superplasticizer contents were varied as 0%, 0.125%, and 0.25% of the total weight of the CPB. Preparations and curing of the specimens were performed at controlled conditions of 2, 20, and 35 °C to investigate the effect of ambient or curing temperatures. To have a better understanding of the environmental performance of CPB containing superplasticizer, reactivity, and hydraulic conductivity up to 90 days of curing were also investigated. The reactivity was measured using oxygen consumption test while hydraulic conductivity was measured using flexible wall permeability test. Microstructural analyses (thermogravimetric analyses, X-Ray diffraction, and mercury intrusion porosimetry) and monitoring tests (pH, zeta potential, electrical conductivity, and matric suction) were carried out to understand the principles behind the changes of the observed properties. The obtained results show that superplasticizer dosage and temperature variation have significant effects on the rheology, strength development, hydraulic conductivity and reactivity of the CPB. The polycarboxylic ether-based superplasticizer significantly reduces the yield stress and viscosity by creating strong electrostatic repulsion between the solid particles in the CPB and by steric hinderance. The CPB containing the superplasticizer remains fluid for longer period (as compared with the CPB without superplasticizer) due to the retardation of binder hydration. However, high curing temperature induces faster cement hydration, which thickens the fresh CPB. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the CPB containing superplasticizer was observed to be lower in the early age (up to 7 days), which is also attributed to retardation of the binder hydration. At later ages, the superplasticizer improves the mechanical strength as the binder hydration accelerates and the solid particles self-consolidate. Coupled THMC processes in the CPB showed the role played by the changes in electrical conductivity, volumetric water content, matric suction, and temperature on the development of mechanical strength of the CPB containing superplasticizer. Similarly, addition of the superplasticizer in the CPB decreases both the hydraulic conductivity and reactivity of CPB, thus improving its environmental performance. The improvement is largely attributed to enhanced binder hydration and self-consolidation which decrease the porosity of the CPB. Increasing the curing temperature was found to magnify the improvement of the CPB properties by inducing faster binder hydration. The findings from this study will undoubtedly inform the design of CPB structure with better mechanical stability and environmental performance.

Current design of cemented paste backfill (CPB) barricades tends to be of unknown conservativeness due to limited understanding of their behaviour. Previous work done to characterize barricade response has not accounted for the effects of the surrounding rock stiffness, which can have significant impact on the development of axial forces which enhance capacity via compressive membrane action. Parametric analyses were performed with the finite element analysis program Augustus-2 to determine the effects of various material and geometric properties on barricade capacity. Equations based on Timoshenko and Boussinesq solutions were developed to model rock stiffness effects based on boundary material properties. An iterative simulation process was used to account for secondary moment effects as a proof of concept. It was found that, for a range of typical rock types, barricade capacity varied significantly. The commonly made design assumption of a fully rigid boundary resulted in unconservative overpredictions of strength.

Current design of cemented paste backfill (CPB) barricades tends to be of unknown conservativeness due to limited understanding of their behaviour. Previous work done to characterize barricade response has not accounted for the effects of the surrounding rock stiffness, which can have significant impact on the development of axial forces which enhance capacity via compressive membrane action. Parametric analyses were performed with the finite element analysis program Augustus-2 to determine the effects of various material and geometric properties on barricade capacity. Equations based on Timoshenko and Boussinesq solutions were developed to model rock stiffness effects based on boundary material properties. An iterative simulation process was used to account for secondary moment effects as a proof of concept. It was found that, for a range of typical rock types, barricade capacity varied significantly. The commonly made design assumption of a fully rigid boundary resulted in unconservative overpredictions of strength.

Over the past decades, cemented paste backfill (CPB) has become a common, environmentally friendly method of managing mine wastes (such as tailings). This technology allows up to 60% of the total amount of tailings to be reused and filled in the mine stopes after converting them into cemented material. Beside reducing the environmental risks associated with the traditional disposal of these materials, turning them into cemented material and placing them in the underground mine stopes can also provide secondary support for these stopes in addition to minimizing the risk of ground subsidence in the mine area. CPB is an engineered mixture of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder (such as cement, blast furnace slag, and fly ash) that is mixed in the paste plant and delivered into the mine stopes through a gravity or pumping based transportation system. During the transportation of CPB through the delivery system pipelines, the flowability of CPB depends on the rheology of the transported CPB, which is affected by different factors, such as the transportation time, temperature variation, binder type, and chemical composition of these mixtures. In addition, the performance of CPB, after placing the CPB mixture into the mine stopes, is mainly dependent on the role of the hydraulic binder, as it increases the mechanical strength of the mixture through the process of cement hydration. The mechanical strength is also influenced by different factors, such as time progress, temperature variation, and presence of chemical additives. It has previously been found that fresh CPB transported and/or placed in the mine stopes can be susceptible to temperature variation of different sources, such as the climatic effects, heat generated from the surrounding rocks, and heat generated during the process of cement hydration. Unsuitable flowability of CPB through the delivery system might lead to significant financial losses due to clogging of pipelines with unexpected hardening of CPB during transportation, which will cause delay in work and possible damages to the pipelines. Also, failure of CPB structure in the mine stopes due to inappropriate mechanical strength may cause casualties to the mine workers as well as significant environmental and economic damages. Many researchers studied the rheological properties and/or strength development of CPB under the individual effect of any of the aforementioned factors. Additionally, many researchers have evaluated the coupled effect of some of these factors on the rheology and mechanical strength of CPB material. Hitherto, there are currently no studies that addressed the combined effect of all these conditions on the rheological properties and strength development of CPB. At the first stage of this M.A.Sc. study, a series of experimental tests was conducted on fresh CPB in order to determine the combined effect of time, temperature, binder content, and chemical additives on the rheological properties of CPB. These experiments include rheological properties test (yield stress and viscosity), microstructural analysis (thermal analysis and XRD), chemical analysis (pH and Zeta potential), and monitoring tests (electrical conductivity), which were conducted on 125 CPB samples that were mixed and prepared at different temperatures (2oC, 20oC, 35oC) and cured for different curing time (0 hrs., 0.25 hrs., 1 hr., 2hrs, and 4 hrs.). These samples were prepared with different blends of hydraulic binders (PCI, PCI/Slag, and PCI/FA) and contained different dosages of sodium silicate (0%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%). The results obtained show that rheology of CPB increases with the progress of curing time. It also increases with the increase in the initial (mixing and curing) temperature and content of sodium silicate. It was also found that the partial usage of slag and FA reduces the rheological properties. However, CPBs containing PCI/FA as binder have lower rheological properties, and thus better flowability, than those that contain PCI/Slag as binder. At the second stage of this M.A.Sc. study, in order to understand the combined effect of time, temperature and sodium silicate content on the strength development of slag-CPB, unconfined compression (UCS) test, microstructural analysis (thermal analysis and MIP), and monitoring tests (electrical conductivity, suction, and volumetric water content) were conducted on 72 CPB samples that were prepared with PCI-Slag as a binder, cured for different times (1 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 28 days) under different curing temperatures of (2oC, 20oC, 35oC), and contained different dosages of sodium silicate (0%, 0.3% and 0.5%). The results obtained at this stage showed that the strength development of slag-CPB increases with the progress of curing time and temperature. It also increases with the increase in the sodium silicate content. Also, the combined effect of high temperature, high dosage of sodium silicate and longer curing time showed significant enhancement in the mechanical strength of slag-CPB. The findings of this M.A.Sc. research will contribute to cost effective, efficient, and safer design of CPB structures in the mine areas. It will also help in minimizing financial loss associated with unsuitable flowability of CPB transported in the CPB delivery system besides reducing the risks of human loss, and the environmental and economic damages associated with the failure of CPB structures.

One hundred billion tons of mine solid waste are estimated to be produced worldwide each year. In Canada, the mining and oil industries produce the most solid and semi-solid waste in the country, with more than a billion tons each year. In the earlier days of mining, the initial practices that were used to contain these waste materials consisted of surface storage, river dumping or just simple abandonment, while the more recent practices include dam impoundment and underground waste fill. These methods however can potentially cause environmental hazards and geotechnical problems. Against this context and as a result of stricter environmental regulations, cemented paste backfilling has been developed as a solution. This relatively new technology uses the produced waste tailings to backfill the mine stopes, greatly reducing their environmental impact while offering proper structural support in an efficient manner. However, the cost of cemented paste backfill (CPB) is greatly impacted by the binder content which can constitute up to 75% of its total cost. Additionally, the binder is usually mostly composed of ordinary Portland cement, and its production is highly energy-intensive and generates a large volume of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Indeed, it is estimated that the cement industry accounts for approximately 7% of the global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, which is expected to increase on an annual basis. All of these factors have compelled the mining industry to seek alternatives for cement to enhance CPB strength, in hopes of reducing its carbon footprint. Against this context, this study investigates the effect of the addition of nanoparticles, namely nano silica (SiO₂) and nano-calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), on the strength development of CPB cured at a constant room temperature and in non-isothermal conditions. Nanoparticles have been studied and used as chemical admixtures in different cementitious materials with promising results; non-isothermal curing conditions better reflect the in-situ thermal curing conditions of CPB. Thus, numerous different laboratory tests and analyses, including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests, thermogravimetric/derivative thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analyses and electrical conductivity monitoring, have been conducted on CPB samples with or without nanoparticles, and cured at room temperatures or under non-isothermal conditions. The non-isothermal conditions replicate the development of temperature in two different sizes of CPB structures in the field. The results show that CPB that contains nanoparticles show a higher UCS over the entire period of curing in all of the tested conditions. The mechanical performance is further enhanced when tested under higher temperatures in non-isothermal temperature profiles. Most of the strength increase takes place at the early ages (3 days) of the testing. The reason for the improvement in the mechanical strength is linked to accelerated binder hydration and the nucleating and filler effects of the nano-material, which is corroborated by results obtained through microstructural analyses and EC monitoring. The use of natural gold tailings affects the mechanical performance of CPB and the accelerating effect of the nanoparticles due to sulphate attacks. Overall, these promising findings can help to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of mining activities, and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of mine backfilling processes.

Gelfill (GF) is made of tailings, water, binder and chemical additives (Fillset, sodium silicate gel). The components of GF are combined and mixed on the surface and transported (by gravity and/or pumping) to the underground mine workings, where the GF can be used for both underground mine support and tailings storage. Thermal (T), hydraulic (H), and mechanical (M) properties are important performance criteria of GF. The understanding of these engineering properties and their evolution with time are still limited due to the fact that GF is a new cemented backfill material. In this thesis, the evolution of the thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and microstructural properties of small GF samples are determined. Various binder contents of Portland cement type I (PCI) are used. The GF is cured for 3, 7, 28, 90, and 120 days. It is found that the thermal, hydraulic and mechanical properties are time-dependent or affected by the degree of binder hydration index. Furthermore, a relationship is found between the compressive strength and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the GF samples. The unsaturated hydraulic properties of GF samples have also been investigated. The outcomes show that unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is influenced by the degree of binder hydration index and binder content, especially at low suction ranges. Simple functions are proposed to predict the evolution of air-entry values (AEVs), residual water content, and fitting parameters from the van Genuchten model with the degree of hydration index (α). Furthermore, two columns are built to simulate the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of GF under drained and undrained conditions. The obtained results from the GF columns are compared with the small samples. It is observed that the mechanical properties, hydraulic properties (suction and water content), and temperature development are strongly coupled. The magnitude of these THM coupling factors is affected by the size of the GF. The findings also show that the mechanical, hydraulic and thermal properties of the GF columns are different from samples cured in plastic moulds.

Gelfill (GF) is made of tailings, water, binder and chemical additives (Fillset, sodium silicate gel). The components of GF are combined and mixed on the surface and transported (by gravity and/or pumping) to the underground mine workings, where the GF can be used for both underground mine support and tailings storage. Thermal (T), hydraulic (H), and mechanical (M) properties are important performance criteria of GF. The understanding of these engineering properties and their evolution with time are still limited due to the fact that GF is a new cemented backfill material. In this thesis, the evolution of the thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and microstructural properties of small GF samples are determined. Various binder contents of Portland cement type I (PCI) are used. The GF is cured for 3, 7, 28, 90, and 120 days. It is found that the thermal, hydraulic and mechanical properties are time-dependent or affected by the degree of binder hydration index. Furthermore, a relationship is found between the compressive strength and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the GF samples. The unsaturated hydraulic properties of GF samples have also been investigated. The outcomes show that unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is influenced by the degree of binder hydration index and binder content, especially at low suction ranges. Simple functions are proposed to predict the evolution of air-entry values (AEVs), residual water content, and fitting parameters from the van Genuchten model with the degree of hydration index (α). Furthermore, two columns are built to simulate the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of GF under drained and undrained conditions. The obtained results from the GF columns are compared with the small samples. It is observed that the mechanical properties, hydraulic properties (suction and water content), and temperature development are strongly coupled. The magnitude of these THM coupling factors is affected by the size of the GF. The findings also show that the mechanical, hydraulic and thermal properties of the GF columns are different from samples cured in plastic moulds.