Abstract Excess pore water pressure can be generated in subgrades of both railway and pavement sub-structures under cyclic loading caused by heavy traffic. When saturated subgrades are subjected to cyclic loading, excess pore water pressures accumulate over time which then could lead to migration of particles into overlying layers. The migration of subgrade soil particles to the upper layers would lead to clogging of pores and reducing the upper layers' drainage capacity. Both excess pore water pressure accumulation and migration of fine particles could negatively affect the long-term performance and service life of the sub-structures and eventually may lead to failure. Understanding the mechanism of both excess pore water pressure and migration of fine particles under cyclic loading is, therefore, essential for not only designing but also further proposing efficient and economical maintenance methods. The main objectives of this research are to (1) investigate excess pore water pressure generation in fine granular materials under cyclic loading and (2) evaluate migration of fine granular materials into overlying layers under cyclic loading.  A series of undrained cyclic triaxial tests were performed to study the excess pore water pressure generation in fine granular materials. Two types of fine granular materials, i.e., railway sand (natural granular material) and tailings (artificial granular material), were selected for this investigation. The cyclic characteristics of these materials, e.g., accumulated strain and excess pore water pressure, were evaluated in terms of number of cycles and applied cyclic stress ratios (CSR). As a result, axial strain and excess pore water pressure accumulated over time due to cyclic loading. However, its accumulations were significantly dependent on CSR values and material types. Finally, a relationship between excess pore water pressure and accumulated strain of the fine granular materials was discovered based on all outputs from the undrained cyclic triaxial tests (both tailings and railway sand samples).  In order to evaluate the migration of fine granular materials into overlying layers under cyclic loading, a modified large-scale triaxial system was used as a physical model test. Samples prepared for the modified large-scale triaxial system composed of a 60 mm thick gravel layer overlying a 120 mm thick subgrade layer (tailings and railway sand). The quantitative analysis on migration of the fine granular materials was based on the mass percentage and grain size of migrated materials collected at the gravel layer. In addition, the cyclic responses (strain and pore water pressure) were evaluated. As a result, the total migration rate of the railway sand sample was found to be small. There were no migrated sand particles pumped up to the gravel surface, i.e., no mud pumping, after the test terminated. The migrated sand particles were observed and collected at the bottom half of the gravel layer. The total migration rate of the tailing sample was much higher than that of the railway sand sample. In addition, the migration analysis revealed that finer tailings particles tended to be migrated into the upper gravel layer easier than coarser ones under cyclic loading. The migrated tailings particles were observed at the surface of the gravel layer after the test ended. It could be involved in significant increases in excess pore water pressure at the last cycles of the physical model test. The findings obtained in this research may provide an additional contribution to the literature dealing with the excess pore water pressure accumulation and its effects on the migration of fine particles under cyclic loading.

Liquefaction is a major challenge in geotechnical engineering in which soil strength and stiffness are compromised due to earthquake activity. Understanding and predicting the behaviour and liquefaction susceptibility of soils under cyclic loading is a critical issue in civil engineering, mining and protective engineering. Numerous earthquake-induced ground failure events (e.g., substantial ground deformation, reduced bearing capacity) or liquefaction in natural fine-grained soils or manmade fine-grained soils (i.e., fine tailings) produced by mining activities have been observed and reported in the literature. Tailings are manmade soils that remain following the extraction of metals and minerals from mined ore in a mine processing plant. Traditionally, such tailings are stored in surface tailings impoundments at the mine’s surface. However, geotechnical and environmental risks and consequences related to conventional tailings impoundments have attracted the attention of the engineering community to develop novel methods of tailings disposal and management to minimize geotechnical and environmental risks. Thus, engineers have introduced and implemented innovative tailings technologies—thickened tailings and paste tailings—as cost-effective means for tailings management in mining operations. As both thickened tailings and paste tailings have lower water content and higher solid content than tailings in conventional impoundments, these tailings may be more resistant to liquefaction. However, it should be noted that the seismic or cyclic behaviour of these thickened and paste tailings, with and without heavy rainfall effects, are not fully understood. There is little technical information or data about the behaviour and liquefaction of thickened and paste tailings under seismic or cyclic loading conditions. The objective of the present PhD research is to investigate the response of layered thickened and paste tailings deposits, with and without heavy rainfall effects, to cyclic loads by conducting shaking table tests. To simulate the field deposition of thickened and paste tailings, tailings were deposited in three thin layers in a flexible laminar shear box (FLSB) attached to the shaking table equipment. A sinusoidal seismic loading at a frequency of 1 Hz and peak horizontal acceleration of 0.13g was applied at the bottom of the layered tailings deposits. Acceleration, displacement and pore water pressure responses to the cyclic loading were monitored at the middle depth of each layer of the tailings deposits. Regarding the acceleration response of these thickened and paste tailings deposits (without the effect of heavy rainfall), there was no difference between the middle of the bottom and middle layers or at the base of the shaking table. However, the acceleration at the middle of the top layer differed from the acceleration at the base of the shaking table. Throughout shaking, the layered tailings deposits (with and without the effect of heavy rainfall) exhibited contraction and dilation responses. The excess pore water pressure ratios of the layered thickened tailings deposit that was not exposed to heavy rainfall prior to shaking were found to exceed 1.0 during shaking. However, for the layered paste tailings deposit that was not exposed to the effect of heavy rainfall prior to shaking, the excess pore water pressure ratios were found to be lower than 0.85 during shaking. This reveals that without the effect of heavy rainfall, the layered thickened tailings deposit was susceptible to liquefaction, whereas the layered paste tailings deposit was resistant to liquefaction during shaking. The excess pore water ratios of the layered thickened and the paste tailings deposits that were exposed to heavy rainfall prior to shaking were found to be lower than 0.8 during shaking. This reveals that with the effect of heavy rainfall, the layered thickened and paste tailings deposits were resistant to liquefaction during shaking. The results and findings of this PhD research thus provide valuable information for the implementation of tailings in earthquake-prone areas.