An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill
Abstract The behaviour of a stratified backfilled stope in terms of strength development and stress distribution has not been well established in the field of rock engineering. Yet, the mining industries with massive ore bodies are looking into high production with a high standard of safety which is...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51464-2 |
| _version_ | 1797363319242227712 |
|---|---|
| author | Nhleko Monique Chiloane Fhatuwani Sengani Francois Mulenga |
| author_facet | Nhleko Monique Chiloane Fhatuwani Sengani Francois Mulenga |
| author_sort | Nhleko Monique Chiloane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The behaviour of a stratified backfilled stope in terms of strength development and stress distribution has not been well established in the field of rock engineering. Yet, the mining industries with massive ore bodies are looking into high production with a high standard of safety which is mainly governed by large excavation with backfill as a support system. It is difficult to fill these large excavations at one time. Therefore, a subsequent backfilling of the stope layer by layering is adopted, which results in a layered backfill structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the strength development, stress distribution and deformation across the stope supported by both layered and non-layered backfill. It has been observed that the backfill support system gain its strength with time, however, the layered backfill support system loses its strength when more layers are introduced, this is due to the shearing effect around the interfaces of the backfill layers. The impact of layering was validated by 3D numerical simulation. It is therefore concluded that non layered backfill support system are more suitable for stoping mining methods rather than layered support system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:19:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa6b11b9ee4547c98d434cf014d89214 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:19:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa6b11b9ee4547c98d434cf014d892142024-01-07T12:26:42ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-01-0114111510.1038/s41598-024-51464-2An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfillNhleko Monique Chiloane0Fhatuwani Sengani1Francois Mulenga2Department of Mining Engineering, University of South AfricaDepartment of Geology and Mining, University of LimpopoDepartment of Mining Engineering, University of South AfricaAbstract The behaviour of a stratified backfilled stope in terms of strength development and stress distribution has not been well established in the field of rock engineering. Yet, the mining industries with massive ore bodies are looking into high production with a high standard of safety which is mainly governed by large excavation with backfill as a support system. It is difficult to fill these large excavations at one time. Therefore, a subsequent backfilling of the stope layer by layering is adopted, which results in a layered backfill structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the strength development, stress distribution and deformation across the stope supported by both layered and non-layered backfill. It has been observed that the backfill support system gain its strength with time, however, the layered backfill support system loses its strength when more layers are introduced, this is due to the shearing effect around the interfaces of the backfill layers. The impact of layering was validated by 3D numerical simulation. It is therefore concluded that non layered backfill support system are more suitable for stoping mining methods rather than layered support system.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51464-2 |
| spellingShingle | Nhleko Monique Chiloane Fhatuwani Sengani Francois Mulenga An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill Scientific Reports |
| title | An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| title_full | An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| title_fullStr | An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| title_full_unstemmed | An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| title_short | An experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| title_sort | experimental and numerical study of the strength development of layered cemented tailings backfill |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51464-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nhlekomoniquechiloane anexperimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill AT fhatuwanisengani anexperimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill AT francoismulenga anexperimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill AT nhlekomoniquechiloane experimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill AT fhatuwanisengani experimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill AT francoismulenga experimentalandnumericalstudyofthestrengthdevelopmentoflayeredcementedtailingsbackfill |