Consoli, Nilo C; Guedes, João PC; Carvalho, João VA; Wagner, Alexia C; Scheuermann Filho, Hugo C; Carvalho, Inácio D; Delgado, Bruno G; ... Coop, Matthew Richard; + view all Consoli, Nilo C; Guedes, João PC; Carvalho, João VA; Wagner, Alexia C; Scheuermann Filho, Hugo C; Carvalho, Inácio D; Delgado, Bruno G; de Sousa Silva, João P; Coop, Matthew Richard; - view fewer (2025) Mechanical Behavior of Artificially Cemented Iron Ore Tailings Under High Confining Pressures. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering , 43 , Article 209. 10.1007/s10706-025-03170-7.

Text Consoli et al. (2025) Accepted Version.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 31 May 2026. Download (2MB)

Abstract

In structured sands, structure arises from the combination of bonding, natural or artificial, and fabric, related to the grain arrangement. The behavior of structured sands has long been investigated, especially regarding lightly and naturally cemented soils and soft rocks, and at limited pressure ranges. However, beyond the effects at low pressures, cement may still influence the behavior after bonds’ breakage at high pressures. In the mining industry, adding cement to tailings has emerged as an alternative to constructing large tailings storage facilities or even increasing the safety of existing ones. The industrial processes tailings undergo give them higher particle angularity and surface roughness that can modify the cementing patterns and mechanical behavior of tailings-cement mixtures. This emphasizes the importance of studying the cemented and uncemented material’s response under a range of pressure and cement content, from low to very high. Therefore, this paper originally investigates the mechanical response of iron ore tailings-cement mixtures at a range of cement contents (zero, 3%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) and pressures broader than previously reported (up to 120 MPa confining stress). A series of drained triaxial tests were conducted and the shearing and compression behavior of cemented tailings were evaluated under the light of Critical State Soil Mechanics. It was observed that cement continues to influence the response long after bonding breakage without the tendency to converge to the uncemented tailings behavior. This influence is noted on the location of the normal compression line (NCL) and the critical state line (CSL) on the volumetric plane; an increasing M value and dilatancy; and expansion on the dry side of CSL in the state boundary surface (SBS) with cement content.

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