Rheological properties and concentration evolution of thickened tailings under the coupling effect of compression and shear

Cemented paste backfill(CPB)is a key technology for green mining in metal mines,in which tailings thickening comprises the primary link of CPB technology.However,difficult flocculation and substandard concentrations of thickened tailings often occur.The rheological properties and concentration evolution in the thickened tailings remain unclear.Moreover,traditional indoor thickening experiments have yet to quantitatively characterize their rheological properties.An experiment of flocculation condition optimization based on the Box-Behnken design(BBD)was performed in the study,and the two response values were investigated:concentration and the mean weighted chord length(MWCL)of flocs.Thus,optimal flocculation conditions were obtained.In addition,the rheological properties and concentration evolution of different flocculant dosages and ultrafine tailing contents under shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling experimental conditions were tested and compared.The results show that the shear yield stress under compression and compression-shear coupling increases with the growth of compressive yield stress,while the shear yield stress increases slightly under shear.The order of shear yield stress from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Under compression and compression-shear coupling,the concentration first rapidly increases with the growth of compressive yield stress and then slowly increases,while concentration increases slightly under shear.The order of concentration from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Finally,the evolution mechanism of the flocs and drainage channels during the thickening of the thickened tailings under different experimental conditions was revealed.

Numerical modeling of cracking pattern's influence on the dynamic response of thickened tailings disposals: a periodic approach

Copper production is an essential component of the Chilean economy. During the extraction process of copper, large quantities of waste materials（tailings） are produced, which are typically stored in large tailing ponds. Thickened Tailings Disposal（TTD） is an alternative to conventional tailings ponds. In TTD, a considerable amount of water is extracted from the tailings before their deposition. Once a thickened tailings layer is deposited, it loses water and it shrinks, forming a relatively regular structure of tailings blocks with vertical cracks in between, which are then filled up with ＂fresh＂ tailings once the new upper layer is deposited. The dynamic response of a representative column of this complex structure made out of tailings blocks with softer material in between was analyzed using a periodic half-space finite element model. The tailings＇ behavior was modeled using an elasto-plastic multi-yielding constitutive model, and Chilean earthquake records were used for the seismic analyses. Special attention was given to the liquefaction potential evaluation of TTD.

Effect of variations in the polar and azimuthal angles of coarse particles on the structure of drainage channels in thickened beds

The 3D reconstruction and quantitative characterization of drainage channels and coarse tailings particles in a bed were conducted in this study.The influence of variations in the azimuthal angle(θ)and polar angle(φ)of coarse particles on drainage channel structure was analyzed,and the drainage mechanism of the bed was studied.Results showed that water discharge in the bed reduced the size of pores and throat channels,increasing slurry concentration.The throat channel structure was a key component of the drainage process.Theφandθof particles changed predominantly along the length direction.The changes inφhad a cumulative plugging effect on the drainage channel and increased the difficulty of water discharge.The rake and rod formed a shear ring in the tailings bed with shear,and theθdistribution of particles changed from disorderly to orderly during the rotation process.The drainage channel was squeezed during the shearing process with the change inθ,which broke the channel structure,encouraged water discharge in the bed,and facilitated a further increase in slurry concentration.The findings of this work are expected to offer theoretical guidance for preparing high-concentration underflow in the tailings thickening process.