Effect of layer thickness on the flexural property and microstructure of 3D-printed rhomboid polymer-reinforced cemented tailing composites

For mines with poor ore bodies and surrounding rocks,the general mining method does not allow the ore to be extracted from underground safely and efficiently.For these mines,the downward layered filling mining technique is undoubtedly the most suitable mining method.The downward filling mining technique may eliminate the troubles relating to poor ore deposit conditions,such as production safety,ore loss rate,and depletion rate.However,in this technique,the safety of the artificial roof of the next stratum is of paramount importance.Cementitious tailings backfilling(CTB)that is not sufficiently cemented and causes collapses could threaten ore production.This paper explores a diamond-shaped composite structure to mimic the stability of a glued false roof in an actual infill mine based on the recently emerged three-dimensional(3D)printing technology.Experimental means such as three-point bending and digital image correlation(DIC)techniques were used to explore the flexural characteristics of 3D construction specimens and CTB combinations with different cement/tailings weight ratios at diverse layer heights.The results show that the 3D structure with a 14-mm ply height and CTB has strong flexural characteristics,with a maximum deflection value of 30.1 mm,while the 3D-printed rhomboid polymer(3D-PRP)structure with a 26-mm ply height is slightly worse in terms of flexural strength characteristics,but it has a higher maximum flexural strength of 2.83 MPa.A combination of 3D structure and CTB has more unique mechanical properties than CTB itself.This research work offers practical knowledge on the artificial roof performance of the downward layered filling mining technique and builds a scientific knowledge base regarding the successful application of CTB material in mines.

Microscopic Pore and Filling Performance of Coal Gangue Cementitious Paste

To obtain the influence laws of the fine gangue rate on the properties of coal gangue cementitious paste, the slump, divergence, stratification, bleeding, setting time and mechanical strength with the change of fine gangue rate were studied on the basis of keeping the amount of cementing material and slurry concentration unchanged. The porosity and the distribution of pore diameter of the filling specimen for curing 28 d were tested by a mercury injection instrument under different fine gangue rate conditions. It was shown that the slump, divergence, setting time and compressive strength of the paste firstly increased and then decreased with increasing fine gangue rate. The stratification and bleeding rate decreased with increasing fine gangue rate. The smaller the critical pore size of the paste was, the smaller the porosity was, the smaller the average pore size was. When the fine gangue rate was 40%, the maximum critical pore diameter of the paste was 55.79 μm, and the corresponding porosity was 17.54%, and the properties of filling paste were the best. When the fine gangue rate further increased, the aggregate surface area increased, and the reaction product of cementitious materials could not effectively fill the pores. It weakened the agglomeration effect. The particles surface of coal gangue was fragmental and flake deposit with irregular shape and uneven fold morphology. It was easy to be bonded with the surface of other filling material. The hydration products of coal gangue cementitious material were a large number of C-S-H gel with fibrous shape and ettringite（AFt） with compact block structure. The theoretical reference was provided for the preparation of low cost gangue cemented filling materials in coal mines.