Settling,consolidation and shear strength behaviour of coal tailings slurry

The volume change and shear strength behaviour of tailings slurry with the changes in gravimetric moisture content is important to effectively utilise the storage volume and analysis of dam failure potential.Consolidation testing of tailings from a slurry-like to soil-like state is a critical task,and conventional consolidation apparatus does not have the capability of doing such testing,as the tailings slurries contain high water content.Settling tests conducted on slurries having a 25%solids concentration showed very low efficiency;final sediment was still slurry-like.An intrinsic point was identified based on pore water pressure dissipation during consolidation tests in a slurry consolidometer that can define two states of the tailings i.e.slurry-like and soil-like.In the slurry-like state,the volume change was greater for Slurry 2 than Slurry 1,while the inverse was observed in the soil-like state.The evolution of peak vane shear strength with the changes in moisture content was almost similar for both samples and obeyed the power function.Regression models have been developed and validated to predict the shear strength of materials at any gravimetric moisture content or void ratio.

THE RESEARCH OF RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF STOWING SLURRY WITH HIGH-WATER MATERIALSOLIDIFYING TAILINGS

High-water material, tailings from goldmine and water are mixed into a new slurry.Testing of rheological properties of stowing slurries A and B is made to determine type and rheological parameters of the slurry. The main factors influencing rheological properties of the slurry are analyzed and the rational concentration and empirical resistance calculating formula of pipe line transportation are presented.

Influence of coarse tailings on flocculation settlement

The composition of tailings particles in mines plays a key role in the flocculation settlement of slurries.To study the influence of coarse particle tailings(CPTs)on the flocculation settlement of tailings slurries(TSs),static flocculent settling tests,scanning electron microscopy observations,and laser particle size analyses were conducted using the tailings obtained from a copper mine.The results demonstrate that(i)in the accelerated and free settling process,CPTs did not directly settle at the bottom of graduated cylinders;instead,they were netted by the flocculent structures(FSs)and settled together more quickly.The CPTs accelerate the rapid settlement of TSs;the acceleration effect is more obvious when the CPTs content is greater than 50 wt%.(ii)The most appropriate flocculant unit consumption(FUC)is 20 g·t-1,and no substantial increase is observed in the flocculant settling velocity with an increase in the flocculant because the effective FSs did not substantially change and thus did not lead to a notable increase in the settling velocity of the solid–liquid interface(SLI).(iii)In the effective settling space of the thickening facility,free water quickly flowed from the pores of FSs,which is reflected in the period from 0 to 1 min.

Rheological properties of tailing paste slurry

The initial shear stress and plastic cohesion ( η ) are the most important parameters reflecting the rheological properties of the paste slurry. The rheological parameters as well as the quantitative relationship among the consumption of different fill materials were obtained through the experiment and research on these parameters. They can be used to predict the scope of the values of τ and η in production for a given ratio, which can reduce the conveying resistance of fill slurry along the pipelines and avoid the blockage of the pipelines. It is found that the rheological model of the total tailing slurry belongs to the Bingham type, which has a feature of strong internal structure and large initial shear stress. The calculation formula for the resistance loss of pipelines conforms nicely to the field test and the actual production in Jinchuan Nickel Mine.