Estimating shear strength of high-level pillars supported with cemented backfilling using the HoekeBrown strength criterion

Deep metal mines are often mined using the high-level pillars with subsequent cementation backfilling(HLSCB)mining method.At the design stage,it is therefore important to have a reasonable method for determining the shear strength of the high-level pillars(i.e.cohesion and internal friction angle)when they are supported by cemented backfilling.In this study,a formula was derived for the upper limit of the confining pressure σ3max on a high-level pillar supported by cemented backfilling in a deep metal mine.A new method of estimating the shear strength of such pillars was then proposed based on the Hoek eBrown failure criterion.Our analysis indicates that the horizontal stress σhh acting on the cemented backfill pillar can be simplified by expressing it as a constant value.A reasonable and effective value for σ3max can then be determined.The value of s3max predicted using the proposed method is generally less than 3 MPa.Within this range,the shear strength of the high-level pillar is accurately calculated using the equivalent MohreCoulomb theory.The proposed method can effectively avoid the calculation of inaccurate shear strength values for the high-level pillars when the original HoekeBrown criterion is used in the presence of large confining pressures,i.e.the situation in which the cohesion value is too large and the friction angle is too small can effectively be avoided.The proposed method is applied to a deep metal mine in China that is being excavated using the HLSCB method.The shear strength parameters of the high-level pillars obtained using the proposed method were input in the numerical simulations.The numerical results show that the recommended level heights and sizes of the high-level pillars and rooms in the mine are rational.

Microstructural evolution and strengthening mechanism of aligned steel fiber cement-based tail backfills exposed to electromagnetic induction

Cemented tailings backfill(CTB)not only boosts mining safety and cuts surface environmental pollution but also recovers ores previously retained as pillars,thereby improving resource utilization.The use of alternative reinforcing products,such as steel fiber(SF),has continuously strengthened CTB into SFCTB.This approach prevents strength decreases over time and reinforces its long-term durability,especially when mining ore in adjacent underground stopes.In this study,various microstructure and strength tests were performed on SFCTB,considering steel fiber ratio and electromagnetic induction strength effects.Lab findings show that combining steel fibers and their distribution dominantly influences the improvement of the fill’s strength.Fill’s strength rises by fiber insertion and has an evident correlation with fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength.When magnetic induction strength is 3×10^(-4) T,peak uniaxial compressive stress reaches 5.73 MPa for a fiber ratio of 2.0vol%.The cracks’expansion mainly started from the specimen’s upper part,which steadily expanded downward by increasing the load until damage occurred.The doping of steel fiber and its directional distribution delayed crack development.When the doping of steel fiber was 2.0vol%,SFCTBs showed excellent ductility characteristics.The energy required for fills to reach destruction increases when steel-fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength increase.This study provides notional references for steel fibers as underground filling additives to enhance the fill’s durability in the course of mining operations.

An Effective Hybrid Model of ELM and Enhanced GWO for Estimating Compressive Strength of Metakaolin-Contained Cemented Materials

This research proposes a highly effective soft computing paradigm for estimating the compressive strength(CS)of metakaolin-contained cemented materials.The proposed approach is a combination of an enhanced grey wolf optimizer(EGWO)and an extreme learning machine(ELM).EGWO is an augmented form of the classic grey wolf optimizer(GWO).Compared to standard GWO,EGWO has a better hunting mechanism and produces an optimal performance.The EGWO was used to optimize the ELM structure and a hybrid model,ELM-EGWO,was built.To train and validate the proposed ELM-EGWO model,a sum of 361 experimental results featuring five influencing factors was collected.Based on sensitivity analysis,three distinct cases of influencing parameters were considered to investigate the effect of influencing factors on predictive precision.Experimental consequences show that the constructed ELM-EGWO achieved the most accurate precision in both training(RMSE=0.0959)and testing(RMSE=0.0912)phases.The outcomes of the ELM-EGWO are significantly superior to those of deep neural networks(DNN),k-nearest neighbors(KNN),long short-term memory(LSTM),and other hybrid ELMs constructed with GWO,particle swarm optimization(PSO),harris hawks optimization(HHO),salp swarm algorithm(SSA),marine predators algorithm(MPA),and colony predation algorithm(CPA).The overall results demonstrate that the newly suggested ELM-EGWO has the potential to estimate the CS of metakaolin-contained cemented materials with a high degree of precision and robustness.

Effect of chloride salt concentration on unconfined compression strength of cement-treated Lianyungang soft marine clay

This study aims to quantify the influence of the amount of cement and chloride salt on the unconfined compression strength （UCS） of Lianyungang marine clay. The clays with various sodium chloride salt concentrations were prepared artificially and stabilized by ordinary Portland cement with various contents. A series of UCS tests of cement stabilized clay specimen after 28 d curing were carried out. The results indicate that the increase of salt concentration results in the decrease in the UCS of cement-treated soil. The negative effect of salt concentration on the strength of cement stabilized clay directly relates to the cement content and salt concentration. The porosity-salt concentration/cement content ratio is a fundamental parameter for assessing the UCS of cement-treated salt-rich clay. An empirical prediction model of UCS is also proposed to take into account the effect of salt concentration. The findings of this study can be referenced for the stabilization improvement of chloride slat- rich soft clay.

Research and Development of Cemented Carbide Multifacet Drill for Drilling High Strength Steel

Aim To research on a solid cemented carbide multi facet drill for drilling high strength steel. Methods Assimilating some features of multi facet drill edge structures, through systematic drilling experiments, a new type of solid cemented carbide drill was developed and the drill geometry was optimized. Results With the new type drill,the drilling force decreases by 10%-20%, the drilling productivity (drilled holes per hour) increases by 2-3 times, and the drilling precision and surface finish increase by one level. Conclusion The new type drill possesses excellent drilling performance.

Effect of Self-adhesive Resin Cement and Tribochemical Treatment on Bond Strength to Zirconia

Aim To evaluate the interactive effects of different self- adhesive resin cements and tribochemical treatment on bond strength to zirconia. Methodology The following self-adhesive resin cements for bonding two zirconia blocks were evaluated： Maxcem （MA）, Smartcem （SM）, Rely X Unicem Aplicap （UN）, Breeze （BR）, Biscem （BI）, Set （SE）, and Clearfil SA luting （CL）. The specimens were grouped according to conditioning as follows： Group 1, polishing with 600 grit polishing paper; Group 2, silica coating with 110 μm Al2O3 particles which modified with silica; and, Group 3, tribochemical treatment - silica coating ＋ silanization. Specimens were stored in distilled water at 37℃ for 24 hours before testing shear bond strength. Results Silica coating and tribochemical treatment significantly increased the bond strength of the MA, UN, BR, B1, SE and CL to zirconia compared to #600 polishing. For both #600 polished and silica coating treatments, MDP- containing self-adhesive resin cement CL had the highest bond strengths to zirconia. Conclusion Applying silica coating and tribochemical treatment improved the bond strength of self-adhesive resin cement to zirconia, especially for CL.

Effect of Coal Gangue with Different Kaolin Contents on Compressive Strength and Pore Size of Blended Cement Paste

The effects of activated coal gangue on compressive strength, porosity and pore size distribution of hardened cement pastes were investigated. Activated coal gangue with two different kaolin contents, one higher and one lower, were used to partially replace Portland cement at 0%, 10%, and 30% by weight. The water to binder ratio（w/b） of 0.5 was used for all the blended cement paste mixes. Experimental results indicate that the blended cement of activated coal gangue mortar with higher kaolin mineral content has a higher compressive strength than that with lower kaolin mineral content. The porosity and pore size of blended cement mortar were significantly affected by the replacement of activated coal gangue.

Key parameters controlling electrical resistivity and strength of cement treated soils

The improvement of question soils with cement shows great technical, economic and environmental advantages. And interest in introducing electrical resistivity measurement to assess the quality of cement treated soils has increased markedly recently due to its economical, non-destructive, and relatively non-invasive advantages. This work aims to quantify the effect of cement content （aw）, porosity （nt）, and curing time（T） on the electrical resistivity （p） and unconfined compression strength （UCS） of cement treated soil. A series of electrical resistivity tests and UCS tests of cement treated soil specimen after various curing periods were carried out. A modified Archie empirical law was proposed taking into account the effect of cement content and curing period on the electrical resistivity of cement treated soil. The results show that nt/（aw·T） and nt/（aw·T^1/2） ratio are appropriate parameters to assess electrical resistivity and UCS of cement treated soil, respectively. Finally, the relationship between UCS and electrical resistivity was also established.

Strength Development and Microstructure of Hardened Cement Paste Blended with Red Mud

Red mud was activated to be a mineral admixture for Portland cement by means of heating at different elevated temperatures from 400 ℃ to 700 ℃ . Results show that heating was ef-fective, among which thermal activation of red mud at 600 ℃ was most effective. Chemical analysis suggested that cement added with 600 ℃ thermally activated red mud yielded more calcium ion dur-ing the early stage of hydration and less at later stage in liquid phase of cement water suspension sys-tem, more combined water and less calcium hydroxide in its hardened cement paste. MIP measure-ment and SEM observation proved that the hardened cement paste had a similar total porosity and a less portion of large size pores hence a denser microstructure compared with that added with original red mud.

Strength and deformation behaviors of cemented tailings backfill under triaxial compression

It is of great significance for safety reason to obtain the triaxial compressive properties of cemented tailings backfill(CTB).The influence of cement content,curing age and confining pressure on strength and deformation properties of CTB was examined and discussed.Results indicate that the triaxial compressive and deformation behavior of CTB is strongly affected by the cement content,curing age and confining pressure.The increase in cement content,curing age and confining pressure leads to a change in stress−strain behavior and an increase in the axial strain at failure and post-peak strength loss.The cohesion of CTB rises as the curing age and cement content increase.However,the enhancement in internal friction angle is trivial and negligible.It should be noted that the failure pattern of CTB samples in triaxial compression is mainly along a shear plane,the confining pressure restrains the lateral expansion and the bulging failure pattern is dominantly detected in CTB samples as curing age length and cement content increase.The results will help to better understand the triaxial mechanical and deformation behavior of CTB.

The Early Strength of Slag Cements with Addition of Hydrate Microcrystals

The effect of hydrate microcrystals such as calcium silicate hydrates ( CSH) and ettringite on the early strength of slag cements was studied. The authors explored the possibility of improving the early strength of the slag cement by applying crystal seed technology. It is shown that slag crystal seeds make the early strength of the cement increased due to the action of hydrate crystal seeds , which speed up the hydration of clinker minerals in the nucleation of ettringite. Therefore, the early strength of the slag cement is obviously improved.

Ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite complex microstructure

The ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of a novel high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite （CFB/M） complex microstructure was studied. The ultra-high cycle fatigue properties were measured by ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment at a frequency of 20 kHz. It is found that there is no horizontal part in the S-N curve and fatigue fracture occurs when the life of specimens exceeds 10^7 cycles. In addition, the origination of fatigue cracks tends to transfer from the surface to interior of specimens as the fatigue cycle exceeds 10^7, and the fatigue crack originations of many specimens are not induced by inclusions, but by some kind of ＂soft structure＂. It is shown that the studied high strength steel performs good ultra-high cycle fatigue properties. The ultra-high fatigue mechanism was discussed and it is suggested that specific CFB/M complex microstructure of the studied steel contributes to its superior properties.

Effects of Curing Temperature on Rheological Behaviour and Compressive Strength of Cement Containing GGBFS

The viscoplasticity and compressive strength of cement with high erosion performance were studied. The influences of curing temperature and content of ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBFS) on these performances of the medium heat cement(including high iron and low calcium phase) were also investigated. The results indicate that the medium heat cement with high iron phase can maintain better fluidity and low temperature sensitivity than that of ordinary Portland cement at high temperature. GGBFS can play an important role in improving the fluidity and stability of the slurry, and avoid the cement setting and hardening prematurely at high temperatures. The microstructure analysis shows that a large amount of CH with layer shape appear in the slurry. The amount of this gel layer in the slurry increased as the curing temperature elevated. The layer can make the cement stone structure more denser, so that the compressive strength of samples are enhanced in the later stage. When the medium heat cement contains 40% GGBFS, the system has the best flow performance and stability under high temperature environment, and can be applied to mass concrete with excessive internal temperature.

SCC evaluation of ultra-high strength steel in acidic chloride solution

The stress corrosion crack （SCC） susceptibility of ultra-high strength steel AerMet 100 was investigated by slow strain rate technique （SSRT）, tensile with polarization and surface analysis technique. The curves of tf^Cl/tf^W -strain rate are divided into three regions： stress-dominated region, SCC-dominated region, and corrosion-dominated region, so as the curves of εf^Cl/εf^W - strain rate and tm/tf-strain rate. The results of tensile tests with polarization show that the main SCC mechanism of AerMet 100 is anodic dissolution, which controls the corrosion process. The three regions have been discussed according to the relationship between the rate of slip-step formation and the rate of dissolution. Fracture appearances in different environments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. SCC fracture appears as a mixture of intergranular and dimples, while it is totally dimples in the inert environment. The εf becomes the parameter to predict tf because the relationship between εf^Cl/εf^W and tf^Cl/tf^w is a straight line for AerMet 100.

High strain rate compressive strength behavior of cemented paste backfill using split Hopkinson pressure bar

The stability of cemented paste backfill(CPB)is threatened by dynamic disturbance,but the conventional low strain rate laboratory pressure test has difficulty achieving this research purpose.Therefore,a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)was utilized to investigate the high strain rate compressive behavior of CPB with dynamic loads of 0.4,0.8,and 1.2 MPa.And the failure modes were determined by macro and micro analysis.CPB with different cement-to-tailings ratios,solid mass concentrations,and curing ages was prepared to conduct the SHPB test.The results showed that increasing the cement content,tailings content,and curing age can improve the dynamic compressive strength and elastic modulus.Under an impact load,a higher strain rate can lead to larger increasing times of the dynamic compressive strength when compared with static loading.And the dynamic compressive strength of CPB has an exponential correlation with the strain rate.The macroscopic failure modes indicated that CPB is more seriously damaged under dynamic loading.The local damage was enhanced,and fine cracks were formed in the interior of the CPB.This is because the CPB cannot dissipate the energy of the high strain rate stress wave in a short loading period.

Manifestations in Corrosion Prophase of Ultra-high Strength Steel 30CrMnSiNi2 A in Sodium Chloride Solutions

The corrosion behaviors of ultra-high strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A in sodium chloride solution were studied by weight loss and electrochemical methods. The morphology of corrosion products was observed using scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and the composition was analyzed using an energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS） and X-Ray diffraction （XRD）. The experimental results showed that the corrosion came from pitting corrosion and the rust layer was composed of outer rust layer γ-FeOOH and inner rust layer Fe_2O_3 with a little β-FeOOH. The correlation between corrosion rate and test time accorded with exponential rule. The corrosion current measured by polarization methods was higher than that calculated by weight loss method after a long-time immersion, the main reason was that,β-FeOOH and γ-Fe_2O_3 transformed by γ-FeOOH led to overestimating corrosion rate. The processes of corrosion prophase were obtained from XRD and EIS results. The corrosion product, Fe（OH）_2 formed at the initial stage stayed at a non-steady state and then consequently transferred to γ-FeOOH, γ-Fe_2O_3 or β-FeOOH.

Design of Eco-friendly Ultra-high Performance Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious Materials and Coarse Aggregate

Aiming to investigate the mix design of eco-friendly UHPC with supplementary cementitious materials and coarser aggregates, we comprehensively studied the workability, microstructure, porosity, compressive strength, flexural strength, and Young’s modulus of UHPC. Relationship between compressive strength and Young’s modulus was obtained eventually. It is found that the compressive strength, flexural strength, and Young’s modulus of UHPC increase by 19.01%, 10.81%, and 5.99%, respectively, when 40 wt% cement is replaced with supplementary cementitious materials. The relationship between compressive strength and Young’s modulus of UHPC is an exponential form.

Mechanical property and corrosion behavior of aged Cu-20Ni-20Mn alloy with ultra-high strength

The ultra-high strength Cu-20Ni-20 Mn alloy was prepared by vacuum melting and its mechanical property and corrosion behavior were investigated. After thermomechanical treatment, the alloy exhibited an ultra-high tensile strength of 1204 MPa and the applicable elongation of up to 6.2%. With the increasing exposure time in 3.5% Na Cl solution, the corrosion current of the alloy decreased, while the polarization resistance and the charge-transfer resistance of the corrosion surface increased. The corrosion products formed on the surface of the alloy exposed for 1 d, and further corrosion made the corrosion product layer much dense, increasing the corrosion resistance and protecting the alloy from further corrosion.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Aer Met 100 Ultra-high Strength Steel Joints by Laser Welding

AerMet100 ultra-high strength steel plates with a thickness of 2 mm were welded using a COz laser welding system. The influences of the welding process parameters on the morphology and microstructure of the welding joints were investigated, and the mechanical property of the welding joints was analyzed. The experimental results showed that the fusion zone of welding joint mainly consisted of columnar grains and a fine dendrite substructure grew epitaxially from the matrix. With the other conditions remaining unchanged, a finer weld microstructure was along with the scanning speed increase. The solidification microstructure gradually transformed from cellular crystal into dendrite crystal and the spaces of dendrite secondary arms rose from the fusion line to the center of the fusion zone. In the fusion zone of the weld, the rapid cooling caused the formation of martensite, which led the microhardness of the fusion zone higher than that of the matrix and the heat affected zone. The tensile strength of the welding joints was tested as 1 700 MPa, which was about 87% of the matrix. However, the tensile strength of the welding joints without defects existed was tested as 1832 MPa, which was about 94% of the matrix.

Long-term Antibacterial Properties and Bond Strength of Experimental Nano Silver-containing Orthodontic Cements

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long time antibacterial properties and shear bond strength of experimental nano silver-containing cements （NSC）. Nano silver base inorganic antibacterial powder was added to the reinforced glass ionomer cement at five different weight ratios to obtain a series of nano silver-containing cements, then the antibacterial properties of three orthodontic cement products and five NSC samples were evaluated by the direct contact test （DCT） and the agar diffusion test （ADT）. The DCT, which was based on turbidness determination of bacterial growth in 96-well microtiter plates, was performed in both fresh and aged for 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks tested materials. The shear bond strengthes of three orthodontic cement products and five NSC samples were examined using a universal testing machine. The ADT results indicated that there were no significant differences between NSCs and ORTHO LC fresh specimens. In the DCT experiment, all fresh silver nanoparticles-containing tested samples presented powerful antibacterial properties, but they gradually lost the effective antimicrobial agents with the extension of aging time. Finally, none of the tested materials maintained its antibacterial property after aging for 8 weeks. A gradually decreasing trend of bond strength presented with the increasing incorporation of nano silver base inorganic antibacterial powder into the glass ionomer cement, even though all the tested material specimens reached the ideal bond strength range. We may conclude that NSCs can contribute to decrease the demineralization rate around brackets without compromising bond strength.