Author:
Chiloane Nhleko Monique,Sengani Fhatuwani,Mulenga Francois
Abstract
AbstractThe behaviour of a stratified backfilled stope in terms of strength development and stress distribution has not been well established in the field of rock engineering. Yet, the mining industries with massive ore bodies are looking into high production with a high standard of safety which is mainly governed by large excavation with backfill as a support system. It is difficult to fill these large excavations at one time. Therefore, a subsequent backfilling of the stope layer by layering is adopted, which results in a layered backfill structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the strength development, stress distribution and deformation across the stope supported by both layered and non-layered backfill. It has been observed that the backfill support system gain its strength with time, however, the layered backfill support system loses its strength when more layers are introduced, this is due to the shearing effect around the interfaces of the backfill layers. The impact of layering was validated by 3D numerical simulation. It is therefore concluded that non layered backfill support system are more suitable for stoping mining methods rather than layered support system.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference69 articles.
1. Chen, X. et al. Effect of overflow tailings properties on cemented paste backfill. J. Environ. Manag. 235, 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.01.040 (2019).
2. Suazo, G. & Villavicencio, G. Numerical simulation of the blast response of cemented paste backfilled stopes. Comput. Geotech 100, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.04.007 (2018).
3. Zhou, X. et al. Experimental investigation and mathematical strength model study on the mechanical properties of cemented paste backfill. Constr. Build. Mater. 226, 524–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.148 (2019).
4. Chiloane, N. M. & Mulenga, F. K. Revisiting factors contributing to the strength of cemented backfill support system: A review. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 15(12), 1615–1624 (2022).
5. Fall, M., Benzaazoua, M. & Saa, E. G. Mix proportioning of underground cemented tailings backfill. Tunn. Undergr. Space Technol. 23(1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2006.08.005 (2008).