Uniqueness of the normal consolidation line for gold tailings

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dc.contributor.author Narainsamy, Yashay
dc.contributor.author Jacobsz, Schalk
dc.contributor.author Murison, Ruan A.
dc.contributor.author Vermeulen, Nicolaas Johannes
dc.date.accessioned 2024-07-24T07:12:21Z
dc.date.issued 2023-11
dc.description.abstract Depending on the stress state, mine tailings are generally accepted to be susceptible to static liquefaction. A common method to assess the in situ stress state of tailings in relation to static liquefaction susceptibility involves the use of the state parameter. Because most tailings materials are normally consolidated (NC), this type of assessment requires knowledge about the normal consolidation line (NCL). It has been shown experimentally that the uniqueness of the NCL is vastly different for fine-grained and coarse-grained soils, with clays usually exhibiting a unique NCL and clean sands exhibiting an infinite number of parallel NCLs. Gold tailings, a sandy silt, fall between clays and clean sands, and there are limited experimental data regarding their compression behavior over a range of initial void ratios. This lack of data results in inconsistent interpretation of the uniqueness of the NCL for gold tailings in the industry. This can influence the results of designs and safety evaluations of tailings dams. In this study, a number of oedometer tests were conducted on gold tailings sourced from an active tailings dam in South Africa. Several specimens were prepared at various initial densities and were consolidated in small increments to a high effective stress. The oedometer tests were supplemented with triaxial compression tests, from which a unique critical state line was identified. Across the oedometer and triaxial tests, it was found that the behavior of the NC and overconsolidated samples was consistent with that typically observed for fine-grained soils. Therefore, for practical purposes, it appears that the gold tailings tested can be viewed in a framework with a unique NCL. No significant influence of particle crushing was noted. en_US
dc.description.department Civil Engineering en_US
dc.description.embargo 2024-10-06
dc.description.librarian am2024 en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure en_US
dc.description.sponsorship The South African National Research Foundation. en_US
dc.description.uri https://www.astm.org/products-services/standards-and-publications/geotechnical-testing-journal.html en_US
dc.identifier.citation Y. Narainsamy, S. W. Jacobsz, R. A. Murison, and N. J. Vermeulen, “Uniqueness of the Normal Consolidation Line for Gold Tailings,” Geotechnical Testing Journal 46, no. 6 (November/ December 2023): 1046–1065. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20230325. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0149-6115 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1945-7545 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1520/GTJ20230325
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97198
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher ASTM International en_US
dc.rights © 2023 by ASTM International. en_US
dc.subject Gold tailings en_US
dc.subject Normal consolidation line en_US
dc.subject Oedometer testing en_US
dc.subject Critical state soil mechanics en_US
dc.subject Wettinginduced collapse en_US
dc.subject Wetting-induced collapse en_US
dc.subject SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure en_US
dc.title Uniqueness of the normal consolidation line for gold tailings en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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