Empress Catherine II Saint-Petersburg Mining University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

G. A. Iovlev, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, Iovlev_GA@pers.spmi.ru
A. G. Zileev, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor
D. A. Ivanov, Student
S. D. Mikhailova, Student

This study investigates cemented rock fill (CRF) mixtures as a material for backfilling of mined-out voids in underground mining. The analysis of backfill types demonstrates that mixing crushed waste rock with hydraulic or paste backfills allows expanding the particle size distribution boundaries of CRF mixtures, which leads to an increase in strength of concrete and simplifies laboratory testing. Based on this approach, a method for optimizing the particle size distribution using the Talbot curves is described, and an optimal composition corresponding to the maximum strength of the mixture under uniaxial compression is proposed. The maximum strength was achieved at a Talbot number of 0.6. A comprehensive laboratory testing program for the developed formulation was carried out, including uniaxial tension, uniaxial compression and triaxial compression tests. The test results were used to determine the Mohr–Coulomb strength parameters and the input parameters for the Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model. Multi-variant numerical modeling of a sample’s uniaxial compression test was performed using Simulia Abaqus software. The simulation results revealed a significant sensitivity of the solutions to the degree of finite element mesh discretization, indicating a limited applicability area of the CDP model for simulating non-reinforced CRF structures. The triaxial test results, particularly, the presence of a brittle–ductile failure transition and the dependence of stiffness on the stress state, show that the structure of the CRF material is porous and compressible. It is concluded that an adequate description of the mechanical behavior of CRF may require advanced constitutive models with multiple yield surfaces that account for volumetric plastic deformations.
The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 23-17-00144.

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