Production of Ceramic from Sulfidic Mine Tailings and Investigation of Fracture Toughness under Mode I Loading

Shabani F.; Asadizadeh M.; Hedayat A.; Tunstall L.; Gorman B.P.; Neira T.M.; González V.J.A.; Alvarado V.J.W. · 57th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium (2023) · DOI: 10.56952/arma-2023-0842

Resumen

Mine tailings (MTs) are the waste of mining operations after the valuable metals have been extracted. Given the significant quantities produced globally, the deposition of MTs causes problems including occupation of large areas of land and environmental contamination by toxic leachates. The production of sustainable construction materials from MTs is an environmentally friendly solution to reduce the consumption of natural resources and decrease their adverse impacts on the environment. This study investigates the feasibility of using sulfidic MTs in the production of ceramics. A targeted physical, mineralogical, and chemical characterization of the tailings resulted in the development of a production process that involved grinding the raw tailings, mixing with binders, pressing circular specimens, and then sintering. The properties of sintered ceramics, including crystalline phase, density, water absorption, and compressive strength, were investigated. The mode I fracture toughness of the ceramics was assessed by subjecting a notched semi-circular bending (NSCB) specimen to three-point bending loading. The full-field strains on the surface of the specimens were measured using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique, and as a result mode I fracture toughness of ceramics and crack propagation from the existing notch were successfully evaluated.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo