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Minerals
Special Issues
Rheological, Mechanical and Hydration Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill
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Rheological, Mechanical and Hydration Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 742

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Baoxu Yan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Energy Engineering, Xi’an University of Science & Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: multiscale/time-dependent characteristics; failure mechanism and lifetime assessment of mine backfill and rock materials
Prof. Dr. Erol Yilmaz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Division, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Fener, Rize 53100, Turkey
Interests: mining; tailings valorization; backfill techniques; geotechnique; construction materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Abbas Taheri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chair in Mine Design, The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Interests: drilling performance; rock burst investigation; behaviour of cement paste backfill material; slope and underground opening stability; advanced laboratory and field testing methods; soil improvement methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cemented Paste Backfill (CPB) is a critical technology in sustainable mining, enabling the reuse of tailings/gauge waste to stabilize underground voids while addressing environmental and safety challenges. This special issue focuses on advancing knowledge of CPB’s rheological behavior, mechanical behavior, hydration kinetics, and long-term durability,  emphasizing optimizing component interactions (i.e., tailings/ gauge waste, binders, water) and environmental performance.  Integrating these properties is essential for designing efficient backfill systems, minimizing risks such as barricade failures, wall collapses, or heavy metal leaching.

Key Topics of Interest

  1. Rheological Properties
    1. Flow behavior, viscosity, and yield stress under varying shear conditions, including the impact of additives on consistency and pumpability.
    2. Development of constitutive models to predict CPB flow in pipelines and stopes.
  2. Mechanical Performance
    1. Strength development influenced by tailings mineralogy, binder type, and curing conditions.
    2. Stability under dynamic loads and long-term durability in corrosive environments.
  3. Hydration and Microstructural Evolution
    1. Kinetics of binder hydration, including the role of activators in accelerating C-S-H and AFt formation.
    2. Microstructural characterization using advanced techniques to link hydration products to macroscopic properties.
  4. Environmental and Geochemical Behavior
    1. Acid mine drainage mitigation and heavy metal immobilization through tailored binder formulations.
    2. Lifecycle assessment of CPB’s ecological footprint and resource efficiency.
  5. Innovations in Testing and Application
    1. Novel methods for assessing workability, such as the rebound test for in situ strength evaluation.
    2. Case studies on large-scale CPB deployment, including mixing, transportation, and placement challenges.

Dr. Baoxu Yan
Prof. Dr. Erol Yilmaz
Dr. Abbas Taheri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cemented paste backfill
  • tailings recycling
  • rheology
  • hydration kinetics
  • sustainability
  • numerical modelling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5996 KB  
Article
Yield Stress Prediction of Filling Slurry Based on Rheological Experiments and Machine Learning
by Xue Li, Kailong Qian, Rui Tian, Zhipeng Xiong, Xinke Chang and Hairui Du
Minerals 2025, 15(9), 931; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15090931 - 1 Sep 2025
Abstract
Cemented filling technology is an effective approach to solving tailings accumulation and goaf, with rheological properties serving as key indicators of slurry fluidity. Since slurry rheology is influenced by multiple factors, accurate prediction of its parameters is essential for optimizing filling design. In [...] Read more.
Cemented filling technology is an effective approach to solving tailings accumulation and goaf, with rheological properties serving as key indicators of slurry fluidity. Since slurry rheology is influenced by multiple factors, accurate prediction of its parameters is essential for optimizing filling design. In this study, we developed a model to predict static and dynamic yield stress using the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm, trained on 140 experimental samples (105 for training and 35 for validation, split 75:25). For comparison, adaptive boosting tree (ADBT), gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), and random forest (RF) algorithms were also applied. Model performance was evaluated using four metrics: coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and explained variance score (EVS). The Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) method was employed to interpret model outputs. The results show that XGBoost achieved superior predictive accuracy for slurry yield stress compared with other models. Analysis of importance revealed that underflow concentration had the strongest influence on predictions, followed by the binder-to-tailings ratio, while the fine-to-coarse tailings ratio contributed least. These findings highlight the potential of machine learning as a powerful tool for modeling the rheological parameters of filling slurry, offering valuable guidance for engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rheological, Mechanical and Hydration Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill)
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42 pages, 15245 KB  
Article
Effect of Mixing Water Temperature on the Thermal and Microstructural Evolution of Cemented Paste Backfill in Underground Mining
by Amin Safari, Cody Tennant, Aliakbar Gholampour, Jeremy Palmer and Abbas Taheri
Minerals 2025, 15(9), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15090887 - 22 Aug 2025
Viewed by 283
Abstract
Cemented paste backfill (CPB) gains strength through the hydration of the binder constituent of the CPB, where mix temperature is a key influencing factor. Both rate of strength development and ultimate strength are influenced by the overarching temperature conditions in which the binder [...] Read more.
Cemented paste backfill (CPB) gains strength through the hydration of the binder constituent of the CPB, where mix temperature is a key influencing factor. Both rate of strength development and ultimate strength are influenced by the overarching temperature conditions in which the binder hydration occurs. This study investigates the influence of mixing water temperature on the thermal behaviour, hydration kinetics, and microstructural development of CPB using a combination of thermal finite element modelling, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Five CPB mixtures were prepared, with water temperatures ranging from 5 °C to 50 °C, and tested under controlled conditions to isolate the effects of the initial thermal input. Results show that moderate mixing water temperatures (20–35 °C) optimize hydration and mechanical strength, while excessive temperatures (≥50 °C) increase the risk of thermal cracking due to generation of excessive heat. The thermal modelling results demonstrated that the highest temperatures were observed in the bottom section of the fill mass, in contact with the surrounding rock, where the combined effects of mix-generated heat and rock conduction were most pronounced. The 50 °C mix reached a peak internal temperature of 85.6 °C with a thermal gradient of 40.5 °C, while the 5 °C mix recorded a much lower peak of 55.7 °C and a gradient of 16.8 °C. These results highlight that higher mixing water temperatures accelerate early hydration reactions and significantly influence the internal thermal profile during the first 21 days of curing. Based on these findings, the design of paste plants can be improved by incorporating a heating/cooling system for the mixing water tank—firstly, to ensure the water temperature does not exceed 50 °C and secondly, to maintain water within an optimal temperature range, potentially reducing binder consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rheological, Mechanical and Hydration Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill)
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