Static liquefaction of oil sand tailings: an experimental investigation into the effect of saturation and fines content
Abstract
The main goals of this research are to explore the influence of partial saturation and fine content on the shear response of oil sand tailings, to identify the liquefaction susceptibility under different initial states. Monotonic triaxial compression tests were carried out to understand the mechanical behavior of the saturated oil sand tailings with varying void ratios. Then the effect of fine content on the yield and critical shear strength, critical state line, and instability line was evaluated by increasing the fine content up to 50%. The experimental results revealed that the shear strength of the oil sand increases with fine content. The effect of degree of saturation on liquefaction resistance was examined based on the wave propagation theory and correlating the Skempton B with Sr. It is found that the reduction in liquefaction susceptibility by decreasing the degree of saturation is due to the increased compressibility of the pore fluid.