Abstract

Microstructural and permeability changes in the compressible tailings thickening bed (CTTB) structure during the tailings thickening process are critical for preparing high-concentration filling slurry. Computer tomography (CT) is employed to obtain the pore structure of the bed at different pressures with and without shear. Based on the study of PNM and bed permeability, a new permeability model is proposed. The results indicate that the pore and throat diameters decrease with increasing bed pressure. The pore and throat diameters are smaller with rake shear compared to the situation without shear. Fluid in the CTTB structure is primarily discharged to the top of the thickening bed through the throat structure in the PNM, and the CTTB permeability decreases with increasing Tw value of the throat. The new model proposed in this study, is more accurate in predicting the CTTB permeability than the Xu and Yu, KC, and Civan models.