Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-22-2026

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Abstract

The mechanical performance of mining-derived granular materials is increasingly important for their reuse in geotechnical and transportation infrastructure, including the stability of tailings dams, yet their micromechanical crushing and frictional behaviors remains poorly understood. This study investigates single-particle uniaxial strength, failure mechanisms, and inter-particle loading behavior of copper tailings (CT) and an iron-sulfide-rich Ni–Cu-bearing material (FB), alongside a monomineralic quartz sand reference. Single-particle crushing tests at multiple loading rates were used to quantify strength distributions and failure mode frequencies, revealing that splitting governed most failures, particularly for FB, whereas quartz exhibited a broader spectrum of failure modes, including explosive and mixed types. Quartz sand showed the highest characteristic strengths (19–24 MPa), CT displayed intermediate strengths (17–22 MPa), and FB remained the weakest (7-13 MPa) and most variable, reflected in its lower Weibull modulus and the wide distribution of flaws arising from internal mineral boundaries and micro‑fissures. Hertzian fitting of the inter-particle normal force–displacement response using geometric mean local radii from orthogonal profiles yielded apparent Young’s moduli of 42–75 GPa, 22–65 GPa, and 17–29 GPa for quartz, CT, and FB, respectively. The relatively low apparent stiffness of FB further highlights its heterogeneous microstructure and rough surface morphology. Inter-particle loading tests were conducted over a normal force range of 1–10 N, corresponding to vertical stresses of 0.04–1.1 MPa, a range representative of in-situ vertical stress conditions encountered in tailings dam storage facilities. The average inter-particle friction coefficients were 0.33 for quartz, 0.54 for CT, and 0.46 for FB. The grain-scale micromechanical data obtained in this study provide critical insight into the strength and deformation behavior of mining-derived granular materials and supply essential contact parameters for discrete element method simulations of their macro-scale response.

Publisher's Statement

© The Author(s) 2026. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-026-01658-4

Publication Title

Granular Matter

Version

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