Calibración y aplicación de los modelos constitutivos CASM y NorSand para relaves de hierro

November 19, 2024

In the last century, several collapses of tailings dams have demonstrated the high vulnerability of these structures to static liquefaction phenomena, particularly in those constructed using the upstream method. Constitutive models founded on the critical state theory offer an appealing approach for calibrating behaviors that exhibit strain softening. This study compares the NorSand and CASM models applied to iron ore tailings, which would be subject to the static liquefaction condition. The calibrations were performed using the finite element software PLAXIS FE, based on geotechnical investigations involving laboratory tests (CID and CIU triaxial tests) and field tests (sCPTu) on the tailings. The calibration results are presented in terms of shear and axial strains, as well as the development of excess pore pressures relative to deviatoric stress and mean pressures for both constitutive models, highlighting the difference and advantage of the models for an adequate representation of the material behavior. Finally, the computational and numerical advantages and limitations of calibrating the analyzed constitutive models in boundary problem are discussed.

Castillo, M., J. Huertas and H, Ninanya. 2024.”Calibración y Aplicación de los Modelos Constitutivos CASM y NorSand para Relaves de Hierro. Calibration and Application of CASM and NorSand Constitutive Models for Iron Ore Tailings,” in Proceedings of the 17th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XVII PCSMGE), and 2nd Latin-American Regional Conference of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG), La Serena Chile, 2024.