Behaviour of a sandy silt gold tailings under drained simple shear loading in a torsional shear hollow cylinder apparatus

Experimental results are presented in this technical paper to investigate the mechanisms of plane strain consolidation and drained shearing typical of below slope conditions. Five torsional shear hollow cylinder tests were conducted on a sandy silt gold tailings, where consolidation was performed under at-rest (K₀) conditions, and by applying a horizontal shear stress, while maintaining plane strain conditions. The tests were carried out under drained simple shear conditions (strain controlled) on tailings specimens prepared in loose and dense states and along a constant shear stress drained stress path (stress controlled) on a loose specimen, using an automated computer-controlled testing procedure. The evolution of static stresses in the loose and dense specimens during principal stress rotation, while maintaining plane strain conditions, were examined. These tests provide valuable insights into the behavior of tailings under plane strain conditions, contributing to the calibration of numerical models for slope analysis and more broadly for plane strain problems.