Mechanical Behavior of Waste Tire Steel Fiber-Modified Mine-Cemented Backfilling Materials: Early Strength, Toughness, and Failure Mode

Cemented gangue backfill bodies (CGBBs) are characterized by high brittleness and poor toughness in backfill mining technology. According to different types of waste tires corresponding to different processing and crushing means, waste tire steel fiber (WTSF) was divided into S-WTSF, P-WTSF, and H-WTSF. The influence of CGBBs with different types and amounts of WTSF on the early mechanical properties of the modified samples was studied. Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests on the modified CGBB samples were carried out. The results show that as the WTSF content increased from 0% to 1.5%, the UCS of CGBB samples modified with S-WTSF, P-WTSF, and H-WTSF at a curing time of 3 d first increased and then decreased; the turning point for S-WTSF and P-WTSF was 1%, and the turning point for H-WTSF was 0.5%, whereas the UCS of these modified CGBB samples at a curing time of 7 d decreased continuously with the increasing addition of WTSF content. The addition of WTSF made CGBB samples change from brittleness to ductility. With the increasing content of S-WTSF and P-WTSF, the toughness of the modified CGBB samples at a curing time of 3 d first increased and then decreased (the turning point was 1%), and that at the curing time of 7 d continued to increase. The toughness of CGBB modified with H-WTSF first increased and then decreased (the turning point was 0.5%) with the increase of the H-WTSF content. The toughness enhancement mechanism of CGBB modified by WTSF can be illustrated from a microscopic perspective as follows: WTSF is wrapped by hydration products, and the inlaying and bridging effects of WTSF are formed in the CGBB matrix. This research provides a basis for the improvement of mechanical properties of CGBB modified by WTSF and a new method for the reuse of discarded tires.