Ultrasonic Interrogation of Oil Sands Tailings during Sedimentation

Ultrasonic pulse velocity method is widely used to evaluate the quality of concrete. However, it has never been used to evaluate properties of oil sand tailings, which have poor consolidation properties, leading to continuous accumulation of tailings ponds, affecting the process of reclamation. The objective of this paper is to assess whether the UPV method can be an on-site measurement application in the oil sand tailings to make a rapid evaluation of tailings' properties over time. Equipment is calibrated, verified, and used to capture P-waves and S-waves when the waves interact with the column filled with flocculated fluid fine tailings. To increase reliability of the UPV test, special "holders" were designed to improve stabilization of transducers. Inferred wave velocities and changes in wave attenuation determined from p-wave data showed correlations with expected changes in density in the column; data using s-wave or p-wave-s-wave combinations did not show useful trends.