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Abstract:
Consolidation in centrifuge cake tailings generated from bitumen extraction was studied in experiments conducted in two phases. In phase I, 10 cm thick layers of centrifuged tailings were deposited in polypropylene columns and processed at different time steps for oedometer testing, water content profiles, and fall cone measurement. In phase II, a large-scale consolidation apparatus consisting of a 0.49m by 0.35m steel box was used with tailings deposited to a height of 0.62m. Volume change, pore-water pressure, and water contents behaviour were monitored over time. The cakes was allowed to self weight consolidate and loaded incrementally up to an effective stress of 16 kPa. Finally, the large-strain consolidation model UNSATCON was used to analyze consolidation in the large cell.