Permeability of saturated and unsaturated iron ore fines

Abstract

Concerning on the liquefaction behavior of a type of bulk cargoes, iron ore fines (IOF), during maritime time transportation, systematic experimental and numerical programs were conducted. In this study, as an important parameter for seepage analysis, permeability of saturated and unsaturated typical IOF were evaluated in a triaxial system. As a comparison, similar tests were also conducted on a widely used laboratory material, Toyoura sand. The tests were conducted very carefully considering effects of system head loss and filter clogging issues on the hydraulic gradient applied to specimens. It was revealed that coefficient of permeability (k) of the typical IOF with compaction degree of 91-93% was about 1×10-5m/s for saturated condition (Sr=100%) and 2×10-7 m/s for Sr=84%. In addition, k of IOF-B in a full Sr range was estimated based on water retention data and k of unsaturated Toyoura sand in the past studied were summarized, which suggested that the testing system performed reasonably well.