Study on mechanical property and energy dissipation laws of cemented gangue backfill under the influence of aggregate particle size distribution

The particle size distribution of gangue aggregates and the curing age are the key factors affecting the mechanical properties of cemented gangue backfill. To study the mechanical properties and damage evolution characteristics of backfill with different particle size distributions of aggregates at different curing ages, coal gangue was used as the aggregate and fly ash as the auxiliary cementitious material to prepare cemented backfill. The mechanical properties, microstructure and fracture evolution characteristics of backfill with different aggregate particle size distributions were studied. Based on the dissipated energy, a damage constitutive model of the backfill considering the curing age effect was established, further revealing the energy damage evolution process of the backfill. The results show that the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the backfill with different aggregate size distribution increase with the extension of curing age. The elastic modulus and peak stress of the backfill with a particle size distribution of 0-5 mm are the highest, the backfill with a particle size distribution of 0-10 mm is the second, and the backfill with a particle size distribution of 5-10 mm is the smallest. Under uniaxial compression, the backfill with the particle size distribution of 0-5 mm maintained good integrity, and the extension of curing age could restrain the expansion and penetration of failure cracks, and improve the integrity of the sample. The microstructure density of the backfill with the aggregate size distribution of 0-5 mm is the best, and the extension of curing age reduces the size and range of the void structure inside the backfill, and improves the microstructure density. The total energy, elastic strain energy and dissipative energy of the backfill with different aggregate particle size distribution increased quadratic function with the increase of curing age, and the change of aggregate particle size distribution and curing age had no effect on the energy accumulation and dissipation process in the backfill. The established damage constitutive model considering the effect of curing age can accurately reflect the stress distribution under load of the backfill, and the damage evolution of backfill can be divided into four stages: initial damage stage, damage stable stage, damage accelerated growth stage and damage failure stage.