Load–settlement behaviour of a strip footing resting on iron ore tailings as a structural fill

This study presents a laboratory investigation of load–settlement behaviour of a strip footing resting on iron ore tailings used as a structural fill. The footing was placed at various depths in the tailings bed. The relative density of the tailings was varied as Dr = 50%, 70% and 90%. An incremental load was applied on the footing while observing the settlement until the failure took place. The results obtained for tailings were compared with those for the sandy soil. It is observed that the load-bearing capacity and stiffness increase with an increase in footing embedment depth and relative density. Compared to load–settlement behaviour of Perth sandy soil, the tailings fill could have as high as 22 times and 13.5 times the load-bearing capacity and stiffness, respectively. Therefore, the replacement of sandy soil with iron ore tailings for structural fills is cost-effective, and moreover, this application contributes to environmental sustainability in construction.