Research on the influence of environmental loads on the rheological properties of laterite nickel ore during liquefaction

Abstract

Liquefaction is one of the main causes of catastrophic accidents during sea transport of liquefiable cargo. Complex rheological processes are often required when liquefying liquefiable cargo. In order to study the rheological properties of the liquefaction process, Cyclic Triaxial Test was used to study the liquefaction process of laterite nickel ore under different consolidation pressures and dynamic loads. The rheological properties during the liquefaction process were quantitatively analyzed based on the apparent viscosity η_ap. Subsequently, the liquefaction process was quantitatively described using rheological characteristic parameters and phase transition points (N_s, N_l) were defined to divide different stages. The phase transition mechanism was combined with the shear stress-shear strain rate curve, and the effects of initial effective consolidation pressure σ′₀, axial dynamic load σ_d, and number of cycles N on the rheological characteristics of laterite nickel ore were further analyzed. Finally, an explicit expression of η_ap during liquefaction was obtained by an intelligent algorithm, which could be a data basis for subsequent risk research of liquefiable cargo during sea transport. This study provides a method for quantitative analysis of load and rheological properties of liquefiable cargo.