Use of iron ore tailings and sediments on pavement structure

• Iron ore tailings is a potential alternative material for the pavement sector. • Iron ore tailings were dredge from a dam failing accident in Brazil. • Soil-cement mixtures with iron ore tailings up to 20% were studied. • The mixtures met the Brazilian standards for a base layer application. • The reuse of mining tailings in pavements could reduce the environmental impact. The reuse and recycle of mining tailings are alternatives that could reduce the environmental impact related to its destination, and, also, promote sustainable development. The incorporation of mining tailings in pavement layers, such as base, subbase, and subgrade, has the potential to reduce the consumption of natural resources and to promote a new destination to the mining tailings. This article aims to evaluate soil–cement mixtures with different proportions of soil and iron ore tailings. When evaluating the mechanical properties, the results show that soil–cement mixtures with iron ore tailings can be an excellent alternative as a pavement material. The addition of 10% and 20% of iron ore tailings showed a decline in the compression resistance, but all the mixtures met the required strength standard for a base layer application. This article also aims to evaluate the behavior of hypothetical pavement structures, using the iron ore tailings mixtures as a base layer. A fatigue test with three different asphalt mixtures was done and eight hypothetical pavement structures were simulated using the software ELSYM 5. The structures with the addition of 10% and 20% of iron ore tailings had about the same results as the structures of soil–cement with no addition of iron ore tailings. Moreover, the use of iron ore tailings in pavements layers also contributes by creating a new disposal method to the tailings, reducing the environmental impact related to the mining activity, and it possibly can reduce the costs related to the pavement construction.