Attrition and particle breakage under monotonic and cyclic loading

Abstract

The morphological evolution of gravel grains under monotonic and cyclic loading, typically present in road structures, is presented. Two types of mineralogy are considered: a limestone and a sandstone. Loading in uniaxial strain conditions are applied, with a maximum mean pressure of 5 MPa and a maximum number of cycles of 250 000. Variations in grain size distribution and grain shape, measured with image analysis techniques, are discussed in detail. In the case of uniform grain size distribution, particle breakage does appear for stresses around 500 kPa for the limestone grains and 100 kPa for the sandstone grains. For well-graded materials under low cyclic pressures (<1 MPa), changes in grain size distribution can hardly be detected. To cite this article: F. Mayoraz et al., C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).