Deformation characteristics and creep behaviour of rigid particulates-EPS beads composites

Abstract

The compression behaviour of the mixture of glass beads (representing rigid particles) and EPS beads (representing deformable particles) during the loading-unloading process is systematically examined through performing two sets of large-size oedometer experiments, including incremental step-by-step and one-step loading scenarios. At each step during the loading-unloading cycle, the void ratio (e) and the at-rest coefficient of lateral earth pressure (K0) are measured for pure rigid samples and rigid-soft particle mixtures. To consider the creep effect, the overburden pressure at the final loading step is maintained on the sample for 24 h prior to unloading. The results show that at a given overburden pressure, with the addition of soft particles to the pure rigid aggregates, the values of e and K0 decrease. Additionally, for both pure rigid samples and rigid-soft particle mixtures, with increasing the overburden pressure, e decreases whereas K0 augments. Moreover, due to the creep behaviour during the constant loading step, K0 decreases over time for both samples; a phenomenon which is observed to be more pronounced for pure rigid aggregates compared to rigid-soft particle mixtures. Finally, a well-established creep model is used to simulate the creep behaviour of pure rigid samples and rigid-soft particle composites.