Effects of dry density on shear behavior and particle breakage for slate rockfill material

Abstract

Dry density is known to be one of the primary factors affecting the behavior of granular materials. This study investigates dry density effects on shear behavior and particle breakage for rockfill materials. To achieve this, we conducted large-scale consolidated drained tests followed by sieve analysis for slate rockfill. Our results demonstrate that the stress–strain characteristics of the slate investigated depend on both dry density and confining pressure. Based on our observation of non-linear shear strength envelopes, we propose a failure criterion incorporating the effects of dry density to describe shear resistance. Our results also demonstrate that the peak friction angle increases with increasing dry density but decreases with increasing confining pressure. Moreover, the secant modulus depends on both dry density and confining pressure and is closely related to the void ratio after consolidation. Finally, our sieve analysis data indicate that dry density has a minor effect on particle breakage for this slate material.