Experimental study on the effect of particle breakage on the shear characteristics of large-displacement soil exposed to heat treatment

Abstract

Ring shear tests were performed in this study to investigate the large-displacement shear characteristics of quartz sand samples subjected to different degrees of volume effect and high temperature. The influencing principles of normal stress, temperature, and particle breakage on the large-displacement shear characteristics of the specimens were obtained. The influencing mechanism was further elucidated with reference to a previous study. On the basis of an analysis of the similarities and differences between the large-displacement shear behavior of samples before and after exposure to a temperature of 800 °C, we believe that samples impacted by temperature, particle breakage, and normal stress exhibit strain softening under large-displacement shear behavior that has an upper limit of approximately 600 kPa after heat treatment. Meanwhile, the high temperature affects the shear characteristics of the basal facies of a landslide by influencing the rock and soil breakage. The difference in the interlocking forces caused by the particle shape and breakage and the resulting fluctuation of the shear stress are further discussed.