Influence of Particle Size and Moisture on the Compression Behaviour of D-G-S

Abstract

Most studies in geotechnical engineering have focused on soil behavior under low pressures, low stress levels which are typically encountered in many geotechnical projects. But high stresses can lead to particle breakage of even the strongest soil minerals. In addition, many weak-grained soils, such as decomposed granites, carbonate sands, and volcanic ashes, are also crushable and compressible under normal working loads. Hardin stated the degree to which particles are crushed during shearing depends on many factors, such as particle-size distribution, state of effective stress and effective stress path, void ratio, particle hardness, and presence or absence of water. However, these studies have focused mainly on dry particles and the influence of water on the crushing properties of particles has not been sufficiently studied. It is important to mention that characterization of the behavior of D-G-S (decomposed granite soil) is important because this material is commonly used for construction in many engineering projects in Japan and Korea. Therefore, in this patter in order to investigate the influence of particle size and moisture on compression characteristics of D-G-S, single-particle crushing and one-dimensional compression tests were carried out on three types of D-G-S as well as on quartz-rich silica sand under both dry and wet conditions. Results showed that it can be seen that there is a relationship that the crushing strength decreases as the particle size increases. this result was clarified that the same result can be obtained not only in Silica but also in D-G-S. and the initial crushing strength of a single particle was reduced and strength variability increased due to the weakening effects induced by the presence of water. Moreover, it was observed that the one-dimensional compression behavior of decomposed granite soil was related to the initial crushing strength. Finally, the magnitude of initial crushing strength was also affected by the degree of weathering of the soil.