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Attrition Kinetics of the Los-Angeles-Test

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Abstract

The Los Angeles test is a widely used standard method for quality control of railway ballast. It is commonly believed that there is an inversely proportional relationship between the test result LARB and the resistance to fragmentation. This implies that the fines are generated by fragmentation only. In this study, an extensive test series with four rock types and an in-depth analysis of particle geometry and petrography are carried out using advanced imaging techniques. The amount of fragmentation, rounding and abrasion contributing to the test result is estimated. The test shows approximately 3–5% (Mass-%) of fines not caused by fragmentation, but by rounding and abrasion, regardless of the magnitude of the LA-value itself. An analysis of particle size distributions after the test shows that the fines proportion can in some cases be a misleading metric.

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Data availability

Raw data available on request from the authors—contact h.bach@ikk.at.

Abbreviations

LARB [%]:

Fraction of particles with d < 1.6 mm, test result of LA-Test (= md1.6)

L:

Length of a particle

I:

Breadth of a particle

S:

Thickness of a particle

ER [-]:

Elongation ratio I/L

FR [-]:

Flatness ratio S/I

PropA [%]:

Proportion of angles acc. to Lee et al. (2007), an index for angularity

PropA50,A [-]:

Mean PropA for a given sample–post LA-test

PropA50,P [-]:

Mean PropA for a given sample–prior to LA-test

md31.5,A [g]:

Post LA-test-fraction of particles with d > 31.5 mm

mp [g]:

Mass of LA-test sample prior to test (10 kg)

md31.5 [%]:

Post LA-test-fraction of particles with d > 31.5 mm

md1.6 [%]:

Post LA-test-fraction of particles with d < 1.6 mm (= LARB)

md1.6,rounding [%]:

Post LA-test-fraction of particles with d < 1.6 mm created by rounding

md1.6,frag [%]:

Post LA-test-fraction of particles with d < 1.6 mm created by fragmentation

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the ÖBB Infrastruktur AG for providing the samples, and the ÖBB Stab Forschung und Entwicklung for financing the measurement device Petroscope 4D.

Funding

ÖBB Infrastruktur AG, Vienna, Austria—provided the samples. ÖBB Stab Forschung und Entwicklung, Vienna, Austria—financed the measurement device Petroscope 4D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IKK Engineering GmbH, Reininghausstr. 78, 8020, Graz, Austria

    Holger Bach

  2. Institute of Applied Geosciences, Technische Universität Graz, Rechbauerstr. 12, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Christine Latal

Authors
  1. Holger Bach
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  2. Christine Latal
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Dr. CL—Ch. 3; Dr. HB—Ch. 1–2, 4–6.

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Correspondence to Holger Bach.

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Bach, H., Latal, C. Attrition Kinetics of the Los-Angeles-Test. Geotech Geol Eng 41, 597–609 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-022-02271-x

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