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Impact of Particle Shape on Crushing Behaviour of Rock Particles Using X-ray Micro-CT Testing and DEM Modelling

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Abstract

Particle crushing is a fundamental issue in the analysis of the deformation and failure behaviour of rockfill materials. The impact of morphology on the crushing behaviour of granite particles is investigated via a series of in-situ X-ray micro-CT tests and DEM simulations. Single-particle crushing tests are performed on rock particles of three different sizes. During mechanical loading, four in-situ CT scans are performed on each grain using an innovative loading apparatus. The CT test images reveal that the shape of the particle and its heterogeneous structure are crucial factors in determining failure patterns. Additionally, various shape indexes of rock particles change progressively and tend to stabilize, while their fragments follow a fractal distribution, seemingly independent of their initial size. Based on CT images, numerical particles with realistic shapes and internal flaws are generated using a proposed numerical method. It is observed that an increase in elongation index EI or flatness index FI results in a decrease in characteristic strength \(\sigma _0\) and an increase in Weibull modulus m.

Highlights

  • A novel loading apparatus has been developed for the realization of in-situ \(\mu\)CT scans during single-particle crushing tests.

  • CT test images reveal that particle shape and its heterogeneous structure are crucial factors in determining the failure pattern of rockfill particles.

  • A new numerical method is proposed for generating particles, including both particle shape and microstructure.

  • For particle shape, increasing the elongation index and flatness index of particle results in a decrease in characteristic strength \(\sigma _0\) and an increase in Weibull modulus m.

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The data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the State Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U2040221), the Open Sharing Fund for the Large-scale Instruments of Hohai University (Nos. GX202205B; GX202204B), and the 111 Project (No. B13024). The first author gratefully acknowledges the financial support from China Scholarship Council (No. 201806710020). The CT tests were completed at the ISIS4D X-Ray CT platform, University of Lille. This platform has been funded by the International Campus on Safety and Inter-modality in Transportation (CISIT), the Hauts-de-France Region, the European Community and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Special thanks are addressed to Jérôme Hosdez for his invaluable assistance to the preparation of samples. The single-particle crushing test simulations are performed on the Mésocentre de Lille. The authors gratefully thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments as well.

Funding

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U2040221), the Open Sharing Fund for the Large-scale Instruments of Hohai University (Nos. GX202205B; GX202204B), and the 111 Project (No. B13024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, China

    Xiaolong Zhao

  2. Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, UMR 9013-LaMcube-Laboratoire de Mécanique, Multiphysique, Multi-échelle, 59000, Lille, France

    Xiaolong Zhao, Yunlong Wu, Yun Jia, Nicolas Bur & Jean-Baptiste Colliat

  3. Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering of Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Xiaolong Zhao & Jungao Zhu

  4. Univ. Lille, ULR 4515-LGCgE-Laboratory of Civil Engineering and Geo-Environment, 59000, Lille, France

    Hanbing Bian

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  1. Xiaolong Zhao
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Contributions

Xiaolong Zhao: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, writing—original draft, funding acquisition. Yunlong Wu: investigation, methodology, writing—review and editing. Yun Jia: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing. Hanbing Bian: methodology, writing—review and editing. Nicolas Bur: investigation, writing—review and editing. Jungao Zhu: writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. Jean-Baptiste Colliat: methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Yun Jia or Jungao Zhu.

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Zhao, X., Wu, Y., Jia, Y. et al. Impact of Particle Shape on Crushing Behaviour of Rock Particles Using X-ray Micro-CT Testing and DEM Modelling. Rock Mech Rock Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03916-4

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