Abstract
Calcareous sand is a special geomaterial susceptible to breakage. In this study, calcareous gravelly sand (CGS) was subjected to multiple consolidated-drained triaxial shear tests under different relative densities (Dr) and effective confining pressures (\({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\)). The purpose was to investigate the effects of particle breakage on the shear characteristics of calcareous sand. According to the results, the strain-softening and dilatancy characteristics of CGS gradually weakened with increasing \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\) and decreasing Dr. Within \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\) ≤ 400 kPa, the peak-state friction angle (φp) of calcareous sand collected from the island-reefs in the South China Sea had a range of 37.8–62.9°. Moreover, φp decreased with increasing \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\) and decreasing Dr. A physical model was built to predict the secant modulus (E50) of CGS based on its Dr and \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\). Particles 1–2 mm in size had the largest breakage extent, and mainly broke into particles of 0.5–1 mm and 0.075–0.25 mm. The applicability of inverse proportional function for describing the relationship between plastic work and relative breakage ratio for CGS was validated. Neither Dr nor \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\) greatly affected their relationship. Increasing particle breakage weakened the strain-softening and dilatancy characteristics of CGS and reduced its φp but enhanced its deformation resistance. The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis for infrastructure construction on the island-reefs in the South China Sea.
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Abbreviations
- CGS:
-
Calcareous gravelly sand
- Dr :
-
Relative density
- \({\sigma }_{3}^{^{\prime}}\) :
-
Effective confining pressure (unit: kPa)
- φ p :
-
Peak-state friction angle (unit: °)
- E 50 :
-
Secant modulus at 50% of the peak-state shear strength (unit: MPa)
- PSDC:
-
Particle size distribution curve
- Br :
-
Relative breakage ratio
- α :
-
Softening coefficient
- ξ :
-
Dilatancy coefficient
- d :
-
Particle size (Unit: mm)
- d 10, d 30, d 50, and d 60 :
-
Particle size corresponding to 10%, 30%, 50%, and 60% finer in the particle size distribution curve, respectively (unit: mm)
- C u :
-
Nonuniformity coefficient
- C c :
-
Curvature coefficient
- Gs :
-
Specific gravity
- ρ d min :
-
Minimum dry density (unit: g/cm3)
- ρ d max :
-
Maximum dry density (unit: g/cm3)
- e min :
-
Minimum void ratio
- e max :
-
Maximum void ratio
- CD:
-
Consolidated-drained triaxial shear test
- v :
-
Shearing rate (Unit: mm/min)
- ε a :
-
Axial strain
- e 0 :
-
Void ratio
- ρ d :
-
Dry density (unit: g/cm3)
- η :
-
Stress ratio
- ε v :
-
Volumetric strain
- q :
-
Deviatoric stress (Unit: kPa)
- \({p}^{^{\prime}}\) :
-
Mean effective stress (Unit: kPa)
- η f :
-
Stress ratio corresponding to the peak state of CGS
- η r :
-
Stress ratio corresponding to the residual state of CGS
- a 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- b 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- Pa :
-
Standard atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa)
- a 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- b 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- ε vp :
-
Volumetric strain corresponding to the phase-transition state of CGS
- ε ap :
-
Axial strain corresponding to the phase-transition state of CGS
- ε vf :
-
Volumetric strain corresponding to the peak state of CGS
- ε af :
-
Axial strain corresponding to the peak state of CGS
- a 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- b 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- a 4 :
-
Fitting parameter
- b 4 :
-
Fitting parameter
- φ mob :
-
Friction angle (Unit: °)
- m 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- n 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- m 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- n 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- E s :
-
Secant modulus (unit: MPa)
- q p :
-
Peak-state shear strength of CGS (unit: kPa)
- c 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- d 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- c 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- d 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- c 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- d 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- e 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- ΔP :
-
The change of the mass percentage of particles
- B t :
-
Total breakage potential of the granular geomaterial
- B p :
-
Initial breakage potential of the granular geomaterial
- W p :
-
Plastic work (Unit: kPa)
- ε s :
-
Shear strain
- \({\varepsilon }_{s}^{e}\) :
-
Elastic shear strain
- p 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- p 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- p 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- p 4 :
-
Fitting parameter
- p 5 :
-
Fitting parameter
- p 6 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 1 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 2 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 3 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 4 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 5 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 6 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 7 :
-
Fitting parameter
- k 8 :
-
Fitting parameter
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Funding
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41772336, 42177151, and 41772337), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2020M682653 and 2021T140142), and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2020A1515110663).
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Highlights
• Strain-softening and dilatancy characteristics of CGS were quantitatively analyzed.
• The range of peak friction angle of calcareous sand was determined.
• Relationship among secant modulus (E50), relative density, and confining pressure was established.
• Particle breakage mechanism of CGS was revealed.
• Relationship between shear characteristics and particle breakage was discussed.
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Shen, JH., Wang, X., Cui, J. et al. Shear characteristics of calcareous gravelly sand considering particle breakage. Bull Eng Geol Environ 81, 130 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02603-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02603-4