Mechanical Properties of Strongly Weathered Rock–Soil Mixtures with Different Rock Block Contents
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 18, Issue 5
Abstract
Although soil–rock mixtures (S-RMs) exist extensively on Earth’s surface, their mechanical behaviors remain elusive. In this study, a series of large-scale direct-shear tests was conducted to investigate the mechanical behaviors of S-RMs composed of weathered basalt with different rock block contents, including stress–strain relationship, dilatancy, particle breakage, and shear strength. The results indicate that the S-RM shows more and more pronounced strain-hardening behavior as its rock block content increases. For S-RMs with different rock block contents, there is a power law relationship between the stress ratio and the displacement-increment ratio before the peak shear strength is reached. The horizontal shear stress depends strongly on the volumetric strain of the S-RM. Namely, volume compression results in closer contacts among particles, enhancing the strength and strain-hardening behavior of the S-RM, whereas volume expansion disperses particles, reducing the strength and enhancing the strain-softening behavior. It is also shown that particle breakage can exert significant control over the mechanical properties of the S-RM. Particle breakage becomes more and more severe as the rock block content and the normal stress increase, and then it reaches a critical state. In addition, it is remarkable that the relationship between the shear strength and the normal stress follows a power law instead of a linear one.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grants 41372316, 41572295, and 51679123 and by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences through Grant 2015272. All these supports are acknowledged.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 18 • Issue 5 • May 2018
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2017
Accepted: Nov 3, 2017
Published online: Mar 12, 2018
Published in print: May 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Aug 12, 2018
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