Coating Effects of Nano-Sized Particles onto Sand Surfaces: Small Strain Stiffness and Contact Mode of Iron Oxide–Coated Sands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 1
Abstract
The presence of nano-sized particles on the surface of sand grains can significantly influence the mechanical, physical, and chemical behavior of the sand because of the effects of contacts between particles. This study quantified the change in small strain stiffness caused by the presence of iron oxide particles (hematite and goethite) that were chemically sorbed onto uncemented silica sand. Particularly, the change in contact mode between sand particles, caused by the presence of the nanoparticles, was studied. The iron oxide coating density of coated sands was controlled by changing the substrate sand particle size, ranging from 0.11 to 0.72 mm in diameter, with corresponding iron contents ranging from to . The presence of the iron oxide nanoparticles altered the contact mode between particles and, correspondingly, the small strain stiffness as a function of the initial relative density, applied stress, iron content, and substrate particle size. The macroscale experimental results were analyzed via contact mechanics (i.e., Hertz and Mindlin contacts) to gain a more fundamental understanding of changes that iron oxide coatings make on the behavior of sand.
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Acknowledgments
Partial funding for this work was provided by Georgia Institute of Technology. The authors thank Dr. Carlos Santamarina, Dr. David Frost, and Dr. Paul Mayne for their insightful comments throughout the course of this work. They are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the quality of this paper.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 1 • January 2015
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 15, 2013
Accepted: Aug 17, 2014
Published online: Sep 10, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
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