Data Compilation from Large Drained Compression Triaxial Tests on Coarse Crushable Rockfill Materials
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 9
Abstract
Investigating the mechanical properties of rockfills requires laborious, time-consuming, and expensive large-scale testing. Therefore, practitioners frequently adopt design parameters based on a limited number of reports with experimental results. With the aim of enlarging and consolidating the database on the mechanical behavior of coarse rockfills, this paper compiles 158 drained triaxial compression tests conducted on 33 different materials, performed on samples in diameter and having a maximum particle size between 100 and 200 mm. Data are analyzed in terms of particle breakage, shear strength, and stiffness. The results are compared with limits for high and low shear strength previously reported. At confining pressures lower than 0.2 MPa, rockfills consistently have a maximum internal friction angle higher than 45°; at high pressure, this value decreases to a range between 30° and 40°, mainly due to degradation caused by particle breakage. Average secant Young’s moduli for all uniform and well-graded rockfills analyzed are in the typical range for loose sands, characterized by a normalized secant modulus of 100 to 200.
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Data Availability Statement
Compiled and new data on rockfill materials supporting this paper are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3625778.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (Australia), Conseil Général du Gard (France), and Ecole Centrale of Lyon (leader of French ANR PEDRA project) for permission to publish the results of testing on rockfill materials. The first author acknowledges the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) [funding reference number RGPIN-2019-06118]. The second author acknowledges the support of SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd and the University of Newcastle (Australia).
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 9 • September 2020
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 30, 2019
Accepted: Mar 18, 2020
Published online: Jun 27, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 27, 2020
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