Simulation of Rockfill Materials Using Aggregates of Cement Ellipsoids
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 1
Abstract
Particles of natural rockfill materials come in various sizes and shapes, resulting from natural processes, and their mechanical properties are affected by a multitude of interdependent factors. As a result, it is very difficult to investigate an individual factor. Therefore, most studies are conducted by using substitute materials such as glass beads, gypsum rods, wooden rods, steel balls, and metal rods. However, these commonly used materials have properties that are often quite different from natural rockfill materials, e.g., in particle shape, particle strength, modulus, and grading. This paper suggests a more suitable substitute to simulate rockfill materials by using cement ellipsoids in different sizes cast with cement paste. Results from triaxial compression tests show that this kind of proxy material can reproduce the basic behavior of natural rockfill materials.
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Acknowledgments
The support from the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program 2010CB732103), Natural Science Foundation of China (51279085), and the State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering (2012-KY-02) are gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 1 • January 2014
Pages: 107 - 116
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 23, 2012
Accepted: Feb 1, 2013
Published online: Feb 4, 2013
Discussion open until: Jul 4, 2013
Published in print: Jan 1, 2014
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