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Single-particle crushing strength under different relative humidity conditions

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Abstract

This paper presents a fundamental study on the effect of the relative humidity on the rockfill crushing strength. This aspect plays an important role in the mechanical behaviour of rockfill, and it is known that certain characteristics of the granular materials, such as compressibility and shear strength, depend on the confining stress, which is a function of the particles crushing. An increased interest has been observed regarding the effect of the relative humidity in the mechanical behaviour of rockfill. Unfortunately, limited research has been conducted until now regarding the study of individual particle crushing. Therefore, this paper thoroughly investigated particle crushing, by performing single-particle crushing tests on rockfill particles divided into four size ranges, under different relative humidity conditions. The experimental results reveal a considerable influence of the relative humidity in the studied rockfill particles, whose strength of the particles with the greatest dimensions in saturated conditions was reduced by half. Consistent macro-mechanical evidence demonstrates that particle’s size and relative humidity conditions depict the most important factors that influence particle crushing strength.

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Adapted from Zhang et al. [54]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geotechnics Applied to Hydraulic Works Division, Geotechnical Department, National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), Avenida do Brasil No 101, 1700-066, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Manso, João Marcelino & Laura Caldeira

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  1. João Manso
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  2. João Marcelino
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  3. Laura Caldeira
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Correspondence to João Manso.

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Manso, J., Marcelino, J. & Caldeira, L. Single-particle crushing strength under different relative humidity conditions. Acta Geotech. 16, 749–761 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-01065-w

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