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An Experimental Investigation on the Tribological Behaviour of Nominally Flat Quartz Grains with Gouge Material in Dry, Partial Saturated and Submersed Conditions

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Abstract

We examined the normal and tangential contact behaviour of gouge materials between nominally flat quartz grains using micromechanical experiments. Primary mixtures of plastic clay (montmorillonite) and non-plastic silt (crushed aggregates) were used as gouges to focus the investigation on the tribological behaviour of gouge materials at dry, partial saturation and submersion conditions. The presence of gouges resulted in a decreased normal stiffness and frictional strength compared to pure quartz surfaces, and complex crushing behaviour. From cyclic shearing tests, montmorillonite showed the lowest secant stiffness and maximum energy losses, which were more pronounced at lower normal loads. Montmorillonite in its plastic and semi-solid states indicated that variation of post-peak softening and friction coefficient depend on the normal load at a given partial saturation level. In the sudden submersion simulation tests, both before and after the start of shearing, montmorillonite showed a significant decrease in the coefficient of friction (compared to dry gouge), unlike non-plastic silt.

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Abbreviations

Sq :

Root mean square deviation of the heights

HM:

Marten’s hardness

FN and FT :

Normal and tangential load

δN and δT :

Normal and tangential displacement

FN,max :

Maximum normal load

KN and KT :

Normal and tangential stiffness

KN,max :

Maximum normal stiffness

KN,E :

Elastic normal stiffness (unloading)

FT,SS :

Tangential load at steady-state

KT,0.2 :

Tangential stiffness at 0.2 µm of tangential displacement

µ:

Coefficient of friction

µpeak :

Coefficient of friction at peak tangential load

µss :

Coefficient of friction at steady-state tangential load

PURE:

Bounding surfaces without microparticles (gouge)

DMON:

Bounding surfaces with dry montmorillonite

DNPS:

Bounding surfaces with dry non-plastic silt

WMON:

Bounding surface with wet montmorillonite

WMON-L:

Bounding surfaces with lower saturation of montmorillonite

WMON-M:

Bounding surfaces with medium saturation of montmorillonite

WMON-H:

Bounding surfaces with higher saturation of montmorillonite

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was fully supported by the grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, project no. “CityU 11206617” and project no. “CityU 11214218”.

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  1. Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR

    S. S. Kasyap & K. Senetakis

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Kasyap, S.S., Senetakis, K. An Experimental Investigation on the Tribological Behaviour of Nominally Flat Quartz Grains with Gouge Material in Dry, Partial Saturated and Submersed Conditions. Pure Appl. Geophys. 177, 3283–3300 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-020-02431-1

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