Particle crushing and its influence on a compacted cataclasite under different water content conditions

The shear behavior of cataclasite from Beihetan site in China based on its geological conditions was investigated. Constant water content triaxial tests with large deformation were carried out under high confining pressure and different water contents conditions. The gain-size analysis shows that not only confining pressure but also water content have great effect on the particle crushing, and an empirical expression was established to describe the relationship. The failure envelope is non-linear for cataclasite, and the generalized apparent cohesion and friction angle vary with environmental conditions. The crushing of particles has great effect on this behavior. The friction angle decreases with increasing particle crushing index Br in the form of a power function. Besides, the contractancy enhances with increasing confining pressure and water content, and particle crushing shows a dominating influence on contractancy positively.