Influence of Particle Breakage on Behavior of Coral Sands in Triaxial Tests

AbstractThis paper presents a laboratory experimental investigation of the behavior of coral sands. The investigation incorporated particle breakage to interpret its influence on consolidation and shear behavior, friction and dilatancy behavior, excess friction behavior, and state behavior of precrushed sands as measured by triaxial tests on a coral sand. Particle breakage impaired dilatancy, leading to a more contractive soil. It reduced friction and dilatancy angles, but increased basic friction angles. It also showed a complex influence on excess friction angles, revealing underestimation of the peak-state dilatancy angle by the excess friction angles. Particle breakage resulted in movement of the phase-transformation and peak states toward reduction in deviator stress, mean effective stress, and void ratio in the e-logp′ and q-p′ planes. In the e-logp′ plane, it resulted in translation, rotation, or translation and rotation of the critical-state line. In the q-p′ plane, particle breakage resulted in rotation of the critical-state line, incorporating lower-left movement of the critical states.