Effect of Crushing on Stress–Strain and Pore Pressure Behavior of Micaceous Kutch Soil Under Monotonic Compression and Repeated Loading–Unloading Conditions

Mica particles are flaky and layered in nature with relatively low hardness as compared to quartz particles. Micaceous soil with more than 10% mica is generally not recommended for pavements due to low compactability and high resilient nature. Limited research has been performed on shear strength behavior of micaceous soils at varying mica contents with no crushing effect. The current research is focused on the effect of crushing on compactability, compressibility and shear behavior of naturally available micaceous Kutch soil with mica content of 14% under different loading conditions. Soil specimens with different degree of crushing (S0–S6) are prepared by applying repeated impact loading cycles. A comprehensive experimental study is conducted on these specimens to evaluate the effect of crushing on shear behavior of micaceous Kutch soil under monotonic compression and repeated loading–unloading conditions. The monotonic shear response depicted reduced peak stress and increased contractive response with higher degree of crushing. However, the shear response under repeated loading–unloading conditions exhibited higher irrecoverable plastic strain accumulation with increase in crushing cycles. This could be due to the decreased resilient nature of mica particles and increased percentage of fines at greater degree of crushing.