Influence of Particle Breakage on Critical State Line of Rockfill Material

Abstract

The influences of particle breakage on the position of the critical state line (CSL) were systematically investigated in this paper through a series of large-scale triaxial compression tests on Tacheng rockfill material (TRM). It was found that the critical-state stress ratio of TRM (i.e., the gradient of the CSL in the p−q space) was approximately regarded as a constant. In the e−logp space, the CSL of TRM descended with a decrease in the initial void ratio, whereas the gradient of the CSL was constant. A procedure was established for evaluating the critical state point at a same particle breakage, which comprised the breakage critical state line (BCSL). An increase of the particle breakage led to not only a vertical translation but also a rotation on the BCSL of TRM in the e−logp space, which was similar to the observation of Dog’s Bay sand. Consequently, the initial gradation (or the corresponding initial void ratio) was the dominant factor that affected the position of the CSL of TRM in the e−logp space.