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ANALYSES
Luis E. Vallejo
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Pittsburgh, USA
E-Mail: vallejo@civ.pitt.edu
ABSTRACT
Granular materials forming part of the base of flexible pavements experience crushing
as a result of static and dynamic loads. Very little research has been conducted to date on
how to evaluate crushing and what effect varying levels of crushing have on the
engineering properties of these granular materials (for example, shear strength and
hydraulic conductivity).
In this study crushing of granular materials is evaluated using fractals. Crushing of a
particle can be the result of either its abrasion or its total fragmentation. Abrasion takes
place when the sharp corners of the particle are removed as a result of shear, compression
or both. Thus, as a result of abrasion, the particle changes in shape. In this study, the
fractal dimension of the particle profile evaluates the changes in shape of a particle before
and after abrasion. It was determined that the rougher a particle profile is; the higher is
the fractal dimension. Thus, the fractal dimension concept is an excellent tool to measure
abrasion in particles.
When crushing is the result of fragmentation of a particle, the structure of the particle
changes from a single solid element to a mixture of many small particles of varying sizes.
When a granular base experience fragmentation, the resulting granular mass will be
composed of a granular mixture that has a fractal distribution in particle sizes (large,
medium and small). In this study, crushing as a result of fragmentation was evaluated
using the fragmentation fractal dimension of the size distribution of the particles before
and after crushing.
This study presents the results of a ring shear tests on sand. This study was conducted
to evaluate the crushing experienced by the sand using fractals. The effect of crushing on
the shear strength and the hydraulic conductivity of the sand as a result of a sustained
application of normal and shear stresses were also evaluated. The hydraulic conductivity,
K, of the sand was calculated using a relationship developed by Hansen. This
relationship relates K to the D10 obtained from the grain size distribution curve. The
hydraulic conductivity of the sand was found to decrease with an increase in its level of
crushing.
The friction angle measured in the ring shear tests was found to decrease with an
increase in the fractal dimension values. High values of fractal dimension are associated
with high normal and shear stresses in the ring shear test. These high normal and shear
stresses cause the grains to change from rough to smooth with the resulting decrease in
shear strength These changes in the roughness of the sand grains seem to be the
controlling factor for the decrease in shear strength measured in the ring shear tests.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Granular materials form part of engineering structures such as the base of flexible
pavements, highway embankments, and foundations. The granular materials forming
part of these structures are subjected during their engineering lives to either static or
dynamic loads. Very little research has been conducted to date on the effect that varying
levels of crushing have on the engineering properties of granular materials (i.e. hydraulic
conductivity, shear strength). Because of sustained crushing, the original engineering
properties with which a structure (i.e. a pavement or a highway embankment) was
designed will change during its engineering life. Changes in the original engineering
properties could affect the stability of the structure and could make it unsafe. Thus, there
is a need to understand the evolution of crushing in granular materials. In this study, the
evaluation of crushing of granular materials is conducted using fractal theory. Also,
laboratory experiments in the form of ring shear strength and static compression tests are
used to induce crushing in granular materials. Grain size distribution analysis of the
granular materials was conducted before and after crushing. The grain size distribution
curves are used to evaluate crushing levels and to calculate changes in the hydraulic
conductivity and the shear strength of the sample.
1.1 The Crushing of Granular Materials
Granular materials form part of engineering structures such the base of flexible
pavements, highway embankments, and foundations. The granular materials forming part
of these structures are subjected during their engineering lives to either static or dynamic
loads. As a result of these loads, particle breakage occurs (Hendron, 1963; Vesic and
Clough, 1968; Lee and Farhoomand, 1967; Miura and Ohara, 1979; Hardin, 1985;
Hagerty et al., 1993; Lade et al., 1996; Coop, 1999; Bolton, 1999; and Feda, 2002).
According to Lee and Farhoomand (1967) and Coop (1999), particle breakage or
crushing seems to be a general feature for all granular materials. Grain crushing is
influenced by grain angularity, grain size, uniformity of gradation, low particle strength,
high porosity, and by the stress level and anisotropy (Bohac et al., 2001).
According to Lee and Farhoomand (1967), one of the most important factors
influencing the crushing of a mass of granular materials is the crushing resistance of the
grains. Coarse granitic sand particles with an average diameter of 2.8 mm experienced
breakage at pressures equal to 2 MPa, while calcareous shells begin crushing at 0.05 to
0.2 MPa (Lade and Farhoomand, 1967, Bohac et al, 2001). Angular particles of freshly
quarried materials undergo fragmentation under ordinary pressures (about 0.98 MPa) due
to breakdown of sharp angularities (Ramamurthy, 1968). When a granular mass is
subjected to a compressive load, the particles resist the load through a series of contacts
between the grains (Oda and Konishi, 1974; Radjai, 1995)(Fig. 1).
As shown in Fig.1, particles do not share equally in the bearing of the applied load.
Some particles carry more load than others. In fact, some particles can actually be
removed without affecting the mechanical equilibrium of the packing. The particles with
highly loaded contacts are usually aligned in chains (Cundall and Strack, 1979)..
Crushing starts when these highly loaded particles fail and break into smaller pieces that
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move into the voids of the original material. These load chains change in intensity and
direction as the crushing develops in the particle assemblage On crushing, fines are
produced and the grain size distribution curve becomes less steep. Consequently, with
continuing crushing, the soil becomes less permeable and more resistant to crushing.
Grain size distribution is a suitable measure of the extent of crushing (Hardin, 1985; Lade
et al., 1996).
that has been crushed under large compressive loads is a fractal distribution. A well
graded particle distribution or a fractal distribution represents a granular structure that is
made of grains of all sizes including the original unbroken grains. These original large
grains did not break based on the fact that with more small size particles surrounding
them, the average contact stress acting on these large grains tends to decrease (Lade et al.,
1996). However, before the granular structure reaches a well graded or a fractal particle
size distribution, the granular structure will experience gradual changes in particle sizes
depending on the magnitude of the compressive load applied to it.
A simplified representation of the crushing process of a laterally confined granular
assembly (i.e. the unbound granular base under an asphalt pavement) that is subjected to
a vertical load, P, is shown in Fig. 2. This first figure shows an unbroken granular
structure represented by discs which are stacked in a cubical arrangement [Fig. 2(a)].
This granular arrangement represents a loose granular packing. At small magnitudes of
the compressive load, P, few discs (particles) break. The particles that break form small
isolated dense zones that are surrounded by connected zones of loose granular packings
[Fig. (2(b)]. In Fig. 2(b), vo id space which has been filled by crushed material is equal
to 31% of the total void area. As the compressive force producing crushing increases, the
number of dense zones will also increase because additional particles break [Figs. 2(c)
and 2(d)]. Fig. 2(c) is a simplified representation of a high level of crushing. In Fig. 2(c)
the dense packing zones are interconnected and the loose packing zones become isolated.
In Fig. 2 (c), the percentage of the void area covered with crushed material has increased
to 64.5%. In Fig. 2(d), the percentage of void area covered by crushed material has
reached a value of 82%.
Pavements are the most unusual structures designed by civil engineers. Water enters
through their tops, bottoms, and sides, but because pave ments are relatively flat, the
water flows out again very slowly unless they are well drained under their full width
(Cedergreen, 1994). Most serious problems are caused to asphalt pavements when their
granular bases are unable to remove the water that enters the pavement. Fig. 2(a)
represents a well drained granular base assuming drainage goes vertically or laterally. In
Fig. 2(b) the loose zones that drains the water are interconnected. Thus, drainage in the
vertical or horizontal direction is still possible. In Fig. 2(b) the dense zones, which are
zones that prevent drainage, are isolated and not continuous; for that reason drainage is
still possible. In Figs. 2(c) and 2(d), the loose zones that drain the granular base in either
the vertical or horizontal direction are no longer connected. These loose zones must be
interconnected in order for water to drain from underneath the pavement. In Figs. 2(c)
and 2(d), the dense zones made of crushed material are the ones that are interconnected.
These dense zo nes made of crushed granular material surround and isolate the loose
zones that promoted drainage.
between two and three. The difference between the fractal and the Euclidean dimensions
can be explained by what happens when a thin ink line of any shape is drawn on a sheet
of paper. This line has an Euclidean or topological dimension equal to one. However, if
the line is drawn in such a way as to increase it wiggliness, the paper will appear to be
almost covered with ink, giving the line a dimension better represented by that of the area
of the sheet of paper. The area of the sheet of paper has a topological dimension equal to
two. Thus, the real dimension of irregular complex lines lie somewhere between that for
the ideal Euclidean line with a fine width, and the extreme case of a complete surface
cover. The fractal dimension measures the surface filling properties of wiggling or
irregular lines and its value approaches that of the Euclidean dimension of the surface
that encloses them. The fractal dimension for lines or profiles of any shape is a real
number that varies between one and two. The rougher or more irregular the line, the
larger is its fractal dimension (Vallejo, 1995, 1996).
2.1 The Fractal Dimension of Open Profiles
Many methods have been developed to measure the fractal dimension of open and
closed form profiles such as those forming part rock joints, geomembranes, pavements,
sands, gravels, and voids in soils (Vallejo and Zhou, 1995). The most commonly used
methods are: (a) the divider method, (b) the box method, and (c) the spectral method
(Cox and Wang, 1993). In the present study, the divider method will be used to measure
the fractal dimension of open and closed form profiles.
The divider method used to obtain the fractal dimension, D, can be explained using
Figs.3 and 4. Fig. 3 represent s two profiles, one very complex (profile ab in Figs. 3 and
4), and the other a very simple one (profile ab in Fig. 3). Suppose we wish to measure
The divider method used to obtain the fractal dimension, D, can be explained using
Figs.3 and 4. Fig. 1 represents two profiles, one very complex (profile ab in Figs. 3 and
4), and the other a very simple one (profile ab in Fig. 3). Suppose we wish to measure
the length L of the of the profiles shown in Fig. 1 using a ruler or yardstick of fixed
length, r. We may begin by setting two arms of a divider to a known distance (step or
segment length r) and step off the outline of the profiles as shown in Fig. 4. The length of
the profiles, L, is obtained from the product of the number of segments, n, and the chosen
segment length, r. Three different segment lengths, r, were used to measure both the
complex and the simple profiles. The scales for the length of these segments are shown in
Fig. 2. Table 1 shows the length of the profiles using different segments r. An analysis of
the results shown in Table 1 indicates that the length of the profile ab increased as the
length of the segments used to measure its length decreased. The reason for this is that as
the segment length r is decreased, the smaller details in the profile which were previously
stepped over add their contribution to the length of the profile (Fig. 4). As smaller
segments are used, the length of the profile ab continue to increase. Opposite results were
obtained for the case of the simple profile ab. Table 1 indicates that the length of this
Figure 4. Segment scale r and the number of segments n to cover the complex profile ab.
Table 1 Data for fractal dimension calculation for profiles shown in Figs. 1 and 2
____________________________________________________________________
Profile
Segment Length
Number of Segments
Length of Profile
r
n
L = nr
_____________________________________________________________________
1
79.3
79.3
ab
4
17.8
71.2
8
8.5
68.0
_____________________________________________________________________
1
52.8
52.8
ab
4
13.2
52.8
8
6.6
52.8
______________________________________________________________________
profile remained constant regardless of the length of the segment r used to measure the
length of the simple profile.
According to Mandelbrot (1977) and Turcotte (1992), if a linear relationship develops
between the values n and r when plotted on a log- log paper, the profiles analyzed are
fractal profiles. The absolute value of the slope of the linear relationship between n and r
values represents the fractal dimension, D, of the profiles. The values of n and r for the
profiles ab and ab (Table 1 and Fig. 4) were plotted on a log- log paper and the results
are shown in Fig. 3. An examination of Fig. 5 indicates that the n and r values for both
profiles plotted on straight lines. The fractal dimension, D , of the rough, complex profile
ab was equal to 1.0739. The fractal dimension for the smooth, simple profile ab was
equal to 1.0000. Thus, the fractal dimension concept can be used to evaluate the degree of
roughness of closed profiles (particle profiles).
fractal dimension of the rough profile equal to 1.1036, and the fractal dimension of the
smooth profile is equal to 1.0498 (Fig. 7).
Fig. 6(B) can represent the profile of a particle before abrasion occurs. Fig. 6(A) can
represent the profile of a particle after abrasion occurs. Thus, the fractal dimension
concept is very useful to measure abrasion in the particles forming part of granular bases
under flexible pavements.
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N (R
>r) =
kr DF (1)
where N(R>r) is the total number of particles with linear dimension R (radius of the
particle) which is greater than a given size r; k is a proportionality constant; and DF is the
fractal dimension of the size distribution of grains. As a result of shear stresses, or a
combination of compression and shear stresses, the size distribution in a granular soil will
change. Changes in the size distribution of the grains will be reflected in the values of DF.
Thus, grain fragmentation in soils subjected to shear stresses or a combination of
compressive and shear stresses can be evaluated by the changes in their fragmentation
fractal dimension, DF.
To apply the number-based relationship expressed by Eq. (1), is very time consuming.
Another relationship that uses the results of a standard sieve analysis test was developed
by Tyler and Wheatcraft (1992) to calculate the fragmentation fractal dimension, DF , of
natural soils. This relationship is:
M ( R < r) r
=
MT
rL
3 D F
(2)
(3)
Eqs. ( 2) and (3) will be used to obtain the fractal dimension of the size distribution in
a sand subjected to crushing in a ring shear apparatus.
2.4 The Fragmentation Fractal Dimension of a Sand Subjected to Ring Shear Test
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An oven dried sand with a specific gravity equal to 2.6 containing grains with a
diameter that passed sieve No. 10 (2 mm) and grains that were retained in No. 16 sieve
(1.18 mm) was subjected to fragmentation in a Bromheads ring shear apparatus.
The ring shear tests were carried out to investigate crushing of the sand as a result of
sustained normal and shearing stresses. The sand was subjected first to one normal
constant stress after which shearing was induced in the sample for the completion of one
3600 rotation. After this rotation was completed, the normal stress was increased and the
sample was sheared again for another 3600 rotation. These rotations were carried out for
various normal stresses that vary between 15 and 1,374.3 kPa. The combination of the
normal and shear stresses caused some of the sand grains to crush. The crushing of some
of the grains caused the original size distribution to change from a uniform sand to a well
graded or fractal sand. The grain size distribution of the particles after some of the fifteen
3600 rotations is shown in Fig. 8. The fractal dimension of the grain size distribution was
calculated using Eqs. (2) and (3) and the results shown in Figs. 9 and 10. An analysis of
Fig. 10 indicates that the fragmentation fractal dimension, DF, changed gradually from a
value of 1.4 to a value of 2.3. This change in the fractal dimension represents a sand that
is gradually being crushed or fragmented in the ring shear test.
Fig. 8. Grain size distribution of sand crushed in the ring shear apparatus.
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Fig. 9. Typical plot of sieve analysis results to obtain DF at a normal stress = 1374.3 kPa.
Fig. 10.
(4)
in which K is the hydraulic conductivity (cm/s), and D10 = grain diameter (cm)
corresponding to 10% of the material being smaller by weight (also called the effective
grain size). Eq. (4) was used in conjunction with the grain size distribution curves shown
in Fig. 8 to evaluate the hydraulic conductivity during the crushing of the sand in the ring
shear apparatus. The results of this analysis is shown in Fig. 11.
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Fig. 11. Relationship between hydraulic conductivity and fractal dimension DF.
An analysis of Fig. 11 shows the hydraulic conductivity, K, decreases as the value of
the fractal dimension, DF, increases. At the beginning of the ring shear test, the normal
stress is low, the sample is loose, and the profile of the sand particles is rough. These
conditions make that the hydraulic conductivity of the sand be large. As the normal and
shear stresses acting on the sample increases, the sand experience crushing. The crushed
material fills the void spaces located within the grains that have not crushed. This results
in an overall decrease in the hydraulic conductivity of the sand.
The changes experienced by the sand under a combination of normal and shear stresses
in the ring shear apparatus and the influence that these changes have on the hydraulic
conductivity of the crushed sand can be best explained using Fig. 12. This figure shows
what happens to a pore located within three large particles when it is gradually filled by
smaller and smaller grains resulting from the gradual crushing of the larger grains. The
grains shown in Fig. 12 are self-similar with respect to their sizes and represent a sand
with a fractal size distribution. Fig. 12(a) shows the pore between the three grains when
it is filled by one small grain. The same pore continues to be filled by smaller and smaller
grains as one goes from Fig. 12(b) to Fig. 12(d). The pore space decreases gradually until
it becomes completely blocked [Fig. 12(d)]. Thus, when the pore reaches the condition
shown in Fig. 12(d), water can not move through the pore. Thus, the filling of the pore
space by a soil with a fractal size distribution will influence the hydraulic conductivity of
the pore and the sand that contains it.
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Fig. 13. Relationship between friction , , angle and fractal dimension, DF.
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4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work described in this study was sponsored by Grant CMS: 0301815 to the
University of Pittsburgh from the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. This
support is gratefully acknowledged. The author gives special thanks to Drs. Bernardo
Caicedo and Arcesio Lizcano from the Universidad de los Andes for helpful discussio ns
related to the subject of this study. Thanks are also given to Mr. Zamri Chik, Ph.D.
student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of
Pittsburgh for conducting some of the tests described in this paper.
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