Study of the behaviour of schist grains under crushing

Schist is abundant in the Kabylia region of Algeria and hence its use for civil engineering applications, particularly in pavements, is desirable. The paper reports a study on three of the more common schists to determine the characteristics controlling the mechanical behaviour of these materials. The geological and engineering properties of the schists are described and it is concluded that anisotropy is a more important influence than the mineralogy. Of the three schists studied, the harder minerals present in the mottled schist make this the most applicable for use in pavements.