Single particle crushing and the mechanical behavior of sand

Single particle crushing and one dimensional compression tests have been carried out on granular materials to investigate the effects of particle crushing on their mechanical behaviour. The single particle crushing strength for sand samples was expressed in terms of the characteristic peak stress at which the probability of surviving grain splitting was 37% and its variability. It was observed that particle breakage during yielding was accompanied by the sudden catastrophic onset of grain splitting. The vertical stress at the maximum compression index increases with increasing peak characteristic stress at which the probability of surviving grain splitting is equal to 37%. The curvature of the void ratio and logarithm of vertical stress curve at the yield stress increases with decreasing variability of the single particle crushing strength.