Experimental study on crushable coarse granular materials during monotonic simple shear tests

To investigate the crushing behaviour of coarse granular materials, a specifically designed, large-scale simple shear apparatus with eight-staged shearing rings was developed. A series of monotonic simple shear tests were conducted on two kinds of coarse granular materials under different vertical stresses and large shear strains. The evolution of the particle breakage during the compression and simple shearing processes was investigated. The results show that the amount of particle breakage is related to the particle hardness and the state of the stresses. The amount of particle breakage is greater for softer granular materials and increases with increasing vertical stresses. Particle breakage may tend towards a critical value during both the compression and the shearing processes. Particle breakage mainly occurs during the processes of confined compression and contraction.