Effects of initial particle gradation and rock content on crushing behaviors of weathered phyllite fills——A case of eastern Ankang section of Shiyan—Tianshui highway,China

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of initial particle gradation and rock content on the crushing behavior(i.e.grain size before and after crushing) of weathered phyllite fills.Compaction tests were conducted on weathered phyllite fills with rock contents of 35%,45%,55%,65% and 75%(by weight).First,the particle size distributions(PSDs) were observed before and after compaction,and then the particle breakage of weathered phyllite fills was analyzed by fractal dimension.Relative fractal dimension was proposed to evaluate the effects of initial rock content and initial gradation on the particle breakage.It was found that the fractal dimension method can well characterize the crushing behaviors of the weathered phyllite fills.The finer the fills were,the more they were compacted.That is,after the first compaction,the relative fractal dimension of the weathered phyllite fills increased as the rock content increased,reaching the values of 0.013,0.016,0.024,0.037 and 0.08,respectively.After the second compaction,these relative fractal dimension values,dominated by the initial particle gradation,became 0.059,0.072,0.052,0.095 and 0.118,respectively.In conclusion,the weathered phyllite fills with 55% rock content exhibited the least breakage and were most suitable for filling the subgrade.Findings in this paper will provide significant guidance for the construction of weathered phyllite filling subgrade in future projects.

Highway constructions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:Challenge,research and practice

Highway constructions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)face great challenges induced by the unique local environmental,geological,and engineering conditions.The large area of permafrost,great temperature variability,strong UV rays,and complex geological conditions are the major factors that adversely influence the longterm performance of pavement systems.Since 1960s,Chinese engineers and researchers have started conducting research on the QTP to enhance the performance and durability of pavement systems.The present paper provide a comprehensive review of challenge,research and practice of highway constructions on the QTP including the special environmental and geological conditions,history of highway constructions on the QTP,major challenges and the state-of-the-art technology of subgrade constructions on permafrost,developments of the pavement structures and materials,performance prediction and maintenance methods of pavement surfaces,and applications of the research achievements on the first expressway on the QTP(i.e.,Gongyu Expressway).Based on the comprehensive literature review,it can be found that(1)frost heave and thaw weakening induced subgrade disease and longitudinal cracks on the pavement surface are complex coupled water-thermal-load problems.Engineering solutions are focusing on active cooling and thermal insulation methods,which can help to reduce temperature variations in the subgrade and thus improving its stability,(2)the harsh environmental and construction conditions may reduce the early strength and induce premature damage of cement-treated base materials.Some field validations showed that geocell-reinforced or asphalt-treated flexible base materials can provide better long-term performance,(3)the large temperature variability and strong UV rays can significantly accelerate aging of asphalt binders and greatly reduce the service life of asphalt mixtures.Various binder modification methods were developed for improving their viscoelasticity and enhance the low-temperature cracking resistance of pavement surface materials but are still lack of field validation data and comparisons of their life cycle costs.Therefore,it is recommended that a demonstration research project build test sections to examine a range of pavement structures and materials,and compare their long-term performance and life cycle costs,which can serve as important reference for future highway constructions on the QTP.

Gement improved highly weathered phyllite for highway subgrades:A case study in Shaanxi province

In a cost-saving move, the soft rocks composed of highly-weathered phyllites available on- site were used to fill the subgrade in the eastern Ankang section of the expressway of Shiyan to Tianshui, China. Cement admixture was used to improve the performance of the weathered phyllites. In order to determine the best mix ratio, values corresponding to compaction performance, unconfined compressive strength, and the California bearing ratio （CBR） were analyzed for variable cement content weight percentages （3%, 4%, 5%, and 6%） using test subgrade plots in the field. Field measurements of resilience modulus and deflection confirmed that the strength of the subgrade increased as the cement ratio increased. In order to further evaluate the cement/phyllite mixture, the performance of the 3% cement ratio sample was evaluated under saturated conditions （with various levels of moisture addition and soaking time） using both the wetting deformation and resilient modulus values. Results suggest that moisture added and soaking time are key factors that affect the seepage depth, water content, and resilient modulus. The recommend values for the cement addition and for the water content are given out. This study can aid in pre- vention of highway damage by improving the foundation capacity and lengthening the lifecycle of the highway in phyllite distributed region at home and abroad.

Influence of water and rock particle contents on the shear behaviour of a SRM

The contents of both water and rock particles are important factors affecting the mechanical strength of a soil–rock mixture(SRM)filled subgrade in the western mountainous area of China.Therefore,the purpose of this paper is to study the mechanisms of reconstituted landslide deposit samples with different water and rock particle contents by analysing the characteristics of shear strength,volumetric strain and‘jumping’phenomenon via large-scale direct shear tests.The results show that the influence of water content on shear strength is greater than the influence of rock particle content under a lower normal stress,and the results are reversed in the case of a higher normal stress.The effect of water content on the equivalent cohesion is bigger,especially for the sample with a high rock particle content.The friction angle of the specimen with same water content increases with the increasing rock particle content,but when the number of rock particles increases to a certain extent,there is a little effect on the friction angle.However,the friction angle decreases with increasing water content at the same rock particle content.Specimens with the same rock particle content change from dilation to compression with increasing water content.Finally,the continuous stage of the‘intense jumping’at different water content has been analysed.The‘jumping’phenomenon of samples with low water and rock particle content will first strengthen and then weaken the samples with increasing normal stress.