Particle Breakage of Calcareous Sand and Its Correlation with Input Energy

A series of confined compression tests and triaxial tests under different test conditions were carried out on two types of calcareous sand from the South China Sea. Notably, drained and undrained tests under monotonic, cyclic, and creep testing conditions were conducted. This study was focused on the relationship between the relative breakage and total input energy under different test conditions. The influences of grain size were also investigated. The test results showed that a large number of particle breakages occurred in the calcareous sand under different modes of loading, which has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of the material, and increasing the confining pressures resulted in increases in the particle breakage of the calcareous sand. The relationship between the relative breakage and total input energy was unique regardless of the testing conditions in this study, and larger grain size resulted in more significant particle breakage.