Effects of the shear gaps on the breakage behavior of silty sand particle

To determine the breakage behavior of soil particles on a sliding surface, which is subjected to high overburden stress, modified direct shear tests were conducted on silty sand collected from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The sliding surfaces of the soil was simulated using different shear gaps of the shear box in the tests. The behavior of the particle breakage and strength properties of the sand were investigated. The results indicated that finer soil particles exhibited a lower breakage potential and breakage amount of sand particles, whereas a higher void ratio tended to lead to a higher breakage potential and breakage amount. For soil samples consisting of the same amount of fine particles, wider shear gaps caused a higher void ratio, whereas the increment of fines content and volumetric strain were both reduced after the shearing process.