INITIAL FABRICS AND THEIR RELATIONS TO MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GRANULAR MATERIAL

ABSTRACT Sand fabrics were fixed with polyester-resin without disturbing the spatial arrangement of granular particles. Thin sections prepared from thus fixed sand specimens were studied under the optical microscope to find the preferred orientations and spatial relations of constituting grain particles with the following conclusions: (1) The characteristics of configuration relations of nonspherical particles are determined not only by the shape of particles but also by the method of compaction. Sands which are composed of flat or elongated particles indicate strong anisotropic feature of fabric character. (2) The initial fabric of granular material as sand has important influences on the mechanical properties such as mobilized stress ratio and secant deformation modulus.