An investigation of single particle crushing tests on irregular-shaped quartz sand with DEM

The main objective of this study is to understand the effects of initial particle shape on fracture patterns and particle strength of irregular-shaped sand particle shape on fracture patterns and particle strength of irregular-shaped sand particles in single particle crushing tests. This test has been widely used to study sand particle crushing behaviour by compressing sand particles with two flat platens. Particle shapes are randomly generated through using Fourier descriptors considering the variation of particle form and roundness. Discrete element method (DEM) is used to simulate the fracture process of single particle under compression. Flat-joint model (FJM) is used to mimic the macro-properties of quartz. It is found that irregular particle shapes lead to different kinds of fracture patterns, e.g. major tensile splitting, asperity removal and bending failure. Local contact curvature value that determines the level of stress concentration has significant influence on particle strength. The influence of shape parameters, e.g. form and roundness, on particle strength is also investigated.