Quantitative Description of Grain Contacts in a Locked Sand

Fonseca, J., O'Sullivan, C. & Coop, M. R. (2010). Quantitative Description of Grain Contacts in a Locked Sand. In: Reed, A. H. (Ed.), Advances in Computed Tomography for Geomaterials: GeoX 2010. (pp. 17-25). Wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781118557723.ch2

Abstract

Quantifying the fabric of intact soil is of great importance in both geomechanics and geology. A unique and interesting example of fabric can be found in “locked sands”. These geologically old sands are characterized by significant grain interlocking and a low cement content. They can be sampled with minimal fabric disturbance. This study analyzes images acquired by x-ray microtomography of resin impregnated samples of a natural sand, Reigate Silver Sand part of the Folkestone Bed formation from southeast England. 2D and 3D image analyses were carried out to identify the grain-grain contacts and quantify individual contact areas. In contrast to earlier studies that have focused on the coordination number, this work demonstrates that for non-punctual contacts a measure of fabric that considers the contact area may be more appropriate.

Publication Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	© ISTE Ltd, 2010
Publisher Keywords:	granular material, fabric, contacts, image analysis, locked sands
Departments:	School of Science & Technology > Engineering