Study on Morphological Characteristics of Moraine Soil and Influence on Crushing Behavior
Abstract
Moraine soil (MRS), a geotechnical material formed during the process of melting/advancing of glaciers, is widely distributed across the Tibet Plateau. Previous studies have primarily focused on the variations of particle size and composition. The morphological and strength of the moraine particles were not considered systematically, which is very important to understand the fundamental properties of MRS. In this study, the morphology, the crushing strength, and their interrelation of the MRS are carefully investigated. A series of three-dimensional scanning and single-particle compression tests were conducted on MRS collected from both the source and the accumulation areas in southeast Tibetan. Several key parameters, including flatness, elongation, and sphericity, were analyzed, and the influence of morphological properties on the crushing strength was examined, focusing on observed trends and associated breakage modes. The results reveal that moraine particles from the accumulation area exhibit a higher degree of sphericity and more uniform particle shapes compared to those from the source area. Furthermore, the crushing strength of moraine particles follows a Weibull distribution, and the particle shape significantly affects the failure modes, in which the irregular particles exhibit distinct breakage patterns, which, as a consequence, will affect the crushing strength of soil particle aggregation as a macro mechanical behavior of MRS.