Strength and deformation characteristics of rockfill materials

Abstract

In the last years, some authors have found to set up rheological models for rockfill materials. This article analyses the most important literature on the subject some suggestions based on laboratorial tests performed in LNEC are made.

Three questions are particularly stressed: the study of deformability based on  considerations about the particles contact forces and  resistance  to fracturing;  the similarity relation in the preparation   of laboratory samples with  particles  reduced  to a given scale as regards  the sample of  the  prototype;  an analysis of  the  influence  of  the  many  factors  that  condition  the  behaviour  of  rockfill  materials to aid on the understanding of the difficulty on defining a simple rheological model