The effect of the particle size distribution on the mechanics of fibre-reinforced sands under one-dimensional compression

Seven reconstituted sands of different mineralogies and different particle size distributions, from uniform to well-graded and coarse to fine, were tested under one-dimensional compression, with and without reinforcement by discrete fibres. The compressibility, the particle breakage and the associated change in particle shape were examined in the sands with and without reinforcement. Each reconstituted sand was found to have a unique normal compression line. The compressibility increased with increasing uniformity and with larger mean diameters, thus coarse uniform sands were found to be the most compressible. They also underwent more breakage of particles, which was more significant in the weaker carbonate sands. At the grain scale, the addition of fibres seemed to reduce the amount of particle breakage in the soil, more significantly in well-graded sands. A unique NCL was found for each fibre-reinforced sand, parallel to that of the corresponding non-reinforced sand. A strong correlation was found between the ability of the fibres to prevent particle breakage and their ability to limit changes in particle shape.