Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference

December 22-24,2013, Roorkee

A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE CHARACTERISTICS ON
SHEAR STRENGTH BEHAVIOR OF QUARRY DUST


K. Koustuvee, Post Graduate Student, Assam Engineering College, kumarikoustuvee@gmail.com
A. Sridharan, Honorary Scientist, Indian National Science Academy, Formerly, Professor, IISC Bangalore,
sridharanasuri@yahoo.com
K. Chinmoy, Under Graduate Student, Assam Engineering College
D. Rahul, Under Graduate Student, Assam Engineering College, rahuld.das@gmail.com
C. Malaya, Assistant Professor, Assam Engineering College, gogoi_chetia@yahoo.co.in


ABSTRACT: Quarry dust which is a waste product produced during crushing of stones to obtain aggregates can
be used in geotechnical applications as a promising substitute for sand. The geotechnical characterization of quarry
dust can lead to practicable solutions for its large-scale utilization. With this in view, experiments were conducted
on three locally available quarry dusts using direct shear test to understand their shear strength behavior. The
present study attempts to understand the influence of the particle characteristics on the shear strength of quarry
dust. It must be noted that there are limited studies available in the literature on the influence of particle size and
shape on the shear strength behavior of quarry dust. The study indicates that the particle characteristics have
positive effect on the shear strength of quarry dust.


INTRODUCTION
Quarry dust or crusher dust is produced as solid
wastes mainly during crushing operations. It
constitutes 20-25 % of the output of each rubble
crusher unit and about 200 million tones of quarry
by-products are being generated each year in India
[1]. Disposing of this waste adds both economic
and environmental costs to the quarrying process
[2]. However, the use of quarry dust in
geotechnical applications is economically
beneficial and environmentally advantageous [1].
Many researchers have used quarry dust in
geotechnical applications to improve the
geotechnical properties of soil. Soosan et al. (2001)
[3] observed that the quarry dust can be used as a
substitute for sand to improve the properties of
lateritic soil. Soosan et al. (2005) [1] reported the
improvements in the compaction characteristics
and California Bearing Ratio of soils including
problematic soils like marine clays by addition of
quarry dust. Nwaiwu et al. (2012) [4] have reported
that the quarry dust can effectively be used for road
construction purposes involving black cotton soil.

The study of shear strength behaviour of quarry
dust is important to use it as a geotechnical

material. There are different factors that may have
influence on the shear strength behaviour of quarry
dust. It must be noted that there are very few
studies related to the shear behaviour of quarry
dust. Therefore, the present study investigates the
shear strength behaviour of dust examining the
influence of particle size, and shape on the shear
strength of quarry dust. The study indicates that
the grain size and shape have significant influence
on the shear behavior of quarry dust.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
Four cohesionless materials were used in this
study, which include a locally available sandy soil
(denoted as S) and three quarry dusts (denoted as
D1, D2 and D1sS). Sand and quarry dust have been
characterized for its specific gravity and grain size
distribution by following the guidelines provided in
the literature [5,6]. According to USCS [7] all the
samples are poorly graded (SP). The results of
these characterizations are presented in Table 1. In
the Table 1, SL
GSDC
represents the slope of the
grain size distribution curve (GSDC) and it is
determined by using the Eq. 1. From the quarry
dust sample, D1 a new dust sample has been
Page 1 of 5



K. Koustuvee, A. Sridharan, K. Chinmoy, D. Rahul & C. Malaya
prepared with similar grain size distribution as the
sand sample, S and this new dust sample has been
designated as D1sS. The grain size distribution
curves of the quarry dust samples and sand are
shown in Fig.1.

SL
GSDC
=(60 % - 10 %)/(Log D
60
-Log D
10
) (1)

where, D
60
=a size in mm that 60% of the particles
are finer than that size; and D
10
=a size in mm that
10% of the particles are finer than that size.

Shape and mineralogical characterization of the
samples were carried out from the petrographical
images. Petrographical images (Figs. 2-3) indicate
that the main mineral present in the samples is
quartz. The shape of the sand particles are mainly
rounded to subrounded whereas the dust particles
are mostly angular to subangular. The direct shear
tests [8] were carried out on dry dust samples and
sand under consolidated drained conditions to
obtain the shear parameters of the samples. A
strain rate of 1.25 mm/min was used while
performing the direct shear test on all the quarry
dust and sand samples.



Fig. 1 Grain size distribution curves of D1, D2, S
and D1sS







Fig. 2 Petrographical image of sand, S



Fig. 3 Petrographical image of quarry dust, D1


Table 1 Physical properties and classification of
the samples used in this study
0.01 0.1 1 10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110


%

f
i
n
e
r
Grain size (mm)
D1
D2
S
D1sS
Property Soil Quarry dust
S D1 D2 D1sS
Specific Gravity 2.67 2.68 2.62 2.67
Particle Size
Characteristics (%)

Sand
(4.75-0.075 mm)

Coarse Sand
(4.75-2 mm)
2.9 1.2 20.1 2.9
Medium Sand
(2-0.425 mm)
54.9 38.5 37.4 54.9
Fine Sand
(0.425-0.075 mm)
40.6 49.1 36.8 40.6
Silt
(0.075-0.002 mm)
1.6 11.2 5.7 1.6
C
c
1.1 1.09 2.3 1.1
C
u
2.7 5.8 8.3 2.7
SL
GSDC
1.2 0.66 0.54 1.2
USCS Classification SP SP SP SP
Page 2 of 5



A study on the influence of particle characteristics on shear strength behavior of quarry dust
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The direct shear tests were performed on quarry
dust (D1, D2 and D1sS) and sand (S) samples in
the dry condition in a density range of 1.24 gm/cm
3

to 1.30 gm/cm
3
. The displacement vs. shear stress
plots of different samples for normal stress of o.5
kg/cm
2
, 1.0 kg/cm
2
and 1.5 kg/cm
2
have been
obtained. Figures 4-5 show the displacement vs.
shear stress plots for the quarry dust samples D1
and D2 at strain rate 1.25 mm/min. similar trends
have been observed for both the quarry dust
samples. Figure 6 shows the displacement vs. shear
stress plots for the samples D1sS and S at strain
rate 1.25 mm/min. It is clear from the figure that
the quarry dust sample exhibits more shear
resistance at failure than the sand sample for all the
normal stresses. However, the shear displacement
at failure is more for S than D1sS. These
differences may be due to the difference in the
shape of the samples. It must be mentioned that the
grain size distribution of D1sS and S are similar.
The maximum shear stress,
max
values obtained at
different normal stresses for all the samples used in
this study are presented in the Table 2 along with
the shear displacements, SD corresponding to
max
.
The
n
vs.
max
plots are shown in the Fig. 7 for the
samples tested in this study. The values obtained
from these figures have been shown in the Table 2.




Fig. 4 Displacement vs shear stress plots for D1





Fig. 5 Displacement vs shear stress plots for D2

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4


S
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

(
k
g
/
c
m
2
)
Shear displacement (mm)
Quarry dust D1sS

n
= 0.5 kg/cm
2


n
= 1.0 kg/cm
2


n
= 1.5 kg/cm
2
Sand S

n
= 0.5 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.0 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.5 kg/cm
2


Fig. 6 Displacement vs shear stress plots for D1sS
and S

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4


M
a
x
i
m
u
m

s
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

m
a
x

(
k
g
/
m
2
)
Normal stress,
n
(kg/cm
2
)
D1 D2
D1sS S
= 42.3
0
, = 39.8
0
= 39.2
0
, = 33.9
0

Fig. 7 Normal stress vs shear stress plots for D1,
D2, D1sS and S
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4


S
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

(
k
g
/
c
m
2
)
Shear displacement (mm)

n
= o.5 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.0 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.5 kg/cm
2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4


S
h
e
a
r

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

(
k
g
/
c
m
2
)
Shear displacement (mm)

n
= o.5 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.0 kg/cm
2

n
= 1.5 kg/cm
2
Page 3 of 5



K. Koustuvee, A. Sridharan, K. Chinmoy, D. Rahul & C. Malaya
Table 2 Maximum shear stress,
max
, shear
displacement, SD and values



Influence of Grain Size on the Shear Behavior
of Dust
Figure 8 shows the variation of value with the
coefficient of curvature, C
c
of the GSDC of quarry
dusts D1, D2 and D1sS. C
c
values have been
shown in the Table 1. It can be observed from this
figure that the value initially decreases with the
increase in the C
c
values and then increases with
the increase in C
c
. Figure 9 presents the variation
of value with the uniformity coefficient, C
u
of
the GSDC of quarry dusts D1, D2 and D1sS. C
u

values have been presented in the Table 1. The
figure shows that the value initially increases
with the increase in C
u
value and then it decreases
with the increase in C
u
value. The variation of
with the slope of the GSDC, SL
GSDC
is shown in
the Fig. 10. The figure depicts that the value of
the quarry dust samples initially increases with the
increase in the SL
GSDC
and then it decreases with
the increase in SL
GSDC
. Therefore, from these
observations it can be said that the grain size
characteristics of quarry dust have significant
influence on its shear strength behavior.

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
36
38
40
42
44

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
C
c

Fig. 8 Variation of with C
c


2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
34
36
38
40
42
44
46

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
C
u

Fig. 9 Variation of with C
u


0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
34
36
38
40
42
44
46

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
)
SL
GSDC


Fig. 10 Variation of with SL
GSDC



Sample
n

max
SD
kg/cm
2
kg/cm
2
mm Degree

D1
0.5 0.71 2.8
42.3 1.0 0.96 3.6
1.5 1.3 3.8

D2
0.5 0.41 2.8
39.8 1.0 0.75 3.2
1.5 1.3 3.4
1.0 0.89 2.4

D1sS
0.5 0.45 1.6
39.2 1.0 0.88 2.8
1.5 1.2 2.4

S
0.5 0.34 2.8
33.9 1.0 0.69 3.8
1.5 0.99 4.4
Page 4 of 5



A study on the influence of particle characteristics on shear strength behavior of quarry dust


Influence of Grain Shape on the Shear Behavior
of Dust
The GSDCs and mineralogy of S and D1sS are
similar. From the Fig. 7, it has been observed that
the value of quarry dust is more than that of sand
for similar GSDC of the samples. This is due to the
difference in grain shapes of the samples. The
angular to subangular grains of quarry dust have a
higher interlocking than the rounded to subrounded
sand grains, thereby showing a higher value of .

CONCLUSIONS
The study includes the shear strength behavior of
quarry dust and investigates the influence of size
and shape of quarry dust on its shear behavior.
Two quarry dust samples and one sand sample
have been used. Direct shear tests have been
performed to obtain the shear parameters of the
samples. It has been observed that the angle of
shearing, value of the quarry dust decreases with
the increase in the coefficient of uniformity, C
c
of
the grain size distribution curve of quarry dust and
then it increases with the increase in C
c
value.
Initially, the value was found to increase with
the increase in the coefficient of curvature, C
u
and
then it has decreased with the C
u
. The value of
quarry dust was found to increase initially with the
increase in the slope of its grain size distribution
curve, SL
GSDC
and then it has decreased with the
increase in SL
GSDC
. To understand the influence of
shape of quarry dust on its shear behavior, the
grain size distribution of a quarry dust was made
similar to that of a sandy soil. It was found that the
value of quarry dust is significantly more than
sand. The increase in is attributed to the
difference in grain shapes. The angular to
subangular grains of quarry dust have a higher
interlocking than the rounded to subrounded sand
grains, thereby showing a higher value of .

REFERENCES
1. Soosan, T.G., Sridharan, A., J ose, B.T. and
Abraham, B.M. (2005), Utilization of quarry
dust to improve the geotechnical properties of
soils in highway construction, Geotech. Test.
Jl., ASTM, 28(4), Page count: 10.
2. Saghafi, B., Nageim, H.A. and Atherton, W.
(2013), Mechanical behavior of a new base
material containing high volumes of lime stone
waste dust, PFA, and APC residues, Jl. of
Mater. Civ. Engineering, ASCE, 25(4), 450-
461.
3. Soosan, T.G., J ose, B.T. and Abraham, B.M.
(2001), Strength behavior of lateritic soil-
quarry dust mixes, Jl. of New Building
Materials and Construction World, 7, 46-52.
4. Nwaiwu, C.M.O., Mshelia, S.H. and Durkwa,
J .K. (2012), Compactive effort influence on
properties of quarry dust-black cotton soil
mixtures, Int. Jl. of Geotech. Engineering, 6,
91-101.
5. ASTM D 854-06 (2006), Standard test method
for specific gravity of soil solids by water
pycnometer, Vol. 04.08, Annual Book of
ASTM Standards, ASTM International, West
Conshohocken.
6. ASTM D 422-63 (2007), Standard test method
for particle-size analysis of soils, Annual Book
of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.08, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken.
7. ASTM D 2487-06 (2008), Standard practice
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purposes (Unified Soil Classification System),
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ASTM International, West Conshohocken.
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methods for direct shear test of soils under
consolidated drained conditions, Annual Book
of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.08, ASTM
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