A Probability-Based Upscaling Model of Grading Evolution of Calcareous Sand

Calcareous sand is vulnerable to particle breakage, which is problematic to the offshore engineering project, such as the pile installation. In this study, the grading evolution of calcareous sand was therefore investigated, and an upscaling model based the probabilistic analysis was proposed, which is capable to predict the grading evolution at the mesoscale (i.e., the change of the particle size distribution) by using the breakage characteristics of single particles at the microscale (e.g., the breakage strength and fragment size distribution). In order to examine this model, the uniaxial compression tests on 273 single calcareous sand particles were carried out to provide the microscopic breakage characteristics. Then, the grading evolutions of three calcareous sand samples under the isotopically consolidation test were predicted using the upscaling model, and in parallel, the experimental results of these samples were also acquired for the comparison. Differences between the experimental results and the predicted results existed but were moderate, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed upscaling model in predicting the grading evolution of calcareous sand.

Keywords: Calcareous sand, particle breakage, degradation, probabilistic upscaling model.