Micromechanical Characterisation of a Completely Decomposed Granite Soil from Hong Kong

Abstract A study of the micromechanical contact behaviour of a Completely Decomposed Granite soil (CDG) from Hong Kong was performed by carrying out experiments on particle pairs using an inter-particle loading apparatus. Some CDG particles were tested after removing the clay coating (WCDG) to study the influence of this surface property on the mechanical behaviour. Both normal and tangential loading tests were carried out and the effect of loading history on CDG was assessed. Significant differences in the normal loading behaviour between CDG and WCDG were observed, with a clear effect of the clay coating. Overall, no clear effect of this particle feature on the shearing behaviour of CDG when compared to WCDG could be noticed.