Effect of clay content and silt—clay fabric on stability of artificial aggregates

Summary The influence of clay content and silt–clay fabric on aggregate stability was investigated. Two silt—clay fabrics were produced in the laboratory by mixing silt particles with a clay phase: (i) a loose packing of the silt particles with clay aggregates, and (ii) a close packing of the silt particles with the dispersed clay phase, the latter coating and bridging the silt particles. Porosity and pore size distribution were measured, and the silt—clay fabric was described using scanning electron microscopy. The aggregate stability was measured under three treatments corresponding to different wetting conditions and energy levels: fast wetting, mechanical breakdown and slow wetting. Our results show that aggregate stability is related to both clay content and silt—clay fabric. Comparison of fragment size distributions and their mean weight diameter amongst the three treatments enabled identification of mechanisms responsible for the variation of aggregate breakdown. The compression of trapped air was the predominant breakdown mechanism for both fast and slow wetting and was related mainly to porosity characteristics. For the mechanical breakdown, the degree of disintegration depended on the cohesion of the silt–clay fabric, which is related to the continuity of the solid phase.