Drained and undrained shear behavior of compacted coal wash

Coal wash is a granular waste material that is readily available in the vicinity of coal mining operations. While its potential use in structural fills has been recognized in the past, the effects of particle breakage on the geomechanical performance of the material have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, an experimental study on a selected coal wash is undertaken to characterize the influence of compaction and particle breakage on its corresponding stress-strain behavior. Particular emphasis is given to the role of compaction energy level and associated breakage incurred during compaction on the drained and undrained shearing behavior. The incidence of particle breakage for undrained and drained shearing was observed to be different, which in turn had a strong influence in the yielding behavior and the critical state. Furthermore, the critical state conditions for coal wash seem to be better described through a three-dimensional surface incorporating the effect of breakage.